#the entire clip is a gem

[bagely]

Remember when Phil found Missa's zoo and talked about how Missa didn't think she deserved him and we were all shocked that the man """half implied"" he knew Missa's feelings? well.... WHY ARE WE SURPRISED?? OF COURSE THE FUCKING KNEW

MISSA YELLS IT DAILY... only in this clip does he says like three times out loud that he loves him and who is his biggest fan (Missa Phil #1 fan Confirmed)

AND AND IS SO CUTE PHIL PUNCHING HIM TO SHUT UP he is so embarrassed BAJAJAHAH le hizo un tate quieto

[tohakumaru]

[project page]

>walk away, go with the nomad. i love you.

since you cannot cry, you make an effort to push the stale air out of your lungs, a poor imitation of a sigh - i guess bad habits really die hard. if the nomad has noticed, then it pays you no mind and simply carries on. casting one last lingering glance at the water and the sky above, you dutifully follow. after a short while, it becomes clear that something has changed. the nomad has picked up its pace, moving in erratic strides. here and there, you find it dashing across the sand, beak and head angled upwards, as though searching, or following an invisible thread in the air, one that you can feel, but cannot quite grasp, like a long forgotten name - always on the tip of your tongue, yet never to be spoken aloud. at times, you struggle to keep up. it's so hard, you're so tired, it's too much. your eyes burn with fatigue. you want to scream, to beg the bird-thing to slow down, but the words evade you everytime you open your mouth, and the nomad does not so much as look at you. a hot and bitter pressure builds behind your nose and muffles your ears. once again you feel yourself falling apart - but the blanket wrapped around your frame and the water sloshing in your hollow stomach seem to work against your body's trajectory to disintegrate, two forces swirling inside and all around you, like a wicked pendulum that propels you forward despite, despite.

i won't let you go, should have known that from the start.

---

tenderly her eyes made their pilgrimage across the mounds of glass and steel, mourning perhaps hunger is a cure for insanity, shut-you-up-real-nice knowing full well being alive is a horrendously beautiful thing while the dogs, blood stained snouts dig out the madness, turn it into a five course meal heaving, a still-beating heart melts like butter on their lips as poorly clipped nails fumbled and fussed,

just enough to make a day-ride.

---

in this fashion, you and the nomad dance across the white sand for some time, until a hillside comes into view. upon closer inspection, you are awed to realise it is made entirely of roots. at the foot of this strange hill, a grove - an incredible indent in that tangled mass that is the tree-hill - opens up and presents an even more curious sight: 12 creatures, each bearing the likeness of a bird, but is clearly not one. they stand stock-still and solemn, with multitudes of dried flowers and glittering gemstones at their feet. their faces, elongated and coming to pointy, beak-like ends, are not dissimilar to the nomad, but much more haggard; and so immobile, it is easy to mistake them for statues, has there not been the occassional puffs of dusty smoke and shrill noises, like a kettle boiling over, coming from their beaks and throats that betray any hints of liveliness about them.

the nomad slows its steps, and looks down. it keeps its eyes to the ground as you get nearer to the grove. it occurs to you that it is avoiding the living-statues' gaze. surprisingly, they reciprocrate the gesture. Ever so slightly each of them turn their head, so their eyes fall off the nomad, and onto … you. you, who does not belong you, who comes on a leash, believing it to be choice you, who dies, and nothing changes

to your bewilderment, the statues came to life, all at once. they grovel at the flowers and gems, and toss them in handfuls at you as the nomad leads you through the grove, leaving a trail of petals and stones. when you pass the 12th statue and come to the end of the opening, everything suddenly shifts: slowly, mechanically, the roots shape themselves into a winding stairway, leading you up the hill.

calmly, the nomad signals you to go up.

what do you do?

[previous chapter]

[allfearstofallto]

What would Yuri (your yandere bulter OC) do if his lady had an arranged marriege and was meeting the person she was arranged to marry with?

(Y'all make me so happy I could die!! I've been unironically imagining this scenerio for months!!!)

Yandere! Male OC x Reader

“You're much too young to be wed,” Yuri whined softly as his cold finger tips helped you latch the clip of your necklace. A beautiful, pink gem nestled in the center of the neckware drew attention to your bare collar bone, the radiant skin of your chest, and the lovely smile you had just above it. Yet another piece of jewelry your mother had sent you from her travels, she had such a taste for things you liked, despite hardly being around.

You merely scoffed at his words, rolling your eyes in the tandum. While he tied your hair up, you dusted yourself with perfumed powder, staring at yourself the entire time, “You must be insane, Yuri. I'm actually past the average marrying age.”

That much was true. Girls of your status typically married much much younger, usually right after coming of age. Even you yourself received many letters begging for a chance to meet after your debutante, which Yuri would swiftly burn in your fire place when you expressed your distate. You had things holding you back. You longed for schooling, travel, and a the freedom of being young and not tied down. Both your father and Yuri took this news excitedly and never pushed for you to get wed. They both even excitedly told you that you'd never have to leave the manor and if you so pleased, you'd be pampered for the rest of your life.

It sounded nice in theory, living off of your fathers wealth and being a bachelorette until the day you died, but many women at your tea parties were talking about their prospects, fiances, and even their husbands, and suddenly you felt as if you could no longer relate anymore. And the even more harsh realization hit you, that you were lonely. You'd sit quietly at the table, sipping your tea nervously and realizing that maybe it was time for you to begin viewing romance in a different light, not as a hindrance chaining you down, but a new beginning in life.

Your father was expectedly saddened by your announcement and Yuri…well, Yuri’s expression was hard to read. He stood silently for a bit, his lips formed in a tight line, eyebrows starting to furrow a bit behind his thick, round glasses. It was a face you'd never seen him make before, him typically preferring laid back or soft expression.

“You can't actually be serious, my lady,” Yuri forced himself to not sound more hurt than he actually was, but if you listened closely, you could hear his voice tremble, “You always said you'd stay in the manor forever.”

You glanced at yourself once over again in your full body mirror, feeling shy and almost slightly over dressed in the gown you chose. It was such a strange feeling, the way your heart was thumping in your chest, and you couldn't tell if it was excitement or nerves. You could see Yuri behind you in your reflection, a frown still formed on his lips.

“I said that when I was eight! You can't trust the words of a child,”

Yuri sighed again, pushing his snow, white hair out of his face in a sign of stress. A stress reflex that you seldom saw him do. Yuri was a man that was so calm and composed, yet today he was showing so much anxiety. And for what, you'd didn't know.

“Then what of me? This man you're meeting, he's the Duke two cities over. I am here to serve you, my lady, won't I go with you?”

“I'd hate to uproot your life, Yuri,” you began with a sad tone. You couldn't fathom the idea that he could look any sadder, yet as you spoke, his face fell even farther, “B-but mother will be home shortly! She sent a letter saying that it will only be a few more weeks, you could still stay in the manor and tend to her instead.”

Your suggestion is met with a shallow, solemn shake of his head, “You are my life, my lady. I wish to serve no one else.”

[ender1821]

A Pearl and Gem clip that didn’t fully make it into their episodes, taken from Pearl’s stream (I loved this part and just had to save it somewhere)

transcript below!

Gem: I’ve put the rest of the packed ice in here for now, but we can grab it here if we need it.

Pearl: Okay, sounds good.

*moment of silence*

Pearl: Did I just say “sounds good” to you putting items in a random chest?

Gem: Yep.

Pearl: What are you doing to me?

Gem: You’re welcome!

Pearl: *anguished cries*

Gem: I’m loosening you up!

Pearl: That’s not how it’s supposed to work…

Gem: Welcome to the GeminiTay Effect, where we’re unorganised and a little bit insane!

Pearl: Who invited me to this nightmare?! Oh wait, you did.

Gem: You accepted!

Pearl: Ah, gleefully so.

Pearl: I’m currently just tweaking the path shape-o!

Gem: Uh-huh.

Pearl, reading the chat: “Not random, it’s a project chest”, okay, that does make me feel better, I’ll take it.

Gem: If that’s all it takes, I can say that about every—

Pearl: No, you can’t, because it never gets organised!

Gem: *laughing*

Pearl: There’s a difference! There’s a difference—

Gem: I mean… I dunno— There’s not— it’s a fine line!

Pearl: No! No, no no. If you have things messy all season, that’s not the same. A project chest is something you make temporarily, and you organise it after you’re done with that piece. Not the entire mega-base! A piece of the mega-base.

Gem: Mhm…

Pearl: Yeah! You know I’ve got a point!

Gem: No… I dunno…

Pearl: No, no, you know. I know you know. No denying it.

Gem: I love the way you say “no”, I just wanted you to say that more.

Pearl: Oh, it’s because it sounds Australian, is that what that is— Do you want me to say “alright”?

Gem: Yeah, ‘cause it sounds Australian.

Pearl: I know you like the “alright” one.

Gem, in an Australian accent: Alright.

Pearl: Alright, mate.

Pearl: What did you say? Oh jeez…

[vexcraft]

I think you're the person to tell about this, but Scar said he's a vex again. In Skizz's stream "Putting Hermits to Work" (Aug 30 2024 on SkizzlemanLive) at 2:55:54 Gem accuses Scar of breaking her and Grians' ink farm by rendering it from his base, and Scar says that allays and vexes are cousins, so they might be coming over to his place to hang.

yes 100% feel free to tell me about any convex crumbs!!! (especially if they happen when it's night in europe bc unfortunately even i have to sleep sometimes...)

this certainly explains why scar and cub put a creeper in jevin's base after he went on an allay killing spree (clip here :D) gotta protect (almost) their kind i suppose.. not entirely sure how this dynamic would work considering allays are imprisoned in mansions... maybe the vex just like them but the allays don't like them back lol

even if we never get a proper convex comeback i'm so happy the bit still lives rent-free in their heads as well and not just in ours. just a little bit ago scar said mumbo's environmental disaster reminded him and cub about the s5 iskallium prank they did and now during this stream they talked about the frozen prank they did on tango... (even though they tried to gaslight skizz and gem that tango is just a really big frozen fan lol)

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Hi!

So it's this time of the month, where I re-read your comic once again, and I kinda noticed something at episode 9 of the first season. Basically when the doctor shows the x-rays of the white gem in Steven's head, it clips into his oral cavity which would result in Steven having difficulty eating. Is that intentional?

Yes and no?

That xray picture was one of the first I had ever drawn of Steven's entire gem. It was pretty rough and quick because at the time, I didn't anticipate how much this whole story would blow up, and how far it would go.

Since then, I've done more detailed pictures of the placement of his gem in his skull. Unfortunately, I cannot find them because tumblr's search function is useless.

Fortunately, it's about time I make a new one anyway.

I did always intend for the diamond to be.... unfortunately placed in his head. This is really the only viable placement of it without tilting it backwards, but even so, it's IN THE WAY. It very much does deform his oral cavity!

Baby Steven had a speech impediment, and the diamond was even MORE of an issue. He never had too many medical problems, because life uh... finds a way. But he does have a severely unfortunate arrangement of mouth and nose orifices.

Thankfully, he's grown up with it, and as his head grew larger, the problems mostly went away.

And yes, if he were to shave his head it would be a weird shape.

[m1d-45]

death, rebirth, new life

summary: uh zhongli gets nerfed, you get some new friends, xiao has a crisis of morality(?)

word count: ~3.2k

-> warnings: major spoilers for xiao lore, like very major. spoilers for liyue archon quest. not much else

-> lowercase intended!

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @thehoneymushroomhealer || @imyme20 || @bittersweetorpheus || @vampirecatsw || @willburzone || @some-mildly-happy-human|| @yourlocaldrugdealerbutfancy || @inmyprinceerafr || @depressed-bitchy-demon || @kithewanderingme

<< first part || < masterlist > || next part >>

zhongli allows his weapon to fade back into golden dust, his mind involuntarily comparing it to the way you dissolved before him.

they were quite similar. after he’d pulled away his polearm, you had sent him a final smile as your body disintegrated into white flakes, much like his spear had, the water rushing back to fill the space you’d left. it had surprised him, because he’d expected you to fall into the black smoke that hilichurls did. unless he had made some sort of…

no, he tells himself, shaking his head. you deserved it. to wear a face that wasn’t yours, to defy his god so, his actions were entirely jus-

a spike of pain drives into his lower back and zhongli reaches behind him with a hiss, feeling for whatever’s hurt him only to land on the glass of his fake vision. it stings through his gloves, and he’s quick to yank it off, uncaring as the string it’s hung on snaps. the small gems on it scatter, but he’s focused on the glass in his hand.

or, rather, the floor. his hand still hurts from the pricks of invisible needles it stabbed into his skin, and he wasn’t keen on holding it any longer.

“what’s wrong?” hu tao comes up to his side, hand landing on his shoulder. “are you okay? is your vision?”

“it’s nothing.”

discretely, he tries to turn a pebble on the floor in front of him. he tells himself it’s nothing, he knows it’ll work, he just needs the confirmation for himself, since if a fake vision could react like that..

“hey, don’t worry about it. the dead need to stay that way. whoever that was, i trust your judgement. i’m certain you did the-“

she cuts herself off with a pained cry, her shoulders jerk back as her hands reach for her back, her face twisting in pain. zhongli takes a step over his ‘vision’, turning her by the shoulder to see what he knows but doesn’t want to believe.

her vision is glowing brightly, the diamond-shaped gem heating up the metal around it. he wastes no time in removing it from the clip holding it in place, though he has to drop it as well from the heat. it burned her jacket, and she’ll certainly need a new one, but that’s not what he’s worried for.

after all, the stone hadn’t moved.

the sun stung your eyes through your lids, forcing you awake if only to move to a more shaded area. the ground beneath you was hard but not harsh, warmer than wuwang hill by a long shot. you were tempted to stay, to allow yourself to slip back into sleep…

something squishy bumped into your right arm.

you pushed your eyes open, pulling at the numb strings of muscles in your arms to help yourself up. you were sitting in a stone… building would be too generous. there were four pillars and a roof, with a ramp to your left and a staircase in front of you.

and immediately to your right, the object that bumped you earlier, is a small dendro slime.

wide orange eyes peer up at you, the sight cute enough for you to forget your aches.

“hey,” you mumble, reaching a wobbly hand to nudge against its side. the slime chitters, hopping into your lap, and you notice something shining in the leaves atop its head. it doesn’t seem bothered, only pressing itself further into your hand with a chirp that nearly sounds apologetic.

“don’t be sorry.” you move your hand to pet over the stems on top of it, the slime’s eyes slowly beginning to close. you feel something hard beneath your palm, and move to see what it is. in the center of the slime’s head is a small tangle of grass, something golden shimmering in the center. you’ve never looked really hard at the models in-game, mostly because they’re always attacking you, so you’re not sure if this is meant to be there or not. maybe they’re like crystalflies, with a core in the middle? but why be exposed…

the slime chirps in your lap and you move your hand away, a ‘sorry’ on the edge of your lips when it stretches to move the tangle between your fingers. did it want you to fix it?

you tilt the slime towards you, but you don’t have a chance to try. as you watch, the tangle undoes itself, cradling a golden ring between the stalks. it looks about your size, with a small blue gem embedded on one side. the slime makes a soft noise, the ring sliding forward as it tilts.

“for me?”

you picked up the ring at its affirmative trill, sliding it onto your finger. it fit as good as it looked, surprisingly. where had the slime gotten a ring your size, let alone know it would fit you?

the slime looked up, seeking a response, and you smiled.

“thank you, little guy. it’s beautiful.” the slime visibly grew happy, hopping lightly in your lap, and you couldn’t help but laugh. it looked so excited, orange eyes beaming as it twirled itself into a little circle. how could they be enemies?

“where’d you get this?”

your question didn’t dampen its excitement—a surprise, since you expected it to have stolen the ring—and it only hopped off your lap, moving halfway down the staircase before looking back at you.

using the pillars to support yourself, you stood, wincing at the combined pain of old wounds and sleeping on rock. as you carefully move down the steps, you hope that the slime wont lead you to some poor merchant’s cart.

the small slime hopped along a dirt path, and you took the time to look around. behind you to the left was a large pit, for lack of a better word, a tree growing in the center on a platform surrounded by water. if you had to guess, you were probably still in liyue, just more south. the horizon was dotted with spires, and you think you see something like the jade chamber off to the left of your current path. it’s hard to tell, given the distance, but…

the sounds of humanoid chanting reaches your ears, and you startle for a moment before hearing the trademark woo! of an abyss mage. the slime stops, checking on you, but you just give it another smile as you continue to walk. so it got it from hilichurls, then? odd, but better than stealing it from somebody. it was in remarkable condition for being from hilichurls, though…

the slime leads you onto some rocks, and you can see the camp just below you. an abyss mage turns as you approach, the red film of a shield beginning to appear around it before it recognizes you. it was a small camp, only a handful of hilichurls around, and they all crowd you as you climb down the rocks.

the abyss mage chitters in a language you don’t understand, its red ears flopping as it gestures. it finishes with a deep bow, looking up at you, and your face twists in apology. luckily, it seems to get it, pointing to you before waving you into the camp. you take its hand and let it lead you to a crate to sit on, watching as it turns to the rest of the group and says… something. nonetheless, the hilichurls seem to get it, all nodding. the abyss mage puts its hands on its hips, satisfied.

the dendro samachurl says something to the large mitachurl, who nods, hefting its rock shield and standing near the entrance of the camp. the samachurl then pulls over another hilichurl as it walks to you. its staff is more at eye level with you than it is.

the samachurl chitters beneath the mask, and the hilichurl besides it—you assume, based on prior experiences—translates.

“unu boya ika zido mosi aba nunu,” it says, pointing further down the path, where you can barely see a wooden structure.

now, your hilichurl isn’t the best. in the beginning, you learned somewhat, but definitely not enough to know the entirety of what it just said. you catch the word for enemy and some sort of time word you think means later in the day, so that together with the gesture.. you’re hopefully assuming that it means later in the day there will be enemies, likely the millelith, over that direction.

you nod. the hilichurl seems proud of itself.

the samachurl continues, much shorter this time, and the hilichurl holds out a hand.

“muhu mita?”

ah. those ones you know just fine.

you accept the offer of a meal and let it walk you to a rock near a campfire, listening as they talk to each other. they bring you food and share more amongst themselves, the electro shooter waving its bandaged hands in a story you didn’t try to decipher. the heat of noon begins to fade after an hour or two, and though the campfire is now embers and your wooden plate is empty, you’re content.

the dendro slime from earlier sticks close to you, shifting as close to the dying fire as it dared whilst being out of range of the jumping sparks. it wasn’t particularly cold, only around 3ish by your best judgement. the sun still shone in the sky, washing over sand and stone and the things that sparkled under it. there was nothing to worry over, nobody near, and the mitachurl and pyro grenadier were still guarding the entrance. it was a welcome respite.

you hope it’ll last.

xiao pulled his polearm from the body of a hilichurl, picking a tuft of matted red hair from the jade edge. the shattered remains of its mask fell to the floor as its body dissolved, but he just stepped over it, dismissing his weapon. the boy from qingce was uninjured, the hilichurl grenadier had fallen, and his work here was done.

“-jianguo, what are you doing out here? you should know better than to wander near wuwang hill!”

xiao rolled his eyes, hoping the fading debt of the hilichurls would dissipate faster. he couldn’t leave without endangering the child or his mother, but he wanted to leave earlier sometimes, if only so people would learn not to wander into areas they didn’t belong.

“but mama, all the hilichurls fled to wuwang hill! our charms worked!” the small boy triumphantly held up a small piece of paper, sloppily colored gold with some sort of crayon. shaky black penmanship made a crude imitation of a sigil of permission, a hilichurl’s mask in the center. or, at least, he assumed that’s what it was. children…

“no, jianguo, hilichurls don’t listen to your sigils! just… just stay away from wuwang hill, okay? say your thanks to the nice man who saved you and let’s go home.”

the boy turned, wide eyes fixed on him, and xiao checked that he had absorbed enough of the karma for it to be safe before teleporting away.

he landed on unfamiliar dirt, haunting trees surrounding him. judging by the blue wisps floating around, he could guess he was in the forests atop wuwang hill.

his question was why.

normally, he teleports away to the next source of concentrated karma to ensure it doesn’t end up infecting the people of liyue. but this… he knew wuwang hill had hilichurls and cicin mages, but certainly not a high enough concentration, right?

‘…all the hilichurls fled to wuwang hill!’

unless something called them here.

with one hand on his mask, xiao drew his spear and started to walk.

the forest was oddly quiet. the leaves themselves seemed to stay still, the only noise being made by his shoes upon the path. there were no cicins, nor their mages, nor hilichurls of any kind. yet what was left of his tattered soul was called up the path, some remnant of an instinct telling him to let go of his polearm.

he gripped it tighter in response.

the stone steps ahead seemed to taunt him, seeming to stretch further and further away as he walked. whatever intuition tugged at him felt like it was tied around his soul, tying up the scattered pieces to drag around. it.. was less irritating than it should be, something that frightened him more.

every step he took highlighted the rips across his heart, the scars of karma accentuated. but it wasn’t the surveying gaze of a predator looking for weak points, the invisible eyes prying into his soul neither threatening or aggressive. it felt like he was being assessed by a doctor, like he was young and still being fostered by morax, like he’d gotten into a scuffle with bosacious and he was being scolded even as his arm was being bandaged, the warm mug of tea in his hand soothing the ache in his knuckles-

water on his cheek drew his attention, and he was quick to wipe it off his face, glancing at the sky. he didn’t remember any stormclouds coming in, and the skies seemed..

clear…

…

xiao set his jaw and kept walking, determined to keep his mind on his task.

the stone was cold beneath his feet, the seelie court glowing as the seelie inside buzzed. xiao turned the corner, ignoring the weird feeling in his chest. it had to be nothing. it had to be just some random memory that he was reminded of because of the trees, or the air, or… anything.

xiao walked up the second set of stairs, stopping at the top in shock. the pathway across the pool in front of the domain was covered in wildlife, everything that was missing from the forest condensed into one space on the path. birds, butterflies, even a crane and an electro cicin, all gathered around a small space.

he slowly took a step forward, confused by the display. to see so many animals getting along, crowding such an area as wuwang hill..

xiao continued to walk, his foot splashing into the water above the path harsher than he intended. he froze, making sure he didn’t disturb anything, but the gathering remained. he quickly made his way over the tree in the middle of the path, ensuring he landed quieter this time. as he closer, the details of what he was looking at slowly filled in. between the legs of cranes and over the heads of crows, he could see that a portion of the stone was a different color than the rest. the water above it also refused to move, the ripples from the various animals not moving it an inch.

the birds finally moved when he got close enough, flapping over to the opposite side of the discolored stone. xiao crouched at the edge of the still water, mindful not to get himself wet.

the stone, and water to some extent, thin as it was, was stained a yellowish color. the path looked newer, less worn, the water above it clearer.

his frown deepened the longer he looked at it. he’d never seen anything like this, any substance that froze water while it was still liquid and cleaned it of any dirt whilst never dispersing. he never saw so much wildlife, for lack of better words, getting along like this. the cicin confused him further- it also linked back to what he’d heard, that hilichurls had been called back to wuwang, but he’d yet to see one.

the slashes across his heart pulsed as it beat, reminding him of their presence as he tried to focus. the string tied in his chest pulled him forward, to reach and sink into the shallow pool of gold. he shouldn’t, it was dangerous, he didn’t know what it was or what effect it had on him—he should leave now, in rationality, because he was already being affected. if whatever this was was strong enough to affect him, a yaksha, then surely it was a danger to the villagers nearby..

then why didn’t he feel like it was a danger? why, though his heart burned with the remains of his karmic debt, eternities of slaughter, did he feel lighter?

questions remained unanswered as the pull strengthened, the animals around him growing bold, risking being near him for the chance to crowd the shimmering water. he checked that there wasn’t anything or anybody lying in wait—the chance of this being a trap was too high to ignore—before hesitantly dismissing his polearm, making way for a large raven to land beside him.

xiao stared at the bird, watching as it kept its body entirely out of the odd zone while still sticking close. did it not feel the same pull as he did? was this water meant for creatures such as him, with lifetimes worth of sin on their shoulders? was this where the hilichurls vanished into?

his heart beat against his ribs, the cuts of karma pulsing with it. this water, this stone, he had to be affecting it somehow. though he made sure that his shoes were outside the boundary and that his hands didn’t touch inside it, it was hard to deny the way whatever was dissolved in the water was attracted to his end. it had formed a gradient, the sheen across it darker on his end. he felt a need to reach out, to hold his dirtied past to this cleansing water and be clean of it. no matter how impossible. no matter how irrational. no matter how hard he tried to tell himself it was outlandish and would only get him into trouble, no matter how strong his will or how many rips crossed his heart.

…when xiao gave in and touched the golden stain, one of the tears healed.

the water’s shine faded in an instant, quickly turning back to clear as the stone beneath it aged before his eyes; animals around him rustled and cried, feathers ruffling as they came to their senses and took flight, leaving him with his hands over his sternum and a bright light beneath his skin.

feeling like one of the birds himself, xiao sat in a daze, his mind racing as he tried to rationalize what just occurred.

what was that? what had happened? why did he feel so light? why was his mind covered in warmth and memories of his time with the yakshas, with morax, with the traveller, why was he so- so free? what happened to the chains of karma crossing his limbs, binding him to his nightmares? what happened to the voices repeating his sins as the worst song ever played, where did the pain and the aches and his debt go? how could this water heal what the adepti could not? what morax could not?

clutching the healed seam of his soul, alatus fled.

[hmshermitcraft]

Silly idea with that "polyZITS have more flowers than surfaces in the house": they solve this by always getting nontoxic flowers and Zedaph cooks them. or just eats them plain. depends on if it's a flavour the rest of them like or if it's one just Zed likes

Zed got a lot of advice (not entirely willingly, Stress and Gem heard that he was cooking with flowers and jumped on him) on how to use the flowers. Of course, Zed is perfectly willing to experiment himself, but he guess it helps to have some guidance when cooking for all his boyfriends as well...

They've also taken up gardening! Not traditional gardening, but Skizz and Tango seem pretty excited at whatever monstrosity is growing from all the clippings they combined.

[qroier]

some of my favorite fun spiderbit vods (with links!) now that we're all starting to look dangerously close to your average joker moment image. credit to @/quvctiy on twitter for compiling the original full list of links and vods, I just went through and added dates and picked a few fun ones out like some sort of spiderbit vod tierlist. quvctiy made it so all the links jump directly to when they're hanging out (ty monarch)

May 11 - QSMP day 51 - base guapita: (cellbit) (roier)

June 1 - QSMP day 72 - cellbit rescue and proposal (they don't spend much time together but it has some great moments): (cellbit) (roier)

June 9 - QSMP day 80 - special shout out to festa junina for being particularly impossible to watch at times: (cellbit) (roier)

June 16 - QSMP day 87 - wedding day: (cellbit) (roier)

June 28 - QSMP day 99 - hide and seek with bad and most of the eggs: (cellbit is off stream) (roier)

July 12 - QSMP day 113 - gordinho gostosinho with maxo (miss you every day king): (cellbit) (roier)

July 22nd - QSMP day 123 - THE July 22nd music sharing stream, kindly recreated by @uwillneverknowwho : (cellbit vod with music) (original cellbit vod) (roier is off stream)

August 2 - QSMP day 133 - the church investigation: (cellbit) (roier)

August 17 - QSMP day 148 - special shout out to cellbit giving richas a bath in bobby's old room while roier is distracted watching a kid's cartoon slkdjfk (cellbit) (roier)

August 25 - QSMP day 156 - the cowboy bar investigation and doing richas' tasks (includes gems such as roier stealing a kiss from cellbit, cellbit singing me gustas tu, and more. the entire thing is solidly a category 50 spiderbit moment): (cellbit) (roier)

August 30- QSMP day 161 - giving mouse a tour of the castle: (cellbit) (roier)

September 6 - QSMP day 168 - special shout out to them playing tag with richas after the whole furniture fiasco: (cellbit) (roier)

September 15 - QSMP day 177 - mexican independence event (not the longest by a long shot but i am very biased here): (cellbit) (roier is off stream)

September 16 - QSMP day 178 - touring bagi around the island that first day after she arrived: (cellbit) (roier)

October 7 - QSMP day 199 - hanging out a bit while cellbit works on the ordem base (short but includes the clip of roier looking down from the ceiling singing tempo perdido and them later bothering bagi): (cellbit) (roier off stream)

i still need to finish catching up on purgatory 😔 but another special shout out to all the times they'd manage to sneak off together. and of course shoutout to their lore talks, just wanted to focus more on the fun moments here

[for-a-longlongtime]

So. I accidentally ended up writing a Frankie x Santiago x reader fic...

I say 'accidentally' because I was all in on writing my Javi P x Tim Rockford fic (which is still happening!), then wanted to write a short drabble for @legendary-pink-dot's birthday - and that's how things quickly escalated. Oops.

Shouldn't be surprised though considering Frankie and Santi are, hands down, my absolute fave pairing.

Right now it's looking like the final wordcount will be near 20K words, so I'm thinking I should break this up into two parts. Also because it's been taking over my entire brain and life living in my head and Google docs for 3 weeks already, and I'm overthinking everything because ngl I'm pretty nervous about posting my first fic. So, endulge me if you don't mind...

FYI, @morallyinept is currently feedbacking the first part - she is an absolute GEM! And I have to give massive props to @sin-djarin @magpiepills @imalrightllama @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin in particular who have been so damn encouraging and patient as I've been constantly running tidbits past them for the past weeks.

Whoever catches the reference in the title wins a cookie, btw.

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

Nothing That I Didn't Know (teaser)

Frankie watches you across the crowded bar, standing close to Pope as you’re talking while waiting for drinks. Something tickles in the back of his neck, raising the little hairs there, then all over his arms and everywhere else, like he’s been zapped by a little bolt of electricity. He knows he’s had plenty of tequila - probably more than enough for the rest of the night - but still he can’t help but reach for another shot, unable to tear his eyes away from what’s happening in front of him.

The liquor burns deliciously in his chest as it goes down smoothly, sinking into the rest of his body; undoing and releasing way too many safety clips that normally stay bolted down, and he has to work hard to not reach for another shot. Fuck, his head is loud. Much too loud.

Had been that way already earlier, at the beginning of the night, as he’d watched you and Pope at the bar getting shots for the table. Messing around with each other, and he’d smirked when he saw you triumphantly snag away the shot in front of him - you two were always at it. But then the tone had changed, and he knew it was happening before you seemed to register it - he recognized that look on Santiago’s face.

The set of his mouth, the way his chin would tilt up slightly, the little telltale signs right before he attacked. Watched as he’d suddenly grabbed you, sharply pulling your arms behind you as he shoved you against the bar with his body, and Frankie could feel his mind and body immediately responding in a diametrically opposed manner - his brain in loud protest, the "what the fuck, Pope" right at the tip of his tongue even though he was much too far away to even be heard - immediately protective of you. But his body betrayed him, blood suddenly rushing away from his brain as his cock stirred, immediately painfully trapped against the denim of his jeans. Fuck. Fuuuck.

He saw Santi say something against your ear as you struggled, and the roar in his head was suddenly deafening in a way that made him uncomfortable - there was the instant urge to go stop it, pull Santi off you and ask what the fuck he thought that he was doing. But the other part of him, the one that throbbed in his jeans, didn’t even want to consider interrupting this - just wanted to drink in what was happening, what was next, wanting to know how you felt being pressed against the bar by him like that. Wanted Santi to press him against the bar like that.

He swallowed heavily when the realization of that last thought fully hit him, a hot mix of guilt and desire at the same time, then felt the wave of anger that rolled right after it. It didn’t matter whether it was hot to see - Santi had no right to touch you like that. YOU, you had no right to push back against him like that, even if it was just to struggle and break free, as you ended up pressed even closer against Santi’s front - clearly though inadvertently positioned right against his dick.

Don’t touch her. She’s–

Don’t touch HIM.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine mine mine.

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

Tagging a bunch of you who might be interested in this (or is it tacky to do that when it's your own work? I don't know, man. Like I said, I'm really good at overthinking shit): @linzels-blog @goodwithcheese @maggiemayhemnj @rhoorl @goodwithcheese @undercoverpena @secretelephanttattoo @musings-of-a-rose @trulybetty @rifflovesjoey @avastrasposts @gemmahale @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @nerdieforpedro @ladybess-a03 @prolix-yuy @whatsnewalycat @ezrasbirdie @thewreckening @marisferasiop @perotovar @max--phillips @wannab-urs @idolatrybarbie @inept-the-magnificent @gasolinerainbowpuddles @alwaysmicado @romanarose @chronically-ghosted @alltheglitterandtheroar @boliv-jenta @covetyou @5oh5 @reallyrallyauthor @radiowallet @writefightandflightclub @exquisiteserotonin @pink-whiskey-woman @anavatazes @youandmeand5bucks @arcanefox207 @fettuccin-e @ghostofaboy @angelofsmalldeath-codeine

Want me to tag you when the first part drops? Leave a comment or rb and I'll add you to the taglist!

[hinamie]

What art program and brushes do you use 👉👈

I use clip studio paint pro !

as for brushes god ive got so many on rotation but here r some longtime favs:

chunk oil: my firstborn child i use In everything For everything it's a nice versatile wide textured flat hee pen: rough thin pen i use either for lines or small details in hair or clothes 8100pencil/design pencil: my current sketch brushes, both soft and mildly textured

have also RLY been loving this set for skin. there's a bunch of gems in here, including the brush i'm currently using for lines

and my beloved daub dry media set <33 unlike the others this one is a paid set but i caved and went for it because i thought it was worth the investment . Honest to god one of the best decisions i've made this year . i think i may owe my entire style revamp to daub dry media

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

This coding course is kicking my ass, have some general ghoul headcanons, one for each of them

Phantom/Aeon: New Bug, as ever, strikes me as a “fake it till you make it” kind of guy. As such, it kinda makes me feel like he’d be a theater kid if given the chance, and although I think he’d get a kick out of musicals (Phantom of the Opera, ha ha), I think specifically he’d be into improv. Like, there is no chance his comfort show ISN’T Whose Line Is It Anyway. The minute someone introduced him to D&D, it’s over for everyone.

Aurora: I think she has a soft spot for classic opera pieces. It really lets her go all out in a technical sense, use her range to its fullest extent. It’s stereotypical, but her favorite aria is the Queen of the Night. It’s so damn fun to do this quick jumps in scale in such quick succession!

Sunshine: MASSIVE sweet tooth. Like, yes she knows her corporeal form is fragile and she needs to take care of it, and she does to some extent! She keeps very fit! But fuck if she doesn’t just devour a pound cake if she’s given the opportunity. Will absolutely get a hell of a stomach ache after, but in her mind it’s worth it. Hey, at least she takes good care of her teeth to match!

Rain: A fan of Dancing With The Stars! Though he himself is not known to be all that steady on his feet, he loves watching people who aren’t traditionally considered athletic be put into a professional dance setting and either crash and burn or get better over time. He honestly doesn’t care about the celebrity aspect in the least, barely pays attention to the slice-of-life interviews before the dances themselves, but MAN does he love to pick apart someone’s performance and try to guess what the judges will give before the scores are announced.

Cumulus: Wasn’t initially a gamer, she more preferred to watch those who were have fun in the ghoul common room, but she didn’t have much else to do during the pandemic so… yeah, she just CONSUMED everything Rain sent her way. Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Portal and Portal 2x Hades, the entire Resident Evil franchise up to that point, even DOOM Eternal funny enough. She’s kept up with since then, but still has massive fondness for Animal Crossing.

Cirrus: Loves gem stones and precious metals! She has a real crow instinct but is kinda picky about it, like she’ll get fixated on a shiny gold hair clip with rinestones on it but if it feels too cheep in her hands she’ll lose interest entirely. Even still, her jewelry collection is LARGE. One expensive magpie, that woman, but she shares with the other ghouls if they ask so it evens out.

Swiss: It doesn’t fully mesh with go-to interpretation of him but I once read a headcanon that posited Swiss being able to replicate sounds to an uncanny degree and I am bringing it back here because I love it so damn much, kinda plays into being a little bit of every ghoul. I like to think if you startle Swiss he’ll forget to use his normal voice and just goes straight to the sound effects board. Phantom accidentally pops in from nowhere? Sudden air horn blast. Dew tackling him to the ground? The sound of a car going past you. Mountain stepping on his tail? Fire alarm. Someone kicks him in the balls? Microphone feedback. For a while.

Mountain: He likes eating rocks and precious metals. It’s already a thing with some subsets of earth ghoul, but like for Mountain it’s at a higher level. His preferred snack is those semi-precious rocks you get at tourist attractions, he will just chow down on it like popcorn. When that’s not available, however, he uses salt to sate the the itch. Dude keeps a salt lamp in his room that he uses as a salt lick when no one’s looking. This also extends to novelty items MADE of salt. Those Himalayan salt shot glasses? One-use only. Go straight into his mouth.

Aether: One of those tricks Omega showed him during era 3 is how to use your own quintessence on yourself, something generally considered to be very hard to do amongst quint ghouls. Aether has tweaked and expanded on this ability and has learned how to… basically hotbox but with quintosis. Not something he does often cause it’s draining but sometimes it’s nice to unwind on a near molecular level. Among the few he shares this ability with are Dew, Mountain, and Swiss. He’ll teach the new bug when he feels he’s ready for that kind of power…

Dewdrop: is actually a really good cook! Like really good, actually. He got really into watching Food Network when he first came to Earth which evolved into watching older cooking shows. This further evolved into experimenting with his own recipes. He’s also taught Mountain everything he knows about how to handle the kitchen, so they tend to share cooking duty between the two of them. No one’s complained yet!

[jessrambless]

A guide for people wanting to get into Hermitcraft (from a person who has been here since season 6)

Watch season 8 first since it is nice a short. Short to see if you like it and watch one of the shorter povs

I suggest the following for season 8:

Pearl- She has a nice short pov and is new to Hermitcraft in season 8. You are experiencing it with her. Pearl is also Australian and as an Aussie myself I may be bias

Gem- She also has a short pov like Pearl. Also being new to Hermitcraft that season so you are experiencing it with her

Grian- He is a classic but shut up. It will be pure chaos just a warning. I first watched Hermitcraft with his pov in season 6. It was a lovely starting point

Iskall- He has a fun shared base with Etho and a messaging wall with signs. But his pov is really fun to watch and just makes me happy

Next watch season 7. It is lengthy but is the most Hermitcraft season of Hermitcraft. Also the plot lines. I have only watched Grain’s full pov of this but shush

I suggest watching the following:

Grian- He started a war and stole doors the entire season, what else do you want. Also maybe a bit bias since I watched him but yeahhhh

Etho- He just spends his time playing decked out. Then randomly mentions a server wide war he is apart of and slaps on a 20 second clip about it at the end of an episode

Scar- He has an awesome pov for the war that happened. Also the most baffled about the doors but has happy vibes

Mumbo- He has no clue what is happening but it is so funny. Also he is the guy that made Grain steal doors the entire season

Then watch season 9. Even though I made you watch all these seasons to get to the current season because I am so nice

I would suggest to watch these people, it was hard to decide:

Pearl- She is a cleaning lady that joins a war aginst the monarchy and loves soup. Also she has a trash store, literally. I may be bias on this

Zedaph- He is just simply so funny to watch. He doesn’t know much about what is going on and his only goals are to finish the Zedvancements and annoy Tango

Tango- He lives in a cave, I mean decked out. Fun pov if you love techy stuff and also has no clue what is happening

Grian- He makes a robot, forms a rift between 2 servers, starts a resistance assistance and more. Rock dad that was hard to pick between him and Impulse, so also watch imp

Then go back and watch season 6. But I only watched Grain’s pov but at this point watch your favourite hermits from all the seasons you already watched

[seiueina]

I couldn’t help but think what it would be like for the significant other of Ego Jinpachi…and how married life and parenting life would change drastically while he took more of his responsibility to the Blue Lock Project.

unfinished, not proofread, i’ve had this in the drafts for so long so i am deciding to just post it now :3

“Where is the stupid pass?” You utter as you scramble through your backpack, the backpack that was filled with a lot of things..things that are needed for the kiddos and needed for you. You always noted that you have to clean the backpack out at some point but with raising two children at the age of 4 almost entirely by yourself…is exhausting and you always forget to clean the bag out.

“Mommy I need to pee!!!” Your daughter, shouts just as you found the pass in order to enter the Blue Lock building. “Give me one second! Let me scan this real quick!” You exclaim as you hurriedly put the pass against the scanner, the scanner stays a red LED color, you gasph. Repeatedly putting the pass against the scanner.

‘Entry Denied’

At this point in the day, you we’re already overwhelmed. Taking your son to his soccer game early in the morning and then running home quickly because you forgot to pack your daughters ballet shoes…rushing then over to the dance studio and now ended up here. Unable to get through the door and to a bathroom in which your daughter (for some reason) needed so urgently all of a sudden. You stood there, the tears lining your waterline.

You wanted to let everything out. Cry, scream, shout, curse your husband out the moment you saw him. Years before this…it wasn’t like this. You wouldn’t have imagined your life to become of this. He promised you that he will split his attention from this Blue Lock Project and his family. But he didn’t live up to the promise.

You would go days without hearing a single thing from Jinpachi. Any and everything that you were updated about your husband was given from Anri. The woman who is working with your husband on this “stupid” project. You didn’t feel any remorse for her, you couldn’t bring yourself to even though at this point she’d seen and been in his presence longer than you have in 3 months. And including now…even more so you couldn’t hate Anri, especially when you hear her calling your name.

“y/N-sama!!!” She screams and your ear perks up. “I can’t get in!” You shout back, and she runs up to the door and puts her pass onto the scanner, it quickly lights up green and the door opens. “Mommy I need to go!” Yumi, your four year old daughter utterd again and you swiftly grab her from the ground and rush towards the sign with the restroom sign. Your son, Yuri, quickly following behind you. Luckily, you were able to get to the restroom and Yumi was able to go to the bathroom just in time before an accident occurred.

“Let’s go see your father.” You huffed before leaving the restroom and finding his office. The moment you got there, his eyes were glued on the many of many screens plastered on the wall. He didn’t bat an eye at the supposedly three important things in his life. “What did I say about knocking. Anri- I am”

“Jinpachi.” You exhaled, he turned his head around to see you standing near the door. Your children running around his office as you couldn’t care less about what they were up to in this moment. “Oh. y/N.” He breaths out before returning his head back to the many of many screens, all displaying each individual clips of the players.

“That’s all? Is this really what we mean to you?” You grumbled, walking closer and closer to your husbands desk chair. “Look at me Jinpachi.” You say as you turn his desk chair around. He now faced you.

“Why are you even here? Can’t you see, I am busy reviewing match clips of my unpolished gems.” He replies with a growing urge of annoyance. “So your more interested in these “unpolished gems” then those gems?” You shout, pointing over to the two children the both of you created, he looks over in the same direction then back at you.

“Watch your attitude when you’re talking to me. You’re the one who came here unannounced.” He scoffs standing up from his seat. The two of you were almost the exact same height, Ego only being one inch taller than you, he just barely towered over you, but with just enough space for him to sinisterly smile down at you. “Let’s get a divorce then.” You say, leaving him in utter shock as you go and grab the kiddos from the couch. “I am sorry for yelling.” You apologize to your children as you saw them with hands over their ears. “-C’mon, papa is busy with work…maybe one day he’ll want to see you!” Staying as optimistic as you could.

You were over it to say the least. Ego Jinpachi wasn’t the same man you fell in love with 10 years ago. He’s changed drastically and you can’t help but blame the JFU and this whole Blue Lock Project. With each kid holding your respective hands, you walk past your soon to be ex husband.

“Bye daddy!” Both kids cheerfully smiled and waved at him as the door to his office opened. There you startled Anri who was holding a laundry basket. “Ah! y/N! Leaving already?” She awkwardly laughs before looking up at you. “-No she isn’t.” Your husband blurts out. “Errand girl. Take Yuri and Yumi somewhere…I have an important conversation with my wife.” Jinpachi continues as Anri raises an eyebrow. Looking at your face.

“I guess I can take them to meet the players!” Anri whispers, you wanted to hear your husband speak to you…you didn’t know why. He could have given you his time a day a few seconds ago, so why now does he want to give it? You hand your kids over to Anri. “Okay babies, go with Anri-chan, she’s gonna show you guys all over while daddy and I have a talk!” You say cheerfully before sending them off on their way.

Once the doors to his office closed he quickly started, “You’re not divorcing me.” He speaks and you walk closer to him. “What if I am?” You reply, arms crossed over your chest.

“y/N. I am still in love with you.” He says looking at your face, seeing any type of reaction that’ll perform. “Really? Well it sure don’t look like it!” You exhaled, shuddering your shoulders he steps back, exhales a breath.

He stays quiet, standing in the same position. You rub your temples, "Exactly what I was thinking...am' gonna pack me and the kids stuff and stay at my parents until further notice. I'll contact the lawyer and they'll give you call." You speak aloud, hesitating to turn around and walk to the door just in case, maybe, he'll say something. But he doesn't.

“That’s what I thought…” Whispers came from your mouth as your waterline brimmed with tears as you turn around to exit Jinpachis' office.

© satoberrie 2023 | let me know if i should make a continuation!

[genderfluid-insomniac]

Hii <3 can ı please request the dorm leaders x small breasted reader headcanons you made but with Vil,Idia and Malleus?

Hi anon! I hope you like it!

dorm leaders x small breasted reader headcanons (NSFW)

Vil

He doesn’t care about your breast size and if you’re self conscious than he will suggest to get implants (yes they do exist in this world), but after be scolded thoroughly the housewarden will move on to other options and start complimenting them in private because he’s not going to say anything suggestive in public….He does have a reputation to uphold.

You cannot convince me that this man isn’t a boobs guy, the curve of your breasts and perky nipples does something to him I swear. He’ll quickly go to a bathroom whenever he sees you wearing something that really shows your figure and chest because of the erection tightening in his pants, imagining you bare against his luxurious bed playing with yourself and now he might have to drag you into the bathroom to help him.

He’s one to immediately fix your uniform or if it’s somewhat unbuttoned then button it up right away, it may not be noticeably but Vil isn’t going to take any chances with someone else eyeing up his lover.

Vil will suggest nipple jewelry, sometimes piercings and sometimes just clips, but he has a variety of choices for you to choose from and plenty of praise about how your breasts are just the right size and shape…all for him….just for him.

Idia

This man is even shocked he’s your boyfriend and doesn’t care about what your body looks like or how big your boobs are because he loves every inch of it, stuttering out a compliment when you both are alone and would preferably have you on his lap while he’s playing games.

If you’re insecure about your small breasts and want to get implants then he’ll totally support you and if you don’t then that’s totally cool too. He will have a bright red blush across his cheeks if you talk about it either way since he’s shocked you’re bold enough to bring it up outloud and just wants you to be happy.

His pants tighten whenever he sees you wearing casual clothes that show off your chest or if you’re wearing Ignihyde’s uniform without the tie and the top unbuttoned….excuse him for a moment Idia.exe has just shut down and needs to be restarted (preferably with your help~)

Will absolutely praise your breasts if you ask him but make sure you’re both in private and give him time to speak because he’s very flustered right now.

Malleus

Another dorm leader that doesn’t care about the size and if he could stay all day taking a nap on your breasts he could and would, sighing as he snuggles deeper into your chest And tightens his arms wrapped around your waist. Since he’s already excelling in all of his classes most of the time he’ll ask you to sit next to him or on his lap and when you explain that you can’t since you’re not only in public but in class….he doesn’t get it (cue head tilting like a confused pup but dragon instead).

Will spoil you with gowns and outfits that show off your curves and chest since everyone knows you’re dating Malleus and only someone stupid would dare to flirt with his lover. The fae prince is sad when you tell him to stop buying you clothes so he just moves directly on to gems and pretty rocks, making them into necklaces that sit right on your breast bone.

Malleus has so many fantasies he’d love to reenact and not just in his mind, several of them involve you riding his cock while you sit on his lap and he can just Len you back onto his chest and fondle your boobs for however long he wants. Just let him play with your tits and he’ll be more than satisfied, squeezing and twisting your nipples to get lewd expressions from you.

He can and will cover your entire chest in hickeys/love-bites, even if no one’s going to see he’ll know they’re there and beautifully decorate your breasts.

[jules-writes-stories]

Elucien Week | Day 2 | Golden

A Heart of Gold

Read the entire chapter on AO3

A Retelling of King Midas, Lucien x Elain

The Kingdom of Prythian

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of ancient misted forests and seaside cliffs hewn by the hands of time. It was a land where simple mortals and the immortal trickster Fae lived side by side. A place where fantastical beasts roamed all four Seasonal Courts, where the Sun and Stars aligned in the lofty Solar Courts, and monsters lurked in the darkest Night.

In this kingdom, there lived a wealthy mortal by the name of Archeron. His vast estate was filled with ancient books and maps, trunk of precious gems, cellars of fine wines, and spices and silks that spoke of his travels. He was known to all as the Prince of Merchants.

The Lord had three daughters, each more lovely than the last. And they lived a good life. But over the years, Archeron grew dissatisfied with his good fortune, wanting more. He watched the Fae to the North of the Wall through glittering, greedy eyes, how they amassed great wealth over their immortal lifetimes, and grew jealous of their elemental magic. The mortal man coveted such raw power.

So, he sailed his fleet of trading vessels along perilous coastlines, through choppy seas. He sought out faster, more dangerous routes to transport his goods. He gambled with his wealth, taking great risks for small rewards.

And then, in a single day, it all caught up with him. The missive came after noon. His eldest daughter, Nesta, had just finished her dance lessons. The youngest, Feyre, was running wild on the grounds. And Elain, his sweet, precious Elain, was tending the gardens.

Lord Archeron held the missive in hand. Lost. Every vessel crashed upon the rocks. The tempests of the Continent had taken them. He knew the risks. The shorelines surrounding Bharat were fraught with peril. But the straights had guaranteed the fastest return for his investment, and Archeron was in vast sums of debt, had borrowed too much.

For the Prince of Merchants loved gold. Coffers filled, pockets lined. Threads of gold along his bed linens to fill his dreams. He wanted it ringing his fingers, and cuffing his daughters’ wrists. Golden bars along his window panes. There was never enough. Now, there was nothing.

As if on cue, Elain, came in with the tea, the fine porcelain clinking on a tray. She took in his drawn face, parchment clutched in hand. “Papa? What is it?”

The Prince of Merchants dropped to his chair, head in hands, the letter in his fist.

Elain knelt at his side. “What’s happened?” Her eyes, the soft brown of a meadowlark, full of worry. “Please.”

At that moment, Nesta entered with a whoosh of stiff skirts and a clip of heels. Seeing her younger sister prone, she was immediately on guard.

“Elain? What are you doing on the floor?” The eldest walked with the strength of steel and the grace of fire. She was a savage, beautiful creature, who bravely peeled away to the heart of any matter, like the sharpest of blades.

“It’s Papa. He’s not well.” Elain’s graceful hands, with their chipped fingernails and scratched palms from clearing the garden, took the letter from their father’s.

She passed it to Nesta, who rapidly read across the page. “How could you?” Archeron’s shoulders slumped forward. Sad brown eyes stared at the floor. “How could you be so greedy, so foolish? Make such bad choices?” Silver flames flickered in the eldest sister’s gaze.

He looked up at his two eldest, and simply whispered, “I’m ruined.”

Read the rest on AO3

@the-darkestminds @prythian-fashion @shadowqueenjude @elucienweekofficial @zenkindoflove