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fancyfeathers · 2 years ago

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The Moon Will Sing (Yandere Rex Lapis/Zhongli x Goddesses!Reader) (Normalized Yandere AU)

(TW- abandonment, kidnapping, restraints, extreme isolation, semi torture, dehydration, starvation, marking/body modification)

Inspired by this post

There is a story in Liyue about how Rex Lapis, the Lord of Geo and the Goddess of Moonlight fell in love. It is a story known by almost everyone in Liyue, a story parents tell their children before bed, a story couples remember at wedding, asking for the godly couple’s blessing on their marriage. This story is one of the most beloved in all of Liyue, you hear it on the daily as you walk past the families in the streets of Liyue harbor. You hear the children saying of how the story reminds them of their own parents, or how they want a relationship like that one day.

This makes you want to scream…

You want to tell the children the truth, tell the couples that such a blessing would be wicked on their marriage, and you felt terrified when parents would get compared to you and your husband.

Yes you and your husband…

Perhaps we should start this tale from the beginning…

The real story, not the sugared tale this land knows…

In ancient Liyue, in the height of the Guili Assembly, there was two sister goddesses. They were not strong, they were not known to many people of the land, and their power could never even match that of an archon. The two of them made no deals with adepti or gods, had no ties, but with that they had no real enemies. The goddess of moonlight and rain only had her sister, the goddess of sunlight and rainbows, and they didn’t need anyone else. For after the night comes morning, and after the rain is the rainbow.

The two sisters lived in Northern Liyue, watching over a small nameless village. This community was outside the bounds of the Guili Assembly and forgotten by it, almost like the sisters were. So now the sisters have taken mortal forms to walk among the people of the village and protect them, like parents would.

The sister of the sunlight would walk the streets during the day, singing her divine melody to bring light to Liyue. The children loved her, calling her a princess, the adults consulted with her, asking for her guidance. She was welcomed everywhere she went for she was as bright as the sun and able to see the village when it is lively and cast in the beautiful light of the day.

Your life was much different. You lived your sister and you loved your village, but you could never walk the same path they did. Your song was sung by the night, a haunting melody that gave mortals chills. You sang it alone for most of the world dreamed when you walked. The people didn’t fear you to say, well perhaps the children did, they just did not know you. They never got to see your fond smile when you sung under the stars, nor did they see you tending to the fields of glaze lilies in the night, singing to them like you did to bring light to the night. The only time the people got to see you was at dawn when your singing would stop and you would return to you home to sleep the day away, and at dusk when you would come to guide your sister home to rest and you would begin your song as the sun would set.

Which leads you to wear you are now. The sun has just set over Liyue and that means you set out into the grassy fields of your home. This time your brought a basket with you, you wanted to surprise your sister with a gift but even as a goddess you were poor so the only thing you could manage was a flower crown made out of the glaze lilies that bloom under your song of moonlight. You walk through the field, the high grass brushing against your legs. You sing your song as you do, letting the moon and stars grow bright in the night.

“Your voice is very lovely.”

You turn in surprise to see a man dressed in robes of black, brown, and gold, a clear contrast to your dress of purples and blues. His hair is pulled back into a ponytail and his eyes of gold look at you with curiosity. You had never seen this man before, you knew everyone who lived here but not once have you seen him.

“Oh, thank you, sir.” You a say, giving him a smile and a semi bow. “But I am afraid my sister’s voice is much more welcomed by our people than mine.”

“Hm? But why? Your voice is beautiful.” You chuckled at the man’s confusion but your reaction only made him more confused. “Is something funny?”

“No, no, it’s just…” sigh and shake your head, taking a step towards the man so you can get a better look at him underneath your moonlight. He was beautiful, powerful, intimidating, but beautiful. “…you don’t know who I am, do you?”

“Should I?”

“No, I suppose not since you’re clearly not from around this part of Liyue.” You replied, never once breaking eye contact with him like his eyes were drawing you in deeper. “I know that you aren’t because I know everyone here, I have been in this land for hundreds of years now.”

The man stares at you for an even longer moment, looking you up and down, as if trying to read something about you. “You’re a Goddess, are you not?”

“I am… but… um…” you laugh to yourself, your hands fiddling with the woven basket you carry in your nervousness. “…I’m not strong at all, I would be one of the weakest gods. My sister is the strong one between us two but even she’s not very strong either. We might as well be mortals, the only thing we’re good for are our songs but even then no one really cares, I don’t even think Rex Lapis cares we exis- sorry that was disrespectful, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You’re quite alright, my dear.” He waves you off with a deep chuckle. “Being forgotten by the world when you are meant to be known must be terribly hard.”

“Thank you, I- oh no“ You cut yourself off as you saw the sky grow dark, as if the moon was disappearing into the black sky. “One moment.”

You sucked in a breath and calmed yourself from the startle. You saw the man look at you with a curious look as you turned to face the moon. You raised your voice once more in song, when you did the moon began to glow once more, lighting the land in an ethereal glow. The man’s expression was taken over by pure wonder as you sang, even more so when your song gave the lilies around you light.

“So beautiful….” The man muttered, hearing you sing and seeing the heavenly glow all around you two.

“My domain…” You spoke in response as you finished your song. “Moonlight, not often something people pray for.”

“Maybe one day they will, my dear. I have a feeling they will.”

—————————

The days have passed since that faithful meeting, and the thoughts of the man slipped your mind. You would go out in the night still and sing in that same field, but now it felt as if something was changing, you just could not place it, after all things stayed the same here as they always have been for hundreds of years.

Now you sit in the field of glaze lilies, the flowers closing with the daylight. You could see your sister walking towards you through the field from the village. There was a few children following her but they stopped and fell back when they saw she was walking towards you, you sadly weren’t big with the children despite your love for them. Your sister came up to you and sat at your side.

“Good morning, my dearest (Name).” She said, brushing aside your hair with a wide smile. “You are as beautiful as ever, like the stars above.”

“Like the stars, hm?” You replied, a teasing grin coming across your tired face. “That’s a minor offense to the goddess of moonlight.”

“Oh sush.” Your sister responded, shoving your shoulder playfully. You pushed her back and soon the two of you find yourself tumbling, rolling, down the hill like two little bunnies. The two of you landed on your back, complete laughing messes. You may be goddesses but you two are sisters before that. Soon the two of your laughs calm down and you breathe, looking up at the changing sky. “You know, I wonder what would happen if we were just normal… just sisters…”

Your joyous smile fades into one of melancholy at your sister’s comment. What would be better, being a forgotten goddess or a mortal with dreams to live out? You didn’t know, but you couldn’t decide, you didn’t have a choice. “I wish, but that couldn’t happen.”

“(Name), think about it, it could! We aren’t bound by any contract, we have no ties to Rex Lapis or the other gods and adepti.” Your sister said, sitting up. Then you realize she was serious about this. “We could just leave, go off somewhere else, see the whole world. All we would need to do is sing to keep day and night alight! We have been here for centur-“

“I won’t go.” You cut her off, giving her a firm no. You stood up, dusting off your dress and your sister sat there in shock. “It’s our job to watch over this village, formal or not. We have made our home here and we just can’t abandon out people… I need to go to sleep, goodbye sister.”

“Goodbye (Name).”

…Little did you know that goodbye was forever…

When you set out to bring light to the night, your sister was gone. You asked the villagers if they have seen her before they went off to bed and a few said they spotted her walking off down to stone gate…

She left…

She really left…

The moon and glaze lilies gave no light that night, instead the world was shrouded in darkness and there was no singing only your sobbing. You were the weaker of the sisters, you couldn’t protect the village with out your sister. If something were to happen the village would all be but destroyed. You hugged your knees close as you cried, the petals of the glazed lilies brushing against your skin.

And you did something you had never done as a god…

You prayed…

“Please, Rex Lapis, god of contracts. I know I’m a goddess, but I’m a goddess that has nothing to give but myself. Please don’t let my people be harmed.” You begged, cried, hoping that he would hear you. “I will do anything you ask, just please, guard them when I can’t, I beg of you.”

You didn’t know if he could hear you, but you were absolutely desperate. You lay there in the field of glaze lilies, the blooms hiding from your eyes just like the god hiding from your eyes, watching you from a distance…

Little did you know you had just signed the contract that will turn over your fate…

—————————

Since your sister’s disappearance your people had gotten used to seeing you more often and you had gotten used to sacrificing much of your sleep to watch over the day and night. The people have warmed up to you more, and don’t fear you anymore. But the opposite has happened to your sister, your people talked about her and hated her for abandoning them for abandoning you. You asked them not to talk about her, the topic of her shattered your heart.

You walked through the village streets, helping one of the older residents carry fruit from her recent harvest back to her shop. It was calm, people saying hello to you and children asking if you can play later. Is this what your sister felt like? All this love? You weren’t used to it.

“LADY (NAME)!” You heard someone yell out from behind you, you turn to see one of the younger villagers running towards you at full speed in a complete panic. He gets back to you, breathing and panting and you notice blood pouring down his arm. “Geovishaps… edge of the village…”

Your eyes widen and your dropped the crate. You glanced around till your eyes landed on one of one of the nearby adults. “Get him medical attention now, I’ll deal with this.”

You ran forward where he came from, ignoring the cries and pleading of for you to stay. You sped forward, rushing past all the warnings. They’re outside the village, ruining your field of glaze lilies at least six giant draconic monsters stood. You took your bow and arrow and aimed it at one of the monster’s head, you had killed one before but that was with your sister.

You let the arrow fly and it hit the beast right in the eye. This also caught the attention of both it and its friends. They all turned to look at you and as soon as you heard their roar you knew you were screwed over. But you could run away and give up, you had a duty to protect these people and you would do that till you die on the battlefield. You watched as the monsters rushed towards you, raising one of its large claws ready to bring it down on you. You closed your eyes, waiting for the blow to come…

But it never did…

You opened your eyes to see the beast with a spear stabbed through its head. Your eyes widened as you saw the weirder of it, you have seen him in artwork before,t he white robe, the marks on his arms…

…Rex Lapis…

…The Lord of Geo…

You could only watch as he pulled the polearm from the beast’s head and the monster fell the ground, dead. The dead beast’s companions didn’t waste a moment before running away from the god. He watched them with a cold eye before kneeling down to you…

Then it hit you…

It was that man from that night…

Those things you said…

Oh dear…

“Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” He reached down, a hand on you chin, looking over you for any bruise or mark.

“I-I am… alright my lord… thank you.” You stood up with shaky legs, his hands guiding you to stand. “You were there… that night… I said you didn’t care, I am so, so, sorry.”

“Yes, but like I said then, it is quite alright, my dear.” He chuckled, after he helped you up he didn’t let go, even when you tried to step away. “After all we have a contract.”

“W-what? What are you on about?”

“That night, when your sister left, you prayed to me asking to protect your people. Your exact words were you will do anything I ask, as long as I guard them when you cannot.” Your heart sinks at those words, you remember that, between your tears you asked that. “I have made good on my end of the contract…”

“…now there is mine…” You hesitated on your words. What have you done? You should have left with your sister when you had the chance. “What do you want of me?”

“I have been alone for many centuries, I have had many a god and adeptus come into my life but none have truly caught my eye like you did that night when I heard you sing.” He looked at you, not of a gaze of malice or of ill intentions, but that of the one he looked at you with that night when you first met, a look of adoration, of love. “I wish for our contract to be that of marriage.”

There was a long moment of silence, shock, and horror…

“…no”

“Excuse me?”

“I said no.” You repeated, planting your feet into the ground and ripping your arm out of his grasp. “I did not agree to marry you.”

“You said you would do whatever I ask.” The god snapped back as you stepped away from him, his hand squeezing around the polearm in his grasp. “Do you really want to go back on your word to me?”

“I cannot be bound to anyone, my role is to protect those who live in this village, those under my protection. I do not have a duty as someone’s wife, god or mortal” You answered, drawing your bow once more. “That is something I’m willing to fight for.”

“I see…” With that you feel the earth shake beneath your feet and you knew at that very moment you messed up. “Ones who break their contracts shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock."

…and that was it…

…it was over before it begun…

…you stood no chance against the Lord of Geo after all.

—————————

You sat on the hard cold ground, it felt like ice in here despite this cave being carved out by the lord of geo himself. Speaking of the lord of geo, you haven’t seen him since he locked you in here, how long has it been? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? You didn’t know anymore. Your clothing was tattered, you sat here half naked, and that was putting it nicely. You may not need to eat but it was still unpleasant not to, one of the cons of you choosing a mortal form.

That’s not the worse of it, you can forget that when you sleep, escaping to your dreams. The dreams are full of the days where you would lay in the field with your sister and watch over your people in their village. There is only one thing you can’t escape, the constant pain in your body, every time you move the searing pain that rips at your wrists ankles, even in your dreams you can escape that pain, it ruins the happiness you get from those memories.

Chains…

Enchanted chains…

A special gift from Rex Lapis himself…

The chains linked around your wrists and ankles and attached to the floor of the cave. Sure they were long and if it was just that you would be able to pull yourself to the wall to have something to lay against, but it’s never that simple. Every time you move the chains surge geo energy into your body, it feels like you bones are shifting like tectonic plates during an earthquake. Even breathing hurts now, you wouldn’t be surprised if it was due to to the geo energy literally grinding most of your ribs to dust. A mortal would be dead by now, but not you, you just went through the same pain, and it never ended. You could only lay here, on your back, and stare at the same spot on the rock ceiling as dust and dirt collected on your body. But never any water, this place was bone dry, fitting for a place meant to hold the goddess of rain and moonlight.

Then there was the silence, it was maddening. The first few days, or maybe weeks, you sang to break the silence, keep your sanity, but most importantly fulfill your godly duties. But that was Celestia knows how long ago, you could only hope your sister was doing the best she could to watch over the day wherever she was now, because now you could only guess how violent the night has become in your absence. The night was already unsafe, but without the light of the moon, it was deadly.

A soft steps echoing in the cave snapped you out of your thoughts of simply reminding yourself to breathe in an out since it has become such a task. But now there was only one thought in your mind, after all this time he had finally come to see you again in this stone cage he made for you. You could not even turn your head to look at him in fear that your neck would break from the pulses from the chain, nor could you give him one of your usual witty greetings due to your throat being as dry as sand in the Sumeru desert in summer from the lack of water or even moisture in this cave.

You could only see him when he stood right beside your broken body, gazing down at you, but you were to weak to even make out the details of his face. He stared at you for a long time before kneeling down so that he could get a better look at your limp form. You could finally make out his expression, calm as ever, but it was unsettling for you to witness. He was ever so calm as he reached out his clawed hand and ran his finger along your cheek, collecting the dust that had landed on your skin. He looked at the dust on his fingers then back at you, like how you would treat a vase on the shelf you had forgotten to dust off.

“Oh my dear…”

He sighed as he reached down with his hand to graze over your arm, down to the chain that was sealed to your wrist without a lock. Suddenly he gave it a pull which resulted in a bloodcurdling scream ripping from your throat as your felt the surge of geo energy surge from the chain into you arm and your bones began to rub against each other and snap like twigs. As he does this you can feel your arm rapidly repair itself and breaking it again as your limb begins to change, the skin turning black and where you could feel the surges, golden markings begin to form the same one the Geo Archon bares himself.

“It seems perhaps the punishment was too strong for the crime.”

Your body fell limp as the chains disappeared. He reached down and swept you off the ground as your vision faded in and out. You wanted to scream, strangle him, do something, but you couldn’t. Your body is nothing but dust compared to your fellow god.

—————————

“Then from that day on, the Lord of Geo and the Lady of the Moonlight were wed. The Goddess ever so grateful for her husband’s protection of her and her people during the perils of the Archon War. And now it is said that when ever one hears the Goddess’s song of moonlight, they will hear a love song to her husband.”

You rolled your eyes at the “historian’s” tale. What a load of lies. You could say what really happened, but no one would believe you, a seemingly mortal woman. You could tell them that his protection was him locking you away underground for five centuries as punishment for trying to break the contract. Tell them how when you returned to the surface there was nothing left of the Liyue you knew…

…Well almost…

Your “husband” was kind enough to keep his end of the contract still and leave that village standing which is now known as Qingce Village, you visit there occasionally but no one is left to remember you. All that is left there are the stories of the sister goddesses who once protected the village, one of them running away never to be seen or mentioned by name again, and the other who protected the village dutifully with the “help” of her husband, Rex Lapis.

At least there was one accurate bit in your so called perfect love story, your only good memory of your husband before all this. That fated night when you met in the field of glaze lilies, when your mind and body were still innocent to the God of Contracts.

You rolled your eyes at the sound of applause for the historian, it hurt to hear how people romanticized your life and relationships. You couldn’t do anything but bitterly walk away, going back to to your husband who was standing at the edge of the crowd listening. Much has changed since those days, for your husband no longer went by Rex Lapis, rather Zhongli. He also wasn’t so cruel to you anymore, not after the chains. You suspected this was due to how he felt seeing you like that, not about all the pain you were in, that was just your deserved punishment.

“That was a nostalgic story, was it not, my dear?” Your husband asked as he interlocked your arm with his and walked through the crowd.

“That an interesting word to use for it.” You remarked as you watched the people of Liyue Harbor go about their day to day lives. “From what I recall, you left me in that cave for five hundred years, unless they just got the words comfort and chains confused because you did not come to see me once.”

“Well my love…” He reached his hand down to yours, running patterns over where the his markings are branded into your skin are, hidden under your glove. “…History will change to give a pleasing narrative, that is something we cannot even change.”

That was rich coming from him, the man who will correct historians on any other story but this one…

This historian said you sing a love song but truth it’s the opposite, a song of mourning for the life that was taken from you, but not that you can say anything…

…there is a silent truth that everyone knows…

…history is written by the victors.

#yandere genshin #yandere genshin x you #yandere genshin imagines #yandere genshin x reader #yandere genshin impact #yandere zhongli #yandere zhongli x

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nintendowife · 2 months ago

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I finished Fire Emblem Engage on Nintendo Switch a few weeks ago. Took me 91 h 25 min to clear the main story and all paralogue levels.

This was my team for the final battle:

Alear (Berserker)

Diamant (Successeur)

Anna (Wyvern Knight)

Yunaka (Wolf Knight)

Veyle (Mage Knight)

Jade (General)

Lapis (Great Knight)

Céline (Vidame)

Fogado (Cupido)

Citrinne (Sage)

Seadall (Dancer)

Jean (Martial Master)

Ivy (Lindwurm)

Rosado (Wyvern Knight)

In my typical fashion, in chapter 25 (out of 26) I realized there's an Arena where I could have increased characters' bond levels really easily without grinding. *facepalm* Well, at least I realized I can get better gear - unlike in some games where I've finished the game with starting equipment and then think that it seemed a bit hard.

I very much liked Engage! Fire Emblem: Three Houses had soured my opinion on the series so at first I wasn't that enthusiastic about Engage. The excellent battles and level design quickly won me over and I warmed up to the characters as well.

Character cast was so huge that I never used over half of them and just stuck to my favorites. Anna, Jade and Veyle ended up being my top favorites. Diamant (Alear's hunky husbando), Yunaka and Lapis were super good units, Ivy's and Citrinne's designs were gorgeous. Alear I really started liking after changing class to Berserker (high crit rate and high damage is my jam, plus that ponytail looked cool on her).

I have some negatives to say about Fire Emblem Engage as well, but I feel the title restored my faith in the series after Three Houses which I disliked.

#fire emblem engage #fire emblem #nintendo switch

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epochofbelief · 1 year ago

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Strictly Confidential: Chapter Three

A Modern Feysand AU

She’s a law student turned confidential informant. He’s a federal prosecutor with one goal: bringing down her boyfriend for his white collar crimes. What could go wrong?

Author’s Note: Hiii everyone. Here’s chapter three. I hope it makes sense. Things are beginning to occur. Let me know if you would like to be tagged!!

Masterlist

Three

Feyre got in the car.

There really didn’t seem to be another choice. Rhysand was staring at her through the crack in the window, an odd expression—possibly desperation—on his face. Cassian—Special Agent Claret—stood behind her, checking their surroundings with enough diligence that Feyre truly started to grow uneasy. Was she in danger?

What the hell was going on?

The car’s driver—Special Agent Azriel Lapis—introduced himself to Feyre after she settled into the back seat next to Rhysand. Azriel was “prettier” than both Rhysand and Cassian. In another life he could have been an actor or a poet. Feyre shook Azriel’s hand, stifling her alarm at the scars covering his surprisingly soft hands. Not because she didn’t want to touch them—but because the thought of what had caused them sent a shiver up her spine. What—or who—could possibly have done that to him?

Azriel gave her a swift nod, obviously not one to waste time on things as frivolous as words, before he exited the car in one smooth motion.

Leaving Feyre alone in the back with Rhysand.

The SAs outside took up positions in front of the windows, each facing away from the car, Cassian’s back to Rhys’s window, Azriel to Feyre’s.

“I’m sorry for . . all of this,” Rhysand began, running a hand through his hair. He seemed to do that a lot.

Feyre wasn’t complaining.

She shook her head. “Care to explain?”

Rhysand took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before he sighed, the air rushing out of him in one swift exhale. Feyre was hardly familiar with Rhys’s expressions and mannerisms, but if forced to hazard a guess, she would say he looked ruffled.

And Rhysand didn’t seem like the type of man who was easily ruffled.

“Rhysand.”

“Please, call me Rhys,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw.

Feyre blinked. “Alright, Rhys,” she said, as he turned the full weight of his gaze upon her. Feyre grew suddenly aware of the state she was in—slightly sweaty, in a pair of old black leggings and an enormous grey and navy Prythian Law sweatshirt. She knew her hair was a wreck—stuck in the messy ponytail she had thrown it into after studying. No makeup.

She shook her head. It didn’t matter what she looked like, did it? Didn’t matter what Rhysand—Rhys—thought of her. She had a boyfriend, didn’t she? And she suspected that whatever Rhysand was about to tell her had nothing to do with the unspoken connection that had formed between them at the networking event. No, the creeping feeling in Feyre’s gut told her that after Rhys said his piece, nothing in her life would ever be the same.

Rhys sat up a little straighter. “As you know, I’m a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Erilea.”

“Yes. I do,” Feyre said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Rhysand smirked, as if he could sense her irritation. “Right. I don’t think I mentioned that I specialize in white collar crime prosecution.”

“You didn’t.” Although Feyre had already discovered this thanks to the hours she had spent stalking Rhys’s LinkedIn page over the past week. She had paid particular attention to his profile picture.

Rhys swallowed. “For the past year, I’ve been investigating a particularly slippery local businessman.”

Feyre waited, one eyebrow raising as Rhys paused, his violet blue eyes watching her very closely.

Rhys continued. “This particular businessman has a sterling reputation. He’s incredibly successful, has excellent connections, and his company is only going to continue to prosper over the next decade at least.

“But I believe—no, I know—that everything he does, everything his company stands for, is a front for illegal activity."

Rhys looked at her, as if expecting some sort of reaction. Feyre pursed her lips.

Rhys continued. "But anytime I try to gather enough evidence to nail him for it, he slips through my fingers. Hours of surveillance, numerous informants, research. Everything I can think of, short of breaking the law myself.

“But I’ve never been able to prove that his business isn’t as innocuous as he would lead everyone to believe.”

Feyre’s brows creased, and she leaned forward. “I’m still waiting for the part where you tell me how this is relevant to me.”

Rhys sucked in a breath, his eyes straying from hers.

“Rhys?”

Rhys blew out the breath, and when he ran out of air, his eyes lifted to hers, pinning her in place.

“The company the businessman operates through is known as Spring Solutions.”

Feyre blinked.

Rhys continued. “And the businessman’s name is Tamlin Spring.”

Feyre began shaking her head, her hand scrabbling for the door handle behind her. “You’re crazy. Tamlin’s business is dedicated to protecting the environment. He travels all over the world advising large companies on how to comply with environmental regulations. And you’re telling me that somehow his business is a front for something … something criminal? You’re crazy,” Feyre said again, about to crack open the door and leave Rhys—and the FBI—far behind her.

Rhys winced. “Please. Just give me five minutes. I wouldn’t have orchestrated all of this if I didn’t truly believe in what I’m saying.”

Feyre hesitated, glancing out the window behind her. Azriel had shifted, now standing right in front of the door. If she tried to open it, she probably wouldn’t be able to get out anyway.

“Two minutes.”

Rhys nodded, launching into an explanation. “Spring Solutions does all of the things you just said. But we have reason to believe that Tamlin charges unusually high prices for his consultations. In return for those high prices, he does in fact bring companies into compliance with environmental laws and regulations… But not before he takes any evidence of their noncompliant material and dumps it somewhere--somewhere he's not supposed to."

Feyre blinked. Rhys was delusional. But still, she asked, “If you know all this, why don’t you just indict him?”

“Knowing something and being able to prove it in court are two entirely different things. You know that.”

Feyre merely raised an eyebrow. “So, you need evidence.”

Rhys gave her a weak smile. “Desperately.”

“So . . .” Feyre trailed off.

Rhys looked at her.

“No,” Feyre said slowly, giving Rhys an incredulous look. “No, no, no, and no.”

“Feyre. . .”

“We live together, Rhys. Tamlin is my boyfriend. You want me to turn on him? Become your confidential informant, or something?” Feyre bit the inside of her cheek when Rhys didn’t protest. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

Rhys gave a swift nod.

“And how do you know I’m not complicit in all of this?” Feyre demanded.

Rhys rubbed his temples between two fingers. “We—uh. Well, not we. The FBI. Has been . . . Observing you.”

Feyre’s mouth fell open. “You had me tailed?”

Rhys winced again.

“I’m sorry, Feyre. I really am. But when his face flashed up on your phone screen at that networking event. . . I had to know. Had to learn more. And to answer your previous question, we know enough about Tamlin to be pretty certain that he plays things very close to the chest. After watching you this week, we had a feeling you were pretty clueless to the whole enterprise.”

Feyre folded her arms. “You couldn’t possibly know that.”

Rhys raised an eyebrow. “You’re top 5% in your law school class, Feyre."

Feyre bristled when Rhys mentioned her class rank--that particular revelation revealing that he had clearly done his research on her.

Rhys continued. "Any complicity in any sort of criminal activity could prevent you from taking the Bar. Could land you in prison. And . . . I had a feeling about you.”

“You had a feeling?”

Rhys raised his hands. “You don’t get this far as a federal white collar crime prosecutor without learning to trust your gut. And something tells me you don’t know anything about Tamlin’s crimes.”

Feyre pursed her lips. She didn’t know, of course. She barely knew anything about the legal side of Tamlin’s business, much less the illegal side. If it did, in fact, exist.

“Of course I don’t know about anything,” Feyre hissed. “I have a career to think about.”

Rhys nodded. “Of course you do.”

Silence fell. Feyre began picking at the frayed material of the seat in front of her.

“Well?” Rhys finally said.

Feyre cleared her throat. “Well, what?”

“Will you do it?”

“Why do you care so much?”

When Rhys didn’t answer, Feyre inched closer to him. His eyes were unfocused, staring blankly out the front windshield, his jaw tight, brows creased.

“Rhys?”

“My sister used to work for Spring Solutions,” he said quietly.

“Used to?”

“She was around your age,” Rhys rasped. Feyre sucked in a breath at his choice of words. Was.

Rhys swallowed, his jaw tightening further. “She started working for Spring Solutions right out of college—as a low-level secretary. But Tamlin took a liking to her, and eventually, he promoted her to his personal assistant. Everything was fine, for a while. She was making great money, enjoyed her job, and seemed set up to only rise through the company’s rankings. Then, one Friday evening, she came rushing into our place, absolutely frantic. She shut herself in her room for two full days. Wouldn’t talk to me, to anyone. Came out the following Monday morning like nothing had happened, and announced that she was quitting her job.

“That was the last time I saw her alive.”

Feyre gasped.

“It took me weeks to begin to suspect—” Rhys’s voice cracked. He started again. “To suspect that the mugging-gone-wrong she had experienced in downtown Velaris wasn’t as random as the police concluded. It took me weeks to wonder if my sister had known something—something that Spring Solutions couldn’t afford to let her quit knowing. I thought I was going crazy—Cassian told me I was losing my mind. Dreaming up any possible reason that could possibly make her death make sense.”

Feyre couldn’t stop the hand that reached out, gripping Rhys’s forearm through his dark suit. “Rhys. . .”

“I read the last few pages of her diary eventually. And the things she wrote the day before she died. . . She suspected something. Somehow, she figured out what Tamlin was doing, on a very basic level. And she wrote it down.”

“But then, why don’t you just use the diary?” Feyre asked. “That must be enough to start some sort of investigation—something.”

Rhys shook his head. “The diary’s gone. A few days after I read it, someone broke into my apartment. Tore through my sister’s room, probably looking for any evidence that she might have left behind. So now, I have nothing but my own knowledge.”

Finally, he looked up at her. “And it’s eating me alive.”

Feyre drew her hand back. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll help. Say you’ll work as a confidential informant for the FBI. Help me.”

“I don’t know… I still don’t know whether to believe you.”

But Feyre had a sinking feeling that Rhys wasn’t lying. Or at least, that he believed he was telling the truth.

“We can offer you protection. Transportation. Immunity. A—a place to stay,” Rhys sputtered. “Whatever you need. Just please say you’ll consider it.”

Feyre perked up at Rhys’s words. “A place to stay?”

“Ye—” Rhys’s voice cracked again. “Yes.”

He really was desperate.

Feyre started speaking before she knew what she was going to say. “I’ve been planning on leaving Tamlin. But I can’t afford a place of my own without more loans. If you could help me with that. . . I might consider helping you. If I decide to believe you.”

Rhys nodded. “Maybe I’m full of shit. But looking couldn’t hurt. If you find nothing, if Tamlin really is the environmental philanthropist he holds himself out to be, then it’s no harm, no foul. And we’ll help you out with a place to stay either way.”

Feyre considered it. “Can I sleep on it?”

Rhys shook his head. “Absolutely.”

“Okay,” Feyre said. “I’ll think about it. How do I get in touch with you with my decision?”

“We’ll find you,” Rhys said. “How about we plan for a week from today?”

Feyre ignored this subtle hint that her actions would continue to be watched over the next week. Despite what Rhys had said, did he and the FBI still believe that there was any possibility she knew about Tamlin’s alleged crimes?

“Okay.”

Feyre turned to go, but Rhys spoke her name once more.

“Yes?” She asked, meeting Rhys’s eyes.

“I’m not sure how wise it would be to end your relationship with Tamlin without protection,” he said cautiously. “You might not know it yet, but he is a dangerous man, Feyre.” Feyre opened her mouth to retort, to accuse him of trying to turn her against him. But Rhys continued. “If you decide not to accept our help, please know that we--I--will still help you leave him if need be. In my line of work, I've seen and heard about too many of these types of things going horribly wrong. Promise me you'll seek out our help before doing anything drastic.”

Feyre swallowed. “I promise,” she said softly.

Feyre cracked open the door, Azriel whirling around to tug it open for her. Before she stepped out, she turned back to Rhys, his hands clasped between his knees in the spacious backseat, eyes shadowed, most likely with thoughts of his departed sister. “Rhys?” Feyre said softly.

He looked at her.

“I’m sorry about your sister.”

Rhys only nodded, and Feyre turned, letting Azriel shut the door behind her.

———

What was a girl to do when she was told her boyfriend was a high-profile, white collar criminal?

Feyre didn’t let herself process what had just happened to her until she was safely behind the walls of her apartment. Clothes off, blasting Norman Fucking Rockwell on shuffle over Tamlin’s apartment-wide speakers, and the shower water scalding against her back.

If what Rhys said was true . . .

Then not only was Tamlin breaking a slew of environmental regulations, and helping others cover up their own environmental crimes, but he was doing it under the guise of actually promoting sustainability. And the environmental pollution paled in comparison to Rhys’s suspicions that Tamlin—or at least, someone at his company—had orchestrated the death of Rhys’s sister. Then broken into Rhys’s apartment to destroy any evidence she may have left behind.

Feyre shivered, the water suddenly cold against her skin.

She shut off the water and threw on a robe, her hair dripping over the fabric as she made her way to Tamlin’s study.

Luckily, Tamlin wasn’t one of those people with security cameras inside his actual apartment. She slipped inside the room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. She stood there for several long minutes, staring around the ultra-modern room. Sleek black desk, light wood floors. White walls with two minimalist white shelves on either side, meaningless knickknacks in neutral colors displayed atop them. Feyre knew Tamlin had hired a designer for this room—and obviously hadn’t cared to incorporate any personal touches. In fact, the lack of personal touch was a common theme throughout Tamlin’s apartment.

Feyre strode across the room, but bypassed Tamlin’s desk, instead aiming for the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that formed the far wall. She spent another few minutes staring out at the city beneath her, lights twinkling in the dark.

If she looked inside Tamlin’s desk . . . Logged onto his computer . . . What would she find?

Anything?

Nothing?

And if she did find something… If she somehow discovered that Tamlin was doing something at all similar to what Rhys suspected. . .

There would be no turning back.

Feyre was going to be a lawyer. They were not only bound by the law, but also a strict code of ethics. Any crime, big or small, had to be reported to the Bar before Feyre would even be allowed to sit for the exam that would allow her to become a practicing attorney. Remaining affiliated with Tamlin was a danger to the entirety of her career, and she hadn’t even started practicing yet.

But her career and the legal profession aside, there would be no turning back for another, much more important reason.

Feyre would never be able to live with herself if she sat back and allowed people like Rhys’s sister to lose their lives to cover up Tamlin’s crimes. Wouldn’t be able to look herself in the mirror if she turned a blind eye while Tamlin not only polluted the environment, but disposed of the people who tried to put a stop to it.

She turned swiftly on her heel, pulling out the black chair behind Tamlin’s desk and seating herself behind it. She knew all of Tamlin’s passwords—either he had nothing to hide or he never would have suspected Feyre would snoop.

Feyre clicked through all of Tamlin’s files. Nothing. Just a whole lot of numbers, client contact lists, invoice records.

She scrolled through his internet search history—completely wiped.

Then, she opened his emails.

Tamlin’s work email popped up first, and after scrolling through dozens of mind-numbingly boring exchanges between Tamlin and Lucien, Tamlin and his high profile clients, Tamlin and his assistant—Feyre thought of Rhys’s sister as she read through those—nothing.

Deciding she had done just about enough work for the night, Feyre clicked on the trash icon. Perhaps Tamlin had deleted some correspondence and forgotten to clear the trash.

Feyre blinked as a single email popped up, from the email [email protected]. Subject Line read: “new recommendation.”

Resort locations? Was Tamlin planning a vacation? Or investing in some sort of resort?

Feyre clicked on the email, and the only thing in the body of the email was a map. There were no labels on the map—it was just a green landscape with a trailing blue river cutting across the right corner of the page. A thin red circle was marked over a space next to the river.

Feyre pursed her lips. This could be nothing. To a judge, it would be nothing. But Tamlin hadn’t replied to this email—so why was it in the trash? Was it a random solicitation, from someone trying to pitch him an idea for building a resort somewhere?

Or was it a map to the next place Tamlin should dump the noncompliant materials that his clients relied on him to discreetly dispose of?

Feyre swallowed, then shut off the computer, being sure to log out of everything Tamlin hadn’t previously been logged into, erasing all traces of her presence from his computer.

Then she made sure that everything in the room was exactly as it had been when she entered, and trailed her way back through the apartment.

She needed more to go on—needed more than this vague suspicion that Rhys might be telling the truth.

But even if Rhys was wrong, it couldn't hurt to at least look into Tamlin's business dealings. Chances were she would find nothing. But whether she found anything or not. . . This could be her ticket out of her relationship with Tamlin. If Rhys and the FBI were somehow able to give her a place to stay. . .

Feyre shivered as she remembered Rhys's warning. He's a dangerous man, Feyre.

Would it really be so hard to extricate herself from her relationship?

Feyre shook her head, resolving to give herself a week to find something even potentially suspicious about her boyfriend's business.

But that would have to wait.

Because she had a date with a bottle of wine and her couch.

Taglist:

@rhysiedarling @shedoessoshedoes @popjunkie42 @adreamof-spring @that-little-red-head @witch-and-her-witcher @cinnamonmelody @azrielover @1islessthan3books @jenahid @toporecall @martzja @muaddib-iswriting @queenofdivas

#acotar #feysand #a court of thorns and roses #sarah j maas #acomaf #feyre archeron #rhysand #a court of mist and fury #fanfiction #sjm #modern au #acotar modern au #fanfic

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quaintnecromancer · 2 months ago

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It was time for an official date. They had been seeing one another off an on when they were able. They had kissed and talked in deep conversations about one another, which led to Vlad finally telling Jett who he really was. That had been scary not only for him but for Jett. He knew that had been something he needed to think about for some time. They finally did come back to seeing each other in a different light. which led to a date.

A box had arrived on Jetts steps waiting for him. On top was a card with beautiful cursive writing, saying a place and time. And a ps: Hope you like the gift, Vlad.

@jonathancrane-scarecrows

Inbox Starter | @jonathancrane-scarecrows

To say Jett was nervous would be the understatement of this and every previous century. He’d had flings with vampires before, even dated a few of them seriously. Hells, his best friend was one of them! But if someone had told him a year or two ago that he would wind up becoming the object of the one and only Count Vlad Dracula’s affections, he’d have laughed in their face. Even now, as he stared at the invitation and the gorgeous lapis lazuli winged scarab necklace that had accompanied it, the witch was having trouble believing the drastic turn his life had taken.

“What on earth did I do to deserve you, Vlad?” he murmured, carefully clutching the large pendant to his chest.

He took his time getting ready, agonizing over every detail of his appearance. If his partner was going to put this much effort into wooing him, he wanted to at least look like he was worthy of such affection. A blue and white blazer complimented the necklace beautifully, especially when paired with a black silk button down and his best-fitting black slacks. His hair was brushed out silky smooth and pulled back in an elegant low ponytail, showing off his pretty face. Warm brown eyes were lined immaculately with kohl for the perfect finishing touch. Once he was finally satisfied with his appearance, he looked up the location Vlad had detailed in the invitation, making sure he still had plenty of time to get there, and set off.

As he drove, looking a bit out of place in the beat up old pickup truck that had to be older than him, Jett’s heart fluttered in his chest. What if he embarrassed himself? What if things didn’t go well? What if, what if, what if…? Anxiety swelled, and he found himself wishing he’d smoked a little bit before he left, just to take the edge off. He’d refrained because he didn’t want to show up to their date smelling like weed. Perhaps half of a gummy might have mellowed him out? No matter. It was too late to worry about that, now. Finding a parking space would have to be enough of a distraction to calm his nerves.

#💀 with a rebel yell 💀 v; modern #jonathancrane scarecrows

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aibouart · 1 year ago

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unless i tagged it wrong, i apparently NEVER SHOWED RED'S STEVEN UNIVERSE AU??? evEN THO I WAS (and still am) OBSESSED W IT?? bro i drew like 50 images for his gallery on th in like a month (exaggeration but he does have over 50 on there)

i decided to make him a fusion between a red beryl and a garnet (almandine). red beryl is pretty skittish, naive, and likes to organise, and almandine is a bit too proud, analytic, and can tend to be cold.

when fused as red quartz they lack any real quartz abilities (since they're a fusion and not a quartz) and resemble regular red's standard demeanour.

long...... (also it mentions fusion experiments and whatnot i know a lot of people don't like that stuff)

while they live on earth, now, they originally were stationed at a planet far from there. almandine was to oversee gem production, and was assigned his beryl to help him organise information and other technical things.

the planet ended up with a lot of iron and other mineral deposits, resulting in a lot of the created gems being off-colour. he couldn't bring himself to destroy them, so he sent them all off to a different planet in hopes they'd survive together.

but the whole gem production and whatnot was mostly a cover up for fusion experimentation. namely, seeing if they could control large fusions.

almandine was told by his higher up (iirc they're a lapis..? or something? i never drew em and remember struggling to find a fitting gem, esp with limited knowledge on hierarchy admittedly) that his role was to fuse with established out of control fusions, and maintain control over them. it was believed due to garnet's natural ability to lead and command others, he would be able to do this task eventually.

he was never fully able to achieve this and the fusions would often have to be destabilised to undo them, and as a result his gem is a bit unstable, itself. whenever he fuses with others he demands as much control as he can, and is often very afraid of losing his individuality in the fusion (which is counter intuitive to fusion itself ofc). his gem also struggles to keep form whenever he is under a lot of stress, causing him to poof easily.

(ofc orchid the ametrine here belongs to @theotherkoifish)

despite this, his initial bond with Beryl is very important to them and their long history + compatibility lends to their relationship working well. Beryl doesn't mind at all doing whatever Almandine asks of him (which isn't a lot since he doesn't want to impose), and Almandine feels safe in their fusion as red quartz. esp cuz he feels comfort with Beryl

unfortunately, he fights with anyone else in a fusion causing it to become undone pretty quickly.

this is Tiger's Eye, a fusion between Almandine and Orchid (Ametrine). they don't usually last very long KJSDFBSDJKBFK the tail is actually their ponytail

anyways there's WAY MORE including other OCs i threw into the mix but this is so long already omg sowwy

#my art #art q #SU #oc #humanoid #red #orchid #others ocs #sketch #coloured sketch #nc #au #ref #tigers eye #red quartz #red beryl #almandine

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ramlightly · 1 year ago

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I remembered a while back, you got an ask mentioning how Lapis and Dandelion have similar hairstyles, and you mentioned that it's hard to find hairstyles that are okay along with having the horns, and I found some that may work! /Excited

This isn't in a negative way, just sharing things I found. Usually when I personally make a character with horns, I tend to keep a ref of a ponytail hairstyle to fall back on. Ponytails + Horns are 👌!

Ohhh, those are fun! Thank you, I'll save them.

#ask

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thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch · 6 months ago

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Ft. Enemies to lovers, soulmates, timeloop

Archon war Timeloop Zhongli x minor goddess/god!reader

There's a very old legend in Liyue about a god and his maiden, in which he killed her when they met in a duel, but Celestia who was kind and saw they were each other's true love, decided to give them a second chance, so the day they met and fought would repeat itself until they discovered they were each other's soulmate.

"The day on which both soulmates should meet happens again and again until they meet properly."

The problem is that Celestia was not very especific which maiden or which god...

Basically, the second Zhongli kills you (or you kill him), Celestia keeps draging Morax (from his longass tail ponytail) back to the morning of the final battle until it finally dawns on him that he most likely killed his soulmate.

So since the legend says the only way time advanced again for the god was to earn the heart his maiden fairly... I guess Zhongli will have to put all of his efforts into seducing the beautiful enemy general for Liyue... in less than a single day.

××××××××××××××××××

Guizhong: You have plenty of chances with them for a perfect first meeting! I mean it's not like you just presented yourself naked in their tent with a silkflower in your mouth...

Guizhong: Why are you avoiding my eyes Morax?

Rex Lapis: ... Yes. That was something I did not do...

Moon Carver: Did they skewer you with their sword?

Rex Lapis, looking at his feet: Yes, they did.

guizhong after knowing what she knows zhongli tried in previous loops:

#ik this was in my inbox for soooo long anon i just convinced myself i posted it on your behalf and when i opened my inbox....#it was still here #so thats gonna be MY bad whoopies #ask #anon #Anon Genshin Prompts #(I should add a tags for these tbh)

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vinceres-a-loser · 2 years ago

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A Laphos and Caringorm I drew in August, I’m still obsessed with how i did the coloring on this piece! (Side note: I miss ponytail laphos….)Also if you’ve seen this on twitter..That was my post!! stealing art is cringe..

[Image ID:A Drawing of Phosphophyllite and Caringorm from Land of the lustrous. Phos is depicted with Lapis’s head, and the hairstyle he had in volume 7. Phos has made a heart around Cairngorms head with his alloy, and has a joyful expression. Caringorm looks at phos with a face of disgust, clutching a book that says “how to get a weird queer guy to stop bothering you.”/.End ID]

#houseki no kuni #houseki no shitpost #land of the lustrous #hnk phos #hnk spoilers #hnk fanart #hnk cairngorm #vinnerpaint!

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emi-writings · 1 year ago

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Hi! I'd love to know how you envision cwilbur, I might want to take inspiration from it for my own headcanon

Okay, so I am really not an artist in any way, shape, or form, so words and some occasional reference images are all I got for anyone interested in this potential design idea.

Also, I have seen some people discuss maybe changing up C!Wilbur's name, and I am intrigued with the idea, though I haven't really done to much thinking about it, so I am curious a little bit on the community's thoughts about it.

Physical Interpretations

So, first of all, Wilbur’s eyes – the Minecraft skin has no indication of eye color, so that is completely free and up to interpretation. After some discussions, I think that heterochromia would be an interesting and unique addition to his design. So, I think Wilbur would have his right eye be a teal green, and his left eye would be blue, similar to his father’s eyes.

Then there is height. All Minecraft skins are the same height, and very few characters have stated their canonical heights. I think making Wilbur 6’ tall would be interesting. I could ramble on about how I think this could result in fun symbolism and all that, but that’s not why you’re here.

The hair is a little bit harder to mess around with… or it would be, if not for the hood attached to his jacket. I am choosing to interpret Wilbur’s hair as long, and just constantly tucked into his head. He probably keeps it in a ponytail or something. As for length, maybe something like this?

As for other physical details, I think that his face would probably have some freckles, he’s spent a lot of time in the sunlight in the early DSMP days as well as his later few DSMP days. Some additional scars would also make a lot of sense, given all the violence and explosions he’s been subjected to.

But I also think Wilbur might have some tattoos. What type of tattoos, I think witchy/magical tattoos similar vibes tattoos like this, this, this and this, would work very well given that potions in Minecraft are considered magic, and Wilbur is pretty associated heavily with potions.

Outfit Interpretations

Now, the outfit is much, much harder to interpret as drastically different, but there are some thoughts that I have on it.

First of all, the yellow shirt – there isn’t anything that indicates that what Wilbur is wearing under the jacket is a sweater or shirt. And I am choosing to interpret it as a yellow, low-crop top. Not enough of a crop top to be always showing off his stomach. But when he stretches, he would be showing off some tummy. Just because I want to add some more gender to the design. Personally, I do think the idea of him with a dark blue shirt instead would work better with him as a character but working we’re with what’s given.

The gloves are things I am debating on keeping, mostly because I don’t know if I want to give Wilbur gloves like this, or if I want to give him some magical bracelets, like this lapis lazuli bracelet, though not necessarily lapis lazuli is the gemstone being used. Maybe both could work, but I’m not sure if it would clutter the design as I can’t actually draw them out myself to test that. But talking about accessories, I think he’d wear the friendship emerald Phil gave him as a necklace like this, but with an emerald.

Species Headcanons

I like to headcanon Wilbur as a mockingbird hybrid, specifically a northern mockingbird. So, he’d have mockingbird wings! But that's very much a headcanon and is something that wouldn't be able to be argued as being there with the current canon design.

#c!wilbur #Build a C!Wilbur #DSMP Wilbur

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vissy1 · 2 months ago

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For the first time, You get to see 2003 Nick Jr. (Lapis' version) removing her ponytail! I wonder If her brothers like Nickelodeon and Nicktoons and her friends like PBS Kids Sprout sees this.

#nickjr #2003nickjr #nick #nickelodeon #lapisfan2055

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u17imateandroid · 4 months ago

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what are some interesting hairstyles you give lapis ? i'm jealous of her gorgeous hair lol

i like drawing her with longer hair a lot, also ponytails. i drew her with a buzz cut once and it felt cursed so i'm not showing it.

#i also draw her fatter more often than not but people are mean so i don't post that #💌#⚠️#🗂️#IM GOING TO WORK NOW FOR REAL

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helloescapist · 2 years ago

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To Wish Upon a Lantern | Shota Aizawa

Word Count: 1357

Setting: Shota Aizawa/Eraserhead x gn!reader [pining]

Content Warnings: none really, minor suggestive because I can't behave myself.

Summary: a sweet moment releasing a lantern for Mid-Autumn festival with Shota Aizawa.

The night settled into intense shades of lapis lazuli plunged into passionate hues of indigo, touched upon fervid plums. Luminous stars that glistened upon the night sky, beckoned the hushed reminder of distant worlds and celestial bodies untouchable by man. The distant jostle of festival music a mere hum carried across the breeze. Whispered the reminder of the festivities only short voyage away, the rare request of an interlude together having drawn you from booths. The touch of his elbow against yours as he ushered you away from the crowds, from venders peddling their wares, and children in cheer.

The jostle of cheer and drums replaced by the hammering of your heart now inter tangled over the crash of waves against the beach. Shadows that grazed one another, nudging the hammer of your heart. The soothing touch of his hand grazed upon your shoulder. Dark eyes that embodied the vast entity of space, hinted upon black sapphires that traced the sky above, imparting no wards into the silence of the night. The scintillating glow of the moon illuminating his stoic features. The mid-autumn moon offering the rare opportunity to his features in the confidante of the hour. The discoloration of his scars varied amongst several shades; the mark carved into his cheek bone having earned company in the past two years. Thick luscious waves of cocoa locks twirled at the highs of his cheek. The mass of his hair combed back to the best of his abilities. Secured by a ponytail that captivated your heart, concealed his unruly mane. The glimpse of his neck offered by the reveal of his collar. Far more than enough to thrill your features, and whisper prayers to the gods that the night would not reveal the quiver of your heart. Stubble that traced the definition of his jawline, the sharp lines of his eyelashes that could slash your resolve if only he pressed. How you wished he would venture. Bedroom eyes posed and lethal, crumble your façade, and vacated your sense. Trembling beneath the seductive imagery of his dark yukata against delicate ivory skin. The hushed yawn stifled against the back of his hand before resting in the folds of his collar. The touch of taunt muscles wary from fatigue. The movement, the reminder of your circumstances shooing away unsavory thoughts that through the depths of the night, and weaved together lust and yearning. Concerns quick to seize the opportunity to evade your heart, all too aware of the deepening of the bruises beneath his lower lashes. Bid farewell to moonlight trysts, and stilled the hammering of your heart. Aizawa was exhausted. Worn from the duties of Eraserhead, carved from his path, and torn asunder whether to answer the calls of educator, pro-hero, or vigilante. Disaster after devastation, the in balance in this world had long since bared its fangs upon his flesh, and yet, her persevered. Remained steadfast in his ideals, defended his convictions, and remained loyal to his classmates, an unknown name amongst the general population willing to throw his life away without hesitation. The quiet of the scenery beckoning him, urged Shota to utilize your shoulder if only as a means to rest upon in the ambience of the waves. His husky voice, warm and sultry as it vibrated against your ear. Hummed appreciation for your willingness to accept his burdens if only for the moment. Oblivious to the way it afflicted your heart. Cooed the shiver down your spine, persuaded you to lean into his touch. The flutter of his eyelashes, the touch of his breath against your neck as he breathed in the chill of the night, and savored the scent of your body against his. Comforted, and soothed, as though a child who relied upon another to hush the horrors of the past, to provide distraction for those to come. If only for the one night.

If only for tonight.

“There,” Shota’s voice spoke before offering a low growl that vibrated against his Adam’s apple. Revealed his discontent of the contort of your body, daring to pull from his at the draw of his voice. Shuddered at the sudden way the words had practically petted the back of your neck, unable to admit the indignant coo that near threatened to escape your lips. The whisper of his voice in your ear, making you suddenly aware of the intimate prospects that fumbled through your brain all too aware of the press of his chest against your back. Joy that sparked through your yukata, a moth to the flame drawn in by the prospect of intrigue. Shota’s arms threaded around your middle, drawing you into him. Beckoned you to remain still. The close press of fabric, slipped from shoulders and tucked. Thin. Very little separating the graze of his flesh against your skin. Your response curious, allowing you only to avert your eyes under his intense press. Warmed your cheeks, taunted your senses. Betrayed dormant desires as absent minded as the way he held your form to his own. The mix of vanilla that danced with a citric note whispered sweet notes into your heart, Aizawa’s scent touched upon your fingertips drawing your attention.

The callous of his fingers, wrappings that coiled around the digits of his hands drawn to the direction. Reprimanded yourself for deluding a tender moment with an old friend with perverted daydreams as your eyes followed his guidance, ignoring the pounding of your heart.

The vivid hush of night that had spread across the sky, shy hues now elicited to life. Celestial bodies painted across the night hours. Their brilliance reflected upon the ripples of the sea below. Hummed distant memories of the year that had passed, touched upon fond recollections of the time you had been gifted alongside Eraserhead’s side. As though a spirit guided to the heavens, caught amongst the breeze; a delicate paper lantern ascended to the sky. Its solidarity quick to draw company. The prayers and wishes of festival goers weaved into every lantern. Desires and hopes etched into their siding, the flame elicited intended to carry their wishes to the heavens above. Warm, and tender. Gentle. Thousands that grew by the moment, a small lantern no longer along amongst the dark night. The warm sigh that tickled against your neck, and the press of arms that remained at your side. His hold tender against your frame, careful of your size difference.

The melancholy that threatened to rob the joy of the moment from your pores. Your fingers betraying your conscious, revealed the depths of your anxieties. The uncertainty that clung to the back of your mind regardless of how you wished it away. The fear--- an adult of your age all too aware that prayers…. Often go unanswered. Clung to the touch of wood between your fingers, a lantern—your hopes clutched between your small fingers. The tremble of your knuckles threatening to grow white, and splintered wood against the pads of your fingers. Your response defiant to the flicker of the flame. Unable to relinquish your prayers to the night. To the risk of rejection. Horrified that the rejection of your hopes… would mean to witness the fall of Eraserhead, to become acquainted with his absence, ignorant of the press of his form against yours, and to endure cold nights as a permanent reminder he would never return home. To never know more. The doubts that shook your heart, whispered anxieties to the pit of your stomach was only soothed by the warmth of his breath, warm and reassuring against your neck. Delicate in the touch of his calloused fingers, careful to gently unfold your fingers from the lantern’s frame.

Shota’s fingers intertwined between your owns. If only to remind you that life still resided within his bones. The flicker of the flame ascended from your reach. The cutesy motif of a cat the pro-hero had etched into one side, oblivious to the scribble of your hand writing. Urged prayers, hummed into your heart, into your soul.

Your wishes carried to the heavens.

#mha x reader #aizawa x you #shota aizawa x reader #eraserhead x reader #bnha x reader #boku no hero academia oneshot

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mymanyfandomramblings · 1 year ago

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My sister's concept sketches for my Steven Universe Lord of The Rings AU

(ALL ART DONE BY MY SISTER, REBLOG BUT DO NOT REPOST)

There are two Connies, because Connie at the beginning when she first leaves the Shire-equivalent is quite a different Connie than the knight of Rohan she is by the end.

Pearl's look is inspired primarily by elves, while Amethyst's is more dwarf-inspired (there's actually no elves or dwarves in this AU, just humans and Gems, but I'm drawing inspiration from them). Amethyst also has her hair in a ponytail, because I love ponytail! Amethyst.

Sapphire is a wizard (and has two eyes in this AU, but only one good eye), and Ruby is her knight. Garnet is both a wizard and knight.

Lapis Lazuli's look is a little pirate-inspired (she was a sea merchant before joining the fellowship of the gems), and the hood is primarily for the vibes.

Rose was of course, a great lady and a great warrior, but I don't think her role or design has changed so much that it needs explanation.

There's no Steven, Greg or Peridot art yet, but they both have significant roles in this AU, too.

Edit: This AU now has a sideblog: @stevenoftherings

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xandriagreat · 9 months ago

Text

Fate Be Changed

Chapter 6: Listening and Learning More

First chapter | Last chapter | Next chapter

Notice/warnings: panic, CAPs, hunger, food, getting hurt (by accident), weapons, dark magic, death mentioned

▪▪▪

*meanwhile, on a train to LA*

A man on a train to Los Angeles knowing that someone left a note saying to come and get his son.

The man was in his mid 40s, with a scar on his right cheek, light brown hair with white streaks, and a snappy and very expensive business suit.

It was Vincent ‘Vinny’ Wolf.

He was being accompanied, not just by his bodyguards, but also by Mr and Mrs. O’Cross and their daughter, Mary O’Cross.

Mary is a thin woman with long straight light brown hair with bangs in a high ponytail, covered in butterfly clips, fair skin, and gorgeous lapis blue eyes. The young woman was wearing a red long sleeve shirt, white boot cut pants, and pink go-go boots.

They were in the train along with the other bodyguards just to be safe and ensure that Mary didn't run away.

Mary looked out the window as she listened to the grown ups talking with each other.

The grown ups were talking about the arranged marriage for her and Mason.

“You know there's other options to stay in the company rather than an arranged marriage, like come on, other businesses stop arranged marriages. This isn't the 1600s anymore.” Mary said, looking at the grown ups.

The grown ups looked at her.

“Shut your mouth, Missy.” Mrs. O’Cross said, looking at her.

Mary knew that her word didn't mean anything. So she knew that her parents would say that to her.

But her parents seem not to care. She knew growing up that her parents only cared about a few things. Their image, reputation, and money.

But even though Mary can't admit it to her own parents, she at least acts like a spoiled brat. She played the part, the real her was sweet deep inside heart. Moe knew that she was sweet ever since they met when they were kids.

On the bright side, Mary might be able to visit her aunt, who (despite being cut off from the family from a young age) was able to make a living as a lawyer in downtown Los Angeles.

Then one of the bodyguards walked over to them. “We’re getting close to the station.” a bodyguard said to them.

The grown ups nodded and they started to get things back into work bags.

They all got up from their seats and went to one the doors to leave the train.

Mary was writing something down as they walked.

It was a letter to a law school she's been planning on going.

None of her parents knew about it.

Mary finished writing and put the letter in an envelope before the train got to the station and stopped at the final destination.

As everyone got off the train and on the train station, Vincent looked around his new surroundings.

“Where is that ungrateful son of mine?” Vincent asked himself, a growl in voice. ‘Once I find that run away I'll make sure that he STAYS in his place and to never disobey me again!’ he thought as they started to leave the station.

As they all went out of the station, Vin noticed a familiar face, which made him smile.

It was ‘Moe’.

“There you are, son!” Vin exclaimed, walking over to him.

‘Moe’ was silent as he waved at them.

“What’s wrong with you?” Vin asked, looking confused at him. “You're quiet like a mouse.”

Then ‘Moe’ got a pen and pad out, beginning writing something on the paper before showing it to them.

The paper read: I lost my voice from screaming. It’ll be back in a few days.

Vin thought that it was an opportunity to have his son not interrupt him in a fight and he has the last word. “Alright.” Vin said, smiling.

Then Vin and ‘Moe’ looked at the O’Crosses.

Mr. and Mrs. O’Cross were relieved while Mary was suspicious of her arranged “fiance”. He wasn't usually like this.

“Now… that we found you.” Vin started, looking at ‘Moe’. “We are going once we get a ticket back home-”

Then ‘Moe’ started to write on a page, which got everyone’s attention.

The page read: I suggest that you all rest, since that you all have had a long trip.

Vin begins to calm down by taking in some breaths.

“All right, then we'll just find a hotel to stay for the night… BUT you are still getting married.” Vin said, pointing at ‘Moe’.

‘Moe' nodded with a smile.

As they went out and looked for a hotel, Mary grew more suspicious of ‘Moe’.

Then Mary got an idea.

“Oh, I think I'm hungry. We should all get something to eat for lunch!” Mary suggested, looking at the grown ups. “ It has been a long trip.”

The grown-ups begin looking at each other before nodding to her. “You two can have lunch.” Mr. O’Cross said, smiling. “It’ll be like a date for you two to catch up.”

Mary was shocked but was happy that she could talk with her “fiance”.

‘Moe’ agreed by nodding and writing down something on paper, which read: That sounds like a plan.

They immediately reserved any private area in the restaurant while the grown ups started looking for a hotel.

Mary was not happy about the date but she wanted to talk with ‘Moe’.

She put her letter in a mailbox as they started to walk around, looking for a place to eat.

◇■

‘Moe’ and Mary went to a fancy restaurant for their lunch ‘date’.

“So… Moe?” Mary asked, looking at him as they waited for their food. “What changed your mind? About running away with your love?”

‘Moe’ starts writing on paper: Just someone helped me realize that my family bloodlines and business are more important. Besides, a man like me and a model woman like you will get a lot of attention. Even though modeling is hard on a woman at times.

Mary looked confused at him. “Um… You already knew that I use modeling as a form of escape, hoping to get some money to start fresh.” she said, confusion in her voice. “Mother and Father don't really care for it but it helps us.”

‘Moe’ started to panic but remained calm. He tried to write something else on the paper: Sorry. I forgot.

But then ‘Moe’ grew a mustache all of a sudden.

Mary noticed the mustache and was surprised by it. “Um… Moe? When did you start to grow a mustache?”

‘Moe’ felt his face and gasped for a moment. Then he got under the table and he got the talisman out of his shirt to see what’s going on.

The blood was already draining from it, the red liquid faded like it was never there.

‘Moe’s’ breath became heavy as he noticed his hands start to grow big, bone cracking and growing back to normal size.

He put the talisman back in his shirt before he got out from hiding and back in his seat, then writing on the paper: I wanted to try a new look

Mary was raising her brows and still suspicious about him. “And why do you just grow big hands all of a sudden?” Mary asked, looking at the big hand. “No offense.”

‘Moe’ quickly wrote: Allergic reaction.

Mary nodded. “Um… Ok? You never had an allergic reaction before. Unless you developed an allergic reaction to fish… But we haven’t ordered anything yet.” she said, eyeing at him.

‘Moe’ had to get out of there fast. He quickly wrote down: I need to go.

“I can pay for the check and see if they do takeout. Don’t worry about it.” Mary reassured him. “You go take care of yourself.”

‘Moe’ smiled at her and nodded to her as he got up from his seat to leave. He was about to head out of there but stopped when seeing Vin and the O’Crosses, who were watching the whole scene.

“Come on now.” Vin said, stopping ‘Moe’. “You guys didn't have your food yet. We actually have a plan for the wedding.”

“Yes. We are planning to have the wedding at the hotel Hilton.” Mr. O’ Cross said.

‘Moe’ smiled awkwardly at them. Then his smile faded as he started growing slowly as Mary walked over to them.

“Don’t you three see that Mason needs help?” Mary said, pointing at ‘Moe’. “If it’s about the wedding, it can wait. We need to get him some help!”

‘Moe’ legs became much longer. He REALLY needs to hurry and do something FAST.

Then a fire burst out of the kitchen.

Everyone in the restaurant had to quickly evacuate the building.

Everyone looked at the building as help arrived to get the fire out, which gave ‘Moe’ enough time to escape.

‘Moe’ quickly got to an abandoned alleyway, panting to catch his breath.

His face reshapes back from ‘Moe’ to Cuddles as he watches from a broken mirror in the alley.

Then Marmalade came out from the shadows and saw the last drop of blood coming out of the talisman. “No!” he growled at the talisman.

Cuddles’ skin color went from tan to pale skin and his hair from dark brown hair to orange hair as the final parts of the transformation.

(What do we do now?) Cuddles signed worriedly.

Marmalade looked down at him, letting go of the talisman. “Since the rich boy got away,” he started, his voice still in a growl, “I’m reduced to asking my friends for help.”

Then Marmalade calmed down and helped Cuddles up, beginning thinking of how to talk with his friends.

(What?!) Cuddles signed in surprise. (Can’t we do it ourselves?)

Marmalade looked at him and said, “We don’t know where he is and we need his blood in the talisman so you can continue the act to finish the deal.”

Before Cuddles could sign anymore, Marmalade added, “Be glad that I had a shadow start that fire in the kitchen.”

(But how did you do that?) Cuddles signed, wanting to know what he meant.

Marmalade stared at Cuddles for a moment before chuckling as he snapped his fingers and Cuddles’ shadow was now moving on its own, which startled both Cuddles and the shadow.

“It’s all part of the abilities that my friends and I have.” Marmalade said, snapping his fingers again and Cuddle’s shadow was now back copying to its owner. “Now come on. Let's go.”

They left the alleyway when no one was watching.

◇■

They made it to the hotel Hilton by sneaking by the shadows. Marmalade had one of the shadows tell him where one of the rooms that was for ‘Moe’ was and gave him the cardkey to the room.

Cuddles was nervous when they got to the room.

Marmalade noticed as he got the room unlocked. “Don’t worry, Cornelius. Everything will be fine.” he reassured the man, guiding him inside.

The hotel bedroom was very nice and comfortable.

Marmalade was looking for the ‘Do not Disturb’ sign when he felt eyes on him. He looked at Cuddles, who was just staring at him as he sat down on the bed.

“What?” Marmalade asked, turning his body to face Cuddles.

(How are you so calm?) Cuddles signed, confused. (If they find out-)

“Who? Mr. ‘Big Bad’ Wolf and the O'Cross family? They won’t. Like I told you in the alleyway, I will ask my friends for their help.” Marmalade “Also, another thing to mention, I’ve been doing this job with my friends for a very long time. So, I know what I’m doing.”

(Wait… what do you mean-?) Cuddles start to sign.

“Let’s just call it a double meaning deal with Mason’s father that will help my friends and I.” Marmalade explained with a chuckle. “You see… Every generation around this time, my friends hold a big celebration in their world and they need enough souls for that. Getting the deal with someone like Prideful Mr. Vincent Wolf, that’s going to get a lot of souls. And maybe, just maybe, someone will be my apprentice at some point.”

Cuddles thought for a moment to see if it made sense before nodding.

Marmalade finally found the ‘Do not Disturb’ sign. He looked at Cuddles and said, “Stay here until we get the wolf back and fill the talisman again.”

Cuddles nodded in understanding.

Marmalade smiled and went out of the room with the ‘Do not Disturb’ sign. Then Marmalade got the ‘Do not Disturb’ sign on the door handle as he went out of the room and closed the door.

“Um… Who are you?” a female voice called out.

Marmalade looked at the person who called out.

It was Mary.

She had a couple takeout boxes from the restaurant.

“Oh, I’m Rubert Marmalade the Fourth. I’m the one who helped Mason find his place again.” Marmalade introduced himself with a head bow. Then he looked at her again and guessed, “You must be Mary O’Cross.”

“I am, but… How did you know? Also, I never heard of you before, not even in the magazines or even anywhere in around the world.” Mary said unsure.

“I’ve seen your photo in the paper. Also, to answer your question, I’m not very well known. I like to keep things to myself.” Marmalade explained with a smile.

“Really?” Mary asked, be more skeptical.

Marmalade nodded. “Yes.”

“Hm…” Mary hummed looking at him before sighing, “I guess that you want the reward money-”

“Oh, please, no.” Marmalade chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“But you-” Mary started To ask but was cut off by Marmalade saying, “Let’s go find Mr. Vinnect Wolf and your parents. I would like to meet them. Also, Mason needs his rest.”

Mary was surprised and shocked by this, not sure how to respond. “Okay then… but I wanted to give Moe his lunch-” she started, lifting one of the takeout boxes.

“I can bring it to him. Then the both of us will go find Mr. Vinnect Wolf and your parents.” Marmalade said, taking the box from her. “Sounds like a plan?”

Mary slowly nodded.

Marmalade smiled as he used the room key to unlock and went back to the room with the food.

Cuddles was still on the bed when Marmalade came back in. He was confused as to why he was back quickly.

“Food.” Marmalade answered before Cuddles could sign the question, placing the takeout box on the small table before going out of the room again.

Marmalade looked at Mary as he closed the door to the room.

“Shall we?” Marmalade asked with a smile.

“Um… Sure?” Mary said unsure as they started to walk to the elevator.

They rode the elevator down to the main floor and they walked to one of the reception rooms, where Vin and both of Mary’s parents were in.

“Mother. Father. Mr. Wolf. I have someone who wants to talk to you.” Mary called out.

That got the three’s attention as they looked at Mary and Marmalade.

“And who am I speaking to?” Vin asked, looking down at Marmalade.

The short man looked at Vin and nodded to him. “I’m Rubert Marmalade the Fourth.” Marmalade introduced himself. “I’m the man who helped your son to find his place again.”

That got Vin’s attention. “Really?”

“Marmalade? It sounds like you are named after some jam from the United Kingdom.” Mr. O’Cross said.

That made Marmalade laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve been told that a lot.” he said as he laughed. Then he sighed and recomposed himself, straightening his suit a bit. “My apologies about that. Anyway, I want to see if I could be of any help to the wedding. I’ve been told by Mason that you’re planning a reception here and I was wondering if I could be a part of it.”

Vin and Mary’s parents looked at each other before looking back at Marmalade, nodding.

“We can see something about that.” Ms. O’Cross said.

That made Marmalade smile. “Perfect.”

He talked with them about the plans and how he met ‘Moe’.

◇In the woods◇

It was a few hours and the sun started to go sundown as the five ‘animals’ got to know each other.

“Now, that plan of yours, is it gonna be like a queen?” Pepe asked, glancing at Diane as he drove the boat.

Diane thought for a moment before nodding. “Heh… sort of, yeah.” she chuckled.

The four look at her as the ‘fox’ explained, “Well, you can imagine me on the TV, talking about the issues, making appearances, and helping people.”

Pepe had a soft smile on his face. “That sounds nice.” he said, nodding before stopping the boat, which confused everyone.

“Ok, everyone. This is one of the spots that Lou and I meet up when he’s out getting food. And since it’s getting close to dinner time.” Pepe explained, looking at them. “So, what do you want?”

Herbert, Diane, Moe, and Webs looked at each other before looking at Pepe. “Well… what do you normally make?” Herbert asked, pointing at the piranha.

“Let's see.” Pepe started, beginning to think. “Anything in the woods that’s safe to eat. There’s swamp pumpkin gumbo, red beans and rice, swamp soup if there’s no pumpkin, tacos or burritos if we’re lucky, and-”

“Ok, Pepe. Please, stop.” Moe said with a soft chuckle. “You are making us so very hungry.”

Then Moe starts to smell something good. “Interesting.” he said to himself as he got out of the boat and into the water.

The four ‘animals’ remaining in the boat looked at Moe as the ‘wolf’ got out of the water and on the surface on land.

“Hey Moe! What are you doing?” Webs called out.

“I smell something good!” Moe said, looking for where the smell is coming from.

“What is it?” Herbert asked.

“I don’t know! But it smells good!” Moe called back, going deep into the woods.

“Oh no… animal brain…” Pepe groaned, rubbing his forehead.

Webs and Herbert looked at Pepe and asked “What’s animal brain?”

“Oh, it’s basically where you act like your animal. It normally happens when you’re really hungry.” Pepe explained as he went to the kitchen to get something.

The three ‘animals’ got worried and looked at where the ‘wolf’ went.

“Ummm… Moe?” Webs called out, trying to get Moe out of it.

Moe didn’t hear her as he looked around and followed the scent deep into the woods.

Diane sighed as she hopped out of the boat and into the water, swimming to shore. “I’ll go after him.” she said to them before chasing after him.

Herbert and Webs looked at each other before looking at Pepe again, who just reappeared and now had two apples and a bowl of berries (not the poisonous ones).

“Do you like apples and fruits?” Pepe asked, offering Herbert an apple and offering Webs the bowl of berries .

“Oh! Um… Yes… thank you.” Herbert said, getting the apple while Pepe sets the bowl down for Webs.

The three started to eat the snacks as they waited for the ‘fox’ and ‘wolf’.

◇

Moe looked around as he sniffed to find what the smell was. “This is harder than it looks.” he said to himself.

Then he jumped when hearing a branch snap. He turns around to see Diane going over to him. She looked winded.

“Diane? What are you doing?” Moe asked, confused.

Diane panted for a moment to catch her breath. “I need to get you back to the boat.”

Moe scoffed at her and looked around, sniffing the air. “In a minute. I almost have the scent.”

Diane got offended by that. She stomped over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders, spun him around, and started to shake him to get him back to reality. “Moe! Cut it out!” Diane hissed at him. “You’re hungry. And I don’t blame you, I’m hungry too but do you see me acting like you?”

Moe looked at her as Diane stopped shaking him. “Hm… no?”

Diane smiled softly and let go of his shoulders. “Yeah. That’s right. Now, let’s go and get back to the boat-”

Then there was another branch snap, which got both ‘canines’’ attention.

It was a deer. An Elk to be correct.

Diane felt a strange feeling as her hunger started to take over as Moe’s took over him again.

“What? Oh, no! No, no, no!” Diane said angrily to herself. “There is no way I’m kissing an arachnid and eating a deer on the same day!”

But her hunger got the best of her.

‘Darn animal instincts!’ she thought angrily at herself.

Both of them looked at the elk, growling low from hunger before they pounced.

But as they started to pounce, a gunshot was fired and a net flew at them, trapping them.

They were trapped in a net and fell to the ground.

“OW!” both of them shouted when they hit the ground, which scared the elk to run away. “Wait- no no no no no!!!”

Then there were heavy footsteps stomping over to them from the darkness.

“What the-!” Moe and Diane started in unison as a dark figure walked over to them.

The two gasp when the figure is over them, looking down at them. They couldn’t see what the figure looked from the darkness like but they could tell it was big.

“Oh, looks like we got two canines for meat.” a deep voice said, coming from the figure.

“Yeah! And very big ones that will last us a week!” another voice called out.

“Why are they dressed up?” another different voice asked, confused.

The two ‘canines’ whimpered worried as they realized that these were hunters.

They're going to get cooked

But then a voice called out, “Stop.”

The hunters stopped and looked to see another figure walk over.

Diane and Moe look to see who was walking over.

It was another figure wearing a trenchcoat and a black sun hat.

“Oh! Louis!” one of the hunters exclaimed. “I didn’t know that you were huntin’ tonight!”

“You know that I go hunting when food is low at home.” said the figure named Louis.

“Ok… so, how do you want to split the meat?” one of the hunters asked

The two ‘canines’ were shocked and terrified now knowing their situation.

A fourth the hunter group, the more dead they are.

“Actually, let’s set them free.” said the hunter named louis, picking up the trapped ‘animals’. “These two have had a really hard day or two.”

“What?! Oh come on!!!” the three hunters exclaimed angrily.

“Look at them! They’re clearly having a bad day or days.” said the figure named Louis, showing the hunters the two trapped ‘canines’ in the net.

The net was getting loose.

Diane noticed and thought of an idea. She starts to chew at the net ropes. But that ended when Louis grabbed her muzzle, which made her squeak, to make her stop as he continued, “Look, I’ll take care of them. Alright?”

The three hunters just stare at Louis for a moment before nodding.

“Alright… you do make a good point.” one of the hunters said as the three got their gear and started to leave.

“Oh! Make sure to say hi to your friend for us!” one of the hunters said to Louis before the three left.

The hunter named Louis nodded to them as he let go of Diane’s muzzle before looking at the ‘animals’ as the two ‘canines’ started to struggle to get out of the net again.

“Hey!” the figure said to them, which got the two to stop and look at him. “Be calm.”

Then the figure picked them up right and started to get them out of the net.

Diane and Moe were able to see that the figure was wearing a ripped trench coat over a red shirt and black overalls.

They also saw that Louis wasn’t a man but a shark.

It was a great white shark.

“AHHH!" Both ‘canines’ screamed at the shark. “Shark-!”

The shark covered both muzzles with his fins (making them quiet) and hissed “Shush!”

Moe and Diane stopped screaming and just stared at the ‘shark’ in fear. It took them a bit to realize that the ‘shark’ didn’t look threatening.

“Let me help you two out, ok?” the shark said, slowly removing his fins from their muzzles.

Diane and Moe looked at each other before looking at the shark again. “Huh…” both ‘canines’ said together, unsure how to respond to him. “... Sure?”

“Alright. Just hold on.” the shark said, getting the two out of the net.

Moe and Diane stretched after getting freed.

Then they looked at the shark again, who was picking up the net, a gun, a big burlap sack full of something, and a pumpkin.

“Thanks for helping. Um… Do you need any help?” Diane asked.

The shark nodded. “Could one of you carry the pumpkin and the other carry the sack, please? If so, that would be great.” he asked, offering the sack and pumpkin to them.

Moe and Diane nodded before the shark handed them each the burlap sack and pumpkin.

“Do you live near or far?” Moe asked, carrying the burlap sack while Diane carried the pumpkin as they started to follow the shark.

“Oh, I live on the water.” the shark answered as they walked to the direction of the river.

“Really? Is it salt water?” Diane asked, curious.

“Not really but I can survive about two minutes in it, which is enough time to get on the boat.” the shark explained.

Diane and Moe looked at each other.

When they got to the river, Webs, Herbert and Pepe were still on the boat, waiting for them.

Pepe gasped excitedly when seeing them. “Lou!!!” he exclaimed excitedly, jumping up. “You’re back! And it looks like you met my new friends!”

“Pepe!” the shark called out, smiling at him. “Yeah, I did. Oh! Also, the Nelson brothers say ‘hi’.”

“Nelson Brothers?” asked the ‘fox’ and ‘wolf’ in unison with one of their eyebrows raised.

Then their attention went back to the boat as Pepe let out a tsk sound and let out an annoyed, “Ah!”

“Yeah.” Lou said, nodding. “But hey, I saved your friends from them.”

“Well, you three better get on here and let's get dinner going.” Pepe said.

◇

Moe and Diane were the first ones to get to the boat after going through the water.

“Moe!” Herbert shouted, slithering over to check Moe as the ‘wolf’ put the burlap sack down.

“Are you ok?” Herbert asked, seeing if there were any injuries while they were gone.

There was a bruise on Moe’s arm.

Webs crawled to Diane to see if she was ok as the ‘fox’ put the pumpkin on the ground. “Are you ok, Diane?!” she asked, checking her.

She did the same like with Herbert.

“I’m fine.” Diane said as Webs continued to check her.

Diane also had a bruise on her arm.

“What happened?!” Herbert and Webs asked at the same time, very worriedly.

Moe and Diane looked at each other before nodding.

“Yeah… I was looking for Moe while we were in the woods. I was trying not to get our animal instincts to take over… but they did when we saw an Elk…” Diane said, rubbing the back of her neck. “And then-”

“Then the net came by the hunters.” Moe added. “We were about to be cooked but we were saved when the shark came along, scaring them away and helping us.”

Diane looked at Moe, a bit confused. But then noticed Herbert hugged ‘wolf’ and Webs hugged the ‘fox’. “But we're okay now.” Diane reassured them.

Then there was a loud gasp and coughing, which got the four ‘animals’’ attention.

Lou had just got out of the water and on the boat, having a bit of a coughing fit.

The four looked at the ‘water animals’ as Pepe got the trenchcoat off of Lou and put a towel over the ‘shark’.

“It’s ok, you’re ok. You did great.” Pepe reassured Lou as he tried his best to dry him.

After a couple of minutes, Lou took in a fresh breath without wheezing. He looked at Pepe with a smile before looking at the four ‘animals’.

“So, who are your new friends?” the ‘shark’ asked, pointing at the four.

“Oh yes!” Pepe cleared his throat and started to introduce, “The snake is Herbert, the wolf is Moe, the fox is Diane and lastly, the spider is Webs, the person who helped us.”

Lou stared at the four before humming and nodding. “Nice to meet you three and nice to see you again, Webs.”

The four ‘animals’ nodded back to him.

Then Lou got up, grabbing the equipment that he got on, smiling at Pepe. “I got the stuff for swamp pumpkin gumbo.” he said as he went to put the gear away.

Pepe clapped excitedly. “Nice! You rest now, I’ll work on dinner.”

“Well, I can help out.” Diane said as she began planning out of who gets to cook dinner. Who gets the help and who gets the setup of the place of eating.

“Alright.” Pepe said, getting the burlap sack and then going to the kitchen.

Diane was about to pick up the pumpkin but Lou got in front of her. “I’m sorry, but I need to take your measurements.” Lou said, looking at her.

“My- what?” Diane asked, very confused.

“Measurements.” Lou said again. “I’m going to make you a new outfit. Since the one that you’re wearing is in ruins.”

Diane remembers what Pepe said earlier about Lou. “Oh, right! Pepe said that you sew.” Diane said, smiling when she remembered.

Lou nodded. “I’ll let you take the pumpkin to the kitchen.” he said, stepping to the side so Diane could get the pumpkin.

Diane smiled as she picked up the pumpkin. Then she looked at Webs, Herbert, and Moe, who were talking with each other. “What about the others?” Diane asked Lou, tilting her head to reference the three. “They need something to wear too.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get theirs too.” Lou chuckled in reassurance.

Diane smiled and started to follow Pepe to the kitchen. Lou went to the three as Diane and Pepe entered the kitchen.

The kitchen had an old-fashioned fire stove with some cut fire logs, a big counter with some cabinets under it, and a wooden table with wooden chairs. The walls were an off white color and some parts of the wall were chipped.

“This will do.” Diane said, setting the pumpkin on the counter.

Pepe nodded as he got dishes out and on the table before he got the sack on the counter.

“Do you have any other spices other than cinnamon?” Diane asked, looking at the cupboard of where spices are placed.

“Yes, we do now.” Pepe said, pulling out spices out of the sack before pulling out some vegetables. “Mind helping me?” he asked, putting the vegetable to the side and getting out a couple of knives.

Diane hummed and nodded, picking up one of the knives and starting to cut some of the vegetables.

Pepe was now standing on a stool as he got a knife and started to cut the pumpkin.

The two started to cook when Lou came in with Webs, Moe, and Herbert.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to get my notebook.” Lou said to Herbert, Diane, Moe, and Webs before going to an attached room.

Herbert, Diane, and Webs nodded to him as the ‘snake’ and ‘spider’ waited and the ‘fox’ helped the ‘piranha’ get dinner going.

Moe entered inside and got distracted by the texture of the walls, touching his fingers on it.

Diane noticed as she stopped cutting. “Sir, are you helping or are you going to stare at the wall all night?” Diane asked, looking at him as she placed her free hand on her hip.

Moe looked at her, pulling his finger away from the wall. “Oh! Um… sorry… it just reminded me… of well…” Moe started but began to feel sad.

Herbert noticed as Moe hugged himself. “It reminds him of his mother.” Herbert said, getting the dishes into places on the table.

“His mother?” Diane asked, glancing over as she cut some vegetables, before looking at where she was cutting.

“Yeah, Wolf told us about his late mother,” Webs said, a soft smile on her face. “White was his mother's favorite color.”

The two stopped talking when they noticed Moe looking at both of them. “Sorry that we brought it up, Moe.” the ‘snake’ said, finishing up setting the table.

“No, no, she deserves to know.” Moe said, walking over. “If she wants to listen.”

Diane nodded. “I can listen.”

“Could you skin and cut some carrots while you tell your story, please?” Pepe asked Moe, handing him some carrots and a knife.

Moe nodded and stood next to Diane, who just started to cut vegetables again, starting to skin the carrots while Pepe got the cinnamon from the cabinet that was still new and left there for a couple days but was still fresh.

The ‘piranha’ got back on the stool to cook as Moe sighed.

“You see, when you grow up in a wealthy family, everything is done for you, a lot of things can be brought by money.” Moe said with a bit of a chuckle while he cut the carrots. “But I felt like I wasn't connected to my father because my father was a better businessman than a good family man. He cared about his business first, then his family second. My mother took care of me and even taught me the basic like learning to dress myself, feed myself, taught me to drive (not a reckless one like Dad but better)… And heck! Taught me to brush my own teeth!”

“Aw, your mother sounds so sweet.” Diane said, smiling at Moe.

“She was… I admit it was a wonderful childhood and she always showed me the world outside of those riches and made me feel wanted, love and safe… until the day my mother passed away Right before my own eyes at the train station when we tried to escape to Los Angeles for a new life, and I felt alone when she was gone.” Moe said, a frown on his face as he remembered. “Of course I continued to live under my father's shadow feeling as if I was never enough, never living up to his expectations, and tried to make me into the business I wasn't interested in. I felt so lost… That is until I met… him.”

Moe looked at Herbert, who was blushing, for a moment.

“We ended up growing on each other and then realized our feelings.” Moe continued, looking at the carrots as he finished cutting them. “We had continued to meet up in secret and even planned our future but then…one day, my father found out about us and was furious. My father told me that I was going to be married to Mary, a friend of mine. The marriage was arranged for me since I was a kid, that I didn't have feelings for her and was just a friend. So days later, we planned a runaway, that night Herbert helped me and you know the rest.”

Diane now sees why they did what they did. It seemed that Moe didn't have the best childhood, unlike herself, who grew up in a happy home.

Pepe was listening to the conversation and hummed. “Reminds me of our journey. Lou and I.” Pepe said as the two ‘canines’ put their cut up vegetables into the pot. “Just, you weren’t left for dead by your family.”

Herbert, Diane, and Moe looked at Pepe in disturbed and a bit of horror on their faces.

“What happened to you?” Herbert asked in a tone that was unsure.

Pepe had a bit of a smile as he stirred the pot. “I was from a big religious family from Bolivia.” he explained “But my family wasn't open-minded like some families. When they found out that I liked men, the next thing you know is that you are in an alleyway and you’re near to death.”

Diane was shocked about the word ‘death’. It terrified her.

Pepe looked at her and asked, “You ok?”

“Oh, it was nothing.” Diane resured Pepe. “But death in an alleyway? That seems terrifying… No offense.”

“It’s fine.” Pepe said, waving a fin to her. “It was scary but thankfully, a living angel found me and got me help.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember Lou telling me about how you two met.” Webs said from the table.

Pepe nodded as he put the lid on the pot when all ingredients were in the pot.

“We gotta wait for all to be fully cooked.” Pepe said, hopping down from the stool and moving it.

“I FINALLY FOUND THEM!” Lou shouted, which startled everyone and made them look at the attached room.

Lou came back in with a notebook, a pen, and measuring tape. “Sorry about that but I’m back now!” he exclaimed with a big smile.

“Hey.” the five said, waving at him.

Lou walked over to the table and set the objects down on it. “Alright, who’s first?” the ‘shark’ asked, looking at the four ‘animals’ that needed to be messengered.

The four looked at each other.

“Rock, Paper, scissors?” Diane suggested, looking at Moe.

The ‘wolf’ nodded.

Moe and Diane set the knives down on the counter before going over to Lou, Herbert, and Webs.

“Ok, one…two…three.” Diane said, getting the “scissors” hands while Moe got the “rock” hand as Herbert and Webs got “paper” hands/tail.

“Ok, I’ll go first.” Webs said, walking on the table to be near Lou. Webs was nervous about being measured as a spider, let alone let him measure when they first met because she had already had her clothes packed during this time when they were human.

Lou smiled softly at her and reassured, “It’s alright. It’ll just be temporary.”

Webs nodded and slowly took off her hoodie to reveal a small gray tank top over a light blue sports bra. She felt embarrassed as Lou got the measuring tape ready and started to measure her.

Everything was quiet, except for the bubbling pot of gumbo.

It soon got awkward.

“So… Lou. Pepe told us a bit of how you two met and- um…” Diane asked, looking at Lou. “What was your point of view? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Lou glanced at her and hummed. “Well… It was around Mardi Gras.” he explained, writing down notes before measuring Webs again. “I just got a group of friends back to their place and I was about to be on my way. But then I heard a sound from an alleyway. A weak yell. I checked to see if someone needs help and, there, I found Pepe. He was hurt badly. I got him help… Aaannd that’s how we meet.”

Then the ‘shark’ was writing down the last notes in the pad as Diane walked over to Webs. “You ok?” the ‘fox’ asked, tilting her head to the side.

Webs nodded. “Yeah… I just… I don’t feel comfortable without being covered by my hoodie.” she sighed, looking at her.

Diane nodded. “I see.”

Then Lou finished writing down her measurements. “Alright. Who wants to go next?” he said, handing Webs’ hoodie to her.

Webs put her hoodie on as Moe raises his hand/paw and walks over.

Lou hummed as he started to measure the ‘wolf’.

“I can go next when you’re done measuring Moe.” Herbert said.

“Alright.” Lou said, glancing at him before looking at Moe as he measured him.

Diane waited for her turn as she leaned on the doorway and looked at the stars.

They are very pretty and bright tonight.

The ‘fox’ smiled a bit at the stars and sighs.

She studied each of the current consolations. One of them was of course the dancing between two girls well during the ballroom waltz (or in that case mostly, the Viennese waltz), a dream she kept having since junior year of high school but sometimes she was the girl being danced by another woman.

Diane felt like she knew Webs before she actually met her or her name, but it was a different type of woman in the same dream.

Then she felt something touching her arm. Diane looks down to see Webs on her arm. “Hey, you ok?” the ‘spider’ asked, looking at her.

Diane blushed softly but she nodded. “Yes. I’m ok.”

Webs hummed and looked at the night sky. “You were looking at the stars.” she said to her, still looking at the stars.

Diane nodded and looked at the stars again. “Yeah… I was just remembering something I learned when I was six years old.” the ‘fox’ said to the ‘spider’.

“What is it? If you don’t mind me asking.” Webs asked.

Diane chuckled softly as she started, “Well, when I was six years old, my parents showed me two photos of my great grandparents and grandmother.”

“Really?” Webs asked, looking at her.

Diane nodded with a smile.

“What were your great grandparents and grandmother like?” the ‘spider’ asked.

“Well… I didn’t really know them but I know that my great grandparents fought in World War 1 and my grandmother fought in World War 2.” Diane explained, sighing softly. “They, along with my parents, inspire me to do hard things. That's one of the reasons I want to go into government.”

Webs nodded slowly and hummed. “Oh… Well… You're lucky to have someone to look up to…” Webs said “My family didn't treat me well and called me selfish and weird and unladylike just for being myself.”

“What do you mean?” Diane asked, tilting her head to the side.

“You see… I grew up in a very traditional Chinese-Korean family.” Webs said, rubbing her arm, “But in a bad way, I always felt like I wasn't comfortable wearing skirts, even as a baby… My parents always favor my brother rather than me and even when I was made fun of at school… my parents didn't even help me.”

“And…?” Diane said, worried and felt like there was more.

“And it got worse until I ran away at the age of 13.”

“How come?” Diane asked, getting more curious.

“Things just got better without the pressure of traditions, forced gender norms and even gender roles even when they allowed me to go to school but didn't allow me to express myself…” Webs said, rubbing the back of her neck. “But my family never saw it that way and imagined they were close to sending me to marry a guy who was like 30 years older than me.”

Diane’s eyes widened when hearing that. “WHAT?!” Diane exclaimed in shock.

“I know, right!” Webs said, looking at the fox. “I was 9 when I heard the arrangement. I was forced to send me to a strict abusive finishing school without my consent, and a few years later, I was sent to some sort of correction facility far away to make me more ‘normal’ two nights before I ran away.”

Diane looked at Webs as she listened. “So they don't care about your life but instead their own outdated view?” the ‘fox’ asked, worried.

Webs nodded, hugging herself.

“That's unfair… but how did you find out your love of technology and, was there at least a bright light in your life?” Diane asked.

Webs look at her, being quiet.

“Sorry, did I ask too much? I felt like I asked too much.” Diane said, rubbing the back of her neck and looking away.

Webs took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s fine.” she reassured her. “I sometimes do that too.”

Then Diane and Webs looked at the others when Lou called out, “Diane, it’s your turn.”

Diane walked back into the kitchen with Webs. She places Webs on the table before she faces Lou to be measured.

Diane looked at Webs as she was getting measured. She felt her heartbeat going to a different beat and felt a warmth inside her.

She never felt her heartbeat going to a different beat or the warmth before she felt like something new to her.

She never fell in love with a man, but never was attractive to a woman before.

“So, what music do you all like?” the ‘fox’ asked the five.

That got the six talked more as they got measured and let the food cook.

◇■in the city■◇

In Marmalade’s shop, Marmalade walked over to the curtain by the table after locking the front door. He pulls the curtain cord to see his mask friends.

“Splaarghön… Shaård… Onsáày… Drillaärgh… Ghaâstly… My friends…” he started with a dark chuckle. “I know that I’m in deep dept already… but it looks like our young rich wolf lost his way… and I need your assistance to get him back.”

The five masks frowned and growled at him.

Then Shaård, Onsáày, Drillaärgh, and Ghaâstly got off of the wall as four black cloaked bodies appeared for the masks to be on.

They started to circle around Marmalade.

“Not to mention that snake and spider that got away just like that shark and fish.” said Onsáày. “We're not going to get enough souls to harvest!”

“If we don't get those souls, we’re gonna-” Shaård and Drillaärgh started but were cut off by Marmalade shouting, “I know!”

Everyone got quiet as Marmalade began to calm down as he took a deep breath and smiled, saying, “Let me explain.”

Shaård, Onsáày, Drillaärgh, and Ghaâstly stopped circling and went back to Splaarghön. All five watched Marmalade, who was dusting himself a bit as he looked at them.

“I have what you want. A greedy soul. Vincent Wolf.” Marmalade said with a dark smile, pulling out a doll from his coat.

It was a ragdoll that looked like Vin with a green heart with a dollar sign over it, along with a pin.

The five masks’ eyes lit up in excitement when seeing the doll, which made Marmalade smile more.

“Hahaha, I hear you! I know that you want this, your BIG ticket to the human realm.” Marmalade chuckled, setting the ragdoll on the table.

The five masks smiled and nodded to him as if to say “Go on”.

“As soon as we dispose of "Big Bad" Wolf, then we are gonna be the richest elites in this town and you’ll be freed!” Marmalade continued with a dark smile as he used his magic powers to summon a miniature version of the entire city on the floor. With a flick of Marmalade’s wrist, the small version of the city was on the palm of his hand, looking closely at the people who walked the streets without a care. “We’ll have the entire city of Los Angeles in the palm of our hands… And you’ll have all the wayward souls our dark little hearts desire.”

Then he took in a deep breath and blew on the small city, making the people turn into screaming souls and sending them flying to the masks.

When the souls hit the masks, Splaarghön, Shaård, Onsáày, and Drillaärgh smiled at the plan while Ghaâstly was jumping up and down excitedly.

“You all love that, don’t you?” Marmalade asked with a laugh, snapping his fingers and making the small city disappear, leaving red, blue, and purple dust on his hand.

“Oh! Another thing to add, I think I found an apprentice that I could teach. So, it won’t just be me for long.” Marmalade added with a chuckle as he dusted the dust off his hands.

The five masks’ eyes lit up in excitement when hearing that news.

The Shadow Man smiled as he noticed their excitement. Then Marmalade reached out a hand to them, asking “So, do we have ourselves a deal?”

The five masks looked at each other with smiles on their faces as they thought for a moment about this deal.

Shaård, Onsáày, Drillaärgh, and Ghaâstly’s cloak bodies disappear as their masks go back to their places on the wall when Splaarghön says, “We have a deal.”

Then Splaarghön lets his jaw drop to the floor and shadows monsters start coming out.

The shadow monsters were all different from each other. Some looked human while some looked monstrous.

There were a lot of them in the room on the walls when Splaarghön closed his jaw.

All of the shadow monsters looked at Marmalade.

“Hahaha! Now we’re cooking!” Marmalade laughed before he explained to them, “We’re gonna find ourselves a wolf!”

The shadow monsters paid attention to Marmalade.

“Search everywhere! The woods, the quarter… bring him to me alive! I need his heart pumping!… For now…” Marmalade ordered the shadows. “Also! If you also find the snake and spider, bring them too! We don’t want a saving party happening.” Then he stomps on the floor as he shouts, “Hurry!”

The shadow monsters nodded and went out to look for the ‘wolf’ named Moe.

▪▪▪

Author’s note: an interesting fact about the Nelson Brothers’ name is that I got the idea from a skit channel that I watch from time to time. It’s called The Nelson Boys, it's another channel for Shiloh and Bros.

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