She is currently spanning the entirety of the Grand Narukami Shrine, having forced Yae Miko to poke and prod at her at a broom to contain her mass on Mt. Yougou. She might even dwarf the mountain at the rate she's going thanks to Sara's enabling...
"My Shogun, you know that is not up to you or me to decide. Should Raiden Ei or the Lady Guuji decree it so, I will stop feeding you. Otherwise, my orders are clear and easily achieved, not to mention quite enjoyable...besides, we're still missing over half of Inazuma's traditional desserts and all their variations, and after that the ceremonial items!"
"Hohohohohohoho, me? Jealous? What would someone as gorgeous, brilliant, wealthy, successful and so much more as me have to be jealous of?"
She smiles at you, seeming highly amused by your question...until she isn't anymore, and that facade of superiority dims into a somber, vacant stare, her voice filled with a strange, almost disturbing mix of flat neutrality, scorching pain and deep seated, festering scorn.
"...every day. Every single time I saw the puppet and the Tengu interact, I just...felt so inadequate. Why was the puppet, the theorical although imperfect replica of my wife giving more attention to a random general than me?"
To this day, so long after the events, she seems heavily aggravated by the mere memory of those times.
"Why was I not the object of her affections, as stunted as they may have been? Why did Ei abandon me? Why did I just...have to remain faithful and fight for Inazuma's future, in a very literal sense as well, when the Tengu just bent the knee, looked away from all the injustice and pain she herself was inflicting and got rewarded for it better than I was?"
Hot tears well up in her eyes, and with a swift glance at you, she whirls around, murmuring "L-Let's take a walk." as she starts making her way toward the Sacred Sakura. Wisely, you pretend not to notice the way she discreetly wipes her tears and don't question the sudden clearing of her throat. Slowly, almost languidly, she extends a hand to pluck a small branch from a blooming tree in passing, bringing it to her nose.
"...of course, I know now why that was. I'm well aware, truly, and I don't bear a grudge against any of them. How could I, when I've grown to love them all so deeply? But...regardless, the thought of those times still eats away at me whenever I think of them. The solitude, the heartache, the crushing agony of thinking I'd lost my soulmate only to gain two more on top of getting her back...I'm happy now, truly. I just...bear the itch of past scars that don't seem to have fully healed quite yet. But we have all the time in the world to soothe them, together."
Given the fact that the Shogun is constantly being spoilt by Kujou Sara, I believe it is only fair that Ei gets a little bit of love every here and then.
Case in point, Ei is currently hugging Yae from behind and burying her face into her familiar's neck and mumbling.
"...I missed you."
The kitsune would freeze in her retelling of a particularly humorous meeting with an author, quiet and still as one of the many small fox statues around the shrine. After a couple moments, Yae's shoulders smoothly rose, then fell with a sigh as she gently held Ei's hands with her own.
"...I missed you too, my love. Terribly. I...Too long. But we've already had this talk, I won't subject you to it once more. Just...never again, Ei. Please. I don't think my heart could take it, being put through all of that for the second time."
Something that sounded suspiciously like a sniffle escaped the woman, who couldn't quite play it off as well as usual.
"Please Ei...if it comes to something like that again, please just hug me and never let me go again. Go to anyone, to me, to the general, to the Kamisato, to the Traveler. We will be here for you, always...I love you."
ONLY if you want to, but if the mood ever strikes...
I would love to see you write something lovely with Lumine... Anything you want, with anyone at all...
(This is written in the style of Melly's canon, and as such might be kinda janky. That doesn't reflect on Melly's work, it's super awesome and you should check the blog out)
It was, to put it quite simply, really fucking cold. Like REALLY fucking cold. Somehow Lumine had gotten the bright idea to go to Dragonspine in winter of all seasons, and while that meant beautiful snowy landscapes and a peek at the locals rebuilding after the monsters plaguing the lands were, well...eradicated? once the Abyss was defeated and purged, it also meant temperatures constantly well below freezing point at any time of day.
Fortunately, Lumine and the rest of the party were well equipped to deal with the cold, and rather experienced in setting up camp after all the time spent on the road. They'd set up around one of those Pyro pylons, building their fire around it because "What's a camp without a fire?!" according to Paimon. There was plenty of dead fallen trees around to gather firewood from anyway, so.
Not only that, the party had become quite proficient at sharing and retaining body heat, something Scara and Ei were doing as the woman gently braided her son's newly grown out hair while he casually challenged a very focused looking Collei to a game of chess. Their record so far was 14-0 to the young man, to no one's surprise.
Close to the fire knelt Noelle, humming a tune to herself as she stirred an undoubtedly delicious, rich stew in a way too large pot, always one to cook more than necessary...yet, there never were leftovers in camp. Nearby, leaning against the strong maid's shoulder, was Xiangling, enthusiastically chatting about possible additions and flavor combinations while animatedly gesturing with her hands, Noelle listening along with an adoring smile on her face.
On the outer edge of the fire's glow sat Makoto and Sara, the young Tengu having shyly asked to come along on their last stop in Inazuma. She'd grown tired and weary of military life, the memories and scars of the war weighing heavier and heavier on her the longer she stayed in that same environment, and also just longed to be with her wife. The same wife who was very happily cuddled up between her legs, head using her soft chest as a pillow while they just...sat together, watching camp life unfold.
Lumine, Tighnari and Paimon were doing much the same, huddled together with Paimon snug and warm in the middle, drinking in the way the fire's crackles complimented Noelle's gorgeous humming, the orange hues reflected all over the ground and the tents pitched around the fire, bathing the whole scene in a warm glow. And as Paimon looked up and gasped, pointing upward to the sky and yelling for everyone to look in her signature shrill voice, the warm orange of the fire, cool blue of the tents and stark white of the snow were contrasted with the endless deep dark of the night sky, the bright glow of stars...and the gorgeous, flowing greens of the aurora.
Sat there, surrounded by warmth that permeated deep inside her and left her almost lethargic in the best way possible, feeling a warm pair of lips press a kiss to her cheek as a little giggle echoed in the silence of camp...Lumine never thought she could feel this complete.
Kujou Sara having Hanahaki and coughing up Kikyo and Sumire flowers for Ei and the Shogun, but one day she stares down at her hand, horrified to see Sakura blossoms there too
