#admin writes

[ebitenpura]

Coalescence

Summary: The former Hand of Jadus feels mounting change on the horizon. But will they throw it all away for the ghosts of their past? An answer to a certain reappearance.

Lana finds him alone in the untamed fields of Odessen, the visage of his broad back obscured by the swaying stalks of wild wheat that dipped gently from her intrusion. The setting sun limns his outline in gentle halcyon that sets his ivory hair aflame in the light, contrasting the pitch of his suit. He stands so still amidst the scenery that she thinks him not breathing, a single pillar of black and white amongst a grass sea. She stops to admire the scene– this monochromatic sentinel standing guard at the edge of a golden world– before wading in. 

He does not turn around as she approaches, instead continuing to fix his gaze on the distant skyline with a fraught expression. The cool breeze tickles their cheeks. Lana comes to stand next to him; a beat of silence passes, then two. Eight continues to say nothing, merely tightening the grip on the sheath of his sword that he clutches tightly to his chest. The atmosphere is somnolent yet delicate, threatening to burst under the weight of any slight movement or careless gesture. 

She parses the feelings in the Force surrounding him, this thick, swirling miasma of uncertainty that clings to the ex-Cipher like a heavy sludge, slowly dragging his presence down with it. “You feel it, don’t you?” Lana interrupts quietly, her words floating on the wind that caresses their surroundings. She searches his face for confirmation, but his statuesque mien betrays nothing. He remains faraway, living out the events of some unknown storied past she has never been privy to, his eyes distant and unfocused. 

Lana reaches out further, diving into his essence and– there. She finds a single thread in the complicated network of his energy, wavering, connected to something impossibly far, extending out from his core to somewhere she cannot reach. Her brows knit together as she focuses on that lone yarn spanning the expanse of the galaxy, so very, very removed. There’s a tug on the thread. Eight’s distress spikes momentarily with it. “A change. A return…the call. Something that’s calling you…home.” 

Her honey eyes snap open. Home? She turns to him, confusion writ on her features. The Eight she knew has never had a home, never spoken of one, never requested to return anywhere. As far as she was concerned, he was a piece cut loose who made himself comfortable wherever the next mission led. Even their sojourn back to Dromund Kaas drew nothing from the agent but a detached look of unrecognition; Lana stopped questioning his feelings towards the Imperial homeworld after that. There were many secrets to the man who still called himself by his Cipher designation. Most of which she would not choose to pry, save for those she’d researched before she’d been made aware of what an erstwhile creature he was, one who preferred to remain a mystery more than any sort of companion to her. Out of respect, she’d abstained time and time again. But this, this she could not ignore, this…feeling in the Force, this nagging sense that the skeletons in Eight’s closet were more alive than they realized. That something deep and unfathomable was about to happen, and he lay at the heart of it once again, a spider trapped in his own web of lies. 

“Eight,” She hesitates, the words sticking to her tongue, reluctant to overstep boundaries. To step into his world meant knowing all the shadows within it. She had barely scraped the surface before as Minister, and she did not know if she had the right to know. To know him. She pushes down her disquiet. Eight had been acting odd for several days on end. She could not leave him to his misery as is. They were more than just friends; they were partners, whatever was causing him to be so despondent was one she felt she had to address. “Who…or what is calling you?”

When Eight finally faces her, his eyes are filled with fear. 

He flounders as if suddenly realizing she’s there, then withdraws back into himself. His expression darkens, and he glances down at his feet. 

“When I…” He starts, as if he’s just learning how to speak. His voice is somber. “When I was in the Empire, I served a Sith named Jadus.” 

Lana stands there, stunned. She’d read the dossiers, the reports. Yet hearing it directly from his mouth made all of it obsolete. A confession. A chill runs down her spine. 

“I had power at my fingertips. I could do anything.” His grip tightens on the edges of the sheath. “Didn’t matter in the end.”

Her features soften. “Are you afraid of–”

“No,” Eight says all-too quickly, “It’s not–” He releases a frustrated puff of air, perhaps unused to his sudden lack of eloquence. “I don’t know if I can go back, Lana.” He says, quieter. I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I’ll have to. I don’t know if I have a choice. 

Lana reads his feelings loud and clear through the Force, and feels a twinge of pity for her friend, replaced by simmering, protective anger. So rarely did he ever express actual, tangible fear, apathetic and nonplussed to a fault to nearly everything the galaxy had thrown at him that she didn’t doubt for a second that Jadus, to him, was a real threat. 

Perhaps the only threat he’d ever faced.

“You’re safe with us, Eight. If anyone has any objections to that, they’ll have me to reckon with. Not to mention the entire Alliance, I’m sure. You’ve overcome impossible odds and come too far to play by the whims of another Sith…this, I know.” She places her hand on his shoulder in an act of reassurance, receiving a wry upturn of his lips in return. He covers her hand with his own, but his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“If he returns,” Eight echoes solemnly, “This can’t last.” 

Lana opens her mouth to ask him to clarify what he means by this, but stops mid-inquiry as the world around her falls away. A force vision? 

Eight sits alone in an abandoned hovertaxi station overgrown with vines and weeds. Next to him is a large body bag, propped up next to him like a macabre passenger. He mouths words she can’t hear to an impersonal figure over holocomm, and shuts off the transmission. He waits, his only other company being the sound of the falling Dromund Kaas downpour. The scene repeats, with Eight alone in various locations occupied by varying corpses. It goes on for what feels like ages to Lana. 

Was this what his life amounted to in the Empire? An endless cycle of violence, with only the dead for company and comfort? Unconsciously, her hold tightens on Eight’s shoulder as images of his past flicker through her mind like a holoreel. 

More than that…she nearly buckles at the sheer loneliness exuding from every inch of Eight’s memories. It’s unbearable, a sensation wholly different from the emptiness of Nathema but no less overpowering in its unending pain, and Lana feels it wrap around her chest and constricts her lungs in a vice grip. Every second, every passing moment spent in solitude, disconnected from the world at large, years and years and cycles that pass for an eternity– it’s a silent scream, and Lana feels her own mind straining under its suffocating weight the longer the vision goes on. 

She has to blink away the tears that prick at the edges of her eyes when the torment ends, replaced by analog memories of two unfamiliar faces. One, a kindly yet strict old man who smiles fondly in the most subtle of ways, and a woman, one with dark hair, dark eyes, and a saccharine voice.

I’d do anything for them. 

Eight? Lana thinks, recognizing the timbre of the voice in her mind.

I’d do anything for them. The scene flickers, like a corrupted broadcast. Eight stands alone, awash in the furious red lights of a station’s emergency alarms. Countless bodies lay at his feet, their jaws slack in terror, their limbs twisted and mangled. I’d do anything for them. I’d do anything. I’d do anything. I’d do anything. I’d do anything.

The chant reaches an unbearable degree of fervor. Lana blocks her ears, but it does nothing to drown out the klaxon nor the voices.

Eight’s visage melts before her eyes. Like hot wax, his features drip off his face in a runny sludge that leaves Lana awestruck in horror. Something emerges from behind his shorn features, revealing a different face that freezes her blood cold.

What stares back at her is the empty mask of Darth Jadus.

The vision ends. Lana lets go of Eight like she’s touched a hot iron, stumbling backwards. Eight looks at her with worry, but with a knowing look in his flat eyes that says this is not an uncommon occurrence. 

“...How can you bear it?” Lana finally asks, pressing the back of her palm into the dull pain that blooms behind her skull. Eight doesn’t reply, merely bearing witness to her pain as she takes deep breaths. “How can you–” 

Somehow, his silence answers more for her than if he’d spoken. 

She lifts her gaze to meet his. “You can’t go back. Not to that.” The wind howls between them. She can feel the gap widening. She tries again. “Eight. I am ordering you.” 

“That’s not your choice to make.”

“Why?” Lana refutes him, regaining her composure. “Everything we’ve built together, everything we’ve accomplished, why would you give all this–” She gestures to their surroundings.”up for him?” For a life spent in solitude and fear, when they’d worked so hard to give him a way out? 

Eight is quiet. “Because I’d do anything,” He says, looking pointedly away from her. 

Lana falls silent at the repeat of those words. 

[adminbryantsaki]

Fall

Week Three Fall

Luna! Naga! Hizashi Yamada x Luna! Human! Reader

(I do not own Hizashi Yamada. He and all the characters in My Hero Academia or the Vigilantes spin-off belong to Horikoshi Kohei and Hideyuki Furuhashi. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spices, or brew of coffee, move along. Reader discretion is advised)

TW: BRUMATION PREPPING, Oviposition, Monster fucking, Teratophila, Sex scene, Omegaverse shenanigans, mentions and talks of reader’s weight gain to carry naga eggs, brumation incubator, breeding, cock warming too.

WC: 4,425

A cold breeze blows past you while you’re carrying another load of nesting materials into the cave from your car and into your husband’s cave. You were helping him prepare for brumation like you have for the five years that you’ve known him. This year was going to be a bit different; you were going to hold his clutch for him while he was in brumation, Brumation is a phase where any reptilian hybrid, including nagas go into a state of heavy sleep where their activity is reduced, their body temperature is reduced and they eat less. Because of their reduction in body temperature, Nagas with a dynamic that allows them to get pregnant will produce a clutch of eggs and fall into a gravid state before their brumation. It has been suggested that if a Naga has a mate, they transfer the clutch to their mate to keep the eggs warm for the winter months so they don’t spoil and potentially infect the Naga. If their mate holds the clutch during the winter, there is a potential for the Naga when they wake up in the spring, entering a full-blown rut, to fertilize the eggs in their mate and get them pregnant. 

When you first heard about this process, you weren’t quite ready to be a mother. After spending a few years with Hizashi, however, you realized how important it was for him to transfer his clutch into a living carrier instead of the artificial incubators provided for reptilian hybrids when they don’t have a mate. You decided back in the middle of summer that you’d want to carry his clutch and become a mother. What you didn’t know was the process that a carrier needed to go through to prepare their bodies to hold a Naga’s clutch for the winter months. You needed to put anywhere between ten to fifteen pounds of weight on before you were ready to take Hizashi’s clutch, hopefully before he had to go into brumation. You set the blankets by the nest where you saw the end of Hizashi’s tail over the wall of the nest as he was pushing the walls out more to accommodate space for the two of you. he heard the soft thud of the blankets outside his nest and he turned to see you panting slightly as you were watching him construct the nest.

“Thank you for getting those, princess. I made some food for you.” He spoke and slithered out of his nest. You watched as the strong muscles of his tail helped push his body out of the nest and over to you. Your eyes wandered up to the small curve in his stomach, showing that he was getting gravid already and you were behind on your gaining. You held his hand as he led you into the kitchen and showed you the countertop laden with food. There were all kinds of filling and fattening foods on the counter, such as various kinds of pasta and sauces to cover them with along with garlic bread. There were chicken tenders covered in various sauces too and a couple different pizzas on the counter. Your eyes widened when there were pans of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and dressing as if it were Thanksgiving. You were happy to see a large bowl of salad thrown into the array of food.

“I need to make sure my mate is well-fed and plump enough to carry my clutch through the winter months. Sit down and eat up.” He spoke and led you to a chair that he pulled out and pushed in for you to sit down in to eat.

“Do I have to eat all of this?” You asked. “No, not all at once. I don’t want you to get sick.” He chuckled and you relaxed. You then began to fill your plate with food and eat. You felt Hizashi wrap his tail around your leg as he leaned in. “Don’t get too full, we still have the fall festival in a couple of days. There’s a contest that the hybrids take part in. You remember it, don’t you?” Hizashi asked as he watched you eat.  You nodded as you remembered all the fall festivals you attended with Hizashi and remembered seeing the contest that the hybrids would take part in each year to see who could fatten up their mate the most before brumation set in.

“Are we going to take part this year? Don’t you still run the radio station for the festival?” You asked while you ate your food. “Yes, I’m still running the station this year. But we will have time to participate in the contest. For now, keep your strength up, and eat at least two plates of food.” He spoke and kissed your cheek. He stayed for a bit longer to watch you eat before Hizashi let go of your leg and slithered back to the nest to keep working on it. You finished the first plate of food, rested for a moment or two since you were full, and got up out of your chair to check in on your mate. He was busy making the nest when he looked up to you and frowned. “Did you eat what I asked you to?” He asked. You shook your head now.

“Were you full?” He asked. You nodded in response. “I wanted to help you work on the nest until I was hungry again.” You told him and he allowed you to work on the nest only until you were hungry again, notifying him by your stomach growling, and he sent you back to the kitchen. You left the coziness of the nest and padded back to your chair to eat your second plate of food. You heard Hizashi slither up behind you and put his arms on the back of the chair when you were about halfway done with your second plate of food. He slid his hands down the sides and rested them on your stomach. He leaned down and kissed your cheek, trailing his teeth down your neck to bite gently on your shoulder with his fangs. He rubbed the sides of your stomach soothingly and urged you to finish your food with his help. He coiled around you and pulled your plate closer and began to feed you the rest of the food on your plate slowly, making sure that you finished what you ate.

“Hizashi, I’m too full. If I eat any more, I’ll pop.” You told him and he rubbed your stomach. As he massaged your stomach, pressing lightly on your taut skin, kissing you gently as he did. “I think you still have a little bit of room, sweetheart. There’s still some give to your stomach and I want it tight as a drum before I transfer my clutch to you.” He told you which made your face flush bright red. He then picked up a piece of food from your plate and fed it to you, repeating this process until your plate was empty and you were so stuffed and your stomach felt so heavy, like a dense pumpkin had grown in your stomach and made your stomach swell out big and round. You panted and rubbed your stomach, looking up to Hizashi as he rubbed your stomach too, praising you for how well you ate everything that he told you to eat.

“Good girl. Let’s get you to the nest so you can rest.” He spoke and helped you stand up from the chair with a bit of difficulty because of your weight. He walked with you at your own pace to the nest that he had almost finished and let you lay down in the section of the nest that he designated for you to rest in. Hizashi guided you to lay in the nest and made sure you were comfortable before he coiled around you, holding you close, and idly rubbing circles into your swollen stomach. “I can’t wait to see how big you’re going to get with my eggs.” He told you and kissed your neck. You relaxed as you felt his coils adjust to caress your every curve and support your weight as you melted into his touch. “If you’re good, I might sneak a couple eggs into you while we’re on air. I know you like sitting in my lap when we’re in the booth, it helps me stay warm.” He told you as he pulled you a bit closer. You felt your face flush bright red, thinking back to the past years when you were in the radio booth with Hizashi, sitting in his lap, keeping his cock warm as you did so. You felt your body get warm and sleepy as you nuzzled into Hizashi’s arm. He took this as a sign to cover you up with a blanket and hold you close until you fell asleep. ~~~~~ A couple of days later, you’re changing into what you thought would hopefully be a pair of loose leggings that would fit over your growing thighs and stomach. They were a bit snug on your body but they would work for the festival and all the food you knew that Hizashi would get for you to eat and participate in the feeding contest that the Hybrids did with their mates. You looked over to your mate to see him bundling up with several wrap-style garments that covered his torso and upper tail  and hugged you from behind. “You look beautiful, Y/n. Are you almost ready?” He asked as he ran his hands up your sides and placed a kiss on your neck.

“I’m almost ready. I just need to get my bag ready and my shoes on.” You told him and pulled out of his grip to place a couple more items into your bag before slinging it over your shoulder and going to the front of the den and pulling your hiking boots on. Hizashi joined you and pulled on a knitted tube that you made and went over the lower part of his tail to keep him warm and dry as he slithered outside and when the cave was particularly cold. He helped you to your feet and out the door with you. Once he had the den locked up, Hizashi offered his arm to you, letting you take his arm and the two of you walked through the forest, enjoying how the colors of the leaves were changing and the gentle crunch of the fallen leaves underfoot as the two of you made your way into the small town where the festival would be taking place.

He went down to holding your hand when you entered the festival, leading you over to some food stalls to get you started on eating when you got to the radio booth and began to set up the equipment for that day’s show. Hizashi made sure you were settled into your seat with your variety of food before he went about making sure all the equipment was up and working before the contest began and he would need to begin the radio show that afternoon. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he sat down to look over at you. He had finished uncovering the radio equipment and getting them turned on to warm up and get running smoothly.

“I am feeling full. But I’ll make sure to eat all of this before the contest.” You told him as you finished off the yakisoba he bought for you. You set the empty container down and rubbed your stuffed stomach. Hizashi’s green eyes darted from your face down to your belly as he resisted the urge to take you right there. He shifted in his seat when there was a knock on the wooden panel that covered the window that looked in on the radio hosts. Hizashi unlocked the panel and looked out to see his best friend looking at him, A man with dark hair, a tired expression and short fangs hidden in his mouth.

“Are you and Y/n coming to the contest? It’s going to start soon.” He asked as his dark eyes darted between the two of you. “We’re coming. Just wrapping up a couple things in here then we will be in the square momentarily. You should catch up with your mate. They seem to be getting ahead of you.” Hizashi spoke and gestured to his mate who was down the road, fixated on a food booth as they were prepping large amounts of food for the contest. Shouta left the radio booth to catch up with his mate and Hizashi closed the window. He then turned to you and helped you get out of your chair and guide you to one of the many chairs in the square where many other hybrids were getting their carriers settled to begin the contest. Hizashi guided you to a wider chair that looked soft and comfortable and helped you get settled.

“There you go. You wait here while I talk with the others about what the rules are, okay?” He told you. You agreed and watched him slither off with the other Alphas and Lunas to find the referee and get the rules for the contest. You looked around at the other carriers and felt a little intimidated by how some of them were so massive when you were so small. You rubbed the curve of your chubby belly and sighed, not aware that a larger Omega was walking over to you. You looked up at the Omega when they were closer, making you feel even more intimidated by their size. “Is this your first year?” They asked kindly.

“Yes, it is. I don’t feel like I’ll get big enough this year for my Luna’s clutch.” You told them as you rested your hand on your stomach.

“Don’t worry, if your Luna cares for you right and doesn’t put pressure on you to gain more weight than you can handle, you’ll be fine. I remember my first year. I was in the same boat that you are. I’ve been doing this for a few years now. You’ll eventually get to the size I am or bigger. Just keep it up, okay kid?” The omega spoke and patted your shoulder. “Thank you. I wish you the best of luck.” You told them and they walked back to their seat.

Hizashi slithered over with two plates of food. He handed you one and looked at the Omega who was settling back down in their chair. “Who was that?” He asked as he was still staring at the Omega

“That was another Omega who gave some encouraging words to me about my size.” You told him and he smiled. “That’s nice of them. We have two options. We can stay here and do a shorter term feeding or we can have food sent to the booth over the course of the day.” Hizashi suggested.

“I like the idea of eating in the booth. Then we can stay warm.” You spoke and ate your food. “Good. Then I’ll have you all to myself.” He spoke and leaned into your ear. “When you’re nice and stuffed, I’ll go to a commercial break and have you warm me up in more ways than one~.” He spoke and rested his hand on your stomach. You felt your face heat up as you ate, thinking of you sitting in his lap and receiving his clutch as he kept the radio show going. You finished your plate of food and Hizashi led you through the food stalls, telling you that you could pick out whatever you wanted to eat as he got the show up and providing ambient music for the festival goers. You picked out a few dishes that you enjoyed and Hizashi helped you carry them back to the radio booth. Once you were settled in your chair, Hizashi went to his chair, wrapping his tail around your ankle and beginning the show.

“Good Morning, Festival goers!” You heard him announce as you ate your food. You enjoyed listening to him run his radio shows. Sometimes during the shows, Hizashi would let you pick the music when he needed a break. As the show went on, you listened to the music Hizashi picked for this gig, working your way through the food you picked out until it was all gone. You were confused when you saw Shouta and his mate drop off a plate of food for you before quickly walking off. You pulled the plate closer and took off the tinfoil cover to find a mounded over pile of yakisoba noodles and you pushed the plate to Hizashi to split the food with him. Hizashi chuckled.

“I think that’s all for you, sweetheart. I asked a couple of my friends to help bring food to you while I’m running the show. Eat up, my love.” He spoke and went back to running the show. You stared down the food and slowly worked at it. As you ate, more of Hizashi’s friends brought you food and wishing you good luck in the season. You felt overwhelmed with all the food and super full after the second or third plate that was given to you. You leaned back and rubbed your stomach. Hizashi had just gone to a longer commercial, closing the window to the booth and drew the blinds, turning the microphone off, and turning to you with his gaze fixated on your taut, rounded stomach. He helped you to your feet, moving you slowly to his seat, and into his lap. You felt embarrassed to be this close to him when you were so full. You tried moving from his lap but his arm kept you still in his lap as he settled back down in his chair.

“Stay still. I’m feeling a bit chilled. Help me warm up?” He asked as he supported your lower back with his hands, having you face him while sitting in his lap. You nodded and settled closer to him until you felt something poke at the underside of your stomach and through his modesty garment. He smirked and untied the fastening of his garment, letting it fall away from him. You felt your face flush bright red as you knew that he was aroused by your weight in his lap. You hid your face in his neck, feeling one of his hands rub your shoulder as the other was wrapping the garment around you to keep you warm and close to him. Knowing that you wouldn’t be freed until he had filled you with his clutch.

“What’s wrong, darling?” He asked as he looked down at you. You huffed and stayed buried in his neck for a while, taking in his scent and trying to notice any changes in his scent to give you a hint if he was in brumation rut or not. You only picked you his orangey scent that had accent smells of cinnamon and apple. You pulled away and looked down at his stomach, seeing that he was fully gravid and ready to transfer his clutch to you. He looked you in the eyes with a look of want and desire, moving to your neck to take in your scent and bite gently at the flesh of your skin. He rubbed the side of your belly, biting down more, and nipping at your neck. You gasped and rolled your hips forward, brushing up against his erection. He hissed in pleasure and bit on your neck.

“Let me fill your womb, baby. Please. They are so heavy and they hurt. I want them out.” He told you as he massaged your stomach that was the size of a decent carving pumpkin. “You’ve gotten so big for me. You did an amazing job and I want to reward you for all your hard work.” He spoke and bit another mark on your neck.

“What is the reward?” You asked. Hizashi grabbed the soft flesh of your hips and rear end, lifting you up so he could pull your pants and underwear off and line his length up with your slicked-over entrance. He helped ease you onto his cock and keep you still in his lap as he had to go back to running music. You did your best to stay still on his lap, feeling his cock twitch inside of you as he ran the show. He kept the window and blinds shut as you were on his lap, keeping his cock warm. You wanted to move your hips so badly, but if you did, you might get punished if you did so.

You buried your face back into his neck as he ran his show. You closed your eyes, focusing on anything else but the urge to move your hips. You heard Hizashi stop talking, click the button of the microphone off and grip your hips.

“Why haven’t you moved? I want you to give me friction. I can handle it.” He spoke and squeezed your hip before leaning back in his chair and watching you move up and down on his cock. He held back his groans of pleasure as you rode him out, watching his clutch shift down, and the first egg slip into his knot. You rose up and watched his knot swell out with the egg. You then eased yourself down on his knot, moaning quietly as you took his knot, hearing a gentle pop as his knot was inserted into your cervix. You rolled your hips gently to adjust to the new girth of his knot, easing down a bit more until his full length was inside of you. He held your hips to keep you still while he gave you thrusts in short, quick bursts; only pausing when he needed to release an egg into you. This process repeated for a while until you held the full clutch of six in your womb and you had cum on his cock multiple times.

The both of you were worn-out and he pressed his forehead to yours. “Thank you for taking them, my darling. I am sorry we didn’t do this at home… I had something planned do make this special for you since this is your first year… I was going to make you dinner, a path of your favorite flower petals up to the nest with candles all around it and the fireplace going… I feel like I got carried away.” He spoke and held you close, leaving gentle kisses on your face, neck, and shoulders as he described the evening that he had planned for you. You pushed some loose strands of hair out of his face and kissed him gently.

“I appreciate that you wanted to make it special for me, Hizashi. But I love the way I accepted your clutch now. I wouldn’t mind if we did all those things when we get back to the cave tonight to unwind.” You told him and he relaxed, taking your hand in his, and kissing the back of it.

“I think I’ll enjoy that, my love. How are you feeling?” He asked as he rubbed your stomach. “I Feel very full and very heavy. I’m sleepy too.” You told him. “Good. I’m almost done with the show. Then we can get home.” He spoke as he untied the strip of cloth that was around your waist and helped you off his cock but still staying in his lap. He held you close as he wrapped up the show, feeling the far-off brumation sleep that was tugging at the far corners of his mind.

He carried you over to your chair to set you down as he went over to the equipment to shut it off before leading you outside into the cold dark of night. You shuddered and leaned into him to keep warm, wrapping your jacket over your stomach since you were holding his clutch now. He guided you through the festival as it was winding down, accepting some leftover food that the vendors offered as they shut down for the night, and putting them into a bag to carry as you and Hizashi went home to the cave. Once in the cave, Hizashi had you sit down at the dining table as he unwrapped some food from the festival vendors and sat across from you as he felt even more tired since you arrived home. “You look even more sleepy. Is it coming sooner than we expected?” You asked as you ate your food and watched your husband’s expression. He ate his food quietly. This wasn’t normal for him as he was usually chatty when you two would eat together. “Finish your meal and we can go into the nest to get you settled.” You said as you ate. Hizashi nodded and ate his food, finishing what he could before rising from his seat and slithering over to the nest. You finished your food quickly and followed him too, knowing that he would want to fall into his first sleep in your arms.

When you arrived at the nest, Hizashi was already settling down in the nest. He saw you and stopped coiling to let you get in so he could coil around you and lay his head in your lap, being careful of your stomach. You let him get situated and ran your fingers through his hair as you felt his breathing slow down and he fell asleep in your arms. You now felt a sense of loneliness now that he was sleeping for the next three months. He would wake up for only a few hours a day to eat and care for you, but he'd be half asleep while doing so. You stroked his hair and watched him lovingly as he rested. All you knew was that it would be a long three months. The End. 

[hercssy]

૮ ♡ ੭ ︵ㅤ. ✿ DRABBLE ﹗ he likes you playing with his hair … ꒱

my first little drabble on my blog and ofc it had to be for my husband anakin, there is more to come! because i love doing stuff like this. i hope you guys enjoy <3 check out my masterlist here!

how you found out anakin loves his hair being played with was on a whim. the both of you were on borrowed time, soaking up each other’s presence while you had the chance. anakin was laying on his back with you curled up to his side. the atmosphere was calming and overcome with the serenity of silence. his hand rubbed your back and your eyes were closed along with his. until a spark of interest within you was set alight. you opened your eyes and looked up at your forbidden lover who had a peaceful look on his face. you smiled, and slowly reached your hand to his long locks of hair.

at first, you swirled the strands around your pointer finger to test the waters. anakin payed no mind to your fiddling so your fingers reached for the top of his scalp where your nails began to massage. he groaned quietly in the pleasured feeling that tingled through to the bottom of his spine. goosebumps riddled his skin.

he moved his body to rest his head on your chest and wrapped his arms around your waist. “keep going.” he said and you did as he commanded.

not long after that he promptly fell asleep with how relaxed you made him. it was probably the deepest sleep anakin had in a long time.

it would become part of your bedtime routine, where anakin would lay as he did before; his head on your chest and his arms wrapped around your waist, cuddling into you as you massaged and played with his hair. sometimes he even let you platt or braid it if it meant he could keep you away from your jedi duties.

it was adorable you thought. anakin may have already such a soft side for your eyes alone but seeing him so vulnerable like this was surprising. you cherished it everytime it happened as someday, this would all just be a memory.

˚ 　 ♡ 🌱 ⁺ 　 ⟡

[slavhew]

Title: Frezur's Flophouse

Rating: G

Pairings: Jayce/Viktor, Jayce&Viktor

Summary:

After a little while, Jayce finally peeks out from his hands. “… Are you sure you don’t want the bed to yourself?” This time Viktor openly rolls his eyes. “I have a limp, Jayce. Not leprosy. Honestly.” -Or, two friends make do with less-than-ideal sleeping arrangements on a diplomatic trip to Noxus

Self indulgent and subtle little drabble set during the timeskip. Hope you like it :]

[eternalchiyo]

The Pianist and the Vampire

Summary: A scary vampire captures a young pianist and refuses to let her leave his mansion.

Pairing: Shuu x Chiyo

❗Content Warning: This is a Diabolik Lovers OC x Canon story. Please keep in mind, that it can and will feature dark topics and canon typical violence, as well as sexual content.❗

Chiyo looked out the big window of the manor. The sickle of the moon big, white and glowing against the night sky. How long has it been that she has last seen the sun? She couldn’t quite remember. Even then, seeing it from behind the window was completely different than being outside and enjoying it on her skin. Most of the time she was not even allowed to do that; the curtains remained closed the whole day.

She pulled her legs up on the large windowsill that she sat on and sighed. She didn’t even hear her captor enter the room.

“Why do you keep staring out the window all the time?”

The sudden question made her jump.

“Shuu…” she said.

Over time she decided to drop the honorifics. Using polite tone with someone who kidnapped you seemed very strange. Although it also seemed strange to her to just casually say his name like that too. She only hoped it grated him that she wouldn’t show him respect. Respect he demanded from her, him being a vampire, seeing himself above her.

She didn’t like how he leaned so nonchalantly against the window wall. Too close to her; way too close. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

“I am looking at the moon, is that not allowed?”

Shuu huffed and pushed himself away from the wall, standing right in front of her now. Clearly he didn’t like the way she still talked back to him, but she couldn’t do anything about it, she still had her pride, even as a woman. And she didn’t exactly want to become friends with him anyway. If she was going to rot away in some monster’s scary mansion she could at least rot away defying it until her last breath.

“You’re always talking back to me, refusing to obey, do you have a death wish?”

Chiyo refused to look at him. “You might have imprisoned me here, but I am not your puppet on a string. I still have my free will.”

Shuu leaned his hand against the wall. Chiyo pointedly looked away.

“You talk of free will… what power do you have to oppose me, you’re just a weak human,” he said.

“Half-human…” Chiyo corrected quietly, eyes trained on her feet.

“Is that so?” he asked.

Chiyo pressed her lips into a thin line and kept staring at her feet. Maybe if she ignored him long enough, he’d leave her alone. It only seemed to increasingly annoy the man next to her as he forcefully grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

“Answer me when I ask you something,” he said.

She glared at him. How many times did she have to repeat herself? She had mentioned it before already, but Shuu had never seemed convinced. It wasn’t her fault for being brought up in the human world and leading a mostly human life. All she knew was that her father was a vampire, she didn’t know much else about him as he rarely showed himself to her. Her mother seemed absolutely in love with that man, but she wasn’t sure how much to trust her in that regard. If you fell in love with a monster there simply was no way for your sanity to be completely intact. Nevertheless, she hated being looked down upon by him. Being half human and half vampire at least gave her the illusion of being able to talk to him on the same level, as equals.

Shuu let go of her chin, pushing her away roughly.

“Human or not, you sure are as stupid as one.”

She watched him walk around the room and make his way to the piano to pick up some music sheets.

“I hope you at least prepared for today, the guests will be here soon,” he said.

“Yes…” she said, still not looking in his direction.

Soon after she found herself in this vampire mansion, she found out that the reason she was abducted in the first place, had been nothing else than her piano skill. Had she been a man, maybe she would have been allowed to become a real musician, this way, the highest she could achieve was convincing her mother and her fiancé to let her play in front of their guests at huge gatherings. Who could have known this would inevitably lead to her demise. Maybe she should have had just accepted her place as a woman, quietly living alongside a husband that would have made all decisions for her, caged like a little songbird.

Only that songbirds were not denied their voice.

She wasn’t sure how Shuu had found out or had heard her play, but it didn’t really matter, as it wouldn’t change the outcome in any way. Sometimes Shuu would make her sit in front of the piano and play for hours on end, even whole nights. Every time she’d mess up, he'll punish her in one way or another, mostly hitting her fingers or sucking blood from them, which in turn would cause her to mess up more frequently from the pain she felt.

Shuu eventually left to prepare a few more things for this night’s soirée, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. It has been many weeks since she had been brought here, surely her family was worried sick. She imagined her mother crying, wondering where her daughter disappeared to. Did her fiancé look for her? Ruki has never been very affectionate towards her, the whole marriage had been arranged for them. His father was an influential aristocrat, but Ruki had a reputation for being quite cruel, especially to his servants. He usually was critical towards her, and they butted heads more than once because of this. Chiyo disliked it when people made decisions for her; a bad characteristic to have in a world where being a woman was treated more like a medical condition than anything. Still she had always been hopeful that they would eventually warm up to each other, she’d hate to live in a loveless marriage for the rest of her life.

She took a look at the music sheets Shuu provided her a few days ago. He really wanted her to play La Campanella in front of a full room of people. She didn’t dislike the piece, but she found it hard to play so many fast paced tunes, and knowing Shuu, he expected her to deliver it flawlessly. Or was he setting her up for failure? She wasn’t sure but hoped it wasn’t the latter; surely he didn’t want to cause a scene at his own event. Although she couldn’t help but wonder why he would host them in the first place. He didn’t exactly seem like a sociable person, so maybe Reiji, his younger, but a lot better organized brother, made him do it?

Chiyo didn’t have any more time to think about Shuu’s true intentions, because Reiji came into the study to fetch her. Apparently the guests were arriving at this moment and her piano performance was to start while they waited for dinner to be served. She rarely interacted with Shuu’s younger brother, mainly because Shuu explicitly forbade her talking to him unless it was completely necessary. In general, she was not allowed to talk to anybody. It made for a rather boring day to day life, given that all she could occupy herself with were some old books and the piano she’d come to hate more than love lately.

Reiji seemed stricter than Shuu, but also more reasonable. She wondered if she could persuade him to let her go from this mansion, although it was probably unlikely.

The big room she was led into was already bustling with people. She heard the faint clink of glass on glass, as the guests started to drink their champagne and wine.

“I trust that you are aware of the proper etiquette for events like these, but just to be sure: do not do anything reckless. You are to entertain the guests with your music, do not initiate any conversations on your own,” Reiji said before he let her enter the room.

Chiyo pressed her lips into a thin line, everywhere the same thing.

Don’t make a sound.

Smile.

Look pretty.

“I know.”

She could feel the eyes on her as she entered the room and made her way to the piano. Most of the glances she got were curious, most likely brought by the fact that she was a new face.  She caught Shuu looking at her. His eyes traveled slowly from her head to her toes, practically drinking in her figure. She had worn a simple dress for this occasion, the only interesting thing about it being the delicately embroidered flowers at the hem. Even though the dress was modest, she felt exposed the way he kept his eyes on her, not sure if her shortness of breath came from her nervousness or the tightly laced corset.

Quickly she tried to focus on the task at hand: she was supposed to play music. Once Reiji announced her briefly, she did a short curtsy and got her music sheets ready.

Playing music was one of the things that always helped the girl relax and get her mind off things. Even while the room was full of strangers, once she started playing, it was as it was only her and the smooth keys of the instrument. She managed to get through the hard part that she was dreading before almost flawlessly. Shuu most likely caught her slight slip-up but didn’t say anything for the time being. The guests clapped once she finished the first song and Chiyo let out a shaky breath.

She provided background music until the last guests left the party. The whole night she could feel Shuu’s piercing gaze on her, it was as if he was staring daggers into her back, and she wasn’t sure why. Did he hate her performance that much? She tried to ignore it and pretended to be deeply fascinated by a speck of dust landing leisurely on the dark lacquer surface of the piano.

The fall board slammed shut suddenly and Shuu was standing right next to her, looking down on her.

“Are you going to keep sitting here forever?” he asked.

She was lucky her fingers weren’t resting on the keys, or she could have kissed them goodbye. It was hard for her to mask her shock at this man’s willingness to hurt her so deliberately.

“What, am I not allowed to do that anymore either?”

She tried to mask a bit of her fear with annoyance.

“I’ll bring you back to your room,” he said, completely ignoring her question. She looked up at him in distaste and sighed. A scene wasn’t something she wanted to make right now, maybe she would get to retreat to her room peacefully like this. She stood up and followed Shuu towards her chambers. Soon, she’d get back to her room, the door locked behind her, so she wouldn’t be able to leave, and she’d cry herself to sleep, as always. It has been a while, but the tears still wouldn’t stop every time she laid in bed.

Shuu stayed silent the whole way and she wondered whether he was angry with her for some reason.

As soon as they arrived, Chiyo made her way to the desk in the corner of the room, to put away the musical sheets. She’d been careless while doing so, because the edges of the paper slid against her fingertips and left a shallow but stinging cut in the delicate flesh.

She hissed and put her left hand towards her lips to alleviate the pain a little. Cuts like these were the worst kind, unassuming but incredibly painful.

“Show me that,” Shuu demanded.

Chiyo shook her head. “It’s nothing, I was careless and cut my finger, that’s all…”

Shuu clicked his tongue in annoyance and came closer, grabbing her wrist and yanking her towards him.

“Why do you have to keep making things complicated and be so stubborn all the time?” he asked as he examined the cut on her finger. She tried yanking her hand back, but his grip was too strong for her.

“Let go of me!” she cried.

“Stop being annoying and—”

Shuu’s attention shifted to the ring on her finger, and he frowned. Chiyo followed his gaze and gasped. She has been successful so far in hiding her engagement ring from him, either taking it off in time or not showing her left hand to him. This evening she decided to wear it to calm her nerves, it made her feel hopeful that Ruki would come for her after all.

As if he was able to read her thoughts Shuu then said:

“What? You still think that guy will come and save you? Pathetic.”

“You don’t know anything about him! I’m sure he’s trying to find out where I have gone!” she cried and frowned at him. Shuu let out a short breathy laugh at that.

“You think he cares enough about such a rebellious woman like you? I bet he’s currently out and about fucking someone else,” he said and looked at her with cold and menacing eyes.

Tears pricked her eyes and threatened to flow down her cheeks. She tried to hold them back, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her in her most vulnerable state.

“Liar…” she said quietly. Truth be told she wasn’t convinced by her own words either. Maybe Ruki did not want to get her back.

“Am I now?” he asked while putting her hand to his mouth and running his cold tongue along the side of her injured finger. Chiyo winced at the sensation; it felt so strange but mostly appalling, having her fingers licked by a man she disliked. Having her fingers licked by anybody would have felt weird, but she really didn’t want him close to her right now, if ever.

Her pulse quickened when his tongue went down from her wounded finger, along the palm of her hand and traced the artery on her wrist. She felt heat rise to her face and she gasped.

“Are you also going to call me a liar when I say that you’re enjoying this?” he asked without waiting for a response before he sank his sharp fangs into her wrist.

The girl cried out in pain. He had sucked her blood before, but not like this; she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. This was… different.

“Who… in their right mind… would enjoy that?” she said between shallow breaths and gritted teeth. His dark laugh sent vibrations through her whole arm as he kept sucking her blood. He held her firmly in place and lapped up what little blood had spilled down her forearm.

“A pervert like you, I am guessing,” he said with a dirty grin on his face. She frowned at him but cursed herself for blushing at his comment.

“That was punishment for your little mistake earlier,” he said, “now for this thing…”

He turned his attention back to her engagement ring and her eyes widened in fear. She thought he had forgotten about it by now.

“Time for you to take this worthless piece of junk off your finger finally.”

Despite her protests, Shuu slid the ring off her finger with ease and put it into his pocket. Surely he was going to throw it away somewhere Chiyo would never be able to find it again. It made her feel even more hopeless, having the only thing she had left, that still held some memories of home, taken from her. It filled her with despair seeing it gone.

Shuu took her left ring finger into his mouth and forcefully bit the place where her engagement ring sat on previously, making Chiyo hiss in pain. Once he was done he proudly looked at the result. A ring of teeth marks now adorning the finger.

“This should be enough for now to remind you who you belong to,” he said.

Chiyo couldn’t say anything in return, all fight had left her for tonight.

“You better rest up now, I want to listen to you play the piano again tomorrow. Don’t make mistakes next time.”

With that he left the room and locked it as always. Chiyo slumped down onto the floor, a huge sob running through her whole body. That sob was the catalyst for a dozen smaller ones as she cried her soul out. How, just how did it ever come to this? She never asked for anything like this to happen. The tears ran down her cheeks so violently as if she had never shed a single one of it in her life. She shook uncontrollably as she cried and cried pathetically on the cold floor until her body grew increasingly heavy and tired. Her eyes hurt and she had to close them eventually. She didn’t even notice when she drifted to sleep.

She jumped once she woke up. Looking around the room she soon realized that she must have fallen asleep on the floor. She stood up and looked outside. It seemed like she only slept for a few hours at best, as it was light outside; the early morning most likely. Back then it used to be her favorite hour of the day. Back when her life wasn’t… this. The air would always be fresh at this time, and she had enjoyed taking walks while most of the household was still asleep. The moment she looked at the garden outside, she made her mind up: She had to leave this place!

Should she just jump out the window? No, it was way too high up for her to safely land without hurting herself. Besides, the windows wouldn’t budge when she tried to open them. She sighed. The door was locked as well, so she wasn’t able to use it as an exit.

Unless she could pick the lock somehow.

She tried searching for a brooch or hairpin that she could use for her escape. Reiji had provided her with a wardrobe full of dresses that were the latest fashion trend, as well as a vanity full of the prettiest jewelry she has ever seen. She rarely made use of it though, feeling out of place and like this stuff was not hers; it wasn’t after all.

Digging through the jewelry box, she finally found a piece with a big enough needle and got to work. It wasn’t the easiest task, as she has never had to pick a lock before, but she needed to persevere. This was the only plan she had. Her only chance for freedom.

After what felt like an eternity she heard the lock click. She gasped and tried opening the door slowly. It had worked! It had really worked! Shuu and his brother were probably asleep right now, so her only worry were the servants that might be walking the hallways. Cautiously she stepped out, the brooch clutched tightly in her hand. It was so quiet she was scared to breathe, so scared was she of alerting anybody of her presence. Steadily she willed her feet forward, hoping that she would reach the entrance soon.

The hallway was long, and she was on a higher floor than the main entrance. Since she wasn’t allowed to walk around freely she also didn’t know the mansion well, so she wasn’t entirely sure which stairs led where and which she had to take to actually arrive where she wanted to arrive. Her shoes clanked uncomfortably against the hard stone stairs, no matter how softly she tried to set her feet down. Once she finally reached a carpeted area she let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t encounter any servants, or familiars as the vampires used to call them, so far and she wasn’t sure if that was a suspicious thing or not. She didn’t know much about their schedules either, only that one of them would bring her meals at set times.

Finally she saw the biggest pair of stairs of the mansion, the exit almost in her reach. As she began climbing down, she noticed how the walls were full of paintings. A particularly huge one caught her attention – it portrayed a beautiful woman, blue eyes and wonderful blond hair. This woman oozed elegance even when it was only an oil painting. The closer she looked the more she noticed how her features looked similar to Shuu’s. Was this his mother?

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Chiyo gasped and turned around in surprise; she got caught. At the top of the stairs was standing none other than Shuu. She had to act quickly; the door was only a few flights away after all.

Turning around again she dashed down the remaining stairs towards the door. She could hear him groan in the background as he went after her, but she wouldn’t waste this chance, not when she made it this far already.

She crashed against the door, frantically trying to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t budge.

Locked.

Desperately she looked at the massive piece of wood in front of her. Why wouldn’t it open?!

Before she could try anything else, her body was turned around and shoved roughly against the door. With both of Shuu’s hands on either side of her, she was trapped with no place to run now.

“Did you think you could just waltz out the door like that? And then what? Would you run back home and tell everyone how a big bad vampire violated you? Good luck getting that fiancé back with that,” he said.

Chiyo glared at him.

“That’s not even true—”

Before she managed to finish her protest he smashed his lips onto hers. Chiyo’s eyes widened in shock, no way this was happening. She tried her best to push him off her, but he didn’t budge.

“Sto—”

Her protest was in vain, and her opening her mouth only let him slide his own tongue in. Him sucking on her tongue like that felt shameful and embarrassing; she wanted to cry again. The chances of anybody taking her back when another man already had his way with her diminishing by the second.

She put her arms over her head defensively, which finally made him leave her lips alone and pull away a little.

“Please! I’m sorry! I’ll stay here and behave and do whatever you want, just please… please don’t do this to me!” She started sobbing uncontrollably, sliding down the door until she was a crying mess on the floor. Then it dawned on him.

“You…” he started and crouched down in front of her, “you've never kissed a man before…”

Chiyo put her arms down and looked at him confused with red eyes, face full of tears. What was he saying? Of course she had never kissed a man before!

Shuu sighed, an expression on his face she’s never seen before. Was that… regret? He stood up suddenly and reached out his hand to her.

“Come on, let’s talk in your room. I don't want you to sit on the floor.”

Moments later she found herself on her bed, leaning against the pillows. Shuu sat at the foot of the bed, not saying anything at all. Once she calmed down enough she decided to break the silence:

“I thought you wanted to talk…”

Shuu sighed.

“Let me ask you something,” he said.

Chiyo fell silent, waiting for him to go on.

“Are you scared of me?” he asked.

She looked down at her hands, starting to fidget. There was no use lying here, it wasn’t as if they were best friends after all.

“I am scared. Scared of this dark house and being all alone in here. Scared of making you angry and scared of you biting me because of stupid reasons. And I am also scared of you kissing me without me wanting it,” she said, still not looking up at him.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said, “I didn’t know you were that inexperienced.”

“But you’re not sorry for keeping me here?”

Shuu shook his head.

“No… because I don’t want to let you go.” He turned his head towards her when he said that. Her breath hitched in her throat at the look he gave her. It looked so sincere and almost… sad.

“I like listening to you playing the piano. It lets me relax and fall asleep. And I also don’t feel like that other guy deserves you, so no, I am not sorry for keeping you here.”

Something in his words made Chiyo’s heart beat faster in her chest and her face get warm. She felt touched at his sincere appreciation of her. For the first time she felt almost seen by someone. A slight grin appeared on Shuu’s face.

“What? I say something nice once and you become a mess? Your face is red,” he said with satisfaction in his voice.

“Don’t tease me, people don’t usually compliment my skills much…”

Shuu leaned back on his hands; his eyes trained on her face. The blush on her face pleased him, she looked adorable like that, but he would never admit that out loud.

“What about that fiancé of yours?” he asked.

She averted her gaze. “I don’t know, he didn’t seem to particularly mind whatever I occupied myself with… but he also didn’t seem to particularly care.”

Shuu seemed in thought, as he played with the chiffon trim of her dress. Then he let out a long breath. “Do you really want to go back? To him?”

Chiyo shrugged and crossed her arms above her knees. Both situations were quite shit for her, no matter how she looked at it. Yes, she would be unhappy in a relationship with Ruki, where she would most likely have to be a docile wife, submitting to her husband. But here she was trapped in a dark house where she was never allowed to see the sun again, much less feel it on her skin. Locked away in this room, with all those dresses and jewelry she never asked for until Shuu would decide to come see her on a whim.

“I don’t like being locked up,” she said, “not figuratively or literally.”

“I feared you’d run away if I gave you too much freedom… so I ended up taking it away from you,” Shuu said. He sounded like he was sorry.

“That’s what made me run away in the first place!” she leaned forward, her hands dipping into the soft mattress.

“I know!”

He grabbed her hand, making her lose her balance. Her other hand landed on his shoulder on instinct. She gasped; their faces were so close now. She never noticed before how long his eyelashes were, how pretty his clear blue eyes looked framed by them. She has never seen the ocean, but she was sure that it would look exactly like what she was seeing in front of her now.

“I know…” he repeated.

Chiyo felt his arm around her waist, holding her in place, giving her balance. It was strange… she didn’t dislike the feeling at all. She let out a shaky breath as her eyes darted to his lips briefly. He pulled her closer, and it felt like her heart would fall out of her chest any moment. She was sure he could hear it hammer, even though he chose not to comment on it. He also didn’t try to kiss her again; even though now she felt like she wanted him to do it? Maybe this time he waited for her to make the first step. To show him what she wanted.

It took all her confidence and willpower to make her body move. She moved her face closer to his and gently pressed her lips against his. A clumsy and timid attempt at a kiss.

Shuu smiled against her lips. “Opening your mouth would make it easier,” he teased, taking advantage of the girl’s surprise, deepening the kiss. His cold tongue ran across her lower lip and traced the fangs of her upper teeth, making her shiver.

“Heh… you are a little vampire after all,” he said and kissed her again. His hands guiding her to straddle him. Her legs landing on either side of him.

Chiyo’s face was burning up from how much she was blushing, a sudden moan escaping her, making her blush harder. She was so embarrassed but was left wanting more. Shuu’s chest vibrated against hers as he chuckled.

“Nice sound… hey, it will feel even better when you stick your tongue out,” he said.

Stick her tongue out?! She wanted to protest, but the way his voice sounded so deep in her ears, she couldn’t help but do as told.

It wasn’t long before she was a moaning and panting mess in Shuu’s arms. She didn’t mind his hands roaming her body, slipping under her dress, grabbing the soft flesh of her thigh, rubbing his knee between her legs. Her head was spinning; she didn’t know what to do with her own hands, so she buried her fists in his shirt. She was sure it would wrinkle terribly afterwards, but she couldn’t bring herself to care enough.

Suddenly, Shuu drew away. She looked at him panicked; did she mess up somehow?

“You look like a deer in headlights,” he said amused.

Then he sighed. “You know that if I keep going you won’t be able to go back anymore, don’t you?”

The fog in her head that was caused by her arousal lifted momentarily and she blinked at him dumbfounded. She looked down, frowning. She had to make up her mind now, stay here with Shuu or hope that she could go back to the life she had to leave behind. As much as she hated the way she was brought here and treated initially, it seemed like Shuu genuinely took an interest in her. His touch was gentle, and she couldn’t deny how good it made her feel. But if she let him continue, her social standing and reputation would be ruined forever, at least amongst the human society.

“I will give you this chance right now. If you say no now, I will bring you back,” he said.

“Y-you mean I can really choose to go back?”

He nodded.

Wasn’t this what she wanted all along? For him to let her go? But then why did her heart feel so heavy at the thought suddenly?

“If I decide to stay… you’ll stop locking me up in my room?” she asked.

He nodded again.

“And I’ll be able to go outside during the day?”

“You’ll be able to go wherever you want at any time you desire,” he said.

His words were sincere, she could feel it. It was almost as if there was another person in front of her than the one she got to know before. Chiyo’s heart fluttered in her chest, a fuzzy feeling spreading inside of her.

“Then set me free…” she said.

Shuu frowned.

“…from the life I’ve led before.”

Set her free from the expectations and bounds of a society that cared nothing for her and her desires. Chiyo was fed up with having to hide parts of herself, of having to hide her passions. To hell with it, to hell with all of it!

She could feel the tension leaving Shuu’s body, as he leaned forward, his nose brushing hers.

“Gladly.”

His kiss was hungry, possessive, different from before. But loving, still so loving. It made her melt in his arms. Soon, she found herself pressed against the pillows again, Shuu placing a thousand wet kisses along her jaw and neck. Her hair, that she had previously put up in a low bun, came loose, pooling around her mostly naked shoulders and neckline.

A loud whine escaped her as soon as Shuu sucked the sensitive spot behind her ear.

“Do you have any idea how sinful you sound right now?” he groaned against her neck.

Not knowing what else to do with her trembling hands she grabbed the linen fabric of his shirt again. Much to Shuu’s amusement.

“Go on,” he whispered in her ear, “undress me. I know you want it.”

She would be lying if she said she didn’t want to do it, but she was still embarrassed; she has never seen a naked man before. As if sensing her hesitation, Shuu kissed her again, giving her the encouragement she needed. Her fingers were still trembling as she tried to unbutton the shirt, earning herself a chuckle from the man above her.

He kept whispering dirty things into her ear, spurring her on. She pulled the fabric over his head, messing up his hair a little in the process. Somehow he looked even more attractive to her this way.

Her eyes ran down Shuu’s naked torso, taking in every detail, running her fingertips along his abdomen, mesmerized by how his muscles flexed under her touch. Hands trailing lower and lower.

“Dirty girl… are you having fun?” he teased, and she snapped out of it. She looked up at him, a sheepish smile and faint blush on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

"Don't be..."

Shuu pulled her into an upright position, his hands getting to work behind her back. It was his turn to undress her now, his fingers working swiftly through the hooks of her bodice. He was no beginner and Chiyo could not help but feel somewhat glad that he knew what he was doing. Still, she felt exposed, chest heaving, her top half only clad in undergarments now. He kissed her again, his arms working their way under the lower half of her dress and the petticoat layers, pulling her hips closer to him. Her own arms snaked around his neck, pressing her chest against his, moaning into the kiss when she felt his hand slide up the leg of her undergarments and squeeze the underside of her thigh firmly. Her back arched in pleasure, making her hips brush against his.

She gasped, breaking the kiss.

“You’re hard…” she breathed against his lips.

Shuu hummed in approval. “Hmm, and you’re wet.”

Chiyo let out a drawn out mewl when he traced a finger along her folds, brushing slightly along a bundle of nerves that made her hips buck into his hand involuntarily. How did he sneak his hands down her underwear without her noticing?

“Dirty girl… keep making those beautiful sounds for me,” he said nibbling on her earlobe, moving his fingers up and down gently.

Every inch of her felt hot, her skin flushed, yet whole body was shivering. Her nails dug into his skin, the sensations making her head spin again. Shuu’s voice rang in her ear while he dipped one finger in, then two. They went in easily with how wet she was. When she looked up she could see right into his eyes, watching her intently, his gaze helping her relax a bit. There were so many new sensations she had to get used to, his fingers inside of her feeling foreign but not unwelcome.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes…” her voice came out as a short breath, body jerking when Shuu curled his fingers inside of her. A cry of pleasure escaped her.

“Good, because I’m not stopping.”

He bit her earlobe again and moved his fingers faster inside of her. Chiyo’s hips moved on their own against his hand, she needed more friction. It was as if her body knew what to do on instinct, the way she moved, making him adjust, so the palm of his hand rubbed perfectly against her clit. She thought she’d go crazy if it went on for any longer. A loud cry filling the room.

“S-Shuu, I don’t think… I don’t think I can take it any longer…!” she moaned.

Shuu groaned against her ear, his fingers sliding in and out of her faster and faster.

“That’s okay, just let it out… you can do that for me can’t you?”

Shuu’s voice kept egging her on, the knot in her stomach feeling bigger and bigger. She fisted the skirt of her own dress, arching her body, pressing herself further into his hand until finally she felt a wave rush over her, all muscles in her body relaxing at the same time. Her hands let go of the fabric she was clutching so tightly before, only now noticing the sweat on her forehead and how out of breath she was. The fingers inside of her moved slowly for a while longer, helping her ride out her high before retracting, leaving her feeling empty.

She whined weakly as she watched him put his fingers to his lips, eyes widening when he licked them clean.

“What? Don’t make a face as if what I am doing is so scandalous while you lay in front of me half naked,” he said with a teasing grin on his face. She grumbled, embarrassed by his words. However, her body still ached for his touch, so she really was not one to protest.

“You know…” he said coming closer again and hovering over her, “I’ve been wondering how this part of you looks undressed for a while now.”

Chiyo gasped when he pulled down her chemise, revealing her naked chest and hard nipples. Even though her body still felt sensitive, she still arched her back again when he started playing with them, rolling her nipples between his fingers and relishing in the beautiful sounds this made her do. He grabbed her harder, massaging the soft flesh of one breast and planting kisses on the other side. His tongue traced her other nipple, and she could feel him suck on the flesh above, causing a red mark to form there. The girl’s breath hitched in her throat when she felt him graze his fangs against that very spot.

“Shuu—”

He sunk his fangs into her chest, her protest turning into a desperate mewl. She has never felt like this while having her blood sucked before. Fingers fisting in his blond, messy hair she pulled him closer. She was so dazed she didn’t notice him working his own hands to remove her skirts. He pulled them over her head swiftly, leaving her bare and exposed in front of him. On instinct, the first thing she did was try to cover her body; however Shuu held her arms in place.

“Don’t hide your pretty body from me,” he said.

Pretty? Chiyo could feel her face heat up again. It’s not like she disliked her body or anything, but hearing a man compliment her – having Shuu compliment her, made her burn with want. She reached up to cup his face and kissed him, taking the initiative herself for once. It took Shuu aback and almost made him lose his balance, but he quickly regained composure and kissed her back.

Guiding her hands down his body to the hem of his pants, he whispered in her ear seductively: “Come on, don’t make me wait longer.”

Curiosity taking over her, she couldn’t help but touch him through his clothes, earning herself a deep growl from him. She felt that one in her core. Impatiently and still a bit clumsily she unbuttoned his pants and helped him out of them. She was mesmerized by the way his hard length looked, already leaking from the tip. She swallowed hard, unable to tear her eyes away. Timidly she reached out her hand.

“Can I—”

Shuu was amused that she even felt the need to ask but told her to go ahead. She stroked him slowly and carefully, unsure how much pressure to apply. He closed his own hand over hers, helping her find the right pace and groaning into her ear, giving her a confidence boost. She leaned forward and started kissing his neck. His skin was only a little colder than her own, but she could make out a faint pulse underneath.

Suddenly she was grabbed by the hips and pushed into the mattress, hearing Shuu curse above her head. His breathing was ragged, and he seemed to be getting impatient.

“I’m going to make you mine now,” he said.

Chiyo looked up at him, her hands on his shoulders. She could feel him hard against her wet entrance; the thought of him stretching her out and claiming her caused her to moan.

“You’re that eager for me to make you a woman? Don’t worry, I’ll even be gentle,” he said, placing a kiss in the corner of her lips. He slid the tip up and down along her folds, making her legs tremble when she wrapped them around his waist.

He inserted himself slowly and steadily, but it still wasn’t enough for Chiyo to feel completely comfortable. It turned out a man’s length was much more difficult to take than a finger. Tears pricked in her eyes; she really wanted him to fill her whole, but it still hurt. She tried to focus on Shuu’s deep voice that whispered into her ear.

Good girl.

You’re so wet.

Relax.

You’re doing well.

Take it all like the pervert you are.

He took a moment to let her catch her breath when he was finally fully inside her, waiting for her to give him a sign to move. Once the initial sting subsided, she could feel her muscles twitch around him, how nicely he stretched her insides. She hummed in satisfaction and pressed him closer, tightening her legs around him.

Shuu got a hold of her hands and pinned them above her head, thrusting in and out of her. His pace was steady and slow at first, forcing shivers of breath out of Chiyo. But he wasn't able to keep it like that for too long. His thrusts were deep and hard, getting faster and faster the longer it went on. Soon the girl could feel nothing but pleasure pool in her abdomen.

“Aaaaah! S-Shuu—"

“You’re such a dirty girl, moaning like that and sucking me in on your first time. Go on, cry out my name louder. I want everyone to hear who you belong to.”

Moans kept on coming out of her mouth, out of control, a mix of incoherent pleas and his name on her tongue.

Shuu started thrusting even harder and faster inside her, his forehead resting against hers.

“Tell me you’re mine—” he breathed.

“I’m yours, Shuu. I’m yours!” Her own hips moved up to meet his halfway, feeling a carnal need to have him even deeper inside of her. Soon she would reach another peak, she was sure.

He hit a spot inside her that made her shut her eyes tightly and arch her back. Making her clench down on him so tightly that he cursed. He buried his face in her neck, pressing himself deeper inside, his pelvis rubbing against hers.

“Fuck… the sounds you make— You lewd woman.” He let go of her hands to grab her hips and pound harder into her.

“Aah-Haah! Shuu! If you do this I’m going to—”

“Then come. Come for me and I’ll fill you up nicely.”

Desperation seeped into his voice; he really needed her as badly as she needed him. And so she came. Toes curling and fingers digging into his back, leaving red marks, crying out his name in so much pleasure, it turned into sobs.

His lips found hers. Her pussy gripping him so tightly he simply had no other choice but to reach his limit shortly after. His warm seed filled her as he held her in place by the hips, his grip bruisingly strong. She moaned against his kisses loudly, the unknown sensation overwhelming her yet again.

Shuu looked at her as he tried to catch his breath. He looked the most beautiful to her right now, his hair messy, cheeks slightly flushed and his eyes looking down on her filled with something that she could only describe as love.

She looked up at him, a tired but satisfied smile dancing on her lips, earning herself a comment from Shuu. But she was too tired to talk back, or move, for that matter. Eventually, Shuu pulled out of her and maneuvered them around on the bed, so they were laying properly on the pillows and under a blanket.

Chiyo’s head was resting on Shuu’s chest as she listened to his heartbeat. It felt oddly human, this situation. His breathing was steady, as he was dozing off. She smiled to herself and hugged him tightly.

This big bad vampire was not that bad at all.

A/N: Not an Everlasting Spark update but a treat nonetheless! This piece has been sitting in my fanfiction folder for quite some time now, as I kept revisiting it, thinking it is not good enough yet. But I decided to battle perfectionism today by posting! This little one shot is an AU where I wanted to explore a hypothetical situation in which Chiyo would have been raised by humans. I don't remember exactly but I think I aimed it to be set around the 1860s, but please don't expect a lot of historical accuracy... In any case, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

Do you think people who are virgin should write smut? I feel like most of them don’t even know what they’re writing and just write what they think sex is

the implication this ask suggests that people who write about murders, cannibalism, politics, magic, royalty au, sci-fi, wars, supernatural, time travel, medieval era, werewolves, vampires, mermaids or goblins must be murderers, cannibals, presidents, wizards, royalties, astronauts, ghost hunters, soldiers, time travelers, knights, werewolves, vampires, mermaids or goblins in real life is so funny to me

[adminbryantsaki]

Here's mine. Give all my readers an idea of who Admin Bryant Looks like.

come do the "would you sit next to me" picrews i found on twitter (and tumblr) with me!!

https://picrew.me/ja/image_maker/1873485

https://picrew.me/ja/image_maker/230275

(no pressure) tagging: @kazemiya @ainescribe @thalaglia @dustofthedailylife @venusflwers @kaeffeinee @soleillunne @manager-of-the-pudding-bank @catcze @euniveve @snobwaffles @haliyamori @jingyuansbird @faesther @oveloof @heiayen @akiayama @https-furina @achy-boo @zhongrin @twanette @vennnnn-diagram @mhiieee @realkavehgf @yinyinggie ++ everyone else who wants to do it!! if you see this you're automatically tagged. no pressure though hehe

[questions-about-blorbos]

Hey so you're fucking disgusting!

according to most popular ao3 fics, characters say this to each other before they have sex. but as much as I’m flattered by the courting, I’m afraid I don’t fuck someone who looks like this

but good luck though! maybe the next person will be desperate enough to take you under their sheets ❤️

[political-us]

[spnscripthunt-inactive]

If anyone felt a disturbance in the force at around 11:30am it was me opening the email the owner of TV Writing sent at 11:15am.

Thank you to the person(s) who emailed these to TV Writing, these were added to TV Writing today:

5x04 - The End

5x19 - Hammer of the Gods

6x03 - The Third Man

6x04 - Weekend at Bobby's

6x07 - Family Matters

6x11 - Appointment in Samarra

6x15 - The French Mistake

7x07 - The Mentalists

7x08 - Season 7, Time for a Wedding!

7x20 - The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo

8x04 - Bitten

9x03 - I'm No Angel

9x18 - Meta Fiction

9x23 Do You Believe in Miracles (Story Notes)

10x08 - Hibbing 911

The full collection includes some arenas, outlines, earlier drafts, concept art, storyboards, casting sides, revision pages, and other misc. production paperwork, you can check it out here.

About TV Writing: "The best site on the Internet for finding a wide range of current TV pilots as well as classic shows and pitches and show bibles in PDF format. " — The Writer's Guild Foundation

[fireflysugarpie]

need to get this idea out about Shang Qinghua being an actual god/deity lmao

okay, so we all know that Shen Qingqiu's system has Luo Binghe as its power source and shut down when he was in another dimension right?

and that Shang Qinghua transmigrated before Luo Binghe's parents even met each other, but his system was still active, albeit less so because it was before the plot and he was a side character.

what if Shang Qinghua's system used him as a power source to run not just itself, but the entire world of SVSSS/PIDW?

I mean, the guy was transmigrated as a baby, and he's had a lot of time to butterfly effect things in ways he probably didn't even try. and since the System's main goal seems to be fixing/improving the core story for the audience's entertainment, it potbelly had to nudge a lot of stuff back into place to ensure the core plot was still recognizable.

it would make sense as to why Shang Qinghua's system was a lot more emotionless, infrequent, and stingy with points than Shen Qingqiu's system and why it was more restrictive in certain ways with Shang Qinghua.

it could be a cool concept that as the happy ending was reached and the System stepped back, Shang Qinghua slowly got more control over his world and storyline. he proudly wouldn't even notice at first, with all of the work and information he has to deal with in both realms. it would start off small with him just knowing certain things about the quality of goods a merchant was trying to sell his King, thinking he read it somewhere in his mountain of paperwork. then it could escalate into 'remembering' specific details about the lives and dynamics of side characters' families and relationships that he doesn't actually remember writing down, but obviously he must have of he knows that the 3rd sister of the Hé family hates tanghulu because she chocked on one as a child. And then that would snowball into him actually having prophetic abilities and the power to alter fate.

it would also be pretty interesting if the world itself obviously favored him, like flowers moving to face him if he meditated in the same spot for a few hours, birds and other wildlife generally being friendly or non hostile, the wind carrying his humming to the ears of those who are down in their luck, ancient and extremely rare treasures and artifacts really wanting him as their wielder, other divine or mythical beings that are able to tell something is off about Shang Qinghua but can't tell what because of the System, and other people not noticing him because he really really doesn't want them to.

just, Deity Shang Qinghua that doesn't know that he's a deity lol

[ebitenpura]

Quietus

Takes place in Chapter 9 of KOTET.

Warnings: Implied violence, implied violence against children, minor miscommunication (skip second memory)

It begins with a whisper.

Sleep, Valkorion’s voice echoes in her mind, as firm and gentle as a parent tucking their young into bed. Her eyes flutter shut not of their own will, heavy like lead. The last thing she hears is Theron and Lana shouting her name before darkness overtakes her and her body slumps weightlessly over the cold armrests of the Eternal Throne.

She awakens in a desolate land. Devoid of warmth, grey ash scattering about her feet, the stars whirl ceaselessly overhead, turning in an infinite wheel of lights that streak against the blackboard of the night sky. The wind howls. Yutorin shivers, and rubs her goosebumping forearms, only to stop and turn unfamiliar gnarled palms over. Thick and pale, crusted over with age… these are not her hands. She feels the power running through their veins and snaps her fingers. A tiny spark of purple electricity jumps between her digits– his digits. She takes one unbalanced step forward; she is too tall, her steps uneven. Her too-large hands trace the ruin of her face, and she lifts wizened, yellowed eyes lined by crows feet skyward.

She and Valkorion had switched bodies, but this was not the waking world. 

It was a setting that had appeared to her for five years of carbonite. Five years of unceasing loneliness in the funeral urn of a dead planet. Where the abstract took form and voices of the past lambasted her ears, carried by gales of woe and misery. It was her mental landscape, corrupted by the one known as the Emperor, replaced with the last moments of a dying star.

She’d become intimate with the out-of-body sensation it provided and the dawning realization that one was in but a dream, unable to wake. Yet this was her mind– one she had been trapped in before without her bodily autonomy, like a puppet dancing on strings, long ago, when she answered to a different designation. Her fists ball at her sides. Valkorion would not have his way. She would not suffer it a second time. You may have my body, but not my mind, she thinks aloud, but the cosmos above, the unceasing desert, and Valkorion himself do not answer.

She traverses for what feels an eternity. The razor wind tears at her clothes, buffets her off the path, yet she advances dutifully all the same. 

Her journey takes her through the labyrinthine innards of a cave, and eventually, to a stretch of open sky dominated by kneeling statues chained at the neck and torches whose flames do not flicker. Before her unfurls a crumbling umbilical cord of a staircase, the only other physical manifestation in this space beyond time. Four arched doorways surround the spiral pit, their paths leading into the seemingly empty void of the starry beyond.

Yutorin stops and stares at the bizarre scenery. There appeared to be no clear way forward, but in the annals of the mind, anything was possible. 

She faces the arches, standing like sentries above the crumbling abyss. Her intuition tells her she must enter those doors to proceed– something important lies behind them, but her current knowledge of it is obscured like a memory she can't quite recall. Her brain feels muddied, shattered into incoherent fragments that only leaves her with a faint throbbing sensation when she tries to form a thought. 

Yutorin shakes her head, hand falling from her temple. No good. She can't recall a thing. Valkorion’s influence is worse than I thought-

Hurry.

Yutorin recognizes the sound that rings in her ears; of her own timbre and the smooth accent that she's heard from her own throat countless times before. It's her voice: practiced, learned, Imperial. She looks around with increasing uncertainty, searching for the source amidst the chaos of her surroundings. 

Hurry. Hurry. The disembodied voice of her psyche urges her on again, coming from nowhere and every direction all at once. Hurry and remember. Hurry and reclaim who you once were. 

The voice falls mute. The arches continue to beckon to her in their silent gravitas, and she realizes then there is no other way. 

She frowns, and reaches out. 

The first doorway sucks her past the threshold, and everything fades into white.

When her vision clears, she's standing in the center of a trashed apartment.

“Where is that bitch spy?!” bellows a man's deep voice, his accent unrecognizable. The sound of furniture being upended and transparisteel breaking fills the air. Flimsi are strewn all over the floor; broken wiring lay ripped out of the walls. More household items are tossed from the next room over to the growing pile of detritus. 

Yutorin surveys her environment impassively. She doesn't appear to be a part of this scene despite standing in the middle of it, as evidenced by a kolto pack next sailing through the air and passing through her body as if she were incorporeal. She closes her eyes. This must be a memory of her past. And if her suspicions were correct, then he should be…

A small whimper, imperceptible to all but her own ears, comes muffled from an undisturbed closet. 

There. 

Yutorin sticks her head past the closet's shutters, passing through as easily as if she were a ghost. What greets her is the sight of her younger self as a mere child of a few summers, trembling in his skin and clutching in his desperate fist an Imperial-grade army dagger, one which looked far too unwieldy for such a small boy to use. 

The intruder in the next room stomps over the debris they made, hesitates, makes a half-turn, and pauses in front of the closet. 

She sees her younger self deliberate and shove one hand over his mouth. Tears spring to his eyes unbidden, wide with primal fear. She stares at his unmarked face. Her hands trace where it would be lined with a cross-shaped scar, one that would last into adulthood.

She doesn't need to watch this anymore. She knows what comes next.

You were always collateral for someone else's mission. A liability. When Nosta took you in, she made it clear you would face death and worse for the crime of being associated with her, a spy. But you were a child, and you would learn. 

The voice invades her periphery once more, speaking aloud the uncomfortable truths she'd always known deep down in her heart. Lessons she'd internalized all her life and never questioned. 

The horrific scene progresses. She gazes at her younger self left twitching on the floor with pity, his blank, lifeless eyes partially obscured by the curtain of blood running down his cheeks. The knife is discarded to the side. The man's boots track crimson across the room as he leaves.

She had been a pathetic youngling. Weak and so alone in the world. How could she have forgotten?

Always remember. No place in the galaxy is your home. You will never be safe for as long as you walk this path.

The memory fades the same way it arrived, and she finds herself back where she started. The torches before the first door extinguish themselves. She turns to the adjacent door. Her expression darkens. 

She reaches out anyways.

This time, she is in Keeper’s office. 

Or rather, he is. 

Cipher Eight– her male self, her previous identity as an agent before she became Commander– stands in front of the Minister of Intelligence. His fists white-knuckle at his stiffened sides. The blood has drained from his face, and all she can read from his paralyzed expression is that of pure shock. 

Keeper’s eyes bore into hers past Eight himself, and Yutorin flinches.

She would never forget that day. Intelligence’s fall… she had done everything in her power to prevent it, only to be looked dead in the eye and told there was no stopping the inevitable, from a man she had been so utterly loyal to she would've cut her own arm off if he had so much as asked. She had played the game exactly how it should've been, had sold her soul, her freedom to protect them. 

In the end, she had been betrayed.

“I will never accept who you are, agent.” His words are like daggers, cutting her to the core. She sinks to her knees.

Intelligence is not being rebuilt.

“There is no longer a place or a need for you. It is time to be let go.”

Dark days are coming for the Empire, and I can't protect you.

Yutorin grips her chest, where the stabbing ache in her heart turns to ice with each consequent phrase.

“But consider one thing: If you could change who you've become, would you take that opportunity?”

She turns away from those kind, unbelievably cruel words, her elegant features colored with pain. Her clothing crumples from the severity with which she holds her heart. Was I not enough, Keeper? Was there nothing I could've done for you to ask me to stay?

Is there any version of me you would've acknowledged as worthy to be by your side? 

…Or was I simply doomed from the start?

At his desk, Keeper stamps the exit paperwork with resigned finality.

The memory fades once more. She's back at the cosmic stairwell. Two doors remain. She rises unsteadily to her feet, sways, and lurches through the next door.

The Star Cabal’s hideout, where she executed her final mission, manifests before her eyes.  

Hunter is laid out on the floor, bleeding heavily from a deep wound in his abdomen. Eight kneels down beside him in one last act of kindness for an enemy he had neither sympathy nor enough words for. Hunter’s palm, slick with his own blood, slowly reaches for Eight’s cheek. He rests it there in an oddly touching display of uncharacteristic affection, a wan smile forming on his lips. 

Eight makes no move to withdraw from his touch, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Goodbye, love. Don't ever let them stop you.” Hunter murmurs, letting his hand fall back down. 

Eight wipes the crimson prints left lingering on his skin, smearing the blood across his cheekbone. His dark gaze lowers to the body going cold on the septic metal floor.

He says nothing for a long time, then faces away from him.

Whether you acknowledged it or not, you were exactly the same. United in soul. In history. In conquest. Did you think you could be different from the corpse you’ve made of him? 

Watcher X’s voice suddenly pierces the numbing silence of her mind. If she closes her eyes, she can pretend she’s still back there, trapped, listening to the ruminations of a dead man as her skull breaks.

All you’ve been through, your trials and travails, will always lead to one end. Someday you too will be hunted, put down like a dog. When that day comes, you’ll see him again. 

Then you’ll know in your heart of hearts…that you played the game right.

The memory dissipates like foam on the seashore. Again. Back at the threshold. The fires snuff themselves out. One door remains.

Time to cross.

She doesn’t look before she leaps.

The old, ruggedly handsome features of Ardun Kothe come into view. She’s back at the Shadow Arsenal, minutes before the impending disaster that would’ve destroyed Kaas City. Eight levels a tired look at the aged Jedi, who only replies with a sad, sad smile that holds years of untold guilt that she’d never get the chance to ask about.

“What I did to you was unforgivable. But I did it anyway.”

We all carry our own sins in this line of work, Yutorin thinks, but maybe you were the only one to see me the way I was meant to be. 

“Hold position. Keyword: onomatophobia. And thank you.”

Thanking me. How strange. There’s no need to be gracious to your tool. 

That was always what she admired about the man, oddly enough. For all his combined guilt, the burdens that weighed so heavily he would never reveal them to the world, and his rampant idealism, he never once lied to himself. Yutorin had seen his true face that day. It was…kind, for what little good it did him in the end.

But most of all, it was honest. Ardun Kothe was a man of sheer pragmatism. In his hands, Yutorin, the then Cipher Eight, had been nothing but a weapon to be wielded as he saw fit. 

This, she would remember.

This, she would respect.

The last memory fades away into the ether. As she returns to the spiral staircase, she hears a sound resonating from the pit below. A sound…of iron being struck in clanging blows, melodically, like a bell. It calls to her, ringing in the depths of her soul. Before she realizes it, her feet have moved of their own volition and carried her down the winding steps, further and further into the darkness below. 

The ringing stops. Before her lies the final doorway, and beyond that, the throne. A solitary monument in a snow-covered field of stone and ash, where her body awaits. 

She ascends. 

Valkorion gazes boredly at her atop his high seat as she comes level to him, a smug expression worn on what should be her face. “You continue to defy me. For what reason? I have given you everything– power, influence, the Eternal Throne. All that remains is to allow me to take your body. You would be a fool to resist.” He rumbles in her voice, the tone benevolent yet warped. 

“I am not ready to die here, Emperor.” 

He chuckles. “It is too late. There is nothing more you can do.”

“You underestimate me. That will be your undoing,” She declares, stepping forward with a look sharper than steel in her darkening eyes. The snow crunches beneath her feet. “I have seen my future. I have seen who I truly am. And you-” She plants her feet firmly in the ground, squaring off before the Immortal Emperor. “-are not a part of it.”

Simmering fury gathers in Valkorion’s countenance. “You are testing my patience, child.” He moves to rise from the throne, and Yutorin feels the ozone coalescing in the chilled air. 

She exhales sharply. “...No. You are testing mine. This is my mind. My world to shape as I wish. You think you've won, Valkorion, but this is the trap I’ve laid for you. Keyword: iconoclasm. Come to me!” She barks, thrusting an arm towards her possessed body.

“!” Valkorion’s eyes widen as he takes one step forward, stumbling as he attempts to resist the codeword ingrained into her very being. “Impossible��! This should…” He struggles in vain. “Only work on Vaylin…!”

“You stole the programming for the Castellans from the Empire. It was used on the Ciphers,” She flatly explains as he unwillingly walks towards her, “First us, then your daughter. Reap what you have sown, my Emperor. I will never be free again.” 

She grabs him by the collar and pulls him close into her embrace, holding him as if they were partners in a twisted dance. “And neither will you.”

“What are you doing?!”

Yutorin ignores his protests, blocking out all distractions from her mind. She recalls her memories, reaching deep into the depths of her heart. She has seen it laid bare; she knows what lies at the center of her psyche, the truth of her identity. 

She will repair what has been broken. She will reforge it anew.

“I am nothing but a sword,” She chants almost reverently, “I am a weapon. I am no woman, nor man.” Her hand plunges deep into her body- no, Valkorion’s chest, passing through flesh and spirit both. Valkorion’s cry of surprise turns agonized. She feels something begin to take form within her vessel, and grasps it with all her might. “All my life, I have fought for others. I have cut down enemies. I have cut down friends.” 

As she speaks, she begins to draw out her hand from within Valkorion’s chest. An intense light ruptures from where she's pierced him, and as she slowly pulls away, something begins to emerge from the cavity. A hilt.

Valkorion writhes beneath her. She pours all her strength into pulling out the hilt– and soon, a guard, a naked blade. A sword. As she does so, visions of her past flash before her eyes. 

Intelligence. Ziost. The people of her Alliance. 

And…

Before she knows it, she's pulled the full length of the sword from Valkorion, who has gone limp within her arms. The light grows ever brighter, blinding now in its brilliance. It's the blade she's always carried into battle, manifested now in the metaphysical as a representation of her very soul. 

“I am not a body to possess,” She says, as the body Valkorion once inhabited becomes translucent and begins to fade away, “I am a sword made to slay you, and I will not be broken.”

She turns the blade on herself, and stabs inward. 

When she reawakens, she’s lying on the ground as her old self, in her own body. The sword is clutched to her, bloodied as it is, and she feels a lancing pain in her chest. She gets up slowly, weary.

Atop the stairs leading to the throne, Valkorion’s spirit turns yellow Sith eyes full of loathing upon her. “Well done,” He bitterly rumbles, white vestments flowing in the harsh wind. “You are indeed an unbreakable tool of my empire. I should have chosen a better vessel to mold than a faceless weapon who will never find peace as an individual.” His voice is filled with barely-concealed disgust. “But it ends here. If I cannot possess you, I will send you to oblivion and start again. The Immortal Emperor will never succumb to mortality.”

Yutorin says nothing, answering with only a flick of her blade. 

Valkorion gathers lightning within his hands, and fires. 

She charges.

END

[adminbryantsaki]

Greek God Barista AU

Greek gods Café Au x Female! Reader.

(I do not own Hades, Poseidon, or Zeus. They belong to Homer. And references to Epic: the Musical belongs to Jorge Rivera-Herrans. Nor do I own any franchises or brands mentioned in the story. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spices, or brew of coffee, move along. Reader discretion is advised)

TW: Greek gods, mention of multiple lovers, dating with a god, flirting, going on a date, romantic interactions

WC: 10,263

We open to three unique cafes with their own special styles. One is placed within a forest protected by the National Park Service where the owner is assisted by a group of young ladies, another is a café truck along the side of a boardwalk in a beach city with a beautiful backdrop of the ocean surrounded with the noise of crashing waves, and finally, deep in the inner workings of the large city nearby is our last café, bearing a darker themed shop, holding a sharing bookshelf where customers can read a book or even donate some books to enjoy during their visit there.  Zeus

We focus in on the first café. The medium-sized building is set in a small clearing along the main road of the National Park that is it’s home. The shop looked like any other Starbucks that you’d see outside of the park but there was something different about this one. Something that seemed to lure you to this specific coffee shop.

You open the door and the smell of coffee and freshly rained-on grass fills your nose. You enter the shop and see a small table with three plates of cookies sitting there, You saw chocolate chunk cookies, snickerdoodles, and peanut butter thumbprints all labeled with a sign that said ‘help yourself and make yourself at home, someone will come give you a menu momentarily.’ You took a cookie and wandered around the shop, checking out some of the other merchandise before you went to one corner of the shop that had an oak barrel as a table and chairs made from barrels as well. You sat down in one of the chairs while you ate your cookie and looked around at the rich forest green and navy blue that lined the walls, with an accent wall of a forested silhouette of trees all colored various shades of green.

Chocolate brown stained wood framed the painted walls and lined the floor, helping to make the colors pop. An ambient soundtrack of thunder and lightning storms added to the environment to pull you into a relaxed state, allowing you to close your eyes, just for a moment. You felt something poke you awake. You opened your eyes to see a young woman with green hair and pink streaks throughout look at you with warm brown eyes staring at you with a look of concern.

“Are you alright?” She asked. She wore a green and brown plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a black apron over her clothes with leather hiking boots on her feet. She held a menu in her hands that she wanted to give you. “I’m fine. This place just seemed so relaxing when I came in that I thought I’d lay back and close my eyes for just a moment.” You told the waitress and she looked relieved.

“That’s a relief. I’m Juniper. I’ll be your server today. Here’s a menu and take your time. Welcome to Olympic Brews.” She said and handed you the menu. You thought the name a little odd but it fit the masculine theme of the shop. You read over the menu, seeing your options displayed on the recycled paper that had been dyed green from what looked to be matcha powder and spinach leaves. On the menu were the many options that the café offered. You read the items silently to yourself.

~~Drinks~~

Bull- classic redbull with fruit flavors added.

Storm- London fog tea

The Divine Wrath- blueberry lemonade zinger refresher

Master Bolt- Four shot americano.

Springtime drink- pomegranate salmonberry refresher with a black rice inclusion.

Morning Sunshine- breakfast blend tea with bright orange and lemon flavors.

Evening Moon- nighttime tea made from lemongrass and chamomile.

~~Food~~

Wise Owl-kale salad with balsamic raspberry vinegarette, strawberries, crasins, pinenuts and sunflower seeds and optional feta cheese.

Ram-Line of jerky with different flavors. Turkey, chicken, pork, beef, pea protein, chickpea, and tofu.

Hephaestus(forging/creating)- some kind of build your own food.

Hermes( messenger)- envelope sugar cookie and a caduceus shortbread cookie and the flying shoe cookie.

“Thunder Bringer”- a protein packed snack box with hard boiled eggs, ham cubes, turkey cubes, cheddar, mozzarella, grapes, peanut butter back, apple slices, nut mix ( cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds) yellow thunder bolt toothpick across the top.

Aegis- dark chocolate chip cookie.

 Scroll- phyllo dough in the shape of scroll. With fruit filling

Oak tree- solid chocolate acorn with white, millk, and dark chocolate. 

Steer- beef au ju ( bread , meat, beef broth)

Lightning bolt- bolt shaped phyllo dough pastry with either mxed berry filling or goat cheese filling.

Eagle- smoked salmon bagel with goat cheese ( dill or grape chevre) with capers.

~~Assortments and add-ins~~

The Vinyard- grape juice box. Frozen grapes as a treat. Cookies in the shape of a grape cluster iced in green or purple.

Nectar shots available and aquafaba cream cups for your pet upon request.

You looked over the menu again until Juniper came back to get your order.

“Did you decide your order, hon?” She asked and you looked up at her and told you wanted. “I’d like the ‘Thunder Bringer’ and the ‘divine wrath.’ I’d also like to know what nectar is.” You asked and Juniper’s eyes widened. “Do you not know what nectar is? Its only the drink of the gods. I haven’t had it myself but the boss says that is sweet like honey and very good! It gives a boost of energy too.” She spoke as she held a menu tightly to her chest.

“Why not? Add some to my drink, love.” You spoke and she took your menu, running back to the kitchen to put in your order. “WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE.” You heard her call out to her sisters in the kitchen. A small cheer can be heard coming from the kitchen. You see a tall, middle aged man with white streaks in his otherwise black-as-night hair coming off his temples and down the middle of his beard, an olive skin tone and strikingly blue eyes walk over to you with a gentle kindness in his eyes. He sat across from you in another oak barrel chair. He wore a similar uniform to Juniper, just he had a black and white plaid shirt instead of the green and brown one, blue jeans and the same black apron. He also wore a light brown knitted beanie on top of his head.

“I see you’ve heard of nectar before? Have you heard of the Gods as well, little one?” You asked

As he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I Have. I read about them in books when I was little. They seemed to be all fictional though.” You spoke and the older man chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling with crow’s feet as he laughed, showing a sign of his age. He fatherly air about him seemed to give you a strange sense of familiarity and comfort as you gazed into his eyes. He watched you as your eyes widened as you realized who he was and laid back in realization that all the stories about the Greek gods and monsters were all real and not just made up. You noticed a small flame of attraction sparking inside of you as your looked at him more, growing ever more attracted the more you watched the man. You finally averted your eyes when Juniper brought over your food and drink on a golden platter.

“Here you are, love.” She spoke and set the drink and box of food on the table next to you. She saw Zeus and jumped a little. “Oh, I didn’t expect you to come out here, boss.” She said to the man who waved her away as he wanted to be alone with you a little longer.

Juniper hurriedly walked away with her head down as she followed her boss’s order to leave him alone with you. “Tell me, what is your name, my dear?” His deeper rumbling voice sounded, sending a shiver down your spine. You couldn’t resist not answering him so you instinctively responded with your name while keeping your eyes shut. You heard a quiet, almost thunderous chuckle come from the man when he heard your name. “Such a nice name for such a pretty lady. I’ve seen you around the visitor center before and I’ve had my eye on you for a while now. I’m glad you finally came to visit my shop.” He spoke and your eyes widened. You had seen him around the more populated areas of the park with a coffee cart serving drinks to the people enjoying the park and the views. You would catch him staring at you as he served the patrons their orders from the cart. You looked up at him with a serious look in your eyes.

“Who are you?” You asked as a glimmer of lightning flashed across the man’s eyes. He leaned forward with his elbows across his knees as he watched you lovingly. “Take a guess darling.” He spoke with a hint of mischief. Your mind wandered as you thought back to the menu you read only a few minutes before and thought back to the bedtime stories of Greek heroes like Heracles and Perseus, and the gods and goddesses that your mom would tell you as you grew up. You looked to the man and I finally realized who he was.

“You’re Zeus.” You said in an excited realization. The man smiled as a crackle of electricity flashed across his eyes.

“You’re correct, sweetheart.” He spoke and leaned forward on his knees with his elbows. He called for one of the girls that you were now realizing were dryads top to the seating area. The one you recognized as Juniper come to the front carrying a brushed gold tray in her arms.

“Juniper, darling? Could you bring me a Master Bolt with some of the cashew cream please?” He asked her while looking to her and holding her hand gently. Juniper blushed visibly, nodding in agreement, and running back to kitchen to make Zeus’s order. The god looked back at you, leaning back in his seat, and crossing one of his legs over the other.

“I’m glad you came to visit today, what drew you here today?” He asked “I hadn’t visited this place yet so I thought I should.” You said stiffly as the memories of how many women he slept with over the millennia came coming back from the stories you read and had read to you when you were a child by your parents. “Well, I’m glad you came to visit anyways, y/n. I would love to see you visit mem more in the future. He says in a flirtatious tone that makes you feel disgusted. You knew he wanted to add you to the long list of lovers he had and you were insistent that you wouldn’t be as you knew his reputation. You also knew the result of his lovers when his wife, Hera, the goddess of marriage found out that her husband had cheated on her yet again.

 You stood up and went to the door. Zeus grabbed your wrist to make you stay. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, a look of frustration in his eyes, hinted with worry that he will never see you again. “Oh no, you don’t. I won’t face the wrath of your wife.” You spoke, grabbing your food and drink to sit outside. Zeus’s face flashes with disappointment as he watched you leave. He received his own drink and followed you outside as you sat at one of the outside tables to pick at the food in your snack box. Zeus sat across from you with his arms crossed across his chest, occasionally sipping at his coffee as he watched you try to read your book.

“ Stop ignoring me and pay attention.” He says in almost a whiny tone. “I’m not going to entertain a man-child just because I don’t fall into his arms when he throws his charms at me to try and woo me.” You say, closing your book, finishing your drink, and taking the rest of your snack box with you back to your truck to go back to your cabin. Zeus was at a loss for words as he watched you leave his café and drive off. Days pass and you go about your duties at the park , cleaning up trash, refilling the flier holders, and answering questions from visitors of the park.

As you did so, you’d constantly see Zeus standing in the corner of your eye or see Juniper and her friends who you found out later were dryads attending the cart they would bring out in the popular areas of the park and hand out information to where their café was in the park. You’d avoid the cart when Zeus was tending the cart and swarmed by a group of women who all thought him attractive and trying to get his number. But you’d try something else out on the menu only when the Dryads were tending the cart and Zeus noticed. He furrowed his brow when he saw you at the cart when he wasn’t there and it got under his skin. He decided to do something about it.

One day, you were milling about a larger crowd of people that were at the visitor center that day helping answer questions and take care of crowd control. You could see Zeus not in his normal attire like he was in the café the first time you met. Today he was wearing a navy-blue button up shirt with the top two buttons undone and black slacks. Not your usual garb when going to spend a day in nature. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to just past his elbows to show off his muscular forearms that had simplistic lightning bolt tattoos on his arms and laurels around his wrists.

You pretended to ignore him but to no avail. He had gotten in line to get a question from you when asked for people to make lines to make some sense of order amongst the crowd. He just had to choose the line you were at the head of. He kept his eyes on you as the line went down and he grew closer and closer to you. You kept a neutral expression until you noticed him right in front of you. “Hello there, how may I help you today?” You asked as you checked something on the desk in front of you before you looked up into his piercing blue eyes. He seemed upset about something and you raised an eyebrow curiously.

“You need to stop avoiding me. I know you have been purposefully trying to avoid me, Y/n.” He spoke as he placed both hands on the desk, staring you right in your eyes. You remained your aloof expression, only letting a slight grin spread across your lips.

“If you have any comments, complaints, or requests, please fill out this form and send it in. Our park rangers will get back to you in one to three business days.” You said and handed him the slip of paper he needed to fill out. Zeus took the paper and left the visitor center disgruntled. You watched as he got back into his 4x4 truck and drove off, probably back to wherever a god stayed when they were living alone in the woods.

A few days later, you’re outside the visitor center again and Zeus is there, looking a bit sheepish. He was holding a stem of your favorite flower and a box of pastries from his shop in hand. You saw inside the clear plastic box that there were: two filled lightning bolts, a scroll, the caduceus, the envelope, the flying shoe, and a couple chocolate cookies in the box as he stepped forward. Zeus looked to have an envelope in hand that he passed to you. You opened it in front of him and it was the slip you gave him only a few days before. It read:

“I am sorry I was too forward, Y/n. I did not mean for you to just be another woman added to my list. I care for you and I find you attractive. I’d be honored if you’d at least go on one date with me. That is my request.” You read to yourself and looked up to the god.  He handed you the box of pastries and the flowers, waiting your answer. You accepted the flowers and the treats, looking at them before looking up to Zeus who was hoping you’d say yes to just the one date.

“Fine. One date. If I don’t want to see you again, then that is that. If I want to see you again then we will talk. But I will not be sleeping with you on the first date. Is that understood?” You asked, keeping your gaze and tone firm. Zeus looked up at you with a look of understanding. He nodded and rubbed the back of his head.

“When would you like to go out?” He asked.

“This Friday at 7:30pm. We will meet here.” You spoke, crossing your arms across your chest.

“Very well then, I’l see you here this Friday at seven-thirty pm.” He spoke and turned to leave. “See you then, God of thunder.” You spoke as you watched him get back into his truck and drive off. You were secretly excited for this date and you hoped it would go smoothly. You went about your normal week, only to realize that on Thursday evening you needed to be ready for tomorrow’s date and you hadn’t done any planning whatsoever. You quickly rushed into your bedroom to dig through your closet, hoping you had something appropriate for a date. You luckily found a little black dress that you laid out with some matching black converse and scanned the dress for any stains or tears in the fabric since you hadn’t worn the garment in a while, happy to see none as you hung the dress up on the back of your door, waiting to wear it tomorrow for your date with a god. The next day as you were working your normal shift at the visitor center, Zeus was pacing his silver bullet shaped trailer located in the nearest campsite that the park had given him to live in while he ran the café, stressing over how he looked. He had changed his outfit several times already and had requested that one of his loyal cloud nymphs to assist him in choosing an outfit and the poor creature was at its wits end with the god’s indecisiveness on his appearance.

“You look handsome, my lord. Y/n will think you look good in anything, sir. You’re only taking her to dinner at Lady Demeter’s place, aren’t you?” The nymph asked as they watched Zeus fiddle with his tie in front of the mirror.

“Yes, that is the plan. But I’m nervous! You know how she gets when she finds out I’m with another woman.” Zeus spoke, saying the last part in a hushed whisper as if he were afraid that someone was listening. The nymph raised its head in acknowledgement as they knew Zeus was referring to his wife, Hera. Hera always had known where Zeus was at any given moment, except for now. This was a National Park, a forest that was on his protected land and apart of his domain where Hera couldn’t track him or touch him whatsoever. Zeus had also taken further precautions when making the menu for his café, from avoiding using cow’s milk to denying who he was to his own sons, Apollo, and Hermes when they came to check in on him after he had been absent from Olympus for a noticeable amount of time.

He was careful. He didn’t want to be found. He didn’t know how long he wanted to stay hidden but he wanted to be hidden from his family but he knew that he didn’t want to be found right now. Zeus shook the uncomfortable feeling that Hera was onto him and sending people to seek him out in her stead and adjusted his tie one more before leaving his trailer and getting into his truck to drive down to the visitor center around 7:15pm.

Zeus found a parking spot and got out. He looked around the visitor center area to find you sitting on a bench scrolling through your phone while you waited for him to show up. You looked beautiful to him in your outfit from where he was observing you in his truck. He took a deep breath and grabbed the items he bought for you and exited his vehicle and walked over to you with another stem of your favorite flower in hand as he approached. You looked up at him when you heard footsteps approaching. “I see you decided to show up.” You said and checked your phone again as it was 7:25.

“I Almost thought you were going to stand me up, Zeus.” You told him as you put our phone away and stood up to face him. “I would never.” He said and handed you the flower. You accepted the flower and took his arm and walked with him back to his truck.

“So, where are you taking me tonight?” You asked as he opened the passenger door to your car and helped you inside. Zeus went around the front of the car and got in on the driver’s side.

“I am taking you to a restaurant on the other side of the park. I think you’ve heard of it. Its called ‘The Golden Harvest.’” He says as he starts up the truck and begins driving. You had heard of that restaurant before you’ve wanted to visit the place before but the waiting list was months out. “How did you get a reservation so quickly?” You asked as you looked at him while he drove down the long road to the other side of the park.

“I know the owner. She and I go way back.” Zeus said as he kept his eyes on the road. You looked at him quizzically as your brain was trying to piece together who this friend of his was.You thought of the name, ‘The Golden Harvest’. Then you thought of any other names associated with any of his family members that had to do with the harvest before it dawned on you and you looked over to Zeus. “Your ‘friend’ is Demeter, isn’t she?” You asked as you watched his face for any change in expression.Zeus rubbed his face with his hand as he drove as he forgot for a moment that you were a smart mortal.  “Yes, You’re right. She promised to help keep my location here a secret form Hera while I’m here so I promised that I’d learn how to make vegan or use how to use dairy alternatives so she’d keep her end of the deal.” He spoke and kept driving, keeping his hands on the wheel, almost white-knuckling the wheel out of anxiety.

“Why do you use non-dairy alternatives? Is it because one of Hera’s symbols is a cow?” You asked as he kept driving. “Yes, It is. If I used cow’s milk it would be like sending a homing beacon off to her.” He spoke as he went to the exit that led to Demeter’s restaurant. He parked in one of the vacant spots and turned the car off. He got out and went over to the other side to let you out and he puts his arm around your waist, guiding you into the green, pink, and brown colored restaurant that smelled of jasmine and had a heavy natural and organic food theme. Zeus led you inside and over to a table near the back that had a ‘reserved for Zeus’ sign on the tabletop. where a cluster of wheat sheathes were tied together and placed in a glass jar and set on the windowsill as the décor.

 A moment passes and a flower nymph with little daisies sprouting from her hair that was styled into a braid that fell over her right shoulder handed both of you menus and glass cups filled with water. “My name is Daisy; I’ll be your server for tonight. Anything we can get you started with?” She asked. “We would like two cups of Demeter’s blessing with nectar added.”  Zeus spoke and the nymph’s eyes widened. “Right away, Lord Zeus.” She spoke, walking away to get the two of you the jasmine tea and let you be so that the two of you could decide what you wanted in silence. Daisy set the cups of tea in front of you both before leaving again to tend to another customer. After a few minutes of perusing the menus, Zeus looks up at you, wondering what you’ve picked.

“I’m going for the chicken pasta, what about you?” He asked as he looked at you while you were perusing your menu still. “The mushroom pasta looks good.” You said before looking to him and handing him your menu so he could order when Daisy come back. The nymph came back with a small tablet and pen in hand a few moments later, ready to take your orders. “Are you two ready to order? What would you like?” She asked, looking to the both of you.

“I will have the chicken pasta and Y/n here will have the mushroom pasta.” Zeus said and handed the menus back to Daisy who took them and tucked them under her arm after she scribbled down the order on her notepad.

“I’ll get those cooking right away, sir.” She spoke and walked off to put the orders in. “Now that we’re alone, why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” Zeus asked. You talked about how you grew up going to the National parks with your parents every summer and how you grew to love helping others learn about the parks and care for the parks too and how to care for nature. Zeus set his head in his hand as he watched you talk about things you were passionate about while the two of you waited for your food to come out.

“I think that’s enough about me, why don’t you tell me why the King of Olympus is hiding out in a government protected forest?” You asked as you leaned back in your chair, looking back to the god.

Zeus looked at you with widened eyes before he looked at the unfinished wooden table sheepishly. “I’m hiding from my wife… she and I had a big fight over another child of mine popping up recently and she caused that devastating twister over the American Midwest. I want to be free from her so I can do what I want without the consequences of being married to Hera.” Zeus spoke as he held his head in his hands. “You could divorce her.” You suggested. Zeus’s eyes widened. “I couldn’t do that! Yes, I’m tired of her causing a fuss every time I father another hero and either turning their mother into some animal or plant or causing stress for my kids.” Zeus spoke. “You know what you do by ‘fathering other heroes’ is what us humans call ‘cheating’ right?” You asked the god.

“Yes, I am aware… but your people… the women of your kind are so… damn attractive, I can’t help myself to some of the best in each generation.” He spoke with a soft, reminiscent smile spreading across his face. Daisy came with your food just in the nick of time allowing Zeus to avoid the subject for now as you wanted to enjoy your hot food. You thanked Daisy and began to eat your food while staring Zeus down, telling him that this conversation wasn’t over with the look in your eyes. You ate a couple bites of your pasta in silence, contemplating his words as they made you disgusted and your stomach churn at first until you thought them over and realized he might have a point.

“What kind of women did you deem ‘the best’?” You asked. “Smart, strong, and wise women, queens, and leaders. Powerful women that caught my eye with their beauty. Women like yourself that contribute their time to their community to upkeep nature and educate others in how they can help keep the world clean and care for the forests around them.” Zeus spoke as he held your hand in his. You realized that you fall into the category of women he found attractive.

“I can’t date you… but we can be friends.” You said, giving him a soft smile. Zeus looked a little disappointed but relieved that you still wanted to at least be friends with him.

“I understand your reasoning. You are wise to think that.” He spoke and ate a piece of chicken. You took a few bites of your pasta before thanking him and casually chatting to Zeus for the rest of the evening, asking him questions you had about the stories you read about his lovers, how Hera made Leto not have any rest and how she kidnapped the goddess of childbirth so Leto couldn’t have Apollo and Artemis in Greece, or how he kept Dionysus in his leg after Hera zapped his mom before he was born, and why he ate Metis because of some prophecy and how his head felt when Athena burst forth from it. Zeus chuckled and answered all your questions happily as the two of you ate and split a dessert before he paid for the meal and walked you back to the truck so he could take you home.

“That was a nice meal. Can we do that more often… even just as friends?” He asked as he opened the passenger door for you and helped you inside. “Of course. Just as friends though.” You spoke before he closed the door and got in on the driver’s side of the truck. “Right. Just friends.” He spoke and turned the engine over. “Where do you live? I’ll drive you back home.” He spoke. “Oh, I live in the park with the park rangers.” You told him. Zeus nodded and drove you to the ranger’s residences near the visitor center, stopping in front of your cabin and letting you out. You hopped down from his truck and he walked you to your door. “I hope I’ll see you again at my café again… maybe become a regular customer?” He suggested. “We will see about that.” You told him.

“This is me. Thank you for a nice night, Zeus.” You spoke and went inside. Zeus waited a moment on your front step before going back to his truck and going home, looking forward to your future friendship. The end. Wasn’t that nice? Lets move onto our next Café, one along the sandy beaches and rolling waves of a quiet coastal town.

Poseidon You were walking along the boardwalk in your coastal village on a lazy sunny afternoon when you found yourself craving something to drink and you wanted something sweet to eat. You happened on a type of café on wheels parked on the edge of the boardwalk with the sign of ‘Tidal Wave.’ You walked up to the window and you saw a pretty woman with olive tone skin, green eyes, and black hair look down at you. You saw the name “Amphie” on her nametag as she addressed you.

“Hello there, what can I get for you today?” The Amphie asked as she looked at you with a tender, motherly look about her.

You looked at the menu and saw the drinks and foods they had.

~~~Drinks~~~

Poseidon’s menu

Make It Rain- Refresher. (orange mango pineapple with blue spirulina)

Seagrass- blue and green spirulina smoothies.

Earthshaker- Strong coffee like espresso

Trident- a selection of fruity zinger teas (orange, raspberry, blueberry, or lemon)

Ruthlessness- double strong grey tea

Riptide- coconut water with passionfruit and pineapple energy drink.

Ask for ‘extra sweet’ with your order for a special surprise!

~~~Food~~~

Skol-a tuna melt with dill.

 Hippocampi- giant naturally-colored seahorse shortbread cookies. At least 8 inches long (Mom loves seahorses and she helped me plan this menu. Shortbreads are her favorite cookie and seahorses are her favorite underwater animal)

 Conch- phyllo dough conch cannoli with cream filling, 

Clams- clam shaped lobster po’boy.

 Equine- horse head pastry with sugar sand dusting on mane and blue berry filling dyed with blue spirulina.

Ocean wave- berries for pearls in their ambrosia with candy pearls on top with some kind of cream

 seafoam- seafoam candy (Lots of holes and very light)

Salt water taffy

 Salty sailor sandwich-

Sushi ( breakfast sushi, lunch rolls [California rolls, cucumber rolls, salmon rolls], sashimi, musubi)

the ocean- A seafood chowder or stew (for the lactose intolerant)

You read the menu to yourself before looking back to the woman to tell her your order.

“I’d like a large earthshaker with some cream and the blue hippocampi cookie please.” You asked.

“Of course, sweetie. Anything you’d like added like whipped cream or extra sweetener?” Amphie asked.

“I see on your menu to ask for ‘extra sweet’ for a surprise.” You spoke and a man appeared from the back of the truck and looked to the woman whose eyes were wide with surprise. He had long black hair tied up in a bun, similar olive tone skin, and ocean blue eyes. He had a short beard and he wrapped an arm around the woman’s waist, telling you that Amphie was his wife.

“Looks like we have another ‘interested customer’.” He spoke with a smile to Amphie.

“What do you think, Amphie? Do you think they’re another one of them?” The man asked whose nametag said “Caspian’ asked Amphie, who looked to be his wife nodded. She told you the total of your order and went into the back of the truck to work on your food. You heard the espresso machine whirr to life and Caspian came to talk with you.

“Tell me, my dear, have you ever felt yourself drawn to the ocean? Hear it call your name at night, beckoning to walk among the shores? Did you ever go on the beach after a storm and find the most exquisite stones or shells, almost as if they had been placed there for you to find?” Caspian asked, a familiar gleam in his eyes as if you’ve known him from somewhere before but you couldn’t quite put your finger on where you’ve seen him before.

You thought back to the many times you and your parents would go to the ocean and the many times you felt the ocean calling to you, as a picture of either a stony shore or a sandy one popping into your mind at the most random of times. You looked up to the man who was looking down at you with a gentle smile on his face as he watched you. Amphie, who you realized was Amphitrite handed you your order and smiled at you gently.

“Have a good day, sweetheart.” She spoke and walked back into the truck to clean up and prepare for the next order. Caspian, who you were slowly realizing was Poseidon himself as you drank your coffee, wondering what was in it that was giving you more than the normal buzz. Amphitrite also hands you a small blue pastry with their card under the pastry.

“Here is your surprise. Have a good day, sweetie.” She spoke and handed you the horse head shaped pastry that was filled with blueberry filling dyed blue. You took a bite and your eyes shot open as the treat had the same sweet flavor like in your coffee.

“What’s in this?” You asked as you looked back to Poseidon and Amphitrite.

“Its nectar of the Gods, dear. Like it?” Amphitrite asked. You nodded and took another large bite of the pastry that was shaped like a horsehead.

“Thank you, ma’am.” You said and walked on, processing the fact that you had just met two gods and survived.

“Of course, darling. Come back anytime now, you hear?” Poseidon spoke as he withdrew into the truck and went about prepping some other item on the menu. Poseidon would occasionally peek out of the walk-up window to watch you walk back up the boardwalk which earned him a playful smack on the arm as she told him to focus on making the dough.

A couple days later you found yourself walking the boardwalk again, wandering in the direction of the truck again, finding that Poseidon sitting out back in a beach chair, enjoying a quick coffee break. You didn’t see any sign of Amphitrite which made you a little concerned for her wellbeing.

You approached the truck and stood up on your tiptoes to peer into the truck, only to find it being empty and a ‘be back in fifteen minutes’ sign sitting on the order window. You sunk down from the bar and paced on the gravel patch in front of the truck, waiting for Poseidon to come back so you could talk to him.  A few moments pass and you heard the side door open and saw Poseidon enter the truck and move the ‘back in fifteen’ sign from the bar and his ocean blue eyes stared at you.

“Hello there~,” He said when he saw you. “What can I get you for today?” He asked. You looked over the menu and decided on the ‘make it rain’ refresher.

“Want it ‘extra sweet’ like last time, hon?” He asks as he writes down your order. You contemplate how the nectar made your mind buzz like it hadn’t before and opened your eyes to the differences around you, revealing the true identities of the god and goddess in the food truck.

“Sure, why not?” You said as the god scribbled something down on the sticky note before attaching it to the active orders and getting to work on your order. You found yourself staring at Poseidon for a bit too long as you were trying to wrestle with yourself about the feelings you had for him as you had feelings for the god.

You wanted to confess to him but he was married. You didn’t know then that he wanted you too but the god wasn’t aware of your feelings for him too as he worked on your drink and placed it on the window. You stopped your pacing when he called your name over even though you were the only customer there. You took the plastic cup from him and your fingers brushed together, making your cheeks flush bright red and you handed him the money you needed to pay for the drink.

“Don’t stress it. It’s been slow today. Its on the house.” He told you with the same smile on his face that gave you a warm fuzzy feeling in your chest. The timing of him being alone in the food truck with his wife nowhere to be seen was almost too perfect. “Where’s Amphie?” You asked as you looked up at him before you took sip of your drink, your eyes widening as the nectar hit you and your eyes widened as the buzz of the sweetness hit. Poseidon looked at you with a raised eyebrow, wondering why you were concerned about his wife.

“She took the day off. She had other things to attend to.” He spoke as he went to clean a piece of equipment and placed a chocolate shell-shaped cannoli in a paper bag and handed it to you. You took the treat and raised an eyebrow back to the god. “Its your surprise you get when you ask for a drink ‘extra sweet.’” He told you before watching you a moment longer, his eyes looking you up and down before he retreated into the truck to care for other items. You lingered around the truck to munch on your cannoli before Poseidon peered out the truck again at you.

“I close the truck around five. Come back then and we can talk.” He spoke and smiled at you. You thanked him for the treat and went about your day, enjoying some time on the beach, building a sand castle, and milling about the shops while you waited for five pm to roll around. You made it to the truck right at five o’clock. You found Poseidon putting away the last things into the truck and locking it away.

“There you are. I was wondering if you were even going to show up.” He spoke as he put the keys into his hoodie pocket and walking over to you. “What did you do during the day?” He asked as he approached you with his hands in his pocket. “I went to the beach and built a sandcastle over there, then I milled about the sand looking at the animals and finding some shells I left on the beach or put on my sand castle before I went back to the town and milled about the shops… really just killing time before coming back here.” You told him.

“Sounds like an eventful day. Do you want some ice cream? I know where a good stand is nearby.” He offered as he walked away from his food truck, leading you down the boardwalk to a little ice cream cart that was run by a man with tan skin and blonde hair who was scooping some ice cream into a cone for a mother and her child as they were headed home for the day. You saw a golden sun as the logo on the front of the cart with the name “Golden sun farms” You about face-palmed when you realized Poseidon had brought you to Apollo’s ice cream cart to talk. The sun god glanced up at the two of you and he flashed you a smile and Poseidon a knowing look since he usually brought his love interests to his cart when he had an interest in them.

“What would you like?” Apollo asked as you look over the flavor options. There was vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, a espresso flavor, a mint chocolate chip, a peanut butter and chocolate one, a pralines and cream, French vanilla bean, Oreo, Neapolitan, a mixed berry flavor, a cookie dough flavor, and a strawberry cheesecake flavor, and finally a berry pie flavor that had visible chunks of pie dough in the ice cream, a sunflower seed butter one that was an alternative to the peanut butter flavor, and a selection of dairy-free gelato flavors. You looked away from the cart since you were overwhelmed with the options. Poseidon put his hand on the small of your back, making your flush bright red as you scanned over the ice cream options. Poseidon leaned in and his breath brushed over your ear.

“Pick what you want. Its on me.” He whispered into your ear, noticing your indecision. You gripped the handle of the cart and told the Sun god what you wanted. You watched him scoop the ice cream into cones and handed your order to you and Poseidon’s order to him. You began licking the sweet treat as Poseidon paid and the two of you kept walking down the boardwalk while eating the ice cream in tension filled silence.

Once the ice cream was eaten and napkins thrown away, Poseidon led you onto the beach to watch the sunset and talk about yourselves a little before it got too dark and he led you back to the lit-up boardwalk.

“It’s getting dark, May I walk you home? Where do you live?” He asked in calm manner. You told him which part of town you lived in and he walked you over, making sure to stop at the end of your walkway to watch you and make sure you got inside your house. You paused to turn to say thank you for the evening with him but he had already disappeared into the night, having left  a beautiful seashell he must’ve found on your walk on the beach together on the porch with a business card to his café and a note.

‘I enjoyed our conversation and the walk on the beach. I hope to see you again at my café soon, y/n.’ The note said. You held it against your chest before going inside your house. The end That story was my favorite out of them all so far. Now onto our final location, the Café of Hades. Hades. You’re walking down the street with your head down with your leather bound book tucked under your arm as you head down the busy city street to a new, hole-in-the wall café you were told about named ‘Stygian Sips’. Your jacket moves with your pace as you’re determined to get somewhere. You duck into an alley way, blending into the shadows as you enter the café, hanging above the doorway to the café was a red neon sign that read the name of the café and glowed brightly against the dark contrasting brick wall.

You slipped inside and found yourself in the queue to order. You looked around the place, seeing the walls lined with floor -to-ceiling bookshelves and reading nooks with accompanying tables for the avid reader to enjoy a cup of coffee and read a book from their lending library. You took in the cozy, dark academia feeling of the café as you got closer and closer to the counter to order. You scanned the menu as you waited in line.

~~~~Drinks~~~~

Menthe- Dark chocolate mint mocha

Kore- Mint pomegranate refresher

Queen of the Underworld- mint tea, hot or cold.

600- 6 shot americano

Hades’ helm- Sheep’s milk latte.

Bident: pomegranate boba tea with coconut tapioca pearls

ask for ‘extra sweet’ for a shot of nectar.

~~~~Food~~~~

Pluto- candied fruit dessert containing blueberries, peaches, apricots, strawberries, cherries, and pineapple.

Serpent- rattlesnake kebabs with roasted vegetables.

Persephone’s garden- Ambrosia cup with pomegranate fruit, berries, honey, mandrins, coconut, pineapple, topped with cashew cream, red onions, and a balsamic reduction. Topped with a sprig of mint. (cashew cream can be swapped for coconut cream for those with tree nut allergies)

Cornucopia- éclair dipped in dark chocolate. Filled with either red bean or matcha cream.

Sacred sheep- sheep-shaped cakes filled with red bean, matcha, or pomegranate coconut cream.

If you have a canine or feline friend with you, we have Cerberus shots for your friend. Either have your pet with you or show a picture to get an aquafaba cream shot cup for them.

You read over the menu, deciding what you wanted as you waited for the line to go down. You looked around more to take in what the shop had to offer. Next to one window was a line of white poplar and cypress saplings for sale as a main feature of the shop which you had heard when your friend had told you about the café. You also saw a large bin of coffee grounds for one’s garden next to the lineup of tree saplings. Your turn to order finally arrived and you walked up to the counter. A young woman with blonde hair with green and pink streaks throughout her hair was a striking contrast to her black, gothic clothing and makeup.

“Hello there, what can I get for you today?” She asked in a cheery expression which also seemed odd for someone with her aesthetic. But one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. “I’d like an extra sweet Bident please and a matcha flavored Sacred sheep.” You  told the woman and her eyes widen when you told her to make the drink ‘extra sweet.’ Her expression was kind to you as she rang up the total.

“Very well, that’s five-ninety-five.” She told you and you handed her the cash and walked away from the register to watch the strong, burly man in the back make your drink while the lady who’s name tag read ‘Seph’ heated up your pastry. You watched the man pour in the coconut tapioca pearls into the plastic cup and pour the pomegranate-infused tea over the pearls and put a shot of a bright-pink liquid into the cup before setting it on the pick-up counter and calling out your name.

“Bident for Y/n!” His deep voice called out into the room and you walked over, a deep blush over your face as you grabbed your drink, thanking him in a quiet tone.

“T-Thank you, sir.” You muttered and held your drink close to your person while the pastry was being heated. Seph handed you the treat.

“Be careful, love. Its hot.” She spoke and went to take the next customer’s order. You took the pastry and your drink before going to find a seat, not noticing the man watching you walk away. Seph drew his attention back to her and kissed him to remind him who he belonged to. She seemed to mutter something to him and you saw a glint of a black diamond ring on her finger, signaling to you that he was married to her.

You found a cozy corner to sit down in to enjoy your drink and pull out your book and begin reading. As you sipped at your drink, you noticed small changes in the environment as a customer looked to have translucent skin, another patron’s cat looked a bit too skeletal, and the couple running the stand seemed to pale and their skin turned slightly grey as you kept drinking your tea. You decided to finish your drink and eat your pastry, wondering if you were just daydreaming or that pink liquid the man put in your drink was some kind of hallucinogenic drug. You finished your drink and pastry before tossing their empty wrappers into the appropriate waste containers.

You went back to your seat to keep reading your book on Greek Myths. The story you were on just so happened to be the marriage of Hades and Persephone. As you were reading about how Persephone’s father, Zeus who had arranged her to be married to his brother, Hades who was also her uncle.  You felt internal rage and a twist of disgust in your stomach a you glanced over at the couple running the register and making the drinks seeming to be very relatable to the couple in your story and how some of the features of the pair seemed to match the pair that was in your book seemed to be more and more similar until it dawned on you that the couple being the real Hades and Persephone, the café you were in was themed like the underworld, seeing as four veins of gold, white, red, and a shimmery black metal were striping through the four corners of the stone floor of the café  and meeting at the counter where the transactions were made.

Each one of the veins represented one of the rivers in the underworld. You then noticed a three headed dog silhouette on the swinging door that gave people entrance to the Café which represented Cerberus. You saw a man lingering in the hallway outside the Café who looked to be a type of bouncer. That must be Charon, the man who’s known to ferry people into the underworld. You looked around the room to see more and more references to the underworld until you saw Hades stealing glances at you as he made orders for customers as they came through. On his next break, Hades made his way over to you, walking by as he slipped a business card to you and quickly walked away to where his wife was staring daggers of hatred at you. You picked up the card and read what was on it: Hades and Persephone, King and Queen of the Underworld and Co-owners of Stygian Sips Café along with their contact information. You tucked the card away into your pocket before picking up the book and making a quick exit before the woman who you knew to be Persephone decided what house plant to turn you into and add you to the collection on the windowsill. You arrived home safely before going back to your book.

Meanwhile back in the shop, Persephone had pulled Hades aside. “You can’t be serious about that mortal, Hades. You’re married to me. You won’t be sleeping with any others after Menthe.” She says. Hades fiddles with his fingers. “Iknow, I know. They just looked so cute, my love. Can’t I have them as a friend at least?” Hades asked. Persephone glared at Hades. “It better be just for the companionship. They did have an intelligent look about them after the nectar hit. Go on and try to befriend them love. I trust you with this one.” She told him. Hades looked relieved that she wouldn’t turn you into another plant to add to her garden out behind the café.

Days pass and Hades begins to grow worried that you won’t return. His doubts are swayed when he sees you walk through the door, seeming to have finished the book on Greek myths and wanting to return the book so others may learn the stories being held within the pages. You got in line, waiting to get to the counter, looking up to the menu to decide what you wanted. When you got to the counter, you saw Hades behind the counter and no sign of Persephone.

“Where’s Seph?” You asked. “She’s tending to her garden today.” He told you, a friendly gleam in his eye as you told him what you wanted. “An extra sweet Hades’s helm and a Persephone’s Garden too, please.” You ordered. Hades rang it up and told you the order. You paid and went to the pickup counter. You gazed over the titles on the nearby shelf while you waited for your order to be made. “Order for Y/n!” Hades called out and set the caffeinated drink on the counter, stealing a look at you before tending to the constant stream of customers that came in. You grabbed a new book off the shelf, replacing the book with the Greek myths one before you grabbed your coffee and food and went to go enjoy the book. While you stayed there, Hades kept trying to sneak away to talk with you whenever he could but he either got caught up with another coffee order or a transaction for a tree sapling. Right when he gets the chance is when you’re leaving the café with the book tucked under your arm. Hades frowns ans silently curses his wife for insisting they sell the tree saplings in their shop.

Another day goes by and you come into the café again, this time looking to get a white poplar sapling. Hades watches as you walk over to the counter hefting the giant pot and placing it on the counter with a couple bags of used coffee grounds. “I’d like to get just this please.” You say and Hades rings it up, hesitating to ask you what you’re going to do with the sapling, and hoping you’d offer up the information. “I want to plant it in my backyard and see it bloom in the spring. It will look amazing!” You tell him excitedly. Hades can’t help but smile and point over to one of the built-in bookshelves near an arrangement of succulents.

“That whole shelf should have books on gardening. Feel free to take some home with you.” He spoke, watching you carry the sapling over to the bookshelf and pulling a couple books off and tucking them under your arm, now struggling to carry the plant. Hades puts his ‘on break’ sign up and goes over to help you. “Need help with that?” He asked. You looked up to him and nodded. Hades took the sapling from you and followed you side the café to were you had parked your truck outside the building. Hades set the potted plant into the bed of your truck before turning to you. “Would you like to hang out sometime? As friends of course. We wouldn’t want my wife to get angry.” He suggested. You pulled out of the cab of your truck to look at him.

“Are you sure about that? I don’t want to get turned into an aloe vera for being seen with you.” You spoke as you noticed someone lean against the wall wearing a leather trench coat, fedora, and dark sunglasses. You could see the woman’s yellow eyes staring you down hungrily as if she were waiting for the right moment to pounce on you. Hades followed your gaze to the woman leaning against the wall and his eyes narrowed at the woman. Her eyes widened and she pushed off the wall, quickly blending into the crowd and disappearing.

“I swear she doesn’t trust me.” Hades spoke as he looked back to you as you were a bit shaken up. “What was that thing?” You asked. “That was a Harpy that my wife sent to watch me. Persephone has trust issues you see… One of the times she was on the surface because Demeter still wanted to have her daughter on the surface for half the year, I slept with a nymph named Menthe and Persephone found out and turned her into the mint plant…” Hades said. Your stomach twisted in knots at the absurdity of the event that gave humans mint.

“That makes sense but that’s disgusting… and she’s on your menu? Who suggested that?” You asked. “Persephone did… I think she wanted it to serve as a reminder as to what happens to the women I sleep with and she finds out. But I only wish for your companionship, nothing more.” He says, almost hesitating on that last part.

“I understand. I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ll hang around the café when you’re manning it alone and you can spend one of your breaks with me, okay?” You suggested and Hades nodded, happily going back inside the building, awaiting the day he’d be manning the café alone. You’d come back day after day, getting a small queen of the underworld, hot and reading a book you’d either bring from home or take off the shelf.  Hades was frustrated as Persephone always was nearby or within sight of you, preventing Hades from being able to approach you.

You notice Hades’s stress and get up from your seat, draining your cup and walking over to the goddess to begin chatting to her about gardening and what would be the best way to keep pests off your tomatoes and what to do with your plants when winter comes and they die off. Persephone perks up and begins chatting away about natural pesticides such as spicy peppers or garlic depending on what you wanted to use. You nodded and thanked her as you wrote down the information, watching as Persephone gave Hades a nod of approval before going to her garden outside. Hades took the opportunity to approach you and put his hand on your back, just above your shoulders.

“Shall we take a seat?” He suggested as he was holding an iced tea in his hands. You nodded and he led you over to a table in a quiet corner of the café and let you sit before sitting across from you and asking you what you were talking to Persephone about. “Oh, I was asking her about natural pesticides to use on my tomatoes. The squirrels love eating them.” You told him. Hades smiles and watches you with a look of admiration on his face. “I have some questions for you.” You spoke after a moment or two of silence.

“Oh? What might that be?” He responded. “How do you handle it all? How does one run an entire realm and have a three-headed dog running about the place all the time? How are you not stressed and worried all the time?” You asked. Hades chuckles like a deep bellow rumbling from his chest. “I keep away from my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews on Olympus. That place is crawling with stressors. Like every other week Hera is at Zeus’s throat with him having his squeeze of the month and the next half-blood that comes up claiming Zeus to be their father… I don’t know how they handle it. I’m glad where I am in the underworld with Persephone, even though she has me on a short leash.” Hades says as he glances out the window to his wife  who was watering the plants. “You love her, don’t you?” You asked as you saw the way he looked at his wife. “I do.” Hades said. The two of you then chatted together. It was a beautiful way to start a friendship The end

[slavhew]

Title: the clouds part, but the sun has already set

Rating: T

Relationship: Kishitani Shinra & Orihara Izaya

Summary:

Shinra gets ditched on "prom" night. Izaya distracts him.

Or, the only time Shinra got drunk, and the last time Izaya drinks.

[eternalchiyo]

On Forgiveness

ー The scene starts in Shuu’s room at the Sakamaki castle

Chiyo: I can’t believe you made them prepare only one room…

Shuu: We’ve always did it that way, do you want to seem even more suspicious while digging through my family’s secrets?

Chiyo: Hmph…

(He does have a point. It would be a real hassle if someone were to catch up on why exactly we are here…)

ー Shuu walks over to the bedside table and puts the lights on

Chiyo: What are you doing?

Shuu: Playing a trumpet. What does it look like to you? I am turning the lights on.

Chiyo: I can see that. But why?

Shuu: *sighs*

You don’t like when it’s dark. We can turn them off, I don't care.

Chiyo: No. I mean… thank you.

(I didn’t expect him to act so nice towards me despite his harsh words…)

…

(Why do I feel touched by the fact he still remembers those details…?)

ー She watches him walk towards the window

Chiyo: (I wonder how we should go about this situation. There is no way he is going to be fine with sharing the bed. Not sure I am completely fine with it either…)

Umm… about the bed…

Shuu: Take it for all I care. I have no intention of going to sleep anyway.

Chiyo: (Shuu doesn’t want to sleep? The moon is normal. What made him that way?)

ー She steps closer

Chiyo: Are you okay?

Shuu: Why would you ask? I don’t need your pity.

ー She rolls her eyes

Chiyo: I am not pitying you; I am expressing my concern for you!

(His face is so pale… more than usual... and the shadows under his eyes make it seem like he hasn’t slept properly in days…)

Shuu: ………………………..

I can’t sleep because of nightmares.

ー Chiyo looks up at him with a sad expression and gently puts a hand on his cheek

Shuu: …!

ー They look at each other for a while, before Shuu lowers his head and places his lips on hers

*smooch*

Chiyo: Nn…

(So soft. His lips are cold, but they feel so nice. )

ー He guides her towards the bed until they both fall back on it

ー Shuu pulls her towards him

Chiyo: Haah…

Shuu: Nnn…

ー He pulls away and studies her face

Shuu: This doesn’t mean I forgive you.

Chiyo: I know.

I don’t forgive you either.

*smooch*

I made a little something something to go with the latest CG that I edited. (Thank you @//equinox-86 and @//yuriko-mukami for the suggestion) This scene is from an earlier draft of Everlasting Spark MANIAC chapters. I have since moved the scene to ECSTASY and I will probably rewrite it a bit once the time comes. But I hope you guys will enjoy this little teaser, hehe. And if you are wondering: “Author-Pam, can’t you just write a wholesome scenario without throwing the angst at us?” Well, the answer is yes, but not really. I have been swimming in ShuuChiyo angst since 2017 or earlier, so until I reach their happy ending in the story I don’t know if I am physically able to switch to fluffy and wholesome like that. Illustrations are easier though, so you can expect a lot happier art!

BONUS Me when people ask if I can write anything but angsty stuff:

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

hi, sorry, I just wanted to ask, and this is prolly going to sound super dumb, are authors chill with people commenting on their old fanfics and stuff?

just want to make sure that I'm not inadvertently being annoying

I believe I speak for most authors when I say they’ll never be annoyed by any positive comments from their readers

authors, reblog if you love receiving new comments on your old works