#Lilith's just walking around picking things up sometimes because she can when no ones home

[laundrybiscuits]

Eden actually likes her name. When she thinks about the muslin-draped horrors she could’ve gotten stuck with, like poor Suzie, she feels guiltily glad she dodged that bullet. If she’d been the one who had to shoulder the impossible burden of being named Suzie, who knows how she might’ve turned out.

Eden is a word that could go a lot of ways. It’s almost as good as Lilith or Isis or something. It’s the kind of name that could be sexy, in the right hands. The kind of name you could say on stage: ladies and gentlemen, introducing the one and only Eden—

That’s where the picture stalls out, though. Eden Bingham is pretty awful, no matter how you spin it. She wants to pick a stage name like some glamorous Hollywood actress, but she hasn’t decided exactly what she wants yet. She thinks it would be real elegant to pick something French, like…like Verne. 

There’s a battered paperback tucked under her mattress at home, where sticky, prying little fingers can’t get at it. She’s not a fast reader, but she’s read it about a million times by now. Sometimes when she can’t sleep, she’ll take it out and just squint at it in the moonlight, tracing her fingertips over the faded elephant on the cover. It’s a story about some guy who was so bored he decided to travel all around the world, and nobody stopped him. He could just go. He didn’t have any kids or anything that he had to take care of or look after; in fact, there was some guy whose whole job was to look after him. 

For a little while, Eden thought about borrowing the main guy’s last name, but Eden Fogg sounds kind of old and stuffy. She could take the French valet’s name, but she’s not completely confident she knows how to pronounce Passepartout, and she’s terrified she’s going to say it wrong and nobody’s going to take her seriously ever again. 

The author’s French too, though, and his name seems a lot easier to handle. So, lately she’s been looking in the mirror and saying Eden Verne, hi my name is Eden Verne real quiet to herself, just testing it out. She’s not sure about it yet, but it’s definitely better than Eden Bingham. 

Eden Bingham is just a handful of years away from Edie Bingham, who spends her time looking after a house full of kids and wears shapeless floor-length dresses. But Eden Verne could be someone who travels and wears exciting makeup. Eden Verne drinks and swears and smokes, and she never has to deal with kids ever again. Beautiful, sophisticated men and women alike despair for love of her, but she never lets anyone stay more than a night. 

Anyway, she doesn’t have to figure out if she can carry off Verne yet, because the stupid boy she followed halfway across the country introduced her to his friends as Eden Bingham, so she never got the chance to decide if she was going to say something different. She probably wouldn’t have, but—maybe she would. Maybe. She’ll never know.

The thing with Argyle fizzled out pretty quick. He’s cute, and making out with him is fun, but he doesn’t ever seem to want anything real out of life. Eden can’t understand him at all, and worse yet, she’s pretty sure he doesn’t understand her. When they’re high, they communicate just fine giggling about the cosmos, but that’s not enough. She’s sure there’s supposed to be more, even if she’s not entirely sure what that means.

She broke up with him on an impulse, and sometimes she regrets it. He’s a good guy. He’s not like any other guy she’s ever known. He’s willing to drive clear across the country, which is what she liked about him to begin with. Maybe that’s as good as it gets for her.

But she can’t take it back now. It’s not even that she thinks he’d say no, necessarily; she just can’t handle the idea of trying to walk back something like that. She’d die of humiliation before the words made it out of her mouth. 

So Eden’s just here, in Hawkins, staying in her ex-fling’s best friend’s step-dad’s spare room because it’s still marginally better than having to hitch home to Utah. Argyle is planning to drive back to California in a few weeks, so she’s going to just ride with him then. In the meantime, she’s going to have a nice, quiet vacation in Indiana, doing whatever it is Midwesterners do in the summer, and then she’ll go home and nothing at all about the life of Eden Bingham will have changed.

[theeighthoftheeight]

//Personally it bother the mun that none of the brothers can sense or hear Lilith. It kinda makes sense for most of them, but like not Lilith.

I’m gonna be honest I think maybe Lilith is for a time too weak to even get there attention but as time goes on, and especially as MC shows up things have gotten easier to do , and may be that's when she can start actually manipulating things.

[panicattheattic]

Demon! Mc Headcanons:

Celestial beginnings and roots of despair

Note: the use of (Name) over Mc is deliberate. Feel free to pick a different name

Lucifer

If anyone had a workload that could almost rival his, it was you.

"(Name), you can't possibly do all of this in a day and still rest well."

You just want to help, y'know?

But he won't let you overwork yourself like that.

You're still young and some people can wait a little longer for their deliveries, so slow down, (Name).

So he found an interesting game for you.

A special one that made use of 20, 12, 8, 6, 4 sided dice and percentile dice.

Just in hopes of freeing up your schedule a bit and keeping you from just agreeing to what everyone else wanted to do

Mammon

Your Partner in crime

Almost literally

You guys just play pranks on others, when he isn't agreeing to most games you ask him to play with you

Of course, you try to pick games you both like

The paint bucket on the doorframe was fun! It wasn't intended just for Michael, but it was glorious!

Of course, that meant you two were grounded.

Mammon had to take your workload on top of his own and you couldn't play outside.

Harsh to both of you, but you loved moments like these with him, so it really was worth it

"(Name), can I borrow your shortcut map? There's no way I can make some of tomorrow's deliveries without it!"

Of course, you were in charge of being the getaway, even if sometimes it felt like Michael was letting you guys go rather than being surprised about the pranks

He taught you how to walk quietly so you could prank others or sneak a snack at midnight

Leviathan

You loved your gamer brother

You hated you guys couldn't agree sometimes on where to play.

Of course, though, Leviathan learned quickly how to mix things so you guys could spend time in a way you both enjoyed.

Crafts were done outside

We're playing house? That's an inside game, then

We're playing Magical Girls? That's an outside game, but only for you, (Name).

Gaming? He'd hand you the guide of a game he already beat and start it anew so you could help him 100% it again.

"(Name), do you want to help me play First Fantasy: 7? We still have a boss to beat!"

He made you better at math through calculating stats and damage.

Satan

/////////////////////

Asmodeus

The one thing standing between you and lack of self care

"(Name), you could be one of the prettiest people that exist, but we won't know that if you don't take care of yourself!"

The first hair brushing session sucked for both of you.

So. Many. Knots!!!!!

You tried asking Lilith to hide you, but she brushed your hair that night, instead.

So back to Asmo you went and it gradually became your bonding experience.

Of course, mostly because he knew what he was doing and brushed your hair every morning and night so you could manage it better.

Almost cried when you said you could brush your hair now, but you preferred when he did it.

Beelzebub

A bit sneakier at making sure you take less jobs by hiding some of the low priority jobs from you

Also the one making sure you actually eat

"(Name), did you eat, yet? I packed you some snacks, but you shouldn't skip a meal to finish your work."

Also very good at making sure you have fun.

You want to play Magical Girls with Levi and him? He's in

You want to go on a hike? Beel will get the water bottles

You just need a hug? He's already on it.

Also also, move over, Belphie, (Name) is baby and they said they want a piggyback ride.

You guys just have a silent agreement, sometimes, especially because who wants to walk home after running around all day?

Belphegor

Affection between you two is fun.

Insults, gentle headbutting, play fighting, it's all game.

"*sigh* You're such a baby, (Name). Come here."

It's rare to see more cute types of affection between you, to many people's worry

In truth, you two enjoy worrying others with your quirky affection.

Although, sometimes play fights do get out of hand, so you two ended up being upfront about how you guys still love each other.

You have also successfully kicked him and Lilith out of a cuddle pile with Beel and remained the sole victor of the premium cuddles

Lilith

Lilith is your cool older sister, except for when you get mildly hurt and she ends up in hysterics over it.

Honestly, you wouldn't have it any other way.

One of your favorite stories is about the time you were learning to fly.

You ended falling and scrapping your knee, but Lilith cried more than you did.

Lucifer almost had a heart attack seeing Lilith crying hysterically until she managed to say you scrapped your knee.

"(N-Name) fell- and- and-! And they scr-scraped the-ir knee!"

And there wasn't even any blood.

Lilith would also rally Belphie to join you, Levi, and Beel whenever you guys played Magical Girls

She had to earn her coolness points somehow after the flying incident

Simeon

Hey, so, guess who taught you to call Lucifer "Lucy"?

"Ok, (Name). It's time someone taught you a little secret. Did you know that Lucifer also has a nickname?"

To be honest, he kinda always felt like your brothers' friend.

Not that you particularly minded.

Simeon always had a joke or a small thing for you to do when he was around to hang out with Lucifer

At least you hoped it was them hanging out and not working

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This... This wasn't the end you were hoping for.

You heard them talking about their plans. You knew they'd use your shortcuts if things went wrong.

You also knew that you could outrun almost everyone and be a decoy.

And that's just what you did.

The fall was nowhere near pleasant.

Especially ending up in some thorny bushes.

Alone.

Staggering around, you tried to find your siblings, but all you could see were trees.

Trees east

Trees to the north

Trees down south

Trees on the west

Your heart raced and your breathing got faster as panic built up inside you.

'Where are they?!'

'Where are they?!'

'WHERE ARE THEY?!'

Soon, not even the bushes were in sight.

Just trees, trees, trees, and trees.

Despair set root and all you could do is wail until you fell asleep from the day you had and from crying so much.

And then...

Lines began to blur and voices began to fade.

Why were you crying again?

You asked yourself as you stared at the stone wall in front of you.

No matter.

The witches raising you might know.

You're probably just stressed about how they'll be testing you tomorrow on the basics of magic... Again.

Yes, that must be it.

Stress is showing you the same dream again.

One where people with blurred faces call you their "sibling".

One where you know what they're saying to you, but their voices aren't making a sound.

Stop.

You have to study that spell again.

The one that keeps giving you trouble.

You'll pass the test.

You'll pass it, this time.

~Chibi

[whereisten]

Devotion/Obsession

A Jaehyun fic that’s part of our Halloween Series!

Summary: Jaehyun is new to town and wants you to show him around. But the truth is, he has known you for a while..

Pairing: Lucifer!Jaehyun x female reader

Other Characters: Husband!Kun

Genre: angst, smut, horror

Warnings: cursing, alcohol use, cheating, stalking, obsession, possessiveness, smut: breeding kink, unprotected sex, nipple sucking, size kink, fingering, oral sex (female receiving), multiple orgasms, c*eampie, pregnancy, character death.

Word Count: 8.9K

(A/N: okay ummm...this is influenced by stories told in the Bible, I hope I do not offend you with my interpretation, Jaehyun in this is a huge stalker!! This isn’t love, he’s obsessed and it’s unhealthy. But I hope you guys enjoy❤️ THANK YOUUU ARI FOR PROOFREADING THIS FOR ME I LOVE YOUUUU❤️❤️❤️❤️😭)

——————

Long ago, there were two beings on Earth, Adam and Eve. They were created by God and tainted by Lucifer, the serpent. The serpent found himself in love with God’s creation, Eve, for she bears a striking resemblance to his first love, Lilith, whom God cursed and sent away. 

God’s most beautiful angel, Lucifer, fell in love with Lilith even though he was forbidden by God to do so. He tried to fight for her in a war against the angels of Heaven, but was struck down to Hell where he could rule the dark. He saw Lilith become a demon. Her beauty had gone away as God made her ugly and it hurt Lucifer to even look at her anymore.

And so, Lucifer turned to Eve and loved her instead, polluting her mind, body, and soul and thus, causing her to be cursed by God as well. She was hidden by God from Lucifer. He grew angry and decided to continue to defy God by living on Earth and causing havoc on both small and large scales.

He went by the name of Jaehyun now, a strikingly handsome bachelor with a mansion on the outskirts of a popular city. He stayed on Earth at the exact point above hell where his throne rested so he could cause evil to run through the city unstopped.

He never forgot about Eve. After all these years, his soul still yearned for her. He cursed at God for hiding her from him and for taking not one, but two of his dearest loves away.

He would walk through the city and see all the couples enjoying each other’s company. They’d laugh and smile and he’d wish nothing but pain for them. If he couldn’t be happy, why should they?

Then one day..he saw her..he saw Eve.

————

You were packing away fruits, placing the oranges in an organized pattern so they wouldn’t fall to the floor of the supermarket. He saw you, delicately picking up the spoiled fruits and placing them into the bin to throw away later. You had a small smile on your face that made you look sweet and your fingers were soft, gentle. You looked at each fruit with adoration in your eyes, like you treasured the round balls of nectar as if they were made of gold.

He walked closer to you, still staring intently.

He wondered how you could exist, how you were here with her face, her body, her hair..you were her. It didn’t take long for him to notice the sparkling ring on your wedding finger. But he didn’t care about that, now that he had you, he would never let you go.

Even if you didn’t sound like Eve or looked at him the way she did when she was in love with him, he had to have you.

“Hello, can I help you, sir?” You turned to the man you noticed had been hanging around you for a bit too long.

Your voice was heavenly, it was the best thing he’d ever heard.

You were looking at him, awaiting his answer when you placed an apple onto the shelf. You didn’t see that placing it in that exact spot would cause for another to fall. But Jaehyun already knew.

He quickly knelt down beside you and caught the green apple as it fell.

You looked down at him and gasped. How could he move so quickly.

He stood up straight, still locking eyes with you. A smile creeps across his face.

“Here.” He hands you the apple as you look down at it still in shock.

“Oh..thank you.” You chuckled and took it from him, then started to walk away after feeling..odd.

He walked towards you. “Umm..excuse me, miss? I’m new here, and I just want to know..where can I find the best coffee?”

He looked down at your name tag.

“Y/n..” he says quietly.

His voice is smooth and nice, just as nice as his perfect face, you thought it ought to have been carved by God himself. His jawline was perfect and his eyes were magnetic, you couldn’t look away.

However, you should’ve. You were married after all.

“Oh..hmm about five blocks south, you’ll find Johnny’s Café, it’s quite nice actually.”

Jaehyun wanted to ask you to join him, just so he could talk to you, just so he could get close to you and have you firmly in his grasp, never to let you disappear again. But he didn’t, he decided to wait, if he scared you away, that would only make it worse for not only him, but for you as well. The last thing he wanted was to hold you against your will just because you resembled her.

“Thank you, y/n, I’ll see you next time.” He walked close to you and nodded slowly. As if hypnotized, you never let his eyes go while you nodded.

He walked by you, leaving you breathless and almost star struck, but who was he? Why did he have this interesting glow about him that made him stand out from everyone else?

Later that day, Jaehyun followed you home. His black Lamborghini wasn’t discreet to say the least, so he had to trail behind a few hundred feet. He could see you jamming out to music in your car as you left work. 

You were adorable and happy, he loved seeing you like this.

He parked far away from your house, he walked over in a long black trench coat and watched as you went inside. You were greeted by a man that looked like...Adam..

His eyes grew into glowing red orbs, he tried hard to hold back his horns and nails.

“This is God’s idea of a joke, isn’t it?” He spoke to himself. Not only were you the exact replica of Eve, your husband was an exact replica of Adam.

You hugged your husband, Kun, hard and smiled widely, happy to see him after a long day at work.

The door clicks shut and Jaehyun stands there with steam escaping his hot ears. He had to figure out how to get rid of Kun.

————

[The Next Day]

You’re lugging around a large box of lettuce through the aisles when you see him..again.

“Hello, y/n, do you need help?” 

You stare at him. “W-what are you doing here?”

He was handsome, you had to admit, your heart couldn’t stop beating like crazy when he showed up. He was stylish in his turtleneck and jean jacket. He smelled refreshing like amber and honey.

“What? A man can’t shop for groceries?” His dimples peeked through as he smiled and tilted his head.

“Oh-no it’s just, two days in a row?”

You furrowed your brows when you sensed something wasn’t right.

Jaehyun could tell that your heart rate was rising because of his presence, you looked around like you were nervous.

“I know, it’s weird, right? But the truth is..I just wanted to see you again..” he said huskily. You felt your chest weaken.

You put the box down and turned to him. “Oh so you’re one of those creeps? Well, I’m flattered but..I’m also married.”

“That’s alright..” he gave a small smile, his dimples showing through again. You turned away. 

“So...what are you looking for today?”

“A friend.”

“A friend?” You chuckled.

He swayed from side to side and looked up to the ceiling. “Okay, I’ll get to the point..there’s a..korean barbecue place that I wanted to try..are you free after work?”

He was so strange but had an aura about him that you couldn’t ignore. His features were sharply defined and his eyes never let you go. You should’ve been creeped out but you weren’t, for he was warm and intriguing. Lately, you felt like Kun was so busy with work. You’d get home and wait hours for him, your friends were busy as well as they were either taking college classes or travel king constantly.

Sometimes, you felt you were alone, so why not start something new.

You hummed before answering. 

Jaehyun watched your cute expression, the way you looked to the floor and stuck your hands in your apron.

“I guess..I am free after work.” You nodded.

Jaehyun nearly jumped up and down right inside the store. He grinned from ear to ear.

“Just don’t pull any moves, I’m married okay?”

You teased and felt your face become warm.

“I promise I won’t.”

The two of you went to dinner at the Korean barbecue place Jaehyun wanted to try. He was enraptured by you, caught up in your presence. He was so in love and you had no idea.

You told him about places to visit in the city and he told you about where he had come from. He made up a city and a backstory to relate to you, telling you that he had investments that started from his grandparents and that’s how he made money.. He’d do anything just to keep speaking with you, even if it meant lying.

He fought hard to hold back his naturally glowing red eyes and goat-like horns. He had to remain normal so you could become his soon enough.

And when you left him and went home, he stayed outside of your house once again, using his elevated hearing skills to listen to you speak with your husband.

Kun was talking to you about some new project he had in a city about two hours away. You stayed silent, disappointed that he would be gone yet again for a business trip. Kun was the senior architect and had to present, he couldn’t skip out on these trips as much as he wanted to.

“Listen, baby I’m sorry but you know how it is.”

Kun stepped into the bathroom as you brushed your teeth. He took his shirt off as he was about to shower.

You spit water out into the sink and look at your reflection, you were trying hard to hold back your anger. Kun stood behind you and watched you through the mirror with a concerned expression on his face.

“If I knew you were going to be gone all the time, I wouldn’t have married you..”

Kun scoffed. “Don’t say that, you know you don’t mean that, y/n.” He wrapped his arms around your waist and smirked through the mirror.

His hand went to your breast and cupped it.

“I mean it, Kun, how is this supposed to work when we have a family? I want us to both be present for our kids.” 

Kun kissed along your neck, he knew you were ticklish. 

You started to giggle. “Kun..stop, you’re distracting me.”

“Ahh baby, did you just say “our kids?” Are you trying to tell me something?” He squeezed your breasts gently

You turned to him and kissed his lips. His other hand reached under your frilly nightgown, bunching it up at the waist, and to his satisfaction you wore nothing else under it. 

“Should we start right now? Should we have a family?” He brushes his clothed erection into your back as he presses his fingers over you already dripping folds. His deep voice always got you like this.

You gasped and looked at him through the mirror. Soon you were gripping the edge of the counter and crying out his name as he fucked you from behind. He grabbed your hair, pulling your head back so you could look at him through the mirror as you came all over his girthy cock.

Jaehyun heard it all, he imagined it was him bringing you to sweet paradise like he did long ago. He listened to your moans and imagined it was his name you called as your eyes rolled in the back of your head.

It pained him to have to pleasure himself as he imagined all that he would do to you. He was Lucifer, after all. He could have anyone in the dark world pleasure him without even asking twice, but he didn’t want just anyone. He wanted you, and soon he would have you right in his grasp.

————-

[1 Month Later]

Jaehyun was a regular customer at the supermarket you worked at, he’d come in at least once a day. You found it odd that he always knew when your breaks were, so he’d bring you coffee or a snack.

If he didn’t visit during his break, he’d wait for you outside so you’d go to a new place for dinner together after you clocked out.

You spoke about everything. He seemed so smart as he knew about every detail in history and taught you about the world and why things were the way they were.

You watched him intently, your eyes grew when he told you something so interesting, your heart started to race. Like the presence of aliens or ghosts and witches. They all existed and Jaehyun told you all of the evidence as you sat there, stunned.

And then, it was his turn to ask questions.

He finally asked about your husband, even though he knew everything about him.

He knew that he had a short temper sometimes but your fights would either lead to make up sex or him sleeping on the couch. He had watched you every night since finding you. He didn’t sleep, for even the thought of closing his eyes and losing sight of you made him sick to his stomach.

“My husband, Kun, is an architect. He works really hard, but he loves me and I love him. He’s really sweet, I never stop thinking about him. We got married about a year ago, and I couldn’t be happier.” You smiled as you looked down at your hot pot as thought of Kun.

“Ahh..that’s nice..he seems like a supportive partner, during your first year of marriage, have you fought a lot?” Jaehyun tilted his head while smirking.

“Nope! We don’t fight at all, we’re pretty chill, you know?”

You were lying to him and he didn’t like that, but he swallowed hard and smiled nonetheless.

“I see..” he nodded.

He realized that he’d have to work harder to get you to stop thinking about Kun. He’d have to sabotage your current relationship if he ever dreamed of being with you soon.

Killing him would be too easy, he’d have to make Kun so bad, that you’d run to him for relief.

———

[A Week Later]

You kissed Kun goodbye and wished him well for his trip. He quickly kissed you back and walked through the front door without a hug.

“Honey?” You called out to him. “Where’s my hug?” You pouted.

He threw his hand up and continued to walk towards his car. “Sorry, baby, gotta go!”

He had been acting strange these past few days, but you knew he was stressed so you brushed it off. You had had sex the night before but he wasn’t as gentle as he usually was, you could tell something had upset him as he choked you for the first time. You didn’t mind it, you were just surprised by how...different he was.

Little did you know that it was Jaehyun that was making his daily work more difficult. Kun’s important documents and files would go missing right before a presentation, his coworkers weren’t showing up for work, and his boss was always upset with him for some reason. He was starting to dislike his job and he wasn’t sure why, for this was his passion, but lately, everything seemed to be going poorly.

Kun was having difficulty sleeping as well. He’d have disturbing dreams of a place with fire and monsters with sharp teeth. He’d sweat and pant, and eventually be jolted awake in his bed, every night at 3:23 A.M. he’d go downstairs and watch something on TV or write down a few project ideas.

The lack of sleep definitely contributed to his poor mood, but he didn’t tell you for some reason.

Jaehyun watched Kun speed off. He smiled to himself, knowing that his plan was working, he was getting frustrated at work and began taking his anger out on you. 

————

[Four Days Later]

You continued to spend time with Jaehyun. You lost track of time as you watched him speak. His dimples were adorable, his voice was intoxicating and you loved staring into his deep brown eyes.

He watches you play with your wedding ring as you nod and smile at him. His smile was like a blooming garden, his laugh was like heavenly trumpets. The two of you were flirting now, and he could tell from your heartbeat that you weren’t really listening to him, instead, you were fantasizing about him. The glances turned into stares.

You watched his lips and licked your own, your face was hot, but you furrowed your brows and looked down at your ring.

What were you doing? Were you getting emotionally attached to him? You couldn’t do this, you couldn’t hurt Kun.

You got up from your seat. “Well, it’s late.. I should go.”

“Noo.. don’t leave yet.” Jaehyun stood up and touched your hand. The disappointed look in his eyes ate away at your heart. You were developing a nice friendship, but a part of you was afraid that it was becoming something more, something that couldn’t be.

“You look stressed. Do you want a drink?..we can visit that new bar in town.” Jaehyun bites his bottom lip.

A drink did sound nice, it had been a while since you and Kun went out to a bar together and sometimes you did miss the atmosphere, you were young after all, everyone else in their early twenties went out.

Jaehyun smiled to himself as he saw you contemplate your options. He knew you were worried about Kun, but he also knew you needed to have some fun.

So you agreed.

The two of you went out to a bar and drank. You laughed and joked around all night. Jaehyun pretended to be affected by the alcohol, just so he could make you laugh and see your beautiful smile.

He dropped you off home at about 1 A.M after you sobered up a bit.

You turned to him and licked your lips. “You know, Jaehyun, if I weren’t married to Kun..I would date you for sure.” You giggled and leaned in close. And all Jaehyun could think was “yes.” He wanted to feel your plump lips so badly, he wanted to caress them and make love to you to relive the best days of his life, but now was not the time.

He backed away and held your hand while searching your eyes. “Y/n...you should go inside now..”

You sighed, nodding as you opened the door to quickly leave before you could embarrass yourself any more.

You go into your house and to your surprise, Kun is there, his face red and stern as he sat on the loveseat in the living room. The room was dark, lit only by a small night light in the corner and the moonlight from outside. 

Kun was nearly fired by his boss during his trip. He was upset and frustrated, but what made matters worse was when he went home at 10 PM to see that you weren’t there. Then time went on and you still didn’t come home.

You smirked and put your bag down.

“Babyyyyy.. I missed you.” You start to crawl over his lap slowly.

He can tell from the drawn out tones in your voice that you’re drunk. He winces and turns away.

“Where were you, y/n?”

“Out with a friend..we had some drinks and talked.” You straddle him, placing his crotch in between your legs as you kneel over him. You then lean down and kiss his collarbone.

“Why are you home so late? Is it because you didn’t think I’d be home early?” Kun growled out. He wasn’t amused in the slightest by the way you were acting.

“No, baby, I just wanted to hang out with someone for a little bit, you know? I’m so lonely when you’re not here.”

You try to kiss his lips but he flicks his head to the side.

“Who’s this “friend?”

You gulp and straighten your body. You pout as you look down at him. “Baby, kiss me..don’t you miss me too?” You take the straps of your dress down before unhooking your bra and throwing it to the floor.

Jaehyun watched through an open window behind the loveseat as you kneel over an angry Kun. His eyes glow red and his horns grow out of his head as does the straining member in his pants. You in your drunken haze never noticed the pair of crimson eyes outside.

Kun doesn’t touch you or look at your breasts with nipples begging to be sucked. He wanted to take them into his mouth badly, but he was more focused on another issue at hand.

He wrapped his hand around your throat. “Tell me..their name.”

You smirked. “His name is Jaehyun..but we’re just friends, baby, I promise.”

Kun thrusts himself into you from below, grinding hard against your covered opening. You whimper and move your hips to rub your slit against him.

“Well..stop being friends with him, no guy just wants to be friends with a girl..he wants to fuck you..”

You grind down onto him harder, he squeezes his hand and grips your thigh.

“He doesn’t, he’s really nice and helps me at work sometimes.”

Kun digs his nail into your thigh causing you to cry out in pain. He digs into it so deep, he sees blood from your leg run onto his thumb.

But you reach under your dress and pull his boxers down. You still wanted him in your aching core badly, the pain only added to your yearning.

“Y/n.” He says sternly as he watches you align yourself with his hard cock. You sink down onto him slowly and let out a loud moan as it passes through the sensitive skin and rests deep in your core. You adjust to him quickly as you had already been built up by dry humping him before.

He squeezes your throat again.

“Y/n..” 

You move up and down. “Yes..” you call out before licking your lips.

He grabs your waist with both hands and lifts you off of him.

“Kun!” You cry his name after being left empty.

“You’re not gonna get out of this so easily. If you want my cock, tell me you’re done with him.”

“But, baby..”

Kun shakes his head. “Don’t. I’m your husband and you should really take into consideration how I might feel when you spend time with men, when you fucking drink alcohol with men like..like some kinda slut.”

You gasped. “Slut?” 

Kun nods. “Look at you, you’re just thirsty for any male attention. I work my ass off for a few days and you’re already looking for a replacement.”

“Kun, that’s not true.” You felt your chest rumble, as if you were about to burst into tears.

He flips you over onto the couch. “I’m your husband, aren’t I?”

You nod.

“Then do as I say, don’t go out with Jaehyun again.”

Before you can protest his thrusts into you hard and begins to choke you again.

He goes hard and fast as you mewl. 

“Baby, slower, please.”

He bites your nipple and looks down at you to see your body tremble with each rough thrust he gives you, your lips parting to let out the most heavenly moans, your round breasts moving up and down, your legs bent and spread across the loveseat.

“You’re all mine, right?”

“Yes..fuck, yes.” His thumb on your clit makes you dizzy.

“Then I’m gonna breed you, would you like that? Gonna fuck you so hard and get you pregnant.” Kun grunts into your ear.

Jaehyun grimaces outside of your window. Kun, or Adam rather, hadn’t changed at all. He still believed in a woman’s subordination to her husband. He believed from the beginning of time that a woman should lay under her husband, not above.

And now, he was trying to make you his by breeding you, making it impossible for you to break the link between the two of you. But Jaehyun had to make sure that didn’t happen, he had to stop him before he could do this to you.

————

[Three Days Later]

It’s been three days since that night and you hadn’t shown up to work. Kun made love to you day and night on your time off, he felt threatened by the presence of another male in your life and felt it necessary to remind you why you married him in the first place.

He cooked breakfast for you and bought you nice things. You even went to the movies and ice skating. You enjoyed the time off and Kun’s company, it finally felt like things were getting back to normal. You were happy.

Jaehyun, on the other hand, was furious. He knew where you were, but he couldn’t believe that you had forgotten about him so easily. He didn’t want to get violent, but maybe he would have to.

A few days later, you finally return to work and as usual, Jaehyun was there to bring you a cookie.

“Hey! Where have you been?” He asked as you put bread up on the shelves.

“Oh..I took some time off, Kun came home early so we had a little vacation..thank you for the other night though, I really had a great time.” You finally looked up at him and noticed the slightly crazed look in his eyes. His lips were tightly shut.

“That’s great. Would you like to go out again tonight?” He asks sweetly.

You sigh and shake your head. “Umm...Jaehyun..I can’t..do this..”

His smile starts to fade.

“I-I can’t pretend that we are just friends when I’ve had thoughts about you that I shouldn’t have. I’m married and it’s..really not right for me to get emotionally involved with someone.”

Jaehyun chuckles. “That’s nonsense! We are just friends.”

“But we’re not. Look..it’s best if we end this now, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come to my work place anymore.”

Jaehyun screams internally. You were really doing as Kun said by cutting him off. Was he that disposable?

A smile still rests on his face. 

“As you wish..” he nods and leaves after handing you the cookie he brought.

You swallow hard and sigh. That was harder than you thought it would be, but it felt right. It felt like you could finally focus on your marriage with Kun.

Your day at work ended as it usually did. You closed up and walked to your car, but as you got closer you noticed a figure standing beside it.

It had two red eyes and horns peeking out of its skull.

You slowed down. “Hello?” You called out into the empty parking lot.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and under a street light, that’s when you squinted to make out its familiar features. The red eyes and horns had disappeared.

“Jaehyun?”

He stood there creepily in a long black coat and black pants. His face was unreadable and he stayed silent.

You walked closer. “Jaehyun, what are you doing here?”

“You know..” Jaehyun scratches his head and laughs.

“I think we should grab something to eat.”

“Jaehyun..” you looked to the side and away from his somber face. You were just a few feet away from each other now.

“We’ll just be eating, we don’t even have to talk.” Jaehyun stepped forward and pleaded.

He didn’t want to lose you, he couldn’t lose you, not after all this time when he had finally gotten so close.

“I can’t, Kun is waiting for me.” You looked up at him with wide eyes.

Jaehyun felt his body tremble whenever you looked at him like that.

He suddenly leaned forward and kissed your lips hard. You fell into him for a brief moment, but then realized what was happening. You quickly bit his lip and pulled away.

“Jaehyun!” You rubbed your lip. “What the hell?!”

He licked the blood on his lips and frowned after your warmth disappeared.

“I’m sorry, I just-“ he reached out for you again but you backed away and opened your car in a rush.

“Leave me alone! I never want to see you again!”

Jaehyun only watched as you scurried into your car seat and locked the car doors.

He banged on the window hard, you jumped from the sound for you were terrified by him. You saw a dark flint in his eyes that you’d never seen.

Tears ran down your cheeks as you put the car in drive.

You sped out of the parking lot and away from him.

“I’ll never let you go, y/n, now that I have you..I’ll never let you go.” He whispered to himself.

————-

[1 Month Later]

The honeymoon feeling you felt with Kun soon dissipated as things went back to how they’d usually been. He spent his time at work and would come home upset, some nights he didn’t even speak to you. He looked sleep deprived and when you asked him about it, he’d have a fit and say he’s fine.

Some nights he wouldn’t look at you, you couldn’t remember the last time you had made love.

He was always short with you, but lately, you found it increasingly difficult to deal with his negative mood. Is this really who you wanted to be married to?

Jaehyun had been messing with him, he’d purposely make every day difficult for him. Kun couldn’t sleep most nights, but when he did, Jaehyun made sure to fill his mind with dark scenes to scare him. Sometimes he’d throw in false images of you making love to a faceless man. It gave Kun the feeling that he was walking in on you cheating on him. He would wake up from these nightmares but they felt so real, he couldn’t ignore how upset they made him.

Kun was paranoid, he felt like someone was out to get him and he didn’t know who it could be, but he didn’t trust even you as much as he did three months ago.

Then one night, you came home late because of a terrible thunderstorm and traffic. You were only about an hour late, but Kun was already home and steaming on the couch.

“Where were you?” He asked as soon as you entered the house.

You exhaled loudly. “Oh, so now you speak to me.”

“Yeah, I’m speaking to you, I’m asking a fucking question.”

You raised your brows. “And who are you to talk to me like that?”

“I’m your husband, or did you forget that when you fucked him tonight?” Kun bit back as he sat up in the chair.

Your face wrinkled as you placed your bag down.

“What are you talking about?”

“Jaehyun..do you think I’m some kind of idiot? I know you’re still seeing him.”

You scoffed. “Wowww Kun.”

You walk away to the kitchen to get some water.

“No, don’t “wowww” me, tell me I’m lying!” His voice started to raise, he walked into the kitchen after you.

“Kun..you sound ridiculous right now, I’m late because there’s a thunderstorm, or do you not hear it just like you don’t hear your phone ringing when I call you?” You asked sarcastically.

“If you’re gonna be late, you should tell me.”

You gulped down your water. “I don’t have to report anything to you! You’re not my king or whatever you think you are.”

“I’m your husband! And you should treat me like a king because look at this house, you wouldn’t be in it if it weren’t for me.”

Your eyes widened. “Are you really holding the house over my head? Wow Kun, you’ve really hit rock bottom, haven’t you?”

Kun chuckles. “Maybe Jaehyun lives somewhere nice, why don’t you go to him since I’m not your king.”

“Okay, here we go again, why are you so insecure, Kun?!” 

The two of you went back and forth that night. You broke down in tears as Kun said hurtful things that left you stunned. 

“I want a divorce!” You yelled and stormed out.

You jumped into your car and drove away, you didn’t know where you were going to go, but you knew you needed to be away from him.

You dialed up Jaehyun who had heard the entire conversation from outside of your house.

“Hello?” He said with the faked tone of confusion in his voice.

“Jaehyun..I need to see you.”

You drove to his house.

It was an incredibly large mansion, and when you went inside, the walls were lined with gold and red velvet curtains. It looked beautiful, unreal almost.

You wondered how Jaehyun could live in an expensive place at such a young age.

Jaehyun looked at your magnificent face as your mouth dropped open.

“Investments.” He smirked.

You laughed and looked back at him. His eyes were warm, his smile was bright.

He could tell you had been crying so once in the foyer he steps close to you and searches your wet eyes.

He runs his thumb along your cheek as you gaze up at him.

“What happened, love?”

You shook your head. “It’s Kun..we fought, I just..I don’t know, Jaehyun, I don’t think we can make it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, y/n..”

“I love him, I really do but..” you look to the side and sniffle.

“Is he controlling, y/n?”

Your eyes flicker up to him. You nod slowly.

“Is he the reason why you stopped hanging out with me?”

You nod again.

Jaehyun purses his lips. “Y/n..he’s threatened by you, he doesn’t want you to be independent now that you’re married. He wants to control you and that isn’t a partnership. That isn’t love.”

Your eyes brim with tears once again. “Jaehyun..I don’t want to think about him right now...I want to feel loved, can you do that for me?”

Jaehyun’s dark soul nearly escapes his body. “Of course.” 

You place both hands on his head and kiss him slowly and sensually. You both close your eyes as you fall into him more, his arms wrapping around you to bring you closer to him. He wants to become one with you, feel you, smell you, to be completely enraptured by you for eternity.

Time stood still and your heart fluttered as it was finally being satisfied by something it had craved from the first moment you met Jaehyun.

He too felt everything slow down to a crawl, your lips tasted like the sweetest fruit, your hands were soft like plush blankets.

He pulls away to breathe, his hot breath hitting your now swollen lips. “So beautiful” he whispers into them, then kisses you again in the dim lighting of his house.

He takes you into his arms and carries you to one of his many bedrooms.

“I will take you higher than the heavens themself, just give in to me.” He whispers softly.

He lays you down gently onto the fluffy bed and watches as you relax into it, your hair looking gorgeous as it lays against the white sheets, your neck just begging for soft kisses or hastily made bite marks, cute nose and round, swollen lips. He looks into your wide eyes and smiles. “You’re stunning.” He kicks his shoes off and crawls over you.

You giggled and held him by the hem on his shirt. “Jaehyun...kiss me.”

He leaned down and kissed you as you asked. He was transported back to when your name was Eve and the two of you made love in the garden. Your lips taste the same as hers, your skin feels the same, your touch and everything else was the same. Jaehyun was more than pleased to finally be experiencing your love again.

You start to take your pants down your legs and eventually kick them off. Jaehyun takes his clothes off as well, then watches you take your hoodie off to reveal your breasts.

Without hesitation, he lays his tongue flat against the perky nub, coating it with his spit. He then swirls his tongue around it while he massages the other breast that he hasn’t tasted yet. 

You moan and run your fingers through his hair.

His fingers press onto your thigh, then work their way to your sensitive skin between your legs. You tremble as they brush lightly against it.

You arch your back, telling him silently that you want him to go further. He sucks your nipples harder and listens to another moan leave your beautiful lips.

He takes two fingers and uses them to part your folds. He circles his fingertips around your entrance to collect the liquid that has formed from you being so turned on already.

He kisses the skin in between your breasts.

“You taste so sweet.”

He pushes his fingers into you slowly, your legs widen a bit to adjust to him. His fingers are long and slender, but it doesn’t take much time before his knuckles hit your most sensitive part.

“Jaehyun..” you exhale.

His fingers glide in and out of you slowly, he curls his finger tips to press right onto the fleshy spot that makes your head spin. He flicks his tongue across your breast as his fingers work on your needy area.

He looks up at you through low eyes, your dainty fingers grasping onto the sheets tightly.

“So-so close.” You whimper.

His fingers move faster, pressing onto your clenching walls as you get closer.

He then kneels and looks down at you as his fingers still move back and forth.

He licks his lips and lowers his face to the apex of your open legs. He flicks his tongue across you slit now, combining the action of his tongue with his finger to drive you crazy.

He moves his tongue in circular motions onto your clit as his finger moves in faster and presses onto your g-spot harder.

His long tongue flattens onto you repeatedly. 

You cry out his name one final time before cumming onto his fingers. He continues to rub his nose onto your clit and lick inside you as you climax and shake.

You try to push your body up away from him, but he holds your waist down firmly and continues to eat you out.

“Jaehyun!” You look down at him to see his eyes, almost with a glint of red in them, looking up at you sternly.

He places a kiss onto your folds then crawls over you to face you. He licks his lips. 

“Y/n, my love, I will never force you to bow down to me, you are my queen, you always have been. I will not lose you like I did so long ago.”

You’re slightly confused, but you nod and kiss him. He lays down beside you and takes your waist into his hands as his tongue now dances with yours.

He brings your body over on top of his.

Your skin becomes littered with goose pimples as he runs his hands up and down your thighs.

You kneel over his intimidating length and take in a sharp breath while running your hands along his chest and abs. He, too, was magnificent, like a painting or sculpture come to life.

He takes your hand in his and watches your naked body above him. 

He remembered the first time you made love, you rode him that time too, bringing him to his most memorable orgasm of all time.

You sink down onto him slowly, your head falling back instantly.

You couldn’t stop your pussy from clenching around him as he stretched you out so well and stimulated you just from being halfway in.

He pushes up into you to help you. You feel his cock buried deep inside you, running against your silky walls and pressing onto your sweet spot once more.

He curved into you so perfectly. You bite your lips and swivel your hips as you move up and down. He grabs your ass and brings it down onto him. 

He groans when you quiver around him and it is a low sound that you’ve never heard before, it’s almost animalistic.

But it’s hot, and pushes you closer to the edge.

Jaehyun watched your body shimmer in the low, warm lighting of the room. Your face is adorable, your skin is soft and glistens, you smell like vanilla. He wished he could have you like this forever, gliding down onto him, your breasts moving up and down as you whimper and moan from the feeling of his cock stretching you out.

You are his Heaven.

He thrusts up into you harder. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room as does your groans and cries.

Jaehyun fits you so perfectly, you’re on the brink of tears, you're weak and ride him sloppily as you chase your high.

Jaehyun knows this and flips you over onto your back in a swift move. He places your legs onto his shoulders and pushes into you. His hips slap against yours as he kisses you again.

He uses his ability to grow even more while inside you.

His eyes glow red but your eyes are closed as he fucks into you from above now.

“Jaehyun..fuck..” Tears escape your eyes. Your pussy clenches uncontrollably around his cock.

He runs his palm onto your belly and feels his cock twitch in the pit of your stomach. “I’m so deep inside you, do you like feeling me? Do you want me to release deep inside you?”

He moves faster.

You arch your back. “Fill me up, please, I want you inside me so badly.” You whimper out.

Jaehyun licks his thumb and places it onto your clit. He licks your breast again and sucks hard.

You cum hard and shake.

He climaxes as well, cumming deep inside you as you let out a stream of curses. You had never orgasmed so hard, but something about Jaehyun has you trembling for several minutes. He was able to deliver pleasure just as he was able to deliver pain in the underworld.

He rubs his thumb along the side of your sweaty face while watching his cum leak out of you.

“My love..would you like me to fuck you again?”

His voice is gravelly, but confident, for he already knows the answer.

You nod and within a few milliseconds you’re on your chest with your ass up in the air. Jaehyun pounds you into the bed and has you calling out his name several times that night.

You fall asleep after climaxing many times. You felt amazing, like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. Jaehyun held you in his arms and cuddled you to sleep.

“Y/n..I’m happy you’re mine now.”

————

[The Next Day]

Jaehyun woke up to see that you left him, you had snuck out and drove back home.

You left a note for him explaining that you couldn’t be in a relationship with him for your heart belonged to Kun. 

“Thank you for being here for me, I am sorry for coming to you during my weakest moment. I hope you will respect my wish to not see you again, as I must remain steady in my marriage to Kun.

With Love, Y/n” 

Jaehyun crumbles up the note and sets fire to it in his hands. His horns grow large and his eyes beam red, furious is an understatement.

How could you do this to him? He made love to you, gave you the best love you’d ever had and you still went back to him.

He would make sure to ruin Kun, for if he couldn’t have you, no one else should.

————

[3 Months Later] 

Jaehyun was still hurt by you leaving him that night, but he knew there was nothing he could do. A part of him wanted you to be happy, but a part of him wanted to destroy Kun so he could have you all to himself.

He had planned to get rid of him until he discovered that you were pregnant. He wasn’t sure if the baby was his or Kun’s, but he did know that if he were to kill Kun you would potentially lose the baby from devastation. He couldn’t do that to you, he couldn’t cause that pain even if he was satisfied by Kun’s death.

So he watches you from afar, imagining once again that it was him preparing for a baby instead of Kun.

The two of you looked happy, maybe it was the child that was making things different.

Either way, he hated seeing you so happy without him.

————

[8 Months Later]

You give birth to your son. You and Kun raise it together and take turns watching it during the night. 

One day, Jaehyun visits you while you cradle the baby at home alone.

You open the door and your smile falls.

Jaehyun, however, smiles harder when he sees your pretty face, glowing from the post pregnancy hormone changes.

Seeing you like this makes him want to get you pregnant all over again.

“J-Jaehyun?” You hadn’t seen him since that night, but he still looked good.

“Y/n..it’s been so long, hasn’t it?”

Something about him being there after so much time made you uneasy.

“Well..can I come in?” Jaehyun gives a half smile.

You nod and let him in.

You hold your baby and sit in a rocking chair. “So..what brings you here?”

“I’m here to see my child of course!”

Your brows furrow. “YOUR..child?”

Jaehyun smirks and steps closer to you. He smiles to himself as he looks at the baby.

“Come on, y/n, did you forget how many times I buried my seed into your beautiful cunt that night?”

You shook your head. “Don’t speak like that, please. I was weak, I-I was sad and broken..”

“Of course, but you loved it, you loved all of it.” He looked up to the ceiling and shut his eyes.

“I can still hear your moans right now.”

“Kun is the father, Jaehyun..this isn’t up for debate.”

“And if he’s not?” He tilts his head and looks back down at you.

“Well, he is. I’ll raise this child with my husband, regardless of who the biological father is, we have no place for you in this house.”

“Tsk tsk...keeping me away from my own child? Y/n..that’s not very nice of you, my love.”

“Don’t call me that!” Your voice rose slightly. “We had one night together, I don’t want to be with you, I will never be yours.”

“You’re already mine, y/n, you always will be, don’t you understand, after all these years?”

You shook your head. “Jaehyun.. you’re crazy. I’d like you to leave.”

You reached your hand out to grab your phone.

Jaehyun sees that you're nervous and chuckles to himself. “Oh..y/n..you’ve really made me upset. I guess I will just have to embrace my nature.”

He shuts the front door as you stare intently.

You always had a fear that the baby might be his, but how did he know you were pregnant in the first place?

————

[Two Days Later]

Jaehyun summons Lilith.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure?”

She appears to him with a slim body and dark hair this time. Her face is perfect like one of some celebrity, but God cursed Jaehyun’s vision so that when he looks at Lilith, he can only see an ugly monster. 

“I need you to take it.”

Jaehyun demands as sits on his throne in Hell. He tosses an apple in the air.

“Seduce the man and come back with the baby.”

“And what do I get out of it?” She places her hand on her hip.

“Nothing. But if you don’t do it, I will rip your fucking head off.” He looks up at her slowly. “Is that a good enough reason for you?”

Lilith scoffs then goes to do as she is told.

She appears to Kun who is half asleep on the couch in the living room. It’s his turn to watch the baby, so he can’t sleep completely.

“Hey there, big boy.” She says smoothly and crawls over him.

“Who—who are you?”

“My name’s Lilith.” She zips her leather jacket down to reveal her bare chest. “You look lonely, sweetheart.”

Kun is hypnotized by her, he doesn’t know if he’s awake or asleep, but he does know that he wants her badly. 

“Do you want to fuck me?” Lilith asks with doe eyes as she looks up at him and pumps her breasts.

Kun nods and soon finds himself enraptured by a succubus, burying himself into her and thus falling into her trap as you, his wife, lay sound asleep in the room above.

Once Lilith brings Kun to an extraordinary climax, he falls asleep.

She then walks upstairs slowly to the baby room.

Her appealing looks disappear and she transforms into her true being, a disturbingly ugly monster with grey skin and long legs and arms. Her bones crack as she grows to about 6 feet 6 inches tall, her black hair falls out onto the floor and her jaw protrudes as her eyes glow red. She smells like rotten eggs as green liquid oozes out of her pores and eyes.

She stares at the baby sleeping soundly in its crib.

You, however, wake up from the crackling sound.

“Kun?” You murmur.

You get up and walk to the baby room.

You nearly pass out from the stench and feel your legs grow weak when you see the ghastly being standing over your baby.

“Hey!” You call out, but when the thing turns around, it already has your baby in its arms. A wide creepy smile filled with about twenty sharp and misshapen teeth creeps across its face.

You start to cry. “Put him down!”

You run towards it but it disappears.

You grasp the crib and look into it, shifting the blankets around before looking under it.

Your baby was nowhere to be found.

You let out a painful scream that Jaehyun, and even your neighbors could hear and fell to the floor.

Kun finally woke up and ran upstairs. He consoled you as you cried uncontrollably.

———-

[One Month Later]

The police and everyone in the neighborhood helped you to search for your baby, but nothing happened. 

You tried to explain that night so many times, but nothing made sense and people just thought you were crazy.

Even Kun. He left you soon after the incident, the heartbreak was too much for him and he didn’t trust you. So he left you, moving further away and starting a new life without you as the divorce papers started to process.

You were alone, you couldn’t deal with the loss of your child. You sat alone at a pond and cried until you couldn’t cry anymore.

Jaehyun knew your time was running out, he knew you’d pass and eventually come to him to live with him in the dark world.

Your heart breaks and you die of sadness at the edge of the pond.

Your soul slips away from your body. 

Jaehyun is there watching as you stare down at it in confusion.

“Jaehyun?”

“Hello, y/n.”

“Where am I?”

“You’re with me now, where you should be.” He smiles as he goes to take your hand, but his hand passes through.

Jaehyun looks in confusion at his hand.

“Can you see me?” You ask.

“Of course I can. I should be able to touch you too, but..” he turns away and looks at his hand which is still vibrating like it had just been shocked with electricity.

“What’s happening?”

He turns back to you, but you’re gone.

“Oh, Lucifer..” a male voice calls out to him.

“You thought you had it all figured out, didn’t you? You would have her die then bring her to hell to live with you forever..”

“Winwin?” He recognizes the angel in front of him.

“I wish I could say it’s nice to see you again, but it really isn’t.”

“What the hell is going on? She’s mine!” He grows angry, his eyes becoming red and his horns growing out in harmony with his black wings.

“No, she isn’t. She belongs with us, remember God will always win.” Winwin smirks.

“No..no they can’t do this to me again!”

“Of course they can! Goodbye, LuLu!” Winwin then spins and disappears.

Jaehyun curses and shouts loudly, so loudly that the heavens can hear him. You can hear him, but now you realized who he really was and why he was so infatuated with you. It broke your heart that he went to such lengths to hold onto you, but now you knew that he was nothing but evil.

Jaehyun could feel you, he could sense you everywhere and sometimes he could see you, but he could never touch you again. He would have to live eternally as a tortured individual that lost his love 3 times.

“Well, at least you have the child.” Lilith looks at her nails as Jaehyun thrashes about in hell.

“What will you name him?”

Jaehyun smooths his hair back and walks to the crib that the baby sleeps in. “His name..is Cain.”

[symphonicmetal101]

OM Boys- Favourite Activites as Kids HCs

So I am hoping to have another few posts up soon, one will be referencing this one, but I got a sudden burst of motivation so here we go-

Lucifer: He only tolerated a lot of the things he had to do in the Celestial Realm, he had a reputation to uphold. But his favourite thing to do would be play the piano, as Lilith would often join him and the two would weave intricate harmonies together- another reason why now whenever Lucifer plays the piano it is always slightly haunting and eerie, because even an untrained ear can tell something is missing.

Mammon: Ok so these guys have been around here for forever so you cannot tell me Mammon and Levi's drawings as kids didn't end up as dinosaurs- on another note, Mammon loved to "invent" when he was younger, collecting spare bits here and there, especially shiny ones- and putting them together however he thought they fit best. In the Celestial Realm he wanted to help others gain fortune, thus the want to invent. It failed...often but not all the time, but when it did Lucifer gave him pointers here and there, if for nothing else to see little Mams determined face as he set to work again-

Levi: Like I said, probably an artsy kid, and huge imagination- also spent a lot of time near the water, even in the Celestial Realm, I think he would have loved making art out of things he found on the beach, whether he did sand art, collected seaweed and arranged it "just so", rocks, clams, etc. He didn't share it with anyone, because he didn't think it was good enough to share, the one time he did, Mammon walked through it and then insulted it so never again- but he still enjoyed it.

Satan: Ok, real quick, despite the card animation we got, I hc that Satan came into being as a small child, a toddler- simply because I think that that is the most fitting vessel for wrath. Anyways- he is what my other post is about and some of his trauma and how he becomes accepted by his brothers- so for now because he often felt unwanted, he learned how to orienteer, so he could explore this new world on his own without bothering anybody, and be home for dinner so that he could go to his room and draw picture or maybe even write about some of the things he saw that day, the time to himself even as a kid helping him reign in his anger.

Asmo: Ah yes, the Jewel of the Heavens- even as a kid he was extremely charming and got a lot of attention for anything he did, but his favourite "me-time" activity was visiting gardens or meadows of wildflowers and picking the ones that smelled the nicest to bring home and share, or to soak in water and make his own perfume.

Beel: Beel was definitely the sports kid of the bunch, and of course spent a lot of his time with Belphie and Lilith, but his favourite thing to do would be to Lilith's hair. Asmo and Lilith taught him how to braid, and he loved how happy she looked, even if he didn't do it quite right.

Belphie: Belphie had a lot more ambition and drive as a kid, and honestly all I can see in my head is him and Beel being on a little league baseball team- maybe he was the waterboy idk man I can't get this out of my head now soooorry

Barbatos: I mean there was that one post that Barb worked at the Fall when he was younger so- Barb was raised as a noble in the Devildom, and had access to a lot of things, but his favourite thing to do when he was young was use his power to go into the human world and explore its present and past and sometimes even future to gather little trinkets as he learned more about it. Of course, there was an end put to this eventually, but he managed save all the things he's collected, and would be more than happy to share any story about them.

Diavolo: You know Anna from Frozen? Yep- his hobby was making friends out of the inanimate objects around the castle in an attempt to feel like he had friends- it was his favourite because it was the only thing that couldn't be taken away from him, but also wasn't mandatory, though he did enjoy some of the things he was made to do and learn as heir to the throne...but at least imaginary friends can never truly leave you alone, right? Not like his father

Simeon: I feel like Simeon knew how to sew or knit when he was little, and made stuffies for the brothers/other kids or little clothes for already existing plushies because he loved how happy they looked when he gave them one, even if it wasn't perfect

Solomon: honestly his favourite hobby was playing pranks on other people, regardless of whether he knew magic or not-and still is his favourite thing to do-

Thanks for reading!

Masterlist

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

In Your Arms ~J.M.

A/n: This wasn’t a request that inspired me to write a lot, so I didn’t, but I hope y’all enjoy this sweet little short! It’s been in my drafts way too long and I want to get more of these done so I can get to recent requests :)

Request: “...jack Morton x male reader where the reader is human of the pack and he always sleeps on the couch until the pack comes home. Jack thinks it’s adorable and carries him to his room and maybe they have a sleep talking conversation like reader:“no I have to wait for jack.” Jack:”why” reader:”because I like him”...”

Word Count: 1800+

MASTERLIST

Listen, being a werewolf in a human world is hard enough especially when it comes with a whole new world of secret societies and magic and literal demons and magic and endless rules that you have to learn and oh did I mention ACTUAL MAGIC?

It is exponentially harder when you make things worse by shoving a human into that world.

Y/n didn't have a werewolf ability to defend himself, or heal him when he got hurt. He didn't have magic... which you know thinking about it now, might be a good thing. He'd rather be useless than be part of the Order.

That was the problem though, wasn't it? He had chosen to be useless. That's what he was now.

I mean sure,  he'd read the books Jack had given him enough times to memorize them, and he was getting used to playing doctor. He was also getting really good at helping in small ways. Helping Hamish grade papers, or doing one night of homework for Lilith, or passing some messages around when Randall forgot because he was busy with supernatural stuff. He was great to talk or rant to, and all of the Knights had been utilizing the very nice ability to go off to someone who actually listens. Sure, he had fallen into a habit of taking notes for the Knights in the classes he had with each of them, if they missed. But... that was just school stuff. Sure it took off a lot of the pressure in the long run (a lot more than he probably even realized), but if they died what the fuck did school mater?

When Jack almost died after the whole meltdown with Silverback a while ago, it had really pushed Y/n into gear. He was a lot faster at responding to things; a lot more eager to help; and above all, the single most annoying person ever when it came to asking about going along to showdowns to play backup.

The others simply refused again and again, and, again and again, he would end up sitting in an empty room as he pretended to focus on whatever task he had given himself to kill time before the worry got to him and he just curled up on the couch ad stared at the ceiling. Worry ate him alive for several hours, and then he'd fall asleep. Most of the time because things always went far later than intended, but also sometimes because between being a student, having a job, scrambling to cover for your friends too, and spending several hours emotionally exhausting yourself with unimaginably high stress levels, one simply passes out.

As Y/n's falling asleep became more and more of a habit, things started to get complicated. Because the thing was, he always fell asleep waiting, so he would be in the Den's living room, uncomfortably scrunched on the couch. They'd left him there a few times and he always woke up sore and aching. They'd tried to wake him up a few times and, half delirious, he had overly emotional reactions. After he had broken down into tears at how happy he was to see all of them alive and then been so embarrassed he hadn't talked for three hours the next day in pure shame, they had decided against the waking him up method. Which only left one option: one of them carried him to bed.

Lilith had tried, but the size difference between her and Y/n was big enough that it was jst awkward for her. She was small (even though she'd never admit it). She's end up waking him up, or dropping him, and that was the last thing they wanted.

Hamish had also tried, but he was really awkward and didn't know how to let Y/n get comfortable in his arms while walking around so that he wouldn't wake up, so Y/n often would. Then it would be super awkward as they just stared at each other. Their relationship was too brotherly and rigid to make room for touching it seemed.

Of course Randall had given it a try, and he was actually fairly good at it, but as much as he was big enough to actually carry Y/n, and at ease enough to let Y/n stay asleep, he wasn't good at maneuvering, which often left him pinned under Y/n when he actually put the sleeping boy to bed. Which lead to a lot of them cuddling. Which, while that was chill and platonic and fun and stuff, made Jack super jealous.

Oh yeah, Jack had a HUGE crush on Y/n, so it only felt right that eventually everyone left it up to Jack to take Y/n to bed. He could pick Y/n up, carry him to bed, and put him in an actual bed without any problem.  Y/n didn't know this was happening. He had gotten used to everyone taking turns carrying him to bed, and they hadn't said anything so he assumed they'd just gotten better at it.

That's probably why on one particular night, he didn't simply assume that he was talking to Jack when he was picked up and began to be carried to bed.

That night was different, because Jack and Y/n had plans to study. Jack had an important test the next day and he and Y/n had the class in common, so Y/n had volunteered to stay up a little later to go through what Jack had missed. It had gotten derailed when Jack had been called away for Knight business, but Y/n had only written it off and told Jack that he'd still be there when it was over and they could continue if Jack was up for it. Unfortunately, it was one of the really time consuming ones, and Jack didn't get back until well into the night.

Dutifully, Y/n was asleep on the couch. His face was contorted oddly. Even asleep, the couch was uncomfortable enough to leave him with a permanent frown, even if it was soft since he was asleep. Jack wasn't surprised though - the couch was so small it barely fit two people on a good day, so sleeping on it was not a fun time.

Considering all of that, Jack thought it incredibly adorable that Y/n found a way to fall asleep on it anyway. They had told him a hundred times to just go to sleep in his bed, but he had refused time and time again. He had insisted that he needed to be as accessible as possible if nything went wrong. If they needed him, he had to be close. He insisted that it was best to be on the couch, and had sworn that he was trying to get into the habit of not falling asleep. But he always did, and he always ended up in the exact same situation. Not that Jack minded. It gave him a prime moment to hold his crush.

He scooped Y/n up now, smiling as the sleepy boy's head fell on Jack's chest. He sucked in a small breath but then settled. Jack chuckled to himself as Y/n pressed his nose into Jack's shirt, burying his face to get closer to the closest source of warmth since he didn't have a blanket. Jack began to carrying him to the stairs to head upstairs, but was stopped when Y/n's foot caught just a second on the doorframe. See, earlier Jack had hurt his arm. Due to werewolf healing it was almost fine, but it was still quite sore, and the tug on his shoulder when Y/n's ankle caught on the wall, forcing his leg into Jack's shoulder... Well it wasn't a big enough pain to make him drop Y/n or shout or anything, but it was enough to startle Y/n just a little bit awake.

"Wh- what?" Y/n mumbled, blinking heavy eyelids as he tried to look around. Jack winced, feeling guilt rise. "What happened? What did I miss?" His words were slurred, and it was obvious that he was barely conscious.

"Nothing," Jack reassured, hoping Y/n would just go back to sleep. If he knew Jack was there he would insist on staying up and helping. It would be nice and much appreciated - since Jack really did need help - but more than Jack needed help, Y/n needed sleep. He had been crashing on the couch for a reason; he was exhausted.

So Jack immediately rushed to soothe, "Nothing happened, just hit your foot on the wall by accident. Go back to sleep."

Y/n huffed, a whine in his voice when he argued, "No put me back." Jack tried to swallow a smile. It was adorable seeing a sleepy, whiny Y/n and that on top of his sleepy voice that was low and grumbly and kept cracking and having the boy in his arms, Jack was having a hard time not feeling a bit giddy.

He tried to keep his head on a little longer though. He needed to get Y/n to bed. "And why do you NEED to go to bed?" He teased lightly.

"I have to wait for Jack," Y/n mumbled, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "We have plans."

Jack's smile turned warm. He thought about telling he who he was, but if he did then he'd NEVER get Y/n to sleep, so he decided to lean into the misconception that he was no in fact himself. "Jack will understand. It's late, you need to sleep."

"No," Y/n insisted with a firmer voice. He tried to struggle, but it was genuinely so pathetic that only a few seconds later he was still.

It made Jack wonder what Y/n was so desperate for though. "Why not?"

"He has a test tomorrow," Y/n explained with a soft irritation. "He needs help."

"You don't have to help him," Jack reminded softly, feeling suddenly guilty for some reason. Had he made Y/n feel obligated to help him?

"No I don't," Y/m agreed. "But I want to."

"Want to what?" Jack joked. "Stay away with a loser like him and lose sleep you need?" He had reached the top of the stairs now, and was headed to Y/n's door.

Y/n just rolled his eyes. "He's not a loser, but he does need help, and I can sacrifice a little sleep to help him with something he really needs. Making small sacrifices liek that is just what you do when you love someone."

Jack froze. WHAT?

When it was quiet for a long stretch of time, Y/n finally succumbed to the tiredness and his soft snores vibrated against Jack's chest. He cleared his throat and shook his head, opening the door and putting Y/n to bed. When he left the room, closing the door behind him, he came out with the biggest fucking grin he had ever worn.

Y/n like him back.

They had a lot to talk about tomorrow, and none of it had anything to do with a stupid test Jack no longer remembered. Because he loved Y/n too, and that's all he could think about right now.

Sorry Miss Styne.

[rohad93]

Moonlit Masquerade: ch 3

Also on Ao3

She was exhausted.

Which is what happens when you don’t sleep, like, at all. 

Luz could barely keep her eyes open during her bard classes. If it weren’t for the constant loud noises and music that was often blaring from the hallway that housed the bard track students she probably would have passed out long before lunch.

She sighed tiredly as she picked at her lunch, she’s been so preoccupied trying to just get herself moving this morning she’d completely forgotten to pack her lunch today and had to get something from the school cafeteria.

Not that whatever it was they had slopped on her tray was really doing it for her nonexistent appetite anyway.

The fact that whatever it was, was looking back at her did not help. She shoved the tray away with a frown.

Gus and Willow shared a concerned look from their side of the table. Gus shrugged and Willow looked back at their usually energetic friend.

“You okay, Luz?” she asked tentatively. 

“Huh?” Luz looked up, blinking tiredly. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine, I just didn’t sleep much last night is all.” She smiled, but it took noticeable effort and she knew right away that Willow wasn’t buying it. 

“Makes sense,” Gus answered before the plant witch could say anything. The small smile that crawled on Luz’s face was genuine as she looked at her friends. Bless Gus.  

She knew Willow wasn’t so easily fooled but luckily she didn’t have plant track until tomorrow. Hopefully, she’d get some sleep tonight and not look quite so much like something Hooty had hacked up.

She wanted to talk to her friends, she really did, but she didn’t know what to say, she wasn’t even entirely sure what was wrong.

She’d laid in bed last night staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out why she suddenly couldn’t keep Amity Blight off her brain. The way she smiled or laughed, gold eyes lighting up with the acts. The thoughts made her stomach twist and flip like she’d drank a glass of milk.

Before she knew it the sun had started streaming in through her window and it was time for school. 

She managed to avoid Amity by waiting till after the bell had rung to go into the building, she’d been late to her first class but sometimes you just had to make sacrifices.

Lunch ended and she hurried off to her oracle classes with a brief goodbye to her friends, Willow giving her a look that Luz deliberately ignored. She knew she was only worried about her but she really didn’t wanna talk about it right now, what would she say?

‘Sorry, I’m just tired because I didn’t sleep, I was too busy freaking out about the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about Amity all night.’ Yeah, she couldn’t even begin to guess how Willow and Gus would react to that. 

The rest of her day passed in a sleepy haze, at one point she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew the screaming of the bell made her jerk out of her seat and topple to the floor in a groggy heap.

Perfect

She picked herself up and gathered her things before slowly making her way toward the front of the school. Her mind was blank save for the quiet, sleep deprived induced white noise that filled her head, like the static on one of the broken TV’s Eda would try to sell at the market. 

She was too tired to even think about Amity right now, all she could think about was her bed.

“Hey, Luz.”

She jerked, the static vanished from her mind as she turned toward the familiar voice calling her name, stomach doing somersaults. 

Amity was walking down the front steps toward her, books cradled in her arms and a small smile pulling at her lips.

“Oh, h-hey Amity!” She smiled nervously as the youngest Blight stopped in front of her.

“I didn’t see you this morning, I must have missed you.”

“Oh, I uh, was late.” she shrugged nervously, playing with the strap of her bag, eyes looking anywhere but at her as she felt her face heating up against her will.

The look on Amity’s face turned concerned as she really took in Luz’s appearance. Her face seemed to sag and the area beneath her eyes was heavy with shadow as though she hadn’t slept in days, those normally bright, brown eyes were dull and hazy. 

“Are you okay? You don’t look well.” The concern in her tone was palpable and it made Luz’s stomach twist up in knots. She frowned, still not able to meet her friend’s gaze.

“Actually, no, I’m not feeling very good, I gotta go!” She turned and bolted, if Amity called after her she didn’t hear as she ran straight for the owl house.

“Luz is home!” Hooty screeched, the door swinging open for her.

“Thanks Hooty…,” she mumbled quietly as she walked through the empty living room. She dropped her bag on the floor and flung herself face down onto the couch before letting out a frustrated yell into the cushions.

“Oh, your home, how was school, kid?” Eda’s head poked out of the kitchen to look at the ruckus in the living room. 

Again Luz groaned into the couch before sitting up to look at her mentor. Dual colored eyes blinked. 

“Yowza, what’s the matter with you?” she asked, walking into the room the second she saw Luz’s face.

“That’s the problem, I don’t know!” She flung her hands out, exasperated as Eda sat next to her. “I was up all night and I couldn’t focus all day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her!" 

"Her? Her who?" 

Luz blinked, face reddening as she realized what she had just said, her eyes slid to Eda who was looking at her expectantly. 

"Uh…” she bit her lip.

“Is some kid picking on you, do we need to feed someone to Hooty?” the owl lady asked with a frown.

“No, no… we don’t need to feed anyone to Hooty.” Luz shook her head. “I didn’t sleep at all last night…I…” she glanced up at Eda who was looking at her encouragingly. 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about Amity,” she admitted, fiddling with her fingers.

“What do you mean, thinking about her how?” Eda scratched the back of her head, frowning. 

If possible Luz’s already flushed face turned even redder at the prospect of saying it out loud.

“Like… how smart and cool she is! She’s so good at magic and grudgeby and she’s so pretty…” She was cut off by Eda’s burst of laughter. Luz looked at her mentor, red faced as Eda threw her head back and howled with laughter. 

“What’s so funny!?” she demanded. 

“What is all the racquet in here?” Lilith asked as she stood in the entrance to the kitchen, a tea cup in hand as she looked curiously at them.

“Luz here has it bad for the tiniest Blight,” Eda managed to snort between laughter.

“Oh?” Lillith cocked a brow as her gaze turned to Luz, looking mildly amused. 

“It? What It?!” 

“Kid, I knew you could be a little hard headed but come on,” Eda chuckled, wiping away the tears that had gathered in the corner of her eyes.  “You have a crush on Amity, it happens.” Eda smiled at her apprentice, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

“A crush!? We’re friends, I don’t have a crush! ” Luz jumped up like she’d been scalded, face hot as she looked wildly between both sisters who were looking at her with mild amusement.

“You didn’t sleep all night because you were thinking about how smart she was…” Eda stood from the couch and set both hands on her hips. 

“Well…” Luz hummed.

“How cool she is…”  Eda went on.

“She…” Luz yelped.

“And how pretty she is.” Eda smirked, leaning forward.

“I…” Luz wheezed. 

“Perhaps even, being around her makes you nervous, excited, flushed?” Lilith asked before taking a sip of her tea, but never took her eyes off Luz over the rim of her cup. 

At the suggestion Luz’s face did in fact flush.

Her brain was zipping with lightning paced thoughts as she thought about her interactions with Amity. 

Amity helping her with her homework in class, laughing as she ate lunch with her, Gus and Willow… saving her from being sliced in half in grudgby… Grom!

Despite the fight with the horrible fear monster she looked so happy and pretty as they danced…

Luz’s eyes widened as her face turned impossibly crimson.

“Here it comes…” Eda grinned, waiting for the incoming explosion.  

“Oh crammity, I have a crush on Amity!” She slapped her hands against the sides of her face, looking horrified at the sudden realization.

“There it is!” Eda draped an arm over her apprentice’s shoulder and tugged her in close. “Ah, young love, I remember it like it was yesterday,” the witch sighed wistfully, eyes starting into the distance as she seemed to be remembering something.

“Love?!” Luz yelped.

Lilith rolled her eyes as she watched Eda squeeze the shaken human.

“Edalyn, you’re scaring her…,” Lilith drawled. 

“Hmm?” She glanced down at Luz who seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating. “Oh, right,” she mumbled. “Hey, don’t sweat it, kid, it’s just a little crush…well, maybe a big crush…,” she chuckled, seeing just how red the girl was. 

“I-I can’t have a crush on Amity, we’re friends!” she insisted. 

“That’s how it starts…” Eda nodded her head knowingly. “You start as friends and then you know you got things in common." 

"Who dares disturb the king of demons!? What’s going on here?” King stomped into the room.

“Luz is having a teenage crisis,” Eda supplied.

“Meh…” King didn’t look impressed before heading up the stairs.

“What am I gonna do?” Luz drug her hands through her hair anxiously.

“Well, based on my previous experience, the way I see it you have two options.” Eda held up two fingers. 

“Which are?” Luz looked at the older witch hopefully 

“You can run away and start a new life, maybe on the knee, or we can get rid of her..” she offered.

“What, no! Neither!"  she shouted.

“Edalyn!” Lilith scolded at the same time.

“What? She said she couldn’t have a crush!” She held up a hand.

“I just mean…I…” Luz wasn’t sure what she meant, but she definitely wasn’t going to run way from Amity and she really didn’t want anyone ‘getting rid of her’. “I just don’t know what to do…” 

“You could pursue it,” Lillith offered with a quirk of her brow as though it were the most obvious answer.

Luz seized up at the suggestion.

“I guess she could do that too.” Eda shrugged. “If you’re into that kind of thing.” she scratched her nose and Lillith rolled her eyes. 

“I uh, think I’m just gonna go lay down…,” Luz mumbled tiredly, her exhaustion from the day hitting her like a freight train all of a sudden.

“Sure, kid.” Eda patted her shoulder, looking down at her apprentice sympathetically.  She watched the girl climb the stairs and listened for the shutting of her door before she shook her head with a chuckle. “This is gonna be interesting…,” she said with a shake of her head.

“How so?” Lilith cocked a brow at her sister.

“Cause that girl already had it bad for Luz for weeks now,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in all the Boiling Isles as she walked back into the kitchen, Lilith trailing behind her.

“Why didn’t you tell her that?” she frowned as Eda shook her head, going back to the bubbling green pot of goo she had been mixing before Luz got home.

“Naw, they need to figure it out on their own. That kid is braver than most people I know, now that she’s clued in on her feelings maybe they’ll get somewhere; otherwise this is gonna be painful to watch.” She frowned.

Upstairs Luz had dropped onto her sleeping bag with a sigh, she could barely keep her eyes open, even as her mind was buzzing with this new realization of her crush on Amity.

She buried her face in her hands and groaned.

What was she gonna do? She couldn’t just ‘pursue’ her, as Lillith had suggested…

Could she? Would she think it was weird? 

She’d come to terms with being bi last year after a long and awkward talk with her mom, but she’d still never actually had a real crush on anyone before, heck, she didn’t even have any friends back in the human world, much less love interests. 

No one wanted to even be friends with the weird girl that had ‘backup snakes’ much less date her. 

She frowned up at the ceiling. 

It was different here though wasn’t it? She had friends, sure she was still kind of an outcast as far as the majority of the student body was concerned, being the only human and all, but no one really thought she was weird, she had classmates who had six arms or just a giant eye for a head, she was pretty tame by comparison, in fact if she just had pointed ears no one would even look twice at her.

She needed some help.

Eda meant well but she thrived on being an outcast, and while she accepted she was always going to be on the fringes for being herself no matter what world she lived in, which she was mostly fine with, she still wanted to belong somewhere. Now that she finally had that, did she really want to risk one of those precious friendships because one of her friends was just so smart and cool and cute?

“Ughh!” She kicked her feet helplessly. 

“Nghh, why are you so loud, can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?” 

She jerked, turning her head to see King curled up in a pile of her clothes, one eye open to look at her, but despite his words he didn’t look annoyed at all.

“I’m just tired…,” she lied, not up for talking about this anymore right now.

The tiny demon huffed, getting up and trotting over to her. He flopped down beside her and curled into a ball at her side. 

“Go to sleep then…,” he grumbled.

A small smile pulled at her lips as she ran a hand through his fur.

“Yeah…,” she mumbled, head rolling back to look at the ceiling before she closed her eyes and tried to push away all her conflicting thoughts. 

Within a few minutes she was out. 

~ ~ ~

Luz woke up feeling so much better than she had yesterday, though still conflicted on what to do about her crush. 

At least she wouldn’t be by herself today.

On Thursday Luz had plant track classes with Willow. 

She tried to act more casual and upbeat than she had at lunch yesterday, but Willow seemed to pick up on her less than chipper mood pretty quickly anyway.

“So, do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” she asked as they stood in a somewhat isolated corner of the green house carefully trimming a pair of snapping gargoyle lilies.

“What makes you think something is wrong?” Luz laughed nervously, only just jerking her fingers out of the way before one of the red flowers could snap its fanged petals around her fingers. She glared at it. 

“Come on Luz, you really haven’t been yourself lately, you know you can talk to me right?” Willow asked with a smile. 

Luz frowned as she snipped another dead branch of the writhing and growling demon plant with some shears. 

“Of course I know…,” she finally said. “I guess, I’m just… embarrassed?” That was definitely one of the things she was feeling. Nervous, anxious, unsure? 

Definitely those things too.

“It’s okay,” Willow assured her again.

Luz made a nervous humming sound as she glanced around at the other students, none close enough to really over hear them if they spoke quietly. 

“I… have a crush…” she finally admitted, cheeks dusted pink. Willow’s face lit up with a bright smile.

“Aw, that’s great, Luz! That’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” her friend assured her.

“That’s not the embarrassing part…” Luz mumbled, glancing around anxiously. How did people on the Boiling isles even feel about someone having romantic feelings for someone of the same gender? She knew that it could go either way in the human world, was it like that here? Worse?

She swallowed thickly. Willow was her friend, and Willow had two dads, even if it was, she would understand.

“It’s a girl,” she admitted, testing the waters before she told Willow who it was exactly.

Willow frowned, looking at her strangely.

“Why would that be embarrassing?” 

“I dunno it’s just… in the human world there are a lot of places and people that REALLY don’t like that… like… kill people because of it,” she grimaced and the shock was easy to see in the plant witch’s face.

“What, why!?” 

Luz shrugged helplessly, a tinge of anger igniting in her gut, she wasn’t sure she could really explain the way different religions and politics influenced culture in her world, and even if she could it would probably take a lot longer than they had for class.

“It’s just, the way it is…” she trailed off and Willow seemed to understand that Luz couldn’t answer her question, though she still looked disturbed by this and Luz didn’t blame her.

“Well, it’s not like that here, no one cares about that stuff I guess,” she said, and Luz sagged in relief at this and Willow could tell. “You don’t need to worry about that, Luz.” She patted the other girl’s shoulder.

“That is a relief.” she nodded but paused, biting her lip. In for a penny in for a pound, that was the saying right?

“There’s one more thing…,” she trailed off, looking at Willow nervously, but she only smiled encouragingly. “It’s Amity.” 

“What!?” she dropped her own shears as she stared at Luz as though she had grown another head. Luz’s faded flush burst back into life as she jerked back at Willow’s loud cry. 

Willow quickly calmed herself at seeing Luz’s distress. 

“Amity?” she asked, much quieter. Luz nodded, scratching the back of her head. 

Somewhere in the back of her thoughts Willow thought that if Amity could hear that she would have passed out from sheer joy.

“Are you mad?” the latina asked nervously, which quickly brought Willow back to the conversation at hand, her surprise morphing into confusion.

“What, why would I be mad?” she blinked.

“I mean, I know you and Amity still don’t have the best relationship…” Luz trailed off, unsure.

Oh, trust Luz to worry about something like that.

“I’m surprised,” she admitted. “But I’m not mad, Luz. Amity and I are working things out, but that’s between us, that shouldn’t affect your relationship.” 

Luz’s face flared at the word. 

“That’s why you’ve been upset? You have a crush on Amity?” she asked quietly and Luz nodded. 

“That… and I’m not sure what I should do about it…” She thumbed the shears in her hand. 

“Well… you like her… why don’t you ask her out?” Willow suggested with a shrug. “Isn’t that what most people do?”

“I can’t just ask her out!” Luz threw out her arms, eyes wide and almost panicked looking. “We’re friends and she’s so awesome…,” she trailed off.

Amity would definitely die if she were here, Willow thought, amused.

"What kind of chance do I have?” Luz asked morosely, looking down at the floor.

Willow really wanted to tell Luz about Amity but stopped, she couldn’t.

“Well… you won’t know if you don’t try,” she finally said, smiling.

Luz blinked back at her, eyes wide.

“You… you really think I should go after Amity?” she asked quietly, glancing around at the other students in the greenhouse, but her voice was filled with disbelief that made Willow smile almost sadly at her friend. 

“Yes, Luz. I think you should, I know you’re friends, but knowing Amity, she’d never not want to be friends with you, even if she didn’t return your feelings, and if she does, then you get to be more than friends.” She reached out and rested a hand on the human girl’s shoulder.

“But… what about her grom crush? There was someone she wanted to invite to grom but was too afraid to be rejected by…,” she said uncertainly.

She wanted her friends to be happy and she really wanted that for Amity, it felt selfish to try and get in the way of Amity and whoever she already had feelings for. 

It took everything Willow had not to laugh. She loved Luz and the girl was much too caring and selfless, but also a little dense. 

“Well, they say love is war right?”

“No one said anything about love!” Luz choked, clutching the shears, face a bright shade of scarlet that made Willow giggle. 

“I just mean you have to fight for something sometimes if you really want it. You need to show Amity why she should be looking at you and not someone else. You’re funny, kind, and smart, show her.” She smiled encouragingly as she tried to hype up her unsure friend. 

Luz seemed to be thinking as she fiddled with the shears in her hands anxiously before her grip on them turned solid and a look of determination settled on her face.

“You’re right!” she said, standing up straight. “I’m going to make her forget all about whoever she was going to ask to Grom.” 

“Yeah!” Willow cheered her on, but internally the irony was hilarious and killing her inside simultaneously. 

“I’m going to romance the heck out of her!” Luz declared, thrusting her hand, fisted around the shears into the air. 

Several other students were now looking over at them strangely and Luz’s face turned red again and her hand shot back down as she hunkered over their table. Willow just smiled at her friend and shook her head, patting her on the back

She felt a little bad for Amity, knowing what was coming, because if she knew Luz, it was going to be a lot. More than the hopelessly smitten girl was probably ready for.

She really wanted to tell Luz, but she knew it wasn’t her place to tell her about Amity’s feelings. It wouldn’t be right for her to hear it from her and not Amity. 

The rest of the class went by with Luz trying to hide her bright red face behind some of the plants she was supposed to be working with.

[gummybearzgocrazyagain]

MALEC FIC REC POST, vol.3

vol. 1

vol.2 

Media AU

Society Rules by @Tiger_Tiger_Burning_Bright [it is apparently based on films i’ve never heard of - The Philadelphia Story / High Society - which does not make it any less entertaining. malec are childhood friends, who had a falling out 5 years ago, and now Magnus is back from London to interrupt Lightwood wedding, aka the social event of the season]

Making my way to you by @asharee_arie [woah, what was that??? is the correct answer “a perfect fanfic”?? what a muthafuckin delight, where has this gem been hiding this whole time??? i was on the floor, rolling around and squealing like a newborn piglet. Intended as some kind of Office AU, this piece does not necessarily follow the outline, but who cares, when the story, and characters, and author’s style are all that perf??? i am in luv]

Mistletoe and Margaritas by @nevermetawolf [this is legendary, and i mean, muthafuckin epic - Office AU so authentic you’d feel it in yo old bones... author calls it a crack fic, although it was anything but!!! major must read for those, who’s ever loved office, allllllll the kudos]

Once Upon a Time in the Clouds by @Fatale (femme) [one of my all-time fav authors, every time i come by a piece i have not read yet, is like a huge YAY, what a talent. so this piece is an AU of something called “sky high”, which i have no idea about, but luved it nevertheless, Alec is born to a family of Supers, and is going to school for children with superpowers, but he himself is yet to manifest any.]

Quite Magical by @lorenzobane [Hogwarts AU, and what an adorable thing it was! granted, i’ve never actually read any of HP books, this was such a delight though... alec is bad at potions, and magnus has to tutor him *wink*]

Chef AU

the way to a chef’s heart by @lecrit [okay, the GIANT SMILE one’s face acquires when one finds out there is a new lecrit fic ≧◠‿◠≦ ≧◠‿◠≦ ≧◠‿◠≦ was reading it, and legitimately squealing like a feral piglet all the way through, cause i fucking luv every single word this woman writes, is like a tiny endorphin explosions in my brain. i know am a hopeless fangirl, but i’ll die on this hill. the way she gets malec, and every variation of them in her works just makes me go (❁´◡`❁) every. single. time.]

kids in the kitchen by @perpetual_journey [cuteness personified, malec are both chefs, and magnus is a single father of max and rafe, and go and read ittttttttt, its that soft content we all need in our lives sometimes]

Knives at the Ready by @harrysglasses [restaurant AU, that is supposed to be a malec rendition of Burnt (am guessing it’s a movie...?), and what a sweet treat it was! i liked author’s style, this is the kind of smooth, unproblematic content one would require to take repose from all the heart-clenching longing i’ve been reading lately... delightful piece to ease thy soul]

Single Parent AU

I Knew From the First Time by @KlaineJane [emmm, excuse you, dear author, who gave you the right to use Rafe and Max to get to my heart, and be generally so fucking cute??? Alec is a single dad of both rascals, that has a meeting with the High Warlock of Brooklyn, and Chairman meets new friends]

And Then I Met You by @everydayfandom [malec are single parents of max and rafe respectively, and alec gets called in to school about the accident max was involved in...who doesn’t luv them some gud ol’ sweet piece of kidfic? those are like a soothing baths for your soul, and lightwood-bane kids are incapable of being anything less than extremely adorable in any interpretation, so]

College AU

Don’t say goodnight by @alistoney [this the kinda lighthearted content i am always here for - College AU]

One year and a bottle of whiskey by @CryptidBane [yassssss, yet another version of the College AU, but with malec as both clueless and pining professors, this type of fic i can read endlessly]

All is Fair in Love and War by @LadyOxymoron [aaaaaaaa, what was this adorableness *major heart-eyes* what a piece, mashallah, college professors AU, where magnus is new in town, and malec is engaging in an elaborate prank war, which, undoubtedly, is nothing more than a prolonged foreplay (c), what a gem]

Canon Divergence

oh, i’ve waited for you by @manticoremoons [so, the fic is happening a little bit further in a timeline, than the books or the series, and Alec is around 30, and... married to Lydia. i know, i know, it almost stopped me from proceeding, and boi am i glad it hasn’t completely, cause it is a damn good piece!]

Hey There Demons, It’s Me (Your Dream Boyfriend) by @thealmostrhetoricalquestion [how many recs of this author can i make, without being deemed obsessed? cause y’all should go and read every single thing they wrote, stat. this adorableness is outta this world, literally - magnus’ summoning went sideways, and the loft ends up populated with the teenage ghost-demon, who is very clearly enamored with alexander... all kinds of fluff ensue]

Something Else verse by @CryptidBane (Impetus) [maybe it’s my fever talking, but i am such a sucker for memory loss AUs, and SH fandom has the richest canon base for those, yay! this time, it’s an AU verse after 3x10: rather than asking for his magic, Asmodeus curses magnus by taking away memories from everyone who’s ever loved him, in exchange for freeing jace from lilith’s thrall... oh, what a beautiful and delicious angst ensues]

Home by @otppurefuckingmagic [waaaaaaaaat... *sits with her mouth open* how did you....? how did he...? damnnnnnnnnn you authors in this fandom, stop being so talented!!!! this is uncannily brilliant]

I’ll hold on until you’re home by @alistoney [how dare you sir, right in the feels... the missing scene in the midst of 3x18/3x19, when magnus realizes what his idiot of a boyfriend has done, and confronts him about the Asmodeus deal]

First time for everything by @nebulein [“Nowhere in a Shadowhunters’ job description does it read ‘must look adorable while infatuated with the local High Warlock’.” - series of firsts written with such tenderness and adoration for characters, that it warms your heart while reading, - it shows how much the author cares for them. it is not finished, but whatever has already been written, is gold]

Fake dating AU

The Great Repression by @CryptidBane (Impetus) [although it might not be exactly my regular cup of tea, i still appreciate this author’s style so damn much, and the way they do malec dynamic overall, so it’s here. magnus is a camboy, and alec is hired to protect him from a stalker]

Friends to lovers

Family is Family by @hexicity [my brains are fried by the covid, so any coherent rec would be unlikely right about now, but the softness of this <333 alec sees an ad about a free room, and when he moves in, he finds way more, than he bargained for... gave me a bit of a “happy, shiny people everywhere” vibe, and that’s an automatic rec in my books, so]

Spinning Around In Circles by @lemonoclefox [my fav friends to lovers/mutual pining trope, here you are, and what a pretty pretty wrapper are you wearing - absolutely amazing interpretation of a trope, that seems to has been done to death, and yet here i am, never able to get enough of it <3]

If it walks like a duck by @thealmostrhetoricalquestion [this. i was reading this. and after every single word. all i wanted to do was get down on one knee and propose to this person. i dunno who the hell you is, but.... how did you do this? it was... another level of fanfiction.]

Neighbors AU

Meow 17:1 Love Thy Neighbor by @high-warlock-of-brooklyn [again, not a fan of drabbles, but who could resist such softness??? Neighbors AU, where Chairman takes some lessons he learnt from “Parent trap” to heart, and alec is a stumbling mess, but he gets shit done, kudossssssss]

Various AU mix

Solid courage by @thealmostrhetoricalquestion [how goddamn CUTE was dat???? answer - the cutest. mashallah people in this fandom can write]

Paper Love by @thealmostrhetoricalquestion [it would not be an exaggeration to admit i thoroughly fell in love with this author’s style, i mean, all and every version of their malec is all kinds of awesome. this one is no exception - catarina works in the library, and malec have to take madzie out to a coffee shop, cause their obnoxious flirting is too loud for the quaint environment of catarina’s workplace.... it’s tiny and so so sooooooo sweet]

make no bones by @ohfreckle [yaaaaaaaaay, what a cutie, tiny preciousness about magnus having an awful day and taking it out on a no-good useless building super, simply delightful]

Freud is a Dick by @sanctuary_for_all [Alec works in IT firm, and accidentally sends someone else’s dick pick to his boss, whom he has a crush on... do i need to say more]

shadows in moonlight by @kaeg [damnnnnnn, son, that was a ride!! something exquisitely soulful, tender and so, so poetic... young malec meet in summer vacation home, and it will take your breath away in the best way possible... warning, it is unfinished, but whatever was written, is absolute preciousness]

For the Love of the Game by @TicklemyPickle [Hockey AU, where malec were childhood friends, but had a falling out, and were not in touch for the last 7 years, until magnus gets traded in to alec’s team... i was somewhat unsure about reccing this, as some of the choices author made regarding their dynamic did not exactly resonate with me, but decided to go on, because, god as my witness, one thing this world definitely needs more of - is malec Hockey AUs, word upppp]

Love Is A Gamble by @la-muerta [i myself do not completely understand, why has it taken me so long to get to the “The importance of elsewhere” author’s most famous piece, but i finally have, it was amazeballs, like, the world-building...? off the charts. the language, the moral struggle, what a gem. alec is a grumpy and surely sheriff *duh!!!* of a tiny town, and magnus strolls in being all... well, magnus-y, and opens a gambling house, the potential!!! anyway, i highly doubt this piece needs recs, so imma zip it]

@ohprongs [this author has too many tiny pieces i like to name them individually, but as far as reccing goes, they should def be mentioned here for their effortless, seamless style, and clear love for the characters in all interpretations, that simply shines through all and any AUs they choose to put malec in]

special mention:

@theleftboobgrabber [i wasn’t aware that at this stage it was still possible to come by someone like this. the author, who’s style would impress me so. that unbelievably glorious Mafia AU, absolutely delightful and literally perfect My mama don’t like you series, and something that went straight to my top-5 - MI6 AU ohhhhh, that MI6 AU... i have no coherent words to express the depths of my appreciation, this is unbelievable fucking talent for writing malec]

[border-spam]

Leech Lord : Jak-Knife

JK belongs to / is written by / designed by @godkingsanointed​

“That Bandit’s a ghostwalker, my God-King. You don’t want ‘em here, trust me. Sometimes dead clans leave corpses behind that aren’t straight in the head enough to know that’s what they are... Crawl across the plains looking for somewhere else to belong, looking for a new family clan ‘cause all that’s left of theirs are Rakk picked bones. Seen plenty over the years, and they trail bad luck behind ‘em like a disease. That one’s marked like a Hellion, those got slag-burned into the ground by Atlas back in Old Haven. Your majesties weren’t here when that happened, but we were, and I remember. Leave them to me, the scout teams always need fresh meat for replacements.

They won’t stay alive long enough to be a concern.”

- Mouthpiece

Whether death follows JK or they sprint after it in pursuit is something they’ve never really been sure of. It could be either - some great predator snapping at their heels while they grew up in a Bandit clan that wasn’t kind to the small and gentle, or a force they are drawn to effortlessly like the migratory animals that follow Pandora’s monsoon seasons.

Could be either.

Could be both.

Same outcome they figure, so why would it matter.

They'd been a kid when it happened, well, a kid to anyone not a Bandit. In that life 16 years old is more than enough to run with a raid party, adult enough to work yourself to the bone, to show you can earn your keep when your brother is "useless" and you've got to be worth 2 bellies of food or watch as one of you goes hungry. Jak-Knife and Gutpunch, one a runt squinting up from under a stolen warrior's mask crafted for someone twice their size, the other a gentle giant born into a life that no aspect of their soul suited. They'd protected him, them with their little body and dull pocketknife versus the sometimes cruelty of a clan who's survival was based around only the fittest, only the strong staying part of it.

Not evil, just living as was needed. Pandora is harsh, there is no room for softness if you want to stay alive on her rocky flats, that's just the way things are. Nature isn't cruel, it simply is.

They were 16 when the Lance came.

16 years they'd lasted in the Hellions, till the day the gates of Old Haven had been opened for the Crimson Lance's money carriers. They'd done their job, they'd cleared the town at the request of the white Siren, been promised a home for the clan, a place to belong, and in the end, their payment came in bullets sprayed from Atlas gun barrels.

By the time JK had woken up and tried to heave Gutpunch's corpse off their back from where he'd shielded them, it had been two days. Groggy and confused, they'd panicked, desperately trying to scrabble out from under his bulk as the remaining Lance stopped piling bodies to burn and ran towards the sound of gunfire outside the gates.

Vault Hunters. Worse than the lance.

They couldn't take him with them, he couldn't move now, but they couldn't leave him like this, not a brother. Not when he was all they had who'd understood when they'd try and explain why their meat was wrong, how the flesh didn't sit right, when he was who would help them tighten rags around their chest and listen as they ground their overly developed canines and growled to the stars at night when it got too heavy to bear. They couldn't leave him behind after a life together, so they took his mask. Scrabbled at the bindings and peeled the effigy from what was left of his head. They realised as it separated from flesh that it had been all that was holding the remnants of skull together... but this was his face. The meat under it was Gutpunch, but the mask... they'd wear it now. He'd still be with them.

Jak-Knife had ran from the massacre of Old Haven on shaky legs, ducking as bullets whistled through the air around them as Crimson Lance and Vault Hunters traded fire in panicked waves. No hits, not directly, but a spray of Slag from a barrel ruptured by a narrow miss had sliced across their right, thick and acrid in the air as it burned through skin and into muscle. There had been no time to feel the pain, no time to stop, JK had run till their feet bled and the weight of Pandora's inky night blanketed them in exhaustion they couldn't fight any longer.

They'd started to stumble forward once they stirred in the morning. Like Mouthpiece said, a ghostwalker. No clan, no brother, no belonging. They walked and didn't stop for a long time.

Walked to New Haven, to the walls outside the town and a woman with her own terribly scarred face masking a heart softer than others would guess. Not a home there, not really, but allowed stay. A kid is a kid, even when wearing the blood-streaked mask of a Bandit. She couldn't turn them away.

They were 18 when Hyperion came.

Ran again amidst the screams to do so, ran into the wastes of Pandora and a world that made more sense to them than the town being torn apart behind them. Missed her though, Pierce. She'd been kind. A lot of those people had been kind, and now they were dead. Hyperion, Atlas, same thing. Just monsters lead by monsters.

They'd walked to the Slabs, to a jovial King who mocked their size with a tone that both bristled their muscle and left them feeling... welcome. Not a home there either, not really, but there had been jobs to run and food to earn. They'd been allowed stay, and so they did. Stil a Hellion though, still Slag-burned and covered in their clan's flame emblems and splashes of neon across their gear.... still wearing Gutpunch's blood coated mask.

The Slab king had heaved himself into their cramped sleeping quarters one night and whispered that there was a funeral for her soon, Pierce. They could go if they wanted, he'd whispered from under that massive helm. Told them with a gentleness they'd never heard before that he understood loss, having things you loved taken away from you for no reason bar cruelty. That he remembered Old Haven and wished he didn't. That they should go. They'd be welcome there.

So JK had walked again, out of Thousand Cut's Slab fortress and to a somber funeral in the icy fields of Three horns that was filled with Crimson Raiders - a mix of Vault Hunters and ex Lance, and stood in memorial amidst people that made the blood under their skin burn, all to show the respect she'd earned to a woman who'd treated them like a human.

A merc now they figured, easier than being a wanderer and Sanctuary needed mercs. Found themselves in the bar some nights, wary eyes glaring from mismatched lenses as they sat silently at corner tables while watching the rest of the loud patrons, back against a wall and a clear exit always planned.

She'd noticed. She liked big 'n mysterious. Liked how her flirtations rolled off them and were replied to with genuine questions about her. Quiet, gentle-voiced comments about the drinks, how well she played her marks, how clever that gunbelt around her thigh was positioned for quick access if she needed to control a situation with more than just her looks.

Moxx liked this one, and a friendship slowly bloomed into something beautiful.

It had been her who had put their name forward when the leaders of the Raiders had become concerned over the darkness slowly seeping across Pandora's horizon, of the bizarre war cries of fanatics leading raids on smaller Bandit camps and shanty towns...

The "Children of the Vault" was a name being passed through hushed whispers in slums and rot-dives, and Lilith had rolled "Calypso" across her tongue enough times when reading scout reports to know the taste it was leaving behind wasn't anything good. They wanted an in, and what better spy to infiltrate a Bandit cult than a Bandit. Someone who understood clan hierarchy, who could report back in words she could understand from a viewpoint she could never see.

JK had been... wary. To say the least. The Raiders weren't friends, they'd filled their ranks with ex Crimson Lance like they hadn't committed atrocities, they mowed down Pandora's natives like mad Skags who needed extermination, and Krieg...

They all knew of Krieg. Everyone had seen how he'd been really treated. JK certainly had, but they also knew Krieg had been one foot into the great hunger, that he'd been so close to the flood that he'd spoken in half Psycho-cant and half Bandit, and tore at his skin to sate the itch of the song that the mad ones screamed about. That the raiders would let him burn alive in a fury if it meant a successful mission, and they couldn't help but wonder how respected he'd really been. Some kind of mix between respect and pity they figured, mocked behind his back as "Just another Psycho", someone who got the job done even if he limped back covered in blood and bullet holes, but was whispered about as needing to be watched.

He had been called a Raider, and yet - masks like his and JKs covered the command room's wall like trophies. Murderers of their clans walked Sanctuaries halls and narrowed untrusting eyes even at Krieg's hulking silhouette as he passed. It wasn't right, and JK struggled to feel as welcome as the others insisted they were now that they had a use.

But they'd taken the job, because Moxxi said they should and Moxxi was clever, Moxxi cared about them and wanted to see them be happy, so they'd agreed. She had whispered in an accent they’d learned from long nights in her company was for real things and not her act, that this would help people, that the COV was worrying her more than she was concerned about getting intel to Lilith, and they'd nodded in agreement.

Bandits don't congregate, Bandits don't merge clans under one banner... they wanted to know what this beast clawing into Pandora's soil was capable of. They'd heard the rumours like everyone else, twin Sirens apparently. Bullshit, everyone knew Sirens were women and there were only 6. Jack had hammered that information through Bandit clans and across Pandora's E-Com network clear enough. These were obviously frauds using trickery to control those eager to believe, wouldn't be the first time a Siren cult had used Bandit clans as a personal army, and JK had felt roiling disgust at the realisation what they were agreeing to do for Lilith? Just another shade of the exact same thing.

Funny, wasn't it. Very funny.

So they'd walked out of Sanctuary and towards the hub of the birthing COV.

They'd been 20 when they had first seen a real God.

The Holy City didn't exist yet, just a pile of rickety buildings thrown up by worshippers that surrounded an old Dahl fortress bleaching slowly in Pandora's sun. They called it "The Cathedral", but it looked like the crumbling bones of some great dead thing jutting from the red sands like a cracked skull. Maybe those were the same thing, JK had thought. A cathedral, and a beast of the flood. Both seemed like something that should be worshipped to them. They liked this place.

Neon paint and rusty metal spines were everywhere among the shantytown, raucous laughter cut through the clang of metal, and the air itself was heavy with an unmistakable stink of unwashed bodies and leather. They felt it so quickly as they'd crunched through the dirt paths that split the weaving rows of scrapped together tents, making their way to the recruitment line. A fleeting tickle of a sensation that hadn't filled their belly in so long. That this was like...

home.

The twins themselves were cagey and difficult to pull usable intel about. They gave sermons from the crumbling balconies of the fortress to the swathes of screaming acolytes below, too far for JK to get a clear eye on them but dressed like Sirens at least. Swirling loops of pacifying blue along the woman, and the man... jagged lines and curved whorls of a vicious red they'd never seen on any living or dead Witch. He was off. That one was wrong, and his sister made her agreement on that clear enough in how she acted next to him. She was the star, she was in the limelight, and he was relegated to a place behind her when she spoke to her worshippers and basked in their screeched worship. Odd for a "God-King" to be left in shadows, they'd thought.

Odd indeed.

They reported back to Lilith in Sanctuary whenever the opportunity arose to leave the growing "City", cult movement, basic info on what they could see as a blossoming threat to raiders, and it was always met with sneers of disgust and pity. Monsters, she'd sighed. Just using the bandits as fodder. JK's eyes flicked to the masks decorating the trophy wall behind her.

"Whatever you say, commander".

Mouthpiece had kept his word. Fully aware of what had happened to JK's clan and uncomfortable with seeing something he believed to be a walking curse among the COV's war parties, he'd purposefully sent them on suicide runs with some of the less physically capable recruits. "Trial by fire" he saw it as, simple logic when it came to survival on Pandora. Let the weak earn their place - if they die, they die. That's the law of the land, and losing the soft only leaves the clan stronger. Except, JK' scout parties just kept coming back. It had seemed almost a fluke the first couple of times, scouts didn't last long after all, but as it repeated again, and again, Mouthpiece and higher members of the raid parties began to notice.

A combination of Hellion war training and their years of working side by side with their brother had left an understanding of why having others watch your back was more beneficial than only caring about your own neck, especially when you weren't as big as the next guy. JK was a survivor, they'd never been willing to lay down and die so the rest of the clan could be down a "weak link", and their knife-edge instincts merged with a care for the other scouts not usually seen amongst Bandits meant they were teaching the team. Unifying them as a group who responded to signal whistles, barked cant, warcries that triggered defence formations and eyes on flanks. They were leading without being called a leader, and as that first year slowly ticked by, they were being noticed.

Sharp eyes that scrutinised numbers and statistics were watching the growing ratio of successful raids to lost bodies from the recessed shadows of the looming Cathedral while Jak-Knife trained and barked orders at recruits in the garrison that sprawled in the white hot sunlight below, and eventually, the day came where the God-King knew their name.

They'd stood shoulder to shoulder with their boys as they lined facing the burning light at Mouthpiece's demand. The mask lenses had done barely anything to block out Pandora's vicious sun as he'd approached, and they'd shuddered at the warchief's hissed warning to show due respect, or die where they stood. He wasn't accepting of failure, they knew that from the hushed whispers that spread across the camp at night. He expected perfection, and word from within the now sprawling architecture of the growing Cathedral was that neither twin took insult lightly. She sucked the life out of the undeserving and he, well, he supposedly just ripped heretics clean apart.

Father Troy had been all sharp angles and gaunt bone as he'd stopped his slow pace in front of them and hunched to lean down to their eye level. They'd realised how wrong they'd been about his appearance as the heavy furs that splayed across his shoulders like a mantle blotted out the sun behind him and framed his jagged silhouette in light.

Tyreen wasn't short.

Troy was a monster.

It had been hard to pick up on his scale when they'd only seen him next to his sister, they'd just figured she was a smaller woman and him a tall man, but the reality of his size was beyond intimidating now that they could see with frightening intimacy that the scrapped together prosthetic that he held at his side so effortlessly was as long as they were tall.

A glint of gold teeth through a smile they'd thought more Skag than human snapped them out of their shock, and he'd congratulated them. Thanked the "Jak-Knife" he'd been watching so closely for their excellent work on the field, waved the disturbingly proportioned metal claws of his arm towards their team and praised their group promotion, slathered honey-thick words from a barbed tongue about how they'd be blessed by being the honour guard for a God now - a fine reward for their outstanding work... yes?

The others had gasped in stuttered praise and whimpered thanks while Jk had nodded respectfully, knowing damn well that Calypso wasn't really asking at all.

The newly titled vanguard escorted him everywhere, and that meant a shift in JK's life within the blossoming city that they could not have prepared for. They no longer slept on bare ground when not visiting Sanctuary for updates, they were brought into the twin's cathedral, were able to see its glory with their own eyes for the first time. The inside wasn't anything like the still decrepit outer walls surrounded by scaffolding that workers scurried across like ants, it was like nothing Jak-Knife had ever seen.

A bastion of worship, vast cavernous stone halls spread with clan banners in colours they'd almost forgotten, neon blazing lights framing sprawling stained glass windows depicting Saints and Clergy who's names they'd heard but never put a face to.

Ur-Aurum, scowling from under heavy brows, framed in monochrome and gold. Coins and bullets pouring from his open palms.

Ur-Machina, sharp and vibrant in reds and coppers, oil-stained hands resting gently on the slab of gilded war tech she rested daintily against.

Ur-Vendit, pristine in parallel lines and perfect angles, sneering through a swathe of shining colours as numbers and cash totals ran like ivy through the window's frame.

And something new that had been being assembled along the great hall when they first entered, a half-finished window titled "Oracle" - just the fine lines of lead and a great, staring eye all that they could make out as they followed the priest irritably urging the vanguard group to hurry as they were lead to their chambers.

For the first time they had experienced, JK not only belonged, but they were envied. Their gear was decorated, armour and weapons upgraded at the Father's blessing, and the titles that came with the role were impossible to avoid, whispered in reverence by warriors who would have spat at their feet only a few years ago.

God-King's chosen, God-King's first, God-King's hand, the nods of respect passed to them by warlords like Mouthpiece in passing filled their chest with pride under the weight of its binder, and the trips back to Sanctuary became... harder.

For all they had achieved within the now monstrous in scale COV, the Raiders saw them no differently than they had when they'd first sat alone in Moxxi's. They were still a Bandit, and nothing more. JK was side-eyed, muttered about, treated like an outsider who needed to earn their keep by passing on intel they were risking their life for, all while in the back of their mind being more than aware that they could have this place raised to the ground with a damn WORD. Lilith didn't understand what it meant to be as close to Calypso as they were, that they were beginning to earn his ear.

She wasn't aware that a fucking God cared about their opinion enough to ask for it on long technical rides or when escorting him between meetings, to her, and to the rest of the Raiders, they were still simply a lost native behind a mask that was being handed scraps of decency by people better than them - and the strain of that reality was difficult to ignore. Moxxi tried her best, always there to console and remind them she valued who they were, the beautiful mind they had shared with her in tender moments and long intimate conversations over the last few years, but the insult burned in their gut still.

They weren't just Jak-Knife. They were the God King's chosen, and they were betraying someone who valued them to share internal information on Saints and departments, cashflow and raids, with people who willingly partnered with the Crimson Lance, people who just plain did not seem to understand who they were, what they had earned through sacrifice and blood shed.

But Troy? The longer they spent around Troy the more his own mask began to slip, and the harder it came to see him as any form of enemy. The blessed Father couldn't hide his weak spells or the times illness left him barely able to stand from a bodyguard who was at his side almost every waking moment, there was no way to do so regardless of how much he clearly wished there was. JK saw everything... the spasms, the fainting, heard the whistling of weak lungs when in silence next to the damaged God, saw the black circles under his eyes that the expertly applied makeup he wore could hide at a distance. He'd been aggressive about it at first, vicious and hurtful in his reactions when they'd try and assist, but over time, as they made clear that the mockery and pity he was expecting was not going to come, he'd softened. He'd thanked Jak-Knife one night as they scraped together a fire on the salt flats to chase the bitter cold away and keep their king warm.

A God had looked at them with ice blue eyes that reminded them of a face they could no longer remember, and whispered genuine appreciation for them. How could they continue to betray him. How could they hurt him for people who didn't even count JK as human?

They saw a delicate and sickly side of one of the twin God's that felt wrong to share with the raiders, that left a bad taste in their mouth to discuss with Lilith, so they simply didn't. The rationalised that the raiders did not need to know about the self-doubt or painful loss JK saw crack through Troy's facade in private, the raiders didn't need an update on how one of the twins wasn't healthy, that he could struggle sometimes to get to his feet before an audience, or would need a discreet support from the solid weight of their muscle next to his spindly frame after some events.

Lilith didn't need to know it, and as time passed, JK found they were beginning to keep secrets. Little ones at first, justified under the intel not being valuable, but the ease of witholding useful data only increased. Their position, the growing camaraderie with the COV's grunts and militia, the respect in the eyes of worshippers who looked to the Vanguard all fed into the slow realisation that their loyalty simple did not belong to the Vault Hunters, it was to Moxxi, who loved them. It was to Troy, who every day became closer to the memory of Gutpunch they'd try and visualise on lonely nights, see his crooked smile and cool eyes flicker across a face they could no longer place.

The closer JK got with the man behind the King's mask, the harder it became to give over information to the raiders that had any real tactical value...

And that had been Troy's plan, ever since the day he'd discreetly planted a tracker on them while they'd squinted against the blinding sunlight to first look into the face of a God.

[milasartblog]

An unexpected visit (part 5)

Both Gabriel and Lilith took more time to collect their thoughts and put themselves together. Especially for archangel, whose views were once more broken, but this time almost instantly. He looked at Lilith again.

Gabriel: How did you...meet your human?

Lilith: Well, after no success with the relationship between me and Lucifer, and after several eons and years of ruling Hell, I felt a need of someone that could fill my life with simplicity and honesty. And so I went to a mortal realm. In one of my own houses, I was ordering a pizza and half an hour later, a pizza delivery guy came to my home. That was the day when I got interested in him and so, I kept an eye on him. I felt like he was not an ordinary pizza delivery guy. One day we became friends and for several weeks we were friends with benefits.

Gabriel: I thought that it’s more typical for mortals.

Lilith: Not really~ Anyways, I learned that his name is Jeff and that he had a...difficult relationship with his family. I would say even toxic one. I was watching over them from time to time as learned more and more about his family. They wanted to use him as a tool to get richer and more powerful, while he wanted to live a simple life. And so he left them and became a pizza delivery guy.

Gabriel: Damn, there are still toxic families in this world?

Lilith: Unfortunately, yes. But such choice gave him a chance to live as he wants and be independent from his family.

Gabriel: I see...And how did he guess that you were not a human?

Lilith: It didn’t take too long as my behavior was not like any ordinary woman. But like I said before, he didn’t run away or used his force against me. We had feelings to each other, and one day we had a chat, where I told him about me and he told me about himself. Since then we’re together, and our feelings stay true and strong.

Gabriel: I see....I’m honestly surprised. 

Lilith: That’s okay~ Also, why did you ask me about my human?

Gabriel: I honestly was curious how it happened with you and if it’s different from my situation.

Lilith: Well, if you tell me about your human like I did, we will see the difference~

Gabriel: Fair point. Well, it was honestly happened unexpectedly. I was searching for good flowers to give to Raphael’s wife Rachel as in their family daughter was born and me and Michael wanted to congratulate them. 

Lilith: Aww, that’s so sweet~

Gabriel: I know, right? But in Heaven we could easily pick any flower for it, and so I thought to go to the mortal realm and see if their flowers are different from Heaven. I walked around the town, but couldn’t find anything that would sparkle even my soul. Then, I bumped into one girl accidentally. She was carrying some flowers, and if not my quick reaction, they would fall. We apologized for such accident, but when I looked at her, something changed in me.

Lilith: Like butterflies in your stomach?~

Gabriel: Maybe. But it was something so strong that made me help her carrying flowers to the flower shop, where, I learnt later, she was working. When we got there, I looked around and saw a great variety of flowers. Moreover, as a thank you, she helped me with picking up good flowers for such occasions. Not just randomly picking flowers just to mix them, but with...little sense and symbolism in them. When I thanked her for the help, she told me her name - Iris.

Lilith: That’s a very beautiful name. No wonder you have a crush on her~

Gabriel: I’m still not sure if it’s really a crush. I was watching over her, we even have met each other several times. And later, we became friends.

Lilith: I see. And you still meet each other?

Gabriel: Yeah. And yet I still can’t find the answer to my feelings.

Lilith: No need to~ You know that you like her, that’s the fact~

Gabriel: Maybe yes, maybe no. What if it’s all just a lie. What if that meeting was just an accident.

Lilith: Then why do you keep being with her if it’s all just a lie to you?

Gabriel:....I don’t know anymore. 

He looks down, sighing heavily.

Gabriel: I don’t know what to believe now, Lilith...If our Father’s laws are not perfect, does it mean that we....are not perfect too? Does it mean that...mortals don’t need us? 

Lilith: Don’t say that, silly. If something is not perfect, it doesn’t mean we don’t need them at all. 

Gabriel:...You really think so?

Lilith: Of course I do~ Or else there would be a lot of mortals with demonic powers, or worse. 

Gabriel: Well, true, but our situation is more difficult. Unlike me, your human accepted your nature and your feelings. What if Iris doesn’t? What even if she accepts my nature...but won’t accept my feelings?

Lilith: You know how mortals tend to say: you never know until you try~

Gabriel: But-

Lilith: Love is such thing that can’t be explained by books or other stuff. It’s something we feel inside our bodies and souls. You’re just afraid to do a mistake, afraid to shame your title as an archangel. And yet, look at the progress you did. Such progress is already something, don’t you think?~ Besides, even we can do mistakes when we do something first time, even we learn something from them. Same here with love. Instead of pushing it away, you tried to understand it, and for the divinity it’s a great step through their pride~

She looked at Gabriel with little, but sincere smile. He didn’t like to admit, but her sister told the truth. A demon said the truth to angel, what an unexpected turn of event for him. The memories of the past crossed his mind, the moments where Lilith sometimes cheered up him like this, even tho he didn’t ask her to do it. He smiled a bit, which made Lilith be surprise for a moment, but quickly realized what he was thinking.

Lilith: Thinking of the past?

Gabriel: Huh? Oh, well...yeah. Just remembered how we used to have such chats like now. At that time the problems were not wide-scale, and yet you still wanted to help me when I was confused. I kinda felt bad that I was not skilled enough to do it by myself.

Lilith: No need to. I did it because I felt like doing it~ Besides, we were a family back then.

Gabriel: Yeah...Speaking of the past...

Lilith: Mmm?

Gabriel: Lily...are you...still mad at me? After....

Lilith: After the moment when me and Lucifer became demons?

Gabriel: Yeah, and...after everything we did.

He locked his look on Lilith’s eyes, not expecting anything from her. Lilith was puzzled for a moment, but then realized what he was talking about as giggled softly, which made Gabriel confused.

Lilith: You still think about it?~ Really?~

Gabriel: Well, I can’t help, you know how I always overthink about everything!

Lilith: Hehe, I know~ It’s one of your remarkable features~ Still, if you are curious about it, then no, I’m not~

Gabriel:....Wait, really?

Lilith: Yep~ After all, the past is the past~ It would be not wise of me to stay in the same point, don’t you think?~

Gabriel:...Fair point. But, are you sure? We did so much stuff that were against your and Lucifer’s ideas.

Lilith: And that’s natural. There is no perfect idea, point of view or opinion. That’s what makes us unique and different, but still unite us as a family.

Gabriel took a moment to think as sighed.

Gabriel: You’re right. The past is the past, we can’t come back to it. 

Lilith: Yep~ So, what did you decide for yourself? I mean about Iris.

Gabriel took a moment to think again, analyzing everything that was said in this conversation. He felt that his relationship will take a long time like with Lilith and Jeff, and yet, deep inside he knew that feelings can’t lie. He wants to know more about Iris, he wants to be more with Iris, he wants to protect her, to just hold her hands, be someone she can rely on. But it required serious, maybe even heavy decisions.

Gabriel: It’s still too early to make a clear decision, as I’m still obedient to our Father’s laws. However, I do admit that Iris is important to me. Besides we gave a promise to each other to be good friends, so as an archangel I have no right to break that promise. When the time comes, I will tell her everything...myself.

Lilith: That’s my brother~

She pat him on the shoulder as it made him jump a bit from the surprise. He smiled to Lilith.

Gabriel: But I still can’t tell my brothers about it as I want to be sure they understand me. And hope that they will respect my choice.

Lilith: Like you did with Lucifer?

Gabriel:....I still can’t stand the thought of him doing something to Michael, but as long as Michael is fine, I’m calm.

Lilith: Sure sure~ I know how you can be “calm”~

Gabriel: Hey! Not you too!

She laughed as Gabriel made an irritated face, crossing his arms, which made Lilith laugh more.

Lilith: No need to be an angry hamster, I’m just kidding~

Gabriel: Yeah yeah, sure. Anyways, I think I will go back to Heaven.

Lilith: Aww, already?~ And not staying even for five minutes more?~

Gabriel: Well, I still have some duties to do.

Lilith: Okay, but let me at least show you how Cerberus looks like. So that you won’t have crazy thoughts~

Gabriel got nervous immediately as swallowed hard, already imagining how Cerberus looks like.

Gabriel: Ummm, I think I will live somehow without-

Lilith: Don’t be that stubborn, it’s only one chance to do it while Lucifer is not here~ Come on, let’s go~

He was about to say no, but Lilith grabbed his hand and together they went to the place where Cerberus was resting and chilling. Gabriel got super nervous as prayed that things don’t go too crazy.

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

And that's the next part of the story^^ Gabriel made a not easy decision, but seems like it will take much more time for him to get used to it and to find his inner peace XD Also, how will the meeting with Cerberus go? XD

Lilith belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane

Gabriel belongs to @wildstarfan and @milasartblog (both me)

Okaria et Feria belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane

[beyondconfessor]

Principal Decisions [13/24]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: “Not even a thank you?” Lilith asked before tutting. “Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

N.B.: Also posted on AO3. This is pure fantasy, please suspend your disbelief.

Zelda glared at the nurse. It was in the small hours of the morning, and the young girl, barely out of training, was shivering under her stare, voice shaking as she advised, once again, “a doctor needs to sign you off before we can discharge you.”

“Ridiculous, go and get one then.”

“He’ll be around later,” she said.

Zelda huffed, and the girl, apparently seeing that as an opportune moment, decided to exit the room. Apparently considering her ops for the shift completed.

Honestly, after a bad night’s sleep, the last thing she wanted was to be dealing with the fact that she would need to cancel today’s class––and if things continued in such a way, she might have to cancel tomorrows as well, because apparently, she was entirely reliant on some fucking doctor who hadn’t bothered to check on her since yesterday, to provide permission for her to leave.

There’d also been the whispers of a repeat MRI and CT scan, which was the very last thing she needed. It’d been a very small bleed with a minimal fracture and was likely to be absolutely fine. There was no reason to make such a fuss. After all, she was a grown, fucking woman. She should leave. Get up and leave.

It wasn’t like Lilith had any real power over her. She could just put her shoes on (given that she was dressed in a new set of clothes provided by Hilda) call a cab and take her back home where she’d find her emergency credit card and pay it that way.

And yet she didn’t. She sat on the chair next to the hospital bed, dressed, hair combed, make-up done and waited.

There was a knock on the doorframe then, and then Lilith was entering the room, her handbag in tow.

Zelda stood up, smoothing down her skirt and reached out to take the bag.

“Not even a thank you?” Lilith asked before tutting. “Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

“Thank you,” Zelda said tightly and reached for the bag, only for it to be pulled out of reach. Well, she was hardly going to chase for it.

Crossing her arms, Zelda glared at her, waiting for Lilith’s grin to falter. It didn’t, and instead, Zelda was left to step back and look away, hating how the very sight of Lilith was making her heart beat fast in her chest.

“What do you want, Lilith?”

“Oh, a great many things,” she said, before stepping forward. “How about a proper thank you for finding your bag and bringing it to you.”

“If you had brought it with you in the first place, we wouldn’t be here.”

“I’m going to ignore your bad attitude because you’ve suffered a concussion, but I would be more thankful if I were you. I didn’t have to bring it, I could have waited for you to come out of the hospital and claim it yourself.”

Zelda scoffed. “You are insufferable.”

“And you adore it. Now…” she paused and her bright blue eyes looked at Zelda with wide-eyed innocent, patiently waiting for her.

“Thank you, Lilith. I most appreciate the effort you went to,” she advised flatly, seething at the woman.

“Not at all, happy to do it for my favourite client,” she said, handing the bag over to her.

Zelda snatched it with a roll of her eyes, trying to ignore the growing flutter in her chest as she opened it up. Her phone was there, thankfully. There were a few missed calls but nothing to worry about.

Lilith hovered and Zelda’s eyes flicked up to hers. The woman’s face was no longer mischievous, only curious as she seemed to study the cut on Zelda’s forehead.

Earlier, she’d looked at in the mirror and had been horrified to note how terrible the bruising was. Her face looked positively gaunt, and even the make-up Hilda had brought wasn’t enough to cover how unwell she felt, but it was certainly a mark-up from how she’d been.

“Did the doctors say if you can leave?” Lilith asked.

“No,” she sighed. “And the nurses are saying I might have to get another CT or MRI scan completed, which I don’t see the point in.”

“You were unconscious for the entire hospital ride. And were barely coming in and out when you arrived. I would say there’s significant reason to warrant another test.” She frowned, stepping forward then and Zelda bit back the urge to shrink away.

“I’m fine. I’ll speak to the doctor and get…” she felt woozy all of a sudden and then Lilith’s hands were on her shoulders, pushing her back onto the chair to sit down, concern awash as she looked over Zelda. “I’m fine,” she assured.

“Have you asked for the day off from work?”

“Today only,” she said. “Faustus insisted.”

“Blackwood?” Lilith enquired. “Is he your boss?”

Zelda felt nausea roll in her stomach as she looked at Lilith, and wasn’t sure if it was because Lilith knew Faustus or because she had a concussion. “Please don’t tell me he was a client of yours.”

“He was not, but he was…” Lilith sighed, “We used to run in the same circles a few years back. It’s a long story, but no, he and I were adversaries, nothing more.”

Zelda smiled, feeling the relief rush through her. It was an interesting piece of information nonetheless, but if she were to advise of knowing Lilith, it would likely say more about herself than anything else. It’d be difficult to feign only a professional relationship for Sabrina’s wellbeing if she knew such tantalising secrets about Faustus.

“I’m going to get a nurse.”

“I’m fine,” Zelda said, pushing Lilith’s hand away as she looked away. “It’s just a minor blood pressure problem. Nothing a glass of water won’t fix.”

Lilith gave a disapproving look but reached over to where the jug of water sat and poured her a glass despite her disbelief. Zelda took it, took one sip and then held it in her hands, feeling the embarrassment wash over. She wasn’t a child that needed to be taken care of. She was a grown woman who had a hundred things she needed to do before tomorrow and was already behind on the every growing list of things.

“I’m not going to spurt medical advice, because you clearly won’t listen.”

Zelda huffed. “I know myself.”

“Quite. Well, what I will say is that sometimes taking a break will allow you the ability to get ahead in the work you’re falling behind on. You’ll only break yourself if you keep pushing.”

“I’m not a child,” she said lifting her eyes to glare at the woman. She didn’t care how dark Lilith stared back, she was pushing well over the lines of their relationship. “And you’re not my mother.”

“Stop acting like a child then.”

Zelda stared at the woman, feeling an anger burn but Lilith stepped forward and suddenly Zelda felt very small under the woman’s eyes, and she didn’t like it one bit. Never had anyone’s presence so much as made her tremble since she was a little girl.

She met the stare and glared back. “You’re not my partner,” she advised sharply. “You’re someone’s services I request at the best of times, and my niece’s principal, otherwise. Do not overstep that.”

Lilith’s expression fractured then, and she stepped back. All at once, Zelda realised the mistake she made in her words, and yet she couldn’t find the ability to take it back.

“As you prefer,” Lilith said with a nod of her head. “Well, since you’re all fine here, I suppose I’ll head off to comply with my…principal duties.” And then Lilith had turned on her heel and left, and Zelda was left sitting in the room, feeling the words churn in her stomach.

She hadn’t meant to snap, but Lilith had been pushing further than she should. Honestly, she was not mentally unwell. She was exhausted, yes, overworked, of course, but she was hardly depressed and in need of some shoulder to cry on––despite what the dominatrix may think.

No. What she needed was something else. Perhaps this would be a good break from Lilith. A time to self0reflect and draw away before her feelings became any more tangled.

As it was, the doctor requested another MRI, and then, when that had come back showing that the bleed had stopped, she was permitted to go home, only if someone were to pick her up.

At least now she had her phone and was able to have Hilda arrange to pick her up as discharge papers were supplied to her, with a request to obtain another MRI and CT scan within a week and follow-up with her GP. As well as some standard lines about avoiding cigarettes and alcohol for a while.

“Though perhaps this is an opportunity for you to quit smoking,” the nurse advised. “If you were a non-smoker then you would have been less prone to bleeding from the hit.”

Zelda scoffed, snatching the papers from the nurse and leaving with Hilda. Her sister took to acting like a mother hen, helping her into the car and out of it and despite her snapping that she was hardly an invalid, her sister continued to help her all the way to the parlour where she sat her on the couch with a blanket and went off to make her tea, having apparently already made her soup.

If there was one thing she couldn’t resist, it was her sister’s cooking. It gave her time to contemplate Lilith and her relationship quietly and realised that she’d indulged too long in the service. No matter what…relief she may find from it, it was clear that their emotions were becoming too blurred.

It was time to cease seeing her. She didn’t need to see the woman again, and hardly needed to advise as such. She would avoid booking in anything further.

It seemed simple enough as she managed a headache, increased with light sensitivity. Even still when she returned to her position in the school the following day and managed whispered conversations in the halls as she slowly walked from her office to her lecture hall and then back.

The headaches were awful, and daylight, her computer’s screen and the stress of her work agitated it, but she preferred it to the insistent ache that previously drew under her skin.

At least while she was recovering, it seemed that her sex drive had all but disappeared entirely, leaving her at peace during the night.  

And it seemed as she focused on her work, weeks passed and Shirley returned, resuming her class without so much as a thank you. All she received was a brief email requesting the most recent assignments to be sent back to her––Zelda had already marked them, but complied, relieved to wash her hands from the stress of that particular workload.

But even as she returned to how things were, she was as reliant on Prudence as she’d been beforehand. It seemed that her newfound headaches were some post-concussive effect, even though there was nothing medically wrong with her brain, Zelda’s doctor suggested that perhaps it was a good opportunity to take a break.

Christmas was coming up, the session was ending, she could extend her leave instead of taking on the winter subjects.

At the very least it would give her an opportunity to spend with her family. Zelda complied, placing in her leave to Faustus who complied with a grimace, knowing that he had no say in it otherwise, and Zelda found herself in December watching as Ambrose and Sabrina decorated the Christmas tree.

Hilda and Sabrina had picked it from the Putnam’s, and Harvey had dropped it off, providing a much-needed brightness to the room, especially with the fire.

Although Zelda continued to take it easy––at the instance of Hilda who continued to mother her despite Zelda’s attempts to ward her off––it was nice to sit on the couch, hot cocoa in hand and watch at Sabrina tossed tinsel at Ambrose.

It reminded her of when both of them had been young, and they would decorate the tree together. It’d been far too many years since she’d born witness to the crafting of the Christmas tree, usually working late in the office, so to sit here and watch it brought both nostalgia and the awareness that she’d missed out on a lot.

“Cuz!” Ambrose said, carefully holding an ornament from years long forgotten. “I remember when you made this.”

Sabrina paused, looking at the ceramic ornament. Zelda recalled it too, Sabrina had been barely three years old and had squished the pattern into what she’d assured Zelda was an angel but turned into more of a blob with arms than anything else.

Sabrina frowned at it, turning it around in her hands. “We don’t need to keep this any more,” she said.

“We certainly do,” Zelda said, standing up and taking it from her hands before Sabrina could whisk it away. “This was the first decoration you made. We’re keeping it.”

“Do you have any of Ambrose’s?”

Zelda hummed, looking through the Christmas box, “I don’t think so. Hilda used to do all sorts of crafts with him, but a lot of that was left in England when they came over,” she said, glancing up at her nephew, “and I suspect that the things that were brought had been disappeared away.”

Ambrose flushed, giving a short laugh before shrugging. “Things change,” he said.

Zelda’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled, not pushing it. “So they say,” she said. Taking the decoration gently in grip, she set it up high on the tree, looping it so it was unlikely to fall. “Now, what are we choosing for the top of the tree this year?”

“Last year was the star,” Ambrose said. “And that ended up falling off half a dozen times.”

“We could go with the angel,” Sabrina said, digging it out from the box. The angel was still in its glory, carefully looked after, blowing on a trumpet. It was an old heirloom, but one Zelda wouldn’t mind if it were to disappear. She took it from Sabrina’s hand and turned it around, feeling memories of her childhood fade as she placed it up on the top of the tree.

So be it, new memories. She stood back, admiring the tree. Neither Ambrose nor Sabrina were particularly gifted in decorating anyway, but Zelda was not so needy to require the tree to look like it came out of some hallmark movie.

“Well, with that in order, shall we pack up the boxes and help your Aunt Hilda finish baking for your teachers?”

Sabrina’s school term still had another two weeks remaining until they broke for Christmas, of which there was to be a final football event that she’d agreed to attend. Zelda wasn't sure if it was an important match or not, and had trouble enough trying to keep up with how sports were ranked in any regards, but Sabrina was attending and she would follow.

She hadn’t heard about Theo in some time, however, and as much as she wished to assume that it was due to him settling in the football position, Zelda suspected that he ended up quitting in the end.

It was frustrating, and it burned Zelda more than she wished it did, but in the end, the boys would only torment him further and it would be unfair to put Theo through that.

The day was enjoyable, however. Zelda’s headaches had begun to ease without the stress of work, and she and Sabrina had thankfully ceased arguing for once. Seeing how Sabrina had taken to earning her own income, using the money to go out on dates with Harvey and her friends, Zelda relinquished her ban and agreed to continue paying her her pocket money.

She had expected that it might leave Sabrina to depart from the bookstore, but instead, her niece took to it, seeming to enjoy the work, and given that Hilda had nothing bad to say, Zelda found herself…oddly relieved.

Perhaps she’d made the right decision, and in turn, perhaps she wasn’t a failing guardian to Sabrina.

In the kitchen, they baked gingerbread cookies. Then Ambrose and Sabrina iced them all as Hilda began the preparations for dinner, leaving Zelda to sip at her whiskey and feel a sense of contentment with her family.

She’d missed them. Truly missed them. The past week especially had made her all the more aware of what she’d missed.

“Oh,” Sabrina said, “Um, Aunt Zee? Roz’s family invited me to go skiing with them for the holidays.”

“How soon?” Zelda asked.

“Christmas Eve until January Third?”

Zelda bit back an ache. “So you won’t be here for Christmas or New Years?”

“Well, no, but that’s fine. You’ll have Ambrose and Aunt Hilda.”

Ambrose gave a small noise. “Actually, Luke and I…are planning to celebrate New Years with a couple of friends.”

“Doctor Cee’s hosting a New Years party, you could come and share that with me, Zelds.”

“I’ll pass,” she said, feeling the ache grow in her chest. The last thing she wanted was an overcrowded party with teenagers trying to sneak alcohol. She had enough of that at the University. No, she would stay home, watching the fireworks on the television if need-be and then go to bed. It was hardly a big deal.

“I can cancel,” Sabrina advised softly.

“Do not even think of doing such a thing. Skiing sounds wonderful for you. As I understand it’s a yearly trip for the Walkers.”

Sabrina nodded, a small smile on her lips and Zelda couldn’t help but remember when she’d been so little and had seen the snow for the first time. Zelda remembered making snowmen with Hilda and showing Sabrina how to punt snowballs at Ambrose.

And now her niece was off adventuring with her friends. It’s what she wanted for her.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured.

__________

[mamacleo]

Personal from Mom: the Good Bad Day

CW/TW: Physical distress leading to medium-duty progress, change, adaptation, and growth. Also spiritual stuff. CW: Really damned long. Sorry. I know, it's a chore, but if you follow me and Callie, you know how deeply layered a lot of this stuff is. Nothing extraneous is in there, though, I promise. You know I love labels. Like my winter distress, once called the Winter Monsters, now referred to (for accuracy) as the winter terrors. People who've known me since way back when have seen me struggle with labeling myself. They would tell me not to, and I couldn't really phrase it at the time, but what I needed to say was: no, please, don't ask me to redefine myself according to your perceptions of validity. Please accept that I am like this and help me work through it. So I want a label for the kind of day I am having today. I've been getting them more and more often without my having to try. For lack of anything catchier, I am labeling it a Good Bad Day. The word order is important! It means that there is also such a thing as a Bad Good Day, but they aren't the same. This isn't a gripe day, but this girl is just reporting. I think it's one of my bad pain days, one of those where all the weed in the world won't help. Maybe not that bad, but you may have read my description of the pain at its worst: it literally feels like each and every nerve-laden cell in your body is trapped in a vise and being crushed. Chronic pain sufferers know this day. It's that day where you cannot imagine making yourself move, yet you have to get to the bathroom SOMEhow, and ain't nobody gonna fix your coffee for you. So you do. You wake up in negative spoon territory and somehow you do it, even if "it" comprises only going to the bathroom. Now, I do have an emotional alarm clock, two actually, and their names are Adorable and Rosie. As I told my beautiful bride today, Adorabe gets this look when she realizes when, like today, only one hand is busy, and look old lady, I don't CARE if you're laying on it, I KNOW you got two hands. Let's see the other. Every morning she runs in to wake me up and get attention, and even if it irritates me some mornings, she always wins me over. Rosie comes in next for her morning affection, and...that's the start of a Good Bad Day. I'll sum up because Constant Reader knows the details. There's the pain, and the pain brings weariness. Today's promised partly-sunny day in the 60s is now just the latest in a long couple of weeks of chilly cloudfests. I'm starting to get really tired of them. We're broke for a few days and we need a couple of things. (Luckily not immediate necessities, but.) Things need picked up a bit, but there's no energy for it. I wanted to grill today, but can't see it happening. . And yet, my mood is good. Not just agreeable, but positive. The progesterone, which my love calls my "chill pills," have become the last piece in a 60-year puzzle. Callie and I remembering us joking around last night, some silly humor and some bawdy humor. Me promising that if I feel up to it (I will), I will redesign some pages for her. Realizing that, you know, it's weird, but I actually LIKE bird and squirrel videos for cats. Having a couple funny observations and sharing them. Getting to pet the outside cat, Buddy, when I brought him his breakfast. Adorable is right next to me, napping. My writing skills are in great form today, and I said a couple of things that I felt were more well-written, more helpful than before. Having people reach out just to share this or that with me privately. Feeling content because yesterday, I redefined my purpose in life, and the situation in which we live, in a way that is both rewarding and helpful to my beloved bride. Because that redefinition might not have happened without the exact right intervention at the exact right moment by my pearl, my girl, myErie (Because this is important at the end, I'm gonna sum up what happened that was so bad, Erie had to call. An issue I thought was settled turned out not to be, and that was moving to Cleveland, my girl's home town that she

misses so much. There were levels of significance to it that I just plain couldn't see because of my privilege, but the Chauvin trial brought them all to the front for her. My episodes can be weird. In this case, everything was emotional, and there were some severe conflicts involving resisting some selfish motives while trying my best to look out for her. The emotional issues involved for me triggered my BPD, of course, and the bottom dropped out and I had a really, monstrously bad episode. I isolated badly and was so overwrought, Callie thought I was going to leave. Erie intervened, made perfect sense as always, and sat with us on the phone while we worked through it. Like that, everything is right again. I say again: I will walk in front of her in case of bullets.) , responded to my plea to adopt me (to get his food!) and he asked me if I wanted to be his daughter fo real. And I said yes. So really, my breath left me and I was alive with fear and hope at the same time, and I said: "Thanks, mom." She was more than okay with it. And...Mom has a mom. Mom didn't know how much she needed a mom until one day, this powerful soul, this woman namedLinda , said the exact right thing at the exact right time...and out of nowhere, the urge, the *need,* to say this knocked at the door and took my breath away. I don't exaggerate. The last time I felt this was when my Pop,Greg And yes. She really is a mom. She really is my mom. Just thinking about it takes my breath away again. I waited my entire life, wanting a mom who never existed. And then... See, she said a thing to me that struck me hard for two reasons, and it was not long after I transitioned. It was a picture of modeling a bodice dress and looking happy, and she said, "You have a powerful strength that I'm not sure you even see yourself." It struck me hard because she is not the first to have said this, and she and the first person to say it, when I was 19, are not the only ones who have said it. I capped that and kept it so I would never lose it, and in the hopes that one day I could show it to her and say, hey, I see it now. I'm living it now. It gets amazing sometimes. The other reason it struck me so hard was that, and if she wants to talk about this I would love her to, when I reads those words, I felt something. The other day I talked about the gestalt and the lack of physical distance, and how items and artifacts can be conduits for spirit. The internet is the same way. Someone's words on the screen can be a conduit for your spirits to connect, and I felt it at the time and knew it was a different one than the other spiritual connections. The thing she said, others have said to me, but the thrill that took my breath away was that I could feel her faith. The boss who said that to me when I was 19, he had an expression that was, now that I reflect on it, quite possibly the trigger, THE moment, that things turned around. Because he was the first person to express faith in me. I mean, really, upon examination, I remember people encouraging me, but he was the first one to express faith in me. Damn, I wish I could find him and rock his world. That was what Linda said, too. Across the miles, I felt her faith. Yes, mom, I am going to say it right out loud in case I'm not being clear: you made a difference in my life. I called you mom, and that was where it started. You made my hope grow. (ASIDE: Ahh, it is NOT one of those pain days after all. Hallelujah for herbal medicine.) (Edibles hate it when you talk shit about them and get you back.) So it is a Good Bad Day. Things would probably, ordinarily, make me grumpy today, but I feel content. For today, at least, things are consonant. Nothing is bothering me. I have redefined what I saw as a coming traumatic struggle into the opportunity to guide both of us into a new and more exciting life. We are surrounded by love. The day is gray, but there are sunny days coming. We want for nothing. We're having a handfasting in two months and family will be here. In September, I'll be able, finally, to legally change my name,

and we'll change hers legally at the same time. On top of all of this, I am confident now that the 40 years in the desert is over. There is a sea change happening. You can see it in the resistance against the worst of it by the majority of Americans. The awfulness reached its worst and shocked every decent American, and the people who drove it have lost their credibility outside anyone in their sewing circle. Their influence is now waning. There are good years coming, and much to look forward to. I feel happy, and that's the weirdness that set this all off. Everything is in balance. Of course there will be bad days again. I'm still mentally ill and while it's under as much control as it can be under, it's not under total control. But I'm okay with that. I know they'll happen, but they make the sweet times sweeter. My beautiful, wonderful Lilith, you will be rewarded for all the good you do. I love you. I love our life. I love being who you need. I will do more to be who you want. Mazel tov!

[bigskydreaming]

Lilith Clay is one of those characters that I never ever would actually want to be friends with, because she would be EXHAUSTING.

But as a reader? I adore her, because she is amazing and when allowed to be, hilariously entertaining.

For the record, I have been maintaining for decades....forget your headcanons about Donna being like a big sister to Jason in his Robin years, or all the back and forth about Kory and Roy as Jason’s friends now instead of Dick’s.

No. The true potential....and the true danger....has always been if Lilith had decided to take Jason under her wing.

(On a whim, no doubt, as that’s how she decides most things. including whether or not she feels like getting up and superheroing today or if she’s going to just sleep through the alarm indicating intruders in the Tower and trust the others to handle it. Like if they can’t, they’re probably all going to be killed by the intruders anyway, whether she’s in bed or out of it, and no one’s going to care at that point. Whereas if she doesn’t get at least three more hours of sleep, she’s going to be cranky all day and she absolutely will take it out on everyone. So really, trusting in her friends’ capabilities and ensuring she’s not a cranky bitch at them all day after they’ve just fought off intruders in their own home - when you think about it, really, isn’t this the most noble choice available to her right now? 

Welcome to the mind of Lilith.)

So yes, I maintain the real Titan to worry about Jason catching the attention of, is and always was....Lilith.

Like, the very first time Dick brought Jason to the Tower and introduced him to everyone, it would have been perfectly in character for her to wander into the room deliberately late, managing to somehow look like she was gliding, because she practices that the same way the Batfamily practices walking without making noise. And then ignore everyone else and just zero in on Jason, point a finger straight at him, and intone in the same ringing inflections she uses to tell the team she’s had a vision about the end of the world:

Lilith: Him. I see his potential, just waiting to be unlocked. The Bat knows not what he has there, but I will mold this young man like the Clay from which I take my name, and he will be. A legend.

Jason: ....huh?

Dick, throwing up his arms: This! This is why I didn’t want to bring Jason to the tower. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Bruce just thought I was being a jerk because I’m mad about the Robin thing still, or that I was just being possessive of my team but no. I KNEW putting the two of you in the same room was a bad idea, and it was going to bite me in the ass big time. I even told Donna this was going to happen.

Donna: Its true, he did. I can confirm.

Lilith: Look, Dick, I just really really think he has a lot of potential and there’s a lot I can teach him and I promise I’ll be super careful with him and I won’t break him...

Dick: See, its the fact that you think “I won’t break him” is a legitimate reassurance to make about being around a thirteen year old that concerns me. Along with fifteen million other things.

Lilith: Ugh. Fine. Well if you’re gonna be a little bitch about it, I might as well tell you I’ve seen a great calamity coming, and he’s going to play an important role in it and only I can make sure he’s prepared in the way he has to be, or it could mean the end of everything! Now is not the time to be all Neurotically Overprotective Bat Big Brother, Dick, the fate of the world is at stake!

Dick: Well when you put it that way....I don’t believe you.

Lilith: Great, so now you’re calling me a liar?

Wally: You lie all the time, Lil. Just last week you told me I was going to die before the end of the year because you were mad I recorded over your Real Housewives on the DVR.

Lilith: Stay out of this Wally or I’ll prove myself right.

Dick: Nooooot helping your case, Lil.

Lilith: Okay fine, but I only lie about stuff I don’t care about. This is obviously different!

Jason unobtrusively sidles over to Garth, whose usual calm face alongside the chaotic back and forths of his teammates makes him stand out as the clear island of sanity in the room.

I mean, Jason’s totally wrong on that count, Garth’s as ridiculous as the rest of the OG Titans and Lilith. He just has a really great poker face.

Jason: I think I just figured out why Dick labeled the bottle of Ibuprofen in his bathroom “Lilith Pills.” So is this like...should I be worried about her uttering some Chosen One prophecy sounding shit, or is she just full of shit like Dick’s saying?

Garth, considering the matter gravely, so as not to give Jason the wrong idea. Just. Its hard to know what would be the wrong idea here.

Garth: The problem is, with Lilith, those things aren’t as mutually exclusive as one might hope.

Jason: Oh. So she might be for real? I knew one of Dick’s teammates was a psychic and had visions sometimes, but Bruce’s face did that twisty thing when he mentioned that. Like, where he looks like he just took a shot of some bad vodka and that means he doesn’t believe someone’s for real but he can’t prove it. But also, sometimes he only looks like that because he just doesn’t like that someone’s for real and he can’t prove otherwise.

Garth: Good eye. If you’ve picked up on that already, you’re clearly insightful. That’s very good. You’ll need it, in this place. And yes, Lilith is legitimately a precognitive and does have visions of the future sometimes. Its just...

Jason: Its just what?

Garth squeezing out the words reluctantly because he doesn’t like speaking ill of his teammates, even though Lilith absolutely knows her own reputation and sculpted it with zeal as she says remaining unpredictable is the key to never being taken for granted...

Garth: Its just that Lilith is a bit like Cassandra of Troy....if Cassandra had prophesied the Trojan War and nobody believed her but the reason was not because of some divine curse, but because Cassandra had a bad habit of saying things like “We should invade Greece first or else they’re going to invade us,” because she was bored.

Jason: ...gotcha.

Garth: And I’m not saying Lil is....I don’t mean she does it on that kind of scale....so much as just...an example of that kind of thing. So to speak.

Jason: So listen to everything Lilith says, but take everything she says with several grains of salt, and as soon as you’ve got some free time, maybe examine those grains of salt under a high-powered microscope just to be on the safe side.

Garth: Exactly. Congratulations, you’re now as prepared to survive Lilith as anyone can be.

Jason: Survive, huh?

Garth: We’re all still kind of hoping she’ll grow into being responsible with her powers while accepting this might just be her version of being responsible with her powers.

Jason: I am maybe no longer as jealous of Dick being the leader of his own team.

Garth: Hey, then you’ve already got your big brother beat. It took us three years before he’d admit regretting he ever volunteered to be team leader.

Anywho....

Buckle in, because I’m in a Lilith mood this week, so am gonna get lengthy about her and her appeal as a character to me, lol.

Like, the first thing you gotta understand about Lilith, is she is the uncontested reigning queen of drama. And don’t even try and come for her crown. She will destroy you. Dramatically.

This is a woman who repeatedly makes herself costumes that have a full on cloak - not a cape, but a CLOAK - so that when she flares it dramatically, its not like a sheet of fabric that’s normally hanging from her back but now swishes around her front, no, she’s got a full on CLOAK that when it flares dramatically, the whole damn thing is moving and swishing and flying every which way. 

And because that isn’t enough, she also makes a point to have a hood - and not just a cast shadows covering your face hood, a full on DROWN EVERYTHING WITHIN THAT HOOD IN TOTAL DARKNESS Hood. The kind of Aesthetic that doesn’t just happen naturally with hoods. You have to have that shit custom made.

And does she need this hood for any particular reason? Is her secret identity super top secret? No. It is not. She barely ever even has one. Her civilian name is no big deal if it gets out.

Look, she just really needs the hood, okay.

And sure, one time she came back after being away from the Titans for a few years, and pretended to be a complete stranger who didn’t identify herself as ‘your old pal Lilith” and refused to divulge any personal details, or like....go anywhere without her full cloak and hood identity-shrouding regalia.

And did she need to hide her identity and be super secret hush hush for any particular reason? No, she did not.

Look, she just really didn’t want to tell anybody who she was, cuz then it’d be a whole thing and everyone would be like omg where have you been, tell us everything, and can’t a girl just wanna fight bad guys and save the world and just show up and then clock out and keep it professional? Like, she was just having that kind of a week, is all.

If that week lasted about two years, well that’s the calendar’s fault, not hers.

This is a woman whose base powerset has always been telepathy with a side of apocalyptic visions, but beyond that has gained additional powers at various points over the years.

Like telekinesis. Which she legit, literally had, spelled out definitively in canon as an ability of hers, which she had and could use.

But that she only ever used to levitate. 

Thus allowing her to hover. Dramatically. In her cloak and hood. At all times. For no reason.

To be perfectly, abundantly clear: she could fly, but did she fly? Nah. Instead she’s like “is it not enough to just use one’s telekinesis to merely hover in place above everyone else? Dramatically?”

Or teleportation. That was another power she acquired randomly at one point. Mostly inexplicably.

And which she only ever used to teleport into a crowded room so she could impart Urgent Tidings of DOOM. Or to teleport out of a crowded room when people got a little too noisy with the whole “can you give us any more details? A time frame, a context, a guest list for this particular doomsday?” She’s like, look, I just had the vision, its not like I took notes, I’m not some kind of nerd. UGH.

And then dramatically teleporting out of the room with a dramatic swirl of her dramatic cloak.

There were hardly any limitations given for her teleportation, given that there was hardly any context ever given for her teleportation, but there was no sign of any particular limit to how far she could teleport or if she could take anyone with her.

Was this ever explored as a possible advantage for the whole team to make use of in some way? No. But given that its Lilith, its actually NOT a plothole that noted strategist and master tactician Dick Grayson at no point is ever shown asking Lil if they could try seeing if she could teleport with someone else.

See, because Lilith doesn’t LIKE when people know exactly what she can do.

Because then they have the pesky habit of like....asking her to do them.

That, she does not care for.

So those conversations would probably have gone something like this.

Dick: Lilith, do you think you could teleport with someone else? If you could teleport the whole team, that would be very useful to know.

Lilith: So what is it about me, exactly, that makes you look at me and think: this is a soccer mom van? Is it my hair? My posture? Or do I just give off a certain vibe?

Dick: That wasn’t....*sigh* Never mind.

Or....

Dick: Lilith, do you think you could teleport from the Tower here to Gotham?

Lilith: I’m sorry, do I work for you? Am I getting paid? No, no and no to the power of I’m trying to take a nap here. You can take an actual cab home like any normal person, I do not come in shades of yellow and I never go beep-beep.

Dick: I wasn’t asking you to...look, I’m purely trying to establish a baseline for your teleportation.

Lilith: And I’m purely trying to establish a hard line for respecting my right to privacy. You don’t need to know every little thing about me and my powers just so you can jot that down in your little Bat Trapper-Keeper notebook where you anally note every other thing nobody actually needs to know, like a record of your poops.

Dick: I don’t do that....no. Nope. Not doing this.

Lilith: Well is there a reason you’re keeping me from sleeping then? Some of us actually need a certain number of hours of rest to function. We don’t all hang upside down in coffins once a week while our Bat-butler tops off our tanks with IVs of blood.

Dick: Its the middle of the day, you’re in the common room, and you’ve been watching a Real Housewives marathon for the last four hours.

Lilith: Oh, so now you’ve been spying on me this whole time? Where does it end, Dick? Where. Does. It. End.

Dick: Never mind. I just realized I’m not getting paid for this either. I’m gonna go do something productive, like bang my head against a wall.

And then he’d leave while regretting everything, and Lilith would settle back onto the couch smirking because she’s not actually a terrible person and refrains from doing shit like that in actual high stakes situations, but at any other time, successfully running out the clock on Dick Grayson’s Bat-tier patience is like, Peak Entertainment in her book. Wally meanwhile has been sitting on the couch unacknowledged the whole time.

Wally: Why are you like this.

Lilith *shrugging*: I blame my mother.

Wally: You don’t even know who your parents are.

Lilith: Way to rub it in, West! You wanna go? Huh?

Or one more for good measure....

The Titans could be in the middle of a battle far enough away from the Tower they had to take their jet to get there....and out of nowhere, Lilith would teleport in mid-battle, hovering just overhead, and conveniently appearing right between Roy and a villain who’d been sneaking up on him but now was stumbling back in shock and then is backhanded through a building all the way on the other side of the street by Donna, who also only noticed him when Lilith’s arrival drew everyone’s attention there.

Lilith to Roy, whilst hovering (dramatically): I just saved your life there. You’re welcome. You owe me now, but in a few years you’re going to have a super hot brother and if you get him to go out with me, I’ll call us even.

Roy: ....I don’t know what to do with that.

Lilith: There’s a good chance he’s gay, but he could just as easily be bi. Hard to say. The spirits aren’t big on outing people years ahead of schedule.

Roy: Yeah that doesn’t help any.

Lilith: That sounds like a you problem then. Well, my work here is done. 

Lilith then proceeds to teleport away. The battle is not actually over yet.

And then of course, we can’t forget that time she got light and fire powers.

Which.

I feel like by this point, I probably don’t have to spell out the hazards of pyrokinetic Lilith.

That of course, led to what at the time was thought to be the culmination of Lilith’s lifelong quest to figure out where she came from and who her parents were.

Because of course Lilith’s backstory has to be as dramatic as everything else about her, this quest took the whole team to Mt. Olympus itself.

Where it was established that Lilith’s development of light and fire abilities were because she was finally coming into her true power...as the daughter of one of the Titans of old....the Titaness of the sun, who had conceived Lilith as a weapon she intended to use to kill all the Olympian gods so she and the other Titans could reclaim their thrones.

Y’know. As one does. Some parents have kids to continue the family name, some for the tax breaks, and some to assassinate their other kids, the Greek gods. No big deal.

Anyway. There is a case to be made that ridiculously high parental expectations are a big part of why Lilith is Like That.

Granted, she was Like That long before she even knew who these parents were, let alone their expectations, but perhaps parental expectations this ridiculously high transcend the usual ordering of time and space. Who can say, really.

Of course, despite how dramatic and difficult Lilith can be at times, and the zeal with which she occasionally torments others whose only real crime was Existing Within Her Vicinity And Thus Totally A Valid Target....

Like, her heart has always always always been in the right place. She is a hero through and through, and has never wavered from doing the right thing when it really matters, or protecting people. 

So needless to say, she wasn’t exactly on board with her long lost mom’s life plan for her. Even if that argument did veer more towards “You made me grow up on Earth and think you still get a vote in how I live my life? Hah! Do you have any idea how much Earth sucks?”

Her teammates, who all live on Earth: Hey!

Lilith: What? Oh shut up, you all know its true. Don’t @ me, I’m right.

(Another missed opportunity that I maintain would be perfectly in character for her...I like to imagine that Lilith’s visions sometimes let her glimpse memes and pop culture references years before they become a thing, and so she’s always making references no one else gets and when they call her on it, she insists they’ll get it someday, its not her fault she’s a trend precursor rather than a follower. And of course, the references she makes are only actual memes from the future some of the time. The other times she’s just pulling them out of her ass to see if she can get them to catch on with anyone).

Anyway, Lilith’s overbearing mom, who absolutely is one hundred percent the source of her daughter’s Drama, if that is at all something that can be passed down as a hereditary trait....of course tries to make Lilith play ball.

Dick, flopping down right on the spot, wishing he had popcorn: Oh my god, someone who isn’t me trying to get Lil to do what they want her to do and with not a chance in hell of succeeding. You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment. Nobody talk during the movie, I need to savor every second of this.

Of course, everyone who’s ever been in a room with Lilith already knew how that movie was going to end, so ultimately Lilith’s evil Titan mom and her nefarious plots were defeated by her daughter’s Obstinacy.

That didn’t mean, however, that repercussions of Lilith’s newly revealed origins didn’t linger.

Dramatically.

Lilith: Anyway, so that’s what I think we should do next. So hop to it, Titans! Let’s get a move on.

The rest of the Titans sit around their living room eating breakfast and watching the TV and just in general not budging.

Wally: And you suddenly think you’re in charge because...why? Exactly?

Lilith: Our team is the Titans? I am an actual Titan? It’s literally right there in the name. C’mon, Wally, look alive. Irony isn’t a good enough reason for you to be this slow on the uptake.

Wally: Anyone else wanna field this one?

Roy: Lil, don’t take this the wrong way, because I love you to pieces despite your lifelong commitment to playing Devil’s Advocate on behalf of all the reasons we shouldn’t....

Garth: Great start Roy.

Roy: But the day you’re calling the shots around here is the day I tender my resignation and leave a Roy-shaped hole in the wall as I flee and seek sanctuary with the JSA, the JLA, the Green Lantern Corps....hell, even Bruce.

Lilith: How dare you say such things to me, a celestial being.

Dick: Lil, in the interest of saving time and getting you to move so I can actually see the TV, now would be a perfect occasion to look into the future and see what the chances are of us actually putting you in charge.

Lilith, flopping down on the couch: Oh never mind, I already knew that, and its not like I even actually want the stupid job anyway. Look how grumpy it makes you, and you have way more patience than I do. I just wanted to see how far I could push it. I’m booooooored. 

Garth: You do know our TV is rigged to get reception from even other planets, right? We can watch pretty much any entertainment program in the galaxy with this thing.

Lilith: Yes, but none of them have me, so its like, what’s the point, y’know?

Wally: Well do you mind letting us keep watching it at least? We do have lower standards, after all.

Lilith: Fine, whatever. I’ll just...exist, I guess.

Two minutes later...

Lilith: Hey, Donna’s an Amazon and I’m a Titan so that still makes me Donna’s boss at least, right?

All of them, in unison: NO.

And then of course, ultimately it was revealed that all of that backstory was a lie and Lilith’s real parents are both normal humans and she’s just a psychic.

Wally: You mean we went through all of that for nothing? And put up with Lil lording being a demigoddess over us for years?

Lilith: Hey, you still got a free all expenses paid trip to Mt. Olympus out of it, so you’re welcome, and you still owe me. Don’t make me sabotage your meet-cute with the woman you’re gonna marry. I’ll do it. I’ll do it so hard, she’ll think she’s allergic to you.

Wally: ...wait, does that mean I’m not going to marry Frances?

Donna: Oh Wally. You didn’t really ever think you were going to marry Frances, did you?

Wally: No, I guess not. She never really clicked with the rest of you, and to be honest I don’t think any of us would ever work out with someone who didn’t get along with the group.

Donna: ....that was a dig at me, wasn’t it.

Wally: What? No! I swear. I literally just forgot Terry existed for a second there.

Roy: Lucky bitch.

Yes. Lilith wears the title of Drama Queen with PRIDE. Its the entire basis of her claim to being royalty, after all, and no, that’s not at all how that works either, but do you want to try telling that to the woman who can and will get the Lamb Chop’s sing along song stuck in your head until it drives you insane? 

One does not simply cross Lilith and get away with it, much in the same way as one does not simply walk into Mordor. 

No, one should stock up on Plot Armor, magic rings and immortal wizard companions before even making the attempt, expect to be spotted by the all-seeing, all-knowing Eye of Sauron Lilith from the moment you even try and pull some fuckwittery within her domain, and make peace with the 90% chance this will ultimately all end in a slow motion fall to a fiery demise in a volcano with a super ominous name anyway.

Like, speaking of ominous, let’s note the fact that this is a woman whose psychic powers are at best 10% precognition, comparative to their being 90% telepathy. When picking the only codename she’s ever used, did she decide to go with something that focused on the majority shareholder of her powerset, her status as one of the most powerful telepaths in the DC universe? Something like Esper or Psyche or Brainstorm or like, idek, Sir Thinks-A-Lot?

No. No she did not.

Instead she went with Omen.

(And even that was probably only because the other Titans wouldn’t let her just flat out call herself something with Doom right in the name, on the grounds that would make most people assume she was a supervillain. To which she probably replied something like “Well that’s because most people are dumb and that’s why I don’t like most of them. Why am I even a superhero again?” She’d frame it like a real question she was asking, fully expecting an answer, but then she’d wander off while they were still trying to come up with a response to that because she’s bored now and also she doesn’t really care. Being a hero for her wasn’t always a vocation or calling like it was for the other Titans. It was more like she figured “Eh, I have superpowers and no other major life ambitions, might as well be a superhero. I guess.”)

So yeah, screw the telepathy, she’s like, “Call me Omen.”

An omen for whom, people often want to know? Just how exactly is that name meant to be taken? Is she an omen for the people the Titans try and protect, meant as an aid, to help avert some terrible fate that would otherwise befall them? Or is it meant as like, she’s an omen of doom for the bad guys they fight, a forewarning that thirty seconds from now, the Titans will be kicking their asses? 

Or maybe its meant to indicate she’s an omen as to the fate of the world, and her career as a superhero is really her attempt to avert one of the terrible apocalypses she foretells every time she pops back up after a superhero sabbatical and says “Hello, valued friends and comrades. Tis I, the unfortunate bearer of grim tidings. The fate of the world once more rests in our hands, and if we are to have any hope of saving it, we gotta take a road trip. I call shotgun.”

Donna: “You know Lil, you don’t actually have to show up with an apocalypse we have to avert, whenever you get bored or lonely and want back on the team again. You could just say hey guys, I’m back, what’s for dinner.”

Lilith: Wow Donna, I guess you don’t care about the fate of all humanity, since I am trying to prophesy here and you’re totally killing the ambiance and its ticking the spirit world off and messing with my connection to it.

Donna: You don’t have a connection to any spirit world, you drama queen. You’re a psychic who has precognitive dreams sometimes which means whatever you came here to warn us about, you already saw and definitely won’t have an update until you, y’know. Go to sleep again.

Lilith: Umm, excuse you Miss Know It All, that’s not even remotely how my visions work.

Donna; That’s literally what you told us about how they worked. 

Lilith: Well I was lying, obviously.

Donna: Why would you have lied?

Lilith: Because I do that sometimes. Are we really at all unclear on that by this point?

Donna: Right. And, you do that, why again?

Lilith: I don’t know, Donna. There you go again, always expecting me to have an answer to every single one of life’s little mysteries. Maybe some things just aren’t meant to be understood, did you ever consider that? Like, why is Dick so inexplicably drawn to redheads and yet he’s never once hit on me, a Known Redhead? If a tree falls in the forest and nobody’s around to hear it, does anybody honestly care? God, is the universe allowed to keep a little of its mystique? Is that okay with everyone?

Dick: If I could cut in for a second. Lil, just to clarify, you’re not lying about this apocalyptic vision for any mysterious reason that’s of course, undoubtedly beyond our ken. Correct?

Lilith: Obviously. I never lie about the end of the world, Dick.

Dick: Great. And just for clarity’s sake, the difference there, that makes that a no-lie zone would be....

Lilith: These end of the world situations always end up involving a lot of work for me, and would I do that much work for anything less than the end of the world?

Wally: Yeah that checks out.

Lilith: You’re going to ski straight off a cliff and win a Darwin Award for how stupid your death is.

Wally: Hah hah, joke’s on you, you already tried using that one on me and I’ve made my peace with it.

Lilith: Dammit.

Dick: Okay. And since we just established you’ve made up so many fake deaths for Wally over the years that you’re actually recycling old ones at this point, I gotta ask, one more time, just for complete clarity....so the intel about your vision is one hundred percent down to the letter accurate, to the best of your recollection?

Lilith: Oh. Well if you’re going to be technical about it, I might have embellished a little here and there. But that’s just about the aesthetic.

Dick: ....the aesthetic?

Lilith: Just because Destiny decided to make me its glorified secretary and insists on me reading off the minutes of each and every celestial meeting about “Should we end all existence yet, yay or nay,” that doesn’t mean I have to be boring about it.

Dick: I miss your fake mom.

[dragonologist-phd]

Prodigy: Chapter 3

Sometimes, a family is three deadly Archons who care about each other a little more than they’d ever be able to admit.

(AO3)

Lilith cursed under her breath as she ruined yet another piece of parchment. With a heavy sigh, she fished another page from her pack and began the letter again.

Archon Tunon,

Allow me to express my deep appreciation for this opportunity…

She got further this time, almost to the end. The words stung her pride as she wrote them, and her grip on the quill left tremors in the handwriting. But the letter was readable and suitably respectful and she got all the way to the words your faithful servant before her temper flared and electricity slipped from her fingertips in an angry spark, leaving the letter torched just where her signature should go.

Lilith bit her lip to keep from cursing loud enough to wake the whole camp. That was the sixth paper she’d ruined trying to respond to Archon Tunon. It had been getting harder lately to play her part with him; she was ready for more than the role of an obedient Fatebinder who jumped at his call. Now that he had sent her to Vendrien’s Well with an Edict, fully expecting her to di in the process, it was almost impossible.

Almost. She could still do it, just a little while longer. She could pretend this mission was an honor and recite the lines that kept her on his good side. Because whatever Tunon thought, Lilith had no intentions of dying here. And when she returned to Court, she would need to make sure that Tunon had no reason to distrust her any more than he already did.

So Lilith steadied herself, picked up the quill, and started once again.

Of course, all of her hard work could be for nothing. The mere fact that she had been sent on this mission could mean that Tunon was looking for proper ways to get rid of her. In a way, it was a compliment; it meant he took her seriously. And she would show him that he was correct in doing so. She would sort out this mess between the Disfavored and the Chorus, she would reclaim these lands for Kyros, and she would return to Court with a new success to her name. Tunon would appear pleased, even if he secretly hoped for her failure, Kyros would know the victory was because of her, and Bleden Mark might even show his face for some sarcastic approval.

Lilith wondered if Mark had known about the Edict. If he had chosen not to tell her anything. She had to admit, it wouldn’t surprise her if he had. That was his way, the way of all the Archons. Secrets and manipulations. She knew the game and could play it well enough, hence the fawning letter to Tunon that she finally managed to finish with burning to a crisp.

Still, it was a disappointing thought; and even more disappointing was the idea that she might have thought, even subconsciously, that she could depend on him. Work with him? Certainly. But trust him?

That was a mistake Lilith was far too smart to make.

  Bleden Mark didn’t disagree with the logic behind the Edict. Between the oathbreakers and the arguing Archons, the Tiers could use a good reminder of their overlord’s power. And it was always fun to watch the chaos that followed in the wake of an Edict’s destruction.

Hy just wished Tunon has chosen a different Fatebinder to make the proclamation.

It wasn’t that he felt sentimentality towards Lilith in particular; at least, no more than he did his favorite dagger. He just didn’t want all those years of work to be wasted by her getting killed off so soon.

But Tunon has made his decision, and to be fair, it wasn’t completely unfounded. Lilith had experience dealing with both armies involved in this mess, and with the people of the Tiers. She had proven capable with every other task she had been given. And while the tension in the land was unmistakably brewing, it hadn’t come to a boil just yet. Now wasn’t the time to bite back against this particular Archon’s hand.

So Mark held his tongue and watched, as he always did. Lilith was young and ambitious, but she was no fool; if there was a winning strategy to be found in the Tiers, she would find it. Or she would fail and prove that she had never learned anything from Mark after all. Either way, there was nothing to do but wait.

Tunon expected her to never return. Mark knew that much. Mark also knew the Archon of Justice was underestimating his Fatebinder.

And sure enough, the day finally came when the land shook with the realization of a resolved Edict, and it was not long after that when Lilith strode into Tunon’s Court, haughty as ever and very much alive.

Tunon had many questions, of course, and she answered each with a steady confidence while the other members of the Court looked on with curiosity. Before, Lilith had been relatively well-known and respected for her part in the Conquest; now, she was truly an object of interest. And not only her, but also the odd entourage that had followed her to Court: a woman wearing the colors of the Scarlet Chorus who stared daggers at the people around her, a Sage who managed to avoid eye contact completely by keeping his nose buried in a scroll, and a strange figure encased completely in rusted steel.

Bleden Mark sized them all up from the shadows, grinning to himself as his interest built. What have you been up to, kid?

Tunon’s interrogation wouldn’t get to the truth of that; Lilith knew how the Court worked too well to truly speak her mind. Mark would need to ask her himself.

He waited until she had finished the rest of her business, keeping an eye from dark corners as she made her rounds of the Court. Only when she approached the exit did he pull away from the dim grayness and step into the open air.

“Welcome back, kid.”

She managed not to startle at his sudden appearance- she’d been getting better at that lately- and simply raised an eyebrow in his direction. “If it isn’t the Archon of the Elderly. I was wondering when you would show up.”

Her voice was hard as stone, and after a first cursory glance in his direction she looked stubbornly away. Mark should have expected her first day back would not be an easy one; not with the way the Court had thrown her to the sharks. Instead of acknowledging her tone, he only snorted at her comment. “Is that supposed to wound me? If so, you’ll need to try harder than that. You’re still not half as impressive as you think you are.”

“And yet still twice as impressive as most of Tunon’s other lackeys,” she answered with a shrug.

“Always with a smart answer,” Mark said, shaking his head as he grinned. “But I guess you’re not entirely wrong. Especially after that little trick you pulled with the Spire.”

Lilith lifted her chin, and despite her air of lofty indifference, a hint of a smile tugged at her lips. Whether or not she was angry with Mark, she always did appreciate acknowledgement of her abilities.

“Of course,” Mark continued, “You also cause more of a ruckus than any other lackey.”

The smile disappeared. “Enough of a ruckus to make your list of problems?”

“What else did you expect after putting yourself on the map like that?” Mark grinned sharply even as Lilith’s expression darkened. “Oh, don’t look so somber. I thought you would be flattered that Tunon thinks you’re important enough to be a problem.”

“It’s not that,” she said shortly. “It’s just that it can be difficult to get stuff done when he’s keeping watch on me.”

Mark considered that for a moment, and then- quickly, before he could question his own judgement- slipped the bracer off his arm and tossed it to Lilith. “This might help with that.”

She caught it on instinct, blinking down at it in surprise. Even if she weren’t a student of the arcane, it would have been hard for her to miss that essence of shadows imbued in the bracer. For a moment her eyes flickered between him and the gift, intrigued but cautious. “You’re not usually known for your generosity. What’s the catch?”

“No catch- not this time, at least.” She still didn’t look very convinced, and Mark couldn’t help but grin at her suspicion. That’s my girl.

“I like you, kid,” he said, offering her another sharp grin. “And as amusing as it would have been to watch that Edict drop, I guess I’m glad you’re alive.”

A storm cloud passed over Lilith’s face. “That’s why you let Tunon try to sacrifice me to the Edict.”

Mark paused at that. It wasn’t as if there was anything he could say to comfort Lilith. Comfort was a rare thing in a place like this. And she was right; he’d let Tunon make this gamble, because stopping him would put Mark in a dangerous position that he wasn’t yet ready to be in.

So he simply shrugged and said, “I do what I can, kid. Just like you. But none of us can do everything.”

Lilith glared at him a little longer, and for a moment Mark thought she would hurl the bracer back at him. But after a long moment she let out a deep breath and slipped the bracer on her arm. “Yeah. We do what we can.”

  Lethian’s Crossing was safe. That was why Sirin had chosen it as her place to settle for the last few years. It was safe, familiar, out of the way, filled with people of weak wills to make sure she was well cared for.

It was also utterly boring.

Sirin hadn’t minded at first. In fact, it had been a nice change of pace after the Conquest. No demands from the Court, no battlefields, no Nerat to control her. For a while, it was bliss. She’d set herself up in one of the nicer homes of the settlement and quickly gathered herself a flock of people to see to her needs.

But as the months passed, the novelty began to wear off. Sirin had all that she wanted- a devoted following and a place away from the other Archons. But she was still left feeling restless.

It was, she decided, the headdress. That cursed headdress still leashed her, and no matter how far from Nerat she got she would never be truly free until it was gone. But she’d already tried every trick she knew of to release her, and none of it had ever worked.

And then, out of the blue, who should walk into her little home but the Fatebinder Lilith. Sirin had heard all the rumors about the Fatebinder and the Spires; as inconvenient as this visit was, she couldn’t help but be curious.

“To what do I owe this incredible honor, Fatebinder?” Sirin asked imperiously as Lilith approached her stage, flanked by a strange combination of companions. Sirin allowed her own crowd to arrange themselves around her, close enough to remind the other woman that she wasn’t defenseless here. “Is Tunon throwing another one of his tantrums trying to find me?”

“Tunon doesn’t care about you,” Lilith answered shortly. She looked around the crows with a bored disapproval, as if this whole arrangement were beneath her. “Not enough to send anyone looking, anyway. But seeing as I may have need of these town’s resources in the future, and you currently have them all tied up in waiting on you hand and foot, I thought I’d see if you and I could reach an agreement.”

Sirin laughed, letting the melodic sound echo around the room. Her admirers edged slightly closer, although Lilith remained unimpressed. She’d always been resistant to Sirin’s charms…but then again, Sirin had never put forth all her effort into trying to bend the Fatebinder’s will. She tilted her head, feeling the strange, balanced weight of the headdress as studied Lilith. The Fatebinder was known for her prowess with magic, and now she had awoken something within the Spires. Perhaps…

“Actually…” Sirin said, letting her powers seep through the melody of her voice. “There is something you can help me with.”

She took a step closer to Lilith. The companions behind her tensed, but Sirin ignored them; Lilith was clearly the leader here, which mean they weren’t important and therefore beneath Sirin’s notice. Instead, she directed all of her magic towards the Fatebinder, pushing as hard as she could against the iron grip of her headdress.

“Remove. My. Helmet.”

Lilith’s eyes closed- but only for a moment. They snapped open seconds later, icy and yet somewhat amused. “That’s enough, Sirin.”

Sirin let out a deep breath, partly in disappointment, and partly in exhaustion as she eased back on her straining powers. “Really? Nothing at all?”

Lilith laughed- a short, mocking sound. “I’ve been dealing with magic longer than you’ve alive. Don’t be so surprised I’m able to resist your little songs.”

“What can I say?” Sirin asked. “I’m the Songbird. That’s what I do.” She sighed, letting her gaze shift to the controlled townspeople. Even after stretching herself so thing in her attempt against Lilith, they still looked at her with devotion. She’d trained them well, after all.

Lilith looked around, her expression still unreadable, and added, “Even if it worked, I couldn’t have helped. That helmet is beyond my current means.”

Sirin huffed. “If you say so- although I shouldn’t have expected more. If I haven’t figured out a way to remove it, I doubt you could.” She paused, and flashed Lilith an innocent smile. “Unless the rumors are true, and that Spire changed you somehow?”

Something flashed in Lilith’s eyes- whether temper or suspicion, Sirin couldn’t quite tell. But it was gone in an instant, and Lilith replied, “The Spires can’t help you, and whatever power they gave me is none of your concern.”

“Then why are you here?” Sirin demanded. “You can’t help me, I can’t help you. I’ve been doing just fine taking care of myself here, so leave me alone and run back to the Archon. You won’t bother me, and I won’t bother you.”

Sirin expected Lilith to jump at that deal; she’d always been happy to avoid her before. But her words were met with silence, and from Lilith’s furrowed brow Sirin could tell the Fatebinder was thinking on something. Probably how she could get the best deal selling out Sirin’s location to Tunon or Nerat.

But Sirin wouldn’t go down that easily, she wouldn’t, she would turn the townspeople and all of Lilith’s people against her, she would burn this town to the ground before she went back to the Scarlet Chorus-

“Come with me,” Lilith said, and it took a moment for the words to sink in.

“What?”

“Come with me,” Lilith said again. “Use your powers for something worthwhile. Or stay here and be a petulant little kid playing with your toys. I don’t care.” She paused. “But I think you care. And I think you know that you have more potential than this.”

Sirin almost refused on instinct. But…she didn’t know how much longer she could away with this. And the Fatebinder was a wealth of knowledge on arcana. She said the Spires couldn’t help, but maybe she just hadn’t figured them out yet. Maybe- just maybe- she could help Sirin’s predicament, if Sirin got on her good side.

She wasn’t really sure Lilith had a good side. She was likely just another person looking to exploit Sirin’s gift. Everyone wanted to exploit her gift; that was a lesson Sirin had learned all too well. But at least Lilith wasn’t Tunon or Nerat.

“Very well,” Sirin said loftily, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “I will allow you the glorious gift of my presence. It’s better than dying of boredom in this backwater hole.”

  Lilith watched Sirin out of the corner of her eye as the left Lethian’s Crossing. The young Archon actually seemed excited as they left the town behind. She barely seemed to notice the wary glances from Landry and Verse, or that her ridiculous flowing skirt were already collecting dirt and dust from the worn path.

She would need better attire for the road. And she would need an excuse for Tunon as to why she was with Lilith when he inevitably found out.

Lilith didn’t know why she was going through all this trouble. The girl was the same brat as ever, arrogant and shallow and childish…

But powerful, there was no denying that. Unleashed, she’d be even more powerful than the Archons. Lilith remembered her own power, that racing, electrifying connection with the Spires. She didn’t understand it yet, but she was going to leave no stone unturned until she did. And there was a not-insubstantial possibility that Sirin’s abilities could help her do that. After all, controlling minds was never a useless ability.

And at the end of the day, if Sirin was childish, it was because she was still a child, just barely sixteen. What Sirin needed was someone better than Tunon or Nerat to teach her a few things. And if nobody else was going to try and keep her out of trouble, Lilith may as well try her hand at it.

It was a stupid thing to care about. Yet as the thought crossed Lilith’s mind, she found her fingers tracing over the silver bracer at her wrist. Between her newfound connection with the Spires, the machinations of Bleden Mark, and this new hassle of looking after a willful and unpredictable young Archon, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making the wisest decisions.

But she’d made her decisions to work with Bleden Mark and Sirin alike, and it was too late to turn back now.

[bytheangell]

Elle, my sweet angsty summer child

Where Lost Things Go(Read on AO3)

They try their best, but it isn’t enough. There are too many demons, Lilith has too much strength, and Isabelle used too much of the Heavenly Fire in their journey to get to Magnus to have enough left to fight their way out. They have to leave - and Magnus has to stay behind to keep the rift closed. 

“We have to go. Now,” Clary says, clearly struggling to hold the portal open for their escape back out of Edom.

“Go ahead, I’ll be right behind you,” Alec says, giving the others the nod to go through the portal first while he turns back to Magnus. Lorenzo goes first, and then Simon, but Jace and Isabelle linger. 

“Alec…” Isabelle says slowly, and Alec gives his siblings a slow, sad smile. 

“You couldn’t just leave with the others, could you?” He sighs. “I guess I owe you a proper goodbye, I just- I thought it’d be easier if you found out when there wasn’t anything to be done about it.” There are tears in his eyes as Izzy flings her arms around him.

“I understand,” she says, the words choking in a sob pressed against his shirt. “I love you, Alec. We’ll find a way to get you back. Both of you. We got here once, we can do it again.”  

“Are you sure about this?” Jace asks carefully. 

“I’ve never been more sure about anything,” Alec says, turning from Izzy to wrap his arms around Jace. “Clary already put the rune on Magnus, so I’m paired with him instead.” For how long, Alec isn’t certain, but it’s a question that no one dares to bring up at this point.. The moment Jace realizes this was his plan all along and not just an impulsive choice he only nods in understanding. “This isn’t forever, Alec,” he swears. 

“Take care of him, will you?” Jace says to Magnus, who wears a look of disbelief as the implications of the scene unfolding around him slowly dawn on him in stunned silence. 

“Guys-” Clary says, voice strained. “Soon we’re all going to be staying with Magnus. I can’t hold this anymore.” 

“Go,” Alec urges, giving Jace one last clap on the back. “Tell mom and Max I’m sorry.”

“This isn’t goodbye. After all, what was it you said... ‘It’s only Edom’, isn’t that right?” Jace says with a forced smile, and though his words waver with emotion he does his best to hold himself together as he drags Izzy back towards the portal Clary is barely holding open for them. The three of them are gone a moment later and Alec watches the portal close with finality. 

He looks at the space it once occupied for a few more seconds before he feels Magnus’ hand on his shoulder. 

“Alexander, you should’ve gone with them.” Alec only shakes his head, turning to take Magnus in his arms. “My place is with you no matter where that is, and it always will be.” 

---

Learning to control the magic he finds within his veins is easier when it’s Magnus’ magic. It isn’t foreign - it’s the same magic that reached out to him time and time again back home, the same magic that welcomed him as a trusted visitor through any ward Magnus created. It finds an easy, comfortable home within Alec, and reacts in kind. 

With time Alec’s stele becomes a decoration - a reminder of the life he left behind and nothing more. He takes it out and holds it from time to time, trying to draw a rune or activate his iratze, but never to any avail. Sometimes he simply holds it just to hold it, thinking of his family, or even Clary and Simon, wondering how they might be doing… praying to an Angel he’s never been more disconnected from that they’re still alive, wherever they are. 

Magnus walks in on him one of those days, catching Alec holding his stele with eyes closed against a silent trickle of stray tears. 

“Do you regret it,” Magnus asks quietly from the doorway,, unable to meet Alec’s eyes when Alec startles at the sudden sound. 

“No,” he says quickly, placing the stele back onto the ledge he picked it up from and walking over to Magnus. “Never. I miss them, of course I do. And I wish there had been another option, one where I could still be with them. Too. But I haven’t once wished I left you here alone.” 

“I’ll get us back,” Magnus promises. It’s one that Alec’s heard every day for nearly 200 days now.. He tried to stop keeping track but the numbers stay in the back of his mind no matter how hard he tries to forget about them. After all, they may be days in Edom, but they’re days with Magnus, and he means it when he says he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I know you will,” Alec agrees, smiling as he leans in to a kiss that starts slow and reassuring, but quickly grows into something more. Magnus kisses another promise against Alec’s lips, a silent reverence to the man he loves, a reassurance that Magnus may be the King of Edom now but his allegiance is, and always will be, to Alec. 

It’s a devotion Alec never doubts. 

--- 

It’s been a year since Alec arrived in Edom. He has a place next to Magnus now. Edom still stands but it’s under the rule of Asmodeus’ son - Alec’s husband. There’s no official ceremony to be had down here but it feels no less meaningful  when Magnus declares Alec his husband. 

Alec’s presence in Edom is a matter of contention for the first few months he’s there. He can hardly leave the confines of the home Magnus inherited - his home, now - without being attacked. An outsider, an interloper, angelic blood in a place Angels should never dare to tread. Though obviously hunting every demon within the confines of Edom itself would be a fool’s errand, Alec doesn’t hesitate to defend himself no matter how outnumbered.

The first time Alec comes back drenched in sweat and covered in ichor Magnus tries to step in, but Alec insists that he’s fine, that he can take care of himself. Alec plays the refusal off as not wanting his presence here to be a burden, but Magnus soon realizes that Alec needs that danger, the thrill of the hunt, the satisfaction of doing the thing he spent his entire life training to do. Alec knows Magnus doesn’t like to see him put himself in unnecessary danger but Magnus looks the other way. Any demon foolish enough to attack Alec meets the same bloody death. For a while it’s enough… until it isn’t. They day Alec goes out looking for a fight is the day he ends up outnumber and overpowered; the day Alec nearly doesn’t make it back home is the day Magnus can no longer bring himself to look the other way. 

Magnus makes it clear from that point on that Alec isn’t to be touched. Most listen, some do not. After several daring demons make a few last attempts to be the one to take out the Nephilim brazen enough to come to their home - only to fail and suffer a fate by Magnus’ hands that makes even a battle-hardened Alec turn away from the sight of - the direct attempts on Alec’s life cease. Magnus takes things a step further, decreeing that Alec is to be treated as his equal. There are many more rumbles over that development but none dare to question their new King. Or, as it were, Kings.  

 It’s strange, Alec thinks, to be able to freely wander Edom in any capacity, let alone one where he’s to be obeyed, should it come to that. It never does. Rather than be in a position where they have to listen to a Nephilim the demons decide to avoid Alec at all costs instead which suits him just fine. 

They’re making progress. Alec can use his stele again, thanks to some magical tempering on Magnus’ part, a fusion of the pure angelic essence within Alec’s blood with the tool so that it can hold its own against the dampening effect of Edom’s overwhelming demonic energy. They learn to channel the magic that Magnus shares with Alec as one so that rather than weakening the effect when they both call upon it at once it actually strengthens. 

They’re making progress, more every day, and while Alec doesn’t lose hope that they can find a way to defeat Lilith for good, seal the rift and find a way back home, he finds that with every passing day by Magnus’ side he feels more content than the one before. Life in Edom is far from ideal, but there’s something to be said about the lack of societal pressures, familial expectations, and the general weight of the world which Alec Lightwood, Head of the New York Institute, live under on a daily basis before. 

This existence should be a punishment, a prison, but instead it’s almost freeing. The guilt Alec experiences for even humoring the idea, let alone relishing in his time trapped here with Magnus, shuts him down for days at a time when it hits. He doesn’t eat, he doesn’t sleep, he won’t even speak to Magnus, and though Alec can see the pain it causes Magnus to give him space that’s exactly what he does. They both pretend not to notice when Magnus comes back smelling like ichor and death on those days or the strangled sobs that come from one - or both - them that get caught echoing down otherwise silent halls. 

---

On day 413 (because Alec never can stop counting), Magnus perfects opening portals within Edom. On day 415 Alec watches Magnus deliver Lilith to the same fate he condemned Asmodeus to. On day 417, without Lilith’s magic constantly battling against his own every time Magnus reaches out to connect to the demonic realm around him, he’s able to focus enough power to permanently close the rift, and keep it closed besides the smallest tear for a portal back to New York, which he’ll have just enough energy to seal shut behind them if they move fast enough during the transport. 

Alec is surprised at the mixed emotions day 418, what will be his final day in Edom if all goes according to plan, brings him. 

“Ready?” Magnus sounds anxious, but there’s a smile on his face as he makes the final preparations. 

Alec knows he should nod and agree, but instead the words leaving his mouth are: “Would it really be so bad to just stay here?” 

“...why would you say that?” Magnus asks slowly, and Alec surprises himself by speaking exactly what’s on his mind. 

“You know how much things changed in the three months after we met.... It’s been over a year. I know the plan was always to get back home, back to our lives, but… what if we don’t have a life to return to?” Alec knows, realistically, he can’t simply waltz back in and take over the Institute again. He’s not positive he’ll even be welcomed back among the Nephilim after the decision he made to stay in Edom. And Jace, Izzy, and the others… what if they never found a way to get them back because they didn’t want to?

Or worse, what if they do want him to step right back into his old life, when he isn’t sure that’s what he wants after so much time away. 

“Then we go somewhere new, and do something different. Just because we’re getting out of Edom doesn’t mean we have to stay in New York. If you want to travel the world, say the word and it’s done. It’s going to take some adjustment, but we’ll figure it out together. Edom was never meant to be either of our homes.” Magnus says the last sentence with contempt. 

It’s reassuring to hear the option out loud. The option for change, for growth, for something different. His life with Magnus prior to Edom was a whirlwind, and their time here far from ideal for growing a healthy relationship. It’s enough to hear from Magnus that he has no expectations of Alec once they’re back except that they’ll figure things out together. 

The promise of facing their uncertain futures together is enough to ease Alec’s nerves as he reaches out to take Magnus’ outstretched hands.

“Alright,” he agrees finally. “Let’s go home.” 

[chokemepaulson]

'Can't Get Enough So Stay With Me.'

Pairing - Madam Satan/Lilith/ Mary Wardwell x Reader

Words - 1,015

Tag List - @shineestark @ahs-honey @marilynroselleprentiss @gay-and-sad-tm @angel-of-me

Coming home to Mary Wardwell had to be one of your favorite things to do, no scratch that. It was your favorite. Walking through the front door and seeing her standing in front of the stove as she cooked something for you both to eat for dinner, was literal heaven for you.

So today it was the only thing you thought about, it was a long and hard day and all you wanted to do was just hug the brunette, a kiss would be a bonus, but if Mary hadn't had a really good day sometimes she just wasn't in the mood and that worked for you two. Consent mattered so much to you and if she didn't want to be affectionate that was that.

After parking your car you sit there for a few seconds. Sorting your thoughts and ushering away the stress from work, you never ever brought work stress home. Work was work, and home was home.

You get out of the vehicle and lock it up before you walk up the pathway and to the front door. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion when you turned the doorknob and it was locked, Mary was definitely home and she never locked the door when she knew you would be home in a few hours but you shake it off and you use your key to unlock and open the door.

After you close the door you scan the living room and your eyes widen in surprise when you see the raven sitting calmly on its tree, "um okay," you scratch the back of your neck and you walk into the kitchen.

Finally, a smile fills your features as you see your love, she was wearing a red form fitting dress and her hair was down and curled instead of her usual updo. You move forward and you place your hands on her hips before they slide forward and you wrap your arms around her waist. Your chin resting on her shoulder. "Hello my beautiful, gorgeous, and breath taking fiancé."

Lilith raised an eyebrow when your hands landed on her hips and she tensed when your arms wrapped around her, but after hearing your words she calmed slightly. So you were the woman that was in Mary Wardwells photos, it made sense. She clears her throat and she thinks of a reply. "Hello darling."

"I've missed you today," you whisper softly and kiss the spot right above her right ear. "You were all I thought about."

The brunette narrows her eyes slightly as she listened to you. "Well where were you last night then?" She remembered that when Mary picked her up on the side of the road, you were no where in sight.

You chuckled softly. "Now Ms. Wardwell you knew I was at a parent teacher conference last night." You kiss the spot right under her ear this time and you nuzzle your nose into the sweet perfume that was on her neck. "I wished I could've been at the movies with you but unfortunately that didn't pan out."

The brunette let's her head tilt to the side as she feels your lips move to her pulsepoint. She knew that she was there to make Sabrina sign the book of the beast, but that didn't mean she couldn't have some fun while she was there. "How was your day?" She decided to ask.

"Boring" You groan and you nip the woman's pulse point. "It doesn't matter though because now I'm here with you, and when I'm with you my girl it is never boring."

Lilith let's her eyes fall closed as you grace her neck with your soft lips, she had never felt quite like this before. It was always her serving the dark lord, she has never really received affection or praise. She releases a low moan when you suck on a particularly sensitive spot on her shoulder.

"You like that?" You smile against her skin, "This dress... I can hardly keep my hands off of you"

"I think it's too late for that dear, I'm sure I have hickeys already." Lilith chuckles darkly and she licks her crimson painted lips.

"Oh yeah, good point." a blush rose to your cheeks and you lean back a little to see the small bruises that now covered the older woman's neck. "Is it okay?"

"Yes," She didn't hesitate with her answer, "You can keep going if you want."

You let out a soft breath of anticipation and you slide your hands down her thighs, grasping the bottom of her dress before you pull it up. The red material bunches up around Lilith's hips and you moan gently when the palms of your hands graze her hot skin. "Are you sure?"

Lilith turns to you then, pinning herself against the counter. "I'm completely sure... Take me to heaven and back." Her icy blue eyes gaze into your own as she said and it causes your cheeks to flush. The longer you look into your fiancé's eyes the more differences you start to notice.

"What's..." Your eyebrows furrow in confusion and you cup the woman's jaw with your right hand, "Mary... This is you right?" You knew witches existed in Greendale, and there is almost always some spooky shit that goes down.

Lilith scoffs and she reaches up, her index finger pressing against your lips. "You talk far too much," She slides her finger down your chin and then wraps her hand around your neck, squeezing gently. "How about we put that mouth to better use." Her breath washes over your face as she pulls you in close and she captured your lips into a deep and rough kiss.

And maybe, just maybe, Lilith felt something that was more intense than her love for Lucifer. She would have to get back to that at a later time.

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