#They won't get lost if they'll be in one fic

[kalolasfantasyworld]

The little Silver Eagles 🦅

Another birdies one shot for 4000 hits 🫶

Summary: Nozel takes his sons Heinry and Noureen to the Silver Eagle's base.

Lot's of fluff and Papa Nozel. Also Heinry being an overly energetic klutz and Noureen an adorable mess.

Yes, there is an illustration 🩵

Type: One shot

Word count: 3481 (Because I can't write short stuff anymore, but this is so much fluff ^^)

Author's note:

I mention @vilandel's OC Rossete

Ao3 (because I want to keep the birdies one shots in one place)

Helena was fixing Heinry’s mantle. He needed to tilt his head back, so that she could straighten out the frills of the high neck. A silver Silva pendant was attached right below. It was quite a challange because Heinry was excitedly bouncing up and down. Nozel watched them fondly, before shifting his gaze to Noureen. His other son was sitting on his bed and dangling his legs. The expression on his face was focused and his little nose wrinkled. His red mantle had already been fixed by Helena, so he was just waiting. 

“Now you’re ready,” she announced and stood up, on her way ruffling Heinry’s silver hair. “Are you sure, that you’ll be fine?” Helena turned towards Nozel. “Their nannies could watch over them and I’m sure Rosetta would love to play a little bit with her sobrinos (nephews).”

“Yes, I am sure,” he stated flatly quirking his brow. “Weren’t you supposed to leave ten minutes ago?” 

“I’m certain that Doctor Owen can start the meeting without me,” Helena put her hands on her hips. 

“Without the vice head of the Healer’s tower?” 

“Stop being witty,” she huffed and leaned down towards her two little birdies. “Are you one hundred percent sure, that they won’t interrupt you with your work?”

“They’re future Silver Eagles, they should see how everything is being handled at the base,” Nozel stated. 

“They’re four mi amor,” Helena sighed.

“Four and a half mama,” Heinry corrected her.

“Yes four and a half hijo,” she said and grabbed him by the hand. They both approached Noureen. “Heinry, Noureen will you be good? You can’t distract papa from work, promise? Listen to everything he says.”

“I’m alway good,” Heinry grinned wildly. 

“Sure you are,” Helena did not sound convinced. “Noureen?” 

The brown haired boy nodded. 

“Are you excited as well?” She asked.

Noureen smiled shyly and then once again nodded, this time more energetically. “Okay,” Helena smiled and stood up. “Have fun my Silver Eagles,” she waved at them, grabbed her bag and very quickly left the room, because indeed she was late and Helena preferred to be on time. She would always say this was a matter of respect. 

Her white tailcoat only fluttered behind her before the door closed. 

Nozel crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. 

One, two, three.

The door opened once again and Helena ran inside. She knelt down in front of Heinry and pulled him in pressing a kiss on his cheek. The silver haired boy giggled excitedly. She then turned to Noureen and tried to peck hims as well, but he pulled away. 

“Bleh!” He screeched. 

“Everyone gets a kiss,” Helena announced. 

“Everyone?” Noureen pouted. “Okay,” he sighed and leaned forward. A small blush spread on his cheek, before Helena pecked him. 

She stood up and approached Nozel. 

“Everyone gets a kiss,” she brightened up and put her hands on his chest, digging her fingers into his feathery mantle. He closed his eyes and felt her grip on harder as she leaned in closer. Her sweet perfume becoming more apparent.

“Blehhh!” Heinry and Noureen both shouted and startled them before Helena managed to kiss him. 

Giving both of his four year olds’ a side eye was probably not one of Nozel’s greatest moments. He straightened up and his expression became flat. Helena just chuckled glancing at them fondly. 

“A short peck then,” she stated and quickly pressed her lips on to his. He did not even get to savour the moment, because she pulled away and was already running towards the door. “Bye muchachos, don’t be a nuisance to papa.” With that she was gone, off to the Healer’s tower.

Nozel turned to both of his boys, now sitting on the bed. Noureen continued on dangling his feet and Heinry tried to lift his even higher. He would let it go this one time, because they were not in official setting, but the princes needed to learn their manners. He could not remember himself at such young age, but probably he was acting proper. 

“Let’s go,” he stated flatly and boys jumped off the bed. Their light blue and red mantles fluttered. Heinry ran ahead reaching the door in few seconds, while Noureen was just behind him. Nozel silently followed. 

As they walked both princes would race each other down the hallways, because Noureen may had been quieter, but he was not the one to loose. They were running around and would stop only at staircases, because they knew they could easily trip. They waited for Nozel to join them and carefully walked down. 

Finally they reached the main hallway and soon the servants opened the grand doors for them. Nozel lifted his palm, causing a mercury made eagle to shape. The creature lowered its head and leaned down. Boys ran up to it and Heinry tried to climb onto its back, but was failing miserably and continued to slide down from the smooth surface. Nozel lifted him placing his son right behind the Eagle’s neck. Heinry knelt down and grabbed onto the silvery feathers. Then Nozel picked up Noureen, who very elegantly sat beside his brother. Nozel got on too. Some mercury formed around the twins’ legs and held them in place. He could not risk them falling off. 

The eagle flapped its wings and they shot up in the air. 

“Wooohoo!” Heinry shouted and raised his little arms in the air. It was a good idea to strap him on. On Noureens face appeared a wide smile, it was a much rarer view, but it was happening each time that he was flying. The twins truly enjoyed being high in the air. 

The flight did not take them too long and soon they were descending on the yard in the Silver Eagle’s base. Somebody was waiting down there to greet them. 

“Tio Solid!” Heinry ran up to him after jumping off the silver eagle and nearly falling on his face, just nearly because a mercury made tentacle caught him in the air. Dad reflexes were a thing as Nozel realised over the last four years. 

“Hola tio,” Noureen greeted Solid once he got off as well.

“What are you urchins doing here?” Solid grinned and leaned down to greet them. “Good morning Nozel-nii sama,” he looked up at his older brother, while ruffing both of the twins’ hair. 

“We’re Magic Knights,” Noureen stated flatly. 

“Magic Knights?” Solid quirked his brow. “Are you not too short to be a Magic Knight?”

“I’m tall!” Heinry screeched. 

“Hijos,” Nozel narrowed his eyes and they came back to stand by his sides. “They’re spending the day with me,” he announced emotionless placing his hands on their shoulders. 

“Fun,” Solid did not hide the irony in his voice. “Anyway,” he stood up and clasped his hands together. “Do you know anything about when Nebra’s coming back?”

“She’s on a mission with that Black Bull of hers,” Nozel answered. “It’s hard to tell, when they’ll be finished.”

“Cool,” Solid said. “I brought you some mission reports to look through Nozel nii-sama. They’re at your desk.”

“Thank you,” Nozel nodded. “You’re dismissed.”

“Bye urchins,” Solid waved and went off to his duties. 

Nozel needed to get to his office first. He knew that Curtis Warren and Nils Ragus came back from their mission and they would come see him, besides there was a lot of paper work to be filled. On their way they passed some new recruits, who were in the middle of a sparring. A young boy shot a fire projectile at his opponent, while the other lifted an earth made wall from the ground to protect himself. The twins watched them in awe. 

“Will we train like that?” Noureen pulled on Nozel’s cape. 

“Once you’re older and develop your magic better yes,” Nozel stated. 

“I’m already good at my magic,” Heinry grinned and a small mercury made droplet appeared in the air, it melted into a shield resembling shape, which nearly had a Silva emblem on its surface. It was indeed an achievement for a four year old to be this talented and Nozel could not be prouder, that not only his son inherited his attribute, but was already learning some skills. 

“I will be better than you,” Noureen said shyly. 

Despite him having massive storage of mana, his magic was not showing itself greatly. He could form some steel shapes, but they were awkward and did not seem a good fit for him. Nozel wondered how in the future he could guide Noureen, so that he would get better. He was not going to make the same mistake as he did with Noelle. He would not push his son away, instead he would offer him his full support and patience. 

Inside his office Nozel instead of walking right away to his desk, he first approached a bookcase. He pulled out two coloring books and a box filled with colored pencils. He was a disciplined man and was prepared for his sons’ visit. 

As much as Noureen was excited about a chance to draw, Heinry did not seem as appealed, but he took the coloring book with a grateful expression on his face. They climbed onto the couch, which was by the wall and set up their things. 

Nozel just needed to quickly finish this meeting and go through the documents, then he would have more time to spare for his sons. He got to work right away, being very efficient with it. Soon a knock on the door was audible and both boys perked up. 

“Enter,” Nozel spoke up coldly. 

Magic Knights Curtis Warren and Nils Ragus went inside. 

“Captain Nozel,” they bowed. 

“Hola señor Magic Knight!” Heinry waved from the couch and Noureen repeated his move.

“Hi,” Nils was surprised at first, but then smiled softly. 

“Captain we did not know that you were bringing your sons,” Curtis said. “We can come back later.”

“It’s alright,” Nozel nodded. “Tell me about your mission.”

The knights went into details explaining the course of their latest days. The results were acceptable and Nozel found no fault in their actions. He listened to them intently focusing his whole attention on his subordinates. 

“Papa,” Heinry pulled on his cape and then placed the side of his head on Nozel’s lap. “I’m bored.”

Nozel looked away from the knights. 

“You don’t like the colorings I got for you?” He asked.

“I finished,” he stated. “I can show you!”

Curtis cleared his throat. 

“We’ll get going captain.”

“Yes, you’re dismissed,” Nozel turned to them. They were mostly finished and he would  find out the rest from their mission raport. 

Magic knights bowed and as they were about to leave the room Heinry ran up to them. 

“You can see too!” He showed them the coloring book and Nozel could notice Nils struggling not to frown. 

“Good job Heinry-sama,” he said plastering on a smile. “You managed to cross through most of the lines.”

Happy Heinry jumped up to Nozel and opened the book in front of him. Heinry did not inherit Helena’s talent for art, this was pretty obvious. The line art depicted the first Wizard King Lumiere and indeed Heinry somehow got out of all the lines. Lumiere had a very green face and purple hair. He seemed more like some magical creature than a human. 

“Hmm,” Nozel did not want to comment. “Noureen what about your drawing?”

He shyly picked up his book and approached the desk. Making sure that Heinry could not see, he opened the coloring book. Noureen on the other hand could color really well. He stayed in the lines and even tried adding some shading to the anti magic bird’s feathers. It still looked like a drawing made by a child, but he had potential. Nozel had to make sure they would find him a good art tutor, possibly even ask Rill Boismortier for some lessons. 

“Good job hijos,” he stated flatly.

“Can we be magic knights now?” Heinry jumped up, because he was earlier pushed away by Noureen.

“You need to be fifteen to be a magic knights,” Nozel said. 

“But I want to be one now,” he crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Papa please,” Noureen pouted. “Can we be Silver Eagles?”

And what was Nozel going to do about that? He furrowed his brows and looked at both of his sons’ eyes. They were lilac just like his and shone brightly with pure, childish hope. He did not want to dim that light. 

Nozel sighed and stood up from his chair. He approached one of the chests and pulled out his spare Silver Eagle’s mantle. It had the long feathery wings attached to them. He gave it to Heinry, who nearly fell over, because he did not expect the fabric to be this heavy. Then Nozel pulled his own mantle over his head and passed it to Noureen. 

“Put these on and you will be Silver Eagles,” he said.

“Help papa,” Heinry asked and pushed the mantle back to his hands. 

Nozel knelt down and helped him put it on. In the same moment Noureen struggled with his own and got stuck halfway. Nozel smiled fondly and after he quickly finished with Heinry, he pulled down Noureen’s mantle. 

Boys looked at themselves amazed. Heinry was beaming with joy as he spun around and then placed his hands on his hips. Noureen just stood frozen and slightly embarrassed, but Nozel could tell that he was happy. He gazed at them proudly. Future Silver Eagles, his sons. 

“What now papa?” Noureen asked. 

Nozel glanced at the pile of paper work still stacked on his desk. It was smaller than when he had arrived, but still apparent. However none of the matters were greatly pressing and his sons were clearly not satisfied with just colorings. He wished to be a good dad. Even though Helena kept saying that he was, a part of him did not believe her and this day was supposed to be a way to prove himself, but he had no idea what could he offer them. He sighed resigned looking around the room. Suddenly a memory flashed in front of his eyes. A warm feeling appeared in his chest and Nozel knew what he could show them. He took off his blue cape, because without a mantle it looked ridiculous and straightened up gazing at the twins. 

“If you’re Magic Knights then I’m your captain,” he stated. 

“Captain papa!” Heinry jumped up. 

“Come on Silver Eagles,” he said before turning towards the door. 

They passed quite a few hallways and both boys at some point grabbed onto Nozel’s tunic to not get lost. Then Heinry nearly fell down the stairs, because he tried to jump two at the time, while Noureen got too distracted with few Magic Knights that passed them and tripped. Nozel’s subordinates were throwing them curious glances and smiling softly. It was a greatly unusual to see their always cold and serious captain tenderly leading two four year olds in way too big feathery mantles. 

Finally they reached the ground floor entrance to the tower on the eastern side of the base. The grand doors which were ahead of them opened and an older looking knight, wearing the Silver Eagle’s mantle came out. Rob Vitesse had a stern expression on his face, but it shifted upon seeing Nozel’s twins.

“Captain,” he bowed. “Little lords.”

“How are they?” Nozel asked. 

“In great form as always Captain.”

Nozel nodded and led his sons inside. 

The room was massive. It filled up most of the tower and was at least few stories high. There were grand windows on the sides letting in the sunlight. The ceiling which was meters above them was dome shaped. It even allowed for a massive tree to grow inside. Higher there were arches crossed with metallic mesh. Wind blew right through them and a fresh breeze reached the three Silvas. It blew lifting all of their long bangs.

“Woah,” Noureen was the first one to speak up, because Heinry seemed to stop breathing for a while. Loud screeches were sounding in the whole room. Big birds were flying from one branch to another. Nozel approached a shelf which stood by the stone wall. He pulled out a leather made glove and put it on. It reached high up above his elbow and was very sturdy. 

He glanced at his twins and with a nod instructed them to follow him. They walked over to a wooden fence like construction and halted. Nozel looked up, reaching out his arm to the side and with his gaze followed one of the birds. He whistled and a loud screech responded. An eagle dove down, only to spread its wings wide and flap them right over Nozel’s head. It slowed down and heavily landed, digging its claws into the thick glove. The bird tilted its head and focused its black eye on Nozel. It recognised its master, softly screeching. Even though Nozel was not great with animals and they tended to stray away from him, these royal birds were an exception. 

“That’s one of our eagles. They mostly act as messenger birds, but sometimes we take them on missions,” he explained. 

“A birdie!” Heinry could not contain his excitement and reached out his hands towards it. The eagle did not seem to like being called a birdie by another birdie, so it pulled away. 

“You have to be calm,” Nozel narrowed his eyes and stated flatly. 

He leaned down with his arm still outreached. The bird focused on Noureen, who watched it with eyes wide open. Lilac orbs were mesmerised. He slowly lifted his palm and showed it to the eagle. Little fingers were spread wide. The eagle shook its head. 

“You can pet it. Just slowly,” Nozel instructed him. 

Noureen swallowed and touched the bird. Eagle did not protest, it kept calmly looking at the little boy. 

“What’s his name?” Noureen asked shyly. 

“It doesn’t have a name,” Nozel stated. “We call them by numbers.”

“Can I give him one?” The lilac eyes were hopeful and Nozel smiled tenderly. 

“Sure hijo.”

“Your name will be…” Noureen furrowed his brows and scratched his chin. “Eagle.”

“Eagle?” Nozel quirked his brow. The bird was obviously an eagle. 

“That’s his name,” the boy was determined. 

Nozel nodded. 

“Eagle it is,” he said and let the bird jump from his glove to the wooden rack. 

Noureen approached it and looked up. 

“Can Eagle be my bird?”

“Once you get older, now it would be hard for you to take care of him. If Eagle spreads his wings he’s bigger than you are.”

Noureen nodded excitedly and how Nozel loved seeing emotions on his son’s face. He remembered how when he was little Acier took him to see the eagles herself. He was as amazed as his boys were and also asked for his own eagle. However as he got older he focused on other things and then his mother… passed away so he gave up on raising a bird by himself. Maybe Noureen could do it instead. 

Nozel did not know whether those were reflexes or his heightened sense, but he turned around and in a second his mercury made its way towards Heinry shielding him from an angry bird. 

“Don’t try pulling on their tails!” Nozel’s voice cut like a whip as he approached his son. “They might peck you then. Are you alright hijo?” He leaned down and lifted Heinry’s chin. Few tears were streaming down his cheek, but he seemed unharmed. Nozel breathed out. 

“Yes,” Heinry sobbed and without any warning flung his arms over Nozel’s neck. Surprised Nozel needed a second to embrace him back. 

He glanced to the side and noticed Noureen watching. 

“Do you want to come too?” He asked. 

Noureen nodded shyly and walked over. Heinry slightly moved to the side and let Nozel take his other arm off to place it over Noureen. 

“You’re the best papa,” Noureen whispered. 

“Best of the best,” Heinry added, because he had already stopped crying. 

Nozel noticed his breath hitch and no he did not tear up, but felt like he was close to it. Hearing his boys say something so simple, yet so complex moved him. To them somehow he was indeed the best. This praise meant to him more than all the achievements he had collected as a captain and prince combined. Being a father was a harder task, more compelling and Nozel felt like he was pushing through it blindfolded. He did not have a good role model growing up, so he needed to figure it out as it went. Making mistakes and then fixing them. It was a process which required a lot of work and he was going to put it in. All for his sons, the little birdies. 

[pomefioredove]

heyyy i saw the flirty prompts and i wondered if you can do one "you like me because im a scoundrel" with leona??? for some reason it just fits him hehe

ooooh I don't write leona that often... this might be fun

summary: "you like me because I'm a scoundrel" type of post: short fic characters: leona additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu, cute and fluffy, probably ooc, cuddles implied a part of this event

"He won't get up,"

Everyone in the room lets out a collective groan. Not that it's surprising; just disappointing.

Ruggie shrugs, says "what can 'ya do?", and takes a seat across from Epel in the Savanaclaw lounge.

"Can't we just leave without him?" Epel asks. "If he changes his mind, he can catch up later."

Jack shakes his head. "Leaving without Leona would be disrespectful,"

"...And it was Leona who signed all the field trip paperwork with Crowley, so we can't leave unless he goes," Ruggie says.

Another unanimous groan.

"I was really looking forward to the stadium snacks at this tournament thing..." Grim sighs. "Well... anyone else got any ideas?"

The room falls silent. No one, neither Ramshackle, nor Pomefiore, nor Savanaclaw, wants to admit what they're all thinking; someone needs to get Leona up.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, Ruggie clears his throat.

"...maybe the Prefect could-"

"What?" you say, immediately. "Why me?"

"He might... actually have a point. Leona does seem to tolerate them more than any of us," Jack mumbles.

"Wait just a second-"

"That's what I'm saying! Leona'll be up in no time, right? Shishishi,"

"But I-"

"Well, no time to lose!" even Grim chimes in, ushering you towards the door. "Good luck!"

"I didn't agree to this!" you shout... but it's no use.

How do you keep ending up in this position?

You sigh and walk into Leona's room, letting the heavy door fall shut behind you. You have a feeling that you're going to be in here for a long time.

Leona is lying face-down in bed, still in pajamas, the closed blinds casting morning light over him in little slits.

"I told you to get lost," he mutters, his voice muffled by the sheets.

You roll your eyes. "I'm not Ruggie,"

A pause. Leona rolls onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow to meet your eyes. It's stuffy in here.

"I'm not in the mood," he finally says. "Now, get lost."

"You can't just not go," you say, walking around the room to pull up the blinds. He hisses at the light, turning over again. "Everyone is waiting for you."

"They'll live,"

"Are you sick?"

Silence.

"...No. I just don't feel like it,"

"Everyone's been looking forward to watching this spelldrive tournament for months," you say. "You can't just change your mind."

"I can, and I have. If you stop your whining, I might even let you join me in here,"

You roll your eyes. "You're a scoundrel,"

He pokes his head out of the sheets to grin. "You like me because I'm a scoundrel,"

That earns him another eye-roll, and you sit at the edge of his bed, giving him a gentle nudge with your fingertips.

"C'mon. What's it gonna take to get you up?"

Leona huffs, green eyes darting away as if he's actually considering answering you.

"...Ten more minutes,"

Ruggie and Jack may have been a little right. You smile, feeling somewhat proud of yourself, and begin heading for the door.

"Good. I'll tell the others to get ready-"

"Wait,"

You stop just shy of the door handle, and turn to look over your shoulder.

He's got that smile on again.

"I didn't say you could leave, did I?"

You smile back, rolling your eyes again so he knows you still disapprove, and you crawl into bed with him.

[moodymisty]

HI IF REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN WHEN IM SENDING THIS:

Did you know that multiple species of bats have been known to orally stimulate their partners before having sex? It apparently increases fertilization chances and overall quality of sex. Which I mean yeah it's foreplay, that's what it's meant to do, but it's interesting to note a nonhuman species doing it.

Anyway the point of this was to request if you could combine that fun bat habit with the ask about Konrad edging his partner?

Also feel free to store that Fun Bat Fact™️ for use in other Night Lord fics, if you want to. I'm always a sucker for astartes/Primarchs having behaviors/tendencies from some of the nonhuman DNA that was used to create them.

Author's note: yum yum Konrad time

Relationships: Konrad/Fem!Reader

Warnings: NSFW, Konrad in general, Oral (female receiving), Kind of breeding kink

“Konrad, Konrad please…”

Your hand weakly tries to pull at the one holding you down, his palm pressing you hard into the bed. But he's so far beyond stronger than you, that it's a fruitless gesture.

You don’t know how long it’s been. It could only have been ten minutes for all you know, but it feels like it’s been hours. Your body cries out in an overstimulated, aching mess- legs quivering as they lay over his shoulders.

Your thighs ache in pain from the bites lining them, some just dents and others bleeding. You know you’ll need something for them, and you can only hope the medicae with let you get away with being vague and turning the other way about giving you things has they were last time. They'll watch you hobble away knowing that Konrad even at his most gentle is nearly breaking you, but they won't say anymore than the medicines you need to heal those wounds.

“Konrad!”

His tongue brushes over your abused, sore clit for the millionth time and the ensuing rush of sensation as your body writhing, only what isn’t held down by him. Your cunt throbs and aches with an emptiness he has no intention on filling right now as you suffer and cry underneath him.

You want him to stop; You're sweating, tired and aching, but there's no chance you can free yourself from him. You can only writhe underneath his hold as his mouth presses against your cunt, tongue lapping against your folds and teeth catching your skin. He's rough- and you've lost count of the times he's brought you just to the very edge of cumming against his face, only to slow and pull you back away from it. It's infuriating; It's made you angry, it's making tears roll down your face as you beg for him to stop it or just let you finally finish.

But this always happens roughly once a month. You have a feeling as to why, but you don’t know how it makes you feel.

In the heat of the moment you’d love nothing more than to give him a child, but then the oftentimes nightmare of your reality with him sets in. That his moments of quiet and softness are only a single star in a void of black nothingness.

But you know at this point he isn’t going to stop until it takes, and you don’t have much option than to go along for the ride. Konrad has his nails and teeth dug too deeply into you to allow escape at this point, and even if you did manage to free yourself, you don't know if you even could gather the will to leave him. You love him too much to do that, you know it.

The nails of his other hand dig into the skin of your thigh as he continues to lap at your folds roughly, feeling the way your body tenses underneath him. You can't really see him in the dark room, only the outline of his massive body. But you can feel him, the brushing of his hair against your skin and the way his tongue prods against your entrance before he pulls his mouth away.

"Konrad please, what do you want? Just let me-"

He watches you with those dark, black eyes of his, you just know he is, as he takes away that hint of relief you were so close to. Your heels hit his shoulders and he dares to laugh at you, as if your tears and your sweat and begging are nothing more than amusing to him.

You know they are; He enjoys watching you suffer when your body needs it the most, until your thighs are as slick as the tears on your cheeks. He doesn't want to physically break you, at least not yet, so he's found a safer, gentler way to torment you.

Konrad pulls away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He’s wearing no shirt, and the rough linen of his trousers are easy for him to pull down past the v of his hips and reveal his cock that has been hard and aching for hours.

Once he does, he grabs your hips and roughly tugs you closer to him, and he smiles at the squeal you make as you feel him press against your thigh.

“Come here my little dove, let’s see if it takes this time.”

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

Yandere! CEO! Arranged! Ex-husand x AFAB! Ex-wife! Reader

Hold your horses, we're going to wattpad territory here.

I went back to reading the cliche runaway wife or stranger with them being pregnant from their one night stand with a CEO and I must say, it's making me really nostalgic.

As a small gift for myself, I'm using the name of my CEO protagonist on the novel I wrote, and his background... Actually, the whole story for this one will be just my novel's. Self plagiarism, if you will lol. There are quite the big alterations, but that's for me to know, and for you to skim over.

So, let's unlock a hidden memory especially for previous wattpad girlies, shall we?

Pause though, this is my 3rd pregnancy fic. I hate myself.

Yandere! CEO name: Iñigo Dragonov

"Father, I seriously do not need your input in my marriage!"

"You will marry the Smith's daughter and that's final!"

"But why?! I'm content with living by myself and flourishing the company! I do not need a wife!"

"How about a husband then?"

"No wives, no husbands, no spouses!"

Allastor frowned. He knew that his son is not one for romance, but he dated a handful of people, also slept around sometimes. But for the sake of his son, who is workaholic to the point he's forgetting about his health, he needs someone who would be there for him.

"Son, if you don't marry the Smith's daughter, i'm afraid I have to get back the company."

Iñigo clenched his teeth. His jaw ticking as he looked at his father with wide, feral eyes.

"You won't do that. You already gave the company to me!"

"Yes, but I will take the company back. And you know I can pull strings like no other."

That's how Iñigo married you, the Smith's daughter.

Dragonov group of Companies. Just the name itself sent shivers down the spines of aspiring and even well off businesses. They're ruthless, and dominated almost every possible market. Textile, food industry, hotels, even schools. Name it, and they'll have it.

So, with the Smith Corp being the leading company in the Fashion industry, and the Dragonov looking to integrate themselves in Fashion and not just textile, Allastor decided to have this arrangement. It's like killing two birds with one stone.

Inigo Dragonov. The perfect man and the perfect bachelor. Rich, handsome, reliable, he's someone who's a bonafide genius when it comes to business. Almost his every investment have such huge profits, and never a lost.

So why was he so adamant about marrying when it's a good strategy in order to get into fashion?

He has always thought of marriage as something so restraining. Something that weighs such a workaholic like him down. He never even thought of marrying unless his father and mother mentions it.

So when his eyes laid on you, he sneered in his heart.

He doesn't want you at all.

He's always finding faults in you.

"Why do you look so frumpy? I thought your company focuses on fashion?"

"Stand up straight. Your slouching is unsightly."

"Will you get out of my sight? Don't you have any work to do? Don't be lazy."

His words never, ever dripped of affection, only vile words of nitpicking came out.

You were tired of it. Sick and tired.

Yet you did your best to always serve your husband in all aspects. Affection, taking care of him, even intimacy. After all, he's still the one to put food on your plate. Not just any food also, but luxurious ones.

But the empty feeling on your heart persisted. You don't want this at all.

So with a heavy heart, you decided to divorce him.

As you predicted, he didn't care. He signed it, and you left the chateau.

But as Iñigo relished in the fact that he's now a single man once more and can focus on his work, you knew something he didn't.

You touched your womb.

"I'm going to take care of you myself, baby." You whispered to the unborn child on your stomach.

Iñigo clocked out of his office and sighed, feeling the tiredness cloak his body.

He felt empty. Really empty.

At first, he felt such a deep satisfaction that he can finish the job easier without you around.

Every time he comes home, nobody will pester him to eat, to take care of himself.

Nobody nosey to ask him about his day, nobody to annoy him by kissing him on the cheek...

Something invisible gripped his heart as he groaned and took off his suit jacket.

"Tedious."

He slowly walked towards the dining room and sat down at the head of the table. He started eating his dinner, feeling the emptiness reside the giant mansion.

Was his chateau always this big?

He looked over to the seat to his left where you usually sat down.

He can see the faint image of you in his memories, talking about your day and job, that he painfully ignored.

He remembered how your lips would always twitch as it fought back a frown from his lack of response.

He would watch you go silent and finish your meal quickly, before waiting for him to finish so that you could bring the plates back to the kitchen.

He would remember your tired sighs and fervent glances at him.

He went upstairs, wanting to take a shower.

The room you shared with him was now devoid of your personal touch, just leaving with a dark and modern aesthetic that looked like it was from a display in a furniture shop. It was professional, too professional.

He looked over where your vanity was once was. Now there's just an armchair and a lamp that he never really used.

He got to the bathroom and what was once filled with your bathroom essentials. Now, it was just his shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush and paste, and other basic needs tucked away.

And as he went under the shower, tears started to leak from his eyes, regret gnawing at his heart.

He never realized how much he loved you.

He never realized that the reason why he was so critical of you was that he was trying to distance himself from you.

He never realized that your presence was a constant peace in his fast paced life, and that you were a part of his routine.

And now that you're gone...

He gripped his wrist, a bruise forming.

And that was his daily routine a year after your divorce.

And now, two years later, he was still the same.

On the outside, he looked fine and dandy, but deep inside, he's only a broken husk of a man that he never dared to repair.

He thinks he deserved this as punishment.

But then, in those years, he felt that he needed you to come back.

Yes, he's punishing himself, but he needed you still.

He misses your touch,

Your warmth,

Your care.

Your... Love?

Did you love him?

Or is it out of responsibly?

Bah, he doesn't care.

He loves you, and that was enough.

A knock came from the door and his CFO, and his best friend, Oliver, got inside.

"Here you have it. This week's report of activities of Miss Smith--"

"Mrs. Dragonov."

Oliver sighed.

"yes, Mrs. Dragonov, this is the week's report of Mrs. Dragonov."

Iñigo nodded in satisfaction and waved Oliver goodbye.

He opened the enveloped and his eyes widened. You were back from New Zealand. This was great news! He could talk to you. Maybe coax you into coming back.

Iñigo grabbed his key and opened a door at the back of his office and smiled at the inside. Inside was a perfect replica of your old office when you were still married to him. The only difference is that wall to wall was plastered of your face, taken by his private investigators. On the vanity, which was once in his room, have a picture of you, and your twins with him.

He smirked lazily, sitting down on the chair as he kissed your face on the picture frame.

His stormy dark eyes were bent a bit, his gaze filled with so much longing and regret.

"I'll take back what's mine." He whispered.

"and I'll do everything and use everything at my disposal to get you back." Iñigo declared, looking at his children.

"And I mean everything."

"We need to do this."

"Tsk. Why would I? I'm perfectly capable of myself."

"We both can't deny the fact that they need me. You need me."

".... Okay."

" But in one condition."

"What is it?"

"You need to marry me."

You blinked, not getting this absurd situation at all. Marriage again? But why?

Seeing your confused face, Iñigo grabbed your hand gently and squeezed them.

"Sweetheart, you don't want our children to grow up ridiculed, right? What would the people say if they saw our children with no father?" Iñigo started to whisper, coaxing you into seeing his perspective. "I am willing to provide the support you need."

You shook your head.

"But I can provide that myself. I am rich also, so that support means nothing."

Iñigo gritted his teeth and held you tightly once more.

"What will an incomplete family do to our children? Won't they question my absence? Besides, a father is a crucial role one must be filled no matter what. And I'm fully intending to be present at all." He coaxed you, whispering words of promises he wants to fulfil. "There are studies out there that an incomplete family slows down children's development."

He continued to try and let you see his perspective.

"With my influence, nobody can touch you and the children. I promise, I won't be an asshole again and ridicule you. I am so sorry for saying those things." Iñigo whispered as tears filled his eyes. "I regretted all of those. Every single day since you left, I felt like a husk, I know something was wrong, and that I was that something. I hurt someone so precious to me."

Why would he need to dirty his hands when his words and acting skills were enough to persuade you?

Iñigo knelt down, hugging your waist, begging, groveling for you to come back.

And when he saw your resolve crack in front of him, he hid his smirk as he continued to sob in front of you.

His words were working.

Besides, he knows the children were your soft spot.

He was thankful for the existence of your children. If not, he'll probably resort to... Extreme ways just to get you back.

Maybe like, making your company bankrupt with him the only lifeline left.

But now, he held your waist tightly, listening to your words as you gave up trying to fight his logic.

You were his.

And you will continue to be his,

Until death do you part.

[sonamytrash]

Reins

Levi Ackerman x fem reader.

Fluff, pining, longing, mutual pining. No smut, but there will be smut in the next chapter.

I've written you/reader as a veterinary medic/nurse/tech, or however you want to imagine her. I think Levi would gel well with someone who was good with animals. I find it easy to write from a place of experience working with equids. However, it won't be of much relevance in the next chapter either way, so for those who don't want to read smut, this can be a stand-alone fic.

Divider is from the wonderful @cafekitsune

The air is thick with tension as the scouts prepare to depart beyond the walls. You move efficiently through the stables, checking each horse and ensuring they are ready for the rigors of the mission ahead. Your gaze lingers on Levi's mount, your fingers trailing along her glossy coat. "Keep him safe out there for me, will you?" You say affectionately to the horse as she whinneys in response to your touch. You're almost certain she knows exactly what you're saying.

As you make your way to the gate, you can't shake the feeling of unease that settles in your stomach. So many brave souls are about to risk their lives, some of them may never return. You take a deep breath, trying to steady your nerves as you walk through the brisk morning mist. It never gets any easier.

Levi approaches, his expression unreadable as always. He nods to you, his steel-gray eyes scrutinizing your face. "y/n." He glances towards the waiting soldiers, his jaw tightening slightly. "You've done good work with the horses. I expect they'll serve us well out there."

His gaze returns to you, a hint of something unspoken in his eyes. "Stay safe while we're gone. We'll need you to be here when we get back." As he takes the reins. The unsaid meaning in his words is unmistakable. He doesn't mean anyone but himself. He needs you to be here when he gets back.

"I'll be waiting." You reply, it would be an insult to ask him to come back safely, he always does, but the fear that one day he won't not remains unspoken between the two of you. So little is said once again.

Levi's features soften ever so slightly at your words. He reaches out, his calloused hand briefly covering yours where you pat his horse. "See that you are." His voice is gruff, but there's an underlying current of emotion that belies his usually stoic demeanor.

With a final nod, he turns and strides towards the waiting formation, joining his squad. You watch as the scouts march out, their determined faces belying the fear that surely lurks beneath the surface. As the gate closes behind them, you can't shake the unsettling feeling that this mission may cost more lives than any before it.

Sighing, you head back to the stables, already lost in thoughts of their safe return.

The days drag on endlessly without the presence of the scouts. Cooks, bookkeepers, medics and yourself being the only bodies that drift through the quiet headquarters. The once lively building feels muted and hollow in their absence. You find yourself caught up in your own thoughts, unable to shake the memory of that parting moment with Levi.

As you tend to the remaining horses that stayed behind, you can't help but wonder about his safety, your heart fluttering with each distant rumble that echoes across the fields. The nights are especially difficult, your dreams haunted by the thought of him - his intense gaze, the rough timbre of his voice, the fleeting touch of his hand against yours.

You find yourself longing for his return, your days and nights consumed by a yearning you can scarcely put into words. It's as if a piece of you has gone missing, leaving an ache that nothing else can quite fill. Each time he leaves, you tell yourself you'll tell him how you feel upon his return, but another expedition comes around, and each time, the words remain unspoken.

When the sound of hooves finally reaches your ears after what feels like forever, your heart leaps in your chest. Racing to the gate, you catch a glimpse of the battered scouts, your eyes frantically searching for that familiar raven-haired figure. The soldiers begin to filter in, your eyes are immediately drawn to Levi and his horse as he emerges from the ranks, his gaze meeting yours, a flicker of what might be relief visible in his steely eyes, even if he is the one who has been in danger.

You can't help the surge of relief that washes over you at the sight of them both unharmed as you clutch your chest. Moving quickly now knowing that he's safe, you set to work assessing the animals that need attention, your deft hands expertly tending to any minor wounds or injuries.

Levi eventually approaches you, his expression as unreadable as ever, but you catch the faint glimmer of something in his steel-gray eyes as he watches you work. "Tch, good to see you're still here, brat." His voice holds its usual gruff tone, but there's an underlying softness to it that makes your heart flutter.

"The horses are in good shape, all things considered." You give him a reassuring smile, your fingers gently running along the flank of his mount. "I'm glad you all made it back safely." You say softly.

Levi nods, his gaze never leaving you. "Couldn't have done it without you, the horses were in great shape." The corner of his lips twitches in what might be the ghost of a smile. "We're going to need them in top form for the next mission. Don't go slacking off on me now."

You smile at his efforts to compliment you, his gratitude to the work that you do keeping the horses fit and healthy doesn't go unappreciated, but the second you try to compliment or thank him for his contribution towards humanities fight, he won't hear it.

You wrap your arms around him, your emotions getting the better of you. Levi stiffens momentarily at your sudden embrace, his eyes widening in surprise. But in the next instant, he relaxes ever so slightly, one hand coming up to briefly rest on your back before you pull away.

His cheeks are tinged with the faintest hint of colour as he clears his throat, averting his gaze. "Tch, don't get all sentimental on me, brat." But there's no real bite to his words, and you catch the subtle softening of his expression.

Levi meets your gaze once more as you step back, his steel-gray eyes searching your face intently. "I'm... glad to see you too." The words seem to come out with some difficulty, as if he's unused to voicing such sentiments. But the sincerity in his tone is unmistakable.

Reaching out, he gives your shoulder a light squeeze before turning to tend to his horse, putting a bit of distance between you. "Now quit your dawdling and get back to work. Give the old girl a once over for me when you have the time." He says, you nod, a light blush having crept across your cheeks.

"Yes, captain." You reply, taking the reins from him.

[shuuuuush]

I NEED YOU [Sharky]

Summary: 24-hour challenge without Y/N. Simple right? Not for Sharky.

Warnings: none

A/N: This was actually going to be the can I kiss you yet fic, but then I had the other idea, and now here we are 😭 if u want, consider this the alternative for that fic.

*** ***

*** ***

"I hate this already."

Sharky groaned as he was supposed to make a video for his channel. The beta squad members give him a 24 hour challenge to complete and if he completes it, they give him £200.

But what he didn't know was that they all agreed to give him the same challenge. 24 hours without you.

When they told him about the challenge, the look on his face said it all. The boys knew he would lose this challenge and they would gain £200. Their evil smirks convinced Sharky that he would probably lose the money. But he would try anyway.

"Seriously? You do realise this is physically impossible. I contact her on a daily basis." Sharky admitted, after they told him about the challenge.

"Exactly! Meaning easy money for us. Or extra money for you if you do manage to complete it. But we all know you won't." Niko laughed as he had a clear evil plan ahead.

Determined to prove them wrong as he can't lose at his own video, he agreed to the challenge. AJ started explaining the rules to him.

"Ok Sharks, this challenge means no Y/N at ALL for 24 hours. No texts, calls, visiting her, hugs, kisses, all that crap etc. You have to survive 24 hours, got it?" As Aj explained it Sharky was already on his phone trying to text you one last time before it started but then Chunkz snatched his phone out of his hand.

"Nope, no phones, Sharky." Chunkz did his famous laugh, and he could tell they were all having fun with this.

"Wait, so does Y/N know about this challenge?" Sharky asked, and when he saw all their faces, he knew the answer before they replied, causing an eye roll from the Somali.

"Nope." The four all laughed, finding it funny how they'll be able to see their friend in misery for 24 hours.

Sharky sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "You're gonna make me lose my relationship, you know?"

.

.

.

The beta squad boys had taken turns to stay with Sharky and watch him to make sure he doesn't contact you in any way. Or try and escape to visit you.

The first hour, Sharky was fine. "Living life" according to his own words, technically this wasn't the normal amount of time he survives without seeing you.

Walking around the house, munching, playing football with Kenny (even if Kenny wasn't the best at football) as he was the first one over watching him. Doing anything to get his mind off the challenge and make it like a normal day.

Forwarding to the 3rd hour, Niko now was in charge over Sharky and decided to make things a bit more fun compared to the normal routine.

He messed around with Sharky, pretending to call your number to make plans to hang out with everyone but Sharky. Almost grabbing the phone from Niko, he suddenly remembered the challenge and retracted his hand. Laughing in victory Niko teased Sharky as he told him,

"Ohh almost lost the challenge there Sharks!"

"Shut up."

Slightly slouching over in defeat and stomping annoyed back to his room. Maybe a couple of winks will help pass the time, he thought. Not on Niko's watch. He made sure that sleeping was no option to pass time as it was sort of "breaking the rules."

Even though Aj wasn't meant to be helping over to watch Sharky at this hour, since Niko was still in charge, he helped Niko prank Sharky to see if he would lose the challenge. They put a voice recording of your voice from a previous video in one of the rooms.

Aj snickered as he press play on the recorder, hearing your voice throughout the rooms, Sharky stood up. It sounded like you were talking to someone and he almost left his room as quick as possible until he caught Niko and Aj laughing behind the camera.

Rolling his eyes, he said, "I see what you guys were trying to do, you were trying to trick me into going to find her huh? Yeah no."

Seeing as though their plan didn't work, they decided to show Sharky what it was anyway to cure his curiosity. And they went into one of the rooms, and it had the voice recorder with a picture of you on it. That picture was framed and taken from Sharkys desk.

As he looked at your picture, Sharky scratched the back of his neck. Yeah, this challenge is starting to get harder.

Chunkz was watching him now. It had been 5 hours into the challenge currently, and for Sharky, 5 hours is painstakingly long.

They were both in the sitting room, on separate couches though. Taking the camera and focusing it on himself, he spoke quietly so as not to let Chunkz hear him.

"Ok so far, I'll be honest I've done well but I can't take it anymore. 5 hours is too long."

He looked back to make sure Chunkz wasn't listening, he had headphones on and was scrolling through his phone. Sharky was slightly thankful Chunkz really couldn't care less about the challenge as much as Niko and Aj.

"I'm gonna try and sneak out now, hopefully I'll be able to do this." He winked at the camera and slowly got up giving it back to the camera man and walking towards Chunkz as an idea formed in his head.

"Hey man, I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick." Sharky told him, trying to not to look too suspicious.

"Yeah ok, just don't spend the whole video in there." Chunkz replied, waving him off but not taking his eyes off his screen.

Now was Sharkys chance, obviously he couldn't take the camera with him and his phone was still with Chunkz. So he was on his own now.

Going to the bathroom and closing the door, he climbed up the window of the bathroom and out the side of the house. Good thing he brought his car keys because he was about to his car that was parked on the side of the road.

Getting into his car, he thought about the challenge. Losing 200 pounds because he couldn't be away from you for 24 hours? Yeah, he was about to fail that challenge anyway. He needed you right now.

Starting the car and heading down to your house, he was desperate to be in your arms. 5 damn hours he had to suffer without you, he couldn't take it any longer.

Knocking at your door, he took a deep breath. Hopefully, you were at home right now. Hearing the jingling of keys unlocking the door, his worries ceased when he saw your face as you opened the door. He ran up to embrace you in a hug, and he sighed in relief and contentment.

You were confused but hugged him back, slowly closing the door while you were there.

"Sharky, why didn't you answer any of my texts? I was gonna head to your house to see if you wanted to get something to eat together." You asked, still hugging him as you layed your head on his shoulder.

"I was doing a stupid challenge the boys made me do. But it's over now, I'm here with you." He mumbled, closing his eyes as he felt comfortable in your embrace.

Letting go, but still holding his hands, you asked, "What was the challenge about?"

"24 hours without you."

You almost laughed. Of course, they would make Sharky do a challenge like this. You knew they thought that he would fail it, too.

"Well, did you make it?"

"I made it only 5 hours in." Hearing your laughter, he pouted, "Hey! 5 hours is long damn time Y/N."

"And what was the forfeit?" You asked, shaking your head with a small chuckle. You were glad he loved you so much that he didn't want to be away from you for so long.

"£200." He said, annoyed, looking away as he knew that the account money would definitely be gone. "Now, can I kiss you? It's been too long."

"5 hours is not that long but su-"

He didn't care about your answer because he was going to kiss you regardless, and the second he did, you melted into it.

Suddenly, you both heard a knock on the door, and you pulled away, heading towards the door to open it. And you were met with four familiar faces.

"Sharky!" Niko yelled, "You lost the challenge you schmuck, can't even stay away for a day, huh?"

You laughed at Nikos' reaction, and Sharky just placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. The rest of the boys teased Sharky for failing so quickly, but of course, they had to say hello to you and tell you about what a loser Sharky is and how he failed that challenge so badly. (They were joking, but still)

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Get on out of here." Sharky rushed towards the door, got the £200 out of his pocket, and threw it at the lot. They laughed in victory as he just shut the door.

You also laughed and went up to hold him in your arms again.

"You know we could have used that £200 pound for something Sharky, I wouldn't have minded."

He pulled out of your embrace and held your face with both of his hands, looking directly into your eyes,

"I don't need £200. I need you."

Taglist: @b4tasquad, @p3drii , @n1kodl, @elora-k, @slutforpablogavi, @enhacolor

[procyonloser]

Mini fic

Cannibalism mention warning.

Adam sobbed, trying to push himself up onto his remaining hand - the muscles in his back that controlled his wings tried to beat, yet they were gone. Lucifer tried to quiet him, helping him until he was more sat up. The stab wounds had healed quickly, but Adam couldn't heal that which was no longer there.

"I know it hurts," Lucifer whispered, voice pained. "I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I thought you were dead. I'm so sorry that they..."

Adam slapped Lucifer's hand away, falling over once more with nothing to support himself. "They fucking cut me apart! Like I was meat! This is your fucking fault-" Adam choked on a cry, body shaking, the trauma of what he'd lived through, what he'd seen, it was too much.

"I'm sorry, Adam." Lucifer repeated, looking down at him, a clawed hand making it's way to Adam's face. He brushed away his tears with his thumb, mixing with his blood and turning a pale gold. "I'll do everything I'm able to help you. I know you must hate me, but I... am still your angel, you know. Deep down. I care about you."

Adam just tried to curl in on himself, bringing his arm over his face, hiding himself from Lucifer's gaze. Lucifer sighed, before standing up and walking to the far side of the room.

"I'll be back later to change your wrappings and bathe you. Don't worry, I won't tell Charlie or anyone you're alive just try. I'll try to contact heaven in the meantime, to see if they'll have you after you lost your halo." Lucifer let the door close behind him, and only after the door slammed shut did he hear the full force of Adam's wails of grief and pain, of loss and terror.

Lucifer just ran a hand down his face, and then glanced to his side. A tall woman stood beside him to the right of the doorway, with a skeletal face, a red dress, and a package wrapped in her arms.

"I see now why you're the King of Hell." Rosie smiled, teeth freshly sharpened. "It's not just the power is it, sweetheart? You're worse than I thought, but please take that as a compliment. I'm impressed."

Lucifer's own grin was hard to keep off his face, the longer he heard Adam cry, the more a smile ripped across his skin. It took everything in him to not laugh. Adam was broken. Adam was his.

Rosie handed him the package, pieces of gold wrapped in twine and paper. "Here you go, and thank you again for letting us feast on him. He has awfully long legs, and the marbling was to die for. So to speak."

"No, thank you." Lucifer nodded his hat to her, and looked lovingly down at the chopped remains of Adam's wings. He knew they'd taste spectacular.

"Can I ask, why the wings?" Rosie asked.

"He doesn't deserve them," Lucifer answered easily. "He's better suited like this."

Rosie looked towards the door, "you know my business is truly in matchmaking - I can sense love from a mile away. And you, you are one of the most twisted cases I've seen in a very long time."

Lucifer didn't answer her directly. "Thank you Rosie, I'll be sure to call you again when the need rises."

She gave a small bow, before walking away, leaving Lucifer to his caged bird.

[a-jynx]

By the Stars & the Moon, I'll find you.

another angsty astarion idea, who knew! i hope you enjoy this lil idea, it's been racking my brain <3

once i romance some more characters in bg3, i'll hopefully be able to write about them as well!

um, so i am so deeply sorry? this fic got away from me (hint; this is why i put the poll for an extra-long fic or multiple parts...) i hope you still enjoy! <3

warnings: there are brief mention of smut, blood drinking, biting, killing of people, and the italicized/bold are either thoughts/memories!

word count; 7k

Dull sunlight broke through the curtains at the Elvin Inn, another little brothel lost on the edges of Baulder's Gate. The scent of ale and stale smoke filtered through the air, warm bodies stuffing themselves full of wine and liquor to help forget about their troubles, some even stuffing themselves into places that don't belong. You jumped as another body slammed into the booth next to you, jostling your ale from its mug. His putrid body odor smothered your sensitive smell.

"Hello, beautiful," his voice slurred as you rolled your eyes, slicing them towards him with a purse of your lips. "What're you doin' sittin' all by yourself?" His breath licked into your senses, making you gag before humming and taking a long sip from your ale. "Observing. People watching. However, you'd like to call it." You shrugged as he suddenly slung an arm around your shoulders, tugging your hood from your head and pulling you close. "Well, let me help you," his body pressed further into your side, his hand caressing your scarred neck. "That man over there," he paused, jutting his head towards the man surrounded by women. "He'll be set for life with his mistresses." He laughed, his body shaking yours as you huffed. Another sip. "That one?" Men were surrounding a young woman, her eyes low and her chest jumping with gentle laughter as a man curled into her, his hand tugging at her hair. "They'll end up married by the end of the night."

"You talk a lot for someone who observes." You mutter, downing the rest of your mug as he snorted. "I'm just tellin' ya what I observe, sweetheart," he suddenly grew closer. His hands grazed down your collarbone and the other rested against your lap. You snarled, pushing yourself away from his touch but his grip tightened. "Besides, I love observing someone else having-" You clenched your jaw, grabbing his chin with a tight grip.

"That won't be happening tonight for you, ale breathe." You hissed, splitting your lips into a grin as your fangs glittered in the dim lights. The man grew wide-eyed, his lips fumbling to make words as you licked at the sharp canines. "Though," you whispered, tugging him close as your lips ghosted his neck causing him to flinch into your hold. "I am feeling rather... Thirsty." The words slithered down his spine as tears cascaded down his cheeks, causing your smile to widen.

"Plea- Please, I have a family-"

"Yet, you hang around here until sundown." You grinned, releasing his chin and jumping forward, piercing his throat with a gargle as he thrashed against you. You sucked deeply. The copper and ale mixed heavenly on your tongue, coating your throat and emptying into your belly as he slumped against you. His blood dripped onto your chest as you licked up the stranded string dribbling down your chin. Your belly and chest felt warmer, soothed even. Moving his corpse to the other side of the booth, you stumbled back into your darkened seat, sighing contently. At least you got a meal out of the place...

"Any rooms will do, really." His voice pierced the air as you blinked, lips falling agape. "We'll only need it for a few nights." A stifled laugh left him as you lowered your head, quickly finding the new group of adventures that had wandered into the tavern. It couldn't be... It's been over 200 centuries since-

"Astarion, did you get us a room?" One of the women asked, her frown seemed plastered on her face while her arms crossed her chest. "Working on it, Shadowheart," his voice tightened as he leaned against the bar, flashing a... Dazzling smile. "What'd you say, handsome...? 300 coins for the next few nights?"

Astarion. Astarion Ancunín. But he escaped... Why did he come back?!

"Whatever, just know you'll never get a good night sleep here." Lonan warned while trading the vampire a key for some coins. All you could do was stare. Watching as he moved easily through the overcrowded tavern. He looked... Happy. Warm, even. His party followed behind him weaving through the tables and crowds. You quickly downed the last of your ale, cringing at the flavor that suddenly reminded you of stomach bile.

"We'll all be sharing, so I hope you and Lae'zel have worked out your differences." Astarion snickered, handing the key off to a man lavished in a dark purple robe, who rolled his eyes. "Behave, we just got this room and it'll be nice to have actual beds instead of sleeping on the hard ground." The man groaned, snatching the key as the others began to go upstairs, leaving the white-haired vampire to himself. It felt like the world had stopped as you turned your head, trying to hide your own ruby-colored eyes. "I'll be just fine Gale! I'll send up that cheap, vinegar wine for you and Wyll to share." He sent a wink as the man, Gale, rolled his eyes with a sigh before following the rest of their party upstairs. This was your chance.

You quickly moved out of the booth, your cloak catching the table causing the ale mug to go tumbling to the floor. A small group took notice of the noise but turned away, but of course... Of course, it had caught his attention. Yanking your cloak free, you tugged the hood over your head with a sigh before seeing his figure move in closer. Looking over your shoulder, you meet each other's gaze. Both parties too stunned to move - either fear or surprise - who could tell? You huffed out a sigh, watching as his nostrils flared - inhaling - and his eyes grew even wider as you took a few cautious steps back, turning away and moving towards the exit.

"Wait!" His voice cut through the loud bards' playing and the shouts of patrons as he pushed through them, following behind you. Gritting your teeth, you shoved a few staggering men into his path, quickly pushing out the door and out into the busy and bright streets. "Hey!" His voice broke through as he tried to shove past the men you threw his way, smirking, you quickly ran down the alleyway. Stumbling into the rough wall, you pushed off and ran down the corridor. Glancing back, you grinned as you saw him appear at the end you had just ran from. Standing for a moment, you looked at each other with your hands tickling the handle of your sword. His own weapon reflected the bright sun, your eyes widened as you took note of his body blanketed by the same ray. He's immune...?

"You shouldn't have come back, runaway." You spoke with a grin, flashing your fangs as he went to run towards you, an obvious snarl on his lips. You rolled your eyes, grabbing your cloak and dragging it over your body, disappearing into a puff of thick red smoke. Astarion stumbled over the cobblestone, growling as he stashed his dagger away. He'd lost his one up on Cazador. But he knew the spawn's face. He could find them again, and make sure their head became Cazador's warning that he's back in town...

**************

"Remind me why we had to leave that beautiful place again?" Gale groaned as Astarion led them through the thick forest. He had only told the party that he had seen of one Cazador's hunters and that the brothel - no matter how nice it was - was infested. "Astarion is the vampire expert, and he said if it was dangerous than I believe him." Shadowheart quipped, shifting her packs' weight with a sigh. "Besides, Halsin was getting antsy in there anyway." She couldn't fight back the grin as the taller elf shot her a sheepish grin.

"Alright, we should be far enough out that we won't have to worry about of Cazador's little leeches," he sighed, dropping his own pack with a grunt. He was being hopeful in the least. Who knows the length those spawns would go to bring him back to his shackles. Blinking away the memories, the party began to set up their shared camp, leaving Astarion to set up his own tent with ease. The soft duck pillows and blankets littering his camp softened the blow of the hard earth beneath him. The vanity in front of him held no image, causing his fingers to shake as he placed it on its desk. Dragging his fingers down the golden edges, all he could think was about the spawn from Elvins'. The dark cloak hugging them and hiding most of their... Condition. Those brilliant and glittering red gems seemed to glint when he chased them - they seemed excited. Thirsty for a hunt. His stomach lurched at the thought, his fingers shaking just like they did when he faced them in that alleyway.

Astarion jumped at the sound of Halsin cutting firewood, a quick sigh leaving his lips as licked at his fangs, allowing them to nick his tongue. His heart seemed to rattle against his chest as he rolled his shoulders, going into his tent and picking up one of the many books he had gathered on his party's venture. He would make a plan. A trap. He can easily best an overly eager spawn. He smiled to himself, he was going to get answers, one way or another.

**************

You moved carefully through the woods. Inhaling deeply, you were greeted with the angry scent of a burning fire and hints of different peoples' blood. Their bodies moving and pumping the intoxicating scent. Licking your teeth, you moved closer, already seeing the tents come into sight. How had no one else caught this spawn yet?

Your back slammed into a nearby tree as a sharp edge bit into your throat. A muffled shout left you as you met his bright, red eyes. You couldn't fight back the grin as he pressed himself further into you, the dagger carefully decorating your neck with a spot of blood. "Now, you're going to answer me and tell me everything I want to know," his voice came out thick, rough even. His hot breath panted against your cheek as you sucked your teeth.

"Ask away, runaway."

"Stop calling me that," he growled, pressing the blade harder as you hissed through clenched teeth, showing off your own fangs. Astarion blinked, your fangs weren't new. You were almost... As old as he was, as he could be. "Tell me who turned you. Who made you a spawn." He all but spat in what sounded like disgust. Anger. Disappointment. You swallowed thickly, moving your hand that had curled around his wrist that held the blade to your throat away, you revealed the other side of your neck. His eyes widened as he recognized the mark. His bite mark.

"Guess I wasn't as memorable as you were for me." You spoke dryly, sighing as he slowly dropped the pressure of his dagger. He took a small step back, staring at you with something you hated. Pity. "Don't look at me like I'm a lost pet," you spat, tugging your cloak trim closer. "You're just as lost as I am."

"Why're you here." He hissed, sleeving his dagger once again as you sighed, watching as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I came here to warn you-" Your back collided with the bark again, this time his hand wrapped tightly around your throat. Both hands shot up, gripping his wrist with a strangled wheeze.

"Warn me?! You should've run to warn your precious master," Astarion all but spit out each word as you hissed, digging your claws into his flesh with a growl. He barely flinched at the pain, merely hissing at the sting of your sharp nails.

"He's nothing to me! He abandoned me when I tried to save my-" You croaked, lips trembling as he growled, dropping you to the forest floor with a grunt. You gasped, grasping at your throat with a coughing fit. "Who did you save? Yourself? Shocking that a spawn would try anything against its master." He tsked, watching as you rose and leaned against the trees' bark, huffing deeply. Rubbing your sore neck, you rolled your eyes before slowly standing to your full height. "We never got along. Besides, I wanted out of that damned place for a long time." You spat out the last words, causing him to frown at you. He had caused this to fall onto you. You had been one of his first consorts for Cazador... One of his many firsts.

"I.. If you're looking for an apology, don't hold your breath. It's not in my nature, darling." He almost snorted with a huff. You rolled your eyes, taking a step towards him, crossing your arms over your chest. "I don't want an apology. What I want is your help."

"What?" He glanced at you, his brow perked up and with a slight tug of his lips. He may be hesitant, but he was intrigued. "What could I possibly help you with? And why would I even consider helping you?"

"You came back for a reason." You pointed, picking at your nails. "That reason has to do with Cazador. You want what he has, and to get that you'll have put that damned dagger through his heart," you hissed with a sickening grin. "Let me help you, and you help me." You stated matter-of-factly as he groaned, rubbing at his chin. "What could you possibly know about Cazador that I don't already know?" Astarion scoffed, waving his hands in the air as you carefully pulled off your hood, gently unclasping your cloak, tugging down your loose tunic. Turning around and presenting your back to Astarion, who stared with wide eyes at the infernal sigils carved jaggedly into your flesh.

"That he's planning to ascend." You almost whispered. His shock state makes you inhale deeply, quickly shrugging your cloak back on. Heat rose to your cheeks to the best of its ability as you turned to face him, sighing before meeting his eyes once more.

"And he needs us to finish the ritual."

********

"Tell me about the ritual," Astarion sat across from you as you glanced around his tent. It seemed more like a home than your cell or the room you rented at the Elvin Inn. "All of it." Turning back towards him, you reached into your satchel and pulled out a book. Flipping open and rifling through the pages, you thumbed through it until you landed on the stages.

"This is all I know of it. He's been planning this for centuries," you paused, turning the book towards him as he scooted closer, his fingers gently pressed against the yellow-tinted pages. "He must've had it planned since the night he changed you..." Your voice lowered as he glanced up at you through his lashes. "How can you be for sure? What if this was a- was a trap? A fake?" He laughed in his throat as you rolled your eyes, scooting closer and flipping the pages a few more times. Pointing at a few paragraphs as Astarion's eyes moved over the words. It was Cazador's own handwriting. This was his journal.

"How did you get this...?" His voice was low, barely a murmur as he turned to face you. His eyes were wide as he took in your features. You blinked once, twice, three times, before scoffing and leaning back from him - heat moved through your chilled figure. "It was simple, honestly... Cazador had me as his prized spawn," you scoffed out a laugh, picking at your nails once more before shrugging. "I was able to sneak into his quarters without much of a second thought. Everyone believed I was meant to be there, so I acted like it. I took the journal and ran,"

"How did you escape? You could've died from the sunlight-" Astarion scoffed, closing the book with a hard thump as you rolled your eyes.

"I waited, clearly." You spat, dragging your knees up to your chest with a sigh. "I listened to him tear apart his quarters and office trying to find it. He killed tens of us with such... Ease, that it felt as if I was dying every time, they hit the floor." Your voice was a small whisper, feeling tears well-up along your waterline. Astarion stared at you, brows furrowed, and his lips pulled in a tight frown.

"Do... Do you remember who he killed?" His voice was careful - like tiptoeing on ice. Ice that had already shattered and been refrozen.

"I only knew a few, maybe three of them, by name? They looked so different when they hit the floor," you turned your attention to your hands. Hard blood stained your palms while your fellow spawns' faces’ broke through your thoughts. Their screams echoing as you stared at the stained lines of your skin. "Teyona, Nyla, and... And Sebastian." You cut your attention towards Astarion, his face looked as if he'd seen a gnoll. You remembered how much Sebastian meant to Astarion, at least when he first turned him. They were more than spawn and consort - they were lovers. Until Cazador tricked them - him - just like he did to everyone in that foul castle.

"I'm sorry, I knew he meant something to you,"

"Please,” Astarion all but scoffed, but you could see the glossiness in his eyes. “That was centuries ago. Besides,” he reopened the book, flipping through the pages absentmindedly. “If Sebastian ever saw me, he’d probably try and run a stake through my heart.” A small smile graced his lips as you frowned. Sebastian had spoken about how Astarion tricked him, but he also spoke about how loved he felt... You shrugged, leaning into your knees with a muffled sigh. “You might’ve tricked him - lured him - but Sebastian talked about how much you poured love into it. He had to have known you might’ve cared more than let on.” He paused his page flipping, his lips pulled tight again. You could see the imaginative clogs clanking around in his head, you watched as he swallowed thickly. "Even if I did, it doesn't matter anymore," he paused, his eyes staring at the book, blankly. "He's dead." Astarion wettened his lips, his eyes flickering over the chicken scratch of your old master's handwriting. "You never told me what you'd be getting out of this little... Deal, we have on-going." Astarion's attention flickered to you for a moment as you cleared your throat.

"Does my part of the deal truly concern you?"

"No, but I'd rather know what the other party gets out of my sweet helpfulness." You couldn't fight the urge to roll your eyes. Nibbling at your lip, you grabbed the book from Astarion, who fought back for a second before releasing it to your grasp. Flipping a few pages towards the back, you landed on what looked like a list, or a note of some type. "Cazador was outraged when you fled, he took most of his anger out on the spawns' you had collected - myself included. For some reason, he took an interest when I fought back. I bit him, clawed at his clothes, ripped out his hair... Hells, I fought like I was going to die,"

"Because you would've." Astarion spoke quickly, his body facing towards you as you turned to look at him, already feeling the hot tears well up. "No... No, maybe in the end, but we were all part of his big plan. This," you held up the tattered journal, your hand shaking. "This ritual is what kept me alive. What kept you alive. He had to have planned this from the beginning." Your voice shook, tears spilling over and down your cool cheeks. Stomach twisting in tight knots as you dropped the book onto Astarions' carpeted tent floor, clenching your trembling hands into tight fists. His eyes flickered between the book and yourself, studying how you shook when speaking about this ritual - this ascension.

"Well, good to know I'm important for something." He laughed dryly, before standing and brushing himself off, glancing towards you. "When was the last time you fed?" You blinked at the question; your stomach seemed to twist even tighter at the mere thought. Standing up from your spot on the ground, you rolled your shoulders. "At the inn-"

"You fed on a drunk man?" Astarion released a loud, exaggerated laugh as you rolled your eyes, fighting back a grin as he wheezed. "That is fantastic, I'm shocked you were able to run from me,"

"And yet the great runaway spawn couldn't catch me, I suppose called me shocked as well." You released a short snort as Astarion placed his hands on his hips, rolling his eyes as he shouldered past you and outside his tent with you quick to follow. Darkness had already tucked away the world, leaving his companions to dream sweetly in their tents as you both moved towards the woods.

"You avoided the topic," Astarion broke the silence as you walked down a small pathway in the woods, towards a small clearing in a field. "Of what you'll be gaining from all of this. I mean," he paused, leaning against a tree and crossing his arms. "Cazador will want to send you to Avernus, only to bring you back and do it all over again." You merely shrugged. You knew the cost of doing this - all of it. Taking the book, tracking down and helping Astarion... Fighting for your past. You wandered around the tree, settling next a fallen branch while watching the gentle stream ahead of you both. "I understood the risk of doing any of this - escaping, taking the journal, seeking out you, hells even drinking from that patron would've gotten me buried." You licked at your dry lips, suddenly aware of how dry they felt. Astarion slinked closer to you, settling on the branch next to you as your knees knocked together, you flinched for a second but melted into the touch.

"I remember his methods well. He took... Everything from me. Everything I had in that time. My family, my childhood," he scoffed out a laugh. "Hells, he took my life." You glanced to the rogue, seeing his lips curve down and his eyes softened.

"This may sound... Utterly ridiculous," you whispered, causing Astarion to turn to you. "But I'm... Appreciative that you turned me." His eyes widened as you turned away, facing the stream once more. "I had nothing going for me. Any coin found or made was spent on ale, I flirted my way into a getting a roof over my head for the night but was always gone before sunrise, no true friends or family to seek me out," you paused, inhaling deeply while feeling Astarion's stare burned holes into the side of your head. "So, when you approached me, I thought it was just another way to get a warm bed but... Who knew I would wake up as someone else, in a dirty cell no less."

"You... You appreciate becoming a monster? Something that must stalk around at night because the sun would threaten to turn you to dust? Feeding on the blood of things with thinking minds? Forced to become someone else's puppet?" Astarion spat, each word dripping with venom as you snapped your head to him. His brows pinched together and a snarl on his lips, his fangs on display from his clenched teeth.

"I had no life before becoming a monster, Astarion!"

"So, it was better to be the puppet of someone monstrous than to try and make something of yourself?!" He snapped, standing from the limb as you followed. You felt your cheeks burn hot from embarrassment. Licking at your own fangs, you sighed. "No. No, it wasn't better. You know how he was - how he is. Beating us, belittling us, feeding us rodents for meals and laughing as we fought like dogs; afraid when our next meal would be, burying us beneath the earth and waiting for us to pop out like fucking daisies in the spring! That life wasn't better, but I had a roof. And people I considered to be a family - as messy and challenging as it was - is." You spat, huffing with tears blurring your vision once more. Quickly wiping them away with your wrists, you sniffled. "It wasn't better. You're right about that, but I am still appreciative because even though I miss the sun, I miss seeing the worlds' color, hells I miss seeing myself... I miss a lot of things, but everything I gained helps make up for it," you finally turned to face him, seeing his eyes had darkened harshly, but he had a look of... Confusion.

You sat in silence, just staring at one another before he ripped his attention away and standing from the fallen limb. Watching as he stalked away towards the stream, his arms crossed at his chest, leaving you to observe quietly. Watching as he pulled his dagger from its' hidden sleeve, and jumping as he threw it off to the right, causing your brows to furrow. Sitting quietly, you watched as he followed where his knife had flown, only to see him reappear with a rabbits' lifeless body. He struck its neck with his fangs, drinking from the dark, brown-furred animal, watching as the blood dripped past his lips and dribbled from his chin... You felt your mouth begin to water. Snapping his eyes open, he cut his eyes towards you before breaking away and tossing you the animal, you could only blink as he stalked back towards you, settling back into his spot. "Either drink from it, or give it back," he sighed, licking at the bloodied blade as you swallowed thickly, quickly striking it with your own fangs. Your eyes fluttered closed as you drank from the rabbit, humming softly before dropping it into your lap, licking at the crimson that smeared across your lips. You jumped as Astarions' thumb traced your bottom lip, tugging the fat drop of blood that had dripped down before he brought to his own mouth, suckling it gently. Warmth flooded your cheeks from the action. He stood abruptly, sleeving the dagger once more before he moved around the branch that had become your bench.

"Get your strength up, we will be needing it when we face our old... Acquaintances." He threw over his shoulder as he went down the path towards his camp. Inhaling deeply, you turned back towards the stream, licking at your lips before glancing down to the rabbit in your hands. Drinking from things with a thinking mind. Is that why he killed it first? No. Vampires usually love the hunt and the warmth from the blood... So, why kill it? You frowned, standing from your seat and moving towards the tree Astarion had leant against earlier, tugging your sword from its' sleeve. Flipping it in your hand, you used the handle to dig a hole in the loosened soil, placing the rabbit inside, and covering it up gently. Patting the soil softly, you stood, moving towards Astarions' camp as the night slowly became lighter. The day was coming quickly, and you were somehow excited to take it on.

**********

You did it.

You really did it.

You watched as Astarion landed on his haunches, blood splattered and smeared across his body while Cazador gurgled and choked on his blood. Your hands trembled as you stumbled towards them, falling next to Astarion as he gasped out before looking up, allowing a gut-wrenching cry to burst through. Tears cascaded down your cheeks, lightening the blood from your face. Dropping your sword as you glanced around, seeing your brothers and sisters drop from the rituals binds. A soft scoff-like laugh escaped your lips as you turned back to Astarion, reaching over and grasping his shoulder causing him to whip his head towards you.

"We did it..." Your voice shook as you suddenly thrusted yourself into him. Your arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he stumbled, landing onto his backside with a small thump, his arm shaking before slowly wrapping around your back, holding you close. "We did it, star," you leaned back, your crimson eyes locking with his own, his pupils blown. You grew conscious of how your body rested against his, breathing in unison as your eyes grew wide. Star...? Star?! Why- Where did that name come from? You blinked, slowly falling from his lap and meeting the cold, stone floor, your palm slapping the thick puddle of blood as you lurched forward, your head feeling like it was being split by a pike.

Your body shook in pain as you clenched your eyes shut, gritting your teeth, feeling your fangs prick against your bottom lip. Astarion moved towards you, grabbing your shoulder and dragging your head back into his lap; his hand caressing your sticky cheek. "Relax, let it through, shhh," his voice became light years away as you shook against his grip.

Images flashed across your blackened vision; your hot skin pressed against his. Sweat clung to your bodies as you moved together, hair sticking against your forehead and nape. Astarion's mouth moved hungrily against yours, nipping at your bottom lip, begging for entrance. You licked into his mouth, deepening the kiss. His hands slid across your body, squeezing and pinching at your skin, leaving irritated scratches across your skin. His mouth moved on from your lips, the tip of his tongue licking along your throat, his lips pressing hot kisses against it.

"Astarion," you moaned, tilting your head back, allowing him access to your throat. His inhale shook as he pressed tighter kisses to your throat, gently nibbling at your pulse, causing your body to jolt. "Patience, darling," he whispered huskily against your throat, pressing open-mouth kisses down your shoulder, nipping at your chest. "Only good little pets get what they want." You moaned openly; one hand tightened into his bright, white curls before tugging his lips back to your own. You bit his bottom lip, tugging it between your teeth. "Show me the stars, Astarion," you pressed another hungry kiss to his lips, smirking as he moaned into it. His mouth moved down your neck once more, hovering over your thundering pulse before he pierced it with his fangs. You've never moaned louder.

You withered against Astarion's lap, gasping as one of your hands shot out, wrapping tightly around his tattered and blood-covered tunic. Your scream pierced through the somewhat silent basement.

Your giggled echoed through the spawn dorms. Astarion cradled you close while playfully glaring. "You're going to get us into trouble," he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to your temple as you turned into him, cuddling closer. You couldn't hold back your smile. "Well, excuse me for being excited about you finally asking me to be yours," you smirked as he scoffed, rolling you both over to where he hovered over you, a small smile on his lips.

"Nyla was starting to think you were stringing me along," you chuckled as Astarion rolled his eyes, pressing another kiss to your lips. You sighed into the affection, wrapping your arms around his neck and dragging him closer to you. With your foreheads pressed tightly together, Astarion slowly pulled back, his soft breathing barely tickling your lips. You could see the twinkle in his bright, red eyes as they stared back into your own. "You look like you're thinking," you mumbled, smiling again. "That's quite dangerous for you." Astarion scoffed at you, rolling onto his back next to you, still keeping you tangled close. "Only you would consider my thinking dangerous," he snipped, pressing another kiss to your cheek. "I have many great ideas, like for instance, making you into a breath-taking," he pressed a kiss into your hair. "Talented." Another to your nose. "Skillful." Another kiss to your lips. "Dangerous spawn," his voice trailed off as his lips trailed down your neck, placing his last kiss against your vampiric scar. "Just like me." You turned your face towards him, smiling softly while staring at one another. The world around you seemed to blend together.

"I believe you are the promise of perfection in my eyes, my Star," you whispered, reaching up and caressing his cheek, brushing your thumb against the apple of his cheek. He blinked, mouth falling slightly agape as he broke into a small grin, turning towards your palm and pressing another kiss against your roughened skin. "We share a similar view, my Moon." He murmured against your skin, as you stared at one another, just loving each other's touch. "Promise me something, Astarion," you lowered your voice as he furrowed his brow, sitting up on his elbow as he leaned over you. "Promise me we'll get out here... Promise we'll find a way out of here, and a way to be just us." You stared up at him with hope glittering in your eyes. Lovestruck eyes. Astarion stared at you, his lips agape once more as he leaned down, pressed a soft, love-filled kiss to your lips. He knows... He knows you may never escape this. Your lips moved together, pressing hungrily into each other. But that doesn't mean he won't try.

Your eyes snapped open, seeing Astarion holding onto your cheeks, keeping your head still against his thighs as you looked around wildly. You could feel each individual swell of sweat as you curled your hands into your blood-soaked tunic. He hushed you gently, rubbing his thumbs over the apples of your cheeks.

Astarion ran ahead of you, his grip on your wrist tight - tighter with each step. You stumbled over the steps as you both rushed through Cazador's palace. Your supposed brother and sister's running after you - shouts of how you were disgusting traitors following you through the hallways. Turning a sharp corner, you slammed into the wall with a loud shout as Astarion glanced back to you, gritting his teeth as he saw your family behind you.

He swore to find a way to protect you. Protect what you had. To find a way for both to escape the abuse and hardship that followed behind the Cazador home life. And he did, he had found a way out for you - for you both. The only problem is trying to reach it without dying.

Turning another corner, you stumbled into Astarion's back, gasping as you looked around. The ballroom door was shut. And locked. You blinked, your grip on Astarion's hand tightened ever slightly as you both turned, him stepping behind you as he looked around, fear and dread suddenly licking up the back of his neck. He had brought you - his darling, his moon - into the mouth of danger itself. A few controlled spawns surrounded you as the room grew thick with dread. Astarion drew his dagger with a glare, his jaw ticked with anger, teeth grit tightly together.

"Drop your weapon, Astarion, make this simple work before Master joins in the fun," the twisted and eerie voice of your sister, Teyona snickered. Your bottom lip trembled as you tightened your grip on Astarions' tunic. You bared your fangs as he kept his arm out, trying to keep your body behind him. "Just let us go, Tey! Please," your voice wobbled as she tilted her head, her eyes darkening. "I am begging you to let us go! Before Cazador comes! We used to plan our escapes while locked in our cells, dreamed of a knight coming to our rescue!" You felt hot tears dripping down your cheeks, your hands trembling in Astarion's grasp as his eyes darted around the room. "Astarion is my knight! He is my rescue that we've always begged for!"

"Why would I release you when Master has a bigger plan for you." Teyona hissed before rushing towards you both. Astarion slashed at her, but she dodged easily, snickering as she stood tall. "Get them!" A wave of your supposed family washed towards you, fangs and claws bared. Astarion slashed, stabbed and even bit at who was considered your kin. Drawing your sword from its sleeve, you slashed across the vampiric crowds, jumping when a pair of claws slashed across your arm, ripping your flesh as Astarion growled, jumping forward and stabbing his stained dagger into the enemies' chest. Baring his fangs as he twisted it before preparing another strike. Blood splattered and sprayed across the floor, more bodies crumbling and crashing into the marble flooring. The crimson decorating the floor smeared and colored your clothes. You went to turn towards Astarion, thinking him closer than he was, you met the face of Nyla, who you believed to be your true sister in your shared rebirth. She bared her fangs as you stared at her, your sword trembling in your hand as you felt bile rise up in your throat.

"Ny-Ny, please..." You whispered, biting the tip of your tongue as you took a step back, swallowing as she tsked, surging towards you. "No!" You tossed your sword away, tossing up both of your arms to block her blows. Her teeth sank into your forearm, her claws digging into your flesh as an inhuman scream breached your lips. Astarion whipped around at the sound, eyes wide and mouth agape as he struck down the last spawn beside him. "No!" He moved towards your struggle on the ground, only to skid to a stop as... As Sebastain appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Astarion, going somewhere?" The other spawn grinned, their usually shared red eyes, darkened as Astarion bared his fangs at his former consort. "Get out of my way, Sebastain, do not make me your enemy." His voice slightly shook. Sebastain tilted his head, his long, black hair sliding past his shoulder. Your screams and the left-over spawns seemed to melt into the background. "Why stay and fight, hmm? Your... Little Moon will only be the one to sign your away your last breath." He snickered, sauntering towards Astarion, whose dagger slowly lowered. "Don't you see?" He paused, standing beside Astarion with a sad smile. "They couldn't even kill the threat in front of them," his voice slithered into Astarion's ear, making his lip tremble as he glanced down at his dagger. He should stab him. He should've already killed Sebastain and been at your side, getting out of here, heading towards freedom... So, why were his feet still firmly planted in the thick puddle of blood?

"Run." Astarion snapped his head towards Sebastain as he appeared back in front of him, a sickening smile on his lips. "Run away while you still can, because if you drag that... Cargo alongside you? You'll be dead before you hit the streets."

"No. No, they're my lover! I wouldn't leave them even if it meant-"

"Dying? Are you really willing to pay your life for someone who couldn't even protect themselves? How can you trust they'll be there when you need them most...? How do you know they won't take that dagger," Sebastain paused, his fingertip pressing against the drying tip of his dagger, causing his eyes to follow it. "And stab it right into your back." Astarion jumped at the thought. You wouldn't. You were his moon, and he your star. You both had thought of a plan to escape and live out your long, long lives together... So, why did he feel his heart jump at the thought of freedom... Alone?

"Go. Go far, far away, while you still can, my Star," Sebastain cackled as the ballroom doors' swung open, causing you both to shoot your attention towards them. Your eyes met, locking onto one another, as you kicked and pushed against Nyla's body. Blood leaked and spluttered around her mouth as you sent a swift kick to her abdomen, knocking her off. "Astarion! Help me!" You pushed up onto your good arm, pressing your bleeding forearm against your chest. Astarion stared at you, his hand trembling as he blinked back tears. "Star...?" Your voice was barely audible as he sighed, rushing out the heavy metal doors, them slamming shut behind him. You stared in disbelief, your mouth agape and tears building along your waterline, quickly dripping down your cheeks. "Astarion..." His name became a whisper on your lips.

You jumped when Cazador's office door slammed open, the remaining spawn standing at ready as he slowly moved towards you. A sickening smile on his lips as he stood in front of you. "Well, well, look what the love-drunk spawn forgot," he leant down, capturing your throat in a tight grasp. You gagged and dug your nails of your good arm into his wrist, gritting your teeth. "His little love." His voice dripped with anger, before slowly rising with your toes barely brushing the marble floor. "Lock them in the cell. I'll have to think of some... Punishments for their naughty, naughty behavior." He turned, throwing your body towards the basement elevator. You slid across the hard floor, a howl escaping your throat as you grasped your thrumming side. The other, loyal spawn surrounded you as Cazador's control slowly slipped away as he moved back into his office. Nyla, Teyona, and Sebastain, the three other spawns they had bonded with, the only ones who made them believe that they were capable of having a loving family....

"Forgive us, please," Nyla whispered, helping Teyona pick you up as Sebastain stayed quiet, following as they all walked towards the elevator. Dread filled your bloody and aching body, you wanted to beg, plead, bargain even! Just kill you. Send you to Avernus if you must, just don't let him touch you... You would rather burn for all your lives, than be given to Cazador as a beating bag... Your mind drifted towards Astarion... The look on his face as he ran through the doors, not even looking back to you. No second glance, nor second thought. But he was free... Right? Your fellow spawn locked you into Cazador’s cells, quietly leaving as you sat, listening to the echoing drips, each one making your body jolt. Your tears silently continued while tugging your knees up to your chest, hugging them tightly.

You jumped at the elevator descending again, swallowing thickly at the bile that had worked its way up your throat. Boots echoed through the silent prison, only to stop in front of your cell. “Hello, worm… Now,” Cazador held a twisted and gnarled dagger, its blade almost seemed to wink at you in the dim candlelight. “How shall we begin?”

Cazador tortured you for days and nights. Each day led to something far worse than the last, he had carved jaggedly and twisted sigils into your flesh - breaking your flesh as your screams echoed through the prison. He constantly revisioned. Each memory surged into your mind, bullying its way into your soul while you seemed to relive each method. Cutting into your skin, thrown sick or rotting rats into your cell and forcing you to eat them to keep yourself from starvation, tempting you with blood of your siblings - forcing your jaw open and forcing you to drink from them - killing them. Their bodies cracked against the cold stone, your choked sobs bouncing around you as you fought back to swallow their hot blood. Cazador merely laughed, smirking at your distraught, shaking figure.

Images of his blood in your nails pushed forward. His deep scream as he clutched his forearm, his through his teeth. “Vile, imbecile of a child!” He screamed, grasping your throat with his good hand. “If you believed in any Gods before this,” he spat, curling his dagger-like nails into your flesh, a guttural scream erupting from you as you flailed, kicking and scratching at him. “You should begin begging for mercy in their powerless names!” He shouted, spit flying across your face as you screamed. Your hands moved first, scratching across his arm and shoulder, his smile never ceased. He buried you deep beneath the earth. Splinters cut and sank into your skin, dirt and congealed blood clotted your throat and face, your nails broken and peeled back as you broke through the brittle dirt. Gagging and coughing up that stuck to your dry throat, as you sucked in the crisp night air, only to shake as you glanced up, seeing his smirking face. “Hello… Worm.”

Every form and piece of torture, Cazador forced you to beg out in Astarion’s name. To call out to your cowardice lover, to curse his name and all that may become of him. You would scream out for him, begging for him to rescue you each time you were cut deeper, kicked or hit harder, starved longer… Buried deeper. But, each time, you slowly forget the sight of him. The smell of him. The name of him. The mere memory of him… Whoever ‘him’ used to be. All these memories flooded away, but you could still hear his gentle voice whisper in your ear when your punishments were on the severe side. His trembling voice begging for you to stay alive. To keep fighting. To find him.

You gasped, coughing and retching as Astarion released his tight grip, his eyes darting all over your face as you rolled onto your knees, coughing and gagging from the memories. You snapped your head towards Cazador's draining body, grabbing your sword from where it landed from rolling out of your grip. You slid through the thick blood, swinging it down against his body. Once. Twice. Three times, continuing to heave the piece of steel into his muscle and bones. Tears quickening as you slam the final blow into his deformed skull; a bone-chilling scream leaving your lips as Astarion crawled behind you, dragging you into his chest, holding you tightly.

"Shh, shh, my Moon, it's okay," he whispered into your hair, caressing you as you spun in his arms, wrapping them snug around his neck and smashing your lips against his own, mouths moving together. Teeth and tongues smashing together in a wrestle for dominance or desperation - who could tell. You gasped, leaning back, yet keeping your hands tightly wrapped in his hair.

"My Star, by the Gods I should drive a stake through your heart for leaving me here all those centuries ago, you... You Gnoll-haired toad!" You hissed, pressing more kisses to his skin as he sighed into it, digging his fingers into your clothes while tugging your bodies closer. "I regretted leaving you the moment I stepped foot outside," he whispered into your skin, heaving as you breathed him in. Not caring of your siblings seeing the love and tender touches. You waited centuries to hold your promised lover. Your star. "I should've grabbed you. I should've killed Nyla and brought you with me, held you closer..." His lip trembled as your thumb gently caressed it, staring into his glistening eyes. "Gods, I should've slaughtered everyone that day because I love you."

You sighed, pressing your mouths together once again. Your bodies fit together like puzzle pieces that had missed each other. Pressing another kiss to your cheeks and any free skin, he ripped the cloak from your body and pressed a deep kiss to your vampiric mark. His mark.

"As much as I should maul you," you sighed, your lips slowly breaking into a grin. "I love you more than the want to harm that pretty face." He rolled his eyes, pressing another kiss to your lips as you sighed into him. You had each other now, losing the sun was worth finding each other, however... Now, you had a new problem; how're you supposed to get an illithid tadpole removed from your lost lover's brain?

*******

Well, I did ask if you guys wanted a long fic! I hope you enjoyed, and I do look forward to writing for you in the future! <3 ~ Jae

[mrsjoeythehurler]

When I Met You

(OC FMC x Liam Mairi)

All characters except for Aurora Sallow who is my OC and the FMC of this fic belong to Rebecca Yarros. The plot of Fourth Wing also belongs to Rebecca Yarros.

Content warnings: most of the warnings that are for Fourth Wing are also going to be in When I Met You. That includes: Blood, death, injury, violence and war. The only content warning I am adding is panic attacks (2)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟAurora Sallow ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

After Commandant Panchek's speech, we are given the rundown of what will happen for the next few months leading up to Threshing and what will happen after it. Then, we are all placed into our respective sections with our respective leaders.

Of course, Violet, Rhi, and I were all placed in Dain's section as he requested. We're now members of Second Squad, Flame Section. And even though I may not like Dain that much, Violet trusts him, and that's good enough for me.

As we're waiting for the rest of the wings to be called, I can't help but think back to the boy from earlier. He was so handsome I couldn't get my mind off of him. I fight the urge to look for him in the crowd, but it's hard. I want our eyes to meet again. I want to get lost in them. It was only one look, but I felt it like a charge throughout my entire body. I couldn't get him off my mind.

The roll-keeper begins speaking again, breaking me out of my thoughts. Closing my eyes and shaking my head, I turn my attention to the dais.

Earlier, we found out that 100 of us cadets survived the Parapet, while sixty-seven did not. It was hard to hear, especially when you realize that none of the fallen cadets would get a proper burial.

When people die, instead of being laid to rest, their names are called once upon those who are there to listen, and then all their belongings must be burned, not even sent back to their families for keepsakes.

They will never get to see their families again, and their families will never be able to give them the proper goodbye they deserve. It breaks my heart, so I provide the roll-keeper with all my attention whenever a name is called. I want to hold their names in memory so that I can remember them and pay my respects.

Just then, Rhiannon leans in towards Violet and I. "What do you think they're talking about?"

I look to the left of the dais and see Xaden and the other Wingleaders talking amongst themselves.

"I have no idea," I tell her.

"Quiet." Dain hisses, not even sparing us a glance.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don't think they'll hear us from all the way over here, but I don't tell Dain that. Something tells me he hates being wrong. Or he takes his job very seriously. Maybe a little too seriously.

Suddenly, the roll-keeper looks towards our group. "Dain Aetos, you and your squad will switch with Aura Beinhaven's." She commands.

Wait, what? Are we switching squads?

Dain nods and tells us to follow him, so we do.

Right to Fourth Wing.

Why did we switch wings? I look at Rhi who gives me a confused look, mirroring my own. I then look over towards Violet, but she seems frozen…and a little pissed off.

"You're all cadets now," Xaden says, his voice carrying out over the courtyard. "Take a look at your squad. These are the only people guaranteed by Codex not to kill you."

Well, that's reassuring.

"But just because they can't end your life doesn't mean others won't." He goes on. "You want a dragon? Earn one."

Almost everyone starts cheering. I think Violet and I are the only ones who don't.

Xaden says, "And I bet you feel pretty badass right now, don't you, first years?"

More cheers erupt around us, but again, I stay silent. I don't think there was one moment in my life when I felt badass. I don't even think I understand the meaning of the word. Not even after completing the Parapet. I just felt relieved I got Sawyer and me to safety.

Xaden suddenly stops talking, and the sound of wings can be heard over the wind.

"Oh gods, they're beautiful," Rhi whispers from beside me as a riot of dragons appears.

I'm speechless.

I've seen dragons before, but only in the sky far away. Never up close.

Sometimes at night, when it was late, and I couldn't sleep because my anxiety would keep me up, I would sit beside my open window looking out into the night sky, gazing at the stars, and breathing in and out to the clouds passing in front of the moon. Occasionally, one or two dragons would fly in front of the light, creating the perfect silhouette. It would never frighten me, only make me feel comfort at a time when I needed it most. Like I wasn't really alone in my anxiety. Like the dragons were telling me they see me.

But these aren't far away like those I would catch glimpses of from my window. These dragons were headed straight towards us.

They all land on the outer semicircular wall: one red, two green, one brown, one orange, and one navy. All of them are huge and magnificent, but the navy one is massive—tremendously larger than the rest. Their large talons grip the edge of the wall, their scales shimmering with the sun's light gleaming off them, and their semi-translucent wings are gorgeous.

A few cadets around me scream, but I know better.

When I was a Scribe, I would read a lot about dragons. I wanted to know about the creatures that visited me each night beyond my window. I know what to do and what not to do when in the presence of one. You should stay calm and still and not make any noise. You also shouldn't show any fear, as they can sense it. Dragons are not dumb. You shouldn't make loud noises or try to run in the opposite direction, as this makes the dragon see you as prey. If you do that, you could die.

When I see a cadet from Third Wing make a run for it, I hold my breath. I know what will happen next, and there's nothing anyone can do about it unless they want to meet the same fate.

To my left, I see the red dragon open its mouth, revealing large, razor-sharp teeth and shooting flames toward the fleeing cadet.

He's ash on the ground in less than a second.

There are two more gusts of heat, one to the left of me and one to the right.

Two more cadets are gone.

"Anyone else feel like changing their mind?" Xaden shouts as he scans the rows of cadets, most with faces of horror after what just occurred. "No? Excellent. Roughly half of you will be dead by this time next summer." He goes on, "A third of you again the year after that, and the same your last year. No one cares who your mommy or daddy is here. Even King Tauri's second son died during his Threshing. So tell me again: do you feel invincible now that you've made it into the Riders Quadrant? Untouchable? Elite?"

Silence.

"Because you're not untouchable or special to them." Xaden continues as he points towards the enormous Navy dragon, but his eyes seem to be on Violet as he says, "To them, you're just the prey."

꘎♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡꘎

The next day, all of us are getting ready to go to our first Battle Brief.

We met in the courtyard earlier, where Captain Fitzgibbon read the death toll of the fallen cadets. We were then instructed by Dain and Sawyer to go back to our dorms to get what we needed for Battle Brief.

Actually, I believe Sawyer's exact words were "get your shit and don't be late."

Violet, Rhi, and I are in the hallway, walking towards our dorm, which we all share, when Rhi suddenly says, "That has to be hard."

I give her a confused look.

"Sawyer." She says. "Being set back and having to do this all over again."

"Better than being dead," Ridoc says, walking past us.

I roll my eyes at Ridoc. "Yeah." I agree as we continue walking. "But Sawyer's alright. He's handling it well. He seems to be doing okay."

"Oh yeah," Rhi says, giving me a smug look. "You two are close, aren't you? Do you like him? Is there something going on?"

I laugh as we all turn a corner. "No. I don't like him like that. But he is a great friend, and if either of you ever have a thing for him, I'll be happy to put in a good word."

Rhi gives me a big smile. "I may have to take you up on that."

I haven't told either of them about the boy from yesterday who I can't stop thinking about. It's not like anything is going to happen there. Besides, who even knows if he was looking at me the way I was looking at him. Maybe I had something on my face.

We're almost to our dorms when I hear someone whistle. All of us stop in our tracks. We turn to see Dain, and his eyes are set on Violet.

"I'll be—"Violet starts.

But Rhi cuts her off. "We'll grab your stuff and meet you there. It's under your bunk, right?"

"You don't mind?" Violet asks.

"Of course not," I say. "It's no problem at all. Go."

"Thank you." Violet smiles at us before heading off in the direction of Dain.

꘎♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡꘎

After Battle Brief, I return to my dorm to prepare for sparring.

Battle Brief is a class taught by Professor Devera, a woman with short purple hair and a purple Flame Section patch on her shoulder. It will be held every day.

It's an essential class in case any of us are called into service early. It's held in the circular tiered room that curves at the end of the academic hall. It is one of the only rooms that fits all cadets, filling every seat.

Because Battle Brief is a class that relies on the most current information, we are required to answer to Professor Markham, a scribe whom Violet and I know very well.

Violet and I were supposed to be mentored by Professor Markham this year at the Scribe Quadrant before he retires. Unfortunately, both of us were sent to the Riders Quadrant, so that won't be happening. Violet, especially, was going to be his star pupil.

During Battle Brief, we learned some new information about the upcoming war, which shocked every cadet in the room.

Professor Devera told us that last night, a drift of Braevi gryphons attacked the eastern wing near the village of Chakir because the wards faltered. Professor Devera said it took an hour for a squad to get there to protect the wards. Thirty-seven civilians were killed in the attack.

When we all heard this information, we were shocked. I swear you could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium.

When a first-year in front of me asked if this was the first time the wards had faltered, Professor Devera answered with a "no." All of us were even more shocked and confused.

Thanks to Rhi, well, it was actually Violet who told Rhi to ask the question, who asked what the altitude of the village was at; we found out it was a little less than ten thousand feet, which is way too high for Gryphon's to fly.

Gryphons aren't as strong as dragons and can't fly as high as they can. It made no sense for them to fly that high unless they knew the wards were about to fail. As Violet pointed out during class.

There's also no way those riders got there within the hour of the attack. It would have taken at least half that long to signal for help. Which means they were already on their way to the faltering wards.

Which also means they already knew the wards were breaking.

It turns out that Violet and I's suspicions were correct. Professor Devera told us that one of the dragons in the wing sensed the faltering ward and the wing flew to protect it. If they had not got there in time, there would have been more casualties, and the destruction of the village would have been worse than it is.

Xaden also made a comment during class that made me pause because it made sense. The gryphon riders were definitely looking for something, as the state of the village showed. Apparently, the buildings they'd already gone through were burned, and the others were being looted when the wing arrived.

The only question now is, what were they looking for?

That's something to think about later. Right now, I must focus on sparring and how I will get through this.

Considering my entire life has been focused on becoming a scribe and spending most of my time in the Scribe Quadrant, I have never done any sort of physical training. I have never fought another person in my life, and I wasn't planning on it. It's not like I had any time to practice before I got here. My parents didn't really give me a heads-up before they sent me here and away from my dream future like it was nothing.

After I finish putting my hair into a ponytail, I head towards my door and walk out into the hallway.

I turn the corner and bump into a wall.

Nope, not a wall. A person.

"I'm so sorry," I say, looking up and freezing.

It's him. The gorgeous boy from yesterday.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." He says as he looks into my eyes.

He gives me a small smile that shows off a dimple, and I can't function properly.

Realizing he has his hands on my shoulders to steady me, I take a small step back.

Clearing my throat, I give him a small smile of my own. "I'm Aurora."

"Liam." He says, still looking deep into my eyes.

His eyes are so beautiful. He is so beautiful.

"Okay, well," I say, shaking myself out of my stupor, "thank you for not being a wall."

I hate myself.

Liam laughs, and I want to bottle it up and listen to it forever. "No problem, " he says, putting his hands in his pockets. "You're going to spar?"

"Yes," I say. "I'm assuming you're headed there too?"

"I am." Liam nods. "Can I walk you there?"

I look up at him with wide eyes. "You want to walk me there?"

He scratches the back of his head, and a blush creeps up his cheeks. "Yeah," Liam clears his throat, "if you'll let me."

"Um… yeah, okay, sure." I give him a small smile.

We walk in silence for a couple minutes before the anxiety gets the better of me.

"So you're in Fourth Wing," I blurt.

I'm realizing now that I am absolutely not good at small talk.

He still gives me that smile. "I am. I'm in Second Squad, Tail Section. "

"Cool. I'm in Second Squad, Flame Section."

We're silent for a minute before Liam continues. "So, how are you managing the Riders Quadrant so far?"

"I think okay. I'm not as prepared as the rest of the cadets here are, but I'm learning."

Liam looks at me for a long moment. "Did you not want to become a rider?"

"No," I say, clearing my throat. "I used to be in the Scribe Quadrant. That was my goal, becoming a scribe."

"What made you change your mind?" Liam says, looking down at me with those mesmerizing eyes.

"My parents. They told me two days before conscription day that I needed to become a rider."

Liam furrows his brows. "They didn't give you an option? They just told you that you needed to become a rider, and that was that?"

I look down, suddenly feeling stupid. "Yes," I murmur.

I don't tell him that I've never said no to my parents in my life. I don't like disappointing people or feeling like a burden, so when my parents told me that I was going to the Riders Quadrant, I went along with it—even if that meant destroying my hope for the future.

"I'm sorry." He says.

I shrug. "It's okay. My friend Violet is here too. We were in the Scribe Quadrant together."

"It's good that you have someone you know here, " he says, looking over at me. "I'm glad you have someone you know here."

Looking up at him, I give him a small smile. "Yeah, me too."

We continue down the hall in a comfortable silence until we reach the sparring gym.

[grapenehifics]

Rotating the Obikin Lighthouse Fake-Married AU in my brain 🤔 Forgive me, I’m about to throw a lot of ideas at you because my plot brain is a mess lol.

So, I’m thinking this world but in the 1950’s to make them suitably cut off from the rest of the world and to enable some backstory for them both from WWII. Obi-Wan has already been a keeper of the lighthouse for two years now unaccompanied, but in the fall the owners of the house send him a letter requiring him to marry or else he’ll be fired in favor of an already wed keeper. Panicking, he writes a letter to the local town’s paper requesting an ad to be put out looking for a spouse/assistant keeper.

Anakin within this AU is desperate for a job due to backstory I haven’t thought of yet lol and looks through the newspaper ads to find Obi-Wan’s, and although marrying a stranger and working on a tiny island tending a lighthouse doesn’t sound like his thing, he immediately writes back for the promise of free room and board for six months.

Their first meeting is their wedding, officiated on the seaside dock of the island right after Anakin gets off the boat. From there, the fic would go through their awkward first few weeks, their conflict with one another confined to such a small space, then their budding friendship when they recognize themselves in one another.

I think the smut/romance would naturally come about in the winter, when they have to spend nearly every minute inside lest they freeze in the ocean’s icy mist. Would definitely feature cuddling for warmth, fireside bonding, sleeping in the same bed on the coldest nights 👀 I can just imagine all the kinky shit they’d get up to on a remote island the second the dam broke between them lmaooo

Happy ending is they eventually save up enough money and buy their own lighthouse as a proper couple

Sorry for the unsolicited idea dump! Ignore me if you’re not into it hahaha just had to throw my sudden plot around the AU somewhere!

OMG YES THIS EXACTLY this is what I was picturing too!!

Anakin could be having a hard time readjusting to life post-war that makes it difficult for him to hold down a steady job? PTSD, and/or that's where he lost an arm and that's been a tough transition? (Or employers simply look at him and *assume* he won't be able to do the job, even though he's perfectly capable.)

Their first few weeks together would be SO awkward and uncomfortable! Neither are very talkative or forthcoming so they just sort of...sit and stew, haha. Until one of them makes the other laugh and they learn to have a normal conversation :)

And then you had me at cuddling for warmth. The aesthetics of this is amazing. Fireplaces, warm blankets, hot tea...when they do have to go outside to work, they'll inevitably get soaked to the bone in a storm and need the other to get them out of their wet clothes, dry them off and warm them up!!

And sooooo much privacy; they can be as loud as they want together all the way out there, and have sex in every room of that lighthouse whenever they feel like it ;) (a.k.a. often) (The next owners might not love that part so much...)

EXTREMELY into this and would gladly read more of this anytime!! ♥♥♥ Thank you for running with this fun prompt!!

[tellmegoodbye]

Now that I finally posted my fic, until the end of time, I wanted to make a separate post for the playlist as well!

I shared a couple of these songs for music monday, but I'm going to do a more in depth analysis of the entire playlist, listing each song in order, talking about which lyrics inspired me, and sharing which moments in the fic they reminded me of.

Listen to the full playlist here.

---

Overcome - Nothing But Thieves

This was the first song I connected to 4x18 back when I first started writing this fic back in June of last year. The playlist opens with it because it introduces the overarching theme of choosing love in life's most difficult moments.

Bringer of the calm, your arms wrapped around when the fever took Thought I was gone for good, you brought me back

But I've been thinkin', babe, maybe you're right When you said the pain weathers in time We're just waitin' for a change to follow We don't always get all that we want Redefine the pain to somethin' more And we shall overcome as we've done before

Stay - The People's Thieves

I see these lyrics as a sort of a back and forth between TK and Carlos.

The first verse is TK feeling helpless when he watches Carlos spiral. He knows that he has to wait for Carlos to come around. They'll leave the darkness when he's ready.

The second verse is Carlos understanding his own weakness. He knows he can't fight this alone even if he's too blinded by obsession to admit it. He needs TK (and Owen) to help him escape it.

The chorus is TK and Carlos comforting each other. TK was scared for Carlos, but Carlos came back to him as he always will. Carlos was lost, but he found his way back home to TK.

I can find a place where no one feels the rain We'll huddle while the storm goes Leave here when you say so Hang on I pray the day will come when you can feel the sun And wipe off all the marks of days spent in the dark love Hang on

I'm only just strong enough I'm slowly sinking through the ground below So hold me Just long enough to show me How to find my way back home

Stay When you feel afraid Where you are is where I'll always go When you've lost your way Where you are is where I'll always go

Sleep Deprivation - Chance Peña

This is where Carlos' head is at. He's lost within his grief and relentlessly persuing justice at the same time. He wants to do right by his family, but he can't do that without losing himself in the process. He still needs to realize that he is allowed to slow down to process his grief and take it one day at a time.

Lost and ambitious I've been on a mission I won't stop till I'm done I toss and turn almost every night I pray to God I'm doing right By all my family's wishes Lord knows I miss them Their love outshines the sun

So when I break down I list off the reasons I'm here and I'm still breathing I'm hanging on Try to break ground, make way for tomorrow I'll find a way through the sorrow One day at a time

Discoloration - Dawn Golden

This reminds of the scene where TK is trying to rationalize with Carlos, but Carlos isn't hearing him. He's too sucked into his obsession to see that he isn't alone.

You took my hand and brought me down in the morning And I was sitting waiting for the telephone to swallow me whole

And I watched your mouth moving like a tired machine trying to plead with me. Trying to swallow me whole

And the whites of your eyes blackened with a hardened decay And you talked to me in a broken voice

Fade In / Fade Out - Nothing More

I wrote an analysis on this song here, but I think these lyrics are the perfect encapsulation of Carlos and Gabriel's relationship. A lot of these thoughts would be haunting Carlos in his persuit of Gabriel's killer.

Son, I have watched you fade in You will watch me fade out When the grip leaves my hand I know you won't let me down

Go and find your way Leave me in your wake Always push through the pain And don't run away from change

We all get lost sometimes trying to find what we're looking for

Are You Really Okay? - Sleep Token

(cw: references of self harm)

This is a song about self harm from the outside perspective of a loved one. This is where TK really starts to realize that something is wrong with Carlos, and he doesn't know what to do. Carlos is engaging in his own version of self harm when he refuses to let himself sleep, eat, or grieve.

I raised you in the dark Caught you reading by the sunrise You wandered from the path Through the silence of the hillside

You woke me up one night Dripping crimson on the carpet I saw it in your eyes Cutting deeper than the scars could run

And don't you know I can see it in you even now And don't you know I want to help you but I don't know how And are you really okay?

I cannot fix your wounds this time I don't believe you when you tell me you are fine Please don't hurt yourself again

Promises I Can't Keep - Mike Shinoda

This is probably my favorite song on the entire playlist. In the aftermath of everything that went down, Carlos is in shock. He's upset, but he doesn't really have the chance to process the gravity of the situation until he gets home to TK. It's a feeling of relief mixed with that sinking feeling of realization when he comes back down to earth and his head is finally clear enough for him to see how bad it got, and how bad it almost became. He now has to accept the fact that he may not be able to keep his promise to Gabriel. He may not ever find his killer.

What's the difference between a loss and a forfeit I tried to make it better, but I made it more sick I tried to make it right, now awake at night I know reality was getting in the way

I used to think that I knew who I was Never saw it coming unglued I used to think that I knew who I was Now it's time to see if it's true

I had so much certainty Til that moment I lost control And I've tried but it never was up to me I've got no worse enemy Than the fear of what's still unknown And the time's come to realize there will be Promises I can't keep

I Am Not Who I Was - Chance Peña

Carlos has come to terms with the decisions that he made, and now he has to figure out where that leaves him. Is he still going to be a person TK can love? Is he going to keep going down a path of isolation, or is he going to hold on to what's most important to him? In the fic, he pleads with TK to not give up on him, and of course, this is never a question for TK.

You keep me steady on the ground When my head's lost in the clouds That spotlight, though it shines bright Could never drown you out I know it's hard when I'm away I'll just hope you don't lose faith 'Cause I told the truth when I said to you That I'll be back someday

So if I fly too far Will I still have a place inside your heart? And when you've seen what I've become Will you love me for who I am, not who I was?

Life's Gonna Kill You (If You Let It) - Man-Made Sunshine

TK approaches Carlos with more understanding than most people would have, because he's lost a parent too. He knows just how dark Carlos' thoughts are. And he has the experience to know what to expect. Carlos' grief is different from TK's, but having someone who loves him and who has been there is important when he hits his lowest point and can't see how he can drag himself out of it. TK isn't going to let Carlos get to a point where he can't come back.

You know I see your troubles from a continent away And they take me from my own And I know you feel your mind gets ugly every day And I know you know what it's like to feel insatiably alone

I won't let you get ill, I won't let you give in 'Cause this life will only kill you if you let it Don't you let me get ill, 'cause you know that I will My pain loves the company My life only kills me when I let it Yеah, life's gonna kill you if you let it

Back To One - O.A.R

This song is all about starting over. It's about changing your perspective when life becomes too overwhelming that you start to lose sight of the good things. When Carlos comes home and sees TK, his whole world who was right there waiting for him all long, he's reminded of the love he still has, and the happiness that he still has the ability to feel. He is not entirely lost. Looking back on his father's death isn't going to help him move forward. And moving forward isn't forgetting either. This song is an anthem of what it means to live through the worst moments of your life, and that's what Carlos is learning how to do. Live.

I see you there, but you don't look right You got a ten-mile stare in your eyes tonight Time ain't fair, like it used to be

We're all dressed up, nowhere to go We lost our way, about halfway home And we hurt the ones who get too close

Don't look back, you'll never find your way There's a million different people Who break the same way When everything has come undone We got to bring it back to one

I know forever always asks so much Don't you let it scare you, don't you lose your touch When your still waters start to run, bring it back to one

Can I Sleep In Your Arms - Willie Nelson

This is the song TK and Carlos were dancing to in the fic! I chose it for a couple reasons. I have my own (vague) hcs of the kind of music TK and Carlos like, and I do think there is some portion of Carlos' music taste that is dedicated to older stuff. I see him listening to old country loves songs like this one as a kid and imagining the day he'd find a love like that of his own. He found it with TK. He fought to hang on to it because this thing that he has with TK is so beautiful and precious, that he'll be damned if he ever lets it go.

In regards to the actual lyrics, this song is simply about how when you fall down, when you struggle, the person who loves you is always going to be right there by your side to help you get back on your feet. It's a song about healing, comfort in weakness, and devotion.

Can I sleep in your arms tonight, lady? It's so cold lying here all alone And I have no hold to hold on you And I assure you, I'll do you no wrong

Meet The Moonlight - Jack Johnson

This is a callback to the theme of choosing love. Carlos lost sight of it momentarily, and couldn't see a world where he could exist outside of this mission that he was on. But he can. He can choose to live and to pormise himself to TK forever. His dreams that he couldn't allow himself to have most of his life are still real and attainable. He can take control of his destiny.

Well, you can meet the moonlight Any night you really wanna It's waiting in your own backyard You can make the flame Meet the kindling, make the fire Don't let anybody say it's too hard

It's funny how blind dreams can be It seems like they look off too far But it's good to be right here It's good not to miss too many chances to follow love

Emerald Eyes - Anson Seabra

I didn't include any moments from the actual wedding in this fic because it would have defeated the purpose of the whole thing, but I do love this song for the wedding in particular. Carlos is looking at TK, this man who he loves with everything he has, who he's been through hell and back with - and he knows that this is meant to be. He knows their love is strong enough to survive anything. The road to their wedding wasn't easy, but now he's here and now he gets to take it all in. He gets to have forever with him.

A subtle breeze, it's you and me Chest to chest, no in between And every moment's better than the last Anything and everything That I could ever want and need Is standing right beside me in the grass

The birds they sang a melody My heart was keeping time and we Were dancing on the edge of something new Slow at first but still it seems That we'll go down in history As lovers from the start, just me and you

'Cause I've spent a thousand nights Lost in your emerald eyes Lost in a place where I know You can see my soul Make me lose track of time You and your emerald eyes Finally found a place that I can call my home

Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton

I had to include at least one song that had a somewhat sexy vibe, and this was it. This is the way it feels for TK and Carlos when they go home and give themselves over to each other as hubsands with a foundation of years of pining, building trust, heartache, and every obstacle in between. No matter what happens or where they go, the love that they have is never going to die.

But you rescued me from reachin' for the bottom And brought me back from being too far gone

You're as smooth As Tennessee whiskey You're as sweet As strawberry wine You're as warm As a glass of brandy And honey, I stay stoned on your love All the time

Baby I'm Yours - Arctic Monkeys

This is the "end credits" song. We revisit the theme of choosing to live. After this entire journey it all comes back to the love Carlos feels when he's with TK. He makes a promise not only to TK, but to himself, that no matter what happens or where life takes them, he will always remember this feeling.

Also, I saw that the fic title was a lyric in this song (this was on accident, I didn't come up with that title with any song in mind) and I knew I had to include it!

Baby, I'm yours And I'll be yours until the stars fall from the sky, Yours, until the rivers all run dry In other words, until I die

Baby, I'm yours And I'll be yours until the sun no longer shines, Yours, until the poets run out of rhyme In other words, until the end of time

I'm gonna stay right here by your side, Do my best to keep you satisfied Nothin' in the world could drive me away 'Cause every day, you'll hear me say Baby, I'm yours And I'll be yours until two and two is three, Yours, until the mountains crumble to the sea In other words, until eternity

Bonus: I ended up removing the song only because I didn't like how it affected the overall flow of the playlist. But an alternative "end credits" song is Adore by Prince. The lyric "until the end of time" also makes an appearance in that, and it's a song about loving someone and knowing that love will never go away.

Tagging some people who've read the fic in case y'all are interested in song analysis. I also just wanted to thank you all for being so wonderful and supportive and leaving such lovely comments. Y'all are the best. ♡

@herefortarlos @strandnreyes @sapphic--kiwi @paperstorm @firstprince-history-huh @literateowl @ironheartwriter @theghostofashton @nisbanisba

Also tagging some people who expressed interest in this fic. If you want something to listen to while you read, here you go!

@heartstringsduet @lightningboltreader @reyesstrand @emsprovisions @lemonlyman-dotcom @carlos-in-glasses @butchreyes @whatsintheboxmh

This can also double as an inspiration saturday tag. I should really participate in that more often, but I think this counts so consider yourselves tagged!

[fountainpenguin]

"I was climbing, now I'm falling- I've been pushed off by a man who has made it to the top and now defends it 'cuz he can…" (x)

---

New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 38 - “Tuesday: Tango's Long Night”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

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Tango layers more anti-viruses in Scott's player file. This goes against everything he knows about corrupted code... Should he keep going? ... Or, without consent, do what he knows will actually save this man?

Meanwhile, Pearl balances Rhetoric, Scott, and Grian visiting her unit at the same time. Yeah, this is gonna go well.

# 1 of 7 of our monthly intermission chapters

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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Tango

🌕

Location: His studio, West Bailey Wall, Bottom Floor

🖤  🖤  🖤

Tango does not often regret choosing a path of codework. He loves modding. He loves adding pretty details; he loves giving people what they want and polishing the rough edges off blocky faces and backs and butts. His species is classed as avian, though he last respawned under a waxing crescent and lacks the wings and feathers to show for it. He's got tiny talons, blaze rods, and hair that shifts into flames, and that's it. Coding the fluff-tipped tail he wears now was a challenge that captivated his brain since the start. How do add twitchy muscles to lower back? Apply tail to butt, haha. Meld it in. Let the mind control it. Do it beautifully so it's elegant and won't drop frames.

His tail isn't dexterous, but he wears it like a trophy- Adding a mammal tail to a species that’s meant to have feathers there, and not only making it twitch and curl instead of hang, but look natural, is one of the most difficult things you can ever do with aesthetic mods. He's thinking of forcing out the wings he would have under a stronger moon, but never really got around to it. The conversion time takes a kabillion years. You gotta be careful with wings anyway- they release a lot of body heat. Between's a lot cooler than the Nether, so you might fall over and croak. You ever seen strider wings? Yeah, guess how much heat they put out, even if they are tough and resilient around lava. Anyway.

Let's just say it's a good thing his office doesn't have a window. He works with a lot of film in here, so darkness is peak necessity. He's got two copper bulb lights up tonight. The glow's hazy, but at least it keeps his attention on his work, eyes all goggled up and tongue pinned beneath his teeth. Working with player files isn't like working with redstone wiring, with all its tangled tubes of dust and tiny caps that easily get lost and spill all over the stupid floor. Nah.

Code work uses the coding table, and it's a whole lot less messy. You don't need to be super accurate. It's a lot easier to tap a delete key and remove a string of words than it is to rip out a chunk of wires and get all huffy when your machine stops working. They should sell more partly assembled redstone machines in the market- more than, like, comparators. Except all the serious redstoners still won't buy 'em in case corners were cut in the process and because they have to take 'em apart anyway to modify 'em, so there you go. Fiddling and tweaking can really suck you in. It's kind of like making banners you're printing on your soul.

Tango does not often regret choosing a path of codework. But it's a good thing he doesn't have a window. He glances up only on occasion, staring at the chipped, gunpowder-streaked blocks that separate him from the rest of the world.

I should be with the pack right now.

Hey. Little recap for you: Most people aren't going to bed tonight. The hub flower got skadoodley-yoinked. Without its roots hooked in, everyone's comm is black; they're all off the system. There's no way on a server right now. There's no way out of one either. The phantoms are under contract; they can't just log people out right now. Hope they got fed, then.

Eh, they'll be fine. They've got souls in storage. Tango keeps working, checking details on his screen and typing on the table keyboard. What time is it? The sun's officially gone-zo at 14k. That was a while ago.

Do you remember our biology fritter-fratter from before Dog's Life began? 'course not- That was a long time ago. Well, no worries! we'll cover it again. See, the Nether doesn't have a day-night cycle. The heat waves shift. Sometimes the dimension cools. There's never a schedule to it, but when the heat's down, it's down (whether it's been hours, days, or weeks since the last lull). Nether creatures group together for sleepy times. If Tango played on some of those raw servers where traits are turned up to max, he wouldn't even survive the Overworld- Not without a lot of prep from his friends on the other side. Thank goodness for vanilla servers that even out the playing field.

Blaze don't really hang out alone in Between. When they do, they have to keep their internal fires up, and that can really drain the metabolism. The pack is warm. The pack is safety. And Tango's fingers tremble as he blinks his lashes, pushing through the dimension's fading warmth. Nightfall is here. Capture the Flag will be winding down. It's time to go to sleep.

He does his work. He chose this path. Scott's crystal floats on the crying obsidian block beside him, casting a white glow over his workspace. The goggles tune it out a bit. Tango yawns wide (like one of those lions in the emerald savanna biome), then realizes what he did and shakes his head back and forth. "Brrrr! Whatchu doing?" He smacks himself in the cheek. Hard. "Come on, man- He needs you."

He keeps typing. Scott's code is layered in anti-virus protections. Lots of stuff to dig through. Tango's got a book on the edge of his desk, open to a page about data conflicts, and he's still checking and closing loops. Scott didn't want to amputate. He didn't want a graft. "More anti-virus protections," he said, and he was serious.

"Are you sure? That- That probably won't work. If you wait too long, there's no chance a graft will take. That kinda sets you up for like, either being an allay with a prosthetic or just a vex."

"No grafts, please. Just tell me where to sign."

"Okay, buddy… but that's against medical advice. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"He prob'ly would've listened to Etho," he mutters, typing more. "I swear, everybody thinks I just do visuals: slap a little colored fire on this guy, slap some wings on her… Hey, just because I work in the aesthetics department, it doesn't make my license any less legit. I've been doing this almost as long as he has." Who scrubbed in to save Impy? Who helped him and Skizz with the soul-sharing? Who once patched BigB up when he got shot in the neck? That was a Tango original. Just me. Why is he even doing this? All evidence in book and mind is screaming that this isn't going to work.

Fingertips stall. Blank stare. Soft breathing.

Scott would've listened to my medical advice if I was Etho. Should he have tried harder? Should he have done more? He got the signature, Scott confirming exactly what he wanted. He really shouldn't go against that. It'd be medical malpractice at this point.

… Even though the anti-viruses aren't going to stop him from becoming a vex.

Which he's trying to avoid by using stupid anti-viruses.

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[sugdenlovesdingle]

You know that scene in Emmerdale's Aaron and Robert are having that hushed little married couple argument about letting Faith in the house (she's trying to move in), we'll I would love something like that for Buck and Tommy 😂.

Like maybe Eddie or Madney just won't leave and they're having a quiet argument in the kitchen about who's fault it was that they're even there in the first place 😂

Oh i can definitely see it happening with Eddie. They invited him over for dinner or something to cheer him up and then expect him to just go home after, only he's had too much to drink to be able to drive and drunk!Eddie gets all melancholy and Buck is torn between wanting to Be There for his best friend and wanting to get naked with his hot boyfriend.

I don't know if you meant it as a fic prompt but this happened:

----

"What do we do? He can't go home like this." Buck said quietly, one eye on Eddie slumped over on the sofa.

He'd invited Eddie along when he mentioned going to Tommy's to cook for him, knowing Tommy wouldn't mind, and the evening had been nice. Only one beer with dinner turned into a lot of beers during and after dinner, and Eddie moping and talking about how his life was a mess.

"I know, he's had way too much to drink." Tommy agreed, having joined Buck in the kitchen under the guise of helping him with dessert.

"Maybe I should call him an Uber."

"He'll pass out in the car and they'll leave him on the curb. And that's the best case scenario."

Buck groaned and dropped his head on Tommy's shoulder.

"I hate it when you're right." he stepped a little closer and wrapped his arms around Tommy's waist, letting out a content sigh when the other man's wrapped around his shoulders and he pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Maybe he'll just pass out on the sofa soon and we'll get him a blanket and some aspirin for the hangover tomorrow, and we can go upstairs." Tommy said hopeful.

"Tomás!" Eddie called out from the living room. "You still owe me a rematch from our mu-my-mui our sesh the other day! Let's go big man! I can take you!" he stood up from the sofa and almost lost his balance.

Tommy winced.

"Maybe I should go make sure he doesn't get himself killed falling through the glass table."

Buck tightened his grip on Tommy's waist.

"Not yet."

"What're youtwo doing'nthere?" Eddie had stumbled into the kitchen. "You're making out! In secret!"

"No, no, we weren't. We're just... standing here." Buck said, wishing Eddie would go back to the living room and give them five minutes of peace.

"Uhuh... that's what me and Shannon used t'do. And then, and thennn... there was Chris!"

"I don't think there's any risk of that happening for us." Tommy said, amused.

Eddie considered his words for a moment and then nodded.

"But Buck likes kids! He's like... the... baby whisperer. He... he... can talk to kids... you know? You need to give him a baby. Do you hear me Tomás? You gotta give Buck a baby."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey Eds, do you want to crash on the sofa tonight? It's getting late." Buck offered.

Eddie frowned.

"No. No. Noooo. I'll just... go hooome. To my big... house... with no-one in it... because my son went to Texas... bcuz I screwed up."

"Nope you're staying here." Tommy insisted. "Or else Evan and I will be worrying about you all night and wondering if you made it home in one piece." He reluctantly let go of Buck and gently steered Eddie back to the living room.

"You don't have to worry about me!" Eddie announced, a little too loudly. "I'll be fiiiine!"

"Yeah, well, you can be fine on my sofa for tonight. Humour me." Tommy told him. "Evan, can you get the blanket and pillow from the spare room for him?"

About an hour later, Eddie was snoring on the sofa and Buck followed Tommy up the stairs to the bedroom. He let himself fall forward onto the bed and buried his face in Tommy's pillow, not turning around until he felt the other man's hand running down his spine.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, deciding to bury his face in Tommy's chest instead.

"What for?"

"Ruining date night..."

"Evan..." Tommy started and waited for Buck to look at him. "Nothing's ruined. You wanted to cheer your best friend up because he's going through a tough time. What's so bad about that?"

Buck gave him a one armed shrug.

"It's not exactly the romantic night we planned..."

"No... but we have plenty of opportunities for romantic nights together. I wouldn't be able to enjoy it anyway if I knew Eddie was home alone feeling miserable. And I know you wouldn't either."

"I suppose not." Buck agreed. "And the hangover he'll have when he wakes up will be plenty of payback." he joked and they both laughed.

[thecruellestmonth]

Spooky Jason Todd fic recs

Some of the best Jason Todd fics featuring the supernatural and the unsettling, the dark and the dreadful, in the spirit of the Halloween season. Reminder: read warnings and author's notes carefully.

"Six of Swords" by campitor https://archiveofourown.org/works/37046005 - Six of swords: upright, symbolic of a rite of passage, of change and transition; reversed, a symbol of unfinished business. Six vignettes detailing the birth of the Red Hood and the deaths of sons, from UTH to Lost Days.

"The Hollow Man" by sister_wolf https://archiveofourown.org/works/121473 - He didn't even know that it existed until it showed up in Gotham one night, this-- this thing that's wearing Jason's body like a costume. But not his body as it was when he died-- older, no scars, no marks at all. How is that even possible? (Or, the one where Red Hood meets the ghost of his fifteen-year-old self.) This story was written back in 2005, when Under the Hood was the one and only Red Hood Jason storyline, and fans were still speculating about how Jason came back to life and transformed from Robin to Red Hood.

"Bloodstains Won't Make It Matter" by skylarkblue https://archiveofourown.org/works/40999275 - Jason returns to Gotham to find another dead Robin. He steals away with the body and resurrects her, but there begs the question: what will they do? Destroy Gotham. That's what they'll do. It's ALIIIIVE! In which the second Robin resurrects the fourth. This is a story about friendship and tender acts of care, and this is a story about revenge and destruction and being fabulously unhinged. Come for the spooky resurrection horror, stay for the Dead Robins toxic friendship. [dark fic, graphic violence CW, resurrection horror]

"Ghost Story" by InsaneTrollLogic https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624928 It starts with the phantom sound of laughter, glimpses of motion just out of sight, a boy in a tattered Robin suit, and the sneaking suspicion that not all of Jason made it back from the dead. Maybe the real monsters are the family we made along the way... [graphic violence, depressing family dynamics, extreme supernatural harm inflicted on a child]

"No Lazarus" by join_the_conga https://archiveofourown.org/works/11307267 - Jason Todd is the second Robin to Batman. He was savagely beaten and killed by the Joker, and was subsequently replaced by Timothy Drake, the third Robin. Jason comes back from the dead and regains his faculties with the aid of Batman’s enemies abroad. This is a version of that story where Jason has nothing to bring his mind back to his body but Bruce Wayne—and the figment of the Robin that Jason once was. Every detail is unsettling and hostile to human life. Everyone hurts, and everything is awful. [content warning for some medical horror, canon-typical Gothic horror sensationalism about insanity and disfigurement]

"The Daughter of the Water" by chucklesbuckles https://archiveofourown.org/works/46605205 - “To walk the world!” it croons, bright gold spilling over its cheeks, highlighting the springy white curls crowning its head. It bends, cold wet hands cradling Talia’s face, wiping her tears away. It places a soft kiss to her forehead, tucking a loose curl of hair behind her ear, torchlight eyes burning. “Thank you for the body.” Creepy and wet!

"Haunting" by the_authors_exploits https://archiveofourown.org/works/7392994 - It makes a strange juxtaposition, the Batman so dark and frightening, crying over a dead boy behind a dumpster. An alternative scenario in which Jason meets his extremely sweet, extremely creepy Batdad. Obvious horror elements, but somehow the atmosphere is soothing instead of horrifying.

"promises" by sunspikes https://archiveofourown.org/works/40731531 - After a nightmare Jason's on the hunt for tea to soothe his sore throat. It turns out to be with Bruce, and he finds comfort in more than the just the tea. You've heard of hurt/comfort, now get ready for comfort/hurt!

★ "Rise Up With The Sun" by blacklettered https://archiveofourown.org/works/19053271 - His son came home on a Wednesday evening and Bruce did not call for the slaughter of the fattened calf but it was a close thing. A quiet and heartwarming reconciliation between father and son. (Also there’s a bunch of freaky Edgar Allan Poe shit happening in the background because lowkey Jason Todd walks the earth as if living and yet remains irrevocably connected to the forces of death and decay—but that’s not as important. Happy yet creepy ending!) ★

"Sealing the deal" by orphan_account - In which Bruce Wayne is kidnapped and it’s somehow not the most difficult part of anyone’s day. Or, in which Jason Todd is a selkie. One of the few really upbeat stories on this list!

"Down to Dust" by Sparkypants https://archiveofourown.org/works/47407291 - It's not the warehouse that Jason has nightmares about. It's Bruce. Bruce deciding to cremate him instead of bury him. Because if he had, what would Jason be now? An infinite number of pieces, cast into the wind. Smoke hanging in the air and never whole or home again, part of him always missing.

"bird of winter" by knowsphere https://archiveofourown.org/works/4992139 - There is a ghost in the manor. Damian meets a friendly ghost, who has returned in a new form to the world of the living. Based on Batman: Gotham Knights #34. This little story is soft and wintry, like a spoonful of mint ice cream. Damian is a sweetheart, and Jason gets a happy ending. A nice cleanser after reading too much horror.

"oh, just hangin' out" by mikkal https://archiveofourown.org/works/42365103 - Jason doesn't remember agreeing to imitate a dead butterfly, but here he is. | No. 3 A HAIR’S BREADTH FROM DEATH | Impaled - A Whumptober special, featuring gruesome gore and spooky Lazarus Pit side effects. And also an adorable Damian. Happy ending.

"Confessional" by Temeritous https://archiveofourown.org/works/45307363 - The woman grabbed him by the arm and snarled nastily, “A nice boy like you deserves to know what everyone thinks of him.” Then her eyes pulsed from dark brown to bright purple and she disappeared between one blink and the next. There is a witch here, so this story counts for Halloween. [content warning for a random bystander frankly confessing an extreme sexual fantasy while under the effects of a truth spell]

"Ghostgirl and Zomboy" by shauds https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476446 - "You don't make demands of the ghost, asshole, the ghost makes demands of you." He should have known better than to make his big comeback in October. Perfect time to read a mostly upbeat ghost story set during Halloween.

"(No Sense of) Preservation" by crying_jaybird https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959063 - Sometimes, Jason thinks about how if Bruce had made a slightly different choice, he would have been embalmed. [content warnings for trauma including obsessive thinking and death idealization]

"One Foot in the Grave" by samiraxlula https://archiveofourown.org/works/25047856 - Dying can be the birth of something new and awful, to make the worst of the living wish they weren't. But what happens when you steal from the dead? There are forces in this world that are unknowable and unstoppable.

"Osiris" by Sparkypants - The Joker killed him once, but Jason Todd had died over and over again, waiting for Batman to save him. Resurrection or not, Jason's death still haunts the corridors of Wayne Manor. It waits in the shadows, threatening his entire family. Bruce would go to hell and back to his protect children. This time, that may not be enough. Love can transcend everything, even if it can't overcome everything.

"between heaves of storm" by pendulum_north https://archiveofourown.org/works/49817317 - There were unnatural changes happening to him, he has no idea when it started, or how long it's been occurring. The opposite of life is not death, but a state somewhere torn between the two falsely-erected poles.

"suicide is the highest form of self love" by XanthosSamurai https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094071 - Every single night, Jason Todd dies. Every single night, Red Hood kills him.

"Never Come Back" by Wisetypewriter https://archiveofourown.org/works/32436694 - Bruce Wayne wakes up in Arkham Asylum. [RHatO (2016) #25, psychological suspense]

"Mask Of Blood" by Kieron_ODuibhir https://archiveofourown.org/works/20964923 - “Jason!” Batman had shouted, arm desperately outstretched as if to catch what was no longer there. He’d sounded wrenched apart. As though having experience losing this one of his several sons made no difference at all to the shock and pain of it, or even made it worse. Desperate to save his son, Batman consults Gotham's resident occult expert, Jason.

"two headed calf." by feliform https://archiveofourown.org/works/35118601 - Based on the "Two-Headed Calf" poem by Laura Gilpin. The Lazarus Pit heals Jason incorrectly, but at least he gets to die loved by a mother. [body horror, child redeath]

"Satin in a Coffin" by InsaneTrollLogic https://archiveofourown.org/works/24745558/chapters/59825830 - At the behest of several dead Robins, Stephanie Brown kidnaps a Robin. Steph sees dead people; Steph-centric.

[l6ndrys]

hi! could you a chad meeks-martin x reader where reader gets badly hurt in the apartment scene. chad finds her and carry’s her out of the apartment building and is trying to get her to stay awake but she passes out. when she wakes up she is in the hospital and chad is chad asleep in the chair next to her bed. reader nudges him with her hand and he is just so relieved that she is okay. he confesses that he loves her and they kiss.

a/n : thank you for requesting anon!! it's a bit on the shorter side but i hope you enjoy!!

this fic contains : mentions of stabbing , blood , cursing , etc. etc.

the great war

chad meeks-martin x reader

this was not how you expected your thursday night to go. one moment you were sitting at your friends' dinner table and the next you were being attacked by the very masked killer you were trying to avoid. you tried fighting him off, flailing your limbs in a sad attempt to get this bitch off of you, which was to no avail.

his knife plunged into your stomach, twisting before he was pulled off of you and hit with an empty knife block. you could feel yourself being picked up by someone. you opened your eyes, which you don't even remember closing, and looked up to see chad.

"fucking hell" he muttered, running down the flights of stairs, "shit. chad, my sister's still in there" you heard tara say from behind you both. you looked down to see how bad he got you, seeing your once white shirt now stained with blood.

"i'm sure they'll be fine tara, they're smart enough to fight the fucker off" chad said, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs that seemed like they'd never end.

he and tara ran towards what you could only imagine was the closest hospital. you could feel yourself on the verge of losing consciousness, tara and chad's voices of worry becoming faded.

--

when you woke up, you could hear a faint beeping noise. you opened your eyes, head pounding, squinting when the bright light was a bit too bright to your liking. your hand felt a bit weighed down, turning to see chad holding it, asleep in the chair next to your bed. you could feel a smile forming on your face.

you moved your hand a bit, slightly nudging your hand against his. he stirs awake, jumping up when he realizes you're awake. he's quick to gently hug you, scared of hurting you anymore. "y/n i'm so glad you're awake, i thought i lost you"

"you won't lose me, i'm not that easy to get rid of" you joked, returning the hug. he pulled away, with a worried look on his face, "but i almost did. i really thought i'd lost you without telling you how i felt"

your brows furrowed, a bit confused, "what do you mean?" he realizes what he said, thinking about what to say next.

"i like you, y/n. i have for a while, but was too much of a pussy to say anything." so that's what mindy was always trying to hint at. you smile, "i like you too chad. i'm glad it took me almost dying to get you to say something." you joked, attempting to lighten the situation you were both in.

he playfully rolled his eyes, leaning in, "you really scared the shit out of me back there, you know?" you lean in closer, a faint whisper of an 'oh yeah?' leaving your lips. he glances down, then back up to your eyes, silently asking permission to kiss you. you nod, letting him connect your lips together.

you didn't know what would happen next, but as long as he was by your side, it didn't matter.

[antimony-medusa]

Looking for a Pinch Hit

Okay so, I have been enthusiastically participating in Fic in a Box (that 10k exchange I was posting about in September), and there is one pinch hit that's been lingering because it's a 3rd Life or Hermitcraft one, and well, most of the normal people who pick up pinch hits in multifandom exchanges don't follow MCYT! (There was a hilarious thing where someone was like "okay, if I wanted to pick up a SMP for pinch hits, where would I start", and like three of us came brakes squealing into the chat like OH BOY OKAY SO UH SO HAHAH— DSMP IS LOST MEDIA BUT MAYBE HERMITCRAFT? HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU HAVE TO DEVOTE TO PICKING UP THE CANON? HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE GOOD TIMES WITH SCAR.)

Anyways I digress. There is this one pinch hit that I can't fill, because I don't write 3rd life or Hermitcraft. Someone wants either

3rd life:

Solo: ZombieCleo (Life SMP Series)

ZombieCleo & EthosLab (Life SMP Series)

ZombieCleo & EthosLab & BdoubleO100 (Life SMP Series)

ZombieCleo & Smajor1995 (Life SMP Series)

Solo: The Clockers (Life SMP Series)

Or Hermitcraft:

Solo: ZombieCleo (Hermitcraft)

Solo: Ethoslab (Hermitcraft)

GeminiTay & ZombieCleo (Hermitcraft)

And I KNOW that some of you are zombie cleo mains. I am looking at you so pleadingly. You can see more information about the person's requests here. (they like time loops! betrayal! strong friendships! emotional hurt/comfort!)

The thing that is keeping this one from being picked up, aside from the fact that the main mcyt writers were pinch hitting other things and/or don't write clockers, is the fact that we need 6k to fully cover the pinch hit. So I think people have been scared away.

BUT. You can pick up a pinch it in 1k increments, so like, if someone picked up 1k, and someone else was like "okay I have the weekend" and picked up 2k, and someone ELSE pounded back two monsters and picked up 3k, we'd have this person covered.

If some of you want to save somebody's exchange and pinch hit this one, you can comment on the post here or email the mods at ficinaboxmod@gmail.com. Or just appear in my messages and I'll walk you through it. Potentially you can talk about extended timelines with the mods, even!

(I have been looking at this pinch hit and clawing at the walls for like three weeks because the fact that it's still 6k means this person wrote at least 6k and delivered it, cause they'll only put a pinch hit up based on what you delivered, but the fact that this person only requested two fandoms means they won't hold the exchange for them, so possibly they will give their gift and then they just won't get anything. So. If I have any Zombie Cleo fans in the audience, I am looking at you with the most pleading eyes. I'm pinch hitting another fandom tonight, come, join me in sitting down and going absolutely bonkers in a word document this evening.)