Tumgik
#i have wanted to blaze a post with her for a long time i am finally going to do it.
caulo · 1 year
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
please look at my dog, mithril - trans icon, gamer, and feature of an immensely popular product line of action figures made from her own fur*. she is the joy of my life and i want to share that.
( * a.k.a. sometimes i give @madpiemagpie bags of fur from brushing mithril, and she returns with fun crafts made by her and/or her partner )
5K notes · View notes
loviatarsluv · 25 days
Note
Request!
I posted details here, it’s for Gale!
https://www.tumblr.com/cherifrog/739699979425333248/anyone-else-interested-in-like-a-super-jealous
YUHHHHH now THIS is what im talkin about!!!!!!!
*cracks knuckles* lets get this party started shall we
(I am so sorry to be answering this literally a million years too late I’ve redone and rewritten this prompt like 100000 times but I finally like this version!!! so here we go!!!)
Gale x AFAB f!tav
rating: oh boy this one is certainly rated M for mature
CW: smut, inappropriate use of mage hand, rough sex, PiV, oral, gale being jealous and going absolutely FERAL
word count: 5.4k
let’s get itttt
Tumblr media
If looks could kill, surely, Astarion would have been long dead— well, even more so— by now. 
Gale was never exactly fond of the pale elf from the start, and he was well aware the feeling was likely incredibly mutual— but gods, he swore he was beginning to actually hate him. 
At least, he hated the way he looked at her. The way he leered at her. The way he purred her name with that practiced and over-rehearsed seductive charm of his. The way he would lock piercing crimson eyes with Gale’s blazing umber ones as he cozied up to her at the fire with that deviant and knowing smirk on his stupid pointy face. The way she would smile at him the warmest, kindest, most hopelessly and adorably oblivious smile in response to the charlatan’s blatant advances. 
Maybe he did hate him, upon further reflection. If only for the last reason alone. 
Astarion would find any way to touch her and be able get away with it— his hand lingering on the small of her back as he passed her, touching her shoulder to get her attention, brushing hair out of her face when stray pieces fell over her eyes— all things that seemed innocent enough until you realized who was doing them and the devious smirk on his face when his gaze would meet that of the wizard that was surely plotting his second untimely demise. 
Though, he could hardly blame him. 
And Gale never got upset with her, of course, he knew it wasn’t her fault and honestly, he truly didn’t blame Astarion for wanting her— gods, who could possibly resist her? 
Certainly not Gale, not even if he tried; and he had tried, to no avail. Yet that didn’t quell his frustration toward the silver haired and equally silver tongued vampire for attempting to swoop in on what was likely the first real chance at mortal love he’d had in a very long time.
He’d spent the early days in their adventure together absolutely beside himself with how taken he was by her nearly instantly. He felt like a smitten schoolboy all over again when he thought about the feeling of her soft but strong hands gripping his as she pulled him from the stone by the nautiloid crash with most impressive ease, the way she looked at him with wonder and curiosity, and even a flicker of something else that he recognized as attraction because he imagined it was mirrored in his own face at the sight of her. 
It was then only worsened by the night that they channeled the weave together and the kiss she’d pictured them sharing— the way their limbs tangled and their lips pressed together softly, then passionately and fervently. Her fingers wrapped in his chestnut tresses and his hands gripping the fabric at her waist— that image will be burnt into the fabric of his mind forevermore, he’s certain. 
Not to mention, the way her pupils dilated and her cheeks flared and flushed a heavenly shade of pink at the way he praised her as she successfully mimicked the incantation and his motions. It was enough to have him panting and attempting to tame the straining erection in his trousers when he retired to his tent that night. 
He thought he’d mastered the art of managing to keep such thoughts like that at bay during his time of isolation as he tried to keep the orb sated and calm and very nonexplosive— but that was before her, after all.
It was pathetically easy at the time, considering his amount of interaction with other humans had gone from healthy to nonexistent entirely so he didn’t have much to think about aside from himself; perhaps when he was truly desperate or feeling especially lonely, he’d think about Mystra and the nights he’d spent in Elysium with her (literally and metaphorically). 
But now, any attempts to be chaste or think chaste thoughts were moot in her presence.
Especially after the night they shared under the stars in the wilderness of the Shadow Cursed Lands.
They’d hardly been able to go more than a few hours without some kind of touch in the days following that perfect evening— whether it be a hand on her lower back, or holding one of her much smaller hands in his as he helped her scale a wall or hop across a boulder that she was more than capable of managing herself. A stolen kiss when no one was looking. Or, if they were lucky, they could steal a few moments alone in some ruined and crumbling crypt where he could bury himself between her thighs and send a silent thank you to whatever gods had a hand in creating a creature as divine as her. 
That being said, they hadn’t been entirely discreet about their affections— not that they really wanted to be. Gale certainly had no reservations about making it known that he was claiming her for himself, despite his gentlemanly nature chastising him for it and reminding himself she was a person, not a prize to be claimed. 
He would never say that she was, anyway, do not mistake it— being raised solely by a woman such as the inimitable Morena Dekarios had beaten into his core that women were not to be claimed or to be owned but to be cherished and treated as your equal. He would never claim otherwise, he couldn’t. 
On the other hand, he was also acutely aware that his were not the only set of eyes that wistfully tracked her every move and every breath throughout the day within their strange band of wayward souls, and a very base part of him needed to send the clearest message he could muster without flat out verbally declaring that she was his. 
It was very unlike him, this sort of possessive and primal nature, but he couldn’t deny that a small fraction of himself that he usually shoved into the deepest recesses of his being loved it for that fact. It was a part of him reserved only for her, as she was the only one who’d ever been able to coax it out of him. 
And thus, he felt absolved of any guilt about the way he glared daggers at the side of Astarion’s head and pictured hurling a fire bolt at the undead man as he spoke to her in hushed tones across camp. 
At least he knew it wouldn’t kill him. Although, he’d probably slit Gale’s throat for singing his singlet in return. 
It was enough to keep the heat in his palm at bay for the time being. 
He tried to discreetly move close enough to hear their conversation, moving toward Wyll’s tent that happened to be just a few paces away from Astarion’s and disguising his intentions as simply having a chat over a glass of wine with the warlock. 
Wyll’s eyes light up as the wizard approaches, shooting him a dashing and very princely smile that he was certain had made many a maiden swoon in his younger years as the duke’s son, galavanting through ballrooms and dragging said maidens to the dance floor after either one too many glasses of brandy or none at all.  
“Gale, my friend! Fancy a glass of wine?” He kindly proposed, tilting the glass in his hand in Gale’s direction. 
Gale offers an almost genuine smile, nodding. “Thank you, Wyll. I think a hearty glass of wine is just what I need at the moment,” he laments with a sigh. 
Wyll disappears for only a moment before returning with a glass and wine bottle in hand. “That bad, huh?” 
Gale gratefully takes the silver glass and holds it out for Wyll to pour the rest of the Amnan Liquer he’d been holding onto since their escapades at the former Rosymorn Monastery turned Githyanki Crèche. 
He turns his body just enough to keep both his lover and the offending vampire in his line of sight, attempting to tune into their conversation and realizing that he can faintly hear the melodic hum of her voice, as well as the silky tones of Astarion’s. 
Firebolt. No, no. 
Wyll’s eyes dart between Gale, then Tav, then Astarion, his eyebrow raising. “Astarion certainly doesn’t lack in the gall department, I’ll give him that.” 
Gale huffs a bitter laugh. “Can’t fault him. As much as I want to.” 
Wyll gently bumps his shoulder into Gale’s with a reassuring smile. “One can’t always be a gentleman, Gale. I respect your restraint, but if I were you, even I would be cutting in on whatever it is that he’s doing with her. Love the fellow, but I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.” 
Gale goes silent, giving himself a moment to try to catch any of what was being said between them, only hearing the sound of her laughter intermingling with Astarion’s— and suddenly Wyll’s advice had become all the more tempting to follow. 
I could just go over there, he thinks. ‘Assert my dominance’ the old fashioned way. Or…
A wickedly devious idea flutters across his mind, and a smirk forms on his lips. Before he can realize it and stop it, Wyll’s tadpole connects to his, and Wyll snorts as he sees what debauchery Gale’s brain had concocted. 
“She’d have your arse in a second,” he jokingly warns. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 
Gale wanted to listen to reason (Wyll Ravengard being the voice of reason, in this instance) and just do the diplomatic thing as he always did— but a part of him wanted to make a show of it all. To show her as well as everyone else the lengths he’d go to for her. 
He whispers a simple cantrip and waves his hand, blue light glowing from his palm as he calls for a spectral hand to appear before him. He eyes the mage hand for a moment, waving his fingers and watching it as it mirrors his movements with perfect accuracy. A rush of excitement passes through him as he ponders the possibilities, but debates for a moment whether he should— only to hear the lovely melody that was her laughter once again and his decision was sealed. 
He commands the hand to become invisible, the only way for him to tell it was still there was the very faint outline of it that you could only notice if you had been looking for it. He flicks his hand in her direction, commanding it to fly toward her. 
“Your funeral,” Wyll chuckles, taking a long sip from his chalice, eyebrows raised. 
The hand obliges, quickly floating to her but stopping just beside her. She shivers slightly as it grazes her bare shoulder, her head snapping in the direction of the sudden sensation. 
Gale freezes for a moment, praying she doesn’t catch on too soon. When she finally turns her attention back to Astarion, he relaxes, then motions for the hand to gently brush her hair over her other shoulder, causing her to jump and look again, her eyes narrowed as she scans the area. Her gaze lands on Gale, and he tries to remain composed but cannot hide the pleased smirk on his face. She furrows her brows, a look of confusion and suspicion on her face as she turns away once again. She still hadn’t caught on just yet, much to Gale’s delight. 
He continues once again, now commanding the hand to gently caress the back of her neck, the cool sensation of its spectral palm causing goosebumps to rise and her hair to stand on end. She sucks in a sharp breath, causing Astarion’s eyes to snap up to her.
“Everything alright, dear?” He hears Astarion ask, his signature shit-eating grin still on his lips. 
She nods, clearing her throat. “Mhm, sorry, I just— ah, got a bit chilly.” 
He cocks a brow at her. “I would offer to warm you, but I don’t think that I am qualified for the task,” he jokes, causing Gale’s jaw to clench. 
Firebolt. Ooh, better yet, Fireball. Ice knife. Lightning bolt, perhaps?
She laughs, then gasps once again as the hand has now relocated to the front of her, gently tracing the outline of her collar bone. It then follows the curve of the top of her breast, settling between her cleavage for a moment before continuing down further and further, grazing her abdomen before stopping just at the waistline of her breeches. 
“Gods, I shouldn’t be watching this,” Wyll grunts, shaking his head and allowing his gaze to drop to the ground.
She turns and shoots a piercing look at Gale, now fully aware of what was happening. He winks at her, before commanding the hand to continue its journey down her body, ghosting over the spot between her thighs. She squeezes her legs shut tight, in an attempt to quell the heat pooling low in her core despite her rising frustration toward Gale and her embarrassment. 
“Darling, do you need a blanket? Perhaps we could move into my te—”
“I’m fine,” She blurts, loud enough so that she knows Gale hears her, as she refuses to give in to his childish behavior. “What were you saying?” 
As Astarion continues whatever riveting story he’d been telling before she distracted him, she shoots Gale one last pathetic glance, not sure whether she was begging him to stop or keep going. He smirks, taking her pleading eyes as his queue to continue, moving the mage hand southward and grazing her blazing hot center. 
She sucks in another breath, this time a lot quieter, her head falling back that she attempts to play off as if she were simply looking up at the stars. 
Astarion’s head shoots up to look at her again, almost as if he were beginning to get frustrated.
“S-stars are bright tonight,” She stammers, eliciting a chuckle from Gale. He was enjoying this far too much to stop now. 
He wills the hand to press two fingers down right where he knows her clit is, reveling in the way her back arches at the sudden touch, right where he knew she loved it. 
Astarion’s eyebrow raises as he eyes her, her face flushed, her hair in disarray and her legs clamped shut tight. He was— unfortunately for her— very good at reading body language, even more specifically hers, and he was beginning to catch on to her predicament. His eyes dart over toward Gale who was not at all subtle with the devious smirk on his face as his hand continued commanding the spell.
“Your wizard is clever, I’ve got to hand it to him.” He smirks, stifling a chuckle. 
Her eyes go wide, the hot blush in her cheeks only increasing. 
“I’m going to kill him.” She hisses through gritted teeth, before twisting and facing Gale, who could not contain the triumphant grin on his face despite her very displeased expression. 
“Do it out where I can watch, won’t you, darling? I’m quite overdue for a good show.” He calls after her, watching her storm toward Gale, shaking his head and chuckling with delight.
Gale dismisses the spell as he spots her making a very angry beeline toward him, then crosses his arms behind his back innocently as she approaches him. 
“I warned you, you cheeky bastard.” Wyll grumbles, watching with anticipation and vaguely hidden amusement as she stomps toward the wizard beside him with murderous intent. 
Gale offers her a smile as she approaches, to which she only offers a grimace.
“Hello, my love. Feeling alright?” He says equally as innocently, in spite of the devilish grin on his face. 
She shakes her head. “Tent. Now.” 
He raises his hands in defense, shit-eating smirk ever persistent. “Your wish is my command, darling.” He draws out the pet name to mimic the way Astarion says it, earning a rather angry eye roll. 
He trails behind her as she continues her warpath toward his tent, his heart racing as he imagines exactly what he plans to do the second he gets her alone— he’d saved those thoughts for after Wyll’s tadpole’s connection broke from his own to spare him the filthy details. 
She ducks into his tent brusquely, the flap slapping closed behind her before he makes his own way in after her. He chuckles at her ire, and the fact that in any other situation he’d be on his knees begging her for forgiveness in response to her irritation toward him— but this time, he planned on using it much to his advantage. Fuel for the fire, so to speak. 
The second he enters the tent, her wild eyes are on him and she’s standing with her arms crossed over her chest which was still heaving, her face still completely flushed. 
“What the hells is wrong with y—” 
Her tirade is cut off by lips roughly crashing onto hers, her words being instantly smothered then swallowed by him and his tongue and the bittersweet taste of wine on his breath. She wants to fight back but finds her efforts moot as she instantly melts into him, allowing him to maneuver her exactly as he wishes. 
Rough but elegant hands grip her waist, pulling her body flush to his, enough for her to feel the erection straining to be freed from his pants against her lower stomach. The heat that had been coiling and pooling low within her had only reignited with a vengeance now, partially fueled by her anger toward him and mostly fueled by her ever present desire for him. 
His hands migrated to palm the swell of her ass, kneading the plush but still firm flesh that always caught his attention even in the worst moments such as the middle of a tense battle— something he almost felt the need to punish her for, even though it wasn’t truly her fault. 
His tongue explores her mouth hungrily as her hands move to begin undoing the buttons of his linen shirt, before one of his hands catches her wrist and holds it, lacing her fingers through his. He breaks the kiss, dark umber irises pooling with pure liquid lust and carnality as they meet her more perplexed ones. 
Leaving her unspoken questions unanswered, he unbuttons her pants with one hand, yanking them down her legs until she takes it upon herself to kick them off and discard them somewhere on the ground within the tent. He tugs at the bottom edge of her shirt, and she wordlessly grants him permission with only a small nod and a raise of her arms to afford him some ease in ripping it over her head and adding to the growing pile of clothes scattered across the floor of the small space. 
She’s lit only by the soft orange glow of the campfire leaking in through the crack of the tent flap that neither of them had bothered to seal, her skin radiant even in the dimness of the night. He drinks in her frame, eyes skimming along every contour of her body, every rounded edge and every sharp one— even the shadow she cast against the back wall of his tent was erotic, all hips and curves and the most heavenly structure. 
As if she’d been lovingly built by Sune’s own gracious hands. 
“Lay down,” he commands, pointing to the bedroll that he’d preemptively fixed and made extra comfortable with several more layers of blankets, pillows, and furs. “And spread your legs for me.” 
She obliges instantly, quickly but gracefully laying atop the nest of cotton and fur and velvet, her hair splaying around her head and framing her like a halo— only serving to make his already painfully stiff cock twitch against the fabric of his pants and a bead of precum leak from the tip. He feared he may not even be able to make it long enough to be inside of her at this rate. 
“That’s my girl,” he almost moans, his voice low and husky and reverent as he drops to his knees before her, moving to kneel between her legs. “My beautiful girl.” 
She blushes and shyly looks away, her bottom lip caught between her teeth to bite back a smile. He leans over her, gently gripping her chin with his fingers and moving her face back to look at him. “Eyes on me, my love. My love.” He drawls, dragging out his words in hopes that they’d have more time to sink into her precious mind that he cherished just as much, if not more than her wholly divine body. 
Gale was all together a typically patient man. He did almost everything meticulously and gracefully. He would spend hours studying a particular topic just to ensure that he’d get it right the very first time. 
Gale as a lover was no different. 
He’d spent hours and even days at this point learning everything he could about her body— every sensitivity, every weak spot, ticklish spot, every scar or freckle or blemish. The things she was insecure or shy about, the things that would send her eyes rolling back into her head. 
He had become a consummate virtuoso at worshiping her body and what granted her the most pleasure possible. He lavished her in it, bathed her in every ounce of bliss he possibly could until she could no longer speak, much less think properly. 
Tonight was no exception— though he was considerably less delicate than was typical for him, as he hungrily lapped at the heat between her thighs as if it contained the last drop of honey on the face of Faerun. He licked and kissed and sucked and drank in every bit of her essence he possibly could, not stopping even after she’d already come just to wring out every last bit of her pleasure for his own selfish need. The selfish need to taste her, to savor her. To devour her. 
He didn’t stop until she was a tangled mess of shaking limbs and clammy skin and teary eyes, and she whimpered his name like a plea. Whether it were a  plea to stop or to keep going was unclear for both of them. 
He lifted his face, his beard and lips drenched in her slick as he licked the remains of her off of his lips and fingers, causing her to clamp her legs together at the sight. He smirks triumphantly, knowing full well that she was nearing being entirely spent and yet she still wanted more. 
“Please,” she whimpered, leaning up (very unsteadily) to finish unbuttoning his shirt, her fingers fumbling with the buttons and the fabric. He relents and allows her to make her best attempt with her trembling fingers before he takes over for her, lifting it over his head and discarding the linen nearby. 
Her finger gently trails from the dark purple mark of the orb on his chest down the hard planes of his torso until she reaches the waistband of his pants, dipping her finger underneath and tugging at it. Her eyes meet his full of intent, and he feels the tadpole in his head stir as she tries to connect to him. 
I need to suck your cock. Please. 
His eyes darken as he looks at her, the image of her perfectly pink lips wrapped around him searing into his mind— whether it being his own thoughts or hers invading his didn’t matter— but he shakes his head, then severs the connection. 
She frowns, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout. He rubs his thumb along the swollen softness of it as he caresses her chin, tilting her head back slightly to get a better view of the elegant column of her neck. He had plans for the perfect and smooth expanse of the area between her jaw and her clavicle that he soon intended to enact. But not yet. 
“Naughty girl,” he chastises her, but not without a devious smirk and a hint of lustful playfulness. 
She whimpers again, sending goosebumps down his arms and the hair on them to raise on end. “Please, Gale. I want to make you feel good, I need to make you feel good,” she stammers, her eyes peering up at his, wanton and needy. 
It was enough to almost oblige her request, but he knew if her mouth came anywhere near his already all too sensitive cock that he’d come apart at the seams instantly, and that just wouldn’t do. 
“And I need to be inside of you,” he retorts, his voice soft but stern. “I need to claim what’s mine.” He nearly growls. 
Gentleman Gale reprimands him in his mind, but is quickly overtaken by Her Gale— the one that only answers to her and belongs solely to her. The one that hoped with everything in him there was also a part of her that was his and only his. 
Her mouth opens to speak, and he half expects her to yell at him and berate him for reducing her to a prize to be claimed— and is pleasantly surprised when she doesn’t. 
“Please. Please come here, please fuck me,” she begs, the rasp in her voice as she does nothing short of absolutely erotic. 
He needs no further instruction, and quickly removes his pants and undergarments, his erection springing free and already slick with his own desire. She eyes it with a hunger that he recognizes and has to ignore before the temptation to fuck her mouth grows any stronger. 
He presses his strong but gentle hand against her chest, slowly pushing her back against the pillows as he moves to position himself at her entrance, her legs wrapping around his hips and urging him forward impatiently. He taps the side of one of her thighs in warning, rubbing the head of his cock across her already soaked folds to further lubricate it and tease her. 
“Eager little thing, aren’t you?” 
She whines, her voice broken as if she truly might cry if she goes another second without him inside her. “Gale.” 
He chuckles darkly, once again pressing the swollen head of his cock at her entrance, slipping in as slowly as he can manage, mustering every bit of strength and willpower he has left not to just bury himself in her as deep as he can. 
“Tell me,” he commands, his voice low and gruff but still needy, almost desperate. 
She connects the dots instantly, knowing exactly what he wanted. What he craved. “I’m yours, Gale. Only yours.” 
She cries out in shock, slight pain, and pure ecstasy as he harshly snaps his hips into hers, his cock burying to the hilt in her velvet heat. 
Home. This felt like home. 
He knew that he probably should have given her more time to adjust to him, and it was something he’d surely feel guilty about later, but Her Gale wanted her to feel it tomorrow. He wanted her to be reminded of this moment as she goes on about her day through the ache between her legs as she walks, constantly reminding her who fucks her like this, who loves her like this. 
“My pretty girl, my perfect girl,” he chants, his words leaving his lips like a litany of prayer as if he were in a temple of worship. He’d always been a man of religion, but this was holier and more divine than anything he’d ever experienced— even sharing a bed with an actual goddess couldn’t compare. 
She throws her head back, her eyes shut tightly and she desperately grips at the pillows around her to ground herself, her neck on full display. He leans down to place wet kisses in a trail from her jaw to her collarbone, biting and sucking in very obvious spots that she’d be hard pressed to be able to cover in the morning. 
She writhes and moans underneath him, one of her hands moving to grip the back of his head and fist the hair at the nape of his neck, the sensation of her fingers tugging at his scalp blending from slight pain into pure pleasure earning a throaty grunt from him that rumbles in his chest. 
He feels her tighten ever so slightly around him, her walls clenching and pulsing in a sort of warning. He continues his pace, driving her closer and closer to the precipice. 
“Gale, I’m gonna—” 
“I know, sweet girl, I know,” he coos, leaning down and pressing his lips to her sweat slicked forehead, then whispering, “come for me, my love.” 
It wasn’t so much a demand as a desperate request, as his need to feel her come on him and to ride out the waves of her pleasure alongside her became almost devastating. 
To urge her on even further, he slipped a hand down and began to rub quick circles around her clit as he pounded into her until she saw stars— it wasn’t long before she completely shattered underneath him, tumbling into free fall off the edge of the best orgasm she’d ever had. 
She cries out a jumbled mess of I love you and I’m yours with his name sprinkled throughout as she reaches the peak and dives off the edge, her hips rocking upward into Gale’s as he continues to fuck her through her orgasm. He feels himself quickly approaching his own finish line, the feeling of her cunt pulsing and hugging his cock tighter and tighter driving him further and further. 
A few more thrusts and he was done for, spilling everything he had in her and grunting her name as he came, the entire fiber of his being ripping apart and repairing itself as he went limp above her, barely having enough strength to brace himself with his hands on either side of her head as he gripped the pillows so that he doesn’t crush her under his weight. 
They both fall silent apart from the sounds of their breathing steadying and slowing to a calm and regular pace, the only other sounds being that of the distant crackling of the fire and the even more distant sounds of their companions still wrapping up for the night and preparing for bed. 
Her eyes flutter open to find his in the dim light of the fire, her hand reaching up to caress his cheek. He sighs and leans into her touch, turning his head to place a kiss to the center of her palm, the coarse hair of his beard scratching her skin and tickling it, making her giggle quietly. 
“I’m still mad at you, you know,” she jokes, causing him to nibble at the skin of her palm playfully. “That wasn’t funny, Gale.” 
He smiles and reaches for a rag to clean her up with. “I had hoped this would serve as an adequate apology.” 
She sucks in a breath as he pulls out and rubs the rag across her still sensitive and throbbing core, her hips bucking upward slightly with some discomfort. “You expected to fuck me into complicity?” 
He chuckles, the sound rumbling in his chest as he finishes cleaning her, then tosses the rag aside and lays beside her, pulling her onto his chest. 
“Not exactly,” he says, earning a disbelieving grimace from her. “I am sorry, for what it’s worth. I just— I don’t think you realize that seeing the way he interacts with you and the way you interact with him is nothing short of agonizing for me.” 
She saw the hurt in his eyes even in the dark— the ache and the gnawing need for reassurance. She understood it all too well, as she’d done the same when the topic of Mystra would get brought up in the earlier days of their relationship. 
“There is no other set of arms I’d rather have wrapped around me right now than yours. There is no other company I’d rather share in the way I share in yours. Don’t you know that?” She asked, shifting so that she’s leaning over him, his big brown eyes resembling those of a puppy being told it was a good boy. 
“I am yours, Gale Dekarios,” she whispers. “Body and soul.” 
Relief and pure elation smoothed out the concern from his features. He pulled her closer to him, until she was mostly on top of him and her head rested on his chest and he could press a long kiss against the top of her head, breathing in her scent and shutting his eyes, both of them drifting into a peaceful slumber. 
212 notes · View notes
vulturv0lans · 8 months
Note
If it's not too much to ask, can we have a soft dom diluc gently guiding a shy sub reader through her first time? (In desperate need of tooth rotting fluff and diluc being sweet lmaoo [with lots of praise ofc])
ok you know what anon i have been looking for something like this but i haven't found too many,,,thank you for the request!
word count: 2,960 (i got carried away again oops) tags: first time, references to diluc’s father/backstory/official manga, soft dom diluc, lots of love and affection and just overall sappy, porn with plot (lots of it), me crying (also lots of it)
m.list | diluc m.list | rules | inbox
Tumblr media
the air is salty by the lake and his door rusty, yet you’re sure you’ve never need anything more.
when diluc brought you back to the winery for the first time, this was not what he had in mind. he had simply wanted to show you more, parts of him he had long hidden beneath the layers of his clothing and layers of walls he built up. but you are his lover now. you meet the maids that have been with him since he was a child, browse through the volumes that his father left behind, breathe the same air that he has always breathed inside the estate.
he was not planning to take you right there, on the four posted bed he claims but seldom occupies, on the second floor of the winery.
diluc was hesitant at first, leading you into the one place he holds closest to his heart. the master bedroom has not seen a visitor in ages. even the maids rarely enter except when they are asked to, because within these gilded walls and draped curtains is where diluc can truly feel at ease, no “mondstadt wine tycoon” or “master of dawn winery” or even “darknight hero” attached.
and before your eyes, he feels just as bare.
you had taken a seat at the edge of his mattress, arms supporting your weight as your eyes take in the surroundings. the wallpaper is a dark crimson red, damask patterns painted in black. the thick velvet of the curtains match the crimson in colour, yet the light seeping through the fabric and reflecting off of the golden tassels that touch the floor. the furnishings are simple, the large room otherwise empty save for a mirror, a wardrobe, a fireplace, and a desk filled with books.
yet it’s the paintings on the walls that catch your eye. one of them can easily be discerned as an exterior sketch of dawn winery, its signature red roofs a stark contrast to the rows of green underneath. off on the other wall is a portrait. a tall, greying man poses in the middle with two younger boys to either side of him, one with hair as blue as the twilight skies, and the other with hair red as blazing fire.
diluc follows your gaze to the painting, and suddenly the room feels too hot. before he can open his mouth to change the topic, you have already turned to him with an inquisitive look in your eye, and his heart softens. he cannot say no to you.
“that’s your father, isn’t it?”
he nods, choosing to offer no further explanation.
“what was he like?”
your voice is gentle, yet he is still taken aback. seldom anyone wants to know what crepus was like as a person, beyond just his title and position. for a few moments diluc is silent, pondering his answer. how could he summarize the greatest man he’s ever known into a couple simple sentences?
“he was kind. and very, very brave.” he says at last, “he made me the man that i am today.”
“i’m sure he was a great father,” you say quietly, not wanting to press further. diluc must have his reasons behind not wanting to tell the full story yet, and you’ll give him time. as much time as he needs.
“he was.”
when he looks at you again, your frame so small against the posts on his bed, he feels an unnameable emotion surging through him. you’re studying the painting with such an intense focus, as if trying to hear the voice of a man you’ve never met, trying to understand what others fail to even notice.
and in that moment, diluc is sure he has never been more in love.
he closes the distance between you in two quick strides, and you look up at him in surprise. he intertwines your fingers before pulling you up to your feet, your body pressing flush against his as you find your balance.
“can i kiss you?”
you smile at his question. diluc, ever the gentleman. even several months into your relationship he still asks for permission, and still kisses you like it was the first time.
it’s your turn to close the gap between you now, lips meeting his in a soft kiss. his hands find their way down the small of your back, then up your spine before settling on your cheeks, fingers tangled in your hair as he pulls you even closer, until you can feel every beat of his heart on your skin.
“i love you.” he whispers against your lips when he finally breaks the kiss for air.
“i love you, too,” you echo, standing on your tiptoes to kiss him again, hands clutching his arms for support. diluc feels his skin burn wherever your hands have been, and his love and tenderness suddenly becomes something more.
deepening the kiss, he backs you up until your legs hit the edge of the bed, before your entire person falls backwards into the plush mattress. you pull him down with you, until barely any space is left between his large frame and your own, smaller one.
he smooths out the stray baby hairs on your forehead before resting his against it, eyes searching yours for any signs of discomfort. you both know where this is leading, but diluc wants to be certain, absolutely certain that you're okay with this.
"are you sure?"
you nod before you have time to think. this is a step you're willing to take, and there's no one else you'd rather share it with. even so, small bubbles of anxiety rise from your stomach. will it hurt? will you be able to enjoy this? will he be satisfied, even with your lack of experience?
if diluc could hear your thoughts right now, he would be quick in dismissing them as the most preposterous ones he's ever heard. it would pain him to know that you’d ever fear of not satisfying him, even when he would put you and your pleasures before so much as thinking about himself.
you could never disappoint him, this he knows.
his lips find yours again and your doubts dissipate like the dark clouds after a storm. wandering hands begin unbuttoning and untying every piece of fabric in your way, desperate to reduce the layers keeping you from feeling his bare skin. your clothing clatter as they fall to the ground, diluc barely separating from you to discard his shirt before lowering back down to kiss you, not wanting to part from you for a second longer than necessary.
he's hungry for more, for you.
your hands find purchase on his toned arms, his skin almost too warm under your fingertips. he mumbles something that remotely resembles "off" into your mouth, and you comply almost too quickly, lifting your arms so he could take off your shirt and your bra.
diluc forces himself to hold back when your skin is fully exposed to him. lips glistening and chest heaving, you have never looked more beautiful to him, and he makes sure you know it. dipping his head to your neck, he trails a line of hot kisses down to your breasts, words of praise between every kiss permanently etched into your skin.
"you're breathtaking."
your face heats up as he slots himself in between your legs, hand lowering to your waist. your heart beats too loudly now, focus glued to his fingers hooking into your belt loops before quickly undoing the button on your pants. fiery eyes, hooded by lust and desire, search for confirmation, and you grant it. how could you not, when you burn for him so much?
diluc can’t help but groan out when your bottom half becomes exposed. his attention is quickly taken away by the thin material of your panties, damp and clinging to the wetness pooling between your legs, and he feels the sudden urge to bury his face there.
he runs a finger down your clothed folds and you jump, legs clamping together to relieve some of the pressure. with a hand on your knee, he holds your legs open to allow himself better access to where you need him the most. gently, he moves the soaked panties to the side, and the man fully has to sit back on his heels to drink in the sight before his eyes.
you’re so pretty, so sweet, so vulnerable for him, legs spread and pussy glistening with your arousal, all for him and him only.
he curses under his breath, heart swelling at how lucky he feels to be the one admiring your naked form. ignoring the increasingly uncomfortable bulge in his pants, he dives in like a man starved, flattening his tongue against your pussy to get his first real taste of you.
your back arches off the bed at the sudden contact, diluc’s moan of satisfaction sending delicious vibrations into the deepest parts of your body. his tongue works fast magic on your cunt, licking and sucking and kissing like you’re a five course meal, the slurping sounds in perfect harmony with your soft pants of pleasure.
“fuck, you taste so good, baby.”
the satin of his bedsheet is wrinkled and twisted in your palms as you grip onto it, diluc’s hands quickly reaching up to find yours, your fingers interlacing as he eats you out, the moment so intimate that for a moment you forget the vulgarity of it all and just enjoy being so close to him, physically and emotionally.
you’re growing close, and diluc knows it. despite his pussydrunk state, he forces himself to pull away, his chin now coated with your wetness, before shifting his body up to kiss you again. you moan into his mouth as you taste yourself, obediently granting access to his tongue when it swipes across your bottom lip. the room feels ten degrees hotter and it becomes harder and harder to breathe, until your need for oxygen finally overpowers your desire for him.
diluc’s eyes are alert when you gently push on his chest, his first thought being he’s done something you did not like. gently cradling his face in your hands, you say with a blissful smile the words he’s been longing to hear for so long.
“i need you, diluc.”
his last line of defense snaps and he lets his primal instincts take over, quickly ridding himself of his pants and undergarments before settling you against the plush pillows.
“are you absolutely sure-”
“yes.” you cut him off before he can finish, and diluc‘s ever-present confidence begins to waver. he needs this to be perfect for you.
swallowing thickly, he lines himself up at your entrance. you mirror his gulp as you notice for the first time how big he is, thick and girthy against your tiny hole.
“tell me if it hurts, please,” he asks, so much genuine guilt in his voice that you can’t refuse him an answer.
you yelp in pain when he starts to push in, his body immediately tensing up. only when you repeatedly reaffirm that you’re okay does he continue, pressing open-mouthed kisses to your collarbones and whispering apologies and affirmations into your skin as he slowly sinks into you, until he’s completely buried inside you.
“you’re doing so good baby, yeah? that’s it.”
he stills for a moment to let you adjust. but selfishly he wishes to revel in your tightness and warmth for a little longer, your walls so snug against his cock like they were made just for him. he already can’t get enough, and he hasn’t even started moving yet.
you’re the one to initiate the kiss this time, silently giving him permission to move. his thrusts are slow and steady, the tip of his cock dragging against every nerve ending inside you, sending electric sparks throughout your body.
“so tight for me,” he grunts as he picks up his pace, trying to control his movements as to not hurt you, even though a part of him wants to slam into you and fuck you until you’re reduce to a babbling mess begging for his cock. but one look at your face and he feels immediate guilt at his sinful thoughts. you’re so innocent beneath him, bottom lip caught between your teeth and your face scrunched up in pleasure.
he can’t ruin you yet.
soft moans tumble past your parted lips as he reaches down to rub fast circles on your clit. every last cell in your body feels like it’s on fire, the pleasure amplified tenfold from being in the presence of your lover, better than your own fingers could ever satisfy yourself.
you wrap your legs around his waist to pull him in even further, and diluc’s honour is reduced to barely hanging on by a thread.
“you’re taking me so good. so good for me.” he praises and you feel yourself gush around him, his words turning you on even further. it seems your earlier doubts were unnecessary, after all. you grow bolder, reaching up to dig your nails into his back, leaving red marks that claimed him as yours.
the stinging pain from your nails scratching against his skin sends diluc into another wave of euphoria, and he can’t hold himself back much longer. with a low grunt, he pins your wrists down above your head, dark eyes studying the microscopic changes in your expression as your hands are suddenly rendered useless, held down so submissively and at his mercy.
his eyes are fixated on the round of your breasts, bouncing so deliciously to the rhythm of his thrusts. a sudden clench of your cunt almost sends him collapsing on top of you, the tight grip he had maintained on your wrists now faltering from the feeling of your tight walls squeezing him. he curses, the profanity soon turning into praise again at how good you’re taking him, how pretty you looks, and how much he loves you, his words almost doing more to build the knot in your stomach than his steady, deep thrusts.
he leans back to sit on his heels as he lets go of your wrists, moving to hold your legs above his shoulders. you cry out when his cock hits your most sensitive spot from the new position, the sheets once again wrinkled under your tight grip now that your hands are free once again.
“fuck y/n, i’m so close.”
you lift your hips to meet his thrusts half way, all the thoughts in your head replaced by your blinding desire for your release. diluc shifts his weight to hold your thighs open instead, leaning down so he can be close to you before he reaches his impending high. he wants to hold you, to hear you, to see you chase after your high.
your moans and cries are growing more frequent, each more high pitched than the last. they are music to diluc’s ears, music reserved only for him to hear, his own low grunts a perfect harmony.
“i’m so close- gonna cum- please-” you babble, tears dotting your lashes, and diluc has never seen a more beautiful sight.
the sudden warmth of his hand on your neck makes you jump. he doesn’t close his fingers around your throat (though you secretly wished he would), instead his touch is fleeting before moving to cup your face. you lean into him almost immediately, his thumb wiping the tears that escaped, down the smooth skin of your cheeks, and across your bottom lip. he’s hovering so close to you that you can see every freckle on his skin, lips mere centimetres from yours that his every exhale becomes your next inhale, so intimate that you find it hard to believe that he’s kissing you so sweetly while maintaining a relentless pace.
he doesn’t want to hurt you, but he can’t hold back.
“cum for me,” he breathes into your parted lips, “i want to hear you.”
and you don’t need to be told twice. with a loud cry of his name you come undone around him, your slick quickly forming a ring of white at the base of his cock as he rides out your high, his pace becoming erratic and sloppy at the vice-like grip of your cunt.
“fuck,” he lets out a deep grunt as you repeatedly clench around him, the sound resonating from deep within his chest. his hands pat around the bed looking for yours, and soon after he locks your fingers together again he cums too, head buried in your shoulder and his cock shooting hot ropes into you, painting your walls white.
your legs are shaking as you come down from your high, your pussy so sensitive to any tiny movements that you almost cum again when he tries to pull out from you. the satin beneath you is soaked with a mix of both your essence, drops of white leaking from your sobbing hole when diluc finally pulls out.
he admires you in your post-orgasm glow, and not just at the sight of his cum leaking out of you and your pussy now moulded to the shape of him. it’s as if a soft silk has been draped over you, painting your features in glorious moonlight.
“you’re so beautiful.”
he breaks the silence that has enveloped you both while your breathing returned to normal.
you still find it foreign, the feeling of his compliments even as you’re spread out naked under him. as if sensing your disbelief, diluc repeats his words again, this time between wet kisses on your collarbone, etching his love for you into your body.
“so. beautiful,” he whispers into your skin, his heart swelling, “and all mine.”
Tumblr media
note. me and who WHEN >:( also i hope you enjoy my subtle taylor swift reference at the beginning hehe m.list | diluc m.list | rules | inbox ♡
© vulturv0lans 2023, do not copy, repost, or translate without permission.
345 notes · View notes
head---ache · 8 months
Text
New character charts!!!
Edit: Added new info to Lash's section + Added a link to Emmie's section.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
They're here!!! The only new info is in the charts themselves btw, the long text under this is the same, except very minor changes. I just thought it would be better than having to go to the old charts to read all of this.
Emmie: She's now officially the one and only Tube Baby of the group!!! I imagine Tails will later use the big fucking tube in his lab, just not for any of the kids in this group (here's three posts about it: First, second, third).
Just to quickly mention it, her full name is Emily, however, everyone in her life just calls her Emmie, because, according to her, 'it goes with her vibe' (first talked about here + in universe explanation here).
She has Black Arms DNA, and although it's uncertain how it affects her, they (Emmie and her dads) know she has green Black Arms blood (shown here) and has access to the hivemind, which as a baby she used to communicate with Shadow (here), but as she grew older she stopped using it, and now finds it harder to access to it.
She also, of course, has Chaos Energy. She can perform Chaos Control (in this one) and turn Super (that second thing they don't know until she's a teenager, shown in this comic). She also has all the abilities Sonic and Shadow share (such as spindash).
Sparks: Like I've said before, Sparks is a Belly Baby, Blaze carried (here's context).
Sparks has fire powers, similar to Blaze's, though they find it a bit harder to control. They get Blaze and Espio's help to learn to use said powers, since they require a lot of concentration. Also, again, like Blaze, they can turn into Burning Sparks (here), but that form is more unstable and drains their energy pretty fast.
I am also taking this space to clarify this about the entire family (including Tulip). Since Blaze is a princess, Amy, Sparks and Tulip do acquire royalty related titles, however, they're very informal and don't hold that much power, since Blaze didn't want them to have any responsability simply because they're related to her. So they're royalty just by name.
Lash: Another Belly Baby, your local surprise baby representation.
Like is said in her chart, her main ability is acrobatics. She also has some sort of super speed but she doesn't rely much on it.
It's not said in her chart but she has both mommy and daddy issues and is often at Aim's house. The first time she stepped into that home and Tangle and Whisper welcomed she immediately felt glued to that family (here).
She also has two younger siblings, Strike and Decay (post introducing them here), and at first she didn't have that much of a relationship with, since they're younger than her and closer to each other, and since Lash spends a lot of time away from home, however, she eventually steps in and tries to be a part of her siblings' lifes as their parents' should've been.
Aim: I finally decided that he's also a Belly Baby, mostly because the timing didn't add up, since him and Emmie are the same age and there's only one Baby Making Tube.
Like it says in their chart, he does archery, which is his main fighting technique, however, during battle they also use their tail to move around faster (otherwise he just keeps it under his cloak) and teams up with Whisper's wisps in very rare occasions.
He does not speak, unlike Whisper who simply speaks quietly. Aim doesn't speak at all, but everyone around him eventually just finds a way to understand him (because I think it's funny). He very usually is the braincell carrier of the group.
Bria: Bria's a Belly Baby as well, it just felt like something Sonia would want.
They don't have any special ability, but they did learn martial arts as a way of self defense, consdering the group of people she often is surrounded by.
Even though Bria's hard of hearing, his biggest passion is music (over being a hero). She plays piano and guitar.
He's also the extrovert of the group. The loudest and friendliest there is. (Should I also add they're Emmie's cousin?)
Tulip: I was a bit more indecisive with him, but in the end I decided to also make him a Belly Baby, because otherwise it felt weird for that to be the one thing he has in common with Emmie. (In-universe explanation here!)
He hasn't shown any special ability yet -he's the youngest of the group though, being only ten years old-, so he isn't allowed to be around the other kids when there's danger, however, he's very sneaky and often gets things to work in his favor anyways. He does have an interest in tarot though, thanks to Amy, and he also shows to have an impressive intuition.
When he's not around Sparks he is often found next to Big, probably complaining to him about something.
Destiny: One and only Code Baby!! She's basically made from the same programming as Nicole, but more advanced and sophisticated.
Being an AI herself, she can hack robots and similar things, which helps during battle. They can also get into anyone's computer if they want to (they rarely do).
She usually takes the leader role very naturally, immediately making a plan on the spot and guiding the rest of the group. However, she's quite shy (even while being an extrovert. This forms a bit of a problem for her, wanting to be around people but being too shy to do it). Her more confident side mainly showing when assuming the role of the leader. She has great friends tho, who encourage to speak up and lead:]
Spades: She's a belly baby just because of the timeline, there simply wasn't a way without changing her age to make it make sense for her to be a Tube Baby -and I like her being 16-. Unfortunately I backed myself into a corner here JSKDJSKFJWKFKS I don't have many details on how she came to be because, guess what!! There's no real way for her to be the way she is the way I want it to happen:]]] So let's just use our imagination and say that it's possible for two amab people to have a kid who's biologically related to both of them because this is a world where magic color changing hedgehogs are a thing so this isn't super crazy, okay? Okay.
Like I said in this post, Spades has trajectory manipulation, so basically she will never miss her target, and can move away whatever is thrown at her, so that's pretty handy:] She also trains with Espio, so she has a lot of his abilities. She doesn't really want to be a ninja but has many of the skills.
She's the mom of the group!!! And the braincell carrier. She is very sweet and caring, but also quiet and calculating. Her strategy is the best, and her stoic appareance makes her look a bit threatening, but she's actually a total sweetheart!!
Also about swimming!! She really likes it because she finds it relaxing. You can't hear anything underwater so she likes to close her eyes and just swim around.
She gets along with everyone in the group, but is usually hanging out with Aim and Lash:)
And that's it for the individual kids!!
Here's some other links of interest:
-1. Character reference sheets for all the fankids, including a height chart.
-2. Voice claims!!!
-3. The old charts!!
-4. Ideas for weapons:)
286 notes · View notes
somber-sapphic · 11 months
Note
Hi!! Um so I just read your Carina DeLuca x Maya Bishop x Reader and now I’m opposed. Your writing got me into this ship and this show bahaha- and speaking of your writing I f*cking love it. Literally lights up my day/days whenever I read one of your posts and I get so excited ahaha so legitimately thank you🥲 if possible could you do another one of Carina DeLuca x Maya Bishop x Reader? Idrc about what prompt, just like a bad situation, to worse to better you know. If you don’t want to write for them I’d love to read another WandaNat x Reader🫣 (but if u really need a prompt something like insult to injury) thank you!
I hope you’re doing okay and it’s okay if you aren’t <3 and hopefully u are taking care of yourself. I’ve been reading ur fics for ages so if u ever need like a randoms imaginary shoulder to cry on I’ve got you ;) 🌸
Worse Alone
I am so, so sorry it took me so long to get to you 🌸! I can't express in words how much what you said means to me though, like (and I say this a lot, I know, but it's true) stuff like this truly gives me so much motivation. I love you so much and I will give you my imaginary shoulder any day that you need it. Btw, you don't have to sensor your swears unless you truly want to, I am the queen of obscenities <3
[[Summary]] Smoke and semi-working lungs don't go too well together. But you have a job to do. (marina x reader)
Word Count: 1.8k
-----
A five-hour blaze wasn’t something that anyone wanted to deal with, but it was something that you and your team knew how to deal with. Of course, it was dangerous for everyone around, but it was also thrilling. You all ran into fires for a reason, the eight of you were adrenaline junkies who felt the irresistible need to save lives. 
Every so often after a particularly rough day Maya, Carina, and you would just curl up together in bed, no one sleeping despite how exhausted the three of you would be. The brunette would alternate between stroking your hair and rubbing Maya’s back, cushioned in between the two of you as if she needed the pressure to prove to her that you both were safe. 
To call today a ‘rough day’ would be an understatement. Thankfully everyone had survived, but a young woman had been sent to Grey Sloan with severe burns, screaming about her baby. The baby, a severely annoyed two-year-old, was thankfully fine. The little boy had been distracted fairly quickly as the other paramedics checked him over, focusing on the stethoscope which he for some reason found absolutely fascinating. 
His mother was rushed to the burn unit but from what you and everyone else knew she was holding strong and the boy's other mom was taking care of him. That wasn’t the worst part though. The worst part was that your body was utterly pissed with you for deciding to treat it so badly and it was taking it out on you at the worst possible time. 
You had done the best that you could when it came to fighting the blaze, resisting the urge to attach yourself to an oxygen tank even when you were outside of the house, away from the smoke. Entering the house was an atrocious idea, but your girlfriend was in there. You had ignored Andy’s orders and raced to rescue the woman you loved.
The blonde knew that you weren’t feeling very well, she had heard you coughing in the bathroom before the call had come in and had tried to convince you to go home. Then of course the alarm sounded and there was nothing that either of you could do. Sure you wanted to be anywhere but inside a burning building with your lungs already starved for oxygen, but it wasn’t like you had much of a choice. 
Maya was fine, momentarily hindered when a piece of the roof collapsed leaving her needing to find a new way to get herself out. You had helped despite her protests that she could do it on her own and that you needed to leave. Instead of doing what she asked of you, you took the time to help her get out, working strategically and quickly around the debris. 
You made it through without passing out even a little bit and the fire was finally extinguished. When you got outside you pulled your helmet off and half stumbled over to Ben in search of oxygen. He noticed your struggle and passed over a mask, asking repeatedly if you were okay as you sat down on the bumper of the Aid Car, your gear practically pulling you down. Gravity was not working in your favor. 
“Y/n, let me take your jacket off,” Ben ordered, sounding like a doctor. He was a doctor. The damn man had too many careers, it sometimes frustrated you just how accomplished he was. 
“Back off, Probie.” You rasped, shrugging him away. Technically you had rank over him, so technically you could order him around. The loophole totally worked for you as long as it mean that he’d leave you alone. You didn’t have any problem with Ben as a person, he was actually a pretty nice dude, but you had absolutely no wish to be ‘Doctored’ right now.
You were expecting to be yelled at, but thankfully Andy hadn’t come over to shout while you were still on the scene. You could see her casting you frustrated looks while she talked to your girlfriend, but left it alone. That only lasted until you got to the station.
“L/n!” Andy yelled, stomping over to you. She looked angry but also concerned. Maya was beside her, wearing a similar expression. “What the hell were you thinking? You endangered every one of us!” The captain snapped, glaring down at you. 
You stood to meet her gaze, trying to look less weak than you felt. Fighting her on this was probably a poor decision, but you had no intention to take this lying down. 
“I was doing my job, Captain.” You bit back. Andy bristled at the comment, rage hardening in her eyes. The woman beside her bit back what would definitely be a remake would probably upset everyone and reserved herself to a slight shake of the head. 
“Check. Your. Tone. L/n. I am your boss, not your punching bag. I don’t care that you aren’t feeling well, that doesn’t give you an excuse to be an ass. You could have gotten yourself and others hurt.” Now it was your turn to bristle. 
“Maya was trapped, she needed-”
“She needed you to do what you are told instead of ignoring direct orders. You aren’t the only one on this team Y/n, do you understand that? If you ever do something so stupid again I will have you suspended. For now, you will be taking two weeks paid leave. Take care of yourself. Come back when you’re done making stupid decisions.” Her voice softened on the last sentence, expression fading from stern boss to worried friend. 
You sagged slightly, shrugged, and looked over at Maya in hopes to find support there. 
“Come on Y/n. Carina’s off today, I bet she’ll make you some soup.” She held out a hand and part of you didn’t want to take it. Part of you wanted to prove yourself to your boss, but Maya’s offer was too good to pass up. Carina made the best soup and she was always so good at knowing exactly what you needed. 
You took the hand and allowed yourself to be led out of the station, ignoring everyone’s kind words and well wishes. Maya got you situated in the car, both of you silent. She was incredibly gentle, brushing your hair away from your face and lingering a bit with her touches, but she was still frustrated with you. It was okay, you understood. You had scared her. 
The ride home was quick and quiet. You were half asleep and Maya was listening to the radio, your cough overpowering the soft music. Carina would probably insist that you sleep with at least two humidifiers tonight, but it wouldn't matter, at least you’d be with them. 
You let your eyes slip closed and you leaned against the cool window, shivering in your loose clothes. You wanted your bed and someone to hold you. Unfortunately, you’d have to wait for those things. They’d probably make you shower before you were allowed to climb into the bed.
You were right. The second you got into the house Carina was all over you, asking a flurry of questions and speaking in rapid-fire Italian about your condition. Normally you loved to listen to speak the language that you didn't understand, but now it was just messing with your mind. 
She had ordered you and Maya into the bathroom, promising to have your room made up with whatever she believed that you would need to feel better. The shower was nice enough. Maya washed your hair, allowing you to lean back against her in your exhaustion. It was tough to stay standing, but she was there, making sure that you would be okay. 
“M’sorry.” You rasped, blinking teary eyes at the worried looking blonde. She tilted her head to the side and smiled, gripping your elbows tightly. 
“Babe, I just want you to be safe. I’m sorry you don’t feel well. I wish that you had told one of us sooner, then you would have gotten to be with Carina all day. It could have been a good day, not an awful one. Okay?” You nodded your understanding and sniffled softly, your nose running in what you were sure was a disgusting way. Maya looked at you lovingly nonetheless. 
When the brunette said that she was going to get everything you could possibly need, she had really meant it. The room that the three of you shared was decked out in everything one would want for a sick day. Boxes of tissues, a mug of tea on the bedside sitting beside a glass of apple juice, three humidifiers, a bottle of cold medicine, a fluffy blanket, and extra pillows.
“You did that pretty fast, Car.” You forced out, climbing into the bed with the help of both of your girlfriends. Maya followed and wrapped her arms around your waist, holding you close while Carina measured out a dose of medicine. 
“Si, I work quickly. Now open your mouth, I want to see how high your temperature is.” She was in work mode right now, they’d be time for joking after you did what you were told. You pouted but opened your mouth, holding the thermometer under your tongue. The brunette carded her fingers through your hair as you waited for the reading, looking utterly disappointed. 
“102.3, oh Y/n, no wonder you do not feel well. Take this, alright? Then you can go to sleep.” She kissed your forehead, prompting you to obey her wishes. You were a sucker for physical attention, even more so when you were sick. 
The medicine tasted like you licked a fake plastic cherry and stung your throat, but it was what it was. Both women smiled when you finished it and you got twin kisses on each of your cheeks. These women were amazing. 
You felt your eyes fill with tears and you ducked your head, not wanting to show them that you were about to cry. That was just too much, they didn’t need to deal with your unnecessary emotions at the same time. 
“Oh baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Maya crooned, tilting your chin back up so that you were forced to meet her crystal blue eyes. You felt Carina’s arms slip around your waist as she sat on your other side and that was about all that you could take. 
You broke into stifled sobs and pressed your head against the blonde's shoulder in search of comfort. You didn’t want to talk about it, you just wanted to cry. Which was stupid, because earlier you had been completely fine. Now you were bawling like a baby in the arms of your girlfriends. 
Neither of them said anything while you cried, they just let you, holding you close until you were too tired to cry anymore. You didn’t actually remember falling asleep, all that you knew was that one minute it was dark out, and the next you were laying down with your head on Carina’s chest, both of the women asleep beside you. 
Your body still hurt and you still felt disgusting, but at least you weren’t alone. Being sick and alone was worse than being sick with people who loved you.
213 notes · View notes
ruumirmir · 3 months
Text
𝙰 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙿𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎'𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞, T𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 Part I Part II (coming soon)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
ੈ♡˳ Author's◇ note - Haha what if I pretended my shamelessly OCfied male reader was a character :))) Here's to me doing everything possible to build up my "reader" lore. Everything except actually drawing and naming him 😭 If you're curious about previous posts regarding my mans, you could skim over These!! Me when writing this: im gonna make up SO MUCH BULLSHIT about snezhnaya and the other harbingers.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 : ENG - Stephen Fu (Noe Archiviste from Vanitas no Carte) JP - Kento Ito (Dan Heng from Honkai Star Rail)
𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 : October 19
𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 : Northland Bank of the Fatui
𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 : Hydro
𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 : Cygnus Venatici (The Hunting Swan)
A senior branch manager of Snezhnaya’s Northland bank. As a fatuus, he is formally well-known as the Venator Dux, who mans the Snezhnayan Order of Gold and Exchange founded by the Ninth Harbinger. He hunts in pursuit of the Tsar's vision, but his loyalties are far removed from her.
Tumblr media
𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦-𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
Tumblr media
𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 Ah, the renowned traveller, in the flesh. A visitor to each of the seven nations, while your reputation has run across the continent twice over. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. If you've heard of the Snezhnayan Order of Gold and Exchange, that'd be me who's in charge of it. I am one of the agents within Lord Regrator's primary circle of officials, so you may address me as Venator dux.
Tumblr media
𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵: 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 I've been in my respective position for over a decade now, and for the last 3 - 4 years have come across choice tales surrounding your name. A big fan of your work, really! Lord Regrator has had his interest piqued for a while now... so for the sake of civilized peace and alliance, let's get along... shall we? Try not to cause any trouble and I might consider putting in a good word for you.
Tumblr media
𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵: 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘴 A large bulk of my work is centered around days of scrawling pen over paper... but really, one can only digest hefty documents for so long. I've had my fill for many years on end-... now, I'd prefer to partake in more physical tasks.
Tumblr media
𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵: 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 I fear the new batch of rookies are growing too lax in their combat training… perhaps it was my uninspiring teaching method today. As a Venator, it simply won’t do to disappoint them. Traveller, would you help a man out and join the session today? The trainees could do with a fresh perspective on things.
Tumblr media
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘵 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴
No shelter to be seen... here's to praying that you don't catch a cold. Oh don't worry about me, I seldom get sick.
Tumblr media
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 I've always wondered how the real clap of thunder would feel in comparison to a shock of electro. Unless you want to volunteer for that, watch your step.
Tumblr media
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘵 𝘚𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 Eh... I've seen it once, I've seen it a thousand times. That being said, the nights that are covered in an impossibly slow curtain of snowfall are some of the rarer times I stop to admire it.
Tumblr media
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 𝘐𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵 Finally. Some real warmth to my face. I am but a simple man, languishing like a wilted flower in the absence of our sun's blazing gaze.
Tumblr media
𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 Actually... I think I might just prefer the miserable winter cold over this.
Tumblr media
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 What's with the aggressive breeze today? Does the Anemo archon have bills to pay?
Tumblr media
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 Good morning. I was about to stop by the city lake on my way to the bank and feed the local geese. You can come along if you'd like. Keep your distance from Tatiana though. She bites.
Tumblr media
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 On a slow lazy day, I'd be waking up around noon. Fortunately, the weekend is right around the corner, so I can do just that.
Tumblr media
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 Although the Northland "bank" closes to the public by evening, the building itself stays open till midnight for other classified affairs. So I may as well make the most of my break time before I'm needed again.
Tumblr media
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 Oh, I must've lost track of time. It's quite late into the night, so before I go, let me walk you back to whatever establishment you're staying at... Oh, uh- I'm... not sure I heard you correctly. You said you live... inside... a teapot...?
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳: 𝘚𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘩𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 It was the very first decree of order at the hands of Lord Regrator when he came into power as a Harbinger many years ago; to inaugurate a faction dedicated to rearing the potential he painstakingly carved into the foundations of the Northland bank. It is just as the name implies. An executive body responsible for developing economic policies and providing regulation, consulting, and forecasting of socioeconomic and business development, ranging from simple roadside shops to production factories-Oh, have I lost you? Haha... don't apologize, I've seen that expression a couple times before. In simple terms: we help run the nation's cycle of mora, trade system, and citizen’s businesses.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵 [Unlocked at Friendship Lv. 4] The title bestowed upon me, Venator Dux, signifies not just leadership but mastery over a successful hunt- or in some cases, a successful business strategy. The master hunter requires a discerning eye, a mind that can decipher the intricate patterns woven by our adversaries. Information is our ammunition, and knowledge is the silent arrow that strikes before the prey even realizes the hunt has begun.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘜𝘴: 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 Various forms of dance and song are the lifeblood of Snezhnaya’s festivals. During fall, you’ll find multiple dance troupes and clowns passing each village, town, and city to perform. I personally look forward to the dancers.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘜𝘴: 𝘓𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 [Unlocked at Friendship Lv. 6] Your little companion has stuck with you since day one? Truly? That is… a highly admirable trait, one that I will always stand by. Loyalty is not a mere pledge, it anticipates the unspoken desires of another; a commitment that transcends the superficial bonds of allegiance. I keep this ideal close to my heart... for only a single person.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 I was hesitant to use a delusion in the first place, so frankly, I’m glad to have been gifted this for whatever reason I was found worthy of. However… Lord Regrator harbours an uncanny dislike for my vision. It’s not something that has been brought up, but I can read between the lines.
Tumblr media
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 You didn’t hear it from me, but I encourage the employees at the bank to keep a list of all the infuriating and rude customers. It’s to spice up all the sparring and combat practice sessions by naming and dressing up the dummies as people they’d like to kick- Ha!
Tumblr media
𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 This wintry climate is harsh and unsustainable for various flora and fauna. The Charmomila flower doesn’t care about any of that. They’ll grow in obnoxious places if they want to. The real deal comes from the summer butterflies that feast on its nectar. After a while their wings turn a beautiful honey-yellow, which are harvested and brewed into the sweetest and most expensive nonalcoholic beverage you’ll find around here. I enjoy a glass of one semi-regularly on work mornings.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳: 𝘈𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 [Unlocked at Friendship Lv. 6] He will have my sincere respect, always. Lord Regrator has built his empire up from a scratch in the dirt, something impossible to do were he a lesser man. His sacrifices of blood, sweat, and tears has bled into the policies that the bank stands on today. Money breeds imbalance and power, which in turn grants freedom and recognition if you are on the right side of the coin. Regrator is a utilizing man and he guards what’s his, zealously. He will take and take until his arms sag with the weight, and uphold his promise to give out the correct equivalents because he lets his value of fair exchange lead him like a vice. For as long as he stays true to his greed, I will be the hand that reaches forward to grasp what he desires.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳: 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 [Unlocked at Friendship Lv. 6] Lord Regrator expects a strict level of decorousness from everyone working under his name- from me to even the most forgotten grunts. It's nothing outrageous of course. You would only ever see the metaphorical boot-licking than a literal one. I find it a bit much sometimes but the public eye is nothing to scoff at. Especially to a man of his status. The Snezhnayan dvoryane make up more than a third of the Northland Bank's clientele- not to mention the stakes a couple of them have invested. And if there is anything that those feather-headed fools care about, it's posh theatrics. *Sigh* Still... I quite enjoy falling in step with Pantalone's politesse. He has a beautiful manner of speech that I've never been able to measure up to.
Tumblr media
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳: 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 [Unlocked at Friendship Lv. 6] …Why do I feel like you’re trying to fish for critical information...? Fine- I'll concede. It's your head on the line anyways. Lord Regrator is a big player in the system of underground businesses that connect Nathan and Snezhnaya. Technically it could be called a black market, but it’s mainly run by a small council of social elites from both nations. There are occasional hosted auctions, that my lord targets to buy out priceless artifacts from. I’m talking about lost pieces of history and endangered caged beasts over items with resell value. Now… with that being said, as long as this secret remains safe… so do you. It’s always me who’s dispatched to make sure it stays that way.
Tumblr media
68 notes · View notes
mybiasisexo · 5 months
Text
Entangled - Part 9
Pairing: Chanyeol x f.Reader Chapter Warnings: Alcohol Consumption | Language take a shot whenever you see the f word smh Word Count: 8.3k Author Notes: So...Im sorry 😬? But aye, what's a story without a beach chapter, am I right?? I can't believe how close we are to the finish line. I think we have 3 chapters left ??? give or take. wooow will I actually finish a story for the first time in my life?? (like a real one not just a lil scenario haha). Sorry for the late update, I was gonna post on yeols bday but thought this wasnt a great present lmfaooo As always, dont be shy with letting me know your thoughts on the chapter, a def will need to know how you all feel at the end of this one 😮‍💨. Thank you to everybody still rocking with the story, it means sooo much to me 💕 and give our boy chanyeol some loooove MWAH!!!
Tumblr media
It doesn’t take Seulgi and you long to change and head down to the beach. Being able to see the guys from up in your room, you join them quickly.
They got their hands on a grill somehow, and you find Jongdae already cooking on it, beer in one hand.
“Already looking like a dad, Dae,” Seulgi announces in greeting, taking in his unbuttoned green Hawaiian shirt, oversized sunglasses, and fisherman’s hat. He grins brightly and rewards her with a fresh piece of juicy meat.   
Beside Jongdae and the grill sits a long table covered with food, drinks, and a bluetooth speaker currently playing chill R&B. A little further behind him is a blue canopy to block the blazing sun from your sensitive skin, chairs littered underneath it.
This area of the beach is privately owned, for hotel residents only. Despite how large the hotel is, only a few other families dot the shore, all far enough away that your little party is practically secluded.
You drop your bag onto a chair and dig into it, pulling out a bottle of sunscreen. You rub it into any skin of yours exposed before walking out of the canopy, holding it up for everyone to see. “Who needs some?”
Sehun and Jongin come running towards you, both only wearing swim trunks. You suck your teeth, their backs are probably already screaming at them.
Jongin gets to you first. You turn him around and begin to apply the protective lotion onto his back, where it will be hard for him to reach.
“We missed you last night,” he says.
“I know,” you reply. For some reason, your throat constricts, dragging your voice down to a deep mumble. “I’m sorry for leaving. I just….”
“I understand,” he says, patting one of your hands. Throwing his head back, he tosses you a sweet grin. You return his smile before handing him the bottle so that he can cover the rest of himself.
With Jongin preoccupied, Sehun makes his way over, already trying to get a read on you. He understands the language of your body enough to fill in blanks you don’t even know are empty.
“Good afternoon,” you greet, keeping your voice neutral. 
“He’s in the water,” is his reply.
“Who?” Damn this man. He’s good.
He scoffs. “Please, you’ve been scanning the area non stop since you’ve arrived. Baekhyun had to drag him out as soon as he got here. He was getting pretty worked up about something. I’m assuming it was the fact you weren’t here.”
“Weird,” is your convincing response. You push his arm, leading him to turn around so that you can attempt to save him from skin cancer.
“Weird, indeed.” Despite not being able to see you, his curious gaze can still be felt. “Makes me wonder what happened after you left the reception.”
“Not something I really want to talk about.” You wince, knowing you’ve slipped up and said too much. The simple sentence bares a lot to unpack, and Sehun loves other people’s dirty laundry.
But, in Sehun fashion, he doesn’t push. It’s one thing you love about him. Instead, he faces you and grabs the sunscreen, silently lotioning the rest of his body. When he’s done he reaches over to you, pulling at the black kimono you had meticulously put on over your swimsuit, to return the favor.
“Sehun!”
He yanks the thin fabric and it falls off your shoulders. You both freeze. He only lifts an eyebrow as his eyes rake down the expansion of your exposed skin littered in harsh dark bruises. His gaze lingers for an uncomfortably long time. You want to pull away, but find yourself paralyzed, a mouse caught in the stare of a hungry snake. 
“Stop staring.”
The voice is gruff. A wet hand pulls at your arm, ripping the kimono from Sehun’s frozen hand. You stumble backwards until you hit a chill wetness that makes you hiss as it soaks into your back. Sehun’s eyes are the only thing to move as they shift to the person protectively hovering behind you. His expression is cool, but you catch the way his eyes alight in amusement. Swallowing thickly, you work the courage to see who’s caught his attention….
Chanyeol stops glaring at Sehun long enough to spin you around so that you’re facing each other. With gentle fingers, he fixes your pullover, maneuvering it so that it’s covering your neck, hiding most of the damage. 
He clicks his tongue in dismay. “This won’t do.”
“I have a shirt,” you inform in a small voice. “It doesn’t have a collar though.”
“One second.” Chanyeol walks away, no longer blocking the radiant view of crashing teal waves, powdery sand, and miles of blue sky. White clouds speckle the troposphere, the negative image of your neck and chest. Off to your right, Sehun still stands, a glorious statue made of pale marble.
You can’t bring yourself to acknowledge his presence. 
Chanyeol returns. In his hands is the ugly Hawaiian shirt Jongdae was wearing.
You become aware of the rashguard covering his torso. The collar is high, covering the base of his neck where any hickeys can be hidden, although you can just barely see the start of one peeking out. You curse yourself for not thinking of buying one. 
“May I?” He gently asks. Is that not how he asked to strip you last night? The reminder takes your voice, as does the reserved look in his eyes. He’s testing the water, trying to see where you both stand at the moment. You nod, allowing him access to touch you, lost in his grim expression.
Gently, ever so gently, his fingers brush over your shoulders, sneaking under the thin garment. You battle a shiver as he lifts the back of his hands, knocking the fabric off with his knuckles. You roll back your shoulders, helping him make the cover cascade onto the sand below.
Chanyeol’s bright eyes wander over your flesh. He grunts in satisfaction at the sight of the marks he’s made, pride coloring his features. And you’re transfixed, gulping back saliva flooding your mouth like high tide. Your breathing grows erratic, fingers itching to touch him in return. Apparently that tension hasn’t fully gone away. Looks like you’ll be attracted to him for life.
You want to say something, want to voice an excuse to get your hands on him, but a sharp whistle cuts through the air before you can speak, breaking the spell Chanyeol has you falling under. You blink away your thirst, remembering where you are, of the audience you have.
“Looks like you got into some fun last night!” Jongdae, the culprit of the whistle, points out in a yell. 
You’re now hyper aware of all your friends. Baekhyun, who you’re just now noticing, sits in the shallow part of the water where the waves roughly push him, dressed identically to Chanyeol. He’s looking in your general direction, squinting against the sun to see what all the commotion is about. Seulgi stands beside Jongdae. She’s in the middle of applying sunscreen, one of her legs lifted like a flamingo. She doesn’t have to say anything for you to hear her ‘oh shit’, wobbling as she balances on that one leg. Sehun is still staring right next to you, but the whistle was able to jolt him back from stone. Then there is Jongin, who jogs back to where everyone is congregated to curiously see what is going on.
Being the only one moving, your head spins over to him, seeing how his mouth slacks and his eyes widen in shock.
“What happened?” He asks, concerned.
Embarrassed, you snatch the shirt out of Chanyeol’s grip, rushing to put it on so that everyone will stop staring at you like you just told them you murdered someone.
“Mind your business,” you snap. You regret it instantly when Jongin’s face falls like a kicked puppy. It can’t be helped, you have a tendency to lash out when embarrassed.
“Dae! The meat!””
Gratefully, a hard gust of wind blows in, lifting the aluminum foil with the cooking meat off the grill, falling onto the sand.
That distracts everyone from you. You thank a higher power.
Jongdae stares forlornly at the meat, watching sand coat it like seasoning. 
“What are you doing!” Baekhyun yelps, rushing to his feet. “Pick it up!”
That pulls Jongdae out of whatever trance he was in and he lurches forward, grabbing the hot foil and tossing it onto the end of the table. He hisses and shakes his hands, sticking a reddening thumb into his mouth.
Baekhyun rushes over to the table for quality control and his shoulders slump at the damage.
“This batch is no good.”
“Way to go, Jongdae,” Chanyeol chides. He then peeks over to you, surreptitiously checking your reaction.
“Shut it!” Jongdae snaps back.
Seeing a good opportunity to escape, you go to make your way over to Seulgi. Chanyeol is not having that, and you only get one step in before he’s snatching your wrist, holding you in place in front of him.
“Don’t go,” he begs under his breath.
You refuse to look up at him, knowing that whatever expression he currently wears will kill what little resolve you have. You know you need to discuss what happened the night before, and why he woke up alone this morning, but you hate confrontation and don't want to have this conversation right at this moment. To be honest, you just want to relax for a bit. Is that so wrong?
You remain silent, not really sure what to say to get him off your back for the time being.
“Just talk to me,” he urges. “You were gone when I woke up, and….”
He falls silent, and you can’t resist the temptation any longer. You break and lift your chin, sucking in a breath at what greets you. It’s that same tortured expression from yesterday. Nerves, apprehension, and defeat swim in his opaque orbs, purple his lips. And you know you can no longer prolong with conversation. He’s hurting. You’re hurting him, and it’s not fair to keep tormenting him like this.
“Did I do something wrong?” He asks dejectedly, intently searching you for the answer. 
You open your mouth to answer him. To tell him no, he did nothing wrong, but then Seulgi is calling your name and running up to you. She grabs the arm Chanyeol isn’t holding. “Let’s get in the water. It’s hot.”
She completely ignores Chanyeol as she heads for the shore, dragging you with her.
“I’m sorry,” is all you’re able to get out before you’re pulled completely from his gentle touch. He releases your wrist without a fight, letting you retreat glumly.
“I’m going to have to talk to him eventually,” you tell Seulgi, rolling your eyes. You hit the water and hiss from the shock of the freezing temperature.
“You two don’t get much talking done when you’re together,” she answers, breathless from the cold of the water.
Ignoring–and also maybe even embracing–the pain from the waves chilling your warm skin, you both run until you’re thigh deep and then dive right in, swimming deeper into the abyss. 
You float on your back and try to focus on the paradise you’re in, instead of the devastated look in Chanyeol’s eyes. To no avail.
There’s some crashing noises that pull you upright to see Baekhyun running in to join Seulgi and you.
When he’s close, he jumps onto Seulgi, pulling her under water. Not one to miss an opportunity, you hop onto his back. The three of you break the surface, sputtering for air.
You stay secured around Baekhyun as you all catch your breaths. 
“What the hell,” Seulgi coughs, splashing him in the face. He laughs, but chokes on the sea salt, and you squeal when you’re caught in her attack.
Letting go of Baekhyun, you swim back around so that Seulgi and you are turned towards the shore with him facing you both.
“Is he still sulking?” He asks.
You dare a glance over to where Chanyeol is, refusing to acknowledge how quickly you’re able to seek him out. He’s in the chair you had claimed, watching the water with a sullen pout as he rests his chin in his hand.
“Oh yeah,” Seulgi answers. “The clouds around him are turning gray, he’s in such a mood.”
“He wouldn’t be like that if you’d stop avoiding him, you know?”
“I’m not avoiding him,” you say. “We just spoke.”
Baekhyun snorts. “Yeah and I can tell you’re both on the same page. Nice talk.”
He throws you a sarcastic thumbs up, you stick your tongue out at him.
He grows solemn. “Please, say something to him. The poor man is beating himself up right now.”
You sink further into the water, dipping in until your mouth is submerged, and run a hand over the tiny waves bobbing you. 
Beside you, Seulgi sighs. “I may have ruined their talk.”
Baekhyun throws his head back and groans. “You’re killing me, Smalls.”
“How was I supposed to know?” She asks. “It looked like they were about to ditch us and fuck again. I’m just trying to help her not make another decision she’s going to instantly regret.”
“Whatever happens between them is their business, Seulgi,” Baekhyun says, sounding uncharacteristically reasonable. “You have to let them work through it their way.”
You wave your hand above your head like a needy sim. “I’m right here, you know?”
Seulgi pouts like a chastised child. “You’re right.”
Both Baekhyun and you spin your heads towards her in surprise.
“Did you just say I’m right?” Baekhyun asks. His shock quickly morphs into cockiness, if the grin splitting his face is any indicator.
She’s now the one to groan. “I will not be repeating myself.”
“I’ll cherish the moment for the rest of my life.” Baekhyun turns to you and his smile softens. “Talk to him soon. He’s getting annoying.”
“I will. I promise.” You assure. “Thank you, Hyunnie, for doing this. I know it isn’t easy for you either, being in the middle like this. I appreciate it.”
He shrugs. “You’re both my friends. I want to see you happy. I just hope you can work it out.”
Jongin and Jongdae come barrelling towards your group. As soon as you see your sweet friend, you can’t help but hold your arms out for him.
“Nini!” You cry. He laughs and falls into your embrace, tackling you back into the depths of the sea. When you both emerge, you apologize for yelling at him.
“You’re forgiven,” he says, never taking anything to heart. “But I was surprised. I didn’t expect to see all your bruises. It looks like you got beat up.”
You whine his name. “You’re making it worse.”
“Hey, they do say that weddings are the best place to pick up chicks,” Jongdae says. “Well, I guess dudes for you. Unless….”
He gives you a wicked smirk and you splash him.
“Anyway, good on you for getting some. You deserve it.”
“Thanks, Jongdae,” you say dryly, rolling your eyes. “Also, my bad on the shirt. I forgot I was wearing it before I got in here.”
He takes notice of his button down floating around you and gasps dramatically. “You better wash it before you give it back. It was expensive.”
You look at him skeptically. “This tourist shirt?”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to have those two cook the meat?” Baekhyun asks, putting your incoming argument with Jongdae to a halt. All five of you turn to the last people still on dry land. The tall boys stand over the grill, Chanyeol with the tongs in his hand. His eyebrows are scrunched as he listens to Sehun adamantly speaking, nodding and answering occasionally. it’s a deep conversation you don’t want any part of.
Jongdae shrugs. “I need a break. It’s hot.”
You all play in the water for some time. Once hunger becomes too great to ignore, you swim back to the beach. Immediately, you crack open a cold beer, nearly moaning when it hits your belly. Now this is what you need. You’ve been sober far too long.
Jongdae wasn’t lying about the heat. Even under the canopy, you can’t escape the sun’s harsh rays. You succumb to the weather and peel off Jongdae’s now dry shirt, not caring anymore if the other’s see your marks, it’s already old news.
Slowly, you all make your way to the table. it’s out in the open and everyone is a bit hesitant to sit out there, but that’s where the food resides. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol take off their shirts, overwhelmed by the temperature.
“Holy shit, Yeol,” you hear Jongdae say. “What happened to you?”
Everyone glances over to the tall man and your heart sinks at the sight of his exposed back. It’s hard to miss the rows of scratches you carved down his shoulder blades, red and angry.
At the mention of his name, Chanyeol turns around, revealing his neck, shoulders, and chest that look exactly like yours. Actually, his marks are deeper, darker. You were really letting him have it. In your defense, he did encourage you to do your worst, so it is hard for you to find any sympathy to send to the giant.
A loaded silence fills the area as he locks eyes with you. You sigh. That’s enough of an answer for everyone.
Giving up, you chug your beer empty as the extra heat of everyone’s attention bounces back and forth between you both, connecting the purple and blue dots.
“No way….” Jongin’s fingers trace the trail of his eyes. “Did you two…?”
You close your eyes in dismay. You’re going to hear it now.
“Wait a damn minute!” Jongdae’s loud ass voice echoes over the speaker. “You mean to tell me Chanyeol was the one who left those hickeys on you!?”
He gives you an impressed grin. “You naughty girl.”
You simply sink lower into your chair.
“Are you guys together now?” Jongin asks, bouncing on his toes in giddy excitement.
“I mean….” Chanyeol searches you out in hopes you’ll answer that question for him as well.
The attention has you awkwardly laughing, readjusting yourself so that you’re sitting properly again. 
“Please, you guys,” you say, laughter coating every consonant. “It’s nothing.”
Chanyeol’s head tilts at that, eyes fluttering in confusion. “What do you mean ‘nothing’?”
Your heart sinks as you realize you’ve made matters much worse. Chanyeol’s getting worked up now, and the last thing you want is to fight in front of everybody.
“I just mean it’s not a big deal.”
If your first sentence was you putting your foot in your mouth, this one is the whole damn leg.
“Not a big deal?” He repeats skeptically. He turns so that he’s properly looking at you, making sure he’s understanding correctly. “You think us having sex is ‘not a big deal’?”
“Okay,” Jongdae drawls. “Not together then.”
“That’s not what I meant,” you begin to explain, really wishing this conversation wasn’t happening like this. “It was a big deal to me, okay? But they shouldn’t expect more because of it.”
“Like us getting back together?” He continues to question in a monotonous tone. “You’re saying that they shouldn’t get their hopes up about us getting back together just because we had sex.”
“Exactly!” You clap, glad he understands.
“So that wasn’t us getting back together?”
His disappointment is hard to disguise, and it makes you feel bad. Again you’re reminded that if you’d just talked before this wouldn’t be happening. You sigh and prepare yourself to explain where you’re coming from.
“Chanyeol–”
“Meat’s getting cold,” Sehun interrupts, ending the real conversation before it can start. You’re grateful for it, still not mentally prepared to break Chanyeol’s heart any further, although it seems you may be past that point. Chanyeol’s jaw is tense, honestly everything about him is tense as he nods his head like he finally understands something before stomping over to the table, sitting at the end furthest from the canopy. He grabs a beer, cracking it open and guzzling it down rather aggressively. 
Everyone else reluctantly takes Chanyeol’s lead. When Baekhyun passes you, he grimaces, politely letting you know that you messed up. Sehun is the last to walk past. He stops and reaches a hand out for you to grab. You sigh before taking it, allowing him to pull you up.
“The last thing I want right now is a lecture,” you tell him.
“I’m just checking on you,” he assures. “You good?”
You stare at him. ‘Do I look like I’m good’ written all over your face and he grins, gaining the reaction he wanted. It’s gone as quick as it comes, an air of seriousness taking over.
“I thought we talked about this.” He starts. 
You point a finger at him. “Lecture.”
He purses his lips and lets his attention wander to the table. Everyone is trying their best to lighten the mood. You look also and are surprised to see Seulgi attempt to make small talk with Chanyeol, although he doesn’t appear that interested in the conversation.
“Okay, no lecture, but let me say one thing.” You groan. “Don’t leave this island with unfinished business. That’s only going to hurt you both more.”
You’re still taking in the table as he speaks, and Chanyeol must feel it because he’s looking back at you. He holds your stare for a few seconds, then catches himself and breaks the contact. It’s selfish, but you’re comforted by the familiar longing still lingering there.
You nod at Sehun’s words, turning back to him. “Yeah. Got it.”
He doesn’t believe you and his expression says as much.
“Hey! Hurry up and grab a plate!” Jongin orders you both. 
Sehun pats your arm and heads over to the table, you follow a few steps behind. The food is delicious and the alcohol starts flowing. Soon the sun starts its slow descent, and with full bellies, you all relax more. At this moment, you can’t help but to miss Junmyeon. He’s always the one taking pictures, annoying everyone by forcing you all to pose for what feels like hundreds of photos. Sehun, his successor, makes sure to take as many candids and selfies as he can. You find it easy to smile whenever the camera is focused on you, even when Chanyeol is also in the frame.
Speaking of Chanyeol, the beer, good food, and friendship seems to be working in lifting his spirits. His loud voice carries throughout the beach, and you catch his boisterous laugh from time to time. You’re relieved to know that you haven’t completely ruined this trip for him. 
By this point, the sky is a lovely pink and orange, and you’re a bit tipsy. You close your eyes and sway to the beat of whatever song is playing, snapping along. Someone holds your hand, causing your eyes to spring open to see Jongin gently urging you out of your seat. You allow him to drag you into a clear patch of sand near the waves. You start dancing with him, connected hands swinging between you both as you reluctantly laugh. Jongin is your designated dance partner. He’s one of the better dancers of your group, and you’re shy. He got into the habit of getting you out onto the dancefloor to loosen you up in college. Now is no different. You both roll your bodies and sway your hips to the beat, encouraging each other. The longer you dance, the closer you get, until your forehead rests on his collarbone, arms wrap around each other’s waists, and Jongin’s cheek presses atop your head.
“Are you okay?” He softly asks.
His question causes your vision to blur. You stare unseeingly into the now gray sea, waves crashing urgently and tighten your hold around his torso.
“I don’t think so,” you confess. 
“I don’t understand,” he says, sounding both confused and frustrated. “You both love each other, right? Why fight?”
“It’s not that simple, Nini. I wish it was, but….” You shake your head, not really knowing how to finish the sentence.
“Is it because of her?” He presses.
You close your eyes at the reminder of Yerim, another person your actions will hurt, and she’s yet to find out of your betrayal.
“Partially,” you admit.
Jongin rubs your back. “It'll work out. As long as you know what you want.”
You wipe your face and pull back to smile up at him, clipping his chin affectionately.
“Now that we’ve had that talk,” you say. “Let’s dance! We’re on vacation! I need to feel like it!”
He chuckles and spins you around so that your back is pressed against his torso.
“Turn the music up!” He orders. Whoever is in charge of the tunes obliges and you’re pleased when a song you can grind to comes on. You throw your arms up into the air and instantly lose yourself to the music, dancing back on Jongin who matches your moves easily.
Not really paying attention to your surroundings, you fail to notice someone joining your little party, but they make themselves known by gripping your arms, ripping you out of Jongin’s hold.
“What the–”
For the second time today, Chanyeol has pulled you away from someone. His hands are wrapped so tightly around your forearms, you wince from the pain. He doesn’t catch your discomfort, too busy giving Jongin the fiercest stare you’ve ever seen.
“Get the fuck off of her!” He snarls, dragging you even closer to him so that your face is pressed against his naked heaving chest.
You lean back and attempt to stare him down, but all you see is his sharp jaw.
“We’re just dancing,” you explain defensively.
That makes him look down at you, and you nearly gulp from the fury reflecting in his black orbs.
“That’s not how you ‘just dance’ with someone!”
That’s when you notice the way his words slightly blend together, notice how unsteady he is on his feet.
“You’re drunk,” you point out disappointedly. Remembering how good that did you both the last time he was under the influence.
He chuckles darkly at that. “So are you.”
Ugh, you aren’t anywhere near as faded as he currently is. You attempt to free yourself from him, but he’s holding onto you too tightly to break. There is no escape.
“Chanyeol, Bro, I swear that’s all we were doing,” Jongin calmly reassures.
“Don’t call me ‘bro’,” Chanyeol hisses. “You’ve always been like this, Jongin. You were always touching her! Don’t think I never noticed.”
“She’s my friend,” he says slowly, carefully, as if he’s speaking to a child.
“And she was my fiance!” Chanyeol all but roars. “But that never stopped you!”
You glance around. His outburst draws everyone’s attention and they watch the three of you curiously. Baekhyun and Sehun start to get up from their seats, probably intending to de-escalate the situation, but you don’t want to get anybody else involved. This is between Chanyeol and you. What is happening now is the consequence of you stalling the ‘what are we’ conversation you should’ve had the night before.
“Leave him alone, Yeol,” you mutter. “He’s not the one you’re mad at. It’s me.”
He doesn’t even spare you a glance, too focused on the man behind you. “Why won’t he answer me then? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I promise I–”
Before Jongin can finish defending himself, you cut him off by putting your hands on Chanyeol’s chest, throwing your weight to shove him. In any other circumstance, he wouldn’t have budged, but his inebriation works in your favor, making him stumble a few steps. Unfortunately, he takes you with him, and you fall forward. He lets go of your arms to catch you by the waist, steadying you both.
“You okay?” He asks with worry.
“Yeah,” you huff. You pat his shoulder. “Why don’t we go for a walk?”
There’s a boardwalk a few meters away that looks deserted, that is probably the best place to have this discussion. Not waiting for an answer, you easily break his hold and start walking towards it. Chanyeol says something to Jongin you can’t catch over the sound of the sea, but it sounds smug enough that you sigh deeply in dismay. You’ll apologize to Jongin tomorrow, you promise to yourself.
When you pass the table, you lock eyes with both Baekhyun and Sehun.
“It’s okay,” you assure them, not even sure if you believe it. It’s enough for them, they stand down and nod, trusting you.
The journey is silent. The sun has disappeared completely by the time you’re on the worn wood, enveloping you in an almost foreboding darkness. The crashing of waves are intense beneath you, doing nothing to soothe your nerves. When you reach the end of the walk, you turn around to the man you know was following you the whole time.
He’s on you before you can even speak. His mouth moves roughly against yours, urgent and desperate. His frustration is felt, as is his still present affection. You fall easily into his kiss, giving into him as naturally as you always have. Your hands curl around his neck, pulling him closer. He cups your face, the palms of his hands squishing your cheeks, puckering your lips more for him to devour. He walks you backwards, until your bare back hits the splintered wood of the banister. it digs into your skin, making you whimper, but it’s not enough pain to distract you from the punishing pressure of Chanyeol’s lips.
The groan he lets out in response is tortured, long fingers desperately begin pulling at the band of your swimsuit bottoms, eager to feel all of you again. 
In sync, your mouths fall open, tongues colliding and lewdly twirling together. God. Fuck. You want him. You want him so bad it’s driving you crazy. You’re going to fuck him again. You’re going to fuck him right here on this damn boardwalk, space be damned–
But, that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it?
“Stop,” you gasp between kisses.
He hums before tilting his head to kiss you even deeper. Those wandering hands of his slide down to squeeze your ass. You shutter and press yourself more against him, slipping your arms fully around his neck to drag him lower so that he’s curved over you. A sheen of sweat the only thing between your boiling bodies.
Still, you can’t bring yourself to fall back completely into the make out session. Disappointment floods you. Seulgi is right, the two of you can’t be alone for even a second without falling into this toxic habit.
Now annoyed with how weak you are, you finally muster the strength to shove Chanyeol back, officially breaking the kiss.
With much needed space between you, you feel the fog of lust begin to clear and can think better. Chanyeol doesn’t say anything or make a move to resume what you interrupted. No. He just stands there, watching you with an expression you find hard to read as you both attempt to catch your heaving breaths. 
“What?” He finally asks, voice hoarse and deeper than hell. “You don’t want me anymore, Mel?”
There’s no sorrow, none of the longing or anger he’s shown throughout the day, which is surprising. It’s almost as if he knew this was how the night was going to go. Like he knew you were going to push him away.
“That….” You swallow thickly. “That’s not it.”
“Then what’s the problem?” He asks, taking a step towards you. You try to counter it, but that leads to more wood stabbing you. You’re sure some break the skin. He takes another step and now he’s directly in front of you, a mere breath away. He lowers his head to be more level with yours, giving you a close up view of his wound up fury.
“The problem,” you nearly stutter, overwhelmed by the hostility now coming off of him in waves. He’s never directed his anger towards you–the situation maybe, but never you–it’s intimidating and scary. You lick your dry lips, trying to find your voice, and he watches detachedly. “My problem is the opposite, Chanyeol. I still very much do.”
“That doesn’t seem like a problem to me.”
“Look at us!” You say. “We can’t be alone for five seconds without being all over each other! Last night was not supposed to happen the way it did! We weren’t supposed to sleep together!”
“But we did,” he snarls through clenched teeth. “And that means something, whether you want it to or not!”
“All that it means to me is we need space. This is too much for me, Yeol. We need time apart to figure out what the hell we actually want.”
“What is too much for you?” He asks, sounding exasperated. “The way I feel about you? The way you still feel about me? What is there to figure out? We still want each other, nothing else matters!”
“We still want each other physically!” You clarify. “I can agree with that, but the longer we’re together, the more I think that’s all we want!” 
“Of course not!” He finally yells. You flinch from the volume and that makes him catch himself. He huffs out a breath before repeating in a much gentler tone, “of course not.”  
He grabs one of your hands, thumb caressing your knuckles. “You are way more than that. You always have been. This is more than physical to me.”
Everything inside of you is screaming to believe him, and he himself is asking for that. For you to have faith in this, and to give it a chance. 
“Then why didn’t you say it back?” 
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he stares at the forming tears in your eyes and the slight wobble of your lips in confusion. He searches for the context to your question. It takes a minute, but then his eyes widen in realization and his mouth falls open, a slight ‘oh’ leaving before he’s snapping it back shut. The look he gives you after that is something akin to pity.
And there is your answer. You pull your hand out of his grasp, using it to wipe away the tears that slipped past your waterline. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”
He scrambles in alarm from your withdrawal. “Can you please stop saying shit like that?”
“Why?” You snap. Your irritation grows with every second he doesn’t give you the answer you desire. “It doesn’t. I didn’t mean it anyways. It just slipped out, so…yeah.”
You fidget nervously and try to make out the waves crashing against the wood underneath you. You’re so focused on that, you miss the way Chanyeol recoils in shock. You also miss the reigniting flames of his dimming anger.
“So when you told me you loved me, you didn’t mean it. Yet, you’re mad at me for not saying it?”
Him saying it out loud makes you cringe in embarrassment. As if he hasn’t done enough, you sense mockery in his tone. When you meet his eye again, the anger is still there, but it’s mostly frustration you notice.
“I’m not mad that you didn’t say it,” you deny.
“Yes you are!” He lets out a humorless laugh. Yeah, he’s definitely frustrated. “Is that what all this is about? Why you left this morning? Look, I’m sorry! It wasn’t because I didn’t feel the same, I was just…preoccupied.”
“Preoccupied with what?” You ask in disbelief.
He gives you a steady look, eyebrows raised in a way to say, ‘you know what’. It takes a minute for you to decipher what he’s alluding to, but then you remember what happened right after your little confession and groan his name, appalled.
“See?” He’s grinning like a madman now, pulling at your arms in an attempt to catch your attention. “That’s all I ever wanted to hear. And once I did, I couldn’t control myself anymore. You telling me you love me made me cum.”
“Be serious right now,” you say, frowning in disgust.
“Oh, I’m very serious right now,” he says, that gleefully large grin still on his face.
You throw him a skeptical look. “You’re smiling and talking about cum. You think this is a joke.”
That makes his smile slowly disappear. He says your name. “I don’t think this is funny. I’m telling you the truth. You want me to prove it to you? Hm? I’ll say it right now. I lo–”
“I don’t want to hear it now!” You interrupt in a shout. “If you had said it then, things might’ve been different, but you didn’t. I don’t care why you didn’t either. That was all the confirmation I needed. We have no idea what we want from this.”
“Here we go again,” he groans, walking a bit away from you.
You jut your jaw at that. “I’m going to repeat myself until you get it through that thick skull. Whatever happened, happened. It’s done. We’re done.”
Chanyeol’s frustration is back with a vengeance. His fingers run through his dark hair, yanking at the strands as he starts pacing in front of you. “How can you say that when you had your tongue down my throat minutes ago? You let me cum inside you! You told me you loved me! And that’s it? There’s mixed signals and then there’s whatever the fuck you’re doing right now.”
“There you go talking about cum again,” you mutter to yourself. Louder, “I’m being realistic! It’s only been three days. Three! And, what? We’re just supposed to pick up right where we left off? Act like the past few years never happened? That’s not how this works, and I doubt that’s healthy. We need more time.”
“I already told you that I’ll always love you, and I meant that. I know you’re scared, Mel. Hell, I’m scared too. You’re right, things are moving fast, but that’s because we still care for each other. I know you still love me. You wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t. This wouldn’t be us pretending we never broke up. This can be us realizing that we’re better together. That we’re even stronger now that we’ve had time to figure out who we are apart. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“It was,” you’re quick to emphasize the past tense. “But I’ve changed a lot since the last time you saw me, Yeol, so stop acting like you know me.”
Something you say catches his attention, and he narrows his eyes suspiciously. “You haven’t changed much.” He says your name. “I still know you, probably better than anybody else here. Just like you still know me.” 
He’s stilled from pacing, and it’s a bit ominous after watching him frantically walk for the past couple minutes. He runs a hand over his face tiredly and lets out a heavy sigh. “So, that’s really what this is about.”
You raise an eyebrow questioningly and he laughs, shaking his head.
“I was hoping it wasn’t, but what you just said…. It all makes sense now.” He’s muttering under his breath, talking to himself.
“What are you going on about?” You ask.
“This morning, when I woke up and you weren’t there, I knew. I didn’t want to believe it, that you would do something like that, but I knew what happened the moment I realized you had left me.”
Your body begins to shake, and it isn’t from the cold. Foreboding chills your spine, causing goosebumps to rise, sharpening once he locks eyes with you, the accusations hard to miss.
“You still hate me.”
His hands curl into tight fists at his sides, trembling–as are his shoulders, his voice. He closes his eyes, taking deep calming breaths you doubt help him much. 
“And now you’re telling me you didn’t mean it when you said you loved me. That you changed since the ‘last time I saw you’. Was that your plan all along? To seduce me? Make me think you still gave a shit so that I’d let you fuck me and then leave? Was last night revenge sex?”
“No,” you gasp, genuinely shocked by his conclusion. “I already told you, it was a lapse of judgment–”
“I’m not playing this fucking game with you!” He shouts. His voice breaks, just like his heart currently does. “You don’t get to hurt me again. You can’t play with my feelings everytime I allow myself to be open with you. Maybe you’re right, Mel. Maybe I don’t know you anymore, because I never thought you could do something this fucking cruel.”
“Me? Cruel?” Your anger flares up. “What the fuck about you? You come here, bring some other girl you care nothing for, and then pretend like we never knew each other! Then proceeded to ignore her the whole time to flirt with me any chance you got!”
“We’re not talking about this trip!” Chanyeol dismisses. “I should have never brought her, I know that now, but that’s not what this is about. This is about the time before that, when you gave me back the engagement ring!”
Sehun mentioned the night before the wedding that you have a baseless grudge against Chanyeol, one that twisted the love you have for him, crossing that thin line over to hate. He was positive you made something up, a ‘lie’ he called it, to keep Chanyeol at arm’s length from your heart in order to protect it. The truth is that Sehun grew cocky. He believed so deeply that you couldn’t keep anything from him, that it was impossible to with the way he can so easily read you, that he never suspected when you did. It was only one thing. One thing you decided to keep to yourself, refusing to confide in even Sehun. The reason? To protect the man in front of you, the same way he protected you.
The last thing you want is to bring it up, but technically, Chanyeol is doing it first.
“Gave it back?” You’re in total disbelief. “You took it back the morning after you slept with me and then completely ghosted like I was some one night stand!”
“That’s what you wanted!” 
“When?” You ask, baffled. “When I invited you over? Or was it in the middle of us having sex?”
He runs a hand roughly through his hair. “Okay, but why did you invite me over?”
“Because I–”
He doesn’t let you finish, his own anger from that day getting the best of him. “Because you wanted to give me the ring back!”
His voice has risen, and it silences you completely. 
“Fuck!” He’s saying your name again, but there isn’t an ounce of affection. “You wanted to return the ring. It was the one thing–the only thing that gave me hope. I told you to keep it, because I knew as long as you still had it, there was still a future for us. But then you called me. It hadn’t even been a year since our separation–because that’s what we were, separated not broken up–and the first time I hear from you it’s to tell me you want to give me back your fucking ring!”
Your head is spinning, attempting to comprehend everything he just admitted, filling in blanks you have been trying to figure out for years now. You hate to admit it, but some things are starting to make sense. 
“So, which was it then?” You question rather calmly. “You were still hurt from when I broke things off, so when I reached out you saw your chance to return the favor? Or was it because you thought that’s why I asked you to come over, so you got upset, slept with me, and left as a big fuck you?”
“Neither,” he reveals, evident disgust from your thought process. “Sleeping with you that night just happened. I didn’t do it with the intention to hurt you.”
“Sounds familiar,” you point out. He pinches the bridge of his nose. It feels like you’re going nowhere. Like you’re speaking in circles. “But okay, fine, say I believe that you didn’t do it to hurt me. Why did you leave?”
“Because I didn’t want what happened that night to become our normal,” he admits. “You knew how I felt about you, and I didn’t want you to take advantage of that–of me. Come on, Mel, you’ve always known the power you have over me. If you had told me that night that all you wanted from me was sex, I’d given that to you. Hell, if you told me right now that’s all you want, I’d give it to you. I’d give you anything. You’re my Melody.” He takes a deep shaky breath. “But I knew that if I reduced myself to that just to keep you, it would destroy me. I didn’t want to lose myself like that. And I don’t ever want to hate you. That’s why I ultimately left. Took the ring–like you told me to–and ran before you could change my mind. That was me setting a boundary for myself. I had to let you go before I allowed you to use and break me.”
Your heart sinks at his explanation. “Do you really think I’d treat you like that?”
“Do you really think I’d make love to you and not mean it?” He counters.
Again, you’re back at square one. Blinking at one another, trying to figure out where you stand in each other’s hearts. With the newfound knowledge of Chanyeol’s thoughts on that infamous day, you look internally. To be honest, his words don’t sway you much. The hurt from that day is still painful. You vividly remember the way your heart shattered when he was nowhere to be found. To add salt to the wound, he had blocked you on everything, so that you had no way to contact him afterwards. Yes, you really did believe he was capable of doing that.
“No matter what your intention was that day,” you start. “The result is still the same.”
Once Chanyeol hears this, you watch him build up a wall, closing you off from him for the first time. Until right now, you believed he wasn’t capable of doing that to you. That it couldn’t be helped or that he felt comfortable enough to let his guard down in your presence. But watching all the vulnerability, all the honesty, all the affection he had for you vanish before your eyes, you realize you have been giving yourself too much credit.
“I guess that makes us even now, right?” He asks bitterly. 
You turn away, partially out of guilt, but also because you can’t stomach the haunted shadow dulling him. He’s right, in a sick way. You both ran away, hurting the other despite the reasoning behind it.
“So, that’s it then?” He asks when you fail to say anything.
“Chanyeol….” You turn back to him and instantly are bombarded with regret. You can so easily fix this. If you really want to, you can tell him that you forgive him for that night, that you truly never meant to hurt him and that the night before meant everything to you. You can walk off this boardwalk hand in hand, laughing with giddiness from falling back in love with your soulmate. Rejoining your friends who would be nothing but ecstatic and supportive of you working through your issues and returning to one another. You can do that. It will only take one simple sentence. 
But you don’t forgive him, and you haven’t really resolved anything. Your new relationship would be built on the foundation of ignorance, avoidance, and lust. You didn’t want that, not if it is the cost of having him back at this moment. You both have some healing to do before jumping into this again, and this conversation proved that. You aren’t ready.
“I–yeah. I think it would be for the best if we end things here.”
“Yeah,” he agrees in defeat. He sniffs and scratches the back of his head. “You’re probably right. There’s not much else I can say to make you stay.”
He takes you in one more time. In his reluctance, it’s as if he’s giving you a chance to change your answer, but you both know you won’t. Guess he does still know you well. He clears his throat and without saying goodbye, walks away. 
He’s about to clear the walk when you’re yelling at him to wait.
He does. He faces you and watches with wide eyes as you run hastily over to him. You stop at a safe distance, close enough to see him under the dim moonlight, but far enough away that you can’t feel the distracting heat of his body. 
He observes you warily, probably wondering how you’re going to break his heart this time. It’s that bit of doubt that made you run. There’s one last thing he needs to know, the one thing he needs to take away from this conversation, if nothing else.
“I don’t hate you.”
It’s the last thing he expected, and his reaction reflects that. His eyes grow glossy and he does his best to blink the unshed tears back, while also fighting the frown weighing the corners of his lips, causing them to tremble. Wordlessly, he reaches out to you, cupping the back of your head, and you let him. You allow him to touch you, to bring you close to him, relishing in his heat against the chilling bite of the ocean’s breeze. He pulls you in and presses a tender lingering kiss onto your forehead.
“Thank you,” he whispers against your skin.
And then he’s gone, taking all the warmth with him.
And you watch, as his fire dims and he blends with the gray of your surroundings before disappearing out of sight.
You pray to god that’s not a metaphor.
Tumblr media
series m.list | main m.list
previous chapter | next chapter
taglist @byunparklimchoi, @defloey @notyuji @hisungovenaocare @theawesomehero7714
46 notes · View notes
yanderelmk · 1 year
Note
Hey! So saw your ask yanderes and I decided to ask :)
It is okay if I ask : MK, Mei, Redson, Wukong, Macauqe, Syntax, Mayor, and Nezha ?
If I can then what would they do if their darling decided to just end the friendship because of their issues? Ahaha... TRUST ISSUES. their darling don't trust them no more and decided to end the friendship. And their darling will not be hearing any excuses from them and will end that friendship right there.
(My issues😘)
Hope you can do!
- 🌼 (did I request too much?)
A/N: You're good! I said no character limits, so no limit shall there be. Just a lil heads-up for anyone else, yes there are no limits, but do be warned I'll be taking extra time on longer asks to make sure everything flows properly A/N: Since Tumblr won't let me write too much (and started not letting me post it) I had to break it up into two parts! Don't worry I'll be posting it soon after this one <> CW: Kidnapping 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛 "Wait- what do you mean you don't want to see me anymore?" MK felt tears beginning to sting his eyes. "Listen, I know sometimes I kinda got intense, but I told you I don't mean to scare you. It's just- when I see someone who looks like they're gonna hurt you I get really angry, and I want to keep you safe. Y/N, please! Don't go!" He suddenly grabs you by the shoulders. "I can change, I swear! Just don't leave me!" As you turn and begin to walk away, his breathing gets shorter as panic begins to swell within his heart. In a blink, he's struck you unconscious. "It'll be okay...it'll be okay...I'll just get you home. Then we'll talk this out, it'll all be okay..." MK repeats this to himself like a calming mantra as he carries you off. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 Upon you saying you're breaking things off, Mei laughs. "Ahh, that's a good one Y/N. You really had me goin' there for a minute." When you continue to stare at her, she slowly sets down her milkshake. "You're...not kidding? But why would you want to stop hangin' out with me? Don't we have fun together? Don't you like hanging out with me?" She stands up from her seat, hand twitching towards her jade sword. "Who is it, huh? Who's so much better than me that you're willing to just throw away what we have for them? What do they have that I don't?! Are they prettier? Smarter? WHAT IS IT?!" Mei can feel her power beginning to spark up, but she's too upset to truly care. "TELL ME!!!" ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Before you can even get the words out, Red Son's got you by the throat and is lifting you up into the air. His hair is completely aflame, and his eyes are blazing. "So that's it? You think you're just going to leave me? Well there's just one teensey little problem there, Y/N." He pulls you closer until your faces are inches apart. "You. Are. Mine. And I am not in the habit of letting go of what I rightfully own." Red Son's fingers are squeezing your throat, he doesn't seem to notice how much force he's using. "Now we are GOING back to my home, you will SIT in the dungeon and THINK about what you've done, and I EXPRESSLY FORBID YOU from EVER mentioning leaving me again. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 "Aww, it's cute that you think you can leave." Unbeknownst to Y/N, the seal to the entrance to Flower-Fruit Mountain begins glowing brighter, sealing them in. "Look Y/N, I think you've had a very long, very stressful day. Why don't you..." He picks from his fur a few strands and blows on them, transforming them into the sleep bugs he's used so often in his Westward journey. Before you can jerk back, he's got you by the throat and has dropped them upon you. "Take a little nap? Then when you wake up, you'll feel better! I'm feelin' like goin' out for dinner, we can talk then!" As the world begins to fade and your eyes begin to close you hear his laugh before he says, "Sweet dreams."
123 notes · View notes
cosmerelists · 9 months
Text
AITA Posts on Roshar: Part 1
“AITA” is a reddit forum and stands for “Am I The Asshole?” It’s a way for people to get a crowd-sourced view on whether their behavior is acceptable or not. So here are some posts we might see if that forum existed on Roshar!
This ended up getting long, so please look forward to Part 2 later! (or more if people like this)
1. AITA for trying to save my old friend’s legacy?
[per reddit policy details are changed to protect identities!!]
I (LE/M/50) used to be very good friends with a man, let’s call him Danny (LE/M/51). Unfortunately, we’ve grown distant over the years due to his weakness, poor life choices, and growing insanity, but I still care about the man he used to be. Danny and I worked hard to build a “business” together with our other friend, Gavvy (deceased). When Gavvy died, it became very hard to keep the business going, especially since I wanted the business to remain strong, and Danny wanted to destroy it with his terrible ideas, weakness, poor life choices, and growing insanity. Unfortunately, Danny is very popular with the “CEO” Elky, and I could never make Elky see the truth of how Danny was going to destroy everything we had worked so hard to build.
Obviously it was time for Danny to go, but I didn’t want his legacy to be destroyed in the process--I wanted him to go out in a heroic blaze of glory so that he would be remembered well. But here is where I might have been TA: I left him and his son to die. BUT it would have been a glorious death and also the way I set it up was extremely clever and fully in line with Alethi values. Even so, Danny unfortunately survived and now he’s mad and going around and telling everyone that I am TA. 
I don’t think it’s wrong to want to protect an old friend’s legacy. AITA?
2. AITA for throwing the man who saved my sons’ lives into prison?
I know how it sounds. I will not mince words.
A situation arose in which my two sons were liable to be badly maimed if not outright killed. No one would help except for one dark-eyed guard (M/19) who intervened. Nearly at the cost of his own life, he saved both of my sons.
Unfortunately, almost immediately afterwards the DE guard greatly angered the king who ordered him executed. I managed to talk the king into throwing him into prison instead. I thought that in so doing I was both obeying the king I am sworn to obey while also saving the man who saved my sons.
But now the man glowers at me from his prison cell with his dark, pain-filled eyes, and he seems very angry about being in prison. 
Was I wrong? AITA?
3. AITA for wanting dry feet?
This occurred during one of the worst weeks of my (LE/F/17) life--not counting the week where my mom died and the week where my dad died. I had been literally shipwrecked, all my companions and my mentor were dead, and I was trying to make my way to the city where my fiancé lived by any means possible. 
I fell in with this conwoman who mistakenly thought that I was also a conwoman (long story). In order to prevent her from, you know, murdering me in my sleep, I decided to play along until I arrived at my destination. Perhaps not the most ethical, but again, it was my life at stake and I had no allies and no resources.
Another thing that was happening during that time was that my feet were killing me. I was shipwrecked, remember, and I also had to walk a long way with no shoes. I had blisters. My feet were infected for a while. I was literally collecting antiseptic sap from plants to try to keep my feet from rotting off. What I really REALLY needed were good, sturdy boots.
To make a long story short, me and the conwoman lady (who, remember, thought that I was also a conwoman) ran into this DE guard and the conwoman without consulting me pretended that I was a Horneater princess. I had to play along or else she would have known I was tricking her, so I did. And I got kinda caught up in the moment and I ended up demanding that the DE guard give me his boots. Which he did.
Obviously he can just go and get new boots whereas I really needed them. But I kind of feel a little bit guilty because he seemed pretty upset. AITA? 
4. AITA for wanting to date my husband’s brother?
I (LE/F/60) am a widow--my husband has been deceased for a long time now. He was not the best man or the greatest husband. Perhaps that is neither here nor there, but I want it on record that while we were married, I never strayed and I supported him as best I could, even though it was not always mutual.
Now that he is dead, everyone acts as though my life is over, like I am nothing but a widow who should be put on a shelf and left to rot. I do not believe that my life is over. There is another man that I have feelings for...but he happens to be my deceased husband’s brother. This man is a widower himself, and his wife, whom he loved dearly, has also been dead for a long time. I believe that he has feelings for me as well.
Should the two of us be denied happiness simply due to convention, simply because he happens to be the brother of my long-dead husband? He and I are a good match, his sons love me, and I believe that we both deserve happiness.
AITA for wanting this?
5. AITA for forgetting one small detail?
It had been a busy night. I had been ordered to assassinate a king while wearing white. But I also had to be loud so that everyone knew that the king had been assassinated. This meant I killed more people and not just the king.  Also the king disguised himself so I didn’t even know I was fighting the king for a while. I was very stressed. It was hard to kill him. I finally had to collapse a balcony to kill him. And this was during a party and there was a peace treaty and I kept getting my oathstone passed around and I was truthless. Anyway he made a dying wish and of course dying wishes must be honored. I wrote a whole message in his blood (that’s what he wanted me to do. possibly not the blood thing. but the message certainly). he also gave me this weird rock which was also part of the dying wish thing so i did it. even when i abandoned all of my clothes and was basically naked in the rain i kept it. there was a lot going on. but i forgot i had it. there were other more important rocks to worry about than the weird black glowing rock. but now it’s a long time later and i am in prison and the queen seems really mad that i never told her about this one glowing rock that i got from her husband (her husband was the king that i killed). that’s weird right. it was just the one detail that i forgot to mention. but she seems mad about it. aita
6. AITA for saving humanity?
Surely we can all agree that it is better for humanity to be saved than for it to be destroyed completely.
Even if only a small portion of humanity can be saved, that is better than all of humanity dying.
I (LE/M/78) even gained a boon from Cultivation herself so that I would have the capacity to save humanity.
Saving humanity has required me to take actions that others may deem as evil. I accept this--it is the duty of a king to bear the evil so that others may be blameless. 
Yes, I have ordered the deaths of many. Yes, I traded 99% of humanity to an evil god to save 1%. Yes, the 1% happened to be my own city and family. 
But I think we can all agree that I am hardly the asshole to have done all this to save humanity.
Right?
79 notes · View notes
Note
hii! Can you do a part two of your Carl x fem!reader where she got taken by the saviors instead of daryl??
A/N: Thanks for the ask, and of course I can! I didn’t think people like this one, but it makes me happy that you want a part 2. Also sorry if it seemed rushed in the middle, I really wanted to get it out.
P.S: Also, it swaps from the reader to Carl talking, it only does it once then the rest is all Carl!
Pairing: Carl Grimes x Captured!Reader
Hope you like it!
—————
“Carl! Carl, hey! What the hell are doing?” Michonne asked, forcefully grabbing my arm to make me look at her.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m packing my shit.”
“You are not going over to the Saviors, Carl.” She said, and I ignored her and kept on packing.
“So this is it, huh? This is your bright idea? Does it even have a plan or are you going in blind and guns blazing?”
“If I need to, then so be it.”
“Carl, there are more people in there than you have bullets. You will be torn to shreds. You are not going anywhere.” I roll my eyes and let my bag drop to the floor in front of my feet. “We’ll find a way in and out of that place without losing anyone. Okay?” I nod and Michonne leans in to give me a hug, before walking out of the room.
————
“(Y/N)?” I heard someone call out to me. Then I heard metal scraping along the door of my enclosure. “(Y/N)? You awake in there, pumpkin?”
I wrapped my arms around myself tighter, hoping he’d give up and walk away from the door. But I would’ve been asking for a miracle, for that to happen.
I squinted and I shielded my face from the light the creeped from around the corner of the now open door. “Hey, pumpkin. Today’s special, look at what I brought ya.”
He lifted the dome of the platter to reveal waffles with blueberries on top, with a side of bacon and orange juice.
I stared down at the plate of food, it was almost like it had been a fever dream of some sort. With how long all of us have been in this post-apocalyptic world that’s happening, having a warm breakfast and fresh orange juice was something a lot of us yearned for.
But this had to be some sort of trick, the blueberries had to be poisoned or old or something.
“You know, you’ve been staring at the food for a while now. If you don’t want it you could’ve just said so..” He stood up, not forgetting to take the plate with him, and I was quick to call out to him.
“Wait!” I called out, hating myself for doing it— for calling out to the devil, showing how desperate I was, but I couldn’t go one more day without real food.
He swiftly turned on his heel and handed me the plate. “Atta’ girl.” He smiled and watched as I ate.
“I’m going to leave this door unlocked, you have the choice to leave and join the Saviors or stay and rot for who knows how long?”
As soon as he said ‘join’ the Saviors, I stopped eating and pushed the plate away. “No, no, no, that’s not how this works; you made your choice, you ate our food, you become one of us? Or I’ll make sure you and Lucille get real acquainted.” He said with a laugh before leaving the room and he left the door unlocked, just like he said.
And now I had a decision to make.
Stay in this room or Join the Saviors.
The choice was mine..
—————
“Come on! We don’t have much time!” I shouted in a whispering tone.
“Okay, first slow down! Carl, slow down-”
“No! I brought you with me cause I thought you wouldn’t slow me down. Turns out you’re just another dead weight.” I huffed and turned around to keep trudging through the forest trying to find the Saviors hide out.
“Carl, why are you acting like this?”
“I need to save her! And you’re slowing me down!” I exclaimed, as Enid shushed me and grabbed my arm and brought us behind a bush.
“What are you doing?” I exclaimed and Enid put a hand over my mouth, trying to shush me as a couple walkers walked by. I rolled my eyes and took her hand off my mouth.
“They’re gone, let’s go now.” I stood up and Enid immediately brought me back down to her level.
“Not before you tell me.”
“Look, I promise to tell you, but not now, okay?” I said as Enid sighed and I stood back up and continued looking for the Saviors hideout.
—————
We looked for a while it was nearing sunrise, and we finally saw the base. With a fence that had walkers inside.
I crept up closer before triggering a trap that was well hiding in the bushes. Enid tried to help me out of it, but I shushed her and told her no to come closer.
“Oh boy, now what do we have here? A rat caught in a trap?” Simon said, and I furrowed my brows in anger.
“You must want something. Cause no one in their right mind would waltz on over here, like they got a stick up their ass.” He said, and one of the Saviors laughed, causing him to turn around wordlessly tell them to shut up.
“But I don’t have something of yours do I? Oh, no, wait. That’s definitely not true. I do have something of yours. In fact that something is a someone, correct?”
“You better answer me, you little shit.” He said and I turned my face up and spit in his face. He closed his eyes and wiped his face before, slapping me across the face.
He was going to reach down and do it again, but was stopped by Negan walking out with (Y/N).
“Woah, there Simon. This ain’t how we treat our guests, ‘specially him. Why don’t you come inside? Take a load off-”
“I’m not coming inside, I’m here to get (Y/N) back. I don’t give a shit about your hospitality.”
“Oh? That’s all you wanted? Well, then I’ll give her back, if she wants to. We’re fair people. Now, sweetheart, do you want to go with him or stay with me?” He said, and (Y/N) stood there and thought about it.
“Remember that nice breakfast you had this morning? Remember how I gave you those clothes you’re wearing?” Negan said trying to persuade her.
“(Y/N), please. Come with me-” I begged not caring how crazy it sounded or made me look.
“Oh! And how you don’t have to lift a finger when you’re with me and the Saviors?” Negan exclaimed shouting over me. “Just reminding her of a few things. Take your time, honey.”
It took a while for her to answer, but she eventually respond; “I am Negan.”
“No..”
“Well, shit! Hot damn! Don’t that just hurt, that little heart of yours? You knew it was going to happen, don’t even know why you tried, kid.”
“No. This isn’t supposed to..”
“Happen? Well, it did. And she’s staying with us, kid. Look I like you kid, but you’re gonna have get a move on, I’ve got some serious shit going on and we do not need you getting in the way o’ things.” He said and I remained silent, and he rolled his eyes and told everyone to wrap it up and head inside.
I stood up and started heading back in the direction of Alexandria. Enid tried comforting me, but I didn’t listen, I couldn’t listen.
The only thing that could be heard was (Y/N) saying those three words we promised each other we’d never say.
“I am Negan.”
45 notes · View notes
slusheeduck · 6 months
Text
Fictober 2023 Day 26 - Prompt: "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3
Lae’zel was engaged in battle. A most difficult one, without so much as a blade at her disposal. She locked eyes on her foe—it met her gaze with soulless black voids. It did not move, but neither did Lae’zel. She’d stay here and watch, for as long as she could, until it gave up its secrets, but it was a formidable opponent. Finally, with a growl, she reached forward, hands wrapping around its neck as she brought it to her face.
“What is your hold on Karlach?” she spat out. “How do you have your claws so deep in such an unmatched warrior?”
Her opponent gave away nothing. Because, of course, it was a stuffed bear, and they so rarely talked back.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Karlach said, catching sight of Lae’zel bringing Clive back up to her face to examine him. “That’s how they getcha—next you’ll be cuddling ol’ Clive. But I don’t think he’d mind at all.”
“Chk.” Lae’zel turned her gaze over to Karlach, eyes narrowed curiously at the tiefling. Yes, she was indeed still every bit the warrior she was on the battlefield—engine blazing, muscles rippling, self-assured and oh-so-deadly. So this just wasn’t wasn’t adding up.
Karlach tilted her head. “Something the matter, soldier?”
“I have seen you cleave enemies without so much as a grimace. You rage with all the power of the hells themselves. If you were to rend someone limb from limb with your bare hands, I would not be surprised. You are a formidable warrior that I respect immensely.”
“Aw, Zel, you’re making me blush,” Karlach said with a grin.
Lae’zel held up Clive. “So I do not understand why you keep…this.”
“Well, he’s cute, isn’t he?” Karlach shrugged. “I’ve always had a soft spot for cute things.”
“But what merit does it have? It does not aid you in battle.” Lae’zel narrowed her eyes as she brought Clive up to examine him again. “And you were upset when I suggested we use it for target practice.”
“Well, yeah! Clive’s been there through thick and thin for me,” Karlach said. She set her hands on her hips. “I won’t lie, I’m great at what I do. But I don’t want to do it all the time, you know? And sometimes I need a cuddle—Clive’s been a bit charred up over time, but he takes it well enough.” She looked over Lae’zel for a moment. “You know what? Give it a try.”
“What.”
Karlach waved toward Lae’zel. “Go on, give him a cuddle. I bet you’ll like it more than you think.”
“T’chk. Githyanki have no need for…cuddles. And I do not need a child’s toy for comfort.”
“Oh, I’m sure you had something just like it when you were little.”
“In the Crêche, I amused myself by cutting down the weaker children myself.”
Karlach blinked. “I…well. All right, then!” She gave a little smile and leaned in. “Come on, though,” she whispered, giving Lae’zel a goading little poke. “Just one hug. Bet you’ll like it.”
Lae’zel rolled her eyes. She looked down at Clive for a moment, then back to Karlach. After a scoff, she pulled the bear to her in a stiff hug. She was silent, face impassive.
“See? Not so bad. Now I can take him ba—”
“I am not finished.” Lae’zel’s eyes flicked up to Karlach. “I…would like to observe this for a moment longer. For reference.”
Karlach winked. “Take all the time you need, Zel. Clive’s an expert in cuddling research.”
Fictober 2023 Drabble Master Post
29 notes · View notes
xerith-42 · 4 months
Text
Minecraft Diaries Stoner Headcanons
Part 2 in the Aphverse Stoner Series!
Disclaimer: I haven't watched Season 3! I mean, I have, but I don't remember any of it other than that Blaze was in it-- And I just checked the wiki and he's a villain? Uhm. No, he isn't. Hatsune help me I'm going to have to make a whole post about that now... anyways, pretend Blaze is just like another guard Irena gathered because she just collects them like they're pokemon.
Blaze our beloved to start us off. Uh, pipe weed is really common in Ru'aun, it's actually a primary export. And well, Blaze is a pretty big fan of it. Once when he's smoking weed with his friend, he comes to a realization.
"Listen, listen. We use earth with the plant, fire by lighting it, and air to inhale it. What we're missing is water." I am saying that Blaze made the first bong in the MCD universe. Or that he at least came up with it and was credited for the original idea. These two are very proud of their idea and want to spread it everywhere.
Pipe weed is not allowed at the guard academy, and guards are expected to remain sober, even though alcohol is okay?? Doesn't really make sense to a lot of new cadets, including Laurance, who's able to smuggle it in, and hide it from Garroth.
Vylad does actually smoke pipe weed, particularly while on his own during those 15 years. It helps relax their muscles, and causes a sort of numbness that helps keep the calling quiet.
When he tells Laurance of this, both of them share it together at some point.
Dante used to smoke weed with Laurance on slow nights in Phoenix Drop, and even smoked it with Nicole a few times. He quit when he found out Nana was pregnant.
The number one smoker is Travis. His mom had a stock pile of it he found, enough to last years, and it's one of the main things he brings with him to Ru'aun.
When Travis and Blaze meet, they are instant friends. I don't know what happens in Season 3, but this is all that matters to me. They would be BESTIES!!
Despite being banned by the church, Zane is in a position of power so the rules don't apply to him. He never does it when he has something serious going on, but when Zane has some downtime, he'll light up a bowl to take the strain out of his shoulders.
A downside of being a Shadow Knight is that your lungs are much more used to inhaling smoke and dealing with heat thanks to the Nether, so they have some insane tolerance. Like, Vylad was smoking so much, and Laurance is never not frustrated at how much he has to go through in a single sitting just to feel something.
And Aaron? When he was a father? And a Lord?? Of course he was smoking. He was very careful about it, and kept it away from Jacob. And as he traveled with the rest of the cast, he was always careful to hide it from the kids. He didn't quite mind if anyone else saw, as long as they were smart enough not to ask for it.
Travis is not smart enough.
Also Aaron likes wearing the bandana when he accidentally gets a little too high so no one can see how bloodshot his eyes are. Irena can tell by the way he stumbles a little more than usual.
Zoey? Pot head. She's literally an immortal elf, she has tried every drug Ru'aun has ever had and then some. She stops smoking it as much when she's taking care of the kids, but after the group is gone for a few years and she spends more nights searching for a way to bring them back, she picks it back up to try and seem less stressed when people talk to her.
I feel like all Lords smoke just a little. Like, it's such a stressful job. You're constantly having to care for so many people, be a master of subjects you might not have studied, and who knows when one day you wake up to the news that you have to ready yourself for war. People need a way to relieve the stress.
Except Irena. She tried it once when she caught Aaron smoking and it tasted so bad and she did not enjoy the feeling at all. When she becomes friends with Blaze he tries to coax her into it, but she never caves, and he backs off.
LUCINDA on the other hand!! She's a witch! She's a bit of an herbalist! Does she know the perfect growing conditions for the plant of origin and how to cultivate it's harvest for maximum output?? You bet your ass she does!
Blaze x Lucinda x Travis polycule when?
The first time Lucinda and Blaze meet each other he tells her about his innovation of using glass devices to create water vapor that you can smoke, and Lucinda very eagerly drags him into her brewing room and just proudly goes "I have a cauldron!! >:)" And Blaze gets so excited!! He's already trying to figure out what he would have to custom order to work with this, but he needs to try it.
Wait why is that adorable I need to write that now.
19 notes · View notes
head---ache · 1 year
Text
Edit: Added Spades + Some links.
Character charts!!
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is kind of a long post btw.
I kind of want to add a bit of information about the kids that didn't seem relevant enough to add to their charts but I still would like you all to know, and I prefer to have all that information in one place.
Emmie: She's now officially the one and only Tube Baby of the group!!! I imagine Tails will later use the big fucking tube in his lab, just not for any of the kids in this group (here's a bit of context for how this happened) (Another short explanation here).
Just to quickly mention it, her full name is Emily, however, everyone in her life just calls her Emmie, because, according to her, 'it goes with her vibe' (first talked about here).
She has Black Arms DNA, and although it's uncertain how it affects her, they (Emmie and her dads) know she has green Black Arms blood (shown here) and has access to the hivemind, which as a baby she used to communicate with Shadow (here), but as she grew older she stopped using it, and now finds it harder to access to it.
She also, of course, has Chaos Energy. She can perform Chaos Control (in this one) and turn Super (that second thing they don't know until she's a teenager, shown in this comic). She also has all the abilities Sonic and Shadow share (such as spindash).
Sparks: Like I've said before, Sparks is a Belly Baby, Blaze carried (here's context)
Sparks has fire powers, similar to Blaze's, though they find it a bit harder to control. They get Blaze and Espio's help to learn to use said powers, since they require a lot of concentration. Also, again, like Blaze, they can turn into Burning Sparks (here), but that form is more unstable and drains their energy pretty fast.
I am also taking this space to clarify this about the entire family (including Tulip). Since Blaze is a princess, Amy, Sparks and Tulip do acquire royalty related titles, however, they're very informal and don't hold that much power, since Blaze didn't want them to have any responsability simply because they're related to her. So they're royalty just by name.
Lash: Another Belly Baby, your local surprise baby representation.
Like is said in her chart, her main ability is acrobatics. She also has some sort of super speed but she doesn't rely much on it.
It's not said in her chart but she has both mommy and daddy issues and is often at Aim's house. The first time she stepped into that home and Tangle and Whisper welcomed she immediately felt glued to that family (here).
Aim: I finally decided that he's also a Belly Baby, mostly because the timing didn't add up, since him and Emmie are the same age and there's only one Baby Making Tube.
Like it says in their chart, he does archery, which is his main fighting technique, however, during battle they also use their tail to move around faster (otherwise he just keeps it under his cloak) and teams up with Whisper's wisps in very rare occasions.
He does not speak, unlike Whisper who simply speaks quietly. Aim doesn't speak at all, but everyone around him eventually just finds a way to understand him (because I think it's funny). He very usually is the braincell carrier of the group.
Bria: Bria's a Belly Baby as well, it just felt like something Sonia would want.
They don't have any special ability, but they did learn martial arts as a way of self defense, consdering the group of people she often is surrounded by.
Even though Bria's hard of hearing, his biggest passion is music (over being a hero). She plays piano and guitar.
He's also the extrovert of the group. The loudest and friendliest there is. (Should I also add they're Emmie's cousin?)
Tulip: I was a bit more indecisive with him, but in the end I decided to also make him a Belly Baby, because otherwise it felt weird for that to be the one thing he has in common with Emmie. (In-universe explanation here!)
He hasn't shown any special ability yet -he's the youngest of the group though, being only ten years old-, so he isn't allowed to be around the other kids when there's danger, however, he's very sneaky and often gets things to work in his favor anyways. He does have an interest in tarot though, thanks to Amy, and he also shows to have an impressive intuition.
When he's not around Sparks he is often found next to Big, probably complaining to him about something.
Destiny: One and only Code Baby!! She's basically made from the same programming as Nicole, but more advanced and sophisticated.
Being an AI herself, she can hack robots and similar things, which helps during battle. They can also get into anyone's computer if they want to (they rarely do).
She usually takes the leader role very naturally, immediately making a plan on the spot and guiding the rest of the group. However, she's quite shy (even while being an extrovert. This forms a bit of a problem for her, wanting to be around people but being too shy to do it). Her more confident side mainly showing when assuming the role of the leader.
Spades: She's a belly baby just because of the timeline, there simply wasn't a way without changing her age to make it make sense for her to be a Tube Baby -and I like her being 16-. Unfortunately I backed myself into a corner here JSKDJSKFJWKFKS I don't have many details on how she came to be because, guess what!! There's no real way for her to be the way she is the way I want it to happen:]]] So let's just use our imagination and say that it's possible for two guys to have a kid who's biologically related to both of them because this is a world where magic color changing hedgehogs are a thing so this isn't super crazy, okay? Okay.
Like I said in this post, Spades has trajectory manipulation, so basically she will never miss her target, and can move away whatever is thrown at her, al that's pretty handy:] She also trains with Espio, so she has a lot of his abilities -which is why in her chart it says 'ninja but not really'. She doesn't really want to be a ninja but has many of the skills.
She's the mom of the group!!! And the braincell carrier. She is very sweet and caring, but also quiet and calculating. Her strategy is the best, and her stoic appareance makes her look a bit threatening, but she's actually a total sweetheart!!
Also about swimming!! She really likes it because she fines it relaxing. You can't hear anything underwater so she likes to close her eyes and just swim around.
She gets along with everyone in the group, but is usually hanging out with Aim and Lash:)
And that's it for the individual kids!!
Here's some other links of interest:
-1. Character reference sheets for all the fankids, including a height chart.
-2. A bit about Emmie's inhibitor rings.
-3. A bit more about how Emmie came to be.
-4. Voice claims!!!
213 notes · View notes
carnation-damnation · 14 days
Note
I LOVE your transfem Amy art! Would you mind sharing some of those transfem ideas you were rotating in your mind?
AUGHHHHH I'D LOVE TOOO!!
ummm lets go down the line haha. Only gonna talk abt ames rouge and metal because they're the only ones I've got in my brain atm. But rest assured if I had more brain cells I'd ramble abt Blaze too bc I also hc her as trans
Ames (She/Her, trans lesbian) - I think Amy presents p stealth! I think she knew she was trans from a young age and she's been presenting femininely since she was very very little. I made a post joking abt silly gender differences in sth (no back quills, small nose, etc) and I headcanon that those traits come from Amy being half-echidna so its like. ajdjsndnd gender win. The traits you were born with also coincide with hedgehog mobian gender binary??JFJSNFNN
I don't think Amy keeps her trans identity a complete secret, she loves being trans and she's proud of how she's tested fate and made her life her own, but I also think it does play a role in how she navigates her personal/romantic relationships (comphet to trans lesbian is what I was thinking of?)
Rouge: (She/Her, transfem lesbian also) - I talked abt Rouge and gave her a silly little backstory in that one post but I'll go over it again a little here: I think Rouge grew up pretty isolated in a small village with her family. She felt very trapped in the ideas that she felt like she had to follow the footsteps in. She felt like she was a side character in her own life because she's always had to ask for permission and think of the family's sleezy gem store/pawn shop before her own wants and needs. Landing that government job somehow was her ticket to finally spreading her wings and flying freeeee baby. She knew there was somth about herself and the way she dressed, talked and looked that didn't quite fit her, and although she didn't have a word for it, she assumed a new identity while working for G.U.N. and went like. full throttle on her transition. She didn't want anybody from her old village to recognize her. She's not listening to their complaints and desires anymore. She lives for herself, now. I think she has some trust issues relating to her past experiences which makes her hold onto Shadow and Omega so closely, and something about them also being queer brings them even closer to her. Can you tell Rouge has been rotating the fastest in my head
Metal - (It/She/They, sapphic demi-girl) -Metal is a fucking egg please saVE HERRRR. LISTEN OK. I don't have any evidence I don't got shit I just know we gotta get Metal outta there because she is an uncracked egg. Is eggman actively against the prospect of Metal having a differing gender identity? No. But Eggman is opposed to Metal having Opinions so. Metal has spent so long under the control of Eggman who they DO!! love, I believe. I think Metal Sonic and Sage are the only people that love Eggman and Eggman does nottt see Metal as his child as much as Metal does. And it makes me fucking bonks, dog. She thinks she's comfortable and fine where she is because that's all she knows. But she sees Amy and she yearns for something that she doesn't have the ability to describe...An emptiness that Metal doesn't know how to fill. Someone show this robot the joys of spinning for the first time in a flowy skirt PLEASEEE I think it'd do wonders for her. Go listen to bridget from guilty gear strives theme rn
11 notes · View notes
perseusannabeth · 8 months
Text
One Day I'll Be Good - Chapter 1
A/N: Hi guys! Happy first day of nessian week! I've decided to get in on the action. This fic is one I started a long time ago, around the same time as let me be your home. As you can imagine, that then took over, but when I saw the day 1 Nessian week prompt, it felt like the perfect time to finish this chapter.
There are themes of child abuse in this fic, but I will make sure to warn you which specific chapters.
Thank you so much to @nessianweek for organising such a brilliant event!
Word count:  3,010
ODIBG Masterlist| My Masterlist | My Ask Box | Read on AO3
Cassian decided that waking up with his arms and wings wrapped around his mate was the best feeling in the world. He didn't know how he had lived without it all his life but was especially in awe of himself for being able to live without Nesta since he met her. Past Cassian was something.
Cassian was content to watch Nesta as she slept. She looked so peaceful, he almost couldn't believe this was real. But it was. Nesta could even look peaceful when she was awake, too. His beautiful, talented mate had managed to overcome her trauma for the most part and was happy and comfortable in her skin, which Cassian thanked the mother for every day. 
It had been a month since their incredibly extravagant mating ceremony, and Cassian supposed that this was what they called post-mated bliss. Everything was calm in their relationship now. That wasn't to say they didn't have their moments of heightened emotions, but they knew that no matter what, they could always count on each other. That was all they needed.
Nesta started to stir in his arms. Nesta now had adapted the same morning routine as he had, meaning that she would wake up around the same time as him so she could get ready for training. It was nice to wake up and sleep together. However, Cassian still had to pinch himself to remind him that this was real. He couldn't believe his luck still, that a lowly bastard from Illyria could have this life.
"Morning," Nesta yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she smiled at him. Warmth hit his chest like he'd been hit with a firework. It spread through his body like wildfire, filling him with joy that he felt like he couldn't breathe.
Cassian beamed down at his mate, kissing her forehead because he needed to express his joy somehow before he burst. "Morning," he said, his voice hoarse from not using it all night and from their late-night activities.
Nesta smiled and nuzzled herself deeper into his chest, smiling. Cassian let out a slight rumbling noise of contentment as his mate took in his scent. Nesta looked up at him, humour sparkling in her eyes. "You sound like a cat with all that purring you're doing," she said, trying to hide a laugh.
"You're giving me an identity crisis. Am I a cat or a bat now?" Cassian asked, raising his eyebrow at his mate as he ran his hands up and down her back absent-mindedly, enjoying her soft skin against his calloused hands.
Nesta let out a tiny little huff at his ridiculousness but didn't stop smiling at him. That smile directed at him was like being shot through the heart. Cassian still couldn't believe that Nesta would smile at him like that. He couldn't help himself when he saw that beautiful, sleepy smile. He leaned down and kissed her lazily like they had all the time in the world. Nesta kissed back at the same leisurely pace, running her hands over his chest.
Nesta's hands left a trail of blazing fire; every bit of skin she touched with her sinful hands while Nesta was pressed against him so deliciously had him wanting more. Cassian deepened the kiss, causing Nesta to moan into his mouth. She pulled away, closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath. Cassian felt a rush of pride that he did this to her, that he could cause Nesta to lose composure so quickly. He waited for Nesta to make her move, grinning at himself as he listened to her heavy breathing.
Nesta pushed away from Cassian and sat up, letting the blanket fall to her waist as she looked at Cassian with a lust-filled gaze. Cassian shuddered at the intensity of what he saw in his mate's eyes, excitement coursing through him.
Nesta sighed and shook her head fondly as though she knew what Cassian was thinking. It didn't take a daemati to figure out what Cassian was thinking, not with his cock already hard under the blanket, which did nothing to hide it.
Cassian tried to lean in for another kiss, only for Nesta to softly push him back, shaking her head and sighing in regret. "I have to go to the library this morning."
At that, Cassian froze. "No training this morning?"
"Stop pouting," Nesta laughed, giving him a slight shove in the chest.
"I'm not pouting," he said, although he knew his bottom lip was jutting out remarkably like a pout. "You never miss training!" Cassian said.
"I know, but this is important. Gwyn needs me to be there for her," Nesta explained, getting up from the bed and walking across their room naked.
Cassian followed her with his eyes, not even blinking, just in case he missed something. "What's going on with Gwyn?" He asked, his curiosity peaked now.
"I promised her I wouldn't say, so you'll have to keep your nosy self out of it until she's ready to share it with you. And don't you dare try and ask Az to send his shadows to find out," Nesta said, turning from the wardrobe and glaring at him. Cassian tried to compose his face into the picture of innocence and act as though the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Of course, Nesta could see right through it, and her scowl deepened.
Cassian held his hands up in surrender, to which Nesta rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom to quickly wash away the scent of their late-night activities and get ready to meet Gwyn. Usually, Cassian might have joined her, but he knew that if he did that, they would not be ready for Nesta to meet Gwyn if he did that today. As much as Cassian would love to join his mate, he knew he needed to behave right now.
Nesta came out of the bathroom quickly enough with a towel in her hair and was already dressed, which was probably the wisest choice. If she had come out in a towel, or even naked like she sometimes did, Cassian might not have been able to help himself.
"I think I'll probably just spend the day in the library today, so I'll see you tonight at dinner," Nesta said as she quickly braided her wet hair. She walked over, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then moved towards the door before turning around. "Behave yourself today," she said sternly, raising her eyebrows.
Once again, Cassian schooled his face so that he looked innocent. He called it his 'butter wouldn't melt' face. "Nesta, I would never misbehave!" Cassian said, raising his hand to his chest in mock defence.
"Tell that to the archery practice you did last time I wasn't there!"
"The paint was so they could see how far they managed to shoot! It was for training purposes," Cassian protested, trying to fight a grin.
"Cass, when I turned up, everyone was just throwing paint at each other."
"Okay, okay, point taken. I'll be boring and super strict," Cassian said in his most monotone, bored-sounding voice.
Nesta snorted in disbelief and shook her head as she left the room, leaving a grinning Cassian in her wake. He still had some leftover paint from the last time Nesta hadn't turned up to training.
  ***
  Nesta marched down to the library as quickly as she could. She knew that Gwyn was meeting Clotho first thing, but Nesta wanted to get to the library before the meeting so she had time to talk to Gwyn. She knew without a doubt that Gwyn would be nervous, even though she had nothing to worry about.
Gwyn had decided that she wanted to write a book on the Valkyries. Specifically, she wanted to write about their new version of the Valkyries. She wanted to chronicle everything and even write about their experiences during the Rite.
Nesta thought it was a brilliant idea. What happened during the Rite should be written down if for nothing else; then, it could show future Valkyries what they could be capable of. Their experiences in the Rite would be there to help and guide future Valkyries to find their strength. Nesta knew that after everything they had been through, her friends, no sisters, would be by her side for the rest of their lives. The bond they had created was stronger than anything she had ever felt. Other Valkyrie needed to see that being a Valkyrie wasn't just about being warriors; it was about being a family and having each other's backs.
Nesta and Gwyn waited outside of Clotho's office, Gwyn picking at invisible pieces of fluff on her priestess robes nervously. Nesta had given up trying to distract Gwyn, and the two sat silently. When Clotho's door eventually opened, Nesta felt Gwyn startle beside her. As Clotho called them in, Nesta took Gwyn's hand in her own, squeezed it and gave her a small smile. Gwyn squeezed back and smiled in thanks as the two Valkyries walked into the office.
They sat down on the chairs at the other side of the desk to Clotho, Gwyn folding her hands in her lap to try and stop herself from fiddling with her clothes with her nerves. Clotho offered Gwyn a soft smile. It was easy to see how nervous she was. Gwyn couldn't seem to hide it.
"There is no need to be so nervous, Gwyn," Clotho wrote on the notepad before her. Gwyn let out a nervous chuckle, and Nesta could tell that Clotho's words were only making Gwyn more nervous.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Nesta asked, turning to Gwyn.
The priestess nodded at her before taking a deep breath to steel her nerves. "I would like to write a book on the Valkyries reborn. I specifically want to focus on me, Nesta and Emerie and our trials throughout the Rite. I feel like it needs to be chronicled for future generations." 
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. What would you require from me?"
"Obviously, with all the researching, writing, and drafting it will take for me to write a book, it will seriously lessen my time for other duties. I know that might be a little problem, but I promise I will pick up all my duties again once I'm done!" Gwyn said in a pleading voice.
"Of course, that will be okay. I'll arrange things with Merrill so you are free to research." Clotho smiled at them. 
"Thank you so much!" Gwyn exclaimed, jumping up from her seat in excitement.
Clotho and Gwyn couldn't help but smile at the excitement practically seeping from Gwyn. Nesta felt like she practically glowed with it and that it suited her. The change in her friend from when they first met was evident. The amount of growing she and her friends had done together and separately during the Rite was clear to see. She was glad that Gwyn would write this book if only to immortalise the trio's journey.
Gwyn and Nesta took their leave and started going up to the training ring to tell the others the good news. Gwyn was practically shaking with excitement now, and Nesta knew she couldn't contain herself when she got to the training ring. She was almost vibrating with excitement, and Nesta could see that Gwyn would be supercharged in their training. Gwyn had a lot of energy anyway and was always very competitive. Today, she would be even worse than usual, but Nesta couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. She was glad that her friend had successfully gotten what she wanted. Gwyn deserved the world.
"Oh wait! I need to return Emerie her book, and it's in my room," Gwyn exclaimed.
Nesta huffed out a little laugh, "What did you think of it?"
A soft blush covered Gwyn's freckled cheeks, telling Nesta everything about Gwyn's feelings for the book. "It was certainly... intense," she said, avoiding eye contact with Nesta at all costs now.
Nesta gave a non-committal hum, not wanting to say more to embarrass her friend. She didn't exactly need the help. "I'll wait here for you then," she said, gesturing at the shelves near them. Gwyn nodded and walked off quickly to get the book from her room.
The library was quiet; some of the priestesses were probably already at the training ring, and the others were probably doing their jobs, so nobody was around in her area. To pass the time, Nesta decided to look at the books. They probably wouldn't be the books she was interested in, but she had nothing better to do.
She heard some rustling behind her and turned, expecting to see Gwyn returned. Instead, it was Merrill. Nesta turned back around to carry on looking at the books. Although it had been a while since she had defended Gwyn, Merrill still seemed to hold a grudge. Nesta could understand that clearly; she had embarrassed Merrill, but that didn't mean she had to care about the petty grudge she held. Merrill seemed petty enough for the both of them.
She heard Merrill clear her throat behind her, but Nesta studied the books with added vigour. When Merrill cleared her throat again louder and more aggressively, Nesta knew that if she ignored her again, she would be pushing her luck.
"Are you quite alright, Merrill? You keep clearing your throat. If you feel unwell, then perhaps you should be in bed today. I'm sure Clotho would be more than fine with you taking a day off for yourself," Nesta said, keeping her face neutral and tone matching. She didn't know what was wrong with Merrill, but her instincts told her to run. But Nesta knew that if she did, she would worsen whatever was happening. If Merrill's attention were on her, she wouldn't focus on Gwyn or other priestesses who may still be around. 
Merrill hissed and took a menacing step towards her. "You! You have been the bane of my existence since the day you arrived here. I don't know why the high lord and lady couldn't have just dumped their drunk sister in a ditch where she belonged. Instead, they had to make her everyone else's problem!"
Before Nesta could even think of a retort, she was hit with a glass bottle on her forehead. She stumbled back as the liquid in the bottle dripped all over her front. Her eyes were watering far too much from the liquid and the glass hitting her forehead, so she couldn't see what was going on with Merrill, but she tugged the mating bond, letting her mate feel the panic as she collapsed on the floor. 
Before her eyes closed, Nesta wondered what she had done to deserve that from Merrill.
  ***
  Cassian had not been doing much training. He wouldn't lie; he was standing on the side of the ring talking, not gossiping like Nesta said he was. He couldn't help it, though. Nesta was much less willing to talk about whatever was happening between Azriel and Gwyn. 
His brother had looked around and seen that the firecracker priestess wasn't there, and he had frowned. He had shown a real emotion without meaning to. Nesta would never have understood it, but that was a huge deal!
He was halfway through explaining to Emerie how big of a deal the frown was (and thankfully, she seemed to understand the significance) when Cassian felt a tug on the mating bond. Then, he was flooded with fear and pain before it just cut off, and suddenly there was nothing. He tried to reach out, but something was blocking him. He could tell Nesta was alive; he could feel some connection to her, but it wasn't the same as it had been moments ago.
"Fuck," he said, grabbing his chest, looking around frantically. 
"Cassian? What is it?" Emerie asked, grabbing him as he stumbled. 
"It's the mating bond; something's wrong," he explained before taking off. 
He could hear Emerie call after him, but he didn't stop. He ran as fast as he could down to the library where Nesta had said she would be. The closer he got, the louder the commotion became. Cassian stopped by the entrance as he saw a group of priestesses gathered around someone on the floor. He just knew it was her. 
"Nesta?" He asked, moving quickly. He startled some of the priestesses but was too concerned about Nesta even to register it properly. Thankfully, Emerie and Azriel came rushing in and moved everyone away from Gwyn. 
As the crowd dissipated, they noticed a heap of Nesta's clothes and something small curled up inside. Cassian couldn't see what it was, but it looked like the size of some small animal. 
"Gwyn, what happened? Where's Nesta?" he asked urgently. 
Gwyn looked at him, concerned. That wasn't good; she was looking at him like she didn't know how to break some bad news to him. "Gwyn, whatever happened, it's fine. I can feel in the bond that Nesta is alive, but there's something wrong with it. Please, tell me what's going on."
"I wasn't here to see it, but there was some sort of altercation with Merrill." She paused and then looked at Azriel. "I think you need to go looking for her immediately. We have no idea where she is, but she did something dangerous."
With that ominous declaration, she slowly moved the heap of clothes until a little head popped out. "Nesta, darling, please come out," Gwyn pleaded. 
The head shook from side to side, indicating nobody would be coming out today. Then, she slowly moved the clothes so she could look around, keeping the rest of her face covered. She glanced at him, Gwyn, and then Azriel and Emerie stood behind them, looking just as bewildered as Cassian felt. Then, when she was done assessing them all, she quickly buried herself under the clothes again. 
Gwyn looked to Cassian and confirmed his fears. "Merrill attacked Nesta and somehow turned her into a child."
Tags list: Bold tags were not found so let me know if your @ needs updating, if you want to be added or removed.
@sannelovesreading​ @bookstantrash​ @superspiritfestival @courtofjurdan​​ @thewayshedreamed​ @sayosdreams @letstakethedawn​​ @and-she-burns-with-it @nahthanks​ @arinbelle​​ @gracie-rosee​ @julemmaes​ @claralady​ @rowaelinismyotp​ @swankii-art-teacher​ @tswaney17​ @duskandstarlight​​ @live-the-fangirl-life​ @oversizedbats​ @nestaisgod​ @vidalinav @vanserrass @moodymelanist @emily-gsh @lady-winter-sunrise @dread3r @starryblueskies7 @simpingfornestaarcheron @mis-lil-red @catplayinvioline @vinylcryes @vasudharaghavan @a-court-of-valkyries @nestaspegasus @sv0430 @champanheandluxxury @nesquick-arccheron @a-little-disguised @nestable @illyrianshadowhunter @readiajin @lordof-bloodshed @deedz-thrillerkilller16 @rachmkerch123456
49 notes · View notes
j-nipper-95 · 19 days
Text
An ask game for writers to procrastinate working on your WIP(s)
Thank you for the tags @artsyunderstudy @iamamythologicalcreature @aristocratic-otter @shrekgogurt @wellbelesbian @theearlgreymage and @ic3-que3n
I am definitely procrastinating on both my WIPs at the moment. Trails is back in limbo, and ASR has taken up permanent residence there recently, and I desperately want to get back to both of them. Here's hoping this will kick start something in my brain! I do love a good Q&A, so let's dive in!
1. 🦈 Tell us the name of your/one of your WIP(s):
I have two WIPs I am actively writing, and one I haven't started on yet, but desperately want to. The Trails We Blaze was my Carry On Through the Ages 2023 fic, and is a The Road to El Dorado!au. Then there's my original novel, A Survivor's Revenge, which I've been writing for far too long and it definitely needs to be published soon!
2. 🍄 Describe your WIP/one of your WIP(s) in the format of "___ + ___ = ___"
Ok, this is much harder than I thought it would be, there's so many elements to each of these WIPs, so bare with me.
Trails: con men in 1920s London find map to Atlantis + WW1 trauma + gang warfare + repressed romantic feelings = friends to lovers action, adventure, and chaos across western Europe that's probably been too intensely researched for the sake of historical accuracy
(Side note: this isn't how I thought I'd use my degrees in history and archaeology, but here we are!)
A Survivor's Revenge: marvel cinematic universe + James Bond = ASR
or - what would happen if Bucky wasn't brainwashed by Hydra and sought revenge on the scientists who experimented on him, was a 14 year old school girl instead of a grown man, and had elemental powers + MI6 super spies and the general aesthetic of a Bond movie = a stab first/ask questions later FMC willing to do whatever it takes to keep her loved ones safe (and I do mean whatever it takes - Lauren hasn't baulked at anything I've thrown at her yet).
3. 🌍 What tags or warnings will one of your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it.
ASR will definitely need some trigger warnings for violence (if only because of Lauren's penchant for it), and if it were being posted to AO3 the series as a whole would probably require a 'main character death' warning. This is your formal warning, no one is safe in my writing.
Trails is rated M, so there's not going to be anything too graphic or explicit, but it does have a PTSD tag, as the fic tackles both Baz and Simon's trauma from living through the First World War, and specifically Baz's claustrophobia. So I would probably warn about the panic attacks and discussion of how Baz became claustrophobic.
4. 🧭 An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?
Neither of these had alternative titles other than my save names (Spy Novel and SnowBaz fanfic) before I decided on anything. I'm useless at coming up with titles, and I can't really claim full credit for either. A friend from uni came up with A Survivor's Revenge, which is really fitting, as revenge is a major theme in the book. And The Trails We Blaze is a reference to one of the songs from the movie The Road to El Dorado, and was Ashton's suggestion when we were bouncing ideas back and forth last year.
5. ⚠️ Which WIP you're most likely to finish or update next?
Trails will definitely be finished before ASR, purely because ASR is going to be published as a proper book, and I don't have the cash to do this independently, or the publishing deal to do it traditionally. So I know this will take time. But I am currently working on the next chapter of Trails, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can post it.
6. 💾 What is your document of your WIP/a WIP called? (not the stories actual title but what you've saved it as)
I have so many variations of both WIPs it's ridiculous. I swear there's been 100+ iterations of ASR over the years, all with variations on either A Survivor's Revenge/ASR or Spy Novel as their title.
With Trails I have my base document, which is where the rough first draft happens, in Scrivener: the trails we blaze - draft copy. And then I also have my final document in pages, where I fix the formatting ahead of exporting to AO3 (because AO3 hates it when I do it straight from scrivener and gets rid of all my italics!): the trails we blaze upload copy.
7. 🖍 Post any sentence(s) from your WIP.
This is probably one of my favourite exchanges in the first ASR book.
“Just like old times,” Lauren said. “Tell me, did you consciously decide to make my PTSD worse by assigning him to me, or was that a happy accident?” “What’s the diagnosis?” Vanessa asked, ignoring Lauren. “Fractured ribs, minor internal abdominal bleeding, concussion, and three broken fingers. She needs to rest for at least a week,” Todd said. “She has a name,” Lauren muttered. “The internal bleeding is minor for the moment, but won’t be if she doesn’t rest.” “Who’s ‘she’ in this, the cat’s mother? I am here, you know.” “Yes, and whilst I would love to trade witticisms with you, I do actually have a job to do. Part of which involves divulging a diagnosis, and pardon me if I feel certain people in this room are going to be more receptive and actually take my advice when I give it.” Lauren glanced at Vanessa. “Is he always like this?” “Just with patients. And most of the people who work here.” “So, everyone?” Vanessa thought for a moment, then bobbed her head from side to side in a movement that said Pretty much, yeah. “If we’re quite done discussing my conduct, I do actually have other patients who need my attention.” “Poor sods.” “Yes, of course,” Vanessa said, ignoring Lauren’s comments. “Have you got a treatment plan sorted?” “I’m nothing if not professional.” “Did someone switch the definition of ‘sarcastic asshat’ and ‘professional’ in the dictionary when I wasn’t looking?” Todd twisted ever so slightly away from Lauren, instead focusing entirely on Vanessa.
8. ♻️ A scrapped idea for your current WIP.
Initially in ASR Lauren was framed for the murder of a student, alongside releasing the main villain from prison (not a spoiler, it's literally in my synopsis, no worries there!), and afterward she was forced to go on the run. Essentially, it made the heads of MI6 and Lauren's best friends into her enemies for a few chapters of my drafts a couple of years back. I loved this idea, and genuinely want to implement something along these lines again, because it was an interesting position to put the characters in, but I also really love where the plot is taking them currently, so we'll see if it truly ends up remaining scrapped or not.
9. 🤔 What's a story you'd love to write but haven't even started yet?
Another original novel, this time firmly rooted in science fiction (no superhero/light fantasy elements here), where time travel is possible, but the super anxious MC refuses to use his powers to travel back in time because of the side effects of said power. Gay romance, anxiety, angst, all the good stuff!
10. 🤡 How many WIPs are you actively working on?
I'm not too active on either of my WIPs at the moment. Work's been crazy lately, and I flip between feeling super burnt out creatively and being too tired to do much. But Trails and ASR continue to be my most active WIPs.
11. 🛠 Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?
In Trails I've hit an intimate scene, and my little ace brain doesn't know how to approach it! Plus, I don't know how far I can stretch the M rating before we enter E territory.
12. ❤️ Not a question, just a second Kudos to send.
All of the kudos to everyone! I wish there was a way to leave it more than once, because seriously, the CO fandom is so unbelievably talented, my God!!
Tagging (sorry if you’ve already done this):
@blackberrysummerblog
@orange-peony
@you-remind-me-of-the-babe
@palimpsessed
9 notes · View notes