#this is in response to the anon who sent me the ask about ghost and the underwear.

[lxvvie]

fuck nasty!Ghost who shows you how much he misses you.

You were out running errands, leaving Simon, home from his latest deployment, to his own devices. All was going well—so you thought—until you heard the telltale ping of your phone and saw that he had texted you.

Simon probably needed you to pick something up for him on the way home. Mm. Doable. You opened the text under that innocent assumption.

And you know what they say about making assumptions.

Because right there in front of your very eyes was a picture of underwear. Your underwear. Your favorite pair of underwear. Your favorite pair of underwear you'd been searching for while you were getting dressed this morning.

They were covered in cum. Simon's cum.

You receive another text not even a second later: Miss you, sweetheart.

It was a miracle you didn't drop your phone.

[wxnheart]

I love your writing! And I especially love how you write the CoD boys 😫❤️ can I please request a scenario or headcanons (whatever you’re ok with!) for how Ghost, Soap, and König would react to their f!s/o one day cutting her long hair and getting like a short pixie cut?

I recently cut mine and even though I love it, I get a little self conscious haha so this may be a self indulgent request 😭 thank you and keep being wonderful!!

𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? - 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐊ö𝐧𝐢𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐚𝐩 𝐱 𝐅!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

note: aw, I love this for you, anon! It was a gradual process for me, too, before I went natural. I went from shoulder-length hair to a pixie cut to a mohawk to a big chop. I'm 1,000% sure that you look amazing with your pixie cut!

𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭

Oh. Holy shit, you actually went through with it. Simon is speechless.

You'd always talked about it but he didn't think you were serious about it, really.

But in hindsight, he should've known. The signs were there. You sent him a series of pictures with different pixie cuts, asked for his opinion, and so he gave it.

But now? Seeing you in the flesh with your new hairstyle? Holy shit, baby. You look beautiful.

Simply put, Simon loves it. Makes you look more badass. Also really emphasizes that radiant smile of yours, too.

𝐊ö𝐧𝐢𝐠

Schatz, is that... is that you?

König is surprised. Well, surprised is an understatement but we'll use it for the time being.

You really cut your hair. He so loved to run his fingers over it. It helped soothe him whenever he was feeling anxious.

Change is something that he's never adapted to readily and while he'll miss your beautiful tresses, he can't take his eyes off you. He's staring more than he usually does.

König notices features that he's never really paid attention to before and he likes them. He likes them a lot. Oh, Schatz... he's falling in love all over again.

𝐒𝐨𝐚𝐩

Johnny's the quintessential kid in a candy store, he's so fucking excited.

Fuck yes, you did it! He knew you could rock a pixie cut! Always knew you could, you just needed to see for yourself!

Has the most overwhelming response to seeing your new 'do. Calls you beautiful right off the bat.

Of course, you've always been beautiful and he loves how your haircut brings attention to your eyes, undoubtedly one of the things about you he loves the most.

And hell yeah, you'll be a badass-looking couple! Soap's that proud partner who's beaming (when isn't he?) like fuck in your presence and will absolutely show Ghost a picture of your new haircut. ("She's fucking beautiful, yeah?" "Never said she wasn't, Johnny." "Yeah, but you never said she was, Lt." "...Oh, fucking hell.")

[cod-dump]

Hope your head has stopped trying to commit a crime, so pardon my bothering.

This is the Simon Riley has a grave anon here with more concerning it! (because for some reason it randomly popped back into my head and I must share)

There's a new recruit about to be sent to train on the 141's base, but is delayed due to personal hardship. His grandfather had just passed, and he needed some time. This recruit never had a father, and his grandpa just filled that role so easily, so losing him was hard. Turns out, this recruit is also from Manchester and his grandpa is buried next to one "Lieutenant Simon Riley"

Recruit gives a brief salute to the "deceased" lieutenant as he asks him to be a good neighbor to Pop.

Once he's back on base, he's heard stories about "Ghost" already, even before being on base, when he first joined and was told where he would be sent to. He's nervous about meeting him, especially given he's a week late and doesn't know anything else. And it's during his first training session with his new lieutenant that really freaks him out. Ghost is in a sour mood, and snaps at this recruit after not recognizing him.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Private Tyler Maverick, sir." Ghost eyes him suspiciously.

"You're a week late. Better be for a damn good reason." Ghost clearly was not present at the base to be informed of why Maverick was late.

"Had to bury someone, sir." There's an awkward pause as Ghost stares at him. Ghost just grunts in response before turning away and pretty much ignoring Maverick the rest of the day. Later that day, around dinner, Maverick is told to meet the lieutenant in his office. When he enters, Ghost is leaning against the desk, arms crossed and given no hint of what he wanted Maverick for.

"You asked for me, sir?"

"Wanted to apologize for my comment earlier. I had only just rolled in the night before and didn't get briefed on the new recruits very long." Maverick shakes his head.

"Nothing I can't handle, sir. If I can't handle a comment about burying a family member, then I shouldn't be here." Ghost narrows his eyes in questioning.

"Doesn't make it right, though. Burying family is a nasty business." Maverick shrugs, not really wanting to go into the whole thing, but it seems Ghost has other plans.

"How you holding up? I hear you only had a couple days before being shipped out."

"Fine, honest. Been kept busy the whole time so I guess it hasn't really hit yet." Maverick nervously rubs at his neck, starting to see where Ghost was going with this.

"Some of us move on faster than others, especially depending on who they lost." Ghost comments, and Maverick wants to curl in on himself. He'd heard stories about Ghost's uncanny ability to read someone with pinpoint accuracy, but he never thought he'd be the subject of it.

"Lost my grandpa. He was more like my dad, never got to meet the real deal, ya know? Died when I was young. For a really long time, Pop was all I had. Mom worked all the time and I was an only child. Now I'm here, and he's buried and it all just feels so surreal but in a bad way. I don't know, but I'm okay, sir, honest." Maverick rambles, tripping over his words as he tries to rush up in case his little rant had upset Ghost.

"Yeah and I'm the bloody Queen of England. But, fine, I'll go with it for now. Tell me when it gets to be a problem, though. Can't have my soldiers compromised." Maverick nods.

"Yessir. And, if you don't mind, I never got to properly meet you, sir, so I never caught your name."

"Simon Riley." Maverick pales almost immediately as recognition of the name dawns on him.

"You all right?"

"It's got to be a coincidence." He whispers and Ghost cocks his head at him.

"What is?"

"There's a lieutenant buried next to Pop with the same name as you."

"Manchester?"

"Yessir. Hell, I even asked him to be a good neighbor." Maverick mutters the second sentence, hoping Ghost wouldn't hear it.

"S'alright, I'm a pretty quiet neighbor." If it weren't for the deadpan way Ghost had said it, or the absurdity of the situation, Maverick would have passed out right there.

"I-I'm sorry?" He asks between nervous laughs.

"Name Ghost comes from somewhere, ya know. Dismissed." Maverick has never left a room so fast in his life.

He does eventually get an answer, and loads more questions, about the grave from Gaz.

"Oh yeah, it's a long story. Don't worry, Private Bones is also a good neighbor, even if he is an alcoholic."

Maverick has officially decided to never question his superior officers ever again, and he ends up being the one recruit they can fuck around in front of because he'll just blink at them before going back to whatever he was doing and never mention anything again.

He definitely makes sure to tell Pop how interesting his neighbor is every chance he gets.

(this turned into an actual something, I'm sorry, didn't mean that to happen but it is what it is)

Adding Tyler Maverick to the list of recruits that Ghost has adopted unintentionally.

I love this!!

And I'm feeling much better than what I was this morning, thank you <3

[twst-discourse-bot]

Updates on fandom4lesbians Drama: lesbiansinfandom and More

So, after about three days of no mental peace, I thought it only right that I provide the next wave of evidence that I have gathered regarding Yuuna/Marie/Lumine/Ray and their seemingly never-ending energy. They are already spamming the tags again, looking for trouble.

Here is a LINK to my previous post on the matter which contains the evidence that their first four blogs are in fact connected, in case anyone is new here or wants a refresher as I will be removing the pin and pinning this post instead, but I will still provide a short recap on what is going on:

Yuuna/Marie/Lumine/Ray is a user in the TWST and Genshin fandom with a long history of racism, Sinophobia, homophobia, and TERF behavior, in addition to spamming tags with repetitive content and being linked to the harassment of other users.

I have also answered more questions clarifying this statement on my blog, if you'd like to read more into it.

I am continuing this effort because many concerned people who agree that their actions need to be stopped and they need to be held accountable for them have personally come to me in support. I have also sought out several users who I believed to be negatively affected by this person and they kindly helped me compile this evidence as well, so I want to give them peace of mind if possible.

Further Explanation Below (Long Post):

She has used many names until now, (genshin-lumine or genshinlumine, yuunatsukuyomiinwonderland, mult1fandoml3sbian, and fandom4lesbians) and I have since been provided with MORE account names that are also under her control:

1. lesbiansinfandom (formerly magicalstorybook); see a pattern here? This is her new “main”, at least in TWST

2. lumineforlife (active until July 9)

3. anonymousdiscourse (active until July 9)

4. deadyuunaacount (renamed and wiped yuunatsukuyomiinwonderland)

This time, I have a lot more screenshots that detail their behavior, many of which were kindly provided to me by other people who have been affected by the situation. For the sake of privacy, I will be blocking out all users’ names that do not belong to the offender.

A. Proof that Ray (lesbiansinfandom) is the same as ever:

I think that anyone who isn't interested in playing devil's advocate can tell that these blogs are all the same person, but I will go into detail for everyone's sake and to deter naysayers.

I received an anon message that sums it up perfectly:

All of these points happen beat per beat on any of her main accounts, most notably in the most recent three, all containing lesbian in the name in some form.

To highlight the first criteria:

current main blog

current main blog before rebranding

deleted fandom4lesbians blog

pfp of deleted mult1fandoml3sbian blog

The last image also shows an example of criteria #3,4, and 5; the "hate" she receives and her typical response to it. People suspect that these messages are sent by her to herself in an attempt to garner sympathy and attention. As you can see mult1fandoml3sbian is also the blog where the original tirade about boycotting the EN server Ghost Marriage event started.

Keep in mind that these blogs all started posting within DAYS of the previous version being found out and removed/deleted, so taking everything into account it becomes obvious that Ray and Marie are the same person using different pseudonyms.

B. The Other Blogs

The easiest to explain is deadyuunaaccount, which is just what this person renamed her yuunatsukuyomiinwonderland account to after deleting all of her posts. Here is the evidence they are the same blog and therefore, the same person:

original OC profile with former account name

a reblog of the original OC profile to the burner account lumineforlife

deadyuunaacount answering an ask as the owner of the OC

This ties me into my next point about the blogs lumineforlife and anonymousdiscourse, which claim to be "friends" with each other and Yuuna. Look what the most recently reblogged post is on both accounts:

These were both reblogged on July 9 and then both accounts went quiet. As you can see, they also really like the damnfandomproblems submission blog, which is another characteristic of the previous versions.

lumineforlife reblogging a post from anonymousdiscourse defending Yuuna, from an anon message to damnfandomproblems

another reblog by lumineforlife from anonymousdiscourse, regarding an unrelated situation on damnfandomproblems

two posts related to Genshin shipping discourse, both of which displaying opinions that the offender has publicly displayed on their previous blogs before

So, if you've been following, I have established that lesbiansinfandom is the same person who was running fandom4lesbians and mult1fandoml3sbian, who was ALSO the person behind genshin-lumine and yuunatsukuyomiinwonderland. Due to the number of interactions between the Yuuna blog and lumineforlife and anonymousdiscourse, as well as the users having the same mannerisms and posting habits as the rest, it can be assumed with certainty that these blogs are also run by the same person. That is one person behind SEVEN blogs, eight if you count the rename of the Yuuna account.

C. Finally, Proof of Sinophobia/Racism and TERF-iness

Before, I lamented not having appropriate screenshots to back up my claims and relied mostly on people's memory and good will to follow the trail of evidence I provided. Now, after some digging, I have collected quite a bit of proof.

Notice that multiple times, the user will fall back on race or gender (they claim to be a black, trans lesbian who uses she/they pronouns) to defend their actions, as well as other fake "friends" that clearly do not exist.

a few examples from anonymousdiscourse account

What follows is a consecutive interaction between three users and the offender.

the post the argument is in reference to, from damnfandomproblems

This is also not all of the evidence that I have collected, but I figured it was enough to prove a point. If asked, I can make another post with the rest of the screenshots I have of their behavior.

D. Conclusion

So where does this leave us? Same as before, block them, report them, spread the news of who they are and keep yourself and your friends safe. If you want to investigate yourself, feel free to look through the three active accounts as well as the damnfandomproblems archive, there is a lot about Yuuna there.

The only different advice I would give this time is to avoid interacting directly with them, it's not worth the energy and you'll be talking to a brick wall. They won't stop unless someone makes them stop and the method for doing that is both illegal and outside my skill set, but if we can avoid scaring them into changing their MO until it becomes impossible to recognize them it would be helpful. Ideally they just leave, but that likely won't happen.

And please, again, don't be racist, sexist, gross, etc. to troll them. It's equally disgusting behavior, no matter how much you may delude yourself into thinking it's fair or for the greater good.

Thank you for reading, I wish you well.

[ruthlesslistener]

We sure do live in a society, don't we.

The anons sending you hate are doing my head in. Like, I can completely understand why they bristled at your initial response, because as someone who writes Ghost as an adult in a child's body (hi, Gently, my beloved fic that is drowning from my dead muse), I had a kind of similar "hey wait" response at first.

But then you CLARIFIED. You took the time to ask, listen and let others educate you on another POV. It may not have changed your own personal HCs (and that's OK!!!), but you clarified your meaning was not people like me - it was not the average person who spurred it - and that's all anyone can really ask for. You don't have to agree with or ask people.

The best part of fandom is taking bits and pieces of each other's ideas and using them to decorate our sand castles and make them our own. That means "I wouldn't spin it that way but I liked reading how you did it." It also sometimes means "Oh I cannot get behind that but I respect your right to."

I think it says a lot that people are on anon, rather than actually talking to you and giving you a chance to engage with them one-on-one. I'm not sure I would label them trolls. I think their feelings got hurt and they are lashing out because of it, in an impolite way, rather than stopping to listen to explanations. I am going to give the benefit of doubt and assume that ill-intent wasn't meant, and that the reason they're on anon is that anxiety has them going "if I say it on my main, I'm going to get flamed because I offended popular tumblr user." To that I say: If you weren't on anon, Aren could've replied privately to you, and likely would have. A one-on-one conversation can go a large way for trying to clear up misunderstandings.

TBH, I probably could've just sent all of this on Discord but I just am frustrated. Asks like the ones you received are why I am terrified of sharing my own headcanons, why I assume anyone asking me ANY opinions has bad faith, and why everything I say has a giant ass disclaimer on it with "THIS IS LIKE, JUST MY OPINION GUYS" and we shouldn't have to do that. We shouldn't have to sit and police everything that we say because Someone Might Twist It.

Anyway, sorry. I just needed to put this out here because I was about to blow up on my own blog. lmao

Thank you tumblr user grollow I appreciate it immensely and I agree with everything you said about fandom being a sandbox made more fun by people having different ideas that make things fun to play with. It's just that I've been off in my corner playing relatively on my own for a bit, which kinda fucks over the amount of context you get on things a bit. And also the miscommunication had the misfortune of landing squarely in the intersection between 'things I really don't like' and 'things that have a canon basis but lack canonical descriptive details', turning it into a shitshow. Which I really really fucking wish didn't happen, even if I did enjoy discussing the pros and cons of different mental interpretations of Ghost and was able to come to the conclusion that it's about as appealing to me as a slice of apple pie. Which is to say, I like certain bits of it and will gladly nibble at said bits, but if there's any other option out there I'd take it over pie anyday. It's not bad and I certainly do enjoy it in extremely specific context, but it also doesn't appeal to me in the slightest and there's certain parts that I refuse to touch altogether (the texture of cooked fruit makes me cringe and nauseates me, much like the idea of Ghost being an adult trapped in a child's body from a horror perspective incites panic). But that's fine, bc then I can just plop the filling onto a friend's plate for their enjoyment, and nibble away at the bits I like in piece. My dislike of pie doesn't extend to the people who enjoy it, nor do I get upset when my brother refuses to eat what I cook for him. He's picky, I'm picky, I've got no right to judge. He's just as valid for saying my cream cheese frosting is gross as I am for thinking him refusing to eat anything but mac n cheese and scrambled eggs is gross. Same concept with fandom here

(And honestly, my judgement on the whole minor/adult thing is seperate from Ghost as a character altogether. I'm of similar mind with Miquella of Elden Ring, who is canonically an adult trapped in a child's body. Having a relationship with him in his child form would be fucked up- hell, even Mohg goes for breaking the curse first, and Mohg is canonically fucking insane! This isn't something limited to just one fandom, it's a hard line I draw in fiction in general)

Also yeah, I totally would have just worked it out in private, but I get the feeling the anon thinks I'm running some sort of clique or something over here where I would have twisted it into clout somehow. Which needless to say, I would not fucking do. Can't say this enough, but I'm autistic as all getout and had to deal with that enough in high school so I have nothing but contempt for that sort of behavior.

[hollenka99]

Hello! May I know about your regicide au? I miss your writing! (Also i think the buttons freaked out while i was trying to press the ask button so if you just got unfollowed and followed by me a few times then very sorry)

Cracks knuckles You've got a big storm coming.

The tldr is that Regicide is (in the most basic terms) an SBI royalty au that has plenty of ways the plot could go, depending on the choices the characters make. @the-redeemed-anon and I made it at the beginning of last year after I got inspired by a conversation we had about the Ottomans' practice of fratricide as a way of fighting for the throne.

There is a series of our fics on AO3, mainly mine but Anon has written a few fics themself that I believe they plan to post once they're less busy.

So the main things to know about the set up are:

Phil is Emperor Phillip V of the Antarctic Empire

He has 15 sons (and 26 kids in general) via 6 wives

Technoblade, Wilbur and Tommy are his sons through Kristin

Technoblade is the eldest son in general and the only boy who is given the same level of love as their sisters because Phil's allergic to being a boydad for Reasons

These reasons mainly being linked to the fact that when princes are 10, they learn the truth about how the family handles succession to the throne

Aka it's kill or be killed because you have to get to the throne first, accept a special sword and order the deaths of your brothers and nephews to secure your place

As the favourite son, Techno has been raised to be the next emperor and therefore been given every advantage so he'll get to give the order before any of his brothers can

Wilbur is incredibly salty about all this, from the system itself to the way Phil treats him, Tommy and their half brothers compared to Techno and their sisters

Tommy is sometimes just kind of in Techno and Wilbur's shadows because he's much younger (and also tends to be like 12 or 14 during the main plots of the paths so doesn't have as much agency as his adult brothers)

500 years ago, their ancestor and the first ever emperor, Thomas I, united all the city states to create the empire and was blessed by the god of war (War)

This blessing consisted of War giving premonitions to both Thomas and his descendants

200 years ago, a farmer's daughter named Kristin caught the attention of the goddess of death (Death) and also gave her a generational blessing, making her able to see ghosts

Both these blessed bloodlines have now mixed to create Phil and Kristin's 6 kids, all of whom have both premonitions and the ability to see ghosts

Between the ages of 5 and 16, princes are educated with a son from an aristocratic family who is there to accept discipline on his prince's behalf

At 16/17, princes are sent off to a province to govern it and gain experience in preparation for potentially becoming emperor themselves someday

Notable Characters

Phillip V (Phil)

He has been emperor since he was 13 and was the youngest of 7 brothers with zero sisters to act as a buffer so his upbringing has Had An Effect. He is a great dad to his daughters and Techno but refuses to get attached to his others sons due to them feeling like tragedies waiting to happen. A bit of a warmonger, he is the one who took Wilbur's declaration of independence and declared war as a response. If Regicide had a main antagonist, it's definitely Phil.

Kristin

Comes from the Müntirien family who have Death's gift and, as a way of honouring their ancestor who earned them the blessing, the main line tend to name their eldest daughters after her. Out of Phil's 6 wives, she is the first he married out of love instead of being set up like the previous two and arguably may be his favourite (partially also due to being Techno's mother). She acknowledges that she will lose at least two children in the wake of becoming a widow but that only leads to her taking her children's side when Phil acts unfairly towards them.

Technoblade

The eldest son of the family and the one Phil believes is destined to be the emperor after him thanks to an incident with a bear that is interpreted as an approving sign from War. He loves his brothers but does try to put a little distance between himself and them to make what he'll have to do someday a little easier on himself. War took a special interest in him since infancy, causing Techno to be able to easily understand his premonitions as War intended them to be interpreted and have great reflexes. However, his ability to see ghosts suffers as a result so they look and sound fuzzy to him.

Wilbur

The 7th of Phil's sons and Kristin's 3rd child. If Regicide had a main character, it would definitely be Wilbur. Even in paths where he dies young, his memory is enough to motivate his brothers to fulfill the goals he never got to complete. All he wants in life is to do something worthwhile before his limited time is up, whether that's freeing the country he fell in love with, abolishing fratricide or simply protecting his son from the pain of being a Craft prince. He feels very connected to Death due to her giving him an extra dose of blessing when he was born so as a result, ghosts sometimes appear as real as if they were living to him. Unfortunately, he struggles to interpret War's warnings properly because of this which gets him into trouble that could have been otherwise avoided. Also having a connection to Death can make you a bit of a death magnet, even when you manage to survive, so... poor guy's occasionally having A Time.

Tommy

The youngest of Phil and Kristin's kids as well as one of the youngest kids of the whole family. Tommy is kind of overlooked as a result of the plethora of siblings before him so he tended to disappear through secret passages with his friends. He enjoys doing things with his hands and gets pretty good at sewing during the war. Because of this, he becomes a gardener who mends clothes as a hobby in paths where he ends up living a more civilian life. War and Death share custody of Tommy in a way and his boosted gifts are far more balanced than his brothers' as a result.

Sally Salmon

The daughter of a significant L'Manburgian family, she is the girl Kristin thinks would get along best with Wilbur when planning a political union between him and someone L'Manburgian to improve his image. She and Wilbur don't get along at all for the first several months of their marriage, only for the tension to break and them falling in love once they actually get to know each other. She acts as a spy during the war until it's deemed safer for her to go into hiding instead, neither of them aware she's just gotten pregnant with Fundy.

The Salmons

Sally's parents and some of the most influential people in L'Manburg. They made an agreement with other important L'Manburgian families to try get one of their daughters married to a Craft prince in order to hopefully have their son-in-law then a pro-L'Manburg grandson on the Antarctic throne. This led to Wilbur and Sally's marriage, an opportunity they were so determined to not lose out on that they went about it the wrong way. While they are kind of in the background for most of the paths, Wilbur befriends them and is inspired to start the revolution after listening to them speak about L'Manburgian history and culture.

Fundy

Wilbur and Sally's son and sometimes only child if the path makes it impossible for his little sister Isa to be born. While he doesn't inherit most of his father's interests, Fundy is quite adept at tinkering, managing to create simple mechanical systems while he's still a child. In half the paths, he ends up being either Wilbur or Techno's heir and therefore the emperor after them. Fundy is named after Fundy Salmon, a great uncle from a few generations back whose legacy is being the general who handed over L'Manburg to the Antarctic Empire. Fundy's middle name is either in honour of his uncle Chris or Wilbur himself, depending on the path.

Death

The Antarctic goddess of death. She is the Müntirien family's patron after the original Kristin earned her respect. She is closest to Wilbur and has a massive soft spot for him, to the point she offers to make him her son in his next life. As for Techno having difficulty with her gift, she isn't that fazed by it as War with Wilbur thanks to it not having such dire consequences in his daily life. In the afterlife, she welcomes souls and redirects anyone who gets lost in the fog.

War

The Antarctic god of war. He is the Craft dynasty's patron after admiring Thomas I's skills and promising to look out for his descendants. Technoblade is his favourite prince out of the main 3 brothers which is helped by the fact Techno feels the most connected and perceptive towards the god. Despite being frustrated with Wilbur's inability to properly understand him, he does subtly side with the L'Manburgians during their war of independence.

Chris

One of the half brothers and the one Wilbur is closest to. He's a week older than Wilbur which leads to them becoming inseparable from the beginning. The two of them help the other realise they're in love with their respective significant other. When Chris becomes a father to a little girl named Cecylia, he unintentionally causes the inciting incident for most of the paths diverging.

Eret Bakkarra

Wilbur's best friend since they were 5, having grown up as a prince-whipping boy duo. Depending on the path, he will act as Wilbur's right hand man, Fundy's mentor, a general ally to the family or the one who leads the story towards a bad ending after a misguided decision.

Tubbo Underscore

Tommy's childhood best friend and whipping boy. While they were growing up, the two of them tended to sneak off and cause mischief, which in turn led to them befriending Ranboo. He follows Tommy to L'Manburg when war breaks out, much to Wilbur's distress. In paths where L'Manburg loses, he avoids capture by running and joins Ranboo's life of a wandering merchant.

Ishmael Oshier

A veteran of the L'Manburgian War of Independence and a survivor of the wither arrow attack that leads to the end of the war in P4. Following the war and losing his arm to withering, he ends up as one of Techno's advisors. In fact, by the time Fundy meets him 20 years later, he is practically the emperor's right hand man as well as a close personal friend of the Crafts family. Anon and I love him so much, along with his two service dogs, but Fundy feels something's up with the guy. It doesn't help that they keep butting heads about the pace of L'Manburg gaining independence and the war itself.

Notable Events

These are things that happen in every path or are reoccurring enough to warrant mentioning.

Wilbur I creates the fratricide tradition - Having grown up during the tail end of the civil war, Wilbur I becomes emperor after making himself the only possible descendant of Thomas I who can take the throne uncontested. He uses his experiences of his extended family spending 60 years tearing itself apart over power to promise he'll never let something like that happen to the empire ever again. As a result, he makes it law that all sons of newly deceased emperors must fight to keep themselves and their own sons alive by winning and becoming the next emperor.

Conquering of L'Manburg - Having been at war in some form since the late 13th century, with L'Manburg tending to be able to push the Antarctic Empire back before they can advance far enough to be successful, the head of the L'Manburgian army reluctantly surrenders in 1402 to spare worse consequences. The emperor at the time will treat L'Manburg quite fairly for the next 17 years until his death, at which point his anti-L'Manburg son takes over and begins treating the country far less favourably.

Wilbur appealing to Phil - When Wilbur is 13, he discovers the fratricide tradition is based on a few lines. He tries to convince Phil to abolish fratricide after coming up with some alternatives he can think of. Phil however very quickly dismisses his suggestions and complains about his time being wasted. This normally just results in Wilbur being resentful for a while before resolving that he should accept there's no hope in changing the system and his life is tied to Phil's. In P3 though, it has disastrous consequences.

The premature purge - Feeling threatened by the reality of becoming of an uncle via one of his brothers, Techno gathers a few guards to follow his orders. They visit the adult brothers in their homes and gather up the younger ones who still live at the palace, killing them all. The only ones who are spared are Wilbur and Tommy. This forever changes the dynamic between the brothers, leading to Wilbur in particular not knowing how to proceed.

Sally going into hiding - Over a year after the war begins, Wilbur decides it may be too dangerous for Sally to stay at camp and participate in the war as a spy. With some help, he is able to organise for her to hide in the home of the Nihachus, a family of bakers. Only Eret knows where they live but gladly gives Wilbur the address when the war is won and he can't reunite with her or their newborn son fast enough.

Eret's betrayal - Desperate for the war to end already, Eret approaches Phil to appeal to him. This only leads to Phil taking advantage of him and using it as an opportunity to capture traitors. When Phil enters the L'Manburgian camp with Eret in tow, Wilbur doesn't suspect his friend until Phil taunts him for not having trustworthy friends. This often causes one or both crimeboys being killed or at least imprisoned for being traitors in the eyes of their father.

Notable Locations

Antarctic Empire - An empire that was founded in the 10th century by Thomas I when he united the 15 city states dedicated to the gods. It has since expanded via conquests into places such as part of the Nether and L'Manburg. Since its founding, but especially following the end of a civil war that lasted the majority of the 11th century, it has been ruled by the Craft dynasty who are all descended from Thomas I. The main languages are Antarctic and Arctic (the language of an ethnic group of travellers native to the area). The further north you go, the closer you get to the tundra landscape where very few live.

Rayusel - The capital of the Antarctic Empire and the one who had War as their patron when it was a city state. In the centre is the area known as Inner Rayusel which is sacred ground due to being the original boundaries of the city that were marked by bearskin in its founding myth. The main temple to War is found within Inner Rayusel and is one of the entry points. Outer Rayusel is the unofficial name for the rest of the city that expanded out from the original boundaries. The majority of people from Rayusel live there and it is also where the royal palace is located.

L'Manburg - A country full of mountains, especially near the border with the Antarctic Empire that lies to the empire's south. It used to be a trade partner with the empire until a series of events in the mid 13th century caused the emperor at the time to start a campaign to conquer the country which would last approximately 150 years. It has now been under Antarctic rule for over a century but is often attempting to rebel against the foreign authority. The main languages are L'Manburgian and Antarctic, although L'Manburgian has been systematically suppressed for the past century and is often only heard in private settings like the home.

Pogtopia - A city built into natural formations of a mountain (like this one) which is one of the hubs of rebellion, especially during the war and in paths where L'Manburg loses. It acts as a safe haven for running from Antarctic oppression thanks to being difficult to reach unless you know how to navigate the area.

Nether - A very bio-diverse collection of nations that operate as one on an international scale, laying to the west of the Antarctic Empire and likewise partially borders L'Manburg. The main language is Netherine and the climate depends on which nation you're in as it varies from woodland to desert to volcanically active land etc. The empire set its sights on getting full control of the valuable resource of netherite in the late 11th century but only one of the nations was conquered and it has remained this way since. There was a war led by a half mortal daughter of Death in 1216 which resulted in heavy losses for Antarctic troops and had a significant impact on the future of the royal family.

Paths

There are 15 separate paths, split equally into three branches: Fratricide, Patricide and L'Manburg. There is also an unofficial branch that we call War which features all of the L'Manburg paths as well as P4 and P5. There are certain things that stay consistent throughout them like Salbur hating each other when they first meet and Neo Trio being the final three brothers. As for the paths themselves, here are some summaries:

F1 - Wilbur kills both of his remaining brothers and suffers the consequences, dealing with a vengeful Tommy and having Fundy as his only ally. He does not have a happy reign but is able to complete a book honouring all of his brothers' memories.

F2 - Techno is killed and Wilbur becomes emperor with Tommy going on to live a fairly normal life privately. While Phil is still alive, assassins break into his home but he is able to survive the night. He spends the next few years hunting down answers so he can keep his family safe from further attacks.

F3 - Upon discovering the pregnancy with Fundy, Wilbur and Sally go into hiding with only Eret knowing where they are. However, Phil dies like usual a few years later and now they are being brought back to the palace so the tradition can be carried out.

F4 - Techno is killed, making Wilbur the new presumed heir. While Fundy is a baby, assassins break into Wilbur and Sally's home. They succeed in targeting Wilbur and exposing what he did, which in turn makes Tommy the last possible son to inherit the throne from Phil. Once he's emperor, Tommy is determined to discover who is responsible for Wilbur's death while likewise navigating his new duties.

F5 - Techno leaves all of his brothers alone, never going through with ordering the premature purge. However, this doesn't mean Wilbur doesn't immediately freak out when he and Sally have a son. They kept the pregnancy a secret and do the same with baby Fundy. This works for a few years, albeit with a lot of effort, but Phil's death has to come eventually. Wilbur becomes another victim of the tradition but the same can't be said of Fundy, much to his parents' relief. Now it's just a case of keeping him hidden for the rest of his life.

P1 - Wilbur kills Techno but instead of the lingering paranoia causing him to target Tommy like in F1, he kills Phil so he can be protected by becoming emperor early.

P2 - Wilbur has second thoughts on killing Techno, to the point he confesses his plans to his brother and they end up murdering Phil instead. They rule together for the rest of their lives.

P3 - Upset upon hearing their father dismissed 13 year old Wilbur for wanting there to be a fairer system, Technoblade takes matters into his own hands. He kills Phil nearly a full decade early, triggering the tradition while the brothers are underage. Wilbur becomes co-emperor once he's old enough while Tommy lives off to the sidelines during their reigns.

P4 - During the war, Phil orders a skilled archer to fire wither arrows at Wilbur in the hopes that his death will give him a great opportunity to stop wasting his time on crushing the revolution. Wilbur gets nicked by it but that's enough and doesn't survive long enough to get proper treatment at the palace. 20 years later, the son he never got to know existed shows up with determination to finish what his father started by gaining independence for L'Manburg. With the help of Eret, an advisor of Techno's named Ishmael tries to dissuade Fundy from rocking the boat too much.

P5 - Fearing both of their safeties, Wilbur sends both Sally and Tommy to the Nihachus so they can hide. Following Eret selling the L'Manburgians out, Wilbur is arrested and sentenced to death for treason. His only consolation is that his wife and little brother are safe until, months later, they're caught too. He begs Techno to help, leading to Phil's death as the only way they can be saved without complications.

L1 - L'Manburg wins the war and Wilbur is able to go home to his wife and newborn son. He spends 10 years as the country's first post-independence president before resigning so he can spend more time with Sally and their two children.

L2 - Eret betrays L'Manburg, causing both Wilbur and Tommy to be captured. They both end up on the scaffold and, while Tommy is upset about being stuck as a ghost, his reaction is nothing like Wilbur's. Wilbur spends the next several years haunting Phil as a vengeful spirit for every wrongdoing his father committed against him and his family.

L3 - Tommy is kidnapped by Antarctic soldiers who were acting independently. A group including Wilbur and Eret come to save him but as they escape with Tommy, he is hit with a slingshot pellet. Wilbur races back to camp with Tommy in his arms so he can be treated but it is in vain. The war is won months later yet Wilbur can't fully enjoy it, knowing what it cost him.

L4 - Having listen to War when he advised Wilbur miss a battle, only for the wither arrow attack to happen, Wilbur is determined to not miss another battle, no matter how much of a bad idea War may think it is. This costs him his life and causes his pro-L'Manburg loved ones to flee for their safety until Phil's death makes it possible for them to consider returning.

L5 - Phil decides to keep Wilbur alive despite still going ahead with killing Tommy. Instead, Wilbur is stuck inside a cell for what is meant to be the rest of his life. He is rescued but when Phil comes close to jeopardising the safety of those Wilbur loves, Wilbur makes an irreversible mistake that causes him to be shunned by the gods.

Songs that really fit

Legendary from Epic: The Musical - Fundy in P4 where he is determined to take all the stories of his father's bravery and live by Wilbur's example as he prepares to fight for L'Manburg's rights too.

Bread and Roses (various artists but I prefer the Women of the World version the best) - Sally in L2 when she finds herself one of the key figures of the revolution in the wake of Wilbur's death and being denied access to Fundy.

My Shot from Hamilton - Ishmael rising through the ranks as Techno's advisor and working hard to improve things for L'Manburg after the war.

The Bad Guy from Ultimate Storytime - Wilbur in F1 where he reflects on how he technically did what he was supposed to do by making himself the only living brother, only to be shunned by his loved ones for playing the game the 'wrong' way.

Close Every Door from Joseph - L5bur sitting in his cell and not caring anymore about what Phil plans to do to him. If he rots in there like he's supposed to then who cares.

The Plagues from The Prince of Egypt - With Wilbur and Tommy stuck on the L'Manburgian side of the war while Phil and Techno are leading the offensive against them, none of the brothers want to be pitted against each other or made into enemies. Meanwhile, Phil is willing to overlook the fact they all share blood to get what he wants (the revolutionary war over).

Welly Boots by The Amazing Devil - F4 crimeboys where Wilbur is proud of Tommy from afar and believes he will do good work, so long as he keeps his wits about him during this dangerous time. Meanwhile, Tommy wishes his brother had never had to leave and looks to his memory when he doesn't know what to do.

Every Day a Little Death from the Count of Monte Cristo - Wilbur when he is imprisoned, awaiting execution and missing his loved ones, especially Sally whom he knows he'll never be able to interact with again until she dies herself. This is paired with Eret visiting Sally to tell her about Wilbur's capture, only for her to initially tell him about the pregnancy and how she's anxious to announce the news to Wilbur.

[morellanimmermehr]

any sfw/nsfw asrian headcanons u don't mind sharing 👀?

Hi anon! Sorry, I know it's been a while since you sent this - too many WIPs distracting me 🙈

Anyway, Asrian headcanons!

SFW:

In any happy post-canon scenario where they are together, I imagine Julian getting into alchemy via Asra. It's hinted at in Muriel's upright ending, and it just makes so much sense for them. Julian finds it much more accessible than other forms of magic, since it's a combination of magic and science, and Asra gets a better understanding of how Julian's mind works through it as well. The two of them do experiments together, many of which end in utter chaos.

Asra doesn't like coffee, but he keeps some around for Julian and eventually becomes quite fond of the smell because he associates it with him.

Nadia knows, and she ships it.

I headcanon them getting back together after Lucio’s reversed ending (to the extent that anyone has time for romance in that messed up situation). Now, hear me out - I know there are a couple of moments in Lucio’s route that could be read as hinting at Asra/Nadia, but at the end of the reversed ending, Asra, Julian, Muriel, Portia and Mazelinka have apparently run off together - which, given that Asra and Muriel don't really know Portia and Mazelinka, makes Asra and Julian the only thing that even connects the group. So as far as I’m concerned, that's Asra and Julian deciding to run off together and taking everyone else they care about along.

This will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who has read my recent stories, but I heavily headcanon that Julian was the one who broke off their plague times relationship. (I know about the Ask Arcana that called it "mutual ghosting", but tbh I take that with a grain of salt, for several reasons.) "He fills the room with excitement, makes you feel special. And then he finds some way to sabotage it." - Yeah, enough said. Asra got his own version of the "dock talk" from Julian, and considering how bitter he is over it, it must have hurt. A lot.

NSFW:

Biting. In my head, Asra does this a lot, to the point that I hardly ever manage to write anything spicy without Asra using his teeth on Julian at least once. But then, who can blame him - Julian's skin bruises easily, and he looks so good with marks.

Julian biting Asra is rarer, but it does happen sometimes - mostly when he's fishing for punishment and wants to goad Asra into being rougher with him.

Julian has an almost Pavlovian response to the incense Asra likes to burn. Asra is obviously well aware and makes good use of this knowledge.

Asra uses magic frequently during sex. Conjuring ropes, magically enhanced sensation play, etc. Julian is all the more into it precisely because he doesn’t really get magic - he has no idea what Asra is capable of, nor can he predict what Asra will come up with next.

"Good boy." No further explanation needed.

And finally, this one I very much did not come up with myself, but I have been obsessed with it ever since it was first mentioned to me, so I can't not say it: hypnosis. Both the more real world like variety and the "Asra can do some kind of spell that'll put Julian in a trance, because *handwaves* magic" variety.

[compassionatereminders]

Hi Kat, thank you for having your ask box open! I’d love to vent a bit.

I’m the love anon, wanted to update that it didn’t work out.

We went on a date. It was great for me, but I don’t know if it was for him, because although he mentioned wanting a second date, he ghosted me.

After asking if he was okay, he didn’t answer for 4 days… I got upset and angry, sent him a message about my boundaries and deleted him, from the app.

Thing is, I think that although we both worked hard to open up and everything, I think it was me who messed up many times.

My biggest mistake? I didn’t know it was inappropriate to ask people if they wanted to get together on the first date (we only talked intensely for a week before)

I feel like it was my fault it didn’t work out.

I feel silly for not waiting for his response and just deleting his contact, because after the date, he had a event to go to, and he’s easily exhausted…

Anyway, I’m going to be very busy trying to get a license next month. I’m still hoping he contacts me until then, is that silly?

Yes it's silly to cut contact with someone and then hope they'll fix it. If you wanna fix it YOU gotta act

[cal-cium-the-nerd]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Aww thank you!! I actually got this ask twice, and I've got my suspicions as to who are the ones that sent it to me :P you guys are very sweet <3

1- Silent Haunting (1856 words, Heart Pirates, One Piece)

When a home is loved enough, it might draw the attention of a guardian, a protector spirit. The Polar Tang happens to be haunted.

This is one of my best-received fics; it was born out of the love I felt after reading Gallus' fic Hearth God. It's basically about Corazon's ghost being a guardian spirit for the Heart Pirates, overall a concept I doubt I'll ever have enough of.

2- Careful (the sea listens) (1981 words, Heart Pirates, One Piece, read tags)

Shachi and Penguin play on top of a tree, the day the sea recedes. Penguin is the older one, the responsible one. The one who puts himself in danger. So he climbs down the tree. In which Penguin drowns, but refuses to die.

This one is technically uncomplete (1 chapter posted out of 3 outlined), but I've been told it reads as an open-ended one-shot anyway. I wrote it in less than 24 hs (which is very rare for me), and I think I tend to write horror better than fluff, so I'm quite proud of this one!

3- A brief guide in how to make your Captain laugh (5547 words, Heart Pirates, One Piece)

Five times the Hearts get Law to smile, and one time they get him to laugh.

I think most of my One Piece readers know me for this fic in particular! Also uncomplete (though I've been making progress with the following chapters now that I'm done with most of my zine fics!). It's a silly fic, but it's funny. One of these days I'd like to sit down and properly edit/rewrite it so it matches my current writing skill, but for now it is what it is.

4- You can hide a lot about yourself (but honey, what're you gonna do?) (897 words, Zach & Zorian, Mother of Learning)

Zach and Zorian grieve, lost in the memories of those gone, but at least they grieve together.

This fic is pretty old now, but MoL is still so very dear to me and I can't just let go. Even though it's pretty short word-count wise, I think this one still packs a bit of a punch. It's in a bit of a competition with Bound by the life you left behind in regards to readers saying I broke their hearts/am evil/owe them emotional compensation/etc (sorry not sorry! mwuhahaha <3). MoL fandom is so small but whenever someone comes along and leaves comments on all my fics, or likes 150 of my old posts, or leaves me an anon ask thanking me for writing fics for the fandom... Idk man, it's an ecstatic feeling. I might not be very active in this fandom these days, but it'll always feel like home to me.

5- Nightshades (2122 words, Trans Imaya Kuroshka, Mother of Learning)

Imaya Kuroshka knows who she is. She knows what she wants. But sometimes it’s just so hard to ask for it.

The Imaya fic!!! It's definitely not one of my best ones, story-wise, but writing this story was so very cathartic for me at the time, and it still feels very self-indulgent and comforting in all the right ways. It was also quite a pleasant surprise to receive so much support for my trans Imaya headcanon 🥺<3 you guys are the best

To be clear this list isn't really in a particular order or anything, and there are many fics that might've shown up here on another day. I'm also more of a one-shot writer, meaning it's common for me to end up with multiple one-shot fics that deal with the same themes/topics, and that makes this an even harder decision, so nothing set in stone and all.

Thanks again for giving me a chance to talk about my silly little fics! 💛💛💛

[citrineghost]

I was really confused who you were so I went to your blog since it didn’t look sus or anything and... the amount of people being like “:(( you made me uncomfortable because you sent me a picture and I don’t know you :(( stopppp”

My guy

you can literally just... choose to not unblur the picture.

Some of y’all need to grow up if you’re gonna be online like, you’re calling Stranger Danger over a random person sending you a picture of plants... because you were anxious about tumblr’s automatic image submission blur...

you can literally turn off the ability to include media in asks in your settings

You can turn off asks

This person isn’t even on anon, they are literally a wholeass blog with a sandshrew for an icon just go look at their blog what

Why are you getting mad at someone interacting with you in a neutral way on the internet?

Why are you getting upset about someone using the website, as intended, in a harmless manner???

I don’t usually say this but I think it really warrants it. Please go outside.

It costs zero dollars to delete an ask that makes you uncomfortable in any way. This random person on the internet is not holding you at gunpoint making you unblur the mysterious image they sent. You can literally choose not to look at it. You can literally delete it.

If you want a stranger to not send you anymore images because simply receiving one makes you nervous or anxious, 1) go to your settings and turn off media in asks; 2) block the stranger who sent you an image if it’s that much of a concern

“Ghost, it’s just people being anxious, why is this bothering you so much?”

Because it’s not about the anxiety. It’s not a crime to be anxious about something unfamiliar or that you don’t like. The problem I have with this is that it’s a symptom of something bigger: people refusing to take accountability for their own experiences online because they would rather foist the blame off on the people around them. You have the tools to prevent your own discomfort. Use them. Don’t just ignore them and then make guilt-trippy responses to people who haven’t done anything wrong. It is not this random stranger’s job to coddle you from the mere possibility of discomfort. It is not a random stranger’s job to never talk to anyone online ever again for fear of upsetting them.

Jesus, you would think they were sent hardcore porn or something it’s fucking ridiculous

They’re plants. It’s literally a cute thing, they are literally just sending cute pictures to people. That’s wholesome - what the fuck do you want from people??

[burnishedvictory]

I don’t follow you I just stumble across this repost but what’s the point of leaving comments/feedback if 99% of the time they never get a reply and/or the author ends up ghosting the story 💀 nobody forces anyone to put out the work they do but most of the time the energy that y’all want is mostly never returned.

Hi Anon!

I assume this is in response to my reblog of the post asking people to leave their comments on AO3. (For anyone who missed it, it's here: https://www.tumblr.com/burnishedvictory/739351436811534336)

Several things:

The point of leaving comments/feedback is to tell the author you liked whatever it was you just read. The energy you're returning is the work they put into writing the fic you just read. If the author replies, that's a bonus, but not something I personally ever expect.

Some things to know about fics where the author doesn't reply to comments regularly:

There's about a 99% chance that the author read your comment and loved it. I don't know of any authors who don't love comments.

(Specifically, nice comments. Given that you felt it was okay to anonymously message someone you don't even follow such a blunt message, I feel the need to clarify this. No one wants critique, unless they've specifically asked for it. We do this for fun. If you don't like a fic, the back button is right there. Also, don't ask the author if/when they're going to finish an unfinished story. That annoys a lot of writers. (Not me, personally, but I have many writer friends who it really really annoys.))

Back to discussing fics where the author doesn't reply to comments! In my case, I have ADHD. For whatever reason, writing fic is something that my ADHD lets me do easily, but replying to comments is not. I would love to reply and still intend to, but then another day passes when I haven't actually done it. But my lack of replies doesn't mean I don't cherish each and every comment I get. I keep them in a separate folder and reread them regularly. I'd like to do that with all the comments I get, including not on AO3, but I am just not that organized (see: ADHD), so those comments get lost (which is exactly the point the post you're referring to was making).

I'm also chronically ill, and only have so much functioning time in my day. Other people work full time jobs, raise kids, etc. It becomes a question of priorities - do you want us to work on fics, or reply to comments? Sometimes we can't do both.

Finally, if you read the post you're referencing carefully, it's asking for people who are already leaving feedback in some way to (also) leave it as an AO3 comment. If you're leaving praise in a tag or a bookmark, throw it into a comment on the fic! If you're chatting about a fic positively with your friends, copy and paste the chat into the AO3 comments. (I'll even clarify this one - personally, if people private messaged me a chat like that, I'd be over the moon. I know there are privacy concerns with a chat like that, so you might not want to comment on AO3 with that specific thing. Very fair! But, like I said above, a chat sent to me like this would probably vanish into my memory, as I'm not organized enough to add it to my comments folder. It would be a very good memory, but not easily convenient to reread.)

For you, dear anon, if getting a response and the author finishing the story is that important to you, then I recommend only commenting on completed fics where the author replies regularly. No one forces you to comment, even on fics that you enjoyed that the author spent hours and hours working on. They are free for your enjoyment.

But consider how much energy you're bringing to the table to encourage the authors whose fics you love. Maybe your comment will encourage the author to open the file on a story that's been back burnered. Or if you tell an author about a specific part you loved, maybe that thing will show up in future fics.

Or, maybe, there will never be any indication that the writer even read your comment. But in that case, maybe the writer will get your comment and smile. Maybe they'll tell their friends and family about the lovely comment they got. Maybe your comment will make their day. And maybe you'll never get specifically rewarded for your comment, but you will put positive energy into the world, and who knows where that will lead.

[mrpenguinpants]

Xiao and Diluc: Opposites Attract HCs

Minor spoilers for Xiao’s and Diluc’s backstory.

Yes, more xiao content. Oh and Diluc. Diluc is there too. I wonder who my favourite child is? Honestly, it’s probably Childe. Every time I write “child” I end up misspelling it to “childe”. It’s consumed me. But yes anon I love the opposites attract trope. It’s so nice having person A be this cute cinnamon roll and person B is the ew don’t touch me go away I hate you, just mwah 💕

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Today’s appreciation post goes to imlikemoony. My entire reblog notifications have just been you and thanks for the spam haha. I love seeing new people go through my work and enjoy it so thank you^^ Please don’t feel like this is a callout post I swear it isn’t 💕💕

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Xiao Semi Series

[ Friendship ] [ Falling in Love ] [ Cuddles ] [ Protective ] [ Affection ] [ Jealously ]

Diluc HCs

[ Comfort HCs ] [ Relationship HCs ] [ Being Fathers HCs ] [ Jealously HCs ] [ Unrequited Love HCs ] [ String of Fate [Soulmate] ]  [ Fainting ]

[Masterlist]

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji  @mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @youaskedfurret @snowy224 @mayumintsu​ @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki @legionqueensav

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Xiao and Diluc: Opposites Attract HCs

Xiao

It occurs to Xiao one day that despite being alive for centuries, he doesn’t know a lot of people. Xiao has only known Rex Lapis and his fellow adepti and only just recently introduced this life to others such as Verr and Ming. It never bothered him and still doesn’t, he prefers his life to be peaceful and in solitude since it’s safer that way, but when you crash into his life with all your unrestrained energy. He’s a bit of a loss for words. The only other person he knows that acts similar is Guizhong, but it’s still a bit of a troubling memory but either then that, he’s never interacted with someone so...open with their feelings. Though he supposes that Hu Tao was somewhat similar but in a different way. Unlike the craziness and exasperated actions that Hu Tao brought, your presence was a breath of fresh air and sometimes he found himself caught up in your antics.

When Xiao thinks about it, if he were to ever find love he suspected he would prefer someone who was calm and independent. He wasn’t the most affectionate so he wouldn’t want a partner that relied on that and he liked the peace and quiet the inn provided. That was until he saved you one day and you felt it was your absolute responsibility to return the favour, even though he told you many times that you really did not need to. If you wanted to return the favour you could leave him alone. Simple as that. Which didn’t work and in hindsight he was glad you were so stubborn to hang around until you managed to find out his favourite food was almond tofu.

The moment that set in stone Xiao’s love for you is when he told you his past. When he was named Atalus. How he had been possessed and forced to kill against his will. How he devoured dreams and lived in agony before he was saved by Rex Lapis. He was scared that you would fear and leave him, only for you to slowly lace your hands with his and wept for his own misfortune. He’s never had someone cry for him and he realized that he never wanted to see you upset like this again.

At first your larger than life personality put him off a bit, how could someone run through life as if nothing was wrong? What would happen if you finally faced loss? Wouldn’t that make things worse? It wasn’t until he spent more time with you that he saw your point of view, that while he couldn’t adopt the same idea, he respected it and began to appreciate it. It was nice having some sort of solace in his day even if it was just for a few minutes. Something to get his mind of the darker things while you start chatting about this really nice old lady with a domain sized teapot.  

Though, there was a bit of a downside to this. Since you bared your heart on your sleeve, perhaps in Mondstadt it would seem normal but here in Liyue, everyone hid behind some kind of mask so people found you a bit naïve and would try and hassle you. It always sent Xiao into a worried state when you left the inn to go out on your next adventure. Verr likes to compare him to a cat waiting for it’s owner at the door, but as soon as they return he acts so moody as if he wasn’t waiting at the balcony trying to see if he could see your clothing peak over the hill. He has no idea how she comes up with these ridiculous ideas.

Another “downside” Xiao discovers is that you have mini bursts of affection. You describe it as a those anemo slimes that pop when you shoot them, morbid as that description is, you’re not wrong. Your bursts of affection always manage to startle and embarrass Xiao, especially when he was with others. He wasn’t going to tell you to change yourself, never will he do that, but when you clasp his hands and tell him with all your love and shining eyes that he’s “doing such a good job” and “you’re so proud of him”. He wants to melt because wow, he never noticed how much he values your praise and how it sends his heart flying. But he can’t because Childe and Zhongli are right there.

Zhongli smiles pleasantly while Childe looses his absolute shit, which causes Xiao to kick his spear at Childe because he refuses to let go of your hands and hisses at him. Even when you try and scold him it doesn’t last long because this has become a weekly occurrence. Only now Xiao will give you a quick kiss before he goes off to gut Childe while you and Zhongli wave pleasantly and talk about how the weather is faring. Everyone that isn’t a native to Liyue think’s you’re all insane as they hear Childe’s screams as Xiao attempts first degree murder.

It interesting to see you both interact to outsiders. Xiao has his piercing yellow eyes and reserved demeanor while you’re this sweet and bright person. Before Xiao met you, people could never get a good look at the mysterious man that stays in the top balcony of the Wangshu Inn. But now if they came at the right time, they could spot a soft smiled man in green listening to a very animated talk with someone else, using their hands with a dramatic flair. That is until the man notices them trying to eavesdrop and the softness in his eyes drops and goes to irritation as he glares at them, curling a hand around his partner’s waist, and he let’s off a warning growl. His partner never seems bothered, only turning around to give a small wave in greeting, smiling as if the dangerous aura radiating behind them didn’t exist, before giving the man a small kiss as they go back to their conversation.

While you live a larger than life way, you also enjoy the small moments with Xiao. Xiao prefers to spend his time sitting above the inn and overlooking Liyue which you enjoy too. Resting near each other as you watch the sun go down is calming and takes the stress of life away. But sometimes you just want to bring Xiao out and have some fun.

Which ends up with you dragging him off to the pond near the Wangshuu inn, you wanted to catch frogs for whatever reason. Weren’t you both a bit too old to be playing with frogs? But he stands by and watch's you chase around the poor animals, tracking mud all over your clothing and skin, he can’t help but let a small smile slip. It isn’t until you end up falling into the pond after slipping that he’s on alert mode that he runs over worried.

Only for you to pop up and start bursting out into laughter. Xiao is stunned for a few moment as he watches you laugh at your own mistake, mud scrapped all over your face and clothes, the fact that you’re still in the pond with a frog on your head. He can’t help but feel his face fall as his mouth twitches into a smile as he chuckles along with you. He reaches over to try and scrub the dirt off your face but it only ends up smearing it more but you appreciate the effort. He carefully lifts you up as he carries you back to the inn. He thinks back to when you both first met, how he spent so much time worrying over his life as an adeptis and you as a human, but now those thoughts have been flung out of his mind. He wants to take your approach, that why worry over the little details of the future when you can enjoy the bigger moments you have now.

Diluc

On days that Diluc works as the bartender for Angel Share, if you come at just the right time when the sun was still high in the sky, you might be able to catch the ever distant man smiling and engaged with a conversation with one specific patron. Of course, this silly “rumour” was made up by the ladies of Mondstadt with too much free time on their hands but given Diluc’s reputation and demeanor it did make some travelers curious. Only for them to write it off as this special patron to be a green bard or cunning captain. One that Diluc surely did not crack a smile at. In fact it seemed to be the opposite. But the tavern isn’t so bad, there’s this nice individual that will listen to all your sorrows with kind eyes and a gentle heart.  

As soon as the last customer leaves and Diluc locks the door, does he let his shoulder drop and he breathes a sigh of relief. Before turning and walking to you as he let’s himself relax in your embrace. He listens as you re-tell on the woes of a jewelry saleswoman from Liyue to how Venti is still getting ID checked at the Cat’s Tail as he basks in your warmth. He’s glad that this is what’s troubling the people of Mondstadt and not anything incredibly dangerous relating to the Fatui or the Abyss Order. He asks if you’re doing alright to which you grin and nod that everything was perfect, before placing a small kiss on your forehead and he leads you out back and into the night and ready to return home.

Kaeya finds a lot of enjoyment going to up to you and discussing his “concerns” about Diluc. It always leads to you fretting over his health and if he was working too hard and he should take a break. Diluc is whipped and cannot say no to you so he always begrudgingly let’s you lead him away as Kaeya smiles and waves him off. It’s gotten to the point that no matter what Diluc is in the middle of, unless it’s of the upmost importance, if he catches Kaeya anywhere near you he’s swooping in and leading you away.

Diluc has always been straight to the point, non-nonsense idle talk, but when you drag him away to simply lie down at Starsnatch Cliff just because you were worried about him, he can’t help but feel his heart warm. Watching you blow on dandelions and enjoy the peaceful winds of Mondstadt does he let his hectic life standstill. 

When Diluc first met you, it was during his three year long journey to discover the truth of his father and the Delusions. You had saved him during his escape from a Fatui stronghold and explained you were apart of a third-party observer from the North. A vast underground intelligence network that approved of his actions and wanted him to join. Diluc, still deep in his anger and untrustworthy state of anyone, declined the offer but you still hanged around him. He didn’t understand why, and frankly did not want you anywhere near him, but you did save him. Something you very much liked to bring up, even after returning to Mondstadt. He couldn’t necessarily push you away and despite leaving the Knights of Favonius, he still maintained the same chivalry that all knights had.

From then on it had just been the two of you, him looking for the next Fatui base while you travelled with him as an “observer” despite helping him and being overly chatty. Asking where the next destination is like you’re some sort of overeager kid. At first, he really disliked your presence. A lot. In his mind you were a second Kaeya and after the events of what had happened, he might have been far colder to you than he should have been. He thought you were hiding behind the same kind of mask Kaeya did and that you were secretly some Fatui agent sent to kill him. But that never seemed to deter you, even making fun of the idea that the Fatui would seriously try and send an agent to con him rather than try and kill him outright with all the information he had on them.

You both had your clashes when it came to certain things, especially when it came to taking breaks and sightseeing. He felt that you were way too relaxed for something so important and you felt he was way to uptight and needed to stop running through life. But overtime, he found that he actually somewhat enjoyed your personality and quirks. While you could kick a Fatui’s guard head off if you tried hard enough, you would also drag him to feed the ducks by a pond. He had come to learn that you and Kaeya were different, you didn’t wear a mask and bared your heart to the world. He thought you were a bit foolish for doing that since you can never really trust anyone but you instead offered that not everyone was a bad person, that if he spent every waking moment trying to backstab someone would that really be a life worth living?

It’s during the lantern festival in Liyue does he really come to understand his goals in life. Writing down wishes for the new year to send off in paper lanterns is when he acknowledges his shortcomings and finally agrees to join the underground intelligence network. You offer him a bright grin as you cheer that he finally finally got off his stubborn self and you’re now officially partners in not-really-but-still-technically crime. For the first time since Diluc started his journey, he gives a small smile and let’s himself relax as he watched the golden lanterns fly through the sky beside you.

When he decides it’s time to return to Mondstadt and take up his position as Diluc Ragnvindr, he tries to not so subtly ask if you would want to join him. He knows that you still have ties to that secret organization and you probably have your own agenda but Diluc has gotten used to your bubbly personality, he doesn’t want to live without you. But his worries are quickly squashed when you tease him for a bit but slip your hand in his and ask where the next destination is. 

---

Gripping my writing hand, I went overboard and ran with it. I really want to write pre-hcs of how you met Xiao and a continuation of young Diluc and you. But I must finish my inbox.  Also my joke of Xiao beating things into submission started all the way back to my first Xiao HCs of friendship. I did not know this lol. I just think it’s funny to imagine xiao doing it. I’m about to high five my past self.

By the way, should I break up my hcs more? I feel like they are actual paragraphs and that might be annoying to read.

[nyerus]

Hi Nyerus and hope you are doing well.

My question is related to He Xuan impersonating the Earth Master and the real Earth Master being a spy of Jun Wu and then him getting discovered by Hua Cheng.

What's actually bothering me is: at what point in time does all this happen??? How come He Xuan befriend Shi qingxuan as the earth master without Jun Wu noticing...since it was him who sent the real earth master to ghost city to spy on Hua Cheng....does that mean he and Hua Cheng was already aware of his existence and was just waiting for an opportunity to catch him?...Sorry if it sounds a bit confusing.

Hi there Anon! I'm doing well, thank you for asking. I hope you're well too!

This is actually a pretty confusing part of the plot, so no worries, I'm happy to explain it to the best of my ability!

First things things first though: the real Earth Master -- Ming Yi -- never actually "made it" to heaven. He was yanked just before his ascension, and He Xuan masqueraded as a god in his place.

After his death, He Xuan went on to become a Supreme, and then waited for an opportunity to infiltrate heaven. He knew that a god was responsible for switching his fate and causing the suffering and death of his family, as well as his own suffering. (Later, he found out it was Shi Wudu, and he wanted vengeance against the perpetrator, no matter the cost.)

So, the real Ming Yi was kidnapped by He Xuan and kept somewhere for decades, presumably Black Water manor. He Xuan needed access to him to copy his mannerisms, and use his knowledge so as to not be suspected or found out. He Xuan thus infiltrated heaven and was masquerading as a god for a very long time, while investigating. It was a terrible coincidence that he happened to befriend Shi Qingxuan in that time, of all people, though he knew by this point that Shi Wudu may be involved. (It’s probably why he stuck around, too.)

One of the reasons that He Xuan wasn't able to find out what really happened is because only three people knew: Shi Wudu himself, Ling Wen, and Jun Wu. Shi Wudu was able to convince Ling Wen to conceal all records that could potentially lead back to him. She did, but Jun Wu knew the entire time. (It's unclear when Ling Wen started working "for" Jun Wu. If she already was by the time Shi Wudu did all that, it's possible that she told Jun Wu. Otherwise, he simply knew anyway.) He kept that information to himself through, because he knew it would be advantageous to use at a later time. If Shi Wudu at any point became troublesome, Jun Wu could easily "leak" the information and get rid of him. And... that's exactly what happened, later on.

But in the meantime, Jun Wu just let everything be as it was. Years later, present time, he would be the one to assign Earth Master -- who he had known was He Xuan for ages -- to "spy" on Ghost City. Likely, he ever expected to receive any actual information from He Xuan, and didn't really care about that.

I do not think it was a coincidence at all that the real Ming Yi escaped right when he did. We have no idea how he escaped, just that he did, and set off a self -immolating Dragon Flare nearby Ghost City. (We don't know for sure how he got there, but there are portals between Black Water Lair and Ghost City, so it might've been through that.) What we do know is that He Xuan did not expect this, and neither did Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng received word that such a flare had gone off outside Ghost City -- either from He Xuan or Yin Yu -- and went back to check it out. It's probably why he vanished the night after Hualian got back from Banyue.* Then, Hua Cheng and He Xuan colluded to "imprison" He Xuan to be found and "rescued," so that heaven would not find out about the real Ming Yi. It worked because He Xuan was sent as a spy to Ghost City anyway, so it gave them a reason to say Hua Cheng had discovered him and tossed him in a dungeon. Yin Yu was able to draw Xie Lian's attention to the portals, so that he and Shi Qingxuan could "find and rescue Earth Master," and would be none the wiser after returning to heaven.

The timing was excellent for Jun Wu -- who was probably behind it all -- because he could take out multiple birds with one stone. Ming Yi escaping forced He Xuan on the defensive. He had to retrieve the remains, keep them hidden, etc. Thereafter, leaking the truth to He Xuan meant that Shi Wudu would be taken out, or they would both take each other out. Meanwhile, sending Xie Lian into Ghost City to "investigate" was done in an attempt to break whatever positive bond Hua Cheng and Xie Lian had. Jun Wu didn't like that the two of them were on friendly terms. If Xie Lian was caught spying and trying to retrieve yet another spy, then the Hua Cheng would not take it lightly. Potentially they would come to blows. It didn't end up going that way, but the intent was there.

Also, it doesn't seem like Hua Cheng knew about the real Ming Yi until after the flare happened. Even if he did know that Ming Yi existed in some capacity, he didn't have anything to do with him.

Hua Cheng played along with everything so that Xie Lian's involvement would be limited. He'd just take """Ming Yi""" back to heaven -- mission complete. What Hua Cheng wanted to avoid was Xie Lian potentially getting caught up in He Xuan's revenge plot. But again, terrible coincidence that Shi Qinxguan befriended Xie Lian, and came to him for help shortly thereafter....

And if I remember correctly, it was following the Ghost City arc where Jun Wu leaked Shi Wudu's involvement to He Xuan, setting off the Black Water arc.

Anyway, I hope this helped, Anon! It's definitely a bit confusing and I wanted one day to make like an actual timeline for this hahaha. There's actually still a fair few gaps that remain a mystery (e.g. how Ming Yi escaped) even to the end. Check out chapter 124 & chapter 220 (fan translation version) for a lot of info on this topic! That's where the bulk of the revelations are

(*Interestingly enough, in chapter 59 of the manhua, there's a panel where Hua Cheng is standing in the background while Xie Lian and Ban Yue are talking. He has a finger up to his temple, like he's receiving message through a communication array!)

[rosewater-chlxe]

pumpkin | colby brock

✖ Summary: While taking a trip to Rosehill Cemetery for one Colby’s videos, you both become a little too distracted to realize the dangers surrounding you. 

✖  genre ; fluff, comfort, the tiniest bit of angst 

✖  warnings ; slight mention of smut, reader w/ anxiety, mention of rituals 

✖ requested - yes | no

anon asked:  Hi love ! I saw that you take requests for colby again and I sent a request a while back asking if you could write one where he and his gf wanted to film a video but they start to make out super randomly and have to film the whole video again and now I am wondering if you could write it ?

a/n: i’m so terribly sorry for the wait; i hope you like it my lovely!! stay hydrated, take care of yourself, n make sure to rest!! ily <3 

✖ masterlist

The setting was quite bizarre for the feelings you felt so deeply and beautifully in your heart; you were completely, utterly mesmerized by the boy standing beside you. You walked in this dark, melancholic place with your fingers intertwined; both his and your hands interlocked. He carried a backpack of filming equipment, drinks, snacks, and band-aids; you carried a separate bag of blankets and pillows. Ghosts and ghouls were rumored to be in this grey, brooding place; even dangerous rituals have taken place here: Rosehill Cemetery. 

“Where do you wanna film the intro? I was thinking next to the Mortuary,” Colby said, “If you’re still comfortable and down for this, that is.” 

“Of course I am!! Maybe a little nervous, but there’s no turning back now,” You replied, feeling a cold chill go down your spine at the thought of anything going wrong. 

“Then the Mortuary it is,” He said with a grin that contained a hint of rebellion and mischief in it. 

As the violet-haired boy filmed the intro to his video, you admired his every feature and each mannerism. The way he talked while swaying his hands and hips; the dimples slightly showing through his cheeks, the motions of his jawline. The angelic, ethereal man that stood before you made you weak to your knees; it was hard to count every breath he took from your lungs. 

You were so in awe that you couldn’t hear the pet names said to get your attention, until finally he said your name. 

“Y/N? You alright?” He questioned with a slight smile, catching your wandering eyes. 

“Perfect.” You replied with a soft smile as he looked you up and down. 

You both ended up heading to the biggest honorary statue nearby, to not only take a thumbnail but also to explore more of the graveyard. As you quietly stumbled down the gravel path with Colby, hand in hand, he made witty comments to the camera whilst paying close attention to your surroundings.  This if the first kind of video of Colby’s that you’ve joined; you’ve always been eager to do something like this, though you know it can get risky and dangerous. That’s exactly why he held it off for so long, he never wanted to put you in any kind of uncomfortable or tense situations. The dyed-haired boy leading you has always been the utmost respectful and kind human being you’ve ever laid your eyes on. 

The amount of pure infatuation and love you held for him came without hesitance or thought; no number could label what you felt, no word could describe what happened in you when you simply glance at him. The electric blue butterflies swarming through your heart and the rosewater in your veins never faded, only growing more and more intense each waking second. Before him, it was as if your world could only be seen in light grey and shades of blue; now everything is built with much higher saturation. 

You knew not of what may happen in the future, but you knew you seen him in every upcoming chapter. 

“Excited?” Colby asked, grinning at you as he looked back at you. 

“Very; and a little scared, not gonna lie,” you replied with a light, friendly laugh. 

“It’ll all be fine, if anything were to happen you know we can just go home,” he reassured you with a sly wink. 

You nodded with a giddy smile, trying your best to look away from him. He could always make you feel like you’re on top of the world even with the smallest of interactions - that absolute bastard. You rolled your eyes as you realized just how much you’ve truly fallen for him. 

You skipped in front of him and stopped him from walking ahead, smirking at him while he looked at you questioningly and suspiciously. 

“What’re you up to, rascal?” He asked, knowing of your mischievous tendencies in the past. 

“Now why do you always assume the worst from me?” you laughed as you started to trace a fingertip along his jawline, then to his neck; you felt him swallow as if he felt nervous, though you knew it wasn’t nervousness making him eager. Soon enough your fingertip made it’s way down to his chest, then to the bottom half of his black button down shirt. You let out a light laugh as you teased, completely removing your hand from his torso entirely. 

Colby scoffed and quickly ran his ring-clad fingers up to your throat, his hand then forming a light grip across your jaw.  

“Wanna think about teasing me again, princess?” He asked with a now lower toned voice. 

You sweetly smiled at his intimidating exterior and leaned in to kiss him, in which he happily obliged. 

You felt his soft, light pink-tinted lips against your own and the rest of your face grew numb. Your body became weak, and your legs tightly squeeze together as you felt the grip on your throat roughen. His tongue darted against your bottom lip, making you let out a sweet, soft sound. Within a few seconds, your hands started wandering beneath his slightly unbuttoned shirt; though as soon as your hand drifted lower, Colby almost immediately pulled away.  

You were snapped out of your lovesick state as his facial features grew concerned; the only thing you seen at the statue you were a few feet away from was the illumination of candlelight and light chanting.

“Down,” He whispered, gently grabbing your shoulder and taking you to crouch with him. He placed a finger over his mouth, creating a silent “sh,” sound as he watched what was happening. 

“Colby,” you whispered, “What’re they doing? Who are they?” you began to panic. 

“Sweetheart, it’s going to be okay, just make sure you stay with me and do as I say,” he calmly whispered while making the softest direct eye contact with you. 

He knew you have always had the worst anxiety and one of his top priorities are making sure that anxiety is calmed; that you’re taken care of. He always tries his best to keep you comfortable in every setting, that became much more evident rather than subtle when you told him about your anxiety. He very much understood what you went through and knew that you could help each other through your anxiety issues. Situations like this was something he never wanted you to experience. 

“Who’s there?” a man in black attire yelled from the statue, looking in your direction. The chanting stopped. 

Colby had a look of shock across his face, then sudden terror as he seen something near the statue that you didn’t; as soon as he gasped, the next thing you knew was running the opposite direction with him. 

“We gotta get the fuck out of here,” Colby loudly spoke right next to you as you ran; he made sure never to let go of your hand. 

“What did you see?” you yelled in response, trying to keep up with him when it came down to every single breath.

Colby didn’t respond, but he glanced back to see six masked silhouettes in the far distance; they did not run, they walked in unison. 

At this point of running for what felt like decades though it had only been an estimated 45 minutes, you could see what looked like the parking lot close ahead. You had tears in your eyes that just wouldn’t drop; your throat felt like it was closing more and more within each passing second. 

You and Colby finally made it to his car and looked back for anyone near you. No one else was to be seen. You jumped in and slammed the door, Colby then locking the car and doing nothing less than booking it. 

He quickly pulled out of the parking lot and started going far faster than he should have. You seen him glance towards you in concern, making sure you were safe. His fingertips tapped on the steering wheel due to anxiousness. 

“Colby, breathe, you’ve got me,” you reassuringly said to him with a small smile, though your voice came out with cracks and whines. 

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry, this was such a bad idea,” he said to you in response, placing his right hand on your thigh whilst he continued driving. 

“I’ll be fine as soon as we get home, please just relax for me?” you asked sweetly. 

He nodded, his muscles untensing and his jaw unclenching. 

“What can I do to make this up to you, sweetheart?” he asked, feeling incredibly guilty for the situation he put you in. 

“You have nothing to make up to me love, but if we’re being honest the footage wouldn’t have been used anyway,” you said causing both of you to let out a light laugh, “so we could film another video tonight instead. A more laid-back one? Perhaps making a Halloween cake?” you excitedly smiled. 

“Anything for you, baby,” he sighed with relief, “but we have to watch horror movies tonight and I don’t make the rules, you gotta cuddle me,” Colby demanded. 

“Most definitely, pumpkin,” you replied lovingly.  

- fin. 

[drabbles-mc]

Safe & Sound

Bishop Losa x F!Reader

Request by @frattsparty​​, @garbinge​​, and Anon: #11 with Bishop: “I almost lost you” kiss (Prompt from This List)

Warnings: language, angst (with a happy ending), hospitals, mentions of injuries, mentions of car accidents

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: All three of you sent in this request and that fact alone made my heart soooo happy haha. Hope you guys enjoy it!!

Join my group-chat here: (X) ​

Bishop Losa Taglist: @masterlistforimagines @sincerelyasomebody @sadeyesgf @thesandbeneathmytoes @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @multiyfandomgirl40 @sillygoose6969 @queenbeered @louisianalady @gemini0410 @paintballkid711 @chibsytelford @yourwonkywriter @sesamepancakes @arveeee @mayans-sauce @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​ @plentyoffandoms @georgiaaintnopeach @twistnet​ @themoonandthewicked​ @bucky-iss-bae​ @encounterthepast​ @everyhowlmarksthedead​ @rosieposie0624​ @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo​ @mijop​ @xladymacbethx​ @blessedboo​ @holl2712​ @lakamaa12​ @kkim120​ @toni9​ @shadow-of-wonder​ @crowfootwrites​ @redpoodlern​ @punkgoddess-98​ @black-repunzel99​ (If you want to be added to any of my taglists just let me know!)

Bishop has experienced more than his fair share of loss in his lifetime. Every kind of loss you could go through, he’s been there already. He’s lost relationships of every kind, he’s lost friends and family to the inescapable grip of death. From the military to the MC, the numbers had grown too high to count. Somewhere along the way he started to push it all down, become hardened to it. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to function at all. He truly believed that he had hardened past the point of no return, become too jaded for any loss to hit home anymore.

Until Hank walked into Templo one night looking like he’d seen a ghost.

“Bishop…” his voice was timid, which wasn’t at all like him.

“What?” Bishop had been so in his own head, too busy stressing over the MC falling apart to even notice Hank walk in.

“Y-you gotta get to the hospital,” he forced out.

Bishop’s brows furrowed, unsure why he was being so vague, “Why?”

“It’s Y/N.”

He shot up out of his seat, “What the fuck happened?”

Fear was written plain as day on Hank’s face, “I-I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me—I’m not family.”

“Fuck!” he slammed his fist down on the table before racing out of Templo.

His rage was written all over his face—unable to show genuine fear he leapt right to anger. He didn’t know what happened but the reality of it was that it didn’t matter. You were laid up in a hospital somewhere and someone was going to have to pay for it. Everyone who was in the clubhouse saw the tension in his features and stayed well out of his way as he quickly strode towards the door. Angel got halfway through asking what was wrong before he realized that Bishop wasn’t going to offer a word to anyone, his only concern being getting to you.

He tore down the streets of Santo Padre on his bike. By some minor miracle, he got to the hospital safely and didn’t need to be laid up in the room next door to yours. He gripped his helmet tight in his hand as he stormed in, Hank hot on his heels after somehow managing to keep up with him on the wild ride over.

After a very disjointed talk with one of the nurses, who was clearly intimidated by everything about Bishop at the moment, he was finally being led back to see you. Hank offered to go back with him but Bishop waved him off, saying that he was fine.

“Really, Bishop, I don’t know if you should be—”

“I said I’ll be fucking fine, Hank,” he snapped.

Hank backpedaled, taking a deep breath before finding a seat off to the side in the waiting area. He didn’t know what Bishop was about to be walking into—neither of them really did. The last thing he was going to do was leave him there alone. Even if he was acting like a dick at the moment.

The nurse walked him to the doorway, hanging back as he walked into the room. The rage he’d been holding onto began to wear away as he looked at you, his fear and sadness taking over. He set his helmet on one of the chairs as he slowly approached your bed. One hand came up to cover his mouth as tears gathered in his eyes. Once he reached your bedside, the nurse took that as her cue to step away, giving Bishop a moment to process all that was laid out in front of him.

You looked peaceful. There were a few cuts on your face, and your right arm was strapped up in a sling, but the expression on your face was almost one of contentment. For some reason that made his heart break even more. A choked sob slipped past his lips as he reached forward and gently caressed your cheek, as if to make sure that you were really there and really okay. He studied the steady rise and fall of your chest in a desperate attempt to try and calm himself.

“Fucking drunk drivers,” he muttered under his breath as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

He pulled a chair as close to your hospital bed as he could manage, not wanting to climb up next to you and risk hurting you further. The nurse reassured him that you would be alright, you just needed whatever rest you would be able to get, but he wasn’t going to believe that until you woke up and spoke to him. They might’ve seen you conscious and speaking but until he saw it for himself none of that mattered. He slid his hand into your own, letting out a deep, strangled sigh as he tried not to break down.

Minutes ticked by in hospital silence, meaning the only noise came from the monitors at your bedside, and the occasional sound of loud footsteps from outside the door of your room. Bishop didn’t move a muscle, unable to do anything besides stare at you and trace his fingers over the knuckles of your good hand.

You let out a quiet groan as you started to wake up. His eyes widened, his grip on your hand tightening ever so slightly in anticipation. You fought to open your eyes, exhaustion still weighing heavily on you. your eyes slowly started to flutter open and you began to register what was happening around you—you felt the warmth of Bishop’s hand clasping yours and you could hear the hitch in his breathing.

“Obispo?” your voice was raspy with sleep, and residual pain from everything you’d been through.

He let out a sob that turned into a laugh of relief, “Querida,” he lifted the back of your hand to his lips, kissing it lightly as he mumbled his words against your skin, “Fuck, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

“Baby?” you said quietly as you tilted your head slightly to get a better look at him.

He lifted his head, “Yea?”

“Come here,” you took your hand out of his and motioned for him to join you on the bed.

“I don’t wanna hurt—”

“I’ll be fine,” you reassured, scooting over to make room for him to join you, your movements slow and rigid as you tried to maneuver without causing yourself more pain.

Bishop carefully settled onto the bed next to you, letting out a deep sigh of relief as he let you lean comfortably against him. He felt your body heat seeping over into him and he couldn’t deny that it was the best thing that he’d felt in a long time, the strongest type of reassurance.

“I love you,” he said quietly, resting his forehead against the side of your head.

“I love you too,” you reached over with your good hand and gently trailed your fingers down the side of his face.

“Hey, sweetheart?” his voice was just above a whisper.

You turned your head to meet his gaze, “Hm?”

He cupped one side of your face in his hand, carefully tracing his thumb along your cheek, sure to avoid glossing over any of the fresh scrapes. His eyes were glassy with tears as he looked at you, and you found yourself with a small, soft smile on your face. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d ever seen Bishop look so vulnerable.

You opened your mouth to say something but before you could get the first syllable out, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours, the rough pads of his fingers moving so lightly along your cheek and down to your neck and shoulder. You leaned into him as much as you could without hurting yourself, wishing that you could melt completely into the feeling that you were experiencing with him as the two of you laid together, lips locked. You trailed your fingers through his beard as his lips moved in sync with yours. The slight tension in his body let you know that he was fighting hard against the urge to hold you tight and pull you as close as humanly possible. He was doing everything that he could to make one kiss communicate everything that he wasn’t able to show you otherwise.

When he pulled himself away from you, allowing you to catch your breath, you felt the rigidity in his body start to give way. His forehead rested against yours as he shut his eyes tight, trying to focus on the fact that you were really there with him, that everything was going to be alright.

You knew that there were a million thoughts running through his head, that every person he’d ever lost was coming back to haunt him. You placed a light peck on his lips as you rested your hand on his chest, “We’re alright, Obispo.”

His breath came out shaky as he nodded, “We’re alright.”

There were a few beats of silence as the two of you laid together. Bishop’s eyes were closed as he tried to focus solely on the feel of your body leaning against his. You were fighting the urge to fall back to sleep again, wanting to soak up the small comfort of having him with you for the time being.

You saw someone appear in the doorway. Forcing your eyes to focus, you realized it was Hank. A small smile crossed your face as you nudged Bishop, who immediately opened his eyes and glanced over at the door.

“Oh,” Hank rested his hand on the back of his neck, clearly knowing that he was interrupting, “I was just checking…I just wanted to make sure…I’ll just…it looks like you’re all good here so…”

“We’re good,” you said quietly with a laugh, “Thank you, Hank.”

“Yea, of course,” he diverted his gaze to Bishop, “I’m gonna head back. If you need anything just, you know, call.”

He didn’t wait for a response before disappearing down the hall out of sight. You looked up at Bishop and you could see all the thoughts swirling around behind his eyes, “You owe him an apology of some kind, don’t you?”

He chuckled, lightly kissing your temple, “You sure you’re not concussed or something?”

“You better say sorry when you see him again, Obispo,” you looked up at him.

“Shh,” he smiled, kissing you on the lips, “go back to sleep.”

You couldn’t help but to laugh, “You’re lucky I’ve only got one good arm right now.”

“I’m lucky for that reason and so many more,” he rested his forehead against yours, weight settling back onto his shoulders as he thought about what the gravity of the situation could’ve been, “You’re the strongest fucking person that I know.”

You smiled, brushing your nose against his, “We’re okay, baby,” you reassured him, “We’re safe.”

“Yea,” he placed a tender kiss on your lips, “We’re safe.”

[loveelle]

Winners and Losers

Luke Patterson x Reader

Request by Anon: Luke x reader?? Two rival singers make a bet “who can get the other to fall in love first” by acting like a couple... too bad they realize there both in too deep.

A/N: Thank you for your request! I hope I did alright with it? I kind of strayed a little at some parts, but then I remembered that I had a request to write and brought it back, so I hope you enjoy. Please send me more requests and some feedback?

WC: 4K

---

“Y/N!”

You jolted in your seat, spilling your cereal all down the front of your shirt as you sat up alert. “What?!” you groaned, pulling your now soaked shirt away from your body. Alex walked closer to you as he laughed, clutching his stomach. You glared at him. “You’re not funny Alex.” Grumbling, you picked up your now empty cereal bowl, frowning at the mess of your favorite cereal now spilled on the floor. “We live here together. You’re cleaning that up.”

Alex scoffed. “No, I’m not.” He smirked, falling on the couch and hugging your pillow. With a sigh you retreated to the kitchen, putting away your dishes and grabbing the cleaning supplies. You ignored Alex as you cleaned up.

“What do you want?”

“Why aren’t you ready?” he asked and your expressions turned quizzical.

“Ready for what?” you asked him, moving towards your room as he followed, keeping on your heels and arriving at your closet before you could.

Alex groaned, grabbing your favorite top off a hanger and tossing it at you. It hit your face as you pulled it away, trying to throw him a glare but he was already turning around, leaning his head against the wall for you to change in peace. “You promised you’d come to see me perform tonight, remember?”

“Crap.” You whispered out, pulling your wet shirt off and putting on the new one. “I mean, I totally remembered.” You told Alex, tapping his shoulder. He rolled his eyes at you and turned around to lean back on the wall. “Give me 5 minutes and I’ll be out.”

“You got it.” He said, leaving you to grab all the things for tonight. Alex had invited you almost a week ago to watch him perform at the Hollywood Ghost Club, a new gig he got thanks to his boyfriend. You were excited for him, knowing how much this opportunity meant to your best friend. As soon as you were done getting your things you walked back out to the living room, seeing Alex flipping through the channels on the TV. “Finally!” he huffed out, pretending to be more upset than he actually was. You faked a smile at him, locking your arms as you left your house.

“Hotdog!” Willie yelled as Alex and you walked into the club. He was talking to the club owner as Alex waved at him, a small blush on his cheeks and you elbowed him playfully in the side. Willie jogged your way, giving Alex a hug and you let them have their moment, glancing around the club. “Hey Y/N.” Willie said, giving you a much shorter hug than he gave Alex.

“This place is awesome, Willie.”

“I forgot this is your first time here, I’m glad you could come.”

“I couldn’t pass up on the chance to see this guy perform.” You offered Alex a smile but he was busy looking at Willie and Willie at him. You took that as your moment to leave. “Well, I’ll leave you in capable hands.” You patted Alex’s back, pushing him towards Willie as you ducked out of there, looking about the tables.

There were quite a few that were already full, couples and friends sharing conversations as you walked past. You were about to take an empty table before your eyes landed on a particular one in the front where a pair of boys sat and you smirked to yourself, walking slowly their way.

“Is this where the talent sits?” you broke the already made conversation as you slid into the empty chair. Luke and Reggie’s head snapped your way, Reggie with a grin and Luke whose face fell when he saw you.

“What are you doing here, Y/N?” He asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

You smiled at him and gestured to his sleeves. “I see we’re still going with the sleeveless look?” you joked, earning a small laugh out of Reggie who quieted after the look Luke sent him. “Come on Patterson, you know I wouldn’t miss Alex performing.”

“I meant here, at our table.”

“Oh!” you clapped your hands together, picking up a menu that was laying in front of you. “Well, that’s just for fun.” You smirked, avoiding looking at him.

Luke and you had an interesting relationship. You both have known each other for years, not nearly as long as you knew Alex but still a long time. You two considered yourselves rivals, two different artists signed with two different labels. Most people wouldn’t have such a competitive relationship, but you couldn’t help admit it was quite fun knowing you could get under Luke’s skin like no one else. You prided yourself on it.

Luke and Reggie continued their conversation, talking about the club as Reggie let you joined in. The conversation started normal, but it soon turned to Luke and you smart mouthing each other as Reggie watched on amused.

“You two are crazy.” Reggie murmured under his breath and laughed. You and Luke stopped your argument, looking at Reggie who was busying eating.

“We’re not crazy.” You countered.

Reggie met your gaze, quirking a brow at you. “Oh yeah, sure you’re not.” He agreed. Your jaw fell and you shared a look at Luke, seeing him in the same state. “I don’t know how you two do it, but you’re only ever crazy with each other.”

You didn’t have a counter for him this time, neither did Luke because the truth was Reggie’s right. You were only like that with Luke, you couldn’t explain it.

Luckily you didn’t have to because Caleb Covington, the club owner, walked on stage with his showgirls. You sighed, crossing your arms and falling back into your chair as you listened to Caleb talk. Alex, as well as the rest of the musicians, took the stage. He shot you a look, seeing you with Luke and Reggie but you just smiled at him and watched as the show began.

Alex was killing it, just like he always did as you cheered him on nodding your head along and singing under breath to Caleb’s song. You turned your head, prepared to see Reggie and Luke enjoying the music as well but when you looked at Luke you quickly noticed he was rather distracted by one of the dancers who made their way into the audience.

You laughed, pulling his attention off the girl and onto you as he clenched his jaw and let his brows furrow. “What’s up with you?” he asked as you shrugged.

“Nothing.” You turned back to Alex with a smile on your face. Luke scoffed, obviously not believing you as he scooted closer to hear you.

“No, tell me.”

You bit your lip, looking back at him in amusement. “Your friend is on stage playing the drums and you’re looking at the girls?” you quipped. Luke stuttered as he took in what you were saying, getting defensive as you laughed again. “It’s okay Luke, I get it.”

“Get what?” You looked at him for a minute, watching him squirm under your gaze as you slowly smiled. “I don’t like that look.” He groaned out, narrowing his eyes as you leaned forwards on the table, coming close to him and putting your hand under your chin.

“You gonna talk to her afterward? Work that,” you gestured your hand towards his face, “Luke charm of yours?”

He pushed your hand out of his face, holding it against the table as he sat forward as well. “What Luke charm would that be?”

Letting out a chuckle you looked around the room, seeing several people looking at the two of you with starstruck expressions. “Come on Patterson, you’re not oblivious. You’re famous, girls swoon at the sight of you.” Luke glanced down to the table, at your hands still technically touching as he hid a smile. “If you asked that girl on a date, she’d say yes.”

He met your eyes again, a small glint in his as you pulled your hand away slowly. “What makes you think I want to ask her out?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“She’s not my type.”

“You have a type?” your cocky remark was met with an eye roll as Luke couldn’t stop smiling.

“Do you?” He countered and you shook your head.

“Since when we’re we talking about me?”

Luke shrugged, taking a sip of the drink in front of him and avoiding looking at you. “We weren’t, but at least the girl would fall in love with me.” He knew he was most likely wrong, but the satisfaction the sentence brought him made up for it.

However, the laugh you let out and the way you threw your head back made him narrow his eyes. “Oh please.”

“You don’t think I could?”

“I wouldn’t subject that poor girl to that torture.”

“Fine, but I bet I could make you fall in love with me.” The air left your lungs at his words. You didn’t have a response to that, no comeback or remark.

If you had to guess, you probably looked like the physical embodiment of a loading screen. “W-what?”

“I bet I could make you fall in love with me.” He repeated as if it was the simplest idea ever.

You looked to Reggie, seeing him no longer paying attention to the show but of you and Luke. Your eyes widened slightly at him, asking him silently for any idea what to do but he put his hands up, not letting himself get involved.

You cleared your throat. “And why would I subject myself to that torture?” you took a sip of your drink quickly, hoping it can calm the sudden bout of nerves hitting you.

It was Luke’s turn to laugh. “Well, how about an actual bet? Whoever can get the other to fall in love first wins.”

Reggie who was still fascinated by the event unfolding in front of him choked on his drink. You both looked at him, Luke patting his back as you tried to focus on helping him but you could get Luke’s deal out of your head. You didn’t know why he offered the bet, but you weren’t the type of person to turn one down.

The music in the club ended as the three of you were brought back to the real reason you were here tonight, Alex. He stood up, holding his drumsticks in the air as he smiled brightly. You cheered for him, clapping and hooting as Luke and Reggie did the same. As Alex began leaving the stage, you turned to Luke and stuck out your hand.

“You’re on.”

---

“You did what?” Alex’s voice boomed from your living room as you grabbed two bottles of water from the kitchen, heading back to him.

“It’s just a bet, Alex. Nothing to get worried about.” You tossed him the bottle. Alex shook his head at you, shocked you’d even take Luke up on something like this.

“What do you get out of it?” You took a sip of your water, trying to think.

“I don’t know, the knowledge that I win?” He glared at you, unimpressed with your answer. “I don’t know, Alex!” your laugh was defensive and you knew it.

“What if,” Alex began and turned his body to face you, “What if you agreed to this because you possibly might have feelings for Luke?” You blinked several times and stared at him, trying to piece how he managed to get there. Leaning forward you pressed the back of your hand against his forehead. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to see if you have a fever because I think you might be delusional.” He rolled his eyes, pushing his hand out of his face, and stood up.

“I’m serious.”

“Yeah, so am I. Are you feeling okay?” Alex threw his arms in the air and started pacing, something you’ve learned in the years living with him that he wasn’t going to stop any time soon. You settled into the couch, pulling out your phone and starting to scroll through Instagram before you saw a notification pop up.

@LukePatterson tagged you in a photo

“What the?” you muttered and clicked on the notification. Alex moved behind you to look as you saw a photo of you tonight smiling and in the caption was a heart. “What is he doing?” you whispered and Alex was behind you laughing, having to leave the room from laughing so hard.

You pulled up Luke’s contact immediately and pressed call. It rang twice before he picked up. “Hello there.”

“What was that post?”

You could hear him laugh through the call. “Part one of making you fall in love with me. Figured it would probably be a good idea to be a couple, don’t you think?”

“Why didn’t you talk to me about that first? I mean Luke, I have a career to think about. You have a career to think about! You can’t just drop relationship announcements like that, especially if they’re not real!” You ran a hand through your hair letting out a little sigh at the end. Luke was silent and your stomach sank, you knew he was just trying to win the bet, not trying to put a dent in your careers. You both might be rivals in the public’s eyes, but Luke wouldn’t do that. “Besides,” you said to break the silence, “Posting a picture when I look like that is only going to make me fall in love with myself, Patterson.”

Luke laughed again and you felt calmer knowing he wasn’t cursing himself out in his head. “Touché Y/L/N.” he muttered and you barely heard it over the phone. “Hey, tomorrow be ready at noon.”

“What for?”

“Our date.” You expected more from him, an explanation or what this date entailed but all you heard was the call ending as you pulled the phone from your ear.

You had to admit, the smile that tugged your lips was hard to ignore but you did. Heading back to Instagram, you found yourself on Luke’s post again, leaving a like and a heart emoji in the comments before seeing lots of Luke’s fans had left comments.

Most of them were surprised by the pairing as they should be, a few of them thought it was a joke, and a couple comments sprinkled in believed it to be a career move and fake- a way to combine two of the hottest new singer-songwriters. You groaned at them but had to admit, they were kind of right. It wasn’t a career move, but it was 100% fake.

However, you couldn’t pull your eyes away from the support you and Luke got, something you never thought you’d receive. It was overwhelming, to say the least. You turned your phone off, sitting in the silence of the living room before a text came through from Luke.

Goodnight ♥

You laughed to yourself as you realized goodnight and possibly good morning texts were going to be his move. Smart move Patterson.

You sent one back.

---

The constant sound of your alarm pulled you awake, much to your detest as you turned it off and yawned. It had been a week since you and Luke made that bet. 7 days of good morning and goodnight texts, some of which you had managed to send first, surprising Luke. You went on a couple of dates if you could call them that, to cafes, the beach, even a double date with Alex and Willie. Luke had been pulling out all the stops and you had to admit, you were impressed.

The only hard part about this week was you were in the middle of recording some songs and it had been non-stop in the recording studio all day, the last couple of days being the longest. Luke noticed, of course, seeing how you were extra tired texting and would just facetime him instead when you were making dinner. Neither of you knew what to talk about at the beginning of the week, but as time went on it became easier and more second nature.

You opened your door to a dark apartment as you got back from the studio today, much later than you were planning, but home nonetheless. “Alex?” you called out for your housemate only to see a note taped to the wall telling you he was spending the night with Willie. You sighed and dropped your bag on the floor when your phone rang.

You let out a whine, not wanting to deal with talking to anyone as you pulled it out. Luke’s name and picture lit up your phone as you hesitated a moment before answering the facetime call. “Wow, you look beat.” Luke said as soon as you answered.

You glared at him through the screen. “Thanks. That’s just what every girl wants to hear after a long day.”

He snickered at you but offered a sad smile as he laid back on his bed, resting his head on his bent arm. “You just get home?” he asked and you nodded, shrugging your coat off. “How’d it go?”

“Same as every other day, but we’re closer to finishing recording.”

Luke smiled again, watching you through the phone screen as you put away all your things. “What are your plans tonight?” he asked and you shrugged.

“Eh, probably watch a movie and fall asleep while watching said movie.”

“Alex going to join you?”

You shook your head and propped your phone up in the kitchen. “He’s at Willie’s for the night.” Luke went silent as you moved to grab a cup and fill it up with water. You glanced back to him, seeing him thinking and looking off-camera. “Luke?”

“Give me 15 minutes.” He said before ending the call. You stood there confused, staring at the black screen of your phone.

“Okay then.” You muttered to yourself, pocketing your phone and getting ready for your solo movie night. You changed into your pajamas and curled up in your blanket on the couch, flipping through your movie choices as someone knocked on your door.

You furrowed your brows, trying to figure out who would come over this late and the only person you could think of was Alex. Your feet padded against the ground softly as you approached the door. “Did you forget your key again? I’d thought you’d be gone the rest of the night.” You called through the door as you unlocked it, pulling it open to be met with a smiling Luke.

“Not Alex.” He said and pushed past you.

“Come in, I guess.” you joked as you turned around, seeing him jumping over your couch to lay on it. “What are you doing here, Luke?”

He grinned up at you. “It’s date night.” You put your hands on your hips, pursing your lips at him. “So, what are we watching?” You relented, falling back on your spot as Luke controlled the remote, flipping through the movies until he found one that interested both of you.

It started playing as you cuddled into your blanket, throwing a glance to look at Luke whose arm was draped over the side of the couch. You kept staring at him as an idea popped into your head. Scooting closer to him, you settled into his side and covered both of you with the blanket. Luke glanced down at you, freezing at your contact before relaxing and pulling you closer. He tried to focus on the movie again, but he couldn’t stop looking at you. The side of your face was illuminated with TV light and every few seconds he saw the hint of a smile on your face as something funny happens on screen. Realizing he was smiling himself at the sight of you, he put his eyes on the screen and refused to look away, not even when he felt you fall asleep on him.

You woke up hours later to warmth underneath you, an arm around your waist pulling you close as your eyes widened. Carefully, you turned your head to see Luke asleep with his head resting on the couch. He looked comfy and he felt soft and you couldn’t help but admit that the sight caused your heart to flutter. You hated yourself for it, but you shifted and buried yourself in Luke’s side, falling asleep again in his comfort.

---

Things seemed to escalate from that night Luke accidentally spent at yours. You began to rely on him more, spending most of your nights now watching movies and cuddling on the couch. The next morning however you’d always curse yourself out, remembering that this all started as a bet of who could fall in love and you would rather give up your music career than admit you were losing this bet. It had been a month. A month of Luke and you trying to make each other fall in love as well as convincing the public you were dating.

The public however seemed to love it. Reggie took it upon himself to post on your or Luke’s Instagram any time he caught you both being overly couple-y. You wouldn’t tell anyone, but any time he did you’d watch the videos he’d post over and over again, thinking what if it was real.

You didn’t know Luke was going through the same dilemma. After the night you fell asleep on him, he couldn’t stop thinking about you and he didn’t want to admit it either, but he was starting to think he might actually lose this bet.

The two of you were supposed to have what you considered your millionth date today at the Hollywood Ghost Club, right where it all started. Alex was playing again, as well as Julie, who you hadn’t seen in forever.

Luke and you showed up together, seeing a lot of fans taking your photos as you smiled at each other, never quite used to the attention. Sitting at the same table as the first day you were here, you sat closer to Luke, giving room for Reggie, Flynn, and Nick to join you. You all chatted like old friends, hating the fact that it had been so long since you spoke with everyone’s busy schedule. Not even noticing Luke’s arm draped over your shoulder, you were mid-conversation with Flynn as Caleb begun.

Cheers went through the crowd as the music started and you watched your friends perform. You were enjoying the show before your eyes caught sight of blue feathers moving in the audience, making you turn your head to see none other than the same girl Luke had been looking at before the bet was made. Your stomach dropped as your stare snapped back to the stage, trying not to let yourself overthink. Luke’s arm felt heavy on your shoulders as you slowly looked over to him. His eyes, however, were already on you.

The music in the club seemed to fade in your ears as Luke held your gaze. It was at that moment that Luke realized something he should’ve long ago. “I lost.” His eyes flickered down to your lips as you gasped, not expecting Luke’s declaration. Luke grew worried as you stayed silent. You licked your lips, trying to figure out what to say. He let out a shaky breath, pulling his arm off your shoulders. “I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said-“

“I lost too.” You cut him off before cupping his check and pressing your lips to his. Luke kissed back immediately, his eyes closing and his hands pulling you closer. You melted against him and your heart was beating fast as your free hand tangled in his hair before you pulled back.

With your eyes looking into each other’s, your cheeks heated up as the crowd started clapping at the performances end. You laughed at yourself, avoiding the smirking looks of your friends when you cheered for Alex and Julie who despite being on stage, didn’t miss your kiss.

The cheering died down as you leaned into Luke’s side, seeing Reggie look pleased with the both of you. “So I take it you both lost.” He asked, tugging on his leather jacket out of amusement.

You and Luke shared a look before he addressed Reggie. “I’m dating her.” He said and your smile returned. “I think I win.”

.

.

.

.