#and maybe her dragon form in the present day...

[atwas-gaming]

Am I wrong in thinking Age of Imprisonment might be our first Zelda game in which Link doesn't appear at all?

[justmymindandstuff]

Would thou spare a mere peasant a moment??

Imagine Targ!reader visiting the wall with Cregan (similar moment he had with Jace, and maybe Jace is there too, it’s up to you)

And reader forces her dragon to go beyond the wall by jumping off the top of it

I’ll leave the rest to you 😚❤️

jump scare - Cregan Stark x TargaryenReader

summary: you and your twin Jacaerys follow Cregans invitation to the wall. As your Dragon refused to fly over the wall he sees a glimps of your temper. At that moment he knows that you, as the future Lady Stark, will bring trouble into Winterfells halls.

words: 2.691

warnings: kissing, Cregan has a crush (but he doesn´t know it)

a/n: Reader is Rhaenyras daughter and described with black hair and purple eyes// no use of Y/N// English is not my first language // not proofread // AO3

I love this idea so much, soo thank you anon🧡, but I had a hard time writing this, so it´s a bit short and I not completely like how it came out (edit: you can read part 2/6 here- seriesmasterlist/moodbord)

anyways I hope you like it.

Have fun and be kind 🧡

requests are open// main masterlist// hotd masterlist

Cregan shifts from one foot to the other as the elevator slowly jerks up the Wall. The brothers of the Night's Watch and Castle Black grow smaller beneath him. His breath forms white clouds in the cold air. The Warden of the North tries to get rid of his inner restlessness. He wishes the elevator would go faster, while at the same time hoping this ride would never end.

At the top of the wall, he will soon meet the Prince and Princess of the Seven Kingdoms again, of course with their two dragons.

Jacaerys and you landed in Winterfell's courtyard a few days ago with Vermax and Veraxes. And you brought war with you. At the thought, Cregan's insides twist.

Jacaerys made him an offer on behalf of his mother: Cregan and his men would ride south for the queen and support her claim, in exchange for a marriage with the princess. Rhaenyra Targaryen gives him her only daughter as a wife.

Cregan knows he can't refuse such an offer. Nobody turn down a Targaryen offer.

And he could have done worse.

He doesn't like the thought, but he knows he could have done worse. His future wife is beautiful. Long black hair that stands in stark contrast to your pale skin, delicate features, and those sparkling eyes. There is something in it, Cregan can't quite put his finger on it yet. You have a fire, a wildness behind your eyes that Cregan has never seen before.

A woman like you is actually worth his entire army. Cregan would theoretically have to arm every man, woman, and child in the North and send them south to redeem his debt.

But he can't.

He can only send 2,000 men, Greybeards. Cregan cannot spare more, he needs his men here for the coming winter. And like his House words are saying: winter is coming.

That's the reason why you are here, that's the reason for Cregan's invitation to the Wall. You and your brother need to understand why he can't send more men. You both need to see it. Before Cregan takes you as his wife in a few days at Goodswood of Winterfell and thus seals the pact of ice and fire.

"It is an honor for me to be able to fulfill my duty, and Winterfell is very beautiful. I look forward to making it my home."

More than that, you haven't said about your marriage. Cregan doesn't know if you really mean it or if you have memorized these words, because your mother told you so. He hopes you meant it.

He can't figure you out. In the past few days, Cregan was able to spend a little time with you, but he hasn't really gotten to know you yet. Also because Jacaerys was present at each of your meetings, of course Cregan would never do anything that would endanger your honor and reputation. He is a Stark, a man of honor. That's why you two always have your brother as achaperone.

What Cregan has learned in the short time is that you are definitely not a little princess who needs to be rescued from a tower.

You train with swords, fly almost daily on your dragon, can curse like a sailor, and are not too shy to give your brother a piece of your mind everytime he gets on your nerves.

On the other hand, you have a razor-sharp mind, smile kindly at Cregan, dance skillfully and make every move with an elegance that only a Targaryen princess possesses.

You attract him like light attracts a moth. Your attractiveness has captured him, and the fragments of your being that you show him only make him more curious about the rest. He wants to get to know you, everything about you. Cregan can hardly think of you without his thoughts and feelings swirling around inside him like a storm.

A loud crack next to him makes the Warden of the North flinch and snaps him out of his thoughts. Cregan looks to the side. Veraxes slams his claws into the ice of the Wall with full force, her body crashs against it, and the Wall seems to tremble under the impact. Cregan hears you curse loudly in a foreign language, high valyrian, he is sure. Jacaerys' laughter rings out above him and Vermax flies over him before the dragon lands on the wall, noticeably gentler than Veraxes.

Cregan takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment. He pushes all thoughts of you and your future marriage aside. One step at a time. First he must show you what the Night's Watch and House Stark do for centuries, protecting the realm before the dangers beyond the Wall.

The elevator stops at the top, the doors open. Cregan allows himself two more heartbeats to gather himself, then steps outside onto the Wall.

Immediately, the cold wind whips around his ears, but apart from a brief shiver it doesn´t bothered him.

Veraxes climbs the Wall, her claws break off large pieces of ice that fall down. Cregan hopes that no one gets hit. You and your dragon arrive at the top and you place Veraxes next to Vermax. You slide down her wing and land next to your twin brother, snow swirling around your boots.

Cregan's gaze shifts from you to the dragons. Vermax and Veraxes, twin dragons you told him on the first evening, both dragons hatched from the eggs in you and your brothers cribs.

The dragons make whistling sounds, turning their heads. They seem nervous. The young Lord finds his own thoughts ridiculous in the next moment. What could possibly make dragons nervous?

Cregan has to swallow and takes the last steps towards his royal guests. The siblings are completely engrossed in their usual bickering.

"I told you she wouldn't fly over." laughs Jacaerys, you jab him in the stomach and then jump two steps to the side so his counterattack doesn't hit you.

"She'll do it." you say as you look over the edge of the Wall.

"Please don't go so close to the edge." the prince's voice sounds alarmed.

"Don't be such a coward, Jacey."

"Don't call me that. I'm not a little kid anymore." the prince snaps.

"Then don't act like one." you say dry and still don't take a step away from the edge. On the contrary, you push your feet a little closer to the edge, the tips of your boots no longer have any grip.

Cregan cleared his throat to get your attention. "My Lady, your brother is right. You shouldn't stand so close to the edge of the wall."

You tilt your head slightly, a hint of a smile dancing on your full lips. "Good thing you'll only be my husband in three days My Lord and only then you can give me orders." you say, your cheerful tone doesn´t match your bitter words.

Cregan feels as if you had hit him in the stomach and looks helplessly at Jacaerys, but he just shrugs and gives him an apologetic smile.

Suddenly, the dragons move. Cregan manages at the last second to prevent himself from flinching as Vermax's claw strikes the ice beside him. The dragons make whistling noises again, Veraxes restlessly lashes her tail back and forth.

Cregan looks at the twins. "Is something wrong with them?" he can't manage to suppress the concern in his voice.

You look at him, smile again as if your last comment had never been made. "Do you know the story of Queen Alysanne Targaryen?" you ask instead of answering.

Cregan tries not to show his confusion about your behavior and nods. Everyone knows the story: The queen wanted to fly over the wall with her dragon, the dragon refused. That has never happened before.

"My dearest sister here thought she was better than Queen Alysanne and wanted to fly Veraxes over the Wall."

"I didn't think I´m better than Queen Alysanne." you interrupt your brother, but he simply ignores you. The prince turns directly to Cregan.

"You saw how well the attempt worked."

Cregan furrows his brow. "So the dragons refuse to fly over the Wall?" he asks just to be sure.

"Obviously. They don't like it here." you say, again your gaze goes over the edge downwards. "7000 feet, right?"

"Yes, My Lady," Cregan confirms. He doesn't know if his uneasy feeling comes from the fact that you are half leaning over the edge of the Wall or from the fact that the dragons refuse to fly over it. It doesn't matter right know. The young Lord has to swallow and suppress the urge to go to you and pull you away from the wall.

The dragons also lean further forward, but their noses never go beyond the edge of the Wall. You and Jace watch your monsters closely as they move. While Jacaerys looks worried, you are curious.

Cregan seizes the moment and looks at you. The winter sun shines on you, makes you glow, and gets caught in your dark braids. Your cheeks and nose are slightly reddened from the cold up here. Cregan's fingertips tingle slightl as the desire arises to caress the soft skin of your cheek.

Would you lean into his touch? Or slap his hand away? Cregan has no idea, but he's eager to find out. Again, he has to pull himself together to come back into the moment. Again, he reminds himself: one step at a time.

"Forget it, sister. Silverwing didn't fly over the Wall, Veraxes will do it neither." Jacaerys sounds annoyed. Cregan sees out of the corner of his eye as he shifts his weight slightly forward, ready to catch you if you trip.

"Just because you can't get Vermax to do it." you say, the challenge clear in your tone and the way your eyes sparkle. Cregan has the feeling that you are hatching something, and the way your gaze goes from him to your brother tells him that it won't be anything good.

"Veraxes won't fly over it either." Jacaerys insists.

A mischievous grin appears on your face, your intentions now clearly visible. "Bet?" you ask, turning to your brother. You say something in high valyrian that Cregan doesn't understand.

The next second you wink at him, spread your arms and let yourself fall backward from the Wall.

Cregan's heart stops for a moment, Jacaerys calls your name, his voice trembling. Both men run forward, but of course, neither of them manages to hold onto you anymore. Cregan looks over the edge and sees you falling quickly. His entire body tenses up in fear. Not only is he watching you fall to your own death, but it's happening under his watch as well. The Dragon Queen would probably turn the entire North to ashes if she hears that her only daughter has met her end in the North.

And he would never hear your melodic laughter again, Cregan immediately gets annoyed by this inappropriate thought.

Suddenly, he is caught by a gust of wind and almost falls off the wall himself as Veraxes flies just a few centimeters past him and throws himself after you. The dragon lets out a cry that sounds angry and desperate. The sound reminds Cregan of a mother weeping for her frozen baby.

"I'll kill her." Jacaerys murmurs quietly next to Cregan as they watch your dragon catch up with you, fly under you, so you land on her saddle. Cregan is sure that must have hurt.

Veraxes spreads her wings and catches her fall, the Lord of Winterfell isn't quite sure how much space there is left to the ground but from up here it doesn't look like much.

He has to take a deep breath, relief flooding through him. Thank the gods you're not dead.

You turn your dragon vertically and fly steeply up the wall. As you shoot past Cregan, he flinches a step back but can't take his eyes off you.

You throw your head back and laugh a loud, joyful laugh. The wind tousles your braids, and the winter sun makes your eyes sparkle. And there it is again, that freedom, that wildness in your gaze. Cregan's heart skips a beat at the sight. By all the gods, he knows in that moment that you are fearless, maybe a little insane, but definitely fearless. You will fit well in the North, you will fit well with him.

Cregan is impressed, he can't help but stare at and admire you as you let your Dragon land right next to Cregan at the edge of the wall. You are still laughing.

Veraxes stands so close that the sulfur smell rises to his nose and he feels the warmth of the dragon. Your dragon blows hot air from its nostrils, accompanied by a rumbling noise from its throat that makes Cregan's neck hairs stand on end. Her tail crashes against the ice on the other side, causing the ice under his feets to tremble. You are sitting on her back and sticking your tongue out at your twin.

"I told you so." you say, still laughing at Jacaerys and his shocked face.

"I swear to you if mother..." begins the prunce, but you raise your hand to interrupt him.

"You're just angry because you lost the bet." you say. "And besides, in a few days I won't be Mother's concern anymore."

Jacaerys opens his mouth to say something, but no sound comes from his throat. Then he looks at Cregan, and his neck turns slightly red.

"My Lord future husband." you break the silence with a gentle voice, and Cregan immediately turns to you. "A helping hand?"

His feelings are completely mixed up, still he steps closer to Veraxes without thinking, extends his hand to you and helps you dismount from your dragon. Even though you all know that you don't need help.

You land right in front of him, so close that he can make out the different shades of purple in your eyes. Your pleasant scent envelops him, for two heartbeats Cregan forgets everything around you. He recognizes that wild sparkle in your eyes again, and before he can react you stand on your tiptoes place your hand on the back of his neck and pull him in for a kiss. When your lips meet, the brief moment of surprise is dispelled by a hot shiver that runs through his body. Instinctively, his hand reaches for your hip and he pulls you closer to him. Your soft lips move perfectly against his, and his heart begins to beat faster at the sensation.

You part breathlessly from each other, for a brief moment you look deeply into his eyes. A smile dances around your lips. Cregans can't help but smile with you, this time it's him who winks. He is rewarded with a radiant smile from you. Cregan blinks, and the moment is gone.

While you turn back to your brother, Cregan has to take a deep breath to calm his heartbeat.

"Brother. It was nice to beat you again." you spit at Jacaerys and lift your chin. But when you turn back to Cregan there is a soft smile on your face, which makes his heart stumble again. "My Lord. Please excuse me. I want to look at the rest of the Wall." you nod to him and then turn away.

The Lord of Winterfell can do nothing but stare after you as you walk along the wall. You don't even have to call Veraxes, she takes off again and flies north of the Wall beside you.

Cregan looks at the prince again, fearing for a heartbeat that Jacaerys will now burn him with Vermax. After all, Cregan has dishonored his sister.

The prince, however, appears more annoyed than angry. Jacaerys bites the inside of his cheek and shakes his head slightly. "Good luck with her, Lord Stark. She only causes headaches." he says then.

"Aye, probably." says Cregan, but can't suppress a grin. Yes, you mean trouble, but Cregan is ready for this journey. He is looking forward to it.

part 2

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) Monster AU pt 57

(The Topsy Turvy festival is a Human created celebration that happened near the end of harvest. Frequently celebrated by wearing masks, it honors the way Humans would enter cities in disguises, covered to fool the beasts that they attempted to live in harmony among. The festival honors these Humans and the way such magicless creatures could turn the lives of the species they encountered upside down. Kings were no better than fools, fools could be kings, weeds were a bouquet, everything is a little skewed for the Topsy Turvy festival.)

Warnings; reader insert, fem pronouned reader, yandere, multiple yanderes, platonic and romantic yanderes, confrontation, exposition heavy, use of nicknames for reader (Puppy, Chick), Merfolk, Cecaelia, Selkie, Hellcat, Shinigami, Dragon, Harpy, ???, by selecting 'view more' you consent to view content and are of age to view content.

~~~~

"Oh my, you seem particularly chipper today, Azul."

Jade smiled as he walked, flanking Azul with his twin brother Floyd. Azul had not stopped smiling that triumphant grin even after all of your guards had been summoned in the early morning. He wanted to make sure he was early to this meeting given the fact that it would be decided who got to accompany you to Fleur City for the festival.

Even if he wasn't ultimately selected, he already got what he wanted most from the week that was now coming to an end. He got the guard that precious Human and made himself a valuable ally to her thanks to his pre-prepared accommodations in Octavinelle. The Cecaelia had anticipated such an event weeks ago and knew the cost of the furniture was worth the praise of that beloved Human.

"Hard not to be cheerful, Jade. Everything has gone according to plan already! Now, if we play our cards right, we can only further ingratiate our standing with (Y/n)!"

"Eh, I'm more interested in if this will be a fun festival! Last trip was boring since we didn't get to see the execution. Maybe we can have one this time?"

Jade gave a polite simper, glancing at his more bloodthirsty twin. Despite how similar the two looked, they could be quite different in behavior. Still, he did hope that he would be selected over his brother. Given the fact Floyd already went on one if these trips, Jade hoped that would disqualify his brother from the current roster.

"We shall have to see what is decided."

~•§•~

You cuddled Grim, kissing his little forehead as he purred and batted at your uniform. Divus stood guard near you, looking at his phone while occasionally glancing in your direction to ensure you were still safe. Despite everything that was going on, you had made it clear that those who were going with you would be selected via random chance.

The few times you had used that tablet to check in on the others made it clear that everyone was far more morose than you had anticipated. Everyone was worse off without you present and you didn't want to cause any hurt feelings by choosing directly. At least those selected would be decided by Crowley and take the blame away from you. With luck, that random choice would keep anyone from getting their feelings too wounded.

"It seems all of your guards are in attendance, Puppy. Shall we head there now?"

"Malleus too?"

"... I will inquire."

You knew an early frost had swept through the school, the colorful leaves that barely hung to the trees being shriveled up by the biting cold. Malleus was clearly morose and had been in a state akin to mourning without you present, and you knew the Dragon had yet to leave his beastly form or your dorm. Despite your frustration with how Malleus behaved, you also understood that you were his Achilles Heel and he would refuse to do anything if you were not directly involved.

"It seems that cur is refusing to leave your dorm. He has not been mobile for several days."

You sighed at this, wondering what you should do. If everyone else was already present, you would have to be the one to drag Malleus to the meeting. With a brisk nod you decided to just swallow your hesitance and go see the distressed Dragon.

"Let's go get him and get to that meeting."

"Are you certain? According to that lively Pup Lilia, the Dragon has refused to speak with anyone."

"I'm certain."

~•§•~

As you walked up to the building you recognized as your home in this insane and twisted world, you vaguely wondered what you were going to do regarding Malleus' behavior. Where you understood his desperation to keep you with him was a result of his centuries of isolation, you still were in the dark about what it was that Malleus was doing to you. All you knew, was that it had something to do with the Magestone hanging around your neck.

You chose to have Divus and Grim wait inside the actual building of Night Raven College instead of joining you to Ramshackle. He barely allowed you to go and truly seemed distressed at the idea that you were walking alone to face a Dragon. The snow that blanketed the island was far too cold for you to justify making Grim freeze just so you could speak to Malleus. Besides, you intended to enforce your boundaries and it was easier to do that with minimal witnesses.

You knew Malleus had a temper and was already predisposed to possessive behavior, his literal several hundred years of life emotionally stunted only exacerbated this. It would be better to face him one on one instead of making him feel like he was competing in some way with others for your presence. To soothe a Dragon was one thing, he was always receptive to your influence on his emotions. To scold a Dragon and enforce your boundaries without that Dragon lashing out was something else entirely.

This was all paired with the fact that you figured he would be in his Draconic form during this conversation. Keeping your nerve against a creature that could easily kill you was difficult, even if you could delude yourself into thinking he would never do such a thing. Malleus was volatile when it came to you and you knew well the things someone could do in the name of ardor. Only a fool would be blind to the fact that a Human never won if it came to a true fight against a Dragon.

"Little One."

You stopped, turning to regard the ancient and shadowed being that stood between you and the building. His eyes were more sunken than usual and you noticed that the tear streaks upon his face were darker than usual. Perhaps now was a good time to get down to brass tacks with the elder regarding what exactly it was that he confronted Malleus about.

Something had to have triggered all of this.

"Hades," your still clipped attitude making the elder wince, "I've been meaning to speak with you."

Hades breathed out a soft sound that was too hopeful to be resignation and too stressed to be joy. He had been hoping for a moment to speak with you given his own folly by trying to confront the Dragon on your behalf. The elder knew that he would not handle your anger well and he knew he needed to share what exactly it was that he and his kin had discovered.

"Yes, we should speak, but not where others can casually hear."

You didn't fight or argue as that same magic he had used before wrapped around the two of you, separating you from the outside world. At least you knew you could speak freely and others would not hear what you had to say. Well, there was always a chance Idia or his other kin were listening in, but that was a chance at all times, not just now.

The pocket of silence you two inhabited was still cool just as the outside air had been, but it was warmer and more comfortable than the biting frost. That same biting frost having come on due to Malleus' mournful mood.

"I... wished to first apologize for my actions. I had foolishly believed that Young Malleus would be able to regulate himself better and confronted him without involving you. It was a foolish mistake."

"Yes, it was."

"I understand your mistrust of me after my misguided decision to keep you out of the conversation, but I did believe- at the time- that it was the best choice."

You regarded his words silently, knowing he was at least being sincere. In the- admittedly- short time you had known the elder, he had been more than honest with you. Instead of keeping your addictive qualities to himself, he chose to tell you what he knew. Now, regardless of if you had known already or not, it still showed a level of trustworthiness when it came to the elder addressing you.

"I understand that you believed it was for the best, I am angry you decided to keep something that has to do with me to yourself. We both know my presence during that conversation would have kept Malleus more in control of himself, but hindsight is always clearer."

The elder nodded, taking your words to heart. He was not surprised that you were upset with him still, but that didn't mean your cold behavior hurt any less. If he was to get back into your good graces, he would have to lay most of his cards out for you to see.

"Now, tell me what it is you confronted Malleus with."

"... He has been using his magic on you without your knowledge. I don't mean he has been occasionally using magic to influence you, I mean he has been pouring his magic into you consistently and it had already affected you."

"Affected me how?"

"... Your ability to understand Fae speech is the first instance of this magic manifesting. Only Fae can understand the language of the Fae. With the magic of a Fae Prince influencing you, it only makes sense that you could comprehend their language. The fact that you survived the transformation potion that those foolish younglings unwittingly foisted upon you is proof as well. (Y/n), Humans in the past tried transformation potions and almost all of them died from it. Your kind isn't meant to take on a form other than your original one. That potion should have made your body rip itself to shreds."

Thus far, none of the impacts of this magic seemed truly negative to you, but there was always the chance of a deeper underlying impact. If anything, it seemed like Malleus' influence could be directly contributing to your survival. Then again, if it was only good things, the elder wouldn't have confronted Malleus about it.

"So what does this magic do exactly?"

"In basic terms, it ultimately binds two souls together through a nigh unbreakable link. I have only seen Fae use such a technique before, due to their bond with the natural magic of this world versus the more limited magic that non-Fae use. It can allow Fae to find non-Fae mates and extend their lifespans. I once tried using this magic myself on the last Human I had the pleasure of protecting... It didn't work. I may be closer to Fae in magic and life, but I am not from here, not truly. Tartarus- and the magic I draw from it- is bound by other rules than the laws of Fae magic."

You took in his words, your hand subconsciously resting on the Magestone that hung around your neck ever so proudly. Part of you was furious to realize why the Dragon had gifted you such a treasure, and why his father likely had the Magestone as well. It was your understanding that Malleus' mother was the Dragon, not his father, and Dragons lived longer than most.

"This magic can be fairly limited in what it actually does... But those limitations are near eradicated when it involves a Dragon. Almost all life follows a cycle of age progression, Shinigami are not technically living in the same sense as other species, thus are outside of that norm. The only other species that lives outside of this natural progression of life is Dragons."

"So... I am forever bound to Malleus now?"

"No. Not yet, at least. It is a long process to fully bind two souls, even longer when it comes to Dragons. The souls of Dragons are insatiable and tend to overpower others, so soul-binding is a delicate process."

The elder ran his fingers through his flame hair, trying to soothe himself in an almost flustered way. Thus far, what he was saying made sense. Just from your interactions with Alistair and Vil's blot memories, Malleus was a level above and removed from the two. Granted, Malleus and Vil didn't Overblot, despite how close they got. To imagine a truly Overblotted Malleus was a nightmare in and of itself.

"Early on, subtle changes take place. Usually a kind of casual attraction and comfort takes place between the two that are being bound. This early process can take months, if not years. For now, this process has actually shielded and protected you from others, allowing you to call upon the Dragon in your times of need and preventing the transformation potion from killing you. Eventually, the aging of the soul-bonded pair will synchronize- or in the case of Dragons with other species, stop all together. It is my understanding that Young Malleus began this process to protect you, but it is clear he didn't ask if it was what you wanted or not. That is where I decided to step in. Your lack of intense and negative reaction to the potion is what confirmed it for me, and I foolishly confronted him without discussing it with you first."

You absorbed this information, thinking about the way Malleus insisted on being around you almost constantly. Where he had actually saved your life on several occasions- even without this soul-bonding- that didn't mean he wasn't forcing his wants onto you. The lonely Dragon was so afraid of living the rest of his unusually long life in isolation, that he was willing to pull you into that same unending life without even giving you a choice.

"I cannot stop you from confronting him, but I can tell you that it isn't too late to convince him to stop. You asked me once who I think you should choose if you are given no choice but to take on these hopelessly obsessed suitors, and I stand by what I told you. To choose their leaders, their Housewardens, in a wide group to keep them from Overblotting is ideal. If you wish to take the others will be up to you. Young Malleus is one of those Housewardens. To bargain with a Dragon is to bargain with their insatiable greed. Their need to possess and obsess. Choose your bargaining chips carefully and he will be compelled to obey what benefits him most."

~•§•~

Malleus sat with his head resting against the wall, completely immobile in his sorrow and weighed down by his heavy heart. He truly only blamed himself for losing his temper the way he did, feeling that this isolation was a deserved punishment. The Dragon felt he deserved nothing more than to be left alone and outcast.

What's a bit more time spent in isolation compared to a lifetime spent drowning in loneliness?

It was while the beast breathed in the icy air that a certain scent caught his nose. So familiar and ever so enticing, he almost lifted his head to try and find the source. Almost. Odds are, it was simply his mind playing tricks on him. Summoning your scent to his nostrils to try and avail his sorrow addled mind.

It couldn't be you. Why would it be? He had already proven himself a worthless guard and an even more worthless friend to you. You had no reason to come see him after what he-

"Tsuno?"

Your voice was as shocking and sharp as lightning to his brain, the lonely reptile turning his head to glance at where you voice had originated. When he saw you, a genuine rush of heat warmed his icy heart, pulling himself free of the literal frost that had gathered on his skin. His movements were jerking and uncoordinated after days spent sedentary despite how desperate he was to greet you.

He almost fell to your feet, the large beast shaking in his desperation to reach you as he stumbled on numb limbs. You didn't glance away as the beast stopped just shy of touching you, whimpering softly to you the same way a kicked puppy would whine for comfort. Despite everything, Malleus was hoping he could get even the slightest bit of affection from you, even if he felt he didn't deserve it.

"Come down here, Tsuno."

He immediately bowed his head, his large green eyes locked on your form as you held out your hand to him. Your touch was warm like fire against his nose as the Dragon gently began to purr to you. Everything about your presence settled his wild heart and soothed him to a state of pure relaxation. The beast could hardly stand being away from your side for longer than he had been.

"We need to have a discussion about what you have been doing without my knowledge."

Fear shot through Malleus' heart, raw and painful with how sharp it felt on the sensitive casing of his own sanity. If you yelled at him, he wouldn't be able to face his own shortcomings anymore. He wouldn't be able to stop his own pain from lashing out, even if it was you that pain lashed out at.

"I understand your pain. I understand how long you have been alone. Your parents were taken from you before you even got the chance to meet them. Lilia was taken from you before you could properly understand why. You were put on a pedestal far above the reach of others and expected to enjoy the forced sequestration. Your emotions are destructive and cataclysmic, even if you don't want them to be, so you choose to push them aside for others."

Above you, the scaled cataclysm made flesh stared unblinking. His pain was reflected in those bright green eyes of his as he took in your words. They didn't sound accusatory or angry, they sounded sad and forlorn. The way he so often felt when he had to spend yet another birthday alone.

"I have felt your pain. Perhaps not for as long as you have endured, but pain none the less. My home was taken from me. My understanding of reality was torn away the moment I fell into this world. I am the last of my kind in a world that can't help but hate and love me. I have been put on a pedestal far above the reach of others and I am expected to enjoy the forced sequestration. My emotions hurt those around me, even if I don't want them to, so I have been pushing them aside for others."

Malleus was heartbroken. Not for himself, but for you. He truly hadn't thought of the way you felt given his own need for your presence blinding him to your pain. He was beginning to see how you didn't truly get to choose any of this, and that shared pain made him feel a kind of unity with you. Lilia once said he believed Humans and Dragons were two sides of the same coin, but he never understood it until that moment.

His coin was a valuable and tarnished thing, but then again, so was yours. Two precious coins tossed among a sea of counterfeits.

"Now, before I get into the heart of the matter, is there anything you want to tell me?"

"... I'm sorry. I am truly and deeply sorry, (Y/n). I... I have been trying to bind our souls without telling you. I believed it was kinder to not tell you and so I could keep you safe, but I was wrong. If you... If you want me to stop, I will. I can't undo what has been done already, but I can... I can stop the process until you are ready to continue it. It is unfair of me to hold so tightly to you without letting you decide. I... I was wrong."

Though you figured his words were partly intended to placate you, you understood he was trying to be genuine. Malleus never had someone who was his friend by choice before, and he was struggling with understanding your autonomy. As he understood the world, the strong choose and the weak obey. You weren't from his world and you didn't follow the rules, he couldn't expect you to if you didn't even know them.

"Prove to me you truly regret your actions. We have to go decide who comes with me to Fleur City, and even if you are selected, you need to prove you understand what you did was wrong. You will not be allowed to share a nest with me until you show me you can respect my right to choose and not try to force your will upon me."

"I... I understand. I will do what I can to prove myself to you. I'm so tired of being alone... But I will bare my loneliness for you."

You sighed gently, hugging the long snout of the Dragon as he whimpered into your body. His voice was deep and laced with a heavy sorrow while he tried to show you any ounce of affection, his body curling towards you as if he wanted you to climb onto him. As you pet his scaled face, his form slowly began to shrink back into an appropriate size. Malleus' bones clicked and popped as he returned to his more Humanoid form, his eyes sunken and his face paler than usual while he whimpered to you.

You pulled the Dragon into a tight hug, acutely aware of how his breathing hitched and hiccupped. He was crying.

Instead of drawing attention to the heavy tears and whines of the Dragon, you simply held him and allowed him to get those emotions out. His tail and wings were quick to embrace you as you let the Draconic beast cuddle you. Thinking about his past certainly made you more inclined to let him get his emotions out, given the fact his emotions had been so often pushed to the side in favor of others.

"Come on, Tsuno. Let's go to that meeting."

He nodded, refusing to speak but allowing you to lead him out of the thawing dorm.

~•§•~

There was a palpable tension in the air as you approached the typical location for the near constant meetings you were pulled into. Any passing student stopped to stare at you, eyes akin to the begging of a puppy as you walked by. It seemed your small threat to leave set everyone in the school off as they were all stressed you may actually wind up following through.

You made a mental note about the way the others were reacting to you, figuring you would not be able to make a threat like that again without intense repercussions taking place.

As the doors to the meeting room opened, you were met with countless stressed stares. Everyone was completely silent as they regarded your entrance, eyes tracking you while you walked over to Crowley. Even the Crow seemed exceptionally distressed and was keen to make sure you were comfortable. Divus gave a single nod to the Headmage who took only a few more seconds before speaking.

"Before we begin this raffle... I need to ask. (Y/n), my precious Little Chick, will you be staying here at Night Raven College?"

"Given the quiet week I have been able to enjoy, I think I may have been to hasty to leave. It would be best for me to stay where I am familiar with those around me. That being said, I think it is fair to say that I will not be happy with continued Overblots and this conversation will have to be revisited if it happens again."

"..."

"I am staying, for now."

Your words came with a sigh of relief from all of those around you, like you had poured cooling water over burning coals. Everyone seemed to finally relax as tentative smiles pulled at their lips. Now the threat of you leaving had- for the moment- passed, they were taking comfort in being able to move on with the meeting.

Before anyone could proceed with this meeting, Crowley burst into tears. He let out heavy sobs of joy and relief that you were not going to leave him an empty-nester just yet. In his sudden joy, he threw his arms around you and sobbed into your shoulder.

It never really occurred to you that Crowley was so attached to you. In some ways, it made sense he would be keen to keep you given the fact he only stood to gain from it, but as you now held the sobbing Crow, you realized just how much he had tried to gain your attention. Everything he had done so far- despite how misguided it was- was to keep you safe and sheltered.

You slowly lifted your arms, hugging the sobbing Crow that cuddled into you. It seemed like everyone was having a rather poor emotional day and you knew most of that turmoil was caused by you threatening to leave. They just couldn't fathom a world where you were no present.

"Breathe, Papa Crowley... Just breathe."

Calling him by the title of 'Papa' seemed to snap through his tears, his entire body tensing when he registered what you had called him. He couldn't help but hold you close, shielding you with his wings as he began to let out a cawing noise while his wing tips fluttered. Clearly, your words had triggered something in his brain as he tried to hover over you, almost like he was attempting to warm your body with his own the same way an adult bird would incubate their chicks.

"My precious Little Chick! My beautiful baby Bird! I will make sure you stay safe, no matter what! I promise!"

You wanted to snap at him and tell him what a poor job he has done, but there was no point adding salt to an open wound. Part of you wondered if they would had tried to stop you if you did say you were going to leave. A quieter part of you understood they would never let you truly leave them without a fight.

"I know. That's why I trust you to do a raffle."

"Right! The raffle."

Crowley almost immediately straightened up, that small bit of your attention practically breathing new life into the Crow as he clapped his hands together cheerfully. It was as if his sorrow had melted from his body as he had a certain hop to his step. He quickly set to choosing which of those who were present would have the right to come with you, pausing only one moment before drawing the first name.

"There will be representatives from several different mage schools visiting for the festival as well, as it has become a kind of social Nobel Bell College is holding. That being said, they have specifically requested by two of you in particular to be in attendance. Naturally, precious (Y/n) is required to be in attendance, and Mr. Draconia. You both were mentioned by name to attend, so I will select at least ten others to accompany my Little Chick, just to make sure she is guarded during this week long festival!"

You were somewhat surprised anyone was willing to call Malleus out by name, but you figured it was done due to the rather impressive reputation the Dragon had especially during the televised Spelldrive Tournament where he saved you. Naturally, whoever this was seemed keen to ensure you and Malleus were in attendance. Who knows what kind of beasts you would meet while you were there?

~~~~

Grey eyes stared out the beautiful stain glass windows that decorated the elaborate halls of the aged building. The low hum of vibrations whispering through the incredible bell-tower that stood above the city. Beneath the watchful gaze of chattering Gargoyles, a single figure stared out at the peacefully humming city around him.

Even as flames flickered with intense life beneath his flesh, he smothered and dampened the wild element that ran through his veins. Long had he wished to purge the world of those who dare stand for evil, and of the sickness that was flagrant uses of magic. The same that poisoned the common ilk roaming the streets and leeching into the air around him. The same that ran through his own body.

It would be unfair to say all life was tainted by the touch of this magic that rotted in the core of so many. No, there was one he could think of who remained unsullied by the ever incessant demands of sinful eyes. A pure being of divinity that so many sought to defile.

As skeptical as the figure was of there being any truth to this sudden "appearance" of a Human, he knew the Bell of Solace would tell the truth. The moment their feet touched Fleur City soil would be all the evidence the ashen Nymph needed. Once he confirmed there was truth to this Human, he would be able to begin cleansing the world of the magical ilk that consumed everyone. He could reshape it in the likeness of that Human.

It wouldn't be long now.

No, not long at all.

[n0tamused]

Genshi/HSR Characters as Dragons!

A/n: It has been a bit since my last dragon post, sorry my friends. Gotten a bit under the weather but I think that small reprieve has given me a lot of time to think of these designs! So I really hope you like them. Let me know what you think, or maybe who you'd like to see next in dragon form?

Contents: Diluc Ragnvindr, Sunday, Trailblazers(Stelle and Caelus) x GN Reader (separate), angsty hcs and also fluff, implied religious trauma in Sunday's hcs? Trauma in general.

Words: 2000

Diluc Ragnvindr:

-The esteemed Uncrowned King of Mondstadt is not only famous for belonging to a rich family and being top of the food chain in the industry, but also for possessing a power unlike any other. Dragons and dragon shapeshifters, although not unheard of or rare, have been scarcely seen since the cataclysm. Besides Dragon Dvalin, not many others are present in Mondstadt today

-No one exactly knows whether the Ragnivindr family had dragon people before, as the family seems to have kept their history to themselves, but if secrecy was their goal then what did bring Diluc to display his skill with claws and fang? Some speculate that it is not the Ragnvindr lineage that carries this power, but rather it is his mother that passed down the dragon blood onto her son. Diluc doesn’t talk about it whatever the case is. 

-Even in dragon form he is hard to mistake for someone else. He carries himself with power in every step and is always well kept. 

-Kaeya used to tease him when they were children, when Diluc didn’t have much control over his draconic form and when he used to stumble from being a kid one moment and being a small hatchling the other. Kaeya would pull at his tail only to get smacked by it. But the two boys were inseparable and trusted one another. Kaeya never spilled the secret of his red-headed brother’s abilities 

-Not even the childhood friends Jean and Barbara knew of the secret

-Yet, that dreadful night came when Crepus died, and flames soared so high and so hot that not even the rain could quench it. 

-It goes without saying that Diluc carries a lot of guilt and trauma from those days and for the first time in his life he found himself truly and utterly alone. He had no one. Crepus was dead, Kaeya betrayed him, Adelinde was just a maid, he couldn’t trouble her and he and any other friend he may have had in his youth have long since drifted apart.

-Grief turned to anger and that anger swallowed him, pushing him onward on the path of vengeance.

-Shneznaya had suffered much of his attacks - well, the Fatui there did, Diluc never risked harming a civilians, and he had saved quite a few hostages that the Fatui had gotten their hands on. In the land of ice, Diluc almost died as well once he came face to face with one of the Fatui Harbingers, and a dragon shifter at that too. He managed to live by the skin of his teeth, dragging his battered self into the snowy deserts that stretched on endlessly

-That incident ultimately sent him back to his home. He had learnt much and suffered plenty, it was time to let the winter turn to spring.

-Adelinde and Elzer had sent him many letters, he knew, he received most of them. Yet he never had the heart to respond to them..

-He came back a new man, scarred both in flesh and soul, yet a small piece of him was… content, maybe numb too. The cold of the nation Tsaritsa governs over certainly took its toll on him.

-If truth be told, he didn’t expect to return from the trip and he certainly didn’t think he’d ever form any sort of notable relationships in his personal life. He didn’t look for them nor did he particularly look forward to any either. His wound always felt too fresh to let anyone close

-Yet you just managed to do just that. Get close enough into this barricade he built around himself, and you helped put soft linen around his wounds, holding him close when he yearned for touch, leaving him be when he yearned for the cold.

-It took a while, but a rose in the wall of ice began to bloom. Flowers, no matter how delicate, always find cracks to grow in, even stronger than on solid ground.

-Diluc is quite protective of you, very much so, but he is not pushy with it. He understands boundaries and he himself is not a fan of always hovering over someone’s head or being in someone’s space. He does have his ears and good eyes, not just his own, that would alert him should any harm come to you

-You did find some of his feathers around the winery. At first you didn’t know they were his, so you just picked it up as it was still a rather impressive feather, yet it became even more precious once you learnt it belonged to him. Diluc didn’t understand why you’d keep it or regard it with so much admiration, but he wasn’t going to voice whatever protest he had that soon died on his tongue

-He reveals his dragon form to you even later, in the lush grass around the Dawn Winery during one dusky evening. Winter was coming so the air was chilly and breezy. You wanted to watch the sunset and to eventually stargaze, but Diluc wanted you warm while you did that, and soon his dragon form was lying behind your back, his warmth seeping into you and keeping you comfortable.

Sunday:

-Not every eye that is open is seeing, and not every eye that is closed is dreaming, so who are we to judge another? Sunday, the dragon in rule over the Land of Festivities, had long since ascended past a simple ruler. His current form alone demanded a certain form of delicate respect, a cautious one at that.

-No one remembers how he may have looked like before, if he had eyes or if those had been claimed by the Harmony or ▇▇▇▇

-Aeon of Harmony keeps their eyes closed, and in doing so rids themselves of any subjective thoughts. All are equal, and together we are stronger, such is the mantra of Harmony and Sunday was adept at putting that image forth. People were happy, people were content. 

-How many wings does Sunday have that are his own? Only two pairs. One pair meant for flight was crippled, cut short, and the other pair shields his eyes from the world. He now only moves and flies when THEY wish he flies, when THEY allow it, when THEY deem it necessary, and not anytime else. These wings are a burden and a blessing. They’re not his own but he hates to think they’d hurt him should he make some error - not that he would, he won't allow himself an error. No..

-Sunday inhabits his dragon form a lot of times, which, in a way, is also dictated by THEM. The only time he is human is when he goes behind the screen to listen to people confessing their bad deeds and their sins, bestowing his blessing and forgiveness unto them and guiding them back on the right track. THEY are merciful, he says, you have been forgiven.

-His words of advice and the action he took to ‘renovate’ the Land of Festivities(Dreams) have gained him much support and love and even many more followers where he previously had less. People generally did like the Oak family, they also loved his sister. She was the pearl of the Oak family, the sun, and he was the moon and the sea. 

-The colorful pair of horns on his head is said to come from the Harmony as well, it is THEIR blessing to Sunday, to look more formidable yet more approachable. It is THEIR gift. People know and people see this as a sign that he is the true leader they should follow. Many have become more easy to get to do certain things - most of them good yes, like behaving and upholding the rules while in the Dreamscape, but other actions came as hidden tactics from THEM to harvest the necessary power needed for the next step.

-Sunday has become lost in this grand scheme of things, and even the thought of the next morning became a thought too far to consider. He barely has time alone and to himself, he can never escape the eyes of THEM.

-He hates to trouble you. You two have drifted apart it would seem, yet from time to time Sunday would find you visiting him, wishing to give him company at least for a little while. And silently he prays he can indulge you - he wants to, he misses you, your warmth, your presence, your voice, your touch. He is welcoming to you. You have an idea of what’s happening: stress, work, duty - it is a response that he offered one too many times, but there was more, something you couldn’t dig up. It was a thorn in your side, you couldn’t get it out.

-So you sit with him, sharing some words and stories over dinner, tea and cakes. Other times you lay with him, his ear to your chest, listening to the gentle drumming of your heart, a lullaby that is the last thing able to have him sleep soundly.

-He dislikes for you to see him in his dragon form, he considers it broken although it looks angelic in the eyes of the majority, but as it is the form he is found in a lot of the time it is unavoidable. Yet you are the only person he allows to touch him, besides his sister. 

-Touch him, pet him, do as you wish. He is there for you.

Trailblazers:

-Double trouble, Baseballer of the Cosmos, the Nameless, the…*looks at smudged ink writing* Yes, the esteemed Trailblazers!

-You may have heard many stories about them, but once you get a look at them in reality, you’ll see just how amazing they are. The world is vast, yet they seem to shock everyone with their…otherworldly appearance.

-They both claim they weren’t like this before - they were two different people, but now they’re not and they do not remember how it all came to be this way. It is odd, but they’ve gotten used to it.

-Despite the appearance, Stelle is the more aggressive of the two and usually packs a more meaner bite, headbutt or a nastier scratch of the claws. Caelus is more shy, despite him looking more scary, he is sheepish and a tad bit more naive. But both of them are determined to get to the bottom of their story and to get back to their own bodies. The stellaron within them also seems to have something to do with their current predicament. 

-There were times where they were glad for it, as they could provide each other with company and comfort, their heads nuzzling their cheeks together or tangling their necks when they go to sleep in the dragon form. 

-Going in human form is rather complicated, neither of the two like it as one would have to be “dormant” while the other roams the world. The dormant one is able to hear most of what goes on outside, but they’re stuck roaming the subconscious like a heliobi - roaming through hazy memories and corridors. They have gotten used to each other's company so much that it is odd to be “alone”.

-They both love the express a lot and their significant other - which also puzzles them as to how they even have one to begin with.. but alright, they’re not arguing against it nor are they dissatisfied. It is funny how, at times, one of them can get sassy with the other when it comes to dates and things, sometimes even jealous. 

-But it is cute, and it works out in the end.

-At times there are situations where it would be better for either Stelle or Caelus to go (battle - Stelle; something more diplomatic - Caelus), so the two can switch back and forth if really necessary

-Their tail in dragon form is something like a beaver tail, although much fluffier. It can pack a nasty hit if you’re unfortunate to be on the receiving end of their attacks..

Size chart:

Ⓒ n0tamused. Do not repost, translate, edit, and/or copy any of my works. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

Tags: @moonlitreveri3 @lexidraws2 @drowning-in-cabbages @creationsabyss @grimulf-of-the-wilderness @st4rrl1ghtwastaken @the-inquisitive-constellation @voiddance @the-bilkush @fictionally-attached

+ @not-the-darknight (hope you don't mind the tag on there! <3)

[dumbkiri]

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 2

χα∂єη яισяѕση χ ƒ! мαιяι! яєα∂єя

ρℓσт: you were supposed to be teaching Violet your infamous kicks. yet bodhi is too smart and a flirt to let you show it off.

(slight Bodhi x f! reader bc it is time to be petty)

PART TWO

First Year 

“Now that we survived Presentation Day, we head into Threshing…we either die, bond to a dragon or remain unbonded. Is being unbonded worse than dying out there? The embarrassment must be killer to some egos. I know a group that can die during it too. Maybe I’ll convince my dragon to eat them.” 

Imogen laid on the right side of your bed, her fingers running across the wooden figurine of Sgaeyl in her hands while she ranted. You drew a picture of Sgaeyl, with her permission of course, and gave it to Xaden as a small gift. He loved the drawing of his blue dragon very much that he sent the parchment to Liam so your brother could carve her out. 

Then Xaden gifted you the wooden figurine of Sgaeyl. Paper and wood. 

“Honestly, I thought we were dead during Presentation,” You huffed out, a smile slowly drawing its way onto your features. While she lounged on your bed, you sat by your desk with your legs crossed up on the seat. “If we hadn’t stopped, we would have been burned with those other kids.” 

“You mean if you hadn’t held up the line by admiring the shadows in some cave,” Imogen sarcastically smirked thinking she was smart to say you were distracted by Xaden during the walk. 

A blush made its way onto your face and you sputtered out a flustered response, “I-Imogen! That’s so uncalled for. I told you what I saw!” 

Rolling your eyes, you stand up and sit next to her laying form. Then you held her hands to stop fumbling with the figurine, “Come on, you still don’t believe me? I’m telling you that-” 

“Yeah, yeah , yeah,” Imogen smiled, nodding her head over and over, “I totally saw the blue dragon in the shadows. With its bright golden eyes.” Then the pink haired female looked up and laughed at the pout that formed on your lips. She sat up and quickly tugged you down into the bed with her. 

“Imogen, I’m being serious!” You laughed at her antics and tried to pull away, but she had you in a tight headlock. “Also I don’t think it was blue, it had to have black scales. It blended in with the shadows so well!” 

Imogen wrestled you in a hug and held you tight against her, wrapping her toned legs around yours. Yeah, she trapped you like a fly in a Venus flytrap.

“Let’s get this straight right now, [N.Name],” Imogen placed her chin on the crown of your head and explained to you: 

“The only black dragons we know about are the Morningstar ones that belong to Sgaeyl. One being her mate and the other her offspring. She told Xaden, her mate is not looking for a rider after his previous one. And her son hasn’t found his rider in the three years since he’s been in Threshing. Xaden said Sgaeyl’s son is a force too powerful to tame right now. So the chances of meeting either of them during the presentation is slim to none!” 

“But Imogen…” You whined as you hugged her back, shaking her with refusal, “I saw it!” 

“Am I interrupting something?” 

You and Imogen moved your eyes to your door spotting Xaden with a smirk and his arms crossed over his chest. Realizing that you were in your night clothes, you scrambled for a blanket, yet he interrupted with a chuckle, “No need to hide what I’ve already seen countless times.” 

“Xaden!” Both you and Imogen shouted, your pink haired friend tossed a pillow his way, also shouting, “I don’t need to picture our innocent Mairi in your arms! Only mine.” 

Xaden scoffed and shook his head in disapproval, “You're in my spot, tonight is my night with her.” 

Imogen rolled her eyes playfully and surrendered to him, “Gotta honor the deal. You’re lucky she survived today, especially with what went down.”

Xaden raised a brow and watched Imogen get out of your bed. Then his eyes drew their way to you and asked, “What did you see?” His arms dropped to his side and he gave Imogen a pat on the shoulder when she walked past him. She bid her goodbyes to the both of you and closed the door gently behind her. 

“I may have seen Sgaeyl’s son during the Presentation,” You sat up in your bed and hugged a pillow to your chest, “He was strikingly beautiful, like the midnight sky. And Imogen was right, I had been lucky to live today. When I stopped to admire his beauty from afar, a red daggertail approached me. I didn’t notice until Imogen harshly whispered my name and I felt a breath of hot air bearing down my spine.” 

“You’re kidding,” Xaden grimaced, “You almost…No, you disrespected a red daggertail for the sake of admiring what could have been just a regular blue dragon?” 

You gaped and frustratingly flopped back into your bed, “I swear you guys don’t take me seriously.” You brought the pillow up to your face and said behind it, your voice muffled, “This is your sign to end me, Xaden. I’m all yours.” 

He lifted the pillow off your face and asked, “What did the red daggertail do?”

“It opened its mouth and drooled all over me then it burned the people in front of me,” You looked away from his eyes and stared at your wall with a bunch of drawings on it. This wall of art has been your masterpiece. You worked hard to draw your friends and their dragons, well two dragons that being Sgaeyl and Chradh. 

“Imogen said my actions saved us, but I know I’m the cause of their deaths. If I didn’t disrespect the red daggertail, maybe they would have lived.” 

Xaden stared at you and shook his head, “No, that’s not true at all. Anyways, I want to ask if Lara and her minions backed away from you. I don’t see any bruises on you as of late and I’m hoping that you kicked her ass so bad on the mat she gave up on attacking you.” 

You laughed and made room for him on your bed and he immediately took the invitation. He pulled the blanket over your bodies and laid on his side, his hand holding up his head as he gazed down at you. 

“You know that move,” You started slowly, “the one I accidentally used on Garrick on the mat?” 

“Ah,” Xaden smiled, “the one you used when you knocked him out cold?” 

“Yeah, that one,” You shrugged your shoulders and said, “I used it on her during challenges and her face ended up smacking the floor instead of the mat. I broke her nose and she had to go to the Menders. Her minions dragged her unconscious ass and didn’t even look at me.” 

His proud chuckle made your chest swell with pride and he engulfed you in an embrace. Xaden’s toned arms wrapped around you protectively and he said, “You are the sexiest woman I know on the mat. I swear I can watch you fight every time and it’ll turn me on.” 

“Xaden, you-” 

He pressed his lips onto yours and pulled you on top of him, “I imagine you on top, giving me that heated glare of yours and pressing your dagger to my throat.” 

He dragged your hand up to his neck and his other hand massaged his fingers into your waist and hip. The golden flecks in his eyes caught the mage light and you found yourself lost in them as usual. 

“I think we can put on a show for the rest of them.” He whispered. 

You leaned down and kissed him, silently agreeing to his words. 

……...............

Present - Four days later

How did you end up here? Of all situations you’d put yourself in, this was the last in your list. Training the girl who has taken up all of Xaden’s attention. God, you sound dramatic. 

“I think I’m starting to regret agreeing to this,” You told Lenin. 

“Not as much as my father,” Lenin chuffed, “He's ordering his rider to stop fidgeting in your presence. He said she’s making herself look weak. My mother wholeheartedly agrees.”

“Well Sgaeyl is always on my side,” You smiled and looked off to the side, looking up at the blue dragon giving you a subtle nod. 

Too bad this early morning flight was cancelled because Xaden thought it’d be best to drag a mat out into the field at 3am! You definitely rather be flying right about now. 

Violet nervously stood on the other side on the mat, her hands fiddling with her daggers strapped to her chest. You never saw Violet fight on the mat before and now this was her one chance to prove to you that she can learn what you can teach. 

You ignored Xaden, a cloaked Liam and Imogen, and Violet’s friends watching the two of you just stare at each other. You analyzed her body from afar and spun your unique dagger with one finger concentrating on how you can improve Violet’s skill on the mat. 

“I’m gonna have to assume that your friends don’t know how you defeated your previous challengers?” You moved your eyes from her skinny legs to her face that flushed with surprise. 

“N-No, they don’t and-” 

You waved your hand dismissively, “What they don’t know won’t kill them.” 

“The suspense kills me!” Ridoc, you learned was a class clown, shouted standing in front of his dragon, Aotrom. 

Not even sparing a glance at him, you kept your attention on Violet. You came here with good intentions, to teach her what you know. Obviously her biggest threat is Jack Barlowe. You know exactly two moves that can knock big guys like him down, but does Violet have the strength in her legs to do that. 

You’re afraid her legs will snap like twigs. 

Lenin and Sgaeyl chuffed from the sidelines while Tairn’s upper lip pulled up into a snarl. Alright enough judging the poor girl, you need to see what she knows. 

“Come at me and don’t hold back,” You stopped spinning your dagger and gripped it tight, “After we spar, I will teach you one thing and one thing only. If you do not learn it within a week, I’m sorry to say, but you will be unteachable.” 

 Violet readied herself with two daggers and what she thought was going to surprise you, only made you lash out at her. She let her daggers fly into your direction and you easily deflected both of them with your dagger then you stared at her with utter disappointment. 

Then you pointed at her daggers that laid on the floor, “This!” You picked the daggers off the mat and showed them off, “Throwing your daggers is unacceptable! Violet, these can very well protect you on the mat and you just got rid of them!” 

“I have ten more!” Violet argued back, showing you the ones lined up on her chest and ribs. 

In order to calm yourself down, you turned away from her and stared at your dragon. You counted the midnight blue scales on his chest one by one until you were ready to face her off again. 

“If it makes you feel better, Shadow did warn her not to throw her daggers at you,” Lenin hummed and you rolled your eyes. 

 “Okay, let’s do this for real this time,” You raised your arms up then warned her, “Throw one more dagger at me and I swear I will end you.” 

Violet nodded her head and you beckoned for her to come at you. She did and when she came in swinging, you ducked under her arm with the perfect timing. Like so many times before, you grabbed that outstretched arm. With both hands you held on tight, turned your back on her and pulled her weight over your shoulder. She let out a gasp mid air and when her ass touched the mat, you twisted your left arm around her right arm. 

Holding her back up against your left leg, she stared up at you wide-eyed and breathless with your dagger at her throat. Your right hand removed the weapon and you held her in this position to explain this move, “This one will be impossible to use against people bigger than you. But you can use it against that clown,” You jabbed your thumb over your shoulder, Ridoc waving at Violet with a grin. 

“Right,” Violet swallowed and ignored the pain in her shoulder. 

You released her then helped her to stand, “You can use this move on Imogen too if you wanted.” 

“She can try!” 

Imogen’s shout made you and Violet laugh. 

“Anyways, that’s not the move I want to teach you,” You sheath your dagger away and said, “This move doesn’t need a dagger involved. However, it does need sturdy and strong legs.”

Violet clicked her tongue, “That’s one thing Imogen started strengthening.” 

“Ah,” You smiled, “That’s good because all my moves involve legs. I should show you the move though and I have the perfect partner to demonstrate it. He doesn’t know that I’m teaching you it, he thinks it’s another move.” 

“If you’re talking about Xaden, I think it’s impossible to trick him,” Violet huffed with sarcasm, but you shook your head. Your eyes moved from hers to see a dark figure in the night run in your group’s direction. He stopped at the mat and said,

“I hope I’m not late.” 

Bodhi looked at you with hopeful eyes and you shook your head, “You’re right on time. Violet, please stand with the rest and watch everything. The way my body moves, how I react and most importantly, how Bodhi reacts. Because his body will give you certain tales to most reactions. You need to pay close attention to it.” 

“Heard loud and clear,” Violet nodded her head and jogged off the mat to meet the group. 

Then you looked at Bodhi, “I’m sorry for making you drag yourself out of bed so early. I owe you big time.” 

Bodhi chuckled and raised his fist up for you to bump it with your own, “All good, but no holding back right? I have always wanted a rematch since last year.” 

This honestly shocked you and you bumped your fist against his. “Really? We can arrange some sparring time with one another if you want it so badly.” You backed away from him and he did the same getting into ready positions. 

You made the first move. 

Spinning on your left leg, you kicked your right leg Bodhi’s way. He narrowly dodged the speed of it and his smile dropped. Maybe he shouldn’t have suggested no holding back because he swore he felt the tip of your boot graze his left ear while he dodged. 

“I would like to retract my statement, Your Maj-”

“Too late,” Your voice dripped with venom and he knew he fucked up. 

……................

“Violet is supposed to learn that just by watching?” Rhi questioned, astounded by the speed you showed in your attacks, “[Name]’s a literal sparring demon. Bodhi has no room to attack. He’s blocking every move she makes.” 

“I mean this in the nicest way, but Violet,” Ridoc openly checked you out while you fought Bodhi, “You do not make fighting look this hot.” 

“Ridoc!” Rhi punched Ridoc in the shoulder and he laughed. 

“What? I’m just saying [Name] makes this whole thing-” 

You let out a squeak of surprise when Bodhi caught your flying kick in his hand with a grunt. Quickly you tried to pull your left leg away to your advantage by doing another advanced kick, but he knew you’d attempt that. 

“You little minx,” They heard Bodhi tease you, then he knocked your stable foot out from underneath you. You fell backwards with Bodhi closing the gap between you two in a second. 

“Here I thought we were done lying to each other,” Again Bodhi’s voice carried a teasing tone and Liam shuffled in his spot uneasy with the image in front of him. 

Bodhi kept your left leg raised while he pressed his pelvis into you. 

You felt your face redden and you asked, “How did you-” 

“This move of yours doesn’t require you holding a dagger,” He chuckled then explained, gradually releasing his hold on your leg,  “The moment you came at me unarmed made Garrick’s unconscious face pop into mind. You said you wanted to show Violet a different move, one that calls for a dagger.” 

“Is it too late to call a truce?” You breathlessly laughed, letting your head rest against the mat. You know you can get out of this, once Bodhi relaxes you will strike. 

He shrugged his shoulders and that sweet release of your leg gave you that sign. Now or never. 

“Yeah, you can say- OOF!” 

You launched yourself upward and wrapped your arms around his neck, shoving his face towards your abdomen, “Oh yeah, Bodhi. You’re all mine.” You held him in a headlock as he held himself up, his back hunched over as he laughed out loud. His chuckles shook his whole body. 

“I swear,” He continued laughing, “I’m going to tickle you if you don’t let go, cheater!” 

His hands moved up your legs to your sides and you froze up. You hated being tickled. 

“Bodhi,” You squeezed his neck, “Do that and I’ll hold you until you pass out.” 

“You know, I really don’t mind being in this position,” Bodhi mumbled, “You smell really good. What do you-” 

“You two done?” Xaden cut in, his shadow hovering over you and Bodhi like the menace he was trying to pose as. But you weren’t afraid of him. You kept Bodhi locked and completely ignored Xaden, addressing Bodhi instead, 

“He knows what he’s gotta say first,” You leaned your head down to let it rest on the toned back muscles that flexed underneath your touch. “Ignore Xaden, this is the punishment of surrendering. Be a good boy like Garrick and say it.” 

Xaden’s jaw tensed up and he rolled his eyes knowing exactly what you wanted Bodhi to do. When he walked back to the group, he told Violet, “[Name]’s strength are her kicks. With her speed, it’s nearly impossible to block every single one of them.  You need to be just as fast as she is when training with her. Your reaction time needs to be even faster. It’s why she has you analyzing her.”

Violet sighed and shook her head, “I don’t have any weight or strength to throw around like she does. My legs will snap with that kind of attack.” 

“That’s why Imogen is having you strengthen them. [Name] will teach you this, you focus on your legs while she focuses on the technique.” Xaden turned towards you and Bodhi on the mat just in time for his cousin to bark.

“Woof, woof…”

“No way that man just barked,”  Sawyer’s shoulders dropped while Ridoc let out the loudest cackle for the world to hear. 

Meanwhile Imogen joined in, clapping in pure joy, “Two points for the badass chicks! You’re such a good boy, little Bodhi.” 

Violet and her friends dumbfounded looked at Xaden for an explanation and their wingleader shook his head. 

“It’s a stupid bet that’s going on between us,” Xaden watched you ruffle Bodhi’s hair while he pushed your hand away, mumbling about your cheating ways, “The boys bark and the girls meow when they surrender. So far no one has made [Name] meow.” 

“Hey, [Name]!” Ridoc hollered, “I can make your kitty purr!”

“Try making me bark first,” Xaden growled and while he wanted it to be said like a threat, it only made you laugh from a distance. 

But you agreed, “Make Xaden bark first then we’ll see if your words ring with truth!” 

 You walked over to the group with a defeated Bodhi and looked at Violet, “Sorry it wasn’t the best demonstration since someone had to bring the bet in. But I need you to get your leg hitting a tree or one of the spare dummies. Kick it a hundred times every day to get used to the pain.”

You saw Violet’s eyes flash with an apology and she tried to say sorry about accusing you for letting the unbonded in her room. She felt like this was the perfect time to do it, right in front of everyone to take accountability. She felt so guilty ever since she accused you. 

“Uh, Violet,” You looked at her skeptically, “something wrong?” 

Violet straightened up her back and lowered her eyes, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know that I blamed you for-” 

“Don’t listen to her!” Lenin shouted, and at the same time he slammed his wings down. Stretching his neck out, he roared the loudest he ever has, drowning out Violet’s apology in his sound. 

Everyone raised their hands up to their ears and tried to block out most of the roar to their best ability. 

“She doesn’t know,” Tairn informed Violet. 

“I don’t understand, why not?” Violet squeezed her eyes shut, Lenin drawing out his warning. 

“Imogen wiped her memory,” Xaden explained, his hands covering his ears as well, “It’s for the best that she doesn’t know.” 

“Lenin! What is wrong!” You shouted at him, “You’re going to wake up the whole damn college!” 

He stopped roaring and pulled his head back with a snarl. 

“She owes you a better apology than the one she’s trying to give you. I’m letting her know to rethink it.” 

“So do we run now?” Liam asked while mage lights flickered on one by one. 

“Nobody speaks!” You declared in a whisper and waved your hands around the group, pushing Bodhi away from them. A few of them let out gasps and you forgot to warn them about the cold when you cloaked them. 

One by one, they disappeared in the background and you sighed in relief. Just in time for Professor Kaori to walk up to you and Bodhi with an exasperated expression. 

“Really, you two again?” 

“Ah Professor Kaori!” You beamed, a pretty smile plastered on your face, “Sorry about the wakeup call. You know Lenin was just arguing with his parents like usual.” 

Professor Kaori raised a brow and looked at you with a smirk, “You think I’m going to fall for that a second time?”

You nodded your head and defended your claim, “Come on, professor! You heard his roar, tell me that isn’t a teenager lashing out.” 

“I will eat you.” Lenin growled just in time for you to laugh and gesture to your dragon. 

“See, he’s all kinds of worked up!”

You stiffened up when you heard one of Violet’s friends whisper in protest and Professor Kaori hummed in confusion. 

“Are you cloaking someone right now?” He asked and you shook your head.

“No, Professor,” Then you cloaked Bodhi and yourself, “Remember I can only cloak two people at a time!” You removed the cloak and faked being breathless, “Damn, that took a lot of energy out of me, Professor.” 

Professor Kaori shook his head and sighed, “You have a great signet, Mairi. You should expand on it more than hiding your escapades with Durran here. I’m growing tired of seeing you two by the way.” 

You awed and wrapped your arms around Bodhi, “Just tell us we’re your favorites already.” 

“Get out of my sight or I’ll have you-” 

“Already gone!” Bodhi laughed and started dragging you away towards the college. 

When you guys were getting close to the building, Professor Kaori began making his way back too. Mumbling about the audacity the two of you had to be out this early. 

With Professor Kaori gone, the cloak over the group disappeared. Everyone rubbed their hands up and down their arms to warm themselves up again. 

“Hey Wingleader, I think your cousin just took your girl.” 

“Ridoc, shut the hell up.” Everyone demanded, but they were just as stumped as Xaden. Because you and Bodhi played Professor Kaori like a fiddle, almost having them believe that you guys were the true couple. 

……..............

“Make sure to cloak me anytime Xaden sets his eye on me,” Bodhi chuckled and bumped his fist into yours. Then he ran off towards his room with you smiling at him.

“Petty revenge tastes so sweet,” You giggled, walking into your bedroom for a nap before classes started. 

......

ησтє: my inspo for this fight stems from yor fighting loid lmaooo she's too badass with her kicks. also for fun's sake, should I make Ridoc and MC spar then he actually makes her meow....BWHAHAHAH nah...maybe...anyways next part will go back to being serious bc is it time to save Liam or will his death only drive the wedge between Xaden and MC even further

taglist:

@luvly-writer @desprrssooo-espresssooooo @blueeclipsepaperstudent @honethatty12 @poeticbookwormcat @cheappremingerfromdelululand @eep500 @littlepippilongstocking @86laura11

[tomorins]

PARTY CANDLES ! – prod. filomiya

characters – mualani , kinich , xilonen , citlali , mavuika ( takes place after the 5.3 aq !! )

THEM , when its your birthday ( bullet headcanons based on their birthday messages )

notes : ITS MY BIRTHDAY CHAT CAN YOU BELIEVE IT 6th january wowowowo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is very self indulgent if you cant tell but i might do a fontaine version of this later if i feel like it or continue with the other natlan characters or mayb. with vbs WHATEVER ill see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! might be ooc plz correct me if theyre ooc .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . .

MUALANI

planned her surprise one week in advance.

but how could she not? shes your partner, afterall! and never expect the least from mualani, she will ALWAYS do the most!!

booked the best restaurant for you, making sure most of the dishes would be liked by both you and the guests. also threw in a few of your favourite desserts, but she kept insisting on making those herself along with the cake… where does she find the time!?

you had the party take place from noon to night, living it to the fullest, next to her ( and the other guests i GUESS. ) but the inevitable happened – exhaustion. on your part, atleast. mualani still had a surprise in store for you. and what is better than a reserved hot spring for the both of you after so much activity?

this was a much more relaxed way to celebrate the afterparty, but a little time between you two doesnt hurt anyone! she’d end the day with a kiss, and a content ‘happy birthday.’

KINICH

he had planned two surprises total. not more, not less.

after the usual small talk he’d ensue, kinich would remind ajaw of the conversation they had hours prior. thankfully, you were one of the humans the almighty dragon liked, so it didnt take long for him to give in.

turning into his actual dragon form ( and holding back some complaints ), you and your partner hopped onto his back for a sky stroll across the landscapes of natlan. it was filled with casual chatting, ajaw occasionally joining.

while you expected to be brought back to the place you were before, the dragon instead dropped you two off on a high, secluded cliff with the best view to the stadium. laid there was a picnic blanket, and you almost called kinich a sap.

truly, one of the best people you couldve spent your birthday with.

XILONEN

you thought youd get special treatment? well, you thought well.

usually, she’d get her friends actual useful gifts ( allegedly, in her eyes ) like a set of tools, or something for their hobbies, because in what situation could sappy presents be functional? if you prefer sentimental value over functional things, be her guest!

but you were her fully fledged partner. no WAY she could gift you JUST tools.

being the blacksmith of the children of the echoes, she has access to some of the best stones out there. you bet she’d search all about birthstones and use yours into making some of the most refined jewelry. i could see her also do a bouquet of handi-picked flowers on your preferred colours. paper wrapping included!!

all of that combined with a reservation to the restaurant youve been gushing about… if that isnt special treatment, then what is?

CITLALI

at her age, she wouldnt have thought she would find someone, let alone friends, or someone like you!

so she didnt bat an eye to gift giving, mostly. occasionally, for whenever it was one of her people’s birthday, she’d offer the usual gift card or blessings. but with you in the picture now, she doesnt know what to do!!

her first thought was to give you some volumes from her light novels collection, which she did proceed with, but she had to think of a plan B. no way she could turn to her grandson, for all he’d have to offer is his finest pick of vegetables…

and before she knew it, your birthday came. so all she had to offer were the novels. it was so underwhelming in her eyes… but thank god you reassured her than even only drinking with her was enough.

MAVUIKA

for her, small and thoughtful gifts are always the go-to.

something motivational, that you can look back to and reminisce about – but you didnt expect her to gift you a small notebook. correction, actually – a small album. it was filled with photos you took through your time together, and letters she poured her feelings into. 

it was obvious it took her sweet time to put it together, probably did it during her time off as an occupation. if you asked her about it, you wouldve found out your guess wasnt far off. instead, you thanked her in her own way – whether it be words, physical affection or acts of service (on your own birthday tho..??) 

another thing mavuika would offer is a delightful night stroll with her motorbike. cliche x2, i know, but not before serving some of the best cake she had baked for you! dont ask her where or how, or do, do whatever you want…. (xilonens house.)

just hold onto her if she decides to pick the speed up as a way to wake you from your daydreams.

filomiya : any acts of plagiarism of my works are strictly prohibited. credits to the divider creators.

[lavandulawrites]

Undeserving

Yandere Zhongli x reader

Zhongli is definitely a terrifying yandere.

Synopsis: Zhongli takes it upon himself to rid the world of those who sin

Masterlist

Warnings: explicit violence,torn limbs, kinda gory, Zhongli is very possessive, Zhongli is completely feral, reader is not directly involved with any of the violence

Word count: 2223

Zhongli had always seen himself as a reasonable man. Even before he had taken on the name Zhongli. He valued respect and honour. Zhongli had always held a fondness for contracts and their power. He often preferred to negotiate rather than fighting. It was more proper after all.

It was however in moments like this, his polished appearance faltered and revealed the beast within that had slain many.

His glowed fingers loosened his tie before he elegantly slipped off his leather gloves. He placed both his tie and his gloves on the mantle on the unlit fireplace. He slowly turned to face the sinner that sat on his newly bought antique armchair. Zhongli’s skin crawled at the sight of that vermin who had made himself extremely comfortable in his beloved chair.

The man whose name was Haoyu sipped on a cup of pipping hot tea. He showed no care for Zhongli’s possessions and handled the cup with much carelessness.

Zhongli clenched his fists behind his back. Though a dragon was only one of his many forms, his bloodlust was still ever present. His fanged teeth clenched together as he recalled the days he had used those teeth to tear out his enemies throats. No matter what kind of form Zhongli took, his golden reptile like eyes and his long sharp fangs was something he never managed to conceal.

He walked over to the chair which was opposite of Haoyu’s. His steps no different from a stalking predator. With elegance he sat down and crossed his legs. He leaned back in his chair as he picked up his own cup of tea. He inhaled the aroma and sighed him delight at the delicious smell. The tea hot and intense as it filled his throat.

“Do you have any ideas for your brother’s funeral? Or any specific wishes for the ceremony?” he asked the black haired man.

Haoyu rubbed his goatee while he drummed his fingers on the armrest. “I don’t have any specific wishes. I just want to have him buried as fast as possible. I am a busy man you see” his voice had the same pitch as that of an squealing pig.

“I see” Zhongli nodded. “As for payment, the director wants to know when you are able to pay” he continued with an almost bored voice.

“Soon. I just need to make sure my next business deal goes well. So maybe in a week or two. Two is more likely” the bearded man shrugged.

Zhongli’s golden eyes narrowed before he chuckled. “Director Hu Tao needs the payment before Friday, meaning in three days. I have told you so many times” his smiled forced. The director of the funeral parlour was a remarkable young woman. Her youthfulness made Zhongli almost feel young again and he enjoyed her company. He acted as her counsellor and a kind of guardian. Though the guardian part was something that had happened over time.

Zhongli’s appearance was youthful and he looked somewhere in his early to mid thirties. Despite that, his wisdom was greater than all of the elderly in the city combined. He knew that Hu Tao suspected that he wasn’t human, but he never addressed it.

“I don’t think I will be able to” the middle aged man shrugged. He sipped more of his tea and didn’t notice how he spilled some on his shirt.

The former geo archon’s eyes turned cold. His finger stabbing the inside of his palms. “You will have to find a way. We can’t propound the payment any longer.”

Haoyu sighed. “Don’t be so difficult! I’m sure you’ll be able to do something” he winked his goat like eyes at the brunette.

Zhongli felt offended at the ugliness that sat in front of him. “No. I am not able to ‘do something’” his voice monotone. If Zhongli wanted to, he would be able to convince Hu Tao to propound the payment, but he did not feel like doing so.

The man sneered. “Fine” he groaned like the pig he was. He downed the last of his tea and slammed it onto the newly polished mahogany table.

Zhongli’s eyes twitched at the blatantly rudeness. He took a deep breath before he rose to his feet. “I remember I told you about my collection of tableware. I should give you a tour before you leave” he smiled politely at the irritated man.

Haoyu’s frown quickly turned into a smile. “Oh I would love that” he stood up and stretched his limbs, nearly knocking down his teacup from the table.

Zhongli led him to the room where he kept his various collections. Rows upon rows of tea seats filled one of the long walls. Haoyu stopped in front of a delicate purple clay teapot. He lifted it up from its shelf and studied it closely.

Zhongli closed his eyes in annoyance, but continued to play the part of a good host. He showed him his various treasures and Haoyu was overjoyed by the different riches.

Zhongli followed Haoyu out to the hallway. “Before you leave, I want to ask you something” his voice polite.

Haoyu raised an eyebrow. “Alright. Go on.”

Zhongli ignore his rude tone yet again. “I have heard that you are good acquaintances with [Name]” his voice as calm as still water.

The man smirked at his words. “Yeah, you could say that… She’s quite the looker” he laughed. His fat fingers clasped together.

Zhongli reminded silent. He’s face similar to his many statues that were scattered over the country.

At the taller man’s silence, Haoyu raised his brow. “Why are you asking?”

Zhongli walked towards a painting of a bamboo forest. His back facing Haoyu. “I do not like it when people get their greedy hands on what’s mine. It angers me. And very much so” his voice had a sharp edge to it.

He turned slowly to face him. “You are a foul man. You lack both tact and elegance” his diamond shaped pupils small in disgust. He stalked towards him with slow steps.

Haoyu slumped his shoulders at Zhongli’s fury. He gulped loudly as his back hit the wall.

“You are not worthy of [Name’s] presence. She has told me countless times that she finds you revolting” his rage cold in his veins as he looked down at the man who had sinned the greatest sin of all. His cold golden gaze flickered down to the man’s hands. The very hands that had touched his beloved.

“I-I promise to never speak to her or touch her ever again!” Haoyu uttered as he slumped even further together. His legs were shaking in fear.

His stuttering a clear sign of his cowardice and Zhongli found it humorous how his brutish façade was just only that: a façade.

The adeptus’ entire body was filled with the want, need, to spill the blood of the man who had crossed him. He flex his hands along his side and felt the welcoming power of geo that flowed through his veins. He raised his hand in a quick motion as he wrapped it around Haoyu’s neck. He slammed his head against his wall, not caring about his expensive wallpaper.

“All sinners must pay for their sins. You are no different” he spat. Zhongli’s eyes glowed a golden hue which was the main telltale sign of his non-humanity.

Haoyu desperately tried to defend himself, but the strong hand that held his neck only tightened. The sound of his struggling breath was music to his ears.

“Be quiet” was all he said before he dropped the man.

The bearded man quickly crawled towards the front door before Zhongli brought his foot down and kicked him in his ribs. The sound of bones creaking brought a small smile to the former archon’s face.

Haoyu screamed as snoot and tears streamed down his disgusting face. He loudly prayed to be saved by Rex Lapis.

Zhongli scoffed before he brought his foot at the nap of Haoyu’s neck. He pressed down, earning a cry from the black haired man. “Take his name out of your filthy mouth” he sneered.

He manifested his spear and pointed it towards the man who laid in a kneeling position on the floor. The pointed tip, glittering in the light. His polearm had been his trusted companion throughout many years.

“Get up” his tone dominating.

Haoyu scrambled up to his legs and clutched his side in pain. His dark eyes looked up at Zhongli in fear.

Zhongli raised his spear before he brought it down to Haoyu’s left shoulder. The spear pierced his flesh and made contact with the bone. Red blood splattered on the hardwood floor. Haoyu screamed in pain.

“AGH! Fuck! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!” he screamed as he tried to stop the bleeding with his fat hand.

The brunette laughed at his pitiful cries. “No one will help you. They cannot hear you on the outside” his lips twisted up into a cruel smile. He had used adeptal arts to completely soundproof his home.

He stalked towards his prey and stopped right in front of him. His polished shoes soaking in blood. He sneered in disgust.

He rose his empty hand. His finger tips turned into claws which he used to slash through the neck of the sinner in front of him. Haoyu gurgled on his blood as he desperately clutched his throat. His eyes wet as they pleaded to the god in front of him.

Zhongli brought his bloodied hand before him. Torn skin was attached to his long black claws. He shook his hand and sent the skin flying towards Haoyu.

With a splat the skin landed on his forehead which resulted in him throwing up. Vomit spewed out from his mouth and the gaping hole in his throat. The sight was disgusting and Zhongli felt even more offended. The smell of vomit reached his strong nose and he crushed his inhuman sense of smell.

He reattached his claws and sat his spear neatly against the wall behind him. He crouched down to the dying man’s level. His godly eyes scanning his. “You brought this upon yourself” was all he said.

Long elegant fingers wrapped around Haoyu’s left arm. Zhongli waited till he was sure he was sure he paid attention. He then ripped his arm off with no effort. The tearing sound echoed in the hallway. Blood gushed from the open wound. It was going to be long before he died from blood loss. Zhongli tossed the arm away before he stood up.

“Stand” he commanded.

Haoyu struggled like a newborn fawn, but managed to stand. His appearance similar to that of a mangled corpse than a living human.

Zhongli brought his hand up to his chest. The power of geo poured out from his every pores and onto the man in front of him.

Slowly, but surely his chest turned into stone. Haoyu screamed as loudly as his damaged vocal cords let him. Zhongli was sure to be slow. It was important for him to feel the pain as long as he could.

His harsh eyes met the gaping hole in his throat. Tendons clearly visible. His vocal cords looked rather teared as well as his Adam’s apple which was completely damaged.

“You should apologise for your unkempt appearance” Zhongli had no humanity left in neither his voice nor eyes.

He reattached his hand. He made sure to make proper eye contact with Haoyu before he curled his hand into a fist. His fist drove into his face. Before he knew it, his fist had made a complete hole. Haoyu’s body fell limp against the floor. His face completely gone and replaced by a through hole. Brain matter covered the wall and stained his beautiful wallpaper.

Zhongli scoffed at the mess. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and willed his hands. Th white pure fabric quickly turned grimy.

He was yet again glad for the adeptal art he was the father off. With a snap of his finger the whole hallway was clean. The hardwood floors no longer coated in warm sticky blood and the wallpaper no longer stained. The body was turned into stone which quickly turned into sand.

He brought a broom and cleaned the sand up.

He would sprinkle the sand in the garden in Haoyu’s family house.

He sat down on his armchair and breathed out. He was content with his work. The only thing missing was you by his side. He picked up the contract he had written. He would encourage you to write your name on it. Then your fate would be sealed and he would finally be able to sleep peacefully with you by his side. With Haoyu and the others who had been close to you out of the picture, it was only the two of you.

Just as it should be.

He took a sip of the rich wine and let the the liquid swirl around in his mouth. A soft smile formed on his lips. He had had the adepti make a beautiful red wedding dress with gold embroidered into the silky fabric. You would make a beautiful bride and he would do everything in order to protect you. He would even take his role as an archon again if the situation called for it.

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

I'm having a lot of fun imagining a princess ford scenario. somehow stan gets turned into a dragon (tried to smuggle a cursed artifact and activated it maybe??) and ford hears reports of a dragon out by gravity falls and naturally investigates. he might not even believe it's a real dragon; it's been a lot time since anyone has seen one, people are probably mistaking something else for one. and then--surprise! stan spots ford, nabs him, and drags him back to the castle.

stan is having a great time. tons of treasure, a form no one can mess with, AND his brother is here now where stan can keep him safe?? that's all stuff he wanted even as a human. this is his dream. except for the not having dexterous hands part, maybe, but yknow.

ford would also be living his dream tbh. there's a REALASS DRAGON and it's right here where he can study it and its living habits.

...he would then be significantly less excited to learn that it is not a real dragon but in fact his estranged twin brother cursed into bring a dragon. a curse he should definitely undo before stan gets it in his head to start properly terrorizing villages for their money.

and this would probably be much quicker work than in princess stan if stan wasn't constantly ferreting out cool magic stuff in the castle and dropping it into ford's lap while ford goes "...he can survive another day as a dragon while i figure this out. its fine."

unsure of how the rest of the princess stan supporting cast fit in here. maybe they're a researching party (plus dan the local guide) who were there when ford got Snatched and are like "holy shit we have to go save him". maybe the area around the castle is thoroughly cursed so by the time they get in they're all in their cursed forms and are very displeased to learn that ford was living it up in the castle while they were trying not to trip every magical boobytrap in the grounds.

Oooh. Very fun. I have put some thought into this, as its hard not to think about reverse scenarios.

Princess Ford au, where Stan stumbles upon a creepy demon castle and takes shelter for the night, and upon exploring it stumbles across the amazing treasure hoard. He is instantly all over it, already making plans on how to get it all home with him, when he accidentally triggers some old Bill defense that turns him into a dragon, but because its super old fails to twist his mind to Bill's will. Stan is freaking out, and has to learn how to survive like this.

Ford, hearing about the supposed dragon, is instantly ready to discover the truth. His many years searching for the reasons that magic is slowly disappearing from the world have gotten him no where, so this is as good a lead as any. Surely a dragon, who needs a lot of magic to survive, must live near a magical hot spot of some kind!

Cue Kidnapping by dragon brother, except there's no one to tell Ford that Stan is his brother, he has to figure it out from clues left behind when Stan initially stumbled upon the castle. This is terrible to learn, after a week or two of studying what he now knows is just his brother, who's too distracted with treasure and looking at Ford to have even tried to communicate this, but doesn't deny it when asked.

So now he has to uncurse his brother, except Stan keeps bringing him the most fascinating arcane objects, and surely one more day wont hurt. One of those objects is Fiddleford, who's been deactivated for several centuries and wakes up to the horrifying sight of a strange man messing around in his insides and also a dragon. Stan is sad to learn his new present to Ford is a person, but also still considers Fiddleford to be a part of his treasure hoard, because he is very shiny and Stan found him fair and square. Fiddleford appreciates this less than Ford does, as he is his own robot man and not a shiny decoration, despite how many times Stan tries to organize him into his treasure pile.

Emma-May has been haunting the dungeon for a while, after her old haunt got turned into some kind of residential area and people kept screaming at her, making it impossible to work. Cue romantic meet cute between a roaming spirit and a robot man.

The rest... hmmm. Dan becomes the knight, after hearing about Ford getting snatched, not because he wants to rescue Ford, but because he wants to fight the dragon. This goes about as well as can be expected, with Stan just knocking him over and laughing at him, but he's determined to win.

Bill is the same creep, who now also wants what was supposed to be his guard dragon to fall in line and accept his rule. Stan is not impressed with him, and even less when Ford is impressed with him.

Tate is not born yet, because his parents just met, so i'm thinking Shifty might get pushed back too.

[lxnely-lullaby]

This maybe weird to ask what does all your version of the WGP racers look like in human form? And what HeadCanon’s you got for them?

This isn't weird at all! When I got your question, it really got me thinking about what the WGP racers - minus Lightning McQueen - look like humanized, and I already had a draft of them in an old sketchbook of mine. But I decided to spice it up a little. ⚠️TW⚠️: MENTIONS AND VISUALS OF SELF HARM!

In my last post, I made an art piece of Shu Todoroki humanized, so I took that and put it in his model sheet. I made the Ka-Riu dragon more present on his right side, and less present on his left, similar to his car counterpart. He's probably the only racer with belts on his boots, and he's also the only one without fingerless gloves, rather gloves that cover his entire hands. He suffers from self-esteem and self-worth issues, which are the breaking points for his mental health. Not only does he suffer from those issues, he also suffers from anxiety, which he developed from the World Grand Prix scandal, resulting him in having panic attacks. He uses makeup and concealer on scars that show, so the media won't have a field day with him.

I imagine he listens to Japanese pop music a lot, and he likes reading in his spare time. He likes to visit Japanese cherry blossom gardens, because it soothes his anxiety and calms his nerves, and he loves boba (It's one of his guilty pleasures). Song: Anxiety by Besmorph and the Tech Thieves.

Francesco Bernoulli's humanized design was a near-instant design for him. I imagine he has this long curly hair that reaches almost up to his chin on one side, and the other side meets his eyes. Unlike the rest of his fellow WGP racers, his racing suit is open - Similar to how his car counterpart has open wheels. (See what I did there?) Like Shu, he does have scars, which he got from his time grieving for his papa before he got some sense knocked into him. As I explained in previous posts, Francesco lost his papa during a race and he didn't receive the news until after. His coping mechanisms were unhealthy, and his way of training for races was exhausting his body. Giuseppe managed to talk to him, and he has healthier coping mechanisms to deal with his grief now. I think he's a good cook, because Mama Bernoulli taught him, and he's 100% pansexual. He did have a little crush on Lightning McQueen, and he does flirt with him every time, because he's a hopeless romantic. He's probably good friends with Luigi and Guido, and they would probably have spirited conversations. Song: Looking at Me by Sabrina Carpenter

Miguel Camino was the most fun to do, in terms of design. I had fun doing his Spanish flag, and you can see it's present EVERYWHERE on his racing suit. I made the top half resemble a toreador jacket, as it connects to his past career as a toreador before he became a racer. He also wears toreador boots, which he first got in his early days as a toreador, so he wears them almost all the time. Miguel has a few scars from bullfighting, and he also has a few from the Porto Corsa incident.

He does bullfight in his spare time when he's not training for a race, and I imagine he has a real competitive streak that scares even Francesco at times. Song: Living La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin or Sugar by Maroon 5

Carla Velosa....I quit on her three times.

No matter how many times I watched her turntable on Youtube, I still had a hard time distinguishing the details on her car. I couldn't tell if the primary color was a light yellow or somewhere around white, but I'm mostly satisfied with her design for now. I wanted to show that her suit sparkles, because she's figuratively and literally a star when she hits the dance floor. She has silver studs on her boots, because on her tire rims, there are silver studs on there. The blue is lined along her suit, instead of in a gradient. I think she loves to do dancing in her spare time. She probably took dance classes when she was a kid, and the passion to dance just stuck with her throughout her entire life. You can even see her dancing when you play her turntable on youtube; There's music playing on there, and she's dancing along to it! Being the only girl in the WGP group, she's fierce and it only gives her a chance to prove what she can really do under the hood. Song: Just Dance by Lady Gaga and Colby O' Donis

Max Schnell was probably one of the easiest to do in terms of design. I put the German flag on most of his chest with the World Torque Championship League right into the center. Since he's mostly this dark purple, I wanted to make the German flag present on certain parts of his racing suit, and I put a mini one on his shoes, too.

Since he's an engineer, I imagine he has a masters degree in mechanical engineering and he uses those to modify his race car, and make any repairs on it if he can. He knows a lot about the mechanics of a car and how it works, and he loves to study the track before a a race, so he knows exactly how he should approach it.

Song: I Like Me Better by Lauv

I kinda had a hard time with Rip Clutchgoneski, mainly with his secondary colors, but I was able to make it work.

I wanted the red and green to extend from his chest to his right shoulder, and it kind of goes down his sleeve in this sort of wave instead of in a straight line. The green and red on his left sleeve covers most of the orange there, and as for the pants, the flag is less present there. I wanted to give Rip hair that reaches up to his shoulders and I also wanted to make it look a bit scruffy with a small braid on the left side.

Rip has a really optimistic personality that he gets from his parents, mostly from his mom. While his dad told him to work hard to achieve his goal, his mom was the one to assure him that even if he doesn't win his races, he'll always be their champ because they're his number one fans. Along with being able to compete internationally for the first time in his career, it's this kind of reassurance that he always has a smile on his face - That and it gives him the chance to prove that someone from New Rearendia can do anything. He always wanted to be a racer when he grew up, it's his dream.

Being trans masc for Rip, his parents were really supportive, because it gives them the opportunity to love him even more. He got top surgery when he was 19 years old, and transitioned when he was around 14 years old.

Song: This is Home by Cavetown

Raoul Caroule was fun to do, and also the easiest. Since his car counterpart I wanted the suit to have this spray-paint effect all over in this splash of color, and I wanted his hair to be this light blonde color that goes almost to white that is tied back with a dark blue headband.

Raoul is an adrenaline junkie that's worse than Miguel. He thrives from danger, but only when it doesn't put his life in danger. He and Max are close to each other, and loves rally with a fiery passion. He visits his old friends from Cirque du Voiture during his off season when he can, and he loves doing stunts just for the hell of it.

Song: Drag Me Down by One Direction

Nigel Gearsely's design was the simplest I could do, which is why his racing suit doesn't look as busy as the others. It's just dark green, with light green going down his sleeves, pants and chest, with yellow on his gloves and on the center of his chest.

He likes tea, and he uses the terms such as "chap", "bloke", and mate" whenever possible. Out of the WGP gang, he's not that much of an adrenaline junkie, but since he has this catchphrase "Right then, let me at that track!" I imagine he's real excited whenever he gets to race and he's confident that he'll win every time - Or that he'll place in podium finish, at least. He's best friends with Lewis Hamilton and probably Max Schnell.

Song: Sunflower by Post Malone and Swae Lee

Why am I just now realizing how similar his suit is Nigel's-

I think I had more fun with Lewis Hamilton's hair than I was supposed initially. I put those gold charms and accessories in his hair, but those charms are more present at the front than they are on the back, as you can the charms are at the end of his braids. I got the inspiration from Pinterest to put those charms in his hair, and in case it's hard to tell, his updo is half-up, half-down.

I didn't want to make his suit black or a lighter shade of it, so instead, I made his suit purple-black with a gold color instead of a neon yellow to make it agreeable with the primary color.

He prefers coffee over tea, and when he drank it once in Nigel's presence, it made Nigel upset. He's not ashamed of that tooth gap of his, and whenever he's around Jeff, he gets all excited because those two are like peas in a pod. Lewis and Jeff are in a happy, healthy romantic relationship, and I like to think they started dating a year after the events of the WGP.

Jeff Gorvette was kind of hard to do. I tried to make the flag look like it's moving on his racing suit, but I could never get it right, so I just settlled it for going straight down. There's more stars on his chest than there are on his pants, the blue is only present on his chest with the red being present on his pants.

Jeff and Lewis are - as I already said - are in a healthy and happy romantic relationship. I think he was the first one to confess his feelings to Lewis. The only reason he was able to was because Miguel told him to go for it, because it's better to get it off his chest, even if there was a chance Lewis wasn't going to reciprocate those feelings. When Lewis did reciprocate, Jeff probably cried because he had been holding it up for so long and the anxiety and stress finally caught up to him at that moment.

Besides being in a heathy relationship, Jeff is best friends with Lightning, Miguel and Nigel. He'd probably be the most extroverted out of the WGP gang if Rip didn't beat him by that record by befriending every single racer on day one at the WGP welcoming party in Tokyo.

[bones4thecats]

Hope you don't mind me appearing every time you open your request🐧 if it's posible for me to ask can I request the son family( dragon ball ) with daughter reader. Reader is second born and she has a hidden ability to turn into a dragon which she hid from her parents. But when freeza showed up on earth again bearing more troop than ever, reader finally decide to turn into the dragon to help protect her family and beat freeza's troop. How would her family react to this information ( fyi if you don't know, im referencing the ability after a one piece character, momonosuke- he too can turn into a dragon) if it's too much you can feel free to decline the request. Hope you have a good day.

↳ A Dragon Among Saiyans.

A Dragon Ball × Goku-Daughter! Reader.

Requester: @mynonopotato.

Characters Included: Son Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, and Goten.

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●

🍜 As one of his children, Goku knew you had potential to be as strong as him. He's seen it in Gohan, your older brother, and Goten, your younger brother. 🍜 He trained you since you were young, at least the times that he could. Being dead kind of prevents family-bonding. So, every time he did train you, he would try helping you to unlock your Super Saiyan form, as you were his only child to not unlock it.

🍜 Goku was sad he kept failing, and when Frieza came back, he was scared for your safety. You were strong, but going against Frieza, or as trained as the other Z-Fighters for that matter, without being a Super Saiyan could be a problem. 🍜 When he was knocked down, he was blinded by a bright light. Looking up, he was shocked to see you standing in front of him, the light enveloping your frame as you burst into the air. But, instead of you being there, it was a very large, almost Shenron-like dragon. 🍜 Maybe that's why you never unlocked Super Saiyan...

Running towards you, Goku squealed happily. His eyes were closed, but everyone could tell there was joy in your father's dark-irises. His arms then wrapped around you and gripped you like a child would their teddy bear.

Cheering your name as he bounced with you in his arms, you chuckled.

"How could you not tell me about that form of yours?" He asked, looking at you with a cocked eyebrow and a smile on his face. His face wasn't serious, yet you could tell in his tone he was.

"Sorry Dad... I just- didn't know how you'd react to it."

"Well, now you know!" Goku then gasped, holding your upper-arms as he leaned backwards with the breath. "Your mother is going to be so excited!"

💍 Chi-Chi never really wanted her children to be fighting like her husband. She made that clear when Gohan, you, and Goten were born. Only when Goten was a newborn that she took matters into her own hands. 💍 She was against you training with your father, but she understood that you should know how to defend yourself from danger. That was the only time she let you train, every other time she'd just yell at Goku and get you to help her at home. 💍 So, when she couldn't find you and Frieza attacked, she was fearful. She could lose you! You couldn't turn into a Super Saiyan, how could you go against Frieza?! 💍 Her eyes widened when Goku came running home, you in his arms like a sack of potatoes and his mouth yelling for Chi-Chi that she would 'never believe what their daughter just did!' ❇ Goten, on the other hand, found your strength to be amazing. You weren't a Super Saiyan, yet your fighting skills were as talented as if you were one. ❇ He admires your drive to get stronger despite the setbacks. He always asked you what you have done to get stronger, and he tried to find some ways to get you to unlock your new forms. But, being young and very inexperienced, he always failed. It upset him a lot. ❇ Your younger brother wasn't present during the fight, but he did see a bright light before it disappeared. He wanted to find out what it was, but his mother wouldn't let him. ❇ He was inside, and was surprised when his father came inside, dragging Chi-Chi in by the arm and carrying you like a sack. Sitting down with you all, he listened well. And only stopped when it escalated beyond his imagination.

Setting her teacup down abruptly, Chi-Chi nearly spat out the leaf-flavored water. Her eyes were wide, face slightly red in anger as she stared at Goku. Goten shuffled to the side, knowing his mother was about to snap.

"She WHAT?!" She screamed.

Leaning backwards in fear much like your younger brother, you glanced at your father nervously. Please just shut up Dad! Shut up! You and Goten mentally yelled at the Saiyan.

"She turned into a dragon! Y'know, like Shenron!"

"You said she couldn't even turn into a Super Saiyan! How in the name of hell could she turn into a dragon?!"

Goku shrugged, flinching when his wife got in his face and began scolding him for his neglect at realizing everything that pointed towards your ability.

As this happened, you snuck away.

Maybe Gohan's would be quieter.

📚 Gohan was there for every event in your life. Well, mostly. He was away for some time when training with Piccolo, but he would be considered a pretty relevant sibling throughout your life by many. 📚 Much like his father, he sensed potential in you. But, he was very scared that you could be hurt, possibly killed even! So, when Frieza came back, he tried keeping you by his side at all times. He couldn't bear the thought of losing you. 📚 Turning around, he noticed you were gone. And his fears spiked when a bright light emerged in front of his father. Could you be hurt?! 📚 He had no clue you were the dragon until he was told it was you by Piccolo. Snapping his head towards the wingless-being, his breathing began to hick. That was his little sister?!

"Hey, Gohan. I just wanted to know if you had some-"

Hearing your name being yelled right before pots and pans crashing made your eyes widen in confusion, an eyebrow raising like your father's hours before.

"WERE YOU REALLY THAT DRAGON?!" He yelled, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you so that you would answer him honestly.

Or maybe because of the energy he had inside.

Maybe both.

"Yeah-"

"HOW?!"

"I don't-"

"Gohan! Quit shaking your sister!" You heard Videl yell. You sighed happily, thank goodness your brother married her. She was like a savior to you.

Gohan froze, taking a step back abruptly, and stood there, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry." He apologized.

"It's alright, big bro."

"So... can you tell me how-"

"Oh for fu-"

🌊 Copyright © 2025 by Bones4thecats on Tumblr. All Rights Reserved. 🌊

[star-crossed-fates]

Even My Damnation Spells Your Name

Chapter 8: Shadow of Always

Synopsis: In a city of steel and stars, you fall in love with a man the world calls a monster. He looks at you like you’ve haunted every life he’s ever lived. Sylus is danger wrapped in silk, secrets stitched into every glance, every touch, every word spoken like a spell. He’s yours before you even realize what you’re remembering.

Because this isn’t the first time.

Dreams unravel you. Memories not your own. A dragon’s death cry. A kiss beneath bloodied skies. A love too eternal to stay buried. As the past bleeds into the present, you begin to piece together the truth. Some memories burn brighter than the stars, others wound deeper than any blade.

And love, no matter how timeless, always demands a price.

Pairing: Female! MC [Named] x Sylus

Rating: Explicit 18+ [MDNI]

Spoilers: Sylus's myth cards/memories. Please note: memories might be a little different from in-game for story purposes.

Warnings: NSFW, Explicit smut, including various kinks: Praise, degradation talk, first time, CP, DP, anal sex/play, probably some Dragon!Sylus smut, maybe a lot of it. Many, many more that I'm forgetting to list. Consider yourself warned. - Unlikely to be completely canon. - MC is named. Her personality is darker than in the game, far more morally grey. - Switching between MC's memories/dreams/flashbacks and current timeline. - Other love interests will not show up in this. - Some plot, but not super planned out. Basically, this is a "what if the closer they became, the more MC remembers her life with him on Philos.

It’s the wind that speaks first, fluent in the tongue of memory, redolent with the ghosts of rain-soaked petals and ancient ground. You kneel in silence, hands lifted in longing, reaching for a figure the light refuses to name.

He stands ahead, not formed so much as felt. A silhouette like an eclipse given shape, where myth and memory bleed together. The light behind him is blinding, casting him in a halo of fire-drenched gold that obscures every detail but a chosen few.

Horns rise from his skull like the spires of a cathedral, curving toward the heavens. They split the last light of day like a sundial at the edge of eternity.

Behind him, a tail sways slow and idle, cutting lazy shapes through the air like a serpent dreaming in sunlight. His shoulders are too broad, his stillness too exact. His shape flickers at the edges—a suggestion of wings, perhaps, or smoke wearing the memory of flight.

You cannot see his face. The light denies you that, but those red eyes—low embers in a dying sun—hold you as if they’ve known you for a thousand lives and grieved every one.

Your name slips from his lips like a god mouthing the first word of creation. “Anira.”

You know him. Not from this world, not from waking hours, but from the marrow of dreams and lifetimes folded into dust. Your fingers ache with the shape of his jaw. Your skin stirs at the phantom weight of his hands.

You rise like mist from still water, take one step forward, and the dream inhales with you. “Who are you?”

No answer.

You reach for him, fingers outstretched, trembling with the ache of recognition, but the space between you remains inviolate. The distance is as vast and as cruel as the hush after a farewell. You walk across a ground that forgets your steps, but he never draws nearer. It’s as if time pools wrong here and has rewritten the rules of closeness.

He remains a demarcated shadow carved from dusk and distance, anchored at the edge of a world that no longer remembers how to let you in.

“Sylus?”

Just before the world tears open, you feel a bloom of warmth against your chest, fleeting as breath, the touch of fingers that do not exist but still know the curve of your cheek. His voice is a vibration strung through your ribs like the tension of fate.

“Stay by my side until the end of time.”

It shatters you with a recognition that echoes, primordial as the rise of mountains, reverberating through you like the pulse of eternity itself.

Then, he is gone. Unmade.

As if the dream could not hold divinity any longer.

As if even eternity must grieve.

“Anira.”

It doesn’t pass through your ears but rises within you. A sound you were born knowing, hewn into your being by a voice you would answer to, even in the ruin of all things.

You stir. Eyes half-lidded in the hush that follows dreams, that liminal ache between vanishing and return. Light paints the room in fractured gold, pouring across silk sheets in molten ribbons. Shadows stretch like relics across the walls, moving with the solemn rhythm of lost centuries.

The dream clings with the ghost of fire along your skin, as though lightning kissed you and never quite let go. Scarlet eyes lit like divination etched from votive flames, horns spiralling like sacred geometry, and a tail swaying in sunlit stillness. Your body hums with him still, like a temple left ringing with the memory of its final prayer. “Hey.”

You shift and find him watching with one arm bent, head tilted with a kind of effortless poise. His eyes, heavy-lashed and dusk-lit, carry concern like a secret hymn. “You spoke while dreaming,” he discloses, and for once there’s no smirk, no mischief, only observation shaped like a question he’s too cautious to ask aloud.

“It wasn’t a nightmare,” you claim, voice hoarse with sleep and the remnants of wonder. You keep your attention fixed elsewhere, unwilling to meet his eyes. The memory still clings like a half-shed skin, too recent, too raw, as if some part of you never quite returned. He shifts just enough to brush a knuckle along your cheek, barely a touch, like he’s asking permission to stay near your orbit.

“Okay,” he acquiesces, simply.

You shift through the quiet like a tide returning to shore, the dream’s remnants trailing behind you like gossamer threads still clinging to your skin. Wordless, instinctual, you drift closer. Your fingers find the edge of his ribs and trace the path inward until you’re curled against him. A shape you’ve taken before, somewhere, in lives unnamed. You bury your face just beneath his collarbone, breathing in the scent of skin still marked by sleep and you.

His arm slips around you without hesitation, palm settling between your shoulder blades, as if this is where you’ve always belonged, pressed against the rhythm of him.

You think, with the kind of clarity that only comes in half-light—yes, you could make a home in the heat between your bodies, in the soft ache of silence shared, and call it forever.

“You know,” you murmur, lips brushing the warmth of his skin, “I’m starting to believe you might actually like me a little more than you let on.”

He shakes his head faintly, but he doesn’t refute it. His arm tightens around you instead, as though he’s bracing himself against the weight of how true it might be.

“You are allowed to admit it, you know. I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our little secret—‘criminal overlord caught being emotionally compromised by five-foot-something menace.’ Scandalous.”

His breath hitches so quietly you wouldn’t catch it if you weren’t pressed this close. The softest edge of a laugh follows, low and incredulous.

You grin into his chest. Victory.

His fingers trail down the curve of your spine, like maybe he’s already lost you once before and doesn’t intend to let go this time. “You get under my skin, Miss Hunter,” he murmurs at last.

Your breath mingles with his, your gaze climbing the slope of his chest until you meet those eyes made of soft-lit rubies. He watches you as if you’ve been painted on the walls of every life he’s lived and only now stepped out of the frame.

“Oh no,” you tease, lips tilting almost smugly, “am I compromising your cool, stoic reputation? Say it isn’t so.”

One hand lifts, fingers brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear with a tenderness that doesn’t match the legend they whisper in back alleys and auction halls. You’re close enough to feel the tension in him, like he’s holding back everything and only barely managing it.

You arch a brow, deliberately wicked. “Sylus, if you keep looking at me like that, I’ll start to think you’re in love with me.”

Silence sharpens for half a breath before his voice, like dark honey, pours slow, tremoring with a restraint so fragile it shivers like glass in a quake. “Maybe I am.”

Your heart stumbles in your chest, a skipped beat caught between inhale and surrender. You haven’t even found the words, and he’s already leaning in. The brush of his mouth against your ear is a promise in the guise of breath, warm enough to unmake thought and unravel the scaffolding of logic.

“Or maybe,” he whispers, “I just like collecting dangerous little things who bite.”

Your laugh bursts free, light and shameless. “That’s dangerously close to a confession.”

“Good thing I live dangerously.”

He kisses your temple so softly it barely counts, and you melt into him like a sigh. You trace patterns across his ribs, and he lets you, one hand resting easy on the curve of your hip.

Eventually, you lift your head, eyes glinting mischievously. “So… if I tried to run right now, would you chase me?”

He doesn’t miss a beat. “No.”

“No?”

“I’d give you a ten-second head start,” he drawls, utterly deadpan. “Then I’d find you, tie you to the bed, and remind you why running is pointless.”

Your heart stumbles, tumbles, and dives off a cliff, but your mouth? Your mouth has never met a filter it liked.

“Oh?” You hum, half lullaby, half dare, spun from the shadows behind your smile. “Ten seconds to run, only to end up exactly where I wanted to be?” You tilt your head, coy. “You’re assuming I wouldn’t just drop to the floor at second three and wait.”

He watches you with that slow-burn stare. “Careful, kitten,” he warns, reaching up to brush his fingers over your jaw. “I might take that as an invitation.”

You nuzzle into his palm like it was. “Oh, I do hope so.”

“There’s a black market auction tonight,” he offers, brushing his thumb along your cheek. “I want you to come with me.”

You stretch against him like a cat, arms winding around his waist, nose brushing beneath his jaw. “Who are we killing?”

His chuckle is a rumbling, delighted sound, vibrating through his chest and into yours. “You think I’d take you somewhere public to commit murder?”

You tilt your head up just enough to meet his eyes. “You have before.”

“Not on a first date.”

You know what kind of world he’s inviting you into—not the soft dark of his sheets, but the other one. The world with shadows that bite and names with prices attached. Where trust is a weapon, and loyalty’s never free.

He still thinks you’re just a Hunter with a good heart, the kind that holds onto hope, running headfirst into danger because someone else needs saving.

You’ve never wanted to prove someone wrong more in your life.

You didn’t become a Hunter to be a hero. You did it for the pure, blistering thrill of dancing with death and coming out the other side laughing. Saving people? Sure. That’s… uh, nice. But it’s the fight you crave. The adrenaline. The edge.

And Sylus’s world? It is all teeth and silence, veiled threats dressed as compliments. His world moves like a knife—gleaming, graceful, fatal.

You don’t just want to step into it; you want to fucking thrive in it.

You want him to see you not as someone to shield, but as someone who will stand beside him when the floor drops out and the knives come down.

You arrive with Sylus beside you like the edge of a blade sheathed in charm. No names offered. No questions asked. The guards at the entrance stand like statues carved from purpose. Their gazes skim the surface, but none dare bar his path.

Inside, the reception hall glitters with the sheen of a beautifully crafted deception—flawless on the surface, hollow beneath. The ceiling soars like ambition, and the obsidian floor catches your steps like ripples in a dark pool. The guests are peddlers of shadows and whispered wars, robed in decadence, dripping quiet threat. Their smiles cut like jewelled knives. Their laughter crackles with the voltage of veiled intent.

Sylus’s hand brushes the small of your back, guiding without commanding. A silent claim. A warning to the room. Mine.

You let it linger.

A server passes by, offering champagne in fluted glassware that hums faintly, likely sound-dampening, to keep eavesdroppers from listening in too closely. You take one.

You drift together past the first display arranged in a draped alcove: a pair of matching short blades suspended mid-air, turning slowly as if dancing.

The placard reads, “Forged from the hull of the Astera-9, last vessel to breach the Void Rift and survive. Rumoured to sing when drawn in vacuum.”

You whistle low. “Subtle.”

Sylus smirks. “For when you want your murder to come with a soundtrack.”

The next display is a Protocore. Its pulses a low thrum, singing faintly to your Evol like a storm pacing in chains. You’re still caught in its pull, fingertips tingling with the ache of what could be, when a voice slices through the static.

“Wasn’t expecting to see you here,” someone drawls behind you, every syllable oiled in arrogance. His gaze skims you like you’re another artifact on display. “Didn’t think Sylus kept company that could actually smile.”

You turn, the weight of him already sour in your mouth. “Didn’t think people like you still had kneecaps.”

He laughs smugly, amused, but he doesn’t step back. “You’re cute when you try to be threatening.”

Sylus is silent beside you, but you feel the shift. Power begins to gather beneath your feet, slow and seismic, drawn up from the roots of the world. You know that feeling. You know his Evol. He hasn’t so much as breathed differently, but it’s rising, coiling. You brush your fingers against his arm in a silent, don’t.

You step forward with the kind of calm that always comes before something burns. “You know what your problem is?” you ask softly.

The man smirks, still playing his part. “Aside from being devastatingly handsome?”

“It’s not that you talk too much,” you say, circling him now, your voice curling around him like solar wind. “It’s that you think no one’s ever hurt you because you’re untouchable.” You lean in, whispering like it’s a secret. “But it’s just that no one’s bothered yet. I would be more than happy to change that.”

He laughs nervously and glances between you and Sylus, but he just raises a brow, a half-smile cutting lazy and sharp across his face like he knew you’d win. The man stammers something about needing another drink and disappears into the crowd.

You turn back just as Sylus lets the tension drain from his posture, Evol pulling back into his bones like a tide. You wink, snagging a new flute of champagne from a tray. “Keep your energy charge low, Trouble. I’ve got this.”

He closes the distance like it’s nothing, like it’s always been his right—his voice carved in warmth, edged with fondness. “Kitten, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to impress me.”

You sip slowly and smile wickedly. “Who says I haven’t already?”

The tension between you lingers, hot, delicious, and just shy of combustion. The main auction hall yawns before you like the belly of a jewel-encrusted beast, crawling with enough wealth to buy and sell a small country three times over.

You sip your champagne carefully, mostly to avoid blurting out the number of zeroes listed on the placards. Weapons suspended in glass cases, stolen art, and Protocores sealed like ancient relics behind biometric locks. You’re still not convinced that last one wasn’t humming your name.

You lean toward Sylus. “Are we here to buy something, or are we window shopping at Armageddon prices?”

He doesn’t answer—just shifts, the brush of his hand at the small of your back so natural it feels like gravity remembering your name. With that single touch, he starts forward, and the crowd parts like it’s been waiting for him. He doesn’t push. He doesn’t ask. He simply moves, and the world obliges.

You follow, heart pacing a little faster, partly from champagne, partly from the way the crowd watches him, like he’s the final word in a language they’re still learning to fear.

You’ve always known he holds power in this place, but watching it ripple in real time? That’s something else. It’s one thing to hear the ocean. It’s another to realize it listens even when he does not speak.

Sylus leads you to another doorway, flanked by two guards in carbon-weave suits, both armed and built like stone walls. One glance at him, and neither says a word. No scan. No ID check. Just a nod, and the doors whisper open.

The shift is immediate. The noise falls away like a curtain dropped. The lighting dims to a richer, more intimate glow. No spotlighted stages here, only a smaller lounge with fewer chairs and sharper eyes.

“Uh… Sylus?” you murmur, leaning toward him as he strolls like he owns the moon. “I think we just walked into a sequel to the auction. Possibly the part where the price tags involve human sacrifice.”

“The other room,” he answers, guiding you toward a table with a perfect view, “is for poor people.”

You nearly choke on your champagne.

“What?”

He shrugs, easing into a seat like it was carved for him. “I didn’t come all this way to sit with amateurs.”

You blink and snort. “You’re unbelievable.”

His grin widens. “You say that like it’s news.”

You take the seat beside him and cross your legs like you’re settling in for a game of “Guess Who’s the Richest Sociopath.” The chairs are some kind of leather. The glasses are crystal. The people? Sharks in couture.

You’re ninety percent sure the woman two seats over has a ring carved from a meteorite. Either that, or a chunk of a small moon she murdered for fashion.

Sylus leans back, the very picture of indifferent sin. One ankle perched over his knee, fingertips lazily brushing his jaw. He hasn’t even glanced at the bidding program. He has the same energy as a man who shows up late to a card game he’s already won.

You tilt your head. “You know there’s a pamphlet, right?”

“Mm,” he hums, eyes still forward, “I find mystery adds to the thrill.”

“You mean you just want to be surprised when someone tries to sell a weapon that violates twelve treaties.”

“Fourteen,” he corrects smoothly.

You glance sideways, lips twitching. “Do you ever tire of being the most terrifying man in a room?”

“I make an effort to stay humble,” he says, completely inscrutable. “For example, I only bought one abandoned military complex this year.”

“If I bid on something, are you going to finance my questionable life choices?”

One brow arches with mock scandal. “Sweetie. I am your questionable life choice.”

Touché.

“How does it work?” you ask, trying to sound casual.

Sylus’s body angles toward you, slow as a sun-drunk predator stretching after a nap. “You raise your hand if you want something. Simple.”

“That’s your great advice?” You scoff, twisting in your seat to face him. “You raise your hand? What if I sneeze aggressively and end up owning an antimatter cannon?”

One corner of his mouth lifts like it’s enjoying a private joke. “Then we’d have an antimatter cannon. I’d name it after you.”

You narrow your eyes and swipe a champagne flute off a passing tray with a dramatic flourish. “This place is a little above my paygrade. I couldn’t afford a bolt from one of these toys.”

He stretches one arm along the back of your chair, like he’s ready to lounge through a battlefield with an expression that borders on insulted. “Kitten,” his voice flattens, “don’t insult me.”

Your brows lift. “Excuse me?”

“If you want something,” he murmurs, leaning in just enough to dust your ear with the warmth of his breath, “point. Nod. Breathe at it. I’ll make it yours.”

A surprised laugh tumbles out of you before you can bite it down. “You’re actually serious.”

His thigh presses just a touch more deliberately against yours. It’s casual, like he’s not fully aware of the pressure, but Sylus doesn’t tend to do things by accident.

“This whole sugar daddy thing was definitely not in the fine print,” you joke, swirling your glass to give your fingers something to do.

He tilts his head, unconcerned. “Must’ve missed the memo. I write my own contracts.”

You lean back in your seat, letting your leg slip beneath the table until your foot brushes his once, then again lazily, like a test. “And what exactly does a Sylus contract cost?”

His eyes shift toward you, low-lidded, slow-burning. That look he gets right before he breaks something or kisses you. “Undivided attention. Yours. Mine. No distractions. No mercy. No halfway.”

Your pulse flutters, too loud in your ears. Still, you raise your glass in a mock toast, eyes never leaving his. “You’re single-handedly destroying my respectable career trajectory.”

A glint sharpens behind his smile. “Please. You were already halfway to hell before I touched you.”

You snort, elbow shifting toward his ribs in playful defiance. Before the motion completes, his hand catches you. His fingers close around you like a vow being spoken without words. He presses a kiss to the soft bend of your wrist, lips brushing the thrum beneath your skin as if tasting your heartbeat.

Just as your breath hitches, the room's lights dim, and the auctioneer steps forward. The first item on the block gleams like it knows how expensive it is. An exo-carbon phase knife, suspended in a glass case that probably has more security than most national vaults. It vibrates, a low, hungry frequency that hums in your molars and threatens your dental insurance.

“Opening bid,” the auctioneer states, “twelve-point-eight million.”

You immediately inhale your champagne and have an out-of-body experience. “Twelve what?”

Sylus lifts an eyebrow, bored in a way that has to be cultivated. “Starter weapon.”

“Starter for what? Slicing moons in half?”

He parries with a grin. “Duels. If you’re feeling dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” You gesture at the glowing death blade. “That thing looks like it writes breakup letters in blood.”

Sylus lifts his glass, entirely too calm. “Well, we all need hobbies.”

You squint at him. “Is this one of those hobbies where someone ends up missing a kidney and blaming a bad date?”

He shrugs. “Depends on the aim.”

One bidder raises a single finger, another barely tilts his chin. Millions traded in gestures so quiet, they might be mistaken for prayer.

The auction drags on, a parade of opulence so extravagant it might give a humble monarch a nervous breakdown. You sip your drink as you watch the madness unfold. There are gold-plated sniper rifles studded with diamonds, each shot worth more than a small nation’s GDP.

Next out is a laser rifle. It’s sleek, the barrel a glimmering sheen of polished black, embedded with a strip of glowing blue circuitry that pulses like a heartbeat. The auctioneer veritably purrs as he presents it.

“Next, we have the exclusive Model X-12 laser rifle. Fully customizable, biometric lockout keyed to the owner’s DNA, zero drift, and a recoil system so smooth it’s like firing a thought.”

Gripping your glass with a little too much enthusiasm, you swallow the drool pooling in your mouth. That beautiful piece of tech is the stuff wet dreams are made of. You picture it in your hands. The weight of it, that sleek, powerful curve, the way it hums with raw potential. You’d walk into a room, and people would stop, stare, maybe even salivate, instantly falling to their knees, totally overcome by your sheer badassery.

Stop it, Anira. It’s a weapon, not an object of pure, unrestrained lust, but you can’t deny that this gun is making you feel things. You can feel that thrum of electricity from the tip of the barrel all the way down to your toes.

Sylus seems to notice immediately. He doesn’t say anything, but his attention flits over to you, catching that brief, involuntary flash of interest.

“Opening bid,” the auctioneer continues, oblivious to the tension now bubbling under the surface. “Twenty million.”

Your champagne almost ends up on the floor, but you catch it in time. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Sylus raising his hand.

“Sylus,” you whisper. “Put your fucking hand down.”

He’s leaning back in his chair like this is a spa day and not a financial homicide. One hand casually lifts, like gravity is just a polite suggestion.

You nearly pass out. “No. No, no, no, no—what are you doing?”

“Bidding,” he states, not looking at you.

“Why?!”

“You looked at it.”

“I look at a lot of things! That doesn’t mean I want to own them!”

Another bid goes out. Sylus raises his hand again, and you kick him under the table.

He finally glances over, infuriatingly amused. “What?”

“Stop it,” you hiss. “I don’t need a gun that costs more than every organ in my body combined, and that includes my teeth.”

“You like it.”

“I like oxygen, too. Please don’t try to buy me the atmosphere.”

Thirty million.

You’re going to be sick. You’re going to throw up directly into your tiny gold clutch. He’s going to spend a lifetime of money on a murder stick because you had the audacity to blink at it like it was interesting.

You lean in closer, whispering like a hostage negotiator. “I don’t want you to think I’m with you for the money.”

“I don’t,” he says.

“Then stop spending it like we’re playing Monopoly on meth!”

Sylus doesn’t answer. Instead, he raises his hand again.

Forty million.

You’re actually going to black out. You stare at him like maybe if you will him hard enough, he’ll stop. Like a very expensive, immortal Roomba that’s gone rogue.

Across the room, some man in an alligator suit raises the stakes again. Sylus just smiles. You elbow him, and he catches your wrist mid-jab and kisses your knuckles like this is all part of his nightly cardio.

You whisper, “If you win this rifle, I’m going to marry it out of spite.”

“I’d officiate.”

You kick him harder this time.

Fifty million.

The other bidder folds. The auctioneer claps. You sit there, frozen, like maybe if you don’t move, the money will return to the earth like water evaporating from a puddle.

You smile. Sweetly. Serenely. “I am going to hide your wallet in the ocean.”

“You’d have to catch me first.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” you whisper back. “You just bought me a very fast, very accurate gun.”

He grins. You swear he looks proud and slightly turned on, or maybe that's just you. Stars help you. You’re dating the financial apocalypse. The worst part? Somehow, it feels like that’s exactly what you’ve signed up for, and you can’t even bring yourself to hate it.

Chapter Masterlist 

A03 [Cross-posted] 

Taglist: @mcdepressed290, @animecrazy76, @harmonyrae, @for-hearthand-home, @redseablooming, @morrigan87

I may or may not have gotten carried away with their banter in this chapter 😅 Take care everyone and enjoy! ☺️

[felassan]

Just poring over some of the new images. ◕‿◕

Rogue Rook, Harding, Neve and Varric in Minrathous. A party of four temporarily, though the third non-Rook person is automatic and quest-related. Do you think this is Docktown (in Minrathous. the cranes or wooden pulleys give it that kind of impression) from another angle, or is Docktown in this image across the water from this point? Either way it's cool to see the same general location, in this case a city, both at night and during the day. It's raining and that makes me excited to experience different weather and environmental effects in different locations. :> Also the contrast of Minrathous in the rain here vs Minrathous when it's dry in the Docktown image. :> Maybe there is day/night cycles...?

Are the NPCs on the ground members of Tevinter society who live on the streets (there was an interactable NPC at the start of the gameplay reveal video whom it looked like Rook had the option of speaking to and giving a coin), or were they impacted during the attack of demons recently on this part of Minrathous and that's why they are on the ground? this scene looks to be from the same segment of gameplay as was shown in the gameplay reveal video, around the 10 minute mark. they have just 'recruited' Neve and are about to go and check out Solas' hideout beneath the statue on the right, Our Lady of Victory. the statue is of Andraste; one of her titles in the Chant of Light is Lady of Perpetual Victory. she has her arm outstretched as if hearing or beseeching the Maker. I'm interested to see more of Imperial/Tevene Andrastian belief and how it compares to the southern form of Andrastianism.

the magical 'neon' street lights and signs, rain, night-time, streets, etc remind me of this DA4 concept art, which we also know shows Minrathous. It's cool to see concept art realized as in-game art like this. in the center is a large tear in the Veil, like a gaping wound, which we know is caused as a result of Solas' ritual and which demons are coming through at this point. overhead is the floating building with its spotlights. I hope we can visit the floating building in the game. :D

is the long bridge a magic monorail or something, or just a bridge?

In this image we see a bar or tavern-type place. from the filename where this was originally posted, we know this to be situated in Docktown, Minrathous. Could this be the bar where the game starts off in Minrathous (where Rook has the choice of intimidating a bartender or not), the bar in which Varric and Harding are taking part in a bar fight in in the character trailer? or maybe this is the Swan, the tavern Corinne mentioned as being in Minrathous which has good tavern music? an article also mentioned a pub in the streets of Minrathous which has a dozen NPCs in it and which is reached via a wide, winding pathway. probably at least two of these various bar/pubs are actually the same one being described/shown in a different way hh. :D the screenshot has Tevene-y touches in places, like the vases with snakes and snakey patterns on them and the pointy chairs.

now that we know that every NPC in the world apart from main characters like party members was made using the same CC as we will use to create Rook, I'm looking extra-hard with interest at NPCs in images of the game like these to try and see e.g. some of the hairstyles that there are. in this image for example it looks like multiple different hairstyles can be seen. there are human and elven NPCs present, and a bouncer or guard at the steps. a cat sits by the fire. near the middle on the table it looks like a hookah, which we've seen before in northern Thedas, like in Antiva. only, this one has snakes in its design. which, yeah, we're in Tevinter. ^^ (this also makes me think of the Viper and the Shadow Dragon faction snake symbol, and wonder where their base of operations is.. Docktown is Neve's home, and she's affiliated with the Shadow Dragons.)

Necropolis Halls [known from a file name], Nevarra. a flock of bats or birds flies overhead. Is the ceiling here a ginormous rib-cage in design or am I just seeing things? :D I'm amazed by the scale, grandiosity, and verticality in the design here. in the foreground, the party is made up of mage qunari Rook holding a really cool staff, Lucanis and Emmrich. I feel like, of course taking Emmrich with you when you explore the Necropolis is a good idea!! from behind, Lucanis' cape getup look like folded corvid wings. qunari Rook has a cool robe or cape, and is that his kneeguard/boot or does Lucanis has a knife or dagger strapped to his lower leg? btw, how many knives does this guy have. :D he already fights with two swords/daggers, and it looks like he has a knife strapped to his chest in this image too. I wonder also if this is the same qunari Rook as here? their staff and horns look similar, but the hair color isn't right.

on the right, we can see urns which look like they have the top halves of skulls as their lids. the bottom row of teeth are present on the non-lid part of the urn. the same asset can be seen on the right and left of the foreground here, which going by that and the tall skeletons in the background like we can see in this image, is also a picture in the Necropolis. the giant skeleton/undead statues (not unlike here), dressed in tatters (maybe they are designed to evoke bandages, like the Nevarran mummification death practises?) look like they are maybe holding torches or lights at their chests, as they are lit from around there in sickly-green 'undead vibes' light. the way their arms and hands are placed look like a person who is resting in a coffin. and if you look at the texture of their chest/ribcages, it's the same as the texture on the pillars they are fixed to, as if the pillars are rows of bones/ribcage shapes from the ground to the ceiling.

especially after Down Among The Dead Men in TN, I've been itching to explore the Necropolis!! lets goo.

Necropolis Halls again [known from a file name], Nevarra. the lighting here is different - it's darker, and the green necromancy-vibe lighting has increased. perhaps the previous Necropolis Halls image is from closer to the entrance of the place, and this one is deeper inside? the Necropolis has public open-air gardens and then lower crypts, to which access is restricted, deeper inside. it's eerie, like the vibe here, like that dragon dissection could be taking place just out of view through the green-lit doorway in this image. even the trees look dead and grasping.

maybe the green fire-torches here are Veilfire? and there are all kinds of vases and stuff - it gives the sense of canopic jars, like ancient Egyptians used to store viscera in during the mummification process, and of urns (Nevarrans prefer mummification to cremation ofc, but yea irl in the 'aesthetic vibes sense of a crypt full of undead', way, it reminds me of urns filled with peoples' ashes). when they said we would go to "to grim and gothic areas", one of the gothic-type ones was surely the Necropolis, right? ^^

this time the party looks to be human Rook, Harding and Neve. again the skeleton statues have the coffin-resting type pose, and the sense of bandages hanging from them and wound round their arms. and again the scale, verticality etc is amazing! the designs on the giant skull in the center interest me - is this just aesthetic design/Nevarran art, or is there an arcane aspect/function to it? lastly, from these two images it seems like maybe hexagons are an aspect of Nevarran art/design?

[magixfairyix]

Steps of the Past

Darcy digs up an old gift Riven had gotten her and ends up following him to a bar after she'd seen him break up with Musa.

Takes place during season 6.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Some days Darcy wondered if Icy was right.

That she was getting far too sentimental for her coven.

She'd been told as such during their senior year at Cloud Tower when she'd looked into Riven's eyes for the first time, grabbed his hand after the Day of the Rose, and started to feel more than the usual emotions she felt towards any of their pawns in the plan to steal the Dragon Flame.

Of course, by now, it had been years since she last was that close with Riven. Darcy, although knowing these feelings would be her downfall, couldn't help but miss the guy as she laid back in her bed.

She was grateful she didn't get vertigo, for how much Cloud Tower moved shakily while levitating through the atmosphere would have made this entire situation more irritating. Darcy had already snapped at Stormy the day earlier when her sister asked, 'Why the fuck are you so out it?'

Darcy was 'out of it' for a perfectly normal reason.

Perfectly.

Stormy was the crazy one.

Not her.

Darcy rolled over in her bed, remembering the days years ago when she'd wake up to find Riven next to her. He would've taken her into his arms—especially the nights Darcy woke up sobbing from a nightmare Liliss had sent—and would let Darcy cling to him or bury her face in her shoulder if she didn't want to be seen.

Is it so insane to crave that same comfort years later?

Darcy knew that it was a lost cause, for even the possibility of having a civil discussion with her ex—though 'ex' felt like a too casual word for the emotional connection they had—five years later was minimal, and she knew that she and her sisters were closer than ever to getting what they wanted now that they had Selena on their side.

Darcy forced herself out of her bed, fixing her loose hair that she had begun to enjoy more and more after having her tresses bound up in that ponytail the Dark Witch form styled into. She felt more like herself and less like a war criminal, for the lack of a better word.

She wasn't even dressed in something screaming the 'queen of the Magic Dimension' image Icy and Stormy tried to show to the students now that they practically owned the school.

She was too tired for that.

So for the past few days—ridden with doubts over how much longer she'd go over her sisters' plans and old regrets—she tended to stay in her dorm doing "research," dressed in her usual bell-bottom jeans and a violet tank top. Though it got colder than preferred so high in the atmosphere, and so, she had thrown on a simply long-sleeved cardigan.

Darcy sighed as she paced restlessly over to the window, eyes scanning the spider-web pattern the stained glass was fixed into. She smiled fondly, able to briefly ignore the ache that had been present ever since Liliss and the other two Ancestors had been banished for good on Ovrum all that time ago.

What the hell was she doing now?

Just throwing herself along with what Icy and Stormy wanted?

Of course, Darcy had been gung-ho about the 'taking the Dragon Flame' and 'we shall rule the seven realms' plot that her coven had. She could admit to herself that if she was back on Zenothe with her mothers and had a content life to go back to, she wouldn't have done it.

Or maybe Liliss had a stronger hold on her than she thought, and Darcy would've made the same mistakes over and over again in every possible timeline.

Darcy's eyes darted down to the view outside of the window. Alfea. Cloud Tower had been hovering over Magix for the past week, and although the sight of the school quickly became nauseating, it had been far better than sailing over Solaria briefly.

But the sight of Alfea wasn't the thing that made her pause.

It was Riven.

Riven, who was standing in front of the glass gate of this school, clearly waved an emotional gesture to the Specialists and the Winx. Darcy pursed her lips, wondering whether Riven was leaving or if all this was because of a little argument between him and Musa again.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Stormy quietly peeked her head into the open door of her sister's room, making sure to be deathly quiet. She'd already been frozen in ice two hours earlier for commenting to Icy about 'oogling the fire fairy,' and so, she faced the consequences of her actions.

Darcy seemed stiffer than usual, and if Stormy tried hard enough, she'd be able to see how her sisters fiddled with her hair. But trying enough was for witches who didn't have to worry about her middle-child energy sister who'd skin her to a wall if she caught her evesdropping.

She, of course, knew that Darcy was 'oogling' Riven.

Stormy was witnessed the arguments between Musa and Riven earlier that day, somehow being able to get invested in the lovers' spat enough to also watch them having a healthy breakup of sorts.

She was shocked at how Musa and Riven's conversation had been filled with calmness—too boring for her tastes—and understanding.

For once, they had somehow communicated.

Stormy had seen the doubt in her sister's eyes for the past few days. She, despite being the most short-tempered of the three, knew that her hopeless romantic of a sister craved more human connection than she could get from the coven.

Darcy needed that.

After all the years of only getting a twisted sort of affection from Liliss, it was clear that Darcy was... feeling lonely. Stormy had learned more bits and pieces of what the Ancestor had done than what Icy had gathered, and she knew it had been bad.

Stormy sighed, preparing herself for her sister's wrath. "You could go see him, y'know?"

Darcy whirled around. "Stormy, what the hell?"

"I would laugh at how Miss 'Psychic witch' let herself get snuck up on..." Stormy said, lips tilting up as she walked over to Darcy's bed and made herself comfortable. "But, like, seriously."

Darcy crossed her arms, glaring and determined to pretend like she had no idea what her lovable menace of a sister was talking about. "Seriously, what?"

"See Riven." Stormy waved a hand to the window. "He broke up with Pigtails."

Darcy's eyes widened. "He did what?"

Stormy raised a brow. "Were you too busy admiring Riven's abs or something to pay attention?

"Wha—" Darcy gaped. Stormy smiled smugly. "No—Okay, Stormy, you know what?"

Stormy still kept the smile on her face even as Darcy tugged the blanket off her bed, tugging her sister onto the floor along with them. She winced as her back hit the floor, fixing her shirt and her hair. Darcy truly could be a bitch if she wanted to be, but then again, Stormy couldn't ask for any better sister.

"Mean..." Stormy pouted.

"You started it," Darcy said, tossing her blanket back on her bed. "Now, explain what you said earlier about Riven breaking up with Musa. And for your information, I only looked out the window a few minutes ago, so I wouldn't—I didn't—"

"You wouldn't have had time to be a massive simp?"

Darcy's eyes narrowed, smirking. "I am so not in the mood, so one more tease out of your mouth, and I'll kick you out of my room. Got it?"

Stormy sighed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, fine."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Darcy couldn't help but feel shocked at the revelation that Riven and Musa had broken up. Of course, she could see it coming. Those two argued more than they spoke to each other regularly, and she had to wonder how the two had managed to stay together for the past three years.

She half-listened as Stormy rambled on about how she witnessed Riven and Musa talk, Bloom say something to the two of them, and how she was almost fully sure that Riven and Musa were done for good.

Darcy, after Stormy was done explaining, walked over to her bedside table and opened a drawer. Her sister knew about what she hid there, and god, with the hope in her chest—something she at first wanted to suffocate—she truly didn't care what Stormy would say.

She pulled out an obsidian pendant; it was sharp and in the shape of a diamond. Riven had gotten it for her after first finding out about her nightmares, and although the crystal didn't succeed in protecting against all of Liliss' negative energy, it did help more than expected.

Darcy smiled at the sight of it before clipping it on her neck.

"Simp."

Darcy scoffed, turning around. "Out."

"Alright, I'll leave you to it," Stormy said, shrugging as she walked towards the door. "I'll tell Icy some excuse about why you were gone. And Darc?"

"What?"

"It..." Stormy paused, before giving one of her rare smiles to her sister. She, as the youngest out of the trio, sometimes seemed quite immature. But now with the look of sympathy on her face, she seemed well past her years. "It's good to see you smile again, y'know?"

Darcy was briefly caught off guard. Over the years, she had gotten so used to her unfeeling mask after all this time of battles and hopelessness. So much so that she almost forgot how much she used to smile—still, less than others, but a lot for her—during her time at Cloud Tower.

Her time with Riven...

"Um, yeah, thanks," Darcy mumbled, but she gave a nod to Stormy so her sister would know how much those words truly meant to her. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, so—"

"Already on it," Stormy said before leaving the dorm.

Darcy kept looking at the door before walking back to the window, her nails fiddling with the shimmering obsidian pendant. She missed the feeling of it. And having the necklase back on felt right.

Comforting...

She frowned.

Would Riven even bother to have a conversation with her?

Darcy had to admit that she still hadn't fully dealt with the pit of betrayal that had started to fester since Riven hadn't stayed by her side during the War of the Army of Decay. It wasn't as if she didn't understand why he left, but it still hurt. She didn't have many people in her life, and having Riven leave her was...

God, it stabbed deep.

Darcy always had a habit of losing those she kept dear to her heart.

Riven had been the first.

She still remembered taking his hands in her own after he'd ridden his Wind Rider to Cloud Tower, she and her sisters in Griffin's office. Icy had given her a chance to bring Riven to their side. Darcy appreciated that, but god, part of her even then knew that it wouldn't be enough.

Darcy knew that Riven wouldn't want to be responsible for so many deaths...

That Riven loved her.

But wouldn't kill for her.

Darcy couldn't blame him. She was more used to death after being tugged around by Liliss for years on end, and logically, she knew that she was dark and twisted in a way Riven wasn't.

Would he look her in the eyes and wince away in disgust?

Would he call the Winx? Specialists? Throw her in a cell?

Darcy watched as Riven—standing just outside the gates of Alfea—summoned his Wind Rider with a small homing button in her pocket.

She didn't have time to doubt.

She needed to act.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Darcy increased the speed of her Wind Rider, feeling the wind whip her hair around that stuck out of her helmet. It was almost muscle memory, even though it had been a while since she allowed herself to do something like this. Something fun. Something for her that wasn't productive towards the goals of her coven.

She still hadn't achieved a balance of productivity and self-care.

Either she stayed up for several nights researching, plotting, and working on new spells. Or she spent her days trying to tug herself out of emotional oblivion to work on anything—plotting or hobbies, it didn't matter. Just anything.

Darcy followed Riven's Wind Rider as it drove down the dirt paths through the forest of Alfea, realizing that he was driving towards the West Side of Magix City, where the witches of Cloud Tower frequented.

It was a route they had frequented all those years ago. Darcy still recalled the times she would race Riven. She would win most of the time, because although she knew her self-worth didn't depend on her successes, she enjoyed being the best at something when she felt like an emotional disaster most of the time.

Darcy could almost pretend that she was racing him again.

Instead of chasing him.

Trying to hold onto something she lost.

Pathetic.

Darcy shook those thoughts out of her head as she realized that Riven merged his Wind Rider into the main road. She did the same, several levi-cars and buses between the two of them, but she still could feel where he was when he and his Wind Rider went out of view.

She knew his mind better than anybody.

She continued to follow him as Riven pulled his Wind Rider into the small parking lot of a familiar cafe. The Raven. It had been the place where the two of them had their first date, and many more after.

Darcy paused as she watched Riven walk in before she parked her Wind Rider in a spot on the opposite end of the parking lot. Had Riven known she was going to follow him? Did he lead her here on purpose?

She focused on her magic—a simple illusion to make her hair dark blue, and change her outfit into a long white skirt and blouse. People in the cafe would recognize her, and that would ruin her chances.

Darcy flicked her slightly dishevelled hair over her shoulders, opening the door to the quaint cafe before walking in. Midday, so it was busy, but she managed to spot Riven through the crowd of people sitting at a table in the corner of the room.

She breathed in slowly.

She could go back to Cloud Tower...

That would be the best decision...

Darcy hummed, annoyed with herself, before she decided that if things went sideways, she could play the coward card and transport away. She slowly walked up to Riven, and he glanced up at her.

She knew right away that he saw through the disguise.

The obsidian necklace gave it away.

And her glasses, of course.

"Can I sit?" Darcy gestured to the seat in front of him.

Riven nodded.

Darcy sat down in the seat, adjusting her skirt. She was more composed than she thought she would be. Darcy from five years ago would have been adjusting her hair and struggling to remain composed.

She wondered if she simply got older or if she buried that human part of herself along with her morals.

Along with the pile of regrets she disposed of...

Along with so many things.

Riven averted his eyes to the window, and he seemed to be the flustered one for once during this exchange. "I expected you to follow me here."

Darcy wanted to say something more, but she shrugged and learned back in her seat as if being so close to Riven wasn't tearing her apart. She wished that she hadn't buried that lovesick girl, because even though that girl still struggled against Liliss' torment, she didn't feel like a living weapon.

Was she even human at this point?

"I had to," Darcy said plainly. Coldly. As if she didn't care.

But she cared so much that it physically hurt. She wanted to be in Riven's arms again and to be shown affection. She wanted to be able to laugh and let someone be that close.

She wanted Riven to play with her hair.

She wanted him to hold her.

She wanted him to whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

She wanted so many things.

"I lead, you follow?" Riven quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Those words had been repeated between them years ago, when Darcy was too worn out to move forward. "Remember that?"

Darcy's lips tilted up only slightly; that same smile she always reserved for Riven and Riven only. "I do."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Riven had missed that smile so much. It was something that managed to light up his entire world when he got the chance to see Darcy truly smile or laugh. He loved it.

He loved the woman sitting in front of him.

Riven nodded to the necklace, something he noticed the very second Darcy had walked into the cafe, despite her disguise. Not that he needed the piece of jewelry to recognize the eyes, posture, and mannerisms of the girl had had dedicated himself to for so long.

"You still have it."

Darcy held the necklace in the palm of her hand, staring at it for a moment silently before speaking. "I... dug it out of a drawer."

Riven paused, beginning to worry. "Do you still have nightmares?"

"Not from... Liliss," Darcy answered, shrugging as she looked out the window, her chin resting on the back of her hand. "After all, she's dead."

"That's good." Riven nodded.

Both of them knew how long it had been since they had a civil discussion. Somehow, it was as if the peace and confidence between them never left despite everything, as if they were just a girl and a guy talking and not trying to tear each other apart.

But there was still a different awkwardness between them.

Not hatred or resentment.

Just time spent apart.

"You..." Darcy started, not wanting to seem overtly happy about it. Riven saw how focused Darcy suddenly was in the conversation, and he could predict what she wanted to talk about. "You broke up with Musa?"

"Yeah." Riven seemed more accepting of the idea. He had thought about doing so for several months, and he was just glad the breakup had gone well. Now, he had some time to think about the things that mattered to him. "We realized we... weren't going to work out. Not anymore." He paused. "I haven't moved on."

"From her?"

"From you," Riven corrected.

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

Hello Mara, i follow you for a while and i saw lots of your fanarts of narutaru, i became interested in it and a few weeks ago i decided to finally read it. Honestly, i loved it, (even if the ending was kind of sudden) and now its one of my favorites mangas.

I wanted to ask whats your thoughts on narutaru, and what made you like it. Its not a popular manga so its so hard so find others opinios and analysis, so i decided to ask you since its the reason i decided to read it.

hi anonymous, i just got power back from the storm; trees smashed several places around me;

if you asked me several years ago i could give you a better answer but present-day-me is fairly far removed from really having much passion for narutaru except holding on-to some memories of what i think i liked about it: it was a series i found very early back on maybe / b/ or /a/ on 4chan, likely in a thread about dark manga, and narutaru would be mentioned as coming across as some childish pokemon-esque comic that then turns really depressing--and i always remembered it being referred to as exactly shadow star narutaru, so i always remembered it as shadow star and associated it with the goofy little star guy--but i could never make myself read it because it was insanely boring and the art was incredibly lame, at the time; then in my self-harm spiral i read it (easily over a decade later) and i fell in love with it, because i thought that: it was a series utterly and completely empty and exhibited a real evil at its core that had no pretense to it or strive to be that, just that it was--like there is a permeable funk or mold crept through the architecture of narutaru more obviously shown through all the characters wrapt around some dumb moody issue (akira is the case study here), but shadow star never seemed something 'evil' because of those story-beats that are paint-by-numbers in misery-porn; take, for example akira explaining the connection with the shadow dragon, and how empty of a thing they seem and how their 'link' is like a vampiric one where a draining of the soul must occur and drain out through the human and into the queer little dragon thing when at perfect unity between the two, and how akira is nervously at complete resistance to letting this happen because (though she thinks she wants to die) there is something repulsive about having that precious self occult away into a moronic wall-eyed lump of clay ensof; then hiroko, my favorite, named as a shell heap and a good foil to akira because she is willing to completely drain off into oni and undergoes this malignant 'truth' there there:s an unreality to her life and her needing to keep living and her needing to be warped by unrealities that have been hammered down into strange forms of parent and friend and enemy and such-and-such; and, foil to it all are the latter characters who have completely been devoured by the shadow star, and sheol itself--all not really portrayed with a heavy dilemma or mood or misery, but a just-so attitude that "this is all completely empty, and that is completely fine;" it is a story not-so evil because of some subversion of good or resistance to good, but an evil because there is absolutely nothing inside of narutaru. if it seems a house it is only hiding decrepit flooring and rotting structural support, and if it seems even that then it is even less-than. plus, although i'd never watched an episode of the anime, it has a really nice ED theme that i liked to listen to during a breakup.

i was put off talking about it for some time because, may-be because of those surface Miseries, it seemed to invite "shared misery," sometimes over the self-harm, but also the 'infamous' censored rape-murder volume, and it felt like the last thing i wanted to invite into my life were other people sharing a love with me over images of rape and messages about how beautiful it was--something about all that felt rotten and against the shadow star, that there is something i just dislike about placing grace onto 'antithesis' of what is commonly good (rape bad? no, rape beautiful!) and that (and what i still like about narutaru) is its found-grace in an absence of values either good or evil--as from primordial churning chaos before something were, there were enough grace for creation to come-from, and for it to return-to;

but i might also just be a contrarian and don't like seeing myself in other people. didn:t go to church yesterday and just drove around with my mom; take care.

[luvly-writer]

XOXO

Ch. 18 Nothing happened in the way i wanted

-•-

Author’s Note: I find it so funny that whenever I come back I release like five chapters then disappear, I love that 😭

Warnings: Mentions of SA and predatory behavior. Beginning of angst.

Taglist: @w31rdg1rl @mxtokko @loonymoonystuff @grandstrangerphanthom @1lellykins @cangosleepnow @dreamspectrum @its-maemain @tamimemo @nightw-izhu @trasshy-artist @gabriiiiiiii @pank0w @writing-for-the-hell-of-it

Masterlist:

-•-

Thud Thud... Thud Thud... Thud Thud...

I could feel my heart in my throat. I took the napkins and kept on twisting them in my hands. I feel Grandma's gaze on me and her hand on mine, stopping me from fidgeting.

"Mona, you are going to be okay. You have constantly gone against your father and you will win once again. Plus, I am right here. Your father won't intimidate me," she reassured you with a smile and a wink. You were both sitting in one of the family rooms in the Vanderbilt manor. You had arrived early and had been served coffee. Your father had been taking his sweet time in arriving, always one for theatrics. You remember a time when this sort of dramatics was used in playing around with your sisters. Charlisse always wanted to be a dragon or a pirate; Aurora presented herself as the princess, the unicorn, I always wanted the mermaid and the adventurer. Our father was always the narrator of our little ploys and we would present them to our mother. He used to be so warm and caring and loving sometimes..but when I got to middle school, after my grandfather's death and the beginning of my sisters' competition for CEO, he grew colder and harsher. I would love for my father to go back to the way he was before...

Snapping me out of my daydream, my father enters the room and sits across from us.

"Margaret." he said curtly and my grandmother looked at him dead in the eye, "William...You look terrible," she responded, causing me to snort a little. Grandma was never one to hold back on my father. She was right though, my father looked horrible. He had eye bags and his clothes looked crumpled, something highly unusual for William Vanderbilt. "It's been a rough few days, Marge" he responded and turned to me.

"Y/n.." he acknowledged me softly and I squeezed my grandmother's had tightly before answering, "Father."

"Shall we?" he gestured to both of us and I nodded. He cleared his throat and began speaking, "Before anything...I am sorry, my sweet dewdrop, for everything I've put you through these last few years...I know this in no shape or form begins to excuse anything I've put this family through but I do want you to understand the big why of everything and maybe we could begin a journey where you could forgive me. I love you, sweetie, I do. Your sisters and you are my pride and joy, my greatest creation, and my proudest achievement. I am deeply sorry I have neglected you all these years in the name of the family business and image. A few years ago, when you were in middle school and my father died, in his will he left very clear and strict instructions on what had to be made. Were they not to be followed, everything that we owned would have been put at risk. You see when I was younger, I was much like you...I had a passion for music and it flowed through every breath I took, I wanted to pursue it freely yet my father disregarded it because someone had to take the mantle of the family business. I rebelled for some time and did whatever I pleased, I had the freedom to do so seeing as the family lineage was important to the old man, and me being an only child, I wouldn't be at risk of getting disowned. The old man...he was....furious and pulled some strings so that no matter what, I would fail so that I would end up back home and submitting to taking the mantle. His plan worked and to avoid risking history from repeating itself, he left clear instructions for you girls so that no one stepped out of line. One of the clauses was that everyone was to be part of the family business, the second was that you all had to be married, and if by the time you were 20, you weren't married, it was the board's obligation to find you a suitable husband. The third was that you all had to keep the best image possible so that you wouldn't drag the family name to the ground...the same way I did years ago...My lawyers have been working on ways to invalidate the clauses for years, Clarisse and Aurora knew how to play within the clauses but you...I'm afraid that with your mother's free spirit and my temperament and rebellion, you proved to be a force too difficult to control. No one knows that more than me. I got so lost trying to not lose everything and please my father who is already in his grave, that I forgot the most important thing, my family. I am so sorry for all the years I have mistreated you, Charli, Rora, and Mom. You deserve so much and it took you showing me how much I am acting like my father to reevaluate my behavior these last years. I promise, I will do my best to mend and better all my wrongs."

You were stuck to your chair...honestly...fuck your grandfather. Everything made more sense now, why you always visited your grandparents when your grandfather was gone, how you'd see your other grandmother more often when he died, why he was never mentioned, the drastic change in your father's behavior after his death...

"I knew there was a reason I never liked the man," said your grandmother with a huff as she took a sip of her glass of wine. This made you and your father laugh.

"What about the clauses...do I still fall under them?" you ask. It was the one thing that still worried you...was Morris still in the picture, did you still have to take a place in the family business, was marrige still an obligation-

"No. A few days ago, my lawyers called me. After retting a meeting with the board after New Year's and discussing the clauses, they were finally able to find a breakthrough. Everyone took to voting and decided that the best outcome was to proclaim them invalid. What are a dead man's wishes but silent demands? You are free, I spoke to Mr. Morris. Which speaking of, I want to clear the air that he was the board's decision. They were pressuring us to choose him seeing as he used to have a clean record." He answered.

"I still don't get why you would allow that roach of a man near your daughter, William! This is worst that a disgrace, he was disgusting!" Margaret grumbled and my father agreed with her.

"You said he had a clean record?" I asked focusing on that weird part.

My father nodded, "Ah yes, a few weeks ago, some information was leaked to our members of the board about sexual assault allegations and predatory behavior in Mr. Morris. After we hired some private investigators, we found most of the information to be true. Tomorrow the board is releasing an official statement of apology directed to you. I am deeply sorry, my dear. I do promise to be better." he said taking my hands in his a giving the a squeeze.

"I am free.." you say softly, and both your grandmother and father smile.

"You are. No competition, no family business, no arranged marriage, you are free to be your own person, kid" he assures. "I am very proud of you, dewdrop. I talked with your grandmother over the phone. Once you finish college this may, both of your trust funds will be officially released to you."

"I can open my art gallery!" you say tearing up and both of them nod proudly. "Time to share the good news with Tim, Mona. I bet he is going to be delighted," Said your grandmother.

Shit...Tim...It has been weeks since you'd answered a message of his. You knew it was unfair to him, to just ghost him out of the blue. You had a good reason too...well as far as good reasoning goes. You hadn't talked with him ever since spending Christmas with him and ignored all of his invitations for New Year's...Your conflict must have been visible in your face because your grandmother rand father looked at you concerned.

"About that..." you say and take a deep breathe.

-•-

You were finally going home to your apartment after the very long day you had. You had confessed...Not to Tim, no... your family. After explaining the whole thing to your grandmother and father, they were conflicted, to say the least. As they were battling with being proud for outsmarting the entire family and media, disappointed for your lying, and concerned for your well-being, your sisters and mother had arrived and were filled in the entire thing. At first, no one wanted to believe you. They reassured me that they couldn't believe it was fake because they swore the love between the two of you looked real. No one could act that well, yet you were in denial. As everyone sat for dinner, they all agreed on one thing, Tim and you were meant to be and clearly in love, but neither of you was seeing it. Your sisters and mother were insistent in your talking with him, but you were in denial. Your father and grandmother tried a different approach by saying how much they approved of him and how he would make a great addition to the family. Still, you saw no sense. You loved Tim, that is true, but you appreciated him as a friend too much. He was your friend, the one who you learned to trust and tell everything, he was the one who had your side any time, he was the one that showed you every movie you had missed, every game you had never played, every story you didn't know. Sure it had only been two months since you met, but he became such a strong part of your life that you weren't sure you wanted to ruin by confessing how much you loved him. Tim was your friend, he was just helping you out, he knew how to play a part well because he had practiced with his double life, he was just playing a part for you. He wasn't...he....didn't...love...no, you didn't even want to think it. Tim was a good guy, Tim loved to help others and he always gave his best for others, that's why he was so convincing, because he is Tim. He is pure and devoted to a good cause. He was Tim, your Timmy, your friend, mine. He was everything, the closest thing you had to twin flame and you didn't deserve and you shouldn't tarnish the purity of that relationship.

Snapping out of your thoughts, you noticed you were about to pass his apartment complex and noticed his lights were on. You told the driver to stop. You were putting an end to this. The driver parks in front and you tell him you will be quick. You step out of the car and run to the lobby. Having been recognized there, they let you up without a problem. Finally, in front of his door, you knock roughly and call him out.

Lo and behold there is Tim Drake in all his glory when he opens the door. He looks more tired than usual, is the first thing you notice. Ever since the two of you started talking, you have been helping him get a better sleeping schedule and his eyebags have lessened by a lot. But now, weeks later, you can tell your absence took a toll on him. His eyes showed he was conflicted. Anger, relief, sadness, tiredness, and something else you couldn't quite put a finger in. (Admiration and love, sweetie, that's what it is)

"Just when I was enjoying my inner peace..was wondering when you'd deem me worthy of your presence again," he said and you flinch at the slight snark and glare he gave you.

"You are angry, rightfully so" you start and he cuts you off, "Really, what gave you that impression?"

"I have a good explanation"

"That so?"

"My father set me free.." you say and his eyes soften a little

"Which means.."

"I don't have to get married, I won't be forced to be part of the family business, I won't have to deal with Morris anymore" you say softly and he nods, pleased.

"That's good angel, still don't get why I had to be ghosted for it. We started this together we should end it together" he stresses and I look down

"I know, its just that...that means that"

"That?" he preassures

"We are over." I finally look up, trying to keep my tears at bay, "And I've been trying to find a way to tell you."

-•-

extras:

Grandma calls Y/n “Mona” because of Mona Lisa

William calls Y/n dewdrop because of her obsession with mermaids when she was a kid

I changed the time line a little bit. Tim and Yn know each other from high school (Gotham Academy), having both been each other’s crushes, but the formally met on November. Spent the last of November and all of december together. She stopped talking to him after christmas and ignored him until the second week of January which is this chapter.

[zweetpea]

Zhongli x reader The Dragon of Geo (Spicy, no smut)

Summary:

The classic tale of a young lady and a dragon, but with a twist. AU no deities, or Tevat (I’ll still use Liyue and the Qixing just for convenience), no Archons. And I made Shenhe an Adepti because I thought that thematically it fit better. Also female reader.

Notes:

Warning: not for the kiddos! Has foul language and mentions of heat and breeding. And if you want me to write you smut based of the sultry scene feel free to ask.

Feel free to request any genshin ideas

Ao3 version here

Once upon a great beast roamed the sky. His scales, as brown as mud yet they sparkled like crystals. His hair as thick and shiny as gold yet it was softer than silk. His claws as sharp as rocks yet somehow held a gentleness reserved for the mortals of his land. And did he ever love his mortals. Hewent by many names, Rex Lapis, The Great One, Mighty Dragon of Geo, the children often called him Zhongli, but my favorite name for him has always been Morax. Something about it just presented power and authority. To me it screamed “I am your protector! You are mine to love! Though the seasons may change and life caries on for mortals, I will be here to protect you always!”

But those were the foolish wishes of a young girl who knew nothing of the world. A girl who was enchanted by the glimmer told to her as a child to keep her innocent.

He protected us for a millennia, but a century ago he decreed that unless he was given a bride by sunset he would ravage the land. The Qixing gathered everyone together to see if there was anyone who was willing to go. In the end they had to draw up a lottery since no one volunteered. Five years later he demanded another girl. And another after another five years. Some mothers or sisters left instead to protect their family, some had to be carried away screamed and crying. When I was fifteen years old I even witnessed a girl ask that she be escorted there in a carriage with a beautiful white dress. She was convinced that she was going to die and wanted to be pampered and treated like a princess in her last minutes.

I was never convinced that he ate them. I thought that they were a part of his harem and he got bored with them eventually. But it was undignified and unlawful to let a woman marry a man after she had been deflowered, lest she be a widow.

Anyway, it’s now five years later. Liyue is waiting on a letter from one of the four Illuminated Beast. This time 15 years ago Xiao came. He was a beautiful black and teal eagle (A/n: Don’t question the animal forms). 10 years ago Yanfei a lovely salmon pink deer came. 5 years ago an adorable little blue goat named Ganyu arrived with the letter. So this year should be the elegant white crane Shenhe.

Right on time she flys down with the letter in her mouth. I inform her of my name, how I knew her and the other Adepti’s name. “Don’t worry Shenhe, there’s is no need to go back to the others. I’ve been informed that I should wait here until the letter arrives and if it never came I was to return at the end of the day. I am the new bride of the dragon of Geo.”

Well truth be told the reason that I didn’t want to go back to the others was because I had a plan to stop all of this. In the back of my traditional dress I hid a dagger. I’m not much of a fighter but I figured... someone had to try? I guess? I dressed modestly as I figured that he would like it enough to not eat me immediately. If I died in battle I was going to take down Rex Lapis. I don’t need the praise, and I just want my people to live peacefully oblivious lives. In a few centuries this nightmare will become folk lore. A cautionary tale to spook children into being good. It’s finally going to end. I wonder if they’d get most of the details accurate, maybe they’d try to scope out the cave to try and find more details.

We walk out to the middle of the wild and into the mountains. The cave of the beast. Surprisingly it had doors. They’re beautifully sculpted and chiseled with various pattern that made me stop and gape at them in awe.

“This way, young one.” Shenhe motions with her wing. The doors open slowly and I enter the unnatural dark cave.

Once they close lanterns illuminate the corridor and standing before me was a gorgeous woman with long white hair that fades to black at the end, tied in a beautiful braid. “Who...?”

“Right my apologies. It’s still me Shenhe. In the cave myself, Xiao, Ganyu, and Yanfei take on more human characteristics. Come on, we mustn’t keep the master waiting.”

She leads me to the end of the corridor and into a large room. It looks like it had to be a thrown room due to the throne at the far back on top of a short flight of stairs but it feels as if someone could throw a party in here.

“Shenhe. You’ve returned earlier than usual.” A deep voice from behind a burgundy curtain called. His glowing gold eyes peer through the semitransparent cloth. She kneels to him once we reach the bottom of the stairs.

“The mortals came prepared, this time.” She informs the man on the throne. Gold and brown plush pillows surround him as he lay there waiting for his next plaything.

I kneel too to show him that I am as loyal and docile as his servants. “Shenhe you are dismissed.” She exits the room and he rises from his throne and draws back the curtains. “Rise my bride. Rise and look at me.” I do as he commands. I gape with wide eyes at the man before me. Long thick black hair pulled back in a ponytail, he had on a strange white outfit that showed off his chest and yet was like a skirt at the bottom. His arms were black at the shoulder and gradients to a yellow at his hands, I wonder if that was natural or part of his clothes. He starts to descend towards me as I’m standing there like an idiot. He chuckles, his voice even more sultry. “Like a little bunny caught in her predictors sight.” In the blink of an eye he’s behind me, holding my dagger to my throat. His hood most likely fell off as he dashed for me. “You are the only one who has ever tried to kill me. Others have begged or tried to bargain. Some I’ve even fed to Xiao because they only cared about the prestige of becoming my wife.”

“Your eyes... the legends and one own imagination cannot do them justice. I’ve imagined them thousands of times. How could I have hated these beautiful ambers for five years?” I looked up at him as he leaned over me.

“Excuse me? Did you just ignore what I said? Maybe I wasn’t clear enough. Women who try to seduce me are fed to my servants.”

I’m off in lala land and can’t fully register his word. “My father’s probably told me your legend 100 times when I was younger. If you’re going to kill me please let me die with your eyes being the last sight I see.”

“100 times? I could never fathom hearing something 20 times let alone that many.”

“Ironically I am your 20th bride.”

“Do you think that makes you special?”

“That’s for you to decide. Are those horns real?” His horns came up from his head and slanted back then curled back towards the front. I turned around in his hold.

“Yes they are, and they’re vERY—” He cuts himself off as I grab his horn. He groans at the contact dropping my dagger, it clangs as it reaches the ground. “—Sensitive.” He grabs my hips and nearly grinds our waists together. He breathing is heavy as he layers his head on my neck and guides me up the stairs. I almost trip a few times as I have to walk backwards. “If you ever do that again, you won’t be walking for a week.” He pushes me down on his throne. He pins my hands above me.

“Was- was that supposed to be as erotic as you made it sound?” My face feels hot and is undoubtedly red.

He looks at me surprised and then angry. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t take you right here, or better yet call in the Adepti to watch as I fuck you dumb on my cock like the whore that you are?”

“Morax, I know that you probably won’t care but I’d like to ask you a question before you deflower me.”

He looks a bit surprised, probably because of the name I called him by. “... this better be good.”

“Why did you ask for a bride?”

“Why? Why?! I don’t have to tell you anything!!”

“Okay. I’m ready.” I say nonchalantly. This caught him off guard.

“Excuse me.”

“You granted me my question, and from the stories I’ve been told Morax keeps his word. You told me you were going to torture the poor Adepti by forcing them to watch us propagate.”

“Do you just believe everything that you’ve been told or read in a book?” His face like the fabled Jueyun Chili’s.

“I was actually also wondering about those stories. But you’ve only permitted me with one question, so I guess I’ll never know.”

“If you were so curious about me why’d you try to kill me?” He lets me sit up.

“I mean, you are quite well known for your brides going missing and never coming back. It would be stupid not to have some kind of protection, whether or not it would work is a whole different argument. I figured that if for some reason I changed my mind I should still have some protection.”

He smirks at me. “I don’t think that’s you wanting to kill me is the truth. Not anymore at least. You wanted to convince yourself that you would be the hero. But what you really wanted was answers. Answers to the questions that you’ve been tossing and turning in your sleep about. I can see it in your eyes. The was they sparkled when you went to grab my horns. The way you looked over my body as I came closer to you just a few minutes ago. The way you were ready to use your last boon on something that should be so innocent, just so that you could get the answers that were just eating you alive.”

Could he really read you like an open book? One with the letter printed big and bold? “Okay, you forced me to face a truth I really didn’t want to confront. What does this mean now? You know that I won’t try to kill you, you know that I don’t want your power, and you know that I’m not gonna beg for my life or try to bargain for the sake of Liyue. So what will you do now?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone who’s interested in history and my stories stumble into my life. I’d like to keep you around for now.”

“What happens when you don’t want me anymore?” He walks back to where he dropped my dagger and comes back with it. He makes a slit on his palm and smeared the golden blood on my forehead in a single line.

“I make this contract to you that should I get bored of you that you may leave this place and never return. Once you wash off my blood the contract with solidify.”

(A/n: just go with it)

“Well what happens if you take my virginity then get bored of me? It wouldn’t be proper for me to marry another.”

He makes another slit on his palm as the first healed already. Then drags another line across my forehead. “If I am to take you, let our first contract become null and void and I will make you my wife.”

“Does this mean that I may ask you anything that I want?” My eyes widened probably sparkling.

He chuckles. “How about you go explore while I um... ahem, straighten up.” He gestures to the tent in his pants.

I blush and look away. “Right! So Um, bye!” I run from the room to the door on the left of the main entrance to the throne room.

<><;><><>

I didn’t see him again until dusk that same day. I got well acquainted with the rest of the rest of the adepti in their human forms. I also found water to wash off his blood. He found me wandering around and brought me to a bedroom.

“This will be your room. Mine is just across the way if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. This is my only article of clothing and if we were in the same room then I’d be too overwhelmed by that little body of you little bunny to resist.”

“Um, will I have more than one piece of clothing?”

“I’ve already asked Shenhe to get your clothes from your father. I believe that some of the other citizens have given you presents as well. Something about this being a change for the better.”

“They probably think that if I’m moving my clothes here that you’ve accepted me and won’t seek another bride at least for a few decades.”

“By then who knows what invention they will make to stop me. I might be done for.”

“I don’t think so. You’re the oldest documented creature in the world!”

“And yet you still wonder why I want a bride.”

“Your lonely?” He goes into his own room and closes and locks the door. “But what about the Adepti!”

“Good night bunny.” He says through the door.

“That not my name!” I shout my name to him.

<><;><><>

3rd person POV

When Shenhe reached Liyue she was confused about the what the people were doing. Most were celebrating. But there was a lone man in the background shaking and trying to stay calm. When she arrived the celebration stopped dead in its tracks and everyone looked panicked.

“Where is the new brides father?” No one new who she was talking about so she informed them that a new bride had offered herself up. The brides father steps up to Shenhe and asked what happened to his daughter. She asks for your clothes and tells everyone that the girl was alive and well.

After that everyone ran back to their homes and grabbed something nice to give her for the new bride. They all tagged the gifts so the bride knew, who gave her what.

<><;><><>

1st person POV

I found the gifts in my room. Very pleasant silk clothes and finely made hair pins, combs and brushes. A few even sent toys. ‘Wait, they think...’ I thought as my face heated up. ‘No, no. Get those disgusting perverted thoughts out of your head girl! He’s just keeping you around for entertainment!’

<><;><><>

The next day at breakfast I started asking him questions.

“So if you only fed a few to Xiao what happened to the rest?”

“Well I either got tired of their nonsense and killed them or they ate a Jueyun chili and died. The ones I fed to Xiao I turned into mice first. And the rest of them who left behind bodies were buried.”

“They’re real? Jueyun Chili’s I mean.”

“Of course.”

“Are they really as hot as a thousand fires?”

“Oh no, it’s more like ten thousand.” He chuckles.

“Are you making fun of me? I really am curious!”

“I know. You’re just too cute Little Bunny.” He smirks. “They are spicy enough to kill a mortal with a single bite. Even the smallest nibble would kill a fragile soul.”

“Are you going to set a limit to how many questions I get to ask you per day?”

“Why would I do that? That would just restrict my fun!”

“I just don’t want to make you annoyed.”

“You are very interested Little Bunny.” He chuckles again, as I blush.

“Are your arms... naturally like that?”

“Yes.

...it’s how I look because I my dragon form.”

“Right, Shenhe mentioned that in this cave you all transformed into human like beings. Why is that? What is it about this cave that allows you to transform.”

“I was the only one able to shape shift. They all longed to have the ability to have a human form. I carved these halls and cast a spell over this place that allows them to transform into whatever human form they desire.”

“I’m happy for them!”

“As am I.”

<><;><><>

After a four months I was still living with them and it was reaching near my birthday.

“Hello Morax! Do you want to know why today is so special for me!”

“I’ll bite, why?”

“I’m 21 today! It’s my birthday!”

“Birthday?” He looks confused.

“Well yeah! Mortals have this tradition called a birthday where we celebrate the day that we were born and how many years we’ve been alive!”

“Well good Birthday to you then.”

“Silly! Mortals say happy birthday and whoever is having the birthday receives presents. So can yours be you telling me stories from the millennia that you protected Liyue? Please?”

He looks at me like I’m crazy. “You are certainly interesting. You can ask for anything and you ask for that?”

“I wasn’t sure that if I asked any other day that you would tell me stories.” I look down in embarrassing.

He pulls me onto his lap as he sits on his throne. “I’ll tell you anything that you want if you tell me what else you want for your birthday.”

“Um, well I guess... the only other thing that I’d want is to maybe go outside. Only for an hour or two. It’s just, I haven’t been out since I moved in and I’d like some natural sunlight.”

“I’ll do you one better. As long as myself or one of the Adepti are with you, you can go out anytime.”

“Really?” My eyes shine brightly. He nods. “Thank you so much!” I squeal and hug him, as well as giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you want to go now?”

“Just let me hug you a little longer.” I request a bit embarrassed.

<><;><><>

It’s getting close to a year now and I’ve noticed that Morax seems withdrawn from me.

“Hey. Morax? Rex Lapis? Zhongli? Are you okay?” I knock on his door and don’t get a reply. Xiao is walking past when he decides to pull me away from his masters room. “Hey what was that for?”

“You’ve made it farther than most. Except for one. Guizhong, the first bride.”

“What happened to her?”

“The legends you’ve been told are wrong. Guizhong offered herself to the master. She was much like you. Curious, fearless, trusting but not naive, but the biggest difference is that she could tell him to back off. You just let him tease you like a masochist.”

“Okay so why isn’t she here?”

“He had never had a lover before, he was possessive over her. And as time went on she started to hate him. And she flung herself off of the balcony in his room.”

“Oh my goodness, poor Morax.”

“On top of all of that she was his first love.”

“Xiao please, help me get in there! I want to let him know that I won’t leave him! That I want to stay with him!”

“Luckily I have the only other key to the masters room. I have to warn you though, he’ll be in his dragon form but it’ll be only a tenth his true forms size.” He unlocks the door and I rush in to the lavish room. It’s the most beautiful room in his palace. He lays motionless in his dragon form. Around his bed. In this form he huge. 50 feet long, brown scales, gold locks and curly horns. The legends really don’t do his majestic beauty justice.

I rush to his side and hug his head in my arms. He’s very thick though so I can’t get my hands all the way around. “I’m here, and I’m not going to leave you. You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”

He lets out a small roar, something akin to a whimper.

<><;><><>

I’m in my fifth year staying with Morax, and I’m madly in love with him.

On this wonderful day all of the Adepti are running around the hall in a panic.

“Ganyu what’s going on?”

“Well um... maybe you should stay in your room for a few days to about a week... and lock the door... and hide if someone tries to come in.”

“Ganyu, where is Morax?”

“Please for your own safety stay away from the master this week.”

“But-” before I could ask her anymore questions she rushed off. ‘Morax what are you hiding?’ I thought. I know that it’s rude to go into someone’s room without their permission but I am supposed to be his bride so surely an exception can be made just this once.

I slip through the door and the room is almost pitch black save for a few candles. His balcony door is closed and his curtains are drawn. I hear rustling around the room and feel arms snake around my waist. “What are you doing here, my cute little bunny?” Morax’s voice sounds strained, and yet hungry. Husky and low and so sultry. As he spoke that into my ear his hot breath hitting the shell I almost melted right there.

“Morax? What’s going on?”

“Seems there are stories that even my little scholar doesn’t know. Once every 100 years or so I go into heat, it’s a time period called breeding season. You seem so ravenous right now.” He groans in my ear and suddenly I feel my underwear becoming damp. “Don’t you know how rude it is to enter someone’s room without knocking? I think that you need to be punished.”

A small squeak was all I could muster as he threw me over his shoulder and walked me over to his bed. He dropped me down onto it and made quick work in getting rid of my clothes, leaving me in only my underwear.

“Naughty little thing aren’t you.” He teased as he felt my slit through my underwear.

“Morax, please. Stop teasing me, and just fuck me.” I whimper.

“Eager are we?” He smirks.

“I really love you and I want this. Please, let me help you. I want to help you, I want you!”

He blushes at my confession and gently smiles at me. “Whatever my love wants, she will get.”

<><;><><>

“Do you think that I’m pregnant?”

“I’m not sure. I fucked you good though.” He teased.

“Yeah and I can’t feel my legs.” I deadpan.

“What a shame. Looks like you can’t leave then.” He snuggles closer to me as the week of his breeding period is over.

“I love you.” I tell him.

“I know you’ve practically chanted it this entire week.”

“Well you better get used to it because you promised to marry me if we had sex.”

“I’ve known for a while now that I wanted to marry you.”

“Does that mean that I can touch your horns whenever I want?”

“Didn’t you get enough of that this week?”

“I like your horns, I find them very cute and so smooth.” I smile as he flushes red.

“Given the chance to become immortal and live with me forever, would you take it?”

“Staying young with you forever? Yes please, where do I get this immortality?”

“The Valberry. A single bite will give you keep you young forever and you will get to be with me, forever.”

“Really? Screw til death do us part! I want you to myself forever!”

<><;><><>

“Do you Rex Lapis, The Great One, Mighty Dragon of Geo, Zhongli, Morax, take this woman to be your wife for eternity?” Yanfei asks.

“I do.”

“And do you-”

“I do!”

“She doesn’t even need to think about it, that’s what I like to hear! I now pronounce you husband and wife.” We embrace is a long loving kiss.

All of Liyue cheers at the sight of their protector finally being satisfied.

After the wedding we went back to the palace and Morax lays me down on our bed and crawls on top of me.

“I hope you’re ready for me to fuck a baby into you.” He licks his lips with his long dragon tongue.

“We don’t have to rush anything we’ve got all this time in the world.” I smirk at him.

“I am your protector. You are mine to love. Though the seasons may change and life caries on for mortals, I will be here to protect you always. I love you bunny.”

“I love you too Morax.”