Honkai Star Rail X Reader - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

What Element Are You Based on Your S/O Various Characters Just an Idea I Thought of^^ Reminder this is just my headcannon, feel free to have your own^^

Fire! Your power is as blazing as the sun-burning your enemies with your moves. You have a blazing personality that your s/o loves-just be careful not to injure anyone with your fire powers. And no, you won't dodge the hot jokes.

Characters: Jiaoqiu, Jing yuan, Gepard, Aventurine, Boothill, Blade

Ice! You freeze your enemies in every move with your ice powers. It goes hand in hang with your partner and you both make an amazing duo.

Characters: Jiaoqiu, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Luocha, Acheron, Robin, Black Swan

Imaginary! Despite the name its a real power that is useful in various scenarios-dealing with enemies that don't know what to expect.

Characters: Welt, Himeko, Kafka, Jing Yuan, Serval

Lightning! The power to shock enemies with a single hit-the possibilities are endless. Your s/o happily helps you with your abilities and uses his own to make incredible duo moves.

Characters: Jingliu, Gepard, Ruan Mei, Herta, Dr Ratio, Dan Heng, Blade, Kafka, Welt

Physical! Despite not being too flashy your s/o fell in love for who for who you are. Even so they do enjoy how strong you are physically.

Characters: Robin, Boothill, Himeko, Jing Yuan, Jingliu, Black Swan, Bronya, Ruan Mei, Seele

Wind! You breeze your enemies away with your wind powers just like how you blew your s/o away when you first met! Your s/o can easily use your powers to blend into their moves-wind does react with most of them anyway.

Characters: Blade, Dan Heng, Jiaoqiu, Jing Yuan

That time I got reincarnated as an Aeon

(Series)

Chapter seven: In which March 7th joins the crew and asks why you have special privileges

Warnings: possibly ooc

You never expected to stumble upon the frozen chunk of ice that contained a familiar someone that you knew would become March 7th. She laid there, under the layers of unforgiving ice, naked and asleep.

For a brief moment, you wondered if you could just leave the ice to melt on its own, but shrugged the last minute and decided against it.

It was easy to just clip the ice out of existence and get the girl to safety, draping her in a comfortable quilt to protect her dignity and to keep her warm— you noticed she felt surprisingly soft for a girl frozen for god knows how long.

No one questioned you when you brought her in to the express and took her to your room, having known you long enough to trust you.

“She’s stabilizing.” Himeko told you as she finished examining her. “She’ll probably wake up in a few hours more or less.”

“That’s good.” You said as you observed the girl’s sleeping body, now dressed in some loose, soft colored nightgown that covered her entire figure.

“Where did you find her?” Himeko asked.

“Inside a block of ice.” You replied. “Eternal ice, specifically. Interesting, right?”

“Indeed it is…” She trailed off. “Any estimate of how long she’s been trapped in there?” She asked as she wasn’t there to observe the ice to know a timeline— it’s a miracle in itself that this girl was still alive after such a dangerous situation. She wasn’t a corpse, she didn’t bloat, didn’t bruise, and no signs of frostbite at all.

“Probably a long while. I haven’t seen eternal ice for a good few decades since I was born.” You answered, deliberately leaving out the detail that it was on the Aeon Fuli that you’ve seen traces of it last. It wasn’t your place to divulge that, and you too didn’t know the full story.

“Where’s Welt?” You inquired, changing the topic.

“He’s currently making some arrangements with Herta for our next stop.” Himeko replied. “Oh.. that reminds me,” she paused, as if uncertain. “I received a message from the IPC in regards to you— well, not quite. It’s your wanted poster.”

“Took them eight years to air out my dirty laundry outside two galaxies?” You frowned. “Lame.”

“Since when did you find out about this?” She looked at you with an incredulous look, remembering that your bounty was exactly a whopping 69 million credits. (Nice)

“I have no idea why they’re airing it this late here but I found out about it during my trip in a galaxy with a friend— I got famous there for killing IPC personnel using chairs.” You confessed with a casual shrug, you don’t miss the way she seemed taken aback, as if that was beneath you. Could she do anything about it?

No, not really. Because aside from you being basically this place’s patron deity since you vored the original one on accident, Himeko was just that kind of person. The kind who would just… get it.

“Also, it wasn’t unwarranted.” You sighed, throwing your hands up like that white, scuffled combination of a cat and a monkey to emphasize your exasperation. “They attacked me first. Walked around some old bar like they owned the place and tried to shoot me while I was trying to cheer on my friend.”

Himeko nodded. “I see.” She had enough common sense to figure out that people were basically asking for it— she’s however thankful that you’re at least not as destructive as she initially thought you would be.

She’s of course, wrong. But she doesn’t know that yet.

Emphasis on yet, because killing corporate employees with a chair wasn’t exactly the worst thing you did using a human projection. Does she have to know about what you did to Gopher Wood a few years ago while pretending you were just some bellboy in Penacony? No she doesn’t.

She didn’t need to know about the town you accidentally turned into Yharnam 2.0 around six years ago in some distant galaxy either. Granted, what transpired there wasn’t exactly your fault, but merely a result of people trying to foolishly communicate with your Aeon form without a transmission.

And thus, they were free of their ignorance. The exchange was that all of them went insane from gaining the “insight” needed to see you, observe you.

Himeko doesn’t need to know any of those things, or the sense of regret you felt by not being able to help them in the way they needed.

In the midst of your surprisingly quiet conversation, the unconscious girl woke up, and your face is the first thing she sees.

“Hello.” You smiled, gently taking her hand with your own. “Finally awake huh? You’ve been asleep awhile.” You said.

“H-hi.” Her response is weak, groggy. Himeko is quick to help her drink water for her parched throat, in which the girl accepts with little complaint. She almost coughs and you patted her back gently to ease her, telling her to slow down as she doesn’t let go of your hand along the way.

“Himeko, can you please get Pompom? She needs some soup.” It felt strange for you to be ordering her around with you easily forgetting you are technically the highest person in the train.

“I’ll get her something easy on the stomach, don’t worry.” Himeko merely smiled at you, complying with what you told her as you stayed with the girl.

“So, how’d you get in that ice?” You asked after a few moments, of course you already knew the answer, but you still let it out anyway.

“I… don’t know.” She told you. “Who are you?” Himeko said she’s stable— well, physically. You’re not sure how she is mentally.

“A stranger for now.” You smiled. “You should rest, you’re not exactly ready to get up just yet.” She nodded wordlessly at your words, and laid back down.

It doesn’t take her long to sleep.

“Welcome aboard, March 7th.”

——————

“Himeko, why does [Name] get to get out without contacting us for weeks but me and Dan Heng have to inform you of our whereabouts?”

Himeko paused with calibrating the navigation system as March put on the question.

“Well… despite how they look, they’re one of the senior members of the crew.” She began. “Don’t worry, they know their way back no matter where they are and where we will go.”

It’s a vague answer and March can tell, though, she doesn’t pry any further. You’ve been around in the express for longer than her or Dan Heng, so she chalked it up to you being the more experienced lot.

“Where are they right now though?” She pondered, and Himeko chuckled.

“Seems that someone is worried.” There is mirth in the navigator’s voice, March pouted in response.

“They’re all alone, of course I’m a little worried.” She said.

“I see. Not to worry, they’re fine, they’re just on another planet right now visiting a place.”

“Sigonia… IV?” Himeko pressed on the panel to show the state of the planet, and March almost blanched. “Wow, it’s…. dry… in there.”

“It’s a desert planet. [Name] was there before, they’re just finishing up in establishing a space anchor so we can head there whenever we’d like.” Himeko explained. “It was added recently to our navigation system around 12 or 13 years ago, and it’s inhabited mainly by two clans. You can ask Mr.Yang or Dan Heng if you’d like to know more about the planet. [Name]’s taken a liking to it.”

“Okay… what are other places that [Name] likes?” She’s curious now, despite having travelled with them for over four months, there wasn’t much that she knew about the mysterious astral express member at all.

“There is another place… they attended the university of Veritas Prime for a while before they quit because they got bored.” Himeko lightly laughed, recalling the memory of you going back to the train after spending a good portion of a year in the university, with you rather childishly stating you’re dropping out because you hated writing a thesis.

“Mr. Yang told me about that place once.. apparently it’s super prestigious.. and [Name] just quit because they got… bored?” Frankly, March was a little.. in disbelief.

While she couldn’t remember her past, she had enough common sense to know that academies like that simply aren’t places where you could just.. dip without a single regard.

But unfortunately, you were… well, you.

“That’s not.. really all there is to the story, even I’m not sure what actually happened, but it’s better for us not to question [Name]’s choices.” Himeko sighed, shaking her head.

“Okay…. Are there any other places that they like aside from a school and a desert planet?”

“I’m… not sure.” Now even Himeko was wondering what you actually liked aside from the things they already know. “I think they mentioned a tavern at one point. Though it’s not exactly one for a vacation spot.”

“What do you mean?” March tilted her head, curious.

“Let’s just say that it’s the kind where bounty hunters often linger around, at least that’s what they told me.” Himeko said without missing a beat, March shivered. “It’s alright, they said most of the people there are well acquainted with them.” She laughed lightly.

“That’s not exactly helping.” March sweatdropped.

“Oh! Looks like they’re done properly establishing the anchor.” Himeko chimed, Sigonia IV finally having a proper route for the express members to properly jump into.

March frowned, her questions haven’t yet been answered. What she got were vague, not pointing to anything personal about you.

Perhaps another day then. Or maybe when she’s braver, she’d ask you herself.

————————-

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, part VII, part VIII, Part IX…..

Interlude: one, two…..

Special chapter: (tba)

That’s a wrap for the long awaited chapter 7– I know we didn’t have much of the reader acting here, but I also want to explore the POV of other people and how they perceive you because I think it’s important—

I promise you’ll see the reader in action in the chapter that follows this :))

(Links will be updated in a few hours)

hello! looking for a sunday x reader fic where reader is like known to be the aeon of dreams but is actually the aeon of control? also she kinda turns herself human to befriend sunday, and when the final battle begins, she like swoops him up and turns him into her emanator. tyia!!!

blood in my veins (yandere! blade)

cw: gn! reader, heavy violence, blood, yandere obv, he breaks into ur house and watches u sleep edward cullen style, please lmk if i made any mistakes cuz english is not my first language T^T

it would be a gross understatement to say blade was obsessed with you. every single mannerism of yours, all your quirks, they were all the subjects of his deranged obsession. shattering your window and stepping into your dark room, he would sometimes dare to even sit at the edge of your bed simply to watch the silent rising and falling of your chest in your sleep. somehow, blade couldn’t contain the smile growing on his face knowing you would never know he was there in the first place.

of course, given the shattered glass on the floor of your room and slightly tacky drops of blood on the foot of the bed, you knew someone was there while you were asleep, but you didn’t know it was blade of all people. the man got some kind of sick adrenaline rush knowing you were none the wiser to his lethal obsession with you. he’d use your distress over your loved ones disappearing to get closer to you, feigning comfort and care. soon, blade would be the only one left.

no one else was in your life, only the man you now considered your boyfriend who had oh so much blood on his hands for the sake of winning your love in a one-sided game. he viewed himself as the winner because he was the one who ended up with you, but can you really have won the game and played fairly if you had just killed the opposing side to start with?

you can’t escape, to put it bluntly. he physically cannot die so no matter how far you run, he will always catch up. it’s how blade shows he loves you, and you wouldn’t leave anyway now, would you? at least knowing even more people’s lives would be at risk if you did. reassure him you won’t leave with a kiss, because maybe then he’d stop his merciless murders of the people close to you. but that’s just wishful thinking, isn’t it?

REQUEST GUIDELINES/FANDOMS + DNI + TAGS

i'll be continuously updating this list, but fandoms i’ll write for are…. (bold = i know more about the content/characters !!)

genshin impact, JJK, honkai star rail, project sekai (includes vocaloids), SAIKI K, avatar: the last airbender, GRAVITY FALLS, one punch man, twisted wonderland, reverse: 1999, the royal tutor, ouran highschool hostclub, kaguya-sama love is war, parasyte -the maxim-, food wars !, march comes in like a lion, mob psycho 100, zach stone is gonna be famous, blue exorcist, class of '09, stardew valley, my hero academia, love and deepspace

…..

REQUESTING;

you CAN send in requests

theres no guarantee that i'll write it, as my motivation for a prompt or just to write in general fluctuates. i have the right to not write a request just because i don't want to, little blurbs of yours are always appreciated tho!! it might inspire me!!

please be a little specific on what you want 💔 i am not the most creative so if you just write "oh can i request a ___ x reader" then i dont know CAN YOU ?

i dont write; angst, smut (non-sexual intimacy is cool tho !! {GUYS PLEASE} very very cute n sweet)

i DO write; any gender, although im more accustomed with writing for fem readers

dni; bigots (racist/sexist/radfems/transphobes/homophobes)

TAGS

#allies rambles - is for any random things (answering non-request asks, me complaining, thoughts with no purpose whatsoever, etc)

#allies blurbs - is for any character rants, show rants, analysis', things like that !!

#allies fics - self explanatory, all my fics will be tagged with this !!

#allies art - again, self explanatory, my art !!

if i dont tag something properly please leave a reply !! mute anything you dont wanna see, i appreciate all of you <33

then afterwards we drop into a quiet little place n' have a drink or two.

dr. ratio x fem!reader

synopsis; you make veritas ratio so stupid. is he stupid enough to say 'i love you' when he just met you though? hopefully not.

part two! and then i go and spoil it all by sayin somthin stupid like....

fluff, ratio might be kinda ooc for him to fall for a love at first sight thing. but hes totally whipped for you, i tried 2 make it gen!neutral but "pretty person" just didnt sound right, inspired by frank sinatra's "something stupid."

veritas ratio is not stupid. he doesn't say stupid things, he doesn't think stupid thoughts. he'd say he hates the idea of it, if you were to ask him.

and of course a man with outstanding achievements in the fields of biology, medicine, natural theology, philosophy, mathematics, physics, and engineering wouldn’t stumble at the mere sight of a pretty girl, right? you’d think so, but here he was. mouth agape, clammy hands, and a racing heart. it’s stupid.

just cause a pretty girl happened to talk to him. though, to him, you weren't just a pretty girl. he almost thought he was hallucinating- he was about to check for signs of chemical abnormalities in his brain. it was awkward, actually, as he reached out to touch your steady hand to confirm you were real, but didn't have a game plan for what to do if you were (which you were. you are real. and you did stare at his cold fingers brushing against your knuckles.)

“are you alright, mr. ratio?” you say, a breathy chuckle escaping from your lips. you're sat across the table from him, your drink in your hand as you occasionally take sips from the chunky straw that protrudes from the cap.

all you wanted to do was approach a scholar you deeply admired, but it seems like you caught him at a bad time.

you look at him expectantly.

"um. hello?”

you consider standing up to leave, oh well, maybe you could try your luck with a letter to his assistant.

the sound of an awkward throat-clear is heard from across the table, “hi. i’m sorry, you just startled me. wha.. what do you need?” he says, straightforward and curtly. the way the tips of his ears are red and his voice cracks when he says ‘stArtled’ betray the cool demeanor he's trying to present.

“i recognized you from my booth. thought i had to take the opportunity to chat with such an esteemed man. i hope i'm not intruding too much.” you close your eyes as you take another sip, giving him a break from your intimidating gaze.

oh you, you flatter him. and you know it from the way he almost stumbles over his words and his hands get shakier as he realizes he hasn't moved them far enough away from yours to be normal.

he tries to find something, anything to say. anything to say to keep the conversation going, to flaunt his academic prowess that you approached him for, to keep you here with him, but he seems to have lost it all when you sat down.

“my apologies, i'll leave you be, then.” you say with a smirk. placing your napkin that had been resting in your lap onto the table and grabbing your drink, you give him a curt goodbye and walk out of the café.

well fuck.

he blew it. a girl so pretty he was convinced he was hallucinating her just sat by him and tried to talk to him and he blew it. he thinks about what topic he could pour himself into to distract from, what he over exaggerates to be, the biggest mistake of his life. and then his smartass brain turns back on.

he sees the neatly folded napkin you left behind, with curly red ink and blotches protruding behind the elegant folds. he grabs it and carefully unfolds it,

i was about to be late to my meeting. but i wouldn't want to miss a chance to speak with my favorite scholar.

lets link up ###-###-####

he’s quite happy he didn’t speak his mind when he first met you. you make him so stupid. almost stupid enough to blurt out ‘i'm totally in love with you’ when he just met you. he’ll be sure to set some hours aside in the evening to plan what he’ll say to you next time.

and then i go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like...

dr ratio x fem!reader

(sorry if hes ooc i didnt know how to bring out his assholeyness on a first date withour having the reader standing up and leaving his ass)

pt. 2 of then afterwards we drop into a quiet little place and have a drink or two

four days before the date.

you made veritas feel icky. his sweaty palms disgusted him, his jumbled thoughts made him feel like hiding in his study and never leaving, and the way even thinking of you made his heart race made him feel like a fool.

so he did what he does best, and he studied. he worked his ass off. researched breathing exercises and studied the human mind. the feelings he'd read about before, ones he swore he'd never stoop so low to feeling, were now what he seeked to bottle up. not completely, for he is still a man. just enough to not feel like such an idiot.

for the next four days before you two planned to meet, he practiced. in front of mirrors, lying in bed thinking of you; he worked day and night to get back to his normal self. he even suppressed his giddiness and raging thoughts about you enough to get two good days of work in.

7 hours before the date.

ratio is a methodical man. he plans and he executes.

he did not plan to wake up at 3 in the morning the day of your date. and he can’t get back to sleep. he's done his calming breathing exercises, he’s focused his muscle groups, hes counted sheep. he is NOT getting any more rest.

so now hes sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands like that one picture of shinji. a plethora of thoughts are racing through his head,

“what if i look like shit later today?

...i’ll need to wear concealer with my eyeliner today…

...i’m so fucking tired.”

but it's mainly you. what if he messes up, what if he's too rude or snarky? what if you don't really like who he is, like everyone else?

3 hours before the date.

you know how in films the dorky loser main character practices in front of the mirror before talking to their crush? veritas seemed to take it to heart, as he's standing here, leaning on his sink counter, staring at his own reflection (which he spent the last four hours on) and practicing what he’ll do.

his mind is organized and going over what he’ll do (although he's heavily suppressing the jumbled nervous thoughts that are running rampant in the back of his head) but it’s okay! ‘cause this doctor has a plan..!

talk about her outfit

ask her why she was interested in you

… the weather ?

surely the conversation will flourish from there. yeah. he’s totally prepared.

30 minutes before the date.

of course he’s 30 minutes early. if you’re early, you’re on time. if you're on time, you're late. and if you’re late? don’t bother showing up. that's his philosophy. although he's kinda hoping you don’t show up early too. his deep breathing exercises will take at least another 20 minut-

29 minutes before the date.

shit.

he watches as you enter the cafe, nodding to the barista and looking for a table. he notices you noticing him. your eyes light up and you sent a quick wave as you hurry over. but- wait, just a second- he’s not ready! he hasn't even started his affirmatio-

“hey! i guess we had the same idea, huh?” you chuckle, situating yourself and your bag onto your chair.

uh-oh, he’s just staring at you again. well, that's actually completely and totally 100% your fault! he was in the middle of DEEP-BREATHING. don’t interrupt a guy when he's breathing deeply.

“yes. we did. my philosophy on punctuality is that if you’re early, you’re on time. if you're on time, you're late. and if you’re late? don’t bother showing up.” he manages to get out. did that sound too snobbish?

“exactly! if you’re going somewhere, go with a purpose. even if that purpose is to get out as soon as possible, y’know?” you rest your head on your hand and make some relevant motion with the other one.

that's good! that's really good. he just had a conversation with you, just like he wanted. okay, okay. what now? what were his points?... outfit, interest, weather. outfit, interest, weather. outfit…

“are you going to order, veritas?” the sound of his own name from your tongue draws him back to reality. he’d like to hear that again.

“pardon me. yes, i’ll just take a black coffee.” he’s curt and in the back of his mind he's still deciding which point to bring up.

“sooo…. you look lovely. although i almost didn't recognize you without your alabaster head. i like it though.” you say, making small talk. he didn't mind it with you.

‘FUCK she beat me to it’ is what he’s thinking.

“thank you. you look beautiful, as always.” oooo he got you blushing and kicking your feet.

you let out a curt giggle at that, “so, why do you wear that? the alabaster head.” you cock your head to the side a little. you cutie patootie.

“i can’t bear to see idiots. of course, they wouldn't want to see me either.” he replies, matter of factly.

“they’re surely an idiot if they don't want to see you.”

haaah. veritas’ collar feels tighter and his head's getting hot. how's he supposed to react to that? do you have no shame?

and then he implodes because of your overwhelming beauty

okay guys i gotta be honest i have no idea how to conclude rhis ....so idk and then you guys bone or whatever you want ☺️

a/n - i'm so sorry about rhe ending gang but i quite literally could not think of any way to end this and ive been putting it off for weeks so i knew it wasnt getting finished.... whoops! 🤗

dedicated to 🌸 anon <3

(sorry for making you wait so long ml....... 😞)

Love this sm ong the Aventurine crumbs are real

Ex!Dr. Ratio x Reader x Aventurine (Mostly Aventurine)

A/N : Okay, but I have been thinking about Ex!Dr. Ratio for a while now (இдஇ; ) and then the best part is you'll leave him for Aventurine, not because you've eyed him for a while but because the two of you somehow met in the correct time and correct place… because why not HEHEHHEEH so here's how it goes, 

Warning : 2,5k word count, female reader, angst, rejection, break ups, some sort of verbal abuse mentioned (on Ratio's part), alcohol, fluff (Aventurine) 

You loved him so much, you admired him, taking care of him with all your heart but he's just not mentally available to reciprocate the same sentiment??? He really does like you too, but he's just too mean with his words and he cannot filter anything that comes out of his mouth??? You love all of him, his physique, his intelligence, you can even handle his mean comments and how he degrades you at times because you weren't able to keep up with him. To him, you're perfect just the way you are, but he also wants to enlighten you. To break you from a confinement called ignorance. 

The main problem is that he's not very kind with words and his ego is so high he wouldn't think that you're going to get hurt just by his words. Nor will he apologize. He's doing you a favor by correcting you with everything you may have done wrong, no? He expected more of you compared to other simpletons. The love you shower him with, he's quite fond of it and he feels like his life standards is increased by 67% 

He never regretted choosing you, but a few years had passed. You've lived with him long enough for you to break. The way he keeps mocking you for simple mistakes. The way he calls you stupid for not being level with his random philosophical questions. You tried! But you cannot possibly be able to respond exactly to his liking all of the time. The way he never verbally says that he loves you. This man is too full of himself, words of affirmation isn't one of the things he could provide to you. For him, action speaks louder than words, and having his unmatched loyalty completely for you is enough, he thinks. With that being said, another problem arises. He barely spends quality time with you. Most of the time it was just you, accompanying him inside his office only by sitting on a chair in front of him while listening to his ramblings. But that was about it. You can count with fingers at how many times does he actually spend an effort to humor you or do…couply things. You cannot demand much from Veritas Ratio, but who is it to blame when you're the one who confessed to him? And that's where it all went south. 

“Veritas, I don't think this is working out,” You said, right after he had just finished his bath time routine. The man visibly frowns, trying to digest your sudden confrontation. 

“And what are you supposed to mean by that?” Dr. Ratio shot you a judging look. You inhaled before you speak, 

“I want to end this… relationship” You finally managed to stutter the words out. The man stares at you, utterly disbelieved. 

“Excuse me? If this is one of those pranks of yours, then you truly have caught my attention,” he rolls his eyes, clearly unfazed. You would never leave him, wouldn’t you? But to his dismay, your serious face didn’t falter. It can’t be-

“I- I appreciate the time you gave me… I truly am still mesmerized by you, but I can’t keep this up… your intelligence… I might not be able to keep up with you anymore, just as you said, I'm just a mere idiot…” you hate how you could feel your eyes water, you felt so pathetic because a little part of you hopes that he denies your latter statement. To comfort you, telling you that it's not true, and to declare that he loves you too much to let you go. But instead, you can hear him scoff. 

“What a fool.” Ouch

“If that's how you truly see yourself, well I have to say that you really disappoint me. I thought you were better than this.” He crosses his arms, his gaze is unforgiving as his red eyes pierced through your soul. 

“H-ha…” You're speechless. You've mentally prepared yourself for this kind of answer but it still shook you internally. You sobbed before marching your way to your shared bedroom, grabbing the suitcase you've prepared while he's taking a bath. The blue haired man stands on his previous spot, unmoving. Maybe you're just having a minor breakdown and you'll come back to him again in no time. The chances aren't 0%

And that's why he's mildly surprised when you come out of your room holding a suitcase and some bags. Did you prepare this beforehand? How didn't he notice? 

“Where do you think you're going?” Veritas comments, following your steps towards the front door. You spare no time turning to him because you don't want to display your crying face to him. You opened the door but then his strong hand grabs your arm, holding you. 

“Hey, listen to me-” you yanked your hands away and he let you go in fear of actually hurting you. 

“Just– just… don't touch me,” And with that, you left. He didn't follow you out. Instead he just stands in the middle of the door, his brain processing the event that happened so quickly. He did teach you that he likes things direct and simple. Too bad it might take him more than one hour to figure this out. 

—

You booked a room in a nearby hotel. You've left your belongings inside the room but you're not feeling like weeping yourself to sleep so you went to their bar. You sit on one of the stools, playing with the big round ice floating around your glass of whiskey. 

For some reason you really do feel stupid. Maybe Veritas was right all along. You huff and slump down on top of the counter, looking like a distressed maiden. Maybe your head will actually feel lighter if you actually drink the alcohol but you don’t feel like it. 

From the other side, there sits Aventurine. He had just finished collecting some debts from the hotel when he saw you weeping alone at the bar. Every second of his time worths numerous credits, but since he had nothing else that is entertaining to do, he opts to stare curiously at your unknowing figure. He tried to recall your face. 

Ah, right. Dr. Ratio’s lover was it?

Veritas Ratio hasn't really introduced you to his acquaintance since he thinks that it’s unnecessary. What would they do about it anyway? Aventurine had seen you walk side by side with him without his alabaster head on, so you mustn't be a normal colleague or a random student. He did a small research around the faculty out of boredom about your appearance, but the moment he caught you clinging on his arm confirms it. With that he concluded that you’re Dr. Ratio’s lover and then he forgets about you since the information isn’t useful anyway. He did wonder about what kind of person could actually catch the scholar’s heart though.

The question is why are you spending your night alone here? Are you having an affair or something? But seeing that you looked like a wet sock, that might not be it. So instead of dwelling himself in an endless train of thoughts, Aventurine walked to your seat to greet you. The moment he excuses himself to sit on the stool beside you, you took some time to identify this man.

“Aventurine, correct?” you asked lazily, not wanting to use your brain for a while. He let out a small chuckle, that saves him the introduction. 

“Fancy meeting you here, miss. While I assume it’s unusual to see you out without Dr. Ratio,” He tried to strike a conversation, unbeknown to him the mere mention of Ratio’s name brings a huge frown on your face. Uh oh.

“Not anymore. We broke up. Just now.” you spoke bitterly, hoping for him to not press on the topic furthermore. As a businessman, Aventurine could sense that anything regarding Dr. Ratio won’t make this chat go smoothly at the moment, so he didn’t force it out of you. He didn’t know what to expect from you, but somehow his gut says that he would want to continue on this encounter. He’s a true gambler at heart. Who knows if you could be a millionaire in disguise? Maybe a small bond with you could benefit him greatly in later days, the possibilities are endless. The initial thought of you being able to be that close to Veritas Ratio is a filter of its own. 

“Sorry to hear that…” There is an uncomfortable silence between the two of you and Aventurine opts to order himself a drink. Feeling bad about ignoring him, you straightened your pose to talk to him. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t lash out on you like that.” and with that, you introduced yourself properly to the blonde man beside you. Aventurine is quite stunned, for some reason it feels like you actually do respect him. In a nice way, of course. Being treated as an equal without any skepticism behind your gesture. He kinda likes that. 

“Do not fret, it must be hard. If you’re curious, I was just taking a break after a little work here and I saw you. I hope you don’t mind?” he waves off your apology and smiles. 

“I don’t mind, maybe having company will make me look less miserable. Say, Veritas mentions you once or twice, you don’t seem like you’re as bad as he described,” you commented. The blonde only lets out a small giggle. 

“Maybe you’ll have a different impression of me in a business situation, but we’re here to chill, right?” you nodded at his statement and took a sip of your own beverage. 

“But knowing your reputation, I think I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with you,” you joked but he took it lightly.

“It’s not that bad, I promise. I’m a simple man, you know? People can take advantage of me all they want, including you, it’s up to me if I’m going to continue the deal or not. I don’t like being in the losing end afterall,” 

“Aren’t we all?” you spin your glass lightly before taking another sip. The atmosphere somehow shifted and the initial dread feels like it’s now long gone. Asking about how the two of you broke up with Veritas Ratio wouldn’t hurt, no? Either way, whether you had good connections with him or not wouldn’t burden him at all. 

“So what about you? Will a drink be equivalent to a story of what brought you here?” he let his intrusive thoughts win didn’t he. To his surprise, you let out a small laugh at his question.

“Are you one of his fans or something?” 

“I’m curious, that’s all,” you ponder for a bit.

“Only if you’re keeping this a secret,” you had your own calculations on why you’re trusting him, but he really doesn’t feel like a threat to you.

“I’m a man of my word, miss,” 

“No, like, seriously. I want to respect Veritas’ privacy but I might also need someone to talk to. Talking to other people like a friend… or a therapist at all… wouldn’t be wise won’t it? I mean, he’s a scholar with a huge academic presence. Yet you’re a businessman with a high respect for contracts, am I mistaken? I really mean it when I ask you to keep it a secret.” so that’s why, Aventurine thought. But what amuses him more is your ways to read a situation. You’re correct. And to think that you’ve put that much amount of analyzing and thought at someone else’s well being is beyond him. Even with that heartbroken state of yours. He might see why Veritas Ratio was drawn to you.

“I understand, miss. I’m quite surprised that you took me seriously, but I highly respect your trust.” He shot a smile at you. If you’re used to his business smile, you could know that this one is a genuine one. You took a deep breath before you started to ramble at him. The both of you know Dr. Ratio well so the conversation does run very smoothly. He even validates your distress here and there. Too bad time flies so fast when you’re enjoying it. Almost three hours passed, yet Aventurine didn’t really feel like cutting you off. Work could wait.

“So, like, you went on like that for years?” it must be very hard, even though he might not understand what you were feeling, your passionate talk gave it all away. Strange, he likes the attention you gave him. Hearing how fiery you were talking to him with such enthusiasm on dissing your ex. It feels pleasant.

“Yeah! Now if I think about it, I want to puke” you whined. Just when you feel like you want to talk more, you look at the clock on your phone.

“Aw shoot! Did I trap you here for too long?” as much as he wanted to deny you, you had a point. This meeting wasn’t planned yet he indulged himself for this long. Now you feel bad to keep him here this long.

“No, no it’s fine! You can continue if you want to, I have lots of time today” of course he lied, but he can’t deny the pleasant feeling rising inside his heart on the time he spent with you. You could sense his lie (he didn’t even try to hide it) so you stood up from your seat.

“I know you must be going, thank you for your time,” you smiled at him. He sighed at how you saw him through, joining you to jump out of his seat.

“Well, will you at least share your contact with me? So we could… meet again?” he asked, picking his phone out of his pocket. You accepted his idea and the two of you exchanged contacts. 

“Say, how long will you stay here?” he asks you again. 

“I’m not sure. I have yet to find another place to stay, so I’ll stay here until I find one I think,” you answered groggily. He nodded, understanding your situation. With that, you retreat back to your room while he walks on the opposite hallways. 

He takes a visit to the receptionist, asking about details about you and your room. Of course the hotel protocol won’t answer such a question, but he’s Aventurine after all, he’ll get what he wants. Once they have confirmed about your stay to him, he let out a satisfied smile. 

“Just put their bill on my credit card, am I clear?”

“Understood, sir. We will take care of it right away.” 

Next Part : https://www.tumblr.com/aventureen/742519771599454209/aaaaaa-i-love-your-exdr-ratio-x-reader-x?source=share

Requests and asks are open!~ Thank you for reading 

⇄ ◁◁ 𝚰𝚰 ▷▷ ↻ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⁰⁰'²⁵ ━━●━━───── ⁰²'⁰⁸

╰┈➤ characters...•`GEPARD, WELT, DAN HENG´•.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ SYNOPSIS... the issues they may struggle in your 'blooming' relationship. ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ WORDCOUNT... 1,4k ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ WARNINGS... tw! disturbing content, gender neutral reader, obsession, manipulation, emotional dependence, overprotection, toxic relationship ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ OTHER...reblogs, likes and requests are appreciated!

a/n: i made this draft like months ago, now that i have more time to write i might get back into it. this was originally planned with gepard, welt, dan heng, il dan heng and jing yuan but in the end i managed to only write this much

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​​🇬​​🇪​​🇵​​🇦​​🇷​​🇩​​. 𓆩❤︎𓆪

＇ｐｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｖｅ＇

‘This type of yandere cares deeply for the wellbeing and happiness of their love interest, and they fear what other, crueler people with bad intentions can do to their love interest. They will be on the lookout for anything that can cause any kind of discomfort to the love interest before taking action to get rid of it. They see everything and everyone as a threat for the love interest. They will use extreme methods to get rid of other “dangerous” people permanently, and even punish and torture them for the harm they did to the love interest, even if they didn’t really do all that much.’

you loved your job. but you loved gepard even more and that was all he needed to hear to take these steps.

"stay safe, love.." his voice was dripping from uncertainty. eyebrows forruwed at you, scanning your expression his mind was wandering towards the fact how he should stay home too, protected by the walls around you, not just forcing leaving you there. what if someone attached you while he's away or something so much worse? he couldn't bear it without him going absolutely mad.

after a few months you really got used to almost being a woman whose only income was his loving husband who would do anything for her. he told you it is better for both of you. you won't get injuries out on the front line and he won't worry himself to death about your well-being. win-win situation!

the only bad part about this was the fact that at the beginning you were against it like hell. trying to confront him physically and verbally. well, unfortunately for you, you failed with both miserably and it only made him sneakily lock the door the moment he stepped outside. you never realized. that's how he knew how the blue and purple bruises were more than enough to stop you from being reckless and escape.

not that he wanted to, but for you to learn to love him again so purely like before. He had to stop that dirty habit of his and after a few weeks he gathered all of his strenght and walked off without turning back and locking the front door.

yes, you missed being a silvermane guard, but gepard's love was enough to make you forget about your past. like why would you even want to go around and do something dangerous when he's there for instead?

standing at the entrance, leaning down he pressed a soft kiss to your temple, caressing the spot with his thumb, writing down patterns on your soft skin. whispering away a final 'love you' before leaving the house for the day and you waiting for him to returne home at the night like an obedient, good wife you are.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​​​🇼​​🇪​​🇱​​🇹​. 𓆩❤︎𓆪

＇ｍａｎｉｐｕｌａｔｉｖｅ＇

‘Seeking to get their love interest to react positively to their presence and to care about them, they manipulate their love interest’s feelings and world perception. Some might see their love interest as incapable of caring about them. Others might think that their love interest wants to feel “in love” or “happy” around them so they try to address their emotional state so that they frequently feel “in love” or “happy.’

everyone seemed so.. narcissistic and greedy in the last few days. wanting everything for themselves, not looking out for you and not being at your service like he did.

welt was always there for you and not only when there was a chance to use you for their good. he was there for you in rough times. always by your side and selflessly provides happiness, hereby you finding comfort and warmness in his powerful holds every single time he held you in his arms.

“i told you.. i told you the day you arrived here, little one, you shouldn’t get too close to anyone.” you nodded. it wasn’t the first time the taller male tried to comfort you in ways like this. sometimes it worked, sometimes it just really didn’t and his words felt more like rock heavy burden on your shoulders. as if he just wanted to brainwash protect you. making you think no one wants your happiness as much as he wants it and you’re no one’s first choice, only and only his. absurd? yes it was. but now?.. once you took a closer look to your allies’ behavior it was becoming even more and more clearer day by day.

welt was indeed right. it didn’t take him the slightest effort imaginable, your love for him made you believe every single word he even just uttered under his breath. and by now, it was natural for you to search only his company. you could’ve get used to dan heng’s cold demeanor, you could’ve help march act wiser in different situations. but before you even got the chance to firstly know about their past, welt took you under his wings since the first day. and so like that, slowly and steadily something grew within him, something that simply didn’t let you out of his reach and wanted to lock you up in a cage, just like a canary, surrounded by only his love for you.

thinking it would take more effort to put it in this long process, it was actually cut really short as soon as he realized the fact that you’re willing to do almost however he wants, sharing the same feelings he has for you, only a little more nagging and you’ll do the rest of his plan.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​​​​🇩​​🇦​​🇳​ ​🇭​​🇪​​🇳​​🇬. 𓆩❤︎𓆪

＇ｓｅｌｆ－ｓａｃｒｉｆｉｃｅ＇

‘These yandere characters will give of their time, their desires, and work for whatever their love interest wants. They are willing to do almost anything for the good of their love interest and the relationship. They see self giving and self sacrifice as essential to a relationship and they, better than any other dere type, push themselves to do it more and better.’

dark and ugly dark circkles sat in the corner of his gorgues teal eyes, making it look as hideous and ugly as it could be. staring into the void, there he sat on his ragged and used mattress. the door closed behind you, though it did in fact was silent, a new person's presence could be very noticable in the room's atmosphere, especially if the so called place was so quiet, you could hear a hairpin drop on the cold ground.

your footsteps was just mere louder but overall still hushed. His head still hung low, breathing slowly, sometimes almost as if he just forgot about it.

then out of the blue he snapped his head upwards to seeing you crouching in front of him. finally, after gently shaking his shoulders repeatedly over and over again, his attention was turned towards you just like you wanted it in the first place when you entered his room. not even a word could escape your mouth, as he practically stuffed it back in your mouth by disturbing you, thick concern evident in his voice and gaze.

"do you need something?" not even a greeting.

"no- i just wanted to check--"

"it's okay, i'm on it." he said nothing more or less, cutting the conversation short, he stood up instantly, ready to make any of your wishes come true the second they get past your lips. your eyebrows instantly furrowed, following his movement but your soft hands held him by placing them on his shoulder as soon as you knew whatever he wanted to do.

"no, dan heng! just.. calm down, okay?.." stopping him in his tracks, slight suprise was noticeable on his features. why would you even do this? why would he even need to calm down in the first place? didn't you want this? it was just irrelevant.

"i just want to help you, y/n--"

"i know."

"then-" this time you cut him off with a quick and strong embrace, without a world you put your ear on his chest, listening to his peaceful heartbeat. after standing there for a few minutes you finally turned your head to meet his eyes. he still didn't know what was going on.

"i don't need you to do everything for me, dan heng..." you already had this conversation with him, not even once but his love blinded his wision in a way that he just did it again and again. he finally nodded though considering this, it won't be soon that he'll have a good rest.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ 𓈈 ᵈᵒ ⁿᵒᵗ ᶜᵒᵖʸ, ᵐᵒᵈⁱᶠʸ ᵒʳ ᵘᵖˡᵒᵃᵈ ᵐʸ ʷᵒʳᵏ ᵃˢ ʸᵒᵘʳˢ!

─ Virtual Angel !

Aventurine x GN!Reader

Inspired by 'Virtual Angel' by ARTMS!

Tags: Obsessed Aventurine, Religious Imagery, Religious Symbolism, God, Angels, S*icide, Parasocial relationship (?), Aventurine hates himself, Self-hatred, Hurt No Comfort, Angst.

Word Count: 1.6k

Aventurine stood at the edge of the building. His vision is a split screen between his feet and the back alley. The sky was beautiful, bright blue with a few white clouds dotted along the view. They were so fluffy and clean. Just like Them. Their white wings were far more superior than the fake ones he wore on his back. Everyone wore them, everyone in The Gathering. It was like a show of faith. Although it was never as permanent as the tattoo that bled into his skin. A black cross. Slightly downturned arms. It paired awfully well with his neck brand.

His pupils shook as he peered down. Why? He had done this over and over again, yet he was still frightened. Not of death, no. In fact, he craved it, he wanted to die. But They scared him, every time he did this, yet he couldn’t stop.

They wouldn’t be happy, quite devastated if he jumped and died. Every other time he’d do it, They would scold him.

‘Please clean me. Please help me.’

He felt sick and twisted.

His left hand held a small white wand. A shiny Aventurine attached to the top of it. They always encouraged him to clean it often. They told him that Aventurine is beautiful and should be taken care of.

That was probably the 20th replacement They had been forgiving enough to give him after it shattered next to his lifeless body.

Here we go again, let’s die. I’m going to die because… I hate myself. I’m disgusting. No one loves me. They don’t love me. Why? Why don’t They love me? I dedicate my life to Them because I need faith. I need faith to continue. I hate my life. I hate my past. Please kill me.

Please kill him.

A glowing figure appeared in front of him, hovering in the air. Their spotless wings outstretched. White clothing adored their body, decorated with pure gold. Their eyes investigate him, a smile on Their face. Their lips opened, their voice drowning out every other sound of this world.

It was you. The one who Aventurine truly needed.

“Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than hidden treasures; Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?”

You could only deliver these sacred words to him every time he rejected life. Your heart ached. It really did hurt you. He was too insecure to believe you loved him.

Aventurine sighed and choked out a few tears.

“Why?”

“I know you are angry with God,” the words fall off your tongue. Every syllable, every pronunciation, every vowel and consonant were heavenly to his ears, “But I know you do not curse God.”

He stretched his left hand out, sending the wand to its own death. Your eyes followed it down, seeing the Aventurine shatter into bits. You look back at him. Blank face.

“Is my forgiveness not sufficient? Is my giving not feeding you? Do I not unlock my heart enough?”

The tears started flowing down his cheeks at your words. He’s only cried in front of you. No one else at The Gatherings had ever seen him truly.

“I don’t believe it.”

Your hands ghost over your chest, shutting your eyes and no longer smiling, “Yet you still pray to me, pray to God every day.”

You’re right. He still has faith; he can’t even go back home anymore. He spends nights sleeping where he sees you, where he prays for you. He only eats fruit. He feels like he shouldn’t be allowed to consume anything else.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

He must do everything to make you and your God pleased. Everything besides his frequent suicides. He was addicted. He can’t stop that, no he couldn’t!

And so, he did.

…

His fingers are shaking. His breath is fast. His heart was pumping, and he had tears down his face. The weight of the headset on his head was heavy, blocking his vision. His hands pressed against the machine and pulled it off his head, messing up his already messy hair.

His body was snug in a beanbag, covered in pillows and blankets. Gently dropping the headset beside him to not wake any of the other members of The Gathering who also slept on beanbags with the same headsets on their heads.

The pink and white plushies stared lifelessly into his eyes. They surrounded the room. The white walls painted over with the pink lighting from the neon lights hung up around the room. A few neon signs were eyes. Eyes everywhere watching them, watching him. The large light was an exact replica of the tattoo in his skin. Pointed cross, downturned arms.

The box TVs placed at the front of the room played blue static. The sound of white noise and breathing echoed in his ears.

Aventurine’s hands felt around in his lap and recognised the familiar object that had recently been placed in his hands. The wand, the same Aventurine attached to the top of it. It glowed softly as your whisper echoed from the gem.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Your words repeated the same words over and over again until the glow died down.

“Sleep. Rest your temple of God.”

Aventurine’s eyes fluttered open to the same room.

Everyone was gone with their headsets carefully placed on their beanbags.

The TVs stirred and the blue static distorted into a video of you. Your voice poured out of the speakers in a heavenly tone.

I’ll be there for you when your wings break.

Letting go of you that’s a heartbreak.

His pupils dilated at the sight of you and your voice. He slowly got up and crawled to the TV. Pulling his face to the screen, he could see every pixel of you. You took up his entire vision and his mind was foggy.

His fingers caressed the screen. The false wings on his back shifted from left to right and he moved impossibly close to the screen.

My feelings are complete when the moon rises.

His breath graced the screen as tears welled up in his eyes again.

Please, please, please.

O Lord.

His eyes close and lips sweetly kiss yours through the screen.

He whispers to you through the screen, “When I open my eyes at last… Please save me saviour.”

Your eyes meet his as he opens them, breaking the fourth wall. You smile at him, with a lingering feeling of sadness.

“I’m just your Virtual Angel.”

oooh what if vidyadhara reader with draconic feature just like dan heng (or feng) who's trying to hide the fact that they're jealous but the tail just gives it away by thumping on the ground like it has a mind of it's own and no matter what the reader does it just won't stop unless you grab it

but like, if the tail didn't exist they would actually believe it cuz their expression is actually very convincing

i was thinking of blade, dan heng and jing yuan back when they were still a high cloud quintet cuz i believe they were so popular back then

With a Vidyadhara Reader

✧ ɴᴏᴛᴇꜱ: thank you for the request! i went with present time for this because i feel like i still don't know enough about their past to feel confident in portraying them accurately.

✧ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ: dan heng, jing yuan, blade

✧ ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: obvious — taylor trensch

✧ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: none

Dan Heng, being a Vidyadhara dragon himself, immediately knew what was up with you when your tail started indicating exactly how he made you feel. Yet, because he wasn't open about his past with the other members of the Astral Express Crew yet, he kept silent, simply observing you and wondering what would become of your friendship if one day you decided to be honest about your feelings.

Dan Heng loves you too, but he's hesitant about putting you on the spot and forcing you to share something about you, that you weren't ready to share with him yet. And besides, that would mean bringing up the whole High Elder thing and he wouldn't know how that would affect your opinion of him. His memories of the past are hazy and he doesn't know who you were back then and what that would mean for you now. Whether it would make you see him with different eyes.

So when he comes back from the Xianzhou Luofu with dragon horns and a tail; the resemblance to High Elder Dan Feng undeniable; your eyes fall on him and you immediately know there's quite a lot for you to talk about

At first it's all about what happened on the Luofu and how Dan Heng felt about the whole thing. But he eventually decides it's time to talk about how your tail had been giving away your feelings for him for months now.

You're understandably flustered, still a little shocked from the realization that he likely knew the whole time. You had always brushed your agitated tail off as "things your nerves just do sometimes" so finding out Dan Heng was always aware you were lying about it was quite awkward

However, Dan Heng is happy the cards are finally on the table. He confesses that he feels the same for you and you decide on just burying the past for a while and enjoy your life together now.

You receive a text message from him the next day to enter his room and you find that he has built something akin to a dragon nest / pillow fort for the two of you to cuddle in. Dan Heng lays down with you in his arms and he places a kiss on your horns; a silent promise to stay by your side and love you forever; his tail intertwined with yours.

Blade is... hesitant about falling in love with a Vidyadhara dragon considering how his last close bond with one went.

Blade actually is completely oblivious to your tell-tale signs of having a crush on him. He'd be entering the room and your tail would swish back and forth and he's way too caught up in his own head to notice. His thoughts are spiraling around what happens if you want him to be immortal too and what it means when you reincarnate or whether you will bring ruin to his life like his friendship with Dan Feng did.

Meanwhile you're just like,,, happy to see him

Kafka actually has to slap some sense into him by telling him about your feelings for him and your desire to love him and take care of him that is obvious to literally everyone BUT Blade. This man is DEEP in denial and half the time he spends with Kafka is her trying to convince him that you're not out for making his depression 10 times worse and that since he feels the same; he should just give the whole thing a chance and enjoy your time together

But these interactions made you wonder whether Blade wasn't into Kafka instead.

So your tail smacks onto the ground in an unnerved motion and Kafka chuckles, leaning over to Blade and whispering in his ear about how you're obviously jealous and he should just give in to his feelings already.

This in turn makes your tail act up even more.

This continues until Kafka one day decides to put you out of your misery and just tell you that Blade has a huge crush on you that he's trying to deny and that he mumbles your name in his sleep while snuggling a pillow, which makes you almost choke on your cereal.

Blade enters the room not long after that, finding your tail completely still from the shock of the information you just received. He turns his head to Kafka, speaking in a slow but annoyed tone. "What. did. you. do?"

This incident ultimately marked the moment you two got together but Blade still thinks Kafka is a horrible wingwoman.

Jing Yuan is the only one out of these three who is not conflicted in the slightest.

Rather, he's having the time of his life watching you talk to him with a completely straight face while your tail is having a solo dance session behind you; something you were unfortunately very aware of. You try desperately to stop it from moving while Jing Yuan just stands there with a subtle smile on his face.

He'll subtly tease you about it as well. Asks you if everything is okay whilst he knows full well what is happening here.

When your tail thumps on the ground out of jealousy, Jing Yuan leans close to you and tells you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Yes, this is before you start dating. He knows what he's doing to your poor heart by teasing you about this. He hopes it finally prompts you to be honest about your feelings.

Even after you get together, the tail is definitely a big help in showing Jing Yuan how you're feeling at the moment, so he can reassure you when he needs to and give you attention when you crave it.

He often pulls you into his lap and runs his fingertips over the tail, marveling at the scales and how you react to his touches. When he notices your tail is sensitive, he chuckles lightly and presses a kiss to your forehead.

Everytime he sees jealousy or a need for attention in the movements of your tail, he makes a mental note to take some time off to spend with you and pamper you with affection as soon as possible.

━━ under the lotus leaves.

You've known Dan Feng long before he became the High Elder of the Vidyadhara, before he donned the title of Imbibitor Lunae and became the legend he is known as now. Long ago, back when the two of you were mere children, playing in the waters of the Xianzhou Luofu.

imbibitor lunae (dan feng) x gn!reader

contains: childhood friends au, set before dan feng is a criminal, slow burn, long fic, ooc!character for the first half bc he's growing up and is an annoying teen, mentions of blade's real name, death, spoilers for 1.2

genres: mostly fluff, hurt/comfort, some angst bittersweet ending

word count: 8.6k

a/n: please do note that this is dan feng, not dan heng. and therefore i take a lot more liberties with how he is because i firmly believe that dan feng was more of a bitch than dan heng BYE ALSO THIS IS UNEDITED !! ILL EDIT IT TMRW WHEN I WAKE UP I JUST HAD TO GET THIS OUT BYE

Your best friend was an extraordinary being.

There was no doubt about it. Regarded as both the strongest and wisest of your people, he was chosen as the High Elder, Imbibitor Lunae. And he has served you well.

His feats are plenty, with his joining the esteemed High-Cloud Quintet, and you couldn't count the amount of time he'd saved the Xianzhou on one hand. He was smart, intelligent, and witty, quick to understand situations and formulate the best solutions. His enemies feared his presence on the battlefield, and his friends trusted him with their lives.

As did you.

You, a mere civilian. A single face among thousands of Vidyadhara, another footstep among the crowd. You, who have lived through his past and present. You, who knew him better than he knew himself.

You, who has been by his side since the very beginning.

━

It was a stormy day when you first met Dan Feng.

You were just a child back then, a Vidyadhara only eight years of age. Normally, at this stage in your life, you'd be guided by the current high elder, but it seems that you had undergone your cycle at the same time as the past high elder.

So as life would have it, you would instead be raised by your seniors, while the Preceptors tended to the newly reborn high elder. A skilled weaver in your past incarnation, you were taken in by your then coworkers, and raised within your craft of making lotus silk.

As such, your childhood was filled with looms, lotus flowers, and spinning threads. You spent your free time in the gardens of lotus flowers, hiding from your caretakers amongst the tall stems and diving into the waters to swim amongst them. You may not have had the draconic features of the High Elder, but you still adored the water like any other Vidyadhara.

And as it would seem, so did the High Elder.

It had been a hot and sunny day at the Luofu. The rays were smoldering on your back as you waded through the lotus fields, thankful for the cold water splashing against your legs. You squinted against the sun, adjusting your leaf hat on your head. Tucked against your arm was a woven basket filled with lotus stems, all of which would have fiber extracted from them.

The tall leaves and flowers of the lotuses dwarfed your child self in comparison, although you weren’t complaining. Although the water sloshed around your thighs, requiring you to roll up your pants more than your older coworkers, the leaves served as temporary relief from the sun’s rays.

You pushed stems aside, the field looking more akin to a jungle to you. You only needed one more before you could return home to the comfort of an air conditioner in order to extract the fibers for the threads. Thankfully, that wouldn’t have to wait long.

Once you found a suitable stem to harvest, you snapped it from its roots and began to wash it in the water. Your basket floated next to you, you keeping an eye on it to make sure it wouldn’t float away.

But then, you heard the stems rustle, and the waters splashing as something entered your field. Immediately, you stood up straight, holding the lotus stem more like a weapon than a crop.

“Who’s there?” you called out, your voice ringing through the silent and tranquil fields.

No response.

You huffed, carefully setting down your stem in the basket. Whoever it was probably thought you weren’t a threat merely because of your age. You’d prove them wrong.

You heard the stems rustle one more time, snapping your head towards the source. Picking up your basket, you marched over to a large clump of lotuses, a perfect hiding spot (you would know, you’ve used it many times before). A shadow around your size moved within them, submerging itself into the water.

You rolled your eyes. Another kid, then. 

Pushing the stems aside, you saw the flicker of a draconic tail splashing the water, almost wagging as its owner lay face-first in the murky water. Without a second thought, you set aside your basket, grabbed the tail with your grubby little hands, and pulled hard.

“OW!”

The tail’s owner toppled out of the water, crashing into you in the process and knocking your foreheads together. You yelped, falling into the water with a splash as you held your aching forehead.

“What was that for?!” A child-like voice, much like your own berated you, a whine in his tone.

Glaring through your tears, you shouted back at him. “That was for bumming around on my farm!”

Your victim/intruder, a young boy with long hair, met your glare with equal fire. “I wasn’t ‘bumming around’, I was just… Cooling off! It’s hot today.”

You squinted, clearly not impressed. “I don’t care what you were doing! You’re not doing it on my farm.”

He lashed his tail angrily, splashing you in the process. “I’m the High Elder. I do what I want.”

You stared at him for a good second, taking in his appearance. He was a Vidyadhara around your age, only he had draconic-like horns protruding from his head. His long black hair flowed around him, and his fancy white robes were drenched in lotus water. It would’ve been obvious to anyone that he was a noble, someone of higher standing.

“No you’re not,” you said, deadpanning. “You’re too small.”

The self-proclaimed High Elder flushed red with embarrassment, jumping to his feet.

“I’m still growing!” he insisted, stamping his feet and splashing water everywhere.

“The High Elder’s supposed to be big and powerful!” you said, throwing your arms in the air to emphasize your point. “You’re… a kid!”

“You’re a kid too-!” The High Elder froze in the middle of his sentence, his tail stiffening at the sound voices - adult voices. Quickly, he grabbed you by the collar of your robe and pulled you into the shadows of the clump.

“Hey-!” He slapped his hand over your mouth to shut you up. In retaliation, you licked at his hand, the young boy recoiling in disgust.

“Did you just lick me?!” he hissed, looking at his hand in horror. 

“You’re the one who just grabbed me-”

“Shh!!” He put a finger to his mouth, shushing you. “Be quiet! Can’t you see I’m hiding?”

“From what, the Cloud Knights?” you gasped, backing up. “Are you a criminal?!”

He gave you a look. “No! I told you, I’m the High-”

“High Elder? Are you there?”

This time, you both slapped a hand over each other’s mouths. An unfamiliar adult voice shouted over the fields, calling for the boy beside you. You both waited with bated breath as the man searched on the other side of the field, only letting go when he was far enough away.

“You weren’t lying?” you whispered excitedly, looking up at the boy with newfound respect. He crossed his arms, looking all high and mighty now.

“Why would I be lying?” he said matter-of-factly. “You were the one who didn’t believe me.”

You really wanted to make a witty comment, but then you remembered your stems, floating out in the sun. Panic seized you. You couldn’t let those stems dry. If they did, they’d be useless to you.

You jumped to your feet, hurriedly running to your stems. Thankfully, they were still where you left them, and in the shade. You sighed in relief, knowing that you would live to see another day.

You peeked your head over the lotus heads, spotting the man who was calling for the High Elder. He was wearing some pretty fancy robes himself, the robes you recognized as belonging to a Preceptor.

Cradling your basket once again, you walked back to where the High Elder was hiding. He looked up at you in surprise as you reached towards what used to be a preening lotus flower, now a pod filled with green seeds. 

You snapped it off the stem and popped out one of the seeds. After peeling the green skin to reveal the white center, you handed it to the High Elder.

“Want one?”

The High Elder was wary at first, but eventually took the seed. He chewed it in his mouth for a little bit, his eyes brightening at the taste.

“It’s sweet,” he said in surprise. You nodded, taking one for yourself before giving him the pod.

“You have the rest on this one,” you said. You pointed in the direction of the Preceptor. “The big guy looking for you is over there, by the way.”

“Oh.” He took the pod in his hands, still a bit freaked out by how it looked. “Thank you.”

“Master always said I have to make it up when I do something bad,” you said, picking up your stems. With a start, the High Elder seemed to realize that you were apologizing. “Anyway, I have to go now. The fibers will dry up if I stay out here too long.”

“Wait!” The High Elder called out, reaching for you. You turned around, raising a brow. His tail waved nervously behind him as his hand faltered. “What’s your name?”

As you answered him, in the back of your head, you could’ve sworn you’d read this scene before. 

You tilted your head curiously. “What’s yours?”

His expression was strange. It was a smile of relief and happiness, just from you not knowing his name. The waters responded to his joy, swirling gently around him.

“Dan Feng,” he said, his tail wagging slightly. “My name is Dan Feng.”

━

You remember seeing him dragged out of the fields a few hours later. You had been extracting fibers from the stems you’d collected when you’d heard the commotion. 

Dan Feng was having his ear talked off by the Preceptor, but he was being awfully obedient. The two of you had met gazes, and he had sheepishly waved at you. Your hands were busy with your work, so all you could do was giggle at his predicament.

Of course, that wouldn’t be the last time you saw the High Elder - far from it. 

Dan Feng would visit your farm often, whether it was for eating more lotus seeds, dragging you to go swim with him, or just to watch you work. Your mentors and coworkers grew accustomed to seeing the young Vidyadhara waiting for you outside the workshop.

All of his visits would end in the same way - a Preceptor would come and take him away for his studies, droning on about his duty as the High Elder while Dan Feng rolled his eyes behind their back.

It wasn’t like he hated his duty. You knew better than anyone that Dan Feng took pride in his role, he was just… stubborn.

“What are you doing?”

You flinched at the boy in question’s voice. Dan Feng was practically talking in your ears, his face right next to yours. You leaned away, batting away at him.

“None of your business,” you said, turning your back towards him as to hide your hands. Dan Feng pouted but didn’t push.

“If you say so.” He turned his gaze back to the open fields. His legs kicked as he dangled on the stone wall alongside you.

You sat in comfortable silence, feeling as the spring breeze blew gently around you. It was tranquil and quiet, as the lotus fields always were.

Dan Feng found he preferred it that way. It was nice to get away from the droning words of the Preceptors, and this little farm served as his favorite sanctuary. He could spend his days here forever, just being by your side.

His eyes shifted towards you again. You were oddly concentrated today, he noted, working on whatever was in your hands right now. It was unlike you to be so quiet. Usually, you’d be talking about the latest gossip you’d heard from your mentors, or complaining about the weather again.

He strained his neck, trying to see just what was taking your attention away from him. But alas, you saw him and snatched it away from him again. Frustrated, he blew at his hair, lashing his tail in impatience.

Oh, well. If you weren’t going to show him, you weren’t going to show it. It wasn’t like he wanted to see it anyways.

Dan Feng went back to spacing out, closing his eyes, crossing his legs, and focusing on the world around him. If he wasn’t going to do anything, he might as well meditate.

He reached his senses into the fields, losing himself in the environment. His ears were filled with the rustle of each individual leaf, the soft splashing of water, the croak of the frogs, and the buzzing of insects that inhabited the fields.

He could feel how the wind felt on every plant, the warmth of the sun not just on his skin, but on the skin of the other aquatic animals. At that moment, Dan Feng became one with the world. Nothing could break his concentration.

Nothing, except perhaps for you, who was trying to grab his hand as stealthily as possible.

Dan Feng snapped his eyes open when you took his left hand in yours. Apparently, you were too engrossed in your task to notice his eyes on you.

You slid something onto his ring finger. Dan Feng tilted his head, raising his hand to stare at whatever it was you put on him.

A band of woven grasses encircled his finger, the braid intricate and tight. Dan Feng looked at it in confusion, rotating his hand to get a better view of it.

“Do you like it?” you said proudly.

“What is it?” he asked, bringing it to his face to observe.

“It’s a ring,” you said obviously. You showed him your dominant hand, which had a matching ring on it. “I saw a couple of girls the other day with those friendship bracelets. I figured since we’ve known each other for a few years now, we should have something like that too.”

“Oh.” Dan Feng blushed at your words, a giddy feeling bubbling within his chest. Suddenly, the ring on his finger felt heavier, but also much, much warmer.

“It’s nice, right?” you hummed, holding your hand to the sky. “I mean, it’s not like one of those beads you can just buy, but I think it’s pretty special.”

“I love it.” Dan Feng beamed softly, holding his hand close to his chest. “I’ll treasure it forever.”

It melted your heart to see him so ecstatic over something as simple as a grass ring. He was quite literally glowing from happiness, his draconic parts illuminating with a soft sea green.

“I’m glad,” you said, hugging your knees to your chest. 

Dan Feng looked at you, gratitude brimming in his eyes. He didn’t reach out to hug you (although he certainly wanted to), but rather, only wrapped his tail around your waist, tugging you closer to him.

━

You loved Dan Feng, you really did. But sometimes, you really wanted to tie him up and throw him in a ditch.

You sigh loudly in frustration, jabbing at Dan Feng’s wound with an alcohol-infused pad. The boy in question hissed in pain at your actions.

“Would it kill you to be gentler?” he attempted to jolt away, but your hold on his arm was firm.

It had been many years since you two had first met. The two of you were adolescents now, nearing adulthood.

Dan Feng had appeared at your doorstep after training once again to escape his mentors, only this time with a bloodied gash on his shoulder. He’d tried to hide it from you, but to little success.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?” you shot back, angrily wrapping his wound with bandages. Dan Feng averted his gaze.

“It wasn’t anything they needed to know,” he said quietly. You paused in your wrapping to stare at him incredulously.

“Are you kidding me?!” You pulled on the bandages, tightening them. Dan Feng winced at your loud voice, waving his hand for you to quiet down. Granted, you did, but you still decided on berating him.

“Feng'er, this is serious,” you said through gritted teeth. “It’s not one of those scratches you can just lick away. What if it had gotten infected?”

Dan Feng sighed, opting to stay silent and instead watch you work. Despite your harsh tone, he knew that you were just worried about him. He didn’t blame you, the wound was pretty serious.

His eyes softened as he saw your hands trembling as they worked. Your face was a mask of angry calm, but he could see the shake in your eyes.

“...sorry.”

You blinked. “What was that?”

Dan Feng dropped his gaze guiltily. “I’m sorry. I made you worry.”

“When do you not make me worry?” you joke, tying the bandage into a bow. Dan Feng smiled sheepishly.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, touching your hand with his tail. “How should I make it up to you this time?”

“Hm…” You pondered the question, tapping at your chin before brightening with an idea. “I got it. How about showing me that little trick you were bragging to me about earlier, with the cloudhymm?”

Dan Feng laughed airily. “You always ask for that.”

“Well, no one around here knows cloudhymm except for you,” you said, crossing your legs on the floor. Your eyes practically glowed in anticipation - Dan Feng wanted to compare you to a puppy awaiting a treat. 

The thought made his lips twitch as he held back his laugh. You rolled your eyes playfully, nudging him eagerly.

“So pushy,” he said dramatically, but you knew he was just teasing. He sat up straight, smoothed out his robes, and without further ado, he began his personal spectacle for you.

With just a flick of his finger, water materialized around him, taking the form of white lotus flowers in the air. Droplets stilled, as though someone had stopped time in the middle of a rainstorm.

You’ve seen this view many times before, but you were still amazed each and every time. A lotus flower hovered in front of you, bursting into a cloud of mist as you touched it.

You giggled, leaning back onto your hands, watching the lotuses drift off into the air. Unbeknownst to you, Dan Feng was preparing a whole nother surprise for you.

As your attention was captured by the lotuses, Dan Feng swirled his finger in the air. His signature teal water erupted in a spiral, taking the form of a roaring dragon. You jumped in surprise as it circled around you, flying toward the ceiling.

Dan Feng made the dragon dance around the lotuses, even bumping against your cheek. You squeaked as it did, light-heartedly glaring at Dan Feng. He only smirked back at you, before he enraptured your gaze with the dragon once again.

It glided towards the ceiling again, curling into a glowing orb of water. Dan Feng made a fist, and the dragon and the lotuses burst into a fine mist, making rainbows in the late evening light.

You were glimmering with awe, a permanent smile fixed onto your lips as you reached towards the ceiling to catch the mist. It was cool against your skin, like a little kiss from the rain.

“Am I forgiven now?” Dan Feng asked, amused.

You rolled your eyes. “Only if you promise to tell someone the next time you get injured.”

Dan Feng laughed. “Yes, yes, of course.”

You turned to look at him, only to find that he had been watching you this entire time, a fond smile on his lips.

━

“Are you sure about this?”

Dan Feng whispered anxiously as you skillfully maneuvered through dark alleyways and streetlights, your hand clasped tightly in his. 

He kept looking back behind him, just to make sure that you weren’t being followed. He’d changed his appearance somewhat, making sure to hide his horns and tail, but he was still paranoid.

“Obviously!” you chirped back. You didn’t bother looking back at him, currently fixated on your destination - a crowd of bright lights, the smell of food, and the chatter of people. In other words, the night market.

Dan Feng let himself be dragged off by you, trusting that you knew these streets better than he did. He looked urgently back at you.

“When we get caught-”

“If we get caught,” you corrected, stopping momentarily to pull Dan Feng towards you. You let go of his hand to hold his face, pulling him to meet yours. “You trust me, right?”

Dan Feng sighed. “Yes, but-”

You squished his cheeks, effectively shutting him up. “No ‘buts’. What happened to the kid who would sneak off to swim in my farm?”

Dan Feng gave you a look, but with his face all squished up like that, you couldn’t take him seriously. Fighting down a giggle, you squeezed him one last time before letting go.

“Trust me on this,” you insisted, the lights of the market illuminating your back. “You couldn’t have lived for this long and not have been to the night market. You’ll love it, I promise.”

“And if I don’t?” Dan Feng hummed. You snorted, interlacing your fingers with his once again.

“Then I’ll do whatever you want later, alright?”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Dan Feng squinted as you pulled him into the depths of the market, the bright lights blinding him momentarily. The savory aroma of grilled meat and fried vegetables wafted into his nose, the chatter of friends, families, and lovers filling the air. The two of you were practically consumed by the crowd, the only thing keeping him from being swept away was your hand in his.

It was overwhelming, but not in a bad way. Dan Feng’s eyes widened with wonder as he took in the atmosphere around him. He wasn’t used to so many people being in one place, at the same time. In the lotus fields and in his palace, things were always quiet, still.

He could see children playing silly games with one another, jewelers selling their handcrafted trinkets, and so many street chefs, cooking right on the spot over open flames.

A tug on his hand broke him out of his stupor. You had been watching him all this time, a knowing smile on your face. You tugged him over to a stand that was selling what looked to be skewered balls of meat, dripping with a sweet glaze.

“They’re berrypheasant skewers,” you explained. You noticed Dan Feng’s disgruntled look and nudged him. “Don’t worry, it’s just the fruit that comes off their tails. They didn’t actually kill anything.”

“Oh… I see.” Dan Feng relaxed a bit after hearing that. You gave him a smile before talking to the vendor. Once you had acquired your skewers, you grabbed his hand once more, moving to a secluded corner of the market to enjoy them.

You wasted no time in biting off one of the fruit balls, closing your eyes in delight as you let it slowly melt in your mouth.

“That’s amazing,” you sighed in contentment, leaning back on a wall. You opened your eyes to see Dan Feng silently chewing on his. “How is it?”

“Sweet,” he said, swallowing it. “It’s not bad. Although, I prefer lotus seeds.”

“Really?” you asked, finishing off your skewer. “I like these better. Or maybe that’s because I’ve spent my whole life eating lotus seeds.”

“Perhaps,” Dan Feng agreed. He looked off in the direction of the market. “This place, it’s…”

“Loud?” you jested. Dan Feng chuckled.

“That too,” he admitted, “but the word I had in mind was ‘comfortable’.”

You hummed in agreement. “Well,” you said, pushing yourself off the wall. “We’ve only just scratched the surface. Are you ready?”

Dan Feng nodded. “Let’s go.”

Whatever happened next was a blur. What had started as you dragging Dan Feng around to try different food turned into Dan Feng pulling you to whichever jewelry store caught his attention. Sometimes, you’d lose him in the crowd, and run around panicked only to find him in the middle of getting scammed (to which you’d drag him off, giving death glares to whoever decided to prey on him).

You soon learned that this was a lot more tiring task than you’d originally anticipated. It was like babysitting a toddler - one minute he’d be standing at your side, watching you as you bargained with the vendor, and the next minute, he’d be across the street, trying on some new earrings.

And to make matters worse, every time you wanted to wring Dan Feng’s throat the second you caught up to him, he’d turn to you with that stupidly pretty smile of his, showing off whatever trinkets he managed to pick up this time.

And of course, like the weak soul you were, you couldn’t stay angry at a face like that for long.

But safe to say, you were relieved when you reached the end of the market and instead came to the edges of Central Starskiff Haven, right in front of the Jade Gate. 

Here, the crowds had parted, allowing you to take a breather from your exhausting task. Of course, you were the only one who was tired - Dan Feng was vibrating with excitement, the brightest grin you’ve ever seen on his face.

“I take it you had fun?” you said good-naturedly, coming up beside your friend to watch the flow of starskiffs in and out of the Luofu. Dan Feng nodded, crossing his arms behind him.

“Most definitely,” he said happily. “The outworlder merchants have so many interesting things, I can’t help but be intrigued by them.”

“I could tell,” you chuckled. “I could barely catch up to you with the way you were running around. Imagine what the Preceptors would say.”

“We did agree that they would never find out, no?” Dan Feng pointed out. You shrugged.

“Fair enough,” you acknowledged. You gazed out into the glowing light of the Jade Gate before suddenly jolting in realization. “Lan above, I almost forgot!”

Dan Feng looked at you questioningly as you riffled through your pockets. His confusion only increased as you pulled out a small box, barely the size of your palm.

You opened it to reveal two jade rings, each with the image of a  lotus carved into its band. Dan Feng feels his breath hitch at the sight, and something in his chest tightened.

“What…” he couldn’t even finish his sentence.

“It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” you said. “I figured that now would be a good time to replace the ones I made when we were kids.”

That’s right. You didn’t just choose today of all days randomly. Today was Dan Feng’s birthday, and the day he officially became of age. Today was the last day of his childhood before he would fully take on the title of Imbibitor Lunae and the responsibilities that came with being the High Elder.

You couldn’t help but feel proud as you watched him take the rings with shaking hands. He’s still that stubborn child who listens to no one but himself, but he’s become so much more. He’s grown taller, more mature, more dignified.

And yet, he still looked like he might cry from your gift. He mumbled something under his breath, something you couldn’t catch.

“What was that?” you asked, only to be pulled tightly into his chest. Dan Feng squeezed you into his embrace as he tried to steady his breathing.

Slowly, you wrapped your arms around his waist, melting into his hold. Such moments like these were rare, after all. The furthest Dan Feng had ever gone with you was holding hands. Hugs weren’t part of his vocabulary.

“You know…” he murmured. “In human cultures, rings symbolize marriage.”

“Well,” you laughed into his skin. “We’re not human, are we?”

“Yes, but…”

“Are you trying to propose to me, gege?” You looked up at him, raising your brow playfully. Dan Feng blushed at the nickname, averting his gaze.

“That wasn’t my intention,” he mumbled, flustered. He quickly let go of you, hiding his face behind his hand as he tried to calm his rapidly increasing heartbeat.

You snickered at him. “I know, I’m only teasing. Here, give me those; I’ll put them on for you.”

But despite your words, Dan Feng couldn’t help the burning heat that enveloped him as you took his hand delicately in yours, sliding on the ring. He couldn’t stop his heart from pounding, couldn’t stop his thoughts of newly engaged couples doing exactly what you were doing.

And most of all, he couldn’t stop thinking of how badly he wanted to kiss you in that moment.

━

Ever since that day, neither you nor Dan Feng have taken off your respective rings. Dan Feng always kept it hidden beneath his gloves, while you showed it off even while you worked. You’ve been asked many times who the other ring belonged to, but you’ve never given them an answer.

One of these questionees was Yingxing, a passionate young outworlder who had come to the Luofu hearing of the feats made by Vidyadhara craftsmen. You’d met through a common friend of Jingliu, one of Dan Feng’s friends in the renowned High Cloud Quintet.

While Yingxing was a blacksmith and you a weaver, the two of you hit it off immediately. The two of you bonded over creating for the members of the Quintet, with you being responsible for the threads that made up their clothes, and Yingxing their armor and weapons. Many times, when one of you had a day off, one could find you in the other’s workshop.

You coughed as smoke arose from the furnace, fanning yourself. Yingxing glanced over momentarily.

“Are you alright?” he asked, a bubbling laugh in his voice. You nodded.

“Yes, just not used to so much smoke,” you sighed. Yingxing wiped at his brow as he took out the pot from the furnace, pouring the molten metal into the mold beneath him.

“If it bothers you too much,” he advised, “you should step outside.”

You shook your head, jumping down from your spot by the window. “I’m fine, don’t worry. But enough about me, what’s this you’re making?”

“It’s a spear for the High Elder.” Yingxing moved aside as you came up next to him. “See the way the metal glows from a certain angle? That’s the remnants of the Reignbow Arbiter’s arrow.”

“Fascinating.” So this was the weapon Dan Feng would wield.

You waved away embers from your face, and for a moment, their light caught on the ring on your finger.

“You’re married?” said Yingxing in surprise. You stared at him inquisitively.

“No? What made you think that?”

“Your ring,” he said, nodding at your finger. You looked down before spurting a laugh.

“Oh, this?” You toyed with it, fidgeting it on your hand. “It’s nothing like that.”

“You don’t sound so sure,” Yingxing commented. You huff.

“I am,” you retorted, nudging him. Yingxing whined at the jab, complaining.

“Don’t you know not to provoke a man with a hammer?” he threatened good-naturedly. You, being the very mature person you are, stuck your tongue out at him.

“Yingxing?”

The sound of your best friend’s voice interrupted your play argument as the both of you perked your heads. Dan Feng bent down as he entered the forgery so as to not hit his horns on the door frame.

“Dan Feng!” Yingxing greeted, waving. “What brings you here?”

“Don’t let me disturb you,” the Vidyadhara said, his nose wrinkling at the smoke filling the forge. “I’m merely here to check on the progress of the spear.”

“It’s still in the process of being smelted, as you can see.” Yingxing pounded away at the spear, shaping it into his desired form.

“Ah, is that so?” Dan Feng nodded. “I’ll come back tomorrow, then. Keep up the good work.”

“You’re going to leave without saying hi?” you interjected, fake hurt lacing your voice. “I’m hurt, Feng’er.”

Dan Feng flinched, as though he hadn’t noticed you at all.

“[Name]?” He straightens, blinking rapidly in surprise. Yingxing swore he’d never seen the High Elder brighten so quickly - he almost didn't believe his eyes when he saw his tail wag with joy. “I apologize, I didn’t see you.”

“It’s alright,” you laugh, walking over to him. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”

“You two know each other?” Yingxing asked. Dan Feng narrowed his eyes, fixing the younger man with a glare.

“I should be the one asking you that, Yingxing,” he said lowly, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close. “When did you and them get so close?”

“We’ve been friends for a while,” you answered for Yingxing, lightly hitting Dan Feng’s chest. “Be nice to him.”

Dan Feng pouted, reluctantly letting you go. “But-”

“No ‘buts’,” you scolded, crossing your arms. “If you’re not going to be nice, you can step outside.”

Dan Feng looked akin to a kicked puppy, but he relented. Although, when he saw Yingxing, trying his absolute best not to laugh, Dan Feng felt murderous intent for the first time.

His tail lashed angrily behind him as he watched you converse with the blacksmith, Yingxing sweating from the pure pressure of Dan Feng’s stare. He’d never been so relieved to see you go.

“I have to go now, but I’ll come back later, alright?” you said, waving at Yingxing. You squeezed Dan Feng’s shoulder on your way to the door, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Don’t give him a hard time, okay?”

Dan Feng only nodded, briefly touching his hand to yours before you finally left, leaving the two men alone.

“So,” Yingxing coughed, looking anywhere but Dan Feng’s eyes. “Feng’er, was it?”

“You will not speak of this,” Dan Feng warned. Yingxing raised his hands in surrender.

“My lips are sealed, High Elder.” Yingxing smiled. “Although, if I were you, I wouldn’t wait.”

Dan Feng narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“How should I say this…” Yingxing pondered. “If you stall for too long, someone will sweep them away.”

Horror shot through Dan Feng like a bullet as he gaped at Yingxing. The thought of you leaving him for someone else, replacing him, hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he gritted out, taking a deep breath to calm down. “They would never replace me.”

Yingxing blinked. “Don’t tell me you haven’t realized.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Dan Feng, you’re-”

“Dan Feng, Yingxing, there you are.”

Jingliu crossed her arms in the doorway, her apprentice, Jing Yuan by her side. 

“Was that [Name] I just saw run out?” she asked, raising a brow. She shook her head. “Nevermind that. I needed to talk to you two anyways. We’re heading out in a week’s time.”

“What for?” Dan Feng questioned, furrowing his brows.

“The Denizens of Abundance have invaded our ally Thalassa,” Jingliu disclosed, her voice tight at the mere mention of the Xianzhou’s sworn enemies. “We’ve been ordered to drive them out.”

“Very well,” said Dan Feng. “We’ll see you then, Jingliu.”

She nodded. “Until then.”

━

It was the first time Dan Feng had seen death.

War was never pretty for anyone, soldier or civilian. It was dirty, dark, and grimy. In war, you had two objects: one, defeat the enemy. Two, survive.

Dan Feng cursed as he ran his spear through another borison, the ocean of Thalassa responding to his anger. Dragons made from water, the same ones he showed to you all those years ago, drove back the enemy, blasting them away and incapacitating them in the process.

He kept his eyes ahead of him, deliberately avoiding the ground. There, laid corpses of allies and enemies alike.

Death was uncommon on the Xianzhou, especially for a Vidyadhara. There were no soulless eyes on the Luofu, no limp bodies littering the ground. There were no pleas for mercy, no screams of pain and fear.

But here, in the midst of a foreign battlefield, all of those horrors revealed themselves, and bared their teeth.

Dan Feng made the mistake of looking down. His eyes met with that of a deceased borison, its own lifeless eyes glazed over. Instantly, Dan Feng faltered.

The borison looked nothing but a Vidyadhara, but their eyes were the same. It might’ve been a different species, following a different Aeon, but the intelligence and sentience were the same. They were a person, just like anyone else. Just like you.

Only this one wouldn’t rebirth into a new life. No, this one was spoken for, done in by his spear. They would never live again.

The battle blurred around him as he spiraled deeper into his thoughts. He knew that realistically, it would never happen, but he couldn’t stop the thought from resurfacing in his mind.

What if one day, you ended up just like that borison?

Dan Feng shook his head, raising his spear just in time to block an attack from an enemy. No. It would never happen. He’d be there to protect you. The Cloud Knights would protect you. Xianzhou would protect you.

But what if they couldn’t?

“Dan Feng!” Jingliu’s shout snapped him out of his daze. Dan Feng clicked his tongue, irritated at his own absentmindedness. The battlefield was no place for distraction; he of all people should know this.

With a thrust of his hands, his dragons came to Jingliu’s aid, healing her wounds and fending off the borison attacking her.

He was being ridiculous, Dan Feng berated himself. The enemy was vastly overpowered. Their victory would come soon. And when it did, he would be able to come home, home to you.

And he did.

It was nighttime when he returned to the Luofu. You were just finishing up before bed, setting aside the fabrics you’d woven that day. Your former mentor had just checked in on you, making sure that you were doing alright before they went to sleep.

You heaved a heavy sigh to yourself, folding the final sheet before setting it on a shelf. Dan Feng and the others had been at war for months now.

“I wonder how they’re doing,” you muttered to yourself, closing your eyes. You knew they would be fine. Jingliu, Dan Feng, and every other member of the High Cloud Quintet were blessed with powers that you couldn’t even begin to imagine. The invading Denizens would be no match for them.

But still… You couldn’t help but worry.

What didn’t help was how obvious Dan Feng’s absence was. You often looked over your shoulder as you wove, as though expecting the young man to be standing there, watching. The night market didn’t feel the same without him being dragged around to every stall.

The lotus fields, with all their flowers and pads, seemed empty.

It was as though a hole had been ripped out of your heart, leaving only a dull ache.

The sound of your door opening startled you. You swiveled around, utterly confused. Just who would be here at this hour? Very few people had access to the key to your home. 

Perhaps one of the other weavers? Or perhaps your mentor again, worried that you weren’t getting enough sleep?

The answer was neither. A strangled whisper of your name, in such a familiar voice, cut through the night air like a knife. Tears welled in your eyes as you took in the sight of your best friend, finally home after so long.

“Feng’er?” you whispered. He nodded wordlessly, taking a few hesitant steps into your home.

You met him halfway, reaching up to hold his face delicately. Dan Feng closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a little sigh. His arm came to the small of your back, pulling you in as he buried his face into the crook of your neck, breathing in your scent.

“You’re late,” you murmured, brushing your hand through his hair. Dan Feng tightened his arms around you.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” you laughed, sniffling. “Do you know how worried you made me?”

Dan Feng pulled away from your neck, gazing into your eyes. His tail swayed, eventually circling around your waist. He gingerly held your chin between his thumb and index finger as though you’d break if he was any rougher with you.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, brows crinkling. Quickly, he wiped away your tears. Of all else, Dan Feng hated seeing you cry, and hated it even more if it was because of him. “I’m here now.”

You nodded tearfully. “And you’re not leaving, right?”

“Not for a while,” he promised. “Even the Abundance will need time to recover from the damage we did to them.”

“Good.” You held his face in your hands. “Because right now, you’re mine.”

“Is that so?” Dan Feng said softly. His eyes lingered on your lips, his lips slightly parted. “I’m yours, is that right?”

“Mhm.” You smiled as you felt him press your bodies impossibly closer together, one arm around your waist and the other behind your head. Your lips brushed against each other, your voice a whisper as you two danced on the edge. “Mine.”

A push from Dan Feng’s hand, and he sealed his lips with yours.

Immediately, you closed your eyes, savoring the taste of his kiss. His lips were soft, yet cool, like the touch of a river on a summer afternoon. He kissed you with a hidden desperation, years of pining and longing unleashing themselves in this torrent of affection. You almost couldn’t keep up with him, letting out a whimper as he tilted your face gently, deepening the kiss.

Even when you parted for air, it wasn’t long before Dan Feng greedily pulled you back in, addicted to the feeling of your lips on his. His hands wouldn’t stop wandering in a languid motion, slowly roaming all over you, from your waist to your back to your neck, and back to your waist again, squeezing every bit he could find.

By the time Dan Feng’s relentless assault ended, the two of you were breathless. Words failed to form on your tongue as you simply stared into Dan Feng’s eyes, trying to catch your breath.

Dan Feng pressed his forehead against yours, his horns bumping against you.

"You don't know how long I waited for that,” he whispered huskily. You let out a breathless chuckle, wrapping your arms around his neck and nuzzling his nose with yours.

“I think I did.”

The corners of Dan Feng’s eyes crinkled. You’ve never seen them so up close before. The colors reminded you of a stone in a river, with cool grey giving way to gorgeous teal.

And the way he looked at you made your heart melt - it’s so tender, so soft, so filled with love that you can practically feel how much he cares about you.

And you can only hope that he saw the same in your eyes.

“I love you,” he confessed, like it was a secret. But even still, him being able to say those three words made it worth more than anything in the world. “I’ve always loved you, ever since we were children.”

Joy bubbled up in your chest, and you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling. Your hand came to his scalp, bunching up his hair in your fingers.

“I love you too, you dork.” You pecked him on his nose, and then his forehead, laughing as he wrinkled his nose in response.

Reluctantly, you released him from your grasp, instead tugging his hand into your abode.

“It’s late already,” you explained. “The Preceptors won’t mind if you come home late, right?”

“They no longer control me,” Dan Feng affirmed. You grinned.

“That’s good.” You lead him into your bedroom, glancing over to make sure he was fine with it. “I don’t have a guest room, so are you alright with sharing a bed?”

Dan Feng flustered, but he nodded. “Th- That’s fine with me.”

You would learn that Dan Feng was incredibly clingy in bed. He practically enveloped you in his arms, tangling your legs together as he hugged your shoulders. His tail was conflicted - either thumping happily against the bed or wrapping around you like a possessive snake.

But it was worth all of it. You felt safe in Dan Feng’s embrace, loved. In his arms, you slept the most soundly you’ve ever slept. It was as though you had found your other half.

You truly felt blessed when you woke up to Dan Feng’s sleeping face, so serene and tranquil. And fortunately for the both of you, that wouldn’t be the last time you woke up next to the other.

━

But those happy days were not made to last.

There would be many more feats Dan Feng would accomplish as the High Elder. He would become one of the most prolific Vidyadhara ever, forever documenting his name in history books.

You two would eventually marry, sealing your love not just with those rings. It was a marriage in the palaces of Scalegorge Waterscape, only the best for the High Elder. All of your friends attended, Yingxing and Baiheng especially praising Dan Feng (and lamenting about how he of all people got married before they did). 

Jing Yuan had grown into a fine young man, his intellect and skill with the Lightning Lord being parallel to none. Yingxing was beginning to age, being a short-lived species. Jingliu had retired, aiming to end her days peacefully.

But as said before, that wasn’t what fate had planned for the quintet.

Jingliu would be driven mad with mara, her only solace being the blade of her former mentor. Baiheng would be missing in action. Yingxing would be killed long before his time, leaving Dan Feng in despair over losing three beloved friends so soon. 

Perhaps that is what drove him to do what he did.

“How could you?”

Dan Feng winced at the crack in your voice as you screamed at him. You were crying, angry tears streaming down your face.

“My love, please-”

“Do not call me that!” you snapped, making him flinch. “You don’t get to call me ‘my love’ after that. What were you thinking?!”

“It was the only way!” Dan Feng insisted.

“It was cruel,” you hissed. “You know that more than anyone here.”

“They stole them from me,” Dan Feng growled, his eyes flashing. “It wasn’t their time.”

“I know,” you whispered, your voice hoarse from crying and screaming. “I know it wasn’t. But you know what immortality will do to them, Feng’er. You know what the curse of Abundance does.”

Dan Feng averted his eyes guiltily. You wipe at your eyes hurriedly, taking big, gulping breaths to calm down.

“What did the Preceptors say?” you finally asked. Dan Feng’s gaze lowered, a shadow cast over his face. A pit dropped in your stomach.

“They’re waiting outside,” he revealed. “I’m to be taken to the Shackling Prison, and forced into rebirth. They only let me be here to say goodbye.”

It was as though an anvil had been dropped on you, crushing you.

“No.”

It was the only thing you could muster out. You shook your head in disbelief.

“No. No, no, no!” you croaked out. “They can’t do that. Not to you.”

Ironic, how only a few minutes prior you were berating Dan Feng as though your life depended on it. Now, you were pleading for him to be forgiven, for a lighter sentence to be dealt out. Because for a Vidyadhara, a forced rebirth was practically the same as a death sentence.

“Isn’t there another way?”

Dan Feng shook his head, taking your arms in his hands.

“I’m afraid not. This is the only way the public will forgive my sins.”

He took a deep breath.

“Please, my love,” he begged quietly. “Look at me.”

You did.

“You have to be strong,” said Dan Feng, cradling your face one last time. “Promise me that you’ll be alright, even after I am reborn.”

You shook your head. “Feng’er, please.”

“Promise me,” he urged.

“I…” You faltered. “I promise.”

Dan Feng smiled sadly - the last smile you’d ever see from your husband.

“Thank you.” He pressed a sweet kiss to your lips, a kiss to last you the lifetimes he wouldn’t be at your side. “I love you, [Name]. And I’m sorry for being such a selfish husband.”

You closed your eyes, savoring him for the last time. Silently, you told him your forgiveness.

“I love you too, Dan Feng.”

That was the day the love of your life died.

━

Centuries have passed since then.

You’re still weaving, now taking care of your rebirthed mentors as they had cared for you. There are children under your wing now, hoping to learn your craft and one day start a business of their own.

You still keep in touch with Jing Yuan, the general visiting your farm every so often. Each time, you offer him a taste of the lotus seeds Dan Feng loved, but each time, he refuses.

Yingxing has become the Stellaron Hunter Blade, cursed with immortality and the mara that comes with it. If he remembered you, he never showed it.

The Ambrosial Arbor, reawakened by the Denizens of Abundance, runs rampant, threatening the existence of the Luofu itself. You hear from friends that Jing Yuan had enlisted a group of outworlders - the Astral Express - to help him with the crisis.

And now, those very outworlders were standing outside your door.

“Par-” Jing Yuan coughed, cutting himself off. “Pardon the intrusion, [Name].”

He was currently being held by a young Vidyadhara, one that… Your breath hitched.

One that looked almost identical to Dan Feng.

Your lover’s lookalike noticed your gaze at him. The second you met eyes, he seemed to know exactly what was going through your mind.

“...I’m not him.” He repeated this sentence for the nth time today.

You smiled sadly.

“I know.”

You turned to Jing Yuan, taking in the general’s sorry state. The outworlders, a young girl with pink hair, an older brunette man, and a grey-haired teenager all seemed to be in similar shape, although definitely better than the general.

You stepped aside. “Why don’t you all come in? It’s been a while since I’ve had company.”

“Thank you.” The brunette, who you would later come to know as Welt, thanked.

As you turned away, Dan Feng’s reincarnation noticed a jade ring on your finger, recognizing it as the one he had woken up in.

“That’s…”

You hummed, raising your hand. You’ve never taken it off, not even when Dan Feng was reborn.

“You recognize it,” you mused. “I suppose that means he still has it?”

The reincarnation hesitated, but nodded. You smiled.

“That’s good. Say, what’s your name, little one?”

“Dan Heng,” he answered.

 “It’s a good name.” You stepped away for a moment to the kitchen. “I apologize; the tea may take a while. I wasn’t expecting guests.”

“It’s no matter,” Jing Yuan assured.

And as you served tea to the Astral Express, you couldn’t help but notice: five people, seated around a table, enjoying tea. Just like a scene hundreds of years ago.

You chuckle to yourself, a carved lotus glimmering in the light on your ring.

━

IMPRINT | dan heng x gn!reader

They say that moles are spots where your lover liked to kiss you in your past life. As Dan Heng is your lover in your current life, you can't help but suggest that the previous Yinyue Jun might be responsible for the mole on your inner thigh. (Or: You learn that Dan Heng hates the idea that he might have known you in his past life.)

3k words of fluff, comedy, some nsft. features an established relationship and imbibitor lunae cuddles. past renfeng is mentioned (dh is not a fan of df's choice in spouses). cultural/TL/lore notes at the end. nsft tags: monsterfucking (mostly offscreen), afab reader, onscreen explicit foreplay. dividers by @/cafekitsune. thank you to yyj anon for the hilarious idea!

Dan Heng has, in his true form, a small beauty mark on his throat.

You can see it now, pressed up against him in bed—your head resting on his shoulder, your bare legs tangled up with his, your whole body wrapped up in the furnace-like heat of his form. Azure scales glide along your skin as his tail curls around your waist, settling lazily against your thigh. You can feel a strange vibration coming from his vocal chords, from his chest—quiet, rhythmic, a sign of his complete ease. Whenever you reach over and run your fingers through his hair, he closes his eyes and the thrum from his throat grows stronger.

(Yes—it turns out that the great Imbibitor Lunae can purr. Dan Heng was mortified when the two of you first discovered this fact, but you've since reassured him that it is objectively the best part of his transformation.)

Ordinarily, Dan Heng isn't so clingy. It's only when he decides to couple with you in this form—something he generally avoids, given the… complications relating to his anatomy and stamina—that he ends up entwining himself with you afterwards. His expression always remains as neutral and unbothered as ever, so you think it must not be a conscious behaviour. (In fact, Dan Heng's face is so thin that he'd probably disintegrate if he ever noticed himself doing this.) Possibly it's an instinct that comes with his draconic features, just like his habit of nipping at your throat during intimate moments, or flicking his tail when agitated.

Normally, you'd be happy to bask quietly in his affections, but you're too distracted today. You keep staring at that tiny mole on the smooth, white-jade slope of his neck. It's placed right on the spot where you most like to kiss him, impossible to miss.

It isn't there when he wears his human disguise. You're very sure of this fact, because you're an avid fan of leaving marks on his neck, no matter which form he's in. (This behaviour is much to his chagrin. It's not like anyone will notice, you always need to reassure him. You always wear turtlenecks or high collars. Be careful about that chest window, though…) It's only natural that you'd notice such a detail.

You reason to yourself that there's no significance to this beauty mark. Plenty of Dan Heng's features arbitrarily change between forms—including his height, and even his makeup—but it gets you thinking about what it could mean. Particularly, you keep thinking about that myth claiming that moles mark the spots where your lovers kissed you in your past life.

You wonder about who'd have been kissing him, in his past life as Dan Feng—or who'd have been kissing you, whoever you were in your past life.

Of course, you were probably a total random in your previous lives. You definitely weren't getting kissed up on by any High Elders of the Luofu, nor were you leaving any hickies on their necks—or at least, you weren't doing that to Dan Feng, given that the intergalactic criminal trying to kill your boyfriend is actually the ex-husband of the previous Yinyue Jun. (Ever since this revelation, you have promised Dan Heng that you will never attempt to murder him, no matter how badly your relationship might someday implode.) But you'll take any opportunity to tease Dan Heng, and the perfect opportunity is before you now.

"Gege," you say, trying and failing to hide the mischief in your voice. He opens his eyes. His expression is still calm, but the slight arch to his brow betrays his wariness.

"Hm?"

"I'm curious about something."

"I can tell," he says. "What are you thinking about?"

You hum in a pondering tone. "Well, I know you don't like to think about your past," you begin, and you can feel his tail curling, "but I wonder if we knew each other at all in your previous life?"

Dan Heng studies you carefully. "I don't know. I try not to remember too much of Dan Feng's life, and it's hard to understand what I do recall. But you already know that." He tilts his head. "You've never asked about him before. Why are you suddenly so curious?"

"Well… you know what they say about moles?"

He gives you a blank stare. "That you should monitor them carefully for changes, in case of skin cancer?"

You snort. "No, not that! Or, I mean, that's true, and I hope you're doing that—but it's not what I'm thinking of!"

The corner of his mouth lifts very, very subtly. "Then what are you thinking of?"

"How they say that moles exist wherever your lover kissed you most in your past life. You've heard that, right?"

"Yes—it's an old wives' tale," he dismisses. "My species would have noticed it if there were any truth to that myth."

You frown. "You sure? Because"—you pull back just so you can tap gently at the mark on his neck—"you've got a mole right here when you're in this form. And I love to kiss your neck, Heng'er."

"I've noticed," he says dryly, with a distinctly long-suffering tone, making you grin.

"Then don't you think I could have given this to you?" you try again, but he shakes his head.

"It's not uncommon for Vidyadharas to mate across lifetimes, and in those cases, it's not unusual to record details about their lovers' various incarnations," he explains evenly. "Someone would have noticed it if this saying about moles were true. So I can guarantee that this was not left by any of Dan Feng's lovers."

A sour expression flits across Dan Heng's face. You recognize it as the exact look he wore when he pelted his jade belt piece into the vacuum of space—something he'd done as soon as he realised its origins. (Would you keep a wedding band from a divorced spouse? he'd asked flatly, when you bemoaned its loss. No? Well, it's the same idea with the jade token. If you also happen to have an ex-husband trying to kill you, please be sure to get rid of your ring as well—you are not allowed to wear it.)

Trying not to laugh, you sit up and kiss his temple in an attempt to distract him.

"Okay," you concede. "So the beauty mark thing doesn't apply to Vidyadharas. But what about humans?"

Dan Heng falters. "...I don't know. There's no way for us to tell. Humans on the Luofu far outlive the length of the average Vidyadhara's rebirth cycle. And it is very difficult to identify a human's reincarnation, as your species will change faces and birthplaces between lifetimes." He gives you a long look, strangely unreadable. "...why do you ask?"

"Well," you say smartly, "if you wouldn't recognize me across lifetimes anyway—isn't it true that I could have been one of your past lovers?"

"...the chances are slim, but"—his tail flicks—"yes, I suppose you could have been one of Dan Feng's lovers. In theory."

You pull away from him, careful to let him get a good look at your body laid out on the bed. You catch Dan Heng's eyes wandering, his gaze all over your bare skin. Maybe studying the moles scattered across your body, or maybe he's focusing on the ones on your chest, or maybe he's thinking about the one on your inner thigh.

You point at the one that rests right above your heart.

"Then—if it's possible that I was one of Dan Feng's lovers, and if it's possible that the beauty mark thing is true for humans—isn't it also possible that Dan Feng gave some of these to me?"

"..."

Dan Heng studies you with a complicated expression. You can hear his jaw click before he points out, "That's a lot of ifs."

"I'd believe it," you say. "I mean—you've seen the one on my thigh, right? It makes sense that you'd have given that to me. I'm sure that Gege loved eating pussy in every single li—mmph!"

Dan Heng's thrown his hand over your mouth. 'Tired' doesn't even begin to describe his expression.

"I do not want to think about what Dan Feng's preferences were in bed."

You wrestle his hand away from your face for the express purpose of saying, "Why not? Aren't you curious? Like, do you think Yinyue Jun got as nasty as you do when you're in this form? What do you think he liked to do with his second—"

You lose your speaking privileges again.

Dan Heng ignores your muffled whining as he rolls his eyes. You don't even know why he's so bothered by this joke—he's the one who spent the entire day fucking you in ways you simply didn't even think were possible before you met him! (All thanks to the unique anatomy and stamina of his original form, for which you'll always be grateful to Aeon Long.) You try to convey all this through an indignant stare, but he doesn't relent. Eventually, you give up on struggling.

Curiously, Dan Heng takes this opportunity (i.e., a moment in which you are finally quiet) to study you. His hair curtains around your face as he leans over you, his gleaming eyes heavy with contemplation. Noticing the intensity of his gaze, you give him a questioning look.

When he finally pulls his hand away, you ask, "Is something wrong, Heng'er?"

"Not exactly." He's still watching you. "I only realised—I don't think we knew each other.

You stare blankly. "What?"

"I don't think we knew each other in our past lives."

You raise a brow, giving him a funny look.

"So unromantic," you complain. "What, Gege—you don't think our love is fated?"

Another eyeroll. But this time, rather than putting a palm over your mouth, Dan Heng rests his hand against your cheek instead. You blink at the feeling of his thumb running over your cheekbone.

"It's not that," he says. His voice is gentler now. "I just don't think Dan Feng would have had such a sad ending to his life, had you been in it."

"...oh." You open your mouth, but for once, you have no witty remark. Your face feels a little warm when you ask, "Really?"

"Yes, really." You think you catch a hint of fondness in his otherwise plain, unaffected voice. "And anyway—fate has nothing to do with my feelings for you. I chose you in this lifetime of my own accord, and I will spend this lifetime with you of my own accord. Destiny will never have any bearing on the path I wish to walk with you."

You swallow, staring at his eyes. They're painfully earnest. It's making it hard for you to think, though you can't bring yourself to look away.

"...how can you be so sure?" is all you can ask.

"Because my life until now has been controlled by Dan Feng's sins," he says simply, "but I refuse to let the stain of his karma touch my future with you."

You go quiet at that.

Dan Heng is never one to talk about his own suffering. Even when describing the cruelest of punishments he'd inherited from the former Yinyue Jun, he uses unfeeling terms, not ones of complaint. Control, stain, touch—you've never heard such painful language before.

You wonder, for a second, if you went a little too far with your teasing about his past incarnation, for him to speak in such a way. But by the time you've found the words to apologise, Dan Heng's expression has become wry.

"So please," he adds dryly, "don't make me think of what Dan Feng could or couldn't have been doing in bed with you. I already resent him enough."

"...wait," you realise, "are you jealous when you think about me having sex with Dan Feng?"

He clears his throat, looking away. "Not exactly jealous"—he's definitely jealous—"but I personally feel that he would not have deserved to kiss any part of your body, let alone leave his mark on it." He frowns. "And in any case, I just don't like the idea that he has anything to do with our relationship."

"But…" Your mouth opens and closes. "But why? He was technically just you."

"In theory, perhaps. But in practice, we are still different people." His tail settles down again, wrapping around your thigh. "I intend to be born into my next life holding a jade token I chose with you. Not one chosen by Dan Feng."

You are rendered speechless.

Your reserved boyfriend, who can't even hold your hand in public without feeling embarrassed, is casually professing his intent to love you across lifetimes with lines that sound plagiarized from a Xianzhou period drama. You don't know what to say, and you don't know what to do. Maybe you want to scream. Maybe you want to kiss him. Definitely you want to blow all your credits on a pair of luxury jade tokens tomorrow morning, one for each of you. You'll vow to never throw yours out, even if for some reason his next incarnation should try to murder you. You'll make it work somehow.

But—you also find it insanely funny that he can't stand the idea of Dan Feng fucking you. You definitely want to tease him a little more before running out to get any jewellery for him.

"That's very sweet, Heng'er," you start, "but has it occurred to you that if Dan Feng didn't kiss me in these places, then someone else did?"

Dan Heng freezes.

"Someone else would have kissed me here"—you tap the mole over your heart again—"and also here"—closer to the peak of your breast, now—"and here"—further down, on your waist—"and also…"

Before you can spread your thighs and brush your fingers against the mark there, Dan Heng grabs your wrist. His slit pupils are dilated, his tail is flicking, and his purrs have turned into a sharp huff—one accompanied by an expression of deep annoyance.

"I guess you don't like thinking about that either?" you ask, smiling, and Dan Heng chooses not to respond. He simply narrows his eyes—and lowers his head.

You smile when you feel his fangs on your neck. Too easy, you think. He lingers on your pulse, lips brushing it as much as his teeth are, before moving further down.

He places a kiss over your heart, first. Then a trail of them, his breath tickling the skin of your chest. You blink when you feel his hands running along your sides and lingering on your curves, making you acutely aware of his intentions.

"Wait—are we starting another round because of what I said?" you ask, trying not to laugh. "I had no idea you had such a jealous streak in you, Heng'er."

Dan Heng still doesn't reply. He merely replaces his lips with his tongue—and then your smile fades.

The heat of his mouth on you is distracting. Makes your brows knot as his tongue swirls around a nipple, as his breath fans across it. His teeth graze it, too—teasing and a little mean, with how he doesn't give you a break. You're squirming beneath him soon, tugging at his hair, grasping his horns—Wait, wait, I'm too sensitive—but from the way he inhales sharply at your touch, you know you're only encouraging him.

He moves down to your navel. Presses his lips to your skin—peppers your waist with butterfly kisses. His hands slip to your thighs as his mouth trails its way down, parting your legs as he settles between them. Your breath hitches as his fingers touch your entrance, spreading you open. You're still sensitive from all the things he did to you earlier—from how he had you stretched out and panting underneath him, stuffed so full that you could hardly think as you came. From how he fucked you like that again, and again, and again, until you were on the verge of tears from how many times you'd cum—because Dan Heng finds it impossible to stop whenever he's in this form.

But even as sore as you are, you can feel yourself clenching around nothing right now, eager to have him inside you again. You shiver as his breath blows over your aching clit.

"Don't tease me," you whine.

"After all the teasing you put me through?" He sounds unimpressed. "No, I think I'll take my time. It's only fair."

"Gege, I was only joking. You said it yourself: it's only an old wives' tale! I'm sure no one was kissing me on the—ah…"

Your voice clips off into a whimper. Dan Heng is running a finger along your slit, and you feel yourself his spend from earlier leaking out from you. It's hot and it's thick, a mess running all the way down to the sheets beneath you, and there's so much of it. He just spent the whole day filling you up, after all—and you have no doubt that he wants to spend his night the same way.

(Really, you owe so much to the Aeon of Permanence. You'd worship Long if he were still around—may he rest in peace.)

You watch as he studies you, his eyes keen and pupils blown. His gaze lingers on a particular spot on your thigh—and it suddenly occurs to you that he's been kissing all your moles.

"Dan Heng," you breathe, halfway to a laugh, "what exactly are you trying to do?"

He glances up at you, arching a brow.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm making sure that any marks you have in the future will be from no one but me."

Dan Heng's gleaming eyes are set on your beauty mark. He places a soft kiss on it, and he almost sounds amused when he speaks again:

"I'll especially like looking at this one again in your next life."

END

lost my mind from stress this week so I cranked this out rip I hope you all enjoyed!! please leave a note if you did!!

some notes about lore details:

not sure if everyone is caught up to 1.2 content (I'm not lol), so I'll note here that the "jade tokens" being mentioned = Vidyadhara practice of taking matching jade tokens into their hatching rebirth, so they can find each other in their next lives

the relic lore for the passerby of wandering cloud bracer in chinese heavily implies that yingxing and dan feng were either engaged or married. it makes sense when you consider that dan heng and blade wear matching jade buckles. people theorize that these are jade tokens from their lifetime as lovers – hence that whole bit in this fic about dan heng throwing out his jade token 😭

cultural/TL notes:

gege is a term meaning "older brother", though it is often used for non-familial relationships that are very close; it can come off as either flirty or childish. heng'er is a diminutive of dan heng's name.

chinese language has a few different concepts/words for the idea of fate/destiny. the one that dh and mc discuss in this fic is the notion that your relationship with someone in this lifetime will go on to determine the nature of your relationship with them in the next one (缘分, this idea applies to all relationships but includes romantic ones). I tried my best to convey this idea in the dialogue for those reading without that cultural context, but quite honestly I feel like I failed LMAO and thus... you are getting this note.

I also want to clarify that 缘分 is not affected by karma in the Buddhist sense, even though I used the term "karma" within the discussion about fate/destiny; 缘分 is not a Buddhist concept. (the reason that I had dan heng refer to dan feng's "karma" is simply a play on the chinese term for "sins" used to describe dan feng's crimes, 罪业，which can have Buddhist connotations.)

other notes:

while I left the reader's backstory vague (so that you may interpret them however you want), I wrote this with tanghulu mc in mind, because that's who the original anon ask discussed!

yyj peg anon if you are reading this: I apologize for how deeply I botched your idea LMAOAOA this got heavily derailed from the basic prompt of teasing dan heng 😭 what 1.2 will do to a mf…

thank you to the 80% of people who agreed that danheng IL should purr in this fic. i truly do not think that he would exhibit particularly animalistic behaviours in his original form, but, listen........ I wasn't writing this with my brain.

I'm sorry that there was no tonal cohesion in this fic. we really went from dragon cuddles to bullying danheng to existential discussions of fate to monsterfucking foreplay. as I said above........ I wasn't writing this with my brain

danheng and reader are interns at the same company and there’s one sided beef from reader’s end cuz they’re trying to compete with him but he’s clueless and just thinks she’s hardworking and cute 😭

— THE INTERNS

In which you view your internship as a competition and Dan Heng is simply attracted to your hard work and determination.

PAIRING. dan heng x f!reader

WORD COUNT. 1788

GENRE. modern au. rivals? to lovers?

NOTE. ty anon for this super fun request!! <3 clueless dan heng the loml… and reader is so chaotic ngl alsjdkdl i hope u enjoy !! ^-^

“Can somebody handle the emails from the Realm-Keeping Commission?” Mr. Yang asked as he rushed through the intern’s cubicle area. He had a cup of tea in one hand and a handful of folders in the other. “They’ve had a recent breach of contract issue so we should be getting an influx shortly.”

“I can handle it!” you immediately spoke up, sparing your cubicle-mate a brief glance. You had a smile on your face but your eyes were urging him not to butt in.

Dan Heng smiled back. “I’ll help her.”

“Great.” Mr. Yang nodded in appreciation. “We have such hard-working interns this year.“

Your eye twitched as you replied, “Right. Great.”

Once the intern director left, you turned to glare at Dan Heng. He was nonchalantly typing on his computer, no doubt responding to the Commission’s emails already. A job that you should’ve been doing alone. Alongside a million other things that naturally came with being an unpaid intern.

You wanted to prove yourself here. The Astral Express was well known in the industry and you wanted nothing more than a job offer after the internship. But how could you possibly secure that when Dan Heng constantly stole your shine? You had to keep pushing. Keep striving to do more and impress your bosses.

“Hey, Y/N,” said Dan Heng. “If you have too much on your plate, I can take care of the emails today.”

Heat rose to your cheeks as you frowned in indignation. “You think I can’t handle it?”

He titled his head to the side. The innocent look on his face made you more upset. You couldn’t tell if he was making fun of you or if he truly believed you were someone pitiful who needed constant help.

“Of course you can handle it,” he reassured. “I don’t doubt that. I just don’t want you to take on too much of the workload. I’ve noticed you push yourself quite a lot.”

You shook your head. “I’m not pushing myself too much. I can do it.”

Dan Heng’s gaze softened. “You know yourself best. But I just hope you don’t overwork yourself too hard. We’re only unpaid interns, remember.”

You puffed your cheeks indignantly. Of course he could say something like that and still be a top performer. “Thanks for the consideration, but don’t worry about me. Now, if you’ll excuse me… I better get back to work.”

He only nodded in response.

As you started scanning through the emails on your computer, responding to the ones you have already finished, you felt Dan Heng still looking at you. You turned your face away from his desk so you wouldn’t be directly in his field of vision, unsure why he was staring but not really wanting to find out. Besides, you had more important things to get to. How could you possibly get more work done than Dan Heng if you were too busy worrying about why he kept looking at you?

Perhaps his innocence was a facade and he was playing mind games to slow you down.

With a huff of determination, you worked extra fast, not wanting to let his plan succeed. He’d have to do better than that to win.

˖⁺‧₊˚❀˚₊‧⁺˖

It was your lunch break the next day and for the first time since you started (except for those times Mr. Yang wanted to take the interns out for lunch), you were not eating at your desk to work through the lunch period.

Apparently, HR was visiting the office so you all had to follow all the policies, no matter how silly anyone found them.

Instead of your desk, you were eating at a shaded seating area outside of the office. If you weren’t going to work through your break, you might as well enjoy it and get a breath of fresh air while you were at it. With your high ambition and willingness to push yourself for this internship, you were aware it probably seemed like you were a workaholic of sorts. That wasn’t exactly true.

You saw the important of work-life balance and valued it, but you also figured an internship is where you were supposed to work extra hard. Then, once you secured the job, you would be free to relax.

You took a bite of your sandwich you packed as you stared off at the gently swaying trees in the distance.

“Hey.” You almost jumped at the sudden sound. “Can I join you?”

You slowly turned towards Dan Heng, blinking. First, he tormented you in the office as an intern who provided ample competition. Now, he wanted to torment you during your lunch too?

Despite your inner thoughts, you didn’t want to be rude. Deep down you knew he was also just an intern doing his best. You just had to do better.

“Sure,” you acknowledged. “Have a seat, nemesis.” The words escaped your mouth before you could stop yourself. “I mean… Dan Heng…”

His brows furrowed. “I find it hard to believe those two words could get confused so easily.”

You cleared your throat. “Not sure what you mean.” Before Dan Heng could respond, you changed the subject. “What did you bring for lunch?”

As he sat next to you, he showed you his opened tupperware. It contained the yummiest smelling food with very neat presentation. You figured it probably tasted even better than it smelled or looked.

“I packed a bento box for today.”

You looked down at your soggy sandwich. Was even lunch a competition to him? Did he have to be the best at everything? You vowed to look up the most intricate lunch recipe and show it off to him once you made it.

He looked at your sandwich wordlessly before taking a bite of tender meat.

Your face burned in shame.

Tomorrow, you told yourself. Tomorrow you’d show him.

˖⁺‧₊˚❀˚₊‧⁺˖

Today, your internship started around noon. It wasn’t a whole day of work and you knew fully well you didn’t need to pack lunch. Still, you stayed up all night perfecting this recipe and you had to show Dan Heng you were worthy competition as well. You even made enough servings to pack a meal for Dan Heng to try too.

Towards the middle of your shift, you walked over to his desk.

He paused his typing and looked up at you. “Can I help you?”

You held out a tupperware of your homemade food. “Look. I made this.”

Dan Heng’s eyes widened as he cautiously took the container from your hands. “For me?”

“Yeah. I saw your bento box yesterday and wanted to prove that I can also cook! Just like I can do all the work we’re assigned!”

Confusion was written all over his face but he still managed to smile. “First, thank you for making this for me.”

You looked at him, equally confused. Why did he sound so sincere? You simply wanted to prove a point. Not do something out of the kindness of your heart.

“Second,” he continued, “I do agree you can do all the work we’re given. Have I made you feel like I believe otherwise?”

“Not exactly… It’s just you keep offering to help me even when I say I’ll do it!” you explained passionately. “You keep trying to steal my work and do more than me!”

Dan Heng blinked, mouth opening then closing. He opened his mouth once more, trying again. “I wasn’t aware you viewed it as me stealing your work.” He rested his chin on his hand as he thought things through. “I didn’t want you overexerting yourself so I was only trying to help ease your workload… I’m sorry for undermining your hard work.”

“You’re not doing it on purpose?”

“No. I admire your determination and how you always step up to the task— I would never want to take away from that,” he said earnestly. His stare was unwavering as he looked into your eyes. “I more than admire it, actually. I find it quite attractive even.”

You gaped at him, unmoving. “Huh?”

“Attractive, endearing, cute… Do you need more synonyms?”

“Me?” You pointed at yourself.

Dan Heng nodded. “Well, I was referring to your work ethic. But yes. You as well.”

You bashfully stood up straighter. “You’re not too bad yourself, I suppose.”

That wasn’t a lie. You did find Dan Heng rather attractive. His hair was dark and messy, falling around his eyes in a way you could only describe as perfectly framing the vibrant blues. He had a pretty face and a serious demeanor that initially drew you to him— Until he started competing (as you saw it, at least) with you in your internship.

As you stared at each other in silence, Mr. Yang came in with a stack of papers. “Good afternoon, everyone. Can someone run an audit of the company’s stocks?”

You jumped up, startled. You didn’t except to be interrupted like that, but you quickly regained your composure, rushing over to him to grab the papers. A part of you was thankful for the distraction, but another part of you wanted to see where it would’ve lead. “I can do the audit!”

“Great, thank you!” he said in acknowledgment before rushing back out.

Once Mr. Yang left, Dan Heng turned to you and said, “Let me know if you need any help. I’m here if you need.”

You smiled. Now that you knew he wasn’t trying to best you, you were much more open to the idea of working together. “Sure, I’d love some help.” You paused and Dan Heng raised one brow. Though it came from the heart and the sentiment was there, you both knew it wasn’t completely true. You still did want to be the very best after all. “Well… You can help, but only a little though.”

Dan Heng laughed, accepting the small stack of papers you gave him, not even one fourth as tall as your pile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

You hummed in agreement. Before focusing on your work, you thought of one small thing to ask him. “Hey, Dan Heng?”

“Yes?”

“Maybe next week you can bring me some lunch, too? Or, maybe we could go out for dinner even…”

“I’d love to,” Dan Heng smiled and it was the widest grin you’ve seen on his face thus far, “if you give me more of your paperwork.”

You gasped, feeling thoroughly tricked. So he did want to beat you—?

“That way, we can finish sooner and I can take you to dinner tonight.”

Your train of thoughts stopped in their tracks as a light chuckle escaped your lips. “Fine,” you agreed, finding yourself strangely looking forward to having dinner with him. “But just this once, okay?”

“Of course.”

dan heng: *stares at reader*

reader: he’s playing mind games to make me nervous and slow me down

dan heng: she’s hardworking and passionate and so cute u.u

❀ ˎˊ- prompt: sunday hates having to beg, but you've given him no other choice. ❀ ˎˊ- sunday x gn!reader ❀ ˎˊ- wc: 887 ❀ ˎˊ- warnings: suggestive (tension), but overall sfw (ik the prompt is sus there's zero spice, its just him wanting a kiss) ❀ ˎˊ- a/n: he actually makes me insane. everyone say thank you to naru for this fic because i cannot stop thinking about this ❀ ˎˊ- img credits

Tapping fingers, ever impatient, a constant shifting and readjusting on his seat, wings that rustle and flap and flare in annoyance, and of course, those eyes, housing rings of gold that encase sapphires, glancing at you and then away, and then flicking to you again - the tell-tale signs of Sunday’s irritation.

The head of the Oak Family was known for his composure. Nothing could break that smile of his, and no one could ever crease that suit of his. Everything was under his control, as it had to be.

Everything, of course, except for you.

He doesn’t know what it is about you that just - no pun intended - ruffles his feathers. When the Family treats him with the respect that he is due, you grin impishly, tauntingly as you dare him to even try to control you. When he can make anyone else bend without raising a finger, it’s with your touch that he finds himself as the one on the brink of falling apart - and you know it.

The power you hold over him, you dangle over his head like a treat, and you abuse it - bringing it close enough where he could almost taste it, close enough that he’s fooled enough to try and take a bite, only for you to yank it away again.

Even now, he thinks scornfully, you meet his narrowed eyes with innocent ones, and he knows that you’re enjoying his predicament. You flash him a smile, and his fingers dig into his thigh as he restrains himself from pouncing on you then and there. If he did, after all, he’d lose, and you’d just mock him again.

“Are you okay?” you ask, faux concern dripping like sweet honey. “You seem a bit… agitated.”

You already know the reason, he knows that you know, but he can’t lose just yet.

“Is that so?” he replies, eyes gentle and voice barely level. “I guess it’s been a long day for me.”

He looks pointedly at you, and you only hum in response.

“Poor thing,” you coo sympathetically, and Sunday has to hold himself back from ripping that shit-eating grin right off your face. “Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

And that’s it. You take your teacup in your hands and raise it to your lips, sipping at the sweet beverage. Sunday’s wings flap angrily as he stares daggers into you. Meeting his gaze, you only raise a brow.

Realistically, he didn’t have to go through all of this if he just asked - no, begged. Sunday knew you would never be satisfied with a simple request; you had to see his pride crumble and turned to nothing before giving him anything. Between the two of you, Sunday may have had the smoother tongue, but you beat him in terms of pure stubbornness.

And perhaps, that’s why he still wants you so badly despite all of this.

He bites his lip, weighing his options, before sighing in defeat. His wings droop, and his tense shoulders relax. Blood rushes to his face as he instinctively hides behind his feathers.

And then it comes, his admittance of defeat.

“…please.”

As if a switch had been turned, you instantly brighten. Setting your cup down, you lean forward, your elbows resting on the table.

“Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

Sunday’s wings lift for just a moment to glare at you, but it’s enough for you drink in his delicious expression. Flushed cheeks, narrowed eyes, and gritted teeth through which he hisses out his words.

Really, he’s just so adorable like this. Embarrassed and defeated, his glare appears more like a pout - almost enough to tempt you, but not yet. He has to say it first.

“Please,” he repeats, his voice strained as he shuts his eyes.

“Please what?”

With a slam, he shoots up from his seat. It would’ve startled you if you didn’t already know what Sunday acted like when he broke. His footsteps ring through the empty mansion as he marches over to you, pushing your seat back as he looms over you, wings framing your face and his nose brushing against yours.

Despite having done nothing, Sunday’s breath is ragged and heavy. Exasperation, annoyance, embarrassment, yet also desire melt together into a beautiful rose that blooms across his fair skin.

“Please…” he whispers, voice akin to a whimper or a whine. “Kiss me already.”

His breath shudders in his chest as he swallows back his pride.

“There, happy?”

You laugh airly, your hand comes to rest against his chest, feeling as he shivers under you. His heart pulses against you rapidly, caught in a frenzied dance. Looking up to meet his desperate gaze, you beam in satisfaction.

“Very,” you murmur, your fingers closing around the lapel of his suit to tug him closer. Sunday doesn’t bother to hide his gasp as you pull him into you, at last rewarding him with your kiss.

The second your lips touch, his hands come to clutch at your shoulders, holding you in place as he dives greedily into you, slipping in his tongue to taste you.

And you let him, eyes drifting closed as he devours you, drinking you as if you were divine nectar, given to him by the Aeons themselves.

It was what he deserved, after all.

play wrestling — blade.

Embarrassment doesn’t find you easily.

To experience embarrassment implies a degree of self-awareness. While you possess some, it’s decreased significantly compared to your earlier years. Such is the natural progression of life. This is why you felt free to act on a little impulse, initially uncaring of how it’d reflect on you.

However, faced with two eyes as crimson as freshly spilled blood, you can’t help but do some reassessing.

“… What are you doing?” Blade asks, dryly. You feel the low rumble of his baritone voice against your palms, which you’ve splayed against his chest. His neutral countenance doesn’t give much away. According to your peer-reviewed scientific analysis, he alternates between three expressions — apathy, irritation, and wrath. There is an additional secret one for when it’s just the two of you and he doesn’t think you’re looking.

From what you can tell, you’ve landed yourself on the apathetic side of the spectrum. You can work with that. You’ll commit to the bit.

“Besting an intergalactic criminal in combat, obviously,” you scoff, faking a bravado you don’t have.

“Hm.”

“…”

“…”

Is he not going to do anything to free himself from this position?!

Blade had silently slid himself next to where you sat on the floor, playing with your phone. This unique opportunity activated a primal part of your brain that probably should’ve stayed in the vault. You wrangled him down. Now, he’s lying flat on his back, with you sitting victorious atop his lower abdomen. Long strands of his black hair fall along his side, painting a pretty picture. You suppress the urge to run your hands through his silky locks. That can come later, you have an objective to achieve.

“Are you finished?”

“Wh— well, no,” you frown. And here you thought he might indulge you. “You have to, y’know, fight back…?”

He raises an eyebrow and you want to groan.

“But I’d win.”

The declaration is made like it’s a foregone conclusion. Which, if you’re being honest, isn’t wrong. Still, he should give you some credit. You can hold your own in a fight! Maybe you’re not waving-around-a-three-thousand-pound-ancient-sword good, but you’re decent enough. He’s no fun. Kafka would’ve played around with you.

“How can you be so sure— eek!”

He grabs you by the shoulders and flips you around, reversing your position. Despite the immense speed he used, your head doesn’t hit the ground hard like it should’ve. He cushioned the impact by essentially cradling the back of your head with his hand. This is why you never believe him when he denies being a ‘secret softie.’ You know the truth.

“This is how,” he says.

You pout. “Did I at least put up a good fight?”

His silence speaks volumes.

After getting his fill of how nice you look beneath him, he climbs off you. The second you’re no longer restrained, you begin your counterattack. You lunge at him, intending to pin him down, only to feel the cool leather of his gloves against your wrists. You struggle valiantly to regain your freedom. All this does is amuse him further.

“We’re pretty evenly matched, right?” You ask, beginning to grow breathless from the energy you’re exerting.

The corners of his lips twitch upward.

“Mhm. Right.”

✩ CHAPTER SUMMARY : When Sunday wakes up, the last thing he expects is to be in the middle of the Stellaron Hunters' infirmary.

✩ SERIES SYNOPSIS : Following the catastrophe of the Charmony Festival, rather than in one of Penacony's hospitals or prisons, Sunday awakens right in the base of one of the most notorious criminals in the galaxies. With nowhere else to go, he's left to follow you, the Stellaron Hunters' medic, in his attempts to become accustomed to his new life.

✩ WORD COUNT : 2.3k

✩ TAGLIST : @dr-felitas, @vxnuslogy, @https-mika

✩ ADDITIONAL NOTES : guys idk what im doing imma be so fr. BUT HEY !! we are here <33 also sunday has ocd and religious trauma so uh. be on the lookout for that lol. not beta read we die like sunday's mom

series masterlist || next chapter >>

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Incessantly, it drones on, matching the repetitive beat of his heart. With his eyelids too heavy to lift, it’s all he can listen to - the whirring of a fan, the lub-dub in his chest, and, of course, the high-pitched beeping of the machine next to him. It’s maddening.

A pained grunt leaves him as he tries to move. His abdomen screams in anguish, the flesh feeling as though it’s about to be ripped apart by the seams. His lower wings are no better - cramped and crushed, they crumple against his body, cracks and pops sounding as he shifts.

It takes almost all his strength to squint his eyes open. His vision is blurry, disorientated, but he thinks he can see tiles.

Somewhere next to him, he hears wheels roll against clean floor tiles, and then the shuffling of cloth. Suddenly, a blinding light shines into his eyes. He immediately recoils, an unbecoming hiss escaping him.

“Reaction looks good, no cloudiness… You awake in there, birdie?”

Sunday squints out a glare, or well, he glares the best he can while having the sun in his face.

“Feisty. That’s good,” his company observes, but decides to take mercy on him anyway. Dark spots litter his vision as he blinks into reality, his eyes readjusting. 

The ceiling isn’t that outstanding, just the standard white tiles of any other hospital. There’s a curtain hanger in the corner of his eye, and other than that, he can’t see much else.

He tries to sit up again, but his arms, weakened by the fall, fail him. An arm catches and steadies him.

“Careful there. You’re still recovering from the fall.”

Sunday wearily looks over at who caught him. An unfamiliar face stares back. He’s mildly surprised - he knows every worker on Penacony by name, so to find someone he hadn’t met yet…

“How are you feeling?” they ask, helping him to sit up. “Dizzy? Pained? Ready to take another nap?”

He tries to focus on them, but can’t as his gaze wanders to the rest of the room. 

His earlier assessment proves to be accurate, or at least, he got the general idea right. It’s smaller than he originally thought, and it isn’t as neat and organized as the hospitals back on Penacony.

A doctor’s desk stands in one corner, covered in first-aid kits, notebooks, and holographic screens. Standing besides it is a mini-fridge and a microwave, and a cabinet looms overhead - likely containing more medical devices. There’s another bed other than his. It looks like it hasn't been used in months.

His gaze lands on the one thing that’s painfully out of place in this room - a rifle, dark, long and equipped with a bayonet, lying in a display case alongside many other firearms.

Figures. A wanted criminal of his magnitude wouldn’t be held in an esteemed hospital. He’s lucky he isn’t in a prison cell.

“I don’t…” Sunday shakes his head. “Where am I?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Indignation sparks. “I’m… sorry?”

His captor caretaker sits back on their office chair. They look to be around Robin’s age, but their attire… To put it bluntly, it wasn’t anything a respectable healthcare worker would be caught wearing on duty.

“It’s best if you don’t ask too many questions right now,” they advise. “You can stress out later. Now, look at my finger.”

“I-” Reluctantly, Sunday does as he’s told, following their finger with his gaze as they move it around. “May I at least have your name?”

“Mm…” They quickly type something down. “Not right now.”

“But-”

“Eat this.” Sunday nearly chokes as something’s shoved into his mouth mid-sentence. Spluttering, he eventually manages to chew, but it’s not without another heated (or at least, he hopes it’s heated) glare at the so-called doctor.

They raise a brow. “Don’t like sweets? That’s weird, could’ve sworn he said you did.”

He? Sunday pauses in his chewing. 

The person pokes his cheek, earning a squeak from the Halovian. “I can see your thoughts on your face, Birdie. You’ll meet him soon enough, just keep chewing.”

Weakly, Sunday’s wing bats at their finger. They chuckle lightly at that.

“You look like a kicked puppy.” They lean forward, resting their chin in their palm. “Does it still hurt?”

Sunday shifts to sit straighter. To his surprise, instead of sharp pain like before, there is only a dub ebb before it fades away entirely. He shakes his head, swallowing the rest of the medicine. Whatever it was left a distinct taste of pastries, like the ones he’d steal off Robin’s plate as a child.

Robin… The thought of his sister tears at his heart. The more coherent he becomes, the more he remembers, and the guiltier he feels. The last he’d seen of his sister was her wings as she embraced him for the first time in years, right before they’d plummeted to the ground.

“My sister,” he manages to croak out, wincing at his own hoarseness. “Is she alright?”

He searches the other’s face for any indication that she isn’t. Just the wrong twitch of the brow could send him rushing out of the bed and to wherever Robin was.

But he doesn’t find anything in that eerily calm smile.

“The pop star?” They cross their legs leisurely. “Should be. Kafka said she saw nurses when she picked you up.”

“Kafka,” Sunday repeats. Horror slowly dawns on him as he realizes where he’d heard the name. But it doesn’t last long before he forces on a smile once more. “You don’t mean Kafka, the Stellaron Hunter? The woman with a 10 billion credit bounty on her head?”

“11 billion actually, if you round it up.”

“...yes, thank you.” Sunday’s smile strains painfully against his face. He’s never wanted to throttle someone so badly, not even that despicable Aventurine of the IPC. But knowing just who sat in front of him, it’s a battle he can’t win.

He takes in a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself.

He almost wants to laugh. It’s ironic, isn’t it? The esteemed Oak Family Head, fallen from grace and saved from eternal damnation by one of the most infamous criminals the galaxies have ever known. If his younger self could see him now, he’d surely kill himself from the shock.

Sunday blinks tiredly. Maybe he should just kill himself now, and get it over with.

“Hey.” A pen tilts his chin up. The Stellaron Hunter offers him a reassuring grin that does little to ease his nerves. “Chin up. Think of it this way. If we wanted to hurt you, we would’ve. But we fixed you up instead. My services don’t exactly come for cheap, you know.”

“Then what do you people want?” Sunday chuckles depressingly, almost self-deprecatingly. “My position as Oak Family Head is no more, and the Harmony has surely turned their back on me. Unless you wish to trade me into the IPC for a bounty, I’m afraid I have very little use to you.”

Logically, he knows he needs to keep his mouth shut - his life lies in the hands of these criminals, and the last thing he needs is them thinking that he’s useless. But he can hardly bring himself to care anymore.

“Look, I don’t question Elio.” His wings twitch at the name of the infamous slave to destiny. “But he’s never been wrong before. He brought you here for a reason.”

Sunday looks up. Given the expression on your face, he must look pathetic. You reach over and pat him lightly on the head like a parent would their child.

“Like I said, don’t question too many things right now.” You stand up, quickly checking your wristwatch. “Elio will be here in a few minutes. As for me, I have something to attend to, so I’ll see you around.”

Sunday’s hands freeze. A few minutes?

That’s not nearly enough time.

His hands find his cuffs, and he readjusts them, over and over and over again until the metal link gleams just right and there are no wrinkles left in sight. He pats down his suit hurriedly, straightening out his lapel and brushing off his shoulders again and again before they’re finally weightless. His gloves are pulled tight against his fingers. The medallion that hangs off of his shoulder, he positions it once more to be sure. Then, just when he thinks he’s done, his gloved hand brushes against a lock of grey hair, and he remembers-

He’d just woken up. He must look disheveled, messy, dirty and unsightly and nothing like the Sunday of the Oak Family that he was supposed to be, and if he wasn’t what they expected, they’d surely kill him, or dispose of him, or-

He looks up. You’re seconds away from the door.

“Wait!” he calls out hurriedly, inwardly cursing himself for his haste, but he needs to make sure he is perfect. His voice evens as you turn. “My apologies. Do you happen to have a mirror around here? And… a hairbrush, if you don’t mind.”

You blink. Sunday’s heart pounds as he awaits your answer. Subconsciously, his fingers begin to fidget and dig into his palms. Was that too much of a request? Had he overstepped?

“So that’s why he told me to bring them,” you comment offhandedly, as if remembering a past conversation that had made no sense until this moment. “Yeah, just a sec.”

You open one of the drawers by the desk and rummage around a bit before taking out a handheld mirror and a hairbrush. Your shoes clicked against the floor tiles as you made your way back to Sunday’s side.

Sunday has to fight demons just to stop himself from snatching the hairbrush from you. Small tremors shake his hand as he takes it from your palm. He moves to take the mirror.

“Let me do it,” you interrupt, sitting down and holding the mirror up so that he can see himself. Sunday stills, before he smiles in appreciation.

“Thank you,” he whispers, although he’s not sure why. 

Seeing his reflection, admittedly, he doesn’t look as bad as he’d originally thought. But still, his hair is messier than normal, and that’s all it takes for the voices to scream imperfect and unsightly.

His eyes flick to you. You only watch him with mild interest at best, but it feels as though your eyes are piercing into his soul, scrutinizing and judging every bit of him. 

He digs his fingers into his palms, the mild pain grounding him. Then, he begins to brush.

The silence is deafening, but Sunday forces himself to ignore it. Meticulous and steadily controlled strokes and brushes gradually bring his hair back to the casual, yet elegant and put-together style it was usually in, and Sunday feels a weight lift from his chest.

“Did they give you any medication back on Penacony?” you ask suddenly. Sunday freezes.

“I’m… sorry?”

You tilt your head. “I’m just asking as a precaution, because sometimes we get Hunters who need these medications and can’t access them due to well...”

Ah. Sunday relaxes. Right, of course. You were just doing your job. You didn’t actually think there was anything wrong with him, that he was ailed.

“No, they did not,” he says pleasantly, finishing the final (excessive) touches to his hair. “Although I do appreciate the concern, there would be no need even if I did require such assistance. I have no intention of joining you all.”

You squint a bit at his answer, but don’t press. “You’re pretty prideful, aren’t you.”

“As is everyone.” Sunday sets down the hairbrush, pleased at last with his appearance. “Believe me, no matter how far you think me to have fallen, I will never stoop as low as to accept charity from the likes of you.”

A snort tests his patience, his eye twitching at the sound. You lower the mirror with a smile he can only describe as both infuriating and unnerving, as if he were a naive, overconfident child.

“That’s a lot of talk for someone who’s just become the Family’s number one enemy,” you snicker. “Where else are you turning to? The IPC? Pfft, good luck with that.”

“Where else but Penacony?” The corners of his eyes crinkle as he leers bitterly at you. “I am but a sinner, and as such I must face my punishment, whether it be eternal imprisonment or death.”

“That’s it?” You scoff. “You’re just going to accept your fate, just like that?”

Sunday closes his eyes. “Better to face a rightful punishment than to live as a criminal.”

He anticipates a scathing reply, but your conversation is interrupted by a creak of the door.

Meow.

A cat? His eyes snap open. 

Standing in the now-opened doorway was a lithe black cat with yellow-green eyes that glow like fireflies. It licks its paw innocently, rubbing its head before it settles its gaze on you and Sunday.

A chill goes down Sunday’s back as they lock eyes. Under that cat’s eyes, he feels raw and exposed, as if someone had ripped him and all of his secrets wide open for the world to see. Instinctively his wings flare in a feeble attempt to defend himself.

“Well, that’s my cue.” The wheels on your chair roll as you stood up once more. “I’ll see you around, princess.”

“Do not call me that,” Sunday snarls. You laugh lightly.

“Don’t like it? I think it fits you pretty well.” You reach down, scratching the cat’s chin before respectfully moving out of the way. “Oh, and one more thing before I go.”

You turn around to give him one more lookover.

“Do try and stretch those wings more. Keep them cramped up like that any longer, and you’ll never fly again.”

With that, you shut the door, leaving Sunday alone with the cat and the eerie echo of your words.

reblogs w comments are appreciated !!

— KISSES OR KISSES? : honkai star rail

premise. testing out your new lipstick is no fun (normally), so what better way to make use of it by kissing your lover senseless? not to mention, leaving a little something behind.... (aka, lipstick kisses with them.)

ft. blade, dan heng, boothill, dr. ratio, aventurine !

warnings: feminine reader! reader is ultimately genderless but you may interpret this as fem!reader if you want, reader wears lipstick. nicknames hehe, boothill is his own warning, mid writing tbh, unedited

a/n. the lipstick trend does not escape me at all 😞😞 but this consumed me so now i write about it ijbol

MAIN MASTERLIST || PART 2 (sunday, jing yuan, gallagher, sampo, gepard.)

“what are you doing?”

BLADE ceases all functions. like, immediately.

you'd think he'd even stopped breathing once he'd felt the soft sensation of your lips on his, and the pretty sight of the normally aloof stellaron hunter covered in multiple lipstick kisses all over his face to his neck nearly makes the rest of his other comrades keel over from laughter. his silence is indicative of his rather unusual state of shock, the only indication a menacing furrow of his brows (to an outsider, they'd think he's plotting a murder spree, but you know him too well for that) that twitch and simultaneously react the more you kiss him everywhere on the face.

silverwolf will then relay to you that blade walked around for nearly 5 system hours covered in your... marks of ownership, kafka helpfully supplies, and was only made aware when firefly accidentally bumped into him, face exploding in red when she saw the audacious sight of blade covered in your lipstick. “er, blade.... your face is...”

—

blade has never known mortification quite like today, but the intense feeling of something akin to shame is vivid as he stares at himself in the mirror, glaring.

his face is a mess, to put it simply. trailing a hand on the red stains your lips left on to him leaves him with a smudged countenance, furthering the utter chaos that is his kiss-ridden face.

“...ridiculous girl.” avoiding the uncharacteristic way his fingertips feel hot, blade reckons this is probably why firefly stopped dead in her tracks and gaped, stared, and flustered.

clever as you were, and with your equal penchant for mischief, blade, the ever unsuspecting lover he is (he doesn't normally allow anyone to touch him, but you're not just anyone) had easily become the target of your new tricks.

“pfft, nice get-up, old man. got yourself a good day?”

....so that's what silverwolf meant.

DANHENG immediately scolds you, but not in the serious way he normally does whenever stelle wants to eat an origami bird or dives into trashcans or when march accidentally destroys one of the archive books, but in a way that only dan heng ever shows you. he's red, painfully red, and is struggling to face you because he knows that the smug grin you're holding has to do with the sight he'd glimpsed himself to be in moments prior.

unfortunately for him, for all his ways of trying fervently to remove the lipstick stains plastered all over his face, it only took march one look and a melodramatic gasp before the entire express knew, the conductor included.

—

“dan heng and [name], sitting on a tree-”

“k-i-s-s-i-n-g~”

my friends are all senile, dan heng thinks, rolling his eyes while avoiding himeko's friendly (read: eerie) smile. and he's already given up on trying to meet welt's eyes. (read: concerned but not surprised)

the reason? the rouge tinted matte lipstick generously spread all over dan heng's face, slightly smudged and spanning from his cheeks to his lips, nearing his neck.

he'd never tell, but a part of him—one that was reptilian in nature, a primal need of possessiveness—adored the show of affection you showered upon him. it was only right—he was yours, and you were his.

welt is sheepish, coughing lightly that all five heads of the express members turn to him (pom-pom included) “dan heng, is that your tail wagging?”

“....”

“....”

“....”

(a resounding click! can be heard afrerwards. oh, dan heng is so going to steal march's camera.)

the loud whir of BOOTHILL’s cooling system can't even keep up with how fast he's overheating, because one thing led to another and one look you gave made him weak in the knees and now his body is covered in your kisses, scarlet against the metal gray of his limbs. he no longer has a heart, but the rapid feeling of heat emitted by his body speaks more about his current mental state in more ways than one—he can't even form words because his brain chip is practically glitching itself up into overdrive, because your lips were so warm, soft and gentle and—

“...oothill? boothill? your circuits are—”

a startling sound that sounds just like a mini explosion reverberates somewhere in the tangle of wires near boothill's power source.

oh dear.

( p.s: no warp trotters were harmed, rest assured )

“[name]...” AVENTURINE’s voice falters when you press a soft kiss near his forehead, your lover closing his eyes as he lets out a soft sigh of joy — a bit like a peacock preening... but in any case! he certainly sees no argument being swayed by you, his dignity in shambles, yes, but when you were showering him with affection like this (which, in all honesty, aventurine did not think he deserved) leaves in in a flushed and tattered mess of a man, whose strings are wholly puppeteered by you and you alone.

you are everything; and aventurine certainly can't get enough. (he doubts if enough will even be enough someday) he's the lover who'd proudly want to flaunt such salacious marks everywhere, though his craftily built reputation as a stoneheart—blood sweat and commodity code and all—leaves him to hide your marks on him, as much as he'd like them to stay. (you are a weakness that aventurine keeps like an oath, and an existence that he'd do anything to keep.)

that doesn't, however, stop him from getting you to leave a kiss near his collar, discreet enough to signal his status as irrevocably, undeniably yours.

DR. VERITAS RATIO is actually the most calm and most normal (read: boring) of all the men above when barraged by your kiss attack. letting out a tsk that's more chiding and speeachless than actually annoyed, he casually pulls you away from his face, nevermind his rapidly heating cheeks, which is only made more humorous given his lipstick stained face.

“stop that. you're making too much of a mess of me, fool.” <- is visibly leaning to your face to allow said actions. you're not fooling anyone here, doctor. smh.

however, he does get pretty flustered when a certain blond gambler notes the new addition of a ‘tattoo’ right near his lower lip. “wow, doctor. seems you woke up on the good side of the bed today.”

he spends a whole day scolding you hoarse afterwards, whatever that may entail ;).

(as a way of petty revenge, he will make sure to kiss you senseless right after, until he's sure his own lips are swollen and covered in the warm red of your chosen shade.)

a/n: blog is running on queue as of today, so this post will probably come wayyy overdue lol but hope u enjoy nonetheless!

@ ICEUNHIE: do not repost translate or plagiarize my works.