#hopefully. we shall see if I actually write for them but

[plutotheplum]

I Only Bleed For Him

dragon!sylus x fem!reader

summary: amidst the blooming flowers in tarus city, the dragon claims his beloved.

cw: nsfw (18+) - mdni!!, smut, a smidge of fluff, angst, kissing, loss of virginity, oral sex, p in v, possessive sex, blood, claiming bites, mating, knotting, soulmates, canon compliant death

wc: 4.5k

a/n: the way the myth cards just keep getting depressing :( there will be another chapter after this fic, but it'll be in the actual timeline! also not very confident in my angst writing abilities, but hopefully y'all enjoy!! <3

also on ao3!

“You know, Tarus City can have flowers bloom everywhere, as far as the eye can see. But only for one person.”

Sylus’ voice is a soft murmur, his hands caressing your waist as he holds you tighter against him. Your heart lurches uncomfortably, fingers brushing across his cheek and the hard, black scale that lays fused to his skin.

“What if we stayed here?” you whisper, peering into his crimson eyes.

“Would you be able to sate yourself?” Sylus asks in return, his claws brushing through your hair gently.

You avert your gaze, cheek pressing against his chest as you stare at the swaying carmine flowers in the soft breeze. Sylus’ heart is steady, the soothing sound of thrumming coupled with the motions of his claws nearly enough to lull you to sleep.

His question holds value. Revenge threatens to pull you apart at the seams, the desire for chaos rearing its ugly head. You want more, you always want more and Sylus gives it to you willingly. Your selfish desires will be the downfall of the Fiend, you think, hands tightening into fists. 

Yet, there is so much more to do. So much to take from those that had taken from you. Resentment makes you tremble, the Sacred Judicator’s words ringing clear in your mind. 

The Sorceress has been judged. 

You could laugh at the thought if you weren’t so angry. Some sorceress you were, powerless and yet put before the Court of Justitia as a traitor for trying to protect the statue of a dragon. 

Angry tears prick at your eyes, teeth gritting together only to be drawn out of your wrathful thoughts by the press of Sylus’ lips against your clenched fists, his claws unfurling your clenched fingers.

“Just like the day we met,” Sylus murmurs, his gaze trained on you, “such hatred and defiance.”

You swallow the lump in your throat when he kisses your palms.

“Beauty,” he whispers against your skin, “and resentment, little sorceress. They make you my precious, most finest treasure.”

“I don’t want to think about the Legion,” you reply, voice trembling, “I want them gone, Sylus.”

“Pluck them out one by one,” Sylus says, his hand caressing your cheek, “but another will replace those gone. Their roots run deep, weeds that refuse to die, marring the world around them.”

You sigh, eyes fluttering shut as you lean into the warmth of his hand, the rough scales scratching your skin gently.

“I shall burn Justitia to the ground,” you grit out, eyes burning with determination, “I will make them all regret and spite them into contrition, bring them to their knees and- and-”

Sylus laughs, his expression soft as he peers up at you. “You speak sharply, little sorceress. Your fire and spirit matches my own.”

“Because I am your other half,” you mumble, pouting slightly as you feel your anger subside the more Sylus caresses you. 

“You are,” Sylus affirms, “bearer of my soul, my other half. Only you could be worthy enough.”

A light flush covers your cheeks before you hide again, nosing into his cheek. You can feel the warmth of his soul inside of you as your eyes shut, lungs expanding as you suck in a deep breath, the scent of the dragon clouding your senses.

Burnt embers and a soft sweetness make you whine, body squirming as you try and press yourself closer to him, your fingers caressing his horns.

“Careful,” Sylus grunts, his claws tightening around your waist when he feels the brush of your fingers against the base of his horns.

You can feel the slight jump of his hips, your gaze lifting to find his brows drawn together, eyes squeezed shut.

“Does it hurt?” you ask worriedly, fingers pausing.

“Hardly,” he replies, his eyes opening again, “I am simply… sensitive.”

You hum, head tilting to kiss his cheek as your fingers resume their stroking and caressing. Sylus makes a small noise and you relish in it, peppering kisses here and there, across his cheeks and over the large scales.

A delighted sound escapes you when you hear what you think is something akin to a purr. Sylus’ cheeks tint with a light pink and you smile against his cheek, ears straining to listen again when he rumbles gently, his head tilting as he pushes up into the caress of your hand.

“Like a mountain cat,” you tease, tracing the slope of his nose when he purrs again, feeling his claws twitch against your hips.

“Do not use my gifts against me,” Sylus grouses, despite the pleased rumble of his chest.

“I enjoyed them,” you reply, fingers running through his hair leisurely, “if only we could go back.”

“We will,” Sylus promises, his eyes flickering open, “I shall make sure of it.”

You smile wistfully. Going back to the cavern held more challenges than worth risking. Bitterness makes your smile waver, but you brush the thought away, content to at least be given this moment of reprieve.

“We will,” you repeat after him.

Neither of you mention the emptiness of the promise. The damp coldness of the chapel latches onto you and Sylus is the only one able to make it dissipate, his claws tracing over the curve of your cheek.

You cling to him, nose brushing against his gently.

“I love you.”

Sylus’ chest rumbles in response, his head tilting as he presses his lips to yours. The curl of his tail around you holds you to him, his hands kneading at your hips as you kiss him. It’s slow and syrupy, both of your souls intertwining and interlocking in the sweet musk of the flower fields. 

You can feel the pull of your soul towards him, how your body yearns for more of him, the tendrils of your very being try to claw through gaps of your ribs and pierce his chest. You’d let him hold you in the glowing stone embedded in his chest if it were possible.

“So this is what it means to love,” Sylus murmurs, his lips brushing over yours with every word he speaks, “perhaps mortals are wiser than I thought.”

You laugh, arms wrapping around his neck when he rolls you both over, your back pressing into the soft grass.

“Only some mortals,” you correct, smiling when his teeth bite onto the tips of your gloves, pulling them free from your hands, rings and all.

Sylus’ skin is warm when you touch him again, truly for the first time. His eyes flutter shut, savouring the sensation of your skin against his before he lowers his head, kissing you again.

“I wish to claim you, my beloved,” he breathes out, trailing hot kisses down your neck, “will you let me?”

“Yes,” you sigh, your own eyes slipping shut, “yes, Sylus.”

Sylus’ tail sways behind him, the pointed tip brushing across the skin of your leg before his claws join the midst, dragging down your thighs gently. You gasp, the unfamiliar sensation making you squirm as he begins to undo your dress.

You help him, sitting up as he pulls it over your head, his claws ripping through the delicate fabric despite his tentativeness. You don’t pay it any mind, cupping his cheeks to pull him down into a slow kiss, feeling his body hover over you, his tail wrapping around your waist.

The sharp spikes dig into your skin, making your body seize with discomfort until the repeated brush of Sylus’ lips over yours soothes away the nervousness.

Your panties are ripped away too, the fabric laying in tatters in Sylus’ palm. He frowns when he stares at his claws, and you reach for his hand, lips pressing against his knuckles gently.

“It doesn’t bother me,” you whisper.

“It should,” Sylus murmurs, his gaze dipping as he stares at you laying bare before him. 

He can see the mark of his fangs in your neck, the subtle scent of your blood setting his senses alight. You belong here, Sylus thinks, his eyes darkening as he sees the rise and fall of your chest, the pebbling of your nipples in the cooling breeze. 

An undying flame blooming amidst a field of lesser flowers. 

If only he could keep you here.  

The flicker of emotion in Sylus’ eyes makes you uncomfortable and you kiss his knuckles again, lips pressing against the hard scales firmly. He sighs, his hand flexing in your grip, his tail drawing you closer as he kisses your forehead.

You can hear his breath hitch when you fumble with his trousers, undoing the various buckles to have him bare before you as you are before him.

“Greedy mortal,” he murmurs, gripping your chin to plant a kiss to your lips.

“You already knew that,” you smile faintly, nipping his lower lip playfully.

Sylus rumbles, his body shifting to remove his clothing. You swallow when you see the heavy hang of his thick cock. The tip glistens and you squeeze your thighs shut, trying to quell the dull ache that has settled inside of you.

“It- it is different from mortal men,” you mumble, head tilting curiously as you stare at the base of his cock.

“I am a dragon,” Sylus supplies drily, his hand wrapping around his cock.

You watch, mesmerised as he pumps his cock with his clawed hand, brows furrowing when you see the slight swell at the base of his cock, above his heavy balls.

“A knot,” he explains, moving his cock to show you the swell of it a little better, a low hiss leaving him when you reach out to touch it hesitantly. “It- hah- it is useful for mating.”

It gives a little under your prodding, wetness pooling between your thighs at the sight of it. You try to wrap your fingers around it, but the tips of your fingers hardly touch, Sylus letting out a growl at the sight.

“I want it,” you whisper, blinking up at him, “I- I want you to mate me, and- and I want that.” You point to his knot.

Sylus lets out a hoarse laugh, his clawed hand coming up to caress your cheek. 

“And you shall have it when I claim you. Although…” he pauses for a moment, his expression becoming slightly flustered, “I have never claimed anyone before.”

“Oh,” you flush with him, averting your gaze. “I have never been claimed before.”

Sylus sucks in a sharp breath, his nose nudging against yours gently as he plants a soft kiss to your lips. “My first and my last.”

You have to blink away the tears that begin to brim in your eyes, your arms wrapping around his neck tightly. Sylus kisses the side of your head, his body descending further down your body.

Soft noises leave you as he places reverent kisses along the length of your body, his tongue flicking at your nipple experimentally, carmine eyes peering up to watch your reaction carefully. When you gasp, Sylus hums, his mouth opening wider to envelop your breast with his mouth.

Your fingers delve into his soft hair, back arching as you push your breast further into his mouth, his hot saliva making your skin shine. The flowers around you sway, unbothered by the act of intimacy, Sylus’ clawed fingers pinching at your nipple lightly.

He groans when you jerk under him, mouthing at the sides of your breast, pressing wet kisses here and there, tongue swirling over your areolas before granting each nipple a soft kiss.

“You respond well, beloved,” Sylus whispers, beginning to lave over one of your areolas again, seemingly taken with the way you twitch whenever his teeth graze your nipples.

“It- it feels good,” you whine, your thighs sticky with slick.

“Then perhaps I ought to do the same here,” he murmurs thoughtfully, pulling back to pry apart your thighs.

Translucent strings of slick cling to your thighs and the folds of your pussy, Sylus’ head lowering to get a better look.

“So delicate, little sorceress,” he whispers, his claws pulling apart your puffy folds to find your glistening pussy. “A bud,” Sylus continues, the flat of his scaled finger brushing your swollen clit tentatively, “like a flower.”

A needy whimper escapes you, hips bucking up under his exploratory touch. It’s nothing like when you used to touch yourself in the privacy of your small room within the walls of Justitia. Sylus’ touch is rough, textured, heightening the feeling that makes your clit pulse with want.

“Please,” you beg breathily, fingers reaching out to grasp his horns, “please, I- I need more.”

“But I am not yet done,” Sylus replies, peering up at you to watch the expression on your face when he rubs your clit more firmly.

“Sylus!” you whine, “the ache is too much!”

The dragon between your thighs huffs out an amused breath, the hot air making you shiver.

“So demanding,” he sighs, leaning forward to kiss your clit. “Although I do enjoy seeing you so… uninhibited, beloved.” 

You push his head towards your cunt, growing impatient, although being careful not to jostle his horns too much. Sylus groans when he tastes you for the first time, his rough tongue gliding through your wet folds.

A gasp leaves you when he flicks his tongue against your clit, a tremor settling through your bones as you writhe atop the grass. Sylus holds you in place, a pleased purr sounding as he nuzzles deeper into the wetness of your cunt, his tongue lapping and laving over the velvety flesh of your pussy.

“Oh,” you breathe out, eyes squeezing shut when you feel the dig of his claws into your flesh, coupled with his mouth on your pussy, “S- Sylus, oh yes.”

Sylus hums into your cunt, his tongue swirling around your clit, collecting your slick into his mouth, drinking it down as if it were the very essence of your soul.

“You taste sweet, my little love,” Sylus rasps, his claws pulling apart your folds so he can prod at your aching hole, feeling the needy clench of it around his tongue when he presses it in. “Sweeter than any wine I have ever tasted.”

“You- nghh- you exaggerate,” you mewl, tugging at his hair gently, your fingers stroking the base of his horns.

Sylus shudders, his head tipping forward into your touch. “I do not,” he growls, nipping at your thigh in a show of disagreement. “I would keep you on my mouth every night if you allowed me and drive you mad with pleasure.”

You smile hazily when you hear his words, hips rolling up to meet his mouth when he sucks your clit into his mouth, his tongue stroking across the swollen bud lazily.

“Are we not already mad?”

“Perhaps we are,” Sylus responds, his hips grinding into the clothes beneath him. “But I should be glad to be mad with you.”

A soft, content sigh leaves you as you lose yourself in the sensation of his tongue. It swirls through your folds, presses into your cunt every so often whenever Sylus loses interest in your clit for a brief moment.

He never strays far however, his chest rumbling with his own contentedness as he buries his face deeper into your cunt, breathing in your scent. Sylus sucks at your clit with renewed fervor when he feels the tensing of your thighs against his claws.

“I can feel you, little love,” Sylus rasps, his voice low and rumbling. “Come undone on my tongue.” He presses an affectionate kiss to your clit before latching his mouth onto it more firmly.

“Sy- Sylus,” you whimper, legs beginning to jerk as the pleasure grows.

He growls into your pussy, his mouth working faster, tongue swirling and slurping until you have no choice but to cum. You cry out, his name leaving you in disjointed syllables, heavy pants breaking your cries.

Your thighs squeeze around his head, until his tail wraps around one of your legs, pulling you open so he can drink from you until sated. Overstimulation makes you sensitive, whimpers and whines leaving you as you pull at his horns.

“It is too much,” you mewl, “I- I cannot-”

“You can,” Sylus murmurs, spreading you open wider, exposing you completely, “you will for me.”

The dragon devours you again, his fangs sinking deep into the flesh of your thigh. Your blood and slick mixes together and Sylus feels as though he is being torn apart from within, your taste heating his own blood until he can no longer hold back.

You cum again on his tongue, back arching before you writhe violently, fingers grasping for anything and everything, uprooting the flowers nearby as you attempt to gain some semblance of stability.

Sylus gives you some reprieve, his tongue lapping over your puffy pussy gently, his lips pressing against your clit and the mark his teeth have left on your inner thigh.

He rises up to find you limp, unable to stop the shudders that jerk through your body from the immense pleasure.

“Little love?” he murmurs, a claw tapping against your cheek.

A pout makes your lips jut out when you blink up at him blearily, brows furrowing into a glare. Sylus smiles, his head dipping to brush a sweet kiss to your cheek.

“You are beautiful,” Sylus says, his hand stroking over your hair soothingly, claws running through your hair.

“I want to do the same,” you whisper, your hand reaching down between your bodies to find his cock. “I want you in my mouth.”

It’s harder than before, pre-cum smeared across the tip, warm globs dripping onto your stomach. You wrap your hand around him, squirming around in an attempt to get onto your knees.

“Another time,” Sylus murmurs, stopping you from getting closer to his cock, his tongue licking into your mouth.

“Now,” you demand, blinking up at him, still a little dazed. “Now, Sylus.”

“Another time,” Sylus repeats firmly, his lips descending upon yours again.

“There- there will be no other time!” you protest, peering up at him desperately, your lower lip trembling.

You only speak the truth, and it angers you. The cruelty of fate has begun to wrap its remorseless fingers around your heart, squeezing and squeezing until you feel your heart give, clenching painfully.

“Never say that!” Sylus snaps suddenly, his hands cupping your cheeks. He presses himself against you, forehead touching yours. “There will-” there’s a tremor in his voice, “there will be another time. Always.”

How many more lies will you both tell yourselves? 

You bite back the sob building in your throat, crushing the sense of helplessness by pulling Sylus closer and pressing your lips against his feverishly. 

The dragon grips you harder, his tail winding around you tightly, holding you to him as he returns your kisses.

“Take me,” you beg when he lays you down again, “Sylus, claim me, please.”

“I will,” he hushes your cries with a kiss, “I will, little love. You will be by my side till the end of time.”

Sylus grasps his cock, breathing heavily, your panting breaths mixing together. He notches his cock against your drenched cunt, pushing in slowly. You both share a moan, his face pressing into the crook of your neck. The scales dig into your skin, his claws digging into your hips deeper, pain flaring across your skin.

It’s enough to distract you from the rampant thoughts of loss however, your mind clouding with every inch of Sylus’ cock that sinks into you.

“So- so tight,” he grunts out, his hips moving slowly.

You can feel his knot, slipping in and out of you, tugging on the edges of your cunt every now and again with how swollen it’s become. His cock splits you open, your soft moans sounding into the vast flower field as you reach up, hugging him to you.

Sylus thinks you sound as sweet as the scent of the blooming flowers.

He lowers his body, his weight almost crushing you but you need this, need him as close as possible to convince yourself that this is happening.

“More,” you whimper, pressing sloppy kisses to his jaw, “ruin me, take me apart.”

“You- hah-” Sylus’ eyes squeeze shut when he feels the tight clench of your cunt around his cock, “you mustn’t say such things.”

“And yet,” you whimper, dazed eyes finding his, “and yet, oh- I desire- ngh- it desperately.”

“If that is what you wish,” he whispers, kissing your forehead gently.

You moan loudly, the wanton sounds mixing with his low groans and growls when he swirls his hips, cock pressing into you deeper. His heavy balls slap against your ass, both of you uncaring of the lewd sounds as he thrusts his hips in and out of you, cock driving in deep.

Sylus’ knot sinks into place with each deep, rolling thrust he gives you, popping out whenever he draws his hips back. You’re slurring, hardly able to see him properly, clinging to him, legs wrapping around his waist.

He grunts, shifting your legs higher, away from the sharp, spiked scales that line his tails. 

They say the dragon is dangerous, the epitome of sin and yet he cares for you dearly, his lips trailing across your skin with such reverence that makes your body ache.

“You are mine,” Sylus growls, his carmine eyes glowing as he peers down at you. “Every inch of you, half of your soul, it is all mine.”

“Yours!” you hiccup, the pleasure making you feel numb, “always yours!”

Sylus moans deeply, and your hazy eyes catch the frantic sway of his tail behind him, his hips snapping harder and faster, your pussy struggling to accommodate and keep up with the ever-swelling knot at the base of his cock.

The sheer feral nature that seems to take over your dragon has you whining, a sharp scream leaving you when you feel his fangs bite into the still healing wound on your neck.

Blood flows freely from the bite and Sylus growls at the taste, losing his grip before tightening again. His claws prick at your thighs and hips, drawing more blood until it’s smeared across your skin. Your skin is just as red as the flowers in the field.

Your nails rake down his back, feeling driven wild by pain and ecstasy. Your own teeth sink into his shoulder, a soft whimper escaping you.

“Bite,” Sylus rasps, his hand on the back of your head, urging your teeth to sink in deeper, “harder, little love, harder.”

And you do bite. You mewl as you sink your teeth into the flesh of his shoulder, his blood wetting your tongue and lips and the taste is intoxicating. Your mind swirls as you feel the harsh thrust of his cock bullying inside of you over and over again, tongue lapping at the marks your teeth have left on his shoulder.

You can taste his blood and you can feel the searing pain and you- this- this is real.

This is real. This is real. This is real.

Your mind chants the affirmation as you tell it to yourself firmly, biting harder into him as your nails dig into his shoulders.

“Take it, beloved,” Sylus whispers hoarsely, pressing his face back into the crook of your neck, “take my cock and my knot. Let me claim you.”

“W- wait,” you begin to gasp, eyes widening with panic when Sylus manages to bully his cock into your pussy enough, the knot catching finally. 

You squeak, unable to comprehend the feeling of being plugged up so full. It’s entirely too swollen to pop free, your poor pussy fluttering around the thickness of it. Sylus isn’t faring much better, his hips jerking and halting when he feels the clench of your cunt, and how his knot has practically held you both in place.

“Yes,” he snarls, low and throaty, his hips swaying a little to grind his cock into you. “Mine, finally mine, little love.”

The press of his scaled claw against your clit has you screaming again, his name leaving you hoarsely as you cum on his knot. Your orgasm is violent, the tight coil in your lower stomach snapping sharply as you come apart, thighs twitching and body shaking.

Sylus sinks his fangs into your neck again and you cry out, softer this time, holding him to your neck and letting him lap at your blood.

He shudders, the taste of your blood coupled with the feel of your fluttering walls around his knot making his cock jerk and balls clench. Sylus cums with a throaty roar, his claws landing on either side of you as he hunches over.

Pleasure racks through his body whilst hot, thick cum floods your pussy unable to leak out and instead held in place by his throbbing knot. You whimper, mind feeling syrupy when Sylus rumbles and purrs, nuzzling into your breasts and then your cheeks, another hot load of cum spilling into you when his cock kicks at the squeeze of your cunt.

You kiss him clumsily, motions clouded by the haze of intimacy. Sylus sighs into your mouth, stroking your hair gently. You both lay there, surrounded by flowers, panting and unwinding.

His knot deflates after several minutes, softening cock pulling free. His cum spills out of you and Sylus watches with a frown, wishing his cum would stay stuffed inside of you.

Sylus rolls off of you when you tap his shoulder, his tail curling around you to bring to lay atop him. You don’t say anything, face pressing into the crook of his neck.

“Your desires are cruel,” you whisper, feeling his arms tighten around you.

“As are yours, little love,” Sylus says softly.

You sniffle, pressing a kiss to the steady beat of his pulse just under his jaw before shifting to kiss the glowing stone embedded in his chest.

Sylus shudders, his claws flexing around your skin. You kiss the stone again, beginning to cry when the stone’s glow begins to dim.

There’s a strange chill that makes your skin crawl, the familiar scent of the chapel invading your lungs.

“No,” you sob, peering up at Sylus, “not yet, please, please!”

Sylus smiles down at you, his expression forlorn. “I love you,” he says quietly, brushing a kiss to your forehead, sitting up to pull you onto his lap.

“I need more time,” you whisper, kissing him despite the growing coldness in the air. “We need more time.”

Hope had made you both fools. Sylus had claimed you in a withering graveyard.

You’re weeping when you ask him the question.

“Will you make the flowers bloom for me, Sylus?”

Your dragon kisses you fiercely.

“Always.”

Sylus’ emboldened oath is the only memory your fingers can latch onto when the dank atmosphere of the chapel awakens you.

The bell of the chapel rings loudly and you sob, scrabbling at his shoulders, trying to pull Sylus closer. You scream when the Sacred Judicator tears you from Sylus, the pull of his soul tugging violently at your chest. 

A week later, the dragon’s curse rings true. 

You no longer feel the warmth of his soul, for your beloved is dead.

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 9: The One Where You Choose Your Own Brazilian Adventure

My planned post – the “In Dedication of JVN” one where I fangirl over Jonathan Van Ness and what a fun and interesting piece of the Lukola puzzle he is – was derailed today because I was once again asked about Brazil. Well, more specifically, I was asked about whether I thought we were ever going to get those steamy, hopefully X-rated pictures, from Brazil. There’s pictures?!

In truth, I thought we’d collectively squeezed that grapefruit dry and left the rind somewhere between Italy and the Glamour Awards.

Alas, here I am writing about Brazil.

It’s funny because I’ve never thought much about Brazil. I know, I know! How could I possibly type those words without my nose growing six inches in front of my face? Well, it’s because it was always Australia that intrigued me. More on that later…

So why exactly do we believe there are pictures from Brazil? And, why do we think they are going to prove some kind of hot affair between Luke and Nicola? This theory is likely fueled by rumor; rumor born from how Luke and Nicola behaved towards each other while they were in Brazil.

I thought it would be fun to play a little game of “Choose Your Own Adventure” to determine if we’re ever going to see these alleged pictures. And, yes, I will be a very sarcastic bitch when doing this.

Before I start, though, I want to give a quick shout out to my dear friend, whom I shall call The-One-Who-Drops-Random-Pics-Into-Our-Group-Chat-and-Lets-Us-Sweat-Over-Them-for-Atleast-Three-Minutes-Before-Finally-Explaining-Them. She was a wealth of information about Brazil and even had a nice mother-daughter chat with me about the significance of a clean-shaven face (pardon me for never having dated a bearded man, which is odd because I find facial hair quite attractive).

Now, gather ‘round and I shall give you a little prologue to our adventure!

I’m sure most of you already know all about Brazil. In fact, many of you are probably self-described experts at this point. But, for those who are new here, let me go ahead and light the candles and set the ambiance for you. 

On May 19, Luke and Nicola were shuttled off to do their beach photoshoot in Brazil. You know, the one where Nicola was walking the dogs; Luke was strumming the guitar; Nicola was being all girlfriend-like fixing Luke’s jacket; Luke was gazing up at Nicola at the pub while she was touching his neck; and then there was that moment when we all thought they might kiss. Yeah, all that plus Luke’s scruffy face from the week prior suddenly appeared clean-shaven. Apparently, you can never be too “Casual” when you’re headed down south (pun intended – as was that Chappell Roan reference). And, about now is where I’ll “insert disclaimer that this is speculation only.”

The following day, we had the actual premiere. I’m not sure what those two were up to before the premiere but both were un-fucking-hinged by the time they made it to the red carpet. We had angel-face Nicola looking up at Luke like he had created the universe and Luke answering Nicola’s Little Red Riding Hood vibe with one sexy ass Big Bad Wolf persona. I mean, the bits and bobs that came out of Luke’s mouth that day! “There’s a carriage downstairs.” “I mean, in this heat, all I’m thinking about is when we didn’t have to wear clothes ‘cos that would be quite nice right now.” “I mean the show is proof that it is [okay to kiss your friends].” With Nicola whispering back, “This is true.” Then there was Luke taking that mic without taking his eyes off Nicola. We had Luke helping Nicola put on her bracelets because – God forbid! – she let go of him for 30 seconds to do it her fucking self. And, let’s not forget about the two of them holding on to each other behind that woman’s back (I’m sorry, I don’t recall her name and I’m too lazy to look it up – mainly, because I’m certain most of you don’t really care about that other woman).

We were also given snippets of Luke and Nicola at the premiere afterparty, looking like two people who, at a minimum, enjoyed each other’s company. They greeted fans outside the venue and, as they walked away together, Nicola seemingly put her hand on Luke’s lower back as if to guide him in the right direction (go ahead – let your imagination run wild – it’s a great opening for a FanFic).

Then, throw in the beach walk with the giant security guard; the interview where Nicola was wearing the fluffy pink skirt and the two of them talked about Chappell Roan’s “Kaleidoscope” (seriously, those two were listening to that song together?); Nicola couldn’t stop giggling about the “meat” of the Carriage Scene; and Luke appeared perhaps a smidge too interested in Nicola’s answer about what she looks for in a man (which fit perfectly into Luke’s “Like, how nice is it when someone notices, like, your kindness or your sense of humor?”). And, we can’t ignore them seemingly sharing a tea cup and Luke reaching for Nicola’s spoon after she’d sampled a dish. Don’t even get me started on over-analyzing Luke’s “manspread” that day.

Let’s also not forget about the rumor portion of this Brazilian escapade – because that is what fuels the sexy hot pictures theory and the central plot of our storied adventure.

Rumor has it Luke and Nicola spent a lot of time with each other in Brazil.

By themselves.

In one or the other’s room.

On the beach.

By the pool.

There were also rumors of them making out in the hotel hallway.

The only evidence we have of any “alone time” are some pictures that were dumped on X of them dining together alone, without any other members of their team.

Now that the backdrop has been set, let’s go on my little adventure.

During the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years, I was bored out of my mind. I grew up in the countryside. No neighbors. No sidewalks. No cable! Just fields, wooded areas, and my two sisters, both of whom had no interest in entertaining me that summer. My mother suggested I read. After boredom had dug itself so far into my being that I was left with no choice but to read, I finally ventured over to the bookshelf and grabbed the thinnest book I could find. It was a “Choose Your Own Adventure.”

If you don’t know what a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book is, then you (and your children) are missing out. Basically, you play the role of the protagonist and make choices to determine the outcome of your story. Sometimes you make the right choice and survive; other times you make the wrong choice and get turned into a little mouse that may or may not be eaten by a cat.

Here we go.

As the protagonist of our story, you are:

THE EMPLOYEE

You’re an employee of the hotel Nicola and Luke stayed at while in Brazil. You have sworn to maintain the privacy of hotel guests; you’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement of sorts to protect the privacy of guests, especially since you have access to VIP areas. You can be a housekeeper, a watchman, a concierge, a seven-foot-tall security guard, whatever tickles your fancy. Doesn’t matter – you’re all bound by the same provisions to protect the privacy of the hotel’s guests. But, in this story, let’s say you’re the housekeeper because – what’s that old saying – the only person who knows everything going on in the house is the maid?

You’re cleaning Nicola’s room and you find lots of signs of a man being in the room. In fact, you find a coat that looks exactly like the one Luke was wearing the night of the premiere. Oh my. As you’re leaving, you see two people making out in the hallway – headed straight towards the room you’re just leaving!  It looks like Nicola and Luke. What do you do?

Choice A: Well, you’re a pervy housekeeper so you pull your phone out and start taking pictures. I mean, those two are so into each other, they don’t even notice. You then run and play show-and-tell with your friends because you can’t keep a damn secret. Unfortunately for you, that gossip spreads faster than lice in a preschool, and hotel management tracks your ass down because, guess what, your friends can’t keep a secret either. So, congratulations on being fired. You’re meeting with the lawyers is first thing in the morning. Oh, we also need your phone and the names of all your friends.

Choice B: You respect the privacy of Nicola and Luke and simply turn and walk the opposite direction. Taking photos of them never even crossed your mind! But, damn, what a good story to tell your bestie when you get home, even if you don’t have “receipts.”

THE VIP GUEST

You’re a random guest staying at the hotel. In fact, you’re a random VIP guest staying on the same floor as Nicola and Luke. When you checked in, you signed a non-disclosure agreement. I mean, you want your privacy protected, too! And, heck, NDAs are thrown out like candy these days. You’ve seen so many at this point, you don’t even bother to read them.

You take the elevator up to your floor and, as you step into the hallway, you’re confronted with – goddammit, there’s two motherfuckers all over each other! The guy is trying to slide his key into the door, but the woman’s dress is so awkwardly large, he can’t seem to find the right slot! You realize the people look a lot like those two stars from Bridgerton, and your best friend, Effie, is a huge fan! What do you do?

Choice A: You can’t believe Effie is missing out on this excitement so, of course, you pull your phone out and start taking pictures!! I mean, that NDA you signed didn’t even cross your mind three minutes later when you were forwarding the pictures to Effie! And, because you can’t control what Effie does, she forwards the pictures to all her Bridgie buddies. The next morning you awaken to find the pictures all over X. Oopsie. You feel slightly guilty, and a bit peeved at Effie – but only until you’ve had your morning coffee.

Choice B: You take people’s privacy very seriously. Well, maybe you don’t take it that seriously, but it would be too difficult to dig your phone out of your handbag to take pictures. And, to be honest, Effie is the huge fan, not you. Plus, it seems the guy finally got that door open and damn, based on the sounds of it, he's unlocked something magical. Oh well. You’ll call Effie in the morning to tell her your story, if you remember it.

THE RANDOM STRANGER

You’re a random stranger taking an evening stroll along the beach. You love the sound of the ocean. It’s so peaceful…the sound of the waves… Ugh, what is that noise?! It sounds like – shit, it is! – two people snogging in a cabana about 10 yards away from you. Wait a minute – is that? Yeah, you think it could be! I mean, you were just at the Bridgerton premiere last night! What do you do? Without hesitation, you pull out your phone!

Choice A: You creep behind an umbrella and zoom in as close as possible with your camera! I mean, shite! You can’t believe this! How long have you been filming?  Probably longer than necessary but who cares? Suddenly, you feel a presence behind you, perhaps a seven-foot-tall presence, and you slowly turn around. Fuck! Who’s this guy?! He takes your phone, drops it to the ground, and stomps on it, shattering its insides.  Asshole.  You bend down to pick up the phone, but the man taps your shoulder and shakes his head, “No.” Well, umm, yeah, I guess you best be leaving.

Choice B: You use your camera to zoom in on the couple. Snap! Snap! Snap! Then you get the FUCK OUT OF THERE! You tell yourself you don’t look suspicious at all, even though you’re practically running and your heart is about to pound its way out of your chest! Oh, thank God, you’ve made it to your car. You start it up and, like I said, YOU GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE! You get home and take a look at the photos! Goldmine! So, should you drop them on X? Maybe be a little see-you-next-Tuesday and try to sell them to Nicola or Luke’s teams? But, hell, you don’t even know where to start with that! Or, should you just pocket them for your own pleasure? You tell me….

The End.

Yes, I am absolutely being a facetious little ass! The above scenarios were for (the most part) my own entertainment. I mean, there are so many situations where these alleged pictures could exist (these playful ones don’t even scratch the surface). But, do the pictures exist?

If we’re being logical here, you would think that, if anyone in the general public were in possession of these alleged sexy-time pictures of Luke and Nicola, or had seen them, it would be all over social media at this point. I mean, ALL OVER. So, what can we deduce from the fact that they aren’t?

That the pictures probably don’t exist. Don’t shoot the messenger! Seriously, watch where you point that thing!

But, let’s say pictures did exist. Who is the most likely person to dump them on, say, X? The hotel employee, the VIP guest, or the random stranger? I would place money on the random stranger, followed by the VIP guest. The hotel employee, who probably has the most access to VIP guests but the strongest legal barriers, would be the least likely to photo dump. What is the likelihood that someone from one of these three groups – for example, a random stranger – (a) had pictures of Luke and Nicola, (b) didn’t drop them on social media, and/or (c) didn’t share them with someone who dropped them on social media?

I’m all for a good conspiracy theory but I find this one to be a hard pill to swallow.

Maybe one person can act as a lockbox for this kind of secret, but when you start including more people, the ability to keep something (like illicit photographs of two celebrities) out of the public eye diminishes rapidly.

Remember what Benjamin Franklin said, “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”

Unfortunately, this quote is incredibly accurate. The general public cannot keep secrets.

If the pictures exist, they are most likely in the possession of Luke and/or Nicola’s team (of lawyers). So, unless they’re going to sneak them on to X for giggles (I mean, it’s been known to happen), you’re probably never going to see them – and that’s assuming they even exist.

However, if you’re the housekeeper from our first adventure and you happen to have some candid photographs you’re just dying to share, just find yourself a printer – one that cannot easily be linked back to you – and print them out. Then, “accidently” drop them at the feet of someone who knows exactly what they are, and then give them enough time to take their own photos of them and send them to their best friend’s brother’s sister-in-law’s third cousin’s wife’s neighbor, who could drop them on X for us. I mean, you should be golden with seven degrees of separation.

[bewitched-hours]

Good Morning/ Evening! I hope that you're doing well when reading this ^_^

So when I was just surfing for some inspirations to write, I saw some request from the other users for you and ngl, I like your writing :D

Nothing important, really. But I hope that you won't feel bothered if I request a Two Time x Reader x Azure oneshot? Like in the modern Forsaken [again], Two Time and Azure is a scientist instead of a cultist; The reader is their co-worker. The Reader once helped them with their researchs so thats how they became friend :3

[Azure is still a botanist, though].

[Sooo umm is not valentine but let just pretend it is- Pls don't hit me] During valentine, both Azure and Two Time had gifted the Reader some chocolates a a small note [Its actually an implied confess if the reader become their partner]. Well the Reader haven't realized it until the next morning, reader re-read it and understand, but pretend like they [Azure and 2 Time] didn't mean that.

One day, to anniversary their friendship, the Reader made them bouquets full of Nightshade and flower headbands- And when we go stargazing as planned, they confessed to the Reader andd umm the Reader accepted ^o^

Well umm kinda long request huh [I'm so sorry this is the first time I request smth].

Don't stress yourself, stay healthy and hope you have a great day <3

- Phalpelisk

omg I've been noticed- (/silly) But seriously, hearing that means a lot and I'd love to work on this! Hopefully I understood this correctly lmao (Also don't sweat the date, I love writing for holidays even when the holiday isn't even near lol)

Reader shall be known by She/They!

You might've been an amazing scientist...

But love really never was a language you understood-

Your workplace hired scientists of most professions because the building was pretty large. It also doubled as a hospital after some recent renovations which opened up a lot of new job opportunities.

Of course, you were happy to see so many new faces and so many younglings you can potentially take under your wing. You were known to be a "Mother Hen" among your co-workers.

It actually started as a nickname two of your co-workers gave you.

Azure, the Botanist who worked mostly in the large garden that doubled as a space for you and your co-workers to take breaks in. Although, he also took care of the flora around the building and in the halls and rooms. He seemed to have a real passion for plant life and his enthusiasm helped you during your early days to stay motivated.

And Two Time, a chemist alongside you who would sometimes help out the hospital staff with explaining things to patients. You had both joined at the same time and kinda bonded over not knowing what to do most of the time.

Overall, Azure was usually the one to take care of you both and was more of a "Mother Hen" than you but they decided to give you the nickname because you specifically only acted like it towards new hires like a hen taking care of freshly hatched chicks.

You were a stable trio. Working with Two Time for most of the day and spending breaks together with Azure along with days where you'd all meet up after your shifts to just hang out.

They were both aware of how oblivious you could be when it came to love.

But they wanted to try and confess to you on valentines.

They even had it planned out and everything.

So you got to your shift early, excited because everyone was getting half their usual shift to be able to spend the time with loved ones and still make money.

By first break, you were surprised with heart-shaped boxed of chocolates from Azure and Two Time. You had already given them their chocolate boxes at the start of your shift as to not forget so you figured they were just being nice and you were happy to just eat some chocolate, reading the notes they left inside with visible confusion which they could've honestly expected at this point...

It wasn't until the next morning that the gears in your head started turning and you tried to delude yourself into thinking it wasn't in a romantic context.

Ultimately, you settled on platonic but made a mental note for the anniversary of when you all became the inseparable trio.

And... Well.. That was today.

You've prepared bouquets of Nightshade flowers and flower headbands as you nervously fidgeted with your sleeves and hid the gifts as best as you could. Why were you so nervous? Was your subconscious telling you to stop deluding yourself and accept their confession?

Either way, the day went on like normal for a while. All safe and friendly until the end of your shifts when you all got yourselves ready and met up in the parking lot. You were excited to gift them their bouquets and subtly watched them blush as they went to store them in their own cars.

Considering it was already evening, you all agreed to go to a local restaurant to have dinner and went on to go stargazing in a field outside of the city.

It was quiet. Nothing but your occasional chatter and the buzzing of insects to disturb the peace as you felt your chest warming.

Something about being alone with them both... Out in the open...

It made you all fuzzy inside.

But you grew confused when they both began whispering amongst each other and looking at you a little nervously. It even made you worry a bit.

"Is something wrong..?" You asked anxiously, only to be presented with a bouquet of flowers for yourself by them both. Your face got as red as a tomato when you held it and watched them grin a little.

That's when Azure decided to speak up. "We've been planning to confess to you properly since you misunderstood our attempt on valentines... We want to ask you if you'd like to be in a polycule with us."

You paused, whining a little as you covered your face with the bouquet.

"No fair~! I should've been the one confessing!" You huffed, blaming your own delusions for not bringing this up earlier.

Azure could barely contain his laughter while Two Time practically broke out in laughter. "Hey, you're our princess..." Two Time eventually teased, referencing a day where you called yourself a princess for the whole shift because they offered you 100 bucks to do so.

Although laughing along, you playfully punched Two Time for the reminder and hugged the bouquet in joy.

Maybe love wasn't so difficult to understand after all...

Anything you'd like to request/ask? Check out my pinned post first and I'll be happy to write up whatever you want!

[raayllum]

In the vein of "TDP uses jail / bar / chain symbolism and a combination of light-dark symbolism in really interesting ways," I want to add a third that they emphasize in Soren and Viren's scenes in S6, specifically with how continually they obscure Soren's full face and expression.

This obscuring of the face and true emotion is why Soren's first scene of the episode and last close in similar ways, though the second time Soren can't pull himself together in the same manner as before.

We also see some light symbolism, with Viren consistently in the light, but blue, and Soren consistently in the light, but it's warm / orange. Part of this is to maintain the idea of comfort — blue light is colder, the way a prison cell would be, as opposed to the rest of the castle — but also to illustrate that even though both are finally in the light ("I finally see that, now") their lights and worlds and perspectives aren't merging. There's still a distance and fundamental separation between them because of Viren's actions, and they're both still carrying the residual weight of that emotional entrapment and anguish:

The show continues to pepper it into 6x06 and 6x08. They use Viren's shadow really well in 6x06, with each of his family members forced into it in some manner as their lives begin to be destroyed.

They also utilize Soren's orange light, shall we say, as Viren writes his letter by candelight in an attempt to hopefully repair the rift between the two of them, and to illustrate that rift forming.

In 6x06, we see the biggest shift, where despite Viren not telling Soren the truth ("I can't leave Callum in the dark any longer") it is ultimately likely the better choice ("Are you giving them clarity, light, and purpose?") to avoid burdening his son when Soren is already struggling, but despite being separated by the cell, they are both now in the orange glow of Soren's warmer light.

This may also be one of the reasons why Viren's death scene is so yellow and orange. Rather than trying to make Soren like him (arc 1), Viren is now emulating his son ("Take my heart") to save people. It's a symbolic reconciliation of sorts, of actually understanding and seeing each other — Soren trusting that his father wants to help ("I know who you are! You're dangerous" vs "You can help them!") and can help him. Soren doesn't say that giving up dark magic is a lie, after all, merely that it needs to be taken up again.

And in doing so, Viren both frees — from his literal imprisonment, ad from the cycle — and chains himself — to dark magic and Aaravos by proxy — at the same time.

But that's all the literal chain and imprisonment stuff. I also want to touch quickly on some symbolic ones. There's the way light and dark is framed when Soren and Viren have their last discussion in 6x08, for example.

There are also shots emphasizing Callum's imprisonment in 5x08 (meta here on just the hand symbolism specifically throughout the ep for anyone who's interested), and because this meta took long enough, some other shots of Karim in S7, too, with his contempt for Janai pushing him further into the darkness when Amaya arrives.

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #14 | 12.02.24

And November is over! This month has been filled with paperwork, organizing receipts, and so on, which isn't very fun, but it's part of the job!

We are making great progress with everything overall; merch has been ordered and we have received proof and approved it; our voice actors are already delivering the voiced names y'all paid for during our Kickstarter campaign; and more! Let's see it in detail, shall we? :^)

Our dear Raquel has been working hard (I think I say this every devlog, but damn) on reworking the sprites for the extended demo now that the Special postcards for the Kickstarter are done! For this next batch, she'll be working on Ara and Amon, so here's a WIP of how Ara is looking so far! 💜

I think you can see how her design is already more detailed and cohesive in some areas. We'll most likely ask for feedback when Amon is ready too, to test the waters with both characters like we did with Gael and Xal :^)

The street is coming to life! This background is almost ready thanks to Astro. We'll have four new locations in the Extended Demo to help with the pacing and the introduction of our world and story to (hopefully) make it perfect. Or something close to it!

In the writing department, I've so far added 7000 words to the prologue. We have one flavor choice, two personality choices (and several personality reactions), and three "relationship choices". These basically shape your relationship with Evie in this case. For example, you'll be able to choose if you are intimate friends, are warm to each other, or if you prefer something less physical / touchy. And Evie will remember that!

And this is just so far. While River has a kind of "set" personality, I want people to be able to shape some aspects of their life.

In the writing department I should also include the documents I've provided to our VAs, and to our composer, Tomás. More on that below!

We have a proper help screen! Wohoo! 💜

Now you can enjoy Ren'py's default help screen but looking a bit nicer. This is for those who are not familiar with Ren'py's usual keybindings and stuff :^)

Nothing else on the programming side this month. I've focused on writing the script and that's going to be my main job until I can actually start programming something!

As I said before, our beloved voice actors are already working on the voiced names! In fact, Xal's VA (Francfil Pontañeles) and Pride's (Pat Langner) already recorded them! A little surprise is that we have been able to add our default MC's name, River, as a voiced name. For those of you who want to play with that name, you'll also enjoy some voiced lines!

What else—ah! We are already working with Tomás for our OST, and we have settled in 19 tracks total. Those are even more tracks than we expected! This is thanks to you all, and especially thanks to those of you who ordered more merch via Backerkit. You made those four extra tracks possible!

Our merch has been checked and so far only the pins are missing a preview and therefore our approval. We had to edit some files (beginner's mistake!) but being the first time we do this, I'd say things have been rather smoothly! We'd like to be able to start shipping this month, but it may not be possible. Which is a bummer! But well, we settled in December / January, so January it is, if nothing happens!

(Don't mind the colors being too flashy here—they will look more cohesive in game!)

OH, and the last extra bit! I've been working on the personality choices, as you all know, and Kayden has been helping me make the icons that will appear next to those choices for those who are colorblind. An extra thing to make them pop and differentiate them better! I think they are pretty self-explanatory, and if not, well—that means we have to give those icons a twist!

November has been a chaotic month for me due to the aftermath of the floods and my vacation week. The rest of the team has also had their good amount of irl stuff happening around them, but we've made it! The new year is approaching faster than I thought, as per usual, and I hope we can finish 2024 on a good note!

And that's all! As always, please take care, have fun, and enjoy the rest of the week!

[pixie-felix]

He can go from 🥺 to 😈 because he's a duality king and honestly we live for it!!! Lixie ended up on that poll because as sweet as he is, I feel like he loves to explore. He's down to try ALMOST any and everything at least once before saying no. And the guys talk. So if word gets out that you tried ball busting with one of them and they liked it, he's gonna get bricked up imagining it. He just doesn't know if he wants to observe or be the one on the receiving end of it. Your touch is pure heaven so it can't be bad...right?

There's a part of Felix that sometimes craves you being mean. Once in a blue moon he enjoys pain with his pleasure. He likes having the best of both worlds. And he knows you don't actually mean to be cruel. He shyly expressed interest in it. And with the way you care for him and always look at him with pure love and adoration, he's reassured. You're always checking in beginning, in between and at the end of trying new things and the aftercare package he gets? Oh, he couldn't doubt your love and care for a second.

--🍭

He just doesn't know if he wants to observe or be the one on the receiving end of it. And with that one sentence my world tilts on it's axis. So many possibilties to explore.

Including I.N being the one who's getting his balls busted while Felix watches... Felix might wince and worry at points (with a very confused boner) and I.N would be all "hyung I'm fine it feels good stop being a little bitch and try it already".

...but then, I don't think I.N is the type to brag about his sexcapades🤔 it's nice to have a thing that's just his, and nothing's more emasculating than your hyungs praising your sex life and/or calling it cute...

So who told Felix about the magic of ball busting? Was it Chan? I think it might've been Chan. Sounds like something he might confess while tipsy. Probably thanking Lino for recommending it, because you've done it for him too...

Oh, maybe you've done it for all the hyungs. And Han. But not Seungmin, probably. He'd be too busy calling his hyungs freaks, and then going for a quiet wank in the bathroom or something.

idk, I might've taken this too far. I just really like the idea of all of them (except Felix and I.N) admitting they've tried the same kink.

And then Lixxie and Innie are feeling all pouty and left out, but also kind of intimidated. So a hyung (Changbin? Chan?) suggests them trying it together with you... and one thing leads to another...

And then I get to write what I wanted and appease the poll.

Or, I'm going to wake up tomorrow after hopefully more than five hours of sleep, and realise this is a terrible idea that I hate. We shall see.

[deadsnakeman]

MIRAAK X DRAGONBORN

- ( this is my first ever fanfic so any advice for writing is helpful enjoy!) -

“You will die and with the power of your soul I will return to Solstheim“

Miraak ends his speech and waits for me to say what could be either of our final words. It then dawned on me that wouldnt Mora be losing his champion? Wouldn’t that just mean one of us dies and the other is imprisoned by a Daedric Prince in his own realm..

“And have Mora loose his champion? Will that not just trap you yet again, As someone who is so desperate for his own freedom your doing a good job trapping yourself” if I can Atleast taunt this man to listen even if it means I’ll have to fight him once out of this realm I’ll try. I look over across the summit to see Miraak hesitate to grab his weapon his hand lingers just above the tilt, possibly considering the consequences if he fails this, if he truly would be free if he kept going the path he thought laid out for him, was it fate or was it Mora slowley whispering the idea into his head till it felt like it was the only way. After a few moments he finally speaks.

“…I am done being Hermaeus Mora’s pawn”

We both turn to face the wall of eyes above us, the only thing in the way of our freedom, the would be audience of our fight now the one mid battlefield. More eyes of Moras appear to stare back at us.

“Did you think to escape from me Miraak” Mora voice twists into into a less than pleased tone that not just his potential next champion defies him but his current one as well. That both are gonna fight there way out of here despite the extreme risk of it all.

Lurkers start appearing all over the summit, becoming more and more chaotic in battle as time goes on but if it means our life’s and escaping Apocrypha we must keep going. Magic shooting everywhere, Shouts echoing around us, back to back with a man less than a few moments ago I’d thought Id be forced to kill. This is the true power a Dragonborn can wield. Actually getting to hearing Miraak’s thuum both from differences to my own and how powerful he is. I truly hope this man can stay by my side afterwards for more reasons than one.

I hope this battle ends soon, one healing potion left, that I will save for the end, my muscles screaming at me for this non stop fight, just before exhaustion hits it all stops.

The bodies of creatures start to pile as Mora reappears to speaks again.

“Be warned, Many have thought as you do, I have broken them all, you shall not evade me”. His tone seems as if he is fed up and done with dealing with us for now. If we have to deal with him we must but hopefully somewhere he has less influence as his own realm.

As he disappears a black book plops down appearing in the center of the platform, I turn to look over at Miraak and see him on his knees clutching his stomach making a slight hissing noise from a large wound across his torso.

“Shit” I didn’t even realize he was hurt till now I run over to heal him, his breathing is shallow before I start, when his breathing gets a bit more steady I pull his arm over my shoulder to carry some of his weight to get out of this realm and somewhere safe to clean and wrap his wounds properly. I hand him a potion as we walk over to the book to be sent back. He chugs it quickly seeming to be able to walk a bit better after the fact before touching the pages.

We finally appear back on Solstheim on the edge of the cave I set my camp in to keep my distance from populated areas just incase things went bad. I place him on my bedroll and grab wrappings, water bottle and several healing potions.

“I need to remove your robes to wrap the wound can -“

“..go ahead..” he slowley says as if he was hesitant to let me heal it despite it possibly being deadly.

I slowley peel off the layers of his robes and start using a wet cloth to clean off blood that lingered, my hands linger a bit to much, I don’t even know what this man looks like yet I can’t deny there’s a strange power of this man that attracts me to him. I realize I’ve not been moving for a moment while deep in thought when I hear a slight chuckle then a wince from the man himself.

“Apologies just tired”I excuse as not to seem like I was totally not doing what it looks like.

He just stares back at me, probably in to much pain to talk much. I quickly and tightly wrap him up then grab some spare robes I found that run a bit large of me to give him to get him out of blood and whatever the black water is from Apocrypha honestly I don’t want to know what it is.. I turn to give him some privacy to change but still close by just incase he pulls something in process. I turn back as the shuffling stops to see him with his mask plopped on his lap and his pitch black eyes staring back towards me.

So he is human, I assumed as much, he almost looks normal exception of his eyes black covering the entirety of them with black veins in spots around them yet you can still feel his stare into mine, but that doesn’t take away from his appearance that honestly his ego makes sense from it alone.

“Is my face really so corrupted from my time that you have to stare” he assumes based on my mouth slightly dropped that its due to fear of this man’s appearance not anything else.

“Your a gorgeous man… WAIT i didn’t mean to say that, well you are, I meant to say you have little corruption only around your otherwise your-“ I’m fumbling my words I’m usually not this bad will this be a trend of embrassing myself in front of his presence…

“A gorgeous man?”

He looks both amused by my flustered state but equally confused or concerned that I find him attractive despite it.

I can already tell this man has a power over me and it’s not the stones this time.

I don’t notice how close I’m getting to Miraak till I’m inches away from his face till I can feel his breath against mine.

He doesn’t pull back as I do, he just stares waiting for my next move, he seems unsure if I know what I’m doing and if my intentions are. So

I test my luck by leaning in the rest the way to kiss his lips softly, after a moment he doesn’t move as I go to pull back I feel a hand wrap behind my head and pull me back into a deep kiss, I put my hands against his chest gently to not undo any progress I made with the healing, I lean into the kiss more, his other hand slowly slides over my waist to pull me in more, I remove the mask from his lap to place aside to then lightly straddle him trying to still be cautious that he is hurt and this maybe a terrible idea, just feeling that we both are so pulled to each other in such a way after so little time of knowing him. But despite how much I want to continue with the kissing only getting heavier I pull back slightly to catch my breathe and look at him.

His eyes lidded looking at me like he wants to devour me but also his tense shoulders showing despite how much he wants this he is still in pain. I need to let him rest. We can continue this hopefully later when we both can handle that.

“We should sleep, we need to sail off back to Skyrim in the Morning we shouldn’t overstay our welcome”.

We will need to depart as soon as possible due to when Skal village finds out Miraak is in fact alive despite the sacrifices made to do otherwise.

I knew the risks of bringing him back here and I know I’ll make a few enemies for this decision if he tries to do any harm to the world it will be my responsibility to fix that like most things.

Just having a man who I feel even our souls are connected like its instinctual is a completely new and honestly terrifying feeling but so worth it. I couldn’t have chosen otherwise.

I look over to see Miraak laid back in a deep slumber already from exhaustion. I wonder if he needed sleep when locked away, he obviously didn’t age, four thousand years with no sleep sounds horrible, honestly the fact this man is debatably sane after what he experienced is shocking. I don’t want to know what horrors this man seen when I loathed being there for even a couple moments.

I reach out to stroke his cheek before lightly, looking at how relaxed he is, how I almost could have never had this prior, I gently rest against his side to not irritate the injury but enough to bring some warm to him.

I let my mind wander to how ill explain him to the others back home, will he want to rest and live a semi peaceful life after that, will he still try to rule the world.

We can figure that out when we resettle back home.

I then feel his arm pull me a bit closer in his sleep. Seeking out more warmth.

Oh this man will be the death of me but for better context this time.

[quilloleander]

Underneath the Golden Gaze of God - Golden Sunset (Chapter 1)

D-16 is an ordinary security mech working in the archives. Aside from his troublemaking roommate and amica, Orion Pax, his life is as mundane as it could possibly be. Although, even as a sparkling, he's always had the weird ability to sense a presence that lurks and clings to every Cybertronian… except himself - a fact that he has never acknowledged to anyone except Pax. It was a mundane solar cycle when he noticed that he noticed the presence clinging strongly onto Pax, and that seemed like a sign of the end to come, for though he didn't know what the last days were like for those who disappeared - the presence in itself felt an omen of the end. If only knew that sometimes the end, didn't really mean death.

I know… I am disappointed at myself too skskskks

This is why I need to be held accountable everytime I start a new fanfic/project because my mind wanders off skskks. I promise I'll get to the High Guard + Sparkling Megatron one-shot book sksksk I can hold myself accountable I swear lmao. But yeah, you know the drill, you can tell which AU this is from sskskks.

I decided to write about it - like an actual multichapter fic - because it's actually nearing one year since I graduated college and I promised myself that I would only give myself a year since I graduated to take a break before I went to look for a serious job. I have since gotten my certificate (cause in my country, if you wish to work in a certain field, you need a certificate proving you're capable of working in that field - at least for the field that my college course is part of) and I need to start applying for jobs soon. So, while I had the free time, I decided to write the one fic that I do genuinely want to write a multichapter of since this is the one concept where I genuinely stayed up until 5am chatting in the opmeg server because I loved it so much lmao.

So yeah, this is the Sole Survivor Prima AU… combined with the Vessel Prima AU that a friend and I talked about. If you've read the previous fanfics, you already know what the Sole Survivor Prima AU is, but for the Vessel Prima AU… I'm going to keep that one a secret since it's the one aspect of the fic that is supposed to be a mystery (let's hope I can actually nail the mystery cause sometimes I worry I don't even nail the horror in my fics skskks).

If you're new here - to my Tumblr account/my old Tumblr accounts and this fic skskksk - and you don't know what the Sole Survivor Prima AU is (I have two other fics covering it but you don't need to read those cause they're technically disconnected one-shots from this multichapter one, though reading it will give more context to what's happening), essentially it's an AU where Prima survived Sentinel's ambush, killed him and the Quintessons, and came back to rule Iacon as the sole Prime. He is very unstable after the events of losing everyone he loves and I know most fanon interpretation makes him nice but I personally don't interpret Prima that way because I based his personality off Covenant of Primus (and he's honestly a bit of a bitch there), so he may come off as cruel and cold here. This is also an AU where Megatron/D-16 is Primatronus' sparkling because I like that idea (due to people joking that Megatronus is related to Dee due to them both being bucketheads) and because this is my fanfic and I get to decide the narrative.

So yes, hopefully you enjoy this. I plan to finish this fic at least before June 23 because that is when I need to start my job applications dying inside. I'll still be writing for the one-shot book though and I will be writing more fanfic, it's just that I may not have much time anymore after June 23 skskks - we shall see but I WILL finish that one-shot book because I promised and I am not breaking that promise.

Ao3 Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66273385/chapters/170860012

================================================

It was a mundane solar cycle when he felt the strange shift around his amica. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows across the apartment floor when Pax had come in after another shift at the archives. Dee was in the middle of preparing energon cubes for his own shift when the presence of the other mech bursting into the room startled him. He didn’t know why it did, as Pax always rushed into every room he walked in anyway, yet something about the gesture felt strangely off to him.

“Hey, guess what.” Pax sat down by the counter, his servos drumming against the metal as if he still needed to catch Dee’s attention. Trying not to roll his optics, Dee placed the last energon cube in his subspace, readying himself for whatever shenanigan Pax was about to curse his poor audials with. When it came to his amica, there was never a solar cycle where something didn’t happen in the archives. He wondered if what happened would explain why Dee felt strangely uncomfortable as he met Pax’s optics from across the room. “I’m not the newest archivist anymore, you know what that means?”

“You’ll be more responsible?” This time, Dee couldn’t help but roll his optics. He walked over to the counter, leaning against the edge as he stood next to Pax. He tried to keep the amusement out of his voice as he continued on, “Or do I still have to hide your aft every time you break into the archives during the lunar cycle?”

“You only had to help me hide once, and how were we to know that the head archivist would be giving a late night tour to Prima Prime?” Pax muttered out, his voice lowering as his optics shifted around the room. Dee couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his frame as Pax carelessly used the Prime’s designation. There weren’t any laws that forbade you from fully-mentioning the Prime, yet everyone knew to hold their glossa when they absolutely had to mention him. Only Pax, with his reckless attitude that Dee couldn’t help but be fond of, didn’t seem to care all that much. “It means I have more access now.”

Honestly, for all of Pax’s nonsense, Dee was proud of him. He’d been working as a security mech for the archives for a few cycles before Pax was ever an archivist. It had only been two cycles since Pax had started and already he was trusted enough to be given access to information only older archivists were allowed to know. Pax may sneak into the archives during the lunar cycle to read data he didn’t have a high enough clearance for, but there were some that even Dee couldn’t help him ever gain access to.

“That’s—”

“You’d like him, the new guy. He’s quiet like you and like a total rule-follower.” Pax cut him off, his excitement clear in his voice. Dee smiled, glad to know the sudden change in his work did not deter Pax from still being himself. “I think he recorded the entire orientation in his processor since he kept citing everything the head archivist mentioned when he introduced him around the archives. He’s an older mech though, said he worked in some old radio broadcast station before making the jump to the archives. I should ask Jazz if he knows him, you know how Jazz is about that old pre-Quintesson War technology. The new guy said his designation was Wave so maybe he’s some famous mech or something… even if he is, he’s friendly and keeps to himself like you. Hey! I should introduce you two.”

“Pax… no…”

Dee tried to hide the wince in his voice.

“Deeeeeeee, you’ll like him, I swear. I know you, so trust me, I know you two will get along.”

“Pax, maybe focus on your job instead of trying to meddle with my social life. You’re the only friend I need.” He placed a servo on Pax’s shoulder, squeezing the metal slightly. It’s not that Dee didn’t trust Pax, and Dee liked some of Pax’s friends well enough, but he didn’t enjoy the constant interaction. It was a miracle of Primus that he even agreed to have Pax as his roommate. “I like the way my life is structured. I don’t need to meet your new coworker.”

He could tell Pax wanted to argue, so Dee quickly left the room before he could say another word. It’s not that Dee disliked other bots, but he never felt comfortable with others. Even when Terminus was still online, Dee couldn’t help but be wary of the mech, even if he was his creator. It was… the heaviness. Strange as it was, and he’s only ever told Pax about it, Dee felt as though there was a constant presence around everyone except for him. It wasn’t a constant thing, yet there were moments where he felt as though the air had shifted. There were countless times in his life where he could remember having a conversation with Terminus, and then it would feel as though they had an invisible audience, pressing in before inevitably disappearing. He knew he wasn’t crazy, for Terminus would always shudder when it happened.

Really, it was only Pax who had explained everything to him - and that was why Dee had trusted him enough to keep him as his closest friend, eventually even his roommate and amica. Terminus never tried to tell him, though Dee didn’t know why.

In Iacon, every bot felt the constant presence. It was… a simple part of life that Dee couldn’t understand. No bot went through life without feeling watched from time to time… except for Dee. He could feel the presence around others, yet never around himself.

Pax’s theory - though he’d only ever confided it with Dee - was that it was the Prime’s doing. Dee had found it blasphemous at the time but… there are rumors. There are certain rules, not written ones, to be followed and breaking them usually leads to disappearances.

For instance, everyone knew it was best not to bring up the rest of the twelve Primes. Even mentioning any of them by designation could lead you into trouble. Dee had known many bots in the archives who had gone missing a few astrocycles after they had accidentally dug into information regarding the Primes. That’s why Dee worried for Pax a lot. He wasn’t afraid of talking openly about the other Primes and even wanted to find out what had happened to them on the surface all those cycles ago. He knew that there would come a time where Dee would never see Pax again. He’d walk back into the apartment after a long shift in the archives, and Pax would just be gone. Maybe Dee would even be arrested or disappear with him since, even though Dee knew it was dangerous, he couldn’t help but listen to Pax’s ramblings about the Primes.

Pax was curious, and Dee didn’t fault him for that. If he did, he would have called the enforcers on him during the first lunar cycle they had met. He could still remember how Pax had broken into the archives through the vents, and how Dee had nearly shot him thinking he was an intruder - which he was, but Dee didn’t want to explain to the head archivist why he had shot his newest hire. Pax had begged him not to say a word, trying to convince him that he was only there to look through a few datapads that he wasn’t allowed to look at yet due to his low clearance. He had sounded sincere enough that Dee felt bad denying him.

They’ve been friends ever since… even if Pax did stress out his processor most of the time.

Which is why… Dee glanced back into the refueling quarters, catching a glimpse of Pax as he walked around - preparing a cube of energon for himself. He stood by the door panels, hiding around the corner even though he knew from his chronometer that he only had a few minutes before he needed to head for his shift at the archives. Dee couldn’t force himself to move, a roiling feeling in his tanks preventing him from doing so. When Pax had entered the room, Dee had already sensed the shift in the air. There were times when the presence did appear when Pax and Dee were together, yet this was the first time it had stayed for so long.

Breaking his view of Pax, Dee’s optics turned to the unlit living quarters where he was currently hiding in. Over the cycles, it hadn’t changed as Dee hadn’t moved anything even after Terminus’ passing. Only a few colorful ornaments - that Pax had brought along with him when he had moved in - brought a freshness to the room that Dee couldn’t help but love. Terminus had been a simple military mech, and had kept to that habit even after he had retired. Dee never minded his creator’s lackluster decorating skills, though he was a bit ashamed to admit that he preferred the brightness and life that Pax had brought with him. Even if Pax had a terrible habit of not cleaning after himself, as evidenced by the many datapads that were displayed on the couch and on the tables that they were nearly falling off the edge, Dee preferred it like this. Ever since Terminus passed, the entire apartment had felt as though it had grayed along with him.

“Dee?” His protoform nearly jumped out of his kibbles as he turned around to see Pax at the door, a half-eaten energon cube in his intake as he looked at him with wide blue optics. He quickly swallowed down the energon cube, leaving a few crumbs of it on his face that Dee nearly reached over to wipe them off. Even with the innocent look on his amica’s face, Dee couldn’t help but shudder as the presence continued to wrap around Pax - refusing to leave even though it had never done that before, staying for too long. Dee wanted to panic. He didn’t know what happened to those who disappeared, but did the presence linger on them until they inevitably went missing? “Won’t you be late for your shift?”

“I was… thinking.” Dee ran a quick diagnostic test through his systems, mostly his weapon system. He knew from his chronometer that he needed to go now but his pedes remained where they were as he continued to look at Pax. “Pax, did you do anything recently? And I’m serious… don’t you… feel it?”

Pax stared at him blankly, his dermas set into a confused frown. From his stare, it looked as if he was more concerned for Dee. He tried not to show his agitation, yet Dee couldn’t help but place a servo against his hip plates, impatiently waiting for Pax to drop another one of his mishaps on him. Dee was used to his antics, and had even gotten him out of a few of them since Terminus had been friends with the head archivist who owed him a few favors. Dee had never needed those favors since he took his job seriously, but if it meant keeping Pax out of trouble, he didn’t mind using them. Still, if there was one consequence that Dee couldn’t protect Pax from, it was somehow gaining the ire of the Prime himself. No one who caught the attention of the Prime ever escaped his retribution… at least that’s what the rumors and the many disappearances seem to claim. 

“No… Are you sure you’re okay, Dee? You know, you could use your sick leave from time to time. You’re a hardworking mech, you could use a day off once in a while.” Pax approached him, placing a servo on Dee’s shoulder. It should have assured him, but Dee’s processor clung to the fact that Pax didn’t feel the presence - when he usually could before. He didn’t know what had changed, but Dee did not like it. He didn’t like the idea that he might leave in a few kliks only to come back a few joors later to find he was alone again… “You look like you have a lot on your processor, and at this rate, you’ll be late for your shift… We can talk about it over some Strat Ball.”

“Pax…” He trailed off, unsure of what to say. If he told Pax about the presence… Dee had never brought attention to it before while it was around… “Promise me one thing.”

“Yeah?” Pax followed him to the front door, his helm tilting to the side as he kept his servos at his side, though they were twitching as if Pax wanted to stop him from leaving. He knew how he must have looked to his amica, as if he was terrified but trying to keep on a brave face. He didn’t know how to tell Pax that he was scared he’d come back, and Pax would be gone. “You know I’ve always got your back, Dee. What’s wrong?”

“You have my commlink.” He tried to keep his voice even as he pressed the button to open the door panels. Even so, he lingered at the entrance, the sun glinting off his silver frame and illuminating the gold of his optics. “If anything happens…”

“Pssh, Dee, you know me. If anything happens, I’ll disappear so fast they won’t even be able to find me. Now, go on before you blame me for being late.” Pax gave him a little wink, wrapping an entire arm around him as he flashed him a cheeky grin. Dee tried not to laugh as the crumbs of remaining energon still clung near his dermas. 

He reached out to wipe some away, earning a blush. “Fine, stay out of trouble, Pax. I mean it!”

—

The overhead lamps had begun to illuminate the darkening streets by the time Dee had begun his long walk to the archives. As a tankbot, he knew it didn’t matter if he transformed into his alt-form as he was not forged for speed. He hadn’t bothered trying to catch the train from the Kaon District to the main heart of Iacon City, knowing that he had already missed it. As he raced down the path towards the archives, he kept his gaze forward though occasionally he looked up towards the sky. Being underground, there was only a slim chance of catching sight of the stars from the holes that punctured through the surface - yet that wasn’t what Dee was trying to catch a glimpse of. He rarely had the opportunity, since he didn’t make it a habit of running late to work and Terminus never liked it when Dee looked out too much at the windows, but he knew that it was during these times that the High Guard seekers would return to their base.

And he was right, as his gold optics caught a glimpse of them flying just overhead of him.

—

By the time he had reached the archives, the only light present was from the streetlights outside. There were red lights inside, but from an outside perspective, it usually meant that the archives looked like an imposing metal fortress. It was only during the solar cycle that it shone with all the brilliance of its architectural design - modelled after the paint colors of Alpha Trion himself and constructed by Solus Prime herself, though that was a fact that Dee had only heard from Pax since Dee had never actually seen the archives during the solar cycle due to his shift in the lunar cycle. He felt his pedesteps were loud against the pavement as he rushed up the marble steps, venting hard as he glanced around in the darkness for the head archivist. She usually waited for him before she went home for the lunar cycle, yet with Dee being late, he wondered if she had just decided to lockdown the archives and leave without seeing if he would show up.

“Inquiry: You are D-16?”

He snapped his helm in the direction of the voice, noting how monotone it was before he finally found the source of it. An older mech stood by the entrance to the archives, his arms crossed in front of him. From the little light that reflected off of his frame, Dee could see he had a blue and white paint job - though his chassis was made from orange glass. These were the details he focused on the most since he couldn’t tell what the other mech was thinking. His dermas were set into a thin line, and his optics were hidden underneath a pair of orange visors that Dee didn’t know if he was upset at Dee’s tardiness or if he didn’t care and just wanted to go home.

“Yes…” He couldn’t keep the wariness out of his voice as he approached the strange mech. Dee considered himself to be one of the bigger and taller mechs, yet he felt a bit small as he stood near the stranger. Somehow, Dee could tell that there was something peculiar in the way this other mech stood - almost stiff. Even without being able to see his optics, Dee could feel the mech’s sharp gaze on him - particularly on his face as if he was trying to commit it to his processor. He kept his stance guarded, his weapon system ready in case he needed to defend himself. It wouldn’t be the first time some crazy mech tried to break into the archives - surprisingly, it wasn’t just Pax doing it but at least Pax was an actual archivist. “Can I help you?”

“Inquiry: You are the security mech for this shift?”

“Yes.” He crossed his arms, and narrowed his optics. “Why do you ask?”

“D-16: Late. Head archivist: Tasked Wave to hand you security card.”

Before he could process his embarrassment, the older mech reached out a servo to him. In between two digits, the familiar glint of the archive’s security card caught Dee’s gaze. He tried to keep his shame out of his face as he quickly took the card from the other mech. Dee didn’t fault the head archivist for leaving ahead since he was the one who was late, and she probably had a conjunx and sparkling to get back to - yet he felt a tinge of awkwardness knowing that she had asked the newest hire to wait for him just to give him the security card. He knew it was a terrible first impression - not that Dee usually cared about that since he didn’t meet a lot of bots anyway, but it was precisely that reason why he felt so ashamed. Even moreso knowing that Pax and this new mech may become close friends and he may dislike Dee for keeping him this late.

“I’m not usually this late.” He tried, wincing at how defensive he sounded. “I promise this won’t happen again. Thanks… for waiting.”

Even though he really shouldn’t, Dee cared a lot about what other bots thought of him. He didn’t know anyone aside from his creator’s old friends, Pax, and Pax’s friends. If he wasn’t at work, he mostly kept to himself in the apartment. So it stung to think this mech may think he was incompetent at his job when Dee couldn’t even properly explain why he was even late.

Before he could begin to apologize, or maybe run past the other mech and lock himself in the archive, the quick movement of blue in the corner of his optics made him lean back. Orange visors stared down at him, as if suddenly very interested in him.

“Inquiry: Your designation is D-16?” He asked again, his dermas set into a thin line. “Inquiry: There is no deception in your statement?”

Dee felt his faceplates shift as his servos clenched into fists. He knew it was an unconventional designation, and up to this point, he never knew why Terminus had kept his designation as D-16 - which Pax had theorized may have been an impersonal identification provided by the orphanage that Terminus had taken him from. Still, he was proud of his designation and didn’t like it when people pointed it out. He reset his optics, trying to keep the impatience from his voice as he answered back, “Yes. It is D-16. You met an Orion Pax a few joors ago, he’s my roommate. He calls me Dee. My close friends call me Dee. I think he mentioned you, is your designation really just Wave or is that not your main designation?”

“Wave: Will not confirm or deny.”

An uncomfortable tension filled the air around them, though Dee wasn’t sure if only he felt it. He wasn’t usually confrontational, but he didn’t take disrespect so lightly, especially if it somehow came around to somehow insulting his creator. He didn’t know why Terminus kept him as D-16, but it was one of the few keepsakes he had left of him. A designation, no matter how strange, held meaning and love behind it - and he knew how much Terminus had loved him.

Without sparing the other mech another glance, Dee walked past him and into the archives, ensuring that he locked the door behind him as he did.

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Status Report on the Ongoing Investigation Against Orion Pax

Main Investigator: Commander Soundwave of the High Guard Intelligence Division

Priority Level of Investigation: High

Subject in Question: Orion Pax

Basic Information Regarding Subject:

Current Designation: Orion Pax

Current Status: Single

Current Function: Archivist at the Iaconian Archives

Current Residence: Apartment within the Kaon Section of Iacon City, shared with another mech designated as D-16.

Main Notes of the Investigation:

Orion Pax: Guilty of Accessing Confidential Information and Conspiracy to Commit Treason

Under orders from Prima Prime, an investigation was launched against Orion Pax under the allegation of accessing confidential information, which is considered treason under the laws established by Prima Prime. Preliminary investigation has proven these allegations correct.

Current Measures to be Taken: Reconnaissance mission to further investigate the extent of the crime. Undergoing “Wave” identity as a new archivist in the Iaconian Archives to determine if Orion Pax will utilize the opportunity to delve into more restricted data.

“Wave” has established friendly connection with Orion Pax and will maintain connection until further evidence is gathered to charge a conviction.

Supplementary Notes:

During investigation, “Wave” established connection with D-16 - Orion Pax’s roommate and a security mech in the Iaconian Archives. D-16 observed to have gold optics.

Soundwave Request: Launch a separate investigation on D-16.

[latenightdaydreams]

Oh, Author. To be in your presence (asks) one again is such a delight. With you and your divine power (writing)... Will you care to bless this lady by fulfilling her simple request? 🙏

Upon your Sub!König revelation (headcanon), a thought - a need - has been lingering in my mind for far too long. According to the scripture, it has mentioned König loves to be financially dominated. If this is true, grant us with the vision of Reader purchasing the best and the most expensive items - cough, toys and lingerie, cough - in the market as some sort of surprise for König. But it comes off as shocking news to him when he finds out whose is it for... It isn't meant for Reader at all. It's all meant for him. I am quite sure we know what ensues next: Our supposedly intimidating giant in lingerie, being teased and pleasured by toys 🤭

Sigh, what a sight to behold. A sight I shall engrave in my mind. Oh, and to add a little bit of a personal spice preference: Konig addresses Dom!Reader as "Meisterin (Mistress)".

Why such an absurd request? Unfortunately, I have quite the fascination for pathetic submissive men. And what better candidate to push into such abyss but our man König 😮‍💨🤌

Anyway, breaking out of my weird, poor attempt at formal speech. I hope you have a great day/night ahead and have been recovering from the pain you mentioned before 🫂 Take plenty of rest, stay hydrated and eat well, alright? Here's plenty of love that hopefully breaks your device screen and ends up san mothering you: ❤️💕💞💓💗🩷💖💝

You're so sweet🩷 Thank you for wishing me well! I also love how you wrote this hahaha

Submissive König is such a baby girl. I always think of this artist work! @ marndraws on twitter😮‍💨 They draw amazing sub/soft König.

A Little Treat (fem)

MDNI🔞

Master List

Sub Head Canon

>cw: fem/afab, bondage, toys, oral, sub/dom

1.4k word count

🪀

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While sitting at his desk in the office, his phone goes off. The ringtone he has set only for you. He pushes himself back from the desk to check the message.

“Send $1,000🩷,”

König can’t help but to smile and he sends you 2k and text back, “I sent extra just in case. Love you.”

Standing in the middle of a high-end sex shop, you look down at your phone and smile. König is always so sweet. You walk forward to a classic maid outfit on the rack inspecting it. A kind woman wearing a black suit comes over with a kind smile.

“May I help you in any way?”

“Yes, actually. Do you carry this in XXXL?”

Once you get home, König hears the car pull up. He quickly abandons his work to rush downstairs and assist you. His eyes land on you ask you wait for him inside the car. In a hurry, he opens the driver’s door for you, holding his hand out to help you out.

“The bags are in the back seat.” You say as he kisses your hand.

“I’ll grab them.” König lets go of your hand and grabs four bags out of the back. His eyes widen as he sees where the bags are from. Excitement rushes through his body. “Liebling, what do you have planned for tonight?”

A small smirk crosses your lips. “You’ll see.”

You walk ahead of König as you both enter the house. Going straight upstairs to the bedroom, you sit on the bed as he places the bags on top of your shared dresser. His eyes gloss over you as he walks to you.

“May I kiss you?”

“Yes.” You turn your head up for him as he leans down and kisses your lips tenderly.

“Danke…” His voice was low as he pulls away from the kiss; looking at you with such adoring eyes.

“Are you ready to see what I got?”

“Ja, absolutely.”

“Sit.” You stand and walk over to the bags and bring them to him.

König sits wide eyed as you pull out a riding crop. He can feel his dick tingle slightly, thinking of your ass jiggling once he hits it. Then a pair of handcuffs; his eyebrows raise in surprise. He continues to watch as you pull out many types of toys and his cock gets hard. Then you hold up a maid’s outfit…clearly not in your size. He tilts his head.

“You’ve been such a good boy lately; I want to treat you.”

“Das ist für mich?”

“All for you.” You say, holding the outfit out to him. “Try it on.”

He stands slowly and grabs the outfit. You sit on the bed opening the packaging to some toys as he gets dressed. König stands there looking at himself in the mirror. His muscles bulging in the tight outfit.

Stepping out of the bedroom, König sees you fully undressed. His jaw drops as he looks up and down your body.

“You look so hot König.”

He blushes and looks down at his own body before bashfully looking back up at you. “Ja?”

“Yes… come here.”

He walks to stand in front of you, his pale blue eyes gazing down at you. You reach up to caress his body, feeling his muscles underneath the fabric of the outfit. A hand dropping down to go under the skirt of the outfit, grabbing his hard cock.

“My handsome boy…” The words leave in a whisper as you walk around him, grabbing the cuff and placing them on his wrist.

You turn and walk to the bed, beckon him to follow you. The giant war criminal listens to you, no questions asked. “Bend over.”

He bends over the bed. His muscular ass showing from underneath the skirt of the maid’s outfit. You rub your hand over his ass before spanking lightly. Reaching for the riding crop, you step back and lightly tap his ass. No reaction. You reach back further and hit him with it again. He jumps slightly before letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Are you okay?”

“Ja.”

“Yes what?” You hit him again. A small red mark appearing on his pale skin.

“Ja Meisterin.”

“That’s my good boy.” You spank him a few more times. Reaching down, you grasp his balls and tug on them slightly before spanking him again. His body jumping slightly, making you giggle as you spank him once more.

“Who owns you?”

“You do, Meisterin.” The tone of his voice so tender.

“Good boy. Now lay on your back for me.” He maneuvers himself further onto the bed, rolling on to his back as he waited for your next move.

You go through one of the bags and find tape, nipple clamps, and a small pink vibrator. In one hand you hold the items and walk to the bed. With one finger you begin to flick his nipples, getting them hard. Once his pink nipples were erect, you place the clamps on them.

König winced slightly, but then bit his lower lip. “My little pain slut.” You giggle as you tug on the chain connected to the clamps. Standing off the bed, you walk around it, lightly hitting his abdomen with the riding prop.

König’s eyes are following your every move, watching as you walk in front of him and lift the skirt again, exposing his erection. Your hand wraps around it and begins to stroke his cock every so slightly. Spitting on it to lubricate it. König lets out shuttered breaths as you so this, the tip of his cock leaking even more precum.

Letting go, you get the small vibrator out, turning it on the first setting, then rubbing it on the underside of his cock’s head. His eyes go wide as he feels the vibration. He’s never tried touching himself with a toy before.

“You have to tell me which setting you like best.” You say as you switch through all five settings. On the third quick burst of vibrations, you see König begin to twitch.

“Tha- that one.” He manages to get out. “Bitte meine Meisterin.”

“Perfect.” The tape was easy to pull as you begin to wrap it around his boner, securing the vibrator to him. His legs twitch as he closes his eyes. A firm hand reaching down, grasping his jaw. “Open your eyes.”

He listens, his eyes instantly falling to your breasts. His mind fuzzy with the overwhelming sensation he is feeling right now.  Without breaking your eye contact, you climb up on to the bed and staddle his abdomen. You begin to grind your wet cunt along his solid belly, covering him in your arousal. A moan escaping your lips as König watches you do this with an intense gaze.

“Are you ready to eat my pussy?”

“Please Meisterin, please let me taste your pussy.”

“You’re being such a good boy.” Your legs move up until your lingering over his face, but facing to you can see his body. “Rub your nose in it.”

König uses his strong core to lean up and bury his aquiline nose deep into your pussy; taking in a deep breath as he does. Your smell is like candy to him, he can’t get enough. Slowly his tongue comes out and begins to lick between your pink folds. Thick globs of your creamy arousal being scooped up by his tongue.

In response you begin to rock your hips, matching his rhythm. Fingers going through his hair and pulling tightly. “Just like that.”

You lean forward and begin to stroke the shaft of him cock, his hips beginning to buck up into your hand rapidly. “Someone wants to cum…” You tease, feeling his head nod underneath you as he moans into your cunt.

“Will you cum for me?”

His hips begin to thrust quicker into your hand as his moans become louder. His tongue movements less precise and more erratic, like he is only focused on getting a taste and not actual pleasure for you.

“Good boy, cum for master.”

You lead forward so your ass if hoovering over his face instead of sitting on it. His balls tighten as his cock throbs. He tries his hardest to put his face back into your pussy while he cums, but you don’t give him that satisfaction. Toes curling as you leave him with only the view of your tight ass hole and creamy cunt.

His cock shoots out cum, the thick creamy cum falling on to your hand and his abdomen.

“Oh fuck!” König moans loudly. The vibration on the tip of his now extremely sensitive head was driving him wild. “Please, it’s too much now.”

A mischievous smirk crosses your face as you sit back down on his face. “Cum again for me."

[m4eve]

Just saw you post calling kaeya lovers!!! Welp, ask and you shall receive!!! I actually have two prompts in mind and don't know which one to ask, so I'll tell you both of them and let you decide🤗

1. Reader is thin, ok. But lately kaeya notices they've been looking thinner, he hears them commenting how their clothes seem to get larger, and even see some people commenting that they look like they lost weight. He even notices he have been seeing them getting lightheaded a lot more when they get up from anywhere, always stopping for a few seconds after getting up from a chair, only to start walking again as if nothing happened. I wonder how he would react to this, and how he would deal with this situation

2. Well, we all know kaeya is a flirt, and probably a womanizer. I wonder how it would be if he actually fell in love with someone who's asexual. How would the reader tell him, fearing that'll make him give up on them, like so many others, since they don't even like being kissed on the lips. Would the sexless and kissless relationship be ok with the cavalry captain, or would he leave the reader bc that's not really something he can live with? Some angsty dunno

Welp, only write ot if you want it and in your time, thanks for doing lord's work🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

: reconciled affection

prologue:

your views on sexual matters clash with your current lover's, kaeya alberich. hopefully, this won't severe your relationship.

"love: an intense, deep affection"

in your mind, love should never be confused with lust. love does not just have to be intercourse. it can be soft, gentle, and considerate.

that has been your views on love ever since you were young. the average progressions of love for you never exactly included a first kiss.. let alone intimacy. due to this, finding someone who will treat your preferences with delicacy is important.

and since it's already been on your heart.. the worst thing kaeya could do right now is make such an advance...

you and kaeya have been dating for a month now! of course he's incredible, but you're not blind to his.. reputation. everyone in mondstadt knows that man has a multitude of one night stands. and for the last few weeks, you've been trying to find a way to explain your views on sexual matters to him. much to your dismay... there's just never been a good time. you suppose that there might not ever be one, but the least you can do for yourself is not make your boundaries seem meaningless, or awkward. that, is until this VERY moment that you've found yourself in!?

and.. he does it anyway. he leans in to kiss your cheek. ugh.. kaeya's kiss is slow and meticulous, but the feelings of affection get lost in translation. you freeze, and your face morphs into discomfort. as kaeya pulls back, he seems stung and confused. now, normally, when kaeya teases a woman, there's a look of flusteredness and awe in their eyes. not exactly a look of disgust. kaeya blinks a few times in order to process the situation he's in. then he asks if he did something wrong in a soft, apologetic tone.

since this interaction has opened a door that can no longer be hidden, you sit him down to explain what you've needed to get off of your chest...

you begin to explain to him your asexuality, noting that, yes, even kissing makes you feel uncomfortable.

at first, he is shocked. he listens to you inventively, weighing your words and the discomfort he has caused you. he apologizes honestly and promises to take your boundaries into account next time.

now that you guys have parted ways for the night, kaeya feels an overwhelming guilt in his body. he made you uncomfortable, and he's subconsciously thought that the relationship between you two would evolve into more intimate interactions.. kaeya now has to face his own assumptions and correct them.

it'll take a moment, but i'm sure kaeya will adjust to your preferences. this'll help kaeya to appreciate the little things about you. as time goes on, you and kaeya's love will blossom, and it shows both of your willingness and devotion to one another.

to luz: i hope you enjoyed! i was listening to brent faiyaz while writing this, so i hope he didn't influence my writing of kae TOO much.. 😅 but i do genuinely think he'd be a womanizer. god knows how that man upkeeps his reputation. also, i REALLY wanted to do both prompts, but i realized doing both would've halvended the word count 🥲 ALSO I THINK YOU SHOULD READ THE MANGA VEIL! it's not exactly like this prompt, but their love is soo darn cool.

a/n: 2/10 fics done.. 8 more to go! i tried to make sure not to fault the reader with this one, but also not to baby them? hard to explain, but i really fucking hate the hopeless, can't defend themselves reader. FEEL LIKE THE ENDING WAS RUSHED. UGH. MAYBE I'LL EXPAND UPON THIS TOMORROW IDK!! i wanted to post a fic every other day but.. i had other plans.. for NOW im going to close requests just so i can get the rest done, then they'll be open again! idk if i plan to write about other ppl, esp since i really do like kaeya.. yk if you couldn't tell hahahahaha ☺️☺️☺️ BUT WE SHALL SEE

[2g-1k]

2G1K

Dear Diary - Callen

I lack motivation to write a complete chapter, so here's what's happening to Callen right neow. Not sure if it's necessary to read, but it's always nice to see what Callen thinks amirite?

Also, to anyone who speaks French, I won't apologise for the really stupid name of a character. It was completely intentional.

Masterpost

Dear (without affection) diary,

I fucking hate it here.

First of all, I don’t even know why I had to go to the medic when the wounds I have are 1. already healing, and 2. especially minor wounds that will heal on their own. The people in the capital must be pussies to not even be able to survive a few scratches. Like I’ve literally survived worse, man.

I got a medic who wasn’t even a medic. He’s literally a fucking alchemist. I see the connection between alchemy and medicine, sure, but really? I thought medics had to be certified?

Oh nevermind, he is certified in both alchemy and medicine. What the hell. Where did he get the time for that? What a fucking tryhard. Well, considering I haven’t died from his prescribed medicine, he should be capable enough, which is kind of sad news because I’d love to sue him for negligence if he fucked my body up in some way.

His name was also kinda dumb too, in fact. What kind of sane person actually gives birth to a child and thinks shit like “Oh, what a beautiful boy. He shall be named Carleau de la Voiture.” Like be for real right now, does his mom need an asylum? Because her son can certainly send her to one.

I also learnt that the sleeping potion was invented by this exact Carleau (god his name sounds like shit, but don’t tell him. Though you’re a fucking diary entry anyway so it’s a stupid threat but whatever.) He named it “the Carlussy drug”. He refused to elaborate.

It was probably the same stuff used on that giant that loves to stalk and harass me. Just making a guess, I don’t know a lot about alchemy nor medicine, but I think it didn’t exist until fairly recently, since if it had existed, Mom wouldn’t have had to suffer that much.

Butt! (haha) Speaking of the giant— honestly I need to think of a nickname for him, or find a way to ask for his name, if he has one— I wonder where he is right now. Not that I particularly care about him or anything, just that I’m curious of his whereabouts. I mean, it seemed easy to put him somewhere when he was in Fallance, but the capital has no room for this. Unless some stuck up noble wants to keep him as a pet in their oversized garden, I’m willing to bet 10 gold that he has to stay in some dirty, stinky pigsty.

And also I’m calling him Wheat. Because his hair is the colour of wheat. I also happen to be hungry.

Curse the capital to not even provide food for their patients, but insists on healing wounds that are almost healed.

I don’t know what the capital’s reasons are to keep me here in mostly good shape, to be honest— they always have some ulterior motive, and it’s up to them to decide whether I’m of use to them or not. I believe it has something to do with Wheat. He’s currently about ninety percent of my current problems so I would not at all be surprised if I was brought here for information concerning him.

Joke’s on them though, I literally know nothing. Fuck would I know shit if as far as I know, we don’t even speak the same language? Hell, he didn’t even speak after realising it was basically a futile attempt. Smart dude. Well I have more excuses I guess. Just yap shit like “oh, it wasn’t my fault, dear important bigshots, Wheat wasn’t talking, don’t blame me,” and hopefully they will leave me alone. (They probably won’t.)

Also I may be a bit narcissistic here, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that gets a reaction from Wheat. I mean he reacted to basically no one? But me? Which can be good or bad news depending on the situation.

I will emphasise that I do not care about Wheat in the slightest. 

Suddenly thought of something. I noticed members of the Temple around the are— fuck nevermind I hear them g

Callen

P.S. Reread it after they left and I think I used too many fucking swear words here— gotta cut this shit down.

[sinofwriting]

What would the grids reaction to Pan and Max dating be? Would any of them have bad reactions especially because Pans age so far has never been told to them and they are assuming about how old she is. Also you said that she had shares in a company; do you have anyone ideas what type of company it would be? I just love the universe that you have created about them and it has made me curious to find out more.

One day I will write grid reactions for Pan and Max dating... One day...

But I do plan on writing that, I have been planning on it, but actually writing the grid reactions has been nothing but writers block hell. Hopefully that will change in the next few months, but we shall see.

Pan does have shares in a company and it's oil. Her dad (aka Logan's IRL uncle) is an owner of an oil trading company and her grandmother on her mother's side was part of an oil family so she has money from that.

I don't think I've ever out right said it, but I have implied, Pan is loaded. She has more money than Max and so does Logan because he has similar shares to her, though his are just a bit smaller.

I know IRL Logan struggled with funding his karting/junior career but that is not the case in verse at all, lol.

For an example of Logan being loaded in verse, read 4 plus 1 here!

[distuff]

general ask!

I love your little tidbits of personal headcanons and lore within the text, it really adds a good touch of depth to the saja boys! I'm really interested in your demon rank concept in particular. is it based on whos oldest + experienced? since its mentioned a lot Baby is the youngest and presumably the lowest of rank within the 5 of them? but I also love how, even though Mystery is older than Jinu, he seems to let him take the lead up in the human world. Would it be different in the underworld? Mystery putting himself above Jinu?

In that one Baby request its mentioned he "rose within the ranks at a surprising pace", so do the demons gain more power by consuming souls, but the amount of decades they've been in the underworld also matters?

Sorry for rambling hehe!

Oiya my bootiful readershi !

Firstly,

(￣ ▽￣)ゞ( ٥〃▽〃) You are not rambling !! Even if you written milion words I wouldn't call you sharing ur thoughts w mhe ramblin' and I'll be dAmned if one of my readers calls it as sUCH.

Now... Let mhe read it again cause I focused on that bit-

*One eternity later*

Alright! Arigatou for your beautiful words readershi - I'm always happy to know my readers enjoy the smol glimpses of smth that is not canon (yet? Imagine lol) as well as to know you've been enjoying my writing and the stories to this lenghts !

To answer all those questions,

Answer:

Demon ranks

I'll be a liar if I said I named the ranks. I only put 'em under

The high ranking = our 5 boys

The lower ranking = I imagine they have more ranking in this one, but if I created the structure to that extent, I would be crossin' the line of obsessing over this movie, which I'm not x,DD

What are the ranks BASED ON

Good catch with Baby's rank being linked to him being the youngest since I was very vague with it ! Cheers on that readershi 🥂

To put it simply, the rankings are based on the competence of the demon—which is measured by the amount of souls one has given to Gwi-ma. Which sounds easy, yes, but is actually hard, since demons now have limited time due to the Huntresses, and the fact they need to make the human feel strong emotions. (RIP them if they encounter Gen Z or Alpha wheezes).

However, the high-ranking demons have a limited number of spots, which is surprisingly five. (la gaspAcho) This means that if a lesser demon gains more souls than one of the top five, Gwi-ma will replace the underperforming one with the more competent demon.

Once in the high rank, demons are no longer sorted by how many souls they catch themselves. Instead, they’re assigned to lead the hunts with the lesser demons, offering a guiding hand. So from that point onward, their competence is measured by the success of those hunts, rather than their individual soul count.

But that doesn’t answer how Baby (or a newly turned demon, really) could rise in the ranks so easily. SO:

How do the demons gain more power?

Rather than gaining power from the soul directly, as you said, I believe it’s Gwi-ma who gives demons their powers. (The soul is just food in my opinion)

In the movie, we can also see “low-ranking” demons using glamour to conceal their appearance when in the plane with the Huntr/X. But instead of conjuring the clothes as well—like SAJA can—they have to literally be dressed in one, unless Gwi-ma or a SAJA member boosts the illusion. (This can be seen during Rumi and Jinu’s argument.)

Now, how can one get Gwi-ma boi to boost their powers?

Either by giving tons of souls to him and he shall bibidi babidi boo so you shall have the powers bestowed upon you to give him even more souls.

OR

If a demon is interesting to Gwi-ma, the demon lord will cast his gaze upon them, wanting to see what they’ll do with such power (hopefully something entertaining).

And lastly,

Would Mystery put himself above Jinu in the demon realm?

No. (My version of Mystery, at least.)

Simply because Mystery is already above Jinu in the Demon Realm—so there is no “putting himself above” him.

Even in the human realm, the four of ’em (in my headcanon) view Mystery as their leader since he is the oldest—he’s been in the demon realm the longest out of all of them, and thus has more experience.

However, Mystery listens to Jinu in the human world because Jinu is more experienced in that context, and so do the others. (This can be seen when the members call Jinu 'leader' in my stories. (they mean it sarcastically that's why the quotation marks))

That said, Mystery doesn’t care for the hierarchy in my stories. He doesn’t take it as seriously as others may in his position. When in the demon realm, the only difference is that Jinu has to work for any request he wants Mystery to fulfil.

. . .

Hope this answered all your Qs readershi ! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ However if ya still have questions, confusion or ya want to share your thoughts on the matter, please don't be shy !

[holdmytesseract]

Football Fever

☆ The Baby Fever AU ☆

Loki x Y/N feat. Ella and Narfi

Summary: Soccer Aid is just around the corner, and the Avengers get asked, if they would compete against team England - for the good cause, of course. The only answer to that question is yes and so you, the kids, Loki and all the other Avengers - including their families are travelling to Manchester. The next mission is clear... Win this game and raise a lot of money.

Warnings: fluff, football things, suggestive smut (yeah, it gets a little steamy as well), thirst - a lot, sickening sweet flirtations... Honestly, this fic has everything. 😂 Let me know if I missed something...

Word Count: 6,9k - I'm sorry. 👀

a/n: The Soccer Aid fic is finally here! 🥳 I had a bit of a hard time writing this. I struggled quite a lot, so I hope it's nevertheless good. 😅 It's a bit messy as well, I think, but yeah... Enjoy it (hopefully)! 😊

Baby Fever Crew: (Trying the comments again...)

Baby Fever Masterlist °☆• Loki Masterlist °☆• Masterlist

"The Avengers agreed to do what?" You asked your husband; honestly quite a bit shocked. The baby laundry you had just folded almost dropping to the floor out of surprise. "The Soccer Aid game? They asked the Avengers to take part in the Soccer Aid game?" You repeated; just to be sure you heard that right. Loki had an amused smile on his lips; nodding. "Yes, love. Team England against The Avengers in this year's Soccer Aid game." Blinking, you stared at Loki. "Wow, just... wow. That's great actually. I mean it's for UNICEF - and with that for a very good cause, so... Amazing!" You smiled and continued to fold Narfi's little t-shirts, hoodies and trousers.

"And you agreed to play?" You then asked; eyeing your husband quite a bit sceptical. The god nodded once more; still smiling. "I did, yes." Loki sensed your surprise and sceptic, of course. "You don't seem to believe me. Why, darling?" You just shrugged your shoulders. "I just thought you didn't like sports. Especially soccer." "Ah, I see. Well..." He started and walked to stand behind you, in order to wrap his arms around you; head resting on your shoulder. "I am perhaps not that interested in Midgardian sports - but it's for children, and since I have my very own babies, I definitely can't say no to that." Your heart skipped a beat at Loki's words; love flooding your veins. What a kind-hearted husband I've got, you thought; swooning. "Babe, that's wonderful." You lifted one hand to cup his cheek, "Truly." and turned your head catch his lips in a sweet kiss. Loki's grip tightened; pulling you closer against him.

"So... When are we leaving? It takes place in the UK, right? Where exactly? Am I even allowed to accompany you and the others? And the kids?" Suddenly, there were a trillion questions running through your mind. Loki chuckled, "Someone's excited." and kissed a line from your ear down your neck. "First of all... Of course, you and our children are allowed to accompany me - if you choose to. But since you're an Avenger as well, I think you could also choose to play."

You really thought about it for a second, but then... "Naaah," you said, scrunching your nose. "I'd rather look after our little whirlwinds and help them to cheer for their daddy and his team." Loki chuckled; a few strands of his raven locks tickling the side of your face. "Very well then. It shall be how my queen desires."

A sudden thought struck you then and you couldn't help the cheeky smile, which spread on your face. Placing the laundry aside and turning in your lover's arms, you bit your lip. "Besides, I think I am going to definitely enjoy the view. Seeing my handsome man run around in tight shorts and a flimsy jersey? Please... I'd be a fool to say no to that." Loki raised an eyebrow at you; smiling even wider, "Now that is very naughty, darling." before he gave you a smouldering look. A look which almost caused your knees to give in. Even after all those years. "No, it's only reasonable, babe. "

Almost three weeks later, after the paperwork had been done and everything was arranged and settled with the officials, it was time to make your way to the United Kingdom. Manchester, to be exactly. Everybody was coming along. Really everybody. Nat, Bruce, Wanda and Vision, Bucky, Sam, Steve, Peter with MJ, Ned and his mom. Tony brought Pepper along and baby Morgan, of course. Clint joined in as well, accompanied by his wife and kids - just like Scott, who took Hope and Cassie with him. Not to forget Thor, Eisa and a very pregnant Jane. Hence, Tony even convinced Stephen to join them. Maria, Phil and Nick were going to be there as well. Yep... The whole squat was going to be a part of this.

Everybody was totally excited about it. Especially the kids. It was an absolute honour for the Avengers to be a part of such a great event...

"Mommy, can I sit beside Eisa in the plane?" Ella asked you with literal doe eyes, as you walked to board the private plane Tony had rented for you all. You squeezed the girl's hand - which was safely locked to yours; nodding. "Of course, sweetheart. I think we can arrange that." You winked at your daughter, before checking on Loki. He walked a bit behind you and Ella; carrying a soundly asleep Narfi. He had his arms curled around his father's neck. His head was buried snugly in the crook of Loki's neck, while his little legs dangled softly with every step the god took.

Well... The sixteen-month-old boy had missed his afternoon nap today - and it showed. No wonder he slept in on the way to the airport...

No ten minutes later, you took your seat in the plane beside Loki. Ella sat beside Eisa - like she wanted and Thor took his place beside Jane. Your husband held Narfi still in his arms; gently swaying him from side to side to keep him asleep. After all, you had to fly for about seven hours...

"I hope it stays that way," you whispered quietly to Loki; gesturing towards your son. Loki ran a hand through the boy's curls and nodded. "I hope so, too, my love, but I highly doubt it." And he was proven right... Only about two hours later, Narfi awoke from his slumber - crying. The sudden change of surroundings gave the toddler quite a small shock. Not waking up where he slept in. Besides, Narfi never had been inside a plane before.

Thick tears were running down his cheeks; eyes already reddened. Loki immediately tried to reassure him, since a lot of the others had dozed off as well. "Shh, little prince, shh. It's alright. Daddy's got you. And mama's not far away either. She just needs to pee." Hearing his father's voice, the boy calmed down rather quickly, but still sobbing. "There you go, sweetie, there you go," Loki cooed and peppered his little cheeks with kisses. "Everything okay, little prince?" Narfi rubbed his eyes, "Uh.Huh." and nodded.

Despite quite a few interruptions, the rest of the flight went smoothly and everyone landed safely in Manchester.

After getting everyone to the hotel and into their rooms, Narfi and Ella crashed immediately on the bed. It was a long day for the kids, without a doubt. Loki and the other soccer players for the Avengers team had to go to the training grounds for further information, their training stuff, getting to know the trainers - and their first training lesson. You looked over to the kids, who slept tightly on the big hotel bed, while you bid your goodbye to your husband. "Have fun, babe." You pressed a kiss on his lips; wrapping both your arms around his neck. "Thank you, darling." "And behave, yes? No fouling Thor because it's fun." Loki nodded obediently, with the slightest glint of mischief in his eyes. "Yes, ma'am." You eyed him critically, before you kissed him again. "Good. And don't make our diva lose his nerves." The god chuckled and let go of you, in order to step into direction room door. "Well, I can't promise you that, but I swear that I'll try."

Once Loki had left, you exchanged the light summer dress you wore with a comfortable t-shirt and sleep shorts. Deciding to unpack a few things, you quietly moved around the hotel room - not to wake anybody. After that, you paid Jane a visit, to make sure she was alright and then somehow ended up sleeping in the bed as well. Actually, you just wanted to take a small nap, but well... Your body said no. Therefore, you didn't notice, when Loki returned back to the hotel room...

"Darling, I'm ba-" As soon as the god closed the door gently behind himself and turned around, he saw what had happened. Smiling, he took off his shoes and tiptoed straight to the bathroom; hoping that the shower he took wouldn't wake any of you up. It didn't. It was already quite late; so he only slipped in a fresh pair of boxershorts and got ready for bed. To complete his mission, he had to manoeuvre both his kids to their beds. He picked up Ella first; knowing that she was a very tight sleeper. Then he carefully took Narfi in his arms - who instinctively held onto his father; cuddling close.

Once those difficult tasks were done, he wrapped you up with the blanket and slipped beside you into the bed.

When strong arms pulled you gently against a warm, familiar chest, you started to wake up. The scent of your husband hit you; causing a pleasant shiver to run down your spine. Home. He was home - no matter where you were. Smiling, still with your eyes closed, you cuddled closer against him. "Finished training?" Unbeknownst to you, the god blinked. He thought you were fast asleep... "Y/N?" He whispered. "Are you awake?" "Mhhh." Guilt shot immediately through his heart like an arrow. Loki hated it when he was the reason you woke up. Especially after such a stressful day. "Apologies, my love. I didn't mean to wake you up..." "'S okay. Don't worry. I've been already sleepin' for quite a while." You felt a few strands of Loki's long raven locks tickling the side of your face, as he leaned over to place a kiss on your cheek. "Good."

"So... How did it go?" You asked once more; slipping your hand in his - which was placed around your middle; keeping you pinned against him. Loki sighed and intertwined your fingers. "I can't deny that it was quite fun - but utterly chaotic. All of them are such amateurs. Well, except me, the Falcon and Coulson. The rest of them?" He took a deep breath and you could swear that he had just rolled his eyes. "Norns give us strength... They have to learn a lot. Unless we're going to lose big time against England." You giggled softly and squeezed his hand. "But isn't it all about the fun and good cause?" "Sure, love, but... You know me. I'm a very ambitious man. I want to win this. I'm a winner."

Well... He wasn't wrong, was he?

"Okay, champ... Tell me. Why are they a chaotic mess? Perhaps I've got a few ideas on how to solve those issues." Another sigh left your husband's lips. "They put Parker in the goal. I don't know if that was a wise decision. Sure, he's got fast reflexes, but, he's a bit... small and... fragile." You raised a playful eyebrow. "Who would you put in that position then?" The god shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know. Laing, perhaps?" You giggled, shaking your head.

"What else is 'wrong'?" "Vision. All he does is calculating how the ball flies, where it lands and how hard he has to kick it to reach the next team mate. And Stark and Rogers are constantly fighting about who is going to be the team captain. It's exhausting." You couldn't help yourself but to giggle once more. "Why can I imagine that so well?" Loki just rolled his eyes. "And my oafish brother just don't want to understand, why the goalkeeper - namely Parker, isn't allowed to leave the eighteen-yard area. I explained it to him several times. Hence, we all did, but he's just too stupid to understand - and utterly confused. It's almost embarrassing, honestly." "Baaabe... Don't be so hard to your brother. He's not that familiar with Midgardian sports. Give him some time, huh?" Loki took a deep breath. "I honestly don't know if time helps..." "We'll see. Rome wasn't built in a day. Remember that, my love."

On the next day, Loki left quite early for the second training session - just like the other Avengers. While your husband was sweating and working, you took the kids together with Jane, Eisa, Pepper and Morgan to a trip into the city. It was everyone's first time here, so there was a lot to explore. Well... Everything that was child-friendly, of course.

You strolled a little bit through a few streets of the big city, before you went to the Manchester Museum. Jane wanted to go there at all costs, of course. She was a scientist after all. No matter if her feet were hurting or not - due to her pregnancy, she wanted to go there. And who were you and Pepper to deny your friend this wish?

It had been quite interesting for the kids, too. Well, at least for Eisa and Ella. Narfi and Morgan were a little too young to understand. But at least the girls had fun.

After that, Jane went back to the hotel, in order to rest, while your niece stayed with the little group.

It was pleasantly warm today; the sun shining bright, so you and Pepper took the kids to Chorlton Water Park, where they could play and enjoy themselves.

All in all, it was a great day, but looking after four kids was quite exhausting at some point - for Pepper as well, so you were happy to be back at the hotel as well. Jane offered to look after the kids tomorrow; take them to her's and Thor's hotel room, so that you and Pepper could do more 'adult' things in Manchester.

Ella and especially Narfi were quite tired as well after that day, but they desperately wanted to stay awake and wait for Loki to return from the training, since they hadn't seen their father even once that day. And to Ella's and Narfi's luck returned Loki only about twenty minutes later...

The door swung open; revealing a tired, sweaty Loki - and before he could even close the door behind himself, Ella and Narfi were already tackling him. "Daddy!" Well, Ella first, 'cause Narfi wasn't that fast yet. He had learned to properly walk just about two months ago...

A big smile spread on Loki's face, and he squatted down; welcoming his children in his arms. "Hello, princess." Ella hugged him even tighter, now that she was taller when he was in a squatting position. "Dada!" Narfi had waddled over as well by now. Ella made room for her baby brother, so that Loki could pick the little boy up. "And hello little prince." You still sat on the floor with some of Narfi's toys in your hands; watching the sweet scenes unfold in front of your eyes with a smile.

After Loki spent some much-needed quality time with Ella and Narfi, he tucked them in (It was getting quite late.) and read a bedtime story until they both fell asleep - which happened quite quickly, given the fact that they were totally worn out after this exciting day.

You opted to go to bed; book in hands and waited for Loki to join you. Yet unbeknownst to you, had the god other plans than joining you in bed...

You heard quiet footsteps approaching you, but didn't bother to put your book aside. "I am going to take a shower now." Loki said in a deep, hushed voice; trying to sound sexy and perhaps to attract your attention. "I unfortunately have to. Can't join my queen in bed, being all stinky and sweaty." You, though, were lost in the story you were reading, so you only nodded; not deigning to look at him. "Alright, babe."

Loki raised a sceptical eyebrow. Obviously, the book was way more interesting than him. That had to change. A quiet snap of Loki's fingers caused his seidr to roll over his entire body. "Care to join me, darling?"

A soft sigh left your lips. "Babe, I am already in bed." You started - and made a huge mistake... You looked up from your book. "Why would I- Oh my gosh..." Loki stood at the edge of the bed. Butt naked. Only wearing his signature cheeky, mischievous smile. Sure, the light was dimmed in the big room, due to the kids sleeping, but you could still see everything.

You swallowed hard; eyes growing wide. Don't look, don't look, don't lo- Too late. You looked. How could you not? Being married to Loki and not look when he was standing nude in front of you was perhaps the most difficult task in all the nine realms.

A small whimper left your lips, as you shifted awkwardly in the bed. A thing which didn't slip Loki's notice, of course. He had you. Almost. "Come on, love. Showering alone is no fun at all... I already had to shower all by myself yesterday night." You swallowed again; tried to stay focused. "B-But the kids, Lokes a-and I'm reading and already in bed and..." Your husband interrupted your sentence with a quiet, smooth chuckle, while running his hands through his sweaty, luscious curls. His abdominal muscles clenched; showing you his abs. "You do keep forgetting that I am a master in using seidr...." He literally purred; giving you a wink. You bit your lip. So hard that you were afraid you drew blood. Don't give in, don't give in. Stay strong, stay strong. The angel on your shoulder tried to spur you on; encouraging you. But the demon... Give in. You didn't have him in almost a week. You want to. I know it. And he's right. He's got his seidr. The kids won't notice.

Your mind raced; forces battling inside of you. "So, my love... You coming now?" He purred; stepping closer to your side of the bed - and when you could clearly look into his blue, wide blown orbs of pure desire, you had made your decision. Fuck it. You literally threw your blanket away and shoot up from the bed. Loki chuckled maliciously in victory, "Thought so." before he moved quickly; grabbed you by your thighs and threw you over his shoulder. You had a hard time suppressing a yelp. "Lokiii!" Another chuckle. "Shush, darling. It's time for me to reclaim what's mine." You almost combusted at that sentence. And of course, you let yourself get carried to the bathroom without another word. The position was perhaps a bit uncomfortable; hanging upside down over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes - but the view was absolutely delicious. Never had looked your husband's gloriously naked ass better, than in that angle.

The last few training days flew by faster than you thought and suddenly you were preparing Ella and Narfi for their father's Soccer Aid game.

"Ella?" You called from the bathroom, while trying to put a really antsy Narfi into a mini jersey. "Sweetie, are you dressed and ready?" No ten seconds later appeared your eldest in the door frame; smiling brightly and already dressed in a miniature version of Loki's jersey and shorts he would wear during the football game. The same kit you were currently trying to dress little Narfi in. Black shorts, white jersey and red flocking. Not your husband's actual colours, but that was what the team decided. Nevertheless, you were sure that Loki would look just as sexy in those colours.

"Yep, mommy! Can we go now? I want to see daddy!" "In a few mins. I need to get your brother ready first, which is- Oh no, no, stay here you little trickster!" You had to lunge forward and catch a giggling Narfi, before he was able to sneak off behind your back. "Alright, mommy. I'll wait and practice some magic." "You do just that, El. I hope I'm soon done here." Ella left with a happy spring in her step then; long raven locks flying.

"Narfi, please..." You pleaded the small boy, as he fled from you once more; halfway dressed in the shorts. The toddler just giggled. Again. He had fun in that game you played. You didn't. "You want to see daddy, don't you?" Narfi stopped, turning to face you; one wild curl falling into his face. "Uh.Huh. Wanna see dada." "Then you need to let me help you getting dressed, because if we don't leave in the next ten minutes, we probably won't be able to see daddy before the game." Your son's eyes went wide, before he literally sprinted towards you to let himself get finally dressed, causing you to sigh in relief. "There you go, sweet boy." You said, pressing a kiss to his chubby cheek. Your ovaries almost exploded when you looked at him; dressed like that.

"See dada now?" You smiled; picking him up, "Yep." and carrying him out of the bathroom. "Ella, you coming?" Your daughter jumped excitedly towards you. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Together, you left the hotel and went for the Old Trafford stadium. Of course, there was a personal taxi waiting just for the three of you to bring you there. To the VIP entrance, to be exactly. You went on full wag mode today; living your best life as the wife of the Avengers Soccer Aid team star Loki Laufeyson. You even bought his jersey as well; combined with short jeans. It was a warm summer day - and you were ready. Just like the kids were.

The VIP entrance was a secluded area, but nevertheless had gathered quite a few fans there, cheering out your name when they saw you. You would've waved at them, but it was a bit difficult; holding Ella's hand (to keep her from just running off) with one and Narfi on your arm with the other. So, you opted for nodding and smiling - which was appreciated as well.

The safety officer greeted you with a smile. "Mrs. Y/L/N." He said with a nod and stepped aside to grant the three of you access. "And hello you two. Enjoy the game!" "Thank you." You stepped past him. "Hewu!" Narfi smiled and waved at the big, bulky man. But Ella was way too excited to notice anything. All she wanted was to see her father.

One of the game coordinators led you and your family through the catacombs of the Old Trafford then, until you reached the main stage... The pitch - on which every Avenger and member of the opposing team already was, warming up. There were already quite a few kids out there, playing around with each other or their mothers and fathers. It was a family event after all, and the stadium was quite filled already; a lot of fans seated on the stands all around you. It was huge and absolutely impressive.

Three pairs of eyes searched for Loki - but he was the one finding his family first. Smiling brightly, he left the ball he was warming up with abandoned and jogged over to the sidelines.

"Where's daddy, Narfi? Can you spot him?" You asked the little boy, while bouncing him up and down. You looked around as well, until you saw him jogging towards you. Not to be over dramatic, but... You almost fainted when you laid eyes upon your husband; all dressed up for the game. His jersey was tight; stuck to his upper body like a second skin. It was definitively a few sizes too small. Just like his shorts. They left not much to imagine - let's put it that way. Red and white football socks covered his strong calves and shins. His raven curls were tied back into a man bun and a thin, black hair band was sitting on his forehead, completing his look - and he looked absolutely, stunningly hot. Your knees almost gave in. If you wouldn't have been around kids and in a crowded stadium, you would've jumped him. But unfortunately, you weren't alone, so you had to compose yourself.

"Well, who do we have here?" You heard his deep voice calling out. "Daddy!" Ella's head snapped to face her dad; a big smile on her face as she stormed into his waiting arms. She may have been over seven years old now, but that didn't stop Loki to scoop his little girl up and hug her tightly. "Ahh, my princess." Narfi squirmed in your arms, so you let him down. Excitedly, he tried on slightly wobbly legs to run to his dad as well. "Dada!" Loki let Ella down again and squatted down. "And my little prince!" The god scooped Narfi up in his arms as well; ruffling the giggling boy's hair.

After thoroughly greeting his children, he made his way to you. "Hello, my love." He leaned down to kiss you; free hand curling around your hip to hold you close. "Hey, babe." You greeted your husband; smiling in the next kiss. "How's my soccer star doing? Ready for the game?" "Oh more than ready, darling." Loki answered with a wink. Before you could continue the conversation, Ella jumped in. "Can Narfi and I train with you, daddy?" "Oh, of course, princess, come on." He started to jog away again; Narfi still in his arms and Ella following him. "I'll be in the VIP area!" You called after them, to which Loki gave you a thumb's up.

You let the kids have some quality time with their father and took a seat besides Jane in the VIP area, where all the 'celebrities' and family members of the players were seated. It was a closed off area.

"Hey, Jane." Your friend looked up at you, smiling. "Y/N, hey. Finally made your way here? I waited in the hotel lobby, but you, nor my niece and nephew could be seen anywhere..." You let out a breath; sitting down on the seat beside her. "Finally, indeed. Yeah, I know, sorry. Narfi was a little too excited and didn't let me dress him. All I did was running around the bathroom to catch him... Now I left them both with Loki." Jane giggled. "I left Eisa with Thor, too."

You watched Loki play with your kids from afar. While Ella tried to mimic every move of her dad, Narfi was seated on his shoulders. First, Loki taught Ella how to properly kick a ball, and then how to pass it to a teammate - his brother in that case. Eisa had found Ella and now they were playing all together. You and Jane giggled at the sight. And even though Loki was sometimes a bit annoyed by his brother's often too strong passes, they all seemed to have fun. It was a very cute thing to watch, without a doubt.

Ella and Eisa tried to perfect their ball game then, Loki went to do warm-ups with Narfi; using him as a weight to lift, for example. The boy liked it. You could tell from afar; seeing his little face all scrunched up in a giggle. It was to die for, honestly - and you were pretty sure that quite a few women witnessing this did.

About fifteen minutes later, your kids joined you in the VIP area. Loki would've loved to play further with them, but there was a little team warm-up now with the trainer giving them last instructions. Before that, he had to do a few short pre-game interviews, so... No time or space for kids.

Ella sat down beside you; totally out of breath but happy, while you took Narfi to sit on your lap.

You let your eyes wander. They drifted through the entire stadium and from one player to the next. Especially to Nat and Wanda, since they left you utterly stunned and amazed at how good they were in playing soccer. At the end, though, your eyes landed on Loki. Gaze lingering on him, you watched his every move; watched him train- No. Watched him putting on a show.

Loki noticed, of course; felt your eyes on him. How could he not? Yes, it was a big stadium with a lot of people on the pitch and a huge crowd, but... All he could see was you (and his babies). It had always been you.

So, being the mischievous, smug god he was, he decided to really give you something to look at. Loki abandoned the ball he was warming up with, discreetly moved closer to where you were seated and started to stretch instead. His too small jersey and shorts were definitely coming in handy now, he thought with a smug smirk. The god stretched his legs first; pulling the fabric up to expose his strong, muscular thighs. He moved his legs in a rotating motion, causing the trained muscles to deliciously bulge. Just how she likes it, your husband thought. Then, he did a lunge - causing your eyes to pop out of your head.

You already were a drooling, thirsting mess by now after those little games he had played and now he was ultimately killing you off with that move. You had a hard time to keep up your composure and not let Narfi slip off your lap... The lunge Loki made showed everything he had. Really everything. Defined shins and thighs, the outlines of what was between his legs, abs, happy trail (kudos to his too short jersey), broad shoulders and muscular arms. You had to suppress a moan, seeing this. Why does he has to be so smokin' hot?, you whined internally. And you weren't the only one who thought that. The lot of the ladies all around the VIP area were either fanning themselves, trying to not faint or screeching. Understandably. You couldn't blame them, could you?

But what really tickled your nerve ends and sent a sizzling spark of arousal through your system was the fact that Loki was yours. Entirely and undoubtedly yours. They all could lust after him as much as they wanted, but at the end of the day, he was messing up your bedsheets. Not theirs.

The game itself started about twenty minutes later. All eyes were on team England and team Avengers. To your surprise was everyone working together. You shortly questioned your eyesight, but it was true. All your friends worked hand in hand to get the win - at least for now.

Ella and Narfi were, of course, enthusiastic about their dad being a soccer star (at least for today) and cheered him on. The others too, but Loki the most. The great atmosphere tickled you as well, and so you were loudly cheering them on, too - until a little whine, coming undoubtedly from the small boy on your lap caused your motherly instincts to intervene. Immediately, you redirected your attention. "Narfi?" You asked, looking down at him. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Watery ruby eyes looked up at you, as another whine slipped past his small, pouty lips. "Not see dada." He said and tried to wriggle around - but you held him tightly, of course; not risking him to fall. "You can't see daddy? Oh, I'm sorry, baby. Do you want to sit on mommy's shoulders?" Narfi snivelled; a thick tear rolling down his chubby cheek. "Uh.Huh." "Okay. Hold on tight little man."

You were about to lift him up to your shoulders, when Ella stopped you. "I can take him, too, mommy." You blinked; looking at your daughter. "Are you sure?" "Yep," she said; smiling and moved to sit on the free seat in front of you. "Put him on my shoulders." "You want to sit on your sister's shoulders, Narfi?" The boy smiled brightly; nodding. So, you did what Ella suggested and sat your son down on his big sister's shoulders. "That okay, El?" You asked her; keeping a steady hand on Narfi's small back. "Yep. You can let go, I got him." "Sure?" "Sure." So, you did and watched with heart eyes the sweet scenes unfolding in front of your eyes. Both your kids cheering for their father; raven locks flying in the wind. The names 'Lokison' and 'Lokisdóttir' literally shining on the backs of their jerseys in the bright sun. It made you so unbelievably proud; heart pumping pure love through your veins.

Unfortunately, all the cheering didn't help and the Avengers team trailed by two goals at halftime...

During the half-time break, some of the players gave a speech. About UNICEF, what they exactly did, where they were working and so on. Tony and Steve were a part of that as well.

You had sent the kids off with Jane and Eisa to get something to eat and drink - which gave you a small timeframe to check your phone and maybe even answer some work emails. (You were still working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, since Narfi's birth wasn't that long ago and Loki had asked you to stay away from dangerous and physical draining missions for another while.)

Unfortunately, you didn't get far...

"Hey, pretty lady..." A familiar deep, smooth voice called out, and caused you to look up - but you couldn't see anyone. Frowning, your brain needed a second to figure out what was going on. Then it hit you. The barrier. Biting your lip, you stood up and walked down the few stairs. Luckily were the most seats empty at the moment, because everyone used the break to get drinks and food. Cautiously, you leaned against said barrier and looked down.

A dazzling, smug smile greeted you instantly and caused your legs to almost give in right then and there. Loki was standing just a few meters away from you, but quickly walked over. "There she is... My pretty lady. I already feared for a moment that you didn't hear me." You playfully rolled your eyes at your husband. "I always hear you calling out my name. Even in such a crowded place. Kudos to your seidr, though." Loki just winked; still smirking.

"Did I already tell you, my darling wife, you look incredibly ravishing; wearing this... flimsy jersey with my name printed on." His flirtatious words made you giggle like a love drunken teenager. "Yeah, really?" "Oh, absolutely. I hope this isn't the last time you're going to wear it." You bit your lip; smiling, before you proceeded to lean over the top of the barrier, in order to get a little bit closer to him.

"Babe, I'd wear anything for you."

The sparks were definitely flying between the two of you - even after all those years. Loki's smirk only widened. "Is that a threat, my love?" You shook your head; winking. "A promise." Loki's eyes travelled from your eyes to your cleavage and back. "Naughty." At those words, you had to giggle again. "Lokes, you are definitely not better. I know you put on a show for me while warming up and making me all hot and bothered. Do you know how difficult it is to hide this from our friends?" Loki chuckled. He just chuckled. "Apologies, but I just couldn't help myself. I had to put on a little show for my queen. I thought you'd appreciate it." "You're a naughty, mischievous little scamp, Mr. Laufeyson - but yes, I pretty much appreciated it. Just like very much every other lady in this stadium." "Which is a great ego boost, I have to confess, but I don't care about the others." "I know." You whispered; leaning as far as possible over the barrier to somehow catch your husband's lips. His hands flew up to your shoulders; holding you in a protective grasp and keeping you from falling. Thank the norns he was so fucking tall.

You would've loved to just keep on kissing him, but you forgot for a moment that there were thousands of people around you - presumably watching you, and that the half-time break was almost over. So, heavy heartedly, you untangled yourself from Loki again.

"I hope we can manage to turn the game. I'd love to win this." You winked. "I know. Chin up, babe. You've got forty-five minutes to turn it around."

After you bid your goodbye to your husband, you turned back around, only to look straight into Pepper's face - who had a knowing smirk on her lips. "You two just can't keep your hands off each other, can you?" You felt quite confident today, so you just shrugged your shoulders and casually replied: "It's not my fault that he's walking sex, is it?"

The game was absolutely exciting from the very beginning to the end. Everybody was hanging on the edges of their seat, after the Avengers tied the score. Bucky was the goal scorer. It went back and forth; one goal chance passing after another. It was super thrilling - and in the end, the Avengers really managed to turn the game and win. It made you proud. But what made you ever prouder, was that Loki scored the decisive goal. Ella was cheering so loud, you were afraid that she'd be hoarse tomorrow... Narfi mimicked his big sister; squealing out loud and celebrating his dad's victory - and the whole stadium did, too.

After the final whistle, every player on the pitch was visibly happy; everybody shaking hands and hugging. No matter if winner or 'loser', because after such a great game for such a good cause, everybody was a winner. The earned money would do a lot of good things in this world - and that was worthy enough to celebrate.

Once the 'formalities' were done, the lot of the players picked up their kids and let them run around the pitch, while they talked to others or played with them. Loki was one of them, of course, and Ella and Narfi were more than excited to storm the pitch once more. So, you helped your excited children to climb over the barrier, where their dad waited to pick them up. Sure, you could've chosen the long way round and lead them on the pitch - but it wasn't the fastest way.

"Daddy! Daddy! You scored the winning goal!" Ella literally yelled; voice filled with proudness as she 'jumped' into her father's awaiting arms. Loki chuckled; holding her in a firm grip. "I really did, princess. I never would've seen it coming, though. Uncle Scott is a way better striker than I am." Ella giggled; placing both her hands on her dad's shoulders. "I did, daddy! I did!" "You did?" "Yup!" The god chuckled again and pressed a kiss on her cheek, before she let her down to take little Narfi from your arms into his.

"Come here, Narfi." Loki took the boy and wanted to let him down as well, but Narfi clung to Loki; clearly didn't want to leave his dad's arms. "Do you want daddy to carry you?" Narfi nodded; sucking on his dummy (which you had given him a little while back) and placed his head on Loki's shoulder; rubbing his eyes. "Ohh, I see. My little prince is tired." It was more than understandable after this day. So much for the young man to see, hear and experience.

Smiling, Loki placed a kiss on his son's forehead, while he run a hand through the very curly black hair on the toddler's head. Then he looked around for Ella, but his daughter had run already off to her uncles and aunts; playing football with them. Knowing that she was taken care of, he decided to walk past the fans, to show them his thankfulness for the support and countless donations. And perhaps to raise a bit more money. The god wasn't stupid and knew exactly the effect he had on the women (and even some men). Besides, he had the sweetest toddler in his arms in all the nine realms, so...

He made his way behind the boards, past the goal and up to the barrier, which held the fans back. The people welcomed him with loud cheers and applause; chanting his name. It did something to him. Without a doubt. After all that happened in the past... To now hear people calling out his name caused almost tears to sprinkle in his eyes. He was forgiven. The world had forgiven him. Sure, he knew that the Americans saw him as an Avenger now as well - but the 'rest of the world'? No. He didn't see all of that coming - and it made him incredibly happy. Smiling, he waved at the people; bathing in the attention he got. Narfi, who had almost drifted off in his father's arms, lifted his head at the sudden very loud voices. He looked at the people with big, wide ruby eyes. Loki noticed that, of course. His smile even widened, as he pressed another kiss against the little boy's cerulean cheek. "So much people Narfi, right? Want to say hello and wave at them?" "Narfi say hewo?" He spoke tiredly from behind the dummy. Loki nodded. "Yes, little prince. If you want to." Narfi thought for a moment, but then cuddled back in his father's chest, causing Loki to chuckle and hug his little boy closer.

The god spent another while with the fans, before he joined the remaining players on the pitch.

The rest of the evening was spent celebrating the victory and all the raised money, before the Avengers and their families returned home.

One thing was sure, though... Soccer Aid was an event that would stay unforgotten.

[7-wonders]

In Waking Hours

Roommate!Calliope & GN!Reader (platonic)

Summary: Calliope's planning to enjoy a nice, quiet evening sitting outside under the moon and enjoying her relative freedom when she sees you still haunted by a particularly brutal nightmare. Plans change, because she's not about to let you face the worst parts of her former husband's realm alone, obviously.

Word count: 3.6k

A note from the author: (You don't have to, but you'll have a lot more backstory if you read To the world we dream about first)

Shitty summary but you have a nightmare and Calliope's like "well this is my emotional support human so I can't not help!" WOW this is the first time I've felt truly inspired when writing in months. S/o Calliope girl hope I'm doing you proud by giving you the stories and love you deserve.

So, I know that this isn't going to get a lot of love since there's no actual Morpheus in this, just mentions which means my normal tags can’t be used, but I love this little fic-verse I've created so much that I have to write it. (All this is to say please show this fic some love if you enjoyed!!!) This isn't romantic, but there are definitely romantic fics in the pipeline. The nice thing about a loose fic-verse is that there are plenty of fics for you to read if you don't want an eventual throuple :)

(But hopefully there will be plenty of fics for you to read if you do want an eventual throuple)

I would be remiss to not shout out the reason this fic-verse exists in the first place and the person that I can talk about any and every random fic idea with, the lovely @ivandra-winters! Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything.

Calliope doesn’t really sleep well anymore.

Not that she needs sleep in general. She’s a goddess, after all, and divine beings such as herself only sleep because they want to, because they feel like indulging in all the wonders available to them upon closing their eyes. Few things truly and regularly excite beings of myth, but the Dreaming is one of those few things. Only very rarely, such as in cases of extreme injury, do they need to sleep. Mostly, sleeping is a comfort, a way to pass the time.

In the early days of her imprisonment, after Erasmus Fry first captured her, Calliope thought that she would use sleep for both. Though her relationship with her husband had ended about as terribly as a relationship can end, the Dreamlord had never reneged on his promise to always give Calliope the sweetest of dreams. She would rest, then, and find a distraction and comfort in the Dreaming until someone, be it her sisters or her mothers or somebody seeking her favor, would save her.

Then, she found out all the terrible things one person can do to another while they’re unconscious.

Even though she’s now safe, the once-familiar action no longer comes easy to her. Almost every time she’s tried—and those have been few and far between—she wakes up in a panic before she can fall asleep enough to even make it to the Dreaming. When she closes her eyes, she sees them once more. Both of them, Fry and Madoc, taking what was never theirs in the first place. She feels their cruel, rough hands on her body, hears their voices demanding that she give them inspiration for their works. 

(Works that she wishes would be little more than drivel. But no, nothing inspired—forcefully or not—by her could ever be drivel. They’re wild successes every time, and so the men just continue to take take take until Calliope thinks that she has nothing left to give. But she does, because she is the Muse of Epic Poetry, and for as long as people still believe in her, she shall be a source of inspiration. And so she continues to be drained like a tree of its sap, an essence so integral to her being that she knows not who she is without it. Until one day, when Madoc returns to his home ranting and raving—and there is a knock at the door.)

Calliope’s been doing some reading on the device that you gave her, the one that’s like a digital library, and she believes she might have what today’s humans call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The inability to sleep, the flashbacks, the ever-present hum of vigilance that still thrums under her skin and warns her that the threat might be just around the corner—it’s all there, and it’s all her. It’s humiliating to think about it as a possibility, and more humiliating still to see herself in the words written. 

Goddesses shouldn’t have trauma! They shouldn’t even be in a position where trauma could be inflicted on them! She misses the age when she was at her strongest, the age when people worshipped the very ground she walked on, dropping to their knees in reverence and begging for her gifts.

But that world is long gone, and Calliope has landed in a new one that is entirely foreign to her. Slowly, though, she likes to think that she’s adjusting. Since the night is long and sleeping is not an option for her at present, she finds other ways to pass the hours when the rest of the world rests. The 21st century is new and exciting, and there is much to catch up on. 

Not only is she learning more about this new world, but she’s also learning herself all over. There are hobbies that she gets to discover once more, enjoyments that she forgot were hers. She listens to music (music now is…very different from even a hundred years ago, but there have been some works that she enjoys) and reads—not just the books that tell her things about herself that she does not wish to hear, but she reads epics! And poetry! How she missed poetry; that special language so near and dear to her, the words of her most favorite patrons. She reads all that she can get her hands on, good and bad, for the simple pleasure of being able to read once more.

Oftentimes, she simply enjoys the quiet at night. She basks in the knowledge that she can do what she wants, when she wants, with nobody lording over her or imposing their will. Yes, she is still technically bound to a human, but that is a non-issue. Calliope knows with absolute certainty that you have no idea of who she is or what Richard Madoc had done when he declared that she was your problem now.

She likes living with you, though it has been an adjustment being what you call a ‘roommate’ instead of a captive. Whereas the two men (if such brutes can be referred to as men) had been the worst of humanity, she finds humanity endearing when she sees it through your lens. How can she not develop a fondness for you, with how earnestly you try to include her in your life and make her feel like she belongs? 

There is also some level of comfort to be gained from the blissful ignorance you live in, the way that you believe your world to be black-and-white with no potential of the things you were taught to be nothing more than myths and stories. To you, such tales don’t exist—Calliope, the Muse, doesn’t exist—and Calliope, the woman, feels that she is able to let her guard down for the first time in a long, long time.

At times, she can feel your desperation for some sort of inspiration, lost as you attempt to complete your studies. It is comforting to know that you have no idea the being that you now share a home with. It is even more comforting to know that she has the choice of whether to grant you some inspiration or not. 

Tonight, Calliope decides for herself once more, and thinks that she would rather like to sit outside on the patio and enjoy the late night. With her mind made up, she sneaks out of her bedroom with a blanket in one hand and a book in the other.

“Oh!” Calliope gasps in surprise, startled upon seeing a figure sitting on the couch. 

Moonlight shines through the curtains that were most definitely closed a few short hours ago and illuminates your face staring out at the dark. She relaxes, but her fear immediately shifts to concern upon seeing what look to be tear tracks drying on your face.

“Hey. I’m sorry.” Just as she suspected, your voice is thick with tears. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Do not apologize,” she lightly chastises you. “Are you alright?”

You nod and use your sleeve to wipe under your eyes. “Yeah.”

It’s obvious that you’re planning on leaving it at that, which simply won’t do. Calliope levels you with a stare (a ‘mom stare,’ you teasingly referred to it as the first time she used it, without knowing how true your words were. One day, she thinks, she’ll tell you about Orpheus. Once the pain of losing him stops hurting so much) that you try your hardest to act unaffected by. You sigh after a moment, knowing that the fight is lost.

“I had a nightmare,” you admit. “And like, I’m not a little kid anymore. So why did this nightmare scare me so badly that I literally woke up and jumped out of bed in fear?”

Well, that explains why she heard a noise of surprise from your room, followed by a loud thump. She assumed that you hadn’t yet gone to bed, that you were up late finishing a project or just plain procrastinating your sleep. Why your late night required what sounded like the moving of furniture was beyond her. But no, instead, you’ve found yourself at the whims of a nightmare. 

Nightmares are not something that Calliope has a lot of experience with. She’s met nightmares, of course. With how much time she spent in the Dreaming, it was a foregone conclusion that she met a nightmare or two. And when they weren’t performing their duties, a lot of them were really quite nice!

(The only nightmare she truly could not stand was her former husband’s most beloved creation—The Corinthian. He…creeped her out, for lack of a better term. It wasn’t just the ocular mouths, though those were also chill-inducing. Rather, it was his entire demeanor. Like he was simply playing nice, biding his time before he could go in for the kill. She was glad to have never seen him again after the end of her marriage.)

But has Calliope ever actually dealt with a nightmare? The lives of immortals are long (obviously), and while she may have once had nightmares when she was very young, it was so long ago now that she can’t remember any particulars. Even when her own son was young, nightmares were not truly a concern. Though she and Morpheus had mutually agreed that he needed to sleep like a normal child at least sometimes in order to aid in his development, the very first time his little brow creased and frightened whimpers began to well in his throat, that decision was quickly forgotten in favor of comforting the boy and assuring him that nightmares would harm him no longer.

So, while it’s true that she does not have much experience with nightmares, what little experience she has had helps her to know just how frightening they can be—and how frightened it’s made you. 

“Would talking about it make you feel better?” Calliope asks.

You shake your head resolutely, determined to keep your fears to your chest. “I don’t remember it anymore.”

For many mortals, dreams and nightmares do not follow them out of the Dreaming. They may remember snippets of it, or certain emotions, but often, they fade away in the few hazy moments after waking. It’s pretty obvious that this isn’t the case for you, however. You continue to hold yourself tense, as though whatever had troubled you while you slept would reappear at any moment. Calliope has also seen you deep in thought a couple of times now, and the way you were looking outside when she first stepped out of her room was the same way she had seen you look when trying to complete schoolwork or focus on making something complicated. 

Up until now, you’ve tried so hard to always be positive and to make your home and yourself as comforting as possible so that Calliope may have the best possible environment to heal. She appreciates it—this new life she’s found herself in has truly been conducive to recovery—but now, she struggles to watch you try to keep up this facade so as not to lay your upsets upon her. She wishes that you would, though; that you would feel like you can confide in her the same way that you have made her feel towards you. After all that you’ve done for her, you deserve to feel like you have gained a friendship. 

Calliope will let you keep your secrets, then, even though this means that particular avenue of help is closed—she will not force you to do anything that you do not want to do. She moves on to Plan B, into the kitchen where she fumbles around until finding the kettle. Filling it with water, she places it on a burner and turns the stove on. Though she’s still not very confident around newer inventions like kitchen appliances, she’s proud of the fact that she’s slowly learning.

At the sounds, you peek up from the couch. “What are you doing?”

“What you’ve done for me when I find myself particularly upset,” she says, fetching two mugs from the cupboard.

“You’re making me tea?” Your voice sounds strangled, as though you can’t imagine why she would be providing you this small comfort.

You first started making tea for Calliope on the night that she technically became ‘yours.’ After locking herself in the bathroom and scrubbing her skin raw under the stream of hot water until she was sure that every inch of her body was clean from the DNA of another, she spent an interminable amount of time just enjoying the knowledge that she was now safe. While it was true that you were still practically a stranger, she had lived for long enough now and had honed her gifts well enough to be able to get a good read of a person’s intentions.

From the moment that she met you, you held none of the same ill will as the others. No, your immediate concern had been making sure that she was warm. When was the last time somebody cared for how she felt? She watched intently as you grabbed a coat from your vehicle, sure that, at any moment, your intentions toward her would change. Though she didn’t believe that she had the power (both strength and will) to fight you off, she would not be caught off-guard if it came to that.

But it never did. You simply wanted to make sure that she was out of harm’s way. You concluded on your own that whatever had happened to her in that house, at the hands of the man you called your professor, was horrific. To you, Calliope was a woman, battered and scared, with nothing to her name and nowhere to go. It was the obvious option to offer her food and shelter, to ensure her safety, simply because it was the right thing to do.

Still, even after your show of immense kindness, she did not want to face you, for some part of her was waiting for the inevitable. When you would demand the use of her gifts, wanting inspiration and fame and power and riches. She was dreading the potential that you were simply another human wanting to take take take. So she waited until the water ran cold and she was shivering. Even then, it took until she physically could stand the water no longer for her to finally make slow moves to get ready to leave the bathroom. Toweling herself off and putting on the borrowed clothes (clothes that actually covered her skin, so much more than the satin slips that she had been granted by her former captors) could only take so long, so with a heavy sigh, she steeled herself and opened the door.

There was no sign of you, however, and a quick glance at the light from under the closed door of one bedroom indicated that you were inside. The only sign of life that proved that you were once in this space was a plate and a mug sitting on the counter. When Calliope cautiously got closer, she saw a note next to them. 

“Made you some dinner and tea. I’ve always been told that tea (or your preferred hot beverage of choice) can do wonders for making you feel better, and I’ve found that to be true a few times now. Sweet dreams!”

Your name was signed at the end, along with what looked like a drawing of a smile.

Aware of the very real possibility that this could be a trap—Fry, after all, had first tried to woo her before taking what he believed to be his by force—she hastily grabbed the ceramicware and made off to the room that you had called hers. She had no real need for food, of course, nor for bathing. But they were those same creature comforts that not even the gods were above, and beyond sporadic, cold baths, they were creature comforts she had been denied for over sixty years. Calliope would take any that she could get, especially when they were (seemingly) freely given. Unfortunately, she was not in a position to spurn such gifts right now.

These gifts kept coming, without an expectation of anything in return from her. She was free to take whatever she wanted, go anywhere she liked, do anything she wished. And you were always there to cheer her on and encourage her, with a smile on your face and (when she wanted it) tea in hand.

“‘Make’ should perhaps be used loosely.” She smiles sheepishly, back in the present as the kettle begins to warm. “Depending on how much of your help I shall need after the water boils.”

You wrap a blanket around yourself and make your way to Calliope. “Then we’ll make it together.”

After the tea has been successfully prepared and you’re both settled back on the couch with a large blanket shared between you, Calliope asks, “Do you have nightmares often?”

“Not like when I was little. I was one of those kids that had night terrors, y’know?” She doesn’t know, because she has never heard of them more beyond being mentioned in passing when she was still wife to Dream of the Endless, but she nods regardless. “Apparently, I would just scream and shake until I ran out of breath and woke myself up.”

“I am so sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. Like most kids with night terrors, I never remembered them.” You take another sip from your mug. “This is good tea, by the way.”

“You are the one that determined when the tea was done steeping.”

“Yeah, but you boiled the water, which is an integral part of tea-making.” You smile at her, the first smile she’s seen from you tonight, and it makes her feel a little better, like she’s doing something right. “So well done.”

You fall quiet, having said what you wanted to say regarding your nightmare and choosing instead to enjoy your tea. Though you’re content with companionable silence, Calliope is not. She feels like she should be doing more to help you, to comfort you. Caring for another, helping someone to feel better, does not come easily to her like it once did. She has been burned for too long now, that caring nature snuffed out early on in her imprisonment. But slowly, like the first blades of grass pushing back through the soil of a blackened landscape after a wildfire, new life has started to grow in the middle of this scorched area of her heart. She wants to help you, to care for you. 

She wants to make you feel better.

“My younger sister, Thalia, is far better at this than I,” Calliope admits with a sigh.

“Better at what?”

“At cheering people up.” 

Indeed, Thalia did not preside over comedy for no reason. Many times over the years that she’s been unwillingly away from her family, Calliope found herself wishing that Thalia would be right next to her. She loves all of her sisters equally, but Thalia would have effortlessly known what to say or told an anecdote that would have made her imprisonment easier. Perhaps it would have even given her the extra strength needed to truly fight and find a way out.

You bump Calliope’s shoulder with your own. “You’ve done a really good job of that yourself, Cal.” 

She feels her chest warm, both at the compliment and the term of endearment. Somewhere along the way, you (and your friends, who are just as kind and welcoming to her as you have been) adopted a nickname for her. This is new for her—prior to her imprisonment, she was Calliope, eldest of the Muses Nine, Beautiful-Voiced, Chief of All Muses. She has always been Calliope. But now, sometimes she is Callie, or Cal. Those who call her this do not know that they are in the presence of a goddess, that she should be commanding the respect that she deserves from mortals who believe her one of them.

Instead, she finds that she loves having a nickname.

“You have…eight sisters, right?” you ask.

“Yes. Thalia is the second youngest.” Calliope has only spoken about her sisters in the most vague of ways, hesitant to reveal too much. Telling you the names of a sister or two certainly won’t hurt.

“It must be so much fun when you’re all together.”

Calliope smiles wistfully, feeling that familiar pang of homesickness. “It is. There are lots of laughs shared, and we all leave with enough stories to last until we see one another again.”

It hits her almost as soon as the words leave her mouth: There is something that she can do to help. She can do what she does best, that which is her chief function. She can tell you a story. Already the words come to her, the tale writing itself within her, nestled right at the hollow of her throat, and just waiting for her to speak it aloud. Her inspiration, her gift, is used on herself for the first time in a long time, and as her mind goes to work, she remembers why it is that she is so coveted. It feels intoxicating to think up a story once more, to be inspired to create. It’s an old feeling, one that was once so familiar to her, that it feels quite like a homecoming for her to be experiencing it once more.

“Have I ever told you of the wager that Thalia and our sister Mel once had?” she asks, baiting you.

You look at her curiously and take said bait. “No.”

Calliope smiles, feeling her power hum within her as, for the first time in a long, long time, she prepares an epic of her own. “Well, it started one summer…”

•••

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[jackabbot]

I actually think Tommy not being in 7×07 and 7x08 makes a lot of sense considering just how on the fly the Buck/Tommy (and season seven as a whole lol) seemed to have come together, and Tim Minear needing a pause to see how it's received by the general public while also working writing the end of the season at the same time 💀 Also, I know Oliver mentioned wanting an on screen relationship similar to the one Carlos and TK share on Lone Star, and if I remember correctly, in that first season when they were still getting to know eachother Carlos was in every 3rd-ish episode with various degrees of importance?? Anyway, it seems like Oliver (and Lou, and hopefully Tim as well) want to carry o with this story line for now, and the reception to bi buck has been mostly positive so I have hope for more Tommy in season 8, if not sooner!!!

mhm yeah it's very much on the fly, we still haven't got a title for the last episode and based on the latest Tim interview, I'm pretty sure it's not even written yet, hell, we barely just got the titles for the previous eps and the way Oliver was talking about it — and also because we know they usually get stuff 2 days prior to shooting at most — I'd wager that the actors haven't even seen the script yet for ep 9, if it's even finished.

so yeah, the possibilities at this moment are endless and I'd honestly expect them to keep Tommy around during the finale, in the background if nothing else, because the general reception was good and as you said there are many other storylines we need to get to without "wasting time" on recurring roles/bringing up more drama by doing a breakup arc, but we shall see.

I def can't comment on the lone star of it all, but if Tommy would become a more serious LI for Buck, I'm sure we'd be seeing him around a bit more, but you know out of 6 eps this season, Karen was in only 3 (assuming she'll be in ep6) and she is literally married to a lead character and has consistently had major storylines throughout the show.

all in all, I have high hopes and am staying positive about it until being told otherwise. 💛