＊     VAX'ILDAN     ﹠     ❛     33  :  SENDER HOVERS OVER RECEIVER'S SHOULDER AS THEY COMPLETE A TASK .

          caleb is nine minutes and fifteen seconds into casting find familiar when they sense @cryptiique hovering behind them.  they have their coat folded on the bed and sleeves rolled up to the elbows , the bandages wrapped around his arms fully visible , a compromise with his mind to allow for mobility for spell completion.  they shift their weight as they lean forward to draw another sigil on the wood floor of the room and settle back onto their knees as they continue to chant quietly in sylvan.  their spellbook lays beside them , though they hardly reference it , the steps and words burned into their mind the first time they wrote the spell down.  

          the back of their neck continues to prickle , vax'ildan's presence overwhelming but not unwanted , though they stumble in the pronunciation of a word and hope that mistake isn't costly.  caleb uses a cantrip to light the charcoal on fire , and closes their eyes to complete this first quarter of the spell.  the chanting comes to a pause and a few of the symbols are set aglow in amber light.  a few minutes of break in the spell that he can use to carry conversation while still holding concentration.

          "     vax'ildan.     "     there is only amusement in their voice as they speak to him , tone low to keep from infringing on the spell.     "     this is an hour long spell , of which i have forty-three minutes remaining.  you are under no obligation to watch so closely if this bores you.     "     caleb keeps his eyes closed , careful to continue to imagine the threads of magic that connect them to the feywild , and the feywild to them.

the devil's after both of us. (Vax to Percy)

" mhm. it's part of our charm, don't you think? " his words dance off his tongue with a post-drunken sarcasm. it's nearly funny, that Vax is the one who knows, who see's. That Percy has the opportunity to see him as well. Out of anyone, Vax is the only one willing to face the darkness that nipped at Percy's heels. Perhaps it was because it followed Vax too, casting a shadow over past & present alike. It drives them to fight & survive & do whatever it takes to do so... regardless of any ugliness it took to do so. There were things they needed to do, and ideas to protect.

What macabre common ground to find, illuminated by the fading light of the tavern they had holed up in. It was always a bit odd, to spend time alone with Vax'ildan. Percy mused was like walking a tightrope, deciding which way Percy may want to fall.

Something was thrilling about being challenged. It always made Percy feel too alive, his heart hammering inside of his chest as it threatened to leap out at Vax. It made it hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to distance himself from the heated moments they shared. But just as intoxicating, were moments like this. Familiarity, understanding, it was all hard to come by.

tonight has been entirely too genuine, likely fueled by the drinks Percy kept ordering one after another. it was easier to fuel the momentum when he took the edge off his mind when he didn't want to think twice ( or three times, as he was prone to. ) They had spent to evening trading quips & allusions to the men they were. Infuriating, dangerous & often flawed it was magnificent to observe & be seen. The night was simmering to an end as was the haze that brought on such honesty, but other, clearer feelings still lingered. It was a mess of emotions he couldn't quite place, a draw he felt when he settled too naturally at Vax's side.

" When you know the devil is at your heels, you always want to look at him. see what he's up to. doesn't leave a lot of room to look forward. " the sarcasm slides away as he meets Vax's gaze, looking for the understanding he craves but struggles to ask for. it feels strange, like he's confessing to Vax in a moment separate from the rest of time. it feels like he has to pluck the words from his ribcage, presenting them to harvest. At least Vax knew they may make him sick if he indulges. Perhaps this is why his expression now falls, resenting how easy they were to reach under Vax's presence. Percy lets out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, " But you know that, don't you? "

It was too real. Percy felt just as alive as he did when he & Vax caught one another's frustrated glances from across a room. Maybe more. Sharing sentiments, finding common ground that often feels out of reach when balancing the dynamics around them. True, there was always something worth keeping to their chests but unfortunately, there was just as much worth sharing. Percy liked scanning the metaphorical emotional passages Vax was willing to lay before him, enjoying the opportunity to peer over his carefully constructed walls to see what lies beyond.

But, Percy would be a liar if he claimed he didn't enjoy being nestled in the back of this tavern, shoulder to shoulder, flipping through the pages of one another's life. he's not sure when he leans so close. a breath away, he sees vax - he sees the details of a face tired as his, lovely in its survival. a surge of something close to boldness, maybe the desire, washes over him & he closes the space between them too quickly. a kiss, more eager than he means to be, though he doubts he could define what he means to begin with.

he wants to be closer, closer, closer yet & it is maddening. But this moment removes him from the past and catapults him into the moment. Percy recoils just as quickly as he pushes, reluctantly tearing his lips away before there is a moment to think. ( that was stupid, incredibly stupid ) He clears his throat, casting his gaze to the table in front of them. Percy wishes he was drunk enough to blame it on the alcohol but even he knows better. Even now he feels like he's caught in a sort of spell, drawing him back in. So he does something difficult for him: he tells the truth, " I'm not sorry. "

      *      CRYPTIIQUE    (  @cryptiique​  )      /      ft.   orym      —      orym gives his blue boy a smooch.

the quiet of their room keeps out the sounds of the city  —  and their not-so-far-away companions.    being woken by a kiss from his halfling bedmate is a fine way to wake up.  dorian doesn’t know how much he craves this sort of companionship until he finds it with orym.

dorian loves plenty of folk  —  has loved and will continue to love  —  and each love is different.  orym’s is that of a partner, not just a lover  —  what he’s heard of husbands, of marital bonds born of love, brings to mind orym always nowadays.

“  you taste like peppermint,  ”    dorian whispers with a chuckle, reaching to wrap his arms around orym instinctively, tucked away in their bed.    “  it’s nice . . .  you’re always so nice.  ”

"ah, fuck, don't stop..." (feel free to do with this as you please~) @cryptiique

admittedly, things had escalated a bit faster than Percy had anticipated. But the feeling of Vax's hips under his hands was intoxicating, a high he was eager to chase. So he chased it beyond the hem of his pants. Now he's got an arm around Vax's side, a palm on his lower back to keep him steady. his coat & the several inches he has over Vax's height are plenty to conceal them from any prying eyes. In the other hand was a much more important task.

A spit-slick hand slides up & down Vax's cock, a secret from the world around him. Percy desperately mouths at his neck with a hunger Percy had thought was lost to him. Perhaps he is a bit eager, swept away in the desire of it all. But he loves this, with his beating heart & Vax's breath.

' ah, fuck, don't stop... '

the encouragement is all he needs to pick up the pace of his strokes. even through the noise of the bar, vax's too-quiet voice is the only thing Percy can hear. ( he wants to hear Vax scream, he muses. )he swallows Vax's pleas with a kiss, half-blind to the world around him. As far as Percy is concerned, they could have been at his apartment rather than a dimly lit, overcrowded bar. there was enough going on around them that Percy could enjoy Vax in full, a sentiment proven by how easy it was to hide his hands on Vax's body.

He's finally able to push past the animalist urge dominating his mind, breathing something close to a promise in Vax's ear, " With pleasure, Vax'ildan. "

he knew of the complications with their relationship. how, without a beat skipped, they fell into a pattern that was far from foreign. that unseeable bond they have always had left them drawn to one another's presence. so zagreus can only gaze upwards at death when he appears before life. like a cycle renewed once more zagreus feels calm. a bit more grounded than he has felt prior to their encounter now that @cryptiique is here. " has it truly been that long? " he inquires, " surely you're exaggerating it, thanatos. " gods do not experience the concept of time like mortals do. what could be a second for these otherworldly beings could be years to the lambs of the earth. " i take it you've missed me? "

" i felt your absence. "

[ KEEP] sender fell asleep on receiver and when receiver tries to get up, sender whines so they stay put. (Loki)

this meme.

he'd tried to be gentle about it-- stayed in bed for as long as he possibly could, just lying there, feeling the weight of loki against him. it was comforting and bucky didn't really want to leave, not when it always felt so right to simply be around loki. but, he knew he couldn't stay there forever. so eventually, bucky moves. tries his best as he slides out of the bed to not disturb at all. but of course, it's pointless.

the moment he hears the sleepy little whine coming from loki, bucky knows he's done for. hearing such a sweet little sound from the literal god in his bed? how could he say no to that.

with a small groan, bucky rolls his eyes before slipping back in again, moving to pull loki against his chest-- words spoken into his hair as he kisses the top of his head.

"you're impossible, you know that?"

( @cryptiique )

you look so good spread out for me. (Loki to Tony 💕)

this meme.

head presses back against the pillows and tony fights hard to resist the urge to reach up-- to pull, to yank loki down close to him. it's all he wants-- to feel the other against him, to have that solid press of skin on skin to reassure him that this was all real. that loki was here, that he wasn't going anywhere. that tony was his and he was wanted. it's a hard fight to keep his hands where they are, but he gives in a little. back arcs upward, body desperate in its movements for more.

"yesyes--" he rushes the words out, "i'm wonderful, i get it. would you please just--" lip bitten to prevent groan from escaping, but tony knows he's already lost. "please, touch me already. m'gonna die here."

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 // accepting . ↳ @cryptiique ( vax & percy ) : 💙 for vax ; 💚❤💙 for percy .

💙 —- kinship || 💚 —- friendship || ❤ —- romantic relationship

                    𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 for vex and vax ? hm . nah , too overdone . listen , i think i'm funny . but frfr , i am so down for all of these ! i admittedly haven't gotten to any of the shippy stuff for percy and vex in the actual campaign yet , but from what i've seen , they seem very sweet . he'll just need to be okay with vex's perma - crush on and constant complaining about this one ( 1 ) dumb druid she knows . 😅

*      CRYPTIIQUE      /      ft.   achilles 

bronze skin glistening in the shimmer of the sands beneath them, golden hair fanned behind him, heels bobbing and weaving in the air from where he reclines upon the beach during a moment in peaceful reprieve. and as any moment spent since their meeting, the moment is spent together.

"there isn't anyone like me," he replies simply in a tone that does not imply arrogance, nor confidence, but rather a simple fact. almond eyes turn up to face his companion with a smile. "there is no one like you."

there   are   plenty   of   men   like   patroclus.         he   is   not   special      —      not   like   achilles,   a   prince   with   the   blood   of   gods,   a   warrior   none   can   best.      patroclus   reaches   to   brush   his   fingers   through   golden   hair.     @cryptiique​​   is   the   sun   .   .   .      perhaps   patroclus   may   be   his   moon.            “      you   needn’t   flatter   me,      ”            he   replies   quietly.      they   are   alone   on   the   beaches   of   troy,   as   they   so   often   are.      war   feels   far   away   somehow,   when   they   are   apart   and   together.            “      do   not   protest.      i   know   that   i   am   precious   to   you.      but   i   am   no   one   and   nothing   to   the   world.      ”

( protect ): receiver prevents sender from being injured (Vax to Percy!)

Knocked off his feet, half a second from being impaled, Percy was sure this would be the end of him. Enough close calls & it would come eventually. He braces himself for the impending attack, but when he looks up Vax is there. Horribly magnificent in his grace. A fact proved clearly by the flash of feathers & daggers that steps in between him & harm's way.

Something burns through his veins & Percy can't quite identify what it is. It might be poison, the instinct to keep his life in his own hands. Maybe it is the natural Awe that comes with seeing Vax in action. It's frustrating as it is captivating.

Quick breaths slow with the sort of fascination that silences the battle around him, using that focus to catalog every quick step his eye could catch. Vax fights with a familiar, fascinating ferocity that tempers the air that passes through Percy's lungs. It's too easy to be consumed by it, the screech of Vax's blades against his opponent drives Percy further away from the taste of blood in his mouth. Vax kills with the sort of grace that Percy could only dream of & it sweeps him up like a wave.

Only when Vax cuts his opponent down does Percy remember the situation at hand, danger that had become secondary to his accursed savior. Percy tries to remember how to make himself think, his thoughts coming in like a tide ( he was never going to live this down, was he? his mouth is too dry. )

" I could have handled that, you know. " it's a poorly told lie, but one he insists upon telling. Its falsehood was cemented by the handful of wounds that had incapacitated him. It felt like his body was mocking him, leaving him this vulnerable. He pushes himself up, ignoring the jolt of pain… Pain that would have been much worse if not for Vax's interference. Percy lets out a huff, straightening his blood-stained glasses, trying to preserve his pride, " I don't need a babysitter. "

      *      CRYPTIIQUE    (  @cryptiique​​  )      /      ft.   achilles      —      [   BEND   OVER   ]      receiver   bends   sender   over   a   table,   couch,   etc.

his   golden   boy      —      beneath   him   and   his   touch   where   he   belongs.         having   him   back   again,   close   to   him   again,   patroclus   cannot   keep   himself   away   for   long      —      not   ever.

with   oiled   fingers,   he   slips   between   achilles’s   plump   ass   cheeks,   pressing   him   down   further   over   the   arm   of   the   lounge   in   their   elysium   cottage   by   the   neck,   making   the   hero’s   ass   rise   up   even   more   at   the   stretch.      patroclus’s   dark   eyes   warm   with   desire,   looking   down   into   achilles’s   pretty   face.

“      you   are   going   to   cum   from   this   alone,   aren’t   you,   my   achilles?      ”            he   asks   in   a   soft   drawl,   curling   two   fingers   inside   achilles   as   he   speaks.            “      you   don’t   need   anything   else,   i   know   you   don’t   .   .   .      ”

❛  please ,  please ,  please -  ❜ @cryptiique

Percy had a mission tonight. It was an astounding display of self-control, one that his instinct demands against, burning for vax at every turn. he was intent on watching Vax come undone. he'd been experimenting with different means of vibration & sensation. this particular creation had a magical touch, it was designed with the thought of external teasing in mind. it was a stepping stone to a bigger project, really. So far, it had performed beautifully. Percy stood over Vax's body, splayed halfway across percy's desk. He holds Vax's legs apart with his own thighs, denying him any friction that wasn't given.

He wanted to prove a point. That his work was very important. He'd spent the last hour or so dragging the vibrator over Vax's body, utilizing any sensitivity he could seek out. Even as he tries to keep track of the performance of the vibrator, he is distracted relentlessly by Vax. Percy did not want to miss a single gasp, cataloging every desperate sigh. Vax demands more concentration with a frantic ' please, please, please. ' Percy almost laughs, giddy. He sticks the pad of his free thumb in Vax's mouth to silence him, just for a moment.

"Oh, darling. You're going to have to be more specific. " Percy prods at Vax. Truthfully, Percy was losing patience, quickly. There was something magnificent about his writhing form, laid out before Percy like a feast. Percy wanted to be inside of him, his pants were grating at best. Perhaps this is why Percy takes his hand back, trailing his knuckles down Vax's chest. He lets out a breath he did not know he'd been holding, consumed.

"Please what? " he leans closer, close enough to feel Vax's ragged breath against his skin. Percy holds the vibrator to the tip of Vax's cock, grinning. his voice is lower now, his gaze relentless, " Do you want me to touch you? fuck you? or something else entirely?"

+*. @cryptiique + fjord ` { the ease of breath that enters his lungs now that he’s liberated his family with help from a found one is not entirely an outcome free of strife. he can tell from his eldest brother Colton’s, and his sister Calliope too, that defeat lingers in their eyes. they feel responsible to have nearly doomed the family to an eternal lacklustre life as a warning for the rest of whom may encounter the now conquered gorgon.

there’s confidence in knowing that Calliope looks at him with those eyes and feels shame for not being able to shield him from the horrors of what their family may have become but, it is Colton that holds haughty frustration. it wasn’t supposed to be you. that is the statement that is conveyed through his sibling’s gaze that hits him like an arrow through the chest and Caduceus knows that as much as Colton may clash with him now it is a shame that will heal over time.

they both knew that one was never meant to leave the grove, but who was Caduceus to deny people help? this thing between them as siblings will pass.

but what nearly shakes him to the core is how his half-orc friend is holding up through all that's happened. what began as an enlightening discovery of a childhood name wrought of unpleasant memories reborn into one that symbolises protection, everything else that came after seemed to wade into the ocean and start their descent into the dark fathoms below.

he felt the sudden weight of the air between them change the closer the Clays, his family, spoke of leaving the Stones to return back to the Blooming Grove. he felt the distance even when they were merely a feet or two parallel from each other before the campfire, with Clarabelle on his lap and his family and the Nein around them. he knows they both caught a glimpse of each other’s eyes but his smile, beginning to form would find a gaze averted and his heart nearly sank. did… he do something wrong?

for the first time in a very long time, Caduceus said nothing and let silence speak for itself. offering a facade of gentle gaiety to the people around him that night until he woke up the morning after having pranked Calliope, and observed his friends do some truly unspeakable things — moving furniture in people’s houses — in the empty abodes of the Stone’s still mostly petrified temple the evening prior.

but his chest doesn’t feel good and he decides to go walking along the shore, hood up and studying the few sand dollars he’s collected in the last half hour.

[ PURPOSE] one muse can't sleep so the other initiates sex to wear them out. (Loki)

this meme.

this happened a lot, and really, bucky didn't mind as such-- he kind of liked that loki would get so deeply passionate about something that he just... didn't sleep. for days on end. it was endearing, of course, to see the god so lost to something. but he also knew there were limits, and loki sometimes seemed to struggle recognising those until it was already too late.

all of bucky's more recent attempts to pull loki away, to sleep and actually get some rest, had been a failure. gentle encouragements weren't working, and it wasn't in bucky's nature to be cruel or harsh in pulling him away. so instead, he turned to the weapon he knew worked. every time.

it starts slow, tucking in behind him, hair brushed aside as bucky begins leaving slow, warm, open mouthed kisses up along the side of his neck-- a sharp bite given when he reached the desired spot. arms encircle the god, pulling him back against his body and bucky is quick to sigh into his skin as he trails lips upward, toward loki's ear.

"stop now. i need you." it's a mischievous tactic, he knew that, but if there was one thing he could rely on, it was this-- loki being weak to this, to them together. he knew that sure, they might be at it for a few hours perhaps, but by the end of it, he knew loki would finally give in and sleep. and bucky always slept better with loki in his arms, anyways.

( @cryptiique )

are you jealous? want me all to yourself, do you? (From Loki~)

there's a spike of fire that runs through tony at the words. he's not often one for jealousy-- thinks himself far beyond that. but... maybe it's a case of one too many drinks. one too many and watching loki's hands everywhere but where tony wants them. on somebody else. it might've been attractive in any other instance... but after a hellish few days. after constant fights and arguments--

he just wants what is his.

tony straightens up, downs his drink and slides the glass away before fully turning his attention to loki. doesn't matter that it's a crowded room. tony owns that too. hand comes up, fistful of loki's hair taken and grabbed, pulled back. teeth bare-- inches away from throat.

"you're mine. remember that." // @cryptiique

@cryptiique​ said:

[ GUIDE ]:         in the process of guiding the receiver through a crowded place, the sender’s hand protectively grazes against the small of their back ( from percy! )

prompts that make me go 👀  ( accepting )

ISOLATION TOOK ITS TOLL on elizabeth’s mannerisms in a crowd. the healthy caution most exercise in a dangerous place is lost on her, and something about being immersed in so many bodies sends jitters of excitement and anxiety through her body in full parallel. thank goodness for percy. he knows this place much better than she does; if not for him, she would have been lost twice and swindled thrice by now. besides, dragging him out to the market helps to get him out of his own head for a while. ( even if that’s mostly due to her getting into trouble. ) it’s on her way to a spell component stall, past a labyrinth of food carts elizabeth barely notices in pursuit of her goal, that she feels a set of eyes on her. they belong to someone lurking in the back of his stall behind the counter. there’s something unsettling about his gaze, but it’s hard to put into words what about it makes her uncomfortable. is this one of those social feelings she doesn’t know to match to its name yet? one of the worse ones? for a moment, she’s not sure what to say. that discomfort dries up her throat and muddles her thoughts as if someone’s reached in and tangled them up – would asking what he wanted be interpreted as an invitation or a threat? 

elizabeth has just opened her mouth to speak anyway when percy steps in. she recognizes the familiar gunpowder scent even before his fingers brush her lower back. the gesture shocks her nerves, prompting an involuntary shiver down her spine – not a bad one, though. it’s almost exhilarating to be touched in such a way. touch is still such a foreign concept, every moment of it electrifying even under mundane circumstances, but this? elizabeth looks up at him with wide eyes, searching for something, and suddenly he looks... he looks – different, somehow. sharper, brighter. his eyes cut away from glaring at the man whose attention no longer prickles at the back of her neck, and when he looks back at her, it’s different. percy’s attention feels like a burning sun.  ❝ u–um – thank you, ❞ she stammers. it’s a dead giveaway, if nothing else was; her words often trip over each other when the nerves come on. his hand lingers, and heat blooms in her cheeks, and her heart hammers, and what in the name of the lord is going on? ❝ i’ve no idea what he wanted. ❞