#we tend to trade off days

[madammayh3m]

Day 5: Ferrin is a Queen (and also she gets a baby bat familiar, it’s real cute)

It’s a hill... it’s Yester Hill! Plot shit happens to Ferrin, Thais gets a little hint of an origin, we get another fucking Object! Yadda yadda Curse of Strahd spoilers so proceed with caution or whatever.

The two continue on the next day to scope out Yester Hill. Ferrin asks Thais about what happened the night prior, but Thais also has no idea and simply states that she was given a choice. They go to Yester Hill but get hopelessly lost for five hours.

Eventually they make their way there, where Thais gets a strange feeling from one of the burial cairns dotting the landscape; she realizes they are being watched by a group of druids. She opens the cairn where she uncovers Kavan’s spear. She and Ferrin are led by the druids up to the top of Yester Hill where - because both parties don’t speak the other’s language - they communicate through charades and crude drawings that Ferrin is considered Strahd’s heir to Barovia, and that Thais is seen as her protector.

They leave for Vallaki, and on the way, Ferrin questions Thais about her nature. Thais has a memory of a local legend - soldiers in silver-scaled armor that marched against a stronghold of Strahd and, upon being cut down in battle, rose again and again until the stronghold fell. Ferrin notices a glint of silver in the corner of her eye. Looking around, she sees a grave marker in the forest. She points it out to Thais, and the two check it out. Thais leaves some gold as an offering, and explains that there is a local legend that if you leave offerings at abandoned gravesites, the soldiers in silver armor will watch over your travels. Later, as they are traveling, a silver warrior protects them from a group of zombies that was following them.

They finally make it Vallaki, but only after the gates have been shut for the night. They decide to try and find the Vistani and ask to stay at their camp rather than try to bribe their way into the city. When they arrive at the camp, they find two men whipping a teenage boy, Alexei, as punishment for something, along with a few other Vistani men, passed out drunk. Upon noticing them, the leader of the Vistani, Luvash, asks what they’re doing there. Ferrin indicates that they are allies and loyal to Strahd, and Luvash asks for their help finding his missing daughter, Araebelle. The two go search out along the lake and find a figure out on a boat, chanting in a strange language and holding up a small, wriggling bag to throw into the water.

While he struggles to keep a hold on the bag, the two women rush out into the lake on one of the rowboats on the shore, getting there just in time to kill him and save Araebelle, who is hilarious and remarkably unphased by the whole ordeal. She reveals that she purposefully tricked Alexei into leaving her alone in an attempt to set him up with a girl he has a crush on. They reunite her with her father, and he and his brother, Arrigal, take them to go get a reward and then a place to stay for the night. They also pass along a gift from Strahd for Ferrin – the copy of his notes that he promised her, and a baby bat familiar. She reads the notes and the two retire for the night.

[gibbearish]

a weird little thing abt me is i will definitely mock shitty ai art but it never feels right doing it about the hands simply by virtue of the fact that a lot of them look indistinguishable from the hands i was doing years ago when i first got a drawing tablet

[botanicalsword]

How they approach you ✧ Check their Mars Sign

Mars symbolizes our energy, desires, and pursuit methods. It's associated with our passion, sex drive, and how we chase what we need. In relationships, Mars plays a significant role. It's about how we express our desires, assert ourselves, and handle conflict.

Photo credit @le.sinex

Mars in Aries

They're similar to determined marathon runners who charge forward with enthusiasm, undeterred by any obstacles. Just don't be surprised if they occasionally bump into a wall or two in their relentless pursuit.

Mars in Taurus They're the patient gardeners of love, carefully tending to their relationships like nurturing plants. They take their time to analyze the soil, wait for the perfect weather, and then make their move with unwavering determination.

Mars in Gemini They're the social chameleons of dating, adapting their approach to match the vibe of the person they're interested in. It's like they have a whole wardrobe of different personalities they can slip into, making them the masters of versatility.

Mars in Cancer They're the masters of dropping hints, leaving a trail of clues like a mischievous detective. They keep you on your toes with their mysterious and unpredictable behavior, making every interaction feel like an episode of a thrilling crime drama.

Mars in Leo They're the extravagant romantics, showering their love interest with grand gestures and lavish gifts. They believe in expressing themselves boldly and fearlessly, even if it means occasionally emptying their wallet in the process.

Mars in Virgo They're the undercover romantics, pretending to be cool and collected on the surface while secretly hoping for the other person to make the first move. It's like they're playing a game of emotional hide-and-seek, waiting for someone to uncover their hidden desires.

Mars in Libra They're the hesitant lovers, constantly second-guessing themselves and fearing rejection. They overanalyze every move and struggle with decision-making, like someone trying to choose the perfect Instagram filter for their relationship.

Mars in Scorpio They're the stealthy strategists, waiting in the shadows for the perfect moment to strike. They believe in the power of patience and calculated action, like a ninja plotting their next move.

Mars in Sagittarius They're the jacks-of-all-trades in the game of love. They have a bag full of tricks to please their partner, from witty banter to spontaneous adventures. They're like a one-person circus, always ready to entertain and surprise.

Mars in Capricorn They're the master manipulators, using their cunning and wit to get what they want. They play the game of love like a seasoned chess player, making calculated moves and occasionally catching their opponents off guard.

Mars in Aquarius They're the enigmatic superheroes, silently observing from the sidelines until they muster up the courage to reveal their feelings in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. It's like they have a secret identity, waiting for the perfect time to save the day.

Mars in Pisces They're the poetic dreamers, expressing their feelings in intricate metaphors and whimsical prose. Trying to understand their emotions is like converting a riddle wrapped in a love letter, but once you unravel the mystery, it's like discovering a hidden treasure.

>> Back to Masterlist ✧ Explicit Content

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/ instagram : @le.sinex / @botanicalsword

[atlabeth]

a rose and her thorns | luke castellan

pairing: luke castellan x fem!daughter of aphrodite reader

summary: luke vies for a valentine. you're just trying to get through cabin inspections.

a/n: take this as my formal apology for the angst i’ve been throwing at you all with demeter girl lol and take this tooth rotting fluff. this was supposed to be shorter but i got carried away, after writing that 11k angst riddled monster this was a much needed palate cleanser lmao

wc: 3.3k

warning(s): no warnings this is all fluff <3

You huffed as you knocked on the door again, chewing on the inside of your lip as you waited for a response. The Hermes cabin usually always had kids in it—either they were ignoring you, or they were just causing too much ruckus to even hear it in the first place.

Honestly, you should have known this was how cabin inspections with Luke would go. He was probably in there right now, ushering all of them through rapid last-minute tidying in the hopes of something higher than a one. You had half a mind to knock a point off right now by virtue of tardiness.  

The hairs on the back of your neck stood up all of a sudden, and you whirled around. 

“Speak of the devil,” you said wryly. 

You were greeted with Luke Castellan himself, his hands up with a slight smile on his lips. “Easy. I didn’t think I looked that bad.” 

Your brows creased ever so slightly, and he gestured with head. You looked down and realized you were holding your pen like a sword. You cleared your throat and let your arm drop, adjusting your shirt on the way down. 

“Sorry. People tend not to sneak up on me.” 

“I can’t imagine why.” Luke put his hands down and started towards his cabin, craning his head back at you. “What brings you here on this fine day, Rose?” 

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” you pouted, holding up your clipboard and pen as you followed him. “We’re on inspection duty together. Where were you?” 

He snapped and pointed at you. “That’s what we were doing together today! I knew we were spending time together—not like I could forget that—but,” his hand paused on the doorknob, “I kind of forgot about the cabin inspection part. Had to spend a little extra time with one of your siblings at the end of sword-fighting lessons.” 

“Sounds like Liz is getting better, then.” A smug smile pulled at your lips as you stopped next to him. “And it sounds like someone’s gonna be cleaning the dishes tonight,” you said in a sing-song voice. 

You placed your hand over his and opened the door, and Luke groaned. “Take mercy, Rose. Please.” 

It was certainly a sight—more akin to a tornado than the inside of a cabin. Various kids—Hermes, unclaimed, and minor gods alike—ran around, shoving dirty clothes beneath beds, cramming duffles and suitcases into overflowing closets, with a few noble exceptions attempting the Sisyphean task of actually cleaning. 

“Wow,” you said, glancing down at the papyrus scroll. “Can I give you a zero?” 

“Listen,” Luke said from behind you, “our thing isn’t tidiness. It’s thievery—swiftness, cunning, panache.” 

“I thought you were supposed to be jacks of all trades,” you mused as you checked off boxes. “Cleaning is a trade.” 

“Not here.” You could feel him peering over your shoulder and he groaned yet again. “Come on! You’re grading us way too low. I get input too, remember?” 

“Sure,” you remarked. You held out the clipboard and gestured with your head at the natural disaster in front of you. “But you can’t tell me this is anything better than a two.” 

“A two’s better than a one.” Luke plucked the pen out of your hand and scrawled out a number two on the final line. 

“Luke—” you started in protest, but he just snatched the clipboard as well with a wink as he started walking backwards towards the door. 

“We’ve got a chance, guys!” he called out. “Hephaestus has gotta be worse than this!” 

You huffed as you chased after him, shutting the door on your way, and you crossed your arms as you came to a stop in front of him. “This isn’t very cooperative of you.” 

“Gotta give myself a chance,” Luke said, smiling as he took the Hermes sheet off the clipboard and stuffed it into his pocket. 

“That’s just cheating,” you said, and he let you take the clipboard back from him. You started walking, and he fell into pace with you. “Hephaestus is next—we’ll see how much of a chance you have.” 

“We should get some slack because we’ve got double the campers,” Luke said. “Nine’s got no excuse—they’re just a bunch of messy engineers.” 

You tapped your pen against the board. “I’m not changing my mind, Castellan.” 

“Ouch,” he winced. “I got last name’d.” 

You merely smiled and shook your head. You could see his own smile in your peripherals, then he huffed.  

“You’re distracting me from my whole plan with these ridiculous grades,” Luke sighed. “I haven’t ruined everything, have I?”

“You’ve got a plan?” you asked in amusement. 

“Of course I do.” Luke took a few long strides to get in front of you then turned around so he was walking backwards, that stupid smirk still on his lips as he kept eye contact with you. “Valentine’s Day is coming up.” 

“You’re very observant,” you said. “Watch your six.” 

Luke moved a step towards you to avoid a younger camper with their head buried in a book, and you chuckled as he shrugged. 

“It’s a work in progress,” he admitted. 

You hummed, biting back your smile as you came up to the Hephaestus cabin. You were about to knock on the door, but once again, Luke caught your wrist. 

“You’re not even gonna let me say my piece?” he asked. 

“I’ll give you a little time to polish it up,” you said. 

“You assume I don’t have it prepared already?” 

“Oh, I’m sure you do.” You winked. “But I know the effect I have on you.” 

Luke’s fingers loosened on your wrist and you allowed a small, self-satisfied smile as you pulled free and knocked on the door. It took a couple seconds, but eventually the door opened and their counselor—Alya, if you remembered correctly—greeted you with a smile. 

“Just in time,” she said, smudging the bit of grease on her face as she wiped at her cheek. “We’re actually not horrible today.” 

Luke grumbled beneath his breath as you walked in together—usually, the place was a mess of loose parts and hastily sketched out plans and smoke-scented clothes. Today, it was still a mess, but slightly less so. 

“Damn it,” Luke muttered. “Still not as bad as us.” 

“Stop comparing your place to everyone else,” you said. “This is supposed to be fun.” 

“Cabin inspections are fun?” he asked wryly. 

“Hanging out with me is fun,” you clarified. “I—”

You were cut off with a gasp of your own as you slipped, and before you could even fully process it you were falling. It wasn’t until everything steadied that you realized someone had caught you, strong arms cradled you around your waist. You looked up to see Luke’s wide eyes. 

“You good?” he asked, his voice slightly higher than usual. 

“Yeah,” you said, nodding far too many times, “yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” 

“...Good,” he said, ever eloquent. 

A small smile creeped in. “You can let me go now.” 

It almost took him a moment to come back to Earth, because he blinked before he nodded, smiling on his own as he helped you back up. You could feel the heat in your face and tried your best to ignore it as you looked down. A small pool of oil was the culprit—you grimaced at the thought of having to clean that out of your jeans. Thank the gods for Luke. 

“That’s gotta be points off,” Luke whispered in your ear, still close by, and you stifled a laugh. “Oil on the floor, making pretty counselors slip. Right?” 

You ignored him too, looking over at Alya, though you couldn’t stop your smile. She looked mortified. 

“I am so sorry,” she rushed. “I guess Michael didn’t clean as well as he said.” 

“No problem,” you said. “I’ve got a little guardian angel. But this place isn’t too great.” 

“Damn,” she mumbled. “I even got one of your sisters to come in and help clean things up. Do you not smell the perfume?” 

“The smoke kinda overpowers it,” you said sympathetically, and she sighed. “Three out of five, Alya. But you’re right on the edge of a four.” 

Alya glanced at Luke. “Better than Hermes?” 

Luke grimaced. “I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

She smiled and went off to talk to one of her siblings. Luke shook his head and tutted once she was gone. “The double standards here are ridiculous, Rose. I might have to report you to Chiron.” 

“Oh, quiet.” You hit him in the side lightly with the clipboard and continued scanning the room for  a final check. “If you wanted help with cleaning up from an Aphrodite kid, all you had to do was ask.” 

“And would you have accepted?” he asked. 

“Of course,” you said as you scribbled down your last couple of notes. “I’ll always help you, Luke.” 

He went silent as you continued to write, and when you finished you saw he was only looking at you. 

You frowned. “What?” 

“Nothing,” Luke said, still smiling. “Let’s keep going.” 

You stared at him for a moment, but he didn’t say anything else. So you just laughed a bit and shrugged. Luke followed behind you as you walked out, and despite his claims of ‘nothing’ just a moment ago, soon enough he was talking again. 

“So,” he said, “Valentine’s Day.” 

“Valentine’s Day,” you said sagely. “What’s your plan?” 

“Be my Valentine.” 

“That’s your plan?” You glanced over at him. “Just asking me out straight-up?” 

“Oh, sorry. I also have this.” Luke pulled something out of his back pocket and held it out. You couldn’t help but laugh. 

“A rose?” you asked with a lopsided smile. 

“Not just any rose,” he said as you took it. “A chocolate rose.” 

“You are so cute.” You pulled the wrapper off, and though the stem and leaves were plastic, the flower was, indeed, very much chocolate, and in the shape of a rather pretty rose. 

Luke shrugged. “Figured you needed something as sweet as you.” 

“I’ve got a toothache just from being with you,” you remarked. You broke it in half with a bit of effort and offered it to Luke. 

“You can’t just split the gifts I get for you with me.” 

“They’re my gifts,” you said. “I can do whatever I want with them.” 

“Really?” he asked. 

“What’s a rose without her thorns?” you responded. Luke grinned as he took the other half from you. You popped yours into your mouth and your eyebrows rose. 

“This is actually good chocolate,” you said as Luke ate his part. “Not like that crap we get at the camp store.” 

“I might’ve snuck out to the city to get the good stuff,” Luke said offhandedly. 

You looked at him incredulously. “What?” 

“Did I stutter?” 

“You risked all that trouble just to get some chocolate for me?” you marveled. “Hell from Chiron, extra chores for a month, literal monster attacks—” 

Luke held up a hand, stopping your ranting. “Nothing happened. And even if it did,” he shrugged, “you’re worth it. So it doesn’t matter.” 

You shook your head and Luke continued. “Besides, I got some other stuff too for the rest of my plan.” 

“Right,” you nodded, “you never finished telling me.” 

“How’s your schedule?” 

“Busy,” you said. “I’m an Aphrodite kid during Valentine’s season.” 

Luke tipped his shoulder. “Fair. Think you can block something out for me?” 

“That depends what it is,” you said. 

“It’s a secret,” he said. 

You stared at him. “A secret?” 

He nodded. “It might be a foreign concept to you Aphrodite kids, but—” 

You cut him off with a light shove and he only chuckled in response. “So you talk yourself up and it ends up being a secret.”

“I think I’ve earned some secret surprises,” Luke said. “I’m already sweeping you off your feet.” 

You shook your head, smiling inwardly as you tapped your pen against the clipboard. “Is that how you see it?” 

“Well, I did keep you from an untimely death back there,” he said. “And the more unfortunate plight of having to get oil stains out.” 

“You read my mind,” you mused. 

“And isn’t that worth a date?” Luke asked. “Saving you from a fashion faux pas?” 

“You’re worth a date all on your own,” you said as you came up to the next cabin—Apollo was bright as ever, gleaming golden in the sunlight—and you looked at him with a smile. “No rescuing required.” 

-

Your journey to the rest of the cabins went by relatively quickly, especially the Apollo and Ares cabins—you think Luke had been temporarily stunned into silence by you actually flirting back. 

You’d had a subdued smile on your face nearly the entire time, even as you felt warmth bloom over your face again. Luke really brought out the inner Aphrodite in you—you were sure your mother was proud, wherever she was watching. What seemed to get Luke out of his addled state was the 5/5 you gave to your own cabin—he complained that the scent of perfume gave him a headache, and when you said you’d been wearing perfume the entire day, he claimed that it was different. 

(Cabin Ten kept their full score. It was amazing what a pretty smile could do, especially when Luke was the victim.) 

Finally, you were at the Demeter cabin. Luke insisted on going there last, so that all the expectations would be tapered—he was still trying to get a better score for his cabin, but the odds were looking pretty slim. The door was already open, and you smiled at the newly grown flowers outside the cabin. 

“Nice touch.” 

Luke sighed. “Great. Going out with a bang.” 

“It’ll be fine, Luke,” you said. “I’ll help you clean your cabin tonight.” 

He frowned. “You were actually serious?” 

“Of course I was.” You tipped your head. “It’ll just have to be pretty late. Y’know, because you’ll be cleaning all the dishes.” 

“Low blow,” he said, shaking his head. You chuckled as you stopped in the doorway and poked your head in. 

“Hey, Katie,” you called to the counselor. “How’re things?” 

“Good,” she said, nodding. A smile of her own bloomed on her lips as her gaze moved over to Luke. “I see Rose and her thorns are on duty today.” 

“Flattery won’t help you with your score,” Luke mused as he walked into the cabin. You smiled as he held out his hand for the clipboard, and you finally acquiesced. You could feel Katie’s eyes on you as he walked further in. 

“He takes that as a compliment?” 

“Thorns protect a rose,” you said, still watching Luke. He played the part of a foreman well, investigating their shelves and walls with vigor and even opening drawers. You couldn’t help but laugh a bit, and Luke looked back and smiled at you. You nodded, giving him the go-ahead, and he winked as he gave you a thumbs-up. 

“And he protects you?” she asked. 

You shrugged. “We protect each other.” 

“…You would be cute together,” Katie admitted. 

You managed to tear your eyes away from Luke, leaning back against the wall. “You think so?” 

“He’s only been vying for your attention and flirting with you since the moment you got to camp,” she said wryly. “But you’re the expert on love—you tell me.” 

You bit your lip as your gaze darted back to Luke, who was squatting on the floor having what looked to be a very serious conversation with a younger Demeter boy. 

“I think I’m his valentine,” you said, almost absentmindedly. “And I think I’m really looking forward to whatever this date is.” 

Katie came back into focus as you came back to Earth, and even she was smiling. “Then I think you’ve got your answer.” 

Luke had picked the most opportune moment to come back, when you weren’t staring at him like an infatuated idiot—you were only one of those things—and he held out the clipboard and pen to you. “After having a very in-depth conversation with Damian about how things are going here, I scored them properly.” 

You chuckled as you took it from him, but your eyebrows rose the more you read. “You’re kidding me.” 

He shook his head. “There’s unpaid labor going on here—unpaid child labor. Damian said he’s responsible for half the cleaning and plants here.” 

“We’re all children. All the labor we do is child labor,” you deadpanned. “And we’re sure as hell not getting paid.” 

Luke held his hands up. “Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just delivering what he’s said.” 

“Don’t tell me he gave us all ones,” Katie said dryly. 

“You know him so well,” you mused. You scribbled out half of what Luke wrote as you stood up from the wall, shielding it with your body so he couldn’t see while you walked out together. “See you, Katie!” 

Her protests fell on Luke’s deaf ears as he held up the rear, shutting the door behind you two, and when you looked back at him he was grinning. 

“Straight ones,” he tutted, shaking his head. “What a shame. Looks like they’re gonna be cleaning the dishes tonight.” 

“You know they got a five, Luke,” you said, finally allowing him to see your revised marks. “If you’re gonna fudge the numbers, at least try and make them believable.” 

“Oh, come on!” he exclaimed. “A five is way too nice—it’s not fair that they can just grow plants all over and make everything look presentable. Using powers should count as cheating.” 

“Their floors are clean, their beds are made, and it smells like floral heaven,” you said. You tapped his chest with your pen. “You could learn something from them, Castellan.” 

He caught your wrist before you could move it away. “The Aphrodite cabin always gets perfect scores. Think you could teach me a few things?” 

You grinned as you pulled your hand out of his grip and continued walking, this time en route to the Big House to drop off the final inspections. “That depends.” 

“On what?” Luke came back into your peripherals as he caught up to you. 

“On how good this secret plan of yours is,” you mused. 

His eyes lit up, past worries of low inspection scores seemingly fading away in an instant. “So it’s a go? You’re in?” 

“Of course I am,” you said, tucking the clipboard under your arm. “You got me the good chocolate, Luke. How could I not see where this goes?” 

Previously unnoticed pressure dissolved in his shoulders as he took your hands in his. You could only focus on his eyes, on the warmth of his skin, on the callouses borne from years of sword-fighting. 

He was surely blessed by your mother. 

“You’re not gonna regret it,” Luke vowed. “All those promises I’ve made about blowing you off your feet, about making your mother proud—they’re all gonna be true.” 

“You know what wise men say,” you said wryly. 

“That they’re so glad you’re finally giving me a chance?” 

“Only fools rush in,” you provided. “Going all in on our first date seems a little hasty.” 

“Isn’t your whole thing supposed to be rushing in?” he asked cloyingly. “Y’know, daughter of love and all.” 

You shrugged. “Maybe I like taking the idea of taking it slow with you.” 

“Then call me a fool,” Luke mused, letting go of one hand to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. His own curls hung over his eyes and you had the strongest urge to take his face in your hands. “Because you should know I can’t help it.” 

You felt your cheeks heat as warmth spread all over, and you couldn’t even try to hide your smile. “You think you can take me out on one of those city trips of yours? Show me how to steal a camp van without getting in the most trouble?” 

“I’m trying to steal your heart here,” Luke said with a goofy grin, “but I think a van’ll do.” 

“Oh, don’t worry.” You took his hand back, intertwining your fingers together as you pulled him closer to you. “We can multitask.” 

[flippinpancakes64]

Hello! I love your stuff and I wanted to request their response to:

Reader: Let me take care of you.

Them: It's rotten work...

Reader: Not to me...not if it's you.

Keep writing! You're amazing! (And I need something to read while I stay up)

Taking care of the Cullens

Ok ngl this ask has me giggling and kicking my feet

Jasper let me take care of you 😡😭❤️

Uhm and remember in my request rules thing where I said I don’t do narratives… i might be a big fat liar cause that’s what I did here… don’t come for me

And thank you so much for the kind words! Thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy!

Edward:

We all know he has a bit of a complex when it comes to his worth and his humanity

He tends to get in his own head a lot

Especially when it comes to you and your relationship

He doesn’t really get jealous in the normal sense

He just sort of gets sad when he sees you with other people

It’s one day after school and Edward seems to be avoiding you. You’re sitting at the table with Emmett, Alice, Esme, and Jasper playing a card game.

Only Edward is nowhere to be found.

The game finishes, Alice winning and Emmett immediately going into ranting mode about how it’s rigged. You excuse yourself to go check on him.

You find him upstairs in the piano room, plunking away on the keys mindlessly. If he wasn’t a vampire and you didn’t know better, you would say he didn’t even notice you enter the room.

You stood behind him for a while, watching as his fingers danced over the ivory keys.

“It sounds beautiful” you say.

He doesn’t respond.

“Edward, what’s the matter? You’ve hardly spoken to me all day.”

“Do you ever wish I was human?”

The question catches you off guard.

“To wish for you to be human would be to change you, and I happen to love you just the way you are.”

He huffs, his fingers halting.

“But don’t you wish I was warm? Don’t you wish I could eat the foods you like, actually sleep next to you at night, grow old with you?”

You sit down next to him at the stool and take his hands in your own.

“What were you like when you were human?”

The change of subject seems to catch him off guard, his face twists slightly as he thinks. He pauses for a beat before answering.

“I was a bit of a troublemaker. My mom always said I was giving her grey hairs way too early. I didn’t do any of my schoolwork, I just wanted to go and be free.”

“Hm, sounds like the you that could sleep, eat, and grow old was a bit of a wild card. Not really my type. You know I prefer the sophisticated, musical type.”

He laughs at that, hanging his head down to press a kiss to your joined hands.

“So what you’re saying is you like the version of me without a soul better,” he says bitterly. You frown at that.

“No, I’m saying I like the you that I have now. I love you, Edward. I would never trade you for anyone else in the world whether they have a pulse or not.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“You know this is how it will always be, right? I’ll always be here, trying some new way to push you away from me. To make you realize that you deserve better.”

“And I’ll always be here to take care of you and make sure you know that my mind will never change.”

“Taking care of me for the rest of your life… talk about the worst job you could get.”

“Only it won’t be a job. Not for me. Not when it’s for you.”

He looks at you then, finally. His big, black eyes staring into yours.

You’ve wished it before, but in this moment you wish you were the one who could read his mind instead of the other way around.

“You’re so stupid,” he smiles, and leans in for a kiss.

Maybe one day he’ll fully believe you.

Alice:

Alice has a tendency to shut down whenever there’s too much going on

Too many people are on the cusp of making decisions that could change their lives

It seems that every person she meets on the street has a vision attached

She can’t take it anymore

You find her curled up in a ball in her room, the TV playing a program you don’t think she’s watching.

Around her are scattered sketchbook pages, each one hastily ripped from the pad and thrown to the floor.

On these pages are drawings of buildings, people, animals, and tragedies. You catch the face of a woman who’s screaming as a bullet heads straight for her face. In another is an open room with a small grenade in the center.

No wonder she’s been so upset.

None of the pages show joy, every single one a warning of a disaster that’s just waiting to happen.

In front of her, there’s a stack of drawings that she’s flipping through. On one of them you catch what looks like your face, only it’s contorted in a scream. In another you see Jasper, but you can’t make out what’s around him.

“Alice,” you call out, and her head whips up. Maybe she hadn’t heard you like you thought she did. “What’s wrong?”

She looks at you like a deer in headlights for a moment, before her eyes glance back down to the papers in front of her.

“There’s nothing wrong. Not yet, at least.”

Her tone is grave. You can hear the desperation for an answer, or at least a break.

You sigh, and move to sit next to her. You reach to take the stack of papers from her, meeting no resistance. If she wanted to keep them from you, she could. But she knew now that fighting you was always going to be useless.

“Alice, I know you can’t control the fact that you see these visions. But you can control how much you obsess over them. This isn’t healthy.”

“I don’t need to be healthy. I can’t die or get sick.”

You sigh again. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. You can’t keep withering away in here obsessing over what might happen.”

“But-“

“No buts.” You say, throwing the stack of papers to the side. “How long ago did you have these visions?”

She thinks for a moment.

“Yesterday, I think.”

“Alright. Have they happened yet?”

“Well, no…”

“From what you saw, are they still a possibility now?”

“…they are… a very low possibility…”

You could see her reluctantly piecing together your words, clearly not wanting to admit her mistake out loud.

“Look, Alice, you know that I’m always touched by you looking out for me, but in moments like this I need to look out for you too.”

She looks into your eyes, then hangs her head again.

“But that’s not how it’s supposed to be. My gift, I should be the one taking care of you-“

“No. There is no ‘supposed to’ anything. Humans aren’t ‘supposed to’ be with vampires and yet here we are. So please just come with me and watch a movie or cuddle or something?”

She looks at you again, then. Staring into your eyes, then glancing around her room, at all of the papers, then back to you. She smiles slightly and floats up to her feet.

“Fine. But I’m picking the movie.”

Jasper:

This is a man who needs some serious love and reassurance

He’s always on edge around you, even if he plays it off like he isn’t

He’s just always so scared of hurting you or doing something wrong

And a lot of the time that manifests as him isolating himself to try and get you to leave him

It was gonna be one of those nights again.

A night that you would spend alone in the bed you were supposed to be sharing with the love of your life, Jasper.

But no. On a night like this, he’s out in the woods, far, far away. Stewing in his feelings and brooding.

You don’t even remember anything happening this time. Sometimes something can set him off; a jab from someone at school, a hug he gave you that ended up being WAY too tight, anything really. Anything that reminds him of how he’s not supposed to be with you.

But right about now, you’re sick of it.

The Cullens have taken to being quieter at night since you’ve started sleeping over a lot more, but you know they’re all here- all except for the one you want.

So it being 2 am won’t bother any of the other residents of the house. You roll out of bed and march your way over to the door, throwing it open (politely) and stomping down the steps.

Emmett is the first one you see, and you decide he’ll be perfect for the job anyway.

“What’s got you going, firecracker?” He asks.

“I need you to go find Jasper and bring him to me. Now. I need to talk to him,” you couldn’t help the anger and frustration that seeped into your voice. Lack of sleep will do that to you.

Emmett stood up straight and gave a stupid salute, “One loner coming right up, boss.”

And with that he was out of the door, and you trudged back upstairs to wait for your boyfriend.

You were laying in the bed, still trying desperately to go to sleep when you heard a light knock on the door. Your eyes flicked open to see Jasper standing in the doorway, looking completely out of place and uncomfortable.

All of your anger left instantly, all you saw was the sweet man who was far too worried for his own good.

You sighed and scooted over, patting the spot next to you.

“Come here, Jasper.”

A look of what could only be described as fear flashed across his face before he shook his head and muttered a small, “i can’t.”

You sighed again and stood up, making your way over to him. When you reached him, you stretched your arms out to take his face in your hands, his eyes wouldn’t meet yours.

“Look, Jas, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I have a pretty damn good idea. You’re not gonna hurt me.”

“You don’t know that,” he says, looking into your eyes, something about the black made him look more human, more scared. “Vampires are already dangerous, but I’m the worst of the worst. You’ve found yourself a faulty cannon amongst rifles, darling.”

You frowned at his analogy, squeezing his perfect face in your hands.

“You are NOT faulty, you hear me? You are perfect. Perfect for me, at least.”

“The perfect man for you wouldn’t be tearing himself up inside trying not to kill you.”

“And a lesser man would have already done it.” He was shocked at that, stunned into silence. He hung his head slightly, not meeting your eyes once more.

“And what if I do hurt you one day? Would you ever forgive me? Could I ever forgive myself?”

“I don’t think you will. But if you do, Carlisle will put me back together and I’ll jump right back into your arms.”

His eyes bore into your soul as he stared at you like you were crazy.

“Why the hell would you do that? Come running right back to me?”

“To make sure you don’t hate yourself for too long. Now come on, I’m tired and I can’t sleep without my personal AC unit.”

He looked at you with disbelief. You knew he didn’t believe you, you don’t know if he ever will.

But that’s okay. You’ll keep him right here, and pull him back to you every time he runs away.

Eventually, he’ll understand that you love him.

Rosalie:

The topic of kids has always been a very touchy one for Rosalie

It’s all she’s ever wanted, and all that she still wants

Most days, the pain is not too much of an issue

But some days, it just gets to be too much

You and Rosalie were walking down the street, hand in hand as you strolled by the different shops and food stands.

The city was busy today, many young couples out and about, shopping, talking, kissing far too passionately to be in public, the usual.

“Rose, do you mind if we sit down for a bit? These shoes Alice chose for me look really nice, but they are so uncomfortable.”

She giggled, but nodded and led you both to a bench. You sat down with a heavy sigh, finally getting off of your feet after what felt like forever (even though it was only about an hour).

Across the way in the little park you’ve both found yourself in, a young couple is sitting on a bench.

The woman has long, flowing, blonde hair that frames her face in loose curls. She’s wearing a gorgeous floral-patterned dress, and on her left hand is quite possibly the biggest, gaudiest ring you have ever seen.

To her right, a man sits, one who bears a striking resemblance to you, regardless of gender.

And in the middle, a little baby. A perfect mix of the two, her hair and his eyes, her nose and his jawline, all swaddled in a cute little onesie.

You’re about to turn to Rosalie to point out the cute baby (she always loves to look and maybe go touch it if the parents allow her to) when you see that she’s already looking.

Her face is grave, like she’s looking at her own headstone. Her face is twisted in grief, and she looks on the verge of tears.

It takes you a second to connect the dots, but once you do, your heart clenches for her.

That woman looks like her, reminds Rosalie of herself. And the man looks like you. And that baby is what she wants, all she’s ever wanted. What she can’t have.

Babies are always hard for her, but this struck a deep chord.

“Rose… do you wanna go home?” You ask softly, not wanting to come off as pushy.

“…”

“Come on, let’s go,” you grab her arm to pull her up, she goes with you, but keeps her head craned back to the young couple the whole time.

Once you’re far away, she breaks down. You’ve never seen a vampire cry, and that’s probably because they can’t. But if they could, Rosalie would be sobbing.

You know it’s bad because she doesn’t even care that she falls to the floor in this dirty, nasty alleyway. Normal Rosalie would rather die 100 times over than get her clothes dirty, especially here.

You sit down next to her, letting her dry heave and gasp into your shoulder, her wails breaking your heart.

You’re helpless here. Cause what can you really do? You can’t give her a kid, she can’t give you one either. You can’t go back in time and stop her from being killed. And you can’t go back and steal that baby from that couple (even though you kind of really want to).

So you just hold her.

You run her hair, pat her back, kiss her head, and whisper into her ear. How much you love her, how she’s perfect, how it’s okay, how you don’t think less of her.

Once she’s calmed down and her breathing has slowed, she looks up at you.

“I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t be seeing this side of me.”

“What? I want to be here for you, Rose. I know I can’t fix this for you, but at least I can-“

“Fix it? Darling, don’t worry about fixing me. I’m already completely broken, there’s nothing to fix.”

With that you just take a moment to look at her. Her face screams that she is broken. In her soul, at least. Her and Edward are a lot more similar than they like to think.

“Rosalie. You are not broken. There is nothing wrong with you.”

She scoffs at that. “I’m not human. I’d say that’s pretty wrong. Not to mention the fact that I can’t even look at a couple with a baby and not want to violently kill someone.”

“And that’s okay.”

She scoffs again.

“No, really, Rose. I mean it. I’m never ever going to think less of you for something like this. You went through something I can never even imagine and now you’re left to pick up the pieces. Just let me help you.”

She looks at you, her eyes staring into yours. The grief that she’s feeling is evident. But deep in her eyes, you see a touch of something else. Trust, maybe.

“You know, you’re gonna be picking up pieces for the rest of your life.”

“That’s okay, I don’t mind. Not if it’s you.”

Emmett:

He likes to pretend to be all big and bad all of the time

But in reality, he's still a person

He just has a hard time remembering that sometimes

You don't know where he got all of that energy from.

I mean, realistically, you know that he can never get tired.

But really, even for a vampire this was unnatural.

Some nobody in school had challenged him to an arm wrestle. Of course, he can never resist. He grabbed the guy's hand and prepared to pummel him, only to flinch and have his hand thrown down against the wood of the desk.

The guy had one of those fake shock things in his hand, and as soon as Emmett clamped down it vibrated like crazy.

To say he was pissed would be an understatement.

And now he was taking all of that anger out on the trees around the Cullen house.

"That-" punch "fucking-" punch "ASSHOLE!" punch punch punch

It had been days. And you were honestly getting worried. He hadn't hunted in those days, much less came inside the house. You're surprised the park ranger hasn't come knocking yet.

You heard a hollowed cracking sound and looked to see Emmett standing triumphantly as a rather large oak tree fell to the ground, followed by a guttural roar from the man.

"Emmett," you called, barely above a whisper. But you know he heard you. "Come over here please."

He looks at you with a slightly guilty look, the anger from before fading away as he hangs his head and trudges over to you. He stops just a few feet in front of you, lamely kicking the rocks beneath his toes as he avoids your eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s that stupid fucking guy-“

“No,” you stop him, putting your hand up to silence him. “What’s actually wrong? Don’t tell me you’re seriously this pissed about losing an arm wrestling match with some nobody.”

He just stood there in silence for a second. You took this chance to stand up and grab his face in your hands, instantly he leaned in, perching his head on your palms.

“I just… need to be strong. That’s what I am, I need to be strong,” he whispered, his voice coming out shy and meek.

You just smiled at him sadly and rubbed his cheek.

“I can be strong too you know. So every once in a while you can let me take care of you instead.”

He laughed at that.

“You, strong? As if. I could fold you in half!”

You punched him lightly in the arm.

“You jerk! I’m trying to be sentimental!”

He laughed again and grabbed your hands, bringing them back up to their previous spot cradling his face.

“Ok ok, serious sentimental time.”

You just laughed and kissed him.

Esme:

She has a bad habit of overreacting

Just a dash of anxiety

So when something-anything happens to you, she freaks out

This is bad.

Like really, really bad.

You were supposed to be driving to go see Esme at the Cullen house, but of course your piece-of-shit car decided that now would be a perfect time to break down.

Too far away from home to walk back, too far away from the Cullens to walk there, and the nearest anything was also too far.

Not to mention the snow covering the ground didn’t really entice you to get out of your still-warm car.

So you tried calling someone to come get you.

Only, of course there’s no service out here because why would there be.

Just your luck.

You weigh your options, and decide that walking is just gonna have to do.

You didn’t pack a winter coat because you didn’t think you’d be outside for this long, but you had a blanket stored in your backseat and it was better than nothing.

So off you trekked through the freezing cold winter storm to the Cullen house.

Inside, Esme was (in)patiently waiting.

Your favorite meal was waiting for you, already plated and getting colder by the second on the dining room table.

You said you were on your way 30 minutes ago. It takes about 30 minutes to get from your house to their house.

So where were you?

Her ears perked at the sound of a slowly beating heart coming from down the driveway.

It didn’t sound like one of the foxes or deer that roam around this time of year. No, it sounded a bit bigger, a bit more human.

She was out the door in a flash. Before anyone had the chance to ask what she was doing she was by your side.

“Oh my god, honey, why are you out here?!”

“An angel…” and then you collapsed.

Cue Esme absolutely freaking the fuck out.

She has you in front of a lit fireplace, a heating blanket rested over your shoulders and a warm towel on your head.

She’s pacing back and forth in front of you. She wants to hold you so bad, to kiss you, cuddle you, protect you. But she can’t. She’ll just make the shivers wracking your body even worse.

“Es…” you croak, your eyes blinking open finally.

“Oh my god! Are you okay? How are you feeling? Why were you out there? Where’s your car? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Shhhh,” you whisper, bringing your finger up to shush her. “Just come here.”

You open up your blanket in an invitation to her.

“Are you out of your mind? I can’t cuddle with you right now, I’ll freeze you!”

“Please, you deserve to be taken care of too.”

She crumbles at that, you can see the resolve leaving her face. And then she figures that you won’t get too cold with the heated blanket and everything.

She cuddles up next to you, wrapping her arms around your waist and ducking her head into your neck.

“I’m so sorry, I should have been there. And least of all I shouldn’t be such a mess right now.”

“It’s okay to be a mess, I’ll always be here to hold you.”

Carlisle:

No one really talks about the stress of being a pretend father for a bunch of eternal teenagers

Really, it’s a blessing that he doesn’t need sleep and isn’t affected by long hours

But despite that, he still gets so worn out

Today had been a long day for Carlisle.

It was student-teacher conference day. And while that’s not usually an issue since he always tells the kids to behave, Emmett decided it was necessary to punch a kid last week.

To be honest, Carlisle didn’t really care if the kid was a bully or not, all he viewed it as was something more drawing attention to them.

On top of that, the cattiness between Edward and Rosalie seemed to be especially bad today.

They were at each other’s throats for the better part of the day, and nothing would get them to separate.

At work, at least a dozen new patients showed up. A factory that was close by had a gas leak, very minor. None of the people were harmed at all, but many still insisted on going to the clinic.

Carlisle’s not one to discourage people from getting checked out, but he is one to tell people to go home when they’re fine, which everyone was.

But these people kept insisting something was wrong. A boy with a broken arm had to wait for three hours for a room to open up because the factory workers refused to leave.

By the time he got home, he was exhausted, you could tell. His eyes were heavy, as were his footsteps. His hair was disheveled, he had clearly been running his fingers through it all day from the stress.

He looked like a mess. But even then, he greeted you with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

He always takes such good care of you, whether you’re sick or not, he’s always there with whatever you want.

Now it’s your turn.

“Carlisle, are you busy?” You ask, peeking into his home office. Even after the super long day, he’s a man of habit.

“Not particularly,” he turns to look at you, setting his pen down, “why?”

“Follow me.”

You lead him to the bathroom, where a nice, warm back is drawn. Complete with lilac scented bath oil and two candles lit on the sink.

“The bath looks beautiful, darling. I’m sure the lavender will be great for your skin.”

“Oh, it’s not for me,” you quip. All he does is raise an eyebrow. “It’s for you. I know you’ve had a long day, so go relax and meet me in the bedroom when you’re done.”

You don’t give him a chance to argue before you leave, shutting the door tightly behind you.

He emerges about 30 minutes later, still toweling his hair off.

“Ok now come on over here,” you pat the bed next to you, motioning him to sit there. Again, all he does is quirk and eyebrow but he obliges.

You take the remote to the TV in yours and Carlisle’s room, turning on his favorite movie. A classic one from the silent film era.

“But this… I haven’t seen this movie in years… how did you get it?”

“That’s the beauty of streaming platforms.”

You both sit in silence for a while, Carlisle seemingly happy to just watch his favorite movie after so long. Eventually, he turns to look at you with an inquisitive expression.

“So, what’s all this for?”

“What, am I not allowed to take care of you from time to time?”

He laughs slightly at that.

“A human taking care of a vampire, how twisted.”

You grab his face between your hands at that, drawing him close and looking deep into his yellow eyes.

“It’s not if I want to do it, and I would move the Earth for you.”

“Hopeless romantic,” and with that he kisses you.

Vampire! Bella:

She tends to… shut down

We all know how she was when she couldn’t be with Edward

That translates over

It really wasn’t supposed to be that big of a deal.

Your Spanish class was going to be taking a two week trip to Spain.

Only, Bella wasn’t in Spanish. This time around, she chose to take French. Which was all fine and good, until it meant that she couldn’t go with you.

Cue two weeks of endless calls and texts.

On the phone with you , she sounds fine. But from your calls with Alice, she’s not doing too hot.

She hasn’t been hunting since you’ve been gone, she’s completely stopped going to class, and she also hasn’t talked to anyone in the house.

It’s the last night of your trip, you’re in your hotel room, the girl you’re sharing with is sound asleep in the other bed, but you know one girl who’s never asleep.

You call Bella’s number, and she answers instantly, like she’s been waiting all day for you to call. In all honesty, she probably has.

“Hey, what are you up to?” You can hear the attempt to be nonchalant in her voice, but her eagerness gives her away.

“Oh nothing, I just got off the phone with Alice… wanna tell me why you didn’t leave our room today? Or yesterday? Or the day before?”

You can hear her pause on the line, like she’s trying to come up with a convincing lie, but eventually she sighs.

“I just… I’ve just been missing you a lot, is all. I want you here next to me, I feel incomplete without you.”

Yowch. Right through the heart.

You decide then to help in some way, you don’t know how immediately, but you have to do something.

So you start to hum.

Whenever you have a bad day, Bella hums the song her mom used to sing to her. You always ask her to, and even though she says she isn’t a great singer, she indulges you anyway.

Sometimes it’s the only thing that can stop you from a panic attack or calm you enough to go back to sleep after a nightmare.

You hear her gasp slightly before y he sound of sheets rustling, presumably her laying her head down.

You go through the whole song twice over, Bella never telling you to stop or joining you.

After your voice fades out and the line stays dead for a moment, you swear you can hear Bella overthinking.

“You know, you didn’t have to do that. I’m an apex predator. I shouldn’t be so upset whenever you leave for a little bit.”

You laugh lightly at that, and you can hear her scoff across the line.

“I don’t mind. Especially when it’s you. Bella, I love you and I would do anything for you.”

“Even if I’m a beautiful monster who was designed to kill you?”

“Even if you did kill me, I would hope that my blood nourishes you for months on end.”

[chatonarya]

I think there's really not enough content depicting Karlan Trio as three weirdos who vibe with each other's weirdness. Especially and including Enciodes.

Beneath his perfect social facade, Enciodes is extra and kinda strange. He thinks it's funny to dress up as a pirate on his off-time to go to the beach. He regularly gambled his allowance away as a kid. He got sold to kidnappers as a child by Gnosis and ends the day promising Gnosis a future. He comments on the taste of the food he's being fed while he's captive and says he felt safer tied up when Gnosis cuts him free. He thought it would be a swell idea to empty his bank account to save Degenbrecher while barely knowing anything about her personality. He decided to try to make a Viscount owe him a favor by trying to position himself as a savior and cat's paw while also being "that guy's son from that backwater country." He decides to just enlist with RI as an operator like "Hiii, did you miss me? <3"

He tends to do non-business-related things in an over-the-top way, because he's apparently Just Like That.

Then we have Gnosis and Degenbrecher. Canonically, they're both outcasts from their respective homes even if for different reasons. They're both people who have internalized the pain of being ostracized and made it into strength, refusing to allow public opinion to affect them. This is common ground for them and I believe it forms part of their friendship and why they always have each other's backs even if they mess with each other. But on a personal basis...

Yep, they're kinda weird too. There's the fact that homeless orphan Degenbrecher says Gnosis has "lousy taste" when it comes to food. What does that even mean? Is he an omnivore crane who'll eat anything in front of him? Does he like spicy food (fun fact, birds don't have capsaicin receptors)? Does he like the most hardcore weird traditional Kjerag food? Does Enciodes always have to pick the restaurant when it's his turn? How bad must his taste be for Degenbrecher of all people to say it's "lousy"? He has a penchant for blowing things up and setting things and people on fire whenever he can, apparently just because he can because why be subtle when you can be over-the-top? He's a consummate actor yet can't be bothered with pleasantries. He has an intimate knowledge of etiquette yet chooses to be rude. He's a scientist and engineer yet forges weapons because it's the family tradition.

Degenbrecher? Almost goes without saying. She likes to fight avalanches because survival is fun. Enciodes got her to come along to Kjerag partly by telling her she might be able to 1v1 God and she says so to God's face. She's the strongest person in the country but knows animal midwifery and does farmwork. She's an honorary member of the Kjerag fishing association. She has a great time roleplaying a witch because acting as the final boss means everyone will come at her and spends a long time trying to figure out how she can fit the hat on her head because she's that into it. She grins like a maniac when she gets the chance to destroy the trap house walls; she probably gets a kick out of wanton destruction just as much as Gnosis does. She goes on a Looney Tunes Chase after Trilby Asher with a single-minded intensity without a second thought. She has a cell phone but almost never uses it because she hates being contacted.

I would just love to see more content that shows them just being a bunch of total freaks with each other while vibing harmoniously all the while. Let me see Degenbrecher helping Gnosis blast new mineshafts because explosions and debris are fun. Let me see Degenbrecher throwing the boys over her shoulders like potato sacks to escape some building that's on fire because Enciodes was a cat who knocked something over for the fun of it. Let me see them trading parts of their meals. Let me see them going on vacation together and accidentally causing a minor incident just by being themselves.

Let me see them just doing stupid fun stuff together like the besties that they are.

[mytheoristavenue]

DS Kyojuro Rengoku x Reader 🍋 - Something In The Air

Kinktober 2024 - II

Sex pollen + public sex

Summary: You've been training to go out for missions with Rengoku for ages, but nothing could have prepared you to have a demon with the power to stimulate arousal- in the middle of a crowded market, no less!

Warnings: Sex pollen trope, public sex, unprotected sex, creampie, fem!reader, breeding, rushed/short, fluffy ending, pregnancy, Senjuro mentioned, mentor x mentee dynamic at first

You could hardly contain your enthusiasm, you'd trained for what felt like forever in order to have the privilege of accompanying hashiras on missions. Today was finally the day of your first one and you couldn't be more excited to show off what you could do- especially to the man walking beside you. You'd admired Rengoku ever since meeting him shortly after final selection and it was only natural that that respect would grow into attraction the more you got to know him.

Currently, he led you to a bustling trade village, home to a well-known market which many people tended to come far distances to attend. He was rattling off lists of why this market was so special, and you were trying to listen in earnest, but you couldn't focus, too stuck on some sweet smell that had suddenly hit your nose. Apparently, he smelled it too.

"I love coming to this market," He smiled over his shoulder at you. "It's a long pathway, filled with all things tasty." You couldn't help but giggle at his sunny disposition, feeling even more fond of him than you usually did. "Though, I've never smelt this scent before, one of the vendors must have something new to offer. We should try it before we leave, providing the demon doesn't cause too much damage to the surrounding area, of course."

You nodded with a shy smile, catching up to him as the village came into view. Dusk was beginning to settle in and the many lights of the town were starting to flicker on. It was like watching the market awaken over the horizon, casting a lovely amber glow over the pair of you.

As you drew nearer, that smell persisted, gaining potency with every step. The saccharine aroma began to overwhelm your senses as you approach the village gate, so you decided to pick up the conversation, hoping to distract yourself. "So, do we know anything about this demon?"

Rengoku thought for a moment before smiling again. "I took the time to do some reconanance before this trip," He began, slowing his pace so you could walk side by side with him with less issue. "It would appear this demon is match maker."

"A match maker?" You repeated curiously. "Like someone who arranges marriages?"

"Precisely." He replied with a proud grin. "According to locals, marriage and birth rates in this area have skyrocketed over the last decade."

"Isn't that a good thing?" You tilted your head up to look at him, something that made his heart skip a beat. "What's so bad about people falling in love?"

"Love is a human emotion, it's not something that a demon can feel or replicate." He explained, quickly regaining his composure. "So what these people are experiencing is just an intense, prolonged infatuation, they're not actually falling in love. The effects seem to wear off after about a year, or when stress is introduced to the relationship."

"And babies can be quite stressful," You finish his thought, filling him with pride at your intuitiveness. "And divorce isn't legal in Japan, so these people are just stuck in loveless marriages. How awful! Why would any demon do this, just toy with people's hearts?"

"It would seem the children of these unions have been going missing," Rengoku reveals, suddenly turning serious. "It's possible one of the reasons is to cultivate a lasting food source." You were horrified, to say the least. Interfering with the hearts of men, eating children? Just how evil was this demon? "Don't fret, my dear," His voice suddenly pulled you out of your thoughts, charming and full of tender confidence. "Together, you and I will slay this demon and free this village from its torment."

"And what about the couples affected by it?" You asked quietly, thoughts flooding back in quicker than he could dispel them.

"We can only hope that they'll genuinely fall in love through bonding over their shared experience." His smile faded a bit upon realizing he couldn't fully put you at ease, but was somewhat relieved when you asked a slightly unrelated question.

"So, how will we know when we find this demon or their work?" You asked curiously, tilting your head up at him again. This time, not only did his heart skip a beat, but he also felt heat pool in his belly. It must be some sort of anxiety for the battle ahead, he decided.

"Rumor has it that the demon puts off a distinct smell that's been likened to sugared flower-" Suddenly, he paused, pale as he swallowed dryly. "Petals..." How could he be so naive? That heavenly aroma was never a new type of pastry sold at the market. He'd lead you both into a trap. "Plug your nose, now."

You stiffened as his tone suddenly turned sharp and you wondered if you'd angered him, raising your hand to cover your nose with your haori sleeve. "Mr. Rengoku is everything-"

"Hold your breath." His command killed the words on your lips and you sucked in a deep breath, holding it in your cheeks as you followed him into the village.

Rengoku's mind raced. Had the power already begun to take effect, or did he have time? Was there an antidote or some way to dull the reaction? In the back of his mind, he knew it was too late, he could smell it for miles back, God knows how long you'd both been exposed. A tug at his sleeve stopped him dead in his tracks and his thoughts shattered like glass. Looking back at you stalled him like a car with a ruined transmission.

You looked like an absolute mess. Cheeks red and burning, eyes tired and submissive with brows knitted upwards. Had your lower face not been obscured, he would have seen the drool dripping down your chin.

"S-Sir, I don't feel well..." You confessed timidly, hoping he wouldn't look down on you too harshly. Instead, he softened, pulling you close with a hand on the small of your back, pushing his needs aside in favor of yours. "You're going to be just fine, my dear, I swear it." He reassured though he wasn't sure if even he believed it to be true.

He led you through the bustling market, expertly dodging pedestrians and obstacles alike, before pulling you into an alleyway to explain things more privately. "Don't be alarmed, everything will be alright." He started, resting you against the wall. "I believe we've been poisoned by the demon's scent, but rest assured, my intentions are pure." Nothing could have possibly made you think otherwise, you were so enchanted with him. "I fear this reaction could have dire consequences for us if we don't find a way to satiate it, but I swear to you, I will not waiver in my convictions. You are safe with me."

He almost seemed stressed, trying to convince you that he was trustworthy. You never would have thought otherwise, but it seemed like he was losing trust in himself. The longer he looked at you, the worse he ached. You looked positively disheveled, breath ragged, hair beginning to fall from your pin. He couldn't stop himself from wondering how much more of a mess he could turn you into.

You began to grow disappointed with his rocksteady refusal to give in. A part of you was excited by the situation, by the thought of the object of your admiration claiming you in a dark alleyway, feet away from civilization. Another part of you worried that suggesting you satiate the need might make you look cheap to him. None of it mattered, though, because he had already began to run on fumes, his body inching closer before his mind could tell it to stop.

His lips crashed to yours like a speeding car, all firey need and firm pressure. Before you could pull him closer, he tore away from you, wiping your taste from his mouth. "F-Forgive me, my dear!" He stammered, horrified with himself for giving in so easily. "M-My body reacted on instinct, it won't happen again!" He swore, beginning to tremble. Your response made his blood run cold, blazing eyes becoming even more owlish.

"It won't...?" Your tone dripped with sugar and disappointment, only one of which he'd normally seek out in you, but in this moment, both tasted the same. "If we've been put under the demon's influence, does that not make us...matched?"

"Matched?" He repeated dumbly, despite knowing all too well what the word entailed. He wanted to hear you explain it.

"If this demon matches individuals together for marriage and conception via this sweet smell..." You trailed almost seductively. "And the pair of us have been exposed, and are only in need of one another, does that not stand to reason that...we have been matched together?"

"I-I suppose it does," He admitted, swallowing dryly. "But we are here to slay the demon, not fall under its enchantment."

You carefully pushed away from the wall, leaning against his chest for support, prompting him to wrap you up in his embrace for the sake of your stability. "Are you not enchanted?" You whisper, dazed and desperate.

"I-I am." He trembled, holding you tight to his chest. "But enchantment be damned, I would never force myself upon you for any reason."

"What if I asked you to?" You giggled drunkenly, nuzzling into his uniform.

"A-Asked me to do what, my dear?" He swallowed, already knowing what you'd say. He desperately tried to convince himself to hold steadfast, that you were unconsenting to his whims, but how could he go on when you were throwing yourself at him?

"Take me, Kyojuro." You cooed, calling him out by name for the very first time. The way his given name rolled off your tongue sent shivers down his spine and he could no longer deny the inevitable.

"M-My dear, you mustn't tempt me..." He warned lowly, bushy brown twitching with restraint. "I-I may not be able to resist you much longer."

"I'm counting on it," You confessed, leaning up and pressing a gentle kiss to his Adam's apple. The moment your lips graced his skin, his resolve gave way like unsteady ground and you were pressed against the wall again. One shaky hand held your chin still and the other dove for your belt, eager to unobscure your lower half to the cold night air.

Hardly any words were spoken between the two of you, but there was a silent understanding between you both as he shimmied your uniform trousers down, your hands pawing at this belt buckle all the while. The moment was clumsy and escalated to a fever pitch almost immediately, but it was also passionate and driven by something other than the toxin in the air- something mutual that had always been there.

Once your trousers were far enough down your thighs where he could access you, and his erection was free, he immediately hoisted you up against the wall, holding you there with his upper body strength alone, pressing your knees into your collarbone. The ache in your core became soothed instantly when he came into contact with it, spit-slicked fingers coaxing it gently before briefly dipping inside. His fingers parted inside you, in a vain attempt to prepare you for breach.

Within minutes, Rengoku was sinking into you, a soft, almost pained sigh escaping him as his forehead dropped to rest on your shoulder. Like an antidote, the soreness inside you was eased, massaged away by his tedious pace and hot, breathy praise. "D-Divine..." He murmured into the cook of your neck, bottoming out time after time, patiently working a rhythm into motion.

He was so much more than you'd imagined, in all ways. Longer, thicker, gentler, more passionate. Nothing could have ever prepared you to finally have him in all his desperate glory, but here you were, trapped between him and a hard place with nowhere you'd rather be.

You couldn't think on that in the moment, though, too overwhelmed by the feeling in your hypersensitive state. Just his steady pace was enough to drive you both mad, whispering near silent worship to each other, hooked together like puzzle pieces. He held you so close, you felt like one being, as his hips lazily rolled into yours, not needing more than that to come close.

Judging by the tension leading up to this moment, you'd imagined he'd ravage you right there in the alleyway, but that isn't what happened. When Rengoku claimed you, he did it as softly as he could, his touch filled with affection and care, as if he were handling a glass figuring, centuries old. The throws of passion overwhelmed you so much that, you hardly even noticed when his tenderness had brought you to the edge, pushing you into the void with a sweet kiss and a whispered "I love you, my dear."

Sensing your undoing by how tightly you constricted him, his eyes squeezed shut, quivering lips peppering kisses to what little of your neck was exposed, repeating his confession however many times he felt it needed to be said. He never ceased his romantic chant as he stalled inside you, spilling what all he had to give, hips straining to keep moving, as if driven by the carnal need to plant life.

After the pair of you were spent, he continued to hold you just like that, reluctant to withdraw from you for fear that the fertilization may not take. Afterward, though, Rengoku began to feel the fog clear from his mind, plastering a confident smile on his face as he gently set you down and helped you redress. Now that he'd faced this hurdle, he was confident that slaying this demon would be easy. It was the consequences of the spell which would be challenging, or so he thought.

-----

"Kyo," You called sweetly from the garden of his family home, led down the pathway by his sweet younger brother. Rengoku beamed at you, returning home from another long mission to his beautiful wife on maternity leave. Your belly was round and full and your gait was reduced to an unsteady waddle, but luckily, Senjuro was unwilling to leave your side until his brother was there to relieve his duties.

"My match," He cooed, dropping his sword and bag to run to you, happily peppering kisses on your face. "You're positively glowing, how are you?"

"I'm wonderful, darling, how are you?" You answered sweetly, pecking his cheek.

"Over the moon," He replied, crouching down to press a kiss to your swollen tummy. "How is our little flame?"

"Never better, thanks to Sen," You laugh lighthearted, reaching out to the boy, who had stepped away, pulling him into your side. "He's taken good care of me since you've been away."

"Have you, now?" Rengoku's eyes lit up even further, standing to place a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You're growing into a fine young man, Senjuro."

The boy's timid features softened at your combined praises, and he pressed his face into your stomach, hugging you both tightly. "I can't wait to meet my niece..."

[homunculus-argument]

As exceptionally rare as it is to be able to actually make a living with creative work in the financial system we have running today, I couldn't imagine being able to pull it off at all if the concept of money had never been invented. Like I can come up with an idea for a comic, draw it, have my publisher handle the printing, production and distribution, and the people who enjoy reading the comics pay for the priviledge of getting them, and then I use that money to buy food. Couldn't do that with a barter economy.

Though it'd be hilarious to be able to just walk up to someone who's tending to their chickens like "hey wanna trade three eggs for the weirdest fucking thought I've had all day?" and they contemplate this for a moment, sigh, and go "oh fuck it alright, let's hear it."

[itsabouttimex2]

How Can We Use Y/N?

So I’ve been watching Delicious in Dungeon, and… thinking about Beastman!Y/N. Or, rather- how the party consumes them.

Maybe outright eating them is off-limits, because, you know, Y/N is still a person, and cannibalism tends to bring about some pretty nasty stuff. Marcille is hard on that stance. She’s opened up to a lot of different foods, sure, that’s true- but she’s not eating a person! The potential for diseases and sickness is too high, no matter how you prepare the food, after all.

But eating isn’t the only way for someone or something to be consumed! Time is consumed! Energy is consumed! Labor is consumed! Products are consumed!

So what can we make out of Y/N?

Maybe you’ve been fused with the soul of something like a Firefly Squid, shifting your flesh to bear a pleasing bioluminescence- and if sometimes a tentacle falls off or is chopped clean in combat? Well, Laios doesn’t really see the issue in skinning the rubbery tendril to make glow-in-the-dark hilt wraps and canteens… even if his friends think that it’s a little gross.

Or maybe you’re some form of Cervidae, bearing a soft, short pelt and a pair of antlers to boot, which means… you’ll end up shedding at the end of the year, and the team now has a fresh set to utilize! The keratin is good for carving, especially if you’re making arrowheads or figurines. If nothing creative comes to mind, they’re at least good for trading to orcs or kobolds.

But I’d like to think that you’re a cute little Valais Blacknose, who hasn’t quite learned to trim your own fur, so it’s up to the Touden Party to take up the shears and chop those woolen locks! Chilchuck is a little estranged from his family, admittedly, but he’s still a father of three, and has learned a bit about haircare in the process. Expect lots of reminders to “hold still, dammit!” and maybe a few “oh, shit”s along the way, but the Half-Foot will get you fixed up.

Once he’s trimmed you into a presentably adorable little lamb, it’s finally possible to walk around without tripping over your own fluff, and see without a collage of thick headbands pinned in place to hold back a storm of woolen locks… and the team is left with several pounds of fluffy wool.

And team Touden does not waste resources- especially if those supplies are coming from their precious little Y/N!

So the team scrambles to find a way to use all of the floof, each one taking a portion to use in some way, at least.

Laios knows that winding his cooking ware with spun wool will only make them harder to clean, especially if blood or fat soak into the threads, and he really doesn’t want to waste such a soft part of his dear Y/N by having to throw them out over something like a minor spill… which also rules out his sword’s grip, because, again, wool holds nasty fluids really well. Probably he’ll settle for something extremely practical that can be used many times over, like a pair of socks or gloves. It’s not impossible for the monster enthusiast to keep a handful of unprocessed fluff in his pocket, just so he has something to grab and squish during stressful or boring trips… or so he can “prove” to nearby parties/“friends” how soft you are. (Shuro and Kabru are on the receiving end of more than a few rants.)

Ever practical, Senshi probably makes cheesecloth from your threads, albeit over the course of several days spent knitting the yarn together. If he doesn’t have that sort of time, or maybe just not the motivation, he’ll bind himself up a washcloth or two- perfect for sopping up cooking spills, or scrubbing the inside of a pan. And, now that you can actually see without constantly peeling pounds of fluff from your eyes, expect to given more tasks during cooking. Anything to keep you close and safe. It’s also very probable that he’ll have you on a “Beastman-friendly” diet comprised heavily of leafy meals and chopped veggies. Maybe he’ll even scrounge up some hay, or cut and bind up some grass to have on hand for you as a snack. He won’t even consider this strange- to Senshi, it’s just the proper way to take care of someone that he obsesses over the safety of cares for.

Happy to have “monster” supplies that she doesn’t have to eat, Marcille binds a few of the finer threads into a set of little ribbon for her hair. I also imagine that she’d be primarily responsible for taking caring if your hair after the cut, so she’ll make a few extra in order to style yours like she styles hers. If there’s plenty extra when everyone else is done taking their share, the elf girl just might make herself a little plushy version of you to sleep with… and one of Falin, too.

Divorced father of three, deft of hand Chilchuck has learned his way around a needle… mostly. It’s not above him to maybe weave something nice up for his daughters, like matching bracelets. He’ll want six in total, one for him and his ex, three for his daughters, and one for you- just so everyone in the “family” has a common thread to bind them. A particularly young Y/N will most likely be adopted by the Tims family at the end of their journey, providing a safe and happy (if viciously protective and smothering) space for them to grow. His daughters receive letters every now and then, each one waiting anxiously to meet the individual who is; unbeknownst to them, being propositioned as a brand new family member. Even his ex is mildly excited at the thought of someone brand new to raise, given that all her daughters are grown and moving on in the world. Maybe it’s what they need to get back together… or maybe that’s just the possessiveness talking.

And for Izutsumi… she wants a new scarf. Not that she knows how to knit, or has any interest in learning, but still. The cat girl will scrounge up a hefty handful of wool and toss it into Marcille’s lap with a huff, demanding a properly knit scarf to add to her arsenal. And although she’s not exactly above whining or making threats to get her way, there’s no need- the mage is totally on board to have every member of the party decked out in the softest parts of their collective favorite member. So, Izutsumi gets her scarf, and then everyone finally has a part of Y/N to keep close and hold dear.

Not that anyone is going to start ignoring the real thing, unfortunately for you.

[togglesbloggle]

How come there's basalt but no bapepper?

This pun made me smile, and has earned you one(1) Toggle Point, anon!

That said, 'basalt' as a word has a rather storied history. The true association isn't with salt, but with gold.

Originally, at least as far back as ancient Egypt, the word meant 'touchstone'; though of course back then it was baban, not basalt. As you may know, touchstones are a common method for testing the properties of minerals and, especially, economically valuable metals like gold. The idea is simple, really. Take a very hard, very dark slab of stone, and scraaape your metal across it, like so:

With a little practice, you can get a fairly nice streak of residue, and the light tone of gold really pops against the dark stone. Then, if somebody is trying to sell you a lot of precious metals, you can perform this streak test using them on your touchstone, and compare the streaking pattern against metals that you trust. If they're similar, the metal is pure, and if the streaks are different, the bastards probably aldulterated it with something cheaper. There you have it- a straightforward, fairly reliable, and very pre-modern method of rooting out Ea-Nasirtesting the quality of your precious metals during high-stakes trading. To this day, it's still a tool in any geologists' kit; you can see how it's handy for mineral identification when you're out in the field.

Anyway, the substance we now know as basalt was particularly good for this task, so (as humans will tend to do) the function of the stone and the type of stone itself started to get mixed up and share the same name. Greek contact with Egypt taught Europe the word, with the slight modification to basan, and then there was a typo in one of Pliny's books, so when they dusted it off in the Renaissance, it became Basalt instead. But it's all the same thing and the same word.

One of my favorite cul-de-sacs of this history is that at one point in ancient Greece, when the word was still more 'touchstone' than 'igneous rock', the word had expanded enough to take on some metaphorical and maybe mythic proportions. Basanos meant 'touchstone', yes, but also 'trial' or 'test' as applied to our own more human ambitions, a thing you endure to show your quality. So basalt became the stone that could find true gold among false metals- not just in the marketplace, but in the soul as well.

[thecoiledserpent]

↻ VARNA, GUNA, PURUSHARTH, NATURE, GANA & YONI IN VEDIC ASTROLOGY

basics of vedic astrology. ask box. masterlist.

important: this master post will consist of three major posts wherein i will be elaborating each of these six mentioned factors. understanding them is key to understanding the deeper nature of the nakshatras, and how compatibility works in vedic astrology. it is not possible to work on all of them in a single post. also, order is irrelevant here. although i usually let it slide, i would recommend reading even the theory and background part in these three posts because they are relevant to further understanding. without it, things may not make sense. i have touched on sensitive topics like varna with care so as to not hurt religious sentiments. but i would appreciate being called out if i have said anything that may spread hatred. it is never my intent to create discord. i would request others to be polite and respectful as well. these are all topics deeply entwined with ancient hindu culture. any disrespect, misinformation and hateful behaviour will have you kicked out of this space. long post ahead, i wish the readers best of luck.

◍ VARNA + GANA

i would like to start off by mentioning that varna and guna are used majorly for checking compatibility between two people or for suggesting appropriate career paths.

varna is for relating the native's attitude towards the world and their work / responsibilities. gana is for analysing the native's nature. so don't use these things in an all encompassing way, and it is better if these tools are used only on the things they are intended for.

VARNA

INTRODUCTION: varna, literally translates to 'caste'. it is noteworthy to mention that vedic astrology, one of the vedangas, was written by sages in antiquity. the caste system that came to ostracize the poor in the name of religion in the indian subcontinent by the 1900s is nothing like what the sages intended for varna to mean, due to which it has come to gain an inherently bad reputation. firstly, the caste system started out with a basic concept—how people brought money into their home. it had nothing to do with one's birth. this is not to be confused with gotra, which refers to bloodline. our bloodline remains the same, but based on what people did to gain money we classify society into 5 major categories, which will be elaborated below. secondly, the varna allotted to each nakshatra is based off the nakshatra's nature. i won't be delving too deep into this, but careful consideration leads one to realize that certain traits indicate saintly personas and others indicate an outlaw. of course, the interpretations aren't so extreme, and i will expand on them further.

brahmin—the caste that studied vedas, tended to the statues of hindu gods, assisted day-to-day prayers, rituals, festivals and rites. they were gurus, translating roughly to 'teacher'. nakshatras—krittika, purva phalguni, purva ashada, purva bhadrapada

kshatriyas—the caste that ruled lands, that is, kings and queens. nakshatras—pushya, uttara phalguni, uttara ashada, uttara bhadrapada

vaishyas—the caste that did trade and business. they brought money by selling their services. they are majorly divided into two parts; farmers and traders. artisans, dancers, musicians etc. were considered to be traders. nakshatras— merchants—ashwini, punarvasu, hasta farmers—mrigashira, chitra, jyeshtha, dhanishtha

shudras—the sweeper caste. these were the people who carried out menial tasks such as maids, sweepers, butchers, servants, constructions workers etc. again, they can be classified into two major parts; butchers and the servants. nakshatras— workers—rohini, magha, anuradha, revati butchers—ardra, swati, moola, shatabhisha

mleccha—the outcastes. these were people who committed heinous crimes and were a threat to society. even a brahmin who comitted the sin of raping another woman could become a mleccha. mleccha were not any 'caste', they were no caste at all and condemned until they died. we only include people here who committed wrongdoings under situations under their own control. a woman who aborted a child due to her own health issues, trans people etc are not to be included here, unless they commit another crime. nakshatras—ashlesha, bharani, vishakha, shravana.

now, let's come down to business. following are general guidelines required to use the varna system—

we only use the caste / varna of our moon sign. having a certain varna in many of your planets is not indicative of anything, only consider the varna of your moon sign.

varna is used for analysing many things, for starters. we use varna for figuring out the most appropriate life path for oneself, and also which kind of career the native would thrive in. one's moon sign's varna is indicative of how we interact with the world and what things we're good with.

note that we employ flexibility here. having a nakshtra in a brahmin varna does not make you 'superior', you simply have other strengths, is all. similarly, having a mleccha varna does not make you a bad person, or that you will commit crimes.

in friendships, marriages, and other unions varna represents how well the ideals of two people match. for eg, a brahmin will never get along with a shudra. nor will a kshatriya. vaishya will get along with shudra, and with brahmin, but not with kshatriya and so on.

tbh the complexity with mleccha is that it belongs nowhere so compatibility matching becomes tricky. an outcaste is not accepted by society, so discussing them becomes difficult. personally, i believe that mleccha varna people can only get along well with each other.

GENERAL VARNA OBSERVATIONS

kshatriya naks are usually stubborn and self-righteous. once they make up their mind about something, it's very hard to convince them otherwise, even if you're right. pushya people even end up losing their trust in those who question their judgement. they can be impulsive and have difficulty keeping their silence when they are hurt. genuinely flamboyant people smh you tell them to wear something casual and they'll bring out a met gala ass outfit. very beautiful people though, they entrance others easily with their charm and beauty, so they get away with it. kinda dramatic too lmao these people often have the jester's privilege 🤷‍♀️ i said what i said. there's a regal aura about them and they easily get away with things. it repeatedly reminds me of achilles, for some reason. bold, bright and attractive; and most of all, worthy of praise. their fame is well deserved, but restraint on the smug attitude is important to avoid making enemies. these people are prone to getting back stabbed. also likely to challenge the system. but not like a revolutionary radical way like mleccha naks do, but rather 'fy bitch, i'm gonna wear what i wanna and look how i naturally am. y'all ain't got shit on me.' if i'm being honest, it's actually pretty respectable.

mleccha nak people are most likely to question the working of things. and they are the type of people who research everything before they fight about it, to make sure they can't be proven wrong. bharani is pretty much the face of this aspect. they easily feel victimised and are sensitive to criticism. sensitive does not mean cry baby though, like bharani could probably punch your face in if it has had enough, sensitive is used in the context of reactive here. they are the people who are most likely to be abused or ignored. usually have trauma related to certain aspects of life. ashlesha have childhood trauma, bharani have trauma related to being restrained (emotional manipulation and being misguided by people they trusted) and so on... mleccha naks have a tendency of being air-headed when it comes to whoever is hurt by their words when they are certain they are speaking the truth. or when they decide they had enough shit and want to voice their feelings. they stop caring about societal restraints and could even spit at a king's face if it comes down to it. usually lonely people. if i'm being honest ashlesha manages to become an odd one out here too, since they don't really fit in much anywhere. they crave company but they are repeatedly betrayed. so it's like push and pull with them, and others don't want to be with such a person. ashlesha's biggest lesson is to see the truth for what it is.

brahmin nak people.. enjoy life, so to say. they can be kinda lazy or have tendencies to order people around. can be self-righteous and massive snobs when they are not self-conscious. other than that, they are pretty chill people. they go with the flow and hold on to the seaweeds when they sense the waters are getting too fast. they know to, and when not to exert themselves. morally good people though, usually have good childhoods. kind of reminds me of gryffindors, they want the best for everyone, but they are a bit rough around the edges and unintentionally hurt others. ngl most of them were very proud people, and others were sadistic. ig brahmin naks have an air of authority which they are more than aware of and it adds to their already inflated egos. it is necessary to remain humble, otherwise people will easily hate on these people. they are very talented, and so most people desire to bring them down as soon as they can. acting foolishly or with vanity is like their one-way ticket to downfall.

vaishya nak people are incredibly clever and quick witted. of course, since it's a wide range of naks i won't generalise, but remember that wit exists in various forms. such as ashwini is prodigal type of intelligence, whereas chitra is 'sell combs to a bald man' type of wit. the farmer category & the worker shudras are hard working naks. they are devoted to what they do and remain grounded, even after massive success. it is difficult for them to see past excessive fonts and twisted words. tbh it doesn't make much sense to them, they are the type to say stuff as it is. no buttering, no boot licking. they believe that if you want something, then you work for it; no excuses. revati is a bit of a nepo baby, but they definitely believe in hard work, as well. often worth their salt. can be delusional though, at least it keeps them happy. the merchant vaishyas are the clever ones. these are the type of people you want to associate with smart work. the farmers category was hard work, but here wit is a major theme. they also don't mind buttering as long as it gets work done. clever people. probably would use others for their own benefit. their usefulness gains them many friends and accomplishments in life. the butcher shudras are just as hardworking as the worker shudras, but they are classified as having a more 'it is what it is' type of mindset. they can hurt people at times, and have a harsh nature. they are the type of people who accept life for what it is and silently suck it up. not ones to complain, usually. when they they set their mind to completing something, they don't rest until they achieve it. they usually don't demand praise for their work, but definitely deserve it.

general compatibility—

✓ brahmins—brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya ✓ kshatriyas—brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, mleccha ✓ vaishyas—brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra ✓ shudras—vaishya, shudra, mleccha ✓ mlecchas—kshatriya, shudra, mleccha

extreme incompatibility—

✗ brahmin—mleccha ✗ kshatriya—shudra ✗ vaishya— none ✗ shudra—kshatriya ✗ mleccha—brahmin

extreme compatibility—

✓ brahmins—brahmin ✓ kshatriyas—kshatriya ✓ mlecchas—mleccha

GANA

INTRODUCTION: there is no english equivalent for this word, the closest it can be translated to is 'behaviour'. gana is used to compare a native's energy and overall traits in a rough manner with the energies associated with 'swarga' / heaven, 'naraka' / hell and 'mrityu loka' / 'prithvi' / earth. hence, there are three ganas: 'deva' / godly, 'rakshasa' / demonly, 'manushya' / 'nara' / human, respectively. (ironic and funny sounding, but don't think of it from your, i.e a human's perspective. think of it from the view of the universe and you'll understand what it's supposed to mean.)

BASIC INFO: again, it is important to mention that flexibility is exercised in this matter. rakshasa gana naks are not actually demons, it's supposed to describe an energy. only the gana of the moon nak is to be taken in reference. although, yes, most planets' naks being in the same gana makes it the dominant one.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE GANAS

deva gana naks are of positive and bright energy. we associate them with the morning, and these people usually function best in the day. they are splendorous and usually strict about their principles or whatever their codes of conduct are. they are impatient, vain, and even selfish at times. intelligence, wit, fierceness, beauty (beauty is used in the context of abundance, not looks) and fine speech is associated with them. they are clean and usually enjoy fresh or healthy food. they can be immense people pleasers, and care a lot about their reputation. they prefer company over solitude.

rakshasa gana naks are abundant in energy and patience. they are deliberate and know where and how to invest their energy. they are associated with the night and have tendencies towards being night-owls. they are learnt in the sciences. they can be messy and unhygienic. they handle intensity, anger and violence from others well, because they know how to handle their own darkness. they can be harsh by nature and hurt others. they are familiar with solitude, and are at comfort with it. company can make them anxious.

manushya gana naks are in the middle of both extremes, embodying balance in their traits. they are usually humanitarian and adore animals. their traits are indefinite most of the times because they are flexible and get along with both deva gana and rakshasa gana people.

✗ deva and rakshasa gana people do not get along, especially if the charts are extremely polar about their nature as well.

✓ manushya gana people get along with all three ganas.

✓ deva and rakshasa gana are compatible with others of their own gana.

✓ two deva gana people are extremely compatible.

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय नमः

[ghostboneswrites2]

I really resonated with Daryl x abused reader could you maybe do one where the reader doesn’t let their past define them and shows little signs of abuse like they’re super cheery and happy and doesn’t let their past get them down and but maybe reader has a ptsd attack by Daryl after he confronts her about being so happy especially in an apocalypse and they just realize they relate to each other even if they’re personalities are so drastically and Daryl just comforts reader 🫂

The Painted Bunting

Era: Greene Farm

Summary: Daryl is paired with you on the search for Sophia and snaps at you after growing tiresome of your seemingly endless kindness.

Note: No more laptop for now since the cord broke so I hope you’ll all forgive the lack of my usual post formatting :(

Warnings: profanity, mentions of past abuse, grumpy sassy asshole Daryl (the man we originally fell in love with)

Banner credits on this post

        Shining hair in the rays of the sun, an infectious laugh, a beaming grin that never seemed to dissipate. A glowing beacon in the dark. That was what you were. And, admittedly, it got under his skin a little, so Daryl tended to avoid you. You weren’t oblivious to it, but you accepted it for what it was. After all, you couldn’t win them all, right? 

        You had always been that way; soft, gentle, graceful, kind. If you had never let the past change that for you, you certainly wouldn’t let present day events change it, either. Maybe the world had become a nightmare, but that didn’t mean you had to be one too. 

        Daryl thought that what really gritted his teeth about you was that through everything that had happened, you never changed a single bit. Not like the others had; not like he had. 

        After the world fell, after the camp by the quarry was overrun, after the CDC, after Sophia had gone missing, you remained exactly the same. For all of the afore mentioned, Daryl found you to be one of the most vexing people he ever had the displeasure of interacting with, second only to Shane, who could have easily been traded off for his own brother, Merle.

        Needless to say, he was peeved at the idea that you were sent on search duty with him after he hurt himself in the ravine. Rick decided a buddy system would be beneficial to all of the search party participants, and you volunteered to tag along, because of course you did.

        You weren’t so much looking forward to spending so much one on one time with the man, yourself. You didn’t necessarily have an issue with him, but you were all too aware of the issue he seemed to have with you. Really, you couldn’t relate to him at all. Not everyone around camp was perky and sweet, and rightfully so, but Daryl was such a brooding presence and you just couldn’t put yourself in that frame of mind.

        The two of you had set out just after dawn and the hours ticked by as you made friendly conversation and Daryl occasionally offered you a measly grunt in response. 

        “Do you think we’ll find anyone out here?” You asked. “I mean, aside from Sophia. I know we’ll find her.”

        “Pro’ly better if we don’t find nobody else.” Was his first verbal response all day. You shrugged. 

        “I don’t know. Could be good. I’m sure there are people who could really use some help.”

        “Ain’t our problem.” He argued. “Gotta look out for our own. The hell you worried about helpin’ strangers for when we ain’t even found the little girl we’re after?” 

        “Oh, no.” You chuckled nervously. “It’s not that I was just —“ You cut yourself off, sensing an oncoming ramble. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

        “Mm.” He hummed, pausing his footsteps to take a breath and scan his surroundings. After a moment, he continued forward, and you followed without question . Admittedly, you had no clue how to track, so if anything you were there in case he got hurt.

        “So, if someone needed your help… You wouldn’t help?” You asked innocently.

        He whipped around to face you, the aggression behind his motion drawing you to a dead stop.

        “The hell’s your problem, huh?” He snapped. You blinked. “It’s the end of the goddamn world and you’re askin’ me about some hypothetical moral dilemma? Let me tell you somethin��, girl; ain’t no damn morals in the apocalypse. Ain’t no more law and order! It’s just us,” he paused, sending an arrow through the skull of a walker that had crept up behind you. You flinched and turned to watch its carcass thud on the forest floor. “And them.” He concluded. 

        “I—I was just making conversation.” You mumbled timidly. 

        “Why? It’s not a social call! We’re out here to find that little girl. This is why I didn’t need no damn babysitter.” He complained.

        “I was just trying to be nice.” You defended.

        “Nice?” He scoffed. That simple word seemed to trigger something in him as his eyes lit up with aggravation. “Don’t you get it? It ain’t about bein’ nice anymore. It’s about survival. Got dead people standin’ up and eatin’ people and you’re worried about bein’ nice. Walkin’ around passin’ out water and food and gigglin’ with everybody like we ain’t got a bunch o’ dead bodies stumblin’ around us just waitin’ to take a bite out.” 

        Maybe it was the way he raised his voice, or the way his eyes shot flaming daggers of fury right through your chest, or the way he threw his arms down and spat words at you like you were some puny, wretched little thing. You didn’t know what it was, but somewhere in the whirlwind of heated exchange, his voice slowly blended together with the other voice — the one that still lived in the back of your mind and ate away at you every day.

        The voice that belonged to your own father, the one person who struck true, genuine fear in you. Before you knew it, that old sensation of real terror, the one you’d buried somewhere deep inside you and covered with cement, was breaking free and engulfing you. 

        You were frozen, like a fawn under the scrutinizing gaze of a predator. The humid air felt like a thick paste as you struggled to gulp it down and catch a breath. At first, Daryl felt inclined to criticize your tears as a show of weakness, fragility, inability to handle a little raise of the voice. He quickly noticed, however, that this was no simple burst of reactionary emotions. No, this was something much deeper and it was rattling you to the core. There was a distant look in your wide eyes, one that he came to recognize, even if it took him a minute. 

       He shifted on his feet, scanning you, unsure how to intervene. 

        “Hey.” He eventually called out, but it was clear his voice wasn’t reaching you. This was the final piece of confirmation he needed. You were having an episode, the kind he experienced a few times when he first got out of his father’s abusive home. 

        He sighed and grabbed your trembling shoulders. You jumped but you didn’t flee or strike out. His touch seemed to dry you out and shrivel you up like a raisin. You shrank into yourself, hyperventilating. 

        “C’mon.” He said softly, ushering you done to your knees. “Hey. Ya gotta breathe.” 

        Your breathe only became more shallow and forced. Tears poured down your cheeks as your chest got tighter. 

        “Just breathe. That’s the only way it’s gonna stop.” He urged. He went to grab your wrists but you panicked, snatching your arms away and falling down on your back. 

        “No! Get away! You can’t do this anymore! I’m not a little kid!” You cried out.

        You were making quite a bit of noise by this point, between the gasps for air and the sobs. He crouched over you and grabbed your shoulders. 

        “(Y/N), ya ain’t there anymore. Wherever it is, it’s gone. In the past. It’s just you and me right now, and we ain’t there. We’re here.” He soothed, hoping his voice could find you somewhere in the abyss. “Just listen. Ya hear that? It’s a Painted Bunting. Look,” he pointed up into a tree at a bright multicolored bird, similar in its beauty to a parrot, only much smaller. “It’s right up there. Ya see it?” 

        Your breathing had started to slow down now, those shallow inhales finally reaching a little deeper within. Your eyes lazily followed his finger to the bright little bird singing a flute-like melody. 

        “Ya see it?” He asked again. You managed to nod once, still holding your arms tightly to your chest as you laid flat on the bed of leaves and twigs. He took a moment to see you, to really take you in, and he realized you were beautiful. Not just in the way a pretty girl with a nice personality was beautiful, but in a way that left so much of who you really were unsaid.

        “Just watch it.” He whispered, glancing back up at the feathered creature, hoping it would stick around long enough to bring you back down to earth. “They take two years to look that pretty. Did ya know that?” He asked, glancing back down at you. Your eyes were still on the bird, but you shook your head no. “Yeah. Only the males, too.” He added. “Otherwise, they’re just kinda greenish and yellowish.” 

        Once your chest was rising and falling with a steady rhythm, you finally looked over at him. Humiliation began to set in. You quickly sat yourself up and brushed the dead foliage away from your clothes and hair. 

        “I’m sorry.” You mumbled. “That hasn’t happened in a long time.” 

        “‘S okay.” He shrugged, standing himself back up as well. “Happens.”

        “Yeah, we’ll, it shouldn’t. Not nowadays.” 

        “Can’t help it when it does.” He assured you. “I get it.”

        “Maybe I should head back.” You suggested.

        “We both can. If ya wanna. It’ll be dark soon anyways.”  

        “I don’t wanna make you lose your trail or.. Ya know.” You fidgeted with the hem of your shirt.

        “Nah. Ain’t no use after dark, anyways. We’d just be stumbling in circles and bumpin’ into each other.” He insisted, contrastingly soft in comparison to before your episode. 

        “Oh. Right.” You nodded. Just as you got ready to turn back toward the farm, he cleared his throat.

        “Ya wanna talk about it?”

        “About what?” You turned back to him. He shifted his weight anxiously, chewing at the inside of his cheek. Offering an ear to listen was at least ten yards outside the perimeter of his comfort zone. “About that?” You asked. “That was nothing. Just something stupid that happens sometimes. That’s all.”

        While his tone was much kinder and warmer than before, yours was cold, dull, and tired. Those episodes could take a lot out of a person, and he was no stranger to that fact. 

        “Sometimes it helps.” He said. “Talkin’ about it. Makes it a little less…” He trailed off, searching for the word he wanted. “Less, uh… Consuming.”

        “It never gets less consuming.” You argued.

        “It does.” He insisted. 

         “And how would you know?” You asked, impatience lacing your words.

        “I used to get ‘em too.” He admitted. “Been awhile but… I just get it. That’s all.”

        You studied him. In all the weeks you’d spent around the man, you’d never seen him so genuine, or really so open. He never seemed to look at you like another person. You were always just another load on his shoulders. 

        “My dad.” You finally spoke. He nodded.

        “Me too.” 

        “I’m sorry.” You sympathized.

        “Me too.” He agreed. 

        “We should go.” You sighed, turning away again. 

        This time you didn’t wait for him, you just started walking, until he called out behind you; “‘M sorry.” You stood still, but you didn’t look back. He knew he had your attention, though, and he knew he had to say something else. “I know I did it this time. I shouldn’t’ve yelled at ya like that.”

        “It’s okay. Maybe you were right.” 

        “Nah.” He shook his head, taking slow steps to catch up to you. “I wasn’t. It’s good. Ya didn’t let none of that shit make ya bitter. Keep it that way. Else you’ll end up a grumpy redneck.” He joked. You suppressed the small smile that tugged at the corner of your lips.

        “Maybe the grumpy rednecks of the world got it figured out.” You said, walking again once you felt him catch up. 

        “Nah. I don’t know shit about shit.” He admitted, eliciting a small laugh from you. You shook your head.

        “I don’t think anyone does.” You reasoned.

        On the hike back to the Greene farm, you two shared some light banter, some stories of the past, some laughs and extended looks. He grew finder of you that day. The critical glares he’d send you from a distance were replaced with admiration and respectful nods. You’d often catch him looking and flash him a big smile, waving at him before you attention was drawn elsewhere. 

       You both learned that maybe the two of you were differently colored fruit, but you grew from the same tree, and you weren’t so different after all. And, that sentiment was never lost or forgotten. It carried with you for as long as you two knew each other. 

Taglist || Masterlist

tags: @kissmeunicornbaobei @thesadcatt0 @clairealeehelsing @duckybird101 @tmntfixationxreader @ryoujoking @blackvelveteen1339 @yondus-girl @ladylincoln @sunshinebug9 @saylum559 @yoowhatthefuck @duffmckagansbandana @celtic-crossbow @virginsexgod69 @dazzling-roaring-20s @l0kilaufeys0n7 @uhnanix

[persefolli]

𝐇𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐞.

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @myheartfollower, @laylasbunbunny, @destinylb, @deadgirl02

Today was a beautiful day, clear skies and salty air lingered over Awa’atlu and every day you thanked Tonowari for letting you stay in this paradise you called home. Tonowari and Jake wasted no time in making you Tsahik after you accepted their confessions. You married and performed tsaheylu with Tonowari, then eloped with Jake, with Tonowari as a ‘witness’. 

The Metkayina praised the relationship between the three of you, stating that the village will become more powerful with the three most powerful clan members running it. “Hey ladies, I’m gonna go get some hunting done today.” You peeked into the marui pod where the Metkayina weaved baskets and buckets. Your fellow weavers nodded and shooed you off to go hunt for dinner you would prepare for both Tonowari and Jake tonight.

You hadn't seen them all day, knowing that they had important duties to tend to. But you had very exciting news to tell them, and you wanted to do it in private, over dinner

You bolted into the forest, letting some warriors know about your whereabouts if anything happens. You got a great distance away from the reef, where some animals were sure to pop out. “What are we feeling? Viperwolf? Kentrocapa? Or maybe some….fish.” You spoke  out loud to yourself….and your unborn child.

A few beats of silence and you chuckled, “Yeah we've had fish too much these past few days.” You began sniffing, tracking the scent of a nearby creature that you were bound to kill. Slowly walking over the damp grass, you found a viperwolf. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. You drew your bow, and focused right on the lone wolf that was eating some strange item in the ground. Before you could release your arrow, a shuffle in the bushes managed to scare the poor wolf off.

Your ears perked up, and you turned to face the rustling bushes, “Jake?” You smiled, expecting your lover to emerge from the bushes.

Instead, a taller, short-haired na’vi in tactical gear stepped out from the bushes. You knew he wasn't from around here, and the four fingered hand told you he was no real na’vi. You backed up, slightly losing your footing. “You’re not Jake.”

 “Let's make this easy for both of us, peach.” He pulled out an orange band and began inching closer to you.

You swiftly grabbed your bow, drawing it back and releasing it, missing him by a long shot. At this rate he was too close for you to pull out another arrow, so you did what first came to mind. 

“HELP!” You turned around and began to sprint, but he was bigger, and faster. He managed to tackle you to the ground and slap one side of the band on your wrist. “Hold still!” He grunted, struggling to slap the other side of the band on you. “JAKE! MA JAKE!” You screamed, hoping your lover was already on his way towards you, but that chance was slim. He turned you around to face him, as soon as you met his eyes you hissed, leaning up and biting his forearm. “Son of a-” Your eyes widened seeing the large rock in his hand. 

---

“Have you guys seen Y/n today?” Jake walked into the weaving marui pod.

“She said she was going hunting in the forest earlier today.” One of the Metkayina  members responded. 

Jake hummed and walked out the pod, keeping his head on a swivel looking for you. Something didn't feel right, in his gut. He had just gotten back from the forest, and you weren't there. Even your scent seemed to fade the deeper he went into the forest. He walked to find Tonowari, who was in another pod talking to some warriors about new trading policies with other reef clans. Jake stood in the doorway and silently motioned two fingers towards him indicating they needed to talk.

“Have you seen Y/n today?” 

“No, I assume she's weaving, yes?”

“No. They said she went hunting.”

“Well maybe she's in the forest.”

“I just came from the forest and she wasn't there. Her scent went cold.”

“Hm.” Tonowari nodded. “Maybe she went fishing instead.”

“Yeah….Fishing.” Jake agreed.

The both of them exchanged a look, a calm flowing between them. Their expressions didn't show it, but their senses spiked right in that moment. They didn't want to alarm one another, but they both knew that something was indeed wrong.

“I'll just wait…for a little while.” Jake walked off. 

“Yes…she’ll show up eventually.” 

Was Jake gonna wait? Of course not. He found his skimwing and immediately went diving in the reef, looking amongst the other metkayina for you. The longer he searched the more panicked he became. The last thing he wanted to do was look beyond the reef, because only Eywa knew what could've gotten ahold of you out there.

On the other side of the reef,  Tonowari was diving and asking his clan members if they’d seen you. He became increasingly angry with each “No, I haven't seen Y/n.”

Tonowari was usually level headed, but knowing you were gone with no clue where you went made his mind run wild. He loved you so, almost to the point of obsession, and your absence made his nerves grow hot. He looked, and looked until the eclipse got closer.

The sky grew dark, and he finally met up with Jake in the middle of the reef, panting. “I can’t find her. No one has seen her Jake!” 

“I couldn't find a trace of her, I even went beyond the reef.” Jake responded.

Just as he went silent, the static on his earpiece went off. “Can-hear-Corporal?”  He managed to hear bits and pieces of the voice from the other side.

“Corporal.” He muttered. There was only one person who called him that.

Quaritch.

“Gather the best warriors and meet me at the edge of the reef, now!” Jake yelled at his best friend and went towards the reef border, where the signal became clearer. “Corporal, if you can hear me, know that I have something you want.” Quaritch said on the earpiece. In the background he heard a very faint moaning noise, very, very quiet.

“DAMN!” Jake slapped the waterbed, and the skimwing screeched, feeling the rage of it’s rider.”

 ---

Quaritch had a tight grip on your braid. Even though you were already bound up, he still took pride in torturing you.  He yanked your braid every once in a while, and held a knife to your throat when you wouldn't quiet down. You were still dazed from him knocking you out with a rock earlier. Your throat was scratchy, and your cheeks were wet with tears. “Please Eywa please.” You muttered. “Tono- Ja- AH!” You cried out as Quaritch yanked your head back again.

“Eywa, won't save you!”

“Please! Please let me go, I'll give you anything you want.”

“No, I'll get what I want, peaches. Your husband, Jake.Sully.” He said with venom. “He won't leave his wife and baby to die will he?”

“If you hurt us they will kill you!” You snapped back.

Quaritch turned you to face him and placed a harsh slap across your cheek. You cried out as he raised his hand again, but a gunshot stopped the slap from landing again. The two of you looked to see Jake and Tonowari approaching, with a large group a metkayina warriors. You began tugging at your restraints, crying in relief seeing your two lovers again. 

Jake used the scope of his gun to search for you. He quickly spotted you, and frowned seeing you jerk against the boat railing. “Mawey.” He whispered. “Mawey.” As if he was in your ear, you stopped tugging, and looked at him expectantly.

“He has her.” 

Tonowari let out a loud yell, hissing and gripping his spear tight. “Let me see.” He reached out for the gun Jake had. He spotted you, seeing a blood trail stemming from your head, and the bruised cheek which was starting to swell. Tonowari slammed the gun back into Jake’s chest, hissing and snarling. “He must die!”

“Tonowari, this may be a trap we have to-”

“He will die.” He repeated. Jake noticed the darkness in Tonowari’s expression. He would have to move fast if he didn’t want Tonowari putting you in possible danger.

“Sully.” Quaritch snarled into the earpiece. “You for her. No funny business. We have you surrounded.”

Seven more boats began speeding towards Jake and the rest of the Metkayina, surrounding them. You looked, and saw one avatar, and about 4 humans on each boat. This should be light work for the two of them, right?

“Let's not waste any more time than we have to.” Quaritch taunted.

Jake and Tonowari sat in place, deliberating their options. Jake could sacrifice himself, if that meant you would come out safe, but there was no way you or Tonowari would allow that. Jake could attack the ships, but you were held at gunpoint, no way he would make it to you before the trigger was pulled.

Quaritch suddenly raised his hand and smacked you again, making sure you cried out loud enough for the two warriors to hear. Tonowari snapped his head towards Jake and began yelling. “Jake you have 5 seconds to make a decision or I swear to Eywa nobody is getting out of this alive!” 

Jake furrowed his eyebrows, finally giving in to his partner's rage.  “I'll go alone. Retreat to the reef.”  

“Retreat?!”

“Re.Treat.” Jake said, slower, bowing his head slightly. This time, Tonowari caught the hint. 

“Hyah!” He hooted out, the Metkayina warriors started turning around and disappearing into the water. Jake pulled his gun aside, and slowly began approaching the boat, seeing the damage on your face more clearly now. 

“No. Jake.” You said breathlessly as he came to the edge of the boat He climbed on, coming face to face with Quaritch. “Jake.” You looked at him with watery eyes. Your breathing became unstable as you realized what was gonna happen next. 

“No..No take me! Don’t you want him to suffer? Take me instead!” 

Jake looked at you and hissed, shutting you up immediately. 

Quartich paid no attention to your begging, but took out another restraining strap. “Let her go.” Jake said, slapping one end of the restraint on his wrist. Quaritch seemed satisfied, finally taking out his knife and cutting one side of the restraint off. Jake winced, but managed to clasp the other restraint on his other wrist, resulting in you being cut free.

“Now that wasn’t so hard wasn’t it?”

You stood, looking between Jake and Quaritch. Jake nodded towards the skimwing, telling you to scram, with his eyes. You shook your head, refusing to leave him. Jake kept averting his eyes to the skimwing, but you being stubborn as you were didn’t catch on. You slowly began backing up to the edge of the boat, hitting the railing. 

Suddenly Jake swung, hitting Quaritch in the jaw. 

Everything happened so fast.

Guns began blazing. Metkayina warriors shot out the water piercing humans with their spears. Jake jumped onto the boat railing, into the water; and Tonowari shot out the water and grabbed you, pulling you right back into the ocean with him. 

This happened all at the same time. 

You held on to Tonowari tightly as the current in the water almost managed to throw you off the side of his skimwing. The two of you began to move upward again, breaking the water barrier. You watched as Tonowari yelled with pure rage, lifting  his spear and impaling an avatar with one swift movement. The two of you dove back into the sea, the water current pushing the half dead avatar further on Tonowari’s spear. 

The skimwing slowed down, ultimately rising and stopping on the ocean bed. The boats that now surrounded you were on fire, sinking, with arrow-struck corpses piled on top. The avatar stuck on Tonowaris spear began gasping, spitting up blood and looking at the two of you with pure fear in his eyes.

Tonowari tilted his head, watching the avatar convulse on the spear. “Tonowari?” You called out, but he was gone, his eyes seemed soulless. You held onto the side of the skimwing, floating in the water, watching Tonowari slowly push out his spear and angle it towards the mouth of his skimwing. “T-”

In an instant, the skimwing twisted its head and opened its mouth, chomping down, and completely decapitating the avatar. You watched the corpse of the avatar slide off of the spear, and into the water.

Tonowari had never, never shown this side of himself before. You didn't even think he was capable of doing something like this. You discreetly wrapped your hand around, grabbing his braid. You wanted to know how angry he was, to feel his rage. Maybe even to have him feel your fear, so he can snap out of this. You connected your braid to his, and a jolt of heat ran though your body. 

You gasped, feeling the intensity of his rage. It mixed with the adrenaline running through your body, becoming too much, before you fell unconscious.

---

Eyes fluttering open, you saw Tonowari, softly dabbing a rag all over your face. You looked down and saw your legs and torso were wrapped in large, damp leaves. Your eyes trailed to the side, where your braid was connected to Tonowari’s. His face was molded in a deep frown, and only now did you notice the underlying feeling of sadness.

“Wari.” You reached for his hand. “Why-”

“I needed to feel your pain.” He curtly said, almost embarrassed. 

“You didn’t have to-”

“I did!” He hissed. “I should have protected you. The baby.”

You gasped, forgetting that with tsaheylu, he felt everything. Jake entered the pod with more medical supplies, sighing in relief once he saw you awake and alert. “Thank Eywa. Y/n…” He scrambled to sit next to you, taking your other hand. The three of you sat in silence. Uncomfortable silence. 

“I was gonna tell you guys.” You broke the silence. “I was gonna make a nice dinner and present you with the beads I made. But he pinned me down and knocked me out.” Tears began to slip from your eyes. “I didn’t mean to cause all of this.”

“Hey, this is my fault, I should've known Quaritch would come back.” Jake sighed. 

“I'm sorry you had to find out from him.” You said sourly,  placing your hand on your stomach.

“I knew before he got you.” Tonowari admitted. nodded, confirming he knew as well. “How did-”

“When we cuddled that one night, and did tsaheylu, I felt something different. Like a tickle in the stomach.” He explained. “But I kept…bonding with you after you fell asleep, just out of curiosity.” Tonowari finally began smiling, tears welling in his eyes. “Then I felt it. I felt our child.”

You smiled and squeezed their hands. The two exchanged a look, and you felt the room fill with tension again.

“We killed Quaritch.” Jake blurted.

You widened your eyes and looked at Tonowari. He shamefully looked away

“He was too big of a threat, we made sure that if he did manage to survive us, he would drown in the deepest part of the sea.” Jake said.

“Ma Wari, Jake. Why are you sad?”

Their expressions changed, looking at each other confused. “You saved my life, you saved the reef. Why are you upset?”

“I scared you, Y/n.” Tonowari said sternly. “I saw you pass out- I felt your fear…I didn't want you to forever remember me in that way. I don’t want my Tsahik to be afraid of me.”

You scoffed, and ran your hand down your face. “Ma Wari. I was afraid your rage would consume you. I know you would never hurt me. Knowing you would…kill for me makes me feel…”

Tonowari searched your eyes as you hummed trying to find the perfect way to say 

“Loved.”

[shaunamilfman]

you would find your way in

pairing: Lucy MacLean x Reader summary: The blight hit vault 32 hard, which is why it was such a big deal when a trade offer from vault 33 for new seeds was received. A sacrifice, on your part, was all that was needed to assure the prosperity of your home. You would leave everything you've ever known to marry the overseers daughter, Lucy MacLean, but maybe it wouldn't be as much of a sacrifice as you'd originally believed.  note: pretend they can have a test tube baby for the sake of the fic ♥️

You watch as the door separating the only home you’ve ever known, vault 32, slowly opens to reveal vault 33. You’re nearly sick with nerves, much as you’ve been the last few days. Nearly being the key word. You think she’s mostly excited about the feast after your marriage, not that you blame her much. You’d think the same way if you weren’t the one paying the price for it.

There’s not nearly enough food in the vault after the blight to be able to waste it on something as pointless as a wedding, after all. You can’t help but laugh at the figure next to you bouncing excitedly on her heels. She looks up at you at the sound, rolling her eyes as she realizes you're laughing at her.

“Shut up,” your sister mutters, feigning a glare as she looks back at the doors. “It’s awfully exciting, isn’t it?”

You hope your sister enjoys herself. She is, after all, the only reason you agreed to go through with this sham wedding in the first place. Even as anxious as you were at the uncertain future lying ahead of you, you were content in the knowledge that at least she’d be taken care of once you were gone.

Seeds and machinery parts, as you’ve reminded yourself over and over again since the deal was struck.

You knew arranged marriages were common enough even in your own vault, but you’d always held out hope that you’d be one of the lucky few that got to marry for love. You supposed you were marrying for love in a roundabout way, just not the way you pictured. Still, there were very few things you wouldn’t do for your sister’s health.

A bitter feeling comes over you, but you try to shake it off. It's not their fault we almost starved: the vault's stayed separate for a reason, after all. Only ever for one of the rare trades between us were the doors ever opened, and it made you a little bitter knowing that Lucy's lack of marriage options was deemed important enough, when your people nearly starving to death was apparently deemed an acceptable loss.

You watch the inhabitants of vault 33 curiously, slowly taking in the sight of what’s probably the only people you’ll see for the rest of your life. As much as you’ll miss your family and everyone back home, at least you’d get to hear new stories for a while. Living in such cramped quarters as you do, you tend to learn everything interesting there is about a person entirely too quickly.

At least that was something to look forward to for a time.

You weren’t told what Lucy looked like, but you think you’d be able to pick her out of a crowd even without the wedding dress she was wearing. She was breathtaking, as much as it annoyed you to admit. You suppose you could have gotten paired with a worse partner, all things considered. At least she was nice to look at, even as you hoped she’d make a better conversation partner than she looked like she’d make.

She was practically glowing with excitement, nervously shifting on her feet in a way that you found endearing despite yourself. You took a moment to take her in, wishing you felt as self righteously angry as you did just ten minutes ago.

Lucy smiles as they go through the introduction before interrupting, "So, which one of you is to be my wife?" 

There's a moment of silence before there's some muffled snickering from both sides. You could tell it had taken everything she had in her to hold off as long as she did, a fact that shouldn’t have made you grin as widely as you did. You wipe the grin off your face as you slowly step forward. Lucy gasps, a faint blush covering her face as she takes you in.

"I suppose that would be me," you say softly, stepping forward past your other vault mates to meet her. Your hand twitches as you start to hold your hand out for her to shake it before thinking better of it. 

Is that the kind of reaction you should have to meeting your wife for the first time? You weren’t quite sure. It was sort of like a business deal, so you decided it probably would have been appropriate, anyway. Before you have the chance to rectify your mistake, Lucy’s already grabbing at your arm, leading you further into the vault while talking incessantly.

Oh, great. She’s a talker.

You nod along to her explanations, hoping to seem nice even if your gaze held disdain hidden beneath a polite smile. You try to give her an appropriate amount of attention while scanning your new surroundings as surreptitiously as you could manage. You've always been the curious type, and it has gotten you into trouble more times than you could count. 

It wouldn't do to be accused of casing the place before your vault’s future could be secured. Besides, this was your home now. First impressions are hard, or so you’ve heard. It’s not like you’ve ever had the chance to make one, but that’s what your books always said. Luckily for you, this is the last time you'll ever have to do it, once more for your forever home.

“It's a really nice place,” Lucy says suddenly, startling you from your reverie. She gives you a knowing look as she gives the open room a quick once over before meeting your eyes again. 

You're pleasantly surprised that she's figured your game out so quickly. You incline your head in acknowledgement, choosing not to comment on the skip in her step as she notices your approval. 

“Maybe I could give you the grand tour after everything,” she offers. 

You give her a wry smile, appreciating the sentiment even if you find her reasoning a little dumb. Your vaults were built to be exact copies of each other, after all. There's very little difference between them beyond surface level decorations, you're quite sure. Still, it was an olive branch you were willing to accept.

"That'd be nice," you say simply, offering her your hand as you let her lead you up to the altar.

You take your place across from her, listening idly as her father drones on. Duty to humanity this, returning to the surface that. You're oddly comforted by the familiarity of the refrain: at least some things would never change. Did the overseers learn their speeches from the same book? Someone ought to write them a new one. 

You focus your attention on Lucy, really taking in the sight of her, as she's only all too happy to return it. You can't help but stand a little straighter under her attention, a surge of pride rushing through you at the pleased look on Lucy's face as her eyes roam your body. 

Your smile fades slightly at the sight of her in her wedding dress, a silent reminder of everything you're giving up to come here. You were never all that excited about having to wear the community wedding dress for your own ceremony, but at least it would have been something you shared with your mother.

Instead, you were left only in your jumpsuit, and even that you'd have to return by the end of the night. It was the issue with marrying outside of your vault, after all. Nothing was allowed to leave it, not even the clothes on your back. 

Resources were tight enough in normal times, but with everything going on… Well, you made do with what you were given. 

You shake off your feeling of melancholy, returning Lucy's smile with a smaller, more forced one of your own. The least you could do is give your wife your full attention on her wedding day. 

Lucy's hands are warm as she reaches for yours, entwining your fingers together as she speaks her vows. You repeat the lines you've long since memorized, giving them special care as you speak them, if only for Lucy's sake. 

Lucy's eyes sparkle with happiness, looking as if it was everything she could do not to jump up and down in excitement. It was flattering, a lot more than you cared to admit. It's been quite a while since someone looked that excited to see you. 

Her smile is wide enough that you start to wonder if it hurts, but if it bothers her, it doesn't slow her down for a second as she moves forward to kiss you. You can feel her smile against your lips, never dimming for a second as she seals the deal. 

Your eyes are wide as she pulls away, a little lost as your thoughts jumbled together. Her lips were soft, at least. And she smells nice. You were embarrassed to find that the kiss had left you a little dumb, but you figured Lucy would have that effect on anyone. 

You can feel the thrum of her heartbeat where she's pressed up against you, her face resting in the crook of your neck as she throws her arms around you in a tight hug. Her cheeks are flushed with excitement, warm against your skin as she bounces on the tips of her toes.

She pulls away after a moment, still holding your hands together as she leads you down from the altar. You're happy to follow her lead, drunk on a feeling of levity you'd become unfamiliar with lately. 

There’s a small part of you, larger than you’re willing to admit, that wants to pull her into another kiss, but you restrain yourself. Out of everything you’d worried about, the thought of seeming too forward on your wedding day was not one of them.

“You’re really good at that,” she confesses in a whisper, verging on shy as she rests her head on your shoulder. 

You laugh quietly, nudging her head with your own. “Glad to be of service, wife.”

“Makes me wonder if you’re good at… other things.”

You exhale roughly, stunned, almost as if the breath was stolen from you. Lucy looks proud of herself, a smug smile that you can’t bring yourself to wipe away from her face. You clear your throat as you look away, your face flushed as you spin her under your arm. She giggles, swaying in time with the music as you come back together.

“You’re cute when you're flustered.”

“Yes, well…” You trail off. “You’re awfully pleased with yourself, aren’t you?”

Lucy shrugs, guilty as charged.

You try to think of something, anything, to say, but you keep coming up blank. This was exactly what you expected, and nothing like you expected at the same time. The decor, the people, the atmosphere were just what you imagined. But you don’t think anyone could have predicted Lucy MacLean. 

You’re almost relieved when her father comes over to take the next dance, handing her off with a small wave as you head over to the table. By the time you’re nearing the table, you could already hear your sister talking a mile a minute, eagerly taking in the sights of everything vault 33 had to offer. The blonde sitting next to her, who you think might be Lucy’s friend, shoots you a wide-eyed look as you collapse in your seat.

You leave her to her fate of entertaining your sister with a dry laugh, leaning down to inspect the scuff marks on your shoes. Lucy had many talents, it seems, except maybe dancing. You’re quick to turn your attention to the plate in front of you, no longer needing to worry about the state of shoes that will soon be taken from you.

With that happy thought in mind, you finally dig in, watching Lucy and her father dance out of the corner of your eye. You're surprised about how quickly she returns to join you, an eager look on her face the second she realizes she has your attention.

She seems to talk at you more than to you as she tells you about her life, but it doesn’t bother you much. You’re very content to listen to her ramble on, interjecting with relevant commentary whenever the time calls for it.

“History, huh?” You prompt. 

Lucy nods, resting her chin on her hands as she talks. “Yeah,” she says. “I just think there's a lot of things about the future you can learn from the past.”

“Like how to end civilization?” You joke, wincing as you realize what just left your mouth. 

Lucy frowns for a moment, taking in your expression before shrugging.

“That's not quite what I was going for,” she admits. “More like how to avoid making the same mistakes, you know? That sort of the thing.”

“Second time’s the charm, I suppose.”

Lucy snorts, covering her mouth sheepishly as she looks away. “Take it history was never your strong suit, then?”

Without waiting for a response, she leans closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “And here was me, thinking you were the serious type.”

You gasp, leaning away from her with barely hidden amusement as you hold your hand up to your heart. “You wound me.”

“I think you'll live,” she comments wryly. “You wouldn't make me a widow before our wedding ends, would you?” Lucy pouts, making a show of sticking her lip out as she catches your eyes flicking toward the movement. 

“I think I can understand the draw of it. History, I mean. How often do you get to start again?” You muse, your voice soft and contemplative. You were drawing uncomfortable similarities to your own situation. 

“Besides,” you continue, quick to add some levity. “It's a lot more fun than fixing pipes.”

“Exactly!” Lucy exclaims, her eyes lighting up at your interest in the subject. “I mean, think about it–” 

“And your fertility tests?” A voice interjects suddenly.

You glance away, not hiding your shock as you meet her father’s eyes. “My…”

“Your fertility tests,” he repeats, a hint of irritation hidden behind his somewhat charming smile. His eyes flit between the two of you, betraying his intentions. He didn’t seem to like how much you were holding Lucy’s attention, it seemed. Curious.

“Daddy,” she says softly, her voice strained with embarrassment. A frown tugs at her lips, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. 

“What? It was, after all, the whole point of your marriage.”

Lucy winces, giving you an apologetic smile. Were you supposed to be offended at the lack of romance? It seemed par to the course, at this point. It was relaxing to have things back on track, just as you’d expected it to be.

You turn to face him, briefly mentioning the results of your tests with enough details to assuage him. He nods along as you speak, his expression neutral and unreadable. You’re sure he’s already seen everything he’d wanted to know, but you got the odd sense that he was reminding you of it. No, you think after a moment, watching Lucy’s face. 

He was reminding her.

You reach over to squeeze her hand reassuringly, surprising yourself as much as her. She lags behind for a second as she registers the gesture before returning it with a quirk of her lips. She leans closer toward you, a gleam in her eyes as she reaches over and stabs a fork full of food from your plate. She brings it to her lips with a mischievous smile, unaware of the way your body tenses in reaction before forcing yourself to calm down.

You catch your mother’s eye further down the table, watching the scene carefully before looking away. 

Meeting Lucy’s eyes again, you raise an eyebrow, stealing food back from her plate before she could stop you. She pouts, glancing down at her plate before nudging your leg with her foot under the table.

“We’re married now,” she complains. “Half of that is mine.”

“That means half of yours is mine too,” you point out. 

Lucy hums dismissively. “Technicality.”

“Is that right?” 

Lucy's about to answer as you feel a hand rest on your shoulder. Glancing up you see the Overseer standing behind you with a sad smile on his face. 

Was it time to return your meager belongings already? 

He nods at your questioning look, glancing over at Overseer MacLean, who stands up and walks away with the obvious intention of you following him.

“I'll do it,” Lucy says suddenly, grabbing you by the arm as she pulls you off in his direction. He waves Lucy on with a fond look, leaving you to her as he rejoins the table. 

You glance briefly at your surroundings as you trudge through the halls, each step feeling heavier than the last. The finality of the moment was really settling on you as you came to a stop in front of your new home.

“I thought it would be better if it was me,” Lucy says softly, a hesitant smile on her face. 

Stepping inside the room, you send her a confused look over your shoulder. “Why?”

“Why not? We're partners now.”

You stare down at the new outfit waiting for you on the desk, slowly running your fingers over the lettering. 33. Almost completely identical to the outfit you've worn every day of your life, but just different enough to give you pause. It was too late to back out now. 

“It's not like I know you either,” you say finally. 

Her face falls, but she tries not to show it, fiddling anxiously with her hands as she steps in behind you. You pause, your zipper coming to a halt as you purposely clear your throat. 

Lucy huffs. “Seriously?” She doesn't seem all that upset about it, more offended than anything. 

You give her an expectant look. She dutifully turns around, not without a murmured complaint. “You know we're married now?”

“You just want to see me naked,” you accuse idly, switching your clothes out as efficiently as you can manage. 

Lucy doesn't bother to deny it, making an affirmative noise that draws a chuckle out of you. God, you hated that she was growing on you. You wanted so badly to hate her, but she just made it so hard. 

“It's a time-honored tradition,” she insists playfully. 

“In the community wedding dress?” You question. 

“It's for the benefit of humanity that we reproduce as quickly as possible,” she states, almost robotically. You roll your eyes: you've read the same manuals, after all. 

“Though,” she continues thoughtfully. “I suppose it's not technically a requirement for us, specifically.”

“Huh…” You trail off hesitantly as a thought strikes you, not sure if you should be the one to say it. 

“What?”

“How long after your parents got married were you born?”

“About nine months,” she says hesitantly. The confused quirk of her head kills you inside, but you can't resist the urge to continue. 

“Wouldn't that mean you were probably conceived in that wedding dress, too?”

She takes a second to do the math as it suddenly dawns on her. Lucy pales, her hands gripping the fabric of the dress before her horrified eyes meet yours. “Why would you say that?” She whispers. 

You break into peels of laughter at the comment, and every time you manage to catch your breath, you catch sight of Lucy's still horrified face and start laughing again. Finally, Lucy cracks a grin, her eyes fixed on the mirthful look on your face. 

“You're prettier when you laugh. Did you know that?”

You almost choke as you process it, your laughter cut off by a sudden cough as you look down at the floor. As you sit down and start pulling your new shoes on, you can hear Lucy let out a laugh of her own, the sound marking her exit as it echoes down the hallway. 

… 

The room is nearly empty by the time you make your way back in. A few members of vault 33 are still mulling about but otherwise the room is eerily quiet. Overseer Jackson makes his way over to you, clasping a hand onto your shoulder as you hand over your suit. His hand lingers just long enough to be awkward before he pulls away, sniffling as surreptitiously as he can manage as he rubs at his eyes.

He’s teary-eyed as he stares down at you, his uncomfortably kind smile tinged with more sadness than you think he has a right to. You’re not sure you’ve ever had a conversation with him long enough to warrant this kind of reaction, but your vault mates have always had a tendency to overreact. There probably wasn’t much else to do after the monotony of daily life got to you, you figured.

Still, you weren’t keen to comfort a man you barely knew. Catching your mother’s eye you wave, pretending she was trying to get your attention as you excuse yourself from the conversation and leave him clutching on to your things. You’re not surprised when you catch sight of your sister’s grinning ear to ear as Lucy engages her in conversation, clearly over the moon to have her attention.

Yeah, you could relate to that.

You speak quietly to your parents as you make your goodbyes, choosing not to acknowledge the teary-eyed looks lest you start crying too. You’d made your peace with the idea of leaving everything behind a few days ago, but it seems like it was really starting to set in for them that they’d never see you again. For your sister too, it seems, as you suddenly feel her wrap her arms around your waist.

It takes an impressively long time to peel her off of you, and it’s only made possible with the help of Lucy’s gentle coaxing. You watch with nothing short of awe as Lucy manages to talk her down from her tears like it was nothing, her voice soft and soothing as she manages to effectively distract her long enough for you to escape her grasp.

Realizing she’s been played, your sister shoots Lucy a betrayed look, but she gets over it quickly enough as Lucy shoots her a playful smile. She kneels down to speak with her, whispering in her ear as she squeezes her shoulder.

You stand with Lucy as your parents cross through the gateway, watching as they try to comfort your sister in quiet, somber tones. 

“She really adores you, huh?” Lucy says softly, her hand tentatively reaching to rub at your back. The gate slowly starts to close, and your family slowly disappears from view with it.

“Do you like kids?” You ask, hoping for a distraction. “You seem to have a real knack for them.”

Lucy's quiet for a moment before nodding. “I like to teach, and kids always have such an interesting way of looking at things.”

She smiles, reaching over to hold your hand as she traces your fingers with hers. “We'll be starting our own family soon,” she muses. 

“Are you excited?”

“... Of course. It's our duty, after all.” You think it must be the most unenthusiastic thing you've heard her say all night. 

You pause, looking at her in a new light. She was doing her duty to ensure the future of humanity, after all, and you could respect that. You wondered how much of it was due to her moral compass and how much was just to live up to expectations, but you didn’t mind much.  It’s not like you didn’t have your own ulterior motives for agreeing to be wed, after all.

What a pair you made.

…

You stare at the door long after it's been closed for good, even after Overseer MacLean squeezed your shoulder was a surprising gentleness as he quietly left the room. He probably knew what it was like to leave his home behind. He was from vault 31, after all. 

Finally, you manage to turn your attention away from the door, turning around to see Lucy leaning silently against the doorway. You almost smile at the sight of her, your mood lightened as you realized she's been here waiting for you.

She's quick to grab your hand as you offer it to her, escorting you back through the vault towards your new home. Lucy's quiet as she leaves you to your thoughts, unsure of how to even begin to comfort you. 

Lucy's visibly startled as you squeeze her hand to get her attention, but she quickly recovers as you say, “So about that time-honored tradition…?”

Her face lights up, tightening her grip on your hand as she almost sprints down the hall towards your new bedroom. 

[zer0wzs]

𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙡

wherein jason becomes the rockstar's gf jason todd x gn!rockstar!reader wc: 1432

AN :: there is an mcr and a fob reference here and both keep staring at me like a sore thumb

For a split second, your mind wanders off. Suddenly, you’re thinking about how you didn’t have a clue as to how Jason puts up with you.

Between the late-night practices and you cooping yourself in the studio all day, You feel like you don’t give him enough of your time. Somehow, though, he pushes through, and he makes it work. He meets you halfway. He said he wouldn’t trade you and your dreams for the world. 

He’s funny. You love him.

Your mind snaps back to where you once were—on the stage. You feel a ringing in your head as you feel heat radiating off your body. The colorful lights blind you. Your shoulders hurt like hell from the weight of the guitar, and you feel winded as your lack of breath control and the previous song had knocked all the air out of you.

Despite all your qualms, though, you love doing this. The adrenaline courses through your blood and comes a rush you find for almost every night. 

“Alright! You guys having fun so far?” The crowd cheers, buzzing with energy and alcohol in their veins. 

You skim over through the faces in front of you. Some are ones you’ve seen before. They tend to attend your sets regularly, but many, though, were faces you didn’t recognize. 

Most of all, however, you see Jason with a friend by his side, quickly catching your brief gaze on him. He stands right beside the platform of the tiny performing venue. He gives you a nod with a straight face. 

You feel a surge of excitement just from his gaze on you, and you feel that energy course through your blood.

“Keep that energy up! We’re not finished just yet!” 

As your bandmates adjust their effects, retune their instruments, and do one last mixing of sound for your closer, you regain your sense of clarity amongst the smell of booze that lingers throughout the venue. You shortly shot Jason a smile and a nod before readjusting your mic and redirecting your focus to the crowd.

“Now, before we sign off, I wanna thank you all for seeing us tonight. I really hope you guys enjoyed our set.” The crowd quiets down, almost dead. You take it as a sign to get it going again. “But come on now—let’s get this on!”

You breathe in once, breathe once out. It’s the first time you’re debuting this song. You rehearsed for this, but you doubt it's enough. You're scared you’ll blank out in the middle of the song, then fill it with random riffs. You’re scared you’ll sing the demo version and forget your final. You’re scared you might just not do the song any justice.

It’s the final song of the final night of your tour. You were not in the mood to mess this up.

Yet you pause for a moment. How much more in love could you be? Because suddenly, your thoughts are filled with him to calm yourself.

You catch him in the corner of your eyes once more, and you faintly hear a ‘Woo!’ from his direction.

Hell, this final song is about him.

He’s heard it, but he has no idea that you’re playing it tonight.

“Do you want to live forever?” You ask the crowd as the instruments start to set themselves up. “Sing this with me then.”

The song gradually swells, with the drums and bass starting out the song, looping the intro for a few rounds before the guitars join in. You harmonize with the main melody of the song, making up riffs as you go.

You feel yourself building the song, getting into the zone, and even doing a call and response because why the hell not? 

Before you let the performance take over, you quickly slip in a “This one’s for him. Hi, Jay.” You look in his direction and wave.

He’s awestruck, enchanted.

You see him quickly follow your gaze and smile. You seem to have caught him off-guard. You’re sure he’s picked up on the instruments and the vocals. He’s smart, far smarter than you. You’re sure he knows what you’re about to play.

The song ends as fast as it starts. You forget that sometimes when you perform on stage, it’s like you’re on autopilot. This was precisely that, but in the best way possible. You feel your body carry the work while your mind can sit back and watch the scene. For a split second, you even ran closer to the crowd during the final break to hold them, grab on your arm.

Everything had passed by so quickly that you couldn’t even register that it was over. Not until the crowd began to mellow down, but not without an applause.

“Thank you all so much!” You smiled and waved goodbye before your roadies rushed to the stage to gather your equipment.

You look over to the side to find Jason. He’s gone, but that’s more than alright. You figured he rushed to help with fixing the equipment, seeing his size and all. It’s something he often does when he watches your shows.

You feel your throat run dry. Maybe it’s time to steep some tea.

You high-five your bandmates before exiting the stage.

—

You didn’t quite grapple with the reality of just how exhausted and thirsty you were until you stepped off the stage. The world felt more than just shaky, so you found yourself leaning over some table in the back, chugging as much water as you could. The tea can wait.

You could faintly hear your bandmates hyping each other up and giving each other even more high fives. You stood by the sidelines, watching them and laughing at their antics. God knew you were too drained to even think about joining them.

Still, by the corner of your eye, you see a tall figure standing next to you. 

You’re always more than happy to talk to him.

“Well, hi, you.” You greeted, happy to see him.

In great contrast to your bubbly self, your boyfriend was more… frozen. He was silent, just looking at you with the biggest smile on his face. It wasn’t the first time he’d watched you play live, so you figured that the debut of the song was what made him so giddy at this moment.

As he stood there before you, you saw him in better lighting for the first time tonight after your show. You saw the sweat perspiring from his forehead to his neck and the sweat collected on his shirt. You basked in the light that framed his face from the side, but it accentuated those bright eyes of his. You take note of that smile that he’d been wearing even before your show. It only seemed to grow bigger as the night passed by. 

Fuck, he really is beautiful. You think you may not ever get enough of him.

Finally, after a few moments of radio silence, he spoke. “Shit, babe.”

“Uhuuuh?” You found yourself giggling at him.

He’s really cute. You’re in love with him.

“You guys were amazing. I can’t believe my partner is a rockstar.” Practically stars in his eyes.

“Why, thank you.” You felt yourself warming up to the hand that finds your cheek.

“You also played the song!” The hand holding your head up gently tenses with his excitement. You can’t help but laugh at him.

“Yes, we did.”

“Your closer’s always Saturday. Why’d you guys change it?”

That’s for many reasons. For one, you wanted this final night to be special. It was the last date of your best-selling tour yet. You had to do something else.

Then again, you could’ve chosen any other song that hasn’t or even rarely gets played live.

“Well, it’s not always you watch my shows—with your whole thing and our usual tour dates and locations—so I really wanted to do something special.” You hummed, leaning further into his touch. ”It’s almost your birthday anyway.”

“My birthday is still in, like, three months.” 

You shrug. “It’s never too early to celebrate.”

“That’s the length of an entire season, quierde. I think it’s still early.”

“That means there’s only more gifts to come, yeah?” He half-heartedly murmurs something in agreement. 

There's a comfortable silence between the two of you.

“Love?” You called.

“Hmmm?”

You got on your tiptoes, balancing your weight on his shoulders, and gave him a peck on the lips, yet as you set yourself down, you felt him sweep you off your feet to return the kiss.

Your tea can wait a little longer.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I enjoyed your family day piece about Malleus setting Lilia up with a disguise to attend family day activities. It would be a shame if we didn't have an interaction with him now!

I was thinking that maybe the parents would go speak to the person in charge of club activities about how their child was doing. So, can I request Riddle speaking to Silver's Dad (Disguised Lilia) about his riding/training?

[Referencing this interaction!]

Family means Nobody is Left Behind or Forgotten.

A steady trickle of families had been coming in through the day. It was, Riddle imagined, a respite to leave the crowded classrooms and corridors of the Main Building and exit to fresh air and sunshine. More space to move, more space to breathe.

Down by the stables, there were no stuffy professors to speak with, no grades or assignments to review. It was only the horses and him. And, from experience, Riddle knew that parents tended to be more eager hearing about fun extracurriculars than the usual academic activities.

The stress practically melted from their faces when they found themselves among the equines, who whinnied softly and sometimes nestled into open palms as he rattled off about the Equestrian Club's illustrious history. They would ask their questions about animal care and riding, nod approvingly, linger a bit, then be on their ways. Riddle didn't fault them--there's much to see, much to do. There was only so much time they can dedicate to him.

Riddle absentmindedly ran a brush through Vorpal's mane. The horse whinnied appreciatively, earning a small smile from him.

"Kufufu, such a fine stallion!" a chipper voice remarked, ripping Riddle out of his headspace. "All muscle, and so well-mannered."

There, standing at the entrance to the stables, was a short man in a suit. Riddle blinked several times. He wasn't certain why--was it perhaps the strong sun backlighting him?--but it was a challenge for him to piece together the man's face, which seemed to be shrouded in a mist. It was like when he did crossword puzzles and the answer was on the tip of his tongue, yet skittered away the more he attempted to wrangle it.

"You're familiar with horses, sir?" Riddle asked, lifting his brush.

"Oh, plenty! They used to be an integral part of many human settlements, be they for farming, leisure, trade, or war. We don't use horses much where I come from though. Valley folk rely on their own magic for most things--though I'd often witness the cavalry of other nations in combat. Poor things. I wish they didn't have to see the ravages of war."

A resident of Briar Valley and a veteran...

It instantly clicked.

"Ah, you must be Silver's father then. My apologies for not recognizing sooner." Riddle executed a bow. "He has shared many a story with us about you and your courageous service."

"Has he now?" His eyes twinkled, shifting colors. "Kufufu. It sounds as though he's proud of his old man. But enough about me! Tell me about Silver and his time in club. I'd love to hear about how he's doing."

Riddle inclined his head. "Silver is one of our strongest and most disciplined riders. When he rides, I feel as though I'm watching a knight leading a royal procession... if only he didn't fall asleep half of the time!"

"That certainly sounds like him, yes." He laughed, as if he had been expecting the news all along. "What else has Silver been up to?"

"Well, he's adept at befriending the horses and soothing them when they're unsettled. Sometimes this also extends to calming down fellow equestrians who become emotional and shout incessantly at the horses. He never misses a day of training either. Honestly, he's an example the rest of the club should follow."

"The noisy boy you mentioned,” Silver’s father said, “You wouldn't happen to be talking about Sebek, now would you?"

Riddle startled, flushing red. Not with anger, but with embarrassment. "I was trying to be subtle, but if you're going to come out and just say it like that…!"

"No need," he chuckled, holding up a hand. "I'm very familiar with what he's like! Always has been that way, ever since he was a child coming over for playdates with Silver. They'd train together too. Of course, my Silver would beat the stuffing out of Sebek 9 times out of 10, and Sebek would run up to him crying and demanding a rematch. Ah, youth!"

"I-I see..."

I thought that my childhood studies were rigorous, but this is on a completely different level!!

Riddle cleared his throat. "In any case, your son is doing quite well for himself and seems to be getting along well with his clubmates. We in Equestrian Club are proud to call him one of our own."

"That's excellent news," he cried, clapping his hands in a jovial manner, "though not a surprise at all. Silver has never been a problem child. Since he was but a babe in the cradle, he's been so mild-mannered and polite. Doing his own chores, wrestling bears, looking after himself while I’m away. That's my boy, going out into the world and making me proud~”

“Erm, yes…” Riddle’s voice trailed off. His mind was left spinning from the off-kilter energy radiating off of the older man.

What an eccentric individual! Certainly the strangest father I’ve met. And yet…

Riddle hesitated, looking again at the face of Silver’s father. It was pointless, just a garbled? blurry mess of colors and shapes. He could tell that the man was happy, but could discern nothing else.

… Why do I feel as though I know him from somewhere?