#the Lord did not gift me the ability to sleep

[drunkenlionwrites]

Since you started with uncanny Vash, may we have some smut with him? 👀

Hey nonnie, you order - I deliver! Not sure how it turned out, it's pretty experimental this time 😶 Warnings: fem!reader, alien sex, Vash is basically a plant on steroids here. Written with Trimax Vash in mind.

You woke up in your bed alone, feeling the coldness of the sheets on Vash’s side. It was a familiar enough occurrence for you though, having been Vash’s ‘mayfly’ for an alarmingly long time, all his habits were carved and stored in the back of your mind. Sometimes, like now, you wake up alone in a cold bed just to find Vash sulking somewhere alone, being overwhelmed by his heavy thoughts, sometimes you are literally buried in Vash’s body, sturdy appendages sprouted out of him encaging you safely. It all strangely brought you comfort, whereas other people might be rightfully shitlessly scared.

So now you find yourself barefoot and wrapped in a blanket, traversing the hotel’s wooden floor, which is creaking pitifully under each step of yours. And here he is, standing on the open balcony, surrounded by the rhythmic buzzing of the bugs-filled sky, the sight of his fluttering blond-black hair catching your gaze.

“Hey handsome.” you gently murmur to him, which gets you a greeting by his glowing eyes and barely visible tired smile. “Care to join me in bed? It’s awfully empty without you.” Walking up to him, you hug him from behind, burying your head into his wide back after pressing a tender kiss there. The warmth of your body already brings you more comfort than a thick woolen blanket did. You feel how tense his muscles are, and you instantly know that he’s been having nightmares again and now, losing the ability to fall back asleep, is contemplating the thoughts he’s too reclusive to share even with you.

“I’ll come soon. Just don’t feel like sleeping now” and one more fake smile is directed at you. You’re aware of him knowing that you see through each of them, but the habit developed during more than a century is hard to get rid of.

You huff at his retort, determined to not let him be isolated with his reflections, so you squeeze him tighter in your embrace and mumble “Who was talking about sleeping, silly?” Seems like it worked, cause the next moment you feel the movement of his ribcage, Vash chuckling at your suggestion. “Hey, I’m serious. I really need you right now!” you pouted, and even if it is primarily a not so smooth plan to distract your boyfriend from sulking, it’s also true – there’s not a moment in your life when you don’t want him.

He turns to face you, murmuring “Who am I to refuse my prettiest girl then?” taking you into his arms, now cocooned in the blanket like a baby. You use the closeness to his face to press loving kisses to his warm soft lips while he’s carrying you to bed. And Lord, he is so fucking strong, carrying you as if you’re a feather, his muscles barely flexing under your weight.

He plops you on the bed with a soft thud and immediately crawls onto it, not giving you any time to untangle yourself from the damned blanket. Vash smiles at you with a toothy smile, his gaze already predatory, as he methodically unwraps you like a Christmas gift, getting you out of the blanket and then getting rid of your night shirt and panties. His hands are everywhere, both unnaturally smooth – the polished prosthetic one, as well as his own which feels like silk on the sides of your body.

You provide him with the same attention, tugging the shirt off his shoulders to allow you access to his hot skin, the contrast between the ideal porcelain untouched spots of his skin balanced by cracks and grooves of his scars under your fingertips. It would be a definite lie to say that it doesn’t add to his attractiveness in your eyes.

When he shifts his weight and presses his body on top of yours, you hastily tug on his joggers and try to pry them off his hips to glide your palms lower and lower, squeezing his soft ass, knowing that each time it makes him elicit a yelp that you enjoy so much. His eyes are sparkling with mischief as he slowly glides his fingers in between your folds a few times, just to insert both fingers inside your already sleek with arousal pussy. And you know that it’s his petty revenge, but oh how you love it.

You moan his name and press your pelvis closer to him, wrapping your legs behind his hips, wanting to feel as much of his body as possible. Vash grinds against you, and though the space between his legs is just a smooth patch of skin, it still makes you feel even more aroused. “That’s what you wanted, baby? To be fucked back into sleep?” he lewdly whispers into your ear as his fingers curl inside of you, precisely hitting the spot that makes you scream in his hands. He bites your earlobe and moves his face up to look into your eyes and then presses his forehead to yours.

And that makes you completely engrossed in what is happening to you. This is what you’ve been longing for, the one thing that completely ruined you for everyone besides your lover. The sensation of doubled and then tripled emotions and feelings that your weakened brain can barely process. You now feel Vash’s rapture and elation, wrapped in physical sensation of his thick long fingers abusing your pussy perceived by him, finishing with your own corporal pleasure, which now will forever seem the lesser one of those. Vash moans and pants into your mouth, experiencing the pleasure through you, his body is rapidly covering by feathers upon feathers, that now tickle your skin. Not that you can register it, totally lost in the echo of feelings.

His body shifts and morphs, losing the contours of a humanoid creature now, only his fingers remaining the same, moving back and forth inside you, the thumb barely applying a pressure to your clit. But his mind and soul are nothing but human, now you know it. In moments like these you know Vash as if it was you, and you let him know you as if you are him. You are connected so deeply, that it both scares you and makes you want to completely dissolve and disappear in him. This is not making love; this is completely melding in each other. And now he’s your God, he’s your Universe, and you don’t need know anything else except Vash.

You weakly mewl and shudder underneath him, your breaths now completely synchronized, hell, your bodies are completely synchronized and now you are one breathing and feeling organism that’s slowly bringing each other to your release. Vash moans with you once you start clenching around his fingers. You are so close, yet you dread for the moment to end, which Vash registers and consoles you immediately, chuckling at how needy you are.

Just a hard press of his thumb to your clit and a few strokes on the inside of your pussy with additional pressure and you’re done. Shuddering at feeling everything at once. All this love and tenderness, all the longing and arousal, all the ultimately divine pleasure…you really want to dissolve into Vash completely one day.

So a bit of my thoughts about this here: I've been thinking, especially after writing general headcanons for uncanny Vash, what if he doesn't have human bodily functions at all? He doesn't sweat, he doesn't have any thermoregulation at all, he has no need for sleep or nourishing, his skin doesn't have pores and doesnt produce melanin etc. So what does he need the human-like reproductive systen for? Independent plants are the anomaly, what if they can be birthed only from a regular mother-plant? All's possible. So, here Vash is telepathically connecting to reader and kinda experiences his orgasm through her, while at the same time she immediately feels: 1. her regular physical sensations, 2. Vash's feelings and reaction to her, 3. her orgasm that is perceived by Vash. So it's basically triple orgasm, enveloped in all kinds of entwined feelings? Won't it be cool? ahah Also, I know that someone somewhere said that Vash's plant powers work only for plants, but we literally have a lot of instances where humans perceive Vash's and Knives' feelings telepathically: 1. Leonof and Wolfwood feel Vash's rage and pain at Home after Leonoff turned the people there into puppets and after Vash cried blood. Wolfwood thinks how he can't even move, while Leonof is comparing Vash to knives and notes how not human they both are.

They totally perceived all Vash's emotions on physical level. He just stood there doing and saying nothing, yet Leonof and co felt like they just died.

2. I forgot the chapter, but Eldendira was explaning to someone the effect of Knives' presence on regular humans. Something like that his aura is heavy and dreadful and physically palpable, but Gung-Ho-Guns got used to it, and Elendira copes with it the best. 3. Not twins, but in the end of manga all the falling plants transferred all their memories and emotions to thousands and thousands of people, thus they all can thelepathically influence humans in the end 🤷‍♂️ Peace out 🤞

#vash x reader #vash x you #vash x y.n #vash smut #vash headcanons #trigun headcanons #trigun smut #vash the stampede #no beta we die like rem #trigun x you #uncanny vash #creature vash #lion writes

[miltheperson]

Priest!Wally Darling x Fallen angel!Reader

(A small breather from all the requests! This idea happened to spring up on me during the evening so suddenly, haha!) (Also this is quite… er… different from the usual fluffy stories I write… So… warning!) (Don’t worry! These won’t be the main things I write on here! My fics will readily go back to fluffy and cute right after this!)

Inspired by an old tale!

CW/TW: Possessive Behavior, Slight-moderate manipulation?, Darker topic and story, mentions of cult-ish religion, mentions of religion-related topics.

DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT.

What Belongs To Me.

It was almost like you had fallen on purpose.

You had descended from the skies with a loud crash, right outside of Wally’s church. When Wally had found you, he had taken you in and decided to take care of you.

He believed you were a blessing from Home.

A gift sent upon his doorstep.

A blessing.

A blessing.

When you had awoken from your slumber, you were weak and agitated. You had fallen from the realm of angels, you didn’t want anything to do with earth, along with the people that ruled it.

Wally was absolutely captivated by you, your beauty and divine presence had him almost addicted. He was enamored and he felt such deep affection for you.

What a divine blessing from Home!

Rejoice! Rejoice!

You were clueless to Wally’s feelings, only seeing him as the kind person who had offered his church for you to stay and recover. You were terribly homesick and missed Eden so much, you wondered if your friends up there were looking for you, wondering what had happened and why you had disappeared.

Not need to worry though…

Wally was with you all the way.

Every step of the way he was right there for you…

You made the mistake of telling him some very interesting information one day while you sat with him on one of the pews.

“Once I go back home… I will forever remember your kindness… And I will tell them all about you.” You looked over at him with a smile, looking truly grateful.

“Oh, please. I was only doing what any good disciple of god would do.” Wally nodded, smiling right back at you. Of course, up to this point you had thought he was talking about the God that you served… Not the more… malicious… being.

“I am sure our Lord will be very pleased with you, Wally.” You chuckled softly.

“(Name)? May I perhaps… Ask you something? I’m just a little curious, is all.” Wally asked you politely, voice calm and serene as always.

“Yes, you may.” You nodded.

“About that halo of yours… What is so special about it? You seem to be taking great care of it.” He pointed at the glowing object above your head.

“You see, Wally. All angels and holy beings of God are given a halo as… Some sort of key to enter Eden… It signifies that you are a being of God and that you are able to enter Eden.” You explained to him.

“… And what happens when you… Don’t… Have your halo?” Wally looked as if he was very interested and very curious.

You thought it was because he wanted to learn more…

He did want to learn more… But for the wrong reasons.

“You are no longer able to reach Eden.” You answered his question solemnly. “Angels who have their halo taken away or broken here, are bound to stay on earth for eternity. We need to fly to be able to reach Eden, and our abilities come from our halo.” You continued to say.

“People can just take your halos away? Just like that?” Wally tilted his head, the shadow in his eyes seemingly increasing. Devious plans formed in his head.

“Only when an angel is vulnerable, can a person steal it… Instances such as an injured angel or a sleeping one, those are moments of vulnerability.”

“Hm… I see… Well it’s good that you’ve stumbled here then… It would have been such a misfortune if you had landed on… the wrong… persons doorstep…” Wally smirked a little, an almost taunting tone to his voice.

You smiled at this, believing in his “good intentions”.

“I am forever grateful… Soon, I will have regained my strength to fly… I will repay your kindness one day.” You bowed a little, truly grateful for him.

Wally’s eyes darkened as he stared at you.

You will be able to… leave…? So soon?

No.

No he can’t allow that.

That is not what Home intended for you.

Home did not want you to leave.

He. Did not want you to leave.

He can not let you leave.

Not when you mean so much to him.

His little angel.

His. Angel.

Leaving?

No.

He would not allow that.

He could not. allow. that.

And so, now the priest stood over your form as you slept so peacefully.

The halo above your head continue to glow even as you slept, casting that divine lighting over your captivating features.

He couldn’t help but smile, fixing the hair on your face.

You belonged here.

You belonged… To With him.

This is what Home wanted for you.

This is what Home intended.

Wally grabbed hold of the halo, staring at your sleeping face.

All he had to do now…

Was take it…

And break it…

Wally started to pull your halo, feeling resistance as he did. He was insistent, continuing to pull even as it stubbornly resisted his pull. The halo started to flicker, the resistance growing weaker and weaker. With one final pull, the halo ripped away from your head.

Wally stared at the halo for a moment, turning it this way and that. It was smooth to the touch and the glow was dull.

He took both ends, staring down at you with a dark glare.

You… stay… here.

CRACK.

He snapped the halo in half like it was candy, the halo dissolving into dust.

You woke up with a gasp, breathing heavily.

There was a stinging pain in your chest and you felt nauseous.

What happened?!

You started to shriek, grabbing your chest in pain. Wally quickly walked over, placing his hands over you. “(Name)?? (Name) what’s wrong!” He feigned worry, trying his best to comfort you.

You yelled out and writhed, it looked like you were burning.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”

You hurled yourself to the side, dry heaving and spilling out a golden shimmery liquid from your lips. You breathed heavy ragged breaths, looking at Wally with terror in your eyes.

“What… What happened to me…?” Your voice was coarse.

“… Your halo… It’s gone…” Wally looked saddened and horrified.

“No… No… No! NO, NO, NO!”

You screamed, your hands flying to your head, only to feel an empty place where your halo used to be.

You leapt to your feet, running out of the room.

Wally only walked after you, a light smirk to his face.

You can’t leave now…

You were here to stay…

With him..

He watched as you tried to fly, your wings flapping tirelessly.

You would lift into the air just barely, only to flop back down onto the ground.

You were sobbing and crying, lamenting that you would no longer be able to go home.

“(Name)… Dear… Please do calm down…”

Wally masked his smirk with a sigh, approaching your sobbing form.

When you stared at him, he knew now…

That he…

Got what he wanted…

You were truly…

His…

Little angel now…

#welcome home #welcome home fanfic #wally darling #wally x you #wally x reader #surprisingly these are actually my roots haha! #dead dove do not eat #dead dove fic

[snakegorl212006]

Diasomnia  Journal Entries

---------------Malleus Draconia----------------------------- -Called him Tsunotarou/Hornton for the longest time -Vil,surprisingly, told me his actual name -despite being a ghost who’s supposed to reside and be found mostly in his own wing, he’s actually mostly founded in the woods outside my house -i did some digging to this guy and all i see are legends -malleus was cruel and cunning individual -he ruled the land with a iron fist and would punish anyone getting in his way -i asked him about it to which he only made him said -”even now stories. The only history they see of me is only filled with blood and brimstone” -he tells his own story and the many names he has been called. -over the years even after death, people seek any means into destroying him   -i asked him what made him bite the dust (and then explaining that i'm asking him how he died as he doesn't know who Queen is.) -he told me he placed a curse on these grounds which cost him his life -whatever ritual he did permanently made him part of this castle of a wing -though,especially after what happened to my door, i don’t underestimate the guy -but he acts like a complete and total sweet heart -unlike azul who half of the time he’s most likely faking, he’s completely genuine -but i would say. Possessive should be his middle name -literally would not like for me to leave at all -i sometimes accidentally overhear conversations between lilia and him about some diabolical plans to lock me away or finding out some elaborate way to get an attachment. -i’m hoping still i don’t have to figure out what he’s like when he doesn't get his way (Aka; me not consenting to have an attachment.)

-----------------------Silver------------------------------ -that explains why there’s so much wildlife -something about this guy literally makes him the embodiment of every disney princess -he’s also a little sleeping beauty -not only he has a pretty face but, he’s prolonged to sleep spells -he says he always had this problem as long as he could remember -he sometimes pops out of nowhere and i blame lilia and malleus for this behavior -an illness is what got him unfortunately -he’s also very sweet. -he protects me from lilia’s cooking(forever grateful) -silver also comes to me for advice as lilia,unlike everyone else here, keeps up with modern times -i had to become his personal google translator so he can understand his father lilia -he’s also almost as gullible as kalim -I just happen to idly spin my broom stick around and now Silver thinks I know my way around weapons,specifically a sword. -he had a desire to train with me one day -i asked him what killed him and he told me he got caught with a plague -i felt bad for him for he’s genuinely pretty sweet -terrible way to go down that’s for sure -he told me that lilia saved his life with a last minute attachment,by choice, which allowed him to become a ghost -”sebek and others though i recovered fully due to this no knowing the truth that i was just a ghost like lord malleus and sir lilia”

------------Sebek Zigvolt------------------------------------ -loud -ill tempered -borderline racist -has a high distance for humans which is ironic to say the least -bost about his abilities often and love to talk about malleus -he is super smart and knows a lot in terms of core subjects -he actually doesn't walk around with that heavy armor 24/7 -very protective of his master and idolized him -i did ask him how he pasted which got him boating how he was slain by the hands of his master -i said i was sorry and he got angry and said “Being slain by Wakasama is the greatest honor a warrior could achieve” -i played along and apologize -he’s strong and often helps me with cleaning and arranging things -he expressed great happiness when i gifted him a old painting of malleus(who i bought from sam) -aside from the usual complaining and worshiping the grounds that malleus walks across, he’s really……obsessed with my demise -half of the time i can’t comprehend if he hates me or wants me to become a ghost like them -i mean i’m human and he doesn't like me much but he always is present and advocates with any idea on how to get me to turn into one of them…

--------Lilia Vanrouge------------------------------- -a cryptic old man with the personality and body of a young man in his early twenties - i also feel like he really wants me dead, yet he treats me like he’ve been best friends for the longest time -likes to tell interesting stories of his youth and his time with malleus -he actually gains a camera at some point in time and took pictures which weren’t half bad. -there is a painting somewhere in this wing were a old full body portrait of lilia back when he was army general(still tying to find but he keeps actively moving the dang painting 😤) -based on this i can confidently assume that they have been alive for over 700 years -he said i wasn't far off yet never elaborated further -he makes many,and i mean many, attempts to make me feel comfortable in the Diasomnia wing -this involves in locking me in the wing possibly taking the same idea from jamil’s attempts -bats sometimes flutter around him which ended up being one more creature to take care of -for some odd reason he’s more connected to modern day news ,topics and trends. -he has requested to have a laptop but the way the wing is set up, he has to used electrical outlets from other wings -which then he elightens me of the capacity of the ghost that resides here -this is when i figured out about their paranormal magic and energy usage -this explains on how malleus was able to travel to the woods outside the main house and how some ghost actual know each other -for example leona,who hates him, and vil knows about malleus

#twisted wonderland haunted au #twsited wonderland ghost au #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twisted wonderland #lilia vanrouge x reader #silver x reader #sebek zigvolt x reader #malleus draconia x reader

[girlgenius1111]

You said you like to keep these things in your asks to read them again - figured it’s the least I can do to try and show how much I appreciate your writing! I apologize in advance for the absolutely excessive length of this, but I’m not well know for my brevity, unfortunately.

Solstrale being so excited at IKEA - my HEART! Mapi is giving such golden retriever energy in the store I am obsessed. Solstrale starting to tear up in the store and yet Ingrid being so gentle and kind, this is simply everything this girl deserves and more. THE SUN MAP MUG? UR AN EVIL GENUIS I LOVE YOU (pun absolutely intended)

“Mapi was just happy to be there” had me giggling as I sat in bed.

“You weren’t…loveable” oh but baby you so are, and you never had to do anything to be deserving of that love. None of us do.

Your ability to write these little splashes of humor in serious moments is just…wistfully wonderful. Your ability to write golden retriever Mapi? God tier.

THE TWENTY THREE TATTOO?! Punch in the mf gut I must admit

I must say I wholeheartedly say that I sympathize with Ingrid’s inability to be chill in any situation. Her tumbling into the room asking about the tattoo is cracking me up lol.

The dichotomy of emotion between Ingrid and her sister, Mapi and Solstrale, and Mapi and Ingrid flows so well and is executed perfectly. I’m in complete and utter awe, in the most complete sense of the words! It just ebbs and flows so perfectly

ABSTINENCE IS KEY IM WHEEZING 😭

“You cried yourself to sleep that night, quietly muffling your sobs in your pillow. It was a sadness that plagued you, mixed with hope. Your parents didn’t love you, you were pretty sure of that. But it seemed like, maybe, Ingrid did.” This is gorgeous. Painful, and yet so so hopeful at the same time. The balance of heartbreak and softness is wonderful.

The phone call 💔 The call backs to Mapis experience with the Spanish camps is such a perfect comparison.

“I am never letting that woman near Solstråle again. I don’t care what I have to do. She’s been hurt enough. I won’t let her be hurt anymore.” INGRID FINALLY FUCKING GETS IT PRAISE THE LORD!

“Of course healing isn’t linear” Judas Priest I am genuinely sitting in bed with tears in my fucking eyes.

Okay their father showing up wasn’t at all what I was expecting but I am sat. Oh god…not Solstrale coming in at the worst time PLEASE GOD NO 😭

“You didn’t mean you wanted them to let you go back to Norway. You wanted them to let you go. The tension in the air thickened at this, as both of them realized what you meant.” This poor GIRL. Mapi swearing on fucking INGRID sent me into the stratosphere…oh how much they love her.

“And maybe it was also the desperation inside yourself, too,  and the ache in your heart that you knew you didn’t need to carry anymore.” No words. All I do is fucking write and I have no words to adequately describe how much perfection exists in this one sentence.

Whew. I truly can’t quite put into words how genuinely perfect this is. To reach the level of heartbreak and emotion that you do is just something phenomenal. It’s something special. How you find the moments of light and mix it with those of the dark, all at the same time. You have this most wonderful gift of being able to portray human emotion in such a raw, real way and I am so endlessly grateful that you choose to share it in this little corner of the internet with us. I’ve adored this series and how you’ve crafted these three and their little household, and will always be sat for any future stories you write about these two - or anyone else for that matter.

Thank you so so much for writing this. Dealing with some of my own personal issues with my own mother and reading this is just…its heartbreak and it’s healing all at the same time.

And ofc, thank you to Bailey as well! Who are we without the planners and helpers in our lives - I think I’d lose my head if summer-princess didn’t remind me where I put it sometimes haha!

i am… speechless?

i want to print this comment out, frame it, and put it up in my room. tattoo it onto my body.

it’s crazy to me how comments on my writing can be so eloquent and beautiful, but you always somehow manage to do that.

seriously i read this with the biggest smile on my face.

it means so, so, SO much to me that not only do you read my work… and enjoy it… you have such strong feelings about it. it blows my mind in the best way.

anyway. going to read this everyday for the rest of my life. i appreciate and love you very much.

[lizadale]

MIss, do you remember the Simentio misadventures? Well, I've started playing Miitopia, that can be just as wacky.

Sadly neither Dimentio nor Luigi are the protagonist. You see, at first I've decided to do Lena from Ducktales because i thought it would be funny.

But when came the time to make the second Mii i remembered that i would need to make 9 more cartoon ducks, on the emulator and I'm not that dedicated to the joke.

Anyway God (the actual name of the character) brought Luigi, Dimentio and Nastasia to this world to help this tini cartoon duck to defeat the Dark Lord (her father that i forgot the name) with only the clothes of their body and no coin or magic abilities to their name.

Luigi found a frying pan thrown outside a Inn. Dio found a magic wand "laying around" and Nastasia is hitting everything with a stick. (Luigi's a chef, Dio's a mage and Nastasia is a cleric.)

On their first day together, because they were also yeeted to different places Dio gifted Luigi a Box, an actual empty box, Luigi was moved.

The morning of the next day Luigi told Dimentio that he didn't sleep well because he talks, loudly, in his sleep, according to Luigi, he kept saying "It's going to be ok" over and over.

When they fight together if they aren't praising eachother every turn they are helping eachother, and i think that's so sweet.

Speaking of fighting, Dio is as frail as a wet paper bag. He's also Dio. Like there was a boss fight where he got hit by a slime and got down to half HP, and he was going to be hit by the boss, but Luigi took the hit for him, Nastasia tried to heal him and he said "no thanks I'm fine >:c" in the same turn Luigi went like "come on dude, here's some special healing food" and he was like "omg, that's delicious, thanks a bunch <3" then he got one hit by the boss who did 20 damage for his 15 max HP the next turn. (That's when i got the tutorial to the life sprinkles)

Also, can you believe that he knows a move that can one hit everything that hit everything, but allies, and he refuses to use it? He also knows lightning and it's his favourite move (or maybe it's Luigi's favourite, because 95% of the time he uses it, Luigi assists it)

Luigi on the other hand is hard carrying everyone. He heals double of what Nastasia heals and he does an equal amount of damage as Dimentio, the assigned hitter. When Dimentio (or anyone, but only Dimentio gets the chance) praises him, he gets a damage boost too.

But Nastasia is not just there. She have a ability that let her one hit anything she wants. She doesn't want to that much :v but there's nothing i can do. The quote that she says when she kills a enemy is "And Fuck you."

Anyway, Dio and Nastasia doesn't stop bickering. It's hilarious. He commented that there's a hole in his shoe and she told him to "cease complaining" he said that his legs will hurt when i press the run button and she told him something like yeah sure. She once told he wants a cat and he said after a bit i want i dog. (Luigi told me too for both, he's precious)

Nastasia got into a fist fight with Lena the cartoon duck btw. It was a random event that got both mad at eachother.

Sorry for babbling. But it's wacky and very fun. (Btw, do you have any ideas for the killing quote for Dio?)

~(V●ᴥ●V)

I CAN'T BREATHE

(he'd probably say something dumb and flirty. maybe just "Ciao~<3", emphasis on the ~🖤)

#this was a wild ride #i really need to get miitopia so i can do a team bleck run #tomodachi life on switch when????

[thelustybraavosimaid]

To Forgive, Divine

It feels like a misstep, an error, and it hurts.

Aemon should have been here by now, with his king father and queen mother and the rest of their royal party, but all Arya got instead were empty spaces where they should have been.

She kicked herself. Of course a crown prince wouldn't actually want to marry her. Of course. But did she have to find that out like this, when she was fussed over for hours and thrown in so tight a dress?

Arya willed the tears away as best she could, but she knew her father noticed them brimming, threatening to fall.

Soon even her family were emptying the godswood, and Lord Eddard Stark was the very last, squeezing her shoulder in reassurance. "It is concerning that they are not here yet," he leaned down to meet her eyes. "If they thought against the match, they have much and more to answer for, I promise you that."

She tried not to sniffle, and cleared her tightened throat. "If I see Aemon, Father, I will hit him with Needle until I am sufficiently satisfied." She didn't think she ever would be, though. The fire of disappointment slithered down her chest and coiled in her belly like a coursing snake.

Arya glanced down at the sword resting on her right hip. Needle. It was a gift from Aemon himself, a secret promise, a proposal before a proposal, as he said. He taught her how to stick them with the pointy end that day, and chuckled and grinned when she whapped him on his arm and told him that she knew which end to use. Love shone in his eyes that day, and every time he saw her thereafter. It hurt to think about his non-presence, and the origins of her favourite sword. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt.

"Are you sure you still want to be out here, sweetling?" Ned asked. "We can put off the feast and have you retire early."

"Eat without me. I'll be out here a little while longer. I need to...to think."

Thinking was the last thing she needed to do, though. Thinking reminded her of the situation at hand, and it would only send her down a dark path of self-doubt and resentment.

Ned squeezed her shoulder again, and told her that there is no shame in crying, in being disappointed. The heat of his palm retreated just as he had, and she stayed still in the silent forest until she knew that she was well and truly alone.

Still, she removed her grey fur and wool-trimmed cloak, sat down against the melancholy heart tree, and pulled the coat up to her shoulders as she brought her knees to her chest. Arya took a deep breath and inhaled the soothing scents of moistened earth and decaying leaves, letting every exhale relax her body to the best of its abilities. 

A blood-red hand of a weirwood leaf fell on her cloak, and she tried to focus on it until the thought of Aemon Targaryen drowned from her thoughts. But it was no good. That was just a stupid leaf, and Aemon was...he was…

I trusted him, she thought bitterly, tears filling her eyes once more. He was so eager...

Arya hadn't realised that she fell asleep until she felt the wet rasp of a tongue at her cheek.

"Nymeria?" She opened her eyes with a rush, but instead of eyes like new golden coins, she was met with crimson eyes that were darker than sin in the night.

"Ghost," she whispered, then looked around, hoping to find—

Aemon.

There he was, clad in black-and-red velvets, his cloak embroidered with the three-headed dragon of his House. His dark hair spilled past his shoulders in glossy waves, and his grey eyes watched her apologetically. He stood beside the black pool in the middle of the godswood, obscuring part of the reflection of the watchful great tree standing vigil behind her. Yet his reflection in the waters was queer enough. She was unsure if it was the sleep in her eyes, but it looked almost like the fog that clung to the floor of the godswood crafted his very form, blurring his body as if he danced behind a curtain veil. The water was so still, though, no breeze fashioning waves on its surface.

Needle felt heavy against her, reminding her of its presence.

"I've always loved these woods," he said softly, stilling her. "There's a peaceful serenity in them, something well and truly beautiful." He took his eyes from the heart tree to rest on her. "But, I think... it's not near half so lovely as you. You look very beautiful tonight, Arya."

"Don't think you can lull me with soft words!" She spat, rising. Warmth fled her as the cloak slipped from around her shoulders to drown in the misty fog that pooled at their feet. A part of her wanted to slap him, so he could feel a tenth of the hurt that pained her. "How dare you?! You could have just sent me a raven instead of making me look like a fool in front of my family! Just say you didn't want this and be done with it!"

Don't say it, she thought, conflicted. She wasn't sure what would hurt worse. Standing in front of the heart tree with no groom was humiliating enough. With him in front of her to tell her that he didn't…she wasn't sure how--

He arched a dark eyebrow, pausing. "What in the seven hells made you think I would want that?"

"Why else would you be here alone?" She challenged, taking a step forward. Arya tried to adjust her dress, feeling the tightness constrict her chest like the coil of a great snake. She felt caged in her movements and in her breathing and she hated it. It only made her angrier. "If you didn't want this marriage you could have sent a raven instead of making me wait for nothing in this stupid out--"

"Nothing?" The word was a cold whisper, soft as if she wasn't furious at him. He pointed a slender finger at the sword resting at her right hip. "Don't forget why you have that, cousin. If I had no wish to wed you, you wouldn't have it. Trust me on that."

She could see her breath steaming in the night air. "Then why are you alone? Explain yourself then, cousin."

Why couldn't you be here when my mother and father were standing with me?

"We were delayed by a fortnight because of the thundersnows." The moon peeked through a patch of clouds, and bathed his pale skin with moonlight, etched with tree leaves and branches. His eyes were darker than usual, obscured by his brow. "You know how awful the roads have been as of late. I truly didn't think such weather was possible, but…well, my father needed all hands to repair the damages, and you know he prefers to travel with as light a company as possible. So he felt he had no choice but to send me on while the rest stayed on the road with him. The king sends his regrets, as does my queen mother."

"Does my lord father know yet?"

"He will soon." Aemon's tone was strange. "But I made sure to come to you first." The seriousness from his face vanished with a small smile. "Do you believe me now? I tried to get to you as quickly as I could, cousin, I tried."

He tried. Yet her wrath was still upon her. "I ought to hit you with Needle and be done with it!"

Another pace forward. "Do so, then, if it makes you feel any better."

Arya growled in fury. "You know it wouldn't!"

"Then come here," he said as he took another step, and then another, until he reached down to grab her cloak and pin it around her shoulders, crowning her in mist. Then he lifted his arms to fix the wisp of lace in her hair before he took her hands in his, "and wed me." He smiled again, filled with pride and a tinge of sadness. "When I say you look beautiful, Arya, I mean it."

His words were sweeter to her ears than they had any right to be.

Arya looked around at the emptiness that surrounded them. Those who would be on either side of them were gone, either on the road or in the keep. It was her lord father who should be here, to bind their hands together with soft strips of silk as proof of their undying unity. Yet there was no one corporeal here but them, the heart tree, and an eerie—but strangely comforting—silence of a thousand and one voiceless, nameless gods.

"How? It's not like we can get married now," she sighed, "I'm sure my lord father is off to bed. It has to be near the hour of the wolf."

"There's another way, an older way. No one need be here but us, as I'd prefer," he replied with a gentle smile. "Give me our sword."

Our sword. Aemon's eyes bore into hers, dark and enticing. The proposal before the proposal.

The proof that he'd always be with me, no matter what.

The sword slid from its sheath in a soft hush as she handed it over to him, shivering when he brushed his fingers against hers. He gave it a brief inspection, testing the sharpness before he ran it across his palm until a river of red showered his skin. He passed the blade to Arya, bidding her do the same.

"We'll be bound by blood, in all ways now, little cousin," Aemon murmured when she brought her hand against his, lifeblood flowing down and kissing the decay of the earthen floorbed. He kissed the back of her hand before pulling away, pressing his bloody palm near the melancholy mouth of the great heart tree. They were so close that their breaths mingled, yet his seemed cold, as cold as his hands. Even his blood was frigid.

She tried to ignore it as he began his vows, and she hers.

"Do you swear to take this man in life and death?" His grey eyes looked strange then, penetrating, deeper than the black pool in these great woods she tried to find the bottom of.

"That's not part of the oath," she told him, confused.

"Swear it to me all the same," he whispered, bending down to rub his nose against hers. So she did, and as the last word fell from her lips, Aemon nudged his forehead with hers and soon dipped down to her lips, just a hair's breadth away.

She stared at his eyes and felt as if she could drown in their depths.

"Arya." His voice was low with reverence, so silky-sweet that it made her shiver. He threaded his fingers back between the spaces of her wounded hand and gave it a light squeeze, giving her a gentle look of apology when she sucked in a breath.

"I've waited so long for this," he finally sighed, leaning closer, nudging his head against hers again. "So long."

His breath mingled with hers, misting in the frosty air, warm and cold dancing, waiting, waiting...

"Don't leave me, then," Arya felt a tear running down her cheek. She would have rubbed it away with stubborn pride were it not for his lips pressing against hers, pulling her closer.

Colours burst to life underneath his touch, and suddenly it didn't matter that his mouth was cold, or his tongue, or his fingers. They felt good and right against her flushed skin, on her greedy, needy mouth, making heat rise all over. She had to press her legs together, but it only made the fire at her core worsen, and soon desperation took hold of her.

"We are wed now," his voice was even lower than before, even huskier. He backed her up against the heart tree, pressing a flurry of kisses on her hot skin, loosening the ties at the back of her dress to press his lips to her bare shoulder before it settled at the nape of her neck, drawing circles. His gaze was hot and dark and paralysing, his bowed lips curved to a smirk. "And when the day comes, you and I will dwell in Summerhall, lord and lady of the palace, and you will be forever mine."

Arya ran her hands through his hair and tugged him closer for a kiss, so hard that it made their teeth click together. But she needed this, needed it, needed him. He was tugging at her clothes in between his heady embraces. But being before him now, she couldn't help but feel a sense of uncertainty; that soon melted away when he stepped back and his eyes ran a trail of fire up her form, over her small breasts, the soft curvy flare of her hips, the thatch of dark curls between her thighs.

"Beautiful," he breathed, half in awe.

Soon they both were as naked as their name days. Without hesitation, Aemon flattened the Targaryen cloak onto an even patch of earth, smothering the fog before it rose through the fine fibres in smoke-grey tendrils. He took her hand again, settling her on the cloth, taking his rightful place between her thighs. He let his bloody hand run in the locks of her hair, breathing in her scent before pressing a peck to her ear.

"Beautiful," he murmured again. Aemon dropped more kisses at her throat, on her breasts, to her belly before stoking the fire between her thighs with his cool tongue. She trembled, twisting her fingers through his hair and felt the need to sob, whether from desperation or pent-up longing, she could not say.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she half-whispered, half-whined when his face was level with hers. The smell of her was on his breath, and she was lost in his smile again, pressing her head further against the cushion of his cloak as he pushed inside her.

The moon was at such an angle that it reflected in his eyes, the dark gaze turning a liquid silver, molten with half-lidded desire. She saw every fleck and crypt in them, and they were all she could see as she trembled underneath him.

Aemon squeezed her tight, crushing her to his chest as he snapped his hips, sharp strokes pushing him deeper than before. A pained smile caressed his face when he watched her gasp.

"Of course I would," he grit his teeth. "My heart, my bride, I love you, I love you, I love you."

#jonrya #jon x arya #needleheart #fanfiction #jon snow #arya stark #happy halloween!!! #asoiaf

[khaleesiofalicante]

Hi girl,

So I read the last IALS chapter quite slowly as compared to how I have been reading it up until this week. I think I needed some time to really take it all in. Then I cried. I also stopped several times during the chapter to sniffle and wipe the edge of my eye (like Kajol sitting in the window in DDLJ after she moved back to Punjab to marry Kuljit against her will 0_o). The ANGST woman!! Like AlecAngst is another level - I realised that when we were in the midst of TLND (one-year posting anniversary coming up yeah <3).

I cannot say this enough - the imagination and creativity that goes into your stories are just so good Dani. I'm always so inspired to write something every time I read what you have written! But then I just don't. Also, all the snippets, hints, and conjecture is just driving my imagination wild. How are we at the end of this now - anddd the most angsty chapter is just ahead of us. I cannot deal. I am fearful and so excited for the next chapter. THANK YOU as always for your storytelling and imagination and belief in the characters, the boundaries that you push for us, and your ability to make us think out of the box. I know someone mentioned this: that we couldn't understand how and why MAVID were in the situation they were in, and how David's actions with the custody agreement would not be forgiven or did not make sense. But as usual, you are piecing everything together so wonderfully. It's a gift. You are a gift, my girl. Also - Hayden Christensen is coming to the MEFCC in Abu Dhabi and I plan to attend. I live here in UAE. He was my teenage crush (I mean who wasn't a fan of him am I right) and the fact that he is the fancast IALS adult David is just excellent, in addition to all the beautiful/talented/amazing things he has been in of course hahaha!

I eagerly await your updates Dani - I think my long diatribe has explained this hahaha. Take care of yourself and keep the amazing work coming. I am so glad I found you on AO3 and that then led me to getting an actual Tumblr account!! This was just to interact with you, read your thoughts, and updates, and be a part of your fandom.

Always praying the best for you! Sanj

AH SANJ THIS WHOLE THING MADE MY DAY THANK YOU.

Apologies for the angst but I'm glad you got to have your Kajol moment :P

Also tlnd anniversary? WHEN? i need to check oof.

I'm glad you found me and that I found you. I really hope you know i meant it sincerely.

ALSO YOU ARE POSSIBLY MEETING HAYDEN?? *screams in french* I mean Lewis is already in Bahrain right now and will be in UAE a lot because of F1 BUT BOTH OF THEM IN THE SAME PLACE? GOOD LORD.

I hope you get to see Hayden.

ALSO I FOUND THIS PIC OF HIM SLEEPING AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS AIN'T DAVID OMG????

#IALS

[acourtofthought]

hey, so i’m relatively new to the acotar fandom and i’m curious about so many things! idk if you’ve made a post about this in the past but a lot of people ship lucien with vassa, bc fire is an important part of them and “their compatibility”. what opinion do you have on this? (if you want to share obviously). thank u! and i love your account <3

Welcome to the fandom! And thank you so much for your sweet comments 🥰

I love Lucien. And I think Vassa is a great character. But I personally don't see them as a well suited match in terms of a relationship.

To address yours point regarding their compatability because of their fire powers, I'm not sure I feel that's enough to sell me on their ship. Because most other SJM endgame couples have complimentary powers but not identical ones (Rowan controlled Wind and Ice (and lightning), Aelin controlled Fire. Nesta is literally "Death" and while Cassian's power isn't Death, he is known as Lord of Bloodshed because he has such raw killing power. Feyre and Rhys do have an identical power but that's only because he gave her her powers. Just because Lucien and Vassa share in their ability to wield Fire, it doesn't make them any more matched than other couples.

It's also important to remember that while Lucien does wield Fire, that's a gift from his mothers side (not the High Lord). So when his full powers are revealed, I think the dominant part will be what he receives from Helion. Considering Elain needs "Sunshine" and she's a grower of things (which I think will mean more than just gardens in people's backyards) it seems she and Lucien would have more compatability because their needs and powers would compliment one another rather than being identical. Not to mention she sees the future and Lucien is capable of seeing the truth of things right in front of him with his eye. Again, complimentary but not identical.

Lucien has always been an affectionate and emotional friend to the females in his life. He was quick to apologize to Feyre when he made mistakes, he did his best to protect her UTM, he was open with his hurt over her leaving both he and Tamlin, he covered her in his jacket while she was sleeping, and he stroked her hair and spoke soft reassurances when he thought she had a nightmare. His behavior around Vassa has echos of his friendship to Feyre and I don't interpret them as romantic.

I also think Vassa has a personality that is a mixture of Feyre and Nesta. She's bold, used to getting her way (you can tell in the way she talks to Feyre the very first time they meet) which makes sense because she's a Queen and commands others, slightly aloof. And while Lucien definitely respects Feyre as his friend, I think he's got way too many people in his life who like to tell him what to do rather than letting him take the lead. To me, Vassa would be the one in charge rather than it being an equal partnership. And Lucien isn't an aggressive enough Male to sort of demand that equality.

I want Lucien to respect whatever female he's with and believe she's capable but I'd also like for that same female to occasionally look to Lucien for his opinion and intelligence.

The only thing Vassa has really looked to Lucien for is playing middle man to she and Jurian’s arguments. (Vassa and Jurian definitely give off Nessian vibes which makes them a more compatible pairing. Not to mention they are both sort of humans who plan on remaining in the Human Lands and have both taken an interest in helping the people there).

I'd also think the female who would he best suited to him would be a bit more emotionally available to him? That sounds weird but Lucien, for as much as he's a warrior when he needs to be and doesn't back down when standing in front of the Illyrians who are giving him death glares or in the face of enemies, is an emotional Male. Tamlin talks about the depth of feeling Lucien struggles with because of his past, Lucien himself is an emotionally open character in the way he talks to Feyre and when we hear his thoughts, Feyre notes the deep and endless sadness and guilt and hopelessness within him when she slips into his mind. Vassa definitely gives me Russian dominatrix vibes and I think she'd walk all over Lucien in a relationship. In a way that wouldn't really give him a safe place to have those softer moments when he's not in his thick thigh, broad shouldered, snarky warrior mode. 😉

Maybe I've got these characters pegged all wrong but for whatever reason SJM has written them in a way that makes me feel like their personalities are clearly defined. And Vassa and Lucien do not give me the impression of being relationship compatible.

Sorry this turned into a book of reasons but thank you so much for your ask! 🥰

#pro lucien vanserra #jassa #lucien vanserra

[lunarscaled]

⋇ A HUNDRED ARMS A HUNDRED YEARS---YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND ME HERE: LEGEND OF ZELDA

- somewhere far off, a cycle was also repeating itself.

In the connecting waters of the Great Sea and the World of the Ocean King lay islands few and far apart, further than most merchants dare to sail and through a sea of monsters. If you ask about their destinations many will look askant upon you, wary to give the way---for in the northern most parts of the waters lay a vast, mountainous island once home to a volcano long since dormant, and in the depths of the volcano in the cool rock and lava tunnels deep beneath the island surface and seabed lies a sleeping dragon. It is legend that for centuries, the dragon gifted to those brave enough to face it power to seize all they wish so long as they are strong enough to pay the price, and because of that dragon the island and its inhabitants were safe even in a sea of monsters and isolation. As Dragon Roost Island had its benevolent guardian deity Valoo, so did they have their sleeping guardian that kept evil at bay.

Until a child woke it up.

verse info under cut bc its a LOT

Name: Lyric Gravellese Species: Human, Dragon Age: 19 Location: Dragon's Fang Island Titles & Nicknames: The 27th Sage of the Dragon, Guardian of the Isles; The Dragon Child; Winter's Hatchling; King of the Cold Peak Abilities: Ice-based abilities; Cold resistance; Extended lifespan; Draconic features ( rough hide, talons, sharp teeth, etc. ); Inhuman endurance; Inhuman strength; Expanded breathing capacity.

Attire notes: Residents of Dragon Fand and surrounding areas affected by its encompassing, permanent cold season typically wear long-sleeved, layered shirts and thick pants with boots; because dyes are limited, it is common to further decorate one's personal attire with jewelry, beading, colorful fabric scraps and handkerchiefs, and hair accessories. Feathered cloaks made from shed Rito plumes are used by those who scale the mountain or descend into its caverns for any reason and are decorated with the colorful feathers of hunted birds such as Helmarocs and Kargarocs. Lyric's cloak is a cut shape reminiscent of a dragon wing to differentiate them as the current Dragon Sage and bares a "dragon stone"---a stone hewn from the crystals that grow on the back of the guardian dragon that further grant the Sage abilities beyond normal species capabilities. Each new sage must descend to meet the guardian dragon and retrieve the crystal from its back after consuming its blood; if they survive, the crystal is brought back to the surface and carved into an ammonite-shaped accessory.

LORE

At the beginning of a cycle thousands of years ago, a human child's beloved mother fell gravely ill. The island's doctors were at a loss for her condition, and the medicine to cure it could only be obtained in ports far away with money the child didn't have but desperately needed. Frantic to save their mother, the child remembered a legend from their bedtime stories and clad themselves in feathered cloaks, boots, a fist full of small, valuable objects---the child, no more than 10, sought the lair of the guardian dragon of the island to procure the great power they felt was needed to save their mother.

The dragon, Zargincerinth the Lord of the Ice and Tundra, woke to the ringing, incessant pleading of a child at the end of his nose, no larger than a single claw. They offered him their gold. They offered him their service. They offered themselves, if only he would grant them power. "Anything," the child said, "I will do anything if you will make me powerful."

The dragon, risen from his slumber, was not a kind one. Anything would they give, and so everything he would take. Zargincerinth peeled back a scale and exposed a raw open wound. It bled into a silver bowl the size of a small cow he fished from his hoard, and he raised his head and looked down at the small, insignificant child and slid the blood-filled bowl to them.

"Drink until you can drink no more." he growled, "And if you live, power mine I will bestow upon you."

The child, unable to lift the bowl, was forced to swallow handfuls of the blood at a time to complete the task, and with each swallow was wrought with terrible pains all through their body. Through tears, through begging and weeping, through screams of pain they persisted as the dragon watched on. And when the bowl when they could consume no more, their hands and clothes and mouth stained red, they collapsed against the side of the bowl.

And in their unconsciousness, the dragon rose to stretch its limbs, shaking the entire island. The dragon crawled up the spiraling path from its cave in the depths and emerged, white and opalescent and massive, at the top of the volcano. And the dragon, cruel as it was, who cared not for lived but what they could offer him, devoured the island.

The child spent 10 days in and out of bleary consciousness. They fumbled blindly to find pools of water and drink from them to not die of dehydration, they curled around themselves to not freeze to death in the cold. And when they awoke they felt ragged, sickly and awful, and no stronger than they were before. The cave was empty.

They went home.

Home, and the island, was also empty.

Zargincerinth would return after they had awakened hauling shipwrecked boats closer by one clawed wing, and the child ate from their spoils and rations, their fish catches, the bodies of the slaughtered crews. The dragon, with no concern for the child's safety or health, gave a great flap of his wings and clouded the island over with cold, dark clouds that began to snow. Decisively, he spoke:

"Bring me subjects; bring me gold; bring me tribute and wealth for the power I have given you. Build your island and lives here and worship me, and I will keep the world at bay and grant you strength. Build your world for me, because you have nothing left. You have no choice."

And so the child did.

Stowed away on ships, messages in bottles, desperate pleas with passing merchants. Year by year, decade by decade, the island accumulated its occupants: those seeking power, those seeking refuge, those who were exiled from their own lands. They brought their valuables and offered them; they brought their wares and sold them. They drank the dragon's blood and became resilient against the cold and shaped in the image of serpents: scaled, fanged, clawed. Even the Rito who came to the island became an odd in-between of their Zora ancestors and their avian selves, waterproof feathers and insulation, sharp fangs and sharper claws. For centuries the child grew and watched on, the link between the people and their guardian deity. For centuries, they scorned themselves and their misguided wish.

And after centuries, they demanded it stop.

The child and long since grown into an adult who had grown scales and fangs, and strength to slay beasts with their bare hands and crush rocks in their fists. Fed on dragon blood and strife, the hewn stone around their neck which anchored their strength in them seemed like a chain instead of a guide. "There is only one way to repent for my mistake," the child thought, "I must become a dragon myself and slay the beast."

Face to face with their creator they swallowed the stone, and face to face did they become a beautiful, pale dragon just as his own image. And face to face, above the island they fought. Blood stained the soil, scales loose in the sand, red awash in the waves. For three days did they clash, the sound of their colliding bodies and wings clapping like thunder, shaking the island itself and the water below them. And when three days had passed, the Lord came plummeting down from the sky with his disciple atop him, pinning his corpse to the seabed. From the waters arose a single white dragon, clad in its wounds and vibrant yellow eyes: the human they had been, and the dragon they had become, became indistinguishable from each other in the child's mind. What they were now may as well have been what they always were. Human memories felt such a distant tide now.

Who will protect us now? the island people pleaded. Who will keep us safe?

I will, said the child now a dragon. I will protect you. And when the time comes, I will choose a new disciple among you, and when the time comes they will ascend as I have. And I will descend as the Lord has.

And so the dragon, once a child, dragged its injured body to the depths of the cavern to sit upon its hoard and rest. To receive tribute and distribute boons to its people. And decades after slaying its former, it picks an orphaned child from a sickly family and presents them a bowl of its blood. Drink until you can drink no more, the dragon says, and if you live, power mine I will bestow upon you.

And so the cycle of the Dragon's Sage began.

TRIVIA

The Dragon's Sage is chosen as a child typically from a family that has experienced sudden and severe illness, or who has otherwise been abandoned or is the sole survivor. A child is typically chosen prior to age 11, and may be of any species. Children do not always survive the blood drinking ritual, and so there have been many more sage selections than those who survived to gain power.

Lyric lost their mother and brother to sickness at a young age, and their father abandoned them in his grief. They were chosen for this reason.

Lyric has clawed, scaled hands similar to Rito but more humanoid. Some of this is an effect of the dragon blood and their stone.

The current dragon guardian is Gimmoirer the Hermit.

The cycle of the dragon sage happens typically every few centuries, but has sometimes been shorter. To prevent any one guardian dragon from destroying the island as before, it is considered a necessity that the current Dragon Sage consume the Stone and become a dragon themselves, slaying the former dragon and taking its place.

Over time, the sage turned dragon forgets their past and original shape, and only regards themselves as a Dragon. this is a similar effect as the Secret Stones in TOTK.

BOTW/TOTK: Lyric has stowed away from Dragon Fang on a fishing ship and sailed far off to Hyrule to escape the cycle of the sage. How this affects their environment or if people have heard of them is up to interpretation; the island is desperate to bring them back by any means necessary, as the cycle cannot continue without them, and is intrinsic to the future safety of its inhabitants.

#* ooc. #⋇ A HUNDRED ARMS A HUNDRED YEARS---YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND ME HERE: LEGEND OF ZELDA #loz rpc #loz rp #zelda rp #botw rp #totk rp

[lowestechelonabomination]

good evening. heres your o overcoat askliveblogging notes:

- the first paragraph is already so cinematic wtf ech

- at this point im gonna turn this into a film myself

- "people were weak by nature; he knew that lesson well" heyyyyyy echie is that a reference to dazai abusing him heyyyyy ☹️

- THEY TALK TELEPAHITHICALLY OH MY GOD

- frilly neck thing he could never remember the name of

- I THINK HIS SOCKS WOULD HAVE CATS AND PUMPKINS ON THEM

- god i wanna draw rashoumon in an apron now

- ITS LIKE A MOM HAHAHAJAAHHDDH

- "take ur melatonin u sick overworked bitch"

- god his thought process is spot on echelon this is gorgeous. dazai teaching him that actions always have a negative consequence and that he needs to be taught a lesson is so awfully heartbreaking

- dude its like he gave birth to his ability i LOVE this

- GROCERY STORE UWWWAAAHHSHFHF

- RASHOUMON MOM CANON

- gin laughing 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

- OH MY GOD. GINS DEAL. IM GONNA LOSE T HELP ME HAHAJAJAHSHHD I LOVE THEM SM

- "A flower born in darkness could only ever stay in darkness because anything light that dared come near would instantly be tainted." oh my lord.

- he totally liked that plush

- okay ive gotta say i LOVE your characterization of akutagawa. the way he is trying so hard to not yell at the cashier is spot on, especially considering that he probably doesnt know proper communication skills. you. oh my god /pos

- oh god this cant be good. not dazai

- PLEASE I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT TACHIHARAS NAME WAS LMAOOO

- "The day Dazai left the Port Mafia was the day Akutagawa snapped. It was as if something holding him from within had crumbled away, and the shards dug themselves into every part of his soul." i cant even emphasize how much i love this bit. i wanna carve the words into my arm and stare at them for the rest of eternity

- originally i thought that chuuya wouldve sent him the basket, especially because he mentioned akutagawa being sick towards the beginning, but now dazai makes sense. also i LOVE how you word akutagawas mindset throughout the fic. its obvious he has trauma and i just adore how you arent portraying it as seeking approval and rather being immature and mentally painting dazai as someone bad because thats all he knows

- he refuses to believe that dazai had changed and was becoming a better person. its gorgeous. my god.

- KATAI??? YOU PULLED OUT THE B I G GUNS MFER OH MY HAHAJAJAHSHDJ

- my jaw is wide open btw i was NOT expecting him

- "you think a VPN can stop me?" said every pirater ever (me)

- KATAIIIISISHSHUEHFHFHFJFJF

- ECHELON HE SOUNDS JUST LIKE HOW HE DOES IN KUNIKIDA AND KATAIS BRILLIANT DAYS IM GONNA CRY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

- watch: its tachihara. boom case solved.- akutagawa has autism pov

- I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KN E W W W WIT WAS CHUUYA

- chuuya shit-eating note 💀💀💀💀💀

- ohhhhhhh gin my girl i love them so much i love gin 🥺🥺

- SLEEP DEPRIVED AKUTAGAWA LETS GO MFERS

final thoughts:this was a gift from god, truly. this is easily one of my favoritest fics ive ever read to this date. akutagawa's persistent villanizing of atsushi and dazai is perfect, and his anger is just so hdhejhskajsjfjfjfshdndjfjdbd i cant even. i love this so much and i have no words <3

ajhsdjkhsdksdhkds literally grinning at my screen as I read this :D :D :D

I'm so so glad you like the first paragraph because starting paragraphs are one of the hardest things to write and usually turn out to be not the best :'). I had a sketch of Rashoumon in an apron somewhere but I can't find it *sobs*. I never actually came up with any of their fake names because I was lazy, but Tachihara's fake name is basically the equivalent of "the peepee poopoo man" or something similar. unfortunately I don't think I did Katai justice in this fic because I wrote this before I read Brilliant Days, but I guess he can have some dumb jokes as a treat. also autistic Akutagawa so true

anyway, if you're curious and have the time, you can go back and try to find all of the tiny, subtle things I hid in the actual text. most of them are about how Akutagawa refers to things

also THANK YOU THANK YOU THANKYOUTHAKNYIOU SDJHGFKSDKLDSJ :DDDDDD

#i will be thinking about this ask for the next several days thank you #ask #o overcoat

[recreancyrpg]

Welcome to Recreancy, Courtney!

You have been accepted for the role of WILA TRAVERS!

It’s been said that Wila is playing chess while everyone around her is playing checkers. She has just always had an uncanny ability to see three steps in front of her to the point that some people have accused her of being a Seer. But it’s not some magical gift that allows her to see what’s going to happen, it’s just her years of thinking in terms of business deals

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME & PRONOUNS: Courtney and she/her

AGE: 27

TIMEZONE: Eastern 

ACTIVITY LEVEL: Summer starts for me on Friday so I have plenty of time! 

ANYTHING ELSE: I don’t think so!

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Wila Pensri Travers 

AGE: Twenty six 

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Wila is a Cis-female who uses she/her pronouns. Wila is a bisexual woman, but she is not quite aware of the fact, and if she was she would not act on it. Even though the Wizarding World is a bit more accepting of differences, Wila does come from a family of traditionalists that have already made an exception for her and she isn’t willing to shake things up even more. It hasn’t mattered too much, though, since Wila hasn’t really had time for dating anyways. 

BLOOD STATUS: Half-Blood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Gryffindor 

ANY CHANGES: None! 

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY: 

It’s been said that Wila is playing chess while everyone around her is playing checkers. She has just always had an uncanny ability to see three steps in front of her to the point that some people have accused her of being a Seer. But it’s not some magical gift that allows her to see what’s going to happen, it’s just her years of thinking in terms of business deals. Wila was very nearly sorted into Slytherin for her ambition and determination, but she is also incredibly daring, loyal, and has a reckless streak a mile wide. It was in Gyffindor that she found other like minded individuals that helped her to hone her ability to take risks (mostly in business). As a teenager, though, she wasn’t afraid to break the rules and talk back to her professors when she had a good reason to. 

Wila is a powerful and dignified woman in business that has earned the respect of men twice her age with twice the experience. Many people questioned her father’s decision to have a woman as his heir, but they very quickly realized that they had been wrong to doubt Damien Travers choice. Wila is shrewd in business and she doesn’t mince words in her personal life. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind in a diplomatic way (after all, you never want to offend potential clients). She is a total workaholic that is somehow managing to balance her clients with her work for the Order. Wila is not always the most friendly person in the Order, and she can be quite cold and matter of fact. But you have to be to be a woman in finance. She runs off of black coffee and carries revenge in her heart. She will sleep when all of the bastards that killed her sister are dead. Her recklessness and desire for revenge is obvious to all and is a concern to all. She isn’t afaid to die in the line of duty if it means taking out the people that were involved in her sister’s death. 

Since Sarai’s death Wila has thrown herself into work even more than usual. She was incredibly businesslike at the funeral and did not shed a tear in public. In private, she raged and sobbed and cursed Lucius Malfoy and his stupid bullshit beliefs in his Dark Lord. It was his fault that Sarai was dead, she had followed him into war, and got herself killed in the middle. On the outside, she appears to be dealing with her grief in a ‘healthy’ way and she hasn’t hexed Lucius, although she has been cold to him ever since. But her changes aren’t easily seen to the general public. 

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY: 

After the death of Wila’s grandfather, Damien had stepped up as head of the family and President of Travers Investment Firm. It appeared that he had everything until the death of his first wife blindsided him, leaving him with a young son and heir to the family firm. Eventually, he realized that he wanted a mother for his son and someone to take care of him. It was on a business trip to Thailand that he met the perfect woman for the part. Kalaya was a beautiful model and she quickly fell in love with the older man. Moving back to England was an easy decision and after a large wedding, two beautiful daughters followed not long after. It was clear to everyone that Damien had everything that he could ever want. It was expected that his children would be just as shrewd when it came to business as their father. The Travers family might not have been of ‘Pureblood’ anymore but their connections and wealth made up for any ‘muddy’ blood that they might have. Damien and Kalaya would raise their children with impossibly high standards and with an education that could rival the Black sisters or the Malfoy heir.

Traditionalists to a fault, Damien took on the rearing of Silas while Kalaya took on Wila and Sarai’s education. Wila took ballet and learned to speak French, while Silas learned about finance and investments, much to Wila’s frustration. She thought that it was completely unfair that Silas got to learn about business while she was stuck in etiquette lessons with Sarai. But her mother wouldn’t hear it whenever Wila expressed her frustrations. She knew that she was meant for more than a marriage to some rich husband to keep the Travers line wealthy but her mother didn’t see that. Even though Silas was several years older than her, Wila could see that the way that their family handled things was unfair. So when she turned nine, she decided that she was going to do something about it, and she took to hiding in her father’s office before his business lessons with Silas. She would hide in the cupboard for hours, listening and absorbing everything. 

One day her parents would realize that they had been wrong about her. 

Right before Wila’s eleventh birthday, things fell apart at home. At Silas’s graduation from Hogwarts, he sat his father and Kalaya down to tell them the truth. That he wasn’t interested in the family business, that he was going to be an actor, and that he had a boyfriend. Wila wasn’t sure which was the final straw for her father, but she suspected that he was most upset about Silas not wanting to follow in his footsteps and wanting to be an actor of all things. Wila and Sarai had huddled outside their father’s study and listened to the blow out fight that ended with Silas storming from the house. 

Wila had decided at that moment that it was now or never and she stepped into the doorway and told her father to let her be the heir. Kalaya had immediately chastised her for her insolence, but Damien had looked at her curiously. He gestured towards his desk and Wila stepped up to the challenge. Damien put her through a series of ‘tests’ that she flew through with flying colors. When her father looked at her with pride, Wila felt truly seen for the first time in her life. Convincing her mother was a different challenge, but it was eventually decided that Wila would continue with her mother’s teachings, but she would spend time with her father learning the family business. Her father warned her that it wouldn’t be an easy feat, breaking into business in a mostly male dominated field, but he could see that Wila was up to the task. 

Going to Hogwarts was almost a let down. Wila didn’t really care about learning magic theory, although she did well in class because her parents expected it. It was at Hogwarts, when Sarai joined her, that the sisters grew close for the first time. Away from the boredom of her mother’s etiquette classes and French lessons, the sisters were able to be themselves. Wila realized that she would do anything that she could for her sister, and when graduation came, she was surprised that she was sad to say goodbye to her sister and the school that she had somehow grown to love. After graduation, she threw herself into her family business and she thrived. She was a total workaholic and quickly rose through the ranks. Everything was perfect and what she wanted.

Until Sarai came to her flat one day and showed her her dark mark. Wila knew all about the war that was waging around them but she was privileged enough to not have to be involved. She had no desire to fight or to ruin any business deals with politics. She thought that Sarai was being a little foolish, getting involved, but her younger sister had always made her own decisions and Wila wasn’t going to tell her sister how to live her life. But she regretted that choice immensely. 

Within the year of joining the Death Eaters, Sarai was dead. And Wila was set on a path of self destruction and revenge. It lead her to the Order of the Phoenix. 

OCCUPATION: 

Wila works for her family’s Investment firm and she is poised to become President of the firm when her father retires or dies. She loves her position in the company because she has the freedom to invest in whatever she sees as a good fit for the company and her portfolio. She is incredibly knowledgeable about good investment choices and is one of the most sought after people in the firm. It’s said that she has doubled some of her clients Gringotts vaults over her years with the firm. 

LIVING SITUATION: 

Wila lives in a large flat in Diagon Alley. It is decorated in white and black and is very clean and crisp looking. It has a large window that takes up almost an entire wall in her living room. She charms it so it looks like her apartment looks out at different cities. She is quite fond of charming it so she can see the eiffel tower in the distance, but she has also charmed it to look out at the New York City skyline. Why have magic if you can’t utilze it to give yourself a different view every night? 

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: 

The Order of the Phoenix, and Wila’s involvement in it, is a means to an end. Even though Wila ia a half-blood, she is an incredibly privileged one and due to her family’s wealth and status, she has never been looked down upon (at least not to her face) for being a half-blood. Some Purebloods even forget that her family is not ‘one of them’. But since Sarai’s death, Wila realizes that they are her best chance at getting revenge for Sarai. And revenge is all that she can think about these days. Since joining the Order, she has found a purpose in life again besides making money and business. She is running herself ragged for the Order and to try and make the people that took her sister from her pay. 

In terms of strengths in the Order, Wila is a strategist at her core. She does best when she is in the strategy room with the others coming up with a plan of attack. Sometimes she butts heads with the others because she is too willing to make sacrifices that aren’t hers to make. She can hold her own on the battlefield, but can be a bit too reckless, which is something that the higher ups in the Order take issue with. She has trouble seeing that not everyone is in on her revenge mission. Wila is absolutely garbage at healing, and it’s something that nobody should ever ask her to try. She has no patience to heal injuries or to nurture someone back to health. 

RELATIONSHIPS:

First of foremost, Wila is in the Order for revenge, not friends. She sees most of the members of the Order as colleagues and people that she has to get along with for the sake of revenge, but she probably won’t talk to the vast majority of them after the war. 

Evan Rosier- It was a shock to see the heir to the Rosier name in the Order. That was something that she never would have expected, but it makes sense. After all, the Travers family has heard a lot, and she has heard plenty about the Rosier family over the years. She does business with some of them. She likes Evan well enough, she thinks that he is a good asset with his healer knowledge and she has certainly gone to him for injuries here and there, and for a dreamless sleep potion here and there since her sister died. 

Emma and Elliot Vanity- Wila has had plenty of interaction with both of the Vanity’s and she has a lot of opinions. She thinks that Emma is rather vapid and superficial and she doesn’t have a very high opinion of her. It was incredibly surprising to see Emma join the Order, and it has made Wila wonder if she is perhaps wrong about the younger woman. On the other hand, she sees a lot of potential in Elliot. He was a Gryffindor, for one, so he has that going for him already. But he is brave and Wila appreciates that his bravery isn’t quite so loud as Potter or Black’s. Because even though Wila was also a Gryffindor, she hates the stereotypical Gryffindors that give the rest of them a bad name. There’s also something about Elliot that reminds her of Sarai and she wants to protect him. She sees a lot of potential in him.

Hestia Jones- Wila thinks that Hestia is a bit strange, what with her love of all things muggle. Wila does think that there are some muggle things that she would have considered investing in, if she really wanted to, so she can’t entirely fault Hestia for it all. But most of all, Wila appreciates her mind for strategy. There are few others in the Order that Wila thinks rivals her own genius, and Hestia is one of those such people. She is someone that Wila will back down to when it comes down to it. She realizes that Hestia has their best interests in mind, which makes Wila feel a little bit guilty at times since she is really in it for selfish reasons. But it is what it is. 

Lucinda Talkalot- Wila understands Lucinda and her rage. It’s rage that she herself feels every day since losing her sister. She didn’t know Mica, and would never presume to tell Lucinda what she’s feeling or going through. That’s not her place. But what Wila will do is be there for the younger girl when she needs it. Lucinda is perhaps one of the few people in the Order that Wila would drop everything for, if she needed her. Not a lot of people in the Order can understand what it’s like for them to lose a sibling. 

Alastor Moody- Wila thinks that the man is completely crazy. A brilliant Auror, perhaps, but he’s not the greatest leader that they could have. Wila has mostly held her tongue when it comes to him, though, because she sees how well respected he is by all of the other members of the Order. But she sometimes questions if he is really the best person that should be leading them, he’s just so paranoid. 

Sarai Travers- Sarai died on March 17th, 1983 at twenty third years old, just a few months shy of her twenty fourth birthday. Her death hit Wila very hard. It’s been about fifteen months since Sarai died and Wila has been struggling. The two sisters weren’t very close when they were children–Wila had thought that her younger sister was far too interested in the etiquette classes that their mother put them in and that she was far too vapid to have a real conversation with. It was especially hard for Sarai since she desperately wanted to be involved in the family business and her sister just didn’t understand. Wila held a lot of anger as a child and she took it out on Sarai far too often. And Sarai would just take it. Thinking back on it, Wila hates the way that she treated Sarai as children and wishes that she could take it back, if only to have had more time with her. The girls became close at Hogwarts and that followed them up until Sarai’s death. Never did Wila think that she was going to have to go on without her baby sister. 

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: Wila/Chemistry! 

INTERPERSONAL STRUGGLES: 

The biggest and most obvious struggle that Wila is going through is dealing with the death of her sister. Wila loved her sister so much and losing her felt like losing a part of herself. She blames herself for not steering her sister in a different direction and for not getting involved when she had the chance. She wonders if she had been more available for Sarai or hadn’t been such a workaholic than maybe things would have ended up differently. But she can’t go back and change things and that’s something that Wila hasn’t fully accepted yet. Working with the Order, she is channeling her desire for revenge, which has been somewhat healing, but it’s not a healthy way to deal with her grief.  

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 

I loved Wila and her mission for revenge. Wila is so different from Emmeline and that was what I was mostly looking for in a potential seond character. And honestly, this roleplay is just so incredible and I love everyone so much that I will be here forever. 

PLOT DROP IDEAS (OPTIONAL): I mean, Wila thinks that it would be cool to get the chance to take Lucius Malfoy out for what he did to Sarai. But other than that I am just excited to see all of the drama and all of the Order things that are going to happen over the course of the roleplay! 

ANYTHING ELSE? It’s not a huge change, but just aging Sarai age at death from 25 to 23 so there is a little bit of an age gap between Wila and Sarai. 

Pinterest

#recreancyaccepted #wila travers app

[j-graysonlibrary]

The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four Chapter 17

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 118k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: In order to save the world from the continuous subjugation and potential annihilation at the hands of Tiandi, hard lines must be drawn. The Great Spirits that were imprisoned ages ago must be unsealed and awakened, no matter the consequences.

The players are divided—those who stand blindly with Tiandi, such as Xiang Merra and her disciples versus those who want to tear the system down and give the power back to the people. Even a few of the most religious Lords change their minds when they learn the truth of the world—that Tiandi is no more than a dictator with no love in his heart.

It is up to the last, real Xiang and the ill-fated Chaaya to put everything they have into tearing God from his throne and creating new possibilities for the future.

Full chapter 17 under the cut

Chapter XVII:

Leaving Heidi back at their childhood home with the protection of a Great Spirit definitely helped ease some of Pangu’s stress. He would still be worried about her, her children, and his parents, but he could rest a little easier knowing that she could summon Sylph if there really was trouble.

Of course the only trouble he could think of was Gongji.

Pangu had not, immediately, thrown up their disguises when they left the spirit realm—both because he did not realize they were exiting when they did and also because he had no energy left to hide them. Although, he suspected that even if he had been shielding them, Gongji would have been able to see through it.

The way that man’s eyes bore into him left him with a bad case of the shivers.

But the mission was a success. Kira opened a portal outside of Pangu’s old home and they each stepped through, ready to return to Shakti’s lair and get some well earned sleep.

“I told you to stay out of my room!” Ziyi’s yelling was their welcome back.

“Your room?! These whole caves belong to us—I can go wherever I please.” Chandes.

“You could at least announce yourself first!”

“Why? So you could tuck your sad, old, snake away before I see it?” she cackled. “It is nothing I have not seen before.”

“You—!”

Then there was Viren’s voice, “Do not tell me you were doing that in the room while Oli was present…”

“What?! No, I…” Ziyi tried to defend himself but Chandes started to chant.

“Perv. Perv. Perv! Perv!”

May decided to join her. “Perv! Perv! Perv!”

That, finally, brought everyone’s attention back to the returning group. A swarm of bodies rushed them and a million questions were asked at once.

Mainly, “Did you do it?” and “When did you get back?”

“Yes,” Pangu answered the first and then the second, “Only a moment ago. We were letting our eyes adjust again.”

“You seem very tired,” Baiya noted.

He responded with a dry chuckle. “I am very tired.”

Raine held onto Kira, also noticing the signs of fatigue in him. “How did it go?” He kept his voice down so only he could hear.

“I will tell you after a nap. Unless Shakti demands an explanation now…” Kira spoke the last bit as his eyes drifted to the side at the well of darkness that appeared on the floor.

She rose and the room went silent. The other Mistresses, as well, walked into the main room.

“I feel it,” Shakti said as she took form. She glided closer, her eyes bouncing between everyone but mainly between May and Fujin. “She is with you…”

“She is here—right now?” Devi asked and took a sharp inhale. “Could we see her?”

“Did she attach to them?” Kali had a slightly different approach. She crossed her arms and stared at the women, unsure.

Shakti reached out and set each of her hands on their shoulders. “They were gifted the ability to summon Sylph. I remember now…but…where is the third part of her…?”

“My sister,” Pangu explained and walked closer. “She was also chosen but we dropped her back off at home. She cannot stay with us.”

“So we don’t have ALL of Sylph?” Chandes cocked her head to the side.

“I think they would all come if I asked,” May replied, “Unless, I guess, Heidi summoned them at the same time? I don’t know, I just sort of got the feeling that they are different bodies but one mind. So they are all Sylph no matter if there is one or three.”

Shakti removed her hand from her shoulder and slowly nodded. “You are correct. I forgot even that…”

Fujin rubbed against her own sternum with a frown. “I believe Sylph is happy to see you. But, perhaps a little sad as well?”

“I wanna meet them!” Chandes bounced on her heels.

“I admit,” Parvati added, “I never believed I would have the chance to see any of the Great Spirits myself. I am curious.”

“As am I,” Gong agreed from her side.

“Not now,” Shakti took a step away from May and Fujin. “They are exhausted. They should sleep first.”

“I could manage a little peep?” May offered with a half-shrug.

“No.” Kali narrowed her eyes at her.”Listen to Mother.”

The Mistresses dispersed and May and Fujin retreated back into the caves to their room. Kira said a silent goodbye with a wave and also left with Raine at his hip.

Pangu debated whether he wanted to follow their lead and rush to sleep or if he wanted to meditate first. Gong’s somewhat expectant face decided for him.

He walked toward his old teacher and remembered all the questions he had for him.

Gong beat him to the punch, however, “How did your stamina hold up while using your shielding technique?”

“Well enough,” Pangu answered and gave him a short lived smile. “But I have some things I need to talk to you about.”

“Can this not wait until later, Pangu?” Kaz asked, having followed him alongside Baiya and Viren.

“Yes,” Viren agreed, “Maybe you should rest first, like everyone else, and then have this conversation?”

Gong raised his brow, giving Pangu the chance to decide.

“It is about Tian-Badou and how the Heavenly Princes are made.”

His old mentor’s face became grim in a second. “Perhaps you really should sleep first. That conversation will be draining. On both of our parts.”

Pangu gave him a curt nod. “Alright. Tomorrow, while we train then.”

Gong easily agreed and Pangu did not worry about him attempting to run away from the topic. He would simply have to wait to hear about it.

He and his partners left for their bedroom, saying their goodbyes and goodnights to those still behind—Phay, Loa, and Oli.

As soon as they were in the room, Kaz climbed onto the bed and laid down face first. “I did not even do anything yet I feel close to death.”

“That is not true,” Pangu argued, “You helped break the seal.”

He turned his head to the side so that he could glance back at the rest of them. “I suppose.”

Viren’s hands clasped onto Pangu’s while Baiya’s hands fell to Pangu’s shoulders, rubbing. If he continued, Pangu feared he might fall asleep while standing.

“Is this what each trip will be like?” Viren asked, concern painted on his face, “Absolutely draining?”

Pangu shook his head. “I should get better as I continue. Plus, we know where each of the Spirits is located now so the search time will no longer be a factor. We can get in and get things done with minimal time wasted.”

Baiya patted him on the back before walking over to the bed and sitting beside Kaz. He rested a hand on his back and began to give him a massage as well, receiving no pushback as was somewhat expected. His eyes stayed on Pangu, however, as he asked, “What of Kira? Do you think he will fare okay in the following missions?”

“Well,” he started to answer but then Viren squeezed his hand and walked him closer to the bed. As they traveled, he continued, “He ended up needing to use miasma to break the seals as well so there is more he has to do than we previously thought. Still, I believe he and I will be just fine.”

Viren and Baiya shared a quick look before Viren smiled and turned to Pangu. “Alright, well, it is time for you to sleep. We can talk about the details later, right?”

“Do you not want to hear how we first visited Pangu’s family?” Kaz mumbled, keeping his eyes closed while Baiya continued the one-handed massage over his mid-back.

“I pieced together that you retrieved Heidi,” the Agni disciple replied.

Pangu nodded and then maneuvered himself to be more comfortable, in Viren’s embrace. “We traveled to my hometown. I had seen my parents since May resurrected me but the last time I was without memory. This time I could properly greet them again…as well as tell them what is truly going on.”

“Wait…” Baiya’s hand stopped and he cut his eyes down at Kaz. “You have now met Pangu’s parents twice?”

Kaz, in turn, glanced up with a half-tired but satisfied smirk. “Have you not met them?”

“…You know the answer.”

“We have not,” Viren responded more directly but then sighed against the back of Pangu’s neck. “Maybe once this is all over, we can travel back as a group.”

“Mmm.” Pangu agreed with just a hum at first. “Maybe I can also introduce you all to my parents properly. That would be nice.”

As he imagined the scenario, so unreal and distant, he started to smile and drift off to sleep.

***

It was decided, by everyone besides Pangu and Kira, that their next outing would not be until three days later. They were all but scolded if they did not rest amply and they each spent a large portion of their days training. On the last day, extensive training was not allowed and, instead, they were to meditate and build up their energy reserves.

Kira felt full to bursting and sincerely hoped he would not need all of the miasma he had inside of him for the upcoming mission.

His fingers, all the way to the base of the knuckles, were black and there were large dark spots on his palms and wrists.

Raine still held onto him, gently caressing over each spot, unafraid of any possible contamination. His eyebrows would, occasionally, pinch together as he discovered a new spot but he never said anything about it. All of his worry just stayed on his expression.

Kira had caught him up to speed over the past few nights about what freeing Sylph had been like. The journey to Pangu’s old house, then the temple where he was raised, the odd twist of meeting Badou, and finally the massive spire in the spirit realm that held Sylph.

It had taken longer than he anticipated, mostly because Raine had been full of questions and comments—theories as well—but the story had finally come to an end and now the man just traced along Kira’s hands in silence and they laid, facing one another, in bed.

“I cannot believe that in a day or two I will be seeing the spirit realm,” Raine whispered after so long.

Kira chuckled under his breath. “Is that what you are most excited about?”

“Of course. I have always been curious.”

“You used to be curious about dragons too.”

Raine’s lip tugged upward but he did not fully commit to a smile. “True. But…I do not know. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity—not even for most people.”

“Are you nervous?” Kira asked and took control of both the conversation and his hand. He began pulling along each finger, occasionally earning a little crack from the knuckles.

“Not really,” he answered, “Though I do wonder if Undine will choose me. I will be the only person from Kyrie present.”

That made Kira laugh. “Do you want to be chosen?”

“Well I do not want the divine right to rule or whatever it was that Sylph mentioned but being able to summon a Great Spirit would be a tremendous help. I think that I could handle it well.”

It was easy to tell that he was wound up by the prospect. Kira grinned and squeezed his hand. “Well, as you said, you will be the only one with a resonance with water there so they will have no choice but to pick you.”

Raine stared at him for a long moment before pursing his lips. “Are you making fun of me?”

Despite trying not to, Kira still laughed. “No?”

“You are, aren’t you?”

“No,” he repeated and then pulled his hands forward to place a kiss on the back of his palm. “Never. It is just…your excitement is cute. That is all.”

“Childish, you mean,” Raine ‘corrected’.

Kira shook his head, as best as he could, from his lying position. He tugged on Raine’s arms again, attempting to drag him closer. They both moved and he breathed out another laugh before leaning over and kissing Raine.

Like usual, there was warmth that swelled in his gut but, this time, as he turned his head and deepened the kiss, a sharp pain accompanied it. Kira almost pulled away but he did not want to worry Raine. Instead, he just shifted his focus to his gut and analyzed the energy there, finding an excess of miasma.

It burned again.

Kira’s brow furrowed and he rubbed a hand against the outside of the affected area. That did not hurt but a writhing pain continued to send out little spikes every so often.

He pulled away from the kiss and planted a smile onto his lips to keep Raine from knowing any different.

#the xiang chronicles #my novel #my writing

[springvaletales]

((Session 50 is here! A milestone!!))

We started off with a quick recap of last session, since Thiori’s player wasn’t able to attend it.

“Bagel learned several very important lessons, and then forgot them.”

Party debate: Did Bagelby use up his official meet-and-greet with folk hero Sebastian Winderwisp when they met him in the woods?

Answer: He didn’t get a photo or an autograph, so no.

I had them all roll a d20 to see what happened when they crossed the border from Kendara to Salance. Results are:

(7) Thiori was pulled aside for additional searching

(19) Sir Carl was asked for an autograph by a star-struck guard

(2) Bagelby tried and failed to steal said autograph

(16) and (15) Asahi and Lex get through fine, but have to wait for everyone else

(22) Ena intimidated another guard into eating an acorn

“Thiori is moving so stiffly that he appears to be dropping frames.”

Bagelby’s Player has this ridiculous ability to ask very specific lore-related questions that I would never think to prepare, such as the distance between unrelated cities, what kind of terrain the landscape we’re speeding past is, and how much it would cost to load themselves and all of their horses onto a barge instead of riding along the road.

Instead of the IRS, we have the KRS - Kendaran Revenue System.

“You guys have burned down at LEAST one major city.”

Bagelby got a very intense feeling of deja vu on the barge, as he’s had a lot of strange dreams that he thinks are from a past life, and this experience matches up.

The barge docked at Emon Crossing, a small town at a historic, three-mile bridge crossing the Skaadas river towards Port Covekeel. The bridge is too low for the barge to pass under at this water level, so the party disembarked here.

Only so many people are allowed on the bridge at any given time, however (for safety reasons, totally not for session pacing reasons), so the party had to sign up for a specific time slot.

Sir Carl tried to schmooze the party’s way into a faster time slot, but failed the roll, and just had a riveting conversation with the guardsman instead.

Ena convinced the party to sleep out under the stars on the riverbank, rather than try to find rooms at an inn.

They all slept well, and had dreams that ranged from literal nothing to downright bizarre; Bagelby especially had a dream about standing on a rooftop there in Emon Crossing, looking down the river to the Gourman Sea. He turned to look at the person beside him, and saw….Lord Wiggles.

Bagelby, jolting out of a dead sleep: “LORD WIGGLES!”

Thiori, quietly crying in the next bedroll over, petting his mimic like a cat: “Hey, keep it down. People are sleeping!”

Bagelby’s screaming woke the party up early, but most of them decided to just get an early start to the day.

Bagelby decided to pester Sir Carl about Lord Wiggles, even though Sir Carl would have only been in his early to mid teens before Lord Wiggles’ disappearance.

Bagelby’s Player: “Is there a way we can Blues Clues hop into Bagel’s dream?”

Me: “If you spend the night focusing on it I’ll let you make a spell for it.”

Bagelby’s Player: “DEAL!!!”

Bagelby did, in fact, spend the rest of the in-session day focused single-mindedly on crafting this spell.

Thiori, Ena, and Asahi all went out shopping, and only Ena passed the Perception check; she smacked the elven pickpocket in the face before he could steal anything, while Thiori lost a few vials of poison, and Asahi lost one of her glassblowing tools.

Ena ran around looking for a special pigment to gift Asahi along with her proposal necklace, not knowing that Asahi had already stopped at most of these shops and bought most of their pigments.

She almost cried at the last shop, so the shopkeep took pity on her, and sold her a broken jar of unique pigment at a discount.

She stuffed it between her tiddies to keep it safe from pickpockets as she made her way back to camp. This is important, I promise.

Back at camp, Ena found Thiori and Asahi freaking out over their stolen items, and gave the pigment jar to Bagelby ‘for safekeeping’.

This is when she discovered that the pigment is heat-reactive, and glows when heated up.

The glass jar was hot from being in such close proximity to a fire genasi, and sizzled when put into the slime pocket.

Maritza was very unhappy that her sleep was disturbed by something so hot, and chittered angrily at Ena until she was fed a Hucky Heese token.

Bagelby is now convinced that currency is mimic food.

Lex found a mysterious note stuck to her mace summoning the party to a location in town, and Thiori - having only listened long enough to get the address - immediately stormed off.

The party caught up with him just in time to see him kick the door open on the Thieves Guild leader and a room full of crossbows.

Federalis Ecks is unphased by Thiori’s appearance, and offered him a drink.

I named this man FedEx to make my players laugh and they won’t stop making cop jokes. ><

I had to bs a new quest - stealing the Blossom of Iskall (yes like the YouTuber shush don’t at me) - back from the Pirate of Pirate Island, bc my players refused to take my Thieves Guild leader seriously and I needed to pivot.

Any remnant of a serious mood was broken when a rat the size of a cat (from the Royal Library in Kendara) burst forth out of Bagelby’s slime pocket at the mere mention of the word ‘library’.

Thiori used the rat as a distraction to grab and electrify one of the crossbows pointed at the party, and got shot by the other five in return.

Asahi managed to catch four of the five crossbow bolts, though Thiori did end up with one stuck in his crab shoulder.

The party was politely asked to leave.

Everyone returned to the campsite, and settled down to try and sleep a few more hours before their crossing time.

Bagelby cast his new spell, ���Bagelby’s Phantasmal Landscape”, without warning anybody, and now they all have to pass a Wisdom save come next session or else be dragged into his dreamscape. XD

#OOC #Quarantine D&D

[awkwardspontaneity]

Why is it only acceptable for babies to be rocked to sleep??? What if I want someone to hold me tight and rock us both to sleep???

#3am things #how to sleep #just thoughts #makesleepeasier #the Lord did not gift me the ability to sleep

[weirwoodking]

I have a small headcanon that Sansa has already skinchanged into a bird without her knowledge once before. This passage about Marillion in the sky cells in particular:

“When she closed her eyes she could see him in his sky cell, huddled in a corner away from the cold black sky, crouched beneath a fur with his woodharp cradled against his chest.”

What do you think?

Oh, absolutely. I do think that she’s experienced her powers in some way, she just hasn’t thought about them.

George does leave these little subtle hints in the text that point to the Stark kids abilities, the earliest being in chapter one:

Halfway across the bridge, Jon pulled up suddenly.

“What is it, Jon?” their lord father asked.

“Can’t you hear it?”

Bran could hear the wind in the trees, the clatter of their hooves on the ironwood planks, the whimpering of his hungry pup, but Jon was listening to something else.

“There,” Jon said. He swung his horse around and galloped back across the bridge. They watched him dismount where the direwolf lay dead in the snow, watched him kneel. A moment later he was riding back to them, smiling.

“He must have crawled away from the others,” Jon said. (Bran I, AGOT)

While on horseback, and halfway across the bridge, already far away from where a mute direwolf puppy was, Jon was able to “hear” him. Obviously, he didn’t hear Ghost, he sensed him. Already, he was bonded with Ghost, even though this was about a year and half before Jon had his first “true” wolf dream. And furthermore, it takes a while before he’s able to clearly remember these dreams:

The wolf dreams had been growing stronger, and he found himself remembering them even when awake. (Jon I, ADWD)

So, yes, I definitely think that Sansa could already be having skinchanging dreams with a bird/birds. She just might not remember it. Also, she doesn’t have to have been having direct dreams, but moments of using the bird’s senses. Not fully in the animal, just sharing it’s space for a moment.

Unlike the sh*w, where skinchanging is an on/off switch (you’re either inside the animal or not inside the animal), skinchanging in the books is more nuanced. Jon is able to brush his hand up against Ghost and tap into the wolf’s senses, without fully warging him. He can even taste blood in his mouth after Ghost kills, and he can feel the wolf’s hunger. The most notable instance of this “one mind in two bodies simultaneously” thing is with Arya and the Braavos street cat:

That night she dreamed she was a wolf again, but it was different from the other dreams. In this dream she had no pack. She prowled alone, bounding over rooftops and padding silently beside the banks of a canal, stalking shadows through the fog. (Cat of the Canals, AFFC)

The tavern was near empty, and she was able to claim a quiet corner not far from the fire. No sooner had she settled there and crossed her legs than something brushed up against her thigh. "You again?" said the blind girl. She scratched his head behind one ear, and the cat jumped up into her lap and began to purr. Braavos was full of cats, and no place more than Pynto's. The old pirate believed they brought good luck and kept his tavern free of vermin. "You know me, don't you?" she whispered. Cats were not fooled by a mummer's moles. They remembered Cat of the Canals.

[...]

The Lyseni took the table nearest to the fire and spoke quietly over cups of black tar rum, keeping their voices low so no one could overhear. But she was no one and she heard most every word. And for a time it seemed that she could see them too, through the slitted yellow eyes of the tomcat purring in her lap. One was old and one was young and one had lost an ear, but all three had the white-blond hair and smooth fair skin of Lys, where the blood of the old Freehold still ran strong. (The Blind Girl, ADWD)

"It is good to know. This is two. Is there a third?"

"Yes. I know that you're the one who has been hitting me." Her stick flashed out, and cracked against his fingers, sending his own stick clattering to the floor.

The priest winced and snatched his hand back. "And how could a blind girl know that?"

I saw you. "I gave you three. I don't need to give you four." Maybe on the morrow she would tell him about the cat that had followed her home last night from Pynto's, the cat that was hiding in the rafters, looking down on them. Or maybe not. If he could have secrets, so could she. (The Blind Girl, ADWD)

While Arya is not fully outside of her body and in the body of the cat, she’s able to use the cat’s eyes as her own. And she isn’t even aware that she’s doing it, it’s just occurring naturally. I do believe that the same cat she dreams as in AFFC is the tomcat that she sees through in ADWD.

So, yes, I do believe that Sansa could be looking through the eyes of a bird. She’s just not aware of it.

It does seem like the Stark kids are much more powerful than the average skinchangers/wargs, immediately bonding to the wolves without realizing it, and already connecting with other animals. Arya is able to warg Nymeria from an entirely separate continent, which probably isn’t standard behavior, especially not for someone who doesn’t even know what they’re doing and has no training. Even Varamyr, a man who has mastered the control of five animals, recognizes Jon’s power:

The gift was strong in Snow, but the youth was untaught, still fighting his nature when he should have gloried in it. (Prologue, ADWD)

So, the Starks seem to be pretty powerful. And that includes Sansa, as GRRM has confirmed that she is still a skinchanger, meaning that he’s definitely going to have a bond with an animal at some point. It would make sense for him to have already been leaving little hints about it.

A very important component to Sansa’s character, which could be affecting her skinchanging powers, is her memory. The way that Sansa’s mind has coped with her trauma is by suppressing and rewriting certain distressing, scarring, and confusing memories. This is something that all the Stark kids do, in different levels. For example, Bran believes that Rickon intentionally suppresses the memory of Ned being dead:

"Tell Robb I want him to come home," said Rickon. "He can bring his wolf home too, and Mother and Father." Though he knew Lord Eddard was dead, sometimes Rickon forgot... willfully, Bran suspected. (Bran V, ACOK)

Bran himself does this as well:

The dream he'd had... the dream Summer had had... No, I mustn't think about that dream. He had not even told the Reeds, though Meera at least seemed to sense that something was wrong. If he never talked of it maybe he could forget he ever dreamed it, and then it wouldn't have happened and Robb and Grey Wind would still be... (Bran IV, ASOS)

Sansa does this the most out of her siblings, it’s her primary coping mechanism. One example is how remembers (or tries not to remember) Jeyne Poole:

Sansa did not know what had happened to Jeyne, who had disappeared from her rooms afterward, never to be mentioned again. She tried not to think of them too often, yet sometimes the memories came unbidden, and then it was hard to hold back the tears. (Sansa II, ACOK)

She tries to not to think of her, because it’s too traumatic for her to do so.

Another example is how she’s trying to process the situations she’s in at the Eyrie.

I am not your daughter, she thought. I am Sansa Stark, Lord Eddard's daughter and Lady Catelyn's, the blood of Winterfell. She did not say it, though. If not for Petyr Baelish it would have been Sansa who went spinning through a cold blue sky to stony death six hundred feet below, instead of Lysa Arryn. He is so bold. Sansa wished she had his courage. She wanted to crawl back into bed and hide beneath her blanket, to sleep and sleep. She had not slept a whole night through since Lysa Arryn's death. (Sansa I, AFFC)

He is serving me lies as well, Sansa realized. They were comforting lies, though, and she thought them kindly meant. A lie is not so bad if it is kindly meant. If only she believed them...

The things her aunt had said just before she fell still troubled Sansa greatly. "Ravings," Petyr called them. "My wife was mad, you saw that for yourself." And so she had. All I did was build a snow castle, and she meant to push me out the Moon Door. Petyr saved me. He loved my mother well, and...

And her? How could she doubt it? He had saved her.

He saved Alayne, his daughter, a voice within her whispered. But she was Sansa too... and sometimes it seemed to her that the Lord Protector was two people as well. He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle... but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she'd known at King's Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei's ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers. When Joff had her beaten, the Imp defended her, not Littlefinger. When the mob sought to rape her, the Hound carried her to safety, not Littlefinger. When the Lannisters wed her to Tyrion against her will, Ser Garlan the Gallant gave her comfort, not Littlefinger. Littlefinger never lifted so much as his little finger for her.

Except to get me out. He did that for me. I thought it was Ser Dontos, my poor old drunken Florian, but it was Petyr all the while. Littlefinger was only a mask he had to wear. Only sometimes Sansa found it hard to tell where the man ended and the mask began. Littlefinger and Lord Petyr looked so very much alike. She would have fled them both, perhaps, but there was nowhere for her to go. Winterfell was burned and desolate, Bran and Rickon dead and cold. Robb had been betrayed and murdered at the Twins, along with their lady mother. Tyrion had been put to death for killing Joffrey, and if she ever returned to King's Landing the queen would have her head as well. The aunt she'd hoped would keep her safe had tried to murder her instead. Her uncle Edmure was a captive of the Freys, while her great-uncle the Blackfish was under siege at Riverrun. I have no place but here, Sansa thought miserably, and no true friend but Petyr. (Sansa I, AFFC)

Sansa knows deep down (not even that deep, just down) that Petyr is untrustworthy. She knows he’s fed her lies, but she wants to believe them. She wants to be able to trust him. She wants to feel like she can be safe with him. She wants to be safe. It bothers me a lot whenever people say Sansa is “stupid” for trusting Petyr, or “uncaring” for not thinking often of Jeyne. She isn’t stupid or uncaring, she’s a traumatized thirteen year old whose brain is trying to cope with what she’s gone through and what she’s currently going through.

So, she has built a wall. And behind that wall are the memories of Lysa’s death, the truth about Jon Arryn’s murder, and Jeyne Poole. I think it would make sense if skinchanging, something that involves the mind, is also something that she’s subconsciously repressing. I talked about this sometime a while ago, but I believe that a big moment for Sansa in TWOW is going to be her confronting her memories. And most significantly, confronting Baelish about what happened to Jeyne Poole and exposing the truth of Jon Arryn and Lysa’s deaths. Thus, defeating Littlefinger, the mockingbird.

It would make sense if this coincided with her skinchanging abilities truly awakening. As her mind opens, her powers become stronger. I’m pretty deadset on Sansa’s bird being a falcon, not just for the House Arryn connection and because she’s gone hawking with a falcon before, but also because of the symbolism. Falcons symbolize “vision, freedom, and victory. Hence, it also connotes salvation to those who are in bondage whether moral, emotional, or spiritual”. I think that Sansa bonding with a falcon and “flying free” would be perfect for the conclusion of her caged bird arc.

Sorry, this got really long, it just kind of turned into all my thoughts about how skinchanger-Sansa might come to be in TWOW. I think it’s going to be an important part of her story, as you don’t just give four of your POV characters the ability to control animals with their minds and not have that matter. (And, it’s already an important part of Jon, Arya, and Bran’s stories, so it most likely will be for Sansa, too.)

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #sansa stark #twow #the winds of winter #twow speculation #asoiaf speculation #long post #ask #jeynearrynofthevale

[thera-daydreams]

PLUS ONE

》 A TRESE TWOSHOT 《

[Maliksi x Reader]

📝 Summary: In which your beloved best friend snatches you from your apartment at dawn asking you to be his plus one for his cousin's wedding. Unbeknownst to the clueless you, everything is just going according to Maliksi's ultimate masterplan. With the help of friends and family, the Prince of the Tikbalang finally gets the girl he's been longing for. And oh, Señor Armanaz gets his dream daughter-in-law and the promise of grandchildren within the year.

📌 Warning: May contain some slight NSFW for spicy suggestiveness and cussing. No smut or anything super SPG—this girl can't write that for her life—but just be prepared. It's Maliksi we're talking about. We've got friends-to-lovers, obliviousness, pining, fluff, and a tikbalang simp. Figure it out. 😃

(word count: 7,454) ♥︎ Part Two: ?

》 AUTHOR'S NOTE 《

Not an Inday spinoff, but a lengthy oneshot in celebration of this blog getting 90 followers. Just ten more to 100, yay! Thank you so much for the love and support, everyone. I also promised that I'll be making this brainrot that @binibiningbabaylan and I have fangirled over a few days ago (find the original post here) when I finished the latest chapter of Inday. Here it is! 🥰

Before I forget, I was also inspired by the cute fic made by @crispybasil titled "Sunshowers" and the "Trese Boys As Things My Guy Friends Do" made by the amazing @smolla-than-a-bug (I bow down to your wonderful works in the Trese fandom). I definitely see Maliksi to be the type to go on spontaneous roadtrips and be the boyfriend to drive you around eveeeerywhere (while also driving you crazy). 🚘

There are also some songs mentioned throughout this work. You should probably listen to them while reading for the full experience. Ending was somewhat rushed but eh, I'm too exhausted and I've rewritten it too many times. Also, if someone makes some actual tikbalang smut, tag me please. Anyways, enjoy! 💕

The way it all started was hilarious. Absolutely fucking hilarious. It happened like a blur. Literally. One second, you were snoozing in your bed. The next? You had a seatbelt on in the shotgun seat of a sophisticated-looking car. Your brain didn't even get to process it yet.

"... So let me get this straight," you grumbled, still half-asleep from your sleep marathon. You just finished a hugely successful project at work yesterday, got promoted, and wanted to make up for the restless nights you spent overtime in the office. Of course you were irritated from being disturbed. You were on vacation leave for two entire weeks, originally planning to go into temporary isolation by deactivating your social media accounts and reserving a beach cabana for yourself in Batangas.

Well, turns out, you weren't going to Batangas anytime soon. All because your unreasonably spontaneous bestfriend of ten hectic years stole you from your apartment at 2AM. Was this considered kidnapping? Was this him just being more in touch with his tikbalang side, taking unsuspecting women in their sleep and leading them to their inevitable death? (He was going over the speed limit, so it was a valid thought.) Will wearing your shirt inside-out save you today? Lord, masyado ka pang pagod para mag-isip ngayon.

"Go on."

"You abducted picked me up in the middle of the night because you want me to be your plus one at your cousin's wedding in Tagaytay?"

"Yup. And technically, the venue is right on the outskirts of Cavite going to Tagaytay," he corrected you as a matter-of-factly.

"Same thing, whatever," you huffed tiredly. "Your cousin's wedding is at 6AM today. In a few hours. In four hours."

"Uh-huh."

You groaned exasperatedly, "Mal naman, eh! You didn't even let me bring anything. Could've at least given me a heads-up a few hours ago. I'm practically emptyhanded right now save for my phone! Sinungaling ka, you said this was just a normal midnight drive—not a freaking wedding!"

The Prinsipe ng Mga Tikbalang, son of the Great Stallion, heir to the Armanaz herd, and the Top Drag Racer of C-5 Expressway—if that was even one of his Game of Thrones-like titles—grinned as he continued driving beside you. He let you continue ranting in the passenger seat while he mulled over his ultimate masterplan that would change his entire life later on. He was a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy, so all this wasn't his thing. But for you? He'll make plans, alright.

"Wala man lang akong dinalang masusuot o kahit konting makeup para maging presentable sa harapan ng buong pamilya mo," you exclaimed, in absolute despair. "Do you know how out of my league you are? Your rich-ass family might judge me—hell, your dad might see me as a hampaslupa if I show up there in my pambahay and tsinelas!"

"Psh, I'm not out of your league," Maliksi waved it off, smoothly turning a corner. "And calm down. We've known each other for a decade! My dad practically loves you as his own daughter. Heck, the entire family knows you and keeps telling me they want you adopted in already. Lolo Andres and Lola Perlita said they'd have the paperwork settled. You just need to sign them."

It would be even better (and easier) if you married into the family. To him, specifically (as if he'd let anyone else have you). God, he was already being so obvious in his advances, but you were just so damn oblivious whenever it came to romance. None of this needed to happen if you just got it through your thick skull that he was madly in love with you.

"That's not the point, idiot!" you slumped back into your seat, hopeless. "Do you think the bride and the groom will get offended? Shit, baka masumpaan ako kung magagalit sila, Mal. Mukha akong patay galing sa South Cemetery."

The long-haired tikbalang rolled his eyes, "Huwag kang mag-alala. Nothing's going to go wrong. Chill ka lang diyan. I've got everything under control, babe."

Babe. Yes, he even called you babe but you thought it was him being a himbo and a massive flirt. Now, it was his common term of endearment for you, but you still assumed it was him just being irksome to you and that you couldn't stop the man from saying it anymore. Thus, you let it be (the most obvious hint of his attraction to you, bestie).

"... Ugh, why didn't you ask Hannah or Amie to go with you?"

He just smiled knowingly, shrugging and making up an excuse, "Nagmamadali ako, eh. Hannah and Amie are also coming, but they already have the other tikbalang as dates."

"'Luh, ako pala ang backup choice mo?"

"Heh. Whatever you want to think."

Little did you know that you were always his first choice. Always. Even when he pursued Alexandra Trese many years ago, trying to convince himself you were just his best friend, it was always you. How did he come to that realization? Well, an international band he was a fan of released a song a couple years ago and he heard it being played in a club in BGC. The song title?

It Was Always You by Maroon 5.

Needless to say, after hearing the song and being unable to get it—get you—out of his mind at night, he stopped courting Alexandra. Unfortunately for him, that time, you'd started dating other men. Therefore, he was left on the sidelines... until your latest and most painful breakup, at least. That was five years ago. You still hadn't dated anyone since then, kind of traumatized from getting into another failed relationship like that.

In the present day, as if the fates were playing on you two, one of your favorite artists played on the radio. A very ironic song given the situation you two were in.

Best Friend by Rex Orange County.

Maliksi knew it was a favorite of yours. He knew it by the way your eyes lit up like a star brightening the twinkling night sky. Like the sun first rising in the morning at Apolaki's command. Like the moon extending its gentle rays from the magic of Mayari herself. If there was anything he wanted to ask of the old gods, it was you—everything else be damned.

"I wanna be the one that makes your day, the one you think about as you lie awake," you half-sang and half-screamed happily, somewhat out-of-tune. "I can't wait to be your number oooooone! I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine—"

Maliksi glanced at you, not minding that his eardrums were probably getting microscopic ruptures from your aggressive singing. As much as he wanted to stare at you all day, he had to keep his eyes on the road. But the lyrics you were singing were wrong; the Prince of the Tikbalang was already yours from day one.

"Babe, McDo drive-through tayo for breakfast. Let me make it up to you. Gusto mo ng caramel sundae for your promotion gift? Sige. Ako bahala. Chicken nuggets din? Mabubusog ka ba niyan? I don't think they serve those this early..."

》》》

"Sandali lang!" you shouted out from inside an empty room. You'd just arrived at the venue—the Alta Veranda de Tibig in Silang, Cavite (practically the gateway to Tagaytay)—an hour or so ago. The hired makeup artist just left so that you could privately change into the outfit that had been bought specifically for you. Curse Mal and his ability to buy anything (perhaps anyone) he wanted. "Bwiset, Mal, you didn't tell me we'd be part of the damn entourage. We have to be walking the aisle in thirty minutes, simbako! You just love rushing me, don't you!?"

If only you were the one walking down the aisle today towards him.

When you exited the room, Maliksi couldn't help but let his jaw drop as he skimmed your figure, clad in the luxurious, silky satin blush midi dress he bought in one of those fancy stores in Makati yesterday. He imagined that it would look great on you, but now, seeing it on you in person... you looked divine (and frankly, he wanted to see it off your body to see what was underneath—but don't get too ahead of yourself, Mal). It was a whole 'nother level from his imagination. The deep cowl neckline and thin spaghetti straps showed your lovely collarbones... as well as a peek of your cleavage. His favorite and the best part of it all? It was backless, allowing him to gaze at the tempting curve of your spine.

He hadn't realized he had grown silent until you smiled and closed his mouth, tapping his chin.

"Lalangawin ang bibig mo, Mal," you laughed softly. Never had you seen him so speechless. You then flicked your hair back, ridiculously posing for him like you were on the cover of Vogue magazine (haba ng hair mo, gurl!). "Do I look that good? Char lang."

"... You look absolutely ravishing—I mean, uh, stunning. Hot. Yeah." That was all he could say. He mentally punched himself for not showering you with more suave compliments.

Still, your face brightened up, not knowing that the man in front of you just fell for you a thousand times harder, "Wow! Really? Damn. Ang galing talaga ng MUA na kinuha mo, ginawa akong artista. Give me their contact number later! May work event pa naman ako in two months. I'm shocked, it's like they made me rise from the dead! Even my eyebags are gone, Mal! How'd they do that?" Heck yeah, your confidence was boosted. He offered his arm to you like a gentleman, making you half-heartedly roll your eyes (you took it anyway). From holding it alone, you could tell that your best friend was a sinewy man (well, you knew that already after seeing his tikbalang form before—the little shit didn't even wear a loincloth like all his clanmates; your poor eyes were eternally scarred).

You looked him up and down. You wouldn't lie—Maliksi is and always has been an attractive man. Now? With his hair in a ponytail (pun not intended), definitely one of the hunkiest men you've ever known. "You're not looking too bad yourself, horsey."

"Ako pa!" He puffed his chest out in pride. You chuckled at his reaction.

"By the way, how do you even know my dress size and my shoe size?"

"Babe, I've known you too long. You know almost everything about me, I know everything about you."

You snorted at his confident tone, "'Di nga? You don't know every single thing about me, Mal. Assuming ka masyado."

"Alam ko nga anong cup size mo. Wala lang 'yang shoe and dress size."

You slapped his shoulder, cheeks quickly flushing red, "Huy, umayos ka! Walang hiyang tikbalang na 'to." With this guy as your best friend? You heard dirty jokes at least once a day. "Don't be inappropriate here!"

"What? It's only fair I know!" He looked down on you suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows. "You already know I always go commando, so of course I know that your bra is a size—"

"Shhh! Baka marinig ka, 'nyeta."

"So? Let them hear. My best friend has a nice set of melons!" he shouted. You were grateful there was no one around. Hopefully.

"Oh my God..."

Your best friend chortled at how flustered you'd become. He led you to where some of his family was waiting, with a couple of his relatives already greeting you. You instantly and quite easily mingled with them, your worries of them not accepting you far from even true (they all knew how much their prince loved the innocent you).

"Kayo na talaga, pare?" one of his older tikbalang clanmates asked while you went away to be fawned over by his aunts.

Maliksi chuckled, crossing his arms as he watched you from afar, "Heh. Hindi pa."

Another one of his clanmates—a younger one—laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "Talaga? That's cap, bro. You two are like a married couple already and you guys still aren't a thing?"

"Ilang taon na ba kayong magkakaibigan?" the older one asked him.

"Almost ten years," Maliksi responded, a smile unconsciously pulling his lips up as he remembered your moments together. He watched you converse with his female relatives (who adored you the moment Maliksi brought you to a family event many moons ago).

The two tikbalang snickered as they saw the look on the Great Stallion's heir.

"You're down bad," the younger one said, snapping a photo of his lovestruck kuya. "You've got it so bad for her, dudeparechong!"

"Balak mong ligawan anytime soon?" the older tikbalang inquired.

"Heh. Balak ko na ngang pakasalan. Kung pwede, ngayon."

They looked at Maliksi as if he was crazy. He was very much serious, though, even if there was a huge, lopsided smile on his face. The Prince of the Tikbalang raised a brow at them.

"What? Don't give me that look. Our ten years of being best friends is practically the courting and the dating stage already."

"Eh... you're right. Don't waste anymore time. Go and marry her today, dude. Suporta kami sa'yo, basta groomsmen kami sa kasal niyo, ha!"

"Ge. Without question."

Meanwhile, on your end with the ladies of the family, they started pestering you on your love life (like all typical Filipino aunties). Chismis everywhere.

"O, iha, single ka pa ba?"

"Kailan ka magpapakasal? Malapit ka nang pumasok sa thirties mo."

"Do you want kids? How many?"

"Are you and Maliksi a couple? You look good together! Kayo na, 'di ba?"

"Will you be getting married next? Are you engaged? When's the wedding? Invite niyo kami!"

Before you could get overwhelmed by their questions, Maliksi swept you off your feet to lead you to the entourage that was lining up outside the chapel area. Again, it happened like a blur. He laughed at the partially nauseated look on your face.

"You okay there?" he asked, grinning.

"Your family thinks we're together," you muttered quietly, not meeting his eyes. You weren't sure why you felt... tingly about their statements.

He tilted his head at you curiously, gently setting you down on your feet and helping you stand.

"Do you hate the idea?" It hurt him to ask you the question, but he wanted your thoughts on it. Perhaps doing this was a bad idea. Maliksi was competitive in many things, including wanting you to be his, but if you were so opposed to it, he would never force you into something you didn't want. He let go of your hand; you didn't even notice he'd been holding it until he let go. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Your wide-eyed gaze snapped back to look up at him, "No! No, it's not that! And... it's not bad." Your hand felt strangely empty now that his was gone. Biting your lip, you disclosed, "You're not making me uncomfortable, Mal. Don't ever think that."

With that, you shyly interlocked your arm with his, tearing your eyes from his to mask the growing warmth you felt spreading in your veins. You two didn't say anything else when the ushers let you walk down the beautiful, petal-covered aisle together.

The man beside you was starstruck. Hopeful. Maybe both of you did have a chance. Maybe somewhere in the depths of your soul, his feelings for you were being reciprocated. For the rest of the sacred ceremony in the gorgeous main pavilion, both of you relished in short, comfortable, and low conversations. He even cracked jokes every once in a while—really funny ones that made it challenging for you to you stifle your laughter.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."

Maliksi fervently prayed to Bathala that he'd experience the same opportunity he was seeing with you someday. One day.

Even while the sun was brightly out, the sky began showering down light rain onto the land. You were in awe as you looked out the window.

"Hala, totoo nga pala! Tignan mo!" you laughed, tugging Maliksi's suit sleeve, pointing at the window.

"Na ano?" he curiously inquired, not understanding what you were referring to.

"Na kapag may tikbalang na kinakasal, umuulan habang may araw pa," you replied, eyes filled with childlike mirth and wonder. A rainbow had even begun to form by the clouds. "Look, it's magical! Ang ganda pala ng view dito kasama ang old Spanish architecture. Timeless na timeless. It's so pretty, 'no? Picture tayo 'maya, Mal."

Unlike you, it wasn't the sky outside that the prince was looking at. Amidst the loud cheers for the newlywed couple and the bubbles the guests were blowing, his vision could only focus on how magnificent you looked while being amazed. You were his best view. (Ed from 90-Day Fiancé, kabahan ka na, may katapat ka sa pickup line mo.)

》》》

"Smile for the picture!"

You giggled as Maliksi was dragged into a photo-op with the bridesmaids and the important older wedding sponsors a few feet away (funnily, he looked a little constipated around them). All of a sudden, when he was heading back to your direction, you were roughly pushed into the said man's arms. When you turned around, there was nothing (except maybe a gust of wind that came out of nowhere).

"Ooh, gotcha. Careful," the tikbalang steadied you, strong hands holding your biceps. "Natapilok ka?"

"... Huh, hindi naman," you wondered suspiciously, looking around. "I think someone pushed me? Parang tinulak ako... but wala namang tao."

"Weird. Maybe it was just the wind."

It actually was. Really. Maliksi knew for a fact that it was those two taong hangin who were spying on you from the corner, trying to pair you up. He gave them a thumbs-up while your back was turned in the opposite direction. Hannah and Amie returned the thumbs-up before vanishing. Suddenly, the two wedding photographers had moved on from the bridesmaids and were right beside you.

"What a lovely couple you two are!" she praised. Before you could correct her, she held up the black contraption she held towards you two. "Pose for the camera, lovelies!"

And so you did, the photographer guiding you two on what to do. Maliksi wrapped his arm around your waist and you leaned on his side, looking sidewards to the camera with one leg cocked in front of the other. Her assistant, who was holding a polaroid camera, printed out two photos for you.

"Thank you," you told him, taking the photos from his hands then flicking them rapidly to make the images develop. You and Mal were about to walk to the reception area when the photographer stopped you, handing the male beside you a business card.

"If you two need a photographer or a videographer for your wedding, call me," she signaled to both of you before running to another guest, bringing her assistant with her.

You gawked, "Mal, did you just hear what she said?"

"Loud and clear." A grin was on his face. He seemed very pleased at what he heard.

"... How can she even tell if someone is married or not?"

Maliksi's free hand took your left hand, tapping the ring finger, "Nothing here."

"Ooooooh. I get it now." Your brows creased. "Huh. This is like the fifth time today the people here have mistaken us for a couple."

Maliksi shrugged, teasing you, "Who knows? Baka may potential tayo, babe."

Before you could ask him what he meant, he was hurriedly towing you to the reception venue. While he was doing that, you stared at the now-developed polaroid photos you were holding. Huh. Maybe you two did look like a couple.

"Come on, they're serving some snacks at the welcome reception area. Peach pie and mango float-flavored. Paborito mo, babe."

》》》

The rest of the night went by without a hitch. You were actually enjoying the event—the host was great, the food was great, the music was great. Everything was great... that was, until the games.

"Alright! Now that the bride's garter has been removed, let's have the bouquet and garter toss... starting with the females!" the host announced. "Dear bride, please stay here in front. And all single ladies—and by single I mean ready to mingle and are not married—please rise and stand here on the dance floor. Let's play matchmaker tonight, everyone!"

"Uy, single ladies daw," Maliksi nudged your side. "Sign mo na 'yan." You snorted like a pig.

"Nope, ayokong madamay sa bouquet toss," you whisper-yelled at your best friend. "Do you know how embarrassing that is?! Besides, they won't notice if I don't join! Special tactic ko 'yan sa weddings: pretending I'm not single. Katabi naman kita."

More women came to the front, making you feel assured that you didn't need to participate. The host was about to say something, when the bride interrupted to whisper something into his ear.

"Hala, halaaa! Sabi ko all single ladies, pero may isang single lady na nagtatago pa!" he announced, making you freeze. Please don't let it be you. "What's her name, beloved bride?"

"Y/N L/N." You nearly spat out your champagne. You? Did they just call out your name? How did they know?

"Oh fuck," you cursed quietly.

"'Di ka makakatakas dito, babe," Maliksi jabbed, making you stand up. "Tinatawag ka na."

"Baka may ibang Y/N L/N dito," you resisted, attempting to sit back down. "I can't do this, Mal."

"'Sus, ikaw pa. And it's just a symbolic ceremony!" he encouraged, as if he didn't have any underlying intentions. "I doubt the bouquet will go to you anyway."

Sheesh, what a big fat liar you are, tikbalang prince.

You expressed your dissatisfaction with the situation, "Bwiset, fine. I'll just... dodge it. Or evade it. God, I swear..." You calmed down, confident. "I'm not going to worry. I've never caught the bouquet at my own friends' weddings anyway."

When you were at the dance floor, Maliksi snickered, seeing the bride—his cousin—wink at him. After all, he had thoroughly bribed her earlier.

《《《

"It's about time you settled down with someone, Mal," the bride commented while he slipped her the newest Hermés designer bag filled with a bunch of jewelry (plus some bills) two hours ago, right before the reception began and while you were in the restroom freshening up. "Hehehe, this is why you're my favorite cousin."

"Do we have a deal?"

"Of course. I'll make sure she participates. I'll also try to throw it in her direction."

"Good. Thanks."

"You better invite me to your beach wedding. I can tell how much you love her."

"Not a problem. I'll even make you a sponsor."

The bride stared at her bouquet, already practicing how she was going to throw it, "Tito's going to thank me so much for ensuring that he's going to get grandkids soon, hihi."

》》》

Back to the present, on the other end of the room, Maliksi saw a familiar duo give him a sign that they were ready. Bingo. Time to execute the most important part of his plan.

《《《

"I don't care how you do it," he told the two wind elementals after he bribed the bride. "I've already instructed the bride on what she should do, pero siguraduhin niyo lang talagang lumipad sa kanya ang bouquet."

"Mmhmm," Amie flipped her hair, a hand on her cocked hip. "And what do we get in return, oh great Señorito Armanaz?"

"Sagot ko bar-hopping niyo for one month."

The two girls pretended to think about it, making Maliksi roll his eyes. He had to pull out the big guns, huh?

"Fine. Magbibigay ako ng cash deposit plus pwede niyong gamitin ang black card ko for a one-week shopping spree in Ortigas." There. Bullseye. That's what they liked.

"Deal!" they exclaimed excitedly.

Hannah let a cool gust of wind enter one of the nearby windows, testing out how they're going to do this. "Ano pa bang pinaplano mo for Y/N mamaya?"

Maliksi hummed, "Basta."

》》》

You tried your best to hide within the densest part of the group of women. The bride seemed to have her eyes on you, weirdly enough, and she looked almost feral wanting to throw her flowers into someone's face.

That someone being you. Most likely.

"Target locked on," you saw her mouth move. She positioned herself like she was about to throw a football at someone (ahem, you). Holy shit, was she talking to you? Miss ma'am, it was a bouquet toss not a bouquet throw. The bride seemed to notice this, and once more regained her elegant composure.

"3, 2, 1," the host counted down. "Go!"

Surprisingly, the bouquet flew very high into the air (it was a wonder it didn't get tangled in the ceiling decor), but quite a distance away from you. You grinned, knowing it was too far to even touch you. Squeezing through the crowd of women eagerly awaiting the bouquet, you went to return to your assigned table.

Ah, what a wonderful evening.

Sike!

Something painfully landed right into your face, leaves and flowers getting into your hair and mouth.

... Wait, leaves and flowers?

Before you could comprehend it, the bouquet dropped right into your arms. What kind of ungodly, inhuman force allowed this to even happen?

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our lucky girl for the night!" Everyone clapped, with some—those guests you knew—even cheering your name unbelievably loud. The host approached you, a glint in his eye which you couldn't understand. "Miss Y/N, kindly sit here while we await the lucky guy who catches the garter from the groom."

What just happened?

"All single gentlemen, please proceed to the dance floor. Remember, the man who gets the garter gets to slip it onto the lucky lady's leg later!"

Oh, God. You pinched the bridge of your nose. What you'd give to be back at home or to be in that resort in Batangas you'd planned on going to for a solo vacation.

"To make this even more exciting," the host stated, handing you a black blindfold. "Our lucky lady has to keep her eyes closed until her lucky man for the night captures the bride's garter! When the music plays, only then can she uncover her eyes."

See? Humiliating, just as you expected. Still, you wrapped the blindfold around your head (albeit hesitantly). You attempted to guess who it might be, thinking of all the tikbalang friends Maliksi had introduced to you back then whenever he invited you to his clan reunions.

"Groom, are you ready?" the host asked, microphone loud and clear.

"Ready na ready!"

"Single gentlemen, are you ready?!"

"Ready na ready! Awoo, awoo!" they loudly chorused, exactly mimicking Spartans about to engage in battle. You sweatdropped in the seat you were in. This was actually kind of scary. Maybe you felt a bit objectified.

"3, 2, 1, go!"

There was a brief moment of silence, which made you concerned. Ba't ang tahimik? Then, everyone erupted into roars and bravoes much louder than when you caught the bouquet—perhaps even louder by tenfold. What the heck was happening?!

The music played. Very raunchy, spicy, babymaking music. You expected it to be the typical Careless Whisper by George Michael or Pony by Ginuwine (corny songs which you could probably laugh at, at least), but no. Nuh-uh, this was probably worse. The DJ must be pretty young, the song of their choosing being a slowed, bass-boosted, sexier remix of Earned It by the Weeknd.

Ano 'to, bold? Fifty Shades of Grey? The hell was this?

Alright. This was embarrassing. Thank the heavens there were no children at this party. From the music alone and its implications, this was strictly for adults.

You removed your blindfold (that was okay now, right?) as the guests whistled playfully. You peeked one eye open reluctantly, then inwardly groaned. Oh, no. You should've expected it to be him of all people from how loud the reactions were. And all those yells from the crowd were from his family.

Son of a—

"Well, this has proven to be a very interesting arrangement!" the host proclaimed. "Our lucky man for tonight is none other than our great clan leader's heir, Maliksi Armanaz! Congratulations, sir! You get to slip the lacey little garter on Miss Y/N!"

The said very smug tikbalang stood a few feet away from the chair you were sitting on, smirking at you. His hair was no longer in that mesmerizing ponytail—instead, he'd tied it into a more sinfully attractive man-bun, loose strands framing his face and accentuating that sharp, angled jaw of his (say yes and thank you to Manny Jacinto's jawline, besties).

"Let's cheer him on in his new mission, everybody!" the host pushed. Was this that glint in his eye earlier? And was that a one thousand peso bill sticking out of his pocket?

The groomsmen, Mal's cousins and uncles whom you've met before, hollered words of encouragement to the tall man (who was, oddly enough, not one bit fazed). In fact, Maliksi seemed like he was famished as he stared you down.

You swallowed, feeling like you were going to get eaten (heh, say that again). Maliksi had shrugged off his dark suit blazer to the beat of the song (holy fuck, he also unclasped the suspenders attached to his pants right before your eyes—asdfghjkl). Were you prepared for this? No. Will you ever be prepared? No!

"Mr. Armanaz, before you begin," the host interrupted. "We have an additional challenge for you in this mission. Kaya mo ba? It was a request of the newlywed couple."

"What is it?"

"Use your teeth!" the bride and the groom cheerfully shouted, clapping with the other guests. Whatdidtheysaaaaay???

The cocky bastard didn't even hesitate, his smirk at you growing wider; those pearly whites of his on full display. Was it just you or were his canines a little sharper than usual?

"Anything for the newlyweds. Challenge accepted," he dashingly replied, winking at you. You sputtered indignantly. Pisteng yawa. Putangina. Putek. Pakshet. You swore you thought of every swear word in the book at that moment. What did that YouTube parody song about Filipino mythological creatures say again? About the tikbalang? Ah, yes. Half-macho dancer and half-stallion. Maybe the joke was true, especially when you saw what Maliksi did next.

He bit the shred of lace, loosening his necktie (bestie, you good there?), unbuttoning some top buttons, and rolling up the sleeves of his collared white undershirt up to his elbows (consequently showing off his toned, veiny forearms—those lucky bridesmaids behind him nearly fainted). Honestly, you felt like you were about to lose your mind from embarrassment. With how tantalizing your guy best friend was being? Let our response be: San Pedro, kunin mo na ako. Was he doing all this to tease you? To rile you up?

Because damn it all, it was working. In your ten years of knowing Maliksi Armanaz, withstanding all his daily dirty jokes and flirtatious attempts, never had you seen him like this. So... wolfish. Ravenous. Like he was a man that hadn't been fed in years.

He stalked closer towards you, falling to his knees in front of your legs. Your gown had a long slit that extended up to an inch or two below where your left leg began—your best friend was eyeing his target already, knowing where to place the garter. Normally, you would never even wear something as revealing as this gown. It just wasn't your type, but Maliksi was the one who bought this for you for this specific occasion, so you had no choice. It was this or your pantulog he stole you in just hours ago. At first, you were confident in the gown. Now? You felt too... naked.

Somehow, in the heat of it all, you'd muted out the noise of the venue. Maliksi teasingly lifted your foot up, fingertips slyly grazing the thin shoe straps around your left foot—his calculated touch leaving fire in its trail. Once the garter had been successfuly inserted past your high-heeled stilettos, the man kneeling in front of you kept his hands to himself. Despite the fact that now there was absolutely zero skin-to-skin contact between you and this man, your body felt hotter than it ever was before as he expertly slid the lacy bit of cloth up your ankle at an agonizingly slow pace.

Maliksi's warm eyes had turned dark, his pupils blown, a tinge of red in them—of his true beast—while he maintained striking eye contact with you, pulling the garter up your calf with his teeth. Smoothly tugging... tugging... tugging. Tangina, it was like he was undressing you with his eyes alone; like he was telepathically telling you to keep your eyes open.

To keep your eyes on him, where he was knelt inbetween your legs, his hands intentionally locked on his back. Did you ever imagine this? Him between your legs? Maybe. Once or twice. But you never thought about it seriously; Maliksi dated girls left and right in the past.

His lips... his lips were so close... so close to your leg that you could feel the heat of his breath along with the lace. Were you about to die? Perhaps you already did. Maybe you were in heaven. Up... up... up... snap!

Suddenly, he stopped, grinning up at you mischievously and letting the elastic bounce back to the skin of your left knee.

"I'm not going any further, don't worry, babe," he whispered, noting that your eyes had become misty and glazed over. Internally, he grew worried. "That's enough." Did he think it was from discomfort? From you being uncomfortable? Bitch, no. It was the exact opposite. You had never been this turned on in your entire life.

You felt like your soul had left your body at that moment. Did you just have a heart attack? Was your blood pressure okay? Before you or Maliksi could stand, however, someone bellowed from the wedding sponsor tables.

"Higher! That's an order!"

Fucking hell, it was Maliksi's father who shouted. He wasn't in the huge tikbalang form you'd normally meet him in, but he was still very intimidating in his humanoid form, commanding attention and subservience wherever he went. You could tell where Maliksi got it from.

Instantly, the other guests—already half-drunk and wanting the spirit of partying to continue on—joined in.

"Higher! Higher!"

The host cheered, "You heard Señor Armanaz! Higher!"

Maliksi gave you a questioning look. Even if it was his father who spoke up, he still wouldn't do anything you didn't want. Well, you two made it this far; there was no point in getting embarrassed now. You bit the inside of your cheek, nodding. You probably couldn't erase the redness on your skin with how much you'd blushed from this night. It was as if the heat was tattooed onto your skin.

"Go on, Mal," you whispered to him, bending your torso down closer to his face, eyes half-lidded from want. "Finish what you started, babe."

With those sultry bedroom eyes he'd never once seen you show him before—plus you turning the tables with that familiar term of endearment, how could he refuse? Like a switch had been flipped inside him, he immediately complied, taking the frilly scrap of stretchy lace between his teeth once more, moving it further up to your thighs until where your high slit ended—centimeters below the warming juncture between your legs.

Your legs felt wobbly... boneless, as you stood up from the chair, the fabric of your gown cascading over where the lace sat securely on your upper left thigh. The party was still going strong even after you two finished the garter wearing tradition.

"'Atta boy! That's my son!" Señor Armanaz blazoned, standing up and raising his glass for a toast. "Cheers to the newlywed couple! May they last forever!"

You guys weren't the newlyweds, but it did sure feel like it. If the clan leader was hyped up, everyone was hyped up. Heck, the groom and the bride didn't mind one bit what had just transpired on their dance floor. In all the chaos, Maliksi took you out of the reception area and somewhere quieter. More private.

You would need to have a serious, urgent talk with your boy best friend.

》》》

You two silently sat on a stone bench in a gazebo somewhere in the reserved venue for the wedding, trying to cool down and get yourselves back together (at this point, you needed ice from that steamy, half-scandalous event you just went through). Here, there was no one else except for the chirping of crickets, the lush trees surrounding the area, and the golden fairy lights strewn all over the roof. Awkwardness was something you'd expected after what just happened, but somehow, you still felt comfort in this man's presence. For the past thirty minutes, both of you just stayed still, lost in your thoughts and reflecting.

"Mal?" you finally spoke up.

"... Hmm?"

"Ano tayo?"

"Whatever you want us to be."

Your fingers instinctively reached out for his, just like they always did when you were anxious. Sensing this, he grasped your hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Soothingly. He massaged the skin of your fingers, distracting you from your nervousness. It seemed like both nothing and everything changed between both of you. The gesture was the same, but so different at the same time.

"Mahal mo ako." It was not a question. It was a statement. A truth—one that you'd been too blind to see before. One that you only discovered while you stared into each other's eyes in that party not as best friends. You realized with a jolt in your heart what he really felt for you, and now, what you really felt for him. In those thirty minutes of silence, you knew. You just knew.

"Yes. I do."

"... Just as a best friend?" you probed.

"..."

Finally, you gazed into his eyes, previously so dark and full of hunger. Now? Just reluctant. Vulnerable. Open. Unsure of what to do next.

Seems like you had to be the one to take initiative tonight. Taking out your phone, you opened your music app and pressed play on a certain song. Ikaw at Ako by Johnoy Danao. You removed your heels (which were starting to blister your ankles and toes), then pulled him up to stand.

"Dance with me," you murmured, grabbing his arms to wrap them around your waist. He was stiff. Tense. What was he to do when the woman he's been pining after for so long let him hold her? All his gallantry and ability to romance disappeared out the window the moment you let him touch you so intimately.

You two weren't even waltzing. Just swaying. Slowly, you leaned your head on his broad chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart.

"... I love you," Maliksi admitted in the middle of it all, feeling like he was dreaming. Your head on his chest kept him grounded to reality, however. "More than anything in the universe. I fell for you ever since you patched me up when you were nineteen and I was a reckless drag racer who didn't have a purpose in life. 'Nung dinala mo ako pabalik sa Armanaz Tower on the verge of death. Simula noon, ikaw lang."

"I realized that," you smiled, reminiscing the old memory. You were just a broke college student that time, coming back to your dorm from making your group thesis at a classmate's house. Imagine your panic when you found a half-man, half-horse bleeding out by some bushes on the way home at night. Despite your fear and your little money (only enough to feed you for the week), you went out of your way to buy a first-aid kit at the nearest 7/11. It was scary, but you managed to mend the creature's wounds by the side of the road. When he was finally able to speak, turning fully human (which you admit, freaked you out initially), you arduously carried him back to his address—to his father and his clan, even if you had classes the very next morning. Because of your heroic deed of saving their precious heir, the tikbalang clan had become indebted to you: a teenage girl on the verge of a mental academic breakdown, just making her way through the cruel adult world. How old of a memory that was, you thought, yet you still recalled it in perfect detail. "Just a while ago."

"Ah." He swayed you gently.

"Lahat ng ito, plano mo?"

"... Yes," Maliksi fessed up. "Except for this part where we're here dancing in this belvedere. Wala sa plano ko. Gusto ko sanang magconfess doon sa may fountain para sweet, pero..."

You lifted your head off his chest, smiling at him with one brow raised, "You know, between both of us, you're supposed to be the spontaneous one. Planning isn't usually your thing."

"I know. It's a failure, huh?" Maliksi sighed.

"Nah." You shook your head, then suddenly locked lips with him. It was so fast and surprising he didn't even get the chance to return your first kiss. For once, you caught him off guard. You pecked him on the lips again. "It's not a failure."

"Wha—"

"I'm sorry for making you wait, Maliksi. Ten years. We're twenty-nine now, and only tonight do I realize how blind I've been. We've been going around in circles, wasting so much time. Ayoko nang mag-aksaya ng oras," you whispered guiltily against his lips. How could you have been so blind? Andaming nasayang na taon. Making up your mind, you told him, "Yes. Sige, I accept. I'll be your plus one."

The tikbalang was flustered and baffled from the kiss, as well as your revelation, "... But, you already are?"

"No, silly. I meant that I'll be your plus one for life. For as long as you'll have me," you laughed, now processing that you were currently dancing barefoot with your boy best friend and had just kissed him in a wedding you didn't even plan on going to. The universe had a mysterious way of doing things. "Guess I'm the spontaneous one now, huh?"

Maliksi was tongue-tied. "Seryoso ka ba? Is... Is this a marriage proposal?"

"Whatever you want it to be," you echoed his words back to him. "Best friend, plus one, girlfriend, wife—mmpf!"

He kissed you so hard your lips bruised. After an impromptu makeout session which was definitely more in character for Maliksi, you both pulled away, panting heavily in search for air, still desperate for passion. He cupped your cheeks, giving you a sweet, featherlight Eskimo kiss.

"You're missing one more title."

"Hm? What do you mean, Mal?"

"Love of my life." He kissed you again, this time lifting you off your feet and spinning you around (his sneaky right hand was resting on your bum, too, giving it a tight squeeze). You know in the Princess Diaries where the main character's foot just... pops whenever the prince charming kissed her? Yeah, that happened to you on that humid summer night. This was right. You two were meant to be together. Everything was falling into place.

The bungalow you reserved for your Batangas vacation leave ended up being the site of your very eventful honeymoon with the Prince of the Tikbalang (with his libido, it wasn't that difficult to continue where you'd left off in the garter toss; that scrap of lace came off your leg the same way it went on). Actually, nauna pa ang honeymoon sa actual wedding (it was definitely spontaneous). Right after your confession in that alcove, you two went to Maliksi's father to ask for his blessing (which he gladly gave, cackling and saying that it took you long enough) before you guys went driving off to Batangas that night. You and Mal indeed had lots and lots of fun in that resort (I'll let you imagine the rest). More beautiful memories were made from that point on—this time, not just as best friends.

All that and your small, intimate wedding occurred in early April. Just when you thought that it'd be impossible to fulfill Maliksi's life goal of having a baby within the year (nine months of pregnancy meant that the earliest you'd give birth would be January next year), the impossible happened.

Exactly thirty-two weeks later, on New Year's Eve, the Armanaz herd welcomed one prince and two new princesses into the world. Triplets who were instantly adored by everyone in the clan.

Señor Armanaz had never been happier, and so were you and your husband. Your best friend. The love of your life. Your forever plus one.

Maybe being spontaneous wasn't so bad after all.

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