#but alas—the good days just leave me neutral

[lillyviarabbit]

if only wishing could change things, but i'm too paralyzed to act

[bbyquokka]

blow me instead?

– “Why should I blow out the candles, when you can just blow me instead?” prompt

pairing | lee felix x gender-neutral reader

genre | smut ��� 18+ is strongly advised!

cw | established relationship ; dom felix ; oral sex (blowjob) ; finger sucking ; cum swallowing ; deep throating

words | 2.6k ~ ( 2,693 ) + 2 fake texts !

notes | a lil smth for felix's bday. jisung's will be posted at a later date when i've finished it :( don’t forget to leave feedback, reblog and tell me what you think here. i hope you all enjoy! ‹3

m.list — wips list — you can also read it on my ao3

dont repost. dont translate. minors, ageless & default blogs; dni! feedback and reblogs are highly advised and appreciated!

you forgot. you’ve forgotten the most important day of the year and you are currently kicking yourself for it. it’s felix’s birthday, the one day of the year that you look forward to every single year – but for some unknown reason, this year you forgot.

maybe it’s because you’ve both been really busy that you haven’t given it a second thought. you’re always well prepared for things like this, but this year it slipped your mind.

you knew you forgotten something but you couldn't tell what. you had that nagging feeling in the back of your mind but you pushed it to the side. “i’ll figure it out later” you always told yourself only to forget – once again.

it wasn't until the day before, did you looked at your calendar and see ‘15th sept’ circled and decorated in hearts, labelled ‘felix’s bday!!’ did you panic. that nagging feeling quickly turned into a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. worry and panic washing over you and coating your skin in a cold sweat.

it was way into the night to go to the store to pick something up. everything was closed. you thought about making him something but realised that you don't have the materials to do so. so a quick search on the web was your last resort. you hoped you could find something that would do next day delivery but alas, after several hours of searching and drawing up blanks, did you accept your fate.

you woke up the day of his birthday, feeling guilty and it's eating you alive. you don't think you'd be able to face to him without bursting into tears.

“i should at least wish him a happy birthday.” you mumble. you take your phone from the night stand and open up felix's contact. your thumb hovers over the green circle. 

you hesitate. lips pursed together. you overthink. you can hear his sullen tone of voice. you can see his facial expressions twisted into sadness. your heart aches and feels tight, like someone is gripping onto it.

“fuck. i can't.” you throw your phone onto the bed beside you, watching it bounce from impact before rubbing your face with your hands and groaning. “maybe a shower will help me. i’ll call him then!” 

you didn't call him. in fact, you spent the whole day avoiding him. you did pop to the store and buy a small box of cupcakes and some candles. you had this idea of surprising him by turning up at his place with a fancy birthday cake, thinking it's better than nothing,  but when the store only had cupcakes to offer, that idea was quick to fizzle out.

the cakes are now sitting on the counter, untouched and unopened. you're in your lounge wear on the sofa, TV on but you're not tuned into whatever show it's playing. instead, you're on your social media, looking at what felix has been up to the whole day.

pictures of felix with chan, jisung and hyunjin. birthday wishes from friends and family flood his profiles. you're glad he's had a good day but that guilt just won't go away. 

you've shamelessly avoided him the whole day because you couldn't face him. it's cowardly of you and you know it, but in a way, you just shut off.

you rush to your feet. your sock covered soles slapping against the floor as you rush to the door. you open it and come face to face with a not so pleased looking felix.

'“i see you're still alive.” you swallow. he sounds irritated. he's angry at you and you don't blame him.

“felix, i–”

“are you going to let me in or are we just going to stand out in the hallway?” he cuts you off. you look down at your feet and shuffle to the side, opening the door wider for him.

he walks in, kicking off his shoes and hanging up his coat as you close the door behind him. he notices the unopened cupcakes and pack of birthday candles by the side of them.

“so?” he starts as he looks at you. your chin is tucked into your chest, fingers fiddling with one another. you feel like a child about to be told off by a parent.

“i'm so sorry, felix.” you start, keeping your eyes glued to your feet. you don't want to make eye contact with him because the guilt of forgetting is eating you alive. it's making you feel incredibly nauseous.

“for?” his arms crossed against his chest as he looks down at you, brow raised. his authoritative and dominant aura seeps out from his pores and clouds you, suffocating you in the process.

“... i–uh…” you start, words lodged in your throat. felix lets out a small, irritated sigh. “I forgot about your birthday.” 

your voice is small and cracks. you furiously blink back the tears that are threatening to spill from your lower lash line.

“you forgot?” you nod slowly. “is that why you've been avoiding me?” you nod again. “why?”

“because i thought you'd be angry at me… like right now.” felix runs his fingers through his hair slowly.

“i’m not angry that you forgot. it happens. i’m angry because you avoided me on my birthday.”

“i know.. i’m sorry.” you look up at him and chew your bottom lip. the cupcakes catch the corner of your eye. you rush to then, opening them and the candles before sticking one in the middle of the cake.

felix follows you and watches you with eager eyes. his gaze suddenly feels hot. he licks his lips as he admires your body, eyes flickering up and down.

he's undressing you with his eyes. 

you turn around, holding the cupcake in your hand with the candle flame flickering. you present it in front of felix and smile.

“i got you cupcakes though. i know it's not much but i couldn't find anything on such short notice…” felix simply hums and looks at the cake, then you. “are you not going to blow it out?” you question after some seconds pass.

felix leans in close. his lips brush against the shell of your ear as his voice drops and becomes low and deep. his warm breath fans against your ear as he speaks.

“why should i blow out the candles when you can just blow me instead?” 

goosebumps ripple along your skin. your heart suddenly starts racing. his breath feels ticklish against your ear, body temperature suddenly rising

“f-felix!” you squeak as he pulls back, finding amusement at your shocked facial expression. 

“i assume you didn't get me a gift so i can consider a blowjob as one. and if you do a good job, maybe i’ll let you off the hook for avoiding me on my special day.” 

“i–” you swallow a little, the heat from the candle is radiating onto your chin, adding to the increase of your own body temperature.

felix keeps his brow raised before trailing his hand down his torso to his groin where he squeezes and groans softly.

you can't take your eyes off him. you watch his hand squeeze and palm himself through his jeans. his veins bulging from his hands and arms. 

he kicks his head back a little, lips parting and giving you a view of his outstretched neck. his adams apple bobbing with his swallows. soft moan and grunts leaving his parted lips.

“don't just stand there.” his deep voice brings you back down to reality. “blow me.”

you place the cake down on the counter (after you blow out the candle) before kneeling in front of felix. he looks down at you. his dominate aura making you feel small and vulnerable but excited.

you can feel the pit of your stomach tingle and bubble with excitement. warmth coating your groin. the tips of your fingers and toes feel electric from the surging feeling of excitement that's mixed in with hormones.

you reach up and slide your hands up and under his t-shirt. his warm skin hugs the tips of your fingers. the sturdiness of his abs flexing and tensing with his stomach moving in time with his breathing.

you feel his smooth skin, tracing his muscles with your fingers. the only thing that isn't smooth, however, is the small, yet noticeable happy trail that runs from his belly button and disappears below his jean waistband.

“mhm..” felix hums softly, your touch giving him goosebumps. you move your hands lower until they come into contact with the rough fabric of his denim jeans.

you look up at him, asking for permission with your eyes to which he gives with a nod of his head.

you unbutton and unzip his jeans slowly, revealing that he is wearing black designer boxer shorts. you notice how his bulge is slowly, but surely, getting bigger with each passing second as he anticipates and waits.

you pull his jeans down to his knees. you press the palm of your hand against his crotch, massaging him slowly. he huffs. his cock twitching against the palm of your hand.

you give him a few gentle squeezes. your touch is too gentle for his liking so he looks down again you with glossy eyes.

“harder.”

you oblige by wrapping your fingers around his clothed length and squeezing, hard. his hips buck slightly and a soft, deep moan falls from his lips.

you feel his warm hand pressing against your cheek as his fingers graze along your jawline before bumping against your bottom lip.

he slowly strokes your lip, chewing on his own. 

“look at me.” you look up at him, making eye contact. two of his fingers nudge between your lips, gently pushing past them as you part them.

“good.” he whispers as his fingers caress your tongue. your brows furrow together, lips wrapping around the two digits as you suck. your saliva coats felix's fingers thoroughly whilst he pushes them further into your mouth until they're fully encapsulated in the warmth of your mouth.

the hand that around his clothed length has slowed down and is now loosely gripping him. your groin feels hot and excited, tingles in your stomach as felix explores the inside of your mouth with his two fingers before pulling them out slowly.

he gives a satisfying ‘hm’ before instructing you to continue with the nod of his head.

you whimper a little and reach up with both hands, grabbing the waistband of his boxer shorts. your fingertips brush against his hot skin, causing felix to shiver and huff in excitement.

you slowly pull down his underwear, revealing his happy train and v-lines slowly before his erect penis is revealed, bouncing and twitching at the sudden cold air hitting his hot shaft.

felix lets out a small breath of relief. the feeling of being restrained is no longer an issue. his hips buck slightly as you wrap your hand around the base of his shaft, stroking it slowly.

you watch the man above you slowly crumble. his penis twitching, pre-cum leaking from his slit. his shaft is hot against the palm of your hand, tip red and a few veins protruding along the sides.

your hand glides up and down his penis, rotating at the top. you use the pad of your thumb to gently rub his tip, smearing the pre-cum and making his tip glisten.

the sensitivity gets to felix. his hips rocking a little in your hand against his will, thigh muscles noticeable twitching. his head flops to the side slightly, half-lidded eyes looking down at you and watching your every move.

you lean in and lick the side of his shaft a few times before pressing your tongue against his tip and swiping it several times. his salty pre-cum coats your tastes buds, making you feel more excited.

you rub your thighs together as the heat in your groin is unbearable at this point. you're desperate for some sort of friction and attention but you're too into pleasuring felix. with the way felix is right now, you know he is going to be selfish and chase his own high.

your free hand cups and caresses his balls. felix hums softly as you roll and squeeze them gently in your hand whilst kitten licking his tip.

“c’mon, baby. you know i need more than that.” 

you close your eyes as you wrap your lips around his tip. felix shudders and huffs a little, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. you gently suckle on his tip, swirling your tongue around it a few times before slowly lowering your head and pushing more of him into your mouth.

the corner of your lips feels stretched, mouth stuffed. you try to make your jaw slack but even that is a struggle with how thick and long felix is.

you struggle to put half of his length in, settling with a little under. you can feel his tip bumping the back of your throat and saliva is quick to accumulate in your mouth.

felix huffs and puffs, body shuddering and twitching. he reaches down and runs his fingers through your hair a few times. 

you start to bob your head slowly. your hand stroking what your mouth struggles to reach. the head and hand move in synch with each other, providing equally, if not more, pleasure to felix.

he feels the pleasure rushing through his veins and burning. his toes curl against the floorboards and his grip on your hair tightening with each suck as a way to keep him stable and grounded.

“...fuck … baby, m-more..” he pants.

you oblige, increasing speed and intensity. felix's moans become more intense and breathy. his body and mind failing to comprehend the intense feeling of warmth and wetness from your mouth as well as the coolness of your palm.

“... oh fuck.. yes… so fucking good…” 

this just encourages you even more. you remove your hand and place them both on his thighs for stability. you push your head further down his length until you can feel it down your throat.

you hold back your gag reflex, swallowing a few times to tighten your throat around him. felix lets out a string of incoherent moans and whispers. 

your jaw hurts. your lips hurts. your knees hurt and you can't breath but listening to felix whimper and crumble makes it all worth.

you feel him twitch in your mouth. his hips thrusting involuntarily. he's a mess and he's close.

his balls are tightening and his body is coated in a thin layer of sweat. the sensitivity of his cock head is overbearing. 

“don’t stop.. 'm close..” he struggles to say between his moaning. his strangled moans mix in with the sloppy, wet sounds of your mouth. 

he lowers his head, chin tucked into chest as he whimpers. a string of “fuck” leaves his lips as he grips onto you. it doesnt take him long. his cock twitches in your mouth, hot fluid coating your tongue and throat.

felix whimpers and whines, huffing and puffing. his body twitches and jerks. you help him ride out his orgasm before slowly pulling away. 

you look up at him, making eye contact as you swallow. felix shudders and strokes your swollen bottom lip, saliva collecting on the pad of his thumb.

“you did good, yn.” with felix's help, you rise to your feet. the numb feeling of pain on your knees becoming more noticeable now that your legs are outstretched.

“does this mean i’m forgiven?” you mumble. felix nods and strokes your hair gently.

“sorta.” you look at him slightly confused. “my birthday isn't over just yet, yn.”

“true… so, what do you want?” 

felix takes you by the hand and drags you to the bedroom. he gently throws you onto the bed, stripping himself of his clothing as you lean on your forearms and watch.

“i want so much more.” he purrs as he crawls onto the bed, towering over you and kissing the shell of your ear.

“i’m a greedy man, yn. you should know that a blowjob is not nearly enough to satisfy me.”

[hom3landr]

So, I have an honest question. Homelander is used to his bday being a huge deal, but what if the person he is interested in doesn't care about their own bday?

Like he has known them for a year, and they never celebrated their own bday nor ever hinted at it. How do you think he'd react?

Birthday Blues

Homelander x Gender Neutral Reader

Homelander hates when you keep secrets from him. But what’s merely a harmless fact to you pokes a sore spot that you never expected.

You hear him before you see him, eyebrow raising at the angry stomp of his footsteps. You’re finishing up the chapter of the book you’re reading and you hope he doesn’t have beef with you because then who knows when you’ll get back to it. You read as fast as you can, words almost blurring as you hastily scan the page. But alas, before you reach the last sentence, your book is cruelly ripped from you.

Homelander stands over your place on the couch, one hand perched on his hip while the other points your book at you as a replacement for his “oh so imposing” finger that he loves to wave at you. His brow is knitted and there’s no doubt that whatever has his feathers ruffled has something to do with you. You lean back and sigh, contemplating how long you should let him ramble before attempting to calm him down. He’s cute when he’s angry. You can live with a lecture when he looks so good doing it. Although you’re hardly feeling charitable at the moment due to him snatching your book like some kind of barbarian.

“Why didn’t you tell me it’s your birthday?!” He hisses at you, dropping your book with a thump as he places both hands jauntily on his hips. His jaw clenches as he waits for your answer.

You freeze.

Huh?

You don’t know what you expected but it certainly isn’t that. You had expected him to be fussy about you grabbing a drink with Starlight the other night or helping Ashley with some insane task he gave so he could watch her squirm. You missed a call from him earlier, that tends to set him off. You’d even believe he was feeling sensitive about you waking up before him and grabbing a coffee instead of a good morning kiss. Any of those would be easy to assume. But no, he’s apparently worked up that you didn’t tell him your birthday.

You figured Homelander isn’t a fan of birthdays. He certainly seems cynical about his own. He hasn’t told you the whole story but when he grits his teeth at his birthday obligations instead of basking in the cheers of the crowd, you can easily make the assumption that it’s a sore subject. You don’t have any hang ups about your own birthday but it just never seemed like a big deal to you. It’s just a day. Perhaps too many sneak attacks from the singing staff at restaurants traumatized you. Maybe it’s because birthday cake is always too sickly sweet. Or possibly you just don’t feel like celebrating the passage of time. You never tell people and people rarely ask.

Yet, you can tell by the petulant twist of his mouth that he’s not just angry but hurt that you didn’t share it with him.

“I’m…sorry. I just don’t really think about it that much.” You reply with a confused shrug. His mouth twitches and you know he’s not satisfied with that answer. He’s taking this awfully personally and you can’t for the life of you figure out why. It’s just a day.

“Are you trying to fuck with me? So next time we argue you can bring up what a horrible boyfriend I am for ignoring your birthday! You gonna gossip about it over cocktails with fucking Starlight?” He spits out her name like a curse. You want to roll your eyes but you don’t fancy Homelander flying you to the top of a skyscraper and leaving you there like the last time you tried that. You sigh and reach out to take his hand. He jerks it away petulantly for a moment but when you reach for it again he allows your touch.

“That would make me a pretty shitty partner. I’m not trying to play games with you. I’ve just never really had strong feelings about my birthday. That’s all. I promise.” You squeeze his hand and some of the tension leaves his shoulders. You rub the back of his hand with your thumb, enjoying the feel of the buttery soft leather of his glove. He pouts.

“I’m not a bad boyfriend.” He huffs. You gently tug his hand and guide him until he’s laying on the couch with his head in your lap. It only takes a few strokes of his hair before he deflates like a balloon. He turns to snuggle his face into your chest.

“I’m not.” He sighs into your shirt. You shush him gently.

“You’re my good boy. I know you wouldn’t forget on purpose. You take such good care of me. But why do you care so much about my birthday?” You switch from stroking his hair to rubbing soothing circles on his back. He’s easily mollified today and it further confirms your suspicions that his feelings were deeply wounded. He desperately needs reassurance when that happens. It’s sweet.

“Did you know that my birthday is fake? Corporate decided on it. I don’t even have one since I was…” He trails off and your heart squeezes painfully. He’s cagey about his past but every so often new details will slip out and it horrifies you every time. You continue to sooth him even as your stomach twists unpleasantly. “But you do have one and you don’t even care! Do you know how fucking spoiled you are?”

You ignore the jab although your hackles rise. Poking his ego now would prove disastrous. So you swallow your pride and continue to let him vent.

“I don’t want you keeping things like that from me. You’re mine and I deserve to know things about you. How can I trust you when you won’t even tell me your fucking birthday.” He huffs and you can feel him stiffen up as he works himself back up into an angry spiral. He nips at your stomach hard enough to bruise and you tug on his hair harshly as a reprimand.

“This isn’t me intentionally keeping some secret from you. I don’t tell anybody.” You pause briefly as an idea hits you. “But…maybe it’s your birthday today too.” You answer and he pulls himself away to fix you with a bemused glare. His brow twitches as he processes what you said

“I mean, if you don’t know the actual day. Then technically every day can be your birthday. It’s like Schrodinger's Cat. Screw corporate, pick your own birthday.” You give his shoulder a little shake and your heart lifts when the corner of his mouth tilts into a little smile.

“It’s my birthday today too then. Now you have to celebrate.” He gives you a smug grin and you ruffle his hair fondly. The hurt still lingers. This is a mere bandage over the leaking wound you know still remains. But if you can ease his burden even a little, you’re happy to do so. Even if it means making a big deal out of your birthday.

“The mighty Homelander sharing the spotlight with a humble human like me? It’s pretty scandalous.” You tease and he turns his head to kiss the sore spot where he bit you. He nuzzles into you one last time before sitting up. He leans in to rub his nose against yours, desperately seeking intimacy in such a vulnerable moment.

“No spotlight,” He whispers. “Just you and me.”

You smile and pull him into a chaste kiss. He whines at the brevity of it and you place another cheeky kiss on the tip of his nose.

“Just you and me.”

He grins and his eyes fill with mischief as he meets your gaze.

“That means it’s time for your birthday spankings” He reaches out to swat you when you bolt with a wild laugh, careening and slipping around his apartment in your socks as he gives chase. You realize as you shriek at his games that maybe birthdays aren’t so bad after all…at least as long as no one sings to you.

[kishibe-kisser]

Baths with the Genshin boys (Part 1) Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Dainsleif

Tags: gender neutral, baths, quite wholesome, maybe some suggestive touches, nothing too intense

Part 2 / Part 3

Alhaitham: "You can relax a little." You mumbled in his ear, picking up on the way goosebumps coated his bare, broad shoulders. You had suggested taking a bath together to ease some of his stress, the Akademaya having been pushing the man's limits the last few days. But alas, not even a bath could pry the book from his hands.

"A few more pages." He grumbled in return, holding the book dangerously close over the water. Pressing his back into your chest, he tried to find a more comfortable position to read in, using your legs as arms rests to keep the book up.

"This isn't why I invited you to join me." You started, your hands dipping under the water to slowly move over his chiseled chest and abdomen. He tensed up, head falling back onto your shoulder at your touches. Alhaitham absolutely adored you, but he hated how you made him feel soft, distracted him. This was one of those times, the corner of the book dipping into the water slightly.

"Shit." He grumbled, tossing the book over the edge of the tub and onto the ground next to it. You had to stifle a laugh at his frustration, hands now moving to his tense shoulders. "I invited you so you could relax, now that I have your attention... relax." You smiled, his silver hair tickling your skin as you massaged his shoulders. Finally, you could feel the tension leaving his shoulders little by little. You kissed the top of his head and he let out a sigh.

"You're such a distraction."

Ayato: The room smelled like lavender and eucalyptus, a wonderful concoction created by Thoma because you asked for something soothing. The scent was what drew Ayato in, wandering into the bath house and standing in the door frame. Taking in the sight of you in the large tub, soaking your stress away.

"May I join you, dear?" Ayato asked, knocking you out of your thoughts. "You know you don't need to ask." You smiled, cocking your head to the right to look at him. He let out a hum of approval at your answer and quickly rid himself of clothes, trying to make quick work of all the buttons. "Darn the Kamisato clan and always needing to be proper." You muttered jokingly and he shook his head with a smile.

"Yeah, darn those guys." He laughed, finally undoing the last button and sliding into the tub behind you. The added body in the water made the tub overflow slightly, making Ayato hide his laugh into your shoulder. "Ah Thoma is going to be whining about that." You said and grabbed his arms, wrapping them around your waist.

"He'll get over it." Ayato sighed, tilting his head to kiss over your shoulder. "Will he?" You asked, leaning into his touches and you felt him shrug.

"Maybe not, I'll take him out to hot pot to make up for it."

Baizhu: "This is good for you." Baizhu remarked, taking note of your face as he poured some form of herbal liquid into your bath water. While he wasn't wrong, you knew almost for a fact it would simply be better for your health if he just got in with you. Just being around Baizhu was cathartic.

"You could also just..." Your wet hand came out of the water and grabbed onto his, teasingly pulling him into the water. He pulled away and tutted at you, sitting down next to the tub. "You know I need to go into the pharmacy soon." His voice was stern yet calm, looking at you with those gentle eyes. "I know." You frowned, sitting up in the tub more. You wanted to spend more time with him, desperately. But Baizhu was a busy man and you took the time when you got it.

"How about I sit here with you until I have to go?" He asked, dipping his hand in the water to massage your bare thigh. You felt yourself fold, his touches and gentle voice coupled with the warm water left you all mushy.

"That's fine... I'll take it." You sighed, resting your head on the tub and shutting your eyes. Baizhu looked at you, taking you in and how calm you looked.

"You know, Qiqi is getting pretty good at working in the pharmacy. Might have some more free time soon."

Dainsleif: You held his face in your hands, taking in his handsome face. He was having a hard time being vulnerable like this, though he had to admit that the weight of you on top of him was providing him with a lot of comfort.

Dainsleif had a lot of reservations about taking a bath with you, thoughts he didn't vocalize. But it seemed to be something you really wanted and well, he knew better than anyone that time with loved ones can be short. He also had to admit that being so intimate like this with, feeling your bare body pressed against him in the warm water was entirely soothing.

"Thank you, my love." He mumbled, large hands moving from your hips to wrap around you even tighter. The water sloshed at the movement, making a small mess but that didn't matter. You moved his blond hair from his eyes and forehead, smiling at him. "I'm glad you decided to join in." You remarked, letting go of his face to wrap around his neck.

You cupped some water into your hands and gently mussed up his hair. Dain bit back a smile, amused at how you were playing with his hair, forming curls with your fingers.

"I'd only let you get away with something like this."

A/N: Part 2 and 3 should be up in the next few days! Aside from that, my first time writing for Genshin characters, let me know what you think!!!

[recreationalfanfics]

Loki + Jack The Ripper with a Muerte the Wolf! S/o:

LIKE THE READER HAS THE SAME MANNERISMS AND JUST IS DEATH, NOT A DEATH GOD, THEY JUST ARE DEATH. Also Handsome is used in a gender neutral term here btw!"

Loki:

You always had a certain distaste when it came to Gods. They were, if not just as bad, as humans when it came to appreciating their lives because you knew already that even God's could bleed. When Ragnarok started, you essentially became a janitor as you took the souls of dead mortals to Niflhiem, and were confused when you had to escort two God's souls but it made you slightly proud, knowing that these humans were willing to fight for their entire survival and for their future generations...they may not have been as hopeless as you thought.

"Hello, (tall/small), dark, and handsome!" A voice called out to you.

Unlike some people.

"Loki. Leave me be, I have work to attend too." You brush him off, not bothering to look back at the green-haired God.

However that did not stop him from being as annoying as ever and floating in front of you, his face upside down as he gave you one of his signature creepy little smiles. You scoffed and ducked down under him but he immediately stood upright, his feet landing on the ground.

As of late, the God of Deciet started hanging around you more. You couldn't really fathom as to WHY, maybe because he thought you were interesting or maybe because he knew you wanted to be left alone and just wanted to bother you anyways. Regardless, you've been pestered by him non stop for ages.

"Aw, but you always have work!" He whines, grabbing your cloak and pulling you towards him.

You make no reaction as you fall into his arms and you let out an animalistic growl as he hugs you tightly and nuzzles his cheek with yours.

"If I didn't know any better, (Y/n), it's almost like you don't like me!"

You harshly shove him off of you and try to walk off but he catches up to you rather quickly. He was oddly more determined than usual to get in your way, "So, what did you think of the fight just now? Aren't the humans exciting!?"

You smiled at him, "I'll agree with you on that. I'm gonna be honest, I'm quite proud of them."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes." Then your eyes go from (e/c) to red as you step in front of him with a wolfish grin, "I wonder if they'll finally make you Gods realize that one day, I'll come for you all, too."

Loki blinks but then laughs at your words, causing you to become stone-faced once more seeing how your intimidation didn't work on him, either because he was too arrogant or too out of his mind.

"Believe me, if I could die a thousand deaths just so you would come to me just once, I would," He sighs dreamily, making you roll your eyes and turn away from him, "But, alas, it seems you're too insistent on playing hard to get!"

It feels very noteworthy to mention that you've been playing "hard to get" with him for a good portion of your existence and considering how death was neverending, it has been a very long time. You learned long ago you shouldn't bother to get attached to people because you knew that you couldn't keep them, you'd have to take them and give them up at some point, and this tournament only proved that not even the God of Deceit would be any different if the humans could kill gods. Not that you'd be super upset if he were to die, regardless of how managed to rile up all your emotion, it would still be all the same.

"...Answer me this, God, would you still smile at me the way you do now if I had to escort you to Niflhiem?"

Loki seemed taken aback by your question and tapped his chin, pretending to think about your inquiry before giving you a sly smile.

"Only if you send me off with a kiss~"

You narrow your eyes at him but begin to walk away from him. You should've known better than to ask a serious question to a foolish God.

Jack the Ripper:

Jack wondered if he was able to die a second time in the afterlife, well...he knew he was able too considering he just killed a God, but he wonders what would happen if he just dropped to the ground, laying down and succumbing to the injuries bestowed into him by Hercules and the crowd. Would he go to Niflhiem? Or would he just go to Hell?

He didn't get the chance to find out because once he fell to his knees, he felt another person grab one of his arms and put it around their shoulder. He feels their hand on his back supporting him as they both stood up together and then walked down the hall.

"I truly do believe that you're cursed, Jack." You sigh softly, shaking your head. He looks up at you, you can see him doing so from your peripheral vision and you chuckle to yourself softly, "Honestly, it amazes me how you're capable of such cruelty and yet, you still have such innocent eyes."

You speak to him like you are an old friend to him, in fact, you feel awfully familiar to him. He's certain that he's never met you before in his life, however, he would've remembered someone with such a beautiful color. You...you embodied it, you embodied his favorite color of life fleeting from a person, but there was more to your color than just that. You were a macabre work of art, so if you had met...surely he would've remembered you!

"D...Do I know you?" He asked, trying his best not to cough up blood. You shake your head, "No...but I do know you. After all, we have worked with each other quite a few times in the past. Five times to be exact."

He narrowed his eyes, now he surely felt like he would've remembered you, especially if he met you five times. You chuckle at his furrowed brows as he tries to think about what you were talking about.

"You might not have seen me, but you have felt me." You tease, finding the look on his face quite endearing.

He wonders what on Earth you could've possibly meant by that, thinking long and hard. Yes, you did feel familiar. You felt calm to be around, perhaps slightly bit ominous, but you felt like...like the silence after a tragedy occurs. Solemn, causing slight anxiety to those around you, but then...quiet. Calm yet suspenseful.

Ah, he knows who you are now.

And you can see it in his eyes that he recognizes you.

"(Y/n)." He says, making it your turn to be shocked,

He was supposed to know you, but the fact he calls you...that name instead of your generally well-known one surprises you. He notices your expression change and smiles, "I do apologize if that was improper of me, but something inside me was telling me to call you that."

He was an odd one indeed.

"Don't apologize, I also feel as though we can drop the formalities, Jack." You chuckle.

You bring him the medical wing of the stadium and as you lay him down on the gurney, he grabs your arm before you pull it away.

"Thank you...for being with me all my life, (Y/n)." He grins.

If you had a heart, you were sure it would break from how true his words are. You had followed him along for quite a long time until you caught up to him, and now here you were, this time, he was able to finally see you.

"You truly are a cursed man." You sigh sadly, squeezing his hand reassuringly before standing up and leaving.

[exchangestudentnova]

I was so happy you make a Yandere blog :') thank you, Also Hi! Can I request for Fantasy Au! Obey me yandere for Lucifer? Lucifer is a king who fall in love with MC who is the Queen/King from another Kingdom that already married to someone else, But one day Lucifer decided to invade MC's kingdom. Oh- he's not come for their land or Treasure, He come for Mc.

Hello anon! It makes me happy to see the support!! I just started writing, so I might not be that good but I'm always improving! Also I'll be making the reader gender neutral as the game's mc is gn!

IMPORTANT!: This work features the death of a background character.

"May I have this evening's last dance with you?" His deep, raspy yet powerful voice did not scare you, in fact, it made you feel warm inside. Your heart fluttered as you gaze into his black and red ombre eyes. They seem to be filled with longing, justified by the way his arm is wrapped around your waist as the two of waltz around the ballroom.

That man named Lucifer disappeared after the dance, but still he managed to leave a deep impression in your mind. There was not a single day in the past few weeks where you did not reminisce about your dance together.

So of course it surprised you when your father announced that you'll be getting married and that he has already chosen a suitable partner for you. There was a small part of your heart which hoped it would be Lucifer, but alas, it was nothing but wishful thinking.

It has been 5 months since the wedding took place and now there was not a single day in the past few months where you thought about him, the memory and all the hopes washed away with the tears you shed upon discovering your father's choice. Your spouse's only job seemed to be spending all the kingdom's money on luxurious items, and you were feeling trapped in a lifeless, loveless marraige.

Your mundane life continued until one day the news of a king's army spotted several distances away from the fortified walls rang alarm bells in the entire kingdom. Common people scared, the military preparing for an upcoming war, all this was supposed to make chills run down your spine but that was not the case. Rather, your heart was beating in anticipation, a sixth sense of sorts telling you that it will something no one is expecting.

You were ordered to stay inside your room till the war subdues, but within a few hours of the beginning a knock on your balcony's window startled you. As soon as you open the window, you saw him, standing in full body armour, with the same eyes that you gazed into that fated night, the same arm he extended while inviting you to the last dance, the same man you danced with that night, there he was standing under the pale moonlight.

"I'm sorry it took me so long dear, I prepared to set on a journey to your kingdom that same night after our dance, as I wish to make you mine the proper way" His voice was just as you remembered, deep, raspy yet powerful. "Lucifer....I'm so glad I could meet you again, but I'm afraid it's too late, I'm already ma-" the loud noise of your bedroom door being flung open interrupted you as your spouse came running, face filled with anger.

"What is it!? What do you want??? Treasure? This land?? What is it?? Name your price and get out with your army at once!" Your spouse barked as he threw a bag of gold at Lucifer's feet. *tsk* "what a low life" remarked Lucifer and from your expressions, he could connect the dots about your relation to the poor fellow. Your spouse already sprung into action, dragger in hand as soon as the insult hit their ears.

"Well if I'm too late then I guess I have to take responsibility?" Lucifer covers your eyes with one hand, the other unsheathes his sword and raises it, bringing an end to your spouse's life.

You could feel his breath tickling your ears as he spoke "Well if I can't have you the traditional way, then I'll just have to forcefully take you for myself hm?"

P.S: Um I think I made it more Royal AU than Fantasy AU. Lemme know what you think anon. Thank you for your request!

[old-poptart]

*coughs cutely* miss me-?

Can i request hanako and teru (separately) with a s/o who overthinks A LOT and always gets nervous that people don’t like them- s/o reads into what people say BIG TIME so they can ‘prepare’ for when people leave them

So like the boys start to get distant (for school and other stuff) and s/o sees that as a sign that the boys dont want to hang out with them. Because of this s/o goes into a bit of a panic thinking that they might break up with them soon so instead of talking to them, s/o takes matters into their own hands. So when s/o tries to get their attention but the boys still shun then due to them being busy, s/o freaks out mentally and tries to hold back tears not to cry in front of them- you know what to do- ah-

(I totally don’t do this with everyone i know and I’m totally not spilling my guts out rn- nooooo-)

(Probably another reason this is so terrible written-)

ANGST TO FLUFF PLEASE!!!

a/n: yes i did ml 😘 AHHH IM VERY MUCH LIKE THIS AS WELL, REASSURANCE DAWG this idea is so muah chef's kiss, ANYWAYSSSSS ONTO THE HEAD CANONZ!!!

warnings: fear of abandonment, ignoring, wah wah sad stuff but yippee happily ever after :D!!!!

Hanako 🌺 and Teru 🤺 with an s/o who has a fear of abandonment (gender neutral):

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

Hanako 🌺:

"for we are like glue, stuck together forever."

hanako briefly knew about how you would get about the people around you

lil ol' you cant help but think of every possible outcome or aspect of the people you meet, if you didn't then you'd prolly go crazy and you'd be unprepared for any misfortunate upcoming events

as of recently, your beloved ghostly love has been quite busy with his supernatural schedule. meetings, rumors, keeping the school in order and in shape! it's tough being number 7!

he doesn't like that he has to spend less time with his partner but he is doing his best!! hakujoudai always helps y'all keep in touch, so does writing letters!! what a cute couple~

though you appreciate the sweet gestures from your boyfriend, you have been feeling like he is running out of love for you

you two normally cuddle and kiss like over five times a day, nowadays you barely get to peck each other's cheeks

sure you may be overthinking this but you never know the outcome!! you gotta be prepared!!

as time went on it kept getting worse, you two barely hung out anymore. he was the main subject of the day, now he was just another thought you kept in mind just in case

he's been meaning to talk to you about his absence but due to his ghostly duties (haha i said duty) he couldn't. believe me he is very upset that he can't speak with you at the moment and he's trying his best!! but alas, your thoughts took over

you came to visit him during a meeting, thankfully it was nearing the end of it and he was wrapping up the conversation. the small salty drops were beading up in your sullen eyes as your eyebrows were upturned, accompanied with your quivering lips that were too scared of saying of anything wrong

he noticed that you came to visit, a smile on his face but it slowly transitioned into a sadder expression when he saw your emotional face. once the meeting was officially over, he came over to you and quickly hugged you, murmuring these words as he kissed your sweet face, the face he missed so deeply. "im so sorry we've been apart for so long my love, im here now. tell me everything"

Teru 🤺:

"leaving you is like having my heart torn to pieces"

while you may not know it, teru reads your emotions very well and knows when you've been overthinking your relationship with him

he's tried his best to be a good boyfriend and spend the most of your time together, if he ever has any time with you

teru is a busy man. he has student council work, exorcist stuff, being the school prince, a lot is on his shoulders! he tends to get carried away with work a ton

he has been quite dry recently as well, his texts have been so lifeless.. you've wondered if a certain ghost decided to snag his phone and slide up on his contacts

you've also noticed that he has been getting more attention from his fans at school, it reminded you how much attention he had before the two of you started dating. you've also specifically seen more confessions towards him, it all seemed strange since the news about you two stuck to everyone like a piece of tape that would not get off of paper

with all of this, you felt less than. to you, it was clear that he didn't love you anymore, he just kept you around because he pitys you. you felt like decoration when you stood next to him, even when you two were alone

one day you finally decided to talk to him about this, you knew he was staying late for work as per usual. with balled up sweaty fists and a nervous mind, you walked inside that student council room

"hm? oh s/o!! come in!!" that charming smile of his always made your heart flutter. you sat down with him as you too a look at how busy he was, analyzing the paperwork on his desk

"yeah it's a lot- these are up for debate on the-" "teru, can we talk..?" your voice shook his head, he listened to what you had to say. he was still holding the pencil he had in hand and it made you sad, how he was right there next to you and yet he didn't fully pay attention to you, his lover.

you started to unravel about how you've been feeling recently, how these thoughts tricked you into thinking about how you boyfriend didn't have room for you anymore. he payed close attention to your tone, letting you finish and noticing how you tried your hardest to not let everything loose

he cupped your face, his thumb wiping away those sad tears of yours. it pained him to see you like this, he would do anything for you. and if that means to cut back on his duties, then that he will do. "dear, im sorry about all these things that have caused you pain.. i will help you go through this, and that it won't happen again.." his soft lips touched yours, making you feel loved again.

I HAD A BLAST WRITING THIS- HOPE YOU ENJOY!!

-ooga :D

[prrism]

Hi! This is new for me, I’ve never done a request before (hope I’m doing it right), but do you think you can do Wilbur or BadBoyHalo for you next babysitter story? I adore a babysitter stories and I think you do a great job of having everyone in character and making them completely adorable 🥰

Awww ☺️ I’m glad you’re liking my babysitter!reader stories, they’re one of my favourites to write 😄 My mind instantly stuck to Bad with this idea. I might do Wilbur next (if I remember anyways 😅)

Shoulder Devil

Summary: A prank gone wrong leads to you watching the sweetest devil in existence…

Characters: Badboyhalo x Reader (feat. Skeppy)

Relationship: platonic

Pronouns: unspecified/kept neutral

It had been quite the day and you were hoping for a little sympathy from the world, alas you just can’t make such wishes when the door bursts open, Skeppy of all people waltzing in looking rather tense.

“Did you just kick in my door?” You look over at him unamused.

“Uhhh… no?” He gives an unconvincing smile before holding something out to you. “Here, I heard you’re good at this.” You take a step away from him.

“Whoa whoa whoa! How do I know you’re not trying to pull something on me. You have a reputation for that.” You eye him warily, he’s about to answer when whatever he was holding starts to squirm, making him lose his grip. Out of reaction you leap to catch it, looking down at the tiny, smiling devil, you then turn back to Skeppy with a raised eyebrow.

“So I may have tried pulling something on Bad while we were mining and somehow he became small.” Skeppy says nervously.

“This was intentional?” You question.

“No! This wasn’t supposed to happen I swear!”

“Explain then.”

“I was just trying to give him a scare, you know play a sound like there’s a creeper or zombie and have him panic a little, you know, the usual.” He chuckles at the memory before his expression drops a little. “One of those scares made him slip off a ledge, but he landed in this weird coloured moss so I thought he was fine. Then while we were leaving he got really quiet, I was about to make a joke about how scared he was but when I turned around he was like this!” Skeppy was on the verge of panicking by now.

“Alright, I get it. I’ll look after Bad until this wears of-”

“Thanks! You’re the best (y/n)! Bye!” And just like that Skeppy was out the door more chipper then ever, honestly you were pretty sure he just didn’t want to be on babysitting duty himself.

You sigh as you turn your attention back to the small demon that was currently playing with the sleeve of your shirt.

“I never thought I’d see the day where I’d be taller then you.” You joke getting Bad’s attention, you give him a small boop on the nose making him giggle and clap his hands happily.

Bad was extremely clingy, not that you were entirely surprised by this but you didn’t expect it to be this extreme. He’d follow, you everywhere gripping your leg when you’d take a pause or reaching up and making grabby hands for you to pick him up. Eventually you just set him on your shoulders while you moved around so you wouldn’t have to constantly pick him up and put him down again, plus you’re sure he appreciated the height. When outside, you let Bad play with one of the dogs you recently tamed, gave him something else to focus on and helped socialize your dog better too, win win. Of course you still kept a keen eye, after all past experience has taught you that the outdoors is where most of your mishaps seem to take place. Nothing goes wrong, you finish your tasks and bring Bad back inside without issue.

“It’s funny,” you start staring at him, Bad stares back with big, curious eyes. “You’d think a literal devil would be difficult to take care of and yet you’ve been the least troublesome kid I’ve had to watched. Thank you for that, by the way.” Bad gives you an adorable fanged smile in response. “You’re just a precious little thing aren’t you.” You coo at him, silently hoping you didn’t just jinx yourself.

You gave him some crayons and paper to colour with as well as a nice apple snack to peck at as he desired while you updated Skeppy on how things were going since he was constantly asking. There’s a sudden tug on your leg, you look over at Bad who’s holding up a picture of… well you weren’t exactly sure what it was, but he seemed to be proud of it so you do the natural thing and pin it up on your fridge for him. He then scurry’s back to the living room only to return a minute later with a book in hand, holding it out to you.

“Want me to read you a story?” You ask, he nods eagerly and you go to sit on the couch. It’s a small struggle but Bad manages to pull himself up and crawls onto your lap, leaning against you while you open the book and begin reading to him. “Once upon a time, there was a brave knight…”

You ended up reading quite a few stories to Bad, doing silly voices or being over dramatic to keep him entertained until he looked about ready to doze off, however, before he does the whirling sound fills your ears and you now had a sleepy, regular sized Badboyhalo leaning against you. You’re about to ask him to leave when he wraps his arms around you and places his full weight against you.

“Mmm hi.” He greets in a somewhat slurred voice.

“Hey.” You greet back awkwardly. “You mind getting off me and head ping back home?”

“No, this is fine.” He mumbles, you laugh at his still very childish behaviour.

“Come on. You normal again, you can go home and sleep.” You try getting up but his hold tightens, keeping you in place.

“Noooo… you make such a nice cuddle buddy.” He whines. “Just for 10 minutes. Please?” He did look about ready to pass out.

“Alright, 10 minutes it is.” You cave in with a sigh.

“Yay.”

“You know, for not being a kid anymore you sure are acting childish.” You chuckle.

“But it’s fun being a kid, even as an adult.” Bad’s voice is barely above a whisper now.

“True… man Skeppy’s going to be so jealous about this.”

“Then don’t tell him…” He trails off, having finally passed out, you following suit not long after him, the both of you enjoying your short power nap.

If there’s anyone else you’d like to see in this series, don’t be shy to let me know, you can even repeat characters if you’d really like 😁

[prideofcelestia]

❝ soulmates ❞

notes -> this is my piece for leviathan's birthday collaboration 2023. the prompt is 'soulmates'

contains tw -> mentions of reader's death, topics of reincarnation, mentions of death of animals, angst with a happy ending

leviathan x gender neutral reader

the art piece drawn by the very talented @thedevioussmirk can be found on their tumblr and instagram

Levi didn't know that happiness like that existed, that he could feel so comfortable in another’s presence, that he could gather the courage to hold their hand gently and tell them about his life willingly. Levi found it all, and he was grateful that he found peace in one person.

However, peace was a fragile state and it didn't last long. His euphoria shattered soon. Your time was up before he could ask you to spend the rest of your life with him. He didn't know what he regretted more — the fights that had shaken both your worlds, or the times he thought he hadn’t been there for you, or the sinking feeling that he couldn’t give you all the happy memories he had planned to.

He knew about your mortality but his fear had paralysed his mind into denial. You were gone before he could accept that he would be alone once again.

Still, he kept his gloomy feelings in check. What was the point? He knew this would happen. He knew, he knew! Who should he curse? What should he place the blame on if not his own naivete?

With a face as stern as the oceans that he ruled, he entered your room but his eyes were dry as a desert. He finally broke down in tears at the sight of your dead fish. How cruel of you to not leave behind the one friend you shared in common!

༺☆༻

"You know he swims with more vigour when you come to visit me," he could hear your voice in his mind as he pictured you glancing at your energetic pet. "I think he likes you!"

"Eh? Eh?! So-Someone li-li-likes me?!" he used to blush with joy.

"Yes, Levi," you would smile sweetly, "I think he approves of our love."

༺☆༻

The love still tugged at his heart like a wounded bird wanting to stay still. That was what made it so difficult. Even when the person left, the memories stayed, and he didn't know if those were meant to please him or torment him for the remainder of his days.

He shut himself in his room and refused to talk to anyone, only fulfilling his responsibilities for which he believed he was 'created'. Was there any other point of life if not to satisfy the authorities?

How he destroyed his mind in his own time was a matter for him alone.

༺☆༻

It was on one such mission assigned to him that he came across a human who resembled you. They were the splitting image of how he remembered you as.

No words of encouragement could urge him to approach them. Was he not betraying your memory by talking to this new person? Could it not be a twisted trap? In all honesty, he was scared; scared that grief was making him hallucinate and the moment he tried to approach them, they would vanish. Wasn’t it better for them to exist and live than be tarnished by his company?

Despite the noble thoughts that plagued his mind, they always had his presence around. He stalked their every move during his free time. He could not let them come to harm, not on his watch.

His face softened when he saw them buy a pet snake. Maybe he could have one too. That was how he met his beloved Henry, the first one of his pets, the one who he would eventually lose. His new pet snake was a constant source of comfort for him, just as tracking their every move was.

Days were passing pleasantly. One could say too pleasantly.

He had made himself believe that someday soon he would muster the courage to go talk to them. If everything worked out well, they might become friends. Henry would get a snake bestie too!

Alas! That life was too good to last!

He noticed their snake looking sick before them. He felt a sense of foreboding. It was deja vu.

No, no, no, no, no! He had to make sure that it was fine. When he tried approaching the snake, it hissed and slithered away in the sand, away from his reach, as if moving in rhythm with death. Some place nearby, they didn’t see how a reaper pulled them close in a cold embrace.

This time, Levi didn’t restrain himself, howling and shaking with sorrow as he held their lifeless body in his arms. It wasn’t even you, so why did he feel so broken?

He didn’t even know them! Not really.

But he knew the moment he finally touched them. He could feel the warmth of your soul slowly disappearing from the person he held in his arms.

༺☆༻

The next time Levi found you — or as he now realised, your reincarnate — he tried to keep his distance… and failed. His failure cost him another heartache as he saw you dead, the corpse of your pet lying nearby.

It happened so many times — the pattern following, a dead pet at your heels — that he feared stepping outside his room. If he held your dead body one more time in his arms, he felt sure that he would go mad. He dreaded that face that had once made his heart feel like liquid. So, without any explanation to any of his brothers, he locked himself up in his room with his games, anime, manga and whatever could distract him from the pain he had brought upon himself.

At least Ruri-chan and Azuki-tan weren’t as cruel as you! They wouldn’t leave him alone.

༺☆༻

A long time had passed before he faced a new change in his life. He had grown so accustomed to his hermit existence that it annoyed him, but Lord Diavolo’s orders needed to be followed. His duty was important, since it kept him out of trouble with Lucifer and paid for his moe moe kyun adorable figurines of his waifus and husbandos!

Other than that, the exchange programme didn’t concern him. Human beings didn’t concern him anymore. He wanted to stay in his room, burdened with shame and helplessness, doing his best to forget and forgive a fact that was beyond his control anyway.

༺☆༻

He was obliged to have dinner with his family that night. Apparently Lucifer wanted all of his brothers to meet the exchange student. Levi grunted but paused his game and made his way to the dining room, slouched and grumpy.

“Why does Lucifer have to do this? Does he even know how difficult it is to get to the last level?! OFC he doesn’t LOLOLOL that normie could never-! No wonder he called me. How is a mere normie to understand the importance of my mission?! Ahhhhh my unused joints are crying out in agony. Uwwaaaaaaah end my misery, let this gross otaku go back to his room!!”

Ahead of him, he could hear chatter and he felt sick to the pit of his stomach. He was not ready for this level of social gathering, with some extroverts no less! Not to mention that there would be a new face in the midst!

You were guarded from view when he entered the dining room looking ready to pass out. It was the voice that gave you away. All his anxiety and discomfort was forgotten. He was fixed to the spot.

Without another glance, he left, rushing for his room.

“Levi? Levi?! Where are ya goin’?” Mammon called after him.

“Leviathan! Come back this instant,” Lucifer looked displeased.

“Did I do something wrong?” you asked timidly.

“Ohhh hunny don’t worry about him. He probably has some anime to watch,” Asmo spoke soothingly.

After shutting his door after him, he collapsed into a heap on his floor.

Those eyes… How long had it been since he actually looked into your eyes?

And he knew that he wouldn’t sleep peacefully that night.

༺☆༻

He tried his best to not cross your path. It shouldn’t have been THAT difficult. He had managed to do it several times during the last centuries. The only difference was that now you wanted to know him, to be his friend and in front of that persistence, he felt weak.

“Leviathan? Are you inside? I bought a new game but I can’t understand the mechanics. Can you show me, please?”

“Leviathan, I got some snacks. Would you like to share?”

“Leviathan, what are you up to? I think we should get acquainted, you know?”

When he finally responded, you seemed to grow bolder.

“Levi! Asmo said I could call you that. I hope you don’t mind. It would be nice if we could talk…”

The sadness in your voice broke his heart so he yielded. On witnessing the efforts that you were putting to form a bond with him, he opened the doors to his room and his heart for you. After weeks of gaming together and getting to know you — this you that lived independent of the love he felt ages ago — he couldn’t help wanting to be with you as more than friends.

You were radiant in his eyes and he felt comfortable around you. How long had it been since he actually enjoyed company?

However, there was no denying the sad truth that with something precious came the fear of losing it. It was a double edged sword and Levi could clearly see himself getting impaled at the sharp end of his feelings. Yet it would be a choice he made himself and he could no longer deny himself that.

༺☆༻

“Levi,” your voice floated from the other side of the door.

The controller slipped from his fingers. Bewilderment was quickly replaced by surprise and rage, followed closely by relief. So you hadn’t forgotten him.

The last few weeks had been dreadful. When you started spending time, holed up with Solomon in his study, Levi felt that he had lost you. What did you two talk about in solitude? He kept wondering with envy.

“Levi, are you there? I have something to show you!”

That broke his reverie. He got up and opened the door for you.

“Hi!” you said with a smile. “Wow Levi it’s been a while since I saw you, huh?”

He fidgeted nervously and nodded, neither looking at you nor speaking. There was silence for a few moments before you spoke awkwardly.

“Are you angry with me?”

“N-No,” he managed, his face flushing pink. He understood your decision, truly he did. “Everyone will p-p-prefer Solomon to a yucky otaku like m-m-me.”

When he saw you move closer from the corner of his eyes, he turned towards you in shock. The expression on your face just confused him more.

He wasn’t expecting you to look… disappointed.

“Levi, why would you say that? That’s not true… You must know that. In fact, I have something to show that I appreciate you.”

He followed your gaze and blinked. Perched on your arm was a phoenix. He felt a little stupid for not noticing it before. The bird fixed a curious gaze on Levi and spread its wings, showcasing its splendid plumage of every colour imaginable.

“Pet it. Go on.”

When he hesitantly moved his hand forward, the bird leaned in, almost wanting to be caressed.

You smiled when he was mesmerised by the soft feathers. “I am so glad it likes you!”

“Yeah,” he murmured, awestruck that a mythical bird would actually welcome his affection. That’s when he remembered something.

“Wait, but what is the surprise?”

“Only that I want you to look after the little guy with me. This phoenix will be under OUR care from now on!”

His hand fell to his side stiffly. “Whaaaa- Buuuu- Wouldn’t Satan be a better choice for this kind of thing??”

“Well yeah,” you hesitated. “But I want it to be you, Levi.”

His throat felt parched and he was at a loss of words. He looked at the phoenix and then at your uneasy face. Knowing exactly what he wanted, he allowed him this excess.

“O-Okay, sure, [Name]. I d-don’t mind if you are fine with a gross, yucky otaku like me.”

He lost the function of his brain when your face brightened up and you grabbed his hand with a joyous cheer. “Yayy. You will? That makes me so happy!”

When you were leaving, he felt part nervous, part ecstatic.

A fact gnawed at his mind, but was not unwelcome.

A phoenix is supposed to be immortal.

[smoshblr-aita]

AITA for not being able to leave my ex for good?

(hii! sorry in advance if something is written wrong or dumb, english is not my first language 😭)

So, I (18, non-binary) and my now-ex girlfriend (I’ll call her S from now on) (18, f) had been dating for almost two years before we agreed to break up in the end of April. In short, I have to move to another town for Uni, and she has to stay for at least two more years in our town, which is really far from where I’m going. She stated that she is not able/doesn’t want to have and support a long distance relationship, so it would be better for us to break up and I totally respect it. We decided to stay close friends.

The relationship already was kind of unhealthy? As most of the close friends and some acquaintances from both of our sides noted. They said that S was using my kindness and not really respecting me. I can’t really tell if it’s true. The only thing that was really affecting me in the relationship was her possessiveness and constant need for attention (I often had to choose her over my friends, family and personal stuff) because of her past experiences with people leaving her and etc.

We broke up and it was okay at first, I needed to go to another city for like 20 days, so we were separated and just texted each other sometimes. Of course, it felt off not being close after two years of being attached to the hip, but was manageable. But it seems that S was not okay at all, she kept texting me stuff like “Come back faster pls everyone is so annoying”, “Without you it feels off and weird” and more. I really tried to keep a neutral tone, because it was her who offered to break up in the first place. Alas, she made it clear that she is still as affectionate as ever.

I had enough time to think, and decided that this relationship is not worth fixing, and I want to move on. It appears to be harder than it sounded in my head.

I returned home and S kept insisting on meeting up and I thought nothing of it. We were hanging out for a couple of days, but slipping into old habits is easy, especially if you both still have feelings for each other, so we just kept acting like we’re still dating? And every time we see each other it’s like we didn’t have a break up at all. I was already conflicted and even asked her what does it all mean and she replied that “it’s too hard to just erase and forget all the stuff that was happening for two years” and I just accepted it???

Also, S met new friends that are a super bad influence and I don’t think they’re great people, and it’s for sure that they are going to get her into trouble. I mentioned it to S, she replied that she knows all that but she’s not gonna indulge into their bad stuff. But her actions have changed and she is now more… edgy??? Also she keeps doing questionable stuff like sleeping over at these friends place for like three days in a row doing God-knows-what and bickering about that with her concerned parents multiple times. I understand that S is 18 and she legally can do whatever she wants, but she is now just suddenly super different not in a good way.

I don’t think continuing this a good thing for both of us, so I try to keep distance and postpone our meetings to not see each other and just naturally be apart. But I’m ready to help her out with things on her beck and call sometimes just because I can’t not help someone if they ask me. But S is upset with me, the last time i rain checked (for real this time, I had stuff to do) she texted me something like “Why don’t you ever want to meet up? It’s like you never even loved me”. How was I even supposed to answer this?

This totally should stop, but I just can’t make myself end this stuff. I don’t know how to explain to S why I don’t want to meet up with her anymore without hurting her feelings, so now we’re just in this awkward limbo situation where we both still have feelings, but we just grew apart so much??

So, AITA for not ending it all sooner and just going with the flow, slipping into acting like we didn’t break up at all instead of confronting the situation?

[mariana-oconnor]

Wisteria Lodge pt 1

Definitely haven't read this one before. If there's a Granada version I will have watched it, but only once about five years ago, because that's when I bought the box set and just straight up watched them all. I don't remember the name even slightly. Wisteria is very pretty, though, so I've got a feeling I'd want to live in this lodge even if it does get a bit murdery.

Suddenly he turned upon me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “I suppose, Watson, we must look upon you as a man of letters,” said he. “How do you define the word ‘grotesque’?”

That is not what I was expecting him to say. Do you mean the adjective or the noun, Holmes?

“Strange—remarkable,” I suggested.

That's... not how I would define it either. Is that an evolution of the meaning in the last century? There's a definite meaning of ugliness or disgust these days, not just 'strange'. I'm not sure I'd call any of the cases grotesque, in fact, because it's really more a visual adjective to me than an experiential adjective. I guess The Five Orange Pips was fairly grotesque, given the subject matter involved, but even then... I assume the meaning has evolved slightly.

“Have just had most incredible and grotesque experience. May I consult you? — “Scott Eccles, “Post Office, Charing Cross.”

I know you had to pay by the word for telegrams, but that is the least descriptive telegram you could possibly have sent, Mr Eccles. Clearly you belong to the school of 'leave them asking questions'.

I'm a little confused by Watson thinking that the name Scott Eccles could have been a woman in 1892. Did Scott used to be a gender neutral name? But also, Holmes assertion that a woman would have come rather than just vague-telegramming at him makes me laugh. I feel like anyone else would have just turned up, or at the least sent a message that gave a smidge more information, y'know. Like a ballpark description, a hint of danger, or a location?

HIs name is going to give me a craving for eccles cakes, though.

“My dear Watson, you know how bored I have been since we locked up Colonel Carruthers. My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built. Life is commonplace, the papers are sterile; audacity and romance seem to have passed forever from the criminal world."

Who is Colonel Carruthers? So many colonels recently. Is colonel statistically the rank most likely to require the services of Sherlock Holmes? Although one of the colonels wasn't a colonel at all, and was also the villain of the piece, and the second colonel was the victim, so didn't really require Holmes' services so much personally.

Love Holmes waxing lyrical about how boring all the criminals are, though, and how they're just not as good anymore as the old criminals were. Woe! There is no light in the world with criminals going around being so prosaic and uninspired.

His life history was written in his heavy features and pompous manner. From his spats to his gold-rimmed spectacles he was a Conservative, a churchman, a good citizen, orthodox and conventional to the last degree.

Alas. A tory.

Quite a restrained description from Watson here, though I have only quoted some of it. He's fairly restrained apart from the 'pompous' part. The rest of it is all rather 'ymmv'. I mean, personally I see that list of descriptors and wince, I'm genuinely not sure what Watson's own intention with them is. On the one hand, Watson's very much pro-establishment in so many ways, and his classism is entrenched, though often soaked deep in patriarchal condescension that he must feel is open minded (and probably was for the time). On the other hand, his best friend is Sherlock Holmes and he clearly enjoys unconventional things. So is Watson singing Mr Eccles' praises here or is he too wincing internally?

“I have had a most singular and unpleasant experience, Mr. Holmes,” said he. “Never in my life have I been placed in such a situation. It is most improper—most outrageous. I must insist upon some explanation.” He swelled and puffed in his anger.

Given the description, I'm now expecting this to be something along the lines of 'a man with the wrong accent said hello to me'. But I'm probably being unfair. That would not be worthy of a Holmes story.

"Private detectives are a class with whom I have absolutely no sympathy, but none the less, having heard your name—”

OK, reading this sentence, I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be feeling very charitable towards him. You don't just walk into a place to ask for someone's professional assistance and insult their occupation. Firstly, that's an idiot move, secondly, it's incredibly rude. I put the idiot bit first because honestly the stupidity of it offends me more than the rudeness. You're asking to be overcharged or sent packing. Asshole tax is alive and well.

But his narrative was nipped in the bud. There was a bustle outside, and Mrs. Hudson opened the door to usher in two robust and official-looking individuals...

Inspector Gregson does not get compared to an animal in his description! Instead he's called 'gallant'. I guess Watson likes him more than Lestrade.

OH, Scott Eccles is a two-part surname. That's why Watson thought it might be a woman. Right, Scott would have been a surname at this point in time. Everything makes sense now.

Well, not everything... but I feel like that's too much to ask of my dear friend Dr Watson.

“We wish a statement, Mr. Scott Eccles, as to the events which let up to the death last night of Mr. Aloysius Garcia, of Wisteria Lodge, near Esher.”

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN

Aloysius is a name my brain never remembers how to pronounce unless I stop and stare at it for a minute. It just doesn't look how it sounds to me, y'know. Not that that's the relevant part here. The relevant part is he's dead. So Wisteria Lodge is looking a bit murdery. I bet it's pretty, though.

“Mr. Eccles was going to tell us about it when you entered the room. I think, Watson, a brandy and soda would do him no harm."

This story brought to you once again by the healing properties of brandy. Brandy, the cure for all ills.

"He was, I understood, of Spanish descent and connected in some way with the embassy. He spoke perfect English, was pleasing in his manners, and as good-looking a man as ever I saw in my life. “In some way we struck up quite a friendship, this young fellow and I. He seemed to take a fancy to me from the first, and within two days of our meeting he came to see me at Lee. One thing led to another, and it ended in his inviting me out to spend a few days at his house, Wisteria Lodge, between Esher and Oxshott. Yesterday evening I went to Esher to fulfil this engagement."

So Mr Scott Eccles met a hot young guy and they hit it off and one thing led to another. Hmm... *eyebrow waggle* and then he was invited to stay for a few days, hmmm? And he went to fulfil this engagement... HMMM?

Likelihood of this being explicitly queer in a Victorian era short story: -1%. Likelihood that my brain will insist that these two were lovers, or at the very least flirted outrageously: 101%

My opinion of Mr Scott Eccles just went up a little bit because closeted Victorian gay is a better look than just straight up pompous Tory, but then he used the term 'half-breed' and he has sunk even lower. For two whole sentence I almost liked him.

"I remember that he remarked what a queer household it was to find in the heart of Surrey, and that I agreed with him, though it has proved a good deal queerer than I thought."

🤣

"It was an old, tumbledown building in a crazy state of disrepair."

So it's a fixer-upper... sure... I could fix it.

"I had doubts as to my wisdom in visiting a man whom I knew so slightly."

Victorian Grindr date gone wrong.

"About eleven I was glad to go to bed. Some time later Garcia looked in at my door—the room was dark at the time—and asked me if I had rung. I said that I had not. He apologized for having disturbed me so late, saying that it was nearly one o'clock."

Dude. This is no longer giving queer Victorian fling vibes, it's giving 'Mr Scott Eccles is oblivious to the fact he's on a date' vibes. Guy meets you once, invites you to his home, has a 'tête-à-tête' dinner and seems nervous. Then shows up in your room at one am asking if you rang...

Garcia wanted to get laid, Mr Scott Eccles. He's into the older, buttoned up, repressed gentleman look.

Clearly this is not the case, because Victorian literature. But my brain can see no other explanation.

Mr Scott Eccles was so busy being judgemental about the food he didn't realise he was being flirted with so hard.

"You can imagine my surprise when I found that there was no one there. I shouted in the hall. There was no answer. Then I ran from room to room. All were deserted."

Very ghost story. Once again the Gothic horror vibes. I suppose this is where the word 'grotesque' comes in. I feel like the word they were searching for was 'unsettling'. But yeah, waking up to find the house abandoned is creepy af. BUT

"My host had shown me which was his bedroom the night before, so I knocked at the door."

So before he came into your room at one am to see if you rang for him, he showed you his room... I stg, I know this can't be what it looks like from a modern perspective, but it's so very blatant, I can't even.

Honestly, at this point it reads like a ghost story where Mr Scott Eccles made a narrow escape from a ghost who wanted to fuck him, and through that somehow either steal his life force or trap him forever in the creepy ghost netherworld with him.

Obviously that's not the real answer, but you could finish this story like that and it would be a perfectly valid ending.

I will forever find it hilarious that ACD is most well known for writing stories where things seem supernatural and then his main character proves everything is mundane, while he himself was a fervent believer in all things otherworldly. Just... amuses me.

Other than the obvious 'gay ghost wants to seduce the living to spend forever in limbo with him', the only reasoning behind this I can see is similar to The Red-Headed League and The Stockbroker's Clerk: For some reason a gang of people wanted Mr Scott Eccles to be away from his home for the night, then split once they had accomplished their illicit goal. Although that doesn't solve the murder, just the weirdness. I don't think there's any way to solve the murder at this point.

[instaspacenoodles]

A Touch Between Warriors (Magnu Kenki x GN!Reader) [Part 2]

Pairing: Magnu Kenki x Gender Neutral Reader

Word Count: 2987 Words Warning: NSFW Content⛔ Summary: It has been a few sparring sessions after that fateful day and both you and Maguu Kenki have been skirting around the elephant in the room. However, it takes you by surprise when Maguu gives you the chance to learn more about him and the mystery surrounding the puppet. And in turn, teach him about human desire.s

“Do you have any questions for me” 

 His question came out of the blue, something you didn’t expect after finishing the latest spar. Normally, after fighting, Maguu would immediately explain what you did wrong during battle -’You should have dodged instead of taking the blow’ he would sign or ‘You need to strengthen your defensive stance’ as he shows you the right stance to take. Though, he would also take the time to praise you for what you did right, which always caused butterflies to flutter in your stomach. 

Recently, the automaton has become… strangely reserved at times. It was hard to ignore when he would suddenly stop signing mid-sentence sometimes - almost like he was unsure - before continuing like nothing had happened, or the way his hands would hesitate before touching you. You even caught him staring at his hands numerous times as if puzzled by something. It was a strange situation.

“Where did this come from Maguu?” You stared at him, confusion clear on your features as you turned to face the approaching puppet. 

“The last time we had a conversation outside of training, you answered my questions about the human vessel. You had… enlightened me. It is only fair that I shall answer any that you have about me to further your understanding about my being.” 

Ah that's right.

Last… time.

Embarrassment burned through your veins as the memories from last time flashed through your mind. The ghost of his firm yet gentle touch still haunts your body - sending pleasurable chills down your spine every time it crosses your mind. You felt ashamed to admit that it felt good and… that you craved more. You didn’t even answer any of his questions, yet it seemed that the puppet came to a conclusion all on his own. It was better to leave what the conclusion was to your imagination. 

However, you did have many questions you wanted to ask him. The whole mystery behind the puppet, his maker, his abilities - it was something that often comes to mind whenever you think of Maguu Kenki. If you could get some answers to these questions, maybe you could learn to understand the puppet better. Perhaps even deepen the weird relationship between you two.

“Hmm, I guess I have some questions I have been wondering for a while.” Your eyes glanced over the puppet’s body as you approached him until your gaze settled on his helmet, “To start off, do you have a face under that helmet, Maguu?”

“Yes.” He gestured simply. 

“Wait really?!” You paused, looking at him in surprise as he tilted his head. It was as if he was surprised by your shock, “I can barely see your face, how do you even see what that thing on? Unless you use the eyes on your spooky Oni mask to see.” 

You squint as you try to see Maguu’s face through the talisman and dark shadows but alas it was covered by the helmet. You try to think back to a time where you did see Maguu’s face, either while having a conversation or in the heat of battle - yet all your memories came to a blank. You had no clue what he looked like underneath and it made you even more curious. 

“Warrior, I was created with powerful sight. The helmet and the talisman I wear does not hinder it, as you can see from our battles. I just have no reason to remove it.” 

“So it is removable! So- uh- could you maybe take off your helmet? I would like to see your true face… if you’re okay with that.” You asked, looking up at him curiously. 

“Very well, as you wish.” 

His puppet hands trailed up to where his helmet rests and you held your breath in anticipation. Maguu slowly lifted the armor from his head and pulled it off in one smooth movement - white hair pooling over his shoulders. You carefully reached to lift up the talisman and- what in the name of the Raiden Shogun!?

 Your jaw nearly touched the floor as you gazed at his true face. His eyes were a piercing blue - cold and intense like the ice he wields. Two streaks of red markings started from the bottom of his eyes and trail down his pale colored face - the look similar to that of an oni’s. You silently thanked whoever created him for giving him such a beautiful face because damn it had you weak in the knees. 

“I hope my appearance doesn’t startle you.” He signed carefully, like he was…nervous.

“You- I- It's the complete opposite! I just wasn’t expecting this.” You raise your other hand, hesitating for a brief moment, before you reach up to caress his face. You swiped your thumb across the surface - It was cool to the touch, but also had a similar texture to skin. 

“My form was modeled after the appearance of a famou oni who was the first master of the sword art I use.”

“A famou oni…” You echoed softly as your hands continued to explore his face, a soft mechanical sound left the puppet, “The oni influence I can tell by the mask and these markings, but I would have never guessed that you were inspired by a first generation swordmaster.” 

“The master’s name was Iwakura Michihiro, famed for his Tengu Sweeper technique.”

“Iwakura…like the Iwakura sword art, yeah? No wonder your sword art was so familiar, those Nobushi bastards used it. It’s a shame though; the Iwakura art has fallen from grace nowadays. But I do have another question for you, Maguu. I was wondering how can you wield the elements? You don’t have a vision right?” 

“No. I do not have what your mortals call a Vision. Instead, I can control the elements due to the talisman that I wear” 

You blinked in surprise. Normally Vision holders, elemental monsters, and the Nobushi (which is a special situation) could wield the elements. Maguu is a puppet but he gets his power from… a slip of paper? You wonder if it's similar to the charms that the Narukami Shrine maidens use.

“Huh? How does that work?”

“This talisman is the product of a mystic art from the Kamura Clan. With their art, you’re able to create seals that can infuse your weapon with elemental energy. However, the tailsmen I have is more advanced than their normal seals which grants me greater power over the elements and allows me to wield two - Cryo and Anemo.”

As he signed, you brought your focus once more to the ragged talisman that hung from his forehead. The brush strokes were somewhat clear on the paper despite being decades old, but it was written in a script that you could not understand. You couldn’t believe a simple piece of paper could grant something so much power yet it is the very source of his elemental abilities. 

“Can you tell me how you use it? Like do you have to think about using it or channel something? ” You asked as you lifted the talisman up once more, eyes gleaming with curiosity as you looked at the back of paper. 

“I-” He pauses, a few mechanical sounds leaving him which make your eyes shift over to him in concern. His eyes were glued to yours before they quickly glanced away, “It has become second nature to me, however I will try to explain to the best of my abilities-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” You interrupt him, your thoughts and concerns from the past few weeks spilling from your lips, “Maguu, what’s been going on with you? You’ve been acting strange lately, almost like your… upset or something. Did I do something wrong?” 

“I do not understand how I feel. I have previously thought that I do not have the ability to feel the way that humans do since I was not created that way.” His hands paused, as if he’s trying to figure out what to say next.  “However, ever since that day you taught me about the human vessel, I have been plagued with… emotions I have no prior experience in dealing with.”

“Emotions…”

“Yes, emotions that only occur in your presence. Similar to longing, but not quite. I often find myself lost on this subject with no answer in sight.” 

As you process his words, you suddenly understand his situation. It wasn’t possible for a puppet to become so sentient, yet here he was experiencing human feelings and desires. A voice whispers from the back of your mind, encouraging you to take advantage of the opportunity in front of you. You could explain to him no- show him how powerful the feeling of desire and emotions could be. 

“I think I know the problem. What you’re experiencing is called desire. There are different kinds of desire that humans feel such as the desire for needs and wants,” You let your voice drop to a whisper,”  But I think I know which one you’re feeling... the desire for me. So, I guess, I’ll have to teach you more about the human body.” 

“…I see.” He signed slowly. 

You smiled at him as he agreed, excitement coursing through your veins, “Do what you did to me that day and test your desires - maybe you can figure your answer that way” 

“I see, you want me to pleasure you once more. As you wish, Warrior.” 

The world spun and suddenly your body was pushed against the huge Oni Mask that materialized behind you. One of his hands rested heavily on your shoulder while the other was positioned above your head - perfectly pinning you against the wooden surface. You could only glance up at the puppet with a small gasp falling from your lips. Maguu’s blue eyes wandered down your body carefully before glancing back up to catch your glaze. Those intense eyes seem to stare directly into you, exploring the depths of your being as if you’re the only thing that he wanted to understand. You broke the stare, eyes quickly looking away as heat creeped up your neck. 

The hand on your shoulder pulls away and it's suddenly on your chin, gently pulling your attention and your eyes back to his. Butterflies that were lightly fluttering were now fully swarming in your chest. 

“Please, keep your eyes on me.”

“Okay” You whispered, nodding wide-eyed at his command. 

The puppet made a light noise in response - a noise you knew meant that he was satisfied at your answer. A gentle breeze blows near your body and the anemo element condenses next to you in a flash of light. In the corner of your eye, the anemo Maguu phantom appeared floating by your left side. 

This… This was new. 

“Phantoms?” You gasp in a mix of surprise and disbelief.

The Anemo phantom cages you in, pressing against your body. The winds licking at your skin made goosebumps appear all over your arms and legs. A shiver runs down your spine as your sex starts to tingle. You swallowed heavily at how helpless you felt - stuck between a puppet and his elemental phantom. 

“It would be most efficient to make use of them to ‘test my desires’ as you instructed.” 

Maguu moves to gently grab your wrists with one hand and you let him pin your arms over your head in one smooth motion. You can tell he was being gentle with you - just like he was that fateful day. His eyes were studying your face for any reactions as if he was hoping to understand what you were feeling. His firm hands were switched with ghostly chilly ones - ones that were cold as ice. You could see it from the corner of your eye as the air had grown colder. You knew that the cryo phantom had materialized as well. 

“I feel something, but I need to experiment more,” He stopped to sign his thoughts , “Let me continue my actions.”

Like before, the puppet let his hands wander over your body, but this time they were joined with the sensations of cryo and anemo hands. You watch him intensely as he explores your body with his hands and his eyes. His huge hands found home on your waist where they rested there heavily. His thumbs rubbed circles into the area, slow and steady. His eyes watched that movement carefully. 

A moan escapes your lips as the anemo phantom caresses your side, slipping its fingers underneath the fabric of your shirt to touch your warm skin. The feeling of anemo spread throughout the exposed area, like a powerful gust of wind hitting all the right places. Heat pooled downwards in your body, flooding your veins with the tingle of pleasure as your legs started to tremble. The anemo phantom’s fingers continued to dance their way up your body. It only stopped when it found what it was looking for - the nipples on your chest. 

“Your body is trembling, is this to your satisfaction? Is this reaction the desire you feel for me?” He slowly sighs before continuing the motion. All you could do was whisper a quick yes - voice shaky. 

Meanwhile, with its free hand, the cryo phantom had begun to trail it down your back side. The coldness was welcoming against the burning sensation of arousal. His fingers lightly ran across the dips in your back, tracing muscles that tense under its touch. It felt like absolute heaven and you longed for more. His fingers soon stopped at the spot on your lower back, icy digits dragging deliciously across the area in random motions. It causes another shiver to wreck your body. 

The sensations were nearly overwhelming. Your body squirming, voice whimpering against their greedy touch. You couldn’t stop your back from arching against the rough surface of the oni mask. You were forced to endure all of it from every angle. The core inside of you was burning, yearning to be stimulated, and you definitely felt some kind of wetness down there. Maguu was absolutely driving you crazy.  

“Fuck! Nggh.. Maguu… ” You moan loudly, your logical mind growing fuzzy and overtaken by the cloud of arousal. 

Maguu’s eyes snapped back to yours - quick like lightning. His blue eyes catch the pleading expression upon your face. It was the way your eyes keep squeezing shut, the way your eyebrows shoot up at every swipe of fingers across your hot skin, and the way your lips kept singing those sweet, moaning melodies; He wanted to memorize it all. It all made Maguu better understand the emotions he was experiencing. His desire to please you, pleasure you, do whatever he could for the warrior that wormed their way into his mechanical heart. 

“I understand, I shall continue just like before.”

The touches of the cryo and anemo phantoms retreated for a brief moment and you had a chance to just breathe. Your hands fell back down to your side to rest on your heaving chest as you sucked in breath after breath - heart beating in your ears. Then, just like before, he slid his hands underneath your clothes. His touch gilded downwards until he found your sensitive sex, absolutely slick and twitching. Your body started moving to the rhythm he set. 

However, the phantoms weren’t done yet.

Their hands pulled down your pants together, exposing your lower area to the cool air. The Anemo hand began massaging your thigh, running its breezy hand over the skin which caused your legs to quiver in pleasure. The gentle winds aided in stimulating you further until you had no choice but to surrender to your lust. The Cryo phantom instead turned its focus back on your upper body. It's chilly hand brushing over your stomach and waist - the temperature changes making your body more sensitive. Your back arched into their skillful hands and your eyes fluttered shut.You couldn’t help but let out a loud moan at the combination of their touches. .

“Maguu..faster please!” The beg slipped from your mouth as your mind continued to further be clouded with desire, “It’s so good.” 

Maguu Kenki continued to massage your sensitive area, playing with it with more confidence than before. With every flick of his hand, it caused you to squirm in pleasure and your sounds to grow louder. Your heart was beating like a drum in your ears. 

Heat pulled more and more into your lower body. The familiar tightening in your core becomes known as you get closer and closer to the edge. The Anemo phantom and the Cryo phantom’s pressure have gotten more intense and Maguu’s speed has increased. You were starting to lose the rhythm that was set as your body chased after the incoming orgasm. 

Pleads drip from your mouth, your breathless moans growing louder and louder in volume. At this point, it wouldn’t be a surprise if someone heard you.

Though, Maguu Kenki sensed your desperation and who was he to deny his warrior. The puppet added more pressure and with one last firm touch - you finally spilled all over his hands. The orgasm hit you like a truck and knocked the breath out of you. You barely stood there, knees shaking as waves of pleasure crashed over you. It was good, it was intense, and it made you feel like a million mora. 

Your body twitched in Maguu’s grasp. The phantoms pulled back yet again and in a blink of an eye - disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. Now it was just you and the puppet that had made you cum once again. 

“That..was..” You looked up to the puppet’s handsome face, clearly pleased, “That was perfect Manguu, I enjoyed that so much.”

The puppet nodded and signed with its dirty hand, "I too enjoyed this experience, you have done well. I believe I now have an understanding of this kind of desire. It’s the desire to pleasure you…"

"The desire for you, my warrior."

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #44

So… the relief from using the Backpod was very temporary. Fortunately though, the relief appears to be reproducible, because I used it again today and ended up with the same results, so there's that much at least!

In celebration, I made a cup of the biscuit-flavored tea. Although it does taste faintly like Biscoff cookies (these are very good!), the fact remains that the flavor is indeed faint, so it mostly just tasted like regular tea. That's certainly not a bad thing, haha! But I guess I was hoping for something a little more unusual, and I was a little disappointed when it didn't pan out that way.

But that's okay! These things happen sometimes! Things can't always work out in the ways we expect! A little bit of disappointment is part of everyday living, and if you can accept that and make peace with it, then it becomes something that isn't emotionally debilitating; we can't have things go our way and get everything right all the time - it'd be too weird, and probably pretty boring eventually anyways!

So rather than ruminate over it, I simply made myself a mug of the jam-on-toast tea after I finished the biscuit tea!! And as promised, this time, I remembered to take some pictures!! Here!!

This is the way it looked before I added milk and sugar! It's got a reddish tint to it; I wonder if that comes from whatever they use to make it taste like jam.

Here's how it looked after I added milk and sugar! It really only needs a little bit of each! Today I discovered though that it tastes a little better with honey than it does with sugar.

I wanted the fact that it didn't hurt to breathe after using the Backpod to persist today, because it's very, VERY nice when breathing doesn't hurt. So for the most part, I stayed relatively still today, because I didn't wanna move too much and end up having things come back out of place again. I think my efforts mostly worked.

I passed the time by playing Pokemon Scarlet, and that was quite nice. I managed to stay properly hydrated today, too. As a result, the inside of my mind is cheerfully neutral, leaning maybe a little towards placidly hopeful and vaguely looking forward to things. The texture and shape of it comes in the colors of this melody; maybe you'll like it:

Within the next few days, there is a soup event at the place that I like to go to. A bunch of people will make soup and then share it with everyone else. So I thought to try my hand at making pumpkin soup; I know you wished you could try some before, when you were at the Halloween place with Glenn. I really wish that I could make some and then give it to you. Alas, I cannot. So instead I will make it for all the kind folks at the place; in the absence of having the ability to warm up your heart and mind with a hot, delicious, hearty soup, I will instead try to do the same for other people.

…Actually, there are a lot of wholesome things that I try to do for other people, because I cannot do them for you; I am always trying to treat the people around me with the same kindness and care that I would treat you with, if you were nearby. To be sure, it doesn't always work out, because I'm only human, and a very awkward and clumsy example of one, at that. But all the same, I do my best to hold myself accountable for my mistakes and to try to learn to be better when I fall short; I can only hope that it's enough, though admittedly, it never really feels like it is. Oh well. Maybe all this effort will be worth something in the next life. And if not… well, that's okay too. I'll decide to believe that it's still worth something, even if the best I can do is leave my immediate surroundings a little better off than when I found it.

In any case, tomorrow, I'll see about gathering the required ingredients for the soup. In the meantime, I guess I should try to decide on a recipe to follow. All of the ones that I've seen so far call for broth of some kind as a base; I'm super duper glad that I saved some of the chicken bone broth I made previously in the freezer; it'll really come in handy, and it's flavorful and very nutritious besides!! Any soup made with a homemade broth base should be at least pretty good, right? So I'll try to create something that even you could be proud of!

I don't know what sorts of things you get up to at the Edge of Creation, but whatever you do, please try to stay safe; you'll never get to try anybody's pumpkin soup if you do something reckless and end up disappearing. Take good care of yourself. Treat yourself kindly. Use the knowledge that you're loved and cared for to muster up the strength and courage to make gentle, loving choices.

I'll write to you tomorrow about my grocery store adventures! Look forward to it!!

Your friend, Lumine

[monodipita]

in desperate need of a muse

pairing: yandere!xingqiu x gender neutral reader

words: ~1,900

warning(s): yandere content, dark content, possible kidnap

a/n: i have a request from a user on tumblr that i haven't gotten to just yet. just letting you know publicly that i will be getting to your request soon!

        The nifty furniture and sparsely decorated walls were stained with blots of ink and permeated the air with its unmistakable scent.  The lights were on to provide the most lighting three bulbs could manage, revealing pages and snippets of drafts here and wherever - and in the midst of this chaos sat none other than Xingqiu, tirelessly working on whatever you could've assumed to be his newest project - the sight worried you, as the distress was written clearly across his meager countenance.  

        "Xing, everyone's worried about you. . . I'm worried about you.  It's been awhile since we last spoke.  Everyone's been telling me that they haven't seen you,"  you spoke quietly at the doorway.

        The air in the room fell deathly still.  His glass pen stopped scrawling, and a soft thud followed as it hit the paper, before he turned around to reveal his weary expression; though, his eyes seemed to light up when they graced your figure.  As if you were perhaps a figment of his exhausted imagination, it was only until he could confirm the disembodied voice that he could rest.  Xingqiu stood up at once and hurried over to your body before sucking you into a tight embrace, causing you to return his warm affections.  He smelled of books, at least he was taking care of himself.  "[Y/N]."  He murmured your name softly, as if relief overwhelmed him.  "I'm so happy to see you.  I'm so, so happy to see you."

        "Where have you been?"  You asked, pulling away from him to see his amber hues staring weakly at you.  "This place is a mess, what happened?"

        "I've been trying to find my way."  his smile fell within an instant. "Even the way I sit doesn't feel right anymore - it's as if I've lost my touch and I don't know why."  He sighed, "my life feels adventurous as is!  I can even imagine a vivid trip to Inazuma despite not having set foot there personally, not recently at least.  So why am I stuck in this rut?  Something is clouding my mind. . ." maybe because I tried to replace you. He grimaced, making your frown intensify as well.  "Maybe its best to just give it a few days," you replied.  "People will always look forward to your material."

        "No, no.  I won't allow that.  My imagination is far too active to sit idly. I need new material, a new muse.  Someone who can act as the body for my mind."  He shook his head and pulled away from you altogether, leaving your body cold from the newfound lack of warmth. 

        "I understand. . . I'm just happy that you're alright.  We can worry about that later."  You knew better than to argue with your dear friend.  He was such a hardhead, but alas, if his head wasn't hard, then how would he keep all of his ideas contained within?  "Let's go out and get something to eat, then.  Maybe you just need a good meal to get the creative juices flowing!"

        "You're right, maybe a break of scenery could help.  I am craving something to eat at the moment."  Xingqiu sighed. He looked down at his clothing and turned on his heel, before rushing into another room attached to this one. 

        In the meantime you stepped further into the room to examine your surroundings - this room was an absolute mess.  Thankfully most of the damage was centralized to his desk, with empty ink wells, books, and papers scattered across the floor, which captured your curiosity.  Maybe he needed to hear from someone whose opinion he valued that some of these ideas were worth expansion?  Of course, you loved and supported your dear friend and would read any of his work, so you didn't mind walking up to take a peek at some of the scattered rough drafts.  You picked up a page that looked particularly promising and opted to stand to read, since well, there was ink all over the couch.

        The paper read:

                It was as if he was living in a fanciful dream; being able to talk and interact with someone whom he found himself so endearingly infatuated with on such a consistent basis.  He likened it to eating his favorite food every day, although he would never be tired of the taste of [Y/N]. He loved them like no other, and would truly find no other like them.  Seeing them was like watching the beautiful rays of dusk spill over the stalwart Liyuan mountains. . .every word they spoke was absorbed into his skin and spoken on his tongue, until their colorful words, anger, sorrow, and joy covered him like decorative sleeves.  He became obsessed with them and the ichor of their imagination, wanting to be with them every waking moment of the day.  He wanted them for himself; no jewel was more precious than the one he had come across on that fateful day.  [date].

                He could hardly stand being away from them - his excitement always caused him to lose sleep while his thoughts surged to create more idyllic scenarios for the future; these were ones where he could imagine them being together for the better.  Frolicking through Liyue's gorgeous meadows, or tumbling excitedly down a hill, hand in hand with [Y/N] were just a couple of the plentiful scenarios he kept in his head under lock and key.  He wanted to know what they were doing, and what story they could meticulously craft for their little dates when they were apart.  What would they do to twist his heart, and how sweet would their words sound to his ears?

                He'd never met someone who could capture his attention in such a way that he felt pained to be apart from them.

                Their name was [Y/N], and they were the perfect person.  The epitome of beauty, the gifted, the benevolent and kind.

                Their travels were numerous, the adventures long, short, and between.  He could sit and listen to them for hours, drawing his inspiration from their sublime stories for grand tales spun from their combined imaginations. . . they were whole when they were together, when he was with [Y/N].  

                Be with them.

                Have them.

        Huh?  No, you were reading this right.  It couldn't have been some coincidence that the love interest had the same first and last name as you. . .

        You carefully put the piece of paper down to look at another one; though, these drafts seemed to hold fewer and fewer the more you looked at them.  One of them was even as simple as just. . . your name on the paper.  [Y/N] [L/N].  Over, and over, and over.

        You looked to the next piece.  Mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine

        I WANT [Y/N]

"What?" you furrowed your brows.

        And that's when you noticed that your hand was over a blot of ink, making you retract it with worry.  You uncovered something. . . your name etched into the wood of his desk.  You felt anxiety raise up from deep within you, causing you to take a step away from it all.  Something was clearly wrong with your good friend, but what?  Was it even something you wanted to discuss?  Maybe it was more appropriate to get the hell out. 

        "What is it [Y/N]?"

        "AH!" You shrieked, immediately turning and pressing the shy of your back to his desk.  Your eyes went wide at the sight of him; he stood perfectly still with a small smile on his handsome face.  He wore his signature outfit, and as beautiful as he was, you were still a tad unsettled. But, you felt comfortable enough to ask. "You scared me!  Xing, what are these?"  You asked as you lifted up the piece you just read and handed it over to him.  "Do you. . . do you have a crush on me or something?" your voice took on a softer tone. 

        Xingqiu's expression dropped, and the heat rising to his cheeks immediately made him flush.  "You. . . weren't supposed to see that."  he looked away from you to gaze at the wall for a moment.

        You could immediately feel guilt coursing within your veins.  "W-well, if it makes you feel better, I appreciate the piece," you remarked with a small frown.  "You can turn the worst people into the best.  You've made me sound like a bonafide adventurer when I just enjoy traveling and bringing you little knick-knacks."  You reached over and pulled him into a side hug, which he hesitantly reciprocated.  No matter how genuine you came off, you knew it wasn't going to get rid of the feeling he harbored within him. . . and truth be told, you didn't know how to react to the news. . . there was just so much to say with so little time. . .

        "That's because you are.  You're perfect.  You should be what everyone aspires to be."  Xingqiu's voice was just below a whisper.  It was as if you were forcing him to speak his mind.

        His grip on you tightened past the zone of comfort, making you wince.  "Are you alright?"  You attempted to put some space between the two of you, but he closed that gap almost immediately.  Even the door had been shut, much to your surprise. . . when did he do all of that?  You were in the same room as him, so how did you not hear it?

        "You know, you are the muse that I desire.  Your beauty, your insight, everything. . . it all matters to me."  Xingqiu started as he locked the door behind the two of you. "It would be a mistake if I so willingly chose to pry us apart again, and I won't make the same one again.  I need you more than ever."

        "B-but this isn't the way to do it," you explained while you pushed him.  "You need to get out of this house, Xing.  You have a responsibility to the people you've aligned yourself with. . . and this isn't you."

        He merely stumbled back.  The push wasn't hard or anything, of course you wouldn't want to hurt him, but looking at it in hindsight - you wished you knocked the wind out of him to allow yourself for a chance to get out.

        "I've found out why I haven't been myself, and like I said before, I made a terrible attempt to separate us, in hopes that I would feel better.  But I don't, and I won't - that's why it's important to keep you here."  Xingqiu narrowed his eyes.  "All I need to do is look.  You don't have to worry about being held captive. . . you are free to roam around my home as you please, but I assure you, I won't be letting you go anytime soon."

[jayden-killer]

BLACKOUT.

Paring: Steven Grant/Marc Spector × Gender neutral reader.

A/N: OK everyone, this is my first one short ever published here, on Tumblr. I kinda stuck writing, that's why Im trying to improve my writing skills. As a reminder, English is not my first language: if you find any errors, point them out to me! <3 Enjoy!

°~°

There was something wrong with Steven Grant. Lately his behavior seemed quite out of the norm, for example: forgetting where he was, the day, the time, what he was doing, to wear such clothing. It was worrisome, and yet he didn’t seem to realize it himself. As if things were all right. Normally, you know. I couldn’t understand this nonchalance from Steven.

—It’s nothing— he always repeated, with a reassuring smile on his face, —I don’t think I’ve come out of melon. At least, not yet!—

I even talked to him about considering an appointment with a psychiatrist, a good one.

He didn’t want to know about it. He claimed that he had nothing and that it was just stress that aggravated his situation. And insomnia. That was not so much insomnia.

One episode in particular caught my attention: he claimed to have been chased by a jackal the evening after our movie night. I stared at him in disbelief, not understanding the meaning of his words.

—A jackal? In a museum?

—__, you have to believe me, but it’s true! I’m not crazy, there really was that... thing that chased me, it scared the shit outta of me!

—Steven, don’t you think you need some sleep medicine?— I said, calmly, but worried.

—No, no, this is not about insomnia, I swear on the bloody Queen of Shiba! That thing chased me and then, the next moment, I didn’t understand anything.

I rubbed my eyes. I tried to understand something about what he was telling me, but it seemed so far-fetched as to be true. More like he was telling a lucid dream or... whatever it was.

—Go home, Steven-. My hand found place on his shoulder, making small, slow movements to reassure him, accompanied by a slight smile—you’re too stressed. Is Donna also influencing these... hallucinations?

—It really happened.

—Never mind, go home and enjoy the rest you deserve.

I was right: Steven needed to pull the plug for a while. Maybe take some time off, do something new, vent through a hobby...

Maybe, for once, he listened to my advice.

But...

I didn’t hear from him for two whole days.

𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘 𖣘

—Steven, are you home?

Nothing. I had already knocked three times at the door, alas, no answer from the other end. That he had gone into hibernation?

Shaking my head at that intrusive thought I did, I focused on the current situation.

Ah, wait a minute...

—Bingo! Unbelievable, sometimes I feel like I’ve got my head in the clouds worse than Steven— I laugh between me and me.

I was able to find the key to her apartment in my backpack. Why would I have a copy of hi original key? In short words: Steven often came to me, and I came to him, so much that we decided to copy the keys of our houses to each other. And if one left something in the other’s apartment, we wouldn’t have a problem with the key we had.

Brilliant, isn’t it?

Returning to where we were, with a forced click, the lock led the door to open. Calmly, but urgently, I took a quick look at all the rooms of his soulless home. The lights were off, things were well set up (unusual for Steven, he often leaves them where they happen), the bed well made.

So he left home?

—How about leaving the apartment, now?

As I turned around, I found myself in front of a someone who couldn't be Steven Grant. It didn’t look like him, he had something different: his hair was held back by the gel, he was wearing a leather jacket and a tight-fitting shirt underneath, as well as jeans.

His posture had also changed completely: he was way more rigid and imposing, while the accent no longer seemed typical English. In fact, hearing him right it was American.

—What are you saying? I’m here because I haven’t heard from you. Is this your way to thank me?

—I didn’t ask you to come here.

—Well, I’m here now, so suck it up.

Answering in tone was not one of the main characteristics of the man in front of me. He had literally lost everything about Steven Grant and now he was a completely new person. What the fuck was going on?

—What did you do to the accent? And the hair?—I pointed at his hair change, intrigued.

No answer.

–Okay, will you at least tell me where you’ve been these days?

Still no answer.

Nothing.

—Who you really are? Where is Steven?

—Do you always stick your nose in things that don’t concern you?

This last question made me completely out of my mind. Anger issues had never been one of my favorite traits, and controlling them was even more difficult. Clenching my fists until they turned white didn’t help. I was a volcano, which could explode at any moment: that was the right time to explode.

—Then I’m so sorry if I came to check if you were okay or not, Steven or whoever you are! Next time, however, whatever happens, don’t expect my help, because if this is your gratitude, then I won’t help you anymore! You’re happy now, huh?

But I never expected the moment I burst into tears. A hand checked that I was really crying, bringing it to my left cheek: how had I not noticed it before?

Pulling up with my nose, and wiping away the remnants of tears, I looked into Steven’s eyes and in a broken voice I said: —I will no longer be there with you in times of greatest need.

With a brisk pace I rushed out of the apartment, but Steven took the opportunity to grab my wrist and stop before I left. He whispered something indecipherable.

—What did you say?— I questioned.

—Don’t leave me too, please.

Now Steven was crying too, and he didn’t mind covering his sobs. His hand let go of my wrist and covered his face. I realized that Steven was going through a tough time, and I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but moving away wasn’t gonna solve much. I let my arms embrace him and hold him close to me, whispering words of comfort. Tempted to reassure him, and when he did, I felt a second change. His expression softened, his eyes now kinder: the Steven I knew had returned.

—Is everything all right?— I asked, worried.

—Not quite. There’s something you need to know, maybe this is the right time to do it.

—Sure— I offered a reassuring smile, —I’ll hear you.

And that’s how I learned about Steven’s condition: a Dissociative Identity Disorder, and another person living in his body. He explained who I’d been dealing with a few minutes earlier, I held his hand and made him talk. 

So, Marc was the one who pushed me away before?, I thought. Putting together the pieces of the puzzle, I knew why he was acting so strange.

—You don’t think I... don’t think we’re crazy, right, ___? - Steven asked, his eyes on the verge of filling with tears and crying again. His lip trembled, and his face resembled that of a frightened and confused child.

A smile made its way to my lips, hugging Steven (and Marc) a second time.

—No, Steven... there’s nothing wrong with you, guys. And whatever happens- I took his face gently, looked him in the eyes,—we’ll face it together. All three of us.

[deliverred]

“Lukas.”

Lambert had no idea why this guy hated him. Hell, he didn’t even know why he hated him in return- he can barely remember how their first meeting went outside of it being at best rather neutral and at worst slightly awkward. But alas, something went wrong right after, either Lambert did or said something he didn’t process but that Lukas found reprimandable, or a slightly wavy first meeting ended up falling apart with the pressure of the games and team rivalry. He didn’t know. They just disliked each other.

But even as the games went on and they were still subjected to that island and split into teams, he felt the need to at the very least try. Not that he had any hopes that this would fix anything between them- gods no, he had no hopes for that at all. But at the same time, Lambert was a stubborn man and even with no hopes, he strived for peace even in the most godforsaken situations.

Besides, he was a 41 years old man. It wasn’t exactly good on him to hold so many negative feelings for a dude in his 20’s.

So, he took a breath in, and faced him. “I am not here to cause any sort of fight or discord, and I am not here to bring you any trouble. I am very much aware that you dislike me, yes, and I am also very much aware that this will not be fixed in a single conversation. I am also aware that by the end of this you may not even see any worth in my words and may freely disregard what I say. I will not hold any hard feelings for that.”

“But, forgive me for bringing chaos upon your group’s meeting. It was not an attempt to sabotage or spy, I was merely worried about Professor Alfred because of my own teammate’s foolishness. I showed up, did not elaborate much further and left the room in disarray…and that is entirely my fault. I am sorry.”

“You do not have to accept it if you do not want to, but just know that I am being truthful. Interpret that as you will. That is all."

Well now, this was a surprise.

It had felt like, outside of their singular, stilted meeting on one of the first days, that their paths simply would never cross again. They had not been in any shared games, nor had he seen Lambert this past week on the central island.

Spurred on by what, Lukas could not guess at this point, but the man saw fit to speak to him.

"Interesting that your feet bring you here now," Lukas greets, tone cool but not harsh. He hardly knows the man, as what little pre-game conversation Lukas had attempted had gone…unanswered, more or less. No, he did not know Lambert well, only knew bits and pieces of the shattered whole. A king, once upon a time. A guiding hand who, in turn, needed to be guided along a path he trod with little confidence now.

He does not relax the stiff military posture he had fallen into as soon as the older man approached. "It takes a certain kind of man to leave his spoken words empty of meaning. I do not think that is your goal, or even something within your skillset." There was little to be gained from refusing to listen entirely. Whether or not this particular situation would change, now, that was another matter.

Lukas had had time to think on his…dislike of the man after the time that had passed here. Whomever he had been before, he was not now, and so it should not have bearing on how this version was perceived -- yet it was a shadowed weight, there all the same. This man walked about, oblivious or not, and left good people floundering in his wake.

He thought of Matthias and his words, his loyalty and his hopes.

It bothered Lukas.

Surely it was no easy thing, having no memory of yourself, but it was equally as harsh to tangle the delicate strings of connection around clumsy, grasping fingers.

Could he not leave those left behind by his old life be until he knew exactly where he fit into their lives as they are now? If he did at all anymore? Was it so impossible to not be selfish? To not inflict such potential for shattered hope on those who had already suffered loss?

It bothered him, and he could not fully grasp why it created such a pressure in his chest. He could not identify it, could not make sense of it, and not knowing or understanding agitated his existing dislike.

Logically, he should feel almost nothing for the man in front of him, but this feeling was not defined by logic.

"Ah." The noise is not one of surprise or even anger. It's almost monotone. "You think that fell apart because of you?" Lukas' gaze bores into Lambert, unyielding. "You did cause a lot of concern for many in attendance, and if that had been your plan, I would applaud you for sowing such distress before the games."

Even if it was false, it was disruptive and spread stress. Simple but effective.

"But, no. Your disruption was an annoyance, but your appearance did not derail that gathering. It was already a wheel stuck in a muddy ditch. So consider your conscience eased on this account. I am glad Prince Alfred was unharmed, however; it would be a shame to have such an unfortunate injury before the final round commences."

A pause as he stares the other man down, and then he offers a hand.

"Your man and I have an understanding -- to make it good, to not hold back. I expect the same from you, whatever comes next."