oddsandends | 85th ♫ | let’s raise a toast to our final sin

85th ♫ | let’s raise a toast to our final sin

Love and lust are all very well and good, but this meme is for when that white-hot desire tips into something darker, an all-consuming fire that licks at your every thought, that clenches around your every breath. It may be one-sided or it may be reciprocal, you may be the object or the subject or both simultaneously, but at least one of you is obsessed.

You can think of nothing but them. Your world, your heart, your very existence revolves around them.

Unrequited - Subject
1. Innocent yearning - They are unreachable, untouchable, or perhaps you're merely too shy. You're resigned to the certainty that they will never be yours, but you'd still dedicate your life to make them happy. Little gifts, remembering their birthday, you'll be their best friend, their Cyrano, you'll be their shoulder to cry on or maybe you'll only ever watch them from across the office and make sure that one of the morning donuts always makes it anonymously to their desk before they're all eaten.
2. Win their heart - You're going to marry them. Sure, they don't know it yet. Sure, they don't even know you exist. But you've got a plan, and you're going to use every resource in your power to win their heart. No matter what it takes. Their happiness is all important, and the best way to ensure that is to make sure they know how worthy they are of being loved.
3. Stalker - They belong to you. They may not know it, they may even disagree, but they are yours. It's okay. You're content--at least for now--to watch them from afar. To deliver notes and gifts--threats, if they dare to object to your ideas of romance, if they dare to date anyone else--to oversee their safety and even to mastermind minor adjustments in their life to ensure that everything goes... according to plan.

Unrequited - Object
1. Innocent yearning - You have a secret admirer. Little gifts, love poems and notes, and they're always perfectly sweet, perfectly timed, and they always make your day. You're half in love with them already, whoever they are, this person who cares for your happiness above all else. If only you could figure out who it might be.
2. Win their heart - Out of nowhere, one of your friends--or perhaps an acquaintance you hardly noticed before now--has begun trying to court you. It's flattering, but also very intense. They seem convinced that you'll fold to their affections sooner or later, and... maybe. Why not? It's nice to have someone who thinks you're worth the whole world.
3. Stalker - You're being followed. Maybe you know this person--an ex?--maybe you don't. They know you, though, or they think they do. Worse, they think they have some claim upon you. They dog your steps, bother your friends and romantic partners, leave you haunting and unwelcome gifts.

Requited

A. The sun in my sky - Your everyday existence may be dull and drab, but you have one glittering prize in your life. Your love, your partner, your everything. You can get through the daily grind, through the indignities of your life, because you know you're coming home to them.
B. Forbidden - You're in love and it's requited, but that doesn't make them any more accessible to you. Wealth, class, or perhaps an inconvenient marriage is keeping the two of you apart. You'll have to conduct your affair in secret, with your obsession compelling you to take greater and greater risks, until you find a way to run away together -- or until you're caught.
C. Partners in Crime - What's more romantic than a crime spree? You're partners in crime, and what a thrill that is! It certainly spices up your love life. You trust them entirely, they're the other half of you, and they're every bit as wicked as you. It feels as though you're both untouchable, and surely you are. You'll never be caught. Neither of you will ever be hurt.
D. On the Run - You're young, you're in love, and you're free, but you know it can't last. You're on the run, and your stars are crossed. Sooner or later you're going to come to a bad end, but until then you've got this hotel room, this night, this car and the open road. If anyone wants to separate you, they're going to have to catch you first.

Wildcards
Enchantment - A love spell can serve to create obsession where none existed before, and now you have a devoted slave, as long as the spell doesn't backfire.
An Unholy Bargain - You've sworn yourself to an angel, a devil, a cause, a country, a witch, a place, and they are the embodiment of that vow. You're sworn to them inescapably, and the terms of your bargain press you with the sweetest compulsion. It may not be real, but it's love, and it's undeniable.

Feel free to run with your own interpretations of the theme!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ At the sound of her name, her smile grows just a touch warmer. How nice, that even half-conscious like this, he recognizes her quickly enough that her name is the first thing he says. Maybe it doesn't mean anything at all, but... she can still enjoy it. ]

Qingce Village, in Liyue. [ Her voice is even and soft, like she's worried that even speaking too loud will worsen his injuries. He's delicate like this and she has to be sure to be careful with him. ] You're lucky – we weren't too far from here when I found you, and I had permission to use one of the houses here. Otherwise I would've had to try and patch you back up out there in the wilderness.

[ That's not a lie, but it's not exactly the truth either. They hadn't been that far when she'd finally found him, but she'd certainly strayed from the beaten path to bring him here. ]

How are you feeling?

[Despite Kaeya's status as a knight, and being more or less "busy" most days, he and Camellia had become quite close friends since meeting one another. Close enough that she's one of the circle he sees quite regularly, sometimes even more than the lives of Amber and Jean these days. In fact, neither of them have any idea where he is right now. It's been long enough they're probably worried...]

Like I've been completely pummeled by dozens of armed men, actually.

[It's lacking in his usual humor, but instead the biting sting of frustration. Usually he can laugh stuff like this off, but he's also usually not caught unaware as he was. People rarely pull the wool over Kaeya's eyes. It's never the other way around.]

Other than that...grateful, that I was found at all.

Don't thank me just yet. I still have to make sure you're all in one piece. I might not be able to heal you, but I can at least make sure your wounds are clean.

[ She's carefully bandaging that ugly wound on his arm as she says this, and once she's satisfied the gauze won't slip, she moves onto yet another cut, just below his shoulder. ]

I'm just glad I found you before it was too late. It really didn't seem like you to be gone for so long without sending word back, but everyone seemed to think I was just getting myself worked up over nothing...

[...hm. Kaeya is silent for a moment, hearing that.]

I see...I suppose I tend to give off the air that I have everything under control always. Not that I would want anyone to think any differently, but...

[You'd think they'd send a few knights looking eventually, right? Maybe it hadn't been that long...]

How long has it been...?

[ Her smile fades, just a touch. ]

I'm not quite sure when it was they last heard from you, but... as far as I know, it's been about three weeks. You were unconscious for so long, I really was sure you weren't going to wake up.

[ This, of course, is stretching the truth to breaking point now, but she doubts he's together enough to catch her on the lie. ]

Three...

[It's very difficult to ruffle Kaeya's feathers. Very. But truth or not, even the mere suggestion is enough for him to echo that possibility in a whisper. Surely, that much time can't have really passed, can it? But then...why would Camellia lie about something like that? All she's done so far is save his life, so if she says it's been that long...maybe he really was on death's door.

She's right in her assumption that he hasn't the strength or mental fortitude to interrogate her just now. He's suspicious, but...he'll just have to accept it for the time being. Reluctantly.]

You must send word to Mondstat, right away. Surely Jean has kept things together in my absence, but even so...

Sssh. Try not to get yourself too worked up. You've been healing up nicely and I don't want you to pull or tear anything.

[ She's firm as she says that, working a length of bandage over yet another freshly cleaned wound. ]

I've already sent word back to Mond. I don't know how long it'll take for a messenger to reach them, but I've let them know I found you. So don't worry.

[She does have a point, as much as his brain is going "hey let's Panic, boogie woogie woogie". With Camellia's reassurance, though, it's much easier to keep that out of his expression as he relaxes back where he's still laying down, his one visible eye sliding closed.]

I appreciate you caring so dilligently for me. I don't know how I am going to ever repay you.

[ Camellia doesn't respond right away. Maybe her silence is a little telling, but she doesn't trust her voice to not give away her expression. With his eyes closed, it's safe to let some of that girlish, twitterpated glee she feels show on her face, and she has to struggle for a moment to get it back under control, lest he get an idea of just how she actually feels about this.

The last thing she'd want is to worry him, of course.

It's only once she's fully confident the depth of her delight won't come out in her voice that she responds. ]

You can start by taking it easy and making sure you heal properly. You can stay here as long as you like, and I'll do whatever I can to help you get back on your feet.

[There's...something. Something instinctually that is telling Kaeya that something isn't right. But there isn't enough outward evidence for him to pinpoint what that might be. It's just...a feeling for the time being, which is frustrating but will have to do until he's recovered enough to seek answers for himself.

Leaving Liyue and going back to Mondstat is a when, not an if.]

Mm...thank you.

[His eyes open again after a quiet moment of not speaking, his breathing slow as he feels the ache in his ribs from being kicked there so many times.]

I don't recall much, but...I have reason to think this attack on me must have been targeted.

Oh, do you think?

[ On the one hand, it's not really a surprise – the viciousness of the attack and the spite that came implied with the choice to leave him to die slowly in the wilderness instead of finishing off quickly certainly implies something personal. But at the same time... just who would hate Kaeya so badly, to want to take him out in such a violent way?

She'd like to have words with them herself and find out. ]

Mmm... I guess it does seem a little vicious for an attack out of the blue. Do you have any idea what this could be about?

Honestly...it could be any number of things. I've put plenty of unsavory folk behind bars in my time. Anyone with a grudge and enough men to get the job done could have tried.

[He's strong and isn't to be underestimated, especially with a Vision that can freeze an entire field of people in place. But that doesn't matter if they were able to catch him at his most unguarded with no backup, no one knowing where he was...

He got sloppy, plain and simple.]

Or...to state the more obvious, it could have been the work of the Abyss Order, attempting to find even more ways to cripple Mond's support network.

I see...

[ Camellia's voice doesn't turn cold, exactly, but there's something a little chilly underlining it that's not usually present. It really had been luck and nothing more, then, that she'd managed to find him before it was too late. Kaeya's strong, she knows that much – he wouldn't be so highly ranked in the Knights' order if that wasn't the case – but this really is just more proof that he's much more vulnerable than he thinks.

She has to make sure he doesn't get hurt like this again. She has to. ]

I know I shouldn't promise anything where the Abyss Order is concerned, but... you won't have to worry about them trying again while you're here. While you're resting up, I'll make sure nobody can hurt you again. I swear.

I will accept that, so long as you promise me you won't work too hard for my sake.

[He's at least not...DYING NOW, RIGHT...that probably counts for something.]

I cannot imagine looking after a comatose patient for weeks on end has exactly been terribly fulfilling.

[ Her expression turns a little wry, as does the smile that gradually softens her mouth again. ]

I won't pretend it's been particularly fun... but it's not as though I had much of a choice. It wasn't as though I could leave you to fend for yourself... but hopefully, now you're awake, you'll be back on your own two feet in no time.

Hopefully.

[How on earth was he asleep for so long, though? That's more like a coma than anything, as he mentioned...but it seems to him like Camellia would have eventually resorted to finding an actual doctor.

It's...strange.]

I am afraid that I don't know if that will be today. I fear the pain is too great for me to try to stand just yet.

[And his chest sounds like crinkling paper every time he breathes so that's you know, bad.]

Oh, you're not going anywhere. It's much too soon for you to be thinking about getting up. If you're uncomfortable at all, I can do what I can to get you more settled, but for now, I don't want you to move any more than you absolutely have to. You need time to heal.

[ Plenty of time. As long as it takes. Camellia's happy to wait it out and eventually, he'll be happy too. ]

Is the pain that bad, though? I'm not much of a doctor, but I'm sure I could give you something for the pain – I went and bought some medicines while I was settling us in here.

Mm...it might help, yes.

[Maybe some sort of potion or something...surely those exist alongside the veritable thanksgiving dinners people in Teyvat use for recovering health.]

I wouldn't reject it, at any rate.

Okay. I'll go and see about getting it ready for you.

[ She half-rises out of her seat to leave, but then she hesitates. ]

You're comfortable like that? I know you're in pain, but laying like that isn't making it worse anywhere, is it? Do you need a blanket, maybe?

Oh, don't worry too much about me. I'm used to far colder.

[CONSIDERING]

I will simply await your return with baited breath.

[ Even though he can't exactly get up and run off, Camellia feels oddly discomforted leaving him here by himself. This whole situation feels fragile and dreamlike, like he might just disappear if she takes her eyes off him for too long.

But the important thing here is helping him get better. He really can't afford for her to hesitate on that front. So she gives him one last smile and then stands up and leaves him be, making her way to the kitchen so she can prep the medicine as promised.

It's nothing overly complicated – a blend of spices and herbs and whatever else that need to be ground into a paste and mixed with hot water, to be ingested in liquid form. She's heard enough about it that she has some confidence in its effectiveness but there's no way for her to be sure about it until she sees it for herself.

She'd been told not to let him take the stuff on an empty stomach, but she's also fairly sure he's not quite ready to manage a meal yet. So when she returns, it's with a tray, carrying the medicine in a small bowl and a stack of dry, bland crackers for him to at least try and eat his way through. ]

Here you go. I know you're probably not ready for food yet, but you can't drink this on an empty stomach. I thought these might be a little easier to eat than proper food, for now at least.

[It's so strange, having to be treated as an invalid like this. It's hardly anything that can be helped, but it's still not at all ideal. He wants to be back in Mond right away, checking up on the other knights and regrouping with Jean and Lisa to see what can be done about this whole new situation they've found themselves in. He'd love to assume that this attack was a personal plot, but he knows better.

Mondstat has a target on its back, and it has ever since the conception of the Fatui, the Abyss Order, even the existence of Hilichurls themselves. They're simply not safe in this world, and because of that Kaeya doesn't feel right just sitting here until his body is mended enough to allow him to do something.]

Thank you, Camellia. Whatever that is, it looks awfully bitter and distasteful...which I imagine means it will work quite well.

[ She titters a little to herself. ]

I'm afraid so. I wish I could give you something better tasting to wash it down with, but I think we both know that wouldn't be a very good idea.

[ She's a little nervous even just giving him as much food as she is right now, but... well, if it'd be dangerous to him, she's fairly sure a doctor wouldn't have recommended it. Probably. Hopefully.

She sets the tray down and then reaches out to carefully help ease him up into a sitting position, assuming he can get that far without too much pain. ]

Will you be alright to sit up and take this yourself or do you need help?

[When will they devise a medication that is alcohol based? That Kaeya could see himself enjoying.

He lets her help him sit forward, raising a hand to steady her hand.]

I'll be fine, don't worry. They may have gotten the jump on me this time, but that doesn't mean I'm-

[He stiffens once he's sitting up properly, his complexion paling a little as something in his back cracks like an old man.]

[ Yikes. Her lips pull a little tighter, with sympathy and concern. ]

Oh dear, that didn't sound good at all. The pain isn't any worse like this, is it?

O-oh no no, I'm fine...I'm fine, really.

[HE SWEARS...]

Here, let me just take that medicine...surely it will start its work on me sooner rather than later.

[ She hovers anxiously by his side for only a moment longer, before giving in and easing the bowl into his hands. It's not hot enough that it'll scald him if it spills, but it's not like he can easily hop into a change of clothes if that ends up happening. ]

Take it slowly, alright? And then make sure you get down at least a few of the crackers once you've had some.

[Kaeya takes the bowl carefully, his hands at least steady where the rest of him is not.]

Thank you. Why don't you tell me what has been happening in my absence while I eat? I know I haven't been asleep for that long, but...for some reason, it feels like I was out for years. You know?

Ah, well...

[ Try as she might, it's impossible to miss the way she hesitates before answering him. It's not a surprise that he'd want to know what had happened in his absence but... the last thing he needs is to have the Knights to worry about when he's supposed to be recovering.

So she tells him... some of it. ]

The truth is, I don't know much myself. I just happened to be passing through Mond on the way to Liyue and I decided to show my face and see how everyone was doing. I thought it was strange for you to be absent when it didn't seem like there was anything going on but when I asked, the Acting Grand Master just said you'd been out of contact for some time. It didn't seem like you at all, so I offered to keep an eye out for you when I left to make my way to Liyue and well... here we are.

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85th ♫ | let’s raise a toast to our final sin

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