#a little twist I guess on the most common au

[emily-mooon]

Nordegrim Scream AU but they are instead Randy and Sidney and not the Ghostface duo

[yoonia]

the bedroom hymns ● chapter xiv

⟶ Chapter summary | To answer your curiosity, Yoongi presents you with a challenging offer. Is your desire to learn about this new realm and his secrets strong enough for you to risk revealing your own secrets? Or will you remain loyal to the promise you made to your father to protect the family’s secret? 

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader  ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy AU, Fairy Tale retelling ⟶ Word count | 6,785 words ⟶ Ratings | PG-13, +18 / M for Mature for future chapters; include classism, black magic, alcohol consumption ⟶ Story Masterlist: The Bedroom Hymns | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Author’s note | Here’s the second part of what was meant to be a part of the previous chapter. I hope this answers a lot of questions. Have fun reading!

chapter xiv. red strings-2

You fall silent as you feel a slight drop in your stomach. 

You should have expected that he would demand a fair trade right away. If only you have had enough time to figure out what to say, to plan just how much you are able to share about yourself without having to lie to his face should he chooses to answer your questions with honest truth. 

Taking a slow drink from your glass, you take your time to contemplate your options. “Maybe—” you slowly begin, “I can tell you a little bit about myself for a fair exchange.” 

Yoongi squints his eyes. There seems to be a hint of suspicions in the way he is looking at you. At first, he says nothing. Not a single response to your offer. Perhaps he can already tell that you wouldn’t be able to give him everything that he might be demanding from you. 

It makes you feel discouraged when you think that he may change his mind and you won’t be getting some answers. But Yoongi surprises you when he suddenly shrugs and smiles. 

“Very well, then. I guess that’s fair,” he says, though you cannot really make out the tone of his voice, or if he’s still going to be truthful when he hums, “Where do I start?”

Yoongi says this while slowly rubbing his chin. “Well, I suppose that you know who I am by now,” he finally begins, his eyes showing a playful glint which only helps lessen your worries and doubts. 

“Do I?” you question him in return, mirroring the playful tone of his voice. “We’ve only met once before this, putting aside the other times when you shadowed my movements. I know your name, and I know that you are a part of one of the most notorious brotherhood of mercenaries known within the continent. But I had assumed that your men have only been roaming the human realm. But here you are now.” 

Yoongi’s lips rise slowly to a crooked grin. “That is quite an interesting part to note, isn’t it?,“ leaning forward once again, he places his crossed arms on the table to get closer to you. “And I’m not talking about us meeting in different realms, but the fact that I never specifically told you to which brotherhood I am belonged to, when I could’ve been a part of any mercenary group that is currently active among the people,” he calmly drawls, while your eyes grow wide, realising your blunder. “And yet, you were able to recognise the insignia that belongs to our brotherhood and figured out that I am a part of it.” 

Silently laughing at yourself, you realise that he is right. 

Yoongi had never once mentioned the name of the mercenary army group that he is a part of, and yet, he has never once tried to deny it whenever you brought it up. Both in the market town and here, you have yet to see Yoongi wearing the insignia that belongs to the brotherhood. 

But there is no denying that everything about him had made it easy for you to link him to the mercenary group which is known to be moving among the commoners, both within the territories of your father’s empire, and also in various neighbouring territories.

Not to mention, each time you lay your eyes on Yoongi, you would be reminded of the nameless mercenary who had caught your presence that night in The Rare Roots; his demeanour, the way he carries himself, his speech, and the most defining characteristic that you have felt from him so far, his aura. 

“I’ve told you that I’m no damsel,” is what you tell him in return, hinting at his connection to the aforementioned mercenary group. “In almost every place that I’ve traveled to, I’ve either met some of your men, your brothers in arms, or seen traces and trails left behind by your brotherhood.” 

In this case, you are not entirely lying to him. This is something that you have caught on during your excursions as of late. Aside from learning more about your father’s activities in the various places that you have visited so far, you have also been following the trails left behind by the mercenary army by using everything that you have learned from Advisor Kim and the Royal guards’ reports. 

You recall seeing the insignia in various places in the midst of your excursions, either worn by a passing member of the mercenary army or plastered on the walls, pillars, and any other places visible for the commoners to see; a public declaration to show that the brotherhood are on the people’s side and not the royals’. 

“You have made quite a name among the people, no matter which kingdom or empire you have come across,” you add while tipping your chin at the engraved insignia, “I never expected that I’d be seeing that crest here too, in a completely different realm.”

You lean forward on the table, mirroring his gesture as you murmur softly to him, “It wasn’t hard to put two and two together after what we talked about the last time we met, but you were the one who gave it away when you denied none of the things I said about you being a part of that movement.” 

A surprised look flickers through his gaze. “You are a smart one, little dove,” he says, completely amused. “As I’ve said before. I shouldn’t have underestimated you.” 

You lean back in your seat, feeling victorious. “No, you shouldn’t have.” 

He mirrors your movement as he settles back in his chair, except that he follows it by lifting his shimmering tankard, taking a swift drink before he speaks again. Once the drink is lowered, a determined look fills his eyes, as if talking about this would require him to take off the mask that he normally wears when he is with you. 

You can tell the difference when he looks at you straight in the eyes, his chin lifted, and there is a different flair coming from him. A new sense of authority that would have been intimidating should a commoner stand right before him. 

Not you, however, when you have grown used to facing something similar, a presence that feels more intense, whenever you have to come face to face with your father. 

“You’re right. I am a part of the brotherhood. I can’t tell you more other than the fact that I work alongside my brothers to serve the people who are willing to hire our service and pay for our hard work with gold. Be it a local merchant, a commoner, or a nobble, we serve them with everything that we have for an exchange of a good pay,” he says, sounding proud, subtly hinting that he may have quite an important role in his brotherhood of mercenaries that he is keeping from you, “as for crossing the borders between the realms—” 

He tugs at the bamboo hat that he has been wearing and starts taking it off. “Not every men who had joined the brotherhood would be capable of moving from one realm to another so easily,” he explains as he tosses his hat away. For some reason, the gesture draws your attention, and you find yourself getting completely fixated on it that you can’t take your eyes away from him. 

“Only a handful of us had come from the magic realms, most of us coming from various territories within the Land of Far Far Away, while the other members who had later joined us once we started the movement are regular humans, mostly commoners from the human realm who we encountered in our journey and volunteered to join our purpose.” 

You can almost picture the mercenary army growing steadily in size with the passing time, reaching all the common people directly than the royal aids of your father’s empire ever could. “And that purpose would be gaining gold coins from whoever is willing to pay for your service?”  

But is that all there is to it? 

You cannot help but wonder, unable to truly believe that it could all be that simple, when almost every men working under your father’s ruling has believed otherwise. The memory of your past conversation with one of your father’s Royal Advisors return to you. About the mercenary army that was suspected to be a part of the rebellion movement which has been silently rising among the people of Nythelean Empire. 

“That is correct,” he says, “well, that’s mostly the reason why we do this for a living. But there are also others who have their own purposes in joining our movement.” 

You tilt your head, finding this suspicious. Your shoulders grow tense, your spine feels cold. “What kind of—purposes?” you ask him, while your mind begins running wildly. 

Does he really have nothing to do with the rebellion? Or is his brotherhood truly the rebel army as suspected by the Royal Guards?  

While you are looking at him with suspicions, Yoongi carries with him an easy air, as if he has nothing dark or sinister to hide. He keeps the same light attitude when he answers, “Protection. The ability to protect their family, their hometown, their livelihood, to be able to defend against any crime and any physical threats—the kinds of harm that would always get overlooked because they were hurting the commoners and not the nobles with storages of gold coins—or any possible threats that may harm them and their family directly.” 

A smile lifts on your lips as relief slowly washes over you. “So you’re vigilantes, doing all the work that the royal army working under the ruling of the kings and emperors couldn’t, is that what you’re saying?” 

Yoongi barks out a laugh. “You can put it that way,” he says. “It’s more like a security work for the people. But we also provide a chance for the common people to rise and lend their strength.”

He takes another drink and continues, “Out there, in the small towns and settlements that are far out of reach from the empires and their law, there are commoners who had trained for their lives to serve as knights, only to fail from claiming their places in the knighthood because they had no noble blood or any high standing in the society. That’s where we come in, as we welcome them under our wings and give them a place to serve, to use their skills and put their training to good use.”

Good use. Those words sound like music to your ears. The kind of music that eases your worries. There is a hint of suspicions still lingering in your mind, yet you find yourself believing his words. 

It’s almost as if you can feel it; the truth that his words carry with them, the genuine pride coming out through his voice when he speaks about the brotherhood that has been seen as the villains by the royals. 

“And not all of them are capable of using magic or casting spells?” you choose to ask rather than sharing your doubts about the brotherhood. “Or whatever it is that you use to move between realms?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “Regular humans don’t know anything about magic. Even the ones who are able to cast powerful spells will not be able to travel across the realms so easily. Only the gifted ones can do it.”

“Like you do.” 

He gives you a smile. “Like me.” 

Once again, you tilt your head while you try to process all of this. “And all of the traveling has to do with your work in the mercenary? But why do you must venture through the human realm, when you could’ve had more chances here?” You take a quick glance around, once again being drawn to the vast farmland which spreads right before your eyes. “What kind of work are you doing here now?” 

Yoongi licks his lips. The gesture steals your attention from his words, drawing a hint of warmth out of your skin. It is another new sensation that you have never felt before. But then again, never once had you ever felt so drawn to someone like this, not as much as how he has you drawn to him like a moth drawn to a flame. 

“Why the human realm?” he repeats your question with a hum as he looks out towards the view. The faraway look in his eyes tells you that there is a story in there, before he simply answers, “It’s hard to explain, really.” 

The corners of his eyes crease a little when he smiles. “I can’t say that it had all been a deliberate choice to raise an army of mercenaries out there in the human realm. I think you would be able to understand this, but it all started a long time ago, when I first came into the human realm in search of an adventure. We call it as ’soul-searching’, a personal mission that I had taken to venture far, far away from home to find my purpose in life.” 

You return his smile just then, because you can understand him well enough, as you have been doing just the same thing. Going out to new places, stepping into foreign lands, all because your soul craved for a new adventure, to write a new story, and to be able to see the world. 

“I never planned to stay long in the human realm, but then as more and more friends, other men and old colleagues left the magic realm to join me, we formed ourselves a small alliance to be able to have more means and reasons to remain in the human realm for a bit longer, while also find ways to give back to the people and the community that had welcomed us with open arms, despite never knowing who we were or where we came from. And then, one thing lead to another—” 

“And your small group or adventurers become a rogue army working alongside the humans.” 

“Once again, you are correct,” he answers with a proud smile. “As to why I am here, it’s the same reason why I’ve been to the places where you encountered me before. I’m doing the same kind of work that I did in Narlès, and similar to most of the work I’ve done back in Smotia”—one corner of his lips lifts to a grin—”like that day when I followed your trails at the royal winery.” 

His gaze softens as you roll your eyes. 

“We usually do the same details of work whenever we are hired by people in the human realm. But when it requires me to travel across the borders and return to this realm, the work varies,” he adds, this time with a hint of fierceness in his voice. Proud and bitterness mixing together. “And these jobs come with bigger risks. Hence the disguises and the hidden armoires. But I do earn bigger pay when I succeed.” 

This has you raising your eyebrows. Curiosity comes through you as you take a closer look at his attire. 

Dressed as a local commoner, he looks quite unassuming that he would be able to roam around without raising suspicions. Unlike back in Narlès when he had at least shown his weapons under and over his unmarked cloak and dark-coloured outfit, this time, you are sure that he has numerous weapons hidden under his simple clothes. 

The same way you are hiding your golden dagger under your skirt, hidden from view but easy for you to reach whenever necessary. 

“You’ve been to Smotia. This place might look similar, but it is still entirely different. Not only with the magic that exists here, but also with the people that resides in this place and their way of living,” he explains, his words mirroring every single thought you had about this place since you had first gotten here. 

“There is a secret about this place that requires us to keep a close eye on the territory. A dark secret,” he says with a secretive smile. “But I’m sure that you’re used to something like this.” 

You realise what he is hinting at. Once again, the past conversation you had with the farmers follows you. You bristle as you recall the warning that was given to you and how it had reminded you of home. Your old home, and the dark rumours that everyone whispered all the way into the palace’s walls.

“These stories have been passed around from one generation to another, and I’m sure most people who live in this place and have learned about the tales for a long time won’t even know whether or not these stories are real, or if they are nothing more but an urban legend told by the elders to keep everyone here safe and keep things in order.” 

“Like the rumours that the people have been spreading in Smotia.” 

Yoongi gives you a solemn nod. “Smotia isn’t the only place that holds a dark secret. This place, and many other places—kingdoms, empires, even the small, lawless towns and rogue settlements—all have their secrets. It doesn’t matter whether we are in the human realm, or right here, within the magic realm of Far Far Away. People loves to tell stories, dramatising any event that happened sometime in the past to make use of them to keep the younger ones in line.” 

You are not entirely surprised to hear this. Old tales live among the people who still speak of them. They are the reason why local traditions and customs exist in the first place. But it is interesting to know that even in different realms, such thing still exists. 

Yoongi continues to speak. “For those of us with magic skills or have enough mana to endure the magic present in places such as Grimm, we would travel to and fro and pay regular visits to such places. Not only for the purpose of running our mission or for hired jobs, but also in between our duties, just so we can be here to observe, to protect, and even to hunt—”

“Hunt…what?” 

A pinch folds itself inside your chest. A myriad of scenarios start their callous plays inside your head; your father’s assassination attempt, the unmarked mercenary soldiers that followed you through the depths of the Elcester Forest, the attempts to infiltrate The Citadel. 

“Anything that may cause any disturbances happening within the Land of Far Far Away. The small and invisible threats that always start from the most inconspicuous places. Being vigilant and moving under our own rule allow us to get closer to the sources before they rise rapidly to become a bigger threat to the entire realm,” Yoongi answers after a beat of silence and a whole round of wild imagination running through your head. 

He gives an easy rise of his shoulders as it’s not a big deal. “Of course, we are only a small army roaming through a vast magical realm, where each territory, every strong empire within the realm have their own rules. Some kingdoms even cast their strong spells around their territories that won’t allow us to walk past their borders as easily as we would’ve liked. But we do what we can, keeping watch for the people that may be overlooked should any harm ever comes.” 

Spells to keep people out of a territory? 

Of course, you wonder to yourself as you start recalling everything that you have learned so far about the safety measures that an empire must abide to in order to keep its palaces, territories, and the people within safe. 

You are also reminded of the action that your father had taken after the latest breach which happened at the main palace, and how the royal guards at the Stargrave Castle have been keeping the same tight security to make sure that the empire’s territory is secured from any possible threat while in the King’s absence. 

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to think that there would be kingdoms that would use magic and spells for protection. Knowing what you know now, you begin to wonder if your father had also done the same to increase the security at the empire’s territories. Surely, there had to be a reason why he had forbidden you from stepping out of the palace through the front gate. 

Leaving you only relying on the magic portals to be able to step foot out of the palace whenever you need a chance to escape. 

It should be a powerful spell then, you wonder to yourself as you imagine having a force of magic protecting the empire, making you wonder just how powerful the King’s magic truly is, or if he ever had help from the strongest mages in the empire. 

Silently, you remind yourself to question about this to Lord Gordan the next time you sit with him to learn about royal defence or when you are sitting with Lady Laurel for your next magic lessons.  

When he notices that you have no more questions to ask of him, Yoongi crosses his arms over his chest and turns the focus of the conversation on you. “Now, it’s your turn to tell me more about you, little dove,” he calmly says, keeping his eyes on you when he points out, “You’re no mere traveller.” 

His words sound more like a statement instead of a question, and it shouldn’t surprise you that Yoongi would begin his digging into your secret by pointing out something that may have been quite obvious. 

Keeping your voice steady, as your father’s voice once again echoes through your head to remind you about keeping your family’s secret, you give him a smile and stiffly nod. “No, I’m not.”

“And you can travel across the realms.” 

Your heartbeat picks up. “Not that I’ve done this for a long time, nor am I an expert like yourself. And I’m not doing this for a noble purpose like you do,” you find yourself admitting to him, before deciding that perhaps you can share with him at least a part of your truth without revealing who you truly are. 

“You have probably figured out by now where I initially came from,” you begin, and when Yoongi says nothing to respond to this, you simply continue, “The human realm has been the only home that I’ve known for as long as I can remember, even if I never got to truly see any other places in the human realm itself aside from the place where I lived.” 

Yoongi immediately frowns at this. You can tell that he is surprised to hear this, and you can already guess that he probably wouldn’t like to hear what you are about to share with him next. 

“I…was sheltered almost my entire life, kept from the world, hidden in the shadows”—being kept as a secret while you were caged within the palace’s walls—”so I would take every chance I could get, sometimes steal it, just to be able to see the world outside that I was never allowed to see. Before, all I could do was to slip out of my window to travel across the town, then the city, and then I’d venture into the secluded places where people wouldn’t be able to recognise me. A chance to escape and experience freedom.” 

The more you reveal this part of yourself, Yoongi’s gaze seems to grow darker. It feels unsettling, yet comforting at the same time. Because it almost seems like he is enraged at your situation. That he is becoming angry—for you. 

When had anyone ever felt this kind of concern for you? 

You try to remember, before realising soon enough that not even your governess, Nanny Abigail, the closest person to you since your days back at The Citadel, had ever voiced her concern about you being sheltered and hidden from public view. If any, she seems to have always encouraged and supported the King with his decisions, while often convincing you that it would have been better to remain within the palace’s walls for your own safety. 

Thinking about this makes you feel upset and bitter, so you quickly push these thoughts away, rather than allowing it to pester your thoughts when you should be enjoying this wonderful moment that you have with Yoongi. 

“I might not like you in the sense of crossing the realms, because I have no control of it,” you allow a little more truth to come out. “As a matter of fact, I surprised myself when I arrived here. Never had I expected that I would find my way to a town where magic exists, when I had only been seeing these places through the books that I’ve been reading.” 

As you laugh softly to your confession, Yoongi’s frown slowly fades as he curiously says. “You are not familiar with the magic realm.” 

You shake your head. “No, I am not. Not yet, at least. Everything is new to me. I’m still learning,” you admit to him with a bashful smile. “I spend my time learning about magic and this realm through the books, never knowing that I might be able to get the chance to visit these places and learn about them directly.” 

Yoongi’s expression seems to grow softer after hearing your words. “Is that the reason behind all these questions? All the curiosity that you always have with you?” he asks you, “All because you’ve never had the chance to see the world with your own two eyes, much less this realm we are in?” 

Slowly, you nod your head. “I have so many questions but not many that could answer them,” you answer him with a deep exhale of breath, recalling the hours you spent digging into the books in the library only to never feel satisfied enough with what you have found. 

Yoongi’s lips twitch to a grin. “And you expected me to answer them for you.” 

“Maybe not all of them, but you are the one available right now for me to speak to,” you admit to him with a soft giggle, making him smile, as if the sound of your laughter pleases him. “And, now that I’ve shared all of this with you, as of now, you have become one of the limited people who knows about my secret.” 

“I’m going to guess that there’s not a lot of people,” he says with a gentle voice, to which you answer with a nod while you solemnly keep the real answers in your head—

The truth is, you are the only one who actually knows about my secrets. The only one who knows that I’ve been traveling to different places. The only one who knows that I exist while the world revolves in blissful ignorance. 

In your silence, Yoongi takes this moment to take a good look at your face while you are lost in deep thoughts. He seems to have found something in you when he murmurs to you softly, “You can sense my magic.” 

His words catch you off-guard, but you try your best to control your emotions. “It’s not like I’ve learned how to use magic, or to even have it inside me at all,” you slowly admit to him while recalling your father’s words about magic, how it resides within you, passed down from his bloodline.

But you have never truly felt it, and your father never had the chance to show it to you or to teach you more about it before he had to leave the palace for his royal duty. 

“But, I’ve learned how to sense them ever since I first arrived in this realm,” you continue, while Yoongi seems intrigued to hear this. 

For some reason, you feel no guilt about sharing this with him. You just don’t feel like it would be particularly necessary to hide this, as this is a new ability that you have been honing through your afternoon lessons with Lady laurel and Lord Gordan, after all. 

In fact, seeing his reaction, you suddenly start feeling hopeful that perhaps he can help you understand about this new ability that you have been gifted with yet still cannot understand, much less to wield it at your own will. 

The ability to detect other mana or aura from your surroundings—be it on the places where you are at or within the people you are with. 

This was said to be the first step of practising your own magic and sharpening your mana while you wait for your father to guide you through the rest. Of course, you haven’t started learning more than the basics, nothing but the theories and the principles behind it, yet you have secretly learned enough on your own to identify the magic that is present around you. And you have learned enough to recognise the energy that you can feel coming out of Yoongi.

And what you can sense from him has only been making you feel more curious about him. The strong pull that keeps drawing you to him. The essence of his magic—

Right at the same time, the same curiosity flickers through Yoongi’s gaze. “What do you sense from me when that happens?” 

His question—and the way he says it—sounds surprisingly reassuring, and it prompts you into answering him truthfully. 

“Serene. Otherworldly,” you start describing what you feel, recalling the tingling sensations that you felt upon sensing his magic, when you first realised that they were coming from him. “It feels comforting and intimidating at the same time. And quite—captivating, as if there is a strong pull coming from your magic that keeps drawing me in.” 

Familiar. 

Because it feels eerily similar to the magic that you have grown used to. Similar to the magic that you have been feeling coming from your father’s portals. The strong pull that you feel from Yoongi reminds you too much of the strong charm that sends you across various realms that you find in the magic doors, which often feels like invisible dust brushing at your skin that would sometimes linger with you long after you have stepped across the portal. 

The first time you felt it while you were with him back at Narlès, you had chalked it up as having the portal’s magic lingering in your skin because of how different the weather was compared to home. Now, however, the moment you are back in Yoongi’s presence and feeling the same sensation all over again, you finally realise that it hadn’t been the case at all.  

With tilted head, you take a good look at Yoongi, wondering why it is possible for him to have the kind of magic that seems to resemble your father’s. Through your lectures, you have learned that the type of magic that a person obtains may differ depending on the source of its powers, and would often differ according to where the person resides in or which empire they are from.

Just like the people within the sun empire that were said to be blessed by the sun itself, and the empires that were said to have claimed the blessings of the Moon and the Gods that are believed to reside in the sea. 

Would it be possible that your father’s magic may have come from the same source as Yoongi’s? 

Before you can figure out how to bring this up, Yoongi continues to speak, focusing on your magic as if he knows that you haven’t learned much about how special your ability truly is. 

“For anyone who acquires the gift of magic or born with mana within them, they will be able to feel or sense it when magic exists around us. At least, most of us do,” he explains, smiling, while your mind flies back to the old farmer who may have felt your mana when you first met him. Then Yoongi surprises you when he adds, “But it takes a different kind of gift and talent to be able to recognise or identify someone else’s magic by sense alone.” 

“And that’s something that you are incapable of.” 

But I might. 

Yoongi nods his head. “That must’ve been the reason why you were able to notice my presence while I was following you. It was my magic that you sensed when you couldn’t see me.” 

You tilt your head, realising that he might have been right. And he may not have noticed that he had just solved one of the biggest mysteries that have been plaguing your thoughts as of late, when you could never explain to yourself the reason why you had always been able to sense Yoongi’s presence even before you could see him there. 

“But I can tell you this—” he continues, “I can feel the mana within you. For me, it feels like an unrefined diamond, glowing inside you. Except that there is something that is shielding it, protecting it like a veil.”

A shield? It isn’t much of a surprise to hear that you have an unrefined mana, as you are still lacking in training. But to know that there is something protecting it is another matter. “But—how?” 

Yoongi presses his lips together as if he is feeling unsure with his answer. “I wish I know,” he says with a regretful smile. “If I have to make a comparison, try to picture a door. A door that has been kept closed and locked so tightly that it would take an effort to open it. Right behind that closed door is your mana. That is how shielded your energy is.” 

“So—you’re saying that if I want to be able to find my magic and use it, I have to open that door?” you question him, suddenly feeling light-headed and confused. Yet every word he is giving you makes sense. 

Is that the reason why your tutors have refrained from teaching you magic, and had always insisted that you should wait for the return of the King?

“I supposed you can say that,” Yoongi says with a nod. “But that’s not all. I can tell that you also have magic all over you. Although it feels more like a protection spell that is meant for you, not for the mana you have inside you.” 

Hearing this only leaves you feeling more confused. Until you finally remember the reactions you saw earlier from the farmers working on the field when they saw you walking away, as if they had just realised that you were there. 

Thinking about this, you raise your eyebrows. “The kind of protection spell that may hide me even in plain sight?” 

He stifles a smile as he says, “Something like that.” He also seems—proud, to see that you are able to figure it out before he can explain further.  

“Yet you can’t recognise its form or where it came from,” you guess again, while Yoongi’s expression shifts when he stiffly nods.  

“No, I’m afraid I can’t. The only thing that I can tell you is that it seems to have been placed on you instead of it developing naturally, because it feels entirely different compared to the mana flow I’m feeling from you. I can feel these two separate energies flowing both from within and around you as I’m sitting here with you.” 

Sinking back in your seat, you say nothing to this, and choose to hide your expression as you take a hefty drink from your glass. For a while now, you have suspected that something like this may exist. That you may have some kind of magic surrounding you at times. It would only make a whole lot of sense of everything that you have been questioning and wondering about.

The fact that you have been able to escape the palace during the night without people noticing you, but only while you were right outside of the palace’s walls. Common people who would walk by without seeing you when you passed them in the streets, or the royal guards who would fail to notice you slipping through their tight patrol. 

As if you were never there. 

Instinctively, your hand finds your necklace that is hidden under your cloak, and you anxiously begin toying the gem with your fingers the way you always do when you are lost in deep thoughts and in need to focus. 

You start thinking about all those nights you spent roaming the dark streets in Smotia and the afternoons you spent wandering away from the palace, recalling all the significant moments and events, to try and put all the pieces together. You have never have believed that you were a master of disguise, so skilful in hiding your identity that you managed to remain unnoticed during your trips to the outside world. 

Unlike Yoongi, perhaps, who seems to be quite an expert if putting up disguises. He would no doubt be able to blend in with the locals with his disguises, avoiding unwanted attention that may put a risk to his duties.  

Thinking about this now, the odd expression worn by the mercenary soldier that you met at The Rare Roots begins to make more sense. When he looked at you as if you had magically appeared right in front of him and he was completely caught off-guard that he had let his mask slip. And for some reason, you can almost see that same expression coming out of Yoongi as he is silently watching you—the cold, amused look coming out of his eyes, as if he is trying to solve a puzzle, or a mystery, and he would be able to find the answer by simply looking at your face. 

More questions come to mind, and they slip out of you in soft whispers while you are trying to solve this mystery. “How is that possible?” you first ask yourself, before your gaze lands back on Yoongi who hasn’t said a word, giving you the chance to ruminate on this new revelation about yourself. 

“If I am protected with a spell, like you said, how did you manage to notice me?” You just cannot help but wonder out loud. 

Both in Narlès and here in Grimm, Yoongi has always been the one to find you first. Compared to how you would have had to approach someone and talk to them first to get them to notice you—just like the farmers you met earlier and the people you talked to on your previous excursions. 

Just as you are waiting for him to respond, you catch Yoongi’s eyes as they move. A barely visible flicker that is so subtle that you would miss it if only you blink. And you are partially sure that his gaze has landed right at your necklace, at the fingers that are brushing against the golden embellishments securing the ruby pendant that seems to be reflecting the sunlight as you twirl it in your touch. 

All of a sudden, a blurry image from your almost-forgotten dream comes back to you. 

Yoongi’s eyes remind you of the pair of dark eyes drifting down to your collarbone, eyeing on the necklace that you were wearing even in your dreams. The deep voice that almost felt like a whisper, a murmur, when the man in your dream spoke of as if he had just gotten an answer to the riddle that he was so desperate to solve, “The necklace. Of course. I should’ve known.”

Carefully, you lower your hand, opting to take Yoongi’s attention away from the necklace. His curious gaze is starting to make you feel uncomfortable, too vulnerable, that even the necklace is starting to feel hot under his dark, perusing eyes. 

“I might have a theory,” Yoongi begins as his eyes find yours again. This time, the look that he is giving you seems a bit more cautious. As if he is treading carefully through this, and you understand why when he says, “But I might have to show it to you to prove it, since it would mean using my magic to understand, and I can do that if you would allow me to.”  

As he stops talking, you can almost hear the unspoken words that he is keeping to himself as he regards you with a smile. A silent promise that also becomes a challenge that he offers you in exchange of any secret that you may choose to share with him—

This secret I can reveal to you, as long as you are willing to reveal yours. 

— © 2024 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind is not allowed. unsolicited translations are not allowed.

[rookfeatherrambles]

So i actually did try writing this at one point! Here's the draft I found. Liminal season because no one is dead and everyone is fine (I assume the Unknowing was stopped without a hitch as well :) Anyway, here ya go! MORE CURSED CAT AU!

When Martin Blackwood opened the door to the Archives with his keycard at 5:45 in the morning, the last thing he expected to see was the entire cast of the archival assistants, and his boss, (and unrequited crush) all standing around in the bullpen, and clearly engaged in heated conversation. Martin blinked, his mouth opening a little in shock. Late nights were depressingly common in the Archives, but this was… new. And concerning. It was just Jon staying late, that Martin knew. So what was everyone else doing here?? Not only was it incredibly early, it was Saturday! Jon saw Martin from across the room and his expression shifted from tense to something like relief. But the irrational warmth that flooded Martin’s chest disappeared the moment he scowled, pushing his way between Melanie and Daisy. “You’re late,” he said, his usual sharp tone maybe a little sharper this morning, and Martin had to fight back the annoyance that rose up.. He bit back his retort - ‘No, actually, you’re all early,’ because Jon was already moving away again. Martin shrugged it off and started unwrapping his scarf,  soft wool he’d knitted himself, and then Tim was there, appearing at his elbow with two mugs. “Welcome to the madhouse,” he said by way of greeting, and thrust out a cup of tea. “I see you also got that phone call.” Martin took it, noting the grogginess in Tim’s eyes. “Yeah, I did, what’s that about?” The hot ceramic warmed his chilled hands and woke him up further. Tim groaned. “I don’t know, none of us could get a proper story out of him, he just kept insisting we all had to arrive first before he’d tell us… and that meant you, and you arrived 15 minutes late.” Tim sighed, rubbing at his eyebags. “It has to be something important though, why else would Jon have dragged us out of bed like this?” He paused. “I know he’s Jon, and paranoia and manic episodes are very much the cours de jour with him… but this is different. It better be, or I’m going to kick him where it really hurts.” Martin opened his mouth, then closed it and followed Tim’s gaze as Jon stood at the front of the room. The murmuring all died off. “Thank you all for coming. I know it's early for most of us, and I appreciate that you’re all here. Now, I have some… frankly baffling news to share.” Tim spoke up from where he was leaning against his desk. “It's not another bloody apocalypse is it?” Martin watched Jon, waiting for his mouth to twist, his expression to sour. But he didn’t react the way they’d expected over the past few years. He looked… thoughtful. “I don’t…” And there he paused. “I don’t know.” Martin saw Tim and Sasha exchange glances, saw Daisy shift in place, and he could feel the tension growing in the air. That was impossible. Jon… From what Elias had gloatingly said once, the whole point of Jon was that he Knew things. Melanie was next. “What do you mean you ‘don’t know?’ Aren’t you the literal equivalent of an eldritch search engine? How do you just Not know??” Jon made a face. “Firstly, that is not remotely how it works, and secondly-” He reached down behind the desk and picked up something that was covered in a towel. Martin strained to see, just as everyone did, as he gently placed the towel clad thing onto the desk. Was it a group of Leitners? That could explain why Jon was being so careful and why it was covered. Or maybe it was an artefact, and he couldn’t break it or touch it with his hands. But from the way Jon settled the thing without so much as jostling it, that theory didn’t fit. No, if Martin had to make an educated guess… he’d say that whatever was under that towel was alive.

1/2

[alexrosekey]

Oh boy, this is gonna be my longest submission for the @hprecfest to date. Buckle up my friends, the road ahead will be teary with little to no sunshine and rainbows. HEA is not guaranteed, though one has a little more hopeful ending than the others (I'll let you guess which one 👀)

I take absolutely no responsibility for the possible heartache you feel after reading my recs.

*Most of the fics below are rareships , all but the first one.

1. Seven Minutes by starkidsftw (T, 60,588, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy)

They say after you die, your brain stays alive for seven minutes. And in those seven minutes, you live your entire life over again. When Draco Malfoy's seven minutes arrived, he did relive his life: his experiences, his mistakes, his memories. But most importantly, he relived being with her. He relived hating her, loving her, and then ruining it forever.

A Dramione 6th year AU, how typical. But my breath was taken away with how beautiful and poetic the writing was, how in-character both Draco and Hermione were as well as how believable their journey from enemies to lovers was.

This fic is Draco-centric, though the romance is one of the key parts in it. Seven Minutes explored Draco's thoughts and actions throughout the fateful sixth year at Hogwarts with great care and consideration, never shying away from the more unsavory aspects of his personality unlike many Hogwarts Dramione fics.

Draco, through the exceptional crafting of the author, appeared as both sympathetic and pathetic, yet very human and understandable.

After reading it the first time, I immediately reread it while listening to Dumbledore's Farewell OST, crying my eyeballs out.

The author of this one has several much more popular Dramione fics and in fact has an ao3 account, but SM remains one of the finest Dramione fic I've ever read.

*This fic could be put under the prompts of Day 5: A non-AO3 fic, Day 8: A canon-divergence fic, Day 21: A thought-provoking fic and Day 28: An under-rated fic.

2. Beauty and the Beast by @metalomagnetic (M, 21,209, Bellatrix Lestrange/Voldemort)

Whenever Voldemort sees beauty, he wants to destroy it. Bellatrix Black endures.

As I said to dear @metalomagnetic on Discord: "Your fic destroyed me." Who would have thought that one day, I would read a Bellamort fic, getting choked up over their tragic tale at work?

Through the masterful stroke of the author, Bellatrix Lestrange became much more multidimensional and fascinating. More than just a sadistic and insane femme fatale, Bella in BatB loved strongly, felt deeply and had had her heart broken. She was devoted to what she believed in, in this case her freedom to live outside of the strict Pureblood ideals for women, and Voldemort.

Voldemort, as always, shined in the hands of metalomagnetic. He was absolutely unapologetic, unhinged, with wrapped views and formidable presence. To witness his spiral downward first hand was both tragic and mesmerizing.

So please, if you could get over your misgivings about JK's terrible portrayal of Bellamort in canon (and *cough* CC *cough*), give this fic a try. You won't regret it.

(If you're a fan of Tom Riddle/Voldemort like me or a fan of canon-accurate Sirius Black, I highly recommend you to check out metalomagnetic's other fics 😉)

*This fic could be put under the prompts of Day 6: An unreliable narrator fic, Day 7: A canon-compliant fic and Day 9: A rare pair fic (less than 2000 fics on AO3).

3. Tiveden by NoFootprintsInSand (M, 1,594, Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle | Voldemort)

Hope tastes like copper.

There's a reason why despite not rereading this fic for a while now, I could still remember everything in it vividly. Two people got stranded together in the middle of nowhere is a common trope. But this fic went above and beyond to deliver one of the most agonizing and sorrowful twist to it.

To quote one of the comments: He had nothing to live for and she had everything to die for. Like the summary, this fic left a bitter, coppery aftertaste on your tongue after reading.

*This fic could be put under the prompt of Day 1: A favorite fic under 5k and Day 8: A canon-divergence fic.

4. I Think I Know Enough of Hate (1,392) and This Living Hand, Now Warm and Capable (1,287) by NoFootprintsInSand (M, Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy)

Hermione and Lucius and the prelude to battle.

and

Hermione and Lucius and the aftermath of battle.

Just getting into Lumione since July, but whenever I'm in the mood for a good punch in the gut, I would immediately go to these two oneshots.

NoFootprintsInSand is a master in weaving beautifully haunting and bittersweet tales, and these two are no exception.

The tragedy that is the corrupted British Wizarding Society as well as the pain of a hollow existence, of pointless conflicts and never-ending power struggle, all portrayed phenomenally through the short, sharp paragraphs and sentences.

Lucius and Hermione's relationship was both twisted and tragic, filled with so much desire and contempt, both for each other and for themselves. Yet there was something more underneath, something speak of love and concern but at the same time not. Whatever it was, it made them cling to one another, wrapping up in a tangle of love and hate and obsession.

Each word and phrase were designed for maximum emotional effect, so unforgettable and effective that shook you to the core. The ambiguity of the fic's context added to the desperate and melancholic vibe of the oneshots.

The stories left so much up to interpretation that I've decided to write an AU WIP to explore them more on my own! (with the permission from the og writer)

*These fics could be put under the prompts of Day 1: A favorite fic under 5k, Day 8: A canon-divergence fic, and Day 9: A rare pair fic (less than 2000 fics on AO3).

All 5 fics in this list can also be put under the prompt of Day 17: A fic that made you cry.

As always, happy reading, and see ya next year 💋

In the meantime, check out my rec list for other days.

Day 13: A fic with over 100k words

Day 16: A fic that made you laughed

Day 19: Fic with the hottest smut

Day 22: An unfinished fic (hasn't updated in 10 years or the author stated it has been abandoned)

[commander-writergirl]

Red String of Fate

Synopsis: In a world where your soulmate is picked for you with a name tattooed, you are born with the rare trait of not seeing colors until you meet yours. You never expected the universe to foresee the divided mind of your other half.

Pair: Jake Lockley x Jewish!fem!reader, Steven Grant x Jewish!Fem!reader, Marc Spector.

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: none (as of right now)

Word Count: 1709

Notes: This was brought on by either @softlyspector​ or @starryeyedstories​ talking about liking soulmate AUs and the idea in Judaism of the red string. And the idea that when you were a red string bracelet, it doesn’t just protect you from evil but can fall off when you have met your soulmate.

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

-Twenty Years Ago-

“And remember never take it off.” I looked at my mother as she tied the thin red string around my left wrist. “It will fall off when you have found the one.”  

I looked at the string. It was red, my mother had said as much but it just looked dark grey to me. “But won’t I see color.” I looked at her. It was a rare way of finding your soulmate, not seeing colors. From what I had overheard, no one in my family had ever been born this way.

She smiled and stroked my curls back. “Then wear it for protection from evil.” She kissed my forehead before getting up and going back to her craft room.

I looked at the string again and played with the small charms on it. One a Hamsa and the other a crescent moon. I looked at the knot and noticed it was made to grow with me but not slip off.

-Fifteen Years Ago-

It’s for protection from evil.  

I sat in the hospital playing with the charms. The doctors said I was fine. A few bruises from the seatbelt and a few scraps but nothing major. But no one wanted to tell me that my mom was gone, having suffered the blunt of the pick-up ramming into the side of our car.  

Drunk Driver

Dead before EMS

I sniffled and curled up hoping my dad would get here soon.

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

-Present Day-

I twisted the charms on my bracelet as I waved down a taxi. I quickly climbed in before a familiar scent caught my attention.

“Now how is it you always find your way into my taxi, carino?”  Jake’s accent was a mix of the Spanish language he cursed in and the side-effect of growing up in New York.

“I wouldn’t know Jake, maybe just luck.” I smiled sitting back. “Home please.”  

He nodded his head, and I caught a glimpse of the green in his shirt. I chewed on my lower lip. Since meeting Jake, I could make out things people had told me were green and blue. Like the trees, the grass, my favorite dress apparently was a  mix between the two called teal.  

After first meeting Jake, I stood in front of my apartment and just stared at the sky. It was a clear light blue. I found myself grabbing anything I could tell the color of and putting it at the top of my drawers; in the side of the closest I opened the most.

I called my father in tears because it was the first time, I could see the true color of my own eyes. The colors everyone complimented.

But then it came crashing down when I realized Jake had to be my soulmate. But something was wrong. I could only see blue/green colors. I couldn’t see the other 80% of the rainbow. And the thin red bracelet my mother had placed on my wrist all those years ago was still snuggly set against my skin.

“What has you thinking so hard back there?” I shook my head and looked over to see him looking at me in the rearview mirror.

I chewed on my lower lip. “Have you ever heard of someone with the color blindness, only getting part of it back when they meet their soulmate?”  

Jake blinked at me before turning his sight back on the road. “Guess that explains why you don’t have marks on you.”  

I nodded. Jake didn’t talk about what marked him for his soulmate from what I had seen of his skin, I couldn’t see a name or symbol or even a phrase for first meetings.  

Having your soulmate’s name on you was the most common. Color blindness was the rarest, so rare there was little anyone who could teach me to help me find mine.

“You know you never told me what your mark is.” I said watching as his jaw ticked.

“You’ve never asked before.” His fingers twitched and I could tell he wanted to reach for a cigarette you usually smoke.  

“Well, I’m asking now.”  

Jake shook his head and sighed, “Color blindness.”  

“So, you couldn’t tell what color the dress was the day we meet?”  

He shook his head, “And to answer your first question; no, I don’t know what it means if you only get some color back.”  

I looked back out the window. “Maybe I have more than one soulmate.” Or maybe I’m messed up from the car crash. I squeezed my eyes shut at that thought.  

“It’s a possibility.” I felt the car slow as Jake stopped in front of my building.  

“Maybe.” I went to pull out the money to pay him before he put his hand over mine.

“Don’t worry about it Carino.” The corner of his mouth ticked up.

I smiled and kissed his cheek. “You are such a mensch.” I felt his eyes on me as I got out of the car and walked up the steps.

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

“No Jake, there’s no possible way.” Marc said in the mindscape as Jake parked the taxi.

“Hey, how else do you want to explain us seeing green and blue shades, Spector?” Jake got out and walked towards the apartment building.  

After a few strings between contacts, Steven was able to get a research job which meant Marc and Jake got to pick home base.

Jake’s choice of New York had won.  And within the first month, he had met her.  

Curly hair and smooth skin. A smile that brought the stars for a day. And she brought him latkes over the holiday season, clocking him much easier than he clocked her.  

Steven wanted to meet her, but Jake’s protectiveness prevented it. He just didn’t know if it was to protect the system or her.  

“I think it would be quite nice to have a soulmate.” Steven mused.

Jake had to hand it to Steven, he made it seem like a dream come true. And even though Jake wasn’t as terrified or reserved as Marc, he was worried about putting her in danger.  

“No, it’s not nice. It’s a danger.” Even Jake could hear the self-doubt in Marc’s tone.  

“Doesn’t matter.” Jake said as he walked into the apartment. “No one but me, sees her.”  

Jake sighed as he took in all the green around the apartment. He truly never realized how many plants Steven had.  

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

I walked down the street. Photo day was always interesting. It always amazed me how many people would pay for historical photos from New York. As I looked over the last few photos I had taken, I bumped shoulders with someone.  

“Oh, I’m so...” I looked at the person. “Sorry. Jake?”  

He looked like Jake, but he didn’t wear a flat cap or facial hair. His shoulders also seemed to curve a little.  

“oh uh...” He began to stumble over his words before looking around and pulling me away from the crowd.

“Jake, what is it?” I blinked a few times and realized the brink wall behind him was now something other than grey. When I placed my hand on his chest, I could see the red string exactly as it should be seen. “Jake?” I looked at him but found his attention had moved to the space around us.

“Bloody hell.” I stepped back from the man who looked like Jake.

“W-who are you?”  

He looked back at me and quickly took my hand. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.” The British accent threw me but his thumb rubbed against my hand in soothing circles.

I took a deep breath and looked at him. “Please explain.”

He nodded and gulped. “My name is Steven Grant. Jake Lockley, the man you’ve been meeting is an alter.”

I blinked at him, “You have DID.”

He tilted his head, “How..?”

“I took psychology in college, stuck with it for a while. Didn’t understand why it interested me so much.” My voice got quiet as I took in the deep red of his shirt before setting my hand against his chest. “Guess I know why now.”  

Steven set his hands over mine. “Jake is very protective, he wouldn’t let... me meet you when I first asked.”  

I could tell the ‘me’ was supposed to be plural but for now I would let it go. I smiled lightly and nodded my head. “Yea I get that vibe from him.” I giggled a little as his thumb brushed against my red thread.  

“Could I buy you tea,” Steven smiled. “Or coffee. I know American’s prefer coffee; Jake certainly makes sure I remember.”  

I couldn’t help laughing. “I would like that very much.”  

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

Steven was completely different from Jake. He had thrown himself into being around me. He even took me on dates. Though Jake had started to loosen up, having me sit up front when he drove me places. Keeping his hand on my knee as he drove.  

Though I felt they were both still keeping something from me. Or someone. There were still colors I couldn’t make out, some were dull.  

It was when Jake finally invited me to their apartment that I realized there was someone else.

“So it’s not just you and Steven?” I asked looking over a notebook that had writing in it that didn’t match Steven’s clean script or Jake’s messy quick writing.  

“How long have you known?” I felt Jake behind me before his arms encircled my waist.

“Since I met Steven. He was hesitant on the ‘me’ part when he explained you didn’t want them to meet me.” I ran my finger over the writing. “He must be military. The way he writes.”

“He was, didn’t last long.” Jake’s grip tightened around me holding me against him.

“I can imagine.” I closed the journal and turned in Jake’s arms. “I would really like to meet him.”

“That last little bit of color bothering you as well?”  

I nodded my head and buried my face into his chest. “It’s so annoying.”

Jake chuckled and kissed my head. “Steven and I will talk with him later and see if we can convince him.”

“Okay.” I looked up at him, “Can I know his name?”

“Marc. Marc Spector.”

[galvanizedfriend]

2023 WIP List

I saw a writer I really love doing this here and decided to respectfully borrow the idea.

I'm feeling really bummed about writing lately, can't seem to find the least bit of motivation and have jumped from story to story without adding anything of substance over the last month or so. Nothing seems to spark joy. And yet I have thousands of words in half-written stories I'm not sure what to do with. Ideally, I'd like to finish them, but at this point, who knows 🤷‍ So this is a way for me to take stock, do some soul-searching, try to find where my heart is writing-wise at the moment and see if I can manifest some inspo.✨

These are not even all my WIPs, just the ones I have opened at least once in the last year.

▪ Speed Dating 3/3 Klaroline, friends/roommates-to-lovers

Started in June 2022

The final part to my Speed Dating sequel, which is much longer than the original story because I have no self-respect. Klaus and Caroline are roommates and idiots. The OG one-shot had them going on a round of speed dating and failing to connect the dots and realizing that what they really should be doing is sucking face with each other. The sequel is kind of an expanded universe situation, where I wanted to show a little more of their roommie chemistry and push them into situations where they are finally confronted with the reality of their feelings. But that only happens once they start seeing other people because of course.

I have maybe 60% of the final part written but for some reason, after word-vomiting non-stop for a while, I got stuck on a kind of major point in the story. I've tried to start it soooo many times and it just won't go. 🙃 I think I'm looking at a good 6 to 8k words more before it's finished.

▪ Random Fic (not the real title) Klaroline (duh), sorta exes-to-enemies-to-lovers I guess

Started in May 2020

The start of my romantic comedy phase. This predates even my coffee shop AU. It's Caroline and Klaus having a fling that ends very, very badly, but then having to come together again a year later to marry their common friend (and Caroline's ex), Tyler. I wanted it to be quick, witty and light-hearted and then at some point it got some very emotional bits in the middle and turned into something else completely. I guess it's still mostly light-hearted, but it has some ~~substance, whatever that means. I think it's an okay fic, and it's 55k words, which is not too bad, but then does anyone still read 55k all at once these days? lol

The fic is finished. I think I wrapped it up in April last year, so a year ago. But I haven't been able to go back and read it again. I've tried, and I've started it so many times, but then I always stop and never pick it back up. But like. 55k words of finished fic here. 🤷‍

▪ Pendulum Klaroline, soulmates!AU but make it sad

Originally in January 2019, started rewriting in July 2020 (lol)

I have issues with this story. It's the saddest damn thing I've ever written, but it's also my favorite storyline I've ever come up with. It got some hate at the time, I don't know why, but also some of the most heartfelt comments/responses I've ever received on any story (and I still keep them all!), so I think this is one where you either love it or hate it. But because I feel so protective of it, I have problems (of the personal brand) leaving it out in the open, and I don't want to repost it until I'm absolutely sure it's ok. As you can see, it was one of my first ever fics, so the writing wasn't the best. But I still love it, I don't care. I keep wanting to make the writing match how much I love the idea, and I don't know if that's possible. 🙃

It's the rare AU I write entirely from Klaus' POV, which is something else. I'm not sure I'm that good with Klaus. It's also an AH, but it has a little magic twist. Every time Klaus dies, his life just restarts from the exact same point. He's born on the same year, at the same place, to the same parents. Except he remembers his previous lives, and so he accumulates the knowledge of hundreds and hundreds of previously lived years each time he's reborn. And then shit happens.

First time I posted this, it was 57k words long. I have successfully finished rewriting the first of three parts, which is around 14k words, but as you can see, I have been in this process since 2020 (!!!), so I need to go back and tinker with that as well. May God have mercy on my soul.

▪ Mystic Tours (not the real title) Klaroline, friends-to-lovers but also fake dating

Started in January 2023

This was inspired by Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison, except it's not a Christmas story, and it doesn't actually have any farms. It has Klaroline fake dating to try and win a contest that can potentially save Caroline's failing business, and also loads of side-characters Sound of Settling style (including a horde of Mikaelsons and Bonnie and Enzo as Caroline's co-workers). I really like writing stories where I can fit a bunch of side characters and make the whole thing sorta absurd. But I also wanted to try to make something quicker, more dialogue-oriented and with shorter scenes. AND YET. I just can't seem to make it work, the writing kinda sucks.

I have some 6k words of this, but can't tell you how much of that is actually usable. And it's maybe 10% of the story. 🙃

▪ Friends that Ruin Your Life (may or may not be the title, undecided) Klaroline, Klefan (!!), affairs, fucked up people, angst

Started in March 2023

The five minutes during which I decided I wanted to go back to my origins and write something angsty and filled with complicated situations, a bit like Gasoline. It features Klaus and Stefan as a couple, and Caroline getting sucked into their messy marriage. So yes, Klaus is having an affair. In his defense, so is Stefan. Caroline's moral compass gets all out of sorts and she realizes the world is a lot less black-and-white than she'd previously assumed and sometimes you do get judged by your one-offs, even if your heart is in the right place.

I got super excited about this one and churned out the entire plan for the whole story, with all the scenes and most of the dialogues and the document alone is like 60k words long. I wrote that in like three days. 🥲 I don't think I could make it a one-shot, and I think that left me bummed because I didn't want it to be a multi-chapter. And then I'm not sure the writing was coming along fine enough, it wasn't flowing, and I started to question whether it was actually good or if I was totally tripping when I had this idea and this was actually insanely shitty. lol Leaning more towards the second right now.

▪ King Arthur AU (not the actual title) Klaroline, magic, fantasy, King Arthur

Started in March 2021

This is very high fantasy, and very intricate. It would be a multi-chapter, but I have no idea how long. I think I was leaning towards 10 chapters. I have four written. And the writing is fairly decent, if I may say so myself. But as it usually happens with me, I get to a point where I start wondering why am I even writing this, and then I stop. 🥲🥲 I also think I was having some doubts about how to wrap it up. It had maybe more plots than I wanted to work with. King Arthur was actually Elijah, and Klaus was Mordred, and Caroline was Guinevere-ish, a witch undercover in "Orleans" (I'm so creative!!).

Only reason this is even on the list is because I recently read the four chapters I have and thought they were pretty decent, but I haven't written anything in almost two years, so maybe I've swiped up on this one already.

▪ The Wolf III and IV 🤡

Started in October 2020 (!! when I tell you guys I've had this written for years lol)

I have technically written The Wolf 3. It's in my "headcanons" format, which is honestly a joke, because clearly I don't know how to write headcanons. 🤡 But as you can see by the starting date, it's very, very old, and it requires full rewriting and lots of editing. Chapters are 15 to 20k words long (some are longer). TW4 is a different story. I never actually wrote it down, all I have is a full, detailed plan of all the scenes and shit. My idea was to not split the two stories into two different fics, but rather continue on with TW4 in the same AO3 "document" (???) as TW3 and make it 34 chapters long instead of 21. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but also I don't have it in me to start another separate story.

But here we are, stuck on S03E17. 🤡 Gonna be honest with you, my dudes, it's been rough to find the motivation to open that document. I think I have half of 17, maybe, but I haven't touched that in over a month. Laely, I have been often sent into thinky thoughts that you really shouldn't have when you're writing fic just for the hell of it, you know. Like, this is in no way meant to be a great piece of writing, I shouldn't be worried about that. It's the fan service of the fan service. But I start to think about the real quality of it and whether it even makes sense to be writing it, I realize I wrote one fic that was good, a second one which I personally think was even better, and then I made the classic mistake of having one too many sequels. This is Jurassic Park III. It's not as crappy as Jurassic World, you have Sam Neill, but should it exist? I just want Klaus and Caroline to be together for a change, and I love adding random final scenes in every chapter where it's just the two of them being married, but - should this be written? Or rather, should this have been posted in the first place? Do we really wanna see them being domestic? Doesn't that kind of kill the vibe? I don't know, man. I don't know. Chapter one was a blast, people seemed so into it and I wrote five chapters at once and got maybe a little over-excited, and then which each update I feel like there's less and less readers and it really gets me thinking. These thoughts are sabotaging my will to write. I need to get back on my fuck it horse.

It will come to me at some point, though. I'm sure it will.

Anyway, these are all my current WIPs! Comments, ideas and positive energies are all welcome! ✨ Let's return to this in december and weep at how little progress I've made 🥲

[urban-witch101]

Hey! So um if you remember I made a request on your Danganronpa Thh ghost au if you could do sdra2 ghost au headcanons. If your still busy that's ok but if you forgot this is kinda like a reminder (Sorry of this sounds rude 😭)

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry! I completely forgot. Also I got multiple requests for this and that is a foreign concept to me, I'm patting myself on the back for a job well done for the first one I guess.

I want to clarify - this one will be a little different than the other one. This will also be the last one of these I do until I play the third game. This isn't an x-reader. This is also going to be tricky considering the canon lore, so I'm kind of twisting it around instead of just throwing it all out completely. Have fun y'all.

- Danganronpa 2 Ghost AU - "They're Trapped."

Hi! Spoilers ahead. Also, just a big fat trigger warning in general.

When Makoto Naegi set out, against direct orders, to create the Neo World Program, he had good intentions. Rehabilitate the kids, even the questionable ones, to their original state. What he didn't expect were the files to get a little...weird. It didn't seem dangerous. At least, it wasn't until it was already too late.

The worst part is that Makoto would be rewarded with this transgression, this mistake. He outright refused to give the Hope Foundation the program, but when they took it by force, they realized why he hid it.

They were there. They weren't alive anymore, but that doesn't mean a whole lot in a fictional world made of binary coding. This is what they found.

Hajime Hinata is the only one that will greet you upon entering the Neo World Program.

When you first open your eyes on the beach, you'll see clear blue skies for miles, an ocean that looks and sounds just like the real deal, and a bundle of broken code flashing by the trees.

He's had the most sightings of all the students. If you're lucky, he'll even ask for your name.

If he's not there when you first wake up, then check the hotel. He can be seen walking around the cabins, hesitating on certain ones and letting his finger glaze over the mailboxes with their names on them.

His little friend is different. Much different.

9/10.

Izuru Kamukura is the same body with an incomplete personality.

He can be seen by the Ancient Ruins, pacing up and down the halls.

Sometimes he'll ignore you. Sometimes he's snippy and aggressive. He doesn't hurt anyone though, not anymore.

Many of us think that spirits don't want to ask us questions when in reality they just don't have that kind of energy to give anymore.

The Neo World Program flipped that logic on its head.

There was only one person that Kamukura actually talked to, and he asked him all kinds of questions. Who he was. What he was doing there.

Their meeting was solemn, but honest. He was quiet after that.

7/10, a mixed bag.

Gundham Tanaka pops from place to place, but the two main spots you'll find him are the Ranch and Strawberry House.

He's always alone, and he likes keeping it that way.

No animals have reported being around him - no animal noises in the glitches, or any mention of them in his code. Not even his hamsters.

At the Ranch, there are reports of the cows "brushing themselves". Bits of code surround the brush, as if he's specifically keeping the rest of himself hidden. These sightings are common though.

If all else fails, he wants you to know that the animals are taken care of.

There is one report. An anonymous employee went into Strawberry House and found his code in the Tower. They used a device mimicking a spirit box and could hear the constant click of his shoes.

Pacing in circles, and an occasional whistle of an unfamiliar tune. 10/10, harmless and is actually pretty helpful all things considered.

Peko Pekoyama has never been seen once, but it's known that she stays in the Beach House.

When they approached the building, they thought someone was already inside due to the footprints in the sand going in the door. The Beach House was completely empty.

She'll play the flashlight game. She's unresponsive to the spirit box.

The employee decided to wait until the night cycle kicked in, turned out the lights, and sat in the main room quietly.

They didn't hear much, but they did enjoy the quiet. Listening to the wind chimes and the ocean helped them meditate and stay calm in a time that a regular ghost hunter would be depressed about the lack of evidence collected.

After they were done they gave an audible warning before packing up to go, figuring that they weren't getting anything.

It turns out that the Beach House is the only place in the island that gives you a sense of peace. It wasn't programmed to give this atmosphere.

10/10, super chill.

Ibuki Mioda...has not changed at all. She bounces from place to place, but her sightings are mostly in the music venue.

You name it, it has happened in this building.

Equipment turning on by itself, speakers blasting scrambled rock music, something falling from the rafters in the ceiling, etc, etc, etc.

She does everything. She loves the flashlight game. The spirit box became redundant when they figured out that whenever it was in the music venue it would blast rock music. She's spoken through Ouijia Boards with specific messages. She even talks about executions and murders that she's witnessed.

Do you think a ghost could effectively haunt a music venue better? No, you don't. It's Ibuki Mioda.

8/10, somehow the loudest ghost ever.

Teruteru Hanamura is in the kitchen in the old building. There's no record of him ever moving from the old building at all, much less leaving the kitchen.

He's pretty quiet - unless you're a woman.

He reacts to men, but they've never gotten a response on the spirit box with them. He'll turn lights on and off and knock things over.

If you're a woman, there's not more physical activity but he will definitely talk.

He loves to talk. He answers every question that he can. He talks about his mother and her diner, the terror he felt from being stuck on this island with no rhyme or reason, his regret of killing the Imposter instead of Nagito.

He has absolutely no idea who he really is.

His code proves it. Could you imagine the Hope Foundation's reaction to Naegi's and Alter Ego's code actually working?

When asked if he'd ever leave the kitchen, he refused.

"I can't face them...not after what I did."

9/10, very helpful but prepare for emotional damage.

Sonia Nevermind is in the library on the second island.

They weren't able to get her on any devices. Nothing happens when people are in the room.

One of the employees got the idea to leave a camera and a tape recorder rolling there while they explored the rest of the island.

When they came back the tape recorder had been turned off and the camera had been glitched to stop recording about ten minutes in.

In those ten minutes, there was an orb accompanied with code glitches passing through the top corner of the frame. The tape recorder had been recording for two minutes, and all the heard was the sound of someone breathing.

That same employee spent the night in the library alone and they decided to bring a film camera so nothing could be corrupted.

They woke up multiple times throughout the night to sounds of books dropping, a girl crying, and what sounded like mice squeaking. These were later reported as hamster sounds.

The film camera had been set on a timer to go off every hour and take a picture. Only two pictures had something off - one had a dark shadow in the corner and the other was a picture of a mangled wall of binary code. It was translated later.

"Let us out."

8/10, spooky as shit but now we know where the hamsters went.

Akane Owari was last seen by Chandler Beach.

According to many employees, Akane tends to wander. She's never been seen in the same spot twice.

Many have tried to lure her out by coding smells of food to appear, but to no avail. She knows it's not real - she can't eat anymore.

Once she was caught on the spirit box in the hotel restaurant. It picked up sounds of chewing along with weird grunts of frustration. Another time she was in the beach house, making the window in the shower room rattle.

There's not a lot to note about her. She tends to keep to herself and avoids the Hope Foundation employees at all costs.

The only really significant finding happened in the hospital, in her old sick room. Sometimes the lights flicker, and the IV's will start to operate and show a heartbeat despite not being hooked up to a person. An employee was able to quietly play the flashlight game with her, asking simple questions about her and her life.

5/10, quiet but not very helpful.

The Imposter is still in the old building.

They're similar to Akane in the sense of not really interacting all that much, tending to stick to themself and haunt the old building alongside Teruteru.

The few times they did get them to interact were...interesting, to say the least.

They don't seem bothered by the fact that their murderer is literally a room away. "He did what he had to do." Fair enough.

One employee brought a knife to the building - all of their technology went wild; the tape recorder only got bits and pieces of loud static that wasn't there in real time, their flashlights went out, the spirit box wouldn't even turn on, etc. One of the cameras actually burst into flames.

That employee ended up throwing the knife out the door. Everything calmed down almost immediately.

6/10, whatever the fuck you do, don't bring a weapon.

Hiyoko Saionji is consistently found in the hotel restaurant.

She's occasionally been heard at the music venue as well, but the restaurant is her go-to.

She doesn't like the spirit box, but she loves the flashlight game. She will play that puppy all night.

When asked why she stays here of all places, the flashlights go quiet before they start flashing in a pattern.

It seems that she has an affinity for morse code.

"It's where big sis is."

One of the flashlights rolled over to a specific spot in the restaurant, by one of the walls. Right by where Mahiru's shrine used to be.

8/10, harmless but big ow.

Kazuichi Soda hasn't been seen by anyone. But he has been heard.

It is nearly impossible to track this motherfucker down.

They looked everywhere - the airport, the military base, the plushie factory, everywhere that they could think of.

It wasn't until an employee mentioned that he was close friends with Hajime that they got an idea. They set up some equipment with sensors around the hotel and waited.

When they looked at the footage later, there seemed to be more than one student there. They even overheard bits of a conversation on the spirit box:

"How's...oking today?"

"Nice and quie...ople seem to be comin...more and...though."

"...isn't...urprise. They seem to...help."

"...hat a joke."

10/10, quiet and looking out for the others.

Nekomaru Nidai has been seen twice - once in Strawberry House, and once by Chandler Beach.

Large flashes of code were seen in the tower elevator by the spot where he died by two witnesses. They tried to set out equipment to recreate this phenomenon, but it never happened again.

He likes the flashlight game. He hates the spirit box.

Funny enough, it seems like he can't recall a lot of his time as Mechumaru. He remembers taking the blast for Akane, and his last battle with Gundham. That's it.

The other time by the beach was also an accident, but there wasn't one flash of code - there were two.

The witness swears that it was Nekomaru and Akane, but they didn't hear anything. It seems that they were both simply enjoying each other's company for a while before going back to being restless spirits.

8/10, a little helpful but otherwise stays out of the way.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu can be found around the Beach House, but his most frequented spot is the diner.

Surprisingly enough, he's very interactive with the employees of the Hope Foundation. He uses the spirit box, he plays the flashlight game, etc.

He's even been seen in both code form and on an infrared sensor. He's had full conversations through the spirit box.

There was only one time he wasn't present, and when the employee assigned to him went looking, they felt drawn to the Beach House.

The power had been cut a long time ago, but they could still hear the faint sound of music while inside, along with some wind chimes. That sense of peace from before seemed amplified, growing into a feeling of joy.

When they turned on the spirit box, they could hear a whispering conversation between a male and a female with occasional laughter.

For one night a year, on the day Peko Pekoyama died, they're together again. 10/10.

Mahiru Koizumi is...everywhere?

She didn't get to see the rest of the islands like her classmates.

You know she's there when you hear a camera click and you're not actively taking photos. Sometimes she turns on the spirit equipment, effectively draining the batteries before they even start setting up.

She doesn't talk on the spirit box, but she'll do anything that's quiet. Dowsing rods, the flashlight game, etc.

She's picky about talking to guys, but gals and nonbinary pals? She's game.

When an employee mentioned Hiyoko Saionji, it got really quiet.

"Turn on the flashlight if you miss her."

Click.

9/10, minus one for ow factor.

Nagito Komaeda haunts the Ancient Ruins alongside Kamukura.

There's one rule; don't turn off the lights. Nobody has had the guts to try to break it.

Every room in that "school" has had something happen in it. Chairs have been thrown against the walls, tables knocked over, to try and break the coding he's trapped in.

Glass vases have been shattered, anything that's been on a table had been knocked over before, etc. There have been instances of an employee hearing the breaking of a glass vase that they put somewhere, going to check on it, and finding it completely intact, still on the table they left it on.

The employees that try to stay there for a full twenty-four hours never complete it. The longest completed run was sixteen hours.

The plan was simple; get there at ten AM, collect as much evidence as possible while taking shifts on sleeping, and leave at the same time the next day. The daytime was pretty mellow, with the occasional bang and crash recorded and not much else.

Once nighttime hit, it was a whole other ball game.

The two decided to stay in one of the classrooms with a lamp on, the overhead lights off, and the door closed. Screeches and cackling echoed off the walls, followed by intense sobbing. The employee that was asleep woke up from the feeling of choking, which was then confirmed by the bruises left behind around his throat. They wanted to stay, but, when the bulb in their lamp exploded, they decided against it.

1/10, fuck you and your temper tantrum.

Mikan Tsumiki floats around the third island, but she's seen the most at the Hospital.

An unnerving energy has since filled the building, with many if not all of the employees refusing to go inside.

If you're lucky, you'll see her from the corner of your eye. That's the most she's ever let herself be seen.

Sometimes the lights flicker without cause. The windows rattle and the glass cracks, as if someone tried to punch it.

Crying can be heard throughout the building at night. Sometimes there are screams. If you turn on the spirit box though, it gets interesting.

If you listen very closely, you can hear her whispers and rambling. She talks to herself.

She'll mutter medical knowledge, dates and times, names that were important to her - a little bit of everything.

She won't answer any direct questions, only Yes and No. She likes the Ouija board. One time an employee asked about Hiyoko and the planchet flew across the room.

5/10, do not interact if you are Hiyoko. Just don't.

Chiaki Nanami is nowhere and everywhere all at once.

Bits of her code fly around all of the islands, as if searching for something.

As an AI that was created to protect the students, she is the program. A memory that all of them had, and one that all of them wanted to see again.

If there's a direct Hope Foundation representative present, she will not interact. However, she seems to enjoy the company of the regular employees; maybe she relates to them more.

She likes big, open spaces; don't try to talk to her in a tight space, like a closet, because you'll get nothing.

Her favorite is the Ovilus box, since she can directly speak through it without too much effort.

Her physical form has only been seen once.

On one of the early mornings where an employee was out completing the night shift, the run began to rise where the waves crashed against each other before settling to the sandy shores of the beach. When they looked over to admire the view of the albeit-fake sunrise, two figures shielded by shadow caught their eye.

They claimed it looked as if a girl was there, waiting, when a boy came and scooped her up into a big hug. It was later confirmed that the descriptions matched Chiaki Nanami and Hajime Hinata.

10/10, she's finally home.

I hope you all enjoyed this, it was so hard to make! Thank you for your patience :)

[statticscribbles]

Monsterous Chpt 6

Summary: Givewaway, Multi-Chapter, Supernatural AU, Sweet Pea/Reader/Reggie Mantle; Fighting

Chapter 6/6

@moodtomyboards-main

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”Cheryl’s been possessed!!!!” Archie grimaces and Veronica jumps up from her sweeping the floor of Pop’s; Betty and Jughead both look shocked and you look up from the book you were reading, Reggie and Sweet Pea scowling as they start to put the history homework away.

“How do we stop her? Uh it? The possession?? Is it a demon?” Toni’s asking and everyone shrugs a little, still uncertain as they make their way to the Blossom’s mansion.

You’re a little surprised that no one seems to be more shocked.

“Is this normal?”

“The possession? No, but Cheryl and the Blossoms are well, they’re complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“The Blossoms originated the curse that keeps us all in our monster forms; that keeps us trapped in the town. They control all of us in a way.” Toni seems unconcerned as Betty explains and you feel like that information should be less well known. You make a point of saying as much and Betty laughs.

“It’s not common knowledge, we’ve only learned about it over the past few years. As everyone’s monster forms were exposed, well everyone learned pretty quickly how the Blossoms affected all of us.”

“Affected?”

“Mhm, depending how close we are, sometimes the Blossoms can force us to do or say things. It never lasts long, they’re not strong enough, the curse having been given by like a great great five more great grandmother I’d guess. Either way, there’s a spirit that hangs around them, forcing us to obey.”

“Is that what Cheryl has been possessed with?”

“Most likely, or whatever she’s been possessed with is even worse.”

“I’m not liking the idea of it being worse.” Reggie comments and you can’t help but agree.

Cheryl is screaming and then everyone else is and they're on their knees and screaming and howling in pain and it looks like their skin is being boiled alive with how it bubbles and Cheryl is screaming and then you realize you're the only one standing.

“I’m human, you don't effect me...'' Cheryl; or whatever is possessing her jerks back as if she's the one burned and you grin a little.

“You have no power over me.”

“Will... when you stay...” The voice is Cheryl's but also not, something else.

“I will stay but you wont take me.”

“When you're changed..” Cheryl snaps her teeth and you swear you can hear them crack with the force of it.

“Wolf or vampire; you'll be part of the town”

“You have no power over me because I'm not part of the original curse..” You stare and the creature inhabiting Cheryl’s body seems to twist and writhe inside her.

You understand, if you had chosen Sweet pea or Reggie, if either of them had changed you too soon you would have been part of the town, part of the curse and the spirit would have gained control over you. You imagine it would have made you kill your family or something horrific along those lines.

“How do you stop a possession..” You grumble and Betty chews her lip and offers out a book, Veronica is already pointing to a complicated spell, or what looks like it; it’s written in a language you can’t understand. You look back to them, everyone is still a little shaky, the minute Cheryl, and the spirit possessing her had left the area they’d all stopped screaming, had all woken back up.

It doesn’t help that none of them seem to have an answer for any of it, why you neutralize the curse for each of their monster forms, why the town seems to let your family  come and go as you all please.

It’s taken everyone almost a full two days of research, everyone is sleep deprived. Everyone is exhausted and you find yourself falling asleep between Reggie and Sweet Pea; both of whom haven’t even said a cruel word between them. Too focused on saving Cheryl; although Betty and Veronica both comment how it seems to be you driving them to be more peaceful. You agree that when all this is over you’ll talk with both of them and before you get a chance to promise it; Cheryl is in front of you, possessed and screaming and it feels like everyone else has vanished.

You knew this was the spirits doing; the way it had cursed everyone and their families; how you were human; how the curse didn’t affect you. That the spirit itself was growing tired, growing restless with all the destruction it was causing. 

You watch the spirit, you can see it hovering over Cheryl, controlling her like a puppeteer and you want to reach out, it looks like lace surrounding her; a faint gray fog.

“Home.” The spirit sounds like a child and you squint, realizing the lace is actually in the shape of faces. Children’s faces, your stomach sinks.

“Where is home?”

“Here.” One of the child’s faces seems to form more concrete; it looks familiar but you can’t seem to place where you’ve seen it.

“In Riverdale?”

“Here.” You swallow, looking around the mansion; you know this is Thornhill; you can see the way the boy blinks at you, you recognize his smile; you’ve seen Cheryl smiling at Toni like that.

“Oh, Jason, right?” You’re trying your best to keep your stomach’s contents in it as you realize Jason, Cheryl’s twin brother who’s been walking around has just been a shell, a created human with his Spirit trapped in the curse itself.

“Jason, do you want to go home? You’re already there, you just have to let go of Cheryl.” You don’t even know if that will work, you don’t know what age Jason is, or what he actually can do. Instead he nods, some of the lace looking fog lifting and you can see as he separates he looks more and more human, you can see his hands forming and you reach for one, surprised when it doesn’t fall through you.

“Want to go to bed.” He blinks sleepily at you; he looks to be maybe five; you think this is when he first got sick, you wonder when the first time he died was.

“Okay, yeah, let's get you to bed okay kiddo?”

“Okay.” Jason steps ahead of you and vanishes, you don’t know if you should follow him, but you step forward and find yourself standing back in the mansion; everyone around you watching, eyes wide.

“What happened?” Betty is the one to ask, and before you can answer; before you can lie; Veronica shrieks, and then suddenly everyone realizes the curtains have been drawn back, and Reggie isn’t burning in the sunlight.

“Oh.” Everyone is standing around watching the sunrise, and you stand between Reggie and Sweet Pea knowing you have the rest of your lives to talk about everything going on.

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[amazing-spiderling]

fic writer asks: 1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

25. What other websites or resources do you use most often when you write?

I'm going to be a little cheaty- since there's two fandoms I've written a chunk for, I'd leave it up to the reader as to which they'd prefer, but they both have a lot in common.

If someone was of the Metal Gear persuasion, I'd tell them to read "Rat in a Foxhole", which is a story that consumed my brain and I think I was smashing out a chapter a day or something, because I was SO INSPIRED by a piece of artwork (itself, an album redraw) that my brain was on fire and the only way to get it out was to put the words on the screen. The fic has a bit to do with some information we get from MGS 5, specifically that Huey had intended for his son Hal to be a child mech pilot (the pilots needed to be small because of the limitations of the size of the cockpit). My brain immediately got to wondering about what would happen to such a child pilot once they grew and "aged out" of the program (or the program shut down because wtf). Then I saw @polmcarts artwork of a version of Hal and Dave meeting in some kind of bootcamp and the plot was born.

It's a sort of... meditative fic? I often imagine my stories as screenplays, and if it was viewed in that way, there would be a lot of long silences, detail shots, vast open landscapes etc. It does, of course, include a drawn out winter arc because I'm that bitch, and it's got a few twists and turns before (of course) ultimately ending on a hopeful note.

Likewise "The Man in the Mask" is a Spideypool AU that envisions an alternate meeting, and one of the characters not being forthcoming with who they are and why they're there. This one was another story that was really burning a hole in my brain, although it took me a lot longer to get it out. Having a little Marvel familiarity (with mutants and the legacy virus in particular) helps, but I've had people tell me that I did a good enough of a job explaining the concept in the fic that they weren't too lost. This one reads a bit like a "bottle episode" with the two characters more or less trapped in a single apartment and making the best of it. (I guess you could say Dave and Hal were trapped in the boot camp in the first one, so there's that.) For a story about Wade and Peter, this one also has a lot of introspection and quiet moments before a few things bubble over.

Just like the first story, this one had people screaming at me before they finished off the last chapter, which I think is a bit of a feather in my cap as a writer, it means I sold the drama and brought things to a satisfying conclusion. I call both of these some of my "weird ones" because they're extremely niche AUs that I wrote for myself, so it really makes me happy when they ping with people. I wish I had ideas like these more often.

17. I kind of have a bug in my brain about doing a fantasy adjacent Earth-65 AU featuring "The Merry Janes" and I guess AUs of AUs counts as niche... Oh, god and I really want to write a 616 or NMCU (or combo) one about Matt and Foggy being academic rivals and complaining about each other online anonymously and becoming friends (and more) without realizing. I was watching a compilation of 90's/2000's anime intros and the beginning of "His and Her Circumstances" started spooling little ideas in my head. And now that I'm on a roll, my brain is like "Lol what if Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne AU" where Matt is a "holy thief" stealing/exorcising relics and Foggy is on the side of the law trying to bring him in sfdkdsjflj And of course there's the Madoka E-65 AU I want to flesh out at some point, but that might be a better comic than story. Moral of the story is, Anime: Not Even Once.

25. thesaurus.com LOL I don't actually do a lot of looking at resources when I'm actually writing and I don't have a lot of "go to" pages for things, it's kind of random. I will do searches for things like "what year was this thing invented", but I don't have a bookmarked tab of "popular weapons in ancient china and how to use them" or anything like that. I guess I use Youtube a lot to listen to vapor/chillwave mixes while I write, is that anything? I guess a resource I use is the sprintbot in discord (and my fellow server members) to help get my brain to focus. I keep meaning to try that website that has little doodads on it to help adhd brains focus on writing but i keep forgetting.

[badwithten]

good short stories for @papermatisse

ok homie needed help writing short fics so heres a list of some short fics i like and what makes them so good despite their length (this sounds insulting but its difficult to make a story effective and short, so if you're on this list you’ve done a good job at it!)

sweet tooth by @lino-nyangi

ok so what i said about ongoing metaphors, this is sorta in the same boat but its less of a metaphor and more of a theme/how to run along a story? like because it flows through y/ns birthdays and each scene is that and the progression of it, it keeps you engaged. its very clear what the story is about, what the end of the story will be and it makes it so satisfying to read!

a life we spent apart for the death we spent together by @lebrookestore

brooke is an amazing writer and usually does do longer fics machi so check her our fr but this drabble works so well with me bc its a familiar theme that the readers know. being so short, you don’t have the words to world build or create depth with your characters the way you normally would. so picking a concept people are familiar with (in this case soulmate au) it allows the reader to already be invested in your story without having to write a lot. if that makes sense? you can just add your story and your feelings, into an already existing universe and get the point across. very cool

return our lives by @hoshwife 

ok sorry to say this again but mads is an amazing writer! legit one of my favourite, if not my favourite, on this app. once again, she does longer fics as well that you should def check out machi. but this story in particular is amazing, reading this again omg, just as good as the first time. i’m not sure how to describe mads writing, as i said above picking a familiar theme allows readers to be invested in the story without a lot of world building/character development but i feel although this story is the opposite. writing about the war which isnt common on this site, very descriptive of the world in the story. mads has just done such a good job at writing something so good but still fitting it into a bit sized fic. this is probably the most “scene of a fic” one on this list i guess? just read you’ll see what i mean lmao anything from mads is so good so yess check it out

crimson by @neo-shitty​

horror! if you're able to put a twist or some gory effects in a story it can be really effective at leaving an effect on the reader. this story does this so well! captures you in at the beginning, and then the last part is just done so well, no spoilers but if you do read it omg. i really really love horror stories for this reason. the twist of the horror. it makes a story great and it can be either done in longer fics or shorter ones ( i have so many long horror suggestions machi hmu bro)

dark clouds by @doiefy​

sorta the same as horror, but some alternate universes work well in smaller bits. i’ve done something with siren/mermaids where it was just a smaller chunk out what could've been a longer au. allows you to write something in there without a full fic, means you don’t have to work out all the lore of a full universe but its still really fun to write! this fic has done a similar thing to mads where you get to build up a little bit of the universe its set in, just enough for your story to make sense then to focus on what the narrative of your story actaully is. if that makes sense?

my last season called ‘you’ by @zh-lele​

i know we already read this story for k-bookclub but it really fits well for the ongoing metaphor point i talked about a little bit. the story is told through sections of the flowers, each feeling is represented by the flowers and what they mean. it’s just a great way to get across the point and meaning of your story

this one doesn’t have a specific fic recommendations but song fics! im a bit bias on this one bc i enjoy writing song fics, but if an artist can fit the narrative of their song into a 3-4 minute song, its sorta the same thing trying to write your story into the same short frame. its really fun like analysing the song, what the meaning is and trying to turn it into a story with the same meaning and effectiveness

this is a lot shorter than i wanted but if anyone has any types on writing shorter fics let me or machi know 🙏

[sidekick-hero]

Stucky fic recs - a starter package

During a spiralling discussion about one of the best parts of the male physique (THIGHS) with @wastedonyoursmile and @legitcookie one man with his most stunning thighs (and his murder strut TM) came up: Bucky Barnes.

After finding out that Jen has not read any Stucky fic so far (*gasp*) I could not let that stand. As promised Jen (better late than never, aye?), have a starter package of my favorite Stucky fics:

The man on the bridge

One of the best and most devastating but also rewarding Stucky fics I’ve ever read. This one had me spiral down into obsession with this ship. If you want a good starting fic, this one is it. It’s canon up to Winter Soldier and goes AU after it. It’s regarded a fandom classic for a reason 😉

Start at Part 3 in the series (that’s where the link goes) and then go from there.

Summary:

Steve Rogers turning up at Tony's door in the middle of the night might be a bit out of character, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility. Stranger things have happened.

Steve Rogers turning up at Tony's door with an amnesiac assassin - who may or may not have some of Tony's personally designed hardware attached where his arm should be - well that's just far too interesting to turn away, even if Tony is trying to avoid all things S.H.I.E.L.D these days.

Sorry about the blood in your mouth

A short and funny one, I just loved the outsider perspective. You should read this last, probably, after you dived into the dynamic of all the characters. Makes you appreciate the lightness and humor and dynamic in this one even more. But beware, it also deals with Bucky’s trauma, so it’s not all shit and giggles. But I guess, that’s a given in this fandom.

Summary:

Adventures in babysitting. Or, Natasha says it isn't babysitting, but Clint's not convinced that they haven't somehow adopted an amnesiac super assassin, but he's going with it.

The one where Clint Barton believes in waffles and Bucky Barnes.

Revenant

I don’t really know what to say about this one, just go along for the ride. It deserves its warnings but, in my opinion, it was nothing way worse than what you can gather from the movies. It just deals with the trauma that comes with being a kept and brainwashed weapon by hydra. Loved the plot twist of him taking Steve hostage instead of leaving him behind.

Summary:

Post-movie AU in which Bucky didn’t just leave Steve on a river bank...he took him.

Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) 

I can and did scream forever about this one. A formative reading experience for sure. Another fandom classic for a reason. It’s funny, it’s dirty, it hurts, it heals. It has everything. A different read on Steve and Bucky than some other fics if you ask me but an interesting one and very consistent and convincing in their characterization. The side characters alone make this one extremely enjoyable. It’s one of the longest fics here but definitely worth every second.

Summary:

It's six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone.

For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don't. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It's very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters.

I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU.

Steve sits down hard on the steps.

to memory now I can't recall 

Have some time travel AU! Loved that one because it explores Bucky and the Winter Soldier as two different entities that still have a lot in common. Mostly their love for one Steve Grant Rogers. It’s another one where I also adored the side characters, especially the Howling Commando members. It’s a very long one but you’ll finish it before you know. Lots of humor and action with a sprinkle of pain and heartbreak but a very satisfying ending (imo).

Summary:

While on a mission storming a HYDRA facility, James Buchanan Barnes touches one of the many strange alien devices collected by the Red Skull. He does this, in fact, twice— in the past, and in the future.

Next thing he knows, Bucky Barnes is opening his eyes in the 21st century, which is full of great gadgets and coffee, and at least includes his old pal Steve. (And, inexplicably, a different Stark.) Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier finds himself in the middle of World War Two, helping Captain America hunt down HYDRA (which is at least familiar), pretending to be Bucky Barnes (which is not), and figuring out the very noisy group of soldiers who call themselves the Howling Commandos.

lonely houses off the road 

Last but not least another one that’s just hilarious. If you like Sam and his at times awkward dynamic with Bucky, this is the one for you. It had me howling with laughter but it’s also really sweet. And short. Give it a read if you need a pick me up – it will definitely do that.

Summary:

Barnes is now glaring at him for some reason. It's somewhat terrifying but also, oddly, a little reassuring— because that's emotion right there, which means there's still somebody behind those eyes. Somebody who seems to think Sam is being a bit slow on the uptake. "Time parameters exceeded. Mission failed."

"Wait." Sam narrows his eyes. "Is this some kind of... report? Debriefing?"

"Mission report," confirms Barnes, looking pleased. Well, looking slightly less murderous than before.

In which various people deal with things they never signed up for, but at the end of the day no one's particularly surprised.

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU TO ANSWER ALL OF THEM OR AT LEAST 10 OF YOUR CHOICE

HA BET. I WONT REFUSE A DARE. I chose 10. Also still fangirling over the fact you like my writing BEE TEE DUBS 🥹

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

Yes!!! While somehow may not be my favorite of my fics, I’m very proud of the world building! I wanted to put an Upside-Down twist on lycanthropy and I’m very excited to flesh that out more when I finally get back to that fic!!! I love golden retriever werewolves as much as the next person, but I wanted a spooky, slimy, Upside-Down demogorgon-y werewolf for this fic!!

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

I have. So many. Let me just link the playlist and pick a favorite to ramble about LMAO

I’ve been thinking a LOT about “Kissaphobic” by Makeout Monday and how it could relate to Nancy “comphet” Wheeler falling for Robin and being afraid to kiss her because it makes it Real.

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

I’m obviously very partial to Ronance! But! I have a special place in my heart for Buckingham and Chrickie and even Rockie (if the Duffers give Vickie an actual personality). I think Ronance to me is most appealing in part because they’ve,,, actually interacted, but! They’re both such easy characters for me to project on and write for. I love their dynamic and the push and pull between them?? They’re both intelligent women who can kill you. And you cannot tell me that Nancy, who has struggled and been looked down on as a woman in a male dominated work space, didn’t fall in love with Robin while she was ranting about crybaby Petey McHugh. Jonathan and Steve could NEVER.

15. What’s your favorite AU that you’ve written?

Maybe cheating since I’m two whole chapters in, but she will pull the trigger on you (and the trigger is of love). Allow me to be sappy for a sec, but this fic is a combination of my favorite tropes and my own little love letter to the community of mutuals I’ve been accepted into here on Tumblr. I’m taking all our shared headcanons and common tropes and trying to pack it into one story. It will probably be literally Insane™️ but that’s half the fun of it! And the excuse to write enemies to lovers and SLOW BURN TENSION OH BOY. The inherent homoeroticism of being hunted by a monster hunter!!! BANTER!!! And I just. I just fucking love werewolves okay.

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

Yep. I have written one (1) smut fic. That was?? It wasn’t terrible, I just have NO IDEA what I’m doing and the pacing felt weird and I’ll be the first to admit that I am getting over being kind of a prude LMAO

38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful?

Definitely! run away (crying to your soul) was my FIRST fic ever, and it’s not even finished, and it’s right on the cusp of like,,, 10k hits? It’s not my best writing, it’s absolute crack, the pacing is Wrong, the dynamics are a little meh, I know I can do better!! But!! It is still my first fic, so I’m proud of it for that! I’m just surprised it got as popular as it did ajskskksks. I’d guess it’s honestly mostly due to the fact that it’s pretty lengthy and when I started it WAS updating very quickly. Idk man, it’s a fever dream.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

HEY DON’T MIND ME LINKING ONE OF YOURS BUT,,, a never ending story is just… Wow. You can TELL when a writer has experience in poetry and I will lose my mind every goddamn time. I’ve never been good with poetry and I will always be jealous of writers who are able to pull from that to write some of the most heart wrenching prose you’ve ever read. Another really good example is anything by @sapphicriley / khalasaar!!!

43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written?

This one isn’t on AO3! I had an angst prompt that I was actually really proud of where Robin and Nancy have an argument, within the SSMH au! Link here!

48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

I already mentioned it on 41, and obviously YES. But before that, amongst the rubble and stone by signsoflight. And yes again!! I LOVE outsider POV fics, it’s such an interesting way to examine characters we love and the worlds they inhabit!! This fic does an excellent job of that without the main character being a huge focus! And I just love Nancy Wheeler! Sue me!

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I have like 6 recently started WIPs RIP. But! The one I’m most excited for right now is a Christmas fluff fic based off a prompt by @gaymessallday ! (I know it’s November but I’m slow and I want to post it around Christmas ahskskskks)

Essentially, Robin and Nancy are strangers on the same flight, get stranded due to snow, and end up stuck in the same hotel room for a couple of days

Boarding the rest of the plane took ages, but Nancy resolved herself to listening to her music and making a game—counting every person in a Christmas shirt—in her head to ease any pre-flight anxiety. A couple in matching reindeer tees. A child in a snowman sweater. A grandfather with an inappropriate Santa joke.

She counted twenty seven by the time the line ended. The seat beside her was empty, and Nancy breathed a sigh of relief—

Too soon.

Twenty eight, a gangly girl with honey hair and the ugliest Christmas sweater Nancy had ever seen scrambled down the aisle. She was apologizing profusely for being late, all the way to her seat—right beside Nancy.

“Hey, sorry, don’t mind if I just scooch in here,” the stranger said, grinning, something lopsided. Nancy gave her a thin lipped smile.

“Window seat, huh? I love watching the cities go by,” the girl continued, buckling in. The safety spiel had begun, but the stranger did not stop. “Of course, I’m not trying to get you to move! The aisle seat is cool too. Less crowded, easier to get up to pee mid flight!”

Nancy was beginning to wonder if this girl ever shut up.

[rarepears]

Gasp! The OnlyFans AU! I just had a thought! So, in a lot of fics, I see that YQY and SJ are basically SY's brothers in another life. So if we apply that here... if SJ was so startled to see someone crash land in his backyard, and somehow, forgot about his camera being on and he tried to check on LQG and flashed a side view of his face, would SY's brother start getting weird messages from randos or a freaked out visit from SY who ultimately doesn't say anything about this (SY is also YQY'S brother, so some bad habits are passed along) so when someone off the street or in a Serious Meeting suddenly blurts out a question that they obviously didn't mean to say to the Shen Family's Second Son about whether he has an OnlyFans streaming, not paying, account.

So now SJ has to try to tell everyone that he doesn't stream videos when his side profile /perfectly/ matches and maybe YQY takes a look to see why people keep insisting his little brother is an OnlyFans streamer. THAT IS HIS BROTHERS FACE WTF! And on some of the pics/vids, when his ankle is displayed, maybe he has a little beauty mark. Just. Like. His. Brother. Cue YQY losing his mind and desperately trying to find out if SJ somehow, with their insanely wealthy family, needs money. Even in another world, YQY assumes the worst. This time, SJ didn't even do anything! Nothing that could be misconstrued. Except for himself in another world, pandering to foot fetishists.

Meanwhile, in another world, SJ cannot get rid of this cultivator who insists on taking responsibility when HE'S the one who barged onto private property and started yelling about impropriety when he woke up before randomly proposing???

P.S. did tumblr eat my ask about Hibari being LXC's twin AU? Or did it not spark joy?

Omfg what a twist o.o

Hm, would Shen Yuan be able to recognize that face as his er-ge if the guy is wearing long hair and has more delicate facial features - lets say it's because of the lack of nutrients and insert some other bullshit xianxia explanations about being a Yin cultivator - coupled with the very different "personality" being shown? Maybe Shen Yuan might take rapid fire screenshots because the "girl" is so pretty" and then he accidentally sends the pics to the wrong number... ahaha I TOTALLY DID NOT MEAN TO SEND IT TO YOU DA-GE, IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO TO MEI MEI DELETE DELETE DELETE.

Too late. The messages already show "read" from da-ge. Damnit.

I guess the most reasonable explanation is that er-ge just has a look-alike. It's common enough -  scientists believe every person has roughly SIX doppelgangers out there. But it's still a fun thing to tease er-ge about.

However, now... if da-ge is feeling a little tired or he finds some free time... well... why not watch his didi's doppelganger having tea and being happy in a picturesque meadow on Onlyfans? Ahem, it's a bit awkward site to go to when his reasons for watching are perfect innocuous, but well, *insert shrug*.

More in the #shen jiu gets a thirsty onlyfans system so he never goes to cang qiong au

[venusiangguk]

gold rush pt. 3 | jjk (m)

>>pairing: jungkook x reader

>>genre: pwp, v little plot, smut, kinda fluffy, college au (kinda), established relationship

>>word count: 9.9k um?

>>warnings: pegging!!!, butt stuff!!!, sexy anal!!!, sub jk, soft dom oc, crying why do i always make everyone cry, fingering (m), strap on, dildos, vibrators, sex toys, sex shop adventures, explicit sex, like so explicit this bitch is basically 10k, mutual masturbation, coming untouched, kisses, aftercare in the form of snacks, titty squeezing, dirty talk, excessive use of pet names, yoongi exists

>>notes: i wasn’t gonna write this bc ur girl does not know the first thing about pegging, but jk sucking the strap came to me in a dream and i had to do it. it was highly requested so i hope u like it! i wrote and poorly edited this whole thing today so im sorry for any mistakes !! 

>>summary: jk wants the strap, and jk gets what he wants !!

pt.1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3

The sun is shining, and there’s just the perfect amount of breeze to cool Jeongguk as sweat runs down his temple. The soccer pitch just got cut, making the ball much easier to control, and therefore much easier to aim at Jimin’s ass. It’s cool-down time, so the team is in groups of three, idly kicking the ball between each other, for the last few minutes of practice. All in all, a great day to talk about getting pegged with his best friends.

Jeongguk glances around the field, making sure the other groups are far enough away from him and his friends before clearing his throat. “So… do you guys like… get pegged?”

When Taehyung passes the ball to Jimin, Jimin completely misses it due to the fact that he is looking at Jeongguk like he is the most pitiful human on the planet. Jeongguk adjusts his shin guard to avoid the scrutiny.

“Gguk… honey… are you dumb?”

Taehyung’s jogging back after retrieving the ball that ran astray. “No, Mini. He’s straight.” He kicks the ball to Jeongguk. “If by ‘pegged’ you mean fucked in the ass by a real dick, then yeah. We do.”

Jeongguk receives the ball with a ‘rainbow’ and juggles it from his thigh to his laces, balancing the ball for a second before kicking it to Jimin. He nods, contemplative. “Nice.”

“Okay ace.” He passes to Taehyung, before throwing Jeongguk a teasing look. “You thinking about taking it up the ass, Gukkie?”

“Perhaps I’m contemplating.” He sniffs nose in the air.

Taehyung laughs. “Got your button milked once and now you wanna take a phallic shaped object? Proud of you.” He places his hand over his heart, like the mere thought of Jeongguk getting railed makes his heart warm.

A whistle blows, and Jeongguk kicks the ball up to his arm, tucking it into the curve of his trim waist. “Why does everyone call it a button? And it hasn’t only been once.” He sounds exasperated and so so tired.

His friends jog to bump shoulders with him as they make their way to the locker rooms. “Hey, jokes aside, I think it’s cool you’re like comfortable enough, or whatever, with __ to explore the things you like.” Taehyung says.

Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “Okay Dad.”

“No seriously!” Jimin insists, holding the locker room door open for them. Fuck the rest of the team. “She seems good for you. Babys you like you need.” Jimin laughs.

Jeongguk’s shirt gets caught on his head as he squawks. “I don’t just like being babied, fuck you.”

“Okay so she also entertains your sadistic side. She’s the full package.”

Jeongguk looks down with a blush. He shrugs his shoulders lightly before bending over to get out of his gear. “She’s pretty cool I guess.”

Taehyung knees him while he’s still bent over making him stumble a bit. “Awe, Jeonggukkie is in love.”

“Shut up.” Jeongguk smacks him in the face with his smelly sock.

“When you gonna do it?” Jimin asks, buttoning his new pants. 

Apparently they aren’t showering today. Jeongguk will just have to stop at his dorm before heading to yours to help you study. That reminds him that you have a test on Friday, but are free this weekend. He just so happens to be free as well. The team they were supposed to play had to forfeit because their coach got caught sleeping with one of the cheerleaders. Sucks, but good for Jeongguk and his little asshole.

“Maybe this weekend.” With their backpacks on, they start the trek back to the dorms. It’s nearing night now, the sun just starting to set in the sky. Jeongguk pulls out his phone to tell you he’s stopping by his place before heading to you. You reply quickly.

baby🥺💘😏🧠🙄👊🏻:

okie

wanna have sex instead of helping me study 

me:

yeah but im not gonna 

just think about how good the sex will be when u get an a 

baby🥺💘😏🧠🙄👊🏻:

🙄

When Jeongguk pockets his phone, Taehyung speaks up.

“You think she’ll be down?”

Jeongguk doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, probably.”

Ever since the first time you made him cum untouched, butt stuff has been a moderately regular occurrence for you both as a long-term, healthy, pro-ass eating couple. Honestly it was mostly him getting his butt played with, but he supposed it made sense. Like Jimin explained to his once naïve self, it was just biological- or something. Whatever. He wonders if three fingers will be enough to fit a fake dick in his ass. He asks his friends.

“Eh…” Jimin starts, looking up like he’s thinking. “Maybe, but you might wanna try to get to four, maybe five if you're using hers, since she’s tiny.”

Jeongguk’s mouth falls open and he pales. Taehyung notices and laughs.

“Don’t get scared. It’s just better to over-prep than under-prep. And like obviously you work up to it, she’s not just gonna shove her fist or her cock up your ass.”

Her cock. A little tingle settles in Jeongguk’s lower belly at the statement. He’s been thinking about this for a while, looking at porn in his free time. Seeing the way the guys moan on their girls’ strap always gets him hard. Seeing how hard their cocks get when the toy hits them just right. He throbs when he sees the guys cum just from the strap, no hands. Maybe he should fuck you when he gets to your dorm instead of helping you study. His cock is feeling a little plump.

“Alright well… Bye, thanks for being gay and answering my anal questions!”

As he’s pressing the button to his elevator, they lived on opposite sides of the athlete dorm and there were different elevators for each of the wings, Jimin chirps, “Don’t forget to empty your asshole really well, and don’t eat the day of! Also buy extra lube and put a spare blanket down!”

Jeongguk winces. Valuable information indeed, information he mentally pockets, but did he need to yell it in the dorm common room?

“Noted!” He yells back at the elevator dings and opens up. Jeongguk pretends like he doesn’t meet the curious, kind of confused gaze of one of his teammates. He must have walked in while Jimin was yelling and only caught the end of the conversation while waiting for the same elevator. Jeongguk gets in and immediately closes the doors. He can catch the next lift.

~~~

Jeongguk’s got his head in your lap and you’re running your fingers through his long, silky hair. He showered today, so waves of his aromatherapy lavender shampoo are wafting up to you. Sweet boy. He seems sidetracked, occasionally sighing and subtly twisting, but is still more or less purring on your thigh, feet tucked up onto the cushion of the couch. Netflix is on the small tv that was left by the last person who lived there, you’re mac book connected via HDMI. You’re not really paying attention. Mind kind of tired from all the studying you had done this week. Jeongguk fidgets a tiny bit again, wiggling like he’s trying to get comfortable. He huffs a sigh.

“Hey,” You say softly, getting his attention.

His body curves at the waist, causing his t-shirt to bunch up and show off the dip of his hip bone. He looks up at you with wide eyes. He seems surprisingly awake. Must have some busy little bees buzzing around his mind. He makes a little questioning noise.

“You okay? You’re kinda fussy.” You murmur.

He groans. “I-  am just thinking.”

“About?” You drag the word out in a singsong-y manner.

The way Jeongguk’s face flushes is so pretty, you have to stop yourself from cooing. 

He moves himself from your lap and sits facing you. He looks like he's thinking about what to say, or how to say what he’s thinking so hard about. 

Eloquently he states, “I’m horny.”

You glance at his cock. Not quite hard, but a little happy and excited. You chuckle, leaning towards him, giving him a playfully sexy look. “Okay, let’s fuck baby.”

Jeongguk blushes even more, cheeks tinted red, while he leans away from you.

You pout. “What?”

Again he pauses, a small pout on his lips. He seems to be in a soft, needy, difficult mood. You’re probably going to have to pry what he wants to say out of his mouth.

With another uncalled for exasperated huff, Jeongguk rolls his eyes and moves closer to you before catching you by surprise and swinging a leg over your lap. He’s facing you while he straddles your thighs. His arms are looped around your neck, he’s playing with a little bit of your hair, twirling the long length around his fingers. You smile up at him, gently. Your palms squeeze at his narrow hips encouragingly.

“I want to try something new…” He says. He sounds nervous and looks at you the same.

“Mhmm.” You say, fighting a smile. 

“Really bad. Like I want it really bad.” His hips roll, probably unconsciously from the way he closes his eyes to ground himself. 

You peek at his lap, and his cock is bulging, the fabric of his sweatpants doing nothing to help hide it. You bring your hand to it, and massage him through his pants.

He whines and pushes against your palm before a hand comes down and grabs your wrist, stopping the movement. “Quit it, I’m trying to talk.” He’s so petulant and whiny.

You move your hand away and place it back on his hip, giggling a little. “Well spit it out, then.”

He scowls. You reach up and smooth the wrinkle in his brow before trailing it down and cupping his cheek. He softens immediately, melts like butter in your hands. His eyes close and he lets out a soft sigh, body relaxing a little.

He’s whispering, kinda giggling out of embarrassment, when he says, “I want you to fuck me.” He pauses, peeking at you through his lashes. “Like for real.”

Almost instantly a little spark ignites in your belly, and you feel your pussy get that telltale heartbeat. You didn’t want to push Jeongguk into anything, but you’ve been thinking about taking the ‘next step’ with your… ass-plorations for some time. But you figured he would get to the same point on his own, and would come to you when he was ready. Turns out you know him as well as you thought you did.

“Yeah?” You rub your free hand up his side. 

He nods quickly, eagerly. You pinch his cheek lightly, and he retaliates by trying to bite at it. To avoid the attack it finds his way back to his waist.

“When did you want to? Tonight?”

He wiggles impossibly closer to you. Kisses you quick before nodding again. “Yeah. I um. I already like prepped… mostly. I prepped what I could by myself.” He pauses with a cute thinking face. “You will probably have to help me a little. But yeah. I got ready for you just in case.” He nods.

You hum, glancing at the old clock on the wall, another gift from the prior tenant. 11:52 pm. 

“If we hurry, we can make it to a sex shop? They don’t usually close until 2 or 3 in the morning.” You suggest.

Jeongguk bites his lip, smiling excitedly. “Really? Can we?”

You roll your eyes playfully. “Yeah, duh.” You lean up and give him a speedy, but thorough kiss, smiling into it. “Been wanting to peg you for so long.” 

His face scrunches endearingly. “Don’t call it that.”

He hops off your lap, and goes to grab the keys, wasting no time. He stands by the door expectantly. His cock is, extremely obviously, sticking out. Someone didn’t wear his briefs today.

“Can you like… kill that?” You’re laughing as you tug on some sweats of your own, having only been lounging in your panties and one of his shirts. Your usual at home attire.

He looks down, and has a smug grin on his face when he looks at you again. “It’ll go down in the car. Hurry up!”

~~~

A dildo looks so much bigger when one is looking at it knowing that it will be inside of them within the next few hours. And there are so many options and colors. Some vibrate, some have fake pubic hair on them. Some have balls that are squishy and feel eerily… accurate.

Jeongguk isn’t having second thoughts, no. But he is having thoughts. Very overwhelming thoughts. 

You’re next to your boyfriend, glancing between him and the varying selection of fake cocks displayed in front of you both, trying to gauge his reaction. He looks a little pale, but tentatively excited. Curious at the very least.

“Which one do you want?” You ask.

“No idea.” He responds, eyes wide.

Like most store clerks, one shows up, almost like they have a built in ‘customer needs help and has no idea which dildo to get to peg her super hot boyfriend’ radar. 

“You guys need help?” He is a small man, with a monotone voice. He looks like he would rather be anywhere else at 12:30am on a Saturday night. 

“NO!” Jeongguk says quickly and loudly. Very loudly.

Both you and the store clerk flinch, looking at him shocked.

Jeongguk shifts on his feet. “No.” He says in a more socially acceptable tone. “No- I’m sorry. But we’re uh-” He grabs your arm and pulls you closer. “We’re good, thanks.”

The clerk looks between you and Jeongguk and the dildos. “Um… Alright.” He starts to walk away before he turns back around. “Well if you change your mind, I’m Yoongi and I’ll be at the counter. If your toy is electric I’ll test it in the back before you leave… We uh- provide batteries with your purchase if needed…” With one last glance, a very judgmental one in Jeongguk’s opinion, Yoongi takes his place at said counter. His eyes flicker to you guys every once in a while.

“Baby,” You grab Jeongguk’s face between your palms and make him look at you. You squeeze and his lips poke out making him look like a guppy. He blinks. “I know you’re nervous, but it’s going to be okay.”

He rolls his eyes, guppy face and all. “Well obviously. I just- We don’t need help.” He wiggles out of your grip, much like a… guppy.

You grin, trying not to laugh, and just be the supportive girlfriend you are. “Okay, did you decide which one you want?”

A side glance. “Not yet…”

You walk up and go to grab a pink sparkly one.

“Uh, not that one.”

You quirk an eyebrow and move your hand to a larger one.

“No.”

You play a little game of dildo hot or cold until you have a better idea of what Jeongguk wants. His preference seems to be skin tone, close to his own, with a more realistic feel. Normal balls though, not squishy. Also no faux hair. You thank him for that. If you actually had a penis it would surely be waxed. Bless Jeongguk for doing the same. As for size, he leaned more towards a very normal, moderate size. Maybe 5 or 6 inches at most, not too thick. Smaller than himself. One last option.

“Do you want it to vibrate?” You ask, holding one in your hand testing the numerous different settings.

He shakes his head, answering quick. “No.”

He pauses.

“Wait.” He thinks. “Maybe. Should we? You could use it too?” 

Sweet, kind, considerate angel. Always thinking about you and your pleasure. Couples who share the strap last the longest.

You shrug, pointing out, “I could use one that doesn’t vibrate too.”

He looks offended and sounds snotty. “Uh, you don’t need to.”

“Whatever. Why don’t we get both?”

You had a point. He pretends to ponder it, before nodding, already persuaded. “Okay.” 

“We need the harness now.”

You begin the harness hunt, walking through the store, coming across many a things, but for some reason you both keep missing them. They’re nowhere to be found. 

“Maybe they’re sold out?” He tries.

“Doubt it. Let’s go ask.” You grab him by his pinky and try to drag him to the counter. He resists. 

“Let’s not.”

“Koo.” You say giving him a look.

He whines, throwing his head back. Borderline throwing a fit. You hold your ground, smiling.

He’s easy to give in. Being a brat just on principle. “Fine but you’re talking.”

You stand on your tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “Of course, baby.” With his pinky in hand, you make your way to the counter.

The store clerk, Yoongi, if you remember correctly, is sitting behind the counter hunched over smiling at his phone. He doesn’t seem to notice you’re there.

You clear your throat gently, “Excuse me?”

Yoongi jumps, almost throwing his phone. “Fuck!” He exclaims. His fists come up ready to fight before he sees it’s you and Jeongguk. He then places his hand over his heart. “Shit, you scared me.” He chuckles, recovering quickly. “How can I help you?”

You stare at him for a moment longer before speaking up. “Um yeah, I was just wondering where your harnesses are?”

He leans on the counter, head in his hand looking kinda bored. “Hanresses? What kind? Hanging harness? Body harness?”

You glance at Jeongguk and he looks like he’s going to die.

“The um- strap on harnesses?” Your voice goes to a whisper when you say it, despite it just being you guys in the store.

Yoongi sits up, and looks at you, and then looks at Jeongguk. A look of understanding comes over his face along with an amused smile. He nods to himself, while getting up to help you. “Nice. Follow me.”

Jeongguk gapes at the ‘nice’ and looks at you in disbelief. You pat his butt telling him to get going. 

With some help from Yoongi you pick out a harness that looks supportive and comfortable, the ring that holds the dildo, compatible with both the ones that you plan on getting. It’s a simple adjustable black one. Yoongi recommended wearing something under it if the straps dig into you and irritate. He seems bored, but he’s actually very good at his job, and very knowledgeable.  

Finally you’re at the counter. You place all the items in Yoongi’s reach and he’s just about to tell you the total when Jeongguk perks up.

“Wait!” He says before scurrying off.

It’s quiet for a split second. Before the clerk speaks up.

“He’s cute.”

You smile, “Thanks, he’s mine.”

Yoongi laughs, small little fish teeth and gums on display. Must be a Pisces. You know Pisces teeth. “Does he have any cute friends?”

You nod. “Yeah, but they are dating.”

He shrugs. “Don’t care.”

“Uh… I can give you their Instagrams?”

He pulls out his phone, and follows them right there after a quick glance at their pages. Confidence is nice.

There’s a short lull in the conversation. And Jeongguk seems to be taking his sweet time getting something you guys must have forgotten. Or the poor things lost. It’s a big store. You speak up this time.

“Do you have like a manager I could leave a review for? You were really helpful, and seemed like you really knew what you were talking about.”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I own the place. You think I would be here on a Saturday night if it wasn’t obligatory? Thanks, though.”

“Oh.” You say. That was pretty impressive. The store was quite successful based on the reviews. You would make sure to let Jimin and Taehyung know Yoongi was a business man.

“Okay, I’m back.” Jeongguk announces. “Sorry I forgot where it was.”

He places 2 (two) large bottles of lube on the counter. You cough out a laugh.

“Baby, we have lube at home.”

“But do we have enough?”

“I think maybe one more would be more than enough.”

He ignores you, looking Yoongi in the eyes for the first time tonight. “Add both please.”

Yoongi nods, looking a little scared of Jeongguk’s seriousness, and does as he’s ordered.

After Jeongguk pays, and you both are making your way to the exit, Yoongi calls out, “Good luck, tell your friends to follow me back!”

“Uh- Okay?” Jeongguk yells back. When you’re in the parking lot, he asks, “What the heck was that about?”

You shake your head, laughing to yourself. “Don’t worry about it.”

~~~

As soon as you get back to your dorm, the atmosphere is thick, full of tension and nervous anticipation. Jeongguk’s fidgety, eager to get started. You’re not far off, but contain yourself a little more. Need to keep control of the situation in case Jeongguk gets deep into his mood.

You guys are in the bathroom now, each one washing a toy before you use it. You make sure to unwrap the harness and the lube as well, both at Jeongguk’s insistent request, ensuring you don’t have to stop and deal with it later. 

“Let’s just get undressed in here, it’s where my hamper is.” You say already tugging your shirt over your head, tits bouncing freely. Jeongguk went without briefs today, and you went without a bra.

Jeongguk quietly follows suit, and you don’t miss the way his hands are trembling a little in anticipation. When you’re both naked he kisses you quickly, and jiggles your boobs a little just because they are there and because he can, before saying, “Okay, lets go.” He’s out the bathroom before you can even respond. You laugh to yourself and gather the stuff he forgot in his excitement.

When you walk out with your hands full, you see Jeongguk spreading out a blanket over your comforter.

“Whatcha doin?” You ask curiously, placing the items on the nightstand.

“Gets messy. Wanna save your bedding.” He states.

You squawk, grabbing the blanket he set up on your bed. “Not my baby blanket you monster.”

He laughs, abs tensing. You notice he’s already hanging a little heavy between his thighs. “Sorry. Was the first one I saw.” He walks over to the couch and replaces the blanket that’s hanging over the back with your baby blanket and resets up. “Better?” he asks, extended his arm towards your bed to show off his work.

You nod, and take the few steps needed to close the space between you both. Your hand runs down his belly, and you feel his muscles jump, and you see little goosebumps sprout all over. His hands come up to cup your tits. You kiss softly where his heart is. You look up at him.

“I love you.” You smile.

He blushes. “Love you.” He whispers, before he leans down and slots your lips together.

It’s eager from the start. Your bodies press together, as your hands roam. When he takes a breath and surges back in, your teeth click together is his haste, before his tongue slips into your mouth. He groans into you, his hand going down to cup your ass, squeezing and pulling you impossibly closer. 

You feel his cock against your belly, almost fully hard already. You reach down to wrap a hand around him, wanting to help him get there before you get started. He hisses, thrusting forward instinctively before pulling away. He looks like he hates that he does.

“No- I,” He’s already short of breath, chest rising and falling a little bit faster than normal. “I wanna watch you cum. With the toy.” He reaches around you, grabbing the vibrating dildo. “Please?” He asks. His eyes are fervent.

You take the toy in your hand, and kiss him again softly. “Yeah, baby. Whatever you. It’s all about you tonight.”

He shakes his head. “Always about you too.” 

Your heart beats, happy in your chest. You thought about it earlier in the night, but Jeongguk really was the best lover. He always, always made sure you were taken care of, before, during, and after sex. He was so vocal and communicative, genuinely wanting you to know it was always about both of you, even if one was receiving more attention. He was caring like that in and out of the bedroom. You were so lucky to be his.

“You’re too good to me,” You laugh, climbing onto the bed. You settle back against your pillows, propping some behind you so you can see him, and watch him while you get off. He takes his place in front of you, looking at you expectantly.

He’s impatient, placing his hands on your knees, spreading you open so he can see your cunt. You let him get you into position before saying, “Keep your hands to yourself now, okay?”

He nods, eyes never leaving your pussy. He licks his lips. “Okay.” It’s said in a distracted kind of far away tone.

You hum as you bring the toy to your mouth, getting it wet. You wouldn’t need any lube, you would be dripping in no time. You don’t waste any time putting your free hand down between your legs and spreading your pussy lips, so your clit and the pretty pink center of your cunt are displayed for Jeongguk. You glance at him through your lashes, when you hear a small gasp fall from his lips. He’s already got a hand around himself. Just the tips of his fingers stroking his length, at a leisurely pace. 

“She’s so pretty… You’re so pretty.” His eye flick to your face before zeroing in on your center again.

“Tell me how to do it baby. Tell me what you want to see.” You say, voice salacious and soft. You circle your finger slowly around your nub, dipping inside just a bit to spread your slick around.

When he swallows, it’s audible, his Adam's apple jumping. “I want you to turn it on low, and put it on your clit. I want you to feel good.”

You smile, and drag the tip of it down your body to just above your clit, turning it on the lowest setting before making contact with your sensitive nub. Your legs jolt, almost closing when you feel the vibrations. Even the lowest setting was strong. Your head falls back, and your legs spread more for him once you get used to the strength of the toy. “Fuck…” You breathe.

“Does it feel good?” He asks, greedy for your pleasure.

You nod, eyes still closed, focusing. You move the vibrator in small circles over your clit. You can hear Jeongguk’s breaths speed up.

“Turn it up.” His voice gives away that he’s speeded up his hand on his cock too.

You do as he says, looking at him as you do. He’s sin personified. He’s on his knees, sitting back on his feet, so his thighs are flexed and bulging. His abs tense when his palm twists under the crown of his cock. His eyes almost look black, pupils blown so wide, lust taking over his face. He’s got his plump bottom lip drawn between his teeth. He looks up from your pussy and catches you staring. He smiles shyly.

You keep your eyes on him as you bring the toy back down to your core. A short high pitched moan falls from your lips, as your brows knit together, before your eyes roll back. He groans, your expression enough to make his cock start to leak.

“Feels so good, Jeongguk.” You moan. The vibrator is right where it feels best, pulsing against your clit, causing pleasure to bleed into your veins. 

“Yeah, baby?” He asks, he’s breathless, sounds like he’s in love. With you, your cunt. “Tell me.”

“‘S just right Koo, could make me cum just like this…” 

He curses, and you open your eyes just in time to see him grip the base of his cock, keeping himself in check. “Not yet, baby. Little longer, please.” Still so polite and good for you, even when he’s the one telling you what to do.

He has you keep the vibe there, for a while longer, right in the spot that’s gonna make you lose it. He watches as a tiny clear drop leaks from you pink little pussy. It looks like it’s heavy and about to drip down to the blanket under you. He doesn’t notice your legs shaking until you’re gasping, “Koo, I’m almost- I’m gonna-”

“No!” He says quickly, his hand reaches out to pull the vibrator from your cunt just before you get your high. Your pussy aches and throbs, wanting to cum so bad. 

Your chest is heaving when you ask, “Are… are you edging me?”

He shakes his head, even though your eyes are closed, trying to catch your breath. “No, no! I just. I got distracted.” He looks at that small drop of slick again. Fuck, he wants to lick it up and drink you down. “You’re leaking.” He states.

You laugh, breathing getting back to normal. “Yeah?” You reach your hand down to collect the distracting little droplet and bring it in front of you. You press the sticky finger to your thumb and then pull them apart to see the clear strings stay connected even as you pull. You hum, before offering your hand to Jeongguk. He sucks in a breath.

“Want some?” 

He’s quick as he crawls between you legs, cock fully hard now. He watches you as he sucks your fingers into his mouth, tongue swirling around getting every last bit, before he sucks off with a pop!

He crawls farther up your body to kiss you deep, wanting you to get a taste of yourself too. He pulls back just a bit, and whispers against your lips, “I want you to fuck yourself with it, okay? Just for a little bit, then you can cum?” He’s phrasing it as a question, knowing he really doesn't have the final say, not tonight. But his voice is shaking from how turned on he is, how could you ever say no?

“Sit back.” Is all you respond. He does as he’s told.

You buzz the toy over your clit again, just because you can. Wanting to see how long Jeongguk can be good before begging. Turns out it’s not long at all. 

“Put it in…” He moans. You look at him and his mouth is parted, and his eyes heavy as he watches you. His hand is moving fast over his cock, sticking straight up to his tummy. “Please.”

You drag the toy down to your slit, and tease it there before just barely pushing it in just a fraction of the length. Jeongguk whines, high and desperate. Apparently you’re moving to slow for him.

“More,” He begs. 

You sigh, “You’re so needy tonight, baby.” He nods, agreeable.

When the toy sinks inside of you all the way to the hilt, you and Jeongguk both moan a quiet, “Fuck.” simultaneously. You’re coherent enough to laugh a little at the jinx, but he seems to barely notice, too focused on watching the toy sink into you, and then come back out to vibrate your clit again. You keep up this teasing pattern, again waiting to be told what to do by him, waiting to see how long he makes it this time.

“Harder, do it harder,” He’s panting. Moaning every word that leaves his lips.

You do as he says, and finally push the toy in at a pace that gets you climbing to being close again. You won’t be able to come like this though, and he knows that. Knows that you can only cum from penetration with him. He leans over and grabs the other toy from the end table, spitting on it and spreading it around until it's covered well.

“Use them both, want you to cum for me.”

With two toys in your hands, one in your cunt, filling you up, and one on your clit, making your legs shake, you do your best to make yourself cum. But it’s not enough. A soft whine falls from your lips, you’re so close, but you need more. More than you can give yourself.

“Faster baby, faster. You’re so close.” He whispers. He got both hands working now too, one stroking and one down tugging on his balls. 

You whimper, “I can’t my arm hurts. It’s tired.”

Immediately he stops pleasing himself and gets right to pleasing you. Your pleasure taking priority. “Shh, don’t worry, I’ll help you baby.”

Jeongguk sits between your legs, and takes over the toy fucking into you, and turns up the one on your clit. With him pushing the toy in at a pace that you couldn’t do yourself, and the other toy vibing your clit incessantly, it takes barely any time at all for you to cum. You were so close already, just needed him to push you over. 

Your legs are shaking and your toes are curling, when you cry out, “Baby, I’m gonna cum.”

“Do it, baby. Wanna watch.” He’s quiet, paying close attention to your body and the reactions he’s helping pull from it. He’s part of the reason why your face looks so pornographic as you finish. He’s part of the reason why your back is arching off of the bed. He’s part of the reason why your toes are curling, and why your legs are shaking, and why your pussy is contracting over the toy he’s still thrusting inside of you, working you through every last second of your orgasm. He reads your body cues, and slows down and pulls it out when you start to come down. You look blissed out, and you bring a hand to your hair and fluff it a little before laughing.

“That was good.” You sigh smiling, and when you look at him an image forms in your head, and you have every intention of making him carry it out.

Right before your eyes, Jeongguk wraps his lips around the toy that is going to be inside of him in just a short while, sucking off your slick. He laps his tongue around it trying to get it all. He’s obscene. 

“Gimme,” You say sitting up with an extended hand. 

He pouts at being interrupted, but does as he’s told. He takes your spot on the bed, and you head to the bathroom, stopping by your dresser on the way.

When you get to the bathroom, you close the door and get to cleaning the toys once again. After, you get to the stuff you grabbed from the wardrobe. A lacy pair of black panties, and sheer black thigh highs with matching lace adorning the tops. You slip into them, and then move on to the strap on. You hold it in front of you and try to make sense of which part goes where, and which holes your legs go into. It takes a second, but you get into it, adjusting it so it's nice and snug. Your outfit probably won’t help much with protecting your thighs, but at least the little part above your pussy will be safe. You look at yourself in the mirror. Not too weird or scary yet. You glance at the dildo on the counter.

It’s not too big so hopefully it’s not too… jarring when you see yourself with it. You get to work, slipping the suction base of the non-vibrating toy into the ring that’s meant to hold it in place. You look at it sticking out from your crotch and take a deep breath before turning to the mirror.

You gasp, before cackling quietly. You knew it was going to be weird. Like you knew. But actually seeing yourself with the whole get up is funny. Right now at least. You know it’s going to be sexy, once you get used to it and into the moment and inside of Jeongguk. You wonder how he’s going to react. Only one way to find out.

While you're walking to your bedroom from the bathroom, the dildo bobs, and you're giggling distractedly until you lift your eyes to let your boyfriend know you're ready. Again you’re met with a scene so indecent it belongs in a porno.

Jeongguk’s eyes are closed and soft moans are falling from his lips as he strokes his cock. He’s got three fingers in his ass, opening himself up for you, for your cock. Such a good good boy. He was so patient and productive while you got ready for him.

“You’re so good baby,” You murmur softly.

Jeongguk blinks his eyes open slowly, and rolls his head to the side to look at you. He doesn’t even falter in his movements at all, hand still moving, fingers still thrusting. He smiles a little when he sees you, but his eyes are hazy and he sounds lust drunk when he simply says, “You look sexy.”

You blush and a fond smile graces your lips, any embarrassment or self consciousness you were feeling prior to seeing him spread out for you on your bed, quickly vanishing.

You settle on the bed between his legs and watch for a moment as his hole takes his long fingers in. “Want me to help?” You ask quietly.

“Mhmm,” He nods, eyes closed still, tongue peeking out from between his lips. He doesn’t take his fingers out, though.

You grab the lube next to him, and flip it open. “You gonna get out so I can get in?” 

He shakes his head. “Nuh uh. Put one in with mine.”

Something about that makes your body tingle. Inside of him with him. Opening him up. You can’t explain it, because you don’t really even get it yourself, but it makes you buzz and feel almost high.

You slick up your middle finger, and drizzle some more on his for good measure. He jumps slightly, and then giggles softly.

“Cold.” He says.

“Sorry,” You say distractedly. Your finger is lined up with his now.

“I’ve never done 4 before so you… have to go slow…” He pauses as he speaks, letting himself moan freely when his fingers graze over that secret spot that he’s grown to love so much.

“Tell me to stop if you need to.”

He doesn’t reply, just stops his fingers so you can wiggle yours in next to his. At the first push against his hole, there’s resistance. Very much expected. He’s quiet, teeth gritted, but he never says stop, knowing his body wants it, and knowing it will accommodate what he wants. After the second knuckle, your finger sinks in, almost gets sucked in, by his hole.

He lets out a shaky breath.

“You okay, baby?” You check in.

“Yeah just… full.” He moans when you wiggle your finger experimentally. “”S good. Move it some more.”

You do, and his start to move with yours. You can feel his fingers curl inside of himself to reach his prostate, and it’s pleasant in an out of body way, knowing when his face is going to contort in pleasure, and when he’s going to cry out, when you never really knew before. You’ve milked him before, of course, but feeling him do it to himself from the inside? It’s kind of thrilling.

“Pull, stretch me out.” He moans, voice impatient and needy.

He gets kinda slutty when something’s up his ass.

He swears when you do, his finger rubbing insistent circles on his prostate to distract himself from the minor sting of the stretch. His moans, start to raise in pitch and his hand that’s on his cock, still jerking it, starts to speed up. You can tell he’s close. He clenches against your finger that’s still stretching him open.

“Fuck,” He says, on a breathless giggle, “Take them out. Or I’m gonna cum.” He’s still stroking his cock, like he doesn’t wanna stop.

“You c-” 

“No. Out.” He demands, hand finally pulling away from his cock, and his fingers inside stop. You gently ease out of him.

When Jeongguk’s fingers slip out, you gasp. His little pink hole is clenching on nothing, still open just the tiniest bit, thoroughly stretched.

“You know how you always say my pussy is pretty?” You ask, fingers tracing around the puffy stretched rim.

He makes an affirmative noise, watching you with hooded, lazy eyes as you touch him. He even spreads farther so you can touch and see better. You marvel at the difference between the embarrassed boy you made cum untouched a couple months ago, and the one in front of you now, so comfortable and relaxed. It makes you happy.

“Well, your butthole is pretty.”

He snorts, and kicks you lightly. He smiles at you, soft and sluggish. “Just fuck me.” 

He sounds so wistful and just ready.

But you’re not.

You grip the base of your cock, and stand up. You walk to the head of the bed, next to his confused face. You stay there waiting for him to get it. He doesn’t.

“You want me inside of you right baby?” You ask, voice gentle.

He nods, eyes no longer hazy, but wide and confused. He looks between you and your cock.

“I think that means you have to get me ready. Get me nice and wet, right?”

You can physically see when Jeongguk gets it. When it clicks for him. His eyes darken, and he licks his lips. “Yeah… You’re right. I should… help you.” He whispers, sitting up. You back up enough for him to have a place on the floor.

Jeongguk on his knees for you isn’t a new sight. He’s eaten your pussy like this before, you either grinding onto his face, or him holding you still and making quick work of your clit. But Jeongguk on his knees for you to suck your cock? New, and lewd. 

He looks nervous, kind of hesitant. A hand is raised midway, like he isn't sure if he should grab it. 

“Lick it, baby.” You encourage.

He glances at you, doe eyes seeking approval as he leans forward and gives a kitten lick to the tip. You nod, letting him know he’s doing well. His hand comes up and replaces yours at the base and he opens his mouth enough to wrap his lips around the head, and he swirls his tongue.

He pops off, and strokes up to where his mouth was and spreads the little bit of spit. The silicone is still dry though, so he spits on it more, straight from his mouth. You suck in a breath.

“Fuck, you’re so hot baby.” You whisper a breathy moan as his hands move up and down your cock. He adds his mouth again.

He hums a little, before backing up and looking at you again. “Does that feel good?” He asks.

You laugh lightly, in pure awe of him. He’s so sexy, and so sweet, and so incredibly lust inducing. Your pussy aches behind your cock. “Feels so good, baby. You’re doing so good.”

He hums, still stroking you off. “I really want it inside me…” He says, hinting that he’s ready.

You have mercy on him, having fulfilled your newfound personal fantasy enough for the night. Maybe you could revisit it another time. But now it was time to fulfill a mutual fantasy.

“On the bed, hands and knees.” You tell him.

Excitedly he hops back onto the bed, and gets into position, his hole on display for you. His back is arched and you can see the plush swell where his lower back meets the top of his cheeks. You settle behind him, and his shoulder to waist to hip ratio, is sinful. He’s always had the daintiest waist, strong, but still so small. But at this angle, it’s cinched and the way his legs are spread makes his hips look wider, accentuating the dip at his middle. You rub your hands over the narrow curve, all the way to his cheeks, grabbing handfuls of the muscle. There’s a slight give when you squeeze your hands.

Jeongguk’s head drops, and he lets out a shuddering sigh, he’s got the chills again, and he’s got a constant thrum coursing through his body. “Please…” He moans, so quietly, so desperately.

You kiss the small of his back before grabbing the lube left abandoned on the bed. You lather 2 of your fingers, and push them into Jeongguk’s hole making sure he’s nice and slick. There’s no resistance at all, hole loose and ready enough for them to slip right in. Then you lather your cock, probably with too much lube, honestly, but you wanted to be so sure that he didn’t feel any more pain than absolutely necessary. You knew the first initial push in would be the worst, but you were hopeful you both had stretched him out enough to at least minimize or diminish it altogether. 

You grab the base of your cock and line it up with his hole. It flutters, when you barely press against his rim.

“Ready?” You ask, giving a heads up.

“Yeah.” He says softly.

He’s tight. His hole sinks in with the tip of your cock before the rim gives and swallows around it. Jeongguk tenses and his hands grip the blanket under you. 

“Shit…” He groans. He sounds like he’s clenching his teeth.

You rub soothingly at his lower back, fingers dipping when you run them over the dimples at the bottom of his spine. “You’re doing so good baby.” You tell him.

“Doesn’t really hurt, I’m just stretching.” He says through his teeth. “I can take it though, keep going.”

You grab the lube and drizzle more directly onto his hole. He doesn’t mention the cold this time, too focused on taking your cock. You push against him, and feel yourself sink deeper into him. It’s like after the tip was in, his body knew what to do to take the rest. The slide wasn’t a swift, fast stroke, but it was a smooth and slow glide. When you bottom out Jeongguk’s arms give out from under him, his face going to the bed. 

“Holy fuck.” He keens, resting his head on his arms. Your hands are constantly on him, soothing him in any way that you can.

“Tell me when.” You whisper patiently. He nods. With his head turned to the side and pillowed on his arms, you can see his eyes are squeezed shut. The inhales and exhales you can see in the expanding of his ribcage, tell you that he’s taking deep breaths working through the stretch, getting himself used to it.

“Okay… Ready.” He murmurs.

You pull out just a bit before pushing back in. Jeongguk moans softly. Spreads his legs even wider, arches his back even deeper. He’s pushing his ass out for you, his body begging you to make it feel good.

You keep a slow pace, kind of nervous to speed up. 

“You can go faster, feels nice.” He says. He’s been puffing out little gasps of air every time you bottom out with your slow pace.

With his consent, you grab at his hips and pull out to just the tip, before swiftly pushing back in, fast and hard. His cheeks bounce on the impact. You grab one and jiggle it a little, thrusting into him again, drinking down the whines that slip out.

“You’ve got such a bubble butt, I never noticed before. But it like… bounces.” You say, wonder in your tone. 

“Thanks, can you like tell me about it later?” He asks, voice strained.

Point taken. 

Your thrust game is kind of shitty, in reality. It’s hard to find a rhythm, your hips not used to moving this way. But Jeongguk is moaning freely underneath you, just happy to have something inside of him after thinking about it all week. So you keep going, and eventually, the pattern comes to you, still kind of messy, but now you’ve got him cursing beneath you. You’ve got one hand on his ass, the other braced on his arched spine.

A particularly good thrust has Jeongguk burying his face into the bed, teeth biting at the bedding. “Yeah fuck-” He groans with his mouth full of blanket. With his hands now free, he brings them behind him and settles them on his cheeks and spreads.

You watch clearly as your cock sinks into Jeongguk’s ass. You’re out of breath, but you make sure to tell him how good he looks, how pretty his hole looks swallowing your cock, like it was made to take it.

“Wanna ride you.” He says. His voice is pitifully wrecked and he sounds so thoroughly fucked, you feel a little proud. Still, you’re grateful for a break. You don’t know how he fucks you like he does. ‘Topping’ is tiring. You pull out of him, and realize that when you were in awe of his hole at taking your fingers, it was premature. Jeongguk’s hole after he takes your cock is vulgar. It’s properly gaped now. Not huge, but around a fingers width.

He rolls over, and settles on his back like he just needs a moment. His chest is heaving, similar to yours. You hop off the bed, and a needy keen comes from him. You glance back at him, and he looks like he’s going to get up and follow you, but you hush him gently.

“I’m just getting some water, baby. I’ll be right back.” 

He huffs flopping back onto his back. “Hurry please.” He whines.

You get back as soon as possible with a glass of water for you both to share. He sits up onto one elbow and makes a grabby hand for the cup after you’ve had your share. You swat his hand away and hold the cup to his lips. He hums, gulping the water down. He’s happy to be coddled and taken care of. When he finishes with a cute little gasp, you place the cup to the side, and brush your hand through his sweaty hair. 

He butts his head against your palm and laughs. His eyes shut, and crinkled at the corners. His water break seems to have perked him up. His cock hasn’t deflated one bit. Rock hard and red, throbbing against his tummy. It’s messy and wet too.

You’re about to ask if he touched himself while you were inside of him, but before you can, you’re getting manhandled until he’s on top of you. He’s got your hands pinned above your head, and he smiles at you playfully, before leaning down to kiss you, deep and slow. He sucks on your lip, and slowly grinds his cock onto your belly, soft whines spilling from his tongue. He brushes his nose against yours as he sighs into your mouth, finally allowing himself the pleasure of paying attention to his cock. 

He doesn’t allow himself relief for long, however. He’s sitting up and looking from side to side for the lube before finally spotting it. His movements are quick and hectic, like he’s too excited and overly eager.

You rub your hands over his strong thighs. “Hey, slow down. You don’t have to rush. We have all night.”

He sighs at your touch, and nods softly. He whispers. “Yeah… okay. I love you.”

The little affection makes you swoon, absolutely smitten. “I love you.” You squeeze at his legs, tenderly.

He hums. “Gonna ride you now.” He opens the lube and continues with eager actions, almost like you didn’t even slow him down just a moment ago. You smile fondly to yourself. Jeongguk’s too busy slicking up your cock again to notice the mushy look.

He’s got a hand reaching behind him and he’s gripping your cock to line it up with his hole. He wiggles to get into the right position before slowly starting to sink down. His eyebrows are pinched, and his mouth falls open. But his eyes roll back when he bottoms out. His hands are braced on your stomach.

“Oh, I love it like this.” He whimpers. His legs tense at your sides, almost like he’s trying to close his legs at the pleasure he feels from your cock being tucked inside of him, hitting all the right places. He starts to grind on your cock, soft pleasured little mewls just tumbling off his tongue.

He looks so good, whining, grinding on you with his weeping cock displayed. But you wanna see him lose it on your cock. See him fall apart at how good it feels, not watch him bask in it.

“Bounce on it.” You say, voice sounding almost as fucked out as his. You know your panties are soaked through at this point, pussy pulsing and neglected, tucked away behind the strap.

Jeongguk nods. “Yeah, wanna.” 

He’s lifting himself off your cock to the tip before sliding down on it again, hard and fast. It punches a sharp gasp from his lungs. He finds a pace he likes and keeps it up, his thighs tensing, and his abs flexing as he tests his stamina, chasing that euphoric feeling he wants so so badly. He’s so strong and fit, bouncing up and down on your cock as loud unabashed moans fill the room. 

The force of him riding you makes your tits jiggle, bouncing around until they catch his attention. He groans before his hands find them, squeezing hard, using them as leverage as he pulls and drags his hips over yours. Your cock must be rubbing over his prostate because he’s losing his mind. All kinds of noises leave his mouth, and the expressions he makes are filthy.

“Fuck baby. You make me feel so good. The best- I-” He eyes squeeze shut and his mouth opens in a silent moan, overwhelmed, before a guttural groan sounds from deep within his chest. “God. Wanna cum on your cock, baby. Fuck me-”

You laugh, wonderstruck, and kind of deliriously high on the satisfaction and fulfillment you get from seeing Jeongguk feel so just…. Good. “Yeah baby? You’re gonna cum for me? All over my cock?”

He whimpers and nods as he gets back to bouncing, a desperation to his movements that wasn’t there before. His cock is slapping against both of your stomachs with nasty wet noises due to his precum getting everywhere. You feel some fly and hit your neck, his cock just dripping, weeping and begging to cum. 

It won’t be long though, before he cums. You feel the way his thighs tense, and he gets that confused look on his face, and he’s got that puzzled pitch to his moans. It’s the way he always gets when he cums untouched, always in awe that he can do it himself, without a hand around his cock. His whole body is flushed and hot to the touch, sweat making him glow in the soft light of your bedroom lamp.

He throws his head back, neck extended, and veins bulging, before looking down at his bouncing cock. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum.” He’s so whiny and noisy when he moans.

“Yeah?” You ask again, “Do it baby, show me how. You can do it, cum for me.” 

He’s nodding frantically, “Yeah- I’m gonna... Fuck, yes- Yeah, I’m-” He bounces a few more times, silent aside from the obscene squelching noises of your skin meeting, before his body tenses one last time before that string in him snaps. “Cumming-” He chokes it out. His moans don’t stop the whole time his cock shoots out his load, landing on your tummy. The moans even turn into cries, actual tears filling his eyes and falling down his cheeks. His body jerks and twitches with his orgasm. But still, he’s grinding on you, your cock still rubbing that spot inside of him, it’s like he never wants the feeling to end, even if it’s devastating, bordering on too much to handle.

You smooth your hands all over his sweaty body, before firmly placing them on his hips, stopping him. “Hey. You’re good, you did so good baby, you don’t have to keep going.”

Jeongguk’s cries are quiet, and he takes a few deep stuttering breaths to try and calm himself down, nodding with your soothing words. He rubs the back of his hand at his eyes, trying to dry them. It doesn’t help much, he’s calmed himself some but a few silent tears still make their way out, along with some soft hiccupping breaths.

“Lay down, and wait for me, hmm?” You whisper gently. He nods and lifts himself slowly, wincing at the sore ache in his hole. It’s more prevalent now that the pleasure has subsided. He all but collapses onto your pillow. 

“I’m gonna get some more water, and a towel okay?”

He grunts in response.

Before you go, you strip out of the gear, just tossing it on the ground, eager to get back to Jeongguk after getting the things you need.

When you get back, he is in the same exact position, and you laugh lightly. 

“Baby?” You ask, making sure he didn’t fall asleep.

Another grunt.

Good, he would hate you in the morning if you left him to sleep being so messy.

“Sit up, I have water and snacks and cleaning supplies.”

His head pops up. “Snacks?” His hair is sticking up on one side.

You laugh, endeared. He’s not crying anymore either, a good sign that he will be okay in just a little while after some kisses and love.

“Yeah, I got some of those seaweed chips you like, and some water.”

He sits up, leaning back on the pillows knowing the drill for after butt stuff. You hand him the water and the chips. He eats first.

“You hungry?” You ask, fitting yourself between his legs with the warm washcloth. He opens easily, munching away. You both are far past after sex shyness.

He talks with his mouth full. “Yeah. Jimin said not to eat the day off.”

You hum curiously, but don’t question it. Jimin partakes in butt stuff much more than you both. 

You’ve got all the lube cleaned off his thighs and cheeks, now all that’s left is his hole. You do it as gently as you can, knowing he’s sore just from how red and swollen and puffy it is.  But he still winces.

“How bad is it?” He mumbles.

You hesitate. “Um… You’re gonna be a little sore.” You tell him simply.

He groans, before downing his water. When he’s done, he says, “Practice is going to suck.”

You nod in agreement. It was. You wrap the used cloth in the blanket you used to protect your sheets, once again just tossing the bundle to the floor.

“Worth it though,” He smiles, pleased.

You chuckle as you find your place by him. He’s set his refreshments aside and lets you curl against him. His body sags with exhaustion when he feels your warmth press into him. You plant kisses on every inch of skin you can reach. He purrs.

“Why’d you keep going?” You ask, between smooches.

“I don’t know… it just felt so good. I guess I didn’t want it to stop.” He’s quiet, and his words are said on a sigh.

You nod, your kisses making your way to his lips. You just kiss him, slow and easy, for a few minutes until he yawns into it. He giggles.

“I’m so tired man.”

“I bet man.” You tease.

He kisses you one more time before asking, “Will you tickle my back until I fall asleep?” It’s hopeful and so sugary sweet.

“Yeah roll over.”

It’s barely a few minutes before you're met with his soft snores. You kiss his shoulder blade, before following right behind him.

~~~~

you ask for pegging and you shall receive :] i hope you liked it and that it met ur pegging standards askdkhjd as always, comments and feedback and asks and notes are loved and appreciated. thank you for reading friends ily :* 

[jadepetals]

so i kinda disappeared for 5 months lol anyways i’m back!! 

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Louis didn't plan for him and his husband to be pregnant at the same time. Somehow, it works out.

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Louis Tomlinson might not hate his childhood nemesis as much as he convinced himself he did.

the way the storms blow by rbbsbb / 21649 words

Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick.

That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.

Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea.

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In which werewolves and vampires have been fighting each other for a century, and Harry and Louis' marriage is what's gonna bring peace to the realm. Hopefully.

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Soulmates au. Except they're not eachother's soulmates.

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my heart, in deadly rhythm / 42000 words

Spies!AU in which Liam is the Wade to Louis' Kim Possible, Zayn seduces people for intel, Niall is an expert at blowing things up, and Harry is more than a bit famous in his particular field... or infamous, actually. And Louis? Well, Louis just wishes people would quit trying so bloody hard to kill him all the time.

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teenage dreams in a teenage circus / 50630 words

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And down the long and silent street by whimsicule / 86090 words

Wherein Louis and Harry are on the opposite ends of the social ladder, but their paths still cross on the filthy streets Louis calls his home. The odds are staked against them from the beginning, and even more when Louis' past finally catches up with him.

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september

[loosesodamarble]

Four Leaves to a Clover and a Fifth Makes a Devil

Summary: Devil Fausts AU. With her contract with the devil twins, Nacht and Morgen, in place, Josele needs to to go someone to help her figure out how to use their powers. And she happens to know the right one for the job. Or rather, the right four for the job.

A/N: Shout out to @marune2 whose devils as humans au/art inspired me. Also, credit to my internet imouto for enabling these thoughts~!

Genre: general

Word count: ~2400

..........

There was a palpable tension in the Grey Deer base.

It was a tension—a fear and distrust—centered on one person: Josele Canty. Like the glare of light on the glossy, black bracelets she wore, so too was she aware of the sharp eyes that flicked towards her as she walked.

However, Josele walked with her head high.

"So you're really stuck with those devil bastards, huh?" Yami asked while walking alongside Josele.

"I am," Josele answered without hesitation. "But I'm going to do my best to make the most out of this situation. The devils and I came to an agreement so they can't run completely wild."

"But you can't end the contract as you please." Yami groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I think you're putting too much trust in those two, Jo."

Josele shook her head. "It's more trusting the power of the devil contract more than the devils themselves." She looked down at the manacles. "And I'm pretty sure they can hear you right now. They are kind of mentally connected to me."

Yes, we can hear your conversation, Master, Morgen's voice cooed in her mind. And I really think you should trust Nacht and I. We don't mean you any harm.

Now is not the time, Morgen, Josele replied. She sighed then returned her attention to Yami. "Regardless of how much trust there is, I'm working with Nacht and Morgen for the foreseeable future. So I need to start figuring out their powers."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Yami's expression was tense with frustration and concern. "The Magic Knights and the Magic Parliament may have given you a pass because of the circumstances, but it's not like you can just use the Forbidden Magic willy nilly!"

"Don't worry. I'm not that reckless!" Josele waved her hands in the air, as if to wave off Yami's concern. "I actually know who can help me with these devil powers."

Yami came to a stop and raised a brow. "You know people with knowledge of devils?"

Josele smiled awkwardly. "Knowledge and experience."

There was a pause.

"What the hell kind of people do you hang out with in your free time, Jo?"

.....

Deep in the forests of the Common Realm, there was a certain manor belonging to a family shrouded in darkness and mystery. Infamous and feared for their use of Forbidden Magic, this family largely kept to themselves.

The manor that housed these peculiar folk was as dark as the magic they utilized. Fogged glass windows darkened by curtains. Dark wood for the front door that didn't look the least bit inviting. Pitch black tiles of the roof and grey, stone walls enclosed what lay within. A tall, spiked fence surrounded the property. What should've been a garden was little more than dried flowerbeds and twisted, dried shrubbery.

But there was one person who was able to overcome the darkness and find friendship among the shadows.

Josele stared at the manor with a smile. She approached the front door and knocked on it with all her might, not an ounce of fear or shame.

"Heeeey!" Josele called at the top of her lungs. "Guess who managed to get a break from work!"

Now to wait.

What even is this place? Nacht's question echoed in Josele's mind.

A place from my childhood, Josele answered. A place where I've made some friends.

I never would've been able to guess, remarked Morgen. You don't seem all that fond of ominous things. Such as myself and Nacht.

Well, these people are part of the reason why I'm deciding to take a chance with you two. So be a little grateful.

There was a crash heard from the other side of the door before it was yanked back to reveal a quartet of people.

All four people had pale skin and hair darker than the night.

The first person was a tall, lanky young man with a mess of fluffed hair.

The second was a woman with a sharp gaze. She had silky hair cut short, barely past her ears.

The third was another male. His hair was much longer than the other two and braided back.

The last member was a short boy with long and loose hair and a pair of glasses over his eyes.

In an instant, the group grinned and threw themselves at Josele.

"WELCOME BACK!"

"JOEY!"

"IT'S BEEN MONTHS!"

"HOW'VE YOU BEEN?"

Josele easily caught them all in her arms and melted into the group hug. After a moment, the five of them stepped away.

"I'm doing quite well everyone. Sorry for not visiting in a while. Going up in rank means I take on more and harder missions," Josele answered simply. "It's because of my most recent mission that I'm here actually." She raised her arms, showing off the manacles she wore.

The quartet in front of her took on expressions of wide-eyed shock.

Soon, Josele and the quartet were situated in a living room, seated on armchairs or couches around a coffee table.

Josele took a deep breath then willed Nacht and Morgen to manifest in the room.

"Everyone, meet Nacht and Morgen," Josele stated. "Devils, meet my friends: Gimodelo—" She gestured to the man with fluffed hair. "Plumede—" To the young woman of the group. "Slotos—" The stocky young man. "And Walgner." The short boy with glasses.

"They look like a pathetic lot," Nacht said. He leaned against the armchair Josele sat in and loomed over her.

"Brother, dearest, every human is pathetic compared to us." Morgen sat on the arm of the seat opposite, placing Josele between the two devils.

Walgner stared at Nacht and Morgen with wide, unblinking eyes. Slotos glared at them suspiciously. Plumede squinted her eyes, not in a glare but rather a look of examination and contemplation. Gimodelo was the first to gather himself.

"Joey, I'm sorry that you've been tainted by Forbidden Magic," Gimodelo said with an even tone. His expression was tense and he pursed his lips for a moment. "Even though we practice it, you never should've—"

"Please don't get hung up on it!" Josele interrupted with a laugh. "I didn't know exactly what I was doing but—" She paused to take a breath. "I won't let myself regret the decision."

"Ah, Master Josele, have I ever mentioned that I'm beginning to like it when you act so resolute?" Morgen cooed as he reached over to Josele's head.

Before Morgen could make contact though, a whip of shadow and light woven together wrapped around his wrist and held him back. The one holding the other end was Plumede, now standing.

"Behave yourself," she stated, now looking stern.

"Plu, it's okay," Josele said. She smiled, understanding her friend's protectiveness but knowing better. "They won't genuinely hurt me unless they want our contract to end. Besides, they're rather physical in general, so try not to mind."

Plumede locked gazes with Josele before dismissing her spell. She didn't entirely relax as she sat back down.

"Let's continue from where we were," Plumede grunted.

Morgen raised up both hands and shrugged. "But of course."

Nacht snickered into his hand. Josele looked up at Nacht and happened to lock eyes with her. He grinned eagerly. Josele rolled her eyes then looked at Morgen. The Light Devil smirked similarly, but his eyes seemed a bit gentler somehow.

Josele quickly looked away and back to her friends.

“How did you even get those two?” Walgner asked, his face pinched in concern. Tears were visible in the corner of his eyes. “You said it was an accident during a mission?”

“Yes. We were doing a raid on House Faust after discovering they were illegally practicing Forbidden Magic,” Josele started. “During the fight that broke out, I ended up in the devil-binding ritual circle and Vincent Faust summoned the twins. I bet he expected me to just fight and for the twins to kill me but…”

“She made the wiser decision to accept us,” Nacht finished off. “And now we’re here!”

“So the Fausts weren’t safeguarding the forbidden knowledge they collected,” Gimodelo said through gritted teeth. “How disgusting.”

“At least… At least you’re safe and alive,” remarked Slotos.

Josele nodded. "Now, I’m going to work with Nacht and Morgen. To do it properly, I need to understand them better. You guys can help me with that, right?"

Gimodelo, Plumede, Slotos, and Walgner each smiled. It was a bit tense with the presence of Morgen and Nacht, but Josele's calmness seemed to assure them.

.....

With his grimoire floating beside him, Walgner held one hand in front of each twin's torso. Nacht and Morgen sat atop a sterilized, metal table. Morgen looked bored. Nacht was visibly annoyed. Walgner completely ignored their looks.

Meanwhile, Josele and the rest of her friends combed through old tomes and journals. Josele flipped through the pages, looking at chapter titles and any margin notes. Gimodelo hurriedly turned the pages of the books he read. Plumede skimmed more slowly but was still moving through books quickly. Slotos took it the slowest, taking a good minute to read each page he turned to or glancing between a book and a journal that accompanied it.

Around the four readers were shadow figures that matched Gimodelo's silhouette, carrying books to or away from them.

For a while, all that could be heard in the room was low, droning hum. The result of Walgner's magic. Each time Nacht or Morgen tried to speak up, Josele would sense their intentions, look up, and then gesture for them to stay quiet.

Eventually, Walgner withdrew his hands and plucked his grimoire from the air. He walked over to where the others were.

Nacht and Morgen joined, taking positions right behind Josele. Gimodelo and the others glared at the devils.

"The examination is done," Walgner stated quietly. Everyone lifted their gaze to Walgner. "Would you like the results now or do you need more time?"

Gimodelo waved his hand. "Go right ahead, Wal. We probably need a break after all this reading."

"You call what you were doing ‘reading’?" Plumede remarked with a roll of her eyes.

Gimodelo flicked a shadow at Plumede and she parried it with her magic of light and dark. Slotos smiled faintly and shook his head at the exchange before returning to reading. Josele giggled into her hands.

"I'll just start sharing the results," Walgner groaned. "So. Both twins are 180 cm. Around 70 kg each. Something a little weird is their physical proportions. They're so..." He tilted his head side-to-side, looking for a word. "Normal? Even supreme devils’ bodies don't perfectly match human proportions. They might have elongated toes or backwards joints. But for these two, if you removed the horns, tails, and wings, they could pass for humans. And that's just the beginning.

"The density of the mana within the twins would put them on the level of high-rank devils, which explains why they look so humanoid. Now what's weird is that it seems as though their bodies are comprised of more regular mana than negative mana. Which should not be seen in such powerful devils. It's not the strangest thing though."

"It's not?" Gimodelo pressed, his brow creasing. "But what else could there be?"

"It's their hearts," Walgner answered. "Devil and human hearts have different resting rates and vibrate at unique sound frequencies. These two have hearts that match neither human nor devil standards."

Josele looked at Nacht and Morgen. "Do you have any idea why your bodies are the way they are?"

"We never realized we were different from other devils until now," Nacht answered with a shrug.

"What does it even matter?" Morgen reached around Josele's chair and caressed her face. "This whole process feels unnecessary anyways."

Josele took Morgen's hand and held it away from her face. She examined his hand, not much larger than her own. His hands and claws were pure white though it greyed and darkened the further up his arm she looked. Josele let go of Morgen's hand and hastily averted her gaze when she realized what she had been doing.

"I'm not much of a planner, but I don't think it hurts to know what I'm getting involved in," Josele said before releasing Morgen's hand. "Besides, it's all a good excuse to see my friends again and let them use their knowledge."

"Aw, Joey!" Gimodelo laughed.

"Mm, sentimental as ever," Plumede remarked.

Nacht was heard clicking his tongue, likely in disgust.

"Anything else we need to know?" asked Slotos, getting the group back on topic.

Walgner touched his chin. "Not anything too pressing. But if we want to learn more, I'd have to dissect the devils." He faked a laugh. "So... what about you guys?"

Slotos answered, "Still working on it. We haven't found any entries on devils matching Nacht and Morgen's descriptions."

"Although we were first checking the lower ranks," Plumede clarified, closing the book in her hands. "We'll start searching though the information on high-rank devils."

"We'll find the information eventually," Gimodelo added with a nod. "It's only a matter of time."

Josele stood up from where she sat. "In the meantime, I'll just focus on training with the magics Morgen and Nacht have."

"Now this is where the fun begins!" Nacht exclaimed. Nacht circled Josele's seat and lifted her chin. "You'll get a taste of real power from us, Master."

"Yes, yes." Morgen's hands rested on Josele's shoulders. "I'm sure you'll take to our magic well, Master," Morgen said in her ear. "I so look forward to teaching you all my spells."

Josele stepped away from the devils and gave them a pointed look.

"I won't just be relying on you two to master your powers. In case you forgot, I came to my friends for their knowledge on the topic too."

"It is ultimately our contract though," Morgen stated.

"I know that. But outside help is useful."

Nacht smirked. "Or are you still afraid to fully trust us?"

The questions made Josele tense. That was... eerily perceptive of him.

"Hopefully I can come to trust you both fully," Josele said with a sigh. "But for now, let's take it slow."

Nacht and Morgen looked to each other. Then they smiled and bowed to Josele, an unnecessarily courteous gesture. And it was difficult to tell how genuine it was.

"Of course, Master," the two of them answered in unison.

Josele looked at the twins cautiously. What was it? What made them eager to work with Josele but also like catching her off guard? Was it just them trying to hide their true intentions?

The answers were sure to come later.

For now, Josele would focus on learning about them and the powers they had to offer.

..........

Trivia

Gimodelo, Plumede, Slotos, and Walgner are all siblings with their last name being Bremen.

The Bremen family are commoners by rank (to reflect how the quartet were mid-rank devils).

There is the Bremen family and the Bremen Coven. The Bremen family is anyone born or married into the house. The Bremen Coven is the specific members of the family who are involved in the study of Forbidden Magic.

While for the most part, the Bremen Coven only studies Forbidden Magic, being a member of the Coven does grant the members licenses/immunity from the law to practice as well.

Gimodelo's attribute is straightforward Shadow Magic. He specializes in attack spells and is an expert at making shadow copies which can all act independently. He uses the duplicates to do chore for him more often than not.

Plumede's attribute is Eclipse Magic. It is a combination of Light and Shadow Magic, letting her manipulate both though only in conjunction (Plumede cannot use only one at a time). The attribute name is really only symbolic of her magic's abilities (Light and Shadow together like the Moon and Sun aligning during an eclipse). Plumede has the speed and natural healing inclination of Light as well as the sneaking and transport capabilities of Shadow.

Slotos has Armor Magic. He can create shields and armor for himself or others. His spells can be as simple as leather armor to something as durable and complex as steel plate. Due to his lineage, any armor Slotos creates comes out looking black.

Walgner's attribute is Sound Magic. He can create explosive blasts of sound and mimic any sound he's ever heard in his life, including the voices of other people. His magic also grants him greater range of hearing, from volume to pitch, so a dog whistle could be used to wake him.

Gimodelo studies negative mana and Demon grade magic (think Patry's Demon Light Magic or Lolopechka's Demon Water Magic).

Plumede's specialty is studying curses and other applications of Forbidden Magic such as Reincarnation Magic and regenerative healing. She jokes about reverse engineering regeneration so it can be done with normal healing.

Slotos' area of study is that of demon hierarchies and factions within the Underworld.

Walgner has only recently been inducted into the Bremen Coven but he's chosen studying devil biology.

An age comparison: Josele is 20 when she meets the twins. Nacht and Morgen appear to be in their early twenties. Gimodelo and Plumede are twins, age 19. Slotos is 17. Walgner is 16.

Plumede and Josele are best friends. Having grown up with all brothers, Plumede was grateful to meet Josele and become close with her.

As for how Josele met the Bremen family... Unclear. It was at least ten years ago and everyone's memories of the day are fuzzy.

Gimodelo and Josele have a deal where if neither of them are dating or married by the time Gimodelo is 25, they'll marry each other.

Slotos and Walgner have both tried to throw a wrench in that plan by proposing to Josele after getting their own grimoires. They don't actually like her that way, they just wanted to take the piss out of their older brother.

Gimodelo is technically the heir of the Bremen family. However Plumede has the greatest promise as the future leader of the Bremen Coven, given her attribute and her high intelligence.

Gimodelo once swallowed a devil relic, an earring that looked like a fox tooth, to prevent a person from summoning the connected devil. He was comatose for week while the relic had to pass through his body.

Plumede is a bit of a fashionista. While she won't wear every trend, she always knows when a new one pops up and has a good sense for which ones will last.

Slotos wears a lot of baggy clothes and that's to hide how ripped he actually is. The kid is on the same level as Yami.

Slotos has summoned the most devils in his family. However, he only does it to interview the devils about their position within the underworld. In the two years since he's gotten his grimoire, he's summoned approximately 50 devils. And word is spreading through the Underworld of how much a nuisance he is.

Walgner has a contract with a devil by the name Corvina. He primarily uses her and her Wind Magic to fly. She doesn't take kindly to being used as transport but Walgner is cute so she lets it slide.

Walgner has an impossibly good sense of balance. For himself and when stacking things. His stacking layouts are well structured so they don't fall easily.