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dovahkook · 2 years

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Divine Blessings (II)

Morax (Zhongli) x Reader

PART I > here

tags for this: not really anything but there’s some talk of grief and loss and reader is going through it. xiao is a cutie and my comfort boy how did you know? morax just exists and his dick big. I just know it.

tags in general: concepts of war, morax being a menace, idk what else just be warned the piece is kind of dark and it involves death, maybe some gore, religious themes, kinda blasphemous and the reader is a heathen

A/N: look at me actually doing updates but yeah this is long overdue my bad broskis but yeah this isn’t even proof-read bc guess what! we die like yakshas here. too soon? okay anyway so like I said the smut is in chapter 4 my bad to the degenerate people. I’ll try and get you some dragon zhongli soon ;( im sorry (no im not) I like plot with porn. yes, i did publish this on ao3 too.

There was a sense of serenity. Nothing but the gentle bellows of wind could be heard as you sat upright within an unknown field surround by sand-bearer trees and a crystal clear lagoon cutting the horizon as far as you could see. At your feet were blooming blue flowers that responded to the gentle hum within the wind - a melody that brought your soul a sense of peace - and the sky was painted as an ethereal sunrise. Pink and orange hues accompanied by golden streaks of light. If all was not surreal enough, in the far distance were the figures of mighty beasts: cranes and deers that were far too large to be considered the normal local fauna. The creatures were almost bowing their heads as the - almost haunting - melody in the wind chimed louder and a large shadow from the orange clouds emerged, revealing the silhouette of a mighty dragon. You were mesmerised by the glorious presence of the beast descending upon the earth and drawing closer towards you. Its mighty figure big enough to crush over an entire street of houses.

Yet, there was no alarm in your soul.

No fear.

As you stood before the brown scaled beast, your gaze fixed upon the shimmering gold dusted within the amber that swam in its eyes while it peered back at you, you reached your hand out to place your hand against its snout. The hand of a mortal utterly tiny in comparison but the dragon did not resist. When the dragon closed its eyes, a voice, gentle as a the flow of a river, rang through your ears.

'Welcome home.’

Waking in a place completely unknown to you was not a first but was something you were hoping not to get used to. Your eyelids were still heavy from the drowsy state of unconsciousness you rose from and your sense of smell was immediately attacked by the smoke of incense and herbs. Qingxin and mint to be exact.

When you tried lifting yourself to sit upright it was not without great difficulty. There was a dull pain throbbing in your right shoulder and many bruises decorating your body. Your head was spinning trying to recollect your memories.

Examining your nearby surroundings, there was a small window near the bed you were on and underneath the windowsill was a side-table consisting of a vase of wilting qingxin flowers and a teacup filled with water. From the window blew a gentle breeze that would caress your skin and leave goosebumps to blossom in turn, having you cling to the sheet draped over you in order to seek more warmth.

The room was barely decorated apart from a bookshelf near the doorway, an empty writing desk, and some scroll paintings depicting mystical beasts. However, what really caught your attention was the bed on the adjacent side of the room that was occupied by another person. The tufts of midnight and teal hair that were visible giving away his identity without a doubt in mind. “Alatus!”

Your body moved before your brain could register the pain, needing to see him - needing to know if he was alive. Wobbly legs sauntering towards his bedside where he laid, the wounds that were visible had been dressed and his face had been wiped from any grime and blood that would have stained his porcelain skin during the battle. You let out a relieved sigh, reaching your hand towards his forehead that was radiating heat. His breath lightly kissing at the palm of your hand as you had done so.

“Ah, you are awake!” The voice belonging to a woman spoke from the doorway, breaking the tranquility that enveloped both you and Alatus. The sudden need to be on guard was back as you tried hunching over Alatus’s form to obscure their line of sight on the adeptus. “No need to be alarmed, dear, I’m not here to cause harm on either of you. Just here to change the flowers.”

The woman carefully stepped into the room, ensuring to maintain a distance between the two of you. You said nothing as your eyes analysed her features.

She was a mature woman, likely in her late thirties. Her braided hair being that of a faded blue hue with hints of grey streaks peaking through and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes as she smiled brought out the warmth in her sincerity. She wore the traditional garments worn by most pious woman you had met from Liyue who would visit the shrine and she was carrying a bundle of freshly picked blue flowers.

“May I know what this place is? Is he here to recover before you use him as your pawn in battle, too?” You spoke, trying to hold back the venom within your tone. You did not need to anger somebody in their own territory.

“Pawn in battle? All Rex had done was bring the young adeptus home. Rex Lapis brought you and Xiao to this abode two weeks ago to ensure a speedy recovery. Where you are currently is within a realm of Adeptal creation, curated according to my liking since it is my home.”

Two weeks… And Rex Lapis being the name given to Morax by his devotees.

“Why do you call Alatus by that name?”

“It was given to him by Rex Lapis.”

You wanted to scoff. “And I am not an adeptus, so why was I brought here?”

“That is something I cannot answer. I was simply instructed to care for both of you in this abode where no harm could come to either of you.”

Your brow furrowed at this. She spoke again.

“You may call me Ping, by the way. There is no formalities needed nor is this place a prison to either of you. Xiao had regained consciousness much faster than you and has already made peace with the wishes of Rex Lapis; that he recovers well and without difficulty. He’s simply resting now.” She assured, glancing towards his sleeping figure. “You rarely ask about your own well-being so let me assure you that the god you had once served will not return to harm either of you.”

And at that, your heart felt at ease knowing that for once he would be able to rest peacefully. That even if he were to suffer from the lingering effects of nightmares, he would still be safe. That both of you would be from the terrors of the god of dreams. Your eyes closed momentarily as you placed your forehead against the edge of his bed. It was nice to feel peace. To breathe and not feel suffocated in an environment that was never meant for you.

“Would you not like to join him in getting some rest?” The woman asked as she replaced the white flowers within the vase with newer, vibrant blue ones you had not seen before.

You shook your head. “No, thank you. I would like to just stay up and make sure he’s okay. “

“He’ll be perfectly well and safe here. Nobody without my authority may enter this realm.”

“So not even Morax may enter?”

She gave a warily smile. “He may, but not because he aided in the creations of such realms.” She didn’t speak further on the subject, rather focusing her attention to the closed flowers within her hands. You did not wish to pry further.

Instead, you turned your attention back to Alatus- No- Xiao’s sleeping form. A crease of a frown made its way to your forehead as you noticed him starting to shiver while beads of sweat began to form at his temples. His lips twisting in a way that informed you that his dreams were no longer pleasant.

You gently placed your hand over his gloved one and held onto him. Your eyes closing once more as you decided to hum the tune you heard in your dream. The haunting melody that chimed within your mind like an alarm bell.

Soon enough, his trembling stopped again and he once again laid peacefully. Your head resting on his forearm as you tried to fight off the sleep enveloping you.

When you drifted off, you failed to notice that the closed flower buds Ping replaced in the vase glowed a bright azure as it opened up to the tune of the unspoken oath.

* * *

Days had gone by and it had been almost routinely. Ping would wake both you and Xiao periodically to drink medicinal teas and would invite you to have meals with her, which you tried to refuse but gave into her hospitality. You had not met any other new faces other than that of a butler-type bird who would come to change the sheets and towels in the room so it became easier to let your guard down, focusing on Xiao as you both learnt about Liyue through your hostess. Cooking, clothing, and simple etiquette. It was surely an adjustment but she insisted that you two will fit right in.

Ping would also allow you two to take walks outside and talk beneath the birchwood trees in her garden where you would come to learn that Xiao had always been a man of few words but was gentle to all life forms around him. His favourite being the pet birds nesting in the trees above the spot where you and him would have afternoon tea.

When it dawned upon you how much time had passed and what occurred that day in battle - being the loss of your homeland and family, it was difficult. You tried not to cry for them but it was futile. Regardless of differences, there was a sense of care towards the people of the God of Dreams, and both Ping and Xiao did their best to help you through the grief and anger. It was all a process but eventually you would come to feel no ill feelings towards the war as it was a part of life when Gods ruled over land with no regard towards their devotees. This disappointment would only feed at your fear of loss whenever Ping brought up Rex Lapis and what he had done for the people of Liyue. You could not bring yourself to believe Gods actually cared for the common folk but dared not to speak ill of Morax.

One day, as you and Xiao were learning to decoct silk flowers in the garden, a custom Ping was adamant on teaching you, the foreign feeling of fear was felt yet again when you heard Ping welcome another into the abode.

“Rex! Surprised to see you so soon, dear friend.”

You and Xiao immediately raised from your knelt positions on the ground to stand upright and face the Lord of Geo. The lump of anxiety in your throat being difficult to swallow, but Xiao gazed towards you briefly to give you a firm nod. To trust him. Xiao had apparently spoken to Morax before and claimed he was not as arrogant as that of the God of Dreams. You were reluctant to believe him.

“May I see our guests?” You heard him ask. His voice alone held so much authority but what else was expected from a God known for slaughtering other Gods.

Their footsteps approached the pair and both you and Xiao bowed deeply as taught by Ping. Your heart pounding so loudly it was difficult to hear, almost. You dared not to look at him, only seeing the distance between where you both stood. His robes that reached the ground was imbedded with pure gold but what else would you expect from a God who created wealth.

“I trust you both are adjusting well to the customs of Liyue, and have made a speedy recovery.”

When you two stood upright again, only Xiao spoke. “Yes, thank you for the hospitality.”

“No need to thank me, that credit goes to Madam Ping alone.”

You said nothing. Thoughts flowing with the wind and desperately trying to regain your steady breathing. It did not help when you could feel his piercing gaze study your panic-stricken expression. You dare not meet it.

“I’m here to ask if you had met the other Yakshas yet, and if you had thought about our discussion.”

From what you recall, Xiao had told you about Morax’s mercy and how the adeptus wanted to offer his strength in order to aid the God in whatever task was needed to be carried out. You tried to talk him out of the idea of owing the god a debt that could cost him his life again but he was firm, claiming it was minuscule in comparison to what Rex Lapis had done for him. As much as you two were weary of Gods, Xiao did not doubt Morax.

“I have met only one of them, Boacius, sir.”

“Ah, Marshal Vritras. And did he aid in the decision?”

“He has and I have made my decision.”

Morax placed his hands behind his back, waiting for the adeptus to speak.

“I will serve you, Rex Lapis. I am indebted to you for all you have done for me and will do all that I can to serve you and the nation of Liyue.”

Your eyes widened at this sudden proclamation. You wanted to refuse it. Tell him not to give himself over but it was too late.

“Then, general Alatus, you will formally be a part of the Yakshas, to protect Liyue from all evil. This is your duty and contract to the nation of Liyue.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And so another contract is set in stone. Thank you for your time, I will inform Madam Ping when the others plan to meet you.”

You wanted to scream. You felt powerless against everything that was happening and tried to hold back your tears. Frustrated yet again.

“As for you,” Morax turned his full attention towards you, stepping closer to address you. You finally stared up at him, fighting back the fear as he towered over you. “I hope you find Liyue to be the home you desired.”

You were left speechless. All sense of anger and malicious intent dissipating into thin air as he simply turned and made his way back towards the household. You felt Xiao lightly tap on your hand while your gaze never left the figure of the god.

You tried to make sense of the encounter but all you could remember was the words of the first dream you ever had.

‘Welcome Home’

But could you really find a home within a land owned by the god that took your former life?

Why would he spare you?

“Morax.” You called, balling your hands into tight fists as you stalked towards him. Him simply staying in place as he waited for you to stand before him.

“Why did you save me? Why give me your blessing to live in your land when I once served your foes?” You asked, finally deciding to face the God yourself. Had he decided to kill you where you stood, you would have no regrets. “I am no adeptus. I cannot offer you my service nor would I ever devote myself to a God so what do you plan to gain from having me here?”

You expected the God to punish you for demanding answers. For him to possibly order Xiao to kill you to test the adeptus’s loyalty to him. But, instead, god simply smiled. His canines giving away his draconic features had the horns curling out the top of his head of silken, auburn locks, not given it away sooner.

You were struck by his beauty - of course you would be. He was a god. Divine beauty will compel anybody to worship them.

“Do you truly wish to know why you’re here?”

You hesitated. Did Gods play mind games? Would this lead to a trap?

“Yes, Morax.”

There was a soft huff of a laugh that escaped him momentarily. His eyes, hypnotic and swimming with liquid gold, finally held your gaze as he spoke in a gentle tone.

“You are here simply upon the young yaksha’s request that you be saved. I have no intention of gaining anything from you, be it your devotion or even respect. All that you could desire is made available to you with no expectations from me. That is why you are here. To live your life free from the shackles of what you once called your false god.”

You stood motionless.

“Did that satiate your curiosity?”

You nodded, bowing your head and allowing the deity to take his leave.

Xiao carefully approached you, checking in with your well-being considering your lack of words. More so ability to form them. “You okay?”

You looked back towards Xiao and eventually nodded, walking back towards the garden to decoct more perfume. The words of the God never leaving your mind.

‘To live your life’

You let out a shaky breath, submerging the petals of the flowers into the boiling water.

“Thank you, Morax…” You whispered into the wind.

But whispers do not fall deaf upon the ears of a God.

#genshin fanfic #genshin impact x reader #zhongli x reader #morax x reader #xiao genshin impact #genshin impact #morax x you #zhongli #reader x genshin impact zhongli #madam ping #general alatus #rex lapis x reader #genshin impact smut

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brokeaesthetic · 7 months

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I bet yall( There's literally no yalI l have like 0 followers.)won't believe this, but I've got a new mf im obsessed with..... guess who???? it's tangerine from bullet train, bitch im literally sick🤪!!!. It's every couple of months with me I swear!!!! I'm such a lil weird ass freak in a good way of course. Like you all know that clip of Britney Broski, where she's fighting herself for being weird (here it is) https://youtu.be/o-uBYfodkDc?si=J-MZtcPSNXRDAJJO literally me. I'm such a weird ass freak in a bad way😮‍💨😕. "And then you get this picture, AND THEN I TAKE IT TO MY PENT HOUSE AND FREAK IT". Sorry, but does anyone else feel crazy guilt when they're reading these fan fictions abt characters, And then you're simping, and then you realize that this is actually a real person with a family. It literally makes me sick and wants to stop everything I'm doing. But alas, I'm a weird ass freak😈😛😉. I need to seek fuckin help. But anyway, aaron taylor johnson is so bbg( I absolutely despise that term, but I feel like it's fitting). And I wish him nothing but success on his acting journey and career path. By the way, yall please, please, please, please please check this video out on YouTube. I watched it literally yesterday, and I can't stop rewatching it. This is to all the Aaron Taylor Johnson girlys watch this video NOW. https://youtu.be/sQNJC1i4eDU?si=YxtLRlkBJe1-7JRa Also, I'm so sorry to all the writers whose notifs I've blown up, But yes, I have stalked your page. And yes, I have read every single one of your fan fictions about tangerine. Typing that out actually made me sick, and I needed to really start to re-evaluate myself. But this is really nothing new. I've gone through this like a million(3) times. Anyway, I'm here yet again to complain about the amount of fan fictions about this character.( I say this as if I haven't scoured the deep dark depth of tumblr to read every single fantic I can about him.) I'm such a flipping weirdo fr hashtag I need to do better and punch in the side of my head. By the way, I also wanted to add that like every time I make one of these post and I go to whatever tag to read more fanfics about whatever characters. I just cringe whenever I see my post, like I cringe extremely hard. But you know, I have Tumblr for a reason, and I want to vent so what better place right. And I just want to give a thank you to all the writers who have been fulfilling the deep dark hole that is my new obsession. Wishing you all nothing but luck and happiness. Thank you for reading my rant, autism diagnosis coming in soon🤗💋. Later when I come back to this post I will be so utterly humiliated I will delete it, so please enjoy reading, What might be one of the most humiliating things? I will ever put on the internet.🤳🏽👋🏽.

#tangerine x reader #tangerine #when am i gonna get my life together #bullet train #bullet train headcanons #nerodivergent #ranting for no reason #my family prolly wouldn't fw me anymore if they knew this was how i got down #hoping no ones cringing rn #my man my man my man

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a-very-tired-raven · 1 year

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Okay, since ive been getting a lot of love for my ary lately, id like to give you guys some top ary blogs ive followed for years, that i feel they dont get enough love.

Keep in mind that these are not in order from best to least, just in numbered order to make things easy.

(Another thing! While i may have found the majority of these blogs from undertale content, i need you to understand that a lot of these either dont do undertale art as frequently as they used to, or not at all. So please dont go in expecting that these are all undertale blogs based on MY intrests. Thank you.)

1. @springbon-t-art /@thecoolerspringbon-t has WONDERFUL roundhouse like style, and her fanart and characters range from all over(cuphead and bendy and the ink machine are just two examples, she has so much more unrecognized works and animatics on youtube that i think deserves much more love)

2. @twitchydoodle i havent visted this wonderful blog in a while, but i have followed for a good time(lets just say for a few years lol) so i cant say for sure what art is posted there at this moment, HOWEVER, i CAN say that twitchy has a Breathtaking art style, and has some of the most interesting and fleshed out ocs!!! Definitely check em out!

3. @calcium-cat i know cals been gettin a little bit more attention over the last year or so, but i still think she deserves much more recognition for her art. She has wonderful and thought out fanfics, not to mention the funny and well drawn fanart she posts for them!

4. @glitchysquidd I dont pop in as often as i used to, but glitchy's blog is one ive looked up to for a while. Here you can find very well written fnaf fics and fanart, chill energ(not to mention hilarious shenanigans),and a very unique and distinct artstyle.(seriously broski ive used your art for reference so many time 😭🤚🏽-). I suggest you guys head down to the basement and enjoy the tour.

5. @meatygutsy oh gee where do i even start- this blog has some of the most unique and well thought out ocs i think ive seen in a very long time. The artstyle here and style of coloring and shading is like nothing else. All of the colors pop and go together just right, not to mention the well fleshed out backstorys of each character.

6.@glaucus22 while this blog certainly isnt as active as it used to be, this is yet another artist that ive used as reference for countless times. They have a very distinct artstyle, and put much thought into their characters and their lore. I highly recommend going through the art tags here and taking a peek, along with a reblog or two!!!

7. @ijustwannahavefunn another blog with VERY well thought out and styled ocs, and a to die for artstyle. I also recommend checkjng out their youtube channel, which has VERY smooth animations and animatics. Definitely a hidden gem.

8. @vrnicky is a very good friend of mine that is WAY WAY WAY too unrecognized. They dont get NEARLY enough love for the anount of love and hard work they out into their characters and art. Please show em some love for me!!!

9. @loupy-mongoose is a favorite pokemon ary blog of mine. While you might find mostly mewtwo and mew stuff, please know that this is because of this creators mewtwo comic. You may know what im takling about if you know about similar more popular blogs (@/xxtc-96xx @/mewtwoandme and more ) but what separates this blog from many others is their very very different story, and an artstyle that'll put you at ease. Not to mention unique and well thought out mew and mewtwo designs.

And lastly, for now at least ,10. @whiteartblood an art blog that i havent visted in a couple months. This creator has some of the best undertale art i swear. One of my favorite styles!! A very lovely and instantly recognizable artstyle(that again, i have used for reference...i dont even know how many times), and even better ocs.

Now i know there are so many more blogs that are deserving of recognition, but its late and i cant look up 50 usernames at the moment.

However, while you are not obligated to, I sincerely hope you go show these guys some love(and reblogs!!!!!!!) For me. These guys have been a very big influence on my art, artists ive looked up to for YEARS now, and luckly for me some of them even being friends of mine, which im so very thankful for.

Ill definitely be making another post like this, with more writing inclusion and even more deeply hidden gems that require some digging.

I apologize for any typos that are unfortunately guaranteed as thats kind've what im known for lmao <- has made a fool of herself countless times) and i cant help but feel nervous that these talented people will see them, but know ive done the best ive can.

Thank you, and have a great time everyone!

#jeep.jeep #covencalls

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arionawrites · 1 year

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I meant to send this earlier, but-

bro. dude. my good person. how dare you. leave that wonderful commentary on a primer for the small weird loves in my reblogs this morning. do you know what that did to me. do you know how much I was screaming and crying and jaw-dropping that a. you saw that and b. you took the time to give a little background to literally one of the best works to ever grace my screen. I literally needed time to reboot. it was embarassing.

and then casually mentioning oh yeah you wrote under the name thompsborn too?????? like. excuse you????? you have also written some of my other favorite parkner works?????? and I didn’t know?????? what???????????????????

mind blown. jaw dropped. tears shed.

anyways. thank you for making my week. wishing you nothing but the best.

-emme

pfjfjf i feel the need to say sorry and i don’t know but i also cannot think of anything else to say i???

broski idk man i was literally just tired and wanted to write but didnt have the energy and didnt feel like reading full fics so i was just looking through the tag because i MISS my BOYS and like. i explained it in the tags i don’t gotta do it again but it was all just happenstance and like ??

it’s weird because to be fair i never outright said that i’m both accounts but i also stopped hiding it a fair while ago (i almost got rid of babyloveparkner entirely to keep it all on the same account but decided i like having the more nsfw stuff separate from the rest of my fics so it lives on!!) so sometimes i forget that just because i don’t outright hide it anymore doesn’t mean anyone automatically knows either so like pfkfk

i’m rambling sorry i just got home from work and am very tired but just !!!! this made me very happy to see as i got in my car after work i also wish you nothing but the best and i hope ur having an incredible day/night!!

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cardboardclownery · 2 years

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[ SWAGGER COLLAGE TUTORIAL OR SMTH ]

Woaaaaaaah we got a special one today folks-

My dear buddy chum pal broski bestie asked me to teach it how i do my collage-y lookin art, and i figured i might as well make it available to anyone else who wants to know B]

Quick disclaimer: im not the best at explaining stuff, and also am not a professional or anything!! Listen to me or dont, these are all merely what i do when i make this kind of stuff-

Oh, and ill post the full spread im making here separately for anyone whos interested in that rather than this guide thingy :P

Since i usually like making more cohesive spreads with a certain theme or subject, i like doodling potential drawings i could use in the spread before starting!! This is very much optional, but helps a bit in case youre worried about having no ideas when you go straight into drawing. You can even plan out where youre gonna put different drawings on the page if ya want!! :]

After that, i rummage through my Trash Box for trash that matches my vision for the spread,, if ya catch my drift B]

For this one, since im making matching spreads for disposable girl and irreverent girl (weevildoing swag yknow yknow), i picked out some hot topic tags and stuff, a few tags from clothes that looked fitting, and a pretty bit of a pokemon tcg deck box i saved!! I mostly just went off of vibes and colors this time, but you can go off of whatever feels right when youre picking collage stuff -v-

Oh, and if you plan on trying out a lot of collage stuff, COLLECT SO MUCH TRASH. Find a bag, a box, anything to hold some fun looking wrappers and junk you could use. Be sure to clean anything used to hold food though, ants dont make good collage bits,, usually,,,

Now, the natural next step: gluing that junk on!! Generally its good to have some sort of pattern for how you glue your base collage bits down, like sticking to certain parts of the paper, or making a shape, using a color sequence,, though just slapping stuff on until it works for you also goes pretty well in the end if youre into spontaneity! Just trust the process and go with the flow and all that-

Oh yeah, and collage includes more than junk yknow!! You can use different kinds of paper, stationary like sticky notes and stuff, anything to add some variety in texture BP

Now for the fun bit!! Well, i find all the steps pretty fun, but the drawing part is probably the most fun for you lovely readers ;]

Not much to say here, just do whatever youd do with a typical drawing/page! I recommend trying to fill most/all of the spaces you left blank (if any) when gluing stuff down. Working around all the collage may serve as a challenge, but its not tooooo annoying once youve gotten a feel for it. You can also add some more collage here if you want -v-

Finally, the second best part (in my humble opinion): the stickers!! I usually do this last, but the order probably doesnt matter? Just kinda,, put stickers on wherever!! Try layering them, or covering doodles with them, or making new pictures with them, go CRAZY WITH STICKERS!! You can also use some paint pens or gel pens to add a little pizazz,,

Once youve bedazzled to your heart’s content, you can add any other details and finishing touches you deem necessary, and v o i l a, youve got a collage!!

Dont worry too much about things looking “right”! Ive found that art is a ton more fun when im not stressing out over how clean my work looks, its all about having fun and expressing yourself!! If something looks a bit wonky, or you think you glued something in a weird spot but cant change it, keep rollin with it! With collage in this style, mistakes are kinda part of the experience, so dont worry yourself too much if things dont go as planned

Hope this was atleast somewhat handy!! Lemme know if you want another tutorial like this or something idk-

#bobosart #bright colours cw #sketchbook #art tutorial #art advice

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ask-aph-angel-canada · 4 years

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okay so i'm really fuckin pissed now cause tumblr mobile sucks and deleted what i had saved to my clipboard so i have to retype all of this now (hello from future me: i'm coming back up here to say that i also added more to what i said originally so i'm sorry this is so long i couldn't help but infodump). but i find the mona lisa really interesting. she originally looked a lot different from how she looks now, but because of things like the amount of exposure the painting's had to harmful elements like people's breath and also the kind of glaze used on the painting which darkened it over time, it's resulted in what we have today. da vinci had an assistant who is believed to have painted the mona lisa too and instead of being displayed, the assistant's painting was stored away so it's in a much greater condition.

this right here is the painting believed to have been done by one of his assistants. she's at a slightly different angle (although it's pretty hard to tell) and this is believed to be really similar to how da vinci's mona lisa would have looked. there are so many small details like her eyebrows and the lace on her dress and the curls in her hair that you can't see in da vinci's mona lisa anymore. it's widely believed that the model is lisa del giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant, and that it was commissioned to celebrate their new home and the birth of their second son.

da vinci also experimented with his paint a lot. another one of his paintings, the last supper, is also in pretty bad condition and is constantly being touched up, so much so that some art critics say that the last supper can't be considered one of da vinci's pieces anymore because none of his paint is still there, it all flaked off and was just repainted by other artists. part of that is due to da vinci's poor paint mixing, but it's also due to other things like a door being put in place under the painting, that room supposedly being used as a barn at one point, many people going in and out of that room, and also a bomb that went off near the building it's in at one point and destroying part of that building

(a photo of the last supper, for reference) fun fact, it was painted that way with everyone on one side because it was originally in a church or something cause it was painted for religious monks, and it's supposed to make you feel like you're sitting there at the table with jesus and his disciples. other depictions of the last supper from other artists don't have everyone on one side.

and one more thing that's completely unrelated to da vinci: the whole breathing-on-the-painting thing being a problem and ruining the painting is something that happens a lot. like with the lascaux cave paintings in france that are dated to over 17,000 years ago. the caverns have been completely closed off to tourists to try and preserve what's left because the lights and breath and touch from people was ruining the paint and making it come off.

(an image from the caverns) there's over 6,000 figures painted in those caverns, depicting animals, humans, and symbols. most of the images were painted using red, black, and yellow pigments that were painted onto the walls both with brushes and through a blowtube of some kind. there are paintings way up on the ceiling, too high for anyone to reach, so what the people did was put paint into a tube and literally just blow through it to launch the paint up

Where were you when I needed to do my social studies report

#aph #hetalia #hws canada #ask aph angel canada #woah this is a lot #very good though #I really enjoyed reading it #should I tag it Mona Lisa?#Mona Lisa #I do it anyway bap bap #honestly good job for taking the time to type this like three times #mot sure what else to say #ty very much for the info broski :]

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quitesins · 2 years

Text

Calling them bro after you start dating

Masterlist

Katsuki | Shouto | Izuku | Eijirou

Tags: SFW, but suggestive, Fem!Reader, Crack? Fluff, Comedy, kinda ooc, Characters are all aged up, Deku’s is a lot more suggestive. The tense on this is all over the place, I’ll fix once I have the brain power to do so

Bakugou Katsuki

Even before you were dating it sort of ticked him off- being called bro by you- so after you start dating, does it drive him MAD!

“Stop that shit.”

You’re too used to his huffy behaviour so you pay it no mind, just rolling your eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me.” He glares, albeit not harshly.

His stare lingers and you find yourself finally caving and asking what’s wrong. “Bro what?”

“That.” He points at you, looking dramatically offended. “Calling me bro? I’m your Boyfriend.”

The realisation that it’s being called ‘bro’ that had Bakugou acting all pouty, has you choking back a laugh.

“Katsuki, bro, is that it?” You sputter through the giggles.

“Oh fuck off [Name].” It isn’t angry sounding and he takes a seat by you, almost cuddling. “What if I started calling you extra, Hah?”

“You used to!” You poke him and he shoots you yet another glare. “‘Fucking extra, go out with me’ if I recall correct.”

Then he’s groaning and turning his head, sporting an evident blush. “I thought we agreed to not talk about that again.”

“What, I said yes didn’t I?” You go to cup his cheeks so he faces you. You then push yourself to his lap, seating yourself comfortably “And here I am, in your arms, 5 years later.” His frown had started to soften, but like the menace you are, you couldn’t help but tease a little more. “Bro.”

This time he rolls his eyes, smitten enough to let you tease. “You’re the fuckin’ worst, ya’ know that?” His words mean nothing with how gentle they leave him.

“I know.” You grin, pecking him on the lips. “But you love me anyways.”

He returns your kisses almost instinctively, then sighs out a soft. “Yeah… I do.”

“But actually stop calling me bro, next time I’ll kick your ass.”

“Kats’!! You’re so mean!!”

Todoroki Shouto

Thinks he’s in the bro zone.

Although he’s not unaware of the feelings of those around him by any means, he can be a little ignorant to nuances of speech, taking things too literally at times. So when you refer to him as bro, oh he assumes the worst.

To be fair it isn’t just on him, you’re just as bad calling your crush bro. What did you expect.

It takes multiple hurdles, an abundance of google searches along the lines of “Does my crush like me back?” or “How to tell if a woman is interested you.” Unbelievably useless advice from resident-playboy Denki, and a more than awkward conversation with his father, for Shouto to actually find himself in a relationship with you.

So when you call him bro even after you start dating, oh god is he even more confused.

“[Name], Do you see me as a brother figure?”

The question is out of the blue and you can only stutter out a “What?”

“You keep calling me bro, even ‘broski’ once.” He prompts.

You hadn’t even noticed that, and it’s a little embarrassing to finally realise; you very much have been calling your crush-now-boyfriend ‘bro’ for years.

“Oh god, it’s just habit.” You insist. “I don’t see you as a brother, no.”

He doesn’t respond immediately, seemingly in thought.

When he does reply though, his words are a little stuttered. “You call- Katsuki and Izuku ‘bro’ too…”

You’re not sure why that matters until it clicks, he wants to be called something special.

“Would you like it if I called you something else, how about love? I think pretty suits you too.”

It’s not often you see Shouto flustered- confused maybe- but hardly bordering shy. Instead he’s one to be blunt and direct, sometimes even shameless. But now he sways, warm in the face, nodding his head and whispering out gently. “Yes. I’d like that.”

Midoriya Izuku

It’s not even you that gets to him, it’s Bakugou.

Laughing about “She calls you bro?? You fuckin’ nerd, bro-zoned by your own girl!”

Izuku knows it’s just habit and you see him as your man, more than knows mind you.

But he’s never been immune to Bakugou’s torments so it does keep him on high alert, taking note of the multiple times you call him bro.

When you’re leaving the house, it’s a “See you bro.” When you return, it’s a damn kiss alongside “I’m back bro.” Even when you go to say those three special words, it’s somehow tainted by being followed by “bro.”

Izuku doesn’t get mad often, but it’s really starting to agitate him hearing you call for him so casually.

“Okay, no more.” He one day stands up without any warning. Practically stomps over and tackles you to the ground.

It’s a tumble of laughter but one look at Izuku and you know you’re fucked.

His eyes are dark, his expression stern. It’s a look you hardly see on him, being so doting all the time. But it’s one you certainly don’t mind.

“You’ve gone far enough.” His voice is deep, almost rough, you can feel it on your skin. “I think we should just remind you what I’m really called…”

Kirishima Eijirou

Doesn’t notice the difference. And it’s probably because he calls you bro.

Everyone is a bro to him, all his crushes growing up were bros [and he wonders why none of them worked out] even his own Mother is a bro.

However draws the line during sexy times.

He’s kissing your neck, clearly initiating a little time away from work, while you type away at your desk.

“Ah come on bro, not now.”

He quite animatedly deflates, literally sinking with a frown.

“You ruin my fun.” He speaks, pout on his face.

“Sorry Bro, just a lil’ more paragraphs and I’m all yours.” You turn and give him a quick peck.

“No- It’s not that- you just.” He really is a sweetheart who would never be upset by being turned down. “Stop calling me bro.”

“Oh.” You almost laugh. “But you do it all the time.”

“Not while kissing you!!” Kirishima insists.

“Broooo.” You let out a dramatic sigh, paired with a smirk that Kirishima catches on to. He frowns.

“That’s it. I’m banning the word.” Kirishima stands up, determined. “Neither of us can use it anymore.”

You raise an eyebrow in his direction, amused by his new found commitment. He takes no mind to your lack of belief and remains dead set on his new pledge.

Doesn’t last a day.

Gets a call from Bakugou and picks up with “What’s up bro.”

As if he already expects you to be there laughing at his mistake, he shoots his head round and makes direct eye contact with you.

“Told ya’ you couldn’t do it-” You both stare each other down, silently daring the other to say another word. You take on the dare with a brilliant grin. “Bro!”

This is a very me thing to call everyone bro/brother or broski… anyways, clearing out my drafts and found this, I don’t particularly like each part but it did make me laugh a lil so hey! Why not post lol.

#fanfic #x reader #fanfiction #mha x reader #bakugou x reader #kirishima x reader #Todoroki x reader #shouto x reader #deku x reader #izuku x reader #Midoriya x reader #shoto x reader #mha headcanons #bnha x fem!reader #bnha x reader #mha imagines

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wincestisasincest · 2 years

Text

Waves on the Shore - Chapter 13: He Who Fights Monsters

Viktor x Fem!Reader slow burn enemies to lovers

x posted on ao3 // WOTS masterlist

Summary: Jayce and Viktor questioning you about your weapon (made with farm-fresh Hextech) is the only thing keeping you from going to jail for science crimes. You and Viktor are literally at each others throats lmao. Also you’re from Bilgewater because pirates are fucking rad

Notes: Broskis I'm sorry this one took like over a month ektjherkjth and also this one is not very proofread so sorry if it's kind of bad. Also this fic is officially over 100k words lol. Oh also we still have a discord, lemme know if u wanna join hekrthrek jt

Word Count: 11.9k

Tags: @edenstarkk @chosomybelovedcurse @dedicated2viktor @doctorho @yeehawbvby @arcaneparx @the-lake-is-calling @beeblybub

Mentions of: Nothing I think?

Triggers: Everything from the last chapter is discussed and recalled here, so… that. Also, cops, cop questioning, painkillers, drinks being drugged, booze, vomit, vertigo, guns, and language

“I’ve seen who you are in the dark. And you’re a monster.”

It’s funny. You’ve heard that word a lot - “monster.” You were familiar with every usage of the word before you could load a canon by yourself; from the scariest beasts of the deep to the ruthless criminals lording over your island. You thought that you were immune to its impact.

You were wrong.

Adrenaline fanned from your heart to your fingertips, telling you to move, fight, run, or for gods’ sake do something because you couldn’t take this straight on. It didn’t matter if you were the monster or the innocent, you could not stay trapped in this stupid, shitty loop.

And suddenly, you understood why you’d come back.

There he was, narrowing his eyes at you like a viper. But you clenched your teeth and inhaled through your nose, willing away the hollowing feeling in your chest that tried to tell you this was just a bad dream.

You would show him what monsters could do.

*****

When Viktor woke, his pulse was eating him alive.

He tilted his head, and a seedy whine pounded behind his eyes as his dress shirt pinched his arms. The blinding, sterile light kept trying to infiltrate the cool oasis of his closed eyelids.

Hangover? No, it shouldn’t be this bad. What had he even-

Oh. Right. Enforcers. He remembered those. He could recognize the outlines of their helmets even through the blurry snowfall. But there was someone else... a warm arm around his waist that didn’t let go until medical personnel had whisked him away. That must have been you.

You- where were you?

He sat up and opened his eyes.

Through the ringing in his ears he could hear heels clacking in the hallway and sweat sloshing inside his clothes. Tender bruises and stinging cuts made themselves known as his body woke up. The headache only thickened.

He was in Piltover Medical Center, laid out like roadkill on a clean, stiff mattress in their emergency clinic. It was brighter than it had any right to be, with crisp white walls, shiny medical equipment, and humming fluorescent lights.

Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to soothe the wave of nausea.

“Don’t fight it,” Jayce said from his left, “happened to me too. If you’re gonna vomit, better to get it over with.”

“Good morning as well,” Viktor’s throat was dry.

He dragged his legs over the side as a fuzzy column of brown skin nudged the trashcan towards him. He clamped its sides and nearly fell in as he threw up.

Acid seared his tongue and pungency burned through the congestion in his sinuses; welcome back to reality, they said.

Something glass clinked. Viktor hung his head over the trashcan, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and permitting himself a minute to regret waking up.

“Caitlyn came by, but we were both still out,” Jayce set a glass of water on Viktor’s side of their shared nightstand, “If she heard, then everyone else probably did too.”

Finally, Viktor willed his head up and got a look at him. He was on the other bed in the room, shirtless, with his legs stretched out and his journal open on his lap. Bandages capped his shoulder and a dark purple cloud festered around his eye. His hair was, oddly, the most surprising; spiked, sweaty, and overall messier than Viktor had ever seen it.

Viktor couldn’t imagine that he looked much better.

“How long have you been up?” Viktor gulped the water, noticing one of his own notebooks and a note from Caitlyn perched on the nightstand.

“Just a half hour. Enforcers came by and asked me some stuff. Said they’ll come back for you.”

Viktor propped his elbows on his knees.

“Did they say anything else?”

“About what?”

As if there was anything Viktor would be wondering about besides the third human life that was terribly injured.

He clicked his tongue, too tired to figure out if Jayce was playing dumb or if he’d actually forgotten about you. But Jayce wasn’t the forgetful type, and he didn’t play dumb unless the situation was dire. Something was wrong here, but Viktor wouldn’t press him. Not yet.

“About anything. I’m still not sure what exactly, eh... happened.”

“Yeah. Neither are they.”

Viktor hated how unclear his picture of last night was. The drugs and the booze already wiped half of it from hi smind, and the remaining flashes of consciousness were focused on the most irrelevant things.

Your hands loading that gun. Your eyes screwing shut as you bit your tongue. Your hot breath against his cheek as you checked his head for any damage.

“Well, at least give me something to work with,” Viktor grumbled, falling back onto the mattress.

Jayce fidgeted with his fingers, squeezing them anxiously.

“All they’ve got so far is a timeline. We were drinking, those guys came, at some point we were drugged, the bar cleared out, I went into the alleyway and got the shit beat out of me while they were getting ready to haul you away in the bar.”

Jayce looked down.

“And then?”

“Well, y’know,” Jayce swallowed, “then my... assailants got, uh, taken out. Then yours did. Then one of mine did... again. Apparently the autopsy of that last guy was, uh... well, anyway, then the Enforcers showed up.”

“Yeah. Some help they were,” Viktor paused, deciding that now would be the time to press, since Jayce was clearly intent on pretending you had never existed, “and then we came here?”

“Yup.”

“Just us?”

“In here? Yeah.”

“In here as in this room, or in here as in PMC?”

“...this room.”

“Jayce.”

“Yeah?” Jayce gave him a strained smile.

“Where is Penny?”

Jayce’s entire chest deflated when he sighed.

“Yeah, I figured you’d ask about that sooner or later. But, listen, I wanna talk to you about something first.”

“Why are you being so evasive? What... what happened?” Viktor raised a stern eyebrow, “Is she-”

“No, she’s not dead, Vik. She’s fine - in one of the other rooms. But please- humor me, will you?” Jayce’s puppy dog eyes were indomitable, “And then you can go see her.”

Viktor leaned back on his hands, studying his partner. The fog cleared from his head and he realized that Jayce was shaking. Every part of his body twitched or trembled or tightened, like he was carrying the world on his shoulders and starting to crumble under the weight.

“What’s on your mind?” Viktor asked softly.

“I...” Jayce wrung his fingers around his bracelet, “I think we should put Hextech on hold for a bit.”

The dryness in the corners of Viktor’s eyes cracked when he widened them.

“We’ve had this conversation before.”

“Yes, I know,” Jayce’s fidgeting was persistent, “but things have changed.”

“How so?”

Jayce frowned.

“How s- Vik, you were nearly kidnapped last night, and I was beaten within an inch of my life. That’s how so,” he exhaled, “and don’t give me that ‘the lives of people are endangered every day’ story.”

“But they are,” Viktor’s blood pressure rose, “and we have just made a major breakthrough. You really wish to stop now?”

“What if... we’re not so lucky next time?” Jayce winced as he briefly lose control of his volume, shying away from his point.

“It was not luck that we survived,” Viktor said, “it was Penny’s intervention.”

“Yeah, about that...” Jayce gave up on looking Viktor in the eye, “the Enforcers aren’t as, uh, convinced as we are.”

Viktor scoffed, pushing his hand through his hair. Of course they weren’t, gods forbid someone different did anything in this damn city.

“She’s not in jail again, is she?”

“No. Mel got her bail...”

“But she was going to be?!” Viktor barked, furrowing his brow, “How could they possibly justify that?”

“They think it’s weird that Penny was the only one who wasn’t drugged, and... I mean, I can’t really say that they’re wr-”

“Stop,” Viktor put his hand up, “you cannot believe that Penny is responsible for the attack?”

“No! Obviously not,” Jayce splayed his fingers out, “I don’t... look, I like Penny too, okay? I don’t think she did anything malicious on purpose. I’m just trying to tell you that we’re involved in something really dangerous here and this goes to show how little we know about it. Five people are dead.”

“You care more about your own security than all of the Undercity or Ionia.”

“Do not put words into my mouth. It’s one thing to be dedicated, but we can’t just go putting ourselves in danger. If we die, then Hextech is gone forever,” Jayce said darkly.

“But we didn’t die-”

“Because we have a fucking murderer on our staff! That’s not a good thing,” Jayce gestured violently at him.

Viktor parted his lips cautiously. The crack of Jayce’s voice, the unsteadiness in his usually confident forearms, the peakiness baked into his expression as he looked through Viktor - Viktor hadn’t seen Jayce like this before, but there was no doubting it.

“You’re... you’re afraid of her,” Viktor said.

“I- not of her,” Jayce sniffled, “just... of what she did. And I know she had to, I know,” he scolded himself, “but...”

Jayce rubbed his nose. The only other time Viktor had seen Jayce’s eyes get this watery was when he’d laughed too hard. The contrast between then and now was sobering.

“I keep seeing them,, Vik,” Jayce confessed, head in his hands, “the bodies, I keep- they’re in my head and they won’t leave and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

VIktor only had scraps of what they looked like - their body fluids weaving through the cobblestones in the street and melted flesh peeling from metal bones.

“I refuse to let us end up like that,” Jayce’s throat trembled.

The mental image was there before Viktor could stop it. His partner, his friend, his best friend, with his throat slit; the only moving part of him left was the blood oozing from the thin red line.

Viktor knew that wouldn’t happen. He knew that he had nothing to worry about, and even if he did, worrying rarely helped anything. He knew that.

He also knew that no logic could stop the sinking feeling in his chest when he saw Jayce break down.

Against his better judgment and moral impulse, he grabbed his cane from against the night stand, nudged Jayce’s knee, and quietly said that “we can slow down Hextech if you’d like,” all the while fighting the frustration simmering at his core.

Neither he or Jayce were particularly up for conversation after that, so he left to find you.

He didn’t even want to see you anymore, but in this awful mood he was in, he was bound to snap at someone, and he’d rather it be the person who already thought he was a waste of space than Jayce or an Enforcer.

In fact, Viktor found that he wouldn’t mind snapping at you right now, though by the gods he could not fathom why.

Perhaps it was that he knew you’d only be mildly inconvenienced by Hextech’s hiatus. You weren’t trying to hide it - you’d made it very clear that you thought their goals were nothing more than a foolish boon to their egos. Viktor had long since decided that he didn’t care about what you thought as long as you did your work, now, it made his blood boil.

Of course you did what you had to. Of course you planned those attacks. Of course you never meant for things to end up this way.

And, of course, it had to end with Jayce being traumatized and Hextech being needlessly stalled.

He was being unfair. You didn’t deserve this. Not after everything you’d done.

But he couldn’t help the feeling.

A similarly confusing feeling bubbled in his chest when he floated in the doorway to your hospital room. You were still, fast asleep, though you wouldn’t be moving even if you were awake with your wrist cuffed to the bed like that.

And you looked so small.

Not physically - if anything, the swelling in your nose made you look bigger. They’d straightened it and kept it in place with a loose bandaged, but the darkened, irritated skin and indigo bruises pooling beneath your eyes betrayed the nastiness of the initial impact. Your left ear was swaddled in bandages, still very much half of its original size. No essential parts of the ear seemed to be damaged but it looked... well, it looked awful. The rest of the damage was covered by a standard issue PMC blanket.

He’d never seen you sleep before. Your overflowing personality, the one that made you the godsdamned force of nature that could bring anything to its knees, was kept at bay by the thoughtless rise and fall of your chest. The greasy hair and injuries and bloody clothes were a part of your image, but without you being awake to act the part, you just looked like a person who had been through a lot.

You and no one else against the world. That could make anyone feel small.

Viktor’s face soured at the thought of your self image. You chose to wear your violence and selfishness and apathy as badges of honor, along with your hatred of Viktor. And he was so ready to look past all of that, just for last night, because... of something.

And then, somewhere in the cocktail of anger and confusion and fondness, it clicked.

You weren’t thinking about him when you saved his life, you were just being yourself.

You didn’t care about Viktor. And why the hell would you, if the rest of Piltover couldn’t be bothered? You were becoming like them - helping Viktor because he helped you and suited your needs, not because you believed in him, his ideals, or Hextech. Viktor should’ve been used to this.

It was only human. And that’s all you were. A Bilgewater spitfire with a deep longing for the world that she came from, jumping at the first excuse to indulge in it.

Viktor could only blame himself. And it ached as he considered just how desperate he must’ve been to look for deeper meaning in what you did.

“‘Scuse me, sir.”

Viktor jumped. An Enforcer, with a cinderblock jaw and wispy sideburns, materialized next to him, his palms out.

“Didn’t mean to startle ya,” he smiled apologetically, “I was just wonderin’ if you were the, uh, other victim of the attack last night? I ain’t on the case, I’m just here to take her cuffs off” he chuckled, jingling his keys.

“Yes,” Viktor smoothed out his wrinkled pants, “yes, that’s me.”

“Ah. Well, good to see you on your feet then,” he slapped Viktor in the back with his sweaty hand and turned to observe you, “I heard she was quite the killer.”

You gave no false pretense about what you were. Building you up into something you weren’t was his mistake.

But now he had to see you for what you were.

“She was,” Viktor said, “brutal. Without remorse. Didn’t even bother with talking, just went straight for the vitals.”

He didn’t give you a final glance as he parted from the Enforcer, determined to not make that mistake again.

*****

Unlike rain, which evaporated quickly in the sun, snow stuck around. After you were discharged from the hospital, you were in a completely different Piltover. The air hovering above the smooth white blanket was clean, numb, and slow, entirely jarring after everything else had happened so fast.

Nothing felt real, outside in the world or inside your head.

But you didn’t really mind the effect. Apparently, you weren’t supposed to use the good painkillers into tomorrow morning, after all the alcohol was out of your system, unless you wanted to throw up your guts onto the street. If the hurt subsided, then you could stay in the unreality until then.

Or maybe not.

“C’mon, you paid my bail,” you reluctantly plopped into the spindly chair, “and it’s not because we’re great friends. So what’s the catch?”

Coming into the warmth of Mel’s office just as you grew accustomed to the outside made the red in her paintings eerie. Though you normally liked her office, one of the few places truly rich in color in her marble palace, the contrast with the blank slate of Piltovian winter reminded you that it was just as manufactured as everything else.

“There’s no ‘catch,’” Mel folded her hands, “as an investor in Hextech, it’s my job to look out for the best interests of the company. I think we’ve all learned by now that having you in jail waiting for a sham trial is not productive.”

“So there’s nothing that you want from me, then?”

“I didn’t say that,” Mel picked at her nail, “I understand that the Enforcer’s narrative of last night’s events is inaccurate. I’m not surprised - Enforcers are only interested in maintaining the image of Piltover for the people of Piltover.”

“Sounds like you.”

“Maybe,” she eyed you curiously, “but I’m also interested in the truth. Which is something we share, isn’t it?”

It was rare that your goals aligned with powerful people, and though you were becoming more practiced in it the longer you stayed in Piltover, trepidation stalked every offer that someone like Mel gave you. If enemies can be temporary, then so are allies, and sooner or later, the good will of someone who does anything to be above others will run out.

But she could help you. She could help Jayce and Viktor. Regardless of the motive, you needed that.

As sure as that knowing smirk dug further into her cheek, you knew that there was no good will here; just business. Good, you thought, at least you understand each other.

“Fine,” you rolled your neck, “so, what, you want me to start from the beginning?”

And you did.

You rolled your head back and stared at the ceiling lights like you were in a therapist’s office, and told her the entire story as it actually happened, making especially biting remarks at the Enforcer’s faulty logic along the way.

They were claiming that, not only were you the one who had drugged Viktor and Jayce, but that you had pre-planned the entire incident in order to murder five sailors on shore leave. Their “evidence” was that, not only were you the sole undrugged person, but that once you were aware of the drug’s chemical makeup via Jayce and Viktor’s blood test, it was a substance you recognized - Whalefall, something that literally every Rat recognized.

Yet, you still had no explanation for why everything happened the way that it did; why you weren’t drugged, why they were after Viktor, why they beat the shit out of Jayce, why anything. The Enforcers didn’t really have one either, but their blanket appeal to Piltover’s xenophobia combined with their “trustworthiness” was enough to negate that.

Even if they hadn’t actually seen anything happen.

“Honestly, if that’s their response time, I’m surprised any crime in Piltover gets dealt with,” you grumbled.

“That’s not their response time,” Mel said, “they’re usually much faster. But there’s a silver lining - inadequate Enforcer response is probably going to be the main argument for your innocence in the trial.”

“Really?” you crossed your arms, “What about Jayce and Viktor’s testimony? I... well, I haven’t actually talked to them yet, but shouldn’t that be exonerating?”

“They’re not using their testimony.”

“What?!” you sat forward, “Why the hell not?! That was like... the one thing I had going for me.”

“Well, the real answer is that it destroys any chance of making you the scapegoat, but what the Enforcers are saying is that the drugs found in their system make their memories unreliable.”

“But- but that’s bullshit,” you snapped, “Everyone knows that Whalefall makes it hard to remember stuff, but it doesn’t make up false memories. Anything they can recall is still true.”

You’d already spent too much time wondering if Viktor recalled how close you were when you gave him a once over. You weren’t sure if it was embarrassing or exciting or what, all you knew was that the image of him, half dazed, but eyes full of reverence that no one had ever given you before, made your stomach flip.

“I’m sure, but that’s not how this game is played,” Mel said grimly, moving her hands below the desk, “I have some things of yours.”

Your face perked as she rattled inside the drawer, returning to the surface with your knife, ruefully caked in dry blood, and a silver pistol. Oh shit - the pistol.

“Gods, do they just let anyone in the evidence locker?” you grumbled.

“This pistol doesn’t belong to you,” Mel observed, picking it up loosely, as though it were a museum artifact and not an item designed to take a life, “why did you have it?”

“Heh, you’re already doing better than the Enforcers,” you said, “what gave it away?”

“You’re too poor to afford this.”

“Thanks.”

She was right, of course. The model was, at the very least, unique; you’d never quite seen a gun that looked or behaved like it before. It was pure silver, with svelte engravings curling from the handle to the barrel, and while it looked like a revolver, with a rotating cylinder in the center, there were no slots to load bullets, leading you to believe it functioned like a pistol.

“I guess it was just too interesting to leave,” you shrugged, “Damn thing didn’t fire when I tried to shoot it, so I wanted to take it apart and see what was going on.”

“I see,” she brushed her thumb on the barrel, “and this knife was already yours?”

“Yeah.”

You reached out, but, your fingers inches away from the cold metal, Mel’s hand smoothly came down on top of it.

“Actually... there is a catch for this one.”

You looked at her from under your brow, exhausted from the theatrics. She noticed, but she continued coyly without a care.

“The Enforcers get in the way of Hextech’s work and have done a fairly poor job thus far at resolving this pirate issue. Yet, now more than ever, Hextech needs a guardian,” she delicately set the pistol on the table, “One that is equipped to handle both problems.”

“Oh, I see,” your eyelids went slack, “listen, I appreciate the offer, but, like, I was barely qualified to deal with what just happened. Hell, I almost left Jayce and Viktor, I only decided to come back at the last minute, and even then, I got...” you gestured to your face, “all of this. So, thank you, but no thank you. It was a one time thing.”

“Well, if you’d consider making it not a one time thing, I’d be willing to help,” she was toying with the hilt of your knife, yet somehow kept her digits clean of any blood.

There was nothing to consider, but you were hungry for more information anyway.

“What do you have in mind?”

“I want to get those portals on Ionian shores as soon as possible,” she said frankly, “Figure out what’s going on, stop it, and ensure the safety of Jayce and Viktor in the meantime. You’ll have my full legal and financial support for any issues that arise, and, depending on how successful you are, there will be additional compensation.”

“I don’t need more money,” you lied, because everyone could always use more money, “the stipend is enough.”

“Compensation need not be money. I understand you’re having trouble finding a permanent residence due to your... reputation. With my connections, that would be an easy fix,” she offered the handle of your knife to you with a crafty smile, “but it’s your decision, of course.”

Damn her.

You were smart enough to know that no one really escaped the rat race. People would always, on some level, do dubious shit to survive, because there would always be people willing to put them in that position for exploitation.

But you thought that you were done with violence. Sure, it happened once in a while, because that’s just life, but you were supposed to be free of the cycle; your hands, attached to strings that were puppeteered by someone else, dripping with blood.

Hell, even last night, delirious with lack of sleep as the Enforcers kept you awake long into the night to try and “force” a confession, you’d been caught in an unfamiliar emotional deluge. You weren’t one to regret things, but as the sting of alcohol cleared other people’s viscera from your wounds, you caught the stray, remorseful wish that things had gone better. That you didn’t have to kill five people, that the Enforcers believed you, that this was something everyone could reasonably move on from.

But you were expendable. Those pirates would’ve killed you first if you let them, those Enforcers would toss you into jail if you let them, and this godsdamned pit of brutality would drag you asunder forever if you kept letting it.

The blade of your knife gleamed through all of the damage.

Money wasn’t the only currency you’d need to stay here in Piltover. If you didn’t take Mel’s offer, you’d end up taking someone else’s sooner or later, lest you face the long, slow death of the life you were trying to set up here.

Even with allies, you were still alone. You were the only one that could make things work, and sometimes, that required discomfort.

Reluctantly, you accepted the handle of your knife.

“Okay. It’s a deal.”

“Excellent,” Mel’s grin widened, impassively watching as you scraped the pistol off of her desk and shoved both weapons away.

“We’ll be in touch,” you stood brusquely, pushing the chair out and stretching your legs as you approached the doorway.

“One more question,” Mel crooned, waiting for you to turn back around and face her before continuing, “why did you come back for Jayce and Viktor?”

The warmth in her office became sickening; you were trapped inside of a hotbox slowly increasing in temperature. The only breath of fresh air was the blinding white light that stretched from the large window behind her. She and her gold sat in it like a throne.

Each painting stared at you, all painfully aware that you had no answer.

“Let me ask you something instead,” your boldness was unconvincing, “why is the Noxian so concerned with getting these portals to Ionia?”

Mel looked away from you, pursing her lips and considering one of the larger paintings on her wall. It depicted a Noxian ship from behind, heading towards the sun and away from the desolate land they’d ravaged. The shadowed backs of the sails were the only ones in her entire room that reflected authentic blood red.

After a minute, she cocked her head to the side in defeat.

“Touche,” she said, “perhaps we both have something to answer for.”

You prayed that was the end of the conversation and scuttled out the door.

You weren’t even trying to be standoffish, just struck with the overwhelming need to use the bathroom. You’d been holding in this piss since you’d left the hospital.

Shambling through the corridors, without the time or mental capacity to admire them, you spun the question around in your head - why did you come back? You remembered crouching on the parapet, greeting the moon fondly and preparing to make your daring escape, until the gut-wrenching sound of Jayce getting ripped to shreds sucked you into the fray.

There were obvious reasons.

Jayce and Viktor were your crew, and you need them to sail the ship. You’d had allies before, and occasionally, you’d even saved them at great personal risk to yourself. But you weren’t one to jump in and take a non-lethal hit for someone else - that is to say, you weren’t stupid.

Because they weren’t going to die. Viktor’s captors had told you that explicitly, and if they wanted Jayce dead, then it would’ve happened within the first five minutes of their ambush. Both of them would’ve lived had you not stepped in.

You always had a reason for defending people, but you didn’t have a reason for that night.

You’d had an impulse bouncing around in your head, telling you that if you didn’t act, you’d regret it. It wasn’t the raw, cold-blooded instinct that helped you survive, nor the ferocious sixth sense that guided you through battle. It was a small, gentle urgency, older than any of the beasts living under your skin.

What the hell was it really, though?

At last, you spotted the cool, tiled floor and white hand towels of the fanciest bathroom you’d ever seen.

After you were relieved, you washed your hands, and unwittingly saw yourself for the first time since last night in the mirror.

You didn’t know what you were expecting. You looked as bad as you felt; the bags under your eyes were replaced with crescent shaped bruises, your nose ached every time you breathed, and- and your ear. The bottom half of your left ear was gone.

You clicked your tongue.

You could still hear out of it fine. That was why you’d nearly forgotten about it in the first place. And it was just cosmetic. You shyly caressed the bandage stump. Your earlobe had disappeared into thin air and was never coming back.

Sailors lose limbs all the time. You knew this. In fact, you hated that it was the first thing on your mind as you inspected the damage. You hated that you could fucking smell the saltwater being lobbed on the fresh cut as the ship’s surgeon told you not to touch it. You hated how you would go out on deck and commiserate with everyone else who had lost something far worse than you.

You hated how you already missed the cheap earrings you wore.

Here you were, in the center of progress and luxury and culture, but you’d never looked more like a dirty fucking Rat.

Thankfully, you had no time to dwell on it.

*****

Viktor was always amazed at how easily Jayce could fake ease.

“We have plans to shut down the test circuits in the city. Anything else will remain locked in the lab until further notice,” he told the Council, unwavering.

Viktor dreaded returning to the lab. He liked to think that he was levelheaded, but he knew that, at his core, he was a slave to his reckless, passionate impulses, and nothing ignited that like his work. To have to look it all in the eye and tell it to wait was torture.

“It appears we’re all on the same page, then,” Heimerdinger said.

“They would know better how to regulate themselves than any of us would,” Shoola added, “I am satisfied with this course of action for the company. However, its personnel - and potentially, the rest of Piltover - remain at risk.”

“One of them is the risk,” Salo gave a pointed stare.

It took Viktor a second to remember that he didn’t need to swallow his pride and hold his ground. He followed Salo’s beady eyes back down to your unamused deadpan, bathed in fresh sunlight. You were the risk in the moment.

Even though you bothered to clean up and generally look like you hadn’t just been thrown off a mountain, one could only look so good two days after near death. Jayce had opted to use makeup so his bruises wouldn’t show, exactly because he feared having any imperfections in front of the Council. It was one of the thousands of ways they could brand you as the other.

In spite of that, you wore the battle-hardened mask of injuries with complete sincerity.

Viktor wasn’t sure what to make of that, and he had no interest in ever finding out. Perhaps for the same reason he dreaded returning to the lab; this situation required detachment.

He hadn’t spoken a word to you yet.

When he entered the Council room, you were sitting at the table, discussing something with Jayce. Viktor wanted to interrupt so Jayce wouldn’t have the burden of pretending to be calm for the entire conversation, but when he sat down next to his partner and you peered at him expectantly, he mumbled a “good morning” to his feet and feigned interest in the handle of his cane.

“She’s awaiting trial,” Mel said, “we cannot make any determination until she’s been given a chance in court.”

“While I’m in favor of a fair judicial process, we can’t afford to wait,” Kiramann said, “something must be done sooner rather than later. And when it comes down to the safety of Piltover or the legal rights of a foreign criminal, the choice is clear.”

Viktor looked at you. You looked at Jayce. Jayce looked back at you.

You stood up.

“You don’t have to choose between those,” you began in a languid voice, “and you shouldn’t. Focusing on my alleged crimes is exactly what these pirates would want you to do - waste time on a false lead instead of addressing the greater threat.”

You waited for objections, but to yours and Viktor’s surprise, none came.

“You have a proposition?” Heimerdinger raised a bushy eyebrow.

“I do,” you placed your hands on the table, next to the stack of papers,” I looked over the logs from the night of the attack-”

“And how did ye get access to those?!” Hoskel, who was very pleased with himself, pounded his fists on the table.

“You guys have an open records policy,” you said, almost impressed with how unaware of his own city, “anyway...”

Viktor tuned you out.

“Did you know about this?” he muttered to Jayce.

“She caught me up like 10 minutes before we started.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would it bother me?”

“She did it behind our backs.”

“I wouldn’t call it that.”

“What would you call it?”

“Can we talk about this later? I wanna listen.”

But Viktor wanted to talk about it now. All of a sudden, you were the most proactive person in this mystery, after weeks of not doing anything unless absolutely necessary. It was... not suspicious, but Viktor liked to know things.

Jayce was good at faking, though. Perhaps he was pretending to not be bothered to save face.

“...the delay in Enforcer arrival was caused by an issue with the radio system,” you were still talking, “The Public Emergency Radio on the docks were down, so none of the calls that bystanders on the docks made went through to the station. The Enforcers only heard about a crime from the PER by the bridge. I looked at the maintenance reports, and,” you put a new piece of paper on top of the pile, “it said that the resistor inline of the PER on the docks was soldered somewhere it clearly didn’t belong. This is an error that can only be done by human hands and by someone who would have the key to the fusebox.”

You inhaled through your nose.

“The obvious conclusion is sabotage from within the Enforcers, which is something that many people in the station have suspected for a while. If you want to focus your efforts on something, you should conduct a thorough internal investigation of the Enforcers, because there’s at least one spy in there.”

Self-assured doubt began to cloud the Council’s expressions. You glowered.

“Look, pirates expand, okay? If you let this slide, then one day, they won’t just be after Hextech. They’ll go for your jewelry, your booze, your spices...” that got a few of them to straighten their spines, “The longer you leave a spy in there, the harder they are to find. I’ve seen entire enterprises destroyed this way, and it will happen again, unless you nip this in the ass by finding that spy now,” you strained slightly.

Viktor realized that you’d been paying more attention than you let on, with the way that you targeted the specific business interests of the Councilors. For someone who never made an effort to please them, you could be quite convincing when you wanted to be. All that haggling expertise didn’t come from nowhere, he supposed.

It was silent. You didn’t sit down yet, practically challenging one of them to say something.

Finally, someone did.

“Councilors, all due respect, that would be an utter waste of time” the voice was irritated with pride.

Its speaker left the shadowed corner; he had a precise black mustache, geometric brows, and an Enforcer helmet tucked under his arm.

“So is bringing a Helmet to a Council meeting, Mister...” your fingers tightened against the tabe.

“I’m the Sheriff of Piltover,” he stated, directly to you, before turning to the Councilors, “and in all the years I’ve been working for this city, we’ve only increased our internal defenses against spies due to the threat of Undercity subterfuge. Our hiring process is thorough, and we screen for them regularly, which is why I can safely say that there are no agents of the Undercity, or anywhere else, in the Enforcers.”

Somehow, even when the subject was entirely unrelated, the Undercity always came up in Council meetings. Viktor scoffed, but said nothing.

“But how can-”

“Further,” he interrupted, focusing on you again, “I urge the Council to question the integrity of her argument. For all we know, she could be the insurgent, trying to distract us while the real problems go unnoticed,” he folded his hands, “Her character would suggest so.”

“This isn’t about me,” you growled.

“Our testimony would suggest that it is about you, actually,” he pulled a piece of paper from his brest pocket, “One witness reports that you were, and these were their exact words, ‘brutal. without remorse, didn’t even bother with talking, just went straight for the vitals.’”��

Viktor’s heart fell into his stomach.

“Now, Councilors, that doesn’t sound like someone who has anyone’s best interest in mind, let alone Piltover’s,” the sheriff concluded, and Viktor felt a new level of guilt.

“You’re taking that out of context,” you said.

“Is that so?” the sheriff put the paper away, “But you still were engaging in such behavior, weren’t you?”

Viktor cringed, sinking down deeper into his seat. His internal logic sounded a lot less valid coming from this pompous asshole’s mouth.

“It was self defense,” you said.

“Right,” the sheriff returned his focus to the Council, as though you were a speck of dust on his shoe, “now, I recommend that we...”

Your palms relaxed. You plopped back back into the chair, defeated, and Viktor never thought that he’d see you give up an argument that easily.

A vote and a disappointment later, you three regrouped in the lobby.

“They’re screwing themselves over,” you tutted, “all the work we’re doing to shut this down is gonna mean nothing.”

“This isn’t our last chance,” Jayce nudged your elbow, “we can always ask again. That sheriff can only damage control so many times.”

Jayce was very convincing. If Viktor hadn’t actually seen him break down yesterday, he would’ve believed that you two were pals and nothing ever happened.

“Right,” you said into your hands, “godsdamnit, of course they had some random asshat’s testimony on file like that,” you surveyed Jayce and Viktor, “I didn’t even know anyone else was watching.”

You locked eyes with Viktor, and before he could anticipate how it would come off, he found himself quickly looking down at the floor with the confidence of a frightened rabbit. If he had to under the spell of the discerning, yet unsuspecting, crinkle in the corners of your eyes for any longer, he might just confess.

Which wasn’t even warranted, he told himself. How was he supposed to know that they would use his words like that?

When he poked his head back up and caught your face, your expression wasn’t unsuspecting anymore.

“I gotta go,” you said suddenly, getting up from your chair, “Alex and I have a dinner date. But I’ll be there early tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. We’ll get started on lockdown. See ya, Pen.”

Viktor only felt that he could breathe again when you closed the door behind you.

“Are you alright, Vik?” Jayce patted his friend’s back without warning.

“Yes-” Viktor regained his composure, “yes, I am fine. I do wonder,” he narrowed his eyes, “how she read those Enforcer logs by herself, though.”

“Oh, Caitlyn helped her,” Jayce said, “they met up at the station.”

“And that doesn’t bother you at all?!”

“Why would it bother me?” Jayce frowned, “Does it bother you?”

“Well-” Viktor swallowed, “I thought that you were interested in keeping tighter security. Penny doing things without us knowing does not align with that.”

“Look, I was a little freaked out earlier, but once I processed all that shit,” Jayce sighed, “I remembered that it’s just Penny. She’s still the same person. And I trust her.”

Ah. Jayce wasn’t faking earlier - he was actually comfortable with you. And so was Caitlyn. Even after everything you’d done. After everything you’d shown yourself to be.

If there was one thing he learned after moving here from Zaun, it was that, despite all the glitz of Piltover, people will eventually show their true selves to you. Especially if they don’t see you as an equal.

And you should always believe them.

“Now, we better get started on clearing out the lab,” Jayce grunted.

“We should divide the labor,” Viktor said lifelessly, “I will remove the test circuits.”

“You sure you wanna do that alone?”

“Yes.”

Viktor refused to be near the Academy any longer. He needed time, away from the vestigial defensive reflexes of his Zaunite heritage, away from reminders of his work, and away from the notion that you ever existed.

*****

You squinted, as though it were any trouble to recognize that silhouette.

You could recognize a lot of things about him now. He stood out from the crowd. Those weren’t just keys on the table, those were Viktor’s keys. That wasn’t just sloppy handwriting, that was Viktor’s sloppy handwriting. And, earlier today, that wasn’t just anyone’s evasive maneuver, that was Viktor’s evasive maneuver.

And he was never evasive. The bastard was hiding something, and you hoped that you were wrong about what it was.

“She had a knife like yours,” Alex said.

Right. You were supposed to be bringing him home. You were sure that he could make it by himself, but given everything that had happened in the last few days and the fact that it was approaching midnight, you weren’t taking any chances.

“Hm?” you tilted your head to the side, refocusing your attention on the winding street.

“That lady. Pearl. She had a knife like yours. I saw it when I went to the bathroom.”

“You sure about that? Mine’s as custom as they come.”

“I didn’t look that close,” he paused, half his face shadowed by the street lamp, “but it did look like yours.”

“Maybe I’ll ask her to see it next time,” you looked at him from the side, “You liked her though, right?”

Though you very much enjoyed dining in the servant’s quarters of the mansion she worked in, you had other reasons to consider the visit a success; she basically confirmed that you could house sit for the winter, starting next week and lasting for a month.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, “I just wish that there were more Rats in Piltover. Monty says I’m not allowed to go to the Undercity.”

You clicked your tongue. You didn’t know much about the family that he lived in, but that sounded like standard fare for Piltover.

“I’m not allowed to go there either,” you said, “but hey, it’s not gonna be like this forever. I’m sure we’ll get to meet them eventually.”

Even if the entire godsdamned city, including Viktor, was working against you.

In the meantime, you could make do with Pearl’s company.

She was happy to find a kindred spirit and you were desperate for one. You got the sense that both of you were not considered worthwhile company by most of Piltover, so it was nice to be wanted for a change. And, despite your initial caution, she was fun to be around; she’d retained her Bilgewater slickness.

You hardly got through your request for a housesitting recommendation before she was on board, saying that she did something similar in her youth and that it was “only right that the people who would actually use a property like this should get to live in it.” Apparently, she’d thrown some wild parties in the ballroom, with her employers none the wiser.

She’d even taken her employer’s best booze from the cellar for that night, though you had to decline since you were on proper painkillers now.

“I don’t get tired of the luxury, because it was never really mine to start with,” she had said, “though, if you ask me, I think being bored out of my skull but filthy rich is a pretty good deal.”

“Maybe so,” you had answered, “though something tells me we’ll never get to find out.”

After you dropped Alex off at his house, you closed the door and leaned against it, resting in the porchlight oasis. Finally, one damn thing had gone right in your life, and you worried that the minute you walked down the stairs of the deck and surrendered yourself back to the quotidian night, you’d lose the feeling.

But Viktor was still there, by himself, looking like a mugger’s dream. You should probably make sure that he didn’t get himself killed.

“You shouldn’t be here by yourself,” you said when you approached him from behind, holding back a smirk when he flinched, “did you learn nothing from that bar ambush?”

His screwdriver stilled, then gently floated away from the open test-circuit reactor. The light around Viktor’s shadow on the cobblestone melted from brassy street lamps to hex crystal blue, which glimmered in his exhausted eyes when he faced you.

“I know that you don’t get out much, but you really ought to find a better hobby than following me,” he leaned against his cane with that smug, self-assured lack of fear that he always had when he realized it was just you.

“Alex’s house is that way,” you jerked your chin towards the street, “in case you forgot. And I think following you is a more worthwhile hobby than giving vindictive, inaccurate testimony to Enforcers.”

He wasn’t surprised at your retort. He just winced, like he’d seen it coming, which had the frightening implication that he recognized the signs of your mood just as easily as you recognized his.

“I did not know they would use it like that,” he said, all too defensive for your liking, “but it was not inaccurate. I was merely telling the truth.”

Something rustled in your coat pocket.

“Oh, bullshit. Jayce saw a lot of the same crap you did, was even more disgusted by it, and they weren’t quoting him in front of the Councilors, so obviously there was a right thing to say, and you didn’t say it.”

“I’m not arguing with you,” he said, though he didn’t turn around.

“Right, because you were so busy working on that circuit,” you gestured to it, “c’mon, I saw you there like five minutes ago. It doesn’t take that long to deactivate,” you curled your lips cruelly, “What? Too worried that you’ll feel some remorse?”

The mass in your pocket was... warm against your upper thigh.

“I’ve been standing here,” Viktor’s words came from the back of his throat, “for four hours, because you could not stop yourself from going fucking berserk and how Hextech is suffering for it. You couldn’t think for a moment about how this would affect anyone other than yourself,” he swallowed, “I am losing everything.”

“I’m sorry?!” you crossed your arms, “Am I hearing that you’d rather lose your life?”

“Oh, don’t start with that,” Viktor rolled his eyes, “no one’s-”

Blue light cracked from your coat pocket. Viktor stopped as a similar surge of magical energy stretched out behind him in bolts. The pen reactor.

You went dead still, wondering if this was really how it ended.

But a few moments passed, and you were both still alive, goggling each other with empty, frightened eyes. You bit your lip and reached down into your pocket with a trembling hand.

The long, smooth grip of the pistol was raging with internal magic, like there were storm clouds lashing out inside of it. You followed the energy back to its cylinder, wrapping your fingers around the center and rattling your bottle of painkillers on the way out of your pocket.

Viktor stepped aside to examine the reactor.

Blue embers radiated from the pistol’s cylinder, as though hot coals burned inside. It didn’t feel like a solid object anymore, but an extension of your body, united with your hand.

Viktor pushed the shutter away. The reactor’s hex crystal emanated the same muted embers. THey were less flashy than normal, but still fluttered with life.

The pistol and the reactor chittered back and forth rhythmically.

You unsheathed your knife from your belt and pressed the tip into the blue edge at the bottom of the cylinder, applying the slightest amount of pressure to open it.

Pop.

You saw the hex crystal inside for only a second before everything went white.

*****

Falling, falling, falling, but with no air careening against you.

It was so godsdamned bright. The inverse of outer space, where, instead of the absence of light, every single molecule reflected it at you all at once, bursting and flashing with lurid vertigo. It felt like you stared into the sun too long and now the rays were extending past your scope, consuming you whole.

It lasted for only a second.

Your feet were on solid ground again, and traces of salt water tickled your nose. Spots clumped in your vision, mitigated by the steely cobalt color of the sky.

The sky... wasn’t like that before. Storm clouds herded above, still an opaque mass as the last strands of light dipped below the horizon. It was not the clear, inky night that you’d come from.

“Hhhng.”

Viktor.

You blinked harshly, forcing the disorientation from your system. You were outside, it was nearing night time, and... and the familiar sound of clinking glass and drunken whoops spun from your right. A strip of dull lantern light came from an open door.

Viktor materialized into focus, standing up, in the same physical condition as he was before, but just as lost as you were. And past him... that couldn’t be.

It was the alleyway that Jayce was attacked in. You’d recognize it anywhere. Scuffed, aging buildings formed a lane to the docks, but as your eye followed them down, the street was lacking something that should’ve been there, and it made you sick.

It should’ve been coated with thick, white snow, shoveled into small piles on the side so the crunchy salt could break apart the thin sheet of ice on the road.

But there was nothing. The streets were clear, like it had never snowed at all. And the ocean was angry.

Anxiety twanged in your chest.

You looked at Viktor, distracted by the street, and apparently coming to the same conclusion as you. Something was very, very wrong.

And then your own voice, scratchy and free and spent, and curled around your ears. But you hadn’t said anything.

You cleared your throat, confirming that, yes, your vocal chords were still under your control, but the onslaught of your own words, entirely divorced from your being, continued.

Jayce’s brazen voice replied.

“Do...” your voice cracked, and Viktor turned around, “do you hear that?”

He paused, listening intently to the inside of the bar. And his eyes were wider than you’d ever seen when he heard his own voice blurt something out, the unmistakable accent even thicker with booze.

You crept into the doorway, barely touching the edge with your fingers. Another sensation would send you overboard. The asymmetrical beat of Viktor’s footsteps followed behind you.

Moving just one eye out, you took a peek at the bar.

Every poet from every country from every lifetime could not describe the uncanniness of seeing yourself from the outside. It wasn’t real, it didn’t feel real, because there was no way that was you, because things like this did not happen. You were not supposed to be an object on a plane, you were the damn plane.

It was like those trick paintings, where everything looks okay on the surface, but as you notice more macabre details the only picture you get is just how little you know about the world being presented to you. Every small thing about yourself sent a rolling wave of dissociated, horrified deja vu. And yet you couldn’t pull yourself away.

You felt faint.

And it only got worse when you saw the back of the original man with the pistol, the motherfucker that drugged your friends and tried to shoot you, sitting at the bar. The same young man hiding behind a still-developing beard. His pistol, a creamy silver, was sturdily attached at the hip.

He didn’t see you spying on him, as he was intensely focused on other you getting up from the table with a half empty mug of rum and beckoning to the bartender.

You took a seat right next to him and faced away, leaving your drink on the table.

Gods, you were an idiot.

You were watching everything go wrong in slow motion. The bartender went around back to get you some fresh mint, and you passively engaged in conversation with someone sitting farther down the bar.

The pirate fingered a bottle of clear liquid, passed it over your drink like a ghost, and left the bar counter without you noticing. He faded into some far off corner, waiting for you to take the bait.

He must’ve already gotten Jayce and Viktor, then. So what stopped this drug from getting to you? And better yet, what would stop you from beat his ass this very moment instead of letting past you take the lead an hour from now.

You couldn’t just attack him, you knew better than to run head first into... whatever was going on. But, for comfort, your hand raced down to your belt and closed around the hilt of your knife. Your bottle of painkillers rattled in your pocket.

Painkillers. The ones that made you vomit when combined with alcohol.

You’d asked the bartender for mint. You were making a mojito, which you’d thrown up that night.

And then you understood that all of this had already happened to you, and your intervention was an important part of saving this night. But you had to do it now.

You edged further into the bar, pressing your palm down on the cap of the painkillers.

This was a bad idea.

You crammed a chalky white pill between your fingers. Your drink was open. The bartender was gone. No one would notice.

This was a bad idea.

Jayce and Viktor were enraptured by a debate with each other about... something stupid probably. Your heartbeat was fast.

This was a bad idea.

“Wait here,” you said to your Viktor, the one looming over your shoulder, who was too stunned with anything to reply.

This was a bad idea. You can’t change the past.

But clearly, you already had.

You blacked out for a bit. You forgot to breathe the entire time as you snaked out from your hallway and hugged the edge of the bar, trying and failing to act casual.

You were less than a foot away from yourself when you stalled, because that was you, right there. Your back was facing you, and you could’ve reached out and touched it.

But this timeline was meant to be changed, even if you had to be the one to do it.

So, when the pill slipped from your hands, into the shallow pool of Whalefall and rum at the bottom of your mug, with past you none the wiser, you felt a rush of raw determination. Everything would be okay.

You retreated into the hallway, a stop on your way back into the alleyway. Viktor just watched you, shaking.

“Did... did you-” he whispered as you gave yourself a final glance before you left the premises.

Your attention returned to your drink after the bartender gave you the mint you asked for. You scooted off the chair and joined Jayce and Viktor again, about the mix the mojito that would’ve been your doom.

“C’mon, let’s-”

A fading conversation bounced down the alleyway. You saw them from the corner of your eye.

Jayce’s attackers, lying in wait. You were fucked if you went back down the alleyway.

“Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Shit,” you muttered.

You couldn’t just walk through the bar either, not when you looked like you had just seen a ghost. You needed time to think. To come up with a plan.

But you were trapped.

You hastily backed into the bathroom, brushing against Viktor’s chest as you pushed his immobile body with you.

You shut the door and twisted the lock with numb hands.

“This can’t- I can’t- what the fuck-” Viktor panted. He was on the verge of hyperventilating.

You turned and leaned against the door, realizing for the first time since you’d arrived here that the gun was gone.

Well, shit.

The bathroom was tiny; the bare necessities of a rusty sink, soap, a hand towel, and a toilet were surrounded by aged wooden walls reminiscent of a ship’s head.

Not the time to reminisce.

“What- what did you do?” Viktor collapsed onto the toilet, rubbing his face with the heels of his hand.

“I, uh- I think I just drugged my own drink,” you said blankly, “so that I would throw up that shit they put in it. And then I could...” you trailed off.

“No! I mean-” Viktor caught a breath, “what... what happened? Why are we here? Is this... this is real, right?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “this... is real.”

“The reactor, and the... it must have been affected, and transported us...”

“Into the past,” you finished slowly, “when it connected with...”

“What was in that gun?!” his voice cracked, “Why did...”

“It came from the guy,” you said, “the first one I killed when I... when I came for you. The one we just saw. It was his...”

“And it connected with the gun from the past, meaning that we-” he groaned, anger gradually replacing the confusion, “And you- why did you have it?!” he snapped.

“Hey! This isn’t all me, okay, it did some shit with that reactor too!”

“Of all the godsdamned places we could go!” he threw his arms in the air, “And now we’re stuck here.”

“We’re not stuck,” you said, “We’ve got time before... everything happens. We’ll just wait for our opening and then-”

“And then what?! Get involved with all of this crap again?” he chuckled mirthlessly, “Oh you would like that, wouldn’t you?”

“I was making sure that we don’t die just now, dickweed!” you howled, “I don’t wanna see any of this shit again!”

“If you don’t want to see it again, then maybe you shouldn’t have done it to begin with.”

And finally, the cord inside of you that was wound so tight around your emotions broke in hafl.

“Alright, that’s it!” you slammed your hand down on the sink counter, “Did I do something wrong? I don’t understand how saving your bitch ass could possibly be a fuck up on my end, but I assure you I will not repeat that mistake.”

“Again with this rescue drivel! You can give it a rest, no one else is here.”

“You think I did all that shit, to them, to me, for fun?!”

“I don’t know why you did it, but it’s not because you wanted to help me,” he hissed.

“What the fuck are you talking about?!”

“You may have everyone else on your side,” he pointed a bony finger at your chest, “but you made a mistake. And I’ll tell you where you made a mistake.”

HIs spit shined in the artificial light, disturbing the dust mites suspended in the air.

“You came back for me,” he barked, “and if you think for a godsdamned second that I believe you came back, risked yourself, not even for my life but just for my wellbeing, with no ulterior motive, then you are dumber than you look,” he said, “You did not do anything for me. You did it for yourself because you wanted an excuse to do all that. I know it.”

He was sweating. He was hurting. And you were so, so close to channeling your turbulence and bewilderment straight into your fists, because you didn’t even have a good answer.

But then he said those words, and everything fell into place.

*****

“I’ve seen who you are in the dark, and you’re a monster.”

None of the catharsis that was supposed to be there came. You blinked once, twice, overflowing with nothing, like a dormant volcano.

The patter of footsteps outside was deafening.

And then your hands moved, and Viktor thought you were going to kill him.

BUt instead your fingers, steadier than he’d ever seen, met at the collar of your shirt and undid the first button. The fabric shifted as you inhaled.

“See, the thing about a lot of what happens on ships,” your cadence was stony, “is that it’s designed to not be debilitating, but to still hurt like hell.”

Viktor didn’t answer, watching as you weaved down to the second button.

“Injuries that you can still do your job with. You get this little jolt of pain every time that you move.”

You crept down to the third button.

“And you can see it for a while after if you look. Because they don’t want you to forget.”

The fourth. The placid mauve color of your bra poked through, and though Viktor was very briefly tempted to follow the luscious line of your chest, the rapid descent of your hands and the severity in your voice killed the thought.

“And if you’ve been sailing for a while, and it happens over and over again...”

The fifth.

“Then you get something to show for it.”

The sixth. You turned around and peeled the shirt off your back.

Starting at your shoulder blades and extending to beyond your pants was an explosion of scars. They were raised, long, and straight, overlapping with each other but occasionally grouping together in parallel rows as though they’d come from some vicious, clawed animal. There were so many.

The craggy lines reminded Viktor of a map, perhaps a conglomerate of rivers or mountains, but only on the surface. These were far too angry, tangled with each other like they were trying to suffocate themselves, yet aged into your skin like hieroglyphics.

Whip scars. Viktor did not need to ask where they came from.

After a small eternity, in which Viktor fought off the urge to reach out and trace them with this finger, you pulled your shirt over your back and turned around, leaving your clavicle exposed as you addressed him.

“Because everywhere has monsters,” your voice was almost a whisper as you snared his eyes with your own, narrowed ones, “and I’ve seen Bilgewater’s. I’m reminded of what they’re capable of every single day.”

You straightened your posture, and the sharp corners of your eyelids softened in a way only Viktor could notice.

“Is it so wrong of me to want to protect you from that?”

The silence sighed.

Peals of laughter - laughter from you and Viktor and Jayce - bled through the bathroom door. Yet Viktor said nothing.

And he wanted to say everything.

He had a million answers to your question, and a million questions for you to answer, and a million grievances to take up with the gods themselves, and as they were all tearing his mind apart in every direction and giving him a searing headache, he couldn’t stop plunging himself into your frustrated, yet painfully earnest gaze as you waited for a single answer that he would never have.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” you said, pressing yourself against the door and buttoning your shirt. All the ire had evaporated, and left disappointment in its place.

You expected him to be better - not just expected, even, but worked for it. Put yourself out there, in the cold, cruel world to keep him on track, because you thought he had something worth protecting.

And the worst part was that he could be better than this, but the thought of letting you down was suddenly so terrifying, that he didn’t know where to begin,

He had to try, though. He couldn’t miss his chance.

“I... I thought it was too good to be true,” he said softly.

You laughed.

“Oh, really? That was what was too good to be true, Mr. Heimerdinger’s assistant who does break-ins on the side?” your fake smile dropped, “Don’t fucking patronize me.”

Viktor raised a melancholy eyebrow.

“Being Heimerdinger’s assistant was too good to be true,” he said, embarrassed for some reason.

And... he’d lost you. You rolled your eyes and prepared to sit down on the floor, but, before Viktor even thought about it, he gently grabbed your knuckles.

“No, please, you don’t understand,” he stammered, looking past your pupils.

Your face was still, and Viktor could really focus on your ear and nose while you were awake, with everything he knew about you to evaluate it against.

And despite his best efforts, all he saw was someone who had been through a lot, and was putting even more on hold so they could listen to him speak. The least he could do was give them a worthwhile explanation.

“I- those years, when I had to work the hardest job on campus just to say there, to even have a chance at making something of myself... those were some of the worst years of my life. I hate the story of how I became Herimerdinger’s assistant.”

He exhaled, keeping himself together for your sake.

“But everyone knows it, because people in Piltover love to tell it. Without my permission, too. It makes them feel comfortable in their system; that somehow, the people who ‘deserve’ to be here will always find their way to Piltover, even if they have to deal with a lot of... eh, bullshit.”

Your hand was smaller in his own. He had your attention, but he kept holding it.

“Every success that I’ve had here is like that. You have seen it with how people, the Council, treat Hextech. Piltover talks about my- our wellbeing in times like these, yet in reality, they could not care less about what happens to us as long as they get what they want,” he said, “And what- what I’m trying to say is that, when things started to go bad, when we were losing Hextech, and when I was very angry, and I wasn’t thinking straight, I thought that you were one of those people. And that was upsetting because-”

Everything he thought to say here made him sound like an office manager or the world’s biggest sap. Because I value your company? Because you remind me of the person I want to be, even when I feel like crap? Because I finally understand you, and I keep wanting to know more?

He heard himself guffawing in the bar. He remembered this laugh - you had just recounted the time that you had to pretend to be Freljordian, but only knew the swear words in the language.

In a few minutes, Viktor would feel comfortable enough to recall the time that he accidentally brought Heimerdinger a smut novel instead of the biology text he requested, because of the similar covers.

“Because I really thought we were starting to be friends,” he said sheepishly, “even though I have not acted like one in the past few days,” he placed his other hand on top of your knuckles, “and I am truly sorry.”

You sharply exhaled and looked at your shoes before returning the eye contact with curious resolve.

“Piltover doesn’t deserve you, y’know,” you said bluntly.

Viktor understood Jayce’s apprehension with the company now. He would shut the entire thing down to prevent anything like this from falling on you.

“Perhaps not, but... you risked your life and I still get to be here. I cannot thank you enough,” he squeezed his hand, “And Penny, I promise you that as long as I have something to say about it, you will not be in that position again.”

However impossible that was, he meant every word. Precious few people ever considered him something to be deserved, and even fewer defended it with their bare chest and back.

And there was only one you.

“Psh, alright,” you pulled your hand away, leaving Viktor to grasp at the cold, “apology accepted, don’t overcomplicate it. Now you know... cause we’re both kinda fucked, so we gotta watch out for each other, right?

You smiled, slightly apologetic for killing the atmosphere, and a bit... nervous? Your hands were fidgeting.

More laughter came from inside the bar.

“Indeed,” Viktor sat back down on the lid of the toilet, “we do.”

“And, uh, don’t worry about trying to make it up or anything. You’ve helped me before. We’re equal.”

“That was different,” Viktor didn’t know exactly what you were referring to, but he assumed that none of it had the same weight.

“It still meant a lot,” you insisted, “and besides, things wouldn’t have gotten this far if I hadn’t avoided talking about the whole, uh, murder party, so...”

From the onset of tact in your voice and the way that your body froze as you tried to process a single emotion, Viktor could tell that you meant it. Yes, you were a tad emotionally constipated, but liked you as you were.

He stayed silently committed to his promise.

“We should... leave here,” he changed the subject

“Yeah. Shouldn’t be too hard, now that we’re not acting too suspicious or anything, so I think we’ll just wait for our opening and go out the front without attracting any attention,” you cracked open the bathroom door, surveying the minefield of potential sightings, “only trouble is that we don’t really have anywhere to go after that.”

“There is one place we could go,” Viktor said.

After a nerve-wracking fifteen minutes of watching bar customers slowly clear out as the night got darker, you two left with a large wave of them, making it into the outside’s chilled embrace without a hitch.

You broke apart the awkwardness with commentary about the snow that just started to fall, saying that you were “a fan of this frozen precipitation,” to which Viktor chuckled at through his exhaustion.

The last stop on your journey was a call made at the PER by the bridge to the Enforcers, to report your own incident. Viktor got to hear your terrible Freljordian accent again as you faked being a Helga Olafersson.

And you left Piltover, the memories of the bar, and any other bullshit behind as you crossed the bridge, side by side, to the Undercity.

~ End Notes ~

Your daily reminder to not tell shit to cops

End Credits Song: "The Night" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

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writing-for-me-at-this-point · 4 years

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Pact Marks | All Brothers

Request: pact mark hc with the brothers?

Word Count: 1971 words

Page Count: 5.5 pages

A.N.: hope you guys enjoy this!

Tags: none :)

[ U N D A T E A B L E S ]

Lucifer

Lucifer would place his pact mark on the space where your neck meets your ear, somewhere modest and easy to hide, something you could show and hide as you pleased. Though you could hide it, it was in an obvious spot, fitting for the Avatar of Pride. When you summon him or speak with him through it the pact mark glows a deep blue.

If you wear your hair down, he will play with your hair before rubbing the mark gently, and if he is in an extra soft mood he'll give it a quick kiss before moving on. If you wear your hair up he feels prideful, more so than usual, and it intensifies even more if it is a formal gathering where any and all can see it. He'll be glued to that one side where the mark is, and he'll lean in to whisper to you whenever he wants to speak with you, giving a quick kiss to it or just touching it before standing up again.

His pact mark with you on the palm of his hand, and he finds himself thumbing it mindlessly to comfort himself, he starts to understand why Beel does it when he's nervous. Lucifer isn't nervous though, he just likes to remind himself of you, he likes to touch the mark that proves you're both bound together in such a way. When he speaks to you through the mark or tries to look through your eyes, activating the mark, it glows a bright white and reminds him of a blessing mark that angels give.

Having a pact with Lucifer makes him feel light, in a literal and metaphorical sense, every time he even thinks of it.

You bring him light that he thought he had lost long ago.

Mammon

Mammon would keep your pact mark on your collar bone, in the center, right where your throat dips into your chest. He knew you were caring, and being around you had him feeling different, and he wanted to be greedy. Since he is more emotionally inclined, I like to think that he can connect with souls and auras better, so when he felt your soul and looked at it a bit closer he felt so connected to it he knew he wanted to get close with you. It glows a bright gold when it activates, and he loves it, so sometimes when you're sleeping he'll call to the mark and kinda just look in amazement.

Since he is very touchy, he loves to lay his head down on it, and listens to your heart and the soft buzz of his magic in your skin. He falls asleep fastest on those nights.

His mark with you is in the same place, and like his older brother when you use it it glows a soft white, something he loves since it matches well with his demon markings. Run your nails over it and the boy m e l t s. Since he had his collar opened all the time he loves when people see it, he makes pacts with witches all the time but this is the first time he's allowed a mark on him, and this honestly has everyone just lowkey s h o o k. Like Mammon? The pact whore for grimm? Allowed a mark? on H I M ?

Having a pact with Mammon makes him feel pride, ironically, but also loved and wanted.

He actually feels like an equal, when all else isn't, this is the one time where it's you AND him.

Leviathan

His pact mark on you is on your foot and wraps around your ankle, it seems easy to hide, but you can never really hide it. Unless you're wearing shoes that cover your ankle often or pants that don't ride up your ankle, it's always showing somewhere. He is a strong swimmer and loves to see you swim too, so he knows legs are important for the task, and that's where the idea of placing his mark on your ankle came from. Sometimes, he'll jump in the tank with you, and since he can breathe underwater with his gills (broski I like the idea of him having gills P L E A S E), he'll sit back and chill with Henry swimming around his head, seeing your mark move with the rest of your leg.

When you use the mark, it becomes a soft orange, the same shade that hides behind his eyes when they become more snake-like. Lay your legs over him when he's playing games and he'll settle the controller on your other ankles, letting his fingers brush against the mark on the other. Little shit will even let his claws some out just to scratch them lightly and tickle you like a motherfucker.

His mark is on the ankle opposite of yours, so when you're both cuddling he'll link your ankle around his, the feeling of you WITH him blows his mind sometimes. Same case when he uses it, glows white, due to you being a human and having such a bright soul.

Having a pact with Leviathan makes him feel like he's worth something.

You helped him gain confidence and become a demon that deserves the title of Avatar of Envy.

Satan

His pact mark runs from the top of your calf to about mid-thigh, right on the back of your leg, it's large, slender, and delicate. It glows neon green when activated, something that he honestly finds cool as hell, because:

1. It's something that means you have a piece of him with you.

2. You make it look awesome.

3. It's honestly so fucking cool.

Like Levi, when you're both relaxing, him reading and you doing work/listening to music, and your legs are on his, he'll touch the mark mindlessly and feel so at peace. But, if you're ticklish, guess who also is a little shit. If you're in bed, and laying on your stomach, he'll lay his head on your thigh and just trace his with a look on his face that says 'wow' and if you think of that meme, yes, that's valid.

His mark is on the top of his hand, he always gets to see it, looking at it shows him the progress he's made. He knows how to manage his anger and actively tries to have it processed through a better outlet. You helping him along the way makes him have hope, an emotion that could seem a bit foreign at times, but he likes it. He feels light.

Making a pact with Satan has him feeling like he can be anything he wants.

He can be himself, not an extension of someone else.

Asmodeus

Asmodeus has no shame, but, when he cares- when he really does, he wants to make it meaningful. He would place it on your hip and have it there and only there, it won't wrap around to your ass or to your front, just your hip. He loves to watch it glow a radiant pink, so he'll section off time to just lay his head on your lap and ask you to call him, the tug of magic and the light emanating from your skin does something to him. Sure, it could be lust, or maybe something more, you may be able to figure it out if he told you.

He didn't want to though. He'd just enjoy the feeling without having to figure it out, because figuring it out meant facing himself, and we can't have that just yet. His pact mark is right over his heart, though Mammon's mark is in the same area, it isn't right over his heart. It is settled right between his pectorals, a slight bit to the left, always hovering around the muscle that proves he's alive and able to love in some capacity.

He often would come up to you and just place his hand on it, palm flat against your hip while his mark would flare up in an ivory light, he swears he can feel your pulse through it and wonders if you can feel his.

Having a pact with Asmodeus makes him feel as if he can be seen past his title- which ever one, and just be himself.

He can devout himself to something that means more than him.

Beelzebub

Beelzebub's pact mark is not on your abdomen actually! He wanted to place it on his favorite spot, on the back of your shoulder, away from the place where his sin seems to ravage him. It of course, glows a deep crimson, but be prefers it when it isn't activated- because it means you're safe and you don't need to call on him to help. He loves when you sit on his lap, because of a few reasons.

1. You're with him :)

2. You're happy :)

3. He can look at your mark as much as he likes, especially if it's exposed, he'll "somehow" leave small kisses all over it. They're so soft, you can't help but laugh, it's ticklish at times. It becomes even more ticklish when he presses his face against it, and if you laugh, he laughs, his laughs against your skin either make you soft or cackle in delight.

4. Your pact mark is right against his!

Beel would have his pact mark right on his chest, matching it to the side you choose to have your pact mark on. This makes the big boi real emotional, and he'll sometimes let some magic through and it glows, and you're kinda like:

"I hope that's a glow stick and not you again Beel."

"Let's just say it's a glow stick for now."

Having a pact with Beelzebub means you're a part of his family, happy, and healthy.

It really just makes him emotional.

Belphegor

When you make a pact with Belphegor, this lil' shit is honestly so surprised you said yes, but considering it was a gift you probably said yes to be respectful. But... you didn't.

Your pact mark with him is on the back of your neck, where the cervical vertebrae are, moving a bit lower to the thoracic spine. When you suggested it go there, he had to ask why, and boy did he tear up once you explained it to him later that night. You wanted to trust him again and put the past behind you, so what better place to mend a wound than the place that finally put your lights out?

Please don't say it like this to him though, if you do he would think you're joking.

But if that's how it comes out, he'll think you're joking, until he remembers you're you and... he gets it.

It glows purple when activated or when you're sleepy/ in some type of stress, he wants to read your emotions so he can help you as much as he can, make up for what was done. He would never admit it though, and you can tell he's trying his best. His mark would be in the same exact place, not only to remind him of what he did, but that he can do better to make amends. He punishes himself for your death and you try to ease him out of it- and though it takes time, you'll find your way to it.

He finds himself doing what Beel does, and will bury his face into your mark when he cuddles into you, and places small kisses on it. If he is laying on you, please touch the mark, it manages to calm him into a good sleep.

Making a pact with Belphegor means you're ready to grow and build something better with him.

You help him find a better path that he needs to walk down on his own.

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morgue-xiiv · 3 years

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List of Disco Elysium Fanfics that are less shippy

This isn’t about fics not having shipping, and nor is it about fics where the romance hasn’t happened, or doesn’t work out. it’s about fics that are about something else. So if you’re thinking of re-blogging and adding to the list, ask yourself for each fic, if it’s NOT about shipping, what IS it about? Do I secretly wanna put down my Roommates fic? Sure, I worked hard on that thing... But, it is, at its heart, still basically a will-they?? domestic fluff. I can’t in good faith say it’s about something other than romance regardless of outcome or framing. Also sorry this list is fulla my own work, I am bad at reading and worse at remembering, so my stuff is what I remember. I’d apologise for how much of what’s left is my friends but my friend are just good writers, so, I will not.

1) Kim/Harry/(Jean) is a thing, but it’s not the plot

Lepak’s 10,000 Things According to Will [Kim & Harry are already together and their relationship conflicts and development feature, but it’s secondary, even tertiary, to the point of the story which is to be the best comfort fanfic]

Lepak’s Nothing to Lose But Our Chains [ development of Kim and Harry’s relationship is a side plot, but secondary to the main plot which is to be the best upsetting fanfic ]

Syb’s Osterlie’s Derealisation Claim [ AU where they’re mathematicians. Any canoodling is secondary to the maths they do. Old favourite.]

Mine: Interisoliary [ short, but it does fit the criteria I guess? they hold hands? I wrote it so I can say it’s not SUPPOSED to be about romance. ]

Supposed to be Writing’s Catacombs Killer [ Fic’s not finished and I’m not up to date on it, but if there’s shipping happening, I haven’t noticed it yet, placing it here based on tags heuristics.]

Leoandsnake’s You’re So Juvie [ More about an AU where JKH are investigating something in very different circumstances from when they usually meet, than wether they also kiss. ]

2) Kim/Harry ambiguous, potential or irrelevant

Mine: Trant’s Tritris Trauma Therapy [ This was my first fic! It’s mid-canon so no romance. Harry’s not even conscious for barely any of it. It’s short but it’s probably my favourite thing I wrote. ]

Orionali’s I, Elis Kortanaer I’m still mid reading this but uh, from my memory and tags, it’s not shippy.

Limey’s One More Door [Short but sweet and shipless. ]

Mine: I Do Not See It [ Mostly about Kim and his previous partner... currently unfinished, to my great shame... BUT I wrote it so i can promise even in unreleased chapter 5, Kim and Harry are not at all in love ]

Lepak and Lumi’s The Wing [ Like an Office parody of precinct 41. Unfinished, but not shippy. Actually, worth checking out Lumi’s work in general cos I think she’s done a few fics where relationships are more background, but my memory is bad so I can’t remember which ones ]

Positively Vexed’s All the Way Down [ Maybe this is a bit shippy, but the focus is more on Kim getting severely injured, so I highly recommend it anyway ]

Pointyshade’s Great Unnatural Territory [ This is extremely extremely not to my taste, but it’s sure not romantic! Focus is on Harry/recovery/mental health ]

4) Focus is on specific character / children

Omnishamble’s Les Yeux Kim and Eyes fic.

Shade of Wrong’s Yours is No Disgrace Kim and Eyes again.

Stonekey’s The Dog Untrained Cuno-focused: I haven’t read all of this one but people were raving over it and what I read was great. I am bad at reading.

Dr Disco Broski’s Funky Findings Also Cuno. It’s short but it’s great.

Doggo’s Fifteenth Indotribe fic

Syb’s Bloodletting Blue [On the unromantic topic of police brutality]

the skills event in general produced a fair few short fics that have no shipping elements at all! But some fics... well, say someone got given Logic with 2 days to the deadline, how do you write a logic fic without it turning out romantic?

#Disco Elysium #fanfic

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combat-wombatus · 4 years

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Truth or Dare

Pairing: Sero Hanta x reader

Genre: fluff, a lil bit of crack

Warnings: swearing (bakugou), but other than that, none! (unless u have traumatic memories of truth or dare)

WC: 3.1k

Summary: Mina and Denki work together to make sure that you know exactly who Sero's crush is.

(A/N): so @klvbxlove requested some headcanons about sero’s fem!crush having an obsession with kpop/anime and sero doing cute stuff for her and i tried sticking with the prompt in the beginning but then i led myself off-topic (oops) so it turned into this! sorry it’s not what u requested, i can write something else for u if u want! i was just struck by sudden ✨inspiration✨ for this fic so...here u go...

“EEEK!” You squealed, bouncing over to your friends. “LOOKLOOKLOOK-”

“(Y/L/N),” Bakugou grumbled. “Calm the fuck down, no one can understand you.”

You took a deep breath, then handed your phone over to Mina.

As soon as Mina saw the screen, she started squealing just like you were.

“(Y/N)!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMG-” she grabbed your arms and started jumping up and down like an overexcited toddler.

Bakugou rolled his eyes, gave an exasperated huff, then stomped away. “Can’t deal with you idiots when you’re like this.”

Mina dragged you by your arm over to a bench on the side of the cafeteria and the two of you spent your lunch break slurping udon and watching your favorite K-pop group’s newest music video on repeat.

Sero was chatting idly with his friends, mouth full of sushi. Unbeknownst to you, he had been watching you from the corner of his eye, sneaking glances every couple of minutes. Dense as Kaminari may be academically, he had noticed Sero’s preoccupation with you throughout the meal.

“Hey bro,” He poked Sero’s elbow with the clean end of his chopstick. “Whaddya keep looking at (Y/L/N)-chan for?” He squinted at Sero. He glanced briefly at you, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, turned his eyes back on Sero. “Do you have a crush on her or something?”

Sero choked on his piece of salmon and spluttered, face beet red. “N-no! It’s not l-like that!”

Bakugou snorted. “You dumbass. The hell you mean ‘it’s not like that’? Any idiot with eyes and half a brain can see that you’re obsessed with her.”

As Sero tried to deny his feelings for you, Mina slowly shifted her attention from your phone to hers, which was dinging incessantly.

Kaminari

hey bro bro broski my man my lady? minaaaaa

Mina

asdkjfhluhal i told u to stop calling me that and what

Kaminari

so u know abt seros crush right

Mina

u have the AUDACITY to ask me, the queen of gossip, whether or not I know abt seros crush? the sheer AUDACITY is STAGGERING-

Kaminari

ok ok stop bullying me anyways wanna get them tog?

Mina

D U H would be easier if y/n wasn’t so dense and sero wasn’t so chicken

Kaminari

since ur in do u have a plan

Mina grinned. Of course she did. What kind of person did Kaminari think she was?

Mina

take sero to the boba place after school meet u there

Pocketing her phone, she turned back to face you. She had to resist the urge to cackle. This was gonna be fun.

Later that day, you and Mina walked to the dorms together.

“Whaddya say we go out today?” Mina asked excitedly, eyes gleaming. You found it a bit suspicious, since yesterday she had told you that she was failing math and was going to study with Yaomomo today.

“Didn’t you say you were going to study with Yaomomo?”

“Shit.” Mina face palmed. “I did, didn’t I? But I don’t waannnnaaa,” she whined. “Let’s just go out and get some boba and we’ll come back,” she promised, giving you the puppy dog eyes.

“Okay, okay.” You relented. “But if you fail math again, don’t blame it on me.”

She clasped a hand to her chest dramatically. “I would NEVER.”

Giggling, the two of you made your way to Coco’s Café, a cozy little place that served everything from coffee to cookies. It was also a developing cat café, mostly due to the popularity of the kitty that the place was named for, Coco.

Sidling up to the counter, you ordered a matcha boba tea while Mina ordered a strawberry milk tea with lychee jelly and boba.

“Is that it for you ladies today?” The man behind the counter asked cheerfully.

“Yes please!” Mina replied. The two of you sat in a corner booth, sipping your drinks and gossiping.

“Hey (Y/N),” Mina started. “So you know about Sero’s crush, right?”

You halted mid-sip. What? Sero had a crush?

Laughing at your startled expression, Mina leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. “So,” she whispered. “Who do you think it is?”

You sat there, drink forgotten, racking your brain for possibilities. Jirou and Hagakure hung out with Sero sometimes, exchanging memes and goofing around, but they weren’t really around that often. Usually, Sero only hung out with Kaminari, Kirishima, Bakugou, Mina, and you. Mina, possibly? Was Sero gay? Did he have a thing for, say, Kaminari or Kirishima? You didn’t think that Sero would be the type to like Bakugou, but hey, he put up with Bakugou’s temper all the time, so maybe? Ugh. You resisted the urge to groan and drop your head into your hands. This was so complicated.

Mina sat back, this reaction obviously not being what she had hoped for. “Well?” She crossed her arms. “Do you have a guess yet?”

You thought about it, then decided to pick an answer randomly. “You?” You tried.

Mina snorted and almost spit out her drink. You were absolutely unbelievable. Of all the people you could’ve chosen, you picked HER? “No, (Y/N). It’s not me,” she managed to choke out in between fits of laughter.

You sprawled out on the table, no longer concealing your frustration. “Who is it then?” You whined. “Jirou? Hagakure? Is Sero gay?”

Mina actually did spit out her drink this time.

As she cleaned up her mess, Mina silently judged you with her signature side-eye. She really is that dense, huh. Guess I’ll have to knock some sense into her.

Furiously brainstorming, you tried to think of any more possibilities. As you sat in silence, something warm and fuzzy crawled sneakily onto your lap, and stayed there.

Knocked from your daze, you glanced down and the unfamiliar presence, only to realize that it was a kitty. THE kitty. Coco, the café’s namesake.

“Aww,” you cooed, lightly scratching behind her ears. She purred happily in response to your ministrations and curled into herself, tail tucked neatly around her haunches.

Just then, the doorbell jingled and the rest of your close friends walked in.

“Hey!” Kaminari chirped, giving you and Mina a lighthearted wave.

“Hey!” You replied, unaware of the glare Mina was currently giving Kaminari. As soon as they went up to order, Mina stood up and announced that she was going to the bathroom. You took out your phone and scrolled through your social media feeds, taking advantage of this time to research.

“Psst!” Mina pinched Kaminari’s elbow lightly.

“Ow! What?” Kaminari turned to face her.

Mina gave Kaminari her scariest glare. “I told you to bring Sero, not the whole squad!”

Kaminari whimpered. “But Kirishima heard and wanted to tag along too! And it would’ve been suspicious if I said no! And then Bakubro heard that Kiri was coming and decided to come too-”

Mina sighed. “You could’ve texted Sero in private!”

Scratching the back of his head, Kaminari gave Mina a sheepish smile. “Sorry Mina, I hadn’t thought of that”.

Mina stole a quick glance back at your table, and seeing that you were otherwise occupied, she turned her attention back to Kaminari.

“So, Stage 1 of the plan didn’t work. She didn’t even seem to consider herself as a possibility! However, no fear! It is time that we put Stage 2 into action!” Mina whisper-shouted. “It’ll be more complicated with Kiri and Bakugou present, but we always have a Plan B!” She quickly related her backup plan to Kaminari, who promised to tell the boys (minus Sero) to make it run more smoothly.

After giving Kaminari a quick fist bump, Mina slinked back into her seat. “So, (Y/N),” she paused, chin resting on her hand. “Since the boys are here, why don’t we ask Sero himself?”

You looked up from your phone. You hadn’t really found any clues as to who Sero’s crush could be. Most, if not all, of his posts were with your group of friends. You thought about it for a moment.

“Wouldn’t it be awkward if he didn’t want us to know?” You asked Mina.

“Oh, but we’re nosy friends! It’s our JOB to know and then tease him about it!” Mina giggled. “And besides,” she added. “Aren’t you even a little bit curious?”

You hesitated. She did have a point. You were curious, but at the same time, a little voice in the back of your brain nagged at you. Did you really want to know? Did you really want to see him crushing on someone else, and then tease him about it? That wouldn’t really be funny, for you, at least. But if you disagreed with Mina, it would be suspicious, and besides, you WERE curious. Even if the answer wasn’t the one you wanted, you would still rather it be out in the open than bottled inside. You’d rather know for certain than lose sleep over it at night.

Sighing, you relented. “Sure. What did you have in mind?”

Mina rested both of her elbows on the table and smiled at you, eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Truth or dare.”

As the boys returned, each holding their own drinks, Mina was bouncing in her seat. Bakugou and Kirishima each pulled up a chair, and Sero took the chance to sit next to you. At that, Mina smirked devilishly.

“So,” she grinned, fingertips dancing on the table. “Let’s play truth or dare.”

Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. He couldn’t believe he’d been roped into this, but Kirishima and Kaminari wouldn’t let him ruin it. Kirishima dropped a fist on the table. “Yeah!” He turned towards Mina. “Who’s starting?”

Mina pretended to think about it, when in reality, she had already made plans.

“How about (Y/N)?”

“Me?” You raised an eyebrow. You thought that Mina would be the one to interrogate Sero.

“Yes you, dummy,” Mina teased. “Is there another (Y/N) sitting here?”

You rolled your eyes. “Who are you calling dummy?”

Mina grumbled. “Just get on with it, would you? Who are you going to ask?”

“Hmm. How about Sero?” You turned to face him. “Truth or dare?”

Sero was panicking. You weren’t the type to give out ridiculous dares, and he definitely needed to be cautious about truth. “Dare.” He said confidently.

You chuckled. Mina had prepared you for this possibility.

“I dare you to kiss your crush within the next 24 hours,” you said, “and the whole squad had to be there to see it.”

Mina and Kaminari let out simultaneous “oohs”. Bakugou pointed out the obvious. “Why the next 24 hours?”

“Because we don’t know who his crush is and they’re probably not here right now,” you answered. “And the whole squad will have to see it to make sure that he does it and doesn’t chicken out. You’ll have to ask their permission first, though,” you added. “Consent is key. Even if they turn you down, as long as you tried, we’ll count the dare as completed.”

Your friends nodded in agreement. Mina clapped her hands gleefully. “You should’ve known, Sero! You can’t hide things from us!”

Sero was *this* close to having a panic attack. He had to consciously remind himself to keep breathing. This is going to be so embarrassing how am I going to do this without making an utter and complete fool of myself gosh you really should’ve not stared at her at lunch today Sero or this wouldn’t have happened jeez are you really that dumb now the whole squad will know and you won’t be able to look her in the eye anymore adfkhiavelrsnjaerliaevr BREATHE SERO BREATHE-

The game continued. Mina dared Bakugou to smile for 5 consecutive minutes, at which Bakugou nearly flew out of his seat, palms crackling.

“You fucking extra how dare you-” He didn’t get to finish, as Mina quickly took out her phone and opened the timer app.

“And the countdown starts now!” She cackled. “That is, unless you forfeit-”

“I’M NOT GONNA LOSE TO YOU, YOU DUMB FUCKING EXTRA!!!” With that, Bakugou angrily took his seat again, disregarding all the angry scowls he received from the rest of the café’s patrons, and pulled his lips up into what could only be described as the devil’s grin. He sat like that for a full five minutes, glaring lasers into Mina, not moving a muscle. You think Mina was mentally scarred after that, because she never looked at Bakugou for the rest of the game.

Kirishima dared Kaminari to record a video of him singing the pi song and send it to Jirou. The poor boy had so many voice cracks while singing it that Kirishima went easy on him and told him to just send the first 15 seconds.

Bakugou dared you to let everyone look through your phone for one minute. You were reluctant, but seeing as you were relatively normal with only minimal embarrassing photos, no confession texts, and a fairly clean search history, you let them do it. The most embarrassing thing they found was your playlist.

“How the fuck is your playlist 74 hours and 42 minutes? What the fuck do you have on here?” Bakugou held out your phone for the rest of your friends to see.

“And why is your history full of that shitty Korean music?”

You gasped. He did not.

“Hey!” You snatched your phone back. “If you’re going to insult my music, you don’t get to continue!”

“Tch.” Bakugou sneered. “You call that shit music?”

You were thoroughly offended by this point and refused to even acknowledge his statement. You glared at Bakugou with as much intensity as you could muster. This man had no taste in music whatsoever.

The 1-minute timer dinged, and Bakugou was saved from a scathing talking-to as you all moved onto the next victim.

Mina was dared to order a glass of milk with ice, then put it on a random table (with customers) and leave without an explanation. She ended up choosing an old couple, likely in their sixties, who were cuddling with two cats. They’d each ordered a cup of coffee and shared a plate of cookies. When Mina put the glass of iced milk on their table, and the two women shared a confused look before turning their attention to Mina.

“Thank you?” The lady with horn-rimmed glasses asked rather shakily.

“Yes, thank you very much young lady, but we didn’t order this?” The one who had a tabby on her lap said, perplexed, looking Mina up and down.

Mina made a motion with her hand, zipping her lips, then giggled and sat back down at your table. The two ladies, baffled, took one look at your table and seemed to understand what was going on. They turned back to their coffees and cats and resumed their conversation.

You had all gone one full circle, and everyone had finished their drinks, so you all decided that it was time to go. You rubbed between Coco’s ears one last time and walked out into the afternoon sun.

“Hey Sero!” Kirishima clapped Sero on his back. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten about your dare,” he smiled cheekily. “Better get it over with when we first head back into the dorms, huh? That’ll probably be the easiest time to get it over with.”

Sero groaned. He’d hoped that you would all forget after the game was over, but his luck had run dry. He’d have to face the music sooner or later. He debated on his options. If he waited too long, he’d seem cowardly. He didn’t want to do that. On the other hand, maybe if he waited a full day, you would all forget? He shook his head. No, with Mina here, she’d never let him live it down. And besides, who was he to renege on a dare?

Taking his hands out of his pockets, he rubbed them together nervously. This was it. This was the moment of truth.

“Hey guys! Wait up!” He called out to Kirishima and Bakugou, who had walked ahead of the group. “I’ve got something to show you!”

Bakugou quirked an eyebrow. “Oh?” He smirked. “Whatcha got, Tape Arms?”

Sero cleared his throat. “I-I’m ready. I’m ready to do the dare.”

Your heart leapt into your throat. It was just you and the rest of the squad here. Did you really have a chance? You were scared to get your hopes up, but maybe, just maybe, you would be the one he kissed.

Hands curled into fists at his sides, Sero gulped. He was doing this. He was really doing this. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and out, and strode over to where you and Mina stood.

“(Y/N),” He stared at his feet. “Would you…would you allow me to kiss you?”

You covered your mouth with your hand, trying to calm yourself down. It was you. Sero had a crush on you. Your crush liked you back!

After a while, Bakugou felt the need to step in.

“Oi, dumbass!” He hollered, garnering the attention of curious passerby. “You gonna let Soy Sauce Face over there kiss you or not?”

Your face flushed a furious red. “U-Umm, y-yeah!” You stuttered. “You can kiss me, Sero!” You cringed at how excited you sounded.

Slowly, Sero tilted his face downwards. He lifted your chin tenderly and lowered his lips to yours. His lips were soft against yours, his breath tickling your cheek as he let go. You blushed harder than you ever thought was possible, and he looked down with a pleased smile.

“Thanks, (Y/N).” He said in a soft voice. “Can I take this as a sign that you have feelings for me too?”

Nodding frantically, you whispered a noncommittal “mhm”.

“Can’t hear you, sweets,” Sero teased. “Come on, I’m gonna need a verbal confirmation.”

Looking up at him, you cleared your throat. “Yes.” You whispered in a slightly louder tone. “Yes, I h-have feelings for you too.”

At this admission, your friends all cheered, Mina hooting especially loudly. “Hells yeah!” She high-fived Kaminari. “We did it!”

“Best wingmen ever!” Kaminari shouted.

“That was so manly of you Sero!” Kirishima added, flashing a thumbs-up. “Congrats!”

“Tch. Yeah, whatever. Finally got it in their thick skulls that they liked each other. Big fucking deal,” Bakugou grumbled.

“Hey, hey! Don’t you go and ruin the mood now!” Mina scolded him. “Just look at them! They look so happy!” She pointed towards you and Sero.

“Hmph. Well, those idiots could’ve been happier sooner if Sero had the fucking balls to confess earlier.”

“Oh, shut it already! Just be glad that they’re finally together!”

“Like I care.”

“Stop pretending, you big grouch! We all know you care!”

“Tch.”

Masterlist

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