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youvebeenlivingfictional · 1 year

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Ok but what would it be like for bruce and shopgirl when valentine's day arrived?¿

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Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Reader

Length: 2.9K

Warnings: Mostly fluff; light angst; implied sexytimes; Alexa, play Pillowtalk

It's the first Valentine date you’ve ever gotten on a plane for.

Bruce had been guarded about telling you, but his plans for the two of you just happened to intersect with something that he needed to handle outside of Gotham’s jurisdiction. You try not to think too hard about it. Whatever Bruce was getting up to, he got up to before you even got to Gran Canaria. Since you’ve arrived, the two of you have spent every moment together in a lux, rented villa. Your nerves from the past couple of weeks are steadily dropping away, and Bruce has been pretty well-rested. He’s more relaxed, more open than you’ve seen him before.

You can’t help but wonder if he would’ve been as relaxed if you hadn’t found out about what he gets up to at night. You glance over at him now, lips pulling up with a smile when you find him completely asleep on the pool chair beside yours. His mouth is parted in his sleep; his sunglasses are a touch askew. You glance back, then lower the book you were reading to your seat. You stand and take hold of a patio umbrella, tugging it closer to the chairs, shading Bruce’s body. Then you settle back down, taking up your book. You hesitate before you glance up. The shade is covering the both of you, and you still want to get some sun.

You swing your legs off of the chair, tip-toeing over to the pool and sitting down on the edge, sliding your legs into the cool water. You smile, wiggling your toes and taking your book up again.

You’re not going to lie—taking nearly a week off from the store had been sort of risky. To be honest, you’re not completely certain your job will be there when you get back. Your manager had made you aware of the fact that she’d be bringing someone in to temp in your place, and if it went well, their performance would be weighed and measured against yours. Well, she's been looking for a way to get rid of you since you disappeared in the middle of the day to grab lunch with Bruce. You wouldn’t be surprised if you had to job hunt when you get home.

You sigh softly as your mind buzzes with the possibility, setting your book aside and peering out over the infinity pool, swinging your legs beneath the water. You glance back, doing a double take as you see Bruce rousing, adjusting his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. You smile as he pushes himself to stand, walking over to you.

“Did you have a nice nap?” You ask.

Bruce yawns, then grunts. He carefully nudges your book back from the edge of the pool before sitting down beside you.

“Water’s cold,” He mumbles sleepily.

“That’s sort of the point, babe.”

“Shade was cold, too. I don’t remember that umbrella being there.”

“I moved it. I wasn’t sure how long you’d be asleep and I didn’t want you to wake up looking like a lobster.”

“How kind of you.”

“Though the sunburn-pink hue would’ve been festively appropriate.”

Bruce smiles, leaning in and pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder. You tip your head against his, closing your eyes for a moment.

“You get any rest?” He murmurs.

“Just read for a while.”

“You should’ve napped. You won’t been getting much sleep for a couple of days,” He teases before nipping your shoulder. You smile, wriggling and slapping his thigh. Bruce chuckles, curling his arm around your middle and drawing you closer to his side.

“You want something to drink?” He asks. You consider for a moment before you shrug.

“Sure.”

“Champagne?”

“Mhm.”

“Alright.”

You watch, brows raising, as Bruce pushes himself back, standing. You figured he’d just call out to Alfred, who hasn’t been too far from the two of you since you arrived, but Bruce is heading for the villa.

You sigh again, leaning back on your hands. Things between you and Bruce have been a little…Stilted since you learned the truth about his nightly activities. Some things have been a little easier. You don’t question every move that Bruce makes, any off-handed comment or sudden splotch of bruising on his body. But where you used to spend most nights wondering what he was up to, you now spend most nights wondering if he’s even going to make it home. You keep your eyes peeled for any mentions of Batman in the news and in newspapers; you’re tracking 'Batman', 'Caped Crusader', and 'Bruce Wayne Batman' on several social media sites.

You do wonder if Bruce had planned to take you on a trip before you found out, or if it’s something that he wound up doing because he feels he owes something to you for his secrecy, his split attentions. You wonder if, during this vacation, his mind is really with you, or if it’s with the people of Gotham, the people that he may be neglecting by being here. Your stomach squirms with discomfort, the idea that Bruce may regret taking the time to be with you. You wiggle your toes beneath the water, trying to dispel the feeling with subtle movement. You’re so distracted that you don’t notice the shadow falling over you, or the glass being held out to you.

“Here.”

The lean of the word tells you that Bruce said it at least twice before he caught your attention. Your head snaps up, a smile slapped on your face as you take the champagne flute.

“Thanks,” You reach up, taking it from him and raising it for a sip as Bruce sits back down beside you.

“You okay?” He asks.

“Yeah! Yeah, I zoned. Sorry.”

Bruce nods, gaze sweeping your face curiously. You lower your head a touch, trailing your finger over the glass.

“So,” You clear your throat, “Any plans for the rest of the day?”

“I thought we could go do some shopping, maybe stay in for dinner.”

“Sounds good,” You nod. “You making Alfred cook?”

“No,” Bruce chuckles. “He’s got the night off.”

“Mm…Catered?”

“I’ve got it all planned, don’t you worry about that.”

“He cooks,” You gasp, resting your hand over your heart in shock.

“Yeah, yeah,” Bruce mutters, but you can see the smile creeping on his lips.

“Do you want my help?”

“No.”

“Can I help?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Would you just relax?” Bruce chuckles, glancing away from the stove to meet your eye. “Have a drink, turn on some music, something.”

You pout, reaching out and snagging your champagne flute. You consider him for a moment before you walk over to him, cuddling against his back as he often down cook. You smile as he lowers his hand to rest over yours, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.

“It smells good,” You murmur.

“Tastes even better.”

“You were right.”

“Oh?”

“Mm. It was delicious,” You practically purr, curling your arm around Bruce’s middle. He smiles, turning his head and nuzzling against your forehead before pressing a kiss there. The two of you have curled up on the large, plush couch after dinner and dessert. Ella Fitzgerald croons sweetly over the speaker system. You’re full, and comfortable, and happy. You feel like the center of Bruce’s world. His arm is curled around you, keeping you close as his fingers skate along the fabric of the dress that you’d bought for the occasion.

“Thank you for this,” You add softly, tipping your chin up.

“Thank you for the book,” He counters, looking down at you. You nod, glancing toward where it sits on the table. It was one that he’d mentioned to you about a month ago (on extradition—you’ve tried not to think about why he might want it).

“Glad you like it.”

Bruce reaches down, stroking his knuckles along your jaw. You smile, tipping your cheek into the touch and letting your eyes fall closed.

“C’mon,” Bruce urges. You frown as he draws away, pushing himself off of the couch.

“What?”

“Come here,” He holds his hand out to you. You hesitate before you take hold of it, giggling as he tugs you close, wrapping his arm around your waist. He begins to sway the two of you gently to the music, his gaze sweeping your face before his eyes hold steadily on yours. You rest your hand on his shoulder and look at him in kind, unable to help the smile that grows on your lips. Just a little while ago, looking at someone and being looked at like this would intimidate you. Now, you just feel seen and cared for, and special.

You lift your hand from Bruce’s shoulder, cupping his cheek gently. Bruce pushes his cheek into the touch before he turns his head, brushing his lips across your palm. His hand smooths down your back, drawing you impossibly closer as he rests his forehead against yours. You let your eyes slip closed, allowing yourself to just sway, and feel the warmth of Bruce’s body. You smile at the brush of Bruce’s nose brushing against yours, followed by the sweet press of his lips. You tip your chin up into the kiss, chasing his affection. Your hand slides along his cheek, slipping up into his hair and winding around the strands. The sound of his groan buzzes against your lips. You part them, shivering as Bruce’s tongue skates tenderly along yours.

The two of you still in your swaying, falling out of time with the music and into sync with one another. Bruce’s hand smooths up your back, coming to rest on your nape as he turns your head as he likes. You let him guide, yielding to his squeezes and shifts. You shiver as he takes a few steps back toward the bedroom, his fingers lowering to tap on the zipper of your dress questioningly.

You can imagine the trail of clothing that Alfred will spot when he returns to the villa. You can only hope that he doesn’t trip over your bra, wherever that landed. You smile as Bruce’s sated body shifts against yours, as he presses a sweet kiss to your neck. You slide your feet up to brace on the bed, cradling his hips with your knees and curling your arms around his shoulders. You shiver as he brushes against your still slick, aching core.

“I’m gonna need a few minutes before I’m ready to go again,” He warns.

“Just a few?” You tease.

“Are you callin’ me old?”

“Making sure I don’t wear you out, Wayne. You’ve got work to do when you get back to Gotham.”

You mean it jokingly, but it makes Bruce go still. You sigh softly, tipping your head back against the pillow.

“I’m sorry,” You mumble. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’d be alright if you did.”

“Would it?”

Bruce rests his chin on your shoulder. You can feel him watching you closely.

“Yes,” He insists. The two of you lay in contentious quiet for a few moments. He slides his hand over thigh gently. “Do you wish I hadn’t told you?”

“I don’t know,” You admit. “Sometimes. Mostly when we’re back in Gotham, when I can’t sleep.”

“Why can’t you sleep?”

You purse your lips into a thin line.

“I worry about you.”

“That happen a lot?”

“Every day.”

Bruce presses his face into your neck, grip tightening on your thigh.

“You think I don’t worry about you? Especially after that incident at the store.”

“Yeah, well, you may not have to worry about it anymore.”

It falls out of your mouth with bitter tiredness, and you wince as Bruce tips his chin up to get a better look at you.

“Why’s that?” He asks.

“Nothing,” You sigh, “Never mind.”

“Oh no,” He pushes himself to sit up, leaning against the headboard. “I’ve learned that when you say nothing, there is in fact something.”

“Is it those strong deductive skills that make you so unstoppable as a vigilante?” You ask dryly. You’re surprised to see Bruce smile as he nods.

“That’s part of it.”

“What’s the other part? The inability to answer a straight question or the backlogged billions of dollars?”

“Actually it’s my ability to see through diversion tactics. So, what happened at work?”

Damnit.

You sigh softly, shaking your head. “I’ve been thinking of finding a new job,” You excuse. It’s not a complete lie, but it’s not the whole truth. Bruce doesn’t seem to buy it, but he doesn’t lean any more heavily into it, either.

“Doing the same thing?”

“I guess,” You shrug. “I’ve been working in retail for a while. Not sure what else I’d do.”

“...We don’t have any retail, but I’m sure we could find you something.”

“We?” You repeat, brows raising.

“Sure. Wayne Enterprises is always hiring.”

“Oh—Bruce, I don’t know.”

“Could just give the listings a browse, see if there’s anything you like. I can put in a good word.”

“I don’t want you to do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re Bruce Wayne, there’s like, no doubt that I’d get it.”

“I know, that’s why I’m offering.”

You scoff a laugh, reaching up and pushing Bruce’s shoulder as he grins.

“C’mon, you know I don’t play that card unless it’s for a good reason,” He adds.

“On our first date, you rented out an entire restaurant and then took me to get fast food.”

“Because you didn’t think I would do it.”

“My point is you played the Bruce Wayne card to rent out the restaurant.”

“Yes. And everyone there got paid for a full night with the Bruce Wayne credit card.”

“Well that’s true,” You agree, tipping your head from side to side. Bruce watches you for a moment.

“Tell you what,” He finally says. “Just…Take a look, see if there’s anything you like the look of. I’ll do some snooping, find out what they liked and didn’t like about the last few people in that position.”

“Legal snooping or illegal snooping?”

“Legal snooping.”

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart. Alright?”

You smile, nodding.

“Alright.”

Bruce leans down, giving you a gentle kiss. You smile, lowering your hand and rubbing his thigh gently. Bruce hums into the kiss, leaning back for just a moment before he shifts down and draws you atop him. You groan softly, sucking on his lip, giggling as he rolls his hips up against yours.

“You fully recovered, Wayne?” You mumble.

“You wanna see how recovered I am?”

"I can feel it just fine.”

“I think that’s the last of it,” You sigh, passing your bag over to Alfred. “Thank you.”

“Of course, miss.”

“Where’s Bruce?” You ask, nodding to the empty backseat of the car. “I thought the jet was supposed to take off in, like…An hour.”

“The advantage of taking a private jet is that it doesn’t take off until you’d like for it to,” Alfred smiles. “He said that he would be along shortly.”

“Huh,” You nod, glancing back toward the villa, “Lemme just…” You pat down your pockets, freezing when you realize that you left your phone in the villa. “Ah…Shit, be right back.”

“Do hurry, wheels up in half an hour,” Alfred calls after you.

“That’s not funny!” You call back before jogging into the villa. You glance around the surfaces, spotting your phone where you left it on the kitchen counter.

“Oh, thank fuck,” You mutter, hurrying over to it.

“I was gonna bring that out,” You hear behind you. You glance back, smiling when you see him coming closer.

“No need. You got everything?”

“Yeah, forgot my passport was in the bedroom. I think it fell out of my jacket when we got in here.”

“Oh. Where was it?”

“Under the nightstand.”

“Jeez. Did you have to toss the room to find it?”

“No, the corner was peaking out.”

“That’s lucky.”

“Mhm. C’mon, we’ll be late for the flight.”

“It’s your jet.”

“I know,” Bruce chuckles, taking hold of your hand. “I just wanted to see you get a little twitchy.”

“You’re an asshole, Wayne,” You pout, following him out of the villa. The sky is growing darker and darker. You can only hope that you’re able to sleep on the jet. If you can’t, you’ll need a straight-up coffee injection for work when you get back…Provided you still have a job when you get there…

“...You’re doing it again,” Bruce says, breaking your concentration, and you look forward to find him holding the door open for you expectantly.

“Hm?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.”

You nearly wince as Bruce’s brows jump in disbelief.

“Just—Just thinking that I’m gonna miss this place,” You excuse, waving back toward the house. “It’s nice, you know.”

“Well,” Bruce looks back toward it. “We can come back some time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Stop pouting,” Bruce reaches up, gripping your chin and leaning in for a kiss. You smile swaying up into him and hooking your fingers in his collar.

“Get in the car,” He murmurs, leaning back, “We’ll be late.”

“We’ll be late,” You repeat childishly before sliding into the back of the car. You look up as you settle in, frowning when you see him still standing outside, looking around.

“...Bruce?” You press. “What is it?”

He doesn’t move for a moment before he gets into the car with you.

“Thought I saw something,” He mutters before shooting you a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it. All set, Alfred,” He adds, turning to look to the front seat.

“Just in the nick of time, sir. I may have to speed if you want to make it through security if you want to make your flight on time.”

They chuckle as you huff, folding your arms across your chest and sliding down in your seat.

“You guys are mean.”

Next Part

#Bruce Wayne x Reader #Bruce Wayne x You #Bruce Wayne/Reader #Bruce Wayne/You #Bruce Wayne fic #Bruce Wayne imagine #The Other Half

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l0uterstella · 2 months

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YOUR MELODY: Analysis, Merold's Manipulation

(Parts are still incomplete like the flower language) full english lyrics, Ever Red theory (MUST READ TO UNDERSTAND THIS POST) Updated: Feb 25 2024

Flower Language

(thanks to my friend Lux for finding most of them)

Rimicha - sunflower, birds of paradise Sunflower: Symbols of joy, adoration, and loyalty. There's a story in Greek Mythology of a nymph who turns into the flower after losing her lover Birds of paradise: Symbols of joy, paradise, freedom, and a sense of exploration

Hallritt - red periwinkle - symbol of purity, everlasting love, loyalty to friends, and hope

Merold - white and pink easter lily, white chrysanthemum, baby's breath, white spider lily, white and pink rose, hyacinth - together as a bouquet, all these flowers symbolize devoted love and loyalty, feelings of strong familial love and homesickness, positivity, happiness and admiration for the receiver, along with "seeking forgiveness/deep regret" with the hyacinths

Mirror flowers: lily, daisy, carnation, 4th still unknown - Together as a bouquet, these flowers represent celebration/hope for happiness, love and connection. Some flowers also share a meaning of rebirth or missing someone

Broken Mirror

Broken mirrors typically symbolize a shattered self-image, fractured identity, and a sense of loss. I'll most likely be covering the voice drama in another post, but in the first episode, Hallritt is seen easily defeating a seed in one hit. Maybe Merold feels like his role as the strongest knight is being challenged? Which is why he accuses Hallritt of being a failure as a knight in the teaser for episode 2. In another scene, these two frames are right next to each other. Instead of the diamond flipping around like it did before, Merold just completely replaces Hallritt.

The MV also had multiple "waves"/glitches, which recently has been a recurring theme of Seed's presence.

ELDRITT/HALLRITT SYSTEM

Hallritt also feels a bit "off" in the MV. It's possible that it's Eldritch Hallritt/Eldritt/The "original Hallritt" currently present. It's a bit confusing to tell which timeline the MV is set in, but it might make more sense with the System Hallritt headcanon. Eldritt formed as a protector and gatekeeper who used to hide the truth from the "current Hallritt", before deciding it'd be beneficial if he knew the truth and did something about it. Following this, the MV is in the 2nd timeline as my timeline theory suggests (with the voice dramas being the 1st timeline), and Eldritt is simply fronting instead of Hallritt.

There's also this scene where Hallritt sings: "As if two hearts are on top of each other, I want to be connected by the same rhythm"

ELDRITCH MEROLD

Merold seems to know about the 1st timeline. He holds a ribbon, which is what represents the memories of that timeline in Ever Red. He is also seen multiple times with a corrupted version, possibly hinting at him having an Eldritch (seed corruption) form as well.

The lyrics seem to have him hinting at the 1st timeline to Hallritt. If you corrupt the future, you echo its dark history.

To summarize: Merold is threathened by Hallritt's strength, yet he also knows the truth of what he did/will do. He wants to get rid of him somehow, or at least keep him in his place. He put up a face to seem trustworthy, but someday, that facade will shatter like the mirror.

BONUS

1. Merold losing his vision? Really not much proof here aside from this quick frame

2. blob people. idk who or what they are yet

3. there's one transiton where something that look like vines turn into (angel? dove?) feathers and another one with a broken crystal. could it be referencing cielomort's death? is it his crystal strawberry from aozora?

(Why? Why?) This heart (Why? Why?) It's fragile (Why? Why?) No matter what, I love you most (Why? Why?) It's overflowing (Why? Why?) These desires A melody just for you

#rimicha's just chililng #“melody” definetely means something too but i'm unsure what yet #may edit in the future #fragaria memories #fragmem #fragaria memories theory #hallritt #merold #rimicha

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lobstermobster-95 · 9 months

Text

Down in the Wicked Depths Below

Woe to the man

The dark-eyed sailor

Ship’s adrift

And the sea’s his jailor

Drag him down

Down, down, down

Down in the wicked depths below

Woe to the man

The dark-eyed sailor

Ship’s adrift

And the sea’s his jailor

Drag him down

Down, down, down

Down in the wicked depths below

Lost at sea, the sailor cried

I will not die

The sea shall bow to me

“That was quite a display,” Finnegrin said as he rummaged through the piles of assorted junk on his desk. His gruff voice drowning out the singing voices of the crew on deck. “All that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself.”

Callum looked away.

The tidebound captain wasn’t wrong. Seeing Rayla like that – writhing and screaming in pain, skin turning blue as if she were already dead – it did something to him. Just like it always did something to him when he thought he’d lost her.

That spell had simultaneously caused a pain in Callum that was so deep that he couldn’t think or see straight. He’d forgotten any spells or tricks that could have helped him and instead did the only thing he could think of.

It had at least been a solid hit – something his younger self would be in awe of for several reasons. A lot of good it had done him though.

At that moment, Callum caught sight of Bait’s empty cage and for a terrible, brief second, thought perhaps the little guy had already been cast into the depths. However, Finnegrin stepped aside and revealed the glow toad had been crammed into another smaller cage.

“What are you doing?” Callum asked, feeling confident he already knew the answer.

“Oh, don’t worry. The cage is for his protection,” the captain replied with a smug smile. “This way, he lures us a leviathan but doesn’t get eaten.”

He crossed the room and stood before Callum, looking down at him with the black-hearted confidence of a man who had spilled more than his fair share of blood. “The one getting thrown into the sea serpent’s hungry mouth is your elf girl.”

He may as well have been strapped to an anchor and dropped into the sea for how quickly Callum became submerged in the crushing weight of dread and panic. He struggled against the chains that bound him to the post, but there was no give.

He couldn’t lose Rayla. Not again. Not ever again.

“No, no wait!” The words leapt from his tongue without his consent. “A dying breath, blood filled with hatred, and a unicorn horn. That’s the dark magic you want. Just…just let her go.”

They could deal with the ramifications. They would find a way to protect Domina Profundis, but Callum had to protect Rayla first.

A beat passed as Finnegrin paused in the doorway before he began to click his tongue in disappointment like a parent about to scold their child. “Oh, my poor lad,” he said. “That deal was no longer on the table.” He chuckled, pulling the door open and quickly disappearing through it, leaving Callum alone as he sunk even deeper into despair.

“No!” He called out to no avail. “No!”

Again he struggled and again the chains around his wrists did not budge.

Hot tears began cutting their way down his cheeks. This was really it. Rayla would die and a piece of him would die right alongside her. They had only just begun to truly mend their relationship. The last few weeks began replaying in Callum’s mind

Staying in his and Ez’s old, adjoining rooms had been his idea. After Umber Tor, he’d shed the last piece of the already-cracked and crumbling armor he’d built around his heart over the last two years. He’d opened himself back up to her, and it was wonderful. They’d often stayed up late during those nights, fretting over Ezran and the others or just talking like they used to.

Then they’d traveled to Lux Aurea, retracing the steps they’d taken together on that first world-changing journey. The route had been easier this time. There was no dragon egg to hide and protect, no duplicitous aid from Soren and Claudia, and no race to outrun an impending battle with Viren’s corrupted army.

And with the border open, the route itself had become more traveled, leading to amenities like the inn they’d stayed at. Seeing Rayla happy and at peace that night had filled Callum’s heart in a way it hadn’t been in two years. He’d wanted to kiss her again, to hold her and tell her he loved her.

Now he desperately wished he had.

He could hear shouts and thuds from above him and his heart began to pound. He didn’t have much time.

Looking around for something, anything he could use to free himself, Callum spotted it. The slug Finnegrin had offered as a dark magic conduit.

No. No he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

He’d sworn to himself that he would never do dark magic again. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t who he wanted to be. He’d vowed to write his own destiny.

…But what would that destiny look like without Rayla?

The question seared his heart like a brand because he knew the answer immediately. Without Rayla, he had no destiny. If he allowed her to die when there was something, anything , he could have done to save her, the anguish would fester in his body like a blight and consume him from the inside out.

He would do anything for her.

Anything.

Pulling against the chains one last time, Callum reached out and grabbed the slug.

The sunrise was beautiful, almost mockingly so after all that had happened the night before.

Callum sat at the base of the mast, feeling no modicum of triumph or elation at their victory. He felt like a liar, a sham. He was the first human mage to do primal magic and still he’d resorted to dark magic.

He thought he was better than this. But was he? Was he any better than Viren or Claudia if he would dirty his hands with the lives of innocent creatures if pushed far enough?

“So…” Came a voice through the fog. “Two primal sources? Now you’re just getting greedy, mister mage.”

Callum saw Rayla as she sat down next to him, felt the warmth of her living, breathing body, but he didn’t feel any less ashamed. If she knew what he’d done to save her, she’d be disgusted and furious, as she should be.

“Callum, are you okay?”

Was he? He let the question sink deep before nodding his head and letting his eyes finally unfocus from the abyss he’d been staring into.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling a smile up along with him. “Yeah, I’m okay. I am.”

He looked at Rayla as she smiled back at him, his heart feeling full and complete as she brought a hand up to his cheek.

“I’m glad,” she said softly.

She pulled him into a hug and Callum felt guilt wrap itself around him along with her arms. Below them, somewhere in the guts of the hull, two dark magic snakes now slithered and slunk because he’d brought them to life.

He’d broken his oath, and as Rayla sighed contentedly, holding Callum like she had when they’d first fallen in love, he knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat to save her.

And that’s what scared him more than anything.

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #tdp season 5 #rayllum #angst #i wasnt ready #stayed up all night #ahhhh

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abysskeeper · 27 days

Note

Mamihlapinatapei - The look between two people in which each loves the other but is too afraid. For whoever catches your fancy!

(¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ...sorry)

---------

“And…there,” Nox mumbled to herself as she plunged the bottom of her staff into the damp ground.

She took a step back from the last of her work and glanced around to appraise the scene she had spent crafting in the last fifteen or so minutes. Mourning Frost stood straight up like a beacon in the darkness of the lands, illuminated by the magic of her Light cantrip while cold mist bellowed off of it from its enchantments. Behind her, part of the river remained frozen from a well-placed Cone of Cold spell and glowed mystically with the floating orbs from the Dancing Lights she casted in the area. It was as good as she was going to get given her surroundings. All in all, she was satisfied, and now all she had to do was move the modified Sleet Storm over here and everything would be set to go.

Everything but her nerves, at least.

Nox sighed and dusted her hands on her robes, taking a quiet moment to gather herself before embarking back up from the riverbank and into the central courtyard of the Last Light Inn. The courtyard itself looked exactly like the winter wonderland she was attempting to create down by the river, which was no surprise. The first, magical storm she conjured was still going, thick snowflakes still gently falling from the clouds above. The light from Isobel’s shield around the inn glinted off the snow and ice on the ground, making the whole area glitter, and there was a stillness in the air that she had only ever felt in the throes of winter’s weather.

The scene was far more befitting the lands closer to the Dale than the wilting town struggling under Shar’s shadows, but then, that was the entire point. She had wanted to create one night to celebrate their small victories and set everything else aside for a few hours.

There were significantly more celebrants indulging in the magical snow when she slipped away, though. In the time it took for her to go down and back, it seemed like most everyone had dispersed to tend to the rest of their nightly duties before going to bed. Only a few remained meandering about in the courtyard, and it took her a moment before she zeroed in on her sister standing off to the side, leaning against one of the makeshift barricades as she surveyed the area.

“Hey,” Nox greeted as she beelined for the paladin. “Are we alright up here?”

Lux hummed in thought for a moment, blue eyes trailing over the courtyard before she finally nodded. “I think so. Alfira and Lakrissa shepherded the kids to bed with no complaints, so that alone is a win,” she reported.

Nox smiled, managing to tire the kids out enough that there was no backtalk was a win.

“Bex and Danis, as well as some of the Harpers, helped clean up some of the smaller things and have gone off to bed. And Rolan actually wanted to speak with you,” Lux added. She shrugged and glanced at her, answering before Nox could ask, “Don’t know about what, Cal and Lia managed to convince him to go to bed too before you got back.”

“Probably for the best,” Nox muttered. Rolan wasn’t the most contentious relationship she’d ever had with a fellow wizard; in comparison to some he was downright friendly, but after their last encounter with him drunk on both the ale and his sorrows, she wasn’t particularly looking to have another conversation with him quite so soon.

“Probably,” Lux agreed. “Otherwise, everything else is back to normal. Jaheira’s barking orders at the Harpers again to get them back to work. Those not on the nightshift are settling in for the night like everyone else.”

“Not surprising,” Nox chuckled. They hadn’t known the High Harper for long, but it didn’t take any time at all to realize the woman was a hardass. She cared, that much was obvious too, but it was hidden behind three layers of steel. “But…good.”

Content with what her sister told her, Nox nodded to herself and raised her hand. With a wave, she felt the threads of the Weave relax between her fingers. In turn, the snow stopped falling from the sky and, a moment later, what was left coating the ground started to melt away.

Her gaze slipped from the dissipating storm and her eyes fell shut. Her attention turned towards the magic resonating from Mourning Frost, still standing some hundred or so meters away where she left it stuck in the ground. Her hand flicked, the Weave answering her movement by coalescing into a misty-white orb of concentrated magic resting in her palm. “Impero tibi,” Nox whispered, and the orb flickered and burst as she casted another, gentle storm over her staff.

She inhaled through her nose and opened her eyes, turning her focus back to Lux. Her sister was staring back at her curiously and biting the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning. Nox resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “If there’s nothing else, then…?” she asked instead.

“There’s nothing else,” Lux confirmed as her smile broke containment. “Go on, go be gross with your wizard,” she said with a shooing motion.

Nox did roll her eyes at that. “I’m not going to be gross with him,” she scowled. That definitely wasn’t the point of what she was trying to do, but Lux had been misconstruing her intentions ever since she brought the idea up with her. “And he’s definitely not ‘my wizard,’” she huffed.

“Sure, sure,” Lux agreed, definitely more in an effort of appeasement than genuine agreement. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who believes that, though.” Without waiting for a reply, she pushed off the barricade and started back for the main building of the inn.

“I…”

Nox cut herself off and followed after her sister, uncertain of how to refute that. It was an argument she was growing tired of having, and she’d resigned to the fact she couldn’t sway what other people believed about her and Gale’s relationship. She also couldn’t deny the small tingle the thought sent through her chest, the kind that made her happier than she cared to admit to, and the kind she would never give Lux the satisfaction of knowing she had.

“That’s not the point,” she said finally.

“I know,” Lux shrugged, “But it’s fun to rile you up.”

Nox responded the only way she knew how and stuck her tongue out at her sister; Lux just grinned back at her and shoved her shoulder. “Besides,” Lux added after a moment, “I do hope you succeed. I’d really like for Gale to take a step back from his whole ‘blowing himself up’ plan too. We all would.”

Right.

That wasn’t quite the goal she was trying to achieve tonight either, but it was a step in the process. Ever since they had encountered Elminster and he charged Gale with Mystra’s orders to end the Absolute, Nox had been driving herself to near insanity while trying to dissuade him from that path. She outright refused to believe the only way they could succeed was by sacrificing one of their own; it was utterly cruel and such a waste of a brilliant mind and even more brilliant man and she…well, she wasn’t focusing on how upsetting it was to her. Her feelings on it didn’t matter, Gale’s did.

Unfortunately, Gale was more than willing to go along with his marching orders. Not without remorse, the way his voice wavered whenever he spoke about the possibility and the way he grew increasingly frustrated with her every time she broached the subject were more than enough proof to her that he didn’t want to die, but he was still moving forward as if it was the best plan they had. She was beginning to run out of time, and as they stepped closer and closer to the answers they sought, she was growing increasingly frantic with her measures. Regrettably, she was also running out of options, the only two left she could think of were either outright forbidding him from blowing himself up or begging him not to—both things she was fully willing to do, but she was doubtful of their efficacy.

After all, how could her words rival those of a Goddess?

But that wasn’t the point. Before she could let herself spiral any further, Nox cut that line of thought off. Tonight was not about another attempt to dissuade Gale from sacrificing himself, at least not directly. She didn’t want to even think about the Orb or Mystra or Ketheric Thorm or the worms in their brains. Tonight was a break they all desperately needed from the tragedies surrounding them, and she refused to let her mood sour. Just for tonight, she wanted to be content.

“Yeah, I hope so too,” Nox mumbled finally, following after Lux as they entered the inn proper.

She took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the change in lighting before looking around. Most of their companions had moved back into the first floor of the inn after the festivities outside had concluded. Lae’zel had her sword in her lap and looked prepared to go out to Dammon’s setup to resharpen her blade. Wyll and Astarion sat adjacent to the bar, sharing a bottle of wine and discussing something or other, while Karlach and Shadwoheart started up a passing conversation with two Harpers in between their shifts. Halsin and Jaheira were nowhere to be seen, but that was hardly a surprise—the former had barely left Thaniel’s side since they had rescued the fey child, and the latter was too busy managing her Harpers to make too many appearances.

Which just left the man she was actually looking for.

Her gaze settled on Gale sitting in a char in the back corner of the main room. Predictably, he had a book in hand and a full goblet of wine sitting on the small table next to him. Whatever he had found to read interested him greatly, and Nox stopped to simply admire the way he studied the book, his brows knit in concentration, dark brown eyes flitting across the pages as they ravenously consumed every word, and his free hand drumming an insouciant rhythm on the arm of the chair. The warm light of the candles hanging around the main room glinted off his soft brown hair—illuminating the lighter strands and a few streaks of gray—and cast shadows across his form near perfectly.

Not for the first time, she was forced to acknowledge he was a strikingly handsome man. However, for the first time, she couldn’t help but consider how gods damned unfair it was that Gale was, by all accounts, the picturesque vision almost every one of her female peers dreamed would be their future husband.

Honestly, she never really understood the appeal in her youth. Why dream of a husband when they all still had so much potential in their fingertips? It likely helped that she never had cause to fantasize either; she did not have any suitors when she was younger and never lamented over that fact, it gave her far more time to endeavor in her studies. Now though, having it all laid out in front of her, and after enduring everything she and Gale had already been through and everything they still could go through together…she was found herself much more amicable to the prospect.

“Some-body’s smit-ten!”

Immediately pulled from her thoughts, Nox jumped when her sister leaned over and sang in her ear. “I am not,” she hissed as she stepped back from Lux’s smirking face. Nox hadn’t even realized she was smiling until she felt her lips pull into a frown. “I am just…considering,” she insisted and subconsciously smoothed down her robes. “He looks…content. I don’t want to bother him if he’s settled in for the evening.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, at least.

“You, of all people, are hardly a bother to him,” Lux rolled her eyes. “Besides, we all just came in from your little snow party anyways, I doubt he’s ‘settled in’. And it’s better to interrupt him now before he’s really into whatever it is he’s reading.”

There was truth to her words, though Nox knew her twin well enough to catch what she was really saying. Lux wasn’t going to let her back out of her plan, which she had no intention of doing, never mind the way she tugged at her sleeves or felt a sharp churning in her gut at the mere thought of walking over to him and asking him to accompany her. What she intended for the evening was hardly that big of a deal, she just desperately wanted it to go well.

“Yeah…yeah, I know. You’re right,” Nox said and heaved a breath. She looked over to Lux with a shaky smile. “Wish me luck?”

“You don’t need luck, Noxy. You got this,” Lux smiled and bumped her hip. “You’ll be fine, so go,” she stressed and nudged her towards the back of the room. “I won’t wait up!” she added over her shoulder before sauntering towards Astarion and Wyll.

“Ugh,” Nox muttered under her breath, fully aware Lux didn’t hear her. Granted, she also knew Lux didn’t need to hear her to know that was her exact response; in the same way she didn’t need to hear Lux chuckling all the way to the bar for her to know that’s exactly what her sister did.

Everything else she said was correct though, Nox didn’t need luck. She was an incredibly skilled wizard with an incredibly detailed plan she had been mapping out during her downtime for the past several days. That aside, even if it weren’t the case, she was still making this attempt with the utmost sincerity, and that was all anyone could really ask for. There was nothing else she could do to ensure it went properly, aside from actually starting it and asking him to join her, which was—naturally—the most difficult part.

Blowing out one more, long breath to still her rattling nerves, she resolved herself and turned to make her way over to Gale.

As she approached, his brown eyes flickered up at her from the book, as one does when they notice movement in their periphery, before returning back to the pages in front of him. She stopped before him and watched as the realization registered in his brain of who was standing in front of him. His eyes lit up and he snapped the book shut.

“Oh, Nox! Hello,” Gale greeted cheerily. He set the book in his lap and smiled up at her. “After your celebration outside, I figured you would retire for the evening.”

“It’s tempting, believe me,” Nox answered with a nervous chuckle.

She could feel the tendrils of exhaustion starting to creep into the edges of her mind—serving more as a reminder she was still not as powerful as she once was rather than as a sign she should stop—but she was choosing to ignore them. She knew she was overexerting herself slightly, but she had already decided it was worth it. The smiles from the refugees and the Harpers were enough alone, and hopefully this would be well worth it as well.

“But…the night isn’t over for me quite yet,” she continued. Realizing that sounded a little more ominous than she intended, she wrung her hands and hastily added, “Well…for us…I guess. I was hoping to talk with you, actually. Do…do you have a moment?”

“Of course. Anything for you,” Gale agreed, and she chose not to ruminate on how easily he said it—as if the thought was second nature. He quickly leafed through the book to mark the page he was on before closing it once more and setting it on the side table next to his wine. “What can I do for you?” he asked, warm brown eyes now solely focused on her.

Gods, how had she not noticed this before? Maybe Lux was right. The only things Nox had ever witnessed him focus on as intently as her right now were his spells on the battlefield, whatever book was lucky enough to capture his complete interest, and his own research and studies. Not that he wasn’t invested in whatever he was doing at any given time, but this was…different. It was more intense, more singularly driven than he usually was, as if the rest of the world simply melted away for him. The inn could spontaneously combust right now, and she wasn’t fully convinced Gale would notice.

You wouldn’t either. Focus, Nox.

“Indulge me?” she asked in return. She pointed behind her towards the inn’s front door and added with a sheepish smile, “I…would appreciate some privacy.”

Gale’s brow rose as his gaze shifted from her towards the door behind her, and then back again. The longer he stared, the hotter she could feel the flames of embarrassment licking at the tips of her ears as she was forced to consider what she just said. She couldn’t really blame him for his silent questioning, that wasn’t the best way to ask and she knew it, but he had been through this with her enough by now to know that any potential innuendo or suggestion she just made wasn’t her intent.

“Very well,” he agreed and rose to his feet before she could clarify. “I must admit, I am intrigued about what you have in mind.”

“Probably not what I just implied,” Nox grumbled. She turned and started for the entrance of the inn, in part to lead the way down to the riverbank, and in part so he couldn’t watch her attempt to contain her blush. She sighed, mumbling, “But by now I am used to making an arse of myself in front of you.”

Gale laughed behind her. “You’re hardly an arse, Nox. I know that is not what you meant,” he reassured. “And my curiosity is genuine. You always come to me with the most fascinating problems or topics of conversation, time spent with you is always quite stimulating, and thus is always time well-spent…in my opinion.”

Instead of containing her blush, she could feel her ears growing hotter with every word he spoke. “Well, if nothing else I can assure you I’m not coming to you with a problem,” Nox answered after a moment. She brushed some hair from her face towards her ears, hoping maybe it would conceal some of the evidence of her embarrassment. “I simply have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” he echoed as he followed after her out the door. “Well, that is…” As he strode up beside her, he grimaced and sighed before inevitably accepting his words were failing him. “…Unexpected.”

Despite herself, Nox couldn’t help but to laugh, and the bundle of nerves sitting in her stomach started unraveling. He had that effect on her, even his blunders were unwittingly charming. “I should certainly hope so, given the nature of surprises,” she teased and threw a grin up at him.

“You know, I am regularly accused of grand verbosity, as most wizards are. I’ve probably had the complaint lobbed at me more than some of the greatest scholars of the realms, and I still somehow so often flounder it with you, Moon Mage,” Gale huffed lightly. “I swear I was cursed not long after making your acquaintance.”

“It’s oft said simplicity is the key to success,” she pointed out, unable to wipe the playful smile off her face. “It is hardly my fault that you do not heed such advice.”

“I suppose there is some merit to advice like that when it is so commonly proffered, and now offered again from someone as intelligent as you,” he sighed with an overexaggerated roll of his eyes. “Fine, then I’ll ask plainly: where are you taking me? What is this surprise?”

Nox tutted and shook her head. “That’s hardly the nature of surprises either,” she answered, but motioned for him to follow her through the courtyard. “You’ll find out soon enough. Come, we’re not going far.”

If Gale had any further, burning curiosities, he did not voice them. He followed after her through the courtyard of the inn and down the slope to the riverbank without another word. She only had to urge him on once, gently tugging on his forearm when he paused to assess the fact the temperature was noticeably dropping as they moved closer to the river. She finally allowed him to stop completely when the results of her magic came into view.

“Nox…?” he asked softly. His footsteps came to a halt with a crunch on the edges of the snow and ice on the ground.

She glanced towards the new, snowy winter wonderland she had created and took in the scene again. Perhaps it wasn’t as subtle as she would have liked, but it was far too late to change anything else now. It was obviously different to the snowy evening she gave the tieflings and Harpers, being a smaller area and more dimly lit. Looking at it again, it was clearly much more intimate, and with that realization she could feel panic seize her throat. It wasn’t that she minded if it was read like that—she should mind, but she didn’t—but if Gale considered it that way and it was not what he wanted, then she would suddenly have a lot of backtracking and explaining to do before she could even attempt to get him to enjoy it, which she certainly hadn’t planned for and had no idea where to even begin—

As quickly as it came, the panic subsided the moment she turned back to address him. Gale was staring up at the gentle snowfall with thinly veiled awe, the light of his smile reaching his eyes as he held out his hand to catch a few flakes on his palm. Nox felt every muscle ease at the sight, and her heart melted more as she watched him hold out his other hand to catch even more of the snow. He had a similar reaction in the courtyard earlier when he first saw the conjured snowfall with the others, but it was interrupted by everyone else also marveling and having fun. Now they were alone—uninterrupted—and the sight of his unabashed joy made all of this preparation worth it on its own.

When he turned his gaze back on her, he somehow only brightened more. “What is all this?”

“Oh, you know…” She shrugged one shoulder sheepishly and swept her eyes over the snow again. “I wanted a party for two is all, just for a little while,” she answered after a moment. “I know it’s nothing compared to Waterdhavian winters,” she added quietly, “But as I said earlier, I figured any small bit of wonder in this land of bleakness was a worthy endeavor.”

“This is no small bit of wonder, Nox,” Gale said with a small shake of his head. He brushed his hands together before resting one gently on her shoulder. “This is magnificent. Truly magical in every sense of the word.”

Something fluttered in her chest at the praise. “I’m glad you think so,” Nox said, relief and sincerity washing through her. She held his gaze with a smile, indulging the warmth blooming in her chest for a few moments, before the realization rang out in her mind that she could simply stay like this forever, but the moment was stretching for too long.

“However…” She cleared her throat and took a reluctant step away from him. “In addition to being pretty, it is also serving a purpose. Follow me.”

She walked over to the bag she left sitting by one of the rocks and knelt down to dust off the coating of snow resting on top. “You’re going to need these,” she declared, pulling a pair of boots out of the bag. She gave them a once over before holding them out for him to take.

Gale also gave them a look over, very obviously feeling the Weave emanating from them. “And these are…?” he asked, taking them from her and turning them over in his hands.

“I’m calling them the Ice Stompers.” That alone should tell him what they were, but she decided to add some context. “Do you remember how I was using the excuse of needing to train my transmuting skills in order to give you more items to consume for the Orb?” she asked and closed the bag.

“Oh, so you are admitting the Orb was the primary reason now?” he asked lightly.

Nox shrugged again and stood back up, brushing snow off of the lower parts of her robes. “I figured you were never fooled, and it is in the distant past…you can’t scold me or try to dissuade me from making the effort now,” she answered. “Also, beside the point. That endeavor did also better my transmutation skills. We…’lost’ the last pair of boots we had that worked well against difficult terrain—” ‘Lost’ was the kinder way of putting it to him, but his lips still pulled into a frown. “—So, I made a new pair. Specifically for ice, in this case.”

“Alright…” Gale said slowly, clearly trying to piece together why that was the case. Despite his confusion, he still did as she asked, dropping one of the boots to the ground and toeing out of his own before stepping into it.

“Do they fit?” Nox asked, head tilting as she examined the boot he now wore. She had gone through a lot of trouble to ensure the size of his boots without letting him onto anything, and she had a hunch the ‘unspecified favor’ she now owed Astarion was going to cost her. If the intel was correct though, then she would happily pay any price.

“They do,” he nodded before repeating the process with the other boot. “Though, I am still unclear as to why I need them.”

“Well…”

It was easier to show him. Without answering, she stepped around him and walked to the part of the river she froze. Tentatively, she placed a foot on the ice and tested its sturdiness before putting her full weight into the step. Certain it was frozen enough by now to not give away, she confidently strode fully onto the ice and slid a bit before turning around and grinning at him, hand outstretched.

Gale stared at her incredulously for several seconds, before eyeing the ice skeptically and then looking back up at her with the same, unconvinced gaze. “You are aware my knees are liable to give way at any moment, correct? Especially in a cold snap such as this?”

It was about the reaction she expected from him. “You do not get to play the old age card to an elf, Gale,” Nox teased.

“I rather think I do, given the biological differences in our aging processes.”

Despite his obvious reticence, Gale still walked over to her, though kept his feet firmly rooted to the snowy grass. “Nox, I know of your confidence on the ice, given your predilection towards the element, so surely by now you must know of my lack thereof? I am hardly as graceful as you,” he said and shot her a small, wry smile. “Might I inquire as to why you thought of this for your ‘party of two’?”

That was also about what she expected in terms of a reaction. She figured he would be reluctant—and she couldn’t entirely blame him—but she had hoped maybe he would humor her, just this once. Nox sighed, attempting not to let too much disappointment shine on her face, but before she could drop her hand, his palm slid against hers. She looked down at their hands and then up to his face, brow raised in question. Gale hadn’t moved from the grass, but one side of his mouth tipped upwards, and he shrugged.

Alright, if he wasn’t fully against the idea, then she could at least work with that. “Do you want the real answer?” she asked. “Or do you want the logical answer I knew I needed to come up with for when you looked at me like I had finally lost my mind at the mere suggestion?”

“Oh, I didn’t expect to have a choice,” Gale chuckled. After thinking it over for a second, he decided, “Let’s start with the logical answer.”

“That’s simple,” she said and held up her finger. “One, we are going to be squaring off against an allegedly immortal man who is more than likely the reason—or part of the reason—we have illithid tadpoles in our heads. Two—” She held up another finger. “—I am, among other things, a wizard predisposed towards ice magic. I am, however, not as well-trained of an evoker as you, and my spells are not always meticulously sculpted.”

She held up a third finger, and with her other hand, tugged on his to pull herself closer to him. “And three, as you’ve already implied, you, dear Wizard of Waterdeep,” she addressed him with a poke to his chest, “Are not the most graceful when it comes to keeping your balance…to put it delicately. You could use some practice before we face our foe, lest you instead wind up falling on your face from a spell I needed to cast.”

“Hm…”

He was mulling over her answer with serious consideration, but as his brown eyes narrowed in thought, she could see a familiar, playful spark igniting under the veneer of genuine deliberation. “I take some offense to that, but as they are my own words and your logic is sound, I suppose I cannot refute it,” he relented.

Given how their debates had gone in the past, that was almost too easy. Still, Nox smirked, rather pleased it hadn’t taken that much to convince him. Yet, her victory was cut short when she stepped back to pull him onto the ice, and instead he pulled her right back to stand in front of him.

“Except,” he countered, his own smile slipping through, “It does beg the question that if you are so concerned over this, why are you not training your spell sculpting in order to be more accommodating?”

Her smirk fell into a pout, and she huffed. “Of these two complications, one is much easier to remedy in the short term,” she pointed out. “I chose the quicker option for our current timeline. Unless you would rather explain to everyone else why we are stalling through the several nights it would take for me to be able to utilize spell sculpting as naturally as I do arcane warding?”

“I would gladly assist you with that, you know,” Gale offered. “You are a quick study on what few skills you do not already possess. It would hardly take any time at all.”

“And you are insufferable,” Nox muttered under her breath, though it carried no bite whatsoever. Something he acknowledged if the way his lips twitched upward was any indication. He enjoyed teasing her far too much. “Alright, how about this, then?” she asked and smiled sweetly up at him. “Step on the ice now, and I swear we will start tomorrow evening.”

Gale laughed, but finally conceded to her request. Hesitantly, he placed one foot on the ice, followed closely by the other. His grip tightened around her hand as she stepped back and he slid in front of her. Nox offered her other hand, which he took readily, before she took another step and pulled him along with her. His legs shook some with the effort to stay steady, but the magic she embedded in the boots held to its purpose of keeping him upright.

“See?” Nox giggled, delighted as they started moving—albeit slowly—around the frozen portion of the river. Her eyes trailed from watching his feet up to meet Gale’s gaze, which rested pleasantly on her. “It’s not so bad, right?”

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed quietly. “Few things are with you.”

He held her stare and she felt as though she were just caught under a Charm spell of his, incapable of glancing away from his purposeful gaze while the sweet words he offered repeated in her mind. Had her presence truly eased him that much? Before she could offer a response, or even process what to make of what he said, one of his legs wobbled again and he leaned forward, his hands pressing harder against hers to steady himself once more.

“Right…well…” Gale coughed to clear his throat. “Now that I have conceded to your wishes, may I ask what the real answer is?”

“Of course,” she agreed, though her voice was distant.

She said nothing for a few moments, instead letting them gain a bit more momentum as she took the steps to mentally shake herself from her temporary stupor. Once her shock from the moment had passed—and she quickly quelled her disappointment over the fact he was no longer gazing at her—she settled on taking her own advice regarding simplicity from earlier. She let go of one of his hands and swung around, gliding beside him.

“Gale…when was the last time you simply had fun with magic?”

“What?” Gale sputtered, nearly tripping over himself with how quickly he turned to look back at her. She put an arm around his waist to steady him, then met his gaze once he settled from his flailing. “I enjoy magic and indulging the Weave every day,” he said quickly. “I thought you would understand that better than anyone.”

“I do, obviously,” she reassured him. “I enjoy orchestrating the Weave as much as the next mage whenever it is necessary, but that isn’t what I meant.”

She let go of his waist after she was assured he was steady again, then took a few steps ahead to actually skate across the ice rather than simply sliding. When she turned around to face him, she pointed at his feet to encourage him to follow suit.

“What I meant is exactly what I asked: when was the last time you used magic for fun?” she clarified. “Not for battling purposes, not for healing or taking care of others, and not for maintaining or proving your place in society. When did you last use magic exclusively for entertainment?”

“Ah…well…”

In place of giving an answer, he mimicked her motions and took a step on the ice. When he didn’t immediately slip, he looked down at his own feet in amazement, and then took another step. He smiled up at her, pride written across his face from managing to skate without falling, only for it to slowly falter and sober as he reconsidered her question.

“I…should suppose it has been a while, under those conditions,” he admitted. “Not since I was with Mystra, I think…though I did not believe you wished to hear more about that, and honestly I would much prefer not speaking on it further now, all things considered.”

Nox sighed. He was correct in his assumptions that she did not want to hear more about his relationship with Mystra—just mention of the Goddess made her almost recoil—but he still wasn’t understanding what she was asking. “That is fair, and also not what I meant. I meant fun, Gale,” she stressed the word to impart its meaning. “Something just for you, something exclusively for your enjoyment, without trying to impress or entertain anyone else.”

Neither of them had explicitly said it, but it was obvious to her at least that during his entire relationship with the Goddess of Magic, Gale was not doing anything without the express intent of impressing her. It was understandable, with him being a mortal and her being a goddess, but the concept was…well it was why it enraged her so. It was upsetting, and the damage was clearly done. That was definitely not what she meant, that ultimately wasn’t fun.

He fell quiet again as he reconsidered her extra clarification, half-skating and half-sliding after her. She watched as his face continued to fall deeper into a frown, and she wondered if he could hear her heart cracking in response in the silence between them.

“It…has been quite a while, then.”

“As I suspected,” Nox muttered. She skated back to his side and reached out, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze before looking up at him with a small, weary smile. “If it is any consolation, it’s the same for me as well.”

“I wouldn’t call that consolatory,” he said after a moment. He grasped her hand and looked down at her with a similar, exhausted smile. “But I suppose I am glad—and relatively unsurprised—to hear I am not alone.”

They both fell silent for several minutes, skating side by side and letting the shared sentiment rest between them as they lapped the frozen part of the river a few times. Nox watched him carefully as they went, thoughts straying further from the somewhat depressing, shared reality between them. Instead, her mind turned towards the man beside her now. Gale still stumbled here and there but was beginning to get his legs under him even compared to when he first stepped onto the ice. She probably wouldn’t need to watch over him like this for much longer, and that was a shame.

Winter…suited him, she decided. Snowflakes dotted his hair and there was a light, white dusting covering his shoulders, contrasting beautifully against his lightly tanned skin and the dark violet fabric of his robes. The lights of her cantrips shone and reflected in his eyes and in the cold air around him, giving him an even greater mystical—ethereal, even—appearance. The concentration etched into his face as he focused on his balance was equal parts admirable and adorable, though it did nothing to hide the quiet joy radiating from the small, perhaps subconscious, upwards curve of his lips or the wonder as he glanced up at the gentle snowfall.

This was triumph. She was positively giddy this had worked out exactly as she wished, and it took much of her self-control to not spontaneously burst out into giggles from what felt like a thousand butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She kept it contained, mostly because she found her attention drawn in by having the chance to study him in a moment of solitude. For the second time in one night, Nox was struck yet again by the fact that he was, by all accounts, an incredibly handsome man. A fact that was accompanied by the words her sister had spoken to her earlier in the evening.

Smitten. Was that…was that truly what this was?

“Is something wrong?”

Gale’s voice pulled her from her ruminations, and she blinked up at him to find him looking back down at her, bemused.

Right, she was staring.

“No, no. No, nothing’s wrong,” she said quickly. “It’s just…uh…you’re—” Incredibly attractive and it is surprisingly distracting. “—You’re getting better,” she shrugged weakly.

“Oh! I am glad you believe so! I did not want to say anything and risk making a fool of myself if you disagreed, but I was thinking the same,” he chuckled. “The Ice Stompers are a significant help, naturally. If you told me to do this without them, I’m sure I’d still be as stumbling as a baby fawn learning to walk, but I believe I am starting to get a feel for the movements,” he smiled and squeezed her hand again. “And I will admit it is rather enjoyable to be able to accompany you.”

She grinned upon hearing that, beyond thrilled to hear him confirm her initial purpose was a success. “Excellent!” she beamed. Immediately, she registered her enthusiasm as being a little too much and she glanced away. “That’s…that is all I was looking for,” she added, schooling her voice into a calmer tone. “I am incredibly glad to hear it.”

Gale chuckled again and pulled her closer to his side, the action urging her to look back at him. He smiled down at her with warm, contemplative eyes languidly taking her in, and she was yet again mesmerized by how he appeared under the dim lights and gently falling snow. Now, she was also pulled in by how he looked at her: patient, understanding, and with a warmth she could never identify beyond how it made her stomach flip.

“It has been a while for you as well, hasn’t it?” Gale mused after a few moments of thoughtful silence.

“It…” She blinked. “…Pardon?” she fumbled, bewildered as her mind caught up with what he said.

“Apologies, I meant no insult,” he clarified quickly. “I just do not believe I have ever seen you look this…light before.” He immediately frowned and shook his head. “By which I mean, you are usually much more focused and intense with…well, just about everything you do. It is admirable and amazing to witness, mind you! But…”

His eyes softened when he dared to meet her befuddled gaze again. “I have never seen you truly smile like this before, and it is an honor to catch more than a mere glimpse of it. Your smile is a breathtaking sight—you are a breathtaking sight!—but it does put much into perspective.”

“…Oh,” Nox muttered, unable to piece together much else. Her head swam with his words, both the compliment—he liked her smile—and at the underlying implication of what he said. That he knew her enough by now to visibly see she was speaking the truth earlier.

His free hand swung out, motioning towards their surroundings and recentering her on the present moment instead of her runaway thoughts. “You said yourself that it has been a while since you have simply had fun with magic, as well,” Gale repeated softly.

“It is rather obvious when you know, isn’t it?” she asked with an awkward laugh. After a moment, a long sigh escaped her—as much of an acknowledgment of his question as it was to calm her own nerves—and she nodded. “It has been a while; I assure you I was not lying just to sympathize.”

“Then, may I pose your question back to you?” he asked tentatively.

“I…suppose that is only fair,” Nox agreed. It was probably in her best interest to have a change in subject and a topic to focus her thoughts on anyways. “Even though you technically have not yet answered. ‘A while’ is not a satisfactory answer,” she pointed out lightly.

Despite her momentary distraction throwing her completely off-kilter, she had prepared an answer for this question. She had expected he would inquire about her as well simply because, at worst, Gale was never afraid to pose her prying questions back to her, which she respected him all the more for. And at best…he cared for her the same way she cared for him. Either way, she had already figured she would need to answer this question for herself tonight as well.

“Honestly? The night we shared the Weave together was the most fun I have had with magic in a long, long while,” Nox said.

Gale snorted in response and quirked a brow. “I do not believe that night fits the criteria you placed on me. As I recall it, you were trying to upstage me for most of the evening,” he pointed out.

“Indeed I was! And that was the most fun I’ve had in ages!” When he frowned at her, she shook her head and nudged him lightly, enough to tease but not enough to send him sprawling on the ice. “I’m kidding…because you are correct,” she said, sobering. “I did spend most of that night trying to one up and impress you, mostly because I believed I still had something to prove to you. You were the first of our peers in over fifty years who, once you knew who I was, decided I didn’t have something to prove, after all.”

“And I still believe most of our peers are fools for that alone,” Gale interjected.

She flashed him an appreciative smile before continuing, “And yet…despite that, that night was also the first spark in reminding me how much I enjoyed magic on its own.” She glanced down at their still joined hands, her smile slipping with her thoughts. “It was a wake-up call for me to realize how long it had truly been since I last genuinely enjoyed magic for magic. It was also a blatant reminder for how much I used to enjoy sharing it with others, and a blatant contrast for how…”

Nox sighed, her eyes drifting towards the small expanse of snow and ice before them. “Well…for how isolating it has been since my mother passed, if I’m to be honest,” she admitted, her voice nearly cracking. It was a truth she had known for years, one she let lie dormant in the back of her mind, but not one she had ever voiced aloud before. It was high time to acknowledge it, she could acknowledge it now, because of him.

Gale’s hand squeezed around hers, but she didn’t dare look up. She had no desire to cry tonight, and she knew she could get through this small explanation without doing so, so long as she did not look up. If she saw the sympathy shining in his eyes—something she knew would be there no matter what—she wasn’t positive she would be able to hold back.

“I still have people, I know. Lux has quite literally been by my side since we were born, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for the Elturian refugees, I’ve made pleasant acquaintances all along the Sword Coast during my travels, and even now we have our little party of misfits whom I’ve grown to love. I’m not alone…but it’s not the same,” she sighed again. “Magic is the biggest part of my life, and it’s not the same when you can’t share something so instrumental to yourself with others. Or you can share it, but you know they can’t understand it in the way you need them to. I at least had Kalden for a time, but then I lost him in Avernus and…”

She gave one, sharp shake of her head and pulled back the tears pricking her eyes before they started flowing. In the back of her mind, she acknowledged this was probably the most she had spoken about herself since they had met, and the most she had spoken about all she had been through ever. It was not a topic she intended to discuss in full tonight, and not one she wanted to dwell on any longer than necessary, but one she knew she needed to explain—at least in part—in order to impart the sincerity of what she was about to admit. Vulnerability was, unfortunately, the only way she could think of to do as she needed.

Instead of continuing, she took a large breath and squared her shoulders before turning to look back up at Gale. He was watching her silently—a rarity for him—with the sympathy she knew would be there blazing in his eyes and a firm grip on her hand in reassurance.

“My point,” Nox said, forcing the shakiness from her voice. “My point is that you threw me a lifeline that night, Gale. One I didn’t even know I needed until I found myself clinging to it days later.”

“Nox.”

Gale’s hand tightened around hers as he slowed to a stop. He pulled her to stand in front of him once more and let go of her hand to gently reach out and grip both of her arms. “I had no idea that night meant that much to you,” he whispered. His eyes widened a bit with his words, and he was quick to add, “Make no mistake, I enjoyed it immensely and it has quickly become one of my fondest memories, but I never realized you regarded it as highly as you did.”

She gave him a small smile to assuage his concerns. She knew he was being genuine and not simply stating that to appease her, just as she knew that night likely did mean a great deal to him as well.

“No words could properly convey just how immeasurably flattered I am to hear that you do regard that night as you say,” he continued. His thumbs brushed over her shoulders, tracing circles into the bit of snow clinging to her robes. “And I am beyond grateful to know I was able to offer you such safety, however accidentally it was at the time.”

“How accidental it was is the beauty of it, I think,” Nox softly said. It was true they both had ulterior motives that night, but the connection they forged despite that was undeniably ironclad and had genuinely become that lifeline for her. There was something deeply poetic to it that she acknowledged but couldn’t articulate. “And it is also what ultimately led us here. It was what ultimately made me reflect, on myself of course, but also on you.”

“On me?”

She nodded and brought a hand up to lightly rest over one of his, delicately tracing down the backs of his fingers with her own. “The more you spoke of your own experiences—how few, if any, friends you had, how you were isolated away from the world you should have been a part of, the entirety of Mystra and the Orb—the more it felt…familiar. Not exactly the same, but enough. And the more it felt familiar, the more I wished to offer the same to you as you did for me.”

“Oh…” Gale breathed out. “I…” He stumbled over his words, a breathy laugh pushing past his lips instead. “I find myself rather lacking in the proper words at the moment. A year’s worth of isolation and no one, aside from Tara, ever so much as thought to do the same for me as you are now…”

“I know,” she whispered while gently threading her fingers through his. “You don’t have to say anything. Gods above, I rarely have the proper words for a moment and am often rendered silent, it is nice to have the tables turned for once,” she joked.

The corners of his eyes crinkled when he grinned at her, and she saw the twinkle of a few tears glimmering in the soft light of her magic. He said nothing further though, simply squeezed her fingers with his in silent appreciation.

“But truly, we all need a break,” Nox continued. She tilted her head to lay her cheek on their joined hands resting on her shoulder. “It has just been rather obvious that you had a higher need than the rest of us, all things considered. So, I wished to offer what I could, recognizing that I was uniquely capable amongst our friends in that regard. A wizard would know best what a wizard needs, after all.”

“It would certainly appear so,” he agreed quietly with a subtle nod.

His eyes trailed from hers down to where their hands rested under her cheek, and she moved her head back when she felt his hand shift against her shoulder. She watched, curious, as he clutched her hand and drew it towards his face. She only had a moment of recognition before his thumb traced down her palm and he leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between her hand and his lips.

“Oh.” The startled gasp escaped her without warning when he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. Her wide eyes looked up from their hands to find a set of warm, brown eyes staring back at her, positively entranced. “Okay…”

“Your sentiment is well-received, Nox,” Gale mumbled, lips ghosting over her skin as his warm breath flitted down the back of her hand and wrist. “And I cherish it well beyond what I am able to properly voice.”

“I am more than satisfied with knowing you are enjoying yourself, though I assure you it’s—” Her lips parted with another sharp intake of breath when he moved up, pressing a kiss to the base of her middle finger. Nox bit down on her bottom lip, barely catching an overwhelmingly exuberant giggle before it bubbled out. A smile still tugged at the corners of her mouth. “—It was truly no trouble at all, hardly worthy of such gratitude.”

“That you genuinely believe it to be no trouble means it is only all the more worthy,” he refuted softly, before kissing her finger one more time and meeting her gaze again. She saw the hints of his smirk hiding behind their hands before he added, “Even if I cannot quite fathom why you believed it was a good idea to bring an old wizard with bad knees into such a cold snap.”

She was lightheaded, her heart ready to burst with the happiness from knowing she was successful and all the praises he was offering her. She couldn’t prevent herself from laughing this time at the absurdity of his teasing in comparison to everything else. “Oh, come off it! You’re hardly old, and you’ve been perfectly fine since we started,” Nox scoffed. With her hand still in his, she pulled him back into moving again as she resumed skating. “You’re truly not going to let this go, are you?”

“It is simply an interesting choice, is all I am implying,” Gale chuckled. He allowed her to guide him back on the ice, though. “And a far cry different than sharing the Weave.”

“Naturally. I had to figure out something different to sharing the Weave, you already laid claim to that,” she responded as if it were obvious. “So, I got to brainstorming and…admittedly, probably lost myself to the nostalgia of everything else.”

His fingers threaded through hers as they fell into a comfortable speed gliding around the ice once more. He appeared confident enough by now that he likely didn’t her as a safety net anymore, but she was in no spot to complain that he was still holding her hand.

“The truth is…I did this often as a child,” Nox admitted. She glanced up at him for a brief moment, and then turned her attention to the falling snow. “I was…not the most social of individuals in my youth—” That was the kinder way to put it. “—I was…different. There are not many elves in Elturel, and not many children were quite as taken with their studies as I was. So when Lux wasn’t around, I often found myself alone with nothing to do, and taken with my studies as I was, practicing what I could of my magic helped ease the boredom and loneliness.”

She smiled as her face turned upward, a few flakes landing on her nose and cheeks. After a moment, she tugged him forward, pulling him towards the center of her magical winter. “It also helped for me to create my isolation in the form of something beautiful. You have enjoyed many a Waterdhavian winters, have you not?” she asked, slowing to stand in the middle of the icy patch on the river.

“Several during my time, yes,” Gale answered.

“Then you understand what it is like to stand in a snowstorm in the middle of the night?” she asked softly, violet eyes searching his face in earnest. When he opened his mouth to answer, she held up a finger and lightly shook her head. “You know the stillness of it? To be surrounded by nothing but the darkness of the night and the white of the snow? To hear nothing but the quiet snowfall mixed with the sounds of your own breath?”

He didn’t try to speak again, and her hand slowly returned to her side. Instead, his gaze focused on hers as their breaths fell in sync. In place of their words, the slight patter of snowflakes against the ice could be heard interspersed between every quiet inhale and exhale they took. There was nothing else, no sound coming from the Last Light Inn or the ravaged, cursed lands around Moonrise Towers. No screams, no laughs, no fighting or struggling for survival.

For one, blissful moment, it was just her and Gale and the quiet snowfall.

It was the stillness she spoke of, the one she knew resided in her heart and the one she had conjured for herself a hundred times. The one she never realized until now—until her chest tightened the longer she gazed up at him in this moment—she had been aching to share with another who would understand.

And Gale did understand, given how his hand tightened around hers and given just how easily his face smoothed into a wonderful tenderness the longer he smiled down at her. Hesitantly, his other hand reached out and gently grabbed at her waist, drawing her just the slightest bit closer. When she didn’t resist—when she couldn’t resist with how erratically her heart beat at the gesture—he settled his hand on her hip and gave the slightest bit of a nod.

“Can you feel it now? How it is to be a single, solitary creature witnessing something marvelous?” she breathed out, her words catching a few times. “To witness something mystical and so tremendously beautiful you only have the opportunity to experience it in the utmost privacy away from the world around you?”

His eyes dipped, slowly trailing down her form and back up again in admiration and—if she dared believe it—longing. “I have always found winter beautiful, but never quite to this degree,” Gale said, barely above a whisper. “Though with you—” He looked over her again as he cleared his throat, presumably to remove the roughness from his voice. “—With how you speak of it, I certainly understand the appeal.”

She spared a sidelong glance towards the snow, her smile light as her face warmed. “It is likely the predisposition towards ice magic that makes me speak of winter as if I’m insane,” Nox joked, feeling an indescribable need to lessen her words for a reason she couldn’t quite place. Embarrassment hung off of her shoulders, but it was not the type she was used to feeling in the face of her own earnestness. It was softer now, and she didn’t quite mind its presence as much.

“I enjoyed it immensely when I was younger, if that isn’t obvious,” she chuckled. “I still immensely enjoy being able to conjure my own personal winter to dance and play in as I see fit. But it’s been well over fifty years since I have last indulged myself, and even then…the last time I did, it wasn’t for myself.”

The last time she had done this had been for Kalden, for his first date with his future wife. It was a fact she briefly acknowledged when the idea first struck her and then one she did not consider again. She was rather keen on avoiding it altogether, having no desire to unpack the implications of that fact, or even let on that any implications existed at all.

“So, with some reflection accidentally brought on by you, I decided it was time to try again,” Nox said instead. “And I thought that this time, perhaps I could share a little piece of my own, personal serenity. I figured, perhaps, you needed it more than I did.”

Gale didn’t respond immediately, choosing instead to study her silently with a warm, near-hypnotic gaze. She was enraptured again, unable to glance away from his penetrating, brown eyes as he stared into her own, and unable to speak on anything more. He searched her eyes as if he was looking for an answer to a question he hadn’t voiced, and she was uncertain as to what that could possibly be. When he evidently found whatever it was he sought from her gaze, he finally ducked his head and chuckled in embarrassment.

“I…suppose I should rescind my prior complaints,” he muttered. His head was still bowed, but he glanced over at her from his position and gave her an apologetic smile. “That is monumentally thoughtful, and as only you are wont to do, you have endeared me entirely to the concept.”

She blinked, caught off guard that he was even concerned about that. “You were only joking, I know,” she reassured and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I took no offense, I swear.”

His eyes slid to look at her hand, then back to her face. “Still, this is sincerely one of the most heartfelt things anyone has ever given me,” he said and straightened. “If I had understood how much it meant to you…”

“It’s fine, Gale,” Nox cut him off with a small laugh. “You didn’t have the context because I never gave it to you, and I understand how it could have been easily misconstrued.” She sighed quietly and squeezed his shoulder. “You know, I only ever intended this to be for you.”

It was Gale’s turn to be caught off guard, if how he stared down at her was any indicator. “How do you mean, exactly?”

“The stuff earlier with the refugees and the Harpers?” she asked rhetorically and then shook her head. “That wasn’t in my plan. This was only ever meant for you, but after rescuing the prisoners and reuniting everyone, the atmosphere still felt quite dour.” Understandably so, they had rescued everyone from Moonrise Towers, but that didn’t eliminate the ordeal and all the prisoners had already been through. “I felt obligated to do…well, something, and I already had most of the logistics of it worked out. It wasn’t…this…”

Nox sighed, motioning around them at the snow and lights. “It wasn’t the quiet and the solitude, it wasn’t me trying to impart the peace the snow grants me, but it was a few hours of playful mischief with some winter weather,” she shrugged, “I understand how you could have believed I was asking for the same with you.”

“You care for the refugees a great deal,” Gale said, something like realization lighting up behind his eyes.

“I…do,” she agreed with just a touch of hesitation. “I’ve never made that a secret.”

“Then…I would not be presumptuous to say you also care for me a great deal,” he added quietly. It wasn’t quite a question—if anything it was the second half to a logic puzzle—but his desire for an answer was evident.

“I…suppose,” she agreed tentatively.

She immediately regretted the words the moment they left her lips. That answer was far too hesitant, far too uncertain for a truth she had readily accepted for well over a month now. He deserved to know that truth if he was questioning it. She deserved to say it wholly.

“Yes, I do,” Nox corrected after a moment, sounding much more determined in her answer. “And if you have to question that, I suppose I’ve made that more of a secret than I’ve intended.”

“Or perhaps I was simply refusing to believe what was in front of me,” Gale mumbled, his mind obviously distantly in his thoughts. As if shaking himself, his eyes refocused on her with a sudden clarity, a renewed brightness, and a subtle hint of absolute terror. Her heart flopped over in her chest.

“I understand now, Nox,” he said softly.

After flopping over, her heart leapt into her throat as her wavering gaze snapped up to meet his, startled by his words. “Understand…what, exactly?” she forced out. What was there to understand?

“I understand…” His eyes searched hers again while he trailed off. She probably would have accosted anyone other than Gale, but with him, all she could do was stare back, mystified.

After a moment, he released a breath and shook his head. “I…understand why they call you Archmage,” he answered with a weak smile.

Disappointment dropped low in her gut, though she couldn’t quite place why. His admittance was not what she expected—she wasn’t sure what she expected—though it was enough to calm her racing heart. She swallowed back the lingering lump in her throat before daring to speak. “That’s a people’s title, Gale, nothing more,” she smiled wanly.

“It means the world to them. It matters to them,” he disagreed. His hand pressed into her hip a bit as his eager eyes sought out hers. “Just as it matters to me. It’s admirable, and worth much more than simply being gifted it.”

The sentiment was kind, but she still blew out a breath and shook her head. “Most mages would disagree with you.”

“And as we’ve already established, most of our peers are fools,” he said resolutely. “Most of our peers are quick to write off everyone they meet based on a first glance and snap judgment. The people who know you, who have spent time with you, those who have been under your protection and those who have fought by your side…they are the ones whose opinions matter, because they are the ones whose opinions are true. And the refugees?” he asked rhetorically. “They are the people who know you. They are the ones who like you, who trust you…you make them feel safe, Nox.”

“’Safe’?” she echoed, incredulous. He had a point, and though she was taken aback at how eager he was to get it across, she could admit it was there. She had not given much thought towards what most of their peers considered of her in a long while. But…safety was not where she expected him to end that proclamation.

“’Safe’ is not the word I would expect to be associated with,” Nox chuckled with no small amount of self-deprecation coloring her voice. “Irritating? Sure. Confusing? Certainly. But safe? The blunt, wandering hermit more interested in whatever book her nose found itself stuck in rather than those around her? I doubt most people come away from an interaction with me feeling safe.”

“I mean it,” he insisted. Her gaze started pulling away, uncertainty flooding her veins, but he hooked a finger under her chin and forced her attention back to him. She refused to dwell on the small, surprised breath she sucked in at his action.

“Verbosity aside, I am not one to speak words I do not believe in,” Gale said. “We are all rough around the edges. I have heard my ego likened to that of a strutting peacock, for instance. Perhaps you are brusque and blunt or uncertain and awkward, but you breed a sense of safety wherever you reside, and people can feel your sincerity. After all, who else would manage to free every individual trapped in a cult’s high security prison, and then throw them a small party in celebration to ease their nerves?”

It was hardly fair to expect her to be unaffected by his words or the closeness they now shared. The snow started falling harder above them, and her eyes turned upwards to watch the path of a few flakes as they descended from the sky and landed in the soft brown locks of his hair or the velvety purple fabric covering his shoulders and arms. When she returned her attention to him, he was still gazing down at her with a blazing sincerity that made her chest constrict and stole the breath from her lungs.

Gale’s visage staring down at her now, under the light and snow of the magic she orchestrated in the Weave for him, was an image she would carry with her for the rest of her long life.

“At the very least, I know that there is no one else in my life who would witness me struggling as I have been and decide—correctly, I might add—that I needed to have some fun with magic, and that means something. It has to mean something, it is worth so…so very much,” he whispered.

Her eyes fell shut and she bit the edge of her bottom lip. It did mean something.

“I have understood for a while now how you earned your title,” he continued, and she opened her eyes back up to watch him. “You are well-versed in the Art and undeniably talented, but over time I have realized it is so much more. Beyond power and intelligence—both you have in abundance, mind—being an Archmage is about capability and safety, strength and kindness…”

He sighed and shook his head, almost in disbelief at her. “You have earned the title twice over by those standards since I have met you alone, just as you have earned the admiration and love and camaraderie of the people around you. You…you are the promise of a better tomorrow, Nox’ani,” he said quietly, “You are the brightness of a better future, and I am a better man simply by knowing you.”

“Gale…”

She faltered in the face of such praise. What was there that she could possibly say to that? Under normal circumstances, she would mutter her gratitude, an apology, and then walk away, but this was not normal circumstance. This was Gale, and such an admittance coming from him required eloquence in response, something she lacked on a good day, let alone when he stunned her into silence.

“Gale, I…”

Nox struggled again, trailing off with a sigh. After taking a moment to regain some grip on her composure, she blew out a long breath and nodded. The only appropriate way to respond was as she had done before, with vulnerability. The best option was by speaking what she felt in her heart. “If that is all the requirements for the title, then perhaps that is why I am so willing to grant it to you, as well.”

Surprise sparked to life in his dark eyes, only to be snuffed out by a profound sadness. “I am afraid I lost all rights to that title over a year ago. Not…entirely unjustly, at that.”

“We all make mistakes—a part of a wizard’s charm, really,” she joked with a tight smile. “You are twice the man now you ever were then, I can tell. There is no reason you cannot work towards rectifying your mistake and reclaiming the title,” she said, her smile growing more sincere. “And if that is the case, then all I ask is that you allow me the honor to be the first to call you Archmage once more.”

With glassy eyes, Gale smiled down at her, and traced his thumb just under her bottom lip. “Coming from you, that carries a lot of weight,” he whispered. “It carries a grand amount of meaning, and a grand amount of hope. It…” He paused, grief briefly flickering across his eyes. “It would be nice to live up to your expectations, one day.”

“No more than it would be for me to live up to yours,” she breathed. “But you will, I believe,” Nox added, “And maybe through that, so will I.”

A small hum rumbled in his throat in agreement. He said nothing further though, his eyes instead flickering downwards, mapping a delicate path over her nose and cheeks before settling on her mouth. She waited for several seconds, not moving, not breathing as his hooded gaze rested on her lips, until his thumb moved up to trace over the curve of her bottom lip.

“Gale…?” she asked on a shuddering breath.

His eyes snapped back to hers, and she could’ve easily gotten lost in the dark, heated depths. “Nox…” he mumbled, leaning closer to her. He tilted her head up a little further and his eyes fell back down to her parted lips. “May I…”

Before either could move any further, a violet light flared between them that had them both peeling back from one another. Nox watched, flabbergasted, as the Orb flared to life in his chest, seemingly in response to one of the globes from her Dancing Lights floating too closely to them. She looked up to Gale in question, but he appeared just as shocked and harried as she felt, his frantic hands smoothing over his chest as he stared down at the Orb.

“I guess it still likes my magic,” Nox remarked, the logical part of her brain apparently ahead of the rest of her.

It made sense, Dancing Lights was the spell she fed directly to the Orb when they were bereft of all other options. Despite being calmed, the Orb still responded to magic it recognized—that was the only explanation for what just happened, and she supposed it was lucky that it only responded to the one spell she gave it directly and not all of her magic in general.

But it just had to happen now. Though, perhaps that was for the best. As her eyes locked with his, she understood the Orb was serving as a grim reminder for the realization that just tore through her with its flash.

You are in love with a dead man, Nox.

In love. For the first time, she was in love. That was the only explanation for the rush of emotion that surged through her veins once she realized they weren’t in imminent danger. The disappointment at the moment lost, the fear—not for her life, but for losing the man in front of her, and all the grief that carried, the loss itself, and the desire to go back. The overwhelming urge to hold him in her arms again, to assure him this was alright, that everything would be alright and they could—they would get through it. Gods, if nothing else, there was nothing more she wanted than to feel the hand he was using to readjust his robes back under her chin again, guiding her back to him.

She was in love, for the first time. That should have been terrifying enough on its own—and it was—but of course there had to be more. Of course it had to be with Gale. Of course, it had to be with a man slipping through her fingers as easily as the Weave did when she cast a spell, as easily as the water of the Chionthar on a hot, sunny day. A man so brilliant and breathtakingly bright who was divinely charged to burst and fade away, to dim until there was nothing left of him at all.

She was in love with a dead man walking. A man she desperately, desperately wanted to save.

“Apologies,” Gale said, a panic-tinged, embarrassed chuckle escaping him and ripping her from her thoughts. His other hand rested over his chest, covering the offending light as it slowly dimmed back into dormancy. “Leave it to me to ruin the fun, eh?”

“No!” she was quick to dispute. “No, not at all, Gale, I…”

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Before she knew what she was doing, Nox glided forward and rested her hand over his. She almost regretted it when she looked up and could see a reflection of her fear in his gaze. Reticence and awkwardness thinly masked the terror sparking behind his eyes. Fear at the sudden realization they had gotten close, closer than perhaps either one of them intended. Fear at the realization of what exactly this was buzzing between them, fear that it was much more than either of them believed, and how all of it should have been wonderful. But when mixed with the sudden, blazing reminder of what they couldn’t…what they shouldn’t have, how wonderful a thing it was blossoming between them was cast into shadow.

It was…it was why she never considered it before now, not consciously anyways. Some, subconscious part of her had kept this fact hidden from her. Now though…well, there was no way of unknowing it now. She loved him. She still couldn’t speak the words, but she loved him. Yet, judging by the way he was staring down at her, wide-eyed and silent, he didn’t want to hear those words any more than she wanted to say them.

Fear choked them both. Fear left her love gasping before it could even breathe.

“I…had a lovely time,” Nox said softly. As quickly as she went to him, she reluctantly pulled away. “I only hope you can say the same.”

“I can…I did,” he nodded. “It was wonderful, Nox.”

“I’m pleased to hear it,” she smiled, hoping it appeared genuine. She meant her words, but the act of smiling now left her stomach feeling ill. “I suppose we should end it here, then, lest the Orb decide to go back to its old ways.”

He took the cue and followed after her as she turned around and led him back to the bank of the river. Once assured he was on solid ground again, she gave him another half-hearted smile before trudging over to her staff. She only dared to look back once she reached Mourning Frost; with one hand on her staff, only then did she finally feel steady enough to glance back.

Gale still stood on the edge of the riverbank, having not moved an inch. He was watching her closely, dark eyes unreadable despite the dim light illuminating him. Her cantrips still hung around the area, casting everything in a rather romantic light and making the snow sparkle. The scene she had so carefully crafted, so lovingly put every ounce of her heart into in order to offer a few hours of peace, now left a bitter taste in her mouth. And Gale…and Gale.

The snow still fell around him, blowing slightly on the breeze blowing between them. In the center of the snowstorm, he was the stillness she was looking for, she understood that now. He was the peace. It was a sight, an indescribably powerful feeling she desperately needed to imprint onto her deepest memories. If she could have nothing else, she never wanted to lose the image of the man that stood before her now.

She never wanted to lose the man either, but that…that was not for her to decide, no matter how much she raged against that fact. All she could do…all she could control was how she remembered this moment.

She wanted it to be good. She knew it would only ever be bittersweet.

Nox always knew a little moment of serenity was never going to last forever. It never did. It was just a shame it was ending like this. There was nothing more she wanted to do than run back to him, to wrap him in her arms and kiss him like they were about to, and then never let him go. But no matter how much she desired it, she couldn’t urge her legs forward. She wouldn’t…she couldn’t do that, for the exact same reason she knew he stood several paces behind her, watching her silently and nothing more.

She loved him. There was nothing either of them could do about that.

Her hand gripped tighter around her staff, knuckles white with the effort, until she plucked it from the ground and settled it on her back. The lights began fading, and the snow slowly stopped its descent. She waved a hand and the Weave relaxed between her fingers, while a part of her mind finally sighed in relief over the concentration no longer being necessary. The magic was gone, and the sorrow that always accompanied her at the end of a time like this clung extra tightly to her heart now.

“I suppose we should all take our rest, now,” Nox muttered and turned away, uncertain if he even heard her. “Good night, Gale.”

“Good night,” Gale responded just as quietly. “And thank you for tonight, Nox’ani.”

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m4rs-ex3 · 9 months

Text

✨ rayllum ✨

whaddya want from me i have to talk about it rn. aaaaaaaaaaaaa🫶🫶🫶🫶 boundaries. trust. FINGERGUNS. they. them. my pronouns are they because i'll never be them. callum is done wasting time being mad and is now devoting all of his time remembering and/or discovering HOW MUCH HE LOVES THIS GIRL UGH 💕💞💖💗💞💕💖💝💝💘💖💓 he is the sweetest fucking thing rn oml he can see now that she will always be there for him and he wants her to know and im normal. aside from the core developments of their relationship omfg we were SERVED. the banter, the softness, the absolute bestie(+) behavior. let's review:

(e1) "practical? like what ; :)" that is the flirtiest fuckin face ive ever seen

"yes. you. uh.. rayla."

"i was lookin for you! uh.. callum." HIS FACEEEE HIS WIDDLE SMILE

"i can see that. let her go." ZERO hesitation. also mad foreshadowing

"she broke into the high mage's office." "no that's crazy. she can go in there any time she wants." UGH i expected a "no that's crazy she would never do that" but he's straight up like 'whats mine is urs bbg" 😭✋

"the elf stole it." oh.. ok his face doesn't look too happy there i wonder if "shes not 'the elf.' she's rayla." OH FUCK ME THEN

"and she was hiding a weapon" "so what? she always is?" IM SCREAMING I LOVE THEM SM

it doesn't even seem that for a second he was perturbed about rayla having the murder weapon, more so that he was looking straight at the murder weapon. she's always been in the clear 🫡

"if she didn't tell me... she has a good reason." THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE. THIS-- iiis getting its own post.

"it means i trust her. unconditionally." brb dying happy

his face when she unchained herself god he loves his non-law-abiding girlfriend

"you don't have to explain or justify anything to me. you can tell me when you're ready :)" what can i even say at this point

(e2) "well i'm glad you liked it :)" kill me now

"and now... here we are," there it is he still sees them as one unit, defying all odds and persevering all circumstances oh me oh my

stargazing obvi

(e3) RAYLA IN CALLUM'S DOODLE. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO ADD HER IN THERE YET THERE SHE IS LOOKING ADORABLE

"she can't stop us." "nobody can >:)" "so we're going to lux aurea right? ; :)" "too right we are >:)>:)>:)>:)"

their chaos <3

(e4) rayllum montage my beloved THAT MUSIC

if you guys have been weird please show me normal

"rayla, we've been through a lot, and a lot has changed, ah- um, well, some things have changed, but not.. everything. uh... i would do anything for you."

i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i would do anything for you i wo

this is not fucking real what the fuckity fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

they are The standard

i've seen a lot of ships in my day way too many perhaps but no one compares

he's so patient and respectful w her 😭 the way he just gently holds out his hands

she fully emphasized that freeing them wasn't her priority and yet just ZERO hesitation callum saw his girl in distress and dropped everything no second thought required

THE HAND HOLDDDD THAT WAS SO SOFT

HE WAS SO FRICKEN EXCITED TO HELP HER

about to die and only one priority mhm

THUMB RUB THUMB RUB THUMB RUB THUMB RUB THUMB RUB THUMB RUB THUMB RUB

"i waited too long" i am so absolutely insane feral indignant

"i hope you know-" "i know."

bury me

(e5) fist bump. thats it im done im gone oh m !!!!! FIST !!! BUMP !!!!! YOU ABSOLUTE DORKS YOU <3<3<3<3<3

i am weak and the water scene is literally my favorite

he IMMEDIATELY knows shes uncomfy

AND he waits for her

"i don't think i'm comfortable pushing- hey!" "see? i pushed you first! pushing is easy!"

12:06 ish that glance downward tho 👀

the hand snatch of the century. her face. his face. that squeeze. "together." that ttm parallel.

HE HELD HER HAND THE ENTIRE TIME 😭😭😭💗

"-the entire world would be in danger-" IM SORRY BUT HE LOOKED STRAIGHT. AT HER. THAT LOOK KILL ME

"an amulet. or, uh, is it a talisman? what's the difference?" HER SWEET LIL GIGGLE (might just be the last sweet moment i have to report on)

beginning o e7 they're standing together on deck what happened all last night i need to know

her catching him when he collapsed :') and holding him up the rest of the time

"LET HIM GO!"

so e8 🙂

🙂

female rage has nothing on callum.

5 seasons. so many characters. so many losses. we have never seen this much emotion from anyone. i can hardly joke right now but he really embodied "don't you just wanna go apeshit?" i consume so much fucking media and this is new even for me. callum has never even had a temper. through all of this--getting kidnapped, abused, mentally and physically, seeing what his friends are going through--he hasn't broke. and then, seeing his biggest fear, the thing he's been plagued with for years, the thing we've seen him throw away his life to prevent, comes true, and he loses it. the scream, grunt & inhale, the speed, the aggression, the fucking expression. it's not hard to see how what happened next happened, i'm surprised he didn't do worse.

“all that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself.” mitski miyawaki kindly carry me out

every threat or demand finnegrin has made and callum has done nothing but scour. he has been as strong as anyone can be. and all of a sudden here he is crying out for mercy, pleading, bargaining, the lowest we've ever seen him. it hurts, but finnegrin was right.

"just... just let her go."

"NO! NO"

his defeat. we know this is because of... literally everything he has ever stood for being demolished. but his personal moral catastrophe aside, don't you find it interesting how he did all of that to keep rayla safe, and yet he never once went to her? i made another post abt this but i'm saying it again: rayla told him not to. and she believed in him. she's safe, but i don't think he thought he really saved her. he doesn't think he deserves anything she's giving him. he refuses to indulge in her, he refuses to confide in her, he refuses to seek her out. but he just saved her life. but that's not enough. not enough to resolve this within himself, and apparently not enough for the girl who's life he has saved twice now, who has stuck by him for years, who has dedicated everything to him, to be able to be okay with it. and he just kind of... accepts it. he doesn't beg for forgiveness, that being said he doesn't tell her either. this may seem like he's protecting himself, that he really just doesn't want to lose her, that he doesn't want to face this at all, but maybe it's him not wanting to disappoint her. yknow i really hate to be one of those people who ignores how basically all of callum's character surrounds his own internal conflict in favor of rayllum fan service, but fuck it's hard no to sometimes. he wants to be her hero, but he isn't; not to himself, anyway. this would always be the case. and yet... he did it all anyway. if that isn't unconditional, i'm jumping off a bridge.

no matter who he's protecting he is still being so strong for her

"yeah. yeah, i'm okay. i am." no, that obviously wasn't the truth. but for a "horrible liar," he sure appeared at least a little bit better. at the end of the day, the end of the battle, rayla's okay. and that always seems to help.

face touch 🩷

that hug man. her deep sigh. his shame melting into unavoidable comfort. him letting go despite all his better judgement. also it was cute. homicidal. but cute.

THE OTHER WATER SCENE IM STARTING TO THINK I HAVE A TYPE

the "eyes on me" thing AUUUHGHHGHGHGHGH

"i-i'm getting out" 👏ZERO👏HES👏ITATION👏 AND THE THING THAT MADE HIM BREAK WAS THE FEAR/SADNESS IN HER VOICE. LIKE AT FIRST HE WAS JUS LIKE "U GOOD?" BUT THEN HE SAW HOW UPSET SHE WAS AND WAS ALL "FUCK THE FATE OF THE WORLD IM GIVING YOU A HUG"

the squad reunion post-claudia when rayla gives callum's arm an extra little squeeze 😭

the ending handhold 🫶 thereee'ssss my little married couple

welp i would say it's been fun but it's been more so absolutely excruciating so. it has been.

if i still had feelings i would be so happy <3

#tdp spoilers #s5 spoilers #tdp s5 spoilers #rayllum #tdp s5 #tdp season 5 #tdp #the dragon prince s5 #the dragon prince

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poppyandzena · 29 days

Note

Dude what is happening between you and Courtney Orchard? Why does she think you leaked her Discord? That doesn’t seem like you at all.

I was actually in Courtney's server before I knew Milena in November 2023. Over time I had concerns about moderation in regards to their Lily Orchard and PZ channels. As you know, Lily Orchard and Poppy Diabolique are impossible to talk about without addressing intense, traumatic sexual situations. I actually didn't realize there were minors there until I checked for ages in the intro channel. I felt really uncomfortable upon realizing and felt like I would contribute to the problem if I didn't personally do something. I officially ceased posting there on 11/30/2023. I think there's a few single posts scattered, but not in-depth convos like I used to have. And honestly I stopped even looking in there aside from brief glances.

[This is a DM. The context is me not posting in the pz or lily channels until the minors were barred from those channels.] Early March, 2024, I saw the tumblr of the pedophile involved with the PZ mess (the article) posted in the PZ chat that contained minors.

My words were "I oppose to this. You know how minors will be inclined to go and interact with these people. Minors should not be involved in investigating these situations." Because there was at least one minor who has been in that server "investigating" PZ since even before I made this blog (and they still are). Courtney told me I was "on thin ice" and said they were angry because I was directly challenging their authority. Another member told me off for "infantilizing a 15 year old." So I backed off, but held my stance. It just reinforced my discomfort I had in November.

In regards to screenshots, Milena recalled a post she made in the server about predicting Poppy's rape accusation against Noehflake. I was asked to save that for her, with only her post on that subject. I did also tell Milena about what they were saying about her in Courtney's server, because what was being discussed quickly spiraled into unsubstantiated pedo-jacketing and smearing, and I would want someone to inform me of those serious accusations were I in Milena's position. I would do that if it were anyone else. You don't have to like Milena, how she acts, or what she's done. I draw the line at those accusations. Even with Poppy, I'm not going to call her a pedophile without seeing actual, verifiable proof with my own eyes. Honestly, the environment in that server made me ill and my attempt to speak up about my discomfort was met with intense aggression. I think I was kicked on the day of Lux's stream but I don't know what Courtney was specifically mad about because I wasn't looking at the server. I just saw I was kicked and carried on with my day.

Courtney is entitled to their anger, but I am also entitled to the opinions I have for their treatment of that server.

I respect Courtney's story of what Poppy and Zena did to them, as well as their abuse at the hands of Lily Orchard. But I am not their friend and I don't agree with everything they do. No matter what, Courtney's experience with Poppy and Zena will stay archived on my blog under the #courtney tag so that those experiences won't be forgotten.

I simply ask to be left alone, and I do not want to contact or be contacted by them.

#courtney #courtney orchard

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deadn30n · 4 months

Text

happy early 2024 !

posted a bit early as i'll be going to bed relatively soon, but i wanted to say something to usher in the new year!

as some of you know, i've been in the RPC for a very long time, but took a well needed hiatus a year or so back. i only recently returned mid-November && have not regretted that decision for a second. ♥ it's only been a month and a half, but it's been the best month and a half i've ever spent on this site. i admit i was nervous to return for a variety of reason ( mostly avoiding some rather negative people i originally split from this site to escape from ) but i've come to find that this space space i've built has fostered so much positivity for me, and i'm very grateful for that. i'm grateful for all the new friends i've made, all the connections i've forged, the writing i've done, and the plots i've gotten to explore! && as the new year approaches, i'm walking it into with quite a few new aspirations and hopes. i'm really, really thankful to everyone who's given me the time and chance to reach out and make a connection. to the people who've talked to me and told me they're excited for the release of my book, for my return to the vtubing community, for the times we play games together and just goof off.

i hope you know how much you all mean to me. i wish i could tag EVERYONE in this post but tumblr would kick my ass, but just know that i'm truly and honestly grateful and honored to have met the people that i have and look forward to talking more with all of you and getting to know you better. there are a few people i want to single out to shower with love who've supported me or have even known me from the LAST TIME i was on the site lmao

@goldenfists : you should already know you'd be the first on my list Joo Joo Bean. my beloved. we've known each other for what... 3 years now? roughly that, give or take, but you have no idea how much you really mean to me. from the moment we met i knew you were someone i wanted to keep in my circle. i adored you and still do; you've seen the changes i've gone through, the growth i've made, and supported every positive decision i've made. even when i finally built my first oc, and your first incentive was to foster a relationship between sett and eden and letting me know that you LOVED my creatives when i was so scared to take that first dive into making an oc. i love you so much dude. ;_; i'll never forget how you teased me on stream about my pronunciation of your name but then insisted i kept pronouncing it like that because you thought it was cute. i wish you knew just how much you mean to me, because words aren't enough to justify my feelings toward you. i love you Joo Joo Bean, i love you to the moon and back, and i can't wait to see what 2024 has in store for you and i, and our little blorbos @empyreous : ELLE!!!11 ELLE!!!!1 MY BELOVED PARTNER IN CRIME ON LEAGUE!!!! we haven't known each other for very long but god have i LOVED writing with you and goofing off in my favourite games. you've given me a brand new love for league and you're so fucking talented with your ocs and your writing that i'm just chomping at the bit for us to keep going. i literally can't wait to see what we end up developing for these silly little dudes and it makes me so very happy to have you in my corner. i wish you only the best in the world and i'm certain 2024 will give us so many more funny memories to cherish. save me eboi.... eboi save me....

@seeksmoon / @seekslight : softie you loveable little shit. you boyfriend stealing monster ( affectionate ). actually, if i was gonna share my boyfriend with anyone, it'd gladly be you. BUT JOKES ASIDE i'm really delighted we met and hit it off as well as we did. the way you write both alune and lux have me going GRRRRR BARK BARK BARK and i adore the dynamics we've started to built between yonealune and ezlux. we haven't had nearly enough time to hang out yet and that's a fucking CRIME if you ask me. i'm sure come 2024 though we'll have plenty of time to be a couple of goobers and mess around in league here on tumblr. you're such a sweetheart and even my bf talks so positively of you, and anyone that can make him happy makes ME happy. i hope you know you won't get rid of him and i so easily ♥ we enjoy hanging out with you, and we hope you do too :>

@ayahimes : astrid u ain't getting away from me i'm rapidly approaching ur location at mach 10. LFKDJASLKJDF i'm teasing i'm teasing but MAN i've had so much fun playing weague of wegends with you ( and looking forward to when we start playing ffxiv too ) but you're such a sweetheart man. a good energy, positive presence that i love being around ;v; i hope we'll get to play more in the future and chat more and get to know each other!! ♥♥♥

@mellodiies : misha all i'm gonna say is this year... you will be boiled.... ( this ask forever lives rent free in my head and i'm never going to stop laughing at this i hope you know ) ok but in all seriousness i'm so glad i worked up the courage to follow your blog because it's been a bucket of laughs and also seeing one of my childhood faves being doted over so lovingly just makes me so!!!!!!!!!!! i hope this year we'll be able to write ( and even if we don't i'm also content just observing your shenanigans bc they always brighten my day ). thank you for filling my dash with the little pep in my day that i need, you're a fucking goober and i adore you for it

@vulpesse : hi bunnie!! we never really got much of a chance to chat before ( we did get to write a bit in the past though, which i enjoyed! ) but i want you to know that you are one of my biggest inspirations on this site and i was so goddamn happy when i found you again that i hit the follow button so fast i think i broke my finger LMAO but seriously.... you're great. you have such a wonderful energy about you and you're so unbelievably talented with an indomitable spirit. i love seeing your posts every day, and i'm glad to share this same space as you! ♥ please never change, you truly are such a bright light in an otherwise murky world

@heartate : plum u know i couldn't forget about my favourite edgy thot. i fuckin love u dude. it's crazy to think we've known each other for like what? 10 years? like christ. and even though those first few years weren't filled with the happiest of memories, it's been my honor to be able to make amends with you. i always appreciated you for approaching me with that heartfelt apology. i never resented you, and even less so now that i knew the kind of awful situation you were put through back then. you didn't deserve the pain and abuse you went through, and i'm glad you're finally able to break free and grow. flourish and fill the world with your light, because you're a good person and i firmly stick by that notion. no matter what happened between us in the past, you've grown and i've adored watching it. i only hope you'll be able to continue to grow and enjoy the newfound freedom you have, and i am glad to be able to be by your side through it ♥ i'll always have your back miss rina, you can count on that :>

&& to some other lovelies who've made my time pleasant here; @lightshielded / @yoakkemae / @chiheru / @fairesky / @darkflyers / @attroxx / @mythcaels / @knifvd / @killerhubby / @erabundus / @mundmutter / @goddessrisen / @inhumann / @penddraig / @hiisfire / @raytm / @elicertis / @liightbringr / @un1awful / @vonerde / @gunrising / @cyneris / @trattcria / @cmdrace / @lovehungered / @trattcria / @pearlcure / @dnangelic / @starsenna / @nulltune / @toxichem / @longerhuman / @volonata / @misreputed / @ferinehuntress / @florspinae / @inufangs / @bishonenprince

&& to all of my lovely followers too! ♥ may your new year be filled with all the joy and love you deserve. may the new year treat you kindly and give you solace when you need it most. may the new year bless you with every bit of happiness you deserve c:

#« ooc tag. »#I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG POST LMAO #i decided to put it under a cut to spare you all #but ilu guys AAAAA

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negrowhat · 4 months

Text

Top 5 Most Stylish of 2023

@slutforchocorobos your second ask got deleted. You asked for my top 5 fave looks but let's just go ahead and do the Top 5 Most Stylish.

Chen Yi and Ai Di from Kieski: Dear to Me. Can't pick just one, they're a packaged deal.

Kiyoi Sou from Utsukushii Kare: Eternal. I mean he's an actor and a model so it would make sense that he's well styled.

Babe from Pit Babe the Series. He likes to do a subtle lux flex. He has mountains of expensive motorcycle jackets and boots. Also I love that he likes to wear mostly black and white.

Tew from My Dear Gangster Oppa. Aside from his ill-fitting shoes, I really enjoyed the way he dressed. Loved the suspenders and waistcoats. Very well dressed especially compared to Kenji's Cowboy Curtis chic.

Gun from A Boss and A Babe. Well fitted suits in a range of colors and cuts, but also how does he make short-sleeved sweaters looks cool? You can tell Gun spends a lot on his wardrobe and I appreciate it.

ASK ME MY TOP 5 BL ANYTHING FOR 2023

#a boss and a babe #pit babe #pit babe the series #my dear gangster oppa #utsukushii kare #utsukushii kare: eternal #kiseki: dear to me

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ask-utmv-shipkids · 8 months

Note

Not necessarily about the kids, but how do the parents balance out all their families? We have Errink and Drink for example, how does Ink manage them?

Each character has their own way of raising and "raising" their children.

In summary. They manage to take care of them without much complication, others help each other, and others prefer to evade responsibility and leave them forgotten.

Ink takes care of Paper Jam, Gradient, Spilled and Ekon. He also often visits Palette, Blueprint, and Bluescreen.

Dream takes care of Palette, Shine and Shade. Along with Cross takes care of Lux, Starcross and Hope.

Cross usually takes care of the three of them, but apart from that, he can pay the attention that Ink doesn't give to Moku. Together with Epic takes care of Starke.

Swap will take care of Blueprint, Splatter, and Sprinkle alongside Papyrus and Asgore. He will occasionally go to Outertale to say hello to Starway.

Outer takes care of Starway most of the time. And he takes care of Deneb together with Science Sans.

Reaper and Geno take care of Goth, Raven, Sorell, Silver, and Shino without a problem. Cassis often spends time with the five of them as well.

Fell and Classic Sans take turns taking care of Plum and Dedge, despite the latter being Dust's son.

Dust takes care of Kenza. From time to time he takes turns with Swap to take care of Sprinkle. And Horror helps him with Okse and Glasses.

Finally, Killer is in charge of raising Crescent, Angst and Merciless. Nightmare only trains them to serve as his weapons. Horror and Dust are their "uncles" and are also in charge of them when the other two are not around.

Nightmare, Error and Fresh don't care about children. Nightmare just takes advantage of them. Error tolerates them, but he would rather destroy them than take care of them. Fresh is a liar parasite.

As for Lust... We are not talking about Lust. Please keep the children away from him, as far away as possible...

Radier, Tenpatch raised themselves alones. They spent their childhood together with Nightmare until they were old enough to take care of themselves. They sometimes visit Error.

Those are the entire list for now. It is probable that in the future I will make comics about the childhood of each child, for now there are advances on my AO3 account. I'm still thinking about adding Rurik, but I don't have enough information about him. Only he was raised in Underfell by Fell Ink.

None of the children and parents belong to me, they all belong to their respective authors.

These are all my own headcanon trying to assimilate to the real canon. If there is something wrong or that any author would like to mention, feel free to correct.

Autors:

- Aftertale, Error and Fresh: @loverofpiggies

- Reapertale: @renrink

- _____tale(Ink Sans): @comyet

- Underswap: P0pc0rnPr1nce and the AU Community

- Dreamtale: @jokublog

- Undertale: Toby Fox

- Dusttale: @ask-dusttale

- Xtale: @jakei95

- Something New(Killer Sans): @rahafwabas

- Horrortale: @sour-apple-studios

- Underlust: @nsfwshamecave-pb

- Underfell: Fella

- Epictale: @yugogeer012

Other authors that are involved through Combos: @nekophy, @echoiarts, @pepper-mint, @askcomboclub, @7goodangel, @lasserbatsu, @shigxx, @kakimochi0820, @6chimeraqueen9, @lunnar-chan, @naomiisenju, @Moomy's Noodraw, @nimaruu.

I don't know if i'm missing anyone, pls tell me in comments in that case.

Sorry everyone for the tags, just tell me if you don't want to be tagged or don't want to be involved, I'll respect that.

BONUS

joking aside

#utmv #ask blog #ship kids #ship child #undertale aus #errorink #killermare #afterdeath #cream ship #drink ship #errormare #horrordust #kustard #and more ships #too many ships

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everlastiingiimmortals · 16 days

Text

The Reignbow Arbiter

Name: Lan Species: Aeon Occupation: Aeon of the Hunt Region of Origin: The Xianzhou Alliance Height: N/A, variable Age: first sighted 3400 SC, 4700 Star Calendar years ago Birthday: N/A

Ship Status: The Hunt knows not of love. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that the Hunt knows love only as loyalty to THEIR birthplace, and loves not THEIR prey but the act of its pursuit. Note: Due to Lan's nature as an Aeon, THEY are not available to ship romantically. I am happy to write intimate dynamics of faith or opposition, but Lan is both asexual and agender and simply cannot comprehend the concept of love due to THEIR Primum Mobile.

But be not dismayed, O child of the world! The Lux Arrow will descend to purge the wicked abominations. You must follow the traces left behind in the storm's wake.

Reignbow Arbiter, Archer Lord of Fate, Skybow, Aeon of the Hunt, Lan.

An Aeon with many names who strides a narrow yet powerful path, dedicated only to the annihilation of the Abundance and THEIR undead. Though rarely seen by mortals and rarer still speaking to them, the presence of the Hunt is felt and known throughout the universe as THEY blaze through the starry seas, eradicating abominations as they wander. Those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of THEIR form, if not first blinded by the dazzling light THEY exude, may be struck by the impression of a prince -- perhaps a burning sun -- perhaps a hunter in a chariot -- perhaps all three, clad in the brightest blue flames and a dark armor-like exoskeleton, before THEY are gone, leaving only the streaking remnants of THEIR Lux Arrow behind. It is known that THEY give the full power of their blessings to the Xianzhou Alliance, so that the Arbiter-Generals stand equal to the Emanators of Destruction.

Lan is not known through word, but through sensation; the roar of blood in one's ears, the widening of one's pupil, the rush that makes one shake and tremble with thrill, and the focus that steadies and steels one's limbs. Lan is known not by speech, but by action; THEIR Lux Arrow is THEIR answer, the Arbiter-Generals give voice to THEIR vengeance. As the Alliance follows THEM, THEY follow it, always flickering close behind.

Abilities:

Lightspeed: Lan traverses the stars faster than light, streaking through the universe in ways that even the IPC's and Alliance's most accurate sensors cannot fully track. What is recorded are only remnants of THEIR trail, a flicker before a flash of light and subsequent implosion.

Instinct: Lan can bestow blessings of heightened instinct on THEIR followers. Pathstriders of the Hunt may draw this ability from THEIR Path as well, but it is not nearly as profound as the direct blessing an Arbiter-General or other such favored one would receive.

Star-Shattering Lux Arrow: The famed arrow that severed the Ambrosial Arbor and eviscerates planets. Its embers are used by the Alliance to create divine objects, and the shards left behind are reforged by the Furnace Master into weapons only for the worthy.

Spirits: Lan is further capable of blessing the Arbiter-Generals with a spirit, an avatar that symbolizes THEIR acknowledgement of each General's authority. Typically, these are passed down the line of succession per ship, whether it's through ceremony or, in the case of the previous Arbiter-General's premature death, directly bestowed by Lan THEMself. Note: see here for a clarification on the Lightning-Lord with respect to my Jing Yuan.

Dreamwalking: Though rarely heard of and rarer yet known, Lan may appear to mortals in a liminal state of consciousness, whether it be in dreams or in the moment THEY grant a mortal a glance of acknowledgement. In these moments, Lan's glamor may be reduced as to not blind the mortal THEY are revealing THEMself to.

Important: Due to Lan's demeanor, THEY are EXTREMELY selective in who THEY interact with -- THEY will ignore most everyone aside from members of the Alliance that are worthy of their attention or other special individuals (like select Galaxy Rangers or the Trailblazer), and will react with nothing short of unfettered aggression to those that draw THEIR ire -- in this case Yaoshi, THEIR abominations, and now members of the Antimatter Legion. Members of either faction WILL die if they insist on interacting with Lan. No exceptions. Even for allies, Lan will rarely, if ever, appear (let alone talk) unless the muse in question is an Arbiter-General or potential successor, but those following the Path of the Hunt will feel THEIR presence in other ways. For this reason, Lan is a request only muse. Please ask first if you have a specific dynamic in mind!