#and half of it would be screaming about ei and the archons | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

definitelynotafurinasimp · 2 years

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How they act when they have a crush on you / how they confess

Characters: Dehya/Ei x gn!reader (separate)

Warnings: none

a/n: Really, REALLY wanted to write something for Dehya since I just finished most of the new Archon quest (There are no spoilers in this fic, don't worry), so I thought about writing another part of the first scenario I could think of.

I also decided to add Ei, since I thought it might be interesting to write this with her, so yeah.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Dehya

Dehya was no newcomer when it came to how to hide certain secrets or putting on a façade to conceal once interests, she had to do so most of the time when it came to her… less imposing hobbies and interests. All of which was to say that there was no chance for you to find out about her feelings if she didn’t want to.

…well, that’s what’s the case most of the time, but while those masks of her did a good job at hiding whatever they were supposed to hide, one tease in the right direction was enough to make them almost collapse in on themselves. Simply remembering how bad she was at hiding the fact that she was ticklish once you as much as threatened to try it out yourself was a good enough reminder to herself. So, to spare herself the embarrassment of a screwed cover up, she decided on a simple course of action if you were to come close to that secret of hers: come clean.

While you neither were a mercenary yourself, nor actively had to fight in your day to day live, you still enjoyed training your sword fighting skills with Dehya from time to time. It was a nice way to bond while also technically counting as training for the mercenary, even if she didn’t have to put that much effort into beating you most of the time. But what you lacked in skill, you tried making up by other means.

“How about we go and eat something for dinner later?”, you asked while trying your best to either block or dodge Dehya’s attacks, both feeling a lot of surprise and some sort of self-satisfaction after actually managing to not get hit for a couple of her swings, only to let your sword go when you felt her blade connecting to your ring-finger, thanking the gods for making you not dumb enough to refuse her offers of using wooden swords while also trying your best not to scream in agony.

“Sounds like a good idea”, the aforementioned mercenary answered with a small smile, causing you to shoot her a small glare.

“Don’t act innocent and as if you weren’t aiming for my hands all this time”, you half-jokingly demanded, only for Dehya to playfully roll her eyes, lips still curved up.

“That’s what we professionals call a ‘tactic’”, she answered, making you realise that you weren’t going to get far by acting annoyed with her, instead proceeding to wrap your finger in your other hand while putting on a dramatic show.

“How cruel of you Dehya. Where am I going to put my future wedding ring if I lose my precious ring-finger while training with you?”, you cried out, catching the mercenary off guard for a second, only for her to quickly signal to your other hand. “No need to put on such act, we both know well enough that you wish for nothing more than to be the one to share matching rings with me. You can show your distraught and guilt. I’m not going to judge you”, you continued teasing her, only to be too indulged in your performance to notice the blush on her face.

While Dehya wasn’t stupid enough to believe that you were on to her, she would be lying to say that it hadn’t caught her off guard as much as it did, probably enough for you to score a hit on her if you still had your sword in hand and planned to use the opportunity.

“I can’t exactly say that that’s on my to-do list at the moment”, she responded once she collected herself enough to form a coherent sentence, the semi-long pause leading up to her response seemingly not bothering you a bit.

“’at the moment’? So, you say that it’s something you might put on your to-do list later? Oh my- I would have never expected for the legendary flame mane to have fallen for me”, you struck another pose while wearing the same big smile you always did whenever you enjoyed yourself way more than you should, only to fall immediately silent when you noticed how red her face had become, causing you to return to a normal way of standing. “Sorry if I struck a ner-”

“And what if I do?”, Dehya decided to interrupt you. Her brazenness causing the tables to turn as you were the one to be silent now, silently staring at her while blinking a couple of times, your face turning red enough to be confused with a giant tomato, the weird imagery somehow helping her to somewhat handle her nervousness.

“Are you serious-”, you wanted to ask, only to shut up when she nodded before you even finished, causing your pause to continue for what felt like an eternity. “…o-Okay. W-Well, about the dinner”, you continued, only to gather your thoughts for a couple more seconds, “We can make it something like our first date. I-If you’re fine with it, I mean”, you finally managed to finish your sentence, silently cringing at how bad of a job you did at stringing a response together.

“Sure”, Dehya in comparison was quick to respond, putting the wooden sword away before signalling you to follow her, letting out a sigh of relief when she was sure you weren’t looking.

Ei was far from the most proficient person when it came to understanding romantic emotions, there never really having been a person she would consider herself to be infatuated with. Back when her sister ruled Inazuma, most of its citizens didn’t even know the two of them weren’t the same person and after she had passed… there weren’t that many opportunities for her to find one.

So, when she turned her back to her Plane of Euthymia, choosing to work on becoming the ruler her sister had wanted her to be, a lot of surprised awaited her. Not only had the city and many of its customs changed in the few hundred years the electro Archon had locked herself in a prison of her own making, but once she met you, she was introduced to a lot of emotions she had never felt before.

While it wasn’t difficult for Ei to remember a time your visits weren’t a frequent thing, she thoroughly enjoyed every single of them. You seemed to have a never-ending supply of stories and anecdotes about daily life in Inazuma, and while that didn’t seem like anything too important to most, every insight into the Inazuma of today was quite literally worth more than gold to her. It also helped that they most of them were entertaining and uplifting, and even if you told one that most would consider boring, your Archon would listen attentively, being contend with watching you talk enthusiastically.

There was also that weird feeling in her stomach she felt whenever she was near you, and while she was self-reflective enough to consult someone about them before making up her own theories, Ei made the objectively bad decision to ask the person she considered her closest friend, only for the kitsune in question to have a field trip with that knowledge. The electro archon had up until that point never was embarrassed by that feeling and wouldn’t be so afterwards, but Yae had the “gift” of managing to fluster people even with what they saw as their greatest triumphs against them, so it was no surprise that it ended the way it did.

“My Archon, I’m sorry to interrupt, but someone from the Yashiro Commission requests a word with you”, one of the Shogun’s many servants interrupted your conversation by knocking on her chamber’s door and opening the door.

“Tell them I’m occupied at the moment, I’ll meet them once I’m done”, Ei was quick to respond, causing the servant to nod and close the door behind them, only for you to glance at her with a worried look.

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to prioritise me to the Yashiro Commission? It sounded like there was something important to be discussed, my Ar- Ei”, you corrected yourself immediately, remembering how she had requested for you to call her, even it the thought of calling your own Deity by her name was still a weird one to you.

“I don’t see a problem with it. Learning to understand the daily lives of one’s subjects is about as important as it can get for a ruler, or that’s what a certain someone once told me”, she countered your point, referring to one of your first conversations, one in which you felt even more nervous than you always did when speaking to the God of Thunder, but quite possibly also the one that made it possible for you to talk to her as often as you now did.

“I admire your dedication, but the people from the Yashiro Commission are really important-”, you barely managed to blurt out your sentence before Ei already interrupted you.

“There’s no human I consider more important than you, so I’m sure they will be fine waiting for a bit longer”, she bluntly stated her feelings, not caring about what you or anyone else might think about her comment, causing you to fall silent for a few seconds before you finally managed to piece just enough words together to form a sentence.

“If that’s the case, I’m going to continue then”, you looked down to hide your blush, only for your Archon to hum in response.

“Very well, please tell me more about you.” AND Inazuma, you assumed Ei forgot to add, deciding to not attempt to correct her in fear she’d somehow notice how fast your heart was beating. Before trying your best to remember where you left off, continuing your story with nothing but a few stutters here and there.

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yzeltia · 8 months

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FFXIVwrite2023 19.Weal

Characters: Y'zel Tia, @driftward 's Zoissette Vauban, Y'shtola Rhul, @driftward 's Fredrick the Poroggo, Khloe Aliapoh, G'khenna Summers, Alphinaud Leveilleur, Jullus pyr Norbanus, Violet Fisher, U'rahn Nuhn, M'zet Tia, Jannie Eyradoux, Fuyu'li cen Zhwan, Nidhana Expansion: Endwalker Rating: T Notes: W'orcester Tia

Plit. Plit. Plit.

Y'zel shifted slightly, letting the rainwater bounce from his parasol. He started into the yard from a distance, hawkeyed gaze upon the lanky awkward figure of an Elezen as they tried to keep his cousin companion dry under the same umbrella. The Miqo'te frowned then turned, knowing lingering any longer would have him found.

Ribbit.

Fredrick hopped quickly as the screams of Khloe and G'khenna echoed through the haunted palace, followed by frantic blasts of magick from the latter. As the mi'kitten's footsteps came closer, he eyed the traps ahead, throwing himself on each one so the two could pass through the dungeon safely. Seeing the light Cairn of Passage light up for the girls, he let out relief before croaking as one trampled over him on their way to safety.

No. Mother…Father…

Alphinaud roused awake as Jullus called out in his sleep. He frowned, watching the other's face contort in the wake of his nightmare as he moved about on his cot. Quietly he scooted his cot away from his sister's and beside the Garlean. He was careful not to wake him, throwing the other half of his blanket atop the Jullus. He turned and rested his back against his comrade, letting their shared heat and pressure of the second blanket calm the Garlean to stillness. The morrow would prove awkward, but the little bit of peace brought would be worth it.

Swive!

Violet sneered in the mirror as her obi came undone once more in her hands. Her attendant frowned, kneeling to pick up the silk cloth, loose grey hairs dangling down her face as she pet the fabric nostalgically. The reluctant princess paused, lowering to help the older woman back to her feet then turned with her arms outstretched to let herself be helped.

Huff…Huff…Huff

U'rahn wiped his brow as the Gyr Albanian sun bore down on him, catching his breath as his frenemy M'zhet glowered from beneath a rock. The day had been long, a game of King of the Rock exhausting them both. As he sat up on his throne, having yet to yield it to the other's attacks, he noticed the dark blush along the other's shoulders and cheeks, red from the sun. He crossed his arms, recalling the pain of his own sunburn and how it slowed him down to the point of being immobile. Nyx and G'raha showed him plants he could slather on himself to prevent that pain. Sighing, he slipped off his rock, letting the other claim victory while he went to grab some salve to lather the other in once he was done gloating.

Hmm…

Jannie hummed while she flipped through an old recipe book by W'orcestershire Tia.While mainly credited for Archon Loaf and his namesake sauce, the pages offered many more entries detailing medicine turned food dishes inside, many far more appetizing than the one he had gained notoriety for. She searched for anything that would help the Fortemps men get more Vitamin D, the Ishgardian weather providing little natural supplement for them. If worse came to worse, a vacation to La Noseca would again be on the horizon.

Achoo.

Fuyu'li wrinkled his nose, sinuses aching as he pounded some flowers into dust beside Nidhana. Together they worked on a salve to help ease the discomfort of Vrtra's exposed skin. The alchemist sighed as she watched the Miqo'te's face scrunch up, poised to sneeze again, stubbornly offering his assistance despite his allergies. Still, she couldn't help but think his little sneezes were a bit cute.

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flokali · 2 years

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Ngl I slandered Ei for a while now because of her waifufication but at the same time I was waiting for a redemption arc, and damn did they deliver.

That quest was just 👌

And the Ei and Miko banter at the end? Absolutely adorable 10/10 love the dynamic

Honestly, I get why people might’ve disliked her first quest - on the surface it seems very fan-service-y - but not going to lie, I adored it.

It’ll have to go under the cut because I go into spoilers about the quest/lore and rant so much I could talk about Ei and her brilliance for hours it’s not even funny, like can you tell she’s one of my favorite characters??

I felt so bad for Ei throughout the quest, just taking her around and seeing her reaction - I mean, definitely they played up for the whole “naive waifu” narrative but it was also so sad to see, unlike the other two archons who - albeit having different amounts of involvement as archons - were able to interact and live in their respective nations, you can say what you want about Venti and Zhongli but they definitely knew and were up to date with things happening in Mondstatd and Liyue respectively.

Ei, on the other hand, had no idea - she adores Inazuma with her whole heart but decided to neglect it in hopes of making her people happy and to fulfill what she believed was their dream, seeing her experience Dango Milk and read silly novels and see how shocked she was at the progress she had once been so fearful of felt sad (if not just pitiful), it was such a stark contrast to Makoto and how involved she was with the daily lives of Inazuma’s residents (she’s implied to have been out and about in Inazuma and interacting with her people);Ei saw her worth restricted by her ability as a fighter, not a ruler. She was naive and stubborn and it took her 500 years of solitude, a failed decree, the death of her sister and closest friends to experience her own region, her own nature and the her deceased sister’s life’s work, for the first time and she was shocked and, most importantly, regretful for her actions. The end of her quest had me so excited to see what they’d do with her, the implications of a fight between her and Raiden and the clear regret she held for her actions were so interesting and it showed a clear difference between herself (the Ei who has experienced Inazuma) and Raiden.

The second quest kind of solidified these feelings for me about Ei and made an already tragic and well-written story so much more amazing to me, it honestly did her and Makoto so much justice… Her actions always stood out; her distaste for her gnosis yet her fear of the Heavenly Principals, the reasoning behind the creation of Raiden Shogun, those questions kept me hooked through her first and second archon quest and honestly I adore the direction they seem to be heading towards for her </3

And her relationship with Yae Miko is so precious, they care about each other so much - Yae’s lines about entrusting “her God” onto the traveler’s hands and her absolute shyness when Paimon and the traveler try brining it up >_< The way until this point, Yae has been the bridge between Ei and Inazuma and finally is able to spend time with Ei, even if she says she’s only doing her job as her familiar, it’s clear Yae and Ei care about each other deeply; I’m literally in love with them and their relationship.

#genshin spoilers #๋࣭. priestess preaches #๋࣭. hidden devotee #๋࣭ offerings #like… Ei/Kaeya/Kokomi/Venti/Ajax are some of the most interesting character for me right now #but especially the first three and enka… like the love i have for them and the new region #and the lore that’s coming out recently has me writing essays on my google docs as i research about shit #literally could write a whole 1.5 hour video script like those video essays about genshin theories not even joking #and half of it would be screaming about ei and the archons

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chocoenvy · 2 years

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(could be taken as a crack request or just a random ramble)

villain god!reader becoming filled with ungodly rage at being pelted by rotten vegetables, rocks, etc. and being accused of being an imposter that they scream a blasphemous "deez nuts" joke at everyone before they get chased off of the nation they were in

villain god!reader: well if your god is so easily offended with someone having the same face as them then they probably have a bad case of ligma!

the archons: ligma?

villain god!reader, running faster: LIGMA BALLS

---

the archons cornering them in dragonspine: any last words?

villain god!reader, weak and tired: s...sugma...

the archons: sugma?

villain god!reader, full of rebellion, hatred, and (divine) fury: SUGMA DICK

then venti just shoots them through the throat.

this is funnier in my head

THIS IS PERFECT (and something I would do)

Reader, half-dead, laying down on their death bed

The archons and all of their favorite characters about to kill them: "We're merciful enough to allow you to speak your last words before we kill you."

Reader, sniffling: "Candice..."

Archons, suspicious, "Who's... Candice..?"

Reader, grinning, gold blood dribbling down their nose, "Can dis dick fit in your mouth-"

If it wasn't for your gold blood and the fact everyone would've hated her for killing their god, Ei would've fucking murdered you without regrets.

#i love sagau crack #sagau #sagau crack #yes miss Ei pls kill me #/j but only a little

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trendywaifus · 2 years

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Heyy can I get some ei kokomi and ganyu cuddle hcs pls :D

ofcc!

— this woman has an idea of what cuddling is but has never gotten to explore it because she herself never had a lover. her main focus was her pursuit to eternity in the plane of euthymia. once she has you and her ideals towards eternity changes for the better, she’ll be open to intimacy albeit hesitant. she’s touch starved too and at first she’s afraid of keeping you close to her because she fears heartbreak and the risk of hurting you. as a powerful archon, even she can’t control her powers sometimes because of creeping emotions that she suppressed long ago.

— she likes to hold you in silence while the both of you are facing each other. ei cannot sleep so she much rather just admire you the whole time which can be funny because you’ll just fall asleep staring into ei’s eyes and you’ll wake up with her STILL staring at you as she fiddles with a strand of your hair.

“ e-ei. .how long you’ve been laying there wide awake? “ your lover quirks a brow at wide awake with a puzzled look on her gorgeous features. “ what do you mean by wide awake beloved? you. .do know that this body does not allow me to get tired and sleep. I’ve been watching you for a while now actually—what? what’s with that look on your face? i didn’t say anything strange, did i? “

— cuddlin with kokomi can be a surreal ass experience. she would literally take you underwater with a small bubble engulfing the two of you just to cuddle. seeing all the pretty fishes and sea creatures circling around you is such a phenomenal sight to see. kokomi relishes at the sight of your amazement every single time. she likes to talk about her connections with the deep sea and describes all kinds of sea creatures she seen.

— needs her daily cuddles for her energy points. nothing feels better than basking in your touch after a long day of nonstop duties and making sure watsumi island is safe for you and her people. like ei, kokomi enjoys drinking in your (beautiful/handsome) features. your peaceful face makes her heart skip in irregular beats. she loves light conversations and you know about counting sheeps? what about counting fish if you can’t sleep??

“ 1 fish, 2 fish, 3 fish—wait that kind of looks like you, kokofish. “ you snorted, pointing at the hydro fish floating in circles over your heads. kokomi giggles, slapping your arm softly. “ oh please (name). why must half of your jokes be about me being a fish? just because i have qualities of one doesn’t mean I’m a fish. “ you bump your nose against hers affectionately. “ so? you literally control water too kokomi! your whole attire screams it all. you have to be sometype of sea creature or maybe a mermaid? no. .that’s a myth. or maybe. . .a water dragon? a fish out of water? “ kokomi says nothing with a fond smile on her lips. she simply guides one of the fish over to you and it nuzzles itself against your cheek. “ or perhaps I’m simply the divine priestess and strategist who happens to be your lover and who also loves to hear your interesting theories about me. “

— this baby adores cuddling with you! when she does, all her worries washes away. it’s just too bad that she is so busy almost all the time. buttt, when it’s time for her to take her afternoon naps, she want you to join her. please do because you can’t refuse that sweet hopeful smile on her face. when y’all find a nice spot to cuddle up, she likes to snuggle herself against your chest with her body resting on top of you. ganyu didn’t want to at first since she was afraid that she will be heavy and you had to do a lot of convincing for her to think otherwise. she just doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable.

— if ganyu allows you to, please massage her horns or scratch around the base of them! she will absolutely melt because it’s admittedly one of the most relaxing things she can experience; she falls asleep every time. ngl, once she’s sleep, you’re basically trapped because ganyu has a nice ass grip on you. like you never knew this girl would really have it in her to be holding you so tight like this?? yeah she’s an adeptus but damn, you can barely move?? since she also likes to mumble in her sleep, you have to lie there and listen. but it’d be so precious on the flip side.

“ cl. .d .retainer. . .may. .i. .ve. .more. .qingxin. .flowers. . please. .? “ you bit your cheek, stifling back a giggle at ganyu’s request. she wouldn’t dare to indulge herself to a batch of qingxin flowers normally because she’s so afraid of gaining weight. but here she is now, dreaming about treating herself shamelessly to her favorite snack. that’s absolutely adorable, so adorable that you wished to move and hear more of her sleep talking.

#ei x reader #baal x reader #ei genshin #kokomi x reader #genshin kokomi #ganyu x reader #genshin ganyu #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact headcanons

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blzzrdstryr · 3 years

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Alone together

Yandere!Dainsleif x gn!reader

Wordcount: 2011

CW: Yandere themes, stalking, possessive behavior, PTSD

Khaenri’ah burns. Skies turn red, as tall pillars of smoke arise in the place of ruined towers. People cry and beg and scream.

“Ah, [First] , you came to help” Lisa greets you, waking up from her half-slumbering state: “Welcome, welcome. I already made some tea for you, just let me”. The librarian stretches and yawns akin to a cat, after she stands up from the counter, flashing you one of her charming smiles afterwards: “Go and fetch it. We will work after the tea”.

Something in her voice leaves no room for argument, so you sit at the offered table, eyes immediately shifting to the nearby window, mostly out of habit. Skies are blue and clear, buildings are whole and steady, people are laughing and cheering outside. It’s a sight that brings you heartache and comfort at the same time - no one should be subjected to what you had to live through, whether they worship the seven or not.

“And here it is”, the witch says, holding a tray with a steaming teapot, cups and a plate of cupcakes resting on top of it. The next fifteen minutes are spent drinking and carelessly chatting about everything and nothing in particular: Lisa is an excellent company, adept at maintaining the conversation interesting and atmosphere comfortable, her wide array of knowledge and keen intellect keeping you on your toes throughout the exchange despite the advantage of experience you happen to possess.

The brief tea party is then followed by the shared work of deciphering ancient documents, the librarian sometimes turns to you asking for the meaning of one word or another - most of the texts are written in Khaenri’ahn or archaic forms of the modern languages.

She doesn’t pry why you happen to possess such intrinsic knowledge on the long dead language, nor does she ask anything about your star-shaped pupils - she must have seen the descendants of your compatriots, then. You know there live at least two - one with tan skin and a warm smile that never reaches his cold eyes and a blonde youth with the powers of khemia rolling under his palms. There’s no courage to approach them.

You in turn share Khaenri’ah’s greatest legacy - knowledge and science that helped your nation to outpace the deities and turn them against you. It’s a nice feeling - making sure that the thing your people cherished the most will not be forgotten, even if it’s given to archon worshippers. Five centuries ago the thought of educating Teyvatians would be laughable to you - there’s no use in it, they will continue to believe in their gods - you would dismiss it, but now nationless you have no choice but to do it - it’s the only way to keep the products of your people alive. To keep the memory of your people alive.

Khaenri’ah burns. You run across the collapsing city, eyes growing wider as you see people slowly morphing into something. It’s bestial and feral, primitive. Your breath hitches, you want to scream.

“[First]?”, it’s Lisa again, she lightly taps your shoulder, a hint of concern creeps into her voice

“Ah? Everything is fine, I just zoned off” you reply, too quickly and too strained to be believable. Who could have known that even after five hundred years the flashbacks of what happened on that day will still haunt you? They trail your thoughts like determined hounds, sneaking up on you in the most inopportune times. One moment you are talking to someone, the second you relive the fall of Khaenri’ah. The memory feels too real to be a fantasy, leaving your thoughts messy, anxious and disordered, as you shake and try to calm yourself.

“Are you sure?”, she stands up from her seat and makes a couple of quick steps to you, taking a good look at your face: you must look horrible, you think, those episodes always leave you panting and on the verge of panic.

“Maybe we should continue tomorrow, there’s no use in haste, it’s not like our documents will run away”, Lisa continues, massaging circles into your shoulder - her hand is warm and comforting, grounding. You want to thank her for this - the understanding tone and the way she caresses you right now, helping you to keep the link with reality, but the words get stuck in your throat - it’s too much and too scary, to admit what just has happened not only to her, but to yourself too.

“Yes”, you finally force out of yourself, nodding along the way: “it would be for the better”. Your voice is still too tense and strained, filled with the grief for the people and places long past, but Lisa, to your relief, doesn’t point out any of it. You quickly gather your belongings and leave the library, almost forgetting to bid a farewell to the witch as you exit.

The sun begins to set as you make your way to the rented house, it’s small and nondescript, a complete opposite of the one you had in Liyue. You used to work as a scholar in the harbor before He found you again - you fled your spacious and cozy apartments in less than a day, leaving almost all of your possessions behind.

The thoughts of what had happened still buzz in your mind - you want to scream and cry, you want to vent to someone, but the words you will utter will be in pure khaenri’ahn they won’t understand you.

You think of finally approaching that star-eyed cavalry captain, Kaeya, maybe he saw what you witnessed too. You think of Albedo, who carries the same energy all khaenri’ahn constructs do. You want to ask him about his creator, you want to talk with him about Khemia. You think of Barbatos who wears the form of the cheerful bard, you want to accuse and scream and hit him.

You do nothing as the power leaves your body the same second - it’s scary, so scary to verbalize that, to talk and share and relive, and approaching any of those three means doing exactly so.

You stay inside instead, calming your beating heart and kicking out intrusive thoughts, and only when your pulse returns to the norm you allow yourself to finally stand up. The world is shaky and unreliable, but some things stay the same. Your room for example - you have a habit of leaving things in specific places, as a way to keep you grounded. There’s a comfort in familiarity - the one you desperately need.

Your eyes shift from one object to the other, until they stumble across something that sends your heart racing again. The cup you use is shifted by a couple of inches, facing you by the opposite side, there’s a flower and a note lying beside it. The words are in khaenri’ahn, the handwriting is familiar too.

Khaenri’ah burns. Your lungs do too from the sheer overexertion and fatigue, but you keep pushing further and further - you can’t give up yet, not when He needs you. A name forms on your lips.

Thousand of thoughts form in your mind, they’re panicked, fast and disjointed - flee again, cut and dye your hair, change the name too - you can start over in Inazuma again, it’s a closed country, so if you will manage to get in, it will be harder for him to track you again.

Who are you kidding?

Unlike you, he has a core of steel, an unwavering determination to settle things his way or die trying - be it opposing Celestia or gaining you. It was always like that, with the Twilight sword being stubborn to a fault - he never budged or surrendered, not when Khaenri’ah was still proudly standing, and not now, when there’s nothing but the charred remains of your homeland.

You met him when you got accepted into the Royal order, where a Konungr paired you with Him. The twilight sword was unrelenting in his pursuits even then, a trait that you both admired and feared in equal volume. The collapse of your nation only worsened this quality - if back then he was striving to supervise and oversee everything, then the tragedy exacerbated his controlling tendencies even further.

You were travelling together for the first fifty years after the fall, both affected by the same curse, as he started getting possessive. It began in innocuous things: asking where you were, what you were doing, you didn’t pay much attention back then, celestial wrath still fresh in your memory - he was just cautious you told yourself, it’s a safety measure.

But then these safety measures grew from simply inquiring about your day to accompanying you almost everywhere, and then it all culminated in Him locking you up, to keep you away from leaving.

You escaped then, and avoided him ever since, departing your residence the second you caught the wind of his possible proximity. Years turned into decades that later morphed into centuries, and you began to grow lax - he was getting closer and closer to you with each turn. The first time you had a suspicion of him being near you packed your things the same second and spent countless days traversing the land by hidden passageways, careful not to leave any traces, and now, now you still sit in your house, despite having evidence of him knowing where you are.

Maybe you grew tired of the cat and mouse game, maybe you just accepted that your recapture is inevitable and all your little escapes do nothing, but set it off for a couple of months, or maybe you’re just that lonely. It doesn’t matter, really, as you make no attempt to do anything - it’s useless, he already knows your location.

Khaenri’ah burns. You cry and you hate yourself - for weakness, for helplessness, for still being alive and sane. He stays near you as a silent shadow, his blue eyes shifting from your crying face to the wreckage of the city. There are no words shared between you that day - you’re crushed and empty, yet bare and aching at the same time.

“Dainsleif”, you greet him, once you hear the squeak of the opening door. He doesn’t look that different from five hundred years ago, but now his eyes are both more tired and alive with fervent light.

“[First]”, he simply replies, your name rolling off his tongue like a prayer - there’s adoration and worship in his tone. He almost falls to his knees, as he takes your hands in his, capturing them in a steel trap.

“[First], I finally have you, [first]”, he murmurs, bringing your palm to his face. You don’t resist him, knowing it’s futile. His skin feels just like all those years ago - rough and dry, weathered down by the demanding lifestyle he leads. He gives a shy peck to your inner wrist, blue eyes intently watching you as he does so.

“Long time no see, Dain”, you start, trying to diffuse the tension in the air, as he grabs you by the chin and forces you into a kiss. He kisses with the desperation of a dying person, one of his hands firmly holding your head, the other starts to explore your body. It feels obscene. You are lightheaded, when he finally parts and hugs you again, still chanting “[First]” over and over again.

You allow him this liberty too, feeling a prick of pity in your heart. You know what it is - to be the sole survivor, too see your own people crumble and fall and transform. You know that he returns to that place again and again, reliving the same moment against his will. You know that he gasps and shivers when the memories get too real and overwhelming.

You both are children of the fallen nation, and there's no person in the world who could understand you better than he does. Maybe, you shouldn't have run, you think, listening to Dainsleif speak in Khaenri’ahn. There's a chain of connection between you two, it's unbreakable, forged in shared losses, tears and pain.

Khaenri’ah burns. It burns in both of you.

#yandere genshin impact #yandere dainsleif x reader #Yandere dainsleif #Dainsleif x reader #Dainsleif #Yandere genshin #genshin impact x reader #Yandere genshin x reader #Yandere #Yandere male #Genshin impact #Introverted atheist w/ 0 people skills? I kin #my writing

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favoniuscodex · 3 years

Text

the art of modernity [ prologue ]

prologue - jueyun karst

pairing: xiao x gn!reader warnings: canon-typical violence mention words: ~1.8k words fic masterlist [ prev ] - [ next ]

chapter summary: you drag four of your closest friends to jueyun karst to chase after possible traces of the adepti. none of them expect for you to actually find any, but hey, anything is possible, right?

a/n: can't believe 'making xiao eat a chicken nugget and french fries' is becoming an actual fic but here we are. enjoy !! :D

when you had asked yanfei the legal repercussions of disrupting jueyun karst, the entire brunch table had looked at you as if you had grown a third eye. kaeya had sat down the third mimosa he had been nursing, while childe had actually stopped speaking for once. yanfei giggled with intrigue and keqing had stared at you with an expression that screamed are you serious right now?

yet somehow, you had ended up in keqing's overcrowded car and made a road trip to fuel your farfetched dreams. sure, like any kid growing up, you had read percy jackson and the archons, but, unlike most kids, you had taken the myths of the archons seriously. shrines and ruins still sung praises of their names, but most liyuean mythology was treated as having no greater value than old folk tales. the world had moved on past the need of teyvat's expansive pantheon of the elemental archons, visions, and celestia, yet some scholars sought to prove the existence of the old gods. most of the time, their efforts were fruitless.

you, of course, were no scholar. you were simply a dumbass who graduated college and decided in their post-college/pre-settled life panic to go traverse the treacherous lands of jueyun karst. as prosperous as liyue was, jueyun karst still remained heavily untouched as there were areas that even rich moguls were scared to get their grubby hands on. why turn the beautiful mountains and swirling lakes into sprawling shopping centers if the entire area was rumored to be cursed anyways? so, the country had turned jueyun karst into a protected area in the form of a national park.

but now, with your car full of three and a half dumbasses (keqing certainly doesn't count and yanfei is only halfway to idiocy), you had decided to certainly ignore the title of protected area. you had full intentions of disrupting whatever you could get your grimy hands on. you wanted to see the adepti in action and, if others called you crazy for it, then so be it.

"gods, where even are we?" kaeya asks. his tone lacks the annoyance you would expect from childe nor the worried-yet-still-composed nature you would expect from keqing's words. so, you shrug him off with a simple wave of your hand.

"not really sure, but there's enough of us out here that we won't die, right?" you ask and kaeya stares at you blankly before turning to look behind the two of you at the three stragglers.

"keqing!" he calls, realizing that you are of no help. "where are we?"

keqing huffs as she approaches the two of you while yanfei and childe stagger behind her, both acting tired despite being some of the most athletic people you know. in typical keqing fashion, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a compass. kaeya stares as the compass needle spins around aimlessly in her hand, its connection clearly disrupted by some force in the area.

"oh gods, what does that mean? we're going to die. we're going to die out here," childe deadpans, panic creeping into his voice. yanfei swats him playfully on the arm before he can begin his usual theatrics, knowing full and well how childe loves living in the spotlight.

"dying in a protected national park is illegal," yanfei adds and kaeya stares at her with a baffled expression.

"what? are the police going to arrest a corpse?" kaeya asks incredulously and yanfei folds her arms over her chest, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"didn't you want to be a cop at one point? shouldn't you be aware as to how arresting procedures work?" yanfei asks and kaeya recoils at her question.

"no, i was considering going into military like my dad. i don't wanna be a cop," kaeya shoots back and childe jokingly gags once he hears the word 'military'.

"military? yuck," childe says and becomes the next recipient to receive childe's incredulous gaze.

"didn't you literally join the fatui for two years?" kaeya asks but childe shakes his head.

"not like you have any proof," the ginger-haired man shoots back.

"i can easily acquire proof?" kaeya says, but keqing clears her throat loudly before the two men can engage in a full showdown of words.

"c'mon, guys, we have bigger problems to solve than childe's blatant lies," keqing redirects the conversation with ease but not before kaeya lets out a triumphant hmph at keqing's words. "like figuring out why this compass isn't working and figuring out how to get back because it doesn't work."

"ooh, maybe it's not working because there are ghosts nearby," childe says, but before yanfei and kaeya can engage with his dumbassery once more, you interject.

"it's likely just elemental energy or adeptal energy. i know you guys probably don't believe in them, but this is said to be the former realm of the adepti. wouldn't be surprised if there are traces of them left!" you say, voice far too cheery for the implication of your words. kaeya only shrugs at the suggestion that gods are watching over you as you travel through the park, yanfei only looks intrigued in a nearly-dangerous way, keqing looks nonplussed due to her strong belief that the gods no longer exist, and childe looks absolutely terrified yet is trying to act like he isn't.

"anyways," you continue. "maybe there's a domain!"

"ancient liyuean law forbids unauthorized entrance into domains without proper licensure from the adventurer's guild," yanfei says, as if knowing ancient law is a completely normal activity for a twenty-something-year-old.

"what is a domain?" keqing and kaeya ask at the same time before glancing at each other.

"i'm... not sure. pretty sure they have like... ancient monsters and stuff," you confess and, for the first time today, childe perks up excitedly, eagerly taking a step closer to you.

"monsters? like those uh... hollychirls? whatever they're called? how big do you think they are?" childe asks with an excited glimmer in his eyes.

"weren't you just worried about dying?" keqing asks, but childe ignores her question.

"so like... we're trying to find this domain, right?" childe asks, confused. "what are we looking for?"

"i don't really see why a domain would have adepti traces so we're probably better off looking for something else," you say and yanfei perks up.

"like that?" she asks, pointing off at something glowing faintly orange in the distance. you squint slightly in an attempt to better look at it, but you're unable to distinguish what exactly yanfei as pointing at.

"we might as well go see what that is," keqing says and you're slightly surprised for the purple-haired girl to suggest such a thing, but you figure she's just trying to find a place where her compass actually works. the spinning dial isn't too much of a concern for you since you're in no rush to leave, but the friends you've brought along aren't quite as keen on discovering the secrets of the adepti as you are, so you follow the herd as they begin to move over to the glowing orange light.

the five of you climb down, approaching what soon reveals itself as a stone pillar with a glowing chunk of cor lapis on top. it's certainly nothing new and is probably a protected relic, yet no guards are stationed in front of it. it's almost certainly been discovered before, so why isn't it..?

"oh, isn't this area usually flooded?" yanfei asks and everyone turns to stare at her.

"you've been here before?" keqing asks and you wonder to yourself when these people will stop asking questions and instead keep looking for hints.

"you guys haven't traveled to jueyun karst before?" yanfei asks, confused. "yeah, this area's usually flooded with water. i've never seen that thing before."

if it's usually flooded, then it was likely discovered before, but not relocated, you think to yourself and immediately break out in a sprint towards the cor lapis tower. sure, it was about the height of you, with the cubic chunk on top reaching the height of your head, yet you were more than satisfied with looking at the carvings on the side. childe is the first to catch up with you, using his long legs to match your pace. he sighs as you finally stop and watches as you frantically begin poking and prodding at the pillar.

"are you sure that's a good idea?" he asks, nervously. "what if it's a mechanism or something?"

"what's the worst that could happen?" you ask and childe sputters over his words.

"a lot of things!" childe insists, yet kaeya, keqing, and yanfei's joined arrival interrupts him from making an even bigger fuss.

"try putting your palm flat on the diamond," yanfei suggests and you take a step back. with a steady hand, you lays her palm flat against the side of the pillar, in which a diamond has been engraved onto its surface. around the group of you, the remnants of water begin to glow orange as the pillar emits an even stronger, unnatural glow of energy. the pillar begins to vibrate rapidly and yanfei lets out a small, knowing laugh while the rest of you watch, wide-eyed and confused by the moving pillar.

yet, all that happens is that the cor lapis situated on the top of the pillar falls off, landing on the side of the pillar with a resounding crack. the four of your friends immediately move over to look at the now shattered chunk of cor lapis on the ground, yet you gravitate towards the stone pillar. on the spot where the cor lapis fell, a single name is etched into the stone, as if this pillar is supposed to mark a specific area.

"'xiao'?" you breathe, reading off the word on the pillar.

"what's xi-" kaeya begins, glancing over at you, but before he can finish, a flash of green appears on the opposite side of your friends. your lips part in shock as you watch the deity appear before you. a mask rests on his face and a polearm rests in his hand, yet despite his disguised face, you can sense the anger rolling off his form in waves. his green hair ruffles in the wind as his free hand reaches up to lower his mask. infuriated amber eyes pierce into yours, but the adeptus speaks before you can.

"i am adeptus xiao. how dare you mortals infringe upon jueyun karst and disrupt my land?" xiao seethes and, for once, all five of you are silent as the yaksha points his polearm at you.

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@somemothgoingferal @miicachii @hq149 @albedostar @the-astrumnauta @falconcoast @dilucsz @transactionalrelationship @koko-cherry @dumpling-gif @shulkerdotjar @popdrop @seokflwr @solarpearl @tsubaki3192 @marifujioka @astronomeh @daichiri @cryspyjk @svnflowery @anseoo @rintaoreo @fuhuashandholder @squashbee

please send in an ask (not submission or dm!) to be placed on the taglist! if your name is in italics that means i am unable to tag you!

#xiao x reader #genshin impact x reader #xiao #genshin impact #//the art of modernity #//taom #axia's writing

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imjeralee · 3 years

Note

i believe in kaeya supremacy

headcanon for ur favs and their s/o's first kiss

Oh my gash I enjoyed writing this one so much. thank you for sending and here you go!

(btw I have chosen Kaeya, Zhongli, Diluc and Childe for now)

Kaeya

Omgggggg this man

Master of smooth-talking seduction and flirting.

But he has caught feelings for you and isn’t afraid to show it.

As one of the librarians, you’ve spent the entire day returning books to their proper shelves and outside the sun is setting, casting a warm glow in the room when you hear a very suave voice calling you

Turning round with a few books piled up in your arms, you didn’t even realise he had come in but there he is, leaning against one of the bookshelves with his arms crossed and looking very handsome. He must have returned from a commission, but he doesn’t look exhausted at all. He’s holding a book in his hand but he isn’t reading it, and he quickly closes it and returns it to the shelf before turning to you

Whilst you’re wondering what he is doing here, he will greet you with a few words and a charming smile before asking you how your day is going

Every time you talk to Kaeya you always feel the air between you changing, it can get very tense

After the minor small talk, it’s kind of clear he’s here for a reason and he wants something

There’s virtually no-one in the library and it’s quiet and its really the perfect place. He’ll sigh and let you know he had wanted to see you all day but kept missing you, and now that he’s finally caught up to you, well…

He walks up to you and lean forwards, grasping your chin gently and tilting your face up to his level

“Kaeya?” You murmur.

He’ll shush you with a smile. “Do you know how much I’ve wanted this?”

“…Want what?”

“This.”

He gently brushes his lips over yours in a tender and soft kiss that leaves you wanting more when he pulls away. His lips feel very soft and warm and your lips mould together in a perfect fit.

As your heart pounds, he lets go of you and leaves with a smirk on his face

Zhongli

I have this headcanon where you’re his betrothed.

Geo daddy who lives rent free in my head wants to experience a mortal life, and he has to go through a trial like other mortal beings where he will experience mortal love and go through the agony and suffering of losing a loved one

This is where you come into the picture

You belong to an ancient sect called Emei who are tasked with protecting and taking care of you, dwelling in Mt Aozhang

Due to your status, no mortal is allowed to see you so you’re pretty much cooped up atop the mountain, spending most of the time gazing at the world below

It can get very lonely

Therefore when Mr Zhongli comes to visit you, you’re always so happy to see him and your helpers always ensure you are dressed well and looking your best whenever he arrives

You and Mr Zhongli have met occasionally, standing under the luscious shade of the trees or sitting by the pool to talk and spend time together. You’ve always enjoyed listening to him talking about Liyue’s history and culture. He will always bring you flowers too.

It went from simple chats whilst standing rather far apart, then eventually you were comfortable enough to sit quite closely together and have wine/tea, and finally, you went on walks whilst holding hands

Every time he leaves, you miss him very much

One day when he’s visiting, you think he feels the same because he gazes at you with such longing and you spend more time together than usual

Before he returns to Liyue, he kisses your hand. He would normally leave after bidding a fond farewell and a ‘until next time’, but he holds your gaze longer and brushes some hair from your face, caressing your cheek before leaning forwards and pressing his lips gently over yours

You’re left blinking wide-eyed but very much looking forward to his next visit

Diluc

If Diluc liked someone, he’s calm and quiet about it

No-one would even know he had a S/O or someone in mind

Lots of girls like him though he does not return the affection and they scream and cry, wishing he would look at them the way he looks at his falcon

And you actually had your first kiss with him

It was at night, and you’re the accountant of Dawn Winery so you were working late, going through the invoices with Master Diluc sitting beside you. It was just a normal day at work but you wonder if the rumours were true - that Master Diluc liked you

And you don’t remember falling asleep, but Diluc looks away from his book and glances at your direction when he feels a weight pressing against the side of his arm

And there you are, having fallen asleep on his shoulder with pen in hand and he lets out a gentle sigh, puts down his paperwork

He murmurs your name and gives you a shake but you don’t wake up

It’s getting really late so he lifts you out of the chair and into his arms so he can carry you to the guest room, when your head lolls over and your lips smacks over his mouth

So yes, accidental kiss haha!

You would think he gets flustered, his cheeks matching the colour of his hair - but Diluc is still calm despite this and carefully peels you off and you flop against his chest, and you wake up.

“Huh? W-What happened? Why am I…?” You mutter groggily, before you realise you’re in his arms and your mouth feels a bit wet; you automatically trace your fingers over your lips. You can taste grape juice. Huh???

“We kissed.” He says bluntly.

Childe

You are an agent of Fatui and you’re sent to look after him on a regular basis which is pretty annoying because that means you’re basically his babysitter

And he’s always up to no good and he likes to purposely wind you up and you usually get into trouble for it but he actually really likes you so you have this kind of love/hate relationship with him

He looks easy-going on the outside but deep inside he’s thirsty for blood and lives for the thrill of da kill, and on this occasion you’re both going to train together and this will totally give you an opportunity to clap his cheeks but he gets super hyped from battle so you will have your first kiss in the most unlikely places

Essentially when you’re sparring together, Childe is fighting as if he wanna kill you and you’re doing your best to either defend or retaliate but oh my Archon, he’s a Harbinger for a reason - and the kiss happens very spontaneously but most likely when he’s swept you off your feet and you’re seeing things upside down but if you’re going down, you’re gonna bring him with you and you manage to hook your leg around his ankle and he goes tumbling

You land on your back with a loud, painful thud

When you open your eyes, he’s lying on top of you

You’re not used to him being so close and on top of you as well, and it appears neither is he

In fact, he looks a little shocked for a brief moment (an expression you’ve never seen before) but he’s quick to react and he’s smirking.

Panting heavily, he goes, “Hah...hah...what’s with that look on your face?”

You’re so stunned by this close proximity, you can’t even utter a single syllable and he’s not fooling anyone either with his act

And as you both continue to stare at each other, his grin slowly vanishes and suddenly he’s looking at you with half-lidded eyes before he slides his gaze to your mouth.

Before you can speak, he leans down and kisses you roughly

As quickly as he had kissed you, he is hasty to retreat and you’re left gawking.

He gets up to stand, his hydro blades vanishing upon his will. He throws a quick glance at you from over his shoulder and tells you practise is over.

As he leaves, he licks his lips and traces his thumb over his bottom lip

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wesimpforxiao · 3 years

Text

Say My Name and I’ll Be There: 9.2

"Oh my god!" Your shriek nearly deafened the yaksha while your nails dug into his shoulder and back. The wind whipped your hair into both of your faces, much to his dismay as he struggled to keep track of his footing. "This is crazy! This is awesome!" Another leap and your heart dropped to your stomach in a fashion that sucked the breath out of your lungs. "W-wait this is terrifying! Xiao! Slow down!"

You asked for this yet have the audacity to panic? Xiao tensed under the increasing grip around his body and made another leap. Well, a 'leap' is a bit of an understatement; whether he was teleporting or zipping through the air, you couldn't tell--it happened so fast your mind couldn't keep up. The two of you were nearing the top of Mount Tianheng, and with every 'jump' he took you'd look down to find another fifty or so feet added to the distance between you two and the ground.

Just as Xiao was beginning to think you wanted him to stop, an exasperated laugh left your lips. "This is awesome!"

The yaksha clicked his tongue at the myriad of sounds you were making. First you were screaming with excitement, then terror, then laughing, and now you're gasping? Will you just make up your mind? Are you scared or not scared? He couldn't keep up with your quick switches just as you couldn't keep up with his speed.

And then there was the fact that you asked him specifically to carry you up the mountain, not climb up with you or merely teleport to the top. Was this the duty of a boy friend? He didn't recall you ordering Aether to carry you at all during your travels. Minus the time you had your leg clawed by that lawachurl, but that doesn't really count--

His feet lightly landed onto the grass at the top of the mountain and he stilled, stealing a glance at your profile. "We're here." Archons, your grip finally relaxed against his stinging skin. He was expecting that classic dumbfounded look on your face, but you pulled away with the widest--and dumbest--grin once your feet lowered to the ground.

"That was amazing-!" You nearly lost your balance from the vertigo of travelling so quickly, but Xiao grabbed your arm before you could stumble over the edge of the cliff. "Can we do that again?"

"You can't be serious," his eyes narrowed in disdain.

"One hundred percent! Come on, please?"

Wha-What is this all of a sudden?! Xiao averted his eyes the second your pleading ones took hold. He let go of your arm as his gaze fell to the grass.

You couldn't contain the gasp within your lips, "You're...blushing?" You don't remember if it's happened before, but the very tips of his ears were pink and it was painfully obvious in the sunlight of late morning. "Xiao, the Vigilant Yaksha, BLUSHING?!"

"I suggest you keep your quips to a minimum unless you--"

"I can't believe this is happening! What did I do to make you blush? You're ears are bright red!" Your hands cupped the sides of your face as you freaked out. He was so neutral when it came to emotion, but the past sixteen hours or so he's shown you more of his vulnerable side. But the adeptus was visibly showing emotion! "This never happened before!"

"There's nothing timid about you, having the courage to mock me. So fight me," he started to raise his glare from the ground. "How long do you think your body will last against my blows?"

"Rex Lapis must've blessed me-!"

In your excitement, you failed to remember that the ledge was right behind you. One second you were laughing your ass off with a face as bright red as Xiao's, and the next you were flailing breathlessly in the air attempting to find solid ground. Xiao's figure shrunk at the top of the cliff as you plummeted. The shock rendered you unable to scream and instead you gasped for breath as the wind whistled in your ears.

Xiao lifted his gaze in time to watch you fall over, and he simply moved so that his gaze could still follow your shrinking figure. "It's a wonder humans survived this long," he muttered with a slightly amused expression. Does she not realize she has her wind glider? He failed to notice the corner of his lips curling upward.

He had no intention of letting you plummet to your death. But after the stunt you just pulled on him, he figured it wouldn't hurt to tease you a bit too. You were by no means anywhere near the ground or any other hazardous objects; his enhanced vision and depth perception confirmed it. Why not let you fall a bit? Maybe your wits would return to you and you'd actually remember the glider attached to your back.

Three...four...five...Xiao counted the seconds. You were nearly half-way down the cliffside. ...Six...She's not going to remember, is she? Seven..."Tch." He prepared to jump.

I-I'm going to die! You finally managed to inhale a reasonable amount of air, not daring to peek behind you at the ground that was closing in. Your thoughts were racing with nothing but panic. Think, think! Think of something! You wanted to smack yourself when you remembered who accompanied you. He wouldn't just let you die like this, it was stupid of you to even forget that much! You involuntarily reached for the cliffside where Xiao was now nothing but a miniscule dot in the distance.

"Xiao!"

Warm arms wrapped themselves around you the instant his name fell from your lips, and the familiar sensation of teleporting enveloped you. You spun around and hugged him as tightly as you could the second your feet touched the ground. He didn't even tense up this time--

"You didn't remember your glider," he pointed out nonchalantly. Almost teasingly.

"That's why you just stood there?!" He grumbled something you couldn't hear and returned your embrace with his head buried at the crook of your neck. His ears were still red. Are you telling me this is how he acts when he's shy?!

The two of you stayed in that position for awhile, never quite loosening your hold on the other as if to ensure they wouldn't float away like an anemo slime or a bloaty floaty. A cool breeze slid across your skin--an intimate gesture Xiao wouldn't dare outright commit, much less think of. And yet the wind entangled itself in your hair much like his hand would clasp around your nape. It seemed to embody the long-lost gentleness of the yaksha. It was subtle. Soft. An indirect display of affection. Maybe it was just your imagination.

Just awhile longer, Xiao's heart yearned as he held you close until rational thought returned to power. Your absence would sting more now that he's seen you, but that didn't take away from the fact that this visit allowed the sealing of your bond, and therefore saved you from a painful demise for the time being. The last thing he wanted was for you to return to Childe, but maybe this is what would prevent his karma from touching you. The farther you are from him, the safer you'd be.

But for right now, just awhile longer, he'll allow himself to drown in your warmth.

...................

"You seem more than eager to get back to work, Mezzetin," Childe teased as he led you through the halls of the palace. The two of you had just returned to Snezhnaya, but the Tsaritsa had apparently no intentions of letting either of you rest after your long journey.

"Don't mistake my happiness for the Lantern Rite as happiness for the Tsaritsa's operations. I'm only cooperating to keep the peace in Teyvat."

"So, when are you going to tell me what you and Xiao did?"

"Excuse me? Since when is my private life any of your business?"

"I have the right to know since you so blatantly disobeyed my orders not to leave the harbor." Childe grabbed the door handle and faced you. "I expected more professionalism from you, but honestly, I'm not at all surprised," he baited with narrowed eyes. "I could tell the Tsaritsa, you know."

Your heart seemed to skip a beat at the thought of facing her again. Something about that nightmare you had when you were with Xiao ignited a vague fear of her that you didn't really have before. You swallowed hard before jutting your chin up at the harbinger. "Do it."

"Oh?" Childe squinted as he towered over you.

"Do it," you repeated. "Who do you think she'll discipline more, since it was a certain harbinger's idea to bring me along and didn't properly watch me?" Childe stared at you for a few silent seconds before twisting the door handle and entering Dottore's lab without another word. Yeah, that's what I thought.

"GAHHHHH!" A deafening, sickening cry of pain snapped you out of your gloating session. It was much like the rest that you've heard; the test subjects of Dottore were often strangers to mercy. But unlike the trials before, there were no piles of bodies lying in the middle of the arena.

"Did he just start for the day?" You forcefully peeled your eyes away from the suffering man and kept them on Childe. It would be unusual if he did; he started in the early morning hours, but you and Childe had arrived in mid-afternoon.

"Dunno," he shrugged slightly.

"Ah! Childe." Dottore noticed your presences and gave a signature manic grin, his arms spreading wide. "We have made a breakthrough!"

"This doesn't look like a breakthrough to me," you muttered loud enough for him to hear. Anger flickered across the masked man's face before he reset his eyes on his fellow harbinger.

"This is the fifth subject of the day." The man's cold stare eyed the suffering Fatui agent with something similar to a sadistic excitement. "It appears your idea to bring that brat with you succeeded."

You didn't hear Dottore, intent on watching the Fatui agent closely. He had finally stopped shrieking, and he pushed himself to his feet rather unsteadily while wiping the sweat away from his forehead. He was healthy despite being drenched in sweat and breathing heavily while he recovered from the subsiding pain. You let out a sigh of relief you didn't know you were holding in. You didn't have to watch another person die at your feet--

Wait a minute. He wasn't dying.

A cool shiver crawled down your spine at the realization, and you flinched when a manic laugh escaped Dottore. "That was the original serum at work. How's that for a breakthrough, brat?"

"That's...impossible," you uttered with wide eyes.

"Thank your superior for making it possible."

Your attention slid to Childe, who didn't bother to look you in the eye. His expression was unreadable, and it remained that way when he escorted you to your room in silence. His presence couldn't feel more hostile in that moment.

"You...my bond...," you choked when the two of you were at the door of your room. "You lied. You used me! You used our bond for your own selfish purposes! How could you?"

"Don't start this, Mezzetin," a weary sigh left him as he turned to you. His allegedly guilty appearance only infuriated you.

"Outside, now."

The second the two of you were outside the palace walls, you let yourself snap into a fit of rage. Childe had barely started to turn around when an ice shard shot at his face, slicing across his cheek. His blood splattered onto the snow, and he wiped at his face to examine his blood on his fingers. "Mezzetin--"

"Don't 'Mezzetin' me!" Hundreds more icicles shot at him in a flurry until he had no choice but to defend himself and summon his hydro blades to parry the blows. "This was the last straw! I'll kill you!"

"Then I'll be more than happy to give you a fight." Despite his usual excitement when it came to battle, he was calm and collected, even so much as cold and distant. He lacked the usual spark fighting always gave him. His eyes were empty and lacking of enthusiasm.

"Tch." Your vision glinted in the sunlight as the temperature surrounding you dropped below zero. Snow whipped through the air to create a barricade that caged the two of you in a small arena. The blizzard made the snowflakes like needles that could cut through skin if one got too close to the edge. Your own powers seldom hurt you, but in your anger, a few rogue icicles cut across your forehead, arms, and your back.

At the pace you were going at, it was self-destructive.

Childe noted this as he parried your every attack despite his blades turning frozen solid now. "Mezzetin! Keep this up, and I won't hold back!" His warning fell on deaf ears.

"What makes you think I want you to hold back? I'm settling this here and NOW!" The snow beneath his feet erupted, sending him spiraling out of the eye of the storm and into the blizzard's rage. You summoned your polearm without hesitation and began to walk towards him.

His arms were stuck to his blades, which were stuck in the ground. He must've attempted to summon a new set and accidentally froze his limbs. He watched you approach, hunched over to shield himself from the blizzard.

"You said visiting him would be good for me!" Your screams were carried away by the wind. "That you realized your own selfishness! This was nothing but more manipulation, wasn't it? You're NOTHING but a lying monster!" The wind grew harsher. Your blade grew sharper once you were a few feet from him.

Cold eyes looked down upon the Tsaritsa's war dog. What a pathetic site it was; an esteemed harbinger on his knees before you. A harsh kick to his jaw dislodged his hands from the ice they were trapped in, and more blood was splattered onto the snow.

"That's it," a smile of satisfaction spread across Childe's lips, making your eyes narrow in disgust. "You're finally showing potential." He sat up with his back to you. "If you constantly fight like this, I'd listen to you more carefully."

"Shut up--!" Your lance stabbed at his figure, but in one fluid motion he swung around and deflected your blade with his hand. A sudden burst of electricity sent you flying several feet backwards. "Ngh!"

"But unfortunately for you, ojou-chan, you misinterpreted the entire situation." Your clearing vision settled on the electro delusion that glinted at his hip. His figure stood over you and a sharp, hot pain tore through your side.

"Gah!"

"I have the right to discipline my subordinates as I see fit," he twisted his blade and dug it deeper into you, completely uncaring that you were squirming around and twitching from the electric shocks pulsing through your body. "Listen closely, girlie, because I won't say it again." You desperately clawed at his weapon, but he held it firmly in place and refused to remove it. "You needn't tell me what you learned from Mr. Zhongli or your adeptus boyfriend. I don't care for that information.

"My bringing you back to Liyue was truly for your own benefit, and it just so happens it was for the Tsaritsa's benefit as well. Make no mistake Mezzetin, I am on your side when it comes to private life. But when it comes to work and the Tsaritsa, my loyalty lies with Snezhnaya.

"I don't care if you don't believe me. If you so badly want to escape the Tsaritsa's grasp, you have much to learn. Patience, for starters." He ripped his blade out of you. "Don't take this too personally, ojou-chan. I don't condone disorderly conduct from anyone under my supervision."

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #xiao genshin impact #genshin impact xiao #xiao x reader #xiao #xiao one shot #xiao fanfiction #fanfiction #say my name and ill be there #childe #tartaglia #childe genshin impact #genshin impact childe #tartaglia genshin impact

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lath-ara-ara · 3 years

Text

The smell of wine reached Diluc's nose

it's musty aroma spreading through the air like wildfire, the scent was so thick it was as if one could taste it right there right now, the red liquid slightly seeps from the side of your mouth hiccupping in the process as your free hand wipes the droplet across your jaw. Your sight was blurry and your cheeks tinted with red

"Maybe you've had enough," The red haired male behind the counter states, attempting to take the half emptied glass from you. Simply downing the drink in one go, you giggled "Too late..!" you spat out, pointing towards the Pyro user. He only sighed taking away the emptied glass

You kept giggling as you prop a hand onto your chin, muttering Diluc's name continuously, annoying him a bit in the process "Hey, hey.. Diluc"

"I'm not handing you another glass." He huffs, finally responding to your drunken self, "You've had enough and that's that."

"I know that.." You rolled your eyes, making your way on top of the counter as you sat and faced the stoic bartender's direction, slinging your legs to the table's inside "I just want to chat a bit with you..!" you said, a drunken grin stuck to your mouth as your cheeks flushed red.

The male turns away, a blush of his own reaching the tips of his ears. Coughing, he focuses on to the glass he was almost done polishing "I'm not interested in Idle chit-chat." he shots you down, his tone as dull as ever "It's almost midnight so it's best you go and rest."

"You're no fun.." you pout

"I don't do 'fun' and you know that."

"What..!? of course you're fun..! right now not really.." tilting your head sluggishly to the side, you hopped off the counter to look at him at your normal height, hair following your movement as you stick your landing with no trace of grace. Tipsy and slurred your hand clamped itself onto his outfit's collar.

Your action made him flinch, placing a hand on to your waist to prevent you from falling "What are you talking about?" He sternly says, scolding you for almost falling to the side.

"Sure your not fun sometimes.." you claim, voice grating at every word you say "..but that doesn't mean you're a bore.. or something.."

Confusion starts to fill Diluc's face, not understanding why your voice is slowly becoming brittle. Your grip tightened as you added another hand on to his clothes, "..at least to me you're not."

his gaze softens, seeing your beautiful tinted cheeks and glossy eyes in front of him as such words come out from you. "You never notice it but... I genuinely like your company.. Diluc" you hiccup, your mouth kept moving as you describe to the man in front of you the emotions you feel whenever you spent time with him, the smell of wine lingering your breath as you do so. But despite all that he couldn't hear the rest of it, only focusing on the look in your face, the smell of your hair mixed with the scent of his famous alcoholic drink. It smelled intoxicating, as if you yourself were a tall glass of wine. And knowing him, he doesn't want to involve himself with alcoholic beverages' taste not making an exception to even take a sip of the said drink, but the taste of Dandelion wine against your lips interested him, it made him curious. Would it taste the same? would it remain bitter sweet? or would it create some sort of flavor that'd make him crave for more. Maybe he didn't want that.. maybe he's just curious on... how you would taste instead?

"Don't say your not fun okay..!?" you shrieked in front of his face, snapping him out of his lingering thoughts, he was a bit flustered and ashamed that he'd imagine such a thing about you... wait are you crying?

"You're fun to be with..! o-or more than that.." it was clear that you were still drunk, having more than four glasses really isn't a good thing. The red head shook his head, taking both your hands off of him, staring at your forlorn expression "Alright.. I get it." He sighs "Now stop crying.. your tears mixed with wine on your face doesn't smell pleasant." that was a lie, it smelled quite nice but of course he wont say that to you,

his face was still flustered, almost as flushed as yours.

He was really glad that no one else was in the tavern right now.

A frown was evident on your face, whimpering a bit you sniffed your tears away making the Bar owner cringe a bit, not really used to seeing people cry right in front of him.

"Hey.. Diluc"

"Hm?"

"Do you consider me as a friend?.." you timidly ask, turning your gaze away from the tall male

He opened his mouth but hesitated, thinking about his answer once more "you could say that... I can tolerate your presence to an extent." He trails on "Though my first impression of you wasn't the best considering that you're my b--... Kaeya's close collegue." He coughs, almost completely slipping his words.

"I....gorgeous..."

"what?.." He mutters to you, his hands finding themselves upon your shoulders. Did he hear you wrong? what did you just mumble?..

"I thought..." you timidly start, about to repeat what you inaudibly said. "I thought you were... gorgeous." looking at him directly in the eyes, your tear stained face flushed at the sight of him,

Thank the Archons you were still a bit drunk.

"..When I first met you." you finished, gazing at his face you watched his cheeks slowly redden, quickly turning away from you his head screamed for him to say something, but he couldn't! how could he!? you just called him gorgeous... such a thing to say would probably make him burst right at this moment.

He's thanking the Archon's that you were still drunk.

His skin became warmer when you placed a hand against his cheek, making him turn back towards your gaze. Despite feeling his face heat up at your actions, his arms and legs became frozen solid in place. "Don't.." you slightly smiled "..don't turn away."

He was wide-eyed

"Even until now..."

His heart was racing

"..I still find you gorgeous.." you said, a tight tone present amongst your trembling voice. "so don't turn away from me... okay?"

He couldn't take it anymore, he exploded.

Grabbing your face, he pulled you closer. The feeling of his leathered hands cup your warm skin made you shiver, looking into those dull eyes of him you saw a spark of flame igniting behind them, making your own orbs ignicolist to the fire of his own. Pulling you towards the heat of his face he starts to speak, his composure unevident yet he continues. "Why do you say such nonsense to me... to my face.."

"I'm not lyi--"

"It makes me speechless." He grits his teeth, "I hate how you speak to me with such vocabulary that you left me speechless. And this happens quite often... I despise it."

Remembering the first time the both of you had a proper conversation, he'd always hate how you'd ask him questions that he can answer with a clever sharp tongue, but the moment he finishes speaking you'd deliver a much more clear answer to him, answering your own question, leaving him confused and speechless. He hated how you'd say things to piss him a bit, He'd hate how you were intentionally blunt just to get a reaction from him,

He despises the way you'd enter the tavern at the end of the day

He despises the fact that you'd always ask for Dandelion wine every 5 minutes

He despises the fact that like his brother, you tend to rile him up every chance you get

He despises the way you'd try and be friend him

He despises the way you look at him for so long thinking he didn't notice

He despises the way you somewhat relate to him

He despises the way you'd giggle whenever he accidentally make a mistake

He despises the way your hair smells whenever he's close towards you

He despises that you share too much with him

He despises the fact that you trust him too much

He despises the way you'd often sit at the tavern's counter

He despises the fact that he remembers the little details about you

He despises that He'd immediately notice your presence

He despises the fact that He can't help but fall into a conversation with you despite not liking small talk

He despises the things you do to him

"..yet I can never bring myself to despise you."

But never once did he despise you.

"I despise almost everything about you." He frowns, voice husky as he whispers close to you "But I can never push you away..."

"And my excuse is the fact that.." Your eyes softened, his own staring deeper in to you, landing onto your lips "...I love you."

"And... I don't despise that." He mutters, looking at your expression he notices your silent yet shocked facade, sighing he let's loose of his grip, his hands letting go of your face.

"It's midnight."

"..." you stood still and silent

"You should g--"

Not wasting another second you leaped to grab a hold of his collar once again, kissing him in the process. His eyes flutter shut, as both your lips move in sync, fervent and warm breaths clash together as you pull him close, deepening the passion you both share at this moment. Diluc pushed you backward a bit, letting you both gasp oxygen before placing another chaste kiss against your lips. moving to lean you towards the inner walls of tavern, pinning you in the process. He continuously placed kisses against your face before locking his lips to yours once again, sloppy yet sweet sounds of your tongues were heard by each other, letting a gap between you form once in a while as you both passionately held each other. Sobering up a bit because of this make-out session, you moved your head to the side, giving him an opening to kiss against your cheek, moving slowly towards your ears and down to your neck.

"Diluc.." you breathlessly whispered against his lips, your thighs squeezing against each other, feeling his bulge against your crotch area you whimpered, the sweet sound making chuckle against your hair as he moves to kiss your neck again, making more sounds of pleasure come out of your lips

"As I thought..." He whispers against your ear "..the taste of Dandelion wine against your lips is incredible." your eyes flutter shut and you yelp, when he placed a palm against your behind, pulling you closer to his crotch

"I wonder if you'd taste much better... somewhere else,"

________________________________________________

And this is an attempt to write smut, I might continue. might not. who knows XD thx for reading hope ya'll enjoyed

-Lath~♡

#diluc #diluc ragnvindr #y/n #reader insert #fanfic #genshin x reader #genshin impact #lime #Genshin impact x reader #Diluc x reader

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sftd-official · 5 years

Text

Today. Today would be it. Today would be the day he sprung himself from this hellscape.

Those exact words were running on repeat in the Viper King’s mind as he watched, coiled up in his test tube. He eyed the humans, in their white coats, that ambled around and checked monitors. Shazara-Ta didn’t know how long he had been captive in this facility, subject to tests and procedures that warped his very form. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had been taken from his home planet, deposed as the rightful king and kidnapped by the Collective. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had fought a futile war with the invaders from beyond the stars.

He did, however, know how much longer he would wait until he sprung himself... and his fellow test subjects.

His eyes slid over to the containment chamber across the room. There, the Archon King hovered, giving an eyeless glare to the scientists that paid him no mind. Shazara-Ta didn’t even know his fellow ruler’s name—but as it turns out, they both knew ADVENT, and that was enough to make plans in broad view. It seemed none of the personnel their captor had amassed knew their language, and that allowed them to formulate an escape. They just had to wait; there was one person in particular that had to arrive for her daily checkups in order for this to happen.

They didn’t have to wait long. Shazara-Ta’s eyes flitted to the door at the far end of the room as it opened, and in stepped the despicable slag that watched over them like a jailor to inmates—Vahlen. Shazara-Ta had heard her name enough times beyond the glass of his tube to know it’s what they called her. For the abuse he suffered, for the abuse she made the others suffer, she would die slowly and painfully.

Discreetly, he looked over to the Archon King. His own eyes seemed to be locked on Vahlen as well... but the signal came through as clear as the day. He flared the props on his wings in a specific pattern, indicating he was ready. In response, Shazara-Ta rapidly vibrated his hood—a symbol of aggression with the pattern he chose, but here? It was a sign of rebellion.

Clutching his chest, the Archon King’s thrusters began to flicker out, sending him bumping into the walls of his cell. If this had been any other species feigning death, he knew it wouldn’t work—the scientists had visuals on their vitals on their screens. But something Shazara-Ta had been informed about Archons is that they could take control of the machinery in their body down to an impressive level. The Archon King was shutting down vital systems to serve as a distraction.

It worked—the scientists began hurriedly rushing over to his station, pressing buttons and uttering words he couldn’t understand. Vahlen herself ran over, providing her own commentary. The Archon King crashed at the bottom of his cell, unmoving, and this sent the humans into a further panic.

If Shazara-Ta wanted to do this, he had to work fast. His fellow king couldn’t keep those systems shut off forever without killing himself. With that urgency in mind, and with the taste of freedom so close, Shazara-Ta rose from his despondent coil on the bottom of his cell. Using his natural mobility and the scales on his underside, he rocketed up the glass of his cell and launched off of it in the minimal space he had, careening his tail forward and putting massive force into striking the glass.

The glass shuddered violently, and he could see a head or two turn towards him. He had to keep trying. Scrambling up again, this strike created webs of fractures against the glass where he hit it. Another strike sent them shooting further out, and he could feel the glass starting to buckle.

One more strike, and his prison shattered in an explosion of shards.

That was enough to send some of the humans screaming out of the room, sure of their fate now that one of their test subjects had escaped. Not wasting his moment long, he felt his hood vibrate in anger and adrenaline, venom rising up his throat. He would sicken them and make them feel just a tenth of the agony he had. Squeezing his chest, he spat it out behind them, intent on trapping them against the cloud.

What happened, however, reminded him of the detestable things Vahlen had done to him. Instead of a cloud of poison, once the liquid hit the ground, it formed a large chunk of ice. Some of the humans that had been too close or already running for the door found themselves trapped within it regardless. As much as Shazara-Ta wanted to mourn for what had happened for him, there was far larger prey to take down. Vahlen herself was backing away in a panic, spotting the one area the ice didn’t cover and making a break for it. Shazara-Ta found himself starting to course after her—but a thought stopped him up. What if the humans had thrown some sort of killswitch in the Archon King’s tube? Vengeance was one thing... but the Viper King had grown very attached to his fellow test subjects. Leaving him to die so he could get his revenge wasn’t something he could abide by.

Turning around, he could see the Archon King’s thrusters activate again, propping himself up on the glass as he sluggishly got up, no doubt groggy from what he had just performed. Shazara-Ta couldn’t claim to know what the buttons on the console meant, and knew that mindless mashing could be the king’s further doom. He could easily coil around the glass and shatter it... but without a cushion, he’d undoubtedly get a few glass shards in his tail for his troubles. Without a cushion. He hadn’t spent his whole allotment of freezing venom on his previous expulsion. He could use a layer of ice to protect himself.

Making his way up to the other tube, he brought up his venom again, applying it evenly around the lower middle section of the tube. Once he had a good enough layer going, he turned to the Archon King. “Get down!” He barked in ADVENT. “I’m getting you out of here.”

Nodding, the Archon King dropped to the floor once more. Sliding up the tube, Shazara-Ta coiled himself around the layer of ice he had created. The tail muscles in Vipers were to be feared—as he squeezed the tube, cracks rapidly formed, and he could already feel the material bending. Just a second more and the Archon King was freed in a shower of sparkling glass, the ice acting as an effective protection.

Landing right next to the king, Shazara-Ta righted himself, offering a hand to his fellow ruler. The Archon took it, jets activating and propelling him into a stable hover. The two shared a quiet moment before the Archon King’s head jerked back towards the door. “Vahlen. Where is she?”

The only humans that remained were the ones trapped in the ice, and Shazara-Ta had half a mind to go over and kill them right now. Vahlen wasn’t among them—presumably having escaped as Shazara-Ta freed the Archon King. No such love lost for the trapped scientists, it seemed. Shazara-Ta clenched his fists. “Escaped. I wouldn’t leave you behind to kill her if it meant you dying from a failsafe.”

The Archon King looked... surprised, to hear that. Maybe slightly touched. “That... is noble of you, Viper.”

“It’s only fair. Without your distraction, I wouldn’t have escaped.” Speaking of escape, his head careened around. “Best we get the others out. I don’t think the Berserker Queen wants to spend another moment in there.”

“Right.” But before Shazara-Ta could make his way to the Berserker Queen’s area, the Archon King grabbed his arm. “... Rodin. My name is Rodin.”

Looking back, Shazara-Ta paused for a moment. He now had a name to put to the Archon King. Wanting to return the favor, he nodded. “My name is Shazara-Ta. Let’s get the others out, Rodin.”

Not wasting a moment more the two of them made a course for one of the other doors in the room, leaving the humans behind. A corridor or so later and they ended up in a large room. There were monitors on the wall, hooked up to a camera feed that showed the Berserker Queen, curled up in her cell. Half of the room was taken up by her containment, with no windows to speak of in favor of maximum security.

No windows meant nothing either of them could break to free her. As Rodin flew over to the console, trying to make sense of any of it, Shazara-Ta scanned the room. Surely there had to be some sort of emergency switch he could flip, or perhaps... his eyes locked on a bit of white coat poking out from a piece of machinery. Slowly, he stalked up, rising up and above the machine. Sure enough, there was a human behind there, hiding and shaking terribly. Feeling no empathy for the trapped human’s plight, Shazara-Ta swooped down and plucked the human screaming from its hiding place, dragging it over to the console.

Rodin stepped aside as Shazara-Ta forced the human against the console, making sure he had its attention before pointing to the door. Hopefully that was a clear enough indication. It seemed like it was, as with shaking hands, it entered in a sequence that Shazara-Ta paid close attention to. Klaxons blaring, the door to the Berserker Queen’s cell slowly started to open.

Having seen to it that the human did its job, Shazara-Ta threw it in the direction of the door. It took the hint, scrambling up and out. Rodin started after it, but Shazara-Ta stopped him. “It did its job. I’ll allow it some gratitude by letting it escape.”

“And the door to the Gourgeamus Queen?”

“I watched the sequence the human put in. It should work for the other cell.”

Their conversation was summarily interrupted by a terrifying crash against the opening door of the cell. The Berserker Queen was just beyond, trying to force the door open. Shazara-Ta rushed over, making sure he was in sight. “Berserker Queen! Can you understand us?”

The sight of one of her fellow Rulers, free, fully stopped up the Berserker Queen. Head swiveling from him to Rodin, she looked back to Shazara-Ta, nodding. Good. Hopefully the Gourgeamus Queen also spoke ADVENT. “We’re getting everyone out of here. The door will open on its own.”

The Berserker Queen’s head bobbed again, but even still, with an impressive display of strength, she forced the door fully into its frame, stumbling out. The machinery on her back was plainly visible, and while the pumps were inactive now... Shazara-Ta turned to Rodin. “Get her out in the open and start severing what you can of that accursed machine. Something tells me it’s not any good for her.”

Turning to them, the Berserker Queen growled and grunted in what was assuredly a language... but not one either of them could speak. If she knew ADVENT, why was she speaking her own language? Then again... the ADVENT language kind of required a tongue and lips, neither of which she seemed to have. She could understand it, but not speak it, went Shazara-Ta’s guess. Still, he shook his head. “We... can’t understand your language, Berserker Queen.”

With an impatient growl, she pointed to Rodin. Then she pointed to her back and mimed a yanking motion. Pointing to Shazara-Ta, she then pointed to the door, miming the act of opening a door. Understanding, Shazara-Ta moved for the exit. “Just my thinking. I’ll spring the Gourgeamus Queen. Get those tubes out of her, Rodin.”

“Understood. Good luck, Shazara-Ta.” After hearing Rodin’s well-wishes, Shazara-Ta hastily made his way out of the Berserker Queen’s containment, through the joint containment, and into the final room. It was much like the other queen’s room, with half of it being taken up by the cell itself. This time, there was a window into the chamber, allowing him to get a better look at the fourth Ruler.

She was impressively tall, standing at the Berserker Queen’s hunched height. Her lower body reminded Shazara-Ta of some of the four-legged reptiles from his planet, while her upper body was vaguely humanoid. A veritable bouquet of flowers adorned her head, while leaves and vines trailed down from it. Sharp teeth and four slitted, glowing-gold eyes accented her face, and she was even more built than Rodin. Her skin was a verdant green and peppered by leaves and hanging vines, with four fin-like leaves extending a ways away from her back. Bulging spores dotted and lined her more reptilian back, and her tail was capped off by what looked like a trapping plant. Throughout her form, there were highlights of glowing purple, almost fluorescent in nature.

Seeing Shazara-Ta free, she rushed to the glass window of her cell, pressing her hands against it. He could see her speak—but the glass was too thick to allow any communication. Shaking his head, he slid over to the console, inputting the sequence of buttons he’d seen the scientist do. Sure enough, the door to her cell started to open, and he rushed to the crack in it. “Gourgeamus Queen. We’re all free.”

She was quick to join him at the door, peering out. “—please tell me Vahlen’s dead.”

He sighed. “I let her escape so I could free Rodin.” If they had any escape devices in this facility, she was likely long gone. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be. Better to make sure that everyone gets out than have your revenge.” Looking back over her body, her shoulders slumped. “Look at what she’s done to me. I should’ve never adapted spores like this—and what does she think I’ll do with this dysfunctional tail? It will take me ages to adapt this all out...”

Feeling a stab of jealousy, he leaned against the doorway. “—forgive me for being envious, but at least you can adapt it all out. I’m stuck with this icy venom—and who knows what she’s done to me otherwise.”

Looking to him and frowning, she nodded. “Yes, I should... consider myself lucky. Who knows what she’s done to the others.”

The distinctive roar of a Berserker echoed through the facility. Shazara-Ta looked to the door. “About that. Rodin’s trying to get a machine off of her back the we don’t even know what it does. That didn’t sound good.”

“Certainly didn’t.” With the door open wide enough for her to escape, the Gourgeamus Queen did, galloping towards the door. “Come on!”

Not wasting another moment, he followed after her. The scene in the main area was one of destruction—the ice block he’d made was destroyed, as if something powered through it at high speed. Humans were tossed about, a few definitely worse for wear from the experience. No skin off of Shazara-Ta’s back—they knew what they were doing to the Rulers. The Gourgeamus Queen and Shazara-Ta ran further, into what could be called the lobby of the lab.

There, the Berserker Queen was in the middle of the room, clutching her head and giving another pained roar. There were some tubes missing from her back—but one remained, and Shazara-Ta could see a green fluid coursing through it as the pumps on her back were fully operational. Rodin was off to the side, trying to approach the Berserker Queen but kept at bay by her blind swipes.

Shazara-Ta tried approaching as well, but flinched back as she swung around again. It was the other queen who calmly approached, and he could see the flowers and vines on her head start to move. “My Queen. Look at me, please.”

The Berserker Queen whipped around, panting, an orange mist puffing out with each breath. She gave an uneasy grumble, clutching her head again. The Gourgeamus Queen continued to approach, kneeling down to her eye level. “My Queen. Come close, breathe deeply.” It was then that there seemed to be a silvery mist floating off of the exotic flowers on her head, starting to envelop the Berserker Queen. Doing her best to obey, she staggered towards the other queen, clutching her when she got close enough. Turning to Rodin, she spoke. “Destroy the pumps, sever the tubes. Do what you can to prevent it from enraging her further. My mist can only do so much.”

Rodin sprung into action, flying up to the pumps on the Berserker Queen’s back and giving them a solid yank. The jostling made the Berserker Queen give an uneasy croon, to which the other queen hugged her and whispered calming words. Shazara-Ta himself slithered over to the remaining tube connected to her gauntlets, yanking it out. When more of the green fluid seeped from it, he sealed it up with a quick spit of ice, preventing even the smell from reaching her. As Rodin broke off the first pump, he crawled up her back and handled the other one, crushing it in his tail. What machinery the could destroy now gone, the two of them came down, huddling around the two queens. Unintentionally, Shazara-Ta inhaled the mist, and it was... calming. He eased himself into leaning against the Berserker Queen. “It’s broken now. We’ve done what we can.”

The Berserker Queen nodded uneasily, still clutching to her fellow queen. Rodin came in and leaned against the Gourgeamus Queen. The four of them shared a moment of silence as the Berserker took in deep breaths of the mist that hovered around the other queen, and the two kings took a moment to calm down, themselves.

The calm was swiftly broken as the front of the lab exploded, and the four Rulers immediately assumed combat positions, despite being weaponless. When the smoke cleared, in streamed... Mutons. Vipers. Archons. Shazara-Ta had half a mind to think ADVENT themselves came for them. That is, if he couldn’t recognize a face like Shel-Za’s anywhere. He perked up, rushing over. “Shel-Za!”

Almost dropping her weapon, Shel-Za clipped it to her belt and met him mid-way hugging him. “My King, Shazara-Ta, you’re—” She shuddered. “You’re very much cold. Are you alright?”

“Cold?” He didn’t feel any different. He watched as his inner circle approached, gathering around him. Sure enough, they reached for his skin and recoiled. “... I’m. Cold.”

Shel-Za hugged him again. “That scientist did this, didn’t she? No matter. We’ve found you, my lord.”

As angry as Shazara-Ta wanted to be at Vahlen... he wasn’t going to let it dampen this. His inner circle, his court from his home planet were here. Reaching for them and heedless of his own body temperature, he pulled them in for hugs. “I’ve missed you all,” he muttered, switching to his native language for privacy. “I...” He took in a shuddering breath, the years of agony catching up to him. “I m-missed you.”

His court pressed around him, and their relative warmth helped ease his pain. They whispered assurances and mutual sorrow, squeezing him in embrace. He’d missed them, so much, and thought of the long hours he spent wailing for them when there was no one around but Rodin.

Speaking of his fellow ruler... Shazara-Ta lifted his head. Rodin was crowded by Archons, of different shades and colors. Mutons circled the Berserker Queen, their armor marked and distinguished from the usual ADVENT brand. The Gourgeamus Queen... merely watched as the three of them reunited with those closest to them. Feeling empathy for her plight, Shazara-Ta broke off from his group and came over to her. Wordlessly, he held out his arms. She didn’t hesitate long before she took the invitation, sweeping him up and holding him close. The other rulers seemed to notice—soon, Shazara-Ta was trapped in a four-way hug and sandwiched by the Berserker Queen.

“We’re free,” Rodin breathed. “Free of the tortures of this lab.”

“We can stake out our own lives.” Shazara-Ta looked at his fellow royalty. “We can rebuild. Leave.”

“Is there anything left for us?” Their eyes turned to the Gourgeamus Queen. “My servants sacrificed themselves to sabotage one of their Gates so I could flee. They... they drained my homeworld of its resources. Is... is there anything to leave to?”

That sent some quiet into the group hug. Shazara-Ta, himself, regretted the suggestion. Of course there was nothing to return to. If their stories were anything like his, there was a puppet ruler in their places, and a population indoctrinated by the Collective. All they had now were their servants... and each other.

“Ourselves,” he interrupted the silence with. “We have each other. There must be some force rising up on this planet against ADVENT. If we gather our numbers and cooperate with them...”

The rest of the rulers got the implication, and there were nods. Surprisingly, it was one of the Berserker Queen’s Mutons that spoke up. It seemed like they could speak ADVENT—if a little poorly due to their mouth structure. “There is a resistance force on this world. It calls itself XCOM. They have been fighting against ADVENT for a while, now.”

“XCOM...” Well, it was worth a shot. “I believe we should remain together. Try to gather those of our own in ADVENT who wish to fight back.”

Rodin nodded. “A noble plan. There is safety in numbers, and... I would be loathe to leave all of you. We have all suffered together under Vahlen’s torturous eye. When we have rallied our numbers... perhaps XCOM will allow us to fight alongside them.”

“It’s possible.” This time, it was Shel-Za who spoke. “XCOM have shown themselves willing to align with former ADVENT forces in the Skirmishers. I suspect they would be respectful to our wishes to fight with them.”

“Then it’s settled,” the Gourgeamus Queen replied. “We will stay together. Forge a new home of our own. Then, when the time comes... we may fight back.”

The plan settled, the group hug broke. Looking over the lab, just the sight of the machinery was enough to make Shazara-Ta sick. He huffed. “Let’s move outside. My servants, scavenge the area. Look for weapons, usable materials, anything.” His own Boltcaster should still be here, hopefully.

Rodin turned to his followers and spoke something in his native language. The Archons nodded and flew inside, and similarly, all but one of the Mutons did on the Berserker Queen’s order. That left the rulers, along with the single Muton. Silently, Shazara-Ta moved outside, past the blasted-out door of the front.

The whole facility, once Shazara-Ta was outside and could see it, seemed to be embedded into the mouth of a cave. There were hurried footsteps in the sand... as well as some shot-down scientists and personnel. Their rescue party must’ve parsed them as threats. He went further—enough that the warm glow of the setting sun soaked into his scales. He turned behind him to find that his companions had followed, all stepping out into the sun. The Gourgeamus Queen fanned out the leaves on her back, closing her eyes and literally soaking up the sun.

Looking between the two queens, Shazara-Ta realized something. “I... I don’t think I got either of your names.”

Rodin shook his head. “Neither did I.”

The Berserker Queen said something that was probably her name, but... it was hard to parse. Noticing their confusion, the Muton with her turned to them. “The closest I can put into ADVENT is ‘Vel’kiin.” Vel’kiin chuffed, pleased with the translation. “My name is Du Mag.”

Shazara-Ta smiled. “It is good to know you, Vel’kiin, Du Mag. And yourself, Gourgeamus Queen?”

She opened her mouth to reply... and then closed it, looking towards the ground. “I... I can’t say I remember. Those long years of solitude...”

A dagger of empathy felt as if it had pierced Shazara-Ta’s heart, and he went over to rest a hand on her shoulder. “If you would like to pick another name—”

“Celosia.” All eyes went to Du Mag, who seemed a little embarrassed, but he pressed on. “I... had taken to finding books to teach myself ‘English.’ It seems to be a primary language for humans. One of the books defined native plants and...” He pointed to one on her head. “That one. I’m sure it isn’t the same, but it looks like a celosia flower under a certain mutation. Don’t remember the name, but...”

At Du Mag’s offer, she smiled. “It’s... as fine a name as any. I don’t have anyone waiting on me as you all do, so consider my new name Celosia. Thank you, Du Mag.”

Vel’kiin planted a hand on Du Mag’s head and gave him some affectionate nuzzles, to which Du Mag uttered something in his language to her. Giving a throaty chuckle, Vel’kiin relented.

Inevitably, Shazara-Ta’s gaze went back to the setting sun. The reality of the situation kept occurring to him; he was free. They were free. No more labs. No more scientists. No more Vahlen... until they found her again and exacted revenge. Wordlessly, his hand fell to hold Celosia’s. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the chain continued; Celosia to Rodin, and Rodin to Vel’kiin as they all looked to horizon.

They were free. They could start living, again.

#sftd excerpts #ruler rodin #ruler shazara ta #ruler vel'kiin #ruler celosia #been wondering where the rulers have been? this is it.

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trulycertain · 7 years

Text

Reprise (2/7)

Oh dear. This appears to be growing a plot.

Part one

II. miles from where you are

Gal dreams. He thought the nightmares would leave with the Mark, but it looks like he was wrong.

Sometimes he dreams of Dorian bleeding out, or caught in some magister’s thrall. He remembers the horror stories he used to hear, and some Dorian used to tell him, too, with false laughter, trying to make them casual. Later the real ones, with anger and disgust and maybe a little fear. He remembers Dorian’s utter hatred of blood magic.

Sometimes he dreams of other things, and those hurt… as much. Maybe more.

Sometimes Dorian’s next to him, muttering about the freezing South and hogging the blankets, and Gal wraps both arms round him before he can protest. Or Dorian’s reading next to him in comfortable silence, trying to get through just one more page, amatus, stop distracting me.

Sometimes the dreams are different. Familiar, clever hands in his hair, or clenching in the sheets, or leaving spells in their wake, trying to memorise him. The way Dorian used to watch him, touch him - with something like wonder, never hidden fast enough. And the words recited against his skin, his mouth, like a spell or a prayer: I love you. And when he’d say it back, the way Dorian would laugh and manage through gritted teeth, on the edge of a gasp, Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. They both knew it was a lie. Gal dreams of repeating I love you, just to say it and have it heard, and feeling Dorian shake against him.

Then there are the other dreams, the other ways they used to say it. He dreams of Dorian elbowing him while they discuss some theory on a bed covered with books, half-out of the blankets, and You mad bastard. I have no idea why I love you. Like always, Gal just grins and watches Dorian try not to snort, watches the way Dorian looks at him with that fascinated, barely-hidden fondness.

And then he’s awake, blinking in the dark and reaching out to the other side of the bed before realising it’s empty, and he can’t breathe. I love you, he mouths, burying his head in the pillow. If the linens get damp, it’s probably sweat.

His hands are shaking, Dorian notices; the thought seems to come from somewhere far away, to belong to someone who is very definitely not him. He blames the journey over; someday, someday he will find a magical cure for seasickness, but today was very obviously not that day. He adjusts his birthright where it sits against his chest, more prominent than it has been in years. These are the finest robes he’s worn in some time, too. He’s never been overly fond of wearing black, but there will be certain… expectations, now he’s no longer just the layabout son of House Pavus.

He meets his own eyes in the looking-glass, and inhales. This is far from the first time he’s done this, but now, more than ever, he will be judged as his father’s son. And found lacking, obviously.

“So you’ve dragged yourself away from your ‘vested interest in the South’.” When Dorian turns, Maevaris is leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed, watching him with the hint of a smile.

He swallows, and tries for a smile of his own. He used to be so good at this. “You know me. I couldn’t last another day without decent wine and hot springs. Now, the Magisterium is waiting. I’d hate to disappoint them.”

“How is he?”

He raises an eyebrow. “How’s who?” Yes, he’s stalling. Hopefully she’ll just decide this is one of his usual verbal games and let him get away with it.

She raises a brow back. Damn it, she’s going to be sensible at him; even she has her moments of it. “Your man in the South. How did he take the news?”

He runs a hand through his hair, and laughs. “About as well as I did. But he’s frighteningly tough. He’ll be all right in the end.” His smile feels terribly false on his face. He takes his staff from his luggage and gives it an experimental twirl; even with his returns here, he’d almost forgotten what it was like to be in a house that has halls and high ceilings, room to show off. To think he used to find such luxuries almost ordinary. Part of not being in a ramshackle village or a Ferelden fortress, he supposes. He’ll just have to get used to it all again.

“Show-off,” she says, fondly.

“Yes, well, some things never change.” He wraps his hands tighter around his staff grip and starts the walk to the door, trying his best not to think of the sending crystal on his desk.

“Dorian…” she starts. When he looks up, she says, “Your father would be proud of you.”

He snorts, unable to even dignify that with a response.

“But never mind that. It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be home,” he lies, and then he falls into step with her, and they head out to speak for the Lucerni.

Stupid. It should never have happened.

Gal got out of Skyhold because he was sick of watching the dust settle where his friends used to be and there were no new leads on Solas’ activities. He took a couple of the troops who stayed after the Council. He’d heard of a few mages hassling travellers and asking for “the Inquisitor”: apostates, he’d thought, and a good enough excuse to stretch his legs. He’s still getting used to fighting without the arm - Dagna’s said something about some kind of prosthetic but it hasn’t happened yet, so he’s been trying to work out if he can strap the shield to what’s left. He doesn’t know, and if he gets that wrong it’ll just weigh him down and leave him in pain too, so he went without it.

He wants to say it was the lack of a shield, not the lack of a decent mage beside him and a strong barrier. He knows he’s decent with just a sword - more than decent - but somehow he still ended up with the other two distracted fending off spellcasters and him on the ground, with a mage grabbing his hair, detaching a staff blade and then pressing it against his throat.

Not apostates. He recognised the casting, the designs on their robes. He managed to look the mage in the eye and grit out, “Esta Venatori?” He thought they’d all gone underground after their “new god” fucked off and died. But they talk too much, he remembered that. Could use it.

The mage snorted. “You still speak like a soporati. But yes, yes, esta Venatori.” The blade moved, and then the mage’s hand was round Gal’s throat instead. “I wonder what your vulgati lover will think of this, when we give him your corpse.”

Gal felt the blade at his scalp, and knew. He thought of a Chantry courtyard years ago. Shoved it aside. (Just bait. Anger clouds the mind. Distraction is death, his instructors used to say.) He kept reaching downwards, kept it slow, and ignored the cutting of the blade.

He reached the dagger from his boot. Gripped it, sank it into the mage’s thigh. He heard the man scream and the grip loosened. He ducked down and got out of the mage’s grip, grabbing for his sword and finding it.

It only took him a few minutes to behead the mage and then finish off the other two Venatori. A few minutes too many. It should never have happened. Wouldn’t have happened before, he thinks as he sheathes his sword. It takes longer than it used to, when he had both hands.

One of the soldiers comes up to him, limping slightly. She’s pretending not to stare, and he thinks he knows why. “Thought the Venatori were gone, ser. I thought they’d all gone north.”

“So did I.” He passes her a health potion. She thanks him, taking it and swigging it.

Dorian would be laughing and glad they were alive, but saying something pointed about complacency right now. He wouldn’t be wrong.

Gal mouths Fuck and scrapes a hand through his… hair. Pauses.

He turns to look back at the corpse of the mage who had him, and sees brown cuttings next to the pool of blood, blowing away in the wind. Numb, he walks to the edge of the lake a few feet away and stares down at his reflection. He reaches up and pulls away more hair. Throws it into the water. Touches the back of his neck and feels how bare it is.

Then he turns and says to the soldiers, ignoring their wide-eyed looks, “Move out.”

Dorian looks up from the petition he’s writing, his quill pausing at a prickle down his spine. It’s the worst feeling - the certainty that Gal’s just in the next room, or at a meeting. In a moment, perhaps two, Gal will return from whatever he’s been doing and Dorian will smile to see him.

And then the memories return. Any port in a storm.

He remembers telling Gal about the architecture in Minrathous, the way there was nothing like it; the way you could find history on every street, past Archons and rebellions and Divines round every corner. He remembers Gal’s eyes lighting up, and he remembers murmuring against Gal’s neck one night, “Believe me, if I could show you, I would. Someday, perhaps.”

He’d spoken of the muggy heat of the nights here, too. He wonders, then, why he so often feels cold. Why he wakes up curled round pillows he doesn’t remember taking.

“Is there a reason you’re staring moodily at a pillar?” Mae says behind him.

He says, “I’m just remembering our appointment with the idiot from Thracen.”

“That’s a harsh way to talk about Laris. He’s really rather fond of you, you know. He just hides it well.”

“Most people do.”

The chair next to him scrapes, and then she sits down, watching him like a hawk. “What is it really?”

He pauses, and tries to find some quip or excuse. Eventually he just sighs and says, “Give me a week. Then I promise, we’ll talk about it.”

It isn’t a week. It’s a fortnight before she finds him sitting against the bookcase in his office behind a door he really had thought was locked, sobriety a distant memory. Once again, she sits next to him, quietly picking the decanter up and examining it. “Antivan brandy. I’m impressed. It looks like the good stuff, too.”

He can’t bring himself to respond; he only stares at the opposite wall.

“Dorian, what happened?” There’s the clink of a glass and she adds, “You aren’t even judging me for stealing your stash.”

He swallows another mouthful of brandy and then says, “What do you think happened?” His voice is rougher than he intended it to be. “He left me.”

“Dorian… Why didn’t you say something?”

“It was inevitable, I suppose.” With a humourless laugh, he says, “My father was right. They never stay.”

“I’m going to set him on fire. And I’m not certain whether I mean Halward or your Galahad. Perhaps both of them.” She inhales, and starts on the brandy herself.

“He’s not my anything.”

“Three years. You were together three years, you’ve said. Why now?”

“I wish I knew.” He laughs again, but it comes out cracked and shaky, somehow wrong.

“Oh, Dorian… Oh, kaffas…” She reaches into her robes and pulls out something made of silk.

A handkerchief, he realises. She passes it to him, and he puts down his glass, feels at his face. His fingers come away wet.

“Oh,” he says, dully.

When Gal hears half the troops outside the great hall suddenly ended up with their helmets on backwards, he knows. He grins, but leaves it alone. It’s only a couple of hours later, when he’s in the tavern and halfway through a pint, that she swings her leg over a stool next to him and says, “What did you do?”

Oh. So it’s that.

Gal takes a swig of ale, but doesn’t look at Sera. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I get a letter from Fancypants telling me ‘good luck with turning civilisation upside-down’ and telling me I shouldn’t let you get yourself killed. And then I ask him why he can’t do that in between all the fancy magister shite and he says you haven’t talked in how long?”

“Sera…”

“You and Dorian. Talking. It’s all you do. Other than the other thing. And now you’re all sadface and you won’t look at me. So what did you do? And it’s got to be you, right, because he wouldn’t screw you up like this.”

Gal snorts. There’s no humour in it. “Thanks. You’re right, but thanks.”

“So?”

“I told him it was over.” Gal takes a heavy drink.

“What, the Inquisition?”

“Us.”

Then Gal nearly falls off his stool when he gets swatted round the head, and Sera says, “Shit’s sake! Knew you were stupid, but this is… this a whole new stupid!”

Gal sighs. “He’s better off without me.” ”You wouldn’t know better off if it hit you in the face.” Then she’s stealing his tankard. “Ugh. This is the dwarf stuff, innit?”

Shrugging, Gal replies, “Might be.”

“What are you doing? Just… send him a letter or something. Say you’ll wax his moustache. Naked.”

Gal looks at her fuzzily, and rubs a hand over his forehead. “Naked… moustaches?”

“No, you’d be naked. He’d be…” She grimaces, and then snorts. “Shut up. Just go and say sorry.”

“I can’t,” Gal says.

“What, cause he’s far away? You two are good at far away. You managed it before when he was stuck with his crap family.”

“It’s not…” Gal stares at the table and inhales shakily. “It’s not the distance. I told you, he’s better off without…” He pauses, trying to keep his composure. Fuck. It used to be so easy, before he knew them all. Before people knew him. “I’ll just make things worse for him. He deserves better.”

She pauses, and leans to squint at him before asking quietly, “Are you crying?”

“No.”

“Liar. Not even going to start on the hair.” He’s kept it short. It’d only grow unevenly, and he needs a reminder of his bloody idiocy. Something to tell him not to do it again.

“Fuck off, Sera.” His voice is still shaking.

She snorts. “It’s good to see you too, Inky. Can still call you that, right?”

“Sorry. I - Sorry.”

“I know.”

They watch him expectantly, hands resting on their staves, or some of them whisper and laugh, thinking he can’t hear them. Dorian wants to do something to break the stillness - run a hand through his hair, or burn the building to the ground, perhaps - but these robes are somewhat constricting and any sign of weakness will be enough for the Magisterium.

He begins, his throat tightening, “The Inquisitor was - “

Brave. Kind. Cruel. Beautiful when he threw his head back and laughed freely, without fear. The finest man Dorian’s known. The worst.

“ - one small piece of what needs to be larger. The idea that the Venatori problem is solved is a fallacy. The Inquisition only served to expose something that is still in the core of our society.”

Even if the Venatori problem can barely write threatening letters, he thinks, recalling the blood-spattered parchment and some truly appalling grammar. The few underground chapters left behind seem particularly hopeless. Perhaps they needed a decent leader. It doesn’t matter: he’ll find them. He always does.

Gal flexes the metal fingers (the, they still don’t feel his), watching the magic flow through them. Green. He barely stops himself laughing bitterly. Months without the Mark, and of course his hand still ends up green.

“How’s it feel?” Dagna asks.

He lifts it experimentally, and stares at it. “It’s… heavy. Still feels a bit like holding something. Not sure I could wear it for a long time.”

She nods, her brow crinkling. “Right, well. Gotta work on that. Thanks.” She exhales. “Think I saw some Tevene enchantments…”

Gal detaches the… arm carefully, lifting it to examine it. “Beautiful piece of smithing,” he says ruefully.

She just grins up at him. “Yeah, sure, but I’m making this for you, not just to look pretty. Leave it with me, I’ll work something out.” She nods, determined.

He passes it back to her, as gently as he can. Pauses. “Thank you. I…” He swallows.

“Anytime,” she says brightly.

He nods and leaves, thinking that he can see why Sera insists Dagna is the best at everything. Everything. He trudges up the stairs to his quarters and then pauses, thinking of Tevene enchantments. Thinking of someone who’d know. (Unexpected uses of magic. Little wonders. And Dorian would grin while doing something like levitating books or toasting bread with a snap of his fingers.)

He finds himself at his desk, pulling out one of the draws and reaching in. His hand comes out clutching a familiar sending crystal. He looks at it, rubs some of the dust away with a thumb. He thinks of hearing Dorian’s voice again…

That’s assuming the other crystal would still be in use. Even if it was, he’d be bothering Dorian with something that isn’t his problem. Not like he has the right. Dorian’s got enough to worry about, and Gal’s got no right to ask for favours after letting him down so badly.

This is the fifth time. This is the fifth time he’s nearly given in. It’s too easy to reach.

Gal looks at the crystal, lifts it slowly and then takes three flights of stairs, down to the arcane library he hasn’t used in months. He lays the crystal down on the dusty desk with shaking fingers, then leaves. He shuts the door behind him, and doesn’t look back.

Dorian frowns when Mae says, “You ought to do something with that.

“With what?”

She gestures to his hair. “It’s past the awkward-growing-out stage and getting to be truly abominable. Either cut it or extend it properly. The man I knew would never have let it slide. Other than when you spent that year drinking.”

“I’ve been rather busy killing idiot lordlings,” he mutters. But he happens to glance at his reflection, and pauses. “You’re right. I… didn’t realise.”

She sighs. “It’s been over a year since you arrived. Hair happens.”

“Yes,” he says, staring at himself. “It does.”

The third time they walk into a Venatori ambush, Gal starts going through the Venatori’s pockets - more slowly now, bloody pockets never used to be so difficult - and squints at the parchment he pulls out. He gets as far as The Lucerni and Fen’Harel’s people before he sits back on his heels.

“Fuck.”

“You can’t be serious.” Dorian leans back in his chair and stares at her.

Mae gives him a look that’s probably meant to be reassuring, but thoroughly misses the mark. “I’m afraid I am.”

He crosses his arms. “Why do they need our help? All told, they’ve been wiping the floor with the Venatori. As have we. Here, in a country that needs us to stand and debate and occasionally set things on fire while we attempt to hold the government together with spit, glue and prayer.”

“They say - he says - the Venatori have people in the Lucerni. And this Fen’Harel, too.”

He sighs, scrubbing a hand over his forehead. “Kaffas. And we were worried about the Inquisition being corrupt before all this. Bloody complacency,” he hisses, through his teeth.

“Apparently he doesn’t know enough about our operations to be of much use, but he says he needs to do something about Fen’Harel’s agents. Something about it being his fault?” She frowns.

He shakes his head. “The bloody idiot. It would have happened without him, without any of us. If some other poor wretch had picked up the orb…” He sighs. “Can’t we send some underlings? Lucia is experienced enough, certainly, and Marcellus - ”

She looks at him levelly. “You know best what happened with Fen’Harel. You know how to work with the Inquisition.” She exhales. “I’m sorry. But… consider it. Or I might have to go on my own, and it’d be no fun without you.” She grins at him, then passes him a roll of parchment, and he takes it warily. She’s leaving before he can say anything more.

He unrolls it, and his heart stops. He’d foolishly thought that perhaps a messenger, or a scribe… No. Gal was always uncomfortable with being served in ways he deemed unnecessary. Dorian touches that familiar, Chantry-neat handwriting that addresses him as Magister Pavus and gives him regards. Not yours, or waiting eagerly for your return. He runs his fingers over the lettering, reads the letter twice, and then tosses it aside.

He shouldn’t -

It would be foolish -

He’d have to be a masochist -

“Mae,” he calls, sighing, “do you still have that remedy for seasickness?”

#my fic #reprise #dorian x inquisitor #male trevelyan #dorian pavus #shield raised #gal trevelyan #dragon age inquisition #post-trespasser #dragon age #That Angst AU

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wolfsoulfulme · 7 years

Text

The Lost but Unforgotten Troupe of the Midnights Shade

Through the serene and endless void of space the massive Glorinna battleship, a relic from mankind Great Crusade drifted slowly through the kazi system its advanced sensors scouring every astroid and planetoid for the raiding outpost known to be used by the infamous Eternally Bloodied Dark Eldar gang. From this outpost the gang had stripped entire nearby system in days, transporting the unfortunate victims to the Dark City to whatever horrible fate awaited them. This was something the Lost Lord could not allow.

He sat on the massive obsidian black throne a deep power emanating from it. The lure of the power, the knowledge of it was enough at times to cause a crewmen to run into a beam as they sidelined it. Once a young man attempted to sit upon his throne of power the result being the crew pulling said man in a catatonic state off of it. He never recovered. When one sat upon his throne he in tuned himself with the machine spirit of the ancient vessel. You would feel the space dust brushing against the hull, the rush of power as the vessels arms loosed. Without it he doubt he would have been able to launch the ship by himself so long ago.

Looking beside him he eyed the only person he trusted to sit upon the phone beside himself. Captain Jenevieve was pacing the raised dias that hovered above the rest of the hundred plus bridge crew that sat cramped into their spaces going about managing the floating city that was their vessel.

He grinned admiring the fact that she, and un augmented human could contend with the ships will when he knew so many of his brothers and cousins couldn’t.

The mission vexed him. He despised the path the cousins of the craft world and maiden world elder had chosen. How depraved their species must have become. It caused him to admire those of the craft world that choose to change their ways after the fall. Develop the elder “paths.” Curious creatures not as infallible as they would believe, with a pride anyone could play on if you know what to do.

Daven blinked something the Captain and the Iron hands brothers in their massive Cataphractti terminator armor noticed.

“Bring us from yellow to red alert, activate passive short ranged scanners and launch sensor drones at 270, 340, and 50 degrees, all hands battle station!” the captain called out calmly the dark angel iconography tattooed across her cheek glowing a hellish red as the lights took a reddish hue. The crew bustled as they relied themselves for war.

Daven peered back and forth through the ships sensors. Something was wrong, a gut feeling from a hundred fights told him of danger. But where? An astroid feel loomed close by, he could zoom in and check the tiniest crevices but could find nothing, the moon of the nearby gas giant? No wait.

Moving toward the ship, a nebula, gas cloud? He realized it would break soon upon his ship.

Standing up suddenly, Davens artifice armor hummed to life with a snap as his personal iron halo activated. “All hands prepare to repel borders!”

The captain next to him cursed herself for not seeing it sooner. Klaxons began to blare and the crew began to arm themselves, at key points throughout the ship the Emperors mighty angels of death, astartes from many different chapters lost and stranded throughout the system only to be found by the Lost Lord readied themselves.

“Captain you have the ship.” Daven ordered as he drifted to the bridges deck before shooting away in a burst of shadow and xenon power.

The captain sat upon the void black chair breathing harshly as her mind and that of the battleship became one.

The cloud rolled across her.. the ships hull but there was no feeling, no icy crystals breaking across hardened metal. Witchery.

“They enemy believes they hide themselves from our fury, they think wrong. Attack pattern Draconic scour around our home!”

The lights on the bridged dimmed for a moment before the ship unleashed its hellish arms. Flak guns, ancient plasma weapons and point defense turrets fired into the darkness occasionally outlying the sick shapes of Dark Eldar crafts.

“Captain were reading minor breaches all along the outer hull and sections are going dark throughout the ship!” One of her security chiefs called out to her.

“We will weather this storm as we always have. We will beat this enemy and make them fear the Emperors Lost. Fight hard, show this foe the same mercy they showed all those planets. Billions gone. Avenge them my family. For the Emperor and the Lost Lord!” Throughout the ship the crew let out a cheer.

A Death Korp platoon was holding the line as always as wave after wave of mandrakes and pirates assaulted them. As they pulled back step by step firing their las guns full auto a group of Incubi led by an archon female in the mixed dress of an incubi and witch charged into the platoon slicing them to pieces. “This ship will be mine!” The Archoness called out as the souls of the recently deceased were absorbed into her dark soul stone.

Another part of the ship the Blood Angels assaulted horrifying beings led by a perverse looking homunculus.

Another part a tech priest dominos split a score of kabalite warriors in twain with his axe.

Shadows played through the ship growing closer and closer to the bridge. What an Astartes took as a glitch in his helm or a ship commissar a flicker of the lights was actually an entire troupe of Harlequin elder heading to destroy all those on the bridge. Leading the 2 dozen elder was a shadowseer drifting from one place of darkness to another. At the end of the troupe a Death Jester followed along dancing with his massive weapon as if it were nothing. They wore the colors of a midnight blue mixed with a translucent white.

Stopping a few blast doors from the bridge the troupe jumped and flipped through the air converging defensively around their shadowseer.

“Who Dares?” One asked.

“A deamon?” Said another.

“Let us dance and play with him.” Said a female as she flipped.

“For our Archon overlady.” Jested another.

The Shadowseer held her staff ready and all the harlequins ceased their jesting and movement as the Lost Lord faded through the blast door an ancient black blade held in one hand.

“Who wishes to hear a joke?”

The Shadowseer tilted her head to the side as her troupe charged the intruder grim looks upon their faces.

...

....

.....

......

The Archonness grinned as she held the head of a severed Raven Guard in his hand. This ship was full of life and relics. It’s capture would elevate her to one of the ranking Gang Heads in the dark city. Even as her fleet was failing to the flak coming off the ship hordes of her soldiers were boarding every second and with the bridge soon to fall to those disgustingly over dressed cousins victory would soon be hers.

But something was wrong. Her communication told of her ships no longer being protected by the shadowseer. Across the ship counter attacks were destroying here onboard forces.

The lights flickered overhead and as they returned to full power her incubi squad was surrounded by her Harlequins their bitch of a shadowseer a few feet in front of her. Her blank face mask staring at her.

“What is this!?” The Archoness yelled out.

“We heard a joke.” Said the Death Jester as he stepped towards them.

“It was a good joke!” Said a jester.

“A grand one!” Another said.

“It made us laugh with mirth and not sadness!” Exclaimed another.

“It made us see.”

“It let us know.”

“A joke of death.” Said the Death Jester aiming his heavy weapon at the Incubi.

“A joke of Chaos.” Said the shadowseer her mask opening to reveal a marble skin with no blemishes very similar to the Archoness. “Goodbye sister.”

The harlequins opened up their neuro disruptors tearing through the incubi as they attempted to counter charge. The Death Jester opened up causing an incubi to explode hurting his fellow Dark Eldar.

The Archoness let out a scream of utter anger and charged at her sister only to be caught by the arm. Turning against her aggressor with un natural aggression bringing her sword up to take the interlopers head off. Instead of the feeling of blade pushing through flesh and bone she felt a strong grip grab her forearm and snap it in half forcing her to drop her blade as a wail of agony came from her mouth.

The Lost Lord stood holding the Archoness. Placing his armored gauntlets upon his head Daven squeezed even as the Archoness slapped her free hand uselessly against his helm and shoulder tearing off her nails in the attempt.

“DEAMON! MONSTER! SAVAGE! DIE DIE DIE!!” She screamed as the eye lens shone a powerful blue before with a crunch nothingness.

Daven let the headless body fall to the ground the elders brains and blood dripping off his hands. Turning to the Harlequins he gave them a nod of acceptance as they began to walk inward to the ship.

One month later.

A month had pass with the crew slowly accepting the troupe as one of their own with varied success. The more human of the crew appreciated the harlequins for their plays and jokes during warp translation or general stressful moments. The Astartes who trained for years to hunt their new allies would acknowledge them with a growl at best in some cases admiring the Death Jesters dexterous use of his heavy weapon.

On the bridge however is where the Shadowseer offered her advice and seeings. Standing opposite to the Captain on the other side of the command throne she became one of the Lost Lords most influential advisors. Together her and the “Living Storm.” Would preform feats of wonders with the warp.

Rumors were abound as well. Many noticed that the Shadowseer seemed to have a fascination with the Lost Lord following him almost anywhere. Weather or not the Lost Lord approved of this was questionable.

After weeks Daven would finally learn her name. Arisvonna Shadowseer and leader of the Midnight Shades.

#Lost but unforgotten #Warhammer #Warhammer 40k #Space Mariens #W 40k #Lost Lord

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