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#either of them? how cruel. how foolish.
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i collect billy appreciating steddies and eddie appreciating harringroves to hoard in my follows like precious stuffed animals. i am holding all of you close and we are all having a riveting discussion about how steve has two hands, one for each of his metalhead boyfriends <3
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jeannineee · 9 months
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Closure
Azriel x Reader
a/n: requests are open!! Comment if you wanna be tagged for part 2. Quickly proofread, sorry for errors!!
PART TWO
warnings: angst, very slight smut (18+ please)
The House of Wind was quiet at this hour, save for the thunder cracking outside, coupled with heavy rain pelting the windows.
You stood at the marbled kitchen counter, filling your glass of wine for a third time. You grimaced slightly as the wine coated your tongue, dry and bitter. Not your favorite, but it’ll get the job done—getting drunk, that is.
Just as you sat your glass down, footsteps sounded behind you. Not heavy like Cassian’s. Not light like Mor’s. No, these footsteps were almost inaudible. But you would recognize the sound from anywhere. The same way you recognized the cool air of his shadows before they came into view, before they slithered along your arms, toyed with your hair.
Azriel.
His strong arms wrapped around your waist from behind, and he buried his face in the crook of your neck, breathing you in. Leaning into his touch was instinctual; a reflex.
You cursed yourself for it. Hated yourself for it.
“You didn’t come to my room tonight,” the Shadowsinger spoke against your skin, his voice warming you, wrapping around you like a comforting blanket.
You didn’t answer at first. Any response you had previously thought out caught in your throat, and you swallowed the words down before you could embarrass yourself with them.
What were you to tell him?
In the last few months, you’d agreed to share his bed. You’d go to one another when you needed release, and leave when all was said and done. Nothing further. No strings attached. Your centuries of friendship would remain intact.
So, when he’d begun showing interest in Elain, you kept your mouth shut. His moments with her didn’t go beyond polite, friendly conversation, but you could see the way his eyes lit up each time he spoke to her. He liked her very much. Loved her, perhaps.
You were foolish to believe it would be anything more than sex. Your feelings for Azriel were only magnified each time you went to him. Like some lovesick puppy, desperate for any affection that he would give you.
No strings attached, you’d remind yourself after each encounter. Azriel’s first rule.
The only other rule? Be completely honest with one another. If either of you wanted to stop? Say it. If either of you wanted to see someone else? Say it.
You’d broken both rules.
Azriel pressed a kiss to the side of your neck, jolting you from your thoughts. “I can feel the gears turning in your head. Talk to me.”
You swallowed thickly. Once. Twice. “I was too tired tonight.”
“That’s never stopped you before,” Azriel replied, turning you to face him. He gently grabbed your chin, tilting your head back until your eyes met his. “I know you. I know when something is bothering you. Talk to me.”
Despite how much you wanted to, you couldn’t break his stare. Did he even know? The things you would do for him? The love you bore for him?
No. He didn’t know. That would be cruel—to string you along and use you for your body, knowing you wanted more than that.
Finally, you loosed a breath, repeating your previous lie, as easily as breathing. “I was tired, Az.”
Azriel silently studied you for a moment, as though he was dissecting you, trying to pick out the pieces within that might hold the truth. The hand he had on your chin moved to the side of your neck, his thumb tracing the column of your throat. You knew he felt your breath hitch.
You prayed to the Mother that he would stop touching you like that. It wasn’t fair—this hold he had over you. How easily he could make you weak. Make you vulnerable.
His grip on your neck tightened ever-so slightly, and you couldn’t halt the breathy whimper that fell from your lips. “Azriel…”
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he murmured, leaning down to brush his lips against yours.
The sheer need in his voice made your spine tingle. “Azriel,” his name was almost a whisper; a plea. You arched into him as his free hand found your breasts, tracing around your nipples with his thumb until they formed into stiff peaks.
Azriel’s lips trailed down your neck, your chest. He lowered himself, kissing down your stomach over the thin nightgown you wore as he sunk to his knees before you. He peppered kisses along your exposed thighs, a low growl creeping up his throat as you instinctively parted your legs for him. You were almost too far gone to speak—to think, even. But the moment his hands touched the hem of your nightgown, you tensed.
Azriel noticed immediately, and rose to his feet, worry painting his face. “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?”
Your heart warmed at the concern he displayed for you, but you shut the feeling out as quickly as it came. It was all too confusing—the way he acted with you, only to turn around and go to Elain.
But you and Azriel agreed months ago: just sex, without any attachment.
“I think we should stop. All of this,” you admitted, unable to meet his eyes.
Azriel blinked. “Oh. Was it…” he cleared his throat, taking a step back. “Was it something I did?”
Yes. No. Both. You sighed. “No. I just—I don’t want to do this anymore.”
A half-lie.
Azriel nodded, his expression now unreadable. “Alright.”
Now it was your turn to show surprise. “Is that—that’s it?” The question came out a bit sharper than intended.
“You don’t owe me an explanation. If you want to stop, we stop. No strings attached.”
“Right. No strings attached.” You forced a smile, and Azriel returned it, though it seemed just as fake as yours.
A sudden awkwardness filled the air—something you’d never felt in Azriel’s presence. To your relief, Azriel spoke again.
“I guess I should—I’ll see you in the morning.” Azriel turned away, but stopped just before exiting the kitchen. “You’re still my friend, y/n. Always.”
Friend. Friend. Friend. Just friends.
You couldn’t bring yourself to smile, this time. “Always, Az.”
As he walked down the hall, you wondered if the Cauldron was playing a cruel joke on you.
Perhaps the mating bond could be one-sided.
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bunniekittiee · 8 months
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Shattered Ice- Bi-Han x Fem. Reader
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This is my first Bi-Han fic (besides headcanons) I promised you all, and I tried to get his characterization correct in the way I wanted it to be. Credits to @magic-schoolbusdropout ‘s post and their ideas! I did not base it solely on their idea but I incorporated it into the fic. I wanted to give it a shot.
It is not exactly proof-read so there may be errors!
CW: a lot of angst, bi-han going crazy, yea this is not the usual fluff stuff guys im sorry :(, also this is extremely long so like beware.
“Where are your brothers, Bi-Han?” she asked so quietly, her voice barely reaching his ears. Like a little mouse squeaking.
“They have forsaken our clan.” He rasped back. “They do not want the Lin Kuei to succeed. They want us to be at the hands of Liu Kang.”
Her heart dropped. Memories of the faces of the two brothers echoed in her head. Never to be seen again. “You have… abandoned them?”
Jaw clenched, Bi-Han’s eyes narrowed at his wife. “Abandoned them? They have abandoned our clan. They made that decision when they did not follow me.”
“Bi-Han, they are your brothers-”
“They believe we should be shackled by Liu Kang’s rule.” He interrupted her. “The Lin Kuei deserve much more than we receive, and the only way to accomplish that is by removing ourselves as Earthrealm’s protectors. Kuai Liang and Tomas have departed from us, they are banned from coming into our land.”
Her eyes watered. “Bi-Han… this is not right. You have forsaken your brothers.”
“Do not talk back to me in that tone.” He said harshly. “You are my wife. Know your place.”
“Abandoned your brothers for complete rule? Your father would be so devastated Bi-Han!” She fought back against him. “The Lin Kuei are supposed to be Earthrealm’s protectors.”
He rolled his eyes. “My father was a foolish old man, he did not know how to truly rule the clan. Sektor has been advising the development of the Cyber Initiative with me. We will flourish.” He was certainly proud of his decision, which made her feel worse.
“I do not know who you are anymore, Bi-Han.” She said, tears falling from her eyes as her wide (e/c) locking with his brown eyes. Eyes that were once soft to look at now held frigidness and irritation.
“I am still your husband.”
“Hardly.” She choked out as she got up from her seat. “You are someone else, a stranger.” She stormed away from him, his eyes still stuck onto her figure. His heart ached. In the worst ways possible. But he could not waste his time on making her understand. He had a lot to do, and he needed to work.
The couple’s home was silent for many months. She avoided him at what chance she could, hardly interacting with Bi-Han when he came into their room. He did not make an effort to talk to her either. Bi-Han felt lonely in their large bed as her body was on the opposite side of him. She stopped cuddling with him like she used to. She stopped giving him her sleepy kisses that warmed his cold heart. It was as if she hated him. It hurt in ways Bi-Han thought it would not hurt, but he could not let his pain show. It was weak, and he was angry at himself for being so bothered.
She struggled sleeping. It was difficult to rest when her husband, an entirely different man, was so cruel. Leaving his brothers behind. The faces she loved like her own brothers, now gone due to Bi-Han’s thirst for something more for the Lin Kuei that costed him his family. How much was it all worth? That, she did not know.
Dearly missing the brothers, she conspired. She loved Bi-Han very much. It was obvious as many commented on her look of infatuation and adoration when looking at him, but she was lonely. And deep inside of her, there was an intense feeling of terror building up as Bi-Han’s personality began to change drastically. He was much more agitated and withdrawn. When their eyes met, he would quickly turn away from her. Sometimes, if he stared at her for too long, his once comforting brown eyes would shift to a blue hue. It ached deeply. She wanted the old Bi-Han to return back to her once more, but she was not so sure if that would ever be possible.
Bi-Han was always busy with Lin Kuei matters that he never discussed with her. Before, he would make time to come back and rest with her, or at least sleep with her during the nights. However, he was slowly stopping that. So she decided that it was the perfect time to try and find Bi-Han’s brothers. It was a matter of slinking past the guards and others that roamed the grounds, but it was something she could manage.
She quickly packed a few things just in case she decided to stay with them for a few days. As much as she did not want to be with a tyrannical clan, she could not leave forever. And she could not leave Bi-Han, for he was her husband. They were tied together for the rest of their lives.
Bi-Han was not in bed by the time she decided to leave, so she carefully descended down the stairs of the palace and avoided the guards. He had taught her a few tricks to not be seen by others and she never thought she would need it, but here she was now. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears as her adrenaline rushed. She was terrified of being found by Bi-Han or even Sektor. Bi-Han had never raised a hand to her, but with his personality changes, she was not too sure anymore.
It was incredibly dark outside, the wind swaying the trees to a slight rustling. This enhanced her paranoia as she snuck in the shadows, hiding from more guards. The Lin Kuei were much more guarded now due to Bi-Han breaking away from Liu Kang. Whether it was due to the fact the Shirai Ryu were beginning to rise up or Bi-Han was trying to increase numbers, the areas were guarded heavily. It made her escape difficult.
After some time of slinking past the darkest parts of the Arctika, she let out a small breath as she quickly padded in the direction of the horses’ stable. She knew that her journey would hardly be accomplished on foot, so having a way of transportation would grant her enough time to get away before Bi-Han realized she was missing. Whether it was the Gods’ way of helping her, the stables were not guarded. Luck must have been on her side tonight.
Quickly getting the gear on her horse, she frantically looked around to make sure no one would walk in on her. She could not be found out now. As she led her horse out of the stable, she looked around once more before lifting herself up onto her horse. She tried her best at being silent as she left, and the stables were on the outskirts of the Arctika. Once she hit the main pathway out, she looked down at the map she had stolen from Bi-Han of where the Shirai Ryu could possibly be at. It was in preparation for her trip. Her anxieties lessened as she increased her distance from the Lin Kuei, but guilt chewed her insides up. Bi-Han was going to be ravenous with revenge and fury.
Exhaustion hounded him like a starving stray dog. He had hardly slept for a while, the dark circles under his eyes darkening as he continued his bad habits. He craved the touch of his wife and her voice. Bi-Han missed her dearly. She had not taken the news of his new ruling well, and Bi-Han suspected that she was beginning to loathe him. But he tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Firefly,” he whispered as he creaked their bedroom door open. “I have missed you so.” He entered the room, eyebrows scrunching at the sight of an empty bed. His mind wracked where she could possibly be at during this hour of the night. Jaw clenched, he turned away from the room and began to stomp around their home, asking his soldiers if they had seen her. They had not.
Panic ensued within him, however he did the best he could to compose himself in front of his clan. If they had not seen her, maybe Sektor had. He hunted him down rather quickly.
“No, I have not seen her.” He replied back to the Grandmaster as he studied one of the cybers on the table. He looked up at Bi-Han. “You don’t think she left, do you?”
“I do not know.” Bi-Han snapped. He was extremely worried. His brain was running a million miles per hour thinking about where she could have went.
Sektor ignored his tone and thought over what could possibly be the reason why the Grandmaster’s wife had disappeared.
“Unless… you don’t think the Shirai Ryu could have possibly taken her?” Sektor suggested.
Bi-Han’s blood froze. He felt the room spin as his eyes widened and he thought deeply about Sektor’s suggestion. It made sense. But how did they sneak inside so easily? Bi-Han had it heavily overseen with troops. They were on lock down practically, but he did not put it past them to kidnap his one and only weakness.
His brown eyes began to slightly shift in color, beginning to turn blue as energy surged through him. “We have to infiltrate their base immediately.” He said gruffly. “We cannot let them hurt her.”
She studied the map more as her horse carried her further away from her home. It had been at least eight hours with a few breaks in between for her horse and herself. At a galloping speed, she was able to get across more distance. She was cold, shivering from the wind. It reminded her of Bi-Han’s cold body when he changed his body temperature. Sometimes if she had hot flashes or extreme high temperatures, he would simmer his own in order to give her relief. He would cuddle her close to him as he did so, making sure to not overdo it. Her heart hurt as she thought about their memories together. After his betrayal, he was not the same.
Glancing around at her surroundings, she heard rustling in the trees around her. Her paranoia had risen once more and her horse had heard the noises as well, ears standing on end. She swiveled her head to see if it was an animal or a person. The rustling quickened, and she dug her heels into the side of her companion to run. But she was not so lucky, as they were both caught in a net. Her horse stopped dead in his tracks, squealing angrily as they were both thrown to the ground by the force of the net. Surrounded by unknown soldiers who had wrapped rope around her horse, she screamed. Adrenaline coursed through her body as her fear made her nauseated. Bi-Han was not around to save her, and she had led herself straight into the jaws of death.
As she attempted to get up, she was tackled back down to the ground once more. Her forehead was painfully wounded as she struggled against her captor who was much stronger than she was. Blood blurring her vision, she could not see very well. The soldiers had tied her extremities and picked her off the ground, silently making their way back to where they came from before. She continued to scream and thrash her body around, until another solider roughly tied a gag around her mouth to shut her up. Tears ran down her face and she could not help but sob. Her heart felt like it was going to come out of her throat as she knew she was meeting her demise. Without ever saying good-bye to Bi-Han.
She saw the dirt ground turn into a pathway, but soon after she had seen a glimpse of it, her head was obscured by a burlap sack by the same soldier that gagged her. They must not want prisoners to know the layout of their land. That made sense to her, she had seen the Lin Kuei practice the same method. For a moment, a fleeting thought passed through her brain. Maybe this was the Shirai Ryu clan. That meant she was near Tomas and Kuai Liang.
But then again, she was not so sure. That made the anxiety in her stomach twist. If she was wrong, it meant it would cost her her life. After some time of walking, she assumed she was where she needed to be when she was tossed to the ground like a rag doll. Her body ached tremendously from the cold, as well as the rough state her body was in.
“Unmask her.” A familiar voice rang out, but it was muffled by the burlap sack and her stinging head wound that made her lightheaded and dizzy. The sack was violently torn off of her head as her eyes adjusted to the light that the torches gave off.
Looking up, her vision was blurry as she could barely make out the two figures that sat near her. “By the Gods! Untie her immediately!” said one as he approached her fast. “Now now!”
“Y/N…” said the other who came near her form. “Is it really you?”
Kuai Liang and Tomas engulfed her in a hug as she began to cry. From pain and relief. She found them…
“I have been searching for you both.” she said, her words wavering. “I am so grateful to have found you.”
“We need to take you to the medics, little sister.” Kuai Liang said as Tomas gently picked her up off the ground. “That is a nasty head wound they gave you.”
“My horse…”
“They will take care of him.” Tomas said as Kuai ordered them to free her horse and put him in the stables. That was if they could avoid getting kicked in the face.
Reaching the medics, Tomas set her down on the bed as they began to work on her scrapes and wound. “If we had known it was you, we would have not allowed them to hurt you like that.”
She sighed quietly. “It is okay, Tomas. I was in your territory, a stranger. They were only doing what they were ordered to do.”
“How did you escape the Arctika?” Kuai asked. “I thought Bi-Han would have everything guarded heavily.”
“Well, he does. I was able to sneak past the guards and get to the stables. They do not exactly have soldiers patrolling the stables, and since it is on the outskirts of the Arctika, it is easy to escape.” She explained.
Tomas grabbed your hand gently. “If you have escaped, Bi-Han will not be that far behind you. He will go to the ends of the earth to find you.”
Looking down, she frowned. “I just… missed you both very much. Bi-Han is not the man he once was. He is much more aggressive and distant. He is searching for the Shirai Ryu. I have barely interacted with him since his betrayal, and I cannot bring myself to stay in a place that does not bring me joy.”
“Do not twist my words, I still love Bi-Han very much, but what he is doing is not what your father would have wanted. He has corrupted the Lin Kuei.”
Kuai Liang furrowed his eyebrows. “I heard that he was following through with the Cyber Initiative. That is what Shang Tsung had promised him. I cannot believe that he is doing all of this.”
“Neither can I. I wish he was easier to reason with, but he is very relentless on this matter. He believes you both have betrayed him, not the other way around.” She explained while gripping Tomas’ hand. “He is blinded by his own anger.”
“Bi-Han was never one to master his own anger, that was always an issue he has struggled with.” Kuai Liang replied. “I do not see him having mercy, especially now that you are with us.”
“But do not fret,” Tomas interjected. “We are happy to have you here until you recover. That is, if Bi-Han does not find you until then.” He exchanged a worried look with Kuai Liang who only nodded his head. “He will not take it lightly that we have his wife.”
She understood. She knew how much they were risking letting her stay with them. Bi-Han’s rage was not one to be in the crossfire of. She had hoped he would not find her just yet, she had barely reunited with the brothers and wanted to spend more time with them.
After cleaning her wounds up and bandaging her, the brothers led her out of the infirmary to walk to the temple. They talked about old memories of being together, the adventures they would go on. Tomas had asked how Jia was, which Jia was a little sad since the brothers were exiled. They were a part of her life since she was a kitten, it was not a surprise she carried melancholy since they had left. Many of their conversations were reminiscing as they did not want to talk about the present. It was saddening to know that they would never have the same bond they once did with Bi-Han, he would always crave for bloodshed. He already spilled Kuai Liang’s blood when he gave him that scar on his eye, he would continue his journey to spill more. Bi-Han did not see them as brothers anymore, they were enemies. Kuai Liang and Tomas understood that.
The brothers made sure she was fed and had a comfortable space to sleep. She was exhausted. She quickly fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow, forgetting the events of her day in the dream state she entered.
However, Kuai Liang and Tomas were not so easily able to do the same as her. They stayed up, their anxieties chewing away at them.
“If Bi-Han finds her here, he will assume we took her.” Kuai Liang said while he brushed his hair. “He is not one for reasoning while he is angry.”
“Believe me,” Tomas replied. “I know he will be wrathful. There will be no way of explaining anything to him. He will ignore it.”
Kuai sighed. “As much as I am happy she is here, it also created a disaster in the long run. I just hope that Bi-Han will not be able to find her, at least for some time.”
“But if he already had a map developed of where we are at, then he will not take long.” said Tomas. “Once he is on a mission, he will never get side tracked.”
“You are right, brother.”
The glaring sun bore through the window near her bed, making her shift her body and scrunch her face up. She was not used to this as the Arctika did not have much sunlight coming through in the mornings. But where the Shirai Ryu were, there were lots of lighting. Eventually, it woke her up.
Blinking slowly, she remembered her journey that she had taken to get here. Her breathing increased when she remembered Bi-Han, and how he was going to eventually find her. It scared her. She did not know what he would do once he found her with his brothers. Maybe he would kill her? Keep her prisoner? Leave her to stay with the Shirai Ryu? The possibilities were endless, and Bi-Han was not exactly predictable like he used to be.
She crawled out of bed and made her way outside to enjoy the sunshine. The Arctika did not have sunshine with this amount of intensity, so she decided to embrace it as much as she could before she would have to leave. She sat down in a spot with direct sunlight, sighing with such peace as she closed her eyes. The sun felt good on her skin as the morning dew created a refreshing feeling.
Hearing the crunching of footsteps, she opened her eyes and saw the brothers approaching her. She smiled at them. “Good morning, brothers.”
They nodded their heads. “Good morning, sister.” They both said as they sat down next to her.
“It is a beautiful morning.” She said with a small smile on her lips. “Much better than the ones at home.”
Kuai Liang chuckled. “Definitely. The sun feels great out here.”
“I can see why Syzoth enjoys it, although he is a reptile, so it makes sense.” Tomas said. “It makes you feel good.”
They sat in a comfortable silence. However, they all had the same thoughts in the back of their mind. It always lead back up to Bi-Han no matter what. The worries of him arriving soon had nagged at Tomas and Kuai Liang. They could not abandon Bi-Han’s wife, as she was like a sister to them, and they knew they had to take care of her. But they knew they had to prepare for war. Bi-Han could arrive at any time, and they knew that.
“We came to greet you, but we must be on our way. Sorry, little sister.” Kuai Liang said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “We have to prepare for war as a precaution. I hope you understand.”
Smiling sadly, she nodded solemnly. “I understand. I am very sorry.”
“Don’t ever be sorry, we are glad we found you. We hate to let you go so soon.” Tomas frowned. “We wish you could stay here forever, but your life is with Bi-Han. He…”
“He would not know what to do without you. It is better if you are with him, even if he is corrupt.” Kuai Liang finished Tomas’ thought. “But we will not throw you out, of course.”
Nodding once again, she said her goodbyes to the brothers so they could tend to their duties and prepare for Bi-Han’s arrival. She felt her eyes water, but she blinked her tears away. She could not allow herself to cry, not yet. She had nothing to cry over, until it was time.
Eyes ablaze with rage and distress, Bi-Han lead his army to where he speculated the Shirai Ryu were at. He did take notice of the map missing from his study, he had almost believed that his wife may have taken it, but he did not think so. Why would she scheme against him? His trustworthiness for her was beginning to diminish, but he could not let it go too far. He could be wrong.
After planning with Sektor and Cyrax, they gathered what they had of the cyber Lin Kuei and combined it with their human counterparts. They could overpower the Shirai Ryu. At least, that is what Sektor had promised him. All three of them were riding their horses in front of their army, the only sounds echoing around them being synchronized footsteps and the click-clack of the horses’ hooves.
It was now sometime in the late afternoon to evening, and they had hardly taken any breaks. Cyrax was looking down at the map they had, thankful that Bi-Han had more than one map of the possible location of the Shirai Ryu. As he did this, Sektor was beginning to converse with Bi-Han.
“Grandmaster, I do not want to worry you, but-” he started.
“What is it, Sektor?” Bi-Han snapped as he was led out of his own thoughts.
Sektor raised his head a little higher and bit back his retaliation. “When I went to get our horses from their stables, your wife’s horse was gone.”
Bi-Han glowered. “There is no way of her horse walking out on its own, were any of the stable doors open.”
Sektor shook his head. “Not at all, Grandmaster. In fact, some of the gear was missing as well. I do not want to assume she may have left on her own, but it would explain why her horse was missing.” He carefully chose his words.
Bi-Han tightened his grip on his horse’s reins. “Why would she leave me like that? She has nowhere else to go. Besides the Shirai Ryu.”
“Either way, it is still a positive sign to continue our journey.” Sektor replied.
Sektor’s information did not ease Bi-Han’s heart. He felt like it was going to shatter. Why would she betray him like this? It was bad enough that his own brothers did the same, but she? His own wife, the love of his life? His heart was beginning to harden after everything he had known. Why show her mercy if she was disloyal to him and the Lin Kuei?
“Halt!” Cyrax called out loud. “There is something on the ground.”
Bi-Han rolled his eyes. “Why are we stopping over something that pathetic?”
Cyrax hopped down from his horse as he approached the spot on the ground, studying it carefully. “Grandmaster, it is blood.”
Narrowing his eyes, he let himself down from his horse as he approached him. “Blood you say? Is there a chance it could be hers?”
Sektor had decided to leave his horse as well and study different parts of the area to find more clues.
“I am not too sure, Grandmaster. It could be an animal’s but there is also a chance it could be hers. But this is not near the assumed location on the map.”
Sektor was studying some sharp branches closely. There was something off about them. Almost as if-
“Grandmaster. Cyrax. I have found another clue!” He said as he pointed at the clothing. Bi-Han quickly approached him. “Look at the branches. There is clothing caught on them.”
“That is the colors of the Lin Kuei.” Cyrax said in slight awe. “You have great eyesight, Sektor.” Bi-Han reached forward and grabbed the cloth. He rubbed it between his fingers. It felt just like the clothing she wore. His eyes darkened as he glanced back at the blood and the clothing that was now pointing them into the right direction.
“They hurt her. They are where the cloth will take us, in that direction.” Bi-Han said as he pointed. “We must act fast before they cause more harm again.”
Kuai Liang was meditating, taking a small break from the large amounts of preparing he and Tomas were doing. They had to get their soldiers ready for any threat, as well as their land guarded at every point possible. They had to stay on high alert of the Lin Kuei showing up. Kuai Liang knew it was coming no matter what.
His eyes widened as the hair on his arms stood on end. He had a sense of impending doom, a feeling all too familiar to him. From experience, his senses were hardly ever wrong. Getting up rather fast, he had to warn Tomas. Bi-Han was here and he was ready for warfare.
Bi-Han’s lovely wife was resting due to her head wound causing her to feel dizzy. Tomas and Kuai Liang did not pressure her to leave her bed. They were already busy as it was due to her staying with them. It was only a matter of time before Bi-Han arrived like a bat out of hell. Eyes closed, she drifted off to an in between state of sleep and alertness. That was, until a solider of theirs stormed into her room. “Grandmaster Bi-Han’s wife,” he said. “We need to put you into hiding, they are here.”
Her heart sank. She nodded, getting up from the bed and following the soldier to a spot underneath the floor where should could possibly be safe at. That was if Bi-Han did not find her. He was a very thorough man, there was a good chance he would.
Encased in mostly darkness, she sat on the dirt floor and pulled her knees to her chest. She could hear the footsteps of the Shirai Ryu overhead, and the approaching sounds of their rivals. It was only a matter of time before they were murdering each other. All because she left. She realized how much trouble she had caused for Kuai Liang and Tomas just by arriving at their home. She shouldn’t be hiding underneath the floor, she should be trying to reason with Bi-Han.
“Where is she, Kuai Liang?” Bi-Han spat while placing a hand on the handle of his sword. “Give me back my wife that you took from me!”
“Brother, I did not do such a thing.” Kuai Liang said, eyebrows scrunched. “She came here looking for us. We did not tread on your land.”
Bi-Han did not want to believe them. Why would his own wife betray him like that? “You defile her name, you speak lies, snake. Why have you hurt her? There is blood on the ground.”
Tomas internally cursed and looked sullen. “Bi-Han, it was an accident. They did not know who wandered into our territory.”
Gritting his teeth, Bi-Han’s eyes glimmered with anger as he began to pull his sword out of its sheath. “Incompetent. I do not expect anything less from either of you. Give her back to me, now. Before I rip apart your home.”
Tomas and Kuai exchanged a look before averting their eyes back to Bi-Han. “Only if you stop your mission to kill us. And you will leave her alone.”
Bi-Han signaled his soldiers to attack, not wanting to hear more out of his enemies. Kuai and Tomas knew it was going to come to this, so they wasted no time in lunging at Bi-Han to calm him down. Despite all he had done, they did not want to hurt their brother. But he was starting a war that neither side could not afford.
Curling into a ball, she felt terrified and lonely. She wondered when it would all be over, but then, their faces appeared in her head. Bi-Han had the chance to kill his brothers if he wanted to, all because she made the choice to leave. To find them. It was unfair, and she knew that. As she gained courage, she rummaged around the small space, trying to find anything she could to break out of the confinements. She had to reason with Bi-Han. It was the only way to get him to stop this.
She wrapped her hands around the handle of what she assumed was a broom and began to slam it into the trapdoor. Over and over. Continuously, until the floor began to somewhat break. She used her hands to strike at it as it was weak, and it eventually gave away. Pulling herself up, she squinted her eyes as she adjusted to the lighting. She could hear the yells of the soldiers much more clearer. With adrenaline rushing, she sprinted out one of the doors and whipped her head around. In her attempts to find Kuai Liang and Bi-Han. Back farther into the forest, she saw glimpses of smoke, fire, and ice. They must have taken their fight away from the Shirai Ryu Temple.
Avoiding as much as the bloodshed as possible, as well as the soldiers fighting to the death, she ran in the general direction she had seen the men’s powers. The soldiers were too occupied with one another to see her. Otherwise, the Lin Kuei would have immediately attacked her. The sight of the cybers increased her fear. That is what Bi-Han and Sektor were developing. It was horrifying.
As she got closer to where the brothers and her husband were at, the smell of blood stung her nostrils. Her worries almost came out of her mouth as bile, but she could not let herself be so weak in this moment. She needed to help them.
“Surrender, and I will call off the Lin Kuei.” Bi-Han rasped as he stared down Kuai Liang.
“Now you lie, brother.” Kuai replied as they paced around. “You will never call them off.”
Bi-Han’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “Obey your Grandmaster and heed my orders!”
“You are not my Grandmaster no longer, brother.” said Kuai as his emotions were written on his face. Sadness, betrayal, and grief. “You are not who you once were.”
“And you are not my brother, a mere stranger to me.” Bi-Han lunged forward at Kuai as their swords clashed together. Bi-Han stepped back once again.
“Bi-Han,” said that sweet voice, one that brought him comfort, love, and warmth. “Bi-Han, you need to stop this!”
“Little sister!” Tomas said as he went to her side. “You are not supposed to be here!”
“Get away from her you fool!” Bi-Han yelled at Tomas as he began to walk forward. Kuai pointed his sword out at Bi-Han to stop.
“You will not touch her,” Kuai growled. “You leave her out of this, Bi-Han.”
“I want my wife back, the one that was wrongfully taken from me!”
“Bi-Han, I made the decision to leave.” She blurted. “I left to find them. They did not take me away from you.”
Another blow to his heart. His beloved, his most cherished human being in his life, left him. To find the Shirai Ryu. Sektor was correct in his theory. “You betrayed me!”
“You betrayed them first, Bi-Han.” She argued back. “You made that mistake.”
“You have forsaken all the Lin Kuei principles!” His voice increased in loudness and raspiness. “What have you done to me? You were supposed to rule beside me!”
“I missed them, Bi-Han! You cannot blame me for my sadness, you brought it upon me and I had no other option but to accept it. You are not the same man you once were, and it shows. I wanted to see them again, Bi-Han.”
Jaw clenched, his eyes moved from his wife, to Kuai, to Tomas, and back to her again. “All three of you have abandoned the Lin Kuei. For your own selfish purposes. You all could have ruled beside me and witnessed us flourishing. Instead, you have betrayed me.” His eyes began to shift in color, his arms beginning to turn icy and the nature around them as well. His feet created ice underneath them.
Kuai Liang took a step back as Bi-Han’s rage was focused on him, his now blue eyes staring into his soul. Raising his hands, Bi-Han shot ice out of his hands, enough to give Kuai injuries and more. But, it did not hit Kuai Liang.
Body thudding the ground, her face paled quickly as the ice began to seep into her body and penetrate her blood. Bi-Han’s eyes slowly moved down to her small form laying on the ground. It did not register in him that he hurt his own wife. The woman he promised to never hurt and always protect. Yet here she was, lying on the ground as her limbs encapsulated themselves in ice.
“Bi-Han…”
“What have you done?” Tomas said as he kneeled down next to her. “Kuai, we need your fire now.”
“Unhand her now!” Bi-Han said as he ripped her body away from Tomas. “You… will not touch her again.”
“Bi-Han, she needs immediate attention! She is going to die.” Kuai said as he stepped towards Bi-Han.
His eyes began to glow which did not settle right with Tomas and Kuai. They had never seen him do this before. “I do not need your help. Leave it to me, now.”
“Brother-”
“Silence!” He screamed, breathing unevenly and placing his hands gently on her pale face.
"Bi-Han, she will die if she does not-"
Their vision was immediately obscured by white, ears ringing as the whistling of the winds began to pick up. They were surrounded by snow and snowflakes. They squinted their eyes at attempts to find Bi-Han and his wife, but they could not see very much.
"Kuai Liang!" Tomas yelled over the whistling wind. "I think he created a blizzard!"
"I did not know he was capable of doing so!" he replied as he grabbed onto Tomas. "He will be easily angered in this form, I do not see him reasoning with us."
"We need to help her! If she does not get the help she needs, she will die!" Tomas yelled again. The look of defeat crossed their faces. They were not going to have much power to reason with Bi-Han to accept their help.
Bi-Han felt his word shatter as he stared at her limp form. Her heart beat was still there but it was rather faint. Her lips were beginning to turn blue from being surrounded by cold and ice. Bi-Han's eyes were still glowing as the winds increased more, as well as the snow fall. Picking them both off the ground, Bi-Han began to walk in the general direction he assumed where the Shirai Ryu were at. He had to leave now. They had to make it back to the Arctika before she gave up on them. He could not rely on the Shirai Ryu to help, as they would only use it as leverage. And Bi-Han knew that he could not bite his pride back and let them help her.
The blizzard Bi-Han created followed the Lin Kuei all the way back home to the Arctika. They had difficulty navigating back because of how heavy the snowfall and winds were. It only seemed to get worse as they approached their home. Bi-Han attempted to keep his wife warm with many blankets as possible as Sektor kept track of her heart rate, but her condition did not improve much. Bi-Han felt hopeless, his moods taking a turn for the worst. He was distraught as he felt many emotions he did not think he could feel. He was hurt. His heart hurt so much. How could she do this to him? How much did she tell Kuai and Tomas? He was not sure, and he almost did not want to ask. He felt like he could not trust the only person who he loved so much, for she had taken his trust and ran with it.
But Bi-Han loved her. He loved her so much and he knew he could not stop loving her no matter what. Could he stop trusting her? Yes, yes he could, but stop loving her? That was impossible as much as he wished he did not turn soft. For many hours of their trip, Bi-Han continued to monitor her closely as they were far from their home. Any moment Sektor's facial expression somewhat changed when he listened to her heart rate was another stab into his heart.
After many grueling hours, the Lin Kuei and their Grandmaster made it home. The blizzard was at its peak, but the soldiers hurried inside the confinements of their home. Sektor and Cyrax instantly began to prepare the infirmary for the Grandmaster's wife. Bi-Han was relieved to be home, but his anxiety was not at ease. It made him nauseated. He felt out of control, it was not normal for Bi-Han.
He waited impatiently, pacing and rubbing his face constantly as Cyrax and Sektor began to work on her hypothermia. No matter how much warmth they used, she did not improve. They knew it would take time, but telling the Grandmaster that was as if they were telling him she was going to die. Cyrax and Sektor exchanged small, concerned glances as they continued their work. Bi-Han was not acting normal, in fact, it seemed as if his defenses were down.
"Grandmaster, we can give you a moment alone if you want." Cyrax said to him, noticing how pained he looked. Bi-Han did not reply as he got up which signaled to them to leave. Closing the door on the way out, Bi-Han sat next to his wife, gently cradling her freezing hand between his own. If anyone had seen Bi-Han, it would look as if he was in mourning. His dark circles were extremely dark, his eyes bloodshot and containing no glimmer of hope. His lips were pulled into a tight line, whether it was to prevent himself from showing any other emotions or another reason, it was unknown.
"Firefly," he said softly. "Never underestimate how much I love you. You have to be strong, you are Lin Kuei. Lin Kuei fight their battles well, no matter if it is in physical battle or in health. Do not give up." He did not know if she could hear him, but a small part of him wished she did. His eyes scanned her face while his grip began to slowly increase. She was alive, a fact that put his certain worries at ease, but she was lying on her death bed. That he put her on. It was his fault, he had lost control and was not disciplined enough to master his own powers apparently. That was evident to Bi-Han.
Lowering his head, he continued to hold her hand as he closed his eyes. All the fighting and long nights were beginning to hit him all at once. He could not help but feel himself drift off to sleep. It was not peaceful, that was something he could not argue against.
Drowsily opening her eyes, her teeth chattered immensely at the freezing cold that pricked at her body. She was covered in multiple blankets and had some sort of heaters around her, but it was not able to fight against the cold that made her body convulse. She looked over and her mouth opened agape. Bi-Han was sitting next to her with his eyes closed, holding her hand in his large one. She felt her fear consume her, as she began to move away from Bi-Han’s figure. She could hardly move her limbs, it was as if they were frozen.
Bi-Han heard her struggles and awoke fast. He got up on his feet, now awake and registering his own wife moving away from him. He placed a hand onto her. “Firefly-”
“Get away from me!” She croaked. Bi-Han retreated his hand, as if he had touched a red, hot knife. “Stay away from me, Bi-Han.”
“You should know I never meant to hurt you.” He replied solemnly. “It was meant for Kuai Liang.”
She felt herself tear up. “Hurting me or your brothers will not help your cause. Get away from me, Bi-Han.” She tried to say this sternly but she could not help the few cracks in her voice. “You frighten me.”
It anguished him to hear her sharp words. The pit of his stomach fizzled with nausea and bile, his chest felt that broken, horrifyingly warm feeling as his vision blurred and his ears began to ring. His breathing increased. “My beloved, you do not understand.”
“Understand what? That you are a monster?”
He gritted his teeth. “It was you that left me. Had you not left me, this would have never happened.”
“Well, it happened, didn’t it? All for what? So you could get the upper hand against the Shirai Ryu?” She spat back, bringing her knees to her chest as she cuddled against the blankets. “You were going to hurt your brothers.”
“They are not my brothers no more. You of all people should know that.” His irritation was beginning to increase. “You have betrayed me. I cannot trust you.”
“I can’t trust you either. Now I am going to be fearful if you will hurt me again or cover me in ice.” She replied with venom dripping off her words. “You are a cruel man, Bi-Han. Leave me alone. I cannot bear to be around you.”
With her last words, Bi-Han stormed out of the room. He did not spare her a passing glance. She let herself cry, sobs wracking her body as she pulled the blankets closer to her and tried to warm herself up. But she could not. She craved Bi-Han’s warmth and touch, but she could not be held by him. He was corrupted.
Sektor and Cyrax recommended lots of bed rest, warm foods, and extra warmth to help her condition. She was eventually moved from the infirmary to the comfort of her and Bi-Han’s bedroom. Servants gave her what she needed, and they gave her warm baths in order to ease the aching cold. But it was hardly improving much. It was as if Bi-Han had given her a deadly frost bite.
Ever since their last argument, Bi-Han had avoided her like she was an illness. She had not seen him since. But little did she know, Bi-Han did see her. He was check in on her when she was asleep to see if she was still breathing. She was just as beautiful as the day he married her. He wanted to crawl into bed with her and hold her close to him. Give her warmth. But he had to listen to her orders to stay away. It was for her own good. He could not bear to hurt her again like he did. She was even lucky to still be alive.
He occupied himself with work and overworked himself in large amounts. He had to oversee the production of the Cyber Initiative as he had taken some to battle the Shirai Ryu. They found out their weaknesses and made the cybers stronger. Soon, they would be unstoppable.
Yet his achievements did not make him feel any better. He missed his wife dearly. He wanted to hear from her how proud she was of him, and how the Lin Kuei would never have to be servants again. Instead, he felt like a monster living within human flesh. The blizzards hardly faltered since that day she had gotten hurt. The weather conditions were horrible on the Arctika due to this. Bi-Han did not know he was capable of such a powerful weapon, but he had concluded that he could only do so when he was agonized.
In dire need of seeing his wife once again, Bi-Han had risen from his chair and decided to take a stroll and find her in their room. That was where she mainly stayed at due to medical orders. Cyrax made sure she did not disobey these orders, as she had already broken Bi-Han’s trust.
His feet carried him to their room while he was deep in thought. It felt as if he had teleported his way to their sanctuary. His hand turning the door knob quietly, he peered inside and was taken aback. She was not asleep like usual, she was awake. Her head swiveled to him, their eyes locking together as they stared at one another. Bi-Han entered the room and she began to flinch away from him. She moved her body further away, and it tugged at Bi-Han’s heartstrings. She was afraid.
“What do you want?” She asked him, still looking at him.
“I came to see you.” He breathed quietly. “I always do when you are asleep.”
She felt her heart beat faster at his words. Despite how much they were hurting, he still came to see her. It warmed her heart, but she could not bring herself to forgive him just yet.
“I know I hurt you.” He said with his arms crossed. “I am truly sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”
“It is hard to believe you. With your behavior changes and what you have done.” She frowned at him and felt herself begin to tear up.
Bi-Han started to approach her but she scooted back quickly. “Please stay away, Bi-Han.”
He stopped where he stood and put his arms behind his back. “I am sorry, my beloved. I never wanted this to happen.”
As much as she craved his touch, she could not trust him. Just as he could not trust her. “We both need time, Bi-Han. It is too soon.”
He nodded his head. “Understood. We both do.”
Many months had passed since her accident. Bi-Han tried to keep his distance away from her, but here and there she warmed up to his advances. They had not made love for almost a year, although Bi-Han was not a fiend for such an act, he still wished they could divulge in it with her. He missed being so close to her and her body. But he knew she needed time to trust him, just as he needed time to trust her once again.
“Bi-Han,” she spoke softly.
He raised his head up. “Yes, my firefly?”
She stepped closer to him. “Please hold me, Bi-Han.”
This was a huge step for them, but Bi-Han did not want this opportunity to slip from his hands. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist as he brought her closer to him. He felt her arms wrap around his body. He breathed in her scent deeply. She smelled wonderful. It was comforting to Bi-Han.
He wondered if their relationship would recover fully from what had happened. It felt that these wounds were partially healed, but Bi-Han did not want them to re-open. His brown eyes started to tear up as he held her close to him, but he blinked them away. He wanted to stay like this forever.
“I love you, Bi-Han.” She said as she closed her eyes.
“I love you much more, my sweet firefly.”
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mondaymelon · 5 months
Text
₊˚ෆ 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 | lyney, neuvillette, wriothelsey x gn!reader
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( i am fully aware snowfelt is not a word. shhhh just please. ignore it. let's have another silly year together, yeah? )
⤷ they confess to you! reader has liked them for a while beforehand, fluff to start off the year ~ (psps i kn o w its the 23rd but writer's block whammied me against a wall and held me hostage for that time so. its really not my fault /lh)
[ in the dying light of fireglow, hands intertwined below a blanket, they turn to gaze into your eyes, speaking three words... ]
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"Cold, are we? Shall I warm you up?"
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Ah, but the playful grin tugging at LYNEY's lips already provides you with a sufficient, kindled warmth nestled deep into your chest. The snow cascading beyond the windows, curtains half-drawn over the glass, revealed the picturesque scenery, the land that had grown familiar to you dusted with white… your thoughts were dispersed with a light shake of your head just as the winter breeze swept over the snow. 
The male smiles as you nudge yourself closer to his side, and with a swift snap of his fingers, sparks heat in the fireplace, a blaze whose flames licked the bricks of its ensnarement. Unfair, really, simply unfair, how with such an effortless movement he swept you into your arms, reddened your already flushed, cold-bitten cheeks. “Warm yet?”
“...Too warm,” you manage a complaint, voice barely audible with how tightly you were pressed against him. “You’re suffocating me, Lyney.” At your words, his seemingly unconscious vice-like grip loosened, allowing you a breath. 
“Better?”
“Better.”
The world was quiet. Silent, for not even the wind dared utter a noise. No, that couldn’t be true, for if that were the case, then what were you to make of the persistent flutter of your heart? It was the way his gaze drunk you in that allowed you to dream of such a misunderstanding that he might share the sentiment, with the sight of you cuddled tightly in his arms, your slightly messy hair after he had ruffled it and the rosy cheeks that could possibly bring the most minuscule warmth to his face. 
“Thank you.” Your voice was quiet, it felt small, too small for your liking. Why were you even thanking him? What had he done for you? A lot. Simply too many to count. With his playful demeanor, certainly someone like you wouldn’t be well suited to him. Perhaps it was just a haphazard coincidence that allowed the two of you to meet, or perhaps just a cruel twist of fate that had decided to toy with your heart before discarding it. Either way, these feelings are safeguarded, nestled along with the warmth in your chest… they were quiet.
“For what?” Lyney’s jest of a smile tugged at his lips. “Why, have you finally realized that I’m quite the respectable person after all this time?”
“No,” you playfully hit his chest. Ever since the first encounter, the male had chased after you with reckless abandon, somehow managing to find you in just about any situation you were in. Watering the flowers that lined the streets, discussing work matters with the civilians, he’d appear out of thin air beside you, almost like magic. With a boyish grin on his face and a word or two whispered into your ear, “So this is where you were~” ...You shook your head, ears only growing redder at fortunate past thoughts. “You still remain a stalker, it’d be foolish to hope for anything more.” 
To hope for something more… what a hypocrite, you were. Your own words burned your tongue, the consequence of such a sin.
“Is it wrong to hope?” Lyney’s smile remained, but his tone grew serious. The faint twinkles that shone in his lavender eyes evidently bore his “wrongful” hope. “To wish that perhaps one day, I’ll mean more than just a ‘stalker’ to you?”
Your breath hitched. Say, didn’t these words… sound familiar? Didn’t they resemble lines read from those light novels from Inazuma, covers decorated with roses and sparkles? “Lyney, you-”
“I love you.”
Your words have escaped you. Countless, countless words. Each of them grow wings and flit away. 
“Ah, would it be too cliché to call it a love at first sight?” Lyney let loose a sigh, grinning sheepishly with a shake of his head. “But that was exactly what it was. The second I saw you… my, how generic I sound. Would it be too much to stomach if it was from that moment that I knew?” He paused, pursing his lips. They pressed into a tight line. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter. “I won’t be hopeful. I know better than that, and you’ve said it yourself. Let’s just… would I go too far if I wished to remain by your side? Not as a lover, surely, but a companion, or a mere acquaintance-”
“Lyney.”
His name is familiar in your mouth. It rests easy on the tongue.
“As a lover. That. That’s what… I want.”
The curve of his lips says well enough before he even opens them.
“Then, as your lover… may I kiss you?” ₊˚ෆ
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“Are you feeling alright?”
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His words were soft against the cold air, and NEUVILLETTE’s pale-eyed gaze even softer. Fontaine had had its first taste of snow, and with it came its cold finger tips that thoroughly dusted whatever it touched, the streets and tops of buildings painted a brilliant white.
“Yes, it’s just… Aren’t you cold like this?” The male, upon seeing you give the slightest shiver at the sudden drop in temperature, had immediately rushed over and taken off his coat for you to wear instead, where it was now draped comfortably over your shoulders. Warm, and it carried his scent. “I’d feel bad if you were to feel unwell because of me, so please, take it back?”
“Now, that’s something I simply can’t do,” His lips drew the slightest smile, a rare sight you were delighted to witness - the way his eyes crinkled at their corners and twinkled all the more was a pleasant one to experience indeed. “I’ll be fine, I can assure you. It’d take more than just a winter breeze to incapacitate me.”
You furrowed your brows, puffing out your cold-flushed cheeks before making a cross with your arms. “Nope, no can do! We’re heading back to my place, and I’ll brew some hot tea. No complaints, we’re going!” Before the man could utter another word, presumably a word of protest, you took him by his gloved hand and started running forwards. Full well, you knew Neuvillette was certainly at a better physique than you were, but you really just needed an excuse to hold his hand.
Why, exactly? The answer was rather simple.
While you weren’t enamored with him to begin with… after all, how could one be like that towards the respectable iudex of Fontaine, your curiosity got the better of you the moment you realized the stoic man suspiciously resembled one of Fontaine’s many creatures, the otter. The colors, the mannerisms, truly, it all paired up in an uncanny fashion. Somehow, along the line of approaching and getting to know him, you had caught feelings. It was almost funny, how they could sneak up on you like that while your guard was down. Except, now that you had them, what were you supposed to confess? “I started to like you when I realized you were practically an otter, love!”...Ugh, how embarrassing would that be? Imagining his handsome features scrunched with displeasure at your offense is one thing about Neuvillette you wished not to behold.
"...Ahem." Curses, you had been holding his hand for far too long to just laugh it off. You blinked yourself out of your past reminiscence, finding yourself faced with a rather concerned Neuvillette. "Apologies, you weren't responding, so..."
"No matter, are we here already?" You coughed into your first awkwardly, quickly letting go of Neuvillette's hand, however warm his touch may be. Unlocking the door, you swiftly swung it open, letting Neuvillette enter and then shutting it behind you. If you’d known that he’d be coming over - you had unconsciously invited him to your residence - you would’ve cleaned the space up a bit more. Nothing you could do about it now, you supposed. “There’s nothing special, you can make yourself at home while I go fetch some refreshments for us.”
“There’s no need for that.” Neuvillette held up a hand to stop you. “I’m quite alright, and if anything, I’d be delighted if you allowed me to brew your tea for you.”
“What? No, you’re my guest, you shouldn’t possibly-!”
“Ah ah, no complaints. I held mine back, so you should do the same, no?” Great, since when had he started getting clever with his words? “What I need you to do is to go get a blanket and sit at the fireplace. Where do you keep the tea?”
You let out a begrudging sigh. “Fifth cabinet.”
“Thank you.” You did as he asked with less than an enthusiastic self, and managed to light the fireplace before Neuvillette returned from the kitchen, carrying a tray that held two cups and a steaming teapot.
You raised an eyebrow at him as you took your cup, warm to the touch. “My, I didn’t expect you to have any complaints, dear Sir Iudex of Fontaine.”
“...Complaint? Ah,” Neuvillette’s eyes rounded when he realized what conversation you were referring to. “Hm, it’s rather embarrassing to say, however… well, since it was a precious day off, I figured I’d take you somewhere special, to the Opera House or wherever, but instead I’m here interfering in your home… it’s certainly not ideal, is it? My apologies.”
There was a moment of silence, accompanied by the crackle of flames. “Archons, is that what you were thinking with such a downcast expression?” You laughed, seeing his expression brighten. He was perhaps a little too predictable. “I don’t mind, Neuvillette. I was the one who invited you here, so there’s no need for you to feel ashamed that you accepted it. Besides…” you inched closer to him, grinning. “Every moment with you is special enough, it doesn’t take somewhere ‘special’ to make it so, hm?”
The man remained silent. Had you gone too far with your reassurance? His pale cheeks were flushed, had he become so enraged that his face had gone red? Certainly not, for he whispered your words like an echo. “A special moment, you say?” A tilt of your head was enough of a response. “Then…”
“I love you.”
“...Pardon?” The smile on your face slipped, and your ears rung with the gravity of his words. Perhaps you had grown so desperate that the only way to appease that mind of yours was to form auditory hallucinations? You had surely dropped to new, unprecedented lows.
“I love you.”
There’s just something about that gaze of his that makes you want to cry in his arms. Something about it that makes you want to be held by him, to feel the warmth that he holds in the way he simply looks at you, to bask in it like sunlight, to feel loved.
“I love..”
“There’s no need to say it again, Neuvillette.” His face falls, and his beautifully damned eyes grow wide. “I heard it the first time.” You can sense that he’s bracing himself for a response, with the way the smile on his lips draws tight and his stance grows rigid. “To think that you’d be the one confessing to me, why, this was certainly not the vision I had imagined a thousand times over in my head.”
You can see the hope in his eyes. You would never dare crush it, your heart beats for him. “I love you, Neuvillette, so repeat it just one more time, would you?”
And just like that, he melts in your arms.
“Yes, darling. I love you too.” ₊˚ෆ
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“My, I didn’t expect to see you here!”
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Standing up from his desk, WRIOTHESLEY’s eyes are bright with excitement. 
“So surprised, aren’t you?” You lean on his doorway with a fond smile as he embraces you in a quick hug. You smile as he draws back, “Why, am I not allowed to visit the poor duke, cooped up here with nothing but paperwork to satisfy his boredom?”
Your words were true, and they’d struck a note inside him. The Fortress of Meropide was quiet, almost too quiet these days. Sure, there was the persistent, eternal sound of turning gears and bursts of steam, and the never-ending crinkle of paper under his hands, but with most of the prisoners turning in a little earlier due to the cold, the hallways that were usually filled with chatter that he’d proclaim as “distracting” were no more. Monotonous was the crackle of the flames in the fireplace, but the sound of your eager footsteps rounding the hallways was a welcome sound indeed.
“Certainly not, I wouldn’t lie through my teeth and say that your presence is unwelcome.” His lips were curled upwards in a grin, his husky voice bearing the melody of delight. 
“I’d imagine.” That sneaky smile on your face is almost alluring in the pale light. “Stuck in this office of yours doing tedious tasks for the foreseeable future is not the ideal form of entertainment for most Fontainions.” 
A scoff, a playful one. “Then, have you come to help me with said paperwork?”
The shake of your head was instant, so much so that the man could’ve sworn it came out of instinct. “Most definitely not, Wrio. It’s rather unfortunate to say, however…” You let out a great sigh, one foreboding terrible news. Even your eyes began to tear up at their corners, and your expression became dramatically crestfallen. “I’m afraid this empty head of mine has suddenly become illiterate!” 
Wriothesley swallowed a laugh that almost dared surface and instead feigned a dramatic gasp, a hand over his mouth that had widened with shock. “Oh, dearest me! What a predicament… Then, what have you come to visit me for, pray tell? To sit and stare at me?”
You shrugged your shoulders, expression blank. “To be fair, I don’t exactly know either. I wanted to see you, and my feet just brought me here.” It wasn’t a complete truth, but not exactly a lie either. You had wanted to see him - partially to admire his strikingly handsome features, but also just to, well, exist in his presence. As much as he’d deny it, Wriothesley hated the idea of being apart from you, and his unchanging situation as the duke of the Fortress of Meropide didn’t aid that information. That, and the fact that ever since you had seen him simply strolling through the city, the slightest wind ruffling his dark locks and that sharp gaze of his staring ahead of him, you’d been utterly captured. While clichés weren’t exactly your forte, you had to admit that he was a case of “love at first sight”. And while you had fallen for his looks, his disposition wasn’t something to simply brush aside. Funniest thing? He’d been the one to approach you, striking up a conversation while you were merely having a drink at a nearby cafe, asking if you’d seen a certain wig-wearing dog.
“Excuse me, I’m so sorry to bother you, but have you seen a dog around here? He has a top hat, brightly colored hair, is wearing a suit covered in stickers…”
After joining him on the chase around just about the entirety of Fontaine, the two of you managed to find the missing dog, who was actually a stray being taken care of by a melusine Wriothesley was familiar with, and return it. One thing led to another, and the two of you grew from strangers, acquaintances, and now to friends. Surely, it’d be terrible to wish for something more, wouldn’t it?
“Just tell me you missed me.” Wriothesley’s grin had returned, and he chuckled. “You’re not doing the greatest job of hiding it.”
“So what if I missed you?” You pouted, finally moving past the man and into the office, eyeing the papers on his desk before making yourself comfortable next to the fire. “And who said I was hiding it, dear duke?”
Wriothesley paused for a beat before continuing in his regular fashion. “You’re being rather bold today, aren’t you? Your words… they’re making it easy to misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand all you want, does it matter?”
“Yes, it does.”
“N-”
“Let’s stop speaking in riddles. Make yourself clear, hm? What’re you trying to pull with all these questions?” Wriothesley crossed his arms over his chest, leaning closer. “What, are you trying to be a flirt?”
“Aaaand if I am?” You smiled at his actions, not exactly sure what was spurring you onwards. 
“...Damnit, you… archons, you just won’t listen, will you? No matter, it just makes things easier for me. Hey, flirt, you won’t get all flustered if I say this then, yeah?”
“Say what-”
“I love you.”
That was certainly a way to catch someone off guard. “... the fuck-”
“No need to react that badly, all right?” Wriothesley let out a sigh of defeat, leaning his head against the wall as he sat down next to you. “I didn’t say it for the sake of saying it. It’s true. I’ve been wanting to tell you for some time now, but..” He chuckled, a laugh that was void of what a laugh should have. “I’m rather a coward.”
“I-I didn’t mean to answer like that, you just caught me by surprise-” You shook your head, cursing at yourself for sounding so pathetic, with your trembling voice and words that stuttered every syllable. “...And by your definition…” You drew your knees closer to yourself, hugging them to your body. “I’m a coward as well.”
It takes him the count of three to respond, eyes blown wide. “...Wait, you-” The flush on his face was undeniable.
“I like you too, Wrio.”
“Archons, I… give me a moment. I’ve been wanting to hear that for so long, I think my heart has stopped beating.” ₊˚ෆ
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(a/n) greetings my beloved melons. hello. ive risen from my grave to presumably and hopefully be alive for the next couple months. my reqs are all still full so i will be tryna get through em but at the same time i will be doing self indulgent fics. so udhaofjsdlf yeahd ahhahahahaa thats pretty much it on daily melon talk im going to answer my plethora of asks tomorrow because i know your dashboard wont be able to handle it if i post this and then answer 15 miillion asks. you are ever so welcome. also i always hate the way i write wriothelsey and this time was no exception this was so painful blegh ajlfksdmc
໒꒱ || ᴛᴀɢʟɪꜱᴛ (open! send an ask or a comment ♡) : @manager-of-the-pudding-bank, @iamdedinside, @ilyuu, @achlysis, @swivy123, @scara-is-my-wife, @lupicalbestwolf, @justyoureader, @fiannee, @aether-darling 
reblogs are appreciated! line up for a smooch. mwah!!
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suiana · 11 months
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yandere general x traitor reader
"..why?"
"how could you expect me to love an empire who took everything away from me? even moreso the guy who made my life a living hell?"
being the sole survivor of a fallen kingdom was a hard thing to accept, especially when you had been forced to become a slave to the monstrous empire who did this to you. you, a member of a royal family had been forced to become a slave in a matter of five days.
it was shocking at first. in fact, you refused to accept it. you still believed that your family was alive, that you were a cheerful and happy royal member of a prosperous little kingdom. yet the constant beatings, insults and mockery from the victor empire dragged you out of that delusion.
the embarrassment, shame, and guilt you had to bare was insulting. to think that a royal member would be reduced to such a status of cleaning horse shit... death would've been a much better option.
he should've killed you. he really should've. why did he even spare you? it made no sense at all. because why would a war general, known for being heartless and cruel, even spare a member of the royal family they were sent to kill?
the emperor wouldn't even question it! just accepted the general's actions and went along his merry way! fuck, you were honestly looking forward to getting beheaded at the possibility of getting killed off... but the general just had to be so trustworthy that the emperor would allow him to do as he pleases. and the fact that he was from a powerful duchy didn't help either.
and so, you had to clean up shit for a while, sleeping in rags and getting beaten up by people of the opposing nation. it was humiliating. you had considered ending yourself on multiple occasions, yet the cautious eyes of the general you had been forced to work for prevented you from doing so.
whenever you tried something dangerous, he'd always be there to stop you. it was as if he were watching you, carefully monitoring you like a specimen. worse of all! he didn't beat you up or berate you for attempting suicide! he did the exact opposite! gently tending to your wounds, kissing your forehead while washing your now frail body... he treated you more like a lover than a slave.
initially, you were confused by his caring actions. didn't he spare you just so he could torment you? but when you observed how his eyes would soften, how you had preferential treatment, you couldn't help but feel the need to use him.
he did whatever you wanted him to. getting rid of those who bullied you, giving you the status of a servant rather than a slave, money, information. he gave you everything you asked for. all he asked in return was your love. but how could you give it to him when he was the one who changed your life for good? luckily you were an amazing actor.
you played him like a fool, dancing around him like this were all but a silly show for your entertainment. and it truly was. for you were secretly gathering a rebellion against him and the empire. thankfully the empire had lots of enemies, so many were willing to join you. it took lots of effort and patience but you had finally done it. and now it was time for the final act to begin.
fire, murder, death. the plan was simple enough. give the empire what it deserved. you had to attribute majority of your success to the general, really. for if it weren't for his foolishness this plan would've never worked out. I mean, who would in their right mind fall for the one who ruined their life? the general had too much of a fantasy that you'd willingly accept him. so much so that it was a little pathetic.
the night hadn't gone as smoothly as you wanted it to be but nonetheless, the main goal was accomplished. murder the royal family and tear down the empire. sure, it was cruel. but they had it coming for them. after all this was the kingdom who did as they wished. starting wars for no reason, invading lands that did not belong to them... this was merely retribution.
you laughed heartily, staring at the destruction around you as you prepared to leave. yet, one person stood in your path. the general who wanted nothing but your love.
tear stricken and heartbroken he stared at you like you had committed the worst crime. but you couldn't really care. you tried getting your horse to speed away from him. however, he wasn't the most feared general for nothing. within a few seconds the positions were reversed and he had the high ground.
you laid on the cobblestone streets, his sword beside your neck as he cried silently while the empire burnt to ashes. no! you couldn't fail! not when everything had gone smoothly! you tried squirming away only for him to stop you by caging your body in between his body. his sword had been discarded and he had resorted to using his body to keep you with him.
and you couldn't stop him. not when he was twice your size with strength rivaling a god's.
"I... I am very disappointed."
you rolled your eyes at his sentence. however, you remained completely still in his arms as he burrowed his face into the crook of your neck. whatever, you'll just run away when he stands up and things will be all back to plan. you just have to deal with his antics for a little while longer.
"I never thought you would act out. not when we were so in love. I guess... I'll just have to teach you."
you sighed. what was he onto now? he had lost his duchy, his empire and-
"let's die together, shall we?"
he smiles at you, tears completely dry as he brings a small dagger up to your cheek. your heartbeat started to race, eyes widened as you shook your head in fear. wait was he serious?!
"don't worry darling. I'll kill myself after I kill you. then we'll be together for all eternity..."
he continues smiling as the sharp dagger caresses your neck, threatening to draw blood.
"I love you so much, my dear. It's just a shame you had to act out like this. I truly wanted to live a happy ever after with you! if only you hadn't brought ruin to the empire...."
he mumbles sadly, pressing the knife against your throat harshly, drawing small beads of blood that stained the dagger red.
"I'll see you in hell in a minute."
slice!
and the world fades to black.
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bitethedevil · 2 months
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My NSFW Raphael headcanon that is gnawing at my brain
(Don’t get me wrong, I love all the kinkier versions of Raphael in fics. However, there’s this headcanon I have stuck in my mind and it makes so much sense to me. I’ve talked about in another textpost of mine that Raphael usually doesn’t reveal his true nature and intentions before his clients are either so far in that there is no turning back or that he has already gotten what he wanted from them. Up until then he seems like the perfect gentleman. It is all honeyed words and seduction until he finally has you in his grasp.)
Just imagine a Raphael that courts you with those same honeyed words and sweet poems. He makes you feel special, wanted and like you are the most beautiful person in the world.
When he finally gets you into bed, he doesn’t rush anything. It doesn’t just feel like sex, it feels like lovemaking. Slow and intimate because he is nothing if not patient. He’s a gentleman with you. He takes his time, whispering sweet nothings in your ear. Lavishes you with kisses, compliments and sweet words, always pulling your attention back on him and urging you to keep eye-contact. It feels like love because you want to believe it is and he knows exactly which buttons to push to make you melt.
Whenever you return his affections with a kiss or a touch, he praises you so sweetly. He coaxes you into giving in to the illusion that he knows you so desperately wants to believe in: that you really are the most special thing he has ever laid eyes upon. That he might be just as in love with you as you are with him.
When you finally do give in to the illusion, despite your better judgement, he asks you that cruel question that he always does: “Do you love me, little mouse?”. You know that there is only one correct (and honest) answer to that. You once dared to ask him if he loved you back? He simply smiled and kissed you. A kiss so passionate that you’d almost be tempted to believe that it was a “yes”.
The moment you’ve both finished, you lift your head from the pillow to kiss him again, as you had done just before. He pulls his head back with a cruel smile. You do it again, and he grips your chin and pushes you back into the bed. “Sleep well.” That’s all he says, still with that sadistic smile on his lips as he leaves the bed. The grand performance is over, and he played his part perfectly as always. He is as always feasting on your devastated mood that follows. You know that he will go back to treat you as if you are nothing to him as he always does…until the next time he feels like playing with you. It was all a lie. It always was. The worst thing was that he knew that no matter how much it hurt you each time, your foolish little heart would continue to long for that sweet lie, in the naïve hope that it would one day be the truth. Hope…such a tease.
(Idk man. It just makes SENSE to me, okay? He performs and he plays games with people, it’s what he does. I remember reading that some devils can have a selfish desire for being loved and it just checks out. Purely lust isn’t enough for him, he wants to own your heart and mind too, just because he can. He wants to build you up just to laugh at you as he tears it all down again.)
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boxofbonesfic · 10 months
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Title: Brave [3 of ?]
Pairing: Orc!Steve x Reader
Summary: You manage to earn your day’s water, but also something else—Steve’s attention. 
Warnings: 18+ Only, Genre typical violence, Warlord Nomad AU, Dark Fantasy AU, Enemies to lovers, Eventual smut, References to past abuse
A/N: a little more world-building, some insights into pack culture—and what’s expected of our reader 👀 i hope you all enjoy!
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The rabbit’s ears twitch as it lifts its twitching nose to the air. You’re downwind, so it can’t scent you, not unless the wind shifts. It’s been hours of you sitting here, waiting as one by one the rest of the pack peels off, searches for better pickings elsewhere. You don’t, though, remaining still and quiet until you’re the only one left crouching low in the grass.
She lifts her head higher, ears swiveling before she lowers her head back down to the sparse patch of green in a sea of dry brown, her whiskers trembling. Slowly, quietly, you creep forward, pausing each time she does as you get into position. You nock an arrow, sighting it down your pointer finger—the way Steve showed you. 
The thought of him curdles your stomach, and you grimace. What does he care if I live or die? You think snidely, your lips tightening as you draw back the string with a firm, steady hand. You grit your teeth. He thinks you weak—you know the others think so. They speak it freely, and in truth you cannot blame them. Your survival feels like more of a mistake than anything, a cruel twist of luck that had denied you the end you were supposed to meet. You are as unsuited to this life as both the cobbler and the baker’s boy, and yet you breathe while they moulder. 
Don’t miss.
You release the arrow, and much to your surprise, your aim is true. The arrow pins the rabbit, the tip sinking into the dirt behind it. Its back legs twitch, and briefly your stomach turns as you watch the light go out in its frightened black eyes. Unexpected tears gather in your eyes as you wrench the arrow from the rabbit’s still warm flesh, and wipe it on the grass. 
“I’m sorry.” You mumble, placing a hand on its little head. “Thank you.” 
“To live out here is to take life.” You aren’t surprised by Steve’s voice, nor his presences. You suppose it had been foolish, really, to think you were alone. You wipe furiously at your tears before glaring at him over your shoulder with red-rimmed eyes. “It was an honorable kill.” 
You look down at your hands, and swallow thickly at the sight of dark red blood. 
“I have never killed anything before.” 
The orc sneers. “Then you have led a much more comfortable life than most anyone, man, orc, or beast.” He gestures to the rabbit. “Come. I do not think anyone will contest that you’ve earned your water tonight.” You watch as Steve strings up your kill, tying it to the back of your saddle.
 You approach the fire-pit with your rabbit, your jaw clenched nervously as you twist the rope in your hands. The orc female tending the pot is as broad-shouldered and gruff as the males, her blond hair cropped close on the sides, the top long enough to fall across her eyes. She crosses her arms as you approach, a surprised, if wry, smile on her face. 
“Well I’ll be.” She takes it from you, nodding in approval. “Clean kill. I’m impressed. I did not think a thing as dainty as you would be able to draw one of our bows.” You know she doesn’t mean it as an insult, merely an observation. Orcs, in your new estimation, seem to be overly fond of blunt communication, unbothered nuance or delicacy. You had never thought yourself particularly dainty, either; though as you look up at her you realize how small you are indeed. 
“Thank you.” She turns to place your rabbit upon the chopping block she has cleared, and you look away as she begins to clean it. “What… what is your name?” You ask awkwardly, and she glances up at you. 
“Carol.” She unsheathes a heavy looking short blade from her hip, slicing the rabbit from tail to nose. “You’ll make a fine hunter yet, little human,” she complements your work a second time, and you duck your head, your cheeks burning.
“I—I’ve never hunted before.” You admit. “Today was the first time.” 
“Have you not? Perhaps I shall take you next time. Mayhap we can catch bigger than a rabbit.” She winks. Carol does not shoo you away, not even when the other orcs begin lining up with their own, impressive kills. Bucky is last, of course, a small deer strung up on a pole he carries easily by himself over one large shoulder.
“We should make jerky from this one. Salt it and dry the skins between the saddles,” Carol says, slapping its flank. You hope in vain that his slate gray eyes will not fall on you—but you feel their weight even as you busy yourself cleaning foraged carrots, and you hear the sneer in his voice. 
“Making yourself useful?” 
“She killed a rabbit today.” You had not expected Carol’s defense, and when you glance up at her, she stands with her body broadside in front of you, like she’s trying to block you from view. “A good kill, for her first time.” 
Bucky scoffs. “Every one of us had a doe skinned and parted out before we were even weaned.” He sneers at you, the tusks poking out from his lower lip glinting menacingly. “But I suppose if you were an orc youngling, you might be blooded for it.” 
Carol rolls her eyes.
“I just want to earn my water.” You say, meeting his gaze as you jut out your chin. “That’s all.” Bucky says nothing. He glances down at your rabbit, and then back up at you. 
“It’s a good kill.” You swallow—that is probably the closes to a compliment that he’s apt to come. He turns on his heel and walks away, dirt crunching under his boots. 
When Carol serves out the stew that night, you get a bowl—instead of the scraps you’d been allowed to take from the pot in the nights before, and your stomach groans audibly at the privilege of being full. For the first time, you find a—small—place by the fire that no one seems to mind you taking. In your bowl, you find almost an entire leg of rabbit. You look up, expecting to find Carol’s knowing gaze, but instead, your eyes connect with cool blue across the fire. 
You look down quickly, pretending to ignore the weight of his eye as you bring a spoonful of stew to your lips.
“I beg your attention, brothers, sisters, people,” Steve’s voice carries across the fire-pit like a clap of thunder. The response is immediate, a curtain total silence dropping. Though there is no king among them, you think Steve might be the closest comparable thing. 
“The day after tomorrow we ride for Tarrath. You know what this means; we will not stop. Not for rest, not for water.” You swallow the uncomfortable feeling that this speech is partially for your benefit. His bright blue eyes rest on yours. “Do not fall behind.” 
Carol sits heavily on the log beside you, a bowl held in her large hands. It provides a welcome distraction, and you drop his gaze, turning to look at her. 
“Eat up, little human,” she replies, gesturing at you with a spoon. “You will need your strength.” You bite into the rabbit, a mixture of gravy and grease running down your chin as she nods at you.
“Tomorrow, we hunt.” 
to be continued
next
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I think it is foolish to assume that it's possible to "get rid of oppression" without coming into direct conflict with religious interests. Most e.g. homophobia (at the legislative moreso than the interpersonal level, but still significant there too) is coming directly from people who thinks there is a magic sky dad who says it's evil to be gay. Christian fundies are not bigoted shitbags as a way of coping with misery, they believe that certain types of misery (that aren't necessarily happening to them) are actively good. They act like gay rights are oppression against them because gay rights do undermine the evangelical social project.
At a certain point, "yes, your culture is awful, and to make the world a better place we must strip it of all influence and halt the practice of all but the shallowest trappings because it's a self-perpetuating abuse engine if left unchecked" is a bullet you sometimes need to bite. Not every culture or subculture is a self-perpetuating abuse engine, of course, and you have to be a lot more judicious when you're actually bringing the hammer down on people because random irrational haters will try to paint innocents as guilty. But it's stupid to pretend that if abuse is happening at the "layer" of religion or culture it's suddenly okay because it's not strictly speaking being done by an institution or individual.
I also think that responding to "i think people will leave religions voluntarily, given the option and if the world is a less cruel place" with "how dare you want to destroy my religion" is sort of tipping your hand that you either want to hard-prevent people from leaving your religion, or don't want the world to be a less cruel place, either of which would, if accurate about your religion, be pretty good evidence that it's a self-perpetuating abuse engine.
You might say that's ridiculous, every religion ever would want to prevent apostasy even at the cost of members' wellbeing, in which case congratulations on making the case for the inherent abusiveness of religion.
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thebadboyfanclub · 8 months
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I Will Wait (Aemond x Reader)
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This version of the song was the only I was able to finish and truly get in the spirit of combining the requests, hopefully you get the vibe of the whole slow burn and growing to trust type of hype and you don’t find my skill to turn a bit rusty, thank you for being patient. Also one of the requests was from @blue-serendipity I hope you like it and didn’t let you down
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The house Whent was relatively new in comparison to others, yet their correlation to house Strong kept them in a comfortable situation and helped them become a noble house, they resided in one of the biggest castles of Harrenhall, the walls of it were gigantic and most of the people in it considered themselves safe from all harm.
That is until Aemond Targaryen went mad, fire surrounded the city and all one could hear was the screams of agony of any man, woman, or child that was running for their lives, Aemond upon his fury had ignored the yellow flag with the nine bats as he broke into the castle and commanded for everyone to be killed, from the corner of his eye he saw two figures sprinting across the hall, instinctively he ran after them, it was a woman with auburn hair and a child.
“Stop”
He commanded, his voice booming through the castle, surprisingly the woman came to a halt in a few seconds he caught up to them though the woman still had her back turned to him.
“Turn”
The woman spun on her heel only to reveal something Aemond had given a battle to forget, the eyes that used to haunt his prepubescent mind, she looked the same except for the height and her figure, the same high cheekbones, same silk hair, same fire holding eyes the only difference was that those captivating hues were overflowing with tears, her lips pushed to a thin line and her chin quivered ever so slightly.
All the memories passed by his brain one after the other, how she helped him practice Valyrian, the first ride he ever took her on dragon back, her soft touch against his wound as she assisted with a balm the maesters had suggested would be helpful even though nothing could come close to how nurturing her grace was for his soul.
“(Y/n)?”
“Please, not my boy”
Her voice trembling and barely audible amongst the distant screams and curses, Aemond's gaze shifted from her to the young little man who was clinging onto her for dear life, he had her hair and her ever-defiant love if he was the only thing she could think about.
“I would not-“
He stopped himself from saying the rest, he had invaded her home, he had just passed dead bodies that were probably people she greeted every day, he had already caused her pain, and to say he wouldn’t hurt her was only going to be foolish.
“He is your son?”
“Yes, please my prince, let me escort him anywhere, I will not run… he is only 4”
“Prince Aemond!”
The guard interrupted, suddenly his face from a soft and confused expression switched to a coldness similar to the harshness of the winter's ice that they used to skate over the river when they were children, (y/n) clenched her boy's hand and prepared herself for the worst.
“Take them, they are our hostages, don’t kill them”
“No! Please! Let him be!”
“Mother!”
His yelling brought a certain uneasiness to Aemond, the scene that was unfolding in front of him was almost cruel, Aemond brushed it off as him being gracious, it was either that or instant death, a dungeon was better than an abstract result that is the strangers shadow.
Aemond instructed the guards to put the boy with his mother in one of the chambers that were previously occupied by the servants, locked of course, he figured it would be easier for her to consult her offspring if he had a bed to sleep on, even if it was uncomfortable.
(Y/n) had her entire life crumble beneath her feet in a matter of days, she had recently suffered through the death of the father of her child and now she was captured with her precious boy in a room, no clue of what could happen next, the uncertainty struck her airway though she did her best to cloak it with a smile and fairytales that helped the young boy drift into slumber, countless nights were spend with her head against her window, everything inside her screaming at her to break it, a side of her wanted to jump off but how could she leave her beloved boy behind.
Then came the question, why was he doing this? Why keep her? Was he merciful or was there a motive, Perhaps this was a scheme to gain power, but how?
“Has he fallen asleep?”
(Y/n) gasped at the sudden voice, Aemond had walked in for the first time in the room, partially he had stayed away at a loss for words, what was there to say? He had brought her here against her will and now what?
(Y/n) took her eyes off the floor and fixated them on his, he wasn’t wearing his eyepatch, it brought her a sense of familiarity to see the amethyst that decorated his lost eye, he used to take the eye patch off for most of the time they had spent together, (y/n) never asked why though she had been curious about it many times.
Aemond was grateful for her district nature, truthfully the act was his way of saying he trusted her, she never cringed or showed any type of emotion at the sight of his scar, quite the contrary she had been his only source of light, she had been the one to choose the amethyst “I think it will suit you” she had said with a smile and as passing as choosing a gown, (y/n) helped him view his mutilation as just a little mishap.
“Prince Aemond”
She spoke before she curtsied deeply, Aemond had to admit she was almost perfect at keeping her composure until someone gazed at her trembling hands, her voice was audible yet hushed in order to not wake the boy.
Silence fell between them, Aemond shifted from one foot to the other his mind scavenging on what he could do or how should he speak to her. She always made him nervous but not like this.
“What is his name?”
“Arthur”
“Your fathers' name”
“My father passed right before Arthur was born, I wanted to honor him, my husband was considerate enough to allow it”
“Generous of him wasn’t it?”
“It is not a matter to jest about”
That tongue of hers, “You have fire in you, daughter, you must master it or you will get burned” her father would always advise her, she had done her best to keep herself in a certain light still no one could prepare her for this type of scenario, it was similar to walking on a tight rope and this was her stumble.
Luckily, Aemond found it rather amusing, her little hiss brought a very toned-down giggle from the prince who kept his hands intertwined with one another in front of him, she was always smart and always had something to say no matter how much trouble it could have brought her.
“There you are, I was wondering if I had managed to just find someone that looked like you”
“You find this the right time to be sarcastic?”
“If we are fair there is no right time for that, especially not when the one that holds the keys to your room is talking to you”
“You are threatening me? That’s low Aemond”
“What else am I to do?”
“Free me, let us go Aemond and I swear we won't retaliate”
“I know you (y/n), you are not the one that will sit aside”
“So what’s your plan then? Keep me here forever?”
“In a way, yes, not how you picture it though”
“I do not picture anything, Aemond, please, let Arthur go, he doesn’t deserve this”
Aemond admired her selfless act of desperation, she wasn’t interested in negotiating her freedom, although when it came to her son she had no problem begging and pleading.
If he was honest he had to admit how much he had missed the sound of his name rolling off her tongue. Aemond had never put much thought into how his name sounded until it came from her lips, so elegant, smooth like honey, it was spoken like the best of compliments, even if it was just his name to him it brought goosebumps.
“Your son is safer in the red keep, one wrong move outside these walls could cost him his life”
“I would protect him”
“I know you would, who will protect you dear? Your husband has passed, you are on your own”
“I can do it”
Aemond took one step back, bathed by candlelight yet her spirit burned brighter than any type of candle, the way she raised her chin and squinted her eyes with perseverance, stubbornness ran through her veins.
“I know it is hard to understand my dear (y/n) but this is how I am protecting you, you know better than to step out alone with your son, they will eat you alive”
“Who’s they? Your supporters? Princess Rhaenyras supporters? This war was caused by your family and now I am doomed to this-“
“You are not doomed, I saved you, think (y/n), everyone knows that the lady of Harrenhall is now a widow, how long did you envision that it would take until men tried to jump over the walls or even worse, force you to remarry?”
“My son is the lord of Harrenhall, no one would dare-“
“You are foolish or way too optimistic and I don’t know which is worst”
“So what do you suggest? That I sit under your watch until when? Until I die?”
“No, I would never imprison you for your entire life”
Aemond was forcing himself into silence, his head ached from the torment that he had created for himself, wrapped under the iron spell of doubt, still when he gazed into those eyes, oh how he had missed her, her scent was enough to drive him into insanity, when he brought them to the castle his mother went wild, it was something she had thought about and now Aemond was willing to risk it all for (y/n).
“Accept Aegon as your king, declare that Harrenhall has fallen”
“It already has, last thing I saw was that you have turned my home into ash”
“And marry me”
(Y/n)s eyes grew wide at his audacity, how could he utter such a thing? He had invaded her home, taken her without her will, and her knees buckled after what he said,. Aemond's instinct was to catch her gently and wrap his arms around her, he felt her flesh grace his as her hands went over his to further support herself, slowly he sat her to the floor without ever leaving her from his grasp.
“Have you eaten today?”
“Yes, though your guards have not been generous”
“That is my fault, I did not inform them to feed you like guests”
“Cause we are not”
“You are, I- I- it sounds insane when I say I could have killed you, I did not, when I realized that it was you I just- I remembered the moments we shared”
“We had a few good moments I suppose”
“Remember the dance?”
“You had two left feet and you were so nervous”
It was a celebration, it was King Viserys name day and everyone that mattered was there, including house Whent, she looked splendid in that purple dress, she always favored the darker colors it was no surprise she chose such a thing, Aemond had stumbled over his words when it was time to ask her if she wished to dance, to make matters worst he tripped over his feet from being distracted by her smile.
They hadn’t exchanged a word during the entire time the dance lasted, their eyes spoke the same word as neither of them looked away, a string had been wrapped around their hearts and almost forced them to come together.
If there was anytime Aemond believed in fate it was when he met her, he was infatuated by everything about her, her laugh, her voice, her hair, the way she walked with her head high, how she liked to grace her fingers over the arm of a chair before she sat down, her weakness for peaches, even her fear of thunder he had found extremely adorable.
“Why did you marry him?”
“It was my father's wish”
“Did you love him?”
“He was kind and generous, he let me be after I did my duty and he was respectful, I… liked him and of course was grateful for his warm-hearted nature”
“I would have given you more, I can give you more, I can give you everything”
“You are a prince, I am not of your status”
“You are the lady of your town, you are a lady, even if you weren’t it wouldn’t matter, as long as I get to hold you”
“Aemond let us not speak of this, it is not the time nor the place”
“Fair enough, I shall leave you be my dear”
Aemond left a sweet kiss at the top of her hair while he sneakily took a nice whiff from her hair, it was the same sensation as stealing sweets from the baker before supper, sweet and the result made it worth it.
As he rose from the floor (y/n) stayed seated, contemplating what to do, the world was on her shoulders and she was shoved into walking on a rope, she always had a soft spot for Aemond, he had been the reason her adolescent heart beat erratically, if she could just turn back time perhaps everything could have been different.
“I will not pressure you into anything, I simply want to keep you safe and I even hope to make you happy one day, you shall be escorted into a different chamber on the morrow, this is not a proper home for you”
“Home, funny word”
Aemond pursed his lips at her remark, she was bitter and had every right to be however there was a part of him that yearned for her good graces, some would call him impatient if they saw how eager he was to earn a smile or a kind word off of her.
“We have plenty of time, I will wait, as long as you need my dear”
“I shall bid you goodnight, my prince”
“Sleep well, another day awaits you”
Requests are open!
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spacexseven · 1 year
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would demon dazai n chuuya ever join forces and share a darling? i imagine itd be a huge mess if they both took interest in the same darling so im curious if you think theyd be able to share or if all hell breaks loose once they find out theyre going after the same person :3c
love this au, ure doing a great job ʕ⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴥ⁠ꈍ⁠ʔ
hello user teethsies!! its always nice to hear from u huehue ^^ for more demon bsd content, check out the #demon au 🐟 tag!
cw: yandere characters + themes, violence
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according to your very reliable source, the ritual was only supposed to summon one (1) demon.
but inhabiting your space now was not one, but two demons.
you tried to calm yourself down first before either of them could fully realize what had happened. maybe they were a package deal—unable to summon one without the other tagging alone, and you could ask them nicely to go back so you could summon the one you wanted. or maybe it didn't matter. the reason why you wanted to summon a demon didn't change just because there were two now, anyway, so as long as they were bound to you (at least, that was what was supposed to happen), you could make them do your bidding and promise to send them back right after.
but of course, none of that happened. for starters, your new housemates abhorred each other, and your so-called binding had no effect on them. it seemed you had, instead of summoning a particular demon, opened up a portal of some sort that the two happened to come across, which meant that you held no power over them.
to make it all worse, they were both completely deranged.
you're not sure what you were expecting from a demon, but it was foolish of you to think they didn't deal in trickery and torment. dazai was a master in both, somehow able to even make an invitation to stay in his torture chamber enticing (until you, fortunately, snapped out of it and realized just what that would entail). chuuya, though he never threatened you, had a permanent sneer on his face, and from the little conversation you overheard between him and dazai, was also no stranger to violent, cruel tactics.
it didn't matter why you wanted to summon them. dazai finds it silly anyway, whether it was for revenge or curiosity, the fact that you believed you could do such a thing and still be alive by the end of it was almost cute, and chuuya had made sure you knew how angry he was that you thought you could boss him around. regardless, they were here now, and...they were refusing to leave.
in retrospect, it was quite obvious when they were starting to take interest in you. dazai had always been a little too interested in you, apart from studying your clipped nails, which were completely different from his own claw-like ones, and constantly pointing out how small and human you looked, dazai found everything about you entertaining. he especially liked to make you frustrated, turning off your computer in the middle of your game, mixing salt into your sugar, hiding away your phone—little things that ruined your day,
chuuya, on the other hand, was a little harder to figure out. he seemed to hold a grudge against you, but there were times where he'd be almost...nice. after a particularly rough day or a night where you couldn't sleep thanks to someone deciding to also sleep right on top of you, you'd wake up to see your favorite drink waiting for you and all of dazai's usual tricks sorted out in advance. of course, he wasn't completely innocent. he had his own fair share of tricks, though never as bad as dazai's. chuuya was also a lot more familiar with the human world, and provided surprisingly good advice when you needed it.
the problem with the whole arrangement is that dazai cannot share anything, let alone his new human toy. he's suffocatingly possessive, and painfully competitive, constantly wanting you to spend more time with him and be nicer to him and smile more at him and—it went on. once he realizes that chuuya's warming up to you, he immediately starts plotting for damage control. he tries to send chuuya back and convince you that chuuya was only going to hurt you. while chuuya isn't opposed to the idea, dazai's hostility on spurs him on. having the two of you like the same darling will only end up in a lot of fighting.
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deathmetalunicorn1 · 25 days
Note
sentient reader? For ror?
basically, reader is the soul of dead child with one job: making sure it all goes according to plan. Aka, making sure everything happens like it happens in the manga. They are cruel, sassy, and have very specific insults (ex. You look like you’re a cockroach that got slapped with a shoe then stomped again by a big boot.)
But most importantly, they hate gods. Reason being, the gods didn’t treat them well when they were alive and lead them to this job now.
although cool and calm, most of the time, when a match doesn’t end as canon in the manga or anime, they start yelling and having a fit. Screaming that it wasn’t supposed to happen and they have to restart the world and do their job again and again. How would that go?
-This was absolute horseshit, not only did you die, but when you awoke in Valhalla as a ghost, a literal ghost, unlike the other citizens of the series you adored so much.
-You quickly learned that you remembered everything from the series, from either reading the manga or watching the anime, so you knew that Ragnarok was imminent, much to your dismay.
-You couldn’t change the story, it was like you just joined the plot, but you could do nothing to change it. You learned that the hard way when you tried to prevent something in the early plot from happening, and the world itself started to fall apart, imploding in on itself.
-You tried subtly telling the gods that this was a bad idea, trying to tell them that humans weren’t to be underestimated, remembering those who had died. The gods just laughed at you, thinking that you were foolish, and some even threatened you.
-That’s when everything started falling apart, people and gods were sent scrambling, everyone panicking as so many were dying.
-You had the ability to restart the plot, restart the story, to prevent anything from happening, but it was so annoying when it seemed that little things were setting the plot off and you had to keep restarting everything!!
-So, you stopped trying to help others, you stopped trying to stop Ragnarok from happening, you stayed back and stayed silent, only intervening when you had to, to keep the plot moving forward.
-When Poseidon, who remembered your seemingly arrogant words, when you advised him to not get cocky, got pissed and killed Kojiro, you lost it, “Are you FUCKING kidding me?!”
-It was rather shocking, seeing a child ranting and raving as you glared down at Poseidion, who was amused by your outburst.
-You exhaled through your nose harshly, “This is not how the story goes and now I have to restart it- AGAIN!!!!” Everyone was confused by your words, and you snapped your fingers.
-Everything started to go dark for everyone, you heard screams of those around you, who were scared as to what was happening.
-When the darkness faded, everything returned to the meeting of the gods, and you huffed softly, watching from above, complaining quietly, “I swear the next person who messes things up is getting stabbed with a fork then I’m throwing them in front of a semi-truck!!”
-You didn’t know what you did to be stuck in this fate, constantly restarting to prevent the destruction of this universe, but you were getting tired of it. Perhaps you would reset things next time, and just disappear with everyone else.
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blaisenova · 20 days
Note
ermmmm like i dunno if you're still doing requests buttt could you do like kustard but it turns to dustard
that dynamic always interested me but i never see much about it :3
anon, has anyone ever told you that you're a genius?
the kustard to dustard pipeline is WOEFULLY UNEXPLORED. WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD. so, naturally, i was REALLY excited when i got this ask. yippie!!! an excuse to write fun fucked up dynamics!!!!!
this one is pretty tame. i can't think of any warnings you might need other than it being like..... long and, obviously, kinda angsty. it's fluffy in the end tho. but that's what you get when you ask me to write i guess LOL
thank you all for the requests btw!! i was NOT expecting so many after the kist fic, but i am pleasantly surprised and am trying to chip away at them as quickly as i can. spat this one out in a few hours, so it might not be my best work, but i'm happy with how it turned out either way :)
as always, the link to this fic on ao3 will be in the reblogs once it's posted, if that's your cup of tea (as it is mine LMAO)
i hope this feeds you well anon. thank you for the ask <3
It was undeniable that the multiverse was an entirely cruel and ruthless place.
Or, at least, that was what Red had wholeheartedly believed up until he’d met his other self, in a universe that was so very unlike his own. A universe where the typical LOVE of any given passerby was nothing higher than 1; where Sans and his brother were kind to one another in public; where there was so little need for the royal guard that the worst Sans got for sneaking off to Grillby’s during his shift was a slap on the wrist. It was difficult to believe that a place like that could exist – that it could be self-sustainable, since, logically, their weakness should have led to their downfall – and even harder to look at it as anything more than a childish fantasy that had yet to find its catch.
Initially, Red hated Sans. 
It felt ridiculous, looking back upon it – in the moments when his head lay in Sans’ lap and gentle fingers traced over his scars like they were poetry written in a language Red had never bothered to learn, and he wondered what Sans saw in him that he hadn’t seen; wondered if this was what it felt like to love himself – but it was the truth. It had taken him a while to understand that the circumstances in which they’d grown were enough to turn them into two different people; that hating Sans wasn’t so much like hating himself, or what he could have been, as he wanted it to be.
Really, Sans was so unsuspecting that Red had been foolish enough to let his guard down, forgetting that then was when feeling was the most liable to appear. 
He hadn’t expected to fall in love with the laugh – genuine, unabashed, and lacking all of the gruffness of his own – of someone whose humour was just as terrible as his own.
He’d been far too blind to realise how incredibly endearing it was for someone to wake up and allow themselves to be bleary and half-asleep, cuddling into his arm without even meaning to, even if it meant opening themselves up to being easily picked off.
In allowing someone into his blindspot that he’d believed to be too weak or foolish to use it against him, he’d failed to remember that it was the softest words that cut the deepest, when they would bleed him dry so tenderly and lovingly that he couldn’t even think to fight against the bloodloss; when, instead, he’d lean into the knife and ask them to twist it. The wound was soul deep, and the soul’s wounds could not be so easily ignored.
Though, it was a small price to pay to hear that raucous laughter over jokes that weren’t even funny. Trivial, really, in comparison to soft smiles and gentle touches that moved slowly just to prove to him how tender the world could really be.
“Earth to Red.”
A soul for a soul; a life for a life. They gave one another all of themselves, promised each other that it was enough, and it was. For once, it was, just to be soft.
“Come in, Red.”
There was gentleness in the multiverse, hidden until it was allowed in.
Tiredly, he bat away the hand that waved in front of his sockets, only to grab it by the wrist and pull it back down, firmly, on the crown of his skull. With a laugh, the fingers scratched gentle circles into the bone, and Red hummed happily at the feeling, allowing his sockets to slip shut as he lay against Sans’ legs.
“Where’d you go, space cadet?”
“Nowhere,” he grumbled, sighing softly as he fully relaxed into the touch. “Must’ve dozed off.”
Again, there was that laugh, and Red’s soul fluttered. “With your eyes open?”
“It’s a little known talent of mine,” he hummed.
“Gee, must be handy,” came the response, and amusement never sounded so beautiful. “You’ll have to teach me sometime.”
“Nuh uh,” and he couldn’t stop himself from snorting. “It’s genetic.”
“Ah, damn. Guess we gotta add that to the list of differences.”
“Guess so.” His breath hitched as the hand on his head trailed downward to cup his cheek. His browbones furrowed, ever so slightly, and he felt himself go tense.
“Hey. Look at me.”
After a moment, Red opened his sockets, and there was no sight more welcome than the face of his lover. Each time he saw him was like the first, and Red drank in each of his features as if they’d disappear at any moment: smooth bone, unmarred by chips and cracks; eyelights that glowed softly in dark sockets, like how he imagined fireflies might; ever present, gentle smile that smoothed away his worries. Oh, to be so untouched by cruelty. He’d do anything to keep it that way.
“‘Sup,” he breathed, and Sans’ smile widened as he snorted.
“‘Sup,” he returned. His thumb ran circles over his cheek, and Red leaned into the touch. “You okay?”
With a snicker, he rolled his eyelights at the question. “Super duper.”
Despite himself, Sans laughed too, but, still, pressed on. “You sure? You were spacing out pretty bad before. Like, way out in deep space,” he emphasised, unnecessarily. “No planets around, just stars. Way beyond our galaxy. Uncharted territory. Where no man has gone before.”
“Alright, alright, I get the picture” Red interrupted, though not without chuckling. “‘M okay. Was just thinking.”
When Sans’ head cocked to the side, Red couldn’t help but grin. “About?”
“Uranus.”
At first, his sockets simply narrowed, confused, then all at once, “Ura– Oh. Alright, perv. Har har.”
But, he was laughing, and Red was, too, like it was the funniest joke in the world despite it not even being funny. Maybe it didn’t matter, if Red was the one to say it; if Sans was the one to laugh. Maybe, then, it could be good, even if it wasn’t, really. The sound of their laughter, something shared and sacred, was what Red imagined it might feel like to hear the birds chirp when the sun rose and turned the sky whatever colours it was supposed to when it drove the night away. He hoped that it was blue, like Sans’ favourite colour, but the pictures in his textbooks were too faded to be sure.
When he tuned back in, the laughter had tapered off.
“You do that a lot, y’know,” Sans noted, almost absentmindedly, and his hands turned back to trailing shapes on Red’s skull.
He grunted at the feeling. “Do what?”
“Go to space,” Sans said, simply. “Or… somewhere else. That I can’t reach.”
Red frowned, closing his sockets to cut off the dull thrum of agony he felt in his soul whenever Sans’ smile didn’t reach his eyes like that. “I do it less than I used to. It used to be better, somewhere else – anywhere else – but ‘m not so sure anymore.”
“Where would you wanna go?” he asked, in a whisper. “If you could go anywhere. Anywhere at all.”
For a moment, Red considered. The answer would have been easy before – the surface, of course. Where Paps and every other monster longed to be – but access to the multiverse had opened up options that he’d never known existed. If he could conceive of a place, it surely existed, somewhere. Any place. Anywhere. Anywhere at all. But, if kindness was so thoroughly hidden, why should he want to look for it anywhere else?
“Think I’d rather just stay here,” he hummed. “With you.”
Maybe he should have questioned the way that Sans’ hands stilled at his answer. Maybe he should have opened his eyes; looked at his face; seen his expression; known what it meant.
But, he didn’t.
“Geez,” Sans breathed, with a laugh that sounded breathless. “My answer feels stupid in comparison.”
“Yeah? What’s yours?”
“Anywhere else. Anywhere at all.”
In hindsight, Red should have known it was too good to last; too good to stay good.
A universe where the typical LOVE of any given passerby was nothing higher than 1; where Sans and his brother were kind to one another in public; where there was so little need for the royal guard that the worst Sans got for sneaking off to Grillby’s during his shift was a slap on the wrist. It was difficult to believe that a place like that could exist – that it could be self-sustainable, since, logically, their weakness should have led to their downfall – and even harder to look at it as anything more than a childish fantasy that had yet to find its catch.
Of course, there was a catch. 
There was always a catch. Every childish fantasy grew tainted with time, like the innocence of children was stripped with age. Every fairy tale book grew weary and old, pages yellowed and frayed. Every picture faded, until you couldn’t be sure whether the sky was blue or grey.
But, you hoped it was blue anyway, and maybe that was your mistake.
It was undeniable that the multiverse was an entirely cruel and ruthless place. That was what Red wholeheartedly believed. Maybe, after all, there was a reason that love and LOVE were spelled the same.
Try as he might, though, Red could not hate him.
It felt ridiculous – in the moments when hands clamped around his neck like a vice, choked by the grip and the grief that came with it, as if the two were one in the same, and they would both cry, both tremble in fear, or fury, or something worse, and Red would think that this was what it was like to hate himself – but it was the truth. It had taken him a while to understand that the circumstances in which they’d changed were enough to turn them into two different people; that hating Dust wasn’t so much like loving himself, or what he could have been, as he wanted it to be.
Really, Red had underestimated Dust as he had been before; had assumed that kindness meant the incapacity for cruelty.
And, in allowing someone into his blindspot that he’d believed to be too weak or foolish to use it against him, he’d failed to remember that it was the softest words that cut the deepest, when they would leave scars so deep that all he could think of was how much he missed the feeling; when he’d search for the knife and throw himself against it. The wound was soul deep, and the soul’s wounds could not be so easily ignored.
Before, he’d thought it was a small price to pay. Trivial, really, in comparison to what he had to gain from it. As if it were a simple transaction as opposed to something living, and breathing, and ever changing; as if he would never have to be the one who was tender; as if that made it anything less valuable.
“Red.”
A soul for a soul; a life for a life. They gave one another all of themselves, promised each other that it was enough, and it was. Just as before, it was. Harsher now, but Dust had taught Red to be soft, and Red would teach him what he’d forgotten.
“Red.”
There was gentleness in the multiverse, hidden until it was allowed in.
With a jolt, he came back to reality to a slap on the face, not hard enough to hurt, but more than enough to be startling. He frowned, but, nonetheless, took his hand by the wrist and guided it to the crown of his skull. Hesitantly, as if spurred on by some muscle memory, the fingers ran in gentle circles across his bone, and Red hummed in approval at the feeling as he lay against Dust’s legs.
“Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere,” he mumbled, unconsciously leaning into the touch. “Must’ve dozed off.”
“With your eyes open,” Dust said, and it wasn’t a question. “Freak.”
Immediately, Red snorted. “Guess we gotta add that to the list of similarities.”
Despite himself, Dust laughed; the sound short, subdued, and nothing like the laugh he’d fallen in love with, but something about it made his soul flutter, nonetheless. “Guess so.”
After a moment, Red opened his sockets. Each time he saw him was like the first, and Red drank in each of his features as if they’d disappear at any moment – as they had before – smooth bone that crackled and buzzed with magic, refusing to be underestimated; eyelights that glowed brightly in dark sockets, like how he imagined neon signs would on a city street in the middle of the night; a face shrouded by shadow, as if it was saved for him alone to see. In the end, he’d been marred by cruelty despite Red’s best efforts, but he was beautiful nonetheless.
“‘Sup,” Dust mumbled, and the edges of his mouth quirked up in an attempt at a smile.
Slowly, Red lifted his hand and, ever so gently, cupped Dust’s cheek, pausing when his breath hitched, but, with the same caution, Dust leaned into the touch; barely enough to be noticed, but Red noticed. This time, he saw. “‘Sup,” he finally returned. “You okay?”
“You’re going to disappear,” Dust whispered, and his voice broke on the words in a way that made Red feel hollowed out. “You’re going to go somewhere else. Somewhere that I can’t reach. Like you do when you go to space. It scares me.”
Browbones furrowed, Red ran gentle circles across his love’s cheek, staying silent as Dust took in a shuddering breath to continue; a quirk Red had grown accustomed to.
“I remember what you told me before,” he said, and his hand came up to desperately hold Red’s to his face, like he might forget it was there if he didn’t make sure. “That you did it because it was better to be somewhere else – anywhere else. Do you want that now? To be somewhere else? Away from me?”
“No,” Red said, and the lack of hesitation in his answer surprised even himself. “I don’t want that.”
Again, Dust’s breath hitched, and he frowned, like the answer wasn’t enough, and, maybe, it wasn’t. His fingers threaded between Red’s, and, when he clutched onto his hand, Red squeezed back, holding him with desperation to match. Dust laughed, a breathless sound. “I’m not the person that you loved.”
Scoffing, Red rolled his eyelights at the notion. “Of course you are.”
“I’m not,” Dust insisted, and something about it was a plea.
“Then,” he breathed, “I love you. This you.”
And, with a breath that was cut off with something that sounded suspiciously like a sob, Dust leaned forward – over Red’s body, as if to trap him – and pressed his chest against Red’s. His ribs fluttered with each breath, and Red guided his stuttering breaths with deep inhales that interlocked their ribs with each one. His hand remained stuck to Dust’s cheek, and he squeezed gently, relieved when Dust squeezed back to let him know he was still here; in this reality, not another.
“Breathe,” Red commanded, soft; soft, like he’d been taught. “I’m here.”
Dust took a heaving breath – deep, frantic, like he’d been drowning – and, in a voice that sounded so much like before – reminding Red once more that this was the person he loved, despite the change – he whispered, “Where would you wanna go? If you could go anywhere. Anywhere at all.”
The question made him sputter, for a moment. Then, with a breathless laugh, “Seriously?”
“Please,” he pleaded, so what could Red do but answer?
The answer would have been easy before – here; here, just like before – but, despite how they fought against it, things had changed. Did that mean his answer had to change? That his longing had to shift, too? The multiverse was infinite. If he could conceive of a place, it surely existed, somewhere. Maybe even somewhere that Sans stayed Sans, but would it be the same? Any place. Anywhere. Anywhere at all. But, if kindness was so thoroughly hidden – had been ripped from Dust’s grasp with the signature ruthlessness of the multiverse – then why shouldn’t Red be it? Like Dust had been for him, before.
“Think I’d like to stay here,” he hummed. “With you. Still.”
And, this time, Red noticed the way that Dust’s breathing slowed to a stop; felt the way that his magic crackled between his joints; how something wet slipped between their fingers on Dust’s cheek; knew what it meant.
“Okay,” Dust whispered.
“What about you? Where would you go?”
There was a pause – a moment as Dust inhaled once more; held Red’s hand tight, but oh, so gentle – before he managed to answer. “Here,” he said. “With you.”
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edenmemes · 11 months
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asoiaf: clash of kings starters
❝ people often claim to hunger for truth,   but seldom like the taste when it's served up. ❞ ❝ the brightest flame casts the darkest shadow. ❞ ❝ lawless men are everywhere in this dark time. men with cold steel and colder hearts. ❞ ❝ there's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it. ❞ ❝ he who hurries through life hurries to his grave. ❞ ❝ if half an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. a man is good or he is evil. ❞ ❝ some men are like swords, made for fighting. hang them up and they go to rust. ❞ ❝ sometimes i feel as though you are the best friend i have and sometimes i feel you are my worst enemy. ❞ ❝ i want to weep. i want to be comforted. i’m so tired of being strong. ❞ ❝ crowns do strange things to the heads beneath them. ❞ ❝ i see a deep sadness written upon your face. could it be the sadness of a lost dream? ❞ ❝ this is not you, not your way. you were always just, always hard yet never cruel. ❞ ❝ if you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look him in the face and hear his last words. ❞ ❝ how i have yearned for the sound of your sweet voice. ❞ ❝ i do not like being lied to. leave me out of your next deception. ❞ ❝ i will hurt you for this. i don't know how yet, but give me time. a day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid. ❞ ❝ there are no men like me. there’s only me. ❞ ❝ i will not claim to bear you any great love, no, but i cannot hate you either. ❞ ❝ the only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy. ❞ ❝ there is a sweet innocence about you. ❞ ❝ mercy. that’s a bloody trap. too much and they call you weak, too little and you’re monstrous. ❞ ❝ it is better to be seen as cruel than foolish. ❞ ❝ i’ve waited for you, oh, so many times. now you must wait for me. ❞ ❝ no one has ever died of restlessness, but rashness is another matter. ❞ ❝ i’m not a child, to be soothed with empty promises. ❞ ❝ only blood can wash out blood. ❞ ❝ don’t ever touch me, or i’ll kill you. ❞ ❝ we have leagues to go, and dangers to face. you will need your strength. ❞ ❝ i cannot sleep at night for thinking of your beauty. ❞ ❝ so many vows...they make you swear and swear. defend the king. obey the king. keep his secrets. do his bidding. your life for his. but obey your father. love your sister. protect the innocent. defend the weak. obey the laws. it’s too much. no matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or the other. ❞ ❝ somehow i have a feeling i am not going to like what you’re about to say. ❞ ❝ kings have no friends. only subjects and enemies. ❞ ❝ you must be still, you are grievously hurt. you will do yourself great injury. ❞ ❝ your heart is noble, but learn a lesson here. we cannot set the world to rights. ❞ ❝ i mean to be a king, and not of a broken kingdom. ❞ ❝ when i make threats, you’ll know it. ❞ ❝ do you want me dead? is that it? the truth now. ❞ ❝ this time i have to find my own way, and it is hard. so hard. ❞ ❝ i am afraid, but i must be brave. ❞ ❝ it grieves me that it must come to this. ❞ ❝ the kingdom bleeds, and no one lifts a sword to defend it. ❞ ❝ we shall see who is laughing when all of this is done. ❞ ❝ the unseen enemy is always the most fearsome. ❞ ❝ would you like one? you’ve never tasted anything so sweet, i promise you.❞ ❝ i knew a man once who told me i smiled at the wrong things. ❞ ❝ i would be glad to leave this city, if truth be told. ❞ ❝ there is an empty place within me where my heart was once. ❞ ❝ men like that...too honest to live, too noble to shit. ❞ ❝ if truth be told, i’ve never liked you. ❞ ❝ song and laughter have become suspicious strangers to me. ❞ ❝ only a fool humbles himself when the world is so full of men eager to do that job for him. ❞ ❝ the storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish, and i keep on paddling. ❞ ❝ mountains rise and fall, rivers change their courses, stars fall from the sky, and great cities sink beneath the sea. even gods die, we think. everything changes. ❞ ❝ i will not be mocked to my face, do you hear me? i will not! ❞ ❝ most sellswords would betray anyone for enough gold. ❞ ❝ tell me that none of this troubles you...and i’ll name you a liar. ❞ ❝ was there ever a war where only one side bled? ❞ ❝ great wrongs have been done you, but the past is dust. the future may yet be won. ❞ ❝ i am growing strangely fond of you.   i may kill you yet, but i think i’d feel sad about it. ❞ ❝ ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow. ❞ ❝ courage and folly are cousins, or so i’ve heard. ❞ ❝ a curious way of fighting. it looks suspiciously like hiding. ❞ ❝ whatever enemy waits out here will not find us so easy to deal with. ❞ ❝ love is poison. a sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same. ❞ ❝ schemes are like fruit, they require a certain ripening. ❞ ❝ i can smell the fear on you. ❞ ❝ when the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. ❞ ❝ no royal is ever late. those who arrive before them have come early, that’s all. ❞ ❝ power resides where men believe it resides. no more and no less. ❞ ❝ you would not force me to reveal all my little secrets, would you? ❞ ❝ sorcery is the sauce fools spoon over failure to hide the flavor of their own incompetence. ❞ ❝ there are ghosts everywhere. we carry them with us wherever we go. ❞ ❝ you stop feeling, you stop thinking, you stop being you, there is only the fight, the foe, this man and then the next and the next and the next. ❞ ❝ terrible times breed terrible things. ❞ ❝ i do not beg. of anyone. mind you remember that. ❞ ❝ betray me, and you’ll wish you hadn’t. ❞ ❝ i do not require your understanding. only your service. ❞ ❝ would that bones could talk. this fellow could tell us much. how he died. ❞ ❝ the wide world is full of people wanting help. would that some could find the courage to help themselves. ❞ ❝ a frightened man is a beaten man. ❞ ❝ the ones who look the most suspicious are likely innocent. it's the ones who look innocent i need to beware. ❞ ❝ it is peaceful here, but for how long? ❞ ❝ the man who kills his own blood is cursed forever in the sights of gods and men. ❞ ❝ a sweet dream. now put it aside, i beg you. it can never be. ❞ ❝ you’re as bad an omen as any raven. ❞ ❝ this is no game, so don’t play the child with me. ❞ ❝ my life is a poor thing, but it is yours. ❞ ❝ they will not love me, you say? when have they ever loved me? how can i lose something i have never owned? ❞ ❝ they're all afraid of me. no one will hurt you again, or i'd kill them. ❞ ❝ i had begun to fear for you. did you meet with trouble? ❞ ❝ i grow ever more admiring of you. ❞ ❝ i’d sooner hold a wine goblet than a battle-axe. ❞ ❝ a lord never lets sentiment get in the way of ambition. ❞ ❝ if you have something to say, say it. ❞ ❝ how can i do my duty if i do not know where it lies?❞ ❝ don’t look at me, not...not like this...not you. ❞ ❝ i’ve broken laws, but i’ve never felt evil until tonight. ❞ ❝ are you here to serve me? or to vex me with arguments? ❞ ❝ men do not love me. they follow me because they fear me. ❞ ❝ why would people run off and leave their homes and everything? what could scare them so much? ❞ ❝ fear cuts deeper than swords. ❞ ❝ let us not get into the habit of names. names are dangerous. ❞ ❝ i do not relish being played for a fool. ❞ ❝ you have said nothing that requires forgiveness. ❞ ❝ perhaps you are wiser than i knew. ❞ ❝ a good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. each should have its own reward. ❞ ❝ you set us a battle we cannot hope to win. ❞ ❝ learn to use your ears more and your mouth less. ❞ ❝ sleep a bit. when you wake, all this will seem a bad dream. ❞ ❝ why should men fight and die for you? ❞ ❝ fuck your questions. you’ll choke on them before you get any answers from me. ❞ ❝ i am certain of nothing in this fickle and treacherous world. ❞ ❝ a good lord comforts and protects the weak and helpless. ❞ ❝ is a secret still a secret if everyone knows it? ❞ ❝ look around you. they’re all liars here...and every one better than you. ❞ ❝ i have a role to play, and you must do the same. ❞ ❝ sadly, no victory is without cost. ❞ ❝ this is evil, unthinkable...please, listen to me. ❞ ❝ is that what troubles you, that some fool call you cowardly? ❞ ❝ you must forgive me if i have spoken to you harshly in the past. ❞ ❝ a sweet offer...yet sweets can be poisoned. ❞ ❝ how beautiful you look tonight. ❞ ❝ the day is won, and yet you do not smile. the living should smile, for the dead cannot. ❞ ❝ the time for talk is done. now we see who is stronger. ❞ ❝ i am no stranger to nightmares. ❞ ❝ so much villainy; it sings a sad song for our age. did honour die with our fathers? ❞ ❝ some men are born to be killed. ❞ ❝ come if you like, but if you can’t keep up, don’t think that i’ll nurse you along. ❞ ❝ i will kill him. i swear it. i swear it. ❞ ❝ this is madness, but sooner madness than defeat. defeat is death and shame. ❞ ❝ does it give you joy to scare people? ❞ ❝ when i require your counsel i shall ask for it. ❞ ❝ will you put away your blade? ❞ ❝ need an escort? the talk is, the streets are dangerous. ❞ ❝ it is ill to keep a lady waiting. ❞ ❝ kneeling won’t save you now. stand up. ❞ ❝ you’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you? why? ❞ ❝ do you think i wish to be here? ❞ ❝ don’t you know how i have cared for you, lived for you, loved you despite all? ❞ ❝ see, there is nothing to fear. ❞ ❝ you have a cheerful way of grieving. ❞ ❝ a dream, that’s all it was. it meant nothing. ❞ ❝ a dog doesn’t need courage to chase off rats. ❞ ❝ the gods give with one hand and take with the other. ❞ ❝ only a man like you would be proud of such an act. ❞ ❝ i cannot answer for the gods. ❞ ❝ it’s swords i need, not blessings. ❞ ❝ you look very lovely today. ❞ ❝ they said you were dead. ❞ ❝ all sorts of people are calling themselves kings these days. ❞ ❝ you need me, whether you care to admit it or no. ❞ ❝ be quiet and kiss me. ❞
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I love your writing, can you possibly do Yandere Loki and maybe Aphrodite with an Asexual Reader who’s not physically attracted by them, rather they tell them how they’re very ‘Ugly/Unattractive’ because of their personality (I’m Ace myself) how do you think they’ll react to Reader calling Thrud ‘Beautiful’ and the ‘True Maiden/Beauty in Heaven’ because Reader likes Thrud for her personality (I think it would be funny since I believe Loki knows he’s attractive, same for Aphrodite but to the extreme, and I definitely would find it hilarious for them to be knocked down a peg or two because Reader isn’t afraid to call them out on their bullshit and tell them they’re Ugly)
I ADORE Thrud, she’s so beautiful 😭 (She’s so pretty and cute, like HOW can anyone THINK she’s a monster??)
NO, YOU'RE SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS AND TY FOR THE THRUD REQUEST. LIKE, LOKI DEF KNOWS HE'S PRETTY BUT I KNOW WHERE MY LOYALTIES LIE AND HAS TO KNOW HIS PLACE WHEN IT COMES TO THRUD.
Yandere! Aphrodite + Yandere! Loki w an Ace! Darling who likes Thrud Better
Yandere! Aphrodite:
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- As the Goddess of Love and Beauty, she is entitled to some degree to think that she's attractive so why wouldn't you fall for her?
- Despite how many times you try to tell her you're uncomfortable with it, she will try to seduce you but stops when you push her away or genuinely seem upset with her attempts.
- She either assumes that you're shy or that you are simply playing hard to get, which she enjoys for a while. You know Kokomi Teruhashi from Saiki K who simply can not accept the fact Saiki isn't interested in her? Literally how she acts.
- When you try to tell you aren't attracted to her, she doesn't really listen which finally causes you to snap and tell her that she's ugly. She laughs in your face and coos about how her darling has such an odd sense of humor.
- "No, I'm not joking! You may be pretty on the outside but I could never love anyone whose as ugly as you. Especially someone who can't respect my boundaries and choices!"
- And she is shocked for a bit...but then she is PISSED. YOU UNGRATEFUL WHELP, ARE YOU NOT AWARE OF HOW MANY MORTALS AND GODS WOULD LOVE TO BE IN YOUR SHOES!? TO BE ADORED BY HER THE WAY SHE ADORES YOU!
- She gets angry and yells at you. You knew she wouldn't be happy to hear it and her lashing out at you only proved your point about how truly ugly she was. You backed away from her as she tried to walk towards you, trying to grab you, but she was stopped by someone who stood between you two.
- "Hey! Leave them alone."
- "YOU FOOLISH VALKYRIE, YOU DARE STAND AGAINST A GODDESS!?"
- "If she's taking out her anger on a mortal she's been HARASSING since Ragnarok started, then yes!"
- She glares from Thrud, to you, to Thrud again. Then she turns around and walks off, trying to pick up the dignity she had as a Goddess after being brutally rejected by you. She sulks and rages and mopes for a few days, after all, HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK SHE WAS UGLY!?
- When she's finally in her right state of mind, she tries to approach you again. Maybe she can apologize and change your mind about her! After all, she will admit that looking back she has been a bit touchy but she's so in love with you! Maybe if you saw that then you'd accept her. Oh, and there you are- Wait, why are you with Thrud??
- It turns out that while she was in heartbreak, you and the most muscular Valkyrie sister had grown quite close. Thrud protecting you from other God's, letting you sit on her shoulder and laughing as you talked about how much taller you felt. You looked so happy around her, why didn't you look that happy with Aphrodite!?
- Then you called her the True Beauty of Heaven and Aphrodite is once again sent into an outrage.
- HER? A BEAUTY? MEANWHILE, APHRODITE WAS UGLY!? THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, (Y/N)!? HOW COULD YOU BE SO CRUEL TO HER!?
- From here, she honestly will do anything to keep you away from Thrud. She'll try to act nicer to you but she doesn't have the patience to keep it up for long, maybe she'll stage a little accident where Thrud can't save you but she can, or maybe...she'll just take you away♡
- It's your own fault for this, you know! She tried to love you gently but you simply wanted to be ungrateful.
Yandere! Loki:
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- This man knows he's drop dead gorgeous and while it isn't the SOLE reason why he acts like a horrible God, he still thinks that because of his looks and "cute" antics that you'd at least fall for him.
- He is a bit more respectful of your boundaries than Aphrodite is...like, when it comes to seduction and stuff, he wouldn't really do much of that. I'll give him that much but that doesn't mean he doesn't make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
- You can feel his eyes burning into you, he doesn't really care enough to hide his prescence and he thinks its cute the way you glare at him and try to move away from him, as if he isn't gonna follow you♡
- He knows how you feel about him already. You've even called him Ugly or Unattractive for his personality before and his response is usually just him chuckling and telling you why you expected any different, after all, he is the God of Deciet and Mischief♡
- Lately, he hasn't seen you around as often and it's honestly been affecting his mood. He's more irritable and he's seething when he tries to look for you and you're not as your usual spots. He even broke into your room, expecting to scare you and catch you off gaurd.
- Only to see that a lot of your possessions where gone, which confused and frustrated him even more. Then he hears some other gods talking about you and how you were now living with one of the Valkyries, to which Loki grabbed them and threatened to kill them himself if they didn't tell him everything.
- You changed sides...You couldn't stand him so much that you changed sides and were now roommates with one of the Valkyries, he wasn't sure how he felt. Of course he was angry but he also couldn't really blame you. That didn't mean he had to like it, of course.
- Not only that but it was Thrud who had let you stay with her, noticing how uneasy and paranoid you were because of Loki and vowing to protect you from him. Yeah, maybe he liked to make you miserable and isolated and by his side but he highly doubted you needed protection from him.
- Although protection was such a laughable word considering the fact that despite Thrud's muscular and giant build, he was more than confident all it would take was a simple flick of his wrist to end her.
- So he goes over to the Human's side to grab you and drag you back to him, everyone avoiding him as he walked to the Valkyrie's quarters with a dark and heavy aura that radiated with anger and bloodlust.
- He didn't have to walk too far since he heard you in the garden...talking with Thrud. He stormed over to you, yet he stopped in his tracks when he heard what you said to her.
- "Thrud, you truly are the most beautiful person in heaven." You sighed, making Thrud flustered but she smiled and shyly thanked you for the compliment.
- He...he feels something weird. It's in his chest. It feels like an ache of some sort? The word echoes in his mind as he clenches his chest and stares at the ground. He already knew he was attractive, even when you did call him ugly, and it didn't bother him. So why...Why does that hurt so much now? Beautiful. Why does he feel cold when he sees how joyful Thrud looks when you tell her that.
- That moment of sorrow passed by quickly and he's already enraged but he just walks over and hugs you from behind. Thrud gets up to try and hurt him but he just puts a blade on your neck and is all: "Thrud! What an unpleasant surprise! I'm sorry but we really must be going now! C'mon, (Y/n)!~ I've missed you terribly!" and Thrud is helpless because she doesn't know if he'll actually hurt you but when she tries to follow after, you just give her a sad smile of defeat...which breaks her heart.
- When he drags you back, he throws you roughly against the wall and pins you to it, using one arm to cage you and the other to roughly seize your chin. He looks at you, nothing short of furious but seeing how terrified you are of him at that moment, it makes him smile. So, he gently asks in a soft tone that lacked affection and tenderness, "Tell me I'm beautiful, (Y/n)."
- "...You're beautiful." You answer him, your eyes filled with terror. The smile on his face grows at your words, even if he forced you to say them, and he just pinches your cheek lovingly: "Oh, you're too cute to stay mad at~ Lucky you."
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toporecall · 1 month
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The inn scene (chpt 48) of ACOMAF but from Rhys's POV. Enjoy :)
Read below or on AO3
“You’re shivering so hard the bed is shaking,” I said. I was crowded to the edge of the mattress, as far from Feyre as I could get in this small room and this even smaller bed, trying, despite myself, to give her space. 
“My hair is wet,” she replied, still shaking. Not a lie, but not entirely the truth either. It was freezing in the room. I was nearly shivering as well, though I had a little more meat on my bones to keep me warm than Feyre did. There was no way either of us would be sleeping without more warmth. My head spun at the idea of touching her here, alone in this room. The Court of Nightmares had been one thing—and I’d had a hard time getting the feel of her, the sounds she made out of my head since—but that had been a game, an act. This would just be us.
I didn’t let myself think any further before I scooted across the bed, closing the space between us and wrapping myself around her. I draped a wing over us both, trying to seal in what little warmth we generated.
“No expectations, just body heat,” I said, laughing under my breath as I repeated her words from earlier. I could nearly feel her scowling into the dark.
Moving a hand to her stomach, I pulled her into me and wrapped my other arm across her chest. She’d been eating better since she’d come to live at the Night Court, started training too, and her body had been changing but I was struck, as I often was, by how small she seemed. How fragile, even as a fae. I tangled my legs through hers and breathed in her scent. 
It was foolish to tempt fate like this—to allow myself to think, even for a moment, that I might get what I want. But I couldn’t help myself; I felt so pulled to this creature. To her scent, her soft skin, her heartbeat under my arm. I couldn’t possibly get close enough to her.
Mate, mate, mate, the word echoed through my skull—through my entire being, urging me to flip her over, sink myself into her and claim her as mine. But I couldn’t—wouldn’t—until she knew the truth. I knew she wanted me too, though. I could see it in the way she looked at my mouth while I spoke. The way she’d smiled on Starfall. She’d even admitted it just a few minutes ago, I reminded myself, even if that somehow already felt like a dream. I can’t stop thinking about you, she’d said. I was getting closer every day to telling her the truth. I almost had tonight when I—
My thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a jolt of heat, of desire, radiating through me as Feyre dragged a finger along the wing I had draped over us. Goosebumps broke out across my skin and I shuddered, tightening my hold on her involuntarily.
“Your finger…is very cold,” I ground out. It wasn’t until I spoke that I noticed my face was nearly pressed into the skin of her neck. I imagined running my tongue along that beautiful skin, hearing her sigh. Did I just imagine it or did Feyre tilt her head so I could do just that?
Another finger gently scraped my wing again and I tensed against her, hand splaying across her stomach. She knew. She knew what this was doing to me. Which means she’s either entirely evil or…
“You cruel, wicked thing,” I purred, doing my best to sound nonchalant. I gave in halfway to the temptation her neck offered, grazing it with the tip of my nose and relishing the sound of her breath catching at the contact. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?”
“I never knew Ilyrians were such sensitive babies,” she said and slid another finger across my wing. 
And with that, there was no more hiding it. I could feel myself harden, pressing into her ass. Her heart beat faster in her chest and I could practically feel the heat radiating from her blushing cheeks. But, to my surprise, she didn’t shy away. She raised two fingers and ran them down my wings again. 
I stifled a groan and slid my hand under the bottom hem of her shirt, just enough to stroke teasingly across her stomach. I felt everything in me nearly melt as she closed what little space was left between us, arching against me and grinding herself against my hard cock. 
“Greedy,” I murmured, inhaling the scent of her as I let my lips just barely graze the skin of her neck. “First you terrorize me with your cold hands, now you want…what is it you want, Feyre?”
I just needed her to say it. Just say it once and we could stop this charade we’ve been playing at for far too long—that we don’t want each other, don’t need each other. Just say ‘I want you’, I mentally begged, but only to myself.
I trailed my fingers across her breasts tantalizingly lightly, continuing to stroke idly across her stomach, moving lower and lower. She said nothing but sighed into the dark room, her breaths starting to come out in sweet little pants. Gods if I could only hear her moan, just for a moment…
I dragged my teeth across her neck, relishing in the way her breath stuttered. “What is it you want, Feyre?” I bit her earlobe gently. 
She cried out, a breathy little moan that went straight to my cock. She arched her back more, pushing into me harder. I ran my fingers across the skin just above her pants. Say it, Feyre. Just say it.
“I want a distraction. I want—fun.” She was breathless and it was hot but not hot enough to completely distract me from the sting of the words. It caught me off guard and my hands stopped moving. Was I completely wrong? Maybe when she’d said she couldn’t stop thinking about me she really did just mean physically? 
But no—we’re mates. We’re fated, I thought. Maybe she was still too in denial to admit that to herself, to allow herself to feel it. But in the meantime, maybe just a taste…
“Then allow me the pleasure of distracting you,” I said, forcing myself to sound casual when I felt anything but. 
I slipped a hand under the top of her shirt, circling one of her already hard nipples. She was breathing so hard now, her pulse pounding.
“I love these,” I said onto the skin of her neck, my hand sliding to her other breast, caressing her nipple. “You have no idea how much I love these.”
She groaned from somewhere deep in her throat and it nearly undid me. I wanted her undone. I wanted her screaming, begging, crying out in ecstasy because of me. I pinched her nipple lightly and she groaned again, grinding herself against my now rock hard cock and I hissed air from between my teeth. God damn.
“Stop that. You’ll ruin my fun,” I snarled.
She tried to twist in my arms though, tried to slide her hand between us. I pushed myself against her ass even harder, closing any space she might have to fit her hand in. I couldn’t let her touch me. I was barely holding it together as is—if she got her hands on me I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. And, as much as it was killing me in this moment, I couldn’t fully have her until she knew the truth. Both for her sake and mine. Because if I had her once and she rejected me after…I’m not sure how I could possibly live with that.
But I wanted her. I wanted her more than anything and anyone I’d ever encountered. And I could at least make her feel good, feel beautiful and wanted and relaxed for one moment in her almost constantly miserable life. And she’s here, pressing herself against me and sighing and smelling like a fucking goddess and I know this will play on repeat in my head for decades.
“I want to touch you first,” I ground out, my voice almost unrecognizable even to myself. “Just—let me touch you.” I squeezed her breast and nearly came at just the sound of her breath catching in her throat again. 
I slid a finger along the waistband of her pants. I could smell her, smell her arousal. If she would just give in…
I rolled her nipple under my finger, my index finger of my other hand tracing back and forth across her waistband. She wiggled her hips, grinding against me again, clearly trying to get my hand to move where she wanted it. But I wouldn’t give in without more from her. Back and forth my finger traveled across her waistband, so so close to where she wanted me.
“Please,” she finally whimpered. 
Finally. 
I smiled, letting her feel it against her neck. “There are those missing manners.”
I pushed my hand under her pants, letting my finger glide so lightly across her sex. And at that touch alone, she groaned from deep in her chest. I nearly did the same, snarling at the feel of how wet she was for me already. 
Toying with her just a little more, I circled her clit, not quite giving her what she wanted yet. She wiggled her hips again, clearly impatient, rocking herself against me. I circled just a few more times before finally flicking my thumb over her clit. 
She cried out, almost certainly louder than she meant to, and I laughed softly. “Like that?”
She moaned in reply and the sound reverberated through my bones. I wanted that sound again and again. I was determined to make her do that over and over and over. 
I ran my fingers down through her wetness, teasing around her entrance and she tried to buck against me.
“Please,” she whined again, stoking something like pure male satisfaction with me. Yes, I thought, beg, plead, whine, want me. 
Feyre arched and rocked her hips, grinding herself against me again. I hissed, my calm, cool, collected charade beginning to collapse rapidly. I pushed a finger inside her. She was tight, warm, wet. She was fucking magnificent.
“Fuck, Feyre—” I groaned. Yep, definitely falling apart. 
She started rocking her hips, fucking herself on my finger.
“Fuck,” I exhaled, burying my face in her neck and kissing up toward her ear. She kept moving her hips, chasing her own pleasure. I slid a second finger inside her and she moaned so loudly I was sure everyone in the building must have heard her. Good, let them hear. I moved my fingers in and out, matching her rhythm.
“That’s it,” I murmured, teeth grazing the shell of her ear. 
She twisted the upper half of her body, meeting my eye for the first time, and I melted. I knew my own eyes were giving everything away. I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth, my hand down the front of her pants, her hips rocking on my fingers and against my cock. She was fucking perfect, moaning into the darkness as she leaned in and kissed me, biting down on my lower lip.
I groaned into her mouth—gone, just fully gone. I’d give her anything she wanted. I pushed my fingers in deeper, harder, relishing in the moans spilling from her open mouth and into mine. I swept my tongue against hers and nearly came at the taste of her. I could see how this would go: the way my cock would feel sinking into her, the way she’d moan and scream and whimper and beg me for more, the way it’d feel coming deep inside her. I could taste it all in the way she kissed me.
“You have no idea how much I—” I cut myself off. Control. Get some fucking control over yourself. I didn’t even know what I was going to say. How much I need you. How much I want you. How much I can’t wait to do this forever. She didn’t seem to notice, just whimpered into my mouth again.“Feyre,” I groaned.
I moved my fingers faster, desperate to hear more of those sounds. She was getting wetter. I could feel her inner muscles tightening around my fingers. And then she was coming, crying out desperately as I rode her through it with my fingers. I kissed her deeply, as if I could swallow every beautiful sound she made. 
“Fuck,” I swore against her lips again. 500 years I’d been alive. I’d had my fair share of women. Never, never, had a woman felt like this. 
I slowed my hand as she started to come down from her orgasm, panting hard and fast. I was breathing almost as hard, doing my best to calm my rapid heartbeat as I met her gaze.
“I wanted to do that when I felt how drenched you were at the Court of Nightmares. I wanted to have you right there in the middle of everyone. But mostly I just wanted to do this.” I held her gaze as I brought my fingers to my mouth and sucked on them, the taste of her sweet on my tongue. I nearly shattered. 
Her eyes burned into mine, heat and want and need radiating from her stare. She moved a hand to my chest to roll us over but I grabbed her wrist to stop her.
“When you lick me,” I said, voice gravelly with want, “I want to be alone—far away from everyone. Because when you lick me, Feyre, “ I peppered her neck and jaw with kisses, nipping at her skin, “I’m going to let myself roar loud enough to bring down a mountain.” 
Her hips stirred again and she breathed heavily.
“And when I lick you,” which would be as soon as fucking possible, hopefully, “I want you splayed out on a table like my own personal feast.”
Feyre whimpered and I pulled her against me. 
“I’ve had a long, long time to think about how and where I want you.” My fingers trailed down her abdomen, sliding beneath the waistline of her pants again. I almost went further, almost continued down to make her fuck my hand again, maybe to make her moan my name in that pretty voice this time. But she needed rest. We both did. “I have no intention of doing it all in one night. Or in a room where I can’t even fuck you against the wall.” 
She shuddered in my arms and I smiled against her hair. I wanted her, I wanted her with everything in me, but that was for another time. 
“Sleep,” I said simply, stroking her body soothingly. 
I listened as her breathing eventually slowed, then evened out, and she fell asleep. I kissed the top of her head lightly, smiling to myself. Mate. I knew she felt it, somewhere inside. 
And as I fell asleep with my mate in my arms for the first time, I replayed the night. I replayed those sounds, those breathy moans and whimpered pleases. And I thought of all the ways I could make her do all of that again.
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cherryjuicegf · 2 years
Text
"You've been crying."
Jaskier laughs as Geralt sits beside him on the pebbles and raises his eyebrows, not looking at him still. "Now you can tell the salt of tears from that of the sea too?"
A light hum. "Always could."
A red ray escapes the setting sun and hits the waves, making the tears in his eyes melt as they mirror it. He sniffles and wipes at the trails his previous crying had pathed on his cheeks, and puts on a brave smile. Not really a smile. A curve of lips, at least, because Geralt is here now, the warmth of his body resembling a lit hearth, and it's a kind of comfort. Always has been.
Except. Geralt is staring at him.
Geralt is waiting.
And it's nothing, it really is. Jaskier likes to convince himself it is trivial, because how else could he mend a broken heart, if not with lies. The truth just seems too far out of reach.
But maybe now he is tired. And maybe in another time he wouldn't talk about it, he would only smile wider but now Geralt's stare is so gentle, and his eyes so safe like the sun on a spring's day.
"I feel like I've been missing, you know," he says at last and looks at him straight, soft, because Geralt really does know. "On love. And it's been too long."
What Geralt doesn't know, perhaps, is the way his heart clenches inside his chest and curls on itself like a child punished in the corner. So he frowns. "You? Jaskier, you can have anyone you want. I've seen you." Then, a smile, almost fond. "You fall in love with everyone."
Everyone, everyone. Anyone. Anyone there is. Anyone who looks like maybe, maybe, they will stay, or he is just too careless at this point that he tries anyway. A heart that never has too much. He knows they won't stay. And he knows the one who will stays for a different reason. So, so close.
He smiles, bittersweet, and lowers his look. "Yes, indeed. Everyone." Everyone, she sent a letter today. Never to meet again, never to be seen. Jaskier shakes his head. "And me? Who of all them has fallen in love with me, Geralt?" As if to answer his question, a seabird cries along. The sea, too, a cruel mistress. His voice quivers. "I feel like a desperate dog chasing love, while running from it all the same."
With the corner of his eye he sees Geralt parting his lips and a fake hope blooms in his chest, fading at once when he holds back, and stays silent. And he can only bask in the imagined possibility of what he intended to say.
The tears are done with him now. Only numbness remains.
Eventually, Geralt speaks. "If it is any helpful, no one has ever been in love with me either." The lightness in his voice sounds exactly like the pained strings mending Jaskier’s heart.
But oh, what a foolish man. Jaskier can't help but smile and turn at him, and for a bit he remembers that lonely as it is, he can't stop loving. "Well, that's just not true. I'm in love with you."
As though he doesn't know, as though it's not as simple as it was uttered, Geralt flinches. Jaskier chuckles and averts his gaze again, a little happier than before. Love, it is simple. It's what he does.
Just not something that happens to him.
"Well, then," he hears after some moments, "that makes us even."
He laughs before he thinks. "It does?" And then.
His head spins at once, eyes wide as they meet Geralt's, almost afraid. No, not afraid. Unbelieving. It's been so long, you see. But Geralt only rolls his eyes, oh so fondly, and before Jaskier manages to splutter any words sweet lips are on his, and a hand holding his nape. And it's not like other times. Not like everyone else. It's certain and terrifying and deep like a promise, like two stray roots finding each other through the earth and keeping their living hearts bound forever. Like what he has been craving for so long he forgot he may one day have it. Like Geralt.
And then, as though to seal it, this promise, Geralt pulls back and looks at him like he always does and Jaskier wonders, wonders how this that he never caught stands right here, catching itself. Geralt smiles, voice soft as a feather. "I'm in love with you, Jaskier." And that's it. Simple as that.
His eyes are burning again and Jaskier can only nod, and smile back. And it's almost funny, almost tender how love happens to be so close, so close he can taste its kiss without even trying, just for once.
Just for once, how love happens to him.
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