#in other news. I finished all currently available chapters.

[otaku553]

Trying very hard to figure out how to draw his hair

[wandamaximoffsbadgirl]

The Witch's Bodyguard

Actress!Wanda Maximoff x Bodygaurd!Fem!Reader

Summary: Wanda is in need of a new bodyguard and you are called upon to fill in.

Word Count:

Warnings: None this is just a set up and establish chapter

A/N: I'm so glad you're all looking forward to this series!

Wanda Maximoff; sure you'd heard the name before. She was one of the top celebrities around. You didn't pay any of it much mind as you worked security at a gala. Your manager had asked you to work there since she'd be there talking about contracts with people. She had other bodyguards under her, but she always favored you. 

“Y/N?” You hear your manager, Val, called out as you stand on the balcony making you turn towards her. Next to her was Wanda Maximoff, you'd seen her around talking with a handful of others like Natasha Romanoff and Kate Bishop. 

“What's up Val? Everything okay?” You ask immediately going into guard mode. She chuckles a bit, putting a hand on your bicep. 

“Calm down. Nothing serious. Miss. Maximoff here was asking about you when she overheard me speaking so highly of you.” You looked over at the ash blonde, you had seen earlier someone playing the trailer for her upcoming movie which explained the blonde instead of her natural brunette.

“Ma'am.” You gave a nice enough smile and held out your hand. 

“It is very nice to meet you…” Her voice trailed off, leaving you to fill in.

“Y/L/N. Y/N Y/L/N.” She smiles and takes your hand.  You see her eyes rake over you, assessing if you'd be a good fit. Currently you were wearing black army pants and a tight fitting black short sleeve shirt. As she looked you over, you swear you see her bite her lip.

“You said she's available, right?” Wanda looks away, back to Val, as if you suddenly don't exist anymore.

“Yes she's open right now. We can draw up a contract for you to look over if you'd like?” Val suggests earning a smile from Wanda.

“That would be lovely. Can it be ready tomorrow? My last bodyguard had to take a leave so I am I'm need of one as soon as possible.” You wonder what could have possibly happened for only a moment before your presence is being requested elsewhere through your ear piece.

“It was lovely to meet you Miss. Maximoff, but I'm needed in the main hall concerning a matter.” You take your leave with a smile, getting one back from both women. 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

You had woken up at 5am, done your workout, showered, and had breakfast before you were being summoned by Val for this new contract. Standing in the at home office with Val, Wanda, and a handful of lawyers and other important people from Wanda's team all gathered. You stood at ease behind Val wearing much the same as you were yesterday. Only difference was an army green shirt today.

“We need your signature Mrs. Y/L/N, can we get your signature?” One of the lawyers asked.

“It's Miss and yes you can.” The lawyer looked at the paperwork and Val then went back to you. “I told you to fix that, Val.” you hissed as you signed and initial on the lines indicated. You were used to this by now. You'd been through dozens of contracts with Val. You knew every word in the contract by now.

Your eyes flicked up to Wanda, feeling her eyes on you as you signed. It felt like she wanted to say something, but decided against it as you finished your signatures, pushing the papers back to the lawyer. 

When everything was said and done most of Wanda's team left leaving just Wanda, Val, her manager Agatha, and yourself. There was small talk mostly of what it would entail. One of them being you'd be a live-in bodyguard for her. Sure Wanda had other guards, but you would be her personal bodyguard and she needed you at all times of the day. 

You couldn't complain really. Leaving the old stuffy apartment you'd wanted to leave behind for a while now would be good. You didn't have to pay rent or anything. Food would be provided and you'd still be getting a paycheck each week. It was probably the best possible outcome you could have asked for. 

“Well hire some movers to get all your belongings and bring them here.” Wanda spoke as you followed her down the hallway, her heels clicking on the hardwood. You took in the different pieces of artwork she kept around the house. Her home is mostly filled with white, gray, and blacks. The only splashes of color are scarlet hues every so often mixed into things such as a blanket or an accent rug. “This will be your room here.” 

She opens a door to show off a rather blank room at the moment, but it's bigger than your whole apartment had been and it even has its own bathroom. You were a little in shock. This was a first for you being 24/7 for someone so you'd never stayed in any other celebrity's houses. 

“Once we get your stuff here anything else you might need we can go get or order whichever you prefer.” You honestly weren't sure what to say.

“Oh thank you Miss. Maximoff, but once we get my things here I should be fine. I don't need much, honestly if I didn't have anything besides clothes this room alone would be enough for me.” She let's out a bubbly laugh at your statement. 

“A minimalist. I like that.” She responds and you turn to fully face her.

“I did four tours in Afghanistan ma'am you learn to live minimally.” You tell her. She pauses a moment as if unsure what to say as she just looks at you. 

“Straight out of high school?” She finally asks, but you have the feeling it wasn't what she really wanted to say.

“Yes ma'am. Did four tours and then met Val through a martial art class. I was trying to blow off steam in a healthy manner after coming back. We got to talking and she asked if I wanted to work for her. The rest is history.” You explain without giving away too much. You didn't like any one person knowing everything. She simply nods.

“Well if you need to grab anything we can go do that. Clothes, essentials, all the big stuff we can worry about tomorrow.” 

“We?” 

“Yes. You're supposed to stay close to me and if you need to grab your things then I'm going with you.” She says with a smile. Guess you were stuck with her now. At least she's nice. You've had to work with some people who aren't and you couldn't stand being around them. 

“We can go whenever you're ready.” she tells you, starting to leave the room as you follow close behind.

“Ready when you are ma'am.” 

Taglist: @dorabledewdroop @rroyale-109 @wandanat01 @scarlizziee @nixxnsworld @snoozingredpanda @mrsromanovaa @sweet--escape17

[house-of-lovin]

legally binded - 4

Jenna Ortega x F!Reader

masterlist | series mast. | prev part | next part

Chapter 4: Family Bonding, Festivals and Feelings?

Summary: After getting caught in some hot waters with the press, you are forced into an unexpected agreement with America's sweetheart, Jenna Ortega to save your career.

Warnings/Tags: dual!pov, famous!reader, mentions of hard substances, intoxication, mature language, real people (do not read if any of these makes you uncomfortable)

(this is all fiction!)

Note: Things are gearing up 😮‍💨 (ik i said i was gonna take a break, but i couldn’t help myself, now ill take a break lol, happy readin!)

Word Count: 6k+

“No one’s going to get cancelled — it’ll be fun.” Colin Jost smiles curtly on your flat screen TV.

You sit on the bed with a spoon hanging from your lips, an eye on the bright screen having just finished watching a rerun of Jenna’s SNL episode. You made sure to buy it as soon as it was available; locking yourself away in your room.

Currently, you are watching this week’s episode of SNL and Colin and Che are giving their weekly news update.

“Las Vegas is opening up a pop-up vaccine site in a strip club and don’t worry the strippers say the vaccine comes with singer and actress Y/N L/N. This time she’ll be the designated driver – I heard she’s on a tight leash.”

Your smile instantly drops.

“Speaking of Y/N,” Colin bounces off, reading off the cue cards. “Did you see her last week sitting in the audience during Jenna Ortega’s episode… hey, I wonder if they’re a real thing.”

Colin and Che share a knowing glance, “Nah.” They say in unison then move on to their next bit.

Scowling, you turn the TV off, practically throwing your bowl of cereal on the side table. 

You supposed you can’t be too mad – all too familiar with the snide jabs and harmless jokes from others in the industry. This is what you signed up for, right?

Whatever, you’re sure people are loving it.

It’s been a whole week since you left New York and you haven’t spoken to Jenna. It seems how you two acted back in the Big Apple was a success because it got your managers to back off, for now. You didn’t see a reason to contact the actress so you let the silence pass — you see when she posts on social media. 

You don’t have time to think about it because Coachella weekend is coming up soon. For the first time since Vegas, you will be working and you have been itching – wanting nothing more than to dive head-first into work mode. 

It’s what you do best.

You are invited to do a guest performance on a big producer’s set for the festival. It would be your first ever time performing at Coachella but you were privy to the culture of the festival, having gone as an audience member to support your musician friends.

“Hey, you got a minute?” Link pops his head in your door, holding a phone up.

–

“Please don’t do this.” Your pleas go underheard.

“I don’t know why you keep trying, the answer is the same Y/N.” Link rolled his eyes, pointing to a house.

“I think this is the one.”

You scan the two-story typical American home tucked away in the boroughs of suburbia up in the desert, otherwise known as Coachella Valley.

Or well, Jenna’s parent’s house at least. 

After Link had dropped the most terrible news; you had to be seen with Jenna in Coachella. Liv and Jake had instructed your team to drive you to stay with Jenna as you prepare for the festival – it was convenient they said.

Convenient my ass.

“Relax... Marcus will be back to pick you up, he’s gonna drop off your bags at the rental house.”

“Why can’t I just go with you then?” You ask.

“Liv said to drive you to this address. Jenna gave explicit directions to drive you here.”

You frown pulling on a loose thread on your sweater.

What could Jenna possibly want that she’d want you here? She looked pretty upset at you, the last time you talked.

You really don’t have it in you to fight with her, again, especially after the long drive from L.A. up to the desert where you thought — you’d be staying in your villa for Coachella weekend.

“Now go see the girl, please.” Link reaches over to open the door.

When you step out, the car is already driving speedily down the street not even giving you a chance to change your mind. You hear a flurry of voices from the side of the house but it sounds far away. Toy cars and trollies litter the grass yard. 

Slowly, you walked up her porch, your shoes scraped as you ascend the concrete steps. Hesitating for a brief moment, you realize: Jenna is inside. Well duh.  But the thought of her on the other side of the door has your heart dropping out of nowhere. You see flashes in your memory of her frown as you explain why you have to leave New York so soon.

Unspoken words as she says ‘well I thought–’

What did she think?

You would probably never know.

The door opens with a creak breaking you out of your thoughts.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” Aliyah leans against the doorframe, smiling.

You laughed, “Yeah, we do.”

She doesn’t say anything else and just yells over her shoulder, “Jenna, she’s here.”

Then walked off. 

“Hi…” Jenna appears, leaning on the doorframe with a hand.

She scans you for a brief moment; not having seen you since New York, a week ago. She had to make sure you’re still alive because she hasn’t heard from you since then.

You also practically ghosted her.

After feeling guilty about how she left things with you, Jenna sent you a text the next day, asking if you made it back to Los Angeles safely.

You liked her message with a thumbs up.

A thumbs up! Not responding would have been better, the actress bitterly thought.

“Hey.” You greet. “How are you?”

“Fine. You?” She answered quickly, smile sealed tight like an envelope.

“I’m… good. Yeah. Just working.” You answer honestly.

“Oh really?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah, something for Coachella actually.”

Jenna raised her brows in surprise. “Like what?”

You send a tight-lipped smile, “It’s a surprise. People don’t know I’m here yet.”

Jenna can’t fight her excitement; giddy about being in on a secret. But then she remembers that she’s supposed to be annoyed at you and not fascinated.

“Why haven’t you texted me?” Jenna sighed, her voice dropping to a lowly whisper, in case someone was walking by.

You raised your brows, surprised by her question. “Oh… um. I’ve been busy like I said, just working, trying to keep my head down and all that.”

“Are you sure that’s it?” She asked accusingly.

You missed her tone and shrugged, reassuring her, “Yeah. Of course.”

“But, I heard you were busy this week too, filming another movie with Barry Keoghan and The Weeknd?” You changed the subject, hoping to talk about something else. She takes the bait after scanning your eyes for a second.

“Yeah, it was just a short role. But it was a lot of fun. Abel actually talked about you.”

“That’s great, I’m happy for you Jen… and yeah he’s an old friend.”

“Sung your praises pretty high, I had to make sure he was talking about the right person.”

You chuckle, “Oh okay, I see how it is.”

Your laugh caused a sudden warmness to manifest in Jenna and she couldn't help but join along. “Come on, my family has been dying to see you again.”

“Really?” You asked, stepping inside her childhood home. “So you think I made a good impression?”

She turned to look back at you, surprised that you care. “Maybe… don’t let it get to your head, though.”

You laughed as you followed her through the house. “Is that jealousy I hear Ortega? Scared you won't be the only movie star around?”

She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Shut up. You’re an idiot.”

“An idiot that may have impressed your family?” You cocked your head and grinned wide.

“Yeah, yeah. Like, I said. Don’t let it get to your head. They could care less about celebrities and Hollywood. They’re pretty grounded.”

You shrugged, looking at the various family pictures hanging on the wall. “It’s fine. There’s only one Ortega I want to impress anyway.”

You’re not sure where that came from and it seemed Jenna shared the same thought because she raised her brows at you – but didn’t comment.

Jenna blocks you from walking when you reached the sliding glass door. “What?”

Jenna chewed her lip anxiously, “My family can be a lot. In numbers and in the other sense too. There’s a lot of us.”

“Oh… that’s okay.” You answered. A bit confused as to why she is telling you this. When you see her genuine concern your gaze softens. “Jenna, relax. I can handle the family… and I can charm anyone’s socks off.”

She relented, rolling her eyes at your joke. “Okay, okay.”

"Wait..."

Jenna turns around.

"Why am I here exactly? At your parents, that is. Link told me that you gave my driver instructions to bring me here."

Jenna bites her lip in contemplation. "Um—like I said my family wanted to see you again and I heard you were going to Coachella anyway so you know, two birds one stone."

You nod, accepting her answer.

Jenna opens the door for you two to step out.

–

Sounds of laughter rang around as you and Jenna sat in lawn chairs in her parent’s backyard.

“What are Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya like in real life?” Markus – Jenna’s brother leaned forward to ask. 

“Markus!” Jenna scolded and threw her brother a glare.

The actress blushed as she sat beside you but all she felt was the vibrations of your laughter, indulging her brother’s question. 

Jenna can’t help but wonder if you have other family members that spend time with you like this. You look so carefree and genuinely happy; comfortable around her family — after knowing you for a couple months now; she guesses it’s a no.

“They’re cool. Just like everyone else to be honest. Especially, Timothee, sweet guy but he’s a bit of a typical frat bro.” You joked, “And Zendaya, well. She’s just as amazing as everyone says she is. Great work ethic, it’s inspiring when you work with someone passionate like that – makes you want to be better and work harder.”

Jenna’s sisters are eating your story up. Secretly she knew they enjoyed the tales of celebrities and pop culture. It’s nearly impossible to live your life without seeing a public figure pop up on an ad on your phone or on the side of a bus stop on your drive home. 

Jenna is barely home enough to be able to have moments like this where she can humour her sister's questions. But they all had their own lives to live. She's has been looking forward to this break for a while, knowing it was coming up after her long week in New York.

She still can’t describe New York.

Something seems to have shifted between you two by the end of the week. But she didn’t know if it was for the better. The two of you have this constant push and pull; where everything is fine one moment, then one of you says something and it turns tense and weird as you both stay silent or you just completely blow up on each other.

Jenna didn’t know if she had it in her to try to decipher what these restrained responses she gets from you could possibly mean.

You are an enigma; a defensive, hot-headed asshole that grinded every gear the actress had.

“Do you like Zendaya, buddy?” You bounced her niece in your lap, enjoying how the baby grabbed at your fingers. 

But then Jenna turns around and you act like this. Sweet, protective, charming. 

How are you the same person?

She can’t fight her smile as she watched the adorable sight.

Jenna didn’t know you were good with babies. 

“I think Z would think you’re just the most adorable thing. Oh my god, Jen, can I send her a picture of us?” You turned to her, with a bright smile.

Jenna didn’t know when you started calling her by her nickname but she certainly won’t say how she enjoys how it sounds when you say it. “Uh–sure, if it’s okay with my sister.”

“Zendaya’s gonna have a picture of my baby on her phone? Uh yes!”

Jenna laughed, nodding. “I’ll take the picture.” She took your phone, opening the camera.

“What are you doing? Get in here with us." You asked with an adorable scrunch in the nose, surprising Jenna.

“Oh, I just thought— okay.” She swallows her growing grin, sliding in beside you.

Her sisters share knowing glances.

You happily scooted in, pressing your chest to her back.

Jenna is suddenly reminded of her you and her, alone in her dressing room.

She presses back into you. 

“Say, cheese guys!” Jenna clears her throat.

With big bright smiles, you placed your head above her shoulder to get in the frame, repeating, “Cheese!”

Even her niece seemed to be enjoying the attention as she smiled brightly and toothless while standing on your lap with her chubby legs. Jenna snapped a couple for good measure, checking over the pictures. The three of you are squished together as she held it in portrait; you all looked cute Jenna can admit. 

Like a little family.

What?

“Oh Jenna, send me that, please. I want to post it on my Instagram.” Her mom spoke up already reaching for her phone. 

“Okay, okay.” Jenna rolled her eyes but sent herself the pictures first before airdropping them to – everyone – who begged for it. 

“This is adorable, I think I’m gonna make this my lock screen.” You grinned, staring at the photo. She sees you typing a message, indeed sending it to the actress like you said you would. “Just for your niece.”

Jenna felt her heart skip a beat. “Are you saying you’re gonna crop me out the photo?”

“No… but now that’s a good idea, thanks.” You mocked with a smile.

“Mom, how did you already post that picture so fast?” Mia asked.

–

“Don’t be mad.” Jenna begged.

“Mad? Jenna. This isn’t what I signed up for.” You pinched the bridge of your nose.

The two of you were standing in her driveway, in a discord of course. Jenna just forced you into another situation that you wanted no part of.

“You just told Link to call off my driver and now you’re saying don’t be mad. Of course, I’m mad! Why did you say yes to your Mom, Jenna.” You sighed, dropping your hand limply.

“I didn’t know she’d insist.” She groaned walking closer, “She said that you shouldn’t stay in that big house by yourself for the weekend when there is room here, next thing I know she’s forcing me to ask you in front of everybody.”

"I'm sorry." She grabs your arm. “Link said you might be mad.”

You stare at her for a couple of moments. Their hearts are in the right place, you guessed. Eventually, you rolled your eyes and sighed. “Thank you I guess… I appreciate that the sentiment.”

Jenna smiled in relief, “Yeah, of course.” Then scrunched her nose in thought.  “We actually really don’t have the room so I don’t know where she’ll put you.”

She should have known. This is so typical and cliche; sharing a bed trope? Please, can the universe be any more unoriginal? 

“Mom, are you sure?” Jenna whispered as she peaked her head out the small awning of the door – making sure you can’t hear. 

“Jen, go to sleep. We have a packed day tomorrow. Everyone’s coming over for the game.”

Tomorrow is sports night and her uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents are set to come over. It was a weekly tradition for the extended family to host a gathering to watch the game every Friday; with Jenna’s busy schedule, she hasn’t been to one in months. She’s grateful this one is hosted at her house but then inwardly sighed because she should probably warn you about that too.

“Mom…” She pleaded in a whisper.

“Goodnight and be responsible. I trust you two.”

“Mom!”

Jenna dropped her head in defeat as she listened to her Mom’s footsteps dwindle further away. 

“Hey, you should probably get in there before all the hot water runs out..”

She turns, seeing your freshly showered figure. For a moment, Jenna finds herself stuck. You’re rubbing a towel on your wet hair as grey sweats hung lowly on your hips and she was desperately trying to avert her eyes from the small patch of you skin exposed.

“I already showered.”

“Oh okay.” You shrugged walking over to grab your phone. 

“Which side do you prefer?” You asked absentmindedly,

“What?” Jenna blinks away.

“Of the bed. Which side do you prefer?” 

“Oh. The left.”

“Thank god. Every bed I’ve had to share I’ve had to fight for the right side. You’re perfect.” 

Jenna watched as you jump into your preferred side, getting comfortable under her covers.

She doesn’t know why she feels a mismatched thump fall out of rhythm with her heartbeat at seeing you in her bed. 

“Alright, are you gonna be weird about sharing a bed? ‘Cause I can just take the couch or call my driver to pick me up. I can get a hotel room or something.” You sighed sitting up. 

Jenna furrowed her brows, “What no. Can you please stop jumping to conclusions?”

“I’m not.” You mumbled but don’t argue further. Jenna gets in beside you. 

“You satisfied now?” She throws out but it sounds just shy of playful and maybe even flirtatious – definitely not how she meant for it to sound.

“Uh– sure.” You replied sliding the blanket up to your chin as you tried to get comfortable again.

There’s that weird tension again, Jenna thinks and she thinks it’s starting to annoy her.

“Okay, what’s your deal?” Jenna crossed her arms, turning to you.

You blinked, confused. “What?”

“Why are you being so weird?”

“I’m not.” You sat up to face the other actress.

Jenna frowned, “Yes you are. You have been since New York. Did I do something? Because you still haven’t told me why you just left town like that.”

“I told you. Jake wanted me back for Coachella. Why else would I have just left all of a sudden?” You explained.

“I just– I just feel like you’re not telling me something.” She admits, a bit insecure. “I, at least, thought we’re friends now and when I didn’t see you in the crowd or the dressing room after SNL I was a bit… disappointed? I don't know if it’s dumb but you really did calm me down before my monologue and I wanted to thank you over dinner. But, yeah–” 

Jenna looks away, missing your guilty frown. “Jenna… it’s not dumb. God, I feel like an asshole.”

“Well, sometimes you can be.”

You laugh but it’s dry. “I’m so sorry. I–I should have been there.”

You grab her hands. “Look at me, please.” It gets her to look up, the light from the lamp is bouncing off your eyes making them look softer in the dim light. “I promise, I’ll always be there for the important moments from now on. Before, during and after – we are stuck together until the foreseeable future, so.”

Jenna snorts, looking down at your hands. You begin to rub lines with your fingers on her open palm making her shiver. “Yeah, I guess we are.” She whispers.

She doesn’t know when she makes the bold move to intertwine your fingers. But for the first time since SNL, you two hold hands and this time you don’t pull away. But she doesn’t miss the questioning glint in your eyes as you look down. Jenna ignores the attention and squeezes your hand to make you look at her again.

“You mean it though?”

Your eyes soften. “I mean it.”

–

“Where’s Y/N?” Mia asked over the breakfast table.

“Rehearsals,” Jenna mumbled sleepily shoving spoonfuls of food in her dry mouth – still trying to wake up.

When the actress had awakened, the sun was high above the horizon and the desert heat was already inching inside her cracked window. But she woke up, alone.

Differing from how she went to sleep the previous night with you barely pressed up beside her as you laid with your backs to each other. Jenna only found herself un-tensing after hearing your breathing fall into short even exhales.

When she turned over to grab her phone this morning, you had sent a text:

Sorry for not waking you up. You sleep like a rock but I had to go to rehearsals. I’ll be back by 3 :)

She couldn’t be too annoyed at the smiley face you leave with your occasional messages.

“She’s performing?” Mia asks shocked.

Jenna nods, too tired for words.

“The crowd is gonna lose their minds.” Aliyah laughs. “With who?”

“Won’t say.” Jenna muttered bitterly, thinking back to her incessant begging; you never caved.

“Okay… can we talk about it, now then?”

“Talk about what Mia,” Jenna sighs dropping her fork on her plate.

“You and Y/N.” She says like it’s obvious.

“There is no me and Y/N, it’s all for the cameras. Remember the NDA I had to beg you guys to sign?” The actress rolls her eyes. 

“Then why were you so upset after New York?” She challenges; tired of her sister’s silence over this whole situation. There’s no way she’s just unaffected by this.

“Mia drop it.” Her mom says.

“No. I’m serious, she’s literally staying under our roof, sharing a room with Jenna. And no one is still saying anything? Am I the only one who thinks there’s something going on?”

“Yes.” Jenna says quickly.

Mia rolls her eyes, “You still haven’t answered my question, Jen.”

Jenna crosses her arms, sitting up. “Of course I was upset. She just left town without a warning, if we didn’t catch her in the lobby she was just gonna a send a text. A text! Anyone would be upset at that — but it doesn’t mean what you think it means.”

But her sister doesn’t buy it. She opens her mouth to refute but their Dad swoops in saving the day. “Leave your sister alone, Mia. I’m sure whatever is going on with Y/N and Jenna – they can figure it out themselves.”

Jenna groans, “Dad, not helping.”

He shrugs, sitting at the head of the table with his own plate of breakfast.

Eventually, her family scatters to their own corners of the house to get ready for the day. Her other family members would be arriving soon and the actress had to start getting ready. Crap, she forgot to warn you about game night because you left so early. Jenna decides she’ll send you a text after she gets out of the shower.

With the raucous of the day, Jenna forgets to send the text. Her cousins arrived much earlier than anticipated and she was already getting pulled out to living room to talk about her upcoming projects. She gets so lost catching up with her cousins that she doesn’t realize when you arrive.

"Jenna, your novia is here." One of her aunts shouts making her head snap up to you as the front door opens. "Oh wow, and she's brought the whole store!"

Jenna's jaw drops as you walk in, holding multiple large bouquets of different arrangements of flowers. "Y/N?"

"Hey!" You peek your head out from the large flowers. "These are for your family... but I may have overestimated how big these were and Link refused to help me."

"Oh god, these are beautiful Y/N." Jenna's mom gets up from her seat, grabbing as many flowers as she can. "You didn't have to..."

"Oh, it's nothing, really. You guys are letting me stay here, I just wanted to express a little gratitude." You duck your head, all timid now.

Jenna knows it's not nothing. Those flowers cost a fuck ton, she would know she gets gifted those whenever she has an event.

"Well, gratitude expressed. I don't even know where to put these. Mia, Aliyah help the girl, please!"

The two sisters grab all but one smaller bouquet from your hands, walking away with smug smiles.

"Jen, get up," Aliyah whispers in passing as all the women and Jenna's dad filter over to the kitchen to view the gorgeous flowers.

She still hasn't moved from the couch and briefly, she thinks she can feel her cousin's smirking at her reaction.

"You got my family flowers?" Jenna asks dumbly, walking over slowly; ignoring everyone's eyes on them.

"Uh—yeah. Sorry if it's a bit much. I wasn't sure what everyone liked so... I got them all." You scratch your head with a bouquet in hand, catching Jenna's eye.

"These are for you..." You smile, holding out a smaller albeit more personal? flower arrangement. It felt like Jenna, somehow.

“I picked it out myself.” Your smile turns shy.

Like, if she were to walk into a flower shop and see this bouquet, she would instantly grasp it and never let go.

We still talking flowers?

"Thanks..." Jenna mumbles, grabbing the flowers; your fingertips touching sends sparks down her arm.

"Um—you're back early..." Is all she manages to say.

“Yeah… they didn’t need me for a long time so I decided to come back.” You explained, glancing at the new faces in the room. “Uh– what’s all this?”

The actress sends you a sheepish smile, “Family game night, we watch the game every Friday and cook some barbeque, it’s a whole thing. I forgot to text you, I’m sorry. You can call your driver back if this is too much.”

You laugh, squeezing her shoulder. “And miss out on great food? No, thank you.”

Jenna scans your eyes for the truth, “Are you sure? I know this isn’t exactly your scene so I understand.”

“Jen.” Your hand slides down, softly grabbing her hand. “I can’t even remember how long it’s been since the last time I had a home-cooked meal. I’m so in.”

You squeeze her hand for good measure. “Guys close the door.” Someone shouts.

Jenna doesn’t let you drop your hands this time because she’s already gripping them, pulling you to sit with her cousins – introducing you.

She ignores the giddy feeling in her chest that you want to stay.

You don’t say anything even when you’re both sitting and she’s still holding your hand.

–

“Who are you performing with?” Jenna tugs on your arm.

You squint to see her through your sunglasses. The Californian sun was making its presence known today and there are crowds of people everywhere as you tried to find some shade. It’s just past 6 PM and people are already starting to get rowdy – before all the good sets are even on. 

Fish nets, sparkles and bedazzles are all you see in the sea of people and you just know you’re at Coachella.

“I can’t say…” You fight the smile on your face, finding her begging adorable. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“But Aliyah knows! I heard you whisper it to her.” She glares back at her sister standing a fair distance away from you two – who was talking to Mia and her boyfriend.

“I didn’t tell her anything, Jen. We were just fucking with you.” You laugh, sliding your hand in hers. 

An unspoken comfortableness has formed between you two. Light touches are a new development in this… situation Jenna had with you.

Whether it was knees touching under the dinner table, walking shoulder to shoulder on your daily walks around the neighbourhood (there wasn’t much to do as Coachella weekend approached) or leaning her head on your shoulder as she slept when you two watched TV before bed.

And now, it seems like things have escalated to a new level of comfort where you two willingly linked fingers whenever you walked anywhere. Neither of you make a peep when someone eventually reaches for the other’s hand. 

“Rude…” She pinches your side making you flinch away from her.

Jenna’s immediately tugging you back closer.

“Hey… I can’t get an injury before my performance. I’m legally binded to a contract.” You state.

Jenna snorts, “I thought you were friends with the performer? Are you really not gonna tell me who it is?”

“Nope and sure we’re friends but, I’m still contractually obligated to the festival and all that.”

“Come on Y/N!” She groaned unconsciously stepping closer to you. “I’ve been so nice to you, I haven’t called you an idiot all day!”

You laugh, “Is that supposed to win me over?”

“You tell me? Is it working?” The laugh dies in your lips when she tits her head in question.

Jenna misses the gulp you take because she was leaning closer, trying to find your eyes behind the dark-tinted glasses you had on. 

“No…” You replied with a vacant tone.

Jenna steps back when the sun blinds her eye. “You’re no fun.”

“I don’t know what to tell you… you’re gonna have to wait like everyone else.”

“Speaking of everyone else, I’m surprised we’re not surrounded by your groupies.” Jenna eyes the group of people hovering not too far away. 

You snicker, “They are not my groupies. I barely know those people but it happens at every music event. They flock over like geese. I let Link handle them.”

Jenna frowns, “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What?” You look down.

“That you can’t even enjoy yourself at a festival without someone hovering over your shoulder.”

Since Jenna’s started this PR relationship with you her fame’s only increased overnight. She hates to say it but Sarah was right, being associated with you has only made her more famous and well-known. She felt like a Kardashian or Tom Holland who couldn’t even step out of their own homes without a camera being shoved in their faces. 

It’s getting so bad that Jenna has security with her everywhere she goes. She stopped driving herself to places. A headline even dropped that you two are official and serious now and that you have met her family; paparazzi tried to camp at her parent’s house until they called the police.

“Sometimes.” You answer honestly, shrugging. “But it’s part of the job.”

Jenna’s frown deepens, looking around. “This is not part of the job. At least not what I’ve seen.”

“Yeah, but we learn to deal with it, right?” You nudge her shoulder. Seemingly unbothered that made Jenna bothered for you.

“How?” Jenna couldn’t help her curiosity.

“Surround yourself with people that genuinely care about you. That still picks you even after all your fuck ups. Only got me about three of those, so I try to keep them close.” Then you let out a sad laugh, “I make it very hard for them sometimes, though.”

Jenna looks at Link as he holds a bored hand up when a girl tries to walk up to you. Then he’s shooing her away and whispering to both of your security guards.

She wants to fight the urge to say that you have a fourth person in your corner with her.

Instead, she says:

“I think you got a good one with him.” She nods to Link.

You follow her sight, “Yeah, I do... He’s usually right about most things too.”

“What do you mean?” She looks up in questioning.

Maybe Jenna’s not so bad? Flashes in your memory but you don’t tell Jenna. “Nothing.”

Jenna squints her eyes. “Fine… keep your secrets.” Tone a playfully bitter.

Eventually, you, Jenna and her sisters walk around aimlessly from set to set, taking pictures and enjoying the atmosphere. Jenna would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying herself right now. Somehow you all managed to find an empty corner by the Artist section of the performances which meant you had loosened up a bit. 

Jenna decided she liked it when you’re smiling, carefree and happy.

It suits you better than your permanent scowl. 

You’ve been so stressed this last week, taking phone calls and Zoom meetings. She tried not to express her concern at seeing how you obsessively fretted over some project, consuming you some nights. 

Jenna knows obsessive. She knows anxiety. This was different.

She finds herself with more questions than answers when it comes to you.

Why are you so closed off all the time? Is this how you work all the time? Where did this recent streak of bad behaviour start? Is there more to it than what you’re saying?

Are you okay?

But Jenna can’t find the right words to ask, so she doesn’t.

Only offering her warm pressure on top of you to hopefully lull you to sleep when you both drift off in her childhood bed.

Somewhere along the evening, she finds herself close to you.

You've loosened up as the days progressed and somehow, you and Jenna have found yourselves wrapped up in each other's arms as you danced.

Jenna had her back pressed firmly against your chest; her head tucked under your chin as your arms wrap around her waist from behind; hands linked as you jammed along to the music.

“The Met Gala’s coming up.” Jenna speaks up after a few moments of silence. “I’m invited.”

“Me too.” You reveal. She perks up, looking back at you.

“Yeah?” She smiles, pleased with your answer.

“Mhmm. I’m actually a co-chair this year.” You send an embarrassed smile.

She turns in your hold, jaw-dropping. “You are?”

“Yeah… why do you think I’ve been taking those calls all week? I was getting ready for the Met.”

“I thought that was for Coachella?” She snorts but can't help but ask, "Do you ever stop working?"

“Says you. Miss Scream Queen.” You tease making her roll her eyes.

“Be my date.” She says all of a sudden. “and walk the carpet with me this time.”

You raise your brows at her bluntness. This time?

You remember the last time she said those words and a tiny part of you prayed she meant it differently this time. But you can't fight your smile because you couldn't even say no if you wanted to — overwhelmed with the sudden want, to show off the girl in your arms. “I would love to be your date.”

Jenna's eyes sparkled with delight, beaming at you widely.

"Great! I'll talk to Enrique and Thom Browne about it."

"But I'm a Prada Ambassador?"

"I'll handle it." She nods with finality.

But before you can say anything, Link slides in with a whisper in your ear and a knowing smirk in Jenna’s direction.

“Hey, I have to go.” You whisper into her ear, pulling away but Jenna tightens her grip.

“Wait.” She steps forward – much closer than she means to.

“Yeah?” You asked softly and suddenly Jenna can’t hear the loud thumping of the bass anymore.

“Good luck and break a leg.” She says in a whisper.

Her hand reaches up to brush your neck still looking into your eyes. Jenna feels the same overwhelming pressure in her chest that she’s recently felt around you and gives into her sudden impulse; leaning in, parting her lips; meaning for them to connect to your cheek but instead swerve and slot in between your lips instead, in a moment’s haste.

She feels you tense for a moment before giving in, cupping her cheeks too. Kissing her back. Jenna loses it a bit, not expecting your lips to feel so soft and smooth and perfect against hers. Jenna can't help but tilt her head to the side, allowing your lips to press harder.

She feels the same electricity from your first meeting – when you shook her hand. The same electricity she tries to fight off every time she's near you. Except this time, it's by tenfold.

Jenna is so lost in you that she can’t even hear her heart beating loudly in her ears anymore — only feeling your thumb softly stroking her jaw.

The sound of coughing breaks you two apart.

“Sorry but Y/N we need to go.” Link sends a sheepish smile but he's trying to fight his grin at having a front-row seat to the show.

When Jenna pulls away she looks deeply into your eyes searching for some kind of indication of your feelings.

You smile shyly, squeezing her waist and rubbing her back. “I’ll find you after the show?”  

“Yeah…” Jenna whispers, still staring into your eyes.

“I’ll find you!” You yell over her shoulder as Link drags you away.

“Holy shit, finally!” Mia slides in beside her. 

Jenna doesn’t have the energy to shrug off the arm Aliyah throws over her shoulder as she brings her fingers up to her burning lips. “I don't know why I did that...”

“Oh my god, you’re an idiot. The both of you.” Mia rolls her eyes walking back to her boyfriend.

Jenna looks around, blinking, immediately catching the phones held in the air capturing her moment with you.

She walks off, following her sisters.

Unbeknownst to you and Jenna, a headline is about to drop:

New developments in Y/N L/N's Vegas case. Caught with cocaine! Las Vegas PD makes no official comments on possible charges or arrests. But is this the end for the bright star?

-

:)

The strip club and vaccine bit with Colin and Che is from a real line in one of their segments LOL.

yall happy now?

-

@alexkolax @ladey @jjsmaybank20 @werewoofrobinbuckley @chealsib @fanboy7794 @la-douleur-ne-finit-jamais @zelload @natashadeservedmoree @orang3-ish @friedryes @canyonyodeler @nahnahnahwhatt @be-missed @jjuncidio @fearstreetsoloyouandurmom @oksana-moods @theirishmanronan @r-ude @wokethefuxkup @bandaidss @skate-to-breathee @user173781 @frasersgf @natblidaclexa @justafoolinlove @bring-mecoffee @slu7her @haughtsauce21 @wheesunsangel @cyberexpertalienspy-blog @jennaortegasfootrest @zaza11sblog @omega-horus @heroofdeath11 @selluequestrian @justalittledissociation @imaloserbby @catswag22 @sorexhera @smjmgko @acutenobody @raven-ss @canceldevvi @sweetaimu @rockwyn @rwndsana @cheesybacon1 @cvluswnt @secretbackrooms @vixen1006 @zhasmindoesntknow @namesduntmatter @ulicebld @rozmrazaradelfinow @icarly23 @cartierdreamx @thenextdawn @annalestern

[crueisummer]

𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 | 𝓒𝓛16

pairing: charles leclerc x reader

chapter summary: You surprise Charles at a race, and he wins and asks you to be his girlfriend.

playlist: ♫ gorgeous ♪ delicate ♬ i think he knows ♡ you are in love

author's note: Part 3!! I had a lot of ideas coming in with this one that's why it took so long xD Hope you guys like it! In my imagination, Max DNF and Charles won in Austria LOOOOOL jk. Anyway, thank you so much for all the support <;3

word count: 3.1k

disclaimer: All characters and events in this story, even those based on real people, are entirely fictional.

            𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬

01:35 ━━━━●───── 02:53 ⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻ ılıılıılıılıılıılı ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮

While sitting on the couch in your living room, engrossed in writing a song with a guitar on your lap and a notebook in front of you, your concentration was interrupted by the FaceTime ringtone. Glancing at your MacBook on the coffee table, you saw Charles' name and immediately answered the call, greeted by his gorgeous face.

"Hello, cheri," Charles greeted you as you set aside your guitar. He settled onto the bed, his head bouncing with a smile, and you couldn't help but laugh. Observing his wet hair and the towel around his neck, you deduced that he had just finished showering after receiving your text about being available for a FaceTime call.

"Aww, is my baby tired?" You teasingly remarked, knowing he preferred terms of endearment over his name.

"Very," he replied with closed eyes, his smile still present.

"I watched the qualifying today, and you did amazingly! P2!" You exclaimed with enthusiasm, as if you were the first one telling him his position, even though he was well aware.

"Merci, bébé. I was thinking of you while racing," he winked at you.

"No, you weren't," you playfully rolled your eyes, aware of his flirtatious nature, yet blushing at his words. Adding, "What time is it there?"

"It's about 9:30 pm here."

"3:30 here."

"Were you writing?" He inquired, noticing the guitar beside you.

"Yeah, just a bit. I've only figured out the guitar part for now," you shrugged.

"Can I hear it?"

"Sure." You reached for the guitar and played the chords for him.

"That sounds amazing. I'm sure you'll come up with the lyrics soon. You're like a genius," he complimented.

"Charles, please. You're going to inflate my ego," you jokingly responded, strumming the guitar. Suddenly, memories of the night you and Charles first met flooded your mind, and the lyrics began to form. Setting the guitar down on the couch, you quickly grabbed your notebook and pen, eager to jot down the lyrics.

"See? You're already writing it down," he smirked at you, shaking his head, secretly thinking, You are so talented.

As you caught up with each other, you suggested that Charles turn off the lights in his room, leaving only the lamp on, and make himself comfortable. About thirty minutes later, he was starting to doze off. Whispering a soft "good night" to him, he responded with a gentle smile and mumbled it back. You watched him sleep, waiting for him to enter a deep slumber before ending the call, recalling how last time you had accidentally woken him up by ending the call too soon.

Now, gazing at his peaceful expression, you wished he could always be like this. He had confided in you about the pressure he was currently facing—falling behind in points compared to last year, ranking 6th in the driver standings, and the heightened attention on him as they returned to Austria, where he had won the previous year—all while aiming to secure a podium win that would mark Ferrari's 800th. Last week, he finished P4 and was disappointed not to make it to the podium, and all you could do was offer comfort over the phone since you were in New York.

It had been two months since you and Charles had met, and you both agreed to take things slow. As part of that decision, you chose not to accompany him to the races. However, when he finished P4 last week, you couldn't help but wish you could be there to hug and support him.

"Please be here," Charles whispered, surprising you. He seemed to be sleeping already. Is he sleep-talking?

You responded softly, "Hmm, Charles? What did you say?"

"Here," He whispered again, and that single word was all it took for you to grab your phone and message your manager that you were heading to Austria. Once you were certain Charles had fallen into a deep sleep, you ended the FaceTime call and made the necessary arrangements. You packed your suitcase, booked a private jet and pilot, secured accommodation and transportation in Austria, all timed to coincide with Charles' arrival at the paddock.

Upon your arrival, Kika and Pierre joined you, handing over the VIP pass. The media immediately began taking photos, unsure of your identity but capturing the moment just in case you were someone significant. Your attire—a black tank top and skirt, a red Ferrari leather jacket, red Jordans, black sunglasses and Charles' Ferrari cap—made it evident that you were there to support a certain Ferrari driver.

"Charles says he's in the motorhome. He's asking why I'm asking where he is," Pierre said, looking up at the two of you, waiting for your response.

"Hmm, if you tell him you have a surprise, he might suspect something, and we don't want that," Kika contemplated aloud.

"Um, just tell him you need him to sign something," you suggested, pointing to the cap you were wearing.

"Wait, are you two official?" Pierre asked you.

“No, not yet.” You smiled sheepishly at them as they expressed their surprise.

“Wow. I bet he’ll ask you to be his girlfriend before the day ends,” Kika said confidently. “I would bet all my money on it.”

“I know he's been planning it for a while, but the surprise might be the cherry on top,” Pierre added, while Kika linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder.

You laughed at their reaction as Pierre led the way to the Ferrari motorhome. You pondered silently, realizing that it didn't really matter whether you were officially a couple or not yet. Charles had been patient, waiting for you to feel comfortable with him, and you both agreed to take things slow. But lately, you couldn't help but feel that both of you were ready for a committed relationship. So, why continue waiting?

A few employees were present, but there were no fans or media in sight. Kika took out her phone to record the moment, and Pierre called Charles, instructing him to come outside. With Pierre on your left and Kika on your right, you stood nervously in the middle, removing your sunglasses and cap to make it easier for Charles to recognize you. You waited for about a minute until three figures wearing red emerged from the building. Charles was the first one out, scanning the surroundings, and when his eyes met yours, his face lit up.

"Y/N?"

"Surprise!"

Grinning, you rushed toward him, and he reciprocated by opening his arms, embracing you tightly. Laughter filled the air as Charles stood there, slightly confused but delighted, while you savored his scent and held onto him. In your imagination, you had envisioned this surprise and his reaction countless times, but nothing compared to the reality of hugging him.

The three people around you laughed and gushed at the sight, and eventually, you pulled away slightly, keeping your arm loosely wrapped around his as you smiled and greeted him with a simple "Hi."

"What? How? When I fell asleep last night, you were still in New York!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening with astonishment. His confusion was undeniably adorable.

"Yeah, but you were sleep-talking, practically begging me to come here!" You replied, creating some distance between you and Charles, placing your hand on your hip. He didn't appreciate the space and closed the gap, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, kissing the side of your head, as you faced your three friends, who were playfully teasing Charles.

"He begged you to come here!?" Carlos shouted in amusement.

"Just say you're happy she's here!" Pierre exclaimed.

“Wait, you guys are in a call while sleeping?” Arthur teased.

"For crying out loud, just kiss her already so I can turn this off!" Everyone turned their attention to Kika, who was still recording the entire interaction. Except for Charles, who gently placed his hand on your chin, guiding your face to look at him. As you turned to meet his gaze, his lips were already in close proximity to yours. He closed the gap between you and gave you a brief but tender kiss before pulling away.

Shortly after, Kika and Pierre bid their farewells, and you hugged and thanked them. Charles then introduced you to Carlos and Arthur.

"Ahh, so this is the famous 'Y/N' that Charles has been talking so much about!" Carlos remarked, smiling as you both stepped back.

You giggled and playfully asked, "Oh really? What has he been saying about me?"

"He's always bringing you up in conversations! Saying things like 'Did you know Y/N is like this...'" Arthur began, imitating Charles as the four of you shared a lighthearted moment.

"Shut up, mate! Go! Don’t you two have to be somewhere?" Charles exclaimed, playfully shooing Carlos and Arthur away. They pretended to be offended but waved goodbye as they left. Charles then took your hand, interlocking his fingers with yours, and led you into the motorhome.

Curiosity filled Charles' expression as he guided you through the motorhome. "Seriously, how did you get here? Wha-?" he began to ask, but you interrupted with laughter, explaining most of it.

As he showed you the different rooms, you waved and greeted the staff. The motorhome had offices where people were working, tables and chairs in the middle, and stairs at the back. Charles led you up the stairs, pointing out the kitchen, and at the top of the stairs was the second floor, where his driver's room was located.

His room was small, with a closet on the left, a small desk beside it, and his bed on the right. You sat on his bed while he closed the door behind you. Commenting on the size, you remarked, "Well, this is bigger than what you described."

"Still, I don't like hanging around here," he chuckled, joining you on the bed. You looked at him, and he couldn't help but smile. "I still can't believe you're here. Did I actually sleep talk last night?"

“Yes! You whispered, ‘be here’ twice and I don’t know, it felt right for me to get here as soon as I can,” you explained and shrugged at the end. Charles' smile didn't fade.

"Can I kiss you now?" he asked softly, and you nodded in response. His lips were warm and soft as they met yours. They parted slightly, allowing your tongues to intertwine. The gentle tickle of his breath beneath your nose, his fingers gently combing through your hair—every sensation was heightened as you breathed each other in.

Charles firmly grasped your hips, urging you to settle onto his lap as he shifted back on the bed. Your bodies pressed against each other with passion, breathing heavily as your lips locked together. The taste of your shared breath lingered, accompanied by the feel of your combined heartbeats. With a slight fumble, he managed to remove your jacket, and his lips trailed a series of small kisses along your neck, leaving a trail of pleasure in their wake.

"Charles, you're going to leave a mark," you whispered breathlessly, reveling in the intense sensations evoked by his kisses.

"That's exactly what I want, my love," he replied in a rough, raspy voice. You entangled your hands in his hair and tugged gently, prompting him to withdraw and admire his handiwork. He looked at you, breathless, your lips reddened and swollen, your hair tousled, and a vivid red mark adorning the left side of your neck—a visible symbol of his possession.

Charles was about to speak when his phone suddenly began vibrating in his pocket. He reached for it and leaned against the headboard of the bed. Finally feeling your fatigue from the long flight, you put your head on Charles' chest and wrapped an arm around his stomach, closing your eyes and finding comfort in the rise and fall of his chest against you. You were almost asleep when you heard Charles bidding the caller goodbye.

"Babe, I have to go to the parade now. Do you want to stay here and take a nap?" Charles asked, running his fingers through your hair as you nodded.

"Okay, I'll be back in 30 minutes tops," Charles says, making a move to leave. At first, you resist, but knowing he'll get in trouble if he's late, you let him go. He kisses you on the forehead goodbye, and you're already fast asleep before he's out of the room.

"Y/N, amour. Wake up," Charles says, planting kisses on your face and arm to gently wake you up. You stir and open your eyes, and he smiles at you. "Sorry to wake you up, but you're going to watch me win now."

You laugh at his cockiness and ask him if you have time to freshen up. He nods, and you stand in front of him, finishing up your lip gloss. He tries to lean in for a kiss, but you stop him, reminding him of your lip gloss. He groans and kisses your forehead instead. Holding your hand, he leads you outside the motorhome.

"I'm going to be busy now. Will you be fine with Arthur?" he asks, taking a sip of water while his hand remains intertwined with yours. You nod, assuring him you'll be okay.

"Are you sure? You can ask Kika to sit here with you, though," he suggests, concerned about your comfort.

"Charles, don't worry. I'm a grown woman. I think I can handle spending time with new people," you laugh, teasing him. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Kika would want to stay and support Pierre."

Once everything is settled, the two of you enter the garage. Charles greets everyone while holding your hand, and you wave at them. He shows you to your seat next to Arthur. Charles introduces you to Joris and Andrea, who are sitting beside Arthur, and then he leaves for a brief team meeting.

As you observe the garage, Joris asks if this is your first F1 race.

“First race and first-time surprising Charles.” You smile at him, and he tells you he’s going to show you something. He tilts his camera to you, and you see a photo of Charles at his apartment, smiling while looking at his phone.

“He was texting you, by the way.” He says and you blush, asking him to send you a copy of the picture. He nods and adds, “You know, I’ve never seen him smile like that.”

“Bullshit. You probably say that to all the girls he brings here.” You joke and chuckle at him.

He raises his arms and says, “Hey, I don’t have any reason to say that to you in the first place. So, trust me when I say that he’s never looked at a girl like that, ever.”

Arthur then chimes in, saying he's never seen Charles talk about someone so much, especially to his mother.

Your eyes widen. He told his mother about me? You try not to show any emotion as you ask Arthur, “What has he said about me?”

“I’m pretty sure all good things. I know she doesn’t like to judge before meeting someone, so she’s been asking Charles to invite you for dinner, but he said the two of you are taking things slow, and I think she really liked that.” Arthur smiles at you.

“Charles hasn’t had a good track record when it comes to dating, and Maman tries not to interfere; but you know.” Arthur adds and nods his head, and you did too. Charles previously told you about his two previous relationships and how fucked up everything started and ended.

You're interrupted when Charles approaches your group. He takes you to the side for a moment of privacy. He informs you that he has to go to the grid and asks if you're sure you'll be fine.

“Charles, I’m fine, okay? Now, good luck out there.” You smile at him and pat his chest.

“That’s it?” He says frowning. He turns to his side and taps his cheek. You laugh at him and gently held his jaw, tilting his face to kiss him gently on the lips.

When you pulled away, you whisper to his ear, trying to copy his accent, “Good luck, amour.”

He grins like a kid and replies, “I have my good luck charm right here.”

During the race, you wear a headset to listen to the communication between Charles and his engineer. Arthur explains the race terminology to you, and you enjoy watching the pit stops. When Charles briefly takes the lead and Carlos follows in second place, everyone in the garage celebrates, and you join in. Not realizing the film crew on the garage and zooming in on you celebrating until you saw in one of the screens. You stopped jumping and blushed, realizing there were cameras here and that you’ve been made by the media.

As Charles crosses the finish line first, Arthur and the others grab you and run from the garage to the barricades. Charles parks his car, stands on it, and raises his fists in triumph. The lot of you cheer for your driver. He removes his helmet and balaclava and was just about to hug you when you grab his cheek and kiss him passionately on the lips. You felt him get taken aback but he kisses back instantly. The crowd around you cheers, and Charles pulls away and smiles at you. He goes on to shake hands with Arthur and others before preparing for his interview.

After a few minutes, they step up on the podium, and you watch as Charles gets handed the trophy and he raises it. He looks around and locks eyes with you. He winks, and you make a heart gesture with your hands. He laughs and shakes his head.

You're glad you came to surprise him, knowing in your heart that you're ready for the next step in your relationship. While you had agreed to take things slow, you knew he had been patiently waiting for a sign that you were ready to start a new relationship.

As night fell and you found yourselves on the balcony of your hotel room, gazing at the starry sky, a feeling of familiarity washed over you. Charles lovingly wrapped his arm around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder as you look back at the day and think that your spontaneous decision to support him at the race was a clear indication of your feelings, and he knows it.  

Finally, Charles finally asked the question he had been longing to ask all day, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

A smile adorned your face as you turned to face him, his arms still embracing you. Without hesitation, you kissed him and replied, "Yes."

taglist: @notleclerc @elegantnighttragedy @buendiabebeta @i-have-no-idea-of-who-i-am @fangirlika @akahalloween31

[coeluvr]

A New Interactive Novel

Links :

✧ Play the game

Last Released: Chapter 3

Total Word Count: approx. 137.3k

Last Updated: 27th of May 2024

✧ Bonus Content

Total word count: approx. 16.7k

✧ Ko-Fi / Patreon

✧ Discord

✧ Report a Bug

✧ Ask Guidelines / FAQ

✧ Character Descriptions / Official Character Art

✧ Pinterest References

Crown of Ashes and Flames is a fantasy interactive fiction game, free to play on pc and mobile. You play as the only remaining member of the royal family of Vesphire; living in the home of the man who took away everything from you.

It is currently in development and each chapter will be released as they are finished.

The war had taken everything from you.

King Luceris had taken everything from you.

You were just nine years old when all of this happened. One moment you were in your room sleeping and the next you were walking through smoke and ash trying to find your parents.

Love, he said, was the reason he started the war. Ironically, you lost everything you loved but you also lost yourself when he let you survive and dragged you away to his home.

In a new Kingdom with no one on your side what choices will you make to survive? Who will you become?

Inside of you, there’s something burning for revenge and there’s only one thing I want to tell you. Let it out.

Content Warning: This game is rated MA-17. Depictions of violence, injuries and blood, and death; trauma, depictions of mental health challenges, child marriage, psychological horror, animal cruelty, and optional sexual content. Player discretion is advised.

The story starts in the Kingdom of Vesphire, a fictional kingdom within a fantasy universe, but it truly begins in the Kingdom of Rosea.

The two kingdoms are situated in a world that was blessed by the gods, the lands were filled with magic and beasts of wonder. For unknown reasons the gods abandoned the realm taking everything they had brought with them while the beasts moved to forests and the sea. Anywhere that was far from civilization.

You were born and raised in Vesphire until tragedy struck and you were taken away to Rosea. Contrary to the snowy lands of Vesphire, Rosea was tropical in the north and temperate in the south with mountains surrounding the lane.

The Kingdom is a colorful land with green scenery contrasts to its large white buildings. The streets are always busy from early mornings to the late nights, and filled with calls from the shopkeepers from their wooden stalls with sun-faded striped fabric or blue tarps above it. It is truly a lively place.

The ruler of this kingdom is none other than Luceris De Rosea. He is the man who led destruction right onto your home, he is the one whom all of Rosea admire. The land is immensely beautiful but many of it's people harbor great hatred towards you due to you being the last royal of Vesphire.

✧ Play as the royal of your own making:

Name [including nicknames]

Gender [male, female and nonbinary options]

Pronouns [choose a preset or set your own]

Personality [develop personality traits that will influence event sequences and the behavior of other characters towards you]

Appearance [including scars and tattoos]

✧ Develop deeper relationships with the characters, each with their own themes and stories, and find romance.

✧ Build rapport with characters from all over the continent, aid them with their problems or use them as a pawn in your story.

✧ Build a codex as you explore the world that surrounds you; encounter people, places, history and magic.

✧ Encounter important timed choices with alternative results if time runs out or you choose to abstain.

The characters in this list are those with whom you can form a deeper relationship, whether it be platonic or romantic. While all characters are available to everyone, only Hunter is gender selectable.

It is important to note that these characters are not the only ones of significance.

Fadiya Akter - The Royal Mage’s daughter, and one of the only people that doesn’t have something against you. She’s cheerful, talkative and kind - like a fairy. Fiercely loyal to you, to the point that she gets into trouble just to defend you even in court. She is a powerful mage just like her mother. She is one year younger than you.

Helios De Rosea - The Crown Prince of Rosea, and the child of the man that destroyed your home. He has a radiating smile that instantly brightens up the room, like sunshine itself. He is the hero of all fairytales, the boy with a golden spirit full of light and hope. He keeps his distance from you, after all you are the last royal of Vesphire. He is one year older than you.

Hunter Oakes - Crown Prince’s shield and Sir Lancelot’s ward. Easygoing and reckless; their serene smile puts everyone at ease. They’re loyal to the hand that feeds them but understand what you went through was an injustice. They are four years older than you.

Soarine De Norazaan - Eldest daughter of the King of Norazaan, and an envoy to Rosea. Her smile is charming and practiced, she has a vixen-like personality. Soarine wishes to take the throne and better her kingdom, her desire for the throne is underlined by a thirst for revenge against the people in her kingdom who have forgotten their own history. She is one year older than you.

Vincent Annora - Son of the current General of the Imperial Army and the one who will take her position in the future. The perfect example of what a knight should be. He is very guarded and passionately protective of the people he cares about, he may seem rough around the edges but has a gentler side to him at times. He dislikes you due to his mother’s own hatred towards you and your late family. He is two years older than you.

Thank you for reading!

[haikyuufanficwriting]

Chapter 7: Kuroo (NSFW)

Prompt: Reader working non-stop and (Character) has to ‘tire’ them out. (NSFW) Character: Kuroo

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You’re a workaholic. Anyone who’s ever met you could notice it at first meeting. You’re a typical type A person. You fit the stereotypical mold perfectly. This isn’t really a surprise to you though, you’ve been this way for as long as you could remember.

Ever since you were a little kid, you’ve never been able to take a proper break. You simply didn’t know how to. There always seemed to be something else to do, something to improve on, something to fix…

And while you profited from this trait in your professional life, it did horrendous effects on your personal life.

“Kitten, it’s almost midnight.” You don’t even glance up from your desk, engrossed in the report you’re writing, as your boyfriend curls his arms around you, silently beckoning you to come to bed. You sigh lightly.

“I’ll be there is fifteen minutes Tetsu.” You mutter absentmindedly, and Kuroo snorts, knowing very well that you’re saying anything to sate him.

Truth be told, Kuroo understood where you’re coming from. Becoming the spokesman for a famous a volleyball team has led to many late nights, but the difference between him and you were he knew when and how to take a break. Kuroo could kick back and forget about all his ailments, while you could barely go ten minutes without going into a frenzy about some files you had to go over. He couldn’t really remember a time when you weren’t like this. Even back in high school, you tried to make sure you had perfected every subject, every assignment. When you joined the volleyball team as manager, you stayed back longer than any boy practicing. Doing anything from helping cleaning and maintaining the gym, to help making as many practice matches as you could.

Many times he’d have to force you to eat and to sleep, among other things. Kuroo had gotten so used to it, it became routine to pick up both you and Kenma just to make sure both of you had eaten something. So much so that it’s a favorite pastime for him to recall those memories and watch you cringe.

But, now in your adult life and being in a romantic relationship rather than a platonic one, Kuroo lets you do you. Of course, now you know when to do basic necessities like eat and sleep (Well, sometimes you needed a little help), but mostly because he wouldn’t dare change you. (Maybe because of how amusing it is to see you try to relax). However, there are times where he felt he needed to step in. Just to make sure you wouldn’t burn out or combust.

You were high maintenance but, Kuroo liked maintaining you. Your drive and passion for everything you do is one of the reasons he fell for you in the first place.

Which brings him to his current mission. To get you to sleep. Ever since you were brought on to a new project at your work, he could tell you weren’t sleeping as much as you should be. And while he was usually lenient, it was starting to worry him a little bit. Hence, why this time he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Kuroo doesn’t respond with words, but only light, feather-like kisses down your neck, just to remind that he really isn’t going to give in. You try to ignore him, but once he begins to suck a light hickey right below your ear, you can’t handle it and let out a heavy sigh of mainly annoyance and just a bit of pleasure. You can feel his smirk from behind you. That jackass.

“Tetsu, I have to focus.”

“You can focus tomorrow, (Name). It’ll still be there when you wake up.” Kuroo says in a teasing tone while moving his hands from your sides to your hands, pulling them away from the work you so desperately want to finish.

“I promised myself I’d finish this today.” You argue, turning around to plead with your eyes, but to no avail.

“When’s the deadline?” You pause, before looking away slightly.

“Next week.” Kuroo doesn’t even need to use words, but just a slight eyebrow raise for you to feel the need to defend yourself. “I-I’m using next week to read it over just to make sure I didn’t forget any-” Your argument is cut off by your yelp as Kuroo picks you up bridal style right from your chair. You flush.

“T-tetsurou!”

He gives you a Cheshire smile. “Bedtime.” Is the only thing he says as he carries you to your shared bedroom. You huff childishly as he sets you down onto the bed and pulls the covers down. He pulls off his shirt and lays down. You’re silently thankful that you were already changed for bed. Your mind can’t even take the imaginary scenarios of what your boyfriend would do. Your noises of disagreement are quieted when he pulls you into his chest. You grumble slightly.

“I’m not a child you know.” You hear Kuroo let out a small chuckle. You feel the vibrations coming from his chest and shiver slightly.

“Sleep, kitten.” He whispers before playfully nipping your ear, which earns him a light smack against his arm. Such a tease. You sigh, before relaxing into your boyfriends’ arms, attempting to sleep.

Maybe this could actually be good for you. Some sleep to feel refreshed in the morning and give you the final push to finish that report…

~~

This was a terrible idea.

Not only could you not fall asleep, but you couldn’t stop thinking about your unfinished report in the other room. It was practically calling you, teasing you, infesting your mind with the fact that it’s sat there, undone. You shift slightly, leaning more against Kuroo as you feel his deep and even breathing. Lucky bastard practically passed out the second his head hit the pillow. While you laid there for about what felt like an eternity. You let out a low agonized whine, before looking at the clock on your bedroom wall. It was 1:35 am.

You definitely couldn’t stay like this. It was going to be the death of you if this continued.

You look from your door to Kuroo. Surely, he wouldn’t notice if you left for half an hour? You were almost finished with your report, so you knew you wouldn’t be gone for long, plus he slept like the dead…

You slowly and cautiously uncurled Kuroo’s arms from your waist, checking his face for the smallest shifts of discomfort, stopping whenever he twitched. After about five minutes, you managed to get him off you, and as quietly as possible, you stood up and tried to make your way to your door. You were about halfway there, when you hear a low grunt. You turn to see your boyfriend’s arms searching threw the empty space of the bed. He was trying to look for you.

If you weren’t focused on the task at hand, you would’ve recorded this for blackmail material. But, afraid of waking him, you silently grabbed your pillow and gave it to his searching hands. And like a child, Kuroo immediately clings onto it, pulling it into him and letting out a satisfied groan. You feel sensations of warmth course through you.

You swear you cannot describe the love you feel for this man. You feel yourself smile, going back and brushing your fingers down his neck, to which he let out a comforted noise.

Wait, stop, (Name) focus!

You snap yourself out of it, reminding yourself of the report sitting outside. With one last glance, you turn and make your way out the door. You feel peace and relief as you sit back down in your desk chair.

Okay time to get to work…

~~

Okay, this might’ve taken a little longer than you’ve anticipated.

You finished writing the report, but when reading over you decided halfway through that you wanted to change a section, but then it intersected with another part and another…

Long story short, you’re rewriting it all over again.

You have no clue what time it is, only knowing the last time you checked it was 2: 45 am, and its felt like forever since you last checked.

But nevertheless, you were convinced that you were going to be done in the next fifteen minutes, so you just had to make sure that it was quiet enough that Kuroo wouldn’t wake. You made sure to check the door every five minutes and not a to make a single sound other the keyboard clacking. You were filled with determination. The next ten minutes flew by, with you getting immersed into your own little bubble.

Which is why you didn’t even hear Kuroo get up.

Granted, he had woken up randomly, but when he stirred and found himself clutching a pillow instead of your body, he knew immediately what you were up to.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” He groaned, before huffing out a laugh, shaking his head at the clock on the wall. It was around 4: 15 am. Kuroo got up and walked out of the room, to find you sitting on your desk, face totally absorbed in your screen. He leans against the wall causally, watching you for a while.

“You know they say the early bird gets the worm,” His voice is rough from sleep, but is still filled with amusement as he watches you jump from his voice. You turn his way like a child getting caught for taking candy from their mothers’ purse.

“But this is a little much don’t you think?” He watches you slide out of your desk, closing your laptop while attempting to figure out a reasonable defense, but ends up watching you open and close your mouth like a gaping fish. He wishes he had his phone with him to catch your expression.

“I… I wasn’t tired. So I just figured I’d finish while it was still on my mind.” You finally say, voice filled with nervousness and a little bit of shame. Kuroo looks from you to your laptop.

“And did you finish?” You look away.

“…Not yet.” There’s silence between you two for little while. You watch Kuroo rub his face, clearly trying figure out what to do with you. You gulp.

“Tetsu, just go back to bed, I’ll be finished in ten minutes. As soon as I’m done, I’ll go to sleep I promise. I just couldn’t rest knowing it wasn’t done-” You’re cut off by Kuroo’s body pressing into yours, pushing you against the wall in a searing kiss, moving against your lips in a slow but bruising pace. You moan in surprise.

How-How did he even get over here so quickly?

Your mind goes blank as his hand travels under your pajama shirt (Which was his old t-shirt, but whatever), rubbing your lower back in ways that leave your skin tingling in its wake. You gasp from the sensation, giving Kuroo the space to slip his tongue in. At this point your body is on auto pilot, with even your arms subconsciously wrapping around his neck at some point of the suddenly heavy make out session.

After what felt like centuries, Kuroo pulls back to let you breathe, before immediately going to attack your neck, not in the lighthearted way he did hours prior. He cycles from sucking on your flesh to lightly biting to kissing, all in places that he knows are sensitive. This all came on so fast that you can barely form coherent sentences.

“T-tetsu… What -ah, are you… Doing?” You pant, and he finally stops and smirks at you, which alone caused your heart to skip a beat.

“What else could I be doing? Taking your mind off work.” With that, he continues that assassination on your neck.

Honestly, the idea came to Kuroo on a whim. He knew that you couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stop working on that stupid report, so at that moment he could only think of one thing that could have a chance at taking your focus off it.

 Sex.

Primitive yes, but hey, it worked at the best of times. Plus, it could also help with working off the extra energy you can’t seem to shake.

It’s a win-win in his eyes.

(It also may have to do with the fact that you two haven’t slept together in a week, due to said report, so he could be feeling a little pent up but that’s a different issue.)

After he was satisfied with his work on your neck, which was full of red and purple splotches that he knows you’ll complain about later, he returns to your lips, kissing you with all the strength he had. His hands travel from your back to your chest, thankful that you weren’t wearing a bra. Kuroo starts to knead your breasts, making sure to pinch and pull and your nipples every so often, leaving you to twitch and cry softly in his mouth. He can’t help but think about how the sounds would feel around his cock, and that imagery goes straight to his crotch.

Right no, this was about you. Another thought for another day.

His hands leave your chest, to go to the back of your thighs. He squeezes them to silently tell you to that he’s going to lift you. You help a little, jumping slightly and hooking your legs around his toned hips. Without leaving your lips he takes you to the nearest surface, which was your couch, and lays you down with the upmost care, before pouncing on you immediately. Putting one of his legs between yours.

After five minutes in this new position, Kuroo suddenly leaves your mouth and you quietly whine at the loss, but he doesn’t hear as he motions you to lift your arms off to take off your shirt. You comply, helping him remove the item of clothing, leaving you in just your panties. Kuroo appreciates the fact that you don’t wear pants to bed as he takes a moment to look at you. Your face flushed and red, lips swollen with a bruised neck that goes down to your collar bones. Your chest heaving from your heavy pants that accentuate the curve of your breasts. Kuroo has to real in his self control to stop himself from fucking you immediately. You feel yourself heat up from his dark eyes looking you up and down like you’re a piece of meat.

“St-stop staring, pervert” You mutter, turning even more red from embarrassment. He smiles at your shyness. “Sorry kitten; but you can’t expect me not stare when you’re all laid out for me like this~ Just waiting to be devoured.”

You stutter at his words, refusing to look at him but trying to kick him to get your point across. He catches your leg with ease, and starts to kiss your calf, going up your leg, purposefully avoiding where you want him most. You whine again, this time with Kuroo hearing you and he chuckles lowly.

“Patience is a virtue, you know~” He teases, and before you could say anything, he latches his mouth to one of your nipples, leaving his hand to tease the other, making you speechless. Your only response was a shaky moan as he softly bites your nipple, causing your back to arch just a bit.

Kuroo is relentless, refusing to let your nipple go until its bright red and engorged, making even the lightest touch make you shiver. But he isn’t done in the slightest. Once pleased, he turns to the other one, giving it the exact same treatment. Once he’s done, you’re practically shaking with need.

“Tet-Tetsu… Pl-please.” You moan, as he teasingly pinches your extremely sensitive nipple. He looks at you, acting oblivious.

“Hm? Do you want something?” You glare as hard as you could at the prick, but with your half-lidded eyes and totally red face, it loses all intensity. Kuroo huffs out a laugh, sensual and deep, as he takes his finger and trails it down your abdomen and down to your inner thigh, making you let out gasps as your body twitches at the touch. He traces tiny circles down your inner thigh before grazing the lips of your pussy.

You’re absolutely dripping. His cock twitches. Maybe this week has been hard on you too…

“So needy~” He groans, again not giving you time to respond, as he shoves his finger inside your dripping hole, leaving you writhing. To be honest, he was becoming impatient as well, his cock was becoming so hard it was beginning to hurt, but he ignored it for your sake.

Kuroo starts off slow, pushing his finger in a slow pulse, loving the way your walls would twitch around his finger. After a while he brought his thumb to rub slow tight circles on your clit. You struggle to hold in any noise. Not like you weren’t struggling before.

“Tetsu~” You pant, becoming a literal puddle as he steadily winds the coil forming in your lower abdomen. Your hips start to move on their own accord, pushing against his finger to get it even deeper.

You want more. You need more.

“Still thinking about work?” Kuroo asks slyly, purposefully adding a second finger just to mess and cloud up your thoughts.

Bastard was making you look like a bitch in heat. But in the moment, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

You didn’t answer, couldn’t answer. Not with all the pleasure muddling your basic communication skills. Kuroo obviously didn’t like that, so he decides to push up into a place that makes you see stars.

“Tetsurou!” You literally gasp, arching your back so far that you lift yourself off the couch. Kuroo groans just from your voice and expression alone. Just watching your eyes roll into the back of head was enough to put him in a frenzy, not even mentioning the way you said his name. He wanted you to scream it. Scream so loud the neighbors file complaints.

So of course, what else was he supposed to do but press and rub against that spot repeatedly.

Kuroo watches hungrily as your gasps and moans pitch higher and higher as his fingers set a brutal pace. Adding a third finger and his palm against your clit once more and you were goner, with him throwing you into climax rather than pushing you to it. He swears your cunt squeezed him so hard his fingers lost circulation for a moment, but it was worth the expression of pure bliss on your face.

It takes you a while to get your breathing under control, winding down from a climax harder than you’ve had in a while. You take a couple minutes resting your eyes, before you remember that Kuroo was still present, now rubbing his cock against your inner thigh.

“I hope you’re not tired yet, kitten~ We still have so much work to do.”

Boy, were you in for a rough night.

[canonicallyobserving911]

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

Season 7 FANON Speculation: Buddie Multi-Chapter Fanfic - Hiatus Reading: “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Chapters 24 & 25 are now available on AO3.

Please note: Chapters 24 and 25 were posted at the same time.

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Currently 25 chapters completed: 973.1K Words; Rated: Mature

One chapter will be posted at a time.

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Two snippets are included below, one from Chapter 24 and one from Chapter 25. Both chapters are available on AO3.

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Here's a snippet from Chapter 24 on Christmas morning that's taking place inside of the Diaz Family's hotel suite in London, England.

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“Chris!”  Buck exclaims but his voice is still just above a whisper.

“Read it aloud so we can all hear it.”

Buck’s still trying to blink back his tears but he’s having a hard time doing it, so he just lets them roll down his cheeks.  He uses his forefinger and thumb to wipe them away and clears his throat then says, “Petition to adopt minor child Christopher M. Diaz” but that’s as far as he gets.

He hiccups on a sob, lowers his head and cries but they’re happy tears.  Eddie wraps his left arm around Buck’s shoulders, pulls him close and Chris moves from sitting on the ottoman to the sofa on the other side of Buck.  He wraps his arm around Buck shoulders the same way he did after Eddie was shot and the feeling makes Buck break.

Eddie rubs circles on his back to console him then he leans in and whispers into his ear, “My love, you’re already Chris’ dad and you have been for years.”

Buck nods and takes a few moments to compose himself.  Once he does, he looks at Chris and asks, “You want me to be your dad too?”

“Yes, I do.  Will you adopt me?”

How will Buck answer Chris' question?

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Here's a snippet from Chapter 25 of an emotionally angsty discussion happening on New Year's Eve after Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive at Maddie and Chimney's house.

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After they make it to the front door, Buck knocks at 8:54PM and after a few seconds, Chimney opens it.

“Welcome back guys, how was your trip?”

“It was great.”  Chris replies as he enters the house.

Buck and Eddie smile and Eddie says, “Exactly what our son said.”

Chimney raises his eyebrows but he recovers quickly because he knows they’re close but Buck’s never admitted Chris was his son before so he shrugs his shoulders and says, “Come in”.

When they enter the house, several voices yell, “SURPRISE!”

Buck and Eddie look at each other then they scan the room and they see everyone from A-shift along with Linda, Josh and some other people Eddie remembers from Metro Dispatch present.

Buck asks, “What’s all this?”

“It’s your engagement party.”  Maddie replies.

Buck and Eddie look at each other and other again and the only sound in the room are Chris’ giggles.  Everyone else is still and quiet because they can’t figure out why Buck and Eddie aren’t celebrating with them.

It’s so quiet that it’s starts to feel awkward so Buck raises his eyebrows and exclaims, “Uh… guys… we’re not engaged…”

He doesn’t get to finish because Maddie gasps and loudly asks, “What do you mean?”

What's going to happen next?

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This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

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Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.

Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?

Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.

Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.

Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.

Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.

Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?

Chapter 26 - Will be posted soon.

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Read chapters 1-25 are available on AO3.

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[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Hehe imagine if you’re the BSD characters’ favorite fictional character too and you’re supposed to die in your own universe and that’s why they’re so obsessed with protecting you

We will protect you

Self-Aware! Atsushi Nakajima x GN! Reader x Self-Aware! Akutagawa Ryunosuke

Description: BSD gang learned, that you are a fictional character in their world. And, if book tell the truth, you will die. They want to protect you. Especially two of your bodyguards.

But, maybe, the situation is not, what it seems.

Warning: OOC. Yandere. Bad friends. English is my second language.

__________

Purple moon shined above Yokohama.

And Kirako Haruno finally become truly self-aware.

It was not only the great day for ADA, but for all BSD cast in general. And they have the reason for it.

Apparently, while Kirako was in... stasis, she was connected to the world of Their Guiding Light. And she heard their conversations and can tell more about Their Guiding Light.

Almost all characters, except Aya and Bram, who decide to finish reading the book and promise to join others later, were sitting in the meeting room. Kirako was sitting at the head of the table. She started talking.

"Their name is [Y/N] [L/N]. They are [age]..."

Kirako talked and talked. But some characters became more and more confused.

Naomi was the first one, who spoke: "Don't [Y/N] sounds familiar? I am pretty sure, I have heard about a person with same name, looks and interests."

More people nodded. Yes... It was something familiar with this description.

Suddenly, Katai facepalmed.

"I know. [Y/N] is the name of one of the characters from 'Love-love adventures of lovers in the dark. Sanctify life with the power of love'! One of the secondary ones!"

'Love-love adventures of lovers in the dark. Sanctify life with the power of love' was a book series, that was popular in their world, even before they gain self-awareness. And, for some reason, was still available to read even after their world become empty. It was a romance novel. Cliché storm, except [Y/N], secondary character of the novel. They were interesting, funny, kind. And much better than Main Characters.

BSD Cast start talking with each other. It was nice to know, that Their Guiding Light are also their favorite book character.

And then they heard sobs.

Aya walk inside the meeting room, carrying Bram and the book they were reading before. Girl was crying. Bram looks displeased.

Aya ignored questions of 'if she is okay' and 'what happened'. Aya, with the help from Kunikida, put Bram in his hammock, that was created specifically for him.

Now she was just standing there, holding the book in her arms. Crying.

And, suddenly, Aya threw the book on the ground. It was a copy of 'Love-love adventures of lovers in the dark. Sanctify life with the power of love'. Aya stomped on the book a few times.

"Idiot author! How dare you! How dare you to do this to [Y/N]!"

Bram grumble:

"Agree, child. The Author really has a lack of brains, morality and common sense."

Junichirou, who hurry to Aya's side, to calm her down, stopped in his tracks. Everyone was looking at Aya.

"What happened to [Y/N], Aya. Can you tell us, please?"

Aya nodded and pointed at the book.

"In the last chapter, [Y/N] have died! And their death make Main Characters realized that they love each other! But they didn't even cry for [Y/N], and their family, friends and others didn't care that [Y/N] are..."

Aya couldn't take it anymore and start crying.

The silence in the room can be cut with a knife...

"Kirako, did the book's events already started?" asked Fukuzawa. He looked concerned and determined at the same time.

Kirako shook her head.

"No. They haven't."

Fukuzawa hums.

"We still have time. But we must hurry."

_____________

Meanwhile, in your world

_____________

You are sure, that you need new friends.

Because with current ones, you won't need enemies.

Few months ago, your friends decided to participate in the competition. They should write a summary for a Light Novel. Reward - having their 'book' 'canonized' in favorite manga as a popular in-universe book series. And these idiots decided to make the book as personal as they can.

By writing about them.

Your friends have won. Now the 'magnum opus' were cannon in Bungou Stray Dogs universe.

You were furious. Not because they won. Because of one character.

One of the characters were based on you, despite the fact, that you told them multiple times that you don't want to participate and not okay with sharing your information with thousands of strangers.

The Characters have your name, age, appearance and interests.

You tried to talk to your friends, so they removed this character from the book. No response.

You tried to talk to people, who arranged the competition. No response.

At the end, you were a fictional character in BSD.

You hoped, that people on The Internet won't start post theories about LN plot and characters.

Also, you phone were going crazy

It seems, it wanted to make sure you are alive and breathing. Reminders to drink water, take meds, go for a walk, no jaywalking...

What a crazy day.

_______________

🐾 After learning, that 'you' will die in your universe, BSD gang will double their efforts in finding a way to you.

🐾 It's unclear, when the events of the book will start, so they must hurry.

🐯🧥 Akutagawa and Atsushi will double their training, so they can protect you.

🐯🧥 You won't die. They won't allow it.

________

Few months later

______________

You were sitting in the middle of the room. All BSD characters were sitting around you. Kids, Aya, Elise and Q were sitting near you, hugging you. Kids were scared, that you will disappear at any given time. You groaned. You had a headache. Not only BSD gang were self-aware and in your apartment, but they were sure that you will die.

"Let me get this straight. In the book from your world, I am the character of a light novel, right? And my character dies in the end, right?"

Aya, who was squeezing your hands, nodded.

"Yes! And it would be awful!"

You take a quick look at the other. All of them were concerned. And you saw a really unfriendly gaze of Akutagawa. Ryuunosuke stand up and walked towards the door. Atsushi followed him.

"I will deal with Main Characters from the book. They were the reason of your death. I will protect you." growls Akutagawa. Atsushi send you encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, [Y/N], Akutagawa and I will make sure, that they won't hurt you. I promise, we won't torture them."

It seems everyone, even Dazai, was fine with it.

You can't let this happen. Your friends are idiots. And they have ignored you. But it's not the reason to kill them.

Now, you have to stop Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Atsushi Nakajima.

You leaped forward, thankfully, you didn't hurt Aya, Elise and Q. You managed to wrap your right arm around Akutagawa's right leg and left arm around Atsushi's left leg. Then you found yourself being pulled forward.

"Wait, stop, please! Let me explain!"

Akutagawa and Atsushi take a few more steps, before stopping in their tracks. You looked at them, your arms were still wrapped around their legs.

"It's not what you all think! It's all a big misunderstanding!"

After three of you were back on your sits, you start talking.

"Okay... Let me explain, what happened. Few months ago, my friends decided to took part in..."

______

One explanation later

______

"So it's not a prophecy. It's just my friends been idiots"

BSD cast were silent. You show them the adverts for competition, comments, your messages for your friends and other evidence.

Atsushi asked, looking at you.

"So... Are you sure you don't want us to teach your friends a lesson?"

You want to say no. But... They ignored you, share your personal information with thousands of people. But still... Maybe, you shouldn't be petty and let them...

"What is Official [Y/N] Gore fanfic?" asked Q. You turned towards Q. Kids get a hold of your laptop and start looking an information about the competition.

And find an official site, that your friends were running.

Elise clicked on one of the titles.

"Hm? 'Love-love adventures of lovers in the dark. Sanctify life with the power of love' and 'Hostel' crossover featuring [Y/N]? What it's about?"

Before she can read even one word from the fanfic, you grab the laptop and take it away from the kids. You were shaking. Because of disgust and fear.

You take a look at the site. Your friends were posting fanfics about their 'magnum opus'

Some of the fanfics were about you.

NSFW fanfics.

You looked at Akutagawa and Atsushi.

"Is the offer of teaching them a lesson still available?"

__________

At the end, after spending a few months in a hospital, your friends deleted the site. They post an apology letter and even compensate you for mental damage they have done.

When your friends were asked, what happened to them, they were silent. It's not like someone would believe that they were attacked by a white tiger and dragon-like demonic beast.

BSD cast were still protective over you. Especially Atsushi and Akutagawa. But, at least, no one will hurt you. With words or actions.

[split-spectrum]

Water and Rock

Chapter 8

Pairings: Obi Wan/FemReader

Warnings/Tags: explicit content, slow burn, smut, dubcon, angst

Description: There are only so many excuses a master and padawan can make to kiss under "extenuating circumstances" before circumstances stop arising and start being created. You are an expert at your craft - a Jedi knight in service as a spy for the Republic. When your former master Obi Wan joins you on a mission, it's clear things aren't the same as they once were. The trials you face together may break your bond, or turn it into something else entirely.

☆☆☆

When the holomessage flickers off, the spell over you is broken. You finish taking off your coat and immediately start keying in codes on the holoreceiver. After minutes of waiting, the image of Mace Windu appears before you.

"Master Windu," you greet. "I'm glad to see you are well."

He nods respectfully. "And you, Commander. I trust you've received the Council's message?"

"I have. I thought perhaps we could discuss it further."

"Of course. What further discussion is needed?"

"To be honest, Master, I feel there are many other Jedi who would be able to complete this mission with more success than me."

You shift your gaze uneasily, but bring it back to meet his eyes quickly. "Is my presence on this mission... absolutely necessary?"

His tone remains even, although there's a little more authority in his voice. "We don't have 'many other Jedi' available at the moment. We are spread more thinly every day the war goes on. If we did not require your presence, we would not have asked for it."

You nod. "I understand."

You hesitate, not wanting to push the issue further, but not wanting to end the conversation until you've tried all options. "But at the present time, I'm... not entirely sure I'm ready to return to full duty."

He's silent for a moment, eyebrow slightly raised. "Might I remind you, Commander, that you are currently on full duty? Your assignment was changed, but your efforts are of no less value on Ilum."

You silently curse the lack of tact in your wording. Being away from Coruscant for so long as made you forget how easily your words can be twisted. You bow your head in acknowledgement.

"Yes, of course."

He regards you for a moment before speaking again. "If you are refusing the orders, you may say so. You will be relieved of duty."

It isn't a threat. Like everything Master Windu says, it's a clear statement of truth without hidden meaning. He is simply reminding you of the options available. You can report for duty, or you can admit that despite your year of light service to focus inward and reconnect with the force, you still aren't ready to face combat again, and you can leave the Jedi Order.

"That is not my intent," you assure him. "I will accept the orders and report. I simply wanted to ensure that... I had a full understanding of the circumstances."

His face remains neutral. "Then, unless there's anything else, Commander, good luck on your mission. May the force be with you."

You nod respectfully. "And with you, Master."

The hologram flickers out, and you stare at the empty space. Perhaps if you'd had a few more months to find balance... even a few weeks to prepare for this mission...

But no. You shake the thoughts from your head. It would have made no difference. This is the most dedicated you have ever been in your training, and you are the strongest you've ever felt in the force. Yet, for all the time you'd spent in meditation, you're still unbalanced, and you know that no amount of time would have been enough to bring you back to center.

When you'd first arrived for your new assignment, you'd spent a great deal of your time expressly trying not to reach out in the force. It went against everything you'd been taught by all of your masters, but in your experience, there had been many times you'd needed to trust in the force, and a few times you'd needed to trust in yourself. You knew your thoughts were in turmoil and your emotions were not in your control. To connect with the force in such a state, you knew, would be a mistake.

So you focused on your daily tasks, using the dull repetition of cycling screens as a form of meditation, and the arduous perimeter checks around the temple as a method of clearing your mind. Although your days were long and tiresome, you were grateful for the blank feeling it afforded you. It was better than the alternative, which was what you exerperienced each night before sleep. Sometimes, all too often, during sleep.

The screams you'd heard, each guard pleading for their life before a vicious silence permeated the air, sometimes preceeded with the grinding of bones or the thick pop of dislocating joints...

The hallway filled with bodies in poses crawling away from their attacker, some with faces darkened by lack of blood flow, some missing multiple appendages - not just the hands that had held their weapons, but their arms, and their legs...

He would have done it on the way back... He would have disarmed them already. They weren't a threat by the time he'd retrieved your sabers. He would have killed them on his way down the hallway, back to you, as they lay there...

The most disturbing part of all of it, though, was the feeling, deep within you, of pure contentment. It had stroked a part of your mind that you hadn't known existed. It was so pleasing to you, knowing that he was out of control. It soothed you. He was safe.

In every battle you'd fought by his side, you'd tried to let go of your fear of death. In many of your missions, you'd left people alive who easily could have killed you in return. This was part of the path you chose to walk - to fight with the knowledge that taking an enemy's life wasn't the goal. You fought to protect others, not yourselves. If you could manage to leave an enemy alive, but disarmed, it was always attempted.

But sometimes, enemies didn't stay disarmed once defeated. Sometimes it managed to create a bigger threat. These were the choices you lived with, in order to protect the sanctity of all life. But for one shining moment, you had felt the weight of those choices lift from your shoulders.

When you had watched Obi Wan remove the shackles of compassion, mercy, and restraint, you'd felt a relief like nothing you'd ever experienced before. It was intoxicating, to a level that terrified you.

Because of this, you had spent many months on Ilum without allowing yourself to even attempt a connection with the force. The feeling was still too near, the power too overwhelming. But as time passed and you felt more like yourself each day, you eventually began short meditations with all of your mental barriers firmly in place. Over the weeks which turned into months, you managed to restore your connection, grow in it, and surpass your previous experiences.

But even now, with your strength returned to you, as you contemplate the mission ahead, you can feel the imbalance within yourself. Your desire to do good in the universe will always be tinged with the knowledge of what it felt like to let go of your obligations and use your power to protect what you want to protect.

As you board your ship and make the short journey to the rendezvous point with the Republic cruiser, nervous thoughts of your potential shortcomings are slowly replaced with nervous thoughts of another sort.

It's been over a year, and you haven't spoken.

You went to your frozen outpost with every intention to write after a few weeks, as you always did. Even in the midst of countless assignments, you'd always made time to leave an occasional friendly message to one another. You'd kept ties with all your previous masters - some more closely than others. But Obi Wan was your true Master, and you never went more than a couple of months without at least a simple "Hope all is well" message or a quick chat over the holonet to discuss your latest mission reports.

He'd stopped calling after six months, evidently taking the hint that you hadn't been trying to send. You'd played the few short messages he'd left repeatedly just to hear his voice, hanging on his every word. But you couldn't bear to respond; to pretend as if you were okay. You didn't want to lie to him. It was easier to ignore him.

Now, as you dock with the cruiser and make your way onboard, you have no idea what you can say to him. Perhaps, you think optimistically, you won't need to say much. After all, you're here to do a job. You were ordered to report to him as your commanding officer. You didn't receive your orders together, meaning it's likely a solo mission he'll be sending you on.

You turn down a hallway approaching the main bridge and let out a long-held breath, trying to calm yourself. As you sink into the force to steady your nerves, you sense him. You knew you would, but you aren't prepared for the way you feel when his familiar aura makes gentle contact with the edge of your own. Now he knows you're here, too.

His presence grows stronger as you get closer to the ship's center, and you pass a door marked as the general's personal quarters. Your gait slows just a little as you consider knocking. But you hardly miss a step, reminding yourself you have orders to report to the captain. You convince yourself this is the reason you keep walking, and not because you're too afraid to stop.

As you approach the bridge, the scene around you gets markedly busier. The ship's crew is hard at work monitoring status reports and managing the daily operation of the cruiser, and as you step onto the main bridge, you're careful to keep out of the way. A couple of clones you recognize greet you in passing and you give a friendly nod in return. When you reach the captain, he's engaged in a conversation with another clone with whom you're familiar.

"Captain Shrike," you greet, a genuine smile on your face. You've completed a few missions together, and it puts you slightly more at ease to see him.

The clone captain gives you a warm grin, his stance softening slightly to a more open posture as he turns toward you. "Commander! It's been a while. Looking forward to another easy one?"

You laugh, and he introduces you to the captain, the three of you making polite conversation until the topic of the mission is brought up. The captain, whose last name you've now learned is Pais, tells you they plan to discuss it momentarily.

"We were awaiting your arrival so that the General- ah, there he is now." He looks behind you. "General Kenobi wanted to brief everyone at once."

You turn and follow the captain's line of sight to the person who's just entered the room, and there he is.

His beard is neatly trimmed, his hair perfectly finger-combed back from his bright eyes. He's clad in his familiar white armor, likely having returned from battle recently, but looking none worse for the wear. His gaze is as piercing as ever.

"Commander," he acknowledges you with a muted smile. "Welcome aboard. It's good to see you."

"Thank you, General." You say nothing more, unable to return his warm greeting without it sounding forced.

With his usual amount of grace, he continues on to the task at hand, dropping eye contact with you too quickly for anyone to notice your stiff moment of pause. He circles around to the other side of the holoprojector table at the center of the bridge and keys in coordinates to bring up a softly glowing map. The scale model is instantly recognizable to you as a nearby listening post - one which you've personally spent several rotations mapping.

The lights on the bridge automatically darken to allow for better viewing, and the captain joins you at the table along with the clone captain and several of the higher ranking bridge officers. Obi Wan folds his arms behind his back and begins the brief.

"This is a Separatist listening post, located on the lesser moon of Asar-2. We have reason to believe that a Republic vessel traveling in this area had communications intercepted and possibly decoded, revealing our plan of attack on a Separatist blockade in the Gaulus sector. A plan which is set to go into effect in less than fourty standard hours."

He pauses briefly, glancing around the room. "These battle plans are our best chance of breaching the blockade and successfully bringing humanitarian aid to the people of Aaloth. If we were to call off the attack, we may not have another opportunity. However, if the Separatists are already aware of the offensive fleet's coordinates, they will be flying directly into a trap. It is our mission to prevent this by infiltrating the listening station and accessing their transmission logs. We must confirm whether the Separatists were able to decode whatever information they may have gathered, and relay our findings before the planned attack."

He turns to the clone captain beside him. "Captain Shrike, you and I will be approaching from the west, here."

He taps a spot on the map to zoom in. "Their security forces are concentrated at this entrance, and their numbers are limited. To make it to the turbolift on the first floor and reach the comms center, we need only bypass the main guard unit. We will be disguised as Separatist soldiers."

He lifts his eyes to yours, tapping the map again to zoom out and show a path leading to the main entrance. "Commander, that is where you come in. We will need your skills to convince the guards that we have the appropriate security clearances. I presume if you are within this area, it would be close enough to get the job done?"

You follow his motion as he gestures to a wide expanse of land along the path. You open your mouth hesitantly. "It... would."

He nods. "Very well-"

"If I may," you interrupt before the subject can move on. "...sir," you add hastily.

His posture tightens just slightly at the interjection. "Go ahead, Commander."

You reach out and use your fingers to widen the angle of the holographic model. Then you turn it, inspecting it carefully, first on one side, then the other. "When was the layout of this station last updated?"

"The latest recon available was from sixteen months ago. Why?"

Your head shoots upward from the table. "Sixteen months? I submitted several updated reports on this post just a few weeks ago. These details are completely wrong."

His brow furrows and an air of uncertainty falls over the rest of the briefing attendees.

"What do you mean, 'completely wrong'?"

You give a small shake of your head in disbelief. "They've made considerable increases in security since this. For one thing, there's no 'main guard'. Security forces are spread throughout the many additional levels which aren't shown on this map. And the rest of those levels are filled with soldiers, not automated. Aside from that, they have a failsafe for their security system - rayshielded entrances that lock into place when activated from a remote base of operations which is in orbit. Intruders can't shut down the security from the ground; it's a two-part countermeasure."

Silence falls over the briefing group, and Obi Wan brings his arms out from behind his back, folding them over his chest and bringing a hand up to stroke his chin. After a moment of contemplation, he looks back at you.

"How certain are you of these changes?"

"I've done multiple inspections and received reliable information from inside their supply lines. I sent all the details in my reports."

"Then why did we not receive them?" he asks plainly. The question isn't directed at you; more rhetorical, or open for discussion.

You shake your head again. "I sent them directly to the chancellor's office, as instructed."

His hand drops from his chin. "The chancellor's office?"

You tilt your head just slightly, giving him a careful look at his surprised response. "I received orders several months ago that all reports in this sector were to be submitted through encrypted channels to the office of the chancellor, for more direct communication."

When he continues staring at you, you add, "The orders came from the Council."

His frown deepens. "I remember no such order."

"Regardless of the reason," Captain Pais observes delicately, "It appears we are missing crucial intelligence. How do you suggest we proceed?"

"I have the updated reports in my personal logs. We may be able to come up with something if we reevaluate."

Obi Wan doesn't give another moment's hesitation at your offer. "We have very little time as it is. Please, get them. I'll come with you."

Turning back to the group around the table, he adds, "You are dismissed, for now," and then follows as you leave the room.

Your pace is quick and a little nervous as he falls into step beside you, his footsteps as confident as ever. You glance over at him. "I have to say, I'm a little confused."

"Confused?"

"When I arrived, I wondered why you'd requested me for this mission. Then I saw the location, and I assumed my knowledge of the outpost would be helpful. Now it turns out that you never even received my reports."

You shake your head a bit. "If you'll forgive my asking, why me? Any Jedi would be capable of accessing a station like the basic one you thought this was."

He's quiet for a beat. "It wasn't my request. The Council assigned you here."

You reach the hatch to your ship and open it, turning your face away from him to hide how foolish you feel for asking. "Ah."

"I believe they had good reason. These listening posts are known to destroy all records as soon as any breach is detected. Normal attack or infiltration wouldn't be an adequate plan. Your skills were -are needed to ensure we retrieve the data with as little chance of detection as possible. If we're discovered before we reach it, all will be lost."

"I see," you answer, logging into your personal records and pulling up your reports. "That explains it."

He looks at you for a moment, then continues, "I did mean what I said on the bridge, you know."

Your eyes flicker from the screen over to him and you look at him questioningly.

"I may not have asked you here, but it is good to see you."

The heat in your cheeks intensifies and you turn back to the screen, retrieving the report and sending it to him.

"It's... good to see you, too."

He gives you an amiable look, if not quite a smile, then pulls it up on the datapad in his hand and walks a few paces away.

As he reads through the material, you're left without much to do. You're already intimately familiar with the information, but you pass your eyes over the screen in front of you to skim the material anyway, and when you finish, your eyes slowly drift back to him.

He's concentrating deeply on the datapad, eyes focused and darting quickly over words and diagrams. Without your permission, your gaze falls down the profile of his face, fixating on the rigidness of his jaw, the whispers of grey at his temple now spreading into more noticeable patches, the once warm tan at his neck, now turned to a deep and lasting bronze. You let yourself stare for just a moment longer, trailing over his shoulders and falling down to where the armor defines the cut at his waist. The way he's holding himself is the same as always, and yet something is different.

When he'd kept his hair long, when you'd been his Padawan, he'd had such strength and tenacity, his chest full and upright, his shoulders broad and stiff, his back creating a hard, straight line. All of those things are the same now, but there's something else. The war seems to have softened and hardened him all at once. His posture is more self-assured than ever, and yet it lacks the bravado of his youth. It's melted into true confidence, a commanding air of expertise about him, exuded with every movement.

It had been true the last time you'd seen him, but a year later, it's more evident than ever before - he had been a warrior. Now, he's a general.

You're about to pull your gaze back to the screen when he slowly takes a few steps while reading and settles himself into a chair. Your ship is a small transport vessel, so there's not much space, and the seat is small. It's surrounded by a ledge, and he leans back in the chair to hold the datapad in front of himself with one hand, letting his other arm stretch over the ledge behind him.

Your eyes widen at the sight of him spreading out, and though you know there's nothing inherently sexual about it - he's probably more comfortable sitting this way in full armor - you can't stop staring. You fixate on the way he's holding the datapad in his lap. You imagine the way he held your head in his hands...

He's looking at you. Your eyes snap up. You flick your gaze back down to the datapad and then meet his eyes again. "Do you have any questions so far?" Your voice comes out higher than usual, and you try to play it off as casual lightness.

He blinks, seeming deep in thought. "No. It's quite comprehensive, thank you. I just wondered if there might be something here."

He stands and brings the datapad over to you, zooming in on a small access panel on the eastern side of the station.

"It's underwater so it isn't monitored by these security checks you've indicated. The only problem is that it is covered by the electromagnetic barrier that surrounds the entire outpost. We could access it, but not using technology. Not even rebreathers."

You try to ignore the way your chest flutters when he leans into you so you can both see the datapad clearly, and you think for a moment, despite the fact that he smells so good.

"I might have a solution. Storne. He's amphibious."

"Your friend from Bespin?" he clarifies, and you nod in return.

"If we make the payment worth his while, I'm sure he could be here within a matter of hours."

He regards you carefully, then looks back at the image of the outpost as if reconsidering all the options. After a long pause, he lowers the pad. "Very well; contact him. It may be our best chance."

You nod again, turning back to the main screen to send him a message. When you finish, Obi Wan is still dragging his fingers down either side of his beard, deep in thought.

"Would you like something to drink? Tea?" you offer. You don't have much on board besides tea and a few ration packs, while the main ship will have plenty more options for food and drink, but you still feel you should say something to break the silence.

He glances over at you as if he'd forgotten he was in the room. "Tea... yes, thank you."

You switch on the kettle while he seats himself again, and while the water quickly comes to a boil, you speak over your shoulder.

"I do have one other suggestion."

"I'm open to anything."

"I should be the one going inside the station, not Shrike. It'll be more effective for me to actively participate than to stay outside and work through the force. If I can use my eyes and ears to evaluate as we go, it will be easier to prevent any mistakes."

You turn to look at him as you add the tea leaves to the boiling kettle. His expression is hesitant.

"I would consider that risk to be greater than the reward."

"In what way?" you ask, frowning.

"There is a high likelihood that this will end in a fight for escape. With the level of security and the numbers of the enemy, our only goal is to make it inside without issue. Getting out is another matter. You would be of better use outside the line of fire."

Your hands still on the handle of the kettle. You place it back down on the counter without pouring. "I've always been useful enough in combat before."

"And you are certain that you still are?"

Your breath halts. His words sting. But you reach out calmly and pour the tea anyway, not wanting to show any sign of emotional response.

"I may have taken some time away, but I'm still capable of handling myself."

You turn and bring both of your cups with you, handing one over to him.

"Thank you," he says, then places the cup on a shelf beside him as he continues looking at you.

"Commander, you may feel that you are prepared, but I... have doubts."

He says it slowly and softly, but the message is no less painful. You meet his eyes.

"I don't believe that you're more qualified to evaluate my own abilities than I am." Your face flushes hot when the words leave you, and you quickly add, "...sir."

He doesn't rise to your bait. He just looks at you with the same compassion he's always shown you. "It is my duty to evaluate the abilities of all those under my command, as well as my own."

The silence stretches between you, your embarrassment at arguing with your general only compounded by his grace in response. He looks to the side, as if gathering his words, and then looks back at you again.

"You are unbalanced."

He says it simply, not accusing or disappointed. You can't meet his eyes.

"I can still perform my duties," you say, seeing no point in trying to deny it.

"Perhaps I can help."

You shake your head. "There's nothing you can do for me."

"I have my doubts," he retorts, his unfailing confidence in his own abilities as frustrating as it is consoling.

"I am lost," you admit. "But I know I can only find the path I need on my own."

He raises his brows gently. "How can you be so sure?"

You let out a deep sigh, then take a sip of your tea while he watches you. Finally, you take a seat across from him, and you answer.

"Master," you start, allowing yourself to slip back into familiar terms and knowing he'll allow you to do so. "When you connect with the force, what do you feel?"

He pauses to consider before giving his response. "I feel warmth and comfort, as if I am grounded in something permanent and unchanging. I feel surrounded and filled with a presence of peace and certainty."

You nod slowly. "I also feel a sense of warmth and comfort. But when I reach out to the force, it doesn't feel unchanging or steady to me. It's like immersing myself in a flood. I'm filled with the purpose of the universe and I feel the current of every living being around me."

He nods along with you, encouraging you to go on.

"...but there's nothing to hold onto. When I was younger, it was hard for me to surrender to the force because it felt so much like losing myself. You showed me how to find myself within the force, and everything changed. It was wonderful."

You take another breath before continuing. "Until... until what happened on Oba Diah showed me the consequences of losing myself entirely."

He's quiet for a long time. "And... you feel that you can no longer trust in the force because of this?"

You bite your lip. "I've never felt I could trust in the force enough to give myself over completely to its will. Something has always held me back. Maybe I've always been unbalanced, to some degree."

He sighs softly. "I have told you for many years, young one, the force is balance. You must not hold back from it. You will find your balance if you release yourself to its will."

You swallow. Some part of you knows he'll never be able to understand that it's because he is balanced that he believes the force is in perfect balance as well. He can find himself in it so easily.

"I understand, Master. And I will try. But, I must trust in myself as well. In my own judgement."

He looks at you uncertainly. Then he stands. "How long before Storne will arrive?"

You glance over at the comms screen, standing up to go over and check the pending response. After you read it, you report, "Eleven hours."

"Plenty of time for meditation. Would you like to join me?"

You sigh internally, appreciating the gesture but wishing you could explain to him the certainty you feel that it will make no difference.

"Of course."

You close the main hatch of the ship for privacy, then sit next to him on the floor, folding your legs to mirror his posture. His eyes are already closed, and you close yours as well.

"Quiet your thoughts. Let them pass. Listen only to the force."

His words are familiar. It's a mantra he's used with you for countless sessions. You sink into the sound of his voice and try to obey.

Minutes pass as you settle into your own mind, lowering your barriers and reaching out into the ether. The force answers your beckon, enveloping you as always - predictably, comfortingly. As more time passes, you let the soft hum of your own aura open itself to the force's stronger current, releasing yourself to its embrace. You repeat Obi Wan's words in your mind, listening only to the force.

"You have grown strong, my Padawan," his voice echoes richly in your mind, padded with the energy of the force when he speaks.

Your face remains neutral as you answer him with your eyes still closed, although his choice to use your old title makes your heartbeat quicken. "I've had plenty of time for meditation and practice."

You feel his aura at the edge of your own, starting to nudge for your acceptance. You let him in gratefully, welcoming his steadying presence. It's been so many years since you've felt it. It nearly overwhelms you.

You take in a deep breath, leveling out your breathing, reminding yourself to keep your focus on the force.

"And yet your faith is lessened. You have said you trust in your own abilities, as I trust in my own. Use that trust. Reach into the force, and let go."

Your pulse picks up even more. His presence is surrounding you, asking to give yourself over. You remain steadfast within yourself. "I... know what will happen."

"You are afraid."

"Yes."

His voice somehow soothes you and fills you with apprehension at the same time. "Fear is not real. Only the force is real."

"My fear is based in reality. How can I ignore it?" Your eyes are still closed but your brows are pushing together, almost in a frown.

"We all experience fears. But they are not a part of you. You can separate yourself from those thoughts."

You're quiet again for a long stretch of time. It could be minutes, or it could be hours. Your only concentration is on doing as he's instructed. But no matter how you reach into the force to take your fears from you, they stay. He speaks again softly when he feels you struggling.

"You're holding on."

"I'm not trying to," you say back, a little too quickly.

"Yes, you are."

He says it with perfect clarity. He's not disparaging or chiding you. He's simply pointing out the truth. But it gets to you. It evokes a reaction, finally, because you know that it's true.

You feel your presence in the force become uneven, wavering and malformed. "You don't understand. I know you're trying to help, but you can't understand."

"Then help me to understand," he responds, his tone still firm and neutral, as if he hasn't noticed your change in demeanor.

You fight for a moment longer, and then you give in. "I am... not the Jedi I was before. Or maybe I never was the Jedi I should be. I feel... things I shouldn't feel. And I can't set them aside. Not like you."

You feel him pulling away from you, almost imperceptibly. "It is not that I set my feelings aside. I surrender them to the will of the force. The burden can only be lifted when you stop trying to carry it."

You squeeze your eyes more tightly shut. "I am trying, Master, but you don't know the burden I carry."

This time, you really feel it when he pulls away. "That is not true."

"I..." you flounder, surprised at his reaction. "I didn't mean that you don't have your own burdens. But yours are not like mine."

He takes in a long, slow breath and releases it. "I know what you carry."

His aura dims a little, almost flickering like a candle.

"I live with the knowledge each day that I took unnecessary lives. Undefended lives. I remember the fear in their eyes as I..." he breaks off, swallowing. "I remember all of it."

You continue to sit in silence, each of you reflecting. When his presence beside you becomes steady again, he goes on.

"And the other mistakes I made... The thoughts and actions of that night will be with me for the rest of my life."

Your stomach tightens, the blood in your face heating. "I... can't forget, either."

"We don't need to. We only need to rely on the strength of the force."

"And..." your throat goes dry. "What if these thoughts have... continued?"

Your connection slips apart for a moment, and he doesn't answer. His presence his hazy, hard to read. You regret your words immensely, until he speaks again.

"I've already told you, you don't carry your burden alone."

You're about to ask what he means when his aura surrounds you again. This time, though, it's like nothing you've ever felt from him. It is heavy, sweet and carnal. The thoughts within him are so clear, the images so bright. He's only allowing you to see a small part of himself, but that part is howling.

You feel yourself immediately getting wet, watching the memory of him brushing a thumb over your nipple while he kisses your neck, thrusting into you from behind. His moan fills your ears, although there's no sound in the room. You feel the heat of his mouth on your neck, a phantom touch that sends shivers over your entire body. You're drawn in, almost reaching for more of the feeling, but it's buried within an endless stream of filthy vision after filthy vision, and you can only see the very top of the collection.

It's like looking into one of your own dreams.

As quickly as he opened it, he severs the connection and you blink your eyes open, finding yourself staring into his. You're almost panting from the whiplash. He clears his throat, appearing completely unaffected.

"I have struggled. I will continue to struggle. But I will continue to seek guidance in the force. As should you. It is not an easy path, as you have said. But it is not one that you walk alone."

Your mind is spinning. Your heart is racing. Your eyes are fixated on his mouth as he speaks, and for all the wrong reasons.

Then he releases another long breath and settles back, closing his eyes to return to his meditation.

"So, shall we begin again?"

--

Tag List: @cosmicsierra @projectdreamwalker @guacam011y @thriving-n-jiving @reverieisaway

Please feel free to comment or message me directly if you'd like to be added to my taglist. :)

Masterlist // Next Chapter >>

[heartfulselkie]

WIP Game

Thanks @coffeebanana and @rosie-b for the tag, and thank you @kasienda for coming up with this new game!

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends!

WIP TITLES

So I'm kind of cheating a bit with my choices here I guess since I have a lot of ideas but not so many actual active WiPs. So some of these aren't actually stuff that has been posted (or not posted in fic form) but they're all what my rodent brain is rotating right now.

Bell the Cat - Ladyblanc Knight AU. Enemies to Reluctant Allies to Lovers. Plenty of angst and trauma to be had in this one!

2. Sad Machine - Not currently available. I'm attempting aiming to have the fic more or less completed before I start posting. Futurist/Cyberpunk-type AU. No Miraculous but there's a dash of vigilantism and mysterious happenings to solve. And some questionable ethics (thanks Gabe).

3. Porceline Girl - Emonette and Badrien (post Paris Special) Oneshot that I'm hoping to finish soon. They're just angsty teens trying to figure out what is love how to be around each other.

4. Kaleidoscope - (not currently a posted fic so link leads to my tumblr tag) Kwami Swap AU with a dose of amnesia! Love Square is a mess in this with a Reunioned Ghostbug trying to solve all the problems. Adrien needs a coffee and a nap. Tikki needs a drink.

5. Citrus and Lavender - Enemies to Lovers AU with Chat Noir being deceived into being on Hawk Moth's side from the very beginning. The kids need therapy and Gabriel needs jail.

UPCOMING

There's is so much I'm looking forward to with Bell the Cat, but with the upcoming chapters I'm excited about introducing some more characters into this world! And of course all the Ladyblanc banter to be had!

2. This is my little pet project at the moment that I am slow roasting in the microwave. There are so many things that I am foaming at the mouth for that I want to just spit the fic out onto ao3 already but I'm trying to go slow with this one.

3. I'm just excited to feed myself more Toxigriffe, even if its in Adrinette form. I have so many ideas for these two but this oneshot is the closest to being finished. I'm excited to have it done (soon! hopefully!)!

4. Another one that's been slow roasting for a bit. I'll admit I'm still undecided with how I want to post this - do I go full fanfic on ao3 with it? Or a webcomic-style on tumblr? Perhaps a hybrid of both? I normally go with writing for longer stories, but this AU really got its interest and following through my random comics of it. It's exciting to think about my options as I could really challenge myself with it (even if opting for a more webcomic style is terrifying in its own way).

5. We're finally reaching the point in the story where Ladynoir are trying to transition from stalwart enemies to shy and unsure partners. All sides of the love square are standing on bambi legs right now as things are very new and scary - but at least they'll slowly learn they have each other to lean on!

I think most of my usual victims have been tagged already - so consider this an open invitation to anyone who wants to do it! I'm tagging you! Yes, you!

[heartateasee]

“Chapter One”

Word Count: 6.7k

(Chapter one to “Cherry Bomb” - please make sure to read the TW on the “Cherry Bomb” masterlist before proceeding.)

●・○・●・○・●

Sitting in my makeup chair, I stare at myself in the vanity mirror. The bright bulbs surrounding it are causing me to squint a bit. My usual hair stylist wasn't able to make it out to LA for this show, and I wasn't upset about that. She had a family emergency, and for me, friends and family came before anything for those around me. The woman behind me, whose name I learned was Lisa, was just finishing up the curls she was putting into my hair. She was middle aged from what I could see, and she could style the hell out of some hair. I had just gotten my wolf cut shaped for this specific show since it was the last one of my current tour, and she couldn't stop complimenting me on how much it suited me.

After this, I will be taking a break to work on a new album here in LA. I've purchased a house and had a recording installed so that I'll be able to work there instead of traveling around. Although my parents didn't live here anymore, this was still the place I considered home. I left almost two years ago when I got signed to my record label, and it's been almost three years since I've actually been back.

As much as I had tried to deny it, there was a part of me that had avoided LA on the two other tours I've gone on before this one. I wasn't ready to face the people here who knew me, and most of all, I don't know how I would act if I were to see him.

I went through a few years of therapy to get over the emotional turmoil I went through after Harry and I's friendship ended. It was necessary. I avoided human contact with anyone but my parents for almost a whole year because of it, and I finally took the step at finding a therapist - forcing myself to make the appointments for a few months until I actually started to look forward to it.

It's been almost a year since the last appointment with my therapist, the both of us deciding that I no longer needed to be seen on a monthly basis as I had been. We agreed that I could reach out to her when needed, and she assured me that she would be available any day and any time.

"Alright, since I'm finished with your hair, I'm gonna go grab your girl to finish up your makeup, okay?" Lisa asks, and I give her a nod.

"Yes, thank you so much for doing this last minute. I really appreciate you."

"Of course, sweetheart."

She gives me a squeeze to my shoulder as she exits the room, and I sigh as I grab my pack of cigarettes off the vanity. I slip one between my lips, lighting it up as I stare at myself in the mirror once again. It looks like the only things I have left for my makeup is eyeshadow, lashes and lips, and I know those won't take too long since the base of everything is already set.

I take a drag of my cigarette, flicking the ash into the tray in front of me. Pulling my bottom lip through my teeth, I keep the stick between my fingers as I rub the tip of my thumb over one of my brows out of stress.

There were going to be people here tonight that I haven't seen in years. I knew that by keeping my real name instead of choosing a stage name that as soon as I decided to come home that it would bring attention. I wasn't famous on a large scale by any means, but I did have a decent following, and this current tour has opened a lot of new doors for me.

I had invited Mikey and Kailey considering I'd kept up with them pretty regularly over the years, but they both were busy tonight with their jobs. I've actually flown the both of them out to a few shows, and at first I was worried that the both of them would be offended that I got a whole new band to back me up instead of them, but they understood why I didn't. That would feel too much like having the band without him, and that was just something I couldn't ever bring myself to do.

I've only ever brought him up once, and it was to Kailey after the third show I flew her out to. She said she wanted to talk to me about it as well, but she didn't know how to bring it up. He was still in the area, that was for sure from things that Kailey had heard, but she had only ever seen him twice since everything happened.

The first time was at a gas station and he was grabbing a pack of cigarettes, however, he didn't see her. The second time was at a house party she was invited to, and Harry was just showing up as she was leaving. She told me that he was already pretty drunk from what she could tell, and they made eye contact, but he immediately looked away and kept making his way into the party. She told me that Mikey hasn't heard or seen him at all.

"Sorry, sorry, I was finishing my dinner."

I'm brought out of my thoughts as I see Christy, my makeup artist, come rounding in front of me. "Okay, so just a few things left, Marls," she says, eyes scanning over my face before giving herself a nod.

I take a few more quick drags of my cigarette before snuffing it out.

Christy begins to apply some primer to my lids before shuffling through some of the palettes she brought with her. "Since your outfit is a dark creme and black color scheme, I think I'm going to go with a darker lid, what do you think?"

"Yeah, yeah," I nod, clearing my throat before looking back at myself in the mirror. "That sounds good to me. I trust you, you always take care of me."

Christy stands back in front of me and sends me a smile as I close my eyes, allowing her to work her magic. My hands were slightly clutching to the arms of the makeup chair as I felt the bristles of the makeup brush on my lids.

It's quiet between the two of us for a while before Christy speaks up. "You're a little more nervous than I'm used to seeing," she comments. "Are you nervous about potentially seeing..."

Christy has been my makeup artist for the last two and half years, and within that time, I've opened up to her a lot about things in my personal life. Other than my manager, she's probably the person I confide in the most while on the road, and sometimes even off of it. I try my best not to bother either of them when we're taking a break from touring, and they're back at home with their families, but both of them have assured me time and time again that I'm not doing that when I reach out.

"A little bit, yeah," I confess, licking over my bottom lip. "But I also don't think that he'll come. He probably doesn't even remember at this point."

I can hear Christy sigh, and I feel the brush fall from my skin for a moment. My eyes flutter open to see her staring down at me - head tilted to the side.

"Now you and I both know that you don't actually believe that for a second."

Scowling slightly, I cross my arms and slouch in my chair. "No, I don't. You have to understand that it's easier for me to think that way though than to think he does remember me, and that he hasn't reached out at all."

"Trust me, I definitely get that," Christy says with a nod, and I close my eyes again to let her continue. "But I also don't think it's completely fair to yourself to just say he's forgotten you. I highly doubt that he has."

"Who knows at this point though? Literally no one I still speak to has actually talked to him. I have nothing to go on."

Christy remains silent as she finishes my eye makeup, and she continues to not speak as she applies my lashes. I'm sure she's stopped speaking on the subject to keep me from getting even more nervous than I already am.

As she starts to work on my red lips, I see the door open in the mirror.

"You have fifteen minutes before you're on, Marlowe," Lys, my manager, says as she pokes her head into my dressing room. "Do you need any help getting into your dress?"

I shake my head once Christy pulls the lip product she was using away for a moment to give me a chance to respond. "No, I've got it. Thank you though."

Lys nods, but instead of stepping out, she makes her way into the room, standing behind me as Christy finishes up on my lips. She places her hands on my shoulders, massaging them softly as we make eye contact through the mirror.

"You've got this. I know this is your first hometown show, and that it probably feels extremely stressful for you right now, but just remember what you always say before each and every show - you won't be able to see past at least the fourth row because of the lights, these people are here to see you because they already love your music, and you wouldn't be up on that stage to begin with if you weren't immensely talented."

Christy moves away for a moment, before she stands back in front of me with some setting spray. I close my eyes and feel the product misting my skin, and then I feel air fanning against it as Christy dries it by waving her hands in front of my face.

"All done, and looking as beautiful as ever," she says, reaching down to grab my hands.

With the both of them making contact with me, it does help me ground myself a little bit. I shut my eyes and take in a deep breath as I give Christy's hands a squeeze.

"Thank you guys so much, seriously," I tell them, blinking my eyes back open. I shift in my chair a bit so I can look at the both of them, Lys moving both of her hands to drape over one of my shoulders. "I don't know what I would do without the both of you."

"Crash and burn, probably is what I'd say, " Lys says with a shrug, looking over to Christy. "What do you think?"

"Oh absolutely," Christy agrees with a nod.

I roll my eyes before popping up out of my chair, walking over to my dressing room door. Gripping the doorknob on my hand, I gesture my other hand through the door frame.

"Now, if you lovely ladies would be so kind, I have to get changed," I tell them.

Lys sticks her tongue out at me playfully as Christy gathers her makeup supplies, and they both file out of the room. I strip off the robe I had been wearing, leaving me in just my bra and underwear underneath.

Making my way over to the hanger on the rack, I pull off the fishnets that were hanging through the middle of it and pull them onto my legs with a pair of black cheeky shorts over them - just in case my dress flies up for any reason on stage. I slip on my dress after that, thankful that the zipper was on the side so I could actually manage this myself.

It wasn't that I didn't want the help, but I just needed some silence before going out on that stage. Things never end well for me if it tends to get too loud, and I had a fear of that happening if I didn't give myself some alone time tonight.

After I sit down on the couch, I pull on the shoes that have multiple buckles that go up my legs - which stop right underneath my knees. I shove my hands into my half pleather gloves, clenching and unclenching my fingers to get a good feel of how much mobility I had in them. I stand up and walk over to the full length mirror in my room - giving myself a good once over.

I slip my eyes shut after a moment, rolling my head from side to side on my shoulders while shaking out my arms a bit.

Beginning to pace around my room, I start my vocal exercises - tapping my fingers slightly to the beat that I was pacing myself at. My eyes meet the clock on the wall, and I know that it's time.

I make my way over the door, and I open it before making my way towards the stage.

"Oh! I was just coming to get you," Lys says cheerfully as she begins to walk beside me, taking my hand and lacing our fingers together. "I'm so proud of you, Marlowe, you have no idea."

We make our way to the steps that lead to where I'm needed next, and she stops us. I look down at her, and I can see tears glazing over her eyes.

"I mean that," she says, speaking over the cheers that are flooding through from the crowd. "I know how much it took for you to get here to be able to play this show, and I hope you're just as proud of yourself as I am of you. You're remarkable, and now you get to show the city where you came from just how remarkable you are as well."

Pursing my lips to the side, I do my best not to cry as I quickly wrap my arms around Lys, pulling her in for a hug. "Fuck you for almost making me cry before I go out there," I joke with a laugh, and I hear her give one back to me as her hands run up and down my back.

We pull away after a moment, and she begins to wipe under her eyes.

"Go, go! I'll be right off to the side if you need me, but I know you won't. You're going to be so wonderful."

Smiling, I give her a nod before making my way to the steps, encasing one of the rails in my hand. I watch as my band enters in from the steps on the other side of the stage, and they take their positions. They begin to play my intro song, and I nod my head to beat to try and get myself into the zone.

On stage, I'm more than just Marlowe Finch. On stage, I'm Marlowe Finch, the singer.

Once a certain beat hits, I race up the steps and onto the stage, the volume from the crowd increasing entirely as I walk the front of the surface. This was a smaller venue, so it was easy for the sound to fill the place, but I was honestly surprised at just how many people were here. I could tell there were people lined up from wall to wall, and the crowd extended all the way into the back towards the front door.

I can feel the large smile taking over my features as I make my way back into the middle of the stage towards my mic stand.

"LA, how are we feeling?" I call out, and the crowd begins to go wild again after just starting to calm down. "Well, you beautiful fucking people, I hope you came here to have a good time because that's what I intend on giving you. Did you guys come here to have a good time?"

I can hear the crowd yell back 'yeah' to me, and I laugh outside of the microphone before letting it meet my lips again. "I said, did you guys come here to have a good time?"

They yell back again even louder than before, and I nod. "Well let's start this damn party, shall we?"

●・○・●・○・●

My chest heaves as I finish my second to the last song. I turn to face my band, sending them all a huge smile, and they're sending me one right back. I turn back to the crowd, and I can feel a lump growing in my throat.

"You guys have been so incredible. I can't thank you enough," I tell them genuinely as I rest my hand against my chest. "I haven't played a hometown show in my time as an artist for various reasons, but I've finally found the strength within myself to do it, and you guys have given me a show even greater than I ever hoped. So thank you, to each and every one of you for making this night so special."

"I'm going to be taking a bit of a break to work on my first full album - not just an EP. Can you all believe that?" I ask, and the crowd cheers. "And it wouldn't be possible without all of you, truly. For this last song I'm going to sing, it's the only completed song I have so far for the new album. It's extremely personal to me, and I didn't know if I was going to play it tonight, but you guys have been so great to me. This is my gift to you. Thank you guys again."

Once more I turn to my band, and my guitarist, Garrett, lifts his eyebrows at me. I know that they all have to be surprised that I'm choosing to sing this song, but it feels right tonight. I give him a nod, and he begins to strum the chords for the introduction of the song.

After a while, the drums start as well, and I close my eyes tight as I keep my back to the audience. I listen to the music surrounding me and I tell myself that this is the moment for me to finally sing this - the most personal song I've written so far. I can hear that it's almost time for me to start singing, and I turn back to the crowd as I cup the microphone on the stand in both of my hands.

"Down to you. You're pushin' and pullin' me down to you, But I don't know what I-"

The song immediately goes into the chorus, and I find myself shutting my eyes again - shying away from the crowd for the first time tonight.

"Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself from saying something that I should've never thought. Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself from saying something that I should've never thought of you."

I hesitantly open my eyes, and I can see the crowd nodding their heads and swaying to the sound of the beat. That gives me a little more reassurance, and I feel a small smile twitch onto my lips as I watch them.

"Of you - you're pushin' and pullin' me down to you. But I don't know what I want. No, I don't know what I want."

Taking the microphone off the stand, I walk towards the front of the crowd and lean down, making eye contact with a few people as I sing the next verse.

"You got it, you got it - some kind of magic. Hypnotic, hypnotic - you're leaving me breathless I hate this. I hate this. You're not the one I believe in - with God as my witness."

The band leads me into the next chorus which then fades into the slower bridge, and I stop in the middle of the stage. I extend one of my hands over my head as I feel the music, and I begin to snake my body around while I sing out the next words.

"Don't know what I want, but I know it's not you. Keep pushin' and pullin' me down - when I know, in my heart, it's not you."

The song remains slower until the band kicks in heavy once again for the last chorus, and I quickly grab the microphone out of the middle of the stage, tossing it to the side, as myself, Garrett, and my bassist, Alice, begin to head bang.

"Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself from saying something that I should've never thought. Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself from saying something that-"

I slam down onto my knees on the stage, my dress long enough to cover me as it sit back slightly on my heels, and I press the palm of my hand not holding the microphone down onto the stage between my thighs as I belt out the last few lines of the song.

"I should've never thought of you. I knew. I know, in my heart, it's not you. I knew. But now, I know what I want, I want, I want. Oh, no, I should've never thought!"

Sucking in air to catch my breath, I keep myself in the position for a while. I didn't even realize that I had tears streaming down my cheeks, my eyes now burning from the sensation as my bottom lip trembles. I know my hair is covering me from the audience so they're not able to see how emotional I've become.

In order to distract the crowd a bit, the band begins to play the beginning of the song again, and I know they're doing it to stall - to help me recuperate, and give a proper end to my set.

Only a few more seconds go by before I push myself off the ground, and I lift my other hand to move my curls out of my face as I hold the microphone to my lips.

"You've been truly magical, LA," I compliment them, and I know that my tears are gone from my cheeks. I just hope that it hasn't been obvious that I've been crying. "Hopefully I'll be seeing you again really soon. Thank you again, get home safely, and have a good night!"

I begin to blow kisses to them and wave as I start towards the steps I had entered on, and I quickly feel an arm wrap around mine.

"Believe me when I say that was your best performance yet!" Lys squeals, leaning over to press her lips against my cheek, her hold tightening on my right arm as she does so. "I can't believe you played the song. They loved it, Marlowe."

Lys has set it up for me to sign a few things against a side barricade before heading back tonight, and I was more than okay with that. They start leading me towards backstage again, and the way the stage was set up, I have to walk a bit onto the main floor before entering the backstage door. There's a railing blocking me from everyone, and I move a bit closer to Lys as fans start screaming my name - extending copies of my EP for me to sign.

My eyes widen, and I stop to greet them. I sign the items and give them back, all while thanking each person for coming tonight, and for supporting me. Once I reach the end of the line, the main floor is practically cleared out, and we start towards the door.

"Marlowe," I hear my name, and I feel a hand brush against the top of my left arm.

I immediately flinch away and look over at the individual as the security behind us begins to block me from them. Looking away, I start towards the door again before I freeze - realizing the set of ivy colored eyes my blue ones had just been met with.

"Honey, come on," I know Lys is speaking to me, but her voice sounds far away as I turn to look at the person who is calling my name once again.

All the air gets pushed from my lungs when I see who it is, and my knees just about give out on me. He's dressed in a pair of tight black jeans with a pastel floral button-up. The top few buttons are undone to reveal the swallows I knew so well in addition to the antennas of the butterfly that adorns the top of his stomach.

"Harry," I breathe, and he gives me a nod.

It's then that I realize his hair is longer - much longer than the last time I've seen him. He lifts a hand to run through the front of it, pushing it out of his face, but he never averts his gaze from mine.

"No fucking way," I hear Lys whisper behind me, and she quickly gives my arm another squeeze. "Let's go, Marlowe. I'll have security see him out."

Shaking my head, I pull my arm away from her, and now I'm completely turning to face him.

"What do you want?" I ask him - my tone coming out more aggressive than I thought, and I've even surprised myself with that.

"Can we talk?"

Every fiber of my being tells me that I should tell him no. That I should just send him away, and that I don't owe him a thing for the years of turmoil he's put me through. But now that he's here in front of me, and I know he hasn't actually forgotten who I am, I want nothing more than to hear his voice for more than just a few seconds.

"You want to talk?" My eyebrows narrow, and I can feel one of my hands clenching into a fist by my side.

"That's what I asked, isn't it?"

"Alright, that's enough," Lys' voice cuts in, and I feel her wrap her arm around my chest as she starts to steer me towards the backstage area again. "Come on, let's get you changed and home."

"No," I tell her, and we stop again as I tilt my head towards the door - eyes still on Harry. "If you wanna talk, let's talk."

Harry peers at the security guard that just slightly towers over him as he makes his way around the barricade that was completely separating him from us. I swallow harshly as we start towards my dressing room, and Lys opens the door - following me inside.

"Marlowe, I don't know if this is such a good-"

"Look, Lys, I appreciate it, I do, and I understand why you would be hesitant to let me do this, but with the progress I've made - I feel like I need to," I explain, and I watch her nibble on the inside of her cheek before looking over her shoulder at Harry who was now also entering the room. "I have my phone on me, okay? If I need you, I'll call."

"Okay," she sighs, shaking her head in defeat when she knows that I'm going through with this. "Do you want me to leave one of the security guys outside of the door?"

I can't help but smirk softly at her proposition. "I'm okay, but thank you for offering."

Nodding, she starts out of the room, but she stops and looks at Harry. "I swear to god, if I get a phone call from her in the next five minutes and she's crying, I'll find out where you live, and I'll make sure that-"

"Lys!" I say, and she quickly makes eye contact with me as I raise my eyebrows.

"Right, sorry," she mumbles before heading out of the room.

Silence takes over, and I keep my eyes off of Harry as I walk over to my vanity. I grab the ashtray off the surface, as well as my pack of cigarettes, before I head over to the couch - plopping myself down on it. I stick a cigarette between my teeth to hold it stable as I lean down and begin to undo the buckles of my shoes. Once I have them undone, I toss both of them to the side, and I pluck the lighter out of my pack.

I quickly light the cigarette before leaning back into the couch a bit, one leg crossed over the other. In the time that I had taken my shoes off, I didn't notice that Harry had grabbed one of the fold up metal chairs that had been leaning up against the wall. He set it up right across from me, only the coffee table really separating the two of us.

Unfortunately, I find myself in a bit of a trance as I see him fish his own pack of cigarettes from the front pocket of his jeans. He flips the lid and brings it up to his mouth, pulling one of the sticks out with his teeth. His eyes flip up to meet mine as he grabs his lighter and sparks it - heart shaped lips immediately closing down around the filter, and I watch the end glow orange.

We both pull the cigarettes from our mouths at the same time, and I tilt my head up to blow the smoke towards the ceiling, but his head remains level with his sight still set on me.

It only takes a few more seconds before we let our eyes journey down each other's bodies, and although I had taken him in out on the main floor, it was like I was doing it for the first time all over again. My head could hardly wrap around the fact that he no longer had some sort of bandana trapped inside his curls, and I could tell with the way his sleeves were rolled up to the creases of his elbows that he had gotten more tattoos over the years.

I'm sure I looked different to him too. My hair was now dark brown, almost black, instead of blonde. My body had truly formed into a woman, causing me to have thicker thighs and a fuller bust. Although my dress covered all of my chest, I knew he could still see the curve to my breasts. He cleared his throat once his eyes made it down to my legs that were still crossed, and he leaned forward to ash his cigarette into the tray.

"So you made it, huh?" He asks, licking over his bottom lip before taking another drag. "You did the whole music thing?"

I scoff slightly, and I can't help but roll my eyes at his statement. "Well, yeah, it was always my dream - my end goal. Just wish that..."

Trailing off, I decide not to finish my sentence as I shake my head. "Doesn't matter," I mumble softly. "What about you? Do you play anymore?

"Well, it would be hard to play considering your parents sold my drumset when they moved out of their home, but even then I wouldn't have wanted it. I still listen to music, but I could never see myself playing again like I did."

Frowning, I ash my own cigarette, leaning forward a bit to rest my wrist on top of my knee - tilting my head to the side. "That's a shame, Harry, you were talented," I tell him honestly, and for the first time I feel my stomach knot up from my nerves. "And my parents assured me that they put the check for the set in your mailbox."

"Oh they did," Harry laughs, running his tongue along the inside of his cheek. "Just another act of charity from them, just like all those years before."

I try to swallow down my anger with his comment, but I can feel my jaw tense. "They never saw you that way, and you know that I never did either. You bought that set with the money you earned from working at the record store. It was yours."

"Yeah, whatever," he shrugs me off with a wave of his hand as he takes an especially long drag.

It grows quiet again, and I finish off my cigarette - putting the butt out in the tray. Leaning back on the couch, I drape my arms across the top of it, and I watch as Harry pulls his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Why are you here, Harry?" I ask, needing him to be straight up with me. I need to know why he chose me coming home to finally acknowledge my existence again.

"Saw your name on the marquee," he said, bringing his hand up to toy with his bottom lip instead, rolling it between the pad of his thumb and his index finger. "Had to make sure that it was you."

"Okay, I guess I'm just a little confused? It's been almost five years. I'm just not understanding how me coming home all of a sudden-"

"What? Do you think there's more to this than me just wanting to confirm that it's you? I'm not here from some type of emotional reunion, Marlowe. Jesus Christ," Harry shakes his head, snuffing his own cigarette out before reaching to grab his pack again.

"Oh, because there's just so many Marlowe Finch's in the world, right?" I ask him, feeling my hands begin to tremble as I drop them down onto the cushions beside me to cup the edge of the couch. "You just had to confirm it was me?"

"I don't know what kind of answer you're looking for here, but whatever it is, you're not getting it from me," Harry laughs darkly, his eyes completely avoiding me now.

Gritting my teeth, I stand from the couch and reach out to snatch his pack of cigarettes from his hand. "You owe me a fucking explanation," I seethe, tears beginning to burn in my eyes from how furious I'm feeling. "Do you understand what you've put me through?"

Harry rolls his eyes and I see a smirk take over his expression as he looks at the wall over my shoulder instead of looking at me. His lips roll, and I can tell that he's slightly sucking his teeth.

"Is something funny?" I lean down to block his view of the wall, and for the first time ever, I see a darkness in his green eyes.

It almost knocks the wind out of me as he's never looked at me with such a gaze, and he sits up from his slightly slouched position in his chair.

"Yeah, there is," he states, standing up, and he takes the pack back from me. "The fact that you think that I owe you anything. Whatever you went through after I told you I didn't want to be friends with you anymore is on you. I should've done it years prior, but you were clinging to me so hard and-"

"Don't you dare fucking finish that sentence," I grit at him, tugging the pleather gloves off my hands as they were growing too clammy for my liking. I toss them onto the couch behind me, and I walk forward so my chest is flush with his. "I was clinging to you? Harry, we only had each other until we found Kailey and Mikey, and then after that you found Sierra. But Sierra didn't really matter either, right? You were sick of her too from what you said. I just don't understand why you completely erased me from your life like you did. I tried to go to your house a month after you left and-"

"You know I never liked you going to my house," Harry's voice lowers, and I feel him buck his chest up against mine a little more. "My mum told me that you stopped by like you did, and that was stupid."

"I didn't have any other choice! You made me feel like I was losing my mind! Fuck - I feel like I'm losing it again right now. Even after five years, you still find a way to mess with my fucking head just by being in my presence for ten minutes," I gasp, moving away from him as my hands tangle into my hair. I begin to pace my dressing room, heart thumping in its cavity.

"I told you I wanted to see if it was you, and that's that. There's nothing more to it, and once I leave here tonight it'll be just like it has been. We won't see each other, we still won't be friends. Eventually you'll forget that you ever saw me again."

Tears wet my cheeks as I look back over to him, and I shake my head. "That's the thing, Harry, I won't. There's hardly been any time that I haven't thought of you over these years, and there's no way that this isn't going to stick just like all the other memories."

Harry steps towards me again, and I look up as his eyes bounce all over my face. "Then wake the fuck up, Marlowe, and learn to properly forget about me."

I open my mouth to speak again, but Harry's already turned around - making his way out of the dressing room. He slams the door behind him, and I quickly clamp a hand over my mouth to keep myself from sobbing out. I don't want anyone to hear me like this. I don't know if Lys is still here, but if she is, I know she'll find some way to have Harry's head if she hears me. I'm also really not in the mood to have someone comforting me.

Maybe I really had been fooling myself after all these years, thinking that he was missing me just as much as I was missing him. I couldn't blame him for coming tonight if his true reason was just to confirm that it was me - I'd probably do the same if the situations were reversed.

But what I didn't expect from Harry was the darkness that was surrounding him. That definitely wasn't the same person I knew, and at this point he was truly unrecognizable to me. The moment those green eyes turned into nothing but flourishing ivy I once held so dear - I knew he was never going to come back to me as the same old Harry. He doesn't want to come back at all.

Part of me thinks this is what I needed. I needed to see him as a stranger in order to completely move on from the past, and to actually let him go. But I know that as much as I try to convince myself of that, there is always going to be a small sliver inside that still wishes to hold him close, and to be able to call him my friend.

My therapist told me that your mind and your emotions work closely together in the most mysterious ways, and even though you may not even notice, they fight each other for dominance more than you think. I was told that my emotions usually end up winning, and that's what can cause me to go days without leaving my bed, or what can have me shutting myself away in the studio for weeks on end. She provided me with proper exercises to try and help clear things up when these struggles start to happen, and I know that when I get home tonight I'm going to have to dive into several of them to help overcome the way I'm currently feeling.

Once I collect myself, I slip out of my dress and accessories before pulling on a pair of leggings and some Doc Martens with an oversized black hoodie. I gathered everything that was mine in the dressing room, and walked out to my car, piling it all into the trunk. I've been in LA for a few days now, and yesterday I went ahead and purchased a car since I knew I was going to be here for several months at the very least.

I slide into the driver's seat, and I grasp the wheel as I start towards my new home.

During the car ride, it's like I've resorted back to those days right after Harry left. I don't play any music as I drive, and I feel like I'm just going through the motions until I can curl up under the covers of my bed and try to block out the thoughts bouncing back and forth in my mind.

If my mind was making one thing extremely clear though, it was that LA was going to be even more different than I thought when I left those years ago, and I'm not entirely sure if i'm prepared for that.

[genshin-impact-updates]

"As Light Rain Falls Without Reason" Version 4.0 Update Details

Dear Travelers,

Below are the details of the Version 4.0 update "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2023/08/16 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 4.0.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who reach Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2023/08/16 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2023/08/19 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2023/08/16 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Area

New Area - Fontaine

A story that has never been heard, a legend that has been forgotten, like a lost kingdom sunken beneath the waves, yearning for a bard to sing its drowned songs. Following the direction of pure currents, crossing wilderness, the depths of the forests and vastness of the sea of sand, arriving at the origin of all the waters of the continent.

At the top of the waterfall, in the depths of the capital atop the terrestrial sea, the curtain softly rises on the start of the adventure's next chapter.

In Version 4.0, the following areas in Fontaine will become available: Court of Fontaine Region, Beryl Region, and Belleau Region.

※ Completing the Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom" will automatically unlock a Teleport Waypoint in the Realm of Farakhkert in Sumeru (If you have already completed this Archon Quest, the Teleport Waypoint will be unlocked after the update). Travelers can use this Teleport Waypoint to head over to Fontaine. You'll also receive the Primogem reward for this Teleport Waypoint when it unlocks automatically.

▌New Fontaine Mechanic

Fontaine's Blessing

A mysterious power that flows out from a statue to imbue you with the blessing of the Transoceanic Sourcewater.

Your progress will remain unhindered so long as you are moving through the lakes of Fontaine.

※ Currently, some gadgets equipped by characters cannot be used underwater. There is also an issue whereby after characters enter the underwater areas, the icons of the gadgets will not be displayed, which further prevents Travelers from switching to other gadgets through Quickswap. If you need to switch between gadgets, you can do it in the Inventory for now, or Quickswap to the gadgets usable underwater before you dive. This issue will be fixed in future versions.

▌New System in Fontaine

Fountain of Lucine

You can throw the Hydro Sigils you obtain across Fontaine into the Fountain of Lucine outside the Opera Epiclese to raise its level and obtain valuable rewards.

Satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock the Fountain of Lucine:

• Reach the vicinity of the Fountain of Lucine

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur"

Fontaine Reputation System

◇ Fontaine Reputation Unlock Criteria:

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

• Complete the quest "Steambird Interview"

By interacting with certain NPCs in Fontaine, you will be able to accept requests to complete and increase your Reputation. As your Reputation Level increases, you will unlock various Reputation Rewards!

Expeditions, Daily Commissions, and other new content will also be added in Fontaine.

◇ Fontaine Daily Commissions Unlock Criteria:

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

• Complete World Quest "Another Horizon of Adventure"

Adds the Fontaine Fishing Association, where Travelers can exchange for new items here.

In addition, there will be new Fishing Points and "Radiant Spincrystals" in Fontaine.

II. New Characters

"Spectacle of Phantasmagoria" Lyney (Pyro) (5-Star)

◇ Vision: Pyro

◇ Weapon: Bow

◇ A famed Fontainian magician who possesses great stage presence as well as gift of the gab. Audiences are enthralled by his exquisite skills, and they hang on to his every clever word.

◆ Lyney can enter a special Charge Level 2 when he aims his shot, which, upon hitting a target, can summon a Grin-Malkin Hat that taunts nearby opponents. If Lyney's HP is above a certain level, his Charge Level 2 will consume some of his HP, and add one stack of Prop Surplus. When the Grin-Malkin Hat is destroyed, it can fire off a Pyrotechnic Strike at a nearby opponent, dealing Pyro DMG.

◆ Elemental Skill "Bewildering Lights"

◆ Clear all current Prop Surplus stacks, deal AoE Pyro DMG, and cause the Grin-Malkin Hat created by Lyney to explode, dealing AoE Pyro DMG. The DMG will be increased according to the stacks cleared, and this will also regenerate Lyney's HP.

◆ Elemental Burst "Wondrous Trick: Miracle Parade"

◆ Lyney turns himself into a Grin-Malkin Cat that can move around quickly, dealing Pyro DMG to opponents along the path. When the Grin-Malkin Cat's duration ends or is actively canceled, Lyney will ignite fireworks, deal AoE Pyro DMG, summon a Grin-Malkin Hat, and grant himself one Prop Surplus stack.

"Elegance in the Shadows" Lynette (Anemo) (4-Star)

◇ Vision: Anemo

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ A magic assistant of few words, her emotions are as inscrutable as any cat's.

Elemental Skill "Enigmatic Feint"

◆ Lynette flicks her mantle and executes an Enigma Thrust, dealing Anemo DMG. When Holding this skill, Lynette will enter a high-speed Pilfering Shadow state and apply Shadowsign to a nearby opponent. When this high-speed state ends, Lynette will approach the opponent with Shadowsign applied and deal Anemo DMG.

◆ Elemental Burst "Magic Trick: Astonishing Shift"

◆ Deals AoE Anemo DMG and makes a giant Bogglecat Box appear. The Bogglecat Box taunts nearby opponents and deals Anemo DMG to nearby opponents as well. When it comes into contact with Hydro/Pyro/Cryo/Electro, it will gain the corresponding element and additionally fire Vivid Shots that will deal DMG from that element at intervals.

"Yearning for Unseen Depths" Freminet (Cryo) (4-Star)

◇ Vision: Cryo

◇ Weapon: Claymore

◇ A reserved young man who is well-versed in diving. Beneath his distant, icy demeanor lies a pure heart bereft of all flaws.

◆ Elemental Skill "Pressurized Floe"

◆ Causes Freminet to enter Pers Timer state. While Pers Timer is active, when Freminet uses Normal Attacks, he will also unleash waves of frost that deal Cryo DMG and increase Pers's Pressure Level. When Freminet uses his Elemental Skill again, he will execute different sorts of attacks that deals Cryo DMG and Physical DMG of different strengths based on the Pressure Level of Pers.

◆ Elemental Burst "Shadowhunter's Ambush"

◆ Deals AoE Cryo DMG, resets the CD of Pressurized Floe, and enters the Subnautical Hunter mode. In the Subnautical Hunter mode, Pressurized Floe will receive a CD decrease and Freminet's resistance to interruption will increase. Additionally, in this mode, the frost DMG of Freminet's Normal Attacks will be increased.

Traveler (Hydro) (5-Star)

◇ Interact with a Statue of The Seven - Hydro to resonate with the Hydro element, and use a new Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst.

◆ Elemental Skill "Aquacrest Saber"

◆ Unleashes a torrent that can cleanse the world. Pressing the skill sends a Torrent Surge forward that will deal Hydro DMG to opponents it comes into contact with. Hold this skill to enter Aiming Mode and constantly fire off Dewdrops in the direction in which you are aiming, dealing Hydro DMG to opponents they hit.

◆ Elemental Burst "Rising Waters"

◆ Unleashes a slow-moving floating bubble that deals continuous Hydro DMG to nearby opponents.

III. New Domains

Domain of Forgery: Echoes of the Deep Tides

◇ Legend speaks of a time in the distant past, when the Sovereign of the Waters had not yet returned from confinement, there was another God King who dreamed of building a prosperous empire out of harmonious music atop the waves. But the great ambition of building a utopia failed to come to fruition, and the arrogance of humanity sunk into their depths along with their pride. The golden melodies long silent, only the cold music of the tides still echoes upon the remains of their grand altars.

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 16 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act II "For a Tomorrow Without Tears"

◆ Challenge the Domain to obtain Weapon Ascension Materials.

Domain of Mastery: Pale Forgotten Glory

◇ In the past, the great white armada that traversed the seas was Fontaine's supreme pride and glory, for the Mistress of Rivers and Oceans blessed her people with the authority and wish to conquer all the waters of the world. However, this lofty ambition was insufficient to overcome the laws of fate. To this day, on the brass masts are inscribed the words: "I have conquered the waves of the four seas."

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 27 or above

Complete Archon Quest Chapter I: Act I "Of the Land Amidst Monoliths"

◆ Challenge the Domain to obtain Character Talent Materials.

Domain of Blessing: Denouement of Sin

◇ Legends say that the first Lochknight concealed themselves in the remote wilderness with the Lochfolk, intending to use self-exile and rigorous training in an attempt to repay a sin fated to be beyond redemption. Now the land has long returned to deathly silence, with the long, chill winds still blowing through the deserted valley.

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 22 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Prologue: Act III - Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

◆ Challenge the Domain to obtain artifacts in the "Marechaussee Hunter" and "Golden Troupe" sets.

IV. New Equipment

1. New Weapons (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

The First Great Magic (5-Star Bow)

DMG dealt by Charged Attacks increased by 16%. For every party member with the same Elemental Type as the wielder (including the wielder themselves), gain 1 Gimmick stack. For every party member with a different Elemental Type from the wielder, gain 1 Theatrics stack. When the wielder has 1/2/3 or more Gimmick stacks, ATK will be increased by 16%/32%/48%. When the wielder has 1/2/3 or more Theatrics stacks, Movement SPD will be increased by 4%/7%/10%.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon The First Great Magic (Bow) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Fleuve Cendre Ferryman (4-Star Sword)

Increases Elemental Skill CRIT Rate by 8%. Additionally, increases Energy Recharge by 16% for 5s after using an Elemental Skill.

◆ You can exchange for Fleuve Cendre Ferryman (Sword) and its Refinement Material at the Fontaine Fishing Association.

▌Forgeable Weapons

Finale of the Deep (4-Star Sword)

When using an Elemental Skill, ATK will be increased by 12% for 15s, and a Bond of Life worth 25% of Max HP will be granted. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. When the Bond of Life is cleared, a maximum of 150 ATK will be gained based on 2.4% of the total amount of the Life Bond cleared, lasting for 15s.

※ Bond of Life: Absorbs healing for the character based on its base value, and clears after healing equal to this value is obtained.

Tidal Shadow (4-Star Claymore)

After the wielder is healed, ATK will be increased by 24% for 8s. This can be triggered even when the character is not on the field.

Rightful Reward (4-Star Polearm)

When the wielder is healed, restore 8 Energy. This effect can be triggered once every 10s, and can occur even when the character is not on the field.

Flowing Purity (4-Star Catalyst)

When using an Elemental Skill, All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 8% for 15s, and a Bond of Life worth 24% of Max HP will be granted. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. When the Bond of Life is cleared, every 1,000 HP cleared in the process will provide 2% All Elemental DMG Bonus, up to a maximum of 12%. This effect lasts 15s.

※ Bond of Life: Absorbs healing for the character based on its base value, and clears after healing equal to this value is obtained.

Song of Stillness (4-Star Bow)

After the wielder is healed, they will deal 16% more DMG for 8s. This can be triggered even when the character is not on the field.

◆ You can exchange for Weapon Forging Blueprints from Estelle in the Court of Fontaine by consuming certain amounts and types of materials.

▌Battle Pass Weapons

Wolf-Fang (4-Star Sword)

DMG dealt by Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst will be increased by 16%. When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, its CRIT Rate will be increased by 2%. When an Elemental Burst hits an opponent, its CRIT Rate will be increased by 2%. Both of these effects last 10s separately, have 4 max stacks, and can be triggered once every 0.1s.

Talking Stick (4-Star Claymore)

ATK will be increased by 16% for 15s after being affected by Pyro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s. All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 12% for 15s after being affected by Hydro, Cryo, Electro, or Dendro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s.

Ballad of the Fjords (4-Star Polearm)

When there are at least 3 different Elemental Types in your party, Elemental Mastery will be increased by 120.

Sacrificial Jade (4-Star Catalyst)

When not on the field for more than 5s, Max HP will be increased by 32% and Elemental Mastery will be increased by 40. These effects will be canceled after the wielder has been on the field for 10s.

Scion of the Blazing Sun (4-Star Bow)

After a Charged Attack hits an opponent, a Sunfire Arrow will descend upon the opponent hit, dealing 60% ATK as DMG, and applying the Heartsearer effect to the opponent damaged by said Arrow for 10s. Opponents affected by Heartsearer take 28% more Charged Attack DMG from the wielder. A Sunfire Arrow can be triggered once every 10s.

◆ The abovementioned Battle Pass weapons will be included in the BP Bounty in Version 4.0. Weapons in the current BP Bounty — The Black Sword (Sword), Serpent Spine (Claymore), Deathmatch (Polearm), Solar Pearl (Catalyst), and The Viridescent Hunt (Bow) — will still be available in the BP Bounty after the Version 4.0 update.

2. New Artifacts

Marechaussee Hunter (4-Star and 5-Star)

◇ 2-Piece Set: Normal and Charged Attack DMG +15%.

◇ 4-Piece Set: When current HP increases or decreases, CRIT Rate will be increased by 12% for 5s. Max 3 stacks.

Golden Troupe (4-Star and 5-Star)

◇ 2-Piece Set: Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 20%.

◇ 4-Piece Set: Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 25%. Additionally, when not on the field, Elemental Skill DMG will be further increased by 25%. This effect will be cleared 2s after taking the field.

V. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quest

Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur"

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter III: Act VI "Caribert"

Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur"

◇ After the Version 4.0 update, Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur" and Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason" will be permanently available

2. New Story Quest

Lyney's Story Quest - Felis Fuscus Chapter: Act I "The Forgotten Thief"

Permanently available after the Version 4.0 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

3. New World Quests

◆ New World Quests: "Ann of the Narzissenkreuz" Quest Chain, "Ancient Colors" Quest Chain, "Aqueous Tidemarks," "Book of Esoteric Revelations," "Hey, This Isn't Pumpkin Soup...," "Another Horizon of Adventure," "Danger Lurks Everywhere in Fontaine," "In Expert Company? (I)," "In Expert Company? (II)," "A Certain Notice," "A Certain Trifle," "A Certain Stamp," "The Fountain Flows Again," etc.

VI. New Enemies

Icewind Suite

◇ A gift from the Fontaine Research Institute, it is composed of two pieces, Dirge of Coppelia and Nemesis of Coppelius.

At the climax of the performance, Coppelia will halt at the center of the dance floor and expose her spare clockwork component charged with ousia or pneuma, thereby drastically increasing the efficiency of her exertions. During this phase, extinguishing this energy by attacking with the opposing source will overload her, thus progressing the performance.

Located in the Court of Fontaine Region

Emperor of Fire and Iron

◇ An Armored Crablord that has survived for countless eons and surpassed almost all other Fontemer Aberrants.

The twin molten horns located high up on its body are Pyro-aligned organs that can unleash more vicious elemental attacks and grant it even stronger defensive capabilities. When the Armored Crablord unleashes certain attacks, its twin molten horns are closer to the ground. This provides for a great opportunity to use Elemental Reactions to remove the Pyro element within.

Located in the Belleau Region

Shatterstone Breacher Primus, Large Shatterstone Breacher Primus, Overgrown Breacher Primus, and Large Overgrown Breacher Primus

◇ Strange life forms that share nothing in common with any other land-dwelling creature.

In battle, they will enter a stressed state and unleash fierce attacks while under the protection of a Geo or Dendro shield. If the shield is broken during this period, it will cause the life forms to fall into a paralyzed state. Aside from the usual methods of using Elemental Reactions, attacks imbued with ousia and pneuma can also efficiently pierce the defenses of the Breacher Primuses.

Recon Log Mek, Arithmetic Enhancer Mek, Underwater Survey Mek, Underwater Patrol Mek, Geological Survey Mek, Nimble Harvester Mek, Area Alert Mek, Assault Specialist Mek, Suppression Specialist Mek, Annihilation Specialist Mek, Construction Specialist Mek.

◇ Machines created from the union between Fontaine's intricate device and special energy technologies.

Based on whether they are exhibiting ousia or pneuma energy signatures, they will operate differently in battle. When these energies are extinguished upon being attacked by its opposing energy source, it will induce an Overloaded state and cause them to lose energy, weakening their combat capabilities.

Blubberbeast, Hunter's Ray, Armored Crab, Hat Jellyfish, Bubbly Seahorse, Ball Octopus, Angelic Sea Hare, Sternshield Crab, Bubbler Seahorse, Cherubic Sea Hare

◇ Aquatic life forms that have embarked on a unique evolutionary track due to Fontaine's environmental factors.

Some of them are more aggressive and can unleash fiercer elemental attacks and possess even stronger defensive capabilities. If you use Elemental Reactions to remove their Elemental Shields, things should be easier to handle.

Tainted Water-Splitting Phantasm, Tainted Water-Spouting Phantasm

◇ Today, with the Oceanids extirpated from Fontaine, strange elemental life forms have appeared in the waters.

Enter stress state in combat and retaliate violently.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipes:

○ Hotel Debord, Fontaine: Duck Confit, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Fontaine Aspic, Lasagna, Poisson Seafood Soup, and Fontainian Foie Gras.

○ Louis (NPC): Garlic Baguette, Fontainian Onion Soup, Fish and Chips, and Pate de Fruit.

○ Arouet (NPC): Ile flottante and Conch Madeleine.

○ World Quest Rewards: Tasses Ragout and Poissonchant Pie.

○ Fontaine Reputation System Reward: Steak Tartare, Fruity Trio, and Vessie Chicken.

○ Event Rewards: Fruity Smoothie and Fruity Duet.

New Character Specialty Dishes:

○ Lyney's specialty: Cubic Tricks

○ Lynette's specialty: A Leisurely Sip

○ Freminet's specialty: Seabird's Sojourn

New Achievement categories such as "Mortal Travails: Series IV," "Meetings in Outrealm: Series IV," "Fontaine: Dance of the Dew-White Springs (I)," and new Achievements added to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Lyney: Pretense": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Lyney

"Lynette: Earnestness": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Lynette

"Freminet: Progress": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Freminet

"Fontaine: Judgment": Reward for completing all achievements under "Fontaine: Dance of the Dew-White Springs (I)"

"Achievement: Orbits": Reward for completing all achievements under "Meetings in Outrealm: Series IV"

"Achievement: Mariner": Reward for completing all achievements under "Mortal Travails: Series IV"

"Fontaine: Wondrous Machine": Reward for reaching Reputation Lv. 4 (Fontaine)

"Fontaine: Big News": Reward for reaching Reputation Lv. 8 (Fontaine)

"Travel Notes: Primordial Waters": Reward obtained via the BP system

New Fontaine Reputation Reward Gadgets: Hydroculus Resonance Stone, Hydro Treasure Compass, Wind-Powered Wind Generator, and Crystalfly Trap.

Wind-Powered Wind Generator: Creates a temporary Wind Current in flight.

Crystalfly Trap: Consume a certain amount of Forging Ore to deploy. It will automatically capture Crystalflies when deployed in the open world. You can collect Crystal Core from it 7 days after deployment.

Adds some of the Harvestable seeds from Fontaine to the Seed Dispensary.

Inventory - Destroy Interface: 4-Star Artifacts can now be auto-added.

Increases Inventory limit for Artifacts from 1,500 to 1,800.

Adds Fontaine-related text into Midlander Billet origin descriptions.

Another 8 sets of Artifacts are available to exchange in the Mystic Offering system: Artifact Strongbox: Tenacity of the Millelith, Artifact Strongbox: Pale Flame, Artifact Strongbox: Shimenawa's Reminiscence, Artifact Strongbox: Emblem of Severed Fate, Artifact Strongbox: Husk of Opulent Dreams, Artifact Strongbox: Ocean-Hued Clam, Artifact Strongbox: Vermillion Hereafter, and Artifact Strongbox: Echoes of an Offering.

New Animals: Snow-Winged Goose, Darkwing Goose, Flatcrest Fulmar, Violetgold Angler Gull, Slate Umbrellafinch, Burgundy Umbrellafinch, Magenta Fantail Pigeon, Viridian Fantail Pigeon, Redcrown Finch, Bluecrown Finch, Chestnut Hunting Hound, Glittergray Hunting Hound, Amber Hunting Hound, Hydro Crystalfly, Leisurely Otter, Lady Poodle, Guard Poodle, and Gentleman Poodle.

New Fish: Streaming Axe Marlin, Rippling Heartfeather Bass, Blazing Heartfeather Bass, Maintenance Mek: Initial Configuration, Maintenance Mek: Water Body Cleaner, Maintenance Mek: Situation Controller, Maintenance Mek: Platinum Collection.

The Maintenance Mek can be converted to specific kinds of Character and Weapon Enhancement Materials at the Crafting Bench.

Adds Set 25 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

New Function: Multi-Layered Map in the map interface.

New functions in the Party Setup Screen:

(1) Characters' entrance and idle animations

(2) In Settings > Other, you may decide whether "the background of the Party Setup Screen will change based on your current region." If this option is enabled, the Party Setup Screen will change based on your current region.

Gyroscope is now supported on the platforms below:

PC：DualSense™ Wireless Controller, DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller

PS4™：DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller

PS5™：DualSense™ Wireless Controller, DualSense Edge™ Wireless Controller

※ Travelers can find the Gyroscope settings in Settings > Controls while using a Controller to play.

Adds Global Illumination on PlayStation® and will automatically be in effect after the Version update.

Adds Global Illumination on PC devices with a Discrete Graphics Card with a VRAM of 4 GB or more. Travelers may enable it via Settings > Graphics.

It is recommended for Travelers on PC devices to enable this option when your PC specifications are above the minimum specifications below:

● Minimum Specifications for Global Illumination:

Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit

Processor: 9th Generation Intel® Core i5™-9400F or equivalent

Discrete Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 1050 Ti or equivalent

VRAM: 4 GB or more

RAM: 16 GB or more

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Qiqi, Lisa, and Albedo, and their corresponding Talent cards

New invitation duels and guest challenges added to the Player List.

New Action Cards: King's Squire, Golden House, Setaria, Where Is the Unseen Razor?, Joyous Celebration.

Adds the "Observe Duel" function:

(1) When a friend is in a Genius Invokation TCG duel in Single-Player Mode, you can see this on the Friends interface and observe their game in progress (if this friend is in Co-Op mode, you must first enter their world).

(2) In Co-Op Mode, if your teammate is in a Genius Invokation TCG duel, you can see this on the Co-Op mode interface and observe their game in progress.

(3) In Co-Op Mode, if two of your teammates are in a Genius Invokation Duel through team invitation, you can observe the duel in progress and see both parties' cards and Elemental Dice.

(4) You can respectively allow your friends or teammates in Co-Op Mode to observe your duels or forbid them to do so via Settings in the Genius Invokation TCG duels.

(5) When you are in a Genius Invokation TCG duel, you can select specific observers and remove them from the observers list.

Spiral Abyss

The "Nymph's Dream" and "Vourukasha's Glow" Artifact set rewards in "Domain Reliquary: Tier I," and "Domain Reliquary: Tier II" for Spiral Abyss Floors 9–12 will be replaced with the "Marechaussee Hunter" and the "Golden Troupe" sets.

Floor 9 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• After a character triggers a Vaporize reaction, the Vaporize reaction DMG for that character is increased by 50% for 5s.

Floor 10 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• Character deals 50% increased DMG to opponents affected by Hydro.

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorders changed to:

• All characters in the party gain a 60% Pyro DMG Bonus.

• All characters in the party gain a 60% Hydro DMG Bonus.

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 9 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 4.0, the two Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Phase I:

Keen Moon

When a character recovers HP, that character gains 10% increased ATK for 10s. Max 3 stacks. Each stack will be counted independently. When a character loses HP, that character gains 40 Elemental Mastery for 10s. Max 3 stacks. Each stack will be counted independently. The effects from recovering and losing HP are independent from each other, and stacks are counted independently.

Phase II:

Gyrating Moon

When a character recovers or loses HP, that character gains 40% increased All Elemental and Physical DMG Bonus for 3s.

※ The above Spiral Abyss update will take effect from September 1 at 04:00 (Server Time).

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● System

Adds the function to view artworks of "Enemies of Note" in Archive > Living Beings > Enemies and Monsters.

Adjusts the mission objectives of the different phases of the "Stellar Reunion" event and reduces the difficulty of missions. The total score obtainable during the event remains unchanged (this adjustment applies to Travelers who activate "Stellar Reunion" after the Version 4.0 update).

Optimizes selection logic in the Artifacts and Weapons interface: after selecting an Artifact or Weapon to view or enhance, when returning to the previous interface, the Artifact or Weapon you initially viewed or enhanced will automatically be selected.

Adjusts the number of Teleport Waypoints required to unlock the achievement "Descending Into the Depths of Desolation." The original total number of Teleport Waypoints required to be unlocked is 16, and is now adjusted to 18 (if the achievement has been completed, the completion status of the achievement remains unchanged).

● Genius Invokation TCG

Adjusts the reward rules and reward display for Genius Invokation TCG: Heated Battle Mode. For each of the first 3 games you complete, you can receive 1,000 Lucky Coins (a maximum of 3,000 Lucky Coins can be obtained ).

● Audio

Optimizes certain interface sound effects in "Genius Invokation TCG" matches.

Optimizes the Korean and English voice lines for some quests.

Optimizes the character sprinting sound effects.

Optimizes certain interface sound effects when using the controller.

●Other

Optimizes the display accuracy of the Wind Glider on mobile devices.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Support Card "Jade Chamber": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 1 to 0.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Cards "Broken Rime's Echo," "Wine-Stained Tricorne," "Witch's Scorching Hat," "Thunder Summoner's Crown," "Viridescent Venerer's Diadem," "Mask of Solitude Basalt," "Laurel Coronet," "Capricious Visage," and "Thundering Poise": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 2 Dice of the same element to 2 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Cards "Blizzard Strayer," "Heart of Depth," "Crimson Witch of Flames," "Thundering Fury," "Viridescent Venerer," "Archaic Petra," and "Deepwood Memories": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 3 Dice of any element to 2 Dice of the same element.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Cards "Vermillion Hereafter" and "Shimenawa's Reminiscence": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 3 Dice of the same element to 3 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Card "Ornate Kabuto": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 2 Dice of any element to 1 Elemental Dice.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Card "Emblem of Severed Fate": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 3 Dice of any element to 2 Dice of the same element.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "Thunder and Eternity": this Event Card can now convert all of your Elemental Dice into the Omni Element.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "I Haven't Lost Yet!": this Event Card can only be used once per Round.

〓Version Update Known Issue〓

There is an issue in Genius Invokation TCG whereby when you have 0 Elemental Dice before the Action Phase begins, you would still be able to abnormally play the Event Card "Covenant of Rock" due to the Omni Element generated by the Equipment Card "Gambler's Earrings" after the Action Phase begins. (Under normal conditions, "Covenant of Rock" will not be playable as you have more than 0 Elemental Dice at this time.) This issue is scheduled to be fixed in Version 4.1.

There is an issue whereby some enemies in the water and some characters in swimming mode are unable to take DMG from Electro-Charged Reactions in certain water bodies. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in Version 4.1.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue with the Story Quest "Where Lies the Path Home" whereby Nahida's location was abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby there was the possibility of encountering repeated options or objectives when carrying out the Commission Quests "The Gourmet Supremos: Foodie Quiz," "Good Sign," or "Akademiya Q&A."

Fixes an issue with the World Quest "Garcia's Paean: A Gift of Compatibility" whereby there was a small probability of abnormally triggering character teleports and the NPC Kaia may erroneously disappear.

Fixes an issue whereby the objective "Follow Kaeya" in Kaeya's Hangout Event is unable to be completed under certain circumstances.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby the Boss "Guardian of Apep's Oasis's" aftershocks of the apocalypse attack could not deal DMG to some characters under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby some special effects of the Boss "Stormterror" would abnormally disappear under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby the opponent "Abyss Herald: Frost Fall" had a small probability of not regenerating HP normally when leaving combat.

Fixes an issue that prevented the enemy "Iniquitous Baptist" from generating a shield after unleashing the Elemental Ring ability under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue that caused the enemy "Cryo Samachurl" to not fall off properly after his ice pillar was destroyed.

● Characters

Fixes an issue that prevented Lumine from quickly performing the 1st hit of her Normal Attack and Charged Attack after performing the 5th hit of her Normal Attack.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that Icewhirl Brand generated by holding Eula's Elemental Skill would fail to deal DMG to target enemies.

Fixes an issue whereby after adding Nahida to the party for the first time, holding the Elemental Skill could cause the character and camera to be positioned abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby when the Frostflake Seki no To released by Kamisato Ayaka's Elemental Burst was blocked, it had a small probability of not dealing DMG even if it hit enemies.

Fixes an issue on mobile whereby when some characters sit on a high-legged stool, the character model would display abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby Fischl would stand on water abnormally after casting an Elemental Burst under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby under certain circumstances, some characters may trigger the special effects of water ripples while walking on land.

● System

Fixes an issue that caused a white line to appear abnormally on Yaoyao's Constellations interface.

Fixes an issue whereby in the Character interface, when switching from Ganyu's interface to multiple secondary interfaces (such as Talents, Artifacts, or Weapons), there was a chance that the character movements could be incorrect.

Fixes an issue whereby the pre-selected Conversion material selection state would be reset when using a controller to carry out conversion with the Crafting Bench.

Fixes an issue that caused the maximum number of Weapons or Artifacts that can be selected (by dragging them) in the Inventory to be displayed incorrectly under certain circumstances.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue in Genius Invokation TCG whereby when the Character Card "Eula" gains Grimheart, the DMG value indicated in the Elemental Skill description will be abnormally stated as "Deals 4 Cryo DMG" (the actual DMG dealt is as intended, and is 5 Cryo DMG).

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby the audio effects of some quests were not controlled by the voice-over settings in the game.

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby Sorush could switch to other characters abnormally when flying under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby the grass in the landscape was not displayed correctly under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue that caused flying birds to abnormally fall under certain conditions.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

Text-related fixes and optimizations in English include:

◆ Unified the term "Hilichurl Shooters."

◆ Optimized some inconsistencies between certain voice-over lines and what is displayed in Archon Quests, Story Quests, and World Quests.

◆ Optimized certain UI of the Serenitea Pot.

◆ Optimized the text in certain Namecards.

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

[steamberrystudio]

03/12/2023

Hey everyone! Time for the bi-weekly tumblr update for Steamberry stuffs!

Summary

Finished editing Chapter 5 (WSC)

Decided an additional chapter was needed to fix pacing/plot stuff.

Received some new BG art (WSC)

Worked on the GS lore book including adding profiles and short stories

Ramble

Okay so in my last update I was in the middle of editing chapter 5 and was nearly to the start of chapter six in editing Asher's route. I finished up chapter 5...

At that point when I was looking ahead, I started feeling like I wanted to add in a transition scene to move between Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.

As I started plotting out this scene, one of my ideas took on a life of its own and I realised that it might be better to interject a new, fleshed out story incident that would allow me to slow the pacing as well as flesh out the setting and universe a little more. This incident would also let me tie into some earlier events and connect them to something that occurs in chapter 6, also foreshadowing the chapter 6 incident.

 Ultimately, this became too much to call a "scene" and I decided to branch it off into a supplementary chapter (IE a chapter a bit shorter than the others and meant to be released along with another chapter.

That is what I've been working on since the last update.

This chapter has now served to set up multiple important things.

And is currently 17000 words long (it's going to end up closer to 25k by the end I think. There is a pretty significant story branch that happens at this point based on a specific player choice (That is or is not available based on other factors). If the choice is available and if the player makes that choice, it leads to an entirely different flow of events for a substantial portion of the chapter. That's what I'm currently working on writing.

I have it plotted out in a very detailed way and just have to write it.

Chapters with heavy branching are always a bit of a doozy to write and the WSC chapters are pretty long in general (the longest chapter is 62,000 words right now). So yeah.

Adding new content is still a part of editing I suppose. At least sometimes. I was so excited to cut 4000 words of content in chapter 5. 

Then I added 17000+ more. So.....

That sounds accurate for me. 😱

I've been having a lot of health struggles the last couple of weeks mostly related to chronic fatigue and pain. That, in addition to some really irritating "real life" stuff. But things are still moving forward.

Current word count is 440,000 words.

Regarding the GS lore book - I've been adding character profiles to a "people" section and have also been working on some of the short stories/drabbles. It's close to 300 pages at this point. 💪

Other Stuff:

As usual, I have received a completed BG and sketch, acquiring the game environments at a steady pace.

Upcoming Weeks:

This is getting into a busy time of year so I have a lot of real life distractions even apart from HEALTH. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 Progress always slows a little for me during this period since we have a lot going on.

But here is the plan.

Try to finish adding the profiles to the lore book. (Noooot sure I will. There are still a lot to go and the formatting for them is tricky. And I'm alternating between adding profiles and finishing writing a few side stories I've had ideas for for a while)

Try to finish chapter 5.5 for WSC

That's all for this week. There should be on more update here before the end of the year. See you then! 💪💪

[mercurytrinemoon]

💫I wrote a book and it's out now yaay!💫

Last year in December I had an idea.

It was THIS post (thank you @astrologeee for inspiring me) that made me think, I should actually teach astrology the way it should be taught: not by throwing dry concepts and cookbook definitions at people, but by explaining why some things are the way they are and break down the mechanics behind astrological delineations.

And because of my intermittent (not to say erratic) nature, I'm not great at chart readings because I do things when I feel like doing them, not when I have to - this is why for the past few weeks I fully devoted myself to writing and illustrating a book - so I can give you a finished product that you can get anytime you want - it's here and ready to read. Also, I think it's a perfect way to go through my 9th house profection year and a 3rd house Jupiter transit (that is loooots of writing and a finished publication).

"Studying the stars: the basis of understanding and analyzing astrology"

The book contains all new material, except for the chapter on houses that I took from my two blog posts. You get full sections on planets, signs, aspects, houses etc + a chapter on how to put things together - I'm dissecting exemplary planetary placements, aspects between them + more.

example pages

I tried to be as precise in all the descriptions and just cover all the necessary basics - so getting straight to the point. I think it would be a perfect starting point for those, who are just getting into astrology, but I'm hoping those of you, who are already deep into it will find something interesting in this book as well.

The book is currently $5 and available as a pdf on my ko-fi profile HERE (other platforms and a proper e-book format incoming! Ya girl is still waiting for her ISBN number 😩). UPDATE: also available HERE ON MY WEBSITE!

I hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it (not formatting tho cause that bitch took me a week and I still kept finding errors ahahah). And yes, there's a cheeky lil Vettius Valens chillin in the bottom corner of the cover so you can have a giggle at that as well.

[alwaysmychoices]

Making a Run For it

Synopsis: Today's the day that Ethan makes a run for it. He's leaving Edenbrook and moving to California before Charlie can ruin her career by running away first. When Charlie discovers his plan, she has to ask herself whether she really wants to lose him -- and when she realizes she wants him back, she has to find a way to convince him to stay.

Chapter 41 of the “with and without” series

Previous Series: “a weekend with dr. ramsey”

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x MC (Charlotte “Charlie” Greene)

Words: 5.1k (sorry but also you're welcome)

Rating: Teen (language)

Also available on AO3 & Wattpad (link in Masterlist)

It was hardly noon, but Charlie was already nursing her third cup of coffee. After texting with Ethan a few nights earlier, she’d barely slept. She was too aware of the absence in the other side of her bed, and no amount of coffee could make up for the sleepless nights she’d spent vacillating between making a run for it and showing up half-naked on his doorstep, begging for an ill-advised ceasefire.

Charlie thought it would help to focus on her new life waiting for her when she left Edenbrook and escaped this vicious back-and-forth. She searched for new apartments, scheduled flights, and sought someone to sublet her current place while she was away. But nothing could drive Ethan from her mind, nor could any amount of self-restraint stop her from drunk-purchasing new lingerie in Ethan’s favorite color just in case.

The longer she stood there, the more she lamented the lonely corner she’d backed herself into. But life crisis or not, Charlie had charts and paperwork to finish, and that required all the attention she could muster.

Charlie rubbed at her eyes, trying to focus on her charting, but the idea of a power nap in the call room was increasingly appealing. Just when Charlie was ready to cave, she was startled by a nervous-looking intern barreling towards her.

"Dr. Greene?” the intern – Amanda Stevens – called out to her, like she was afraid Charlie would escape before giving her advice. Admittedly, Charlie wished she had.

“Yeah?” Charlie raised her eyebrows, releasing the dream of a nap.

“I was wondering what I should do with the newest test results for the patient in Room 255.”

“255?” Charlie repeated. That was Ethan’s patient, and it said so on the chart. Charlie should know – she’d asked to be taken off the case last week to avoid any unnecessary interactions with Ethan.

Charlie was surprised to hear Stevens ask such an easy question. It was nearly the end of her first year of residency, and Stevens was known to be capable. Why was she still asking questions about where to send test results this late in the game?

Still, Charlie remembered how it felt to be a terrified first-year, so she tried to avoid sounding dismissive as she replied, “Dr. Ramsey’s the attending. Just send it his way if you’re unsure.”

“I know,” Dr. Stevens blushed, “I normally wouldn’t ask, but the system says Dr. Ramsey isn’t here for the next few days and to direct his patients to another doctor. But he was here this morning, and he didn’t say anything about leaving. Dr. Ramsey never goes anywhere. For the last few months, he’s spent more time here than at home. I was wondering if it was a glitch.”

Charlie frowned. It stung to be reminded that, since their breakup, Ethan had become a hermit in his office, but it wasn’t untrue. And anyways, Ethan never left without leaving detailed instructions on what to do in his absence. It was almost insulting how detailed his instructions would be – like he trusted no one but himself to care for his patients.

He wasn’t the type to leave without warning.

Or at least, leave without warning his coworkers. It wouldn’t be the first time he left without telling Charlie.

“Since you know him so well, I thought you might know what’s going on,” Stevens added, as if this would ease her odd request.

It didn’t.

Charlie didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t. Instead, she pulled up the patient file to check for herself, and she saw the same notice – informing any reader that Dr. Ramsey was on vacation and to direct his patient materials to Dr. Carrick until he returned.

Vacation? Charlie’s face twisted. Ethan didn’t go on vacations.

“Give the results to Dr. Carrick and be prepared to present if necessary. If it’s a glitch, Carrick should be able to tell you,” Charlie stammered out, still staring at the screen.

Satisfied, Dr. Stevens hurried off to Dr. Carrick’s office, leaving a confused Charlie in her wake.

What the fuck is going on? Charlie thought. She knew Ethan was here – she saw him this morning doing rounds with the interns. Would he really go on vacation without telling her? Could he stomach leaving work without providing nauseatingly detailed instructions to the interns?

The mystery was too enticing to ignore. She knew it was dangerous to go to Ethan’s office – there was a 50/50 shot of having sex on his desk or screaming at him so loud the whole hospital heard. And they hadn’t been able to interact without exchanging longing glances in days. But Charlie had to know what was going on.

Closing out her paperwork, Charlie went to his office and knocked on the door. There was no way he’d already left. Even if he was going somewhere, he was probably just hiding out in his office. Yet no one answered the door.

She tried again – no response.

Charlie got out her phone and instinctively opened his contact, but she lost her nerve and texted Harper instead.

Charlie: Do you know where Ethan is? The system says he’s on vacation.

Harper: Did he not tell you?

Charlie: Tell me what?

The text turned to “read,” but instead of receiving a typically prompt reply, Harper hesitated. Three dots indicated she was typing, but they stopped without any message from Harper. Charlie’s stomach lurched, wondering what on earth could make Harper delay when she was famous for responding immediately.

“Charlie! Just who I was hoping to find,” Naveen interrupted Charlie’s anxious thoughts. He looked casual, but his gait was anything but. He was practically running towards her, carrying a small envelope with an unusually tight grip.

“Oh? Everything okay?” Charlie asked, trying to match his friendly demeanor. They were both faking it – and doing so poorly. The entire time, Charlie eyed her cell phone screen, frowning as Harper apparently started and abandoned a dozen text messages. What could be so bad that she didn’t want to tell her?

“Of course,” Naveen smiled warmly, but there was something strange about his expression. Unease. Concern. Panic, maybe?

Had something horrible happened to Ethan?

“I am under strict orders to give you this letter at 2 pm. Unfortunately, my afternoon is booked, so I’ll just have to defy orders and give you the letter now,” Naveen explained.

Technically, it wasn’t a lie. He did have a meeting at 2 pm – he quickly scheduled one as soon as Ethan walked into his office this morning and told him the plan. Naveen wanted to make sure he had a perfect alibi for defying his friend’s wishes. He loved Ethan, but this was undoubtedly the stupidest thing he’d ever done.

Naveen held out a small envelope for Charlie, and immediately, she recognized the impatient yet rigid handwriting on the front. It was Ethan’s handwriting, and the letter was addressed to her.

She accepted it, tracing her fingers over the imprint of her name. Charlie was desperate to open it, hoping it had some explanation for all the strangeness around her, but she was too embarrassed to tear it open when Naveen had just informed her of the intended delivery. If she wasn’t supposed to receive this letter for another two hours, was it fair to open it now?

Naveen watched expectantly, hoping she would tear that letter to shreds and stop the melodramatic catastrophe ahead. He frowned when she hesitated.

Finally, he pointedly said, “I’ll give you privacy so you can read your letter. I’ll be in my office when you have questions.”

“When I have questions?” Charlie repeated, but Naveen had already started walking away – eager to have that enveloped opened.

Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the small envelop once more. None of this made sense. Ethan was a creature of habit – but everything about this went against his usual behavior. He’d left work without warning. He’d written her a letter, which he’d never done before, and then cryptically given it to Naveen for delivery. Something was happening, and she didn’t like it.

Curiosity got the better of her, and within moments of being alone, she ripped the envelop to shreds, too curious to protect the paper. Her eyes flew over the words, too stunned to speak as she processed the contents.

“My darling Charlotte,

I don’t know if this letter is a relief or a betrayal. I don’t even know which I’d prefer.

I’m leaving Boston. By the time you read this letter, I will be on a flight to San Diego for an interview. If all goes according to plan, you’ll never have to see me again. I don’t trust myself to come back before starting the new job. I’m already so close to abandoning this grand gesture and selfishly demanding your forgiveness when I know you should never forgive me.

Charlie, you deserve Boston. You deserve Edenbrook. You deserve the illustrious career I know you’ll have. You deserve the dream I ruined.

I can’t stop you from leaving, but I can take away your reason for going. If you’re running away from me, there’s no need. I’m already gone.

Please stay. Be the amazing doctor I know you were meant to be. I’ll read every paper you ever publish. I’ll be proud of every discovery you make. And I’ll rest easy knowing that you needed to be free of me to achieve it all.

 Don’t let me be the reason you upend your life and career. I’m not worth it. But you, my brilliant Charlotte, are worth everything.

I love you, Rookie. Make me proud.

-ER”

Charlie read the letter over and over again – as if repetition could cure the incurable and explain the unexplainable.

Anger and despair roared with each new word, resulting in shaking hands and a tear-stained page.

This… This… This asshole.

This self-important, self-sabotaging asshole! He had to get his way. He was so insufferably stubborn – almost as infuriating a match to her own tenacity. Somehow, Ethan managed to be the worst of them both, indulging in all of Charlie’s worst faults and adding more of his own. To do something like this – Charlie raged and mourned in equal measure.

He left before she could. And then he didn’t even tell her!

Because of him, the last time she’d be able to see him was this morning in the halls.

She hadn’t appreciated it. She hadn’t catalogued all the lines on his face or savored the scent of his cologne. Now that she tried to remember, she didn’t even know what color his tie was. Had he been wearing a tie?

She deserved a better memory. And fuck, the last time she saw him couldn’t be today. She was tired and disheveled. She wasn’t even sure if she’d remembered to put in deodorant this morning, and this was her final viewing?

There was so much she still needed to do. She needed to yell and scream at him. She needed to hold him and smell him and remember all the little details. She needed more time.

No.

He didn’t get to leave like this.

Not without saying goodbye. Or giving her this ridiculous, infuriating, and heartfelt letter instead.

What a pathetic, ridiculous trade. She’d spent two years loving him and one year sharing his bed, and now she didn’t even get a proper goodbye.

It wasn’t even the first time he’d done this to her. He’d abruptly abandoned her in the name of self-sacrifice before, and she’d done the same to him. But it was different now. She knew how he liked his coffee. She knew the laundry detergent he preferred. She knew … him.

Charlie nursed her anger like a neglected seedling, hoping that fury could erase the deep sense of loss in her chest. But her wrath failed to take root. Every time she told herself she hated Ethan Ramsey, she remembered the last lines of the letter.

“I love you, Rookie.”

Ethan loved her.

Charlie loved him.

The rest of it was a petty race to see who could fuck up first.

The fights seemed so stupid now. The issues looked resolvable. She could spend the rest of her life with this man if they’d both just let the other stay.

And suddenly, it was so simple that Charlie felt ridiculous for not seeing it before. Charlie loved Ethan more than she loved her reasons keeping them apart, and she deserved the right to say that to his face.

She had to stop him. He hadn’t left yet – she had time.

The realization spurred Charlie to movement, and before she knew it, she was sprinting through the halls to Naveen’s office. She needed to find out which airport he’d gone to. She could track down the flight from there, and if she left quickly, she might make it in time. But she’d need to tell someone before she left. She couldn’t just abandon her patients without approval.

Everyone moved out of her way – some with confused expressions, others with a knowing sense of relief. Later, she would wonder how much her coworkers knew about Ethan’s secret plan to leave, but hopefully, she’d be safely tucked in Ethan’s arms by the time those thoughts reached her.

Naveen’s assistant wordlessly motioned Charlie into his office, despite the meetings Naveen said would consume his entire afternoon.

Breathlessly, Charlie heaved at the door and sputtered out a series of questions, “Where is he? When’s his flight? I need to go, I’m so sorry, but someone needs to cover my patients because-“

Naveen cut her off. Luckily, he’d prepared for all of those requests. Otherwise, he would have had to rely on her labored speech, and that would have been too time-consuming to decipher. How fast had she been running?

“Dr. Carrick has taken over your patients for the next hour, and Dr. Trinh offered to take the hour after that, if you need it. The list goes on, as you can imagine,” Naveen calmly shuffled through his papers, “Ethan is flying out of Logan Airport on a Delta flight scheduled for 1:55. The monitors will tell you his gate number. If you leave now, you’ll make it there before he gets through security, but just in case, I bought you a ticket.”

Naveen held out a piece of paper – an airline ticket to Nevada leaving at midnight. It was the cheapest same-day flight he could find.

“But how…?” Charlie trailed off, accepting the paper. It was too grand of a gesture, but she also couldn’t fathom giving it back.

“People who aren’t in love don’t have to run thousands of miles away to stay away from each other,” Naveen smiled softly, “I always knew you two would find your way back to each other. I just wished you hadn’t been so dramatic in getting there.”

“Naveen,” Charlie choked, rubbing her thumb along the ticket barcode. Charlie knew she’d never step foot in Nevada, but it was still the greatest gift she’d ever received, “Thank you so much. I can’t begin to tell you how much this means –“Charlie wiped at her eyes, momentarily forgetting the rush as she tried not to cry.

“Sweet Charlotte, you are one of my dearest friends. But you need to leave right now and stop Ethan from making a huge mistake.”

“Right, oh my God,” Charlie felt the anxiety creep back into her bones, making her practically bounce in place with the effort to stay still, “Thank you! I need to get a cab, fuck,” Charlie covered her mouth, offering an apology for her language as she rushed out of the office.

 Naveen smiled softly with relief.

One day, he would tell them that watching them fall in love was one of the most stressful experiences of his life, but today, he was satisfied that they were still in love.

Charlie bolted though Edenbrook with less care than should have been reserved for such a delicate place of healing. She weaved and ran through the halls, apologizing when necessary and promising to make up for the inconvenience. But she didn’t stop running.

Not even when she got out her phone to secure the fastest ride to the airport she could find, even if the cost made her wince.

Ethan was wrong. He was worth it. He was worth everything. Even an outrageous cab fare.

She imagined his face when she found him at the airport. What would she say? How would she convince him to stay? Would he even listen to her? For the first time, Charlie was thankful for the luxury of a long cab ride to compose her thoughts.

But then she didn’t need to imagine his face.

Because, when she reached the front door of Edenbrook, there he was.

He was standing outside, still putting his suitcase in the backseat of the cab. She didn’t need to race to the airport – he was still here.

Charlie couldn’t believe it, staring at him with a mix of awe and disbelief.

“You’re here,” Charlie breathed, amazed he heard her over the bustling city behind them. But of course, he did. It was Charlie. He always noticed her.

But she wasn’t supposed to be here.

“I am,” Ethan froze.

I almost didn’t go, he thought. His car was originally scheduled for 11:30 sharp. He’d technically been off the clock for an hour now, but he’d pushed back his car so many times that a bad stretch of traffic could ruin his entire itinerary. He’d lingered in his office for so long, finding every reason to procrastinate his exit. It was as if he’d hoped she’d sensed the danger and come running. When she didn’t magically come to stop him, he’d forced himself out of the hospital – only to wander the block for a while before finally getting in his cab.

He'd wanted to see her one last time. He wasn’t sure if he could leave without a proper send-off. But he also knew that seeing her would ruin his whole plan. There would never be enough “lasts” with Charlie. He would always want one more look, one more conversation, one more kiss. He’d spend his whole life chasing the perfect memory with her, and by then, it would be too late. He had to go before his mistakes were too engrained in her life to be undone.

But there she was – his beautiful Charlotte. He felt his resolve break before he could even admit it to himself. He’d always find a reason to stay for her.

And Charlie’s resolve broke a little bit too – just for different reasons. Her simple realization was muddied with hard truths and stinging betrayals – the most daunting of all was how much she loved him. She was so angry and hurt, but she was still so foolishly in love. She was his to hold and his to break, and they were both very good at breaking things.

It took a very large dose of courage to finally start talking.

And she began terribly.

“You are stubborn. And you think you’re always right. You’re so fucking afraid of ruining things that you try to ruin it. You should have let me make my own decisions, and you were wrong to try to fix everything because you disagreed with me,” Charlie puffed out. Her cheeks flushed with the effort of running after him and the frustration flowing through her words.

“Charlotte I’m so-“

“I’m not done,” Charlie cut him off. “You were an asshole to leave without saying goodbye – when you went to the Amazon and now.”

“How did you know I-?” Ethan began, but she silenced him with a look.

It wasn’t two yet. She wasn’t supposed to have the letter.

“But I did the same thing to you. We’re both…” Charlie paused, trying to find the perfect way to describe their cosmically misaligned faults. But all she could come up with was “Assholes. But I love you, and I’m not letting you get on that plane.”

Ethan’s hands itched to take hers – to abandon his grand gesture and run up to her. To hold her. To feel the warmth of her skin and feel the thump of her heartbeat. To promise to spend the rest of his life making up for his mistakes.

But at his core, Ethan didn’t believe he deserved her. He was too damaged. Too insecure and irrational. To self-righteous and overbearing. He’d done too much wrong to ever deserve something so right.

“I’ll ruin your life,” Ethan managed, despite the lump in his throat and the crippling sorrow that he’d never be enough for the woman he loved. He said it like a warning, like he was begging her to believe him. Even in protesting, he knew he couldn’t resist running back to her.

“No, you won’t,” Charlie said firmly. She didn’t know where she found such resolve when, in all likelihood, he would ruin her life. She’d never be the same after him. One misstep and she’d be destroyed. But she gave him the trust she wanted them both to earn.

Ethan shook his head, but he was already walking toward her. She was like a magnet, pulling him closer and closer to danger. He was close enough to smell her shampoo – coconut and vanilla – and it almost broke him. Tears welling in his eyes, Ethan’s fingertips grazed her cheek. When she leaned into his hand, he instinctively cupped her face, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes.

When he looked at her, it was with desperation.

Desperation that she believed him – that she understood the profound risk associated with loving him.

And desperation that she wouldn’t care. That he could hold her until they were nothing but bone and old memories.

“I couldn’t even tell anyone you were mine. Just like you said – I was so afraid of fucking everything up that I actually fucked it up,” Ethan was pleading with her to appreciate how horrible he’d been, “You deserve better.”

He didn’t even realize that, since approaching her, he’d bent his knees to even out their height difference. He didn’t feel the way he bent to her, still desperately concerned with being close to her. Something about that made her smile.

“Would you do that now?” she asked, hoping she already knew the answer.

He should have lied.

That would be the right thing to do.

But the idea of hiding her now was so outrageous that Ethan laughed. A weak, tear-stained, breathless laugh – but a laugh all the same.

“No,” he shook his head, “I’d scream it from the atrium. I’d be obnoxious about it. Probably even marry you and force you to take my last name like some asshole.”

Dr. Charlotte Ramsey.

It wasn’t terrible to either of their ears.

“I wouldn’t change my name,” Charlie countered, the smile still lingering on her lips.

“Good,” Ethan was laughing again. He traced the curve of her cheek, swallowing back a sob as he asked himself what the fuck he was doing.

He was supposed to be running away right now. Why was he holding her?

“I know we keep messing it up,” Charlie chewed on her lower lip, and it took every ounce of Ethan’s resolve not to free it, “But I love you. I don’t want to live without you, and I genuinely believe we can make it work. We just… need to be less dramatic, maybe. Talk it out instead of threatening to move to different states.”

That was funny, Ethan thought to himself, but he was too panic-stricken to laugh.

“What if I hurt you?” Ethan asked with such raw pain and fear that it took Charlie aback.

“You will,” she said quickly – too quickly to phrase it as delicately as the conversation deserved.

Of course, he would. Reminded of his ultimate mission, Ethan started to pull away – intent on getting the hell out of Massachusetts before he could harm her. Charlie stopped him, clamping her hands on his wrist desperately.

“I’m going to hurt you, too. That’s just what happens, Ethan. But I still love you, and if being in love with you means that we’re going to hurt each other sometimes, I still want you,” Charlie confessed, “I trust you, Ethan. Even if you don’t trust yourself.”

By now, they’d amassed a curious crowd of onlookers, but Ethan would have rather died than let her go and pretend like he didn’t love her for the sake of some strangers. Sensing them, too, Charlie started to untangle herself from their complicated embrace, but Ethan stopped her.

I don’t care if they see, he quietly implored. Her eyes widened, and to her own surprise, she did trust him.

“Stay with me in Boston,” Charlie begged.

“What if I ruin your career?”

“I don’t care.”

“What if I hurt you and we don’t work it out – and all of it could have been avoided if I’d just left today?”

“I’d still want you to stay.”

She’d want me to stay, Ethan mulled over that phrase until it was part of his soul.

This brilliant, wonderful, kind, and thoughtful woman. She’s everything he ever wanted but never thought he’d deserve. And she trusted him. She wanted him.

Maybe he just had to trust her, too.

His plans crumbled in his hands – self-sacrifice be damned. All he ever wanted was Charlie, and oh my God, he was actually going to let himself have it.

“I’m going to stay,” Ethan said, eyes dazed. Like he hadn’t really processed what that meant.

But Charlie had. She was grinning ear-to-ear, and in his stunned state, Ethan thought she looked the most beautiful she’d ever looked.

I’m staying, he thought, I’m going to live the rest of my life loving Charlotte Greene.

How the hell did he get so lucky?

Eyes still brimming with tears, Ethan’s face split into a smile, and he scooped her in his arms, forgetting about their height difference as he lifted her off the ground to hold her close. His darling, wonderful Charlotte.

“I love you so much I can’t sleep without you,” the words flowed out of his mouth so quickly that Charlie could hardly process them. Every compliment and moment of affection he’d held back poured from his lips, intermixed with kisses across her skin. “I love you,” he kissed her nose. “I love you, Rookie.” He kissed her cheek.

He would have carried on like that forever – finding some new way to say he loved her as he kissed every inch of her face.

But Charlie interrupted him, looping her arms around his neck and kissing his lips the way she’d wanted to for months. It was raw and unrefined, blending pure adoration with desperation and unbridled need. It was spliced with flowing tears and face-splitting smiles, and it was the best kiss she’d ever had.

“I love you, Ethan Ramsey,” Charlie breathed against him, so mind-numbingly happy that she momentarily forgot every sadness she’d ever felt.

“I love you, Charlotte Greene,” Ethan replied, matching her smile. Passively, he wondered how long he’d have to wait until he could tack on a ‘Ramsey’ to that last name. Given how he felt right now, he’d last an hour before he was on his knees begging her.

Then again, doing that would require releasing her from his arms – and he had no interest in doing that.

HOOONNNKKKKK.

Charlie jumped, breaking apart just enough that Ethan could mourn the absence of her warmth, and he carefully put her down. They both looked to find the cab driver impatiently waiting for them. Admittedly, he’d been interested in their grand reunion, but he didn’t have all day to wait on a pair of lovebirds kissing on a sidewalk.

“Are we going to the airport or not?” he demanded.

“We are not,” Ethan grinned, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out two hundred dollar bills and offered them in conciliation for the wasted time. He looked back to Charlie, “We could still do a local fare. I have the rest of the day off.”

He hoped she’d suggest they just went home. He was eager to spend the entire day reclaiming every inch of that apartment with affection for Charlie, rather than the ghosts of her devastating absence. It was only a bonus if that day was mostly spent in bed.

But before she could say yes, her pager buzzed, informing her of an urgent patient update. Wasn’t Tobias supposed to take her calls?

“Shit, I need to check on this,” she frowned down at the device, cursing it and whoever sent the message, “But don’t go! I’ll find you right after. Just wait here.”

Charlie couldn’t fathom the idea of letting him go off in that car alone. She wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t still go to that stupid airport, so she lingered nervously.

“I promise I’m staying – in Boston and here while you check on the patient.” There was nothing that would take Ethan away now.

Charlie looked back at her pager, wondering how bad it would be if she just ignored it. But when confronted with all the horrific possibilities, beginning with a harmed patient and ending with the loss of her medical license, she immediately tucked the pager back in her pocket and rushed towards Ethan, giving him a quick kiss, “I’ll see you soon.”

“I know,” he kissed the tip of her nose.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now go.”

Ethan watched Charlie rush back into the hospital, despite looking over her shoulder at least a dozen times. When she was out of sight, Ethan gave the cab driver another fifty-dollar bill just to celebrate his good mood, and he took his suitcase out of the back, allowing the man to get about his day.

When Ethan started walking into the hospital, he got a better look at their witnesses, and he recognized a few faces. They looked nervous, like witnessing Charlie and Ethan was too personal to be the hospital gossip they’d hoped for.

Ethan waved politely, unbothered by their presence.

“We won’t tell, Dr. Ramsey,” one of them spoke up – a nurse on the third floor who Ethan recognized as being particularly kind to the residents when she helped clean up their mistakes. It was fitting that she would try to clean this up, too. Even if she didn’t know the full extent of Bloom’s threat, she knew that professing his love for a resident would be a huge scandal for Dr. Ramsey.

“No need,” Ethan shook his head, “But thank you.”

The nurse eyed him, silently offering him another chance to save himself, but Ethan didn’t take it.

Ethan picked Charlie. Despite all the danger of heartbreak and personal ruin, he’d promised to stay. And he knew that he couldn’t do that if he maintained the secrecy that drove them apart in the first place. Something had to change, and that meant being open about who he loved and how much he loved her.

So, Ethan knew exactly what he needed to do – beginning with meeting with Leland Bloom.

[drksanctuary]

Hello Nicobaster household! I haven’t Nicobastered in a bit and that seems like a criminal crime. To atone for it please accept:

Chpt 2 of Titan AU: The New Golden Age

(Links to previous chapters below as well)

Chapter 2: Out of the Cavern

The spider monster, despite its size and vocal ability, is surprisingly quiet as it moves.

Nico and Alabaster dart toward the only direction available: away.

Nico squeezes Alabaster’s hand, leading him through the tunnel. Nico leads them, even though he couldn't see all that well either, the shadows in this cave didn't seem particularly friendly to his magic. No shadow traveling, no raising the dead, no earthquakes. He did the only thing he could. The demigod's last resort.

Dad, If you’re listening I could really use some help. He prays

As he finishes a giant reptilian spider leg swats them onto the cave wall, and another leg sharply whips at Nico's leg, giving him a giant gash along his calf.

"Argh!... Thanks anyway!" He groans, as rocks crumble around him from the movements of the spider.

She screeches and the cave vibrates; rocks start to fall. She screeches again. Nico squints to see the spider scurrying away from them slowly, being pelted by falling rocks as she goes, screeching furiously as she leaves.

Nico covers his ears as the cavern continues to shake the wall behind them splits and just as when they'd entered the cave, they slid once more, like rocks in a mudslide. But instead of tumbling into a cave. This time they fell from the ceiling of a wide domed cavern.

Alabaster is sure that the distance of this fall is going to kill them. I'm sorry is all he can think as he braces for the impact with the floor.

But, like the wave of relief he soon gets, the water washes over him, as he and Nico fall into an underground lake.

Nico's never been on particularly good terms with water in general; his current unrequited crush included. First hemp , then water , Nico spits it all out and swims for shore, dragging himself to sweet, solid land. He could kiss it. Instead, he lays there and drips water and blood all over stone. Stupid monsters.

Alabaster follows Nico. It's only when he reaches the shore and flops down beside Nico that he realizes he can see.

"Wha-?" Alabaster looks back out at the water they came from. The water is black, reflecting the cavern’s dark ceiling, but in the water are billions of bright tiny little lights. Alabaster stares at it in awe, he feels as if he is watching the night sky. Such a peculiar thing, he thinks, to look down at the sky...

"Brilliant" he says.

"If you say so." Nico rasps from beside him. "personally I think this situation isn't brilliant, but to each their own." he grunts and rolls over eyes searching for something he can use to stem the bleeding.

"Not the situation, the water...look at it" Alabaster says.

Nico looks. Even he has to admit it is kind of entrancing. The little lights swirl in the moving water like stars dancing across the sky as the world turns. And for a moment he feels a wonderment with the world he’d long since forgotten. It was…Beautiful. Nico doesn't comment though and instead turns his attention to the gash on his calf.

“Well I thought it was- you’re hurt!” Alabaster exclaims

“Uh…yeah we were attacked by a monster that usually happens” Nico says with a grunt attempting wipe off the blood with strips of pant leg near the wound.

"Are you..? I can....um" Alabaster considers it. They are enemies. And healing an injury would put him at quite a disadvantage. On the other hand Nico is a demigod just like he is....his quarrel was with the Olympian gods, not their kids.

"Heal it" Alabaster finishes without fully thinking it through. He convinces himself that it is because he needs Nico to get out of the cave.

"Wait. Are you son of Apollo..." Nico looks reluctantly surprised. He thinks briefly of the bandages in his jacket pocket that are soaked through. That’s always uncomfortable. He can’t use those unless he wants to get an infection and be bedridden for days. Magical healing, if an option, is preferrable.

"Hecate" Alabaster corrects "I can do all types of magic..... even death types if I tried hard enough"

Nico doesn't know quite what to make out of that so he doesn't comment. He hates to take more help from his enemy, the thought makes him cringe, but the blood continues to pool, only just beginning to clot, and he knows he really doesn't have another option.

Nico nods and peels back the flaps of his pants, mourning another pair hell never wear again. Pity too, he’d liked these ones.

“If you could” Nico says with a sigh.

"It's gonna sting, then tickle" Alabaster warns and then places a damp rune card on the wound.

The healing feels exactly as he’s been told and Nico can't say he's surprised. Will Solace has also healed him and it felt exactly the same. Except less awkward, since Will isn’t his enemy.

"There" Alabaster says with a sigh of exhaustion shifting his weight so he can stare at the entrancing lake again. He gives into the urge and throws a small rock in. The ripples fold the stars in on themselves. Alabaster smiles despite himself.

Nico pokes at his leg, and finds it whole again. Better than he expected, actually.

The splash of the rock captures Nico’s attention, and he watches the water ripple. Dazzling as it was, he doesn’t trust the glow.

Alabaster throws another one and watches the conflicting ripples with interest.

"It doesn't look like there's a way out." Nico says, looking around.

“Doesn’t seem like it” Alabaster agrees “but…there's gotta be something. Your shadow thingy still not working?"

Nico shakes his head, his eyes still watching the lights dance in the water.

"Great" Al sighs defeatedly, he reaches out to pick up another rock and then notices that his hand has sparkles on it.

"hehe... look,” He holds his hand out to Nico “we become shiny too"

“Look at that” Nico says with a small laugh in his voice. “You are a sparkle-twig after all”

Alabaster gives him a flat look. “Hilarious.”

Nico Smirks.

“I should’ve let you keep bleeding” Alabaster says, shaking his head.

“And then you’d be trapped down here with a dead body to keep you company” Nico retorts “ at least if it were the other way around I could make use of your corpse”

“tch! Asshat.” Alabaster grumbles.

Nico chuckles and lies down. The mage is his enemy sure but he’s not really a threat to him right now. Nico shudders. The adrenaline has kept him from realizing just how cold he is. Nico notices his companion curl his legs into his chest and rub his shoulders. He must be cold too. Nico is almost tempted to scooch closer to the guy. They might both be warmer that way. But Nico stays where he is. He doesn’t like getting close to allies, no way was he going to snuggle up next to an enemy.

Alabaster looks through his cards. He finds one with his emergency blanket drawn on it. He taps twice and pulls out a thin quilt.

Nico blinks in surprise.

Alabaster wraps himself in the blanket and makes a contented noise. He glances over at Nico who is now curled in on himself instead lying down flat. Alabaster heaves a sigh. “its…a pretty big blanket if you’d like to join me…” he trails, his eyebrows knit but his arm is extended to allow Nico into the blanket should he so choose to come in “ you know, after all this time I haven’t actually caught your name”

Nico shudders again. If he gets too cold he’ll get sick. He tries to run through all the reasons that he should stubbornly stay out of the blanket but then resigns himself.

“My name is Nico.” He says as he reluctantly scoots into the blanket .

“Alabaster” Alabaster says.

“That’s a weird-ass name”

“Do you make it a habit to insult people right after they offer you help? Because I’m honestly starting to understand why I always find you alone”

Nico feels like he’s been slapped. Since he can’t let his enemy see any weakness he just glares at him.

Alabaster holds a hand up to his ear feigning a look of expectation. “thank you?” he suggests in a whisper

Nico says nothing but a yawn he can’t contain slips out.

Alabaster sighs shaking his head. “yeah, time to rest”

Nico doesn’t even have time to be surprised at how easily he falls asleep before he is unconscious. He snores softly, propped up against Alabaster’s shoulder.

Nico wakes up to find himself horizontal, Alabaster’s chest supporting his head. Alabaster’s arm is around his shoulders holding the blanket in place over him. Nico jolts up, waking Alabaster in the process.

Alabaster groans as he wakes up. “What’s wrong Mari-..oh. Right”

“Did you- why did- how dare you!” Nico says, flustered.

“What are you on about?”

“N-nothing” Nico grumbles. He feels rested, but he’s damp and sleeping on the floor was not the best for his arms and back.

Alabaster extends his arm again to let Nico back into the blanket.

Nico glares at him.

“Suit yourself” Alabaster says dropping the arm. He starts searching through his cards which are now slightly drier than before. He finds one with a granola bar sketched on it. He brings it out with a double tap and opens the wrapper. He takes a bite when he hears Nico’s stomach growl. He’d healed him, kept him warm and had somehow even let the guy use him as a pillow for goodness sake! He can’t believe the words that come out of his mouth. “Do you want some?”

Nico looks at it with hungry eyes. He had a bit of ambrosia in his pocket but no food for humans. That’s why he kept stealing it from Alabaster and company. “how about a trade” Nico says. “I’ll give you a bit of ambrosia in exchange for some of your bar”

“Sounds fair” Alabaster says with a sigh of relief. He’d been giving this enemy demigod far too much charity. He takes a small bite of the ambrosia Nico gives him and puts the rest in his pocket. He then stares out at the glittering lake as he eats his half of the granola bar.

Alabaster’s now rested mind analyzes the situation. He sees that the glittering parts are clearer closer to the shore where they are. In the distance where they’d plunged into the water there weren’t as many glittering specks. Alabaster thinks this might be because of the distance, the closer specks would outshine the farther ones. But to his left there is a dark spot among the glittering swirls. And another one a bit farther away.

“You know,” he says out loud, almost to himself. “the glittering particles stick to the shallow areas, or so it seems. Could probably walk in the parts that glow, take a look around for an exit”

Nico didn’t trust the glow. “why don’t you test that theory first” he says “you’re taller”

Alabaster gives him another flat look and then sighs. “fine”

Alabaster wades into the water slowly, heading toward the first dark spot. The water is cold and uncomfortable but he can’t very well stay in the cave. They’re already out of food. He glances back over at Nico, who he’d half expected to be rummaging through his things but the demigod is watching him. He is crouched, as if to spring to action should something happen. Doesn’t hurt to be careful, Alabaster thinks.

When Alabaster makes it to the first dark spot he prods it with his toe as he’d been doing with each step he took. His body must’ve gotten used to having land underfoot while going through the glow, because when he steps into the dark area the lack of footing still somehow shocks him and he yelps as he plunges partway into the water.

“Alabaster!” Nico calls and jumps into the lake. The cold water reaches up to his knees and sends a chill up his spine.

Alabaster spits water out as he scrambles to get his footing back on shallower ground.

“you..ok?” Nico asks, an exasperated sigh apparent in his tone. He sheathes his sword.

“yeah” alabaster coughs with a groan “ the non sparkly areas, appear to be a steep and sudden drop. Not gradual as I had once thought”

“Oh…hehe ok” Nico starts with a chuckle and then lets out a full laugh that he’d been holding back.

“Something funny?”

“You should have heard your voice” Nico says between laughs “I imagine that the noise a rat makes when you step on it”

“yes yes ha ha” Alabaster says as he splashes his way back to where Nico is.

“Also your face!”

“your face!” Alabaster retorts and the splashes water at Nico’s face

“Ah!’’ Nico yells, but he’s still laughing when he splashes Alabaster right back.

“oh you’re in for it now Olympian, I’m gonna make you the sparkliest demigod in all the land!” Alabaster yells, dealing multiple splashes.

Nico almost snorts his laugh. “that’s gotta be the dumbest sounding threat any one has said since the beginning of time!” Nico dodges some splashes and blocks others. When he has an opening he whips his hand out at the lake and lands a blade of water right at Alabasters face. “eat sparkles!”

Alabaster sputters as the water enters his mouth. “ew! You ass!” Alabaster says with a choked laugh as he pushes Nico.

Nico continues laughing triumphantly even as Alabaster’s push sends him into a dark area and he too plunges with a yelp.

“Shit!” Alabaster curses as he leaps to help him out. He grabs Nico’s hand and pulls him into the sparkle again. Nico glares at him, face pouting.

“Serves you right though” Alabaster says.

Nico narrows his eyes at the tall pretentious boy and uses his index finger to beckon him to come closer.

“so you can push me into the deep? I don’t thin-“

His speech is interrupted as Nico spits water in his face.

Alabaster flinches at first but then just stares at him ,shocked, water dripping down his face.

Nico bursts into a fit of laughter.

“Disgusting.” Alabaster manages to say as he wipes his face with his hands. But he smiles at the cackling demi-god. Alabaster can’t remember the last time he’s laughed so hard. With such unfiltered joy. They could’ve been two high schoolers in the swimming pool hanging out. They could’ve…been enjoying their time as the kids, not in a war. Laughing until their sides were sore. Laughing with laughter that is contagious. “You’re the worst” He laughs along with him.

“I bet we both have pretty sparkly tongues now huh?” Nico says when he finally allows air back into his body. He sticks it out and tries to take a look.

“Let’s just hope it’s not poisonous” Alabaster responds, shaking his head.

“Hasn’t killed us yet…not sure what I trust less though…the glow or the water”

“The water?”

“I’m a son of hades.” Nico says, “children of the big three don’t fair so well in the domains of the other two so water and sky is not safe for me”

“I see,” Alabaster says “though, Poseidon is the god of Oceans, this is fresh water, standing water…probably not ah- technically his domain”

“Still counts I think”

“There is a god of Rivers…Achelous I think…?” Alabaster says and as soon as he does there is a groan that echoes around the cavern.

Nico brings out his sword once again. And they both become silent listening for the third presence to make another sound.

Alabaster is against Nico’s back as they slowly circle around looking for movement. He sorely wishes he had his sword. He nudges Nico and nods his head toward the little island that they were on.

While Nico doesn’t want to risk making the noise that would come from them trudging back to the island in the water, he does figure they’d be safer on dry ground. And if Alabaster is armed they can both fight whatever might be-

Nico sees a ripple in the water near where they plunged at the beginning. It moves the water from side to side in ripples around it. It…slithers.

“GO!” Nico yells and the two of them follow the sparkles back to the island in a mad dash.

When Alabaster gets to the island he grabs his sword card and has it out in a second. They both watch as the figure, obscured by water and darkness, twists around the small patch of land on which they stand.

“What the-“ Nico starts when they hear humming.

The monster was humming. Singing a tune in a haunting male voice. It calms Nico a bit. He recalls how the charms of female monsters have a lesser affect on him. He’d never been subjected to the charms of a male monster before. It scares him.

“What is thisssss I see in my watersss” the thing hisses in a low, mellow baritone.

“technically not in your water anymore” Alabaster says.

Nico rolls his eyes. He takes some comfort in the fact that if Alabaster has the faculty to be rude to the monster, because it means that maybe he is not affected by the slight charming effect that the creature’s singing has. Then again, maybe being rude was just Alabaster’s way of flirting? What did that say about how he and Nico- well now really wasn’t the time to think about that!

“Lord Achelous” Alabaster says and gets down on one knee to bow.

Nico whips his head around to see that the snake like figure wrapping around the island had peaked out its head and was looking directly down at them.

Alabaster glances at Nico and nods his head, signaling for Nico to bow.

Nico instead holds his sword up at the god.

“I am not going to be some river gods lunch”

Alabaster groans.

“what issss thisss?” Achelous says and takes a few deep sniffs “a demigod? Just like that…ugh Hercules?”

“Not quite my lord” Alabaster says

Nico wants to kick the mage. Such grand show he makes about hating the gods and then all this reverence? What a hypocrite.

“No? So your not here to humiliate me? Kick me when I’m down? Take my horn!” He tilts his head to show where the other horn was cut off. “Leave me broken…”

Nico brings his sword back as though winding back for a strike. Achelous’s hiss of reproach echoes around them.

“On the contrary” Alabaster gets up and places a hand on Nico’s sword “I know exactly how you feel”

“You?...what do you know” Achelous snaps

“I know that the Olympians are arrogant bastards, none of them have a regard for anyone but themselves and they look down on minor gods like they- like you are nothing.”

Achelous regards Alabaster with interest. “mhmm” he says encouraging Alabaster to continue.

“I am a son of Hecate” Alabaster acquiesces “so not only am I aware of how the Olympians disregard my mother, I am aware of how they disregard the children of minor gods as well. We are nothing more than pawns in their grand scheme, if we are even regarded at all. And If we’re not, we’re just… fodder for monsters. They send their strongest after us and why? Do they not already have enough power they have to exert it over us like…like they’re afraid if they don’t use it they’ll lose it? That’s not power its paranoia, and perhaps rightfully placed… we can be so much more if they step aside”

Nico watches Alabaster as he speaks. He couldn’t tell if the guy was pandering or if he believed every word but either way it seemed to be working. Nico takes the queue and bows his head to the god his sword still in his hand but down at his side.

“We ask your help,” Alabaster says “to get out of this cavern, a river current can be as mighty as any ocean wave, I know what your capable of”

“Do you?”

“I’ve seen the power of river-”

“You knew what I was!...Now I am stagnant in here, I was humiliated, assaulted and left here…and I’m so…hungry”

Nico tightens his grip on the sword at that but doesn’t lift it again.

Alabaster reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small piece of ambrosia that he hadn’t eaten yet.

“It’s not much, but…I offer this” he holds it up to the god.

“food of the gods…”Achelous says in almost a whisper

“Is that not what you are my lord?” Alabaster says “a god?”

Nico sees a spark in Achelous’ eye.

Achelous lowers his head so that it is level with Alabaster’s outstretched hand. The rest of him curls in the background shrinking into nothing more than shadow until the form before them is that of a man. A tall man, that stands 2 feet above Alabaster who is by no means short, but a man nonetheless.

Alabaster lowers his hand and leans forward to place the ambrosia in the god’s newly formed hand. “no humiliation here, just humility, please...” he says softly. “please help us”

Achelous eats the ambrosia. Its no more than a small bite but it lights him up. A faint glow comes back to his form. He scans the cavern. And like Nico and Alabaster had been doing before, he raises a hand and splashes water at the cave wall. But unlike their little splashes,Achelous creates a wave so large and powerful that it breaks open the wall. The water flows out as sunlight pours in.

As the water starts to flow Achelous face shines with elation. He is once again a river, free to flow, to course. Alabaster bows again.

“Thank you, My lord”

Achelous smiles down at him before diving into the water and flowing out of sight.

“Well…” Nico says as they exit the cavern. What could he say? He wants to ask about the speech Alabaster gave, but its really self explanatory. It was the reason that he was fighting for the Titans wasn’t it?

Nico understands that Olympians aren’t the best. Heck, His dad is hardly considered one and they don’t treat him like an equal either. Kronons had even hoped to recruit Nico for that and other reasons. It might’ve worked if-if he didn’t have such an attachment to the demigods on the Olympian side. One in particular…but he’d made his decision and was firm in it. “I think-“

“Alabaster?” a voice calls.

“that’ll be my siblings” Alabaster says looking around to see they haven’t spotted him “ you should go”

Nico hesitates, looking over to where the voices are coming from.

“I-th-thank you, for everything…I didn’t say it before“

“Go” Alabaster says.

Nico doesn’t need to be told again he runs off into the trees to the side. As soon as he reaches a shadow that reaches back, he is gone.

____________________________________

And that’s it! Hope you enjoyed! 🤗 if you enjoyed please let me know in the tags, I always appreciate a reblog.

Also in case you missed it:

Prologue here:

Chpt 1 here: