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brailsthesmolgurl · 1 month

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RETRIBUTION

SEQUEL TO DAMNNATION. kindly read the prequel to get a better idea on the story's direction. I know I promised an alternate ending, where angst is not involved, but I want to prolong this pain for you masochists :> Enjoy this long, hefty, and incredibly hurtful read. But, it is okay my lovelies, I shall have a good-comforting parallel-universe ending written for you guys this week. SOOO pls do keep up with my profile :)

The legend goes on, with the God of the Sea failing to protect his beloved. His fate was decided for him by his people, but now, he shall take fate upon his own hands and remake his own endings. But, does fate falter? Even to a God?

Warnings: Angst Angst Angst Angst, Spoiler to Rafayel's Lore and I put in some of my own zesty twists to the lore, Deaths and Bloods and some okay maybe not some descriptive gore.

Rafayel walked across the sandy paths of Lemuria, in his human form, with his beloved laid peacefully in his arms. Rafayel did not even bothered to shift back into his merman form as he wanted to dedicate the mundane's death to his people. Or rather, to show how much he loves her, by being a shadow of her, a human, walking amongst Lemuria. A promise he had always given her.

"You promise to show me Lemuria someday right?" He remembered the way her face would light up when he tells her stories of Lemuria. From how Lemurians had sourced for various kinds of sea stones from different parts of the ocean to build their homes to how Lemurians were created, to what do their daily routines consists of and many other kinds of stories that a man could ever dream of hearing from an actual Lemurian.

There was not a moment that y/n was ever bored of it. Instead, whenever he visits, it naturally became a conversation starter. Y'n would ask him of the most random things. "So do Lemurians possess any gardrobes?" Rafayel nearly spat his tea out, snapping his head towards her when she mentioned about toilets as they were having snacks in the middle of the night within her chambers. "Or perhaps they just do their business wherever they are allowed to---" Before she could even finished, Rafayel would have his hand on her lips, to silence her before she continue ruining his appetite for the rest of the night.

The swipe of his fingers on her pale lips reminded him of those days. She is no longer smiling now, eyes and mouth closed, her skin looked ghoulish under the water, skin reflecting light whenever the lightning above struck the surface of the sea. Rafayel's face is a sheet of calm demeanour, but the soul that lays beneath the hunk of this man is a roaring sea, just like how he summoned for the storm before he stepped foot into the vast ocean.

Fishes and various kinds of sea creatures that used to swim along the pathways are not seen nor found within miles of Rafayel's sight. None of them were brave enough to be within his presence as they knew the aura that Rafayel had emitted. It is no doubt that sea creatures are much smarter than Lemurians. Every step he took made the sea creatures scattered further away, burying deeper into their hideouts, scared for their lives.

Rafayel stood in front of his kingdom, eyes pinned against the marble white towers that he calls home. Cheers and laughters could be heard from the banquet hall, where the Lemurians were probably herded, awaiting for his return for a grand celebration towards the revival of Lemuria. But Rafayel was far from a celebratory mood. "We have arrived, my love." His voice monotonous, no hints of happiness nor giddiness, nor sadness, nor disappointment. Just numbness. A man with feelings bears empathy and sympathy, but, a man without feelings bears emptiness, null and void of all emotions.

He continued his course, holding onto y/n tighter in his arms. He had the initial thought of wanting her body to rest within his chambers before he commits bloodshed. But, having an audience might not be a bad idea. Instead, Rafayel wanted this. He knew that she could not be able to tell nor see, nor to be there to stop him, but he wanted her soul to watch him commit this, to execute damnation upon his kind. All he wanted, was to show her how much he loves her, to the point he is willing to do this, to be a mad man.

The heavy doors leading to the banquet hall slowly opened with a chant of a spell. Rafayel's eyes staring straight ahead, his once two-toned irises had now dissolved to be a dark maroon colour. His guess was right, all of the Lemurians were gathered within this hall, laughters and conversations filled the environment. But, almost abruptly, the laughters and conversations seized, and Rafayel could care less about the whispers that started to take place within the silence.

It did not took long before some of the Lemurians sensed something was off and they started swimming towards the heavy doors. Rafayel chanted something under his breath and the doors slammed right in front of their faces. The ones who tried to escape were shocked, but none of them made their move to question why the God of the Sea had a dead girl with a gaping orifice on her chest within his arms and why did he chose to present himself in a miniature form of a mere mortal. Practically the size of an ant compared to the average 2m Lemurians surrounding him.

"Your highness!" Arvia was initially cheerful, emerging from the crowd before he spotted the girl the God was holding onto. He stopped in his tracks, wanting to turn back before he felt a strong force pulling him towards Rafayel. Arvia faced Rafayel, eyes bulging when the invisible force coiled around his neck. "Your highness.... please!" The young merman coughed, the crowd watching in horror.

"You were the messenger weren't you?" Rafayel asked, eyes looking past the young merman, not even sparing him any last bits of attention.

"I was only...executing...what...was being....told..." The merman replied, his breath getting more restricted by every passing second. "I did...not...know...of...the ceremony. Please...I just want to save---"

"Your highness, no!" A mermaid appeared from the crowd, with blonde hair curling like tendrils on land, hazel eyes staring at the young merman before darting over to Rafayel's figure. She happened to be Arvia's mother. "He did what he have to...To save us all." Her sentence made Rafayel's right eye twitched slightly, fueling the God's wrath even more. "Then," Rafayel turned his head and angled it upwards to stare at her right into her eyes. His dark eyes could quite literally burn a hole through her soul as she finds herself talking back to a God. Not just any God at this moment, for he has taken his stance as a vengeful God. "Should it be justified? That I am only doing this to save my beloved?" Before the mother could even say anything, Rafayel only exhaled his breath and Arvia's head immediately got cut off clean by the invisible force. The head's eyes blinked a couple of times, floating upwards towards the surface, while its body sank onto the sea floor, twitching as it goes down. Blood seeping out into the ocean waters, creating symbols guided by the waves.

Lemurians within the banquet hall went into immediate panic, screaming and screeching, wanting to leave the banquet to save themselves. Rafayel looked up, watching as the Lemurians tried to flee. Like a bunch of fishes trapped within a fisherman's net, pushing against one another and fighting for whatever that is left for their puny lives. His voice was hushed, but clear enough to be heard within the hall. "Don't worry my people, you shall only feel the hurt that I had felt." And all of the screams halted.

...

Amund dragged himself across the sea floor, a trail of blood painted by his very own body fluids. The man was in agonizing pain, nearly to the point of passing out. Just a while ago, he was getting all cozy within his own chambers before he heard loud screams that travelled through the sea rifts. But it did not took long before it stopped so he took no mind to it, figuring it was just another norm for those celebratory parties. Not segregating the mischievious ones from the docile ones, that is just an invitation for a mishap to happen at a party.

He heard a swoosh coming from the side of his house and his door slammed open to reveal the God of the Sea, in his mundane form, covered in splatters of blood from head to toe. Amund's jaw dropped when the screams finally registered into his head. The screams may just be caused by this man standing right in front of him. The very girl Amund had tortured set securely within Rafayel's arms. Rafayel's unusual calm demeanour is not part and parcel of his personality, which further solidified Amund's questions to himself.

"Your high---" Amund was literally smashed through the walls of his house and the merman landed roughly onto the sand pile behind his house. Rafayel walked through the hole, eyes still hollow and face expressionless. "Pleas---" Another slam through another wall. And this repeated for a couple of times, until Amund was laying on the sandy pathway in the village, blood pooling out of his mouth. He tried to escape, pushing himself up and trying his best to get his tail to wag so he could generate enough momentum to give him a boost off of the ocean floor.

"It was a fairly easy instruction." Rafayel spoke, finally. Maroon eyes boring into Amund's skull. "And yet, you failed." Rafayel knelt down, showing Amund the girl he was holding onto the whole time. "You had deeply failed me, Amund. And you had failed Lemuria." Rafayel stood back up on his feet, licking his lips and looking back towards the towers that he had walked out from. "For what you had done to her, death would only be the easy way out for you." Rafayel's eyes turned a darker shade and Amund let out a blood curdled scream, begging for his highness' mercy.

It has been a while, with Amund crawling on the sea floor. Dirt and rubble trapped under the old man's nails. Some of his nails however, were ripped off due to him being tossed around---his failure to hold onto anything to slow down the impact, caused some of his nails to be ripped right off of his fingertips during the impact---with Rafayel's invisible force whenever he tried to plead for the God's mercy.

Rafayel had managed to pluck out the merman's scale, piece by piece. Lemurians scale are used to make lethal weapons not only on land, but also in the waters. Yet, they are the hardest to harvest as pulling off ONE scale would equate to a human ripping off their whole scalp in one go. So, one could only imagine the pain Amund is going through currently. Amund could barely crawl, eyes swollen from the sand that had entered his tear duct and hoarse voices turned into silenced croaks.

If Rafayel was not holding onto his beloved, he would have easily been the one to pluck out Amund's scales one by one. Rafayel's blinding rage had deluded his mind, as he watched the merman who is the reason behind his lover's death. "She was going to be my mate, my lifetime mate, for this upcoming season, do you know that?" Rafayel scoffed, tears stinging at the back of his eyes.

"But you had to just test my patience, and my capabilities as the God of the Sea. Hence, what you had experienced today, shall never equate to the pain you made me go through. For you had taken my fate, my people's fate upon your own hands." He gave Amund a good kick and the guy groaned in agony, facing down as he regurgitated blood. "What I did today, was nothing but a mere taste of what I am capable of. AS A GOD." His last sentence carried a strong surge of disgust, his bloodlust psyche temporarily separated his status between Amund, an ordinary merman and himself, which is made to be a God.

"I curse...curse her." He managed to choke out and Rafayel's eyes widened, immediately leaping forward to grab the merman's head to face him. The merman croaked out his very last laugh, taunting Rafayel's actions and the last sentence of his was spoken in Lemurian, a rendition of a chant to curse y/n to be reincarnated into a sea witch.

Rafayel's blink of an eye sparked his evol, and he stood there, watching the eternal flames that was casted on Amund burn the merman from what was left of him into a pile of dust, waiting to be consumed by the planktons that lives within the sea water's ecosystem. Tears unknowingly flowed down his cheek and trickled onto his lover's face. The show is over and so is his wish to see her to be a mundane again in her next life. Rafayel held her corpse closely and tightly to his body, soft sobs finally leaving his lips as he faltered to the sea floor.

...

Hundreds of years has passed. And hundreds of years, Rafayel had travelled the seas to search for her. To at least sense any signs of her presence. Ever since the massacre, Rafayel was tied down by his own guilt, for not only failing to protect his lover, but also being the sole reason for the extinction of Lemurians. How uncanny, a legend that tells the tale of a God seeking vengeance upon his own kind just because they had killed his one and only lover. That tale would surely be pure nonsensical or would and could possibly generate pure hatred from anyone who hears it.

Rafayel could care less, like how he heard the screams of his people in their very last moments, the sound of blood and tears splattered across the once white and pristine walls that they were confined within. The sound of Amund begging not to be killed---with his throat slowly giving up on him---the last curse that he uttered and the last sounds that had bubbled from him when he was lit up with Rafayel's evol.

A hint of humming caught his ears and the man stopped his movements, ears twitching in directions to catch onto the tune. A tune only he has ever whistled. With a gesture, dolphins came surrounding the God in circles, by command. "Find out the source for me, yeah?" Rafayel asked and the circling dolphins chirped in return before they dispersed into all directions.

Rafayel's heart skipped a beat, out of nervousness? He had no idea, he still has not gotten used to the idea of his heart being whole again. Because his heart has only been whole only when he was with her. He does not need a whole heart, he only needs her to fill in for the whole of his heart. And for that moment, he shall forever await.

One of the dolphins returned, whistling back to catch the God's attention. Rafayel looked up, and without hesitation, grab ahold onto the dolphin's fin and he was led towards the source of the humming. The dolphins brought him through the kelp grounds, where his people would usually come by to forage for food when they migrate to the northern side for warmer waters during the changing in seasons.

The dolphin led him to the side of the cliff, where it plunges down to the deepest part of the ocean. Creatures beneath those waters are indespicable, and no Lemurians had ever dived that deep. And that includes the God of Sea himself. The humming came again, this time further confirming that the source of the sound came from down below. Rafayel turned around to look for the dolphin, but the poor creature had left him all alone the moment it dropped him off here.

With a deep breath and a puff of his chest, the purple haired God swam deep into the dark waters below. All of his senses heightened to the max as he himself would not expect what he might encounter. Legends were told that there lives a sea serpent so huge that it could engulf the whole world if it awakes. And that was the only legend that still kept Rafayel on edge till now.

His fear dissipated almost instantly when he spotted a faint light in the far distance within the dark. You see, Lemurians although are half-fish and half-man, they do not possess infrared vision that allows them to see in the depths. Within the depths, Rafayel's flames do not work as well as this is the place where Gods are not exactly welcomed. He sped up his swimming when he noticed the light bounces further down into the dark. Pause. Then the light comes back up, but this time, at a very high speed.

Noticing a huge shadow, Rafayel turned and immediately started charging full speed towards the cliff again. But due to the darkness of the waters around him, the God found himself entrapped in the darkness, bumping and hitting himself against the cliffside. The bone-crushing, chomping sounds that came from behind him made him not-one-bit curious to see what was actually chasing him. Right when he was about to be gnawed by a creature, he heard a voice calling out in a language he had not heard of and he blacked out.

...

"I think he is waking up." A voice whispered next to Rafayel. "His eyes are fluttering."

"Is it? Oh yeah, he does look like he is awakening." Another voice intruded, deeper, but not enough to be known as a man's voice.

Rafayel slowly opened his eyes, before he was met with two snailfishes. One with a red while another is tinted with a blue hue. His eyes darted in between the two fishes as he was trying to comprehend if they were the ones talking earlier.

"Good morning." The red one spoke and Rafayel gasped, moving away from the fish. His pupils blown out as he was shocked. He has seen fishes all of his life, but he had never encountered talking fishes. EVER. But making spells to make fishes talk is definitely a skill only a sea witch possesses. This gave Rafayel a thought, maybe she felt lonely down here so she made herself some friends.

"You scared him Red." The blue one spoke this time, and it swam closer towards Rafayel, using its spiny fins to mimic how a mundane would usually talk. Gestures, as what was taught to the snailfishes, is a common courtesy of good body language to humans. But given the snailfishes had never been in contact with any humans, they took the closest resemblance to what their highness looked like. Rafayel looked just like a human to them.

With parted hair and two eyes, a nose and a lip. He is obviously a human to their knowledge. "We are not going to hurt you." The blue fish gestured it's small fins in circles, speaking slowly for each word, afraid that the man before it would not understand them. "Our master ask us to care for you as she went out to gather some food."

"Who is your master?" Rafayel asked as he sat up, kindly hoping that it was the girl he had awaited for many years. "Where is she?" His excitement made him winced, his head still hurts, a side effect of a sea witch's spell.

The feel of the water temperature shifting made the two snailfishes swam off to one of the tunnels. Rafayel took this time to observe his surroundings. Contrast to the dark waters he was in just now, he is currently in a cave like structure, with huge seaweeds and some pebbles laid out beneath him and a sea lantern hung up at every corner of the cave to provide some decent lighting. For a moment, he did not believe that he is in a sea witch's abode.

The walls had paints on them, some forming artworks of the seas above, and some were writings written in what Rafayel assumed to be sea witch's language. Rafayel stopped at one of the drawings, it was a rough sketch of Lemuria. Seeing the sketch, his breath hitched in his throat. The past memories of his massacre surfacing again but he forced it down. Not willing to show weakness in such a foreign territory. Below the sketch, there were symbols that Rafayel could not read. But he decided not to further crack his head.

The fishes returned and Rafayel's heart dropped to the bottom of his tail when he was met with her. The girl who he had always been waiting, the girl he had committed massacre for, the girl that had made him suffer with loneliness for the past hundred years. Y/n is now in front of him, but other than human legs, it was swapped with a black and singular long tail, resembling one a Moray eel has. Her once brunette curls took on a much darker shade, the same as the waters below here. The curse happened after all, for she had became the sea witch of the depths.

"You are awake." Y/n spoke and oh how he missed her voice. The voice that produces the best laughters and asked the most silly questions. Yet, with this version of her, her voice held none of those characteristics he remembered. It was deadpanned, the lack of emotions nearly made Rafayel winced. With his lack of a response, the sea witch looked towards both of her friends. "Does he happen to be a mute?"

"He spoke to us just now, but more like engaged us in a question or two." The blue snailfish chirped, swimming back to the side of Rafayel. The same fin that used to make gestures came to give a pat onto Rafayel's cheek and the merman turned to look at the fish in question. Seeing Rafayel's reaction, the fish hurriedly swam back to its master. "He is a human as you described right? Right, master?"

"Not quite, Blue." Ironic, Rafayel thought. It is very ironic of her to name things exactly based on the way they looked. It has always been a habit of hers. She placed the seashells she had harvested neatly onto the floor and she swam over to have a closer look at Rafayel. "I think, his origins are of a mermaid." Her eyes are now a different shade of colour, black irises match the shade of her pupils. Another staple for a sea witch. "I apologise for the black out you had to experience earlier on. I had to cease the Angler Fish from rising towards the surface as I did not want it to disturb the ecosystem as of above."

"Do you know of my name?" Rafayel asked, a glimmer of hope shined in his eyes as he really wished for her to remember at least a slither of memory of him. For he had been her one and only lover in her past life. But with the way she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, his hope got extinguished like a fire that could not be ignited.

"What do you seek for, Lemurian?" Y/n swam back towards the pile of sea shells she had collected and she grabbed one of the bottles from above her shelf. Examining the shells one by one before placing them into the bottle, only the ones that has spots on them would be chosen while the other would be tossed aside and the two snailfishes seem to be having a feast with the leftovers.

The turn of her head got her to look him right into his eyes. The warm glow emitting from the sea lantern casting a soft glow on her face. Just like the time when he held her in his arms, on top of the rock. He tore his eyes away from her, his cheeks burning from how affected he was from her gaze. But he answered her. "I came here for a potion. A potion to cure me from my wandering heart." ...

It took y/n 100 days, a cycle between 50 days and 50 nights to produce the potion that Rafayel had requested for. Shortly after the interaction, Rafayel had returned back to the shallow seas, as he could not bear to watch the love of his life not knowing him for who he is and who he was to her.

His last words to her before he departed to the shallows was, "Once the potion has been completed, I shall meet you at the sea stacks by dawn. The one far north." He said, index finger pointing towards the said direction. His eyes does not meet hers before he left. That was how heartbroken he was. His heart wearing him down day by day as he waited for the potion to be crafted.

During the 100 days of wait, he kept going back and forth between the waters and land to keep himself occupied. But the land served him better as the mourning of the princess had ended long ago. When the princess went missing, the King sent out every single one of his troops to search for the lost princess.

Rafayel purposely placed her back onto the sea stacks so she could be found easily. Knowing the God, he would have kept her by his side even if she were to be nothing but a bag of bones, but he knew, her people would want to know of her whereabouts. Even if it would only bring them to her corpse. He could not give himself anymore liberty to take her away from her people, like how he had singlehandedly perished the people of his kingdom. He did not turned his head back at all once he had left her there, swimming away in full speed so that he would not be discovered and caught, and to save himself from crying anymore.

The beloved princess' death was mourned by all. Every citizen within the Kingdom's grounds were in tears, regardless if its a man or a woman, an adult or a child. That was how loved she was. Her people mourned for her for nearly five decades, and that was how long Rafayel refused to surface and to walk on land. Every time he closed in to the shores of her kingdom, the sounds of the cries of her people would strike his ears. He became so used to it that he would visit the same place every day, by dusk, just to silently cry and mourn with the people of her kingdom.

He would not even go anywhere near his kingdom either. For it was filled with the bones of his people. The people that he used to cherish, that he would always go back to. But now, all he returns to, is a dead and eerie silence. The bloody stains of his people had now hardened, taken over by sea crustaceans as Lemurian blood offers a lot of benefits to the sea creatures. If any Lemurians lived past that day, Rafayal would definitely earn the title of 'The God Who Went Deranged'.

The day has finally came, where they shall rejoice by the sea stacks. Rafayel was already waiting there since dusk, body floating above the waters, facing up towards the bright skies painted in pastel yellows and reds. Blobs of clouds that seemed so edible Rafayel wished he could fly instead of swim. A bunch of bubbles surfaced next to him and he slightly turned his head, watching as she emerged from the waters, holding two vials in her hand. Her face expressionless and cold as the first time he had met her in this life.

"Here." She handed him one of the vials and he took it, repositioning himself from having to float, to facing her directly. "Are you sure this is what you desire?" Her question caught his attention, his mixture of lilac-lapis orbs stared into her obsidian ones. "Because your memories will be perished forever, do you know that?"

Rafayel looked at the vial, the contents of the fluid is watery, and takes on a sheen of coral-like pink. "My mind is set." His eyes caught her again. "This is what I had desired when I met you that day." His words although does not hold any meaning to the sea witch, but it held meanings that one could never fathom, within the God of Sea's memories.

"This is usually done between two, one to forget while the other to contain the forgotten memories." She explained, holding up the vial to her eye level as she continued. "And since you do not have anyone you want to consume this with, I shall be the one to contain your forgotten memories."

As expected, Rafayel knew she was going to say this. He had never once mentioned anything about the Lemurians being extinct. Neither did she asked. Always putting people ahead of herself, her nature still seeped through from her past life that it has easily become one of her core personalities even till now. Rafayel silently sighed in his own mind when he looked at this woman in front of him. The lover that he had sworn his life to, became the lover that was seemingly a stranger to him.

"We shall consume this together, and with a chant of a spell, hence the void of the memory shall take upon its place." Rafayel pulled the cap open, mirroring her actions and they drank the mixture together. Rafayel winced at how bitter the content tasted but y/n seemed unaffected, as sea witches are not equipped with a sense of taste as most of their potions tasted wicked as their personalities had always been portrayed to be. "Well enough to start?"

"Hu-Ayr-Tey Ta-Fa-Fu-Lei." Rafayel chanted and he watched as y/n's eyes widened. Finally, a reaction from her. Not in the way he had hoped for a reaction of course. You see, Rafayel, being God of the Sea, although had never travelled through the deep waters and had never knew of the Sea Witches' language, but the spells equipped by the sea witches were born out of a God's nature. Should there be benevolence, there shall be malevolence. Just like how Rafayel's massacre is a proof of a God's malevolent nature taking place physically, a sea witch's spells are born out of a God's mentally twisted nature.

"What have you done?!" She held onto her neck, feeling herself struggling to breathe as her neck is closing up on her. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" She raised her voice, looking at him with anger that starts to paint her face a shade of red. "How do you know of this spell?!" She was in disbelief, eyes shooting daggers into the merman in front of her. Rafayel showed no amusement though, his eyes although were entirely focused on her, his heart crushed.

Fate in general, creates thousands and millions of possibilities towards one's ending. For a God, fate should easily be nothing but a just another miniscule issue within their palms. But for Rafayel, the moment he fell for a mundane, was the moment he signed a blackmail for himself. He has to gamble with fate now, just like with any other mere mortal. The only advantage he got is that he could look into the near future to help him better plan out his upcoming course of actions.

This happening now, marks one of his course of actions. The fate he had chosen was to kill y/n with his own hands, so she could be reincarnated to be a human in her next life. Then, he could take place as a man, on the land, seeking for her love and attention, just like how a mere mortal would. Yes. Rafayel, the God of the Sea, would risk his status of being a God just to be a human, just to be with her. "This is the only way." He spoke to her, as he watched her slowly lose her memories to swim, her tail, now a pair of legs, flailing clumsily in an effort to save herself.

The spell that he had uttered, does not only make her forget her own identity, but it makes her forget everything, wiping everything off of her memory and giving her a clean slate. A reincarnated soul would always remember bits of their past lives, that is how deja-vu and realistic dreams come about. But this spell would wipe her memory of her past life as well. As bad as it sounds, Rafayel sees this as the only viable way for him to live his next life, having to protect her. All the other courses of action, would only lead to more bloodshed and he grew tired of it.

The tears came flowing again, watching his beloved struggle to breathe as she started to choke onto the seawater that is rapidly entering her lungs. Rafayel could only watch, he could not interfere as it would ruin the course of her next life. Heart wrenching, gut punching, every other word of torturous feeling would describe him perfectly at this moment.

Y/n reached out her hand to him, desperately looking at him and clawing for him, seeking for his help to drag her out and onto solid land. But his refusal seemingly made her accepted her fate. Her pupils then slowly stopped moving, her body slowly stopped thrashing and twitching as she continued descended deeper into the waters. A scene that reminded him deeply of Arvia during his last moments.

Once the bubbles had stopped surfacing out of her agape lips, Rafayel swam down as fast as he could, and he held her cold body in his arms again, closely studying her very last moments. Her eyes were opened, in a state of shock and acceptance, lips blue like the shade of his lapis-coloured eyes, tail had now taken form into two legs, her body stiff and hollow like how she was when he first found her in the past 100 years. The curse was finally broken, but it also broke Rafayel. With shaky breaths, he uttered. "In your next life, I promise you. I promise. You shall only ever hear of my name as to be Rafayel. I shall no longer...be the God of the Sea."

Parallel Universe Ending is Out: Salvation

I love doubling the damage sometimes, this one-shot had became somewhat of a small series. I enjoyed using a bit of my gore movie visual experiences within this piece of writing. Thank you for the ones who wished for a sequel. I hope this makes you bawl your eyes out.

But do not worry, I am already starting on a not-so-angsty ending that takes place in a parallel universe. I don't think this series would continue on as I think it is best to leave it to you lovelies' vast imagination.

As usual, any requests you want me to write? I can write it for ya :)

Have a good day and pls cry for me lovelies :)

#love and deepspace #love and deepspace x reader #rafayel love and deepspace #lnds #rafayel sfw #rafayel x reader #rafayel angst #zayne love and deepspace #xavier love and deepspace

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actualmermaid · 10 months

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Since I've spent the last month-plus neck-deep in queer Christian history research, I ended up with some thoughts™️ about "classical" Western homoeroticism vs. Christian homophobia.

Liberal Christian apologetics sometimes do a very annoying thing when asked to explain the homophobia in the New Testament epistles. Because it's real, it's there, and homophobic Christians take it as the Unquestionable Word of God. So obviously we have to do something about it.

The liberal explanation tends to go something like this: "the epistle writer is talking about the abusive and exploitative homosexual acts that were common in ancient Rome, not the loving/egalitarian/mutually respectful relationships that gay people are able to have today." And it's so frustrating because there is SOME truth in this. We and Paul both know that the Greeks and Romans were notorious pederasts and slave-abusers. And that's bad! It's super bad. I do agree that Paul/the epistle writer is condemning abusive behavior using language and frameworks that would have been available to him at the time. Deciphering the social context of the epistles can get messy.

But the annoying thing is this: it is not affirming to suggest that all gay people in the past were either abusers or their victims, and "we're more enlightened now" is a lie. We are not smarter than the Greeks. We are not more civilized than the Romans. We are not more pious than the medievals. (Hello there, Roman Catholic sex abuse scandals.) And there have always been gay people who have defied all odds to have loving, egalitarian, and mutually respectful relationships with each other, even if we do not know their stories or their struggles.

This is kind of the crux of John Boswell's "controversial" thesis: gay people have always existed, even if they had to conceal themselves and their relationships behind various protective structures. (I actually haven't read any of his books yet, so I'm not going to engage too deeply with the nuances of his arguments.) When people try to dismiss him, I suspect it's because they don't notice or appreciate what he probably noticed. I have a hunch that Boswell's arguments are not super intersectional and focus mostly on the privileged sphere of people who left written records in the Middle Ages, but hey, serious LGBTQ Christian history research has to start somewhere. I'll withhold judgment for now. But I do think he was totally right about one thing: Saints Sergius and Bacchus. They were totally a gay couple until somehow proven otherwise, IMO. The reason I think he was right is because he was able to notice the "classical" aesthetics of homoeroticism in their legend even though it might not obvious to people who don't know what they're looking for. Straight people reading the legend are like "there's nothing gay about this" and gay people are like "wow, this story is pretty gay."

If you've ever looked into Western gay history, you've seen two words: erastes and eromenos. This means "lover" and "beloved," the two sides of a classical Greek pederastic relationship. The Greeks did actually recognize an age of consent and had ideals of proper behavior that regulated these relationships, but these were still usually relationships between a teenage boy and an older man, which isn't great. They also had all kinds of weird ideas about the politics of penetration and so forth. The Greeks and Romans didn't really think that two people could really be equal to each other--in any relationship, there was always one who was sort of subordinate to the other. So it was "weird" for two social equals to be in a gay relationship, as opposed to one with one partner who was already "established" and was "showing the ropes" to a younger guy who needed some wholesome manly instruction. We may not be better, smarter, or more enlightened than people in the past, but we do have the ability to critique them and try to identify the harmful behaviors that we've inherited from them, so we can do better. We've come a long way since the days of erastes/eromenos relationships, but one thing has stuck around: the classical aesthetics of a "manly guy" and an "idealized youth" in love with each other.

Apropos of nothing, here's a photo of John Boswell and his longtime partner Jerry Hart. They were within a year of being the same age.

So anyway, this brings us back to the legend of Sergius and Bacchus. The version that Boswell translated takes great pains to show how Sergius and Bacchus were equals in every way. They're both Roman officers, they're about the same age, they sing in unison, and are united in the egalitarian love of Christ. However, they are still just a little bit unequal. Sergius is of a slightly higher rank than Bacchus.

To be clear, this whole legend is a literary creation, and it's got a bunch of Byzantine propaganda in it. It's not history, it's mythology. Whoever wrote it down would have been familiar with erastes/eromenos dynamics, because these were everywhere in classical antiquity. So they made sure to specify all the ways in which Sergius and Bacchus were equals, but took a firm position in ye olde fandom top/bottom discourse.

Throughout the legend, Sergius acts, and Bacchus is acted upon. Bacchus is killed first, and Sergius is temporarily demoralized. Bacchus then appears to Sergius in a vision encouraging him to stay strong. Sergius is so steadfast that they can't torture him enough to make him recant his faith, and he is beheaded. Even straight couples are not usually said to have been reunited in heaven, but Sergius and Bacchus are.

So, knowing that Sergius is the erastes and Bacchus is the eromenos in this story, we can start to notice it in iconography too. It's not always consistent, but sometimes icons will have Sergius' cloak curling protectively over Bacchus' head, or one of them taking a slightly more "authoritative" posture, etc.

Above all, they are always depicted as true equals--sometimes they almost look like twins.

Increasingly, modern icons are being made that explicitly communicate the idea that they were a gay couple. The one on the left was created by Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar, for Chicago Pride in 1994. The one on the right makes the classical homoerotic aesthetic super explicit, and is by far the most sexually-suggestive "traditional-style" icon I have ever seen lol. Shoutout to this artist.

So to sum up: John Boswell knew what the fuck he was talking about. Also, none of this excuses the homophobia in the Christian scriptures or the homophobia that Christians continue to perpetuate. However, knowing what to look for in art and writing helps us understand that gay people were not magically granted the ability to have egalitarian relationships in the modern world, and THAT leads us away from problematic apologetics.

#christianity #saints #queer #gay #pride #history

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kleem-o · 10 months

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Howdy? Hope you're having a great day so far!! had an idea for Kid! Tenko if you don't mind?

Tenko as a kid is a bit (a lot) yandere(platonic) for his mom and doesn't let her go outside without him tagging along to go to the grocery store, he gets really possessive. Then he grows up, becomes taller and more intimidating (ig around high school?!) brags about her cooking being the best and won’t let any man ask her out at all (cuz she only needs him obv).

i really don’t know if it makes sense hope it does lol let’s us cultivate this idea 😭

- （＾Ｏ＾☆♪

YESSSS anon you get it omg imagine how protective your baby boy is its so dfdjvhhdvsbdb anw here's a short fic. i might make a full fic in the future, full on plot with lots of angst <3 lemme know if yall would like that!

Platonic Yandere!Tenko x Mommy!reader

"Mommyyy mommyy!! can we buy this??"

You were out grocery shopping with your little boy when he showed you a cereal box that had a toy with it! Akali from league of legends, it says on the box. You were always wary about your little boy playing that game, because you saw how other people in YouTube or.. tweetch? would rage and cuss out loud! You can't have your precious baby become like one of them! But you still gave in, I mean come on, who could resist those cute little puppy eyes. You rubbed his fluffy head as you placed the cereal box inside the cart, while he made a little happy dance and proceeded to explore the grocery store. Back then in his dead old family, he didn't have the luxury of going to the grocery store, he thought it would be boring but with his precious mommy everything is so fun! He went further into to the snacks isle of the store and took a lot of snacks and junk food, he knew you would scold him lightly about needing to eat healthy food, but he'll promise that he'll be a good boy and eat as much vegetables and fruits you want! Just as he was going back to you he saw a man talking close to you. It seemed like he was telling a joke and you just had to laugh so sweetly. Tenko immediately felt his stomach drop and his blood boil at the sight, he ran to you, dropping all the snacks in his arms, and clung on your leg tightly, glaring at the man. The man chuckled nervously, genuinely scared of the feral eyes your little gremlin had.

"Mommy who's this?"

"Oh Tenko, this kind gentleman is from my work! I never knew he lived close to us!" Tenko still held his glare, not trusting the man. How could he trust him? He might hurt you, take you away from him. Tenko felt his hand twitch, he really wanted to disintegrate the man right now, no one will take mommy away from him no one. His hold on you was tightening and you quickly reached down and asked him what was wrong. "Mommy I really want katsudon later.. can we have it for dinner, pretty please?" He looked up at you with those adorable eyes and you immediately kissed his cheek as you went to the meat section of the store. Tenko had other plans though, he went to the man you were talking with, with an apple on hand. The man looked at him curiously "Hey little sport, do you need anything?" Tenko just stared at him with dead eyes which creeped the man. Tenko then took of his gloves then fully disintegrated the apple. The man looked in shock as goosebumps began to cover his skin, his instincts telling him to run this kid was not normal, so ran he did. Tenko smiled to himself feeling proud as he ran to you engulfing you in a hug. You just thought how innocent and cute he was! That night you both had katsudon and cuddled to sleep. This would become the norm, him always going with you to the grocery store. On days that you went shopping without him he would get nervous and fake cry thinking that you didn't want him anymore, guilt tripping you into always letting him tag along.

Now he wasn't your little baby boy anymore, he was now taller than you, stronger than you, smarter than you and is entering 2nd year of high school. He would always go with you whenever you went outside, and to be honest you found it a bit worrying, I mean, he wasn't a little kid anymore. Kids his age usually would go out with friends their age, but your baby boy always chose to be with you. Did you baby him too much? yes He would sulk if you didn't invite him to go with you, wherever it be. Whether you went to the mall, salon, grocery store, convenient store, literally anywhere outside. He still thought it was too dangerous for his fragile mom. And you thought it was too overbearing. Even at school, all he talked about was his mom, games, and his mom. Bragging about how his bento that his mommy made was the best, though always refusing to share when his friends asked for some. His friends made fun of him being a mama's boy and he didn't really mind, I mean it was true, and he kinda liked being called like that. What he didn't tolerate however, was when his friends would start talking about you in a way that little boys in puberty did. An ex friend of his once made a comment about how you looked "Damn Tenko's mom is literally so hot. What a milf. I'd smash hard" the dumbass laughed as every friend of Tenko looked at him, scared for him. Needless to say, Tenko beat the shit out of him, 10 people including teachers and security had to work together to pry him off the poor guy. The poor dude got confined in a hospital for months. Tenko got in trouble by the principal, and was almost expelled, but your pleas reduced it into home suspension instead. Oh well, Tenko thought, sounds like a reward. You gave him a good scolding at home and asked him why he did what he did, but he wouldn't say a thing, not wanting you to hear the disrespectful comment. After a few days of sulking and asking for forgiveness you finally gave in as you hugged him, rubbing his hair, your baby wouldn't beat someone without a reason right? There had to be a reason. After all, all this time during home suspension he was such a good boy, doing all the chores for you, cooking food, and even giving you a massage. All you knew was that your not so little baby boy was an innocent angel. You kissed his cheek as you bid him goodnight and went to your own room.

One day, while in the grocery store, Tenko was hording some snacks and junk food to place at the cart in the other isle where you stayed looking at ingredients for dinner. When he went looking for you he saw a tall buff man in sweatpants and a hoodie talking to you, huh deja vu, you looked so happy and you were...blushing?? Tenko couldn't believe his eyes as he felt his skin burning, he wanted to rip his skin out. He rushed to your side as he scratched his neck furiously demanding to know who the man was. "Mom who the fuck is this? Is he bothering you?" You gently took his hand to stop him from scratching his neck "Language Tenko! I guess its time to introduce you two. Tenko meet Toshinori, we have been talking for a while now." You say as you shyly blushed. Tenko wanted to gouge his eyes out. He felt like vomiting. He felt his heart race as he began to slightly shake, in disbelief, in fear, in anger. "Hello young Tenko! Y/N talked about you many times before! You're her pride and joy."

Tenko was quiet the entire ride back home, and even at home he remained eerily quiet. "Tenko is something wrong? It might be a bit of a shock to you, but I promise Toshinori is a good man. When I started dating him, I thought about how this would affect you of course. I think he would make for a good father for yo-" He stood up abruptly then went to his room without saying a word. Once inside his room he started to throw his things, breaking them. You heard all of it but decided to give him space, feeling bad for hurting him. Tenko couldn't believe it how did he not notice?? No wonder you would always look at your phone and smile. Why did it have to be him of all people. He sat at the middle of his mess of a room and began scratching his neck. He had to think of a way to get rid of that pest. He had to keep you with him. All you needed was him, no one else matters.

"You stupid fuck, I'll fucking kill you. Mommy's all mine."

A/N: hii anon! omg i hope this was okay, i enjoyed writing it and i miss baby!Tenko lol. feel free to ask for more!!

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harocat · 9 months

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Why People (Especially Gay People) Should Watch Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Thirty plus year old former greatest martial artist in the world, Li Lianhua, travels around in a poor man's version of Howl's Moving Castle dispensing sometimes quack, sometimes seems to be pretty accurate medical care to people throughout the land for a quick buck. He is dying a potentially preventable death because he was poisoned ten years ago and refused to seek treatment from his martial arts sect because he felt like he let them down (a lot of them died, and they think he died too). Hopefully he doesn't die for real at the end. He's been stripped of 90% of his martial arts powers, so he basically is just some guy. He does not GAF about almost anything. He likes to cook. He's smarter than everyone. He's our hero.

He has a cute dog by the way. Its name is Fox Spirit, but it is very much a dog.

Along the way he meets Fang Duobing, an annoying, oblivious to class consciousness (but still lovable) rich kid who makes it his mission to travel together with Li Lianhua so they can solve crime. He has huge puppy energy. He wants to be an official detective, and he needs LLH to help him out. He has a serious case of heart eyes for his shifu, and he shows zero interest in any woman ever. He believes, due to a previous encounter, that he's destined to be Li Xiangyi's student in martial arts. Oh and Li Xianygi is Li Lianhua's true identity, so he's kind of like, FDB's shifu twice over. He has no idea that LLH is actually the swordsman of legend.... yet.

Along the way they solve murder mysteries and also get involved in tomb raiding adventures complete with Indiana Jones style booby traps, backstabbing, and weird, creepy kids.

By the way, LLH's archrival from a decade ago, before he left the martial arts world, was Di Feisheng. He leads up an alliance that LLH's was pitted against, and one that was viewed as a scourge in the martial arts world.

LLH's last battle before his 'death' was with DFS, so the martial world believes DFS killed him, as does DFS. Di Feisheng finds him again, and is super DTF (fuck, or fight? actually both), but when he finds out that LLH lost his martial arts powers, he makes it his mission to restore them so they can have the final showdown they deserve.

The fight scenes rule.

Were they friends in the past before they became rivals? We don't know yet. All we know is that they have extreme divorced energy, and DFS wants nothing more than to get remarried. He's gay. He's so gay. He's legitimately confused when he finds out that LLH has an ex girlfriend. He's seriously like 'I NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D BE INTERESTED IN WOMEN.'

You bet your ass LLH is wearing a wedding dress here.

So all three of them travel together to solve murders, which they do, with aplomb. The whole time DFS pretends he doesn't care while making moon eyes at LLH and making sure no harm ever comes to him. Fang Duobing is confused and probably jealous.

Yeah he really did pledge to marry Li Lianhua in like, episode two.

He also, at that point, has NO idea the true identity of either of them.

Right now DFS is no longer traveling with them, but I believe he'll be back to them soon (he's still plenty involved in the story and present), and the three will continue their shenanigans. And anyway, he's still annoying LLH despite them not traveling together (to be fair, pretty much everyone annoys LLH). There's also sect drama! Secret alliances! Completely wack murder mysteries! And always with a side-dish of heavy homo. They're going to be the best found family.

There's eighteen episodes of forty out right now, and it's streaming on IQIYI or wherever you choose to pirate your Chinese Dramas. It's EXTREMELY entertaining every single episode; funny, addictive, and yeah, pretty gay.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #fan duobing #li lianhua

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piratefalls · 5 months

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another long list, except it's a day early because this is how i give thanks.

list one. list two. list three. list four. list five.

No Sense or Sensibility by inexplicablymine

“When and where was your first kiss.” Oh shit. The thing is… Alex actually has an answer to this one, it’s just a matter of admitting that it happened. ____________________ Kennedy’s. 7pm, Pub Quiz and Ice Cream. Every Monday ‘til death due us part. Alex liked his little routine, until Derryl got it in his head to host The goddamn Newlywed Game instead.

I'm Rememberin' I Promised (to Forget you Now) by Angelwithwingsoffire

It's been six years since Alex Claremont-Diaz graduated law school. And he's made a good life for himself, working with a firm he enjoys and making a difference in the world. Until a part of his past he'd thought he'd gotten over seven years ago walked back into his office asking for his help. To get a divorce. Which Alex has never done before. But he's never been able to say no, and he's willing to put his heart back under the bus for the chance at one more smile.

Rogue's Gallery by OrchidScript

Loathe as Alex was to admit it, Henry Fox was going to be a legend someday. He already was in the bureau depending on who was answering. Tied to art theft, jewel theft, one or two little sweet confidence schemes, and an alleged counterfeit Super Bowl ring, but caught on three counts of art forgery, the blond Brit had run circles around the Art Crimes division for six years. He was quick, smarter than the average bear, and more detail-oriented than a nuclear chemist. He had a penchant for nice suits, silk ties, and gin tonics with lime. He wrote letters to agents in taunting poetry, tucking them under windshield wipers or posting them to the office directly. Once, he managed to drop one directly into the pocket of a plainclothes officer without them seeing his face. _____________________ Henry Fox is a famous art forger, and Alex is the FBI agent who caught him three years ago. When one of Henry's aliases comes up attached to a new case, can the two put aside their cat-and-mouse past to put the copycat away?

Queer little ducks hold a special place in my heart. by anarchyat4am

Henry’s at a local Hispanic Heritage Month event browsing the art stalls when his gaze catches on a kid looking around with both purpose and nervousness. She’s fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt with one hand while she bites the nails of the other one, eyes alert and searching. Lost, then. And oh, Henry recognises her. She’s a regular at his bookstore, even at only six years old, and is there at least weekly with her dad—Alex, who she’d introduced to Henry as her papi—or various aunties and uncles, most of whom Henry doesn’t think are actually related to her. Keeping one eye on her, he lets his gaze sweep the vicinity but doesn’t see anyone else he even remotely recognises. Shit. He has to do something. “Sirena?” he calls gently. * Henry... is more than a bit useless around hot guys. So when he finds the lost kid of the gorgeous dad who frequents his bookstore, he pulls himself together until they reunite, only to then be devastated by the revelation that the man thinks Henry hates him. And, well... courage always rises, and all that.

just say you won't let go by viciouslyqueer

After dancing around each other for months, Alex and Henry finally get together. The morning after comes with a slight misunderstanding and comforting words.

We were supposed to find this by kiwiana

Still, half an hour after shaking Prince Henry’s hand for the first time, he finds himself back in his hotel room with one shoe and sock hurriedly tugged off and his right foot resting on his left knee. Just to check. Just in case Alex is somehow, by some miracle, about to become the first documented case of Surprise! You Can Totally Have A Different Soulmate, We Fucked Up And Your One Kind Of Sucks. No such luck. The words are the same as they’ve always been, etched into his skin in a careful, calligraphic font. The kind of handwriting someone might have if, for example, they came from the sort of family that valued tradition and etiquette far higher than letting their children write like normal human beings.

Sit. Down. Please Stay. by politics_and_prose

Alex adopts a dog he found abandoned on the side of the road. She's nervous and he wants to make sure he knows how to give her the best life possible. Enter Henry Fox and his beagle David.

muscle memory by stutteringpeach

It's been ten years since Alex was in London to stage a PR friendship with Henry after ruining the royal wedding. It's also been ten years since Alex dropped to his knees in front of Henry in a Kensington Palace kitchen. But now Henry's in the Hamptons for the summer, and who should he bump into? None other than Alex Claremont-Diaz, who happens to be working in New York all summer long.

The Perils of Midsomer Residency by clottedcreamfudge

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that care should be taken, given the Mountchristens' local influence?" Liam nods. "Sir." Luna then turns to Alex. "Do not piss anyone in that family off." Alex throws his hands in the air. "So many aspersions have been cast on my good character this morning that I could start a fucking farm. An aspersions farm." Luna narrows his eyes. "Correction," he says, "have another coffee and then do not piss anyone in that family off. Don't make me regret fast-tracking you through the ICI Development Programme." * After getting shot in the line of duty back in Texas, June forces Alex into a change of scenery. Because how much can really be going on in the quaint little English county of Midsomer?

something that feels like forever by dearestalez

“You’re crying,” she pointed out. Alex choked on a laugh, wiping his eyes. “I’m just-” he sniffed, holding her so delicately Henry felt herself melt into the touch. “I’m so happy for you, baby.” — alex and henry are so in love it makes me want to rip out my heart and stomp on it but slash pos

behind brick walls by weather_stained

After Henry and Alex move in together, it takes quite a while for them to fully adjust to their newfound freedom. Alex very much enjoys watching Henry grow more comfortable in his own skin after a lifetime of looking over his shoulder.

It's a (Birth)date by Celaestis

5 times Henry is oblivious that they're dating and 1 time he isn't.

Save a Horse, Ride a Princess by affectionatelyrs

“I have to say, this is all quite literal, don’t you think?” Alex wouldn’t know literal right now if it hit him in the head. “Huh?” Henry points at Alex: “Pillow Princess,” and then to himself: “Cowboy. Ready to ride and all that.” Alex nods dumbly. “Right.” - Or, Alex and Henry dress up as the ultimate couples costume for Halloween — themselves — and they both feel some kind of way about it

baby boy by smc_27

It starts as a joke. Alex taking the piss about how much money Henry has. How he could have anything he wanted, from anyone he wanted, if only he just asked.

My Songs Know Secrets You're Sick of Keeping by ma_lark_ey, paythe_piper

"How about this," Alex offered, "If I win AOTY, I announce Henry and I in my acceptance speech. If I don't, we do it your way." OR: Alex is a world famous pop punk star, Henry is still the Prince of England, and the public is onto them.

Au Naturel by cmere

The French doors leading to the office are thrown open, so he has a moment to take in the scene in front of him: Alex, lying on his stomach on the floor, feet kicked up and crossed at the ankle, surrounded by books, papers, and two open laptops. None of that, however, catches Henry's attention as much as Alex's hair, secured in a small, messy knot on top of his head with nothing but a single wooden chopstick. Henry blinks rapidly several times. "Alex," Henry says, somehow hoarse. Alex's head whirls around. There's a single, perfectly curled tendril over the apple of his cheek; his scruff has hit the mystical, magical point where it's more soft beard than prickly shadow; his reading glasses sit atop his adorable nose; and Henry realizes with sudden gravity that he's not entirely in control of his physical responses anymore—something has to give. Alex hasn't really been bothering with some of his usual upkeep, and Henry is kind of extremely into it.

You deserve my love by whateveridk

“I’ll leave as soon as you tell me to." Henry had turned towards him, stealing himself, sticking his chin out, and said “leave.” Alex has been picking up the pieces ever since. Two years later, living with Nora and June in NYC, it still haunts him, but it's fine. Whatever, he is fine. And then... Breaking News: Prince Henry comes out as gay So it's not fine, Alex is not fine.

sex ed in 6 steps by coffeecatsme

“Please tell me you used a condom, Fox,” Alex drawls out, leaning against the wall, and Henry chokes on his next breath.“Excuse me?”“You’re gonna tell me all about this tomorrow, but for the love of God, tell me you used a condom and we won’t have mini Henrys on campus anytime soon.” Or, 5 times Alex thinks Henry's straight and 1 time he finds out the truth. Or, 5 times Alex jokes about Henry's sex life and 1 time he gets to be a part of it.

More Than A Makeover by everwitch

The Fab Five—Alex, June, Nora, Liam and Spencer—descend on a New York based shelter for disenfranchised queer youth to give the place a much needed makeover. As the week progresses, sparks start to fly between Alex, the culinary representative of the queertastic quintet, and Henry, the sweetly charming founder of the shelter. It’s a deeply emotional week full of unexpected realizations, and certainly a week that strengthens Henry’s friendship with Pez in ways that neither of them quite knew they needed. As the week comes to a close and the Queer Eye team say their goodbyes, it remains to be seen what will become of the warm connection between Alex and Henry. Will it last, or was it too much of a perfect miracle to ever grow into something real?

The Royal Wedding by DracoWillHearAboutThis

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE HENRY OF WALES AND MR ALEXANDER CLAREMONT-DIAZ ARE ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED HM Queen Mary is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Henry to Mr. Alexander Claremont-Diaz. The wedding will take place in the Spring or Summer of 2025, in London. Further details about the wedding date will be announced in due course. Prince Henry and Mr. Claremont-Diaz became engaged earlier this week during a private holiday in Paris. Prince Henry has informed The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Henry has sought and received the blessings of Mr. Claremont-Diaz's parents. The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.

A Toast to the Night by allmylovesatonce

Henry looks up from his drink and swears his jaw drops. Standing in front of him is one of the most beautiful men he’s ever seen. From his dark brown curls to the way his deep eyes gleam as he stands there, an awkward smile on his face. Henry is nearly sure this man is going to ask for his seat. He probably has some woman with him, scouring for a place to sit. “Uh, hi,” the man says. “Hi.” “Look, this is really awkward,” he says and Henry feels the confirmation in his gut — also maybe disappointment. “My ex-boyfriend just walked in and I really don’t want to talk to him. I was wondering if I could sit here with you so that he won’t talk to me.”

That's What You Get For Waking Up in Vegas by bleedingballroomfloor

The bartender slides Alex the whiskey and shot of water before turning her attention to the person behind him. He turns around at the same time as the person speaks, “Gin and tonic” in all rounded vowels, a distinct English accent shining through, and he swears his heart stops. “Holy shit,” Alex says before he can stop the words from slipping out of his mouth. “Henry?” When Alex is celebrating June and Nora's bachelorette party in Vegas, the last person he expects to see is his ex-boyfriend Henry, who moved back to London nearly a year ago. Waking up next to him the following morning, naked and sated with a marriage certificate poking out of his pocket, he starts to wonder if he's truly over Henry.

hang on 'til the chaos is through by ShyAudacity

David is lounging on his spot at the foot of the bed when Alex comes in. He opts not to turn on the light, not wanting to disturb Henry, but then quickly finds that the light is on in their bathroom. Henry must still be getting cleaned up before bed; Alex can say hello and check on Henry when he steps out. It’s weird that he’s still up. Henry was awake well before Alex was this morning and… come to think of it, Alex can’t remember him ever coming to bed last night. Alex has only made it through the top three buttons on his dress shirt when he hears a terrifying crash come from the bathroom. Clutching his chest, he steps towards their shared bathroom, afraid to see what’s on the other side. “Henry? …H, what was-.” Alex stops short in the doorway, startled to find the love of his life in a miserable heap on the bathroom floor.

Sad Again (Don't Tell My Boyfriend) by lucy_in_the_sky

After proposing to Alex, Henry writes a letter to his father reflecting on all the moments he’ll never get to share with him. AKA Alex comforts a mourning Henry and promises to be there for him, forever and always.

monster mash by matherine

None of Henry’s answers to “Who are you supposed to be?” are particularly funny to anyone but him, especially in his inebriated state, so he’s completely given up on making any sense when the latest person asks him, someone who he assumes is yet another sorority girl in a skimpy costume from the glimpse of a cheerleading skirt he gets while they brush past him to open the fridge. “George Villiers,” he offers. “Deep cut, England,” a decidedly male voice snorts, and Henry can’t help the way his head snaps up, eyes wide.

Take it Down Low / Make Me Get High by Mags (sparklepocalypse)

“Henry,” Alex rasps wonderingly, sounding almost entranced, “I want to eat your ass.” Henry’s train of thought screeches to a halt with such force that for a moment, he thinks he might’ve had a stroke.

how did a middle-class divorcé do it? by Time_Sequence

Not really concerned, Alex watched the typing bubble appear – disappear – appear again, like Henry couldn’t quite find the words to say what it was he was thinking. Most likely, he was trying to find the perfect sarcastic quip in response. What came through made him genuinely pause. HRH Prince Dickhead💩: You complete and utter moron Then, HRH Prince Dickhead💩: Royalty can’t marry divorcees If Alex had been having a good time before, he definitely wasn’t now. - When a joking interview reveals that Alex and Nora drunkenly married ten years ago, suddenly Alex's upcoming wedding to Prince Henry is jeopardised.

discreet packaging by demigodbeautiies

“Please, please, please explain to me,” Zahra says, finally, sounding more than a little bit long-suffering. “Why I had to have the head of the Secret Service sit me down and tell me to give you a talk about avoiding bomb scares with unidentifiable packaging.”

the world watched (and the world smiled) by fangirl6202

"Oh,” Alex says finally, faintly, touching one hand to his lips. Then: “Shit.” His mind catches up then, realizing that Henry is walking away and he doesn't even think twice. He begins to quite literally chase after him, trying to get to him before he can get away or, God forbid, try to fly back to England and ghost him. Henry is very pointedly not looking at him, stuttering apology over apology until Alex has to quite literally throw himself in front of him to get him to stop. Alex doesn’t know what to do. But the answer is simple, isn’t it? So fucking simple. He takes Prince Fucking Charming’s lapels into his hand and kisses him back. Or; it's New Years, and Henry stays.

Rabbit Hole by TuppingLiberty

Some sort of non-famous au, don't worry, there's not really a plot. Alex has been going down a research rabbit hole for hours and Henry comes to rescue him.

Let Loose Your Glow by athousandrooms

“Seems like my liege was caught in a situation where he’d rather the ground swallow him whole.” Pez nods towards a spot to the side, and Alex follows his gaze. He spots Henry easily – a tall lighthouse of tousled blond hair – talking to a girl who is clearly into him. His expression looks perfectly polite, but he’s subtly leaning away, and he looks tense. So, Alex makes an impulsive decision. Whatever happens, this is going to be fun. *** Or: Alex is so very definitely straight, so pretending to be Henry’s boyfriend to get him out of an awkward situation should just be a fun little pastime - except that he doesn't really want to stop, and he has no idea why. But maybe it's okay to not think too hard and let himself go with the flow, for once.

Things I Cannot Accept by SprigsofViolets

In 2016, Ellen Claremont lost the presidential election. In 2019, Alex Claremont-Diaz is not the first son of the United States, so he’s shocked when his path crosses with Prince Henry for the first time in almost four years.

How well you play...that's up to you by happinessofthepursuit

Treacherous (adjective) guilty of or involving betrayal or deception; (of ground, water, conditions, etc.) hazardous because of presenting hidden or unpredictable dangers. Or, how to describe surgical residency in a single word. A Grey's Anatomy inspired AU.

In Accord by absoluteaudacity

Pursuant to the establishment of an ongoing relationship between The Crown and the Office of the President of the United States, the representatives of the The Queen and Her interests are authorised to establish a contract of marriage between His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Alexander Claremont-Diaz.

A Heart Even More Your Own by chaa_kiao

“Guess you’ll be writing those poems after all.” He swallows. "I should go." Henry’s mind— every part of him, really— his heart, his body, his fucking soul— is screaming at him to take it all back. To hell with the monarchy, the American presidency, damn it all. This is the man he’s spent his entire life loving and he’s throwing it away for a legacy he doesn’t give a single fuck about. He forces out a rough “I think so,” but he can’t hear it over the ringing in his ears. “I love you.” “Alex—” “I know,” Alex says. “I just had to say it.” _______ Or: Alex and Henry getting back together takes a little bit longer this time.

you are my mountain (you are my sea) by alasse

Five times Alex and Henry have important conversations in houses, and one time they have a very important conversation in a castle.

Down For the Count by LolaLand (Lola_di_Penates)

Alex came to Las Vegas to count cards, not feelings. Henry came to win it all. Is it possible to find something real in Sin City, where nearly everything isn’t as it seems? OR Goodbye reality, hello Vegas (the blackjack/poker AU).

Let Them Eat Cake by rohruh

“I wanna eat you out,” Alex’s voice comes out raspy and intrepid through the phone pressed against Henry’s ear. Henry lets out a soft whine at the admission, his breath up-ticking in synchrony with his hips as he thrusts up into his hand. “I’d like that,” he tells Alex eagerly, cradling the phone in his palm as though he could materialize Alex right there in front of him if he presses it against his ear firmly enough. “I’ve never done it to a guy before,” Alex confesses. “Is it… different from eating out a girl? I bet you’d taste so good, baby. Fuck.”

A Thousand Words by Thunder_Cakes

After that Han/Leia mural both their accounts go silent for a while. For months, actually. They’re both in therapy after Alex tried to post a selfie with June after election night and had a panic attack before he could hit “Share.” Suddenly the thought of sharing the details of his life and loved ones with the world is paralyzing. Wonder why. or: Alex, Henry and what they choose to share of their life

All for a Taste of the Honey by chamel

“So you’re telling me you’re not in favor of this plan,” Henry says eventually. “No, I’m fucking not,” Alex huffs, glaring at him. “It’s stupid and dangerous and unnecessary.” Henry cocks one perfect eyebrow at him. “You have another idea for how to get access to the room where he does his deals? The one that only ever admits Vega, his associates, and the strippers who entertain them?” (Or, an FBI agent!Stripper!Henry fic. Henry goes undercover at a strip club, and Alex has a lot of feelings about that.)

in the mood for... by carzla

Henry knows that he’s the one who said “casual”, and it had been a reminder to himself that that was all it could ever be between him and Alex. So, telling Alex that they should “make love” is probably a mistake in syntax bigger than he could safely afford. But they’re in Paris and Henry is feeling terribly, terribly maudlin.

something good and right and real by HypnosTheory

“This is pretty expensive for a high school trinket.” “Everything is bigger in Texas,” Alex jokes. Henry looks up at Alex, who’s standing with his shoulders relaxed for the first time since October. The relief of his mother’s victory has made him loose-limbed and calm, his smile easy and lovely. Henry looks down at the crown in his hands and back at Alex. He imagines the gold half-buried in Alex’s hair, heavy on the man’s brow, decadent and royal. Henry swallows, face heating, and holds the crown out to Alex. “Put it on.” -- After the election, Henry explores Alex’s childhood room. He finds trinkets of a young Alex that intrigue him, including a crown that gives him some ideas.

In His Wildest Dreams by myheartalive

Once Alex has pulled out, Henry turns over to face him. He strokes the hair softly away from his face and Alex smiles at him. “So… that happened again.” Henry leans forward and kisses him on the forehead. “Indeed.” There’s a sort of thoughtful pause, where Henry can see Alex working to pull together the right words. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you that… thirsty?” “Oh, bugger off,” Henry says, but he’s laughing. It’s a fair description. “No, but I mean it. You were like… urgent. It was hot.” “It felt hot. I liked waking up like that. With you up against me, trying to have your way with me.” — Set in and around the Henry bonus chapter, this is a story about Henry and Alex’s hectic schedules, family appearances etc. pulling them apart, and about what starts to happen between them, in the quiet of night: their sleeping bodies turning to each other, finding their sweet spots and opening up. And Alex and Henry learning a lot about each other in the process — Mind the tags, y'all. That particular tag features prominently and it’s a major plot point, so if that’s not your jam, just hit the back button.

until next time!

#rwrb rec list #rwrb #red white and royal blue #firstprince #alex and henry #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #alex x henry #fic rec #rwrb fic rec #rwrb fanfiction

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oneweirdbookaddict · 7 months

Text

Whumptober day eight!

Time has timeline angst and Wars is an older brother despite being younger.

872 words.

No warnings. Let me know if there should be.

He’s up early, as usual.

He blames the strict military routine. He can’t seem to shake it, even if he’d like to sleep in for once in his life.

But he sighs, rubbing his eyes, sitting up and pulling his overtunic on. Glances around at his sleeping teammates, carefully navigating around them as he walks to the fire.

“Morning.”

Time looks up at him, giving a nod. “Good morning, captain.”

“Can’t sleep?” He asks, sitting next to the leader.

“Ah, bad night, I guess.” Time admits, to his surprise.

Time… never admitted that.

The man had tried to walk off a stab wound, for the love of Hylia.

Something’s up.

He waits, seeing if Time will offer more.

The leader does not.

“Is it about… the sailor’s little revelation?” He asks finally.

Time takes a long moment to respond. Then- “I split the timeline. His world suffered because of me. Not just once, there’s another. There must be. It’s the only way that makes sense.”

“It’s not because of you, Time-”

“Maybe not directly, but you can’t tell me I didn’t cause that.” “You didn’t know.” “I didn’t know a lot of things. You all- you all were just as inexperienced as I was, some of you even younger, and none of you managed to-”

“None of us where in the position you were in, Time.”

Silence.

“I can’t imagine how disheartening it was to hear that,” He says gently. “But it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know that was going to happen. No one did.”

Time sighs. “It feels like it was all for nothing. Everything… and people still suffered.”

“You didn’t go through all of that for nothing.” He says quietly, looking Time in the eye.

Time gives a rueful smile. Raises an eyebrow at him.

“How can you say that? Everything you’ve done… all the people you’ve saved… they’d disagree. You saved them. You saved them all. It was for nothing? Not for them.” He shakes his head. He understands the feeling, but… no matter how hard you try, you can’t save everyone. “And look at Wind. Legend.” Time says quietly. “My failures… ask the people from their timelines how much it was worth. The timeline where I left? Or the one where I failed? Th-”

“Time, if anything, it shows how much more it meant-”

“It doesn’t!” Time snaps, hand raking through his hair. “It shows how pointless it was- all the people I saved, yes, but what about the ones I could do nothing for? The countless people that died because of me, because of my failures-”

“Time, you had no idea until three days ago that happened.”

“That doesn’t change anything.” Time says quietly.

“And neither will feeling guilty about it.”

Time falters at that, looking up at him.

“You really think you’re the only one that’s failed? Goddess, Old Man, I thought you were smarter than that. You didn’t even fail in this timeline and you’re feeling bad about it. Look at Wild. Hylia above, Time, look at me. You know all the ways I screwed up. Yes, I have my regrets, but at the end of the day? You’ve got to move past it. You succeeded in the end, didn’t you? Ganon’s gone. Hyrule’s safe again. That’s what matters. That’s what everything was for, wasn’t it? Don’t say it was all for nothing- that’s horseshit and we both know it.”

Time opens his mouth, but he keeps talking.

“Wild died. He straight up died. All his friends are dead, his Hyrule is empty, and none of us think that kid any less of a hero because of that. He still defeated Ganon. His Hyrule is thriving. No one thinks he should’ve… I don’t know. No one thinks anything less of Wild. All the ways I messed up? I lost battle after battle after batte- thousands of men died because of me. Even in battles we won. You think any less of me because of that? Or Twi? Or Leg?”

Time looks away. “Of course not.” The old man says quietly.

“Exactly. They’re still heroes of courage, same as you. None of us have flawless stories- we all made stupid mistakes we can’t take back. And yet we’re all still heroes of courage. Wear that title with pride, Old Man. You risked everything for your country- for the sake of good. No one cares that you accidentally split the timeline or whatever you did. And you’re not any less of a hero because of it.”

It’s quiet for a long while.

Time watches the fire, but he looks much more… contemplative. Not weighed down anymore.

“Thank you.” Time says quietly after a while.

He has to smile. “Anytime, Old Man. Happy to help.”

A small nod.

He slowly drapes the end of his scarf over Time’s shoulders, hand lingering on the leader��s shoulder. Time’s shoulders slump a little bit in a rare moment of vulnerability.

“You can get some rest. The others won’t be up for a while yet.” He says, and Time nods.

Slowly stands, sighing slightly and moving over to where his bedroll is still set up.

“Sleep well.” He says when Time glances back at him, and gets a smile in return.

~~~~

#whumptober2023 #no. 8 #it's all for nothing #linked universe #fic #time lu #lu time #time linked universe #linked universe time #lu wars #wars lu #lu warriors #warriors lu #linked universe wars #wars linked universe #warriors linked universe #linked universe warriors

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elvenbeard · 9 months

Text

2077, September

“I’m wondering if this is what Alt meant when she said Soulkiller would… kill my soul. Leave me nothing but a cluster of memories and thoughts… A blurry copy of myself, trapped in a body so adjusted to Johnny already that it would’ve been smarter to just – …”

Look at how far you've come. You're the King of the fucking Afterlife, a Night City legend... but as it is with Night City legends, they tend to die young.

Vince is 28 by mid-to-late 2077, every other person his age has so much to live for, to look forward to... yet his thoughts are still pre-occupied with the same problem they have been since April, just with a new twist: how the hell am I gonna survive my own body trying to kill me now?

He'd been told that Johnny would slowly wipe out his personality, his memories, his existence, but even with Johnny gone now, for good, an amicable separation in the end... Vince doesn't feel the same anymore. Is he even himself still? Or just a not-entirely-accurate copy of the Vince that once was? In the end, did he wipe himself out with the help of Alt and Soulkiller, without Johnny even having a fault in it so much?

Just like after Jackie's death, Vince cannot help but wonder: would it have been better the other way around? Should he have stayed back in Cyberspace, give Johnny a second chance, changed man that he was by then? But this body was Vince's, had always been, logically he knew it... But something was off, not quite the same anymore.

He has so much to fight for now, not even only abstract concepts like a good reputation or "being remembered" that he was so focused on at the start of all of this. In the chaos and hardship he found friends, love, forged connections he could have never dreamt of - in spite of and because of Johnny, and for that he's thankful.

He has so much to lose, more than ever. Giving up is not an option, has never been.

Vince through the years (8/9)

I mentioned many times before that I love the Sun ending cause it fits really well for Vince for many reasons. He's a good merc, but he'd make an even more amazing Fixer with his background, he's hella ambitious, smart, cunning, organised, and just.... hhhh everything!! But the Soulkiller thing still fucks me up so much everytime and the more I think about it. Anyone know the plot-twist of/played SOMA? Yeah... yeah. If you know, you know.

The one thing that always really bothered me about the Sun Ending though, is one of the last things he gets to say before the credits being "I have nothing left to lose" when... no, clearly not. We accept that the council has made a decision but it's a stupid decision! Blaming it on his nerves and not having a good time with Mr. B, distrusting his ass for good reasons, that he says that at that moment XD

That being said... I know everyone has a slightly differently timeline of events, and I wanted to share bits an pieces of mine in this context (still a wip more or less, but I have some set dates for certain events because I love angst).

Thursday, Nov. 5th 2076 -> meet Jackie at Lizzie's, booted from Arasaka

End of December -> First Gig with Jackie

[A lot of the early gigs for Regina and Wakako (but a few of the other Fixers, too), happen during the time of the 6-month-montage for my headcanon]

Sunday, April 4th 2077 -> "The Rescue"

Monday, April 5th 2077 -> "The Ride"

[preparations for the Konpeki Plaza heist in the following days - a bit more elaborate planning would be needed imo than what's shown in game, the Maelstrom meetup alone, esp. if you meet Meredith upfront, wouldn't be something Vince would do over the course of a fun afternoon]

Friday, April 16th 2077 -> Konpeki Plaza Heist, arrival at the hotel in the early afternoon

Saturday, April 17th -> V wakes up in the landfill in the evening

[stay at Vik's to recover - mostly from injuries sustained during the fights and the operation; since this is the future it would probably not be as long as we'd have to stay in hospital with today's medicine; I think V would also get more glimpses into Johnny's memories as he sleeps/dreams]

Tuesday, April 20th -> V is brought home and Johnny appears at night

Wednesday, April 21st -> Breakfast with Takemura xD

[over the course of the next few weeks everything up to "Play it Safe" happens, including the Hunt for Hellmann and the search for Evelyn and the Voodoo Boys; a lot of it is going on simultaneously, but helping Panam and going after Hellmann and such is something that would take at least 3-4 days with minimal travel inbetween - but V could for example talk to Mr. Hands while waiting for the Kang Tao AV to get the meetup with Brigitte scheduled and help Takemura while Evelyn is recovering, and so on.]

Mid-May 2077 -> Attack on the Parade in Japantown (the attack on the parade and the few quests that follow with Takemura's safehouse and V and Johnny escaping to the Motel etc. all happen over the course of 12ish hours in my head, cause it wouldn't make sense to trail off doing gigs or other stuff while Takemura and Hanako sit there and wait super on-edge XD)

Friday, May 14th -> Johnny's wild bender

Sunday, May 16th -> Ebunike & Oil Fields

Tuesday, May 18th -> Movie-Date with Rogue

Thursday, May 20th -> first meeting with Kerry😌

Tuesday, May 25th -> Samurai "Reunion" Concert

Thursday, May 27th -> Kerry has a gig for V

Tuesday, June 1st -> Dark Matter show with Us Cracks (and in the following days Blue Moon's stalker gig, before Boat Drinks)

Friday, June 4th -> Boat Drinks 🚤🔥

[a tiny little peace of mind pls before it all goes to shit XD]

Wednesday, June 9th -> Embers-Meetup with Hanako (headcanon time: I think, with how dangerous and secretive everything is with Hanako, they would agree on sth like her calling V with a date for the meetup at Embers at some point, when she feels it is safe. Maybe he'd still formally agree at some point "all right, starting now, feel free to call me anytime and I'll come, I'm ready"; so there is some plausible reason as to why "Meet Hanako at Embers" sits in your journal for around 20 gigs revolving around Johnny's past without consequences XD)

Thursday, June 10th -> V's 28th birthday, bc I love angst :D (as I said above, the meet at Embers would be something more or less spontaneous, and so he'd be like "aw shit, I wanted to spend my potential last birthday not thinking about the Arasakas' offer too much", not expecting he wouldn't really walk out of the restaurant on his own again. The attack on Arasaka Tower would happen the same night, after the meeting with Hanako, and so by the time midnight strikes and V walks into and out of Mikoshi, it would be his birthday in multiple ways, kinda. Cause ~symbolism~)

[time skip with very important things happening that explain how V got his mansion and became King of the Afterlife]

Thursday, September 2nd -> "Blaze of Glory" - Meetup with Mr. B at Afterlife (I put it in September because Alt's estimate for how long V has to live find a solution to his problem is around 6 months. So, by September half of that time is over, but V'd also have a very reasonable amount of time to plan the Crystal Palace Heist and make it a success, looking at how he managed to survive the main story events in a shorter timeframe. I think the outlook could definitely be seen as positive; also basing this a bit on what a femV romancing River says in the Sun Ending, that "months of prep" went into this "last gig". Also, the very prominent clothing ad "Focus on Winning this Fall" - "fall", as in, the season - visible at the start of the 6-month-montage also kinda makes me think the endings take place during Sep-Nov, cause we love foreshadowing in this house)

Saturday, September 4th -> First Chapter of "Love is Stored in the Olive Jar" XD and from then on we'll see o.o

Oookay.... that ended up being longer than I thought XD But yes... seing what V has accomplished in a relatively short amount of time (and I mean... about 1.5 months can definitely be "a few weeks, at most", if we look at Vik's original estimate of the situation) I think with twice as much time to plan *just one gig* (even though, admittedly, an insane one) his chances of it going right are good. Maybe not 100% according to plan, cause something always goes wrong, but yeah. Fully depends on everyone's V's of course, and whether at that point they *want to* continue fighting, have something to fight for and lose - Vince definitely does - but yeah. I choose to interpret the Sun ending as a positive outcome that gives V another shot at life xD Maybe not in the way he expected buuuut... 👀

Thanks for reading so far if you did, would love to hear different takes and how you'd space out the timeline of the main story for your V!

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #cp2077 #cyberpunk vp #cyberpunk 2077 vp #cp2077 vp #cyberpunk v #male v cyberpunk #corpo v #vincent ezaki #my vp #vince's timeline #my headcanons #vince through the years #one more to go and HHHHH #I mean... if you remember my overview post of these a couple months back #you may know what's gonna come #but yeah still my feeeeels ;__;#cyberpunk 2077 meta

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highfantasy-soul · 1 month

Text

NATLA Episode 8 - Legends (2/4)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

I really enjoy how Zhao (Azula) is a much smarter villain in the live-action than he was in the animated series. While I do love them both, leaning into the Fire Nation not just working off brute force, but rather being strategic and clever with their attacks was a great choice. The Ice Moon caveat for the spirits and Kuruk's spirit knife made the world feel bigger to me than just having the moon and ocean spirits conveniently always sitting there to kill by any means. I don't think the live-action team went in with the idea that the ocean and moon spirits being mortal was 'a plothole to fill' like some claim (yet again, always jumping to the least charitable interpretation of the live-action rather than spending three seconds to think about what it ADDS to the story to flesh that part out), I think they used it to seed a lot of lore and worldbuilding while also giving reasons as to why events played out the way they did.

Like I said in my post about episode 6, it makes a lot more sense to me that Zhao would have easy access to the info (and weapon) needed to kill the Moon Spirit rather than that shlub somehow finding the super hidden library that an archeologist spent YEARS searching for. While it was a cool foreshadowing of the library in season 2, having Zhao discover the moon and ocean spirit stuff in Avatar Roku's temple in the live-action I think makes more sense.

The fire sage being the one to explain the spirit oasis and the origins of waterbending to Zhao was a really cool change! It shows Zhao formulating his plan rather than having it just told to us like in the animated version - it includes the lore behind the ocean and moon spirit without making it so obvious that that's the solution to their problem, it introduces it as the problem and we have to work our way to the solution instead of it just being given to us. The fact that the sages still know and revere (even though they're using it to form an attack plan) the histories of bending is a nice touch. Especially the older sages, they remember the old ways and stories and don't discount the power of the old tales like younger people might. It doesn't stop them from falling into fascism (it stops some, but not all), but it does add layers and nuance to their world view rather than the very surface-level 'all others are bad, we don't pay attention to them' view that was shown mostly in the animated version.

Kuruk appearing to Aang to warn him was super cool!! I like how past Avatars can appear to their current iteration (not to mention they were right outside his shrine) to warn them of something and having it be Kuruk's knife that he can feel added a lot. It's another instance where the Fire Nation can turn anything into a weapon against the world - the weapon Kuruk forged to PROTECT the world from evil spirits and keep the world in balance is now being twisted and used by the Fire Nation to hurt the good ones and throw the world out of balance. Just as Zhao and the Fire Sage took a beautiful story about the creation of the Water Tribes and twisted it into something to harm them, they're taking a weapon of protection and making it a brutal weapon against the light.

UUUGGGHHHH Zhao and his twisted 'justifications' as to why killing the moon isn't actually all that bad. "Killing the ocean would deprive people of their lives - I'm not a monster!" of course he wants a world to rule, so he can't kill them, only fully subjugate them and wipe out their culture! See, they will get to live under his amazing rule, why would he deny them that opportunity?? Watch closely, everyone - that's the reasoning a lot of fascists give when they start trying to eradicate cultural practices - they argue that they're leaving the people alive, so it's not actually bad! We're just stripping away their identity and replacing it with our own! Save the man, kill the savage and all that.

"The Avatar's power is great, but it pales in comparison to the elemental spirits" SUCH GREAT FORESHADOWING WITHOUT GIVING IT ALL AWAYYYY!!!!!!! Also a great way to show the power scale of the world - as powerful as Aang is in the Avatar state, the spirits are the OG - especially the elemental ones. Aang ISN'T the most powerful thing in this world. It sets up how they're going to defeat the fire nation army without Aang in control of the Avatar state really well! They're leaving breadcrumbs rather than telling you the plan in a monologue or just randomly deciding to join with the ocean spirit - a power that hadn't been discussed at all in the animated show.

That Momo fake out death was CRUEL!!!! He just saved a girl's life and we think he gave his life to do it!!!! But it was a great way to introduce not only the spirit oasis, but also the healing properties of its waters. In the animated show, that's not mentioned at all until Pakku gives Katara the water vial and tells her it can heal - it's actually SHOWN in the live-action that it's powers are beyond normal healing. Yue's story about her being healed in these waters makes a lot more sense here as well rather than in the animated series where she tells the story once the moon is in trouble. At the time, it seems like it has nothing to do with the immediate danger, it's just a way to set up that she'll give back that life in the end - a quick lore set-up break in the action. In the live-action, it's directly tied to what's happening - she's doing the same thing to Momo that was done to her to save her life. Her connection with the moon isn't relevant yet, so that part of the story is held till later when it is relevant.

Honestly, I think the spirit oasis is much more impressive in the live-action. In the animated show, it's just a small island of grass with a pond - in the live-action, it's a whole valley filled with life. And I love how NO adaptation can resist showing Zuko fire-blasting his way out from beneath the ice - it's just too damn cool to leave out! I like how Iroh is still playing his loyalties close to the chest - he's not going to outright attack Zhao yet, but he'll definitely stall and not help out as much as Zhao wants him to.

Zuzu!!!! Like always, huge shit is happening all around but Zuko still thinks him capturing Aang is the most important thing in the world. I like that they're keeping that narrow focus for him - one of his biggest flaws - that blinds him to everything around him. He's not concerned about saving Agna Qel'a, he's not concerned about saving the spirits, he just wants to capture Aang and restore his place in the Fire Nation.

His face as Katara says she's gonna fight him and Aang agreeing - oof. Here he is thinking he's Aang's biggest threat and Aang is just handing his battle off to Katara. And Aang's sly little 'go easy' that wasn't to Zuko - the poor thing. So we begin Zuko v Katara round 2!!! Back in episode 2 on Kyoshi Island, Katara stood against Zuko - untrained and terrified, but knowing she needed to protect Aang. She was beaten easily, but now, she's had training. She's had experience. She's forged herself into a warrior and she's ready for everything Zuko can dish out. Well, not EVERYTHING as even in the animated series, Zuko does win due to his extensive training, but she puts up a wicked fight!

I am good with the siege only lasting one day rather than several like in the animated version. Though I do miss the 'you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun' line, it does kind of feel like Zuko kidnapping Aang was more to provide a cliffhanger for the end of The Siege of the North: Part 1 rather than a necessary narrative choice. In a 2-part finale, yeah we want a cliffhanger, but since this is all one episode, like I mentioned in my post about how episode flow has to change given the new format, that just wouldn't have worked out as well as a smooth single-night attack. Aang seeking guidance before the battle rather than getting kidnapped mid-meditation I think was a smart move. (I've always felt like that cliffhanger was a bit of an odd choice anyways because they make this huge deal about Aang not being able to find his body if it isn't right where he left it, but then it's…not a problem at all - his spirit just zooms back to his body - conveniently showing the Gaang where to find him and Zuko and nothing actually comes of that 'threat' of him not being able to re-enter his body. I'll talk about Zuko's speech about Azula later when it's brought up and altered in the live-action).

I LOOOOOVE Zhao's little speech here - his ambition to gain status - to become a legend, has led him to more and more dangerous things. He truly believes he could become the new Fire Lord. Iroh pleads with him not to do it, but Zhao is too filled with the desire for power that he's not listening to reason. Even after Iroh's threats, Zhao isn't concerned in the least - he views the threats 'empty' and is so smug about how 'this could still work out for you'. As if Iroh is like Zhao and would cave to any opportunity for power.

Like always, Aang tries to talk his enemy down - he tries to appeal to their better nature, an idea that they wouldn't want to throw the world into chaos. The exchange here is SO FREAKING GOOD. Aang pleading with Zhao that this isn't power, Zhao so drunk on his own importance that he can't imagine why anyone would give up the chance to wipe out an entire race of benders - and Aang knowing exactly what that's like, how horrifically awful it is. But for Zhao, those are only stories - he's never known a world with airbenders in it, but Sozin went down in history for that 'accomplishment' he, himself, can be in the history books along side such a 'legend' with no thought to the actual real, human hurt necessary to get there.

Aang finally tries the last thing he can - making Zhao the same offer he made Zuko: leave the attack behind and he'll go with them peacefully. But Zhao isn't Zuko - he wants more than just the Avatar. He wants to cause pain and suffering and have people look upon him with fear. I think it's such an interesting take to have Zhao, like June, not view the Avatar with reverence. He's bought into the Fire Nation propaganda that the Avatar isn't actually all that powerful - the Fire Lord has taken that place. Even the legitimacy of the concept of the Avatar itself is called into question - after all, the Fire Nation wants all the power and the Avatar would stop them. That's not helping them, so the Avatar must be useless.

Unknowingly, Zhao has just struck at Aang's biggest fear: while Zhao thinks the Avatar doesn't matter on its face, Aang is afraid that he's not good enough as an Avatar TO matter.

I've seen people confused about Iroh's loyalties and his true goal in the live-action - is he really working against the fire nation or not? And some criticism that it seems like he's helping Zuko capture Aang TOO much/ doesn't stop Zhao soon enough from killing the moon spirit. I'd point them, yet again, to the animated series where he very clearly, in The Waterbending Master episode, tells Zuko "once we get to the north pole, the Avatar will be yours". At the moment, animated Iroh is fully on board with Zuko capturing the Avatar. If he plans on trying to influence him not to turn the Avatar in to the fire lord, it's not even hinted at yet, so I think keeping it up in the air for the live-action is staying true to Iroh and Zuko not being 'good guys' - their goals are still to capture Aang. Live action Iroh even attacks Zhao BEFORE the animated Iroh does! In the animation, Iroh threatens Zhao, but doesn’t make a move until Zhao has killed the moon spirit - in the live-action, he attacks in an attempt to save the spirit. Yet another example of people criticizing the live-action for something even more apparent in the animated series - often because they're thinking of the character 2 seasons from now and what they think THAT version of the character would do and trying to apply it to season 1 when that's not even the characterization the animated show gave them in season 1.

I think the subsequent fight in the moonless night is even more emotionally intense in the live action than it was in the animated series. You can FEEL the terror and SEE people dying as the waterbending fails and the fire nation advance. The way this sequence was shot is honestly amazing - it's not gruesome or violent for the sake of it - it's showing the truth of war and the horrific cost of such an assault. Letting the warriors of the Northern Water Tribe have a heroic stand against the firebenders even when their best resource was taken away was great to see. Giving Hahn and Chief Arnook their moment showed that it truly wasn't just about Aang and his friends - this story is about every single person who stands up to fight against tyranny, no matter the weapon they might wield or power they have.

#natla #avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar #atla #natla positivity

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bestworstcase · 8 months

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I like your analysis on many things and I generally concurred on your points regarding Salem not seemingly doing anything but a thought did occur.

How does the idea Salem wasn't engaging in a secret war align with her killing Silver Eyed Warriors? No one else has anything to gain from their demises after all, so it wouldn't make sense for someone we've not met to be doing it.

the worldbuilding gremlins in my brain will not permit me to answer this without first noting that people are absolutely fantastic at rationalizing pointless violence and there’s a fine line between a savior and a scapegoat.

all it takes is one rumor that the warrior who turns grimm aside with a mere glance is really their master, sparing the faithful but unleashing the monsters on those who do not fall in line. or someone putting old myths about the maidens—witches whose power you can take by killing them—together with silver eyes. or one charismatic zealot blaming silver eyed warriors for the massacre of a village they couldn’t save. you know?

but, realistically, if silver-eyed folk are all descended from ozma, they’d have to be pretty rare to begin with—man doesn’t seem like he’s done a lot of settling down to have kids on the regular—and i don’t imagine there’s ever been enough of them for anyone but salem to be consistently picking them off.

although i will add that our data points here are: 1. maria, who was unambiguously targeted because of her eyes, 2. summer rose, who sought salem out on purpose, 3. hound guy, who salem fucked up good, and 4. maria’s father’s theory that the only reason silver eyes could possibly be so rare and obscure was if someone was hunting them down, which… isn’t logically sound actually, it requires the presupposition that silver eyes were common once and aren’t anymore, which probably isn’t the case bfjrhrk

and then like, look at the circumstances surrounding the three silver eyed people that we know FOR SURE that salem crossed paths with in some way: maria was a legend who styled herself as the grimm reaper. summer chose to go after salem, not the other way around. the hound… we have no idea where, when, or how salem found that guy, but we do know that he was the first, bc the hound was an experiment.

2 out of 3 are clearly atypical, and the 1 who isn’t was a SUPER high profile huntress, and combined with V9 establishing that summer’s “normal” was constant false alarms and ‘emergencies’ that turned out to be nothing? to me that raises the question of whether salem made a regular practice of culling silver-eyed warriors or if she went after maria bc maria’s fame brought her to salem’s attention?

BUT. THAT ASIDE,

i do think it’s pretty likely that salem regularly put bounties on the heads of SEWs of maria’s caliber, and may have exerted more effort than that (although if so, those efforts seem to have tapered off in the postwar era—it beggars belief that summer, ozpin’s protégée, would have slipped salem’s notice).

why? salem’s a grimm. grimm are very clearly shown to be… not mindless demonic monsters; they’re social creatures, they’re way smarter than huntsmen give ’em credit for, they have a drive to live just like any other living thing. and they’re all salem has. she’s been exiled from human and faunus civilization for thousands of years, but the grimm have never rejected her. it makes sense to me that she’d want to protect them?

and also, if she made the same connection maria did, and assumed silver eyes derived their power from the god of light… well. all the more reason to strike them down.

but, more to the point, salem taking maria out was entirely unrelated to whatever conflict she may or may not have been engaging in with ozpin at the time, because maria… didn’t know ozpin, wasn’t party to his conspiracy, had zero knowledge of salem’s existence. she was a lone, legendary hero doing her thing completely separate from what ozpin had going on. (which if anything supports the broader theory that salem was Focused On Other Things besides him; ‘other things’ need not necessarily be ‘good things’ hrgjshk)

there’s this pretty widespread fanon that ozma recruited silver-eyed warriors to his cause / that there is a power struggle of some kind over silver eyes akin to the one over the maidens, but i’m not… sure how well that holds up. certainly ozpin placed some importance on ruby’s eyes, but the impression i get is that ozma sees silver eyes as a proxy for his ‘smaller, more honest soul’—he’s not looking for the power so much as he’s looking for a particular purity of character. & obviously there’s silver-eyed folks out there who don’t answer to him or even know him.

so salem targeting silver eyes might sometimes overlap with taking out an agent of his, but equally it might just as often be motivated by—somewhat ironically—wanting to protect the lives of grimm.

#i think abt the V6 post-credits scene a lot #the way all the tension falls out of her body when she touches the beringel. that soft little smile. she caresses its face!#like. they matter to her. she cares about them #& if grimm *are* sapient—which at least the very old ones do seem to be—then… like what’s the difference #to salem #between a grimm and a huntsman? grimm kill people. people hunt grimm. the hatred and the hatred runs both ways

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kanto-jhoto · 2 months

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Something for the record, for the many of you that no doubt haven't checked the faq, which admittedly I have not updated for a very long time...

I loved Pokemon X and Y. It's not beating out gen 1 2 or 5, but it's an easy 4th place for me. I loved the setting of Kalos.

And even though they were easy as shit to beat and were all the typical boring "polite" rival characters, I actually liked the tag along friends, I always wanted a pokemon game that felt like you were travelling with a party rather than going it alone, because that's what I knew from the Pokemon TV series, and X and Y's rival group was the closest we ever got to that.

and yes... the gen 1 pandering that this game did help, but not that much. It was more so the sheer number of pokemon available compared to past games.

More than anything, gen 6 was kind of a pokemon renaissance where literally all of my adult friends picked the game up as well, and that was actually a super rare thing for me, and for once, we all battled pokemon for fun, very casually, using the pokemon we all liked ( except for the one friend hat studied smogon strategies and only used very high tier pokemon and nobody liked battling against him )

So I may have to give Legends ZA a look-see. We shall see. I may be a bit more cautious this time since I thought I'd love Legends Arceus but it got boring toward the end. Maybe if they get rid of the whole "catch a million of the same pokemon" mechanic and bring back traditional trainer battles, i'll be into it.

And here's my opinion... no. This isn't "Pokemon Z", this is Pokemon Legends ZA ...Pokemon Z would have been the exact same game as Pokemon X and Y but with a very slight shake up in the middle and a small amount of extra content. What we're getting is probably much better than what Pokemon Z could have been and frankly I think this is a lot better ( and smarter ) than just making an updated version of the same game a year later.

I still think gen 5 remakes will happen. I just don't think it's this year.

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slowips · 1 year

Text

mistletoe

thoma / reader

no one knows what a mistletoe is. it's just a flower spun out of a legend. at this rate your friend might become a legend too. when you notice a unique commission related to dragonspine, mistletoes, and inazuma, you take it up. what's the worse that can happen?

# childhood friends to lovers, kissing, marriage proposal, canon universe, unresolved tension, 4.7k words.

read on ao3 / event masterlist

.　⁺ . 　 ˚　✦　.　　+ ⁺　　 . ✦

dragonspine houses death. countless adventurers have trekked through its pristine snow to find themselves trapped in frost or hounded by monsters. despite it, life will thrive. the mistletoe, for example, is a rare species of mint that has adapted to dragonspine’s climate, or so people say.

no one has seen a mistletoe. at least, not in a hundred years. an adventurer who found himself on the verge of death pulled through with thoughts of his lover, and when it seemed like all hope was lost, he found a trial of alleged mistletoes.

flowers that thaw in hopelessness. flowers that glow when the heart yearns deeply.

he returned safely and presented the mistletoes to his lover. it’s ended in happily ever after. from then on, only those madly in love would risk their lives for mistletoes…

and you aren’t complaining. more experienced adventurers are quicker, stronger, and smarter to snag the good, high-paying commissions leaving the rest with less desirable ones.

but commissions at dragonspine will always be unpopular, and more often than not, priced higher than average.

commissions related to mistletoes are the simplest. all you need to do is protect the commissioner as they find their way around the area. if they leave empty-handed, it’s not your fault for doing your job of allowing them to live after experiencing dragonspine.

(“a mistletoe?” you ask. your childhood friend just shared a tale he’s heard at the plaza. “is it even real?”

“that’s what i want to find out.”

“but we can’t go to dragonspine.”

he laughs, bright green eyes sparkling. the light hits his blonde hair to create an illusion of a halo. “not now of course, but when we’re older. promise?”)

there’s no other reason you’ll take these mistletoe commissions other than to put food on your table at the end of the day.

⠀

“good morning, katherine,” you greet as you approach her stand. she replies with the adventure guild’s motto without fail. “you know the drill. are there any commissions related to dragonspine?”

katherine nods, the perfect smile plastered on her face, which is unsettling on her but when she’s kind enough to set aside commissions related to dragonspine for you, there’s no point in picking out details. you smile in return, taking the papers she placed on the table.

“all 3 are related to mistletoes,” she explains as you rotate between each paper. “after you choose one, i’ll open the remaining to the public, but you can pick them up again if no one does.”

“thanks,” you say absentmindedly.

the first didn’t offer a lot, yet had a disproportionate list of demands. you slapped it back on the table, unwilling to waste your time.

the second tingles your adventure senses as the best pick. not only is the pay above average, but all the commissioner wanted is someone to carry their equipment for her research. you recognise the name. she’s probably one of those who frequent dragonspine.

the last commission pays less, the demands slightly more. it’s reasonable though because you notice the purple stamp at the bottom that signifies this commission was placed in a foreign land—inazuma, to be specific. the cost of safe transport probably took a large portion of the commissioner’s budget.

to your surprise, none of the requirements mentions anything about being able to fight, but, expectingly, it states the adventurer must know the area.

easy.

(“where are you going?” you ask, a hand reaching out towards your childhood friend. you rarely see him over the past few days. he’s never at the plaza anymore. your fingers brush against his clothing. you can grab onto it, but the look he gives when his eyes meet yours begs you not to ground him.

“to find my dad,” he says, fully turning around to face you. the resolve in his voice dampens your selfish desire for him to stay. “in inazuma,” he finishes. you notice the crate he’s carrying. the smell of wine is pungent.

“to give him this? but, he hasn’t been in contact with you for years. how do you know…”

“well… isn’t that why i have to go? i have to know how he’s doing.” he adjusts his grip on the crate, glass clinking akin to the wind chimes people set at their houses for good luck. the one outside his house has long been taken down since last year; since he started living alone; since he hung out with you less.

“will you return?”

“i will.”)

“inazuma, eh…” you say offhandedly, hoping you’re loud enough for katherine to hear but not the adventurers who make their way to the bulletin board beside you. commissions from foreign lands are a hot topic. you wouldn’t want someone to overhear and try to butt themselves in when the pay is only considerate. “shouldn’t there be more information on the commissioner? you know, for security reasons.”

“for security reasons, and as the commissioner requested, the identity will remain confidential until you accept the offer and meet,” katherine replies. the ends of her lips tug down. “but i can assure you, we, at the adventurer’s guild, have confirmed the identity of the commissioner. things should be safe.”

you toggle between the two choices.

well, you want a bit of adventure. it can get kind of boring just ushering people around. who knows what false information you can feed to this foreign commissioner? maybe they’ll even make your name big overseas.

(“is there no reply?”

“child,” your father says as he looks at you with pity. “i didn’t send out your letter. we don’t even know if he made it to inazuma. it’s a lost cause.”

“but that’s why i used a random address. as long as it’s sent and someone reads it, they can help us find him.”

his eyes gleam with disbelief. it’s like he’s looking at a clone of you. you’re anyone but you.

“please, stop. it hurts me to see you like this.”

“give me the letter” you seethe, a hand outstretched. you should have griped on his clothing but now you only grasp the air. “if you don’t want to see me like this, then send the letter.”

“no.” your father stands and tears the letter. “you have to accept that he will not come back. it’s reality.”)

“i’ll take this one,” you give katherine the paper with the inazuma stamp at the bottom.

⠀

you’ve got jars (big enough to fit a warming seelie), food and water. you also have your weapon that you sharpened the night before, your map, extra clothes, and a bunch of wood for a makeshift fire. you’re all set, yet your stomach turns itself inward and you can’t help but surrender to apprehension regarding the secret identity of the commissioner.

to soothe yourself, you occupy your mind with stories of the mystical mistletoe. one research paper from years ago speculated that it would grow in high places. it was a report your previous commissioner gave you as a “reward”, and what shaped his decision to climb the mountain in the middle of dragonspine. unfortunately, his journey was useless.

recalling the original legend, you believe the guy was trapped in a cave system. your childhood friend had another perspective. he believed he was trapped in areas where snowstorms raged.

deep in thought, you didn’t notice footsteps. when a hand lands on your shoulder, you jump, quick to spawn your weapon and point its sharp tip at the neck of the person behind you.

“woah,” the person says, hands up in the air and nervously chuckling. “easy now. i’m not trying to hurt you, just trying to find the adventurer i’m to explore dragonspine with.”

his facial features are darkened with the rising sun behind him, making it almost impossible to decipher how he looks, but that voice—

you’re pretty sure you’ve heard familiar mirth in someone’s words before.

“…thoma?” you lower your weapon.

he says your name. he says it like he’s never stopped saying it, each syllable the same as many years ago. you almost choke on your saliva when nostalgia transports you back into mondstadt’s plaza, where both of you will sit at the fountain and talk to your heart’s content. you swallow thickly, a mixture of feelings boiling in your chest.

he has grown. a lot. his voice is slightly lower, although not low enough to remove that everlasting cheer in the way he speaks. his hair remains short—oh, wait. he turns and you notice that there’s a lock of hair tied behind. it… surprisingly suits him.

he’s clad in inazuma-styled garbs, and behind him is a polearm. no wonder he didn’t need an adventurer who knows how to fight.

“it’s good to be back,” he says with his hands on his hips, gazing at the outline of mondstadt in the distance. it’s nice to hear him again, to see him stand in front of you after all the years of searching for a speck of hope that he’s alive. but the way he says it and seeing how… intertwined he seems with inazuma’s way of life, there’s a warning in your heart that your father was partially right all those years ago.

he’s back, but he’s not coming back.

“i missed you,” you manage to muster, taking a step forward. you aren’t certain what you’re trying to do by standing closer to him; maybe have a taste of his warmth again before the inevitable parting, but when he opens his arms for a hug, you jump into his embrace without hesitation. “i miss you, so much.”

“i’m back like i promised.”

and he’s right. even if melancholy looms at the edges of this cheerful moment, the fact that he’s back—right now, right here, heart beating in his chest, big arms around your frame—that’s all that matters. the future will be settled in the future.

when you pull away, you see the perfect smile.

it had always looked good on him.

⠀

“so…” you start, unsure how to continue. conversation with thoma has been easy the first few minutes, although you notice it was mostly you talking. about your friends; about the celebrations; about yourself. he rarely shared his experiences in inazuma, much less why he commissioned someone to find mistletoes with him, much less why find mistletoes at all.

the journey feels less like an excursion to seek a plant because of a promise and more like a mission. he examined your map, shared his research—even correcting you at one point, not that you mind because right and wrong determine life and death in such a climate—and even chose to march through fatui camps despite the danger. so long as he gets his hands on those flowers.

the only thing both of you avoid are lawachurls, their hammer on the ground enough to obliterate.

his steadfastness is admirable. charming even. it reminds you of the little boy who you should have held. a part of you is glad he didn’t change; a part wished his gaze was directed at you instead of someplace far away.

silence settles eventually. you find yourself lost with how to ask. he remembers the promise, it just isn’t satisfactory to know the promise wasn’t enough to move a rock like him. so what did?

it makes you feel small.

“are you alright?” thoma’s voice rings clear despite the roaring winds and the fact he’s a few meters away. you pick up your pace, a little surprised you slowed down at all. were your thoughts always this heavy? “you wanted to ask something, right?”

“oh, right.” you rub your hands together, nervous. he comes closer and drapes a blanket over your shoulders as if you’re not paid to babysit him. “why did you want to conceal your identity?”

thoma’s smile drops, just a little.

“i’m getting mistletoes as a surprise,” he answers simply. you stare at him, hungry for more, hoping he gets the hint, but he just grabs your hand and trudges forward, gently pulling you along.

“for who?” your heart sinks, and your grip on his blanket loosens.

he’s good-looking. long lashes frame his green eyes curating them perfect for getting lost in. his hair looks so fluffy you bet the tufts of hair sticking out is something he has tried to tame but failed. his build is large; you can feel the hours of effort when his arms wrapped around you.

not to mention, he fights so elegantly and courageously, anyone would swoon at him redirecting an arrow shot to strike at the heart (it actually happened. you think your heart proclaimed its loyalty to him right there and then.) you knew the signs of fondness, and you were falling faster than someone being pulled by gravity.

he thinks over your question.

you can’t help but jump to conclusions that whatever is happening between him and the person he’s picking mistletoes for is complicated, vindicating you’re not part of the equation.

“it’s for my lord,” he finally says. his voice is softer, yet it’s like an arrow that impales you. he sounds ashamed to admit. “their family did a lot for me, so i wanted to decorate his upcoming wedding with mistletoes, for good luck.”

you hum, tugging your arm out of his grasp. it’s warm, but the chill of dragonspine holds greater comfort. regardless, you readjust his blanket to wrap snugly around you.

“he sounds like a crafty person if you need to go to the extent of hiding your identity.”

thoma chuckles, his now free hand rubbing the back of his neck. he looks ahead and you stare at his broad shoulders.

“he can be. i just told him i was going to mondstadt for my vacation, so to the records, thoma should not be in dragonspine.”

“how long is your vacation?”

“about three days. i’m leaving early morning.”

in the commission, it said to prepare for three days.

“you didn’t really intent to visit mondstadt, did you?”

you see your breath in mist as you let out a quiet sigh. it fogs your vision, turning thoma into an outline you can’t make out off.

he sucks in cold air. it sounds like he’s been burned.

“i can’t. the wedding preparations need to be done soon. i don’t have the luxury to stay.”

“if you didn’t want to return you could have just said so.”

“no—” he says your name, says it pleadingly when you unwrap his blanket and hand it back to him. he stares at it as if you tore his heart and were presenting it to him. “it’s not as easy—“

“you had years,” you shot back. “even if you couldn’t return, you could have at least written something to me. my address never changed.”

“it—it would only make things harder for me.”

“have you ever thought about me?”

how selfish. how very selfish you were. of course, he won’t think about you. you were just his friend that he could discard when he found fancier ones.

he wants to say something, mouth left ajar, but the words are stuck and he looks at you like you’re an open wound, infected.

in the near distance, a monster roars.

lawachurl.

“…let’s keep moving, although if you want to take a break… that can be arranged.”

“it’s okay,” you say, mostly to reassure yourself. “no breaks needed on my side. i’m not an adventurer for no reason.”

when he turns and reaches out to hold your hand as support to climb a ledge, you stare straight ahead and carry yourself up.

just as you have all these years, without him.

⠀

the winds have picked up and the snow caught in it obscures your vision. you have to place a hand in front of you so that you can squint at what’s ahead. the winds push you at every step, and it seeps a chill through your three layers of thick clothing.

“we should find a place to rest,” thoma shouts to be heard.

“your mistletoes,” you reply with all the air in your lungs to beat the roaring winds. “if we don’t search it now, you’ll return empty-handed.”

but there’s no chance to take another step. he twists you to face him before grabbing you by the legs. he lifts you such that you rest over his shoulders.

“thoma!” you hit his back in protest, “we’re not here to surrender.”

he doesn’t entertain. at least, not until he finds the entrance to a cave system, one you note isn’t on your map.

(or perhaps it is, just that the snowstorms disorient you enough.)

without hesitation, he starts a fire with his pyro vision. the sound of teeth clattering echoes throughout. you lower your head in embarrassment, but thoma doesn’t chide you and instead gives you the blanket you rejected.

“we have three days,” he says as he adjusts the flame in the centre. it glows brighter, warmth so inviting. “let’s rest for the time being.”

digging through his bag, he hands you a stick with 3 round substances poked through—pink, white, and green.

“dango,” thoma says when you look at him with suspicion. “it’s rather popular in inazuma, but sweet. i have onigiri too if that’s more to your liking.”

he takes out another snack made completely out of rice, shaped in a triangle with seaweed cut into a square wrapping its bottom.

“save them for yourselves. i packed enough for me.” you take out a container of mint jelly. it’s probably the only food you know that can survive the cold. plus, the mint helps keep you awake.

“it doesn’t look very nutritious.”

“but isn’t dango a sweet? doesn’t sound filling to me.”

thoma laughs. he hauls his big bag in front of him and takes out some ingredients.

“wait, you can’t be…”

“we have a fire.”

he has a point.

not long after, the aroma starts filling up the cave. he hands you a bowl, claiming the dish he made is called miso soup. the liquid slides down your throat, melting the frost that rendered your voice sore.

before you know it, you’re asking for seconds, your eyes bright with gluttony. it’s the most flavourful soup you ever tasted—better than good hunter.

but before you can drink a second serving, the ground shakes. the roar is getting closer.

“shit,” you utter, quick to dump your soup onto the fire. it hisses as if insulted, and thoma stares at you incredulously. “the aroma will only attract the lawachurl.”

he nods, packing his things as you pack yours, and then grabs your hand to lead you deeper into the cave system.

“stay close.”

you don’t have the courage to tell him that’s all you ever wanted.

⠀

the path is illuminated by your torch, and the tunnels seem to have no end.

“you good?” thoma asks, a hand still on your back.

“yes. i’ve just… never seen this place before.” you fish out your map after giving the torch to thoma to hold up. “we were here when the snowstorm started.” you point towards the south, along the coast.

“then, through logical speculation, we should be somewhere here.”

“that’s where we entered,” you clarify. “i’m not too sure if we’re anywhere near that now, especially since this cave system has so many paths.”

it’s also surprisingly warmer, which you believe is a sign you’re extremely deep, far from the raging snowy tempest. or perhaps the storm has stopped, you like to believe, but snowstorms in dragonspine take days to weaken.

in the distance, there is the faint sound of rushing water. when you look at thoma, he seems to think the same, and both of you head towards it, against the gentle airflow.

there’s a plateau with the stream a few meters away. it’s clear running waters. he tries to set up a fire once more, and the area lights up.

“sorry,” you say for the miso soup you wasted, reminded by the fire.

“i think it’s me who owes you an apology.”

oh. so he’s talking about that.

you sit and press your knees close to your chest, the green of your attire a reminder of all you’ve worked for; of an emotion associated with the same colour when you think of the adventures he had in inazuma without you.

(of the high chances his heart belongs to another.)

“you asked if i ever thought of you,” he continues, sitting at the other side of the fire, his arm propped on one knee, the other leg outstretched. “i have.”

you press your head against your knees, face warming up not because of the fire.

“then why?” you squeak. “why the silence?”

“the family i’m working with right now, the kamisato clan, saved me. they found me stranded at the beach and taught me how to live in a foreign land. they gave me shelter, a job, and friends.”

you flinch when he mentioned friends, and the thought of how you’re probably something he’s willing to neglect for others arises again.

he seems to notice it. he scoots closer to you. you turn your head away.

“what about your dad?”

“he was nowhere to be found.”

you nod, unsure if you should apologise, but thoma is quick to continue.

“the kamisato family did so much for me, i found myself in endless debt. i never planned to stay, but when the clan went through tribulations, i had to. after all they did for me.”

“and…?“ you look at him, head no longer resting on your knees, eyes begging for an answer that you can accept.

“by that time, i figured there’s no point contacting you because…” he gulps, adam’s apple bobbing. the flames highlight his mature facial features, and you feel your heart thump rapidly. “…you deserve someone better. i wanted you to forget me.”

you hit him, rolling your eyes.

“you were my best friend. do you think it’s that easy to forget?”

he laughs and ruffles your hair like good old times, causing you to swat his hand away.

“no, because i can’t forget either.” he looks at you. you’re no one other than you in his gaze.

“there’s one more thing you haven’t explained.”

he jerks, slightly. you should give him mercy and let this slip, especially since he’s squirming in his position. you don’t want him to feel uncomfortable around you.

but your heart is pounding. it is about to lunge out of your throat if it needs to obtain the answer. why would writing to you be so hard for him?

he coughs. “when i chose to stay… it wasn’t an easy decision. writing to you… knowing you’re doing well or not will just… make me miss home more than i can bear.”

oh. it’s satisfactory to your ears, but your heart isn’t pleased. or at least it is, but something about what he is anti-climatic.

“i’m glad.” it feels like a lie. “i thought you’ll just throw me away since you found someplace better.” (or someone better.)

“i’ve met plenty of good people,” he says as he leans his body weight on his hands behind him. “but no one can ever replace you.”

you let out a weak chuckle.

“now… if i may ask, why are you searching for mistletoes?” he asks.

“make a guess?”

“you found someone.”

he sounds oddly melancholic. or maybe you’re just picking out the details.

“or rather, lost someone.”

thoma lowers his head but doesn’t fail to emit a few breaths that sound like a would-be laugh if he had the energy.

“the only way i could feel connected to him,” you say as you stare at the flickering flames, then at the pyro vision at his side, “is through the promise he made to me many years ago.”

you unwrap yourself and imitate his posture, purposefully placing your fingers inches from his.

he nods, eyes closed.

“i’m sorry for my actions. you have all right to be angry at me.”

“i can’t be angry at you for long,” you say bumping shoulders with him. “you have those eyes that are just so bright even after all those years. when i get lost in them, i literally can’t feel anything other than—“ you’re quick to swallow your words, if not you would have accidentally confessed.

“other than?” he says with some tease, leaning into you.

“fill in the gaps yourself.”

he throws his head back in laughter, and you find yourself enamoured with the way he expresses his joy.

you push your fingers closer to his. when it touches, you don’t expect him to hold onto your hand, his face tinted a warm hue.

probably due to the fire.

he grabs your hand gingerly, eyes sparkling with excitement and crinkling at the edges.

“hey…” he says out of the blue. “look up.”

you narrow your eyes.

“this is not a time for jokes.”

“no, really. look up… mistletoe.”

you do as he says. specks of white decorate the ceiling. thoma extinguishes the flames and the flowers shine like galaxies.

“wow…” you breathed out, standing and reaching upwards to touch them. its trail leads deeper. it's a way out. “we did it!” you exclaim. “i knew it was in a cave system!”

“we wouldn’t have found it if we didn’t risk our lives at the area with the greatest snowstorms.”

“fair. who would have thought our promise would be fulfilled? i’m so happy i can kiss you right now!” you say as you jump for joy, pointing at the mistletoes.

thoma stands, dumbfounded. seeing him so still while you’re hopping a child makes you stop and stand closer to ask what’s wrong. he grabs onto your hands, closing the gap till you feel his breath on your face.

“do you mean it?” he whispers, but the proximity makes it sound like he’s speaking through a voice enhancer—something one of the mondstadt merchants tried to sell. it makes you dizzy. “do you really want to kiss me?”

“i—“ you sputter, unable to look at his eyes but unable to pull away too. it’s an attraction you’ve tried to deny since thoma being so distant made it weak, but when he’s inches away, denying it is like denying your very existence in the adventurer’s clothes. every single step was to find him, and you believed you would die trying.

“may i?” he says when you are unable to answer. you close your eyes, bracing for impact.

his lips press onto yours and you think dragonspine, for all the death it’s associated with, is truly a place where life can thrive.

⠀ ⠀

“i guess this is goodbye,” he says at the gates of mondstadt. many were pleased he returned, but despite the happiness of reunion, he knows deep in his heart he has another place he calls his home now.

this is the eventual parting.

“it doesn’t have to be,” you plead, holding onto his hands, fingers interlaced. the mistletoes he plucked for you are pinned on your attire, but after a whole 3 days of his warmth, a trinket to remind you of him is not enough. selfishly, you want everything. “i’ll go with you, to inazuma.”

“but,” he says and then closes his mouth. you stare at him with great determination, the same intense resolution he gave you years ago. “…you’ll be sacrificing so many things. i cannot promise you a good life.”

“look,” you say pointing to your adventure outfit. “i put myself in these so i can get enough money to ship myself to inazuma and find you anyway. you might as well do it now.”

thoma stifles a laugh, a hand on your cheek.

“you never gave up on me, yet i…”

you give him a chaste kiss to shut up.

“so you’re going to give up on me again? i thought you’ll learn your lesson.”

he blinks, then blinks again.

“i will never grow tired of that.”

the guards at the entrance turn their heads to look away, and thoma notices it, so he ushers you further down the bridge.

“bring me with you, and you’ll have endless kisses.”

“tempting offer,” he teases, but the way he grips your hand is already proof you’ve won. his hold is tight. it feels like you’ve moulded your hand perfectly into his. it can’t be separated. “you’ll have to do the explaining. i’ll be busy with preparations for the weddings.”

you tilt your head to get a better look at him, an uncontrollable smile on your face.

you caught that little detail he slipped in.

when he asks, you’re answer will be “yes”.

───・

my entry for @dustofthedailylife's writing collab, genshin winter wonderland. / +notes

#genshin x reader #thoma x reader #genshin impact x reader #thoma x you #thoma x y/n #genshin impact x you #genshin x you #genshin impact x y/n #dust winter wonderland

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