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faeriichaii · 4 months

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hiii! Since your requests are open, could I ask for a Legolas × avari!reader (it's a type of elf in Tolkien lore)? I just have in my mind a repeat scene where Legolas invites Gimli and his partner to Mirkwood and Thranduil having a mini heart attack like "One of my only son's best friends is a dwarf and his betrothed is an avari".

But later on he ends up liking them :)

Blessing ~ Legolas x Avari!Reader

A/N: Hi :) omg I love it!! I struggled like a lot and idk why haha because like I kinda was lacking in a bit of knowledge idk idk but I still hope I nailed the avari part?? But yeah I hope you enjoy the story <33

Avari: a branch of elven race, who never journeyd to Aman and instead stayed in Middle-Earth

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Warnings: fluff, Thranduil being a bit cold at the beginning :( ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Words: 1.3k ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Request: Yes (thank you <33) ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Meleth Nin ~ My Love ࿐ྂ

Summary: The journey of the fellowship ended a long time ago and suddenly you receive the invitation of the prince to join him in Mirkwood, meeting his father. But how will Thranduil react to seeing his sons best friend being a dwarf and his betrothed being an Avari?

A smile graced your lips, as you saw Legolas standing beside his father. Both of them waiting for you and Gimlis arrival. You had received a letter a few weeks ago. The letter was written by Legolas, who invited you, as well as the dwarf, to meet up in Mirkwood. You remember that the three of you constantly joked and laughed about your different hometowns. Gimli, for example, always bragged about his home and the customs. You always expected to first travel there instead of Mirkwood. You especially remember that one time while you guys were eating the food prepared by one of the hobbits. The orange hue of the fire dancing away, as the laughter of the group filled the place.

“And I definitely would like to challenge the elvling to a little duel.” Gimli said, as he finished his dinner. You raised an eyebrow while looking at Legolas, who sat beside you. “Which one of us do you mean exactly?” You asked the dwarf. “How about the both of you against me? You won’t even stand a chance, so you might as well team up!” “A little bit confident don’t you think?” The elven prince set the arrow down, that he just finished. “I remember getting around ten more kills than you.” A smirk plastered his face, enraging the dwarf. “You did NOT have ten more kills than me!” Laughing slightly at their little antics, you smiled at them.

“Well, what kind of challenge would await us, if we would visit your hometown?” You asked him, also preparing new arrows for your bow. “It’s called the rite of sigin-tarâg. We will use hammers to smash up stones and the first one to lose normally gets banished from all dwarven realms. But we will just do the challenge.” “So you want to test our strength against yours?” The elven prince asks, as he hands you a finished arrow to put away with your own. A small smile formed on your lips at his sweet gesture. “This won’t even be a test, because I already know the results. I will beat the both of ya.”

“Whatever you say Gimli.” He began to grumble at you while searching for his axe, in order to sharpen it a little more. “I think you should visit me at Mirkwood after the journey ends.” Legolas suddenly said. You halted your movements. Visit him in Mirkwood? You bit the inside of your cheek, as you thought about visiting Legolas at some point in your life. You have to visit him. The both of you are courting, so of course you have to. But what would his father think if he suddenly introduces him to you? You were an elf yes, but you were an Avari. It was known, that most elves do not like your kind. Avari doesn’t mean ‘The Unwilling’ without reason. “Meleth Nin, are you alright?” The prince carefully asks you, laying a hand on your thigh. “Yes, I am alright. I think visiting sounds like a splendid idea. But only if Gimli is also joining us.” You say, while taking his hand on your thigh into your own, intertwining your fingers. If you had to face his father for the first time, then at least you would drag the dwarf into it as well. A laugh escaped his lips. “Oh, my father will be so excited to meet the both of you.”

And now you and Gimli were standing in front of the king of Mirkwood, while Legolas stood beside him. His eyebrow was raised, as he scanned Gimli from head to toe. “So, this is your… friend?” The dwarf let out a grunt, followed by a few grumbles at the attitude received right after his arrival. “Yes, I have told you quite a few stories about Gimli.” Thranduils eyes moved from the dwarf to you. You did a quick curtsy as a polite introduction followed suit. “My king, it is wonderful to finally make your acquaintance.” “So, you are the betrothed my son has mentioned?” His tone was slightly cold, which in result made you worry a tide bit. You didn’t wish for him to already dislike you. Especially if you haven’t given him a reason to do so. “Yes, yes I am. Which is why I am very grateful to be able to visit Mirkwood for a few days. And of course, to meet you, my king.” A small smile graced your lips, as you tried your best to get on Thranduils good side. He nodded gently at your words, before turning around and leading you through the castle grounds. Legolas walked beside you, gently taking your hand in his. “How are you doing Meleth Nin?” He whispered into your ear. A sigh left your lips, as you squeezed his hand. “I am alright. I just worry that your father might not give us his blessing. That he might already dislike me for who I am.”

Your gaze wandered to the floor. Suddenly Legolas stopped walking, making you halt in your steps. He took your face in his hands. The warmth of his palms made your face heat up, making you feel safe and sound. “Meleth Nin, I love you through middle earth and back. I only wish to spend my lifetime with you by my side. It doesn’t matter if he gives us his blessing, because nothing could ever prevent me from being with you. A soft blush dusted your cheeks. Your heart beating a little bit faster at the sweet words he just whispered. “I love you too Meleth Nin.” You whispered, before giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Taking his hands from your face, you intertwined your fingers with his once more.

The day passed rather quickly with the three of you being together once more. Even the king seemed to slowly warm up to the both of you, his welcoming scowl long gone. “I did not expect you to be so well read, dwarf.” “Don’t underestimate me too much.” Gimli said, as he laughed heartedly, the chalice filled with the elven wine in his hand swaying from side to side. You could already tell that the dwarf began to get tipsy from the alcoholic beverage. A small smile graced your lips at the scene in front of you, the light atmosphere making you feel more relaxed than at the beginning.

“I also must admit, that I am very impressed by your knowledge (Y/N). I did not expect an Avari to know so much about the elven history.” “Thank you for the praise my king. But it is only natural for me to know about the elven history. It is after all a very important subject and part of my culture.” The king took a sip from his golden rimmed chalice, before continuing his chat with you. “I do have to confess one more thing. That upon first hearing about you and my son’s courtship I saw it as… ill-starred. A misfortune bound to happen. I did not want to accept that he was willing to court an Avari out of all elves who roam the realm.” Legolas immediately grasped your hand, giving you a sense of security. You took a shaky breath as you looked at the king. “But now, after seeing you with him and the tender care and love you both share, I deem it cruel to rip the both of you apart. I also seem to start to grow fond of you, as well as his little friend.”

A bright smile adored your lips at the kings’ words. Squeezing Legolas’ hand, the both of you shared a look. “Thank you, my king. Your words mean the world to me.” You watched as a gentle smiled graced his lips, before they were covered by his chalice once more. “See, I told you my father would start to warm up to you. He might seem cold at the beginning but he still has a heart deep within.” The prince whispered to you, before giving you a soft kiss on your cheek. Warmth filled your heart, as all your worries disappeared into thin air. You got the blessing of the King of Mirkwood.

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shkika · 9 months

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do you think slugcats actually wawa? It is a fairly popular fanon sure but I have been wondering for the last few days. We know slugcats must have some decent hearing - some of the map markers are explicitly the slugcat using its hearing to differentiate between other living creatures in other rooms and so on (although the actual passages they apparently just commit to the memory). Probably not as good as black lizard hearing but pretty good. However this part of gameplay as proof of canon worldbuilding might be taken with a grain of salt

that may suggest that audial communication between slugcats may actually be pretty hard to hear for humans - similar to how we cannot hear most of audible signals of various rodents. The problem is, well, it is a gameplay concession for the most part and tbh the way gameplay is integrated with worldbuiding - the devs made an attempt but the realization is imho wonky at best and misleading at worst.

back to wawas, we can try to draw a comparison between domestic cats and slugcats wherein meow is something mostly relegated to 'babytalk' and a specific type of call which some cats, especially those who grew up with humans, adopt for cat to human communication (with cats who grew up without much human interaction sometimes never taking up a habit of meowing even if they end up living with humans later on and actively engaging with them positively). In this case a wawa is a specific signal that is either used for example in danger (owing to how we hear a wawa like sound in one of the danger alert osts) or during communication with the young.

this assumes we take danger osts as actually symbolically reflective of something.

Howerver! While just like the map it seems to be largely a gameplay concession, most of slugcat out of cutscene (aka the gourmand ending slides) communication is reliant on body language. Pointing, jumping, things like that. Even with the pups we mostly interact via those things. Which... either suggests a dimension of pup interaction we do not see because of the gameplay limitations or we should take it as wawa not being a slugcat 'babytalk'.

Which leaves wawas with a very dubious space as a potential 'can be fit into canon' or not.

Oh I'm SO sorry, but I don't think slugcats wawa at all,,

I just think Rivulet ONLY can scream.

Slightly longer ramble under cut!

I think lore and gameplay are mostly done pretty well! For example the cycle mechanic is something you can only really theorize on if you look at both gameplay and lore. You get to experience the pain of cycles all on your own!

As for wawas.. as you have mentioned, they mostly use body language and art. Picture from Gourmand campaign ↓

Spearmaster draws too, and uses sign language to communicate with Suns. And I hear you. "Spearmaster is domesticated, they don't count" and you're right!

BUT

The fact they can learn such complicated sign language would imply they have the capacity for it in their brain to learn and memorize a language so complicated in the first place. Unless that was modified as well.

But it is more intuitive for slugcats to understand gestures than speech, which is why they need the mark of communication as they otherwise just hear incomprehensible garble. Their brains weren't made for many complicated noises. Yet when they DO have the mark they are capable of understanding extremely complicated sentences and such.

The wawas in threat themes are just the track not actual noise your slugcat makes. A lot of tracks have quite the bizarre sounds in them.

I think slugcats draw, point and jump to communicate. They're rodents that sign!

My only self-indulgent funny headcanon is.. as forementioned, that Rivulet can scream. There is no proof or basis for this. It's just incredibly creepy and funny to me.

This is why that creature wanders alone. Cursed being.

#ask #anonymous #rainworld #rain world #rw rivulet #AS ALWAYS #THIS IS ALL #my headcanons #im not forcing this on anyone!! have fun #i think wawas are cute #i just think demonic riv around mostly silent companions of its kind is hilarious #moons cat is an evil demon that will kill without hesitation #long post #kiki rambles

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the-fo0l · 9 months

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Micheal Scofield dating hcs

notes: it's criminal crazy kooky insane how little content there is for this show

warnings: gn reader, s1 lore, super soft fluff!!!! also idc if u think its out of charater let me be delulu

he's so babygirl

a very devoted boyfriend (im pretty sure i say that in all my hcs but its true!!)

just so soft and polite and gentle with you aaaaa

doesn't notice just how hard he's fallen for you until he has to be apart from you a long while

such a gentleman, his intentions towards you are always respectful

before you we're offical he had quite the crush on you

sometimes you could notice that cool, calm, witty demeanor of his becoming more bashful and jittery around you

daydreamed a lot about you and your potential future together. what it'd be like to live with you, to start the day by your side, how you'd show affection, how you'd express diffrent emotions, what you'd talk about, your niche interests and quirks— etc

slightly creepy but he did do a bit of research on you to make sure he hit it off with you as best as he could

always says good night and good morning, over text if not in person

just imagine waking up, still cuddling, but with a little distance so he can properly take in your sleepy morning face

him just gazing at you so lovingly, his gentle smile growing a little bigger seeing you open your eyes, then moving one hand from your waist to caress your cheek and murmur "good morning" with his sultry morning voice

GOOD LORDDD

he developed a new-found love for his job when you two started dating cause thanks to it he can properly provide for you

and provide he does

doesn't think you should have to work a day in your life (unless you wanted to)

he'd hate for you to stay at a job you're miserable at

super proud of you for all your accomplishments

when you have to seperate while walking to avoid something in the street, be immediately reaches back to interwine your fingers again

expresses all love languages in some way but 'acts of service' is his main one

amazing at gift giving and romantic gestures

just when you think he can't possibly out-do last year's anniversary/birthday gift he suprises you with something super elaborate and meaningful

absent-mindedly makes origami flowers for you at work. you'll also find them all over your apartment, some hidden, some in plain sight

at some point he started writing messages on them. some with the most loving praise you've ever heard and some w cheesy pickup lines

p.s. he grins ear to ear when he finds out you've got a special box for them all instead of throwing them away

when you're both still a little tired in the morning, or when either of you comes home after a long day, he peppers delicate kisses all over your face, ending with a deeper kiss to your lips

your touch just makes all the headaches of his day-to-day melt away

also takes both your hands and kisses your knuckles while looking at you with all the love and admiration in the world god lord

okay enough with the kissing!

always opens doors for you

compliments you often, and always uses words like stunning or beautiful instead of "hot

loves making you flustered with praise

he's an amazing listener, and he looooves listening to you talk

also, he's quite intense with the eye-contact

he thinks you're the most gorgeos person in the world what can i say

it might seem like he's not paying attention sometimes cause of how lost-in-your-eyes he seems but i assure you he remembers every little thing you say

nods along and hums a little to let you know he's listening

"i remember you said you liked this, so i got it for you" typa guy

you're happy = he's happy

will often sometimes call you to talk about nothing really important, more just for the sake of hearing your voice

and if you're not much of a talker that's fine too, the silent moments you share are never awkward

he's canonically super observant, so if you changed anything about your apperance or if you were in a bad mood he'd notice right away, even if you tried to hide it

great at comfort too, that silky-smooth voice of his knows exactly what to say

he's a very handsome guy (i mean cmon just look at him) so he tends to get hit-on quite a bit

he'd always brushed it off before but ever since he set his sights on you he's been very adamant on very clearly and quickly rejecting others' attempts

when he was making plans to break linc out of prison, a huge amount of his focus went to making sure you were kept safe during the whole process

having you be there from him after news broke and after linc got the death sentence already meant so much to him

so when he trusted you the broad strokes of his plan, and you supported him??? ohmygod this man fell in love with you all over again

yes, he was worried, but he had to tell you, spending days obsessing over prison schematics and getting full body tattoos is rather hard to hide from the love of your life after all

granted, he could have broken up with you and tried to rekindle after he'd escaped, but be fr he could never bring himself to dump you

you never know what may go wrong, and his love for you wasn't exactly a secret, so he took every precaution he could (as in like if someone wanted to harm you cause of your association with him)

he was still super anxious to let go of you

gave you the most passionate and desperate kiss before he went to prison

gets really really homesick for you

calls you whenever he can

would sometimes get teary-eyed from how hard he misses you before falling asleep in his bunk

would lose his mind if something didn't go according to his carefully constructed plan and put you at risk, cause there's not much he can do to control what happens outside foxriver. if t-bag ever found out about you he'd. freak. out.

he's willing to go to great lengths for the people he cares about (it's like the whole plot of the show), so you'd better not play w his beloved

on the rare occasions he has down-time in prison his thoughts always go to you and what you might be up to

he's surrounded by murderers daily and has the gall to be worried about you

sucre would pester him about his love-life a lot. insisting that he recognized yearning in michael's distant expression and saying that no single man could've helped him woo maricruz with that letter (michael writes love letters for you too)

sucre does eventually pull it out of michael and becomes just the biggest supporter of your relationship

this was kinda messy huh

#we're both infj tehehe #michael scofield x reader #michael scofield headcanons #prison break x reader #michael scofield fluff #sucre's obsessed w the romance here #i remember having a LOT of inspo for linc while watching vit now i dont rememberrrrrr

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thefirstknife · 6 months

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Ishtar updated so some stuff is on there finally. Didn't want to spam with too many huge posts with just walls of text.

Absolutely losing it about Chivalric Fire seasonal sword. We finally have a canon reason for ornaments from each vendor. It's becuse they argue what the weapon should look like.

"It should be elegant," says Zavala, striking his breastplate with a fist.

Shaxx isn't having it:

Shaxx's firm gesture of denial drives the side of his hand into a shelf. An Omolon-branded canister falls off and rolls across the floor. "It must be an unstoppable force in sword form! It should spit fire! Also, it should be red."

And then Drifter:

"No, no," the Drifter says from the doorway. He kicks the rolling canister away without looking down. "I'm a law-abiding citizen. I pay my taxes. You can trust me. It needs to look mean. You want people thinking: 'They're madder, badder, and hungrier than me. I'm not tangling with them.'"

I'm losing it over him emphasising that he's a law-abiding citizen. It makes him least likely to be a law-abiding citizen. Then poor Banshee is like can you guys settle on a single design and they continue arguing. Absolutely incredible.

A lot of people already posted about the exotic sparrow Nostos. It's about Eramis reminiscing about her wife Athrys and their children and thinking where she might be now. And then she just basically more or less decides to go to them:

It was the same map that Eramis's mate, Athrys, had followed out of Sol. It even included the habitable zones she'd tabbed as potential landing sites. By now, Athrys might be Kell of her own settlement, living happily alongside their grown hatchlings. Or they might all be long-dead. In truth, Eramis hadn't wondered at either possibility for decades. But ever since she saw the Witness disappear into its portal, Eramis could think of little else. All her prior aspirations were made suddenly small. Eliksni solidarity, revenge against the Traveler, enmity with the Humans… they were all irrelevant. If a second Whirlwind was her fate, Eramis would suffer it as she had the first: with Athrys by her side.

Btw, "nostos" is a theme in Ancient Greek stories, about a hero heroically returning home.

Gloaming Journeyer has also been posted by pretty much everyone. It's about Drifter and Eris sharing an incredibly tender moment and finding peace with each other. Just read it.

Wyrmguard seasonal arm piece has a devastating update on Shaw Han's lore in which it is revealed that the Ahamkara exotic he wears is what he made a wish to. He wanted to have his own fireteam. At the end, he gets a call from "Caster-3" aka Cas, one of the members of his fireteam (alongside Maeve) that ended up dying to Navota. The backfire of a wish. Man.

And one more funny for the end, for Dragon's Breath. A return of Marcus Ren and Enoch Bast! They're doing fine and they're being dumbasses together with their friend, Ariadne Gris. Ariadne might be familiar to people who remember obscure lore from the vanilla sparrow lore Dinas Emrys in which Ariadne was called to the Vanguard to explain why she has a dragon symbol painted on her sparrow. She was being suspected of having an Ahamkara. Ikora found this whole thing ridiculous and Ariadne defended herself by saying a dragon painted on a sparrow was "cool."

And she's back at it again in Dragon's Breath, offended that it's called Dragon's Breath but not having a dragon painted on it. Enoch and Marcus then get a deal with her: she'll race her sparrow against the speed of the rocket. What happens next will shock you. Also, important:

Enoch says. At his side, Marcus studies the case.

Not beating the allegations that they're partners.

#destiny 2 #destiny 2 spoilers #season of the wish #season of the wish spoilers #zavala #shaxx #drifter #eramis #eris #shaw #marcus #enoch #just lore.#so many cool little tidbits

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mysadblacksoul · 7 days

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The Craving - 4/13 of the Clancy album

Hi so the I don't see this song as very lore oriented

The MV is mainly about creating right?

We can see both Tyler and Josh creating a bullet and a box

And we can tell that they had spent a lot of time making those things

In the end, after all that hard work, their creation is put to the test and ultimately it is decided that they failed

They don't even have time to process their failure, because the next person is already called in their place

I believe that this could be a one big parallel to the music industry as a whole

What is more, the thing that they are creating could be a song, you know, Tyler doing the lyrics and Josh the rhythm

They do it in their own style, with decorative elements that are not seen in others (last man's box was much simpler)

The bullet itself is colorfull, one might say over the top

And the man shooting it could be someone from the record label, radio or overall from the industry

So they are the one to decide if the song will be a hit or miss

And I really like the play of the words of "hit or miss". Like in shooting you can hit the target and in the music a song could be a hit, right?

It just shows how quickly the industry is moving, and how fast the people are to declare that somehing flopped

Then in the lyrics the craving itself could mean a hope for creating something both true to themselves as well as well received by the public

intentions don't mean much - so no matter why you write a song, even if it's for a good cause it might still fail

my body in chains - being tied down by the contract

'Cause it's the fear of the unknown / That cripples every step we take - People prefer to follow trends. Create something that is sure to catch on instead of taking a risk and doing something completely new. This losing oneself for fame may have a lot to do with the previous line

I lied

There is shit tone of lore

Buckle up

So the Bishops hate art and music right?

The guys are still creating the song, but in the Dema universe

We know that the only music the Bishops like is that used for propaganda

And we also know that Mr. Clancy has already tried to use it to show people the truth, as in the Overcompensate MV

So I don't think it's a stretch to say that the same symbolism was used here too

Here, the final failure may show, as in Backslide, the number of attempts the guys made to convey the truth to others and to free themselves from the Dema

They missed, their scheme was unsuccessful

And why do I think such a simple music video is part of the lore? Because of two things: it would be too simple not to be part of the lore and Jenna

We know that Jenna is part of the lore - she is a Bandito and appeared in the Saturday MV (I mean her voice, but you get the point)

So could The Craving be simply love? Or desire for both of them to be safe together?

Yesn't

But I am sure that the part in chorous If I found my body in chains / I'd lay down and wait / And hope she looks for me is a direct callback to the Jumpsuit MV

What happened? Clancy tried to escape, he got found and bounded and as he was about to be taken away the Banditos appeared. With Jenna! So she was looking for him after all

Now I see intentions don't mean much and Now I see the gesture don't mean much we are back to the mentality that no matter what Clancy does he cannot change the situation that he is in

'Cause it's the fear of the unknown / That cripples every step we take - callback to the letter from Dema website that reads "He seemed unaffected by the fear of the unknown – the fear that tends to cripple me"

He is afraid of his own feelings, of failure, of letting her and other Banditos down. He has a lot on his shoulders

And now let's go back to the creation. Tyler is making some kind of container, right? And what you can put to this container? A heart

You might ask yourself "What is this fool talking about???" but hear me out

But for now you told me to hold this jar / And when I looked inside I saw it held your heart, from A Car, A Torch, A Death

Now you see my vision?

Plus one bunny is giving another a gift which can be a reference to I will give more than I take away

And what is Josh doing? Carving a box

She's a carver / She's a butcher with a smile from Tear in My Heart

Genius right? Thanks, I'll be here the whole night

In conclusion:

as far as lore goes, these guys are using art and music to oppose the tyranny of the Bishops

Jenna is a very important part of the lore

And I think it will be a while before we can edit Clancy's wikipedia and add "Jenna - his in-lore-wife"

For some reason, I feel that the ukulele has a more important part of the lore than we think

Don't be afraid to take on challenges and try to change your life situation even if you have failed before

Create what you love and not what others love. Stay true to yourself pookies

#band #emo bands #emo #emo quartet #twenty øne piløts #twenty one pilots #tyler joseph #josh dun #skeleton clique #tøp clique #twenty one pilots clancy #clancy #the craving #twenty one pilots theories

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river-in-the-woods · 3 months

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What are some guidelines you follow when you choose to work with a deity? With me, I don't involve myself with those from closed practices or I'd risk retaliation by the people or by the entity themselves. There are beings that sound like they could give me bang for my buck but I'd have to consider if I needed their assistance for a ONE time thing rather than sought out a deeper relationship. Weee there cases where you needed help for a one time scenario and ended it there?

Hi there, apologies it's been so long. I was moving house just as you sent in this question! Now that I'm more settled, let's see if I can tell you something helpful :)

Personally, I've always gone for the deeper relationship. I've not been in a situation where I needed to ask a particular spirit/deity who I didn't know for particular things. But that's just my preference. I value the trust, and invested time and energy I've built up with a being, over what their 'official' expertise is. A spirit or god always has unadvertised skills or other allies they can call on, after all.

That's not to say I've always been successful with it. I've chosen gods I was interested in, made good faith gestures through offerings and prayers, and plenty of times I didn't get the response I was looking for. In which case I would just move on, keep looking, and deal with problems by myself. I've had hard times like anyone else, but I've not been in dire enough situations to feel the need to ask help from a deity I've never worked with before.

Even if you have not settled on a pantheon or tradition, there are still your ancestors and spirit neighbours who live in the same locale as you. Those beings will impact your day to day life more directly, so it's always being friendly to them, giving an offering now and then. At the very least, so they don't hinder you, but in the best case they may like you enough to actively help your endeavours.

If you are looking for a patron deity, one you want to be serious about, there are some things I could recommend. But bear in mind this is based on my own principles; I choose my gods like I choose a significant other. I tend to walk the Path of the Devotee. This is the norm in East Asian magic, so it may be a cultural thing for me as well. It is certainly an exercise in patience.

You might prefer to do things differently, so feel free to ignore if that's not your style.

If the deity is part of an established tradition or unbroken lineage, this is much easier. If the tradition is large enough, they will usually provide laypeople practices you can get started with. You don't have to initiate for this. Otherwise, you'll need to speak to a verified shaman or priest of that tradition and ask them for advice.

Basically, if a tradition has survived hundreds or thousands of years, you can have faith that there is at least something to it – i.e. the deity has already been vetted by that lineage as being capable of supporting several generations. Therefore instead you would evaluate the (human) teachers of that tradition to see if you are happy to receive their guidance. Of course, the teachers have the right to evaluate you too.

If the deity of interest is not currently a patron of an unbroken lineage: you'll have your work cut out for you.

First, study the deity's reputation. I've always looked for virtue in the deities I venerate. Namely, I look for evidence of their compassion, a sense of responsibility for other beings. I choose them as I choose my friends and teachers. The beings you surround yourself with, are the ones you will become more like. Needless to say, don't choose a patron based on just their aesthetic appeal.

I do research on their lore and look for other devotee's experiences of them. You want to pay attention to devotees who have been actively venerating that deity for 10 years or more. How have they grown throughout the time of that relationship? Have they come out of major life obstacles wiser, stronger, more at peace? Can they honestly say that they feel supported and empowered by their deity?

Sometimes a person's life is just a result of their own poor choices and not the deity's lack of responsibility for their followers. But you get plenty of people who claim they are a 'priest/ess' of their deity, that they have been blessed or chosen, or have ecstatic experiences – and yet they can barely manage a shred of humility or a kind word, or they constantly complain about their life being terrible, or they've been stuck in the same negative cycles for years on end. "The proof is in the pudding", as they say.

In any case, there is no point in devoting yourself to a god that will not elevate you and help you become a better version of yourself. Godhood, power and influence, is by itself not a worthy enough reason for veneration. There are many, many gods. Little gods, bigger gods. Not all of them are truly transcendent. And many you will simply not have an affinity for. Don't place your life into the hands of one who will drop you.

Making contact After you've verified the deity's reputation, look for the best ways to contact them formally. Traditional prayers, invocations, mantras, offerings and so on. Make a good impression, express your interest, tell them about yourself, tell them what you admire about them, and so on.

At this point, you could go all out, do a big ritual and ask for their help on something, see what the outcome is. As I said, I don't normally do this, because I think it requires a strong magical and spiritual skill set (which I don't have). But that would be a good way to evaluate the deity as well.

Either way, continue to make regular attempts to contact the deity, always with an offering, however small it might be. Meditate on them and their symbols. This is building your own reputation with the deity and carving a channel of communication with them.

When it comes to assessing the value of a relationship with a deity, I always try to give it at least 6 months to a year. It sounds like a long time, but I personally do not have very strong psychic senses so I need plenty of hindsight to see if my efforts are having the desired effect. And besides, if one is looking for a life-long patron, 1 year is really not that long.

In that time, I make a lot of notes on if/how my requests were answered, if/how my life has improved in that time, any visions or knowledge I've received on the deity, how successful my divinations were, and in general if there is a growing sense of closeness between myself and the deity. It is well worth doing a few big rituals here and there because this is the best way to assess the accumulation of one's efforts.

So, this is how I would get started. I hope it helps, let me know if you have anymore questions on the matter 🙂

#inbox #anonymous #resources #deity work

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aeonophagic · 4 months

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I'm really glad you enjoyed these! the translator is actually user 17979 on here, they've written some really good After God fanfics and are a good friend of mine! the other parts they've translated are: original: "His soul seemed to have left his body. He was unfettered. There was no fear or panic. He felt nothing."

original: "It does not matter. They are one and the same. I need his power. I underestimated him."

and this one is more just a funny one from our treasured translator:

I'll have you know I had about the same reaction to the "You are the story I started 50.000 years ago" line, it just brings up so many questions; VA's lore is scattered as it is and very little is given to us, so just dropping something like this in a convo I doubt a lot of people have read is so [vague hand gestures] it's quite late at night when I'm writing this so forgive any incomprehensibility: the line itself, combined with some others there ("It's tone was surprisingly laden with grief, as if it was lamenting a past that could not return") read to me as slightly contrary to VA being merely a Divine Key, it sounds like he has an amount of history in the PE; my personal idea that is pure unadulterated speculation is that VA might have started out as just a person who had something to do with the PE HoR? it would explain the fact that he repeatedly speaks to a "you" which is clearly not actually Joey in this convo and doesn't seem to be Welt Joyce either considering the 50k years thing, that is to say maybe VA even inherited the core (woo Welt paralel) of the PE HoR; considering that Vill-V does say that the Core of Reason is fucking weird [paraphrasing] and, at least if my memory is holding up, Welt did retreat into the Herrscher Core at least once to avoid dying, there's nothing saying VA couldn't have also pulled that and ended up getting his ass merged with that Fragment of Prommy and turned into the only DK we know to be sentient, I dunno I'm sleep deprived that being said the 3rd line I sent last time would imply that VA was also like not human if all of this happened... I'll just say he yoinked a body Orokapi style and call it a day cuz I think if I keep trying to get these thoughts down on paper they will actually become complete word vomit [thumbs up emoji] anyhow the ramble section ended up being longer than I intended... but the fact that we really know so little of his lore does make my brain go haywire, if they ever explain Void Archives' lore properly that'll probably all be disproven but it's what I came up with considering what we know (and I remember)

“There was no more gravity that bound him to the mortal world” I think this one is in reference to Void Archives likely using the Fenghuang Down… ouuu

I definitely think the PE Herrschers besides Elysia all being nothing more than the names of said Herrschers in the story is one of the things that blocks my road here. Me and a friend have theorised plenty of things about the PE HoR, but none can be confirmed, none are even implied!!! A character with such a nothingburger that you can just make shit up and no one could tell you yes or no. My favorite theory is that the PE HoR looked just like Otto, but a girl. Because it’s funny. But now I don’t know… I can’t sacrifice my integrity for humor… I think the idea of the person that used to be what later became Void Archives was a part of the HoR core is really interesting. It would take from the whole “artificial thing struggles with humanity”, because then they’d have already been human once, but at the same time it would be as if they were reclaiming their humanity which is also intriguing etc etc… it’s really interesting. I initially thought Void Archives’ sentience came from them being part Prometheus since she’s sentient too, but at the same time why would Vill-V merge them with her then..? Because Prometheus is an AI so she can handle the “ever expanding knowledge”? Don’t know… so much left in the air, most Void Archives lore we know is stitched together thanks to No.17 who hasn’t talked about them even once. Thank you for sharing!!! I’m having lots of thoughts…

#rajatalk #void archives #hi3

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ask-carmenpondiego · 3 months

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Chapter 3: Bickered Eggs and Spilled Tea

A few hours later, Carmen wakes up in a rather plush bed, the sun was shining through a set of open french doors, some sheer curtains blowing in the soft warm wind, the sound of waves crashing on the beach could be heard. She blinked slowly and looked around, sitting up and with a wince, she lays back down. She noticed she was naked save for some bandages on her arm and pulled up the covers as she heard that stallion’s voice, “Did you know that you snore?” She looked at him leaning against the doorframe leading to the rest of the building. “Yeah, so? You probably do too.” She scowled. He chuckled and shook his head, “Wouldn’t know, I dont sleep.” She crosses her arms, “Thats obvious, if you had a decent night sleep you might not be an intolerable asshole.” He pats his chest, looking wounded, “Ouch, such loving words to say to your rescuer. I may be an asshole but I saved yer fuckin ass last night. You’re welcome.”

“Fine, Thank you for saving my ass. Now are you going to tell me who you are and where we are?” She gestured about the entire room, and blinked. He was suddenly gone from the doorway and lounging stretched out beside her in the bed. She yelped and held the covers closer to her, leaning away from him. He was dressed in a roughed up white button down shirt, sleeves rolled up, a loose tie lazily hanging from the collar, and same leather pants as the night before; he flicked his thumb and a small flame lit the tip. He used it to light his cigarette and took a deep inhale. “The name’s Marehem. You can call me M. We are currently at a safe house that my brother had when he left on his excursions. He was the one who made me promise to keep you safe. That was before he disappeared.” He blew out a puff of smoke and chewed the end a little. Carmen listened and tilted her head, “Your brother knew me? I’m sorry but I think I would remember befriending a demon” M would cackle in response, “You knew him alright, you fuckin married him. That jog yer memory? I’m Waldo’s brother.”

Carmen sat there in disbelief, staring at him. “Oy, its rude to stare ya know.” She shook her head, “Sorry.. but whatever you are, Waldo isnt that. He was a kind and gentle soul, he was a wonderful father, made me laugh and-“ “And made you cum with how blissfully romantical he was.. myehhh.. yeah I know.” He mocked the cigarette between his fingers as he pointed at her, “He would not shut up about you and the kids. Not that I blame him, he had the cushy life. Me, I like it more rough. We are known as changelings, and the special talent our brood had particularly gave us the title of Balancers. There were the light balancers like Waldo where everything was happy and lucky and goody goody gumdrops. Then there are Dark Balancers where you have changelings like me who balance out that sunshine and rainbows and thrive on tragedy and disaster. You still with me? Jingle jingle..” he explained, producing a set of keys out of shadow and jingled them in her face as she kept staring. She blinked as she processed this. “So… my son is half changeling?” He wrinkled his face, “I drop a whole bunch of fuckin lore at you and all you ask about is your kid? Yes, yer kid is half changeling. He’ll probably grow into his powers when he’s a few years old. I wouldn’t worry about it.” He waved her off. “Do you need to smoke so much?” She asked, waving her hand to blow some smoke away. “It keeps me young-gawd yer nosey. What is it with you and these fuckin questions?” He rolls his eyes and takes another draw. “I used to be a detective, it helps me figure out people.” He gives her the middle finger, “Yah? Figure out this.” She drops her hands onto her lap and looks at him, wondering where the fuck he got that audacity. “You know what, Fuck you. Fuck you and your stupid cancer sticks, and your stupid tentacles, and stupid middle finger, and.. and your stupid face!” His eyes glinted a little as he formed a devilish smirk. Before she could move, he straddled her hips, his hands on the headboard, effectively pinning her there, she yelped and sunk lower in the bed as he lowered his head to near her level. He gives a low growl by her ear, “You wanna try that again, little bitch? Or are you going to be a good little bitch and shut that dirty whore mouth before I shut it for you~?” The only thing between them were the covers on the bed, which Carmen pulled up to hide her scarlet face as she peeked up at him. The sheer threatening and dominating aura he gave off sent shivers down her spine as she held the covers over her blushing face. What the fuck was he doing?! He was her brother in law!…supposedly?! Why would he try to jump her bones after he lost his brother?! “Come out, little bitch, or I’ll make you come out..” he started grinding against her, growling more. She gave a small squeal and wriggled out from under him, slipping off the side of the bed to the floor, scrambling to scoot away to the other corner. He merely watched her skitter in panic and made him cackle. He moved and sat on the edge of the bed, his arms on his knees. “You are fun to tease. Not easy to get along with, but easy to tease.” He stands with a clap of his hands on his thighs, “I’ll go fetch you some grub. You haven’t eaten proper in fuckin months.” He walks out the door, only to back a step in, “By the way, you ain’t a prisoner here. Get up and start slowly movin about. Do ya some good.” She watched him disappear into the other room and curled up against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest.

Everything was so different, she had a hard time making sense if it all. She remembered being in tough spots before, especially before meeting Wally. This felt different, she couldn’t put a finger on it. She felt an ache in her horn and reached up to touch and soothe it. She winced as a mere touch now sent her mind into deep static, making her wobble where she sat. That wasn’t right, it was never that sensitive before. She stood and looks at it closely in the mirror. A thin blackened core swirled between the tan twists, making her horn look almost two toned. Her horn was damaged worse by that electric torture, she was sure it has fractured in a small split in the spiral. Now she couldn’t even touch it without having issues. She was partially glad she never used it with magic due to the previous sensitivity issue but how will she function now? One touch and she could be in trouble!

Carmen heard M coming back down the hall, and she scrambled to find a robe. She moved too quickly, clutched her stomach and sank back to her knees, grunting in pain. The changeling sauntered into the room carrying a tray of food, a warm mug of tea and a water bottle as well as a heating pack. “The fuck you tryin to do? You can’t run anywhere. Yer on an island.” He set the tray on the dresser and scooped her up, plopping her back on the bed. “And even if you could run, you shouldnt. You need to heal first.” He turned and grabbed the tray. She squinted her eyes at him, “You told me to move around.. If I’m not a prisoner here, why am I being held against my will by you?” He had set the tray down over her legs as a popup tray, a small dish of eggs and toast sat steaming fresh. He picked up a piece of toast and waggled it before dropping it, “Move around SLOWLY. You think I fucking want you here? I don’t want to be babysitting some brat who doesn’t know when to shut her yap. I didnt have to feed you, or give you comfort things.” He stood and pointed out of the french doors, “You wanna leave and fuckin screw up yer health and yer chances of getting yer kids back? Be my fuckin guest. Theres the fuckin door, hope you can swim faster than the fuckin sharks.” Carmen scowled, gripping the pillow to throw at him, “How do you think I feel?! I’m in pain after the most horrific night of my life and I have to be berated by you because all I want to do is get back home!”

“I berate you only because you nag me all these questions thats none of yer fuckin beeswax! Theres a reason I like bein left alone, but Nooooo. Wally just had to ask me to make sure yer safe. Well yer safe from everything except yer damn self!”

“You expect me to just sit here and accept every little traumatic thing to me?! I’m sorry, I thought you loved misery and tragedy and whatever else! You just like it if we just curl up and die without fighting back, and easy meal then? Well, FATSO, no more easy meals from me!” She fumed, eating her eggs furiously, “Hey, these are actually pretty good.. did you put chile pepper in these?” M crossed his arms, glaring daggers at her, “Yeah, this ‘Fatso’ knows how to cook. Big surprise. Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m anything BUT fat. I take my weight very seriously! I never over indulge in any meal.” He was right, she looked at him closer while nibbling the toast, he had muscle but it was very lean, in the wrong clothes, he would be extremely lanky. But in the pants and button down shirt tucked in, he just looked toned and fit and much to her resentment, she’d even consider him extremely attractive. Swiveling her ears back, she kept him in her sights, sipping the tea. Blinking she looked in the cup, “Is this…Raspberry leaf?” She takes another sip, analyzing the taste by swishing it around her tongue. “Nettle.. and dandelion.. This is menstrual tea. How did..?”

“When you get to be my age, you pick up a thing or two.” He lights a cigarette and runs his fingers through his hair, his horns looked different today, it was more of a unicorn horn than two demon horns. He also had his tentacles and wings tucked out of sight when he had entered the room. Carmen tilted her head finishing her tea and wiping the rest of the egg up with the last bit of toast, “Not to keep asking personal questions, but you don’t look any older than late 20’s. How old are you?” He rolled his eyes and counted on his fingers, “Lesse… 3, carry the one… how many years ago was that asteroid that killed the dinosaurs again?” She scoffed, “Ok, I get it, you’re old. I doubt that old but I won’t pry.” She sets the tray aside and slouches back with a wince, placing the heating pad onto her abdomen, sighing. “Thank you. I certainly needed your help back there. I’m sorry for being difficult but I am grateful you came by when you did.”

He shrugged and flicked the ash, “Meh. Can’t say its what I do but at least I know where there is opportunity. At least I know how to make you tolerable. All I gotta do is feed you, then no more yelling.”

“I’m not that simple. But the food was delicious. Last night you said I was the only way to get something you wanted.. what was that?” She inquired. He groaned in renewed annoyance, “Again with the questions.. all I wanted was fuckin closure. It was the last thing Wally wanted from me and as long as I got you outta there and some place safe to dump you, I was free and clear of his debt.” She sat and fidgeted with the sheet hem, “I guess we both deserve closure. I’ll help you get your closure if you help me with something.”

He raised an eyebrow taking another long draw, “Ok, I’ll bite. Whatcha need? Because once I’m done with you, I’m gone. You’ll never see me lookin after yer sorry ass again.” Carmen nodded, “Thats fair. All I need is to get back into that asylum. I need some information.” His head snapped up and groaned “You want to.. Rrrrrgh, why the fuck do you want to go back there?! Theres nothing! Look what they did to you! You… you want me to be tethered to you forever and be your fuckin slave.. bullshit! I wont do it! I aint risking my neck for nobody!”

Carmen slow blinked at his tantrum. “I’m glad you agreed to risk your neck. Now I just need to get there, I’ll do the rest-“ “I said no.” He growled. She tilted her head, “Actually, you used a double negative which in grammar terms, you do agree. So anyway as I was saying..” she looked up at him just in time to see the bedroom door slam. “Well that was rude..”

#mlp oc pony #carmen pondiego #ask blog #story update #chapter 3

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madrickyponchos · 4 months

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Hihihihihii I first just wanna say, I love ur artstyle it’s actually so pretty, and so adorable, and super super yummy and delicious, and SECOND, I did a tiny bit of snooping on ur blog (just ur recent stuff), and I’m super curious:

1. What IS ur little world building thing that’s going on, I’m a bit confused 😭

And

2. Would u mind giving an introduction of ur main oc fellow? I love the design btw :333

ANYWAY, I hope u have a good day :D

Thank you very much for the kind words and gestures mate💐 (wish most people were interested like you but I have hope someday it will get attention) so to answer your questions I will spill them out in detail

(heads up: the world building is still in works so I don't blame you if you still get confused at the end of reading it but just to clarify it still in the works but his is what I got so far)

//Warning: Lots of reading (So bring a night light out)

For question 1:

In the world building, it contains things you might be curious with, the world building is considered to be fantasy, sci-fi, (horror but only for the important parts so not as much) coming of age, superhero, and yeah (that's all I can think of) Now. The world of mine is considered to contain, Marvel (supers from the mcu), God Of War, and the famous game itself Minecraft

Now originally, this was only all based off Minecraft itself because our original characters were from Minecraft named Renny and Tank (who you may have heard of on this blog) and in all cases, after the smithing templates were added to the game, I actually started watching marvel again and oh my I forgot how much I loved marvel, so a crazy idea of mine popped up and I decided to add Minecraft and mcu idea together to fit my world building, therefore leaving me to make new characters which are these ones you see today, the reason is because Minecraft's lore itself fit so well with the mcu in my opinion cause of how similar their fantasy and sci fi sides fit together, and also because the trims that were added looked cool and I wanted to think they give their host powers once it was added to the armour, so there (I'll explain that next time when you or someone else asks)

Then a few months later which was during the coming of the new years of 2024, I watched god of war, and I never actually liked it at first but then when I did I loved it so much like the mcu (I watch the 2018 and 2022(?) Ones not the 2000s I'm not an og) and so I decided to add all both mcu, Minecraft, and gow to fit together in the world building cause it actually fits because of the characters we have.

In the story these characters you see today are in our year the present day, and because you think they are in the mcu you think they are on the main universe earth-616 but they are actually on a world of my own called earth-937, the reason gow is in here is because the characters that I will mention are gods as well 1 god who is good and 2 others who are bad (basically villains) and so I thought it would be a good combination because I also have a god realm in the story before this so I guess it makes sense, and mcu is part of this cause I think I already just explained if not just remind me and I'll explain it if I didn't

And finally to question 2:

The main character throughout all of this is a character named Francis (last name being Besong) who is the main person you will see a lot (and again main character) he is known to be: funny (and when I mean funny I mean not by jokes but by the way how he acts when he wants to make someone laugh) fun, responsible, respectful, trust worthy, loyal, (dumbass that can't solve math), and all the good guys traits yk, he's an ambi or omni vert. Francis in the group is known to be the main leader cause he was the first one in the group to become a super, only after a good 5 days his friends found out and became supers themselves with him cause for the past 5 days he was bad at doing his super deeds

Francis is also depressed like any other good superhero cause really who hasn't made their characters depressed its character development lol but francis overtime eventually becomes the strongest super in the group (only to find out something deep about him he didn't know himself, if your still curious just ask and I'll explain what it is)

So...those are your answers, again the world building is basically a wip and still being worked on but I don't plan changing it anytime soon, if you want to know the deeper lore of Francis then I can explain more about him and if you want you can ask about the other characters themselves feel free to don't be shy in fact I've been waiting and hoping people ask about my ocs and world building and such more and know more deeper about it. So looking forward to the asks please send some (please I'm begging) and thank you feel free to ask more idc if you ask as the same person again or anonymous because I am pleased and happy to answer them all and get you guys interested in them. Again thank you very much💐💫💫🤗

#ponchos.txt #user1286 asked #world building #ask more please #ask

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selkiefinalist · 6 months

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for director's cut: you promised not to write me an essay about nate's complicated relationship to his selkie heritage, but if I asked you to write me that essay??? If you aren't up for that, talk to me about your ej/sid ficlet because I, too, have thoughts and feelings and brainworms about two first overalls who went on two very different trajectories and also nathan mackinnon was there. -patrichornkissed

@patrichornkissed i do this for you even though you know i struggle to articulate things well. but if we are going to talk about nate’s complicated relationship to his selkie heritage (in that fic anyway), then i think we have to talk about it in terms of control, vulnerability, sameness, and tradition; and how sometimes nate wants all of those things, and sometimes he wants some of them, but most of them he doesn’t want to want at all. and at least a part of that fic is nate letting himself want.

control is a theme that’s so central to how i write nate, because this is a man who has built up so much lore about controlling his own destiny. changed his training! changed his diet! changed his therapist/therapy! he’s an outcome-based individual, and he can be pretty ruthless (in terms of his own soft-wants) when pursuing what i’ll call a hard-want. no euphemism intended. like, he will ignore the soft animal of his body if it means getting that big silver cup, you know. and the thing about being a selkie is that, at its mythological core, selkies are always in danger of giving up control of their lives. someone steals your skin and you can’t find it: game over. your life is no longer your own. of course in our modern era, that’s no longer such a threat - so instead i translated that into a physical need. he needs to change periodically in order to stay healthy; his biology requires that he face his selkie nature. he can’t cut it off entirely and continue to perform the way he wants to as a player. and he hates that, being betrayed by his own biology. i think you can see that in how he forces himself through the change, when he could let it happen more organically/naturally - he’s like, this is gonna hurt but let’s just get it over with, pain is temporary. and you know i love setting up that kind of life approach because it informs his choice to go all-in on ej even when he knows from the outset that it’s likely not going to turn out the way he wants it to.

that segues into vulnerability, i think, because nate has to change - and, even though the likelihood of someone stealing his skin and trapping him in that salt-scoured shack by the seashore or whatever is very small, it still exists. any time he’s changing, any time his skin is exposed. there’s risk. i played around with the ending scenes a bit in the original outlining, and one of the versions of the end that just didn’t fit anymore by the time i actually made it there was a scene where ej steals nate’s skin in CA, and nate lets him. like, it was implicit that ej would give it back if nate wanted him to, but nate was like, ‘keep it, it’s safe in your hands.’ not to mention the moments where he’s actually changing, naked and in so much pain on a dark beach. not an elegant moment, not the way you want your partner to see you when you’re trying to seem sexy and cool! but he gives that to ej from the very first beach scene - just hands himself over. and at that point, ej definitely doesn’t know what that gesture means - i don’t think nate does, fully, either - but i am here to tell you that gabe wasn’t gently draping blankets over nate or tucking his own hat over nate’s cold little ears, and nate definitely wouldn’t have let him. it might be fun to write that scene, actually (“fun,” lol, punch me in the face please) - from a previous season, gabe taking him out. just to see the differences! of course i told you this already, but that progression of car scenes and beach scenes, and having to painstakingly layer in growing intimacy until we get to that vancouver beach where nate’s like “you should watch me,” and ej finally does. tricky to execute but i do think i did okay with that. MY POINT IS, clear to me from the beginning that nate really wants that vulnerability - he literally gives ej shit about not looking at him in the first scene - even if he hates the implications of being vulnerable. he’s seeking it out from ej specifically because he trusts him not to use it against him. WAAH

sameness is really just in relation to hockey culture; nate’s not the only selkie in the league or the only two-natured, but the league enforces certain privacy standards not just to protect players but to keep that otherness from making any one player stand out too much. all nhl hockey players, at least to some degree, have to buy into that homogenous presentation. and for nate, the chips are already stacked a bit against him, because he’s not the same. more of an undercurrent in the fic but another complication - physically being a selkie can create issues with his play, socially it sets him apart from the team (his pod), and professionally could be seen as a liability from the league.

finally, tradition. on a side note, i’d say world-building in general is one thing i’m actually good at, and i was drafting (early draft) that trip back to cole harbour for christmas and realized i had done almost nothing to actually build out selkie culture. so i had to invent the chest and robe stuff really quick and then go back and insert that lore into other scenes. those symbols ended up working well, i think, but were certainly not part of the original outline.

okay, back to tradition. idk this is going to be a mess, but selkie tradition in this fic is very much draped in privacy, secrecy, and following the rules. how not? if a literal stranger can steal your entire life, you gotta be careful about things. but they live separately versus communally, and are pretty tight-lipped, even with each other. insulated, kind of. and i think like any young person, some traditions are more meaningful to nate and some just seem like a pain in the ass, especially when you know he’s not necessarily the biggest fan of his selkieness to begin with. but traditions also hold a lot of weight, at times. and so nate has to kind of negotiate for himself and within himself which he wants to keep, or at least acknowledge he’s not as detached as he thinks he is (that moment on New Year’s Day when he thinks ej’s about to hit him with a robe, for example). and you know, when he gets to see ej’s whole-hearted acceptance of him, sees ej start to engage in those traditions in his own way, he lets those traditions take a bit bigger foothold i think. also i just wanna cry a bit about baby nate carving little pine trees and stuff on his own chest, putting shells and pucks and dog collars and other important mementos in there :(((((( ok, sorry. if this is a fic about nate growing up, which at its core it really is, then part of it is that moment we all reach as adults where we get to choose what’s important to us or what parts of our histories we want to honor and what we want to let go of, and who gets to be part of that future.

i could go on and on and on and probably point out more things every time, like that meme with the guy and the pictures and the connecting lines but. here you go, fwiw <3

#this is sooooo rambly I am sorry #also I had completely forgotten about that sid/ej fic and now i’m like 👀#could revisit that some day #anyway #please accept this for what it is #and understand why i don’t usually do these lmao #selkie fic tag #hockey rpf #replies #what is writing?#I don’t know her #patrichornkissed

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marshmallowsqoosh · 1 year

Text

[Ghost (Band) | Creation]

Fandom: Ghost (Band) Title (AO3 link): Creation Rating: Light teen CW: no major warnings apply Lesser Warnings: Light violence, fictional science, magick science, Ghouls are Generational not Inherited, author uses Sodo instead of Dew, author uses Stratus instead of Sunshine, Phantom and Aurora used, Summary: Normally it’s Swiss and Stratus that do diplomatic jobs. Aether’s confused... and maybe a little worried about how Sodo’s going to handle meeting new Ghouls on such short notice. ♠ Some small Aether/Sodo towards the end ♥

Extras: Status: complete! Word Count: 5546 A/N: The new Ghoul/Ghoulette are adorable af and I love them, but I'm also a ho that must immediately finangle it into existing lore, even if it's my own lmao.

Inspiration kinda taken from this hexin cute art by @dipendancesld (link goes to artist's tumblr!), in that I hadn't considered Phantom being Aether's "brother" until that very moment and then things went twenty ways from Tuesday but also I just want to bring attention to Phantom being cute off stage, while radiating pure Sodo Chaos Energy on stage. (kinda like Sodo himself is super polite/awkward off stage lol)

Might do more with this after I finish Era Three/Pro Memoria? I have a lot of headcanon about Ghoul summoning metas whoops.Anyways, as usual, not beta read so if you spot typos/weird spots, lemme know ♥

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The Ghouls are working through pre-tour jitters—all gathered in the commons area, talking over each other in an attempt to talk to each other—when Copia leans into the room, rapping against the door frame to get their attention without needing to raise his voice. It doesn't work; but, it does get Mountain's attention and he gestures for the human to cover his ears before he gives a sharp whistle that makes the rest of the band hiss and recoil from him.

He just smiles and gestures towards Copia.

"Wonderful, Mountain, thank you. I only needed Aether and Stratus' attention." The man laughs and gestures, "Sister wanted to speak with you. I believe she mentioned the summoning chamber. Be quick about it."

Aether blinks, slowly, and turns a confused look back on the Ghoulette. The confusion turns exasperated for a moment, when he finds her sitting on Sodo and Rain, "Stratus…"

"What? I didn't do anything! … This ti—oh, you meant these two." She jumps up and laughs, dusting her pants down as she does. "C'mon, let's go see what's what before all the snacks are gone!"

He sees Cirrus slap Rain and Sodo, both, on their hands when they make to try hoarding the snacks in question and gives her a passing look of gratitude before he's quickly following at Stratus' heel.

In passing, he sees Swiss looking more confused than anyone else in the room; but, maybe he imagined it. He waits until they're a few doors away—hopefully out of everyone's hearing range—to finally speak up, "Even if you didn't do anything… don't suppose you know what this is about?"

"Mmm… might have an idea…? But normally they call me with Swiss." She pulls on one of her longer curls and twists it around a claw. "We go on jobs for other branches, sometimes. Branches that don't… y'know, quite have a grasp on rituals and stuff? Or need help introducing new congregation members to Ghouls! And… other stuff!"

"Oh… so… what Bell and Special did?" He doesn't bother inquiring what other stuff could be. He's got… a pretty good idea of it. But, Stratus just stares at him for a stretch of silence. It's not until they get to the elevator that he actually remembers she wouldn't know them. "Oh—they're… it's… it's not important. But… diplomatic shit, basically?"

"More or less! … Still weird they're sending you, though, if it's that… I mean… you and Swiss are basically the same, right? Just… you're better at the… shadow… thingy?"

He knows not to be offended, at least, by the question. They're still not really sure what Multis embody and Swiss being part Quintessence just makes it a bigger mess to figure out. He just shrugs as the elevator lets them out and rolls his shoulders a few times to try working the nervous tension out.

"More or less... I know Om… the… Quintessence before me, from Era Three, he could shadow walk pretty far… I wonder if they think I can do the same…?" Not that he's… tried. But it would maybe explain some of the expectations. "Would save on travel expenses, I suppose… but Swiss should be able to get to all the immediate branches…"

Stratus shrugs; but, she doesn't bother elaborating any when he pulls the pulls the summoning chamber doors open. Imperator regards them for barely half a second and things are just… a lot more confusing than they were a second ago. Aether stares. He feels Stratus shrinking next to him and trying to edge closer; he steps in front of her, instinctively, even when he… doesn't quite feel threatened.

Two Ghouls peek around the woman. Two he doesn't recognise and… honestly, the most alarming part is that he doesn't feel any sort of presence from them. That makes him nervous, but he doesn't feel… threatened, at least.

"Marvelous timing, both of you. I just finished debriefing your new understudies."

"Our new… beg pardon?" Aether's ears twitch as he tilts his head, trying to look at the pair again. The Ghoul looks… about Sodo's size. Bright purple eyes stare back at him, unblinking, even as he clearly struggles not to start squirming. The Ghoulette next to him gives a polite tip of her head, white eyes shining just as brightly, though most of her attention is on trying to see Stratus from around Aether's arm.

"Ghouls, introductions, if you would."

"I'm Phantom." The Ghoul gestures to the other, "And this is Aurora."

"We're delighted to meet you both."

It's hard to focus with Stratus feeling threatened right behind him. Aether forces himself to ignore it, offering her the comfort of his tail coiled with hers to try calming her down a little. "The tour is just over a month away, Sister… this seems—for lack of a better word—inadvisable? Why do we need understudies on such short notice—why us?"

"Those details are need to know and, at the moment, the only thing you need to know is that you will be taking care of them until the next string of Rituals begin. Or before, depending on how things play out." Imperator doesn't bother elaborating any further, true to her point. Just offers a smile that does make Aether feel threatened for a brief moment. "Consider them… your younger siblings. That seems the most appropriate analogy here."

"Siblings—? Ghouls… don't… generally have… siblings?" Stratus finally comes out from behind Aether, brows still furrowed and her lips pursed as she tries to wrap her head around the entire thing. "It's… lovely to meet both of you, but…? I'm with Aether, this is such short notice—"

"Then you should be getting to work. Run along now, they have quite a bit to learn, don't they?"

Aether quickly unwinds his tail from Stratus' and the two hastily get out of the woman's way as she exits the room—brisk paced, not another word on where either new Ghoul came from or… whatever else they were supposed to be summoned for. He turns a slow look on Stratus, "I'm going to guess this isn't normally why you're called away?"

She shakes her head, slowly edging forward until she's close enough to reach out and tap the other Ghoulette on the shoulder. Aurora simply blinks at her, "Is… this a greeting among your batch…?"

"Uh… batch? You mean… group…? Of… friends? I mean—it's—no, it's not, I just… you two… weren't… summoned?"

"Stratus!" Aether hisses at her, "Manners!"

Even so, he feels it, too. There is no residual magick in the chamber. There's nothing warm left, saying a patron was here at some point, to deliver new Ghouls. Moreover… the fact there's a Quintessence Ghoul standing in front of him is… unsettling, at best. Summoners couldn't—to his knowledge—summon more than one. He and Swiss were… exceptions, perhaps, but were also summoned together. Along with Sodo.

Regardless, Copia didn't summon Phantom and he's starting to wager he didn't summon Aurora, either. He wonders if the man's even aware of the substitutions.

"Summoned?" Phantom blinks at her and Aether, in turn, spares him a confused look. "We were… brought here to see you, yes? Is that not a summons?"

"I think she means, who summoned you to… the Ministry? Are you from a different branch?"

"Oh! You mean the creators, then?"

Aether doesn't want to know anymore. Judging by the fact Stratus keeps her mouth shut, he's certain she's ready to move on, too. He shakes his head and just offers a smile as he moves around the pair to put a hand on each of their shoulders. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, we should… get the hard part out of the way so we can start teaching, yeah?"

The pair exchange confused looks and Stratus snaps out of her own uncertainties in favour of chewing on her lip, "Uh… should you do that alone, maybe…? Like… give'm a heads up or… y'know, just… not near the rest of us? Or… anything super flammable like furniture or carpets or plants or—"

"Thank you, Stratus… you've made your point. But, I am also really hoping he'll be a little more amicable if he's around the others. So let's not give these two the wrong idea and just introduce them? It'll be fine."

If either of them are put off, it doesn't show. Aurora happily takes Stratus' hand in her own so she can be lead—Aether finally notices she doesn't appear to be able to retract her claws and, at a glance, neither can Phantom; not as long, but still sharp. Hopefully features that will either glamour with their masks or simply look like nails to Ritual attendees.

Stratus relaxes, gradually, as they get closer to the commons. She actually strikes up conversation with Aurora and Aether keeps a cautious eye on Phantom. He doesn't make conversation; but, he's clearly observing everything—even stopping at some intervals to look down a hallway and Aether just barely manages not to run into his back, when he does. He always offers a sheepish smile and quickly catches up to Aurora and Stratus.

They don't need to make an announcement when they get back to the commons. Swiss standing gets everyone's attention and the room goes dead silent in a second. Stratus offers a nervous laugh as she moves to the front—the two newer Ghouls immediately huddle up behind her—and puts her hands up to try showing things are okay.

It's… a little odd, perhaps, when they hadn't felt the need to cower from Imperator or either of them, but… this is a lot of people.

"Heyyy, guys—so! Uh… guess what!"

Aurora pushes her way under Phantom's arm so she can peek around Stratus, attention fixed intently on the rest of the Ghouls. "These are your friends, sister?"

"They are! Guys, this is Aurora!" Stratus pulls her around—Phantom hastily backs up so he's behind Aether instead and avoids getting presented—and hugs around her shoulders to show things are okay. "She's super cute, huh? So you guys be nice to her!"

"Okay, I'm very offended you're looking at me when you say that." Swiss huffs; but, it does seem to help dispense some of the tension, even as he tilts his head towards Aether. "And this is…?"

Aether reaches back, turning enough he can offer a reassuring smile while still keeping Phantom shielded, "It's okay, I promise. C'mon around, yeah?"

He lets the smaller Ghoul shuffle out from behind him, lets him wave at the group, and just puts both hands on the narrow shoulders, "This is… my little brother. Phantom. Try to be nice to him—wait." Aether stands up a bit straighter and he feels Phantom tensing up when he does. A quick headcount and he just barely resists the urge to groan, "Oh for Lucifer's—Sodo, don't you dare—!"

He probably should have accounted for the fact Sodo wasn't sitting with Rain—somewhere he could be contained if he reacted poorly—and doesn't realise he's across the room from everyone until his horns and tail have caught fire.

Panic. Anxiety. Fear. Aether doesn't get a chance to try calming him down before he gets spooked further by Swiss trying to get close to calm him down—or at least put the fires out—and Aether pulls Phantom out of the way when the fire bursts outward. The sprinkler system will kick in, if he does hit anything, and Rain is right there—

But, that isn't what happens.

Phantom squeaks when he's pulled out of the way and recoils back into Aether when the fire gets too close and then it's just… gone. Swiss manages to get a hold on Sodo so Rain can extinguish him—verified by the anguished screech from the Fire Ghoul and Rain and Swiss both trying to calm him down—but Aether just looks down at Phantom.

"Did… did you do that?"

"Uh… maybe—?" He squeaks again and wrenches himself out of Aether's grip to hide behind Stratus instead when Sodo finally kicks back and gets Swiss in the knee so he gets dropped. But, he just runs out the opposite side of the commons, specifically avoiding the new Ghouls. Swiss is biting out a magnificent spiel of curses that all slur together—lost in Ghoulish and English, with a few Italian swears thrown in—even as he carefully rights himself and lets Rain check his knee to ensure his void is fixing itself.

"Sodo! Sorry, Swiss—sorry, keep Phantom here, I'll get him—uh… Phantom, Swiss; Swiss, Phantom—Swiss can introduce you to everyone." He gestures between them, quickly, putting both hands on Phantom's shoulders again to try calming him down. He curses, quietly, to himself when he remembers he… isn't Copia's but… oddly enough, it does seem to be working. Phantom's breathing levels out and he starts to relax. Just a little, but enough to help Aether take a breath and slow down, too. "You're okay. Just… stay with Swiss and the others, okay? I'll deal with Sodo, he's just… he's really bad with meeting new people. This isn't your fault, alright? Either of you."

"Aeth, maybe you should let him blow off steam first? He nearly combusted." Rain points out, "Or at least take me with you—?"

"The fewer of us, the better, Rainy. I can handle him. … Thank you, though. Stratus, you can fill them in?"

She gives a lazy, two fingered salute, even as she's trying to assure Aurora things are okay. Swiss catches his shoulder before he can get by, voice down to keep from attracting any more attention. "Aether… this isn't a good thing…"

"It'll be fine. We will all be fine. Do not make this harder for him, Swiss." The warning comes out as more of a growl than he means for it to. Swiss looks surprised, briefly; but, it fades just as quickly and he sighs, shaking off and ruffling a hand back through his hair.

"Hope you're right... hope you get that through to Sodo…"

Aether keeps a small scowl on his back until he finally makes it over to Stratus and Phantom, introducing himself easily. Phantom shuffles a little bit closer to Stratus; but, he doesn't try to hide, at least. Aether lets his attention go back to Sodo.

It's easy enough to track him—the anxiety hasn't ebbed any and there's a few scorch marks in the carpet that they're definitely going to get in trouble for later. But, it doesn't take him long to find the other Ghoul, huddled up in the garden on the ground floor, squeezed into one of the statue alcoves and tucked in on himself as tight as he can get.

It's finally recovering from the destruction left from Alpha's death five years ago. Most everything's still dead but… there's a few patches that are trying to regrow, at least, and the horrible smell of sulphur is finally aired out completely. He's… not surprised this is where Sodo went; but, he's still careful as crosses the garden, kneeling down a safe distance away. Far enough Sodo's tail can't reach him, but close enough he doesn't have to speak too loud. Close enough that if Sodo decides violence is the answer… he's going to get knocked over and he's not in a great position to defend himself from the claws and fangs if it happens.

"Sodo… c'mon, they're both harmless." He tries not to tense when Sodo looks up, over the way his arms are curled tight around his knees, eyes glowing a violent orange against his void and the tips of his hair starting to go soot black as the fire spreads through him and starts showing up as veins. "Talk to me, firefly. I know you don't like new people, but that was a bit much, even for you—"

"New people aren't replacements!" Sodo snaps at him, tail lashing out, angrily. It only hits the statue of Lucifer he's hiding behind; but it still leaves a scorch mark in its wake and he simply curls in tighter on himself, breathing harder as he reaches up to grip both horns. The right one starts to heat up his grip; the left one starts to bleed lava from the broken off tip.

Aether quickly loses interest in his own safety and closes the distance to grab Sodo's wrists, trying to pry his grip loose without hurting him worse, "Sodo—Sodo, stop—it's okay… everything's okay, I promise."

It's still an effort to get him to let go; but, he at least tries to pull his powers back under control so he doesn't burn Aether. His tail puts itself out and there's soon simply smoke emitting from both horns and his hands. His entire body heaves with the efforts to calm down.

"Why are you okay with this!?"

Aether blinks, slowly releasing his wrists so he can work on pulling Sodo out of the alcove. It takes… a little more effort than he's expecting—he's impressed by how well Sodo managed to squeeze himself into the space—but he soon has the Fire Ghoul in his lap, running a reassuring claw through his hair, while the other hand runs up and down his back, tracing gentle patterns with his claws to help him relax faster.

"Okay with what?"

"Okay with—with what? With being replaced!"

"I'm not being replaced. Not permanently." Aether doesn't react to the fluctuating temperatures—the bursts of Sodo being too warm and suddenly too cold—just does his best to stay calm so Sodo will… hopefully calm down on his own. "It's only for a little bit… which means I need you to take care of him on stage. Please?"

Sodo chooses then to start squirming and trying to get free of the hold. Aether doesn't fight him on it; just makes sure his claws aren't tangled up in Sodo's hair and lets him get away on his own. He doesn't try to run again., at least… but he's still poised like an agitated cat, arched and coiled tight to himself in the process, tail still lashing out in irritation.

"That's what they told the others, isn't it? What they told Era Three? And why the fuck did you call him your little brother? Ghouls don't have siblings, you don't think that's a red flag?"

A yellow flag, at best… because he knows Sodo isn't wrong. They weren't supposed to be permanent. They weren't supposed to be replacements. Temporary aid, until the upper clergy was appeased to give Terzo his own Ghouls back. Just to prove he was successful and not being elevated by his Ghouls. That he could succeed with any Ghouls.

"Because Papa isn't being tested. Not like… not like the last one was." There's still some tension. Everyone's waiting for something to happen. Saltarian being around is terrifying to those that remember. Stratus doesn't know to be afraid of the man, yet; but, everyone else… they remember. "Sodo… he's scared enough without us putting more pressure on him. And even if we were being replaced, we promised not to do this, remember? You said you didn't want to react like Alpha did."

That, thankfully, does give him pause. It makes him relax enough that he slowly comes out of the arched position and settles to sitting with his legs folded criss-cross and his arms crossed tight to his stomach. "I don't. That's why I ran. I—if we are being changed out why didn't Papa say anything? Why just you two? When do the rest of us get changed—?"

"Papa didn't summon them." Aether blinks, pointing to his eyes, like it should have been obvious, but… maybe Sodo really hadn't noticed in the sudden spike of anxiety? But he knows Aether's being substituted, so he had to have noticed, surely? "Phantom's a Quintessence. Same as me. Papa's amazing but I don't think the clergy would let him summon two of us. Not when they don't understand why Swiss came along with us."

Sodo doesn't look convinced. He doesn't argue; but, he still lets his attention go off to the side, like he's trying to figure out how to explain himself better.

"He's not Quintessence." Aether just stares and, when Sodo looks up to meet his eye, he flusters a little, angry but… not at Aether. "He's not. I don't know what he is—what either of them are but… but they aren't Quintessence or Air. Not… not like you or Cirrus or Cumulus. But… not like Swiss or Stratus, either. I can't figure it out; but, something's wrong about them."

Stratus had seemed to think so, too. She's calmed down, but… he thinks that might be more just… her than anything else. Wary but willing to give people a chance. Still on guard but open to being wrong. She doesn't know to be afraid. Not like the rest of them do. Not like Sodo does, having replaced Mist and Ifrit, both, so quickly.

"Wrong or no, that was no reason to attack them. I was hoping being around the others would've made it easier for you, but… that really wasn't necessary, was it?"

"I didn't… mean to. I mean. I'm still mad, but… that off thing? It was really loud when you introduced him. When he just… made the flames vanish. … I don't like it, Aeth. How do you know it's temporary? What if it isn't? Why replace you and Stratus, why not all of us, why now—?"

"Shh—shh, shh, shh. Come here, before you twist yourself into kindle." Aether opens his arms and is grateful Sodo takes the opening to immediately crawl back into his lap, even as he simply tucks himself into a ball instead of latching on. "Slow down, firefly… we're still okay. Everything's going to be okay. I know it's weird. But the best way we make it less weird is helping them so Papa can focus on the Rituals, yeah? 'Cause to be honest… don't think Papa knows, yet, either. He'd have said something, right?"

He sees Sodo's brow furrow, clearly thinking on it, himself; Aether just smiles and pets his hair back, gently. As long as he stays calm… the others should, too. As long as Aether can stay calm… things can be fine.

"Are you gonna let me answer, now?" He thinks the grumble is supposed to be an affirmative and Aether lets his head rest on Sodo's. "You know how Stratus and Swiss go help the other branches of the church? We're just doing something like that… it's super hush and shush right now, but if they're willing to push this right before a tour starts, I have to believe it's important." He needs to tell himself that. He needs to have faith this isn't going to blow up in their faces. Not like… not like it did for the era before them. "I don't know why I'm going, instead of Swiss. But we'll figure it out, okay? Everything is going to be okay."

It has to be.

Sodo finally nods after a bit longer of staying quiet and slowly starts to uncurl himself. "… Can I try again? Just… just us. Not the others. Just you and… and the new one."

"Phantom." Sodo wrinkles his nose and Aether rolls his eyes a little. Fondly, but still a bit exasperated. "Promise you'll at least give him a chance?"

"... Won't promise somethin' I can't guarantee. But I'll try."

He purrs, the smallest bit, when Aether gives his right horn a kiss and nuzzles at him, "That's all I'm asking for. Do you want to come inside or me bring him out here?"

"... Out here. … Don't shadow walk. Just—you can go back upstairs that way but… don't bring him that way. I… I need a minute."

Aether nods and lets Sodo stand on his own, lets him figure out where his stability is. He only watches for a few seconds before letting out a slow breath and a quick I'll be back soon as a warning before he fades into the shadows. He shakes off as soon as he steps out into the commons and is more than a little relieved to find everything in one piece. Aurora's sitting on Cumulus' lap, on the couch, watching Stratus try to teach her how to braid hair with Cirrus as their test subject. She doesn't look pleased by it; but, she also doesn't shoo the Ghoulette away. Phantom's perched on the arm of the couch, opposite of the Ghoulettes, attention shifting between them and watching where Swiss and Mountain have dissolved into… a game of poker. Rain's watching for cheating—or helping them cheat, he isn't really sure—but it's… still a relief.

Phantom notices him first, ears perking up and his attention immediately going to Aether—followed quickly by Swiss looking over his shoulder and soon everyone else—and it's in that moment that Aether… almost understands what Stratus and Sodo reacted to. It's still a blank stare, but it feels… almost predatory. Not quite danger levels, but… the same as when Sodo zeroed in on stalking before he went into ambush mode.

Aether manages to shake it off and smiles; he's relieved when Phantom relaxes and smiles back; hopeful, if not a bit anxious.

"See? Everything's fine. Phantom, wanna try again? Bit more open space so Sodo doesn't feel as trapped?"

Phantom blinks, "Trapped? This is a very open room—?"

Rain looks wary of the idea; but, he still offers an encouraging smile and stands to give the other Ghoul a gentle pat on the shoulder as encouragement to leave his perch, "It is. But there's a lot of people and Sodo gets overstimulated pretty easy. Sometimes we help make things less, sometimes we make it worse. Guess today it was worse…"

He still looks confused; but, he follows the urging and slowly climbs down from the arm of the couch and crosses over to Aether, looking up curiously, "How did you do that? Coming out of nowhere?"

"I'll show you later," Aether promises, putting a hand between his shoulders in a gentle motion to lead him. It doesn't take much for the Ghoul to fall into step with him, thankfully. "It'll be better if we walk and take the elevator down. Shadow walking is… kind of alarming and Sodo's still a little bit high strung. Just be slow with him, okay? Let him make the first move."

Phantom nods and Aether's… actually feeling a little confident about this. Or, hopeful, at least.

When they get down to the ground floor, he sees Phantom trying to look into the garden windows, ears twitching and tail flickering in slow intervals as he absorbs the damage that never quite healed.

"... This was where Era Three…?"

Aether frowns a little, but still nods. "Yeah. … You heard about that already?"

"Sister mentioned it… to be wary that… that we don't end up like them. If we fail."

"... This… this happened because of what happened to their summoner. She can't hurt you like this without your summoner… but you two… haven't told us who summoned you?"

Phantom stares at him. Aether actually jumps when Sodo leans in from the gardens, clearly confused why they're just standing at the windows. He still freezes up when he's closer to Phantom; but, he doesn't bolt and he doesn't catch fire which is… promising. Aether tries to laugh it off.

"Sorry, I uh… got distracted. We were talking—"

"About Alpha. And a summoner. … Who did summon you? I always thought Quintessence was… only for the upper clergy…?"

Phantom looks between them, slowly, clearly confused. "The… the sister did. With the lab teams…?"

This time it's Aether looking back at Sodo, slowly, just to see if he understands; Sodo looks more confused than he did a second ago and Aether can tell his anxiety is starting to climb again. Although… that might be Aether's own rare manifestation of anxiety trying to twist his chest into knots. He hopes it isn't. If it is, he hopes Copia doesn't feel it.

"Sodo… we can do this another day if you need to; but, right now, I need you to calm down, firefly."

"You weren't summoned. That's why you don't feel right." Sodo finally comes out of the gardens. He stops before he gets too close, clearly struggling with his own anxiety of meeting new people and wanting answers before he finally closes the rest of the distance and puts a hand against Phantom's shoulder. A light, fleeting touch at first; like he's making sure the Ghoul actually is there. When he doesn't vanish, he tries again, pressing his hand a little harder.

Phantom doesn't fight the touch. He just blinks a few times, looking between them like Aether has answers to what's going on. He doesn't seem aware there's smoke coming from his void until Aether yanks Sodo backwards; but, the smoke isn't coming from Sodo. He's not the one generating heat. For the briefest moment Phantom's eyes change to Fire Ghoul orange before they're purple again.

Sodo pulls his left sleeve back and then yanks on Aether's arm—Aether swears as he's snapped out of his own distracted, morbidly curious thoughts—to shove his right sleeve back. He points at his own arm, forcing his patron seal to show up—the Leviathan cross. Aether slowly lets his own seal show up, when he finally stops staring at Sodo's. He can't remember the last time either of them actually made their seals visible. Phantom looks even more confused by the symbols.

"You don't have one. Do you?" No accusation. Anxiety. Aether feels it twisting his insides and it's a concentrated effort not to react.

"Sodo—"

"Do you or don't you?"

"I… I don't know what that is, so I'm going to say no…?" He starts to reach for Sodo's, like he wants to touch it; Aether's still too shocked, himself, to try warning him until Sodo bares his fangs with a violent snarl. Phantom immediately pulls his hand back to himself, apologising, hastily. "I—I didn’t mean to—"

"Sodo." Sodo finally calms down a little, shoving his sleeve back down and crossing his arms, tight to his body for security, mostly using it to hide his arm, even when the seal is protected under his void again. Aether sighs and lets his own melt back into his void, turning the look on Phantom. "Aurora doesn't have one, either, does she?"

"I don't… believe so, no."

"He wasn't supposed to replace you." Sodo mumbles, pulling the attention to himself. His tail flickers and he refuses to look up. "They tried to copy Swiss. That's why it feels wrong. Because it's you… but I'm there, too. She has it, too. Air and Fire. Air controls fire, though; and Quintessence trumps everything. Stratus could probably tell. But they just feel normal to you, don't they?"

Normal isn't the word Aether would use. But he still thinks on it. "… They feel empty. But that isn't their faults—"

"I'm not blaming them." Sodo finally looks calm. Now that he has… some kind of answer, he looks calmer. Feels calmer. He finally meets Phantom's eye. "… You're really not here to replace Aeth?"

Phantom blinks and looks between them, "I—? No? We're here to help. I don't know what they're doing, but… we're supposed to help. … I want to. They showed us your past Rituals." He finally smiles—Aether relaxes and he feels Sodo relaxing, gradually—and looks a little more confident, "You're all amazing. Papa's amazing. I want to see it for myself. But I need to learn, to do that, right? You'll teach me?"

"It's… a lot to shove into a month, but yeah. Absolutely. And you'll have the others on stage to help." He tilts his head a little, regarding Phantom, "Do you remember how we got down here? Can you get back to the commons by yourself?"

"I can! I can… kinda feel 'Rora… will I be able to walk like you? And find the others, too?"

He's not sure who taught him that, but Aether offers a small smile, "Maybe. We'll figure it out. You go ahead, I need to talk to Sodo." Phantom nods and offers a bow—too proper, definitely taught by the clergy, not socialised enough with others—and takes off for the stairs. Aether waits until he's well out of sight—hopes he actually is—and finally turns his attention down to Sodo. " … Think you can handle being around the others, firefly?"

"... Yeah. Maybe. … Broth, first." Sodo lets out a slow breath, attention still fixed on the floor. "… Are we going to tell the others?"

"That they weren't summoned?"

"That they're manufactured. I—it feels… wrong. But they don't deserve that… not having a patron to protect them…"

Aether hums a little, putting his hand against the small of Sodo's back to get him to walk. "Well… we'll protect them, then. Yeah? We couldn't do anything for Era Three but… maybe those two, we can."

That seems to help. Sodo finally raises his head, finally walks with a bit more of his usual confidence.

"Yeah. Yeah, I like that a lot more."

#sqooshy writes #ghost band #ghost fanfiction #aether/sodo #aether ghoul #sodo ghoul #phantom ghoul #aurora ghoulette #stratus ghoulette #ghouls era 5 #rating: teen #based on art #ship: soulfire

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writingonesdreams · 2 years

Text

Bloodless Heir x Tears of Iron AU

I have been daydreaming this scene in the car today. This is Zephyr and my gang being actual part of Bloodless heir universe as Pyrians, living and fighting (secretly against) under the Usurper, waiting for a good leader to support. I rarely know the lore so well as to dare to do this, but ofc I also might be off. Enjoy.😂

For @bloodlessheirbyjacques

Part 2 here

Zephyr put the water glass down on the table and threw himself into the seat, finally having a break, when someone marched in through the front door.

"We are closed!" He called, hoping to get rid of the intruder. The bar that was actually a training room late at night was exhausting as it was. Maybe he should close up sooner. Oh well. He didn't want to be suspicious. They lived in the Usurper's land after all.

The man ignored him and took his sweet time walking through the bar as if he owned the place. Zephyr wiped at the sweat forming at his face - the heat was terrible today - and stood up abruptly. "I'm very sorry Sir, but we are truly-"

Zephyr stopped in his tracks, his brain shortcircuting.

The man, well dressed in a fancy coat and styled hair...looked very similar to...no it couldn't be...Usurper's son was exiled some years ago...last time Zephyr asked around for him, they said he sailed away somewhere...

"Not a bar at all?" Elijah asked, smirking at him as if exiled princes appeared in underground bars in the capital city all the time.

"I don't know what-"

"Let's cut the chit chat and shallow lies. Yes, I know what you have been doing here, training young Pyrian fire mages, that instead to military came to you. You have gathered some nice numbers I hear. You have been causing ruckus and making schemes. Hidden. Secret. In the shadows, not daring to step into the light of the volcanoes." Elijah looked at him cunningly, observing him from head to toe. Like he was measuring if Zephyr really fit such a reputation. "To do what you really want to do," he whispered in a conspiratory voice.

"This could be the end of hidden crawling in the dark. The true heir of Pyria has returned. I'm offering you to be part of the revolution that's coming."

Guy could make a life-threatening risk sound like a kind offer, Zephyr would give him that. But that was about all that spoke in his favour.

Zephyr sighted, throwing the dirty rag he cleaned the tables with over his shoulder. Transforming from the nice and polite barkeeper, average and inferior, eager to please and easy to forget to the persona he showed his students. The person he was polishing, preparing, keeping in the dark for the right opportunity for the truth.

The man opposite him was cunning and a smooth-talker, and maybe he even really was Elijah, the exiled prince. Which wasn't really helping his case.

Two could play this game.

"You are his son." Zephyr said, eyes blazing. "Just make good with daddy and the throne is yours. That's hardly a revolution."

Elijah narrowed his eyes, noticing the change in demeanour. His smile didn't waver though.

"No. Someone else. I said true hair, didn't I?"

Zephyr let his surprise and scepticism show. Every gesture and word were a chess move here and he had to be careful.

Who could he mean? Who would be a true heir? Only King Ezekiel's kids...could they have survived? But those are just fairytales...

"Well? Are you and your guys in?"

He really didn't like Elijah's smug face.

"Listen, buddy. You can't seriously expect me to promise anything on a rumour and some riddled hints."

Zephyr walked closer. He needed to see his reaction, he needed to see past the masks and bravado about what was truly going on here. And if this wasn't a trap and he didn't just give himself out.

"I don't know what's true. There is no truth. That was the first thing that died here with the royal family more than a decade ago." Zephyr jabbed his finger into Elijah's chest, calm steel in his voice.

"What I know, is that whatever you are planning with this 'revolution', you need allies. Meaning you need me, much more than I need you. So if you want to make any deals, what about you show up with your 'true heir' and convince me?"

Elijah clicked his tounge, throwing a quick threatening look towards Zephyr's hand. Then he, infuriatingly, dared to grin again.

"I'll convince you just fine, if that's what you want. Let's meet up. Today at midnight. Same place. Bring your most trusted. You will get to meet the real deal, legends and heirs."

Elijah turned to leave, nonchalantly sealing a deal for time and place to Zephyr's advantage. Was he that arrogant? That fearless? That stupid? Was this all a trick?

Was this all really the truth?

Elijah turned back once, just before opening the door. "We'll see who needs who."

I have been daydreaming this scene for a scenario where Zephyr, Skye, Leander and Kieran are Pyrians living under the Usurper, secretly training others, that could help put Astrea to get the throne. I'm ofc tototally clueless about how the second book and the fight itself will go, so this just my theory - fanfiction - of how it could look like after her arrival in Pyria. I'm not sure if Skye is Pyrian too, do they have immigrants from other lands as well? And do all magics need to be from royal blood lines if they aren't common or corrupted? If this was the case, I was thinking they would mostly be fire mages, with Skye really interested in other countries an cultures, aiming to be a Pyrian diplomatic representative and fascinated by all kinds of magic, and esp taking interest in the corrupt and the combined ones, making her very curious about Astrea. Zephyr is just the same, someone who likes to train and help people and is really skilled in fighting and magic. I just imagine Usurper Pyria like a dictatorship, and this is how my parents grew up and it's a history I'm drawn to for its horribleness and the bravery of those who looked for ways to fight and not get killed by the regime. So the gang would totally train and fight and look for a new heir, and be very sceptic about that heir and about Elijah,...idk stop me if this is waaaay off.🤣

#writeblr #wip crossover #bloodless heir x tears of iron au #my writing #Zephyr #Elijah #these two meeting what can I say XD

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goldenshoyo · 3 years

Text

A commission! If you're interested in commissioning me, send me a dm!

Summary: Iwaizumi comforts you after your ex hurts you again.

Genre: Fluff and smut

Word count: ~3k

Warnings: vaginal sex, fem reader, use of "good girl" and "baby girl", and really not much else. This is soft. Let me know if you want anything else tagged.

---

He's done it again, Hajime thought as he looked down at his phone and the cluster of messages you had been sending him. He knew before opening them, but upon confirming his suspicion, canceled all the meetings he had leading up to the weekend and decided to make you, his propriety. Surely, the team wouldn’t mind. They had more than one athletic trainer for a reason and could easily make do without him for one long weekend.

“Heading out?” Coach Hibarida raises his eyebrow at Hajime as he packed up his bag.

“Emergency,” he says slipping his phone in his pocket. “I’ll let you know if everything is alright. Might need to call in one of the others for tomorrow.”

“No problem.” He crosses his arms and turns back to watching the team run drills. With one last careful glance at a few of the players he’s been concerned with due to past injuries, he leaves to rush to the bakery down the street from your home.

Parking the car outside of the bakery, glad to have made it before the rush, he pulls out his phone and responds to your texts.

Don’t worry. I’ll be there soon. You can tell me all about it when I get there.

He picks out a few croissants stuffed with chocolate, slices of cheesecake and strawberry shortcake, and two turkey sandwiches to go. He laughs as he places the bag on the passenger seat, the sandwiches sound so out of place with all the sugary treats, but he wants to ensure you are taking care of yourself… especially since your bastard of an ex never cared to.

If he wouldn’t, Hajime knew he could.

The sound of your apartment buzzer blaring in your living room pulls you from your daydream… or dissociation… whichever it was at that point. You press the button, giving Hajime access to the building, and try and straighten up the mess that gathered in the room since yesterday evening. Unlocking the door to the living room, you lay on the couch, curling your knees up to your chest and resting your head on a fluffy pillow you’d brought out of your room last night.

You felt dumb, letting this happen again. While it’s obviously not your fault, part of you can’t help but feel like if only you were stronger, you’d stop letting your ex do this to you. It’s nearly pathetic, you think, always letting him back in and letting him crush you just to call your best friend to pick up the pieces. He’s probably getting tired of it and you can’t blame him if he is.

“Hey,” he opens the door, and you see a brown bag from the bakery between his chest and arm.

“Hi,” your voice cracks, and you cough. You didn’t realize your previous fits had affected your voice so soon.

He places the bag on your coffee table and lifts you up to a sitting position and takes your place so you can lay on him instead of the arm of the couch and your pillow. He strokes your hair softly, twirling the strands between his fingers when he gets to the end before letting it fall and repeating the steps. You let him continue this for a while, happy that he’s not pushing you to talk. You know how he feels about your ex, having had a few… well disagreements to put it lightly… over him. It’s easier when he just holds you instead of telling you what you already know.

“I brought you lunch… well I guess it’s actually closer to an early dinner now. But there are also lots of sweets. I tried to get all your favorites,” he tells you softly and you look up and see his face isn’t happy or sad. He looks completely neutral.

“I really appreciate that.” You sit up and let the blanket fall off your shoulders and pool on your lap and the couch. “Thank you for coming by again.”

He wraps his arm around your shoulder and rubs his hand up and down gently. “Anytime. I’m always here for you,” he chuckles, and you give him a confused look. “Even when you make stupid decisions.”

“There it is!” You giggle and lean forward taking the ridiculous amount of food out of the bag. “I wondered when you’d start picking on me.” You hand him one of the sandwiches and lean back on the couch. “I’m really done with him this time.”

“Mhmm,” he hums. You choose to ignore it and eat your food. It’s better this way, not talking about it and just letting him keep you company.

Hajime cleans up the table after you’ve both indulged yourselves, putting the leftovers in your fridge. Noticing your dishwasher had been run, he puts the dishes away and reloads it with what’s spread out across your counters and in your sink. You want to tell him to stop, but from past experience, you know it won’t stop him.

“Come watch a movie with me,” you plead as he shuts the dishwasher. “I think the new Godzilla movie is out, don’t you like those?”

You hear a soft chuckle, barely audible. “Yeah, let’s watch it. Need anything else?”

“Just you,” you tell him, and he smiles at you before taking his place beside you.

His arm snakes around your shoulder and you lean into him. You watch as the movie starts, not really knowing anything about the movie playing out, but laughing whenever Haji makes a comment about one of the giants fighting on the screen. He smiles at you every time he catches your gaze, going into more detail to give you information on the lore or answering a question you ask.

“That was…. interesting,” you comment as the credits play.

“Yeah,” he laughs. “It was good.”

You can’t help but giggle. “Well, it’s not my type of movie. That’s all I’ll say,” you continue laughing and he wraps you in his arms and pulls you closer. There’s a long bout of silence.

“You deserve better, you know.”

“I know,” you say quietly not looking up at him.

“Someone who will take care of you,” he continues. “It kills me every time you do this, letting him in just to use you even though this always happens.” He gestures between you and him. “Let me instead.”

“What?” You sit up, pulling away from him and furrowing your brows. “Let you what?”

“----, I’ve always loved you. You have to know that by now.” He strokes your cheek with the back of his hand. “Please, just let me take care of you. Please,” he continues. His eyes are locked on yours and you shiver.

Of course, some part of you always felt like he may have had feelings for you. But you weren’t sure if they were still present ever since this mess with your ex started 6 months ago. He never said no to coming over to comfort you, and every time you began getting closer and closer with Hajime until you become comfortable just laying on his chest and letting him soothe you to sleep like he was your boyfriend and not your best friend.

“I-“

“You don’t have to say anything now. I know I just sprung it on you out of nowhere, and when you’re vulnerable on top of that.” He sighs standing up and walking towards the door. His hands run through his hair. “I’m sorry to dump it all on you-“

Your body moves before you can think, walking over to him and wrapping your arms around him, but there’s no stopping it now. You kiss him, cutting off his word vomit. His hands cup your cheeks and hold you still while his lips move against yours. They’re softer than you expected, but then again, you’re not sure you expected any of this.

Pulling away you look up at him. His green eyes are looking down at you, slightly glossy and bright. “Don’t go.” You tell him and pull him closer to you. “Please,” you beg, lip quivering and tears threatening to spill. “Please stay.”

As the tears break the barrier and stream down your cheeks the skin under your eyes burn, the skin still raw from the night's previous. It hurts, but the desperately empty feeling you’ve had in your chest is filling up. The warmth returning and your heart feeling lighter and lighter the longer he holds you close to him.

“I’ll never leave you,” he says softly, his hand resting on the top of your head and then stroking down your hair. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you tell him back. It feels weird saying it to him like this. You’ve told him before, but never feeling the way you do now. Your chest swelling and nerves making you want to fidget your fingers. “I’m sorry-“

“Don’t apologize for anything.” His tone is much firmer now, less desperate like before. “I should have told you sooner, then maybe you wouldn’t have gotten hurt so often.”

“It’s not your fault,” you pull away and grab a tissue to wipe your eyes and cheeks. “I’m just glad you told me.” The flood of emotions seems to be washing away, your body lighter and mind no longer cloudy.

“I really need to shower,” you tell him then laugh. “I probably smell.”

“You don’t,” he laughs. “But if you feel like you need to, go ahead. It’s getting sort of late anyway, so I’ll head ho-“

“No! I told you I don’t want you to go. You can stay the night.” You frown at him and he laughs.

“I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to let me stay since I confessed to you, that’s all. I want to respect your boundaries. Especially since everything is so fresh and raw.”

You ignore the way his words make you feel between your thighs and disappear into your room, getting your things together for your shower. Hajime joins you in your room, sitting on the bed and crossing his legs while watching you gather everything.

When you step outside the bathroom door, Hajime has to look away. Your towel wrapped around your body, skin sparkling with water droplets, and the sweet scent of your body wash is too much all at once. Adjusting his pants, hoping you don’t see, he finally looks back at you when you speak.

“I think you left some shorts here the last time you stayed. I’ll see if I can find them.”

“Thanks,” he says quickly.

Tossing him the shorts, you see he’s not making eye contact with you, and you giggle. “It’s okay to look at me, ya know. I mean, aren’t we like… a thing now?”

He coughs, “yeah, I just need to go change.” Getting off the bed, he tries to sneak past you to the bathroom, but you catch his arm.

“Why not change in here?” You tilt your head, a devious smile forming on your lips. “Is something wrong?” You fake a concerned tone, knowing what you’re doing to him. He’s hard, you can see it through his pants, but you don’t dare to make it obvious… yet.

“I… I just-“ he stutters. “I want you to feel comfortable getting dressed is all.”

Instead of answering you drop the towel, your body fully exposed to him now and his cheeks go bright red. He can’t stop himself from looking now, hypnotized with everything he sees. He’s ashamed to even think about the times he’s thought of you this way but seeing you fully nude is so much better than any daydream.

“Fuck,” he mumbles quietly, and you giggle again.

He reaches out, taking your hips in his hand and pulling your body against him. You lean up and kiss him, his tongue slipping into your mouth almost instantly as you wrap your hands around his shoulders. You moan against his lips, your hands sliding under his shirt and feeling his abs underneath.

He breaks the kiss, pushing you gently onto the bed with a small apology before quickly pulling his shirt off and attaching himself to you again. He grinds against you, his thigh rubbing your cunt and making you gasp while he bites down on your neck gently and licking over the skin. Arching your back, you try your best to get as close to him as possible.

“More,” you whimper needing more than just his thigh teasing you. “I need you.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words from you,” he stands up at the end of the bed and pushes his pants down his legs, and steps out of them.

His cock flinging from his underwear and hitting his stomach makes you whine, it’s almost too perfect. His hand wrapped around it and his thumb dragging across the tip nearly make you beg for him to fuck you, but you know you need to be patient.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I promise I don’t mind waiting.” He sounds so sincere; you could cry if you weren’t so pent up and desperate to have him fuck you right. Instead of answering, you sit up, opening the drawer on your bedside table, and toss a condom at him. He chuckles, ripping the packet open with his teeth then sliding it down his length.

“Please,” you say pulling him down towards you with your arm. “I need you,” you smile knowing he likes hearing that. Beyond just tonight, you plan him making sure he knows this forever. “Please make love to me.”

He kisses your lips, his hand holding the back of your head while he pushes you further onto the bed and teasing your folds with the tip of his cock. You whimper feeling the head push past your hole and inside of you. His size didn’t scare you when you first saw it, but now feeling him slowly fill you up you think maybe a healthy dose of fear isn’t such a bad thing.

“Shhh,” he whispers. “It’s okay,” a kiss to your forehead helps you relax. He stops moving after he fully reaches inside of you, and you try to relax more. “Let me know when you’re okay,” he kisses your forehead again. His lips are so warm and soft, you could melt.

“Move,” you beg once you feel the burning subside and become antsy for him to make you feel even more.

The first thrust takes your breath away, making you close your eyes and squeeze his biceps tight with your fingers. The second, you moan so loudly you think the neighbors will hear. You lose yourself completely while he fucks into you. His breath is hot against your neck and ear, shallow moans leaving his lips and making your stomach turn in delight.

“Haji, please! More!” Wrapping your legs around his waist, he thrusts into you harder, and you let out a loud cry. Each thrust is better than the last, and you wonder if you’ve ever felt this good. The coil twisting in your stomach threatens to snap with each swift impact of his cock hitting the spot inside of you that makes you dig your nails in his back.

“Are you close baby girl? Are you gonna come for me?” He looks down at you with a smirk and you nod. “You feel so fucking good squeezing my cock so tight. Come on baby, I know you want to cum. I want to feel it. Cum for me.”

Your breathing hitches and you close your eyes as your orgasm rips through your body; toes curling and nails digging deeper into Hajime’s skin. He kisses you through the high of your climax and you cling to him as if he’s your lifeline. Again, you’re left wondering if you’ve ever felt this good. How has he made you feel this high on him?

It’s overwhelming. It’s too much. You’re not sure if you can keep letting him go. Part of you starts to panic scared you won’t be able to let him continue fucking you.

“Good girl,” he says against your lips. All previous worries leave your body in an instant with those two simple words. “My good girl. I’m close too. Can you hold out for me baby?” You nod again, too tired to say anything and whimpering each time his cock drags against your walls. After a few more quick thrusts he’s holding you still and cumming.

Without stopping for a moment to breathe, he pulls out and stands up. Slipping the condom off and tying the end before tossing it in the bin beside your desk, he then tosses himself onto the bed beside you. He pulls you into his chest, holding you as close to him as he can while slowly stroking your arms.

“Is it cliché to say I love you again?” you ask kissing his chest.

“I don’t think so,” he laughs, chest vibrating against your lips. “I love you.”

“I love you!” You kiss his lips once before laying your head on his bicep and closing your eyes. “Thank you for always being here for me.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he moves a strand of hair from your face and smiles. “I have nowhere else I’d rather be. In fact, that reminds me…” he sits up and reaches down off the bed for his phone from his pants. “Need to tell Coach Hibarida I won’t be in tomorrow.”

#iwaizumi smut #iwaizumi haijime x reader #iwaizumi hajime smut #hajime iwaizumi smut #haikyu smut #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smut #hq smut

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argylesweedstash · 3 years

Text

did you just call me baby

(ao3 link)

The first time it happens, it’s an accident. At least, Dean’s banking on Castiel thinking it’s an accident. And it is, really. Dean fell onto the war room floor covered in black goo with his arms around Cas. Sam and Jack leapt up from the table, moving away from the intricate spellwork that no longer needed their attention.

Cas stirred a little. He’d been out of it when Dean had found him - half-lucid and mostly disbelieving. He’d let Dean pull him up and sling his arm around his shoulders, but hadn’t said much. Only mumbled apologies and words that sounded a lot like, “I hope this is real.”

Jack was first on the floor next to them. “Cas?” he asked, a tentative smile playing on his lips. Cas nodded and within seconds, his arms were full of his son.

Dean watched them, a smile playing on his lips. When they broke apart, Sam offered Castiel his arm. Cas had looked at it before taking it and being pulled into a hug by the taller man.

Dean removed himself from the floor and helped Jack up. When Sam released Cas, Dean stepped in front of him.

“It’s real,” Dean said, looking into Cas’s eyes.

Cas nodded. “Thank you for saving me, Dean.”

Dean finally closed the distance between them and pulled Cas into a bone crushing hug.

“I missed you, baby,” Dean muttered against Cas. When he realized that he’d said baby instead of buddy, he could feel heat rising to his cheeks. He removed himself from Cas and grinned sheepishly at the floor. There was a weird fluttering feeling in his chest. He wrote it off as the adrenaline that was still pumping through his veins.

Cas, for what it was worth, didn’t seem to notice the word. “I missed you, too, Dean.”

That was two weeks ago. Since then, Dean has been avoiding talking about it. Not just his slip, though, the things Cas had said to him before The Empty came and took him. It wasn’t that Dean didn’t feel the same way - he just didn’t know if he did or not. He likes Cas and he’s his best friend. He knows he likes spending time with him. Sometimes he’s overwhelmed by how fond of his friend he is, but he doesn’t read too far into that.

Plus, things hadn’t changed between them. They still watched movies together in the Dean Cave a couple nights a week. Castiel would always come and join Dean in the garage when he was working on any of the cars they kept. Dean would greet him with a, “Good morning, Sunshine,” every morning from his place at the table. The only thing that had changed was that they didn’t have the end of the world looming over their heads. Honestly, this is the happiest he’s been in a long time. Getting Cas back meant that they’d tied up their loose ends and now they could relax. Of course Dean had never felt this happy, they’d never so resolutely saved the world like they did this time around.

Dean is sitting at the table, now, staring at the laptop screen in front of him. There were still monsters, there might still be a case somewhere. In the back of his head Dean knows he doesn’t really want to find a case. He’s been enjoying his time with Cas and Sam. He likes that the most pressing thing he has to worry about is whether or not the fridge is stocked. He knows Sam has been getting stir crazy, though. Maybe he’ll find a case and send Sam off, encourage him to get Eileen in on it.

The sound of footsteps draws Dean’s attention away from the laptop. Castiel pads into the room. He’s wearing one of Dean’s hand-me-down shirts, even though he hasvclothing of his own. Part of pulling Cas out of The Empty meant leaving his grace behind. Jack had been pretty clear - Cas’s grace was the reason Jack was unable to just pull him out. So, here Cas is, as human as Dean, wearing Dean’s shirt. A smile threatens to break on Dean’s face.

“What’re you up to?” Dean asks.

Cas turns to face him. Dean notices toothpaste stuck to the corner of Cas’s mouth, he must have just finished brushing his teeth.

“It’s almost lunch time,” Cas says. “I was going to make myself something. Are you hungry? I can make enough for two.”

Dean shakes his head. “Just ate,” he says. “You, uh -” He gestures vaguely at Cas’s mouth.

“I what?” Cas asks, tilting his head a little.

“Baby,” Dean starts as he gets up from his chair to walk over to Castiel. “You have some toothpaste. Right there.”

Cas stares at Dean, wide eyed. Dean resists the urge to roll his eyes and grabs a napkin from the table. He wipes at Castiel’s mouth before he crumples the napkin and walks it over to the trash. Cas watches his movements.

“What?” Dean asks when he notices Cas staring at him. It’s not that he minds, Cas just looks a little lost.

Cas just shakes his head and puts a smile on his face. “Nothing. Thank you, Dean. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s part of being human, man. No worries,” Dean says, depositing himself back in his chair. “You gonna eat in here?”

“Yes, of course,” Cas says, finally moving from where he was stopped.

Dean nods in his direction before he pats the chair next to him, smiling up at his friend. He returns to his research as Cas busies himself in the kitchen.

Two days later, Sam is gone to go after a nest of vamps and Eileen’s place just happens to be on the way there. Dean isn’t quite sure why Sam hasn’t just asked her to move in. He’s pretty sure Sam had refrained before because Dean had been a wreck with Cas gone. It was probably better for Dean and Eileen’s relationship that she hadn’t seen him like that. But now, there was no reason for her not to be here. She was family, after all.

Dean knocks on Cas’s door, ending his stream of thoughts. Dean was kind of bored and he hadn’t taken Cas anywhere but the supermarket since they’d brought him back. And, come to think of it, Dean couldn’t remember the last time just he and Cas had gone out for drinks.

Cas answers the door already dressed. “Dean. I was actually coming to look for you.”

“Well, I found ya first,” Dean says, putting an easy smile on his face. “Was gonna see if you wanted to come grab a drink with me. Looks like you’re going somewhere, though.” He didn’t want to press, but where on earth could Cas be going? It wasn’t like he really knew anyone around here outside of Sam and Dean. And if someone they knew was in town, why hadn’t Dean heard of it?

The ends of Cas’s lips turn up slightly. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Dean lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and beams at Castiel. “It’s a date, then. Give me five minutes and I’ll meet you at Baby.”

Cas nods at Dean’s retreating figure and mumbles, “It’s a date,” before shutting his door to walk to the car.

Dean meets him there a few minutes later. “Had to grab my keys,” he says, holding them up for Cas to see.

The drive to the bar passes in comfortable silence, Cas staring out the window at the passing buildings. Dean drums his fingers on his steering wheel. He glances to Cas a few times; he almost can’t believe Cas is really back. He’d been gone for two months. Dean had spent most of that time frantically reading through every lore book and the rest drinking until he couldn’t remember the pain. It had been Jack that finally suggested opening the rift and leaving Cas’s grace behind. Dean had been ready to go almost immediately.

Now that Castiel was back, Dean felt better than he had in years. A warm feeling had settled over him after they fell through the rift and it stayed around. Whenever he was with Cas he could only describe the we he felt as “content.” Like now, for example, he could drive all night like this and be pleased with the way he spent his evening.

They pull in and Dean holds the door to the bar open so Cas can walk through. “Grab us a table and I’ll get drinks,” he says, clapping his hand over his shoulder and walking past him to the bar.

He gets the bartender’s attention pretty quickly. “Hey, Lynn. Slow night?” he asks.

She rolls her eyes at him and pushes a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face. “It’s a Wednesday, what do you expect?” She gives a little chuckle and leans against the bar. “Where’s your brother?”

“Sammy’s with his girlfriend. Won’t be back for a few days,” Dean says easily. “Left me alone with Cas over there.”

Lynn looks past him at Castiel, who is seated at a booth in the corner. He’s looking around the mostly empty bar, seemingly taking in the neon signs advertising different kinds of alcohol. He’s wearing one of Dean’s flannels, Dean realizes belatedly.

“He’s cute,” Lynn says. She turns her attention back to the man in front of her. “What can I get for you two?”

“Two beers,” he says. And then, as an afterthought, “And two shots of your top shelf whiskey.”

She grins. “Celebrating something?”

“Come to think of it, yeah,” Dean says. “He, uh.” He looks for the words. “Just got back from a work trip. Gone for a couple of months.” That sounds like a good cover.

“I bet he’s happy to be home,” Lynn says, setting the beers in front of Dean before turning to grab a bottle from the shelf behind her. “You seem happy that he’s back.”

It’s Dean’s turn to grin. “I’m freaking thrilled. Dude’s my best friend.”

Lynn slides the now filled shot glasses toward Dean. “Want a tray to carry all that?”

Dean doesn’t get to answer before she’s sliding a tray toward him. “You need a tray,” she says, putting the drinks onto it. “I know you were going to try to carry all this over there without one.”

Dean thanks her and slides the tray onto his left arm, steadying it with his right hand. He turns toward the booth Cas is in and flashes him a smile while he lifts the tray slightly, indicating the beverages.

“That my shirt?” he says when he gets to the table. He sets a beer and a shot down in front of Cas.

Cas looks down at the flannel and then back at Dean in a way Dean can only describe as bashful. “Yes. It must have gotten mixed in with my laundry. I can return it, if you want.”

“Keep it. Looks better on you anyway.” Dean picks his shot up and motions for Cas to do the same. “We’re celebrating, Cas.”

Cas picks up his shot and looks at Dean curiously. “What are we celebrating?”

“You’re back!”

Cas smiles warmly. “I am,” he nods. “Thanks to you.”

“Well, Sam and Jack helped,” Dean says, grinning.

“To humanity,” Cas says, raising the shot.

“To humanity,” Dean echos before taking the shot.

Cas makes a face after he downs his and raises his beer to his lips to chase the taste away.

“You’ve not had a drink since you got back,” Dean remarks, watching Cas take a few long drinks from the bottle.

“You haven’t either,” he replies.

Dean contemplates the statement. “Really?” He takes a sip of his beer. “I guess I’ve just been busy.”

They both know that isn’t really true. Dean’s only been engaging in leisurely activities, he’s just not been drinking during them. He wonders for a moment why that might be. It’s probably because he doesn’t have any pain he needs to ignore, he thinks.

“Your tolerance is going to be shit.”

Cas shrugs. “I’m a cheap date.”

Dean looks at him for a moment before laughing. Cas gives him a genuine smile before returning to his beer.

Several beers later, Dean cuts himself off. Someone has to drive home and Cas is more than a little giggly on the bench across from him. He takes a sip of his third beer and gives Dean a measured look.

“What?” Dean asks, putting a soft smile on his face. “See something you like?”

“Yes,” Cas says.

Dean grins back at him. There’s a tug somewhere in his chest, but he ignores it. “Anything on your mind?”

Cas just looks at Dean, clearly deep in thought. “Not really, no.”

Dean laughs and shakes his head. “Want another?”

Cas’s beer is still half full. “Another what?”

“Another drink. Or another shot.”

“Another shot might be nice, actually.”

Dean smiles at him. “That’s my boy. I’ll be right back.”

He returns to the bar and waits for Lynn to walk over to him.

“Two more?” she asks.

“Just another shot,” Dean says. “I’m driving but huggy bear over there can have whatever he wants.”

Lynn shakes her head and pours another. “You two been together long? I haven’t seen him in here.”

Dean blinks back at her and then looks down at the shot. “Actually we, uh, we haven’t talked about… that. Being together.”

She frowns at Dean and he takes a breath. He hadn’t been avoiding it, really. He and Cas had just fallen back into their comfortable rhythm.

“He doesn’t know how you feel, does he?” Lynn asks. She looks a little sad now.

“I guess he doesn’t,” Dean says thoughtfully.

“You should tell him.”

Dean looks up at her.

“Not tonight, though. He should probably be sober.”

Dean nods and grabs the shot. “Thanks, Lynn.”

He sets the shot down across from Cas when he gets back to the table. “For you.”

Cas downs the shot as Dean settles back down across from him. “What were you two talking about?”

Dean stares at Cas. He knows he shouldn’t lie but if he says anything Cas may actually want to talk about his feelings and Dean isn’t ready for that. He doesn’t really have words and he’s not even sure he’s fully processed Cas’s confession yet. And, Lynn was probably right. Cas should be sober for that particular conversation.

“Sam,” Dean lies easily. “This is where we come for drinks. Neither of us have been by in a while.”

Cas accepts the lie and sips from his beer before starting a conversation about Jack and the prospect of weekly family dinners.

By the time Cas had finished his beer the shot he’d taken seems to hit him. “Dean.”

“Cas.”

“I’d like another shot.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “You can get it.”

Cas frowns at Dean before swinging his legs to the end of the booth to pull himself out. He pushes himself up on the table and wobbles a little before Dean is up and at his side, steadying him.

“When you don’t stand it hits you all at once,” Dean explains. He’s gripping Cas’s bicep and shoulder.

“I know how drinking works, Dean. I spend all my time with you.”

Dean chuckled low in his throat. “How about we get you home?”

“Can I drink there?”

Dean turns Cas to face him fully. “Hell yeah, you can.”

“You’ll be drinking, too?”

“Well, yeah. I won’t have to drive us anywhere. Can’t let you have all the fun.”

Dean walks Cas to the Impala and deposits him in the passenger’s seat. “I’ll be right back, baby. I have to pay the tab.”

Cas stares at Dean for a moment before opening and promptly closing his mouth.

“I’ll leave the door open in case you hurl. And I’ll get a bag from Lynn.”

Dean returns to see Cas has closed the door and is currently slumped against it, sleeping. He rolls his eyes and drives him home, careful to avoid the bumps on the road. When they get home, he shakes Cas awake.

“‘Morning, Sunshine.”

“It’s not morning, Dean,” Cas replies groggily.

“Nope,” Dean says, leaning over to pull Cas out of the car. “Let’s get you to your room.”

They make their way through the bunker slowly. Dean sits Cas down and gets him out of his shoes and, after a brief moment of hesitation, his jeans. Once he’s gotten Cas under the blankets, he gets a glass of water from the kitchen and a few tylenol from the bottle he has stashed in his room.

“Alright,” he says, setting everything down on Cas’s night stand. “Take the tylenol when you wake up. You’re probably going to be hungover. And drink some water, okay?”

“Yes, Dean,” says the Cas sized lump under the covers.

“Let me know if you need anything else, okay? I’m right down the hall.”

Dean turns to leave but Cas makes a noise. Dean turns back around.

“Thank you for taking me out tonight, Dean. I had fun.”

Dean smiles. “I had fun, too. Get some sleep, baby.”

He flicks out Cas’s lights and reminds himself to stop calling Cas buddy. The dude loves him and Dean’s probably making it hurt or something. Plus, he’d accidentally called him baby when he’d first gotten back from The Empty. Dean’s probably sending him mixed signals. He shuts the door behind him and walks to his room; he knows he should probably figure out what to say to Cas. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure that meant poking at that warm, fluttery feeling that seemed to be permanently in his chest.

Sam returns from the hunt a week later. He assures Dean it was an easy hunt and that he and Eileen hadn’t needed any help. He also admits to spending a few days with Eileen after they’d taken out the nest.

“How is she, anyway?” Dean asks, handing a beer to Sam and setting one on the end table next to Cas. They’d been watching old western’s in the Dean Cave when Sam got home. Cas had wanted to spend the day watching movies and Dean had agreed on the condition that he got to pick the movie.

“She’s good. She misses you two,” Sam answers.

“Tell her to get her ass out here,” Dean says. “She’s family at this point, man. She should be here, anyway. It would make hunts easier.”

Sam shook his head, smiling. “That’s the first hunt I’ve been on since we beat Chuck. You still haven’t been out.”

“Hey, I’m keeping Cas company. He’s still newly human,” Dean argues.

“You could go hunt if you want, Dean. I’m capable of taking care of myself. I don’t mind,” Cas says from the couch. Dean looks over at him and shakes his head.

“Nah, you’ve been back less than a month. We gotta make sure you have your sea legs before I go anywhere, baby.”

The words left his mouth effortlessly. Sam and Cas just stared at him for a second before Sam coughed.

“It’s great seeing you guys but I’m going to go shower and pass out for a few hours,” he says before making a quick exit toward his room.

“Fine, Sammy. We didn’t want to hang out with you, anyway,” Dean shoots back before collapsing onto his side of the couch.

He hits play on the movie and settles in. He has his own bottle of beer pressed to his lips when Cas speaks.

“Dean?”

“Yeah, Cas?” he replies, lowering the bottle from his lips.

Cas is quiet for a moment. “Why do you keep calling me ‘baby’?” he asks carefully.

Dean stares back at him. “I only called you that once,” he says, on guard now. Had it slipped out again? He didn’t think it had but now he’s not so confident. He sets his beer bottle down.

“No, you’ve done it five times.” So, it had slipped out again. More than once. “You did just now before Sam left.”

Dean is silent, unsure of what to say. He hadn’t even realized it had come out. “I’m sorry,” he finally decides, lowering his gaze from Cas’s stare for a brief moment.

“I don’t mind it,” Cas says quietly. He’s looking somewhere to the left of Dean, his eyes occasionally flickering to Dean’s face. “I thought you were doing it on purpose, is all.”

Dean can’t seem to form a fully coherent thought. He knows he needs to say something - mention Cas’s confession, maybe. But he doesn’t have the words for that yet. Instead he says, “Do you want me to stop?”

“I want you to do it on purpose,” Cas says, looking down. Dean can see the beginnings of pink on the top of his ears. He’s overwhelmed with an ache somewhere in his chest.

Dean doesn’t know why, but he slides in close to Cas. He reaches his hand out and lifts his chin so their eyes meet. “Anything you want, baby,” he says, softly. The fluttering in his chest is more insistent now.

He hears Cas’s breath hitch. Cas closes and opens his eyes before saying. “Can I ask something?”

“Of course,” Dean says, his hand still resting on Cas’s chin.

“Will you kiss me?”

Before Dean registers what he’s doing, he nods and ducks his head in. The kiss is chaste and quick but Cas leans in and responds gently. When they break, there’s a soft smile on Cas’s face.

“Cas,” Dean says, moving his hand to Cas’s cheek. “I, uh. I need to talk to you about. About what you said. Before you… Ya know.”

“When I told you I loved you?” Cas supplies, his eyes half-lidded.

“Yeah,” Dean says, chuckling lightly. “I. I think I do, too. I just haven’t -”

“You don’t have to say anything, Dean. You know that.”

Dean brings his mouth gently back to Cas’s and kisses him again. This time just a little longer, his other hand finding Cas’s waist.

“It was just so easy when you got back,” Dean says when he pulls away. He tries to find any string of words that expresses how he feels. “I didn’t think I needed to say anything but…”

Cas stares at Dean, encouraging him to keep going. Dean can feel his face heating up.

“Lynn asked how long we’d been together,” he says, lamely. “The bartender,” he adds.

“I didn’t get to meet her but I remember her name.”

Dean smiles at him and takes a breath before speaking. “And I told her we hadn’t talked about it. And she looked really sad. I realized I do need to say something.”

They’re silent for a moment and then Dean says. “Holy shit. That was a date.”

Cas looks confused. “You told me it was a date.”

“I did?”

“Yes. When I said yes to going with you, you said ‘it’s a date.’” Cas says.

Dean shakes his head. “It’s… It’s an expression, Cas,” he says. Then, “But, uh, that was a date. I think.”

“Dean. Did you want it to be a date?” Cas asks. His voice is lined with both patience and amusement.

Dean pauses for a minute before saying, “Yeah. That was our first date.” He leans in and presses another kiss to Cas’s mouth.

Cas kisses back and then pulls away a little. “Would you like to go on a second date?”

Dean makes a show of thinking. He hums lightly.

“Dean.”

“Yeah, Cas. I do,” he places a kiss on the side of Cas’s mouth before he drops his hand. “I, uh, I don’t really know what to say but… You can have me, if you want. You’re just going to have to work with me. I don’t really know what I’m doing here.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Cas says.

Dean places a kiss on Cas’s cheek before he turns back to the TV and starts the movie. Cas reaches across to grab his hand, intertwining their fingers in the space between them.

“Hey, baby?”

Cas’s head pops up in response to the pet name, there’s a faint smile on his lips. “Yes, Dean?”

“I love you.”

Cas beams at him before replying, “I love you, too.”

Dean turns his head back toward the TV but spends a better part of the rest of the movie sneaking glances at Cas. He indulges the warm feeling in his chest, even if he doesn’t quite have the words for everything yet.

#supernatural #destiel #destiel fanfic #spn #mine #bye this was inspired by a post I made because im a monster!#my writing #my fic

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