#I feel like I should/had a tag for magic related questions

[treysimp]

I don't know how else to say this, do you want to make out on my couch? (Explicit Remix)

Side: Riddle Rosehearts/AFAB!Reader (Reader has a vagina)

Riddle/AMAB!Reader

As per our vote (thank you again for voting!) Riddle is the next spicy couch series conclusion. According to said vote, next in line is Azul. Do you all agree?

This is a partial continuation of the work “Do You Want to Make Out on My Couch (Part 6)”. Said fic is also included below if you want to re-read the beginning or this is your first time seeing this work.

Reader not described other than their junk, and pronouns are not used for them.

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, M/F sexual relations, handjobs, PIV sex, ask to tag for more.

Want more TWST? Here's my masterlist!

To skip straight to the action, scroll to the next picture of Riddle, thanks!

“Really!” Riddle sputters, his brows knit in irritation “you should…. you really…” he trails off, his eyes frantically darting around your face as if a puzzle piece would magically fall into place if he just had the final hint.

“…You should ask in a more romantic way than that.” He finally finished, fingers drifting to your tie to straighten the lopsided knot.

Your eyebrows involuntarily raised to the sky.

“Is that a no, house warden?” You ask. You wanted to start hysterically laughing, oh my God how could he possibly be so cute? 

Waiting for his response, you placed your hands on top of his to still the fingers that had been fussing over your tie. 

You were going to get him to answer your question in a forthright manner if it killed you.

“It’s not-not a no!” Riddle sputtered, pretending to wipe his mouth with his sleeve to hide away his increasingly flustered face. You noted that he had kept his other hand in your grasp though, feeling him shake gently beneath you.

“Next time I expect flowers! Or chocolate!” He finally shouted, pulling both of his hands away to cross them over his chest haughtily. You couldn’t hide the grin splitting your face.

“Oh? You’re already planning on next time?” You said, smoothing your hand over his ruby hair. 

Riddle seemed to finally register his slip of the tongue as his face lit as scarlet as the rest of him. 

“No!” Riddle practically screamed. You were glad Grim wasn’t here tonight, as he definitely would have woken up upon hearing this exchange.

You raised an eyebrow, “No?” 

Riddle’s gaze was fixed on the floor, face knit in irritation. 

“Only if you play your cards right.” He finished, turning his head away with a huff. 

You couldn’t stop the giggling that bubbled from your chest, God he was the cutest. How did he do it? 

Not being able to help yourself, you wound your arms around his body, pulling him close to you as you buried your head in his neck. 

Unsurprisingly he smelled great, like sweets and roses and some other sort of soft musk that was no doubt from some sort of expensive atelier. It was so charming the things he did to take care of himself for the sake of appearances. 

You idly wondered if there was a rule about smelling good in Heartslabyul. There probably was, but you decided that asking would only mortify Riddle further, and you wanted to get him to do more than talk to you tonight. 

Riddle was stiff as a board, arms hovering around you awkwardly for a moment until he finally relaxed, pulling you snugly into his arms. 

“Do you really want to kiss me?” You could barely hear Riddle mumble, his voice muffled by your hair as he nuzzled it into your neck to mirror the way you had been holding him. 

You pulled away slowly and held him by the shoulders, eyes boring into his shy grey gaze. You took a moment to take in the loveliness of his face for just a moment, relishing in the closeness you had never been afforded before now. The red eyeliner around his lashes, the rosy sheen of his heart-shaped mouth, and a tiny mole you had never noticed on top of his eyelid. So lovely.

“Yes. I do.” You said softly. 

If you could believe it, Riddle got even redder. He cleared his throat and seemed to make an internal decision, twining his hands behind your neck as he pushed himself forward to meet your lips. 

His lips were stiff but very, very soft. You pressed gently against him, massaging your mouth against his in hopes of loosening him up. It seemed to work, as you heard the smallest of moans as Riddle tried to mirror your movements, lightly sucking on your lower lip. It was shy, but also heartbreakingly genuine and careful. 

You both separated slowly, you wished you could take a picture of the expression on his face. 

Gorgeous eyes half open, glossy lips slightly swollen from the contact, he pulled the bottom of said lips into his mouth to chew on it lightly as he snapped his gaze to the side. How was he even real? His beauty shines like a fairy tale prince, and yet this gorgeous boy thought himself a villain. How ironic. 

“Again.” He whispered, pushing his face back towards you with more aggressive energy, seemingly having gained confidence now that the spell of your first kiss was broken. 

His kisses sped up and gained in ferocity, each time you separated for breath being punctuated with another ‘again’. His affection grew more demanding, his chest grew tighter and each breath became more labored. 

“Let me inside.” Riddle finally demanded, his hands curled into the lapels of your jacket. “I want to come inside.” 

You swallowed audibly and nodded, pushing the door open while Riddle pulled you inside of Ramshackle.   

Now that the dam of tension had broken, Riddle was adorably needy.

He ushered you to the couch, pushing you down and continuing to pepper kisses on your face as he whispered little compliments and appreciations to you, almost inaudible between the soft smacks. 

Pulling his face away from yours for a moment, you stroked his cheek with your thumb, taking in the soft flush of his face and the way that his wide grey eyes scanned your face frantically for an explanation as to why you stopped him. 

“What is it?” He questioned, putting one hand over yours as he worried over his lip anxiously. 

You shook your head and stifled a laugh. Where did all that confidence go? 

“You’re just beautiful, is all. I wanted to appreciate it.” You teased, happy to see how much your every move affected him. 

It was charming to see the faces he made when he was overthinking, though you would prefer that he relaxed a bit more sometimes.

Riddle inhaled through his nose loudly and steeled himself. A strange reaction to a compliment, you thought. 

Riddle grabbed you by the lapels and shook you lightly. Face pinched in a clearly frustrated frown.

“H-how can you-! How can you say stuff like that so easily! It’s infuriating!” He huffed, then sighed, then buried his head into the crook of your neck. 

His next words were quieted even further by your skin.

“How can you say something so romantic? So… like a fairy tale…” He murmured. “I’ve been in love with you all this time and you just… come out and say this? How am I supposed to act?” 

Riddle was lost, trapped between happiness and panic. He had convinced himself that he didn’t need affection, he just needed order. 

Much to his discomfort, his thoughts felt even more chaotic than ever when faced with one of his most secret desires coming true. He couldn’t decide if the tears threatening to spill from his eyes were ones of happiness or sorrow.

“Riddle…” You whispered, wrapping your arms around his shaking frame. “Do you really want this? It’s okay if you don’t.”

Riddle bolted up to attention and shook his head violently.

“No! Absolutely not! I-I want you! Desperately!” His proclamation was a bit over the top, but it made you smile. 

Everything about him was just a little over the top after all, why would love be any different? It was what drew you to him. 

“Okay then… what do you want to do?”

Riddle hesitated, clearly puzzled over this question. What did he want? 

You sat in the comfortable silence for a moment, but it seemed that he was pretty deep in his head. You decided to offer your own option instead.

“Riddle, I want to make you feel good. Will you let me?” You asked, propping yourself up on your elbows to get a better look at his face.

Riddle nodded stiffly and slowly crawled backwards as you rose to meet him. Eyes fixed on your lips while he tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothing. He was clearly doing this out of habit, considering the fact that his clothes being out of place was your fault anyway.

You approached him carefully, sliding your fingers under the collar of his shirt as you coaxed each closure undone, holding your breath as you got a peek at each additional inch of his perfect doll-like complexion. 

Riddle was visibly shivering, lightly gasping and leaning into your touch each time that cold fingers happened to make fleeting contact with his bare skin. Finally unbuttoning enough to push the shirt off his shoulders, his torso revealed bare. 

You started slowly, giving him unhurried and smooth kisses on his lips as you gently massaged his body with your hands. 

He was so unbelievably soft, but you could feel the slim muscles that lay under his skin as well, clearly having benefited from his riding practice. 

You took joy in watching the goosebumps form on his skin as you slowly trailed your mouth down his body, fluttering butterfly kisses punctuated by each little whimper and gasp that spilled out of his mouth. 

Riddle had clamped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, and while you wanted to hear his sounds better, you let him have that one piece of comfort. 

It was cute, and unsurprisingly as someone who liked Riddle this much, you were easily swayed by cute things.

Finally trailing your kisses to his abdomen, you unbuckled his belt and started to make quick work of his pants, silently proud in how you could tell how aroused he was by the tightness of the fit. 

After getting his zipper down, you placed your fingers on the waistband of his underwear, patiently waiting to see if he would let you so forward or ask you to stop. You were willing to do whatever he asked of you. 

“Please…” He whined, a strand of ruby hair falling into his face and sticking to his cheek. You reached up and tucked the offending hair behind his ear.

“Anything for you.” You said, pulling his pants down teasingly slow. 

Finally springing out of the restriction of his underwear, Riddle let out a barely audible sigh of relief. 

You were surprised, quite frankly. 

He wasn’t hung, per se, but what he did have far exceeded what you would proportionally expect of his small and soft body. He was pale and smooth, petal pink at the tip, with a generous curve to the sky. You pushed back the thought of where that curve might be able to hit for later, you were taking care of him right now, after all. 

You gingerly ran your fingertips over the softness of his skin, keeping your eyes locked on Riddle’s face to see every change in expression and twitch that hinted at his quickly crumbling composure. He was harshly biting his lip, and you could see that his ever-present flush of red had crawled down from his face to his chest. 

You started stroking him gently, not too fast, just ghosting touches along him. You worried that too much too fast would overwhelm him, and you wanted Riddle to enjoy this for as long as possible. 

Gripping him loosely, you started at a slow tempo, watching the way his thighs would twitch when you ran your thumb softly over the bulb of his head. 

You had internally compared him to a doll, but perhaps he was actually an angel. 

Watching the way that Riddle’s back arched off of the couch in yearning as you began varying the pace of your pumps, you certainly felt like you were having a religious experience. 

The way his soft grey eyes rolled back in his head, the way his arms and body tensed and relaxed with each stroke, it was mesmerizing. 

You couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

You heard Riddle softly call your name, so you shifted your focus back to his face. Nibbling along his neck as your pace turned strong and slow, you started milking him in a way that made his hips harshly buck into your hand. 

“Yes, Riddle?” You cooed between barely-there kisses. “How can I help you?”

Riddle looked up at you with glassy lust-heavy eyes.  

“I’wanna…” He gasped, urging his length into your hand at a particularly harsh stroke, “I wanna make you feel good too.” 

His words were slightly slurred, and he looked almost drunk on the feeling of your touch on him, his gaze wandering from your hand to your face and back again. 

“Oh?” You tease, spitting onto your hand and adding the moisture to the steady build-up of pre-cum that Riddle had been supplying you with.  

Your effort was met by another heady moan and then a hand harshly catching your wrist, causing you to stop your motions in surprise. 

“Let me fuck you… please?” Riddle asked between pants, the hand that had grabbed yours clearly shaking.

You swallowed audibly with a gulp.  

Well.. you always were a sucker for cute things.

He made quicker work of your clothes than you had his, perhaps owing to all of the beautiful yet complicated outfits that we wore regularly. 

Riddle's face was knit into a frown of concentration. The process of him taking your clothes off was a little less than sexy, but his innocently-serious charm made up for it.

Upon spying the skin of your chest, he froze. Staring at the pertness of your nipples in the cold air and the softness of your skin, he couldn't resist reaching forward to cup your chest softly, massaging the area with tender care. 

“Ah.. that feels good Riddle.” You say in encouragement. 

If he really wanted to make you feel good, you were going to make an effort to tell him when he got it right. You moved your hands over his to knead your chest a bit more aggressively and to lightly pinch at your nipples. 

Riddle froze for a moment again at your demonstration, but quickly got the hang of the motions, causing your breath to come out in shaky puffs. 

Riddle had made his way to your bottoms, undoing your buttons and sliding them down from your waist. He observed the small wet spot that had been forming on your underwear with pride, knowing that he was the one making this mess of you made his heart swell. 

He hooked his fingers under the garment and pulled, revealing you wholly bare to him. His breath caught in his throat at the view.

“...Like an angel.” He murmured reverently, pulling you to him to passionately kiss you once more. 

How ironic for him to say that, you thought.

The hard heat of Riddle's length had begun grinding against your thigh, his moans matching the tempo of his length rutting into you. Hands returned to messily groping at your chest, open mouthed kisses spread across your face, neck and chest. 

Sitting back on his feet to catch his breath and the rapid beating of his heart, Riddle grabbed his length in his hand and stroked it softly, staring directly into your eyes.

“Can I feel you?” He asked, looking at you through his thick lashes. You nodded and opened your arms to invite him to you. You wanted to feel him more than anything. 

Riddle started slow, rubbing his tip up and down your slit to gather some of the moisture that you had been so kindly supplying for him.

Remembering what you had done a few moments prior, Riddle spit on his hand and ran it through your lips and across his length, letting out a slight gasp at how good the slick felt on his burning skin. 

Feeling as prepared as he was ever going to be, Riddle began pressing himself inside you slowly, pumping his hips slightly to allow him easier entry.  

Your breathing was heavy as you were using all of your self-restraint to not claw the shit out of Riddle’s back. 

After a few moments of heavy breathing, gentle thrusting and gasped praises, Riddle bottomed out with a loud groan. 

Hazarding a glance at your face, he was amazed by the bottom lip that was plumped from the friction of his kisses, eyes half-lidded in need and his cock completely buried in your body. 

He had to move. Right now.

Riddle knew that he had to start slow and gentle. While he would never admit to reading a smutty romance novel in his life, he certainly had tried to absorb all he could from the ones he did get his hands on. 

Riddle allowed himself to pick up a little bit of speed, electing to move from slow and shallow thrusts to deep and grinding ones instead, both of you groaning when he kept pushing just past the point of comfort. 

Your chest was rising and falling to the beat of his hips meeting your own, and he found himself varying this timing to see if he could make you move in different ways, delighting in how you might spring forward or arch your back depending on where and when he was hitting inside of you.  

“Riddle, faster…” You gasped, knitting one of his hands between your fingers in an intimate hold. Riddle nodded and began doing as you asked, slamming himself in and out of you, pistoning himself so hard that you could feel his balls slap against you with each thrust. 

Your sounds were unlike anything that Riddle had ever heard before, and he wondered if something as heavenly as this could be considered addicting. 

One more thing that he had recalled from a particularly steamy bodice-ripper was that there was a button above the lips that was supposed to feel even better than just his thrusts. 

Taking the hand that you weren’t holding off the back of the couch, Riddle placed two fingers on the top of your lower-lips, drawing messy circles with his fingers.

You held back a giggle (because after all, you were actually impressed) as you guided Riddle’s fingers to your clit and helped him swirl his fingers. The friction created a warm tingle in your toes, and you knew you were close. Based on how Riddle had lost all sense of consistent timing and rhythm, you suspected that he was too. 

“Riddle…” You shakily called out, willing him to look at you again, “p-please cum for me darling.” 

Your voice quivered between thrusts, but if someone could be described as literally having a fire behind their eyes, that was what it was like looking at Riddle.

Gaining to a violent speed, both of your moans and gasps and pleads building into a crescendo, Riddle held your hips one final, bruising time, as he finished and near collapsed over you. 

Not wanting to finish without you, Riddle frantically swirled his fingers over your clit until you released the loudest ‘ah!’ of your life. Riddle felt you clench around his overstimulated dick and almost felt like fainting, but he resisted the urge in order to watch your face as you came down. Both of you panting, sweating, shaking, an absolute mess.

It was the first time he could really say that he was happy having made one.

"...Prefect?" 

"Yeah, Riddle?" 

"Do you want some tea?" 

"What do the rules say about tea at night?" 

"I can't find it in me to care about the rules right now." Riddle said with a smile, snuggling up to your side sleepily. 

"Me either." You replied, pulling Riddle off of your couch for you both to clean up and hopefully get some sleep.

You were far too tired for tea, as cute as it was of him to ask.

And there you have it! Did you like it? Do you want more of Riddle? Someone else? Let me know!

AMAB counterpart is coming soon and will be linked as soon as its posted.

Violent Delights Part 2 is also mostly written because I am out of control haha.

Love you reader!

Requested tags: @readinganas, @yandere-kou, @daeda21, @buckketboy, @kxhyuns, @aikochan4859, @prince-zukohere, @star-gods, @sarahyumiko2, @rosalie-in-twisted-wonderland, @chopid-lulu, @naniky, @kashasenpai, @the-mermaid-of-the-stars,

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update 05/19/2024

Three weeks in a row. I should play the lottery, I might hit for some big money!

Nerdie, please. We think it’s fine that you play the lottery, but have you done much this week?

I will have you know, that I worked three 12 hour shifts in a row, one of which I was the charge nurse. Something I’ve never done before and only had a 4 hour class once. The person that was supposed to be training me was not there so I just did trial by fire. I also worked this weekend. 

Though the highlight of the week was Friday night!

What? You had a hot date? Good for you!

Huh? This is Nerdie you’re talking about, no. Not at all what happened. I got to see Hozier live in a concert! It was wonderful! I might still be singing all the songs, have played them for my coworkers and that one guy whose room I was in for 30 minutes getting him cleaned up and bed changed should know a fair bit of “Almost (Sweet Music)” and “Something New.” I think I also had a brunch with my family this week somewhere in there.

We have so many questions…did that man even know what you were singing? Is he now a fan? How was brunch? How did you even find out about the concert? Why wasn’t that the first thing you said?

Sometimes you gotta bury the lead. Brunch was with mama Nerdie and two of Nerdie’s brothers. I have three total. I’m the only girl. The concert was magical, I’m trying to figure out something for September but it’s likely sold out. I think I really lucked out last Friday. 

Nerdie, do you have anything fanfic related? We’re happy to know you’re doing well. We wonder sometimes, but you know, this is Tumblr.

This week will be a bit different. I did a lot of reading last week but this week, I didn’t read much of anything except beta reading for a couple people. So Nerdie will highlight some series she thinks you should peek at:

Symphony by @maggiemayhemnj (A wonderful series featuring Joel - who is having a moment with his new hair by the way. I did notice, how could one not? Has Joel and a female OFC in post outbreak Jackson.) Fun fact - one of my patients called me symphony so it’s going to be one of my many aliases now.

If Wishes Came True by @schnarfer (A Dieter Bravo trilogy. Our beloved trash panda is many things and has many expressions, some not so great. Can it turn into something worthwhile?)

Headshots by @secretelephanttattoo (Marcus Pike - being the sweet man that he is. The OFC is a photographer. Love blooms. It will give you warm fuzzies and you’ll sniffle. It’s totally fine to do so.)

Bloody Kisses by @perotovar (Shane Morrissey and Tim rockford are the combo I was not aware I needed and now I think about them. The longing, the realization, the understanding, the build up, and the growing pains. Just read it and you’ll get it.)

IRL by @grogusmum (A sweet Javi G fic. You and Javi have been chatting about your shared interest in movies and sparks fly. So much so that you fly to see him in person. How does that go? Read and find out.)

These are five series I’ve read, loved and will read again because I enjoy them. I hope you all do too. 

I believe I did post a Dieter one shot for the Dieter Bravo Brain Rot May challenge about aliens. 

Also @fhatbhabiee back! 💖💖

I was tagged by people for WIP Wednesday through Saturday so I’ll do something from my not titled Pero x Dragon fic (look - it was a thought I had and it morphed into this but it’s dialogue):

Darkness is beginning to take him as is the cold. Pero cannot feel his limbs nor tell if he’s moving them. “Hmmpf, you care nothing of your life? Just to let it slip away like this. You appeared to be a warrior of some sort. Do all human warriors lay on their belly and wait for their final breath? Such a pity.” This voice, such torture before death to be mocked like this, couldn’t he have died in battle?  “I’m already in hell only hearing this voice before I die. Goddammit.” The mercenary laments.  “Are all humans fools like this? Why will you not heed my words? I am not trying to reach you for simple vexation.” “Stop with your flowery words then. Say what you actually need. I’m not going to listen to you the entire time before I leave this earth.”

Pero is the type to curse and argue with demons, angels, monsters and Gods if it means he has the last word. I stand by this. Contrary to what this conversation reads like, Pero does not die. His fate could be worse than death, we’ll have to see. 👀

The Peeps who maybe tagged me? @tinytinymenace @connectioneverywhere @magpiepills @604to647 @djarinmuse

@megamindsecretlair and @for-a-longlongtime There are either people I missed or people who didn't tag me. My bad either way. 🤣

I’ve also been toying with which series between my Marcus therapy series and my sweet Javi P series to start posting on Tumblr. I’m not sure which one. Everyone one’s welcome to ask me questions about any of these WIPs, just know I may not stop talking about them like most fic writers. 

I think I do dialogue well in my fics, and wacky ideas, but I could use work on world building, smut, descriptions and other things. I think. Who knows, I'm just going to keep wiring and we'll see what happens.

Stay safe and hydrated everyone!

Love Nerdie!

[verai-marcel]

Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 19 of ?)

Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.

Act I - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

Act II - Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18

AO3 Link is here, darling.

Word Count: 3,707

---------------------------------------

Act II, Chapter 7 - The Gauntlet

Even after he confessed, you realized that Astarion was still, well, Astarion. His feelings, though out in the open, were still a confused mess. If you were to describe it visually, it was a tangled ball of string; most of the strands felt like fondness, while there were a few threads that hummed with anxiety intertwined with lust. As if he felt bad for wanting you in such a way.

Not going to unpack that for now. It’s all too tightly wound together. I’ll let him unravel a bit more before I broach that topic.

On your end, you believed your feelings were pretty straightforward. You cared for him. You enjoyed spending time with him. Just the skinship, touching him, being touched, and sensing that feeling of him enjoying your company, without any ulterior motives, was incredible for you.

You imagined that other couples after confessing their feelings would be flinging their clothes off and having intimate relations in a secluded corner of their own little world.

Instead, you and Astarion were sitting by the campfire, your right arm linked with his left, the two of you reading quietly together.

“Is… is this alright?” he asked tentatively.

You looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, this is perfect.”

He leaned his head against yours. “I feel the same.”

Through your skin contact, however, you felt a slight twinge of guilt from him. Shit, if I say something now, he’s going to start questioning why I always know how he feels…

So you let it go, and just snuggled against him as he continued to read his book.

You had borrowed one of his books just so you could sit like this and spend some quiet time with him. You had few books of your own and you had read through them all at least twice. The book you had borrowed was some kind of adventure novel that featured a drow ranger.

Astarion glanced over at the page you were on. “Oh, you’re coming up to a good part.”

“Hush!” you chided. “No spoilers.”

“You two are being awfully cuddly.”

You both turned around to see Karlach smirking triumphantly.

“You snuck past my alarm on purpose,” you said accusingly.

She grinned. “Of course I did. Otherwise I would have missed this,” she said, pointing at your linked arms.

You could feel Astarion trying to pull away, but you only linked your arms tighter. “So? What of it?”

“Just glad to see you two finally out in the open,” Karlach said. Leaning in, she whispered to the two of you, though it was loud enough for others to hear, “Unlike another couple I know.”

You snorted, and Astarion grinned knowingly.

Looking past Karlach to see the others coming closer, you realized that you probably should do your job. “Alright, guess I’d better get food started.”

***

You were most certainly feeling better. After spending half the day quietly with Astarion, you felt like the pool of magic within you had almost refilled to full. You happily sang the tent cantrips while your rice porridge with herbs and dried mushrooms bubbled in the stew pot.

During the meal, your companions told you about their adventures, about how they met Balthazar, about how they discovered and solved three puzzle rooms, and about how tomorrow they would explore the rest of the lower levels.

“We’ll probably run into the devil down there,” Wyll mused. “We hadn’t seen any signs of it yet.”

“So perhaps all of you should go,” you said. At their shocked looks, you waved off their concern. “My magic has come back, and nothing came by today, not even a rat. Besides, Scratch and Owly can help defend the camp if anything happens.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about what you lot will run into down in the lower levels, given what you’ve told me.”

Lae’zel nodded. “Then I will train you more tonight, so that we may leave you tomorrow without concern.”

Oh boy. I’m going to be sore tonight.

***

You barely had the energy to change into your sleeping clothes. Falling into your bedroll, exhausted from Lae’zel’s training, you closed your eyes and groaned from your sore muscles. My gods. I cannot wait to fall asleep.

The soft footsteps of a certain elf drew your attention. Looking up, you watched Astarion kneel down beside you. 

“Darling, you’re not thinking of staying out here, are you?”

“Too tired to think.”

He sighed dramatically. “But I confessed my heart and soul to you today. You will come to my tent, won’t you?”

Dragging yourself up, you grabbed your bedroll. “Haven’t had enough of my company?”

“Never, darling.”

You grinned as you walked with him to his tent. “Never say never,” you teased.

He held the tent flap open for you like a gentleman, ushering you inside. Laying your bedroll alongside his, you flopped down ungracefully. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Lae’zel put me through a thousand paces, so I need to rest.”

He chuckled as he lay beside you. “Did you sing?”

You blinked. “Oh. No, I forgot.”

“Hmm. Try it next time.”

“Alright. Sweet dreams, Astarion.”

He leaned over and pressed his forehead to yours. 

I’m going to get addicted to this warm fondness I’m feeling from him.

“Did you know that elves don’t usually dream?”

“Oh?”

“Dreams are… chaotic, uncontrollable. Memories are bad enough,” he murmured.

You touched his face, stroking his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? You’ve only given me good memories so far. Well, except for when you got hurt.” He frowned. “So don’t do that again.”

You smiled. “Alright, I’ll try.”

He sighed. “Good enough, I suppose.” Reaching out for you, he pulled you close. “Sweet dreams, darling.”

You closed your eyes, and inhaled his unique scent, rosemary, bergamot, and a touch of brandy.

***

You awoke, cold and alone. Quickly getting up and changing, you saw that everyone was already getting their things together for the day’s exploration. Walking up to Astarion, you tapped his side with the back of your hand. 

“You didn’t wake me up?”

“You were sleeping so soundly, darling. I’m not a monster.”

You rolled your eyes. 

“Besides, Gale apparently wanted a chance to cook.”

“Shhh!” Gale hissed.

You glanced over at the stew pot. Seeing it mostly empty, you walked over and scraped what was left of the breakfast soup into a small bowl and sipped it. It was a delightful mix of spices and savory flavor, shreds of dried beef jerky mixed with some lentils and beans.

“This is amazing,” you muttered jealously. “Gale, give me the recipe when you come back!”

“What, and divulge my secrets?”

“Just do it,” Shadowheart said with a laugh, slapping him on the arm.

You chugged the rest of the soup and gathered all the dirty items for cleaning later. Just as everyone was ready to go, you headed to the entryway with them to wish them well. Astarion waited for everyone else to go past before he quickly pulled you in for a hug.

“Stay safe,” he murmured into your ear.

“You too,” you replied before the two of you pressed foreheads.

“We don’t have all day!” Karlach yelled gleefully.

Astarion just huffed and left with the rest of them, but not before giving you one last look.

You waved and smiled. Come back safe.

***

It was a long day and a half by yourself. You started counting the hours after you realized a full day had passed. You went up to Withers to check if they were all still alive, and he always nodded solemnly, with no other updates. So you just read books and cleaned and played with Scratch and Owly. You danced and practiced your cantrips for hours at a time. You slept in Astarion’s tent, rolling onto his bedroll and immersing yourself in his scent.

Am I being weird? It’s definitely weird. But… It makes me feel comfortable.

And they still had not returned. It was times like these where you wondered about the possibility of joining them on their adventures.

But then you remembered that you hated pain, and you had nowhere near enough battle experience to survive alongside them without being a hindrance.

Better to stay behind and tend camp. After all, if not me, then who will? Withers? Hah.

Wandering to the edge of the balcony overlooking the statue of Shar and seeing all the water below, you sang a song to coax a stream of water up to your level, filling up a few basins with water. Finding an empty barrel amongst the rubble, you plugged the holes with some clay and filled that up as well. But when you tried to move the barrel filled with water, it barely shifted.

You glared at it.

Move, damn you!

Your song became a chant, the tempo faster and stronger than you normally sang. 

The barrel hopped two feet closer.

Oh?

You continued to chant, almost like a war hymn as you led the barrel away from the edge of the balcony, but after a few hops, you felt drained.

Okay, we’re going to stop there.

You looked through the pile of loot that the companions had dropped off the previous night and found enough rags and scruffy clothes that you could fashion a sort of curtain, hung by some old spear handles that you formed into a three sided divider screen, with the backside open to the view of the balcony. There was space to stand next to the barrel and still be hidden from view.

Well, that’s good enough, I think.

You went back to your pack and grabbed your soap bar and one of the water basins. Singing a hot water rune into existence, you heated the water in the basin, took your clothes off, and scrubbed yourself clean. After rinsing yourself off, you heated the water in the barrel before awkwardly climbing inside.

Damn, I should have made a seat in here.

Instead, you squatted down and let the hot water cover your head. Closing your eyes, you let the heat relax your body for a good ten seconds before you came back up for air. Grabbing the basin and emptying the water out of it, you pushed it under you and sat on it precariously, slowly leaning back until you felt balanced.

You let out a sigh of relief. It worked. Now you had a nice hot bath in the privacy of a little makeshift divider screen, and the others could take some time to relax as well when they came back.

If they come back.

Shaking the dark thought from your mind, you submerged yourself again and held your breath for as long as you could. It was only for 25 seconds, but when you came back out, you could faintly hear the alarm bells on your belt, hung over the divider.

Is it them? Or is it something else…?

Your heart raced at the thought of being naked while intruders came upon your camp.

I don’t hear Owly or Scratch.

A few more moments passed as you listened to footsteps echoing in the cavern. Then you finally heard your name being called. 

Oh, thank goodness. “Over here!” you called out.

As you heard them walk over, you quickly realized that if they came around the screen, they’d see you naked. “Wait wait wait! Let me get my clothes on!” Quickly drying yourself with a towel for once and throwing your dress on, you came out to see them looking bloodied and exhausted.

“You look freshly washed,” Shadowheart said, the longing for a bath evident in her voice.

You grinned. “You can too, shortly. Come, come!” You showed everyone the bath set up, watching their expressions growing relieved that they could have a warm bath even in this darkened place.

“I’ll get food going,” you said as everyone else played rock-paper-scissors for who would go first in the bath.

You quickly threw together some cured meats and cheese together as an appetizer before putting some ingredients in the pot for a hearty stew, inspired by Gale’s meal yesterday morning. In a separate, smaller pot, you cooked some rice to go with it.

You tucked your wet hair behind your ears as you worked, and once you were done, you put your hands over your head and sang a quick drying cantrip that gently drew the water away without taking out too much moisture. If there was one thing you were a bit vain about, it was your hair, and you took good care of it.

The soft footsteps behind you seemed tentative, yet the cadence sounded familiar. He stopped directly behind you and gently grasped your shoulders.

“Welcome back, Astarion.”

He only hummed softly, one hand moving your hair to one side before dipping his head down to nuzzle your neck.

“You want supper now, or later?”

Astarion took a deep breath, inhaling your scent. “Later, darling, when we’re alone.”

Your body reacted instantly to his lowered tone, but you quickly tamped down on it. You knew he had felt your rush of blood when his grip on your shoulders tightened just a little bit.

You turned and looked up at him, but he only had a soft expression as he looked at you. Reaching out and cupping his face, you searched his emotions as he leaned into your touch. You could feel mostly contentment with a strand of anxiety weaved within.

He finally backed away from you. “Until tonight, then.”

Dammit. I wish I could help him with his anxiety.

During supper, everyone took turns describing the battle with the devil to you. It was a very hectic fight, and it sounded like everyone was pushed to their limits. But their teamwork and their communication had grown so much that they pulled through in the end and defeated him. 

“We even got Astarion to graciously say thank you,” Wyll joked.

Glancing over at him, you saw that he was looking a bit grumpy at being reminded about it. You snickered softly.

They continued to tell you about the rest of their adventure, and how they were feeling exhausted by the time they had finished exploring all of the rooms and gathering all of the orbs needed to activate the final elevator that would take them down to what they believed would be the final level of the Gauntlet.

“Tomorrow, we’ll end this,” Shadowheart said with determination. 

With supper completed, everyone broke off to relax and turn in for the night. Astarion turned to you. 

“I’ll go have a bath. See you in our tent, lover.”

Our? “Alright. Do you want me to make the water hotter for you?”

“Let’s go test it, shall we?”

Heading over to the bath with you, he dipped his hand into the water. “Seems adequate.”

You looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “But not perfect.”

“If you could…”

“Easy,” you said with confidence before singing a hotter water rune. Once it took hold, steam came out of the water. Turning around at the sound of shuffling clothing, you realized that Astarion was already stripping behind you.

“Astarion!” you gasped as you turned back around.

“You’ve seen all of me already, darling.”

That was only a glance, and it was in the middle of the inn. That doesn’t count. “Anyway I’m going back now byeeee,” you said in a rush as you nearly ran from him. His laughter followed you all the way back to the tent.

It was still a bit surreal to you, having your bedroll in his tent. You laid down and stared at the canopy, the red and gold fabric looking a bit dull in the dim light of your cantrip.

He won't mind if I do this, right? I wonder…

You sat up, put your hands up in the air, and sang.

Moonbeams and starlight,

Paint the sky above me,

Light up before my eyes,

A sparkly sight to see.

The fabric glittered for a moment then darkened, and pinpricks of light began to form in the darkness. You gestured with your hands purposely through the air as if you were weaving, and lights of different strengths and sizes, with different tints of color, populated the ‘sky’ you had created. You even created a full moon so that there was still enough light for you to see, but not too glaring.

Satisfied with your work, you lay back and stared up, feeling much less claustrophobic.

Astarion came in, shirtless and hair wet, with a seductive expression on his face, but then he looked up, and his expression changed to that of innocent wonder. To you, it was a much more attractive look on him. 

His eyes were round with amazement as he looked at the ceiling. “This is… beautiful.” He sat down next to you and smiled. “You completely distracted me from my plan.”

“And what plan was that?”

“Convince you to dry and brush my hair for me.”

You snickered. “You only need to ask, no need for a plan.”

He gave you a smarmy smirk. “But if you offered it freely, I wouldn’t need to ask.”

Rolling your eyes, you sat up and gestured for him to sit in front of you. Getting up onto your knees, you sang your hair drying cantrip slowly, since his hair was finer and more delicate than yours. Then you gently brushed his hair, first with your fingers, then with his brush.

“Gods, your touch feels so good,” he murmured.

That line, in another context, would have made your face heat up. Even now, you swallowed, your throat suddenly dry. “Glad you feel relaxed,” you mumbled, trying to push down any naughty thoughts.

He turned and took the brush from your hand. Slowly he ran his fingers up your bare arms, his eyes gazing at your body.

“Astarion?” you whispered.

Moving closer, he cupped your cheek. “You promised me supper, didn’t you?”

You nodded and tipped your head, exposing your neck.

Astarion leaned forward and licked your pulse. “Such an enticing treat,” he purred before he sank his teeth into your neck. With one hand gripping the back of your head, the other snaked around your backside and pulled you close, his body lining up with yours. You could feel the hard lines of his chest against your soft bosom, his muscled thigh resting between your legs.

You gasped softly as your hips moved on their own, searching for friction against him. But somewhere along the way, you realized that you had stopped feeling his emotions. Even with his fangs deep in your neck, you only felt the sting of your own flesh.

“Astarion—”

He released you from his bite, languidly licking your wound before he pulled back to look at you. Letting go of your head, he grabbed your bottom with both hands and pulled you harder against him. He buried his face into the crook of your neck and nibbled at your collarbone.

“Darling,” he rumbled against your skin, “does this feel good?” His hands traveled up and down your body, a slow, sensual exploration.

“Y-yes,” you gasped when one of his hands trailed up to gently caress your breast, a finger brushing against your sensitive nipple.

Then you looked at him. His eyes were on you, but something about his expression seemed as if he was realms away. You cupped his face with both hands.

You felt nothing.

It was like a bucket of cold water when you realized he had shut down. You put your hands on his chest and gently pushed him away. “I… I don’t think we’re ready for this.”

He looked hurt for a moment, and you could feel it through your touch. 

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled.

He shook his head. “It’s alright. I should have asked first.”

It’s not me I’m worried about. “That wasn’t it. You seemed… not all here.”

He blinked. Then he looked away, but you caught the misery in his expression.

You slid off his thigh and took his hands in yours. You were hit so hard with a wall of revulsion that you had to hide your gasp, acting as if you were taking a deep breath. “Astarion?”

He turned back to you with a sad expression. “I can’t help but feel… tainted.”

Your eyes widened in surprise.

“Not by you, darling. You… you’re incredible. You deserve something real. I want”—he pointed back and forth between the two of you—“this, to be real.”

He sighed dolefully. “But after two centuries of playing the rake… I just don't know what real looks like. Any kind of intimacy was just something I performed, to lure victims back…to him.”

You squeezed his hands and kept silent, nodding for him to continue.

“I want to be with you. I truly do. But these feelings of disgust and loathing… They keep coming up. And I don’t know how else… to be intimate… with you.”

Gods, I didn’t realize it was that bad. You let go of his hands and pulled him into a hug, resting his head on your shoulder. You carded your fingers through his hair and kissed the top of his head. “You take all the time you need to work through this,” you said softly. “Just let me hug you, and I’ll be happy.”

Slowly, his arms came around you and hugged you back. “This is enough for you?” he asked hesitantly.

“More than enough. We’ll take it one step at a time, at whatever pace you need.”

His body, which had felt tense in the beginning, steadily relaxed in your arms. The feelings of revulsion and guilt slowly faded, replaced by a sense of relief and…

Safety? I’ve felt this from him before, when I asked for a hug in the Underdark…

You hummed a lullaby as you led him down to the bedroll and held him close, running one hand through his soft hair while you gently rubbed his back with the other.

“Is this alright?” you asked.

He nodded and pressed his face further into the crook of your neck.

You continued to hum your song until you felt him fall into a trance.

“Sweet dreams,” you murmured, kissing his forehead.

---------------------

Act II, Chapter 7 End notes: Some more soft and fluff, but soon, we’ll get out of Act 2. Only two more chapters to go before we start Act 3! And a bit of heads up, I'm going to be leaning more into that hurt/comfort tag in Act 3, so if you're squeamish about injuries (I am, so I won't be writing very descriptively, but painful things WILL be happening), just be warned now.

Tags List: @numblytemporary @xalphafox @avitute @stormyjane7 @kmoon21

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 9/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma, TW: Self Harm

Chapter Nine: Career Day

Jason swung his feet, still eating hotdogs. "Mr. Wayne?" Jason whispered.

"Want another hotdog?" Bruce asked. Jason shook his head. "You sure?"

"I'm alright... Can I still get more hot cocoa?" Jason asked.

"Of course, Jason. You okay?" Bruce replied. Jason shook his head. "Still scared?" Jason nodded. "That's okay... The adrenaline will wear off, and everything will slow down in your head."

"How do you know?" Jason asked.

Bruce took a breath and reached to mess up Jason's hair. Jason flinched away, and Bruce nodded. "Sorry, I forgot you weren't-." Bruce trailed off.

Jason looked down at his feet, and Bruce poured him another cup of cocoa. Steph returned with marshmallows from the other kitchen. "I knew we had chocolate marshmallows somewhere," Steph smiled. Jason smiled at her.

She sprayed whipped cream on top of his cocoa and sprinkled the marshmallows. "Jason, I gotta go," Steph whispered, "It was nice meeting you."

She opened her arms, and Jason hugged her. "Do you really have to go?" Jason whined.

Steph nodded. "Yeah, but you're in good hands... Be good," Steph whispered. Jason nodded. She left Jason alone with Bruce.

"Jason, are you sure you're full?" Bruce asked.

Jason nodded. "Are you gonna tell my mom about tonight?" Jason whispered.

Bruce shook his head. "Still feel shaky?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded. "Yeah... How about we go for a ride?"

"Okay... But I should probably finish-."

"You can eat in the car. I'll make you another hotdog and put your cocoa in a to-go cup... Unless you'd like to eat first. Sorry if I seem pushy," Bruce whispered. Jason shook his head.

"You're not pushy," Jason replied, "Do you get lonely in this house all by yourself?"

Bruce poured Jason's cocoa into a to-go cup. "Sometimes," Bruce answered. With a tilt of the head, Bruce realized Jason wasn't asking to make conversation. He genuinely cared. "Do you get lonely being an only child?"

Jason nodded. "But you're an only child too... You know what it's like," Jason replied.

"I suppose I do... Still, I'd like to hear about your experience. It's gotta be different now than it used to be," Bruce replied as he wrapped Jason's hotdog in deli paper. They walked to the car, and Bruce handed Jason his food. "Gotham's changed a lot from when I was a child. Crime's not as organized as it used to be. More innocent people getting hurt."

"I guess so... But I'm not scared of the crime. I'm-. Do you ever feel like everyone else has more life than you?" Jason questioned. Bruce furrowed his brow. "Like some people have everything... Huge families, the perfect house, the car-."

"The happiness?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah," Jason mumbled.

The sun rose over the horizon, and Jason shielded his eyes. Bruce pulled down the mirror on the passenger's side. "No one's life is perfect. Even if someone has all those things, they'll always need something else," Bruce replied, "But I get the sense of longing. What do you long for?"

"I wish I had somebody older than me around... Then I wouldn't be responsible for everything all the time. I guess that's selfish, though. I feel selfish for wishing it was someone else. People always say they wouldn't wish stuff on their worst enemies, but is it wrong to wish you had somebody to share things with? Even the bad stuff?" Jason questioned. Bruce nodded. "You probably think that's a terrible thing-."

"You have no idea how much I relate to everything you've said. I think that's been my sole motivation for everything I've done in the past decade or so... I want someone to share my experience with too. I think my second son understood that better than anyone," Bruce whispered. Jason smiled.

"Where is he?" Jason questioned.

"We hit a bump in the road... And things never seemed the same again. We couldn't fix things," Bruce replied, squeezing his knee to hold back tears.

"I hope you can patch things up with your son someday," Jason mumbled as he tapped Bruce's wrist, offering him a gentle hand. "I'm sorry that you can't talk to him right now..."

"Thank you, Jason," Bruce smiled. He glanced over at Jason, who'd quietly given way to tears. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry... I don't know why-. I do know why I'm crying... I don't wanna tell you. You'll think it's dumb," Jason cried as he wiped his face. Bruce pulled over.

"I don't think your feelings are dumb... Let me have it, Jason. What's got you so upset?" Bruce asked sweetly.

They stared at one another for a while, and Jason sniffed. "I'm jealous... And I don't wanna be," Jason murmured. Bruce messed up Jason's hair.

"We're sharing something right now, Jason. Maybe you can't take his place, but you can have a place of your own," Bruce whispered, "Would you like that while you're here? To have a space of your own?" Jason stared into Bruce's eyes, all glossy with tears, and nodded. Bruce smiled a gently reassuring smile.

"But what does that mean for me?" Jason asked.

"You're loved while you're here... You're seen while you're here... You're understood," Bruce explained. Jason smiled.

They drove through Gotham while Jason ate and drank, and Bruce glanced at him occasionally. "You know what?" Bruce asked. Jason made a soft noise. "Your smile is the best smile in Gotham."

Jason switched over to a sheepish grin and looked down at his feet. "Thank you," Jason answered weakly.

"It's true. I've never seen a happier smile," Bruce replied honestly, "Reminds me of my son's smile."

"Really?" Jason asked.

Bruce nodded. "Jason, you have your whole beautiful life ahead of you. I don't know what you wanna do, but I know you'll be great," Bruce reassured Jason. "What do you wanna do?"

"I wanna help people," Jason replied, "I wanna do something that makes people feel better... Just don't know how. Nobody's ever asked me that before."

"Not even at school?" Bruce questioned. Jason shook his head.

"Nuh-uh... I think the teachers are more worried about keeping us out of juvie," Jason replied. Bruce frowned. "Thanks for asking me, though... Now I can think about it."

"Glad it's on your mind now. I can't wait to see what you become," Bruce beamed.

[rocketturtle4]

The Sign and it's Magic and some WILD arse theories

This is not meta this is me cataloguing my brains current tracking of The Sign and it's magic - plus some wild ass theories I AM SO EXCITED (I also know nothing about the mythology/stories on which any of this is loosely based) (If anyone has done or does meta on this, particularly the magic stuff I am SUPER curious but not the best at scrolling tumblr rn so feel free to tag me)

Okay SO

So green eyed stabby boy got green eyed RIGHT AFTER Phayas necklace broke off so it's reasonable to conclude these thins are connected

He ?wasn't a willing vessel, did the Mors essence somehow sneak in with the purpose of killing Phaya

Then we had Tharn use magic while grasping HIS necklace (his necklace which I have NOT been paying enough attention to)

Phaya burned green eyed Mor (revealing his green eyes) AFTER the necklace got put back on, but I am PRETTY SURE Phaya has touched him before then, so that suggests something happened to awaken his powers, presumably the same thing that awakened Tharns (what is that thing? Stress? Proximity? Time?)

@plantsarepeopletoo pointed out we had water dream for Tharn and FIRE dream for Phaya which is FASCINATING especially with the reveal of the giant (?fire?) bird at the end of the ep that is presumably Phaya

Question

Has the necklace been suppressing their powers? - things changed when Phaya's got broken and then Tharn ripped his off to throw that punches

Random Thoughts

Okay so we have been repeatedly told that Tharn did very bad things in his past life and the Karma of that means he should have died as a child, and is still constantly in danger (and maybe even his parents paid the partial price with their deaths...).

We know Green Eyes is possessive of him and currently the doctor, and presumably has always been the doctor and presumably knows who Tharn was. (Abbot seems to know this?)

Tharn is a ?water spirit, I know nothing. Seems to be not disimilar from a siren who lures men to their deaths

We had the cop dead in the second ep (I think) in the ocean, still not clear if suicide but that Phaya investigated and was then lured out to sea - siren links

Green Eyes is the water dragon

and then Phaya is a fire bird? pheonix?

(OH MY GOD THE WINGS, THE TATOO, THE FOESHADOWING AHHHH)

Wild Ass Theories

OKAY SO lets assume Past Tharn and Past Doctor are both water spirits/gods, they were bound together in some way (married? or the mythological inter-being equivelent?).

Past Tharn lured men to their deaths (siren thoughts, linked to the man who died and the fact that Phaya got lured out into the ocean - also might explain the bad karma)

Past Tharn lures in Fire spirit bird who is injured, something something something they fall in love.

Green eyes isn't okay with this for a multitude of reasons shit goes down and ?everyone dies

Details unknown, looks like we're getting backstory next ep

BUT

We do know that Past!Phaya is also someone past!Tharn wronged right? so maybe past!tharn betrayed his love in the end, and that is how they died... or maybe past!Tharn killed himself after his love died as a result of Tharns betrayal...Maybe even swearing that in his next life he would give his own life before letting him die again (thereby explaining the focus of the visions)

Did green eyes die at all then or has he been living on, waiting for his love (Tharn) to reincarnate?

Phaya seems to be getting at least some memories back, more than Tharn so far. Phaya remembers him as a siren and now he remembers his past self too at least a little. Of course this is a dream, it may well be only half remembered when he wakes.

Other Thoughts

Of course this show also has a whole crime thriller thing which I am loving and I have thoughts and questions about that too, but they're mostly magic related... (why the vision of Tharns dad at THAT moment? was the truck vision of his dad, cause the show seemed to imply it was though his visions are normally future. Although he also saw that girl die which was in the past and seemed to be about proximity and perhaps the strength of her emotions idk. So what about that proximity triggered the vision)

I think that's emptied my brain, thankfully, GOSH I LOVE THIS SHOW

[moonlitkilljoy]

Lo and behold! i’ve finally finished making it, the promised list of Pacific Rim fic recs for anon :-) everyone thank @ihavenomoralsss for proofreading this for me!

There’s a good chance most people who've read any amount of newmann fanfiction will have read the first two on this list, as they’re found on the first and fifth pages of the newmann ship tag on ao3 when its sorted by most kudos descending– however i’ve included them anyway because they’re there for a very good reason (which is that they’re FANTASTIC). also, i've grouped all of the "pov outsider" fics together at the end of this post, as they pretty much make up one third of the list– which feels like it warrants it's own section. feel free to dm me or send me an ask to let me know of your thoughts about any of these (or just pacific rim in general!!)! without further ado, may i present to thou, 10 fantastic newmann fics

It’s All in the Hands of a Lazy Projector by patster223

“Hermann is cursed as a child so that he may never remember anyone he meets. Theoretically, this should make falling in love impossible, but then he meets (and meets and meets and meets) Newton Geiszler.”

~10k words, 1 chapter, rated T; exactly what the summary says, it’s an au in which hermann is cursed to forget everyone he meets, it centers around newt and hermanns interactions and how they manage to grow close despite this

if i had to choose a single favorite pacific rim fanfic it’d probably have to be this one. it’s gorgeously written and tackles some themes that hit very close to home for me, personally. i’ve struggled with memory loss for a very long time now, and this fic manages to encapsulate that experience through the lens of magical-realism in a way i’ve never seen captured in any context. i left a comment to that effect (under a pseudonym because i rarely log into ao3 on my phone) and the author’s response is something that still makes me emotional pretty much every time i look at it, “I wanted to imagine a world where memory still mattered, even if it wasn’t remembered. And now, years later, I think that it does. You and I and Hermann hold memory in our bodies and our minds, even if what’s being held isn’t an exact picture or description, but rather an emotion or a question. Memory still has to matter to those with memory loss, even if we end up experiencing it differently.” so, this is not only a recommendation for quality, but also from a very personal place— it’s a fic that addresses the concept of memory loss through a lens of comfort and hope, which it is so rarely seen through, and does it phenomenally. if anyone looking at this post were to read one fic and only one fic from this list i’d want it to be this one. it also characterizes newt and hermann very well and i love their dynamic in it, it’s PHENOMENAL

Letters From Berlin by spenshi

“Newton keeps in touch with his family when he's shipped off to the Shatterdome. Jacob and Illia send care packages to the K-Science Lab.”

~12k words, 1 chapter, rated T; once more, exactly what the summary says– newt sends letters to his family and they send him packages. eventually hermann starts sending them letters (+ emails) as well :]

i read this one most recently out of all the others so it’s the freshest in my memory :-) it’s extremely homely and heartwarming!! additionally, it includes some really fun and sweet interactions between newt’s family and hermann. OH! and, of course, some very fun characterization of newt’s family

Plausible Possibility by cissues / @cacaesthesia

“Newt and Hermann experience some odd post-drift effects.”

~1k words, 1 chapter, rated G; a little exploration of ghost-drift

short and sweet! absolutely fucking adorable too. plus, this contains some headcanons/a discussion of sexuality that i was delighted to find very relatable (as an aromantic person)

Red Patent by highseize

“It's been months since the ocean closed up. Nothing will take this from her now.”

~2k words, 1 chapter, rated G; a snapshot of what mako’s life looks like after the events of the movie ^^

a rare non-hermann-and-newt-centered fic on this list!! this one actually centers around mako :D it’s adorable and i love mako with my entire heart, especially this depiction of her

fool by kaijusalad

“Newton is going to die thinking no-one left on this Earth loves him. (Fool.) He can't have that.”

~6k words, 1 chapter, rated T; hermann believes that seeking out hannibal chau and drifting with a kaiju brain once more will kill newt, and acts accordingly

i LOVE the way this fic is formatted and written– the word choice and unique use of italics and parentheses is incredible and works so well. it describes every action and scene so gorgeously and it just. man. here’s a small except devoid of context that i think showcases this perfectly: “His words are hollow, anyway. They hang in the air, lies filled with helium, a new year's resolution, an 'I'll quit smoking'. (God is real in belief; maybe if he believes in them hard enough they'll come true, and isn't that something for a man who works in numbers to think?)”

One day from lonely by Raehimura

“Hermann is standing outside Newton Geiszler’s private quarters, bony ankles poking out from under too-short standard-issue sweatpants, his hair a wreck and his red-ringed eye still sore, with a lifetime of stolen memories in his head. What if Newt isn’t there? What if he’s sleeping? Or, worse, what if he is waiting on the other side of the door with his own stolen memories fresh on his mind? Above all he remembers, sudden and frighteningly clear: This is not what they do.”

~2.5k words, 1 chapter, rated G; another very interesting exploration of newt and hermann post-drift

i disagree a little bit with some of the characterization in this fic (particular, newt thinking hermann hates him. i think newt very well knows that hermann’s very fond of him) but it’s a great read nonetheless! the best word to describe it would probably be “cozy”

This is a Totally Normal Thing for Friends to Do by SolarMorrigan / @solarmorrigan

“Hermann and Newt don't talk about it (until they do)”

~21k words, 4 chapters, rated T; a fake dating au in which hermann’s dad nags him about not having found a partner yet and hermann panics, telling him that he actually does have a partner just to get him to asking about it, but it backfires when lars expresses interest in meeting him. newt offers to play the part of partner, hijinks and relationship progression ensue. this fic also has an explicit sequel, if that’s your kind of thing

THIS FIC IS SO FUCKING GOOD. there were multiple times where i reacted out loud to things that happened in the fic– most notably a series of “holy fucking shit”s while eating lunch with some friends. it’s adorable and includes some transmasc newt content :3 this fic also includes hermann snapping and standing up to his shithead dad and its GREAT. one of my absolute favorite pacrim fics ever, i can’t recommend it enough

POV OUTSIDER FICS:

HR Complaints by IDoNotBitMyThumbAtYou / @idonotbitemythumbatyou

“Manny Flores has been with the PPDC for nearly a decade by the time he’s transferred to Hong Kong. He just wants to do his job. And he’s good at it. But when he receives the 15th complaint from one Dr. Hermann Gottlieb in only three days, he finds his patience running thin. He wonders which of the two scientists would be more of a nightmare to cohabitate a working space with: Dr. Gottlieb - sender of endless petty complaints, or Dr. Geiszler, their hapless subject. (...)”

~3k words, 1 chapter, unrated (probably G or T); hermann and newt’s relationship through the eyes of someone reading the (non-serious) complaints that hermann sends to hr

i spent three uninterrupted hours looking for this fic to link it here and it was ABSOLUTELY worth it. this fic is so fun, and it uses my favorite trope of all time!! i’m an absolute sucker for “pov outsider” type fics <3 the characterization is phenomenal, i love the oc from whose pov we view the story, and some of the lines made me actually audibly laugh. definitely another one of my absolute favorites. i think i sent a screenshot of the first sentence from the following lines to virtually everyone i know: “After another few weeks of complaints (“Dr. Geiszler asked me if I have any tattoos.” “Dr. Geiszler made an offensive tweet alluding to my personal style. I have attached a link.” “Dr. Geiszler has named his invention ‘the milking machine.’”) And continued insistence that no disciplinary action be taken, Manny was starting to suspect that the latter was closer to the truth: these were the missives of someone deeply, inconveniently in love. Christ, Manny was half in love with the guy himself at this point.” this fic rocks, do yourself a solid and please read it

On The Outside by combeferrer

“Petra Gottlieb, Hermann's mother, watches the first PPDC press conference after the world is saved and notices her son, particularly his relationship with his fellow scientist.”

~1k words, 1 chapter, rated G; for the third and final time, exactly what the description says! newt and hermanns relationship through the eyes of hermann’s mother, who watches a press conference with her son– who she hasn’t really interacted with lately– in it

ANOTHER GREAT FIC!! I love this characterization of newt and hermann’s relationship, and i find the premise and extremely enticing in and of itself so i won’t be saying anything more here <3

Disconnect, Connect Again by cypress_tree / @cypress-tree

“Raising Newt Geiszler has never been easy. Seeing him fall in love can be harder. The development of Newt and Hermann's relationship, from Jacob Geiszler's point-of-view.”

~13.5k words, 4 chapters, rated T; newt and hermann’s relationship through the eyes of newt’s father, over the course of 12 years

LOVE LOVE LOVE this author’s take on newt’s family. it works so well and is very enjoyable to read about. i wish i could articulate how much and why exactly i love this fic in a better manner, but i can’t quite find the right word’s ^^; i’m just going to leave it at “i love it dearly and i adore it’s depiction/interpretation of newt and hermann’s history (and present + future!)”

thank you for reading!! have a lovely day/night ^^ <3

[traumatas]

Trigger Warning: Customer Service

Rating: Teen and Up Audience

Category: M/M

Relationship: Reigen Arataka/Serizawa Katsuya

Tags: Reigen Arataka, Serizawa Katsuya, Friends to Lovers, Character Development, Jealousy, Sexual Harrasment, All of it very lightly but it’s there, Protective Serizawa Katsuya, Slice of life, In a sense, Pining

AO3 Link

Summary:

“Of course we offer several options with multiple varying guarantees of success - exorcisms aren’t as straightforward as most people like to believe and need a lot of professional skill, mind you - and I am certain we will find something perfect for your needs.” Falling into his little spiel is easy enough now that he has a jumping off point, the words slipping past his lips almost naturally. Still, as he speaks he begins to notice Serizawa’s eyes on him and somehow he can’t help but want to squirm a little at how intense the other’s look feels. “Our most popular service is the 99% guaranteed exorcism. Lucky for you, we are currently offering a ten percent discount on it - for our first time customers only.”

He waves the pamphlet in front of the client’s face before eventually placing it in his hands. The perfectly stiff smile on his face doesn’t fall as the man’s eyes scan over it, Reigen waiting for a decision to be made.

---------------

Reigen likes to consider himself a master at dealing with all kinds of people. However, that doesn't mean that they don't drive him insane sometimes.

Reigen finds himself suppressing one sigh after another in favor of keeping on his perfectly crafted mask of professionalism. The sun has barely reached its highest point in the sky and lunch break has yet to pass - meaning, it is far too early for him to lose his patience with their clients. 

For allegedly having spirit related issues, the young adult sitting on the chair in front of his desk seems surprisingly uninterested. Reigen has seen far too much of the gum the man is chewing and at this point he wants nothing more than to reach up to rub at his temples in annoyance. 

Instead, his eyes move over their client once more and he briefly wonders how much longer he had to poke and question before he got any kind of useful information out of him. 

When he had accepted this job over a quick phone call the person now sitting across from him had sounded rather serious. However, now that Reigen is trying to figure out anything substantial or useful, he wishes he had just refused - money for rent be damned.

“Do you know what kind of spirit you are haunted by?” The questions almost seem redundant at this point and keeping his voice neutral is taking more out of him than it should. He can’t deny that being able to keep the irritation out of his words might be his most impressive skill yet. Feigning interest, he leans forward and tries to pick up on any sign that he might be able to use to his advantage when it comes to making this client worth the time he is wasting on him.

Sadly, he is still out of luck because his question is answered with a mere shrug that perfectly mimics all the previous ones. Reigen wants nothing more than to throw up his hands in frustration and give up, but that is neither in line with his business practices nor a socially acceptable option. Firstly, he has a reputation to hold up and secondly, he needs to make sure to set an extra good example for Serizawa. 

The ESPer stands next to him painfully ridgid. His fingers are flexing and unflexing in what Reigen assumes is an attempt to relieve some of the tension in his body, and every now and then it’s followed by a nervous twitch that he does his best to ignore. 

He’s more than aware that the other is new to all of this and that simply cleaning up nicely would not help Serizawa to magically feel comfortable or confident around their clients. With how much time he had spent isolated, there’s still a lot he has to warm up to. Additionally, the environment in the office has to be vastly different from what he is used to and it’s even more reason for Reigen to want to get the other accustomed to it all. It is important for him to show Serizawa everything that he has to pay attention to in this line of work. After all, without Mob being able to stop by at his very call, it is essential that Reigen keeps the only ESPer willing to work for him from quitting - in the end, most of his income is rather reliant on having someone with psychic powers around.

The past few weeks he had done his very best to include Serizawa as much as possible and they had certainly made some progress. He had realized quickly how the other responds quite favorably to positive reinforcements and even if he is visibly anxious and never quite able to stop his fidgeting, he's nothing if not eager to learn. 

So when Reigen had accepted this client's rather straightforward seeming request, he had planned to dare and involve the ESPer a little more than usual to help him build some confidence. This, however, is far from how this is supposed to go and for a moment Reigen wonders if he isn’t the one being cursed or haunted. Maybe it is worth it to check in with Dimple sometime soon.

“You truly do not know what kind of spirit, then? Where you could have acquired it, what you did to offend it or how long it has been haunting you. Is that correct?” One of Reigen’s hands shoots up to count along with his points, raising a finger for each of them, and he hopes that it doesn’t translate as impatiently as it feels. 

Once more the man across from him seems to consider his answer and for the first time since coming through their door, he nods. Though, the simple motion is most certainly not as comforting as Reigen had hoped for and far from a good sign.

“Yes, that is correct.” The client confirms. “I didn’t want to believe it was a spirit at first, but you already said you can see its influence, haven’t you? So shouldn’t you know what kind it is?”

“Of course, of course.” Reigen’s extended hand begins to wave through the air, easily brushing aside any possible doubts their client might have. Out of the corner of his eye he can see how Serizawa shifts his weight from one leg to the other, hands now behind his back to allow himself to pull nervously at the fabric of his cuffs without being seen by anyone other than Reigen. “Serizawa, you can see it too. What do you think?”

Maybe it isn’t necessarily fair of him to push this onto the ESPer and he can’t help but feel a little guilty when he’s met with the other’s startled expression. To him there isn’t much of an option, however. When it comes to spinning stories along, he likes to consider himself quite good at bouncing back the information he gets with half truths and lies. Unfortunately, his wits are at an end when there’s little to nothing to work with. Without any insight or idea of the actual problem, his course of action is limited. So, while putting Serizawa on the spot like this doesn’t make him feel particularly great, there’s only so many things left for him to resort to. Desperate times call for desperate measures and he tries to soothe his conscience with the fact that it would be great practice for the other nonetheless. 

“I uh- y-yes, Reigen, sir.” Serizawa stutters eventually, standing so straight now that it has to be uncomfortable. Reigen decides that he would have to buy the other some lunch as an apology - depending on how much money this job is going to get them. “It’s rather weak b-but I do think we should exorcize it sooner than later…. Reigen, sir.”

For a brief moment, his eyes meet the ESPer’s but the other isn’t able to stand their eye contact for very long, snapping his head back to their client. After a few seconds, that seems to be too much as well and Serizawa opts for a random spot on the wall instead.

“I suppose you’re correct.” Reigen agrees and snaps his fingers loud enough to make the man next to him jolt in surprise. He desperately hopes his praise does make up for it at least somewhat. While pushing some of the hair out of his face, he stands up and motions for their client to do the same. “Spirits are an urgent matter and we shouldn’t waste anymore time. If you truly do not remember where you might have gotten stuck with it or how, you will simply have to avoid all ominous or concerning places, including but not limited to cemeteries, parking garages, parks at night and corporate office buildings. All that, additionally to our exorcism services, of course.”

Once the both of them stand, he slips a paper off the surface of his cheap desk and holds it up to the man’s face with a large and bright smile. 

“Of course we offer several options with multiple varying guarantees of success - exorcisms aren’t as straightforward as most people like to believe and need a lot of professional skill, mind you - and I am certain we will find something perfect for your needs.” Falling into his little spiel is easy enough now that he has a jumping off point, the words slipping past his lips almost naturally. Still, as he speaks he begins to notice Serizawa’s eyes on him and somehow he can’t help but want to squirm a little at how intense the other’s look feels. It makes him nervous enough for his hand to stop its gesturing for a split second. However, just a bit later, it continues to move along with his words again. “Our most popular service is the 99% guaranteed exorcism. Lucky for you, we are currently offering a ten percent discount on it - for our first time customers only.”

He waves the pamphlet in front of the client’s face before eventually placing it in his hands. The perfectly stiff smile on his face doesn’t fall as the man’s eyes scan over it, Reigen waiting for a decision to be made.

Everyone stands in silence for a good few moments and Reigen’s eyes dare to snap to Serizawa who looks rather uncomfortable in his position behind the desk. The fleeting thought that it might be his lies and act that made the ESPer feel that way crosses his mind and he prays to whatever is listening that that isn’t the case. 

“If you have an option in mind but are unsure about how to finance it, we also accept multiple payments.” He elaborates, unable to stand the silence in the room much longer. Just to make sure, he follows it up with an encouraging nod to their client, pressing for an answer now. This is taking more of his energy than what he usually has to deal with and the indecisive silence is downright deafening to him. “So is there anything that looks like it would fit your needs?”

Reigen’s smile begins to fall when he sees the client's shoulders pull up in another dismissive shrug and he realizes that he would have to put much more effort into this than he had initially anticipated.

~♥~

After the incident at the Ibogami Hotsprings, Serizawa had opened up significantly. If Reigen looks at him now, it is plainly obvious just how nervous the ESPer had been around him previously

While Serizawa is still trying quite hard to impress and prove himself as a part of Spirits and Such, he doesn’t jump out of his shoes whenever he is addressed or asked for his opinion anymore. Instead of simply nodding along with whatever Reigen is suggesting, he seems to truly consider whether he agrees or not and as it turns out, he has some rather useful and interesting insights that have come in handy more than once.

Over time, Reigen found himself thoroughly enjoying Serizawa’s company and he had realized that the ESPer had not only begun to relax around him, but Reigen himself had started to feel progressively less and less pressured to pose as some type of role model and mentor. 

Pretending and performing is what he is best at - however, being able to unwind a little between clients every now and then is a relief. Especially with someone he is considering a friend at this point. The air in the office had shifted to something different ever since they had started to treat each other more casually and neither of them seemed to want to go back to strictly professional after that. 

The first time one of Reigen’s off hand and snarky remarks had made Serizawa break out in laughter, it had completely caught him off guard. The sound had been surprisingly warm and genuine, causing some of the objects on the ESPer’s desk to lift off the surface. Of course it had been a matter of seconds before Serizawa had profoundly apologized to him - unaware of how Reigen still had to recover from seeing the other’s face pulled into a large smile that made his stomach flip.  

With every day that passes, working with Serizawa becomes easier and soon enough Reigen starts to invite him out for drinks after particularly stressful days. At first the other had politely refused, but Reigen is nothing if not persistent and had gotten him to agree eventually. 

Even on their nights out, the ESPer is incredibly pleasant to be around - maybe a little reluctant still, but weighing in with his own experiences and thoughts to Reigen’s many and endless stories. His own never ending gesturing and talking had dominated the first few times, but soon enough he had started to listen intently to what Serizawa had to say and at this point he is unable to deny that he is looking forward to what the other is willing to share. 

Slowly but steadily, Serizawa starts to think and act for himself and Reigen notices a feeling of pride swell in his chest at seeing the other open up - Pride and something else that he can’t quite put his finger on and would vehemently deny if anyone ever asked him about it. 

In the end all he allows himself to say is that there’s a certain charm about Serizawa - and it affects not only him, but their clients as well. 

While it is unintentional, there’s no doubt about how the ESPer seems to catch the eye of some of the people walking through their door. 

Serizawa is a rather handsome man and with the gentle tone of his voice, his polite smiles and his nicely fitting suit, Reigen can’t really fault anyone for being interested. He feels a little smug about it and likes to hand himself at least some of the credit for giving the ESPer such an incredible makeover. Once the hair was cut and the beard was shaved, he had known almost immediately that the other would attract some attention - certainly not because something had clicked in Reigen at that moment, mind you. 

Every now and then he wonders whether it would be worth it to print  promotional posters with Serizawa's face on it. However one look at how flustered the ESPer gets whenever someone steps too close to him is enough to know that it wouldn’t be the smartest idea - for now, at least. 

“- and you’re such a proper young man, you know.”

Of course - like everything good and fortunate in Reigen's life - even Serizawa’s looks have to come with a downside. Unsurprisingly, said downside takes the form of an elderly lady that keeps Serizawa anchored in a conversation that didn't seem to find an end. There seems to be something rather inviting about him that makes their older clients flock to him like moths to light and normally it results in a nice and pleasant little exchange. This time, though, it had turned into downright torture. 

The woman’s problem had been rather simple. Essentially nothing more than a barely cursed picture frame that caused the curtains in her home to randomly shut at times. It had neither been dangerous nor life threatening and with the ESPer’s help the actual exorcism had barely taken a minute. However, she is somehow still in the office almost half an hour later, keeping Serizawa hostage right where he stands.

His smile is frozen on his face and he keeps nodding along rather stiffly, his eyes showing just how exhausted he is from the conversation at this point. It isn’t as if he - or Reigen for that matter - isn’t trying, but it seems that their client is quite adamant about wanting to continue her one sided interaction with him as long as possible.

“My granddaughter’s fiance is nothing like that.” Her picture frame tightly clutched to her chest, she sighs deeply. The boney fingers of her hand gently rub over the worn looking corners and pick at a small splinter. “Ever since she met him she is not visiting me anymore. Can you believe that? You know, I’m sure it is her mother that did not teach her to respect and care for the elders in the family. My son should have never married her, if you ask me.”

“Th-that’s a shame.” Serizawa answers with his eyebrows knitting and his smile growing a little softer in an act of compassion. The gesture is nice, but it only encourages more words to spill from her mouth instead of cutting the conversation right there. Even if Reigen had been excluded from the beginning on, it is grinding at him unbearably so. In annoyance and disinterest, his eyes shoot up to the clock hanging on the wall and they widen the moment he realizes just how late it is. Suddenly, he is reminded of their next actually scheduled client. They were both expected to arrive within the next hour and considering how long it would take them to get there by public transport, that is a rather ambitious goal. 

“Crap-” He curses without  thinking about it and only when the woman finally pays him attention to give him a deeply disapproving glance he notices how loud his outburst must have been. Almost immediately his smile returns and sweat begins to build on his forehead. “I-I mean. Yes. It truly is a shame. Young people these days can be rather disrespectful, can they not?”

It’s an attempt at covering up his swearing mishap and if the harsh and judgemental look he receives is anything to go by, it is not a successful one. Even so, it doesn't change the fact that they had to find a way to make her pay and leave as quickly as possible. Their next appointment marks the start of a rather tightly packed schedule and they did not have the time for idle chit chat with some old woman. Being patient is important in any professional setting, but so is getting things done. 

“They can be.” The answer is slightly sharper than what Reigen expects from her and it makes him swallow down a lump in his throat together with the annoyance that begins to bubble in his chest. Her wrinkled features are twisted in displeasure and her idle smile only returns when she looks back at Serizawa. Said ESPer gives Reigen an apologetic and lost look. “Now you - Serizawa, was it, yes? - You seem like a fine upstanding man. I wish we had someone like you in our family. You remind me of my own husband when he was still alive. “

By the way Serizawa’s eyes widen, it is obvious that he doesn’t know how to respond and instead he reaches up to fidget with the collar of his button up. Absent-mindedly, he nods and without batting an eye she goes on with her story. Either she is unable to read the room or simply chooses not to and neither scenario is much of a comfort to Reigen. From where he stands he can see how Serizawa's adam’s apple bops when a hand with thin fingers gently reaches out to pat at his arm. The old woman is pushing them into a spot tighter and tighter, but Reigen wouldn’t be Reigen if he were to give up on this so easily. He often prides himself in being an expert in wiggling his way out of tricky situations and he promises himself and the ESPer that he would not disappoint this time.

Right before she opens her mouth again, Reigen takes a step closer, hoping to interrupt her and help Serizawa out. One of his hands finds its way to the other's  back to hit it with a playful slap and he puts on the politest smile he can muster. “I have to agree. Everyone would want to. I’m quite fortunate to have someone as skilled and incredible as Serizawa here with me and-”

“Yes, yes. I am sure you are, but we are having a conversation here as you can see.” 

He had not expected to be dismissed so easily. It isn’t often that Reigen finds himself stunned and at a loss for words, but the boldness of the old woman is certainly taking him by surprise. Usually, agreeing with a client works wonders when it comes to stirring them in a different direction, but this woman seems to be far more stubborn and rude than Reigen had given her credit for. “Now Serizawa, you wouldn't leave your poor, poor grandmother alone, would you? Unlike some other young men you are so considerate and talented as well.”

He can feel his eyebrow twitch in irritation at her jab and he blinks a few times, needing to recollect himself. She cares incredibly little though, her attention solely on Serizawa. 

“My cat was also such a pleasant little guy, but he passed away recently. It’s been so lonely at home ever since. Especially with no one paying me a visit anymore.” Her hand never stops her assault on the ESPer’s arm and he does begin to look increasingly uncomfortable. 

“I-I’m sorry. Losing a pet must be… hard?” It’s obvious that he is out of his element and he dares to look at Reigen once more. When their eyes meet, the look behind them is desperate - almost begging him to help. If this were any other day, Reigen would have considered this good practice for Serizawa, but with each second that ticks by more and more of their precious time slips away from them. He is flooded with a sense of urgency not only for their next client, but also for the ESPer's sake.

Slowly, his hand slips off of the other’s back and he opens his mouth, prepared to finally ask the woman to pay and leave their office.

“Ma’am-”

“-and you see whenever he jumped onto my bed, he’d meow at me and-”

Once again his attempt to interrupt is shot down immediately by her voice rising over his at an almost uncomfortable volume. It makes the rest of his words die in his throat at the audacity the action holds. He decides then and there that he would rather be faced with multiple cockroaches than this one woman - maybe. When Serizawa realizes that even Reigen is unable to break through her determination, his usual friendly demeanor and brave openness to chat with their clients is completely replaced by an anxious expression he hadn't worn in a while. 

“-my granddaughter actually loved to chase him around our backyard! Would you believe that? We would-”

At this point, Reigen can’t fault Serizawa for being trapped by her, because he feels equally at a loss on how to stop her. His skill at convincing people is reliant on them listening to him and all of his previous confidence is out the window by how aggressively she is about ignoring him.

When it had been just him and Mob, clients usually didn’t wish to stick around longer than necessary and even the rather chatty ones would leave them alone within a few minutes or so. He had never truly witnessed someone who seemed to make it their whole purpose in life to waste his time specifically and he finds himself missing the quiet loneliness of the train to Ibogami all of the sudden. 

There’s truly nothing he wants to do more than push the lady along, but he knows better than to make himself known as the business being rude to the elderly - not a smart move if a large part of your income is dependent on superstitious old people.

So instead, he helplessly watches her step even closer into Serizawa’s personal space to continue her rambling about this and that and with a heavy heart filled with disbelief, Reigen has to admit defeat this time. One of his hands rubs over his face and he uses it to slap the ESPer on the back once more afterwards, earning a conflicted and confused expression that makes his chest twist a little. 

“Serizawa, you can take it from here, yes?” He asks, but doesn’t wait for an answer before he reaches deep into the pockets of his suit pants, pulling out his phone and flipping it open in the process. Unrelenting, the hands on the clock keep moving and at this point he knows there’s no way they’ll make it in time. “I’ll have a few phone calls to make, so if you’ll excuse me.”

As he steps away, he gives Serizawa a last apologetic look. His hand moves to give the other an encouraging thumbs up and he mouths an apology, praying that he would be able to pull through just a little longer. 

~♥~

Considering his line of work, danger isn’t something Reigen is unfamiliar with. By running a business that deals with a variety of evil spirits and curses, there is a rather high chance to get scraped and bruised every now and then.

At this point, Serizawa isn’t necessarily shy about telling him that he needs to be more careful, scolding Reigen more often than not whenever he gets himself into danger without thinking - which happens more often than he'd like to admit. What bothers him most, however, is that there’s always a barely hidden distress in the ESPer’s voice. 

The first time he had pulled Reigen aside after one of their jobs, he had looked so serious that Reigen’s chest had tightened almost painfully. 

He can’t help the anxiety that spreads in his gut whenever Serizawa sees the need to remind him that he had promised to be more careful on multiple occasions and at this point Reigen has run out of barely believable excuses to reassure him. Without fail he would see Serizawa’s eyes wander over him to check for any sign of injury and it allows an unfamiliar warmth to sneak its way into his heart. It’s odd for Reigen to know that someone cares enough about him to see the need to be upset at his own stupidity.  Conflicting is probably the best way to describe the feelings swirling in his chest whenever he catches a glimpse of the ESPer’s disappointed expression.

On one hand, he feels ashamed about causing Serizawa so much trouble, but on the other - and he doesn’t dare to dwell on it too long - there’s an almost overwhelming pang of happiness at having someone around him that wants to make sure he stays unharmed. With the way Serizawa looks at him, scolds him and tries to keep him out of harm’s way almost frantically, Reigen indulges in the sensation of feeling taken care off. It satisfies him in a way he can't explain and while the happiness he feels is accompanied by a sizable amount of guilt, he still allows himself to revel in the other's caring but short touches. Having someone right at his side that he feels comfortable with, causes him to feel content in a way that he has a hard time accepting. 

Still, it doesn’t change Reigen is used to the dangers that come with the job at this point - that is, if they are of the evil spirit or falling-apart-building kind. He’s rather unfamiliar with hostility from people, as long as said people are not part of a terrorist organization. It’s not as if clients never yell at him, call him a fraud or throw a fit, but most of the time he manages to smoothly talk his way out of any risky situation with impressive ease and a good chunk of luck. Almost everyone that storms through the doors of Spirits and Such in a fit of anger is usually pretty easy to handle. It’s no secret to Reigen that he has a knack for stumbling his way through conversations without clients necessarily realizing what he’s doing. With a business such as his, it is most certainly an essential part of how it functions.

Even before he had decided to dabble into independence, dealing with an angry and furious client is nothing he would have considered new to him. His way with words and his ability to deflect every accusation thrown at him had gotten him pretty far.

However, that did not mean that he never found himself confronted with people he couldn't get a grip on.

“Sir, please. I understand that you’re upset, but I promise you that all of our exorcism oils are one hundred percent authentic and-”

“Oh shut up!” A loud slap on the surface of Reigen’s desk accompanies the client’s booming voice and it makes him jump out of his chair a little. At the other end of the room, Serizawa looks equally startled. He is still drying his hands and if Reigen had known how quickly this would escalate, he would have not asked the ESPer to handle this particular massage on his own. “No way in hell this was an exorcism! What kind of stupid fraudulent place is this? Should have known all those reviews were fucking fake-”

“Now, now. No need to get this…. aggravated.” Reigen dares to interrupt their client, careful about his choice of words. Reluctantly, he stands up from his chair to get a little closer. His hands feel clammy and the man’s face is colored in a deep and maddened red, trembling with anger. There’s no doubt that he would rather avoid this from getting any more out of hand and as confidently as he can he smiles at the client, ignoring the cold sweat that builds on the back of his neck. “I assure you my associate is more than qualified and physical exorcisms are just an advanced form that take a long time to master, you see.” 

“Physical fucking exorcism, my ass! Listen up you asshole, I don’t buy it.” The man takes a few steps forward, his eyes now narrowing in on him. “Like some backrub will get rid of being possessed!”

“But you are feeling better, do you not?” The room suddenly feels much heavier. There’s a pressure in the air that Reigen is unfamiliar with and for a second he wonders if this man truly is possessed after all. However, he opts to trust Serizawa’s earlier judgment of him not being affected by any type of spirit whatsoever, rather than his own instinct. He does prefer to leave the ESPer work to the actual ESPer - which means he had more or less assigned himself the talking portion of this particular job. Though, as it turns out it is much trickier than it would be on their average day. 

Suddenly, the man in front of him grabs him by the collar and pulls him closer. The tug on his shirt is painful and causes fabric to dig uncomfortably in the back of his neck. Almost immediately, his body responds. His heart beats rapidly and his hands shoot up to feign innocence, his smile has lost a good part of its fake confidence and he prays that the man wouldn’t notice how nervous he is at this point.

“Listen, Sir. There’s- there’s no need to do anything anyone might regret. I am sure we will be able to resolve this without the need of any of this?” His hands gesture widely now and eventually end up on the client’s arm to carefully push at it in an attempt to get some space. The action quickly backfires and causes the hand around his shirt to tighten even more. Reigen swallows roughly and as unbelievable as it may seem, dealing with the 7th division had been far less nerve wrecking.

“I don’t know who you fucking think you are-” At this point, the excessive use of swears is certainly getting old, but Reigen has far more important things to worry about. “- but don’t you think I’ll let you scam anyone else out of their hard earned money.”

With how much force he is pushed backwards, he is sure that his body is about to hit his desk rather harshly. Out of instinct, his eyes screw shut and he expects the unavoidable impact. However, there’s neither a large crash nor any sharp pains or aches to complain about and once he realizes there would be none at all, one of his eyes opens hesitantly. 

Instead of on the ground, he finds himself with a steady and large hand on his back that digs into the fabric of his suit to keep him upright. 

The pressure and stuffy feeling of the air makes a shocking amount of sense now. While he can not see Serizawa’s aura, it is rather obvious that it must be his powers spreading into every nook and cranny of the office. With how the tips of the ESPer’s hair are floating and with how his hand is wrapped around their clients wrist tightly enough to make his knuckles turn white, it is plain to see that Serizawa is angry. Angrier than Reigen has ever seen him for a fact. 

Saying that he feels fortunate to not be on the receiving end of the furious stare on the ESPer’s face is an understatement. Reigen has never considered Serizawa particularly scary looking and to him he’d been nothing if not great company. His bright smiles never fail to make him feel something he probably shouldn’t and his incredible kindness and interest had only made Reigen realize how much he had needed another adult to consider his friend. 

Now, however, Serizawa looks downright terrifying, his eyes filled with an intensity that would make everyone’s blood chill in a moment - with the exception of Reigen, of course, who has to deal with a sudden burst of emotion including but not limited to awe and amazement. Still, he dares to tear his eyes away from the ESPer in favor of looking back at their client. His previous anger is replaced by fear and for a moment Reigen worries that Serizawa grip would tighten further. There’s no doubt that it would be followed by a most likely sickening crack if he did.

Not wishing for any lawyer costs, Reigen’s own hand moves to carefully and gently push at Serizawa’s shoulder. Trying to not be too loud, he clears his throat.

“Serizawa-”

“Sir. I think it’s time for you to pay and leave.” When he speaks, none of the usual warm kindness or determined enthusiasm is left in Serizawa’s voice and his tone is dangerously low. The pencil holder on Reigen’s desk begins to rattle slightly and he realizes that the ESPer is doing a rather incredible job at holding back his powers despite everything. Even so, he is suddenly aware that to him there’s no reason to worry about it either way. It hits him like a ton of bricks, but he realizes right then and there how safe he feels with Serizawa this close and how oddly comforted he is by the steady pressure on his back.

With his voice now lost, their client nods after a moment of silence. He’s shaking now, eyes blown wide and shrinking under Serizawa’s stare. Not only the man’s but Reigen’s attention as well returns solemnly to the ESPer. Though, he has the sneaking suspicion that his own reasons for starring are vastly different from their client’s - that is, if his extra clammy hands and the warm feeling in his stomach are anything to go by. 

One of the drawers of his desk creaks concerningly when the sheer force of Serizawa’s powers pulls it open. The hand on his back lets go almost hesitantly and the ESPer roughly drops the wrist in his grasp to pluck the in-office wallet that is floating closer out of the air. 

Considering the previous attitude of their client and his insistence of not wanting to spend a single yen on them, he seems rather eager to pay now. There’s a significant amount of fumbling with change and in the end Serizawa ends up with a bunch of extra bills and coins being shoved into his hand. 

With his metaphorical tail now tucked between his legs, the man bows deeply before turning on his heels and the door to the office falls into its lock behind him rather loudly. In the now silent room, Reigen can hear just how heavy Serizawa is breathing. There’s a few angry intakes of air, but eventually the pressure in around them gradually dissipates and the other’s breath evens out. 

Reigen’s own heart is still pounding violently in his chest and finds himself wanting to reach out. For now, he hesitates, though, unsure about what the ESPer needs right now. Instead it slowly dawns to him that the reason Serizawa had reacted this strongly is most likely because Reigen had gotten himself into trouble once more and he can’t help and curse himself silently for causing the other to lose some of the composure he had worked so hard on. Whatever he has felt up till now is replaced with shame, but Serizawa doesn’t give Reigen time to beat himself up even further when he turns to face him more properly. 

For a split second Reigen is prepared to be scolded for being reckless and irresponsible. Yet, when their eyes meet, Serizawa’s face is no longer twisted in anger. His eyebrows are knitted now and the crease between them is deep with concern. The hand that had wrapped around their client’s wrist in a death grip is incredibly gentle when it lands on Reigen’s upper arm. 

“I-I’m so sorry.” Serizawa’s panicked tone catches him a little off guard just as much as the sudden proximity of the ESPer when he steps a little closer. For a moment, his lips are pressed into a tight line and his eyes jump over Reigen’s features, causing his heart to skip a beat. When Serizawa continues to speak, his voice is filled with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to be- to lose control like that.” 

His expression changes rapidly and he shakes his head as if to take back his words, not quite allowing Reigen to open his mouth to respond just yet.

“Are you okay, Reigen? He didn’t hurt you did he?” Within an instance, he brings distance between them again, his second hand moving to rest on Reigen’s other arm. He doesn’t catch on immediately, but Serizawa is obviously waiting for an answer now. 

“I-I’m okay-!” He says, sounding so out of it that he follows it up with an embarrassed laugh. The other’s worry is suddenly far too overwhelming and needs to take a step back. With how much warmth Serizawa’s simple touch makes him feel, he can’t help but feel a completely different kind of worry that makes itself known. “All- all fine as you can see. Still in one piece, unharmed. Splendid, really.” 

As if to emphasize his point, he gestures at himself from head to toe. Even if his smile isn’t necessarily genuine, he still tries to look up at Serizawa reassuringly. However, one look at the ESPer lets him know that he can tell that Reigen isn’t unscathed by the encounter - though, he truly hopes that Serizawa doesn’t know what exactly is bothering him. 

“Are you... sure?”

“Yes.” The answer comes so quick that it is barely believable. Reigen is unable to face the other any longer and he turns around to run a hand through his hair, taking the chance to wipe over his forehead while he’s at it. “Not the first time I had to deal with a complicated client.”

Once again he clears his throat and he dares to turn back again, Serizawa’s hands  now nervously playing with each other in front of his chest. It’s plainly obvious that he isn’t satisfied and is considering how to ask his next question. Reigen, however, doesn’t want to give him the opportunity to dig deeper, scared that he might reveal too much of what he’s feeling right now. 

Before anything more can be asked, he adds, “Thank you.” There’s a second in which he hesitates, his fingers flexing and unflexing much like Serizawa’s often did. Eventually, though, he reaches out to gently slap the ESPer’s arm. “Saved the day once again, did you? Great job.”

A small laugh escapes his throat and he knows that it’s not necessarily making anything better. He reaches into his pockets afterwards and pulls out his key to jingle it in front of Serizawa’s face, not wanting to give the other a chance to think about his words or behavior all too much.

“I think we should close up a little earlier today. I’m certainly ready for a drink or two.” He licks his lips and finds himself asking something he might be regretting later on. “Want to tag along?”

~♥~

“No, it was over there! How would you even know where it was when you’re barely home?”

“Because I definitely saw it there! Our daughter said so as well. You might call me a liar, but you should at least believe her!”

“She’s seven! How would she even know know what she is-”

Even long before opening Spirits and Such, Reigen had experienced just how exhausting most clients could be. However, the kind he has to deal with these days are oftentimes much more eccentric than your run of the mill housewife or fellow business man. They range from old people taking advice from their know-it-all children, over groups of friends all the way to his least favorite category: bickering couples.

A single person usually is able to explain their problem rather well but when it comes to people that are dating - or married for that matter - they always seem concerningly out of sync with one another. It’s either that one of them falls into Reigen’s net of sweet talk and half truths while the other is much harder to convince, or they simply can not decide on who’s version of the problem is the correct one. 

Worst of all, those aren’t even the biggest issue Reigen has with them these days. What bothers him most is that, even with all their bickering and complaining, they do nothing but remind him of how single and pathetic he is himself - and of course his helpless and ever deeper growing crush on the man standing right next to him. 

Almost a little cautiously, Reigen allows himself to look up at Serizawa. The ESPer looks just as much at a loss as him and listens to their clients' exchange with a deep frown. His arms are crossed and his fingers drum nervously on his upper arm that Reigen is focusing on for a moment longer than is appropriate. Only when Serizawa looks back at him does he notice his own staring and he hopes his cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. To his relief, the other doesn’t seem to have caught it. 

“Arataka, should we…” Serizawa’s sentence stays unfinished and it doesn’t seem like he had known what he wanted to ask in the first place. Reigen understands his sentiment. Dealing with people that are actively fighting without much care for who’s witnessing them isn’t his favorite thing to do, but sometimes their line of work requires to get involved with things he’d rather leave alone. 

In response to Serizawa’s unfinished question, he waves his hand and leans a little closer. His voice is only loud enough for the ESPer to hear, though, he doubts either of their clients would have listened to him anyways. “Leave it to me.”

Breaking up disagreements is not far up on the list of his preferred parts of the job. It takes expertise and care to not accidentally make things escalate any further and most of the time it is best to simply let one of them tire themselves out and give in. However, with how this one is going, Reigen isn’t certain that either of them would be able to let go of their pride any time soon.

“You didn’t even want to hire anyone in the first place!” The wife huffs and her arms are crossed tightly over her chest, her foot angrily tapping on the floorboards. Eventually, one of her arms unlocks and she points right at Reigen. “If it weren’t for me we wouldn’t even have anyone here at all and now you’re just wasting their time!”

With their presence now acknowledged, he sees the perfect chance to interrupt, “There’s no reason to worry. We at Spirits and Such know just how to-”

“Oh is that so? Well who is going to pay for this service then? You?”

The utterly offended gasp that fills the room is everything but a good sign and the rhythmic tapping of her foot stops with a rather loud stomp. In response she earns a glare and a cock of her husband’s head. In Reigen’s opinion, this is getting rather ridiculous and he realizes that this situation requires a gentler hand than he had initially anticipated.

“Actually, there’s no need to worry about the payment. I am sure we can figure something out that will sit right with the both of you.” This seems to grab the couple's attention and Reigen finally feels confident that he can turn this around - as long as one of them would be willing to listen to him. A large smile spreads on his face and his hand accompanies his words effortlessly from there on. “First and foremost we are here to prioritize any and all of your otherworldly problems.” 

The husband sighs at his words. “I apologize. This isn’t about payment. We certainly do have the money.” There’s a sense of relief that floods Reigen and with how Serizawa straightens next to him, he must be feeling the same. Finally, it feels like the end of their headache might be getting closer. However, both of them have to face the harsh reality a few seconds later. “This is actually about how my own wife doesn’t believe me when I say, that-”

Within a split second, they resume their arguing as if Reigen had never intervened in the first place. His expression must have been quite miserable, because the ESPer slides up next to him to gently bump his elbow against Reigen’s arm. It’s obvious that it’s supposed to be a gesture of comfort and while he appreciates it, he knows for a fact that Serizawa is much more uncomfortable than him. The ESPer is familiar with the ups and downs of the job at this point, but there’s still a lot he doesn’t know how to deal with and feels more comfortable with Reigen handling. Knowing that quite well, Reigen gives him a questioning and partly worried glance, silently asking if he’s still okay. 

Though, one proper look at Serizawa is enough to figure the answer out himself. The discomfort is almost radiating off of him and he finally gives Reigen an uncertain shrug that turns into a small shake of his head. It fills Reigen’s chest with a sense of accomplishment to know that the other trusts him enough to let him know about how unsure he is feeling with all of this.

“Well, it’s not my fault that you constantly have to deal with that!” At this point, the argument is completely irrational and it makes the ESPer’s face contort in a way that doesn’t sit right with Reigen. It makes his chest feel tighter and in an attempt to lighten the other’s mood he bumps him back a little, hoping the gesture brings him some kind of relief. When he has Serizawa’s attention on him, he moves his hand to signal the ESPer to lean down.

“How about you go and check if there actually is a problem, Katsuya.” Reigen says, his voice lowered. It is less of a suggestion and more of an opportunity for Serizawa to excuse himself. His own eyes drift back to their clients and it makes him click his tongue, one of his hands moving to rub the bridge of his nose. Whatever these two were arguing about is something that had to be bubbling under the surface for a long time and he wonders if he should start adding disclaimers about scenarios like this in the fine print of their pamphlets. “Meanwhile, I’ll make sure to babysit.”

Serizawa’s shoulders relax a little and one of his hands finds their way to Reigen’s shoulder. His smile melts into something so genuine that it makes Reigen’s heart hammer against his ribcage and the sudden squeeze of his shoulder makes it skip a beat. Before he has the time to get too lost in the touch and expression of the other, he reminds himself that there’s still clients to deal with. He has all the time in the world to pine and lament about Serizawa once he is back home. Right now it is more important to have the ESPer’s back and to get the job done. 

“Thank you.” Serizawa says, his voice filled with relief. Reigen can’t help but to return the other’s smile with one of his own, all of his annoyance making way for something different almost in an instant. The warm hand gets removed from his shoulder and Serizawa gives him a determined nod. “I’ll try to be as fast as possible.” 

“Good luck.” One of Reigen’s hands waves through the air a little while his other digs deep into the pockets of his suit pants. He gives the ESPer another once over, his cheeks heating up yet again. “And call if you find or need anything, yeah?”

A soft and sweet laugh escapes Serizawa and he gives Reigen a playful salute in agreement. “Same goes to you.” Though, he looks a little more serious right after, his voice a little quieter now. “Especially if things escalate.”

“Don’t worry, I think I can handle this.” Reigen mumbles reassuringly and the ESPer seems to judge his words for a moment before deciding to believe him - for now at least. 

Without wasting another second, Serizawa politely excuses himself even if nobody but Reigen is listening to him. He gives him one nod before slipping out of the room and Reigen realizes that it’s time to pull his part of the weight now. Whatever the couple is fighting about at this point, is beyond him and he braces himself for the inevitable headache. All that’s left for him is to do his best and de-escalate the situation with as much finesse as he can while Serizawa finds the root of the problem. 

Fortunately for Reigen, his pleas seem to be heard, because the ESPer manages to track down and locate the spirit quite quickly. Considering how much chaos it seems to have caused for these people, it’s no surprise that it’s a rather feisty one. It slips through the house with trained ease and gives them somewhat of a difficult time, but sooner than originally anticipated, they find themselves back in the small rental car on their way home.

Despite finally nearing the end of the day, Reigen can’t deny that he feels incredibly stressed out at this point. He’s glad to finally be out of that place. The constant arguing had never truly stopped and if it were not for Serizawa’s presence he would be completely frazzled. It’s comforting to know that the ESPer is right there with him and at this point he wouldn’t know what to do without him. The thought that the other might leave one day had struck him before but every time he had pushed the idea into the very back of his mind to confront it another time that would probably never come. 

For now, he has to be thankful for having the other at his side and every little bit of self doubt that tries to force its way up is ignored in favor of concentrating on the comfortable silence between them. The sound of the motor is all that fills the space between them, Reigen having gone as far as to turn the radio off to have a moment of peace.

The quiet is interrupted only when Serizawa decides to speak up after a heavy sigh 

“I really hope they won’t ask for compensation for the cupboard I broke.” There’s honest concern in his voice and for a split second, Reigen’s eyes shift from the street towards the ESPer. His cheek is resting against his palm and his gaze is fixated on the road, while his free hand is casually drumming on the fabric of his pants, only stopping to play with ironed in fold every now and then. “Or any of the possible water damage to the walls.”

His lips turn up into a small smile then and with the evening sun hitting him through the window of the car, Reigen can’t help but admire how beautiful he is. When he finds himself getting lost in how nice Serizawa’s hair looks now that it’s a little grown out and with the curls returning, he finally forces his eyes back on the road. There were better times to admire the other in secret and most certainly better places than the middle of the street, even if there is a surprising lack of traffic. 

“I don’t think they will.” Reigen says with a shrug, his fingers tightening around the tacky plush covering on the steering wheel as he speaks. The texture of it is absolutely disgusting. “They might have completely different things to figure out than broken fixtures. Really, I was losing my mind. How can two people who fight like that even be together for that long - and have a daughter! I’m glad she didn’t have to witness that disaster. ”

One of his hands moves to emphasize his point, but he quickly forces it back down when he notices the car drift too close to the side of the street. Talking reminds him of how he’s exhausted not only mentally, but physically as well. It isn’t often that he’s left this drained after a job and he’s quite glad that there isn’t any other waiting for them today. He’s only slightly invigorated when the idea of asking Serizawa to grab some dinner strikes him. Maybe if the other still felt up for it, they would be able to spend the rest of their evening together and there’s no doubt that it would be filled with countless complaints about their clients. 

“There’s nothing worse than to spend that much time of your life with someone you only disagree with. Having a fight is one thing, don’t get me wrong, but this was ridiculous. I mean, shouldn’t a partner be someone that actually enjoys being around you?” Reigen can’t help the amusement in his voice and now that he’s able to talk about it a little more freely, he goes on without thinking. “Kinda like us, right? We spend all our time together, basically, and I’d say we are doing much better. Actually, I’m really glad we aren’t fighting like that, Katsuya.”

Instead of receiving a response, Reigen is met with another short stretch of silence that is long enough to make him realize how strange his statement must have sounded. The wave of embarrassment that hits him also fills him with anxiety. Suddenly, he wonders if that little mishap is enough for the other to see right through him. 

“I mean- I didn’t want to imply that we were together like that. A-a couple or married or anything.” One of his hands leaves the steering wheel once more to move through the air wildly in an attempt to distract from how flustered he is. The plush of the wheel cover comes in quite handy as he absent-mindedly begins to wipe his other hand on it to get rid of some of the clamminess. “I just mean in the office as coworkers. N-no, as friends, obviously-”

With his body switching to autopilot almost immediately, Reigen loses focus of his driving and without him noticing the car slowly begins to swerve dangerously close towards the middle of the street and to the other lane.

“Arataka-”

“I didn’t mean to imply anything or make you uncomfortable, we are strictly professional-” No, that isn’t right either. “Friends. Professional friends and-”

“Arataka, eyes on the road!” The volume and panic of Serizawa’s voice makes Reigen’s attention snap back to the road immediately and once he realizes what is happening, his free hand shoots back to the steering wheel. Maybe a little rougher than is needed, he pulls the car back to where it should be, breath a little heavier now, knuckles white with how tightly they hold on.

“Sorry. I just-” He laughs nervously, hunching closer to the windshield now than necessary and forces himself to focus forward almost obsessively. Partially for their safety and partially because he can’t bring himself to look at Serizawa right now. “Just meant to say I’m glad we are on the same page.”

“I know.” The ESPer sounds equally out of breath and strained, his body shifting to sit up straighter now. It takes some moments of Reigen keeping the car where it’s supposed to be for him to relax again. Though, he doesn’t sink back into the seat the same way. Serizawa takes a deep breath before he speaks again, obviously trying to sound as casual as possible. “I’m glad too, but- how about we stop talking for a little while?”

~♥~

There’s nothing more rewarding than a job well done. Not only does it fill Reigen with a sense of having done something good - at least when an actual spirit has been involved - but the rest of his afternoon is much more rewarding when it feels earned. At the end of the day, he always looks forward to being able to unwind.

A small and genuine smile tugs on his lips and he looks over to Serizawa, who’s standing a little ways away with their last client of the day. The old woman is fumbling with her wallet while the ESPer is busy writing her a receipt for the job. At this point, he is running Spirits and Such as much as Reigen does and it’s something that he had never thought possible when a fumbling and nervous Serizawa had accepted the offer to work for him. Even when he had started to entrust the other with more and more tasks, Reigen still hadn’t expected him to stay for very long. He has a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that the ESPer had no intention to leave and admittedly, thinking about it too long makes it seem too good to be true. Serizawa makes an incredible effort to let him know that he isn’t going anywhere, though. 

After all, they weren’t only coworkers anymore and neither were they just friends. A bold moment of weakness was all it had taken Serizawa to cross the line they were tip-toeing around and it still makes Reigen’s heart race to think about what they were now. Just a few months ago it had seemed impossible and ridiculous for him to even hope that the other returned his feelings and to now know that he truly does is a realization that keeps overwhelming him every time.

The giddiness and excitement spreading through him as he considers what they would get for dinner tonight feels almost childish and yet, Reigen allows himself to simply enjoy it without doubt just this once. With neither of them having much planned this weekend, he tells himself that there might be enough time to indulge in Serizawa a little without listening to the voice in his head that still tries to convince him that this wouldn’t last. There are more than enough things he can think of that would most certainly distract him and each makes him more eager to get back to one of their homes than the last. Truly, if anyone had asked him what he had thought his future would look like, he would have not in a million years expected that he would run a somewhat questionable exorcism business with his psychic boyfriend. Now that he has it, though, there’s nothing he wants to change.

“You did a pretty impressive job today.”

His little moment of watching Serizawa help the woman count her change is interrupted by her son. He was about their age - maybe a year or so younger than Reigen - and had been around for most of the day. He had assumed that it was to make sure they weren’t trying to scam her, but now that it had come to actually collecting the payment, he had slid up next to him instead of keeping a close eye on his mother. 

“Thank you. We at Spirits and Such are always here for any of your needs concerning hauntings, possessions and the like.” Reigen says and it’s accompanied by a confident snap of his fingers. He reaches inside of his suit jacket, pulling out one of his business cards to hand over. It’s never too late for a little bit of self advertisement and if he had learned anything over the past few years it’s that one haunted family member usually resulted in a few more. “If you - or any of your acquaintances for that matter - are ever in need of any of our services, do not hesitate to give us a call. We pride ourselves in being flexible to your every need, though, short term out of office appointments do come with a fifteen percent price increase.”

The man looks down at the business card, turning it over in his hand a little. When his head pulls up again, he gives him a look.“Oh is that so?” Something about the dip and infliction in his voice makes Reigen shift where he stands and he starts to play a little with the cuff of his sleeve. There's something about the tone that strikes him as strange. He’s heard people trying to be sleazy before, and something about this is far too similar. “I’ll certainly keep that in mind. It’s not bad to have someone skilled and smart like you around in an emergency, is it?”

“Well- y-yes of course. Mind you, our services are for issues of the supernatural kind only. They come in a large variety from in-office physical exorcisms to on-site operations. However, we will gladly refer you to places that fit your needs in case your problems are not related to anything spiritual.” As he talks, he feels the other’s eyes roam over him from head to toe. The response he gets is a short intrigued humm and he doesn’t like the way he’s being watched. A smile tugs at the man’s lips and Reigen can’t help the way his eyebrows knit in confusion when he sees him pull a pen from one of his pockets. There’s a moment in which he scribbles something on the card and just a few seconds later he steps quite far into Reigen’s personal space to hand him back the little piece of cardstock.

Out of reflex and in hopes of the man stepping away after, he takes it and squints at the series of numbers messily added under the office’s contact info. A phone number, Reigen realizes.

“I’m sure physical exorcisms aren’t the only thing you’re good at - especially not with that amount of energy you have. I’m rather interested in those flexible services you mentioned.” Reigen’s head snaps back up from the business card and he notices just how close they were now. When the man has the audacity to wink at him, he allows himself to take a step back as politely as he can. While he is used to being the center of attention, he prefers it being of the professional variety rather than the personal. Blatant flirting isn’t something he’s familiar with and while at some point he might have been desperate enough, he can’t say he is now.

At an arm’s length, he holds out the card to return it and clears his throat.

“I … apologize for the misunderstanding, but my business is not the type to give you a hand in such things.” It’s a horrible choice of words on his part, but with how tense and sick he suddenly feels there’s no time to reconsider them. His free hand flies through the space between them dismissively and he hopes that is enough for the other to get a clue. At this point his forced smile grows painful and the smirk he gets in response makes anxiety curl in his gut.

Throughout the day, there had been a few rather impressed whistles and huffs that Reigen had assumed were meant for the flawless job Serizawa was doing. Now, however, he’s certain that if he had paid even an ounce of attention, he would have realized that they were most certainly not aimed towards any display of psychic powers. It takes him a sizable amount of willpower not to shudder in disgust and to keep up the professionalism. All he has to do is decline the other’s intrusive offer and move on with the rest of his day as planned. Though, it doesn’t seem to be as easy as that - it rarely is in Reigen’s case.

“Oh no. I think you’re misunderstanding my intentions.” He most certainly isn’t with how clear the other’s intentions are. ”I’m not asking for the services of your business. I’m far more interested in what you have to offer. I’ve been told I’m rather skilled at showing people a good time and don’t you think I haven’t noticed the way you look at that associate of yours. So no reason to deny yourself. Actually-”

Reigen’s extended arm is pushed out of the way in favor for the distance to be crossed again and the other rummages through his pockets once more. He pulls out a few spare bills and gently shoves them into the exposed front pocket of Reigen’s shirt. The unwanted touch makes him jolt. “A little tip for today. Enjoyed having you around, Reigen. Make sure to think about it.”

Reigen does not consider himself a particularly angry person and while he tends to get rattled if unprepared, he’s usually able to brush it off at the end of the day. This, however, is going too far even for him. While it certainly isn’t the first time one of their clients had gotten up close and personal with him, this oversteps far too many boundaries. 

“Excuse me, Sir, but who do you think-”

He doesn’t get much further than that before the man suddenly gets pulled back. Not even a second later an all too familiar arm slides around his waist and pulls him close to Serizawa’s side. So lost in his utter disbelief about the advances towards him, he hadn’t realized that the ESPer was done with collecting the payment and had joined them. He looks up at Serizawa in confusion and by the way the other’s forced smile doesn’t reach his eyes, Reigen can tell that he is absolutely furious.

It would most likely be possible for him to count the times he had seen Serizawa this upset on one hand and he realizes that the ESPer must have used his powers to bring some distance between them and the other man. In most instances, Reigen might remind him that this isn’t necessarily up to company policy, but considering the circumstances he’s rather glad for the intervention. With how protective the hand on his waist is holding onto him and with how close he is pressed up against Serizawa, he can’t help but feel a little flustered It isn’t unknown to him that he finds himself incredibly affected by the other’s protectiveness, but it still catches him off guard each and every time.

He’s so distracted by how inappropriately warm he feels under his collar, that it takes him a moment to realize that the ESPer has plucked the business card from his fingers. He reads it over for a moment and his eyes grow a little darker before he uses his powers to crumple it up midair and tosses it to the side right after. 

“We won’t be needing that.” His voice is level but cold and Reigen, despite how in awe he is, still hopes that Serizawa isn’t too affected by his own anger. He knows him well enough to be aware that the ESPer doesn’t particularly like to lose control of his emotions. However, this isn’t his normal protective behavior either and the sudden realization of what it is makes Reigen gasp quietly, his pale cheeks most likely a dark shade of red. Serizawa is jealous. 

“Taka, I think we should be going.” The ESPer’s voice is more demanding than Reigen is used to, but he finds himself too caught up in his revelation to care. While jealousy isn’t necessarily the most elegant way for him to find out, it still finally dawns on Reigen just how serious Serizawa is about him. The thought makes his head spin and all he can do for a moment is nod.

“Ah- Sure. Yes. It is quite late.” His answer is more of a breathless laugh than anything and he knows full well that his expression must be dumbfounded. Even if he would never admit it out loud, he finds himself finding an odd sense of fulfillment in the other’s possessiveness. It may just be for a moment, but he truly feels important. 

Serizawa gives the man across from them a last sharp glare and tightens his hold around Reigen even further. The only answer to the action is an audible swallow and without giving anyone else another chance to speak, Serizawa finally pulls him along. His guidance around Reigen is surprisingly gentle and all he has to do is keep up with the ESPer’s quick and long steps.

Only when they make their way off the premises does the pressure in the air around them fade. Carefully, the hand around his waist slips off in favor of moving to intertwine their fingers, a thumb brushing gently over his knuckles. He gives himself a moment to mourn the loss of contact and warmth and Serizawa a moment to collect his thoughts. 

Eventually, the ESPer sighs deeply, his shoulder sinking and his eyes firmly locked onto the ground. 

“I-” Serizawa’s words die in his throat immediately and his hand squeezes Reigen’s apologetically before he tries again. “I’m sorry. I know that wasn’t called for and I know you can take care of this stuff by yourself. I shouldn’t have- I just- ah. I just really didn’t like the way he was touching you. He was…”

His words drift off and once Reigen knows that Serizawa won’t continue, he allows himself to be the one stepping closer this time, their shoulders brushing ever so slightly.

“He was going too far.” He states matter of factly, huffing a little in annoyance. It’s obvious how nervous and guilty Serizawa feels about losing composure. His free hand is nervously rubbing his fingers together and his eyes are looking anywhere but Reigen. From where said man stands, he can see the ESPer worrying the inside of his cheek. He hopes that his almost casual tone is able to take some of the edge off and keep Serizawa from beating himself up too much. For a moment, he closes his eyes and concentrates on the warmth of the other’s hand in his. “Not only inappropriate, but right next to his mother as well. People these days. Every alleyway behind any old bar would have made for a better place to hit on someone. Really, what nerve that guy had. Is it too much to ask for just one normal client every now and then?”

 One of his eyes cracks open to glance up once more. His smile is encouraging and when he sees Serizawa smile back sheepishly, he is flooded with a wave of relief. The simple gesture is enough to make the last bit of Reigen’s work demeanor melt away and he exhales softly, fully relaxing now. 

When he speaks up again, his words are filled with honesty and much gentler than his previous attempt at being funny. “Trust me, ‘Suya. I don’t think there’s anyone that could ever begin to compare to you. Certainly no one I’d rather have here with me than you.” 

Reigen himself isn’t prepared for the amount of adoration his statement is laced with and faintly he wonders when he had started to lay his emotions out in the open like this. It makes him a little nervous but the small blush that spreads over Serizawa’s cheeks makes saying it worth it. 

Eventually, both their steps come to a halt and for a few seconds they do nothing but study each other’s expression, Reigen taking in the ESPer’s beautiful smile and any wrinkle that it comes with. 

The intimacy overwhelms him soon enough and he feels silly for not being used to it at this point. They had gone much, much further than just holding hands, but Reigen still isn’t able to feel so seen by someone else for longer than just a few moments. Though, if it’s for Serizawa, he is nothing if not determined to work on it.

“E-either way. Next time let’s try not to scare potential future clients to death. That isn’t good for the business.” His lecture is a weak attempt at distracting from how hot his face is and how fast his heart is beating and without much of a second thought, he adds, “Even if I have to admit that I didn’t mind it all too much. So don’t worry. With- I mean you looked-”

Serizawa looks at him with wide eyes and curiosity now. With the redness of his cheeks it is almost the complete opposite of his furious expression from earlier. Reigen can’t help but feel a little awkward now, not quite sure where he had expected himself to go from here. In the end, they still had a lot to learn about each other and he isn’t exactly sure what his words mean to the other. His free hand busies itself with flailing through the air when he continues, trying not to embarrass himself any further, “I-It’s good to know that you care that much. A-about me, I mean. Not that I doubted that or anything.” 

He isn’t able to keep their eye contact for much longer than that, but the last look on the ESPer’s face had already told him that trying to save himself had long gone out the window. Serizawa is already turning Reigen’s words over in his head and by the way  his hand squeezes once again, it is obvious that he starts to catch on. With the last of his dignity and his voice dropping into a slightly more serious tone, he tries to cover up at least some of the humiliation, “Still, try not to do it again.”

“Oh. I-I see.” The infliction of his words makes Reigen’s stomach twist in sudden excitement and he isn’t sure whether that’s a good or a bad sign. He has the feeling that his last statement hasn’t necessarily been taken seriously and he has the sneaking suspicion that Serizawa is working on his own plans now. Soon enough, the ESPer’s hand slips out of Reigen’s own sweaty one, just for an arm to find its way back around his waist.

“Won’t do it again, ‘Taka. Promised.” Considering the urgency and eagerness in Serizawa’s steps, he isn’t inclined to believe him. However, with how quickly he is matching the pace, he shouldn’t be allowed to point any fingers. “Let’s head to my place for today. It’s a few stops closer.”

Even from this angle, Reigen can see the way the other bites his bottom lip in excitement, his cheeks a few shades darker than normally and they just had to look ridiculously in love to everyone they pass. He finds himself not caring all that much, though, as long as he wouldn’t have to think about any other clients for the rest of the weekend. 

[across-violet-skies]

Febuwhump day 5: rope burns

Whumpee: Hyrule

Whump Rating: 9/10

TWs: blood, torture, thoughts of death, passing out

extra warning: this may or may not count as dead dove, I wasn't sure whether to tag it or not so here's the potential warning. good luck

Hyrule gritted his teeth, spitting at the closest monster. “You’ll never get my blood,” he growled lowly, pulling at his restraints. The traveler was lying against a thick stone table, wrists and ankles tied down with thick rope. The table was angled forty-five degrees, propped up above a large funnel that led into Ganon’s ashes. He was covered in bruises and a few small cuts, but otherwise was unharmed. His magic was low, but not entirely out quite yet.

“Are you sure about that?” An ache questioned smugly.

Hyrule was persistent. “I don’t know the meaning of giving up!”

The door slammed, and silence quickly fell over the crowd of monsters. “Maybe you should learn, then.” A tall figure stepped forward, face shrouded by the hood of a dark purple cloak. The hood was pushed back, revealing an unnaturally pale face, almost Hylian in appearance. Purple veins crackled across his face like lightning, feathering out from the bridge of his nose. His eyes were a sickly shade of red, glowing in the dim light of the dungeon.

The not-Hylian raised his arms, grinning at Hyrule. His teeth were sharp and predatory, illuminated by the red glow of his eyes. He absolutely reeked of dark magic, so much so that his very presence made Hyrule’s stomach churn. This was clearly a powerful wizard of some sort, one who demanded respect from everyone he came across.

“What do we think, followers?” The wizard questioned, sweeping across the crowd. “Should we teach him what happens when you pretend to be a hero?” The room erupted with deafening cheers, all different sorts of monsters calling for his downfall. The wizard cackled, turning on his heel to eye Hyrule with a menacing grin. “You heard them, hero.” He practically spat the title, eyes glowing brighter with fiery passion as he drew a twisted blade. “It’s about time someone taught you a lesson.”

Hyrule eyed the blade, keeping his expression as defiant as possible. The wizard held the twisted blade up near his ear, smirking. The metal glowed dimly, matching the red of the wizard’s eyes. The blade was almost certainly enchanted, and the physical design was meant to inflict pain. One thing was for certain– if that blade was used on Hyrule, things wouldn’t end well, not for him, and not for the rest of the world, either.

The wizard crept closer, grinning manically as he flipped the blade in his palm so it was ready to stab. Hyrule tugged at his restraints helplessly, feeling the way the tough rope dug into his skin with every struggle. As the wizard approached, dread pooled in the traveler’s stomach. He was trapped, and unless someone stepped in very soon, this would be his end. Ganon would rise again, fueled by the blood of the hero.

This was it. Hyrule had failed, and the world would suffer for his incompetence. The wizard raised the twisted blade, twin daggers curled around each other as they waited for bloodshed. All the monsters held their breath, watching with eager anticipation for Hyrule’s downfall.

The blade came down into Hyrule’s stomach.

He screamed, eyes bulging as he lurched forward. The pain was so much worse than he could ever imagine, akin to burning from the inside out. Hyrule tugged at the ropes holding him in place, struggling as the tough fibers scratched and tore at his sensitive wrists. There were no bracers to protect him, both of them having been ripped apart during his capture. Still, the pain of his raw skin was next to nothing compared to the inferno in his stomach.

The wizard twisted the blade, removing it with a harsh jerk. The pain intensified, but that wasn’t the worst part. Blood gushed out of the wound, soaking the lower half of his tunic and his trousers as well. It dripped off his body and onto the stone slate, draining into the ashes waiting below. Every drop of blood hissed and fizzled as it made contact with Ganon’s ashes, amalgamating into the beginnings of the world’s downfall.

The crowd of monsters cheered as Hyrule wheezed and panted, still pulling at his restraints with every ounce of strength he still possessed. It was futile, and he knew that, but what could he do if not fight? Even if his struggle was pointless, the Hero of Hyrule would not die quietly. There was hope for him still! There had to be, if not for him then for the country he worked so hard to protect.

The wizard silenced the crowd of monsters with one simple gesture. “What say you, hero? Have you learned to give up yet?”

Hyrule bared his teeth at the wizard, voice thick with blood as he spoke. “Never,” he replied, spitting at the wizard with all the courage he could muster.

The servant of evil stepped back, narrowly avoiding the bloody gob as it landed on the tiled floor. He narrowed his eyes at Hyrule, exhaling in frustration. “It’s almost as if you want to suffer,” he remarked idly, gesturing with the twisted blade. A wicked grin took over his face, the purple veins glowing alongside the red of his eyes. “If you want to suffer, I won’t object.”

The wizard stood over Hyrule, blade grasped with both hands as he raised it over his head, grinning manically as his face fell into shadow. Once again, the blade plunged into the traveler’s exposed torso, this time just below his ribs on the left side. Immediately, Hyrule felt the sting, gasping as tears sprung to his eyes. The wizard twisted the blade, pushing at the hilt so the tip would dig further into Hyrule’s flesh before he ripped it out.

The traveler closed his eyes, tugging at the ropes as he gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t scream. No matter how much it hurt, he would not scream. They had already gotten the satisfaction once, and Hyrule wasn’t going to let them have it again. He would fight all the way to the end, until the bloodshed was too much for him to handle and he inevitably passed out.

Hyrule was already lightheaded, which didn’t bode well for him. He opened his eyes, sparing a glance down at his abdomen. His tunic was ruined– it was absolutely soaked in blood, and he would never be able to get that stain out. Mostly because he’d be dead, but it was best not to think about that.

Looking past his ruined clothes, Hyrule tried to gauge the amount of blood he had lost so far. A lot of it was soaked into fabric, but more still spilled down the stone slab he was tied to, providing a steady stream of blood to Ganon’s ashes. Speaking of the ashes… his blood was already causing a reaction. Reddish-purple ooze gurgled lowly beneath him, pulsating and creating a faint glow from below.

The wizard grinned, leaning over Hyrule. “Seems like this is getting in the way, hm?” He tugged at the tunic, further aggravating the two stab wounds. The traveler winced, breathing heavily as he resisted the urge to scream. His tunic was pulled up, revealing his bloody stomach for all to see. A cold hand pressed into his exposed skin, fingers stretching to reach both wounds before wiggling their way inside.

Hyrule gasped, lungs tight as they refused to suck in air. He wheezed, eyes wide as he scrambled frantically. The coarse rope dug further into his skin as the wizard laughed, withdrawing his hand after far too long. Hyrule was seeing spots, the phantom pain of fingers scraping at his guts still haunting him. Finally, his lungs relented, and he took a shaky breath, greedily gulping in as much air as possible. His head drooped as he exhaled, panting.

At this point, it was only a matter of time before he passed out. As defiant as Hyrule was on the outside, on the inside he was still a scared kid, doing his best to fulfill a task he could never truly succeed at. It was a suicide mission from the beginning.

Hyrule left his head down, conserving the little energy that remained. He ignored the way it put extra strain on his rubbed-raw wrists. He couldn’t afford comfort, not now.

“What do we think?” The wizard yelled. From beyond Hyrule’s field of view, monsters whooped and cheered for his death. “How about some more for our master?” Hyrule had no time to react before the twisted blade was jammed back into him, this time dragging painstakingly slowly along the entire width of his abdomen. Blood dribbled from his lips and poured from his stomach, creating a terrible river of blood down from his bare torso to the waiting ashes below, gurgling happily with the supply.

The last thing Hyrule heard before passing out was a familiar battle cry.

The first thing Hyrule was aware of was pain.

Pain in his stomach, pain in his wrists, pain in his ankles… pain everywhere, really. He ached something fierce, feeling more like a deflated balloon than a person. It was like all the life had been sucked out of him, draining from him like…

…like blood from a stab wound. Or from two stab wounds. Or from a long cut the width of his body.

If he had the energy, Hyrule would’ve sat up with a gasp, but that wasn’t a feasible option in this state, so he settled for coughing a little and groaning.

“Hyrule?!” The voice was familiar, but Hyrule’s mind was muddy. “Hyrule, Link, are you with me?”

He groaned again, a little louder this time. Summoning all the strength left in his broken body, Hyrule peeked one eye open, wincing at the brightness that assaulted his sensitive pupil. His vision, although blurry, made out a few distinct colors. The most prominent was red– red, like the color of his blood as it dripped onto Ganon’s ashes– and green– green, like the color his tunic was before his blood was spilled.

The red grew closer, and a face came into view. Legend’s face. “Hyrule?” Something slipped into his hand. “If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.”

The traveler focused, but could not move his fingers. It didn’t matter– he was already fading away. His eye slipped shut as the darkness stole him back.

The next time Hyrule woke up, he was feeling marginally better. Sure, he felt like he had gotten chewed up by a Dodongo, but that was manageable.

He sat up slowly, holding a hand to his head as dizziness took over. Still, he remained upright, and that was something. Hyrule blinked, clearing the blurriness from his vision before glancing around. He was at a campsite… it was dark… something flickered nearby, though. Perhaps a fire?

Hyrule shifted his hand to better support his weight, finding a blanket where the ground should be. Next to him was Legend, fast asleep. Despite his peaceful expression, the Veteran looked terrible, likely from some sort of self-neglect. Hyrule left him to sleep, moving quietly as he moved to his feet.

Dizziness came in waves as Hyrule stood, staggering his way over to the light. Spots danced in his vision but he pressed on, determined to make it. He stepped on a twig, the snap catching the attention of whoever was on watch. Hyrule stayed in place, swaying. The last thing he saw before he passed out was a shocked Four.

“-don’t know! I was tending the fire because I was cold, and I heard a branch snap. Next thing I know, he’s collapsing right in front of me!” Four cried, frustrated. “There wasn’t anything else I could do about it!”

“It’s okay, Smithy. You did the right thing.” That sounded like Warriors. “But we need to have someone keep an eye on him in case he tries that again. It would be bad if he wandered away from camp like this.”

Hyrule’s brow furrowed as he shifted, groaning. Any conversation quieted instantly as his eyes blinked open, taking a few moments to adjust before finding his brothers.

“Hyrule?” The traveler turned his head, finding a surprised Legend. The Vet’s eyes sparkled with tears as he gathered Hyrule in a careful hug. “You’re awake.”

“Mm,” Hyrule hummed, moving to sit up.

Legend pushed him back down. “Don’t move. You’ve been out for five days now. Just take it easy.”

“You lost a lot of blood,” Warriors added, crouching down on the side opposite Legend. “How are you feeling?”

Hyrule sighed, shrugging. “Doesn’t hurt as bad anymore. Just tired. Weak.”

The Captain nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. We managed to heal the worst of it with a red potion, but that was our last one. It’s nothing short of a miracle that you’re even alive.” He paused, pursing his lips. “May I check your bandages, actually? You probably messed them up last night, and it’s about time to change them anyway.”

The traveler mumbled, waving a hand. Warriors was gentle as he lifted Hyrule’s tunic, revealing the thick bandages underneath. They were still white, fortunately, so he hadn’t bled through. They were carefully unraveled until the wounds hit the air, causing Hyrule to inhale sharply.

Warriors winced. “I know, I know. But it looks like it’s healing nicely,” he commented.

Hyrule lifted one trembling hand. “Can heal,” he grunted, fingertips already glowing a faint green. Nobody objected as the traveler’s hand hovered over his stomach, eyes slipping closed as he focused the healing magic into himself. Green tendrils twirled as they broke away, slipping into the wounds as they knitted themselves closed. Hyrule’s expression was easy as the flow of magic stopped, relieved to no longer have open wounds. The pain in his abdomen had subsided, and now the worst pain came from the rope burns that had rubbed his wrists raw.

“It’s healed, but…” Warriors frowned. “There’s scarring. Sorry, Hyrule.”

The traveler grumbled, shaking his head. “‘S fine. Doesn’t hurt anymore. Just wrists.”

“Wait.” Legend shuffled around for a moment before producing two strips of cloth. He poured water on them before tapping his ice rod to freeze the cloth. “Here. Give me your wrists.”

Like his stomach, Hyrule’s wrists had also been wrapped in bandages. They bled very little, but knowing why the traveler was in such a state in the first place was more than enough convincing, and they were wrapped up for safety. In the days since Hyrule had been rescued, the bleeding had turned to scabs, but the raw skin left from friction burns had to hurt, so they left the bandages on. Now, Legend wrapped the ice cloths around each wrist, over the thin layer of bandages to not freeze the already tender skin. Giving Hyrule frostbite would only make things worse.

“...There,” the Veteran murmured, sighing.

Hyrule hummed, lips quirking up into the faintest smile. “Thanks.”

“Of course, ‘Rulie,” Legend replied. “I’m just… glad you’re alive,” he admitted.

“Me too,” Hyrule agreed.

“Me three,” Warriors added.

“Me four.” Four paused for a moment before chuckling at the double meaning. “I’m glad too. It was not fun finding you like that.” The smith shuddered at the memory.

Hyrule grimaced. “I’m sorry you guys had to see that,” he murmured, frowning as a thought crossed his mind. “I- Ganon. Did you stop him? My blood, it-”

“-resurrects him,” Legend finished. “We know. And I personally made sure the whole dungeon went down in flames.” He waved a hand, teeth bared in a snarl. “The bastard who did this to you is dead, too. After seeing him next to you, the Champion was happy to put an arrow through his heart.”

Hyrule nodded slowly. “Speaking of, where is Wild? And everyone else?”

“Potion shopping,” Four answered. “Well, hopefully. They split into two teams and went to look for towns or villages.”

“We stayed to make sure you were okay,” Warriors added. “Me since I know the most about first aid, Legend because he’s a mother hen, and-”

“Hey!”

The Captain snorted. “And Smithy because he shouldn’t be traveling far on that leg.” Hyrule’s head turned so fast it made him lightheaded.

“I’m fine!” Four insisted, waving his hands. “It’s just a twisted ankle. But traveling wouldn’t be good for it, yeah.”

“Everyone else is okay?” Hyrule questioned.

“Everyone’s okay,” Warriors agreed. “It’s you we were all worried about. Thought we were too late.” The phrase was uttered lightly, but all of them understood the weight those words held.

Hyrule frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up,” Legend grumbled, pulling the traveler in for another, less careful hug. “Don’t ever do that again. No dying allowed.”

Hyrule chuckled, nodding. “No dying allowed.”

–> support me on ao3!

[dino-fart]

I’d like a feel-good prompt where the character is a woman. She’s reporting to the NY Sanctum as part of her routine rounds and has had an incredibly rough shift. She’s dirty, tired, and has a few minor injuries, but is determined to finish her work for the day. Y/N is a bit stubborn, but means well and wants to show the masters that she’s responsible and worthy of being trained in magic. However, after today’s mess, she’s frustrated and embarrassed. She does try to hide it to look strong, but when one more thing goes wrong on her rounds, it’s too much and she ends up questioning herself and where she went wrong. Basically struggling with impostor syndrome and trying not to let it bother her. A heart-to-heart moment with Stephen helps her learn to be more gentle with herself and not be afraid to ask for help. Thank you! =)

@stewardofningishzida

As someone who also has imposter syndrome, I can relate

You were in the library of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. You sat at the desk and went through numerous scrolls. You had reported for duty a few days ago and got to work immediately, no rest what so ever. You had bags under your eyes, injuries still there from your arrival. You didn’t care though, you had to prove yourself, you had to show everyone you were to be taken seriously. 

Even if it meant getting sick at least you can say you got the job done. You were so frustrated with yourself for letting the creature slip away yesterday, you didn’t care that you were tired, you should've done it!  You coughed but ignored the signs and symptoms that your body needed rest. 

“Can I ask how long you’ve been here or should I not even bother?” Stephen said approaching you. You looked up at him sleepily and looked back down at the scrolls. Stephen sighed and used his magic to levitate all the scrolls on the desk and moved them back into the bookshelves. You gasped and looked at him with slight annoyance. 

“Come with me.” Stephen gestured and opened a portal. You sighed and followed behind him. 

You two ended up at an orchard park and Stephen began to walk along the path, you followed beside him. 

“I’ve been watching you since you arrived. Is there a particular reason you are practically killing yourself?” He asked softly. You were quiet for a bit and looked down at the path in shame. Stephen stopped and stood in front of you. He gently cupped your chin and raised your head up so your eyes met his. You felt hot tears forming in your eyes and your lower lip trembled. 

“I failed! I didn’t catch the creature, it was right in my grasp but I failed! I should know better, I should do better! Please, Master Strange, I am a worthy sorceress!” You pleaded. Stephen was taken aback by your tears and embraced you gently. 

“Hey now...Don’t cry, there’s no reason to cry.” He rubbed your back softly. He held you close and let you finishing crying. He pulled back and cupped your face, “You listen to me. I don’t know who has said what to you but you are worthy. You’re ever bit of worthy as anyone else. But you can’t learn if you are exhausted. So. As Master of the Sanctum, I order you to rest.” He took your hand in his and created another portal. 

You two were now at a hot springs surrounded by cherry blossom trees. You looked at him softly and looked over at the inviting warm water. You nodded at his request and leaned up to kiss his cheek. 

“Thank you, master...” You smiled softly. 

Stephen smiled sheepishly at your kiss, “Just call me Stephen. And enjoy yourself.” He walked back toward the portal and you readied yourself for a relaxing warm bath. 

Tagging: @stewardofningishzida,  @strangeswife​, @strangelockd​, @thealleydog​, @wolfie-west​, @k1mikoz, @fizzybubbletea, @pinkthick, @silver-shadow, @strangesthirdeye, @mynamehasbeentakenbysomeperson, @lucimorningst4r, @evelyn-kingsley, @strangesgirl

[treysimp]

I don't know how else to say this, do you want to make out on my couch? (Explicit Remix)

Side: Riddle Rosehearts/AMAB!Reader (Reader has a penis)

Riddle/AFAB!Reader

As per our vote (thank you again for voting!) Riddle was the next spicy couch series conclusion. Now that both AFAB and AMAB are posted, do you have a favorite? I'm so curious.

This is a partial continuation of the work “Do You Want to Make Out on My Couch (Part 6)”. Said fic is also included below if you want to re-read the beginning or this is your first time seeing this work.

Reader not described other than their junk, and pronouns are not used for them.

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, M/M sexual relations, handjobs, anal sex, ask to tag for more.

Want more TWST? Here's my masterlist!

To skip straight to the action, scroll to the second picture of Riddle. To skip to the AMAB!Only section, skip to the picture of tarts. Thanks!

“Really!” Riddle sputters, his brows knit in irritation “you should…. you really…” he trails off, his eyes frantically darting around your face as if a puzzle piece would magically fall into place if he just had the final hint.

“…You should ask in a more romantic way than that.” He finally finished, fingers drifting to your tie to straighten the lopsided knot.

Your eyebrows involuntarily raised to the sky.

“Is that a no, house warden?” You ask. You wanted to start hysterically laughing, oh my God how could he possibly be so cute? 

Waiting for his response, you placed your hands on top of his to still the fingers that had been fussing over your tie. 

You were going to get him to answer your question in a forthright manner if it killed you.

“It’s not-not a no!” Riddle sputtered, pretending to wipe his mouth with his sleeve to hide away his increasingly flustered face. You noted that he had kept his other hand in your grasp though, feeling him shake gently beneath you.

“Next time I expect flowers! Or chocolate!” He finally shouted, pulling both of his hands away to cross them over his chest haughtily. You couldn’t hide the grin splitting your face.

“Oh? You’re already planning on next time?” You said, smoothing your hand over his ruby hair. 

Riddle seemed to finally register his slip of the tongue as his face lit as scarlet as the rest of him. 

“No!” Riddle practically screamed. You were glad Grim wasn’t here tonight, as he definitely would have woken up upon hearing this exchange.

You raised an eyebrow, “No?” 

Riddle’s gaze was fixed on the floor, face knit in irritation. 

“Only if you play your cards right.” He finished, turning his head away with a huff. 

You couldn’t stop the giggling that bubbled from your chest, God he was the cutest. How did he do it? 

Not being able to help yourself, you wound your arms around his body, pulling him close to you as you buried your head in his neck. 

Unsurprisingly he smelled great, like sweets and roses and some other sort of soft musk that was no doubt from some sort of expensive atelier. It was so charming the things he did to take care of himself for the sake of appearances. 

You idly wondered if there was a rule about smelling good in Heartslabyul. There probably was, but you decided that asking would only mortify Riddle further, and you wanted to get him to do more than talk to you tonight. 

Riddle was stiff as a board, arms hovering around you awkwardly for a moment until he finally relaxed, pulling you snugly into his arms. 

“Do you really want to kiss me?” You could barely hear Riddle mumble, his voice muffled by your hair as he nuzzled it into your neck to mirror the way you had been holding him. 

You pulled away slowly and held him by the shoulders, eyes boring into his shy grey gaze. You took a moment to take in the loveliness of his face for just a moment, relishing in the closeness you had never been afforded before now. The red eyeliner around his lashes, the rosy sheen of his heart-shaped mouth, and a tiny mole you had never noticed on top of his eyelid. So lovely.

“Yes. I do.” You said softly. 

If you could believe it, Riddle got even redder. He cleared his throat and seemed to make an internal decision, twining his hands behind your neck as he pushed himself forward to meet your lips. 

His lips were stiff but very, very soft. You pressed gently against him, massaging your mouth against his in hopes of loosening him up. It seemed to work, as you heard the smallest of moans as Riddle tried to mirror your movements, lightly sucking on your lower lip. It was shy, but also heartbreakingly genuine and careful. 

You both separated slowly, you wished you could take a picture of the expression on his face. 

Gorgeous eyes half open, glossy lips slightly swollen from the contact, he pulled the bottom of said lips into his mouth to chew on it lightly as he snapped his gaze to the side. How was he even real? His beauty shines like a fairy tale prince, and yet this gorgeous boy thought himself a villain. How ironic. 

“Again.” He whispered, pushing his face back towards you with more aggressive energy, seemingly having gained confidence now that the spell of your first kiss was broken. 

His kisses sped up and gained in ferocity, each time you separated for breath being punctuated with another ‘again’. His affection grew more demanding, his chest grew tighter and each breath became more labored. 

“Let me inside.” Riddle finally demanded, his hands curled into the lapels of your jacket. “I want to come inside.” 

You swallowed audibly and nodded, pushing the door open while Riddle pulled you inside of Ramshackle.   

Now that the dam of tension had broken, Riddle was adorably needy.

He ushered you to the couch, pushing you down and continuing to pepper kisses on your face as he whispered little compliments and appreciations to you, almost inaudible between the soft smacks. 

Pulling his face away from yours for a moment, you stroked his cheek with your thumb, taking in the soft flush of his face and the way that his wide grey eyes scanned your face frantically for an explanation as to why you stopped him. 

“What is it?” He questioned, putting one hand over yours as he worried over his lip anxiously. 

You shook your head and stifled a laugh. Where did all that confidence go? 

“You’re just beautiful, is all. I wanted to appreciate it.” You teased, happy to see how much your every move affected him. 

It was charming to see the faces he made when he was overthinking, though you would prefer that he relaxed a bit more sometimes.

Riddle inhaled through his nose loudly and steeled himself. A strange reaction to a compliment, you thought. 

Riddle grabbed you by the lapels and shook you lightly. Face pinched in a clearly frustrated frown.

“H-how can you-! How can you say stuff like that so easily! It’s infuriating!” He huffed, then sighed, then buried his head into the crook of your neck. 

His next words were quieted even further by your skin.

“How can you say something so romantic? So… like a fairy tale…” He murmured. “I’ve been in love with you all this time and you just… come out and say this? How am I supposed to act?” 

Riddle was lost, trapped between happiness and panic. He had convinced himself that he didn’t need affection, he just needed order. 

Much to his discomfort, his thoughts felt even more chaotic than ever when faced with one of his most secret desires coming true. He couldn’t decide if the tears threatening to spill from his eyes were ones of happiness or sorrow.

“Riddle…” You whispered, wrapping your arms around his shaking frame. “Do you really want this? It’s okay if you don’t.”

Riddle bolted up to attention and shook his head violently.

“No! Absolutely not! I-I want you! Desperately!” His proclamation was a bit over the top, but it made you smile. 

Everything about him was just a little over the top after all, why would love be any different? It was what drew you to him. 

“Okay then… what do you want to do?”

Riddle hesitated, clearly puzzled over this question. What did he want? 

You sat in the comfortable silence for a moment, but it seemed that he was pretty deep in his head. You decided to offer your own option instead.

“Riddle, I want to make you feel good. Will you let me?” You asked, propping yourself up on your elbows to get a better look at his face.

Riddle nodded stiffly and slowly crawled backwards as you rose to meet him. Eyes fixed on your lips while he tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothing. He was clearly doing this out of habit, considering the fact that his clothes being out of place was your fault anyway.

You approached him carefully, sliding your fingers under the collar of his shirt as you coaxed each closure undone, holding your breath as you got a peek at each additional inch of his perfect doll-like complexion. 

Riddle was visibly shivering, lightly gasping and leaning into your touch each time that cold fingers happened to make fleeting contact with his bare skin. Finally unbuttoning enough to push the shirt off his shoulders, his torso revealed bare. 

You started slowly, giving him unhurried and smooth kisses on his lips as you gently massaged his body with your hands. 

He was so unbelievably soft, but you could feel the slim muscles that lay under his skin as well, clearly having benefited from his riding practice. 

You took joy in watching the goosebumps form on his skin as you slowly trailed your mouth down his body, fluttering butterfly kisses punctuated by each little whimper and gasp that spilled out of his mouth. 

Riddle had clamped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, and while you wanted to hear his sounds better, you let him have that one piece of comfort. 

It was cute, and unsurprisingly as someone who liked Riddle this much, you were easily swayed by cute things.

Finally trailing your kisses to his abdomen, you unbuckled his belt and started to make quick work of his pants, silently proud in how you could tell how aroused he was by the tightness of the fit. 

After getting his zipper down, you placed your fingers on the waistband of his underwear, patiently waiting to see if he would let you so forward or ask you to stop. You were willing to do whatever he asked of you. 

“Please…” He whined, a strand of ruby hair falling into his face and sticking to his cheek. You reached up and tucked the offending hair behind his ear.

“Anything for you.” You said, pulling his pants down teasingly slow. 

Finally springing out of the restriction of his underwear, Riddle let out a barely audible sigh of relief. 

You were surprised, quite frankly. 

He wasn’t hung, per se, but what he did far exceeded what you would proportionally expect of his small and soft body. He was pale and smooth, petal pink at the tip, with a generous curve to the sky. You pushed back the thought of where that curve might be able to hit for later, you were taking care of him right now, after all. 

You gingerly ran your fingertips over the softness of his skin, keeping your eyes locked on Riddle’s face to see every change in expression and twitch that hinted at his quickly crumbling composure. He was harshly biting his lip, and you could see that his ever-present flush of red had crawled down from his face to his chest. 

You started stroking him gently, not too fast, just ghosting touches along him. You worried that too much too fast would overwhelm him, and you wanted Riddle to enjoy this for as long as possible. 

Gripping him loosely, you started at a slow tempo, watching the way his thighs would twitch when you ran your thumb softly over the bulb of his head. 

You had internally compared him to a doll, but perhaps he was actually an angel. 

Watching the way that Riddle’s back arched off of the couch in yearning as you began varying the pace of your pumps, you certainly felt like you were having a religious experience. 

The way his soft grey eyes rolled back in his head, the way his arms and body tensed and relaxed with each stroke, it was mesmerizing. 

You couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

You heard Riddle softly call your name, so you shifted your focus back to his face. Nibbling along his neck as your pace turned strong and slow, you started milking him in a way that made his hips harshly buck into your hand. 

“Yes, Riddle?” You cooed between barely-there kisses. “How can I help you?”

Riddle looked up at you with glassy lust-heavy eyes.  

“I’wanna…” He gasped, urging his length into your hand at a particularly harsh stroke, “I wanna make you feel good too.” 

His words were slightly slurred, and he looked almost drunk on the feeling of your touch on him, his gaze wandering from your hand to your face and back again. 

“Oh?” You tease, spitting onto your hand and adding the moisture to the steady build-up of pre-cum that Riddle had been supplying you with.  

Your effort was met by another heady moan and then a hand harshly catching your wrist, causing you to stop your motions in surprise. 

“Let me fuck you… please?” Riddle asked between pants, the hand that had grabbed yours clearly shaking.

You swallowed audibly with a gulp.  

Well.. you always were a sucker for cute things.

He made quicker work of your clothes than you had his, perhaps owing to all of the beautiful yet complicated outfits that we wore regularly. 

Riddle's face was knit into a frown of concentration. The process of him taking your clothes off was a little less than sexy, but his innocently-serious charm made up for it.

Riddle seemed to be softly tracing every bump and curve of your body, counting the ribs that slipped under his touch and barely ghosting his fingertips on your skin. Riddle was far too earnest to be torturing you like this on purpose, but also couldn’t be very mad when you see how his hands are shaking as he traces from your collarbones to your bellybutton, to right above your hip bones. 

A shy flick of warmth spread across your nipple as Riddle licked it experimentally, watching your face for every tick of movement that could indicate what he was doing right and what he could do better.

“Riddle…” You murmured, cupping his cheek in your hand and pushing a few scarlet strands of hair behind his ear. “You know I’m not grading you. I’ll tell you if something isn’t working. We can just try again next time.”

Riddle visibly relaxed and let go of his stiff-lipped concentration. 

“Oh? You’re already thinking about next time, Prefect?” He said with a breathy chuckle, clearly trying to imitate the quip you had thrown his way earlier.

“Okay, fine I deserve that one, but you know what I mean.” You say, taking the opportunity to tuck hair behind Riddle's other ear to match. 

“I want you, and if you want me back, I don’t care about how messy or imperfect it is. If it’s you, I’ll be happy no matter what. Okay?”

Riddle nodded and thickly swallowed. He resumed in the way that he was slowly memorizing your body, but it felt far less procedural. 

Riddle seemed to make an internal agreement with himself as his hands lowered and he unbuttoned your slacks, pulling them off your body smoothly. Okay, considering you could practically see the beat of his heart matching the twitch in his strained trousers, you did feel pretty smug this time around. 

Shaking off how started he was, Riddle refused eye contact (or in this case, eye-to-dick contact) and began stuttering out compliments.

“I-I knew that you were aesthetically pleasing Prefect, but forgive me for not expecting this.” He said, vaguely motioning to your hard-on that sat between the two of you.

“Do you wanna touch it, Riddle?” You asked teasingly, bucking your hips up every so slightly so that while you weren’t touching, you could feel each other’s body heat.

Riddle began nodding aggressively and squeaked out a small ‘please’. How could you ever say no to him?

Riddle’s hands were a bit cold, but if anything that made it just a bit more thrilling. The heat of his body snuggled up to the back of your thighs as his grey eyes sparkled in awe of the sight. It almost made you feel bad, it was like picking the most beautiful flower the second that it bloomed. Actually, no, that was a bad metaphor, you don’t think anyone could stop Riddle from doing anything that he truly wanted. 

You made a slight show of spitting on your hand and placing it over Riddle’s own, squeezing yourself and him around your length in a positively heavenly way. Riddle choked out a slight gasp at this, but he is ever a quick study. He tightened his grip, upped his speed and fixed his gaze on your face, and sat in awe of your pleasure as he tried to take snapshots of each second as if it would all disappear at any moment. 

White hot heat was coiling in your stomach. Your fingers and toes felt tingly and warm at their tips. Fuck, you hoped to last longer than Riddle did. Grabbing Riddle’s wrist and pulling him forward to topple into you, he hiccuped in surprise at the sudden turn of events. Regaining his bearings, Riddle glared at you indignantly. 

“And just what are you…?”

“I thought you wanted to fuck me.” You said cheerily, speaking just as if you had asked to walk to your next class together. 

Riddle sat in silence, but after a moment he gave a breathless ‘yes’ to you once more.

“How do you want me? Like I am now? From behind maybe?” You teased, making a mental note that you should probably look up some fun positions for the two of you later. 

Riddle looked like he could explode from embarrassment, but it was admirable to see just how hard he was trying to keep it all together.

“This… this is good.” He said, grasping at the back of your thighs and pushing them up towards your shoulders. 

Riddle looked stuck again, but just as you were about to say something, he lightly slapped himself against your hole which made you flutter briefly in surprise.

“Hmm.. that’s interesting,” Riddle said slyly. He was also keeping a long list of mental notes, it seemed.

He didn’t leave you waiting too long as you felt his finger tracing the rim of your asshole, making you involuntarily suck in a breath. You were again left feeling like a character in a Greek tragedy, being drawn to something so much more beautiful and powerful than you. Your sweet Riddle.

“How did I get so lucky?” Murmured Riddle, eyes transfixed on your body as he began his slow aching descent inside of you. 

You gasped lightly at the new sensation, biting your finger so as not to make a horrible cacophony of sounds from the feeling. Riddle grabbed the hand that you had stuffed inside of your mouth and brought it to his own for a kiss, his eyes boring into yours as you finally felt him bottom out inside of you.

Both of you were panting and shaking, but you didn’t want to wait any longer. You had waited long enough already. You shifted your hips forward towards Riddle to give him the hint, and he nodded, beginning to rock you both at a slow and methodical pace.

Lacing his fingers between yours in one hand, a bruising grip on the back of your thigh with another, he looked so otherworldly it almost made you want to cry. Riddle seemed to be having similar thoughts, as his gaze seemed glassy and almost overwhelmed with emotion.

The pace was getting quicker for both of you, the sway of your bodies working together in a hypnotizing beat. 

A slight stutter had started making itself into Riddle’s pattern though, maybe he was getting close? 

“Riddle, are you going to cum inside of me, gorgeous?”

Riddle’s face was one of a charming mix of surprise and arousal at the question.

“C-can I?” His pace was sputtering again, and you felt him twitch inside of you as he asked the question. You nodded and Riddle sped up his sloppy pace. He took one of his hands away from yours and began pumping your length in earnest.

“N-not without you!” He stammered, messily trying to match the pace of his hips with the pumps of his hand on you. 

Your hips were involuntarily bucking into his grasp as you felt Riddle hit something deep inside you with every thrust. Oh, you were such a goner.

“F-fuck!” Riddle gasped at his release. The sudden strong squeeze he had given you at that exact moment had done something for you as well, as the splatter of your finish on Riddle’s chest practically sparkled in the moonlight.

You both were panting, wide-eyed, and utterly smitten with each other.

Riddle slowly pulled out of you and stood up to go look for something to clean the two of you up with. You wanted to cuddle for a bit, but you figured that you could do that after.

After a moment, Riddle returned with a warm wet towel and cleaned you both off, swabbing all evidence of your lovemaking from both of your bodies. You bent up at the waist and gave Riddle a light smooch to the tip of his nose in thanks. If you could believe it he looked far more embarrassed now than when the two of you were fucking. 

“Do you need to go back to your dorm?” You asked tentatively. You wanted him to stay, of course, but you didn’t want to cause him to get into trouble either. 

Riddle seemed to be mulling something over until he snapped his fingers in realization and his sweet smile turned into a conniving smirk.

“Rule 782: The Queen may share a bed with suitors of their choosing prior to their betrothal to access their ability to cohabitate.” He said this sentence like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“Betrothal? Are we betrothed?!” You had no memory of agreeing to do anything other than aggressively trying (and succeeding) to get into Riddle’s pants at this point.

Riddle shook his head no, which let you deflate slightly.

“Only if you play your cards right,” He said, winking and giving you a smooch on the cheek.

Well, too late now to pretend to be coy, you supposed.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope I did our 'liddle Riddle justice! Let me know your thoughts or any ideas you want to send my way. Thank you!

Love you, reader!

Requested Tags: @yandere-kou, @daeda21, @aikochan4859, @prince-zukohere, @star-gods, @sarahyumiko2, @dari-kun, @kit4kat256, @kashasenpai, @loverofanimeboyz

[optiwashere]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @amorficzna last week to share whatever I'm working on. I'll tag... @siyurikspakvariisis and @grousebrood if y'all have anything you're willing to share! Anyone that sees this and feels like doing it can consider themselves tagged by me.

I don't have a WIP I can share prose-wise, so instead here's a wall of Asheera character notes! My love and light, my weirdo who likes objectively bad poetry.

This is basically written to be notes for me, so it's like a behind the scenes more than anything. Also, the second chunk of this relates to a post I made last week, so CW: Character death.

Asheera's age as of BG3: 32 (33? She was 35 in old notes last I checked, but that was 14th century DR and for a 3.5e game so her age is kinda up in the air at this point)

Height: 6'7" (~201cm)

Weight: around 260lbs. (~118kg)

Eye color: Brown (described as ruddy brown, like darker red clay)

Hair color: Black with faint blue streaks (not dyed, a fun lil extra happenstance from her Gondian transition)

Dialogue snippets from Asheera when talking to others about Shadowheart:

To Zevlor. "Do you remember what it was like to take your oath? How you felt suddenly right, and whole, and everything made sense? Don't get all puppy eyes at me about it, but yeah... it's like that with her." (author's note: from Zevlor's perspective, Asheera is explaining a relationship in a way that finally makes sense to him. She should be speaking slowly, as if to savor the words.)

To Aylin. "Oh, she's stolen her fair share of things, perhaps killed a person or two in the name of her former Dark Lady, but aren't we all monsters in our own way? A little redemption never hurt." (author's note: Asheera is an Oath of Redemption paladin in canon but in-game I couldn't pick it; she is explaining to Aylin how their relationship ever started. Asheera is trying to joke, badly, and it doesn't really work on Aylin. Probably followed by Aylin trying to rationalize all her evil deeds as necessary to find Selûne.)

To Isobel. "Is she devout? Eh, that's a question for her. I know she keeps little trinkets of the Moonmaiden around. I've made some for her, too. But if you're expecting her to join you in prayer or something, I'd temper that." (author's note: Isobel is excited to hear about Shadowheart's Selûnite worship. She is decidedly less excited after this conversation. Asheera finds this hilarious, and Isobel probably chides her for it.)

To Rolan. "No, listen. She didn't steal your books. Why would she want them? It's all magic gobbledygook anyways, what use would she have for them?" [back and forth] "And? I love her, but I wouldn't just lie to your face about her. I've an oath to uphold." (author's note: someone stole books from Sorcerous Sundries, and Rolan is somehow convinced it was Shadowheart. He trusts Asheera, but still thinks she's lying.)

To Gale. "I can't believe you haven't had Shadowheart over for dinner yet, especially since I was already coming." [Gale explains he has, but Tara was unhappy afterwards and it's been a whole thing.] "Oh? Didn't Tara like her? And why didn't she tell me she was here?" [Gale, after rambling for a long while on the meal he cooked for them all, explains that Shadowheart called Tara a cat. Not once, but twice. The second was accidental.] "Oh. Oh, I see. Yeah, no. That makes sense. Gods, I can't wait to ask her about tressyms when I get home." (author's note: Asheera should be just about bouncing on her seat with this information. Razzing a supposed once-master Sharran spy for social faux pas is way too much fun.)

To Astarion. "I wish she'd join us for these chats. I know she misses you terribly, even if she won't admit it." [Astarion makes a snide remark about how he doesn't miss Shadowheart.] "Whatever you say, but I'll remember that next time you ask how she's doing." (author's note: apparently Astarion and Asheera hang out often? Again, Asheera is an Oath of Redemption paladin, so redeeming a vampire spawn is like crack for her.)

To Karlach, should they ever meet again. "OK, OK. You're crushing me." [Karlach finally lets go of Asheera after a bone-breaking hug.] "She's coming, the whole ritual exhausted her and she needed a rest while you two came back." [Karlach razzes Asheera hardcore about her "tiring out" Shadowheart.] "I did learn that magic circles require all sorts of interesting components..." (author's note: this would be whatever the fuck would lead to Karlach and Wyll being pulled back from the Hells to have a normal, happy existence on the Material Plane.)

To Wyll, same as Karlach. "I wouldn't worry about Shadowheart." [Wyll says something to the tune of stinking like the Hells because of all the time he's spent fighting alongside Karlach.] "Seriously, I don't think Selûne is going to demand she pester you about it. She's not Isobel Thorm. Let's go celebrate, you've nothing to fret over! Seriously." (author's note: essentially, Wyll is even more worried about losing himself similarly to how he talks about not feeling like he can be the heroic figure he wants to be as in-game. If it's from his POV, he doesn't believe Asheera. He goes with her to celebrate with Karlach and Shadowheart, but he should be distant and withdrawn.)

To Lae'zel, same as the last two. N/A (author's note: they wouldn't talk about Shadowheart. Asheera & Lae'zel are on respectful terms, not friendly ones. Pretty much they'd only talk about how beating Vlaakith's ass is going. Fuck the Lich-Queen.)

Age of death: 94; extended lifespan due to the way Gond "rebuilt" her for her divine transition/gender affirmation. (I headcanon Shadowheart as early fifties, so she would be early 110s when this happens)

Dialogue snippets from Shadowheart after Asheera passes. A lot of this is melodramatic because I love melodrama:

“I lived fifty years without her before, I can manage it again.” (author’s note: she is lying poorly to whoever she’s speaking to with this line. Anyone remotely insightful should see this.)

“Sixty good years. Sixty-one and eleven months we had, when some have a fraction of that or never find it whatsoever. If ever there was a woman that could make those years feel effortless, it was her. But now it’s only the road and the care of strangers and their pets and livestock for me. It’s a quiet life, and I like it.” (author’s note: Shadowheart seems to lose herself, fall into herself when she’s talking about how long they were together. Logical brain trying to hide her broken heart. Whoever is hearing this should realize that Shadowheart has those years practically memorized. Memories are so important to someone who didn't use to have them before. When she speaks about her current life, she does seem content if cold. It’s different, and she is alone, but she’s happy with doing good, simple work. Pressing the matter of loneliness will just make her annoyed/angry/generally upset.)

“It was the thirteenth day of Eleint, 1554 by... by Dale Reckoning when she left me. No, that’s wrong. She didn’t leave me. That was the day she was taken from me. I couldn’t move her until the nineteenth, and I slept almost not at all. She’s buried near the sea, by where we lived together. I thought she'd want to be by her parents, but no. She wanted what she wanted, and I couldn't deny her anything. Ever. I visit whenever I pass by. I'm due for a visit with her youngest brother.” (author’s note: Shadowheart is clearly broken by this, but she must soldier on regardless. Wistful. Listener/reader gets the sense that Shadowheart always "just so happens to" pass by. Whoever is hearing this dialogue cannot comfort her at all about this, and trying to do so will make her very angry. She's been through this for decades by this point, she can't go through it again.)

If I were to tag this like a fic, it would have the "Angst with Happy Ending" tag. Interpret that however you wish until I make a fic about this.

[sagesilentfire]

it's so weird I personally never saw/considered toffee as evil???? and had no idea that people hated him??????? I thought it was universally agreed he was the best and most tragic thing to happen in the series?????????

even after the rollercoaster that was comet I'm more inclined to believe he DIDN'T murder her (tbf she had it coming)

Oh, I agree with you. I don't think he's evil. But unfortunately, that doesn't erase how the writers, and a section of the fans, treated him. Maybe they were a vocal minority, but if so they were extremely vocal. Here's the breakdown:

The writers: I've explained at length how the writers screwed over Toffee. They change his motives from petty to deep depending on who they're talking to, they ignore all the mystery boxes they created regarding him, and if there's any way they want us to feel about his pointless, horrible death, it's either relief or a dull sadness that the magic wasn't destroyed right then. Not horror or righteous indignation. He isn't explicitly a tragic victim, he's barely even mentioned after, and never in a way that implies Star should feel guilty for murdering him. Explicitly, he's a faceless obstacle to be knocked over by Star after she levels up, and it's totally fine she literally melted him, it's fine! We shouldn't question the morality of our white savior protagonist, it's fine!

But the big one, and the one you were likely referring to, is the fandom. And when I made that analysis, I do admit to one cop-out: the fandom isn't like that now. Nowadays it's mostly dead, with the odd stubborn holdout (like me) posting in the tag now and then. A lot of us are Toffee fans, still posting because we liked the potential the show had and so we're imagining him as a character and not the plot equivalent of a bowling pin. But Back In The Day, when the show was still running, people celebrated Toffee's death. It was so cool that Star Vs. had the guts to graphically murder a character onscreen! Star was so cool, and here you thought this show was for kids! Her butterfly form is so cool! Yeah, so much better than that loser Steven Universe, who just talks about his feelings to the villains and solves problems with love and friendship! Never mind that there's a reason other shows don't do this, and that's because it sends a horrible message. Star should've taken a page out of Steven's book honestly.

But surely after the shock of this super cool and edgy death wore out, people started to see the tragedy inherent in Toffee's character? Nope! I mean, there were some popular analysis posts and such, but the fandom mostly forgot about Toffee, along with the writers. And while we were forgetting about that, Morningmark happened. I've talked about him before, but he's always been both a good barometer for the fandom's opinion of a character as well as a shaper of it. When he rarely goes against the fandom's majority opinion, the fandom seems to bend over backwards to make his headcanon everyone's headcanon. Even when it involves dubious characterization. I have already talked about why Morningmark is overrated, but... he just does not get Toffee, even after the show ended with Toffee kind of acknowledged as being right, even after the fandom slowly began to die. In his urge to make everything haha funny he just made it really flat and made Toffee stupid, boring, and evul, and since his comics were the only thing getting notes in the quickly-dying fandom, it made it very annoying to be a fan of depth and tragedy in svtfoe. Then he stopped making svtfoe comics and moved to making Belos stupid and other The Owl House-related crimes, and at least I don't have to worry about his dreadful takes on Toffee anymore, so that's great. 

And from there it was a short hop to the fandom we have today, where only people who got something important out of svtfoe still make content. Now, and only now, do we have the majority thinking Toffee's story, or at least what we saw of it, was the best thing to come out of svtfoe. 

Also, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Mina killed Comet and blamed Toffee. That would be a much better twist than the whole Moon bs.

[shipskicksandgiggles]

Nine People Tag

Rules: Get tagged, answer the questions, then tag nine people you wanna get to know better

thanks for the tag @sarah-sandwich-writes!!! I love these so much

Last song: tried to check my Spotify history and realized I’ve been listening to the magnus archives since I got home, so I’ll take a shot in the dark and say probably fob’s we didn’t start the fire because it’s been on repeat lately

Last movie: the new Indiana Jones! I saw it this morning with my dad, it was quite good. absolutely the best way to end the movies, and the ending made me tear up a little I won’t lie

(I almost said local hero because that was the last movie I watched at home, and I had to look up the name of only knowing Peter Capaldi was in it, and boy howdy was this a hell of a way to find out he’s related to Lewis Capaldi, which should not have been as much of a shock as it was but here we are)

Currently watching: the sandman! my roommate and I started watching earlier this week. I also have doctor who always on repeat but I’m stuck on season 10. I always stall out near the end

Currently reading: the magic strings of Frankie presto by Mitch Albom. it’s an old favorite, I’ve read it like four times now but I love it dearly and it’s my go to when I need something but have no energy for something new

Currently craving: peaches and cola gummies. Im craving peaches just because it’s summer, and I think it’s the texture of the gummies that makes me want them. I would also. like a hug that lasts approximately 12 hours so my bones don’t feel like they’re vibrating out of my skin

Last thing I looked up for writing purposes: I don’t know if this counts but I searched gifs to see which way the doors of the family video opened for a fic I posted a couple weeks ago. I haven’t looked much up recently since most of my writing has been all things I haven’t needed help with

tagging: anyone and everyone who wants to share (this is code for its 1am and I can’t think of nine people, sorry!)

[elliepassmore]

What the River Knows review

4/5 stars Recommended if you like: Egypt, Death on the Nile, archeology, adventure Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I really wanted this to be 5 stars. The premise is so intriguing and Egypt has so much interesting history, both on its own and in relation to archeology. Unfortunately, this is a book where I'm not really sure how I feel about it, so it's 4 stars right now but might drop down later. The first half of the book lives up to expectations. We get Inez traveling to Egypt and using her wits to tag along on her uncle's excavation. I loved the descriptions of Cairo and the Nile and Phillae. There's so much culture and lush imagery, it's easy to become engrossed in the setting and story. Unfortunately, after that the plot doesn't focus as much on archeology and Egypt as it should. We do get multiple excavation/temple/tomb scenes, but I wanted more of them. I wanted a true exploration of being on an archeological site and discovering these big things and worrying over tomb raiders. Instead, we get more focus on personal relationships (or lack thereof). The story was also fairly predictable. I wasn't entirely sure at first, but once Inez got to Cairo I felt more certain of what I suspected. Then, later on when the first half of my theory was revealed, it was also immediately obvious that the rest of it was too and I got to sit with a feeling of utter dread while Inez just went with things despite the signs pointing to a bad conclusion. That being said, I can actually understand why Inez didn't question things as much as she should've, and why when she did question things, she dismissed her own instincts. Like, honestly, I think anyone probably would in that situation. This is one of the few cases where I think things being predictable for the reader and not for the character actually makes sense...I just wish the predictability was less subtle so I didn't have to spend 30% of the book waiting for the other shoe to drop. One thing that really bothered me was that the whole mess with the grave goods was framed as being wholly Inez's fault. Like, was she being extremely dumb? Absolutely. Is it understandable? Also yes. And is it especially understandable because her uncle kept lying to her and hiding the truth? 100%. Half of the mess would've been avoided if Tío Ricardo had simply told Inez what he'd suspected and dealt with the potential fallout of that. Instead, he kept secrets and lied (and it was fairly obvious this was setting up to be a miscommunication trope) and then got angry with Inez when she didn't magically know who their enemies were. Not just him, Abdullah also got upset with her, though not as much as Tío Ricardo....but Abdullah also wasn't telling her shit. Like, a single conversation in Cairo, as upsetting as it would've been, would've literally circumvented this whole thing and instead everyone blames Inez. As for the characters. Inez is great in the first half of the story. She's got a lot of spunk and a desire for the truth. She's fairly good at getting herself in and out of any situation, which comes in handy. But for someone so interested in Egypt, she doesn't really seem to know that much about it. I actually liked Isadora, and I'm not really sure what Whit's problem with her is (though I'm sure it will get revealed in book 2). She and Inez make a formidable team and I would've liked to see them interact more. Her dad can be awful and kind of gruff, but Isadora seems to manage him fairly well. Whit is...mainly annoying, imo. Inez wants the two of them to be friends, and while they're in Cairo he seems fairly normal, but so much of the story involves him being secretive or lying or just being annoying and pushing Inez away. It gets frustrating after a while. We also get to see things from his POV, but they're mostly small snippets and single scenes. I think it would've worked better if we'd gotten chapters or half-chapters from his POV or if it had been excluded altogether. Some of his POV scenes provide helpful information, but the way it's written now it mostly just seems like he has a POV because Ibañez couldn't figure out how to provide the information any other way. Tío Ricardo had the potential to be a fantastic character. The first scene where they're all at dinner makes him seem really promising, and it definitely appears as though he cares about Egyptian history and the injustices being wrought by the British and French. However, a lot of that is overshadowed by how secretive he is and just downright awful he can be to Inez. He sort of redeems himself toward the end and shows that he truly cares about her, but it still doesn't make up for the rest of the book. I didn't realize that this book was part of a duology. I thought it was a standalone like her previous book. This book really didn't need a sequel. The way it stands now, there's obviously things left unfinished that require a sequel, but if the book had been cleaned up a little, I really think a full story and arc could've been told within the one book. Certain parts of the book are dragged out and probably could've been cut in favor of finishing the story satisfactorily. And honestly, what's left of the plot doesn't really feel like it could fill a whole second book. Also, what was that ending? Things were already fine without that INEZ FELL FOR IT note. It adds a layer to the story that it absolutely does not need. There are already so many complicated relationships and crossing and double-crossing, the book doesn't need more. I was actually somewhat interested in a sequel before reading the epilogue, but once I read it just kind of felt 'meh.' It's too much going on and I'm not really interested in seeing more of Inez getting lied to and then falling flat on her face when everyone else's lying is revealed.

[mrfancyfoot]

WIP Wednesday!

The fics and content below are NSFW, so please do not interact unless you are 18+.

I have a number of things that I’ve been working on!  Chapter 10 for Community Magic (Obey Me) should be up in the very near future - it just needs some ironing out and editing.  I also have another prompt fill that I’ve been working on for CM, and I’ve been making strides on picking up Some Assembly Required (Dragon Age) again (which has had its own difficulties related to my health).

Teasers for Community Magic under the cut!

This Obey Me fic and spin-off are both rated E(xplicit) primarily for smut.  There is no explicit content for the first teaser below, but there is for the second (asking the important question of “What’s Devildom porn like?”). Relationships: Diavolo x f!OC x Barbatos (and combinations of) Please read tags/warnings on linked fics.

Make sure you follow me here or on AO3 for notifications when these get posted. :)

Community Magic Ch. 10 (Teaser Excerpt):

Director Thrallhammer let out an exasperated sigh and dug his DDD from his jacket pocket.  “Apologies, someone’s been messagin’ me.”  He moved his glasses from atop his head to the bridge of his nose.  “An’ tha someone’s…Evie.  Missed ‘er call a bit ago.”

Diavolo’s brows raised in interest - hearing of his exchange student was far more captivating than incident reports.  “Oh?  How is she doing?  This would be her first day on the job.”

He watched the orc scan over the messages with a scowl, make a false start, then finally roll his eyes.  “Yer exchange student’s adopted a poltergeist.  Its name is Frank.  …She named it.”

Thrallhammer tossed him his DDD, showing the bevvy of messages he had received from Evie over the past few hours.  “I tasked ‘er with gettin’ inta tha cursed office next to mine.  Mostly been vacant ‘cause no-one wants to deal with the mess.  Hones’ly thought it would take ‘er a coupla weeks to get in there.”

He knew the room.  Was such a task a bit much for a new student?  Perhaps Thrallhammer had been counting on that to keep her busy while he was unable to supervise.  His thoughts shifted once he read her messages. Though it had been overrun with curses, it didn’t appear to have been a match for their exchange student after all.

Evie: [Good Morning.  Are there any records about the office or anyone here that I could ask about its history?]

[It’s covered in all sorts of curses but also pretty strong containment magic.] [Def at least 2 different sources.] [I can def undo all of this but] [Pretty sure something’s contained inside.  Is that safe to release?]

[Okay, so I’ve removed all the curses, jinxes, hexes, etc etc] [Whatever’s in there went quiet while I was working.] [Can’t feel what it is b/c of the barrier] [But I haaave Suspicions.]

[Okay, I opened the room!] [It’s an absolute mess.]

[Can I keep the poltergeist?]

He couldn’t stop the laugh as he pictured her standing there like a child holding some wild animal and asking if she could please keep it.  A sentiment that he himself knew much of from doing the exact same to Barbatos over the years.

     To be continued...

Catch up on Community Magic here so you’ll be ready when this chapter’s posted!

Community Magic: The Extras - The Toy (Teaser Excerpt)      The next prompt entry for my CM spin-off.  Not CM canon.  This is a long one and may be broken up into a two-shot.  I’m also considering a continuation for Barbatos.

Tags (subject to change): smut, non-con becomes con, magic sex toys, size kink, knotting, demon anatomy, angst, soloF, M/F long distance play, phone sex, PIV sex, desk sex, AFAB f!OC, she/her pronouns, named f!OC

Regarding non-con tag, by virtue of the magic toy’s design, none of the parties can consent to What’s Happening because they aren’t aware - once Evie/Diavolo are made aware, it becomes consensual.

Primarily Diavolo x f!OC but others are implied/background.

Summery: After having his toy supplier reverse engineer Evie’s broken vibrator, Asmo gifts her with the first prototype to try out.  He also happens to receive a set of fleshlights made from the same material that he gifts to some of his favorite people, not realising that they had been charmed as a set to calibrate to the user of the bullet vibrator he had given Evie.

Evie’s excitement at finally having a new toy to use managed to outweigh the embarrassment of receiving it from an overly jubilant Asmo.  He bid her a giggly, “Have fun!  Hope you think of me~” with a wink when she waved him off from her door.

It wasn’t until a few days later, a Friday after a particularly trying day of event planning with the boys, that she finally got a chance to try it out.  Getting home, she beelined for her bathroom to scrub up and then fully planned on falling asleep to some self-indulgence.  The others were mostly out and about, so there shouldn’t be any interruptions.  Her door was locked and warded just in case.

She spent some extra time under the hot spray of water, feeling it begin to melt away the tension from the day.  After hopping out, she wrapped herself in a fluffy towel and padded to her bed and dug the bullet toy out of her nightstand.  Flinging herself onto her bed, she finally had a chance to examine it closer.  It looked and felt very similar to her old one as she turned it in her hand and located the button to power it on.

It rumbled to life on a low setting that increased or ebbed as she scrolled through the patterns.  She held the button to turn it back off until she needed it.

Now…did the Devildom have porn?  Like, it was always an assumed thing that Hell would have tons of kinky stuff.  That could be…exciting.  She wondered how different it would be from human porn.  Though she did worry briefly about coming across anything else.  What was considered taboo or problematic in Hell?  She already knew that many demons fetishized humans and demi-humans.

She felt silly typing just the word 'porn' into the Crow browser search on her DDD but it wasn't like she had any idea of where to start.  But oh, were there results.  XDevil, 666sluts, DemonsDen, HellXXX, SuccubusLovers, Hellfiretube, Fuckdevil…  And niche sites for everything imaginable, including just normal, vanilla human porn…through the lens of it appealing towards demons.  That was a whole mental exercise she didn’t want to deal with right now.

Clicking on the top result, she was greeted with a screen full of lewd video previews and recommended tags and categories.  Interestingly, and what shouldn't have surprised her at all, there were categories and tags for demon features like horns and wings and tails.  Demon ‘types’ was new to her and she wasn’t quite sure what it meant in this context.  Following the category link only led to more questions.  Did type of demon really affect their anatomy that much or was it just aesthetic preferences?  Even ‘horns’ and ‘tails’ had subcategories.  Straight, curly, sharp, dull, big, small, fluffy, scaly, slimy…

This was overwhelming and more worth inspection when she wasn't actively trying to get off, otherwise she would just keep following tags and related content forever for the fascination while neglecting her goal of getting off. Fifteen minutes on the site and she hadn't even watched anything!

A preview caught her eye, a teacher-student roleplay it looked like, featuring an attractive pair of demons.  She opened it and was greeted with a video player showing off a much larger male demon dressed in a suit lecturing a smaller student dressed in an unfamiliar school uniform.

Making a decision, Evie reached for the vibrator again, turning it on and finding a setting she liked.  Leaning back into her pillows, she pressed the rumbling toy to her clit and sighed happily, unaware of the momentary glow of the toy and a sigil embedding itself intimately as she did so.  Opening her eyes, she returned her attention to the video paused on her phone.

     To be continued...

[onewomancitadel]

I've seen you mention here on your blog that Jaune should offer Cinder unconditional love, but I want to ask why. Unconditional love isnt something that even exists but even if it did why should Jaune offer that to Cinder?

Unconditional love exists and it's also fiction where magical fantastic things can happen and I am interested in magical fantastic things and the edge of human experience and the absolute limit (or lack thereof) of compassion, and for that matter, compassion as a magical superpower - which is, appropriately, Jaune's.

If you went through my Knightfall tag, you would see where I discuss this topic many, many, many, many, many times, because the question of why Jaune would is at the very heart of the ship. Why would he consider her perspective or come to know her? What would that transformation look like? Are there ways that they are fundamentally similar - underdogs who had to work for what they've got? Are there ways that they could change each other? Is there something totally impossible yet totally incredible about them coming to know each other? What would the redemption of the Fall Maiden look like for saving the world? Could something as simple - and difficult - and challenging - as coming to know Cinder be something that contributes to stopping/helping Salem and averting cataclysm?

What would they look like together interacting? What would it mean for Cinder for somebody to compromise his team, his apparent ideals, his allegiance in order to reach out to her, responsible of the blackest misdeeds? Her, who Rhodes never compromised the complications of getting an enslaved orphan out of the Glass Unicorn? Her, enslaved by Madame and Salem and under a Dark Curse? Why is that unconditional love powerful? Because in the face of it - someone you think you should kill, you don't, and you awaken something much more powerful, stronger than you could ever know, and it's the highest cost for the highest boon.

If the story starts out with tragedy, then I want my comedy. I want my narrative irony and I want my uncompromising romance. I want the Fall Maiden to succeed where she failed.

I also want to know what Jaune's ultimate narrative purpose is, and I really don't think it's killing Cinder (because if you watched V5 you would know this) and I really think his Semblance has a higher purpose. It's still something to do with Cinder, though. The Semblance and feelings are linked here, by the way. Generally in stories I like conflict (since that's the point) and something extremely emotionally difficult and related to the core beliefs and ideals of a character - and that character caring about something, or working really hard at something - is what makes for good storytelling, and makes me care.

But you probably don't really care about any of this, because you decided to mistakenly assert that unconditional love doesn't exist and try to supplant the basis of my own interests and observations. The tone of it comes across rather smug, but I'm not sure what you intended. It does feel like you're trying for a 'gotcha' but I don't really know (it's hard to tell), and that's why I responded in a mostly sincere way (even if you're some aggrieved non-Knightfall shipper or some Jaune shipper with another character, and you probably have very different narrative interests to me which is why you don't quite realise the question - or problem you have - is, in part, the answer). If you're someone well-meaning, then I want to say that the question of it - it being apparently impossible and difficult or something Jaune shouldn't do (but is absolutely necessary because redemption/save the world/love of your life/realising your ultimate character arc reasons) - is exactly what's interesting about it. It's the type of emotionally earnest shit I expect from RWBY. If at the heart of the world is the wound of Salem and Ozma's romance, then someone's got to answer it in a narratively positive way. Jaune and Cinder's romance picks right up from their feud.

Circling back around to unconditional love again, unconditional love does exist, and whilst I might retort that Aura, Semblances and Grimm don't exist either, emotional versimilitude is important. If your view of human experience is so narrow - or you, yourself, don't feel unconditional love, so you believe that applies to everybody else (rather topical to the pairing) - that's not my problem, because I think magical and unconditional and uncompromising love is something that exists in RWBY, and selfless love especially. It's narratively appropriate.

So yeah, why Jaune and Cinder. Why Jaune extending love towards Cinder indeed. Well, it's not just a logical question of the narrative, it's the fact you can't control the heart. I like the idea of it happening because it would be inevitable, it's the wild fancy of love. It does really toy with that idea of destiny, which I don't think the narrative totally invalidates.

The idea that your worst enemy is also the love of your life is exciting.