#anyways spot's eyes are so bright!!! idk if it's the spotlight or his expression or what but theyre so vivid i love them. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tartglias · 3 years

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undercover

characters: fatui harbinger ! reader x scaramouche + childe + signora (separate)

prompt: you had been away on an undercover mission for a while, but they find you at an unusual place

note: i was listening to yes or yes by twice when this came to my mind so idk I HAD TO WRITE IT (its a bit messy though i apologize)

☆☆☆☆

Scaramouche

He glared at the door of the tavern before taking a deep breath and walking in. He didn't even want to be there, but his subordinates were stupid enough to not be able to locate you themselves, so he felt forced to come himself.

It's been a while since he last saw you, he heard from the 11th harbinger that you got ordered to go undercover in the region of Fontaine.

But now, the Tsarista needed you back, reason why now he tracked you down and is currently standing awkwardly by the bar.

He tried to scan the area with his eyes in order to find you, but unfortunately for him, he was only met with the weird glances from strangers.

"Looking for someone?" He heard a deep voice coming from beside him, it was the bartender. He quickly put on his facade, and smiled at him. "Just a friend, they told me to meet them here today but I presume they haven't arrived yet"

"A nice place for a date, my friend. The show is about to start, can I serve you something to drink while you wait?" The bartender asked.

Scaramouche was about to thunder the man and correct him saying it was not a date, just business. But it's not like he cares, anyways. He smiled instead, and said "Just water will be fine, thank you"

Then, as the man behind the bar nodded, lights went out. Smoke started coming out from the stage in front of him, and then, a group of dancers appeared. Their backs were facing the audience, and their outfits were all colorful and sparkly. "How disgusting" he mumbled to himself.

The moment the dancers turned around and you appeared at the centre, looking as bright and beautiful as ever, his mouth dropped

What were you doing there?! It was supposed to be a top secret mission, so why were you performing in a tavern where the spotlight was clearly all on you?

To make it more unbelievable for him, you started singing a cheerful and bubbly song

Oh boy

His mouth and eyes were wide open, and Scaramouche has never been so shocked in his life

It was just very odd to see you like that, because he knew the real you. You were almost as sadistic as him, often laughing at the pain your vision brought to people. That's why he took a liking on you, because at the end of the day, you were almost as bad as him. The only difference is that you were mostly tolerated and respected by the fellow fatui harbingers, and also, you knew how to keep your mouth shut when necessary.

So this was a big contrast, now you were singing a cheerful song about love and positivity. It was a 180 degree turn, so he couldn't help but feel shocked, but slightly in a good way.

When the song finished, you quickly spot him and shot him a knowing glance that said "we'll talk later", before your smile reappeared in your face as you bowed and thanked the other customers.

Childe

Unlike Scaramouche, he was simply wandering around the city of Inazuma when he found the café you were currently working at.

He finished his mission a bit earlier than usual, so why not walk around the city his dear fellow fatui harbinger grew up in? Who knows? Maybe he will meet someone who is willing to exchange precious information about the 6th harbinger. That way, he would rile him up and eventually get to fight him.

That was, until he saw a much better source of entertainment.

He was standing outside of a themed café when he spot a familiar person dressed in a maid costume. He wasn't one to drink coffee, but why not try?

He walked in and sat at a random table, waiting to get served. Luckily for him, you got assigned his table.

When you saw him, your cheeks immediately reddened. Not only because of your attire and current situation, but also because he was not supposed to be there, and specially not when you were so close to finish the mission.

"My, my. What do we have here?" he said once you reached his table. You ignored him and handed him the menu. "Welcome to our humble café, master. How can I serve you today?"

Childe was screaming inside

"Master? I like that. I think I would like-" he started saying, quickly going through the menu. "A regular coffee and a wolfhood juice"

You eyed him questioningly. "That's a strange combination, master" "What can I say? I'm a man with many dualities" he said, smirking and making an emphasis on "many"

He knew you well, after all, you were his hardest challenge within the fatui harbingers. He once fought with you, and not even 10 minutes later you already had your foot pressing on his head against the floor.

He would be a fool to not admit that he has always been slightly interested in you. Not because of your fight style, or your agility to control your vision. But also because you didn't bow down to anyone that wasn't the Tsarista. He often thinks you would rather die than lower yourself like that

That's why he was enjoying this a little too much. Oh how he adored this unusual look of you roleplaying as a maid while you serve him coffee. Not to mention the use of the word "master".

He's definitely going to use this against you someday

Signora

Normally, lower rank fatuis would be assigned to locate the harbingers and deliver messages, but you were in an undercover mission.

To put it simple, those silly fatuis could not find you. That's why Signora was currently sitting on a dirty wooden bench facing a big stage. If someone could locate you, it was her. And she was 98% sure that you would appear in that stage at any moment.

"They should have picked a better place to perform." she thought, as she made a disgusted face at how dirty the bench was.

She was a bit curious though. Despite being a very respected fatui harbinger, you were also a very shy person. You didn't talk much in meetings, and if you did, your voice was small. You also stumble on your words while talking to people, and prefer smaller crowds.

Harbingers like Scaramouche often questioned why you were a harbinger at all.

But Signora knew better. She knew how powerful you were, and how confident you get in no time when the situation goes the way you planned. And if the situation goes the other way round, you're always quick enough to handle it smoothly. There was no doubt in her soul about the fact that you were perfect for the job.

But still

You were a very shy person who always ran away from crowded places. So why were you about to perform at such place? With a big audience?

Her questions were soon answered, when a tall man with a black moustache and a large hat appeared on stage. Lights were on him, as he exclaimed "Welcome everyone! It is my pleasure to present an acrobatic show you will never forget!"

The red courtain behind him opened, and there you stood in a yellow tight outfit and a big smile on your face. If Signora didn't know better, she would have believed you were the most innocent person in the world.

Once the man finished his speech and left the stage, the other acrobats started doing their performances. But Signora's eyes were on you, only.

She didn't expect you to use your pyro vision, as you lit up an acrobat hula hoop that was safely attached to a platform. And to make it more shocking, she did not expect you to smile at the audience before you made a cartwheel, landed on a trampoline, and jumped through the hula hoop.

You landed safely on the other side of it, and gave the audience a triumphant smile while you lifted up your arms.

That was the moment when you noticed Signora.

Signora rarely showed emotions, even less positive ones. But she just could not help the small smile that appeared on her face when her eyes met yours. She was shocked, amazed, starstruck

Your mission was nowhere near over, but as Signora smiled and clapped while you bowed down to express gratitude, you felt satisfied.

#genshin impact x reader #scaramouche x reader #childe x reader #signora x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact imagines #scaramouche headcanons #scaramouche scenarios #scaramouche imagines #childe headcanons #childe imagines #childe scenarios #tartaglia x reader #tartaglia scenarios #signora headcanons #signora scenarios #signora imagines #la signora x reader

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toglidethroughlife · 4 years

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Brighter Than Any Star:

An intimate look at everyone’s new favorite bass player

(or the blades band au that nobody asked for)

*inspired by @iaraiumi‘s STUNNING guitarist tyril art (here)

tyril-centric and tyril x mc bc this would be 7k+ words if i didn’t focus on just one of them but i tried to give everyone a moment in the spotlight. credits to a fic i read from the 100 fandom years ago for the format

used my f!elf mc ryllea graywater for this (though i guess this is kind of a modern au idk asjdla); also i don’t play any musical instruments i’m sorry in advance for butchering any of the technical parts 😬

Tyril Starfury — with his red silk shirts and slicked back hair — looks every bit the part of a rock god on stage with the rest of BLADES; but here, in the confines of their tour bus, he is a quiet presence, calmly sipping tea in the corner with a notepad and pen in his hands, his mind far away in the early hours of the morning.

If you had told me eighteen months ago that I would be shadowing Broadway darling Tyril Starfury as he traveled cross-country with his new rock band, I would have laughed and called you preposterous.

And yet, here I am, witness to the madness.

Nia Ellarious, the band’s youngest member and resident pianist, offers me a cup of the same tea as Starfury’s, telling me to enjoy the quiet with an almost apologetic smile.

I understand what she means not long after.

(There’s no such thing as a quiet morning in the world of Mal Volari.)

Every bit as charming and flamboyant as his on-stage persona, Volari greets the entire bus a good morning with flourish, throwing both me and Ellarious a magnetic smile before slipping towards the coffee machine with exceptionally light feet. (More on that later.) He taps on every available surface while he waits for his coffee to brew, humming softly as if figuring out a melody right there on the spot.

If Starfury is bothered by Volari’s banging and humming, he makes no show of it, paying him no mind as he continues to scribble in his notepad.

Ellarious beams as the scene plays out in front of her. “It’s not every day that they don’t get on each other’s nerves,” she explains. “Especially in the morning.”

It’s around this time — almost noon now — that Ryllea Graywater, lead guitarist and vocalist, wakes and joins the group, heading straight towards Volari and the cup of coffee in his hand.

“Thanks,” she winks as she takes the cup from him, shooting Volari a shit-eating grin that he returns easily, already procuring another cup for himself.

It should be noted that Graywater doesn’t seem to talk to anyone until she’s had at least one cup of coffee, choosing instead to slide in beside Starfury in the dining booth, eyes darting towards the notepad he’s writing on. They kind of just... sit there, minding their own business amidst the chaos that is the rest of the bus.

(Volari’s launched into an animated story about the inspiration behind last year’s summer hit, “Contessa, Contessa”, but I can’t help being drawn to the more quiet story unfolding behind him in the dining booth.)

Slinging one arm against the backrest of Starfury’s seat, Graywater casually invites herself into his space, a thoughtful smile on her lips as she looks over the notepad in his hand. There’s an openness between them that tells me that this isn’t a new occurrence, a comfortable ease in the way they seem to be engaging in a wordless conversation.

“He’s kind of really private,” I recall the younger Starfury sibling, Adrina, telling me about his creative process years ago, at the release party for his collab album with then rumored girlfriend and writing partner Kaya Duskraven. “He’s always been a perfectionist. Doesn’t really let anyone other than Kaya hear anything until it’s finished.”

But there’s no trace of that here, in this quiet moment with Graywater, bright, almost triumphant smiles on their faces as she picks up a pen and scribbles something on the pad too, immediately tapping out a melody against the table as if to test-run it by Starfury.

The smile he gives her is glowing.

I look away — suddenly feeling like an intruder in their private moment — catching the tail-end of Volari’s Contessa story, right before Imtura (no publicly released surname) accidentally slams me against the wall when the bus makes a rocky turn.

“Oof, sorry there little guy.” She raises both hands in apology before heading straight for the coffee machine, haphazardly dumping its contents into a generous-sized mug before immediately proceeding to consume said coffee as she plunks onto the other end of the dining booth.

And that’s how the first morning of me shadowing BLADES goes.

Ellarious tells me I’m lucky it was a good one.

With over 16 years of experience under his belt, Tyril Starfury has been in the music and entertainment industry far longer than the rest of the BLADES members combined. At the tender age of nine, he won his first piano competition, regarded highly for his precision at such a young age. He would continue to play competitively until he discovers a new love — musical theater.

It’s no surprise that Starfury ends up on Broadway — he comes from a long line of revered artists, all of them regarded as geniuses of their time. Though some would argue that his family name opened doors that would otherwise be unavailable, no one could deny that it was his clear, soaring baritone and unrelenting work ethic that kept him on stage.

It’s on this stage that he met young Kaya Duskraven, an understudy in one of his shows, prompting a fruitful five-year partnership spanning two EPs and a mini-concert series, Stars in the Dusk.

(The name was a little on the nose, but the critics loved them all the same.)

The two shared such a comfortable rapport, on and off-stage, that they naturally sparked dating rumors — Starfury was always quick to deny them.

No one could have expected the partnership to end on such a bitter note.

To this day, no one knows the real reason behind their fallout — Starfury walked out in the middle of their televised performance without apology or explanation — though there have been no shortage of rumors and theories, a lot of them involving one Eleryn Rosecoven, better known in the industry as Shadow Court bassist dXenia.

I tried to bring it up once, after several bottles of beer have been consumed and the band is swapping stories over s’mores made over the tour bus stove.

I’ve never been shut out so fast in my life.

There’s an audible crack from the s’more now crushed in Imtura’s hand, her piercing amber eyes seemingly driving a death sentence into mine. Volari sighs disapprovingly (and dramatically) at me, and even Ellarious — friendly, cheery Nia — looks at me with a pointed glare, turning off the stove, signaling the end of s’mores night.

“I would prefer not to comment,” Starfury nods at me, years of practiced courtesy showing in his tone and all I want in that moment is for the earth to swallow me whole.

Graywater follows when he excuses himself from the group. Everyone else avoids me like the plague.

It’s hours later when Starfury and Graywater return to the bus — I pretend to have fallen asleep in the dining booth in hopes that I can avoid their fury until the morning — but Graywater approaches me with two cups of tea in hand, an unreadable expression on her face.

She slides over one cup to me — if the scalding temperature of the tea is intentional, she makes no obvious show of it.

“Look,” she begins with an exasperated sigh. “I know you’re only doing your job here. And we did agree to this article, so I’m sorry if things got a little tense back there.” She pauses, as if considering her next words carefully. “We’ve all lived moments in our lives that we’re not proud of. Tyril’s had to live his in front of the public eye. He’ll talk about it when he feels ready to... but his past doesn’t define him, none of ours do.”

I nod, understanding that this is the last we’ll speak of the subject. She smiles as if in truce, telling me that I don’t have to banish myself to the dining booth and that no one will pull any pranks on me if I sleep in the shared bedroom.

I barely catch any sleep anyway.

There’s a ferocity in the way they protect each other that I didn’t notice at first — it could be subtle sometimes, like in the way Volari always checks in with each of the band members every night before going to bed (even though Starfury usually brushes him off); or in the way Imtura always makes sure every one stays hydrated (feel free to interpret that however you wish, whichever way is true); or in the way Ellarious always has some form of baked good running in the oven, more often someone else’s favorite rather than her own.

(I learn the hard way that no one is allowed to get in between Imtura and her cupcakes. No one.)

It’s also plain as day whenever they’re on stage together, their set list a carefully curated show that highlights each member’s strengths without anyone getting overworked. Everyone’s always quick to catch each other whenever they hit snags along the road — there’s a moment in one of the shows when Volari’s mic suddenly gets cut off and Starfury swoops in without missing a beat, a small nod of the former’s head seemingly the only cue he needs, the trust between them implicit.

When I had asked earlier why he’d joined BLADES, Starfury simply shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

“It was by accident. I happened to be at one of their shows and they needed a bass player. We kind of just… worked and we’ve played together ever since.”

But this kind of chemistry doesn’t just happen by accident. No, this is the product of months and months of hard work, of opinions clashing and arguments spanning days before sitting down and realizing it’s not impossible to see eye to eye; it’s battles won and battles lost together, respect earned and trust merited.

To call them just another band seems too small a word almost. Insufficient.

They’re kind of like a family.

(If your typical family involved regular knife and axe-throwing contests, that is.

... it’s best not to ask.)

Tensions are high backstage at Deadwood Festival Grounds.

Volari has been pacing around non-stop. Ellarious looks like she’s using every bit of her willpower not to bite her fingernails. Imtura keeps violently tapping her drumsticks together. Starfury’s got his arms crossed in a corner, brows furrowed.

Graywater is doing a handstand for no apparent reason.

The anxiety is understandable — tonight’s a crucial moment for the band.

With only one more show before the grand finale at Whitetower Stadium, all the bands are doing their best to retain the crowd’s favor, each playing well-established fan favorites, saving the riskier song choices for the finale.

That is, everyone except BLADES.

They’re planning to debut two new songs tonight, both of which written solely by Starfury.

It’s a ballsy move on its own — no one’s exactly itching to drop the ball on their fans this close to the end — but add in the fact that Starfury hasn’t released any solo-written music since the Duskraven fallout and you’ve got the makings of a battle that could either go incredibly right or disastrously wrong.

Let’s back up a bit.

After the Duskraven breakup, Starfury had gone into something of a hiatus (if that’s what you call disappearing off the face of the entertainment industry) before dropping the 13-track self-written album, “Honor,” without prior notice or promotion. Fans were ecstatic to hear from him after his sudden break, but critics were less enthused, calling the album ‘a brash, arrogant attempt at flipping the metaphorical finger at Duskraven that ultimately falls short’, noting the clear absence of Duskraven’s touch in his music — all technicality, no soul.

Starfury’s penned a couple of songs with BLADES since, spanning genres as colorful and diverse as its writers, but there hasn’t been a solo venture since Honor, leaving long-time Starfury fans anxious to hear him take lead again.

Graywater calls everyone into a circle, locking eyes with Starfury as she gives his hand a squeeze.

She makes a speech that I‘m not privy to — but everyone is visibly more resolute after she speaks, each raising their fists to meet in the middle of the circle.

“I’m honored to be on this journey with you all,” I hear Starfury share, a glittering smile spreading on Volari’s lips at the statement.

“I knew you liked us!” he says, crossing the circle to throw an arm around Starfury’s shoulders, pulling him close.

“Group hug!” Ellarious laughs and Imtura closes the circle into a solid embrace.

Starfury appears to be in shock — as if this is the first time this has happened — but he recovers quickly, a quietly contented smile on his face.

The last streaks of daylight have disappeared by the time they’re called to stage, the crowd restless from a long afternoon under the blistering heat.

Darkness has fallen.

But then the opening chords to fan-favorite “Murderous Masquerade” cut through the evening air, a flurry of flashing lights bursting through the sky, and the Deadwood comes alive.

Volari takes center stage in his flashy black and gold ensemble, working the crowd with such ease that it’s no question why he’s been dubbed the band’s de facto showman — he’s frankly just mesmerizing to watch.

Next up is “The Priestess and the Warrior,” an epic tale crammed into four and a half minutes of heart-racing drum beats — provided by the insanely talented Imtura — with a tender piano-driven bridge near the close, Ellarious’ heartbreaking vocals driving the whole thing home.

Graywater takes lead in the third number, “Flirting with Monsters,” a delicate neo R&B number that sounds nothing like the title suggests, her earnest, airy vocals lulling you into a comfortable, almost dream-like state as she entices her lover to stay.

The one thing common between the seemingly weird mishmash of genres is Starfury’s steady bassline, providing a much needed thread of cohesion to the set list. Where Volari, Imtura, Graywater, and even Ellarious tackle their music with the raw aggression of fresh blood on stage, Starfury attacks with quiet, seasoned finesse, his expertise evident in tracks like “Watch your back (or I’ll watch it for you)” and “Drakna Queen” — two unconventionally energetic numbers that would be difficult to listen to live if not for Starfury’s sure hand bringing them harmony.

“Alright, we’re gonna slow things down for a bit,” Graywater announces, eyes sparkling with excitement as she looks at Starfury. “Tyril’s got a new song and we want you guys to be the first to hear it.”

By now, I’ve seen enough of Starfury’s performances to say that he’s not a nervous performer. Even in the earlier stages of his career, there was always a quiet assuredness about him — which could have also been easily called arrogance — and while that’s still present now, there’s something different about the way he interacts with the crowd, a sense of humility present in the way he put his hands together and gives them a brief bow before he sits himself in front of the piano.

“I would like to dedicate this to a person very special to me,” he begins, his fingers gentle on the keys, a soft, lilting melody dancing in the air.

(He’s not even the least bit subtle about the way he looks at Graywater.)

“She has reminded me, time and again, that hope and love, when we allow it, can shine the brightest light in the dark.” Graywater shakes her head as if to shrug in nonchalance, but she meets his eyes dead on, her smile beaming with pride.

Turning to the crowd, Starfury adds, “I hope this gives you as much joy as you’ve given me. This one’s called ‘Kilvali.’”

For the next minute, it’s just Starfury and the piano, the world quiet as his voice fills the air. If there was ever any doubt that Starfury had lost his vocal prowess, there wouldn’t be any now. His voice is clear and strong — reaching even the farthest row of people on the music grounds — albeit with a softness now that I’ve never heard from him before, his attachment to his music feeling infinitely more personal.

“All my moments with you are worth whatever pain that came before,” he sings, his voice soaring as the rest of the band join him in the second verse. The performance is even more powerful with the added instrumentation.

Tiny cellphone flashlights illuminate the crowd as they sway their hands in time to the song, the emotion in Starfury’s voice rolling out in waves.

Twitter user @notmxwllbmnt13 sums it up nicely:

SJSKJSJSK TYRIL STARFURY KILLED ME TONIGHT!! ALL!! THE!! FEELS!!

(It really was beautiful.)

The crowd cheers as the song draws to a close, but the battle’s not over yet (as Starfury would tell me himself later) — the true test lying in whether or not his second song proves a testament to his newfound voice in songwriting… or if it’s just a one-time stroke of luck.

“If it’s alright with you, we’d like to play you another new one,” he says and the applause is deafening when he turns over the mic to Volari, the latter pulling him into a one-armed hug before taking to the crowd.

If Duskraven’s interviews post-breakup are to be believed, Starfury has never — not once — written a song that wasn’t intended for himself. (She claimed to have co-written plenty of solos for Starfury, but he allegedly never returned the favor.) A quick glance at his repertoire would make this allegation appear true.

“It is true,” he tells me simply when I bring it up later in the tour bus. (Despite the coolness of his voice, I notice him shift a little in his seat.) “I was... unconfident, extending my words to other artists like that. I was also prideful and arrogant — afraid to face the judgment and criticism of my peers, and for that, I truly am sorry to Kaya. She deserved better from me as a partner.”

It seems Starfury has taken that incident to heart. Listening to “Purple Dreams” with Volari’s teasing falsetto on the forefront, it becomes clear that Starfury wrote this with the former’s vocals in mind, the flirtatious mix of his sassy vocal riffs and playful onstage antics giving the song a delicious, intoxicating energy.

It’s probably the most experimental I’ve heard from Starfury as a writer, both in terms of lyricism and melody.

“I’ve learned a lot this last year, creating music with BLADES,” he explains. “Not only did I find a new perspective on songwriting thanks to them, but my bandmates also gave me the courage to try things outside of my comfort zone and to allow myself to make mistakes. They inspire me.”

Years ago, he was dubbed as stiff and awkward outside of the theater stage, with Duskraven providing all the charm in their partnership, but now, on stage with BLADES — as Volari points his sultry gaze at him, singing his own lyrics to him — Starfury smirks, leaning ever so slightly against the showman as his hands tease along the guitar strings, driving the crowd wild.

It’s clear by the end of the song that Starfury has won over the crowd, and for once, he actually seems to revel in it, his smile beaming as he takes in the applause.

The rest of the band are even more thrilled for him, each leaving their posts to engulf him in another hug.

He doesn’t hesitate this time, allowing the fond gesture in front of their adoring crowd, each of them savoring the quiet moment, and I think, out of all the times I’ve seen Starfury on stage, this has to be my favorite version of him.

In the company of his friends, lifting and supporting each other, Tyril Starfury shines brighter than any star.

“We haven’t talked about what we’re doing after yet,” Starfury admits when I ask him about the future of BLADES after Morella Fest. (Each of the members are also solo artists in their own right, after all.) “But whatever happens at the end of the tour, we’ll always have each other, regardless of whether the band continues or not. I can’t imagine my life without these people now and I hope I never have to.”

He’s smiling as he says this, watching his bandmates fight over the last levenfruit before he excuses himself to join them, Graywater and Ellarious easily making space for him in the dining booth, Volari and Imtura rounding out the little world that now seems completely their own.

This article also appears in BLADES: The Most Ambitious Crossover Event in Morella Music History. You can find the full feature on www - kadethebard - com.

tagging: @sophie-summer ✨

#playchoices #blades of light and shadow #tyril starfury #tyril x mc #playchoices fanfic #reposting bc i am dumb and have a fake external link in the fic that made tumblr hidethis from the tags #bonus hc:#threep is there even tho i didnt get to include him #he’s a stray that just showed up one day and no remembers who fed him first #(it was mal)#but they keep feeding him anyway and he kind of just stays and travels with them #kade has caught each of them talking to threep (when they think no one is looking)#as if the cat could talk back #EDIT: why wont this show up in the tags im stresseddddd #my fic

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wlwfatou · 5 years

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and could you do one where eliott, lucas + a few others play truth or dare (at a party maybe) and eliott gets dared to kiss lucas but he doesn't want their first kiss to be a dare and in front of so many people so he excuses himself and leaves to... idk smoke on the balcony or sth, lucas then maybe trails after him wanting to know what's so bad about kissing him bc it's just a kiss and doesn't have to mean anything ending in... idk? (them kissing!! yes!!) ♥🌹

okAY this was surprisingly harder than i expected it to be bc apparently idk these characters well enough to write them in a canon divergent setting alzhajxy but i hope you enjoy regardless!!

this,,, is also a litttllee longer than i had originally planned, but hopefully it makes up for the fact that this took me like a week to write.

(requests open)

–

The first time Lucas plays Truth or Dare, he’s twelve and sleeping over at a friend’s house with a group of other boys who he knows in the way that one knows the school janitor. They talk in class, they play on the same sports team in PE, they all want to know which girls the rest of them have crushes on.

Lucas thinks it might be the go-to truth because it’s the only thing they have in common.

The dares are weak, and the truths even weaker, but it’s liberating. Giggly boys with clammy hands as they all blush into borrowed pillows, an expression of defiance, their first teenage rebellion occurs when they stay up passed one in the morning.

“So who do you have a crush on, Lucas?” one of the boy asks. The rest of them have simmered down by now, voices scratchy from all the yelling. Eyes press him to answer; to already have an answer.

“I don’t know,” Lucas says, because he doesn’t think he does. He’s never thought about it before, and now that he is, he can’t think of a single instance where a girl made him feel the way the other boys described as love.

“I don’t like anyone right now,” he settles on.

The rest of the boys all groan and laugh and call him lame, but by the morning they drop it, and Lucas pretends he didn’t spend the entire night wide awake; thinking about all the things that could be wrong with him.

–

The second time Lucas plays Truth or Dare, it’s at his very first house party, and he nervously shadows Yann the entire night. They’re fifteen, and their parents think they’re sleeping at each other’s houses, and Lucas tastes beer for the first time tonight and fucking hated it. He has no idea how people can drink that shit and enjoy it.

In the basement of the house, where Lucas and Yann find themselves by their second drink, there’s a group of teenagers sat lazily over couches and tables and floorboards. One of them looks to the stairs when she hears Lucas and Yann’s footsteps, and she smiles brightly before waving them over.

“Yann!” the girl says, and Lucas tries to remember if he should remember her.

“Hey!” Yann says easily beside him, sliding into an empty spot on the floor. Lucas follows wordlessly, suddenly very much interested in the taste of beer. “This is Lucas,” Yann nods to his best friend and Lucas is just happy that he indeed has never met this girl and didn’t just forget her name.

“Cecile,” the girl says. When she winks, Lucas pretends he doesn’t notice.

“We’re playing Truth or Dare,” she says simply, as a boy comes out of the bathroom, the brightness of the spotlight against the dim light of the room enough to make Lucas grimmise. The boy is drenched head to toe and is dripping water onto the floor. Another boy emerges from behind him, doubling over in laughter.

“Guys!” Cecile yells, “Yann and Lucas are joining us!” It’s met with cheering and clapping and more yelling and Lucas tries not to visibly cringe at the loudness.

In the third round, Lucas gets dared to play the piano in the corner of the room (he hadn’t even noticed it was there.) Lucas plays the beginning to one of his classical pieces until someone tells him it’s gay.

–

Lucas decides he doesn’t like Truth or Dare that night.

–

His house is loud the next time he plays Truth or Dare.

He calls it “his house” still, but he feels just as much a stranger here as he does in the house he grew up in. Empty now, without anyone living in it. Without anyone giving it life. Lucas suspects he wouldn’t even recognize it, if he went back.

“Truth!” Daphné yells, and Imane just smiles back at her.

“Oh come on!” Alexia complains, “You only ever pick truth!”

“Yeah, we wanna dare you to eat some weird shit or help paint the foyer or something.” Emma concurs. Daphné shakes her head, but she’s smiling still.

They’re all huddled around Lucas’s living room, papers of ideas and assignments for the foyer forgotten on the coffee table in favour of a few rounds of the elementary game before Mika comes home from work.

Lucas doesn’t know how he’s been grouped in with the girls. Or how he’s managed to become a member of the board. A manager of the foyer or whatever the fuck he is.

“Truth, truth, truth.” Daphné insists, and Lucas waits for one of the girls to ask her about her last one night stand or something.

“Why did you want to do this whole foyer thing, anyways?”

And that’s… not at all what Lucas is expecting. He almost sits up from where he’s slouched against the couch, his blanket nearly falling off the seat and into his lap.

This game, Lucas had thought, was a means of weeding out crushes and learning a little too much about people’s sex lives. With the occasional snapchat story of someone climbing a roof or getting covered in chocolate syrup. But mostly the former.

“I guess,” Daphné says, “I just want people to feel like they can belong somewhere.”

Lucas shoves his sheets back up behind him; thinks he understands what she means.

–

“Truth or Dare?” someone says, Lucas doesn’t care enough to figure out who.

He’s somewhere, not entirely sober but not entirely drunk. His friends aren’t here, and even if they were, Lucas suspects they wouldn’t be here. At this end of the house, with Eliott and a bunch of people from the third year. Lucas doesn’t recognize any of them. Doesn’t think some of them even go to his school.

Eliott is sitting next to him. Right next to him. Closer than he sat on that day Lucas went over to his house to get some beer and ended up staying for upwards of three hours. Their shoulders are pressed together and Lucas blames his less than usual level of sobriety for the fact that he lets them stay that way.

“Dare,” he hears Eliott say, and finally tunes back into the game.

“Alright, Recently Single,” the boy says teasingly, “kiss someone here.” He finishes, and Lucas feels his stomach drop to his knees. “Nothing better for moving on. Promise.”

The group of people Lucas hardly recognizes stare at Eliott expectantly, and Lucas expects Eliott to decline. To say ‘no,’ or ‘what are you, fucking twelve?’ or something, but when he looks up at him, Eliott is smiling.

“That’s stupid.” Eliott says, Lucas agrees.

“Kiss the guy you came with!” one of the girls yells. The crowd choruses, but Lucas doesn’t really hear them. Eyes blown wide, stomach now twisting and tying in knots, nevermind dropping.

He chances a look at Eliott again, but this time the other boy isn’t smiling. He’s standing up, face unreadable as he makes his way to the backdoor.

“Now that’s stupid,” he mutters, and then he’s gone. He’s good at that. Disappearing.

Lucas tries not to feel humiliated, he really does, but suddenly he feels very sober. Suddenly he is very very tired.

The rest of the group boo’s and complains and one girl even tries to pull Eliott back by his pant leg, but he twists away. So they shake it off and direct their Truth or Dare to someone else. Someone willing.

Their boo’s and complaints aren’t directed at Lucas, but it sure fucking feels like they are.

When Lucas excuses himself, downing the rest of his beer before standing to leave, the rest of the group doesn’t even notice him.

Eliott is leaning over the banister on the back patio when Lucas slides the door open. It’s colder and darker than when they arrived but Lucas isn’t going to be the type of friend to leave a friend at a party they came to together.

“Hey,” he says lamely, moving to lean his elbows next to Eliott’s. The backyard of this house is empty. Grass stretching out to a line of trees and beyond that what Lucas can only assume is another house. Lucas doesn’t know why he likes it so much. “You wanna leave?”

Eliott shrugs. Lucas nods.

“I hate Truth or Dare.” Lucas says to the trees. Eliott’s head lifts, but he doesn’t look at him, so Lucas continues. “It’s so fucked up, that they tried to make you kiss your friend just to get over your ex.”

Lucas stares at his hands, folding and unfolding over themselves.

“I don’t think that’s why they dared me to do it.”

Lucas feels something in his chest do something, but he pretends not to. “Yeah, they’re just trying to stir shit up.”

Eliott is quiet for a moment, so Lucas is, too.

“Do you think I don’t want to kiss you, or something?”

Lucas’s hands stop folding. “What?”

Eliott laughs humourlessly, eyes still trained in front of him. “Because I thought I’ve been very clear about that, at the very least.”

“I…” Lucas stares at Eliott’s face; at the side of Eliott’s face, suddenly feeling very sober. Eliott’s eyes are dark, cloudy and his jaw keeps clenching and unclenching. Like he’s angry, but Lucas can’t imagine at what.

“Lucas,” Eliott says, finally turning his head to catch Lucas’s eyes, and when he does, Lucas wants nothing more than to look away.

His eyes are burning, pouring fire into Lucas’s veins as he smiles just a little bit at Lucas’s expression. They’re closer now than when Lucas first came out here, and he’s not entirely sure when that happened but it has, and Lucas has to fight the urge to just reach out and take because he’s afraid if he starts, he’ll take and he’ll take and he’ll take more than Eliott is willing to give.

“I don’t want our first kiss to be in front of a crowd.” Eliott whispers, “I don’t want it to be on a dare.”

The word special briefly flashes in Lucas’s mind. Eliott is special and Eliott thinks he’s special and Eliott wants the first time they kiss to be special.

“It doesn’t have to be.” Lucas decides, “on a dare, or in front of a crowd.”

“No?”

“No.” Lucas is smiling a little, looking directly at Eliott, he thinks he’s on fire. He squeezes his hands into fists to keep himself from taking too much as he reaches over to press his smile into the side of Eliott’s cheek. “We have time.”

–

Next week, when they will flicker in and out of focus, in and out of light, Eliott will press their lips together, their bodies following, and Lucas will decide that Truth or Dare, while shameless and a bit shallow, isn’t the worst thing in the world, after all.

#skam france #skamfr #elu fic #elu #katie writes things sometimes #hopefully this is okay adoiah i didnt really have uhhh a plan lol #♥🌹 anon

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