#unwanteds quests spoilers

[artimeanatheart]

Aaron Character Analysis-Quests Book Three Part One

Aaron actually gets to do stuff in this book! There's a whole plotline with him in Artime going on, which we haven't gotten yet in this series. Which is exciting for me and traumatizing for him.

Head Mage Aaron Stowe

Alex is dead.

"'I felt it,' said Aaron quietly. 'Alex's life fading away. The moment it happened, I imagine. It was a searing cut to the heart,' he said, tapping the spot. 'I though I might be dying myself, and then just as quickly the pain eased and left a. . .a dull aching emptiness, I suppose.'"

And Aaron feels it. He's about as far away from his twin as he can possible be, literally worlds apart, but he still knows that Alex is dead the moment it happens. He's probably the first to know, because it takes the rescue team a while to realize what has happened. He feels the exact same thing that Alex did at the end of Island of Shipwrecks when Aaron himself was dead/dying. Unlike Alex, he doesn't collapse on the ground sobbing, even though he probably wants to. He's able to keep functioning through the pain. Because at least he and Alex ended in a good place with each other. He knows that Alex knew that Aaron loves and supports him. And he knows that Alex loved him for who he is. There's a sense of closure, even amidst all the pain, that Alex didn't have way back then. So Aaron starts trying to figure out what to do. He needs a way to get to Artime quickly, now that the tube is gone. He calls for Pan and she answers and he rushes off to Artime. Much like Alex almost rushed off to find him.

"Speeding across the waves toward them, on the back of a shimmering black water dragon named Pan, sat Aaron Stowe. Alex's identical twin. Aaron held a package in his hand. As they drew up to the shore, everyone could see his face was stoic, his eyes etched with grief."

Aaron arrives in Artime, or, more accurately, the Death Farm, on the back of a dragon carrying a magical robe that once belonged to the man he killed. Aaron didn't go to Artime intending to take on the role of head mage. He went there to offer his help and support to it, much like he has ever since halfway through Island of Graves. Aaron knows now that he doesn't enjoy leading. He's happy to be part of a team and be one of the advisors to the leader of the team, but he doesn't want to be in charge of it himself.

"'Do you have the spell memorized?' 'I. . .yes.' 'Thank goodness.' 'Shall I tell it to you so you can proceed?' Claire rested her hand on Aaron's arm and gave a sad half smile. Sweat shone on her face and neck, and her hair was tangled and filled with bits of splinters and dirt. 'You know I don't want this job,' she said quietly. 'My life is helping to govern in Quill now. I'm only doing this because we didn't expect you to come so quickly.'"

But that's exactly what happens. Aaron arrives in Artime and Claire practically shoves the responsibility at him. She's the only other person there who knows/can do the spell. She's never wanted to be head mage and has been perfectly clear about that since Island of Silence. Once there was an option to recreate Artime without Claire being head mage, she was perfectly happy to take it. Even though that option is the person who killed her father and imprisoned her. But she's moved past all of that, and expects everyone else to have, too.

"But Aaron hesitated again, feeling waves of guilt over what was about to happen. And he knew not everyone in Artime would be pleased about it. He'd been acutely aware of dissenters over the years. And he'd noticed the angry woman and the small group forming around her who were beginning to mutter at the proceedings. Aaron glanced at them uneasily, then looked back at Claire. 'Are you absolutely certain you want me to do this?' he asked. 'Even. . .after everything I've done? Have you thought this through?' This wasn't going to be a seamless transition. Claire nodded, tight lipped. She knew what he was asking. 'Ignore them. The past is forgotten. You and I will work well together, I think. Perhaps. . .perhaps like Gunnar and my father did.' 'I'd like that.' Aaron gave her a grim smile. She'd come far in forgiving him."

They have not, least of all Aaron. He asks Claire twice if she's sure that she wants him of all people to be head mage. She is, so he takes the robe. Claire is pretty much the only person in the series who expresses that they don't want to be head mage and their wishes are respected. To be fair, Artime was literally created for her, so she does have some right to the privilege (?) of getting to choose not to lead it. But no one even stopped to ask if Aaron wanted the job. He very clearly doesn't. All he wants to do is go back to the Island of Shipwrecks and grieve his twin in peace with the support of Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato.   He doesn't feel like he's the one who should be leading Artime, especially since the last time it vanished was because he killed Mr. Today. He takes the robe anyways, thoughts of his shame and guilt weighing heavily on his mind.

"Aaron cringed but tried to focus. His mind was on the one who should be wearing the robe-his brother. How was this possible? How was Aaron standing here, doing this? A wave of grief broke his concentration, but he pushed it back and gripped the robe's packet tightly until the moment passed. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths to clear his mind."

Aaron takes the robe out of a sense of obligation to Artime and his brother's memory.  He feels like he can't say no to helping Artime because of how he hurt it.  He always has to help save it not just because it's the right thing to do, but because he feels like he owes it to the people he hurt. He will never say no to an Artime in need. Aaron does love Artime, but that's mostly because his family loves Artime and he loves his family. He owes it to Alex to recreate the thing his brother gave his life for.

"The dissenters lingered for a moment, but Aaron was surrounded by supporters. From the corner of his eye, he saw the angry group reluctantly disperse and hoped he'd heard the last of their complaints, but he doubted it. There would always be some who couldn't forgive him, no matter what he did or said now."

But, like I've talked about before, Artime isn't Aaron's home. Artime as a whole has never accepted him, even though he does have friends and family there. Part of that's in his head, with him distancing himself from the Artimeans because he was never officially declared an Unwanted at any point. He feels like he doesn't belong there. Part of it's not in his head. There are people in Artime who don't accept him, won't forgive him, and can't understand that he's changed. Aaron knows this; they don't make their dislike of him subtle, even before he shows up on Artime's shore. He knows that making him head mage is a bad idea. He thinks that he's doomed to an eternity of struggle from the start. It's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and kind of not, because I think the dissenters would have disliked him no matter what he did or how much effort he put in.

"She [Thisbe] knew immediately the spell had come from Aaron, for she'd given him the pebble when she was five years old for this exact purpose. It was the first seek spell she'd received since the Revinir had taken her captive. She wasn't quite sure why, but it made her cry. Maybe because she wasn't able to send one in return. More likely it was because it finally seemed like someone was looking for her after all this time."

Anyways, Aaron restores Artime and becomes head mage both practically and functionally for the first time. One of the first things he does is send seek spells to his family. We know he sends one to Thisbe, and probably Fifer and Kaylee, too. But was he one of the people who sent one to Alex, adding to the glowing memorial above his grave? Or did he not, knowing from the pain inside him that it would be pointless? Either way, he is the only person from Artime who sends a seek spell to Thisbe. He knows there's a chance it could put her in danger and he knows she doesn't have anything to respond with, but he has to do it. He was to let her know that he's thinking of her, that he cares about her, that he misses her. Thisbe gets that message and clings to it tightly.

"How long would he be wondering if Kaylee had died along with Alex? Would their son, Daniel, grow up not remembering his mother? It was unthinkable. Yet all too familiar. Even his sisters didn't remember their parents. Why had he let himself grow so complacent? Around him, Sean, and Henry's fears were assuaged. Cheers erupted at proof that Carina, Seth, Lani, Samheed, and Thatcher were indeed alive. Aaron, grateful but growing more distressed, withdrew inside himself, remembering the muttering dissenters."

The only person Aaron likely sent a seek spell to expecting a response was Fifer. He thought that Kaylee wouldn't have anything with her, echoing the same thoughts about her lack of sentimentality that Kaylee herself had expressed. He resigns himself to an unknown period of time unaware if she, or Thisbe for that matter, are even still alive. Because if something could kill Alex, what are the odds that none of the others died? He's quiet about his pain, though, not wanting to bring down the mood as the others rejoice from hearing from their loved ones. They deserve that happiness.

"The ball came to a stop in front of Aaron, and Florence gave him a hopeful glance. Others nearby watched to see who it could be from. When it exploded into an image of a wedding ring-the ring Aaron had designed and given to Kaylee five years ago-Aaron clutched Florence's arm, then sank to his knees. He covered his face with his hands. A sob let loose from his chest. At least he hadn't lost her, too."

Except. There's a final dot on the horizon. One last seek spell, carrying the confirmation Aaron barely dared to hope for. Kaylee is alive. And he breaks down sobbing, for the first time we've seen since his appearance in this book. He's been holding in so much and trying to function through it, but this is what makes the grief and relief too much for him to keep inside. This is a huge public display of emotion for Aaron, and speaks to just how much he's hurting.

As if Aaron doesn't have enough going on, cue Frieda Stubbs.

[wiretism]

since i already spoiled myself years ago i thought id rlly quick read aaron and simbers reaction to alex dying in quests (bc i didnt remember if i read it and it made me irritated) and it fucked me up so bad i was holding back tears the rest of the night

[demonslayerunhinged]

*cw: this theory deals with child sexual abuse and has mentions of suicidal ideation and eating disorders.

*If you or anyone you know is going through this, you can find resources here, here and here as well as a list of international hotlines.

Obanai is probably the second most hated character in the fandom, and just like Sanemi, he’s one of the most misunderstood. I think the hate he gets from the fandom is unwarranted; he’s accused of being a dick, a horrible person, a simp and a character who only exists to be Mitsuri’s love interest. All of which is unfair, sure he’s prickly and unapproachable, but he’s not as bad as the fandom makes him out to be.

So, in my quest to draft a defense for our favorite snek boy, I reread his backstory and in doing so, I realized something sad

Unhinged theory

Obanai is a sexual abuse survivor

Let me explain:

Obanai’s backstory and aspects of his character mirrors that of someone who’s been through sexual trauma. The evidence I'm going to present is a combination of my own knowledge about these matters and information I got from forums and websites for male survivors of sexual abuse. So let's examine them...um spoilers

The snake demon

I believe that the snake demon is a metaphor for a sexual predator. Her inclusion in the family could also be a metaphor for how these predators insert themselves into family units-or most of the time are family members themselves-and abuse the children for years and even generations. Obanai's relatives sacrificing their babies to her could signify the real life actions of families who are unaware or, turn a blind eye to, or sometimes actively participate in the abuse of their children.

The sacrifice in exchange for wealth speaks of how families in real life ignore the abuse of their children to maintain the wealth and status they obtain from being related to and associated with the abuser.

Even her decision to wait, ordering the cutting of his mouth so he would look like her, could be interpreted as her 'grooming' him in a sense.

Even her design has a certain sexual, predatory aspect to it that's different from the other demons.

His relatives

Obanai describes his family members as being 'disgustingly' affectionate and bringing him lots of 'greasy' food that made him sick. Food in media is often used to depict love, affection, connection and sex, and Demon Slayer is no different.

There are plenty of instances where food and the giving of food has been used to denote friendship (Tanjiro giving Zenitsu, Inosuke and Genya meals in an attempt to bond with them), connection (Giyuu wanting to give Sanemi ohagi), love (Tanjiro's love of cooking and the satisfaction he shows when his meals are enjoyed by others) and pleasure (Mitsuri's large appetite). I'll make a post about this later.

With this context, we can interpret their bringing of rich foods, their overbearing attention and affections as them objectifying and even being sexually inappropriate with him.

The sexual abuse

Non-physical.

The first instance of abuse is non-physical, but that doesn't make it any less important. Being constantly visited by the snake demon in his room at night, Obanai described his feelings of terror, being paralyzed and watched. His body would break out in a sweat, and he would be unable to fall asleep.

His descriptions of the experience and his body's reaction to it reminded me of some survivors' stories I read, where they talked about how in the initial stages of the abuse or when the abuser was first introduced into their lives, their abuser would give them unwanted attention, would stare at them in a way that felt creepy, gross and wrong.

Some had their abusers come in to their rooms, maybe under the guise of 'checking in on them'. They described feeling terrified, freezing up with the hopes that the attacker would leave. Some would take measures such as sleeping with the door locked or with a heavy object against it, sleeping with a sibling or parent, sleeping in a hiding spot that the attacker knows nothing about or not sleeping at all.

Physical.

The specific age that the snake demon plans to 'eat' Obanai is never stated, but from what we've seen so far and in the sexual context, we can assume that she's waiting until he hits puberty. Some studies state that the average age of victims of female sex offenders usually falls around 14 years, but there are cases where the female predator waited until their victim reached sexual maturity before they carried out their abuse, like in the case of Mary Kay Letourneau. Here's a video that breaks down an interview she did before her death.

Obanai was 12 when he was dragged out of his cell to be subjected to what I believe is the first physical abuse. He had his mouth slit from ear to ear, with the blood collected and fed to her. The snake demon decided to have him live a little longer, which again, fits into my theory of her wanting to wait until he reached puberty.

Bodily violation, violence and blood are common allegories for sexual assault used in media and in Obanai's backstory we see it being used when his relatives drag him from his cell, literally pin him down, cut his mouth and feed his blood to the snake demon. The act of feeding on his blood could also be a metaphor for the snake demon sexually abusing him.

His escape and the resulting fallout

Obanai managed to escape, and although he was tracked down by the snake demon, he was saved by Shinjuro Kengoku before she could kill him. His cousin's response was to blame him for all that happened, asked why he ran away, and said that he should have 'allowed' the demon to eat him.

This could represent how some victims are rejected, ostracized and criticized for speaking out against their attacker, exposing the abuse to the public and getting help. Their families would say 'you should have just let it happen', 'you destroyed the family', 'why did you run away, tell people?' and place the blame on the victim.

Obanai's reaction

There are three aspects of his characterization that are similar to the common reactions noticed in adult survivors of sexual assault, especially male survivors.

His appearance.

His behavior.

His beliefs.

His appearance

Obanai has a small frame that he hides with his baggy uniform and haori. I can tell it's baggy compared to that of the other slayers because of the width of his pants vs the width of his lower legs. Desexualization or hypo-sexualization is a common response among some survivors of sexual trauma, this usually involves wearing clothes and taking measures to make themselves look 'unattractive'.

'But this side feels more comfortable for me, like the baggy clothes I wear, which hide my body, and the long sleeves which reach past my wrists. I promised myself no man would ever touch me again, and whether it was a moment of triumph, or a moment of defeat, I still don't know.'

'I'm thin, shy. I seem easy to dominate. I've grown a beard. That's helped a little. I dress in baggy clothes, covering as much of my skin as possible. That makes me feel safe.'

This not only helps regain a sense of control and power over their body but also serves as a protective measure against sexual advances so they don't get abused again.

In Obanai, given his history of receiving unwanted, suffocating and 'disgusting' attention from his female relatives, it would make sense that he would want to dress in a way that makes him unapproachable and hides his body from the opposite sex. We can see his attempts to desexualize himself in the picture below:

His behavior

'Iguro has difficulty with girls. Due to his experiences growing up, he was unable to conquer his fear and animosity. Plus, the firls who joined the Demon Slayer Corps often put on brave faces because of their sad backgrounds, so he felt sorry for them, making him uncomfortable in a different way.' - Taisho Whispers, official English translation.

'Iguro-san isn't good with women. Due to his upbringing he has a fear and disgust towards women. (I couldn't overcome it easily. The women who joined the Demon Slayer Corps have painful stories of determination. I felt sorry for them and I didn't get along with them in a way that was different from the way I got along with my family)' - Taisho Whispers, direct-sort-of-shitty translation via Google Translate.

Male survivors who were victims of childhood abuse by female perpetrators often talk about how the abuse greatly affected their relationships with women or lack thereof. Some going so far as to say that they became afraid of women, being around them and how sometimes being touched by women would trigger panic attacks and remind them of the trauma.

Here are some quotes posted in a thread on the Male Survivor forum. Full thread here.

'Once that happened, my genophobia became more intense. I couldn't ware short trousers in summer, could never go swimming, got paranoid if I touched a woman's arm or even brushed against one, would always stand at a distance from female friends, and would literally leave the room if anything explicit was discussed.'

'I have started to have strange, deep discomforting feelings as I remember some of the assaults and I have gotten to a place where touch from a woman makes my hair stand up, makes me nauseous, and gives me chills and feelings of dread.'

Obanai has similar responses when he finds himself in proximity to women. We're only told about it in the main manga, but it's shown in the Gakuen. I know the Gakuen takes place in an alternate universe, but aside from the events, the behaviors of the characters are based on their actual personalities in the main manga, so we can safely say the reactions he displays in the Gakuen is canon to his character.

His beliefs

Adult survivors of sexual abuse often struggle with feelings of guilt, rage, and shame. In the manga, Obanai talks about being held back by the decaying hands of his family members, which could represent the long-lasting effects of sexual abuse and how some survivors carry these burdens all through adulthood or throughout their lives.

There's also the thoughts about himself that echo the heartbreaking thoughts shared by some male survivors.

Guilt:

"As the member of a filthy family, I too was corrupt. My sins were deep, so I could not live a normal life"

Rage:

"With no other outlet, I turned all my rage on demons in a grudge of intense hatred. By risking my life for others, I felt as if I could in some way become a slightly better person."

Shame:

"Unless I die and come back in a different body in which this filthy blood does not flow, I have no right to be with you."

Suicidal ideation(mild):

"By risking my life for others, I felt as if I could in some way become a slightly better person."

"I want to die defeating Muzan." (He's the only character that I know of that outright says this.)

He also kind-of expresses his feelings of being weak during the fight with Muzan:

"I've accomplished less in this battle than anyone! I wish I could deliver a more effective attack."

While this quote isn't exactly definite, a feeling of being weak, or being 'less of a man' is also a common experience shared by male sexual assault survivors.

The scar and It's symbolism

The scar is a physical manifestation of the lifelong effect that sexual abuse has on its victims and the stigma it carries. For Obanai, it's not just a painful reminder of the trauma he suffered at the hands of his family, but also a reminder to him that he's like his attacker, the snake demon. The bandages he wraps around his mouth symbolizes not just his attempts to hide his trauma, but also his inability to talk about it due to shame and fear, which is unfortunately an all too common experience of male survivors.

Another struggle survivors often experience is with intimacy, romantic relationships and sex. For Obanai, I believe that this struggle is represented by his eating disorder. The link between food and sex is a well established belief in many cultures, people with large appetites can be seen as having equally high sex drives while people with small appetites have little or no sex drive.

As he grows older, his little appetite is basically him curbing his growing sexual desire, which he sees as ugly, like the scar on his mouth. But the thing is Obanai wants love, he wants to love and be loved, to be intimate with another person, but he feels he doesn't deserve it, after all he's filthy, shameful and probably a predator just like the snake demon. So he starves himself, suffering in silence with the belief that he was disgusting, that no one would ever love him, that he was destined to and deserved to be alone.

Then he met Mitsuri.

In Conclusion, Obanai is way more complex than the KnY fandom gives him credit for. This is a man that went through immense suffering, and it's really sad to see people hate on him because he isn't 'nice'.

Well, that's just how life is. Trauma doesn't exactly make nice people. We can't all be like Giyuu or Tanjiro(bestest boy ❤), a lot of us are like Obanai, Sanemi, and even Shinobu, a lot of us are angry, and why shouldn't we be?

...

*Phew, ok so this one has been in the drafts for a while because I was scared to post such a dark subject matter and also I needed to be really sure I wasn't just talking out of my ass but after rereading his backstory and analyzing aspects of his character, I'm more confident about this.

[inky-squid-art]

head mage robe design + simplified version to show all the parts. it’s not plain red on the back i just didn’t feel like colouring the tiny one properly. you get it.

notes under the cut (spoilers for uhhhh. unwanteds and unwanteds quests)

burning orb on the chest like the seek spell over his grave

burning orb is also burning heart, reference to the sacred heart of jesus christ (symbol of the boundless and passionate love and devotion despite suffering) (martyr, bore the suffering of the people. alex is Such a religious imagery kinda guy okay, and since marcus had the robes first he’s like the Father who sacrificed the Son, passed the power and the burden) (you get it)

the fire ties into how he died (dragon fire spear)

the flaps over the arms are influenced by clothing from the 13-1400s, and the layers are to reckon the poncho description with the word “robes”

i get an embroidery vibe from alex and marcus and if i were to do more robe designs i think i would do one where the multicoloured factor is entirely embroidered patterns. next time, i suppose.

[felassan]

Dragon Age™: The Veilguard - Patch 1.0.0 Release Notes

(patch notes under cut due to potential spoilers)

"Hey everyone, We can't believe it's been a whole week since Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched. Whether you've already been playing or are jumping in for the first time, we have our first patch releasing today with a few quality of life improvements and bug fixes. We'll also be supporting the game with additional patches in the future to help make your playing experience even better.  See our full Patch Notes below.  N7 Day Content:  - Rook can find a new N7 day appearance in the Lighthouse. This is a cosmetic only armor."

Bug Fixes: - Fixed an issue where DLSS options could end up “grayed-out” on a 40-series Nvidia GPU. (PC Only) - Eliminated the cause of a small number of crashes. (PC Only) - Updated XeSS version to 1.3.1. (PC Only) - Fixed an issue where some customizations were not applied to the Inquisitor correctly in one of the ending scenes. - Fixed a bug that caused Companion Skill Points to reset. - Adjusted Companion Approval notifications so they remain on-screen longer as scenes end. - Harding now has arrows in her quiver and is ready for battle. - Global banter should no longer start too early. - Harding and Taash banter no longer repeats indefinately. - Fixed potential issues that could occur if a player fast traveled during a quest. - Changing your party members on the way to certain quests no longer breaks the camera for in-world missions. - Updated a number of assets to improve visual performance over long distances. - Fixed several distance “pop-ins” on level art assets. - Added collision to several assets that were missing it. - Fixed a minor texture issue with codex art. - Added haptics to a number of interactions and events. - Fixed lip sync in some ambient scenes. - Adjusted audio balance on several assets. - Changing equipment no longer disables helmet voice processing. - Fixed several objective markers that were spawning improperly. - Cleaned up certain interactions between Skills that caused them to not behave as described. - Apparitions generated by Iron Veil will now attack Razikale. - Entropic Spheres now behave properly on vertical surfaces. - Fixed a bug where Taunt would sometimes be cleared early, which caused enemies to ignore it. - Fixed a rare issue where Rogues would not hold their bow while aiming down sights. - Made the detailed-stats screen more readable. - Balance changes made to certain fights to match design intent. - Balance adjustments made to several player skills. - Fixed leashing exploits on major encounters. - The Rage Demon’s Ring of Fire should now be appropriately dodgeable in all situations. - Slowed down the speedy raven in Hossberg. - Adjusted creepy corpse movement while they moved on/off-camera. - The Dalish elf in the Unwanted Guests quest is now an actual elf. - Fixed a rare blocking issue in the Sea of Blood quest. - Halla should no longer float during the In Entropy’s Grasp quest. - Fixed a blocking issue in the Pinnacle of Its Kind quest. - Adjusted timing on epilogue text cards. - NPC necks no longer grow unexpectedly. - Corrected instances where NPCs would not properly look at each other or at Rook. - Long hair should now properly mesh with certain armor. - Fixed several issues with makeup in character creation. - Venatori crystal VFX should now disappear properly. - Added scroll wheel support to the sell screen. - Opening the journal while on the map no longer causes it to continue scrolling. - The Faction Achievements will now be gained properly upon reaching max Faction Strength instead of the Faction Cap."

[source]

DA:TV's first bug fixes are out today on all platforms. future patches to come.

[strawberrylabs]

You and Lyney have been dating for some time and he's really comfortable with you; to you, he's not Fontaine's Great Magician, but just plain Lyney.

Your happiness come crushing down one day when you suddenly tell him you have to break off the relationship. Apparently, your father had borrowed a large amount of Mora from an underground (illegal) money lender with you as the collateral to feed his Sinthe addiction. Now that the debt is due, your father have been more than willing to hand you over to clear his debt.

Lyney panics; he has heard unwanted rumors of the money lender: he has a volatile temper and will take his anger out on his wives as and when he feels like it.

:0 I like the way you think.

Angst is so fun for no reason. Or maybe I just like making my readers suffer, who knows?

ANYWAYS-

WARNINGS: spoilers for fontane archon quest and Lyney story quest. Mentions of abuse, blood, being restrained, physical harm, gore, swearing, implications of SA. read with caution if sensitive to these topics!

Hands off

Synopsis: Your father has handed you over to a notorious money lender, who's known for mistreating the people who are handed to him. Lyney, having heard of this, isn't going to sit back and do nothing.

(Note: will be from reader's POV)

"Alright. Here is my child, as promised."

I didn't look at anyone as my father handed me over to the sleazy man who now "owned" me.

"Good to see you kept your end of the deal. Pleasure doing business."

I was guided away, deeper in the domain that was home to the money lender's association. I didn't look back at my father.

I hope Lyney is ok. I hope he forgives me.

Our last discussion didn't go as I hoped.. although to be fair I don't know what I was expecting...

(flashback)

"What do you mean? I don't understand! We were going well weren't we?"

"Yes, everything was great! You're an amazing person Lyney, and none of this is your fault! It's my father.. he's gotten involved in some... questionable groups.. and I have to go away for a bit...."

I turned away from him. I didn't want him to see me cry.

"...I had a rumour that your father was involved with this one money lender.. (Y/n), you can't be serious! I know you've heard the same things I have, you can't go!"

"I'm sorry Lyney, but even if my father has never been the best person, if I don't go he'll get hurt. And we both know I'd just be hunted down.. they never leave debts uncollected."

I turned and ran before Lyney could stop me. I remember hearing him call out to me as I ran

"Wait! You can't!"

(end flashback)

I felt tears run down my face. I missed him.

But I couldn't risk putting him and Lynette or even Freminet in danger. If I didn't comply, they would've been targeted..

I hope Lyney forgives me..

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when a large, calloused hand harshly grabs my chin and forces me to look up.

I pulled my head from his grip and seethed

"Well, the bastard wasn't lying. You are a looker."

The man grinned a chesire smile. It disgusted me.

"Don't touch me!"

A yelp escaped me as I felt a sting against my cheek.

"Now now, I was hoping you would've been disiplined by your father already. I'd hate to break such a pretty thing before I've had any fun."

A shiver ran down my back at his word. Horrid images flood my mind.

I want to go home. I want to go back to Lyney..

"Leave us. I've got to break in my newest catch."

The men around us left, leaving me locked in with the large, ugly man in front of me.

"Now I'm going to ask you to do some things, and so long as you obey, you might not get hurt.. too much."

I glared at him.

"Careful now. Too much atittude isn't good for your health." His gaze turned sinsiter.

He creeped towards me, grabbing me with more strength than he appears to have.

"Let me go! Don't touch me!"

He places me in shackles tied to the roof, suspending me in the air.

"Now, it's time you learnt to behave"

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

(narrator POV)

Lyney was panicking.

He hadn't seen you since you ran off.

He knew where you were. You were with that vial thug. The thought of you being in the same vicinity of that man made Lyney's skin crawl.

Lyney needed to get you back. He didn't want to take Lynette. He knows how much trauma she has with these situations...

So he ran to someone else who he knew would help.

"Traveler! Paimon!"

"AHH! Lyney! Don't scare Paimon like that!"

The little fairy screamed as she yelled at Lyney.

The Traveler however, instantly recognised the worry on Lyney's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Its (Y/n)"

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

Some time later the three of them locate the domain. They divised a plan:

Traveler takes out any enemies.

Lyney gets you out.

And Paimon is Paimon.

Getting in was easy once they found it. Most of the lackies and mercs the man had hired were easy to take out.

Eventually, they made it to where (Y/n) was held.

Lyney gasped when he saw the state they were in

You were hanging by chains from the roof, clothes torn leaving you almost entirley bare, bruises and cuts littered your body. Words like "slut" "brat" and "disobedient" had been.. carved.. into your skin..

Lyney almost threw up.

But what scared him most was that you weren't moving.

Your head moves slightly. You can register the sound of Paimon crying, and someone else calling your name.

Voice strained from crying and yelling, you call out

"Ly..ney?"

"(Y/n), im here! I'm going to get you out ok? You'll be alright!"

Lyney removed the chains with the key they found earlier. Lyney picked you up bridal style, being mindful of your wounds.

"I do believe it's considered theft to steal what doesn't belong to you, magician."

Lyney feels (y/n) tense in his arms.

Lyney sees red.

This is him. The one who hurt his beloved.

Lyney gently placed (Y/n) down, signaling for the traveler to tend to their wounds.

"I'll deal with this one.."

Lyney stood face to face with the man, his face holding an icy glare.

"You'll deal with me ey? Well alright. I'll give you the same treatment I gave your whore of a lover! A stubborn bitch that one was. You should've seen it's face when I-"

The man couldn't finish what he was about to say. Lyney shot an arrow right into his leg, causing the man to curse.

"Dont ever talk about them again. Don't even think about them. If you do, I'll end you myself. I'll let the garde deal with you. They should be just outside with Lynette right now."

Lyney ignored the mans string of slurs and curses as he bent to pick you up gently.

"You're safe now.

No one will ever lay their hands on you again.

I promise."

sooooooooooo

idk how I feel about this ending- I ended up having to stop before finishing and then wrote the ending after work and I feel like there's more I could've done.

so having said that, should I make a part 2 with the aftermath??? maybe some angst and comfort?? bitta ptsd?? idk, you guys tell me.

Hope you enjoyed regardless of the ending!

-Strawberry

Masterlist

Rules

[xxwitchylanexx]

9 to 5's Never Felt So Good

Rebirth Retold- CloudxReader Chapter 11

it's that time again for odd jobs. A few spoilers for Costa Del Sol side quests but nothing major

Masterlist

Thank you to everyone who's been patient! This week really got away from me with school closures, work, and a sick kid. It's shorter than normal but I hope everyone enjoys.

*~*

The plan was to head out towards Mount Corel, but moving on required gil, and acquiring such gil means work. So the first day of that week you got to thoroughly enjoy watching Cloud and Aerith, bless her soul, run around on a faux date for three lovely ladies needing inspo for their upcoming swimwear line. He had tried to decline the job, but Aerith was having none of that. Not when she could sink her claws into him and pry out any details of the previous night. Every once in awhile, between pirates rampage and run wild, he’d search for you. Maybe he was wondering if you were watching him too, and when your eyes would meet he was practically begging for your assistance, Gaia only knows the extent of the cetra’s teasing.

And as sick as it sounds, you were enjoying his misery. You got to see his cute pouty face and pink embarrassed cheeks while the attention was off of you for the first time that day. It was short-lived however, when the group made its way out to Clamshell Beach to look for a damn seashell for the last woman.

Aerith claimed she twisted her ankle and insisted that you needed to take her place. Like how?! Everyone was on chocoback!

The look the others shared only confirmed she your suspicions that she was faking, setting you up once again to be alone with the merc. Only this time with an audience.

“So,” you started as the two of you waded through sand, “you think they’ll ever stop staring at us?”

He took a quick peek over his shoulder at your friends. The lot of them were burning holes in the back of your heads like Rufus Shinra’s paparazzi, only they didn’t have a camera to seal the secret moments they assumed you would share. “Doubt it.” His attention returned to the shoreline in front of you. “She's been a pain all day. Especially at pirates rampage. Turns out Barrett has a big mouth.”

“He wasn’t there to see anything though?” Your brows scrunched as you tried to remember when he'd left the two of you there.

“Nosy bastard watched from afar.” You rolled your eyes.

“So they’re all assholes. That’s fantastic.” You chuckled dryly. “So do we pick it out together? Do we bring back two shells? What did she ask for?” You inquired, happy to get this show on the road.

“Didn’t care to listen.”

“That's so like you.” You said with fake enthusiasm as you knocked on his shoulder with your fist.

“Lets just find one.” He quipped with a roll of his eyes.

“Cool. I’ll start looking over there.” You said as you pointed to the left side of the beach. He nodded and headed in the opposite direction, but not far enough away that he couldn't hear you.

You only looked for ten-ish minutes before your temper began to simmer. Your skin itched from the phantom eyes that may or may not be looking at you, meanwhile sweat trailed down the dip in your spine from the sweltering desert sun. You straightened abruptly, so over the unwanted attention, before spying a chain link door bolted into some cliff rock. You took off at a lazy jog passing Cloud as you crossed the beach.

You pulled at the handle with no luck, the frame only rattling against your pull. “Already tried it. Its locked.” You looked over at him with a smirk on your lips.

“You think that’s going to stop me?” His brow raised in question as you turned back to the door. Your hand slithered down your leg and into a pocket alongside your ankle on the inner lining of your boot and fished out a lockpick. You inserted the metal pick and swiveled it around until you felt a minute click as the lock yielded and the door swung open.

“Figures.” You whirled around at him, your hands coming up to sit on your hips, the metal device leaving a slight chill on your heated skin as it was pushed against your hip where your tank rode up.

“You have something to say, blondie?” You challenged.

With a small shake of his head at your ridiculous antics he brushed past you, his shoulder blade knocking against yours as he moved into the secluded beach area. “We got work to do.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You grumbled as you followed him into the circular area. You had an instant sense of relief knowing your five friend audience could no longer see you past the towering cliff walls. Cloud was right though, you had a job to do. So you kept walking after him until you branched off to search the opposite side of the shore.

You noticed this part of the beachfront had far less rubbage laying about than the public access area. Either the owner maintained it well or no one ever visited. You'd like to think it was the former for the sole purpose that someone on this Planet still cared for its environment, though in this day and age it seemed unlikely.

You waded through a few dense patches of sand catching yourself every once in awhile when the soles of your boots slid through the heated granules. You pocketed a couple of darker colored shells with some unique swirl patterns on the outermost layer that reminded you of those lollipops you could get at a carnival. You held one up towards the sky to examine it a bit closer when a ray of light hit the inner cavern just right to illuminate the iridescent shine within it.

“Hey, what about this one?” Cloud called from behind you, his shoes sliding effortlessly through the sand as he made his way to you.

You tucked the one you were holding into your bag then held your palms out for the one he wanted you to see. His gloved fingers brushed against your skin as he deposited the shell in your grasp, and lingered there till you brought it closer to your face. You smiled as you gazed down at its unique shape. It wasn't a shell per say, more like a small twisted piece of coral, but it was unmistakably similar to a chocobo track. “It’s perfect.” You whispered. “Though, is it weird… if I want to keep it?” You peered up at him shyly through your lashes, your heart skipping a beat as you waited with bated breath for his answer.

He turned his head towards the sea, suddenly interested in the rolling waves crashing into the sand, and his hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck, giving away he was also experiencing some nerves. “Keep it.” He side eyed you before crossing his arms over his chest. “Who gives a shit what we give them.”

Was it intended as a gift from the start or were you just looking for a deeper meaning. You couldn't think of anything to say, or ask, when your cheat in your chest was warmer desert air? "You two done?!” Barret’s booming baritone echoed off the alcove walls. “Sick ‘o waitin’!”

“Piss off!” Cloud called back without missing a beat. He stalked across the land to rejoin the others anyway leaving you to do whatever you wanted with the miniature talon. You decided to tuck it into your pocket, after all the woman probably wouldn't see the significance of its shape, and started to jog after him, leaving the moment behind to be swept up by the sea.

He didn't say anything, but it didn't go unnoticed that you gave Aerith a darker rounder shell to give to the woman, and for whatever reason that made him happy.

*~*

You've never had siblings, at least that you are aware of, so you suppose Yuffie is the closest thing you'll ever experience to a younger sister. Over the course of the next two days the ninja took a particular liking to you and was nearly up your ass the entire time except for the few moments she was torturing Cloud, and between us, you expected him to snap like the remaining threads of a fraying rope very soon.

You've never actually met a Wutain ninja before. You had expected them to be quieter and less predictable. but something told you this was an exclusive trait that only Yuffie possessed. The sad thing is, she's actually really talented if only she could stop blowing her cover and lose the element of surprise. She was fast, her attacks were timed right, and she excelled in elemental materia use. If only she’d stop talking.

Which brings you to her screw up, and the next two days of trying to fix it. You were appreciative that she helped you rescue everyone from Hojo’s deranged kidnapping attempt, however her doppelganger technique now reaped havoc for your group in the form of three Johnny clones.

The first one you found on accident while collecting data for Chadley near an abandoned village near a swamp. The crimson haired man waved his arms frantically over his head and started yelling your name to your discomfort. You spend one night in a bathing suit and suddenly he's obsessed with you. Anyway, the dummy was out here looking for an attraction for the hotel and he thought the fabled King Tonberry’s crown was the perfect artifact for his place. An amused snort passed through your nose as you pictured the way his fight against the fearsome fiend would pan out. Cloud wasn't interested in helping him, even if he would pay his fee, but after Yuffie’s unrelenting insistence -whining- he reluctantly agreed, but only if you happen to run into it.

You quickly learned that wasn't the end, as two more identical idiots nearly plowed you over if it weren't for your quick instincts and nimble footwork, as they ran in hysteria from the fiends that attacked them at the base of Costa Falls. Anyone with two brain cells would think to run back into town, not away from it, though clearly they must be sharing a singular light bulb among all clones, and possibly the original. You had to commend his bravery though, not many people could gather the courage to come out here and search for materials on their own. You thought the hotel was a decision he made on a whim, but maybe he really did want to succeed for once.

So you followed Yuffie’s lead and searched. You trekked through the warm rocky shallows, and among the low piers and high bridges gathering abandoned materials and taking out the fiends that lurked around the area until the sun just started its descent. The only the thing left was to return the supplies, and after hours of listening to four Yuffies, cause if there are more of her the job would be done quicker or so she said, you were in no mood to go back to town and converse with more Johhnys so you made a suggestion for the group to split in two, and then reconvene in the morning. Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa volunteered to return to Costa Del Sol while the rest of you made camp here for the night.

Your mood shifted instantly as soon as the girls were out of sight. No more chattering ninjas in your space, and no Aerith breathing down the back of your neck. As much as you care for her, you were so tired of having all of your interactions picked apart and analyzed for any sign of romantic feelings or lack thereof. You were sick of her smothering you.

The four of you that remained split apart the tasks to set up for the night. Barret and Red utilized the gazebos as shelter by laying down the sleeping rolls. You pulled out ingredients, all dry since you couldn’t travel efficiently with a cooler, and whipped together a stew from the canned broth and dried meats. Leaving Cloud to stake out the perimeter, and to take out any fiends he deemed a threat.

As soon as you let Barret and Red know dinner was ready when they wanted it, you stripped your shoes off and grabbed your bag from the pile and snuck off towards the roaring twin waterfalls.

You ambled down the sturdy wooden steps and onto the hard uneven stone beneath the water, inhaling sharply at the contrast between the hot air and chilly water. You leisurely followed the edge of the plateau occasionally dipping your toes over the side from to see if you could tempt the little fish swimming, until you reached the base of the falls. You marveled in the beauty of it.

A mist kissed your heated skin as the current tumbled over the cliffs, and the sound of the water crashing over the rocks blocked out everything else, and for the first time since Junon you finally felt alone. Most people would question why you felt a sense of relief when alone, thinking that surely you must get lonely, but you didn't think the two were one and the same. All your formative years were spent under a microscope looking for some extraordinary talent or trained eyes on your perfect posture, flawless skin, and of course your clients. After the unfortunate events that ended your jockey career you were finally released from the chains that bound you, and with no family or friends to root you to a specific region you were free to wander from place to place to your heart's desire. If you got lonely you’d make your way back to Bill’s ranch to fill the yearning then you’d leave when you were ready. The Woodlands held a special place in your heart, and you've come to think of them as your home. Even when the ranch was right there you spent you more time sleeping under the treetops spending weeks at a time to study chocobos in the wild.

So these nearly five weeks with Avalanche is the longest you’ve ever gone without a days peace. Not that you haven't enjoyed your new colorful friends, but you always felt more yourself when you were surrounded by nothing but the Planet’s beauty soaking up every flicker of an ember that crackled within you. The whispering wind smelled fresher, the roaring current pulled harder along the river, the bristle of the grass on your skin was softer. In a world full of materia and mako it was easy to look over the true magic Gaia held within its’ crust, and you swore it called to you everytime you were quiet enough to hear it.

You pulled the straps of your satched over your head and clipped it to the belt loops if your shorts before you started to scale the cliff, being careful to avoid the slick mossy surfaces as you neared the lip. You stopped at a nice grassy plateau nestled in between each waterfall and carefully lowered the canvas bag onto the squishy earth before dropping onto your butt next to it. You carefully pulled out all of the delicate dried herbs and other ingredients, laying them in the order you'd need them in front of you, before you buckled down to work. You hadn't had time to refresh your medicine supply in some time, and while you’ve purchased some from shops here and there they were nowhere near effective as yours.

You lost track of time as you combined potions, made of gold dust, phoenix draft, smelling salts, and just a hint of numinous ashes to give it that extra bought of energy, or a variety of chewable tablets for afflictions, and illness, and most importantly specialized treats for the chocobos you’ll meet (and Red probably). You were so focused on your task you hadn't noticed the sun sinking lower in the sky until shadows crept between the tall trees and began to cast shade over your work area.

Just as you packed the last of your things away the grass behind you crunched under the weight of heavy feet. The edges of your lips curl up softly as your visitor shifts onto the ground, their back pressing against your own. You'd heard him faintly as he climbed up here, but his earthy undertones is what truly gave him away. You fastened the bag, and set it off to the side then leaned your own weight into him, your head laying against his shoulder as you looked up at the first few stars that came out.

“Not like you to leave your sword behind.” You chimed into the breeze.

“Guess you’ll have to take point.” You chuckled.

“Freeloader.” You swear you hear a subtle snort before it was covered up with a wry ‘ha ha’. He shuffled behind you, his weight leaning a bit more against you, and you caught his hand inching towards yours from your peripheral until the tips of his fingers wrapped over yours. He wasn't wearing his gloves, you noted, as his warm and soft soft skin rubbed against yours. Your heart fluttered slow but deeply behind your ribs, the feeling caused warmth to spread your chest to all of your extremities with each beat. You hoped whatever future was in the stars for you that it included nights like these with him.

Tonight felt like a dream with the cicadas singing in the distance, and the crickets chirping in the tall grass around you. The only thing missing was the gentle glow of hundreds of fireflies where your entangled feelings were born. You missed the Woodlands dearly, but right now cozied up to him and wrapped in the Planet’s beauty it almost felt like home.

“Can I ask a question?” You murmured.

“Shoot.”

“Was being a soldier everything you thought it’d be?” The question had lingered in your mind for some time now. He was always so adamant that he was an ex-soldier, so it got you wondering if he had regretted his decision.

“Not really.” He paused as he looked above, the soft spikes of his hair tickled against your naoe as he moved. “The war was over by the time I enlisted. It was mostly grunt work.”

“I see.” You felt like there might be more to that story, but for now you were content. “For what it’s worth, they didn’t deserve you.” You hadn't expected an answer but smiled nonetheless when he grunted in response.

The two of you stayed there hand in hand until the last bit of the burning orange disappeared from the horizon leaving blended streaks of purple and blue across the sky. You were increasingly thankful for the heat that radiated from his body as the desert air cooled to a brisk chill.

“Did she, ever hurt you?”

You scoffed, in your mind in was absurd to even ask. Hes met her, been used by her. “Yes.” You had planned to leave it at that, but perhaps his question wasn't exactly what he was asking. Maybe the whole point of asking was to create a connection, establish trust, and isn't that what you've decided you wanted? “Nothing that’d leave a scar. ‘An unappealing woman wasn’t suited for a girl of my position.’ She’d say, like any dumbass in Wall Market would complain.”

“Did you-” he started but quickly stopped, the hesitation very evident as he fumbled for words. “What was your… ‘position’?”

You whipped around and leaned around his shoulder bewildered at the implications of his question. No way that straight laced Mr. Strife could be asking such a thing, but the blotchy red staining his ears and down his neck confirmed your suspicions. “Cloud Strife, are you asking me if I was a prostitute?” A sly smirk curled across your lips at the embarrassment etched into his facial features, and for a moment you thought he was going to leave until his eyes met yours and he put two and two together. He scoffed loudly as he barked out a ‘fuck off’ and stared at one of the falls.

“It’s a valid question I suppose.” You stood up and stretched out, a sigh of relief worked through your lips as your back cracked softly after being hunched over for so long. “I was never expected to put out, but seducing people was a large part of my description along with running the parlor." You paused briefly, as the need for transparency dug its hold into you. "While we’re talking about it, I guess I should tell you that I also helped out Andi at the Inn.” You felt his eyes land on you as he took in this new information. His face was as blank as it was when you'd met him, unreadable. “However, I was strictly a dancer, that did the occasional escort. I always joked that I was lethal arm candy.”

He stood back up and brushed the dirt from the back of his thighs. Sure he had the world's greatest poker face, but his eyes showed the war that was waging in his head, one moment hard and guarded the next soft and sullen. You took the moment to reach for your bag still on the ground, anything to escape his piercing gaze, but his much bigger hand cupped yours before snatching the strap from your grip and slinging it over his shoulder. “We should get back.” The air felt tense now. Every step he took away from you felt like a rift growing between you, and you nearly reached out to him. You would have if he hadn't turned back to you, his eyes now soft and warm, his hand outstretched in a silent invitation.

“Yeah.” You agreed lamely as you let your hand be enveloped in his as he led you towards the cliff. Another wicked idea popped into your head, and you couldn't resist the urge to fuck with him. Your thumb slid down to the soft spot on his palm and applied a bit of pressure in a circular motion into his skin. “Speaking of Madam M,” His narrowed gaze flicked over to you, his brow cocked in suspicion as you applied a bit more pressure. The grunt that rumbled through his chest shot molten heat straight to your core. “I heard you enjoyed her services.” He ripped his hand from yours as an agonizing groan filled the air and lit your heart on fire, the laughter that spilled from your lips made your lungs burn so bad you hunched over.

Little did you know that Barret could hear your laughter back at camp, and could see your silhouettes walking side by side. “Damn kids.”

*~*

What was the key to a good workout? Well, step one would be not to watch the pretty girl doing stretches beside his childhood friend. He only looked over for one second, and the moment you leaned down to touch your toes his concentration went right out the door. Your flexibility was astounding. He could only imagine the length you must have gone to stay that limber, and he had to wonder how else you you could utilize this skill.

He was ashamed to even think it, but Cloud was finding it a bit too easy to get ‘pumped up’. He had thought the fiends would be the biggest nuisance for the day, or Yuffie, not how he had to conceal his interest in you in front of not only your friends who were extremely observant, but an entire gym full of body buffs who were also eyeing you up. He wanted to bully himself behind you to shield you from their leering gaze, instead he settled to give anyone close a death glare until they became uncomfortable and left the area.

And then Tifa’s match started, and you caught him off guard once again. Until now you have been more a wallflower, quiet and observant from the sidelines, but this last week, since Costa Del Sol, he's noticed you were putting in more effort to be present. You joined more of the group discussions at meal times or put in your two cents when forming tactical plans. You were more forthcoming about the extent of your skill set, and even started training with Yuffie, giving her a few tips and tricks here and there. It’s almost as if you’ve finally allowed yourself the privilege of companions instead of keeping locking yourself away behind walls that were built to deny yourself friendship and love.

He didn’t want to admit it, because he enjoyed seeing you be happy, but he found himself feeling miffed that he had to share your attention with everyone now. Just days ago your sassy comebacks were for his ears only, now you're targeting Barret for everyone’s entertainment or taking quick jabs at Aerith for payback. There were some moments that felt reserved for him, like the other night, or today when you offered to help him prepare lunch, but it just isn't enough for him. He wasn't sure what bothered him more: the lack of attention or the fact that he actually craves you and it pisses him off that you haven't noticed.

“Damn, Tif, you’re so hot!” Your voice rattled inside his head as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. This shouldn’t bother him. He knew it was all friendly fun, but he’s literally right here. If you wanted to look at someone, shouldn't it be him? Why haven't you even glanced at him yet?

“What she said!” Aerith chimed in right after you while Yuffie cackled in delight.

A meaty hand slapped down on his shoulder interrupting his slow spiral into pure green jealousy, “Watch it, Spikey. Tifa's gonna steal yo girl.”

Cloud jerked his arm from the hulking man and scoffed. “As if.” His foul mood persisted, however, he felt the edges of his mouth twitching to curl as an idea formed in his head while those two little words played on repeat. His girl. His.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and weaved through the gathered audience until he was beside you. He wrapped a hand around your bicep, giving it a gentle tug to get your attention, and when those gorgeous e/c orbs were on him he cocked his head in the direction of the exit. You quirked a brow as if you were trying to say ‘now, really?’, but you turned and whispered something to Aerith before you followed him to the door. He walked the length of the building quickly then rounded the corner to be well out sight before he turned on you, your eyes widening as he backed you up into the siding and crashed his lips into yours before you could even question him.

This was nothing like your first kiss. This one was the remnants of the embers you kindled weeks ago in Junon, and fueled by his intense desire just to be near you. It was all of his frustration and impatience from moment he had his first taste, and now he’s not sure how he ever managed to survive without it. Without you.

His forearm came up to brace his weight against the stone wall behind you as you melted against him, his other moving up to cup your jaw. He angled your chin upwards, just a hair, so he could slip his tongue between your lips as they parted in the prettiest gasp he's ever heard. His heart slammed against his chest as your hands twisted into his shirt and your body molding to his like it was always meant to be here there. His hand slipped from your face in favor of winding into the silky tresses of your hair. He dominated the kiss leaving no room for you to toy with him, his tongue brushing against yours like you were the sweetest treat, only pulling away when his lungs burned from the lack of air.

His forehead rested against yours as he studied the look on your face, wanting to remember it for every second he had left on this planet. Your cheeks were rosy and eyes were hazy as you panted heavily, your chest brushing against his with every inhale. The scent of vanilla left him feeling foggy and his eyes settled on the slope of your perfect lips. His fingers trailed back to brush against the wet shine on your bottom lip, before placing one more peck on them as the crowd inside cheered for Tifa’s victory.

He couldn't contain the smug smirk that spread across his face as he looked at his handy work, and before you could even inquire about what had just occurred he decided to pull away and make his way back inside to rejoin the others like nothing had happened. At least now he could guarantee he was on your mind now.

He caught Barret shaking his head out of the corner of his eye, the hulking brute more observant than he seems. Cloud only shrugged, before crossing his arms over his chest once more now content with today’s job, and ready for tomorrow’s grueling trek up Mount Corel.

*~*

So I originally had some more pining before the first smut scene, but an idea popped in my head for the Golden Saucer coming up. What do you guys think? Should the longing continue or is everyone getting thirsty? Leave a comment!

[sweetainwen]

ᴜɴᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴsɪɢʜᴛ [WANDERER/SCARAMOUCHE]

Summary: the creator just wanted to find the reason for that system error, but she had brought with her an unwanted insight into the game itself, causing a dangerous and unexpected collapse within him.

Pairings: yandere!Scaramouche/Wanderer x fem!OC (you can think of her as Y/N)

Genre: sagau, yandere!au, isekai!au, futuristic!au, sci-fi!au.

Warnings: jealous!wanderer, fluff, angst, d^aths (no blood tho), wanderer losing his mind, noncon kissing.

SUMERU ARCHON QUEST SPOILERS

I STARTED WRITING THIS BEFORE THE FONTAINE RELEASE, SO IT'S NOT PRESENT

THE WANDERER'S NAME IS THE ONE I CHOOSE (IT MEANS "LIGHT", "RADIANCE")

Word count: 12k+

A hand gently, lightly brushing his hair. The humming of a sweet, soothing tune tickling his ears. A smile, a face, a calm voice and muffled words.

His eyes struggled to focus.

Everything was blurry, but he could catch those details of the one who was tenderly lulling him.

She was moving her lips, she was talking. but he did not understand. He was still groggy. Nevertheless, he sensed it.

It was home.

“Here, your food.”

He snapped his eyes open, staring at the bowl in front of him before looking up at the arm holding the item and finally at the person sitting to his left on a medium tree trunk.

The Wanderer saw her give him a surprised look, blinking.

“Oh, sorry, did you fall asleep?”

He let out a grunt, almost snatching the bowl out of her hand and spilling out its contents, causing her to gasp slightly.

“My, how grumpy,” she snickered amusedly. “It seems like I'm putting you through torture. You can't call me a bad cook, big hat guy.”

He took the spoon between his fingers, sighing annoyed at the way he had been called for the thousandth time, “Quit with that name.”

“I would if I had a real name to call you by,” she shrugged with a smirk on her face, the spoon playing with the food in the bowl. “But since you won't tell me, I had to give you one. It suits you, doesn't it?”

Her eyes were fixed on his hat at that question, and the Wanderer preferred to ignore it, causing her to put on a feigned pout.

She took a bite of her lunch, "Is this how you treat your travel companion?"

“You are not.”

“But we are traveling together to Sumeru!”

“You have decided to join. Without my consent,” he reminded her, his gaze now on her.

“You didn't refuse though.”

This time her sullen face was genuine.

He stared at her without arguing back, the impulse to leave her there on the spot taking over. However it dissipated shortly after the lively gleam in her eyes struck him.

Again.

“Stop talking and eat up. We need to get back on the road.”

He brought his gaze back to the food, but he could feel the young woman's victorious smile.

She was truly a whirlwind in perpetual motion. She got into constant trouble between hilichurls, treasure hoarders, and even fatui.

It was better to call her a loose cannon.

That was just how he had met her several days before, though the hilarious part was that the hoarders were running away from her.

And he even ended up in the middle of their battle when those bandits had tried to use him as a shield.

It had been a scene comical enough to almost make him sneer.

And that was when she proclaimed herself as his travel companion, since they had to go the same way.

“Have you gone freaking nuts?” he blurted out with crossed arms.

She blinked before putting on a huge smile, “Why not?”

“I could kill you too.”

“You don't seem like a bad guy at all, hat guy," she shook her head, stretching her hand toward him and eyes twinkling like stars. “I'm Clara. No last name, just Clara. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

And he had let her come with him.

He felt a kind of force drawing him toward the young woman. He could not respond in any other way to her gestures and words than with indulgence.

And it irked him that it was no problem for him.

Those eyes on him now accentuated the annoyance he had been feeling for the past few days.

As a result, he put into action what he thought whenever he was stared at intensely by her before continuing on his journey.

A movement of his hand was enough to create a vortex that surrounded the young woman and carried her away from him.

The gasp of surprise and words of displeasure never failed to be heard.

But she always managed to return and take him wherever she wanted to go.

Such as booking a room at an inn for the night.

“Using your element to get rid of me is completely pointless. You are perfectly aware that I'd be back on my feet in no time,” Clara sneered at him, sitting on the windowsill with one leg toward her chest as he lay on the bed far from the open window.

“And you acknowledge the fact that I could harm you with that.”

She giggled in response, and he saw that particular glint in her eyes again that if he could lose his breath, it would have happened by now. The smile that followed it made the picture even more vivid.

“You would have already done what you had to do, Hikaru.”

He frowned, astonishment at hearing that name, “What?”

“Oh. Calling you big hat guy all the time doesn't seem appropriate, and since you won't tell me your name, I decided to give you a real one. Why?” She brought her arm on her knee before resting her chin on it. “You don't like it?”

“Why that name?”

This time, the smile she showed him was a sweet one, devoid of any malice.

“Because you remind me of how a person can emanate their own light, and head towards the end,” she explained in a soft voice, her face now turned up to the night sky. “Like a bright star high in the sky.”

Silence filled the room.

The Wanderer did not know what to answer, and he did not want to answer. The name said so lightly, but with meaning, was the same one the traveler had given him.

It was so strange.

“Although... these stars and this sky seem to have something wrong with them.”

The Wanderer sat on the edge of the bed, confused by the sudden change of subject, “Wrong how?”

He watched carefully as her expression became thoughtful, almost serious, absorbed in finding an explanation.

“It's as if ... you want to go one way, but you are pushed in another. Determined to follow that set thought of yours, but it gets diverted, and you don't know whether to continue or not. A false sense of control. A purpose-built hope.”

She went back to look at him. And the feeling he got from it was totally different.

She seemed to be observing him, seeking something deep within him. Like an astrologist reading your future.

“Well, it's probably just my mindless reasoning," she shrugged, her facial features softening. “I'm going to go to sleep now. Good night, Hikaru.”

And as she got up and headed for her bed, that feeling vanished along with her no longer being in his line of sight.

He lay back down again, confused for the umpteenth time by their interactions. There was definitely a double meaning in what she had said, and he even began to believe that it had some connection to the reason for her journey to Sumeru.

And at that point, after days and nights together, he was wondering: what was she looking for?

Everything was dark, he could see nothing. He could only hear murmurs and noises.

But then there was a gentle touch, his hair being tousled by her hand.

All went quiet, and a faint, sweet chuckle echoed in that darkness before making way for a soft, muffled voice.

He felt it. Deafening and overpowering. That strange feeling.

“You're such a good boy.”

Like it was home.

He snapped his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was Clara’s surprised and slightly worried face.

“Is everything all right?”

Disoriented, he tried to grasp the situation. One of her hands was at the side of his head, while the other was in his. He couldn’t blink.

And Clara, surely noticing his inquisitive look, was quick to explain.

“I saw you stirring in your sleep. I thought you were having a nightmare so I tried to wake you up, but you grabbed my hand,” she showed him their intertwined hands. “Then I tried to soothe you with caresses and reassuring words. And it worked.”

She gave him a smile, but he said nothing. He only stared at her.

Clara tilted her head slightly to the side at that reaction, not understanding what else he wanted to know. Or he probably didn't believe what she had told him.

She did not give it much thought.

When Clara felt his grip loosen, she gently freed her hand from his, standing up.

“I brought your breakfast. It’s on the bedside table. Eat with no rush, I’m going downstairs.”

And she walked on, closing the door behind her.

The Wanderer sat at the edge of the bed and sighed deeply, his eyes going to the tray with his breakfast mentioned by Clara.

He had been experiencing those moments for days now. It was beyond annoying.

Dreams that showed scenarios that then affected him emotionally and psychologically when he woke up. Not just any scenes, but of himself in situations that seemed familiar despite the fact that he had never actually experienced them.

Memories.

It was also strange and impossible. Because he was a puppet. He could not sleep, consequently neither could he dream. However, he was doing both, and he was unaware of how he was doing it.

What was he to expect now? That he would no longer have to pretend that he had to eat?

Of one thing he was sure though. It had all started after the arrival of the one he was now watching chatting and giggling with an inn employee outside the inn after leaving the room.

He sensed it. That greater force pushing him back toward her.

Uncontrollable and domineering.

And another emotion mixed with it. An emotion so strong that he wanted to rip off the head of that young man standing too much close to her.

Instead, he moved closer, catching their attention, and with a movement of his fingers, he made a vortex appear around the young woman that dragged her away from the guy, leaving both of them stunned and confused.

And after throwing a glance that made the unfortunate man shudder, he went behind the whirlwind with Clara rolling her eyes.

He just sneered, feeling a little better. Clara huffed after being released far from the inn, adjusting her disheveled clothes and walking toward the direction they had come from.

Knowing her intentions, he stepped in front of her and before she could even open her mouth to argue, he revealed the object of interest and threw it at her, watching as she tried hard not to drop it.

“Your bag,” he informed her, putting a hand on his hip.

She just shot him a glare, her eyes almost twitching.

“What am I surprised about? Your social skills certainly can't improve in a snap of the fingers,” she muttered displeased, fixing her shoulder bag over one shoulder and checking the contents for possible breakage. “Be more careful when holding other people’s things! And stop frightening people for no reason at all! Poor guy was praying that he wouldn't end up in pieces.”

He did not speak, resuming his walk as if he had heard nothing.

“Ignoring my words, are you?” she gave up, going after him.

“Just a little while and we will arrive at our destination,” was what he communicated instead.

He suddenly felt himself grabbed by the arm, almost causing him to lose his balance, and caught her radiant face a few inches away from his.

He could tell he had had a heart attack at this.

“Really?! Finally! Then we must hurry, I can’t wait to get there!”

He frowned, trying to break free from her grasp, but was taken aback by her sudden jerk forward before she started running and dragging him with her.

She was too enthusiastic for his liking, a child in an adult's body. Hopping here and there like a rabbit with a goofy smile and sparkling eyes through the streets of Sumeru.

He felt like a nanny and couldn't say he was pleased about it.

“Sumeru is just as it was portrayed to me. I love it!”

“Your elation over a city is quite childlike. I could swear I'm dealing with a child.”

She hopped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks and puffing out her cheeks, “And you’re too edgy and grumpy for my liking. Change your mood when you’re with me. I won’t tolerate a gloomy atmosphere.”

“You’re such a-“

“Cute, lovable, little person? I am, thanks for noticing that, Hikaru.”

She stuck out her tongue at him before a smile spread across her face, and he grimaced at what he called her antics. Realizing the presence of the god of wisdom coming toward them with her lips upward instead made him roll his eyes.

“I take great pleasure in seeing that you have finally found yourself a friend.”

That sweet, little voice made Clara turn around, and was taken aback as soon as she saw who was before her.

The Wanderer placed one hand on his hip, shaking his head at her words, “You shouldn’t.”

Nahida slightly giggled, shifting her focus on the young woman by his side, conscious of how she struggled to conceal her astonishment and nervousness in her presence.

“I’m- I’m honored to make your acquaintance, Dendro Archon! I’m… I’m Clara!”

“Very delighted to meet you, Clara.” She almost cooed at her reaction. “I’m hoping he’s not causing you any distress.”

She gesticulated, eyes wide open, “Oh! Of course, he isn’t! Our traveling proceeded smoothly! Not one person was the victim of his aggressive look or word!”

The Wanderer gave her a look and Clara pressed her lips together after the gaffe she had made.

The little Archon cocked her head to the side, entertained by their interaction. But the most interesting behavior was that of the former balladeer, somehow influenced by the young woman to be more calm and condescending.

“You seem to get along pretty well.”

The duo looked at her, baffled. Before they could comment, the clatter of rapidly approaching wheels against the ground alerted the young man.

His hand was quick to rest on her hip, bringing her closer to himself and thus preventing her from being run over by the wooden cart.

The man carrying it apologized several times under Hikaru’s grim gaze, and Clara and Nahida’s surprised eyes before going on his way.

Clara thanked him and, moving slightly away from him, turned to Nahida with a curious look, “There is a lot of movement around. Is there any celebration going on?”

“A festival. Would you like to partecipate?”

Her eyes sparkled, “Can I really?”

“There is no prohibition on this,” Nahida giggled. “Everyone is welcome. With Hikaru's company, it will be easier to integrate.”

“Excuse me?” his eyebrow shot up.

“She’s not familiar with Sumeru. Consequently, someone who is should be her guide.”

It wasn't the beaming face and the implied order of the Dendro Archon, it was Clara's eyes filled with expectation and eagerness to witness a common joy that dragged him through the stalls ― one of which she had almost ended up being scammed and if it hadn't been for her stopping him, he would have probably literally blown up every one of his pieces for sale and the seller himself ― and ultimately among the people moving to the beat of the music.

But he had stood on the sidelines, leaning against a tree and watching as she laughed and got involved with the locals. On her head the hat she had snatched from him.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.

Her face that showed eyes like sparkling gems filled with life, red cheeks, and lips fully spread in a joyful smile.

She was some sort of flower in the midst of the desert. You found it strange that it was there and at the same time you thought it was wonderful to see it there.

It led you to get closer and stand there admiring it. To cup your hands at its sides and hide it from any intruder.

A sight that you wanted only yours to witness.

And the way he was thinking irked him.

His ears sensed a shift in the air, and Hikaru was able to quickly catch the hat Clara had thrown at him with one hand.

“Guess you’re not fond of festivals. Or should I say people in general?” she remarked, moving to his side and placing her elbow on his shoulder. “Oh, look! I can touch your shoulder even like this!” she added in mock surprise.

He didn't speak, but Clara saw him raise his arm slightly and form a small swirl of air from his hand. She stepped back just far enough not to be blown away with her hands in surrender ― although she didn't think he would really do that.

She tried not to laugh, but it was impossible.  

And it was in that instant that Hikaru saw all around her become blurred and overlaid by an environment all too familiar to him. Her clothes replaced by others and her laughter accentuated.

It echoed in his ears. Overbearing, piercing.

It mixed with the muffled music and chatter in the background of the festival.

A desperate cry broke in, words overlapping each other. Distorted and almost inaudible.

His head began to ache, his eyes squinted, and an annoying ringing thrummed in his ears.

And it became more and more unbearable.

He wanted it to stop. It fucking hurt.

“Please! Please, don’t leave me!”

“Are you all right?”

The suffering vanished as soon as her hands touched his cheeks, bringing him back to the present.

“It's better if you reach a quieter place. Or maybe go straight to bed. It's pretty late, I'd say.”

He didn’t utter a word, completely disoriented by this event. And with no hesitation, he agreed with her suggestion, leaving that chaotic place under Clara’s attentive eyes.

She crossed her arms pensively.

“I assume that your research is not bearing fruit, given the way the situation is somewhat out of control.”

Clara looked at the Dendro Archon beside her, blinking away the fear from her eyes and with a hand on her chest the near heart attack she had from her sudden arrival.

“Don’t ever do that again if you do not wish for my death!” She exhaled, “I cannot ask such questions without having at least a phase of knowledge and trust between us. It will just take a little longer because of his wariness. Nothing is out of control. What gave you this impression?”

Nahida didn’t look away from the crowd and Clara followed suit, “Is this the first time he has shown himself like that?”

Realizing that she was referring to how Hikaru had grabbed his head with one hand and his face had distorted in pain, Clara cocked her head to the side, not sure how to respond.

“I think it is. Although he had a pretty awful nightmare last night. He wouldn't stop squirming and at one point wouldn't even let go of my hand. The situation is indeed quite strange.” She shook her head, crossing her arms again, “He should not experience this kind of thing; he is a puppet. Still, seeing him trying to hide it is very amusing.”

She smiled, amused by the memory of him eating and sleeping like a normal human being.

Nahida hummed thoughtfully, “It may be a consequence of your closeness.”

Her gaze ended on her again, and Nahida did the same.

“You two share something deep,” she replied at her silent question. Something that both unites and changes you.”

“Like… a connection? Are you trying to say that because of this connection that we have,” she pointed at herself in a surprised manner. “I am instigating a change in him? He forgets everything if I get out of the game and then remember again if I go back in?”

“A deep connection. The more you feel, the more intriguing and dear is something or someone to you,” she clarified her hypothesis. “You must remember your effect on the people of this world. Your presence can be sensed by every single individual here. You are the creator. A powerful figure, more than us Archons. We are not fully aware of the influence of each of your actions. And I forewarned you of my inability to help you in such dangerous cases. What I see is total blackness; you are not part of this world. That’s why you have to be careful not to ruin the balance of Teyvat more than Dottore and Wanderer have discovered. Do it for the sake of all of us.”

Clara let out a sigh, and nodded.

Her voice was sweet and gentle, but the weight of the words spoken was not light.

The things that were taking form in this game were not supposed to occur. Having real interactions with people here was not an expected possibility, because it was a game.

A game that she herself had given shape to and was having huge success.

She was living in an era where technology was overdeveloped, it could very well be compared to a sci-fi movie. Time travel had been discovered, even flowing into parallel universes. Computers were no longer cumbersome but a small device that showed you in hologram what you wanted, like the keyboard and the mouse itself.

Being a video game producer, she had in mind a game that would bring back the old days, a gacha style of gaming that had gone out of fashion long centuries before, leaving only complete games to continue through time.

Thus, she had shared with her co-founders this idea of hers, which was accepted with some misgivings.

She did not have many expectations either, nevertheless people had liked it, taking her by surprise. Probably because this generation had never seen any, except in documentaries or such, and wanted to experience what it was like to live in an earlier era.

Some time after the game was released, she had thought of creating a more realistic alternative of it using VR headsets to engage even those who had felt no interest.

However, something had gone wrong, because she had experienced firsthand one of the scenes she had intended to include in the game that was still far from being added: the Tatarasuna Mistery. In which a mysterious disease had infected, killed many locals and scarred Hikaru to the core.

She hadn’t been an exception.

The crying, suffering, screams, desperation.

It had been too much to watch and had nearly given her a panic attack.

And she had done the only thing she believed was right: use her VR headset to get out of there. When she did, she was wearing the clothes of that world and had some small wounds on her feet from running on the ground barefoot in terror.

It was then that she realized she had created a parallel universe of that game. The game codes had been mixed up and incorporated by the three-dimensional-capable machine she had used as a technical test, bringing to life the scenarios that were still being designed.

This discovery was too dangerous to share; in fact, they decided never to talk about it again. The fright and concern her co-founders had felt after seeing her in that state had been enough to agree to keep quiet about the matter.

Unfortunately, a problem occurred when an event came out further on, in which Scaramouche, the sixth fatui harbinger, made his first appearance.

Some of the scenes were not what they were supposed to be. They had changed. Scaramouche should not have said that the sky was fake, a hoax. But they had let it go; it gave a sense of mystery and decided to go with the flow.

After that, Il Dottore said the same words. It was not a simple concidence. Her game had a reality on its own and was writing its own story. Even their employees were beginning to detect strange things.

She wanted to solve the issue, but she did not know whether destroying that universe would bring consequences in the game and be discovered by the S.T.C.C.O., the Spatio-Temporal Continuum Control Organization.

Wandering between worlds must be authorized by them to prevent ill-intentioned people from changing parts of history for selfish purposes, and if they did not show permission they could shut the company down.

Risking a life of progress was out of the question, consequently the only option was to look for a foothold in that same world and figure out how to fix it against the disagreement of her co-founder friends.

The only way she believed possible was to ask for help from the one who had wisdom and knowledge on her side, The Dendro Archon Lesser Lord Kusanali.

She smiled. Kind, welcoming. And a small movement of her head in a reverent greeting.

“Welcome, outsider.”

She was petrified of Nahida’s awareness of her. It showed her skill as the ruler of a region, but it was all the same frightening how her identity could be so easily discovered.

She found out later that not everyone could do that, only the archons, so she had breathed a sigh of relief, hoping, however, that she would not one day end up buried alive for all the pain they had felt because of her.

Her explanation of the events, where she came from and who she was, had left Nahida speechless. She had understood she was a foreigner, but not the significance of her presence there.

Everything about the young woman had some kind of wall blocking any outside access, and the reason she could not was precisely her provenance.

The Dendro Archon had then taken her to Hikaru while he was still Scaramouche, and the sight of him lying unconscious after the battle with the traveler had made quite an impression on her.

Everything here was real; you could talk to them, joke with them, touch them.

Remorse had made its way into her, and unconsciously she had approached and reassured him of his rebirth.

He was now Hikaru, the Wanderer.

She still had to find out what made him think everything was fake before releasing another region and archon quests, though it was proving quite difficult to do so.

She just had to try several times in different ways until he gave in.

That was why she had asked Nahida to send him on a trip and have them meet in the least forced way.

It would have taken her longer, but since in this universe time seemed to pass as it did in his game and unlike his world, she didn't mind.

The same could not be said of her indecision about whether or not to knock on the door of the room where Hikaru had decided to rest.

She could feel tension in the air. It was strange. And… intimidating.

Especially after talking to Nahida.

“Are you coming in or not? Don’t have any hands to open the door?”

She almost let out a scream at this sudden voice, a hand on her chest.

The way both of them made her almost die of a heart attack from a fright was really impressive.

Opening the door slightly, she let only her head pop out, almost shy, "I just wanted to know if you're feeling better."

“What do you think?” He articulated sharply, not even glancing at her.

“Well…” She entered the room, walking towards the bed where he was sitting and standing a short distance from him, “Is it a headache? Do you want me to fetch some medicine?”

“It’s not necessary. It will go away on its own.”

“Oh, good.”

Silence built between them.

Perhaps it had not been a good idea to visit him now, he was definitely not in the mood for small talk or anything else ― as he always was ― but she could not leave him alone.

“What’s your purpose here?”

After the initial moment of stupor, with a blink of her eyes, she could only say, “What?”

He looked at her, and almost took a step back because of how dull his eyes were.

“Sumeru probably has something to do with your traveling. What is it that you’re looking for?”

That was totally unexpected.

She thought she would have to work her way up to simply have a reply from him without creating suspicions. Even though it didn’t look like there wasn’t any from his intense gaze.

“Answers.”

He raised an eyebrow, a slight hint of amusement in his hollow eyes at her short response, “Answers. To what? The bright star high in the sky and the feeling of being controlled?”

He was definitely mocking her and the metaphor she used to express her opinion.

“Precisely that one.” She tilted her head to the side, “What do you think about it?”

“Everyone is controlled by someone one way or another. Willingly or unwillingly.”

“That makes sense. But how are you aware of that control? What signs do you see to come to that conclusion?”

“I don't know. Your instincts?”

She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again, sighing slightly.

It was too good to be true. It was Hikaru they were talking about. The personality could not change.

She had a pang in her heart. She had given him that personality, like every character in the game. She had caused trauma and tragic experiences.

And that struck even deeper.

Everything in the palm of her hand, but as soon as something was out of control she wanted to fix it right away.

It was also a logical consequence of her work environment; she could leave nothing to chance.

The guilt still consumed her from the inside.

She realized only now how they had remained silent and with their eyes on each other.

He seemed to want to peer deep into her. To look for behavioral changes, for a weakness, to give certainty to doubts.

Or perhaps she was influenced by her own guilt.

It was suffocating.

Her hand moved, slowly, giving the puppet the choice to shrug it off, but he did not. It rested on his head and began to gently caress it.

“I’m sorry.”

It was a faint whisper, but a strange glint flashed through his eyes at it.

“For what?”

“I don’t know, just… I’m sorry.”

It had been spontaneous. She wanted to tell him, even though he did not understand the act.

And again, the same gaze as a few moments ago was on her. This time it was less oppressive and more… soft.

He reached for the arm of her hand still on his head and put it down, before pulling her close to him and resting his head on her stomach. His arms wrapping around her waist.

The word astonishment did not fully describe how she felt about this gesture.

It was completely out of character. Nonetheless, she had to remind herself that he was no longer a mere character in a game and that anyone who got an aloof, arrogant and conceited attitude could fall apart.

As a result, she encircled his head with her arms, attempting to convey comfort and reassurance.

She felt his grip on her waist tighten slightly, but was completely oblivious to the effect her words had on him… and the sudden change in his eyes hidden from her sight.

Thus, when he was standing at her heels the following days, it had her somewhat confused.

Scratch that. It was really confusing how calm and kind he had become to her.

It was likely due to that moment they shared together a few nights before, but the shift was…

Well, at least he had not completely changed; that would have been unsettling.

But she did not expect that he would even lie beside her on the grass, on a small slanted ledge of a hill, to watch the sunset together.

A bird flew in front of her and, following it with her eyes, she saw how it landed on Hikaru's head.

He sighed but did nothing to get it off.

It wasn't the first time this had happened; even if he tried to make it leave, he wouldn't succeed like he did with the others, and that made her laugh.

“They love you, huh?”

He didn't look at her, “Shut up.”

 “Never.”

He raised his hand, ready to make her fly faster than a bird, but she surrendered by shaking hers.

“Oh, my! You should calm your horses! There's beautiful nature here contributing to a breathtaking view and you want to sweep it away? That's so cruel!”

“I eliminate possible contamination.”

She blinked, “Wait. Me?”

With his eyes now on her, he cocked an eyebrow matter-of-factly, “Who else? The bird? Is your brain a decoration by any chance?”

She snorted, sitting down on the grass, “Then you should avoid associating with a person who has her brain as a decoration. That way you can avoid becoming dumb yourself.”

She was about to get up, but Hikaru's hand putting her back down blocked her from doing so.

And without saying anything, she smiled, bringing her arms under her head again and closing her eyes. A slight smile took up the young man's lips; she would not find out though, for it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

And after he did not know how long, heavy breathing of a sleeping person could be heard instead, and when he looked to his left, Clara was completely in dreamland.

Hikaru let out a small snort of disbelief at the scene.

The sound of stepping on grass behind him caught his attention.

“You like her company now, don't you?”

He sat up, watching the bird finally fly away, “She is bearable.”

Nahida giggled, “So bearable to follow her around, right?”

He reimaned silent as he got up and brushed off his clothes from the dirt, but didn't miss to give her a side-eye.

The little Dendro Archon observed as a small wind began to rise with a movement of his hand, lifting Clara into the air and carrying her directly into his arms; one below the crook of her knees and the other wrapping around her back. Her head drooping before resting on his chest.

With a nod toward her as a sign of goodbye, he jumped up into the air and flew away, leaving her alone.

Along with her worries.

She sighed slightly, “Seriously, I hope nothing happens.”

It could not be said that something was not wrong, as doubts had crept into Hikaru's mind anyway.

Such an answer as Clara's would have pleased no one; it was too vague.

That was why he had changed his attitude a bit, to get more informations.

Laying her on her bed, he took the bag off her shoulder without waking her and sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze drawn as always to her face.

He had a gut feeling of her being involved in those chaotic and confusing fragments of situations he was recalling, although there was a certain confidence ― which by now had wavered ― that he had never experienced them.

Getting closer was the best method to piece together those called fragments, but the more he did, the harder it was to detach and stay focused.

She was the one distracting him.

A few strands of her hair had fallen across her face, and his hand reached out to move them aside. After that he heaved a sigh, realizing that he had been staring at her for he did not know how long before he recovered from that strange state of daze.

He was definitely losing his mind.

He stood up and walked over to the chair placed by the door to put Clara's bag, which he still had in his hand, on it.

Before he could open the door a sudden noise stopped him. It had echoed in his mind, like a jingle.

Familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Another forgotten memory.

Looking behind him, he spotted the bag upturned on the ground with something out of it. It almost seemed to shimmer under the moonlight coming in through the open window.

And as soon as he took the fallen object in his hands his brows furrowed.

It was big, almost as big as half his head, and black. There was some kind of rope tied to the ends of it and eyes in the center of that small bizarre thing.

He recalled Clara’s exaggerated care for her bag, figuring now that it was most likely for this item and its possible fragility.

The more he stared at it, the more there was something tickling his mind.

And it turned into a deafening ringing that caused him to blink several times before he heard a muffled voice and saw blurred images of that same object and a young woman showing how to use it.

“Bring this to the back of your head, then this to the front.”

Like a puppet, he led that rope behind his head and the large part in front of his eyes. It fit like a glove.

“And press the button on the left side.”

He skimmed lightly for a prominent spot until he found it.

Through that device, a spiral of colors appeared before his eyes as the ground beneath his feet seemed to disappear into thin air before he felt it again.

Now he could only see white, and he quickly took that thing off, finding himself in a completely white and empy small room. A sliding metal door opened ahead of him and he hesitantly stepped out.

What he saw left him totally shocked.

There were pictures and drawings of a lot of people posted on the walls, but the ones he recognized immediately were Lesser Lord Kusanali, the Raiden Shogun, the traveler, their fellow flying being.

And himself. In all his forms.

To his left was a chair that had small wheels instead of feet and a kind of desk with another strange invention on it; there were almost transparent windows in which one showed a picture of flowers and writing in a small square while the other showed letters and symbols.

They were not part of the alphabet of the Teyvat language, so he could not tell which letters they were.

Next to them was yet another one with an almost mouse-like shape.

Attracted, he tried to press the arrow symbol pointing to the left located in the middle of that rectangular window, and a female voice suddenly boomed in the room.

She had used a welcoming tone, however, he did not understand what she had said except for a few words.

Xu Shi Han.

He was sure it was a name.

It was then that his gaze landed on a frame. A picture frame where Clara was smiling together with other people.

What was a picture of her doing here? Was he going insane?

Where the heck was he?

Raising his head, he looked out of that large window that gave a view of huge, long, light-filled buildings and the dark sky.

This made him come to a realization.

He was in another world.

He looked at the picture frame again.

Clara’s world.

She had gotten to Teyvat with that same machine that had taken him here.

He clutches on it still in his hand, overwhelmed by that discovery.

Then who was Xu Shi Han? A friend of hers? A workmate? Both?

Or was this all a hallucination?

Sudden sequences occupied his mind, almost causing him to lose his balance and grunt from the incessant pounding in his head.

He cast a glance at the device in his hand and decided to go back and ask the young woman for an explanation.

It was better to be direct this time, she might even have a solution for those headaches and disconnected memories.

It was beginning to irritate him.

However, as soon as he entered that white room again, put the object on and pressed the button, he had to grit his teeth and hold his head.

It felt like it was being hammered. Repeatedly and relentlessly.

A searing burning melting his brain until it reached his legs, which gave way under the weight of the pain.

There were voices.

It was unbearable!

Voices. Images.

He wanted it to stop!

Giggles. Cries. Screams.

Stop! Enough! No!

Please!

He inhaled deeply and his eyes were drawn to someone standing in front of him with their back to him.

Trees, plants and bushes began to dip into scenery.

Tilting his head to the side, curiosity crept in at the sight of that person dressed in clothes he had never seen before.

She had also removed something black and large from her head and was looking around. He could only see half of her face but wonder and excitement were visible on it despite standing slightly away from him.

Adjusting the basket full of harvested fruit on his hip, he moved a foot forward but found a small tree branch under it, alerting the young woman who spun around at the noise.

It was like being struck by a lightining. She was really beautiful.

“Oh, forgive me! I didn’t mean to frighten you!” he exclaimed in a soft voice, shaking his head. Confusion was visible in her features, and his fingers began to play with part of the rim of the basket, feeling shy, “Are you lost, by any chance?”

She let out a sigh, “I… think so. Am I on a island?”

Even her voice was melodious.

“You are. Kannazuka, more specifically in Tatarasuna.”

He saw her eyes widen and look at him intently, almost as if she wanted to see through him.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh! I’m Kabukimono, pleased to meet you!” he smiled, enthusiastic about making new acquaintances. “And you are?”

She seemed to have relaxed a little, smiling back at him, “Shi Han. The pleasure is all mine, Kabukimono.”

Technically it was not a lie, yet she was puzzled by the situation because it was not supposed to start that way.

Had she gotten the main settings wrong? A reversed scenario loading? She recalled checking several times before putting the machine into operation.

Glancing one more time at the trees, the bushes, with the chirping of the birds around and the sound of their shoes against the ground, the feeling of experiencing such a realistic sensory stimulus never ceased to charm her.

Her gaze fell on the puppet leading the way to the village after telling her that she could stay with them as long as she wanted. The shy but lively way he interacted with her turned the corner of her lips upward.

“We’re here!” he informed her, quickening his pace.

Chatter and laughter reached her ears, and she stepped out of the way in time to avoid being bumped by two children chasing each other.

She followed Kabukimono with her eyes as he walked over to this familiar young man with a red lock of hair to show him the basket of fruits, being repaid with a smile and probably words of praise.

After that, his attention switched to her, thus bringing the other to look at her as well, and she decided to approach for introductions. She then understood why he looked familiar; he was Niwa Hisahide, the one she would blame for the island tragedy in the game.

They appeared like real people. Having them face her really did have a strange effect.

She certainly could not say that they were fictitious characters and was trying out the game in virtual reality to attract more players, so she had opted for a simpler and quite believable explanation: she was traveling but had gotten lost and her possessions had been stolen.

She had also immediately found a bag to put her VR headset in to avoid curious questions.

Kabukimono had already thrown a quizzical look at it, which was not supposed to happen, since it was not meant to be exposed to the eyes of the characters.

Even if there were inventions here, explaining the use of a VR headset could have involved complications in the game which she was not inclined to have.

Everything had to go smoothly, and her intent had been achieved.

She wore the local clothes, got along well with the villagers, and helped with whatever errands were available.

Still, Kabukimono's reluctant behavior around her had not escaped her notice.

Conversations were brief ― almost nonexistent ― and he would run off, yet he had been so friendly during the first meeting.

These interactions were odd; she did not remember including them as options. Actually, nothing was as she recollected setting them up.

As he was now with the elderly women who spoke to him as he smiled and listened eagerly.

“Don't worry. He had these reactions with us at first too,” Niwa's voice caught her attention as the young man walked up beside her with a hand on his hip. "He just needs some time, you'll see how he won't pull away again."

"But it's been days," she sighed. "And I'm not doing who knows what action to deserve this attitude again. I'm approaching in a gentle way."

He hummed thoughfully, “You are right about that. But... it may be that you are different.”

“Different?”

He smiled, “Sometimes we have different impressions of some people. Honestly speaking, yours leaves its mark, Shi Han. You release positive energy that relaxes and makes one feel at home. Apparently, your energy has a powerful effect on him and that makes him shy and clumsy.” Niwa chuckled at the dumbfounded face she had while he was talking, and shoved the sheath with the sword inside into her hands. “Now take this and hand it to him. He lost his previous sword and had asked me to forge another.”

Awakening from her initial astonishment, she tried to speak but he was already on his way.

So she huffed out a laugh and the only thing she said to him was a "thank you!" to which he responded with a shake of his hand.

She hadn't really noticed that he had a sword in his other hand, caught up as she was in the Kabukimono dilemma.

Niwa's confession had left her speechless. So much for the fictional character!

If they had told her that she would hear such a thing from a nonexistent person, she would have laughed in their faces.

Glancing at Kabukimono, she caught him staring at her before returning his eyes to the women who were walking away after the talk ended. She almost chuckled as she walked toward him to fulfill her errand.

“Hi. Here, from Niwa,” she spoke kindly, showing him the weapon he then took from her hands. 

“Thank you,” it was almost a whisper.

“I heard you practice sword dance. It must be difficult.”

“Not very.”

“You put in a lot of effort, though”, she smiled. “This is not to be underestimated. Although I have never seen you dance, I know enough about this.”

He had not responded, he just looked at her. She seriously believed that she was hated at this point and that Niwa's words were just to reassure her.

"Would you like to... watch me?"

That caught her off guard, but she widened her smile, "I would love to!"

She hadn't really expected that! It was a really huge leap of progress!

It certainly had not been easy to ask her to see him dance, but she was really happy about it. And now that she was witnessing that dance, to say that he was talented was an understatement!

The smooth and accurate movements, the relaxed facial features, and the passion-filled eyes with which he performed the poses was nothing short of mesmerizing.

As a backdrop, the trees, the river and the light wind that had risen made it almost magical.

She couldn’t stop looking at him.

He was so immersed in it that he seemed to have forgotten her presence after ending his dance, so she applauded him, catching his attention.

"That was... magnificent. I don't know what else to say.”

His eyes drifted to the sword, playing with its hilt, “I’m honored to be complimented.”

Shi Han was completely taken hostage by the tenderness he had awakened in her, and without thinking about it she had mussed his long hair in an affectionate gesture.

Kabukimono had only blinked in surprise.

"Oh, forgive me!" she pulled away, raising her hands in surrender. "You were so sweet that I moved unintentionally. Please, don’t hate me!”

“Hate you? I would never!” he quickly shook his head, almost offended by that.

“Oh. I thought… you hated me.”

“Never! I’m just…” now he looked anywhere but at her, what was probably embarrassment invading him. “You are so beautiful and kind…”

She would have had an explosion of diabetes if he had not stopped!

How in the heck was he so, so sweet? He was a precious cinnamon roll!

“So it is not a disturbance if I request to see your dance again?”

“Absolutely not.”

“That’s a relief then. And… thank you for your compliments.”

The response she received was sparkling eyes and a toothy smile.

And the following days Kabukimono had left all shyness behind and kept staying close to her like a child trailing after his mother.

He would smile constantly, seek advice on even the smallest things, ask to pick fruits or just go for a walk together.

A total different character.

You could not look at him and not think of protecting him from any danger.

To think that he would change his personality after that tragic event that he would soon have to endure was really a shame, yet the story had to have footholds to continue.

Every action and reaction was calculated and giving them drastic plot changes could have consisted of inconsistencies in moving forward.

Messing up was not an option.

She was going to enjoy the course of events without a hitch.

And watching Kabukimono had become her favorite pastime; he was so adorable and innocent. Like now as he placed the firewood under the cauldron.

Surely he had noticed her fixed gaze on him, for she could see him playing with the sleeves of his robe.

“Asahi is late.”

She chuckled, “He wants to do it himself, as small as he is it will take him a while. He wants to be useful, like you.”

“He shouldn't tire himself though, since he's not very well.”

“I know, but let him do it. It's really cute to see him so hard-working.”

Asahi, the sick child who would add to Kabukimono's suffering when he would pass away.

He was already ill, that tragedy would take place sooner than later.

Another detail she did not remember at all was his name, because she had not given him one. He was just supposed to be an addition for the character that would become Scaramouche.

But if she dug her heels in over everything, she would start to get headaches, so it was best not to question and just comply.

“Water is here!” the small enthusiastic voice of Asahi caught their attention and they saw him almost trip and tip over the bucket full of water.

“That's too much water, Asahi!” Shi Han burst out laughing, helping him move closer to the fire.

“We still need it!”

“Yes, yes. Pour it slowly or you'll ruin the firewood.”

The teasing, the smiles, the chattering, the caresses. These heart-warming interactions had always fascinated Kabukimono.

Every human feeling and emotion captivated him.

There was something mysterious and inexplicable about the way they worked and manifested themselves.

However, the one who attracted him like a moth to a candle was Shi Han.

The manifestation of her emotions was a subtle but strong trait; the change of them could be sudden or slow.

He often found himself staring at her more than he should, completely invaded by a strange feeling that a puppet should not experience.

He had no heart; it was impossible.

Could it perhaps have been her aura? It was not to be ruled out. The villagers also felt at ease with her and almost considered her family.

“Is something wrong?” Shi Han's gentle voice and her face so close to his made him pull back a little from the sudden entry into his view. “I called you several times. Do you feel strange?”

“Oh, no. It’s just… You seem to feel so much happiness…”

“Are you not happy?” Asahi asked confused.

“I could, if I didn’t have…” Unconsciously, his hand went to his chest. “… a void here.”

“You mean, you wish you had a heart?” He nodded and heard Shi Han sigh, sitting next to him. “Mmh, have you ever heard this story before?” the question gained their attention as the child placed the bowl of food on the floor, “There once was a puppet soldier whose greatest wish was to be with a ballerina doll forever and ever. But the soldier didn’t have a heart and didn’t know where his feeling came from. One day, his owner didn’t want him anymore and threw him away into a fire. But even in the flames, his eyes never left the ballerina.” He smiled, ”The next day, the people found a tiny heart in the ashes left by the fire.”

He exhaled, sadness filling his voice, “Probably ashes in the shape of a heart, but that’s not a real heart.”

“Maybe. But what if…” He tilted his head to the side, “… hearts can be born from ashes?”

That would have changed things, but he was not sure.

“You don’t need a heart,” Shi Han spoke, grabbing his hand and slight sparks orerran his body. “The fact that you worry about being empty and that you might not reciprocate in the same way shows that you feel something.” A tender smile played on her lips, eyes looking at him with affection, “You are able to express emotions without it. You are more human that most people. Am I right, Asahi?”

“She is!” he had almost shouted it while nodding firmly.

Her face lit up, as if he had remembered something, “Oh! Asahi! Your handmade gift!”

The child made the same expression, got up and ran to a wooden box, pulling out a doll.

Kabukimono was quite confused.

After the child had gotten closer, he noticed the details of the object better. It was him. Its hair and clothing were the same as his, and it had what looked like a small tear under its eye.

“I'm aware that it didn't turn out that well, but I still wanted to give you a gift.”

He was at loss of words. He had a knot in his throat and his eyes were stinging.

He grabbed the doll and stared at it, a smile forming on his lips.

“Look, you’re smiling,” Shi Han rubbed his shoulder in a comforting way. “You’re happy, Mono.”

“Mono?”

She sucked the air through her teeth before grinning, “Kabukimono is too long. Mono is better.”

He smiled back, feeling shy again but with a tingling sensation.

He heard Asahi giggling, but a coughing fit struck him, bringing Shi Han to stroke his back and him to look at him worriedly.

“Everything is fine, just coughing.”

“You should still get back into bed. I’ll accompany you.”

He followed them with his gaze until they vanished into the other room and went back with his eyes on the doll. He touched its hair, its trim and stitching.

A gift made with affection.

A goal he did not think he could achieve. He thought people would not consider him; lacking a heart he might not feel empathy, or understand certain actions dictated by certain feelings. Consequently, causing estrangements on their part.

Yet they were friendly, loving, and hospitable. They treated him like a son, an older or younger brother, a friend. He felt loved and always wanted to be loved.

And very much loved by Shi Han.

It had become a permanent fixture. He did not want to do anything that could lead her to be bothered by his presence; he wanted to be praised.

More and more.

She had become the first person he spoke to as soon as the sun came out. A strong force continually pushed him toward her. And he did not mind.

Just being near her gave him warmth and love. He could sense it.

Like now, as the sound of the flowing river was heard, sitting at its bank and looking at the night sky.

It was better to say that he was watching her admire the stars.

“I love this view. I've never seen so many stars light up the night.”

“Where you come from there aren't many?”

She shook her head, “No. Let's just say they've… dimmed over time.”

“You will see them often by staying here then.”

She had opened her mouth, but had not spoken. This jolted him slightly and he began to feel a squeeze in his chest at that nonverbal response.

“Are you… leaving?”

Shi Han had definitely noticed the sudden change in mood, because she was hesitating, but she eventually nodded.

“I’m traveling, so… I’m moving all the time.” He turned his head to the other side and pulled his knees to his chest. “I also have to stay with my family. They definitely miss me. But this doesn’t me- wait, what’s wrong? Are you crying?”

Hearing her concerned voice gave him a sense of victory.

First she would sneak in and then decide to leave without thinking about what she had left behind? Without thinking about how he would feel? Was she really going to leave him? Why?

He didn't want to!

Her hand moved his shoulder slightly so she could look at him, but he resisted. He heard her calling him, but he did not answer.

He felt betrayed.

“Mono, please, listen to me!”

“I am.”

“You aren’t. You didn't hear a word I said because you’re still like this.”

He stood up abruptly and looked at her, taking steps back before halting and showing her bag in his hand.

Shi Han had widened her eyes, taken aback and confused by his action.

“Speak the truth. It has to do with that object you always carry in here with you, doesn't it? The way you take care of that thing has always intrigued me. You never show it to anyone, you keep it hidden and you seem obsessed with it.”

She let out a long sigh with her eyes closed, sensing the situation getting out of hand.

She was probably thinking that she would never have thought of such an overreaction on his part and that she didn't even know how they had gotten to this point.

He didn't know either. All he knew was that a trigger had been set off.

“It is because it’s an important object for me. It has an emotional value. It’s a gift.” She explained in a soft voice and stretched out her hands, “Come here, I’ll show you.”

He kept looking at her, stalling for a while until he gave up.

Shi Han reached into the bag and pulled out the object.

"Bring this behind your head," she had lifted that thing above her head and brought with one hand what looked like a strange rope behind it. “Then this to the front,” the large part went in front of her eyes. “And press the button on the left side,” her finger stayed on that specified spot but didn’t press down. “That’s it. But since I break a lot of things, and you know that, I don't use it much to avoid breaking it.” She took it off and smiled at him before putting that thing back in the bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Sorry if I startled you. I was going to talk to everybody about it these days. And I was telling you earlier that I would come back to visit anyway, and we may as well write to each other.”

He lowered his head, distress overtaking him.

Of course there were these options, but they were not like having her by his side all the time.

It was different.

“But I will not see you every day.” his voice had come out hoarse, as if he were tearing up.

“You can travel with me. And we can take Asahi with us, too. If you want, we can ask Niwa as well. I don't know if he would agree to travel, but it doesn't hurt to try.” He raised his head, stunned by the proposal. Shi Han cupped his cheeks, her fingers wiping away tears he did not know were coming out, “There, there, stop crying. Have you calmed down? Do you like my idea? No more sadness?”

He nodded, inhaling a deep breath to cool down.

This myriad of emotions were making him dizzy. And what she did next almost caused him to lose strength in his legs.

She giggled, tousled his hair and rested her lips on his forehead. After that, she hugged him. His face leaning against the crook of her neck, warm and soft skin touching.

“You’re such a good boy.”

Her fingers run through his hair, stroking gently and slowly.

He couldn’t think straight. He was over the moon.

He hugged back, tightening his grip as much as he could without hurting her.

It was like being wrapped in a cocoon of warmth, comfort and fondness. Safe from any danger, feeling special, and have no negative thoughts.

She was the last piece to complete his wish.

Like it was your home.

It felt like home.

He had attained peace. A feeling so wonderful that he wished it would last for eternity.

But against his every thought and will, that newly completed paradise was gone.

Black smoke had begun to surround them, and the villagers began to get sick. They were getting worse and worse, and no one knew how the heck to stop the disease.

And they were dying. They were dying and dying one by one. A chain reaction that had spread terror and despair. And the helplessness about the situation didn’t help.

Hence, he decided to ask for help from the one who had created him, the Electro Archon herself.

He did not want to leave Shi Han, Asahi and Niwa alone, but he had to do something.

When he arrived in Inazuma, no one would let him in to have an audience with the Archon. With tears in his eyes and desperation clouding his senses, he did not for a single moment stop asking about his creator, displaying the golden feather around his neck, left by her in his hands.

Even though Yae Miko appeared in Ei's place, he begged to save the villagers, on his knees, his hands grasping her clothes. Shepromised help, and he believed her.

After returning to Tatarasuna, he saw Shi Han standing outside the house in the distance.

“Shi Han! The shogunate will come here! Let’s inform Niwa and-“

Now close by, he could notice Shi Han's dull eyes and bare feet. A bad omen took hold of him and he ran toward Asahi's bedroom.

When he saw him, Asahi seemed to be asleep.

Deeply asleep.

He had a lump in his throat, his hands began to shake.

That was a joke, wasn’t it? Asahi was definitely joking. It was not the best moment to do that, but he was playing around.

For sure.

“Asahi, it’s not good time to play. You need to wake up. The… The shogunate is coming and…”

One touch and he suddenly pulled his hand away, as if electrocuted.

Asahi was cold to the touch. Too cold.

No. No! No! No! Please, no!

Why? Why was all this happening? What had they done wrong to undergo such a thing?

The child’s words crossed his mind and he smiled through the tears.

He was here. Asahi was still here. His heart was still here.

And without a second thought, the flames enveloped both him and the house. He waited, waited until he could see it, but there was nothing there.

No heart from the ashes but anger and sadness made an appearance.

He clenched his hands into fists, tears that would not stop falling, “How dare you die like this, and break your promise to me?” He sneered, “What a joke… It’s just ashes, nothing left but ashes.”

He lifted his head up, a deep sigh leaving him. He stayed like that for a while before walking out.

He still had his Shi Han. He needed her hugs and sweet words.

He needer her.

However, he did not expect to see her with that black object on her head, her hands still on each side of it.

Hesitantly, he spoke, “Shi Han?”

Their eyes met, and what hers conveyed made him even more desperate.

“What… are you doing?”

Shi Han gulped, lips quivering and voice shaking, “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”

It was too much.

Tragedy was to come, but she did not imagine it so suddenly. She had not even had time to breathe. It was all going too fast, and witnessing it firsthand had never been in her plans. To see the life of someone you spend time with vanish before her eyes without being able to do anything to stop it was the most deplorable torture there was.

Waking up from the catatonic state with the smell of smoke from the flames Kabukimono had started burning the house in which she had memories was another pain.

She could not take it.

It was all too realistic; she did not even believe she was in her own game anymore. Maybe she was and there had been mistakes during the data transfer.

She didn’t care anymore. She wanted to get the fuck out.

If she had entered in the game with the VR, she could as well come out of it.

Fear was dominating her and she didn’t give a shit about anything or anybody else. She couldn’t.

She was doing what was right for her sanity. And she also felt so bad for that.

“What are you saying? I… I don’t get it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I can’t stay here any longer.”

“Wait, wait! What do you mean? What are you trying to say? Where are you going? Where-“

Adjusting her VR, she pressed the button and everything was reduced into a spiral of colors. Seeing the familiar white room again, she collapsed on the floor, relief taking over her senses. Hearing her friends' and co-fonders’ voice put a definite end to that long moment.

But for Kabukomono had been an istant. A light and then nothing. She was gone.

His Shi Han was gone.

Where? Where had she gone? What had she done to make herself disappear? And why? So was it a lie? She did want to leave him?!

His head hammered incessantly, it felt like needles penetrating and pushing deep. His pupils constricted, a silent scream leaving his body, his hands clutching his head to try to stop the pain.

It hurt. It was unberable.

“Shi Han! Shi Han!” he sobbed. “Don’t go! Come back! Why are you doing this?! Please! Please, don’t leave me! Shi Han, please! Don’t leave me!”

Shi Han exhaled, almost running out of air. After regaining oxygen, she sat on the edge of the bed and a sigh of relief left her lips.

She was in her room, probably after she fell asleep and was brought in.

That was terrifying.

Dreaming of those events was not really something she expected. She had had nightmares after returning from here, but they had faded after a few months.

Guilt was kicking in again.

She needed a glass of fresh water for her dry throat.

Movements alerted her and she got up, spotting Hikaru under the moonbeams picking up her bag and placing it on the chair.

“Oh, it’s you. Was it you who brought me here?”

“Did you think it was someone else?”

“I… never thought you would do that,” she giggled. “but thank you.”

He just hummed, “Your bag fell and this thing slipped,” he lifted one of his hand to show her VR, the other one on his hip. “Nothing broken, you can rest assured.”

She let out a sigh of relief, “Ah, thank God- Archons. It’s a precious item for me.”

She walked over, checking that nothing was really broken, and put it back in the bag, then holding the latter to herself and returning to the bed to place it on the nightstand.

She wanted to hit herself because she had almost made a stupid mistake. Here they were not thanking God but the Archons.

It had never happened before, but the air was imbued with something strange.

It was heavy, tense.

“Is something wrong? You look nervous, Shi Han.”

“Oh, it’s al-“

Her heart skipped a beat, turning pale. She turned around to look at him, searching for something in his eyes that suggested she had heard wrong.

She had certainly heard him wrong. A trick of her ears. He didn’t know her real name.

“What…?” it was almost inaudible and she saw him tilt his head to the side. “Oh, sorry, Hikaru. I thought- nothing, don’t worry,” she shook her head and gesticulated with her hands. “I really should sleep.”

“Hikaru was the best name you could have chosen. I really had an enlightenment in my life.” One step forward, one more, another, as he continued, “But giving it to me through the Traveler was not necessary. I would rather you had given it to me in person.”

He was there, close to her. Too close. She was petrified.

His irises seemed to glow in the dark. Threatening, smothering.

She did not know how or when, but she felt pressure on her arm, was pulled to the side, and the sound of something being broken echoed the room.

Her eyes settled on the nightstand, where her bag was no longer. Her lips began to tremble, her face to distort with fear, and her breathing became labored.

His foot was still on top of it, the VR inside shredded.

He knew. He knew her real name, about her.

Fuck! Fuck!

How was this possibile? How did he find out?! Did her presence really lead to this? She had been careful, avoiding anything that might spoil the plan. Really!

Realization kicked in and she stared at him, while his eyes had never left her and had watched her every facial change.

“You used my VR!”

“Is that what it is called? It is certainly a wonderful invention.” With his hand still holding her arm, he drew her to him, chests touching and faces a short distan apart. “It made me see your world. Our past.” She could feel his breath against her lips. “You don't know... how painful it was after you left me. Asahi, Niwa, you. I saw the darkness, and called your names. Yours especially.” His other arm went around her waist, pressing their bodies together as tightly as he could, ”I wanted your hugs, your caresses, your reassuring words. You were my support, my fixed thought. But after a while, I began to forget you, only you. Probably because you are connected to my world and can manipulate a few things. And I bet the stars and the sky are part of it, aren't they?”

She gulped, trying to push him away, but she couldn’t.

It was happening too fast, she couldn’t react. Her head was spinning, her pupils shaking.

“But I’m also aware of how what happened has worn you down. You tried to make things better, giving me a new rebirth.” He gave her a knowing lopsided smile, a sinister glint in his eyes, “Everything is okay, honey. Your suffering is coming to an end. You will be reborn with a new you. I promise.”

A flashback of her stroking his hair and humming a melody while he was in a coma popped into her mind. He had recited the same words she had said.

He had heard it all.

“I'm sure you didn't do it all by yourself. Someone helped you. But even knowing the current situation, Lesser Lord Kusanali did not act on it. I assume that no one can do anything if you are involved.” His hand left her arm, which fell dead weight, and moved towards her chin, cupping it, “Am I right, Clara?”

She coudn’t breathe.

Demanding, controlling, out of his mind.

“Am I right?”

She breathed out, “Yes.”

“It means no one can meddle between us. Is that correct again?”

“... Yes.”

His face lit up, a smile making her skin crawl.

He giggled, caressing her cheek. He placed his lips on her forehead, before cupping her cheeks and kissing her.

She was squeezing her eyes, paralyzed.

He nipped at her lip, causing her to flinch and taking advantage of this, he swept his tongue between her lips, tangling and tinkling their tongues together.   

He broke the kiss, staring at her with eyes filled with confirmed madness.

And hugged her. Her face against the crook of his neck.

“You’re such a good girl.”

The paradox was paralytic and finding a way out erased.

She realized that she had taken Nahida's words lightly.

But what could she have known? How could she have known that he would behave this way? These were not excuses! She could not have foreseen this!

But unconsciously she had believed that she would not arouse suspicion. Foolishly she had gotten too close.

And she had brought disaster with her.

Memories had surfaced that should not be there.

An unwanted insight into something that should not have been there.

He was so attached to her that his affection had transcended time and space, outclassing that betrayal and seeing the positive side of her redemption toward him that would also be projected onto her game, having a close connection between parallel and video game realities.

But she was the culprit. She had decided to test the waters by prolonging her stay in a place that was beginning to seem strange to her.

And she was paying the consequences. Willy-nilly.

[friend-of-giants]

Sujamma Sundas

Thank you for the tag @theoneandonlysemla! Going to tag @sheirukitriesfandom @juniperberries-canisroot @umbracirrus @vervayyn @snowy-weather let me know if you want me to tag you!

Topic: This week, Sujamma wants to know about YOUR OC's special someone. What makes their relationship special? How did they meet? Were they enemies to lovers? Lovers to enemies? Lovers AND Enemies? Are they romantic or platonic? What's their favorite way to cuddle? Favorite date night? Anything and everything you can think of 💕

Alright, ramble time. As you might know, I pair Wren (my Dragonborn) with Teldryn Sero (who I hc as the Nerevarine), and I will get to their relationship soon. BUT prior to her meeting Teldryn, she was in a serious relationship with Faendal until his death, which happened near the end of the Main Quest... which I may never get around to writing, but it will be touched upon in my main fic which takes place after canon events.

I haven't put much thought into Wren and Faendal's dynamic, mostly because I have no plans to write their life together. But my headcanon is that, like Wren, he has a history as a bandit - namely the poacher camp north of Whiterun. The two of them worked together briefly, Faendal went off to make an honest living at the Riverwood mill, while Wren literally whored it up in Windhelm for a while, did some mercenary work, then found out she was Dragonborn. They met up again as she was on her way to see the Greybeards, he had just been dumped by Camilla for Sven, and they hit it off. I can't go into too much detail because it's spoilers, but he was her first love, and she blames herself for his death, which made it hard for her to open up again.

Roughly half a year after defeating Alduin, Wren traveled to Solstheim to confront Miraak. She got wasted at the Retching Netch, accidentally hired their resident mercenary, then woke up to discover she had an unwanted tagalong. She loathed Teldryn at first, since he underestimated her abilities and doubted her claims as Dragonborn. But later, when Teldryn discovered that she truly was who she claimed to be, he gained immense respect for her. Being an ex-hero himself, he realized how important she was, and vowed that he would remain with her as her bodyguard, basically. That platonic respect grew into friendship, loyalty, and eventually something more.

At the point I am currently at in my fic, they're on the cusp of admitting their feelings to one another. They're ALMOST there. Wren is extremely closed off due to what happened in her past, and to Faendal, but is slowly breaking free of her shell and allowing herself to care for Teldryn. And Tel... he's just disgustingly in love with her and is afraid to admit it. He sees a lot of himself in her, as a fellow hero, and wants her to learn to enjoy her life despite being chewed up and spat out by prophecy.

(The kicker is at this point, he hasn't admitted to her that he's the Nerevarine. To Wren, he's just a merc. She will find out soon enough.)

Cuddles, you ask? Well, they're both dirty old bastards, and many of their cuddle sessions lead to sex. But they can absolutely be soft with one another. Teldryn has Big Protector Mentality and likes to be the big spoon, or invites her to lay on top of him. Wren likes to rest her head against his chest and listen to him breathe, and will often fall asleep like that.

Wren owns Honeyside and she loves her salmon, so for dates, she often suggests fishing or simply hanging out on the lakeshore, swapping old fight stories, and of course, EATING. Wandering the Rift woods and sparring with each other are always fun, too.

[slythering-snake-boys]

The Moon (Ominis Gaunt x Reader/MC)

Characters: Ominis Gaunt x Reader/MC

Type: a bit of angst, fluffy, hurt/comfort, can be read as platonic or romantic

Words: 1822

Warnings: mentions of human remains (Noctua), Sebastian being kind of a dick

A/N:

I was really bothered by the fact that Noctua's remains were just...left there like that, so I decided to rewrite that part

This happens during the In the Shadow of the Study quest

Some spoilers

Was somehow inspired by The Moon by Amorphis and this art by pasta as avatar on Twitter

Reader will be referred to as MC

"A-Are you alright?" Ominis put his hand on the damp wall of the Scriptorium as he crouched in front of you. He sounded terrified and you wondered if it was because of you or if your screams had brought back bad memories. You were breathing heavily, having just taken the Cruciatus Curse instead of Sebastian. The freckled boy had apologised and told you he wouldn't forget your gesture, you'd both heard it. But then he moved on quickly and eagerly, wanting to explore the next room. You and Ominis stayed behind.

You nodded, licking your trembling lips before answering him. "That pain - it was excruciating... But yeah, I'm fine... I'll survive. Thanks, Ominis." He would've touched your hand, your shoulder or your back, just to give you a bit of comfort. But he remembered how sensitive his entire skin felt after the curse's effect had worn off. The pain felt as if it came alive with every extra and unwanted touch.

"Can you get up?" He asked you, suddenly aware of the fact that the door might close again and trap you two inside. He wouldn't be able to do what Sebastian had done to you. And accepting another round of Crucio, even after all those years? Highly unlikely.

"Yeah... Can you help me up a little? My legs are still shaking a bit."

"Yes, of course. Here." He placed his hand palm up for you and you gently grabbed it before tightening your hold on it. It was warm, though you could feel how cold his fingers were. You wondered if he was just as scared to be in Salazar's Scriptorium or if it was about the Cruciatus Curse. You both got up and breathed out, still feeling some of the pain resurfacing with your movement.

"Okay... All good. Thank you, Ominis." He only nodded and you smiled at him before you both faced the exit of the room. You looked down and gulped. Noctua's bones were still on the ground, forgotten and damp for who knows how long. You felt terrible about her fate, especially knowing how kind she was to Ominis and how much she meant to him. You couldn't help yourself.

"Hey, Ominis..."

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering... I hope you won't be upset with me for this... But..." You stopped talking, wondering about how to word your tentative request.

"What is it?" He asked you, distantly hearing Sebastian marvelling at whatever he had found in the next room.

"Your aunt, Noctua... Would it...be okay if we finally got her out of here? And give her a proper burial? It doesn't feel right to leave her here, in this damp, dark and scary place." Ominis froze at your words.

He couldn't see anything - not the darkness, the door with the agonised faces, whatever lay ahead... But he could feel the oppressive air and the dampness of the entire place. How terrified must she have been in here, by herself, knowing there was no escape for her because she was all alone? Knowing that there was no one there to hurt or who would hurt her so she would escape? He couldn't bear to think about it. He just hoped she was in a better place and watching over him.

"Ominis? I'm very sorry for bringing it up. I was really disrespectful just now. I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's okay. Let's... Let's get her out of this terrible place. Please." You'd read and given him his aunt's letter, unprompted by anything but the desire to give him some closure regarding his aunt's untimely death. It almost seemed to be burning the inside of his pocket. And now you were kind enough to think about her - someone you'd never met and a complete stranger.

And Ominis couldn't help remembering his aunt the way he remembered her. Her perfume. Her gentle touch whenever she would caress the top of his head as he told her something new he'd learned that day. When she'd play the piano for him. Or read to him. Even when they'd go out with the rest of the family and have a very rare outing that didn't end up terribly. Her praises and kind words were the only good ones he'd ever heard from someone in the Gaunt family.

He heard you say 'Accio' and heard the noise of the bones as they rattled and lifted off the ground, his stomach going up in knots. You quickly took off your coat and put the bones inside, making sure to keep them safe until you were out. Then you grabbed Ominis' hand, gently pulling him along into the Scriptorium. You felt as if he needed the contact. And you weren't going to lie, you needed it, too.

~

Once you were back outside into the hallway of the dungeons close to the Slytherin common room, you and Ominis breathed a sigh of relief. Sebastian seemed to be full of adrenaline and bid you good night before promising to send you an owl the moment he found something worth looking into. Which left you and Ominis in the dim light of the quiet corridor.

"Ominis?" Your voice was quiet, as you'd been in deep thought while carrying Noctua's remains.

"Yes, MC?" His voice was equally quiet, just as lost in thought as you. He turned to you, his wand at his side as it faintly pulsed red.

"Have you thought of a place?" Ominis stayed quiet, looking at the ground. Considering his lack of sight, it was a bit hard to think of a specific place. But he did think of something else.

"Not really... But I do believe I know what she would've liked." You perked up, unable to stop the smile from overtaking your lips. "She liked the Black Lake. She said it calmed her whenever she'd take a walk around it, whether by day or night. She claimed she had seen both the merpeople and Giant Squid. Apparently, she managed to tickle its tentacles on a few sunny days, when it allowed her and she even fed it a few times." He briefly chuckled, the sound making you smile wider and look at him fondly. You were glad at least one person in his family was able to offer him some good memories as a child. "I don't know how true that is, but I'd like to believe she was honest about it." He was quiet again, seemingly searching his memories with a little smile on his face. "Unfortunately, the layout of the Black Lake's surroundings and views are a pretty foreign concept to me."

You hummed. "Well, I think I know a place. It's pretty high up, on a cliff, but it's overlooking both the lake and Hogwarts. I've been there a few times. And based on what you've told me, I think she would like it."

"Then let's go." He began walking and your eyes widened as you ran to catch up with him.

"Right now? But it's past curfew. What if we get caught? It wouldn't matter too much to me, I can get out of it. But I wouldn't want you to get into trouble." Ominis chuckled.

"You almost sound like Sebastian." His words made you blush a little, feeling as if your friend's rebelliousness had rubbed off on you. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine. Now come on."

"Okay...we're here... Phew..."

You two walked through the castle and outside, making a brief stop at the caretaker's rooms to get a shovel. Then it was around the lake and up the hills until you reached the cliff.

The wind was strong and cold, despite it being the end of spring, and you two had been holding hands for the better half of the journey. You told yourselves that it was so none of you would trip and fall. Thankfully, neither of you could see the other's flushed face. You panted while Ominis breathed in the crisp air, both of your robes flying behind you from the wind. It almost felt as if it could knock you back if you weren't careful enough. Though with how tight you and Ominis gripped each other's hands, you doubted it would happen.

"What does it look like?" He asked you, a little winded and wishing he could see.

"It's pretty dark, unfortunately, though I think the moon might come out from behind the clouds later. The lake is shining and it's calm. The water shines as it ripples and the lights of the castle look really small from here and cosy. Kind of like Hogsmeade. Everything looks like it's ready for a postcard." Ominis smiled at your description, trying to imagine it. He wondered if his aunt had ever been there and if she'd like the place you both chose.

You found a nice spot beneath the shade of one of the nearby trees with a picturesque view and started digging. At one point, Ominis took over until you deemed the hole to be deep and wide enough for the burial. You conjured a beautiful ornate box and placed Noctua's remains neatly before closing it softly. Then you turned to Ominis.

"Ominis? Would you like me to-"

"No, I... I'll do it. Thank you." You passed the box to him before watching him kneel and place it in the hole. You heard Ominis mumble something and turned away, trying not to eavesdrop on whatever he was saying. Then he got up and picked up the shovel, burying the box. When he was done you came to his side, your hand going to his back and rubbing comfortingly.

"Did she like flowers?" You asked him, looking at his face and eyeing both the little constellation of moles on his cheek, as well as his unique eyes. He only nodded, looking at you with raised eyebrows. "Then, may I try something?" Again, another nod from him.

You took your wand out and pointed it at the disturbed soil. Wordlessly, you moved your wand upwards, a soft sound erupting from it as colourful flowers appeared and bloomed. Now they covered not only the grave, but the area surrounding the tree as well, to make it appear a little more natural. It was also in case anyone wanted to take some flowers.

"I heard a sound. What was that?"

"Wildflowers. Professor Garlick told me about this spell and I liked it enough to ask her more and research it so I could learn." Ominis smiled and nodded, bending to touch the petals tenderly before he straightened up. He was sure they were beautiful and that Noctua appreciated them, too.

"Thank you, MC. For everything up until now." You only grabbed his hand in response and smiled, feeling him squeeze back.

A few minutes later, you both started walking back towards the school still hand in hand, the moon now illuminating your path as a gentle breeze blew by.

[artimeanatheart]

Aaron Character Analysis-Quests Book Two Part One

I read this book, cried in public, and then didn't touch Quests for three years. I'm very glad I picked the series up again, but this book is probably the hardest one in the whole series for me to read because that ending. But this isn't about that. This is about Aaron, and his parts in this book are towards the beginning, which is slightly less sad than the end.

He's less happy now. . .

Aaron's still a pretty minor part of this book. His major role here is to give Alex some support (which Alex really needs). So let's start with that.

"'Tell me what happened,' he [Alex] cried. 'Tell me everything.' Then he slid off the edge of the bed to the floor and crumpled there, sobbing. 'Go get Aarrron rrright away,' Simber ordered Thatcher."

This is really the only book in Quests where we get to see how Alex and Aaron's relationship has progressed since the end of Island of Dragons. Back then, their bond was still something that was pretty new for both of them. They were still getting to know each other. Now though, they both have this deep understanding and love for each other. The first thing that anyone thought of when they had to break the news about Thisbe and Sky to Alex was to get Aaron, partially because Aaron is close with Thisbe and Sky, too, but also because Aaron is the only person left in Artime who can give Alex the support he needs. He's there for his brother when no one else can be.

"In the depths of these thoughts, Alex's face crumbled. Aaron sensed his brother's mental war and came to sit with him on top of the desk, putting his arms around his twin to comfort him. 'We're going to get through this,' he whispered. Alex took a deep, shuddering breath and blew it out. Then he nodded. 'All right. I'm okay. Thanks. Let's keep going.' Aaron kept an arm around Alex's shoulders and tried to stop his own tears from returning."

It's so satisfying seeing how far their relationship has come.  This is the relationship that has been driving the series since book one and the dynamic that really pulled me into the series. It's so beautiful how much they care about each other. This wasn't something that either of them thought would be possible following Island of Silence.  It's something Alex dreamed about ever since he was first purged, and something Aaron couldn't even identify that he needed back then.  And here they are.  Supportive, close, understanding.

"Kaylee nodded. 'Just so you know, I've talked to Aaron about it. He said Alex gets to decide these things because he's the one taking responsibility for you. He thinks Alex is saying no because he can't bear to lose anyone else, and I gotta be honest, I can't fault him for caring. Still, Aaron tried to convince Al to let you go, if that makes you feel any better.'"

Aaron's also respectful of Alex's boundaries. He doesn't push Alex to talk to him about anything Alex isn't ready to talk about and he also always defers to Alex in matters pertaining to Fifer and Thisbe. He knows that Alex is the one who raised them, so Alex is the one who gets the final call when it comes to what they get to do, like not letting Fifer go on the rescue mission. Speaking of, why wasn't Aaron more involved in raising Fifer and Thisbe? I think there are a couple reasons. First off, Aaron knew at the end of Island of Dragons that he wanted to live on the Island of Shipwrecks with scientists (and Kaylee). I think he'd also be able to recognize that a barren shipwreck island is not the best place to raise a couple of hyper-active children. Also, Aaron knew that he wasn't in a place mentally at that point where he could take charge of raising his sisters. He knew that wouldn't be good for him, or for them. I'm sure he helped Alex out quite a bit and would have been happy to help more whenever Alex asked. But that would require Alex asking for help and Alex is really bad at doing that.

"'She [Florence] looked at Alex and Aaron. 'Have you decided on whether to let Fifer go? She's really so powerful. With a little training she could-' 'She's definitely not going,' Alex said, interrupting her. Aaron gave him a look. Alex glared back at him. 'No.' He turned to Florence. 'No!' he said once more."

Anyways, Aaron clearly thinks that Fifer should go on the rescue mission. He disagrees with Alex's decision to exclude her and lets Alex know as much, but still leaves the final decision about what to do up to Alex. Although I doubt he was upset when Fifer followed Alex on her own. I wonder if he suspected that Fifer would find a way to go. Aaron understands that having Fifer along would both be good for her and Alex's relationship and helpful from a planning perspective. Remember: Aaron is smart. He knows how to plan stuff and think things through. He knows that having someone along who's very willing to go and who knows the layout of the market could come in handy. He also knows what the bond between twins is like and doesn't have all of Alex's issues clouding his judgement. He knows that Fifer knows Thisbe better than anyone else and that she'll be more motivated than anyone else to find her twin.

"'Hmm,' Aaron said. 'That's a lot of area to cover. I was also wondering if we would want to bring Seth with us since he knows things.' Carina startled, then glanced at Sean. 'I don't know about that.'"

Another interesting thing to note is that Aaron is also the reason that Seth gets to go on the mission. He's the one who suggests to Carina that having Seth along could be helpful. He doesn't push and leaves the final decision up to Carina-and Sean, I suppose, but we all know who has the final say in that relationship. I think it speaks to Aaron and Carina's very understated friendship that Carina doesn't immediately shoot down the suggestion, takes some time to think on it, and decides that Aaron's right. She values his input enough to take it seriously and he trusts her judgement enough to leave the decision up to her.

"After a while he reached for Fifer's hand and held it. He studied it, watching how her long thin fingers curled naturally in his. He felt like he was drowning and kept trying to surface long enough to let some of his emotions out, but he could barely breathe."

While all of this is going on externally, Aaron is also dealing with losing people he cares about. He's just a lot quieter about it and puts the well being of his other loved ones before his own well being. But unlike in the previous book, we do get to see into Aaron's head so we do get some insights into how he's actually feeling. Of course, one of his first responses to the news is to repress his emotions, because how can someone raised in Quill not do that? Importantly, though, he is aware that he's repressing his emotions. It's less of a 'he's not allowed to feel these things' and more of a 'he'll deal with them later when he has time time in private' type of thing.

"'They've been forced to grow up like we did, Al,' he said, looking over his shoulder to where Alex sat. 'All in one day. Separated and everything.' Then he shook his head, and the tears began. 'This is their Purge.'"

He's also definitely projecting quite a bit onto his sisters. He compares their situation to his and Alex's purge. In a way, he's right. The purge was the first time he and Alex were physically separated. This is the first time Fifer and Thisbe have been apart. What's different here, though, is that Alex and Aaron had been distant from each other emotionally for years before their purge. The purge was just the first time a clear divide was put between them. Fifer and Thisbe have always been closer to each other than anyone else, up until this point. For them, this isn't just a physical separation: it's an emotional separation. It's a time when they grow distant from each other for the first time and form bonds with new people.

"He was quiet for a moment, thinking back to when the governors of Quill had taken Alex away while he stood there watching and thinking his life would be the better of the two. How wrong he'd been. 'But which of them is me,' he added softly, turning to Alex, 'and which is you?'"

Aaron is also projecting his own feelings of regret for how things went down between him and Alex onto his sisters. He explicitly wonders which one of them is Alex and which one is him, which is actually something he's been doing since Island of Dragons. The answer, of course, is neither: they're their own people and both have a combination of Alex's, Aaron's, and their own traits. What Aaron's really getting at here though is that he's worried one of his sisters is going to do things she'll regret, like he did. He really hasn't made a lot of progress towards forgiving himself. He still feels a lot of shame for his past actions and hates who he used to be. The self-hatred part isn't made explicit yet, but the groundwork for those feelings has already been laid. And it actually was laid mostly in the latter half of Island of Graves, with his comments about how he wouldn't blame Alex if he let him drown or how he'd want to tear his own head off if he joined Gondoleery. Here those hints are just becoming a little bit less subtle.

"'Wait,' said Alex, holding up his hand. 'You don't know the deadly verbal component to scatterclips, do you? I only ask because . . .well, talk to Aaron about that sometime.'"

We also see this in the way that, while Alex is able to joke about the things that happened when they were younger, Aaron isn't. There are a couple times in the first two books of Quests where Alex jokes about the time that Aaron almost killed him, but we never see Aaron joking about it. Alex forgave Aaron within a couple of weeks. Over a decade later, Aaron still hasn't forgiven himself.

"Alex hugged his brother, patting him hard on the back, and the two spoke earnestly and quietly for a moment."

The last actual appearance Aaron makes in this book is when he's saying goodbye to Alex before Alex heads off to rescue Thisbe. Which is the last time they see each other alive. It's a goodbye that neither of them knew would be their final goodbye. We never get to see their last words to each other. Which, on one hand, I desperately want to know. On the other hand, it's kind of sweet that we don't get to see them. These are two characters whose whole lives are on display for everyone to know, including us. But this gets to be the one major moment between them that remains private, just for them.

"And his mind kept going back to his youth, to when he'd said good-bye to Alex for what he'd thought was the last time, at the Purge."

And even though they don't know that this is the last time they'll see each other, they both still know that it's a goodbye, for now. Which is interesting because Aaron's first line of dialogue in the whole series, and the first line of dialogue in the series period, was him saying goodbye to Alex. Goodbye was the first thing they said to each other on page and likely the last. In book one, Aaron said goodbye to Alex as Alex went off to his presumed death for what he thought would be the last time. In this book, Aaron said goodbye to Alex as Alex went off to his actual death for what Aaron thought would only be a temporary time. Ouch.

"'Because I saw bits and pieces of the Alex from Lani's books for the first time. And I feel like I know you better now.' Alex stopped walking and stared numbly at the ground cover. 'I haven't read them,' he confessed. Fifer stopped too and faced him. 'What? How could you not?' 'It was too hard.'"

Later in the book, we learn that Alex, for very in-character reasons, has never read the in-world equivalent of the series. Which brings up the question: Has Aaron read the books? I don't think this question is ever addressed in the series, but I think that the answer is yes. Aaron is not the type of person to hide from his past, even if confronting it is painful for him. I think he would feel like he has to read the books, as a sort of a 'bearing witness' type of thing. He can't change what he did in the past. The only thing he can do is remember the pain he caused so that he doesn't forget it and never does anything like that again.

Speaking of the books, it must be so hard for Aaron to live in a world where literally everyone knows about his worst moments. Aaron is a very private person. He's not the type of person who will share his innermost thoughts and concerns with the world on a daily basis. He does have a couple people he's comfortable being vulnerable with, like Ishibashi, Kaylee, and Alex, and he's content with that. He doesn't need a large circle of friends. He doesn't need everyone to know how he's feeling at every moment. He just needs the people he's closest to to love and support him.

However, he's in a situation where everyone on Artime either lived through the events his actions caused or has read stories about them. He has no personal privacy on Artime. Everyone there has judged him, for better or worse, without even knowing him. No wonder he doesn't seem to spend much time at Artime. But he also doesn't feel like he deserves that privacy. He owes it to the people he's harmed not to hide away his actions.

That's also part of why Aaron's relationship with Kaylee is so special. But that will get a post all its own.

[glitch-but-ya]

The hearth that burns through the winter’s frost.

Featuring: Wriothesley

Tags: Angst, backstory, sfw, headcanon, reader isn’t mentioned, drabble, no ships, Sigewinne mentioned

TW: Mentions/descriptions of blood and gore, violence, mentions of death and murder

Summary: Memories from the past resurface in the duke’s mind every now and then. On frosty nights like this, Wriothesley is reminded of the fire from which he was born anew, and the bloody past he is now forced to put behind him. Although, luckily for him, this time, he does not have to bear his burdens alone.

!!Spoiler warnings for Wriothesley’s backstory and story quest!!

Wriothesley was used to the cold. For the longest time, the cold was all he knew. The sheer emptiness of winter resonated with him in a way he would have never anticipated. The roaring frost that froze his heart, the perilous blizzards that screeched and howled, and the stillness of it all after the storm had passed. His love for winter was not misplaced. Winter was a reflection of the cycles of his life. From the moment he was abandoned as a child to the blood-stained podium he stands on today, everything in his life was foretold by the vindictive rhythm of winter. And it was only now that he regained some control of his life.

The one thing Wriothesley could not foretell was his future. How can a boy unwanted by his own parents at birth ever experience the warmth that is love? He believed he wasn’t worthy of it. His hands were coated with crimson. And no matter how hard he rubbed, the blood wouldn’t come off. How could a man like him—an ex-convict, a criminal, and a murderer—ever be chosen and cared for? He was sure that the lack of love he’d grown up with would accompany him on his journey and lie with him on his deathbed.

The first person to shatter his belief was the head nurse. The adorable and juvenile-looking Melusine that had secrets of her own and a past as concealed and dark as his. Wriothesley was only a boy when he first met her. It had been an inevitable meeting, and a horrible setting for a first-time encounter. With a busted knee and bearing one of the many visible scars he now has across his neck, he limped into Sigewinne’s office helplessly. He remembers the way Sigewinne’s countenance distorted: the way her nose scrunched, her pupils contracted, and the mournful noise that escaped her lips.

It was a normal reaction. Anyone who had the honor of witnessing a child half beaten to a pulp would react in the same way. Perhaps, they would react even more dramatically.

The next series of events unfolded swiftly and remain a blur in Wriothesley’s fading memory. But from the fragmented memories scattered about, he can recall the desperation in Sigewinne’s voice. “My goodness, he is a child!” she cried. The worried scoldings and swift dragging about soon followed. And when he reopened his eyes, he was born anew with a wretched scar trailing down his neck up to his chest.

Then began the interrogations, to which Wriothesley had not responded in kind. He admits now, looking back, the harsh verbiage he used was quite immature and indecent of him. But to his defense, how could a delinquent like him know of decency? Throwing his fists was all they taught the children on the streets. It was a cold reality he was forced to adapt to after escaping his home. There, he learned how to pick fights and how to construct weapons from scratch.

That was the life he belonged to. That was the life he deserved.

But then why was she looking at him with those eyes? Why did she take all his words and not fight back? Why did her head droop with shame, as if the sight before her was the most miserable she’d ever seen? Wriothesley couldn’t understand why the Melusine cared so much. He was an orphaned kid, bound to a life of violence and fated to an abrupt end in a dark, cold alley, all alone. He’d never seen someone cry over scrap metal.

Sigewinne gently wrapped the cast around his knee, her eyes never leaving his face. “What are you in for?” she inquired. Wriothesley turned his head away. “Murder,” he replied, “killed my parents.” Contrary to the reaction he’d expected, Sigewinne said nothing. He studied her face for a moment, checking for any signs of disgust or disdain. But he found nothing. She simply continued to tighten the cast around his knee.

After what felt like a decade, Sigewinne looked up at the boy. “Why?”

“Why would I tell you?” he scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. “What’s in it for me?”

“The boy that picked on you. He was a former patient of mine. An unruly one at best.” With newfound sincerity, she gazed deep into Wriothesley’s pale blue eyes. “I’ll bring him to justice. I will make sure he is punished.”

A secret Sigewinne would never tell Wriothesley was that her offer held two purposes. One, to deliver justice where justice was due, and two, to ensure that the boy before her did not go down a dangerous path in search of vengeance. It was only after Wriothesley had become the Duke that he finally understood the double meaning behind her actions.

The offer seemed to tempt the boy. “Fine,” he muttered. “But if you go back on your word, I will make sure you meet your end.” To his threat, Sigewinne only giggled. “Sure, it’s a deal, then.”

From that day onwards, the little Melusine never left Wriothesley’s side. She would watch from afar as he hammered the crooked contraption, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He knew she was watching, and his attempts at scaring her away sparked the same results. Sigewinne was persistent; that he could tell. Though his predeveloped mind could not fathom why she cared.

Eventually, she left him no choice but to resign himself. And so, Sigewinne became a vital part of young Wriothesley’s everyday life. When he had overworked himself, she would appear, clutching one of her disgusting milkshakes. Every time someone bigger dared to pick on him, she would barge in and break up the fight. And when he grew strong enough to fight in the ring, Sigewinne would be there, standing by the entrance and patiently waiting for him the moment his match ended.

Wriothesley grew up with her. She was a mother to him, despite her small, childlike appearance. Sigewinne raised him, and Wriothesley is forever indebted to her for the selfless care she had shown him all his life in the Fortress.

Even when Wriothesley overtook the Fortress of Meropide, Sigewinne stayed. And to repay her for her years’ worth of kindness, he built Sigewinne her own office—a place where she could change more lives, just as she’d changed his.

Wriothesley held a new belief now. The belief that Sigewinne would be his first and last friend. The belief that his position as a Duke would not attract any more unfortunate people. And alas, his belief was shattered as a flock of people stormed into his heart, desperately chipping away the frost that concealed it.

Perhaps, he did not need to hide any longer. It’s still a thought in its early stages—a thought that required more consideration. But for now, he cannot deny the warmth that began to slowly emerge. Like a bucket of paint splashed across the frames of his monochromatic life, colors suddenly sprang free, and life bloomed. There are parts of him that have not yet (and cannot) be defrosted. But they will learn. The flowers will learn to live in harmony with the ice. The winters will still persist, and spring must harmonize with it.

Despite all that, Wriothesley knows that if he were ever to fall, there would be people to push him back on his feet.

For now, though, he’d like to sit back and enjoy the warmth of the hearth that burns through winter’s frost.

[fortheloveof-sebastian]

Find Sebastian: Part Two

Pairings: Sebastian Sallow x F!Reader, Anne x Ominis

Summary: You've, somewhat hesitantly, agreed to join Anne and Ominis on their quest to find Sebastian. Not only is Ominis furious at you, but Anne refuses to talk to you. Add all of that up with a surprise from an unwanted visitor, and your journey commences with quite an interesting twist.

Warnings: (spoilers for Hogwarts Legacy) arguing, fighting with wands, minor violence, blood

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: Please make sure to read Part One first! There will be a third part, and I believe an alternate ending as well🤔

“Here. Catch.”

The blackberry arcs through the air. You catch it, and the splash of juices explode on your tongue as you pierce the bumpy skin of the fruit. Nothing tastes sweeter than the look of delight on Sebastian’s face, however, and when you kiss him — enthralled by him, by his company — his lips are smeared with the sticky purple juice.

“Your turn,” you say, grabbing a blackberry from the wicker basket.

Classes were dismissed early for the day on account of the nice weather, thought you suspected it had more to do with the faculty party the night before; none of the professors appeared to be in the mood for the usual antics of the students. Not that you minded. It resulted in a chance for you and Sebastian to leave school grounds and plan a picnic.

Currently, you lounge beneath the shade of a massive oak tree, the red and white checkered blanket you found soft under your touch. Sebastian lays on his side. He discarded his robes and vest quite some time ago, and now wore his white button-up with with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and first few buttons undone. The peek of the tanned, freckled skin drove you wild.

“Mm,” Sebastian says in reply to your challenge.

Instead of catching the blueberry in his mouth like you intended, he leans forward and closes the space between you. You held the blackberry aloft, and he purses his lips around your fingers to take it, his tongue darting out to swipe the residual juices.

The action sent molten lava straight to your core. Suddenly, you aren’t that hungry for blackberries anymore.

Sebastian grins at you. It’s infuriating, the way he knows the effect he has on you.

You wish desperately that you could compose yourself around him, but his presence — the mere thought of him — made you weak in the knees. It certainly wasn’t an attribute that you found necessarily compelling about yourself. It was frustrating on the best days, devastating on the worst one.

A dangerous game it was, someone knowing exactly how much of a hold they had on you.

You wake with your fingers touching your bottom lip, as if remembering the taste of the blackberries and the pressure of Sebastian’s lips on yours. Blankets rustle and fall to the side as you climb out of bed and pad across the floor.

The memory had been almost a year ago.

Hogwarts offered for you to stay over the summer. You had nowhere else to go — no family, and you had planned to stay with Professor Fig, but that had been unceremoniously halted by his unexpected death. You heart aches at the thought of your mentor. The only comfort you had was provided by the notion that he was hopefully reunited with his wife, who you never had the opportunity to meet.

You gaze in the mirror.

Your hair clouds messily around your head. Dark circles are punched beneath your eyes, and you’ve lost considerable weight. It haunts you, your dream, and the last lingering memory of how strongly Sebastian effects you.

He had been missing for a few weeks and you were already falling apart.

Discomforted, you turn away from the mirror.

No one greets you in the Slytherin common room like they would’ve during the school year, at least before the incident. Vaguely, you’re aware that Ominis lurks somewhere close. Hogwarts also extended an invitation for him to stay since it’s common knowledge that his family is less than amicable, and it’s proven to be extremely awful considering that he actively goes out of his way to avoid you.

It should be interesting to go on an indefinite trip with him and Anne, who only just yesterday scathed you with her tongue.

Dread opens inside you.

Were you really going to do this?

You quickly dress yourself and set aside a few extra outfits into a bottomless bag. You’re not sure how long you’ll be gone or even what the plan is. The longest would be until classes start, you suppose, but you can’t bring yourself to think of Sebastian being gone for that long. His absence exists within you like a dark, slick organ sliding around.

The effect of rippling water plays against the ground besides the window to the lake. It soothes you, strangely. You stop and stare.

Usually, Ominis would be here, waiting to con first years.

You feel a lump rise in your throat. What would you even say to each other? There was so much and nothing at all.

But he couldn’t hate you that badly, right? He did invite you along with the search.

Instead of flying, you decide to use Floo Flames to travel to Feldcroft. It only serves to further twist your stomach, though, and you allow yourself a moment of calm before plunging yourself headfirst into what you can only assume is going to be a catastrophe.

Smoke puffs out of the chimney. You knock, but push your way inside without waiting.

It’s clear that you’ve interrupted an argument between Anne and Ominis; a distinct tension hangs in the air, and even though you had only just arrived, you get the feeling that they were talking about you.

“Hello,” you say.

Anne’s face tightens like a face. Ominis’ sightless eyes slide in your direction. “You’re here.”

“You don’t pretend like you’re so excited to see me,” you say, slinging your bag to the floor. It’s strange, entering into a space that carries so many memories become hostile.

“We weren’t pretending,” Anne deadpans.

An awkward silence follows.

You shuffle your feet.

“Well we better get going,” Ominis says finally. He’s dressed impeccably as always, straw colored hair styled away from his face. Anne moves to collect their bags.

“Wait,” you say. “Go where? We haven’t talked about —”

Anne snaps, “We already did.”

“Without me?” Your eyes widen in surprise, then narrow as your brows knit together. “I thought you asked me to come so I could help.”

Anne scowls. You remain rooted in place as she storms past you, knocking into your shoulder with exaggerated intent.

The door slams behind her, leaving you and Ominis — the first day you’ve been alone since the day of the incident.

He sighs in a resigned manner. “She doesn’t want you here.”

“Really? How’d you guess?”

Ominis clicks his tongue. “I invited you because I figured that you might, possibly, get us closer to Seb — to him.” His name gutters in Ominis’ throat. He swallows. “Although I will say that if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“What are you trying to imply?”

“I think you know,” Ominis all but hisses. “You were the one to encourage his silly fantasies. If you would’ve just stopped him before —”

“Me?” You echo in astonishment. “I’m not the only one to blame here.”

Ominis’ mouth pulls down in a frown. “I tried to stop him. I told him that it wasn’t safe, that it was going to lead him down a dangerous path. And now look where we are.”

“We both know once Sebastian gets something in his head that nothing will stop him, not even a graphorn.” Rage simmers in the pit of your stomach, boiling your veins. “And both of us were there.”

“You know what my family did to me, what they made me do,” he fires back. “And now the Dark Arts have taken my best friend too. I wish we never would’ve met you, because then none of this would’ve been happening!”

His words stun you into silence, an icy balm on your raging emotions.

Your voice is strained, apologetic, “Ominis —”

“Don’t.” His jaw clenches. Softer, he says, “Don’t.”

Your hand drops to your side as he marches past you, his aristocratic features twisted in frustration. You don’t follow him.

You stand there, silence settling over you.

And then tears spring to your eyes.

Ominis never wanted to even meet you. No, you refuse to believe that’s true. Ominis — and Anne — were hurt, and if you needed to be the source for their anger, then so be it. It’s not like you hadn’t already come to the same conclusion.

Your gaze floats over the humble kitchen and dining area. It’s considerably cleaner than yesterday, which you figure is Ominis’ doing. Remnants of breakfast are strewn about, barely touched.

The doors to Sebastian’s room and Solomon’s room are closed.

And for the first time, fear washes over you.

Fear that you wouldn’t find Sebastian. Fear that you would never see him again. Fear that you had found your best friends, your family, and in one fell swoop you were going to lose them forever.

Each footstep feels heavy and leaden as you pivot and walk back outside, the golden fingers of sunlight stretching across the small town. Anne and Ominis stand a few feet away, Anne’s face buried in the crook of his neck as he holds her.

The sight startles you. It’s strangely intimate, and you feel as though you shouldn’t be witnessing it, like walking in on someone undressed.

Anne notices you after a beat and leaps away from Ominis, rendering him quite confused until she whispers an explanation.

You study them. Was something going on between them?

It’s difficult to tell. Anne, as pale and sickly-looking as ever, has no traces of guilt or shame on her face but the grief visible there is enough for you to divert your eyes. Ominis, standing now with his arms crossed besides her, looks as aloof and disinterested as ever.

In an effort to soothe yourself, you reach your hand into your pocket and grasp your wand.

“Let’s go,” you say. “Where to?”

“The Forbidden Forest?”

You stare questioningly at Ominis and Anne, the latter staring up at the darkened treeline in thinly veiled contempt. The bridge stretches between you and it.

“We figured we would start close and then work our way out,” Ominis says. Apparently, Anne isn’t speaking to you.

Doing a poor job of disguising your disbelief, you ask, “Do you really think he would be here?”

Anne shoots you a glare.

You don’t want to offend them, but you can’t quite believe that Sebastian would be hiding all of this time in the forest. Wouldn’t he have gone somewhere…farther?

“We don’t know,” Ominis says. He seems vaguely annoyed with his duties as a liaison. “That’s why we’re looking.”

You bite back your reply.

Well, if that was the case, then let’s check under his bed. He could be there. Or perhaps the Headmaster’s office. You want to say that you need to be more realistic about your approach, but you don’t want to create any more of a chasm between you and the others, so you just dutifully duck your head and follow them into the forest.

Despite the oppressive summer heat, the forest was disconcertingly chilly. You wrap your arms around yourself in a bid to keep warm.

“He could be anywhere,” you say upon arriving at a forked path.

Anne and Ominis share a look. Ominis delegates, “Our first year, Sebastian lost the Dueling Wands championship. He was devastated, obviously. When we eventually found him — we traced the magic from his wand — he was in a cave, practicing.”

You wish it could be that easy. Sebastian either ditched his wand or put an anti-tracing hex on it.

You ask, “Have you not already checked there?”

“We have,” Ominis says. “We saw traces of a fire but no Sebastian. We’re hoping to catch him this time if he’s there.”

Without another word, Anne and Ominis chose a path, it’s importance unknown to you. The conversation subsides to the sound of your footsteps and the faint chatter that’s habitual of the Forbidden Forest. Flashes of light manage to break through the twisted canopy of branches, guiding your way.

It saddens you, slightly, that you hadn’t known this detail of Sebastian’s life.

What else didn’t you know?

The forest closes around you as the three of you continue your hike silently. Flocks of bird scatter, and grazing deer stop to watch you pass. You do your best not to think about all of the other, potentially dangerous animals within the forest, especially with Sebastian at large.

Sebastian was an excellent duelist, of course, but anything could happen out here. A sickening feeling overcomes you at the memory of finding Jackdaw’s tomb. Could Sebastian have suffered a similar fate? Would his ghost be condemned to eternity here, wandering aimlessly?

You shake your head as if to physically dislodge the intrusive thoughts.

No. Sebastian was too stubborn to die. You would find him, and you would find him alive.

“Incindio.” Ominis flicks his wand, burning away a curtain of spiderwebs. You blink. Evidently, you had been keeping pace without keeping attention — the mouth of a large cave gaped before you, eager to swallow you whole.

You watch the last bits of spiderwebs smolder.

“This cave?” You ask. “But there’s…spiders.”

“Come on,” Ominis says.

A small part of you wants to persist that it’s Sebastian who’s afraid of spiders, not you, but, in the spirit of not making things worse, ultimately decide not to argue.

You let Anne and Ominis to go ahead of you. Under your breath, you mutter, “Revelio.”

Traces of ancient magic illuminate several spaces throughout the cave, drawing your interest to each one: the embers still burning, a pouch of galleons, and a bundle of tattered blankets. No definite signs of anyone.

You open your mouth to tell them as much, but abruptly shut it as Anne whirls around.

She addresses Ominis. “We should wait here until Sebastian gets back.”

“It could be all day,” Ominis tells her.

“I know,” Anne says sharply. Her tone softens then, just the slightest amount, as if hoping to reconcile the barbs of her words. “But if he’s here, we have to confront him.” She glances around, her gaze skimming purposefully over you. “We can take shifts. Two of us looking in the forest while the other stays, just in case. Ominis, you and I —”

“No.” You level her with a glare. “I came here to help. If Sebastian is even here. I’ll go first.”

Your statement is met with quiet.

Ominis drops onto a boulder with a significant air of theatrical display. “My feet ache,” Ominis says. He pries off his shoes and massages his feet, though he hardly seemed bothered by them merely seconds before. “These shoes are not meant for…gallivanting around.”

Anne’s hands clench. “Then why did you wear them?”

“Well, if — when — we find Sebastian, I don’t want him to think I’ve sacrificed fashion in the face of his disappearance.”

It’s a shame he can’t witness the absolutely withering looks from his companions.

You turn and march out of the cave without looking back. Fine. You could perfectly well search the forest without any help, as Anne had made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with you.

She should never have told you about Ominis’ insistence on you tagging along. Why did she? It was starting to be ridiculous, her refusal to speak to you as if by doing so she might contract some horrible disease.

There’s a sudden thud behind you, followed by an impassioned curse. “Merlin’s beard!”

You whip around. Anne peels herself off the ground, and before you know, you’re doubling back to help her up. “Careful,” you tell her, because you’re a glutton for punishment.

She glares at the gnarled root protruding from the ground, undoubtedly the one that caused her to trip, and then at you. “I’m fine,” she snarls.

Anne rejects your preoffered arm and plunges into the trees.

You barely manage to suppress an eye roll.

This time as you continue, you comb the ground for any other tree roots or animals that want to eat you. Anne stomps through the undergrowth.

Although she suggested the idea, Anne wasn’t in the right health to be exploring by herself. In fact, you were certain Sebastian would go into cardiac arrest if he found out. But Ominis clearly wanted to force the two of you to talk, which you believe is more of a suicide mission than a bonding opportunity.

You’re broken by your thoughts when you nearly collide into Anne, who has stopped to lean against a partially charred tree. What could’ve done that damage?

“Keep going,” Anne huffs. “I’ll catch up.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“I’m fine.”

You raise a brow. “You know, you keep saying that, but I believe you less every time. If you need a break, just say so.”

“I’m —” she starts again. Her mouth snaps shut. Anne straightens. For someone who can barely walk a few feet without wheezing, she pins you with a convincingly stern look. “I don’t need a break.”

“Okay.” You shrug.

You leave her.

Branches tear and poke at your clothes. What even were you looking for, anyway? For Sebastian to suddenly pop out from behind a bush?

If he was in the Forbidden Forest — which you thought was unlikely — he wouldn’t leave some identifying trail or marker. Anne and Ominis were forgetting who they were dealing with. Sebastian was smart, smarter than his own good. If he wanted to disappear, they would have to try a lot harder than just browsing the forest.

Anne audibly struggles behind you, but you don’t bother stopping, using one arm to hold back a long hanging vine.

She calls your name. It’s only the second time that you react, when her voice thins with panic.

“What? What is it?”

A tangle of branches and leaping toadstool caps obscure your view of her. You double back, cursing the annoying fungi, and stumble upon Anne looking in disgust at something near her feet. Upon closer inspection, you realize that she’s stepped in something sticky and foul smelling.

She lifts her foot and the substance stretches with it.

“Troll bogeys,” Anne says.

You grimace. You’re more than familiar with the unagreeable body fluid. “I think you’re right.” Realization dawns on you. “But if those are troll bogeys, then —”

Almost as if on cue, Ominis’ high-pitched, reedy scream slices through the forest and disrupts a flock of teenaged thestrals. Their dark wings soar overheard like a damning omen.

Your gaze locks with Anne’s. “Ominis.”

“Come on!” You grab her wrist. “We have to go!”

If Anne had trouble maneuvering before, her clumsiness is only exacerbated by her panic. You know it’s not her fault, but the longer it takes, the larger the ball of dread in your stomach grows.

You stagger to a halt, effectively halting Anne as well, considering you’d been towing her along.

Heart hammering, you say, “Just-Just stay here.”

“What?” Her eyes flash, so much like Sebastian’s that it pains you. “No, I’m going with you.”

Your teeth audibly grind. “We need to get there now. I’ll come back and find you.” You pause. “I promise.”

Anne searches your face. Perhaps for deception, or maybe truth, and whatever she finds must satisfy her. She nods, once.

That’s all the approval you need.

Legs cycling, arms pumping, you sprint back to the cave. You whip your wand from your pocket. The mouth of the cave is clear. You can’t hear Ominis. Worry burrows into your mind, and you inch forward with caution.

Your eyes gradually adjust to the darkness. The damp, stale smell of the cave presses against you, invading your senses.

Ominis slides against the far wall, quivering, wand grasped tightly in his hand. His eyes are wide.

A massive troll stands between you and him.

You’ve dealt with your fair share of trolls before — your first encounter being with Sebastian — but this one is impossibly larger. Clutched in one hand meaty hand is a massive club lined with spikes, the metal screeching against the stone as it drags behind him, advancing on Ominis.

Without bothering to cast a disillusionment spell, you run forward. “Petrificus totalus!”

It doesn’t work on the troll, of course, at least not completely. But it stuns it and gives you enough time to rush it, slide yourself between its legs, and right yourself in front of Ominis. You know that he’s more than capable of dealing with the abomination himself, but in your experience, it’s always a good idea to have backup when you can’t actually see your opponent.

Ominis says, breathless, “Thank Merlin you’re here.”

The troll snaps from its temporary trance and roars, rattling your bones. “My name isn’t Merlin,” you reply. “And don’t thank me yet.”

“Is Anne here? Where is she?”

“No. She’s somewhere safe,” you tell him, in case that gives him more reason to worry.

Ominis doesn’t get the chance to press for details.

With impressive speed, the troll lumbers toward you, swinging it’s club up to the ceiling. You snatch Ominis away right as the club buries itself in the wall directly where your heads would’ve been. Pebbles and stones rain down on you. Hauling Ominis behind you, you skirt the troll’s hulking figure as it pries the club free.

“The Dark Arts don’t sound so bad now, huh?”

Both of you fire spell after spell at the beast while it’s distracted, bellowing as the magic sears its tough skin.

Ominis’ jaw clenches. “Never.”

In response to your barrage of spells, the troll grabs a boulder with one hand and hurls it at you. As soon as you evaporate it, another one takes it place, arcing through the air.

There’s a flicker inside of you.

It’s hard to describe, the ancient magic that resides within you, an omnipresent force. You imagine it like a fish in dark waters, it’s silvery body flashing as it twists out of sight.

You point your wand upward. At your command, storm clouds gather overhead. The troll has only just reclaimed its club when the storm compacts, rippling with blue energy; using your entire body, you drag down your wand, bringing with it a bolt of the same blue magic. It strikes the troll, it’s subsequent howl rattling the ground.

“Do that again!” Ominis yells.

You smile wistfully. “Noted,” you tell him, because explaining the fluctuating reservoir of your powers is too complicated.

The troll’s entire body shakes as it recovers. It’s giant head tosses back and forth, splattering saliva and crimson colored blood.

“Move!” You shout. The troll lumbers towards you. Ominis jumps to one side while you roll to the other.

He casts another spell at the troll, effectively getting its attention so that it pivots to him.

You curse Ominis’ misguided heroism.

“Wingardium leviosa!” You guide a shattered boulder from the troll’s initial attack through the air, and with a viscous swish of your wand, launch it into the troll’s chest.

“Confringo!” A red burst of magic erupts from Ominis’ wand and assaults the beast.

The troll relentlessly braves your series of attacks, seemingly uneffected by them. Mentally and physically, you gradually lose your gusto, fatigue wearing your mind and your body. It’s an endless dance — the troll rushing you, lobbing rocks, swinging it’s club, and you and Ominis, casting spell after spell and dodging it’s assaults.

Ominis performs an impressive spell combination. The troll staggers backward and, despite yourself, you grin. “Nice!”

Only, Ominis looks less than thrilled. His face, already pale, has been reduced to a ghostly pallor. You zap the ceiling above the troll so that’s it’s distracted, and you run to Ominis’ side, right as he stumbles and collides with the wall before sinking to the ground.

“Ominis! What —” frantically, you tear open his vest to find a bloody wound.

He smiles grimly. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

A million curses spring to mind. You want to ask him how and when, but there’s no time. The troll has batted away the shower of rocks you set upon it, heavy footsteps ringing out through the cave.

You’re not sure how much strength you have left — if only you had a wiggenweld potion handy.

“Protego!” You yell.

A protective bubble forms around you and Ominis as the troll descends upon you. You wrench your eyes shut as the troll hoists its club back over its head and swings it down. When you’re not immediately obliterated into pieces, you risk a peek — the spell has shielded you, but it’s done nothing to deter the beast. It strikes the bubble again and again in increasingly aggressive intervals, rage written clearly on its ugly features.

How much longer could you hold the spell?

Ominis moans, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, over here!"

The three of you — you, the troll, and Ominis —freeze, your attention snapping towards the front of the cave. Anne waves her hands over her head. She yells again, "Come get me!"

Weakly, Ominis raises his head. "Is that—?"

"No," you hastily say. "Just-Just rest. I'll be back, alright?"

Which you thought was what you told Anne, who now has gained the interest of the troll. Apparently both Sallow twins are hard of hearing when it comes to following directions. Blood swells in your mouth, warm and coppery.

You have to stop the troll before it gets to Anne.

Since the goblin attack, her magic had been faulty and unpredictable, rendering her without the use of a wand. An angry troll barreling towards you seemed good enough a time as any to get your wand out, so you can only assume she hadn't brought one at all.

Summoning your strength, you push upwards on the balls of your feet and launch yourself forward.

There's plenty of boulders surrounding you, thanks to the initial attack of the troll and the subsequent ones thrown. You fling one into the air, ancient magic crackling like lightning, and hurl it at the troll.

It's small head twists on his massive shoulders, beady eyes locking on you again.

"Go!" You yell at Anne. "Ominis needs you!"

Ensuring the troll doesn't notice the sickly girl limp her way around him, you rocket another shoulder at it, striking him squarely in the chest. It lets out a bellow so loud that you have to clamp your hands over your ears lest it blows an eardrum.

It's wearing down, you think triumphantly. It just needed one last finishing blow.

You reach out with your ancient magic like an extension of yourself. A blast of blue energy shoots out from your wand. You snag a boulder from behind you and whirl around, flinging it at the troll with a surge of renewed power. Adrenaline pumps through your blood, heady and slightly intoxicating, mingling with the flickers of ancient magic.

The boulder crashes into the troll, who makes an audible oof, then falls motionless to the ground.

You savor the moment of defeat, but only for a second. You run back to Ominis, finding Anne kneeling over him and staunching the wound with her hands. Why didn't you think of that?

"We need to go," you say. You glance over your shoulder. "There's no saying how long the troll will stay knocked out."

Your heart tugs with concern at the sight of Ominis.

Vaguely, you're aware of Anne looking at you, but you can only stare at the crimson blood on her hands. "He needs help," she says.

"Right." You nod dumbly. Like water dispelling off the wings of a bird, you can feel your adrenaline diminishing, replaced by a distinct feeling of panic. "What do we? He can't walk and --"

"I know someone," Anne volunteers suddenly. "I-I go to them on occasion when I get really sick. They can help him, I know they will." Anne glances at Ominis, and then back at you. "Do you know how to apparate?"

[donutsupremacy]

Courage

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Summary

"After completing their journey in Fontaine, the traveler and Paimon decided to return to Inazuma, only to see that the 'Test of Courage' event is being carried out once again. They decide to participate, but an unexpected friend arrives and request for them to sign up as his partner in the event."

Warnings/Spoilers

Written during 4.5

Spoilers for Akitsu Kimodameshi storyline and event (Vers 3.3)

Takes place AFTER the story quests in Fontaine

GN!Reader

Reader is traveller, but may be read while in the perspective of Lumine or Aether as the 'traveler', or yourself as the 'traveler'

Yes Paimon is here

Side characters mentioned

Violence and physical fights

Fluff (fighting doesn't count as angst right-)

Heizou my beloved uwu

Heizou simping for traveler

But I'm down horrendously bad and simp for him too

This is long, very very long

The plot is all over the place

Probably at least 30 inconsistencies in the plot

Not proof read

A/N: Happy birthday to the most handsome, coolest, smartest, most awesome, most stunning, most well-written, most perfect, most elegant, most funny, hottest, most fun, most superb, most cunning, most sexy, most caring, (insert the remaining 300+ compliments)— character of all time in Genshin Impact;

My beloved husband and the father of my children, Shikanoin Heizou <3

Also I think I misspelled 'Traveler' to 'Traveller' about 10 times

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Your romance starts here

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Inazuma City, the sound of usual cheerful chatter lost in the night sky as street lights brightened up the surrounding areas the traveler and their fairy-like companion traversed through, hearing familiar voices call out their names and send them friendly waves, a few welcoming them back to the land of Electro.

This was something they needed. Just a simple walk to help relieve them of the adrenaline experienced back in Fontaine.

From watching a man get crushed to death and clearing a magician's name, to uncovering the truth of the Primordial sea and unmasking Furina's true identity. Not to mention 'The prophecy' that brought in a catastrophe, nearly wiping out the citizens of Fontaine.

"It seems like we're just as popular as ever!" Paimon hummed, her little crown bobbing slightly as she floats by the traveler's side. "I think we've been popular ever since the end of the Vision Hunt Decree." The traveler chuckled, returning their waves and nodding their heads in acknowledgement.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or has a certain someone finally returned to the city just on time for the 'Test of Courage' again?" A familiar, feminine and silky voice purred close by— emerging from seemingly out of no where behind the traveler, their unmistakable appearance of pink fox ears and hair along with the white shrine maiden's outfit. "My... I knew you were a courageous one, or perhaps, it was just coincidence you returned right on time."

"Miko! Long time no see!" Paimon squeaked, the white haired fairy and the traveller greeting her with a wave. "Huh? The 'Test of Courage'?... Again? Wait— you're not planning anything suspicious again behind the scenes, are you!?" The fairy huffed, narrowing her eyes at the pink haired female.

Miko lets out a calm, yet, amused giggle, a hand over her sly grin that was knowingly full of teasings and mischief. "Jumping into conclusions now, are we?... I must admit, perhaps the last event may have caused some... unwanted mayhem, but it was quite enjoyable, no? Ease your worries, you two... That Yashiro rascal took charge of the event. So really, if anything out of the ordinary happened, it would be him pulling the strings behind it, not me... Pity. I would've loved adding in my own 'flair' to the event."

While Paimon was off asking questions after question that suspects Miko's part behind the event, the traveller looks off into the night sky, seeing the sea of stars out of reach.

The first event was quite memorable, it almost felt like yesterday— Walking with their friends in Chinju Forest, meeting those kids, Itto's shenanigans... Chizuru... and a certain someone's investigation.

'Perhaps I can spare some time to catch up with some of them...'

[Timeskip]

Standing in front of the beach, the traveler watches as the surface of the water slowly washes towards their feet, lapping against the sand beneath them, before sinking back further out into the sea. Their eyes traced along the clear blue shore, hearing the sound of waves splashing against stray rocks.

"Paimon remembers Chizuru here... all those memories seem so fresh, like it's only been a day since the last 'Test of Courage'..." Paimon murmured in a solemn tone, as though she had read her companion's mind.

"Yeah... I remember her too— and that wish..." The traveler trailed off, the sound of the yokai's voice echoing faintly in their mind, replaying her wish;

'I wish that every day of your journey ahead will be filled with joy like a festival.'

"Quite a lovely evening, isn't it?." Another familiar voice hummed, the sound of footsteps brushing beneath the sand gradually growing louder towards the traveler.

A pair of lime green eyes met theirs.

"Heizou! It's great to see you again, did you get a commission for an investigation?" Paimon chirped as she and the traveler approached the young detective, whose smile widened upon meeting the traveler's gaze.

"Not exactly... A little birdie told me that the 'Hero of Inazuma' had returned, roaming the streets of Inazuma City. No doubt that title belongs to you, my dear partner." Heizou chuckled as he crossed his arms, his burgundy hair lightly swaying in the wind along with the shore. "I take it you're both here for the 'Test of Courage' event again?"

"We heard about it. Since we're trying to unwind from our journey, we decided it wouldn't be any harm to participate in it again and have fun. After all, what's the worst that could happen? It's not like history will repeat itself." The traveller explained in a half-joking tone, elicting a huff of amusement from the detective.

"When news of that event was being spread around and that you had returned, my intuition told me you'd be somewhere quiet to think about the first event, somewhere also related to them. So I narrowed the place down to the beach— where we confronted and learned the truth about Chizuru's motives." Heizou murmured, shuffling to the traveller's side as the three of them stared out into the ocean.

For a moment, not a single word was exchanged, each of them quietly staring out into the sea— knowing that was the last of their Yokai friend, who now rests above the clouds in peace.

Eventually, the young detective, quietly coughed into his fist, his fingers toying with the collar of his shirt as his eyes met theirs. "...Say, unlike last time, I didn't get to enjoy the event fully, I even dragged you into my work— but now that you're here and I don't have a commission to fulfill... what say we become partners for the event since it starts tomorrow?" Heizou asked, the slight twinge of nervousness barely noticeable in his tone.

Heizou? Nervous? Certainly something rare.

"We are quite a team, after all." Heizou chuckled, the corner of his lips tugging up into a little grin.

The traveler's brows raised, their cheeks tinted a faint shade of pink, hidden underneath the moonlight.

"It's not a problem, we didn't mind helping you with your investigations." They hummed, a soft smile gracing their lips that made his heart skip a beat. It's just as beautiful as he last saw it. "...Though, I'd be honoured to be your partner for the event, Heizou."

Flashing you a toothy grin, Heizou's velvety laughter erupts from his throat. "I should be the one feeling honoured to have you accept my request. I've heard that the prize was a rare geode found deep within Seirai Island. It has a dark grey crust, but supposedly carries [colour] minerals inside."

"Though, i'm not particularly interested in the prize, i'll make sure to do my best so you'll win it— I'd like to see the inside of the geode, and I'd like to see it try to rival that pretty smile of yours." Heizou hummed, sending a wink as his facial features donned a sly smile.

"...Eh?" Paimon glanced back and forth between the traveler and the detective, raising a brow of confusion as she spots her companion's cheeks glow a bright colour, the dark lighting couldn't hide the obvious blush anymore as blood rushed to their face.

"I... uh... look forward... to participating in the event with you..." The traveller managed to stammer out as they avert their gaze, rubbing the back of their nape awkwardly.

"So will I, traveler... so will I..." Heizou quietly mumbled under his breath, facing the ocean but still had the traveler in his peripheral vision— eyes still trained on them as he felt his heart rapidly thumping against his chest at the thought of them. Perhaps he could finally tell them how much they caused his heart to race.

How much he desires to stare into their eyes all day.

How much he wonders how they would feel in his arms.

How much he craves to have their lips on his.

[Timeskip]

It was the day of the event— located deep within Chinju Forest just like before, participants and familiar faces were seen preparing themselves for the event.

"Traveler, there you are." Heizou chirped upon seeing the traveler nearby, chatting with a few friends.

"Heizou! You're right on time— the event's about to start pretty soon!" Paimon said as the traveler bid their other friends farewell and good luck, before shuffling over to Heizou's side, the dim lighting of the forest barely able to hide the suave detective's little grin.

A velvety chuckle slips past his lips. "Sorry about that, I was busy getting some last minute work done. But don't worry, I'm here now with you and that's all that matters." Heizou murmured as he locks eyes with them, a twinkle of excitement at the thought of spending time with them seen in his pupils.

Albeit not alone since they were with Paimon,

"I heard this event is a little different than the one from previous event, they changed the rules a little, no?" Heizou hummed. "There's only one round and you need to find all three items in one fell swoop... seems easy enough, but I wonder if they've upper their games with their scare tactics."

The corner if the detective's lips curved higher up. He knew the traveller was well-known for being fearless and courageous, dueling with Fatui Harbingers, battling against the Shogun, saving nations left and right. He doubts they would be scared by a few measly jumpscares.

But a part of him wished they did, just so they could feel safer as he held them in his arms.

It wasn't long before the shrine maiden had announced the beginning of the event, the traveler and detective catefully navigating through the thick shrubbery and dim lighting, Paimon hiding behind the traveler's back, lightly trembling as soft whimpers left her lips.

"Is... Is it just Paimon, or... does the forest seem more... scarier than last time?..." Paimon uttered out frightfully, her pupils shrinking whenever the softest sound was heard, from their shoes crunching against the grass underneath to the sound of running water flowing nearby.

"It's just the chilling atmosphere of the dark forest and the lack of light, there really isn't nothing more out of the ordinary, Paimon." The detective spoke as dried leaves crunched under his sandals. "Besides, you have the traveler with you here, I highly doubt there's nothing they can handle."

"You flatter me, Heizou." The traveler hummed.

The traveler, Paimon and Heizou roamed the woods, following wooden signs as they pointed to several different directions.

A few odd noises were heard left and right, sometimes voices of other participants speaking from afar, elicting a squeal of terror from the small fairy. In the corner of Heizou's eyes, he could see the traveler's movement jolt at each sound out of surprise, causing his lips to tug into an amused smile. Could they be any more endearing be?

If it weren't for Heizou's quick deductions and keen observation, they wouldn't have been able to found the first item wedged between some rocks. Though, unlike the given item on the list, the three were suprised to find a piece of jewelry stuck beneath the pile of rocks.

"Eh? Weren't we supposed to find a fan?" Paimon asked, her small fingers scratching her head as she looked at the paper in her hands; A fan, a piece of talisman, and the geode— meant to be the final hidden item that only one group could find, declaring them as the winner and sole owner of the geode. "That's a ring!"

The traveler's mouth opened to say something, but their eyes glazed over at the detective for his input. Upon noticing the way his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, olive eyes examining the condition of the jewelry with intense focus. They slowly closed their mouths, leaning in slightly to get a better look at the jewelry, thinking Heizou might have found something odd about it.

Heizou's breath hitches quietly, the way the traveler leans in closer, allowing him to feel the tiniest bit of heat radiating from their body and feel the friction between their skins touching that sent a jolt through his body. He could even see the slightest details on their faces.

He notes every facial features on instinct when it comes to memorising faces of criminals he was ordered to track down, but when it comes to the traveler, he feels like memorising every bit of their pretty face and burn the image into his mind permanently.

'Their skin is... so soft...'

No harm done, he was sure they'd be flattered to know they were the muse of his fantasies. One he had been constantly dreaming of, eager to see their gorgeous smile and hear about all their exciting adventures while they speak in voice that puts him into a trance.

"I... take it you've noticed something odd about this situation?" Heizou eventually asks, the traveler barely able to catch the slight shaky breath he let out.

The ring had an engraving of two letters, though neither of them weren't sure who it belongs to, Heizou couldn't help but noticed it was wedged quite tightly into the rocks and covered in small bits of dirt. It seemed like someone was trying to dig through here, but had accidentally lost their ring in the process.

"If your deductions were correct, we should have been led to the correct item... how odd— I don't see anything resembling a fan anywhere." The traveler hummed. "Could we have been led astray on purpose?"

The possibility of someone else sabotaging the event for their own selfish desires was not off the table at all.

"Are you sure we're on the right path, Heizou? I don't even see any more signs nearby other than the ones we were following!" Paimon huffs, floating around in search of anything.

"Actually, there's one right there." Heizou awnsers immediately as he approaches the river nearby, squatting down and picking up the sign that seemed so lazily discarded on the riverbank.

The traveler and their small companion joined his side, his deft fingers brushing against the wooden surface of the sign before turning it around to examine the back. How odd, it seemed like it was broken off of a surface. "See this small patch behind the sign? I think this... was broken off from there." Heizou points at the nearby tree, having a small piece of it's wooden surface torn off.

He gets up, walking over to the tree and perches the tree upon it's wooden surface, trying to adjust it until the sign fits on the tree. It fits perfectly. "Bingo— so this sign was originally pointing that way." Heizou hummed, jabbing his finger at... a nearby cliff.

The three glanced down at the cliff, noting how it was a long fall and would definitely result in a broken leg. "All the way down there!?" Paimon exclaimed in confusion, before she glares at Heizou with unamusement. "Heizou, did you take too many criminal cases at once that it used up all your brain cells!?"

A velvety chuckle erupts from his throat. "Paimon, not everyone would be so dumb as to leap off a cliff this high up and land with their feet or body." He squats down, pointing at a trail of markings on the side of the cliff. Small indents left on the soil, rocks seeming loose and even a several deep scratches left on the surface. "Someone... or some people have been scaling down the cliff."

"Though, they did a sloppy job— It seemed like someone landed pretty harshly at the bottom." The traveler pointed out, noticing a small pit in the sand at the bottom of the cliff.

The detective chuckles, patting their shoulder. "Good eye."

"Learned from the best." The traveler hummed with a cheeky smile, gesturing to the burgundy haired male, whose pale cheeks flushed a bright shade of red.

To think the traveler was even paying attention to his little techniques on observation, how charming!

Although, scaling down the cliff was no easy feat without proper equipment, the traveller had not much of a problem, having learned to climb even the highest mountains and the steepest hills with nothing but their bare hands. A couple scratches here and there, but it a part of their was a journey, and what's a journey without a few minor injuries?

Heizou, on the other hand, wasn't struggling as much either. For a detective, he was trained to climb rocky surfaces and travel through rough terrains in order to track down criminals or finding hideouts, physical strength may not be his expertise, but he sure knew how to put it to good use.

Paimon... just floats down slowly.

"Seems like they weren't an expert of covering their tracks either. Rookie mistake." Heizou pointed out, noticing several foot prints left on the sand, some messy and some barely visible— as though a group of people had scampered towards one direction in a hurry, leaving a mess in their wake

The trio wasted no time as they tracked the trail, seeming as though it was an endless path that winded further from Chinju Forest. Further away from the actual event area.

"Uhh... is it really a good idea to stray so far away from the forest? Paimon doesn't think the event would stretch out past beyond that cliff area!" Paimon exclaimed, worry and uncertainty evident in her voice, not wanting to get disqualified by a hoax or a decoy meant as a distraction.

"The event doesn't cover this area... however, it seems like we've got a new case here on our hands." Heizou murmured, continuing to follow the trail without a hint of hesitation or doubt in his voice.

The traveler smiled a little at his focused expression, determination to solve even the tiniest bit of mysteries was rather attractive, despite the lack of evidence, he sure knows how to make use of the smallest clues to it's fullest.

The way his brows furrowed, his nose slighty scrunching as he concentrates... even the two moles underneath his eyes moved with each twitch of his lips— Was Heizou ever this attractive when they first met? Or... did he just get more handsome over time?

"I know I'm pretty good-looking, but there's no need to stare." Heizou's voice rang out, forcing the traveller out of their little trance. He chuckles with a hint of a teasing tone, both of their cheeks tinted with faint shades of red. "You can gawk at me all you want later, as long as I get to do the same to you, but I'd appreciate it if you could focus on the task at hand."

"R-Right!" The traveler coughs awkwardly into their fist, hurrying along the trail and walking further than Heizou to avoid letting their flushed face be seen by the suave detective. Meanwhile, Paimon frantically tries to fly faster to catch up to her companion, while Heizou could only smirk a little in amusement.

'So cute...' Heizou muses in his mind.

Eventually, the trail winds up to a cave underneath Inazuma City and Tenshukaku.

"Now, Paimon's sure we're going the wrong way." Paimon deadpans, her hands on her hips as she gave Heizou and expectant look, waiting for either an excuse or a twist.

"My intuition is telling me otherwise." The detective hummed, stroking his chin as he looked around.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary; Ores were growing from the ground, Onikabutos were relaxing on rocks, vines clinging onto the cave walls. "...Let's head in deeper." The traveler suggested, nodding their head towards the pathway. Heizou immediately follows suit, sharing a smile with the traveler in agreement that they had likely sensed something was out of the ordinary.

"Hey! Stop leaving Paimon alone, you two!" The white haired fairy whined, quickly floating towards them.

Upon arriving at a small pocket within the cave, the three were suprised upon seeing a piece of dark grey rock settled on top of a boulder— the prized geode. However, much to their dismay; A thunder barrier was the final obstacle in their path seperating them from victory and claiming the final prize.

Though, it seems like Lady Luck was on their side as a Thunder Sakura Bough was close by, allowing the traveler to receive an Electrograna and enter the barrier. Upon placing the Electrograna into the Thunderstone, the barrier slowly dissipates, allowing entry for Heizou and Paimon.

The traveler gives Heizou another smile, but it falters upon seeing the look of uncertainty on his face. Before the traveler could speak and voice their concern for his hesitation, Heizou mutters out. "This... seems too easy... And why were one of the signs from the event's venue tampered with?"

Voices echoed from outside the cave, followed several footsteps rapidly approaching.

Flinching, the traveler immediately summons their sword as the three turned around, seeing a group of men appearing and blocking the exit. Judging by the attire and weapons in their hands along with the mask on their faces; They're treasure horders.

"Let me guess; You guys were those ore thieves from Seirai Island? The group reported for going around and stealing materials from mine shafts?" Heizou spoke, his voice stern and his glare sharp, every single one of their slightest movements under his scrutiny. "I've heard of you... so you're here to steal the geode, I suppose?"

"Smart kid... But don't act tough in front of your little [S/O]." The supposed leader scoffed, his height towering his grunts, his eyes narrowed with irritation. "We've been after that geode for months! Until you nosy officials stole it right under our noses!"

"Enough talking! Now that you broke down the barrier, hand it over or we're bashing the three of you heads in!" The leader hissed, his sledge hammer propped on his shoulder, muscles flexing with his anger.

"Well... I was hoping we could settle this with a negotiation... But I guess nothing can be accomplished against someone with such a temper." Heizou sighed in disappointment, his burgundy hair lightly swaying as he shook his head, before he cracked his knuckles. He flashes the traveler a grin. "Traveler, mind giving me hand?"

"Always." The traveler hummed, rolling their shoulders to prevent any stiffness in their body. "Paimon, take the geode and find Ayato. Heizou and I will take care of this."

Despite wanting to voice her protest, the little fairy squeaks in a panic as she narrowly dodges a bottle containing Electro, shattering against the wall behind Paimon as glass fragments flew past her. "Paimon, it's fine, we can handle this! Go, now!" The traveler urges, charging towards the bandits with Heizou.

Seeing the brief opening, Paimon reluctantly snatches the geode and swiftly flies out of the cave, leaving a trail of sparkls and symbols in her wake, exclaiming that she would be as quick as she could.

Despite being largely outnumbered, the traveler and Heizou didn't struggle. Sword, shovels and hammers clashed against one another, but the clear advantage from both the traveler's experience in battle and Heizou's strength while using his vision allowed them to take down most of the treasure horders.

A frustrated groan erupts from the leader when he noticed most of his grunts getting knocked out from the fight, his muscles clenching as rage burns in his eyes, throwing the sledgehammer towards the traveler while they were distracted evading arrows from a marksman. Heizou, in the middle of rubbing his cheek donning a small bruise after tanking a punch from a scout, notices the incoming attack.

Just in the nick of time, Heizou leaps into the air and manages to kick a large gust of wind towards the sledgehammer with his vision. He lands, gracefully, watching as the gust of wind not only drags the sledgehammer away, but also pulls in several treasure horders along with it and sending them slamming into the cave wall.

"Well, partner... you're getting rusty— leaving your back wide open for attacks?" Heizou teases, chuckling as he cracks his knuckles, giving a playful smile towards the traveler, who had the marksman pinned down.

"It's a good thing I have a trusty partner to cover for me." The traveler hummed with a cheeky look, their knee digging down into the unconscious bandit's back.

The detective's grin tugs into a smirk, his pale cheeks turning a faint red. "Can't afford anyone to ruin that pretty face with bruises and cuts." He winks, a chuckle erupting from his throat as he see their face growing equally red. Sure, they were in the middle of an all-out brawl, but an opportunity is an opportunity— he wouldn't miss the chance to see those adorable cheeks flush a gorgeous red.

Meanwhile, the bulky leader of the bandits, despite the initial fury he felt earlier— was replaced with the expression of panic.

Realizing his whole squad was laying unconscious on the cave floor, he slowly inched backwards. Sweat forms on his head as he cursed quietly, he was already outnumbered against the pegendary traveler and a powerful detective. "Gotta make a run for it." He turns on his heel, preparing to flee.

"Leaving so soon? I would be more than honoured if you had extended your stay." A familiar voice spoke. Out came Kamisato Ayato, a group of soldiers from the Shogun's Army standing right behind him, armed with their spears and armour. The bandit skids to a halt, raising his hands in defense.

"Traveler! Heizou!" Paimon's voice rang out as she swiftly flies over to her companion, floating around in search of any injuries on their bodies, worry evident on her face. "Oh... you're both alright... But don't even send Paimon out alone ever again!" She huffs.

"We'll take care of the rest from here on out." Ayato spoke. "Excellent work, you three. When I first heard the three of you would team up for the event, I had no doubt in my mind you would not only end up as the victors, but also help with an ongoing issue in Inazuma."

Paimon clicked her tongue in annoyance, stomping her leg in the air like a child. "Will someone please explain to Paimon what happened!? And why are we getting dragged into more shenanigans!?"

The blue haired man chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "I take it the three of you had heard news about a group of ore thieves who had been invading mineshafts and stealing valuable and precious metal?"

"Well, they're well known to move their hideouts frequently after each sucessful heist. Therefore, the Tri-Commissioners have fashioned a sort of trap by using the Courage Event as a guise, to lure out the bandits with a special type of ore we had found." Ayato explained.

"In other words... This whole event was a ruse and a decoy to trap bandits." The traveler said, causing Ayato to nod in agreement.

The white haired fairy groaned, flying up at Ayato's face with a small pout on her features. "By using a public event as a bait that could get anyone hurt? Couldn't either of you commissioners thought of a better decoy!?"

Ayato holds his arms up in defense, letting out an amused chuckle, but held a sheepish look. "Well... it was rather convincing and effective, was it not?"

While Paimon kept blowing up at the face of the Yashiro commissioner, Heizou shuffles over to the traveler's side, lightly tugging on their arm and nodding his head towards the outside of the cave. He dons a playful smirk, and it was enough to convince the traveler to follow him.

Outside, the detective held the prized geode in his hand, waving it. "Well, I wasn't expecting a full-blown brawl to happen in this event, I was... more or less expecting a calmer and fun game with you. Still, in the end— I kept my promise."

The detective hands the ore over to the traveler, allowing them to crack it open using the back of their sword. It splits in half, exposing an array of [Colour] crystals lined within, shining under the sun.

"Man alive... I think it's pretty worth it." Heizou mumbles, his voice oddly quiet and sounding breathless.

"You think? I think it was absolutely worth it!" The traveler, voice laced with excitement, cradling the geode in their hands as each of the crystals sparkled in a hypnotic rhythm.

It wasn't until the traveler lifted their head, locking eyes with the detective, who's lips curved into a soft smile, cheeks dusted with a faint red colour. "I'm not talking about the crystals inside... I'm talking about you." Heizou spoke quietly, seeing the traveler like this never failed to take his breath away.

"It's worth it to see you smile." Heizou adds, leaning in closer to the traveler, drinking in the way the crystals and lights reflected in their eyes.

A blush spreads across the traveler's face, their eyes widening at the close proximity, wanting to lean away at first— before letting out a sigh of defeat as they didn't dare move away, not when the way Heizou smiled and his soft gaze on them was just as addicting to stare.

"...Darn, fell into another trap..." The traveler murmured, averting their eyes out of embarrassment, causing the detective to chuckle. Heizou's hand reached up to held their chin, preventing them from looking away.

Their lips twitched upwards, unable to resist smiling when their faces were in such close proximity between eachother.

"Hey... it's not a trap, I swear!" The detective cooed, a cheeky smile wasn't enough to convince the traveler. "...Well, maybe it is."

The traveler opened their mouth, wanting to retort with a joke— but was soon silenced as a pair of warm lips met theirs.

Soft, sweet, gentle.

It only lasted just a few seconds, yet, felt like a whole decade passed by.

Once Heizou's lips slowly parted from the traveler, a smirk appears on his handsome features seeing their dumbfounded and flustered expression, a part of him wishes to continue.

But maybe he can save them for later. Now wasn't the best place or time, he knew their little companion was probably frantically looking around for the two of them.

"Congratulations, you fell into my trap... You're not my partner anymore. You're my beloved [S/O] now!~" Heizou hummed, his voice laced with both mischief and endearment.

The traveler blinked, still dumbfounded as their brain was trying to process the lingering feeling of his lips on their's. Before their expression morphs into one of fondness and amusement. "...I think that's a nice trap to fall into."

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA Episode 5 - Spirited Away (2/3)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

Combining Zuko chasing Aang in part 2 of the winter solstice with Bato of the Water Tribe and The Blue Spirit was a good move: in only 8 episodes, too many near-misses for him catching Aang could get redundant, so getting June to track him to Roku's temple was a great merging of those lines. While I miss Zuko holding onto Katara's necklace, since Katara didn’t make it to the Avatar temple, it's an ok change for me. It's a convenient way to merge in The Blue Spirit and have Katara and Sokka MIA without them just randomly being sick - they're actually trapped in the spirit world, so their plot is still relevant rather than the 'we're doing nothing but dying of thirst' plot they got in The Blue Spirit episode. Honestly think the way the live-action puts Sokka and Katara on their own journeys during big plot arcs that focus on Aang was really really good. First with the Omashu (animated) episode where they got stuff to do in Into the Dark (live-action) and now here with the Blue Spirit storyline.

I could watch Zuko being horrendously awkward trying to get info in the covert and not screaming orders way for like, 6 episodes. That whole tavern scene was just so freaking hilarious with all the mentions of the side quests from pirates to canyon guides to stopping the volcano! It really felt pulled right from the animated show - paying homage but seeding the themes from those episodes into other part of this live-action story!! Love June's introduction - and I'm so happy they got rid of the weird Iroh and her stuff and just had her compliment him to throw the pair off balance.

So I guess I should address some of the issues people had with June's characterization: I don't think her telling Iroh he was cute (like with Suki and Sokka) was her suddenly simping for an older man and genuinely pursuing him. That is not how people flirt. Take Sokka and Suki - is that how they flirted? Sokka and Yue? Katara and Jet? Aang and Katara in the animated show? Mai and Zuko in the animated show? You know who did flirt like that in the animated show? Tylee with Sokka when they were fighting - only ever when they were fighting. Was that her actually wanting to have a relationship with Sokka - throw out all her own wants to just get with a man? No. It was a way to gain the upper hand in a fight and throw your opponent off balance. With Tylee, she's already a bubbly, cheerful, open person, so we can read that flirtation as flippant and thrown out there because she's confident and not concerned with putting a filter on. With June, she's also confident, but she also is a beautiful young woman bounty hunter who is in a (assumedly) predominantly male field and has to deal with a great deal of strong and dangerous men.

Being incredibly forward with an individual who wouldn't expect to be flirted with is a power move. It's a way for her to assert dominance immediately in the situation - to take the lead and knock them off balance before one of the two men makes an unwanted pass at her. I didn't read her flirtation with Iroh as genuine, or at least, not as her just getting all hot and bothered and rolling over for the pair based purely on the fact that she was attracted to Iroh. She probably is great at reading people and saw that Iroh was marginally decent, so would agree to work with them, but she still wanted the upper hand and control in the situation - she wanted to clearly define her role as someone who was choosing to let them employ her not as a servant to do their bidding. She placed herself firmly above them - there would be no subservience from her. This is also not making June a bad character - it's making her a strong character (strong as in she believes what she believes and is unapologetic about it) it's not 'flipping misogyny into misandry' or whatever, it's showing June has agency. Like with Suki, the live-action gave June an actual character instead of her just being a cardboard cut-out of a Dragon Lady.

Having the lesson being learned in the town be that Zuko needs to stop thinking so rigidly - be prepared to take the unexpected route - was a great story beat to introduce with June. Instead of the plot being straight forward of Zuko sees June = Zuko gets her to track the Avatar and switching it to Zuko being annoyed and insulted that she's a bounty hunter (just as he was insulted that fire nation operatives would fight behind masks and doesn't think his father would approve) and then having to be convinced by Iroh to learn new ways of doing things was a great character building addition.

It's funny to me when people complain 'Zuko didn't say honor ONCE!' when every single action Zuko did - every opinion he voiced - SCREAMED about his honor. What was that again about the live-action telling not showing, not trusting the audience to understand character motivations, and being flat in its characterizations? This very internal integrity - honor - that he has is what's leading him to uphold Fire Nation values and rules so strictly, but it's also the very core honor of his being that will help him turn against his father in the end. It's consistent characterization that's just so wonderful to play with - their core remains the same, but how they interpret it once they have more info changes. And I'm not just saying that because those are my favorite characters to play in DnD! This is a totally objective and unbiased analysis! I swear!

I really loved all the additions with Azula in this season. It really rounds out her character and we see WHY she's as driven as she is in season 2. Seeing her need for perfection, her needing to go above and beyond to do better, and the hint of her blue flame was great. Just like the animated series explores at the end of season 3, no one starts out a 'monster' - they're taught to be that way. I never liked the reduction a lot of the fandom did with Azula and Zuko where Zuko was the one 'born good' and 'like his good mother' while Azula was just 'born bad' because she was the one 'like her father'. People aren't so simple as just being 'born bad'. In the animated series, Azula gets 'humanized' at the very end of the series, but I think showing her striving for the approval of her father - that vulnerability - makes seeing where it takes her in her brutality that much more horrific. We see that she doesn't HAVE to be this way (same with Zuko), but she was pushed to it due to her upbringing - the same as with Ozai and Iroh before Iroh had his loss and change of heart.

I saw some complaints that the spirit world was too bright and cheery here - and uh, I don’t see it? It's super grayed out, misty, creepy af, and ominous. The ONLY time it's colorful and cheery is in Gyatzo's little hut which… yeah, he created that little bubble of happiness - the rest is very in line with its depiction in the animated series.  Obviously sans the giant wolf, but basically it's the same vibe - creepy, ominous, and a perturbed spirit warning them away.

In the animated series, Sokka wants to go out and physically fight Hei Bai and Katara has 100% faith that Aang will figure it out. When Aang is thrown back by the spirit, Sokka runs out to help him fight - something that he mirrors in the live-action as it goes after Katara and he draws its attention over to him. Due to them weaving several of Aang's plotlines together in this episode(s), Hei Bai doesn't get as much time to be the main antagonist which I think is a shame, but with them giving more development to Katara and Sokka during this episode, I think it's ok. If I had to choose between more angry spirit destroying a village and seeing the root of Katara and Sokka's character trauma, I'll choose the character trauma every time. I always did think it was a shame that Sokka spent a bunch of time in the spirit realm and we never got to see/hear anything at all about it - there's a lot to delve into there that the animated show just skipped over.

Love love love Yue in the spirit world as a three-tailed fox! And how she explains Hei Bai's pain - foreshadowing the pain of the ocean spirit after it loses the moon spirit - her small bit of dialogue really sets up a lot with Sokka's growth, the state of the world, and the pain of the spirits (and humans reacting when they go through painful things). So cool that the showrunners used this foray into the spirit world and the fog to do a rendition of The Swamp from season 2 - even down to Sokka seeing Yue! Yeah, it happens differently, but the swamp showed each of our protagonists things in their past - and Aang one of his future (though in this episode it GAVE Aang his future). Very well done, in my opinion.

[charkie-ee]

💚💛❤️ Third Life Series in 2024 (happy 3 years of third life!!) 💚💛❤️

“We’re on a quest for Pizza. I- *zooms in* PIZZA.”

once again, spoilers if you haven’t watched 3rd life smp!!

EPISODE 2: WELCOME TO SANDLAND

. Scar and Skizz are the only yellows on the server as of the start of episode 2

. Grian and Scar’s plan for getting valuables in the series was to steel other peoples items, and then put them in Pizza’s chest to sell back to them.

. The first visitors of Monopoly Mountain (aka Sandland in this episode) are Tango and Martyn!

. Scar gives out his first reputation points to Cleo for their enchanted chestplate! (oh god here we go)

. ‘Grian, get the bucket’ is a very common thing you’ll hear Scar say in this episode. This is the lava bucket Grian uses to threaten visitors of the sand biome, though he is not very successful.

. Scott does not respect the torches that layout Sandland, and steals some sand. Grian does a terrible job of preventing this.

. Scar gives reputation points to Tango for his enchanted leggings! (terrible mistake on his part)

. Grian, “get the bucket”s Joel, which is not very effective.

. Scar gives reputation points to Joel for his diamond sword! Grian is not happy about this.

. Grian tries to convince Etho not to give Scar his shoes, but is unsuccessful.

. Scar gives 10 reputation points to Etho for his enchanted boots! (that are deducted later)

. The magic act Soli-beans-major-littlewood-FANTASTICO! comes to show Grian and Scar a magic trick! (etho is also there) Unfortunately, this magic trick is making a dark oak tree appear! (from the forest mentioned in the last note) Goodbye to that monopoly.

This utter loss gives us, in my opinion, one of the best clips in the entire series;

(NEVERMIND TUMBLR ONLY LETS ME ADD ONE VIDEO PER POST WTF. anyway its the one where the ‘magic’ group leaves and Scar says ‘i’m going to murder them’)

. BigB visits! And I’m going to say something now, because not enough people realize this. Grian always has a different tone with BigB throughout these series. He’s much more soft with him, and does everything to benefit him until they turn red. Take a took at this clip below:

this clip is kind of self explanatory? in a way. for instance Grian talks about desperately needing food, and a few second later, gives BigB a portion of his porkchops despite not knowing if BigB’s has enough food. Keep this in mind when watching Double Life. specifically when Grian tries to ditch Scar to hang out with BigB. They’ve always had that kind of bond since the start of the series.

people who haven’t watched double life, you can scroll past that :-D (i guess its too late now but. ahem. moving on)

. BigB gives Grian the idea to put pressure plates all around their base to scare off unwanted visitors.

. Scar finally calls the Sandland base ‘Monopoly Mountain’ (he said it! he said the thing!)

. BigB drops a diamond for Scar, and before he can try to barter with him anymore, BigB flees with the help of Grian’s cobwebs to slow Scar down.

. BigB gets 50 reputation points for a diamond!

. Grian crashes, and Bdubs dies while he’s logged out

. Grian timelapses building the Desert Tower on Monopoly Mountain! (in the process he also accidentally builds his face on the base lmao)

Also one quick thing— apparently Pizza was presumed dead by other players earlier in the episode. Grian does not film or explain this at all, except at the very end where he says Skizz informed them that Pizza was alive. (theres something about this llama and not getting enough screen time smh. i don’t know where it came from and i don’t know how it died, but its there)

.💚💛❤️.

did i forget anything? reply, or put it into the tags if theres information I missed!!

I will be doing more posts like this for all of the episodes of Grian’s pov. that being said, if i miss something that was said/a scene in a different pov, i will not include that in this post.

thank you for reading and have an excellent day!

.💚💛❤️.