#also the close up of the petrified wood is really pretty

[sea-critter]

scenes from today’s walk

[amourtoken]

inhuman Vessel below the cut lol this was spontaneous so forgive any error

Also tw for dubcon/nc at first but it's monsterfucking so that's why

ALSO it's long so pls forgive that as well I got carried away.

thinking abt inhuman Vessel who's been lurking around your house for decades, he didn't really take interest until you moved in.

It's a beautiful home but the massive expanse of forest behind your house is what really sold you. Unfortunately, you didn't know about the history of the town you'd moved into and especially weren't aware of the stories surrounding your house. Oh well.

You swear you keep seeing things out of the corner of your eye whenever you're outdoors. It's worse at night. It keeps getting closer. You must be seeing things, hearing things. There's nothing out there, right?

You start noticing little things closer and closer to your house as well. Your backyard fence gate was broken. Your doors had some scratches around the handles. The kitchen window was cracked? It's pretty high off the ground...how did that happen? You couldn't help but feel nervous. Maybe it was just a coincidence, maybe this was all there before and you didn't notice. You hope so.

Surely the creaking couldn't be footsteps, you live in an old house and it makes noise, just go back to sleep. God, please be asleep by the time it gets to you.

You could rationalize everything until your bedroom door opens, the room is freezing, maybe this is just a terrible dream though. Not that you'd dare to open your eyes anyway. Your heart genuinely ached from pounding against your ribs so hard. Is this really how you were gonna go out?

Vessel knew you were awake, he could hear your pulse racing and it was upsetting. He knows he's scary but he's genuinely just curious. It's been well over a hundred years since he's made contact with a person, the last people who lived here weren't his taste so he stayed back in the woods like usual. When he saw you for the first time, he couldn't help himself, he had to get to know you. He looked almost human, maybe you'd grow to enjoy him?

Vessel had to lean over a bit to avoid the ceiling in your bedroom, he was about 8 ft tall. His limbs were a little too long and his joints were a bit loose. Every movement made an unfortunately sickening crackling sound if he wasn't careful about it. His mask only covered half his face but if you looked close enough, you'd see that his mouth could open a little too wide to be human. 6 eyes all focused directly on you in bed, it was becoming harder to pretend you were asleep.

Vessel really wanted this to go differently, but was there really a chance you'd open your eyes and not be terrified? No. So ultimately, he has to just dive in.

You were already petrified, so when a massive hand drug you by your ankle to the end of the bed that's all it took for the tears to really start flowing. He felt bad, again, but couldn't hold himself back. He'll make it up to you if you just let him in, he really doesn't want to hurt you, he just needs a taste. He hasn't felt a person before, not like this. Not without violence. Here's his chance.

you felt so soft against him, he was trying to make himself seem smaller but that was difficult, when he spreads out he knocks things off your nightstand and walls. He'd help you clean up if you'll let him. That's a thought for later though. His breath felt cold against your skin, two giant hands holding your thighs open after dragging your shorts off. Is this really happening? This has to be a dream, there's no way.

You were so pretty to him, he wanted to know what made you feel good but he supposed he'd learn as he went. He was worried he was gonna hurt you in the process since he's so much bigger and stronger than you are, humans have a tendency to be easy to pull apart. He was handling you like you were the most fragile creature alive and even that felt rough. You were shaking like a leaf and yelped when you felt a giant tentacle like tongue slicking across your thighs and brushing against your pussy in a very uncoordinated fashion. (Forgive him he isn't familiar with human anatomy)

you were so fucking sweet, he wondered if all people tasted like this. His hands held your legs open further, he figured he'd found where he wanted to be. All 6 eyes were still focusing on your face, you looked miserable but please just try to enjoy yourself? Realize he's not gonna hurt you. He wishes he could tell you but unfortunately he's not really built for speech. His tongue was several feet long, getting thinner towards the tip and thicker closer to his mouth which if your eyes were open you'd notice was unhinged similar to a snake. He had multiple rows of teeth but had the fortunate ability to hide those unless he needed to use them.

You felt so fucking full, his tongue coiled around itself inside of you, no part of you untouched. He was writhing his tongue like he was trying to map you from the inside out (which he can't lie he was), the base of his tongue pressing against your clit when he moved closer. You couldn't help but whine a little, your voice breaking. It's terrifying but still feels good. God the sounds you make had him dizzy, he needed more. He lifted your hips off the bed a bit to get a better angle, a deep groaning sound reverberating from his chest when you clenched around his tongue.

He really didn't know how pleasure worked for you, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself. Your heart was still racing and your body felt hot, the longer he fucked his tongue into you the tighter you felt around it. His nails sank into your thighs when you finally came, back arching while you whimpered and covered your face with your hands. He withdrew his tongue and sat back on his heels. He had to make you do that again, he had to see it. Pretty much all resolve he had left dissipated after you came, you smelled so fucking good he really couldn't stop himself if he tried.

Vessel held you by your hips, nails pressing dangerously hard into the soft skin. He was still trying not to hurt you but his head was swimming with thoughts of you coming undone around him. He leaned over you, your legs really had to stretch to fit around his hips but you managed. You could feel him breathing hard against your neck long tongue laving against your skin while his length pressed at your slit. It felt like there was no way in hell he'd ever manage to fit inside you yet he did in a single thrust.

He pulled back pretty quickly at the pained sound you made, he didn't mean to hurt you what did he do wrong? He started to draw his hips back but the way you gripped him he really couldn't stop. He wished he could apologize for any pain but hopefully you understood. He braced himself with his hands on either side of your head, hips rocking back into yours and he quickly realized he in fact didn't fit entirely inside of you. There was still a good 4-5 inches that he just couldn't work into you. At this point he didn't mind, how you felt around the rest of him when he pressed against your cervix was good enough.

he set a pretty violent rhythm, chasing pleasure and those pretty sounds you were making. Your entire body bounced with every thrust, you reached up and held one of his arms to steady yourself. He felt that swarming butterfly sensation in his chest, you touched him on your own free will, maybe you wouldn't hate him after all of this? You still didn't open your eyes, but maybe you'd get there eventually.

Vessel was panting at this point, you felt so fucking good around him, you were sure you'd be bruised from the inside out tomorrow. He couldn't help but notice the large bulge in your lower stomach every time he fucked himself into you. He was so lost in this moment he didn't notice you were so close, his breath caught in his throat when you came around him, pretty sobs and moans leaving your lips while you pulsed around him. His legs nearly gave out entirely, fuck.

Your end made him pick his pace up, one hand holding your hip to steady you while he abused your poor pussy. You were dripping around him and making a huge mess of the sheets below you but at this point your brain was so clouded you didn't mind. You'd had your eyes closed this entire time until he sank into you painfully deep and growled harshly as he came inside you. He was twitching profusely above you, and the bulge in your belly only got worse when he filled you up. The insane amount of excess dripped onto the sheets to add to the mess that had already formed below you and Vessel pulled out, making more gush from inside you.

Your eyes met 6 of his finally while he was perched on the floor at the end of your bed, panting to catch his breath. He was intimidating but not as scary as you thought he'd be. Plus he did just fuck you better than anyone in your entire life so how bad can he be??

Unfortunately you didn't get a chance to share any words (not that he could speak anyway) before he slipped out of your room and disappeared. You still wondered if this was a dream, everything happening so suddenly. Lucky for you, he'd planned to return already. He couldn't leave his sweet little human alone for long now that he's had a taste.

(also kinda pulled from these pics I found on Pinterest as the vibe but interpret it however you'd like. These are just like the *image* but they're not exact by any means ofc just the energy I'm going for. He's kinda an amorphous forest creature who can change shape to a degree.)

[miquella-everywhere]

Miquella Hunt Part 4: Siofra River & Nokron

For simplicity's sake I am going to split Siofra River and Nokron into two parts lol

Siofra River

1. The St. Trina's Lily is to left of the Hallowhorn Grounds. Quite the scenic shot might I say lol

2. There's a little cliff here below the wellspring that lets you jump on top of the collapsing bridge, that's where this Lily is hiding.

3. By the toppled pillar south of the Worshipper Woods sight of grace.

4. This Ancestral Follower is a fantastic gardner! Let's give them a round of applause lol 👏👏👏👏

5. These two are in such close proximity with one another that they're counted as one. But also its amazing how hard to see the Nascent Butterflies are on the pictures lol

6. Glitched tree lol

7. Nascent Butterfly and a St. Trina's Lily directly across from where Miquella body is. I see you Miquella, I see you lol

Nokron

1. Hidden away is this secret garden area to the side along with a Fallen Hawks Soldier

2. These Nascent Butterflies, though hard to see are here I promise, and they are on the bridge that's directly across from the giant skeleton and the Finger-Slayer Blade. Makes me wonder if perhaps Miquella is guiding us too it 🤔

3. Ngl I find the Ancestral Followers song to be really annoying, I always kill the shamans first when I'm in this area lol

4. Right in front of the area where the mummified Ancestral Deer is

5. The Nascent Butterfly and St. Trina's Lily are close to eachother so they're counted as one. Also, I'm not sure if anyones ever said this before but I'm pretty sure that those pillars are petrified trees

6. A single St. Trina's Lily is here

7. There are so many Nascent Butterflies here its almost magical lol the fact that they lead to where you can get the Ancestral Infant's Head is definitely noteworthy 🤔

8. Let me tell you the Red Wolves of Radagon are bullshit lol The agility combined with the sorceries make these bastards so annoying to deal with 😂 😭

9. Hidden on the roof of Nokron, don't jump down when you get to the arch, travel along the side ledge and there are the Nascent Butterflies fluttering about UwU

10. Tucked away on the roof right past where you get the Mimic Tear Ashes. You have to jump out a window and parkour on the rooftop to get to them 🦋 Also enjoy my handsome face lmao

11. Literally right in front of the Finger-Slayer Blade. Miquella what the heck are you up to????

[the-firebird69]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ( FILMING LOCATION ) Spielberg Truff...

A lot of people think that it's pretty big it's about a mile wide they thought it was a tree and they think that Dave made petrified wood not just the stone which is much harder a lot of people are interested because of that they also think it might have a diamond below because it broke the bottom of it but they noticed that the wood is gone do you think it dropped and because of the surrounding architecture it's rippled and they want the stone and they want the petrified Stone and they want to know if there's more of it and they want his armor and they can have it thinner and much stronger. No son knows what it is and nobody believes him because they can't scan is the baseball goes way down and is about four or five miles wide and he says that's interesting but the space department is not that large but if you look at it it's further over and it's bigger than hers yes. One small victory buddy and that's what she's saying and he says you're really an American woman and she's smiling and he is. I'm actually not saying anything stupid and you know it it modifying things real quick on occasion not that often and we are having some fun with it and it's horrible and she's not smiling now but he says it's because I'm bigger and that's what it is she says I have to be the column goes down 100 miles and spreads out to about 50 to 100 MI and will and Bill want to go there for a different reason

They're a huge crowds there today this scene is coming up and we think it's tomorrow a lot of people leave here and Dave goes down to the courthouse grab stuff try to threaten their son tries to get here and all screws up and has to run and he goes to Vegas and kill Bill begins and Bill is Trump and it's his wife trying to kill him because of the marriage scene and she's trying to marry him and it got really messy

Thor Freya

I'm saying I have your baby and you're trying to harm me he says it's not mine and it's probably some idiot and he doesn't and there's no way for me to know that and you look odd so he's an idiot and he looks the same way and I wonder who's called in there so I guess they're having that kind of fight

Hera Zues

Not responsible for some crawling in there and he says he's not either so you both look the same maybe it's for making out I've heard after this stupid s***

Sarah

It is true she had a mustache after a while and hair grows in her ass she's in a bathing suit well nobody really saw it but I didn't see it either and he knows it cuz he can sit there and watch actually it's kind of creepy and you're a bunch of shirts but you weren't doing much moving or talking actually and worked around most of the time I started to get something these people are different and really weird and I don't really like him and he could care less he says we're not doing the job we're missing a ton of stuff a bunch of idiots who can't figure out what simple things are and the max are doing tons of crap and that's what the movies about so I'm going to pay attention and stop the stupid crap

Trump

Olympus

[practically-an-x-man]

Emoji ask game :)

❤️ 💥 🎁 💕 🥳 🦋 🎬 🤔 🎨

thank you so much!! You're the best!

answers are under the cut:

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

ooh man, that's a tough one, especially since I'm coming up on a million words posted on AO3. I can remember there being some lines that I was especially proud of in every one of my fics, but most of those rely on the context of the story in order to get the full symbolism. I was particularly fond of this one from one of my Sandman fics, though:

That drew a laugh from him, and a flash of that same familiar smile. Despite yourself, your heart gave an involuntary stutter. Perhaps you were closer to human than you thought. Some of their millstones, food and sleep, you had no pull towards. But you were just as affected by the sight of a handsome man, it appeared. And a handsome nightmare would do just as well.

Also, some of my favorite things to write are Katherine's magic in WWFA? and Jasper's empathic abilities in Heartstrings, but I don't have one clear line for either of those. They're just fun :)

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

Hmm... Angel's and Havok's deaths in X-Men Apocalypse. I fix those in pretty much every X-Men fic I have, but I just wish they hadn't happened in the movie at all. For one, the characters don't even die in the comics, either of them, and the way they die in the movie just makes no sense. You kill the winged guy in a plane crash? You kill the guy who absorbs thermal energy in an explosion? Excuse me?

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

Sure, how about a little piece from the next chapter of Who Waits Forever, Anyway?

Katherine dove out of the way as the door crashed inwards. She sprawled on the floor, a starburst of pain lancing up her arm as she took the fall hard on her wrist. Not broken- just a little jarred. She threw her arms over her head, feeling splinters of wood batter her clothing and ping off the granite floor beneath her. There was a brief glimpse of weathered bone out of the corner of her eye, and the triceratops bellowed.

She scrambled up to her feet and darted behind the nearest pillar, realizing just a moment too late that she’d dropped her sketchbook. Katherine clenched her fingers, fighting back a surge of fear. That magic was the only thing that kept her on par with the others, she thought. With her sketchbook, she could conjure a shield, a weapon, a distraction. Without it… 

Her eyes fell to the beast’s sharp horns, great prongs of petrified keratin, sharp as spears and hard as diamonds. She could feel her own mortality loom in close, breathing an icy breath down her neck. 

It was looking straight at her. 

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Aw man, another tough one! Again, there's so many pieces that I love from each of them, particularly as I've grown as a writer. I'm partial to Smoke and Mirrors, though, or maybe Secret Worlds (the dual-endings thing was pretty fun)

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

COVID boredom, I think, and the need to get some of the rampant Ideas out of my head. I still have too many Ideas bouncing around in there, but at least now I can get them out on the page the way I like.

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

Jasper or Ophelia, there's something really unique about the way each of them view the world, and it lets me have a bit of fun with the writing style.

🎬 If a movie or show were based on your fic, which fic would you choose and who would you fancast?

I'm actually gonna go with Who Waits Forever Anyway?, since I feel like I brought a lot more depth to the magic and mythology than we got in the original NATM movies. I feel like that would translate well to the screen. I don't really have an answer for the fancast portion of that, since I don't really write my characters with a faceclaim in mind.

🤔 Would you ever want to write something canon if you got the opportunity?

I'd definitely be a little daunted by it, worried that I might screw up since writing canon would have actual stakes to it, but I think it would be cool. I definitely wouldn't pass up the opportunity if it was extended to me.

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

There's a scene in WWFA? where Katherine brings a drawing to life in the Hall of Birds, and there's this whole vortex of multicolored birds and golden magic that I think could translate to an absolutely stunning piece of art. If you want angst, I think the Corruption ending of Secret Worlds would make a good comic or animatic, or something relating to Robin's injury/recovery in Symphony in Silver

[dailytatsu]

Heya! Can I request an Aether/Lumine & reader?

So reader is basically an immortal half-elf who've lived for centuries and a well refined fighter. Well at the beginning even tho they volunteered to tag along on traveler's journey to find their sibling, reader is rather obnoxious and a lazy-dork who only help when actually needed. But as the journey continues, they began to act like traveler's bodyguard after witnessing (archon quest spoiler!) traveler almost getting killed by the Shogun? And maybe random shenanigans happen between them (ft.Paimon). I don't mind if you do either Aether or Lumine if you feel pressured 🙏

Hi! This kind are my favorites! Tysm for requesting! (๑>◡<๑)

I did this with Aether since he is my favorite is who I chose, and I feel more comfortable writing with guys than with girls.

I know they have some different personalities but I can help but see Lumine as the all mighty abyss princess.

Hope you enjoy!

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Aether & Half-elf! Reader

GN! Reader

Inazuma Archon Quest Spoilers!

Request are open; sorry for any mistakes!

Genshin Impact Masterlist

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Aether always thought that immortality brought with it wisdom, beings who live for much longer than an ordinary human tend to gain an understanding of life and changes in the world after years of appreciating the passing of the ages.

But when he met you he couldn't help but feel that all his beliefs were based on fiction and old rumors from other worlds. You were anything but wise, not even his first choice to be the voice of reason.

Even Paimon takes her role as his guide seriously.

But what was so wrong about you that get him on his nerves all the time? And most important, why does is he still dealing with you?

To be fair, maybe he was waiting a little too much from you. After all, he always forget that you still have half of a human’s nature.

“Mmh? What are you doing?” You asked Aether the first time he removed your hair from your ears to see if they were pointy. They were, and Paimon yelled kind of a objection when she realize she had to pay for losing their bet.

Not a human, not a elf, but a hybrid between them.

The first encounter was really something he would never forget. Rumors about treasures and requests from the guild made them follow some clues to find a cave that was marked as lost, impossible to enter and explore.

But “impossible” is a word that doesn’t exist their vocabulary. Yet is common that regretting comes along when you’re that bold and risky.

At the very end of that strange cave there wasn’t a treasure waiting, not even a new clue to keep going with the mystery. Instead, was a humanoid silhouette, they seemed to be meditating, not showing a single interest in their voices neither getting nervous because of Aether and Paimon taking some steps forward to have a better look.

But they were breathing, and both could see the pupils moving slightly under their eyelids. Eyebrows twitching now and then, like they were having a nightmare, one of which they couldn’t wake up.

Paimon encouraged him to get even closer to shake that person's shoulder, while she was hiding behind some rocks, obviously.

Aether summoned his sword and then he approached slowly until touching them with his fingertips, waiting for some kind of jumpscare.

The stranger raised their arm, carefully but also in a robotic way. Their fingers were tense, as much that it was painful just looking at them. Like a quiet call, like a order that couldn’t be heard, from the pile of rocks where Paimon was hiding something emerge, breaking through the stone and letting a rusty polearm to be seen.

Their fingers closed around the weapon, bringing them back to reality.

“Master and weapon, reunited again, rise so the world can meet their end!”

Or at least that's what he would have preferred to find. A servant guarding a lost relic, a soulless body moving by a curse, perhaps even a fate that death could not prevent.

But instead it was something really underwhelming, something that broke the mystical and strange atmosphere. That person opened their eyes, annoyed by the light of the torches and disoriented by the situation.

With their body in pain and numb at the same time, how long have they slept in that position?

The first thing they did after waking up was sneezing.

‘So much dust…’

Never accepting missions for exploring legendary caves ever again. Nope. Negative. He refuse to.

What if they find another (Y/N)? Thanks, but no. One is more than enough.

“So what you mean is that your parents' families exiled you and locked you up in the cave for being an ‘abomination’ to both species?” Paimon confirmed once the three of you were back in the surface again. Her hands moving side to side to explain -in a very expressive way- everything you told them.

“It seems that we found the remains of an ancient race that used to exist in Teyvat.” Aether said, still surprised by the way you roamed to feel the wood of the trees and the grass under your bare feet. Kind of heartbreaking.

“Like the boar we found with Xiangling!”

He wasn’t sure if it was okay to compare both encounters but he could see her point.

“… ‘Wait for us’, they told me, ‘think about your existence and find the answer to why your conception is not the atrocity that everyone says you are. May their words not reach you, because we have long ears to hear the words of the gods and not the ones of those who defile earth’… ” You pronounced after decades of not needing to use the language you were taught, with one hand on your chin and eyes closed to concentrate. All you had left was the few memories you preserved inside your mind and heart.

“With ‘they’ you mean your parents?”

You nodded.

“And what happened next?… ” Asked back the tiny companion of the blond guy that rescued you.

“I got bored and I fell asleep.” You admitted, carefree about it, shrugging your shoulders and sighing.

A total waste of your youth.

“Eh!? Then you didn’t thought about those things? That sounded important!” Paimon seemed disappointed for your answer, while Aether held his forehead, without having a clue of how he was supposed to react.

That was the day you joined their party! New team member, (Y/N) strikes in!

Or something like that,,

“H-Hey! We could use a hand over here!… woah!” The little white girl scold you but from your high sit on the top of a big rock only a exaggerated yawning can be heard. Paimon crossed her arms to almost immediately duck down to dodge a fire bullet from the Fatui. Aether didn’t say anything, he was concentrated fighting.

“Oh, yeah… You’re doing great. Go, Aether, go…”

“Was that supposed to be a cheering?!”

“Hey, calm down” You said “He doesn’t need my help. Just take a look, he’s an adventurer. If I meddle it will be really boring for him.”

“Hmp! Now Paimon believes that you were lying when you said that you were a well refined fighter!” She was floating around you, ignoring the battle of his blond friend. Like a pesky bee, the only thing you did was avoiding her furious gaze. “Don’t ignore Paimon! How can you not hear with those ears!? That’s it! Paimon will give you a ugly nickname!”

“What about ‘extinct deaf elf-der’?”

“Yeah, that’s a good one!” She agreed immediately, then she shook her head, pointing at you like a guilty criminal. “Wait, Paimon doesn’t need your suggestions!”

When the last Fatui was defeated Aether turned back to face both of you, sighing because of the new arguing between you two. His sword disappeared and some steps were took to get closer.

Your eyes met each other, a slight smile in your face after looking him safe and sound. So confident but so unaware of the remain danger hiding. Your expression became a surprised one, then your gaze sharped like a killer sight.

You left Paimon on top of the rock when you jumped down, summoning your own weapon you ran straight to where Aether was. The traveler panicked just a fraction of second before loosing sight of you.

Next thing they know was that a you were behind him, facing at the nothing with a defensive pose, just a second of silence before a impact could be heard. Some dirt and dust was lift as the pair of Fatui Pyro Agents became visible again. They stayed there, defeated in one hit.

“Like I said. It would be pretty boring if I meddle...” Aether and Paimon were shocked, none of them felt their presence, not even the heat of the pyro delusion. Your weapon disappeared in the air, and your hands rested on your waist. “Dear Seven, that was intense.” Looking at your friends you sighed, with the laziness on your body language. “It was my turn to cook dinner, right? What a pain having to eat again… ”

Acting that relaxed after that really made them went Ô_Ô and Ö

A silent speech, where devotion and gratitude are the best topics of conversation. The message that is heard even if there’s no words in between. Just a exchange of gazes. Little signs of affection that are shown when it’s necessary.

Your family was gone. No clues about their whereabouts could’ve found in that cave of where you came. Not even the skeletons of a couple holding their hands and petrified in a sobbing position. Not even ashes.

When you have been thinking about the most unimportant things in the universe for so long you can deal with the lost faster than anyone else. Getting the idea of no remain evidence of your parents and feeling that it wasn’t that heartbreaking.

Maybe because you gained a new family almost immediately.

Still you could empathize with Aether, he still had his precious memories with his sister, still remember her face and her voice. And most important was that he knew that she was still roaming Teyvat, waiting for him.

Even if they leave behind Paimon and you at the end of the trip.

Or even if they just leave you behind.

‘I’m okay with that.’

You thought, stroking Paimon’s hair when her head found a comfortable place to rest in your lap. You thought, moving your shoulder so Aether wouldn’t have neck pain. Both sleeping peacefully and you staying awake night by night.

You’ve slept enough, for so long besides.

Somehow the flames of the campfire are warmer now that you have someone to look how the fire dance in the night.

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“I see, so you were serious when you told me that your companion was a mystical extinct creature, weren’t you?” Albedo’s hand went up to hold his chin, analyzing you from distance.

“They are half of it, actually.” Aether answered back, notice how Sucrose was asking you permission to check your features. The sparkle in her eyes made you accept her petition after feeling with the back against the wall.

“Your ears are like mine! Look, look!” Klee pulled your shirt, then she pointed at the side of her head.

“… Still the shape of both are quite different, the length too.”

Years of isolation really are hitting hard right now. You felt overwhelmed and somehow shy when Sucrose hold your face to have a better look.

You follow the traveler to everywhere, no matter the place, you were there. Like a shadow, sometimes just a spectator, other times like an actual active team member.

“Who would’ve tell that our Honorary Knight also has his own knight watching his back.” Kaeya’s voice has that joke but charming tone, as always.

Day after day, it’s the same, everyone talking you through Aether. Like some kind of translator.

“More like a human shield.” Your hand landed on top of Aether’s head, not agreeing with his explanation.

Bonk.

“I guess everything’s better than being Emergency Food.”

“Hey!”

“Haha! You three are quite a team, aren’t you?”

Of course you were. Mondstadt, Liyue, you name it. You could assure that every place in this two nations have at least one story about the team.

You knew that the most brave and magnificent outlander in Teyvat didn’t need a guardian, he can defend himself (somehow even if he’s still using that dull blade).

Bodyguarding also sounds like such a hassle…

You only provide a last resource help when was needed, sometimes also helping with some puzzles and mysteries.

The long eared people was known to be wise and smart people that searched for the full comprehension of the world. Also such a nerds and fans of knowledge. So, even if you considered yourself dumb, in your blood was the instinct of looking for the truth, and sometimes that impulse could be really annoying.

You were always near enough to reach him. Pulling his scarf from behind to move him away from danger. Countering after he gets hit.

Always in a place where you could reach him.

You just needed to extend your arm and you would catch Aether. It was always like this. Always with you jumping in the middle of the crossfire to shield them if it was necessary.

It’s always like this.

Until the day you three set a foot in Inazuma’s land. And a bad feeling of a imminent catastrophe made your shiver.

A new nation, a new problem to solve. But a war? Boldness and stupidity sometimes looks like the same thing, but no matter how many times you repeat this to Aether, he would still ran into problems.

And you would follow him, until your debt is paid, until his travel is done.

It used to be like this.

But then you failed him after being unable to move because of the fear that paralyzed your body. The day Aether faced Shogun Raiden in the ceremony. The day you heard the broken voice of a god inside the Shogun you also fell apart. It was painful, cruel, a void of anger and sadness.

Jumping into danger, without you behind.

You tried to ran between the goddess and your savior, you tried to get closer to at least be useful one last time as the shield you promised to be.

You tried.

But, for the first time, your hand didn’t reach him.

The void of despair and darkness that could be heard inside the Shogun devoured him.

The tears of panic and fear in Paimon’s eyes. The way the Shogun lifted her sword to end his life. The way you were paralyzed because of her presence, forced to be part of the crowd and presence his execution.

That day your facade of laziness faded away, the real feeling of being a knight burnt along your proud. It was so annoying, it was so unnecessary, but still you couldn’t ignore it.

“Are you… are you sure that you’re okay? We don’t have to find the Sangonomiya resistance today. If you need to rest then-” Your hands were shaking when you placed them in Aether’s shoulders, holding yourself for tearing up.

“We have to keep going. I’ll be fine.”

“Besides, if we stay near Inazuma this night they could find us! Paimon won’t be able to sleep like that!” Your mouth opened to counter their arguments, but not a single word dared to go against Aether’s plans.

They could see it in your face. The worry, the remains of shock and fear, the guilty.

“Don’t try to look strong then. If you get tired, tell us. I can carry you in my back.” Even if you were offering help your voice was serious, so cold but so hurt at the same time that nor Aether or Paimon knew what to said to bring the old you back.

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

“… Aren’t you coming?” You could hear how the door was slid to let him saw you. The lighted spots on Aether’s clothes were purple, just as the lighting that almost end him. Your lips made a concerned and stressed grimace.

The young traveler took a seat next to you, outside the structure, sitting on the wooden steps and looking at the starry sky. The wind was cold but still the soldiers of the resistance were talking normally and the slight feeling of discommodity because of the excessive presence of other people was climbing up your back.

“(Y/N), there’s no need of guard us every night. You also need to sleep.”

“I'm not tired, I think I've gotten enough sleep, at least not to need it until the next century.”

Aether’s expressions went into a sarcastic one, asking if you were serious with just his gaze.

“That’s not how it works.” He said, trying to change the mood. “And if it does, then why are you always snoozing during the day in every chance you get?”

You had the answer to that, but you weren’t sure about telling him.

“Because everything supposed to be boring. Nothing really changed a lot and… looking at the familiar places was depressing.” So easy, so simple, but still enjoying the company, still enjoying the sound of theirs laughs and their own shenanigans. “… Lately, I’ve been thinking that I should not had left the cave. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate that you two helped me to be back at the surface, and I really want to help you on your journey, but if you still run into the chaos by own decision I think I could not follow you any longer before being a burden in your adventures.”

Overprotection, an unbreakable shield, frequently avoiding fights, always being pulled back to not be part of the battle. Enemies of the braveness of the traveler.

Worry, panic, an overreaction due to fear of loosing everything again.

‘let me do it’, ‘I got it’, ‘wait here’, ‘don’t get close’.

These day could be described like that.

“So, before I do something worse as an excuse of defend you, please let me find a cave to await. You do what’s is needed and… call me back, or leave me there, anything you think it’s better… ”

You could be pronouncing the words from the very bottom of your heart, but still your face was the same seriousness as the accident almost happened.

And even with that you felt his gloved hand removing the hair that was covering your right ear, revealing how it slightly leaned down, showing sadness unwittingly.

“Hey, cut it out… I’m serious about this… ”

“It doesn’t matter if you think that it’s the best option, you’re still sad about leaving.”

“… That’s cheating.” Removing his hand away from your hair you tried to act indifferent.

“You know the reason why we invited you to came along?”

‘You felt sorry for me.’

“I can’t totally tell the exact reason, but it wasn’t for you to pay us some kind of debt because of saving you.” He crossed his arms, looking at the stars, wondering if his sisters was doing the same. “We don’t need a guardian, we need our friend back. And I know you care about Paimon and me, but still you must enjoy the journey. It’s not fair that you are always aware of every potential danger while we mess around lately.”

An eternal silence, your response is late to appear but somehow Aether can tell that you already have something on your mind.

“Then apologize.”

“… Why?”

“For believing that playing as the hero and jumping to face the Shogun was something you had to do.”

“… but-”

Neither Aether nor you slept that night, the blonde had to listen for hours to all the things that you ever wanted to complain about since you arrived in Inazuma.

You made your position on joining the army of the rebellion very clear, you had no intention of fighting to seek "justice" or "peace". Because after all, that fight did not correspond to you, but if he asked you to, you would protect some soldiers or help to guard the barracks, if he asked you to, you wouldn’t complain about it (at least not that much).

Both had enough of each other’s attitude, but it was okay. Because that was what all of you chose in first place.

[wolftraps]

Hey, what if Martin meets The Archivist because it’s been Watching him from a distance since it came, but then Jane Prentiss trapped Martin in his apartment, and the Archivist couldn’t have that, so it appeared to smite her. Martin��s stuck in his apartment when he hears Jon’s voice going “Ceaseless Watcher-“ and then Jane starts screaming. Once the screaming stopped, Martin peeked out of his apartment, worried about Jon, and saw the Archivist. Martin: Jon?! Archivist: I AM THE ARCHIVIST

(Cont) Anyway, Martin thinks that something has happened to Jon and takes the Archivist with him back to the Institute in the hopes that Tim and Sasha can help him reverse Jon back to normal. Only, when he gets there, Jon is already there. Cue shock and confusion from everyone. Elias, Seeing the Archivist and wondering if this means his Ritual works, drops in for a visit: hello :). Archivist, only seeing another Avatar near Martin: (bristles). Elias, realising that he’s in danger: goodbye

[this AU is going to devour me]

The knocking stops so abruptly it actually takes Martin a minute to notice, the phantom echoes of it still rattling in his mind. It’s the voices that make him realize something has changed. They’re muffled, indistinct, and he’s wary of getting too close to the door still. But after a moment of silence, he can’t resist anymore, pressing an ear to the wood.

The sound of the worms is still there, but it’s different now. More spasm than writhe. And beyond them, a man is not so much speaking as... as intoning.

“- the agony of all your noxious devotion. Ceaseless Watcher, see this parasite in all its pitiful, writhing forms. Hear its sour song, feel its ravenous love. It. is. yours.”

Martin can only describe the sound that follows as a shriek because he has no stronger words. It’s a distorted, agonized scream that stabs through him and rattles his bones, and for all he’d been terrified by Prentiss lurking outside his door, the idea of something that could make her make a sound like that is paralyzing. For minutes, or maybe hours, he stands frozen with a hand hovering over the door knob petrified of what he might find on the other side. And for that entire time, not a single sound filters through from the hall.

Finally, he can’t take it any longer. Bracing himself, Martin eases the door open. He wants to breathe a sigh of relief when no worms flood in, but he can’t, because there’s still something standing in his hall, staring straight at him. Something that looks like-

“Jon?” Martin asks, perturbed and shaken and maybe a bit irritated. “What- what are you doing here? Where- Did you see Prentiss? What happened to her? What happened to you?”

“Martin Blackwood,” Jon says- because it is Jon, right? He sounds like Jon. He looks like Jon... mostly. Except now that Martin is looking, there are several scars that he doesn’t remember Jon having, that he could almost swear were closing eyes just a moment ago. His hair is longer than Jon’s should be. His face is gaunter. He’s... shaking. “Are you afraid?”

“I- I mean, yeah? I’ve been pretty well terrified out of my mind since yesterday, thanks.” The man continues to stare and Martin knows he isn’t asking about Prentiss. “Sh- should I be?

“It would be wise.” Martin wants to be indignant at the vague pseudo-threat, but the shiver running up his spine cuts the feeling short. Jon- probably Jon?- maybe-Jon tilts his head and still doesn’t blink. Has Martin seen him blink at all? “I have discomforted you.”

“A- a bit, yeah. You’re being... kind of creepy.”

“Yes. I... I’m meant to apologize now.” He says it like he’s going through a checklist or a flow-chart of social rules. This is what happened, so this is what you should do. “I’m... sorry.”

“S-sure. Er, look, Jon. I think maybe we should- go back to the Archives? And maybe talk to the others about this?” And hopefully one of them will have some idea what the hell is wrong with their boss. Jon somehow gives off the impression of looking into space and considering the suggestion while never actually taking his eyes off Martin.

“Will accompanying you be a more sufficient apology?” What kind of question is that?

“It’s not really... I’d be more comfortable than I am here?” Jon nods.

“Then I will accompany you. You should gather your things.”

-

The trip to the Institute is passed mostly in silence. Jon watches the people around them intently, unblinkingly, but even when his face is turned away, it still somehow feels like he’s staring straight at Martin. Sometimes, when Jon is mostly a dark shape in his peripheral vision, Martin could almost swear he sees eyes open in places where none should be.

“Look, Jon-” Martin starts as they near the Institute and the silence has gotten too heavy for him to take.

“You shouldn’t call me that,” Jon cuts him off, though his tone is casual.

“S-sorry, what? I shouldn’t call you Jon? Why?”

“It will... discomfort him.”

“Who?” Martin already knows he’s going to hate the answer.

“Jonathan Sims.” Yep. He hates it.

“Al-alright. What should I call you then?”

The man who is not Jonathan Sims stands before the Magnus Institute and studies its façade. There’s something in his face, something like nostalgia, but also like disdain. He doesn’t look away from the building, but still he looks at Martin.

“I am the Archivist.”

-

Martin had hoped it would be more of a relief, when they finally made it into the archives. Instead he’s uncomfortably aware of the tension building inside him.

Tim looks up and seems surprised. “Martin! I thought you were sick. What are you... What the fuck.” He gapes at the Archivist, who takes in the archive while staring back and still somehow has not looked away from Martin. “Jon?!”

Whether it’s a summons or an incredulous question, the answer comes not from the man behind Martin but from the one exiting the office behind Tim.

“Yes, Tim? What-” Jon- the one Martin knows- the familiar one that makes Martin nervous but has never left him so terrifyingly unnerved- freezes.

“No,” the Archivist says in response to questions not asked. “I am not any of those things. What I am will not exist for a very long time and has both always and never existed before. None of those questions would help you understand.”

“Why-” Jon chokes, but can’t seem to finish the thought. After a few more false starts, he finally says, “You’re the Archivist, aren’t you? The one we’ve been getting statements about.”

“Yes.” In the long silence that follows, the sound of someone descending the basement stairs should have been clear, but the only reason Martin isn’t startled by Elias suddenly speaking directly behind him is because the Archivist turns to face him before he ever makes a noise.

“I see we have a guest,” Elias says, staring at the Archivist with a perturbingly hungry fascination. “Martin, wh-”

Martin stumbles back to his desk under the sudden weight of being Seen. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Tim drop into his own chair and Jon, the real Jon, press himself against the wall. Elias doesn’t so much as sway, but he still seems off-balance.

“You don’t want to know the things I know,” the Archivist tells him.

Elias glares. “I rather think I do. Te-”

A second set of eyes snaps open on the Archivist’s cheeks. Then another. And another. Over its face, its neck, its hands. The sense of a hundred, a thousand, piercing eyes hovers in the air around it.

“You can try to steal or blind or destroy as many of my eyes as you can perceive,” the Archivist says. “But I will always have more.”

When Elias leaves and the weight lifts and most of the eyes close, the Archivist is still watching Martin, but it unnerves him now in an entirely different way. And when Sasha comes in with a coffee, frantically apologizing for being late, and freezes at the sight of two Jons, there’s something bone-chilling about hearing the Archivist ask,

“Who are you?”

[blanknamed]

trial and error pt. 3 [senku x reader]

I had a lot of issues writing this chapter for some reason. I think I ran out of creativity for a good few weeks so I kinda struggled trying to keep Senku in character. I really just wanted to get the third chapter out though so I hope you like it!

SHIPPING: SENKU X READER

PREMISE: [Name] had always known Senku was a little bit of an oddball but that’s what made him so interesting to her as children. Now in the Stone World, he’s only even more interesting what with his claims about shooting up to a million years worth of technology back, but some things never change with him; specifically on the concept of love. As a way to get him to think about it as something other than “disgusting feelings” she proposes for him to think of it differently, though it seems to be going in a direction she never expected.

PART ONE - PART TWO - PART THREE

{–*–}

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS

He was standing near his base by the time [Name] was done. From the looks of it, he had tried to dress up as well, even if it looked like the littlest effort was made. His hair stayed as big as it was, but what seemed to be a makeshift bowtie was settled on his neck (albeit lopsided, but [Name] didn’t really expect much from him in the first place).

“Jeez, who dressed you up, the local village boys?” She asked once she was within hearing range with Senku.

Scowling, Senku only shook his head. Flicking the strip of rag around his neck, he said, "Chrome and the bumbling fools of guards obviously haven't gone on dates before."

"I don't think you have much room to talk. Besides I’m pretty sure that was obvious," [Name] replied humorously, remembering when Ginro couldn't even look her straight in the eye during her and Senku's first few months at the village. "Why would you ask them of all people anyways?"

Senku raised his eyebrow, as if finding the question peculiar. "Who should I have asked?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the married men in the village?" [Name] suggested, watching as Senku furrowed his brows even more. Giggling, she shoved his shoulder. "So much for being a genius. What, were you so nervous to go on this date with me you forgot something as simple as retrieving data from the most obvious people?"

Senku rolled his eyes. "I'm busy with other things--saving the world from going back another thousand years in society, being one of them.” He reasoned as he turned his head away from her.

[Name] only laughed at him, pushing him to forward so they can start walking towards the woods. “Let’s just get this date other with, shall we? You didn’t forget to plan, I’m presuming?"

“Of course I didn’t. Do you take me for some idiot or something?” Senku asked as he peered at the younger girl, who only gave him a knowing look. Instantly, he shook his head. “No don’t answer that. It was a rhetorical question.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” [Name] trailed off. “Remember when you were so caught up in one of your projects you ended up putting too much laundry detergent in your washing machine?”

That day had been burned into her memory--it had probably been the only time she’d seen Senku visibly panic over something so mundane. They were helplessly watching the washing machine shake violently and become a soapy mess in it’s little area for almost an hour until Byakuya came home to a disgustingly sweet smelling hallway and two elementary school children covered in bubbled up laundry detergent from head to toe. 

“Don’t remind me; I smelled like laundry detergent for two months.” Senku muttered.

“It was funny, though. Definitely took thoughts away from my dad and brother.” [Name] replied happily. She didn’t need to turn her head to see that Senku had immediately spun his head toward her at the mention of her father.

A warm silence followed between them, no doubt Senku was thinking of something to say--should he say something about it? Should he brush it off? Senku had known [Name] enough to know that, while he never took anything like emotions too seriously, she wasn’t exactly emotionally attached to much either. He didn’t doubt for a second that [Name] thought about her family during those late night preparations she partook with him when Kohaku or Chrome couldn’t stay up past the 20th hour like they did.

He also didn’t doubt that she had done the same thing he had done once she thought her family over--understand the probabilities of seeing her mother and finding her father and brother’s grave were most likely slim and choosing to focus the task at hand: saving the world from total chaos at the hands of Tsukasa and his wildlings. So, she kept it silent, just like she always did.

Should I even mention anything about that? He wondered to himself as he helped her walk down a narrow junction between some large trees. They’d known each other long enough to understand each other without much verbal communication. Even after not having much contact once Senku entered middle school along with the whole thousands of years of being petrified in time, they still had a weird connection with each other. Maybe that was why he decided to free [Name] of her stony confindes; no one else could read his mind or understand what he’s thinking like she does.

Whatever route he took, it wouldn’t be awkward, he finally concluded when they reached the river. He let [Name] hop on the rocks that stood above the water before following suit. “Right, that was the day they got into that car accident.” He stated once they reached the other side.

[Name] hummed. “Mom was stuck at the hospital all day and wanted to take me with her; I couldn’t bear the smell there. It was too clean. So I went to your place thinking you might need something since you’re so useless--OW!” She rubbed her head as she glared over at Senku, who looked the other way, acting as if he hadn’t just slapped the back of her head so hard it made her hair flip over her head. “Anyways, I thought you needed me for something and apparently you did, but I don’t think an eight year old could have done much if a ten year old couldn’t do anything except stand around and watch the mess. It was funny, though. Mom and I laughed about it after a few years.”

“Glad to know my endless suffering and pure shock brought joy.” Senku said sarcastically, though [Name] could pick up the light heartedness behind it.

Elbowing him lightly so he can turn to look at her, [Name] smiled at him. “Well just so you know every time I think of the dad and brother, I also think of you with a bubble beard right after.”

Senku, for a moment, felt something turn before he wrinkled his nose. “Did you just family zone me? During a date?” He asked disgustedly. It was his turn to get a slap on the back of his head.

“Seriously? That’s what you took away from that?” [Name] asked, irritated. She decided to look forward as they kept walking, however it seemed as though they walked mindlessly through endless amount of trees. “Where are we going anyways?”

“Just a few more feet. There’s a clearing close by; I think you’d like it.” Senku said as he nudged her forward.

[Name] covered her eyes as she began to notice leaves becoming lower and lower to the point that she had to duck and sometimes even squat to get through some spaces. Man, if I knew this would happen, I would’ve worn something besides this kind of dress, she thought reluctantly as she watched the ends and edges of the dress get dirtied. Still, she persisted as she had been curious as to what the clearing had looked like. She hadn’t gone so far in terms of exploring for the past few weeks; winter was coming and Senku needed every available person possible to help prep the village for the freezing season. She spent hours lining and sewing furs onto their cloaks and coats to the point that she left little prick marks on her hands permanently.

“Okay, we’re here.” Senku announced once they both managed to stand again. Shaking a few leaves away from her head, [Name] looked up to see a green clearing, like Senku said. However, he never said how… Ethereal it was. Wild flowers, ones she vaguely recognized to be new versions of flowers from the past, spread across the spanse of the field. Lightning bugs flicked and glowed every now and then, being the main source of light besides the makeshift lantern Senku was currently crafting beside her.

“Whoa,” was [Name]’s only response. “Don’t tell you found this last minute just for a date, Senku.”

A snicker followed right after. “No. I found it a few months ago when trying to collect foxtail millet for the noodles. Let’s keep walking, though. This isn’t what I wanted you to see.”

It’s not? [Name] thought as she let Senku lead her further past the clearing, walking around the flowers as best as possible. The walk was silent, which surprised [Name] since Senku sometimes never did keep his mouth shut when it came to his little experiments. Could it be he's taking this date more seriously than she expected? She let that thought cross her mind as she watched him walk ahead of her. Not possible. If anything, he might just be keeping things a secret since I'm the test subject. [Name] thought to herself. Why would he even take this seriously in the first place?

"Look I know this is a date and all, but could you not glare at me?" Senku finally piped up, looking at his companion warily. "You look like you're about to plot my murder?"

"Who said I haven't already?" [Name] quipped, finally shaking herself from her thoughts. "Anyways, where did you take us, Casanova?"

She laughed as she watched Senku's face scrunch up in disgust at his nickname. He opened his mouth, ready to spew an insult before he stopped himself, staring at the shorter girl. Sighing, he just waved a hand forward. "Look above you."

"Above…?" [Name] questioned as she craned her neck. She sucked in a breath as she looked at the lightened sky above her. Of course, she's had plenty of nights where she stood outside to marvel at the stars and sky--she had never seen it so bright pre-petrification. She had thought that was the brightest and clearest she'd ever seen when she was in Senku's observation tower. 

That is, until today.

"It's so… So…" [Name] started, but couldn't quite put her words together. She felt Senku brush up against her shoulder as he finished for her.

"Beautiful." He complimented as he stared up as well. 

The sky was littered with various shades of purples, pinks, and blues. There wasn’t a coud in sight, which allowed the stars to litter across the dark plain above them. Faintly, she can make out certain constellations, pointing out the ones she wasn’t too sure to her companion, who nodded in confirmation to all of them.

"Who knew we'd get to see the sky as non-polluted as this." Senku said as they continued to keep watch over the sky.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." [Name] laughed. "I thought the observation tower was something else, but you really outdid yourself here, Senku. I didn't even expect you to walk this far without having you get carried by Chrome or something."

"Killing the mood." Senku replied, flicking her forehead, though [Name] made sure to take notice of his shortened breath he tried to hide. She pretended to feign ignorance even further when she let him walk behind her, catching his breath behind some bushes and then shuffling around until he finally brought a basket out.

"Suika should've given better instructions on where to find this thing." The spiky haired scientist said. "It looked like it got buried under a bunch of dirt instead of sitting plain out in the open like she said."

Senku opened the lid, raising an eyebrow as he pulled out two bowls of his notorious green ramen, wrapped tightly in large leaves to keep it from spilling. With it came a makeshift picnic blanket (though, it just looked like old scraps of dresses sewn together over the years; no doubt Suika had asked one of the older village women if she can borrow it). Together, they worked to keep the blanket down, placing heavy rocks at the corners to keep it from flicking upward since the wind picked up a little stronger from where they placed themselves.

"This ramen tastes gross." Senku groaned once he settled down, though it didn't stop him from continuing to eat it. [Name] only rolled her eyes as she ate it herself (though she did have to agree with Senku; the ramen was gross, but she put up with it anyways), basking in the windy air.

“I’m surprised you haven’t said anything yet about the information you’ve gathered for this date,” [Name] said. “Usually you relay the data to me once you get it all down."

“Can’t exactly tell the subject about the data I’m gathering about them.”

“Oh but you’re dying to tell me, aren’t you?” [Name] pushed. Truth be told, she was more curious on just how exactly he thought of the experiment. Sure, she had been the one to suggest it, but she had zero idea on what his plans are--what were his variables? Was he gathering information? Was he including numbers or was all of this just pure observation? There was no doubt in her mind that someone was observing them as well; most likely Kohaku since she’s better off at hiding and watching without being noticed once.

“Maybe. I’ll tell you after I’m done with this whole experiment.” Senku replied as he took a sip of the water packaged with them before handing it off to her. [Name] took it graciously, taking a few sips as she thought about his wording.

Quirking up her eyebrow curiously, she asked, “Wouldn’t that be tonight?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” Senku confirmed. “You think one night will determine this whole thing? It might take more days actually--a few weeks even. I’ll gather all my information, relay it to you, and then confirm whether or not love is just a construct of emotions for me. Which it will be, from the information I’ve gathered.”

[Name] watched him in disbelief. There was no way she actually heard that correctly. Weeks? How’s that going to work? Would I even last a few weeks managing to go on more dates with this idiot? She questioned. “Wha-- I-- Don’t you have a grandiose plan that requires all your time and attention?”

She only received a shrug as an answer. What the hell does that even mean? She questioned herself as [Name] watched Senku stretch. He was the one repulsed by the idea of going on a date. Why would he extend this to weeks? She let herself wonder, pulling all the probable possibilities as to why he decided it so suddenly. Sure, Senku was right about not being able to gather enough information from just one date, but he could have easily just done one or two more nights of their little experiment dates instead of presuming it down to a matter of weeks.

Finally it finally hit [Name]: he was hiding something. What it was exactly, she’s not entirely sure, though she knew Senku was probably planning something stupid that could most likely put him in danger, or worse killed, which in turn would cause her to intercept and talk him out of it. He was probably using this date shenanigans to distract her from his death inducing plans.

Squinting her eyes at him, she decided to hold back on her on findings. After all, if he isn’t bothering to tell her what he’s gathering on her, she’ll do the same. Instead, she sighed, opting to make it seem as if she should have known. “You’re unbelievable.” [Name] replied.

“Oh, I know. That’s what gets you on your toes right?”

PREVIOUS PART - NEXT PART

[thesunshinebunny]

When the world falls apart, the only thing we can hold onto is ourselves (Part IV)

Series Master list

pairing: canon Eren Jaeger x reader

content: Angst, unstable relationship, breakup, smut/nswf+18, major character death, violence, blood (obviously), war (pretty obvious)

summary: War and hate. It’s what defined the world at this exact moment. You failed your comrades, and by failing them, you failed yourself. Your relationship is hanging by a thread and your enemies will not only be found on the other side of the sea, but also in the mind of the person you love the most. How will you take the reins in the face of so much destruction?

Chapter Summary: Talk doesn´t seem to be like a good attack plan and now reader has to run for their life and avoid being caught by the Jaegerists.

Words Count: 6.1k

Silence reigned in the room. Only our breaths could be heard, some agitated, others calm, as well as footsteps fading at the end of the corridor. I could feel my heart pounding hard on my chest, inwardly wishing that no one could hear it. From the distance that each one was, I doubted it was physically possible; But let's face it, in a world full of humans turned into Titans, whose possessors can regenerate their body parts, listening to the beat of a heart shouldn’t be a difficult task.

"I wanted to speak with you"

Eren's lifeless eyes weren't focused on anyone in particular, I could notice his face even darker than it had been in recent days and a look much duller. My hand on the table was very close to his, threatened with blood staining from the crimson pool that was forming on the beautiful white tablecloth.

On my left side, the little girl was shaking up and down, not looking at anyone or anything at all. She also had her hands on the table, as did everyone. I directed my gaze towards the other companions at the table, the three were reversed in a conversation that I had no intention of being part of. The only thing that interested me was to give a little security to this poor girl.

I made a little movement with my elbow and shoulder toward her, trying to get her attention, but it didn't make her turn around. I tried again, this time launching a breathless and very low 'hey', taking advantage of the voices at medium volume to lighten mine. That did work. The girl had turned her eyes to me, she was still extremely scared and it showed in her eyes and all over her face. I was very sorry to see her like this.

I gave her a slight smile, curling the tip of my lip upward, and nodded. Her gaze locked with mine for a few seconds and I could see how she was calming down, even a little, but it was there. It was a stressful situation for everyone, I didn't even want to imagine what she must feel, and if my possibilities were within bringing her some calm, I would. I made a little "s'ok" with my lips without speaking, not even whispering.

"Are you paying attention?" My gaze turned to the source of the problem again. Eren had his eyes fixed hard on my face. I thought I might have gone unnoticed, but I was wrong.

I adjusted my posture on the chair, now staring forward, but with my eyes fixed on those intense but haggard gray-green eyes. I took my gaze away from his for a second to see the girl next to me, who was again trembling with fear, and I reached my hand towards hers, returning my gaze to it’s previous position. Eren  clenched his fist at this movement and furrowed his brow even more, sending me a silent and mental warning. I ignored his threat and grabbed the girl's hand, at no point taking my eyes off his and accentuating my head up high.

"Keep your hands on the table Mikasa"

His gaze now turned to his childhood friends, standing myself alone at the side of the table, failing incredibly to calm a twelve-year-old girl. And as if there was nothing that could make the situation worse and make the moment much more stressful, they had to touch on sensitive issues, issues that were like putting a finger on the sore.

"Armin, you keep going to see Annie, do you really do it of your own free will?" Was it really necessary? There was nothing, or so it seemed, that could give any indication that Annie was about to wake up, and the fact that Armin wanted to go see her didn’t seem bad at all, or at least that’s what I thought; Indeed, it clearly showed Armin's sentimental attraction to her.

Yes, Annie was an important key to the investigation of the titans, but that was four years ago, now we were just sitting back in the chair and hoping that, by some miracle, the glass that surrounded Annie and left her in a reverie state will unfreeze. That Armin came to see her didn’t change anything in the plans of the militancy, much less the legion.

"Since you inherited the memories, a part of you is now Berthold"

Ah, that’s where the shots came from. It was difficult to understand the powers and responsibilities that came with being a titan shifter. We weren’t only talking about the short life that the owners unfortunately had to endure, but also the memories of their predecessors, memories that could haunt their current owner.

Likewise, blaming Armin for Berthold's memories wasn't going to fix things. Armin was still Armin, the sweet and calm boy, willing to fight if necessary, but always opting for the least violent solution, the most civilized one. He tried it on Annie and he tried it on Berthold, failing both times.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to blame Armin for having the memories of one of our enemies in his mind, memories that I never wish to obtain or see. As far as I knew, Grisha's memories, while they had been an impact towards the general knowledge of the world, hadn’t shaped Eren ... had they?

Nor was it fair to see how the same boy who had so supported his childhood friend in the years as a recruit, was internally unbalanced by the stubbornness of that friend. See how fear invaded his gaze and he was petrified to such putrid revelations.

"Eren ..." I tried to stop him, God, I swear I tried to stop him.

I tried to use the word my comrades wanted to use so badly, the words Armin wanted to use, but they weren't enough. In a thousandth of seconds, horrific ideas flashed through my mind, wishing none of them would come true. If the conversation went this way, it could end not just a friendship of years, but the sanity of all of us. I wasn't important in this trio, I was an add-on, and I couldn't allow Eren to continue destroying relationships and people wherever he stepped.

But I wasn't quick enough to stop him with words. When he finished defenestrating Armin, he turned his attention to Mikasa. Of all the people, the one who I was most afraid was her, the person who would collapse the most if he detached himself from her half-brother.

"You too Mikasa"

My eyes went wide as I heard the truths of the Ackerman clan. Created and genetically engineered to protect and follow orders, without conscience, without free will. Mikasa was devastated and I could see in her eyes how images of her childhood passed through her mind, images and memories that now seemed like a lie, a sham.

"In short ... a clan created to protect others who have no conscience of their own"

"Eren, stop" Armin was just as scared as I was, praying to any God who had been watching us that so much evil stop at once, that those words would stop coming out of that damn viperine tongue. Eren was vomiting word after word, without measuring the consequences, without measuring the damage it could cause to Mikasa's mind.

"In other words, slaves"

The situation was getting out of hand. Nothing we could say or do right now was going to help. The conversation that Armin wanted with all his might to take place was going overboard. If the others could be present with us, they would see clearly like me how the faith in his friend was dissipating with the seconds in the blond's gaze.

"At last I understand why I hated to see a slave who carried out all orders without question"

His eyes were filled with hatred, resentment, anger, contempt, and a thousand other degenerative feelings. His intention was very clear the moment he entered the room: to hurt; and he was succeeding.

He’d done me a lot of damage in the last year, such damage that it reached the darkest and inner corridors of my mind and it was impossible for me to move forward on a gray and dubious course, and now he was willing to continue doing more damage, this time to his closest friends, those people that I never thought, that never crossed my mind, he could destroy internally. He was annihilating their willpower and their desire to fight, and he’s doing so by colossal steps.

"Eren that's enough!" Armin and I shouted in unison. We didn’t necessary have to say a word or look at each other to know that the next words were going to be disastrous.

"Mikasa, I have always hated you"

That was the breaking point. Mikasa's eyes filled with tears and they didn't last for a second on her lids, they were already being spilled onto her cheeks. She was completely devastated and I couldn't blame her. The person who had given her a home after the brutal murder of her parents, the person to whom she was so devoted and would give her life, was turning his back on her, as well as killing sentimentally.

"You damn bastard!"

Armin jumped on the table with the intention of reaching the dark-haired man, but he didn’t get very far, being pulled from the chest to the hard wood of the furniture by Mikasa herself. And that only made the situation worse and agreed with Eren. It was as if fate was laughing at us for trying to pull the strings of our paths, strings that handled us like puppets and over which we had no control.

Mikasa let go of Armin's hand when she realized the act she just did, horrified with herself, and he now had the opportunity to pounce on Eren, throwing a punch in the middle of his face and throwing him to the floor. With that, the table flew backwards and in a reflex action, I also threw myself back, letting the chair fall to one side and avoiding any blow that the table could give me.

Unconsciously I lunged towards the girl next to me, preventing at all times that the table hit her or that some of the two men who were fighting each other to ended up bumping into her. I pushed her away from any crossing point and hid her behind my back, using my body as a shield against any impact that could shoot towards our position. Mikasa had also run to the left side of the wine cabinet, contemplating the scene before hers with complete sadness.

Eren's fist slammed into Armin's face, throwing him straight into the cabinet, knocking a few wines against his back and knocking a couple of ceramic plates to the floor. My instincts screamed I needed to help Armin, even knowing that he could regenerate in a matter of seconds, that the cuts and bruises weren't going to last long, but that wasn't why I wanted to help him.

It wasn’t the pain and physical blows that worried me, but the psychological anger and damage that this was entailing.

"Jaeger-san!"

Two followers slammed into the room, pointing their rifles directly at Armin and Mikasa's heads. They were unaware of my presence, paying more attention to the boy beaten from head to toe and the girl crying like a river.

I took a step forward and reaffirmed my theory, my presence wasn’t being recognized. I took another step, and another, and another, until I was right next to the fallen table and turned around, making sure the girl was still where I left her, that she was safe and sound. I gestured with my finger to my lips for her to be quiet and to stay still and turned to the scene in front of me. Eren kept beating poor Armin, who was unable to defend himself properly. He was right, in a hand-to-hand fight, Armin would be the worst off, even myself, but that didn't mean I couldn't manage to come out victorious.

Next to me, the chair Eren was sitting at a few seconds ago was still in the same place where he felt. With great care and tranquility, I bent down to grasp the back legs of it, without taking my eyes off Eren or the pseudo-guards who still had with their rifles at a shooting position, raised it to the height of my head and then smashed it against the two armed men in the stomach area. I hurriedly kicked each of them to the face, preventing them from having a chance to get up quickly, just as I slung the rifles from their shoulders with the same leg and pushed them away under a window. Without wasting time, I turned around to find Eren realizing the events that were happening next to him, and I wedged a blow in the middle of his face, in the same way Armin had done.

The blow hadn't been quite strong since he didn't fall to the ground, but it was enough to throw him off balance and make him leave Armin alone. The blonde fell to the floor, exhausted and sore from the multiple punchs to the face he had suffered, and I continued to give a new blow to the stomach height to the brunette in front of me. One of his knees fell to the ground, giving me the opportunity to grab his arm and twist him from behind, immobilizing him. I put my other arm over his armpit, preventing him from moving his arms and his upper body.

“That’s enought you fucking bastard. Mikasa..."

My face was on the crook of Eren's neck, preventing me from seeing clearly ahead, but my partial gaze sought out those tear-filled gray eyes to signal her to help me. My voice was already a signal for help even if I wasn't yelling. I could see how those eyes were full of conflicts, a battle was being fought inside her mind and she seemed to not be able to reason what she saw.

"MIKASA!"

This time I did yell, asking with all my will Mikasa could come to her senses, that she could help me with the lost cause Eren was now. I wasn’t going to be able to control him for much longer, I didn’t have the necessary strength and that was why I was trying to reach her. But the fear in my eyes was reflected when I saw that she wasn’t moving, that she was simply watching with tears in her eyes, eyes that would surely be cloudy and couldn’t see clearly. My fear was reflected when I saw that no one was going to be able to help me.

Eren hit his head against mine, right on the septum of my nose. My head jerked back involuntarily and my arms lost support on his. He grabbed my left hand, holding it high, much higher than my head, uncovering my stomach and his knee hitting it’s pit, not just once, but twice. His leg hit my knee, yanking it back and knocking me off what little balance I had left.

His grip on my hand released and I fell hard on my knees and hands onto the wooden floor. My stomach was spasming and I regurgitated bile, struggling to take in some air that I was deprived of in a matter of milliseconds. I coughed all I could until my stomach settled back, but I was unable to get back to my feet. I felt two pairs of hands grab my arms and I stood up abruptly, grabbing my hair even and looking up as the turquoise eyes set at my point of view.

"Why do you always have to be in the middle? Why can you never stay quiet in a corner without sticking your nose in someone else's butt? " Without my noticing, his fist slammed into my nose, hitting the septum back and most likely breaking it. My head cocked to the side and I could see drops of blood falling to the ground and a stream spreading from under my nostrils to my chin. "It was frustrating to see how in all the missions you were there, being a useless without importance"

Useless? I was the one who treated his wounds in training, tying his head when he hit the stone floor in his practice with the movement equipment. I was the one who put cold water on his ankle when he bent it while running through the lush forest on a rainy day. I was the one who pushed him to the side when he was going to hit a stone face down for not looking where he was going. I was one of those who saved him when he was captured by Reiner and Berthold. I was the one who pulled him out of the middle of an onslaught of titans when he first activated the coordinate, even with a wounded and bleeding shoulder.

I was the one who slapped him to make him stop crying inside the cave when Rod Reiss was transforming, claiming this wasn’t the time for his tantrums and that if he wanted to make a change in this whole twisted story, he better put down the crocodile tears for when he was in the quiet of his bed.

It was me who warned him of dozens of Marleyan soldiers when he shed from his titan back at Libero.

“And yet you continued to stick to me like a lap dog to the leg of it’s owner. Yet another slave. Makes me gag just looking at your face"

I turned my face to him, fixing my eyes on his, conveying all the hatred and contempt he was making me feel. I felt my heart shrink at such crude words, but my duel had started several weeks ago and they didn’t achieve the same effect as with Mikasa. What he did was get me to give him a contemptuous half smile and laugh in his face. His eyes darkened when he saw my reaction. Whether he expected it or not was no longer important to me. He gave a slight nod to the men behind me and I noticed how my arms were gathered around my back and tightened so that I couldn't move. One of them walked away from me and went straight towards Mikasa and Armin, pointing his rifle at their heads.

"Take them, the brat who killed Sasha too"

I wasn’t going to allow it.

My two comrades were pushed into the corridor outside while I glared at them waiting for my turn to go out with the man behind me. The girl was completely scared and she had walked to the door of her own will, perhaps avoiding being further hurt. The moment Eren was about to leave, I slapped my head against the man's face repeatedly until his grip weakened and I was able to move freely again. I turned to him, kneeing him in the face and stomach. When I managed to reduce him to the ground, making him roll into a ball and couldn't move without causing him pain when he breathed, I wanted to turn towards the door with the sole intention of getting the poor girl out of the conflict. My hand was halfway searching for her when Eren grabbed it and yanked me back violently, slamming me against the table.

I lost my balance for a second and as an involuntary act I grabbed the tablecloth, but that didn’t do much, making me fall to the floor in the same way. Eren lunged at me, his body falling completely on top of mine and pinning me to the ground. His legs were positioned at each place of my torso and his fist hit my face not once, not twice, but three times, noticing how the cheek bone began to burn. I lifted my knee to the side of his ribs, my nails finding the skin of his face, and pushed him toward the table, hitting his back against the hard wood and tangling with the tablecloth.

I got up to run, but his leg hit my ankle causing me to fall on my face and hands. When I wanted to turn around again I felt his weight against mine, his legs now better placed on my knees and both hands holding my neck. He squeezed, I felt like the air was beginning to thin, my vision was turning white and I could feel my face redden. I tried to hit him in the face, but I wasn't strong enough to make him stop. I reached the same hand towards my side visualizing one of the chairs thrown by the fight with Armin but Eren was faster and his knee was now pressing against my inner arm.

I was running out of air and at any moment I was going to lose consciousness. In a desperate attempt I turned my eyes around me as best I could and found a bottle of wine broken in half lying a few inches from us, though too far away for me to just reach out. My fingers couldn't even touch the surface of the glass and on my last attempt before I fainted, I pushed myself towards the bottle, grabbed it by the spout, and pulled it towards Eren's face, driving the broken surface onto his cheek and eye. 

Eren grunted in pain and released his hands from my neck, giving me a chance to push him back with both legs and barely get up to run. With cloudy vision and an incredible urge to cough thanks to the pressure on my cervicals and thyroids, I could not make out the whereabouts of the Marleyan girl and ran out the door to the corridor. As I passed the threshold slamming the door wide, rifle bullets were aimed at me, miraculously failing to hit my body. I shrunk my body as much as I could without stopping my feet and looked towards the end of the corridor, finding the second man who was with Armin and Mikasa shooting at me from behind them.

I was about to fall to the ground when Mikasa slammed her shoulder against his, causing him to stagger backward and she struggled to get the rifle out of his hands. In those few seconds of advantage, Armin stepped between the line of fire and me in case any bullets were fired and yelled from his position.

"Go!" I don’t know if it was due to lack of air that I couldn’t react at all quickly and when seeing my indecision to run to where the two of them were or go through the back window, Armin again shouted angrier and more determined "Just go!"

Behind me was a window with broken glass, I assumed due to the bullet holes of the rifle, with a simple blow with my elbow I could break a large part of the glass and jump to the side of the street, but not before giving one last look at Armin and Mikasa, who were still battling the man and Eren coming out of the room half healed and with smoke coming from his wounds.

I fell onto the cobbled street and started running towards the main avenue. My legs were on fire and my lungs were about to collapse, every step I took was a stronger pain in my throat. I wanted to stop and cough to regain normality in my breathing, but I heard behind me the footsteps of people running and yelling to stop me. They were chasing me and if I kept on foot I wasn't going to get very far. I put my fingers to my mouth and whistled as best I could, calling out to Phillip from afar. I had left my horse right at the front door of the restaurant, on the other side of the avenue, so I ran in that direction in order to find him early.

The so-called Jaegerists kept firing behind me, a bullet struck my leg and hit the stone on the ground and ricocheted to the left side against a house. Multiple bullets continued to brush my body, some passing very close to my face and others aimed directly at my legs. In the distance I could see Phillip riding towards me, getting closer and closer. When he came to my side, without stopping, I grabbed his leash and jumped on his back, leaving half my body hanging from lack of strength. I grabbed his neck and motioned for him to turn around and head straight for the avenue.

Phillip was always a fast horse, I thanked the universe for entrusting me to this horse from the first recon mission. He was always there for me, a loyal, strong and very audacious horse, banking me on every expedition and whatever madness crossed my mind to save my companions or myself. I always thanked him for his swiftness and now more than ever I was thanking him in a shaking voice as he continued galloping through the crowd, heading toward the wall’s gate.

Having left the Jaegerists at a considerable distance, I positioned myself correctly on his back, grabbing onto the leash and leaning forward to stroke his head for his great work. I gave myself the freedom to cough and clear my throat of any discomfort, but multiple blows and a firm rumbling behind us made me realize that nothing was over yet, as they were still chasing me, now with their own horses. There weren't many, maybe five or six people and a coach from what I could make out from the hollow of my shoulder, but they were armed and that was what made them dangerous.

I told Phillip to keep riding, to go even faster, to get to the gate as soon as possible. With the riding, the saddle hit my legs and crotch, annoying and hurting me at the same time, but I had to hold it and keep going; we had to get to the gate and fast, very fast. We were a few blocks away when I saw the gate in the distance, wide open and with their respective guards on either side of the threshold.

"Close the door!" I screamed as loudly as I could, feeling my vocal cords tear in the attempt and made my throat hurt even more. The guards turned their heads towards my figure, but none deigned to do what I asked them, they just stared at me stupidly.

"CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!" I coughed as I let out such a scream hoping it was clear enough in the message. Seeing me continue to gallop towards the gate and now hearing the bullets being fired, the guards ran towards the internal mechanism and began to close it, giving me enough time to pass through it without being crushed.

The gate ended up closing when Phillip had already traveled about ten meters outside the wall, leaving the Jaegerists on the other side.

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I dipped my head into the clear water of the river. The cold of the current massaged my battered muscles and cleaned the still bleeding wounds. It was already the third time that I’d put my head in the water and I could notice how little by little the pain was dissipating, but knew that the next day I would have a remotely swollen face and a septum to treat.

We had gotten quite far from the wall, maybe forty minutes or an hour galloping, and we had stayed by the river so as not to get lost. Phillip took the time to drink plenty of water and eat some of the dry grass that surrounded the river; I owed my partner a big one and if it was necessary to spend the little savings I had on a better chair and care for him, I would give it all… but when things were calmer and we could go home.

I lay on my back on the grass into a star-shaped possition and gazed up at the clear sky except for a few fluffy clouds. If it din’t for the recurring events in the last month, I would have taken the liberty of enjoying this beautiful day and the days before that surely there were, but I was too blind and busy to notice them.

The grass felt soft except for a few small stones scattered unevenly and the small field insects that landed on my arms and face and then flew off. It was relaxing, too relaxing. The heat of the sun's rays hit my skin and gave me a comforting sensation that soaked down to my bones, generating a pleasant interior warmth and tingling; I wanted to sleep, I wanted to rest, my body was forcing me to take a break, and this place, this moment, seemed like the perfect one. I closed my eyes, wishing sleep and tranquility would come as quickly as possible, but a vibration in the floor and Phillip's screaming snapped me out of my trance.

I raised my head, surveying my surroundings, the vibrations getting stronger as if they were getting closer. I looked at Phillip and followed his line of sight, far over the horizon, there was a litter of horses galloping over the stone paths that had been built a couple of years ago between each wall. Green overcoats could be distinguished over the horizon of the clear blue sky.

"Fuck, I was hoping to be calm for a couple more hours, come on Phillip"

I got on the back of my horse for the third time that day and directed it to the opposite side of where the other horses were riding. Being in the middle of an open field, there weren’t many houses where to take refuge, even though they had built a lot of houses between both walls. A little in the distance was a lush forest of tall trees, but not as tall as those of the Forest of Giant Trees, that enormous nature of fifty and eighty meters.

We stopped right at the entrance, hoping we had distanced ourselves from the litter of horses, but when I got off Phillip to rest my legs, I saw the path we had come from, and in the distance the same horses that he had seen on the stone path were approaching. There was no longer any doubt that they were the Jaegerists.

I turned my head towards the forest, from what I could see from the entrance the trees weren’t at a considerable distance from each other and the small dirt roads were too narrow. I didn’t know this forest at all and the mere fact of entering without knowing the terrain through the narrow corridors didn’t give me much confidence. But going around it wasn’t a good option either and I would end up being visualized in a matter of seconds. We were in a dead end, in a maze, and I had to play the few cards I had cleverly. I unbuttoned the coat which was already very badly placed on my shoulders and tied it on the strap.

"Phillip I need you to keep running, go as fast as you can and as far as your legs can reach" I pulled the saddle off his back, dropping it to the ground and tried to hide it inside a nearby bush with my foot. I brought his head closer to mine, resting my forehead on his muzzle and stroking his side one last time before saying goodbye.

"Go!" I smacked him on the back and Phillip ran down the narrow forest paths. As for me, I tried to dispel the footprints the horse had left behind before sending me to run down another path and go as far as I could into the heart of the forest.

I ran, ran and ran, my legs were on the edge, branches and thorns were digging into my skin making it burn every time other scratches were created in the same place. At this fact, I was resigned to the fact my clothes were bleeding and torn, as well as the matted hair and bruises on my body. My foot made contact with a tree root and I fell between the others, right in a hole, hitting my head and shoulder in the fall. I scraped my arm too, and my shirt was now full of dirt and dry leaves; surely my hair was the same. I heard heavy footsteps near me and I rolled into a ball in the hole, hiding behind the tree and seeking its protection.

"Find them, we can't let them escape"

Six people broke up and each one ran in a different direction in search of me. For an instant, my heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched when I saw one of them pass by the side of the tree where I was. At no point did he turn towards my location so I was able to breathe again. Minutes passed until I stopped hearing nearby footsteps, I got up leaning against the bark and kept walking inward, finding myself up a steep hill down.

I let gravity guide me and my feet unconsciously ran downward, avoiding rocks and bushes along the way. As I reached the low surface of the hill I tripped over my feet, losing my balance and colliding with a small tree that was right in the middle of where I was walking. As I stood up and turned it around, I came face to face with a Jaegerist, hooded, rifle in hand.

"Hey! You- "

My reflexes acted on instinct, my leg went straight to his ribs, hitting him squarely in the side of his stomach. I grabbed the rifle with both hands and hit it with the butt on both sides of the face and discarded it to the side when blood began to come out of his mouth. My hand went straight to his head, slamming it against the tree over and over again without stopping until his body fell unconscious on the grass. The interaction lasted no more than fifteen seconds, but it felt like I was about to explode. So many blows received and produced were leaving collateral effects on my body; at any moment I would pass out.

During the three years of training I have gotten used to physical confrontation and body training that lasted more than five hours, not to mention the months we spent annihilating each Titan within the walls. Those missions that lasted all day, if not more, were nothing compared to what my body was going through right now.

I sat next to the body, trying to catch my breath and rest my eyes. I rested my head on the tree and when I opened my eyes I saw a black figure in the middle of a grove a few meters away. He didn’t carry a rifle and seemed to have no intention of running to any specific place, he simply deigned to look around him, at the ground and towards the treetops. I froze to see Eren staring down at the body.

I shrank as much as I could to the left, hiding in the middle of the bushes, body to the ground, without taking my eyes off that figure that was now heading towards the unconscious body of one of his followers. I crawled back until I found a tree wide enough to hide.

"I know you are here"

It was the only thing I heard him say. My blood ran cold and a cold sweat began to form on my forehead. I was scared, very scared, I wasn’t going to deny it, but this wasn’t the time to sit and watch how they corner me little by little until they capture me. If this was the moment, I was going to give everything to get out of here. I stood up resolutely, taking a deep breath, and showed my face to my perpetrator.

"Do you want to pick up where we left off?"

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[writesowhatnext]

we’re only getting older, baby // george weasley

Summary: enemies // that’s how you and george weasley started out

Request: nee

A/N: this has been in my head a while and essentially it’s a 3-part enemies-to-lovers thing and I am excited about it!!!!! And also Y/L/N is your last name which I usually skirt around but couldn’t in this :)

Reader: female, Slytherin

Warnings: swearing, arguments

enemies // friends // lovers // epilogue

Almost immediately, you could tell there was something wrong with that bludger.

You were a beater, and a hell of a good one at that, and so you had a knack for knowing when a bludger was acting strange. It was your job, really, and you considered the one that seemed to have a death wish for Harry Potter definitely out of the ordinary. Until it broke off the end of Wood’s broomstick and sent him spiralling to the ground, you hadn’t even noticed it and whilst you had absolutely no love for the Gryffindor keeper, or Harry Potter for that matter, you knew that a bludger, especially a rogue one, could do a lot of damage.

Despite the inevitable grief you’d get from your teammates, it was obvious that Potter was probably quite important in the grand scheme of things in the wizarding world and it seemed that whilst you did really want to win the match, you were also pretty fond of being alive. And so, after a few moments of internal debate, you cursed under your breath and set off after Potter, your bat at the ready.

“Y/N Y/L/N, Slytherin beater, is… following Harry Potter?” Lee Jordan shouted over the speakers, garnering a healthy level of confusion from the crowd.

When the bludger came at him, certain to knock him off his broom if you did nothing, you huffed and adjusted the bat in your grip. With a grunt, you smacked it away, sending it spiralling across the other side of the field.

“What- what are you doing?” Potter stuttered; his eyes wide as he looked at you. They turned into saucers when he looked to your right and without thinking, you surged your broom forward and turned, the bludger striking your bat so hard the vibration reverberated right down your wrist.

“No need to thank me, Potter,” you said dryly, looking around for a blur of black in the sky. “Bludger’s enchanted; if you were smart, you’d get out of the sky.”

Out the corner of your eye, you saw Flint and Pucey sandwich one of the Gryffindor chasers, angling her into the Hufflepuff stand. You rolled your eyes at them, already vaguely irritated at the presence of your own morals, their cheating only adding further insult to injury. You couldn’t deny your annoyance that every Slytherin success was surmounted to pure cheating and they did nothing to help the case.

Turning around to reprimand Potter, you groaned when you saw him disappear into the stands followed by a flash of green and white. The bludger soared after both him and Malfoy and you ground your teeth together, reluctantly flying over.

“As Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy search for the snitch, they are followed into the stands by a bludger!” Lee Jordan’s voice rang out. “And Y/N Y/L/N?”

Loud, echoing boos filled the air as you grasped your broom, trying to listen to the sound of beams being broken by the weight of the iron ball. You rolled your eyes, barely stopping in time as the dark object whooshed in front of you, the force of it blowing a gust of wind through your quidditch robes.

As it curved in the air, preparing to circle back into the stands and no doubt maim Harry Potter, you prepared yourself. With your shoulders set back and palms gripping both your broom and bat tightly, you inhaled, watching it gather momentum. Absentmindedly, you contemplated how far Potter would fly if it hit him. Then, with a hefty swing, you sent the bludger over the top of the stands, so far that it disappeared for a few moments in the mist. The sound of your bat cracking down the middle was a horrible one, the wood pinching your palms as you grimaced. You slowied your broom down to a stop and hoped they’d give you a replacement. That is, if you were even allowed on the team anymore, after this stunt.

You only remembered why you’d cared so much about the bludger in the first place when both Potter and Malfoy rocketed out of the stands with their arms outstretched in efforts to reach the snitch you were far too far away to see. A chuckle left your lips as Malfoy hit the ground, rolling over twice before lying still, clutching his side. Potter, however, was a different story and when he tumbled to the ground, your mood soured as in his opened palm, was a shining golden glint that could only be the snitch. Applause and cheers rang out through the stadium along with Lee Jordan’s incessant shouting and you huffed, your shoulders sagging as you lowered your broom to the ground. You’d never hear the end of this, you thought crossly, knowing Flint would more than likely bar you from the team.

Strolling casually over, you didn’t even blink as the bludger soared back from where you’d hit it, never wavering from its desire to pulverise Potter. It exploded in the sky just above him as you dragged your broom across the field, only mildly interested in the swarms of people invading the pitch. You were halfway between Malfoy and Potter when you slowed to a halt, standing your broom up and watching carefully as crowds surrounded them both.

“Oi, Y/L/N!” Flint called; his anger palpable. You clicked your jaw and twisted your head to face him, clutching the handle of your broom tighter at the look on his face.

“What the bloody hell was that?”

“The bludger was-“

“I don’t give a shit! Why weren’t you paying attention to the game?”

“Me?” you said indignantly and probably far too loudly. “I was the only one that bloody noticed that bludger going after Potter.”

“That was fine by us,” he said, shrugging. “With Potter out the way, we’d win the match easily.”

“You’re such a fucking troll, Flint,” you snapped. He lunged at you, only for you to slam your hands into his chest, pushing him back.

“Don’t forget whose side you’re on, Y/L/N,” his breathing was ragged as he got close to your face. “Helping Potter’s done you no favours.”

“Helping?” someone called from behind you. “She wasn’t bloody helping anybody!”

You turned around to see the Gryffindor team collecting behind you, the Weasley twins looking decidedly angry as they glowered at you.

“She was firing bludgers at Harry the whole bloody game,” George said gruffly.

You grumbled, tilting your head to the side, already done with the whole debacle.

“He’s lucky he’s alive!” Fred added, scowling. “What, with her stalking him the whole time!”

“Oh really?” you asked, turning to the twins, the air turning tense. “Where were you idiots, then? He’s on your bloody team, isn’t he?”

“Hey!” George leant forward, his fist clenching at his side. “That’s not-“

“That was blatant cheating,” Wood interrupted, his voice stern.

“Remind me, Wood; isn’t hitting the bludger at the other team the beater’s job?” Flint asked, though judging by the dirty look he sent you, you were inclined to believe that his intention wasn’t to stick up for you.

“This is different, Flint. That bludger-“

“Was enchanted!” you said, throwing your arms up, only to catch the eye of George, who seemed more irked than ever.

“So that’s your excuse, is it? Bloody enchanted, eh?”

“Have you ever seen a bludger behave like that, you moron?” you countered, leaning closer to him, itching to just punch him in the jaw.

“Typical Slytherin,” he muttered, his red brows drawn together. “Cheats, the lot of you.”

You started forward, beyond prepared to start a fight when Professor McGonagall stepped between you, fixing her glare first on you before turning it to George.

“I think we have more pressing matters to deal with,” she said pointedly. “Don’t you?”

You stepped backwards, still simmering with anger as you looked at Weasley, who also appeared barely able to control himself.

“Like restoring Mr Potter’s bones, perhaps?” she stared icily at Wood for a moment. “Or maybe Mr Malfoy’s ribs?”

Her stare trailed back to you and her lips twitched and if it hadn’t been for Malfoy’s overly-dramatic groan, you thought she’d probably have never looked away. With a miffed huff, you turned on your heel and stormed off, muttering under your breath.

You didn’t see George Weasley again until Professor Lockhart’s stupid duelling club. You were peeved enough that you had to be taught by a glorified mannequin, but having to navigate around all the spiders that kept cropping up everywhere was slowly pushing you over the edge. George Weasley was just the icing on the cake.

“You know, Fred,” he started, a teasing grin on his lips. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Y/N was the Heir of Slytherin.”

You rolled your eyes, purposefully stepping backwards to grind your heel into his foot. You were rewarded with a little yelp, but you stiffened when you felt him come closer behind you.

“Careful, George,” Fred said, the smile in his voice evident. “You could get yourself petrified.”

You scoffed, turning around sharply, surprised to see George’s face so close to your own.

“Oh, yes, Weasley!” you whispered rather loudly. “You’ve cracked the bloody case; I just go around petrifying people for the fun of it! Brilliant detectives, you prats are.”

They mocked your words, wobbling their heads from side to side as you whipped back to face Lockhart, suitably aggravated as you crossed your arms over your chest. A Hufflepuff from one of the lower years turned around to shush you and in turn, received the full brunt of your anger as you tutted loudly.

“Oh, piss off, Finch-Fletchley.”

Your mood only soured further when George snorted behind you.

Why George Weasley pissed you off so much you couldn’t say. Your head-butting was indisputably his fault with his catty remarks and stupid pranks and all just because you were a Slytherin. It would’ve been a lie, though, to say that you didn’t return the favour. Justifiably, though, you thought. Ever since your first year, it had always been the same; you and Weasley at each other’s throats, somewhat enjoying having somebody to hate, somewhat enjoying the rush of arguing with someone. Thankfully, though, you didn’t have to think about him a lot; you were rarely in the same classes and when you could, you just ignored him for the sake of your own wellbeing.

When you saw Harry Potter and the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, in the corridor, though, spying on the teachers as they examined one of the messages that had been sprouting up all over the castle, you couldn’t help but think of George. His little sister was missing and despite every insult you’d thrown his way, you felt bad for him. You knew that you should’ve reported them for being in the corridors when they shouldn’t have been, but you watched Ron’s expression go from upset to desolate as his eyes settled on you and with a quick decision you hoped you wouldn’t regret, you turned away. They whispered to each other as you walked in the opposite direction, confused as to why you acted as if you hadn’t even seen them.

You did, in the end, regret your kind gesture, and any other you’d done in the past, when George stormed into Slytherin common room, barrelling past the charms and stopping short right in front of you, panting like a stampeding rhinoceros. You clenched your jaw, standing up so that you were chest to chest.

“Was it you?” he asked, cutting straight to the chase.

You narrowed your eyes, fully aware of the dozens of ears eavesdropping on your conversation.

“Was what me?” you said slowly, trying to contain your anger. He really didn’t have a clue, did he? He never did.

“Oh, you know what,” he spat, joined by his brother Fred. You rolled your eyes, knowing that if everyone wasn’t already staring at you, they sure were now. “My sister.”

You bit back every retort you wanted to spout and instead leant forward, poking at his chest with your finger.

“Weasley,” you said, your voice level, but rippling with barely concealed irritation. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

“Yeah, well, you would say that- what?” he stopped, visibly taken aback.

“I heard about your sister,” you said, dropping your hand and looking at his chest. “I’m sorry she was taken. I didn’t do it.”

Fred, along with the rest of the common room, watched your jaw clench before you exhaled. The toll attempting to be civil to George Weasley was taking on your composure was obvious.

George opened and closed his mouth like a fish and, had you seen, you would’ve mocked him, but you didn’t notice. Your just lifted your chin as you sat down, turning back to your book and pretending that you could concentrate on the words with your heart thumping so loudly in your ears. You didn’t look up until he fled the room, his twin hot on his tail.

After that altercation, you didn’t see much of the twins. The castle seemed to somehow go back to normal, the petrified students reanimated again and the blood washed off of the walls like it was never there. Potter smiled at you in the corridors sometimes as well and though you didn’t mean for it, he always noticed the slight curl of your lips in response.

That particular day, you were lurking near the doorway of the Great Hall, waiting for the house-elves to bring out food for you to take on the train home.

As you dug dirt out from under your fingernails, you watched Granger walk past looking a lot less lifeless than the last time you saw her. She stopped in front of you, her smile faltering slightly under your stare, your eyebrow raised in question.

“I see you’re up and moving again, Granger,” you said offhandedly, hoping she would actually do something other than stare. “Can I help you with something?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at you before she just shook her head, scuttling off to where Potter and Ron Weasley were sitting at the Gryffindor table. You rolled your eyes at her as someone clearing their throat next to you drew your attention. You grimaced at the sight of Fred and George.

“Uh,” George said, his face alone enough to flare your irritation. “Harry told me that the bludger at the start of the year was enchanted by a house-elf.”

You stared at him passively for as long as you could before your anger bubbled over.

“So, you blamed me for the work of a bloody house-elf? Oh, right, yes, cheers, George,” you said sharply, watching Fred scurry away, leaving you facing his brother alone.

“Well-“ George said indignantly before you cut him off, leaning closer.

“And let’s not forget that you also blamed me for what You-Know-Who did in the ‘chamber of secrets’-“

“Right, I’m trying to say sorry here,” he said plainly, scowling.

“You what?” you asked, rather breathless after your little rant.

“I’m trying to say that I’m sorry for being such a git,” he said, the air thick as he waited for any semblance of a reaction on your face. “And to say thanks, you know... for not telling on Harry and Ron.”

George expected many things when you opened your mouth then: shouting, insults, a punch perhaps, maybe even a hex. What he did not expect, was rationality and fairness.

“Alright,” you nodded, your expression still hard.

“Alright?”

“Yes, fine, I accept your apology.”

“What?” he said, the stupidly confused look on his face stoking your rage again.

“Are you thick? I said I’m accepting your apology.”

“I didn’t expect you to accept.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to calm yourself down.

“Well, you don’t know a lot about me, Weasley,” you said, your voice surprisingly soft and almost religiously guarded.

He relaxed a little, strangely curious all of a sudden.

“I suppose I don’t…” he said, a wary grin pulling at his cheeks. “Maybe we could be friends?”

In fairness, he’d said it more to judge your reaction than anything; to test the waters between you.

You stared at his outstretched hand with a deadpan look.

“Don’t push it.”

harry potter tag list:

@creator-appreciator​

@decadentwastelandtrash

@loveisblindness​

@xinyourdreamsx​

@brainlesspasta​

@hariosborn​

@staringmoony​

@rexorangecouny​

@alittletoomanyobsessions​

@peachesandpinks​

@yuptha-tsme​

@obsessedwithrandomthings​

@dreamer821​

@iprobablyshipit91​

@in-slytherin-we-trust​        

@haphazardhufflepuff​

@princesof-theuniverse​

@whovianayesha​

@ickle-ronniekins​ 

@harrysweasleys​ 

[crafty-business4130]

so to expand upon this lets go in some ideas on what helscraft is like

i like to think that helscraft is a weird glitched copy of the overworld and the nether mixed together. for the cannon of my hermit duplicate’s AU (of which i will be referring to within this post) the dimension of helscraft isnt really a full dimension that always appears in every world like the end and nether. it only spawns into a world after a year or so of players putting all of their love and care into the world. the world builds up enough of all that good energy and then causes a opposite opposing Force to form. thus helscraft spawns into existence. in a way you could say the whole dimension of helscraft is a duplicate as well.

now one thing that kinda throws a a wrench in the works of this idea is that every year or so the hermits move into a new world, though since its normally has been roughly the same amount of players in each season we can go with the hermitcraft dimension of hels is carried over with each world jump. the world of hels change to match the new overworld but its still the same helshermits. though for the hermits that leave the server their hels counterpart disappears.  this may also work in reverse as well. only have one example so far so who know :) cOUGHCOughNHOcOUGh

with the the hows and whys on helscraft existence out-of-the-way let's get into some worldbuilding!

as ive already mentioned, helscraft is somewhat of a glitchy mix of the overworld and nether. what i havent mentioned is that a good bit of the April Fools updates and removed features for the overworld ended up floating over to helscraft but unlike the overworld in which these features disappear pretty quickly they ended up sticking around in helscraft, for better or worst. 

heres a list of examples of this, of which i then expanded upon them to make them more fleshed-out. 

the list got really long so the rest of the post is under the cut! :D

Pig and cow sized horses, if fed too much will cause the animal to grow dangerous mutations that can not only kill the animal but make its remains toxic and unedible. You can make a green book via using toxic leather (the crafting book)

A common spell is to summon flame that then can be used for new crafting recipes. one such recipe is flaming barrels, if someone walks too close it will explode, another is chainmail armor

if you put too much fuel into a furnace it will explode.

torches burn out an hour or two after being lit

chickens are deadly, do not provoke them. it is extremely rare but the is a very small chance spawn in a blue chicken. only able to spawn via throwing eggs. it drops lapis and diamonds instead of eggs. beware tho, all chickens in the immediate vicinity will protect the blue one with their lives and will attack anything that gets too close.

eating or feeding an animal a god apple will cause it to float upwards for five minutes before slowly descending back to the ground. 

Wheat if not chopped after fully grown will go bad and die, same thing with other crops. though you can make Iron infused melon and pumpkins, it insures that the stem won't die over time after its first produce

Powered Redstone causes redstone bugs to spawn, it can be stopped by combining lapis and redstone dust together to make bluestone dust. asifhfsssdhv only a noob uses redstone.

Redstone wire, another alternative of redstone made with redstone dust surrounded by cobwebs. it insulates the redstone and stops bugs from spawning. pretty much the same thing function wise but is a pretty cool thing to use to flex on others

Villagers are instead piglins, not the tanned ones added into the nether update but rather pink skinned ones.

Glowing obsidian, a glowing red version of obsidian. Only found in trades with piglins

In helscraft there are lava oceans instead of water, water can only be found deep underground. Lava instead of water is infinite, water is no longer infinite. 

The world of hels first looked like the indev world theme of hell, with following updates to the overworld helscraft changed and evolved as well. There is no sun nor moon, just a forever floating layer of lava that acts to light up the dimension. 

Frostwalker is instead, Magmawalker, turning lava into magma blocks shortly before melting back into lava

Boss fights arent the same in helscraft as in the normal overworld and its closely neighboring tied in dimensions of the end and nether. Not found in helscraft are Guardians, the ender dragon, and technically the Wither as well. Instead you can find Giants, the red dragon, the four horse men(much more difficult to defeat)

Giants unlike the ai less ones you can spawn using commands are living and breathing monsters that roam the land. During their travels any ghasts they cross will join them on their wandering

Ghasts can be somewhat tamed in helscraft. If you can successfully capture a baby ghast from its parents and raise it yourself the ghast will be malleable enough, somewhat like foxes but just a bit more wild. If you happen to accidentally harm them it will turn on you and fight you to the death, be it your’s or theirs.

It's a very very rare find but huge brick pyramids can spawn into the world. in season 7 helscraft’s cubfan took up residence within one that spawned in Incredibly Close to spawn

There are alot of different nonsensical potions that can be brewed for interesting drinks. some have a use, most dont tho. all of em have amazingly different tastes and smells

instead of honeycomb there is crystallized honey, it functions as pretty much the exact same thing. has its block too, call the wax block.

Killer bunnies spawn in more often than normal bunnies

Og stonecutter, can cut blocks into half. Not only used for stone. can cut doors, beds, and much more into halfs

Nether reactor core, could be the key on how to jump between the hermitcraft and helscraft. will need to think on this idea some more though

Petrified Forest, a biome within helscraft that has wood as hard as stone and a texture reminiscent of a mix of acacia and crimson planks color wise.

unsure as of yet on what to call it but the volcanic biome the Rempirer had Rendog make is a biome within helscraft as well!(the Rempirer is ren’s helscraft counterpart... he wasnt always evil as he is now) 

the mobs that lost the vote found their way into helscraft, not just the moobloom all of them. the three mystery mobs from the 2017 and the ice illager. (i voted for the glow squid and while i do still stand by my decision it is truely a shame we might not see any of them all in the game ever )

Studded armor and plate armor, alternatives to leather and chainmail. studded armor is made with leather and stone and plate armor is made with smooth stone slabs

stained glass looks a bit like this

and colored wool like this!

and thats everything for now. ill probly be working out some more ideas since theres a surprisingly large amount of features that have been added to minecraft either hidden away in the background or removed.

 also if anyone wants a some links to where i found these old and mostly forgotten facts ill post em in the notes when i get the time to do so. theres a lot of them tho so i might forget a few

hey also if you like these you might also like my Discord! i made it for this au and i tend to share my ideas a bit more over there than over here. theres a lot to see :DD

[bloody-bee-tea]

BeeTober 2020 Day 28

Guardian - Decay

Day 28 of BeeTober brings an AU where Mingcheng are already established, but Jiang Cheng went to some pretty extremes to keep his soul safe. That he turned into a stone statue really is the least of it. 

Nie Mingjue wakes up well rested and ready to tackle the day. It’s a strange enough occurrence that it gives him pause immediately, and he stays quiet and unmoving to figure out what’s going on.

There’s no sound but some trees rustling and birds singing, and that alone tips him off to the fact that he can’t be in Qinghe nor Lotus Pier. Nie Mingjue opens his eyes to look around and he frowns when he sees where he is.

He’s inside something that looks like a temple, except it’s falling apart around him.

Nie Mingjue looks down on himself, checking if he’s restrained and about to be sacrificed to whoever resides in this temple and his frown deepens when he sees talismans all over himself.

But instead of subduing him or keeping him chained to the table he’s laying on, they are for healing and freezing him in time. And one by one they start to go up in flames, telling him that there is no more need for either.

Nie Mingjue shakes his head slightly as he swings his legs over the table, and it’s only then that he realizes it’s not really a table but more of a bed.

“What the fuck happened,” Nie Mingjue mutters, his mind foggy and memory elusive but he trusts that someone will be around to tell him what the hell is going on.

He cocks his head slightly when he notices the faint chiming of a bell in the air, and even though he doesn’t know why it’s ringing he can feel that it gradually works to clear his mind.

Nie Mingjue is a bit wobbly for the first few steps but soon enough he regains his equilibrium and Nie Mingjue walks up to the only door of the temple. There are multiple windows, turning everything into a soft gold with the sunlight, but there’s only one door.

A door that is unlocked but so damaged by time that it takes Nie Mingjue a few moments to get it open.

When he finally steps outside, he only sees green for a moment before he realizes that the temple is overgrown almost completely.

And then his eyes fall on a statue in front of the door, and Nie Mingjue freezes when he sees it.

He knows that back.

“My heart?” Nie Mingjue whispers, and he’s quick to walk around the statue.

Except, it’s not a statue at all, Nie Mingjue comes to realize when he looks at Jiang Cheng.

“Oh, my heart,” Nie Mingjue breathes out and cups Jiang Cheng’s stone cheek in his hand.

Nie Mingjue suddenly remembers his last qi deviation; not everything but enough to remember that it should have killed him. But he also remembers Jiang Cheng’s pleading voice, telling him to hold on, begging him to not die, promising him that he’ll find a way to heal him if only Nie Mingjue doesn’t die immediately.

Well, Jiang Cheng certainly held that last promise, Nie Mingjue thinks with a small smile, but when his eyes fall back onto the temple, it turns bitter. It must have been one hell of a healing sleep, because the temple is nearly falling apart behind Jiang Cheng, the touch of time even eating away at the stone and decay all around them. And yet it still holds.

Nie Mingjue looks closer at the supporting structure and he sees arrays upon arrays melded into the stone; it’s Jiang Cheng’s handiwork—Nie Mingjue would recognize that anywhere—so he must not only have put Nie Mingjue into a healing sleep and protected him from aging while he’s recuperating, he also tirelessly channelled qi into the Clarity Bell and he built a whole-ass temple around Nie Mingjue as well.

Nie Mingjue turns his gaze back to Jiang Cheng. His heart has turned into stone so completely that Nie Mingjue doesn’t even want to contemplate for how many centuries he’s been sitting outside of Nie Mingjue’s resting place.

It’s not completely unheard of; there have been a few stories of immortal cultivators who stopped moving at one point, and who turned into stone but Nie Mingjue has never witnessed it before.

Nie Mingjue feels a belated stab of worry. Cultivators have died long before they turned to stone this completely. The key to this is to keep the qi circulating but for that one needs to concentrate. And it's so very hard to keep the mind moving when the body is not. Its too easy to loose oneself inside ones own mind and just the thought that Jiang Cheng could have suffered the same fate makes Nie Mingjue feel vaguely sick.

But he can still feel Jiang Cheng's qi circulating, can still hear the soft chiming of his clarity bell, and he knows that his beloved didn't suffer that same fate as countless others had.

Jiang Cheng never only attempted the impossible; he always achieved it and then some.

“My heart, it’s time for you to wake up again,” Nie Mingjue whispers as he leans forward to press a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s cold and hard cheek.

It’s a long process, petrification, but reversing it takes slightly less time. It will be weeks, maybe even months, before Jiang Cheng will return to him.

But Nie Mingjue isn’t worried; Jiang Cheng kept himself alive and focused for centuries, he will not fail to come back to Nie Mingjue, now that he is healed.

And healed he is; he can feel it. His qi is circulating in a way it hasn’t since his first qi deviation, his meridians completely unharmed and undamaged despite the violent nature of the last qi deviation, and Nie Mingjue knows that it’s all due to Jiang Cheng and his stubborn will.

Nie Mingjue cups his cheek again, carefully brushing his own qi against Jiang Cheng’s to let him know that it’s time for him to come back now, and Nie Mingjue can’t believe that he ever got so lucky as to be loved by an amazing man like him.

It’s certainly more than he deserves, that much Nie Mingjue is sure of.

Before Nie Mingjue can get lost in his own mind, there’s a rustling sound behind him and Nie Mingjue spins around, desperately missing Baxia in his hands right about now.

It doesn’t matter. If whatever or whoever comes out of the woods is a threat to Jiang Cheng, Nie Mingjue will fight them with his bare hands if he has to.

What does eventually emerge from the underbrush is a kid.

A kid that seems strangely familiar, down to the stubborn move of his jaw when his eyes fall on Nie Mingjue.

“What are you doing here?” the kid demands to know and Nie Mingjue raises an eyebrow at him. “This is private property and you’re trespassing.”

“I doubt I can trespass on my own temple,” Nie Mingjue gives back, more amused than anything and the boy glares at him.

“It’s not your temple. The temple belongs to the guardian,” he says with a nod to Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue bites back a smile.

“The guardian, huh?” he asks. “And what is he guarding?” Nie Mingjue wants to know and watches at the boy stutters.

“No one knows, because no one is allowed to go into the temple!” he eventually yells and Jiang Cheng will love to wake up to his yelling nephew, Nie Mingjue just knows it.

“What if I come from inside the temple?” Nie Mingjue asks and very pointedly looks down at himself.

The robes he’s wearing hold no resemblance at all to the clothes the boy is wearing and clearly that must register with him as well.

“You can’t be,” the boy still says, jutting his chin out. “If you would be, then the guardian would come back. But he will only come back when his soul returns to him!”

“Ah,” Nie Mingjue breathes out and turns towards Jiang Cheng. He leans down to rest his forehead against Jiang Cheng’s stone one and then he says “But your soul already returned. And you should hurry, because what am I going to do without my heart?”

“Oh,” the boy behind him says breathlessly and he’s staring wide-eyed at Nie Mingjue when he turns back around to him. “How do you know that?” he then demands to know and Nie Mingjue frowns at him.

“Know what?”

“To say that!”

“I—it’s just what I call him,” Nie Mingjue gives back, now thoroughly confused and the boy frowns at him.

Jiang Cheng can’t have been an influence in his life, with how he is petrified and most definitely did not reincarnate, but that frown is all Jiang Cheng anyway.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Nie Mingjue,” Nie Mingjue tells him and watches as the boy’s eyes go wide.

“Oh fuck,” he whispers but before Nie Mingjue can scold him for using foul language, the boy bounded up to him, excitement twinkling in his eyes. “This is your temple!”

“Yes?” Nie Mingjue gives back and then indulgently follows the boy when he tugs on his hand. “Hey, what’s your name?” he asks, even though me most definitely knows, but he has to keep up appearances.

“Jiang Ling,” the boy says and Nie Mingjue smiles.

Good to hear that he’s a proper Jiang this time around.

Jiang Ling brings Nie Mingjue to what is presumably his own home, though Nie Mingjue has never seen a house like that.

It seems like a lot of time passed.

“Mom! Dad!” Jiang Ling starts yelling as soon as they get close to the house and Nie Mingjue is not surprised at all to see Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan come running out of it.

His eyes burn when he sees their familiar faces—it has been so long since they died, at least for Nie Mingjue—and he can’t wait for Jiang Cheng to wake up.

“A-Ling!” Jiang Yanli says, clearly surprised to see her son drag a towering man behind him, and she motions for him to come to her side immediately.

Jiang Ling, predictably, does not obey her.

“It’s him!” Jiang Ling excitedly tells his parents, who keep a wary eye on Nie Mingjue.

He does his best to make himself small and unthreatening, but he’s a tall man and he knows that he carries quite the presence with him.

“It’s who?” Jin Zixuan asks and Jiang Ling almost bounces in his excitement.

“The one from inside the temple!”

“What?” Jiang Yanli breathes out, clearly surprised, but her face turns a little bit softer. “Really?”

“Yes,” Nie Mingjue says and bows to them.

When he comes up to them staring at him, he realizes that maybe greetings changed as well, over the time. He’ll need to learn a whole lot before Jiang Cheng wakes up, it seems.

“What’s your name?” Jin Zixuan demands to know and Nie Mingjue keeps his head bowed.

“Nie Mingjue,” he answers but Jiang Ling shakes his head.

“No, no, tell them what you said to the guardian!”

“A-Ling, calm down,” Jiang Yanli gently chides her son but then she looks at Nie Mingjue, clearly expecting an answer.

“I told him that his soul already returned and that he should come back as well, because I am nothing without my heart,” Nie Mingjue truthfully says and he’s entirely unprepared for the tears that gather in Jiang Yanli’s eyes.

“Welcome back, Chifeng-zun,” she warmly says and Nie Mingjue is entirely unprepared when she hugs him, before she tugs him inside the house.

“You must be hungry, and confused,” she says, and Nie Mingjue has to admit that he is both.

Jiang Yanli gets him some food and all the while she explains. Nie Mingjue’s head spins a little bit with how much time passed since Jiang Cheng put him into a healing sleep, how much time passed since Jiang Cheng built a whole temple around him and made sure that they will always be protected, and he’s not entirely sure he can process it correctly.

Those really are an awful lot of years.

Years, during everything changed, that much Nie Mingjue can tell, and he is taken aback when he realizes that cultivation is not really a thing anymore. This will be a lot to adjust to, and he’s already looking forward to having Jiang Cheng bitch about the smallest of changes.

“When will he return?” Jiang Yanli suddenly asks and Nie Mingjue clears his head.

“Jiang Cheng?” he asks, just to make sure and Jiang Yanli nods. “It will take time; weeks, maybe even months. His body is completely turned to stone. Reversing the process is delicate work, but I’m sure he already got started on it. He never did like being separated for too long,” Nie Mingjue lowly says, a small smile playing around his mouth.

“You must miss him terribly,” Jiang Yanli sympathetically says but Nie Mingjue shrugs.

“It’s not been that long for me,” he admits. “One moment I had a qi deviation and the next I woke up in the temple. There wasn’t much time to miss him yet.”

“And there won’t be, because I’m sure he’ll come back to you quickly,” Jiang Yanli says.

“So when do you want us to move out?” Jin Zixuan suddenly asks, and Nie Mingjue startles.

He kind of forgot that he was still in the room as well, with how quiet he has been all this time.

“What?”

“This is your house. Well, technically it’s Sandu Shengshou’s house, but I guess you’ll want it back.”

“What do you mean, this is Jiang Cheng’s house?”

“He means that he built it, when he constructed the temple as well. There is always to be a Jiang around, to tend to the temple,” Jiang Yanli explains. “Since you’re back, I guess we’ll have to move.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Nie Mingjue blurts out, but he is fairly certain that Jiang Cheng is going to yell at him a lot should he come back only to hear that Nie Mingjue kicked out his sister and nephew. “You’re going to stay right were you are. We’ll just take a room if you have one free. Besides, everything is different. We’ll need someone around to introduce us to the world again.”

“So that means we can stay?” Jiang Ling suddenly pipes up and Nie Mingjue smiles at him.

“Of course you can stay,” he tells him and everything is a lot more relaxed after that.

~*~*~

The days pass quickly. There is so much to learn about this strange new world that Nie Mingjue feels like his head is going to split open on a good day but Jiang Yanli is careful not to overwhelm him completely.

If it does get too much, Nie Mingjue finds his way back to Jiang Cheng, who is still more petrified than not, but Nie Mingjue can tell that the process is in reverse.

His cheek almost feels warm under his hand already.

“I wish you would come back to me soon,” Nie Mingjue whispers and leans against Jiang Cheng’s back. “Your sister and your nephew are here, too, and they are dying to meet you. They might have been reincarnated into a world so completely different than ours, but they are still the same. I think. I never knew your sister well enough before, but Jiang Ling is certainly his usually bratty self. You’re going to adore him,” Nie Mingjue tells Jiang Cheng and sighs when no response comes.

But of course there wouldn’t be.

Jiang Cheng is still weeks away from coming back to Nie Mingjue.

That evening Nie Mingjue is strangely melancholic, because he misses Jiang Cheng’s frowns and his biting remarks and his beautiful laugh and his soft skin under his hands.

“He will come back,” Jiang Yanli says with certainty and pats Nie Mingjue’s hands. “He has been waiting for you all this time, I doubt he’s going to wait any longer if he can help it.”

Nie Mingjue is just about to agree when Jiang Ling comes barrelling into the kitchen.

“Mom, there’s a strange man outside!” he shouts, and Nie Mingjue is immediately on the alert.

No one ever gets lost enough to stumble upon this little house and if someone did then it might spell trouble.

“Stay inside,” he instructs Jiang Yanli, who nods with big eyes and Nie Mingjue walks outside.

He can see the figure stumbling towards him already, though it’s hard to make out anything in the dark. But if that person is drunk, maybe they really did just get lost.

“You asshole,” Jiang Cheng suddenly seethes and Nie Mingjue’s stomach drops before the biggest smile breaks out on his face.

“My heart,” he whispers and walks forward, sweeping Jiang Cheng up and crushing him to his chest.

“You asshole,” Jiang Cheng repeats and slaps Nie Mingjue’s shoulder, though he does press close enough to hide his face against his neck. “You can’t just say that Yanli and A-Ling are around and that you’re impatient for me to get back and then leave without waiting for me to come back!”

“My heart, my heart, it’s too soon for you to be back,” Nie Mingjue says and puts Jiang Cheng down on the ground again.

A critical look reveals that he seems to be completely de-petrified and Nie Mingjue is so in awe of Jiang Cheng he doesn’t even know how to express it.

“To soon, please,” Jiang Cheng scoffs. “I waited centuries for you to stop your sleeping act.”

“You are incredible,” Nie Mingjue mutters, because it should have been weeks before Jiang Cheng returned to him.

“Stop with the flattery and kiss me, dammit,” Jiang Cheng demands and Nie Mingjue is more than happy to oblige him with that.

One kiss turns into two turns into many, and in the end it’s Jiang Yanli who breaks them apart.

“I see that he found his way back to you sooner than anticipated,” she says, laughter in her voice and Nie Mingjue blushes.

“Yanli,” Jiang Cheng breathes and even though Nie Mingjue hates to let him go he pushes Jiang Cheng towards his sister.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t hesitate to sweep her up in a hug as well, much to Jiang Yanli’s astonishment it seems, and Nie Mingjue chuckles.

“Who is that?” Jiang Ling suddenly asks and Jiang Cheng’s smile gets even bigger.

“A-Ling!” he exclaims but Jiang Ling hides inside the house when he starts to walk towards him.

Nie Mingjue is at his side before his face falls.

“They are reincarnated,” he whispers. “They don’t remember.”

“Ah,” Jiang Cheng says, clearly heartbroken, but then he smiles again. “Might be better that way, anyway.”

And with that he turns around to Jiang Yanli and bows deeply to her.

“I apologize for my improper behaviour.”

“No need,” she softly says and puts a hand on his arm. “There’s clearly something your husband didn’t mention to us.”

Nie Mingjue’s eyes go big at the word husband, because he and Jiang Cheng never did quite get around to that, but when Jiang Cheng smiles at him, he shrugs it off.

Jiang Cheng is his heart, and Nie Mingjue is his soul; husbands seems a little bit redundant with that.

“Maybe,” Nie Mingjue allows and pulls Jiang Cheng into his side, simply glad to have his heart back.

“And we will explain,” Jiang Cheng promises as he threads Nie Mingjue’s and his fingers together. “But reversing the petrification is a lot more draining than simply turning to stone and I think I need to sleep now,” he says, and he sways on his feet.

“Of course,” Jiang Yanli says with one last smile before she vanishes inside the house and Nie Mingjue is more than happy to bring Jiang Cheng to their room.

He missed sleeping with Jiang Cheng in his bed, missed his steady weight against him, and Nie Mingjue can already tell that he’ll be a bit more clingy than before.

But Jiang Cheng doesn’t seem to mind, because he keeps one hand on Nie Mingjue at all times and when he has to stop touching him eventually, he makes sure to keep his eyes on Nie Mingjue.

“I missed you,” Jiang Cheng suddenly says and Nie Mingjue realizes that while it was only a few weeks for him, it must have been much, much longer for Jiang Cheng.

“I’m here,” Nie Mingjue reassures him. “And I’m not going anywhere, because whatever you did healed me. So there’s nothing that can take me from your side again anymore.”

“There better not be,” Jiang Cheng says and leans up for a kiss that Nie Mingjue happily gives him.

Nie Mingjue really has no intention of leaving Jiang Cheng ever again, but even if there was something that could take Nie Mingjue from him, he doubts that Jiang Cheng would allow it.

Jiang Cheng already turned to stone for him; if need be Nie Mingjue doesn’t doubt that Jiang Cheng would turn into a god just to get him back, or personally drag him back from hell.

It seems like exactly the kind of thing Jiang Cheng would be capable of.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[musicallisto]

🍨hi can I get a ship for Bridgerton? Preferably with a male character. I am a hufflepuff, a bookworm, an Aries. I’m a big animal lover, I grew up on a farm actually! I’m an introvert& often called sensitive lol I’m bilingual. Petite. Wild & dark curly hair. Even though I grew up as a tomboy I’m actually very girly now, I love skirts, pastel colors, and makeup! Also congrats on 800 followers!! That is so exciting 💕

hi! here’s your vanilla milkshake, I hope you like it, and sorry for the wait! I think your personality would work quite well with benedict bridgerton!

Although I seriously considered Prince Friederich as well - but I don’t think you would enjoy the courtly life in Prussia, and all the pressure and scrutiny it entails, no matter how much you may love him.

Benedict, however, is the perfect match for your personality. He’s the second, the spare, and spares always have the most fun - so he’s set on having the most fun he can have with you.

Despite being fiercely loyal to his family, he is very independent and loathes being told what to do or how to carry himself; that trait would work quite well with your own free spirit.

He would fall madly in love with your slightly adventurous streak, a vestige of your childhood as a tomboy, scraping your knees on the farm grounds and playing with your dog in the brook.

Secretly, he envies such a life, where he can be free of obligations and expectations, and doesn’t have to attend pompous balls and parties to save face. A world where he can sit on the porch of his farmhouse and paint on an easel facing the sunrise...

But this life could be his, he reckons after some time of knowing you. After all, he is the spare. And spares are paid little mind. Everyone is too preoccupied about Anthony and the presposterousness he is leading the family into...

Besides, out of all the siblings, Benedict is the one I imagine most falling deeply in love with someone “below his standing”. Even if you are from a simpler background than him, and even if you two met in rather quaint circumstances (far from the sparkling elegance of ceremonial balls, it was at the marketplace, when he was looking for a birthday present for his sister), he knows he is irrevocably in love with you, just like he has seen Daphne fall irrevocably in love with Simon.

And he doesn’t care what society and its loud mouth might think or say. He’s had enough of bending over backwards to meet some impossible standard that he’ll never be good enough for anyway.

So when, a few months into your more-or-less secret relationship, he confesses that he loves you and that he wants nothing more than to live with you, on a farm wherever you damn please, with lots of animals and land as far as the eye can see, a part of you is thrilled beyond words, and the other petrified.

You don’t know what marrying a Bridgerton might entail. You don’t know much about high society and its intricate codes. You don’t know, to be frank, anything about the inner workings of London for the rich, and you don’t want to have anything to do with them.

But he assures you that he’ll do whatever it takes to protect you from their madness; that it’s you he loves, and not the arrogance of the Ton, and he’d be ready to leave it all behind for a chance at peace with you.

And deep down, you know you won’t stop dreaming about the life you glimpse with him. You know your heart already sings for him, and you await his visits every day, see his face everywhere in the crowd. So you accept.

He practically sprints through all of London to tell his family immediately. They don’t understand half of what he says through labored breaths, but once he calms down, and work through their complete stupor - and a bit of reluctance from Anthony, which might have been somewhat justified in a way, but when has Anthony ever been on board with anything? -, they prove to be pretty supportive.

Especially his mother, who is delighted that Benedict has finally found someone who loves him and understands him truly, and can’t wait to meet you; even if she’s a little bit heartbroken at having to say goodbye to her son so fast.

You look the picture of heaven on your wedding day, and Benedict can’t stifle a few timid tears. It’s okay, though - neither can you.

Your land is huge and wide and colorful, with a farmhouse standing strong and sturdy in the middle of it, a few hours outside of London; and when you both wake up on your first morning in your new home, you finally understand the full meaning of the word peace.

The sun rustles on the English countryside and paints the flowers in a myriad of colors you’ve never seen; immediately Benedict rushes to his sketchbook and takes it all in, reproducing it as faithfully as he can. But nothing can really capture the beauty of your new life, it seems. He doesn’t mind it, though - because he has all his life before him to contemplate them every day.

You definitely have many animals, just like you basically demanded as a condition to get married - I will wed you with a dog or not at all, Benedict -, and spend countless hours horseriding around your property, in the woods and in the fields. Because you’re both free-spirited, independent individuals, you often go on rides on your own, to feel the wind on your face and spend time outside, but always come back for dinner together.

There’s never a second of boredom at the newly named Bridgerton farm (a name Benedict wears with pride, far from thinking it “tarnishes his family name” or whatever stupidity the lords from London might think).

One day, as you’re working in your orchard, he hears you humming to yourself a song in your second language, and he’s equally surprised and enchanted. You had never told him you were bilingual and he had never guessed either; with a slight flush to the cheeks, you told him that your family had always told you to “lay low” with your talents.

But Benedict is enthralled by your voice, and doesn’t want you to keep it to yourself, ever. When you’re working in the orchard and singing to yourself, he’ll listen to the words he doesn’t understand, perfectly content, and wonder how he ever got so lucky.

It’s also a question you ask yourself frequently.

At least it’s a sign you’re made for each other.

800 follower sleepover CLOSED!

[gayaristocrat]

Lupercalia // Nicholas Scratch x Male Trans! Witch Reader 1/4

‼️Authors Note‼️ :  This along with a few other stories have been saved in my drafts for a few month and I decided to go ahead and upload this so I can have something put out while I finish writing requests.

Warning: None

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

————————————————————

Lupercalia, a ceremonial holiday that coincides with Valentine’s Day. A lusty pastoral festival started by the Roman witches under the reign of Caligula. Named after the Lupercal, the cave where the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by the She-Wolf. Originally it was instituted as means to purify the city to increase health and fertility. Nowadays, it’s less about fertility and more about, well.....sex. Every year Lupercalia causes much fanfare at the Academy of Unseen Arts. The festival is separated into three parts, The Matching, The Courting, and The Hunt. Now, enough explaining. Let’s get the ceremony started.

You along with the other warlocks and witches are contained in the great hall at the academy. The men are sitting the the chars that are attached to red and white silk ribbons which are also attached to a giant black pole in the middle of the hall. How come you’re not sitting with the other warlocks you ask? Well that’s because you and Nick decided that he will be sitting while you dance with the ribbon sense this is your first year participating in the Lupercalia. Sabrina would have participated with you, but she wanted to spend ‘Valentines Day’ with her boyfriend, in a non-magical way.

While Father Blackwood gives Ambrose his signal to start, he grabs his violin and begins his speech. “Alright fellas, take your places for The Matching!” He shouts as he gets to his post patiently waiting as everyone gets into position. Getting ready you grab the white ribbon that’s places on Nick’s chair as the two of you lovingly gaze at each other’s eyes, soft smiles filled with love and happiness.

Before you could mouth an ‘I love you’ to him, Dorcas creeps behind you as her shoulder bumps into your arm. “Don’t even think about it (Y/N)-“ she says snobbishly “Two years ago Prudence was paired with Nick for Lupercalia. Last year, Agatha was. This year, it’s my turn.” She lifts her pointer finger and thumb and lightly grabs you chin and she finished her statement, she removes her fingers from you as she smirks and walks away to her spot. Ignoring her, you grab your ribbon as Nick looks at her, cringing at her attempts to get with him.

Ambrose continues his speech “Alright, ladies, and gentleman, you know how this goes-“ He pauses and turns to look at you while respectfully saying the word ‘gentleman’ , you send a toothy grin his way for always using correct pronouns to address you. “-When the music stops, take a seat on the warlock closest to you.” Once Ambrose finishes giving out instructions, Prudence ties a royal blue blindfold around his eyes to blindfold him as he lifts his violin. Placing the bow on the strings of the mahogany wooden instrument he starts playing, who would have known how beautifully he could play. He slowly sways his body with the flow of the folk music while the other witches and I begin to dance.

All of us slowly bow, we stand back up and take off. Your inner circle starts twirling clockwise, whilst the outer circle goes counter clockwise. You all gracefully twirl and spin like ballerinas. Your clothes sway behind you as you move alongside the others. The music stops and you see yourself in front of Nick, following the next step you walk over and get ready to sit in his lap. Before you could even wrap your arms around his neck, you get body slammed to the ground as Dorcas takes your spot on Nick’s lap. “Oh sorry, (Y/N).” She says as she runs her hand through Nicks hair.

You slowly get up from the dark tile floor, dust yourself aching body off, and slowly walk around to find an unclaimed warlock noticing Dorcas’ eyes following you as she basks in her victory. Walking over, you sit at in the closest warlock’s lap and tightly wrap your arms around his neck and roll your hips against his crotch whilst he put a possessive grip on your hips as he groans. You lean in as both of you kiss each other with nothing but love and passion. Once both of you part your lips you turn to look at Dorcas just to see her petrified face.

If Nick was with you, then who was she with?

“Wait, then who? What....Melvin?”

“Uh...Nick gave me 100 bucks to wear a glamour. He thought you might try something like this.” Melvin replies to Dorcas making her contort her face in disgust.

—————-Later That Night————

(Reader’s POV)

Nick and I are standing in the middle of the woods with the others from the academy, quietly listening as Ambrose gives more instructions on re-enacting The Courting. Basically each couple goes into the dark creepy woods, disrobe, and anoint themselves while lying underneath the moon. As instructions are being given, Prudence walks around and gives each of us baskets filled with jars.

“The milk and blood are for the purification. The oysters and figs are for fertility and virility. The cherries, on the other hand, are for popping” She lists off as she leans in close to me and seductively says ‘popping’.

Nick and I look at each other, he knows about me transitioning and how uncomfortable I can feel since I haven’t had my bottom surgery yet. He leans in closely and wraps his arm around my waist. “(Y/N), we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” I smile and tell him that we’ll just have to see what happens. I send him a quick smile and turn back to look at Father Blackwood. After giving us the Dark Lord’s blessing, Ambrose blows the horn sending us all into the woods.

After running around for a while, Nick and I settle down underneath a dead weeping willow tree and unload our basket.

“Nervous?” Nick asks with a smug smirk on his face.

“Maybe a little bit” I respond as I continue unloading the blood and oils.

Humming response he questions further. “About what in particular?”

Leaning back on the ground with my arms holding me up I continue our conversation. “About everything. We’ve only been boyfriends for a couple months now, and yet tomorrow, we have to take part in some crazy bacchanal.” Nick chuckles and trying to lighten up the mood. “Well, if it makes you feel any better- “ he states“- I’m terrified”.

“Yeah right, as if Nick!” I say sarcastically “Before you and Sabrina were dating we caught you in the attic having an orgy with her cousin.” Nick let’s loose an exaggerated groan, rolling his eyes, embarrassed that I remembered that day. Every time I saw him at the academy after that, I would always picture him in his boxers making out with Prudence and Ambrose. It was an extremely disturbing image that took a while to get over. “Okay that was different. It’s just-“ He says slowly, trying to form the right words. “-I’ve never been with someone I’ve truly loved. I really love you (y/n), and I really don’t wanna mess things up with you”

Nicks word hit me hard causing me to tear up. I look into his eyes to see if I can see if he’s lying, but I can only see honesty. Hot tears roll down my face as he rests his hand on my cheek, leaning in he brings his lips close to mine making them meet. Suddenly things get pretty heated, our tongues begin fighting each other in a sloppy forceful battle for dominance, Nick easily dominates and his tongue explores my mouth as he pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arm around his neck. I run my hands down and stop at his chest, I gently push him back, breaking the kiss.

Both of us with heavy breaths from lack of air pull back, looking into each other’s eyes and let out a breathy laugh. “Nick, we have to finish the ritual before we get too carried away. Grab the blood, I’ll get the knife.” I hop off his lap and we fetch the items we need to help finish off the night.

So far it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

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

Finish the fic? Leave a comment if you liked it and let me know if you want a part 2!

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 711: The Hart of the Oak:  Part I/III

"So, sister?" Winter asked, "You are... happy with this arrangement?"

"I understand it would be difficult to fathom." Weiss said to her, "But yes, indeed."

"How much is a fathom, anyways?" Ruby asked.

"Six feet." Winter quickly stated, "Though not in the context used."

"I'm still getting used to Weissy words." Ruby voiced.

"Weiss-y... words?.." Winter quietly asked, doing her best to not be judgemental.

"It's meaning seems to have shifted from overbearingness to simply, dare I say, effeetness." Weiss said to her, "It is made with the utmost affection."

"Yes!" Ruby shouted, "I think."

"There is quite a bit here I fail to comprehent, but..." Winter voiced.

"Buuuut?" Nora asked.

"But, I have never seen you so happy." Winter continued, "It is almost disturbing. Perhaps showing us that the life we led was subpar."

"This is warm and touching an all," Raven uttered, "but I think I'm going to take off."

"Just like you always do." Yang voiced. Raven looked at her, but wasn't sure what to say, so instead just stood up and walked away. "That's what I thought." Yang stated.

"And she is?.." Winter asked Weiss, "your mother in law?"

"She wishes." Yang harshly voiced.

"Their relationship is?" Weiss said, and paused, "Complicated."

"I do believe I can sympathize." Winter stated.

"Wait?" Yang asked, "I thought you guys hated your dad?"

"Father was a monster." Weiss simply stated, "Mother, however, was absent."

"She ran away?" Yang asked.

"She might as well have." Weiss stated.

"She had a fondness for wine." Winter said with a disappointed tone.

"Weiss did tell us this." Blake stated.

"Uh... when?" Yang asked, Ruby looking curiously on.

"The night Aurora served us wine." Ren stated, "Or, I believe the morning after."

"He did look pretty together the next morning." Yang said, looking at him.

"Temperance is a virtue." Ren said with a light smile.

Nora looked between everyone, seeing no one call him out on it, "Oh, man, you guys believed him?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, man," Nora continued, "he was hung over for like 2 days."

Ren developed a weak smile, the smile of someone completely unused to lying. "My meditation apparently does not make me immune to hangovers." he voiced.

"And this night was?.." Winter asked.

"Magical." Weiss said with a bright smile. "We had just been affirmed as Huntsmen and Huntresses. And you know what that means for minors."

Winter looked about for a moment, "In the case that minors are given their letters-patent, they are emancipated?" Weiss nodded.

"The first drink," Yang stated, "I didn't have to hide from dad." Winter nodded affirmatively. "But, as it turns out, dad knew about my drinking and was just always looking the other way. I mean, seriously, if I thought about it, I kind of did a shit job of hiding it from him." she said warmly.

"Your father helped you to evade the law?," Winter asked, "and you treat this as a fond memory?"

"Nothing brings a father and son together," Jaune stated, "like sticking it to The Man."

"I hate to break it to you," Blake coyly interjected, "but you are The Man, m'lord."

"M'lord?" Winter asked. "You have your... wives?.. call you sir?"

"Who told you?!" Ruby nervously exclaimed.

"He also spanks us." Yang eagerly said.

Jaune closed his eyes, breathing in deeply to temper his temper. He then opened them, looking Winter in the eyes. She turned to look into his. "The Black Hart of the Woods made me an Earl." Jaune said. "Now, since the meaning of Earl has changed drastically over the milennia, I really don't know exactly what that means."

"The... Black Hart?" Winter asked.

"We could introduce you!" Nora exclaimed.

"Though," Ren voiced, and everyone looked at him, "he would likely demand you pay Jaune tribute."

"He would, pardon, what?" Winter asked, and Jaune shrugged.

"He was the one who made me an earl." Jaune stated.

"Wait?" Nora asked, "Jaune's The Man?! I'm working for The Man?! I have a sudden urge to ride a lamb."

"That is not t'which that saying refers." Ren stated.

"It's not?" Nora asked.

"How about a lamb Faunus?" Ruby asked.

"So?," Yang interrupted, "Nora would ride a lamb Faunus?"

"Also not t'which that saying refers." Ren stated.

"So, what's it mean?" Yang asked.

"L-A-M." Blake stated, "To beat a hasty retreat."

"So, we're hiding with Lambs?" Nora asked.

"We have enough room to graze lambs." Weiss simply stated.

"First things first." Jaune stated, and looked at Winter, "Did you want to meet the Black Hart?"

"And do you have appropriate tribute?" Weiss added.

Winter brought her hands together and paused.

"Wait, you do?" Ruby asked.

"It was meant as a gift for my sister, on her... either engagement or nuptuals." Winter said, and then looked at Jaune, "Are you her husband or her beau?"

"Like a staff?" Nora asked.

"B-e-a-u." Blake added. "It means handsome."

"Or," Weiss added, "in this context my handsome man."

"He IS pretty handsome." Nora stated.

"You do have your own." Weiss said to her.

"I do?" Nora asked, and Weiss looked at Ren. "I don't know, Ren is more beautiful, don't you think?"

A pregnant paused followed.

"So?" Blake asked, "Who wants to go walk in the woods?"

"I hate to eaves drop..." Taj stated.

"No you don't." Yang said to him.

"No I don't." he said with a smile, and took a couple steps into the lounge, and in reply Winter sighed. "Is that any way to talk to your friendly neighbourhood travel agent?"

"He does know a great place to drop us off." Yang stated. "So, there's that."

"Yes..." Winter voiced, "please introduce me to this Black Hart."

"Of the woods." Ren said with a smiled, and turned to leave the lounge, Nora immediately behind him.

* * *

Winter and Weiss waited while Ren and Nora went to their room, and Jaune and her wives went up to the top floor. Taj disappeared under the stairs over to the hangar.

* * *

J + R_BY walked down the stairs. Jaune tossed Weiss' belt, which she caught. She affixed it as they approached, Jaune passing Myrtenaster in it's scabbard.

* * *

Taiyang picked up his scroll and saw a message from Yang. 'Hey, dad. We're taking Super Weiss to go see the Black Hart. Tell Raven if she bothers to ask about us.'

* * *

The airship dropped them in the glade, and the group quickly leapt down. Jaune stopped and turned back to Ilia, last on the airship. He held his hands out to her, head tilted back to avoid goring her. She weakly smiled before jumping down into his arms. He then put her down as he smacked the airship. It then lifted back up into the air.

* * *

Winter walked through the darkened woods until she felt a presence. She thought she saw the trees themselves moving, until she realized their were great antlers from a dark form. "You have brought her to my woods!" a great voiced bellowed, that made Winter feel momentarily faint. "Does this mean she is friend or foe?!"

"She's Weiss' sister!" Jaune bellowed through the woods. Immediately after Ruby let out a great howl. Weiss turned to glare at her, and Ruby looked about nervously.

"Humanoid siblings are not something we ken, but I suppose we could view the other Great Beasts as my kin, as you would view yours! Kin or no, you are in the woods of my earl! Have you brought sufficient tribute?!"

Winter stood up properly, "I have brought Dust!" Winter exclaimed.

"You value this as your lives?!" the great voiced asked. "Does my earl consider this sufficient tribute?"

"I do!" Jaune bellowed.

"Then!," the great voice stated, "you have the freedom of my woods, so long as the earl allows!"

Winter then thought she felt the earth quake, though that might just be her, as the black form moved away, the trees seeming to move with it. She shook her head and stood back at attention. "Great one?!" she bellowed, and the moving shape in the forest stood, and turned to look at her. She could not see eyes, consciously, but it was as if they were boring into her soul. "You must have great power to claim the woods as your own?!" she asked, and there was a moment's pause. She had to steel herself to not visibly shake.

"I do!" the great voice simple bellowed.

"Could you not help us to?.." and a great shout echoed from the darkened wood to silence her.

"We!" he snarled, "Have not choice!" The form then turned to step away. In the absence of his petrifying gaze, Winter found her body loose and aquiver.

* * *

They walked back towards the glade, but Winter found Jaune's gaze ever affixed on her. He watched her like a beast in the forest, his eyes able to gleam truth from the darkwood.

"Sister?" Weiss asked her, and Winter found her body quake. She quickly breathed in deep to stop the dark blue flush, and stop her body from shaking.

"Your beau has been staring at me." Winter said, using all of her strength to stop her body from shaking.

"Jaune?" Ruby accused, and Jaune stopped, at the vanguard, everyone else stopping with him. He somehow turned around despite the wood, his antlers avoiding the branches of the trees that would thwart him. He turned to look first at Ruby, then Weiss and Winter, and then everyone else.

"It is from concern." Ren stated, and then turned to continue on their path. Jaune turned to walk away, and the train of people turned to follow him.

"How could you meet that being?!" Winter shouted, "And not feel afraid?"

"You mistake my meaning." Ren said without looking back, "His concern is for you."

Winter then looked between everyone else. They didn't seem at ease, but at least far more at ease than she was.

Ren then momentarily stopped to look at her, "To answer your unasked question, our faith in our leader is what gives you strength." Ren then turned to continue down the path.

"So, Jaune's worried about Winter?!" Ruby asked, and Jaune dismissively raised and waved his hand without looking back.

"And what gives him strength?" Winter asked.

"You - don't - want - to - know!" Jaune's great voice bellowed through the woods.

* * *

Winter climbed onto the airship first, assuming it was because she was the guest. When she looked forward she found Taj looking back. "Why don't you come join me in the cockpit?" he asked, and gave her a friendly, beckoning wave. She walked forward to the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "Now, I know I have a bit of a reputation, but I do have a bit of advice for you?"

"And that would be?" Winter neutrally asked. Taj looked back to make sure everyone was seated.

"We ready to go?!" he asked, and Jauned nodded. Taj looked back and started to take the ship up. "So, there's no easy way to say this, but they're going to offer you the guest room, because you're a guest, and they tried to offer them to us."

"And you did not partake?" Winter asked.

"Ilia likes to be alone, has a bit of a trouble getting on with others."

"And yourself?" Winter asked.

"Yeah, well, you see, at night, the tower shakes."

"Periodic, predicatble earthquakes?" Winter asked, and Taj shook his head.

"It comes from the top."

"Wind shear?" Winter asked, and once again Taj shook his head. "Perhaps something to do with the gravity knots in the aerodrome?"

Taj sighed, "I suppose I'm going to have to spell it out, the new couple... coupling..."

Winter looked at him first with disbelief, then wished she still disbelieved. Her body flushed both light and dark blues and she stared forward for a few minutes. "He is strong enough to SHAKE - THE - TOWER?!"

"Exactly who is doing what is best left to the imagination." Taj voiced.

Winter's colour-shifting continued as she looked about lost, trying to come to some rational sense. "And, the others?"

"Ren and Nora do not seem to mind." Taj stated. "Aurora seems happy about it."

Winter gave him another disbelieving gaze.

[bondsmagii]

Regarding this cat that is perhaps not a cat at all. Definitely not MY cat.

ARCHIVIST

Statement of Orla McDonald, regarding a cat that is perhaps not a cat at all. Original statement given July 3, 2012. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

Statement begins.

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

It started after Bella died. Or I suppose, after I thought Bella died. Bella was – is? – my cat, or at least I think she is, or was. I got her as a kitten and she’s now seven years old, if she’s actually still alive at all, which I’m pretty sure she must be as I saw her just this morning, when I was on my way here. Bella is a beautiful cat, long-haired, that grey colour they call blue and that I never understood until I looked at Bella when the light was just right and I could see she did look kind of blue after all. She has eyes to match, too – big and sea-blue, like you could dive right in – and she’s more photogenic than I am. Temperament wise, she’s a very chill cat. She likes to relax in the sun, stretch out over the sofa, basically just laze around as the lady of the manor. Altogether a very typical cat, right? Nothing remarkable at all.

Well, all apart from one thing. Every so often, perhaps once every few months, Bella just goes wild. It’s not like, you know, her time or anything, because she was fixed as a young cat because God knows I can’t be doing with kittens. Apparently it’s normal for cats to have times of the day where they just go crazy for some reason, running around and making a mess and yowling, but she doesn’t do that. It isn’t every day, or even a once a week thing. And it doesn’t last for a brief period of time, like what all the things I’ve read have said. She’s fine for months, chilling out and sleeping on the sofa, and then one day she’ll just wake up and it’s like a wild animal has moved into my house. She doesn’t go outside as a rule, because I worry too much about her, and usually she’s fine with that. But when she enters this state she will absolutely get out of the house no matter what. As soon as I open the door to go to work or to put the rubbish out, Bella will shoot out through even the tiniest gap and off she goes. There’s nothing I can do about it at all. Once – and only once – I tried to stop her, and she clawed up my arm so badly I still have scars. It was the first and only time she’d ever scratched me, and I was stunned. It got the message across, though. I’m not happy about it, but I have no choice but to let her out. I worry about her, but it’s not like I can stop her, and also I don’t particularly want her in the house when she’s in that mood? It sounds neglectful, I know, but she really does just rip the place apart.

There’s a lot of danger when it comes to cats outside, and I live right by a main road, and yeah. I won’t go into detail, but the inevitable happened. I wasn’t too shocked? I mean, I think deep down, I always knew. That’s what happens, right? Obviously I was devastated, and finding her was… well, I didn’t find her, I should say I found out, because she had a collar and the driver… God, I feel so sorry for her too, you know? She was so good about it, she could have just driven off because that’s what most people do when someone hits a pet on that road – my neighbours just let their cats run wild and I’ve called the RSPCA so many times but anyway, that’s not the point. The driver was only a young girl, maybe eighteen or nineteen, couldn’t have been driving long. She brought Bella up to my door, wrapped tight in a blanket like she was sleeping. Thank God there wasn’t any visible injuries. We even talked for a little bit; I tried to reassure her that I didn’t blame her, that it wasn’t her fault, but I don’t think she believed me. How could she? I still think about her even now, wishing that I could somehow explain that Bella was still alive, but… I’m not even sure that’s what’s going on, but if it makes her feel better, right? I don’t know. I brought Bella into the house and I just sat with her for a while, talking to her. Calling her a little idiot, asking what got into her. Telling her I loved her. You know. That kind of thing. I held her in my arms and rocked her like she was a little baby, and after some time – I’m not sure how long, maybe half an hour? – I became aware that she was moving. She was moving around in the blanket like she was trying to get out, and in my shock I let go and the blanket fell into my lap and out she jumped. She even gave me an indignant little meow as she did so, like I’d been deliberately keeping her in there. She sat, washed a paw, and then trotted into the kitchen where I kept some food laid out for her. I just sat there in shock.

I mean, cats have nine lives, right? That’s what they always say. I’m not sure what Bella got up to on her other trips outside, but as far as I knew, she’d never lost a life before. She’s always been a healthy cat, no scares, no accidents until that one. I get that it’s just a saying, but something in me wondered if there was more to it then. I was sure she was dead. She might not have been, because admittedly I didn’t check for a pulse or breathing or anything, and the accident had just happened so she wasn’t cool or stiff. The only proof I have is the weight there was to her when I took her from the young driver’s arms. It’s called a dead weight for a reason; it wasn’t the sleepy heaviness she had when I would try and get her to budge over at night, or how she would go deliberately limp when I lifted her away from something she wasn’t allowed to eat. This was a different kind of weight, and while I’ve been fortunate enough to have never handled any kind of dead body before then, I just instinctively knew what that weight was; what it meant. It was so heavy – literally the absence of all life. She was dead, and then she wasn’t, and of course I was glad for it but I was naturally very uneasy.

After a couple of days I brought her to the vet. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop analysing her for signs she might be acting differently, or I suppose for proof that I hadn’t somehow imagined it. I explained what had happened to the vet, but I suppose I chickened out of saying that she was absolutely dead – I don’t think the vet would have believed me. Or at least she would have explained away how I must have been mistaken, and I know I wasn’t mistaken but I also know I would have probably been so eager to believe her that I would have convinced myself I was, and I don’t know. I just said she seemed dead, and then she was fine. They put Bella through a bunch of tests and scans and sure enough everything showed up just fine; their best guess was that she hadn’t been struck at all, but had maybe just had the life frightened out of her and passed out or something, like how a person can get a shock and faint. I suppose that’s not impossible? Something about the vet’s choice of words struck me, though. Frightened the life out of her. It really did seem like that was what had happened – like whatever made Bella Bella had been… taken. Or vanished. Like the fear had replaced it entirely.

That’s not to say Bella was a frightened cat after that. She acts much the same, if I’m honest. She’s still pretty chill, she’s still always lazing around not doing much of anything, but there’s something just off about her. There’s a look in her eyes that I can’t quite explain. Have you ever seen an animal and you’re kind of like oh my God, it looks like a little old man or old woman or something? There’s just something about the face that looks so human, or they pull an expression and you just know what they mean? It was kind of like that with Bella’s eyes – they looked human. Sometimes she looked at me with an understanding that was beyond… beyond what a cat should be able to conceptualise. I know, I know, we don’t actually understand as much about animal intelligence as we’d like, and we don’t know just how much about their environment they do or do not understand, but I’m telling you it was different with her. She had never acted like that before and I’d never seen her look like that before. It’s so strange. I considered maybe some kind of brain damage affecting her personality, but the vets found absolutely no injuries at all. I even took her back to ask about it, just saying that she was acting out of character, but they could find nothing wrong with her that time either. Scans came back fine. She was her usual self with the vet. I felt – I feel – like I’m going insane.

As if all this wasn’t bad enough, I’ve started noticing some… really odd things. A couple of weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night, just wide awake like something had deliberately woken me. I couldn’t remember hearing anything, but I just knew that something, some noise, had woken me. I sleep deeply, too, so it would have to be some noise – I mean, I’ve actually slept through a fire alarm once, it’s that bad. Whatever happened had to be some kind of I don’t even know, explosion or something, or it had to have happened very close to where I was sleeping. I sat up and turned on my light, and my bedroom door was fully closed. I never fully close it because Bella likes to come in and out, but it was completely closed and when I went over to look, there was a crack in the wood running from the top and bottom of the panel where the handle was attached. It looked like it had been slammed shut with extreme force, and I suppose that’s what woke me. I was confused, obviously, and I didn’t even consider the implications until I heard footsteps on the stairs. Thankfully they were running away from me, but I heard them as clear as anything – thud thud thud on the stairs, like a fully grown man in heavy boots. I was absolutely petrified. I had these horrible thoughts of some creep sneaking around in my room while I was asleep, but nothing was moved and there were no prints on the carpet and the room didn’t feel like anyone had been in there. It didn’t seem as… well, as simple as that, so I found the courage to ease the door open and peer out. The house was still and silent, and as I crept towards the top of the stairs I knew that I was definitely alone in the house – there was no other presence. I finally looked around the corner and down the stairs and the only thing I could see was Bella’s vague outline, sitting at the bottom of the stairs and looking right at me, her eyes glinting in the dim light.

I don’t know why she frightened me so much then. I think it was because of the glow of the streetlight outside, coming in through the frosted glass of the front door. I suppose the effect of the glass could have caused it, but for a moment her shadow… didn’t match. It was elongated, jagged, like her joints were all harsh angles. Like a bare tree in winter, all knots and wild angles, sharp and rough. Whatever fur she had didn’t show up in the shadow – she looked short-haired or even hairless, and her jaw was longer and more canine. I took a half-step back and from that angle her shadow looked normal again, and she meowed at me and trotted quite normally into the living room and out of sight, but I didn’t miss the way she looked at me. I got the distinct impression that she knew I had seen.

It sounds ridiculous, I know. Even writing this, I feel stupid. I do think maybe I should go and speak to someone, because now I’m laying it out I do wonder if I might have just suffered a horrible shock thinking Bella was dead, and then I’ve just created this strange story around the whole thing. Maybe she was fine. Maybe she did just faint. Maybe it’s all in my head. I have no idea, but something about it just doesn’t seem that simple at all. I keep going back to that old saying, that cats have nine lives. Perhaps I’m thinking too deeply into it, but I have to wonder if those lives are all the same one. I mean, does it just refer to close calls? That they get lucky and get more tries? Or do they get nine separate lives? If they do, where do they get the extras from? Is it still theirs, or does it come from… somewhere else?

I don’t know if Bella is still a cat, but even if she is, I don’t think she’s still… my cat. Or maybe she is? I don’t know. I’m still glad she’s here, but… well. I sleep with my door closed now. With the chair against it. And that’s not really normal, is it?

ARCHIVIST

Statement ends.

This is certainly one of those statements that makes me wonder why I’m here. An unnerving story, yes, but I do wonder if this isn’t an exercise in creative writing or perhaps as Ms McDonald said: some kind of post-traumatic episode following the shock of believing her pet to have met an unpleasant end. If it is, I imagine that the shock will eventually wear off and Ms McDonald will stop believing that her pet cat has been possessed by some kind of entity, or whatever she believes is going on. There isn’t much to investigate in regards to this, either – the nature of the incident makes it very difficult to ascertain facts, and checking with the veterinary clinics in the area of the address Ms McDonald provided was a waste of time. They either don’t remember any such cases, or they are not inclined to discuss patient information.

As for Ms McDonald herself, she has since moved away from the property and left no forwarding address. The house is, as reported, situated on a main road and the residents there suffer all the frequent calamities from having one’s front garden directly attach to a road with a 60 mile an hour speed limit – collisions with pets and cars emerging from driveways, and occasional car-house collisions. A few neighbours remembered Ms McDonald and reported that she was a pleasant and completely unremarkable young woman, causing no trouble and certainly never acting like she might be suffering from any kind of mental distress. A few neighbours also recalled Bella, having seen her stalking through their back gardens or, more frequently, sitting in Ms McDonald’s living room window. Nobody reported anything strange about the cat at all; certainly not elongated shadows. It was impossible to track down the driver of the vehicle said to have struck Bella with the information provided with this statement, and with that any potential leads were exhausted – though I confess to not being entirely sure where they might have led to even if we had found them.

Not exactly debunked, but certainly not worth filing away as open. I’m considering creating a new designation for statements containing material perhaps better discussed with a therapist.

End recording.