#(Some people scream and try to save themselves from demons)

[more-than-a-princess]

Continued from here for @electricea!

In the middle of the night, down a dark and dimly-lit hallway beneath a thousand-year-old castle, no one looked twice at the fact the future monarch was chatting with someone who didn't even need to put one foot in front of the other to get around. Instead, Sonia easily fell into conversation with her demonic houseguest, as if he were any other normal, mortal, friend taking up a room at the royal residence. "The Church isn't right about a lot of things," She quipped as she beckoned him into her hobby room. "Blame centuries of using fear and a very specific interpretation of ancient texts to control and extort their followers, though I won't deny they provide comfort to some. Still, what a pity that you're not mostly what horror stories are made of: what a tale it would be for one day that demons rise up and fully enslave humanity to their wicked deeds!"

"That prospect is far more interesting than either of us being locked up or contained somewhere," She continued, watching his reaction to her occult collection with rapt interest. Eventually, it would all be moved to Boudry House where it would be put on proper display in her private quarters, but until her own royal residence finished refurbishments, her collection, and Sonia herself, would reside at Novoselic Castle when home from university. "And since I've been pretty much told from the day of my birth that I'm not normal, I suppose it's appropriate then that I am not afraid of you. Besides: part of existing in this world is learning about it, and what's beyond it. You are...an ambassador of sorts, from where demons reside. Yes, that makes sense: though most of the ambassadors I know wouldn't cause mischief! Still, let's go. I'll take you back here before sunrise, you must let me know if sunlight troubles you and I'll see what can be done for necessary movement during daylight hours. However, if you'd like some noodles, I'll have to get them delivered to my quarters above ground: the staff don't like this room. They find it creepy, not soothing as I do."

She led the way back down the hallway and up the twisting stairs to the secret door in her closet, back through the racks and shelves of attire and accessories until they reached her expansive bedroom. "Please, sit wherever you like," She smiled, nodding to the array of chairs and sofa that made up her private sitting room. "I'll need to telephone to the kitchens and you'll need to conceal yourself when the tray arrives, but I hope it's to your liking!" She advised, reaching for the cordless phone on her bedside table. "Perhaps you could spend a few minutes in the bathroom? Just until the staff leaves, of course!"

A quick phone call and sentences exchanged in rapid French later, a knock came at her bedroom door thirty minutes later. Gesturing for Ryuji to hide, Sonia waited until he was well and truly concealed before letting the footmen in, insisting they arrange the silver tray at the small table in her sitting area, uncovering the plates, silverware, and goblet before taking their leave.

"You can come out now, it's safe," She called out, gesturing to the empty chair the meal had been arranged in front of: short, tubed noodles, covered in a thick cheese sauce with chunks of peeled and boiled potato, topped with pieces of cooked bacon and caramelized onions. A small bowl of pureed apples had been arranged at the side, alongside a sparkling soft drink in a crystal glass. "This is a national favorite, of children and adult humans throughout my country!" Sonia grinned, taking the seat across from him and pouring a glass of water for herself. "This is alplermagronen: pasta and potatoes with cheese, bacon, and cooked onions. Traditionally, applesauce, or cooked and mashed apples with sugar and cinnamon, is served with the dish. Please, eat as much as you like!"

[randxmthxughts]

Captain Save a Hoe - Tsu'tey x Avatar!Reader

i know, i know, the title...

summary: grumpy tsu’tey having to take care of a clumsy avatar!reader, and eventually warming up to her // tsu'tey being a captain-save-a-hoe for 1.7k words straight

wc: 1.7k

a/n: basically, i didn't know where to go with this, so i'm posting it like a blurb bc you guys told me to. there won't be a continuation to this, i just love grumpy tsu'tey, he's so hot

masterlist

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“Watch your feet,” Tsu’tey throws an angry glance at you, as you stumble through the thick bushes, trying to catch up to him.

Tsu’tey didn’t like dreamwalkers, hell, he almost killed one a few years back, if he hadn’t been stopped. But Tsu’tey especially didn’t like the ones that were awkward and weak in their disguised bodies, asking stupid questions, and constantly getting themselves into trouble. So of course, he was angry when Jake ordered him to keep an eye on you.

“Tsu’tey,” you breathe out, “Please wait for me.”

Despite the strength that your new body possesses, you struggle to keep up with Tsu’tey, feeling like a helpless child in comparison. He walks fast, treating this like another mission that he desperately wants to get over with. Tsu’tey doesn’t really care that Jake welcomed you into the clan for the help you offered. Or that the maps you've made could save the Omaticaya from future attacks by the sky people. What are a few more attacks on him? Tsu’tey relished in destroying the massive flying ships, he could go against them without your help any day. 

From the moment you embarked on your journey to the science facility to retrieve some of your equipment, it seemed like Tsu’tey’s luck had run out. As if for some reason Eywa had cursed him, making his journey with you longer and tiresome.

At first, he resented the idea of sharing his direhorse with you, since you hadn’t learned how to ride one yet. He also hated how you would cling to his middle, whenever he sped up, and restricted his movements. If only you had kept quiet, he could have tolerated you more, but instead, you occasionally tried to pry into his past.

“So, why don’t you have a mate?”

“She was killed by one of your demons.”

“Oh.”

Two hours in, Tsu’tey decided to stop by the river to give his horse a short break. As you crouched down by the water, examining the way it bubbled, Tsu’tey observed you in silence. He thought you were strange-looking, but not like Jake. To him, Jake was ugly. You had something intriguing about your appearance. Pretty, although Tsu’tey had a hard time getting used to it. But the compliment he wanted to grant you was immediately pushed to the back of his mind when he heard your frightened scream. You noticed an arachnoid crawling up your thigh and shrieked out of fear, violently shaking your leg to get it off. Spooked by your sudden outburst, the horse loudly neighed and fled through the air. Tsu’tey quickly jumped to his feet, but when he saw the reason for your shrieks, he felt his blood boil. In your defense, you had heard stories of poisonous arachnids of Pandora and you weren’t taking any chances.

So here you are, trudging along behind, with ears pressed flat against your skull. Tsu’tey had scolded you, blaming your weak spirit for the consequences. Since you were too far from the Hometree, and the horse was long gone, you had to continue the rest of the journey on foot. Which meant more hours spent with you. 

The silence that follows is almost unbearable, broken only by the sound of your footsteps and the occasional rustling of leaves. What Tsu’tey did not expect was for you to be so slow. He almost gave up on the plan, contemplating going back to the village and fetching another horse. He even entertained the thought of taming a palulukan in case of an attack. In the worst case, he'd end up dead and wouldn’t be forced to care for you for another minute.

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As the day wears on, and the sun starts to set, casting a warm orange glow on the surroundings, you decide to voice your concern.

“Do you think we’ll make it to the facility by night?”

Tsu’tey throws a glance at you over his shoulder, letting out a bitter chuckle. You grimace at his reaction. 

“Got it,” you bite your lip.

He comes to a stop, and begins scanning the area around him. You wait for further clarification but he ignores you completely, then starts gathering twigs into a small cone.

“We will camp for the night,” he finally says, gesturing at you, “Gather some more, and stay here. I will be back soon.”

You discover that ‘soon’ meant different things to you and Tsu’tey. While you assumed he would be out hunting, the chilly air made you decide to start the fire and keep an eye on it, so it doesn’t die out. You hadn’t realized how tired you were, the warmth radiating from the small fire was making your eyelids droopy. You tried to resist sleep to prove to Tsu’tey that you were capable, but you couldn't hold out much longer, nestling on the ground.

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Tsu’tey nudges you awake with a gentle touch, and you catch a whiff of a delicious aroma. As you open your eyes, you see him crouching in front of you, holding a piece of meat wrapped in leaves. Your mouth waters at the sight, and you eagerly take it from his hands and devour it. Tsu’tey can't help but chuckle, as he watches the satisfied grin spread across your face.

“Slow down,” he says softly, motioning for you to take a seat next to him, closer to the fire.

You watch him roast a smaller piece of meat and put it in his mouth. Instead of savoring the taste, Tsu’tey chews on it while continuing cutting up more pieces. You feel a little guilty that he prepares food for the both of you but doesn’t take a moment to enjoy it.

“Can I help?” you ask, moving closer to him.

He doesn’t answer, instead pointing to the knife on your belt. When you take it out, Tsu’tey pierces a piece of meat on the sharp tip, and motions for you to hold it over the fire. You follow his orders, watching the meat slowly cook as the aroma hits your nostrils and your stomach grumbles. 

This must be the first time he sees you do something right. Tsu’tey nods approvingly as he watches you carefully turn the meat over the fire, your knife skillful in your hands. A comfortable silence hangs over you, as you both start eating.

“We will continue our journey early in the morning,” he breaks the silence, “We must move quickly and return back as fast as we can. ‘Don’t want to camp out in the forest for another night, it can be dangerous.”

You only nod, agreeing with his plan. It was rare for him to keep you informed anyway, so you weren’t going to doubt Tsu’tey.

“You don’t trust that I can help, do you?”

“I am not sure,” he admits, “But if Toruk Makto trusts you, I can give you a chance to prove yourself.”

“Your prejudice against me is ironic,” you scoff, “Jake was just like me once, before becoming Toruk Makto.”

“Not just like you,” Tsu’tey chuckles, shaking his head, “You are too weak.”

“I am smart,” you argue. 

Tsu’tey hums in agreement. There is some truth to his words, you have shown weakness. Adapting to a completely new environment, getting used to another culture, suddenly being forced into hours of physical activity that you weren’t committed to. At times, it would get too much but the support of the clan was all the validation you needed to stay.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I’ll do anything to help your people,” you face him with new confidence, he hasn’t seen in you yet.

“You betray your own?” Tsu’tey frowns.

“I have no other choice. They are destroying everything because of greed,” you shake your head in disappointment. He nods.

“And your family? You left them too?”

“I don’t have one,” a bitter chuckle escapes from your lips, “They don’t claim me anymore. And I don’t claim them.”

“So they disowned you?”

“Pretty much,” you shrug, “They think that I am betraying them because I want to protect the life on Pandora.”

“It must take great strength to go against your family,” Tsu’tey compliments you.

You shy away from his softened gaze, warm feeling spreading in your chest from the kind words. It was tough to be one of the engineers who worked for RDA and had to betray them. But you couldn’t stand the idea of contributing to the destruction they were causing. It was why you first found Jake and warned him about the impending danger. And it was then when you first felt welcomed by the clan, cared for.

Now, you needed to sneak back into the facility and retrieve the equipment you left to track the future attacks. Tsu’tey was assigned to accompany you since it was dangerous to go alone. Even though most of the team at the facility shared similar opinions and wouldn't stop you, there was still a risk of encountering RDA guards. Getting caught would mean you could never return.

As the night wears on and the fire grows smaller and smaller, you and Tsu’tey continue to talk. You’re surprised by how he opens up to you, and how he doesn’t protest when you tell him about your past. Eventually, you feel your eyes growing heavy and your head nodding off to the side. Tsu’tey notices and stays up to keep an eye on you, making sure you’re safe while you sleep.

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When you wake up in the morning, you feel slightly restricted around your middle. You huff slightly, trying to move, as you realize that Tsu’tey is sleeping beside you, with his leg thrown over yours, and his arms wrapped around you. The closeness of his body sends a flush of heat to your cheeks, and you feel butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

“Tsu’tey,” you nudge him, “Wake up.”

It doesn’t take much to rouse him. You guess that, as a warrior, he was trained to be sensitive to sounds around him. Tsu’tey grunts heavily before blinking a few times, adjusting his eyes to the light. When he realizes how close your face is to his, he almost recoils.

"For someone who seems to hate me, you're very protective," you tease him, patting his arms playfully.

“Mhm, couldn’t risk you rolling into the fire in your sleep,” he grumbles, freeing you from his grasp.

[mammomlette]

"𝙸 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗

𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝙸'𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛."

-'𝙵𝚎𝚛𝚗' 𝚋𝚢 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚔𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚑

Synopsis: Satan’s world used to be burnt by hatred, but recently he can’t seem to stop the warmth he feels when around the human exchange student.

Genre: Fluff?? None? (Romantic)

Warnings: One of the last paragraphs is a littleeee bit suggestive, not proofread

Notes: Satan x MC, I made this at midnight as I do most things so I blame low quality stuff in that🧍‍♀️also I haven’t wrote in ages ok so give me mercy, MC is referred to with they/them pronouns!! ‘Her’ is used in the title because that’s the song lyrics, but MC is gender neutral :)

Word count: 754

For a long time, all Satan saw was the flames burning through the Devildom. Looking out of the civilised areas and into the land past the denizens and watching as the natural flames of the Devildom overtook trees and small animals, growing higher and higher and killing more and more.

Or even if he looked within the walls of the city and into the halls of RAD, even within the perimeter of his own home, there was the omnipresent chaos that comes with a demons nature. Fires, all around, some extinguished and some fed, but fires none the less.

There were the screams. The damned souls or the unfortunate lower demons stupid enough to venture out of the safety of the more civilised Devildom. The shrieks of pain and agony, cries for their long gone family and careless friends to try and save themselves from their own self-inflicted wounds and shenanigans.

All of it was the norm to Satan. He was a demon, and unlike his housemates, he wasn’t turned into one. He was made as one. It was in his very blood since the moment of his very creation to feed on the cacophonous screams of terror and to admire the bright flickering lights in the distance, to bask in its attack and glory.

The burning hurt, but it was part of a demons nature to touch fire.

Never did he long to seek out the daylight his brothers described from their celestial days nor did he yearn for peace and tranquility that the celestial realm presents.

So why now was it that he spent so long yearning for a human?

Horrible choirs of unwilling participants being replaced by the sweet harmonies of their laughter, the fires causing chaos in the distance being replaced by the flush on your cheeks when he gets to close or says something in that’s hushed manner, disrupting his heart instead of those of the innocent.

Never had he felt so in tune with his brothers. He has always been different to them, knowing they have different origins, knowing they have different powers, knowing they have different thoughts and feelings- However now, he finally understood them. The way they, among other demons, would turn their heads as you walk past and the way people would whisper about how sweet you seemed (In what way, he wondered)

He, liked the rest of the crowd, followed you around helplessly after you slowly made your way into his heart and combined your souls into a beautiful pact mark on your skin.

The way you would stop and look at him, for even a second, when with someone else while they were talking. The way you would turn to him and stifle a laugh whenever someone was making too much of a fool of themselves at an important meeting or during a lesson, biting your lip or hiding your face while your shoulders shook. The way you would always ask what he wanted whenever you were going up to buy something, even though you both knew he had more money than you and wouldn’t mind queueing on his own if he wanted something so badly.

The little things showing you cared.

The way you would spray yourself in human body sprays to create such an artificially sweet smell or the way you licked around your lips after chugging a drink or shoving too much food down your mouth was utterly tantalising. Did you even know?

Did you know how he wanted to eat you up, give in to his demonic nature and devour you in so many ways, like a cannibal? Know how badly he wanted to taste your food on your tongue and smell your body spray from his head planted right in your neck?

Did you even know how badly he wanted to put you on a pedestal, high above everyone else for the three worlds to see, and did you know how much that thought fought with his urge to keep you to himself like a collectable, delicate and gorgeous and all his?

His yearning was indescribable, but he would never stop pining after you even if he could. Because the way you look back at him and offer your hand with the slightest shake in your smile and the smallest blush on your cheeks gives him the slightest flicker of hope that you might just yearn for for him like he yearns for you. And a little flicker is always capable enough to turn into a flame.

[muzansfangs]

Your fangs have never scared me.

Starring: Akaza x f!reader

Warnings: none, just fluff and slight violence. It’s just Akaza being the overprotective boyfriend I know he would be.

Plot: you met during a festival, he saved you. He thought you would have been horrified by his appearence and what he had done to your aggressor. You wiped the blood off of his face, instead, and you let him accompanying you home. You showed gratitude and sympathy to him, a soulless demon. He fell in love with you, a human, a ‘weakling’.

Dt: @6uppermoonsupremacy200 if I am not mistaken, you had aksed for some Akaza fluff!

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You were a weakling, he loathed weaklings. Still he loved you. Those who could not defend themselves were destined to succumb. It was just the way that it worked. He despised humans, they were just a source of food, according to him. Entertaining, at best, when he came across a challenging opponent. Despite that, they all turned out to be disappointing. They refused to embrace the dark side, to hone their abilities to the peak was not worth losing their humanity. They wasted their potential and his time.

Akaza did not claim to be a saint. He was a murderer, he admitted it, but he had some values. Women were not part of his diet, first and foremost. Men and demons disrespecting them were trash. He was not friendly with the gentle sex, but he had never laid a finger on a woman and he would have never ever dared to touch one, not even if he was starving.

You were on his path the night you met. Beautiful. The first thing he thought when his demonic eyes landed on your face was that you were beautiful.

You were staring up at the sky in awe, your eyes shimmering under the techicolors lights of fireworks exploding into the pitch black night sky. Alone, but happy, you were comfortably sitting on a bench, during thr local festival. Akaza had stopped on his tracks, enticed by the purity you radiated. He did not plan to talk to you, he would have probably freaked you out anyway. And he was aloof from craving to wipe away that lovely smile of yours from your face. You were a fleeting, pleasing sight to behold. Nothing more.

He had turned his back at you, golden eyes now scanning the horizon in search for slayers to beat up to death. Gasps and yelps, though, pierced his ears and he switched his attention back to the crowd cheering down the streets.

You. His eyes immediately searched for you.

Dear God, when he saw you, when he watched the way a stupid lout yanked your arm aggressively, trying to drag you away in a dark alley, he felt his blood boil in his veins. Your lips, curled up in a soft smile a minute ago, were now contorted into a pitiful pout, tears streaming down your cheeks as you tried to scream for help.

But people were too busy enjoying the festivity to pay attention to you, to save you. They seemed deaf. He was not, though. He had heard you crying out for help, he did not hesitate to jump down from the rooftop and sneakily waiting for him in the filthy, dark alley he intended to pull you in.

It was not like he had a special connection with you. He just could not bear the sight of an innocent girl being beated up under his watchful eye. No woman deserved it. Especially when she radiated a kind energy like you.

With a harsh tug at your hair, the man had you stumbling into the dead end and you tripped on a rock, landing onto the dusty ground. Your kimono was torn, your eyes puffy for the tears you had shedded and you were laying hapless at his feet. You saw your end into that man’s eyes and you writhed in fear for what was yet to come. But the odds were apparently in your favor. You were not alone, no one was going to hurt you.

“Aren’t you a pitiful scumbag? Don’t you dare touching her, pal. Unless you would love to see some blood spill, naturally” Akaza spoke, emerging calmly from the darkness.

His eyes, his glimmering golden eyes were the first thing you noticed, when you switched your attention on the owner of that soothing voice coming for the darkness behind you. There was hope, there was still hope for you. You knew he was a demon. You had heard about them from your grandparents, when you were a toddler. Nothing about him suggested he was a mortal. His eyes were not quite close to the ones of a common civilian. His skin was pale, the pointy canines protruding from his upper lip gave him away almost immediately. Thus you should have considered yourself a dead woman walking.

But he was not looking at you, he did not reach out to snatch you away and feast on your flesh. He was glaring at your aggressor, he had probably barely even looked at you.

“Mind your business, you idiot. Get lost” the mug at your right said, taking a step forward and cracking his knuckles in irritation. Was he a fool? You scurried back to the wall, until you were out of their way, watery eyes transfixed on the pink-haired guy a few strides away from you. Your heart thrummed into your chest and your ears still rang for the smack you had received from the man. There was no way in the hell it would have ended with an apology and a friendly handshake.

“You’re a worthless, pathetic, insufferable weakling. You disgust me to the point I won’t even eat your rotten flesh, once you’re dead” Akaza bitterly declared, clenching his fists down his sides and grimacing at his opponent.

You felt your heart sink into your stomach, when he confirmed he was a demon. But, for some reason, you felt safe in his presence. You knew you should have took the chance to simply run away, while the two men involved into a staring contest destined to degenerate into a fight. Yet, you stayed there, breath uneven, watching how the demon did not even allow the taller guy to reply something.

You heard the sound of bones breaking and you clasped your hand over your mouth not to let out a scream of horror, when some drops of blood splattered on the wall beside your head. A punch, a punch was all it took for the demon to kill your aggressor. His lifeless body slumped down on the ground and you released a breath you did not know you were holding.

You mind was foggy, your legs wobbly, but your eyes locked with the demon’s ones, softening. He had saved you. How could it be possible? A blood-thirsted monster had just saved your life.

He scoffed and turned his back at you “You should not hang out alone by night. It’s dangerous” he muttered, staring at his feet in discomfort. He was worried of having somehow traumatized you. It sounded crazy to him, but Akaza feared your judgement as if you were someone important to him. But he did not know you. Why did he care?

You sighed and, unfolding a tissue you had tucked into your obi, you walked up to him, careful not to step on the explanding pool of blood coming from the wound in the man’s head. Akaza did not expect anything from you, beside screams of terror and spiteful words thrown at his face.

Therefore, when you gently grasped his chin and wiped away some blood running down his cheeks, he stared at you purely in shock. What were you doing? Were you cleaning his face? Why? He was a monster! You should have been scared of him. But you blessed him with a kind smile, eyes twinkling in gratitude as you dropped your hand to the side once you were done.

“Why?” Akaza asked, his fingers grazing his cheek in astonishment. It felt oddly familiar. Did someone do that for him in the past?

You blushed and bowed your head at him “You saved my life, that’s the least I could do… – you sheepishly admitted – Thank you, really” you added shortly.

The Upper Moon Three frowned, his upper lip twitched before he spoke again “But I am a demon…” he ramarked, only to see you shrugging and grasping his hand between you tiny ones. You were too pure for this world. How? Just how could someone even think about hurting you? He did not feel even the slightest sting of remorse for having killed that man.

“You showed me a kind of humanity I haven’t seen in mortals’s hearts. Why should I not be grateful that you saved my life?” you stated, a polite smile curling your chapped lips.

You. How could a weakling like you, a human, show empathy to him?

Akaza halted, his cheeks flushing up as you held his hand and blinked at his stunned face “Can I know your name?” you asked, cocking your head to the side, eyes locked with the pools of melted gold shining under the moonlight. He was handsome, in a wicked kind of way.

“Akaza. I’m Akaza… And you are?” he fretted, rubbing the back of his neck. Centuries had passed and no one had ever watched him with the same warm look you were giving him. What was so special about you?

You chucked and nodded your head “Ah, forgive me, please! I’m Y/N! – you introduced yourself, bowing your head at him – Listen, Akaza, as you can see, I trust you. I don’t want to sound too bold, but… Could you please walk me home? It’s not too far from here, but I am still startled by—”.

“Sure! – he cut you off, swallowing the lump in his throat and letting go of your hand abruptly – But I cannot walk among humans… I mean, I… Can I pick you up? It’s easier for me to jump from a roof to another” he blurted out, averting his eyes from you. He was probably embarrassing you and it was the least thing he wanted.

What were you doing to him? Had you, by any chance, bewitched him? Were you a witch?

He was surprised to hear you giggle and he darted his eyes back on you, watching how your cheeks had turned into a scarlet shade and your hand was closed in a small fist, pressed against your lips. No, that was no good. You were cute.

“You are so lovely, Akaza. Of course, you can! Just… Don’t let me fall, please” you said, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

He smiled softly, eyes downcast as he nodded his head at your request “I would never”.

Two years from that night, you were still by his side. His fingers ran through your hair, as you sat on his lap and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. You were his weakling, his humanity, his precious ray of sun: the sun he cursed everyday of his life, but that he could experience through you. He loved you.

“Are you not scared of me? Not even when I growl?” Akaza murmured, earning a light laughter from you. You loved this soft side of him, you loved how he never ceased to make sure you still loved him.

“Akaza, your fangs have never scared me” you whispered, plating another kiss on his mouth. This small part of your life, the life you were sharing with him was the infinite to you. As long as you were with him, nothing could have ever scared you.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hi there!

I’m not following a specific order for my stand-alone shots. I just focus on what inspires me, whenever I have some spare time to type on my beloved keyboard. Anyway, I’ll definitely write all the suggestions you left on my post. As you may have noticed, I have added the titles I have chosen on my Masterlist. Btw, I hope you enjoy this small fluffy story!

[gffa]

This week’s Ahsoka episode unfortunately reignited those tiresome “Jedi child soldiers” accusations in the fandom and of course demonizes the Jedi. What are your thoughts?

Honestly, I thought it was fine. I get why a lot of us have had our nerves scraped raw by fandom constantly harassing us and trying to scream us into bad faith arguments on stuff like this, so I'm hardly going to wag my finger at anyone feeling further scraped raw by this, but genuinely didn't bother me because the show never blamed the Jedi for the position they were put in, hell, Anakin even basically defended it. I get it, it's Felony, we're used to often assuming the worst about him and who knows maybe it was meant as an indictment, but it genuinely didn't come across that way to me and, further, Filoni has proven himself to have drifted far enough from Lucas' core narratives on enough subjects that he now has to prove himself every time to me before I take his word of god commentary into consideration, so if he tries to say otherwise, no he didn't goodbye felony. And, yeah, fandom has been demonizing the Jedi with this, but there's nothing some people in the fandom won't use to demonize the Jedi with, so I'm not going to live my life anymore by what bad faith actors have to say, and instead focus on what's in the show. Where, in the show itself, Ahsoka is a child put into a war that the Jedi never wanted for her, but it was literally fight or die. Lucas even says that that's the quandary the Jedi are put into, that it goes against their morals to get into a war, but it was either compromise on that or everyone dies. When Ahsoka asks, "What if I wanna stop fighting?" the answer is, "Then you'll die." I saw that as a straight line from what Lucas said was the point of putting the Jedi into the war, that it's a shitty position for them to be in, it's against their principles, it's what led to their deaths, but it was that or everyone dies. What kind of choice is that? So, that's the context of Ahsoka being 14 here (as well as we have to remember that Star Wars is a story for children and having younger protagonists is to give their audience a character to latch onto, not everything is a "child soldier" just because a young kid is fighting, GENRE TROPES EXISTS OUTSIDE OF THE NARRATIVE), it's not "the Jedi didn't care about their children", it was "the Jedi were desperately trying to save lives and they weren't perfect about it because NOBODY CAN BE PERFECT and we shouldn't try to make people be perfect because that only leads to disaster, but it still hurt to watch". Ultimately, the point of the episode was that Ahsoka chose to keep fighting, chose to keep fighting to live, chose to accept Anakin's words about how death and destruction were part of her, but she was more than that, too. The show specifically says she's more than that through Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon. The show says that she's more than just a soldier through having everything of all those Jedi in her. For me, that's pretty Jedi-positive, to have Ahsoka come to her choice to live by having her Master say, yeah, Vader's part of us, but so are the rest of the Jedi, and that's what allows her to rise above everything she's been struggling with. Ahsoka was a soldier as a child, but her entire culture is part of her, and her entire culture was more than just soldiers, she was a Jedi, she had thousands of years of Jedi putting all of themselves into her, she has their philosophies, their art, their rites, their customs, their words, their history, their compassion, she literally has their thousand-year-old Padawan training droid with her. The whole point is that the Jedi were forced to be soldiers and that hurt like hell, it created a terrible scar that they'll always carry with them and their legacy, but that ultimately the Jedi Order is more than that one war. Anakin and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and Dooku and Yoda are more than that. And Ahsoka is more than that, too, because she is all of them and more, just as any Padawan she may take will be all of them and more, too.

And that's so Jedi, that's why teaching is so foundational to who they are (and I love that that's why Ahsoka gets so hurt by Anakin's joke about how teaching isn't all it's cracked up to be, it feels like a dig at her specifically, but it's also part of the theme of how over and over and over we see how much Jedi LOVE teaching as a fundamental of their entire culture), that you pass on what you've learned, that every Jedi who comes after you is everything you can give them and then more.

I love that so much!! And fandom acting in bad faith about it isn't going to take it away from me!! 😂

[callmerhynner]

We’re family, we grieve together. ||

synopsis: After the head of the mansion engages his final plan during his battle of wits with Muzan Kibutsuji, you are left with the traumatized children and depressing memories that the passed family left behind.

tags: gn!reader, angst, a bit of fluff(?), sad vibes, spoiler warning!!, giving the underrated family of ds some love w/ sadness, sad children, trauma

pairing/s: Ubuyashiki Kagaya & Bestfriend!Reader, Ubuyashiki children & godparent!Reader, Amane & family friend!Reader

Author’s note; Art by me :DD, practicing a new art style and thought i might as well try writing angst for the first time. Hope you enjoy!!

⇱ ♥︎ ⇲

"Life's already been hard, being sickly was making it even harder, and the world being infested with human flesh-eating demons gave everyone more reason to fear the moon. The sun was everyone's savior, each demon slayer thanking every deity that no demon came into their homes and killed them in their sleep. And, to everyone's unfortunate truth, if the lowest ranks were fearing for their life, their master had to mourn their death alongside the people they'd left behind.

Their master, the leader of the undiscovered by the government demon slayers, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

The man that had an army ready to charge to their own undoing if he so requests of them to. The same man that was as sickly as an overworked farmer with tubberculosis, as weak as a toothpick, had the power to control the most determined and powerful men and women in the country. Out of all the country's population, the master with swordsmen that's been trained to face death and survive, was the weakest of all.

Strength, you should remember, isn't always physical. Sometimes, it's their mentality that earns control and respect. Kagaya Ubuyashiki reflected the day's calm view with his moral ideas, only gaining more respect when he has the kindest voice, and the kindest eyes a human can possess. A man of true ethereality.

The master of the mansion, unfortunate enough to be given such a heavy title at a young age, was a man everyone could love and respect. That could make the coldest person feel warmth. Give the hardest stone a soft spot. A man of true charm."

Without you noticing, tears roll down your face, eyes never leaving the last remnant you had of your best friend, an ashy-edged portrait. You had your hands gripping at the canvas' sides, hugging it to your chest as you grieved in front of the destroyed mansion, never daring to move your legs, in fear that if you touched another flick of grass, you'd lose the memories you had with the now passed family. From the father, who you loved like a brother--to his children, that would tire themselves out at the end of the days when you would visit the mansion. His wife, who would treat you as if you have always been family, and the home of which they all felt safest who would welcome you with a flowery breeze.

All of which, gone, only the black ashes that it left behind.

You sat still, the portrait with smudges of black on it's bottom still in your grips, as your salty tears kept decorating your skin. You look to the space in the sky, where one would've seen the master's mansion, before turning your head to spare a sad glance to the young, terrifed children survivors you had managed to save from the explosion. The white of your eyes were visibly red, water never stopping the dripping it slid on your cheeks. You finally gain the strength to ease the children, watching their tears pour out broke your heart like seeing an abandoned puppy, you let go of the portrait and extending your arms to their direction.

"We are family...we grieve together.."

In an instant, the three Ubuyashiki children run to your embrace, letting out their voices and wailing into your clothes. The girls wrapped their arms at your waist as they screamed their grievances out to you, you pat their white hairs as Kiriya couldn't hold his loud sobs into your chest. You sat them all down, their faces still wetting your clothes with their emotions (you were no different), as you wrapped your arms around them in a protective bear hug. They'd lost their father, you lost a best friend, and every demon slayer had just lost their master.

You all sat there, all of your letting your sadness out amongst each other, only calming down when the crying had ceased everyone's energy. The kakushi and hashira had arrived, you knew they have probably been there the moment they heard the traumatic booming, but they unanimously agreed to let all of you pass out from exhaustion to not trigger any more intense emotions. It was a depressing sight to see, and hear, three children screaming their hearts out to the only person left that they considered family (that weren't the slayers); All the while, the person they sought for comfort, felt as much grief as they all did combined.

"Your father was a good man, Kiriya. He deserves to be honored, and i know you can do that for him." you whisper to the little boy as you gently pat his sisters' hair, voice a bit scratchy from holding in the scream you were desprate to let out. "I know we all can do it for him." you continue, a single tear rolling down your cheek as you tried to give him a hopeful smile.

"You won't have to face it alone." you finish, kissing the top of his head as the young boy let out a yawn, curling into your lap. Kuina rested her head just next to him, with Kanata laying down on the ground, using some of your yukata's cloth to protect her eyes from the dirt. "Master," you add, barely a whisper, eyes lingering back to the portrait as the hurt of your heart continues to spread across your chest, finally closing your eyes to rest alongside them when you knew they were all asleep.

[v3nusxsky]

Can I please request I wouldnt call it smut really but I dunno... some titty sucking 👉👈 ( . )( . ), Lady Lesso x reader where they're laying in bed and stuff. Fluffy, soft, lots lots lots of praise and mommy kink. Reader being called 'good girl'. 🥲

*Authors note~ oral fixation people this is for us, how I wish I could be reader in this like boobs yes please. Drabblleeeee*

*A/n~ I kinda strayed from the request I hope that’s okay it became purely self indulgent*

Trigger warnings~ praise mommy kink oral fixation suckling on breast for comfort nightmares

Prompt~see ask^^^^^

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

You had a particularly rough day and after having a nice soothing bath with your lover you'd settled into bed with one another. Leonora was happy to hold you and comfort you as you drifted off to sleep with her slender fingers scratching softly at your scalp. You happily nuzzled into the Dean of Evil who happened to be wearing one of her longer white shirts, a few buttons undone to allow the cool summer breeze to cool her already warm body. You were like a little space heater.

It wasn't uncommon for you to have nightmares, but recently they've been bad. So bad that you're subconsciousness began to become more violent. Your hands and legs hitting out in your sleep, tangling your limbs in the sheets as your fought the demons in your mind. The demons from the past you attempted to bury deep in the sand of memories. They always seemed to resurrect themselves at night, while you were at you were at your most vulnerable.

Leonora had tried to help you through those nightmares but her voice was no longer working and she learned all too quickly that touching you during these episodes of night terrors was simply not the way to go. You were small yes but no way were you weak like this, Leonora often struggled to restrain you in the throes of terror, she'd never admit it out loud but it was distressing for her to see. Her heart always broke seeing you become so disconnected from the real world, you often woke up to your own screams pulling you from your mind as you sobbed and clutched at the redhead. Those nights neither of you really had much restful sleep.

Tonight was no different, you started off the same way, whimpering broken pleads to make it stop, Lesso trying to soothe you with her voice which seemed to work for all of fifteen minutes before you again back to beg and plead for them to stop. Calling out for Leonora to make then stop. "Help me Leo, Leo! Help me" you sobbed in the throes of the past, there was no Leonora then to save you, but she was here now and she'd do anything to protect you.

In your terrified state, you moved closer to your girlfriend throwing your hand haphazardly to your right, coming into contact with her soft boob. It was like a light switched on in your dream, you shuffling closed until you had her shirt moved and your mouth latched onto her pert bud. All Lesso could do was stare at your shadow in shock while light suckling noises filled the room. The tension seemingly leaving your body and your fallen tears drying as you made content sleepy sounds.

Leonora had no idea how long she lay there, you happily suckling her breast in your sleep, she brought her hand to your hair to gently scratch your scalp in a soothing gesture, overwhelmed how such a small act could help you, and it was something Lesso enjoyed. You always loved to shower Leonora is kisses and hickeys, she was always so responsive to your light sucking on her skin. Of course this was how you needed to be soothed. It made perfect sense, you would suckle on your bear as a teenager until some cruel idiots tore him apart in front of you, that's when you began to have these episodes. You'd never found away after that to soothe yourself, you loved to have things in your mouth though, in a sexual way or not if you thought you were alone you'd place pendant of your necklace in your mouth. But none of it was the same, until tonight.

You realised a little angry whine when her nipple slipped from your mouth. Temper clearly present at having your comfort taken from you. The cool air met her wet skin which caused her to shiver. Lesso guided you back to her breast, "sleep darling you're okay now" she murmured soothingly to you. That was the first night in a long time you both got some much needed sleep.

From that night on any time you needed soothing from a distressed state all you needed to do was go and find Leonora and whisper "blue" which immediately let her know what you were seeking. Lesso always made time to give you that, although initially you were embarrassed about needing and wanted her like this you soon became more confident to ask her for that comfort when you saw the enjoyment she got from soothing you. She may be the Dean of Evil but with you she was anything but. Always willing to be soft and caring for your benefits.

Word count~ 873

[brainyrot]

Hey. I like the way you write.

LMAOJDIS

Chaos everywhere, wood flying and breaking, bullets made of who knows what, ink and death.

it felt like a war was playing in front of him, which he couldn't tell if it was entertaining or scary, not scary because the scene was too much for him, but scary because he was in the middle of it.

he wanted to make a run for it, but didn't make it. Didn't work. Too many things happening right now.

Ink falling down from his forehead, stress.

He just needs to wait until things calm down a bit, or too many people die until it's enough and the massacre stops.

he's almost glad he's in the middle of this and witnessing it, as he can learn new things from the new guests and adapt.

the two dishes have a long reach weapon, yes, fingers but they shoot bullets and a variety of it.

Could break their hands all together.

The cat is mostly relying on the bag and physical fight, the bag gives him everything apparently. Tricky and just needs to see if that bag can even be damaged.

the girl uses some kind of spells. She is fragile so she hopes those small and quick spells she can do without messing up are enough,

Meaning she is the easiest one.

on the other hand we have what used to be people dragging themselves around, hungry. Mad. In both senses.

And he's still stuck like this.

But after what felt like an eternity the fire stops, the screams and moans of pain stop, the ink slowly melting and dripping from whatever surface it's on.

blood is mixed with ink, minor injuries, maybe some are more severe.

The guests are covered in ink, some were close to be consumed by it completely.

They work the same as the rest. They are all victims of the same rules. they are just smarter and sane enough to actually try and survive instead of throwing yourself into some suicidal mission and wait to come back, again, and die, again, and come back, over and over, losing yourself the more it happens.

Sammy on the floor, obviously alive, just not able to fight anymore. that guy is hard to beat, he can tell you by experience. Some firey bullets won't do much.

Hopefully won't start a fire, they already have enough problems as it is.

a cough, multiple coughs. A whole coughing fit that sounded like someone just got out from the dark puddles, they all do it anyway, they all need to breathe still apparently.

Or it just sounds like someone whose lungs are merely an accessory instead of functional now.

the second one fits better.

"You okay, bro?" the one with the scarf as long as Alice angel's hair, even more, asks. Placing a hand behind the other's back and rubbing it.

"I-im good. I'm good." and a few curses.

What a nitwit. you're not fine. Why does he keep lying about that? Does he think he's cool or a hero if he does that?

What a joke.

"Where's bendy?" here, but he doesn't wanna be.

"Under a table, he's fine.." taking a few breaths in, glancing at the demon..kind of suspiciously but it was just a glance, the feeling went away almost immediately.

"Who even were they?" She asked. Tired. She didn't even move, why is she tired? All the work was from the rest of the group and her silly spells.

"I don't know, tree princess. Some weirdos."

"covered in ink.."

"Some didn't even look like a person though! They.. it's like they were made of ink!" they say the truth, yet they keep denying it once they say the rest of the words.

"Yeah. this place is dangerous. We need to go." a joy in this torment of a studio?

"But boris-"

"SCREW BORIS! We can't even save him anymore! He's cussing dead! I saw him cut open earlier! There's no one else to save! There's nothing to save him! So let's just get bendy out from under the table and go!" the tallest cup shouted. Ouch. and he snapped as well.

Amusing at best, but honestly, he doesn't care.

"..what?"

"Bori- you...you knew? You knew?! You knew Boris was here- and- and you didn't say anything until now?! You- y- Boris is dead and- and-"

"I couldn't do anything about it! he was already like this when I found him!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! Boris is-you could've-! I-" Tears and a mix of emotions that can't be fully described.

Tears from a girl, ugly crying without any shame. She doesn't have time for that, as she's busy crying over a stranger with the face of someone she knew.

silence, grieving silence.

"...bendy, look. I-..I wanted to tell you, but-" finally, the one who broke this news to everyone spoke, voice so soft and empathetic it was weird seeing him talk like that.

but he wasn't talking to no one anyway, there was no one there.

"...bendy?"

[epictacobird]

Demon Slayer!Mc thoughts

(Pretty angsty btw, dark themes, it’s literally demon slayer lol, no spoilers here)

this is the longest I’ve ever kept one idea in my head I’m scared

I cant stop thinking about an mc from demon slayer and I blame anyone whose ever written angst for an mc/Yuu that came from a world worse than twst.

Like 😭

Demon slayer!mc who hates the fact that they don’t want to go home. In fact, they’re almost terrified of the day Crowley announces he can send them back (even though they have doubts it’ll ever happen)

Finally, they can live like a normal person. They are no longer in danger, overblots or not they don’t have to fear for their life every night. They have friends, and for once they don’t have to question if they will see them again. They don’t have to worry if they’ll enter the scene of a massacre, the smell of blood and fear is almost nonexistent compared to the past.

Oh but how they cry when they think about the people who sacrificed themselves for their sake. How, if they choose to stay, they will abandon the hopes and dreams they protected with their life. All the death they had experienced was for the hope of a better future, and now they find themselves willing to leave those hopes behind for a selfish desire. If they choose to stay, how many lives will be lost? How many families torn apart (literally) if they choose to abandon their duties?

And they wonder if they could ever possibly tell their friends about their past.

Sure they could, after all they know how much it shows when they jump at the smallest sound at night. But their just a bit scared of the dark!

Yeah, they stare off into space sometimes with a look that holds all the worlds terror and cries but they just look like that yk?

And hey, they promise it’s fine to get only a few hours of sleep at awkward hours of the day. Grim, don’t worry but please don’t tell anyone about how they wake up screaming and crying some nights. They promised to buy you extra tuna for the lost sleep.

And what if they learn how these demons are created? Would they understand that these creatures are far from human? Would they understand that these demons cannot be saved, and the only solution is to decapitate them?

They wouldn’t be able to stand the mistrustful and maybe even disgusted gazes of their friends.

I could see demon slayer mc’s relationship starting out very different with diasomnia too. The first interaction with Malleus was probably terrifying for them. I mean we got a non-human, horned tall man popping out of nowhere in the middle of the night.

I’d imagine they’d warm up pretty quickly though. Especially with Lilia, considering they share similar experiences. Maybe even become a training partner with Silver.

Sebek tho, they have never hated anyone more.

He talks like demons. Hating and looking down on humans for being weak and useless. Honestly, if mc is hot-blooded enough they’re throwing hands. After witnessing so many people die, so many allys give their lives for humanity, are they really going to just take that?

On a lighter note, think about how strong they are. Especially if they have heightened senses like Tanjiro or Zenitsu. Vargas loves them fr, they’re on par with beastmen and dominate in so many sports. Instant training buddies with Jack.

Imagjne Riddle or Azul (if they have a deal) trying to teach mc how to write a formal essay lmao. Especially if they’re more like Inosuke who doesn’t even know how to read

This entire thing has been rotting my brain lmao

[12-cluh]

“You know, Del,” 12 said, pouring a small glass of water, “If you asked someone who they think the strongest being in the multiverse is: who do you think they’d say? The cocky would say themselves, the indifferent would say some random overseer, the wise would say the Archons and the truly knowledgable would say the Record Keeper. But none of those are the true answer…” He took a long sip, staring at the eyes of Psychoperdilitch’s screen, “The real answer… is people like me.”

The demon scoffed, the static of his voice causing it to sound like grating metal, “You? Is that some feeble attempt at humor?”

12 laughed back, “If you’d listened, you’d know I said people like me.” He walked around the table in the kitchen, holding his arms in his hoodie pockets. “People of my… profession, is the proper word for it. You see, reality, all throughout the multiverse, bends and molds itself to whatever I see it as or want it to be… For example!” He tapped on his arms, yet Psychoperdilitch didn’t see the runes of an overseer. Instead, he saw a small wrist-mounted keyboard. After a second of typing, 12 looked at him and projected, “A large piano comes and hits Psychoperdilitch in the face.”

Before the archon could even question or retort, he was struck off his feet as a large piano came hurdling out of nowhere and smashed itself into his screen. Psychoperdilitch quickly picked up over his head and threw it towards 12, but he just sidestepped as the instrument exploded into a thousand shards.

“That cheap trick will not save you…” it growled.

“Sure, whatever, next up…” Psychoperdilitch just now noticed that 12 had finished typing another message, “Dresden appears, calls Psycho a cunt and vanishes.”

Out of nowhere, Professor Oakland materialized. Psychoperdilitch briefly smirked but it vanished just as quickly as Dresden stared him in his screen and stated, “Psychoperdilitch, you are a cunt.” And then, just as 12 had said, he vanished.

“Pretty neat trick, hmm?” 12 called from a newly constructed rock formation. The archon stared up at him and quickly used his four arms to race up the wall, but it seemed the more he traveled the further away 12 got.

Psychoperdilitch screamed out in frustration, “How is that possible?!”

“Simple, really,” Suddenly, the voice wasn’t being projected from above him, but rather right behind him. Whipping around, it saw 12 standing upside down not a foot away, “You just lack imagination.”

Quicker than Psychoperdilitch could preserve he was simply flicked through the mountain range for what felt like miles before finally stopping. He looked up, screen cracked, to see 12 standing above him, his eyes the only thing revealed through the shadow which somehow cast over his face. “This power…”

Psychoperdilitch tried clawing his way up to him, but all four of his arms immediately fell off his body with a clattering sound. 12 grabbed him by one of his fraying wires, looked him in the eyes, and said, “This is the power of an author, Psycho,”

He reeled his fist back and punched, but instead of searing pain, Psychoperdilict bolted up and off the mattress in his mansion. Quickly looking around, he felt his face with one of his arms, making sure his entire body was still intact. As he looked around, he saw a small piece of paper nailed to the wall which Psychoperdilict was sure hadn’t been there. One of his metal tendrils retrieved and brought it up to his eye level.

Psycho, if you ever wanna try again, my dimension is always open to you.

Except for Saturdays. I’m busy with Romi ;)

-12

[oceansssblue]

~ [MAGICAL CREATURES SERIES] – THE BAD BATCH AU (N4)

Pt5. "THE SMELL OF FIRE" HUNTER/PHOENIX!OFC

THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENING IN THE SMALL MOON PLACED ON THE EDGES OF THE GALAXY WITH THE UNKOWN REGIONS. THEIR PEOPLE ARE RESERVED AND SECRETIVE; TRYING TO APPEAR NORMAL, THOUGH HUNTER HEAVILY SUSPECTS THEY AREN'T. HIS NOSE EASILY PICKS UP THE SMELL OF ASH AND FIRE.

WARNINGS (Pt5): FIGHT DESCRIPTIONS, WOUNDED CHARACTERS, MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND SCARS, BURNS, AND PAST CHILDHOOD TRAUMA (FIRE ACCIDENT).

Link for part 1:

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The night had turned off most of Aodh's usual faint glowing lights; dulling the ever shining highlights of the moon's silvery sand. Though not in full silence, the tribe seemed to be quieter than usual at such late hours; the oldest collecting the excess of food that wasn't eaten at dinner in order to save it for another day. Hunter had just finished his; the usual combination of a sweet sticky flower nectar and an array of different seeds. It was a weird diet for the clone; but if he was being honest, nutri-bars didn't taste much better. Omega even seemed to enjoy these.

It was thanks to this quietness –only a few murmurs and small laughs of the children here and there– that Hunter was able to hear a small dripping sound not so far to them. His ears twitched involuntarily, and his eyes quickly made a detailed scan around him while Tech and Wrecker continued their argument. He couldn't see as well in the dark as Crosshair; so it took him longer than he would have liked to realise the source of the noise.

His eyes finally landed on the lake behind the first line of trees. There was no creature to be seen; but he could barely make out the riples in the water, as if something were moving fast under it.

He made a hand gesture to his squad and they all went silent, suddenly as alert and focused as him.

Hunter's eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Omega whispered.

The expert tracker then locked his attention on a black rounded shape slowly rising above the surface of the lake. The colors were so similar to it that it was difficult to separe it's figure from the water; but two seconds later, dark purple eyes revealed themselves, and Hunter inmediatelly understood what it meant.

"Chitari" he warned, hand slowly moving towards his unseparatable vibro-blade.

As if summoned, the beasts simultaneously jumped out of the water, and quickly pounced onto the distracted natives; havoc setting loose. Screams echoed throughout the forest; and while each batcher inmediately stood up and drawed their respective weapons, flashes of light and fire spread throughout the camp. In front of them, half of the natives turned to their animal shape –that burnt and ashy smell growing stronger each second–; while others looked lost and scared.

"The kids and elders can't transform" Hunter realised, clenching his jaw "Protect them".

The order needn't be repeated twice. The Batch quickly movilised; advancing between the trees with their weapons ready to use. Wrecker and Omega ran to help those of old age, while the other three of them quickly formed a circle around the kids of the tribe. Other natives had prioritised the same thing; an array of what Tech had confirmed a few days ago as phoenixes completing the circle as well. Some where orange, some looking almost golden. Bigger or smaller, slightly different features in their bodies. If something was clear, it was that they all had powerful beaks and claws, and they were ready to give their all.

Hunter had to pull himself together when he encountered his first Chitari face to face. He had seen hundreds of different species along the galaxy; but this... This creatures easily blended into the night, only a quick flash of purple serving as a warning before the first strike, and they felt oscure, almost demonic. The tribe believed themselves to be part of a fire spirit, of what Hunter had thought to be some manifestation of the Force. He questioned if that same logic meant that this creatures where part of the dark side of it, a concentrated corrupted kind of energy that resided only in the most dangerous Siths.

He managed to dodge the beasts paws by only a pair of centimeters; it's powerfull sharp claws leaving their mark on his left pauldron. He cursed and rolled out of the way of the second attack; quickly using the oportunity to turn around and take a swipe against the animal's skin. Raw fear and worry filled his chest when he realised his knife did nothing to the dark skin, seemingly impenetrable. How... How had the tribe skinned this animals, then?

One of the phoenixes intercepted the next strike of the Chitari over him; and Hunter watched as the bird aimed towards one of his eyes with his beak. In one quick powerfull movement, the phoenix pierced the Chitari's purple eye; and the animal screeched in pain. Both irises seemed to dull in color to almost black and a purple light rippled through the animals skin. The phoenix then rammed his beak and claws onto the beast's back and pulled; another screech and Hunter could see the Chitari's pale under skin.

He had no fucking idea how it all worked; but he understood how to fight them now, and he was quick to open his com, pressing onto his vambrace.

"Aim for the eyes" he pointed out, quickly dodging another attack and taking advantage of the intervention of a different phoenix to jump on the Chitari's massive form. "It somehow eliminates their skin resistance".

While the phoenix and the Chitari wounded each other and tried to pull their skins off, Hunter pounced and plunged his vibro-blade onto the animals left eye; the phoenix making a echoing shrill sound before tearing apart his belly with his claws.

In the middle of what seemed to be an endless assault, Hunter catched a flash of light with the corner of his eyes. A glance was all he needed to understand; the phoenix was spitting flames of fire, and red feathers blended with its black body. It was Alinta, fiercely keeping the Chitari away from the children of her tribe; which meant her father was alone in their cabin, as he always had his food there as to not strain himself too much at such a tiring hour of the night.

Hunter ordered his brothers to hold their position and ran.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Alinta had only experienced that level of fear once before in her life. The nightmare he often dreamed about; the trauma that still haunted her. But she had been with the rest of the tribe when the Chitari had pounced on them; had had to soldier on and protect the children, the future of their clan. It had been a difficult, hourly fight. They had won –though not without loss–; and only when just a few Chitari had remained alive, Alinta had deemed it safe to abandon her tribe to themselves, and rush to her father's cabin. She prayed the Chitaris hadn't found their way towards it yet, distracted by the congregation of natives ten minutes away; but she couldn't help but feel dreadful, with high chances that he would find his dad... Dead.

And he had looked dead, at first; but underneath all the dirt and blood, no matter if his body was weirdly sprawled on the ground or how much he trembled, Alinta had quickly found out he was very much alive. And she had broken into childish sobs at that.

"Dad..." she whinned, holding his upper body towards his chest, caressing his hair.

The man pulled a tired smile on his face and hummed.

"I'm alright, little bird. It's all superficial wounds. Hunter came in right in time".

Alinta blinked, and her eyes turned sharply towards the dead Chitari she had already noticed upon her arrival; only now repairing on the clone's figure standing at the other side of the massive beast, bloody vibroblade still in hand. Alinta's breath hitched, and her red stare travelled it's way towards the Chitari's wounded eye; then back down to the blood oozing down his mouth and neck. Hunter had... Hunter had saved his father, and that... That wonderful, beautiful strong human had killed the beast all by himself.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Hunter had helped Alinta to carry her trembling father inside their cabin towards his bed and patiently waited as she cleaned him and dressed his wounds with some sort of herbal medicine. They had been silent all throughout it; not wanting to disturb the wounded man, who had quickly fallen into a light slumber with the drop of the adrenaline. Hunter also knew Alinta had been terrified of losing him –it had been heartbreaking to see her reaction upon arriving–; and gave her the peace needed to process the recent events.

"She always guilt" the voice of the elder suddenly spoke up, almost giving Hunter a scare. "Inside. I close to die, she small. No her do, no... No know, but she guilt".

Alinta had left them momentarily to get more medicine from the tribe –both for his father and Hunter himself–; and the clone had been left alone with the man. The elder had apparently found the ocasion to be perfect to finally explain that bit of their past. Hunter felt a bit guilty finding out that information without the woman's presence; but it felt wrong to interrumpt, so he listened.

He listened how Alinta had woken up one day with their cabin covered in fire, walls and bed burning in flames and all around her. Her seven year old self had cried in fear; anguish only momentarily soothed by his father's bursting figure running through the growing fire towards her. But when her dad had tried to pull her into his embrace, ready to abandon the place, the flames had only switched from her skin towards his; licking up his hands and arms, making him scream in pain. She had screamed too, terrified; and watched helpessly as her father passed out from the pain and dropped heavily to the ground. She had quickly jumped out of bed, tried to desperately tug him out of the crumbling cabin; but had realised it only made his condition worsen, it only made the fire extend further from her to him, and she had been forced to give up on him. She had cried a thousend apologies before turning and running away; confused and terrified by how the fire didn't seem to hurt her, but trying to get help from anyone on the tribe as well. The fire had been washed down, and the gravely injured body of his father had been treated by Egon's most strong medicines for months. Parts of his skin had been completely burnt, scars and ugly dried wounds marking him forever; still calling Alinta's accident years later, when she had finally learnt to control herself.

"Little bird guilt. I see. I know. But she no guilt. I know. She... Know too, but hard accept sometime. Need people remind her" the man explained, his voice quiet and soft in the loneliness of their cabin.

Hunter's heart clenched.

"I know you and her" he continued, surprising the clone with his calmed, unacussing voice. "Remind her. Remind her to breathe. She always protect tribe. Protect me. If only a moment, help her live".

Hunter's mind swirled with thoughts and feelings. He felt lost for a minute; before taking a deep breath and accepting what he had already known for almost a week now –maybe longer–. Finding himself.

His deep chocolate eyes stared onto Alinta's father's bright ones. He nodded; a honest, solemn dip of his chin.

"I'll try my best".

END OF PART FIVE

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

PART SIX HERE:

YO GUYSSSS WE'RE ALMOST FINISHED WITH THIS STORY! WE'VE ONLY GOT ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT (THAT WILL INCLUDE OUR CHARACTERS CAVING IN AND A SORT OF CLOSEUP) AND WE'RE DONE!

I HOPE YOUR LIKING THIS STORY, LET ME KNOW! REBLOG IF U CAN!

LET ME KNOW TOO IF U WANNA BE TAGGED FOR NEXT CHAP OR ANY OF MY WORK.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

Xx,

Sky.

Link to my general masterlist:

Link to magical creatures series:

[sentience-if]

Hmm.... thinking of it now, I wonder if all these angels and demons are actually aliens and MC is an alien who wanted to be human because in the aliens' culture, humans are like deities, hence "I want to be holy".

It would be an interesting twist on how aliens are usually the ones being worshipped in some human religious institutions— that WE are the aliens in question being worshipped by an entirely removed and foreign species from outer space.

Aliens appear like angels or demons to humans because they utilize the human culture as well by taking a shape of form they would be familiar with— most cultures and religious have concepts similar to it, after all.

When that angel/demon attacked MC, it was noted that despite their wrist being torn, there are injuries at MC's palm— coupled with circuit board resemblace, I wonder if that creature wanted to expose MC's true nature. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps they wanted to save their brethren. Perhaps they didn't think anyone should try to be "holy" like "How DARE you even think you can have a place among our GODS, stop this masquerade IMMEDIATELY!!"

MC's emergence from underground also reminds of how in the 'War of the Worlds', it would be revealed aliens placed their technology on Earth long before humans came, waiting for the right moment to come out.

Io is the name of an ancient Greek princess who was once turned into a cow and constantly stung and chased by a gadfly as punishment from Hera for being Zeus' lover, but she would later be restored to her human form and become the ancestor to many heroes like Hercales (Hercules) as foretold by Prometheus— who is another Greek mythological figure punished for bringing fire (holy knowledge) to humans. The potential connections are.... interesting. 👀

It's mentioned "magic" is something some people are "genetically" able to use safely, and even that's not a guarantee you won't perish along the way. Maybe magic in question is the ability to use alien technology, or mutations/powers/vibes that came to Earth with aliens. Like them coming altered something within the magnetosphere or whatever and some people can use it for themselves before it starts to harm them because it's not what their bodies are used to. And the reason why MC can naturally, without seeming harm, is because, well, it's their species' own nature— why should they get hurt from something that is as natural to them as breathing?

Within all this theory, that makes Sanity/Divinity stat more of a Human/Alien stat— are you adapting to your new life as a human, being scared of the "unknown", of odd glowing creatures with sharp teeth, of stealing from someone else's garden because it's wrong and you fear criminal punishment, or are you slowly remembering your past as an alien, touching touchpads, getting close to your once brethren and communicating with them, enjoying the Garden of Eden and its forbidden inaccessible fruits like someone who got the amazing chance to get to the Realm of the Gods?

Of course, this is all just a theory— just because this is sci-fi doesn't mean religion and magic cannot exist side by side. Angels can exist next to aliens— that would actually be fascinating, actually.

Either way, in case it's not clear, I am crying screaming frothing in the mouth tearing my clothes apart over this story. I am eagerly waiting for the rest of the story. 🤩

bro you are so close I am looking you in the eyes I am beaming thoughts into your brain you and I are on the same deeply specific wavelength

[quinloki]

Well, I have nothing on the brain lately regarding Arlong and while Beckman has been on the brain I still have nothing really to share. So, per @kazieai's sharing I got to thinking about one of my snake OC's that I sent in the previous time you asked for gushes.

I'm going with Modeus, or as you described him the "not friend-shaped" & "too bitey" OC. I talked about him since then and honestly couldn't remember anything I had come up with for him because I'm a dork. I had forgotten that I had gifted him a Hiss-Hiss fruit and I now would like to rescind all of that.

As you pointed out to Kaz, her OC could just inherently have wind powers just as easily as all Minks glow like Tesla coils. I've found that how I've constructed Modeus' characterization in terms of personality and diet do not lend themselves well to devil fruits. We haven't really seen a Zoan Devil Fruit that makes the user eat other people. At least, as far as I know, X Drake hasn't regularly consumed a steady diet of people based out of nutritional need.

So I'm thinking Modeus' DF would not give him reason to consume people when he was in full Yuan-ti form. And if he's going to be as old as I want him to be, then he can't have a DF because as far as I know, Marco has the only immortal fruit. Or are there more immortal DF users walking around (because let's face it, I am never going to catch up to speed)? Anyway, I think he needs to actually be a snake person.

Not necessarily the Yuan-ti from the D&D Monster Manual (3.5 edition), but definitely a snake creature that I pattern strongly off the physical appearance of a Yuan-ti.

Is he a member of a reptilian based tribe? Is he a bastardization of some fishman hybrid with god only knows what else? Is he some kind of mutated hybrid offspring of a Sea King? Is he a lab experiment? Is he a demon?

I don't know what the hell he is at this point. But, he does eat people. He does hate pretty much everyone. He can shapeshift sort of into a human-esque being for ease of mobility through populated areas. He does end up joining the Cross Guild.

He still hates that he can't figure out how to eat Alvida. He hates that Buggy is smart enough to avoid being eaten as well. He has a healthy fear (respect) for Daz since he could theoretically skin Modeus alive with literally any part of his own body. He has a solid respect for Mihawk both as a person and as a swordsman (because remember, Modeus dual wields scimitars). And he HATES Sir Crocodile with an unyielding passion.

Why?

No one really knows. Sir Crocodile doesn't care, he just knows Modeus hates him and he banks on that for every last one of their interactions. I still think Trafalgar and Bepo should end up with the Cross Guild now that the Heart Pirates are no longer. Modeus desperately wants to eat Bepo but he has learned not to try because Trafalgar is dangerous enough to be a threat to Modeus' immediate safety and comfort.

Having skinned just enough off of Modeus for a pair of new snake-skin boots certainly got the point across. Trafalgar's people are his people and therefore not for eating.

Mihawk, because he is quite possibly the only HUMAN who gets along with Modeus, makes the suggestion that instead of collecting the bounties of the Marines he could save the Cross Guild the payout by simply eating his bounty. Modeus loves this idea and proceeds to take the most difficult bounties and devours them when he catches them. To make sure he is an honest and contributing member of the Guild, he always brings the bounty back to the Cross Guild alive first, so they can see he isn't lying (this was his own idea, no one has ever questioned his honesty/loyalty) and then takes them into the woods to eat them.

It has been requested by the Guild higher ups that he not eat his quarry at night as it is increasingly difficult to sleep to the sounds of murder and the dying screams of terrified men. Bepo has been suffering profusely from nightmares since they joined the Guild and Mihawk thinks it best that mealtimes for Modeus coincide with everyone else's regular mealtimes.

Once Modeus realizes he's in love with Avalon, he starts offering to share his quarried meals with her. Being the lady of grace that she is, she declines most of the time. Her lamia form does have a "feeding frenzy" mode and when that is active then she takes him up on mealtimes and they eat together.

Which creeps even Trafalgar out. But that only occurs about once every quarter or so. Avalon lives on a DF-mandated schedule whereas Modeus simply is as evil as he can get away with.

Fun facts regarding Modeus and the Admirals. He is ill-paired with former Admiral Aokiji, the popsicle ability does exactly as you would think with a reptile-based lifeform. Slows him down considerably and makes him sluggish. Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has the opposite effect on Modeus and makes him "better" in every way. While Sakazuki strives to avoid confrontations with Modeus, Modeus strives to avoid confrontations with Kuzan.

Issho and Borsalino are neutral regarding Modeus. He doesn't like the gravity effects of Issho's fruit but can work around them if he needs to. Likewise, he isn't as fast as Borsi Baby but the Admiral has a hard time getting through Modeus' scales.

Aramaki on the other hand, well, he's a royal pain in the ass just as Modeus is a royal pain in the ass for him. Modeus is at home in a forest. The Admiral can go as woodsy as he wants and it just helps Modeus. However, the whole regrowing bit drives Modeus up a wall because he cuts a tree limb there and another grows here to replace it. They are equally matched and equally mismatched at the same time. Their fights always end up a stalemate with them hating each other's guts immensely.

Aramaki takes after the Fleet Admiral and tries to avoid confrontations for these reasons whereas Modeus takes after Kuzan and goes out of his way to confront Aramaki just to annoy him. Kuzan in turn likes engaging with Modeus to irritate him, I don't think Kuzan wants to kill him but he does like aggravating him when the opportunity presents itself.

And that's all I have this go-around.

I gotta be honest one of my most favoritest parts about this is how you have the relationships worked out. Who has a leg up where and who doesn't, and it all makes great sense too, I love it.

(I admittedly think it would also be good for Modeus to "experience" Bepo going Sulong during a full moon. I think Law suggests it as a way for Bepo to stand up for himself. At least for a few minutes Modeus realizes he's food to Bepo, not the other way around).

I just really love all the little details though, the slight differences between him and Avalon and how their different circumstances and vibes intertwine and vary.

I look forward you to sorting out the exact details of his origin too ^_^ He might not be friend shaped, but he is interesting.

To clarify, Marco's DF doesn't make him immortal in the "live forever" sense, it just makes him nigh indestructible. He still ages, and will likely die of old age at some point.

That said, there are possibilities for people who are immortal thanks to earlier owners of the Ope-Ope No Mi, so immortality is still a canonical viable thing.

[gothicgrove]

How does one change enough to face the fear and confusion that shattered and stained memories bring? Complex PTSD is a never ending battle. My perpetual tug into the underworld that coerces mr to maintain complacency in even the darkest of situations. Struggling to feel real in a world that only brought blow after blow, more pain each day with no chance of acknowledgement from those who hurt you. That somehow it always ended up being your fault that they were hurting you. I would wait for someone to come take me away each night, sure in my heart that I must be something different from everyone around me. An alien that had been left here by accident, belonging to some faraway world where everything made perfect sense compared to the one I was leaving behind.

Or maybe I was something worse, some kind of demon that made my family suffer. That every bit of suffering I went through was deserved because of the misfortune I brought onto my family.

When I looked in the mirror I felt afraid. There was something wrong inside of me. I could see it so clearly. There was a monster in the mirror, on the glass window panes, in my shadow, inside of me. I couldn’t sleep either, too petrified that if I moved at all or breathed too deeply something in the darkness would kill me. My dreams were strange, nightmare after nightmare. Sleep paralysis that left me petrified of what was to come. I felt sick. I still feel sick. My mother called me a hypochondriac.

Nevermind that I wasn't allowed to eat at the dining room with her new family. Instead I had to eat off of the floor of my bedroom that I shared with my two brothers while my stepfather got three rooms to himself. That I spent more time away with the Boys & Girls Club than with them. That she would leave me to go on vacation while saying it was for work any time I got sick. Which I would only find out through her Facebook posts. Gee thanks mom, it’s great to see you’re in Hawaii while I’m battling the plague. Anything she could do to push us far away from her placate my stepfather and keep us from invading their bliss.

Then I would go stay with my father for the summers. Along with some amazing times together, I would face a new circle of Hell. As much as I adored him he became a different person when he drank. Alcoholism can turn even the kindest of people into warped versions of themselves. Accusing me of loving my new stepfather more than him as he wrapped his hands around my neck. That was his preferred method of punishment when it came to my perceived wrongdoings on his part.

Still I chose to live with him instead of my mother. The verbal and emotional abuse seemed negligible compared to the loneliness and neglect that swamped my time with my mother. I’d rather be locked in the house all day with someone yelling at me than sit there alone to fend for myself and my older brother. Those years with him were both the most wonderful and painful times that I have experienced in my life but it would all come to an end on April 6th, 2016. The day he committed suicide.

He blamed me before his attempt. My birth had brought ruin and destruction to his hopes and dreams. I was in fact the burden I had tried so desperately with every bit of my love not to be on him. I wanted to save him. I could’ve saved him. Tragically, I was held back by the fear of what he would do to me after I called 911. Knowing he would likely try to kill me when he came back home. I have spent every day since that day regretting the choice I made not to save him. For listening to my brother and stepmother when they told me not to run earlier when the ambulance sat at the top of the hill, lost and confused about where the house that showed on no maps could be. For not running faster even if the gravel stung and cut deep into my bare feet as it dug in. For being the 12 year old I really was and not the adult he carved me into. He was my entire world. What do you do when the world ends because of you?

Scream.

Except I couldn’t scream,

I still can’t scream.

So a part of him can live inside of me forever,

To replace all that died inside of me when I lost my dad.

To my dad,

I hope that you can find forgiveness in me in the same way that I have found forgiveness in you. You were hurting in a way that I could never comprehend as much as I tried to. That the VA never provided the proper support for and let our entire family down by failing to do so. May there be the peace, love, and gentleness in your afterlife that you were not given in your time on Earth. Please take care of the piece of me that you took with you, as that was always yours to have.

We all still miss you every single day that you’ve been gone and know that we all loved you with every fiber of our being. Thank you for the time we had together and know that we will never forget you.

-KMC

[queen-scribbles]

For the kiss prompts: "…on a place of insecurity" for whoever speaks up

Borrowing Etain from @haledamage bc this prompt SCREAMED her/Vikkari and the muses agreed. Very late Act 3, not long before storming the Midnight Fane.

---

Noble visits were the worst.

Etain struggled enough with the burden of command; having so many people look to her for guidance and protection was overwhelming after a life spent alone in the woods. But at least the soldiers and civilians didn’t seem to have any expectations on etiquette. Every so often, however, a noble from Absalom or Andoran or somewhere would show up--usually unannounced--because they wanted to see what was being done with their contributions.

Apart from their much higher standards on acceptable, delicate noblewomen with their flawless complexions and perfect posture did nothing to make Etain feel less ungainly. But it would be rude to turn them away, not to mention dangerous, with the demons all around. So she welcomed them as graciously as possible, and then did her level best to avoid them without being rude.

Duchess Safia was making that difficult. The woman was a social butterfly; outgoing enough to rival Seelah or Vikkari, chatty enough to keep up with Woljif or Nenio, and utterly uninterested in acknowledging she deemed an inferior. Which meant she only deigned to seek out Etain and occasionally Daeran or Camellia.

Etain took advantage of the opportunity presented by the latter to hide in the chapel. She’d found that unless they styled themselves as especially pious, nobles tended to avoid the provincial building. Duchess Safia was not a pious woman, making it a safe haven during her visit. An escape from her airy chatter, flawless, collected appearance, and diminutive stature that made Etain hunch even more than usual, tugging her mask up high over her nose.

The chapel was quiet today, empty save her and a single priest tending the candles scattered among the statues to various deities. Etain let her shoulders relax as she sank into a pew, half-lurking on the outer edge even mostly alone like this. Pippin settled himself in the aisle and started drifting off in mere seconds.

Why can’t they just leave me alone? Etain wondered, almost imploring, as she glanced at the statue of Iomadae, flanked by Erastil, Desna, Sarenrae, and others. Trust that I’m doing as needed and let me handle it? Showing up to watch over my shoulder just adds stress to a... calling that’s plenty hard on its own.

No answer came, not that she’d expected one in the moment.

Worrying about providing for my people, deploying armies correctly, making the right choices for running a damn city... She shifted and something dug into her thigh. I don’t know what I’m doing, I just try my best and having someone around who will judge doesn’t help- She slipped a hand in her pocket to find the pressure’s source and her fingers curled around a carved wooden bear.

A smile tugged her lips and she ran her thumb over the details of whittled fur.

“Etain?” As if summoned by her thoughts of him, a familiar voice sounded behind her. “Didn’t expect to see you here...”

“I’m hiding,” Etain said, hand still curled around the bear as she turned to watch Vikkari travel up the main aisle.

He paused, canted his head. “From everyone? ‘Cause I can leave.”

“No.” She shook her head with a quiet, almost nervous, chuckle. “You’re fine. I’m just avoiding the duchess.”

“Ah. Our latest noble guest.” He moved a pew past where she was sitting before sliding in to join her. “I was sparring with Seelah,” he explained with a laugh when she arched a brow at the choice. “Trying to spare you at least some of the fallout.”

Now that he mentioned it, Etain found she could see the sheen of sweat on his face, arms, and the portion of his chest visible with the loosely opened shirt. She pulled her gaze up from his collarbone to his eyes.  “The consideration is appreciated.” She smiled at the dirt smudged on his sleeve, cheek, and--it looked like--behind his ear.  “She win this time, or is this the price of victory?”

“The latter,” Vikkari laughed, “though it was very nearly a repeat of last time.” He saw where her gaze had gone and rubbed at the smudge on his face.

“So, is Lann next?” Etain asked lightly, half-joking, her grin hidden behind the mask. “If you’re fighting your friends?”

He snorted and shook his head. “He’d kick my ass. Prob’ly into next week. Seelah at least I have a chance; we’re pretty evenly matched.”

“It’s good you know your limits.” Her tone may have been teasing-adjacent, but that was a good--attractive--quality.

“Is that why you’re in here? Knowing your limits?”

Etain huffed a breath of a laugh. “More or less, I suppose.” She rolled the bear figurine in her hand, thumb running over the snout. “There’s enough stress to this position without doing it under the judgmental gaze of some fancy, flawless noble who’s never run a military campaign but is very concerned how you’re using her mon-”

“Etain.” She hadn’t realized she was tugging her mask ever-higher until Vikkari covered her hand with his to stop her. “It’s not right they do this to you; showing up out of the blue like you owe them something. You’re doing a good job. I know it’s hard, and not what you ever thought you’d be doing, but you are an excellent Commander.”

“I’m trying to believe that,” Etain muttered, her pulse fluttering as they sat with his hand over hers against the mask. He's hardly unbiased, her doubts whispered, but she shushed them.

“May I?” he asked quietly, and she gave a single nod, sitting frozen as he shifted the mask back to where it usually sat. His thumb brushed the scar down her cheek and she flinched. Vikkari winced. “Sorry, is that sensitive?”

She shook her head. She didn’t trust her voice right now. Not physically, anyway.

Understanding filled his eyes, which seemed to glow brighter, and he deliberately, gently, brushed his thumb over the scar again. “Flawless is overrated, I’ve found,” he murmured.

That was easy for him to say; the trio of scars that cut across the apple of his cheek only enhanced the angelic attractiveness somehow. Added a dash of the heroic to the sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. No one would ever see her scars as anything but mangling.

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Vikkari’s eyes flickered and he leaned over the pew back to brush a soft kiss over the scar’s beginning at her temple, just over the corner of her eye.

Etain sat frozen, unsure how to react, her heart pounding in her chest and grip tight on the carved bear. This close she could smell the sharp tang of sweat he’d been trying to spare her from, but it barely registered.

Vikkari’s neck and ears had gone pink when he sat back. “I, um, I apologize if I overstepped, Etain,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. “I just... Anyone who sees that and thinks it detracts from who you are can’t have an opinion worth caring about.”

“I wish it worked like that,” she said with a sigh. She withdrew her hand from her pocket and braced both arms against the pew back. “Unfortunately, too much of our support comes from people  who like to gossip and measure worth by appearances. As long as I can convince them I’ll lead the Crusade well and spend their money wisely, it’s just something I’ll have to endure. You can’t stop it.”

“Well, since you are doing both of those things, hopefully it’ll be obvious to any noble visitors who drop in.” Vikkari squeezed her hand.

“Hopefully,” Etain said. It varied wildly from noble to noble, she’d found. “I think I’ll keep hiding in here a little longer, all the same.”

He laughed. “I’ll try to run interference if I see the current one looking for you.” He pushed to his feet. “Meeting Seelah for that drink. You’re welcome to join us, if you like.”

“I’ll think about it,” she promised.

Vikkari nodded and made his way out of the chapel, raising one hand in a brief wave of farewell just before he stepped out the door.

Etain pulled out the carved bear, turning it over in her hands. It was clear now, just as the first time she’d examined it, how much thought and care had gone into its creation. Because he was like that. And with such friends at her back, she’d do fine. No matter how many pushy nobles she had to endure.

She lightly brushed her fingers over the spot Vikkari had kissed.

Even if I don't think friend is quite the right word for one of them any more...

[rosemaidenvixen]

The Pinned Moth

Chapter 1: The Moth and the Spiders

Ao3

The Collector sat in the topmost branch of the tree, the tallest one they could find, towering above all the others in the forest, swinging their feet in the air as they watched the birds flying by in the blue sky. They were all flying together in a triangle shape for some reason. The human realm had a few weird things like that, but was mostly pretty boring. 

Whatever, he was still finding ways to have fun here to.

Turning the ocean pink.

Letting the trees get up and run around.

Making it rain apple blood.

They would have thought that the humans here would be glad for the new changes to their boring old world and to have real fun for once. But so far all the people he’d tried to play with ran away screaming. If King were here he would hav–

A burning feeling swelled up behind his eyes, making the birds in the distance go blurry. Whenever he thought about King having a whole new world to explore and play in didn’t seem fun any more. 

Not without his best friend.

Things had been perfect back in the demon realm; finally free, a new best friend by his side, playing together all day long. Things were the best they’d been since forever and ever, and then–

Something stormy swirled in their belly, the corners of their mouth turning down in a frown. 

Then Luz came back and ruined everything.

Stupid Luz, her and her stupid friends wrecked everything. Ruining his fun, stealing his puppet friends, taking King away–

The burning behind their eyes surged.

It was her fault that King left him. He’d been alone for so long before King found him, Philip didn’t count, he was a lying fibber. They’d been having so much fun together before Luz came and wrecked it. Her and her friends even tried to trap him again; oh sure they’d said that they didn’t want to lock him up, but he knew that they were just trying to trick him. So he’d escaped into the human realm at the last second. King hadn't even been there to help, Luz must have tricked him– or lied to him. That had to be it, King was his best friend, there was no way he would ever let anyone…

The Collector sniffled, blinking and rubbing their eyes with his sleeve.

Whatever, if no one wanted him in the demon realm, he could have fun and make new friends in the human realm. All the humans he’d met so far might be fraidy cats, not even worth saving as puppet-friends, but he’d find some who weren’t and they’d all have so much fun together everyone who’d run and screamed would be sorry.

And when King saw how much fun they were having he’d realize that the Collector was so much better than a boring human like Luz and then he’d come to the human realm and find him and they’d be best friends forever and ever.

The Collector shook their head and looked back up at the birds. Instead of a triangle he’d make them fly in the shape of a star, that was a lot more fun.

He raised a hand, fingers poised to rearrange the birds with a snap–

Out of nowhere a sharp booming noise blasted through the air, the Collector wobbling and bracing themselves on the tree, birds forgotten.

What was that? Was it some kind of weird human monster? Where did it come from? 

They whipped their head around and stared. Off in the distance, from the same direction as the sound, bright blue and white sparks were shooting up into the sky. The booming sound faded into nothing as they continued to watch with wide eyes, replaced with a softer crackling as the sparks shimmered and popped in the air.

Captivated, the Collector pivoted around in the tree to face the sparks, raising their fingers to their eyelids to peer in closer.

The sparks were shooting up from a square brown object sitting in the middle of a clear spot in the forest. A bunch of humans were gathered around it, all wearing the same kind of clothes. Long pants and shirts splotched with dull brown and green, chests covered in bumpy black.

All of a sudden the sparks shooting up from the brown cube sputtered and spat, the fountain slowing to a trickle before dying out, the last few sparks of white and blue popping out of existence. For a few seconds nothing happened, all the humans just standing around the quiet brown cube, then one human stepped up, grabbing the cube and taking it away. Another human walked over to a truck parked halfway into the trees and grabbed another brown cube off of it, stepping into the center of the clearing and setting it down on the ground where the old one had been, they fiddled with the top for a few seconds before quickly darting away.

An instant later there was another boom, a fresh fountain of blue and white sparks gushing up into the sky, popping and crackling in the air as the Collector watched, fascinated.

The sparks weren’t magic, at least not any kind they’d seen before, but then what were they? And what were these humans doing, was this some kind of strange human game?

Lifting themself off the tree, they flew in the direction of the sparks and the humans. Touching down on the ground just behind one of the humans right as the sparks from the cube started to sputter out. 

“Wha cha doin?”

In the human realm the Collector had gotten used to humans yelling and running away whenever they saw him. It was funny the first few times, now it was just annoying, how was he supposed to find friends to play with if no one wanted to have fun? 

These humans were different, no one jumped or screamed or ran away, they all just calmly turned and looked over at them. 

A trill of excitement shot through him, maybe these humans weren’t fraidy cats, maybe he finally found some people to be friends with.

Then one of the humans stepped up close to them. This was one of the biggest humans the Collector had ever seen, tall and broad with short silver hair, several lines of scars running down one side of their face standing out bright red against their pale skin.

“Nothing much, we’re just setting off fireworks,” the human said, glancing over at the now sparkless cube.

“Fireworks?”

“Yeah but it’s getting kind of boring, we were thinking of playing hide and seek,”

The other humans all looked towards the big human, stepping towards them nodding and murmuring replies.

“Let’s do it,”

“Yeah,”

“Let’s play,”

The Collector looked around at the humans, feeling a wide smile spread across his face, a giggly feeling shooting through them. Finally some humans that actually wanted to have fun! 

“I love hide and seek! I’ll be it first,”

The big human threw back their head and laughed “Sorry but I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to play with us,”

“Huh?”

“We’re some of the best hide and seek players there are,” the human chuckled “If you tried to play with us you wouldn’t be able to keep up,”

The human was smiling at them while they talked to him, but even though they were smiling they didn’t look nice. 

The Collector felt their face heat up “I could to keep up!”

“Ok then how about this,” the big human grinned, showing all his teeth “You can be it first, you count to thirty and all of us will hide, if you can find us all that will prove you’re the better player, but if you can’t you have to call olly-olly-oxen-free,”

“You’re on!” the Collector pulled their hood down over their eyes “But no cheating! One…two…”

As they counted down they heard the humans all rushing around hiding. They could have scryed and watched them through his hood, but he didn’t because he wasn’t a cheater. They were the best hide and seek player there was, he could beat these humans fair and square.

“Twenty eight…twenty nine…thirty! Ready or not, here I come!”

They pulled their hood back and glanced around the clearing. Already he could see the feet of one human crouching behind the truck and the arm of another hiding behind a tree.

The Collector grinned. This was going to be easy. 

He pushed off from the ground and flew over to the truck “Found you!”

The hiding human stood with both hands raised “That you did,”

A giggle bubbled out of their throat as they floated over to the tree “Found you to!”

They drifted around clearing, finding all the humans in and around the trees and calling out as they did. In no time at all the forest was clear and all the humans were standing back in the clearing.

Still giggling, the Collector flew back over and landed on top of the truck “I win! I found you all so that makes me the best pla–”

“Actually you haven’t,” one of the humans spoke up “There’s still one person left to find,”

The Collector glanced down at the humans, they were right about to say ‘nuh uh’ when they noticed that the big human with the scars and short silver hair wasn’t with them.

Frowning, he lifted up and flew around the clearing again, drifting in and out of the woods, looking behind every tree, every rock, in every nook and cranny, but he couldn’t find the last human anywhere. 

No way this human was better than them at hide and seek. But then why couldn’t he find them? They better not be cheating, the Collector wasn’t a cheater, but it wouldn’t be cheating to make sure no one else was cheating. They quickly pulled their cap over their eyes, focusing in on the big silver haired human, but all he saw was darkness.

Where were they hiding? Was it somewhere dark, was that why they couldn't see them when they scryed? 

Their frown twisted into a scowl. Only one thing was for sure, the Collector couldn’t find them.

The human had beaten them.

Pulling their cap back up, face hot, the Collector flew back over to the truck and landed on top, hands balled into fists at their sides.

“Olly-olly-oxen-free!” 

Nothing happened for a few seconds, then they saw the big human stepping out of the trees on the side of the clearing opposite them. The Collector shot up into the air, zooming over until he was nose to nose with the human in an instant.

“You cheated!”

“Nope,” The human said with the same ‘not nice’ smile on their face “I played fair, I just had a really good hiding spot,”

The Collector drifted back a little, scowling and folding their arms in front of them “Prove it, show me your hiding spot,”

“Sure thing,” the human turned and walked off into the trees, the Collector followed along hovering just behind him. They went for a ways into the trees before the human stopped. They were in a small clearing, smaller than the first one, dusty dirt covering the ground instead of grass with a dirt packed road leading away.

The Collector touched down on the ground, still frowning, glancing around the clearing.

He’d seen this place when he was looking earlier, but hadn’t come any closer because he didn’t see any good places to hide here. So how had the human–

“Here it is,” the human knelt down and brushed away some of the dirt on the ground, revealing  wooden boards underneath. They lifted the wood up, exposing a dark hole leading down into the ground “This is where I was hiding,”

The Collector tilted their head, stepping closer and staring down into the hole. It looked like just an ordinary hole in the ground, but something about it was different. Something about it almost seemed….fuzzy, and if the human was hiding down there why couldn’t they see the human when they tried scrying? Was it because the hole was so dark or something to do with the strange fuzziness?

He pushed off the ground with one foot, drifting up directly above the hole and slowly floating down into it, gazing around as they descended into the darkness. The fuzziness they felt outside was even stronger, they could feel it pressing in all around them. And he could still float no problem but it felt…heavier somehow. His feet touched the bottom of the hole after going down about ten feet, weirdly smooth for a dirt hole. They looked down, the bottom of the hole was made of something shiny, the light from the hole in the ceiling glinting off of it. Lifting their head up, they squinted into the darkness around them, it was harder to see but it looked like the walls were shiny to–

A loud bang came from above him and everything went dark.