#the answer is in the 10k years of lore!

[randomnameless]

My bad, about Garreg Mach's completion, I've typed something that isn't that right earlier on

The NPC says this :

Imagine the time it would take to build a monastery of such proportions. Amidst such a precipitous mountain range, I would be unsurprised if it took several centuries to complete. And yet, there is little to no variation in Garreg Mach's architectural style. My estimation is that it was constructed in a short period of time with magic we cannot dare comprehend.

So I thought they mentioned it was completed in 100 years, but he's just surprised it was apparently made in a "shorter period of time" than "several centuries" with Rhea's Lego Magic.

And yet, we know Rhea ended it in 185 (then there was that issue with the Chalice to celebrate it, but we don't talk about it lol) - and as I mentioned earlier, I can't see her starting to build Garreg Mach if the War of Heroes is still going on (and if the Elites are still around).

And given how Willy leaves Adrestia in 98, I don't see Saint Seiros hanging out there without Willy and her bros, when Sothis and most relics are recovered.

So it must have been built between 98 and 185 - 87 years is a "short" amount of time given the size and location of the construction but it seems too "long" for something that was built using magic (or maybe she still needed to hide and only built it at night just in case pilgrims spot her turning into her dragon form and carrying blocks?), or maybe her Lego Magic, to build something as massive as Garreg Mach, takes more time than, say, building a canal in Enbarr or various forts.

[trippinsorrows]

dreamland: yacht it up

authors note: this is essentially a part 2 to the tiktok live oneshot, except way longer with some other stuff sprinkled in that is lore and backstory.

also, if that scene feels a lil' off and different for them, they been together damn near 17 years atp. that part of their life has definitely evolved. lmao.

warnings: fluff and smut

words: 10k

It’s the slow, steady, and quiet rise and fall of Aroha’s chest that lets Roman know she’s fallen asleep. He looks down, soaking in the peaceful expression of her little face as she clutches one of her stuffed animals, soft breaths leaving her partially open mouth, turned into Roman’s body where she was only minutes prior engaged in the book he was reading her. 

He waits a good minute or two, wanting to ensure she’s entered that deep REM of sleep before carefully separating her, adjusting the blankets over her body. Roman lays the book on the nightstand and leans down to kiss her forehead, a gentle caress of her temple, his parting gesture before he quietly exits the cabin. 

A careful closing of the door as Roman walks over to the other side of the hall, lightly knocking on the door before opening. He’s met with the unsurprising sight of his twin boys sitting on either side of the king size bed, headsets on as they focus on the TV before them. 

“Ya’ll good?” A simple question. The most that’s required for the inarguably easiest of The Tribal Chief’s seven children. 

Koa is the one to answer, never taking his focus off the television. “Yup.”

Roman chuckles, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. “Ya’ll sure you don’t want to come up?”

“Is it time to eat?”

Roman rolls his eyes. “You already know the answer to that.” They just had lunch approximately an hour ago.

“We’ll come up when it’s time for dinner,” Koa takes over, quietly cursing at some obvious mishap with the game they’re playing. “Our social batteries need to be recharged.”

If there was ever a statement that Roman related to with his entirety, it’s that one. Granted, he often finds himself not struggling with socialization when it comes to his family, his kids, but he also understands Koa and Kai have a different, sometimes shorter fuse.

He also vividly recalls the argument they got into with Aroha earlier over who the fuck knows earlier, and arguments between the Littles often take a lot out of all three. Partially why Aroha went down so easily for her nap.

“Alright,” Roman kicks off the door, hand on the knob. “No hacking shit, either.” Grumbling requires him to double down. “You heard what I said.” 

“Fine,” Simultaneous expressions of forced, reluctant agreement. Roman shuts the door. 

That’s good enough for him.

Last, but certainly not least, he moves to the door of the last cabin in this section of the yacht. Three light knocks to the door, followed up with a quiet, “baby, you good?” 

The only response given is the somewhat loud sound of snoring from the other side. A small smile falls on his face. If there’s one thing he can always count on, it’s not only his middle daughter being able to fall asleep with the most ease but also staying asleep for what’s probably an abnormal amount of time. 

Rain, sleet, snow, hurricane, tornado, even being on a whole ass yacht, Samaria Reigns will always make time for her naps. 

Expected, as well, given they left relatively early, and she’d complained for almost fifteen minutes straight on the ride to the dock about him and Solana “rudely” interrupting her “mandatory beauty sleep.”

Whatever the fuck that meant. 

Satisfied with the younger of his kids being set and settled, Roman makes his way through the interior to the custom designed Hermes staircase that provides entrance to five separate decks, the fifth being the one where he’ll find the remainder of his family. 

And, he does.

Roman's' greeted by the sound of Spanish music blaring and the intense sunshine beaming down against his body, prompting him to lower his sunglasses from the top of his head, sitting them on the bridge of his nose. 

The sound of laughter is mixed in with the music, the small smile on Roman’s face growing ever so slightly at seeing his eldest children, Lina and Leya dancing along playfully with Solana. All wear broad, happy smiles, their laughter the chorus of his favorite song. 

The sound of whooping and a semi deep voice drags Roman’s focus to his firstborn son, Tama, who holds up a phone, recording himself, arm lifted and extended, clearly intending and succeeding in getting his sisters and mother in frame of said video.

Roman rolls his eyes, seeing the way Tama smirks and flexes for the camera. Let no one ever say that boy isn’t confident, borderline arrogant, but with many things he sees in his son, he can’t complain. 

Tama is every bit of him, in most ways, when he was fifteen. 

Like father, like son. 

The only difference being Roman has always been more subtle and somewhat quiet with his arrogance. Tama has never, and probably will never, be afraid to outwardly show and tell everyone exactly why he's exactly who he says he is.

Roman respects that in some ways. A lot of ways, maybe.

Recognizing that while his son is capturing the moment, his footage is more likely to have him as the star versus a shared showing of his siblings and mom, hence Roman walking over to the bar area where his camera sits. 

He grabs it, quickly adjusting the settings and swapping out the lens, opting for something better suited for the setting. And, the first snapped photo shows Solana laughing as she dances what he’s pretty sure is called bachata with Leya, Lina also now with her phone to record as well. Similar to her brother, she’s the star of her own film. 

Roman continues to snap photo after photo, stealing and cementing these moments of happiness, of bliss, with his family. It’s one of the reasons he enjoys taking them all out on the $200 million dollar superyacht he and Solana designed years prior. Nine cabins, multiple pools, fireplaces, a spa, a gym, and entertainment areas like an outdoor cinema and a dance floor. All designed solely for this purpose. To have these wholesome moments with their family. Just them, and the required crew, out on the beautiful waters, away from all the hustle and bustle of the land.

Peaceful.

It’s peaceful. 

And, in the life Roman Reigns lives, he’ll savor any and all semblance of peace.

Eventually, he’s spotted, first by his sweet Leya, her cheeks tinged with pink as she nervously laughs, hiding her face. “Daddy.”

It causes three sets of eyes to land on him, Tama smiling and the first to say, “make sure you get my good side, old man.”

“Get a good side, and then I’ll capture it.”

Lina whoops, making a sound, laughing, “Dad-1. Tama-0. Damn, bro, how you letting our old man clown you like that?”

Tama scoffs, lowering his arm, looking down at his phone. Probably to stop the recording. “Cause I respect my ancient elders.”

“Stop it,” Solana playfully scolds, slapping him on his arm. She shakes her head, lifting her hand to her forehead, a makeshift shield of sorts to obscure some of the sun’s rays. 

Lowering his camera, it’s only then Roman finds himself truly distracted by his fine ass wife as she walks in his direction. Her striped bikini leaves little to the imagination in a lot of ways. Appropriate to wear around the kids, but that naturally voluptuous body still manages to push the material to its max while leaving little to the imagination. 

Big, full breasts bouncing with each step, thick thighs rubbing together, hips swaying as he recalls the jiggle of her ass when she was dancing with their teenagers only minutes prior. Solana has always been absolutely stunning to him, but seven children later, her curves continue to tempt him in the best and worst ways.

Hence why they have seven children.

Approaching, she grabs a hold of his forearm. “Are they good?”

Roman nods, using the viewfinder to peruse some of the photos, including the ones Solana took of him and the kids earlier in the day. “She went down almost immediately. The boys are gaming, and Aria—”

“Out like a light?” Solana finishes and giggles. “At least we know she gets her proper amount of sleep.”

“Baby, she gets too much sleep. That shit can’t be normal.” Even without looking up from the camera, Roman knows his son well, prematurely interrupting what’s bound to be a smartass comment. “Say nothing.”

The sound of snickering from his twin girls confirms his suspicions. Another giggle from his wife, who he moves his arm around, pulling her against his solid body. “Look.”

She does so, smile broadening as he scrolls through the captured pictures. Solana gasps in awe, moving her arms around his waist. “You’re so good.” An appreciated complement, but he’s more focused on the subjects versus the photo quality. “Sometimes, I wish….”

Her trailing off prompts him to look down. “What?”

Something flashes in her eyes as her smile shifts into something a little more subtle. “Nothing.” He’s visibly ready to push back, prompting her to lift her hand to his face. She says something in Spanish, leaning up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Come on.” 

Solana takes his hand and leads him over to the seating area where the kids are already sitting, sharing phone screens with one another. 

Roman feels Solana grab his hand, squeezing gently when he moves quickly to lower her onto his lap as he sits down on one of the chairs. Solana squeals when he places the camera down next to them in exchange for his hand moving down the small of her back to grasp at her ass.

“Damn,” he murmurs. This boat trip today might have to be cut short, or he’ll have to take advantage of the younger kids being occupied and his oldest able to keep themselves busy.

As if reading his thoughts, Solana glares playfully. “Stop it.”

“Yeah, not in front of us, please.” Lina scowls, shaking her head. She then looks at Solana while gesturing to Leya. “Hey, mommy. Sissy and I need to go shopping sometime in the next two weeks.” Lina’s scowl deepens, as does her voice that’s now filled with irritation. “I think we need to go up a cup size again.”

At that, Roman finds himself frowning and confused. “Ain’t we got enough cups at the damn house?” A bit of an unnecessary question, as he already knows the answer. With such a big family, they have two separate pantries. One for snacks, and one specifically for dishes and pots, also due to his wife’s passion for cooking and impressive collection of only the finest cookware.

“Yeah, a lot of them big ones, too,” Tama agrees, clearly just as innocently lost as his dad. Solana shakes her head, as Leya’s blush deepens, Lina being the one to answer in only a way Lina would answer. 

“We’re talking about boob cup sizes.” And if that wasn’t a horrific enough clarification, Lina just has to take it to the next level, grabbing her chest and gently shaking her breast. “Ya know, titties.”

“Jesus Christ, Lina” Roman is convinced these damn kids are trying to kill him. He just hasn’t been able to prove it yet. “I fucking get it, okay? Why you gotta talk about this shit now anyway?”

“Seriously,” Tama is now scowling, hand over his mouth like he’s about to throw up. Roman can relate. “I don’t wanna hear about that with my sisters.”

Leya is the one to giggle, partially amused by the whole thing as she shifts on the seat, tucking her legs under her bottom. “Why? It’s just human anatomy.”

“Just change the subject, please.” Roman is readying to rub his temples when Solana instead soothes him with a kiss to the bridge of his nose and finishing up said conversation.

“Of course, we’ll go next weekend. Samaria was asking the same, so she can come with us.”

“Mama!”

“Solana.”

Shared disgust and borderline contempt from father and son, neither of them wanting to think about the second youngest Reigns girl in that capacity. Especially Roman. He hates thinking about any of his kids growing up, especially his daughters. Truth be told, it still hasn’t really set in that they’re already sixteen years-old.

Sixteen.

Roman still feels like it was only yesterday he and Solana took them home from the hospital for the first time. And now, in just two years, they’ll be leaving for college. 

Fuck. 

“Fine.” Solana sucks her teeth, moving her arms around his neck as she successfully changes the subject. “Do you guys wanna do it now?”

Roman’s attention snaps to his wife. “Do what?”

“Oh yeah,” Leya agrees, her dad looking over at her now with transferred confusion. “We can? Since Roro and Aria are asleep.”

“And, we know the boys won’t interrupt,” Lina snorts.

“Do what?” Roman asks once more. It’s always irritated him to no end to be kept out of the loop of things. 

Tama smiles that shit eating grin, very similar to Roman’s smile, a rarity, but something that makes appearances every so often. “Part 2 of the Q and A for our TikTok page.”

And, right away, Roman is wishing he hadn’t even asked. “Shit, you still wanna do that?”

Lina nods, smiling with excitement, fidgeting on her seat while laying out the stats. “Daddy, that video with you and mommy is our most watched one on our whole channel. Over 5 million views, like 20 thousand comments. Add in sissy, and you won’t even have to pay for our college.”

“Speak for yourself,” Tama scoffs, muttering something about wanting his “full inheritance.”

Roman doesn’t even have time to address his son. That’s a later problem. “Ya’ll really wanna do that now?” He scowls, just now really taking in and realizing his fine ass wife isn’t the only one dressed in a barely there bikini. Both his daughters, his minor daughters are wearing bikinis, which is fine, because it’s only them. But, going Live or whatever on their TikTok shit will mean they’re exposed to thousands, maybe more, seeing them so…indecent. 

And, that’s the shit he really dislikes. 

“You should change first.”

Lina, not to his surprise whatsoever, is the one to push back. She motions around. “Why? We’re outside on a yacht, wearing bathing suits, what’s the issue?” And, because she’s every bit his daughter, she can’t not point out, “just because you’re dressed like it’s winter doesn’t mean we have to be, too.”

Roman rolls his eyes. Never mind the fact Solana herself made a comment about his black long sleeved shirt earlier. Fact of the matter is he’ll take his shirt off if and when he wants to, and he doesn’t want to, so they can deal. 

Back to Lina’s initial question, he answers without much thought and all honesty, “cause I don’t want the internet people seeing ya’ll half dressed.” 

Tama snorts. “Internet people.” The fifteen year-old shakes his head, texting on his phone. “Dad is low key the funniest person ever.”

Lina, however, remains committed to her stance. “Daddy, have you not seen my Instagram?”

Roman frowns. “I thought you deleted it.” 

Lina’s attitude is dampened by the realization she’s talked too much, evident when Leya subtly elbows her and Tama shoots her a ‘shut up’ look. All of which is not missed upon The Tribal Chief.

“Why can’t I find your account anymore, Catalina?” Roman asks, all three of his teens looking away. “So, none of ya’ll know how to speak?” Still, silence. “I asked ya’ll a question.” Because while he addressed it to his oldest, anyone able to provide him with an answer is eligible to answer, and it's plain as day each holds the capability of doing just that.

“Honey, you were….” Solana moves her hand to the back of his head, stroking the hair on the nape of his neck, an act often done when she’s trying to comfort or calm him down. “You were threatening people in their comments.”

Roman scowls, practically offended. Not really. Only slightly. “Only the people who deserved it.”

Leya’s eyes widen. “Our classmates, daddy?”

God forbid, Roman takes some accountability for earning, what he’s sure now, is a block from all three of his kids that are on social media, as it also dawns on him he hasn't seen Leya or Tama's posts in some time, either. “Those fuckers looked too damn old to be in high school. How do I even know they go to ya’ll school? Especially that ugly ass lil' boy who needs Proactive.”

Tama and Leya share a look of confusion over a reference far beyond their time as their sister and father go back and forth with each other like a tennis match between Serena and Venus Williams. “Jared is my lab partner, daddy," she answers, throwing her hands up. “And, he’s gay.” 

“Allegedly.”

“Oh my goodness,” Solana groans, grabbing him by his beard, stroking his grayed out hair. “Roman, it’s fine. I still monitor their pages—”

“Wait,” he frowns. “They didn’t block you, too?”

“We could never block, mama,” Tama refutes, as if Roman even suggesting as such was an insult.

A look of unabashed incredulity. “But, you can block me?”

“Well, yes,” Lina answers as if it’s the most simplest thing in the world. “You were doing too much.”

“Damn kids get on my fucking nerves,” he grumbles, his pride more insulted than anything. How come Solana gets to see their pages but he can’t? Fucking unfair, biased ass children.

He makes a mental note to ask Koa and Kai help him regain access. He'll just buy them more computer equipment or some shit in exchange.

“We love you, too, daddy,” Leya smiles, making a heart with her hands. He won’t outwardly show it, but it helps. None of his kids have the level of hold that Leya does over him. Not even Aroha, in some instances. It’s always been something about her that can make him feel even just slightly better on the worst of days.

A gift she inherited from her mother, clearly. 

As with most things, Roman groans and complains but still ends up agreeing to do this part 2 his kids have been hounding him about since the last Live apparently “blew up.” Though, he makes it clear this is his last, something that doesn’t seem to be believed by, well, any of them.

Not even his wife.

Traitor. 

Less than twenty minutes later, some repositioning of where everyone was sitting so Solana is next to her husband, with Lina and Ley also still sitting together but the gap closed so they’ll be in frame of the backup phone Tama is using to go live.

“Alright, we are live from—well, a yacht,” is his introduction as he stands with his arms spread, smile still just as wide, the wind whipping against the loose strands of his long black hair that escaped the bun he usually keeps it in, similar to his dad. “You know, that rich boy shit.”

“Tama.” A name drop from his parents, both for different reasons. Solana, for his language. For Roman, a reason he explains in no unclear terms.

“I’m rich. You’re poor. Don't get it twisted.”

Snickering from his sisters, Tama’s scowl faltering as he easily redirects focus. “As ya’ll can see, we got the biggest hater alive and first long-term nursing home escapee with us today.” He sucks his teeth, feigning annoyance only to smile happily. “But, also our beautiful mama, and…” He trails off, allowing Lina to do the honors.

“My sissy,” she squeals, holding and hugging Leya who offers a small wave adjoined with her usual shy smile. “Hi,” Leya greets, laughing nervously, shifting on the seat. 

OMG MY SHOW IS ON!

Waitttt, not an unexpected Q and A!

Awww, that’s so sweet ya’ll do family stuff like that. 🥰

I’ve literally never seen an entire family be so damn fine. Lawd. 

Stop, I’ve been waitinggg for this like you don’t even knowwww.

“Okay.” Tama claps, gesturing around and offering explanation. “So, we’re having a family boat day, and since our little siblings are off doing them, we figure why not do the part 2 ya’ll been hounding us for since the first video.”

“And since we didn’t get to some of the frequently asked questions, we’ll try to answer those as well as some of the other questions specifically for Leya,” Lina offers, looking at her parents and twin for some type of confirmation that they’re ready.

“Let’s just get this shit over with.”

“Daddy,” Leya and Lina scold in synch, the younger of the twins serving as a mini Solana as she warns him, “be nice.” 

Stop. Cause Roman is so damn funny! 😂

Now why ya’ll keep making this man do this shit? 🥲

Solana is soooo pretty. Geesh.

This might sound stupid, but I never realized just how different Lina and Leya look. Like, they’re twins, but they look different? Does that make any sense?

Lina, reading some of the comments, catches one and uses it as a starting point. “That’s actually something I get asked a lot. If sissy and I are identical or fraternal twins, and we are….” She looks over at Leya, letting her answer.

“Identical,” Leya smiles and giggles, nervously pushing a ringlet behind her ear. “But, I think because we are so different, that makes it seem like we’re fraternal.”

A statement that no one disagrees with. One look at the girls, and it’s obvious they’re twins, but a few minutes into conversation, one can see the stark differences. Even with assessing their apparel, Leya dressing in more traditional “girly” outfits. Lots of pink and dresses. Lina, if wearing a dress, bound to show an amount of skin that has her dad reaching for his medication.

“And, I guess since we’re on it, one of the things ya’ll ask a lot about, too, is what it’s like being a twin,” Lina recites the question she’s seen pop up at least a hundred times, offering the initial answer. “I won’t speak for my sissy, but I can say for me, Leya is my absolute best friend. Like, familial soulmate. I could never do life without her. I know you guys are so used to seeing me with Tama all the time, and that’s my partner in crime for life, but sissy?” She shakes her head. “My other half.”

Solana and Leya are both pouting, clearly choked up from Lina’s rare display of vulnerability. “Catalina.” Leya whines, hugging her sister from the side. “I love you.” 

“Love you too, sissy,” Lina blows her sister a kiss, looking over at her brother, signaling him to take over once more.

“Alright, sappy stuff out the way, let’s get into more of these questions.” Tama has his phone out now, the list of questions in front of him. “Oooh, this one’s good.” He looks over at his parents. “How many tattoos do ya’ll have?”

Solana makes a face at the same time Roman scoffs. She’s the first to answer, frowning almost. “I don’t even know, to be honest.” She lifts her arms just enough, turning them inward to expose her inner forearms, providing an unobscured view of her inked skin. “I have butterfly tattoos for all my kids, my husband, and our late dog.” She gestures to her side. “I have a matching tattoo with some of my best girlfriends who are like sisters.” Her hand hovers over her clavicle. “Another tattoo for my husband.” Solana gestures to the space below the back of her neck. “Another one back there.” She stops, having to think. “One that my sister-in-law and I got together. Another shared one with girlfriends.” Solana looks over at Roman, somewhat asking, “I think that’s it.”

He nods, agreeing, offering a much simpler explanation. “Full sleeve on both arms. Chest. Back. And all of my tattoos are almost entirely tribal along with my family’s names included in various parts.” Nothing beyond that, which is expected. Roman is a man of few words when more is not required, and participating in a Q an A for his teenagers’ social media platform isn’t an exception for that.

Solana laughs quietly, apologizing, “sorry, that wasn’t a number, but we have a lot, I suppose.”

“Close enough, mama,” Tama shrugs, asking the latter portion. “And, the other part was if you would be okay with us getting tattoos someday?”

Roman tackles that one. “As long as you let us know, so you can use our tattooist and not some random incompetent person, we don’t care.”

Solana nods, offering while speaking more to the viewers. “Yeah, I mean, it would feel a bit hypocritical if we wouldn’t approve of them having tattoos when we ourselves have them, you know?”

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do good parenting. 👆🏽

I genuinely love and appreciate how fair your parents are. 

I love how their tattoos all have meaning. 🥺

Wish more parents could be like ya’ll’s tbh. 

“We’ve all talked about it actually,” Leya partially surprises the group by speaking up, nervously fiddling with the strap of her bikini top. “The three of us getting a matching tattoo once we’re all 18.”

“What are ya’ll gonna get?” Roman asks, clearly intrigued, Solana beside him emoting the same interest. 

“Haven’t decided yet,” Lina answers. “But, we’ll run it by you before we do so.”

“I want lips on my neck,” Tama smirks, earning an eye roll from his father and a scowl from his mom.

“Don’t come up in my house with that shit,” Roman warns, making his son laugh.

Tama’s grin is shit-eating. “Come on, OTC, you not gon’ support me?”

“Not when you’re doing stupid shit like that.” 

“Honey, please,” Solana scolds lightly, moving her hand to Roman’s knee. “Be nice.”

“Naw, mommy, he’s right. We can’t have Tama out here embarrassing our family like that,” Lina backs up her dad, shaking her head. “It’s bad enough he’s the family hoe.”

“You really wanna—never mind,” Tama stops himself. As much as they all like to joke around each other, he recognizes not everything needs to be put online. And even hinting at something like his sister liking to date around could invite all kinds of hateful comments. He doesn’t want to put her through that and won’t. “Anyway, moving on.”

Lmaooo this whole family is so funny, I swear. 😂😂😂

This deadass is better than cable. 😭

Getting a tattoo of lips on your neck is so tacky, I’m sorry. 🙄

It’s always so cute how Solana is trying to reign in that mean ass husband of hers. 

“Leya, what sports, if any, do you play?” Tama reads off the question, looking over at his sister who is once again visibly nervous at having the attention on herself. 

“I’m on the dance team at school, but that’s it,” she answers, smiling shyly while gesturing to her nearby siblings. “Sissy and Tama have always been the sporty ones.”

“Our younger brothers also play sports, but Leya, our middle sister, and our baby sister aren't really into sports like that.”

“We tried.” The faintest hint of an amused smile on Solana’s face as she looks up at her husband. “Our youngest and middle just don’t like sports.” 

Roman chuckles. “Especially the middle one.”

That one sentence evokes laughter from the teens, Tama being the one to share bits and pieces of what they’re all thinking of.

“Dad tried to get our middle sister to give at least one sport a chance last year, so she picked soccer, and it was the funniest thing ever,” Tama runs his hand over his face, vividly recalling that iconic and hilarious day.

“At the one and only game she played in, she was literally just standing there posing for the photographer, ran in the opposite direction when the ball was coming towards her, was picking daisies.” Lina wipes at her eyes, tears forming from the comedy of it all. “It was honestly the best day ever.”

Leya giggles. “Didn’t she ask when the next game was?”

“Never,” Roman answers, shaking his head. “I told her never. Had us all up there early to watch her literally do nothing.”

“Not true, daddy, she was serving in them photos,” Lina counters with a snort. If there’s one thing her little sister will have, it’s sass. She sees a lot of herself in Aria sometimes, especially as she gets older.

LMAO not the baby picking flowers during a whole ass game! 😂

Oooh, I know Roman was irritated as hell. 😫

It’s giving ya’ll should have just left lil ma’am alone.’ 

Ya’ll need to start recording shit or something. This is comedy GOLD. 🤣

Where are ya’ll? 👀

“On our family's yacht,” Tama answers, gesturing around with his arms. “On top of the world.”

Perusing the comments, he's met with mostly playful comments of jealousy and questions about his parents openness towards adoption. But, as always with the internet, there’s the few sour patches that seek to only spew negativity and hatred.

I heard that their mom was an escort who got pregnant to trap the dad, and he just got stuck with her.

@/user???? What the hell? Where did you even hear that?

Saw it on a gossip website. 

@/user I believe it. The mom looks the type. Shame the daughters will probably go down the same route. Look at how they’re all dressed. Like sluts.

Lina is too preoccupied, going through her list of questions, sharing it with Leya to see what she wants to answer next, that she doesn’t see the hateful, libelous, judgmental conversation. But, he does, and that’s more than enough.

The complete shift in Tama’s voice and expression draws the attention of his family. If there was any doubt about how much he's like his father, it's squashed as anger overtakes his features. Straight up Roman. “Hey, look, ya’ll can miss me with that disrespectful shit. Say what you want about me, but keep my sisters’ and mama’s name out ya’ fucking mouths.” 

The profanity isn’t something that earns a warning comment from Solana, as she knows her son well enough to know Tama only really curses in front of her when something’s really irked him or he’s extremely upset, the latter of which seems to be the case.

And, Lina, true to Lina nature, doesn’t even need to know the context to back her brother up. “Cause the tea is ya’ll would never say it to our faces. Period.”

Never. That’s what helps both the hotheaded teens maintain their composure when it comes to the online bullshit that comes with having their platform sometimes. People only say the shit they do, because they can hide behind keyboards and burner accounts. Never would they be bold enough to spew such vitriol in front of them.

Not without getting they ass beat, of course. 

and that is how you shut shit down. 👆🏽

I love how Tama doesn’t play about his mom and sisters. You can tell Roman taught him right.

Idk wtf that other user is talking about. Just looking for attention.🥴 I live in the same city as them, and it’s a known fact their parents' marriage was a business arrangement, and they ended up falling in love. 

@/user Oooh anything else you can share?

@/user What you see on here is pretty much what you get. Roman doesn’t play about his family, and everyone around town knows Lina and Tama are just mini him’s. Messing with them has never turned out well for anyone…

“What did they say?” Come’s Roman’s deep voice. Similar to his son, all business. 

Solana moves her hand to his biceps, subtly moving it up and down to comfort him, murmuring something indecipherable for the viewers.

“It’s not worth it,” Leya’s comment is aimed towards both her siblings and her dad, a small nod shared between herself and her mom, the calmer of the five. “Let’s just keep going.” 

A heavy sigh from both the men, followed by a quiet ‘okay’ from Tama. Nothing from Roman. He’ll most likely follow up when the Live ends or when they get home in the evening. 

He’s never been the best with letting things lie.

Not when it comes to his kids. 

“What about this one,” Lina starts, reading off the question aimed towards her parents. “What’s it like having so many kids with such different ages?”

Solana looks at Roman, partially wondering if he wants to tackle a chunk of this one while also speaking aloud. “I don’t know if I agree that you all have such different ages.”

“Yeah, the gaps aren't excessively wide,” Roman nods, somewhat surprising his wife and kids at his willingness to answer. "And, it’s always a lot in some way, but we make it work.” 

“I think what also helps is how the kids naturally group up,” Solana adds, gesturing to her eldest set. “These three have always been close, but also, even with that, there's still our baby child who’s so much younger than the rest of the kids, so it can be a little difficult with her sometimes.”

Solana shifts on the seat, speaking more directly to the viewers, her discomfort waning by the minute. 

“I have to remind my older kids sometimes, even Roman if he’s not very happy about her having more than one playdate a week, Lina, Leya, and Tama all have each other. Our twin boys are two peas in a pod, best friends. Our middle daughter bounces back and forth between them and the OG’s. But, our baby child doesn’t have that.” She shakes her head, continuing to clarify. “She doesn’t really have a sibling that she has that best friend type bond with because she’s so much younger than everyone else, so yes, there are definitely times I’m sure they’d love for her to leave them alone, but we can’t have her friends at our house all the time, so there are occasions where somebody has to play with her.” The smallest smile and little shrug. “My husband and I do what we can, but it’s not uncommon for her to want to play with her brothers and sisters.”

“Us. Not our little brothers,” Tama points out, earning a small groan from Lina.

“No, life is so much easier when our parents don’t try to force them to interact.”

Leya pouts, lightly protesting. “Mommy and daddy don’t force them.”

Wait, what’s the story there? 🥲

Random, but Solana calling ya’ll little sister the baby child is so cute. 🥹

How old is the youngest?

@/user 6, I think.  

God forgive me, but I been focused this whole Live on how damn fine ya’ll mama and daddy is. LAWD. 😪

I know it’s big, too. I just know it.

YA’LL PLEASE. 😭😭😭

Lol is there a story there?

Tama chuckles, catching the last comment. “The Littles—that’s what we call our youngest three siblings—have never gotten along. They’re always going at it.”

Solana nods, unable to disagree. 

“We talk about this a lot, actually.” She motions to Roman who shakes his head, clearly recalling one of several shouting matches between his youngest set of kids. “We don’t know what happened, because these three have always been so close. Always.” She sighs. “Our youngest three, though? I feel like they’ve been at odds since they were old enough to talk.”

“Because they were,” Roman grunts, running a hand over his face. “I think it’s their different personalities as well as the age difference.”

Leya frowns, offering agreement. “The Littles go at it a lot, sadly.”

“Definitely what dad said. Our baby sister is rainbows and sunshine, but our little brothers are just like our dad. Mean as hell.”

“Tamasa.”

“Sorry, mama.”

“But, they can be mean sometimes, mommy,” Lina moans, shrugging. “So can daddy, and we still love him.” She sucks her teeth, glancing at the time in the corner of her phone, knowing it’s only a matter of time before Samaria or Aroha wake up. “Okay, let’s do a few more.”

And, they do, a mixture of questions for Roman and Solana, Leya, the family as a whole, even requests for videos down the road. 

Roman wasn’t with that last part.

“How do you guys manage such good parenting?” Tama reads the question, no trace of humor in voice, as he honestly and vulnerably shares, “I’d say best instead of good.”

Solana smiles warmly. “Thank you, baby.” She takes a breath, looking once again at Roman. “I can take this one?” He nods, hand on the small of her back, rubbing small circles. “Umm…we just really do our best to keep an open door, non-judgmental policy with all of our kids. We’ve always strived to make sure they know there’s nothing they can’t talk to us about. Nothing at all.” Something felt and shared by every Reigns' kid, from the youngest to the oldest. “But, mostly, Roman and I agreed, back when I was still pregnant with Lina and Leya, that we weren’t going to be like our parents.” She motions to herself with one hand and her husband with the other. “I won’t speak for him, but I had a very.…traumatic childhood, with a lot of abuse, so I essentially worked to give them everything that I didn’t get, and I’d like to think it’s worked so far.”

“It has, mommy,” Leya murmurs, offering a warm smile. “It really has.”

“You guys really are the best.” A sentiment shared by Tama as well who nods in agreement. 

“Thanks, ya’ll,” Roman’s deep voice sounds. Appreciative. Content. Moved. 

Awwww. You can see how much the kids love their parents. 

It’s obvious RoSo have the best parenting style, cause look how great and close they all are.

Noooo, who was hurting on our mom, guys? 😭

More parents should utilize similar approaches. Listening to your kids is so important.

Wish they were my parents…. 

Tama clears his throat. “Alright, enough of all the sentiment stuff.” Roman chuckles, as the women shake their heads. “Now for the final and most important question.” A dramatic pause that makes sense for the dramatic teen. “Who are your favorites of all the kids?”

A shared eye roll between mother and father, Roman announcing, “yeah, we’re done with this shit.”

“We gotta give the people what they want!”

“I don’t give a fuck about the people.”

“Daddy,” Leya lightly scolds, Lina with a small, knowing smile on her face. 

The eldest looks towards the viewers. “And, this is why we don’t do this sort of thing more often.” 

That man really don’t be giving a fuck lmaooo

Ya’ll omg Roman really is a real life Squidward. 🥴

He’s such a damn mood.

Nooo, we gotta do it again soon. These Lives are always so much fun!

“Your sisters will probably be up soon anyway, guys,” Solana reminds, and she’s not wrong. It’s about time not only for the boys to be pulled from their self-imposed isolation, their sisters to arise from their slumber, but Solana to get started on dinner as well. And, she’ll most likely need some sort of help, even if she won’t ask for it. 

It’s only when she stands up and stretches, readying to leave, Roman standing with her, his hands moving down to grasp and squeeze her ass, Solana giggling and playfully slapping his chest that the comments take yet another turn. 

Goddamn! Ya’ll mama got some ass on her!!!! 👀👀👀👀

@/user some? She got ALL the ass. 🤯

To say she’s had seven kids, that body is TEA.

Someone said it on the last Live, but it must be jam, cause jelly don’t shake like that. 😩

Alexa, play “Thick” by 2 Chainz. 🍑

Not to be that person, but does anyone know how she got those scars? We obviously see the one on her face, but I had no idea they were all over her body as well….

@/user to my knowledge, they’ve never commented on it, but given she just mentioned abuse during her childhood, my guess would be from that 🥺

Roman and Solana engage in brief, quiet conversation, the Tribal Chief nodding as he lowers his sunglasses and nods, stepping aside so Solana can walk past him. She looks back once more, waving and offering a cheerful, “bye” to the viewers only to be cut off by her husband slapping her ass. “Roman!”

He says nothing, nor does he offer any sort of parting term, instead walking behind his wife as they head towards the staircase, clearly aiming to go check on the other kids.

Stopppp. That lil interaction between them. 🥹

He might be a dick, but it’s plain as day that man love the hell out of his wife. 🤷🏽‍♀️

That height difference omggg. Either she’s super little, or he’s big asf.

@/user both. Been in the same room as both. She’s short asf, and he’s even bigger in person.

Wait, cause he even walks like it’s heavy. 😶

@/user that’s cause it is. 

But, checking on the kids only provides the same situation Roman left them in, Aria and Roro still knocked out and the boys gaming. Nothing new to see. However, instead of rejoining the teens, or even leading her to the kitchen to get started on dinner, Roman takes her hand, guiding her to their cabin.

A small smile sets on her face. 

Solana knows as soon as he shuts, and locks, the door exactly what he wants. 

The smallest smile on her face, taking in his big frame as he moves towards her. “The kids—”

“Littles are occupied,” is his easy counter. Standing in front of her, his hand lifts, finger trailing down the exposed skin of her shoulder. “So are the big ones.”

She makes a sound. “You sure?”

He, too, makes a sound, accompanied by him stepping closer, vanishing that distance between them. Roman’s hands move behind her, landing on her ass. “Very.”

Her palms rest on his chest, fingers crumpling the material of his black shirt. “So, what should we do?”

A deep chuckle as he squeezes her ass, Solana hissing in response. He smirks. “I think you know exactly what we should do.”

Her smile widens, and she wastes no time sliding her hands up and behind his neck, pulling down, smashing her lips onto his. Hungry, needy, desperate almost, kissing is always an art, a song and dance of sorts. Lips moving with equal fervor, hands grasping and exploring, groping. A moan into his mouth makes Roman’s dick jerk in his shorts. 

Backing and guiding her against the bed, he only allows a brief respite in their passionate makeup for Solana to push his shirt up his body, forcing him to rid himself of it entirely. Hazy, lustful eyes take in his shirtless frame, Solana’s short nails raking across his six pack. 

Roman’s jaw clenches as his wife starts to trail her lips down his chest, starting with his throat, moving downward. His eyes shut, head lolled back, only to stop when her fingers move to his waistband. He looks down, their eyes locking, his own lip darting out to wet his bottom lip.

Roman gently shakes his head, instead guiding her back up, his gaze darkening. “Need to taste you…”

Receiving is never an unpleasant time, but giving…giving is more for him than anything, and two days without any sort of sexual contact has Roman craving and borderline yearning. 

He needs her.

Solana steps back, mouth parted, eyes never leaving his. An undisturbed moment of locked eye contact, or it would be, but not for the fact that she reaches behind her back with both hands, his dick twitching once more watching the thin straps of her bikini top tumbling down, eventually falling to the floor. 

Salivation is the result of her breast, heavy, big, perfect, exposed to him. No time is wasted in Roman quickly pronouncing onto her, mouth latching onto her chocolate nipples. 

“Ro….” Solana’s moan is accompanied by her hand at the back of his neck, fingers undoing the hair tie, freeing his silky mane as he sucks on her breast. Her hand rakes through his hair, massaging his scalp the same way his free hand massages and kneads her other breast.

Roman has always been an attentive and appreciative lover, but her breasts have always seemed to sit high at the top of his adoration list. Feeling that building throbbing between her legs, she tugs his head back, her lips back on his as he hikes her up on his waist and leads them to the king size bed.

He lowers them both down at the same time, never once breaking their kiss even as his hands maneuver down her body, thick fingers peeling back the top of her bikini bottoms and dipping into that sacred space.

“Shit, baby,” he curses, fingers toying and playing with her slick. “Barely touched you…”

“It doesn’t take much,” is her sheepish reply, kissing the bridge of his nose as he teases a knuckle near her gushy, sensitive opening. “Ro…”

His gaze and voice deepen, fingers continuing to collect her arousal. Arousal that practically drips from that same finger he pulls from inside her and dips into his mouth. Her throat dries at the same time he asks, almost pained, “you gon’ let me eat it?”

Her answer is pushing his head down and inching up the bed to remove her bottoms. Roman’s smirk is hidden as he steals another opportunity to leave a trail of wet, open mouthed kisses down her warm body, hands squeezing the pudge of her stomach, path detoured only slightly as he kisses across the horizontal line of her C-Section scar. 

Solana licks her lips, reaching for the pillow behind her, her body lifted by those same strong hands as he tugs her bottoms off, ridding him of the only thing keeping him from his destination. 

And, finally, arrival. 

Solana learned a long time ago that Roman’s consistent, constant, overt willingness to go down on her is always about her pleasure, yes, but also, his as well. Countless sexual encounters marked by her literally having, or trying at least, to push him away as he continues to suck on her clit even as her body practically shakes from the intensity of her orgasm serving as all the data to support the undeniable truth. 

He’s a pleaser through and through, and even after so many years together, that hasn't changed.

“Baby…” Her head is thrusted back into the pillow, her fingers raking through his scalp, his hand placed on her stomach keeping her steady as he sucks, laps, and feasts on her like a man starved. 

And, in many ways, he most certainly is.

Solana struggles to keep her volume down, just the thought of any of her children knowing what’s happening between their parents a thing of parental nightmares. But, it’s difficult with how good he’s making her feel. How he always makes her feel.

“Roman, please—” She groans, body writhing and snaking, that same feeling bubbling and escalating. Overwhelming, tears pooling in her eyes as pulling him toward her shifts into her trying to inch away from him. A fruitless act. He only tugs her closer, the space between his mouth and her pussy nonexistent. If he’s drowning, it’s self-induced. 

Self harm. Or, self love.

Solana has to reach for one of the pillows behind her, using it as a barrier and holding space for the groan—and moan—that escapes her mouth as he evokes a soul snatching orgasm from her. The black and stars and kaleidoscope of colors is her only visible sight as she keeps that pillow over her face until she trusts herself enough to remove it. Until she’s certain her sounds of unadulterated pleasure remain within the safe confines of their probably-should-be-soundproofed-at-some-point bedroom.  

“Could never get tired of that.” Clearly. Solana lifts the pillow from her face just in time to feel his wet lips reversing his previous trail, another detour taken as he presses her big breast together, eyes lighting up like one of their children on Christmas morning. “So damn fine…”

Solana silences him by kissing him once more, moaning at the taste of herself on his full, swollen lips. She tugs his body against hers, fingers scrambling down to his waistband.

She gasps, his mouth moving from her mouth to that delicious, sensitive spot on her neck, sucking, leaving his mark, a reminder to all just who she belongs to.

Who she’ll always belong to.

His boxers are the next to go, Solana unsurprised at how he springs free with equal need. She palms him, pussy clenching at the feeling of him hot, heavy, and rock hard in her hand.

She strokes him, thumb ghosting over the tip of his thick dickhead, collecting the pre-cum already spilling over. He jerks in her palm as gentle caressing transitions into her jerking him. “Fuck, baby….”

“Exactly,” she breathes. Solana lifts her hand from him, feeling him against her inner thigh, to cup his face. Eyes locked, determined, unwavering, a simple request. “Fuck me, papi.”

It’s such a stark difference that she too struggles with processing. Just how once upon a time, so long ago, sex was a thing they constantly had to navigate together. Starting with working up to him touching her body to the constant requests for consent as they made love to doing so without the need for Solana to provide approval every step along the way. 

Over the years, their sex life has continued to evolve, grown stronger, somehow even better despite them not being as young as they used to be. And, that’s included the different type of sexual interactions. For the most part, Solana enjoys making love with her husband, missionary a position she could never tire of, that intimate, consistent eye contact as they become one. 

But, sometimes….sometimes, she doesn’t want that. Doesn’t necessarily need that. Sometimes….sometimes, she just wants to be fucked.

And, right now, that’s exactly what she wants. 

It’s something her husband doesn’t need to be told twice.

One minute he’s on top of her, the next, she’s on her hands and knees, Roman working to position her. 

His deep groan sounds from behind as he slaps her ass, Solana moaning and head lolling once more. “Look at all this ass.” Yet another moan from the feel of him jiggling her ass cheeks and dragging his massive dick up and down her slick opening. “How wet you are for me.” She gasps, the tip of him teasing her tight hole. “This all for me, pretty girl?”

“Always,” she whimpers, wiggling her ass against him. “Ro, please—”

Solana groans, fingers digging into the crumpled, wet, messy sheets underneath her as he gradually inches inside of her. “You want papi to fuck you?” 

“Yes, papi, please.” She’s not beyond begging, never will be when it comes to this. It’s too good. She spent too long being deprived of a happy, healthy sex life and to now have one with her better half means she’ll never be above anything that will keep and sustain that.

“Whatever makes my pretty girl happy.” Roman’s deep voice is tinged with desire and a hint of humor as he continues to work his big dick inside of her. “Shit,” he curses. “All these years, and you’re still so tight for me, sweetheart.”

Her response is to continue to push her ass back against him, wanting, needing all of him. It’s a stretch that will probably never go away but one she typically tends to crave when they go too long without this. Without being with him in this way. A sort of intimacy she once thought never attainable and now something that’s a regular.

“That’s it, baby,” he encourages, fully sheathed inside her. “So fucking beautiful…”

Praise and affirmation. A constant. Roman is many things with her, but it's especially in the bedroom where he always prioritizes her. Makes her feel special, cherished, wanted, and loved in a way that she can’t explain. Just knows it feels amazing. 

Just like the way he’s fucking into her.

“Just like that, Roman,” she moans, face into the pillow, a loud groan falling out her mouth. “Oh my God.”

His big hands remain planted on her hips as he drives into her. “Too much, baby?” A question that doesn’t require an answer, Roman intentionally slowing his thrusts. “Naw….I know exactly what my pretty girl can take, don’t I?”

She nods, already knowing almost immediately what’s gonna come. Roman jerks her up, her back against his chest, his dick digging deeper in her, prompting her jaw to slack, her pleasure extrapolating. 

Solana looks over her shoulder, holding onto his forearms, as her husband presses kisses alongside the side of her face. “You gotta talk to me, baby. Let me hear that sweet voice while I fuck this sweet pussy.” 

“I love it,” she moans, eyes fluttering, breathing against him. “I love you.” 

Because, she does. Because her life is exactly what it is now because of him. It’s all because of him, and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for him, no depth of love that hasn’t been scaled or explored. It’s all there, every inch of it venturedand claimed. She loves him in every possible sense of the word, and nothing could ever change that. 

Ever.

A shared sentiment as he kisses her, sloppy, wet, perfect. “I love you, too, Sol. Always.”

They’d go longer if they could. One round was something that seemed inconceivable to her husband who’s always had the highest sex drive a person could have, but with several children, many of which still needing a lot of their attention, both Roman and Solana know it unwise to risk it.

They’ve already scarred their oldest children being exposed to adult time and would rather not add to the victim tally. It’s why afterwards, Solana is in her favorite non-sexually intimate position, her naked body sprawled across her husband’s, his hand moving up and down her back, soothing and comforting. 

His fingers occasionally brush atop the bottom of her lotus tattoo inked at the top of her back.. She still remembers the day she got it, the emotions that accompanied, before, after, and during. She also remembers the ambivalence experienced by her husband. Such a specific and impactful thing. His difficulty in fucking her from behind, a position they worked so hard to achieve, and seeing that tattoo. For her, a reminder of her perseverance. For him, a reminder of her violation.

It took time, but like most of the challenges they’ve encountered over many years of being together, it was something they worked through.

At this point in her life, Solana isn’t sure there’s not much they can’t work through. 

“You okay?” His deep voice breaks her from her thoughts. Solana lifts her head, continuing to trace the outlines of his tattooed chest. 

“Yeah,” she answers, kissing his pectoral muscle. “I’m good.” 

Better than that. Life has continued, for the most part, to be on the upward path for her, and it all started with the man underneath her. Her marriage to him ended up being the best thing ever for the both of them, opening the door and carving the path to the life they have and the beautiful family they’ve created. 

Family…

Solana would never tell him. She knows her dramatic ass husband would go onto a whole long rant, pacing across the floor, hand on his hip, demanding her to take a test to relieve him of his nerves. 

But, sometimes, especially near the end of the act, when he’s finishing inside her, as he always does, she thinks about it. Wonders. Imagines what it would be like if maybe, just maybe, they had another baby.

If Aroha had a sibling “closer” in age to her, a thought that’s almost immediately shot down by a variety of strong, logical reasons. The main being that that would only create yet another situation of their baby child having an age gap with the other siblings. Another baby would mean at least a seven year age difference between Aroha and her younger sibling. The smallest distance in ages compared to the other children.

Not to mention the selfishness that comes with that thought. Solana and Roman aren’t as young as they used to be. Far from it. Welcoming another baby in their forties and fifties just feels selfish, especially considering Roman’s borderline midlife crisis and that situation last year. It would be wrong to do that to him. 

Then there’s lunacy that is having another another child when they already have seven.

Seven.

But ultimately, the fact that almost seven years have passed without a pregnancy, Solana spending almost her entire thirties being pregnant and having the bulk of her children is confirmation enough that even if she did want to actually try for one last baby, her biological clock won’t allow it.

That time has come and passed.

Hence why it just remains a thought, a fleeting, maybe even silly little thought.

“Baby….” Pulled from her thoughts once more, she frowns seeing his partial scowl, the crinkle near his eyes, all telltales for when he’s deep in thought. “What were you going to say earl—”

“Move out my way big back!”

“Better than having them big ass ears like daddy!”

And just like that, the mood is entirely shifted with the sound of Aria and Lina from outside the safe confines of their bedroom. A small, amused smile on Solana’s face as Roman throws his head back against the pillow and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Every single time.”

Leya’s shocked, disapproving gasp. “Sissy!”

Tama trying to play peacemaker, de-escalating what is a rarity. For the most part, Samaria gets along fine with her sisters, but when issues do arise, they’re typically between herself and Catalina. Mostly over Aria wanting to borrow Lina’s, well, anything. Solana would bet any money that’s what started the bickering. Aria asked to use something, and Lina said no. “Aye, ya’ll stop talking to each other like that, alright?”

Aroha’s sweet voice, partially muffled, most likely because she’s being held by Leya, face buried in her shoulder as she holds onto her big sister, still partially sleepy. “You’re gonna wake up mommy and daddy.”

Kai scoffs. “Like they’re sleep.”

“What else would they be doing?” Aria’s innocent question is met with silence followed by a set of mortified sounds.

Koa scoffs, audibly disgusted. “That’s so gross!”

Kai expresses agreement, her baby boy probably scowling, looking just like his daddy. “Aren’t there enough of us already?”

It’s almost comical to Solana how she can so clearly visualize the entire humorous scene without even seeing it unfold. Also, ironic words coming from her theatrical daughter. “You guys are so dramatic. Mommy and daddy are too old to have any more children.”

“But, not too old to fuck apparently—”

“Tamasa!” The sound of grunting, most likely from Lina punching him on his arm. 

And, then the worst thing ever, sweet Aroha asking with unalloyed innocence. “What does ‘fuck’ mean?”

At that, Roman snaps, breaking his silence, loud voice projecting past the barrier of the locked door. “Didn’t I tell ya’ll to stop cussing in front of your damn sister?” Solana presses her face into his chest, hiding her smile. An ironic statement.

A grumbled apology followed by snickering from her other kids.

“We’ll be out in a couple minutes, okay?” Solana also breaks her silence, offering what she knows is what has brought all of their children to their room. “And, yes, I’ll get started on dinner.”

Grumbling instantly shifts into sounds of relief and excitement, making her giggle.

Her kids are a hoot. 

But, she wouldn't have it any other way. She wouldn't have any of it any other way.

As the children start to disperse, the sound of Tama murmuring, most likely to Lina and Leya. “I thought sex drives were typically low in old people.”

"Tama!"

[angronius]

Hey I could be missing stuff, because I'm very dumb, but -

Was Plox Angron's kid from before Emps showed up or after? Do they have another parent, or just Angron? How bad are the daddy issues? What's their relationship with the Blood Angle? How'd they meet the Blood Angel? Who is the Blood Angel? What do you mean Lorgar recycled them????

Again, appologizes if the lore has been explained, I am STUPID

NOOO ur not dumb or stupid!! I’m spinning with u!! i have no clue what I’ve shared and what I haven’t but :] I will answer the questions under the cut!! Bc I love him a lot and feel I’m going to type way too much 🙂‍↕️

He is Angron’s kid AFTER Emps showed up, and he does have another parent (the fella w gold eyes on the chibi oc heads thing)! Since Plox was supposed to be just a regular shmegular oc these details abt him r super weak and messy, so I apologise 💔 his other dad is a Custode.

the daddy issues r so bad that they don’t even register I think. I sorta subscribe to the idea that Angron wants to care for his kid, but cannot bring himself to (nails+transron headcanons going brr lol). He goes so far as to call his kid ‘thing’ ‘it’ ‘spawn’ or ‘creature’, or literally just doesn’t think abt him. He forgor. Plox assumes Angron is his father in the same way the World Eaters regard Angron as their father !! I could spend all day writing abt Angron and parenting and baby Plox and attachment issues hehehe

the BA’s name is Masaccio ;3c they have no canonical relationship I just wanted to draw toxic yaoi hehe my BA is a raging thirsty boy and Plox is a nail-less WE that’s just insane so I thought it would be funny to make my toys kiss.

Ok sO, I needed an excuse for Plox to wind up in 40k so ofc, the warp. And who better to toss the spawn of Angron into a warp portal than Lorgar? The current crack-situation is Lorgar attempted to use Plox for some kind of ritual, it winds up with him just throwing the kid into the warp, and then Plox is spit back out 10k years later and exists for a few years until WE’s start their recruitment tour thru his planet. Recycled! :3 he’s an odd 200 something year old Chaos Lord by current time.

Plox worships Angron as hard, if not harder, than he worships Khorne. He just wants his big red daddy to notice him (he will not notice him).

[randomnameless]

I'm not an expert, but I'd say that's on Google trad,

女神の眷属

Is the expression that's translated in "children of the goddess", 女神 is goddess but 眷属 can mean family or followers...

And given how 女神の眷属 stands for Nabatean (both when Seteth says on SS he and Flayn are 女神の眷属, and Supreme Leader, in her racially charged assumptions and glee to have eradicated them, calls them 女神の眷属), I'd say Rhea refers to them in her recollection of the red canyon events even if she calls Sothis the progenitor god ���祖 instead of 女神/goddess.

Imo, the 眷属 she uses here means Nabateans-while they are, naturally, followers of the goddess ; she refers to the specific extermination of nabateans.

As for why red canyon and not green canyon...

Maybe I'm sprouting nonsense, but Rhea more or less gives an explanation, she says the remaining children lived in Zanado "quietly" per Google traduction, but she uses those words 静かに, that can mean quietly, gently or peacefully ?

Nabatean in human form bleed red blood, so what is the quiet/peaceful ones in Zanado were slaughtered in their human forms ? Like Nemesis blitzed in Zanado to slaughter a bunch of nabatean hippies (or at least nabateans who were peaceful, aka who most likely didn't knew how to fight or even tried/ever wanted to fight, like imagine Flayn if she wasn't at war), they didn't transform (had time to or even the will/emotions/thing that trigger it ?) and were butchered-so it would make sense, the canyon was red because the nabateans in Zanado didn't fight (they were supposed to look after/guard Sothis's tomb ?) and were killed before transforming.

That'd mean Nemesis got his nabatean made scars before Zanado, or against one of the few nabateans who fought transformed.

Nabateans killed in human form might also explain why Rhea uses hair dye-if Nemesis and his pals know what a nabatean in human form looks like because they diced dozens of them, she has to hide and pretend to be a human.

So I was taking a look at the World's Perdition text for a Sothis fanfic I'm writing and I have to wanted to get your thoughts on something (sothis expert that you are)

The Agarthan talks about how they nuked 4 lands in their preemptive attack on Sothis. When I first read this I assumed they did this all in one go, but thinking on it it doesn't make too much sense. Unless they were worried about Sothis using some god magic to teleport out of the way (which, fair all things considered) they would have no reason to nuke FOUR cities/regions/countries at once. Sothis can't be that big that they needed to bomb all four to cover her.

So unless they were worried about her teleporting, that must mean they did this four separate times. Which means Sothis got f**king nuked, went to another city, and had this interaction:

Sothis: yo wtf just happened? Who nuked an entire city? Do you know how many people got murdered?

Leader of that city: um, well you see. The thing is... can you wait just one minute?

Leader dude (off to the side): guys you screwed up. The false god lived through the nuke.

Agarthan in a different city who has keys to the nukes: what do you mean she survived? Thinis got wiped out. The land vanished. She can't be alive.

Leader dude: well she right in front of me, asking what happened, so someone screwed up. Teleport me out of here and try again!

Then they nuke city number 2. And Sothis, again, survives and goes wtf. Presumably has that exact same conversation. Gets nuked again and yet again goes to another city to figure out why these people are killing their own cities, wiping out thousands at least. And then it happens again!!!

Like, no wonder Sothis is pissed. They did this to her four times! And it never worked!

Also!!! The book never actually states Sothis flooded the world. Only that the Agarthan expected her to. Which, given that they nuked her four separate times, I can't blame him for thinking. But they got the f*ck out of dodge before finding out so it's possible Sothis got nuked four times, found out the perpetrators went underground, and proceeded to shrug and coma herself to heal the world. It even lines up with Rhea's dialogue in Verdant Wind. Or the flood was her extinguishing the flames from the pillars of light, like the ones in that one fire canyon whose name I can't recall, and it was never meant to kill anyone. After all, the Agarthans literally nuked four of their own cities. There might not be that many left standing or they just got mixed with the humans Sothis creates to repopulate Fodlan after four lands got nuked while TWSITD stayed underground.

I've been trying to figure out how to write about the extreme nature of Sothis' divine retribution against the Agarthans as being unjust for attacking the whole for what may be the actions of a few (or just a particular cult), but it might've not happened in the first place!

Am I reading this wrong? I never thought TWSITD had any leg to stand on, but I was willing to entertain the idea that Sothis went too far with her counter attack in driving them all underground. It also gave a good parallel to Rhea being better in sparing the Elite's families which would show that she's ready to guide Fodlan in Sothis' place, but Sothis might not have even done that!

(Of course I haven't taken a look at Hopes if it confirms the flood actually happening, but I'm alright with ignoring that mess with what it did to... so many characters)

Lmao I really am the sothis expert now huh

Have you read my longer posts about the "Ancient History of Fodlan"? I talk about the war between Sothis and the Agarthans with my thoughts on what happened. There is also some speculation on what the "Flood" really was. I do think Sothis went scorched earth on the Agarthans.

In terms of the Agarthans nuking Sothis and her surviving, there are several possiblities;

Sothis's dragon form really is that big that they need to blow up 4 countries to cover her.

They nuked her 4 seperate times like you suggested.

They also targeted lands with Nabateans in them out of spite.

They tried to nuke Sothis but some weird magic forced them away to different countries, much like Aillel.

Their aim sucks lol

Though.. I am not sure which one it is. The wording of the text makes it sound like the nukes were fired at the same time, and that Sothis still stood when several countries had been blasted off the map.

Personally? I think 1, 3 or 4.

But if you're writing a fic, don't worry too much about how canon you are to the lore. It's very vague and up to interpretation. Your thoughts are just as valid as mine.

[jazlynriddle-legacy]

Welcome to your life - Pt 3:

It's My Own Design Ch 20:

Summary:

Ominis fought to control his expression, to keep his hands from trembling. Five years. Five years since he'd seen his parents, and this. This was the reason they'd given him the honour of their time? This was the reason they'd sought him out at Hogwarts?

The bitterness welling up within him was thick enough to gag on.

New year, new allies, new responsibilities, new avenues of revenue, and new aspects of their own Ancient Magic to explore. As the Keeper and their partners enter their last year at Hogwarts, it remains to be seen if the new school year will bring with it new problems or adversaries, but they are confident in the strength of their relationship with Sebastian and Ominis. The three of them would endure, no matter what befell them.

And if they were wrong?

What a joke, they would suffer no alternative.

Warnings: Sebastian x MC x Ominis! Drug Addiction! Spoilers! Slow-burn corruption! Dark content! Fucked up 1800s orphanages! MC has no love for Anne or Solomon! Dubious happy ending (it's happy for MC, Seb and Ominis at least).

You can also read on AO3! (chapter specific warnings below)

Notes:

Warnings: A bit more torture but mostly plot and world building.

Finally, we're back to moving the plot and story along. I revamped a bunch of JK's lore, threw some of it in the trash bin, and came up with my own spin on the rest and created goblin culture, hopefully ya'll like the world building here =D

Also, if anyone's thirsty for pain, I posted a short ass alternate sad ending for Sebastian's questline titled Let's Go, Together. Go check it out if you want to cry.

God, I'm exhausted, I got food poisoning, I think I'm getting a cold too, greaaaat-

I'm also writing another Sebinis AU that features the Keeper as a historical cameo, so readers of this series will (hopefully) understand why the Keeper in that AU is... past-tensed. Good lord, it's already like 20k words and it's still like in the world building and slow... er, medium burn part. If you like Peter Pan (and no, not the Disney version) you'll like this one xD I'll probably upload the first chapter of that new fic next weekend, so please look forward to it! =D

And, at this point, I should probably just fix my upload schedule for this series to once every four weeks, it's been like that for ages now and I can't seem to make my chapters shorter than 10k words x')

Edit: One of my cats died, my oldest companion, and it's been rough, so, I deeply apologise, but I'll be dropping my upload schedule and I probably won't be able to finish the next chapter anytime soon. I need a break, but I'll definitely continue this when I'm feeling better!

“This is all I could find. Seems like he didn't have much left by the time I went after him.” The Keeper dropped a small pouch on the table between them and Mrs. Taylor, their tone slightly apologetic.

They kind of felt like they’d gotten more out of this than Frederick's wife, but if she really needed the money, it'd probably be helpful regardless, the pearls should at least fetch a decent price. The Keeper wasn't exactly an expert, but the yellow tint to the pearly sheen made them likely to be natural pearls, and the gold ring was decently heavy.

“It's alright, I'll come back to give you your share after I sell off what you've found.” She nodded, accepting the pouch and, as she did so, a blue flame burst into being over her hand, startling her.

“Don't worry about that, it's just the contract. Evidence that I've fulfilled my end of the bargain.” The Keeper assured, taking a sip from their glass.

“I- I see.” The lady's smile became uncertain. “Is he-”

She cut herself off and shook her head. “Nevermind, thank you.”

“You're welcome.” The Keeper answered with a level gaze, amused that she clearly wanted and didn't want to know what had become of her husband. Perhaps they'd gotten used to reading that on Ominis’ more controlled face, and could spot it easily on hers. “I look forward to receiving my pay.”

At the clear dismissal, Mrs. Taylor nodded and stood. “I'll be in touch.”

With a last uncertain glance, she left the Phantom’s Flask, and the Keeper moved over to sit at Alasdair's counter, where the bartender gave them a wry smile. “Congratulations on clearing another job. How was your visit to the Rogues?”

“Rowdy.” The Keeper answered with an amused snort. “Think I prefer this place. Drinks are better too.”

A wide smirk covered Alasdair's face. “Flattery won't lighten your tab, kid. Out with it then, what do you want?”

“I don't suppose you know where I might be able to acquire two-way mirrors like Owl's, though I'd prefer a set of three that are linked.” The Keeper asked, stirring their drink idly with the straw.

“Well, starting out with the tough requests, hm? Two-ways are rare enough already, a set of three-way mirrors would be even harder to acquire.” Alasdair chuckled. “But I'm sure you've already guessed as much.”

“Can you help me or not?” The Keeper huffed, not particularly in the mood to play.

“There's only one merchant I know who could have something that rare, but they're involved in an ongoing fight with a fairly powerful enemy, so you might want to be careful when dealing with them.” The bartender warned. “It's not the type of beef you want to get dragged into.”

“Noted.” The Keeper cocked an eyebrow at the man. Well, all they were interested in was trade, so they didn't see how that would be a problem.

“They rent a room on Tuesday nights to do trade, come by during opening hours and you'll find them in room sixteen.” Alasdair jabbed a thumb towards the stairs. “Wear your mask.”

That bad, huh.

The Keeper nodded as they finished up their drink, sliding the glass over to Alasdair and making to stand, when he asked. “Have you ever met a vampire?”

Eyes widening, they shook their head, a vampire, eh? That should be interesting.

“Well, greet them with a bow and don't tilt your head to the side or raise your wrist. Might take that as an offer.” The corner of Alasdair's mouth quirked upwards in amusement.

“I'll keep that in mind.” The Keeper huffed as they stood. “Thanks as always.”

“See you soon, kid.”

The streets of Diagon Alley were about as cramped as one might expect on a Sunday in the middle of the Christmas season, and Sebastian was starting to worry that he wouldn't make it to Gringotts on time for his first lesson with Borgok.

Which would be a pretty piss poor way to start his apprenticeship, so he took a breath and began to shove himself through the crowd. Ignoring the glares from the surrounding shoppers, Sebastian elbowed his way to the bank, huffing and puffing as he struggled against the flow of traffic.

When he finally made it to the large white doors, the bank itself also turned out to be crowded as all hell and, for a moment, Sebastian was worried that he wouldn't be able to find his mentor. Only to breathe a sigh of relief when he spotted the heavy-set blacksmith standing near a counter, speaking with another of his kinsmen, and he quickly waded through the sea of people and goblins.

Fortunately, Borgok seemed to spot him as he made his way over, saving him the awkward task of interrupting the conversation, and Sebastian stopped a few steps away. Leaning against a wall to catch his breath, Sebastian waited for Borgok to finish his discussion, and the other goblin left after a few moments.

“Master Borgok.” Sebastian greeted when his mentor turned to face him, giving him a slight bow of the head in respect.

It still felt odd to regard a goblin with deference, but he knew that this was something he had to get used to, goblins weren't the enemy, and this one would make him more useful to the Keeper. He needed to be useful, needed to take the pressure off them, they were already carrying so much of their future, it wasn't fair for both he and Ominis to need them so much.

The Keeper’s breakdown on Friday had reminded him that they weren't mentally invincible either, even they needed rest, and Sebastian knew that he only got to spend more time with the Keeper than Ominis, because most of it was when they were working.

And they were always working.

Which obviously meant that Ominis was left alone more often than not.

Sebastian had managed to get Ominis to talk about what was bothering him during their walk by the lake, and he'd felt rather stupid when the blond had hesitantly admitted that he was feeling lonely. Of course he was, the throuple could usually spend at least a few hours and mealtimes together every day during previous holidays, this was the first time they'd left Ominis alone for days in a row.

It wasn't fair that Sebastian's own needs were being met - purely because he and the Keeper conveniently took pleasure from working together - and Ominis’ weren't.

So, even though Sebastian loved watching the Keeper work, loved how hot they looked when they were focused, loved how good it felt every time they gave him one of their approving nods. He decided that he was going to do his best to reduce the amount of time that the Keeper needed to spend on work. Ominis deserved to get his relaxing dates with them too.

Hopefully, learning about goblin silver and how it worked would allow him to give the Keeper more time to rest and relax with him and Ominis. It was with this determination in his heart that Sebastian met Borgok's gaze, and a sharp toothy grin of approval spread across the goblin's face. Okay, still kinda unnerving, why did goblins have to have such creepy looking teeth-

“Sebastian, glad you made it on time, punctuality in the face of unexpected adversity is a sign of dedication.” Borgok chuckled, and the pink that had been leaving Sebastian's cheeks immediately returned. “Come, follow me.”

The hefty goblin turned and took a few steps over to the counter and Sebastian followed him with some trepidation.

“Nodrog.” Borgok greeted the goblin behind the counter, who was wearing the uniform of a security guard.

“Borgok, busy morning we're having, innit?” The guard chuckled wryly. “What can I do for you?”

“This is Sebastian.” Borgok gestured at him, before introducing the goblin. “And this is Nodrog, you'll have to get clearance from him to enter the employee's section of the building.”

Sebastian nodded at him in greeting, deciding to go with the standard. “Good morning.”

“So, this is the apprentice, bit younger than I expected.” Nodrog eyed Sebastian critically and he fought to keep his expression neutral, chanting in his head, don't get mad, don't get mad, don't get mad.

The goblin behind the counter then presented him with a ledger and a quill. “Here, you'll need to sign this every time you enter and leave.”

Taking the quill obediently, Sebastian found the first empty row to scribble his name on and, after passing the ledger and quill to Borgok, the security guard offered Sebastian a gold necklace in their place. “And you'll need to wear this.”

The golden chain was not very long, and its links were thick, broad squares, weaved together in an intricate interlocking design. Most prominently, was a curious pattern along the side that was large enough to be seen at a glance, it looked almost like letters, though Sebastian couldn't quite recognise them.

“It's got an identification number on the side. And it's how we'll know you're working here.” Nodrog explained, and Sebastian nodded, taking the chain and fastening it around his neck, rather surprised to find that it wasn't quite as uncomfortable as he'd thought it looked.

“Alright, that's everything settled. Welcome to Gringotts.” Nodrog pressed something on his countertop and the shutter gate beside the counter opened.

“Come along then, lad.” Borgok quipped as he led the way through the gates and down the corridor behind them.

Sebastian followed him for a short walk, and the corridor eventually ended at a chamber with three doors, which were all - oddly enough - lacking handles. The door to the left bore a bronze sheen, the one in the middle, silver, while the third was made of or possibly plated with gold, and Sebastian wondered which they would be entering. Not to mention, what the significance of each differing material was.

The blacksmith lumbered over to the golden door, and as he did, Sebastian noticed that there was a small keyhole set into the door's frame. He watched with curiosity as Borgok lowered his collar slightly to reveal a necklace that looked almost identical to Sebastian’s and lifted one of the golden keys hanging from it.

Sebastian's eyebrows rose when Borgok moved like he was going to pull the key off the necklace, only for the necklace to elongate. The links of the chain unfolded out of themselves elegantly, till the necklace was long enough for the goblin to easily slot the key into the keyhole on the door frame.

The key turned with a click, and a golden circle that Sebastian had previously thought was merely one of the intricate designs on the door's frame, popped out, becoming what was quite clearly a button. Its job done, Borgok released the key from between his fingers and the links in the necklace began folding back into themselves until the chain was once again hanging comfortably from around the goblin's neck.

With wide eyes, Sebastian tugged lightly on his own necklace, observing it as it elongated and then shrank back when he released it. A bright grin spread across his face, okay, that was pretty awesome.

When Borgok then pressed the gold button he'd unlocked, the door slid to the side, revealing its ornate interior to be a very small room lined with golden grilles and elegant frills. So much gold, Merlin, the goblins really liked their precious metals.

For a moment, Sebastian was confused, until he followed the goblin inside and realised that this was an elevator, a rather rare piece of machinery, though it made sense that Gringotts would have plenty. Sebastian examined the slate of buttons on the side, spotting a few with keyholes beside them, the third of which Borgok unlocked with yet another key, and then pressed, causing the doors to close.

With a deep rumble and a jolt, the elevator began descending and Borgok took a small pouch out of his pocket, offering it to Sebastian. “As you might have guessed, the smithy I manage is in the most secure layer, you will need the keys in this bag to reach it for our lessons. You can attach them to your necklace to avoid losing them.”

Accepting the pouch, Sebastian opened it, finding two golden keys and one silver key inside, and he asked, as he removed his necklace momentarily to secure them to the chain. “Most secure layer?”

Borgok chuckled. “Yes, well, I may have neglected to mention that I'm the head of Gringotts’ Diagon Alley branch Design Department, overseeing research and development of Gringotts’ tools, locks, security and machinery.”

Sebastian's eyes widened, so Borgok was a bigshot. Great, that could be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time, a voice that sounded an awful lot like the Keeper’s echoed in his head, followed by one that sounded more like Ominis, better be careful how you behave around him, but Sebastian himself was pretty excited about this, so he shooed the voices away.

If he performed well and managed to win the approval of Borgok and his team, he'd gain connections and it would bolster his credibility, giving his decisions more weight. Not to mention, the things he could learn from them, this was an incredible opportunity that he could still barely believe had landed in his lap. Thanks to the Keeper, as always.

But your stubbornness will be your ruin, you've never gotten on with authority, you're your father's son, after all, the snide voice of Solomon sneered in his mind, you're unteachable.

Sebastian smothered that one aggressively, it only ever came out when the Keeper wasn't around, and he yearned to have them here with him. They always made him feel more confident and assured, even before he'd fallen in love with them. Having their unflinching presence by his side always made him feel like any endeavour was possible, like he could take on the world.

“My smithy team followed me when I took the position, and your training will begin with them till you have enough of the basics to learn from me.” Borgok continued, unaware of Sebastian's internal havoc. “I will introduce you to the team, and then leave you to their care.”

Sebastian nodded, the keys around his neck feeling uncomfortably heavy and anxiety churning in his stomach. Fuck it though, he was going to do his best and he was going to win them over. He had to. Failure was not an option.

Hopefully Borgok would have enough for Sebastian to do - to keep his mind occupied and quiet - it was always less noisy and easier to think when he had a problem to solve or a puzzle to figure out. He felt the vertigo of motion cease, before the elevator doors opened with a clunk, and Sebastian's eyes widened with awe at the incredible sight that was unveiled.

Outside the elevator was an enormous dome chamber filled with large machinery and workshop benches covered in tools. The warm light from the roaring fires peeking out of numerous furnaces, glimmered across the gold and silver strewn about the room. A dozen goblins or so, were either seated at the benches or moving back and forth across the workspace like a well-oiled machine. Some pushing carts of materials and others carrying tools from one place to another.

He could also see several doors along the walls, and vents snaking their way across the ceiling, along with an absolutely chaotic mess of pipes crisscrossed beneath the grates that made up the floor. Oh boy, he really didn't envy whoever's job it was to remember which pipe went where, that looked like an absolute nightmare to manage, maintain, and repair.

If Borgok tried to give him that job, Sebastian would pack his bags and leave.

Said goblin beside him chuckled, and Sebastian jumped, reminded that he was standing in the elevator doorway, staring like an idiot.

“Quite something, isn't it?” Borgok wore a proud smile as he ran his gaze over the room.

“It's incredible.” Sebastian agreed, stepping out of the elevator and returning his attention to his mentor.

“That it is, you should've seen how it looked before I got here.” The blacksmith laughed to himself as he shuffled over to a row of silver lockers beside the lift landing.

“However, the first lesson you must learn is that everything that inspires awe, is also dangerous.” Borgok rapped his knuckles against a pigeonhole locker with the number thirteen engraved on it. “You are not to descend the steps into the workshop, until you have donned the protective gear from your locker. And take off those useless robes, wizarding fashion will cost you an arm down here.”

Sebastian approached his locker and spotted a small keyhole beside the handle, quickly guessing that one of the keys hanging around his neck would likely fit. He tugged the necklace out from under the cotton tunic - that Borgok had instructed him to wear in advance - and pulled on it, still rather taken with how beautifully the necklace stretched, and attempted the smallest silver key, which fit perfectly, and he opened the locker to examine its contents.

At the sound of another locker opening beside him, Sebastian peered at Borgok, watching the goblin don the gear inside his own locker, and Sebastian shucked his robes quickly to copy his mentor.

In a few minutes, Sebastian was decked out with a small pair of goggles that sat snugly over his eyes, a face shield that could be flipped up to sit atop his head when not in use, a thick brown apron that he'd tied around his waist, a pair of safety boots - was that steel covering the toes? Fascinating - and a pair of gloves.

The gloves weren't as thick as he'd expected, but had a mesh design that felt incredibly sturdy. He'd bet good money that these gloves would stop a knife from taking off a finger and Sebastian wondered if he could get a pair of these for the Keeper. He could also feel the pulse of magic in his gear, and he noticed several runes embroidered into the waist-tie of the apron and the wrist cuffs of the gloves.

He was honestly a tad surprised that they would have gear within a human's size range, he'd already given Borgok his shoe and glove sizes, so those were customised as he'd expected, but the rest were adjustable. A rather strange choice of investment.

Finished donning his gear, Sebastian lifted the face shield and closed his locker, hearing it lock automatically, and looked at himself in the reflective surface of its door. Huh, Sebastian grinned, maybe if he showed up looking this professional, Ominis might actually trust him.

He snorted to himself in amusement, yeah, if the blond could actually see him maybe, shaking his head, he descended the stairs to join Borgok.

Fortunately, the goggle lenses seemed to be made of crisp clear crystal, and Sebastian could easily take in the sights as he followed his mentor across the chamber, his steel-toed shoes clanking against the metal beneath them.

“This chamber is the common workshop. Those five doors lead to the workshops for specialisation teams focused on a different aspect of smithing.” Borgok explained as they walked, gesturing to the doors spaced evenly along the dome's walls. “There's the Material team, the Forging team, the Finishing team, the Tooling maintenance team, and my team, the Design team.”

It was a struggle to focus on his mentor's words while goblins bustled around them, and Sebastian's eyes were constantly flickering back and forth as yet another curious machine caught his attention. Wait, was that a cart of platinum!? Sebastian's jaw went slack, an entire cart full!? He suddenly felt rather nervous, if he messed up something here, he might end up costing them more money.

Ugh, was this what being responsible felt like? Sebastian sighed, not fun, but he supposed doing good by his partners was worth dampening his excitement.

“And this is my office, you can seek me out here if you have any issues that your assigned teacher can't address.” Borgok continued as they arrived at a brass door, whose frame was like an oval cut into the wall, and Sebastian thought it a curious design choice.

The goblin unlocked the door with yet another key, and Sebastian frowned as it opened, wondering why he wasn't hearing any jangling, despite the many keys hanging from Borgok's necklace. That, and how his mentor kept track of where each key went, Merlin, there had to be at least ten hanging off the goblin’s neck.

The inside of his office was surprisingly modest, in contrast to how shiny most of Gringotts seemed to be, and it felt less industrial than the workshop outside as well. It was more akin to a Professor's office back in Hogwarts, with a large but low desk on the other end of the room, though it was made of steel rather than wood, and covered with small gadgets, papers and tools.

Borgok lumbered over to it and Sebastian followed him, past an even lower coffee table, surrounded by short yet plush, comfortable looking couches and armchairs.

“Take a seat, while I call my team to the room.” The goblin gestured towards the short stool in front of the desk as he walked around it to sit in the high-backed chair behind it.

As instructed, Sebastian took a seat, though it felt more like he was crouching on the short stool, and Sebastian watched curiously as his mentor reached out to flip up the covers on four... pipes? The four brass pipes were sticking out of the desk and, leaning forward, Borgok spoke clearly and evenly into those four pipes at the same time.

“This is Master Smith Borgok, could the Masters of each department please come to my office? Thank you.” Finishing his announcement, the goblin closed the four flaps and leaned back in his seat to face Sebastian. “They should arrive in several minutes. For today, I will have you spend an hour following each of the four Masters around as they go about their work.”

Sebastian nodded slowly, and his expression must have looked not unlike a warrior going into battle, because Borgok gave him a small smile, saying. “Don't look so worried, they're my friends before my employees, and I can assure you that you will be treated no differently than one of our goblins.”

“Thank you.” Sebastian returned his smile, grateful that his mentor was taking the time to ease his nerves. Still, he'd had enough bad experiences with adults to remain wary, though he supposed he was already considered one himself, by all technicality.

“After you've taken some time with the other Masters, you can come by my office, and we'll speak for a bit about any observations you've made.” Borgok continued. “Though some of my friends might be... strict, I hope you'll be able to learn much from them, though it would probably be prudent to give you some warning.”

“Warning?” Sebastian echoed warily.

“Yes, see, amongst goblins, we men commonly handle interactions with Wizardkind, your people aren't very... tolerant towards our women.” Borgok flashed a wry smile. “Of course, I don't understand it, I think our goblette ladies are absolutely lovely, but humans seem to find them rather... scary.”

Sebastian's eyebrows raised, even more so than goblins!?

“And our culture is normally one of express honesty. Humans in general seem to think that ‘polite’ means lying. In contrast, when we goblins feel a certain way, we will make no attempts to hide it, out of respect to those around us. The more we care about each other, the more effort we put into being our authentic selves.” Borgok explained, and Sebastian felt something stir inside him, he really liked the way that sounded.

“However, humans... they take offence too easily, and when our women show anger, it can put them in grave danger.” The goblin sighed. “So, us men, the physically stronger and less... ugly by - human standards - handle interactions with humans. And I won't lie, it's... painful to suppress our emotions the way humans do.”

Sebastian winced in sympathy, he knew what that felt like, that sounded rough indee-

The door slammed open with a clang that echoed through the room, and Sebastian jumped, spinning around to stare with wide eyes as a foot hovered in the doorway for a moment. Before it lowered to the floor and a goblin - just a tad shorter than Borgok - entered, wearing an admittedly, rather terrifying scowl.

“The blazes are ye doin’ callin’ me in the middle o’ engraving!?” The goblin's voice was slightly higher in pitch, though no less rough than Borgok's, with a hooked nose that pointed upwards rather than down, long brown hair tied up in a tight bun and twice as many wrinkles as the average goblin. “You gonna do me last twenty hours o’ work if I botch the batch, eh Borgok!?”

“Melain, my friend, please, we should give young Sebastian a chance to get used to dealings with fine ladies like yourself.” Borgok sighed, and Sebastian blinked, so that was a goblette. Merlin’s beard, she did look terrifying indeed, were those tusks peeking out from her lower lip!?

Another goblin shoved past Melain, this one was a little taller than her but also had long hair - blonde this time - in a braid, another goblette, from the wrinkles and long fangs. This one flashed Borgok a sharp grin, revealing two rows of teeth that were even more jagged than his, as she scoffed. “And that's our problem, how?”

“Rozen is right. If the boy wants to learn from us, he'll have to get accustomed to our customs.” Came a flat and uninterested statement from a bespectacled goblette with her black hair in a messy bun, who strolled past the others, staring at a clipboard in her hands as she absently took a seat in one of the armchairs. “Jason managed without any coddling.”

“That's very kind of you to say, Loleu.” The next person to enter was - to Sebastian's surprise - a human. The man's voice was deep, and his warm blue eyes followed the goblettes as they seated themselves.

He was also intimidatingly tall, at least a head taller than Sebastian, and he was large and muscled, with cropped dark brown hair that was almost as messy as Sebastian's own, wearing the same apron around his waist and the same gloves too. He had a strong square jaw that made Sebastian think of muggle soldiers, and there were numerous scars crisscrossing across the thick arms, showing under his rolled-up sleeves.

A part of Sebastian wondered if he would eventually look... like that, after working here for a while. Would Ominis and the Keeper like that? If he had big muscles to touch? It would be pretty cool if he could carry Ominis bridal style one day.

Catching Sebastian's curious eyes, Jason grinned broadly and strode towards him, saying. “Hey there, Sebastian, right? I'm glad to see the gear fits! I thought it should - from your shoe and glove sizes - but one can never really know in the wizarding world.”

Jason chuckled as he offered his hand for a shake, and Sebastian couldn’t help but feel some relief at seeing a gesture he knew how to respond to. Standing and taking the hand, Sebastian smiled. “So, I have you to thank for the gear. You have my gratitude, I must admit, I'm surprised to see another human.”

At his words, the three goblettes on the couch began to snicker and Jason chuckled as he released Sebastian's hand. “Not quite, I'm a werewolf.”

Sebastian's eyes widened and Jason gave him a rueful smile. “The Ministry doesn't make it easy for my kind to make an honest living, Master Borgok was kind enough to give me a chance when he saw the craft I was trying to sell.”

Sebastian followed the werewolf's grateful gaze to the goblin in question, and Borgok shrugged. “I didn't have enough coin on me, so I offered to teach him, in exchange for what I needed to buy. Saved me the embarrassment of showing up to my mother’s without a gift.”

“Luckily for me.” Jason chuckled. “I trusted his word and let him leave with the artpiece, even though I was raised to see goblins as uncivilised. And it was the best decision I've ever made.”

“We simply see no point in denying merit when we see it. Effort should always be met with equal appreciation, and it is an insult to give more - or less - than fair, in exchange for work.” Borgok paused with a bitter smile. “That's all we ever wanted from Wizardkind, to be viewed with the appropriate recognition for our hard work and efforts. But humans value results over effort. I will never understand such a way of thinking.”

Sebastian felt something clench in his chest at those words, that's right, that's all he ever wanted too. For his uncle to respect him, for his efforts to be recognised. Did it matter if he failed? He was trying. Could Solomon not see that? Did he not care? Sebastian could have had everybody in Hogwarts admire him and it wouldn't have been a substitute for his uncle's recognition and support.

He bit his lip, heart aching, until he thought of the Keeper. They hadn’t given a fuck when he failed, and so spectacularly at that. They saw how much he cared, how hard Sebastian was always trying. Always. Trying to be strong and confident, trying to look and feel like he knew what the fuck he was doing. Perhaps it would hurt less if he could just show his honest feelings without need for hiding, like the goblins did.

They may look scary, but their hearts weren't very different from his own, it seemed.

Maybe it wasn’t so strange that Ranrok's Loyalists were all goblin men, they were the ones who had to endure humanity's farces and toxic masks. It made Sebastian feel a strange guilt, that those goblins had just been infected by human poison. The same poison he himself had been choking on. He'd been taking his anger out on people who were in the same boat that he'd been in for years.

“Because the goblin way makes sense.” Loleu muttered, flipping a page on her clipboard and pulling a... pen, out of the mess pretending to be a bun on her head, to scribble something on the clipboard. “Jason made an excellent recovery and great progress under our care.”

“My dear, you'll make me blush.” Jason grinned sheepishly.

“Maybe I want to.” Loleu tossed back with a smirk, as she shoved her pen back into her bun.

“Urk- gross. Yer flirting'll give me hives.” Melain stuck out her tongue and Rozen snickered.

“It's not flirting, get your head outta the gutter.” Loleu rolled her eyes. “So, what's the plan, Master Smith?”

Borgok cleared his throat. “Yes, first, let me introduce my Masters.”

Sebastian sat up a little straighter and followed Borgok's palm as he gestured from the left to the right.

“Rozen is the Master in charge of Raw Materials, she handles refining and smelting raw ore from the mines, for use in forging.” The blonde goblette gave him a rather unsettling grin, but Sebastian bowed his head respectfully. He was just going to have to get over his discomfort, Jason managed, he could too.

“Jason is the Forging Master, he manages our forgers and they handle the conversion of ingots into the rough designs my team and I develop.” The large werewolf waved cheerfully, and Sebastian grinned back at him, he had a feeling the man would be a fun teacher.

“Melain is the Finishing Master, her team makes the finishing touches on every piece of work that leaves the forges. Engraving, polishing and all the detailed work.” The brunette goblette gave him a curt nod and he already felt like she would be the scariest teacher in the group.

“And finally, Loleu, our Tools Master, ensures that our forge is running around the clock. Maintaining or replacing any machinery or tools necessary for us to work.” The bespectacled goblette didn't even look up from her clipboard, simply sending a small wave in his general direction.

With the introductions done, Sebastian glanced at Borgok who moved his hand towards the blonde goblette, saying. “So, for starters, I'll be handing you off to Rozen, she'll introduce you to her line of work, before handing you over to the next Master.”

The blonde goblette sighed and stood. “Come on then, lad. Time's a wastin’.”

Giving Borgok a nod of farewell, Sebastian followed Rozen out of the room, his earlier trepidation returning as he did, still not entirely sure what to expect.

Returning to Borgok's office four hours later, Sebastian rapped his knuckles on the brass door and waited for Borgok's invitation. “Come in.”

Dutifully pushing the door open and poking his head inside, Sebastian saw the Master Smith scribbling on some papers at his desk, and Borgok spared him a glance, before returning his attention to his work. “Please take a seat on the couch, I'll be ready to speak with you in a few minutes.”

“Yes, Master Smith.” Sebastian nodded as he closed the door behind him and took a seat on one of the couches, slumping into the low cushion with a tired sigh. Merlin, that had been more exhausting than he'd expected.

His long tour had begun with Rozen had showing him to the Refinery Chambers, which - contrary to their name - were not mere chambers, but in fact expanded rooms so large that he wasn't even able to see the ceiling.

The Sifting Chamber held mountains, and he meant mountains of reddish-brown grains of iron, silver and gold. Apparently, they would grind up the raw ore transported from the mines and then use magnets to sift the iron from the dirt, and large gallons of water to wash dirt from gold and silver.

Rozen had given him a mask to wear over his nose and mouth, so he wouldn't choke on the fine dust, and Sebastian had commented that that would be a rather... fine way to die. Which had earned him a round of laughter from the crew nearby and a couple of hearty slaps on the thigh from Rozen. Which kind of hurt.

The Chemical Chamber had been rather pungent but was apparently vital to cleaning impurities from the precious metals between the various phases of smelting. Said connected Smelting Chamber had been extremely hot, enough that he could feel the burn on his skin despite the protective charms on his gear, and Rozen had told him that the temperatures in the coke coal forges reached almost half the heat of the sun's surface itself, according to recent muggle findings.

Sebastian had been admittedly awestruck when Rozen handed him a monstrously heavy ingot of pure gold, he'd almost dropped the tiny thing when she first passed it to him. However, the most exciting part of that hour had been watching the first phase of the process of enchanting the silver ingots to convert them into Goblin Silver.

Apparently, goblins could hear something that humans couldn't, or at least Sebastian hadn't heard shit when Rozen tapped a silver ingot with her hammer and went. “Ya hear that? When the silver sings like that, ya know it's good fer enchantin’.”

She'd tossed the ingot into a crucible with moonstone, before removing her glove and pricking her finger with a needle from her pocket, adding a drop of her own blood to it. Before handing Sebastian a stack of already cooled enchanted silver ingots, which had a blue sheen reminiscent of moonstone itself, to carry with him to his next stop.

He'd been relatively unsurprised by the addition of goblin blood to the mixture, their race had always been the least unsettled by blood magic.

Then, she'd dropped him off at Jason's forge, where the man had happily invited Sebastian to watch him forge a shield that'd been commissioned for a noble family, from the ingots that Sebastian had carried over. The werewolf had shown him how to get an ingot safely clamped between tongs and slide it over the burning coal furnaces to heat the metal evenly, before it could be hammered into the appropriate shape.

It had been rather amusing, how excited Jason had been to introduce one of the newer machines in the forge.

Apparently, the Power Hammer was based off a state-of-the-art piece of muggle machinery, it linked a spinning clutch with a hammer that would bounce on leather springs once engaged. It had been invented by a muggle designer named Christopher Bradley only a year ago, and Jason had chuckled as he described how enraged Borgok had been that a muggle had out-designed him with such a brilliant tool. One that would significantly reduce the amount of magic needed to power the process.

The werewolf had instructed Sebastian to lower his face shield as he hammered the metal into shape, folding it several times to improve its durability.

Sebastian had then asked, as Jason hammered away without anything protecting his face. “Why aren't you using a face shield?”

“Because I know what I'm doing.” Jason had answered with a grin.

“I'm a quick learner.” Sebastian hadn't been able to resist shooting back.

“That's what Greg said.” Jason had laughed, before turning to the side and shouting to be heard over the hammering of metal. “Hey Greg!”

“What?” Came the reply from one of the goblins nearby, who'd lifted his own face shield to reveal a large scar over his left eye.

“Tell the kid how you lost your eye!” Jason had called back.

The goblin cackled and flashed the wide-eyed Sebastian a sharp grin, shouting back. “Corner o’ coolin’ metal snapped off while hammerin’ and flew in me face!”

At his words, Sebastian had eyed the red-hot metal that Jason was hammering warily, and the werewolf cheerfully added. “Besides, if I mess up and injure myself, that's fine. But if I mess up and injure you, well, bugger me. So, keep that shield down.”

He wasn't sure if this was all a joke, but Sebastian kept his face shield down till Jason handed him off to Melain. Who quickly gave Sebastian her own variation of the same warning and told him to stay outta her way while she finished scraping, polishing, and engraving a goblet of goblin silver.

He'd watched with fascination as she sang in Gobbledegook under her breath, while etching little runes that glowed under her chisel. This was apparently the last step in enchanting Goblin Silver, which was why Jason was able to handle forging, despite not being a goblin. The main components were goblin blood, added during the smelting, and then runes charmed with goblin song and etched by goblin hands.

Sebastian was slightly disappointed that it wouldn't be possible for him to just make Goblin Silver for the Keeper, but he supposed if it were that simple, it wouldn't be so damn rare and expensive.

The blonde goblette hadn't given him much instruction or introduction, so focused she'd been on her work, but he'd found it enlightening to watch her all the same. While the Raw Materials were taxing and laborious to refine repeatedly, and forging required both immense strength and aim, finishing was no less difficult, and demanded intense focus and finesse. Not to mention, the amount of pressure there must be on the finishers to not waste all the work that had already gone into an item.

Loleu had dropped by to pick him up, correctly guessing that Melain was too caught up in her craft to remember his existence, and the black haired goblette had brought him to her workshop. Which... looked like an absolute nightmare. Machinery laid about in varying states of disrepair, an entire stack of spanners and hammers, a pile of screws and bolts was heaped in one corner, with another pile of nuts and gears in the other.

The messy room was apparently the equivalent of a spare parts scrap pile, and Sebastian had thus discovered - when Loleu asked him to pick up a handful of nuts for her - that the necklace of keys hanging around his neck would stay plastered to his chest even if he leaned forward. Which explained why he heard no jangling from the keys.

Loleu had then, absentmindedly told him that the necklace was charmed to stay against his chest so that the keys and chain would not get caught in any machinery or grinders, which would be quite... bad. Sebastian had swallowed at the unsettling thought, and then wondered if the goblette had a second pair of eyes hidden in her hair, since she'd been staring at her clipboard the entire time.

He'd watched as a seemingly endless stream of goblins came into the room, one after the other, to ask for a specific sized screw or nut or a size-sixteen Box-Head Ratcheting spanner or a replacement for a Steam-Powered Mechanical Trip Hammer Piston Assembly. Whatever the hell that last one was.

And every single time, she would simply check her clipboard or skip it entirely and just walk to one of the many piles of scrap, rummage through it for a moment, before returning with the requested item. She'd occasionally ask one of the other goblins in the room to retrieve something from storage, but the sheer amount of things that that goblette seemed to remember herself was somewhere between impressive and daunting.

Sebastian had made a mental note not to let any secrets slip around her. All in all, an exhausting four hours and he felt like, while he'd gotten a good look at what the work here entailed, he still wasn't sure where he fit in all this.

“Alright, my apologies, I had to get these signed as soon as possible.” Borgok sighed, catching Sebastian's attention, and he watched as the goblin set aside his quill, before placing the stack of parchment on a tray. “Come, take a seat.”

Sebastian dutifully made his way to the desk, while Borgok pressed several buttons on the side of the tray and the stack of papers vanished in a shimmer of gold particles.

“So, tell me, how was the tour?” Borgok smiled as Sebastian sat down.

“Incredible really, I never realised so much went into even just preparing the materials to be used.” Sebastian answered, thinking of the construction they'd done on the castle. “I've done conversion of metal ore into usable materials, but only with magic and on a much smaller scale.”

“Yes well, it's less practical to use magic for mass production on the scale Gringotts requires for minting and crafting.” Borgok's smile became bitter. “It also doesn't help that we're denied wands that would make using magic for mass production less dangerous for my goblins.”

Sebastian grimaced at the reminder of the role his people played in the oppression of the goblins, before frowning. “Dangerous?”

“Yes. The amount of magic needed to control fire at the heat of coke coal for example, would strain any goblin's magic and it would only take a slight loss of concentration for it to go wild.” Borgok explained. “A more extreme scenario would be, if an atmosphere change caused the amount of necessary magic to increase while the goblin is already tired, it could require them to strain themselves past magical exhaustion. It's just not practical without wands.”

“I see.” Sebastian nodded slowly. “That's why there isn't much use of magic in the process."

“That is one reason, yes.” Borgok smiled wryly. “Another is familiarity with the Material. And indeed, I was very impressed that you'd managed to craft a blade entirely with magic, but no doubt you noticed that the quality of your metal was nowhere close to the ingots we craft.”

Sebastian blinked. “I thought that was because I was inexperienced.”

“That is not entirely accurate.” Borgok shook his head. “Wizarding magic is capable of... short-cutting a great deal. But a problem that comes with being introduced to crafting by the use of magic, is that you don't learn enough about what you're working with first.”

Sebastian's expression must have shown his confusion, because Borgok chuckled and elaborated. “Essentially, a wizard who already knows how to make a good table, can find a way to make a good table with magic. However, if you simply learn the spell from him, without first knowing how to make a good table, your table will not be as good as his.”

Oh, that made more sense, Sebastian nodded thoughtfully, that was not unlike what Professor Weasley taught about transfiguration.

“In that scenario, the quality of goblin smithing, and even muggle smithing, will always be superior, because knowledge and experience informs what you can do with magic.” Borgok concluded. “There is a difference between lazily enforcing your will on reality, as Wizardkind do, versus moulding reality by working with it, as we goblins do.”

Sebastian hummed thoughtfully, perhaps he should redo the metalwork for the dungeon cell doors, once he was better at forging. The Keeper had done woodwork during their time in the workhouses, so they'd been relatively confident about the wooden doors they'd crafted after additional research and Rackham’s guidance.

However, Sebastian had handled the metalwork for things like torch holders and cell doors, and while it was probably enough that the metal wasn't breakable with inmates’ bare hands, he would feel better having done his best to improve them.

“And that's why you want me to learn all the aspects of forging.” Sebastian nodded.

“Correct.” Borgok gave him an approving grin. “I chose to teach Jason forging because I saw in his art, the hard work, dedication and meticulous attention to detail necessary for a forger.”

The goblin jabbed a finger at Sebastian. “And I chose you, because I saw in that dagger the resourcefulness and determination to make do with what little you have. Your dagger did no more and no less than what you needed it to do, with the bare minimum in skill, experience and materials. That efficiency and creativity is necessary for a designer.”

Borgok grinned, lifting his chin with a touch of pride. “Design comes before everything else. It is the stage where we decide what an object can and will do, whether it is going to be a cursed helm or a blessed goblet. It is where we decide what runes and enchantments will be woven into it.”

With every word, Sebastian felt his heart climb up into his throat, he hadn't thought it possible for him to feel quite so excited about anything besides Dark Arts. The doors of possibility had never felt quite as wide, could he one day even make something like the relic himself? Hang on...

“And that's why Gringotts is partnered with the Ministry overseeing the Curse Breakers!” Sebastian exclaimed in understanding. “Because goblin craft intersects with the enchantment of physical objects!”

Borgok nodded with a pleased curl to the corners of his eyes. “Indeed, there are none quite as skilled in the enchantment of objects as we are, and thus, reverse engineering it is also our expertise. My Design team works closely with the Curse Breakers to break the curses on tombs or objects they attempt to retrieve.”

Sebastian felt like he was close to vibrating in his seat and had to take a breath to calm himself. Alright, he couldn’t screw this up. He was going to be the best damn student Borgok ever had.

“And that's why you asked if I like reading.” Sebastian chuckled, that had been the strangest question the goblin had asked him while discussing his apprenticeship in the Phantom's Flask.

Borgok flashed him a sharp grin. “Design is a highly theoretical field, if you were hoping to get jacked like Jason, you better tell me now, lad.”

Sebastian shook his head with a snicker. “I'm all for reading and calculations. No worries there.”

“Good.” Borgok nodded and pushed a stack of books across the table. “I think that is good enough for today. I'd like you to read these whenever you have time, and when you are experienced enough, I will introduce you to my Design team. I look forward to monitoring your progress, and I'll see you in my office again next week.”

The goblin raised a hand towards him, and Sebastian took it firmly, his eyes bright as he shook hands with his mentor. This was his path, he just knew it. He would become useful to the Keeper, and maybe even find a way to break Anne's curse if the Keeper's Ancient Magic didn't manage to.

His future had never been so bright.

“Sebastian, could you pass me a jar of E-Pain?” The Keeper asked as they fastened the empty Energy collar around Frederick's neck, before doing the same with the equally empty energy armlet, around his upper arm. Hoping to discover the differences between the collar and the armlet with today’s tests on the man.

“Here you go.” Sebastian chirped, tossing them the jar from the pack beside him before returning his attention to the book balanced in his left hand.

The Keeper eyed him with amused fondness in their heart, which book was this one? Minerals From The Mine-rails... presumably about mined minerals. Their adorable lover had been positively jubilant since his first lesson with Borgok, he'd spent the entire dinner last night and breakfast this morning, babbling about his tour and the books he'd been given to read, and he'd been reading every free moment since.

Ominis had told them not to expect anything coherent out of the brunet for the next two days, and he'd been quite correct. Sebastian had been following the Keeper from one place to another, like a duckling, his nose buried in his books. It was nice seeing his impressive dedication on display again and they'd found it cute that he still wanted to join them for their experiments.

Which was quite alright, since they were still in the process of confirming the collar's functions, they weren’t likely to need his mind present.

Though it was frustrating that, through all this time, the Keeper had only made progress increasing the amount of energy they could extract without tearing the Aura. Going from being able to extract a fraction of a needle's pain to being able to extract two needles worth, and even then, that was only because their skill and finesse had improved, not because they'd found a better method.

Then again, Isidora had been a bloody Hogwarts Professor who'd dedicated her entire life to refining this extraction process for mass usage, and she'd given up on preventing Aura tearing. Then again, she hadn't even noticed the tears.

The Keeper sighed, whatever. That was a problem for later, for now they had to continue testing, so they'd be ready for the big Macnair overload test. That was going to eat into their miniscule stash of C-Pain substantially, but hopefully its significantly greater potency will make that small stash go a long ways. Perhaps they might even figure out how Aura tears worked at the same time.

With that, they drew the E-Pain from the jar and inhaled it, closing their eyes and instructing the energy to inject three seconds’ worth if he disobeys instructions. They'd already confirmed that the collar's instructions could be overridden by adding newly Aligned energy - of any quantity - to an already Aligned energy pool, this included instructions to ‘return to neutral’.

Which made it less worrying that they might accidentally contaminate their Repository, at least they could simply revert it to Unaligned by overriding it. Still, they would try not to mix Aligned Energy with their main Repository altogether, so that they would never have to find out of quantity did make a difference on too large a scale.

Exhaling the Aligned energy, they lowered it into the collar and the man flinched as they did so, though he seemed more wary than panicked today, perhaps he had forgotten his fear of pain. No matter, he would no doubt remember soon. Then they extracted a tiny sliver of E-Pain from the jar and added it to the energy armlet this time, without Aligning it.

“Now, Mr. Taylor, do you feel the warmth around your arm?” The Keeper asked idly, and he nodded slowly. “I want you to imagine the warmth as mist and picture yourself breathing it in.”

“Why-” He'd barely gotten the word out, when he was injected by the collar.

“Do it, or you will experience more pain.” The Keeper cocked an eyebrow at him and the trembling man gasped for breath a time or two, before closing his eyes and taking a slower breath.

The Keeper watched with interest as the armlet emptied and, when he opened them, the man's eyes glowed red for a brief moment, a goofy expression of bliss on his face. Ew, gross.

“What- what was- what was that? Can- can I have more-” Frederick stammered, and they glared at him.

“Did you respect your elf's request for more food?” The Keeper asked rhetorically. “What makes you think I'd respect yours?”

They felt some satisfaction when he flinched, and - itching to hurt the man rather than give him anything remotely pleasurable - an idea popped into their head. It was worth testing out, so they inhaled a sliver of E-Pain, instructing it to inject immediately, before exhaling it and placing it in the armlet, rather than the collar.

The man jolted in pain as soon as the energy entered the armlet, fascinating. So, the armlet could allow both absorption and injection, whereas the collar could only allow injection. They wondered what the difference was, and they took a breath as they thought, before it occurred to them, perhaps it was like that.

After all, there was a difference between breathing willingly and at one's own pace, versus having air forced down the throat. Or as with water, one could be thirsty, but would absolutely still choke if someone just sprayed water into their mouth. Perhaps the same applied to the energies, which would explain why the Fear-Pill they'd given Selwyn hadn't boosted his reflexes, only caused him to enter a waking nightmare, because they'd forced it down his throat.

That made sense, though in that case, what about Aligned energy that isn't being forcefully injected?

The Keeper extracted another sliver of E-Pain and inhaled it, instructing it to inject if subject leaves the cell. Then they placed it into the armlet and gave the man a glare when he flinched. “You're lucky I need to test this further, take a breath again.”

Relief coloured his face and Frederick took another breath and, as expected, the energy was absorbed painlessly this time. So, it was possible to absorb Aligned energy as long as it hadn't been instructed to inject, like drinking water from a rushing river by scooping the water into one's hands, perhaps.

They wondered how that might work with the Imperius curse, so the Keeper drew their wand and cast. “Imperio.”

With the man safely under control, the Keeper added another sliver to the armlet and instructed him to absorb it. The energy disappeared from the armlet accordingly, so the Imperius could force someone to absorb-

“Ugh- what-” Frederick groaned, and the Keeper frowned as they felt him break free from the curse. Interesting, E-Pain could increase one's resistance to the Imperius curse? Perhaps because the positive effect of that energy was a boost in magical capability?

Well, while that might cause some complications during Macnair's test, it was good to know, and as of yet, it didn't seem likely to pose an issue. Now, was there anything else they'd needed to test? The Keeper wondered to themselves, and their eyes wandered the cell as they thought, before catching sight of Sebastian, nose still buried in his book, and they recalled his suggestion of using Fredrick’s own pain in the collar.

“Hm, worth a try.” The Keeper murmured, how would they go about it though? Thinking for a moment, they remembered the note they'd found sitting on Frederick's bedside table when they'd ransacked his room, signed off by one Vanessa. Likely the woman he'd been cheating on his wife with.

No surprise really, the Keeper had a hard time imagining anyone being attracted to this guy, perhaps that might be a sore spot worth prodding.

“That reminds me, Mr Taylor, I dropped by the apothecary you worked at, this fine Monday morning. Seems like nobody's wondering where you are.” The Keeper commented idly, watching the man as he stiffened. “Thanks to you stumbling from the Rowdy Rogue drunk last Friday, your boss thinks you might’ve frozen to death on the way home.”

They flashed him a smirk. “I doubt anyone's going to be looking for you, and it's not like you have someone waiting for you back home, after your girlfriend dumped you. Vanessa, right? How sad, to leave your wife, only to lose your dear Vanessa when the coin ran dry.”

The man flinched, and, pressing their wand to his chest, the Keeper drew a stringy blob of red black smoke from his heart. Nice, that hadn't taken much effort. Now, hopefully-

The Keeper felt a sudden burst of heat travel up their wand, so searing that they almost dropped it, and they watched with wide eyes as the strand of E-Pain they'd been extracting from his Aura, seemed to burst into flame. Orange embers chased the energy up from his chest, engulfing the smoky bubbles and turning it into a bright golden thread.

“Sebastian- pass me an empty jar!” The Keeper called as they lifted the orange energy away from Frederick.

Startling at their sudden command, Sebastian almost dropped his book, but quickly caught it and shoved it under his arm. Before following their instructions, grabbing an empty jar and opening it for them to lower the orange energy into.

He stared at it in wonder and murmured. “What is that? It looks almost like smelted gold.”

“I- I'm not sure. It started as E-Pain-” The Keeper breathed, also leaning closer to examine it with curiosity.

As they did so, the jar of E-Pain in their hand was unintentionally brought closer to the jar of orange energy. There was a clink as the glass of both open jars made contact, and to their alarm, the E-Pain promptly burst into orange flames as well.

“Oh, cool, now we have more.” Sebastian quipped with a grin, before frowning. “Wait, that’s not good, is it.”

“No, it isn’t.” The Keeper agreed and took a few steps away from their satchel. “Come here Sebastian, I think it's proximity, we can't let the rest of my E-Pain or C-Pain catch fire too.”

“What do you think it is?” Sebastian asked as he followed dutifully, eyeing the orange-hued gold in the container. “It feels hot, I can even feel it through the jar.”

“Indeed...” The Keeper murmured, examining their contaminated jar. “I was jabbing at his painful memories of his girlfriend dumping him, and it was definitely E-Pain when I extracted it, but it turned into… this, halfway through extraction.”

Sebastian's expression was thoughtful for a moment, before he suggested. “What if it's anger? I mean, I can imagine him being angry at her betrayal.”

“And anger feeds off pain!” The Keeper nodded. “That makes sense, that's why it turned this jar too, anger is contagious and burns through any other emotion. Hm, we'll need to store them in different places then...”

“I wonder what effects this'll have.” Sebastian gave them an impish grin and the Keeper chuckled, holding up their jar with a smirk.

“Only one way to find out...”

Notes:

In this chapter, Sebastian shows a lot of the results of the slow growth he’s made over the course of this story, overcoming his racism against goblins and stepping out from under the Keeper's wing to begin forging his own path. There is a fine balance to strike between feeling nervous about messing up and determination. Kids struggle with that balance.

And finding maturity is sacrificing enough of one's excitement and immersion in something, in order to be cautious and continue to examine the situation from an oversight perspective. It's not a fun feeling, but it's necessary in order to not fuck up. And the difference between a child and an adult is that an adult knows what it means to feel accountable for one's actions and the impact it makes on your loved ones.

At the same time, one must be careful not to let fear stop them either. Too much oversight distance and one might lose the sense of investment and flee before anything can even be attempted. This is equally as bad as throwing all cares to the wind, though it may not appear to be as immediately dangerous as the dangers of having too little fear.

Fear of failure/loss is slow corrosion, but no less destructive than blind fearlessness. This fear of loss is the one I fail at a lot aha ha ha- But, like every teacher has said; Please, do as I say, not as I do x'D

And a thing that I hope people, particularly parents, guardians and mentors can come to understand, is that there is no replacement for you. A child's love for the person who raised them is one of the few bonds that don't go anywhere, even if they feel betrayed by said parents/guardians/mentors. Betrayal hurts because love is there.

Even if a kid cuts contact with their parent, it's not because they stopped loving their parent, it's because they still love their parent, that's why they have to cut contact, because when betrayed, love causes pain. And it doesn't go away. Ever.

The deepest cut a parent can give, is to hurt a child, then blame the child for forcing them to inflict hurt, and then declare that the child doesn't love said parent because the child isn't changing/able to change.

A good parent/guardian/mentor seeks to discover (through observation and conversation with the child, and research on patterns) what a child needs and form fit their approach to each individual child. You may not successfully discover it, we are human and not all knowing, but a child can feel effort.

My mom never discovered what I needed, she was simply not equipped to do so and like porcupines huddling together in the cold, there was much hurt on both sides, until I found it myself. But she tried her best to not make my pain worse and provide what she could, until I found what I needed. So, while she already had my love, through effort, she earned my eternal respect.

Love is given and will always exist once a child has formed a bond with the person/people who raised/care for them. Respect is another thing altogether, that one must be earned. Through a willingness to be vulnerable and honest to those who need you and rely on you. Acting strong, tough and all-knowing like Solomon only hurts those who love you and costs you their respect.

"I will do what's best for you, even if it hurts you. You can hate me, but I'll do right by you." This self-martyring bullshit is just arrogance and self-satisfaction. It only leaves a scar that will never fade and if you don't put in the effort to communicate, they'll learn the lesson the hard way anyway because they don't respect you. You need to earn respect first.

As for the world building in this chapter, my partner is an engineer and works in a semiconductor company, so I used everything I've learnt from their yapping about their work supplemented with the good ol' research mwahahaha

And hopefully you guys like my rationale for why we don't see female goblins in the Potterverse, the culture, and the new OCs! The OCs not gonna be suuuuper prominent in the story, I don't think, but eh, we'll see... xD Some of them have quirks from my partner's whacky colleagues, art imitates life and all that, my partner and I often joke that our lives could make a decent romcom slice-of-life show xP

Put the two of us and my childhood bestie in a room and you have the most writable trio-of-main-characters dynamic, with my stoic unflappable bestie's deadpan commentary, my insane bouncy and random partner, and my passionate speeches and lame jokes. Speaking of which, I hope everyone's been enjoying the puns in my book titles, I love doing that haha-

[hematomes]

Hewwo how are you doing

I'm curious about your thoughts on the upcoming amphoerous characters? Give me a detailed answer that's at least over 10k words/j

But seriously though,what do you think of them? I'm curious about castorice and Tribbie, also that guy with silver hair that looked like he's evil(he's probably not) I don't remember his name but I think he has one eye covered, I think other than that no one really caught my attention.

hi!! im good hbu <3

i could actually already go for hours abt amphoreus, greek mythology has been my thing for YEARS.

i haven't looked at story leaks so i don't know much, but so far im really interested in anaxa (eye-patch guy), castorice and the shadow trio......

the cast is really promising tbh, i don't care much about tribbie as a playable character bc i usually don't like child chars (their voice... irks me most of the time) but i believe they're the equivalent to the moirai so im still very curious regarding their lore :3

phainon (silver haired evil(?) guy) doesn't do much for me tbh i don't care about him and i kind of dislike his design lmaooo it's the haircut i think.... but mydei has my almost full attention (it'll depend on if he has a summon). castorice seems really interesting with the death & river styx themes, im just a little disappointed by the visual trailer we got for the game awards, she looks kinda bland in-game so far. will have to wait, alas

what im really hoping rn is that most if not all of amphoreus characters have summons even if they're not remembrance (like jing yuan's LL), although so far only 2 characters have been leaked as remembrance (aglaea and castorice) so it's a little underwhelming.

im EXTREMELY excited about the story bc my friend has talked my ear off about the flamechasers so it looks like it's gonna be amazing. and penacony was a bit boring to me so i can't wait <3

[wookieejamcrew]

Get to know me tag game

Rules: answer + tag 9 (???? lol who knows this many) people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with

ty for tagging me @inquisitorius-sin-bin <3

Fav color: black, tventy years strong 💪 🦇

Last song: call it love by nilufer yanya

Currently watching: @alexkablob baited me into hotd with promises of a haunted gothic castle and psychosexual torture so. i am enduring bad wigs at the moment but milly alcock is here and she's fantastic <3

Currently craving: FREEDOM SO I CAN WRITE 10K OF HARBOR IN PEACE

Coffee or Tea: tea but specifically a lithuanian brand i can only find at the russian corner store like half an hour away from me

Any hobby you would like to try: i just want to get better at art 😭

Any AU/Alternative Universe you’re plotting for?: i prefer playing in the space of canon BUT space vampire brenquisitor au is always dear to me and will (appropriately) never die. i wrote a little lore on it a while back. but also and forever no order 66 au because i get to think about reva+the grand inquisitor's would-be padawan+master mess

storm u did most of the tagging i was going to lol, so: @alexkablob @handsomejaclyn @mulleinn if yalls want to :)

[shannonsketches]

Do you think that Oot/WW/TP Ganondorf is the same as TotK Ganondorf?

I know the former are all stated to be the same man (WW coming from the Adult timeline and TP coming from the Child timeline) but for some reason TotK doesn't feel the same guy.

I could be digging too much, but while they seem to have similar goals, they have different mannerisms. Not sure if this makes sense, but Split Ganon seems more like he plots while TotK schemes. Again, no idea if that makes sense, that's just how my brain likes to brain.

And I know this is probably a stupid comparison to make, especially since it was probably just to save money, but ancient Gerudo in TotK have pointed ears while Ganondorf’s are round, while every other time they all seem to have rounded ears (for the most part) which leads me to believe that even the past of TotK is set way after the known timeline, where Gerudo have been pairing with Hylians for a long while, while TotK Ganondorf is another reincarnation of Split Ganondorf/Demise.

(Also, if you would like me to stop sending in headcanon/theory rambles, please let me know. I tend to ramble to people I like, but I can stop if you want me to.)

Oh this is a great question!! I don't think it's a stupid comparison at all, and I always love headcanon rambles. It is the foundation on which this house is built lol So, you're right! From a strictly non-narrative perspective, it most likely was simply to save money on models that only show up a couple of times in cut scenes. Narratively, it may also have been intended just kept consistency with BotW's Gerudo designs which were meant to be far (10k+ years iirc?) in the future (which I, like you, initially wrote off as a side-effect of them having to cross genes with Hylians for so long, same with their bright green eyes where in OoT they were all yellow/golds), and even assuming our genetics theory is correct, from a gameplay perspective it might have been expensive and confusing for the very young players who aren't quite old enough to be thinking about evolution.

But because Ganondorf's model is 1) Being Debuted and 2) getting a lot more reuse, his ears were probably specifically rounded to reflect his previous designs (and also probably also to help make him Very Distinctly Not Like The Others).

To answer your first question: Yes and No.

I don't see BotW or TotK as a prequel or a sequel, I read it as a consolidation. Because there are 37 Years of Zelda Games, a myriad of confusing timelines, and just a metric shit ton of lore that constantly contradicts the lore in other games (which happens when you have 37 years and a bunch of different creative teams working under one title), when I played BotW the first time, I didn't think it felt like a Zelda game at all.

To me, it felt like an open world mechanics flex from Nintendo that happened to be Zelda-themed (which, Nintendo more or less confirmed that it was, from a design standpoint). It's a good game, don't get me wrong! But the fact that you could find items and references to ALL of the timelines, and ALL of the games, kind of made me feel like this was less of a chronological installment and more of a 'stop asking us about the timelines goddammit here take this this is the timeline now' from Nintendo. (In fact I believe in an interview "This is the end of all of the timelines" was their answer haha)

So when TotK came out, and it basically updated OoT's base plot to include Twilight Princess and Wind Waker and Skyward Sword and several other games all together to make it all One Story, with One Beginning, and One Ending, my takeaway was that it's not a chapter in the timeline at all, but a patchwork of all of the Zelda games, so older players can have all of these easter eggs and brand new players can have a big epic story that begins and ends in two games instead of nineteen games.

I saw someone in the tags comment on another of my posts about this that they were frustrated by my saying that BotW/TotK are a good place for new players to start, because the earlier games are MUCH more straight-forward, and that's true! Because they're not worried about fitting all this nostalgia and reference in. But I don't mean that in the sense that TotK is The End All Be All of Zelda games and there's no point playing the earlier ones. You ABSOLUTELY SHOULD play the earlier ones, they're good stories and they're really fun and there's a lot of good juicy lore to extract. I mean it in the sense of someone becoming interested in comics because you found a blorbo in the MCU, and now you can go back and read those comics and Leo_Point.Meme at what they used for the movies while also being able to have all of this much more focused comic book lore you can enjoy.

ANYWAY!! tl;dr, IMO he is and is not the same Ganondorf. He's not any one of them, he's all three at the same time.

[sabrondabrainrot]

Share us your fics ideas please!!

I have sooooooooo many! (Also sorry it took me so long to answer this I didn't see my inbox)

I'm in so many fandoms and my brain is always thinking of found family or hurt comfort or fluff so it tends to all ruminate in my brain.

1-A Wildcards - a Persona x MHA crossover fic. I've started writing this one and it's in the works but the basic idea is, "what if ever persona protag is under one roof and all siblings and all are in school at the mha world." I have chapters and plans but it's hard to get fic motivation on this one at the moment. One of my theories also turned out right for MHA lore and I can't explain why but having my own theory proven right really took the wind out of my sails. XD

2. ff7 what if au - basically there's a theory me and a bunch of ppl online share where president Shinra has a bunch of bastard children and basically my fic idea is, "what if the bastards all grow up under one roof." So I'm currently doing research on characterizations for it. It's difficult for me to nail down Cloud's, Rufus', Evan's, and Lazard's personalities. I love Au's where ppl are brothers or grow up together. I don't have any plans for this other then the kids somehow help Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth not go insane but I can't figure out how I want to do that.

3. Simon Petrikov: Fionna and Cake Adventure Time drabbles - basically wanted to continue where Fionna and Cake leaves off and put Simon in the trauma cube where he gets to heal from his past. I also am a sucker when Trauma is blasted in 4k for everyone to see so the entire crew that cares for Simon also gets the trauma beam. I also realized Simon and Betty were never married so I decided that must be changed and wrote them a wedding. :)

4. Gohan's Wheel of Emotions - Another fic idea I've had for a few years now. I want to do a series where basically some kind of xyz machine goes wrong and Gohan gets split into a bunch of pieces and it becomes a race against time to put him back together. I was planning for his emotions to be wondering around. I want this to be teen era Gohan too because I'm a huge sucker for the Saiyaman ark. It's again just hard to find time to write it! I just want to write a cheezy little light hearted kind of self healing story.

5. TMNT turtle tot au - just a fun multicrossover baby adoption event. I'm currently writing this and have almost 2 chapters done! I love the idea of the 2003 turtles having a bunch of different aged turtles showing up at their doorstep. So they have to juggle sending everyone home while doing their best not to adopt anyone (spoiler alert the kids adopt THEM)

6. TMNT a KH/Tsubasa inspired story - I don't want to share too much on this plot but if you know about Kingdom Heart and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles then you can get the idea of what if might be about. :)

7. TMNT brainrot drabble - currently working on this one but it's an 87 drabble fic that was inspired by season 5's finale. but now that I'm writing it (it's almost to 10k now) I REALLY want to have it go past the show finale too because MAN the last seasons of 87 are GREAT angst potential. I'm a huge sucker for hurt comfort and this entire fic is kind of like hurt comfort lite.

8. Hetalia - I have so much brain rot for Hetalia but I find it surprisingly hard to write for. I want to do a bunch of silly Hetalia fics about America and his super strength. I love that little idiot because he's MY adorable little idiot. The show is also just so cute and funny it is a big guilty pleasure of mine.

9. Lout of Count Family / LCF stupid idea - basically what if Cale Henituse can sing but he only sings the silliest dumbest songs ever in the history of Rowoon. That's it that's the fic.

10. I have a silly idea for a big multicrossover between all the korean light novels i've read and various manhwa and danmei novels. Like, "What if all systems have a chat function and it connects you to other system users." So it would just be a casual chatfic comedy.

That's most the of the ones I could think of! :P

[cookinguptales]

while I have a few minutes, though, I'll also admit that I read over the first 10k~ish of that fic and like... I went back and forth! because if I wrote a Guillermo-can't-be-turned fic with a side dish of Guillermo-reconnecting-with-his-slayer-roots fic now... I mean, I'd do it differently. we have different information after s4, and I started writing this fic after s3.

a lot of the fic I wrote back then was about Guillermo reconnecting with dead slayers, but we now have a living family with characterizations, y'know? so is it better to write this academic research style fic that hinges fairly heavily on OC journal entries, or is it better to write a fic where he goes to his grandmother if he wants to know more about his own slayer blood...?

I think if I were to write the fic from scratch today, I'd have Guillermo learning about his blood from his family -- and I suspect that's the route the actual show is going to take. I would be pretty surprised if Maite doesn't make an appearance this season to help Guillermo understand what's going on his with transition (or lack thereof).

But... I find that I'm actually very attached to the weird little world I've created for this fic. Guillermo learning about generations of slayers that died long before he was born, and both learning from and adding to their experiences. Him making a conscious decision to leave behind his own thoughts for future generations of slayers, whom he hopes will love vampires as much as he does.

I guess it's just the academic in me. I started writing a weird codependent nandermo fic, but it also kind of ended up being a love letter to all my years reading unhinged primary sources when I was in college. (I.... did a lot of work on the history of magic/witchcraft, so I've read Some Stuff.) So I guess in some ways, this fic ended up being one of those "I made my blorbo have my job in this AU" fics except it isn't an AU (other than necessarily canon divergent) and no one was paying me to be a feral child raised by books.

I do think some things in s4 helped prop up my version of events in the fic I outlined and partially wrote before s3 started (Nandor proving he's willing to go to absolutely unhinged lengths to keep Guillermo from leaving him, Guillermo spending his time in London working on his slayer skills, some of the slayer lore, Nandor's bookworm tendencies, etc.) but because like 90% of the fic takes place in the library that was obliterated for Nadja's club... I mean, obviously it's canon divergent, lmao.

So I guess... if I were to write this fic starting from scratch now, I would probably have Guillermo find out that he can't be turned from his grandmother and potentially learn about the magical workaround I designed for this fic, but in a spooky "we don't talk about that" way. And then he'd be so desperate for Another Way that he'd start going through the boxes of books from the vampiric council library to do more research on the phenomenon she's describing.

BUT... I think I'm just going to leave it as-is. He will discover the truth from an old journal of Abraham Van Helsing's that he found in the stacks, and with Nandor's help, he'll find the answer to his woes there as well. I guess I just can't get my nose out of a book. lmao

[armchairaleck]

WIP update as I might post snippets of some of these and it will be handy to remember what they are..

I am slowly.. very slowly coming to terms with the fact that TDP is probably going in a different direction with certain aspects of lore and world building than I originally thought and that certain burning questions I have may never actually be answered and hey, that’s fine.. I get there’s theme and minute details about historic events might not be that important to the story being told.. ngl I do miss the flashbacks though, I guess Viren’s dream almost counts..

Plus side it leaves a vast amount of writing ideas wide open and lets me indulge in all my weirdest Viren ships so.. yay?

But also meh… historical world building..

Anyway current WIP projects which are all in various levels of unlikely to ever see the light of day:

Gothic AU which I had planned to be a kinda intense wuthering heights style Kpp’Ar/Viren romance while they sorta accidently unleash Aaravos on the world, but it has now turned more into a tale of academic/magical snobbery in a universe where dark magic is largely obsolete and everyone vies for the last scraps of power to curry favour with the king.. thanks season 5.. Viren is a poor wannabe student who can’t afford the fees to study even the theory of magic.. Kpp’Ar is a very rare practising but shouldn’t be practising dark mage… and because of how show Kpp’Ar turned out there is now more power play in the inappropriate age gap relationship, but damn, I still ship them pretty hard so I guess those student/master vibes have to go somewhere..

It swings kinda close to my dark King Atticus IS CANNON KING ATTICUS backstory… which I badly want to squeeze in around the snippets of what we have despite him seeming like such an utterly chill geezer… but whatever… I want total bastard Atticus who will use and abuse his access to dark mages and magic in order to further the political aims of Katolis… who will plot and scheme with Kpp’Ar to create an intricate web of deceit that no one can penetrate, who will take the deep insecurities of everyone he knows and hone them to his advantage, who will pimp out his own son to Viren to tighten their co-dependence and generally fuck them up…

and then I kinda also want his dying spirit to inhabit Viren dybbuk style, so Atticus can be constantly sniping into Viren’s subconscious whenever he tries to bone Harrow… because that’s amusing to me… anyway that’s basically just a long list of stuff I want but obviously won’t get…

Then ahem there’s my Viren/Corvus shipping, that probably shouldn’t be mentioned, is almost certainly completely inappropriate for this fandom, (as if any of the above wasn’t..) I’m keeping quiet on this one as it’s what I currently spend the most time actually writing and might actually get finished.. oh well.. RIP me.

Plus I still have cyber punk AU on the back burner because whenever I start really thinking about it and theorising on how Xadia and the human kingdoms would look with a hard cyber border in the year 1988 and Aaravos secretly pulling all the strings towards his own dubious machinations I come out with something pushing the word count of Dune and I cry.. because really I just want a little bit of Viren and Ibis smut action and this is the only way my brain can think of achieving it..

So the main issue for me here is that all these ideas clock in way over the 10k word mark that I like to limit myself to in the interests of getting something finished.. multi-chapter is not my friend, nor is intensive world/lore building, nor is development of OC’s, or deviously intricate plot.. so why all my ideas now involve quite a lot of those things I don’t know.. it probably means I won’t complete any of them..

Still I do also have a few 5-10k Virrow angst ideas that I might be able to get on with..

[randomnameless]

Based on Rhea's two onscreen death scenes in Houses and Hopes, I wonder if the scale on the Nabateans' foreheads that shows their Crest (as seen in the art books) is their weak spot when transformed. It stood out to me that Claude shot Rhea exactly there when he killed her.

We don't have canon to explicitely tell us it is their weak spot...

But, imo, we have enough clues to tell us that crest stones, even in their transformed states, are very important to Nabateans (iirc the blue wild demonic beasts have cracked crest stones, and are feral and "beyond saving" according to Flayn herself?), now I could get Supreme Leader getting a post-it from Uncle telling her what is the best spot to kill giant lizards, but Fraud?

Maybe it was a lucky intuition and/or strike !

LBR, given how Rhea can fly, the sheer fact that she stays on the ground at bow/Aymr range is, imo, akin to plot armor, but here it's plot induced dumbery because she has to be able to be killed by the cast, and can't snipe Hyper Beams/Aeroblasts from the sky :(

[here2bbtstrash]

compromise (explicit)

genre: twilight AU, straight-up cracky-ass porn, do not look @ me

pairing: vampire!taehyung x human!reader x werewolf!jungkook

summary: you're torn between the two loves of your life - but maybe you don't have to choose.

word count: 10k 😬

contains: explicit sexual content~*~ no seriously like i wrote this with my dick it is EXCLUSIVELY twilight-flavored porn sdhfjdkgsdf - taehyung is a vampire, jungkook is a werewolf, reader is in love with both of them, they can't stand each other, yktfv !!!! this is actually an incredibly poorly negotiated threesome, so uh, don't do it like this kids!!!!! just enjoy the filth 🫡 which specifically contains: a m/m/f threesome ft. mid-sex jealousy lol, biting, nipple play, clit stim and fingering, clit biting 💀, cunnilingus, spitting, neck.... licking?, a lot of body temperature descriptions bc we're sticking to steph's hot/cold lore bc i think it's funny idk, blowjobs/throat fucking, spit-roasting, first times, unprotected sex, some mildly improbable sex positions because they both have superhuman strength lmfao, a smidge of dirty talk/praise kink, ass play, anal sex, good ol' DP, annnnnd the grand finale: neck-biting and blood-drinking 🤭 also tae and jk throw "slurs" like 'leech' and 'dog' at each other the whole time sdfsdfjkf 💜

A/N: SURPRISE! AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I WILL NOT BE EXPLAINING MYSELF BUT UHHHH ENJOY SOME NONSENSE!!!!

thank you to @haliiimede for the incredible banner 🥺

read on AO3!

~*~

You’ve been on edge all evening, watching, waiting.

As the sun slips below the horizon and reddens the sky on its departure, you try not to read it as an omen of what’s to come. Night pours out black like it always does, dark blanketing the lush green outside your bedroom window, but your stomach refuses to untwist.

Not even the touch of Taehyung’s hand can settle your nerves, despite how familiar it is, cold as ice, hard as marble. He’d climbed in your window at dusk, the way he’s done every night for months now, but tonight the air between you is heavy. Tonight you can barely look at him.

“Jagiya,” his hundred-year-old voice drips, sweet like honey, rich like blood in the quiet of your room. “What’s wrong?”

You haven’t even opened your mouth to answer when his head snaps up, clearly alerted by some sound your weak human ears have yet to pick up on.

Right on time, then.

“Tae,” you murmur softly, bringing one hand up to cup his cheek. Your thumb strokes lovingly over the flawless perfection of his face as your human eyes meet his: rich ochre, deep enough to drown in. He’s well-fed; you made sure that would be the case when you planned this. You need every possible element on your side tonight.

He cuts you off with a growl before you can say more than his name. “Why is that dog here?”

The word spat through his clenched teeth sends a fresh wave of anxiety spiraling through your bloodstream. “Please don’t call him that, Tae.” Your voice is barely more than a whisper. “He’s my best friend. I wanted the three of us to talk.”

You realize you can hear it now, coming up the road: the distant but unmistakable rattle of Jungkook’s motorcycle. It draws closer and closer, until it’s underscored by the crunch of gravel as he pulls into the driveway. When Jungkook finally kills the engine, the silence in your bedroom feels loud.

Taehyung doesn’t speak, but you can tell he’s furious, every muscle in his body pulled tight. His hands curl into fists, flexing restlessly at his sides, and even the well-defined line of his jaw jumps like he’s holding back the urge to tear something apart.

You do the only thing you can think of to calm your boyfriend: you take his face in your hands and pull him in for a deep kiss.

As your lips touch, it finally sinks in: how scared you are about tonight– you’re shaking like a leaf in Taehyung’s arms, even though you know he’d never hurt you. At least not purposefully.

The heat of your mouth seems to distract Taehyung a little, but there’s still fury in his kiss, in the soft growls that he can’t quite suppress as his tongue rolls over yours.

Your bedroom door creaks on its hinges, and you pull away from Taehyung just in time to see a bright smile drop off Jungkook’s face as he stands in the threshold. Your heart plummets into your stomach. Three seconds in and you’ve already ruined everything. How very human of you.

Moving an inch back from Taehyung, you unwind your arms from around his neck and try to regard both of them at once. This conversation suddenly feels much harder to navigate than you’d anticipated.

“Hi, Jungkook,” you say softly. Your best friend is practically glowering in the doorway now.

“I thought you wanted to talk. I don’t need to see him turn you. Or suck your soul out, or whatever.”

You try to stay calm, because someone has to. “It was just a kiss, Jungkook. I meant it, I do want to talk.” Your gaze flits from Jungkook to Taehyung. “To both of you.” As your eyes find Jungkook’s again, you pat the bedspread on your other side. “Will you come sit down?”

Taehyung makes a noise so otherworldly that chills rip up your spine, enough to make you shiver. “He’s fine where he is.”

“Tae,” you turn back to him, your face twisted with emotion. “Please.”

Jungkook crosses into the room with an unhurried confidence despite the slight hesitation in his steps, as if he’s preparing for your boyfriend to lunge at any moment but sure he’d win the fight. To your surprise, he doesn’t follow the path you’d indicated to join you and Taehyung. Instead, he moves to stand in front of you at the foot of the bed, and then–

Your jaw drops as Jungkook, still slow, still confident, sinks to his knees in front of you and Taehyung.

“How’s this?”

“Swearing your loyalty, mutt?” Taehyung snaps.

Jungkook doesn’t even look at him. “Not to you.”

“Thank you, Jungkook,” you murmur softly. “And thank you for coming here. And I’m sorry I haven’t told either of you why.”

“You didn’t even tell me he was coming!” Taehyung interjects, indignant, and you sigh.

“You’re right. And I should have. But you can see why I was scared to, right? I didn’t think either of you would agree if you knew you’d be in the same room.”

They both shrug a little, like they can’t argue with that.

It all starts to well up in your chest before you can focus on remaining rational, the way you’d planned to. The emotions, the pain. Your very human weaknesses.

“I don’t think you two realize how hard this is for me. How hard it is that you feel the way you do about each other,” you begin. “Neither of you can know what it’s like to wake up and feel like you’re being torn in half. But that’s every day for me.”

Jungkook tries to say your name, but falls quiet again when you shake your head.

“It doesn’t feel fair. Any of this. It’s not fair that you’re both…” you pause, searching for the word. “…superhuman, something I may never understand. It’s not fair that I love you both, in such different but equally strong ways, so much sometimes that it feels like my heart might give out. And it’s not fair that you hate each other. That you can’t even be in the same room.”

Taehyung’s icy touch on your skin makes you shiver, and you realize he’s wiping away errant tears that have started to roll down your face.

“And it’s not fair,” you continue, “that you expect me to choose. That there’s supposed to be an answer here. I’ve nearly lost each of you trying to figure it out. So my choice is that I won’t choose. I don’t want either of you if I can’t have both of you.”

“What?!” Taehyung’s eyes flash when he pulls back, as quickly as if you’d just slapped him.

“Listen to me,” you command, your voice laced with determination now. “Taehyung. I love you. You are my soulmate. My person. I want to spend the rest of our lives with you.” You sniff a little, taking a big breath in, and your chest shakes as you let it out again. “But all of that is also true of Jungkook. And I’m tired of pretending it’s not.”

Taehyung blinks, dazed, like he can't believe what you’re saying. When you glance down at Jungkook, still knelt on the floor, a smile is ghosting over his mouth.

“That leech really didn’t understand our bond, huh?” Jungkook asks softly, as if only you can hear the question. “Didn’t understand that I was the one who was there for you, who picked up the pieces when he fucked off to Paris to—”

“Jungkook,” you cut him off, your tone a warning. “Stop. This goes both ways. I love you, but you also need to understand that my feelings for Taehyung are just as strong. That’s not changing even though we’ve hurt each other. We’ve all hurt each other.”

Jungkook falls silent again, and you turn your gaze back to Taehyung. Your heart aches at the unmistakable betrayal you see in his eyes.

“Taehyung,” you breathe. “Please. I can’t be without you. Without either of you. I’m just asking you to try. For me.”

“Well, I don’t need to mull it over.” Before you have a chance to react to his words, Jungkook surges up and kisses you hard on the mouth, and you make a soft noise of surprise against his lips.

You know you should pull away and tell him to stop, but Jungkook’s touch is warm enough to melt, and you lose your focus as your whole world is knocked entirely off-axis. Your head spins when his tongue traces over your bottom lip, and it’s suddenly hard to think about anything else.

Taehyung growls, low in his throat, like the distant rumble of thunder. It’s enough to drag you back, and you break the kiss with a gasp.

As if he can read the expression on your face, Jungkook wordlessly drops down onto the bed on the other side of you. You slide a hand over the firm muscles of his thigh, giving him a reassuring squeeze before turning to face your boyfriend.

Taehyung’s gaze traces over the floorboards, and it’s clear a thousand thoughts are running through his mind, thoughts you wish you could hear for yourself.

“Please hear me, Tae,” you try again, your voice low. “I want you. All of you. Intimately. I know you want that too.” The subject makes his gaze snap up, and you reach for him, a desperate attempt to try and keep him with you.

When you grab Taehyung’s hand, his ice-cold skin is a shock compared to the heat of Jungkook’s body under your other palm. But it’s familiar, it’s comforting, the touch of this man, whom you love so intensely that it terrifies you.

“And I know you’ve been scared to try. Scared of yourself and what might happen,” you continue, and Taehyung nods slowly, his eyes searching yours. “But… maybe this is it. Doesn’t it make sense? If Jungkook is here, it might be easier for you to stay in control with me.”

“And I can protect her if you don’t,” Jungkook adds with a smirk.

“So please, Taehyung.”

He stares at you, and you stare back, waiting for his answer. It finally comes in his husky voice, spoken as reverently as a prayer.

“I would do anything for you.”

The admission is chased by his hand at the back of your neck, pulling you in for a fierce kiss. You’re so relieved that you feel yourself near the verge of tears again, despite the icy thrill that dots up your spine as his mouth moves against yours. Taehyung’s teeth just barely scrape over your bottom lip, and you can’t help whimpering into his mouth in response. Like he’s trying to keep up, you almost instantly feel the heat of Jungkook’s mouth against your skin, his lips and tongue trailing down your neck and along the stretch of your shoulder. You make another soft noise at the way his hands start to roam over your body, restless, searching.

“Take my clothes off,” you pull away from Taehyung’s mouth to command, your eyes flitting up to his. “Let me give myself to you.” You turn to Jungkook. “To both of you.”

In a flash, Jungkook has your shirt over your head, and then it’s his turn to find your lips again, and he’s somehow even more passionate than when he first kissed you tonight.

“So fucking perfect,” Jungkook growls between kisses, and the rasp in his voice makes your nipples tighten under the thin fabric of your bralette. “Wanted this for so long.”

While Jungkook licks into your mouth, Taehyung’s nimble fingers find their way to the button of your jeans, and you lean back on your hands to give him better access. His touch is delicate as he undoes your zipper and starts to shimmy the denim down your legs.

“You too,” you break away from Jungkook to murmur, and you reach down to finish pulling your pants off. “I want to see you both.”

As they each move back from you to stand and disrobe, there’s a tense moment where Taehyung and Jungkook regard each other, and then Jungkook lunges and you scream.

You squeeze your eyes shut at a terrifying sound of something being ripped apart. Panic rises in your chest and makes it impossible to breathe— you don’t know why this was a good idea, you don’t know what you expected, of course this could never work, how stupid could you be— and then you hear Taehyung huff a dark laugh, seemingly unharmed, and your eyes snap open.

And he is. He’s fine. His shirt, however, has been reduced to tatters on your bedroom floor. Jungkook’s smirk is that of a cat who’s just swallowed a canary.

“Very mature of you, mongrel. I take it I’m meant to repay the favor?” Taehyung scoffs, and you keep your eyes open to watch him easily tear Jungkook’s shirt from his body, as if it were made of tissue paper. Your head spins.

Attempting to remember how to breathe is made all the more difficult when you watch them both strip down to their boxers. Your heart flutters in your chest as you realize in this moment how truly beautiful they both are.

Jungkook’s body in particular takes you aback– despite still having the enviably small waist you’ve always teased him for, the rest of him has certainly filled out over the years. He’s broad-shouldered and thick, with firm definition in his arms and abdominals that ripple as he reaches down to shimmy out of his pants.

It’s hard to believe this is the same kid you spent your childhood summers with, sharing secrets and making up stories, the one you used to call ‘Boba Ball’ or ‘Triangle Kimbap’ during the years he refused to cut his hair.

In stark contrast, Taehyung’s body feels like coming home. He’s striking as he always is, all long, lean muscles, a hand-carved statue come to life. Though it’s well into the dead of night now, you swear you can still see the glimmer shifting under his skin, like he’s stepping into full sunlight as he moves toward you. He’s just as brilliant, just as blinding, even in the dim light of your bedroom. Perfection incarnate.

You know it for a fact, can feel it thrumming behind your ribs, as true as the steady beat of your human heart. You love them both, unconditionally and irrevocably.

“Jagiya,” Taehyung breathes as he stands over you where you sit at the edge of the bed. “You’re glowing.” His hand cups your cheek, and you turn your head to press a kiss to the freezing center of his palm.

“I’m so happy, Tae,” you whisper, and he’s smiling softly when you glance back up.

“That’s all I want.”

You can feel the tears welling up in your eyes, and then Jungkook steps in beside him, and it’s like every piece in your heart slots perfectly into place.

“Are you ready?” Jungkook asks. Their superhuman reflexes move so quickly, you feel like you’ve only just begun to nod when two sets of hands are already on you, dragging you up to the head of the bed like you’re light as a feather.

Together, they push you down into the mattress, and then two mouths start to trace over every inch of your skin they can find. They alternate fluidly, everywhere at once: the brush of full lips, the sharp-sweet bite of teeth, the wet wash of a tongue. Your eyes roll back at the overwhelming sensations, and though you can initially tell them apart by the sharp contrast in their skin temperature, it all eventually melds together in your mind until you’re not sure where Taehyung ends and Jungkook begins.

The four hands on your body make quick work of stripping you out of your bralette and panties, and you’re whimpering and writhing and drenched with arousal when a warm tongue circles your nipple while a cold hand starts to creep up towards your center.

Jungkook sucks firmly on the stiff bud in his mouth, and you keen. “Fuck, Koo, oh god.”

Not to be outdone, you feel Taehyung’s teeth very lightly graze over the sensitive skin of your inner thigh, and your hips shudder as you groan again.

There’s a wet pop as Jungkook releases your breast from his mouth with a soft laugh. “She squirms.”

“She does.” Taehyung’s breath ghosts over your entrance as he answers. He presses a glossy kiss to the crease of your thigh, then slips two smooth, delicate fingers into the wet heat of your pussy, and you outright moan.

“She’s vocal,” Jungkook remarks.

Taehyung crooks his fingers to make you cry out again, and he falls into a steady stroking motion. “She is.”

“You’ve done this before?”

Your breath coming in shallow pants now, you manage to lift yourself up onto your forearms and interject. “We’ve never– not all the way.”

Taehyung smirks at Jungkook as his digits squelch inside of you. “We’ve done enough.”

Jungkook’s eyes drop to your face, and you meet his gaze. He cups one of your breasts in his hand, massaging it in his palm before taking the peak of your nipple between his fingers. You whine as he gently rolls the bud in a circle. “What have you done?” he asks, his voice softer this time.

“What do you think, jagi?” Taehyung answers confidently before you can respond, your pussy still gripping tight around his fingers. “Want to show wolfboy here how well you suck my cock?”

Heat flushes your face at the thought, and Jungkook practically snarls down the bed at Taehyung. “Or maybe you can show me how you eat her out, and then I’ll show you how it’s really done.”

Taehyung’s expression falters just the slightest amount, but it’s enough for Jungkook’s keen senses to notice. “Wait– you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

You shake your head, struggling to keep up, your mind fighting not to give into the euphoria of their hands continuing to work your body. “We haven’t. Tae’s not–”

“What, not a man?” Jungkook snaps, paired with a tug of your nipple. “I could’ve told you that.”

The sigh that escapes your mouth is edged with a moan as Taehyung’s thumb brushes lightly over your clit. “He’s not ready, Jungkook.”

“I’m sorry, he doesn’t want to eat you out because he’s too scared he’ll fucking eat you?”

Taehyung scoffs between your legs, but Jungkook is already shifting to his knees, clearly having heard enough. “That’s it. Turn the fuck over.”

You appreciate the consideration when Jungkook guides you to sit up and get on hands and knees across the width of the bed, nudging you forward so that he can kneel down behind you on the mattress. The positioning is ideal for Taehyung to meet you on the other side.

There’s a cold flash in Taehyung’s eyes as he circles the bed, not unlike a predator stalking prey. Watching him sends more arousal flooding through you, enough that the crux of your thighs is painted with slick when Jungkook encourages them apart from behind.

You can see Taehyung’s length straining against the confines of his underwear as he stands in front of you, and he laughs softly when you reach up to pull him out, too greedy to wait. He’s beautiful, long and hard and weighing heavy in your palm. Your eyes roll up to meet Taehyung’s, deep amber and brimming with lust as you press gentle kisses to the rim of his cockhead.

The wet smack of your mouth is chased with a fluttering whimper when Jungkook slides two fingers through your dripping folds to roughly part your pussy lips. You can feel yourself dripping, can hear the dark hum Jungkook emits in response.

“You look delicious,” he rasps. “Can’t believe this parasite would rather have your blood.”

In hopes it will distract him from Jungkook’s insult, you choose that moment to swallow Taehyung down, and your plan seems to work. Taehyung’s fingers snake through your hair and his head tips back as you stretch your lips over his shaft. You find yourself whining softly around him at the feeling alone, the smooth press of his cock against your tongue.

You hollow your cheeks around Taehyung and slowly begin to suck along his length, eliciting a deep hiss from him, your hand pumping in time at the base where your mouth can’t reach.

It takes a conscious effort to hold in a moan when you feel the first touch of Jungkook’s tongue, dragged thick up your slit like a hot knife through butter. You arch your spine, your body begging for more, and his hands grip the soft flesh of your ass as he spreads you open and indulges.

Jungkook eats you like a man starved, shoving his tongue into your pussy with enough force to slide Taehyung’s cock further into your mouth. Taehyung’s tip teases into the back of your throat, and he groans when you swallow to urge him over the edge.

“Fuck, jagiya,” he pants as you continue to bob up and down, relentless, spurred on by every sloppy pass of Jungkook’s tongue. “If only that mutt could see how good you look with my cock in your mouth.”

Pleased at Taehyung’s praise and choosing to ignore his dig at Jungkook, you lean forward to take even more of him, until the whole of his glass-hard cock is crammed down your throat. You can feel drool welling up on your tongue, can feel your muscles trying not to choke around him, made all the more difficult by the way Jungkook is steadily fucking his tongue into you now.

The shudder of your throat matches the tremble in Taehyung’s hips, and you can tell he’s fighting the urge to push you past the limits of what a human can take.

There’s a part of you that wishes he would.

You gag softly as you pull off of him, giving both of you a moment to collect yourselves. One of Taehyung’s large hands pets over your hair, encouraging, and you drop your forehead down to rest in the crook of your elbow. Without the distraction of sucking Taehyung’s cock, the pleasure of Jungkook’s hot mouth on your pussy is overwhelming, and you can’t help moaning into the mattress.

“God, just like that, Koo.”

Managing to pull yourself back up for more, you coax a soft groan from Taehyung as you start to kitten lick up his shaft. Jungkook pulls away from your center just as you take Taehyung into your mouth again.

“You taste so fucking good. Bloodsucker doesn’t know what he’s missing. But he can enjoy my sloppy seconds.”

The sudden wet sound of Jungkook spitting is so loud that even Taehyung flinches, and your cunt clenches at the slick-splatter feeling. Wasting no time, Jungkook dives back in, eagerly shoving the mix of saliva and arousal into your entrance with his tongue, and it’s all you can do to focus on the cock in your mouth.

Taking Taehyung faster this time, you build up to a steady rhythm, your hands fisting the bed sheets beneath you as you swallow him down. You make an audible gulping sound with each pass, his length dipping over and over into the tight squeeze of your throat. Taehyung can’t hold back, grunting a steady stream of curses as you suck him off just the way he likes.

When Jungkook outright growls between your legs, you feel it more than hear it, and the vibrations that roll through you are enough to make your toes curl. You pull most of the way off, sliding your lips down Taehyung’s shaft to suckle at the head of his cock as you whimper gently around him.

With his fingertips gripping your ass bruising-hard, Jungkook’s lips slide up your folds until he finds the underside of your clit. Your thighs quiver violently when his tongue darts out for one rough flick over the sensitive bud. There’s no stifling the way you moan when Jungkook repeats the action, again and again, falling into a steady lapping rhythm that makes your whole body shake.

His mouth is so wet and so warm that you completely lose your ability to multitask. Your jaw goes slack around Taehyung’s length, drool spilling onto the sheets beneath you until Taehyung finally withdraws. You don’t have enough space in your brain to try and stroke his ego to keep things fair— you’re entirely lost in the heat of Jungkook’s tongue over your clit. Your hips shove back toward Jungkook’s face to grind against his mouth, your own tongue lolling out as you pant and moan.

An ice cold hand tangling in your hair is enough to get your eyes to refocus, and you glance up at Taehyung just in time for his grip to tighten. The sting of it sparkles like diamonds against your scalp as he forces your head back and watches you fuck yourself on Jungkook’s tongue.

“Feels good, jagiya?” Taehyung purrs, speaking up to be heard over the gasps and slurps of Jungkook as his mouth works your pussy, drinking up every drop.

You can’t think or speak, can’t do anything except nod dumbly and try to keep your eyes from rolling up into your skull. Taehyung cranes your head back another inch and you whimper at the pressure. “Gonna come on puppy’s tongue?”

“Uh-huh,” you manage to choke out, and you outright keen when two of Taehyung’s slender fingers reach down to find one of your nipples and twist. The shock of pleasure-pain rips through your whole body, and fuck, it’s enough. Taehyung drops his grip on your hair just as your orgasm hits, and your head bounces against the mattress as you collapse into shuddering moans, your body trembling all over.

Your thighs threaten to give out, but Jungkook’s hands find purchase under your hips to keep you up. You let him hold your weight entirely like it’s nothing at all, his face and tongue still buried in you as your pussy gushes and flutters around him.

Everything eventually softens into the warm glow of comedown, your moans dissolving to gentle whimpers, and then Jungkook slowly lowers you to the mattress. His hands slip down to keep your thighs pulled apart, and he leans in for a few more licks to your cunt, your whole body shivering with oversensitivity at each pass until he finally relents.

“First orgasm’s mine,” Jungkook remarks, like it’s casual.

You glance up to see Taehyung baring his teeth, and you roll onto your side despite how heavy your limbs still feel. “I’ll make her come harder. Let me taste you next, jagi.”

“Tae, wait,” you murmur, pushing yourself up onto your hands. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

Jungkook’s smug response comes first. “How about you do it while I fuck her?”

“What?!”

If your heart wasn’t still racing from the orgasm, it would be now at the way Taehyung’s eyes are fixed on Jungkook, like he wants to tear him limb from limb. But Jungkook just keeps talking, as if it doesn’t scare him in the slightest.

“She’s got two holes, right? If I take her in the ass, her pussy’s yours. It’s like she said— if you can’t stand me, maybe it’ll tone down the desire to, you know. Have a snack.”

There’s a visible tremor in Taehyung’s jaw as he attempts to keep himself under control. When he speaks, his voice is strained with the effort of holding back. “You’re not putting anything… anywhere until after I do. I don’t care which fucking hole it is.”

At this, you finally interject. “Taehyung’s right, Jungkook.”

The staring contest ends as they both look down at you, and your eyes jump back and forth between them as you shift onto your knees on the mattress. “We’ve wanted this and talked about it for so long. It’s only fair that he be my… first.”

Jungkook, to your surprise, seems unbothered. “That’s fine. So long as I’m your second.”

“Lay the fuck down, jagi,” Taehyung growls.

You follow the command and Taehyung settles between your thighs with a determined cold-steel gaze, his knees sinking soft divots into the mattress. He fists at his throbbing-hard cock as you spread yourself for him, and when he lines himself up with your entrance, you hook your legs over his hips.

In the dim light, there’s an ice-shimmer sheen on his cock, still glossed with your drool. The tip nudges at your center, and you’re drenched for him, you can feel it, slick from Jungkook’s mouth and wet with your own arousal that drips down to coat his waiting length.

A shiver runs through you at the touch of Taehyung’s hand over yours, and he turns your palm up so he can interlace your fingers together.

“Jagiya,” Taehyung murmurs. “I love you.”

His free hand slips down to anchor over your hip, and then you feel him, the glass-cold weight of his cock starting to press into you, long and impossibly hard.

“Oh god, Taehyung,” you gasp, your head kicking back against the bed. “I love you, too. So much.”

You have to shut your eyes to focus on the feeling, on adjusting to the stretch of him, your brow furrowing as you try to breathe through it.

The warm brush of a callused hand over your cheek instantly softens your expression, and your eyes flutter open again to take in Jungkook above you. His warm familiarity makes you smile, as does the sweet expression on his face as he hovers over you.

“Hi,” Jungkook says simply, and you tip your chin up enough for him to understand what you want. He leans forward and his mouth captures yours in an upside-down kiss, one that you can’t help but gasp into when Taehyung fully bottoms out inside you.

Jungkook pulls back as your breath flutters into his mouth. “Is it okay? He’s not hurting you?”

You shake your head, eyes dropping closed as Jungkook trails kisses along the line of your jaw and down your neck. “God, you took him so well.” His voice smolders against your skin.

As if attempting to regain your focus, you feel Taehyung’s hand slip between your legs. His thumb begins to trace gentle circles over your clit, and your walls clench around him in response. “Oh fuck, Tae.”

“Can I move, jagi?” he grunts, and you nod, punctuated with a soft whimper.

“Please, Tae. I need to feel you.”

You barely get the words out before Jungkook’s mouth finds yours again, and your tongue licks hungrily against his as Taehyung slowly starts to move. His cock is so thick, heavy and smooth like marble as he glides over your ridges, and you moan eagerly against Jungkook, gripping the back of his neck like a lifeline as Taehyung’s hips fall into a steady rhythm.

“Oh my god,” you have to break away from Jungkook to gasp. “Oh my god, Tae.”

“Bet that tight little pussy feels so good,” Jungkook murmurs, lips brushing over your ear. When he pulls back, you open your eyes to take him in.

“Jungkook,” you nearly whine his name, overwhelmed at the way Taehyung has started to jostle you on his cock. “Wanna make you feel good too.”

The pads of his fingertips trace delicately over your cheek, and then his thumb slips down to pull at your bottom lip.

“Do you wanna take my cock in this pretty mouth?” The hand tracing over your lip slips lower, until his warm palm is closed over the column of your neck. You can feel the heat of him in every beat of your pulse, the hummingbird thrum of your very human heart. “And let me fuck your throat?”

An overwhelming desire to be filled from both ends makes your breath stutter in your chest, and you grip his forearm with both of your hands, nails digging into his warm skin. “Y-yes, Jungkook,” you answer, working hard to get the words out with how heavy Taehyung is stroking into you. “I need it.”

Jungkook dips forward to brush his lips over yours again, just the lightest touch. “I love you,” he murmurs softly against your mouth.

“I love you,” you repeat, your voice a near whisper.

Another kiss, and he’s smiling when he pulls back. “Be a good girl and open up for me.”

As Jungkook steps away to tug down and step out of his boxers, you feel Taehyung slow his thrusts, and then you gasp a little at how deep his cock sinks into you when he shifts forward to push you both up the bed.

“You feel so good, jagi,” Taehyung groans, and you can’t help but whimper when he moves you easily, grabbing your legs and slinging them roughly over his shoulders.

A yelp escapes your lips when Taehyung hooks his arms over your thighs and pulls them flush to his chest, causing your ass to lift off the mattress entirely. With the way he has you bent, the majority of your weight should be resting in your arms and upper back pressed flat to the bed, possibly painfully. But Taehyung holds you up so effortlessly that you feel like you weigh nothing at all.

The angle also shoves you just far enough back that your head tips over the edge of the bed, and you’re grateful for this small concession from Taehyung, to let Jungkook have his way peacefully, because he knows it’s what you want, too.

As Jungkook steps in to hover over you, Taehyung starts to bounce you on his cock again, and he fills you up so perfectly like this that you can only moan, your head tilting all the way back.

Jungkook’s hands pet down the length of your neck until he finds your breasts, angled up toward him and jiggling with every fierce thrust as Taehyung picks up the pace. You whimper when Jungkook’s palms close around your tits, and you feel the head of his dick toy at your bottom lip, gliding wet with precum that has already started to leak from his slit.

Letting your eyes flutter closed, you give yourself over to the pleasure welling up inside of you and stick your tongue out to guide Jungkook in. His groan is nearly a growl as his cock presses into your mouth to weigh your tongue down heavy, then slips even further back until he’s teasing at the clench of your throat.

The stretch of being used by both of them lights you up all the way through, like a live wire.

For a moment, you find yourself wishing that you weren’t human, that they didn’t have to worry about being gentle to keep you from getting hurt, that Jungkook and Taehyung could truly do whatever they wanted to you.

The thought is exciting and terrifying, and your heart skips a beat in your chest.

Jungkook holds himself still once he’s pushed all the way in, and your throat bulges up at the width of him. You have to remind yourself that at least for now, you are human, and you need to keep breathing.

Taehyung is thrusting balls-deep into your pussy now, and though Jungkook hasn’t started his own strokes yet, the way Taehyung shoves into you is enough to gently rock Jungkook’s length back and forth in the heat-clutch of your throat.

You hear Jungkook moan above you. “Oh fuck yeah, just like that.”

His hips just barely start to move in time, out to match each of Taehyung’s thrusts in, back into your throat every time Taehyung’s cock drags out of your cunt. All you can do is lay there and take it from both of them, a fragile fucktoy, drool slipping down your chin while Jungkook’s hands knead at your breasts and Taehyung’s thumb rolls over your clit.

“Look so good like this,” Taehyung grunts as he presses his lips to your calf hooked over his shoulder. “Wanna make you come on my cock, jagi.”

The plea makes you moan enough to gag around Jungkook, and he relents to let you catch your breath, strings of spit spider-webbing out of your mouth as you pant and laugh a little.

“Fuck me harder, Taehyung,” you breathe. “I can take it.”

It feels like you might bruise from the intensity at which Taehyung begins to stroke into you at your command, but it’s so good, you can’t imagine ever caring about the marks he’ll leave behind. The slap of skin on skin is loud, the way you moan louder still. The pleasure of it rushes up in your bloodstream and hits hard enough to make you dizzy, and the relentless rub of Taehyung’s thumb over your clit pushes you to the edge overwhelmingly quickly.

“Jungkook,” you gasp, your head tipping back towards him. “Please. Want you in my mouth when I come.”

“God,” Jungkook groans, nearly laughing as he slips his thick cock between your lips again. “You are so fucking hot.”

You take Jungkook back into your mouth, and you can already feel your walls starting to flutter around Taehyung as his cock plunges into you over and over. Jungkook’s heavy breathing and Taehyung’s strangled moans mix together in a discordant harmony, underscored by the wet sounds of your throat and your pussy as they fuck you from both ends. Your orgasm mounts, coiling tight in your core, undeniable now.

“That’s it, jagiya,” Taehyung groans. “Come for us.”

You nearly sob around Jungkook’s shaft as you reach your peak, your hips shoving up wildly in Taehyung’s grasp, your entire body overwhelmed by pleasure. Wave after wave of it washes through you, and your pussy pulses for what feels like an eternity, soaking Taehyung’s length in your juices.

Jungkook pulls out again to let you breathe, and you collapse back against the bed. The rush of air into your lungs is so sharp that it stings a little. Your heartbeat slams in your chest as Taehyung withdraws too, and then he leans down to cover your body with his.

His perfect lips find yours and he kisses you deeply, and it takes all the effort you have left to move your mouth against his.

“You’re beautiful, jagiya,” Taehyung murmurs against your skin. “You feel like heaven.”

“I love you, Taehyung,” you manage to whisper back.

“Aw,” Jungkook’s voice drips thick with sarcasm, and you’re ashamed to realize that you’d momentarily forgotten his presence. “What a lovely couple. Guess that orgasm makes the score one-to-one, huh Tae-Tae?”

You shiver a little at the loss of Taehyung’s body over yours as he gets to his feet, inhumanly fast, to move towards Jungkook.

“You know, I have no idea what she sees in you,” Taehyung scoffs.

Jungkook barks a laugh. “That’s fine. ‘Cause pretty soon you’ll be seeing me in her.”

Your heart is in your throat as you watch the two of them circle each other, their eyes burning with hatred. A low warning sound reverberates from between Taehyung’s teeth, but Jungkook just keeps going. “What do you think, bloodsucker? Ready to try eating pussy now that you’re not a virgin anymore?”

“I’d much prefer dog for my next meal, if I’m honest,” Taehyung spits.

“I’d love to see you try.”

“Please.” Your voice comes out shattered, and you kneel up on the bed, grabbing both of them by the bicep in a feeble human attempt to pull them apart. You know you don’t have the real strength to move either of them, but they clearly choose to relent, each taking a few reluctant steps back.

“I want both of you,” you exclaim, close to tears. “Please, please don’t fight.”

There’s a tense moment of silence, and you break it the only way you can think to. “Jungkook,” you shift to better face him. “You really meant what you said? About taking me… in the ass?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen as he fumbles for his words. “I-I mean, we don’t have to. I was just saying shit to make him mad, really.”

“But do you want to?” you press him.

Jungkook blinks. “I want to do anything with you,” he says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world, and your heart melts open.

“I want it, too.”

“I– really?”

You nod, unashamed. “I’ve tried it before, by myself. And I want that with you.”

“How many fingers?” Jungkook’s eyes go dark with lust when he asks the question.

“Two,” you breathe.

His mouth pulls into a dirty smile. “Might have to work you up to three if you want to take me.”

“Taehyung?” You turn towards him when you ask for his consent to continue, and he answers by leaning in for a kiss that steals all the air from your lungs.

Your kisses deepen and intensify until they’re a clash of tongues and teeth as Taehyung joins you to kneel on the bed. Jungkook disappears off to dig through your bathroom cabinets, and there’s a smug look on his face when he returns with a bottle of lube in hand.

Hands still clutching at Taehyung’s neck, you break the kiss momentarily to look over your shoulder as Jungkook settles behind you, and you spread your knees wide for him. The snap of the bottle cap is loud in the quiet of your bedroom, and it’s chased by the thick squelch of Jungkook depositing lube onto his waiting fingers.

“This shit’s cold,” he complains, and you laugh softly against Taehyung’s mouth.

“Everything feels cold to you.”

You reach back with one hand to better spread yourself for him, and then you whimper as you feel Jungkook’s warm, wet fingers start to trace over the rim of your hole.

It feels like you can barely catch your breath before Taehyung’s mouth is on yours again, kissing you hungrily. His teeth roll over your bottom lip, and you moan into his mouth as Jungkook simultaneously pushes a finger into your ass.

Hot pleasure overwhelms you as Jungkook slips all the way in, and Taehyung’s marble lips release yours to trail an icy path over your jaw.

“Fuck, Koo,” you groan as you adjust to the stretch of him, already so much better than your own touch. “I need another.”

“God,” Jungkook exhales in disbelief. “I’ll try. You’re so fuckin’ tight back here.” Attempting to work you open, he starts to rock his finger slowly in and out of you, and you whine again.

The glass-cold touch of Taehyung’s hand brushing over your hip makes you jump a little, and then he traces further down to roll his fingers over your clit, and your spine arches. The soft circles he begins to trace melt you open, and you can feel every muscle in your body slacken, including the tight ring swallowing up Jungkook’s finger.

It’s just enough that he’s able to squeeze a second in.

“Look at that,” Jungkook chuckles darkly. “The leech is helping.”

You wrap a hand firmly around Taehyung’s cock, jutting up proudly between his legs, if only for a tether to ground you, to keep you from slipping out of your body entirely. Taehyung’s groan shudders over your skin as you slowly start to pump his diamond-hard length.

Jungkook doesn’t let up, scissoring his digits inside of you, and you press your hips back to beg for more until he’s shoved in to the hilt.

Taehyung’s deep voice purrs in your ear. “You smell incredible, jagiya.” There’s a sheen to his ochre eyes when you glance up at him. You’re not scared, not really, but your pulse quickens in your throat nevertheless. You know he can hear it, too.

“Tae,” you breathe, unable to get more words out, not with the way Jungkook’s fingers are relentlessly fucking your ass open.

Taehyung ducks his head and you gasp at the cold shock of his tongue when he full-on licks up the side of your neck. He keeps going, tonguing you in thick, slow drags, starting to groan softly in the back of his throat with each one. You let your head tip back to allow him access to more of your skin as you continue to work his cock in your hand.

You know you’re dancing with the devil, especially when you feel the lightest scrape of his teeth over your neck, but it feels too good to stop.

There’s a slow burn stretch at your rim as Jungkook just barely manages to fit a third finger past it. You will your body to relax so you can take him all the way inside, and you can’t help but moan at the overwhelming fullness. “Oh my fucking god, Koo.”

“Look so pretty on my fingers like this,” Jungkook grunts, pairing his words with a harsh slap to your asscheek that makes you yelp. “Can’t wait to see what you look like on my cock.”

Like a reflex, Taehyung growls against your neck, and you tremble at the feeling, at the sound of his teeth grinding together so close to your throbbing pulse.

“Taehyung,” you choke out as you release your grip on his cock and Jungkook’s fingers withdraw from your ass. You take Taehyung’s face in your hands, forcing him to meet your gaze. “Do you want to taste me?” His eyes flash dark with lust as he nods.

Jungkook is already shifting to sit at the edge of the bed, and he reaches for the lube again to pour more out, hissing softly as he fists the sticky gloss over his thick shaft. His legs part to give you room, and you back your ass up towards him. You can’t help but squeak a little when his hands close over your hips and he picks you up, your feet hovering an inch above the floor.

“Spread your legs,” Jungkook instructs, and you do. “Pull your knees up and rest your feet on my thighs.” You nervously find your footing over his firm muscles, but you’re a little scared to bear your full weight down.

Jungkook laughs when he realizes why you’re hesitating. “You can’t hurt me, it’s okay.”

At his encouragement, you press your feet more firmly into Jungkook’s thighs, your own legs shaking slightly with tense anticipation. He keeps his hands gripped tight to your hips, heat radiating out from where his palms press against your skin, and his voice is thick with lust when he speaks again.

“That’s it, baby. Line it up for me.”

You reach behind you to wrap your hand around his cock, and you can feel it pulsing hotly as you arch back to let his tip kiss against your rim.

“Go slow,” you breathe, and Jungkook leans in to press a kiss to your shoulder.

“‘Course I will. Don’t wanna hurt you.”

Inch by inch, he gently starts to sink you down to sheath him, pausing periodically to give you time to adjust. Your mouth drops open at the overwhelming feeling of Jungkook’s thickness stretching you open. It’s so intense that you want to squirm, to run away, the soles of your feet flexing restlessly against his thighs.

Your eyes flutter open again to find Taehyung knelt down, watching the two of you intently with a soft furrow in his brow.

“Tae,” you murmur. “Need your mouth.”

That’s all you have to say, and then he’s crawling towards you, settling on his knees between Jungkook’s spread legs. You shiver at the touch of Taehyung’s fingers as he pulls the lips of your pussy apart, and then he leans in to swipe his tongue through your folds just as Jungkook drops you an inch lower on his cock, and you whine loudly at the sweet rush of pleasure.

“Just like that,” you gasp to both of them, your head lolling back against Jungkook’s chest. “Oh, fuck.”

Taehyung’s tongue traces down to your entrance, slurping greedily at the wetness pooled there before dragging back up to your clit. The mirror-cold slide of his wet mouth over you is incredible, enough to make your toes curl when paired with the pressure of Jungkook’s hot cock pushing into your ass.

You feel the tight muscle of your rim spasm, and you sink another inch down, causing Jungkook to groan harshly in response. Just as you realize that you can feel his thighs flush against your asscheeks, his voice is in your ear.

“That’s it, baby. Took all of me in this tight little ass.”

“You feel so good, Koo,” you whimper, turning over your shoulder to find his mouth with yours. “So big,” you groan against his lips, and he smiles back.

As if to distract you, Taehyung’s teeth just barely brush over the hood of your clit, and you nearly bite Jungkook’s bottom lip off. You pull back to look down at Taehyung, and he smiles shyly between your thighs, feigning innocence.

“Watch it, bloodsucker,” Jungkook mutters, his voice strained. “Guess you need more practice.”

“No,” you manage to gasp, struggling to catch your breath between the two of them. “I liked it. Please, Tae.”

Taehyung leans in to repeat the motion, and the scrape of his teeth sends a hot spark of pain through you, enough to make your eyes squeeze shut and every muscle in your body pull taut. You can hear Jungkook groan behind you as your ass clenches around his cock like a vice.

“Shit,” Jungkook’s voice over your shoulder startles you slightly. Your lashes flutter open in time to see him reach his foot out and nudge at Taehyung’s thigh, not particularly gentle. “Keep fucking doing that.”

Taehyung obliges, alternating gentle passes of his tongue with increasingly rough drags of his teeth across your sensitive bud. The steady swings between pleasure and pain make your head spin, until Taehyung’s husky voice drags you back from the brink of all-encompassing pleasure.

“You’re dripping, jagiya.”

You whimper, unable to form words to respond, and then you can only moan as you feel one of Taehyung’s delicate fingers work itself into the heat of your pussy with a wet squelch.

“Pup’s so big and you’re so little,” Taehyung continues. “There’s no room left. Can barely get a finger in here.”

“I want to take you too, Tae,” you plead. “I want both of you.” It’s not just want at this point– you’re more sure than ever that you have to have this, both of them, together. “Please.”

Taehyung’s face darkens with concern. “We’ll break you.”

“Then break me,” you practically growl. “I need it.”

You’re expecting Taehyung to argue back, forever concerned for your safety, but to your surprise, he surges up to kiss you instead. A soft whimper spills from your mouth into his, and you tangle your fingers in his long dark hair and taste him until he pulls away.

As if to beckon him in, you wordlessly tilt your hips toward Taehyung as best you can with Jungkook’s thick cock still fully sheathed in your ass. Taehyung’s hands sink into the mattress on either side of Jungkook’s hips as he positions himself in front of you.

“Breathe, jagi,” Taehyung reminds you.

Your lungs burn as you inhale deep, and you try desperately to relax as you feel the tip of his glass-hard length teasing at your drenched entrance. Taehyung slowly starts to push in, and your hands search for purchase along the lean, flexing muscles in his arms, your nails attempting to scratch over skin that won’t give.

There’s a steady throb between your legs as Taehyung gently nestles himself all the way into your cunt, his cock pressed tight to Jungkook’s with only the thin barrier of your body between them. This feeling of fullness is beyond anything you’ve ever experienced, and the sensation of taking both of them at once is overwhelming. It’s spine-chilling cold and blood-boiling heat all in one, their cocks crammed so deep inside you that you swear you can feel them in your throat.

“Fuck,” Jungkook hisses, and he can’t quite hide the waver of pleasure that paints his voice. “Your dick’s fucking cold.”

“You’re actually just a fucking furnace,” Taehyung spits back, but it’s chased with a soft groan. 

Your mind lags, dazed with pleasure, but it slowly occurs to you that the temperature combination must feel equally good for them. Even if their egos won’t let them admit it.

“Move.” No one is more shocked than you at the commanding tone of your voice when you speak. “Both of you. Stop talking and fuck me.”

Jungkook acts first, his hands tightening on your hips to lift you, and the tight clutch of your ass dragging up the length of his cock makes you both gasp. Taehyung watches closely as Jungkook falls into a steady rhythm, and then he starts to roll his hips to match it, thrusting into your pussy each time Jungkook pulls your ass back down over his cock.

None of you can keep your composure or bite back your moans now, the pressure of their cocks simultaneously fucking into you feels too good. You can hear Jungkook panting in your ear, can see a muscle flexing in Taehyung’s jaw as he groans with every upstroke, and you begin to shove your hips up in time with their motions, your feet pressing firmly against Jungkook’s thighs for leverage.

“That’s it, baby,” Jungkook grunts. “Fucking ride us.”

Taehyung shifts slightly, putting all his weight into one hand to lift the other off the mattress and toy with your clit. You keen as he rolls it between his thumb and index finger, and you feel the chill of his mouth close over the slope of your neck.

“Oh fuck, Tae,” you whine as he starts to suck hard against your skin, enough that you’re sure he’ll leave a mark. You can feel every muscle in your body tightening, a dam of arousal threatening to burst deep inside of you, and something primal awakens there.

In this moment, you know exactly what you need.

“Taehyung,” you groan softly, and you already know he wants it too. “Do it, Tae. Please. Bite me.”

“Do not fucking turn her,” Jungkook growls, slamming your ass down so hard on his thighs that you nearly choke on a gasp. Taehyung’s mouth sucks even harder, right over your pulse point.

“No, no,” you protest. “Just a little drink, Tae. Please. It felt so good last time, I know. We both want it.” You’re outright begging, insatiable– your eyes threaten tears with how badly you really do want this, need this.

Like it takes every ounce of strength he has, Taehyung manages to pull himself off your neck, his hips still pistoning into you. “Jagi, I–I’ll frenzy. I’ll hurt you.”

You shake your head. “Jungkook is here, you can stop yourself. I know you can. Please, Tae, if you love me.”

As if those words were all he needed to hear, you see Taehyung rear back, and then you scream as his teeth pierce the skin of your neck. “It’s good Taehyung, it’s good,” you choke out, trying to keep it together. Your breath comes ragged now, in harsh, broken sobs.

Taehyung is loud when he drinks from you, slurping and gasping and groaning unabashedly, and you shiver violently at the icy wash of his tongue circling over your wounds.

The world begins to blur at the edges, bleeding out, like time itself is slowing. You feel your climax winding tighter inside of you even as your body starts to go weak, held up like a ragdoll in Jungkook’s grip as they both continue to fuck you full.

Jungkook growls like a clap of thunder, and it’s enough to bring Taehyung back to his senses. His head snaps up angrily, your blood momentarily forgotten. You just barely manage to focus your gaze on Taehyung’s face to see him bare his teeth in a vicious snarl at Jungkook, more monster than man.

“What is it, pup? Want a taste?”

Your mind moves slowly, and just as you think to yourself that Jungkook will scoff at the very idea, maybe even try to fight Taehyung for suggesting it, a new sensation flutters against your neck. It’s unmistakable, the touch of Jungkook’s tongue over the same spot, hot enough to burn the delicate skin that was just made so cold by Taehyung’s mouth.

“Oh fuck,” you moan loudly.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” Taehyung purrs, chased with a dark laugh, and your mind is too dizzy to know which of you he’s asking.

“She’s sweet,” Jungkook confirms, and your eyes roll back at the warmth of his tongue when it returns to your neck. Taehyung laughs even louder.

“He’s not gonna leave any for me. Can I give you one more set, jagi?”

“Please,” you gasp. “I’m so fucking close, Tae.”

Your head feels heavy on your neck now, and it takes all the strength you have to look at Taehyung when you feel the brush of his marble palm against your cheek. “I love you,” he murmurs, and then there’s an animal sound as his teeth tear a fresh gash into the other side of your neck.

Two cocks filling you, two tongues drinking you, your mind at the precipice of blacking out, the sweet pleasure-pain of ice and fire twisting all the way through your body: it’s all too much. Taehyung’s second bite sends you violently over the edge, and your vision goes black as you come with a strangled scream. White noise roars in your ears like TV static, and you feel the unmistakable throb of two loads filling you up simultaneously as your cunt pulses in an endless, overwhelming orgasm.

A voice somewhere in the back of your mind asks if these might be your final moments alive, if this shaky inhale you can barely take is the last breath you’ll ever breathe, and then the world goes dark as you lose consciousness entirely.

~*~

You wake up with a deep gasp, like coming up for air.

You’ve been laid flat on your back on the bed, and you sit up so fast your head spins, making it momentarily impossible to focus on anything. You squeeze your eyes shut again, trying to steady yourself.

“Oh thank god,” Taehyung’s worried voice comes from your right side, and you feel both of his hands close over yours. “I was just about to call Seokjin. Do you still want me to?”

The thought of having to explain any of this to Taehyung’s adoptive father makes your face burn with embarrassment.

“No, no, Tae,” you manage to croak. “I’m fine, seriously. Don’t call him.”

“You’re lucky,” you hear Jungkook scoff from your left. “I had about five more seconds left of you playing dead before I was going to tear vampy here to shreds. Guess there’s always next time.”

You wrench your eyes open in disbelief to find Taehyung and Jungkook staring at you, brows creased with worry.

“N-next time?”

“Do you still want that, jagiya?” Taehyung asks softly, and you have to swallow down the urge to cry. “You still want both of us?”

“More than anything,” you choke out, eyes darting between the two of them, trying to take them both in at once. “I-I’m sorry I pushed myself too hard, but please, I still need–”

“It’s okay,” Taehyung interrupts you. “We clearly all got caught up in the moment. I’m just glad you’re okay. And now we know better, for… next time.”

You still can’t believe what you’re hearing, and you turn to look at Jungkook, trying to make sense of it.

Jungkook just shrugs. “Neither of us have ever felt anything close to what we felt tonight. I mean, it was insane. And we both love you, that much is obvious. So as long as you’re still breathing, I guess we’re gonna have to learn to play nice.”

Taehyung laughs darkly as your jaw drops open. “It’s true, jagiya. I never would’ve believed it before tonight. But, despite all odds, it would seem we’ve found a way to… compromise.”

lol i'm so sorry this was the dumbest thing i've ever written bye

[blueskittlesart]

what do u think totk is gonna b about

OH WOW I AM SO SO SO GLAD YOU ASKED!! HERES THE ESSAY I TOTALLY DID NOT HAVE PREWRITTEN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT!!

so arguably the biggest mystery left unsolved at the end of botw is the origin of ganon as we now know him -- "calamity ganon." in all other games (and by extension all known previous incarnation cycles) where "ganon" was the primary antagonist (incl. all ganon and ganondorf variants) ganon was something real, physical, and ALIVE. a man or a boar-monster, usually, but always something that was bound by the laws of nature to some degree and could be physically killed. botw departs from that formula (and by extension botw's CYCLE departs from the usual governing laws of its own universe--i'll come back to this point) by showing us a ganon that is far less human than any other known incarnation of demise. even in name, this incarnation of ganon is given no personhood--it's a calamity, a force of evil with no origin and no complex thought beyond a need for destruction.

The thing is, for all the game wants the player to understand this ganon as nothing but a mindless, monstrous force of evil, it also makes a point to identify this force as GANON, incarnation of demise. seasoned zelda fans will relate the calamity back to ganondorf the human king at the first mention of its name. anyone familiar with the cyclical lore or even just the basic formula of zelda games will recognize the cycle's steps being played out in such a way that the calamity plays the part of the king of evil. for those who don't make the immediate connection, urbosa's final line after the player frees her in vah naboris cements the calamity's former personhood: "it was written that calamity ganon once adopted the form of a gerudo." it's a deliberate hint to new players that the form we see ganon take in this game is not his true one.

So what is calamity ganon? what turned the newest human incarnation of demise so deeply inhuman? what happened to the human that calamity ganon once was? why, when the calamity struck, did it rise from underneath hyrule castle, with pillars full of armed guardians ready to aid it in its destruction? these questions are what i expect will be the main focus of totk. as for their answers, i only really have my own speculation, backed by some evidence from trailers and botw, which i'll outline now because that's the whole point of this post.

botw is 10k years removed from the last known instance of an incarnation cycle, a fact which is crucial to its story and worldbuilding. while there's no official source on how long periods of peace usually last between cycles, it's obvious from context that botw has gone much longer without a new cycle than any previous game before it, if only because of how much information about the cycle itself has clearly been lost to time. this lack of information is what causes a majority of the problems link and zelda face in botw. But it raises a question for those of us who follow the lore and have noticed the discrepancy: why was hyrule able to forget this information in the first place? Why was there such a long period of peace when the cycle ought to have continued? there's no other instance in centuries of documented hyrulian history where enough time passed between cycles for the idea of the TRIFORCE to be lost to time. how did it happen before botw? the answer, I think, lies with the hero and princess of 10k years ago.

there's a LOT we don't know about the hero and princess who came before botw, obviously. and I believe their story is going to be incredibly important in totk, given how it was teased in botw. we can assume, from context, that the incarnation of demise that this hero and princess went up against was the gerudo incarnation of ganon mentioned by urbosa. What botw tells us about this cycle is that ganon was powerful enough to need legions of guardians and four divine beasts ALONG with a presumably fully-realized hero and princess to defeat him, but that, with these resources, the hero and princess triumphed. what is not confirmed, however, is what exactly HAPPENED to ganon after his defeat. one could assume that he died, because hitting a human man with a sword enough times will usually kill him. however, there's another important piece to the puzzle when looking at loz cycles: zelda and her goddess power. the thing i'm going to be focusing on here is the fact that throughout botw zelda's power is referred to specifically as a "sealing power." it's significant to me that the concept of SEALING surivived when so many other crucial pieces of the cycle did not, because, in multiple previous games, "sealing" ganon does NOT mean he dies. in both oot timelines in which link DOES NOT return to the past at the end of the game (defeat & adult), the official explanation as to ganondorf's fate is that he is "sealed" in some form, either in the sacred realm or the twilight realm. (if you don't know what those are don't worry it's not important, what's important is that he is sealed.) alttp and twilight princess, follow the aftermath of these two timelines, in which ganon has been "sealed" but not killed. in both stories, ganon (specifically the SAME INCARNATION OF GANON AS OOT) eventually frees himself from the confines of the seal and continues to terrorize hyrule. so "sealing" is not necessarily synonymous with defeat or death, and it doesn't reset the incarnation cycle for demise's spirit, it just keeps the current incarnation dormant for a while.

i hear you saying, "blue, why the fuck does any of this matter? ive been reading for so long!" and i am sorry. i promise i will get there. the important point at this point is that SEALED does not mean DEAD or even DEFEATED, and that zelda's power in botw is exclusively referred to as a SEALING POWER. we can assume that this terminology is left over from the hero and princess from 10k years ago, because, by virtue of a 10k-year period of peace, most everything that botw hyrule remembers about the cycle appears to be left over from only that previous cycle. What this means is that, upon defeat 10k years ago, human ganon was not killed, he was sealed. and as i've already mentioned, there's a precedent in these games for a sealed ganon to come back to terrorize a new cycle's hero and princess. I think it's pretty obvious that the mummified gerudo skeleton seen in the totk trailers is that sealed ganon from 10k years ago. but those trailers take place AFTER link and zelda defeat calamity ganon in botw, so why is he still there, sealed but not dead?

the most obvious explanation to me is this: calamity ganon is not ganon. botw's blights give us proof that ganon is capable of somehow reproducing itself in smaller, less powerful doses to deal with immediate threats without having to leave its shelter in hyrule castle. if you recall, calamity ganon's first phase underneath hyrule castle is essentially a rehash of the blight fights, with ganon cycling through attacks previously used by its blights (and adding some new ones into the mix, obv.) One thing that struck me when fighting it, though, is that the fight lacks one signature mechanic that's been a staple of ganon battles in the zelda franchise since at least alttp: sword pong. in almost every game involving a fight with an incarnation of ganon, there's an attack pattern in which the player and ganon have to deflect a ball of energy between each other via their weapons until one of them eventually misses a swing and gets hit. calamity ganon doesn't have this attack in his arsenal, which is strange to me because it's an iconic move for loz final battles. the only ganon battle i can think of which DOESN'T involve this mechanic is oot's shadow ganondorf, a PROJECTION of ganondorf rather than the real thing.

can you see what i'm getting at here?

I don't think botw's link and zelda have gone up against their real incarnation of demise yet. I think the calamity was one of two things: either a genuine expression of rage/escape attempt by the sealed human ganon, or a calculated attempt by him to get modern hylians interested enough in the origins of the calamity to investigate and free him accidentally. The way the pillars rose from under hyrule castle, the fact that calamity ganon smashes through the floor of the sanctum and forces link to fight in that underground chamber, it all seems to beckon you to dig deeper. we know that that mummy is somewhere under the castle. Calamity ganon was a shootoff of its power meant to lead hylians to it. this is what i meant way back when i mentioned that botw's cycle departs from the usual governing laws of its own universe--link and zelda haven't actually played out the full cycle at all. what they've done is essentially the precursor to the main event--they've defeated agahnim, or zant, or ghirahim, but the true evil of this cycle has yet to be revealed. to that point, it's worth noting that, excluding shrine mini-dungeons, botw has WAY less dungeons than your average zelda title. most new-cycle titles (by which i mean games that weren't direct sequels featuring the same incarnation of a given link) are divided into 2 sections of dungeoning - the first section having 3-4 dungeons containing prize items needed to unlock some late-game functionality, and the second half having 5-7 dungeons and being accessible only after the player has completed the first section. botw has four dungeons TOTAL (not counting hyrule castle), meaning formula-wise it's essentially the first half of a cycle. i believe totk is going to be the second half of this cycle, with link and zelda having to fight the true evil -- revitalized HUMAN ganondorf.

so now we need to bring this all back to my initial point--why was there a 10k-year period of peace pre-botw, and how does any of this effect my predictions for the story of totk?

in simple terms, i think that the reason there was such a long period of peace was because 10k-years-ago-princess sealed ganon REALLY well. she probably came the closest anyone in hyrule's history has ever come to a TRUE defeat of ganon, because she managed to keep him ALIVE so he wouldn't reincarnate and SEALED so he couldn't hurt anyone for a really long time. what this implies is that 10k-years-ago princess knew on some level about the reincarnation cycle. she understood that if she couldn't keep ganon alive and incapacitated, he would revive and the cycle would start over anyway, so she did everything in her power to stop that from happening, and she did a DAMN GOOD JOB tbh. better than anyone who tried this shit before her. there are other bits and pieces of botw's story that point to the hyrulean civilization 10k years ago understanding the potential of a ganon reincarnation, most notably the fact that they buried guardians and divine beasts seemingly purposefully for later hyruleans to find and use should a new threat ever arise. this implies that 10k-years-ago hyruleans had a REALLY HIGH level of awareness about the cycle, in direct contrast to modern hyrule's REALLY LOW understanding of it. this is really important when we start thinking about totk.

we already have a decent amount of evidence suggesting that totk will deal with the events of 10k years ago and the hero involved in them. In several trailers now we've seen modern link's arm become weirdly, creepily fused with/corrupted by the arm that was holding mummified ganon in place under the castle. i think this arm is going to serve two purposes in totk. the first is a practicality thing: from gameplay footage it looks like the arm is going to basically take the place of the sheikah slate. the second purpose i think it'll serve is to be link's (and by extension the player's) connection to the events of 10k years ago. I've seen plenty of theories thrown around about what the arm is, but my personal theory is that it's some sort of prosthetic or tech that originally belonged to the 10k-years-ago hero. the way it's holding mummified ganon in place in that first teaser trailer looks less to me like an evil influence and more like something physically holding ganon down; a seal of sorts. (and in most games both the hero and princess's power is needed to seal ganon, so perhaps this is how the hero and princess managed to keep him dormant for so long: adding a physical piece of the hero to the mix?) in any case, i think that after establishing this physical connection to the 10k-years-ago hero, modern link is going to get some knowledge and flashbacks (potentially in the form of memory-style cutscenes like botw) that will serve to basically fill in all the cyclical lore that has been lost in-universe over the past 10k years. I've talked at length about how i believe link and zelda's initial failure in botw was due entirely to their lack of knowledge of the hyrulean creation myth and the REASON behind the motions they were carrying out, and i believe that by witnessing the 10k-years-ago hero and princess's journey, modern link will be given the knowledge he needs to defeat ganon.

[allidoistrytrytryy]

don’t want no other shade of blue, but you (part 2 of 2) (neteyam x reader)

AO3 version if you prefer reading over there

part 1 (Neteyam and the sky girl, series)

summary: (the confusing timeline and glimpses of life between Neteyam and a human girl.) (part 2, ending)

warnings: hurt/comfort, fluff and angst, the angst is back with a fervor but HAPPY ENDING, no use of y/n, aged-up characters, not canon-compliant, everybody lives, unrealistic lore (sorry james cameron), human!reader

little note from author: thank you all for the notes and reactions!!!! i wrote everytime i had some time outside of work and did my best to get this out as fact as i could! this is the end of the two big parts, but i think i’ll write more one-shots around neteyam x human!reader (whether before or after part 2) so expect some stuff!!! will not stop writing neteyam anyway, the brainrot is too present lmao enjoy!!!

this is also like...9k words, almost 10k...BYE

“Yawntu, come here.” You heard from behind you before feeling a hand settling on the back of your neck. A mouth put itself on the edge of your ear, which twitched at the contact. “Let’s ditch the others and go on a date. Just you and I.”

You turned around to see Neteyam smiling mischievously, as he squeezed your neck gently to get an answer. You could only nod with a smile back as he pulled you away.

“What about a flight, sky girl ? Ready to get beaten again ?” He asked, his hand sliding down to intertwine with yours. Your tail twitched at the contact, tapping at his hip gently.

Your...tail ?

“You okay, yawntu ?”

You tried to look at him only to see a blur. You startled awake, looking up at the same white ceiling of your small room, sweat sticking to your back and your shirt.

It had been a dream again.

You didn’t remember how long it had been already since the day the Sullys had left. A part of you had been left too, back in the forest when he turned his back on you and never looked back.

It was all your fault, you knew that. You broke your heart and his in the process. You were the only perpetrator.

You felt empty and aimless. You barely saw anyone. Norm and Max forced you to work with them, forced you in conversations, forced you to even eat.

Norm was once again coming in to put breakfast on the little table in your room. “He wouldn’t like to see you like this. Please, eat.”

You watched from your bed, stuck in a decision - going back to sleep or getting up. If you slept, that meant you could dream, where you were with them, with him. If you slept, that meant you didn’t feel for a few moments.

Everything had gone to shit. Your life included. You had lost them all, even Spider. Spider who was stuck with a man that had never loved him, with a man so cruel and terrible. Spider who had been your brother for so many years. You prayed to Eywa everyday that he was okay.

Everyday, you thought of the Sullys. Were they okay ? Had they found somewhere to belong ? Were they doing well in a whole another clan with different people and customs ?

(Was Tuk crying ? Was Kiri protected when she got lost in what was around her ? Was Lo’ak not getting into too much trouble ? Was Neteyam... was anyone taking care of him when he was taking care of everyone else ?)

Sometimes, Mo’at would come around and force you out. She would teach you and talk to you. You were glad for her presence, the only remaining link you had with the Na’vi and the Sullys.

You were glad for Norm and Max too.

So you woke up every morning. You went on. You took it day to day. You went back to sleep. And you started it all again, like a machine.

You would get out of your room when you felt okay to. You would see if any of the humans needed your help or if Mo’at had deemed it a day to come see you. You would go along with it. That was your routine, your way of survival.

Even if all you thought about was Neteyam. His drooping shoulders and the defeat in his body. His eyes. His smile. His voice.

So many days and weeks and months later, commotion happened in the lab, Norm in his avatar and Max running out.

You looked curiously. You decided to ask. “Hey, what’s going on ?”

Max stopped. “You should come with us, now.” He pulled on your arm, getting you towards the helicopter. “Bad situation. Jake called us over.”

You felt blood rush in your ears. What had happened that Jake needed to call them over ?

“Kiri had a seizure. He called so we could go and see what is going on. We need to go now.”

You nodded, your heart in your throat.

You barely remembered getting in a seat and buckling up. You barely remembered the flight over. All you saw was water, until there was land. Islands. Until you saw Jake motioning the helicopter down.

You went out last, after Norm and Max, lost in between the new environment and your fear for Kiri. You felt stares on you. You barely paid attention to them.

Jake was talking with them and leading them away, not even noticing you were there until he turned around when you all arrived to their little hut.

His eyes widened, before he pulled you in. “Oh, sweetheart, I didn’t see you there. Thank you for coming.”

You teared up at the hug, at his words. Great mother, how had you missed them all. “Of course. How is she doing ?” Your voice shook, as you looked up at him.

He grimaced, worry all over his face. “She’s unconscious. She had a seizure when she connected to Eywa with the kids.”

Max and Norm had both gone in to try to see what was happening, to connect to Kiri’s brain with their machine. Neytiri was beside Kiri, holding her hand. Tuk was close by too.

A beautiful pregnant Na’vi woman came in, with what seemed healing materials.

“You are Tsahik.” Neytiri hissed, before chasing everyone out. Jake, Max and Norm left to talk. (You would have laughed in any other situation. They were still all scared shitless of Neytiri. Which you understood.)

You watched as the Tsahik worked on waking Kiri up.

Please Kiri, just wake up. Be okay. Be okay. Please.

A few moments later, Kiri opened her eyes and cried as Neytiri comforted her. You sagged in relief, feeling your own tears burning your eyes.

You didn’t try to enter or barge in. You didn’t try to talk to them. You were just relieved to see them all and to see Kiri okay.

“Tsmuke ?” A small voice whispered and then a large hand fell on your arm. You looked up to see Tuk, surprise and happiness in her eyes.

“Hey, Tuk tuk.” You whispered back, your hand reaching up to ruffle her braids.

At this little moment, you heard gasps behind her. Neytiri looked at you with surprise too before a soft smile broke on her face. Kiri started crying even harder before she threw herself at you.

You choked and fell back.

“Kiri ! That fucking hurts, you skxawng !”

“Sorry, sorry.” She sniffled and still held you tight, putting you in her lap in the process. “I just missed you so much. We all did.”

The burning behind your eyes intensified until you couldn’t keep it in anymore. The tears flowed as you hugged her back.

“I missed you too. All of you. So much.” Your voice broke on the words, breaking through your real feelings for the first time in months. “It’s been hard.” A wet laugh came out of you. “But, enough about me. What happened Kiri ? Are you okay ?”

She put some distance to look into your face. “I saw my mom. She was right there. And then...” Kiri sighed, disappointed to have lost the contact. “I don’t know what happened exactly. I was ripped out of the connection and went into a seizure apparently.” She shook her head.

You couldn’t believe it. You were stuck between being happy for her (she had always wanted to talk to Grace, at least once in her life, to be in her presence) and being worried about what happened to her. How could connecting to Eywa put her in this state ?

“Hey, Kiri, I know the seizure was bad but I’m so happy you got to see Grace. How was she ? Did she say anything ?” You asked, holding her hand tight.

She went into it with sparkles and happiness in her eyes about what she looked like and how it had felt to be with her for this short simple moment. You couldn’t help but smile with love for the girl in front of you. Tuk had gotten closer to you too again in the moment, pushing her head on your shoulder (even though her head didn’t fit, not really). Neytiri was looking over the three of you, holding Kiri’s hand the whole time.

You both talked for a few minutes until Norm squeezed your shoulder. “We have to go.”

Pure sadness and pain exploded in your gut at the words. You had felt what could happiness be again for a short discussion, and now you had to leave it all behind again ? You swallowed to keep the bile in but gave a smile to Norm (which looked more like a grimace). “I’ll be there in a minute.”

You slowly got up, Kiri and Tuk following you in the process.

Tuk hugged you, whined at you leaving. “Do you really have to go ? Can’t you stay with us ?”

“I wish I could, Tuk tuk. I really wish I could.” You gently pinched her cheek. “But it’s going to be okay. You’ll come back to the forest at some point and you’ll tell me everything. I’ll be waiting.”

Kiri looked at you and you knew she didn’t believe a word you said. In truth, you didn’t know if they would ever come back and if they did, you knew it wouldn’t be soon, not with Quaritch back.

But no matter how much you wanted to stay, you couldn’t.

“I’ll see you all later, okay ?” You tried to sound strong, when you were really breaking again inside. “And don’t move Kiri ! I’ll go by myself.”

You hugged them one last time. Neytiri softly touched your head for a second and let you go. You smiled at her as much as you could, before you turned around to join Norm and Max out.

Jake hugged you as you left. “Take care.” You nodded. You didn’t look back.

The Tsahik and Olo'eyktan stood near the helicopter, ready to watch you leave. You extended your hand from your forehead downwards in greetings, bowed your head in thanks.

You both felt relieved and destroyed to not have seen Neteyam. Relieved because then you did not have to face the way he wouldn’t look at you. Destroyed because you missed him, because you needed to see him to know he was fine.

As if Eywa had heard you, the moment you stepped one foot in, the moment you slightly turned your head left, he was there. A few feet away. With Lo’ak and others from the sea clan.

He looked at you with wide eyes and you froze. Pain and love blossomed in your chest. It hurt. It hurt to love him so much. You could never stop though. You didn’t even want to.

“What’s happening ?” Max asked, before getting his head out towards Neteyam still looking at you.

Norm sighed. “You should go. Go talk to him. Here’s your chance.”

You were still frozen when Norm’s words entered your ears, but Neteyam unfroze to start moving forward towards you. You shook your head, both at Norm and Neteyam.

He stopped and you saw the words on his lips. “Sky girl”. You shook your head again and gave him a sad smile. His ears twitched down, his tail drooped. You had hurt him again.

You still couldn’t do it though. You hadn’t changed your mind. What were you supposed to say to him when you still felt like your decision was the good one, the best one for him ?

Maybe not for you. But he would understand with time. That was what you told yourself.

You went in the helicopter and watched him become smaller and smaller. You went back to your small room and thought you would just go back to your routine.

If only you had known.

You were strolling through the forest, needing time away alone, when you heard a noise behind you. You looked back, through the trees, but there was nothing.

Your feet continued moving on their own but the tension was clouding your mind. Something was happening. Your fingers closed themselves around the knife you always carried, hidden underneath your shirt.

More noise came from behind you but now also in front of you. You looked to see glimpses of blue.

Those weren’t Omaticayas. They wouldn’t hide and observe you. They knew you.

They weren’t the people you knew who had avatars.

Which only meant one thing. And you weren’t going to go without fighting.

You heard footsteps next to you. You took out the knife and turned, stabbing whoever had tried to approach you.

An unknown Na’vi in military gear gasped in pain at the knife in their side before you got the knife out. Not Na’vi. Avatar. Whatever the fuck they were now.

“You bitch !” The man said, rising his hand to strike you. You ducked under the hand as fast as you could, lessons and reflexes kicking in. You tried to stab him again but a hand wrapped itself in your hair.

It pulled and raised you up. You gasped and moaned in pain, the knife slipped from your hand to the ground. Your feet didn’t touch the ground anymore.

“Well, looks like you learned a thing or two from the Sullys, haven’t you, girlie ?” A voice said as their hand turned you to them.

You had only seen the man in human form in the archives left with the lab. You had learned disgust and hate for this man from as young as you could remember. Quaritch. You hissed at him as best as you could behind the mask.

“And you’ve also learned to be feral. I guess that’s all they’ve been teaching you human kids, huh.”

At the mention of human kids, you hissed even harder through your gasps of pain. His other hand went around your throat while the other stopped pulling on your hair. He could kill you in an instant. Break your neck and end it right there.

You did not care.

“What the fuck have you done with Spider ? You better not have touched him !” Your voice was rough and broken, angry. “Oh, do not worry about that, he’s fully okay. Look, he’s here.”

From behind him appeared Spider, looking unharmed. Relief coursed through your veins. He was okay, nothing had happened.

“Now, I’m not here for a reunion. I’m here because an helicopter left this forest to get somewhere and little Spider here let slip that you may have been on it.” The hand around your throat tightened up. “I want to know where it went, and exactly where.”

It kept tightening and tightening up. You gasped for air, your head started spinning, but you kept looking right into his eyes in defiance. You would never give up the spot. Ever.

“See, I can’t barge in the Omaticayas’s place and get to your avatar friends. We’ll get killed. But you ? You’re the way to Jake Sully. So, you have a choice. I can hurt you or you can tell me.”

The hand stopped and let air go through your lungs. You breathed in as much as you could.

You laughed lightly. “You can go fuck yourself.”

Quaritch smirked at your words and nodded. He tightened up and tightened up. You felt yourself slipping away.

You could hear Spider screaming. “Stop it ! Stop, you’re going to kill her !”

The only thing you saw behind your eyelids as you passed out was Neteyam’s face. I’m sorry.

You woke up jumping, banging your head against something in the process. “Shit !” You yelled out.

You tried to touch the top of your head with your hand, to see if you had a bump, but was stopped. A look down made you realize you had been handcuffed.

Both your hands and feet.

And you realized you were next to a hut on an island. You looked further, you saw a large boat, ikrans, a village. You saw a Na’vi clan on their knees, the military avatars pointing their guns at them while Quaritch was yelling at them, showing a picture on his tablet. Jake.

“The princess finally wakes up. Come on.” You were hauled up by a guy and pulled to the scene.

As you grew closer, you realized Spider was playing translator for him. It seemed like he had gotten nothing from them. This wasn’t the good island nor the good clan. Quaritch stopped when he saw you and turned to you.

“I told you you had a choice. Here it is again. You tell me where the Sullys are or I kill all of them.”

He had told you he would hurt you. You had thought it would be physical. You should have known better from a man like him.

You were forced on your knees and forced to look at the Olo’eyktan and Tsahik of the clan.

“Look at them. Do you want to watch them die ? It’ll be all your fault, you know ?”

Tears grew in your eyes. You could save them, but at what cost ? You saw flashes of the Sullys’ dead bodies in your head. Jake, Neytiri, Kiri, Lo’ak, Tuk...Neteyam.

You couldn’t. Couldn’t. Couldn’t.

“Go fuck yourself.” Your voice was shaking and blood spread in your mouth as you bit your tongue.

The Tsahik’s head was forced on the ground, the gun pointed at her temple.

“Are you sure about this ?” Quaritch asked. You couldn’t answer anymore. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry...” You kept repeating in Na’vi.

Spider yelled out at Quaritch, forcing him to look at him. “Don’t do this ! They don’t know anything. She won’t tell you a thing either, especially if you kill them. Please, just stop.”

You kept looking into the tsahik’s eyes. If this was to be your fault, you would force yourself to look. You would carry the death in you forever.

“We really going to kill her ?” The man with the gun at her head asked with no emotion.

Quaritch didn’t say anything for a minute. It felt like an hour.

“They don’t know anything. Let’s burn it all.” He said finally and the gun left the tsahik’s temple.

You finally breathed again. You made yourself look at them burn the village. All you felt was rage.

How could they dare come in an innocent clan’s village to destroy everything ? How could he ? For some sort of stupid revenge ? Would a man like him never fucking move on ?

At least, it seemed like Spider got to him, which surprised and disgusted you at the same time. How could he act like he cared now about him when he hadn’t then ?

Quaritch looked back at you and motioned to the guy. “Knock her out. Keep her quiet.”

All you saw was the butt of the gun going down on your head, before you passed out again.

(Tonowari had come around the Sullys’s hut to tell them sky people had attacked with a human boy translating for them and a captive human girl.

“A human girl ?” Jake asked, worried.

Neytiri and Jake both looked at each other, fearing the worst. They both knew who it was but did not want to believe it.

“We have to believe she’ll be okay. She is strong.” Neytiri said, her hand intertwining with Jake’s.

He nodded. How could they tell their kids she had been taken ? How could they tell Neteyam ?)

(He wouldn’t get the chance to know.)

You woke up later in a boat in a corner of what seemed the main control room, in the middle of an unknown crew, your feet unbound, you hands still cuffed.

Spider was sitting next to you. He sighed in relief. “You’re finally awake. You’re scared me there for a minute.”

Your head hurt.

“How are you not even cuffed ?” You mumbled out, straightening up against the wall.

“Tracker’s in my mask. And we’re in a boat full of military men right now, so I guess he hasn’t even thought of cuffing me.”

“But he does me ?” You asked, as you raised your hands to show him. “Spider... what the fuck is going on ? Why were you even translating for the guy ? Why did you tell him I would have been the helicopter ?”

His head hung low, to hide his eyes and his face.

You scoffed at his silence. “And why were the ikrans there ?” You nudged him. “They wouldn’t have known how to do it. Tell me the truth.”

He got up in an instant, pacing. “You don’t know how it was like ! I was left with them, they took me and he told me to just follow them around. And... yes, I told them how to do it. I taught them stuff. What do you want me to say ?”

“I don’t know, Spider ! All I know is it’s been helping them. That’s not your father. That’s a copy of him in an avatar body. And even if it was him, that’s a man who decided that destroying a planet and its people was more important than his own son !” You screamed in frustration.

“And where did answering back take you, huh ? Look, you’re injured, cuffed, prisoner with no way out.” You couldn’t believe your ears at his words. “You’re in the exact same situation, Spider. You may not be injured, but you’re as much a captive as I am. Do not think he cares now. He doesn’t and he never will, not really.” You spat out. “He’ll never care about anything but revenge against Jake.”

You sighed. You were so tired. “All I know is I will never tell him anything. I also know I was worried about you. I’m glad you’re okay.”

He sat down again next to you, shoulder against yours. “I’m sorry... Everything is so confusing. I’m glad you’re okay too.”

You stayed like this for a while. There was commotion at some point, the crew getting busy and you ended up in front of a screen with Spider and an unknown man, Dr Garvin.

The screen showed big beautiful animals swimming through the ocean. “What are they going to do ?” You asked, even though you already knew the answer.

“They are going to hunt the tulkun mother.” Dr Garvin answered bitterly, as if he did not want to be there but had no other choice.

You could only watch as they killed the mother and left the calf to desperately stay with its mother. You wanted to cry. What was the point of all of this ?

“They hunt them. He also wants to trap Jake with this.” Spider whispered to you. You didn’t understand how that would work. “The tulkuns bond with the people. This tulkun is bonded with someone. He’s trying to get them to fight back and get the Sullys through that.”

You didn’t even know what to answer. What else could you have expected from Quaritch ? Of course, since he couldn’t get the answer through you, he would try a trap.

Spider went with Quaritch to go into the tulkun. You stayed in the corner of the room. You debated trying to run for it and jump in the ocean. But where would you even go ?

You weren’t a great swimmer. You were still cuffed. You were okay at survival and fighting, but you were outnumbered by a large amount.

So you didn’t do anything.

Until Spider came back. Until everything became a mess and Lo’ak, Tuk and apparently the Olo’eyktan and Tsahik’s daughter were taken and cuffed at the edge of the boat.

An avatar hauled you up. “What are you doing ?” Spider asked before the man pushed him away, into the wall. “Stay away, she’s going with the others.”

You didn’t try to fight back. At least you would be with Lo’ak and Tuk. You shook your head at Spider. Don’t try anything, dumb ass.

He pulled at your arm until he got you to Quaritch. You heard Lo’ak’s “Sky girl !” and Tuk’s little gasp.

“Here’s some use for you, girlie. You’ll be bait with your little friends.”

He uncuffed you to intertwine your cuffs to the railing. You hissed at him in the process. He didn’t even pick up your attitude, stepping away to talk to Jake. At the same time, you looked over the railing to see the whole sea clan was out.

That was how you would be bait. You got it now.

You couldn’t see Neteyam though, you realized as you narrowed your eyes. Where was he ? What was he doing ?

Lo’ak was the closest to you. “How the hell have you ended up here, sky girl ?” He asked, looking down at you in concern. “Not that I’m not happy to see you. I missed you, but you know what I mean.”

You smiled. “Missed you too, ass. But Quaritch basically kidnapped me and tried to get me to talk. Didn’t work, so now I’m bait with you guys.” You joked. “You okay, Tuk ?”

She nodded and you smiled at her. You looked at the one in between them. A beautiful Na’vi girl with lighter blue skin and beautiful features. “Sorry, we haven’t met before. I’m the human girl, maybe you’ve been told about me. I’ve heard you’re the Olo’eyktan’s daughter.”

“I’m Tsireya. I’ve heard about you from the Sullys and I saw you when you visited Kiri.” She said softly.

“It’s nice to meet you. Even though it would have been better in any other situation than this, right now.” You answered, with a little laugh.

One of the avatar men hit you in the back with their gun. “Shut up !”

You gasped and groaned in pain. Lo’ak yelled out. “Hey ! Watch what you’re doing !” When you saw the man decided to approach Lo’ak, you told the Sully brother to calm down. “It’s fine, Lo’ak. Let’s just shut up and wait.”

“What’s dad doing ?” Tuk asked, her little voice shaking and worried.

Jake was moving forward alone. He was going with Quaritch’s orders. If it went on, he would die. Nothing was going right.

A tulkun rose up from the water and threw itself right unto the boat, a few meters away from you.

“Payakan !” Lo’ak screamed with glee. “Do you know him ?” You yelled over the commotion.

“He bonded with him. He’s soul brother.” Tsireya screamed, explaining to you. You turned to Lo’ak with a laugh. “Well shit, Lo’ak. You’ll thank him, he just saved our asses.”

You tried to get out of the cuffs to no avail as Payakan fought back.

You then heard Tuk yell. “Neteyam !”

Your heart skipped a beat. You hadn’t been able to see him. Was he okay ?

He went over the railing and freed Tuk first.

He hadn’t seen you yet, hidden behind Lo’ak larger body. “Who’s the mighty warrior, huh ?” He laughed and boasted to Lo’ak as he cut his cuffs.

It was only when Lo’ak was freed that he saw you. He froze for a second, before he went right into action.

“What the hell are you doing here ?” He asked hurriedly while cutting your hands free. “No hello, how are you doing ?” You jokingly asked. He simply looked at you with that stare of his, his hands now incapable of not touching you. “I was...kind of taken by Quaritch.”

His eyes turned violent and angry. His stance stiff. He took your chin and raised your face up to see through the mask. He saw the small injuries. He saw the marks around your neck. He felt around you head and you grimaced when he touched the bump.

“You’re hurt.” He stated, grumbled. His eyes still screamed for murder. His hands still traced the contours of your face and neck gently.

“Nothing much, Nete. I’ll be fine. We need to get out of here.”

He nodded. “We need to get Tuk out of there first.”

Lo’ak stopped him. “Tsireya and sky girl, go with her. We have to get Spider.” Neteyam hesitated. “We can’t leave him here !”

Neteyam accepted.

“I’m coming with you guys.”

He shook his head vehemently. “No chance, sky girl. You’re taking Tuk and getting to safety. Now.”

You shook your head back. “I know where to go... kinda. I can help you.” He still pushed you away towards Tsireya and Tuk. You took his hands off. “I’m not leaving Spider and I’m not leaving you. Not again.”

Your eyes searched around for a rifle and you took it. “I can defend myself.” He sighed. “You are all going to kill me one day, I swear.” He then pointed to you and Lo’ak. “You stick to me. No funny business. No risk. We find Spider and we go right away. Understood ?”

You both nodded. This was prime hunter Neteyam speaking, getting into combat.

You stuck close to Neteyam and still showed the way as best as you could, for the little of the boat you had seen.

You all found Spider and fought your way out.

“I’ll distract them ! Go !” Neteyam screamed, as Lo’ak and Spider jumped in the water. You didn’t. “You skxawng, you better get in the water right now, or I’m pushing you in myself.” You still stayed.

“I’m not going without you.” You insisted. “I’ll kill you when we get out of this, sky girl.” You nodded with a smile. “Looking forward to it, Nete.”

You both got out of you cover to shoot and get closer to the water, distracting them in the process. You were both about to toss the guns and jump when you saw one of the avatar men put his gun up in Neteyam’s direction.

You didn’t think.

You didn’t think at all.

A second felt like minutes, hours.

A second changed everything.

Your body moved. You put all of your force into pushing Neteyam out of the way and into the water first.

You felt the bullet pierce your chest. You felt the pain explode in your whole body. You fell in the water backwards.

You did your best to swim out, to get your head above the water. The pain was dragging you down, making it hard for you to stay afloat.

Neteyam rushed to you, as you struggled and gasped for air. You felt like something was wrong with your lungs, a rattling, making it hard to breathe or move.

He pulled you to him, helped you up. “What’s wrong ?” He sounded panicked, kept you close. You wheezed for air. “Got...shot...” You barely managed to say.

“Shit, shit, shit.” He swam as fast as he could to his ilu, sitting you in front of him and getting to land as fast as he could. “You’re gonna be okay. It’s gonna be fine.” He whispered in your ear, supporting your body with his. “I told you to stick to me. I told you no funny business, you skxawng.”

A wet laugh came out of you, wet with your blood. You knew it wasn’t a good sign. Everything hurt. You could only let yourself lay against his chest.

You arrived to a rock, Lo’ak and Spider following behind. Neteyam held you in his arms to settle you down. Jake and Neytiri arrived a few seconds later.

Jake turned you around, saw the exit wound through your shirt, saw the blood. He could only press a hand against his forehead.

“Dad, what ? What is it ?” Neteyam asked, and Jake shook his head.

Neteyam refused to believe it. He held you in his arms. “Sky girl, you’re going to be okay. We’re going to make it out and we’ll go home, okay ?”

You were working harder and harder to even breathe. Darkness was creeping up at the edges of your eyesight. You felt numb. The pain had become simple numbness.

You knew it was over. You could feel yourself slipping away, bit by bit.

“Nete...” You wheezed, trying to lift your hand, to no avail. Your limbs wouldn’t answer anymore. “I never...never told you...”

He shook his head. “You’ll tell me later. You’ll have all the time to tell me. We’ll have so much time, you and I. So much time.” His eyes never left your face, your eyes. “We’ll go hunt, we’ll go fly on my ikran, we’ll keep watch on the rest of the idiots, we’ll slip away at night and look at the stars. We...”

You smiled slightly. You stopped him. “No, need to tell you...now.” You took your last deep breath. “I see...you. Always have. Always...” You whispered.

Neteyam was shaking, you could feel his hands trembling. “I know. I know, sweet girl. I see you.”

You smiled. You looked at his face, his eyes, the glowing freckles. You committed all the little details in your memory. You wanted him to be the last thing you saw.

You didn’t want to go. You wanted to stay with him. Fuck everything you had said about not belonging together. You wanted more time. You wanted to go against everything you had ever believed.

But, the darkness took over. The control over your body left and you went limp. Your eyes got lost in the void. You were slipping away, you slipped away.

Your time had slipped away like sand.

Neteyam couldn’t understand as you went completely limp in his arms.

“Sweet girl ? Come on. Please. Don’t do this, don’t do this.” Neteyam begged.

He heard gasps from behind him, cries. He barely registered them as he held your body closer, as he tried to shake you to wake you up.

“Don’t go. Please, please.” He whispered, his eyes still on your face.

Your skin felt colder already. Your eyes weren’t looking at him anymore.

They would never look at him again. He would never feel them on him again. He would never hold your hand again. He would never feel you fall asleep against him again. He would never see you smile again. Never hear your voice. Your laugh.

It hit.

He screamed. “Great mother, why ? Why ? Not her ! Please !” He screamed and cried and sobbed. “Please...”

Jake and Neytiri could only watch as their son held you to his body tight, not seeing anything but you, crying and whispering to you to come back.

They had to move. Kiri and Tuk were still in the boat, captives by Quaritch.

Jake put a hand on Neteyam’s shoulder. “Neteyam, we need to go.”

He had no reaction the first time, still crying, his face in your hair.

“Neteyam !”

Neteyam looked up at his father, his eyes lost and full of tears.

“Your sisters are still in there. We need to go, now.” Jake said, his hands on both Neteyam’s shoulders now. “I know... I know it’s hard, but I need you to have a strong heart right now. Your mother and I need you with us.”

The words finally registered in his mind. Kiri and Tuk were still in danger. In danger by the same people who had killed you.

He couldn’t describe the rage he felt spread from his core, flames eating up at him. He needed to kill them. Needed to get his sisters back and kill all of them. Kill Quaritch.

He nodded. He laid you down on the rock gently. He took off your mask. You didn’t need it anymore.

The pain was excruciating. He felt like his heart was breaking, being torn out of his own chest.

It has already been torn out, he thought. You had taken it with you as you left and went somewhere he could not follow.

Neteyam closed your eyes and pressed a kiss on your eyelids and on your cheeks. He could almost fool himself in the fact that you were just sleeping.

If only.

He got up and took a deep breath. He looked around him.

Lo’ak and Spider were crying too. You had been a sister to them for so long. Now, you were gone.

Tsireya was a comforting presence at Lo’ak’s back. He was grateful that his brother wasn’t alone.

Jake and Neytiri looked at him with somber expressions. He could also see the tears in their eyes, the pain.

You had been sky people, but they all had loved you like one of their own.

His mother looked at him, letting the rage and pain also fill her eyes. “We have to go. Get your sisters back. Kill them.”

He nodded and joined her on her ikran. His father went on his own ilu with Spider who was willing to show the way.

“I want to go with you.” Lo’ak said to Jake.

He turned to him, “You have done enough. Stay with her.”

Neteyam already knew Lo’ak wouldn’t listen. He knew his brother too well. He wouldn’t stand by, especially not with everything that was happening, that had happened. Neteyam wouldn’t try to stop him, not this time.

After that, Neteyam let the pain, the rage, the anger, the grief take over. He took a spear a Metkayina had left in a body. He killed.

Any man coming his way was killed. A hit in the throat, before he took the spear out. A swipe at their stomach or their limbs, cutting off parts, ending them.

He didn’t see anymore, not really. He only saw red. He wanted red to spill, blood out of them, revenge. He barely had any control over his body. He was only fueled by the image of your body in the back of his mind. The image of his sisters captive.

He couldn’t say how many had fallen under his spear. A trail of bodies were left by him and Neytiri.

Neytiri let her own rage talk beside him. A rage that had built over the past year. Rage over the sky people coming back. Rage over having to run to protect their family and leave her home behind (the one she had promised to protect to her father). Rage over her family getting hurt over and over again.

They looked like two demons coming for retribution. Two hurt beings fueled by pure instincts. The sky people had no chance.

He was only brought back when he saw Quaritch with his knife at Kiri’s throat. Tuk was with their dad, but Kiri was still stuck.

He approached slowly, his mind racing, trying to find a way out of this situation.

Neytiri appeared, her knife at Spider’s throat.

She hissed at Quaritch. “A child for a child.”

(She had hated sky people, couldn’t accept Spider nor you in the beginning.

You had never pushed, especially with her. She had learned to at least tolerate you.

She had seen the genuine love you had for all of them, and especially Neteyam.

She couldn’t accept it at first. The looks between the two of you. This was her firstborn, her son. He couldn’t end up with sky people. It did not make sense.

But she had seen the way you distanced yourself. The way you always tried to pull away. The way you smiled and laughed and loved them, but looked lost and pained when they weren’t looking.

She had learned to respect you. And she had learned to love you.

(“Ma’Jake, are you really going to do this ? Teach her ?” She had asked one day. Jake had decided to teach her survival skills.

He looked at his mate with a small smile. “Our kids love her. She’s become a part of us. She needs to be able to protect herself.” She sighed. “Look... she reminds me of me in a lot of ways. It’s not her fault she’s ended up here. She didn’t ask for this. But, she’s been there for our kids and she’s been trying.”

Neytiri knew this. You tried to learn, while keeping your distance and your limits. You were respectful.

Even her own mother seemed to see something in you. And she also saw it but did not want to admit it.)

She ended up also teaching you the way of the bow. The way of the hunt.

She ended up liking your company. The way you worked hard and were eager to learn. The way you would not push conversation.

Day after day, you had wormed your way into her family.

You had become one of hers.)

She hissed again, her voice a rumble in her chest. “I cut !”

She cut Spider’s chest to show that she meant it. Quaritch let Kiri go.

Neteyam only remembered taking Kiri and Tuk and going backwards in the water, away from Quaritch, even if he wanted to gut him. Wanted him to bleed out slowly on the ground.

But his sisters mattered more. That was what you would want too. Kiri and Tuk safe, before any revenge.

As he swam away with them, Neytiri and Spider, his father stayed behind to fight Quaritch. He prayed to Eywa that his dad would win. He had to.

The fire spread before they could get away.

“We need to swim back !” Spider screamed and Neteyam swam back towards the boat, tugging Tuk and his mother along with him.

They tried to find a way out, to get away from the fire. Tuk fell, taken by the water. Neytiri jumped after her.

“Try to get out of here, find Lo’ak or my dad!” He screamed to Kiri and Spider. “I’m going after mom and Tuk!”

He jumped in.

He found them quickly. “What are you doing here, son ?” Neytiri screamed. “You should have stayed with Kiri and Spider !”

“I’m not leaving you two behind. Let’s move forward, mom.” He said with resolve, moving first with Neytiri.

They managed to escape the water, swimming as fact as they could. One door would not open. Neytiri tried. Neteyam tried and tried, bruising his hands.

His mother put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s no point, Neteyam. It’s okay.”

They stayed the three of them, huddled close. Neteyam held Tuk close to him. Neytiri held them both close.

“We’re going to be okay, Tuk. All is going to be fine.” He whispered, as the water kept rising.

He remembered the same words he had said to you before you died. He hoped it wouldn’t be the same. Not for Tuk. Not for his mom.

A part of him would have been okay with being taken by the water. With joining you wherever you were. But not when his mother and sister were there too.

The water kept rising and rising. He held Tuk closer.

Eywa, sky girl, please.

Lights came, along with Kiri. They were saved. He hugged Kiri. He said thank you to the great mother, to his sky girl.

They got out. They found Lo’ak and their dad. They all hugged.

Sullys stick together.

They went back to the rock. Tsireya had stayed with you the whole time.

Neteyam felt the adrenaline and everything fall away. He felt the rage and anger slip away, only to leave the pain and the grief.

He scooped you up in his arms again and held you close. You were so small and still so limp.

He saw Tuk and Kiri realize.

“Oh no... No...” Kiri broke down, coming to hold your hand. “Oh, sky girl...” She cried the loss of her best friend.

Tuk only cried, pressing your other hand to her cheek.

They all huddled close to you and Neteyam.

Spider came back. Sat there, eyes lost.

Neteyam cradled you, protected you until the sea clan came back to help them out back to the island.

He kept you in his arms the whole way, his forehead to yours.

And still when they all arrived and stepped foot on land.

“We...we want a proper funeral for her. We know she was not Na’vi but she was one of us.” Jake asked Tonowari and Ronal.

Neteyam stepped forward. He looked at them with despair and pain. “Please. I would not dare to ask such a thing but I have to, for her. Please let her rest with Eywa.”

They both looked at each other and had a silent conversation. They knew they could not say no. Not to the Sullys who had fought for the Metkayinas and had become a part of their people.

Not to their grief. And especially not to the oldest son, who they saw destroyed.

They saw how he never let you down, how he looked at you, the tears in his eyes.

“Of course. We will hold a proper funeral for her, in your honor.” Tonowari promised.

That night, they all gathered at the Cove of the Ancestors.

All of the Sullys gathered around you, all touching some part of your skin.

Neteyam, Jake and Neytiri went with you to submerge your body and lead you to the polyp bed. The corals took you.

The sea gives and the sea takes.

Neteyam watched as you joined Eywa, body and soul. He didn’t know how to go on, now. Not without you.

He didn’t connect with Eywa. He was too scared to do it. Too scared to see you again. If he did, he didn’t know how he would have the strength to stay away.

He would want nothing but to stay connected forevermore.

He couldn’t do it. Not yet.

The Sullys left to go back to the forest for a little bit. To tell Mo’at. To tell Norm and Max.

They went back to the Omaticayas. They were welcomed well.

Neteyam tried to smile, to be happy for the reunion. He felt nothing but emptiness.

“Hey everyone.” Norm came to them in his avatar, hugging Jake in the process. Max followed behind him and other humans too. They all looked tired.

“We...we lost her. She was just gone.” Max whispered.

Jake had a somber expression. “We know. Quaritch had her and brought her to us. She...she’s with Eywa now.”

The humans all looked surprised before somber expressions took over their faces too. Norm had to sit down. “What happened ?” He asked after a deep silence.

“She got shot for me.” Neteyam answered. He hated the words. Hated that they were real.

He could barely sleep anymore. He wished it had been but a nightmare. A nightmare his mind had conjured up.

He had hoped to find her with the Omaticayas safe and sound.

If only.

“Norm, should we tell them ?” Max commented.

Norm said nothing, simply got up and motioned them to come to the lab.

In the back of the lab laid a tank covered up.

“We didn’t know if we would be able to ever make it. We barely had the means, it’s been trial and error with what we had left.” Norm commented, taking the cover off. “It’s been years of process and development. We started when she was a kid, without her even realizing it. We just saw how much she loved you all and had to try.”

“And she had become a daughter to us.” Max added.

They both let the Sullys come through to see what was in the tank. Neteyam was the first one to witness whatever it was.

There was an Avatar floating, still connected. Neteyam saw its head turn. The face had your features. Your features on a Na’vi.

Your hair, your eyes, your mouth.

With blue skin. Taller. Ears twitching. Tail and queue.

A dream he had always had. You looking like him.

“We thought she would be able to link with it one day and even have her soul transfer through Eywa but, now...” Norm trailed off, a hand over his eyes.

Neteyam pressed a hand to the tank, wishing he could touch you, wishing you were in it. The body was useless without your soul, your spirit, your heart in it.

“What if we tried ?” He said, turning to look at his parents, his sisters and brother.

Jake looked at him, his eyebrow raised up. “What do you mean, son ?”

“She’s with Eywa. What if we asked Mo’at to still try the transfer ? Eywa may let her soul get into the body.”

Neytiri shook her head. “It does not work like that, Neteyam. She is already gone with Eywa. She cannot come back.”

“So what ? We don’t try ?” His voice raised up with frustration. “There’s a body right there for her. We’re just going to let it die without even trying ? What if it works and she can come back ?”

He turned back to the tank, looking at your face. “I need to try. Just once. I wouldn’t be able to live and go on if I hadn’t tried.” He mumbled.

He went to Mo’at. They all did but he was the one at the head of the family, which he never was. His dad would always talk, make the decisions.

He had to try. He had to. He explained everything to Mo’at.

“Like my daughter said, it will not work. She had a strong heart and I am too saddened to have lost such a soul. I had wished she had been Na’vi. But, it does not work like that.”

Neteyam’s frustration was growing and growing. He willed himself to calm down. “Just...let’s just try, please Mo’at. Just one try. If it doesn’t work, then, that’s it. But let’s try, for her.”

Mo’at conceited after a long silence.

“We will need someone to guide her back. This will be more complicated than the transfer your father went through.”

“I will do it.”

Both Neteyam and Kiri had talked.

“No.” Jake retorted right away. “No, Kiri. You had a seizure last time.”

Kiri turned to their parents with a scowl. “I am the closest to Eywa, and you know that. I can help her. And I will do it with Neteyam.”

Jake and Neytiri still looked at her in disapproval.

“Please. She is my best friend. I have to do this with him.”

Jake conceited too, with a sigh. “Okay, but no risk. You realize something is going to happen, you feel anything, you’re out of there, okay ?”

She nodded. Neteyam bumped his shoulder against hers. They smiled at each other, ready.

The Omaticayas all gathered at the Tree of the Ancestors, for you.

Another gathering. This time Neteyam wished it was for an happier reason. He prayed you would be reborn.

He prayed to Eywa as he held your avatar body and laid you in front of Mo’at.

He prayed as he connected his queue. He prayed as Kiri connected hers.

Neteyam opened up his eyes to find himself in the forest. Kiri was beside him.

They saw you a few feet away, squatting down, your bare feet in the grass, your fingers touching a glowing flower.

You turned around to look at them and smiled. Neteyam felt a rock in his throat, an acute pain in his heart.

He had missed your smile. He had missed your eyes.

“Guys !” You waved them over, standing up.

Kiri went to you first, smiling with tears streaming down her face. “I missed you, stupid girl.”

You laughed. “We saw each other literally yesterday, Kiri. You hit your head during the night ?”

Neteyam got close too, intertwined his fingers with yours. You looked at him to realize he was also crying.

“You too ? Are you guys okay ?” You asked, this time worried something had truly happened.

Neteyam just smiled. “Come on, sweet girl, come with us.”

You let yourself be taken away. You would have followed Neteyam anywhere, anyway.

You felt your hand slip away from his. Bright light entered your eyesight.

You breathed again. You felt the ground against your back. A hand on your face.

You slowly opened up your eyes. You saw the Tree of the Ancestors. You were confused.

You saw Neteyam. His hand was on your face.

“What is going on, Nete ?” You tried to say but only whispered, your voice unused. Your throat hurt.

You saw him choke up and cry. “Nete !” You sat up with difficulty, other hands helped you. “Slow down, sky girl.” Kiri.

You wiped his tears. Then you saw your hands.

Larger, blue.

You gasped. How ?

You brought them to your face, flexed them, turned them around before Neteyam caught them in his own.

“This is a dream... I’m dreaming...” You whispered, still looking at your hands in Neteyam’s.

“No, you’re home.” He answered, dropping his forehead to yours.

You realized Mo’at was there watching you. She screamed. “She has been reborn !”

You were Na’vi now. Somehow.

It took you a few days to simply understand what had happened.

You remembered getting shot and passing out. You barely remembered anything from your time with Eywa.

You could only remember feeling her, knowing she was real.

Now, you were reborn. You were Na’vi. Somehow, your dream had become true.

You had hugged Norm and Max like never before when you had learned it was thanks to them. They had developed an avatar for you, for years. (Max had moaned in pain. “You’re not human anymore, you’re going to have to learn to be careful.” You had smiled, sorry.)

You were taller, blue. Your ears would twitch. You couldn’t control your tail yet.

You had a tail. It was weird.

(“How do you guys do it ? It’s such a strange feeling...” You asked Lo’ak and Kiri, rubbing your tail.

They both shrugged. It was as natural as breathing for them. As natural as an arm. It was still weird.)

You also didn’t need a mask anymore to breathe the air. You didn’t feel restricted anymore.

Only the lack of control of your own body restricted you.

(“How the hell do you even go forward without falling ?” You were frustrated. You had tried forming tsaheylu with a pa’li.

It had seemed okay. You had told it to move forward.

It dashed. You fell on your ass, the tsaheylu broken.

Neteyam tried not to laugh, hiding behind his hand. You wanted to kick him.

Jake looked at you with understanding. He had gone through the exact same thing. He patted your back. “It’s a... lot of trial and error. You’ll be able to do it in no time, don’t worry.”

You didn’t believe him.)

Everything felt surreal. You were in this body, you were alive.

You were laying down with Neteyam, watching the stars. You barely had any time to just be the two of you ever since you had been reborn, so this was a rare occurrence you both were making the most of.

Your head was on his shoulder, your hands intertwined together.

He broke the silence. “I had prayed to watch the stars again with you. I can’t believe Eywa heard me and gave me this.”

You raised up on your elbow to look at him. He looked back at you with pain still lingering in his eyes.

He had grieved you, had thought you were gone forever.

“I’m sorry I left you. I had...had to. I couldn’t imagine you gone so I...” You trailed off, not knowing what to add.

“I know, sweet girl. I would have done the same for you, had I been in your place. Let’s just...never do it again.” He laughed, his fingers drawing a path between your freckles. “Eywa, you’re so beautiful.” He whispered.

Your heart skipped a beat. You felt your ears twitch and your tail move up. “Does that mean I was ugly when I was sky people ?” You joked.

He smirked and tackled you down, his body over yours. “Do you really have to try and twist my words, yawntu ?”

You were going to melt into the ground. This man had to know what he was doing. His smirk grew.

“You were beautiful then. You’re beautiful now. You’ve been beautiful to me, no matter what.”

He whispered, his face lowering down towards yours. His lips met yours. You softly moaned and melted into the kiss. Your hands went on his shoulders as he deepened the kiss, before drawing a path to his back.

You could never get enough of him. Never get enough of this.

Later on, a few weeks down the line, you two would go to the tree of voices.

You had dreamed of what was coming.

You had both waited for years. You knew. You were sure.

He looked at you and kissed your face.

Your hand went to your queue and brought it closer to his.

“Are you ready, yawntu ?” Neteyam asked, his eyes never wavering from your face.

You nodded. “I’ve been ready for a long time.” He laughed, before letting his queue connect to yours. “Me too.”

Your foreheads pressed into each other’s as you felt him. Him.

You couldn’t believe the feeling of it. You felt everything. The way he breathed. Thoughts. Feelings.

What he felt for you.

“I see you.” He whispered.

“I see you.” You whispered back.

You fell into each other and intertwined before Eywa.

Your mate.

It wasn’t over. It was only the beginning.

[cwazytvthings]

TOTK SPOILERS(ANCIENT HERO THEORY/DISCUSSION)

I literally don't care if theories age like milk they are fun as fuck whether right or wrong. The Ganondorf hero thing would have been just as cool as what we got.

The shit we see with Princess Zelda in Totk takes place before the war with calamity Ganon. So way before the 10k year lore.

The hero doesn't exist in the time that Rauru and Sonia exist so where did this hero come from?

Oddly enough, he resembles Ganondorf and idk it's throwing me off.

Males are born every 100 years in the Gerudo but if Ganondorf was sealed away why does this armor set look so much like a male Gerudo? (Well Gerudo/Zonai).

Even the jewelry around their neck and on their head resembles the traditional jewelry of the Gerudo.

Kinda strange if you ask me. If there is no dlc and this is the last installment in the BOTW series/style, the developers got a lot of shit to answer still 😭

The story is everywhere, like nothing connects right atm.