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#and then at the end he's like It is the Duty of a Cloud Knight to fight evil
hundredsspoons · 1 year
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I'm sorry, I just played the version update. Is Hoyo telling me Yanqing is 8 or 9??????
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lunargrapejuice · 4 months
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will we make it through?
diluc ragnvindr x fem!reader | 7.7k + words
warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, hurt/comfort/smut, oral (receiving), very emotional and loving sex, over stimulation, cream pie, mating press if you squint. i don't think anything else but please let me know if i missed anything!
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the doors of the winery seem heavier than usual as diluc pushes them open, the parlor quiet and cold like the night outside and it makes his chest ache as much as his hands that held too tightly onto the hilt of the claymore tonight. usually the manor would blanket him with warmth the moment he stepped inside, especially when he knew you were waiting for him. finally being home, in your arms, simmered the flames of his duties that pushed him to work harder and harder and ignited a softer flame, one of love, more fierce and all consuming.
of late, that flame had been accompanied by a black smoke and uncertainty, clouding the once clear and comfortable distance between you. before it had been enough so that you ran as free as you pleased, for he would never hold you back, but close enough so he could reach out and pull you into him, watch over and protect you. bath in your light and love even when a man as shrouded in darkness and broken as him did not deserve it.
it started off manageable at first. a clench of his fist at his side when he had gone in to kiss you passionately, to convey how much he missed you, but ended up hurting you instead when his fingers tangled into your hair painfully. you yelped out in sudden pain and he pulled away so quickly, as if he had burned you, but it had only made it worse. he had swallowed down the lump in his throat when you sweetly told him it was okay and stood on your toes to kiss him softly but it was only the first of many loving intentions that did not turn out as he hoped. 
a pang in his chest when the only time he saw you was when he came home from being the dark knight hero, your tired form half sat up and in an uncomfortable sleep, the light in the bedroom still on and an askew book in your lap. he took great care in tucking you in with gentle movements and felt so badly when you woke up anyways, welcoming him home and whispering ‘i missed you’s before falling back asleep even if you tried to fight it off in order to be with him for just a little longer. 
his heart was torn between his selfishness to want these small moments with you and the need to protect you in any way he could, including your health and your sleeping habits. just because his own suffered at the cost of his duties should not mean that yours should too. he needed you to be well and with a reluctant heart told you not to worry about waiting up for him, that your sleep and well-being was far more important. 
the distance, that smoke that hidden you from him, had only grown since that day. 
reluctant and displeased in your own right, you still did as he asked and stopped waiting for him to return late in the evening, each night getting farther and farther from him, your sleep not improving at all. with the seasons changing it always made the winery grow busier, the threats to the city more eminent and with it all the moments you spent together becoming fewer and fewer. it was agony being away from you, diluc thought each time you popped into his mind, so frequently throughout the day, and yet you continued to be out of his reach, three or more paces ahead and he was falling even more behind. 
and as each of you passed by the staff at different times throughout the day, the same light missing from your eyes, they began to wonder if either of you knew the other was in just as much pain.
he trudges through the heaviness of his own whirling thoughts. as if every step he took through the manor the loneliness of years past came flooding back; the coldness of the first night without a father or a brother, ice in his bones and blood on his skin. an untouched room left to collect dust and remained familiar but was not quite home when he returned years later. except this time it wasn’t burned pictures and items full of bittersweet memories that haunted him, it wasn’t secrets and death at his own hands that followed everywhere he went. it was the fog of what was becoming of your relationship that painted his fears in every room he passed.
the emptiness of life without you..
and how could it not when your rescheduled dinners together have become forgotten entirely or when every day it felt like you were no longer on the same page, off sync and so unsure of the others feelings. when he’d go in to kiss your forehead in a brief moment of passing, just for you to move at the wrong moment and instead of a sweet kiss meant to show you his affection, remind you he was thinking of you, you hit heads, hard. you try to act like it wasn’t affecting you too. having you knock quietly on his office door, unaware of the important business partners in front of him but hurrying to apologize and leave before he can excuse himself for a moment to tell you it’s okay and that he’d come find you once he was finished, so please wait for him. thinking he’d have the night off work and you try to surprise him with dinner only to find he would be unable to join you and when he did the same in return, your schedule too wouldn’t allow for it. you smiled despite it all, a silent promise that you were okay even if your eyes told a different story.
to say it had been hard recently would be an understatement, trust him he is feeling it so strongly too. but even if it had been this way and he was getting by, barely, it doesn’t stop how much it rips his heart from his chest when he slips into bed tonight, strong hands with a slightly detectable shake to them caressing your lovely visage, moving hair from your face. he drinks you in, takes in every inch of the person he loves more than anything else in this world, tries to memorize your face like he hadn’t already a thousand times over, like he might never see you again, and with such attention it’s impossible to not see the dried tear streaks on your cheeks in the moonlight coming from the window. 
who knew one's heart could feel like it was still beating and breaking outside of their chest while the hole in their ribcage bled without mercy.. diluc felt just that knowing he was the cause of your pain and your tears and he wasn’t here to do a damn thing about it. how many nights had you spent like this while you were trying so hard to be strong? his thumbs caress the soft skin of your cheeks, as if they were attempting to wipe that which had already long passed and make up for a moment he had already missed.
diluc had always thought you deserved better, so much more than him because, even if he would give you the world, surely his darkness would take you like it had others and perhaps that was exactly what-
“‘luc?” your raspy and tired voice brings him from the words that surely wouldn’t be well for his heart but your bleary eyes, slowly blinking open and immediately collecting more tears, are just as telling to what he already knows. your tone wrought with lingering pain that you suffered in alone and it’s killing him, “y‘re home?”
“i’m home,” he assures you, his own voice unsteady as he pulls you close to try to hide, to not let you see the tears pooling in his eyes because he felt them burning the moment yours started to water at the sight of him. right now, in the middle of the night when you were both so close and yet so far, he didn’t know what else to do but try to be strong too and hold you against him while wishing he could carry the pain for you both, even if it broke him.
he can feel you shaking in his arms, knows the wetness of his shirt where your face is buried in his chest is from your silent tears but before he can speak, sooth you with a voice already breaking, your words stop his every function. he swears he’s not even breathing when you weakly ask him.
“diluc.. are- are we going to be okay?”
with the breaking of his heart, his whole body flexes and he holds you so close, in a vice grip you might have found crushing had you not needed it so badly yourself. one hand cradling the back of your head, burying in your hair, the other around your middle and keeping you pressed to him so nothing could get between you. he couldn’t hold back, couldn’t let you go for even a second, like every part of his rationale told him you would slip from his grasp if he gave even an inch. 
“yes. of course.” despite the tear escaping him when he speaks, he says the words tenderly, reassuringly, strongly as he believes them, feeling your hands bunch the fabric of his shirt in a tight grip in a silent reply. he could not even begin to imagine a life where you were not together, where you were not beside him until the end of his days. you had to be okay and he would do anything to see that through.
* * *
bustling life in the winery started early in the morning. even if the master bedroom remained quiet and peaceful, the rest of the manor had workers coming and going and maids floating from task to task as soon as the sun began to rise from behind the hills of mondstadt. diluc and the many tasks he had to see to were not immune to the earliest hours of the morning either, no matter how much his body and heart begged him to stay in bed with you.
this morning had been the hardest of all. how was he supposed to leave when you had cried yourself back to sleep in his arms last night and held on to him tightly even in your slumber? when he rose with the sun anyways he did his best to let you rest, with the intention of getting as much work as he could done early before coming to wake you up with breakfast, behind the closed door of your bedroom where it was only the two of you and he could take the time to have a proper discussion and tell you that he loves you.
but it seems yet again you were not aligned when not forty minutes after he settles into his study with large stacks of paper on either side of him, waiting for his immediate attention, you quietly knock on the open door frame and smile. one that makes his chest both flutter and ache. 
“morning ‘luc.” 
“good morning darling.”
you both say at the same time and are just as quickly flushed with heat and a kindle of hope. he stands from his desk and with long strides makes his way towards you as you stumble over what you were going to say next while diluc falls silent against the strike of the match deep within his heart, so full of conviction and the truth of the words he spoke to you last night. you were going to be okay. he had meant it with his entire being. 
the shy chuckle and smile you give him only fuels his hope more; so genuine and beautiful, full of the brightness he worried he was taking from you when all he ever wanted to do was preserve it, let himself get lost in it when you pulled him in so easily and found your own comfort in his shadows. the dress you wore, one you often put on when picking grapes in the vineyard that he recalled purchasing for you, one he knows well, only served to amplify how much he misses you, how absolutely divine he finds you. he would do absolutely anything for you. 
“i.. um, i know it’s busy around here but i just wanted to let you know i’ll be around the winery today if you need anything,” you say, that sweet smile still on your face. all he needed was you.. your smile falters when you hesitate to speak your next words, your gaze moving from his handsome face to the floor beneath your feet. feeling his heart pick up speed at the sight of your distress. he moves closer to you, his gloved hand ever so gently grabbing yours and it catches your attention. when your gazes meet again, he sees determination behind your sparkling eyes. “.. could we have lunch together later?”
he’s eager to answer you, wants to ask if you’ll stay in his study with him the rest of the day even if it’s a selfish request, even if it means not much work will get done when he’ll need to have you right in his lap. his grip on you tightens, his pink lips stretch into a loving smile but as the words leave him, they meddle with the sound of quick footsteps and elzer calling for the young master, unaware of the moment he was interrupting. had he known, he would have done more to delay himself even if this was rather urgent.
“master diluc, is the paperwork for the wangshu inn order ready? the shipment from liyue is -” elzer stops in his tracks, green eyes widening when he sees the two of you at the threshold of the study nearly chest to chest. diluc still holds onto your hand but both of your gazes are now on the butler. “i’m so sorry -”
“it’s okay,” you interrupt with a squeeze of your beloved's hand, trying to reassure you both that your words weren’t a lie. you smile despite the snapping of your heart strings. the universe was hell bent on keeping you apart, wasn’t it? “i was just headed out,” the words felt strained coming from your throat but you knew right now you were only interrupting and needed to let diluc get back to his work. 
as you let go of dilucs hand, your eyes return to looking up at him and you see emotions that seem to mirror yours, like in the deep ruby shade of his eyes you can make out how much it hurt him to hear you say you were leaving even though you would not be far. the push and pull of the many duties he carries on his shoulders and how painful it was when you pushed yourself away so he could focus on another, though he understood why.
“i’ll come find you.” a promise that you wouldn’t be apart for long but archons it was utter misery to have you be away from him for even a moment and watching you walk away and disappear from his view before he was ready had only made it worse, had only made his chest ache.
he wonders if you are holding back the tears you had, and hadn’t, shared with him last night as you push the front doors of the manor open, trying to keep your head up when he could see the heaviness of your heart like a blanket weighing down on you. it wasn’t until he couldn’t see you anymore that he returned to behind his desk, forcing his feet to move in the opposite direction of you when they screamed to follow, and did all the work he could before he could not hold off being with you for a moment longer.
the melody of your voice coming from the open window, distant but close enough that all it would take is a minute to get to you. his hand twitching at the remembrance of holding you for such a brief time hours prior. the picture of you from this morning, in that dress, smiling and blushing at him, flashing behind his eyes with every blink. your sweet scent lingering on his clothes. the love and devotion he holds for you, the distance and tears that had torn you both apart, the need to be close to his very heart and never ever let you go- it all stopped diluc so suddenly and he knew he was at his limit.
he needed you. more than air and water, more than his strength and the fire that had always been within him. more than anything else in this world and celestia he needed you. 
his footsteps are determined, not stopping for even a moment and only slowing when he nears the front doors, seeing adelinde among the few others in the fourier having finished the worst of the workload already.
“adelinde that will be enough for today. please excuse the staff for the rest of the day.”
“yes master diluc,” she doesn’t question it and is quick to let the others that hadn’t already overheard know, looking forward to any early day they rarely got.
the afternoon sun paints the fields in a lovely yellow, bringing out the shine of plump purple grapes and the brightness of the lush green leaves. among it all he easily found you and feels his heart surge at the sunlight illuminating the exposed skin of your chest and legs even at this distance. 
you hadn’t asked for the dress you adorned today, hadn’t even seen it before unwrapping the gift box he gave it to you in. it wasn’t extravagant but simple, comfortable, and of a shade that had always reminded him of you. it was years ago now but he remembers from the moment he saw it he knew how beautiful you would look in it and he was right. every time you wore it he had thought so and today that felt especially rue.
you caught a glimpse of bright red in your side view, the bounce of crimson locks and the darkness of his black coat in contrast to the vibrant day, before he made it to you but just the slightest sight of him had you paying not another thought to what you had been doing mere moments ago. the butterflies in your stomach began to flutter about wildly, the invisible tether of your love, that tied your hearts as one, going taut and bringing you to his side quickly, having you reaching for him as soon as you could.
“diluc~.”
“my love.”
he was just as eager to feel you, pulling you close to him with a large hand on your lower back as soon as you were within arms reach, the fingers of his other curling to caress your face tenderly. you melt against him, leaning into his touch, lashes fluttering closed, your hands holding onto his jacket tight. 
yes all he had needed was you. and in your hold, he felt how much you needed him too.
“spend the rest of the day with me?” he asks, voice little more than a whisper as he leans in to place a kiss to your cheek. the warmth it left on your skin was like the nourishment you had needed so desperately and you love how it lingers when he moves to kiss your lips, delicate and reassuring. 
“really? what about-” 
“please.”
“i- i would love that, so much.” 
your lips meet again, long and gentle, and you smile into his replying kiss, feeling that heavy weight of worry and anxiety melt away under his affections, the way he held you and kissed you softly with no intention of letting you go.
he had missed your smile against his lips, had needed it more than he thought possible and relishes in the way it lingers on his lips. it makes him feel lighter, as you always had, but in comparison his next words are serious, dripping with conviction and truth, telling you he needed you to hear his words and never forget them. 
“i am unable to envision a universe in which we are not together,” he pulls you closer so you’re now chest to chest, forehead to forehead, sharing every breath, every heartbeat. 
your chest tightens at the remembrance of last night. the thoughts that overtook your every worry, dug into every wound deeper and deeper until you weeped and dreamt of the terrible outcome of everything keeping you from him. a life full of still and dark numbness because truly how could the world keep spinning and moving so easily when you were without diluc.
“i cannot be without you,” he says, stopping your every thought, your every worry, kissing you again and again, whispering when he comes up for air, continuing to steal your breath. “not now. not ever.”
* * *
your feet hadn’t touched the ground since diluc lifted you into his arms bridal style, carrying you past the workers leaving for the day who didn’t disturb the soft gazes and wordless affections you shared as you disappeared past the front doors and into the now quiet manor. the heaviness of dilucs boots and the sounds of your lips now on his were the only sounds to be heard until the door to the master bedroom was flung open and you gasp at the intensity of which diluc presses you between his broad chest and the wall with a groan that made your core ignite.
the familiar wall cools your burning skin but it wouldn’t be too long now before the entire room was as warm as you and diluc were when entangled in each other. before the back of your head can be pressed against it too, with you so eager and pliant to accept everything he gives you and him so very desperate to not hold back, a large hand cradles the back of your head and keeps it from ever touching the wall as diluc kisses you deep, so full of love and desire. you can feel it with every movement of his lips on top of yours, the way his tongue swipes along your bottom lip and into your mouth, his fingers sinking into your hair, pulling you into him.
you can feel every heaving breath he takes, the weight of it on your body and the heat of it on your face. mixed with his normal scent of oak and wine it had you lightheaded, your thighs squeezing around his thin waist, your hands clinging onto his shoulders for more purchase even though he could easily hold your entire weight on his own and loved to do so. having you depend on him in any way always made his chest swell and right now, while he held you there grinding his hard clothed cock against the dampness of your panties, the fingers of his hand not in your hair squeezing the plush of your thigh, the flames of his heart threatening to devour every inch of you both, was no exception. 
how long had it been since he had touched you more than in passing or late into the night? since he could remind you in this way that you are everything to him? you had been a constant on his mind even if physically he was far away. every moment without you was spent yearning, worrying, aching and now that he had you in his arms once more, nothing to interrupt you, and the universe be damned, he would not be ever letting you go again.
he groans your name against your lips at the feeling of your fingers sinking into his hair and tugging on his roots when he grinds against you particularly hard, in perfect time with you chasing after him. “i need you so badly.” his kiss is consuming, nearly teeth clashing and absolutely breath stealing and with every thrusts of his hips, he swallows your sultry moans. 
he untangles his hand from your hair and grabs your other thigh, lifting you further up on his waist and easily carries you to the bed, each step confident and steady even with you distracting him, cupping his face in your palms, not wanting your lips to be apart from his for a even moment and he's sure to stay close as he crawls onto the bed. like you were the most precious of glass, he lays you in silky sheets and pillows slowly with your legs straddling his, your hands still holding onto his face, his strong arms keeping him from crushing you completely with his full weight.
you don’t realize you’ve started to cry until you taste the tears on your lips, warm and salty against the sweet taste of each other. diluc attempts to pull away, not far, but enough to check that you're okay and wipe your tears but you don’t falter in your hold on him and he cannot resist your gentle urgency. you can only deepen your kiss, tasting his tongue and lifting your hips to feel his cock that was making his pants incredibly tight.
neither of you know how long you stay like that, unable to part but when you finally pull away for air you desperately need, you’re panting and trying to tell him how much you need him too but it’s so hard to put into words right now. all you can get out is his name while you try to wipe your tears that just won't stop no matter how much you try to will them to.
“i’m here,” he assures you, bringing up one hand to wipe your wet cheeks with his thumb, watching your tears collecting on the dark of his gloves, feeling his own eyes burning. “i’m yours.”
“i’m yours,” you repeat in earnest, even if your voice is weak from your uncontrollable tears. your grip on him grows tighter as you pull him into a kiss, salty wet and desperate for him to know just how true your words were. “i’m sorry ‘luc. i’m so sorry..”
sorry we’re in this mess, that i can’t stop crying. sorry that i worried we might not make it through this, even if only for a night.  
he hushes you with a gentle caress of burning fingers along your face and through your hair, the press of steady lips against your cheek. “there’s no reason to be sorry, my dear. everything is  going to be alright, we will be alright.”
you nod your head, his words wrapping around your spine and seeping throughout your body, every ounce of you thrumming with the belief and the love you found in his words. “i love you.”
“i love you too,” he doesn’t miss a beat in his confession to you. he nuzzles into you, burying his face into the crook of your neck, taking in your sweet scent and the feeling of you underneath him, letting himself sink further into the mattress with nearly his whole weight enveloping you but it was more comforting than crushing and it had been exactly what you both needed. “more than i can put into words.”
your body was bursting with all kinds of heat, that from your beloved that he so naturally emitted and the burning, blazing flame within your heart that was a twin to his own. fueled by your love, by your devotion. and there was no denying the heat pooling between your legs either, the way your panties already felt so wet and the press of dilucs impressive erection against your inner thigh was not making it any better.
he felt it all too, wanting to let its fire consume him, bright and burning hot with his feelings for you, how he would do anything for you, how badly he needed you in any and every way. a familiar heat that he had felt for you since you stole his heart but even when he thought it impossible, it had only grown since that day and his inability to live without you grew with it.
his lips meet the skin on your neck, soft kisses placed along the length of your neck to below your ear and back down again, making your skin burst out in goosebumps. “can i have you?” he asks when his lips return to where they started.
“please.” you say with eagerness, your hands tugging at any part of his clothes that they can hold onto. 
every move diluc makes is delicate, intentional, showing you the truth and intensity of his love. first, he removes his gloves, needing to feel all of you against his skin. vivid, hungry, scarlet eyes never leave your figure as he pulls off the leather from each hand and tosses them onto the nightstand, feeling you shudder under his touch when one hand grabs your thigh, spreading your legs further apart and the other ghosts over your collarbone, skilled fingers dipping below the strap of your dress, moving along the hem that plunges to your breasts.
“you are so soft,” he murmurs as if he hadn’t known he said it outloud, as if it had been the first time he had ever felt your skin in a way only he should touch you. the pads of fingers ghost along the tops of your breasts, barely moving below your dress to feel all of you but still hardening your nipples under the fabric. 
your chest is heaving, like his touch was burning into your skin for you to remember for all time, your heart hammering in your chest every passing moment, every touch diluc gives you. your back arches to allow space for his hand snaking around your waist to your back and in his endless strength, he lifts your figure, your arms wrapping around his neck for stability. his movements are swift as pulls up the fabric of your dress, your arms leaving his embrace so he can take it off you completely.
in your needy movements you try to reach back with one arm to undo your bra but a strong grasp holds onto your wrist before you can unclasp the prongs. you feel it more than see it, the shake of his head in protest.
“let me take care of everything,” he says, deep and rumbling against your body, his breath fanning against your neck where his lips have once again found their home. 
diluc guides your hand to his chest and you grip onto the fabric on his coat, wishing he was just as bare as you, especially when he unclasps all the hooks of your bra in one motion, pulling the fabric from between you and discarding it by your dress.
with a last kiss and a small lick of his tongue against your skin, his hand still splayed on your back, he guides you back down into the plush mattress, staying on his knees between your spread legs. now only a thin pair of lace panties keeps him from seeing all of you and he takes his time revealing you to him, unwrapping you like the gift you were and making you tremble with his hands and lips.
he kisses you, strong hands squeezing your waist when you moan into his lips and you might have cried in protest when he breaks away but they don’t leave you long, finding your collar bone and moving across your chest, down your arm, each finger, every knuckle and back up again only to move to the other arm, not a bit of you going unloved.
you shudder as his lips cascade down your middle, leaving a humming warmth in their wake all the way to the edge of your panties and back up to your breasts. he kisses the underside of one while grabbing the other with a gentle squeeze that has you mewling, arching for more. his breath fans against your sensitive skin, hot and heavy with parting of his lips as he envelopes your hardened nipple and presses into you, letting you feel how hard he is with a roll of his hips against yours.
every sweet suckle and lick of his tongue, attention that he gave to both of your breasts, had the pooling wetness between your legs soaking through your panties and your hips bucking to feel more of him. when diluc finally does part from your chest, he sits back on his knees, his tall frame towering over you and archons you swore you could cum just from the sight of him like this.
his muscles flex as he gets himself out of his coat and vest, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, throat bobbing, his cock painfully hard and thick in his pants, a familiar stickiness already smearing along where it rests in his boxers but it’s the last thing on his mind. there's a deep flush to his cheeks, his eyes rich with longing and love and behind it there's no hiding a lick of flames that are that of a man starved and so beyond desperate for his other half.
you’re not even sure you’re breathing watching him tug off his tie with one hand, your gazes never breaking, his other hand traveling down your leg to behind your knee and lifting it to his chest. long dark lashes flutter closed as he nuzzles his nose near your ankle before placing a kiss there and another and another, your legs already getting a light shake to them.
“you are so beautiful my love,” he whispers against your skin, his hand on your leg squeezing your flesh. another kiss, chaste and sweet and full of devotion, it’s heat lingering on your ankle even after he’s pulling away and tugging at the hem of your panties, lifting them up your legs.  “i could never be without you.”
“‘luc..” you feel the tears pricking at your eyes again, hear the way your voice is wrought with emotions you’ve held back, tried to deny, pent up when you couldn’t be near him like you need to. “please, i need you.”
he knew all the ways you meant it, for he felt it too and knew what lay within the heart that he swore to protect and cherish. the very one he had been apart from in so many ways for far too long and that lay in front of him now, completely his to take again and again even if he didn’t think he deserved such a wonderful thing.
with your leg easing over his shoulder, his hair tickling the inside of your thigh, he spreads your legs further apart to allow space for his broad shoulders and doesn’t give you a moment to catch your breath after seeing him between your legs looking like heaven before his tongue, hot and flat against you, licks your dripping pussy with a deep moan that rumbles the bed under his chest.
the taste of you melting on his tongue makes him drunk so quickly. in a way wine and alcohol couldn’t attempt to rival and even more potent with intoxication. your reactions to his lapping tongue only add to that state of euphoria, diluc always finding that your pleasure was his own.
any other night this could have been enough to ease the overwhelming need he felt for you. sucking your clit between his lips, hearing soft and hazy curses drifting down to his ears, your fingers tugging at his hair with every intense shake of your legs that he kept pried open with strong arms when they threatened to close around his head. not that he would ever mind suffocating in between your thighs but this gave him the perfect angle to taste you and thrust his tongue in and out of your tight hole and tonight, he isn’t sure he’ll ever get enough.
every breath you took was deep but it was never going to be enough against the man you love utterly devouring your pussy, spreading your legs wider and diving his tongue deeper into you, his nose pressed against your clit until you worried he wasn’t even breathing.
your orgasm came before you could even try to hold off for a little longer, bursting on his tongue and eagerly drank down. your body writhes in his persistent hold, your hand buried in the mane of his hair pulling him closer and farther away, his name a melody of pleasure and need for more on your lips. 
diluc doesn’t pull away, the languid movements of his tongue turning soft and soothing, letting you ride out every last bit of release without over stimulating you too much, allowing him to capture every bit of your essence on his tongue and feel your small shake when he rolls his tongue over your clit, too much and somehow not enough on your electrified body.
at the release of one of your legs, your warm skin rests over his shoulder again and he sighs against your clit at the contact.
“ah..!” you can’t help the jolt of your body at the feeling of skilled and calloused fingers parting your folds, the mixer of you both wetting them perfectly enough to slip one into you with ease, knuckle deep and curling right into the perfect spot. “diluc!”
he keeps a steady rock to his finger, lewd wet noises following every pump and lick on your clit that he gave with so much fervor, rebuilding that knot behind your tummy in seconds and when he added another thick finger, there was no holding back how quickly he could have you creaming and clenching around his digits.
you cry out, sweet and shaking and feeling like you might die if you didn’t feel him inside of you, if you couldn’t look at his handsome face and show him in this way just how much you loved him, how much you missed him, too. and before you can even fully come down from your high, with diluc still kissing your pretty pussy, you’re begging for him.
“love - please.” 
he pulls away from your cunt with lidded scarlet eyes, your juices sparkling against his chin and nose as he sits back on his knees. it leaves you so incredibly empty when his fingers follow but your wanton whimper was due to the way he licks his fingers clean, long soaking digits slipping past his pink lips with a groan, dark lashes fluttering closed at the taste of you.
tugging at his shirt, you plead again but you never have to with him. all you ever had to do was ask and anything he could give you would be yours. “need these clothes off you. need to feel you against me.”
any worries, any self doubts, of what your touches could perhaps do to the other, hurt you again, not be attuned like you once were, melt away in the heat of every touch you give one another with no hesitation and no question on where your heart would be from here on out.
your fingers overlap as you help each other with every button of his shirt, the buckle of his belt and ties of his pants. your hands roam his body with each article of clothing he takes off and throws to the side, mapping out the scars you know every place of and a new scratch you had never felt before on his right pectoral.
it made your heart ache that he got hurt and hadn’t told you, that you hadn’t had the chance to care for it yourself but knowing him, you’re sure he hardly called this ‘getting hurt’. it wasn’t deep, likely nothing more than the tip of a blade nicking him that was nearly healed but you can’t stand the thought of any harm coming to him. let alone during a time where you were so apart. 
using one hand to prop himself up, diluc slides out of his pants and boxers, cock resting against the thin red trail of hair adorning his lower abdomen, his tip sticky against his skin. with him hovering above you, your lips replace where your fingers touched over his injured skin, gingerly kissing him, pouring your love over every heartbreaking inch of his injury.
as if he had sensed the worry swirling in your heart, he lifts your gaze back to his with a gentle pull under your chin that you easily followed but he didn’t speak any words and instead he calmed you with a loving kiss to your lips that told you it was okay. he was okay, here with you now and forever.
he follows your lips as you lay back down, now resting on his forearm to be closer to you, chest to chest, the heat of his fingers like butterfly wings down your stomach to line his cock with your aching sex, sliding his tip between your wet folds until he could feel the mix of saliva and slick on his fingers.
the thickness of his cock head was a lovely mix of pleasure and burning stretch that had you clinging to him when he was barely inside you but he could have cum from the small, squelching thrusts into your perfect pussy alone. deeper and deeper with every few roll of his hips, he groans your name between his kisses that steal every bit of your sanity and diluc feels his own slipping with it. 
“fuck angel,” a rare curse falls from his lips when he’s fully sheathed inside you, so tight around him, and stilling his hips to allow you to adjust to his size. his forehead finds yours, crimson hair now completely free from its ribbon falling on the sides of your face and wafts the scent of his shampoo into the air. “you are so perfect.”
shaking your head with a breathy chuckle, you cradle his face with both your hands and instantly he melts into your touch, feeling the small rock of your hips letting him know you were ready for more. he doesn’t part from this closeness, each heated breath shared with the thrusts of his hips that start slow and deep.
you try to force them away but you can’t help the tears that well in your eyes being so full of him, being close to him again, the love you share so evident you were overwhelmed in the best of ways. but you still wanted more, wanted to be overtaken and drowning in it until it was all you knew because for so long, longer than you thought you could endure, you were without and right now, as you held him with as much need as he held you, you hardly knew how you survived up until this moment.
more of him wasn’t something you had asked for. he was yours for the taking in heart, body and soul and in every delicious roll of his lips, in and out of your sweet tightness, each one with more fever than the last, you were lost in the scent of sweet wine and smoke, the burning flames of your beloved that cradled you and protected you and the undeniable love that was sewn between you in an unbreakable bond.
diluc brings you ever closer, a large hand sliding underneath your head to cradle the back of your skull and kiss you. your lips meet, full of so much love and longing and muffled murmurs of pleasure. you feel his hair tickle your face with the pace he set, his chest following to get closer, pressing right against yours and loving the way your breasts bounce against him each time he bottoms out, hitting the perfect spot in your gummy walls. he was pressed so close you wondered if it was his own heart beat you were feeling or your own, not knowing where his body ended and yours began.
he was so deep inside you with every snap of his hips, so close in every way possible, and when you felt him picking up the pace of his thrusts, using the arm not holding the back of your head to grab onto your thigh, strong fingers sinking into your flesh with gentle power and bringing your leg to rest at the side of your chest, you couldn’t help but whimper against his kiss swollen lips.
“oh gods… ‘luc!”
your back bows off the bed, at least the best it can with diluc pressed against you but you were unable to control the way your body reacted to how well he split you open on his cock, his leaking tip always hitting your g spot, perfectly fitting inside you like you were made for each other.  
but it's the way he says your name, dripping with liquid fire and the stars he would pull from the dark night to show you how much you meant to him, that sent you over the edge of euphoria and when dilucs ruby eyes flutter open to see your crystalline tears that sparkled with the light of your love, love he had always been sure he didn’t deserve but couldn’t live without all the same, his own release followed, heavy and throbbing in the tightness of you.
he stays inside of you, feeling his cum leaking from your hole and down towards your bum but thoughtfully he moves your leg to a more comfortable position at his hips and lifts a bit of his weight off of you to allow you to take deep breaths, his arm flexing as he moves but not being able to be far, both because he couldn’t bring himself to, not yet, and because your hold on him remained snug with your arms around his neck.
all you could do was hold onto him, never wanting to leave this moment, and confess your love over and over, every one returned in kind with a burning passion.
“we will always be okay darling,” he whispers, brushing the tip of his nose along your own before placing a sweet, long, kiss to your lips. “i swear it.” 
♡♡♡♡♡
genshin impact masterlist | main masterlist
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m1d-45 · 1 year
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dead leaves
summary: the creator is meant to be worshipped and praised, exalted to the highest of high. so… what went wrong?
word count: 1.2k
-> warnings: mentions of blood, you die multiple times, bitter(?) ending, spoilers for xiao lore (but it’s not said to be xiao specifically so technically you could read and just not know it’s him but now that i’ve said that you know it’s him so-)
-> gn reader (you/yours)
taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay || @cupandtea24 || @genshin-impacts-me
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it wasn’t meant to happen like this.
it was never to occur at all, in fairness, but like this?
the clouds parted to make way for a single glitering star, shining a white hot gold. the whole world turned, stopped and stared in awe, every leaf on every stalk bearing witness to the one they called god.
it wasn’t supposed to be like this. the golden shine poured through the tall windows of a palace meant for you, the heretic in a crown ordering your people to betray you. their hands shook where their followers could not see—perhaps even they were aware of why the trees were rejoicing.
you, blessed you, torn from your home by the divinity in your blood, picking yourself up from sand with barely a vague memory of your location. walk, climb, walk again, and that’s where you learned how to swim, led on by the crumbling stone of barbatos’ statue. the squirrels chittered and the hilichurls retreated, not wanting to frighten you, bandaged hands seeking shields and clubs to keep busy instead.
mondstat is the nation of anemo. happy and bustling, merchants calling across courtyards, adventurers waking with the sun to continue their trade. a cool breeze welcomed you, tugging you along a stone bridge, the winds quiet.
so quiet, in fact, that the archon stirred from his slumber early, reaching for his bow.
you never even made it to the city gates. the doves on the bridge hopped closer as you approached, the knights on duty watching how eagerly they pressed themselves against you. a nod, a twist, a chain of knights leading up to the headquarters, all set on edge the moment the acting grandmaster cleared them to engage.
the first casualty was a bird. it had flung itself into the air, halting the arrow in its tracks, drawing your attention to the man standing atop the city wall. another bird died before you understood his crime.
leaves dappled the ground in shades of green, warm light falling on you as you ran. you didn’t know where you were going, really, and why would you? who had a contingency plan for when everyone they loved turned away? the river tumbled over smoothed rocks, the bright beacon of the statue of the seven pleading for forgiveness even as it’s archon wanted you dead.
mondstat was the city of freedom. could it still be called that when you bled out before you could reach the border?
you couldn’t die. literally, you couldn’t. ley lines converged where you were crossed, absorbing the dissipating flakes of your physical body. the earth hummed beneath the anemo archon’s feet as he watched divine blue blood be sucked up and swept away. was it a hallucination? how would he know?
elemental energy coursed through the earth, sprouting again at the geo through which it bled, releasing the holy light it carried and supplementing with its own. within the hour your eyes opened again, unsure whether to pray it was a dream or wonder which god could hear you.
liyue, nation of geo. the stone hummed beneath your feet, though you didn’t walk toward the city. you’d learned your lesson fast, and a spear to the gut would certainly take longer to kill than an arrow to the neck. not that it mattered, of course—the adepti are too in tune with the land to not have noticed your arrival.
as it turned out a spear does hurt more, which you learned when you found it sprouting from your stomach in the split second before the pain hit. bright jade stained blue, betrayal glimpsed in the dying eyes of the one alatus once called his savior.
and it began anew.
teyvat bubbled with anger, torn between enacting vengeance on those that hurt its maker and protecting you. you were taken to places of shelter, but people learned to follow where nature raged loudest. even if they didn’t, if storms kicked up in false alarm to draw them away, intuition toward their creator was sewn into the hems of every living creature. hilichurls could only hold up for so long, and the millelith were used to dealing with vishaps. the dense forests of sumeru were memorized by the most vigilant forest watcher, the consecrated beasts in the desert too big to keep up with the agility of the general mahamatra.
how cruel for you to die like this, at the hands of the ones you should have been able to trust. how cruel for you to die at all, stabbed in the back by those who should have worshipped you.
the one on your throne was tolerated, just barely so, rationalized as the people needing an idol to follow in your continued absence. but now you were here, now they had no reason to be, and visions began to go haywire whenever they entered the throne room. boars outran hunters, trees tangling over boots as nature wrought vengeance on behalf of its god.
you were everything.
every scholar sought to understood your world further, your spirit found in every star in the sky. to study the world was to study you, how every string was woven into the universe. when you looked to the earth the soil said hello, the trees bowing before their creator, and yet your most beloved artwork was the one that hated you the most. was it hubristic to think a mortal could truly kill a god, or pathetic that they believed the fraud so quickly? they didn’t have elemental energy buzzing at their fingertips, they didn’t have the respect of the world, only commanding people, those easily swayed by a similar face and lucky coincidences. they were nothing like you, you who held galaxies in your blood, you who created the sky and the seas and the creatures within, who created everything. who was everything.
…and now you were nothing. lost in the ley lines that frantically searched for a place to host your body, outrunning the hunt for the god of all. nothing, half conscious in the heart of the earth, within a cave that had cracked open for this very purpose. hidden, the entrance sealed by stone itself, only allowing in slimes that helped sustain you. how cruel, the skies wept, torrents of rain falling in punishment. the fraud barely left the palace anymore, which was only standing thanks to reinforcement from the geo archon. were it not for their lie, they would be dead a thousand times over, killed in every way you had.
but they were in the palace, hidden where the world could not reach. so stone cradled your body, carefully ensuring you still continued to breathe, leylines redirecting to offer energy. not awake, not asleep, stuck in a stasis while hell raged around you.
it’s alright. teyvat would have its revenge eventually. lightning would find its way into the palace, someone would bring something carrying elemental energy into the throne room, something. the fake would die and you would be born anew from the earth, weak and tired but alive, most importantly.
anemo brushes off dust that begins to settle in your clothes, hydro doing its best to soothe the cracks on your lips. geo rolls you over so you don’t bruise, dendro adjusting its net of vines to keep you stable.
eventually…
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cypressvs · 1 year
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DON'T TWIST THE LION'S TAIL
pairing: jing yuan/gn!reader
cw: suggestive but not explicit, workplace romance?, reader is an unspecified long-life species
wc: 1.0k | join the taglist
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Jing Yuan is a cat. You're sure of it.
He's abnormally agile. Foxians were born with heightened senses and naturally superceded an average human when it came to their predispositions but even they would think twice, thrice, before jumping off a three-story high building. Not Jing Yuan though. He just leaps, twirls his Guan Dao with an ease unparalleled, and even had the grace to catch the tea set you managed to throw into the air in fright before speeding off to catch the runaway criminal with a carefree smile.
How many years ago was that? You didn't count but it had to be a good few hundred years since then because that day, on your first meeting, Jing Yuan was a nobody. He was just another face among the ranks of the Cloud Knights that wasn't memorable enough to be remembered. Now, he was a general and his pictures sell for a concerning amount of Strales. No one in the Xianzhou who's in their right mind would not know his name and by extension, yours since you're practically attached by the hip.
Officially, you were an unemployed nobody but everyone in the Seat of the Divine Foresight considered you to be the General's caretaker. The legal matters that concerned the affairs of the Xianzhou were rightfully managed by the secretaries employed there but the more menial and more... troublesome duties were handed off to you. Sometimes, you meet their gazes and they're filled with nothing but respect and gratitude because no one, not a single one, wanted to be the holder of your duties. Why?
Because Jing Yuan was a cat. A temperamental, needy, and mischievous one.
You'd never think of it if you didn't know him first but Jing Yuan was a picky eater. You have to feed him from your hand if he's eating something for the first time. If not that, he'll randomly send you to buy snacks in the middle of a work day. You tried to refuse once but you learned the hard way that not doing as he wishes involved him mocking you by refusing to budge an inch from his seat. At this point, it was easier to just fold and give him a bite after every five papers signed.
Jing Yuan also likes warm spaces. On days when work is more manageable, he'll drag you outside for a stroll but you always end up seating under the shade of a tree in an otherwise empty field. He lies around with eyes closed and an immoveable smile on his face as he enjoys the soft breeze. All the while, you're cursing the static in your legs as Jing Yuan doesn't just lie anywhere, no, he lies on you because he'll be damned if he lets you work while he lazes around. Or so he says.
Other times, Jing Yuan will ignore you entirely, not even sparing you a gaze, yet pouting (in his very own Jing Yuan way; indecipherable to most but not to you) when you don't attempt to console him. He lingers around your peripherals but otherwise refuses to utter a single word to you until you sigh and pull him to you, brushing his hair gently as you tell him about your day. Scrimping out on the details is not allowed. You have to tell him about every little detail from the food you ate for breakfast to your meeting with your visiting relatives or else he'll just sulk even more. You can't figure out the pattern to his attitude but you do remember vaguely that it was the worst about a hundred and two years ago. Such a shame that you had to appease him, hurriedly leaving your poor cousin in the market alone. He says that he understands with a knowing laugh but you don't quite understand yourself. What is there to know anyway?
Jing Yuan, much like a cat, does whatever he wants with almost no care for the rest of the world. Maybe that's why you're in this position now.
You're made intimately aware of how intimidating he can be with how he towers over you, casting a deep shadow on your frame as he firmly pinned you down his desk. His gaze is deep, molten and hiding behind a mystery you were never able to unearth until now. You try to tug yourself out of his grip but that only shuffled the paperwork your back is pressed into.
"Jing Yuan—" your words die down on your throat as he finally shows the first drop of emotion on his face. A smile. Nothing you'd never seen before but for some reason, a shiver climbs down your spine. Alarms flag inside your head as heat pooled under your skin. It floods your muscles that ached—screamed—at you to run. You exhale shakily but when your eyes meet his again, all your will to fight dissipates.
"What else must I do, hm?" He whispers and it might just be your imagination but you swore you saw his teeth glint under the moonlight. "What more shall I give to keep your eyes on me?"
You swallow and you're reminded of something. With your back pressed and with no way to escape, you are nothing but a predator's prey. One that he taunts as you spy the almost imperceptible lilt to his smile. The realization makes you avert your gaze, embarrassed by the heat that races under your cheeks.
"See? You're doing it again. You're warm," he whispers as he lowers his face closer to yours, "then you're cold. Tell me: what conclusion was I supposed to derive from your behavior?"
When you don't respond, Jing Yuan continues. "Logic dictates that you're disinterested but your body—" One hand slides from your wrist to settle on your waist. He gives you the opportunity to run yet somehow, you hesitate. "—says otherwise."
His hair cascades over his shoulders, a lock falling over like a moonbeam by your check and it tickles. It does not go unnoticed, and Jing Yuan chuckles; he delights in the muffled whimper he was able to draw out of you and rejoices at the needy breath you release when he grazes his lips over yours before stopping all at once.
"Well?" He hums. "It appears that I am indeed growing older. My patience is not what it once was. So tell me, little bird, while I can still restrain myself: what is it that you want from me?"
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© 2023 CYPRESSVS. all rights reserved. do not copy, claim, repost or translate in any platforms.
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crguang · 1 month
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a lover’s goodbye kiss
Are we ever truly done with grief?
angst, gn!reader, ptsd. 6k words of mourning and bitter reunions
A/N: this really got away from me, i also cried while writing it so do with that what you will. not entirely satisfied with it, but it’s okay. hope someone enjoys it regardless
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Grief is a part of you. It seeps into your pores, settles in your bloodstream like cancerous chemicals and forces you to live with it, to endure the brunt of it lest memories pull you under permanently. For long-life species, grief is ironically common. The belief that Xianzhou natives are unaccustomed to death is a false one; though it is slow to come, it envelops them regardless, often twice over. The Mara curse is first. Its inevitability leaves an imprint in people’s hearts, a sort of impression they are born with and cannot outgrow. To be a long-life species is to become Mara-struck, a shell of your former self driven by bloodlust and fragmented memories. That, in itself, is death. Your body is no longer your own and neither is your mind, you are a senseless abomination destined to roam the world until someone or something delivers the fatal, long-awaited blow needed to end your misery. Though this heavy subject is not often discussed among the people, accepting that fate is done with bloodied teeth and scorched fingertips, a personal battle with grief from which you come out only somewhat victorious. Knowing that you’ll eventually be stricken by Mara is one thing, accepting that your loved ones will walk the same path is another entirely. No one talks about the worst part. Nobody tells you what you’re supposed to do when the memories fade away, replaced by the acrid smell of sulfur and a chill in your bones that you can never shake.
Hundreds of years of memories— content smiles, sun rays onto sweaty skin, cold hands in pale locks of hair, unspoken devotion— are hidden behind mist requiring immense focus to see through. You are not Mara-struck yet. Your mind is still your own, as much as it can be, and you are still alive. You ask yourself why often. Why it was her, first, and not you. Why you’re stuck living with holes inside of you when maybe you should’ve died along with the hundred Cloud Knights that had the misfortune of crossing her path that night. Loss has made you ashamed, you can’t even speak her name. It’d been erased from history and forbidden after that night, out of social disappointment and shame, but that is not why you can’t bear to utter it. It’s unfair that this is what you remember most of her; the collapsed buildings, the unbearable smell, the frozen corpses… Her beloved blade through your stomach. The way her gaze softened after a few glasses of wine has been replaced by the flash of crimson you caught a glimpse of before her sword buried itself in your guts. You vaguely recall how endearingly tight her muscles always were, how you or Baiheng had to smooth the knots out of her body once in a while. The news of her breaking out of the Shackling Prison, however, along with the screams that followed form a clear image in your treacherous mind. What use are memories if they are so fickle, so easily supplanted by horrors that quicken your heartbeat on thought alone?
If anything, you do not shoulder this immense grief alone. Jing Yuan was a scrawny, eager boy when you first met him, almost half your height and always trailing behind her like the dutiful apprentice he was. His enthusiasm lit up the training yard and his youthful determination quickly earned him a place amongst your most cherished. He would seek you out after hours of conditioning, sweat still clinging to his bushy brows, and request a friendly spar to show you what he’s learned, how fast he was getting, how swift he could slash his sword. Your position as a Lieutenant of the Cloud Knights made him look at you with naked admiration, he’d hang onto your every word with a seriousness unfit of his age and at times offered insight only a boy who had never known war could come up with. You think you remember a figure in the shade of a growing tree standing several feet away from where you and Jing Yuan sparred. Quiet as a golden eagle, diligent gaze making note of every sloppy thrust and slow retreat she would reproach her retainer afterwards, his master only revealed herself when the tip of your blade against his neck announced his defeat.
Jing Yuan was the one to rescue you on the ice. His quick intervention allowed for healers from the Alchemy Commission to reach you in time and tend to your injuries. He was also the one to end her. It had to be him, you know, but you regret your own weakness, your faltering steps and half-hearted parries— it’s a burden you wish he never carried. He bears it with a solemn glint in his eyes and an impeccable posture but he’s not General of the Xianzhou Luofu to you, and so he lets you keep him close whenever he visits your empty home. His appreciation for the comfort goes unsaid, though his shoulders stand inches lower once he sets out the door. After all, he lost her too.
You get déjà vu when Jing Yuan walks across the training yard with a skinny blonde boy in tow and introduces him as his retainer, Yanqing. His apprentice is just as eager and energetic as he was, and it’s easy to fall back into old habits when the boy eventually nags you into sparring with him. He’s talented, determined to achieve his goals, but a little too proud and overconfident. His arrogance reminds you of an old friend who once forged the sword you still wield like an extension of your arm. It’s somewhat endearing, and not entirely unearned. A part of you vaguely recalls the annoyed purse of the Sword Champion’s lips whenever your mutual friend would go on another spiel about mastering the way of the sword. Your fingertips trace the sheath of your blade at the thought.
The Stellaron crisis plunges the Luofu into disarray. It brings destruction and death to the Xianzhou on a scale that reminds you of her, of the illuminated moon in the night sky and the blood on your hands. You can’t allow the memories to paralyze you like they often do, however, so you work with Jing Yuan and the Master Diviner in order to eliminate the internal threat that pose the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. The Mara-struck fall twice under your steel and the rest of the Abundance’s abominations quickly become light work for someone as experienced as you are. Since the Ambrosial Arbor crisis, they’ve been gathering in Stargazer Navalia the most, forcing an evacuation of all civilians to safer areas of the Luofu.
Though he has plenty of work on his hands, this is where Yanqing likes to disappear for an hour each day— additional training, he says. You trust his abilities, but today he is needed at the Alchemy Commission and is currently unreachable. No one has seen him for a while. You have an idea of his whereabouts, so you offer to look for him and relay the General’s message.
Two Cloud Knights stand guard as you enter Stargazer Navalia. Their posture straightens when they see you and they nod once in greeting.
“Has anyone seen Lieutenant Yanqing come through here, by any chance?”
One of them replies, “He was there an hour ago on an official investigation. Passed through here and went further into the docks.”
You don’t know about any official investigations but you offer a thankful nod anyway before walking past the Knights. The large shipping containers and crates create paths that workers use during the day but you figure it’d be easier to look for Yanqing if you had a better view of the area. You jump on top of a container and carefully skim the place ahead. As expected, abominations and Mara-struck lay on the floor, strewn about like discarded clothings. You follow their trail further inside Stargazer Navalia, between growing starskiffs and through already opened doors. It takes a little over ten minutes to catch up with the freshly cut-down enemies laying about as you hop from container to container. Shards of rock hard ice glimmer in the sun near the bodies, no doubt Yanqing’s doing. Honestly, that boy…
You can see his blonde hair when you advance a little further. He’s turning a corner, so you take a shortcut running above a long, empty container and land on the one behind him with a thud. The sudden noise alerts him and he swirls around with a hand on his sword, ready to attack, but you’re not looking at him. The ghost of a woman long gone stands beside him, her back to you, with a stillness that indicates she’s been aware of you before you made your presence known. The sight of her pale locks burns into your brain. The intricate design of the familiar attire she dons chokes you like firm hands around your throat, and you falter. The blues and whites and reds mix together as you blink to regain your footing.
“Lieutenant!” Yanqing straightens up, sheathing his blade. “What are you doing here?”
You taste ash on the roof of your mouth. Your fingers curl around the handle of your sword. Falling buildings, frozen corpses, sulfur burning your nostrils. Her blade through your stomach. (Hesitant fingertips against your cheeks, implied confessions, oiled palms on tense muscles.) A feeling that has been dormant for centuries stirs in your guts, snakes around your intestines and tightens your stomach. It travels through your ribcage and up your bobbing throat, forcing you to swallow it back down. There’s the slow ascent of the moon behind your eyelids with each blink and the stutter of your chest with each breath— a chill spreads over your limbs and they tense as if frozen in place. It paralyzes you; you feel mocked by the way your feet are glued to the metal under them. You are reminded of your previous weakness, of your blood on the ice and its frigidity seeping into your skin. You grit your teeth.
“Jingliu…” Her name is forced past your lips, evicted after uncomfortably sitting on your tongue for hundreds of years.
She does not move, except for the flicker of recognition that goes through her fingertips. A mirage, she has to be— a nasty trick of your fractured mind because she cannot be here, breathing, when Jing Yuan assured you of her demise.
“Huh? You know her?” Yanqing asks, oblivious to your struggle as he glances back to the woman next to him. His query confirms that she is flesh and blood but leaves no hint as to her state of mind. If she is the same as she was centuries ago, then he and the Luofu are in great danger.
“…Yanqing. The General is looking for you. Alchemy Commission.”
The boy frowns. “Did something happen? There’s something I have to finish up before—“
“Yanqing.”
He stops in his tracks with furrowed brows, displeased at having been interrupted. You finally tear your gaze away from Jingliu’s tense posture to look at him. He sees your hardened eyes and hesitates, turning towards his new acquaintance for a few seconds before clenching his jaw and nodding once. You outrank him, and though it often pains him to do so, Yanqing knows to respect the Cloud Knights hierarchy. He walks away without a word and disappears between the various shipping containers.
You stand above her, a hand on your blade, and breathe in the smell of the docks to loosen the pressure in your guts. It’s the middle of the day, the weather is warm, your skin is uncut. Blurry images of grasping hands sinking into bed sheets and locking lips fill your mind until you can’t see anything but the way her asymmetric bangs frame her face as she hovers over you, breathless. The crimson of her irises are dulled to a lustful cherry and she looks at you like she doesn’t believe you’re real. A fragment of her one-track mind and hateful heart made tangible for one night, to appease the disgusting yearning for closeness that lingers in her bones. She is not a weapon used against the Abundance and you are more than the fellow Cloud Knight that joined the ranks before she was thrusted into them. As her knuckle trails down your cheekbone to the corner of your parted lips, you are a new constant in her future, an immovable force that she cannot plan around, and she is just a woman. Not a survivor, not a fighter, she is a woman who longs for another’s recognition and gentle hands. And as she leans down to graze her bottom lip against your top one, you feel the searing pain of her blade piercing your flesh.
Blood trickles on your tongue and you realize it is from how hard you are biting the inside of your cheek. The visions are gone, replaced by Jingliu turning around to face you, her free hands limp at her sides. Her chin tilts slightly upward. She’s wearing a dark blindfold over her eyes— some part of you is grateful to be hidden from her sight— but you know it wouldn’t alter any of her abilities.
“Lieutenant…” She only says a word, trails off as if it leaves a strange sensation in her mouth. It’s not a question or a tentative statement; she utters your title with an infuriating fondness, like you’re an old friend she hasn’t seen in a while. It makes you sick.
“…...You are not dead,” you state blankly.
Jingliu takes a short breath. “Not yet, no.”
There’s a sluggishness to her words and a rasp more prominent than you recall it to be. Her voice is raw and breathy like every sentence comes at a price, and you are reminded of the curse that plagues her. You don’t understand how she’s standing here, seemingly sane, when the Mara had overcome her the last time you laid eyes on her. Still, the hand on your sword tightens its hold. There’s a thousand things you want to ask, a thousand more you wish to convey through touch alone, but you cannot trust her.
You wonder if she remembers almost ending your life. You wonder if she is haunted by regret and grief the same way you are. You wonder if some part of her still clings to that stricken body.
“You can let go of your sword,” Jingliu says, “I mean the Luofu no harm.”
“And me?”
“...You?”
You swallow a lump in your throat. Your toes tingle with sudden restlessness and it thaws the rest of your limbs, allowing you to take a measured step forward. “And me, Jingliu? Will you draw your blade against me once more?”
She is silent for some time, tense, and her fingers slightly curl inward in a momentary loss of composure. You can’t tell if it’s because she doesn’t recall ever doing that or because she does and the thought brings her pain. Finally, she shakes her head.
“You are not my enemy.”
“I wasn’t your enemy back then, was I?”
“…Your trust in me is inconsequential. I came to the Luofu to atone for my sins and surrender myself to the Alliance.”
Your jaw clenches. Past the initial confusion, you feel cheated. Angry. Hundreds of years of broken memories, lasting grief and paralyzing terror have eroded you, flayed you until you are nothing but bones and ligaments. You are walking the earth as less than half a person for no other reason than this is the destiny of all long-life species. Your closest friends have either fallen or withered around you, and that loneliness has debilitated you. How utterly unfair. You have dedicated most of your life to the Xianzhou Alliance and its people, you have been selfless, understanding, devoted, and you are rewarded with injustice. The person who you once called your strength has become the main character in your nightmares, and here she stands, ready to give up the pieces that are left of her to the same people who have ostracized her out of shame for centuries. For all the unbearable pain she caused you, she came back for them. You are the one she has a history with, you are the one whose life is intricately woven with hers. You are who she should be seeking atonement from, not the Ten-Lords Commission and the Arbiter Generals.
You don’t notice how pale your knuckles are from the grip on your weapon or the heaviness of your chest quickening your breath. You stare her down with gritted teeth and Jingliu doesn’t shy away from the growing fury in your gaze.
“Inconsequential,” you repeat in disbelief, your voice a little louder. “Inconsequential, me!”
“This is what I have to do. It is bigger than you, bigger than me.”
You jump down the container to land in front of her. She simply adjusts the inclination of her head.
“Do you remember, Jingliu? What you did to me?”
Her lips form a thin line. Her lack of response angers you further. You unsheath your sword and point the tip to her own weapon resting against her hip, then to her chest.
“Draw it.”
Jingliu makes no move to obey. “I will only unsheath my blade against my enemies, and you are not one of them.”
“You are cursed to forget, but I cannot. It is in every blink, in every pause; the destruction you caused, my—” you swallow, features twisting in a pained grimace, “my blood on your sword.”
Jingliu doesn’t reply, though her fingers twitch with restraint. Her chest rises and falls a beat faster, the only indication that your words are getting to her. You know this is unfair, that you’re only contributing to the injustice you have to face as a long-life species, but anger clouds your judgment and incites this hostile behavior.
“Draw it!” You exclaim in frustration. “Unsheath your blade and face me!”
You lunge forward in an instant, your weapon raised in a practiced arc towards her neck, forcing her to move out of the way. Her body instinctively bends into a defensive stance, but she makes no move to use her sword. You repeat the motion, over and over, and Jingliu evades each strike with an expertise only she possesses. She still refuses to fight you, to revert to the mindless abomination she was that night. You force her into a corner and as your blade descends at an angle to make contact with her bare shoulder, she leaps high over your head and lands gracefully behind you.
“Must we do this?” She sounds mentally exhausted, each word is spoken through pursed lips and a quiver goes through her sword-wielding hand.
You swirl around, molars grinding in anger. “Yes! You have haunted every part of me and replaced every cherished memory in my mind! You are what I see when I lay down at night, standing over me as I choke on my own blood!”
Jingliu brings a clawed hand to her temple and utters, “Enough…”
“You are the face of my nightmares, Jingliu.” Your voice cracks halfway through the sentence. “It ends today.”
When your weapon comes down to strike her this time, its steel meets Jingliu’s specially crafted blade. She uses the momentum of her parry and pushes you back with so much force it sends you flying, your back colliding into the side of a shipping container. You rise to your feet with a shaky breath.
The clash of swords rings in the air as you move between incubating starskiffs and metal crates in an emotional dance. Street lamps fall, stationed starskiffs are cut in two, jade wheels are damaged and incubators break. Jets of their liquid explode everywhere Jingliu returns your strikes with stronger ones, and soon you’re crashing into yet another door. Blood trickles down your nose. There’s a nasty cut on your hip that will require medical attention. You stand, unwavering, and pounce towards the other woman once more. Jingliu grits her teeth as her parry brings your face close to hers. The distinct melody of her blade in movement fills her ears and the ground shakes under her feet. All around you structures are falling, narrowly missing you.
Your muscles strain with exertion but with the feeling comes a strange sort of relief that only intensifies when Jingliu has you pinned to the pavement, swords previously discarded some feet away with an experienced flick of her hand. You’re both breathless for a long moment and for the first time since her reappearance in your life, you don’t taste smoke in the back of your throat.
The pink of her parted lips is the same shade it was almost a millennia ago. The world blurs and you see a flash of a moment long passed of the two of you in the same position; Jingliu’s smug smile hides the sun from view and the bustle of the training yard resumes the minute her victory is announced. When you blink your way back to reality, only a few seconds have gone by. You stare up into the blindfold, chest heaving. Your fingers hesitantly lift to graze the apple of her cheek. One of them slides under her veil and her hand wraps around your wrist to stop you from going further.
Her name is a breathy exhale past your lips. Her shoulders suddenly tense and her head tilts away from you. The moment breaks as she separates from you, rises to her feet and takes a couple steps back. Almost immediately, Cloud Knights rush to the scene in formation, followed closely by the General and his retainer. You let out a sigh, gaze raising to the clear sky. You lose yourself in its endless blue, a heaviness in your chest, until Jing Yuan’s outstretched hand appears in your vision. Jingliu is gone when you accept his help and stand with difficulty, along with Yanqing and the squad of Knights. Jing Yuan wraps a strong arm around your shoulders, steadying you, and you make your way back in silence.
He doesn’t leave your side even as you step into your home and make a beeline for the bathroom. His arms are crossed over his chest and he leans on the doorframe as you rummage through your cupboards for bandages and disinfectant. You find what you’re looking for after a couple minutes and sit on the toilet seat, lifting your armor over your head and discarding the bloodied shirt underneath. The cut on your left hip stings when you gently inspect it. It’s deep enough that it won’t be able to close on its own but not life threatening. You softly apply disinfectant so it doesn’t get infected, clenching your jaw at the pain.
“You should let the Dragon Lady take a look,” Jing Yuan finally speaks up, “or the Alchemy Commission have other experienced healers. They’ll treat you in minutes.”
You almost roll your eyes. You’ve been patching up wounds before he could hold a sword.
“Pass me the stitches.”
He complies, tossing you the plastic box on the counter. You catch it with a hand. Another silence settles between you as you sink the needle into your skin and tighten the thread, occasionally sucking in a breath. The space lingers with tension but neither of you acknowledges it until you break the thread of the stitches and apply a large bandage over the wound. You sigh tiredly and raise your head to meet his guarded gaze.
“Why did you lie, Jing Yuan?”
He takes a moment to reply. There’s a hint of guilt in his golden irises. “…I thought it to be the best course of action at the time.”
You don’t blame him. The days following Jingliu’s departure from the Luofu are a blur, hidden behind a smoke screen so thick you might as well have forgotten them. You only recall the sting in your throat, raw from how much you cried, and the darkness of your bedroom. Jing Yuan was there, as much as he was able to, so he must remember those days better than you; how shattered you were, like fractured shards of glass swept under the carpet. You can’t fault him for wanting to bring you closure.
You rise from your seat and put back the supplies in their rightful place. Jing Yuan steps aside as you walk out the door and watches you disappear in the bedroom for a change of clothes. You grab the first top you see and shrug it on. You don’t bother fixing your hair, you just make your way back to the living area to put on your boots and grab your discarded sword near the door. Jingliu should have been brought to the Shackling Prison after her arrest, so this is where you’ll go.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jing Yuan says from behind you, making you pause. “We don’t know how stable she is.”
“She seemed stable enough.”
“For now.”
You turn to face him. “Then, why are you here? We both know bars can’t hold her.”
“I wanted to check up on you.”
“...I need to do this.”
Jing Yuan only shuts his eyes in defeat and nods once. He doesn’t follow you when you leave the house and shut the door behind you.
You have no issue getting into the Shackling Prison and acquiring Jingliu’s cell number. It’s not a place you visit often despite your position, the memories it holds have a way of consuming you and leaving you clenching your throbbing head. You navigate its somber hallways and silent cell blocks with an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Your steps are swift, determined. You don’t stop to think about what you’re going to say once you’re face to face with her again. Jingliu is being held in a special containment chamber only used for dangerous criminals, with two Cloud Knights standing guard in front of the reinforced steel door. They look at each other when you plant yourself before them.
“No one gets in, General’s orders,” one of them says.
Your relationship with Jing Yuan is not a secret and often opens a lot of doors for you but encountering soldiers eager to please is a common occurrence. You have a few dozens under your command, they’re usually easy to deal with. However, the day has been long and you’re lacking the required patience to do so.
“Take it up with Jing Yuan, then.”
You push past them and they hesitate to stop you, glancing at each other. They grip their lances tighter when you open the door but don’t move as you enter the cell and close it after you.
The chamber is big enough to hold a single bed and a toilet in the corner, though its grey walls make it seem smaller than it is. The room would be casted in total darkness if not for the dim glow of the singular lightbulb on the ceiling. Jingliu is seated on the untouched mattress, legs crossed and palms flat on her knees. Her back is straight, her blindfold in place even in the low lighting, and you seem to have caught her in the middle of a meditation. She doesn’t speak as you stand awkwardly near the door, a hand curling around the handle of your sword in search of familiarity.
A couple minutes pass in tense silence with only the gentle buzzing of the electricity crackling through the lightbulb. You take that time to observe Jingliu for any sign of Mara. The even movements of her chest indicate her calm state of mind. Apart from the veil, she looks exactly the same as she did centuries ago; there’s no trace of the curse on her, and you are suddenly reminded of the first time you noticed her— you were the previous Lieutenant’s apprentice and she was a thin, pale girl haunted by nightmares of burning planets and suffocating fumes. That day, she crossed the training yard with a limp and cuts over her body, shattered sword held tight in one hand. You hadn’t gone out onto the field yet, your master didn’t think you were ready, but Jingliu had and you remember thinking that despite her poor state, she must be stronger than you. She would walk back at the end of each day with splintered and bruised skin and you would sneak her a glance, wondering what enemy she could have encountered this time. She was forced to survive and grew on the battlefield long before you did.
While you both learned the way of the sword, you did it to protect and she did it to cut down the object of her nightmares. Together, you climbed the ranks of the Cloud Knights and surpassed your masters. The burden of war brought you closer and your relationship transformed over the centuries; from comrades, to friends, to the one she went to whenever she craved peace from the visions plaguing her, to something more. You are deeply embedded in each other, her life story is yours and your mind is hers. The Mara curse might twist your perceived memories of her but it could never erase the affection you hold for her. It’s precisely because she means so much to you that thoughts of her have been tormenting you so.
Jingliu raises her head in acknowledgement and you’re brought back to the present with a blink.
“Sending you to interrogate me,” she says with a short exhale, words slow and raw, “how cruel.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
She doesn’t reply, waiting for you to continue. You swallow the emotion in your throat.
“I’m here for closure.”
You take your eyes off her and turn away, facing the blank wall with a hand in your hair. You take in a slow breath and exhale through your mouth as fatigue begins to take over your limbs.
“You don’t get to come back,” you start. “After all those years, you don’t get to reappear and trail all those memories along with you. You said you were seeking atonement from the Alliance. So you remember, then.”
Jingliu is silent for a moment. Your back makes contact with the wall as you sit on the floor with your legs limp before you. You don’t look at her, instead staring at your covered toes.
“…I remember the voices,” Jingliu says softly, “so loud I couldn’t hear anything else. I remember people, the ice… you.” She takes a breath and shakes her head. “I am aware of the hurt I’ve caused, of the sins that cannot be erased. They will follow me until the end, but I cannot let them hold me back.”
“From what?”
“From cutting the heart of a star.”
The turn of phrase transports you back to a drunken evening and Baiheng’s contagious laughter, to the sweet aftertones of fruit in red wine and the flush in Jingliu’s cheeks as she stares at the setting sun. Flashes of that day appear in your mind; Baiheng’s ridiculous dares, your shared competitiveness, Jingliu’s tipsy kisses as consolation prizes. The unexpected memory warms you.
“Revenge, then. Even stricken with Mara, this is what you hold on to.”
“I was never satisfied with letting our enemies come to us.”
That much is true. Jingliu only ever plays the offensive.
Your head turns to face her. “Do you remember us? Even I only recall bits and pieces, now.”
Jingliu’s pointer finger taps her knee for some time. Then her chin tilts to the left, towards you.
“Bits and pieces, yes…” she repeats pensively. You wish you could see the pinch of her eyebrows. “You used to hate losing to me in duels.”
“Of course you’d remember that.”
There’s a hint of a smile on Jingliu’s lips. A light silence descends between you. It’s strange, being in a confined space with someone who you thought long dead; even stranger conversing with Jingliu after everything that went down with Yingxing and Imbibitor Lunae, with Baiheng, and the Luofu’s growth that she didn’t get to witness. You never thought you’d have a chance to see her again, let alone hear her voice speak back to you. Your fingertips twitch with the desire to hold her close.
“I forgot to ask, earlier,” you say, “about the blindfold.”
“It keeps me from seeing that which pulls me under the influence of the Mara. I have pushed past the limits of my mind a long time ago, but… the reprieve it gives me is welcomed.”
“Your will is admirable. Always was.” You think for a few seconds, then speak up hesitantly, “Will my touch be a trigger?”
Jingliu is slow to respond. You see her lips part to let out a sharp exhale and notice the new tension in her shoulders. You feel selfish for needing a semblance of the intimacy you once shared when her mind is so fractured and fickle. The feeling tightens your throat.
“…It shouldn’t.”
Your emotions threaten to consume you as you stand and wipe your palms on your thighs. You take some steps forward, hesitating when you reach the bed. Her head tilts backward as if staring at you through the cloth over her eyes. With a gentleness that surprises even herself, Jingliu uncrosses her legs and outstretches her hand. Your fingertips touch hers and with a flick of her wrist, slowly lace with hers. She pulls you into her, your knees on each side of her hips and your nose in her shoulder; her freezing hands travel over the expanse of your back and her head dips to breathe in the smell of your hair. You pinch your trembling lips and squeeze your eyes shut to keep the tears at bay, but it’s no use when you can feel the empty sockets that loss has dug inside of you over the years fill up with tenderness. A quiver runs through you. You feel Jingliu’s shaky breath near your ear as she pulls you tighter into her. Your arms wrap around her with as much emotion and warm tears roll down your cheeks over her frigid skin. Her touch makes you whole again, if only for a moment— she is tangible against you and not a fragment of the darkest recesses of your mind. It would seem unreal if you couldn’t feel the softness of her flesh beneath your fingertips.
“How lonely you must have been,” Jingliu mutters into your hair. You know she relates.
“I mourned you,” you manage to say, voice tight. “I’ve accepted that you’re gone. I won’t grieve any more.”
“Good. Then allow me a proper goodbye.”
You cry into her for a long time. Jingliu simply holds you closer with a hand on your back and fingers buried in your hair. You won’t see her again, she will be tried and judged on the Xuling and will go back to being a ghost of your past years. You only hope that this time the memories will be softer, full of her touch as she cleans your cuts; the curve of her mouth when you whisper good morning into her shoulder; the exhilarating sensation of her lips on yours after an exhausting day of wielding the sword. She remains your strength even as your tears dampen her clothes, with the scent of her around you and her breath in your ears, you feel strong enough to let her go. You lost her to the curse of the Abundance once, but she won’t slip through your fingers now. Regret and shame fade away, replaced by this new warm memory of you in each other’s arms. Her unnatural coldness expands your heart instead of constricting it and you let go of the collapsed buildings and acrid sulfur in the air; there’s only Jingliu’s lingering fondness and her calloused palms on your body. In this confinement cell, you say goodbye to a part of you.
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anthonsgi · 1 year
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★’・゚:。・:*:Rivals to Oblivious Crushes:。・:*:・゚’★
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【Note: Hi there! I wrote this quickly on a school night, that being said, I apologize in advance for any mistakes. (。•́︿•̀。) Also, Yanqing is a minor, potentially between 14 and 16 years old, so if you are an adult, please refrain from reading this. I can't control what you do, but take it into consideration. Please request if you have any suggestions, I'm open to all kinds of ideas!】
【Pairings: Yanqing x GN!Reader】
【CW: None! All fluff】
You had outstanding swordsmanship skills, good technique, and natural talent. It didn't take long for the higher-ups to notice you and eventually give you the opportunity to train with none other than Yanqing, one of the best swordsmen of the Luofu Cloud Knights.
The lieutenant in question was an energetic young boy with a passion for swords. What was even more intriguing about him was how competitive he could get and how easy it was to tease him.
"I challenge you to a sparring match... but! We have to do it with our eyes closed!" You looked him in the eyes and struck a foolish pose with confidence.
"You know I wouldn't say no to a duel, but is the "eyes closed" rule really necessary?" he asked, his head cocked to the side.
"Are you... perhaps... afraid of losing to me?" Your mouth curled into a grin.
Without further ado, he was already drawing his sword and straightening his back, even more determined to win.
This rivalry between the two of you was always lighthearted. Some "arguments" ended up with you two peacefully sitting next to one another after a vigorous fencing session rather than bickering nonstop like an "old married couple," according to someone's Jing Yuan's assumption.
Spending almost all of your time together could only strengthen your unusual bond. Teasing remarks were as strong and consistent as ever, but there was also praise, a few pats on the back, and even a hug. Though that became awkward for both of you once you realized what you were doing, deep down, you and Yanqing enjoyed it. Not that you'd ever admit to liking an embrace from him, but the flush on your cheeks spoke louder than words.
The amount of time you spent together didn't go unnoticed by the townspeople, and everyone you'd ask said you were like two peas in a pod, always together as if joined at the hip.
At some point, you began to notice things that you weren't aware of before, such as the way Yanqing's hair bounces with each sword strike, the way his eyes light up whenever he has the chance to show off his collection of swords, and the fact that he constantly seems to be smiling at people when he is not on duty.
You could even say he looked... cute at times. The thought itself made you tremble and rethink your entire existence, yet you couldn't deny that you didn't despise him.
Yanqing had additionally been acting strangely; you would catch him staring at you, and he would blush, hurriedly looking away when you called him out on it.
It made you feel warm on the inside, as though a group of butterflies tickled your insides with their tiny wings.
These changes in your perception of Yanqing were difficult for you to fully understand. But it was normal to want to hold your rival's hand all the time...
Right?
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limerenceheart · 9 months
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thoughts on yandere jing yuan??!!! what would be his preferred method to ensnare his darling?
hello anon! I feel like Jing Yuan would goes through the stage of denial from the five stages of grief till their beloved does something unacceptable. Also, I feel like his approach would derived from his history with Jingliu so I'm jotting further details down below.
a/n - i accept requests so please some in since i enjoy doing them and my inbox is practically empty.
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The general never wanted to mingle anything relating in love.
The closet form he ever came across as love was pure admiration towards his mentor till that fateful day of vanquishing Jingliu forever.
Learnt lesson, never again but his young blonde mentee knocked everything out of balance.
If it wasn't for the young boy, he would never met the newest recruit to the knight clouds.
"Oh, (y/n) saw me dropped my tailsman and returned it to me but she have no idea who she was back then so she was super friendly."
Jing Yuan shouldn't had asked for more details but seeing her smile couldn't snuff out the spark of curiosity.
The general used the fact that she would never treated him normally if she found out his identity so he deliberately walked past her with other knight clouds in the bustling streets.
"General, what is the next move?"
It worked considering Jing Yuan could feel her lingering stare on his back.
The silver haired man should been relived but only a sense of disappointment lingered behind.
Why did he feel this? but he rather not know.
Y/N should disappear from his mind but a few weeks later, he found out his blond lieutenant have assigned her to another unit specialises in exploring the planet.
The idea of her leaving brought out another side of him.
"Yanqing, you are the subordinate, not the other way around." The general snapped at him and the blond was lucky that there were other cloud knights witnessing the exchange because Jing Yuan was sure he might have hit him out of rage.
The general couldn't stopped the incident from spreading but he didn't care since no one could over ride him.
Unfortunately, Jing Yuan knew this too well and (y/n) shortly found out that her new role is being the personal assistant of the mighty general.
The other cloud knights congratulated her with jealously hidden in their voices but seeing the evaluating look that Jing Yuan gave her on the first day made her feel like something was off.
"(y/n), do you have any questions?"
The question brought her back to earth and she stuttered on her reply.
"No, sir."
"No need for such formalities, just call by my name."
(y/n) should feel honoured to have that privilege but seeing the unnerving smile of Jing Yuan just seem like a red flag.
(y/n) could only keep it to herself so she sucked it up and decided to play the role till the very end.
The weeks passed but (y/n) gradually noticed a change towards how others treated her especially the male cloud knights along with Jing Yuan assigning her more tasks that required her to do it alone while he was away on his duties.
"Um lieutenant, is this how general Jing Yuan treated his past assistants?"
"I don't know, you're the only one that I met." And with that, Yanqing waved off her concerns.
(y/n) felt like screaming inside at the possibility that she may be his first one.
why?
(y/n) couldn't get her answer without it backfiring so once again, she accepted her fate and just did whatever Jing Yuan wanted like an obedient doll.
The general accidentally revealed his intentions when he found his adorable assistant slumped over his desk in his private study since he have been working her to the bone lately.
Jing Yuan should have stopped considering he have driven her exhaustion but he much prefer her to feel burnout than mingling with others.
The slight guilt still didn't stopped him from approaching the desk to swing his jacket across her shoulders but he took it to another step along with pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"You're all mine, (y/n)."
(y/n) eyes shot open and she automatically spring out of the chair to create distance from the enstranged man.
"General, what do you mean by that?" The girl may been shooting him a fierce look but her voice slightly trembled.
Jing Yuan could knocked her out and returned her to her sleeping quarters to play it off as a bad nigh-
ah, fuck it. (y/n) would connect the dots one day.
with that in mind, the general closed the gap between them and grasped her face to make her look him in the eye.
"I meant exactly what I said, you can never leave me."
(y/n) let out a gulp at the sinister look in his eyes along with his deadly tone.
but Jing Yuan prefer it this way and (y/n) would eventually warm up to his one day.
at least this way, she would never end up like his mentor since Jing Yuan would chain her to him side.
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topaz-witch-tea · 7 months
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I know it's called Yanqing's Happy Family AU but I can only imagine all that crumbling down if the Abundance Yanqing Theory ends up being true. Poor boy going to feel that all his family love for him was all for nothing.
Trigger Warning: MENTION OF SUICIDE
Yanqing would be crushed!!!
He would definitely feel that he's ruined his family. They take him in and love him and in return, he is revealed to be a descendent of the Xianzhou's greatest enemy. I think if such a thing did happen in the AU, Yanqing would run away. He would either run away from the Alliance to live elsewhere like the Astral Express or the option is that he takes matters into his own hands and kills himself. To him, he is doing as a Cloud Knight. A Cloud Knight's job is to destroy all enemies of the Alliance and in his sense of duty, he would take himself out.
If news of this got out, it would destroy his family's reputation and would be a stain on their careers. He would see his existence as a horrible mistake and out of love and filial duty, seek to both hide the truth from everyone and ensure that it can't be used as blackmail against his family.
However, the Alliance's real worry is not Yanqing but the HCQ. There is no way they will allow the Alliance or the Ten Lords Commission to take Yanqing away nor would they allow Yanqing to kill himself. He is their precious child regardless of his origins and they love him dearly.
I think if that happens, the HCQ will take Yanqing and run away. I can totally see them joining the Express and traveling the world. They are free from the roles and expectations of the Xianzhou and are able to travel and explore the world freely with Yanqing by their side.
If we are talking about Yanqing and his family staying in the Xianxhou, I would write the solution as Lan interfering and putting a stop to Yanqing's execution. Even if Yanqing was made of the Abundance, he still follows the Path of the Hunt which is the Xianzhou Allaince's path. In Dan Heng's lore, Lan blessed Dan Heng's Path of the Hunt so I can see Lan interfering to help Yanqing.
This was a really interesting ask and I had a lot of fun answering it. Please feel free to send me more or message me.
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halfetirosie · 3 months
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Character Ask meme- Edmond
@xenole I hope you know that you opened the floodgates, and this was going to be even longer but I forced myself to stop before I went fully off-the-rails...
♡♡♡Edmond♡♡♡
First impression
Believe it or not, my first impression of Edmond actually wasn’t good! I was like, “Damn, he’s pretty, but he’s such an asshole!” He seemed stuck-up at best and unnecessarily mean to Eiden at worst. I felt a wee bit better about him when he told Yakumo that the knights that bothered his village were being punished, but I still didn’t like him very much.
Impression now
*Deep inhale*
EVERYDAY I REPENT FOR MY PAST ACTIONS!!!!
I LOVE EDMOND AND WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HIM!!!!!
Yo. The GAP MOE. He acts all cold and professional at work, but then we find out that he’s sensitive??? And addicted to sugar??? (Literally a sweetheart!) And he’s basically an otaku that reads erotic book series in his spare time??? (SO DAMN RELATABLE????)
And it is so easy to misunderstand him if you’re only looking at the surface level. Like, yes, his general speech patterns are very rough and blunt, but that’s only because of his upbringing in nobility. He holds himself to a higher standard, but is incredibly humble.
No, really; let’s take a moment to really look at that noble upbringing of his. Aster makes it very clear that many (if not most) of the nobles of Klein are stupid, greedy, and/or corrupt in some capacity—they don’t really care about the common people. Edmond grew up surrounded by that, along with their insane amount of ettiquette, customs, and roundabout ways of speaking. It would’ve been TOO EASY for him to turn out to be a self-absorbed snob, too.
But he isn’t!!! Against all odds, Edmond grew up to be an upright man with a strong sense of justice and concern for civilians. He takes noblesse oblige seriously. He works hard everyday in everything he does; and he does A LOT. Like, A LOT a lot. His full-time job as Vice Captain, plus Clan duties, plus household duties (so that his mother doesn’t have to do any of it, even though she says she can). 
It’s no wonder, then, that he’s so goddamn repressed!!!
Sure, he’s a tsundere. But that’s only out of habit (and shyness), rather an actual reflection of his desires. He’s used to stifling that part of himself. He’s used to treating lust as shameful, because he’s afraid of lacking discipline; he doesn’t want to be like all the other trashy nobles in high society.
But through all of his intimacy rooms, Edmond is accepting himself more and more—his sexuality, his essence/magic, and his feelings. While he’s still the strict and hardworking Vice Captain, he’s finding more balance in his life.
Favorite moment
So hard to pic only one!!!
During the White Dat event, Edmond makes his awful dad-joke and looks so proud of himself, it makes me feel so endeared I can barely handle it!!!
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The Tranquil Cloud intimacy rooms also hold a special place in my heart. In them, there’s a moment where Edmond deliberately slows his steps so Eiden can walk next to him. Later on in the day, Eiden accidentally finds out that Edmond was following a very specific tip from a certain book:
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CUTEEEEEEE!!!! It reminds me of when you're a young kid looking up online "how to know if my crush likes me" or "how to get your crush to like you back" XD!!!
Of course, when Edmond sees Eiden reading that page (which he’d bookmarked and even underlined), he gets very embarrassed. But Eiden is very impressed, moved, and (as per usual) turned on. XD
Idea for a story
It won’t be coming out anytime soon, because there are different stories I have to work on first, but I have started on an Edmond fic! In it, while Edmond is off investigating a drug ring, he ends up raiding a greenhouse filled with plants and animals that were used to make the drugs. After the animals are inspected, those without abnormalities are released back into the wild; however, one of them returns and keeps following Edmond around! Thus, Edmond gets reverse-adopted and gains his own animal friend!
Unpopular opinion
Idk if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I NEED more of the Edmond intimacy rooms to lean in to BDSM territory!!!
Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely ADORE the romance-heavy rooms. And there have been some rooms that feature light over-stimulation, but other than that? That one fingering scene that had Lord/Knight role-play and then (blessedly) the Elite Instructor Edmond R2 with light bondage and spanking.
But it’s not enough!!!
Come on, devs! You can’t just have Eiden point out that Ed “likes a little pain” in the first sex scene they have, and then do barely ANYTHING with it! I want to see Edmond completely lose his head! I want him to completely let go! I want him to forget his own name, dammit!!!
Favorite relationship
I love it when Yakumo is inflicted with Edmond!!! XD Edmond ruining everything he touches by drowning it in sugar, while Yakumo desperately attempts to stay calm…>:)
More seriously, Edmond’s relationship with Eiden is TOP TIER. With every event he’s featured in, all of the intimacy rooms show him falling deeper and deeper in love. It's the sweetest thing ever!!!!
Favorite headcanon
Mama’s Boy Edmond! I like to imagine that Ed’s mom (who, from what we’ve seen, is super cool) will give him completely unsolicited relationship advice, in typical mom-fashion! Like, the two of them will be causally eating lunch, and out of nowhere she’ll say something like “You know, Edmond dear, the more often someone sees you, the more fond they'll be of you. If the Grand Sorcerer sees your face every day, it’ll be easier to seduce him!” And Ed would practically shriek “Mother! How could you say something so scandalous?!?!” But then later that same day he’ll be sure to swing by Aster's mansion, an be sure to walk by Eiden's room…
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dark-frosted-heart · 1 year
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Clavis’s 3rd Birthday Story
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Clavis’ POV in purple
That time of the year's approaching again.
Clavis knows that Emma and the others are up to something this year for his birthday. After the surprise from the previous year, he can't help but wonder what they have planned this year. He has to resist the urge to follow Emma into town and instead throws himself into his official duties. He doesn't even pay Cyril any mind when the knight points out that he's smiling. Every day feels like he's on cloud nine. That is, until a certain letter arrives.
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Gilbert: "Hi Clavis, how have you been? I've been good. Today, I'm scouting a fortress by the border. Your territory's just next door. By the way, it'll be your birthday soon, right? I'm not so heartless as to not celebrate a friend's birthday when it's coming up. So this year, I wanted to give you a present. Ah, of course I'll be giving you the present on your birthday. I wouldn't do something as uncouth as give it to you before then. I hope you'll like it. Your secret friend, Gilbert"
Just what the heck is Gilbert thinking? Clavis is going to shred the letter into confetti. He asks Cyril where he got the letter and the knight replies that it got mixed in with the other letters addressed to him. Perhaps planted by a spy. Clavis will suggest cleaning up the castle to Chevalier. He'll never understand the minds of geniuses. Can't believe the World's Calamity is going to give him a birthday present. What a way to ruin his mood. The worst case scenario, one that involves Emma, comes to mind. It's possible that Gilbert will kidnap her and give her as a present.
Cyril: Have you decided what to do? Clavis: Yeah, I'm going to need a shovel. Cyril: Yes, a shovel's a must! Wait, shovel?
Clavis plans to dig a pit for Emma and a pit for the court chefs. Regardless of what the World Calamity's planning, Emma needs to be protected at all costs. He tells Cyril to go to Emma, he'll take care of the rest. Cyril gives a salute and runs off.
The "Birthday Damage Control Committee" consisting of the Rhodolite townspeople that have been frequent victims to a certain someone's pranks, Jin, Luke, Yves, Rio, and Emma have banded together to make a lot preparations for said person's birthday. Differnt teams check in with her and a regular at the bookstore gives Emma a letter to give to Clavis. They must not let their guard down until that day comes because there's no telling if "you know who" will fall for their trap this year.
Emma: Everyone, let's keep our guard up until the end! Birthday Damage Control Committee members: Yes!
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Emma's convinced that if she keeps it up, they'll succeed.
And yet...
Emma finds herself in a pit trap. When she had returned to the castle, she found a letter in her room written in Clavis' handwriting asking to meet the gardens that night for a date. Though she had told everyone to stay alert, she ends up slipping.
Luckily, there's a net to cushion her fall, but the depth makes it hard for her to climb out by herself. She hears laughter coming from above and sees a smiling Clavis bathed in moonlight.
Clavis: Did you let your guard down my lovely fiancée? Emma: What do you think you're doing?! Clavis: It's my love trap of course. Emma: This is just a pit!
Clavis laughs and asks for forgiveness. He's just in a good mood because his birthday's approaching.
---
On the dawn of Clavis' birthday, he brings Emma to his trapped villa where they'll be able to have some alone time together. Emma exclaims that they already had their fun yesterday. Just remembering the things that happened because she was stuck in a net makes her blush and she hides her face. Clavis says they'll be doing more since it's his birthday after all. But there's a place Emma wants to take him to today. Too bad for her though, she should've taken action first. Emma wonders if he's found out about their evil plan (present).
Suddenly there's a commotion outside. Looks like whoever they are arrived sooner than Clavis thought.
There's an angry mob gathered outside of the villa. Yves yells that he knows Clavis is hiding Emma in the mansion. Rio suggests storming the villa and the townspeople agree. Luke tells everyone to calm down; Clavis wouldn't hurt his own fiancée but Yves says she's in danger because she's his fiancée. Especially because it's his birthday. Luke looks to Jin for an explanation.
Ever since Clavis was a kid, he's always wanted to be celebrated. He'd play pranks for attention. As he grew older, his pranks increased and now he attacks anyone in the country without question. Rio adds some incidents he had heard about relating to Clavis' birthday pranks. Jin says that now, he'll be focusing all his attention on Emma. What does Luke think will happen? Luke replies that it should be the same as usual since Clavis has been pranking Emma all the time since they got together. Yves says that the birthday pranks are special. There's a whole set of pranks involving multiple things. Looks like Luke's convinced now. The mob moves to rescue Emma. And they fall into a trap.
Meanwhile, said person's been watching the whole thing from a window. There were at least 200 people rushing the villa. She can't believe news of her disappearance got around so quickly, but perhaps Clavis intentionally told people. Yep. But he didn't think the plan would work out so well. And having Emma by his side, Gilbert can't do anything now.
Clavis wonders who'll be the one that saves Emma. She begs him not to take things further and cause more damage. Why does he want to do this on his birthday. Clavis pins her against a wall and asks what she thinks. Time for a secret weapon. The way she looks up at him takes his breath away. But as a gentleman, he has to restrain himself.
Emma calls him cruel. Isn't being pranked supposed to be her privelege? She pouts at him and he tries to soothe her with a brief kiss. His fiancee's just too cute. Wait, is he blushing? Clavis says he never thought that Emma would get jealous but Emma exclaims that she isn't. He says that there's no need for her to be embarrassed. If she celebrates him with everything she's got, he'll let the mob go. Of course, he doesn't want a normal celebration. He wants one only she's capable of doing. Now it's time to show her love. Emma agrees to his request. First, she'll need to borrow his kitchen. Actually, before that, she grabs Clavis by the lapels and presses a kiss against his cheek and asks that he goes easy on everyone. Restraint! Restraint! He's a gentleman! Clavis promises to only play his serious pranks on her. Like a gentleman, Clavis takes Emma's hand and leads her away.
Cut to Emma in the kitchen, in Clavis' lap, yelling in frustration. She had baked Clavis a cake, sang him a birthday song, gave him a kiss, and even let him touch her legs to his heart's content. Her legs are smooth to the touch, just the right amount of elasticity, a beautiful shape, and elicits adorable reactions whenever he touches them... She's done everything she can think of to celebrate his birthday but the screams outside never stopped. What else does she need to do?! It's not like she's not enjoying celebrating Clavis though. Clavis asks if she's giving up so soon. The fate of the people outside depends on her. He's satisfied, but he's being greedy.
Clavis: No "that" this year? Emma: "That"? Clavis: Yes, "that". Emma: What's "that"? Clavis: "That" is "that".
What did they do last year? The childlike sparkle in his eyes makes Emma unable to ask what "that" is. But it's something he clearly wants. She tries to remember what they did last year. His present's in the castle so she can't give it to him at the moment, but he knows that so that's not what he wants right now. Incidentally, he's been wearing the ascot tie she embroidered for him almost every day. Emma continues to think through the events from last year and comes up with something. When she had showed Clavis how much she loved him with her entire being. Just thinking about it heats up not only her face but also her body. she doesn't tell Clavis what currently on her mind and instead tells him that she knows what "that" is. But she won't give it to him. Clavis stops mid-sentence and asks why she'd deprive him of this once-in-a-year pleasure. Emma replies that if she does give him her love now, it'd feel like she was doing it to help others. She'll give it to him after because it's so important.
Clavis covers his face and mutters that he forgot to prepare himself for how she kills him slowly with the agony she puts him through.
Clavis: I'm currently dying. Emma: Please live. We can't celebrate if you're dead.
Looks like she convinced him...? Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown. He's more relaxed now, now hiding behind his usual smile. Clavis agrees to disarm the trap because of her loveliness. But his expectations have increased. She can't give up now.
Clavis then leads Emma to the living room where she all the people caught in a trap are gathered. Looks like a party's going on since the people are enjoying delicious food, alcohol, and honey. Emma asks Clavis to explain. It's his birthday party. Emma asks if he's hosting his own birthday party. Yep, he thought he'd surprise everyone with a surprise after they outwitted him last year. Of course, he'll be receiving her presents later, he whispers to Emma but he's more of a guy that likes to give rather than receive.
Emma can't take it anymore. She swallows the words about to spill out and hugs him instead. She squeezes him tight. It's frustrating how even though it's his birthday, everyone else is getting bamboozled.
Emma mutters to get ready for tonight.
---
After the party, the two return to Emma's room in Rhodolite castle because hers is the one with a bed. He's in such bliss it's as if the letter from Gilbert never happened. Emma appears to be in a good mood. Her adorableness and post-bath look has Clavis check if his nose is bleeding. Nope. Clavis asks if she's falling even more in love with him. she answers that she is. She then kneels in the middle of her bed and pats her knees. With her approval, Clavis immediately gets on the bed and sets his head on her lap.
Their current position makes her blush. She really likes the view of his face from above. Emma stutters out a "happy birthday" and can't bring herself to look directly at him. But it looks like Clavis has the same reaction. It's embarrassing for the both of them. Clavis clears his throat to ease the awkward tension and brings up that it should be time for "that" now. Emma runs her hand through his hair to calm herself but he takes her hand and pulls her closer before guiding her hand to where he'd like to be touched on his head. She's ready to start now.
Emma: Everyone had to deal with Clavis' terrible birthday prank this year...but it seems like we all had a good time. I got to see your true self and...I liked that. Clavis: More Emma: I...I love you? Clavis: More Emma: I love you so, so much! Clavis: Not quite there yet Emma: I'm getting this sense of deja vu, but fine!
Emma takes a deep breath and meets his expectant gaze.
Emma: He's the one that tries to look good, causes trouble, and wants to be celebrated the most on this whole continent...Still, I love Clavis who's also the most earnest, sincere, handsome, and actually has a good personality more than anyone else!
Emma gives Clavis a peck on the lips and he pulls her closer by the back of her head. Every time Emma expresses her love for him, he feels just a bit more confident about himself. There's no better birthday present. After the two make out for a while, Emma asks him to warn her first because her heart can't handle it. Clavis tells her that it's still not enough. Emma kisses him again. Clavis feels like he's getting greedier with each birthday. He just loves her too much. Emma's glad and lets him do as he pleases. He's in for a long night. He pushes her down onto the bed but Emma stops him with a hand on his chest. There's still something she needs to give him. She give him a letter that was on the side table. He wished it was a love letter, but the moment he saw "To Clavis", his blood ran cold. The handwriting... He asks Emma what this letter is. She replies that it was a regular at the bookstore. He had asked her to give it to him.
Oh how he hates geniuses. Clavis hides how upset his is with a suspicious smile and opens the seal.
Gilbert: “Happy birthday, Clavis. Thanks to me, you got to spend the whole day with the little bunny this year. You enjoyed yourself and had fun. That is my present to you. By the way, there was no ill will behind your friend's congratulations so don't try to find a hidden meaning, okay? Even though you're royalty, you take care of my precious things without ruining them. Stay the way you are. I have eyes on you. Don't become the kind of person I'd want to kill okay? Your best friend, Gilbert. P.S. My birthday's on December 21st.”
What's with that guy? Was that all? No matter how many times he rereads the letter, he can't find any other meaning to it. He tells Emma that everything's fine when she asks him what's wrong. He tosses the letter aside, out of Emma's sight. It's annoying how he did exactly as Gilbert had planned. But he can be the happiest guy in the world just by being with Emma. He tells her that he loves her so much that he can't contain himself.
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hearted-anon · 1 month
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A knight's foolish play
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Words: 1683 Note: For @a-wild-seungberry T/w: Use of tools, yes Lee: Know Ler: Hannie
Lee Know has once said on a fancall, he was not a princess, but a queen. A sign of royalty that he wore high above his head, even if it sometimes crumbled with his kind and playful demeanour. Regardless so, his chin was high in the clouds, his eyes sharp with an intelligence that none of his peasants would question, lest they wanted to be put on the stake.
"Minho-hyung, I didn't know you were this great at acting!" Han called out beside him, his smile wide with his cheeks puffed up. Of course, Minho wasn't actually a cruel ruler, but under his watchful gaze of acting, the cat wasn't hesitant to have your blood served as fine wine in a golden goblet of what remained of you to drink for supper if he could.
"It's king Minho to you, Han Jisung." Lee Know hisses out coldly, pointing the end of his metallic blade at the younger's throat, where his adam apple popped up. The quokka's eyes widened in amazement and admiration, wondering how he manages to keep up the cold personality. Meanwhile, as much as Lino enjoyed being pampered and spoon fed on a sliver platter, he felt incredibly guilty for treating his members like peasants, nothing but rats to stomp on and a rug to walk upon to his throne.
However, with being an idol comes with great responsibility, even if it meant he had to act as if he was going to slice those that dared to defy his order, those that dared to duel with his sliver blade would fall spell to his iron grip, head severed onto a plate for his next meal.
"I mean...King Minho, we still have a small break before your next scene, would you like me to be my accompany to your room?" Jisung giggles softly, kneeling down before royalty himself with a shy smile. Minho's heart fluttered in embarrassment, knowing that outside of their acting they were good friends, yet Jisung insisted on treating him this way. With a soft chuckle, Lee Know lifts his blade to tilt the younger's head towards his piercing gaze, one that froze anyone that came in its path.
Still, the quokka held his ground, gripping the fabric of his tights in his hands, crumpling it slightly in all his hidden anxiety. To the 'king', he was nothing but a lowly knight, a servant to his call with a duty to serve and protect his majesty.
"Come then, let us trek the halls of my castle, Knight Jisung." Minho caves in, sheathing his blade into its respective scabbard, his cape draping across the floor to guide the knight along its path, his intentions clouded by the thick fabric of his clothes along with the golden crown that strode in path with him.
Jisung followed behind with a twinkle in his eyes, squealing when his blade almost fell out at the speed he ran towards his majesty. He waddled timidly beside him, Minho really did look intimidating, with narrowed slits of his eyes glaring at anyone that came to block his path, his cape covering his shoulders and down his back to symbolise his pride and confidence, and the crown that was atop his head, worn proudly by his owner.
"Sweet cheeks, why the long face? Y'know it's just acting..." And just like that, 'King Minho' was no longer present, replaced with the Lino the members knew and loved. His face softened into a downturned smile, keeping up his code of conduct in chivalry despite the acting having already ceased. Jisung just stared with wide eyes, his brown eyes reflecting his passion to stick to his role, the armour that his wore was his vow to protect the older no matter what may come between them.
Minho let out a hearty laugh under his breath, creaking open the door to his room. The younger took hesitant steps into the room, both of them absorbed into their roles. Escaping the mundane walls of dancing their life away to songs on a stage that encapsulated everything but the singers themselves, another ruthless night onto their bodies.
"Majesty first." Jisung hums with a bow, making the 'King' smile as he waltzes in. He tosses his cape on the floor, settling the shiny crown that he was reluctant to tear from his head, but placed it onto the night stand before tossing himself onto the bed. He was very much tired, exhausted from having to maintain his icy and blood lusting demeanour in front of the camera, he could sometimes see true fear in the member's eyes as they quake beneath him, making the cat kneel and beg for forgiveness afterwards, even if assured it was alright.
"You tired, my majesty, you need a massage from your peasant knight?" Minho grumbled at the use of royalty terms, he hated it. In his eyes, Jisung was more royalty to him than himself, and so were the members. When the knight felt the awkward tension that spread throughout the room, he was quick to settle down his scabbard onto the rug carefully, afraid to damage any fabric of hair that was held dearly by the 'king'.
Hands wrapped around the cat's waist gently, hoisting him up from his previous position of suffocating himself in dozens of pillows that costed millions, at least in the set it did. The cat shrieked and hissed, squirming under the knight's hold until eventually melting into a puddle when his head was settle onto the younger's lap, letting a hint of a smile on his face graze him.
"Would you like to indulge in some banter?" Jisung smiled innocently down at Lee Know, who gazed back up in confusion. It was only until hands landed under his arms to his armpits did the majesty fall prey to such childish things.
"N-No! I don't wish to- WAHAHAIT! PLEHEHEHEASE JISUNG!" Minho shrieked when the fingers got to work in scratching his blunt nails over the surface of his armpits, at least the fabric of his costume made it more bearable. Too bad, as when he felt the thick buttons of his shirt unbutton he was doomed.
"Your majesty! You didn't tell me you looked so defined with muscle!" The quokka pretended to be in awe as he looked upon Minho's bare waist, his thighs trapping his arms that once had freedom now no more. The older turned a bright red, getting oh so flustered at the use of still being treated like royalty even after the set, and boy was Jisung having a field day with this information.
"Nohoho don't! Plehehehase- ACK!" The cat squealed when he felt something cold placed onto his waist, eyes widening in horror when he realised it was body oil. He tugged at his arms under Han's thighs, shaking his head with giggles when it was rubbed all over his waist and spine.
"My majesty deserves only the best of massages in the kingdom." The knight mutters with a smile, pressing a tiny kiss to the cat's forehead to soothe him for what was to come. Minho simply shook with giggles, shrieking when fingertips traced along his sides, a mess before it begun.
"I ahaham nohot a king! Stahahap saying thaHAHAHT! JISUHUHUNG!" Minho howled with laughter when fingers rubbed at clawed at his ribs, the oil just making his skin all the more easy to move around, and slide right in between the crevices. The younger hummed an acknowledgement through the laughter, smiling down at the cruel 'king' torn apart at his fingertips.
"Yes you are! And I treat royalty with the utmost respect, excuse me." Jisung tutted, pretending to be offended that Lino dared speak himself so lowly. As punishment, a finger plunged into his navel, the other kneading into his waistline. Minho threw his head back in hysterics, crinkling his eyes with witch-like cackles he was sure the entire castle could hear.
The older thrashed and squirmed, the oil right in his navel making it unbearable as the finger swirled and scratched gently, making him go hazy with laughter, while the kneading on his v-line made him feel like he was going to ascend with crazy laughter.
"ARGHAHAHAAHAH! STAP! PLEEHEHEASE MAHAHAKE IT STOP!" Minho screeches with hysterics, his ears burning with blush from how badly he was being torn apart by something as simple as tickling, torn to pieces while he had beheaded several peasants that defied his rule. His grown hair sprawled across the younger's thighs messily, too much squirming to be kept neat and tidy.
"You're so cute, we should do this more often." The quokka mumbles with a giggle of his own, earning a very strong opinion and shout of no in return, making him smile. He loved when the older let loose like this, laughing so carefree without thinking twice of whom he affected, he wished things remained like that every time.
"NOHOHOHO! NO MORE! AHAHAH-!" Eventually, the older's laughter cut off into silent cries of mirth, kicking out his legs as he tried everything in his power to squirm away from the agile fingers that glided across his torso torturously gently, sending him into quiet, ticklish agony as tears streamed down hs face.
Alas, everything has to come to an end, Jisung pulling his fingers away to properly massage the oil in, earning a lot of giggling and protesting. He still held the rouge cat down, just in case its claws would extend for a hunt of revenge, something he often worried about whenever he messed about in playful banter.
Pulling him into a tight hug, the younger embraces the older in safe, warm cuddle, buttoning back up his cloak when he felt Minho shiver and shudder. They both definitely didn't fall asleep in a tranquil of peace, and both definitely weren't cooed over and nagged by the members for missing their shoot, with cuddles.
The knight was definitely 'burnt at the stake' the next day by his majesty. Worth it though, says Knight Jisung as he screamed out another squeal of desperation when his majesty finds his ribs interesting.
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hanayori89 · 8 days
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🪶🪶 Lesson 6: Scandal on
Skyloft 🪶🪶
You could no longer blame it on the turbulence.
As Skyloft came into view, so did an aerial shot of your classmates standing on the island's edge. The clouds failed to veil the folded arms of the headmaster, Pipit's chagrin, or Zelda's scowl. 
The sight alone made your guts feel as if they had fallen to your kneecaps. 
Then, of course, there was Karane, her hands making a clapping motion that you could imagine was nowhere near as loud as the huge, unmistakable grin she wore on her freckled face. 
As you descended, Link cast a glance in your direction. "Let me handle Gaepora and Owlan." His voice hovered around you in warning. "But Y/N, please heed my warning and forfeit. Now that you have heard some of what Impa and I have discussed, the wing ceremony is the perfect opportunity for the imprisoned to break free once more. And if something happens to you, I-"
"You never even explained to me what 'the imprisoned' is. Why should I fear what I don't understand? Besides, I'm not a character in your silly legend anyway." Your response was snarky, but at least it didn't betray your hurt. "And I don't need you to protect me. I can protect myself. So, just focus on your goddess."
Link's Loftwing fluttered to a graceful stop by the light tower, where everyone was gathered in wait for your arrival. You hopped off, desperate to get away from Link so that he couldn't see the devastation that had made itself known between your scrunched-together brows.
Just focus on your goddess. You mentally repeated, feeling Link's eyes on your back as you left him stranded on top of his Loftwing.
Karane beelined toward you. In a hushed whisper, she chided, "Ohhhh, Y/N You've done it now. Sneaking out? At night? Without being a Loftwing pilot? With Link? Goddess, this is the most delicious scandal ever." 
"Karane..."
"Oh, if you had seen Zelda's face when word got out that you and Link were missing together! I wish I could have taken a photo and taped it to my locker. It was sensational!"
"Karane..."
"However, Pipit's ego is hurting. He blames himself for not seeing you or Link leave while he was on guard duty. Honestly, Y/N, I'm happy for you, but did you have to make Pipit look incompetent?" 
"Karane..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. I just feel slighted, like we are best friends, and you didn't tell me once about you and Link. I knew you liked him! You're so obvious sometimes. Did you kiss? Did he profess his love to you among the stars on top of his crimson Loftwing?" 
"Karane!"
You grabbed your friends' shoulders and gave her a light shake. "Look, it was an accident! I did sneak out; however, it was by myself, and I ended up falling to the surface and-"
She cupped her pretty pout beneath her hands. "The surface! Y/N!"  You sighed, realizing your explanation was just fodder for more of Karane's questioning.
"What did you see down there?" 
"Uh, birds? A pinecone woman?"
Karane's eyes went wide. "Whoa, you saw birds?"
"I didn't really explore; Link dived after me and-"
"Link went after you? That's so, so romantic." Her eyes wandered far away as she clenched her hands over her heart. "I wonder if Pipit would dive off an island after me?"
As if by summoning, Pipit appeared beside you. Your outspoken best friend suddenly reverted into a timid husk of herself. "Oh, Hello Pipit." She grabbed one of her red pigtails and twirled it between her fingers.
"Karane." You stood in between them as their eyes did an amorous waltz around one another. 
"Oh Brother." You muttered beneath your breath.
Pipit looked at you with disdain. "Y/N. I am appalled. You had the most promise out of all of us to be the next knight. Why, you could have even been at my level. Why would you throw it away for a frivolous jaunt?" 
A thundering voice cut in. "Who cares why she did it? She did it, and honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Y/N." Groose clapped your back. "I spent all morning consoling Zelda. Maybe now she'll finally see who the obvious choice for her heart is."
You looked at Groose. Groose, who knew Link's secret before you. Rage gently began to stoke you, and you grabbed his side, nipping some of his flesh with your fingers, causing him to shriek like a cat in a bathtub. 
"Hey! What are you- Ah!" 
"How dare you!" You hissed; your jaw clenched as you continued to peck him with pinches. 
"OwWwWwW. Y/N!!!" He broke free from your grip and ran away. 
"Pansy." You murmured as you watched him trip and fall in his effort to escape. Your eyes lifted past him to Zelda, mollycoddling and smothering Link. His hand was rubbing the back of his neck in that awkward mannerism he did when he was uncomfortable with flattery. 
While Zelda's back was facing you, Link didn't seem to be facing her. He peered over her shoulder, his eyes frozen solid on you.
You stared back at him, not understanding why you felt as if it were hard to breathe.
Suddenly, Zelda grabbed his arm and dragged him along. Both of their silhouettes disappeared as they walked in the direction of the goddess statue. 
Yeah, that's right. Go be with your goddess. 
You found your breath again, if only in a shallow spurt of disappointment. Your eyes seemed to follow them, and your vision had become a third wheel to their intimate party of two. 
The grumbling sound of someone clearing their throat behind you made you snatch your eyes away.
"Y/N." Headmaster Gaepora stood before you. His dark eyes were as unreadable as the many books locked away within his chambers.
"Let's step inside my office." You knew it was a command and not an offer.
Gaepora was a towering display of a man. Truthfully, you didn't quite see a resemblance between Zelda and the headmaster. Besides their penchant for wisdom and higher education, and maybe the thick, scraggly mess of brows that harkened back to when Gaepora was a youth and had a head of hair himself, like Zelda. 
Once inside, he pulled out a chair and, with a polite gesture of his hand, urged you to take a seat. You had decided when you were flying through the middle sky, that you would not let on that you knew of Link and Zelda's duties or bond. You would simply incriminate yourself by telling him of your curiosity and taking responsibility for sneaking out, and Link just happened to be doing his duty and was going to report you.
You weren't sure why you were defending Link. Maybe you felt like you owed him for jumping after you. 
Or maybe it was because of his consecrated sobriquet. 
Either way, you were prepared for your expulsion from the knight program.
What you weren't prepared for was what Gaepora said next.
"I'm going to be concise. I need you to stay away from Link." 
Edited:6/2/24
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skyloftian-nutcase · 1 year
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The sky burned.
He had never seen anything quite like it. He had never tasted smoke and ash so heavily, smelled metal and blood mixing in a nauseating manner that nearly emptied his stomach. He'd never seen so many bodies. He'd never fought for more than twelve hours straight.
And he'd never seen the sky burn.
The bells in the temple rang repeatedly, a warning and a petition, a prayer and a guide. It punctuated the screams, it harmonized the ticking of lasers as they charged and fired, shooting through the air with such intensity that it created miniature claps of thunder as the heat separated the air harshly before it returned together with a snap.
And the sky burned.
Abel watched as the castle was engulfed in flames, filling the night air with sickly hues of red that drowned out the oncoming sunrise. They had fought all night to hold the guardians at bay to no avail. The capital had fallen. The king had fallen.
Hyrule had fallen.
He should have died in the castle alongside the king. When the library ceiling had collapsed in on all of them, that should have ended it. He should have died so the king could have lived.
Instead he was the only one who survived.
He shook his head, ridding himself of the distraction and despair. He may have failed his duty to the royal family, but the fight was not over. Hyrule hadn't fallen yet. Just the capital. There was still an entire country. He had failed the royal family, but he would not fail its people.
Barking orders at what remained of his troops, the captain of the royal guard corralled as many people out of the city as possible. When his men had found some semblance of organization, he ran back into the fray, ending up in the square with three guardians. One swiveled its head, its eye, once blue like a placid lake, was pinkish red, infected by the blood stained clouds that shot out of the castle. The other two were preoccupied, one destroying a building while the other killed the remaining civilians in the alley where it had cornered them.
Abel felt his blood freeze as the center guardian's laser focused on him, and then his entire body screamed in rage. He echoed it with a battle cry, charging ahead with his shield. He remembered his son's trick, he remembered seeing his little knight deflect a stray accidental blast so long ago.
He just had to time it right.
The guardian fired. His heart skipped a beat. He put the shield forward, shoving with all his might just as it made impact.
His arm shrieked in protest, and his entire body shuddered.
And the guardian's head melted as its own blast reflected back at it.
Gasping for air, Abel let his arm fall limp a moment, remembering how the pot lid Link had used had shattered into a thousand splinters, his arm broken from the maneuver. He remembered rushing to the princess' aid while internally panicking over his son.
But duty had always come first.
He prayed Link and the princess were safe.
Would they be able to stop this? Would the divine beasts be enough aid to halt an entire army, as well as the calamity itself? Would the princess be able to fulfill her destiny alongside his son?
Abel shook his head. Now wasn't the time. He was growing weary from fighting all evening and all night.
The other two guardians noticed their comrade had been destroyed and immediately started to charge towards the knight.
"Captain!"
Abel turned to see a handful of his soldiers coming to his aid. He asked, "The civilians?"
"The other team is helping to evacuate them," one of his men answered.
The temple's bells rang again and then were silenced by a terrifying crash of thunder. The guardians ripped the building apart piece by piece.
And the two in the plaza charged their lasers.
Electricity shot through Abel's veins. He couldn't deflect two blasts at once, and using his shield as his sole strategy was going to get everyone killed. His arm was already aching from fighting all night, and the one parry had nearly crippled him.
Abel roared and charged forward, trying to continue zigzagging back and forth so he wouldn't be an easy target. If he could make one fire on the other, then maybe--
One guardian charged faster than the other, its blast creating a cavernous hole in the earth, sending cobblestone flying, and Abel along with it. The captain of the guard landed in a heap just in front of the other guardian as it reached its peak charge.
Abel refused to die this easily. Getting a glimpse of the other guardian in his periphery, he rolled over cobblestone and broken weapons and bodies alike, slipping under the guardian entirely as the other fired, knocking its companion onto its side and exposing Abel once more.
With one guardian at least incapacitated, his men charged forward to chip away at it while Abel was left with the other. He ran towards it again, trying to get to its legs, knowing that if he hit it enough times he could at least damage them and slow the metal beast down. When it charged another blast, he cried out in warning to his fellow knights, who had finished off the other guardian, and they all scattered. Abel dove into an alley this time, fighting the jolt of horror as he landed atop the still body of a child.
The guardian's leg tore into the alley, trying to reach for Abel. When the knight scrambled away hastily, it reached another leg above the alley entirely, slowly tearing buildings apart to reach its prey. The child's bloodied form vanished in the debris that fell. Abel felt sick all over again, but the situation was far too immediate and dire to ponder everything he'd seen over the last twelve hours.
The buildings around him crumbled entirely, leaving him cornered against the wall of another alley, and he reached for a sword he no longer had, having lost it back in the plaza.
He was pinned and he knew it.
Looking around for the nearest weapon, he found a large tree branch that had somehow been blasted into the area from the nearest garden. He grabbed it desperately, glaring with all his hatred into that baleful pink eye.
He would die a knight of Hyrule. The Calamity would never take that from him.
There was a cry that tore through the air, a little hyah that made the knight's entire being nearly crumble with the instant recognition. A small figure dove from the nearest rooftop, sacred blade glowing so brightly it nearly blinded Abel. The figure landed on the guardian's body and sank the blade so deeply into the guardian's eye with such vehemence that when it collapsed he had to brace against it with his foot to pull the blade back out.
The sky burned around them, and the little knight's eyes burned even brighter.
"Link," Abel breathed, collapsing.
His son's fierce glare melted into worry as he rushed to the captain, falling to his knees to be at eye level and look him over. Hovering behind the guardian was another figure, a girl whose white dress was already stained with soot and soil and sweat.
The princess.
"Link, you--you have to leave," Abel immediately said, putting a hand on the teenager's shoulder. Link's eyes narrowed stubbornly, almost as if in defiance, and Abel shook his head, growing dizzier by the second. The mere sight of his boy made the world crash around him, the fight finally catching up to him. "L-listen to me. I--my men are gone, Link. The castle has--"
He looked beyond his son for a moment, watching the princess as she stared at him desperately.
"The king...?" she asked quietly, her words barely audible over the destruction all around them.
Abel swallowed. "He's gone, Your Highness. I'm... I'm so sorry."
Princess Zelda's face grew whiter than her dress. She covered her mouth quickly, eyes horrified at the news, and turned away. Abel watched her a moment longer, feeling all the worse for having failed in his duty to protect the king, and then returned his focus to the young knight in front of him.
"You have to get her out of here," he said quietly, his voice beginning to shake.
Link immediately shook his head. He looked up beyond Abel, up at the castle, where the Calamity itself swirled around like a demon ready to consume its prey.
"Link!" Abel snapped, catching his boy's attention. "Listen to me! The castle has fallen. My men can't fight an army of these guardians! The divine beasts have done nothing, and if the Calamity can corrupt our army, then there's no doubt they can corrupt the beasts as well."
Link swallowed, brow furrowing together. His boy, who had tried so desperately to always be so stoic, began to look afraid. He shook his head again.
Abel's hand slid from Link's shoulder to his face, making him focus on him. "Son... they're gone."
The Champions are gone. You have no support. Don't you understand? Don't you see this is impossible?
Link's lips trembled, and he bit harshly to still them.
"Get her out of here," Abel repeated. "You can't win this fight. Not here, not like this. Go to Fort Hateno, Link. We'll rally the troops there and figure something out."
It was more than just bad news and a command. It was hope, and Link latched on to the words, his face growing stony with determination. Abel pat his cheek lightly and gave what little bit of a smile that he could muster. "I'll meet you there, okay?"
His son watched him, his façade cracking a hair, his breath hitching for just a moment. Abel slid his hand behind his boy's head, pulling him close so their foreheads rested against each other, and they both closed their eyes for a moment. "Keep her safe. Do your duty, Link. Now, go."
The moment was lost, and Link pulled away. He took a slow, deep, steadying breath, and then nodded. With determination set on his face, he turned quickly, rushing to the princess and grabbing her by the wrist, pulling her away from Abel, away from the castle, away from city and the ruin and the disaster all around them. Zelda followed helplessly, tears staining her cheeks as she turned back to look one last time at her home, her kingdom, before they vanished around a corner.
Abel sat there on the cold stone floor a moment longer, catching his breath and readying himself. He offered up a prayer for his son and the princess, for Hyrule and its protection. Then he rose, dragging his feet out into the plaza and finding his weapon and shield he had dropped.
And he moved forward as the sky burned above.
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a-la-campanella · 4 months
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Lunar New Year post! To all who celebrate, may the new year be full of happiness for you!
I have many gripes about the writing for the High Cloud Quintet, but what I find the most fascinating about their fallout is where it places Jing Yuan, and where it will lead him into the future.
Baiheng is dead. She's gone, and while there is very strong evidence (nothing explicitly confirmed, but we're working with what we can get) pointing to traces of Baiheng in Bailu, part of the reincarnation process is acknowledging that Bailu is a whole other person separated from her past/any other life she may have lived and with different memories/experiences. The future is thus: she will be the next High Elder for the Xianzhou Luofu, and she's content with her position as a doctor and healer to those in need of treatment. She doesn't seem to have any big dreams, and what she has now is enough for her. As part of her duty and the expectations of her, she'll stay with the Xianzhou Alliance until she has to reincarnate. It doesn't matter if she one day grows to dream bigger, the choice is now robbed from her like it was from Dan Feng.
Dan Heng is content with his own life. He's suffered enough as it was when he was first born in this name, escaped the Luofu, running away from Blade across space, and made his way to forge a life he can call his own on the Astral Express. He has no need nor want to be shacked by his past, and he can live freely without the shadow of Dan Feng hanging over him. I'm curious where he'll be centuries down the line, given how long his expected lifespan is, and the lifespans of his companions being... probably nowhere as long. But until they part ways, Dan Heng will have them by his side. Of the current Express Crew, Pom-Pom would still be around, and maybe the Trailblazer too. Dan Heng might die and never reincarnate, or he might someday return to the Xianzhou Luofu again to settle down when it's his turn to return to an egg and be reborn anew once more. Given what he's like, I don't see him going out with mara.
Blade was Yingxing, and now he's Blade. Yingxing is dead in the sense that the person he used to be is no more, and now, Blade is just a blade. Mara haunts him in a way that tortures him, and he'll take the path Elio promises if it'll grant him freedom. Living for so long is his punishment/price, and death will be a mercy. He'll die one day, I'm sure, though I'm fairly confident that day will be far off, too. He has the Stellaron Hunters to keep him company for now, and if Elio delivers his promise, Blade will see his peace in the end with them. After the events on the Luofu, I think it's safe to say his arc will conclude with him moving on from chasing a past that no longer wants him, and breaking free—accepting a certain finality—in what has passed, and what will come (his death).
Jingliu is the only other character besides Jing Yuan to keep her name from those times, but she's mara-stricken like Blade and has her own agenda now. She has no personal attachments anymore to anyone from her High Cloud Quintet days, not even her own disciple Jing Yuan, nor does she display interest in associating with them now. She'll pass one day like Blade, I'm sure. They may not go out the same way though; regardless, I don't expect her to do much even if she does live on after her role has been fulfilled (to participate in the war/"game" against Yaoshi and end the abominations of Abundance once and for all).
Jing Yuan was, and still is, shaped by the people around him. The person he was when the High Cloud Quintet was around isn't the same person he is now, but in some ways, he still shares that identity. He's fond of Dan Heng and still cares about Baiheng (now assumed to be Bailu). Jing Yuan used to dream of being a Galaxy Ranger touring the universe in the name of justice, and instead took to rising the ranks in the Cloud Knights, learning to protect what's left of his home on the Luofu, and becoming a leader who valiantly fights for peace. I'm not quite sure how he'll go out. Maybe in battle, against the Abundance; or maybe Yanqing, trained to surpass him, will be called to cut him down; or maybe he'll retire peacefully, spending his days peeling tangerines and basking under the Sun, until he's older and more gray, and one day, gone.
And it's just so interesting to me, because Jing Yuan is so kind, and it does not make him worse off. Unlike Blade and Jingliu, he doesn't let the mara consume him, and focuses on his happiness instead of the despair. His grief is quiet, he carried the weight of a world on his shoulders, but he still finds the time to take in a disciple and teach him the way of the sword, to visit the doctor who reminds him of an old and dear friend, and to make way for banter with his next-in-line. He's outlived the rise and fall of civilizations during that time, alone and not-alone, surrounded by the people he had and has now, and may live long enough to outlive several more.
Everyone has moved on from those years together, and their pasts may connect, but their futures all lead in vastly different directions. I'm sure Jing Yuan has lamented over the past before, but centuries have gone by since. Many things in the world have changed now, and he lives his own life, too. They all do.
Where am I going with this? Who knows. Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate and to Jing Yuan especially. As Yanqing might say: 恭喜发财(红包拿来)。
May your red envelopes be packed with extra money so Yanqing can buy that new and fancy dragon-themed sword.
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bleedingichorhearts · 2 months
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𝕮𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗 XVI
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𝕬𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗: Man, now why you gotta do all that? Causing all the trouble?
𝕿𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖉: @kit-williams, @egrets-not-regrets, @bispecsual, @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan, @sleepyfan-blog. (For the newly tagged. This is considered an older, continued story of mine. So, beware.)
TW // Slightly NSFW.
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I hissed as Dacre lightly touched my bruised arm, a tiny coo coming out of the Dark Angel in an apology.
“It’s fine, it just hurts.” I huff, clenching my teeth together when he continued to wrap up my sprained arm. Nuzzling it when he was finished.
He cooed again, more sadly this time. An apology if anything as he laid himself on top of my stomach. My other hand coming up to pat and thread my fingers through his greasy black hair that was due for a bath.
Looking down at him, I could see his conflicting thoughts going through that mind of his. His eyes clouding over while his gauntlet twitched here and there. I could tell that he was telling himself that he should go back and take revenge for his lost partner, but at the same time he has never moved away from my side.
He stuck around me like glue. Never letting me wander off too far without him. Not like I could anyways, having a sprained ankle and arm was not an efficient way to get anywhere, but he took care of me in this… warehouse? Abandoned building? Giving me any food and water bottles that he could find while he goes out to scope out the area.
At least, that’s what I think he does. Sometimes he comes back way later than he planned, frustrated with himself. That’s where he comes in and checks up on me and lays himself down on my stomach. Finding some comfort in it.
It weirded me out at first, but I noticed it relaxed the Dark Angel down like that. He liked how I would thread my fingers through his hair. A quiet purr coming out of him when I embraced him, but I couldn’t help but think of why he was acting so… protective?
I know his partner got sliced into two halves by the Knight, but that doesn’t give him a reason to protect me. If anything, I should have died with Clyde. Whether it was by Dacre hand or theirs. I’ve heard how Astartes gone feral after their supposed bonded died, some ending up in brutality.
So, why didn’t Dacre kill me? Why didn’t he leave me to the Knight? Was it not in his blood, or his duty to do so? Was it out of a command? A dying wish? A promise?
I sighed, gently twirling Dacre hair with my finger. Maybe, I just was the next best thing closest to him? That I was his closest stability?
Though, this brings up another question. Why do I remember the Gray Knight from somewhere? Like I’ve met him before? It would partially make sense if I did. I mean, I don’t remember anything after being stuck in the hospital with little Salem in my arms.
Oh, my little Salem.
I hope he was doing alright. I know he was still alive; a mother knows their child after all, and it didn’t seem like he wasn’t their target. Probably charming his way through. I tried to brighten my mood, but the thought of Salem crying out to me haunts my ears. It gives me delusions that I was hearing him when he wasn’t around at all. It scared me awake sometimes.
Then it suddenly hit me, my fingers stopping mid thread through Dacre's hair, a low hum coming from him. His eyes looking up at me with drowsy eyes.
Thinking back on it, I remember The Knight saying, “Where is she?” Demanding the appearance of someone, some female. Not my little Salem. “I don’t know who you’re talking about there knight.” I remember Clyde responding way too quickly, shifting a lot his spot too. It was clear that Clyde knew what he was talking about, but blatantly ignored the Knights orders. Getting him killed in a… gory, unforgiving way.
“You… knew them.” I muttered out, snapping Dacre out of his drowsy state. “You knew the Knight.”
The Dark Angel resting in my lap rises slowly, curving his body over mine while I shuffled back a little on the makeshift bed. His usual brown eyes staring me down, and I swore I saw a hint of red in them. Something I never saw in this Dark Angel before. He was usually calm and collected, never going further unless he needed to. Unless he wanted to.
This is not the Dacre I remember.
The Dark Angel rumbles lowly, leaning his head down closer to my shoulder and I felt like I had to hold my breath to not agitate the Dark Angel anymore. His breath fanning against my neck, tickling it while I swallowed down my nerves. My eyes following his ever so slow movements.
He presses his lips under my ear, then another and another as I suppress my nerves to shiver at the slow, appalling, and dragging contact. He was not the same Dacre I remember. This Dacre was different, more… shadowed, unpredictable. Did his partner's death change him more than I thought?
“Dacre…” I whisper, his head tilting slightly at my words. “You’re… keeping something away from me aren't you?”
His gauntlet shoots forwards and takes me by the neck, squeezing it lightly while he turns my head away from him. Small coughs running out of my mouth. A warm wetness pressing up against the side of my throat.
“Dacre.” I try again, squeezing my eyes shut as he puts more pressure on my neck. A low rumble batting into my ear as I could feel his teeth nibbling at my skin.
I jerked in his hold, crying out when he sunk his teeth into my shoulder. His hand tightening around my neck, cutting off my airflow as I gasp out. My hand coming up to claw at his gauntlet. My vision slowly becoming blurry as he marked my neck.
My god did it hurt, and it ached badly when he let go and lapped at it. Deep, quiet purrs running through him as he continuously lapped at it. Almost sounding apologetic, but they didn’t sound, nor feel apologetic. It felt wrong.
I coughed when he released my neck a bit. My hand that was clawing at his gauntlet falling to rest besides me, becoming suddenly exhausted. My own blood, slathering with his saliva painting against my heated skin.
I whine as he slowly guides me back down on the makeshift bed by the neck. His tongue and teeth still lapping and nipping around the mark he’s made before his head perks up. A small growl leaving him as he looks around the room before he straightens himself up and leaves me to my restless, but tiring confusion.
What the hell did he just do to me? Did he in some way drug me? Making me feel all tired? That Dark Angel didn’t even answer my claim! Admittingly, it was a touchy subject for him, but he definitely knows them.
That was something I so sure of. I mean, it also doesn't make sense they would pop up out of nowhere and that I give birth to my little Salem without knowing who the father was. Without knowing what my past was. It just... didn't make sense!
It was like I was ripped from my life from before, and maybe that's exactly what happened? It was my only logical reasoning left to think about before I fell asleep, too exhausted to try and stay awake.
I just want my little Salem back.
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ℕ𝕖𝕩𝕥 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣: 𝕮𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗 XVII
ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣: 𝕮𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗 XV
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕥: “𝕮𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗” 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕷𝖎𝖘𝖙
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kaymarie-bell · 9 months
Note
What happened to Yuu in the current update?
Hello!
So, the scene went like this:
Silver realizes he's the Knight's biological son -> darkness starts to surround him -> Sebek tells Lilia and Baul to keep on running away with the egg, it his our duty to help Silver as we're his friends
Basically, while Silver is busy going through Lilia's memories of Silver's childhood, the Ramshackle duo stays and walks through the darkness with Sebek to help get Silver back.
extra spoilers since I did not add the end of the update to my [long post]:
Sebek gets his moment to shine at the end of the update. We get his Unique Magic reveal (which he still has trouble controlling) and a battle against Silver (which Sebek loses).
Silver asks if Sebek took the last hit on purpose and Sebek loses it. He's angry at Silver for suggesting he let himself lose since he was fighting with all his might, and yet it never seems to be enough against Silver.
Sebek delivers a heartfelt speech telling Silver to stop being an idiot. He's strong enough to always win their fights because he was loved by Lilia. If Silver was nothing but the "son of an enemy" to Lilia, he would've been treated poorly and grown up to be a fool and a coward instead of being raised into such a strong man.
Silver's strength comes from Lilia's love, and to keep on denying the certainty of that love is to mock Lilia himself, so stop looking down on his master (Sebek cries and falls to the floor after saying this)
And that's how Silver finally accepts that the voice that told him not to give up must have been truly Lilia, and that he's been loved all along. He decides to make his dream of becoming a knight come true and end this nightmare to bring back their smiles.
Silver's ring shines and we're finally out of the darkness. We see an image of the Knight of Dawn in the clouds, he smiles at Silver and dissappears. We're then taken back to the area near the castle, Henrik's troops are still going after the egg, so Silver says we have to go protect Lilia and Malleus. End of update.
(just to make it clear: Yuu and Grim are witnessing all of this on the side 😭)
~🌻
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