#I’m sure the magic users are suspicious | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dancingbirdie · 7 months

Note

Okay so on Astarion, I was reading this fic about him not knowing Tavs true intentions with him and it bothering Astarion a lot, so what if he goes to some mage or magic user and asks them to show Tavs true intentions to him, when he does the vision he sees is just... being snuggled. It's Tav on top of him and the both of you are falling asleep, his hands are under your shirt softly petting your skin as your sleepy self is contently snuggled up to him. I just start crying about him finding out that Tavs DASTARDLY and EVIL plan with him, their greatest desire from him... is to simply be held. 🥺

Hi @goblin-creatcher! Thank you so much for this BEAUTIFUL prompt. I, uhh, kind of took it and went a million miles an hour with it. This is honestly one of my favorite things I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it as well! xoxoxo

Something Imagined / Something Real

Word Count: 3.9K

Rating: Mature

Pairing: Astarion x f!Tav

Warnings/Tags: Brief but detailed description of rough consensual sex, descriptions and references to Astarion's trauma/trauma responses, minor Act 1 and Act 2 spoilers, FLUFF, angst

Suggested Song Pairing: Slow Dancing in A Burning Room (Stripped) - cover by ST LUNA

Summary: Astarion has been suspicious of Tav’s true intentions toward him. He persuades Gale to cast a spell and reveal her motivations. ANGST and FLUFF ensue. A rewriting of Astarion’s confession scene from Act 2.

The sun had just begun to set on the campsite when Astarion decided to put his plan into action. He had waited until Tav departed with some of the other party members before making his way over to the wizard. Gale was too busy reassembling the bookshelf inside his tent to notice Astarion’s approach. It wasn’t until he gave a polite cough that Gale jumped and whirled to face him.

“No, no, no,” he began all at once, hands raised in a sort of shooing motion. Astarion stared at him in confusion. “I can respect Tav’s indulging in your need for blood, but as I’ve said before: I taste terrible.”

Astarion scoffed. “Charming. Actually, wizard, I was coming to request your aid in a different, though somewhat related, matter.”

“Really? Care to elaborate?” Gale responded, still somewhat wary. It wasn’t often he found himself alone with the vampire.

“Testy, I see,” Astarion crooned teasingly. His knee-jerk response to people treating him like a monster, to behave in the most false saccharine sort of way.

But he drew up short, censoring himself before saying anything else he might regret. He knew he needed to get on the wizard’s good side if he had any chance of getting the answers he sought.

“I was hoping you knew a spell to reveal someone’s true intentions. Their… motivations for behaving in a certain way, so to speak,” he finished more seriously.

Gale pondered the question for a moment before answering.

“Hmm… yes, there is magic to determine that sort of thing… Although it’s been some time since I practiced it…” He trailed off, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Why are you asking for such a thing?” he asked suddenly.

Astarion had been prepared for this question, of course. No one did anything for free, no questions asked. He delivered his explanation perfectly, as he’d been rehearsing in his mind.

“One might say our dear sweet Tav and I have been growing a bit… closer these days, but I can sense a master manipulator when I see one. I just simply want to ensure their intentions toward me - toward the party - are true,” he replied with mock innocence.

“Ah, yes,” Gale nodded. “I gathered as much when the two of you slipped away from the tiefling’s party a few nights ago.”

“But,” he continued on,”I needn’t think you should worry when it comes to Tav. She seems about as transparent as they come. I’m sure any intentions she has toward you are true.”

Yes, but the best actors always mask their motivations behind innocence and transparency, Astarion thought to himself. I should know. I’ve been doing it for centuries.

After the party’s unfortunate meeting with that Gur in the Sunlit Wetlands, Astarion realized he would have to take potential threats from Cazador even more seriously. He wasn’t about to lose his freedom, not now that he finally had some small taste of it.

It didn’t hurt to be more suspicious of everyone he encountered, even the sweetling Tav. Anyone could be an operative sent by Cazador, and the best ones would be as skilled as he was in the art of manipulation. It was well-known at this point that the person he’d grown the closest to on their journey was their brave party leader, Tav. Unlikely as it may be that she was scheming for his master, Astarion’s paranoia wouldn’t let him indulge in interactions with her a second longer unless he knew how she truly felt.

Given Gale’s hesitation, Astarion knew he would have to kick his acting up a notch. Press on that wizard’s heartstrings. Touch the one nerve he knew he was sensitive to.

“Gale, darling, from one literally damaged soul to another, indulge me just this once,” Astarion beseeched him.

The wizard glared at him a moment, before finally relenting with a heavy sigh. “Fine. Fine. But I want it known that I don’t agree with this so-called solution one whit,” he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, yes, noted and formally documented, on my word as a former Baldurian magistrate,” Astarion replied cheerily. “So, let’s hop to it then, shall we?”

“What, right now?” Gale asked, shocked. “Shouldn’t we be, I don’t know, a little less conspicuous?”

“What better time than now?” Astarion responded. “Tav’s out gathering firewood with Wyll and Karlach. They won’t be back for some time. As for Lae’zel and Shadowheart, well…” he paused, gesturing over his shoulder.

Said two were engaged in a heated sparring session on the outskirts of the camp. Snarls and curses could be heard emanating from both warriors as they tried, and failed, to gain the upper hand against their opponent.

“That lovers’ dance could go on until morning,” Astarion finished.

“Fair point,” Gale admitted begrudgingly, grimacing at the sound of swords clashing violently. “Very well. Let’s get started.”

Clearing his throat, Gale began to utter a series of phrases completely foreign to Astarion. He watched as the wizard began moving his hands in a wavelike pattern, forming a circle before them. Suddenly, a mist began to form from seemingly thin air, taking shape according to the boundaries Gale’s hands were creating. The mist grew more and more opaque until it appeared before them like a clouded mirror.

As the fogginess of the ethereal magic began to clear, the “mirror” became a confusing blur of scenes whipping by, too fast for Astarion or Gale to really comprehend. There were flashes of Tav and Astarion, together and separate, but they disappeared too quickly to ascertain their context. It was as though the spell was shuffling through the entirety of Tav’s thoughts, assessing each one at breakneck speed.

Finally, the spell slowed to a halt, stopping on one scene in particular. Astarion was struck speechless by what began playing out in the foggy portal before them. So distracted, he didn’t even notice Gale’s tight cough, or how the wizard suddenly became intensely interested in a copse of trees nearby, rather than the revelation the spell was revealing.

Not that the scene was especially profound, objectively speaking. In fact, to anyone else, it might be viewed as the least revelatory thing possible that the spell could have shown. Boring. Inconsequential, even. But to Astarion, it was almost earth shattering.

He saw himself - he could see his face! - with Tav, lying tangled together in some immaculate four-poster bed.

That was the first shock that coursed through him, nearly causing his knees to buckle. He was seeing himself for the first time in over 200 years. Or at least, he was seeing himself as Tav saw him. And… the person he saw… Well, he was gorgeous. White blonde locks, curled and tousled in a devil-may-care sort of way. A strong, patrician nose that suggested good breeding. High, sharp cheekbones. Full lips, upturned in a thoughtless grin. Red eyes bordered by long, sweeping lashes. Delicately pointed elven ears. Smooth alabaster skin, without blemish or spot.

Astarion could scarcely believe his own eyes.

The second shock to his system was the nature of their activities. He would have been less surprised had the vision shown them fucking. Him taking her roughly from behind perhaps. His name a cry of ecstasy from her lips as he pistoned in and out of her with a feral sort of determination.

Fantasies of lust, of total domination, now those were things he was familiar with inspiring in the minds of the victims he had taken as lovers. It was what he strove for, in all honesty. Desire like that all but ensured he would capture his prey and live to serve another day for his master.

But nothing of the sort was occurring between vision-Tav and himself. Instead, they were just… embracing? What in sweet hells was this?

She lay halfway on top of him. Her hair was mussed, perhaps from sleep or perhaps from previous lovemaking. One hand was drawing absentminded shapes across his chest, her lips trailing behind, leaving kisses in their wake. He watched as vision-Astarion chuckled softly, as his hands slipped beneath her sleepshirt to caress her waist, as he placed an innocent kiss on the top of Tav’s head. Eventually, she reached for his hand. They both watched their fingers intertwine, blissfully content.

It was the purest, unadulterated expression of affection that Astarion had ever seen. Something in his heart quaked at the sight of it. He wanted that moment. He envied, he hated, vision-Astarion for enjoying such apparent happiness.

So absorbed in the vision and its implications, Astarion failed to notice the soft padding of feet that indicated someone’s re-entry into the camp.

“If the two of you are quite finished poking around in my head,” an angry voice suddenly spat from behind them, “I’d appreciate you preserving what little privacy I have left and shutting that damn spell off.”

Mortified, Astarion and Gale turned to see Tav, arms crossed and visibly seething with rage. Gale quickly dispelled the magic with a flick of his wrist. A blush was slowly but surely rising up Tav’s neck to reach her cheeks. Whether from rage or embarrassment, Astarion couldn’t be certain.

“Tav, let us explain-” Astarion started.

“It was his idea-” Gale blurted at the same time, pointing at Astarion.

Both paused, glaring at one another. But Tav would have none of their feeble attempts at backpedaling.

“The explanation doesn’t matter. Whose idea it was doesn’t matter. The fact is that both of you violated the privacy of my mind, which I’ll remind you, has ALREADY been violated by having a bloody tadpole forced inside of it!” Tav shouted. At their words, the camp became enveloped in a heavy silence. Even the crickets ceased their chirping.

Astarion cringed inwardly, knowing the other party members could plainly hear this altercation and had likely stopped whatever it was that they had been doing to listen in. He noted the sounds of swords clanging together had ceased. He was certain Lae’zel and Shadowheart at least were aware of what was happening. Nosy bastards, all of them.

But what disturbed him even more was the realization that Tav’s eyes were welling with tears. She was too proud to acknowledge them or wipe them away. Such was her nature. But they were there nonetheless, and the knowledge that Astarion had brought her to the point of tears was enough to spur a rush of utter self-loathing inside him.

Without another word, Tav turned on her heel and marched stiffly out of camp, toward the direction of a nearby creek they’d identified as a water source earlier in the day.

“I can’t believe I let you convince me to perform that spell,” Gale said as she disappeared between the trees. He dragged his hands down his face.

“How could we have been so doltish, forgetting that all of our privacies have already been violated with this tadpole business?”

Astarion didn’t have an answer to that. At least, not one the wizard could possibly understand.

The thought hadn’t occurred to Astarion, he realized, because violations of privacy had been something so intrinsic to his being for over 200 years. He didn’t even recognize it as something abnormal. Like a fish unaware that the water surrounding it is, in fact, water.

Violations of privacy were a part of life, at least for him. So much so that his request for Gale to perform that magic hadn’t even occurred to him as an overstepping of boundaries. To Astarion, it had simply been a matter of survival. He had needed to know another potentially manipulative person’s true intentions, and so he had found a means to uncover it and maintain the upper hand.

Belatedly, he also realized that Gale’s hesitation to cast the spell had had nothing to do with being inconvenienced for the evening, but because the wizard had known that it was improper to do to another person. If he had misread that, Astarion wondered, then what other truly benevolent behaviors had he mistaken as pragmatic manipulation?

“I need to go find her,” Astarion murmured, clenching and unclenching his fists in an uncharacteristic fit of uncertainty.

“Yes, you do,” Gale asserted. “We both owe her a sincere apology… if she’ll even accept it.”

“I’ll see if I can convince her to come back to camp,” Astarion replied, making to leave in the direction Tav had stormed off.

“Wait,” Gale said, a hand on his shoulder. Astarion turned to meet his gaze.

“Look, well, I’m obviously not an expert in healthy demonstrations of affection. But I do think it’s obvious from what you saw in that spell that Tav well and truly cares about you. In perhaps the purest way possible. Treat that carefully.”

Part of Astarion wanted to laugh aloud in utter hopelessness at the wizard’s advice. Someone cared for him? Truly and purely? No hidden games, no strings attached? Oh certainly, that wouldn’t be a problem for Astarion at all. Obviously, his 200-year existence as a master-manipulator-fetch-hound for a power-hungry vampire lord had perfectly prepared him to respond to this situation in a healthy manner. Obviously.

But all that was too much to reveal to someone he barely knew and too heavy to say aloud. Rather than giving some smarmy retort, Astarion opted instead to give a stiff nod and continue walking toward the edge of camp. He had no idea how he could make things right with Tav, but at the very least he could try.

***

He found Tav sitting on a fallen tree near the edge of the creek bed. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them as she rested a cheek to her knees. In the waning twilight, she reminded Astarion of some misbegotten gargoyle perched on the roof of a temple, solitary and so very sad.

Her ears twitched as she noted his arrival. Astarion wasn’t trying to be stealthy. On top of everything else, the last thing he needed to do was scare her.

“Can I join you?” he asked softly, wincing to himself at the awkwardness of the question.

The reality was that there was no way to broach this conversation without some stilted beginning, and he hated it. Navigating tricky conversations was normally something he excelled at. But as he was quickly finding, when it related to Tav, nothing in his past life had prepared him to respond to her well.

“If you’d like,” Tav answered tonelessly.

Knowing it was probably the best response he was going to get, Astarion swallowed thickly and moved to sit down on the log next to her.

“I… wanted to… apologize for what you saw, back at camp,” he began.

“Apologize for doing it, or apologize for getting caught?” Tav asked as she turned her head to look at him, resting her other cheek on her knees.

Astarion balked at the question. Her piercing gaze unnerved him. He hadn’t really thought that far.

“Both, I suppose?” he answered honestly, although it sounded more like a question to Tav. She huffed a laugh.

“You know, part of me really wants to yell at you. Scream in your face. Tell you off proper,” she mused.

“So why don’t you?” Astarion asked, perplexed.

Tav didn’t respond at first, just sat there studying him. As if by staring at him long enough, she could project the answer into his mind.

Astarion didn’t interrupt her, much as he would have liked to. Part of him always bristled when people gazed at him for too long. It was unfair that they could study him, when he hadn’t been able to so much as glance at his reflection in over 200 years.

Finally, Tav released a heavy sigh, her body curling further in on itself. She closed her eyes as she spoke.

“Because then I would be just like every other bastard in your life who’s mistreated you.”

Astarion flinched in surprise. Those had not been the sort of words he’d been expecting. The truth of them cut deeper than had she raged at him like she wanted to. It left him feeling even more vulnerable, and that in turn made him want to retreat into the comfort of viciousness.

“I don’t need you to pull any punches,” he scoffed, glaring at her. “Go ahead and say what you will.”

She straightened up at his tone, opening her eyes and returning his glare.

“No. I don’t want to,” she said testily.

“I don’t need your pity,” he hissed. “It’s insulting.”

“Gods damn it all, Astarion!” Tav exclaimed suddenly, causing him to jump in surprise. She threw her hands up in defeat. “I’m not doing anything out of pity! I don’t want to rage at you, because I know that whatever I say right now, I won’t mean it come the morning!”

Astarion blinked. Once again he was left feeling flat footed by the turn of the conversation. Sensing his surprise, Tav continued on with her deluge of words.

“You hurt me tonight, and I’m angry at you - and at Gale, for that matter - for what you did. But you’ve shared enough of your… history… with me, that I realize your behavior is just… just a byproduct of centuries of abuse and manipulation you’ve endured! And I won’t be another abuser in your life. I won’t,” she asserted.

Astarion continued staring at her, as if she were some otherworldly creature that had just wandered across his path. He watched as Tav inhaled a deep breath, releasing it shakily. She turned away from him to peer out into the forest, uncertain. She opened and closed her mouth several times before actually speaking. As if whatever she was about to say was more intimidating to her than anything else she’d said tonight.

“I… care deeply for you, Astarion,” she said quietly. “You obviously saw that in the vision. I’m not playing any games. There’s no hidden motive. I’m not trying to manipulate you.”

She turned to look at him again before continuing, her breathing a bit unsteady.

“I didn’t sleep with you that night of the tiefling party as some sort of maneuver to gain your trust. Although I understand if that was your motivation for doing so.”

Astarion’s expression morphed into one of guilt. But Tav nodded soberly, as if she had already expected it, before continuing on.

“It’s okay. I’m not angry. But I’m putting all my cards on the table now, so to speak. Actually, your decision tonight forced my hand, but I had been planning on telling you soon anyway. So, there you have it. The truth of my intentions. What you do with that information is up to you.”

She turned back to gaze out at their surroundings. Like she was giving him the opportunity to bolt away without her watching him. As if she expected him to flee from her confession.

But Astarion didn’t flee. He remained seated, staring at her in complete wonderment.

“Why?” he asked quietly.

She looked back at him again, confusion evident on her face.

“Why what?”

“Why do you care for me? You’re so… well-adjusted. And I’m well… this,” he finished lamely, placing a hand on his chest.

Tav pursed her lips. “It would be a mistake to misconstrue my empathy for you as me being well-adjusted. Everyone has their own demons, Astarion,” she murmured. “Mine just look different from yours.”

Astarion mulled her words over in his mind, considering them. He leaned forward to brace his forearms on his knees, his head drooping slightly.

“I…,” he started, unsure. “That vision… what it implied… You deserve something real, Tav. You’re incredible… truly.”

Tav closed her eyes, bracing for the fallout. Even though she would accept his decision, whatever it was, she didn’t think she could bear to watch him deny her. It would hurt too much.

“Look. When we met, I had a plan. A nice, simple plan,” he blurted all at once. Rising swiftly to his feet, Tav watched as he began to pace before her, near to bursting with frenetic energy.

“Seduce you, sleep with you, manipulate your feelings so you’d never turn on me,” he counted off, laughing half-heartedly. “It was… easy - instinctive. Habits from two hundred years of charming people kicked in. All you had to do was fall for it. And all I had to do… was not fall for you… which is where my nice, simple plan fell apart,” he finished, stopping to stand before her.

She held his gaze, speechless.

“I want you,” he whispered fervently. “I want what was in that vision… I want us to be something real.”

Never in a million years had she thought he would respond to her like this. She opened her mouth to speak, but Astarion cut her off with another sudden exclamation.

“I just don’t know what real is,” he confessed, his tone a touch hysterical. Tav knew from his body language that being this transparent was completely out of Astarion’s comfort zone.

“Being… close to someone - any kind of intimacy - was something I performed to lure people back. For him. Even though I know things between us are different, being with someone still feels… tainted. Still brings up those feelings of disgust, and loathing. I… I don’t know how else to be with someone. No matter how much I’d like to,” he finished, staring at her with beseeching eyes, willing her to understand.

Tav rose to her feet, coming to stand before him.

“I don’t want you for your body,” she whispered. “Or to perform any acts of intimacy. We can be together, without sleeping together, for as long as you need.”

“Really,” he asked softly, his voice pitched low, rough with emotion.

“Really,” Tav asserted, giving him a small smile. “Would it be all right if…” she paused, conflicted. He eyed her curiously.

“Could I hug you?” she whispered.

The fact that she asked before doing so caused a well of emotion to spring up inside him. Eyes watering, Astarion nodded.

Slowly, Tav moved forward to wrap her arms around his waist. Her head nestled into the crook of his neck and shoulder. A perfect fit. He felt her exhale a deep sigh.

Tav hugging him was a sensation unlike any he had ever felt. At least, any he could remember feeling. The act of being touched, embraced, without any desire for something more. She just wanted to hold him, feel him close to her. It was incomprehensible to him, but utterly enjoyable, at the same time.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Astarion raised his arms to return Tav’s embrace. Drawing her even closer, he bowed his head to rest his cheek against her hair. It was soft, like the finest silk. He closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply, appreciating her sweet, floral scent.

She made to pull away after a moment, not wishing to overwhelm him. But Astarion gripped her more firmly, a silent urge for them to stay that way a little longer.

“This… this is nice,” he whispered.

He both felt and heard Tav hum contentedly in response.

It wasn’t identical to the vision from Tav’s mind that he had seen, but Astarion reveled in their embrace nonetheless. It felt like the beginning of something new. And for the first time in his very, very long life, Astarion felt excited at the prospects of what would come next.

#astarion #dancingbirdiewrites #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #baldurs gate astarion #baldur’s gate astarion #astarion x f!reader #astarion bg3 #bg3 astarion fic #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #astarion x mc #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fic

6K notes · View notes

whoreinadegradingway · 7 months

Text

Oh look who’s sorry, now their answering to me

Tim was so tried, of the suspicious glares form Dick and Bruce even Steph, of being forgotten with the only people who would remember him on a regular and check up on him having tried to kill him. He just wanted to be welcomed in his home, not treated like and outsider to his family.

Harley noticed and offered to let him stay with her and pam. He accepted, Dami was heartbroken that the only two people who didn’t view him as a killer had left him.

Tim’s pov.

Living with Harley and Ivey was easy, though i wasn’t expecting to meet Harleys son Danny, he is kind and always makes sure i’m ok and doing well, He makes sure i’ve slept and eaten, he made me feel like i’m not a burden. So when he proposed that we start dating, of course i said yes. After dating for about a year we got our own two bedroom apartment, Damian would often stay with us to get away from Bruce’s bullshit. After two more year Danny proposed with Damian’s help, (3 years of dating) I had never stopped being RR. After a year and a half we both revealed our secret identity’s. Once we were engaged I moved into the place in the infinite realms. Damian moved with us. we consider ellie and dami our kids they get along like siblings being closer in age. Our wedding was grand the ghost called it the marriage between hero’s or, to kind souls becoming one. Danny got my father to walk me down the aisle. I hadn’t seen him in years it was like a dream come true, Dami was my best man with Jason and Connor and some other old friends as my groomsmen. Danny had all three of his siblings along with his two oldest friends. We were both over joyed the celebration was amazing, everyone that had made a positive impact on our lives were there Cass showed up and it was like the icing on the cake.

3rd person pov. Time skip three years.

Bruce was going insane it had been three years since he’d seen his youngest two kids, he know he’d treated them both badly Tim more so then Dami. He was in a JL meeting when a green portal opened and swallowed all the hero’s. When the shock wore off they saw that they were in what appeared to be a court room. They were chained in the center de-masked. A man sat in he judges spot. “Who are you and where are we” someone yelled bruce didn’t care, he couldn’t believe that his second youngest whom he believed to be dead stood there look healthier then when he live with bruce. “Oh, well i’m the king/queen of the infinite realms and you are all here as witnesses” (i stand gender fluid Tim Drake) “Tim what’s the meaning of this” Bruce yelled as he was left in the center while the other members filled the stands. “Darling I think your going to be quite a bias judge” a new voice spoke up, and a man with electric white hair slinked out of the shadows he was about 6’8 towering of Tim who stands at 5’10 average height. Tim tsked “why don’t you and Dami have a seat in the stands while i cover this one” “ Fine he responded Dami is already sitting there” The man bruce still didn’t know his name sat in the judges spot, “I Daniel Nightingale, holder of the ring of rage, King of the infinite realms ect. Charge Bruce Wanye with child abuse, child neglect and child endangerment, his punishment the nightmare realm” The man, Daniel had stated with a smirk, the magic users were shocked what had Bruce done to get this attention from both Kings of the infinite realms. “My dear i’m pretty sure that’s worse then what i was going to give him” The other male, Tim as they had learned said. “ well i’m sticking him with Vlad so it’s a fair trade” A childish laugh was heard Robin, the one that had gone missing sat there laughing as his father was put in the nightmare realm until they got borde of him. “ Well Tim off to the garden for tea with me” the boy had said “Of course” and the two walked off through the grand doors. Daniel watched with a smile before turning back to the remaining members “If you even dare to try anything you’ll be experiencing the nightmare realm first hand, got it?” He said as he smiled with to many teeth. silence followed by many heads nodding. “Good well off you go” they fell through another portal back to there meeting place. Danny smiled he now had a good life with an amazing family and he was going to let nothing harm them.

The end

#danny phantom #dc x dp #bat family #tim drake #jason todd #damian al ghul #brain dead #dani fenton #bruce wanye #bad dad

56 notes · View notes

favoritesegacharacterbracket · 3 months

Note

[PART 3]

Yu Narukami and Yaso-Inaba’s self-declared Investigation Team weren’t the only ones that had come to join the scene.

“Sig!” his friend Amitie gave the cyan-haired boy a baffled look. “What are you doing back here!? We told you we were all going out to celebrate with you together, didn’t we?”

“Just had a delivery to make,” Sig replied coolly.

“Huh?”

Along with Amitie, several other Puyo Magic-users had joined the group as well. The space was becoming a little crowded, making Sig want to duck away.

Yu Narukami, meanwhile, was explaining his team’s predicament to Joker.

“Kanji vanished after the results were announced. We’ve been looking all over for him, but no luck. And our phones aren’t getting any reception here…”

Joker put a hand to his chin. “I see… And how about scanning the area with someone’s Persona?”

Yu shook his head, “Rise had a concert and couldn’t make it today, and Teddie’s powers don’t work here, so…”

“You wanna borrow Oracle?”

These discussions continued as, at the same time, one could hear Yosuke Hanamura speaking to his friends further in the back.

“The results were really close, too… I wonder if he took it hard,” Yosuke scratched the back of his neck, sighing loudly. “Y’know, some people in the audience kinda took the piss out of me when Kanji beat me last round, so I… said some stuff I probably shouldn’t have said to him. ‘Like you’re gonna make it much further!’ or ‘Those were all just pity-points, you know!’... stuff like that.”

“Yosuke…” Chie couldn’t help but sympathize. This all really sucked.

“I’m sure Kanji-kun disappearing had nothing to do with that,” Yukiko tried to comfort. “After all, you’ve said much worse things to him before!”

“Gee, THANKS, Yukiko-san!” Yosuke snapped.

“I agree with Yuki-chan. Kanji’s not the type to get all Yosuke’d up by Yosuke having a Yosuke moment!” Teddie declared with a raised paw.

“What does any of that even mean!?” Yosuke demanded to know. He would not receive an answer.

“Much more importantly! Doesn’t it feel like he’s been even since bearfor the results were announced? I have a feeling like my fur hasn’t been in danger of unsolicited pettings for a whoooole while now…!”

“Wait, he’s right…!” Yukiko realized, and Naoto lowered her head in thought.

“Then I wonder what did make him leave…?”

This was when a completely new voice, that of Arle Nadja, the Puyo-using sorceress, spoke up.

“Hey, speaking of that, Schezo’s been gone for a while now, too…” she stemmed her hands on her hips and looked over the crowd. “I didn’t think much of it at first, because he’s really not one for popularity contests, what with his whole ‘darkness and solitude ‘ shtick. But your friend was the one he was up against this round. Both of them disappearing at once is a little suspicious…”

“Oh, maybe they went celebrating together!” Amitie bounced.

Yosuke raised an eyebrow at that “Huh? But they’re complete strangers.”

Amitie beamed, “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet!”

“Somebody keep this child out of public!!” Morgana almost shrieked in alarm at that statement, and someone with a rather similar-sounding voice to Morgana, Ringo Ando, laughed awkwardly.

“Ahahaha… Sorry for that. Looks like we need an Amitie-chaperone over here.”

“On it,” Sig raised his human hand and shuffled Amitie, who gave a confused “Huh?”, aside.

Meanwhile, Rulue, a close acquaintance of Arle’s and Schezo’s, spoke her own thoughts, “Hmpf… That dark mage up and disappearing right after a battle with no trace of the opponent doesn’t bode well. He is definitely up to no good.”

Arle awkwardly laughed at that, “I mean, I’d be worried about that too… But it’s not like the other guy was a magic-users, so…”

Yu Narukami listened up, “Would it change anything if he could use ‘magic’?”

At that, Arle bit her lip a bit and shuffled around before responding, “Um, well, Schezo kinda used to have a habit of kidnapping other mages to extract their magic power from them. That’s how we first met, actually. But he hasn’t done anything like that in a while, because he’s been so focused on going after my power-”

“Huh? Actually, he wanted something like that from me too a while back, I think,” said Amitie.

“Same here,” Sig nodded, showing his crimson arm.

Arle froze up. “R-Really…?”

The entire Yaso-Inaba Investigation team were staring at each other in horror.

“Uh… Do you think… Can Personas be, eh, ‘extracted’?” Chie carefully asked the pressing question.

The answer came from one group over, from Morgana.

“It’s possible,” he said, with a grim look on his face. “But if it were to be done, it would be disastrous for the Persona User. The result would be a Mental Shutdown.”

“Kanji!!”

Yosuke dashed off, without a second’s delay.

“What the…” Chie was so surprised when he pushed past her, she almost tripped. “...Oh, what the heck, Yosuke! We don’t even know which way to go yet!”

[TO BE CONCLUDED]

Part 2 here

Part 4 here

#sega #persona #puyo puyo #sega bracket fanfiction

12 notes · View notes

thefinalcinderella · 1 year

Text

List of TW Characters Family Members (Part 2)

I made the first one (which is now pretty outdated) before Pomefiore chapter (2 years ago!!!) dropped and just completely forgot about it so...here's the second part!! A lot of this is from memory/the wiki but I’ll try my best to list all the information, although I’m sure I missed a lot

Vil

- Father, no mention of his mother

- His father’s name is Eric Venue (stage name), who’s a famous actor, he seems to be very supportive of Vil when he was being typecasted as a villain, taking him along with him on his film shoots (Episode 5-65)

- one of the twins’ dad’s favorite movies stars him (Vil Halloween personal story Chapter 1)

- Every Halloween, Vil’s dad would come home with a unique costume and makeup (Vil Halloween voice lines)

Rook

- His family is suspicious for sure

- He has five siblings, two older, three younger, but they rarely see each other because of scheduling conflicts, according to Rook they are a lively bunch when they get together (Episode 6-25)

- Apparently, one of his ancestors traveled all over the world and built villas in many countries with magic devices for easy transportation (Episode 6-25)

- What his family does is a secret (Episode 6-25)

Epel

- Parents, grandmother Marja, grandfather, aunt and uncle, baby cousin (honestly their whole village could be considered a big family)

- His family seems to run some kind of apple juice business (somewhere in Episode 5)

- They live in Harveston, a small mountain village in the Shaftlands

- His mom calls him when Vil promoted their apple juice (Episode 5-42)

- his parents aren’t magic users, but his great-grandmother and grandmother are (Cremonial Robes voicelines)

- we meet his grandmother Marja in the sled event, she’s very passionate about the sled race, she also looked like female Epel when she was younger lol

- Whenever his grandparents fight, they make up by baking an apple pie together (Ghost marriage card voice line)

- Epel gave his plushies to his cousin after he was born (sled event 3-9)

- Epel was very happy when his cousin was born bc there’s finally someone younger than him in the village, but it’s hard for them to connect bc of the age gap (sled event 4-9)

Idia & Ortho

- Parents

- It’s a shame their parents never showed up in the story since I want to know what they thought of everything that happened

- I don’t really feel like explaining the entire Shroud family history so I’ll just stick with their parents

- In Episode 6, Idia mentions that his parents left the whole “managing the overblotters” thing to him and that prioritizing results over their son’s feelings sounds like something they would do (6-43)

- I’m pretty sure his parents were meeting with Crowley and other government people during Episode 6 but I can’t find the chapter that confirms that, in any case in 6-85 Crowley says he and his parents came to an agreement that Idia would continue attending NRC

- Also somewhere in the Wish Upon a Star event it’s mentioned that Idia and Ortho’s parents would take away the power cord for their video game consoles or something??? I cannot find where Idia says this

- Idia mentions that both his grandmother and father were naturally pessimistic Episode 6-85)

- His grandmother’s name was Aidne, she was the head of STYX before retiring; now the current head is Idia’s father (6-17)

Malleus

- grandmother (only blood relative), no mention of what happened to his parents

- His grandmother is the current ruler of Briar Valley, Lilia took care of him when he was younger

- Black is considered a noble color in the Draconia family (Malleus Birthday Boy personal story 1)

- Malleus’s grandmother always sent him a birthday card every year, along with rose seeds

Silver

- the biggest mystery in the cast

- he’s an orphan who was adopted by Lilia when he was a baby (Lilia found him in a forest and named him after his hair color) they lived in a house in the woods in Briar Valley and Silver thought Lilia was his birth father until he realized that they had different ears

- Malleus would visit sometimes when he sneaks out of the castle

- Sebek and Silver knew each other since they were little and were raised like brothers since Lilia taught them both the sword

Sebek

- Mother, father, older sister and brother, grandfather

- His mom’s a fairy but his dad’s a human, so Sebek and his siblings are half fairy

- His dad is a dentist and can’t use magic, but he chose to live in Briar Valley anyways; he’s always amazed when Sebek and his siblings use magic

- His mother is a night fairy; she met his dad when she was at his clinic for an appointment and fell in love at first sight; she married him despite opposition from those around them; she currently works at his clinic as his assistant

Lilia

- Silver (adopted son), but really Malleus and Sebek can be considered his sons too

- Honestly this guy is a complete mystery in regards to his past; we know he used to be a soldier and that he travels a lot and that he’s probably very old, but that’s about it

#twisted wonderland #vil schoenheit #rook Hunt #epel felmier #idia shroud #ortho shroud #malleus draconia #twst silver #silver #sebek zigvolt #Lilia Vanrouge

102 notes · View notes

toonqueen · 5 months

Text

Duckvember Day 29th: Brother Duck

So for some reason young me decided that my main OC for Mighty Ducks had to be the little sister of Duke. Having a bit of that cool Han Solo energy and a sword fighter. In the episode ‘Beak to the Future’ the fact he votes to go back to Puckworld had me headcanon he still had family there and that led to me having the little sister character that was still on Puckworld.

My headcanon backstory for him and my char Duluna starts with their parents dying in a car accent. They weren’t in the car for that. Duke is a teen at the time and Duluna still a kid. They’re left with their Aunt Lilly on their mom’s side. Now Lilly is a good person but didn’t expect to raise kids. She’s also busy with a billion jobs. Lilly was supposedly a magic user. Though I never had her do any actual spells. She had knowledge of stuff but then didn’t do anything? Had the kids meditate to feel energies but they weren’t doing energy blasts or anything. I threw a ‘magical’ aunt in there since Duke seemed thrilled about magic in the ‘Dungeons and Ducks’ episode. That he had heard the concept of such and was raring to go.

Aunt often left them to be babysat by Erik Vanderflock, who was not actively her boyfriend anymore but they were still friends. Erik was Tanya’s older cousin, but in the past that didn’t come into play at all. Just a small world coincidence. Erik worked as an appliance repair man that was undervalued for his intelligence. On the side though he was doing some hacking and minor theft with a thief team he had. Do ho ho. Duke gets involved with Erik’s thief group eventually.

Now I had Duke be a very protective brother but I wouldn’t say over protective. Like he still let Duluna make her own decisions. When Duluna was old enough to join the thief group Duke did his best to talk her out of it, but when she made the final decision he did not stop her. Even though Duluna can give her brother an attitude she looks up to him a lot. I headcanon that Duke’s hockey number as a kid was 10 so she chooses to take that number later on.

At some point Lilly dies in an unknown situation. Thats a whole other storyyyyy. Duluna and Duke end up being thicker than thieves (ha) seeing each other as their only family left. There's other extended fam somewhere I’m sure but EH. Erik acts as a big brother/family to them as well.

Through thieving circles Duke comes across the Brotherhood of the Blade. Lo and Behold he finds out his father used to lead the Brotherhood. He joins without saying who he really is to see what he can find out. Duke begins to get suspicious that his parents car accident may have been a hit. He finds out his father was retiring from the group and had declared a new leader which others weren’t happy about the pick. Duke informs his sister about this and she wanted to help to but Duke didn’t want her to get messed up in it. Of course she does though. They really don’t find a clear answer to what exactly happened. Duluna gets to a point of, ‘we need to think forward and not about the past anymore, so let's blow this joint and go back to what we were doing. Working with Erik and doing their own thing. Duke those becomes more obsessed with finding out what happened to their parents and stays on with the Brotherhood.

Duke and Duluna have a bit of a falling out over this. She says with Erik and their small group. It was during this time that Dragaunus attacked. They tried to find each other after the attack but with no luck. Erik and Duluna actually spent time on Puckworld traveling around helping where they could. Duke of course joined the resistance. The siblings were pretty sure the other one was alive. Duluna never thought to look for Duke among the resistance though, since it was very left over military/police force and they were ACAB being thieves and all. LUCKILY at some point Duluna gets to Earth and that's a whole other story. Yay reunite and big brother Duke is happy woo.

Comparing Wildwing and Nosedive’s brother relationship to Duke and Duluna is like a dog owner vs a cat owner. Wildwing being dog owner and Duke being cat owner lol. Duke does know his sister can handle herself but still has to state his case. Duluna is an indoor/outdoor cat. He trusts her to get back on her own. Lol. I do ship Duluna with Nosedive which Duke wasn’t thrilled with at first either. But when Duluna does share the same feelings back with Nosedive, Duke doesn’t get in the way with that.

I also remember some vague plot thing in one story where the villain (maybe Falcone?) Leaving Duluna to decide to save Duke or Nosedive and she ends up not choosing and saving them both like a badass. Anyways. Brother just as important as the idiot you’re dating. THATS FINE.

#duke l'orange #duckvember #duckvember 2023 #mighty ducks the animated series #mdtas #duluna l'orange

6 notes · View notes

writersrealmbts · 11 months

Text

We Could Be: 25 and 26 (Stuck and Disoriented)

Description: In a world of magic, mortals, and immortals; seven souls are brought together, blah blah blah, It was their desire to show Seokjin just what “We Could Be”. Now if only the government would stop trying to mess with them.

Posting Date: 06/08/2023

Wordcount: Stuck, 1,448; Disoriented, 1,511

Tags: Magic Au, Ot7 bts, werewolves, werecats, vampires, nymphs, magic users, etc.

Previous. Next.

“This…isn’t the careful that I had in mind,” Hoseok groaned somewhere to Yoongi’s right.

Yoongi was shaking as he tried to push himself up, almost choking on the vanilla scent. “Namjoon? Tae? Jungkook? Jimin? Jin-hyung?”

A soft growl emanated from his left, followed by a whine.

“Tae or Jungkook?”

A noise that sounded suspiciously like a dog saying, “Tae” in the quietest way it could.

“Whine if you managed to catch Jin, growl if you aren’t sure where he is.”

There was a soft whine.

“I’m okay, I think, just…a little winded,” Namjoon groaned. “Well…might have broken something.”

Continue reading on Ao3....

Previous. Next.

Ot7 Stories Masterpost

Tagging: @park-jimin-isnt-real

9 notes · View notes

frozenbound · 10 months

Text

Can you do that one cliche porn theme where Cole was fucking a toy and have to stop because business and all (maybe Hanzo's needing an assistance?) and then Genji snoops in and replaces the toy with his own bussy

This was submitted by Anon on my Zaqa, which allows for anonymous requests by non-Tumblr users!

The boys over at Men dot com sure have some wild ideas, don't they? XD I doubt that they invented that particular cliche, but I laughed when I saw that particular plotline...though, I'm always disappointed that the interloper always gets found out and the scene switches into a boring run-of-the-mill porno. I wish they'd let some of these cheaters and interlopers get away scotfree!

So that's what I did. :3

Thanks so much for the request, Anon! Genji sneakily replacing Cassidy's silicone bussy with his bussy, coming right up under the Read More!

“This is humiliating,” Hanzo grumbled.

“It is,” Genji agreed cheerily. “And you’re handling it very well, brother.”

Hanzo scowled and grumbled as the brothers made their way down the hall, Hanzo using a crutch and his brother to stay upright.

They had some excellent healers on their team, and Mercy in particular was literally world-class…but she was only one person, and in their line of work one person could very easily be on the other side of the planet on an extended, critical mission when someone slipped and fell and broke their pelvis while they were training.

Baptiste was the base medic at the moment, and he saved Hanzo’s life, no doubt about it, but he wasn’t quite able to piece together a shattered pelvis, even with access to Mercy’s healing technology. Surgery was required, and they couldn’t exactly make an appointment at the local hospital because Hanzo was wanted on all seven continents. Disguises had a way of failing when DNA profiling was par for the course during major surgery, in case any organs ended up needing replacement.

So Hanzo was stuck with a hard plaster cast around his waist, holding his pelvis firmly in place until Mercy could come and work her magic.

But it had already been two weeks since the accident, and Hanzo’s patience was wearing thin.

Genji couldn’t blame him. He had, of course, had his share of hospital stays and immobility, and he could see his own frustration from years past on Hanzo’s face here in the present, and it didn’t help when the tools that gave a bare minimum of mobility back also failed.

The crutches the Watchpoint had on hand were old and rickety and one had snapped under Hanzo while he’d been getting some food by himself, because he could, godfuckingdammit, he could get a piddling little snack by himself without having to bother anyone.

To be fair, he’d made it all the way to the cafeteria and halfway back before…well, before Genji had found him laid out on the floor with a look of cold fury on his face.

His stubborn jackass of a brother had forbidden Athena from summoning help, and since she could detect he hadn’t suffered any life-threatening injury…again…it was only Genji’s serendipitous discovery that saved him.

But again, Genji could understand. Hanzo had finally finally finally convinced Cassidy to let him go to the cafeteria without help, and look what had happened. Cassidy would be furious, which was why they were going to tell him that Genji had been with Hanzo right when the crutch broke, and Genji had caught Hanzo, and nobody had fallen or laid there in the empty hallway for ten seething minutes.

It was a bit suspicious, however, when they reached Hanzo and Cassidy’s quarters, and the door slid open to reveal the empty living room of the sumptuous officer’s quarters. Genji would have expected Cassidy to be waiting like a loyal dog at the door.

“Cole,” Hanzo called out half-heartedly. “I’m back.”

There was a rustling sound from the hallway leading to the bedroom and bathroom, and Cassidy appeared in the doorway, clad in jeans and a t-shirt. “Welcome b-oh, hey there Genji, what brrrrrr…” Cole’s voice trailed off when he took in the way Hanzo was leaning on his brother, and with only one crutch. “Where’s your other crutch? What happened?”

“Snapped,” Hanzo said shortly and angrily. He pulled Genji in the direction of the couch, and the bottles of pain medication on the end table next to it. “I’m fi…”

“Jesus Christ, are you okay?!” Cassidy yelped, springing forward and shoving Genji aside, placing Hanzo’s arm over his shoulders instead. “Are you okay? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Hanzo said, sounding absolutely miserable. “Genji was there and he caught me before I fell. I’m sorry, Cole, but I can feel the meds wearing off. All I want to do is take my pills and nap.”

“Surely you wanna sleep on the bed,” Cassidy said, glancing at the hallway.

“No,” came the repulsed answer. “I’ve spent fourteen days in that bed. I’ll sleep out here.”

“Alright, honey, alright, that’s fine,” Cole said soothingly, helping Hanzo sit. “You just set yourself down and I’ll get you some water to wash them pills down.”

“Thank you,” said Hanzo, and he tried, he really tried to sound grateful, but it was obvious he hated being so utterly dependent. Cole smiled reassuringly, but when he stood up and turned around to head for the kitchen, he shot Genji a look that was a mixture of anger and resignation. He didn’t mind caring for Hanzo, but he hated how Hanzo hated being taken care of.

Genji shrugged. “I’ll get out of your way, brother, Cassidy,” he said as Cassidy disappeared into the kitchen.

“Thanks, Genji!” Cassidy called through the door.

“Thank you, Genji,” Hanzo said stiffly, his head thrown back on the couch’s headrest, his eyes firmly closed. It was a sincere thank you, for many things, but it was clear all Hanzo wanted at that moment was the oblivion of medicated sleep.

Genji headed for the still-open door.

Just before he reached it, however, he was suddenly struck by the idea that Hanzo would need a blanket, and, to spare Cassidy having to offer and Hanzo having to accept, he turned into the hallway at the last moment, activating the door and making it slide closed as Genji silently padded down the hallway and into Hanzo and Cassidy’s bedroom, flicking on the light.

There was a blanket on the bed, with the lumpy shape of a pillow underneath it. Genji stepped forward and snatched the blanket off, meaning to turn around in the same motion and head back out…

…but that was no pillow on the bed.

It was a sex toy.

Specifically, it was an Omnic Bussy™ Limited Edition, and Genji knew the exact name because he had been mentioned, messaged, and DMed on all two dozen of his social media accounts with pictures of this thing, all with variations of, “Hey! Get your ass out of here!”

Because it looked exactly like Genji’s ass.

Exactly.

Like, to the point where he might have to pursue legal action, because there was the dark gray artificial skin overlaying cords of artificial muscle, there were the lighter, whiter plates of his leg guards, and there was the strap, the black strap, that everyone only now seemed to realize looked like a g-string between his asscheeks.

Omnic Bussy™, his ass. This was his ass.

And Cassidy had bought it.

And he had laid it down on his and Hanzo’s bed while Hanzo was going to be slowly inching his way to the cafeteria and back.

And he had tucked another blanket around it, making it look like it was sticking out over the edge of the mattress.

And that asshole, which also somehow looked almost exactly like his, had been getting a workout.

It was shiny and glistening with lube, and the silicone was slowly closing up after being stretched very wide by something very girthy.

Genji happened to know exactly how wide and girthy, and even how long. Long Blackwatch missions had often included a few group jerkoff sessions to relieve the tension, and Genji, though uninterested at the time, had caught a glimpse of Cassidy’s endowment more than once.

And, here and now, when Genji would be interested, this…imposter was the one getting to have all the fun.

Unfair.

Totally unfair.

Something needed to be done.

“Alright, honey,” came the soft sound of Cassidy’s voice through the open bedroom door, “here you are. Let me sit with you awhile until you’re under.”

“Thank you, Cole,” came Hanzo’s sighing answer, though it seemed a lot more genuine, or Hanzo was putting in a lot more effort, now that they were alone. “I would like that, actually.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Positive,” Hanzo said with a bit of warning in his voice.

“Okay, okay. Lemme just…” Cole sighed as he carefully sat down, making the springs in the couch squeak. “Mmm.”

“Mmm.”

“Can’t wait for Mercy to get here.”

“You can’t?” Hanzo griped, but with some black amusement.

“Yep. I know what the real problem is. One good fuck would things a lot easier.”

“Let me blow you then,” Hanzo said baldly, and Cassidy chuckled.

“What about you, though?”

“I will make do,” Hanzo said heavily. “As I must.”

“Naw, honey, naw, I couldn’t do that to you. If you ain’t having fun, I ain’t having fun. It’d kill my boner, not to mention my soul, to see you miserable while we’re making love.”

“I know,’ Hanzo sighed…or, more accurately, slurred. “After Mercy returns, it will be a struggle to decide what to do: fuck you into the mattress or ride you into the sunset.”

“Yeah?” Cassidy asked huskily. “Sounds like a good prologue. What’ll happen next?”

Hanzo managed a weak chuckle. “Then…I’m going to,” he said, speaking slower and slower with each syllable, “take your cock and…swallow it down and…suck your soul right out your…”

“Right out my…?” Cassidy prompted.

“Right out your…”

But Hanzo’s voice faded away, and there was silence for a minute or two, before Cassidy let out a loud, drawn-out sigh.

“Fuck,” he growled, and the couch squeaked again. “Fuck.”

And then he came stomping down the hallway.

Genji, meanwhile, had not been idle.

The imposter ass was hidden under the bed, and if Genji had been flexible pre-cybernetics, then, hooboy, was he able to bend over these days.

Bend so far and so flat, in fact, that his own ass was holding the blanket off of his back and legs and head. He couldn’t be absolutely sure that he looked convincing from outside, but the lights had been off when he came in here, and they were off again, and that would help.

And if it didn’t, and Cassidy walked in and immediately saw his brother-in-law pretending to be his sex toy, then Genji could at least laugh it off as a practical joke to help his best friend through some trying times.

It would undoubtedly be a terrible practical joke, but Genji had a history of jokes that didn’t land. It was plausible enough.

So he waited, bent in half and covered with a blanket that smelled like his brother and his brother-in-law with only his ass sticking out.

Thank goodness he was self-lubricating these days. His asshole was already as moist and slick as the sex toy’s as he listened to Cassidy thunder down the hallway, all pent up and frustrated and needing nothing more than a hole to fuck.

He didn’t turn on the lights when he came in.

He didn’t tear the blanket off the bed.

He simply walked in, closed the door behind him, dropped his jeans to the floor with a soft rustle, marched to the bed, grabbed a bottle of lube on the bedside table and squirted an unnecessarily large amount onto his cock, and, leaning forward, lined up his cock…and slammed in.

“Ungh, yeah,” he groaned, placing his hands on either side of Genji and leaning over…but when his hands moved and and rearranged and pinned the fabric of the blanket, either it did not trace out the figure of his brother-in-law hiding underneath or he was just far too focused on his dick sinking into that slick embrace.

Genji’s breath hitched.

Cassidy was enormous.

He wasn’t gentle.

He didn’t have to be, after all, not with a sex toy.

“Fucking,” Cassidy growled as drew his hips back, “take it!” And he snapped them forward.

Then he immediately set a brutal pace.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Take it! Fucking take that fucking dick!” Cassidy bleated, over and over. “Gotta two week load for you, if you can fucking take! This! Pounding! Ungh! Ungh! Yeah! Gonna break you, gonna split you open, gonna fucking fuck. You. Apart!”

He was, Genji thought, dizzily, dreamily. He really was.

This was a good fucking. The power, the sheer power behind each thrust, the unforgiving pace, the way Cassidy’s cock rearranged his guts with each inward stroke and gave them only a split-second to fall back into place on the outward stroke before he was spiking in again…it was everything Genji never knew he needed.

Never before had all coherent thought, except for the single overriding need to stay still and silent, been literally fucked out of Genji’s head.

He was going for the ride of his life and loving every second of it.

Eyes rolled back, mouth loose and drooling on the bedsheet, Genji let Cassidy slam home over and over and over again, so glad, so happy to be used so harshly, so wantonly, without a single regard for anything other than to drive that dick in as far and as fast as it could go.

Genji’s cock shuddered under the assault on his prostate and began spurting wildly, trapped between Genji’s abdomen and the sheets, absolutely flooding the fabric below, and adding Genji’s scent to his brother’s and his brother-in-law’s.

If that scent wafted up into the nostrils of the brute formerly known as Cassidy, though, then, driven mad by the sweet and yielding yet oh-so-tight hole he was currently destroying, he didn’t seem to notice.

He just kept pounding away, like a machine, like a jackhammer, and Genji’s cock had barely stopping leaking semen when it was exploding again, his prostate beaten into complete submission and having no other choice but to set Genji’s nerves alight again.

And then again.

And again.

How, Genji thought in awe, was Cassidy lasting so long after two weeks? Any mortal man, any lesser being, or the ones Genji had found during his life journey at least, would have hit it and quit it in thirty seconds flat after so long without and especially at this pace, but Cassidy was a marvel, and it wasn’t until he’d hammered five orgasms out of Genji’s cock that he sped up, the absolute demon, and, howling, drove into Genji with a force and a load of cum that Genji never knew was possible until now.

Cassidy roared with each eruption, slamming home each time, and they really were eruptions, spilling so deep, impossibly deep into Genji, yet even so they were too much, and Genji’s hole just couldn’t hold them in, and copious amounts of jizz were leaking, flooding out of him, and Cassidy wasn’t done unloading his two weeks’ worth of semen and frustration for what seemed like an eternity, until finally, finally, yet far too soon, he snapped his hips forward one last time, shuddered from head to toe, and then unceremoniously popped his dick out of Genji’s hole, with an audible splat as a glob of cum spilled out after him and fell to the floor.

Genji knew he had to stay still, but honestly he couldn’t have moved if he wanted to. His ass had been destroyed in the best possible way, and it would be…hours, maybe, days, before he’d regain the ability to move.

The mattress bounced beneath him as Cassidy threw himself onto the bed, but luckily not right on top of Genji, but off to the side. Genji could hear him rubbing his face with his hands, and then, with no warning, a sharp slap sent his ass jiggling.

“Thanks, honey,” Cassidy said tiredly, but chuckling.

Genji very, very nearly replied, thinking the jig had been up from the very beginning, that Cassidy had known full-well whose hole he’d eviscerated, but just before Genji formed the words, Cassidy grumbled, “Can’t believe I’m talking to a literal asshole, and not even a real one at that. Things are bad. Real bad. Sorry,” he said with that polite charm that apparently extended even to a silicone asshole, “I know I’m a married man, but thanks so much for being so understanding. It’s just until Hanzo’s better, y’see. Then he can take me apart and destroy me like I deserve, after being unfaithful to him with an asshole like you.”

Cassidy shifted. Then he sighed. “Can’t believe Genji let them copy his ass.”

Genji managed to stifle a laugh. Barely.

Cassidy didn’t say anything more. He moved a couple more times, getting comfortable or perhaps meaning to get up and clean up but not quite making it to his feet. Then he stilled and didn’t move for a few minutes.

Then he started snoring.

Cassidy slept like a log, but Genji moved, after he could move, slowly and carefully.

He got out from under the blanket, wincing and holding back hisses as his abused asshole protested, and retrieved the sex toy from under the bed, placing it where he’d found it. With a lingering look at Cassidy, stretched out and sleeping, with his t-shirt still on but pantsless, his cock, thick and long even when flaccid, still dribbling a line of cum that Genji longed to but did not dare lap up, he stole out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and out of Hanzo and Cassidy’s quarters like a shadow, hardly glancing at his brother snoring as loudly as his husband on the couch.

He reached behind him as he walked, or rather, waddled down the corridors of the Watchpoint, collecting and stuffing some of Cassidy’s cum back past his red, puffy rim as he went.

The experience of a lifetime, he thought with a smile.

Though, if he played his cards right, maybe someday…

#requests #my stories #hanzo shimada #cole cassidy #genji shimada #anon #yeehan #spuriken #genssidy

19 notes · View notes

charmwitch · 1 year

Photo

Okay one more thing I want to talk about today.

Huxley is not a professor. He is a guy. He is your uncle. You don’t even know you have him as an uncle, but he’s your uncle. He’s probably the most re-occurring character in Solstoria, and it’s because he has his hands in every jar. He’s a magic user who finds lost souls for others. He specializes in finding children who have gone missing and their remnants need to be recovered. He speaks Belan and St. Helenian, he is sometimes called a witch doctor by those who don’t understand his craft. He is often employed by the Head Mistress of the Wayward Village, a witch of unequal power. He has a small crush on her. He is wistful, and often thinks of past loves he’s had. He’s half-Belan, but was only raised by his grandmother.

He is the person you don’t want to have to meet, but need to use his services. Gregorio is somehow his friend, but I’m sure Gregorio thinks of him as a mentor. Sometimes, even the dead need assistance- and those who take on that job are to be respected. Gregorio, on the other hand, takes care of the living, as you all may know already.

Currently, he is wanted in the city of St. Helena for crimes. The list is too long, you have to ask the Magistrate in charge, his name is Theodore.

Every once in a while, he helps Edel tend to his father’s grave. He is pretty fond of Edel, tries to make sure he has everything he needs to at least survive- if not much else.

Speaking of teenagers, his current job involves a young man possessed by a Wayward Lord, a creature of immense power that competes for supremacy in the Wayward Lands. What are the Wayward Lands? They’re areas of the world where humans can not enter, they’re the thick, dense woods where the air is suffocating, far too infused with magic. Most people could not survive there, but many research it and many also live on the fringes of said woods.

Anyway, basically, if you hear about anything “wayward” happening in Solstoria, you can bet Huxley has something to do with it.

Uhhhhh that’s about it I thinkkkk there’s a lot I could say about him but he’s just like, the guy you meet that you’re like, this guy is suspicious, but he also bakes cookies. They’re good cookies, but you still can’t help but feel uneasy about it.

#solstoria #original characters

28 notes · View notes

sawkinator · 2 years

Text

NEOPETS DRAMA INCOMINGGGGG

(A continuation of a previous post on the matter.)

Alright my dudes I guess there’s no reason to hide it anymore soooo.

I’m pretty sure I helped get Ivy and Will frozen.

Obviously Ivy was the most suspicious, always magically getting very nice real words/names from nowhere. I don’t engage in cheating or anything so it’s not like I had proof that she was cheating of any kind, so I just avoided trading for her pets lest I get caught up in a reversal and end up with no pet because Neopets staff can’t exactly recreate a name.

As more names kept appearing (not just from her and her buddies but from other people) I finally started to wonder just how bad this problem was. I had an oooold list that I made shortly after the last account purge in 2012 - where inactive accounts get deleted, including the pets on them, sometimes including pets with real word/names like Skunk, Tubby or Fiona. As the old accounts are deleted users can recreate these names if they’re fast enough. I was very active in the previous one and made the list to prepare myself for the next one... whenever that happens. This list I made had the names of accounts and what nicely-named pets they had.

ANYWAYS. Using the gift/curse of hyperfixation, I went through every account and name on that list to see what pets had moved, as well as miscellaneous notes (when the account was last logged into, if any of the pets had been replaced, etc.). I’ll be straight with y’all, high school me had made a MASSIVE list. THOUSANDS of names. I chipped away at this for like, 2 or 3 weeks. I will fully acknowledge this was a silly use of time, but hey at least I’m not watching racist Minecraft Youtubers or trading cryptocurrency.

Well, by the time my list was finished I found that about 20-25% of the names had moved with no indication of a trade or that they were moved between accounts owned by one person (for non-Neopets players, a person can have up to 5 accounts, 1 ‘main’ account and 4 ‘side’ accounts). I noted in my spreadsheet the original account the pet was on, where it had moved to, and any notes (if the pet had been replaced by another one, how long ago the account was last logged into, etc.)

I sat on this list for a while. I shared it with some Neo buddies who also didn’t want to get caught up in trade reversals, and some non-Neopets-playing friends who thought the whole situation was insane. I hesitated reporting anything officially because it didn’t really prove anything and I didn’t want innocent people to get caught in the crossfire. I also didn’t want cheaters to target me for potentially getting them frozen. Plus, Neopets did a server migration in like 2017 after being bought by a new company and for some reason they kept no account-related records from before then, so any pets stolen before that point couldn’t really be proven to be stolen and I really don’t think the staff would just take one person’s word for what pets went where.

Then a pet got stolen off of an old friend’s account - someone who had only been inactive for a couple of years. And ended up on Ivy’s account. No new pet in its place to indicate it might have been traded.

My friend LOVED that pet and wouldn’t have traded it, much less given it away. Pissed, I decided to send the spreadsheet to the Neopets team anonymously. A few days later, Ivy and a couple other people (who I later learned were friends with her) had been frozen.

Fast-forward and I ended up telling people I thought I could trust about my spreadsheet, and apparently what I did is now a well-known fact in the cheating community. I know this because people keep bugging me about it across multiple websites.

And then today another drama board started and like the fool I am I engaged in the conversation. This is like the third time my name has been brought up on these kinds of topics so I finally just publicly admitted to what I did.

I sent in the spreadsheet in like... early March? And the hoes are still mad about it. At first it was annoying but now it’s just entertaining (because I’m NOT the only one who had receipts on Ivy and co, I can tell you that much. From what I gather it sounds like one of the people in that circle turned on the rest and reported them to the Neopets staff). I guess they just want an easy mark or something. Also I have no plans to post the spreadsheet anywhere so these guys should give it a rest lol

I suppose I’m throwing stones in a glass house given that I am still playing Neopets, got invested enough to make the spreadsheet and enjoy looking at the drama boards that pop up, but at the end of the day every single person involved is a clown in the same circus.

The only difference is I'm willing to admit that I am one. Honk honk, bitch.

#neopets #once again there's a bit More to this but I'm keeping it to myself.

44 notes · View notes

dragonthusiast · 2 years

Text

Break the Day: Proper NaNo WIP intro

I finally got around to writing a proper blurb for the first book in this series, and also it’s developed even further since my last one so I thought I’d compile a proper post about it. Still excited about this to dangerous levels.

I’ll update this post as things develop.

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+

Status: Writing book 2

Short Summary:

This series is set in a medieval-ish fantasy world, partly inspired by slavic language/culture, about magic users called the az-ari/the priori, particularly two of them called Fennrin and Ainreth, who can control shadows and light respectively. They fall in love while trying to navigate a world of politics, war, the ramifications of individuals being given too much power, and also their own complicated feelings because they’re idiots.

Proper Blurb:

Fennrin is a shadowforger, a type of az-ari who have mastery over shadows. But all it's ever brought him is misery. People are afraid of the power that he himself barely understands, seeing his shadows as omens of bad luck and death.

Forced to barely scrape by since his parents disowned him, Fennrin's life takes a turn when he is approached by Ainreth, a lightweaver and famous general, asking him to come with him to the royal court to be trained and help him stave off an assassin who's made an attempt on Ain's life, somehow able to counteract his powers.

Even though Fennrin is suspicious of Ainreth's flirting and his arrogant attitude, Fennrin decides to go with him because his life can't get much worse.

Thrust into a world of politics and power, Fennrin quickly learns just why shadowforgers are so infamous and how strong he could become, while, much to his chagrin, starting to fall for Ainreth. However, unwelcome feelings are only the start of his problems as the neighboring, tyrannical monarchy is preparing for war. And if Fennrin wants to survive, he will have to fight it.

Map and Geography:

There’s two countries in the story (though I’m sure I’ll add more to mention on the side later). Orinovo - the somewhat slavic country on the left, and Lys-Akkaria on the right. Lys-Akkaria used to be part of Orinovo, but freed itself over a century ago. Now that Orinovo has a new monarch, a new war has started to try to regain Lys-Akkaria back.

Orinovo is a monarchist dictatorship where az-ari are hated, while Lys-Akkaria celebrates them, and is ruled by 4 elected leaders: the Bulwark of the Royal Guard, who manages the army, the Patron of Treasury, who deals with taxes and money in general, the Arbiter of Law, who deals with law, unsurprisingly, and the High Herald, the guy who keeps an eye on the other 3 to make sure everything runs smoothly.

And here’s some flags for the two nations. Lys-Akkaria’s the first one because they’re cooler of course:

Magic System:

The az-ari can control various aspects of nature, but they’re all limited to their specific talent. What exactly they can do is still up for changing, but so far the types of az-ari are lightweaver (controls light, especially sunlight), shadowforger (controls shadows), sproutkeeper (can either control plants or mushrooms, there’s two types), flamewielder (controls fire), ironspinners (control iron, so far not officially added, may be deleted at any point :D), and so far unnamed ability to take the powers of others.

To be able to use their powers, the az-ari have to be able to move their fingers, which is why special finger clamps exist to restrain them if necessary.

The powers are inherited from ancestors, but it’s not super likely for someone to receive them, and the longer a family line goes without them the less likely it is for someone to have powers. Shadowforgers and lightweavers are incredibly rare because their powers are tied to only one family line each.

I would list characters here but I compiled a character introduction post here for anyone interested.

#writeblr #amwriting #creative writing #original writing #nanowrimo #wip intro #fantasy #my writing

15 notes · View notes

bitsandbobsofwriting · 2 years

Note

I really need to send my love for your writing more often. This last one you wrote was so nice and heartbreaking at moments and interesting to see how everyone kept walking on eggshells trying to handle the situation— cause how do you handle something like that? Just so much good emotion!!

With absolutely no expectation of you answering/writing more on it: Have you thought at all about how things would go down when Lancelot, Morgana, and Mordred come back? Would the rest of the gang try to keep it hushed cause they don’t want to betray Merlin’s trust? Would the four of them celebrate separately as the ones who have been holding this hope and belief for so long? Would Merlin break down even more (but in a good way) to get to see others like him get that same relief and burden taken off? How would the gang feel knowing the three already knew— sad Merlin was still so desperate even with those three to confide in, displaced anger cause they knew and still let Merlin get to that point, guilt, concern the other two magic users might be dealing with similar extreme thoughts? How do they feel coming back to all of this— do they ever find out what exactly Kilgharrah said? Sorry for the interrogation 😅 your stories always just leave my mind spinning until I’m up all night trying to fill in the details in a way that fits and is harmonious to your way of writing. Like I said: feel completely free to ignore this entire second paragraph!!

(Referencing This Fic)

It makes me so happy that you like my stufffffff!!!!

Also

Anon

I'm... uh... in love with you. Yeah.

I have no intention of writing a part 4 or anything, but I'm happy to expand on it here because honestly? I hadn't really given it much thought until I got this ask.

SO!!

I pictured this fic, mainly Part 3, taking place only a week or two at most before Yule; we know that Mordred and Lancelot aren't going to be home for a couple weeks at least, that's if they can travel in the harsh Winter weather, and Morgana isn't due back until the New Year, as she promised she would stay with her hosts for their Yule celebrations. All of which means they're not going to be home until the plans to legalise magic are, if not publicly known, rumoured within the castle, and certainly underway within the council. Which means one hell of a mind fuck when they get back, because as far as they're concerned, this is all completely out of the blue.

Merlin will probably tell them a watered down version of what's been going on, but he wouldn't tell them about the night in the woods. Whether it's occurred to him that that's how Arthur and the others know (as in, he figured out that they followed him and that's how they found out he had magic) or not, he doesn't really want to think about it, OR tell those three because he knows how protective and... not overbearing but... overbearing they can be when he's injured/in a bum mood.

All of them are thrilled, but Morgana and Lancelot are a little suspicious of Arthur's sudden turn around, and corner him one day to demand a truthful explanation. He tells them, reluctantly, what it was they all saw that night, and that he's not sure if Merlin knows (he doesn't think so), and doesn't want Merlin to know, because he's suffered enough. During the course of that conversation, Arthur figures out that the two of them (and Mordred, maybe) already knew, and is absolutely furious. But that just makes Lance and Morgana get furious themselves because how dare he?? After the life he's lead, the Kingdom he's built, his father's Kingdom, instead of his own, how dare he be angry that they didn't do more?? They couldn't do more. They'd spent years trying to persuade Merlin that there are better ways to do things, that he wasn't alone, that he could give up and prioritise himself anytime he liked and it would be the right thing to do. Cue another guilt fest for Arthur.

At this point, only those in the Gang know that Merlin has magic, no one else, and I feel like Morgana and Mordred, at Merlin's persuasion (because he's a paranoid little freak, and we love him) would keep their magic to themselves for now. The others figure out that they knew, because the moment they got home Merlin went from hiding in Arthur, Leon, and Gwen's shadows, to hiding in Morgana, and Lancelot's shadows. They don't mention it though, because they feel guilty enough as it is and they want Merlin to be comfortable. Merlin is doing... ok? He's certainly doing better at least, and isn't suicidal or anything anymore, but he's still pretty quiet and withdrawn and twitchy (again, paranoid little freak, whom we love).

Eventually, when the repeal becomes public knowledge, and is only days away from becoming enshrined in actual law, Morgana and Mordred tell the gang, and then probably the council, about their own magic. Cue ANOTHER guilt fest for everyone, all (you're totally right) panicking about whether the two of them felt the same way Merlin did. That'll be when they all have a frank discussion about the details of the destiny, and exactly what Merlin has had to do to work towards it. Because Merlin being Merlin had kept most of that to himself in the original discussions with the gang, so Morgana puts her foot down and tells them everything. With the added caveat that "This is only the shit I know about, Merlin likes his secrets".

ANYWAY there would be lots of angst and guilt and protectiveness. But like, the moment the legalisation goes through, and there's a huge celebration, and Merlin, Mordred, and Morgana finally show off their magic in ways that they've refused to up until now... man. That moment. It's full of so much joy and laughter and pride and comradery, almost enough to make up for all the angst.

Plus, Merlin and Arthur are navigating a very awkward, but very much wanted change in their relationship. Though, with everything going on, they wouldn't take any serious steps until after the repeal, and they'd probably still wait a little more even then; they'd have so many other things to focus on, Merlin's mental recovery among other things, they'd want to actually have the time and energy to focus on doing things right.

Hope this is the sort of thing you were after anon!!! I love you!!!!!

#bbc merlin #merthur #merlin #good mordred #good morgana #arthur pendragon #merthur fluff #39 part 4 #sorta #39 #magic reveal #hurt merlin #send requests #send asks #asks #requests

30 notes · View notes

blacksheep28 · 2 years

Text

Alex and Linda noticed Ydris. They're really suspicious of him. I guess they haven't had a lot of experience with powerful magic users outside the druids and Dark Core, so Ydris would look suspicious to them. It was nice to have a reason to visit Ydris again, even if I don't think he's anything to be wary of. I headed to the spot where he'd decided to set up his circus and start building it up.

Ydris was pleased to see me and invited me to look around at the wonderous creatures he had in his circus. Only his cages looked empty to me. Ydris was surprised I didn't see anything, and noted it was likely a form of Sight. I guess he was using illusions to create his wonderous creatures. It worked on the average citizen, but not on me. My connection with Mythcare in action? Or part of what drew Mythcare to bond with me in the first place.

Ydris asked if I'd find some five leaf clovers. I'd never heard of such a thing before, and he said it took special sight to see them, and they could only be gifted, not taken. I found some and picked them. Ydris was very pleased, and asked if I'd give them to an acquaintance of his, a witch named Pi.

It was a simple enough request to fulfill, and I trust Ydris. Which may not have been the wisest choice considering what the witch was like. I'm pretty sure I just gave something powerful to someone wicked. I don't know why Ydris would ask me to do that, or what connection he had to Pi. Alex and Linda weren't pleased to hear it either. They've fought with Pi before, and she tried to drown them in her swamp. If Ydris hadn't realized I had a form of Sight, I wonder what would have been different.

#star stable #star stable online #sso #drabble #ydris #soul riders #jorvik #pi #witch #magic

7 notes · View notes

alltheshadesofgray · 2 years

Text

Talk Twenty-One

Masterlist

User Thirty-One @UserThirtyOne

i can't see Batman or Lady Noire or any of the heroes that joined the rooftop across from mine. it's like they disapeared

Manon Chamack @MChamack ✓ replying to @UserThirtyOne

Yes, that is called magic

Chris Lahiffe @CLahiffe replying to @MChamack

ooh, epic showdown i bet

User Thirty-Two @UserThirtyTwo replying to @CLahiffe

anyone questioning why none of the akuma class is online?

August Beaufort @AugustBeau replying to @UserThirtyTwo

Manon Chamack @MChamack ✓ replying to @AugustBeau

and you reprimand me!

August Beaufort @AugustBeau replying to @MChamack

only because you deserve it :)

the quantic kids ella, etta, chris, august, manon (owner)

chris:

is anybody else concerned?

august:

yes, it's not just you

ella:

alya hasn't posted anything, or talked to us yet

etta:

i still don't understand how we named ourselves the quantic kids

august:

Félix and his school friends gave it to us years ago and manon loves it, so she reign hell on us if we change it

chris:

speaking of, is manon still on twitter?

she is a menace. why is she allowed twitter?

manon:

i am not a menace, chris!

and to answer ur question, don't be concerned

mari has a plan

august:

let's hope she does

IT WAS DEAD SILENT, because beneath the magical armor of Lady Noire stood Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She stood across Batman, in a emerald shield Carapace had created, with watery eyes and fear in her stance.

"This isn't one of my hallucinations, is it?" Tim, as Red Robin, whispered to Robin from the vigilantes' place on the rooftop.

"Tt, that is real," Damian, Robin, said, crossing his arms.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say 'what the fuck'," Dick, Nightwing, said, his mouth gaping in surprise.

"What is even more surprising is that Red Hood was right," Damian said dryly, giving a suspicious glance at the anti-hero. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"What?" Bruce, as Batman, said down below, backing away in uncertainty. "How? When? Is this real?"

The green dome no longer surrounded them.

"Very much so, Batman," Marinette said. "I understand this is a lot. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, (i kinda imagine marinette saying it like bruce did in jl war ) and for twenty-one years, I was known as Ladybug. After that, I moved to Gotham, and fell in love with a guy. You know the story."

Bruce Wayne never considered himself an expert in love. Hell, practically all of his relationships were with villains or anti-heroes. But, oh how he had gotten it so wrong. Everything he thought he knew about the Paris problem was completely wrong. The answer had been right in front of him the whole time.

"I'm s-sorry, I don't think I can do this," he stammered, backing away even more.

Marinette gave him a sad smile and nodded. "When you're ready, we should talk." He couldn't face her, he could barely breath. Sure, he'd had his suspicions, but his mind was running to fastly to make sense of any of it. He used a smokebomb, though unnecesary, once the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the Bats in the vacinity.

Mister Bug, followed by the Team, leapt down, rushing over to her. "It didn't work, Viperion," Marinette said, refering to the nod he'd given to her earlier. He stayed silent. Was this the plan Bunnyx had in mind? To leave her heartbroken? Hadn't she endured enough?

"Come on, Mari, let's go home."

~~~~

"Why did you bring us here, Constantine?" Superman, Clark Kent, asked angrily. "Bruce needs us!"

"Sorry mate, but there are more powerful forces at play. Time itself. We wouldn't want the timeline to go astray," Constantine said, smirking. "You couldn't be there. It is a fundamental law of time."

"Zero-Three, Wonder Woman, Zero-Six, Aquaman," the computer announced. With all the craziness at the UN and the escape, they hadn't had time to remove them from the designation system.

"You called us?" Wonder Woman asked, her tone cutting the tension like a knife. Though they were a welcome presense in the time of anxiety, they weren't fully forgiven by all members. "What happened?"

"We don't need you anymore," Superman said, shaking his head. "Bruce is handling the Miraculous Team in Gotham. Constantine says we shouldn't interfere or it will do something with the timeline."

A blue portal opened, and out stepped Klarion. He laughed wickedly, as the Justice League were immediately on guard. "No need to be all testy," Klarion said, frowning. He turned to Constantine. "I come bearing gifts from the lovely lady Bunnyx." He snapped, and a paper appeared in Constantine's hand. "Toodaloo!"

Klarion snapped his fingers and dissapeared in a flash of red.

Constantine opened the paper, and read what it said. In two days time, you and Zatanna should talk to Batman. "Well, a freelancer's job is never done," Constantine said, holding out his palm to create a star portal. "I need to go. Whatever you do, do not go to Gotham. It will make sense in due time."

BRUCE WAYNE DIDN'T KNOW what to make of the situation. His own girlfriend was a hero. Why would she betray them without a reason. There was no way Ladybug would betray her team for the very villain they fought. And if Ladybug cleared Félix and Adrien, than he was really at square zero for his investigation.

Maybe he was okay with being nowhere in the investigation.

But Marinette being Ladybug/Lady Noire? He didn't know what to think. He was confused. Bruce Wayne was not a man who was good at figuring out his feelings. And this situation was certainly not helping.

Now that he reflected, Marinette had every right to keep her identity a secret. But the illogical part of him, the part where he needed to know everything, screamed 'why hadn't Marinette told him?'

Did Bruce really want answers? For the first time in Bruce Wayne's life, he didn't know what he wanted.

~~~~

"What are your opinions about what happened the other day?" Dick asked the gathered Bats who'd been at the reveal. Among them were Jason, Tim, Damian, Stephanie, Babs, Cass, and Duke.

"Jason already knew about her, somehow," Damian grumbled, arms crossed.

"That was a pretty badass way to do an identity reveal," Steph commented.

Cass nodded in agreement. I believe Bruce needs to get his head out of his ass, Cass signed to the group gathered in the Batcave. Marinette may have a questionable bloodline, but so do half of us, and she's a hero. Ladybug.

"I don't even know why you guys were trying to prove Marinette was a villain," Jason said. "As I told you, no villain would have a panic attack over a butterfly. Nathalie Sancoer is in prison. Gabriel Agreste is dead. Marinette was Ladybug. Chat Noir was ____" Jason attempted to say his name, but green bubbles floated out of his mouth.

"Chat Noir didn't reveal his identity," Tim said drowsily, looking up from his computer. "How do you know his identity?"

Damian scowled. "Todd's been keeping secrets from us. Why is this one any different," Damian said, glaring at Jason.

"Magic must protect Chat Noir's identity, just like it did Marinette," Babs reasoned. "But if magic protects their identity, it doesn't tell us how you were able to figure it out."

"Remember how Marinette was able to sense the Lazarus Pits? And Kanté mentioned that the Pits were made by the Miraculous. He also mentioned that the League were the Miraculous Team's enemy, but that's not relevant," Jason said. "So my theory, is because the Pits were made by the Miraculous, and Marinette was able to sense the Lazarus 'energy'. It works both ways, I was submerged in the Lazarus Pits, thus the magic that protects the Miraculous Users don't effect me and I could figure out all their identities if I wanted to."

"That's actually quite thought out, Todd," Damian admitted begrudgingly.

"If that theory is correct, then what about any other person who's used the Lazarus Pits? That means plenty of villains have the potential to figure out the identities of some of the most powerful heroes," Babs pointed out. "Namely, Ra's."

"Ra's did kidnap Marinette," Duke added.

If Ra's knew Marinette was Ladybug or the Guardian, Marinette would be in a lot more danger, and she would have already gotten kidnapped again. Thus, Ra's knows nothing of Marinette's identity. Only that she's the daughter of the Morrigan, Cass signed.

"We should be careful nonetheless," Dick said.

"What do you think Bruce will do?" Duke asked.

"That's a good question," Babs said. "One that we couldn't tell you. God knows what Bruce will do. If you couldn't tell, Bruce does not have the best track record with dating anyone in the same lifestyle we are in."

"You can say that again," Jason snorted.

JOHN CONSTANTINE MADE A habit of purposely not going into Gotham, much less Wayne Manor, if he could avoid it. Of course, he'd been in Gotham before, but the place gave nothing but dark energy, and Wayne Manor was drowning in ghosts. Actually, Thomas and Martha Wayne were quite nice and honest, but Bruce Wayne's ancestor's were questionable. Rich and elite were always questionable.

As per Bunnyx's instructions, though Zatanna was thourougly against listening to the Lord of Chaos, though Klarion seemed quite taken with helping Bunnyx. Constantine definately understood Zatanna's hesitation.

"Heya, Bats," Constantine said, grinning devishly. Sometimes, he loved breaking Bruce Wayne's no magic rule. It pissed the guy off to no end, but right now, Bruce didn't seem to care. The guy did not know how to face his emotions. Constantine felt for him.

"Batsy," Constantine said, sing-songingly.

"Go away," Bruce muttered. It was probably the most unrefined speech that he'd heard Bruce Wayne use. Which was concerning for the normally put together vigilante.

"Brucie, I can't let you drown in your sorrows. Honestly, you need to get your head out of your ass," Constantine said.

"How was I so blind as to not realize my own girlfriend was a superhero?" Bruce asked.

"Magic, dumbass. There's this lovely thing called magic," Constantine deadpanned, feeling like Bruce had been asking himself that plenty of times. "If just anybody was able to figure out her identity then there would be a lot more at stake than you having a mid-life crisis about your girlfriend being a hero."

Bruce glared at that. "Why are you here Constantine?" Bruce inquired.

"To exorcise the demons at Wayne Manor," Constantine said dryly.

Bruce's eyes narrowed.

"You do have a ghost infestation, Brucie, but that's not why I'm here," Constantine said, shrugging. "Look, Bruce, I respect you, and your hero career. But you really do need to get your shit together and talk to Marinette. If you let her go, you risk loosing her forever."

~~~~

Bruce took a deep breath. Constantine had done a locator spell, and forcefully teleported him to the area where Marinette was, though Bruce knew he was probably going to be thanking the mage one day. Thankfully, Constantine had some heart, and didn't shove him face to face with Marinette.

This was the Le Grand Paris Hotel, a famous Hotel known for housing celebrities, he realized. He quickly had deduced that Marinette would be at Chloé Bourgeois' room, if Constantine had correcly used his locator spell. So he made the long trudge up, heart thumping loudly.

He knocked on the door, and the door widened a fraction, Bruce facing Kagami Tsurgi, otherwise known as Ryuko. Next to the fencer was Chloé Bourgeois, the hotel heiress herself. "You know if Mari wasn't so smitten with you, you'd be long gone. And by gone I mean-"

"Chloé, we've talked about your murderous tendencies," a voice called out, belonging to a male.

"Shut up, Xavier," Chloé said, still glaring at him.

"Murder is not the answer," the male, who Bruce assumed to be 'Xavier', said. "Nor is it the question."

Chloé rolled her eyes, and widened the door. "You're lucky Xavier doesn't support murder."

"I do support it, when it comes to an idiot dating Mari, but not when Mari loves the idiot," Xavier called out. Love? Marinette loved him? The words were ringing through his head.

Kagami's eyes were narrowed into slits, so narrow that Bruce wasn't even sure that she could see out her eyes. "Men are stupid," Kagami said, following Chloé.

"Says the woman who's dating the most oblivious idiot ever," Chloé fired back, laughing. "Come on lover boy," she said to Bruce. Bruce entered the suite, looking around. A whole crowd of people were scattered, and Bruce had never felt so unwelcome in his life.

"Adrien Agreste!" the familiar voice of Marinette shouted through another door. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU LET THE KWAMIS IN THE KITCHEN?!" The short, but very fierce, woman stormed through, green sparks flying. Bruce assumed that it was some sort of magical energy from the Miraculous.

A black thing flew behind her, laughing it's head off. Luka Couffaine chuckled from the corner, strumming a guitar.

"Mari, your boytoy has finally decided to grace us with his presense," Chloé said flatly, flopping on the couch, and throwing her legs over a blonde man.

"This is not over, Adrien," Marinette said, glaring at the ex-model. She turned to face Bruce, an unreadable expression crossing her face.

"Hi, Marinette," Bruce said, trying not to sound sheepish. He was definately not in his element.

~~~~

Marinette stared at Bruce for a solid minute, the only noise in the room was Luka's guitar. Adrien seemed ready to transform, and figure out a way to destroy Bruce with the Creation Miraculous. Chloé was glaring at the billionaire, giving Marinette a look that implied that she should dump him.

"Hello, Bruce," Marinette said, softer than she intended. "I assume you're here for answers?"

"I would be lying if I said I didn't have questions," Bruce admitted. "But I know I fucked up. I don't deserve answers. Only what you want to tell me, if you even want to talk to me."

Marinette had been considering what she would say, if Bruce came to her. But preparing herself for her whole speech did not prepare her for this moment. "My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I was Ladybug. I now wear the Miraculous of the Black Cat. And I'm in love with Bruce Wayne."

She'd tell him her story eventually. It was enough for her, it was up to him to decide if it was good enough for him.

fuck up and we kill you (aka our favorite shovel talk group chat)

félix, kagami, chloé, adrien, alya, and bruce

chloé:

i had deleted this chat thinking i wouldn't need it anymore

because mari should have dumped ur sorry ass

félix:

why did nobody try to talk sense into her

i would have if i was there

but NOBODY though to talk her out of it?

kagami:

we do realize this is the chat with the aforemented person

alya:

do we care?

no we dont

chloé:

why does mari have such a big heart?

cause now we have to deal with the ass who broke her heart

adrien:

you do realize if mari didn't have a big heart, none of you guys would currently be friends with her

bruce is typing...

chloé:

don't say your defending him?!

adrien:

in no way

i will personally contact chat noir

the only reason bruce wayne is not dust is because of mari

he should be thanking his lucky stars

bruce in irl:

#maribat #cross posted on ao3 #marinette dupain cheng #bruce wayne #the batkids #bruce is paranoid #dick grayson #tim drake #jason todd #damian wayne #mlb characters #dc characters #social media au

3 notes · View notes

myths-of-fantasy · 2 years

Text

Snippet 5 - A Lesson Learned Pt. 3

When Crowpaw woke up, he felt like he’d been kicked in the throat by jack hare. His mouth was dry and his shoulder ached. It took him a moment to remember the events of the day before but as soon as he did, he winced and closed his eyes again.

Stupid, he thinks, bitterly. He remembers mocking Squirrelpaw, asking what Kite could possibly be protecting them from. Now he knew. Now he understood. She was keeping them away from these kinds of dangers deliberately She was just trying to protect them, their parents could only scold and punish them if they were alive after all. And he repaid her determined protection by sneaking off and getting attacked.

Now here he was with a blazing shoulder and a pounding pain in his head, ready to slow down the group all because he was too arrogant to believe that Kite was trying to help.

“Here.”

He opened his eyes again, Kite dropped a large mouse in front of him and Squirrelpaw who’d settled beside him at some point. She was wearing her charm again do he figured that Taati had been unsummoned. He was thankful for that, the sear-spirit creeped him out. That was the real problem. As proud as Crowpaw claimed himself to be about his heritage, even though he was a theurgist, Crowpaw was frightened of charmers and their magics. He understood - intellectually - that Kite was the same as him, just older and so her magic had never been sealed.

He stretched out his head and started nibbling on the mouse, deciding to save his conflicted emotions for another day. Besides, he couldn’t let Squirrelpaw eat their entire mouse on her own. Everyone else was already awake and eating the same large mice that he was. Crowpaw was honestly a little suspicious that what she’d caught them were actually mice, considering they were about the size of a young rabbit.

“Where’d you get these?” asked Squirrelpaw, licking the blood from her lips. “These are huge.”

“It’s breeding season for dire mice,” said Kite, flicking her tail back in the direction towards the mad cats. “They come out around dawn and shriek their heads off to any mouse in the area - wasn’t hard to catch a few.”

She set her bag to the side and rifled through it, pulling out a large pawful of small yellow flowers and set them in front of Crowpaw.

“Eat these to lessen the pain in your shoulder,” she instructed. “Then eat the mouse to wash the taste from your mouth.”

Crowpaw blinked at the suggestion.

Smart.

He swallowed the flowers, screwing up his face as he did so and then dug back into the mouse. Squirrelpaw took on a sympathetic expression and pushed the mouse closer to him, instead beginning to properly clean herself.

“Where are we headed next?” Feathertail asked.

Kite flicked her tail, “There’s a group of cats with a Sanctuary of their own - the Sanctuary of Blood. I intend for us to stop there and take a few days for all of us to sleep properly and restock on herbs and materials then we will continue to the White Peaks.”

“The mountains?” Stormfur said, taken aback. “Aren’t there wolves in the mountains?”

“Some yes,” said Kite, dismissively. “I speak a dog though so we’ll be fine. Wolves want nothing to do with cats unless we’re dumb enough to attack them. And I’m sure once you see how large they are, there will be no problems there.”

“Will Squirrelpaw learn how to charm fire?” Crowpaw asked finally.

Kite’s tail swished, a slight frown crossing her face.

“Yes I think,” said Kite looking at Squirrelpaw. “Were you sealed?”

“... no,” Squirrelpaw admitted to shocked gasps from every one but Crowpaw and Kite. “Dad told me and Leafpool to keep it to ourselves and to never use our power.”

“And that stopped you?” Stormfur asked skeptically.

Squirrelpaw flicked her ear, “That and seeing Blackpaw use his power and die in front of us.”

Stormfur’s ears flattened, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah well, that was wake-up call enough,” said Squirrelpaw with a shrug. “Dad said that the only reason he can charm fire within the barrier is because he was invited in as a magic user and therefore, he’s considered a permitted creature.”

“And that’s why he has that marking on his chest,” explained Kite. “If he ever steps outside the borders - like I did - you’ll have to be reinvented in. And if you stumble across before being reinvited, you’ll be blocked or killed.”

“Isn’t there a permanent invitation?” Feathertail asked. “There can’t possibly only be a temporary version.”

Kite smiled, “There is. But then you can’t leave the Sanctuary until the link is broken and it comes with a series of responsibilities.”

It was Shrewpaw that caught on first, a loud gasp that drew everyone’s attention.

“You mean… becoming an Overseer?” he said and Crowpaw’s head snapped back to Kite who was sitting as if she hadn’t just revealed life shattering information.

“Yes,” said Kite with a smirk. “Overseers are territory bound theurgist but they also can’t use their powers as freely as a temporary permitted charmer. They are granted temporary powers by the secret ritual that makes them an Overseer but they’re bound to the whims of the power.”

“What does that mean?” Feathertail asked curiously.

“The Founders of your Sanctuary preserved their powers somewhere in the Starshards,” Kite explained. “When a new Overseer is chosen, the magic connects to them and they go through some kind of test. If they pass they must swear an oath to use the power in the ways that the founder deemed acceptable and by accepting this, you are also agreeing to punishment if you use it incorrectly. The problem is, when an Overseer dies, they are added to the chorus of voices within the power and so now, they can influence the will of magic.”

“... having magic kind of… sucks,” Squirrelpaw said lamely.

“Which is why Sanctuary theurgists are sealed,” Kite chuckled. She looked around at everyone sitting up and bright-eyed. “Is everyone properly ready to move on now?”

Crowpaw turned and sniffed his shoulder - the pain was mostly faded so he turned back to Kite and nodded, getting to his paws.

“Then let’s get a move on - the Blood Sanctuary is far away,” said Kite.

---

They made some decent progress that day. Coming across another containment sector, Crowpaw was relieved to find that they could go around this one and that it was smaller. He kept pace with Kite (who he’s certain had slowed their pace that day) and didn’t dare wander off. He paid attention when she pointed out certain herbs and felt a wave of guilt and embarrassment when he realized that she’d been trying to teach them the whole time.

Now that he wasn’t deliberately ignoring her or dismissing her, Kite was starting to grow on him. She was harsh sometimes but apologized if she noticed any hurt feelings and does her best to avoid making a similar mistake - she’s cheeky and wise though there’s an undertone of sadness to all of her stories and tips.

He wondered what she thought of him - a cat who had to risk being eaten alive before he was willing to give her a chance.

I’m no better than the cats who harassed me about being a theurgist.

The thought rattled through his head long after they finally settled down to build a camp. He was snapped out of his self-loathing by Feathertail prodding him gently in his flank.

“Hey,” she said with a gentle smile. “Do you want to rest by the fire pit or try to hunt.”

Crowpaw stretched out his leg, flexing the muscle and winced when pain rippled through his muscles.

“I-I’ll stay here,” Crowpaw said, and the words left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was the smart decision - he shouldn’t be running around and hunting while his shoulder felt like it was on fire but he hadn’t been injured in a while. Staying put and healing up seemed like the most boring thing he could’ve done.

“Okay,” said Feathertail not pressing him. Maybe she could tell that if she asked again, he’d change his mind.

He watched her pad off and wondered how she got her full name.

---

Crowpaw reluctantly swallowed his mouse.

Three days since he’d gotten his wound and it felt like it was getting worse instead of better. Kite changed his wrapping every night, gave him new herbs every night but he was getting concerned. The skin was a proper pink and the muscle - while not growing back - was being recovered by skin slowly as his fur regrew from where it was shaved. Despite this, it still twanged when he walked and his mouth felt drier and drier every time he woke up.

No matter how much water he drank, it never seemed to be enough but he kept drinking anyway.

His appetite was decreasing too but Crowpaw put that down to the fact that he couldn’t keep anything down. Anything he ate came right up again and he’d be throwing up a mass mouth of half digested mice or birds. After doing that for a few days straight, no one would be in a mood to eat.

Kite kept forcing him to eat some absolutely disgusting herbs but they were the only thing he didn’t wake up coughing on so he swallowed them with minimal complaint.

---

Crowpaw huffed, pushing away the mouse he was offered by Squirrelpaw.

“Come on Crow, you have to eat something,” she urged.

“Why? I’ll just throw it all up again,” Crowpaw grumbled, licking his lips.

“Look, you’re thirsty - eat the mouse,” Squirrelpaw insisted.

Crowpaw sighed and forced the mouse down to make her happy.

He pretended not to see her worried expression when he woke them all up in the middle of the night, coughing and gagging and finally vomiting up the mouse. He laid back down, a sickening sensation in his stomach and he wondered if he would ever start to get better.

---

Crowpaw lapped at the water before him, drinking as much as he could. It was rare that they came across proper bodies of water to drink from instead of just surviving off of the water in their prey. The dryness of his mouth was finally starting to die down but only so long as the water passed down his throat.

“Looks like we’ll be sticking around here for a while,” Kite remarked. “You won’t be able to go far drinking that much water.”

Crowpaw barely made out the tone of concern in her voice and dismissed it. Water had never tasted so good.

---

Kite carried over a mouthful of herbs and a small mouse. It was smaller than even the mice back in the Sanctuary. Crowpaw didn’t give the mouse a second glance, he didn’t know why Kite kept trying when he was just going to keep throwing it up.

Crowpaw choked down the herbs and Kite watched him with a steadily dimming twinkle in her eye.

---

Crowpaw wondered when just looking at the others eating normal prey had started to make him nauseous. He shook his head, resigned. Because of his stupidity, he might spend the rest of his life eating disgusting herbs.

He set to work, grooming his filthy pelt. He hadn’t been feeling the urge to keep himself tidy lately. What was the point when he kept throwing up on his own pelt? He tried to keep his eyes away from Feathertail and her mouth as she tore into a rabbit that she’d managed to find. Would Crowpaw ever taste rabbit again? Or would be forever relegated to watching others eat his favorite food?

He shook his head and returned to grooming as best as he could.

It was better not to wonder about that.

---

The herbs weren’t working anymore - or maybe they were and now he just wanted real food?

“Our kind isn’t meant to subsist on herbs,” Kite had muttered watching him eat. “I don’t know how much more these have to offer you.”

---

Crowpaw averted his eyes from Squirrelpaw this time - he couldn’t afford to throw up the meager amounts he’d swallowed today.

---

Crowpaw’s mouth felt properly hydrated for the first time in days and he even mustered a purr when Feathertail took her turn to curl up beside him.

---

His mind is getting hazy now - what was wrong with him?

Kite instructed him to lay down and said they’d stay in the same camp for a few days. Crowpaw wondered why her claws were unsheathed and why she looked do defeated. He didn’t dwell on this though, he was exhausted.

His eyes slipped shut.

---

I’m sorry Feathertail.

---

“Crowpaw stop it!” Feathertail shrieked and pressed back desperately, keeping his mouth from her face.

Her mind whirled and she should be able to throw him off - she would’ve been able to at the beginning of their journey but he’d grown fast. His limbs were long and powerful despite his messy, emaciated look. She pushed his chin up, keeping her hind legs kicking at his stomach and trying not to think about his foggy eyes.

He released a nonsensible shout, his mouth that he always claimed was dry dripped drool on her face while his paws stretched, clawing at her throat.

She finally dislodged him and ran, pelting across the clearing and out of the barrier. His blood was in the stakes and they wouldn’t protect her from him. He snapped at her tail, laughing manically and she whirled around, clawing him across the face. He hardly reacted, shaking his head and springing on her back, sinking his teeth into her scruff. Feathertail instantly dropped, landing on her back and slamming into the earth.

Crowpaw gasped and Feathertail ran back to the camp - if she went too far, the others wouldn’t be able to find her and Crowpaw would keep chasing her. She would get tired eventually she couldn’t afford to waste too much energy leaving a safe zone.

Crowpaw scrambled after her and they were locked in a clawing, screeching fit once more. Glass, foggy eyes showed no sign of recognition, only hunger and he kept snapping at her neck.

Just as Feathertail was beginning to accept that she’d have to handle this herself, Crowpaw was yanked off of her. She rolled, panting and watched Kite swing him upward by the scruff like she was going to throw him. Instead, she yanked down sharply and Crowpaw’s body didn’t follow fast enough.

Feathertail emptied her stomach at the snapping sound that rang through her ears.

---

Squirrelpaw stared blankly as Kite slung Crowpaw’s broken body across her back.

“ …there’s a burial place for Tainted Ones not far from here,” she said.

None of them protested and Squirrelpaw forced her paws to move. They hadn’t taken this trip seriously in the beginning, had thought it would be easy and when the land was barren, thought their biggest worries would be a lack of things to do while traveling.

There’s no point in punishing you, Kite had said when she led them away from the Tainted Ones. I’m here to keep you alive - The Farlands teaches its own lessons.

Squirrelpaw bit back a despairing cry as Shrewpaw fell into step beside her, pointedly not looking at Crowpaw’s limp corpse.

If this was the Farlands teaching them something, she preferred Kite’s lessons.

“I’m sorry Crow,” whispered Squirrelpaw. “May you walk the skies in peace.”

2 notes · View notes

djinmer4 · 2 years

Text

Genshin Impact/Old Kingdom Crossover

Lumine takes Sabriel’s role, entering the Teyvat to find her brother, who’s gone missing there, with Paimon as Mogget, being her guide.

The Archons are the Shiners, with 5 of them have gone into creating the Charter and are (mostly) no longer present in the world.

Venti’s the Disreputable Dog. Like Kibeth, Barbatos gave up most of his power to the Charter but retained enough of his power and self to have an active avatar wandering around observing the world and acting as maintenance/ad-hoc support when something needs to be fixed. Barbatos’s bell takes the place of Ranna, small and sweet-sounding that puts everyone to sleep.

The Tsaritsa is a combination of Orannis and Kerrigor. She’s the overall arching villain and she’s the one who wants to destroy everything but never shows up on-screen, instead sending out her Harbingers to interfere with Lumine. In replacing Free Magic, Cryo essentially acts as the magic of Nihilism, it works by increasing entropy, taking advantage of voids and lacunae, draining and warping Charter magic, destroying magical constructs, etc. Delusions are devices created to allow Cryo users to forms of magic other than their natural ones (ie. negating La Signora’s Pyro so that she’s no longer burning, allowing Childe to use Electro when his natural magic is Hydro). There are no natural Cryo users, instead, a Cryo mage is someone who is using Cryo on top of whatever natural powers they have. (That would make all the Genshin Cryo users just normal people with only the most basic Charter marks and no magic . . . or else really suspicious individuals. Hello Kaeya!)

Morax is a combination of Yrael and Astarael, with a bit of Orannis thrown in. He’s the most powerful of the Archons and was neutral in the conflict between Tsaritsa and the other Archons. Unlike Yrael, this wasn’t a case of cowardice, rather Barbatos put him to sleep at the beginning of the conflict. Neither side really trusted that he’d be their ally so the Five pre-emptively took him out and no one tried to awaken him afterward. As such, while there are creatures and Adepti (Azhdaha, possibly Moon Carver, possibly Mountain Shaper) that use Geo, no humans use it. (Sorry Noelle and Ningguang. Albedo’s an artificial creation, maybe he could use Geo?) Because Geo is neither part of the Charter nor Nihilistic, it acts as a grounding force. Prisons for mages are either buried underground or are stone rooms with no windows. Magical researchers like Mona need to live in wooden houses, and have lots of windows, or maybe running water going through their studies. Just casting when standing on bare stone dampens power and the Standing Stones, instead of being Charter wellsprings, instead act as neutral ground (maybe for things like legal judgment or making contracts) because no one can use magic surrounded by them.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Into the cave!” Venti shouted, and Lumine swerved to the left, keeping hold of Paimon to prevent her from flying off. She heard Childe curse and speed up behind her but managed to get to the cave. Venti sped past, grabbing her hand and dragging her deeper in. They went past three or four splits before he stopped, holding his hand up to keep her quiet. After a few moments, he lowered his hand and the tension bled out of his shoulders. “Okay, we’re far enough in that he won’t be able to track us.”

“So we’re safe-” Venti reached up and covered Paimon’s mouth.

“Shh! We’re safer here, but that doesn’t mean that we’re safe. Keep your voice down when you ask your questions.” He waited until they both nodded before letting go.

“Are you sure the Harbringer won’t be able to follow us?” asked Lumine.

“I’m sure. Earth and Geo energy can act as a ground and insulator against other forms of magic.”

“He’s not going to have to chase us at all if he can just sit at the entrance with his mooks and wait for us to come out.”

“Hey, give me some credit! I know what I’m doing, I wouldn’t steer you to a dead end. The only problem is that we’ve got to be real quiet as we’re traveling underground. A lot of Geo creatures are blind but in exchange, they’ve got really good hearing. And none of them like anything associated with the Charter.”

They slipped through several caverns and tunnels and Venti made good on his promise to guide them. Often they had to slip into side passages or hide behind pillars when other creatures appeared. It made sense when they skirted around the giant, toad-like dragon or the strange, amber-growing bird. But when spent an entire hour hiding from what looked like a Geo version of an Anemo slime, Lumine had had enough. “This makes no sense. You have an Anemo Vision and I have the power of Electro and Dendro on top of that. Why are we hiding from a slime?”

Venti spent a few moments listening until he was certain they were alone. “Remember what I said about Geo being a ground for other magic? It means a lot magic won’t work on creatures of Geo at all. It’s even worse than trying to fight Cryo with magic. The best I could do is cut off the slime’s air and it’s not like it needs to breathe at all.”

“I have a sword. And I’m very good with it. In fact, you’ve seen that I’m very good with it since I saved you from the Fatui at that bar. Why can’t I just go out and chop it to bits?”

He winced. “Yeah, that’s the second thing. I might have let you try it if we were on the surface, but here in the underground, all the other Geo creatures would feel the slime’s death. They’d converge on this location to find out what had trespassed their domain. And I think you’d prefer not to fight a couple of dragons by yourself?”

She copied his reaction. “Yeah, okay, that would be difficult. We’ll do it your way then.” As they continued, another question occurred to her. “Hey, just out of curiosity, why is Geo like that? I’ve been gaining mastery in the other elements and I kind of get how Cryo works, but Geo seems to just sit there, kind of like a hopelessly moribund dead fish, not reacting with anything else.”

Venti kept quiet for a while which surprised Lumine. He had never been shy about admitting a lack of knowledge before so his silence was quite suspicious. When he finally spoke, his voice was even softer than before. “It’s because, during the Archon war, the greatest Archon remained neutral and didn’t participate at all. Lord Barbatos tricked him into falling into a deep sleep and he’s stayed that way ever since. Since Geo isn’t part of the Charter, the usual elements can’t affect it. But since he didn’t side with the Tsaritsa, her Delusions and Cryo can’t warp it either.”

“Oh, I see.” She really didn’t; there had to be more to it to make Venti sound so sad, but she didn’t want to pry into a subject that made him so uncomfortable either. So they traveled deeper into the earth in silence.

At some point (Lumine had long lost track of the time by then) they reached a split that caused Venti to hesitate. “Are you finally admitting that you’re lost, Tone-Deaf Bard?” Paimon spits the question out between gritted teeth.

“I’m not lost,” he shot back. “I’m just trying to decide which way to go. That route-” he pointed to the lower passage. “-will take two or three days before we can reach the surface again. The chance of the Harbringer finding the exit is low but on the other hand, we’ll almost certainly run into something that we can’t avoid and get mobbed. The other one-” He pointed at the passage that sloped upwards. “-it’s faster, only a few hours at most and I can guarantee that the Fatui won’t be at the exit. But there’s a cavern with a large Geo creature sleeping in it so we’ll have to be dead silent when passing through. If it wakes up, we won’t survive that fight.”

Lumine nodded. “We can be quiet. Let’s take the upper route.”

When they got to the cavern mentioned, Lumine nearly broke her word. The dragon was huge, even bigger than the toad-like one they had seen earlier. It was long and serpentine and the claws were at least as big as her and Venti. She could see why he had been hesitant to pass this way, even if they could go through without waking it up.

Except they didn’t manage that. They were about three-quarters of the way through the cavern when Paimon bumped into a stalactite, causing it to fall and shatter on the floor. Across the floor, two glowing gold eyes opened. “Barbatos!” the dragon’s voice shook the very earth itself.

“Run!” shouted Venti. They raced for the exit but once again Paimon screwed things up for them. She flew into another stalactite and this time she fell to the ground, too dazed to fly. Venti swerved backward, picked her up, and threw her at Lumine. “Keep going! The end of the passage is too small for him!”

Then red-tipped claws reached out to grab the bard and that’s the last Lumine saw of her friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, I have no idea how the conflict would be resolved but I imagine there’d be a comedic epilogue where Morax decides to take a human form and see what the other Archons have been doing while he was asleep. Except, of course, no humans actually use Geo power so he sticks out like a sore thumb.

Venti- “You’re totally ruining my cover.”

#genshin impact #old kingdom #crossover

0 notes