#alistair x isobel

[lee-lucius]

Tickletober Day 7: Flustered

Summary: Through an accidental nightly encounter, Isobel discovers an embarrassing secret of Alistair's.

Word Count: 1,346

This is definitely a rare fandom, but I was in the middle of reading the book, and I loved the characters so much that I had to write something. Alistair's my favorite character, and I have a lot written for him that I might post later in the month! I hope you enjoy! 💙

Isobel wasn't sure when exactly she started feeling safe with Alistair. It was stupid. Foolish. They were still in the tournament, and she still hadn't regained her powers. He could kill her at any moment.

Could have.

Until he gave her the Cloak. Alistair, it seemed, was even more foolish than her. Because she was manipulating him. Even if it felt like something more.

That night, however, she discovered a very interesting weakness of Alistair Lowe.

It was dark. Dark enough she could barely see an inch in front of her face. Dark enough she could pretend she was still safe at home. 

Well, she could if it wasn't for the boy laying next to her on the bed. So close that if she flexed her fingers, she'd be touching him. It made her hair stand on end for all the wrong reasons.

For whatever reason, she couldn't seem to fall asleep. Her mind was racing with thoughts of the boy beside her. His dark hair, his grey eyes, his widow's peak; all of his features that made him seem threatening and monstrous but had unmistakably softened over the past two weeks. His fingers that had wrapped tightly around her hand and arm, cold and unblemished. His pale skin that flushed a breathtaking shade of red whenever her teasing got to him. His lips that looked so soft and were mere inches from her own.

She really couldn't stop thinking about his lips.

She shifted so she was facing him but couldn't make out his features in the dark. Before she knew what she was doing, she reached out her hand to grasp his own.

It missed its mark, instead grazing his stomach. She instantly recoiled, face hot as realization flooded through her, but it was too late.

He woke up.

Alistair Lowe, the monster, the most terrifying competitor, the one the media had deemed her rival, shot up with an undignified squawk.

She blinked at him, holding back a laugh at the odd noise. An uncomfortable heat still burned her cheeks, but she refused to let it show. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't," He answered quickly, voice thick with sleep. "It just—nevermind."

"What?"

He sluggishly reached up to rub his eyes and mumbled something.

"What did you say?" She asked, leaning closer. There was merely an inch separating them.

It was barely a whisper, but the words rang clearly through her ears. "I'm ticklish."

She didn't know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't… that. Not from Alistair Lowe, of all people. 

Isobel had spent the last year of her life living under a carefully crafted persona. Her false confidence allowed her to control every situation she was in and prevented anyone from grasping her true feelings. But her facade seemed more lax around Alistair, and she couldn't help the bemused Really? that burst from her.

She could feel his glare more than she could see it. He really must have been tired because he made no retort, making her smile falter.

"Not that it's a bad thing. I mean—it's pretty cute."

Something was clearly wrong with Isobel, because she couldn't seem to control herself. Maybe she was simply tired, or she knew this was one of their last nights together. They couldn't hide from the tournament any longer, and soon enough their peaceful days would be interrupted by bloodshed.

"Cute?"

His voice was a mix of bewilderment and embarrassment. She knew him well enough by now, had peeked into his mind enough, to understand his doubt. Because he was a living nightmare, a whisper in the wind, a monster that only existed in children's nursery rhymes. 

Isobel had thought of him that way too. Until the past two weeks that showed her he was something more. Something human. She wanted to show him that. And she wanted one last good night together.

"Yeah, you're cute," She whispered back, wondering if his face was as hot as hers, if his heart was beating as fast.

"No, I'm not," He sounded breathless. 

"I'll prove it to you."

"How?"

It was a challenge. One she was happy to accept.

Isobel darted at him as he hastily scrambled back with a quiet Oh shit. She grabbed his arm, pulling him back to her side of the bed. 

After a playful mock wrestling match, Alistair was laying against the bed on his back with Isobel victoriously kneeling over him. It was an easy win, even with neither of them using their full strength, Alistair was uncoordinated and not very strong in the first place.

"Still don't believe me?" She teased, a wicked smile much like Alistair Lowe's trademark one plastered on her face. Theatrically, she cracked her knuckles and slowly lowered her hands towards him. Then she heard it.

Alistair was giggling.

Her heart swelled at what was the most beautiful noise she had ever heard. It was soft, quiet and raspy as if his laugh often went unused. She wanted to hear it more, and it spurred her on as she dug into his sides, making him shriek.

"I wish I still had my magic so I could see your cute little smile."

"Ihihit's nahahat cuhuhute!"

He squirmed, twisting underneath her hands but made no attempts to stop her.

"Mm, I disagree," She clawed at his stomach, relishing in his breathy giggles. "And I don't think I can stop until you admit it."

"Nohohoho!" He shook his head wildly, bringing his hands up to cover his mouth and block his stream of laughter.

"Do you really think that will help, Al?" She asked, smirking.

Her fingers slowly trailed up along his sides towards his armpits. He trembled, squirming more vigorously than before but refusing to budge. 

She tsked, stilling her finger right before their target, "Any last words?"

He said nothing. She spidered his fingers along his armpits, and he immediately shot his arms down with a loud squeal. His laughter was louder now, and his squirming more urgent when he finally called for mercy.

"Stahahahahap!"

She did, resting her hands on his chest and suddenly becoming very aware of how intimate their position was. He caught his breath as she tried to calm her blush. After a few moments, she spoke up again.

"So? Are you ready to admit it?"

He was looking right at her. She could feel his heart beating faster than it should be. "I'm a monster," He whispered. It was barely audible. 

She thought of his lips again. Of the Divine Kiss spell that left its imprint on her wrist. Of how many nights she had spent tracing it in the dark.

"I don't think you are."

"I was going to kill you," His voice sounded raw, pained. Like a confession of guilt.

"So was I."

It was silent for a long moment. The only sound was a rapid heartbeat; she couldn't tell if it was his or hers.

"I still might."

"I know," They were rivals, after all. The two strongest champions. The princess and the dragon. 

They were their families only hope, and it could only end in bloodshed.

Until then, she would claim what little joy was left in the world. She would spend this one last night living as if their lives were normal.

"You're still cute, though," She breathed, dangerously close to the boy she'd have to kill.

And Alistair must've wanted that too, because he laughed. "I don't know, I think you're cuter," 

He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her sides, and making her erupt in laughter this time. 

When the antics were finally over and Isobel had won, forcing a begrudging Alistair to admit he was cute, they settled in to actually sleep for the night. At her request, he lulled her to sleep with another story. This one about nightcrawlers. 

As she slept, she dreamed for once about childish fears and monsters that didn't seem unconquerable. 

She defeated the monster and kissed her prince charming like she never could in real life, because they were one and the same.

[number-0-iz]

Me: *read all of us villains earlier this week*

My brain:...

Me: Don't.

My brain: HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA? A PERSON FROM OUR WORLD GETTING DROPPED INTO THEIR WORLD.

Me:

[alistairlowes]

part 2 of me doing a live reread of aouv giving everyone reason to block me

"Don’t be scared, Alistair told himself in real life, walking through the woods the first night of the tournament. What else could they take from you?"

noo. the answer is nothing wow

*

"There was more to the Grieve champion than this town had chosen to see. Though, admittedly, Alistair had forgotten his name, too."

help i forgot he does that

*

i love how all characters are like we can't trust alistair he's probably up to some evil shit. and then you switch to alistair's pov and it's like "alistair was crying himself to sleep"

*

honestly alistair x isobel is a serve. but 2nd book is still bigger serve

*

“There’s only one bed,” she pointed out.

“Plenty of floor.” His voice was strangely high.

*

isobel: ok goodnight

alistair: goodnight... also wanna hear about my childhood trauma?

*

"Maybe Isobel’s mother had been right about Alistair. Maybe he was unstable."

GIRL CONSIDERING HIS FAMILY HE TURNED OUT FINE

*

“I really am sorry for how I … for who I am.”

*

gavin:

*

The Grieve let go of Alistair, and Alistair crumpled gracelessly in the dirt. “Crawl there, Lair.”

“Fuck yourself, Castle.”

REAL

*

The only thing worse than making another champion your enemy is making them a friend.

alistair who first made one his girlfriend then another his boyfriend

*

"lt was impossible to enter it and feel anything less than royal.

“What a dump,” Alistair muttered behind her,"

😭😭😭

*

"Isobel didn’t like the idea of abandoning Alistair with Gavin."

IT'S FUNNY

*

alistair tripping / falling / running into things every chapter 😓😓

*

“Really, Grieve,” Alistair purred, his voice lingering on the last word with obvious disdain. “What could I possibly have to be afraid of?”

“I have a first name, you know.”

Alistair’s gaze dropped to the spellboard.

“You don’t know my name, do you?”

*

"He’d always known Alistair was dangerous. But he’d never had the chance to see how sad he was. It was unmistakable, in the lines of his profile, in the way his hand desperately gripped the bottle.

What right did he have to be sad?"

there is....so much... so fucKING MUCH

*

"He tried to remind himself that Alistair would always be a Lowe, and Gavin couldn’t—wouldn’t—let himself feel anything but hatred for him. Not when it was too easy to wonder if it had ever really been hatred at all."

oh my god i don't remember this at all i thought it was in the 2nd book THE BITCH WAS SO FAR GONE. like he was there he was- HE WANTS TO KILL YOU GAVIN FOR FUCKS SAKE

*

every character when alistair starts trauma dumping after 2 mins of conversation:

*

"But one conversation with his supposed mortal enemy and his guard was already down. Was he really this desperate for validation?

Or was it just because that attention was coming from Alistair Lowe?"

GAVIN BESTIE I LITERALLY- I CANNOT

*

"But as he sat there, beside the mead he refused to drink, he couldn’t avoid the newfound knowledge that Alistair was more boy than monster—despite how much both of them pretended otherwise."

shut uppp

*

"No one in here is a hero—least of all you.”

explains the ending

*

"And they could call it what they wanted, but Briony knew what they really were.

Villains. All of them."

girl please we reaching

*

"But drinking last night with Alistair, things had gotten all muddled."

gaVIN

*

"Even high magick has its limits: it can’t bring back the people who died for it."

oh time to cry </3

*

"I thought I belonged in this story, but I never did. So maybe it’s time to take myself out of it.”

and she took that literally

*

"Briony, who’d fashioned herself into some sort of hero when she had more blood on her hands than any of them."

i mean... for now... alistair has entered the chat

*

“You know what I think, Grieve?” Alistair countered. “You’re just upset that I’m not the villain you imagined I would be. Slaying me was supposed to be your ultimate act of victory. But I’m not your monster. Or your trophy.”

300 dead 2948 injured

*

"but Gavin couldn’t let Alistair get that close to him again."

oh yeah that will turn out well

*

HENDRYYY ❤️❤️❤️

*

"He’d lost Hendry once—he couldn’t lose him again."

*

"Alistair was now the sun, and Hendry the shadow."

gavin-

*

"Alistair Lowe, first and foremost, was dangerous."

no if people died that's on them he did nothing wrong ever

*

“Why did you kill her?” she asked.

omg leave him alone

*

“I don’t want you to die, Al,” Hendry told him. “I don’t want you all to die trying to save me.”

oh i'm fine. all is perfect. not going insane at all.

*

i hate how they're all like you would pick your brother over all of us. i mean... yeah?? as he should??? what the fuck 😭

*

"Briony understood suddenly that both of them were only trying to save the people they cared about, in the only ways they knew how."

yeah no shit???

*

“She saved herself.”

another win for feminism

*

"It didn’t matter if the tournament was breaking or not, if Isobel loved him or not. No one could take Alistair’s brother from him a second time. He would rather die with Hendry than lose him again."

AND HE SHOULDN'T I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE DID HIM LIKE THAT

*

this is the worst breakup ever </3

*

every time gavin is like yes i will go kill alistair now i'm like sure you will baby ofc ♡♡ nevermind you will do the most opposite thing you can but k

*

"When the two brothers—the discarded and the broken—returned home, they did so with cursestones in their pockets and wrath in their hearts."

good. fuck them up

*

alistair about to murder his whole family

me: you're doing amazing sweetie 🥰💕

*

onto book 2

[sarabehaveokay]

ALL OF US VILLAINS

♾️/5⭐️ from me

I finished this in 4 days it’s literally so good ;probably the best book I’ve read in 2022. It’s literally a combination of my two all time favourite books The Atlas Six + Hunger Games

SPOILERS AHEAD

Alistair lowe immediately became a favourite character when i first read his chapter. Maybe because im just a sucker for the tall, dark and handsome characters but there’s a kind of quiet softness/kindness in him that shouldn’t be there given how he was raised (to be a monster) even though it was designated for his brother alone its still there. Isobel Macaslan is up there too, maybe second (?) at first i wanted to hate her so that it’d be easier when she dies (so alistair could win) but then i started to feel bad for her. She never wanted any of this and she’s been deserted by her “friends” and is also forced to live up to the standards of her family that didn’t even bother to acknowledge her until now. She’s incredibly talented and intelligent but it doesn’t make her fears of dying in the tournament go away. Gavin Grieve to be honest, I didn’t care much for him; sure i pity him because of his circumstances, his family and those around him treating him like a dead man walking. He was fuelled by rage and hatred in the tournament and wouldn’t consider a world where the curse can be broken because or else… what’s the point of all of his preparations? He rejects change and there’s not much of a character development imo for him because until the end he’s still fighting in the tournament still fixed on killing Alistair and get the high magick. Briony Thorburn I’ll be honest, i have not figured out how to read her name is it like (bri-ya-ni ?) i think she’s one of the most important characters in the book because it’s her resolve to save her sister -after sulking for days because she couldn’t kill 6 teenagers- that made her want to find a way to break the curse and no matter how far fetched the theory she needed it to be true because or else her betrayal to her sister was for naught. I hate that sweet little Carby died but it’s also necessary for it to be in the hands of Briony because all this while shes been talking about saving everyone and she’s the first to kill someone and even worse, her ally. It is an accident but she’s also spent the better part of her years claiming (proudly) to be the thorburn champion basically advertising she wanted to murder.

I love the enemies to reluctant allies to lovers to enemies trope between Alistair and Isobel. Like he was down bad for this girl i mean he was willing to die for her the night they were trying to get the mirror relic and again during their final duel ~because thats what rivels do~ and when he heard Briony’s theory he wanted to be true so that he could live with Isobel. There can be a world where they are alive together and he wants that so badly. Isobel trusts him more than she knows she should, she stayed to in the castle to hear out Briony at Alistair’s request. She was the first outsider to see him not as who he was supposed to be, a monster. The crosswords questions they ask each other like “the 7 letter word to endure” “Survive” scene was so cute and I love em. But now there’s a betrayal between them and though I feel like it’s merely wishful thinking now I do hope they find their way back to each other or maybe he’ll die who knows what’ll happen 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

But think about it right if Gavin hadn’t made Alistair bury the lamb’s sacrifice ring in the tournament, Isobel hadn’t dismissed the curse breaking theory and Finley and Briony had arrived earlier (before they took the tournament outside) he wouldn’t have killed the other girl (i forgot her name but i also didn’t really like her at all) that attacked his brother. He would’ve still been on their side and it all wouldn’t have been more complicated with the outside world being involved. Also i love the Lowe brothers but Isobel was right, even if the tournament ends by murder or curse breaking, his brother would still be lost forever. But I also understand him wanting more time with his beloved brother and i think he knows that all he is doing is just delaying the inevitable.

I honestly CANT WAIT for the second book ALL OF OUR DEMISE because i truly truly love this book so much there’s just nothing like it.

[cherieknots]

[darlingbudsofrae]

is it even gay if you haven't even threatened to kill him at least once?

The King's Men (All For The Game) // If We Were Villains // All of Us Villains

[teartra]

ALL OF OUR DEMISE SPOILERS

—Alistair and Gavin’s edition pt 2—

——————

——————

——————

——————

Alistair and Gavin showing up to join the other champions

——————

Fellas, is it gay for wanting to earn your enemies’ smile?

——————

——————

——————

——————

Hendry 🤝 Reid 🤝 Isobel

Yeaahh Alistair and Gavin are obviously gay for each other

[number-0-iz]

As I am reading All Of Us Villains, I saw some things spoilers of the sequel on here and here are my thoughts. Obviously, rn, my top three are Alistair, Isobel and Gavin cause come on. They're all very interesting. THEY ALL HAVE NICKNAMES FOR EACH OTHER TOO.

So instead of arguing (not that much have seen anything like that but let's get ahead of it) about Alistair x Isobel or Alistair x Gavin, let it be a polygamous relationship. Then we all get what we want, three happy and hot people together. All three of them have two hands, is all I'm saying lmao👀👀

(Please don't kill me)

[lee-lucius]

Masterlist

All of Us Villains

Day 7 - Flustered: Lee Alistair, ler Isobel

Black Clover

Family Fun: Lee Noelle, ler Luck

Day 4 - Witch: Switches Vanessa and Luck

Day 6 - Creep: Lee Magna, ler Luck

Day 9 - Payback for a Scare: Switches Luck and Magna

Advent Calendar 1 - Cold (Drabble): Lee Luck, Ler Magna

Advent Calendar 3 - Angel: Lee Gordon, lers Grey and Gauche

Bleach

Day 8 - Truth: Lee Yumichika, ler Ikkaku

Blue Lock

Tickle Me: Lee Bachira, ler Isagi

Time to Get Up!: Lee Nagi, ler Reo

Loving Distractions: Lee Bachira, ler Isagi

Day 10 - Ghost: Lee Bachira, ler Rin

Demon Slayer 

Stress Reliever (Drabble): Lee Muichiro, ler Tanjiro 

Day 3 - Cuddles: Lee Tanjiro, ler Genya

Day 13 - Sneak Attack: Lee Muichiro, ler Mitsuri

Day 14 - Soft: Lee Muichiro, ler Tanjiro

Dr. Stone

Advent Calendar 2 - Christmas Break (Drabble): Lee Senku, ler Gen

Hunter x Hunter

Day 1 - Secret: Lees Gon and Killua, lers Leorio and Gon

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Day 12 - Bites/Nibbles: Lee Bucciarati, ler Abbacchio

Jujutsu Kaisen

Day 5 - “I’m Not Ticklish” Lee Junpei, ler Yuji

Mashle: Magic and Muscles

Day 11 - Squeal: Lee Mash, ler Dot

My Hero Academia

Day 2 - Accidental: Lee Shigaraki, ler Spinner

One Piece

Fatherly Love: Lee Sanji, ler Zeff

Our Flag Means Death

A New Kind of Affection: Lee Stede, lers Izzy and Ed

The Promised Neverland

Missed You (Drabble): Lee Norman, ler Emma

[sarabehaveokay]

I so cant wait all of our demise!! THE ANGST. THE SUSPENSE. THE DIALOGUE. THE LONGING. It’s all so perfect it might just end up replacing All Of Us Villains on the number 1 spot. The fact that we’re probably getting more Alistair x Isobel after everything that happened ughhh i need this book now

[teartra]

Still in All of Us Villains mood

I love Isobel but I’m glad that the book explored what happened to Alistair after their messy “break up”. It’s about moving on and learning to trust someone NEW. We rarely got that on YA novel because we’re used to stick with one love interest

What I love from the book was that it took Alistair long enough to finally understand his feelings to Gavin because he’d been living a very sheltered life and not like his brother, he’s REALLY bad at social interaction. When Alistair finally came to term that he’s in love with Gavin, he’s still have huge trust issue because the last time he fell for someone, it almost cost his life. It’s not fast for them to work out, it took months for both of them to understand and it just felt so natural.

Shoutout to Amanda and Charlie!