#and now. chapter 3 :3c

[rxttenfish]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Monster Prom (Visual Novel) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Aaravi the Slayer/Miranda Vanderbilt, Bellanda Vanderbilt & Miranda Vanderbilt, Aaravi the Slayer & Bellanda Vanderbilt Characters: Aaravi the Slayer (Monster Prom), Miranda Vanderbilt, Bellanda Vanderbilt, Amanda Vanderbilt, Laudanda Vanderbilt Additional Tags: Cultural Differences, merfolk culture, Speculative Evolution, Worldbuilding, Meeting the Family, Horror, Abuse, Imperialism, Gore, More tags to be added as they come up, Fictional Holidays, Body Horror Chapter Summary: Aaravi goes to Miranda's castle and gets fitted for the event. Miranda and Bellanda inform her of the consequences to what she might do.

Caecilian chapter 2!! Caecilian chapter 2 is finally finished and up!! And it includes so much Bellanda to shake a stick at!!! Go read some prime Bellanda material!!!

[starleska]

I'm gonna grab Tenna by the antennae. Gently. I think he'd like that

looks like he's really enjoying the attention anon 😉💖

[autism-corner]

hes done it again

[ribbononline]

New fic by @silverjirachi out wahoo wahoo! Go support it!!

[spookyratking]

DCD I LOVE UR ART UR ART GOT ME FURTHER INTO THE POPPY PLAYTIME CHAPTER 3 I CANNOT ESCAPE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BBHHGYNKGGHBHBV EEPSY THANK U!!!!! WERE ALL GETTING DRAGGED INTO POPPY PLAYTIME CHAPTER 3 HELL......WE CANNOT ESCAPE...

[aayakashii]

(maybe) distance makes the heart grow fonder

Part 1, part 2

Author's note: as someone mentioned, it's been 8 months since the last update 💀 but I said I wasn't going to abandon it and I was serious! Either way, sorry for making everyone who likes this story wait so long. I'll try not to have the next chapter take too long but I have like 3 or 4 other fics I wanna write so they'll come first. The next chapter is already outlined though! Soon you'll have the other ghouls suffering from your absence >:3c aaanyway this one is a long one! I hope you like it and I hope it was worth the wait too. Let me know what you think!!!!!!

Warnings: angst, nightmares, blood, depictions of a panic attack

Ren was in a pickle.

He had called your name out a lot of times, but you were fast asleep on his bed and barely even stirred. He placed his hand in front of your nose more than once, in order to confirm you were breathing, each time getting more and more annoyed at the fact that, yes, you were breathing and still wouldn't budge.

That's what he gets for being nice once. Some annoying ass senior that slept like the dead hogging his bed.

Ren stood next to you, burning a hole into your forehead as he chewed anxiously on his thumb, wincing and hissing when he pulled a bit more than just dead skin. He sighed, looking at the red gash on the corner of his finger.

“This is so fucking annoying.” He muttered, rubbing his face with his hands.

What was the game plan here? Was he going to give up and just let you sleep on his bed all day? But what about him? He needed sleep as well.

Well, what was his other obvious option?

Ren grimaced at the thought of having to carry you on his arms, shuddering at the idea of being called out for sexual harassment after only trying to help. No, he did his good deed for the day already, and look where that got him.

As he pulled his hair in frustration, he heard the familiar sounds of things falling down all over the place downstairs. Great. That fucking weirdo was back. Awesome timing, in fact. He could deal with this issue then.

Ren turned on his heel, opening and closing the door to his bedroom quietly, in order to keep you from awakening, despite himself. Downstairs, Haru was sweeping an unknown pink powder while Towa watched with uncontained amusement. The pink dust sparkled and made strange, tingling sounds, like tiny little bells, as the broom’s bristles swooped them to a corner of the room. Haru mumbled to himself, eyebrows scrunched tight etching deep lines onto his forehead.

Ren lingered on the last step of the stairway, hesitant on asking Haru, of all people, for a favor. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Ren didn’t see any other way to (gently) remove you out of his room without getting in trouble for that - in his mind, the only options were being accused of sexual harassment or just straight up being scolded by you. And he didnt know which option sounded scarier.

“Hey.” he called out to the red-haired man quietly, scratching his cheek.

“Oh? Ren!” Haru looked up, face immediately brightening despite Ren’s permanent scowl. A hand flew to support his own lower back, which popped audibly as he turned around. “Think you can help me clean these things here? Towa bumped on the shelf and now we have this, uh. Little mess to clean up.”

Ren frowned in disgust and shook his head.

“Nah, actually… I’m the one needing some help right now to be honest.”

Haru’s face immediately fell.

“What’s wrong?” He stepped closer, eyeing Ren intently as he searched for anything out of the ordinary. “Did you get hurt somehow? Are you okay?”

“Ugh… Yeah, yeah, just come here in my room” he rolled his eyes, climbing up the stairs back towards his room without checking whether or not Haru would follow. After a few mumbles, the sound of a broom loudly falling down and some muttered curses, Ren heard footsteps quickly trailing right behind.

Ren put a finger in front of his lips, shushing Haru right before entering his room. A gust of cold air blew past them as he opened the door, goosebumps prickling their skin and Haru had to suppress a shiver. Right before he was about to scold Ren for racking up their electric bill with how long he kept the air conditioner on, his mouth shut immediately, teeth clacking audibly.

Right under the navy-colored duvet, you were fast asleep - chest rising and falling with every breath, almost peaceful-looking, if it weren't for the puffiness of your eyes and the redness of your nose.

“Oh…”

Ren sighed loudly.

“Yeah. Can you get them outta here? I wanna, you know. Have my bed back so I can sleep.”

Haru tilted his head.

“Can’t you carry them, though? You’re strong enough.”

“No way.” he shook his head vehemently. “What if they sue me for sexual harrassment?”

Haru scoffed in disbelief.

“They would never do that, and you know it. You’re their friend after all.”

“We’re not friends.” he mumbled.

Haru forcefully rubbed his nose that still had a bit of pink powder dust.

“Okay.” he said, sniffling, eyeing his hands that were now a bit pink as well. “I guess I can take them to Obscuary.”

Ren raised an eyebrow.

“Obscuary? Why don't you take them to their dorm?”

Haru tiptoed towards the bed, gently removing the duvet from your body, a guilty expression on his face as he noticed how you shivered under the cold air.

“They’re gonna spend a little time there.” He mumbled as he crouched and pulled you into his arms with ease. “Oh, that reminds me…” he turned to Ren, expression unusually severe. “You’re not allowed to tell anyone that they were here. If anyone asks you if you know where they are, lie.”

“What? Why?” Ren asked as Haru maneuvered his way out of his room.

“Ah, it’s a bit of a long story, and it’s best if they tell you themself, but they asked Towa and I to do that. You have to do the same. That’s a Captain’s order, in fact.”

Ren scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, fine. Whatever.”

“You can't tell that Sinostra friend of yours, no matter what.” Haru added, going down the stairs as Ren trailed behind.

“Ritsu? He’s not my friend.”

“Can’t tell those 1st years from Vagastrom either.” Haru scowled as he looked once again the pink dust that still covered a good chunk of the room. Towa was nowhere to be seen.

“None of those guys are my friends! I won't tell anyone, I got it, ugh.”

“Okay. good. While I'm out, you clean up the living room then.” Haru concluded as he opened the door to the dorm and stepped out.

“What? Wait, hold on! I didn’t say I would do that!” Ren replied, exasperation in his features as he immediately tried running towards the entrance as well.

“Counting on you! Be right back! Bahnti!”

As soon as Ren arrived at the door, Haru was already nowhere to be seen, his stigma immediately taking him far and away from Jabberwock, leaving the whole living room mess in Ren’s hands.

“Fuck!” he slapped the wall, wincing at the instant pain on his palm. “He’s so fucking annoying!”

Haru opened the door to Obscuary’s main entrance with ease, despite holding you in his arms, and sauntered towards the bar.

The bell chimed softly as he opened the heavy mahogany door and entered the dim lit recint and soft, jazzy music echoed through the place accompanied by the clinking of glasses.

“Sorry, the bar’s not open yet!” Rui announced cheerily, his back towards the door as he dried one of his many crystal cups. “I'm still organizing everything so please come in a few hours from now!”

Haru grunted, adjusting you in his arms before getting closer to the counter.

“Hey, Rui.” He said with a sigh, resting his hip against the sturdy wood.

“Oh! Harurin!” Rui took a quick glance over his shoulder before placing the cup down and turning around. “What’s u–” he paused with a gasp, eyes widening, as soon as he was faced with Haru's sheepish smile and your form, bundled in his arms.

“Uh…” Rui cleared his throat, eyes glued to the way you seemed to be holding on to Haru's vest for dear life. “What's going on?” he laughed anxiously as he rounded the counter to get closer.

“Aw, will you look at that. They look like that silly little princess from the fairytales.” Ed’s sultry voice resounded from a corner of the bar, his tall and languid form coming out of the shadows with a smirk on his face.

“Are they okay?” Rui asked, completely ignoring Ed's comment, although his grimace was fairly obvious.

“Well…” Haru shrugged, looking at you with a frown. “Physically, I guess they’re fine. They were going to come here to Obscuary and ask to stay a little while, but they passed out back in Jabberwock. Probably of exhaustion.”

“Exhaustion?”

The bar’s door slammed open and both men jumped, startled by the loud noise. You, however, remained trapped in a deep slumber, despite the ruckus caused by Lyca as he barreled through the bar with excitement.

“Is the honor student here?! I smell their-” Lyca’s expression fell as soon as he saw you bundled up in Haru’s arms, eyes still puffy, with a frown as you dreamed unpleasant dreams.

Lyca’s ears and tail popped out, an angry rumble reverberating in his chest while he approached Haru, slowly.

“Harurin…” he growled the nickname, an odd contrast to his demeanor. “What did you do?!”

“Lyca, calm down.” Rui stepped in front of Haru before the werewolf could come any closer.

Haru gulped, voice trembling as he backed away from Lyca’s very prominent canine features and tried to keep his fear of dogs at bay.

“Hey, I just brought them here as they were already planning to do, big guy. No need to get aggressive!”

“I’m not aggressive!”

“You sure do look aggressive...” Haru murmured.

“Lyca, don't worry that much. Harurin is a friend, remember? He wouldn't do anything to harm anyone, much less the honor student. Chill out.” Rui said with a warning glare.

“Ye-yeah! I would never hurt them! Please don't bite me!”

Lyca's ears and tail disappeared and he looked to the side, crossing his arms and sulking.

“I wasn't gonna bite” he pouted.

“What happened to them, though?” Rui pointed at you, trying to address the elephant the in the room once again. “They look absolutely wrecked.”

“I think… the pressure of everything and especially of all the other ghouls has finally got to them. You know how some of us can be.” he shrugged.

Rui sighed, a pitying look on his face as he clenched and unclenched his fists, keeping himself from reaching out and petting your tousled hair.

“They do look exhausted.”

Haru nodded.

“They cried a lot today.”

“They cried?!” Lyca’s eyes were wide, as if you crying was something unimaginable.

“Yeah and… They probably need to talk to you guys once they wake up, so keep watch, maybe.”

“Can't we wake them up then? So they tell us what's going on?” Lyca reached his hands towards you, but Rui shook his head.

“No Lyca, let them sleep. They probably need it. Harurin, can you take them to a room upstairs? It can be the one you use when you stay over.”

“No problem!”

“I’m gonna go with you.” Lyca grumbled, following Haru’s footsteps as he swiftly made way towards the mansion's second story.

“And you.” Rui turned on his heels to face Ed and pointed at him, accusative. “You just stay here and drink your wine while I fetch some stuff for them. Don't even think about messing with them while they're sleeping.”

Ed put a hand on his chest, feigning hurt.

“You wound me, Rui. I wouldn't dare kick a poor dog that's already down.”

Rui made a disgusted sound and walked away, to the sound of Ed’s amused chuckle.

Through the thick fog that encompassed your whole being, you saw a dog.

It felt like a lifetime since you’ve last seen one. A real one. Darkwick clearly had a preference for unnaturally skilled cats (demons? You weren't sure at that point), so you never saw dogs – at least not ones with a normal snout and little beaded, bright eyes.

Maybe they weren't as dextrous? It didn't matter.

But still, you saw a dog. And it was wagging its long, fluffy tail and panting happily, as if it was overjoyed to see you, an old friend you were supposed to recognize.

You didn't see your blurred, foggy surroundings, you just saw the dog – its dark, greyish coat and bright yellow eyes, the size of a labrador. It trotted towards you, head bowed down as it showed you it meant no harm. As it got right beside your feet, it laid down and showed its belly, begging for pets.

You smiled. The dog was so happy to see you. You wonder when was the last time anyone was this happy to see you.

You crouched down in order to pet it, and it wiggled gleefully under your hands, one paw shaking as you scratched a particularly good spot. Despite yourself, you cooed, telling him how he was so cute, such a good boy, so adorable. And it loved your praise, tail wagging a mile an hour.

After a few peaceful minutes, however, it started whining. It flopped down onto its side and got up quickly, startling you out of your happy daze.

"Hey, what's wrong?" You asked, but it whimpered and curled into itself, ears flat against its head and tail tucked between its legs. It was looking over your shoulder.

Without a second thought, you twisted your torso to see what was scaring it.

All you registered is a tall, woman-like figure with limbs bent unnaturally, one huge eye surrounded by purple, blue, red and white flowers; and a mouth slit into a wide, bloody smile.

Your mind screamed for you to leave, to run, to hide. No, no, not again, not again, not again.

But you were glued in place, breath hitched inside your throat as you can't do much but take it all in all over again.

There was something different in the scenario, though.

Right in front of the woman, there was a red headed man. He turned around slowly, as if he could sense your gaze fixed upon him. His toxic green eyes lock onto your figure, disdain and anger threatening to melt your bone like acid. Copious amounts of blood soaked his face, neck and white shirt.

You finally noticed how red your surroundings looked, out of nowhere.

The dog was long gone. You were alone again.

Taiga slowly placed the barrel of his golden, glittering gun onto your forehead with a blank expression. You tried to open your mouth and yell in a desperate attempt to have him recognize you, but your whole body felt heavy like lead.

All you could feel was the cold metal of his gun touch your forehead.

The piercing pain came right after the loud gunshot.

You screamed and flailed wildly on the bed, accidentally pushing Lyca, who napped peacefully on your belly. His body flipped to the side and he fell down with a yelp, but you didn’t even register his presence. Your eyes were still sealed shut, as if the nightmare had an unyielding grasp on your conscience, dragging your body back into its torturous depths as you left claw marks on the way.

You screamed and screamed. This seems to be your thing now, apparently.

"What's wrong? Hey!” Lyca jumped up to his feet in a rush, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you with little restraint on his strength. You kept on moaning in what sounded like incredible pain, still unaware of him

“Hey! What's wrong?" he gave tiny slaps on your cheeks, hoping to bring you back to consciousness. When that didn’t work, he settled for holding your arms down in order to keep you from getting hurt, since your arms were dangerously close from knocking everything that surrounded you and the bed.

Lyca’s eyes were brimmed with tears and he looked terrified once Rui entered the room.

“They- they won’t wake up” he stuttered, voice wavering as he looked at Rui for answers “What do I do?”

Rui breathed deeply, eyes fluttering as he tried to think of a solution. You were clearly still stuck in your sleep, unable to escape whatever seemed to be haunting you in your mind.

But what could he even do? It’s not like he could come near you and try to talk you out of your stupor, when you flailed wildly, almost as if convulsing – he couldn’t risk having you accidentally touch him, no matter what.

In the blink of an eye, however, Ed appeared on your bedside, an amused smile on his face as he flicked your forehead, huffing out a laugh.

“Come back here, you silly human.” he murmured, voice laced with a mischief that was unsuitable for the situation.

With a gasp, you resurfaced - your eyes finally opened and your body relaxed under Lyca’s arms. Your eyelids fluttered and you heaved, coughing as you took in your surroundings and, especially, Lyca’s pained expression hovering over you.

“Ly…ca?” you rasped and he immediately sat back on his heels, rubbing unshed tears away from his eyes and snot from his nose.

“You scared me.” he sniffed, looking away as you massaged your temples, a throbbing headache making itself known in your skull.

“What happened? What did I do?” you frown.

“You didn’t do anything, doll.” Rui chimed in, sitting on the foot of the bed with a meek smile “You were just having a really bad nightmare and it made you thrash in your sleep. It was a bit scary to see, but it wasn’t your fault. Can’t control that type of thing.” he explained, while smoothing non-existent wrinkles on the duvet.

“Oh, I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t know, I… This type of thing never happened before.” you tried sitting up, looking at Lyca apologetically.

“The blond gigolo already said it. It wasn’t your fault.” he huffed.

You remembered bits and pieces of the nightmare, but mostly, how it made you feel - all the helplessness, the pain and the terror that had slowly built up inside you ever since you arrived at Darkwick crashed upon you like a tidal wave, leaving you no space to breathe. It felt like being pushed over the precipice of death time and time again, and revived only to suffer the same pain once more - a Promethean torture that only allowed you to think what the hell could you have done to deserve that much hurt; which god could have possibly angered so badly to deserve their rage in such a way.

You sighed, still rubbing your temples.

“I'm sorry for scaring you either way… When- when did I arrive here?”

“Harurin brought you. You were fast asleep in his arms. He mentioned you said you'd apparently come here? Is that so?”

“Oh… Yeah… Yeah, it is.” gratitude washed over your body for a moment. Haru already did so much to help you. You promised yourself you'd find a way to express your thankfulness once things went back to normal – or as normal as they could be.

“What happened, doll?” Rui snapped you out of your thoughts and you looked into his eyes, an unusual seriousness in his expression. “He told us you kinda crashed out, but said you were planning something. What is it?”

You gulped, casting down your eyes and fiddling with the fabric of your blazer, mouth opening and closing as you tried to find the words to explain the mess that was your mind.

“I… I found a way to look at some of my old social media.” You muttered, finally.

Lyca scrunched his eyebrows, shaking his head in confusion.

“What does this have to do with what's going on?”

“I didnt know I was gonna be so affected by my memories.” You shrugged. “I suddenly remembered how I had a life out there. Outside of Darkwick. I don't know… I don't how I even forgot about it. I had friends, family. People who cared about me, people I don't know if I'll ever see again.” You murmured, looking everywhere but the pity in Rui's eyes. You were so, so fucking tired of crying. Your limbs felt like they weighed a million tons.

“And it made me think.” You continued, after trying to clear your throat from the knot that seemed to be permanently there. “How badly people treat me here. You guys are the exception, obviously, and a few others but…” you shook your head “I don't know what I did to deserve being humiliated on a daily basis. I'm– I'm threatened, yelled at, insulted, hurt time and time again by people who barely act as if I'm human. I think some of them might see me as lesser than that.”

Rui opened his mouth to speak, but the words were flowing freely from your lips – sorrow finally seemed to have given away to anger and you needed to air out your grievances before they dragged you down again.

“And some of them see me as a school project. Means to an end, you know? Cure that stupid human and get this cool prize. I'm not a fucking project. I had my life. My dreams. They all act as if they're doing me a favor when all I wanted was to never have met them at all; never been through this at all.”

A beat passed, heavy in its silence.

“You regret meeting us?” Lyca's voice cut through the rage that covered your vision, and you paused.

He had his eyes downcast, a pout on his lips and a line between his eyebrows. He poked the bed, trying his best not to give in to the frown that tried to tug his lips down.

You hurt him. How great.

“No, Lyca. I'd never regret meeting you, nor many of the friends I made here.” You reached out to grab his hand, quieting his fidgeting as you squeezed it reassuringly. Lyca side eyed you with barely concealed upset. “It's true, I– I promise you. I swear. I love you guys and it's the only thing that has kept me alive so far.”

At the mention of the word “love”, Lyca's cheeks turned pink and he squirmed his hand out of your hold, embarrassed.

“You don't- don't need to exaggerate.” He murmured, scratching his cheek.

“It's true.” You smiled, before turning serious once again. “But I would be glad if I could never see some people ever again.”

“Okay, so… what is this plan Harurin mentioned then?” Rui chimed in, once again bringing back the focus.

You breathed deeply.

“I wanna give myself a break. I wanna spend some time away from them, from the people that have been hurting me. I asked Haru to bring me here because I wanted to ask if I could spend some time here in Obscuary, hidden from some of the ghouls.”

“Of course you can!” Lyca immediately jumped at your words, straightening his back. When he didn't get confirmation right away, he looked at Rui. “Right?”

“I mean… You can, but, uh. I'm not sure how it'd change anything…?”

“Change?” You tilted your head.

“Rui means: What is your goal with this?” Ed suddenly spoke. He had seated himself in a nearby armchair, quietly watching the exchange. You had basically forgotten he was there.

“What?”

“What do you plan on getting from this disappearing stunt? Apologies? Penitence? A sudden revelation from them that they love you and can't live without you?”

You scoffed.

“Have you been watching romcoms lately?”

Ed chuckled, amused.

“How do you know that? I found this website called Netflix and it's been a delight.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, I could tell. No, I dont expect any of them to miss me or whatever.”

“Then…?”

“I'm just tired. I’m so tired, Rui. I wanna rest. I want some peace and quiet, without someone searching for me and dragging me to do whatever stupid task they think I gotta do. I wanna sleep in without the threat of being yelled at by some asshole that's barely older than me. I need a timeout.”

Rui pursed his lips and hummed in thought with a finger tapping his chin.

“But I bet some of them will look for you. You know how they are.”

“Just pretend you don't know anything. You haven't seen me at all. I hardly doubt anyone wants to walk through Obscuary’s forest anyway.”

“Ouch!” Rui laughed with a hand on his heart. “But well, yeah. You aren't wrong.”

“So… Can I stay? For a little while? I promise I'll help out to pay back for my stay.”

Rui was already nodding, but before he could open his mouth to agree, Ed interrupted, a lascivious smile on his lips:

“You know all your troubles would be solved if you just accepted what I offered to you back in that one mission, don't you my dear?”

A hazy, pink hued memory of Ed's whispers flashed behind your eyes: a hypnotizing hum vibrating in your bones, egging you to allow him to sink his teeth on your throat and exchange your deadly curse for his own. You shivered.

“No offense, but being tied to you for an eternity is a torture of its own. I don’t wanna exchange one torture for another.”

Ed's smile faltered for a moment, but you catched it regardless.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Rui asked, eyes wide and hypervigilant of whatever insanity Ed was referring to.

“Nothing. Your captain is just being unreasonable again.” you shook your head.

“So? Will you stay in Obscuary for real?” Lyca asked, ignoring the exchange entirely.

You looked at Rui for confirmation. He put his hands on his hips with a defeated sigh.

“Oh, honey. You know I have a weak spot for you, don't you?” he winked, back on his best host demeanor once again.

You breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders slumping.

“Thank you, Rui. Thank you so much. I promise I won't give you trouble and will help out here as much as I can.”

Lyca suddenly grabbed your hands and leaned forward, clearly on a quest to hog all of your attention.

“Now that you're staying, come here with me. I gotta show you my new drawings!” he immediately jumped out of the bed and pulled you by your hand, taking you outside the bedroom and towards his own room.

“Lyca, they barely woke up! Be careful! And reasonable! Geez!” Rui trailed behind you, exasperation clear in his voice.

You didn't miss how Ed stayed back, still in the armchair. And a weird glint in his gaze, firmly locked onto you, is the last thing you see as you leave the room.

Comments or reblogs with tags are appreciated! Please let me know what you think of this so far

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Miss Raven may ask for some spoilers please?? 😨 what is this i hear about horror and Malleus knocking on the door? What the fuck is happening over there??? 😭

[You can read my thoughts on the book 7 chapter 12 part 3 update here!]

Idia’s connection to the rescue squad (via his tablet) is cut off in 7-280; we then see Idia in 281 coding away in his dream when there’s a sudden knock at his door. He asks who is it, and Malleus responds with, “It’s me […] Malleus Draconia.”

WhICH v ERY UNDERSTANdABLY SENDS IDIA INTO A PANIC

7-282 opens with Idia trying to stay calm and act like everything is normal. He says it’s rare for Malleus to visit Ignihyde. They don’t have a dorm leader meeting today, do they? Well, Idia would just tune in via his tablet anyway~

“Shroud. I have something to ask you. Open the door.” (Note: Malleus is not able to automatically blast it down because Idia has special technomantic bullshit in place protecting from unauthorized entry into his room.)

Idia asks Malleus what did he want to ask? They can do a video call; Idia’s not so good with face-to-face convo. A video call’s more convenient for them both, right?

Unfortunately, Malleus refuses. “No, now. There is something I must make certain of right now.”

Idia wonders what that “something” is.

AND THiS IS ThE mo MENt WHEN tHD E HORROR kiCKS IN FULL foRCE…

“Shroud. You—

“Are you awake?”

THEN WE CUT BACK TO RIDDLE’S DREAM AND DON’T GET TO SEE IDIA AGAIN UNTIL 7-294… These scenes were just something straight out of a horror movie.

This isn’t properly conveyed through my summary, but there’s a lot more that’s just creepy about 7-281 and 7-282. For example, the OST track Puzzling is playing in the background; it’s very ominous-sounding. I also trimmed out a lot of Idia’s internal panicking, which heightens the sense of dread building in your gut as you read the lines. Every so often, the screen even fills with static, almost as if Malleus’s cold fury is warping the dream or the game itself. It’s like building up to a horrifying jumpscare.

Wieiwieidwheuwudg While writing this response up, I actually found someone that uploaded 7-281 and 7-282 (with English subtitles, for your convenience)! You should take a listen yourself to see what I mean :3c Drink up all those horror vibes…

dhjsvskwnzks Anyway, this is why you’ll find a lot of horror themed fan art in the wake of the recent main story update ^^

[boinday]

The Water Dog Update

Short version:

I gotta hack my darling into pieces

Long version:

Hmm. How to put this. I am becoming increasingly disillusioned with my dream of being an author, which seems like a normal part of "growing up," but it's a hard thing to swallow when you've dedicated your life to that goal from the age of 12.

I don't think I'm a savant, or some great undiscovered talent that the world is missing out on. But I do have faith in my skill. When I said last September that The Water Dog was finished, I meant it - insofar as it could be finished without a professional editor. I'm not arrogant or naive enough to think there's no room for improvement, but I am satisfied that I have told the story I wanted to, in the tone I wanted to.

However, that's the problem... Tone. I wrote TWD to be slow and soft and cozy, with language that follows the rhythms of old Irish stageplays. I designed it to feel like a Ghibli movie, where the writing focuses strongly on making my readers feel folded into the community, and where the conflict of the plot has to compete with the seduction of the atmosphere. I honestly think the style works, and it's gotten almost exclusively positive feedback from beta readers. But it means the book is long and gently paced, which is simply not what the Market wants right now.

TWD is 140k words long. That book length isn't unheard of for a debut, but almost all the literary agents I've been following on social media say 100k words is too long. In two instances, when I tried to submit my manuscript to an agent soliciting work, their online form would not let me submit once I'd entered the word count, saying it was over their limit.

And I'm not begrudging agents for this - they understand the market, their job is to find manuscripts that will be attractive to publishers. It's an extremely competitive industry that, in my opinion, is becoming increasingly hostile to debuts. I wrote on my other blog about my frustration about the Tiktoker who received a two book publishing deal from Simon & Schuster, despite the fact he hasn't WRITTEN a book yet. Meanwhile I see incredibly talented authors giving up and opting for self publishing, because after fighting for years to get their manuscripts to submission, they're shot down for having queer characters or some bullshit like that.

I've had multiple agents request my full manuscript after reading my query - a signal to me that my story IS interesting and it HAS potential. But all of them have told me the same thing: the length is untenable. So, I'm taking a hatchet to my work.

I'm going to try and chop 40k words off the novel without fundamentally changing the story. I think I'm a pretty tight writer, narrative wise - I don't waste space, I make sure every sentence has a purpose to the wider story. So I suspect most of the cuts will be to the atmosphere of the novel, shrinking it to be more fast paced, intense and anxiety inducing. It's not what I wanted it to be, but I'm willing to do what I have to if it means the novel will be considered for trad publishing.

Anyway, if you're still reading - wow! You must actually care about the project. So I'll share a little secret with you :3c If, by the end of this year TWD has had no nibbles from agents, I intend to turn it into a serialised audiobook. A free "podcast" where I'll release one chapter a week, every week for six months. I'll make the novel available for purchase by self-publishing, of course, but I think the spoken word really complements that stageplay style I mentioned.

Thanks for your interest and support! <3

[echoesintheravyne]

fic recs, but with fangirling ('cause i can't stfu) (thg, part one) .ᐟ

short message to the authors i'm about to tag: if you somehow recognize my rambling from the tags in my other reading account ,, let's just not mention any of it pls and thanks ( ily all have a good day )

@joluvsfinnick - "what was never mine (part 1)" , "the role i played (part 2)" , "before i forget you (part 3)" , "sandcastles and second chances (part 4)"

the latest fic series that made me bawl at 2 AM in the morning ... but also has one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking writing that i've ever encountered. every emotion was framed beautifully to the point that you don't even have to experience what happened to reader just to relate, you just can, and it's an example of such wonderful language use that results in drawing out both the emotions of the characters and readers (also scared the shit out of me when you followed back .. UHM! HI)

2. @ssweeterthanfiction - "orbit (series)" ; whole masterlist

ORBIT IS ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVES EVER! one of my favorite tropes is the estranged childhood best friends and oh my goddd, they delivered! it's so cute (admittedly, i have yet to read chapter 5 because i saw "angst" in all caps and i got scared so now i've been putting it off HAHAHA) also, also, on one of the many authors in the finnick tag whose masterlist i binge-read because their au's are so good.

3. @humaling - "two victors, one closet (discontinued for now)" ; "mother's day special" ; whole masterlist

oh god, where do i even start? angst-wise, humaling is my best bet when it comes to that. she's really amazing with words and one of my inspos in coming back to writing. love her use of figurative language, similar to how i liked joluvsfinnick's. "two victors, one closet" is just seared into my brain because it was the first fic i read from her, and "mother's day special" is so cute because finnick would be such a cute manliligaw. and also another author whose masterlist i binged.

4. @ivymirrorball768 - "hey, little songbird"

I JUST FOUND OUT THE AUTHOR OF MY FAVORITE FINNICK FIC IN AO3 IS HERE ... i don't know if this tag is still alive, but i'm gonnna ramble either way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i love the fic sm enough to talk about it again. every character and the arena is so fleshed out to the point that you can actually tell me that this was in the books and i'd believe you. i'm a sucker for slowburn, so i'm invested in this fic fr fr. ADDITIONALLY, "hadestown" references ... as a musical nerd that spoke to me it called my name like a siren REAL

5. @ellecdc - "allies and torment" ; "blood rain" ; "still? always." ; whole finnick masterlist

girl atp i'm out of words because all i'm going to say is she's another amazing writer. i also read her other fics besides the finnick ones, and they're really good. part of the reason why i like her writing so much is that the flow is really smooth and natural, and an example is "allies and torment" because as a shy person - how'd you take my mind and describe it exactly the way i would react? "blood rain" is also really good dialogue work because you can hear them as in-character conversations that could actually happen. "still? always" need i say more? a wonderful take on the hijacked!reader prompt.

note : i'll post part two either tomorrow or ... next week :3c i have more authors that i really like here. maybe i can rec some ao3 fics if anybody wants, i'll see ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[enjisbf]

fairy lights & illusions

Chap. 2 : tea and biscuits

° Pairing: pornstar!John Price x inexperienced!fem!reader

word count: 5k words (actually 4 9696 but whatever)

summary: Meet cute but you actually already met lol

warnings: lovefools being in love but one is in denial :p

author's notes: Hello, hello, hello !!! Apologies for the delays, fellas and non fellas. I fear that I have been hit by the ao3 author curse lol :p Now, do not be afraid, I've already started chapter 3 and hopefully, the wait would be shorter lol. Can't promise anything, though :p I HOPE YOU ENJOY !!!! Thank you so much for the lovely words, you guys don't understand just how much they brightened my days <333333 This is so nerve wracking. I am sure that I am going to find mispells and mistakes in a few days, hope they're not too bad lol. Don't hesitate to tell if you find a real bad one o7 Did not proof read this, didn't even check with a spelling thingie thing program. I am raw dogging this :3c Okay, I'll stop yapping. ENJOY <33333333333333

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅─

He couldn’t get you out of his mind. It had been a week since the release of the video, and a week and a half since he last saw you. However, he remembers your softness, from your lips to your gaze, as if it had only been since yesterday. What’s more, the fans couldn’t quite forget you either, based on the comments they were leaving. From his private channel to his public one, the viewers were overjoyed with this softer version of the ‘Capt’n’. They loved how he would hold your hand every time you came, or how gentle and full of affection the aftercare was. Fuck, what a good girl you had been for him.  

His team was equally as happy to see that the fans loved this version of John. So much so, that they advised him to contact you to see if you were up to film more videos with him. Of course, he immediately agreed. To please his fans, of course. Ah, who was he kidding? He couldn’t lie to himself. He had felt the capture of his heart by your softness, the second you had introduced yourself. 

Shaking himself from thoughts of your sweet smile and even sweeter nectar, John sets on walking to his destination. Some days ago, Kyle had recommended this coffee place not far from the studio. The Capt’n trusted the man’s recommendation and was sure that he could find his happiness there. As John entered the place, he checked the lads’ orders again. Kyle wanted guava leaf tea with some milk, Simon’s order was a peculiar one and Johnny wanted a double shot espresso.  

He looked around as he waited in line for his turn, and he had to admit that the place felt very cozy. The sunrays streaming through the windows provided a comfortable vibe to the place, and the many plants adorning the place made it livelier. As he waited, he texted the boys that the shop was a bit busy, and that he would probably be back in 15. When it was his turn to order, he noticed in the corner of his eyes, a silhouette that he was familiar with, for it had been haunting his mind for days. As if his body was a planet and you his sun, he felt himself gravitating towards you. When his order was done, and he hoped he made sense to the worker, instead of finding a place to sit, John was approaching you. When he deemed that he was at a good distance, he greeted you in joy by calling your name.  

As your head turned at the sound of your name, John’s eyes were given the privilege to gaze into yours again. He might have watched your video plenty of times, but nothing could compare to having you in front of him. Breathing, within reach and possible to gravitate towards. Surprise quickly painted your face before it was covered by happiness.  

“John! It’s so nice to see you here!” 

“That it is, poppy! I am glad I ran into you! Was just thinking about sending you a message to meet up, pet.”  

If John possessed the powers of reading into minds, he would see you screaming into yours because he thought of you??? He was glad to run into you??? Okay, you had to calm down before melting from happiness right in front of his eyes. You took a subtle deep breath, or at least you hoped it was subtle, before meeting his beautiful eyes again. The both of you were sporting lovesick smiles, happy to finally be in each other’s orbit once more. Checking your watch, you noticed that it was close to your break time. You told him so just before his name was called out to take his order. With a charming smile still on his lips, he pointed to a vacant table with his thumb.  

“Perfect, may I give you company during your break?” So, what if your heart skipped a beat foolishly at the beauty of this man? Only you would know of it and so with a dazzling smile you accepted his invitation. It didn’t matter that you would never have a tangible relationship with this man. You will take whatever you get. As he carried his order with him, he walked the both of you to the table. His other hand itching to hover at your backside. He couldn’t. Not yet. He had to wait. He had to show patience and while he was known by the lads for his cool. You made him feel differently. However, ever the gentleman, he made sure to pull out your chair for you before sitting down himself.  

“How ‘ave you been, poppy?”  

“Ah, you know, quite sore but I wouldn’t dare complain about it!”  

“Yeah? Would apologise to ya, but I enjoyed it too much.” Was said with a cheeky wink on his part. You hummed in confirmation at his words before speaking once more.  

“That and ever since the video has been posted... Well, let’s just say that the toy really does not compare to the real deal.” It was your turn to send him a sly wink. Although, in his eyes, with your cheeks all flushed and your wink, he was just left in complete awe at your beauty and cuteness. He was also left with his dick slowly hardening in his pants. His jaw clenched, his head tilting a bit as he tried to readjust himself in his pants.   

“Jesus, pet, I’m already struggling as it is to keep my hands to myself.” With his legs spread wider underneath the table and his hands placed above, he leaned closer to your space before speaking in a lower tone. “Unless ya want me to bend you over this table and show all the patrons and your coworkers just how badly I’ve missed you, hm?”  

Well, play with fire and get burnt because you were also adjusting yourself underneath the table now. Thighs rubbing together to relieve the pulse growing stronger between your legs. Of course, the motion didn’t go left unnoticed by the bear of a man. Now, it was your turn to lean in his space, his pull on you being too strong to ignore.  

“Hm, what did you want to meet up for anyway?”  

“Ah yes! Well, don’t know if you saw but the viewers were very pleased by our video.” He paused to look at you in confirmation. However, instead of seeing your sweet smile or flushed cheeks, you had leaned back from him with a small pout on your face. Fuck, he hated to see that look on your face. His hands itched to connect with yours, to give you some reassurance, to have the both of you in your own world once more. “What’s that look for, pet?” He couldn’t help himself. As he saw how you were slowly retreating to your own space, he leaned as far as the table let him, his pinkie reaching out to touch you. As he finally allowed himself to have some contact with you, he felt himself breathing easier. At the touch, you allowed yourself to look into his eyes once more, and his heart broke a bit at your dejected look.  

“I didn’t- I didn’t see those kinds of comments when I gathered up the courage to check on what your fans thought.”  

The anger that curled around his ribs at your words was pushed to the side as he looked at you. Your frown deepening and your eyes slowly being filled with tears. He turned his hand upward near your own, trying to communicate that he was there for you. Your eyes quickly looked at his hand before looking back down at your lap. Fuck, this had been going so well and now you were close to crying. Try as he might, he couldn’t leave you with thoughts of yourself like that, and just as he was about to speak, your name was being called.  

You looked at your coworker who looked stressed as more clients entered the café. This was just the beginning of rush hour. You nodded to confirm that you will wrap this conversation up. Before getting up from your seat, you set your watery eyes on John. “I’m sorry, John. Work’s calling.” Just as you were about to escape from the harsh reality you were reminded of, Price gently grabbed your forearm. The grip was firm, and you knew that if you wanted to, you could escape his hold, but did you?  

“Poppy, please.” Whatever that was going to leave your mouth was cut off by your coworker once more. John felt his impatience creeping up on him. His jaw clenched; his nails dug in his free palm as he set his eyes on whoever called you. The hard set of eyes met those of the unfortunate soul. Which was plenty enough for them to quickly look away from the both of you. As he looked back at you, his jaw and hand unclenched. He called your name when you wouldn’t meet his eyes, moving his head in whatever direction your eyes stubbornly followed. His hands found themselves on your biceps, softly squeezing the muscle and fat. Blood and bones underneath his hands, after wishing to hold you for so long, you were finally in his grasp. “I won’t be able to continue on with my day if we part in such ways.” As your eyes finally his, the noises around you were reduced to a slight buzz. “I know we have neither the time nor privacy to talk more about this, but would you be willing to continue this conversation somewhere else?”  

After some seconds of hesitation, you agreed with a nod. Of course, you would listen and agree, you were his good girl after all. He made sure to voice those thoughts and the small quirk of your lips was enough to please him. For now.  

“I really have to go now, John. Just text me the address, alright?” 

“Alright, sweets. Take care of yourself and I’ll see you soon.”  

“I will. See you soon, John.”  

However, instead of letting go, instead of escaping his hold, the both of you stayed in each other’s orbit. Not willing to separate after being apart, even if it had been for a short time, even when you would see each other soon. As you gathered the courage to part with him, you felt his hands move along your body. One of his palms came to rest on your hip while the other rested on the back of your head. Safe in his arms, once more. He leaned in and your eyes closed in anticipation, awaiting his lips to meet yours. However, the kiss didn’t land where you had expected. Instead, the bear of a man gripped you a bit tighter before bringing his lips to your temple. The Captain lingered a bit in that position before moving his hand, grabbing your chin between his pointer and thumb, making sure to hold the eye contact between you two.  

“Can’t wait to see you again, my good girl.” And with that, he left you with a peck on the forehead and a fuzzy feeling in your stomach. ‘This fucking man might just kill me.’  

As you joined your coworkers’ side once more, they side eyed you a bit before getting back to work. You were sure that some of them will ask plenty of questions regarding that little moment between John and you. However, for now, you will treasure seeing him again and ignore your heavy heart.  

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ 

Upon his return from the coffee shop, the lads had whined and bitched about their beverages going cold and him taking ages. However, he couldn’t bother more than deliver the drinks and growl to the boys to shut up before he went into the break room. Not when the fallen expression on your face was still imprinted on his mind.  

Now, with his phone beside him, nervous anticipation was running in his system as he waited for his pet to reply. As he was leaning back against the counter, with his arms crossed, the man wondered why he hadn’t just gone home. Of course, the Captain should have expected the muppets to follow him when he wanted some quiet to think. They probably sniffed out that there was more than him being “an old man” that explained his delay. As he was waiting for a reply from you, Johnny and Kyle kept going back and forth while Simon just grunted occasionally.  

“Reckon John ran into someone he knew and just talked their ear off.”  

“What if he pulled a Johnny and forgot that he had a video to shoot?”  

“In ma defence, a lad sometimes forgets he has tae film a public porn video, ken” 

“That type of shit only happens to you, man.”  

“Well, ye dinnae ken that, do ya? Is the bonnie lad correct, Captain?” 

John lifted his eyes to look at the boys in front of him before answering.  

“Simon’s guess is the closest one to being true.”  

A mumbled ‘fucking right’ from Simon reached everyone’s ears. His hand outreached to the other two men. Kyle and Johnny grunted in annoyance before placing money in the man’s palm.  John just watched the scene unfold in amusement. When the boys’ attention returned to him, he could already imagine the ticking bomb that was about to go off. Their minds trying to decipher who had taken hold of his attention for so long. Just as the dozens of questions were about to roll of their tongues, John heard his phone go off.  

He quickly looked to his side and saw your name. Not willing to waste any time, he took off with his phone and said his goodbyes quickly to the lads.  

“Gotta go, boys. My poppy is waiting for me.”  

As the Captain walked rapidly towards the exit, he could hear the boys placing new bets on who he was talking about. Couldn’t give two shits, though. Couldn’t bother to do more than chuckle. Not with you on the forefront of his mind. Price felt adrenaline and excitement shoot through his veins, his pace rapid to reach his car. He was close to trembling at the idea of seeing you, of being close to you once more. While he was pulling his seatbelt, he checked the messages once more.  

Hi, poppy.   Wanted to know if you would be willing to meet up at my house?   Here’s the address: yada yada street, 141 London 

Sure! Could you just pick me up near the store ‘Assortments’ and meet up in two hours?  If that’s okay with you, of course ^^ 

Of course, pet. I’ll be there. 

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ 

With sweaty palms and a kaleidoscope of butterflies in your stomach, you were feeling a sense of déja vu as you waited for John on the bench. Today was all about feeling past emotions. When you felt the buzz of your phone, when you were getting ready for John, the feeling of being too nervous and too excited. You hoped he would like your dress; you hoped he would like you.  

With a shake of your head, you dismissed your last thoughts. The only reason you had even met John Price was because you won a contest. This was no love story about soulmates. No, this was harsh reality, and the quicker you got that inside of your brain, the better. Your thoughts were getting more jumbled together. Maybe, this invite was so that he could cut you off... but he was the one who reached out to you. He said he was thinking of you. That couldn’t be just to cut you off, right? Right? Oh, you just wanted to lie down in bed and bury your sorrows. With your head in between your hands, you tried to make sense of the situation.  

“What’s that look for, pet?”  

There it is, again. Past emotions surging back to the surface. Unbothered by the world, by the people walking nearby, John squatted down in front of you. (The look of pain not going unnoticed by you.) His soft blue eyes looking at you with an emotion you couldn’t quite determine. His hands took hold of yours to gently remove them from their positions.  

“John! Were you waiting for me in your car? I’m sorry-”  

“Nah, poppy, don’t worry about none o’ that.” His hands were still in yours and were resting on your lap. Enlaced together, orbiting towards one another. “You ready to go?”  

“Y-yeah, I think I am.”  

His eyes crinkled in the corners, his lips perking up into a soft smile. The sight was enough to bat away the feelings that had crept up to you. By the stars, he was such a pretty man.  

“Alright, pet, come on, then.” So, with his hand still enlaced with one of yours, the man got up from his position. Groaning a bit as he did so, placing his right hand on his lower back. While walking to his car, you chirped a little comment.  

“You know, if your back hurts, I know this great massage place!” He turned his head to look at you properly, only giving you a meh sound, with his smile still on his face. Your lips, in turn, quirked up in a smile at the words leaving you next.  

“Ooor, I’ve been told that I give a pretty good massage.” At this, his lips were painted in a grin now as he replied to you.  

“Yeah? Well, I’d much rather have your hands on my poor back, poppy.” You mirrored his expression, stopping in your tracks since he did as well. As always, with him, you had been too occupied with his beauty that your surroundings turned into a blur. Looking away from his beauty, you realised that you were probably in front his car. The Captain opened the door for you, helping you get inside, helping you fasten the seatbelt. He made sure you were alright before closing your door.  

‘Well, here goes nothing.’  

 ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╯╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ 

The drive to his house had been surprising comfortable, but you should have known that it was impossible not to feel at easy when you were with John. It hadn’t been a long trip, maybe 20 minutes passed before you reached his house. At the sight of it, you chirped that it represented him well. He thanked you as he parked the car, telling you to stay in your seat. So, you did. You were pleasantly surprised when John had rushed to your side to open the door for you. When he unfastened your seatbelt and took hold of your hand. When you walked side by side to the front of his home.  

Upon entering his house, you had both taken off your shoes. John had asked if you wanted to be shown around, but your stomach’s rumbling had turned his attention to another matter. You had smiled a bit in embarrassment at his chuckle. Then, the bear of a man had guided you to the living room before leaving to the kitchen to make some tea and prepare a snack. Making sure to tell you to feel at home and kiss your forehead before parting ways.  

While you waited for him to return, you inspected your surroundings. This house was exactly what you had imagined. It was true when they said that your living space was a reflection of yourself. The home didn’t feel like a bachelor pad. No, instead, it felt warm and comforting. Adjectives you would use for John. You were seated on one of the armchairs, feeling as thought you were on a cloud. With your knees pulled to your chest, you cherished being surrounded by John’s smell. He must spend lots of time in this place.  

You breathed it in, eyes closing in satisfaction. With the sounds coming from the kitchen, and your feeling of bliss, you could pretend while you waited. You could pretend that this was just another day. That John felt something for you, that you could feel something for him. That this was just another day in the Price household. Alas, reality wasn’t so kind to you, and you were brought back to the present world.  

When you opened your eyes, you saw John walking in with a tray in his hands. A smile still on his face. ‘What a pretty man.’  

“Here you go, poppy.” He placed the tray on the table in front of you. Taking a seat on the sofa on your right side. 

“Thank you so much, John. You didn’t need to do so much.” The tray was full of things. He really had taken the time to prepare this. The thought warned your chest, feeling something blossoming in your ribs. As soon as the thoughts started to pop in, they burst into nothing. No, John was just a gentleman and a good host. Nothing more, nothing less.  

“None o’ that, pet. Didn’t know how you took your tea, so here’s everything you might need.”  

You thanked him once more, smiling in contentment at the kind gesture. As you prepared your cuppa, the two of you chatted. It was always so easy with him. You couldn’t control the many butterflies flying in your stomach, fighting to be let out. To be let free.  

You couldn’t know just how badly John was having his own battle at the same time. How badly he wanted you. How he yearned to have you in his home like this every day, sitting in his favourite armchair with a face of contentment. You looked so at home, so at peace, sitting with your eyes closed in happiness. John’s eyes crinkled as he took in the view. Suddenly, he remembered your stomach grumbling in annoyance and picked up the plate of biscuits. As it nudged your hand, you opened your eyes. They were so full of warmth. He could only hope that the words leaving his mouth won’t dampen the light in them.  

“Here take one, pet.” You softly thanked him, taking two biscuits in your hand. Your stomach was so happy to receive food that you did a little dance of happiness as you ate. John’s cheeks were starting to ache from happiness, you looked so beautiful. “I hope I don’t disturb your mood by saying this, poppy, but how about we continue our conversation from earlier?” Your chewing slowed, your stomach feeling heavier for a different reason other than food. You didn’t really want to think about the mean words, again, but John- You could trust John. Right?  

Sensing the hesitance from you, he reassured you that it didn’t have to be now if you didn’t want it to be. That didn’t mean that you would never have this talk thought, but he was willing to go at your own pace, ready to follow your lead. Even if you had only spent most of your time together in... a particular position, you trusted this man, and so you agreed to talk.  

You talked about the comments you had found under his public channel. How they had made you feel small. How you had tried to ignore them, but their cruelty would come back as whispers. It was when tears had gathered in your eyes that John took hold of your hand and pulled you out of your seat to be seated next to him. Within reach to be able to wipe down the tears that slid down your cheeks. He whispered words of encouragement and praise in the hopes to help you calm down. You wanted to stay there indefinitely, and yet you knew that this could not be. At the thought, fresh new tears slid down your tears and John’s frown deepened. His concern and fury mixing in together in his rib cage. Tendrils mingling with one another and circling his every bones.  

He told you that he would turn off his comments until his fans learnt to be respectful. That he would go as far as making the videos private if it meant you would have some peace of mind. Immediately, you refused. You couldn’t let him make such a big decision for little ol’ you. This was his way to pay the bills, to pay the groceries. You wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if you knew that he was running short on money due to you being sensitive.  

“And I wouldn’t be able to rest easy if I knew that you were crying like this because of mean trolls, pretty girl.” His hands never left you; they were always touching some skin. Gently caressing your cheeks, making sure no tears were left. He didn’t know if he was doing it to reassure you or himself. 

You weren’t going to agree on this topic, for now. So, you opted to change directions, in the hopes of forgetting about it altogether. (You should know better.) When you felt his hands retract, you quickly grabbed them. Reaching out to him, fingers tracing small circles on his palms, feeling how his rough his hands were, and yet they always handled you with care.  

“Anyway, what- you wanted to talk about something else earlier, right?” Your head tilted as you asked, and John felt his heart ready to burst at the sight. How were you so beautiful?  

“Yes! Yes, I wanted to talk to you about something my team and I discussed.” He took a deep breath, waiting for a sign from you to continue. You nodded and he dutifully obeyed, opening his mouth to deliver words at your lap. “They noticed positive feedback from this type of content. Told me it’d be good business to keep on going.”  

“That’s good. I’m glad for you, John!” You smiled at him all sweetly, perfect poppy that you were. Your smile remained on your face as your eyebrows slightly scrunched in confusion, fingers stopping their movements. “Although, I don’t see how that involves us having a talk? Unless...” You looked at him with eyes full of emotions. Uncertainty being the lead dancer in your irises. 

“Well, told my team that I completely agreed with them, of course.” Price tried his best not to get too excited, continuing the movements you had stopped to redirect his energy somewhere. “They wanted me to do it with someone from the studio, but well,” Even with the skin contact you both had. It didn’t feel enough. It felt like he would orbit out of your gravitational pull if he kept on going like this. He wanted, nay, he needed to explode, interlink your world with his. Your eyes wouldn’t leave his and that was a good sign as any to keep on talking. “told them that the fans were asking for you, poppy.”  By the way your eyebrows shot to your hairline, you hadn’t expected those words to come out of his mouth. With a stunned voice, you voiced your emotions.  

“I don’t understand- I am not-”  

“I know, I know, but you’re a breath of fresh air for the fans, pet. You don’t hold back on your expressions, on the sounds you make, they eat that up.”  

“...I’m- but what about you, John? Wouldn’t you rather deal with a professional? Wouldn’t you rather do this with someone else other than me?”  

That was what his team had told him. He had been quite in denial at the start. Reasoning with them that he was just trying to please the fans. That his insistence that it was you and not someone else was purely for the business. What a fool he had been to have thought that, to have believed that for even a second.  

“Pet, you wouldn’t be here right inside of my house right now if I wanted someone else.” 

Your hands left his, attempting to ground yourself, to believe the words that were leaving his mouth.  

“So, what are you saying? What do you want me to do?”  

“Nothing that you don’t feel comfortable doing of course.” You nodded because that was obvious from the get-go. “To sum it up, I want to make more videos with you. We’ll share the profits 50/50, of course. The themes would be similar to our first video. Soft and nice, poppy, just how you like it.” His pointer and thumb quickly took hold of your chin, snapping you back from your thoughts, from the mess of words in your head. When your eyes found his, he smiled just like how he always did when it was directed towards you and released your face.  

“Where will you post those videos? And how many times would you need to do this per month?” 

“Everything would be on the private channel. Of course, any raw footage will be sent to you, anyway. As for how many times, I can’t tell you quite, yet. We can work around your schedule, but maybe we could do a session every week? We can work out the details later if you agree to this.” You nodded in thoughts, attentively listening to every word dropped from him. “I understand that you would need time to think this through. That’s no problem, please take the ti-” 

“Yes.” It was now John’s turn to have his eyebrows shoot to his hairline.  

“Pet, are you su-”  

“Yes, I am sure.”

[winwinwrites]

As another Zayne and Caleb girlie my eyes locked in when you said you have a preference for them AND that you write poly >:3c

Can I request a poly Zayne x MC x Caleb? Either how they got together or something domestic (or smutty if you want I have no complaints)

I just think they have the perfect setup of childhood friends/rivals to lovers (my favorite tropes!) and Zayne and Caleb need to work out whatever jealousy Caleb definitely had towards Zayne as kids (maybe in the form of xxx activities but again that’s all up to you :3)

We will learn together - UPDATING

Pairing: Zayne/f!Reader/Caleb

Word count: 18k

Summary:

After almost a decade passed you didn't expect to meet Zayne again after he moved when you were still kids, but due to Yvonne you manage to find each other yet again. Now that he is back in your life you can't help but be happy about it, Zayne sharing the sentiment. It's just Caleb who is not as pleased about the reunion. For now at least anyways.

Tags: Eventual Polyamory, Jealousy, Dialogue Heavy, Getting Together, Slice of Life, Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers (it is onesided Enemies because of Caleb)

Notes: I love and adore Zayne/Reader/Caleb, so thank you for requesting it! I wanted to write a fic like that sooner or later, but thank you for giving me an excuse to work on it now!

I am sorry that it took so long to respond, but I was trying to write down all the ideas I just have surrounding the three of them and make a sensible timeline of events! It will take a while to update, but I will try my best to update as soon as possible! I mean I hope that it will cheer you up to hear that it is going to be a longer fic at least? XP I will probably write some shorter fics about that pairing one of these days, so perhaps you can also look forward to that as well XD

Request Infos || Lads Masterlist

↓ Chapter List under the cut ↓

Chapters:

Chapter 1 - Pleasant Second Meetings

Chapter 2 - Getting Together - Part 1

Chapter 3 - Getting Together - Part 2

Chapter 4 - Memories - Part 1

Chapter 5 - Memories - Part 2 -- Chapters to be added --

[northern-passage]

a little update.. what i'm working on/prologue changes so far:

no prologue! it’s chapter 1 now

removed the option to leave clementine behind. you have to take them with you :3c

removed height options (sorry!)

in general, edited the cc to flow better

combat preferences have been adjusted-- all still the same but i've made it more obvious how each specialty works mechanically which will hopefully make fights more intuitive to win (or lose, if you want)

genderlocked the sibling. officially a Sister

edited a LOT of dialogue; hopefully it's an improvement and feels more natural

restructured the wraith fight so that it's consistent with the fight in blackwater. with the changes made to the combat preferences this should make the combat system overall cohesive now <- i'm still working on this currently but i am HOPING to finish it by the end of this month.

i have pretty much rewritten the entire prologue. wasn't my plan at the start but here we are... so things are quite different. but also the same. i also streamlined a lot of the choices & branches and cut/combined ones that i felt were just excessive.

i plan to update once i've finished making & importing these changes, and i will probably limit the demo to chapter 1 (previously the prologue) until i get through and edit chapter 2 (previously chapter 1) because i really don't want to have the demo be inconsistent for however long it takes me to get through the next edits. hopefully this will not take that long, and then i'll put chapter 2 & and part 1/what's already been published of chapter 3 back up. and then!!! i will move on to finishing chapter 3.

i know this probably isn't the update you all were hoping for but i'm excited for the next steps with tnp :-)

[crystalflygeo]

Last of her kind Emperor!Alpha!Zhongli + Omega!Dragoness!Reader

cw/tags: This chapter has no smut but still contains highly suggestive themes and sexual implications. Mentions of slavery and past sexual abuse on fem!reader, A/B/O dynamics and heat mentions. fem!reader suffers with self-worth and bad memories, including past insults and abuse.

notes: After so long finally part 2!! EEEEEEEE I am so excited but also so nervous pls ;w; like if you want the first part can be read as a standalone and have a "happy ending" but now I am committed to the emotional roller coaster, A/B/O dynamics and LONG BURN PINING so yep >:3c hope this does justice to everyone's expectation tho. And hope you like it and accompany me on this tale hehe

As a lil sidenote brackets [] now indicate past actions/words and bad memories, regular italics for emphasis, inner thoughts or the little pinyin I sprinkled here (which btw is taken straight from genshin wiki so...).

<- Part 1 Part 3 ->

Being precious all of the sudden was… different.

Your hand subconsciously kept touching your bonding mark, as if to make sure it was still there, to soothe you.

After a quick meal just between Zhongli and you, consisting of some soft rice buns and delicious minced meat packaged inside a crispy pastry shell, you were then offered some new clothes. It was much more elaborate and certainly more layered than anything you’d worn before: a long skirt and flowy sleeves in a silky soft fabric, beautifully embroidered and hastily modified to make a hole for your tail to slip out. A sash keeping everything in place while accentuating your figure. You immediately loved it although it felt a little heavy and restricting.

Now, you quietly follow Zhongli as he leads you around the palace. He’s back to his former fully-human appearance, wearing an elegant attire, and everywhere you go, people bow at him and cast curious silent glances at you. It was rather unnerving.

It’s fine, you are used to being stared at, judged. You hold your tail up close for comfort.

The place is huge and you quickly get lost trying to map it out in your head, simply following along until you reach a large room with a few simple beds scattered around. Bookcases and cabinets stacked the walls, filled with all sorts of books, papers, jars and things. A pungent smell present in the air.

A green-haired man leans over a desk, glasses perched on his nose as he frantically scribbles some notes. What seems like powders and plants litter the space around him, along with a few more glass containers, incense, and a tea set with a steaming fresh cup.

“Baizhu.” Zhongli’s voice calls and you stiffen a little, hearing it again after a while of silence. It is still warm and deep but with a more reserved and regal tone like when he first met you.

The green-haired man (a Beta, you recognize) looks up and blinks in surprise, then smiles brightly and says some words you do not understand, you shuffle in place.

“Yes, this is her.” Zhongli replies. “I will ask you to speak in in common tongue so she can understand as well, I don’t want to unnecessarily unnerve her.”

Well, that is… very considerate. It eases you a little.

“Of course, your majesty.” He turns to you, his eyes were a bright amber, also with slitted pupils. Was it common in liyuens? “My name is Baizhu, the royal doctor and apothecary, pleased to meet you, empress.”

Empress?!

“E-Empress?!” You can’t help but blurt out.

“Why of courssse.” A high-pitched voice hisses and you almost jump when a white snake peaks her head from her coils at the desk, staring up at you. “You’re mated to hisss majesssty the emperor, sssso, it would be underssstood you’re now the empresssss.” Her split tongue flickers.

Baizhu chuckles. “Changsheng, be nice.”

You don’t know what to answer, mostly because you’re still reeling from the fact that you’re apparently now an empress, and because there’s a talking snake.

Liyue is weird…

“I decided to bring her here exactly because of that.” Zhongli turns to you and suddenly holds one of your hands, softly, staring at you with such affection it makes you melt. “Darling, would you let him check your bonding mark for a moment?”

You’re a little nervous, but it is not like you can refuse… right? You nod quietly.

Baizhu approaches and examines your neck and you fight the urge not to flinch or growl. No Omega likes it when a stranger is so close to such a sensitive spot. He hums and tilts his head but doesn’t touch you. “It seems it’s already healed due to her illuminated beast blood but the scar is present. I’d say the bond has been properly established, congratulations your majesty.” He smiles warmly.

A grateful bubbly feeling creeps up your chest. Properly established. So, it’s true.

You feel Zhongli’s hand squeeze yours lightly and look down at it, then back up at him. “Thank you, Baizhu. I will not keep you any longer. We still have a lot to do and I’m sure you do as well.”

Baizhu bows at him (at both of you, you realize) and then you’re on your way. Not before hearing the snake’s hissy whispers again

“A fine yin, hm…?”

--------------------------------------------

This is… your new home.

Zhongli shows you around some of the areas in what he called the “inner court” of the palace complex. Everything is so… large and open and lavish it has your head spinning, your eyes darting in every direction trying to take in all at once, walking fast on your new clothes. He guides you along the dining hall, a small temple, crosses through an enormous main hall where he explains audiences are held, and then a gorgeous outer garden that completely takes your breath away.

The wooden gilded architecture in golds and reds, the fresh wind and gentle sun. All sorts of new sounds and smells. The painted walls and high ceilings. The new plants and flowers. The chatters in a different language… everything is so distinct from the desert.

You soak in the new environment. Inhaling deeply.

It is both terrifying and exhilarating.

Finally, he guides you to another room, it looks similar to the nest room where you’d first been at, but larger. It is sparsely decorated with a large and comfy looking-bed, a desk, mirror and a small table with a couple chairs and a tea set. It smells nice enough.

You peek up at Zhongli.

“This will be your room.” He explains.

…What?

“We kept it simple for now but you are, of course, free to furnish and decorate it however you’d like. It’s close to my own room and anything you might need.”

Wait what?

Your ears lower down and you seem to deflate a little, disappointed. “H-Huh? But… I-I won’t be sleeping with you?” You ask softly.

Mated pairs sleep together, don’t they? They share living chambers and mix their scents together to symbolize their union. That’s what you’ve always been told. You are to always be near your Alpha, at his beck and call, warm up his bed and be ready to please.

Maybe things are different in Liyue? Or maybe it’s because he’s an emperor. Master didn’t tell you anything, so maybe you are just making a fool of yourself right now on your-

Zhongli clears his throat and looks at you a little surprised “I simply thought you’d be more comfortable having your own space, we… don’t really know each other very well yet, and I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Impose? As in order? But he’s your Alpha! “B-But I want to! Please! I-I mean… I thought that since we’re b-bonded…” You mumble shyly.

His cheeks turn a little pink, you like when that happens, he looks a lot less serious. He cups your cheek and you inhale looking up at those gorgeous golden eyes. “My dear dragoness. I don’t want you to feel forced to do anything you don’t want to. I know you were raised… differently, I cannot claim to understand your experiences, but listen to me: you are safe here.” He says the last part slowly, enunciating each word. “No one will scold you or punish you, least of all me. I want you to be free to speak and choose what you want.” He sighs. “Though I know it’ll be difficult...”

Furnish, impose, free… you don’t know any of those words.

But no punishment, to choose what you want, to be safe… it sounds surreal even.

What do you want?

His eyes soften at your nervous silence. “Let’s try this… do you really want to share my room, or would you like to stay here? I won’t be upset if you do.”

“I…” Your tail curls around you. “I want to stay with you. Sleep together. Like mates.” You mumble.

“Then it would be my honor, however, this room will stay ready if you change your mind, alright?” You glance around at the room again, and nod. “Now that that is settled, I have one last thing to do. I need to introduce you to a few very special people before I leave to-”

“Leave?!”

You didn’t mean to yelp like that.

“J-just to do my duties, I am not leaving you, I promise.” He corrects, a little taken aback. “I am sorry my dear, but as much as I’d like to spend every moment by your side right now, I have a few pressing matters to tend to. I know you’re nervous, everything is new and scary and overwhelming but I promise I’ll leave you in good hands and be back as soon as I can.”

You nod, now feeling a little embarrassed at the whole ordeal. You’d been feeling so at ease with his presence, showing you around, listening to his voice name and explain everything you saw that you’d almost forgotten. “You’re the emperor, I’m sure you’re very busy. No need to worry about me, I’ll behave, my lord.”

He frowns a little at that but says nothing, and you choose to say nothing else either.

Going back to the main hall, you immediately spot three people lined up looking at you with a mix of the already expected curiosity and excitement. One of them in particular immediately catches your attention, he’s an Alpha and you can’t help but feel a little nervous…

“Allow me to introduce you, these three are my most loyal and closest council members: Ping, Ganyu and Xiao.” Zhongli gestures at them and all three bow lightly. “Like you and I they all have the blood of xiānshòu, and you can ask them for anything should you need help or have questions. I hope you learn to trust them and feel at ease.”

You nod quietly, still a bit fixated on the other Alpha.

“Xiao, or general Alatus, is one of Liyue’s strongest, most resilient and skilled warriors. He usually keeps guard at the palace to ensure my wellbeing and now yours as well, if you ever feel danger call out his name and he’ll come.”

Ah, did they notice you were staring…?

With a gesture of his hand Xiao manifests a gorgeous Jade spear, crystalline green shards reflecting light as he taps it by his side, standing firm, you flinch in surprise. “My spear shall now serve you too, empress.” His eyes too are golden and sharp, filled with a certain rigidness and determination you can’t quite put your finger on.

“Thank you, Xiao, dismissed.”

Xiao hums quietly and promptly disappears in a burst of black and green smoke, you stand there a little startled, your hand clings to the brown fabric of Zhongli’s sleeve.

“He might be an Alpha as well, but I promise you he’ll cause you no harm.” Your alpha murmurs softly towards you.

“O-okay…” You squeak, a bit embarrassed.

“Ganyu here is one of the most reliable people in the palace, perhaps the entirety of Liyue. Everything of importance reaches her ears and passes through her eyes. She’s able to organize meetings, events, report, compile information and assist every negotiation and decision of this palace with stunning efficiency. She too will help you with anything you need and might be in charge of a little logistics regarding you settling in for the next few days.” Zhongli smiles.

The young woman with long blue hair and… horns? chuckles and blushes a little. “Your majesty, you're too kind, I merely love doing my job.” She puts her hands together and beams at you, sunset eyes bright. “I’m so honored to meet you, rest assured I’ll take care of anything you need. I hope you feel comfortable and welcome at the palace!”

That sounded like a lot. You weren’t used to people coddling you like this. You didn’t want to give anyone trouble or work. “T-that’s alright, thank you.”

“Now, Ping is probably going to spend the most time with you, she’s very knowledgeable in culture, history and the inner workings of the palace amongst other things. She has graciously offered to teach you liyuen and anything else you’d be interested in.”

Unlike the other two Ping has a certain calm aura to her, contrasting Xiao’s seriousness and Ganyu’s excited energy. You can tell she’s a gentle old soul as she approaches you with a soft wrinkled smile and graying hair.

“Don’t worry young empress, while Lord Morax here is regrettably busy with a work-packed schedule,” She gives him a playful side stare “You and I will have some fun. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.” She takes your hand and pats it comfortingly. It’s kind of an awkward gesture for you, but you still welcome the warmth and good intentions.

Zhongli chuckles quietly. “In that case, I’ll leave you in her care and see you at night for dinner, alright?” He seems to hesitate for a moment but then cups your face in his hands and places a soft kiss at your forehead. The unexpected gesture has you blushing scarlet and your heart speeding up like crazy. His thumb brushes at the scales under your eyes, so affectionate in the smallest ways… “I know it’s not ideal, but it’ll be fine, yes?”

You stare at his golden eyes, the red lines, his handsome face framed with dark hair, his serene smile.

You don’t like this. You don’t want him to leave. The idea makes you uncomfortable.

But it’s not like you can say no.

You nod.

“Thank you, Ping.” Both of them exchange a glance and then he turns to the blue-haired woman still in the room. “Ganyu, if you will.”    

“Right away your majesty!” She scurries after him, talking quickly in foreign tongue while both walk away.

You stare after him for a moment longer.

“It’s a little difficult, isn’t it?”

You quickly turn back to Ping and then look down, ears folding back.

She laughs softly. “No need to be ashamed dear, it is understandable that you are unsure with all this, it’s a lot of changes for such a short time and you bond is still fresh, but let’s take it easy.”

Your hand brushes at Zhongli’s bonding mark again. “O-Okay…”

“Are you hungry? Tired? Perhaps you want to rest a little?”

You want to scurry away to your mate’s room and curl up there, that’s what you want, but…

“Um, aren’t you… going to train me?”

Ping blinks a little taken aback “Train? Oh! Teach?”

Same thing.

“Well, yes. I did offer, but only if you’re feeling up to it young empress. You can take your time, we don’t have to start right away. And like I said, take it easy, it's only your second day here.” She explains. “You won’t be absorbing any information if you are uncomfortable and jittery like this.”

“S-sorry-”

“No need to apologize at all. Now tell me, is there anything you’ve seen or heard today that you’re curious about, anything you want to do?”

What you want…

You think back a few hours earlier. The infirmary, the small temple, the grand hall, and…

“The garden.” You speak. “Can we go outside and see?”

Ping smiles brightly. “Of course! I’m sure there are a lot of things there that will catch your interest and cheer you up.”

Your tail sways a little after you as you follow the old lady along the corridors.

------------------------         

The garden is breathtaking.

More than a garden it feels like a whole different world. Bright and exciting and colorful, full of life. It reminds you of an Oasis, but just… more!

A grand pond with multicolored fishes and a couple of turtles sunbathing. Walk paths made of stone, plants everywhere you see: in trees with vibrant yellows, oranges and all shades of greens, in flowers with soft colors and small petals, in thick bushes. The light filters through the leaves and there’s the soft tweets of small birds.

“It’s… so pretty!” You exclaim happily.

“I’m glad you think so. Gardens like this are carefully cared for and preserved to impress, but they also represent beauty, abundance a sense of harmony.” Ping explains as she is now the one following after you, skipping along the path. “These trees you see are sandbearers, and that one is a ginkgo tree, you can tell the difference by the shapes of their leaves.” She points at each one and you follow with your gaze, picking a small leaf from the floor, golden and fan-shaped.

“Ooh…”

“See those smaller fishes? They’re goldfishes. The bigger ones are kois.” She gestures at the animals freely swimming around. Some of them are huge!

“What do they eat?” You blurt out.

“Well, usually algae and wheat. We can get some another day and you can feed them.”

“Really?!”

“Of course.”

“Oh! Is that a koi too? It’s so… long and pretty.”

“Ah, that one is a golden koi. Lord Morax has a few of them here. They are also called Jīnchì Jiǎlóng or ‘false dragons’ you know? For the small horns and long bodies. They do resemble your tail a little, don’t they?”

You move your tail forward and stare at it, then stare at the serpentine fish.     

“Yes, sort of… Jin chi… jia long.” You mumble.

“Here, I think you’ll like these ones. Come with me.” You eagerly follow after Ping as she rounds the pond and guides you towards a few red bushes. They’re dotted with pink round flowers. “These are silk flowers, Nícháng-huā, usually harvested to make clothes, but there are many special ornamental variants and between us both, your dear mate has a weak spot for these so he has quite the collection.” She chuckles.

“Orna…metal?”

“Ornamental, it means mostly for decoration.”

“Oh!” Suddenly you feel dumb, you’d thought for a second that was a liyuen word too. “I’m sorry… I don’t even know common tongue very well.” How could you even expect to learn liyuen?

“No worries, dear, learning a new language is a daunting task, it takes a bit of work every day. If you keep learning, using and practicing words, you’ll get there.”

You smiled softly. Ping was so… patient and supportive.

So much different from…

[You have to try harder.]

[Tch that is not good enough.]

[Are you stupid?!]

[Useless omega.]

You looked at the budding silk flowers and blinked. Once. Twice. Why was your vision blurry now? What was this feeling?

“Oh, oh young empress please don’t cry. It’s alright” Ping’s alarmed remark helps you understand. She fusses over you. “Are you ok?”

You wipe at your tears and smile, a genuine bright smile.

“I’m fine.”

And this time, you truly mean it.

----------------------------------------

After a rather fancy bath (the kind of like you used to take before being presented to Alphas, with bubbles and scented oils...) and a good dinner Zhongli and you headed over for his chambers for the night. You couldn’t help but be a little… nervous.

This is stupid. He’s your Alpha.

He’s been nothing but kind to you.

What if he wants to… d-do things?

Then you’ll do it. He’s your mate. It’s your obligation.

You were the one who chose this anyway.

Your heartbeat was loud in your ears, anxiety creeping up your chest. Were your fingers trembling? Was the room suddenly cold?

As expected, the bedroom was quite matching his style. Golds, browns and a bit of red and black here and there. Dragon imagery adorning some of the walls, a tea cabinet with a small table and shelves filled with all sorts of trinkets from precious stones and books to a beautiful fan and a tea set.

And then there was the bed.

A large canopy bed, enough to probably have your body and tail fully stretched across and still fit in the mattress, beautifully decorated and filled with fabrics and pillows.

The scent of Zhongli’s Alpha pheromones was definitely strong.

He yawns and runs a hand along his forehead, combing along his hair before pulling out the clip on it, letting his long dark locks spill free. He takes off his robe revealing his naked torso and you jolt.

It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.           

You undress as well into your light sleeping clothes and gingerly slip into his bed, curling up around his pillows, surrounded by his scent.

His.

You are his.

It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine-

“Darling, is everything alright? Are you uncomfortable?” He asks concerned, climbing on the bed as well and reaching out to touch your arm. You squeak. “You’re… terrified, what’s wrong?” Then Zhongli’s eyes widen a little. “Oh. The scent… I completely overlooked that, my apologies. Is it too strong? Are you ok? Should have given you some things earlier for you to scent and include them here. This is no good…” He rambles a bit to himself as he sits up and crosses his arms thoughtfully.

You stare at him, anxiety still surging through your veins but now mixed in with confusion.

“Would you like to sleep in the other room we prepared for you instead?” He sighs.

“I… t-this is… you… would just let me leave?”

Zhongli tilts his head slightly, now he looks confused.

“I promised you that the room would be available-”

“So, you don’t want to mate?”

Silence.

He stares at you for a moment as you grip at the bedsheets, still tense.

His eyes widen as realization settles in.

Ah. The pink dusting in his cheeks is back.

“Y-You thought that… no! My dear, no, no, no…” He coughs into his fist awkwardly. “I apologize if I gave you the wrong idea. A-As I said before I want you to be comfortable and feel safe. No Alpha will force you to do anything you don’t want. Not even me. And you don’t have to feel forced to do things you don’t want to, either.”

You look down. Although you feel slightly more relieved.

“I want to stay here. A-and if you want to, I’ll service you, my lord. I was just… nervous, sorry.”

“I assure you there is no need for any of that.” He says softly. “Here.”

He pulls the covers and slips them over you both, lying down facing you but still keeping a little distance. You do the same, curled up face to face with him.

He’s so effortlessly handsome.

And kind.

And you like him.

But he’s still an Alpha.

“Is this alright? We’re just going to sleep, I promise.” He brushes some hair away from your face.

You nod.

“Is there… anything you want to talk about or ask me?”

You... don’t know.

You shake your head.

“Hmmm. Want to share about your day? What were you up to with Ping?” He gives you a playful smile. Suddenly he feels less like an imposing strict emperor, or like a scary Alpha. He’s just your Zhongli.

“She… showed me the garden. I wanted to see.”

“Ah, the royal garden has many fascinating sights and it’s a beautiful landscape to retreat to and ease one’s mind. I had the feeling you’d be interested.”

“There were so many beautiful things. She taught me about the silk flowers, nícháng-huā. And all the trees and fishes and birds.”

“Oh? Are these your first words in liyuen, my dear?”

You giggle. “I… suppose they are. She also showed me your turtles Jiàn and Fù and told me what their names mean, they are so cute. Oh! And we saw the liúlí bah… bai… bǎihé! I sang to them and they bloomed! It was... amazing.”

“I see. Not everyone can achieve that, I’ll admit I’m quite hopeless at singing.” He chuckles “What more did you learn?”

Feeling much more content and at ease you continue retelling all the new things you had experienced and the vocabulary you had learned including how to introduce yourself and some greetings and basic words. Talking for what felt like hours until weariness and sleep claimed you both.

Zhongli simply listened and stared at you, captivated. He seemed content as well.

It made you happy.

------------------------------------------

For the next couple of months, you established a sort of routine.

You’d wake up early alongside Zhongli, even though you didn’t need to, you simply enjoyed having some morning tea and breakfast with him. Afterwards he’d go tend to some of his official duties and you’d stay with Ping Lǎolao, learning more and more each day. By now you could even follow some basic conversation (provided the other person didn’t speak too fast) although reading and writing was still extremely difficult.

You’d expressed interest in some gardening and even headed to the kitchens to prepare some food by yourself. The maids claimed there was no need for the empress to do such ‘menial tasks’ but as an Omega you pride yourself in certain things, and cooking for your Alpha was something you’d yearned to do.

You were overjoyed when Zhongli praised your Jade parcels.

You’d always have lunch with him and some days he’d accompany you for a stroll or you’d stay at his study for some leisure time, or even at some meetings. It had been a little unnerving at first but you also knew it was important to know others and be known in the council, as well as understand Liyue outside of the palace walls. After all, you are an empress now.

At night, you slept close to him. The initial awkwardness of sleeping at opposite sides of the bed soon traded for a much cuddlier approach, often with you curled up to Zhongli’s chest or him spooning you, tails often intertwined together. The bed and the entire room now have a mix of your combined scents, like true mates.

And so, life was good…

------------------------------------------  

You’re slowly pulled out of your sleep as Zhongli stirs in the bed. You grumble a little and yawn, already missing his warmth. It was so pleasant…

“Good morning, my dear dragoness.”

“Morning…” You mumble, not opening your eyes and instead blindly reaching for his pillow to hug and cling to. “Can we stay for longer?” You whine.

“You definitely can, but I have to go.” He kisses your forehead “Rest, my dear.”

You pout but say nothing. Squeezing at the pillow and burying your face in it.

It smells so good…

------------------------------------------  

“Hmm… is it warmer today?” You wonder aloud as the maids help you up with the layers of your hanfu. The clothes still hot and heavy in contrast to what you used to wear at the desert, but today seemingly more so… the sash feels more constricting than usual. “I-I think I’d like to wear something a little lighter… if possible.”

“Of course, your majesty, no problem.”

You smile at them, grateful.

 --------------------------------------------

Sitting at Zhongli’s study room you practice some basic liyuen calligraphy while he seemingly goes over some important documents. The silence is comfortable and a warm cup of Qixing tea steams at both desks. Yet, something keeps bothering you.

You huff lightly, scratching and picking at the scales of your tail, irritated with the uncomfortable feeling. Why is it so itchy? A couple of them fall off, revealing new glossy ones underneath.

“Ah…” So that means…

You stop for a moment. The feverish feeling, scents being stronger on your nose, the urge to nest and cling to your mate.

Hmm… part of you is a little excited. And yet, there is fear.

------------------------------------------  

“You have quite the appetite today, dear. Eat slowly, the food won’t go anywhere.” Ping chuckles as you practically pick a little of every dish while still trying to keep some modicum of elegance. Chopsticks weren’t that easy after all.

“Yes… I think… I think it’s my pre-heat hormones.” You sigh before munching on a shrimp ball.

Your heat…

Your first heat with Zhongli. With any Alpha to be honest. You’d always had to endure them on your own (Master couldn’t have you get pregnant) and they were excruciating and debilitating, crying out for days with your skin burning and itching, trying to sate yourself with your fingers and humping pillows. But now… you’re happily bonded.

Would it… feel good again?

Like, that first time you two mated…

You feel your cheeks heat up.

“Excuse me?”

“Hm?”

You’re brought back to reality to see Ping staring at you seemingly a little alarmed.

“Pre-heat? Young empress, are you going into heat soon?”

“Y-yeah? Probably um, tonight…? Or tomorrow.” The onsets are always so quick, and your cycle has always been more or less stable.

The elder places her chopsticks down. “Have you told Lord Morax?”

“Um. N-No, not yet. But… m-maybe he already caught on...” You tilt your head.

…Right?

Then again even you took a couple of days to identify the signs, and now for sure you were at the brink of it. Maybe he’ll mate you tonight…

Hm… how will Zhongli react to your heat scent?

You have to do your best!

[Be a good omega.]

Ping stands up, her expression still gentle but with a sort of urgency to it, your instincts catch the feeling she’s worried about something.

“I have to inform about this, please stay here dear.”

Now you’re nervous. You nod slowly.

Why does it feel like you did something wrong…?

------------------------------------------

After that, things get… chaotic.

It’s only a while later that you find yourself at the infirmary. Ganyu and Zhongli are also there and everyone’s anxious pheromones in the air do not sit well with you (subtle as they are, your nose is hyperaware right now).

“I’m sorry the symptoms are already settled in. At this point it is simply not feasible to give her suppressants, she has to go through this heat.” Baizhu says, looking troubled.

Feasible? Suppressants? More unknown words but…

Is there something wrong with your heat?

Ganyu scurries off and Ping starts talking with Baizhu on the other side of the room. You cling to Zhongli’s robe, trying to soothe yourself with his presence but his scent is… agitated.

You whine to call out to him. You’re scared.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Zhongli pulls you close, cupping your face again, staring straight at you. “No… no my dear dragoness, of course you didn’t, it’s just…” He steels himself searching for the right words, it doesn’t ease you in the slightest. “We didn’t expect your heat so soon. I should have known, noticed… I’m sorry.”

Why is your alpha apologizing to you? That is ridiculous.

“Is it a bad thing?”

“It’s… not the right time.”

You’re so confused.

Don’t Alphas like it when Omegas are in heat? Soft, pliant, warm, needy and ready to breed.

“I just don’t want you to feel obligated to do this…” He says. “And… you could trigger my rut, you could end up pregnant. I don’t want to… scare you, or hurt you. It’s much too soon for us to share your heat. I thought we’d have more time for you to get acclimated to Liyue or…” He shakes his head. “Nevermind. For the next few days you’ll be in a separate room, yes? No one will disturb you during your heat, I promise.”

“B-But then… I… what…?”

Alone?

“Usually omegas take suppressants, like a type of medicine, to stave off their heats so they don’t have to face these risks or suffer them alone, and then when they’re ready, when they want, they choose to share heats with their partners.” He explains.

“But I want to! I… I’ll be good!”

Zhongli sighs. “Darling you are good, you are precious to me. You don’t need to prove anything or do things because they are ‘expected’ of you.”

He’s not listening!

He asks you what you want. He says you can choose. But now that you tell him, ask him, beg him even… he denies you?

How come you’re always making the wrong choice?

Was it all a lie then?

“But I- T-then- Why-… YOU’RE CONFUSING ME!!” You yell, tears stinging in your eyes.

There are a few gasps and you see not only Baizhu and Ping, but Ganyu and some of the maids staring at you in shock. You cover your mouth, eyes wide at the sudden burst of fierceness and emotion.

You yelled at him.

You talked back.

You should be punished.

He stares at you, frozen like a statue for a few moments. You stare at him, pitiful, your eyes begging. A whimper leaves you and Zhongli lets out a shuddering breath.

Oh, your Alpha wants you, you know it.

"Please..." You mumble, voice so small.

"I'm sorry my dear, it's better this way." His hand moves towards you, to cup your face again or brush at your hair you're not sure, but he stops himself before you can find out. He sighs, averting his gaze and looking conflicted, and then turns around.

This is your punishment.

"It'll be just a few days, you'll be well-cared for. This is for the best." He says sternly, voice pinched.

And then he leaves.

Your heart shatters.

Everything is a blur after that. You’re gently guided along towards an empty nest room, the same one you'd first met him at, there are some things with both your scents on it but they feel sterile, washed anew.

Your hands start trembling. Your eyes start to water. Your lips quiver. Your throat feels tight, choked and dry. Your body feels feverish, hot and restless.

Zhongli rejected you.

“Your majesty please calm down."

[Useless.]

[Moron.]

[Whore.]

You could no longer breathe, hear nor see. You feel like you're drowning, unable to process what just happened. Your mate…your precious mate…he…he…

He abandoned you.

“Your majesty…?"

You scream.

[bunnwich]

Okay I’m assuming that the other long ass ask you mentioned was about the Halloween event too and your take on it so fair warning, this will also be about that and will also probably be long. I only play en and try to avoid spoilers but also I love the lion man so I got some of that anyway. But you really hit on a lot of points that I feel are important when people wanna flatten Leona’s character to 2D (even though he is literally 2D I guess), but what we’re seeing now in terms of “Leona chugs respect women juice and hates men” feels like just another iteration of “lazy lion man is lazy and doesn’t wanna do anything.”

And about Leona respecting a potential friend or partner regardless of gender, it’s like two weird sides of the same coin where people will say he hates men but it feels almost infantilizing toward women (Sally specifically in this case) about him being kind to her BECAUSE she is a woman. No! He likes her because she is smart and cunning and clever and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants (poisoning someone to get to freedom)- all things Leona values, and I think there’s probably a certain amount of “finally, my kind of person” with some of the closer analogues I feel being Leona mentoring Jamil and pushing him to go after what he wants as well as letting Yuu “bully” him into helping with Azul because dammit Yuu is using everything at their disposal and figured out the trick to Azul’s contracts, both of which are worthy of respect (and it lets him destroy his own contract). I’ve lost my train of thought a smidge but yes, it’s not about respecting women specifically or a matriarchal society, it’s about being around someone he actually vibes with and respect

Switching topics but yeah, he IS a hypocrite! He’s calling out Skully’s not seeking consent specifically because the behavior annoyed him as a whole, not just the consent part. And possibly Yuu’s or anyone else’s reaction of “oh how gentlemanly” too. I feel like that one goes back to his tendency to seek any and every advantage or whatever he can use to get the result he wants. In this case, he wants Yuu to not be overly impressed or even annoyed with Skully, and that’s the way to get the result.

Okay last one but yes it is so cute to get to see Leona a bit softer and kinder since it’s such a rare sight in twst. There’s this kind of vindication too, at least for me, to see what as so obviously there to me out in the open for once.

Leona has always been soft…but not a gentleman.

HI ANON!! Actually, the other ask was not about the event but honestly, I get why you would think that. (I get Leona asks a lot about different things :3c DFGHJ)

“Leona chugs respect women juice and hates men” feels like just another iteration of “lazy lion man is lazy and doesn’t wanna do anything.”

YEAH YEAH I think I see what you mean with this. I have a couple of thoughts on that tbh- 

Ppl get excited about a character they like and then they end up saying/joking about things without thinking about other ppl in the fandom who are different from them. Which…is fine to a degree but fandom is a community (or supposed to be) AND masc/nonbinary (and/or those with those types of OCs) often ALREADY get left out of fandom content and end up feeling like they aren’t “as valid” as femme folk and their OCs.

The other thing may be that some of these ppl feel in order to “justify” liking this “flawed character” that they MUST sanitize aspects of them. And turning Leona into a “squeaky clean feminist” suddenly and “consent” king is their way of flattening his character in order to make him safer to like?? Or like a vindication for him liking their femme OCs over a masc one?

Maybe I’m wrong, but those are my thoughts.

To your second point, YES EXACTLY!! I have always felt like Leona takes a soft spot for the MC in Chapter 3 and even somewhat for Jamil in Chapter 6 when he sees aspects of himself in him. And I feel like I never see ppl bringing that up about Chapter 3 especially. 

In the manga, you can see how delighted Leona is when Yuuta figures out the secret to Azul’s Unique Magic. He respects Yuuta's tenacity and even though he “says” he only helps because he wants his personal contact destroyed, I have always believed that that is just a part of it. I think he genuinely grows to like the MC more and actions speak louder than words. If he TRULY wanted to be rid of Yuuta or the MC in the game…he would have thrown them out like he threatened to do from the beginning. He’s a pushover…for certain ppl ofc.

You can even see this with Ruggie as well. Leona “says” it’s only for his benefit but we KNOW that he helps Ruggie behind the scenes with his homework “gives him extra money” and hand-me-downs. If it was truly only a business relationship he wouldn’t bother. And in one of his birthday vignettes, Cater goes on about how much he obviously cares for his underclassmen.

I guess what is truly interesting to me is that I’ve ALWAYS known Leona has the ability for softness and kindness. And bc Sally is a sweetie and so cool and YES a lady I think he was just more open about being nicer to her. 

Let’s remember that Leona doesn't have a lot of ppl he's close to at Night Raven College, therefore we don’t get to see that side of him often.

Idk…I feel watering this all down to “Leona is just a feminist” and that is why he’s nice does as you say: infantilizes women AND waters down Leona’s capacity for said softness and kindness and just making it about “manners” he learned growing up, yk?

THANK YOU, HE IS A HYPOCRITE. Leona as much as I defend is…rude AF. He has touched people without consent in vignettes and in the past. So I agree with your interpretation. I think it could even be interpreted as jealousy if someone wants to go that route.  But is it bc he TRULY gaf about Scully's manners? idts

As we know, he’s blunt compared to many of the characters and according to Vil and others has terrible manners. In fact, this was brought up MANY times in the Tamashina Mina event and so I think more the scene with Sally was more to show that he CAN be kind and a gentleman…when he wants to. Rather than showing he’s a simp for women or w/e.

 I'm FINE with ppl saying he’s a feminist or respects women! I believe he does! That’s harmless but- 

I just wish that ppl wouldn’t use this as an excuse to put down others AND remember that Leona isn’t just kind to women. He may have been softer to Sally but he has always been a generous person to those he believes has potential and/or respect.

I agree, I loved seeing him in this! I hope to see more of this openness from him in the future. 

Like you, I feel like I always knew it was there and have been preaching it for years! I already knew he was capable of softness. I think we just got to see it so openly bc it was someone NOT from NRC. 

And IT IS a great vindication for me too! Leona was always big bro, soft for those he admires etc. And I think before it was hidden between the lines and now it’s just out in the open.

Thanks for this ask! I’m glad my yapping is understood and that you could relate to what I meant in my previous post about him.💚💚💚 TLDR;

[catbread0]

hai hello hi :3 can i req sebastian x (GN) reader that knew him before everything happened to him, and reunites in the site !! i feel he'd be happy they're alive but also Not happy they're even there in the first place :3c (i like angst hehehe)

Sebastian Solace x Gn! Reader

Ty for the request!I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes. Hope you enjoy reading it!

(づ˶•༝•˶)づ♡

Words: 3,363

fluff, angst, comfort, happy ending, a few curse words, mention of death, SPOLIERS ON SEBITAINS FILES.

All the information I found is from the official Pressure wiki, urbanshade.org!! NOT FANDOM WIKI (MOST STUFF ON THEIR IS NOT CORRECT, PLEASE CHECK THE OFFICIAL WIKI!!) (Note: I made this before the friendly fire update came out)

Sebastian Solace Masterlist

Rekindled Joy

It was 2011, and school had started again in America. You were 18, and you had begun to major in ____ in your college. It was a new chapter in your life. It's been at least 2 months into your school year. It was currently a Friday, and it was after school. You were waiting for your friend so you could hang out and you heard your phone ping a notification from them.

“Sorry I can't hang out today as planned. A family emergency happened. Rn rushing to the hospital.”

Great, now you were just waiting there on the benches, looking like a moron. You were about to walk away when you heard the tune of an electric guitar playing in the distance. Curiosity got the better of you. It's not like you had anything else to do today, so what's the harm?

You walked to where you heard the electric guitar coming from, and soon you found the person who was playing it. You stood at a distance away, but you stayed to keep listening to the guy playing while sitting on a bench. He had black hair and blueish green eyes, he also had a nose scar, and he looked to be around 5 '10".

He soon noticed you and stopped playing. Now awkward tension filled the air, as you two stared at each other.

You broke the tension by speaking first, “Are you in a band? You play well.”

He was stunned by your comment, “Not really, I’m minoring in music. I'm majoring in business, but I don't enjoy it, so I'm planning to change it to engineering”

You both soon start to talk to each other and become friends that day. You found out that he's the same age as you, and the both of you exchanged phone numbers to continue talking to each other. You both continued to talk to each other. Time passed by quickly, and it’s been around 3 months since you both started talking. 

He soon asked you to be in a relationship with him, and you said yes. You’ve both been dating for a year, and you couldn’t be happier for him to be your boyfriend. You both had your first date, kissed, etc. 

You both had your embarrassing moments together, like when you both got caught making out by his parents coming home early. You both got scolded, of course.

He taught you things about his country, Chile, since he is Chilean-American. You both met each other's family. His family was happy for him to be in a relationship. His older sister and little brother found you fun to hang around with. 

He was anxious when he was going to meet your parents for the first time. He was nervous that they would disapprove of him due to him being from Chile. (If you're from one of Chile’s neighboring countries, he would probably try to make an excuse. (If you don't know Chile’s neighbors don't like them that much due to their history with them.))

Thankfully, everything turned out great for both of them. Soon, you both finished what you were majoring in college. 

It is now 2013, you and Sebastian are both 20 years old and live in an apartment since you thought it was time for the next step in the 2-year relationship. 

However, one faithful day would change everything….

You were back home waiting for Sebastian to come home. You then heard a knock on the door. You walk over to the door, thinking it was Sebastian and that he had forgotten his keys again.

But when you opened the door, it was 2 police officers.

One of them asked, “Excuse me ma’am but do you happen to have any connections with a man named Sebastian Solace?”

You were taken back but answered the officer, “Yes, I’m his partner of 2 years. What happened!? Is he hurt? Is he ok!? Is he dead!?”

Negative scenarios started to enter your head. Why else would the officer be here at your door!?

“Calm down, Miss, don’t worry he’s not dead. However, you may want to take a seat before we explain the situation that's about him.”

You were in the living room sitting with the 2 police officers sitting across from you.

“Your boyfriend, Sebastian Solace, is in the police’s custody for the murder of 9 people”

…Your blood ran cold after those words. There was no possible way. You know Sebastian wouldn’t kill people. You’ve never seen him act suspicious recently, or even ever. This must be a cruel prank, right!? He isn’t a murderer!? He wouldn’t lie to you, right?

The police’s voices were tuned out by your ears as you tried to get a grip of yourself. Soon, they leave your apartment after giving you notes for when to go to the station to be questioned. 

As soon as you closed the front door, you felt your legs give up on you as you fell to the ground. You cried for what seemed like hours without an end. Your whole world had collapsed underneath you. What were you supposed to do now without him? You had everything planned with each other. It's now all down the drain.

You went to sleep crying, already missing his warmth. It was now tomorrow morning, and you went to the police station, so the police and detectives could begin questioning you. As you answered every question, truthfully, you were given tissue paper for your tears. The officers could tell you had no part in these murders and pitted you for having a monster for a boyfriend. But you knew Sebastian wasn’t behind these murders. He wasn't a monster. 

Once you finished the questions, they took you to a room with Sebastian cuffed up to the table. You could tell he was furious, most likely from the detectives trying to make him ‘confess’ to the murders. But once he saw you across from him, his face changed completely to regretful. He was explaining to you what happened and that he didn't do the murders. You told him that you believed him. You both talked briefly before an officer said the detectives wanted to keep questioning him. 

You gave Sebastian one last kiss before you left the room.

After a few days, he was taken to court for his sentence, cameras everywhere in the court, and everyone was watching the TV to see what ‘justice’ would be taken for these 9 victims that the ‘mass killer’ did. You went to the court, and you tried to convince the judge that Sebastian was innocent. However, it all fell on deaf ears, and in the end, he was sentenced to be executed. You heard everyone's cheer as the ‘mass killer’ was taken away by the police. You had tried to run towards him, but the police held you back, as you yelled and cried out to Sebastian. All Sebastian could do was look back at you before the doors closed behind him. 

After that day, you were harrassed by news stations almost everywhere you went.

“Did you know that Sebastian Solace was murdering people behind your back?”

“How come you didn’t suspect him of anything?”

“Are you happy that justice was severed?”

“How does it feel being with a cold-blooded murderer like him?”

Question after question, you were still processing about him being sentenced to execution. You couldn’t even visit him, due to him being in ██████ High-Security Prison. 

After some months, a police officer was at your door. He told you that Sebastian Solace’s execution had taken place, that he is now pronounced dead, and that you can collect his ashes that are in a sealed urn, along with his death certificate. You immediately went to the police station and collected the urn with his ashes and his death certificate.

You came back home with the urn and immediately felt like someone stabbed you in the heart as you placed down the urn. You still didn’t want to accept that he was gone from the world. 

You spent days on end crying your heart out. Every newspaper and news channel was saying how ‘justice’ was brought to the world. You kept voicing that he was innocent and that you knew that he wasn’t responsible for the 9 murders. However, everyone believed that it was the first stage of grief, denial, that you are experiencing. 

You planned his funeral, you, his parents, his older sister and little brother, your parents, and a few more of his family members who believe he was innocent, attended. After his funeral, you visited him every once a week, with fresh flowers every time, and sometimes brought tobacco, not for you, but to leave at his gravestone since he smoked it when he was alive.

After 2 years, it is now late 2015, and you are 22 years old. You turned on the news channel since you just got off work.

“Shocking turn of events today, it's been found that Sebastian Solace, the ‘murderer’ of 9 victims that took place 2 years ago. Was not the actual killer and was falsely charged. The killer is now in the police’s custody, and his court date is in 1 month.” 

…You felt the feeling of adrenaline fill your body. You were correct, Sebastian, your boyfriend, was not the murderer. Yet no one heard your words. Because you were his partner and ‘that's what almost any partner of a killer would do’.

You decided to take justice into your own hands for your dead boyfriend. You knew that the sentence for the killer would most likely not be executed, like Sebastian, because it is considered too ‘inhumane’ now.

You waited patiently for the court day to arrive, and once it was the day, you grabbed a long coat and hid a revolver in the pocket. Thankfully, it was the middle of winter, meaning you wouldn't be looking out of place with your coat. 

You sat in the front row, close to where the real killer would be standing to defend his case. It felt as if you went back to the time you cried out to Sebastian in court. Cameras were everywhere in the court. Everyone was watching the TV to see the so-called ‘justice’ for the real killer, again. 

Once the killer came out and stood where he was supposed to, you immediately took out the revolver and shot 6 times, 4 of them hitting the killer, and he died on the scene.

You were immediately cuffed up and put in jail. But, you didn’t care. Justice was finally served in your eyes. 

A life for a life. 

You were sentenced to 40 years in prison due to 1st-degree murder, having a firearm in court, putting multiple people in danger, and traumatizing possible children who could have been watching in person or not.

You were put in  ██████ High-Security Prison, the same prison your boyfriend was serving in until his execution. 

It is now 2025, and you are still an inmate of  ██████ High-Security Prison. You have served 10 years of your 40-year sentence. You are now 32 years old. It has been 12 years since you last saw Sebastian in his court case.

Today, 3 men from the Urbanshade corporation, escorted by heavily armed guards, arrived at the prison.

They were searching for draftees to help them retrieve a crystal of sorts, a highly important asset that they weren’t able to secure during a major security breach in one of their facilities. They stated that the risk of death was very high, but whoever could retrieve the asset and return it to them, would be pardoned, released with a cleared record, and receive a huge amount of cash. 

You saw that many inmates had signed up. You didn’t sign up. You didn't trust these strange men that came out of the blue.

Multiple days went by, and inmates were still signing up. You were surprised that no one was able to retrieve the crystal that they were talking about. You soon caved in and signed up. 

If you were able to get the crystal and get out of this prison, you would be able to see your boyfriend's gravestone again. 

It took a while to arrive due to the place being in the Norwegian Sea, and soon, everyone was gathered up. You were all given a jumpsuit and a Prisoner Diving Gear, also called PDG. 

Everyone was told that the PDG is a diving backpack outfitted with a remotely detonated modified shotgun shell that works underwater and is pointed directly at the inmate user's neck. They would only give the inmate user 2 chances, and if they messed them up, then the HQ or stationed guards would flip the switch, and the shotgun would go off. They showed the list of the reasons why they would flip the switch to kill you.

You were all also told that a monster called Z-13, and that he is incredibly dangerous, that he is to be killed on sight, and they described what he looks like. 

After everything was explained, everyone went their way. Some went solo, some went in duos, some in groups of 4 or bigger. You decided to go by yourself, not wanting anyone to mess you up.

After some time, you arrive at Hadal Blacksite, exiting the submarine, and hear HQ through the intercom. He gave a brief rundown about the keycards, monsters, closets, and warnings of this monster called Z-13 again.

You soon begin your journey to find the crystal. While you were passing through the rooms, you noticed that there was no blood or anything. It's already been a few days since inmates signed up with no success in getting the crystal. If they died before getting the crystal, then where are their bodies? Why did they leave behind data when they are supposed to collect as much as they can? That's what HQ said to do. Doors need keycards as if no one entered or used them, somehow. 

You stopped asking questions once you saw the lights flicker, and you quickly hid in a metal closet. You continued this pattern of hiding, collecting data, closely hearing for anything coming out of nowhere, looking away from a monster that had so many eyes, etc. You soon found a flash beacon. You had no battery for your flashlight that was dead, and you were only on door 41. 

Soon, you reached door 54 and entered. It was dark, empty, and quiet. That's when you saw a vent plate fly across the floor to the other side of the room. 

You were frightened by the sudden movement, and that's when you heard a voice coming through the vent.

“Got something for ya, come here.”

You didn’t want to enter in case it was a monster trying to kill you, but when you tried to go to the next room, you realized the door needed a keycard.

“Don’t even wanna say hi? Rude.”

You sigh in defeat and crawl through the vent. Once you get to the other side, it is pitch black. Until all of sudden, a light lit up the small room, You looked up and started to panic. WHY IS THAT MONSTER SO TALL!? WAIT, IS THAT ‘Z-13’!?

“Welcome, welcome! Don’t be-” 

The monster stopped what he was saying once he took a good look and realized it was you….

You were freaking out on the inside because he stopped talking. Thinking he would attack you, you immediately took out your flash beacon and used it directly at him.

“UGHH SHIT! WAIT (Y/N) IT'S ME!!”

You were confused now. You didn't know him? “What are you talking about? I’ve never seen you in my life!?”

Sebastian was hurt that you would say that, did the mutation make him that unrecognizable?

“Hun it's me, Sebastian. Do you not recognize me?”

There’s no way you're Sebastian. He's gone. “Nice trick, my lover is dead, he was executed.”

Ah, right, he was declared ‘dead’ to the public “I have proof, read the document on my desk, free of charge for you”

You still held the flash beacon in your hands as you moved to the table, where the document was. You opened it and started reading what it contained. 

You saw that he was telling the truth… It is Sebastian. 

You dropped your flash beacon and just jumped on him and hugged him as tight as you could, and he hugged you back. It felt that if you were to let go, you would lose each other again.

“As happy as I am to see you again, Love, only inmates are sent here. Why are you an inmate? Why even sign your life away to come down here?”

You answered his questions, “Well in 2015, when they found the real killer, I knew they wouldn't bring him to ‘justice’. So I did it myself, I killed him while in his court case. I was sentenced to 40 years in prison after that. Now, for me, coming down here. I didn’t sign up at first, I thought it was simple to get the crystal, and they were over-exaggerating the death risk. But after a few days, I realized no one had gotten it and with nothing else to do in prison. I signed myself up, if I were to die then I would be able to see you again, and if I got out alive, then I would continue visiting your grave with fresh flowers, just as I did every week before I was put in jail.”

Sebastian had a warm and fuzzy feeling that he hadn’t felt in years. However, that was short-lived. Because of the PDG, you would be killed if you didn't get going soon, but neither of you wanted to leave each other again. 

“I’ll try to make a deal with HQ. It’s a high risk since, with a flick of a switch I’ll be killed. But at least I know you're still alive.”

Before he could say anything to stop you from possibly risking yourself, he felt your lips on his. God, how he missed kissing you, but it was short-lived again.

You then crawled back through the vent and ran back to a room that had a camera. You knew HQ always watched the inmates through the few cameras that currently worked.

“HQ, I want to stay down here, I will send back the PDG. This means you will save the shotgun shell, and you will save a few bucks. I can stay here and help other inmates try to have a higher chance of getting the crystal.”

You hoped that they heard you and that they wouldn't flip the switch.

“Inmate number ##, (Y/n)(L/n), We accept your offer. Please return to where you first entered. We will press the button to make the PDG remotely detach from you. Once you reach the room, and the PDG is detached, place the PDG on a table.”

Once they stopped talking on the intercom, you ran as fast as you could to where the submarine had first left you.

Just as promised, the PDG was detached from you, and you left it on a nearby table. Once that was over with, you ran back to Sebastian’s shop.

He felt relieved after he saw you again. 

You jumped into his arms, and you both kissed each other. Your love for each other is rekindled and is now brighter than ever before. The both of you would never leave each other again.

Small bonus!

You pull away from the kiss and start wiping your mouth, “Sebastian, do you only eat fish? Also, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?”

Sebastian had a bit of an annoyed face because of your comment, but he smirked as he hugged you tighter, “Get used to it hun, because you're staying down here with me until the end, and there’s only fish down here.”

You rolled your eyes but smiled, “Now I'm wondering, who the fuck did I give a funeral and flowers to?”

~Lilly's

[purplepeptobismol]

Chapter 5 of ‘I Will Make Of You’ is now out!!! YIPPIE!!! Above is a visual representation of the topic discussed on the chapter in case you guys were curious :3c feel free to ask questions if you have any!!

Thank you to my two best friends, Nine and Lyn for creating this theory with me. It was literally the craziest 4am yap session ever. Thanks once again @lyntarts for illustrating the graphs to further explain as well <3

[here is the theoretical formula as well!]