34th ♫ | even if a thousand nights pass, i'll stay by your side

[mytarget]

A WHOLESOME SFW SHIPPING CMO

(Cliffnotes cheatsheet for OCs included below)

BB | Fate/ M/F, F/F	Bryn Pendragon | OC M/F, F/F
Brynhildr | Fate/ M/F, F/F	Caelina Gwynlaw | OC F/F, M/F
Erina Estival | OC F/F	Honoka Kousaka | Love Live F/F, M/F
Kyouko Kougami | OC F/F	Sophie Summerhelm | OC M/F, F/F
Yuri | DDLC M/F, F/F	μ | The Caligula Effect F/F, M/F

Shameless Shipping Meme Prompts ❤ Fluff Scenario Meme Prompts ❤ Affectionate Physical Contact Meme Prompts ❤

Code by entente

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[impurifies]

[ Her name is Lady Yuri Murasaki – or so that's what everyone in this world has been telling her since she woke up, anyway.

The fanfare had been immense – from the moment her eyes had fluttered open, the house had been in an uproar. The maids, the housekeepers, even Mother and Father had all wept with gratitude that after two entire years, the mistress of the house had recovered from her coma and returned to life. The doctors had examined had and declared her fit as a fiddle, not a thing wrong with her. It was like a miracle.

And that was all very well and good, except for one thing – she isn't Lady Yuri Murasaki. After all, that's impossible. She's a character from a fantasy novel. And yet... here Yuri is, being swept along with the plot of a book she only mostly remembers but there's one thing she's certain about.

Lady Murasaki absolutely does not have a happy ending. She marries a prince, is wrapped up in a conspiracy against her own will and then killed by her own husband while he's under the thrall of some terrible evil force.

Needless to say: Yuri doesn't particularly want to go through with this. She does her best to push back against the current, feigns sickness and ill health and all manner of other things to have her family reconsider. But they won't – maybe in their eyes, marrying their sickly daughter into the royal family is the greatest kindness they can offer her. Yuri can't say she agrees.

So, despite all her best efforts, the day of their first meeting comes around. Yuri's caked in makeup, dressed to the nines, spritzed with all manner of perfumes and has her hair pulled up into a tight updo that pulls on the nape of her neck with every movement of her head. She's never been so uncomfortable in her life – though she has to begrudgingly admit that the maids have done an excellent job in prettying her up.

She's ushered into the room almost as soon as they arrive at the palace and there's a frantic urgency in the air she doesn't understand. It frightens her so much that she almost can't speak. But she swallows hard and though her voice threatens to shake itself to pieces, she manages to curtsey and... begin to introduce herself. ]

Y–your Highness... um... i–it really is... an honor...

[tacomeme]

[he dips his head to her, respectful but a little awkward. He looks... young. He's the same age as her, but he still has a roundness to his face and that bit of teenage gangliness. And while his eyes are a shocking shade of amber they are kind and warm- and anxious ]

It is an honor for me as well. Please, if you need to sit it's alright: I was told you haven't been well.

[It's just stiff enough to suggest he doesn't usually speak quite so formally but he's at least well practiced in it.

[impurifies]

[ For a second, the colour of his eyes steals all the words out of Yuri's mouth. She doesn't know if she'd simply forgotten that detail or if the book had never described it well enough, but that gentle shade of amber disarms her in a way she hadn't quite prepared for. The anxiety in his eyes is clear as day too and though she'd like to find some sense of solidarity in it, she can't help but take it to be an expression of distaste. After all, she's sure there must be countless other girls, all prettier and more put-together than her vying for his affection and here he is stuck with a plain and sickly girl like her.

She wants to apologize, but the words stick in her throat and won't come out. Maybe it's better like that. Instead, she simply dips her head in a nod of affirmation and to fill the silence until she can make herself speak again, she sits herself down, trembling hands folded in her lap. ]

I– [ Her voice cracks when she tries to talk and Yuri cringes, swallows and tries again. ] I–I'm doing much better now... but I do appreciate your consideration.

[ She hates herself for how stiff and phony she sounds, but she can't help it. ]

[tacomeme]

[ And in turn Takumi feels a sharp certainty that her stuttering and nerves are because she doesn't want to be here. Maybe she had a lover she had to leave. Or maybe she was upset that she had to marry the subpar younger brother.

He tries to school his expression, but it's so very hard.]

I... I'm glad. If there's anything you need we have the finest healers and doctors, so...

[impurifies]

[ The silence that follows once he trails off is absolutely agonizing. She knows she should say something to fill the silence, but she has absolutely no idea what. It's not as though there's anything interesting she could have to say to a prince and she ends up staring miserably down at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers in transparent nervousness.

Eventually, the quiet gets so bad that she just blurts out the first thing to pop into her head. ]

Um, the palace... r–really is beautiful. I've... never seen it up close before, but I'd always imagined what it might look like inside...

[ And then she flushes an agonized shade of scarlet. ]

Ah– I–I'm sorry, that must make me sound so strange... spending so much time thinking about your home...

[tacomeme]

N-no, it's fine! I mean, you might be living here so it makes-

[no no don't reminder her of that, idiot!]

-I mean, I could show you the grounds if you'd like? The sakura flowers have already fallen but it's still beautiful outside. It's a great view from the library window-

[gods why mention the library she wouldn't be interested in that-]

[impurifies]

[ Despite herself – despite everything about this situation, really – Yuri finds herself perking up. ]

You have a library...? [ She cringes visibly at her own words. ] Ah, I mean... o–of course a building like this would have its own library... I just...

[ She swallows hard and then tries again to put her words in the order she wants them. ]

We don't have a library ourselves at home... a–and it's not often I'm able to get out of the house to go and visit one... so I was just surprised to think that there might be one so close by...

[tacomeme]

Oh...

[cute]

Would you like to see it?

[impurifies]

Would that really be alright?

[ Of course it would, dummy, he wouldn't offer if it wasn't. She follows up hastily, trying not to trip and go flying over her own words as she does so. ]

I–I just thought... well, that we'd be expected to stay here and talk. I–I didn't really think we'd be allowed to wander...

[tacomeme]

Well... I like the library- I spend a lot of my time there. So... I think it'd be okay?

[impurifies]

[ Her understandable nerves might still be plain as day, but on hearing that, Yuri feels a little bit of the tension wound up inside of her ease a little bit and her shoulders relax just a touch out of the stiff, unhappy line they'd been held in. She's not silly enough to think they'd be able to become friends over as basic a shared interest as books, but... maybe they'll have enough to talk about to get through the rest of this awful first meeting. ]

Then... if you're sure it's alright, then I'd definitely like to see it. A–and maybe, um... well, since you know the library so well, you could make some recommendations...?

[ Some recommendations. Like he's a waiter and she's asking what the dish of the house is. Come ON, Yuri. She doesn't quite openly cringe but her eyes twitch a little in the universal god strike me down before i say any more words with my idiot mouth way. ]

[tacomeme]

Y-yes, of course.

[He turns to their 'handlers', bowing just slightly in apology before turning back to her]

Follow me- I'll lead the way. It's... easy to get lost here.

[impurifies]

Yes, of course!

[ Without thinking, Yuri hops to her feet a touch too fast and for a terrifying moment, she doesn't think her heels are going to support her. They're so much higher than anything she's used to wearing, but thankfully, it's just a minimal stumble before she's able to right herself. That doesn't stop her from ducking her head in embarrassment at her own klutziness, though. ]

P–please... go ahead and lead the way.

[tacomeme]

[He starts to reach out to steady her, but hesitates- afraid that'd be too forward. But when he does walk away he keeps his stride short and relaxed so she wouldn't feel rushed]

Will you be staying long?

[impurifies]

Oh, um...

[ ... She actually has no idea. She'd been so worked up about this entire meeting that the very idea of what might come after it seems kind of impossible to imagine. ]

I... don't think there was a set time they were expecting me back. But it wouldn't be very proper for me to be out until dark, I think.

[ There, that seems like a good, safe answer. ]

[tacomeme]

I see... so I'll try not to keep you too long. I have a bad habit of losing track of time.

[impurifies]

Ah... I think I know what you mean. When you get caught up in doing something, like reading a good book... it's easy to let the world go and pass you by.

[ She's been told it's one of her worst habits!! ]

[tacomeme]

And when you finally look up everything goes a little sideways?

[He smiles awkwardly, laughing slightly]

I used to end up like that all the time when I was younger- and a few times now while training too.

[impurifies]

Mmhm! Exactly.

[ She laughs, but it's a little nervous and hesitant like she's not really sure if she's allowed to laugh at all. ]

Mother and Father scold me for it terribly.