#A request from Sunstone

[sunstone-smiles]

The Legendary Vox Machina Tickle Fight

Original request (from 🦋 Anon): "LE GASP!!!! UR A FAN OF VOX MACHINA TOO 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 Omggggg can you PLEEEEEASE do day 18 tickle fight with the Vox Machina group? They're all so cute together and I'd love to see that!"

Author’s note: Omg, this turned into a huge fic, but I have no regrets, Lol. Here’s Day 18 of Tickletober: “Tickle fight” from August’s Prompt List! I hope you enjoy!

Series: The Legend of Vox Machina

Characters: Pike, Grog, Scanlan, Keyleth, Vex, Vax, Percy, and Trinket

Word count: 4,585

Summary: The Vox Machina crew is having a boring day, so Scanlan attempts to lighten the mood, but Grog’s misunderstanding of one of Scanlan’s words soon turns into a playful fight between the party.  Enjoy!

---

It’s just that kind of day, where the Vox Machina crew gets to relax with one another, but they’re teetering on the edge of drab boredom. They don’t want to go out. Too much effort. So whatever is available in their current cozy sitting room is what keeps them occupied.

Pike, standing on a chair so she can see better over a wooden table, cups a pair of dice in her hands; the sound of the dice clicking can be heard as she shakes them. Grog sits across from her with the table height at his stomach due to his large size. The muffled collision of dice can be heard in his hands as well.

“Ready, Grog?” Pike asks her friend.

“Ready!”

At the same time, they throw their dice onto the table. Pike counts the two numbers on her dice quickly. “I got a six!”

“A three! I win!” Grog celebrates.

“I hate to break it to you, buddy, but six is higher than three,” Pike says sweetly, understanding that her friend has difficulty with numbers.

“Aww…” Grog deflates a little. 

“It’s okay, buddy! We can try a different game.”

Grog leans back in his chair like all the muscles in his body have gone limp. “But we’ve already tried so many. I’m bored.” 

“Heh,” Pike leans her elbow on the table, “Can’t blame you there, buddy.”

“Don’t worry, everyone! Your savior is here!” Scanlan walks into the room, making a performance out of his entrance. He runs up to the same wooden table Pike and Grog are at, hops up onto a chair and onto the table like it was a stage and he was a vendor. “I saw that it was a little dreary in here today, so I know just how to lighten the mood,” Scanlan moves his eyebrows up and down when he says “mood.”

“Oh goody, more mind numbing dirty jokes,” Vex says from her seat across the room. Trinket’s head is in her lap as she passes the time by brushing his fur. Vax sits in a separate chair next to her, polishing his daggers. Meanwhile, Percy draws in his sketchbook as he sits in a chair up against the front wall near the doorframe, while Keyleth sits next to him in another chair and touches up the leaves of a potted plant.

“No no, nothing dirty,” Scanlan replies. “I have tailored this joke to be pristine and appropriate. Ahem!” Scanlan clears his throat loudly. 

“What do you call a cow that’s good at playing an instrument?” Scanlan asks his crowd of friends. He waits and looks around at each of them to keep them in suspense. Then, he answers. “A Moo-sician! Eh? Eh?” he winks and elbows the air.

All of his friends slowly look at each other before looking back up at Scanlan, unamused and in total silence. If crickets were in the room, they would be chirping.

Scanlan puts his hands on his hips. “What? Nothing? Tough crowd.”

“It sounds like you need to get better material, my friend,” Vax shows a brief smile.

“Yes, I would think you of all people would come up with better material than simple puns, Scanlan,” Percy teases.

“I don’t know. I thought it was a little funny,” Keyleth admits.

Scanlan gestures an appreciative hand to the Ashari. “Thank you, Keyleth! But as for the rest of you! How did you not find it funny?! That was one of my best rib-ticklers!”

Grog places a finger to his chin. “Oooh, wait! No wonder no one laughed, Scanlan!” Grog exclaims. The goliath stands from his seat and walks around the table to be behind Scanlan. “That wasn’t a rib-tickler! You got to use your hands. Like this!” Grog finishes his sentence by swiftly moving his hands under Scanlan’s arms and tickling his ribs. The smaller man jumps with a yelp in surprise and throws his elbows down to his sides. 

“Grohohohog!” Scanlan already begins giggling, “I didn’t mehehehean it literally-hehehe! It’s a figure ohohohof speech!”

Grog tilts his head, genuinely confused, “You’ve lost me.”

Pike perks up, a grin brightening her features like the glow of her divine magic. “Oh, yeah! Now this is something exciting!” She stands up straight like she was preparing to charge into a battle. 

“Tickle fight!!!” Pike calls out with the same ecstatic tone as if she was announcing a tavern brawl for everyone to see. She leaps onto the table and rushes over to Scanlan. 

“Grog, hold him for me!” she exclaims.

“You’ve got it, buddy!” Grog keeps his hands under Scanlan’s arms, easily holding the bard in place as his fingers wiggle against his ribs.

“Nohoho, no, no! Pihihihikehehehe!” Scanlan’s laughter increases when Pike joins in and scribbles at his sides. Scanlan curls himself to the side and tucks his face in his shoulder as Pike and Grog successfully team attack him. Scanlan’s joke may have not lightened the dull mood of the room, but his own laughter certainly does.

“Heh,” Vax chuckles as he watches from the sidelines. “Too bad for you, Scanlan. Looks like you’ve waged a war with Pike and Grog.”

“Remember our scuffles that usually turned into tickle fights?” Vex smiles at her brother.

“Ah, yes. You mean the ones I always won?” Vax returns a smug grin.

“Excuse me?” Vex says, playfully offended. “If I recall, you are more ticklish than I. I’d have you begging for mercy in seconds.” Vex places Trinket’s brush on her seat, keeping her eyes trained on Vax.

Vax places his dagger on the table and leans forward, keeping his grin and his eyes on Vex. “I beg to differ, Stubby.”

“Well, I’ll show you, Scrawny!” Vex exclaims and lunges her hands at Vax, immediately getting a solid scribble to his ribs. Vax yelps as the pulse of ticklishness hits his form, momentarily paralyzing him before he clamps his arms down to his sides, then shifts tactics to try and shove his sister away.

“Vehehehehex!” the male twin leans himself off his chair, then crashes to the floor. Vex pounces down after him and tickles his ribs from behind, causing Vax to release a secondary burst of giggles before he curls up and rolls onto his back to attempt to grapple his sister’s wrists. He leans his head back and kicks his legs behind her.

“See, now what did I tell you, dear brother? You’re still the more ticklish one,” Vex teases and easily slips her hands from Vax’s grasp to continue tickling him. There’s no follow up response from Vax except a continuous stream of giggles and a loud snort. Knowing the sound he just made, he curls himself onto his side and tries to hide his face in his arm.

“Aww, and you still snort too. How adorable,” Vex lays the teases on thick.

“Shuhuhuhut up!” Vax finally responds.

“Hey, that’s not very nice. It seems I just have to tickle you more to change your attitude,” Vex smiles and scribbles a hand towards her brother’s belly, causing him to curl himself up tighter. As the twins scuffle, Trinket happily growls at them before trotting off towards the doorway to lie down.

“Hehe, looks like the twins have already roped themselves into the fight,” Keyleth chuckles from her seat.

“It’s inevitable that siblings will get themselves into little squabbles from time to time,” Percy says beside her, not even taking his eyes off his sketchbook.

Keyleth turns to him with a smile. “Did you usually get into tickle fights with your siblings, Percy?”

He glances up at her. “Me? Oh no, no. I don’t do tickle fights.” He returns to sketching.

Keyleth tilts her head. “Huh? But, it definitely sounded like you were speaking from experience…”

Before Keyleth can ask another question, there’s a Scanlan sized giggly scream from the other side of the room. Grog has grabbed Scanlan’s arms and pulled them to the side to allow Pike to scribble into his underarms.

“A lihihihittle hehehehelp here wohohohould be–hehehe nice!” Scanlan shouts out to whichever one of his party members is willing to listen.

“Hold on, Scanlan! I’m coming!” Keyleth answers the call. She places the plant on her chair, then runs over in the direction of Pike. The Ashari makes it to the edge of the table and tries to swipe at Pike, like she was attempting to catch a rabbit, but Pike jumps back.

“Whoa!” Pike says. “Oh no, Keyleth!” Pike already giggles as she turns to run. She hops off the table and Keyleth chases behind her.

“Oh no you don’t, Keyleth!” Grog immediately puts Scanlan down and rushes to Pike's aid. Before the chase has even begun, Grog snatches Keyleth off the ground in a hug as she passes by the corner of the table. He places Keyleth’s feet back to the floor and scribbles into her sides, earling a squeak from the Ashari.

“Eehehehek! Grohohohog!” Keyleth giggles and squeezes her arms down. “Thihihihis height difference mahahahakes it sohohoho unfair!” she says as she realizes the ticklish predicament Scanlan must have been in.

“Sorry, Keyleth! But if you mess with my best buddy, you mess with me!” Grog grins as he carefully wiggles his fingers to Keyleth’s ribs, keeping her in place as she sways like a leaf in the breeze.

Pike twists on her heels once she hears Keyleth’s laughter. She smiles at her buddy Grog as a thank you. Past Grog’s form, however, Pike sees the wooden table they were just at. The once giggling form of Scanlan is now missing. 

“Huh?” Pike wonders. “Where did he–”

“Sneak attack!” Scanlan loudly announces his presence behind her as he digs his fingers into Pike’s sides.

“AHA!” Pike yelps from being taken off guard. “Hahaha! Scanlahahahan!” Pike darts her hands down in an attempt to pry the bard’s hands latched onto her sides.

“You thought you could just tickle me and get away with it? Oh no, no, no, Pike. You see, now it’s my turn to even the playing field,” Scanlan grins. “Who would have guessed that under all that armor that the mighty Pike is so ticklish?”

“Ohoho, yohohohou’re going to rehehehegret saying thahahahat!” Pike giggles.

“I regret saying a lot of things, but this is not one of them,” Scanlan replies.

Seeing six out of the seven party members get thrown into a tickle fight, Percy places his sketchbook on the side table next to his chair, then stands. “Well, if you all are going to continue fooling around with each other, then I think I should take my leave.”

Percy turns towards the doorway to exit. However, as the big brown bear sees Percy walking in that direction, Trinket trots in front of the doorway and blocks the exit. The bear growls at the white-haired man.

Percy takes a step back. “Wha– Trinket?”

“Good thinking, Trinket!” Vex says, seeing the exchange between her bear and the noble occur. “You’re not going anywhere without first joining the fight, Percy.” Vex glances to her bear, “Trinket, be a dear and get Percy, will you?”

Trinket happily growls at Percy. The noble takes another step back.

“Wait, Trinket!” Percy puts his hands up.

The bear growls again and charges at Percival. Trinket headbutts Percy square in the stomach, with enough force to push him, but not to hurt him. Percy hits the back wall as Trinket charges at him and, being the large bear that he is, Trinket easily traps Percy to the wall by having his head right up against his stomach. With another happy huff from the bear, Trinket begins nuzzling his snout into Percy’s stomach, finding a way under his dress shirt and vest for his snout to be most effective.

Percy flinches and his mouth twitches upwards; he tries to restrain his snickers while he attempts to shove Trinket’s big, playful head out of his shirt. “Trinket! Stand down, boy! I am not a toy for you to cuddle!”

“Good boy, Trinket!” Vex exclaims. She leaves her brother in a crumpled pile of giggles and runs over to help her bear. 

“Let me lend you a hand, Trinket,” she says, now standing beside her furry companion. “Or perhaps, two hands?” she wiggles all of her fingers at Percy.

“V-Vex! Don’t you da–AHare!” Percy closes his mouth shut once Vex lunges her hands at his ribs. A few restrained snickers start to trickle from the man as he turns his face away into his shoulder.

“Percival, you’re holding out on me,” Vex teases. “You do know that it’s a tickle fight, right? So, laugh a little,” she moves her hands up his ribs and into his underarms. Rather quickly, his snickers sputter and turn into full blown giggles.

“Vehehehex!” Percy completely breaks into an outpouring of bubby joy. He bends his arms down for protection, but that doesn’t stop the loveable bear from nuzzling into his belly. He tries to wiggle his way out of his predicament.

“There we go! We got him, Trinket!” Vex glances at the bear before looking back at Percy. “See, Percy? You would have missed out on all this fun had you walked out.”

“I will nohohohot be subjugated to-hohoho thihihihis childish gahahame!” He wiggles to the side and successfully dislodges himself from Trinket and the wall, then wastes no time in sprinting across the room.

“This isn’t over yet, Percy!” Vex exclaims. Right before she takes off for the chase, a woosh of black cloth passes by her.

“I’ll deal with you later!” Vax glances over his shoulder to his sister as he runs by.

“Yeah, right. We’ll see about that,” Vex smiles before following suit and running back into the frey.

Percy, knowing he’s a target, skids behind Grog and Keyleth and takes cover.

“Grog! Let me use your body as a shield!” Percy peeks out from the side of the goliath.

Grog’s view turns towards Percy. “Uh, okay.”

“I’ve gotcha, Keyleth!” Vax says from Grog’s other side and leaps onto the table, then he jumps off towards Grog. He lands on Grog and wraps his arms around the goliath’s neck, piggy-back style.

“Hey!” Grog tries to snatch Vax from over his back, releasing Keyleth from his hold. “Get over here, pipsqueak!” Grog spins from side to side to toss Vax off of him, but Vax keeps his grip. Grog sidesteps one way and nearly crashes into Percy, sending the noble stumbling backwards and onto the floor; when Grog sidesteps to his other side, Vex also stumbles backwards and onto the floor when she tries to dodge.  

Grog halts his movement to try and get a better grip on Vax, but the dagger wielder shows him a smirk and uses one hand to scribble at the goliath’s ribs while Vax’s other arm holds himself up by staying wrapped around Grog’s neck.

Grog jolts and a bigger smile grows on his already large features. “Hehehey! Vahahahax!” he tries to reach up at the half-elf again. “Nohoho fair!”

“No fair? We’re playing a tickle fight with a guy twice our size. Creative strategies have to be used, my friend,” Vax smiles at him. 

“And don’t forget about a little bit of magic!” Keyleth recovers and faces her palm towards Grog. Her hand glows and vines sprout from the floor, wrapping themselves loosely around Grog and brushing up against the rest of his torso.

Grog stops going for Vax and pulls his arm down as deep laughter booms from his chest. “Ohohohokay! Mahahahaybe I earned thihihihis!” Grog says through his giggles.

Vex stands up and leans an arm on Trinket. She sees Percy still on the floor, but she’s quite amused with the sight of their tallest ally being overpowered by tickling. She’ll call off her chase, for now.

“Ohohoho no! Grohohog!” Pike says through her own laughter as she hears Grog being felled by giggles from across from her.

“Oooh. What a shame,” Scanlan says over Pike’s shoulder. “It seems like you and Grog have fallen to the same tragic fate of revenge—WHOA!”

Pike uses a burst of strength to yank one of Scanlan’s arms and fling him to the floor in front of them onto his back. As he lifts his head up to regain his bearings, Pike pounces at him like a wolf and knocks him back to the floor. She dives her hands towards his sides, earning a shriek of laughter from Scanlan.

“Pihihihihike! Yohohou already had yohohour turn tickling mehehehe! Hahahave mercy!”

“I’ll consider it, if you help me help Grog,” Pike negotiates with a smile.

“Nohoho way! Hehehe started it!”

Pike shrugs, “Suit yourself then.” She crawls her fingers back up to his underarms, causing Scanlan to kick his legs out behind her and his giggles to increase.

Pike glances beside her to Percy, who’s still leaning back on the floor as he watches Grog’s current fate. “Percy! Come help me with Scanlan!” she says to him.

The noble shakes his head. “No, thank you. I’ve had my fair share of this fight for one day.”

“Come on, Percy. You’re got to have some fun once in a while.” She puts on a smirk. “Or are you too much of a stick-in-the-mud noble to do so?”

Percy’s stunned. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Pike’s tone is one that’s begging to be challenged. Percy narrows her eyes at her, but Pike has already turned her attention back to the giggling bard.

“Now Scanlan, are you willing to help me assist Grog?”

“Yehehes! Yes!” Scanlan raises one arm above his head and purple magic begins to swirl around his hand. Pike pulls her hands away from him, allowing Scanlan—breathless and full of residual giggles—to summon his magical purple hand and glide it towards Grog. Scanlan rolls onto his stomach to see the world upright and controls the magic of “Scanlan’s hand” to tap Keyleth on the shoulder.

Falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book, Keyleth turns to look at the hand. “Huh? Hey!” She exclaims when the hand drifts down to tickle her side. When she twists to avoid it, the hand follows her and tickles the rest of her torso. Scanlan and Pike snicker from the sidelines.

As Keyleth giggles, her concentration on the magic vines falter and the vines retract back into the floor.

Now free, Grog swings his hand behind his back and grabs a hold of Vax’s ankle. He yanks the half-elf from his back and holds him upside down in front of him. A mischievous grin across the goliath’s features is what Vax is met with as he dangles from the ankle. 

Vax releases a nervous chuckle. “Any chance that you’ll put me down, big guy?”

Grog shakes his head like a child who’s gotten their way. “Nope. None,” Grog says and plunges a hand into Vax’s belly. The half-elf barks out a surprised laugh and clasps both of his hands to Grog’s singular large one in any attempt to pry it from his giggling belly.

“Well it wahahas wohohorth a shohohohot!” Vax says.

“All right, Grog!” Pike cheers. Scanlan dissipates his magic hand, releasing Keyleth, then plops onto the floor to take a well deserved break. 

“I’m coming to help!” Pike gets up to dash over to Grog.

“Hold on a minute, Pike!” Percy swoops in behind her and scoops her up into his arms, causing Pike to shriek as he lifts her in a hug off her feet. He has his arms wrapped under hers like he was holding a cat.

“Allow me to show you that a noble can indeed have fun,” Percy smirks. He tightens one arm around her while his other hand starts to scribble into her side. Pike jolts with another burst of giggles and attempts pushing on Percy’s arm to squeeze herself free.

“Pehehehercy, wahahait! I was just kihihihidding!” she kicks her feet in the air.

“Of course. I know that, Pike. But I have to protect the reputation of my good name. You understand,” he smiles. Pike’s squirming becomes strong enough to where Percy nearly drops her, but he catches himself and places Pike safely to the ground, though still with one arm wrapped around her and one tickling her to keep her in place. Percy chuckles as he kneels down, takes a seat on the floor, then pulls Pike into his lap to now have the ability to tickle her with both of his hands, sending her giggles even louder. 

Keyleth eventually recovers, arms still wrapped around herself. She processes her surroundings, noticing Vax’s situation.

“Oh no, Vax. Not again,” Keyleth straightens herself out and prepares her hand to summon more vines.

“I’m going to stop you right there, Keyleth!” Vex rams into the Ashari with a giant hug.

“W-What?! Vex, what are you–dohohohoing?!” Keyleth squeaks at the end of her sentence when Vex takes her turn at tickling the Ashari. 

“Well, you were about to help my brother out of his predicament, and I’m quite entertained by his situation. You wouldn’t want to cut that entertainment short, now would you?”

“Buhuhuhut Vax is in trohohohouble!” she giggles in response.

“Nooo, he’s fine. Look at him. He’s smiling, laughing. He doesn’t need our help,” Vex grins. Trinket happily huffs to himself. Seeing that his allies are enjoying themselves, Trinket trots away over to a spot behind a still resting Scanlan to lie down and watch the rest unfold, until his assistance is requested again.

Just then, a giggly scream from Pike catches Grog’s ears. The goliath turns his head to see that Percy is scribbling a hand at Pike’s belly while the gnome kicks and curls her arms around herself.

“Pike! Buddy!” Grog shouts. He drops Vax to the floor like a bag of gold and dashes over to Pike. Percy looks up just in time to see the massive goliath barreling towards him. His eyes go wide and immediately lets go of Pike. He crawls backwards on his arms and lifts himself to his feet as Grog approaches.

“Grog, wait! We can talk about this!” Percy turns to run, but Grog instantly snatches him off the floor and into his arms, holding him very similarly as Percy did to Pike. Grog spins to face his buddy, then wastes no time in digging a set of his fingers into Percy’s side. Percy lets out a startled chortle before his giggles find their way out again. 

“Pick on someone, your own size!” Grog grins behind him.

“Thahahat’s rich cohohoming from yohohohou!” Percy responds. He wiggles and slips his nimble self from Grog’s arms, ducking under them before running. 

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” Grog says before he and Pike take off after him.

Vex witnesses Percy is involved in another chase. She chuckles. “See, Percy! Told you it wasn’t over!”

As she finishes her sentence, Vax suddenly lunges at her and tackles her to the floor. 

“And I told you that I would come back for you later,” Vax smirks above her as he darts his hands towards his sister’s sides. A minor shriek releases from Vex before she slaps a hand to cover her mouth, though Vax can see her smile twitching from under her fingers. Her other hand attempts to shove at Vax while the heels of her boots dig at the floor.

“Ah, ah, ah, sister. We will be having none of that. You saw me giggling my head off, it’s only fair that I see yours,” Vax crawls a hand up to her underarm connected to the hand blocking her smile. Vex yanks her hand down with a shriek that results in the joyful sound of laughter.

“Vahahahahax you a–ahahahaha!” The rest of Vex’s sentence is erased by her giggles. 

“Language, sister,” he playfully scolds her, knowing exactly what she was about to say. He turns to the Ashari. “Keyleth, want to provide some assistance?”

Keyleth nods with a smile, “Okay!” The Ashari makes her way over. She sits on her knees on the floor next to Vex’s other side and joins in, scribbling at Vex’s stomach. The giggles of the female twin grow higher in pitch as she attempts to protect and slap away the two pairs of hands scribbling across her torso.

“Twohoho against ohohone? Well I cahahahan play thahahat gahahame too!” Vex exclaims. “Trinket! Hehehelp me!” she shouts across the room.

The bear growls and lifts himself to his feet. Trinket begins charging forward. Scanlan hears the loud pounding of paws behind him and turns his head to see Trinket running in his direction. Scanlan leaps to his feet and runs straight, keeping his eyes on the bear. Meanwhile, Percy turns the corner on the other side of the room and runs right towards Vex, Vax, and Keyleth, though his eyes are also on his pursuers.

Almost at the same time, Scanlan and Percy look forward, seeing not only are they going to crash into each other, but into Vex, Vax, and Keyleth as well. They try to slow their movement, but Pike and Grog crash into Percy, while Trinket crashes into Scanlan, sending everyone crashing into the twins and Keyleth—which creates a party-sized dogpile with all the Vox Machina members.

As the “dust” settles, Trinket, who was on the edge of the pile, lifts himself up and finds Scanlan lying on the edge next to Grog. The bear nuzzles Scanlan’s neck as an apology, which slowly pulls Scanlan out of his dazed state. 

“Trinket,” Scanlan giggles as the bear gets in one final tickle at his neck. He shoves at the bear’s snout. “Come on, cut it out.” 

The bear growls with glee. As Trinket steps back, everyone else begins to slowly emerge from the pile. Eventually, they untangle themselves and stand to stretch their previously squished bodies.

“Well, that was a fight that I bet none of us were expecting,” Vax says as he stretches out his back.

“To think we were taking a day off and ended up fighting each other instead,” Vex mentions. “But that does seem like something we would do, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know about you all,” Keyleth chimes in, “but I thought it was fun. I know I said something earlier with Scanlan’s joke and no one agreed, but I can’t be the only one who thought this was fun, right? I mean, it was enjoyable enough for Percy to join in.” She gestures a hand towards the white-haried man.

Percy crosses his arms. “My hand was forced into the fight, thank you. Under no other circumstances would I have joined.”

Pike shrugs. “Eh, all it takes is a few teases and poking fun at his royal title to get him to hop in,” she teases and smiles at Percy. Percy rolls his eyes, though he returns a warm smile to her as well.

“It was unexpected, but at least it brightened the mood,” Scanlan says. He turns to look up at the goliath. “You did good, Grog,” Scanlan compliments.

“Hehe, thank you,” Grog takes the compliment. He blinks a few times and puts a finger to his chin. “Um…what exactly did I do good again?”

Vax pats him on the arm. “You were just being yourself, big guy.” 

“And we love ya for it,” Pike hugs his ankle. 

“Aww, come here, you!” Grog picks her up in a gentle, but firm hug, then places her on his shoulder with a grin.

Some would say that they’re one odd bunch of adventures, but to them, they’re just one big happy family.

[suzukiblu]

WIP WE'RE-JUST-GONNA-PRETEND-IT'S-WEDNESDAY GAME

Slimmed-down post/rules, but originally taken from @/kedreeva.

It’s WIP Life-Happened-So-Thursday-Is-This-Week's-Wednesday! This week's theme is "is anyone going to raise that unaccompanied minor?" I tried to pick ones I hadn't really written too much in lately, so a couple of the more obvious options did not get picked, but I just wanted to give some slightly more neglected WIPs some attention.

Here’s how it works:

I will post the file names of five WIPs, and will also post a snippet of new content from one of them to get the ball rolling.

Send me an ask with the name of one of the listed WIPs and I will write you a minimum of three sentences in that WIP in response!

Multiple requests are fine, but please send them in separate asks. Just a little easier for me to fill them that way, and also easier for people to read through the WIP tags smoothly later.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

WIP names:

Krypton lives and Kara did not sign up for this (( chrono || non-chrono ))

Clark panic-adopts his teenage clones (( chrono || non-chrono ))

Jon and Martha, professional soulparents (( chrono || non-chrono ))

congratulations, it's a metaweapon! (( chrono || non-chrono ))

YJ accidental baby acquisition (( chrono || non-chrono ))

snippet from “Krypton lives and Kara did not sign up for this”:

She doesn’t really know what to think, that a pair of contrary teenagers with combat training and terrible manners and enough telekinetic power to at least crack sunstone are afraid of her potential reaction to a broken lid. When Thirteen cracked the floor, he didn’t freeze like–

When Thirteen had cracked the floor, Kara hadn’t lunged in and grabbed him, she remembers. She hadn’t touched him at all. 

Match had touched him, though. Grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the cabinets and held him there, and she hadn’t known why. And then–

They’d both frozen, then. 

Oh, she thinks. Was that . . . ? 

Maybe they at least don’t hate each other, if Match was trying to “punish” Thirteen before she “needed” to.

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Symbolism of Eos

🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️

Eos is the rosy fingered goddess of the dawn, the sister to Helios and Selene, and the daughter of Hyperion and Theia. She was known for her insatiable lust for men inflicted upon her by Aphrodite. She is a fairly unworshiped goddess for how large she is in Greek mythology, and is long overdue for a cult renaissance! Maybe we can reignite that cult by beginning with some of her divine symbolism and magickal correspondences!

🌈 colors:

- Saffron. According to Greek mythology, it is said in Theogony that lady Eos wears a saffron orange cloak reminiscent of the morning dawn’s sunrise, so saffron/orange and red are the colors typically most associated with her.

🍎 foods/herbs and spices

- Saffron. Again, although no foods or spices are explicitly stated to be divine of or sacred to Eos, it can be inferred by text that saffron is a spice that can be reasonably associated with her.

- Coffee. Although not mentioned directly, coffee is the drink perhaps most universally associated with the morning, the domain of Eos, so it can be assumed that coffee would be quite sacred to her.

- Cereal. Another breakfast item that is widely associated with the dawn and morning, cereal isn’t just a modern invention, grain cereals have existed for thousands of years, and although I’m not too certain on wether or not it’s always been a breakfast staple, the fact that it is so synonymous with it now leaves me reasonably sure it must be sacred to her!

🦌 animals:

- Grasshoppers. In the story of Eos and Tithonus, the goddess petitions Zeus for her most recent lovers immortality, however, she neglected also to request eternal youth. In time he shrivelled up by old age and transformed into a grasshopper. Classic dick move from big Z. Anyways, grasshoppers are sacred to her as a result of this incident.

🌸 flowers:

- Rose. Known for her rosy pink fingers and complexion, warmly toasted by the morning sunrise, roses are the obvious choice for lady Eos if your going for a traditional association! If you want to try something a bit more modern though..

- Morning Glory. A flower that closes up at night and opens up to the sunrise, this flower has Eos’s signature in its very name, and is a perfect flower to plant or collect in her honor!

💎 crystals:

- Sunstone. Named after the star she is iconic of, sunstone is an easy choice as a crystal or gemstone to equate to the goddess, it’s glorious orange hues are very reminiscent of her glory.

- Crocoite. A fairly obscure one, Crocoite is literally derived from the Latin name for saffron, due to its extremely fragile nature and beautiful hot orange color. A great special addition to an altar or shrine to her!

🪐 planets:

- The sun. Obviously, being the goddess of the sunrise, the sun is the planet that reigns as her sacred domain, a trait she shares with other sun related deities like Helios and Apollo.

☄️ astrology:

- Sagittarius. A fiery, passionate goddess with a history of Ill fated love and nearly debilitating lust, mother Eos is almost certainly a sag.

☀️ other iconography:

- Pitcher. In many Ancient Greek depictions of the goddess, she can be seen carrying a pitcher or watering can, a symbol of a new day and its fertility and awakening new growth it brings.

- Tiara. She is also known to wear a beautiful tiara that is always sitting upon her head, much like the shape of the sun rising in the morning over a hill!

🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️🌅☀️

Do you know of Eos? And if so, what do you find epitomizes her glory and beauty for you? Let me know! If you like this post and wish to learn more about the gods of Hellen, consider following my blog! Happy day and blessings 🏛️💙

[yanderecookierunkingdom]

[Love Letter Event<3]

Can I get a romantic letter from Hollyberry and/or Golden Cheese for a sky lesbian guard from their kingdom? (First time even trying to request this so.. yeah it uh.. sucks but here goes nothing..? Lol)

[A messagener comes running up to you once you land after your air patrol. They hand you a letter, wish you a happy Valentines Day, and scurries off. It's a pink envelope, and the paper is a lighter pink.]

My dear hummingbird,

I hope you've been well and taking care of yourself! I wouldn't want my dear spending too much of her time in the air, especially today. I know that I've been away lately, making sure Pitaya Dragon Cookie doesn't cause any mischief.

I'll be returning some time today so that we can have the day for ourselves! I hope you're as excited as I am.

With all my heart,

Hollyberry Cookie

[A messenger Cheesebird comes cheeping up to you, carrying a letter between its beak. It wishes you a happy Valentines Day and then flutters off. The letter is a beautiful golden shade, and the paper is a shade lighter.]

My radiant sunstone,

I do hope that you'll come and visit soon once your patrols are over! Leaving your goddess all alone on this day, shame on you, my dear. Here I was hoping that we could spend the whole of the day together.

I joke, of course. I truly hope, however, that you do come soon enough. I wish to spend this day of love with you to celebrate another year of our glorious love. Please, do not keep me waiting, suntstone.

With love only for you,

Golden Cheese Cookie

[avasedits]

"The Cast as Gems From Steven Universe" request for @polymathart

Odin - Iolite . Maggie - Serpentine . Gil - Sodalite . Ava - Sunstone . Erios - Opal .

[hotpinkboots]

Steven Universe with a s/o that's a bit of a daredevil and does alot of flips and stunts on rollerblades?

~~~~~~~~~~

~𝓢𝓽𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮 w/a Darling That Rollerblades~

~~~~~~~~~~

~Enjoy~

★★★★

𝓢𝓽𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮

★★★★

~While he thinks it's the coolest thing EVER that you can do all these stunts,

~IT ALSO GIVES HIM ANXIETY

~Nothing that his magic saliva can't heal, but it doesn't stop him from freaking out a little bit.

~Might encourage you to go to Sunstone's safety class.

~Which might be a bit annoying because you've been rollerblading for so long. Of course you know how to stay safe on them. Even if something happened, it wouldn't be a shock, people fall on roller skates and rollerblades all the time, ya just get back up again or put a band-aid on it.

~Always reminding you to wear a helmet and buys you a bunch of safety gear.

~If you tell him you're fine and you've been skating for years, he'll be a bit embarrassed for going overboard.

~But it's cute, he's only trying to keep you safe (and we all know he tends to overthink A LOT)

~If you compete in any events, he's there cheering you on

~He likes to sit there and watch you do your thing, occasionally cheering you on and offering you some snacks

~Steven admires the stunts you can do!

~Even if it gave him a bit of anxiety at first, he realizes you've got it, you're the pro, you know what you're doing.

~As long as you're careful and you don't try doing anything that you aren't prepared for, it's all good!

~~~~~~~~~~

Request Guidelines!

~~~~~~~~~~

Join my Discord Server! There you can talk about my fanfiction, roleplay, chat, watch movies and listen to music with other fandom nerds!:

~~~~~~~~~~

~Love, PinkBoots

[anewgayeveryday]

Today's LGBT+ Character is;

Lisa Williams and Allison Carter from Sunstone by Stjepan Šejić-WLW

Requested by Anon

Sunstone is an Adult 18+ comic, with themes of BDSM, so please keep that in mind if you want to look for it

Status: Alive (and married)

[sonicasura]

Kaiju Cores and Relics

I decided to expand more on the Knack x Kaiju No.8 concept from my asks. I'm including some things from Knack 2 alongside a few Species Swap shenanigans. The latter can be found at the bottom! Let's get started!

A good chunk of Knack's new moveset like the Sunstone Shield stems from experimenting with Kafka. Both want to get a better handle on their powers so don't be surprised at the sometimes whacky shit they get into. Lucas and Reno may had to melt Kafka out of a ice block once.

Knack is the first 'kaiju' to be marked for alive capture by the Defense Force. It's pretty clear that someone had created the golem and the higher ups want to know who. Knack barely escaped Vice Captain Soshiro multiple times thanks to his size manipulation alongside usage of the environment.

Lucas often sends letters to Charlotte, Ryder and the Doctor. He does mention his new friends in them but nothing about Kafka's unique condition. Ryder finds out when an group camping trip goes wrong.

Kafka once terrorized a horde of goblins. He gotten separated during a trip in the woods and the goblinfolk thought he would be an easy target. Rumors of a skull faced demon disguising as a human quickly spreads afterwards.

Knack wears a cat costume to walk around in public. Thanks to his small size, people think he's an eccentric mute little kid. Kafka definitely lied that Knack was his son and Lucas being his nephew so the two could get visitor passes for 3rd Division base.

Story time goes a bit wrong when small golem mentions the times he got blown up or poisoned on his first big adventure. Kafka and Reno were definitely sweating to hear Knack had been on the end of a giant teleporting mech. Nevermind the massive doomsday prophecy almost wrought by a billionaire's greed.

Kaiju No.10 vs Vice Captain Soshiro and Knack. Also the time Lucas brought a mech suit to aid the 3rd Division after convincing Charlotte. The officers absolutely didn't expect some peculiar help but takes it.

"How To Keep Your Dad Friend From Killing An Idiotic Man" Or Knack tries to stop Riot No.8 before he kills Isao. High enough friendship with both sides of Kafka, sunstone barriers and the new Relic Stockpiler are his best tools here.

Kaiju No.8 terrorizes High Goblin City. Or how Kafka officially made himself Enemy #2 to Gundahar in a short amount of time. You can't exactly trap his friends in a super hostile environment and expect him to not bust down the gate.

Lucas' gadgets become very invaluable to Kafka's friend group. Especially when Reno and Iharu get attacked by Kaiju No. 9 during their first mission. Or how the Time Dilator plus Freeze Rounds are a perfect match to stall dangerous threats.

Kafka has a built in cult radar and it immediately goes off upon meeting Xander. His golems also seem to agitate Ai so that's another red flag right there. Kafka secretly requests Charlotte to do some spying just in case.

(Special Species Swap: Golem)

Kafka's Golem form is around 2'6 at his smallest size and 34'8 at his largest. Black relics serve as his hair/fur/scales with a teal claw shaped jewel on his chest orb. When increasing in size, Kafka's visage looks similar to his kaiju form but if it had a tail.

Himbo accidentally discovers an unknown artifact and is turned into a Relic Golem. Kafka freaks out for a good five minutes before running over to Lucas. Thankfully the transformation is more controllable like an Off/On Switch and doesn't have an alternate personality to it.

Guaranteed mirror moment between two golems. Knack feels less lonely despite his concern about Kafka dealing with new side effects. The image of his older friend sneezing and falling into relics pieces is the golem's most haunting thought.

Guaranteed freakout when Kafka accidentally combines with Knack. (Think Co-OP mode in Knack 2.) It was definitely weird since both can hear each other's thoughts amongst other things. Kafka and Knack tend to combine if the situation calls for it.

Apparently Ai can also control their new golem form. It definitely feels weirder than manipulating Kafka's human body but not by much. Should Ai be in control then the gem on his chest orb will glow green to signify the swap.

Kafka uses this new form to avoid Vice Captain Hoshina and defend himself against General Isao. The Defense Force definitely mistakes him for being Knack's creator after the former incident as he swaps before Soshiro finds him. Sunstone Barriers still sit at the top of Kafka's favorite list.

Element Powers Up go a bit awry. Or Kafka almost becomes a walking forest fire when he tries to do a Relic Tornado with Wood armor. Apparently relics are good firestarters than just sticks and friction.

That's all I have for now. Until next time folks, I'll see you later!

[sunstone-smiles]

A Serious Case of the Pent-up Giggles

Original request (from @gladdygirl18): "As a fellow Vox Machina fan, how about day 15 "are you ticklish" with Lee Percy and ler(s) the Elven Twins?"

Author’s note: Aaaaah!!! I’m soooo excited to share this because I’m super happy with how it came out! Gosh, I love Percy. Here’s Day 15 of Tickletober: “Are you ticklish?” from August’s Tickletober List! I hope you enjoy!

Series: The Legend of Vox Machina

Characters: Percy, Vax, Vex, and the rest of the Vox Machina crew

Word count: 1,712

Summary: Vex and Vax think that Percy needs to be “cured” of his case of the pent-up giggles. The twins know just how to help. 

---

There’s nothing like a warm fireplace, a comfortable chair, a sketchbook, and some company to fill the air with ambiance—at least to Percy, that is. And currently, he has all four. His quill delicately lines his pages with a draft of one of his newest project ideas, with intricate details of mechanical functionalities and notes on aesthetics if there’s time or resources. Yes, Percy’s productivity is at its peak. Honed in. Focused. Eyes and mind tethered to his work as he pictures the pieces to sketch. Nothing can distract him now.

Except for a sudden jab to his side. That’s distracting.

Percy restrains a yelp and jumps in reaction. He nearly drops his sketchbook from his hands. Pulled back to his surroundings, Percy glares through his glasses to the left of the couch seats. 

“Vax! What was that for?” Percy snaps at his ally.

“Whoa! Easy there, de Rolo,” Vax puts his hands up in defense. “I tried calling your name, but you weren’t answering. We were just reminiscing about the time Vex was using whole cooked chickens as target practice. I thought you wanted to chime in.”

Percy adjusts his glasses. “I know what you were talking about. I was already satisfied by just listening.”

“That was quite a jump there, Percy,” Vex chimes in from his right. She leans forward on the sofa that her, Percy, and Vax are sitting on so that Percy and her brother are both in her view. “I know Vax surprised you, but you nearly leapt off the couch.”

Percy reopens his sketchbook. His head is dipped down and looking away from Vex. “I was taken off guard, is all.”

“Oh, I totally get that,” Keyleth says from her spot on the floor by the fireplace. She’s been braiding Trinket’s fur with flowers as the bear sleeps beside her. “One time, Scanlan snuck up on me while I was tending to the flowers outside. I nearly fell into a pile of mud.”

“I wasn’t sneaking up on you on purpose!” Scanlan pipes up from an armchair. His legs are propped up on the side while he restrings his lute. “Those bushes are my height. I didn’t know you were there!”

Vex returns the group to the topic at hand, still keeping her eyes on Percy. “See, I would believe you Percy…” She pauses for a moment. A smirk crawls onto her face. “If I didn’t know you were faking it.”

“Excuse me?” Percy scoffs. 

“Well, maybe not faking it, per say. You were taken off guard,” Vex shrugs. “But there’s a second reason why you jumped that high. Actually, I have my suspicions.” 

Vex makes eye contact with her brother. She glances in Percy’s direction before looking back at Vax with a smile to inform him of her thoughts. Vax raises a brow, but after looking at his sister’s smirk and briefly observing where he poked Percy, an understanding grin forms on his own features.

“Oh, I know!” Grog raises his hand in excitement from his chair, “Maybe Vax’s jab was so strong that he nearly pushed Percy off the couch!”

“Or maybe it accidently hurt?” Pike guesses from her seat by the coffee table. She stands and approaches Percy. “Because if so, I can try to heal you–”

“No,” Percy says faster than intended, like he is on edge. He reassures Pike. “I’m fine. Thank you, Pike, but that won’t be necessary.”

“Oh no, Pike. Magic won’t help. What Percy has is a far more serious case,” Vex exaggerates her words.

Vax puts his arm on Percy’s soldier. “It’s a case that explains why he scowls all the time.”

“Why he doesn’t laugh as often,” Vex adds.

“An ailment that eats away at his chest!” Vax says.

“Trapped inside, just bursting to come out!”

“Alright! Out with it already!” Percy growls.

Vex leans back in her seat. Calm. Casual. “What you have is one serious case of the pent-up giggles.”

“What?” Percy scowls at them. He leans forward to place his sketchbook and quill on the table in front of their seats.

“Oh no! Percy, you’re sick?” Grog questions.

“I am not sick,” he answers Grog. “Sick of these two maybe,” he mutters while glaring at the twins. “But not physically ill.”

“But there is still a very important question we need to ask you, Percy,” Vax mentions. “And that question is this…”

The dagger wielding twin stares Percy straight in the eye. A mischievous grin curls up on the corner of his mouth.

“Are you ticklish?”

Percy glares back at Vax. His senses are sharp. His expression remains unfazed. “No,” Percy makes his words crystal clear.

“Ah, denial,” Vex shakes her head.

“One of the main symptoms,” Vax sighs as if hearing bad news, though his smile is still wide.

“Don’t worry, Percy,” Vex says. “Vax and I know just how to cure you. You’re in good hands,” Vex grins. She immediately follows up her words with a poke to Percy’s side. 

The man jumps and wraps his arms across his torso, now glaring at the female twin. “Vex–”

Percy jolts again, now whipping his head to the other side to glare at the male twin who poked his other side again. “Vax!”

Vex smiles at her twin. “Shall we brother?”

“We shall, sister.”

The two half-elves turn their smiles in Percy’s direction. Immediately, they pounce at him, tackling him into the back cushions of the sofa.

“Wait!” Percy exclaims as the twins put their mischief into action. He squeezes his arms to his sides and tries to wiggle from side to side to avoid the onslaught of pokes. “This is ludicrous!” he manages to yell out, right before Vex catches a well aimed scribble to his side.

Percy jumps away from her and releases a giggle-filled yelp. He immediately slaps both of his hands to his mouth before moving one hand to push at Vex’s shoulder, while his other hand continues to contain the bubbling sound of joy that lies beneath. 

Big mistake though. He forgot there were two twins.

Vax sneaks his hands from behind and scribbles into Percy’s unguarded ribs. The human instantly clamps his arms down with a shriek and jolts forward, but he’s easily pulled back by Vax as the rogue gleefully digs his fingers between the stubborn noble’s ribs. Vex also launches her hands at Percy’s sides now that his defenses are lowered.

A snort comes from Percy’s restrained snickers, which is soon followed by an outpour of wheezy giggles that continuously spill from Percy. He nearly knocks over Vax through his squirming, but the male twin holds him up and keeps in prime position for their playful method of "healing."

“Vehehehex! Vahahahax!” Percy shouts at them through his laughter.

“Nice going, brother,” Vex smiles to her twin. “See, Percy? Look at how many giggles you had stored up! You must be so relieved to finally let them all out.”

“Yohohou both are sohoho de-EHehehead!” Percy squeaks in the middle of his sentence from Vex finding another ticklish spot above his hip. He drags the heels of his boots into the seat cushions.

“Can’t throw your famous insults at us when you’re like this, huh?” Vax teases from behind.

“Yes, indeed,” Vex agrees. “I kind of like Percy this way though. He’s a lot less sassy, that’s for sure.”

“Whahahahat? Sahahahassy?!” Percy says, trying to defend the title of his good name even through his giggling state. “I am nohohohot sassy!”

“Ah, a shame. That was a sassy response right there,” Vex fakes a sigh. “It looks like the sassiness is still present through the tickling after all.”

“Maybe we have to tickle him more to remove the sassiness out of him,” Vax says, grinning.

“No-HOho!” Percy's voice goes higher in pitch from the sheer speed he said the word. “Nohoho more! Let me gohoho, yohohou menaces!” Percy nearly rolls off the couch, teetering on the edge of the cushions.

“If you say so,” Vax grins and releases his hold on Percy. Percy immediately crashes to the floor, as the only thing keeping him steady was Vax’s grip. 

Percy peels himself from the floor by pushing himself up on his arms. He glares at Vax from below.

The rogue shrugs. “What? You asked me to let you go,” Vax ends his claim with a smile.

Percy shakes his head with a growl. He retrieves his sketchbook and quill from the table as he gets back to his feet. He looks at his spot on the sofa between the still grinning twins.

He narrows his eyes at them both. “If I sit between you again, will there be any more funny business?”

Vex tosses up her hands. “None from me, darling. I’ve had my fun for today.”

“I’ve still got a little more fun left in me,” Vax says before reassuring him, “But I will save that fun for another time.”

Percy rolls his eyes. He returns to his spot on the cushions and immediately opens his sketchbook to bury his face between the pages. No doubt everyone’s conversation will be skewed towards the sight just now. He’s bracing himself for the following humiliation that his ears are going to hear next. 

“So…” Vex speaks first. 

Gods, here it comes. 

“Where were we in the story, Keyleth?” Vex finishes her thought.

Percy’s features suddenly ease to that of pleasant surprise.

“Oh, right!” Keyleth recalls. “So then I held the chicken really high above my head…” Keyleth resumes her story about the time of Vex’s target practice. The rest of the group begins chiming in again, as if the story was never derailed in the first place. 

Percy lifts his head and glances at Vex. Vex glances back and gives him a wink before turning back to the group. Percy looks to the pages of his sketchbook with a thankful smile.

She has his back. They all do, really. They’re the ones that placed him in an embarrassing set of circumstances in the first place, but perhaps it’s not all that bad when the people around him don’t see his embarrassment as a way to judge his character, but see it as a way to love him even more. He really is lucky to have a family like them.

[thewaywardabbey]

Witchy Charm Bracelet $25

Handmade with all steel findings/chain, stone or crystal chip beads, & zinc alloy charms.

First, choose your stone or crystal chips (you will get one length of three chips):

Amethyst, Aquamarine, Aventurine, Carnelian, Citrine, Garnet, Lapis lazuli, Labradorite, Malachite, Moonstone, Moss agate, Obsidian, Peridot, Red coral, Rhodochrosite, Rose quartz, Sunstone, Tiger's Eye, Turquoise, or Yellow Jade

If you would like a mix of stones, please list in the available personalization box.

Then, choose what size you would like – 5.5 to 10 inches, if you need something larger or smaller, simply make the request in the available personalization box.

Finally, choose 9 charms for your bracelet (please allow for some variation in appearance):

Athame, Broom, Cauldron, Chalice, Crescent moon, Feather, Key, Witch/wizard hat, Encircled triquetra, Pentacle, Triquetra, and Tree of life are the available charms. All zinc alloy.

If you do not choose your charms, I will do my best to select for you. Please allow for some variation from the images.

https://thewaywardabbeystore.etsy.com/listing/1024562078/witchy-charm-bracelet

I post regularly on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, and Tumblr!

~Blessings~Courtney

Image created with Fotor Editor & Adobe Photoshop Express

Copyright – The Wayward Abbey 2025

[sappy-witch]

July Magick 🌻

Hello darlings 🥰

The days are getting longer, the sun is shining bright, and the energy of summer is in full swing. Here are some tools and practices that you can incorporate into your magic this July:

🌿HERBS & SPICES: 

Lemon Balm: happiness, positivity, and success. 

Calendula: joy, abundance, and good luck. 

Peppermint: refreshment, energy, and healing. 

Basil: love, passion, and abundance.

Lemon Verbena: clarity, focus, and relaxation. 

Yarrow: divination, psychic powers, and courage.

💎CRYSTALS: 

Carnelian: motivation, creativity, and courage.

Sunstone: positivity, vitality, and joy. 

Moonstone: intuition, emotional balance, and feminine energy. 

Citrine: abundance, success, and manifestation. 

Aquamarine: calmness, tranquility, and communication. 

Sodalite: logic, intuition, and spiritual growth.

🔥INCENSE: 

Frankincense: purification, spiritual awareness, and protection. 

Sandalwood: relaxation, peace, and grounding. 

Lemongrass: psychic powers, purification, and healing.

🪔 ESSENTIAL OILS: 

Lavender: relaxation, sleep, and healing. 

Peppermint: energy, focus, and motivation. 

Cedarwood: grounding, protection, and abundance.

🕯️CANDLES: 

Orange: creativity, joy, and passion. 

Yellow: success, happiness, and confidence. 

Green: growth, abundance, and prosperity.

🔮OTHER TOOLS: 

Journal: self-reflection, manifestation, and creativity. 

Dreamcatcher: (ethically sourced) dreamwork, protection, and good luck. 

Feathers: communication, air element, and spiritual growth.

Remember, the magic is within you, and these tools are here to support and enhance your practice. Use them with intention, gratitude, and respect.

____

🌞 If you enjoy my posts, please consider donating to my energies 🌞

✨🔮 Request a Tarot Reading Here 🔮✨

____

With love, from a Sappy Witch 🔮💕

Blessed be. 🕊✨

[cosmxc-ars3hol3]

Oh, ashes, ashes, Dust to dust

Title - Oh, ashes, ashes, Dust to dust

Rating - General Audiences

Archive Warning - No Archive Warnings Apply

Category - M/M

Fandom - Keeper of the Lost Cities - Shannon Messenger

Relationship - Councillor Bronte/Fintan Pyren

Characters - Fintan Pyren, Councillor Bronte

Additional Tags - Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 03: Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities)

Summary - ‘After Fintan burnt Oblivimyre down during his healing, he sneaks his way into Bronte’s Castle in Eternalia so he has somewhere to stay. Bronte decides to help him stay hidden/keep people thinking he’s dead.’

its gonna be a multi chapter (hopefully) fintante fic that my tumblr mutual kale gave me when i was bitching about the appalling lack of fintante fics on ao3 (thanks kale!)

‘Councillor! Are you okay?' A younger Bronte yelled out to the councillor.

‘Yes, I am fine. Thank you, Emissary Bronte,’ he replied. ‘I should’ve expected that to happen.’

Bronte sighed and gave a small chuckle.

Councillor Fintan had been attempting to create some fire, although it wasn’t a type that was known or studied. He was attempting to create a brand new type of fire. He called it ‘Balefire’ and said that his end goal was to make a fire that could sustain itself without fuel, contained inside of a crystal, just like the ones used for leaping. Bronte asked if he could sit in while he figured out how to design and create this idea.

What had just happened was that in one of Fintan’s many attempts at trying to bring his ideas to reality, the crystal had shattered and rained little glittering sparkles over the two of them. The crystal had made a loud bang as it broke, scaring Bronte to his feet.

‘Do you really think this can work, Fintan?’ Questioned Bronte.

‘Do you doubt me that much, Bronte?’ Responded Fintan.

The two elves locked eyes with each other, and Bronte was the one to break the slightly uncomfortable silence.

‘You’re right. I should doubt your vision, Councillor.’ 

Bronte said, stone cold, but Fintan could see his embarrassment on his face. Despite his tone, Bronte’s face was alight with red and rosy cheeks, and he was awkwardly looking away from Fintan, not wanting to meet his eyes as Fintan stared at him intensely.

‘Look at me, Bronte.’ Fintan asked, although it didn’t really feel like a request coming from the councillor.

Bronte still felt too embarrassed to meet his eyes, so he decided to look at Fintan’s circlet.

He first looked towards the sides of the circlet, golden metals making pretty patterns that led to the centre, where a crystal made of a sunset orange-coloured sunstone was set in place with smaller shards of red carnelian, the circlet demanding respect.

‘I said, Look at my eyes, Bronte. Not my circlet,’ Fintan commanded, assertive but not aggressive. Bronte looked a little further down Fintan’s face, down to his bright blue eyes.

Fintan’s gaze was both stern and calm, a complex display of emotions that made Bronte slightly uncomfortable looking into his eyes.

‘I'm sorry, councillor, for any disrespect; I didn't mean it.’ Bronte answered back.

‘'s ok, Bronte. I know you; I know you meant no offence by what you said. Be careful next time, though; not everyone is as nice as me.' Fintan said it with a teasing tone and a playful smirk. Bronte looked away again, and the blush returned after it had finally left his face alone.

~~~~~~~~~~

‘Bronte, hey Bronte.’ Fintan said, drawing Bronte out of his imagination.

He missed the days when Fintan was known for his goodness, his ability to help.

If only he had known how Fintan felt about the world, maybe he could have helped change everyone’s minds. Maybe Fintan could have never started a rebellion, changing so many lives.

Unlike not long ago, Fintan was now known for his bad acts, the all-consuming everblaze he learned how to summon, the rebellion he ended up leading. Bronte wished it was how it used to be. Fintan was a pillar of hope for people who were just like the two of them. 

Not many people knew for certain who he and Fintan were to each other. Now that Bronte thought about it, he realised that Oralie and Kenric reflected him and Fintan in a way, two councillors, in love, but both never stepped off together before it was too late. One of the striking differences was that Kenric and Oralie would’ve been a perfect pair, both in their souls and on their matching scrolls. He and Fintan would’ve never had that for themselves.

‘I’m sorry, Fintan. i got lost in my thoughts.’ Bronte responded after sometime

‘i get it. do you wanna talk about it while i try to fix up my injuries?’ Fintan added

‘maybe later, but you don’t have to try to fix your injuries by yourself,’ Bronte assured ‘hand me the cream and bandages, would you please, Fintan’

Fintan reached over to where the medical kit was resting, grabbing what Bronte needed with a little wince when he had to stretch to grab the bandages.

when Bronte saw that Fintan had what he needed, he walked closer and sat down behind him

[boldlyvoid]

Where There is Love, There is Life | Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Powers and Possibilities | for @elriel-month 2024

Summary: Elain starts her training with Helion in the Day Court

Warnings: bonding, teasing, divination and manifestation, made-up day court lore, lots of innuendos

Word Count: 5.4k | Masterlist

Feyre, being High Lady, has just as much sway as her Mate. So when she alerts Rhys to their plan, he has no choice but to support it. 

Helion received their note, their request for help, the next day. He wrote back immediately, assuring them that the lovely Lady Elain was always welcome in his court. He’s excited to spend time with her, to teach her, and to see what she can do. 

They all are.

Elain takes a day to prepare, sending word to her clients of her absence for the next two weeks and spending as much time as she can in bed next to Azriel. He helps her pack, assists her in the bathroom to wash her hair, and covers her in kisses. Neither of them is ready to be apart so soon after getting together. 

Azriel is the one to bring her to the day court right at midday, just as Helion requested. He wanted her to see the city at its peak and show off the true beauty of the place he resides in. 

As a Solar Court, Day experiences seasons like Night does, meaning they arrive in summer heat, with the sun cast directly upon them. Thankful she wore pink, the sun beats down on Azriel, making his armour hot to the touch. She’s almost more distracted looking at him, how his caramel skin glistens in the sunlight, and how the Citrine Palace yellows make him glow brighter than any power this court possesses. He’s so beautiful. 

Helion strides out moments later, gold cape flowing in the wind behind him. His best light blue suit is on underneath; it’s so light it’s almost white. Perfectly complimenting the gold and his dark skin, another beautiful male. Did this place make everything more beautiful? Or just the males? 

Helion smiles—absolutely beaming at her. " Welcome, Lady Elain.” He reaches out for her hand, and she extends her own to him as he bows, kissing the top of her hand. He looks at her and then Azriel. “Well, well, well.” 

“What?” She asks, confused. 

“You’ve been claimed by the shadowsinger,” Helion teases. 

She blushes, turning to Az, “I’ve had a bath since this morning…” she says through gritted teeth, embarrassed. 

“Well done, Azriel.” Helion reaches out and claps a hand on his shoulder. "Three sisters and three brothers, how perfect.” 

“We aren’t telling anyone,” Azriel growls, ensuring that it seems that if Helion tells anyone, he will pay. 

He raises his hands in surrender, “I would never tell. Although, it’s been suspected, seeing as good things come in threes. That’s something you’ll learn here.” 

“I’m very excited to learn more,” Elain shares, hoping the conversation will change. “Do you have any other seers here?” 

He nods, “a few. Everything you need to know is kept here… and then some.” His grin is like a cat, mischievous as ever. 

“I’ll be back in a few days,” Azriel announces, turning to her. She takes one last look at him, knowing she’ll miss him deep in her bones until then. “With updates and letters from Feyre.” 

“You're welcome to stay as often as you wish,” Helion assures. “I’ll have the servants set Elain up in a larger room so you can share when you return.” 

“Thank you,” Elain almost swoons, that was so sweet of him. 

Azriel simply nods in his direction; reaching forward, he pulls Elain in close and kisses the top of her head, “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she whispers back. 

The second they no longer touch, his black mist wraps around him and takes him—well, all but a sliver of shadow. She can feel it, the cold, cloudy thing wrapped around her leg like a needy toddler. One of his shadows stays to assure her she stays safe. 

“Come, come,” Helion beckons her forward, arm extended. She takes it, wrapping her own around it, and he leads her into the stunning gold palace. “Most people expect sunstone. However, Citrine is a powerful source of manifestation and divination— two things our powers greatly depend on.” 

“Our powers?” 

He nods, “Our magic is as close to witchcraft as you can get without being a witch. It involves seeing the future, healing people, casting spells, and creating or destroying wards.” 

“Do you see the future, too?” She wonders aloud. 

He shrugs, “It's more complicated than that. I can dream walk, and sometimes that brings me answers to questions about the future.” 

“Dream walk… can I do that?” 

Once again, he shrugs, “That’s one thing we will come to find out. Now, your things are being put away as we speak. If you wish to see your room, I will gladly show you; however, I have something I’d like to do first…” 

“I don’t need to see my room yet,” she assures him, excited to see what he means. Maybe it's one of his many pegasi…

“Perfect,” he beams, holding her arm a bit tighter as he leads her around the castle towards the kitchen. “I heard you love to cook—

“And bake,” she smiles. “Let me guess, in exchange for my lessons, you would like some cooking lessons?” 

He laughs, “no, no, I was going to start lesson 1 somewhere that you’d be the most comfortable.” 

She looked at him, puzzled, “You’re not going to make me toss things into a cauldron, are you?” 

He turned to her with the utmost concern. “I would never! No, I mean to introduce you to Alphitomancy today. It’s a form of divination in which you use barley in cakes and bread to get the truth.” 

“Oh,” she lights right up. “That sounds rather interesting… how does it work?” 

He gets her to the kitchen counter, where a bowl of flour appears before them. All the other ingredients they would need are in smaller bowls, including a small dish of barely. She notices some honey, as well. 

“One of the first High Lords of the Day Court, Alphion, had a meeting with his inner circle. Only he knew that they had been betrayed by someone in that very room, and the meal that morning was barely toast… when preparing the bread, his wife, an avid baker, kneaded the dough while listening to him explain his theories and thus imparted the bread with an order to find the truth. When his circle started to eat, one of them, his second in command, immediately felt sick. He excused himself to empty the contents of his stomach, leaving Alphion to explain to the rest of the group his suspicions that they were betrayed by his second. Since then, barely bread and cake has been used to find answers in this court.” 

Shocked and in awe at his story, she gapes before asking a question. “You can impart commands into baked goods?” 

He nods, “there are a large number of herbs and spices that when added to a dish, can assist in divination or manifestation. We learned that based on scents. Like you for example, you smell of Jasmine and Honey, a lovely mixture for a lovely female.” 

She blushed, she knew he’d be flirty, she was ready for it… However, hearing these things come from his lips made her cheeks heat up to match the colour of her dress in a heartbeat. 

“Jasmine is associated with purity and love; if you add jasmine to something while stirring clockwise, you can bless the food with the ability to bring love to someone's life. Not as intensely as a love potion, but as a way to inspire them to love themselves or build a stronger bond with others,” Helion explains, smiling the whole time. “Honey, conversely, brings pleasure, sweetness, truth and knowledge. This is why we will mix it with our bread today. Those who are telling the truth will find the bread sweet and delicious; those lying will be more inclined to tell us the truth.” 

With the snap of his fingers, a lovely white and gold apron is in his hands, “may I?” He asks, and she nods. Allowing him to slip the loop over her head, she moves her hair out of the way so he can tie the strings at the back for her. “Being the baker you are, you may start the bread however you wish.” 

“You don’t know how, do you?” She teases. 

He smirked, not saying anything, but she knew the truth. A high lord doesn’t have the time to bake for fun and has no need to bake for sustenance, either. He has help for that. 

“Does your kitchen staff have any starter? Sourdough or otherwise?” She asks. 

Helion replies by taking the jar of liquid out of a cupboard. “This is the levain, I think? They also pre-made the barley porridge this morning.” 

“Perfect,” she beams. Right in her element, bread was the first thing she learned how to make after becoming fae. 

“Flour, 50 grams of water, and the levain—which is a mixture of ripe sourdough starter, hard red wheat, and water. The water we’re adding now will help incorporate it all together; seeing as there’s such a high percentage of whole grains, it could get stiff otherwise.” 

“The only time we don’t want something to be stiff,” Helion teases. 

Elain swats his arm, “you’re worse than Cassian.” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he bumps his hip against hers. “What’s next.” 

“We wash our hands,” Elain says, turning to the sink. “We need to mix the dough with our hands… and I don’t trust where yours have been.”

Helion laughs, deep and beautifully, “You’re just as witty as your sister.” 

“Which one?” 

“Good point,” he smiles. “Say, how are Cassian and Nesta?” 

Lathering their hands in delicious cherry-scented soap, she shares all the gossip she knows Nesta wouldn’t mind her sharing. The mating ceremony was nice, and they’re very in love. They're not having babies for the foreseeable future as they’re focused on training the Valkyries. Nothing too serious.

Back at the counter, she puts her hands straight into the bowl and mixes. “We don’t want any dry bits to remain.”

He nods along, watching. “How many loaves of bread do you think you’ve made in the last 2 years?” 

She laughs, “Oh, over a hundred. Over 3 hundred, maybe?” 

“And you enjoy cooking for your family?” 

She nods, “I wish I had known how at a younger age. If my mother had allowed the servants to teach me, I would’ve been able to help my sisters earlier.” 

“It was all part of the prophecy,” Helion assures her with a tentative hand on her shoulder. “The worlds ended Feyre to venture off into that forest alone. You didn’t stand by for nothing; it was written into the stars that way.” 

She smiles, “Thank you… it’s why I do as much as possible for our family now. Why I’m here to learn why I can do without having to set foot on another battlefield— I just hope you realize that making this bread is an all-day event, with a lot of waiting around.” 

He laughs again, “Oh, I know. I have lots of things prepared to do in the interim.” 

When it’s all mixed and wet, she reaches for the remaining water with messy hands, “allow me,” Helion offers. 

“The salt as well,” she points to the dish with the white graduals in it. 

“You got it,” he adds the salt before stacking all the empty little ramekins they’ve used so far. 

She mixes it all together, incorporating it all before she flips the bowl over and lets the dough hit the counter. “I have a feeling you’d like this part,” she teases. Pinching the dough in the left corner, she lifts it, letting it hang. When it’s stretched enough, she slaps it to the counter and quickly folds it over itself. She does it 3 times until the dough is a nice, soft, round ball. 

“Now I need the honey and oil,” she points, allowing Helion to drizzle them over the top again. 

“While you’re kneading this in, I want you to say a few sayings in your mind.” 

“Alright,” she watches as he tips the honey over the dough, the golden liquid trickling out slowly. 

“Thank you, bread, for helping me find the truth. May those who digest this bread share their guts in the name of truth.”

“Okay… the oil needs to go in as well.” 

He uses both hands, pouring both little dishes into the bowl, ensuring that every last drop is in before Elain starts to mix it again. Stretching, slapping, and folding over and over, she keeps repeating the two sentences in her mind. 

“And the barley porridge?” She asks, “Can you get that?” 

He quickly retrieves it from the cooler box, taking the plastic wrapping off the top as he places it in front of her. She puts the dough back in the bowl, saying, “You can repeat the same affirmations.” 

“Alright, and then it sits for 30 minutes, gets two more folds and then we repeat in 30 minutes,” Elain explains. 

“Perfect,” Helion. While she mixes the dough and barely, he prepares tea for them both. He sets out some sandwiches, cakes, fresh fruit, cubed meats, and cheeses. It’s a perfect little spread for them to enjoy while the dough does its thing. 

—

The bread is done by dinner, which they have alone at his big dining table. There is not a sentinel or servant to be seen. It’s oddly quiet, and the bread is sat in the middle, uneaten, sliced but uneaten. 

“Would you like to play a game?” Helion asks, a coy smile crossing his face.

She can’t help but smirk, “Sure…” 

“We each have a slice of bread. I’ll ask you a question, and you will ask me a question,” he explains. “You know the risks if you’re not truthful.” 

“Alright,” she agrees quickly. She could use this to her advantage, and since there are not many night court secrets that she knows, the risks are low. "You can ask me first.” 

“Confident, are we?” He teases. 

She looks at him, unamused. “What would you like to know, Helion.” 

He ponders it momentarily as if he didn’t come here with a question in mind. “You and the shadowsinger, how long has that been going on?” 

She starts to butter her slice of bread. Treating this as if it was a bargain, she asks clarifying questions in return. “As in when did I fall in love with him or how long have we been together?” 

“Hm,” Helion bites his lip for a moment. “When did you first sleep with him.” 

She smirks, takes a bite, chews carefully, and swallows. “Three days ago… but I’ve loved Azriel for a long time.” 

“And your mate—

“Ah,” she cuts him off, pointing to the bread. “It’s my turn to ask you.” 

He pretends to huff in annoyance as he reaches for a slice, also buttering it, “Fine. Do your worst.” 

She waits for him to take a bite, watches his throat to see him swallow, and then she says, “Do you know if you have an Heir wandering about the world?” 

His brows raise, “Why would I have an heir? I’m unmarried.” 

“Are you telling me you don’t know how babies are made?” She teases him again. 

He laughs, “no… I know, I’ve just never… what do you know?” 

She takes another bite so he knows she’s telling the truth when she speaks. “The Lady of the Autumn court, her youngest son, was born awfully close to the end of your affair.” 

She stares him down, watching the pieces fall into place in his mind, and his eyes widen with understanding. As she takes another bite, she continues, and he knows she can’t lie. 

“Lucien is hated by his father; he’s a few shades darker than his siblings… his fire is from his mother. Baron isn’t his father, is he?” 

Helion rubs a hand over his face, staring off into the distance. “Cauldron almighty…” 

“I’m only informing you because I need your help,” she explains before he can spiral. "I don’t love Lucien, not the way a mate should. You love his mother, but you never invoked the blood duel for her. Why?” 

“I couldn’t start a war between our courts,” he explains. “Barons brothers… his cousins… they were just as evil as him, if not more so. Anyone who took over the title would take revenge in the form of war. I thought I’d wait for his sons to be older, wait for one of them to kill him.” 

“Even knowing that he beats her?” 

His head bows, “I’ve wanted to help her for so long, I love her with my whole being…” 

“That’s how I feel for Azriel,” she shares. “I’ve had visions of our futures together, I know I never get with Lucien. I just need to know how to do this without him wanting to kill Azriel… or mother forbid I get the urge to hurt his female.” 

“It doesn’t work like that,” he assures her. “I’ve done all the research. I’ve looked for every loophole and backdoor and come up with nothing. There is no way to stop a bond; there’s just distance and time to make it wither.”

“So, if we mutually decide we don’t want this, we can go our separate ways without a fight?” 

Helion nods, “You don’t even need to mutually agree; Baron made it known he’d kill her if I didn’t leave her alone. At least until he dies… I love her enough to leave her alone.” 

Elain's heart breaks. “One day, one day soon, she’ll be free.” 

He sighs, “I hope so.” 

“Have you… dream walked to find the answers?” She asks carefully.

He shakes his head. “No. I don’t want to know how long I have to wait. It would make the days longer.” 

“That’s why I spent so much time sleeping, waiting for Azriel to give in,” she explains. 

“Give in?” Helion laughs. " You’re telling me he wasn’t all over you the moment he met you?” 

She laughs, too, “Rhys made it very clear he shouldn’t; I had to tell him to butt out.” 

“I love it,” Helion grins. You three Archeron females are putting the high lord in his place.” 

“He wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

—

Her bedroom is that same beautiful citrine. The amber lights make it glow, complimented by the satin light blue curtains on each window. Her bed is a classy four-poster frame draped with a lovely see-through golden fabric. Her sheets are that same blue, lovely and soft as she sinks into bed, alone for the first time in a few days.

She wished, more than anything, that she could speak to Azriel, to say goodnight and tell him that she loved him. She hasn’t stopped saying it, having to make up for those years she didn’t get to tell him. 

She’ll see him in a few days, she’ll tell him then. Over and over, all night long. 

—

The next morning, she freshens up and dons one of the signature day court dresses in her closet. Blue satin covered in a sheer chiffon, adorned with gold accents... it's everything.

She meets Helion in the dining room for breakfast, smiling she greets him. “Good morning, how are you, today?” 

“Well, thank you. How did you sleep?” He asks, taking a sip of his tea. 

She takes a seat near him with a sigh, “Lonely. I got too used to sleeping beside someone.” 

He nods, “I know the feeling.” 

A plate is already waiting for her in her place setting, and she loads it up with her favourite things. “What’s on the agenda for today?” 

“We’re going to the library. I’d like to see if you can master Bibliomancy,” he says between toast bites. 

“Hm,” she purses her lips as she thinks about it. Knowing bibliophiles are people who read... “sounds interesting.” 

“Diviners who practice this skill use books to thumb through the library of the future,” he explains. “You pluck a book from the shelf while thinking of a question, flip to a random page, and the first word you read is the answer.” 

“How do you know it’s real? It sounds completely random?” 

“It's intuition-based. You don’t just pull books willy-nilly. You stare at the wall of books, look them all over, and you will feel one calling to you. Repeat the question in your mind, think of the things you want answered, and the book will call to you.” 

“Alright,” she nods along, taking it in. “That sounds fun.” 

“However, I’m not just going to throw you into the library ungrounded, so we will be meditating for an hour before. I’m going to teach you how to relax and ground, as well,” he continues. “The goal of meditation is to keep your mind alert yet relaxed and focused on a single subject.”

While chewing on her eggs, she covers her mouth with her hand. “It makes sense,” she says after a sharp swallow. "Nesta does breathing techniques after her training; she says it helps her a lot.” 

“Quieting your mind is a great skill to have. I try to meditate every morning,” he shares with a smile. "Typically, I do relaxation techniques before bed.” 

“Are you hitting on me again?” She teases. 

He laughs, “No. I’m not going to bed, my son's mate.” 

She looks surprised, not expecting him to say that. It startles her to her core: " As if I would, regardless.” 

“I’m joking,” he assures. Still smiling, “I thought about it a lot last night. I think you’re right. Can you introduce me to Lucien?” 

She nods, “Feyre is going to talk to him soon, unless you’d like to break the news to him?” 

“I would,” he assures. “I’ll write your sister this afternoon.” 

“Hold on just a moment,” she holds up her index finger, closing her eyes, looking for that spot where she can always find her sisters voice. 

Feyre

She waits a moment. 

Feyre, I need to talk.

Are you okay?

Yes, Helion knows. He wants to tell Lucien himself. Can you have Lucien meet you here, sometime soon?

Absolutely. I was just about to write to him

Thank you, I hope you’re all well.

We’re great. Azriel is here, he says hello. 

Tell him I love him

He says he loves you, too

She can hear the smile on her sisters face. It brings a smile to her own. 

Tell him Helion said he’s welcome to stay here all week if he wishes, he can winnow in after work. 

Can’t handle a few days apart?

Last time Rhys was away you slept in my bed with me because you were lonely, or have you forgotten?

Don’t you have things to learn?

She laughs, feeling Helion's eyes on her. 

I do. I’ll talk to you soon. 

Then, as quickly as she showed up, she was gone again. Elain’s mind is her own once more. 

“Feyre won’t tell him; she is, however, requesting he meet us here soon,” Elain explains. As an emissary, he’ll think it’s court-related, and he’ll show up.”

“What is he like?” 

“Lucien?” She ponders that herself from time to time. “He is… kind. He cares deeply. Being a younger brother of so many has made him… not gullible but easy to manipulate. He loved Tamlin, yet in the end, he let him get away with way too much. He regrets watching him treat Feyre so badly and regrets being there when he partnered with Hybern. And I think he’s scared to love again, after what his father did to his last love.” 

“I heard about that, how they killed a lesser fae he wanted to marry and drove him out of the court,” Helion recalls, shaking his head with disgust. “I wish I knew.” 

“What would you have done?” 

“Taken him in,” he says without a moment of hesitation. “They could’ve told their court that she lost the babe; I would’ve told mine that a lover of mine didn’t make it through the labour. I would’ve raised him.” 

Elain lays a hand to her chest, “you’re a wonderful male, Helion.” 

He gives a solemn smile, “Thank you.” 

—

It turns out that the aforementioned relaxation techniques consist of tensing and releasing every muscle in the body, starting at the toes and ending with a full-body tense and release. No wonder Helion does it before bed. Her body was so calm and relaxed that she almost fell asleep in her chair. 

The meditation didn’t help her sleepiness, either. By clearing her mind, focusing on her breathing and listening to the sound of the singing bowl he kept dinging, she was ready to pass out again by 10am. 

You’d think that smacking a wooden stick against a metal bowl would create an agitating sound, yet the singing bowl relaxed her to her core. Vibrating through the metal, a beautiful note reverberated through the room, sending her into a complete calm. She would need to get one of her own to use at home. 

It was difficult to stand back up, walk around the library, and stay focused on Helion’s teachings after that. She hadn’t slept well the night before. She kept rolling over in search of warm skin or soft wings... She found chilled satin on either side of her. She missed her lover. 

“What would you like answered today?” Helion asks, taking her out of her thoughts. 

She thinks about it for a moment. “Are mating bonds able to be removed?” 

“Good question,” he praises. “Now, find a shelf that calls to you, follow your intuition and pull a book that feels right in your gut.” 

She nods, repeating the question again and again in her mind. She passes shelf after shelf, running her fingers along the wood. She looks up and down at every option before her eyes are drawn to a velvet purple book. She pulls it out carefully, head tilted to the side as she flips it over in her hands. It doesn’t have a title. 

“I don’t believe I’ve read that book before,” Helion shares. “I haven’t ever seen it…” 

She shrugs, “So I just open it?” 

He nods, “where ever feels right.” 

She runs her fingers over the gold-foiled edge, contemplating where she’ll open it. She closes her eyes, breathing in deep as she thinks of her question one last time—she opens it before she can overthink it. 

The first thing she reads is “the Oleaceae.” 

She cocks her head to the side, “Huh…” 

Helion’s brows lift with promise, “What does it say?” 

“The Olesaeae… it's also known as the olive family,” she explains, reading further even if she’s not supposed to. “Also, the Lilac family. It’s a family of flowering shrubs, trees and lianas?” 

“If I’m not mistaken, the ash tree is in that family… continue reading; sometimes the answers are in a whole chapter, not just a single word.” 

She nods, her eyes following the words as fast as possible, “Notable members include Olive, ash, jasmine and several ornamental plants, including forsythia and lilac.”

“We can digest olives, smell lilacs, jasmine is a common tea… and yet ash kills us?” Helion thinks aloud. 

“Maybe— no, that’s ridiculous,” she stops herself. 

“Nothing is off limits here; you’re learning,” Helion assures her. 

“What if… what if one of these things can snap a bond? If Ash wood kills us, maybe the bark of an olive tree can kill a bond?” She hypothesizes. 

Helion nods, "We can look into this… I’ll reach out to Thesan and see if we can borrow his Alchemist. She made the antidote in the war; she might be able to find us an answer here.” 

She looks at him with the utmost excitement. “Did I do it on the first try?” 

He beams, his smile bright enough to light the room. “You’re a natural, Elain Acheron. A born natural.” 

—

It’s not too late when he crawls into Elain’s bed at the River House. He rolls over to face her pillow, breathing in her deliciously sweet scent. Gods, he missed her so much. 

Before he can take it too far, his shadows alert him to Feyre walking down the hallway. He gets out of bed, meeting her at the door with a smile. “Kicking me out?” 

She laughs, “no… Elain requests your presence. They have news she wishes to share with you.” 

He lights right up, “Tell her I’ll be there shortly.” 

—

When Azriel appears in her bedroom at the day court, she lies in her bed with a fancy set of night court lingerie. “Welcome,” she smirks, running a finger between her breasts and down to her stomach. “Thought you’d never get here.” 

“And I thought you had news?” He asks, walking towards her and tossing his shirt off. 

He pushes his pants to the ground quickly, kicking off his boots; he joins her inside her canopy bed, letting the curtains close behind him, locking them inside a little piece of paradise. 

He wraps himself around her, holding her close. He breathes in her scent—fresh, real, and invigorating. He presses a kiss to her neck, then her jaw, before he cups her cheek with a smile. “I missed you.”

“Show me,” she whispers, needing him more than anything. 

—

The next morning, they meet Helion at the breakfast table, a huge smirk on the male's beautiful face. “I thought you were here, it’s not often we get earthquakes on this side of the court.” 

Elain, donned in the most beautiful iridescent pink gown she’s ever seen in her life,

She turns a shade of red as bright as Helion’s signature cape. Her jaw drops when she turns to Az, whose smile matches the high lords. “It’s not funny.” 

He pulls her in and kisses her head, “it’s a little funny.” 

She sighs and takes a seat, Azriel helping her to push her chair in. 

“Are you staying here today?” Helion asks the shadowsinger. 

He shakes his head, “I have business on the continent today. Is it alright if I stay for breakfast?” 

Helion waves his hand over the table. “We’re going to need help devouring this spread,” he teases. “My only wish is to know what it is prey tell that you’re doing on the continent?” 

“Every few weeks, I gather information from my spies about the last Death God,” he explains. "We're still working on the spell Koschei has over the human queen.” 

“Isn’t it dangerous having fae so close to him?” He questions, snapping his fingers slightly so Azriel has a plate on his setting. 

Azriel smirks, “who says I’m using fae?” 

“Humans?” Helion gasps, knowing Azriel was to be feared, but even that seemed too evil. 

He laughs, “No, no… but if I tell you, I’d have to kill you.” 

That made every hair on Elain’s body stand up, “really?” 

Azriel turns to her, brows furrowed. “Who do you take me for?” 

“It sounds like she takes you quite naturally,” Helion teases. 

Azriel laughs again, settling. “You know I can’t tell you of my spies; just know, they’re never what you think.” 

“And I wouldn’t expect anything less, Spymaster.” 

“So,” Elain cuts in, dying for the conversation to move elsewhere to cease altogether. “What’s on the agenda for today?” 

“Nuan, Dawn's Alchemist, is on her way over to read some of our text. Since the war, she’s been trying to discover everything the Ash tree can do. She’ll need alone time in the court library, so we will be in my personal library,” he explains. I’d like to introduce you to Astrology, Runes, Tarot, and crystals—rudimentary witch stuff.” 

She sits up straighter and smiles, “I can’t wait.”  

@greenleaf777 @lostvillainess

General Taglist 

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife @buckleyhans @mrs-ssa-hotch @ssavanessa22

[eva-cybele]

tag meme time~ ty to @blackestnight for the tag!

I tag uhhh @cassandra-allegra @foamofthe-sea @sie-sharp annnd @karoiseka! also anyone else who wanna

last song: according to spotify, the John Oeth (acoustic guitar) cover of Twilight from FFXVI, because that's just where I was in my writing music playlist when I went to bed last night. last song I intentionally listened to was I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young, because it's my favorite Cullen song and I'm like 7k words deep into a fic from his POV. been finding a lot of new music lately perusing other people's dragon age playlists on spotify. ty hyperfixation.

last book: I do NOT read as much as I used to, unfortunately, so probably Tevinter Nights? oh wait, I also worked my way through two graphic novels of Fine Print by Stjepan Sejic, which was... okay. not as good as Sunstone.

last movie: watched Good Will Hunting with the husband the other night! I don't think I'd ever seen it in its entirety. I miss Robin Williams with the fire of a thousand suns.

last game: lmao. Dragon Age: Inquisition. because what else would it be. I do need to resub to XIV and poke my head in my FC before it demotes me though

last tv show: started watching Utena with my FC! this is my... third time through? maybe fourth? I love showing it to other people, because the reaction is always half "oh this is just like [insert one million other media here] wow utena inspired a lot of stuff" and half "what the FUCK is happening right now."

sweet/spicy/savory: sweet. god I have the worst sweet tooth in the world, it's kind of a problem lmao. last sweet thing I consumed was the mug of chai that's in front of me as we speak. last savory was some cashew chicken (springfield-style, specifically, because it means something else everywhere else I guess lmao) yesterday and last spicy was uhhh prob some chips and salsa. medium salsa. because I am a baby.

relationship: am married! am possibly the most married person you will ever meet, tbh. I've been with my husband for uhhh 20 years now and that makes me sound so old I promise I'm only 35

fave color: I have several, but the whole spectrum from teal to blue to indigo to violet to purple is where I live. I like darker colors/jewel tones best. if forced to pick ONE, I'd probably go with a nice rich plum purple but I'd also cry because you made me pick.

last internet search: my doctor's phone number because I needed it for a prescription refill request. god that's such an old lady answer. before that it was checking what was announced at the state of play yesterday (nothing) and attempting to find out the name of the alcohol iron bull drinks after killing a dragon because I needed it for a fic (to no one's surprise) (it's maraas-lok btw)

[spotsupstuff]

hi i feel as if i haven't been properly invading your inbox recently so i'm here now

First of all-- you are the literal best at making me instantly really attached to characters who aren't supposed to be important but somehow become REALLY important to my silly brain

totally unrelated kndkahf;kshdlh Orion.... ahhhhhh squishy... chocolate... baby... so wholesome.... kjddkbvhioajbsv

also may i insert a humble request for more information on the war. the lore nerd in me is going crazy over the idea of iterator war.

ALSO i know you're not an iterator shipper but-- in your playlist-- this.

this is the most sunstone song i think i've ever heard.

me, creating """""background characters""""" that i know probably won't stick to being background characters like at all:

i'd be pissy and violent if it wasn't Orion of all people i can't be pissy and violent to the goddamn Orion's Pathway, that would make me a horrible fuckin person !!!!!!!!!!

but i fuckin know right!!!!! a war with iterators in it is too interesting and Relatively cool, it's too fun to just let it be

hmmm...... what's some stuff that would.... the Polar war started because of political manipulations and the Aeolus Council was actually the villain in all of this. Frost's Promise was just kind of chilling when the Aeolus Council attacked them in some kind of... very quiet way. possibly an assassination of an important figure, maybe went as far as blowing up one of their Iterators in a sneaky way with only just enough information left on scene to prompt a verbal formal attack from Frost's Promise, asking for explanation and an apology/funds for repairs. the Aeolus Council gets offended and denies everything. Frost's Promise knows that all of That is bullshit so in the name of justice they are the one to first physically attack. of course, this never gets out to anyone in the Eo group outside of the politicians and so the war begins. because information manipulation and censorship is behind like everything all the time

still deciding how long i'd like it to last for, but rn i'm thinking for over five years

the ultimate goal of the Aeolus Council is to make the Frost's Promise group dependant on them. the war will fuck up both's economies, but since Frost's Promise is so much smaller, it will be more devastating to them way more too

a good amount of prisoners that the Eo army takes is taken to the Mildew Perimeter closeby to Sporadic for live experiments. just horrible stuff happening in there. Spore finds out about it at some point and for a good while is too scared to do anything. after all she is very easy to influence, manipulate, make her submit to people and the shroom infection all in her systems isn't exactly helping all of that too well. in the end she secretly comes into contact with the few people who actually see and recognize what the Council is doing and are trying to fight against it. with them, Spore contacts the enemy and helps them break into the camps and evacuate the prisoners under a kind of shaky truce. it was risky, but worth it in the end to her

while Orion by no means is blind to the complexities of war, he still got very angry with Spore when this stuff is found out about few years after the war. he sees it as a betrayal from her- one of the closest allies he as an Iterator had in the whole thing- just going behind his back, behind the fighting lines where he and his comrades in arms are suffering and undoing all of their effort. since a war in the RW world consists of mainly capturing the enemy's forces rather than killing them. he refuses to listen to her for a good while, but when he finally calms down enough to hear her out he lets up and apologizes for blowing up like that. he didn't know. she was right to do it

her communications get heavily crippled as a punishment by the Council for the betrayal, though

other Iterators that joined in the war were Boreas (production of weapons and such), Fish (prisoner camp where they tried to convert the prisoners into dutiful and submissive citizens of the Eo group), Gem in an Eye (more organic based weaponry production), Aftertaste of Disdain (prisoner camp), Sacrosanct Circular Presence (warehouse for materials like medical needs and food/water for the soldiers) and sort of Exclamation of Time (who is a centre of archivists of history and welcomed some witnesses of the war to take notes for the history books from both sides)

the group to the northeast of the Eo group made a deal with the Eo group to protect them from the other possibly entry point Frost's Promise could've taken

Frost's Promise had very few Iterators at that time and most of them weren't all that ready for something like this. they might have like... one or two Gen 1s in there which doesn't sign any good things for them since Gen 1s are the balanced ones

Orion's main three overseers Have chased after enemy Iterator overseers multiple times and few times he managed to overload them with shocks enough to deactivate them. the Eo army's tech support managed to extract some useful information from them

the fact that all of this started because of nasty bullshit from the Aeolus Council is found out only after the Mass Ascension by the Iterators. Orion takes it the hardest, of course, it ruins him hard. he's ashamed to have fought in the name of vile things like that

AND WITH THE GODDAMN SUNSTONE I FUCKIN. i'd snap that shit in half if i could (you enjoyers go wild, i'm just personally very no) however i Will....... admit that i have thought of sunstone a lot while listening to that song yes.

[xjustpeachyx]

*stares intensly*

My fellow Tumblr-goer, do you by any chance know of certain Suns and Sig fic on Wattpad?

By chance?

*scurries back into the darkness*

OHHHmg yesss i did art for a friend on wattpad for their fic!!!

For anyone wondering, theres a suns × sig fic on wattpad (titled: 'long distance') and I did artwork for it! :) (i've been considering redoing it because the designs i made have changed but, pebbs hasnt asked me to so i'll wait unless they asked :3)

Anyways, this allows me to show some of the sketching i did beforehand because i needed to get used to sketching them lol

Also, im told im allowed to say that i got a request from rab for a sunstone cover, so lookout for that ^_^