#by something other than the fae lol

[mejomonster]

If our writing is to a degree the influence of what we have read, I'd like to know particularly what fucking authors I read that rubbed off on me that I write the particular way I do.

I Know to a degree Edgar Allen Poe has got to be why I do the particular emotional descriptions and specifically poetically rhythmic sentence choices. He did this thing of sentences breaking in places to feel like poetry almost, and I definitely picked that up at age 12 and never stopped.

But I also got into this specific habit of going not just biased pov third person (which plenty of authors I most enjoy tend to do), but also this sort of very thought-heavy biased pov where I don't tell the reader all thoughts but what I write is a hint to what's not said, and i write emotionality of the pov (again a lot like poe I know I picked up some word choice and sentence style from him) but it doesn't say it all it sort of makes a shape. I cannot figure out what writers I picked it up from. Maybe some fanfic writers I liked? I know at some point mid college, I swung from writing Really Minimalistic to enjoying going in DEEP into each scene to enjoy and savor it. And that's when those sections went from same style but curt, to very in depth and scenes got 5 pages long when they used to be 1 page. But I can't think at the moment of who writes like that.

Also, the emotional biased unreliable way I do description is something I can see I was doing all through High school, very early, so I picked that up from something I read probably soon after poe. Really early on.

[serpentandlily]

Now That We Don't Talk

Part I

Now That We Don’t Talk - Azriel x Reader

Summary: Dealing with the aftermath of your mate’s betrayal.

Warnings: major angst, mentions of grief and loss, mention of infidelity 

a/n: this has a happy ending, I promise! I’d also like to mention that I never usually blame the woman when a man cheats, but in this case, both parties knew of the existing relationship and bond so *death to all of them* lol jk…for now…I hope this lives up to your expectations!

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“That’s it, Y/n,” Madja said, taking a step backwards as she carefully monitored you between two support beams. “Go slow.”

Your shoulders and arms were straining as you held yourself up using the two beams, slowly raising your foot to take another step forward. You groaned at the pain, feeling flustered and embarrassed that walking was taking you so much effort. 

Cassian and Nesta had turned one of the larger chambers in the House of Wind into a physical remedial room. You had sessions in here every day with Madja, Cassian almost always there with you and in times he couldn’t be, Rhys would fly up to be with you during these. 

You didn’t have the heart to tell your brother that you preferred when Rhys was here instead of him, only because he always magicked his wings away so you didn’t have to see them. Cassian’s were just a reminder of what you had lost. 

Relearning to walk has been one of the hardest parts of losing your wings.

Even now it was a struggle to simply stand. You were too used to the weight of having wings on your back and using them to balance. You felt their absence in more ways than one.

But this one was easier to deal with—the physical part. It was the mental and emotional part that still kept you up at night. The loss of freedom, having to know you’d never be able to fly again. The nightmares. The embarrassment. The shame. 

You had never been a particularly proud Illyrian, never agreeing with the way your people were raised and the culture they lived in. But still, having those wings made you a part of something bigger than yourself—a community, a tribe, a family. 

You weren’t like Rhys, not a half-breed like him. You didn’t have the pointy ears to make you fit in with the wingless High Fae. You’d always be other to them. And now you’d be other to your people as well. 

You tried to blink away the tears forming in your eyes but it didn’t matter. Your brother seemed to sense the change in your mood and rose from his chair in the corner where he had been monitoring the session.

“You’re doing great, kiddo,” Cassian said, trying to encourage you to keep trying. “One step at a time.”

“I can’t,” you choked out, your muscles straining from the effort to keep you upright. “I-I can’t.”

“You can and you will,” Cassian said, sternly. “Come on, I know you can do it.” 

“I can’t.”

You wobbled, letting out a long exhale. You had only made it halfway to the other side of the mat. Pain pierced through your still healing back, serving as another reminder of what you had lost. Your fractured hip had healed already but the bones still felt like they were being grinded together every time you moved your legs. 

“Thank you for your help today, Madja,” Cassian said, sharing a look with the older healer. “I can take it from here.”

Madja, as if also sensing the shift in the atmosphere, took her leave without argument to give you some privacy with your brother. 

“Just make sure she eats something after this. Her body needs more nourishment,” Madja said on her way out. The noise of the door shutting behind her was all it took for the hold on your emotions to completely crumble. 

You felt your legs give out as a cry escape from your throat. Cassian darted forward, catching you only just before you hit the ground. He slowly lowered you the rest of the way, going with you to hold you in a tight embrace as sobs racked your body. 

“I-I can’t do this, Cass,” you cried over and over again. “I can’t do this.”

He knew you weren’t just talking about walking.

Every intake of breath reminded you of the heavy weight of your heart in your chest. It was unbearable, all consuming. The heartache, the pain, the feeling of the mating bond still lingering in the background of it all. You wanted to rip your heart out, wanted to scream and scream but all that came out were inaudible words and sobs. 

“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” Cassian murmured, petting your hair on the back of your head. “I promise you.” 

“My wings, Cass, m-my wings are gone,” you choked out, tears streaming down your face.

Cassian cradled your head in his neck, pulling you tighter against him. His own body was tense and you knew he was holding back his own emotions, trying to be strong for you. “I know, kiddo, I know.” 

“M-my wings,” you cried. “My wings. I-I want them back, Cass. P-please, I want them back!”

“I would cut off my own wings and give them to you if I could, sweetheart,” Cassian whispered, his voice filled with despair. “I’m so sorry.”

He couldn’t understand this feeling, would never unless he too lost his wings. You remembered when he almost had after protecting Azriel in Hybern from the blast of the Cauldron. Azriel…Just thinking of his name was making you spiral further, choking on your own sobs. 

There had once been a time when Azriel had been the one to save your wings. And now he was part of the reason why you lost them. You weren’t even sure which hurt more at this point. His betrayal or the loss of your wings. 

Both felt so violating. 

A piece of you, of your body, ripped away along with your trust and heart. Your mate sleeping with another female and coming home to you. Looking you in the eyes and keeping that secret from you each and every day. Making love to you knowing he was sharing himself with another behind your back. How were you supposed to move on? 

It didn’t help that you weren’t fully rid of Azriel. The bond was still an unwelcomed presence inside of you, still sang his name–called for him–despite the hurt he had caused you. You wanted to tear it to shreds. 

“Why?” You cried, wrapping your arms around Cassian’s neck to fall into him further. Your brother held you as tight as he could, stroking your hair, whispering words of support in your ear. “Why wasn’t I g-good enough, Cass? W-why wasn’t I enough for him? What is wrong with m-me?”

The guttural wails that came from you caused Cassian to squeeze his eyes shut, trying to keep his own tears at bay. Your chest heaved as you struggled to even breath under the crushing anguish that was consuming you. He held you as you shook, held you as your tears soaked through his shirt, held you as he restrained himself from shooting off to go find Azriel and kill him. 

“There is nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. Nothing,” Cassian growled. “Azriel is a fool for losing you. He’s the fuck-up. Not you.”

“He is my mate, Cass, my mate. And he–he did this to me. Why?”

“Because he’s a miserable bastard who doesn’t know how to love,” Cassian growled. 

You couldn’t even register his words over the pounding of your own wailing heart. “What did I do to deserve this?”

You felt so violated, so vulnerable, so completely and utterly shattered. The pain of your broken heart seemed to echo in the depths of your very soul. Why hadn’t you been enough for him?

Was Elain just that much better? Was she prettier, smarter, a better female? Could she give him something you couldn’t?

“You didn’t deserve this. You did nothing wrong,” Cassian murmured into your hair, kissing the top of your head. “You are so much better than them, sweetheart.” 

“B-but then why wasn’t I enough?” Your cries met their crescendo, your hands shaking as you clung onto Cassian’s shirt with tight fists. “Why wasn’t I enough, Cass? Why?” 

Your voice was hoarse, your words cracking as you spoke. But there was nothing left to say. 

Nothing left to say at all. 

You weren’t good enough for Azriel, for your own mate. You weren’t good enough to keep his attention. Not good enough to keep his love. 

You were just simply not enough. 

Cassian held you there as you cried and cried, held you as the weight of everything you lost engulfed you. Held you through the raw grief that surged like a tempest within you. Held you until you had cried yourself into a fitful sleep, only then rising to carry you back to your room. 

────────────

As soon as Mor had gotten word about what had happened, she immediately started her journey home from the continent. She had gone to you the minute she landed in Velaris, but Cassian had turned her away because he didn’t want to interrupt your sleep, something you hadn’t gotten much of since the attack.

But that was okay because she had a few things she needed to take care of. 

“Where is she!”

Mor’s shout rang through the entire house, the ground quaking underneath her as she stormed into the dining room where a very morose dinner seemed to be taking place with Rhys, Feyre, Elain and Amren at the table. Rhys shot up from his seat. “Y/n is at the House of Wind with—”

“Not her,” Mor snarled before pointing a finger at Elain, who stared at her wide-eyed. “You.” 

Before anyone could stop her, Mor launched herself forward, grabbing Elain by the hair on the back of her head and slamming her face down on the wooden table she was sitting at. Rhys cursed while Feyre jumped up from her seat, thanking the Gods that Nesta wasn’t here for this. 

Rhys grabbed Feyre by the arm, shaking his head at her. “Some things need to be fought the fae way. Let her learn.” 

Amren leaned back in her chair, not so much as flinching at the display. 

Mor kept her fist wrapped in Elain’s hair, pressing her face against the hardwood as the other girl cried out, blood dripping down her nose.

“That was for Y/n because she’s up there learning how to fucking walk again because of you,” Mor hissed before yanking Elain up by her hair until she was standing. 

Elain cried out for Feyre but her sister just pressed her lips into a thin line, Rhys’s hand still around her arm. Feyre was disappointed in her sister for what she had done but she still bristled as Rhys’s amusement at the scene traveled down their bond.

Mor decked Elain in the face, the sound audible, causing Feyre to flinch. Elain’s head whipped to the side as she dropped to the floor with a loud sob. “And that was for Cassian because he would never lay his hands on a weak, pathetic female but I will. Remember that.” 

Elain’s cries rung out in the room, blood dripping from her now broken nose and a bruise already forming on her cheek. Mor ignored her as she looked to Rhysand.

“Where is the other one?” Her voice was full of anger. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” 

“I don’t know,” Rhys sighed, finally letting go of Feyre. She rushed to Elain’s side, helping her off the floor and out of the room, giving Mor a remorseful look, feeling guilty over what her sister had caused. 

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“He disappeared once Y/n woke up and made it very clear she didn’t wish to see him. I have no idea where he went.”

“That fucking coward,” Mor grumbled. “Why is Elain still here? This is Y/n’s home, not hers. She shouldn’t have to be the one who leaves and you know she will if those two are still around. Cassian would leave with her too—I’m sure of it.”

“I know he would,” Rhys said, sitting back down and putting his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do, Mor. If Elain wasn’t Feyre’s sister I would’ve had her banished in a second and Azriel…Gods, he’s my brother. I can’t believe he would do something like this. He loves Y/n. I don’t know why he would hurt her like this.” 

“Azriel has always been his worst enemy,” Mor sighed, sitting next to Rhys. “We’ve all tried to help him as much as we could but this just isn’t something we can help him with. Y/n is going to need our support. This could destroy her.” 

“It already has,” Rhys replied. “She might leave our court regardless of whether or not we send Azriel and Elain away. I wouldn’t blame her. I’ve already let her know that if she wants out, I’ll have everything set-up for her.” 

“What of the girl’s mate? The redhead,” Amren piped up, crossing her arms. “Does he know yet? You know how males are. He might call for a blood duel against Azriel.” 

“Lucien has already been informed about what happened,” Rhys spoke. “Cassian has been on a warpath and was all too eager to tell Lucien. I think part of him hoped he would duel Azriel. But Lucien wouldn’t.” 

“So what happens now?” Mor asked. 

Rhys looked at her and she took note of the heavy bags under his eyes. He hadn’t been sleeping. Neither had she. She was certain none of them had. Azriel had caused a giant rift in this family—one felt by them all. 

Rhys held back his tears, clearing his throat.

“I know what was to be done,” he breathed out. “But it’s going to be hard. He was…He was my brother for over five hundred years. Regardless of what he’s done, it’s going to be hard to say goodbye.” 

Mor rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I know, Rhys. Nothing about this is going to be easy.”

“He cannot be trusted anymore,” Amren added. “Anyone who could cheat on their mate cannot be trusted. He might as well have spit on the Mother’s face for what he did.”

“I just want to know why. Why would he do this?” 

Mor let out a long breath. “I’m not sure you’ll ever get an answer. I think Azriel, himself, can’t even answer that question.” 

“I failed her, Mor. I knew how dangerous that mission was. I should’ve never given it to her,” the quiet cry shook Rhys’s body. 

“Azriel was supposed to be with her, Rhys,” Mor said. “It’s not your fault. He failed her. This was his doing.” 

But Rhys just shook his head, the tears finally slipping free from both of their eyes. 

“Get it out now, Mor, before you see her,” Rhys choked out. “It’s…hard to see her in the state she’s in. Prepare yourself. We have to be strong for her.” 

“I know,” Mor whispered, wiping at her tears. “I know.” 

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“Hey, kiddo,” Cassian’s voice pulled you from your sleep.

You blinked awake, groaning at the pounding in your head. It took you a second to realize you were in your room. Cassian must’ve carried you here after your breakdown yesterday. 

Cassian was sitting beside you, stroking your hair. “I brought you some breakfast and someone is here to see you.”

It was only then you noticed the other person sitting at the end of your bed. 

“Mor?” Your voice was hoarse, the word barely escaping. “You’re here?”

“I came back as soon as I heard,” Mor said, leaning forward to clutch your hand in hers. “How are you doing, babygirl?” 

Mor had always felt like an older sister to you. Her friendship with your brother had made the two of you close. 

“I’m…I’m not doing good,” you replied, honestly. “I can’t…I don’t know what to do, Mor. I don’t know how to move on from here. Part of me wishes I died in that alleyway. I wish I died the minute my wings were cut off.” 

“I know,” she said, sadly. “I wish I had an answer for you but I don’t. It’s going to be hard, but we’re going to be with you every step of the way.” 

“Come on, why don’t you sit up so you can eat,” Cassian murmured, putting a hand on your back to help you up. 

“I’m not hungry,” you protested.

“You have to eat something, sweetheart,” Cass said gently. “Madja’s orders.”

But you shook your head. You didn’t have an appetite. Everything still hurt so much. 

“Just give her a second, Cass,” Mor murmured. 

Cassian frowned but nodded. He brushed some of your hair away from your face again and the soothing motion started another round of tears. 

“Hey, hey,” Cassian whispered. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay, Cass! How will I ever be able to show my face again?” you cried. “I will be shamed, spit on, shunned because I lost my wings—because I couldn’t fight for them. I can never return to Illyria. I won’t be able to help train with the girls anymore.” 

“Emerie told me the girls are already awaiting your return. They miss you,” Mor reassured. “Who cares about what the stupid males are going to think? Most of those females have had their freedom of flight taken from them. They would never shun you for what happened.” 

Your eyes fell on the many bouquets of flowers and get well cards on your nightstand. Cassian had been bringing them to you. Your heart ached at the sight. 

“But I failed them, Mor,” you sobbed. “I failed them. I’m supposed to be strong. I’m supposed to be a warrior and all it took was one male to completely destroy me. I’m worthless to them now. How can I teach them to fight for themselves if I cannot even do that?” 

“You are not worthless,” Cassian said, sternly. “You are more of a fighter than half of those Illyrian males. You continue to fight each day knowing you have to live with the loss of your wings. Most of the males would’ve given up already, sweetheart. You are stronger than you think.” 

“I-I’m not. I’m weak and a failure,” you cried. “I couldn’t protect my wings. Couldn’t keep my mate’s love. Couldn’t…couldn’t–”

Your sobs overtook your words, your entire body shaking. 

“Listen to me, Y/n.” Mor demanded. “You are not weak. You are not a failure. You are a million times better than the two assholes who hurt you. You will survive this. You will survive him. I promise you, Y/n, I promise you.” 

She embraced you, holding you as you broke down into gut-wrenching sobs once again. 

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The air was tense to say the least. Rhys was standing behind his desk, palms pressed flat against the surface as he stared at the two people sitting in front of him. Feyre stood next to him as both a pillar of support and the High Lady. 

Azriel’s eyes were downcast. He hadn’t even looked at Elain since he had been dragged into this office by Mor—a new black eye and a bruised jaw decorating his face. Elain stared and stared at him, her eyes pleading with him to look at her but he ignored her presence. 

Azriel looked rough. He hadn’t shaved, his eyes were bloodshot, but the most surprising thing was his lack of shadows swarming him. 

“Where are you shadows?” Rhys asked. “I swear, Azriel, if you sent them after Y/n, I will bring Cassian down here to do with you as he pleases.” 

Azriel looked up, shaking his head. “They won’t sing to me anymore. Not since…Not since the accident.” 

It was true. His shadows had hissed at him, recoiled in his presence before they dissipated as if they too had felt his betrayal. They had wailed in agony at the loss of Y/n. They had always skittered away in Elain’s presence, probably the only reason they never yelled at him when he was with her…but it seems this time, they had left for good. 

Despite his curiosity, Rhys decided to drop the subject. This was not the time or place for that discussion. 

“Feyre and I have come to a decision about what must happen due to the results of your actions,” Rhys said, his voice full of authority and resignation. 

“What? But we’ve done nothing wrong!” Elain exclaimed. “I know we shouldn’t have gone behind Y/n’s back but we’re in love!”

“I don’t care,” Rhys snarled, baring his teeth. “I don’t care how much you two claim to be in love! Azriel has caused irreparable damage to his own mate—a member of my court, of my family. And you were complicit in that.” 

“Are we not your family too? Feyre is my sister!”

“And Y/n is mine,” Rhys retorted. “And Cassian’s.”

Elain crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “So we’re being punished for falling in love? It’s not our fault the Cauldron decided to make someone else our mates. It was never our choice.” 

“You’re not being punished for falling in love, if that’s even what we can call this,” Feyre spat out, staring at her sister with disappointment. “You’re being punished for how you handled a sensitive situation. You’re being punished for lying to our whole family and for causing it to be torn apart.”

“You’re not being punished at all,” Rhys snapped. “If you were, both of you would be in a cell in Hewn City and I’d let Cassian decide what your punishment would be considering Y/n would never have the heart to hurt either of you. This is simply the consequence of your own stupid actions.” 

Azriel’s head shot up at the mention of your name. “How is Y/n? Is she doing okay?” 

Feyre went to answer but Rhys shook his head at her. 

“You don’t get the privilege of knowing anything about her at this point, Azriel,” he huffed. 

Azriel stood from his chair in anger. “She is my mate, Rhys.”

“Sit down,” Rhys commanded, his voice rising for the first time since the meeting started. “Funny how now you acknowledge her as a mate but not when you had your tongue down Elain’s throat.” 

“Fuck you, Rhys,” Azriel growled, but sat, unable to fight the power of a High Lord’s order. 

“No fuck you, Azriel! I thought you were my brother! How could you do this to Y/n? To our family? Both of you should be ashamed. You are already getting off easy, don’t make me rethink my choice. Lucien has every right to storm in right now and demand a blood duel against you. And even though it’s not a practice in my court, I’d even let Y/n declare one against Elain.”

Elain’s face paled but Azriel only scoffed in indignation. “As if Feyre would ever let anyone kill one of her sisters.” 

Feyre stepped forward, glaring at the shadowsinger and Elain. “I’m done protecting her. Nesta is done protecting her. We have spent our whole lives taking care of her thinking she was just too soft for this world—too naive and innocent. But I think we’re finally seeing the real you, Elain. And it is time for you to face the consequences of your own actions, make your own way in life.” 

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to force me to live in the House of Wind like you did Nesta?”

“No,” Feyre said, stone faced before looking at Rhys. They had decided together how they would handle this situation.

“You are both hereby banished from the Night Court,” Rhys declared. “I will not tolerate Y/n having to lose her own home after she just lost her wings and we are going to do what's best for her. Lucien has made it clear that you both will not be welcomed in Day either and Helion is standing by his son’s decision. Beyond that, we cannot help you. You will pack your things and leave immediately. If you step one foot in this court after you leave, I will be notified and you will face worse repercussions.” 

“What?” Elain exclaimed. “Feyre, you can’t be serious! Look, I’ll move out of the Riverhouse. We can live in Azriel’s apartment and avoid Y/n.”

“That apartment belongs to Y/n too, you know,” Feyre snapped. “We have already made our decision. We will not be negotiating any terms.” 

“Rhys, come on,” Azriel said. “I will leave but you don’t need to banish Elain too. She did nothing wrong.”

“Elain knew you were a mated male, knew you were together with Y/n. While I agree that what you have done is worse, she still knew what she was doing wasn’t right.” 

“Where are we supposed to go?” Elain cried. “I don’t have any money. I don’t have anywhere to go, Feyre. You can’t just toss me out like this.” 

“Azriel has money,” Feyre shrugged. “I guess you’re his problem now.” 

“You know none of the other High Lord’s will want me in their courts, Rhys,” Azriel snarled. “Not after the things I’ve done for you.” 

“Should of thought of that before you betrayed our whole family.” 

“I hear the old Manor is still abandoned in the human lands,” Feyre remarked. “Since Vassa had reclaimed her territory with Jurian at her side and Lucien had moved to Day to be with his father.” 

“We can’t survive there,” Elain sobbed. “Humans hate faeries.” 

“Not my problem, Elain,” Feyre said. “You’re not my problem anymore.” 

“Azriel, do something!” Elain cried, looking at the shadowsinger. 

“What do you expect him to do?” Rhys laughed humorlessly. “He no longer has his title, his place in my court. He has no sway here. You both don’t. You will not change our minds.” 

“Nesta won’t allow this!”

“Nesta,” Feyre said, “is packing up your things as we speak.” 

Elain fell back in her chair, crying. 

“I’d say I wish you two the best, but I don’t,” Rhys said. “You have two hours to sort out whatever you have to before I expect you both to be out of my court. Two hours. Do you understand?” 

“Please,” Elain begged. “Please don’t do this, Feyre.”

But Feyre only shook her head at her sister. “There’s no going back for either of you. Say your goodbyes, sort out your affairs, but you will leave in two hours.” 

Rhys took his leave after that, giving Azriel one last look that was full of disgust, guilt, regret, sadness. One last look at his brother before striding out of that room, never to see or speak to him again. 

────────────

Mor had just left when you heard the flapping of wings approaching your balcony. Thinking it was your brother, you pushed yourself to stand and hobbled over to the balcony doors using the walls of your room for support. You opened the door, expecting to see your brother, but your heart stopped when you came face to face with Azriel. 

Your eyes narrowed and you went to slam the door, but he grabbed it before you could. 

“Please, please just hear me out,” he pleaded. “I will leave, I promise, I just…I just—please.” 

“There is nothing you can say that will make me forgive you, Azriel.”

“I know, baby–”

“Don’t you dare call me that!”

Azriel looked down at his feet. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m not here to try to earn your forgiveness, Y/n. I know I fucked up beyond repair. I know I failed you, failed us. Words will never be able to convey how much I regret everything.” 

You crossed your arms, leaning against the doorframe as your legs threatened to give out. You were debating screaming out for Cassian. 

Azriel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stone that looked to be enchanted. He held it out towards you. 

“I can’t…I can’t hear the shadows anymore,” he murmured. “But I can’t just leave you without some way to contact me. In case you ever change your mind, in case there is ever a chance that we can be together again. You’ll be able to call for me with this.”

“That is never going to happen.”

“Please, just take it,” Azriel begged. “Even if you don’t want me, please. If you’re ever in danger again and need help, you can use it for that too. Just please, take it.” 

When you said nothing, didn’t so much as open your palm so he could place the stone in it, he knelt down and placed it at your feet instead. You stared at him, emotionless. You didn’t want to give him anything. He didn’t deserve your tears or your sadness. 

“I’m so sorry, Y/n. I’m so sorry for the way things ended,” Azriel said. “You deserve a better mate than me. If I never…If I never get to see you again after this, I promise I will find you in the next life and the one after that. I will do right by you. I will give us another chance.”

He stared at you, pleading with you to say anything. Anything. Even if you screamed at him, beat him, cried—anything was better than this utter silence. But you didn’t. You merely looked at him like he was nothing to you. Like he was a stranger. 

“Goodbye, Azriel,” you said. “I hope you find happiness in your life. Truly.”

And then you slammed the door shut and walked away. 

And he knew then that your words would haunt him for the rest of his life because he knew he had lost the one real thing that had brought him true happiness forever.

────────────

One Year Later ~ Winter Solstice 

“Get up, you lazy cow!”

The sheets were yanked off your sleeping body, exposing you to the cold morning air. You let out a shriek, cursing at your brother and trying to grab the sheets back.

“What the hell, Cassian!”

“It’s Winter Solstice!”

“It’s also six in the morning,” you retorted, falling back down on your bed. 

“Nope, you’re not going back to sleep,” Cassian said. “It’s time to get up!” 

Before you could even respond, Cassian grabbed you by the ankle and yanked you to the end of the bed. You squealed as he tossed you over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, pounding on his back as he raced out of the room.

“Cassian! Let me down, you big brute!” 

But he only laughed at you, carrying you all the way to the kitchen where Nesta was sitting at the counter with a steaming cup of tea. She didn’t so much as blink as he dropped you into the chair next to her, already used to her mate’s antics. 

“Goodmorning, Y/n,” Nesta said, pushing an already prepared cup of tea your way.

“Oh, you are an absolute goddess,” you groaned, greedily accepting the mug. You curled your ice cold fingers around it, relishing in the warmth. 

“Hey! What about me?” Cassian yelled, swinging a wash cloth over his shoulder as he started to make breakfast for the two of you. “I’m the one making you guys food!”

“You’re also the one who woke us up, dingbat,” you scoffed, causing Nesta to snort.

It wasn’t long before Cassian was sliding a plate of pancakes your way. “Eat up. You have a long day ahead of you.”

You raised an eyebrow at him but accepted the food, scarfing it down. It was almost hilarious how out of the three of you it was Cassian who cooked the best. 

After breakfast, you retired to your room to get ready to go down to the River House for the real celebrations. Cassian had cryptically told you to wear pants, so you did. You had no idea why until hours later, when you were all lounging in the sitting room after lunch. 

A knock on the front door had you jumping up from your seat. “I’ll get it!” 

No one batted an eye as you raced for the door, pulling it open to see Lucien standing on the doorstep. You let out a noise of excitement, grabbing him in a hug.

“Lucien!” you exclaimed. “You’re here early!” 

A few weeks after the incident, Lucien had sent you a letter asking how you were faring and offering you support. He became a lifeline while you had dealt with the aftermath of saying goodbye to your mate and healing. You both leaned on each other during that time because you were simply the only two who understood the pain of having a mate who fell in love with another. 

“Happy Winter Solstice,” he said as you pulled away and opened the door wider so he could enter. “I’m actually here to retrieve you.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“Is everything ready?” 

Your brother’s voice came from behind you and you whipped your head around to stare at him. He was wearing his flying leathers now only confusing you further. 

“Yes,” Lucien nodded. 

“What’s going on?” you asked, suspiciously. 

No one else followed Cassian out. Not even Nesta. You frowned as he shook Lucien’s hand, giving him a friendly whack on the back. 

“You’ll see,” your brother said with a grin. “Lucien is going to winnow us somewhere, kiddo, to your solstice gift.”

You looked between them with narrowed eyes but accepted Lucien’s outstretched hand. His grin was the last thing you saw before you were pulled away in a flurry of wind. A second later, you appeared in the middle of a clearing. 

The tall green grass, the slightly warm breeze, the lack of snow, told you that you were in the Spring Court. You whirled to face your brother who let out a sneeze as soon as he got his bearings. 

“What are we doing here?” 

“So, you know how when Feyre was brought back she was given a drop of power from every High Lord?” Cassian asked. 

You nodded, not understanding where this was going. Your hand slipped into your pocket, around a stone that was always kept there. The one Azriel had left you. You had never used it but for some reason, had never parted with it either. At some point, you had started holding it whenever you felt nervous or fell back into the heartache you had experienced last year. 

“Well, of course she inherited part of Tamlin’s shapeshifting powers. And we thought maybe she could shapeshift others the way he does, but after numerous tries, unfortunately it seems as though the sliver of power she received only allows her to transform herself.” 

“It was not fun being the guinea pig for those test runs,” Lucien laughed. “When Feyre was unable to do it, we had to turn to someone else.” 

“Okay, but what does that have to do with me? Or my solstice gift?” 

Before either of them could respond, a noise came from the shrubbery in the distance. Tamlin’s beast form pounced out from it, striding towards you. You gasped and backed away, right into your brother’s chest. He placed a hand on your shoulder.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “He’s here as a favor to Lucien.”

“And Feyre and Rhys approved this?” you whispered up to him. 

He nodded his assurance.

You let out another gasp as Tamlin shifted back into his fae form. He looked well, better than the last time you had seen him at least. He seemed to have regained some weight and gotten a haircut. You knew he was still in the process of recovering his court. You wondered what sort of strings Lucien had to pull to get him to willingly let you and Cassian come here considering his history with your rulers.

He gave you and Cassian a polite, but bland, greeting which you reciprocated.

“Are any of you going to tell me what’s going on?” 

“Tam is going to help you shapeshift,” Lucien explained. “If you will allow him.”

“Shapeshift? But why would I–”

It clicked in your head, what they were implying, why they had brought you to this large clearing. You whipped around to look up at your brother who seemed to be holding back tears. He gave you a nod, already knowing what you were asking.

“W-wings,” you choked out. “He can give me wings.” 

“It won’t last forever,” Lucien said. “But yes, he can give you wings.”

Tears started slipping down your cheeks and you lurched towards Lucien, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. You…you were going to have wings. You were going to be able to fly!

You didn’t care that it wouldn’t last forever. Just the chance to fly once more was a gift in itself.

“Thank you,” you whispered into his ear. “Thank you.” 

Lucien laughed, hugging you back before you slowly pulled away from him. You looked over your shoulder at your brother. “This was your idea?”

Cassian shook his head. “As much as I wish I could claim this, it was actually Lucien who thought of this first. I’m just here to supervise–and to offer you a flying partner if you’ll have me.” 

You smiled up at Lucien, unbelievably touched at the thoughtfulness. Lucien wiped your tears from your face, gently, before placing his hands on your shoulders. “Are you ready?”

You nodded with enthusiasm.

Lucien gestured at Tamlin to come closer.

“Thank you for doing this,” you said to him with a small bow of the head. 

“I once watched a faerie die after losing his wings,” Tamlin murmured. “Its…Its a horrific crime. One my family has a history with. I’d like this to be my first step towards making amends for their mistakes.” 

You weren’t sure what to say, so you just gave him a grateful nod of the head. He focused intently on you and you felt his magic surround you. It felt nice, like a crisp Spring breeze. And then you felt a familiar weight on your back. You stumbled for a second, readjusting to how it used to feel having wings. But it surprisingly came back to you quite easily.  

You looked at them over your shoulder, stretching them out and flapping them a few times. They looked just like your brother’s and you realized Tamlin must’ve used him as a guide. You grinned, facing Cassian. 

“Race you towards the end of the clearing,” you shouted before taking off into the sky. 

Your brother’s laughter followed after you as he too launched into the sky. 

+++

Hours after night had fallen, you found yourself behind the River House, leaning on the railing to watch the slow moving river. Your wings had since dissipated, but you hadn’t felt this light in a long time. Being able to fly today had healed you in some way.

You had spent a lot of time thinking while you flew amongst the clouds. Thinking of who you used to be. Sometimes you missed that girl, sometimes you wished more than anything to be her again. 

But you hadn’t felt that today…

Today, you had felt like a new person. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. And perhaps in a way, you were. 

Life had never been predictable. Your whole life had been filled with tragedy and sorrow, challenges and hard work, happiness and joy, regret and insecurities. You had gone through so much, so much, but somehow, you were always able to come out on the other side.

It wasn’t easy. It involved many days of despair, awful thoughts, and soulless recovery. You had to fight to get up sometimes, had to fight just to feel something. Sometimes it seemed like you’d conquer one mountain only to be faced with another. 

If it wasn’t for your brother, you were certain you would’ve fallen back a dozen times. But he had been your pillar of strength, your rock to rest against when things got too hard. And Mor and Rhys had been there to help lift you back up. 

You had gained new friends, found a new life for yourself. Metamorphosed into a new person. 

That girl from a year ago? 

Well, you were finally going to let her die. 

You reached into your pocket and pulled out the stone Azriel had left you. You ran your thumb over its smooth surface. It didn’t hurt as much to look at it now, not like it had before. Before it had represented so many things.

The loss of love, the grief of losing your wings, the reminder that he had betrayed you. 

But now…now it just looked like a rock. 

You gripped it in your fist and tossed it into the Sidra, watching as it hit the water’s surface with a small thud before sinking down into the black water. Down and down, until it would find its way to the bottom. Perhaps then it would drift out into the sea. 

You heard the backdoor to the house open.

“Hey, Y/n, come on!” Mor shouted out to you. “We’re going to Ritas!” 

You took one last look at where the rock had disappeared in the water, letting out a long breath. 

“Goodbye,” you whispered into the cold air. “I’ll see you in our next lifetime. Maybe then you’ll deserve me.” 

With a new weight lifted off your shoulders, you turned and marched back to your new beginning. 

[loveydovey-leviathan]

(for your recent post)

hmmm how about mal and reader were having an argument or sumn then he's like " hmph let's not talk to each other for now >:( " so you grant him some space/or silent treatment and mal is like dramatically waiting for u to talk to him for HOURS in his room just brooding there and when he realize you're still ignoring him, he's like a pathetic sad wet cat needy for ur attention now bcs he couldn't stand being apart from u.

im sorry for the basic ass idea lol 😭 im just a sucker for silent treatment scenarios like this

malleus x gn! reader

a/n: written as romantic -> FOAMING AT THE MOUTH, IM A SUCKER FOR THESE TOO 😔😔 hope i did this justice

.

one of the many things malleus adores about you is your stubbornness. the way you don't back down against what you think is wrong is something that will always set him ablaze with admiration for you.

though he doesn't quite like it when that pride is directed at him.

he's realizing this now when scornful words are spat between the two of you in the living room of ramshackle. clouds and lighting are beginning to gather as a response to his irritation and annoyance. he doesn't even know what this silly argument was even about or why it started in the first place, and unfortunately, malleus can be just as stubborn as can be.

"since you insist on being childish, i think it's best for us to not talk for a while," he isn't even looking at you as he says this, so when he disappears into pretty green firelights, he misses the hurt expression on your face as he leaves.

this is stupid, you think, but you bite your lip in worry as you walk upstairs and lay in bed, grim beside you snoring away. you said things you didn't mean so perhaps it's best to give him space, though how long that will go on is unknown to you since your lovely dragon is a fae with a rather skewed perception of time... whatever, he knows where to find you as soon as he decides he's comfortable enough to talk this out.

unbeknownst to you, malleus is now brooding in his room, lying face down on his pillow. the clouds around nrc have gotten worse, static brushing against the air as he waits for a phone call from you. preferably a sincere apology since he obviously deserves it after the things you've said.

...

well, he supposes it wasn't entirely your fault. he uttered words all to anger you as you did him, though none of them were true. you weren't childish, the opposite in fact-- having to take care of that first-year duo and that cat you're always hanging out with, taking precious time away when you could be stroking his hair and kissing his hands and petting his horns. as you do.

that's another thing he likes about you. even if you don't spend as much time together as he'd like, what you do to him is more than enough to compensate. you know he likes being kissed on the neck, you know he loves it when you take of his gloves and hold his hands, you know he loves when you lightly blow on his ear. you always look so happy when you do it too-- like seeing him smile makes you-

wait, isn't he supposed to be angry at you? he humphs and pouts when he realizes you still haven't called. he turns his head, eyebrows crossed and he stares at the phone on his desk. the only reason he learned how to use a phone was so you could contact him and send him texts and "memes" like you do with the rest of your friends.

he considers going to you himself but immediately shoves the idea away. he's still mad at you after all.

...

...

...

...

the clouds start pouring rain.

it isn't even the raging, storming kind-- the ones with howling winds and thunderous claps of lightning that illuminate the very sky. it's sad and cold that heavily drops on your already straining roof. your dampened mood worsens and you decide to get out of bed and make a hot drink to help you sleep.

you briefly glance at the alarm on your bedside table and see that it's 2:31 a.m., way too early to do anything at all.

just as you reach the bottom of the stairs, you hear 3 heavy knocks at the front door. any normal person would panic and call a friend for help, but your friends ace are usually the ones getting kicked out, so you figure something similar happened.

imagine your surprise when you see your boyfriend in all his 202 cm glory. his hair sticks to his face in an unfairly handsome way considering he's absolutely soaked, and somehow the look accentuates the pretty green hue of his eyes that have only ever looked at you like you were everything and more, even when he's angry at you.

...did he walk here?

you continue staring at him for a while and your realize that while your lover is incredibly beautiful- so much so the word beautiful could never begin to describe him- he is also very. pathetic. if only people knew how much of a wet cat he was. he even bumps his nose against yours as an act of affection sometimes.

and that fact is ever prominent right now. his arms are crosses and his lips are jutted in a cute pout, refusing to say a word.

"..."

"..."

"..."

you don't know what to do exactly, considering there isn't a manual for 'what to do when your draconic boyfriend stands outside your front door in the soaking rain while he remains completely silent', so you slowly turn and walk through ramshackle's living room and into your dainty little kitchen.

heavy footsteps follow close behind you, followed by a light thud of a closing door and the muffling of the rain. malleus continues to follow you when you boil enough water for two, when you take out your tea bags (gifted by kalim) and seep it into the water. you take the occasional glance here and there, wondering if you should speak before ultimately deciding against it. maybe he doesn't want to talk right now.

he sits closely next to you- so close your knees touch when you rest yourself on one of the seats against the table. your fingertips briefly touch when you pass him the newly brewed tea and it's almost like he wants to reach out to hold your hand, but he pulls away at the last second.

from there, you sit in silence. the heat of the mug spreads from your cold fingertips and you warm up as you drink your tea. already, your becoming tired. you look at mal once more and he still has that adorable pout on his face, but his eyebrows aren't as furrowed as before. usually, you'd gladly offer a cuddle during a rainy night, but tonight's been strange.

so when you try to leave your seat, a hand suddenly stops you. it's the first time he's looked you in the eyes the entire night and good god it's cute, lame and pitiful all at the same time. truly, a stray kitty in a box out in the rain begging for attention. his eyes look up at you in the saddest way possible and you swear you see a wet sheen-- and that damn pout that's going to be the fucking death of you one day is still there.

"i'm sorry," he mutters, and he shifts from one hand holding yours to two. "i can't stand being apart from you." the apology is blunt, honest and sincere, just like him.

you gently lift the hand he wasn't holding to his cheek and he nuzzles into it, closing his eyes as he enjoys your petting. something deep rumbles in his chest and you realize he's purring again.

"m' sorry too, mal. shouldn't have said what i said."

almost immediately, the heavy rain lessens before quickly coming to a stop. there's a smile on his face and the all-too-familiar, tell-tale blush on his cheeks. you place your finger under his chin and tilt his head before kissing him softly. he's dormant and still, like he's afraid of breaking this moment, but he tightens his grip on your hand like he's afraid you'll leave.

malleus chases your lips in hopes for more when you pull away all too soon. he's staring at you with a look as sweet and delicate as spun sugar.

"let's go to bed, mal."

he chuckles like he always does. "if you insist, my love." like he wasn't waiting, hoping you ask him.

[mkkk12345]

Mishaps in the potionology classroom

Malleus x reader

A late-night tutoring session turned into a night of frantically looking through textbooks and babysitting a baby dragon. 

We all know what started this, I would die for this little guy he’s precious, no spoiler warning cos I’m not on JP server lol. 

2K words

----

What were you going to tell Lillia? How well will Silver take this? How is Sebek going to kill you? These were the questions that floated through your mind as you held a baby dragon prince in your arms. What were you going to do now… after an incident like this you were surely going to be on some fae hit list. 

It was an accident you swear, but that didn’t matter now did it, how impromptu tutoring session come to this? 

It all started when you asked Malleus for some assistance with your potionology class homework, you wouldn't normally ask someone like him who probably had something better to do than tutor you but it was late at night and you were desperate. You had spotted him out the window of your room in Ramshackle when the idea popped into your head. Ask him a few questions out the window and it would be over, right? 

Wrong. 

“Tsunotaro do you have a minute to spare?” you asked him as he turned his head up in surprise

As always he answered with a smile “Why yes of course I do, I always have time for you my dearest perfect.” relief flooded your features and you started to explain your situation.

“There are a few questions on this potionology homework that aren't clicking, I dont think it will take too long but would you like to come inside it's colder than I thought out there.” How could you resist, it was only the proper thing to do no? He is a prince after all, and it was indeed unusually cold out tonight it couldn't hurt to invite him into your dorm. 

You quickly rush to the door to let him in, guiding him to your room where Grimm was, as expected still sound asleep on your bed belly up snoring. “Please excuse him, you know how he is.” you sigh as he chuckled,

“Please don’t worry, now what did you need help with my dear” Your heart skipped a beat almost dropping the extra chair you were bringing over to your desk. 

Sitting down and clearing your throat you begin your impromptu tutoring session with Malleus “W-we’ll there's this part here-” 

With Malleus’s help, you quickly progressed to the last question but as you read it your eyes grew wide, how could you overlook this? “Using the recipe provided on page 324 of the textbook please recreate the potion you have been studying. Oh god, how did I miss Professor Crewel telling us about that in class?” you bury your face in your hands in defeat. 

Unbeknownst to you a smile grew on Malleuses face “Worry not child of man, shall we go to the potionology classroom? I’m sure even the spirits that roam the halls of the school would not dare to stop you if I came along.” 

“Is that really ok? I mean it's midnight we aren't even supposed to be out of our dorms at this time of the night.” lifting your head you looked at him with worry in your eyes. 

“You may place your trust in me, I shall take the fall if anything were to happen.” You sigh giving into desperation for a second time tonight. 

And that's how you were now stuck in the potionology classroom with a baby dragon frantically calling Grimm for help. Was it the best thing to do at the moment? No. But what else could you do? Calling a professor was out of the question, you could be expelled for something like this. Calling one of the other first years was also out of the question, you didn't want to drag them into this either.  So you went to your last resort, Grimm. 

“Y/N where are you do you know what time it is?” Grimm sleepy shouted into the phone. 

“Grimm I’m sorry for waking you up but I’m in a sticky situation right now, I’ll explain everything later but right now I need you to come down to the potionology classroom it's urgent-” Just then little dragon Malleus decided he was bored and wanted out of your arms, “Hey Tsunotaro stay still-” it was then that the little guy swung his tail up knocking the phone out of your hands and onto the floor, effectively ending the call. 

“Well at least that might get him to come over here quicker,” you sighed as you tried to wrangle Malleus to stay in your arms. “What are we going to do with you little Tsunotaro, I can only assume that what we made and accidentally splashed onto you was an age-reversal potion of some kind.” you held him out hands under his arms like someone would hold a long cat. 

A few minutes later Grimm slams the door open “Y/N, are you ok!” Grimm shouted out of breath from the long run over to the potionology classroom. 

“Yeah sorry to worry you Grimm, Tsunotaro made me drop the phone,” you said as you turned towards Grimm, bringing the little dragon closer to your body. 

With a confused expression, he cocked his head to the side and pointed at the little guy in your arms, “Is that?” 

“Yeah” Filling Grimm in on the situation you sat down on the floor and subconsciously began to play with Malleus’s little feet, petting him as if he were a cat. In your defense, he was cat-shaped and sized and he seemed to begin to relax in your lap as well. 

“So what do we do now?” Grimm asked now coming closer to the little dragon in your lap to get a closer look. 

“Well if you could pass me that textbook and help me look for a solution to this before anyone finds out that would be great.” You looked at him with a tired smile. 

A few minutes had passed and Grimm walked over to you and pulled at your sleeve too afraid of what would happen if the sleeping dragon in your lap woke up. He looked up at you and back down to the textbook in his hand pointing at a particular sentence in the page. You quietly read it aloud “There is no way to reverse the effects of the potion, the amount of time the potion is in effect is determined by the amount of potion the individual comes in contact with.” you sighed in relief,  from what you could tell only a few drops had landed on him. “Judging by the table here he should be back to normal in a few hours,” you finally allowed yourself to release the breath you were holding. Now looking back down at little baby Malleus in your lap you could finally take in how absolutely adorable he was, his tiny wings, those eyes that were slightly disproportionate to the rest of his head, the way he squished his little head into your stomach. Looking back up at Grimm you smiled “Ok let’s clean up the evidence and go back to Ramshackle to get some rest, we might have a little explaining to do tomorrow.”

Somehow you and Grimm had managed to get back to ramshackle without incident and without waking the sleeping dragon in your arms. Upon entering the dorm Grimm spoke up “So where are ya gonna put baby Tsunotaro for tonight? Because I am not giving up my spot in bed.” Grimm stood defiantly in front of your shared bed. 

“Grimm please dont be stubborn, it's just for one night, plus he is the future ruler of the Briar Valley, who knows what hitlist the fae will put us on if he gets mad” You stare at Grimm with a fearful expression (fake of course but Grimm doesn't have to know that). And with that, the three of you were off to bed. Although things might have turned out in Grimm's favor because for the rest of that night every time you weren't holding little Malleus in your arms, he would whine and make a fuss until you would take him back into your arms against your warm body for cuddles. 

As per usual the next morning you awoke to your alarm clock blaring from the bedside table. As you groaned you attempted to move to turn the wretched thing off but instead, you were met with the realization someone was holding you, preventing you from moving. “Allow me a few more minutes of bliss please dear.” a husky low voice borderline growled into your ear as one of his arms reached over you to shut off the alarm clock. 

“Malleus?!” this is not what you were expecting to wake up to this morning. You thought you would wake up with a tiny little dragon in your arms if your calculations were correct, maybe the potion didn't work as well on fae? You thought as you stared up at his handsome face who stared back at you. 

“Yes, my dear prefect? Is something the matter?” he looked at you inquisitively, surely he didn't think this was normal right? To wake up and just be cuddling with someone?

“Ah well um I just thought I would be waking up to a little dragon this morning.” you laughed awkwardly as you tried to relax in his hold. 

“Worry not, a potion as weak as that would not have such an effect on me. Oh or are you perhaps disappointed at the fact you no longer get to see me as an infant? Lilla has told me I was quite cute back then.” he chuckles as your red face burying yourself in the sheets. 

“He isn't wrong, you were very adorable,” you spoke softly from under the sheets.

Malleus then suddenly pulled your body closer to his, ”Am I no longer cute now dear? Oh how you wound me” he spoke as he tucked his face into the crook of your neck. 

If you thought you were red before, now you were probably even redder than Riddle's hair “Well I… I think your quite handsome now…” you whispered as your hand moved to stroke his hair. “Not that you weren't handsome before this or anything! I just-” 

“Will you two get a room or something?! Can't a cat get some extra sleep before class without lovey-dovey fools realizing feelings so loud?!” Grimm shouted as he got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom “Geez, not even one day of peace in this damn dorm.” he grumbled under his breath before slamming the door shut. 

And with that, the two of you burst into a fit of laughter enjoying one another warmth under the covers for a little while longer before getting ready for school yourselves. 

“Hey isn't your dorm going to go into a panic looking for you this morning?” You asked Malleus from the bathroom as you got dressed. 

He responded with a chuckle “Worry not, Lillia came to find me earlier this morning. The only one I would worry about is Sebek.” he spoke with a smirk on his face. 

Back in Diasomnia

“WAKA SAMAAAAAAAA HAS ANYONE SEEN WAKA SAMA,” a certain green hair crocodile was currently screaming his head off as if someone had died. 

The usually sleepy silver-haired boy crossed his arms and shook his head at the sight, “It’s going to be a long morning.” 

All the while the pink-haired ​​vice house warden was laughing his head off at the sight of the chaos occurring. 

[sinfullyrosey]

How to Tame Your Dragon

Malleus Draconia X Male!Reader

Warnings: Dom!Reader, Blowjob, Deep Throating, Mild Bondage (via a tail), Scent Kink, Degradation & Praise (aimed at Malleus), Rimming, Anal, Orgasm Denial, Malleus is a Simp Needy Sub

I put my whole ass pussy and braincell into this fic lol

The meeting had run a little later than expected, advisors droning on about some new laws drafted up and issues brought forth by the people. Others asking him his input on certain political issues and how he’s going to address them. All was just so draining and mind numbing to the young king.

But all of that doesn’t matter now what with the room having been evacuated of everyone save for himself and his human companion. The very same magicless human he had met at Night Raven College all those years ago and who had now become his partner in marriage.

You.

A mere child of man.

The one who has his heart in your hands and whose vision blesses his thoughts each and every day that goes by. The one who became his first friend, his first adviser, his first and only love.

The same lover who is currently sitting comfortably atop his throne, one leg over the other, your chin resting in your palm as you lean against the armrest. And he, sitting down on his knees at your feet, gazing up at you with unbridled adoration.

A cold look of fake indifference plastered itself upon your face as you leer down at your horned husband. Slitted eyes gaze back up at you, nothing but love and the desire to serve swirling in those gorgeous green eyes of his. He was being obedient, sitting back and waiting for your command.

“Hm, is there something you want, Malleus? You’re staring at me like I’m the last bowl of ice cream in the fridge.”

His expression brightened at your acknowledgment, scooting ever so slightly closer, hands still remaining firmly on his knees. His tail tip wagged slowly in building excitement.

“You, my love. I want you. Only you. Please, if I may, can I pleasure you once more?”

You snort at that.

Such a poetic sap he is. Speaking about you as if you were some fine jewel to be added to his growing hoard. You roll your eyes and sigh out a soft, “I suppose.” making his tail pick up in speed.

You shifted in your seat, moving to push aside your silken, black robe and pull your undergarments down, revealing your now unclothed dick and balls. You were semi-hard, his earlier words having more of an effect on you than you’re willing to admit, let alone acknowledge.

“You may worship my cock like you have done so many times before, but only with your mouth and tongue. You keep those hands away from me or else.”

“Yes, my dear prince. I won’t. Only my mouth shall serve my loveliest briar rose.”

“Good, good. Now, get to it.”

You lean back and watch as the mighty king of Briar Valley, royal fae who all fearfully respected, stuck out his tongue and began to lap at a mere human’s cock like some common brothel whore. His long, darkened tongue licked along the sides and underside, starting from the base and moving all the way to the tip.

You let out a long, blissful sigh as you felt your dick start to harden more under his ministries, his mouth sucking and kissing at the hot flesh. Malleus enjoyed the sounds you were making and worked to get more out of you.

He’d kiss and lick all the way up to the tip before wrapping his lips around your red, swollen head, and suck. He’d suck and hum in delight, sending vibrations throughout your length, making you leak precum directly into his awaiting maw. He began to swirl his tongue around the head and slit, forked tongue gathering as much of your precious cream as he could to swallow and savor.

Malleus could never get enough of anything you had to offer him, cum included.

“Mmmalleus… Oh, you’re doing such a good job…Aah~ Keep that up.”

Your praise fueled and prompted him to go further. Now he started to gently bob his mouth against your length, still sucking and lapping away. He wanted to take in as much of you as possible, to swallow you whole and gift you with all the sweet pleasures you so rightfully deserved from him.

You moaned louder as you felt your cock hit the back of his throat, walls squeezing around you as he gagged slightly. In his eagerness to please, he failed to properly prepare himself to take you. Your blurry eyes started to flutter closed, and you chuckled to yourself at your lover’s desperate mistake.

He attempted to correct himself while still sucking you off without interruption, making you purr in sadistic glee. He knew better than to stop over his own discomfort. No, he would never put his own comfort of yours, too desperate to keep you happy and moaning.

So, you let him, merely relaxing in your seat while he choked on your dick like a good cock-hungry slut. You let out a sigh and continued to focus on the tight, warm mouth you were fucking.

But your eyes suddenly shot back open when you realized a pair of soft, smooth hands were gently stroking your balls in just the right way that you liked. Your panting increased as he cupped the swollen sacks of flesh, rubbing his thumb pads along them and making them tighten and flex.

But as much as you enjoyed getting your balls fondled, you don’t enjoy how Malleus disobeyed you. Just as he started to use his sharp claws to softly graze along the sensitive flesh, you leaned forward to slap his hands away, sending him a stern glare.

“Hey! What did I say about keeping your filthy hands to yourself?! Mouth and tongue only!”

Malleus startled but obeyed. Keeping his hands off of you and slipping your length out of him so he could bow in apology. You continued to scowl down at him and crossed your arms angrily.

“Use your tail to wrap around your arms and keep them secured behind your back. Disobey me again and I won’t allow you to touch me, at all, for a whole month. Understood, Malleus?”

His eyes widened ever so slightly in worry, but nodded his head in understanding, nonetheless.

“Yes, my love. Please, forgive me…” He said, doing as you ordered and secured his tail around his arms behind his back, preventing him from using them any further.

You huff at his sad apology and roll your eyes. Still a bit tiffed, you promptly grabbed at one of his horns, holding it in a vice grip and forcefully shoved his face into your heavy, round balls. The sudden movement caught him off guard as he was met with the sweet, musky scent of your cum-filled balls.

“Since you seem to be so interested in them, then why don’t you put that mouth of yours to good use and lavish them? I might just be willing to forgive you then, my sweet, slutty king.~”

The fae inhaled your scent, the smell of you making his head spin and mouth water. Your grip didn’t let up so he had no other choice but to do as you requested and started lapping at the full orbs. You hummed in approval as his wet, warm tongue worked their magic.

“That’s it, just cover them in your messy drool. Disobedient dragons should atone for their naughty behavior.~”

Malleus moaned, maw giving open-mouthed kisses to the swollen pair. Your scent was filling his nostrils as he sucked on one of the meaty spheres, your large, leaking member resting atop his head.

“Mmm, you taste so divine my love. So sweet and lovely.~ I can’t… help myself…”

Your husband was moaning against you, lost in the euphoria your aroma brought. The sight alone caused a spike of satisfaction to shoot right to your growing ego… and dick. Causing it to twitch and pulse with the need to cum.

So, as much as you were enjoying watching him make a pathetic fool of himself, you still wanted to move things along already. You were getting impatient and he seemed too balls deep to do so himself.

“Alright, that’s enough of that. I want you back to sucking me off, mouth stuffed with my cock.”

You shoved his head away from you, startling him once more from your rough, abrupt nature.

“Now, open up, Mal~” You cooed.

He barely had parted his lips when you suddenly grabbed both horns firmly in your hands and shoved his head all the way down onto your length, forcing yourself into his mouth and down his throat in one swift motion.

The fae’s eyes widened as he gagged from the sudden intrusion, trying to accommodate for the newfound size taking up all of his space.

“MPH! Mm..!”

“Haah, you take me so nicely Malleus, as always. How does that feel, hm? Finally getting what you wanted you needy, little tart? Do I taste good shoved down your throat? Because you sure as hell feel wonderful around my cock.~”

“Mmmph, mm…”

You could see his eyes water at the corners over the strain in his mouth. While he may be struggling to gather his bearings, you knew all too well how much Malleus was enjoying your whole dick in his mouth again, able to taste and smell you so intensely.

His back even arching slightly, body trembling in some places. He was incredibly aroused right now and no doubt his own pair of dick and balls were just bursting to be set free and touched too.

You chuckle and release one hand to push back his bangs and reveal his patterned scales underneath.

“Oh, does that feel good Malleus? I bet it does. I bet that empty, little head of yours is now being filled with nothing but the thoughts of me and what you’d want to do with me, huh? Such a needy, hungry thing you are.~”

You crooned down at him, affectionately running your fingers over the scales, earning a muffled moan from him. You continued your petting, gently scratching your nails at the spot, making his eyes flutter and roll back in pure euphoric, lovesick bliss.

It truly was a sight to behold.

The very ruler of Briar Valley, a proud and powerful dragon fae, renowned for his skills in magic, on his knees for a mere human. The Malleus Draconia, slobbering on the dick of a much weaker and magicless pheasant, and doing so with such submission and reverence!

The thought alone had you grinning down at him, watching his shameful display of swallowing your whole length down as you used his horns as leverage to thrust into him rhythmically. You listened to the sweet sounds of his muffled moans mixed with the slick noise of his saliva and your precum dripping passed his lips.

You sped up your pace once you felt your approaching orgasm reaching its peak. Having long since lost your patience and just wanting to cum already, you focused solely on getting to your release.

And release you did. With a final shudder and the sudden feeling of your body and balls tightening up, your member finally squirted out all that built up emission. Ribbons of hot, creamy cum shot directly down Malleus’ throat, making him gag and struggle to gulp it all down, some still slipping past his dark lips and drip down his chin.

You slipped your still twitching length out of him, using your slick and his saliva to jerk yourself off in order to get every last remaining drop out of you and into his awaiting mouth.

“Keep your mouth open for me. That’s it, nice and wide. Show me that lovely, long tongue of yours. And make sure to swallow every, last, drop.~”

Obeying, he kept his mouth nice and wide for you, sticking his white-stained tongue out and catching any stray drops you oh so graciously gifted him. And once you were all through, he closed his mouth to swallow it all up, savoring the salty-sweet flavor of your essence.

“Good boy.~ You’re just as good at following orders as you are giving them.”

Malleus crooned under your praise; a deep rumble one could mistake for a purr reverberated from his chest. The dragon’s brain was near mush by this point, thoughts of only you rolling around in there. Your taste was still lingering on his tongue and scent wafting in the air, making his head even heavier with the presence of you. It was all so overwhelming yet not unwelcome.

“Oh Malleus~”

At the sound of your sweet voice calling to him, Malleus broke out of his thoughts to give you his full, undivided attention once more.

Only to be met with the sight of you with your back turned to him, body leaning over the throne, and ass in full view, swaying slowly back and forth as to tease him. A lazy smirk and lidded eyes were present on your face.

“Aren’t you forgetting something? I’m not finished being spoiled yet, my king.~”

In a sudden fit of excitement, the fae quickly stood up, untangling his tail from his arms and rushed to remove his own member from his attire in order to spoil you some more.

You let out an unimpressed ‘tsk’ and stopped him before he could go any further and attempt to stick it in you before being properly prepared first. Malleus was no small fellow, after all.

“Ah ah ah, I wasn’t referring to your member, Malleus. I was referring to that sinful tongue of yours.~”

Emphasizing your point, you placed both hands on either side of your tight hole and spread it open, making it wink at your aghast lover.

Malleus halted his previous ministries, licking his lips in lust-filled hunger. Seems like you were making the dragon work for it and wanted him to almost grovel at your feet. And grovel he will, because the moment the wafting scent of your sweet musk reached his nostrils, he was done for.

Immediately returning to his previous position on his knees, Malleus leaned forward to inhale as much of your scent before diving in. And just like with your previous spoiling, he had no scruples with lavishing your hole with his tongue.

You let out pleased sounds with each lap of his dark tongue along your tight ring. Each one opening up the puckered hole more and sending a buzzing feeling throughout your body. The feeling making you let out a satisfied, shaky sigh.

“Such an eager pleaser, aren’t you, Malleus?~” You mused.

The dragon hummed affectionately, sending vibrations that had you moaning and leaning into his touch. His whorish nature only made you chuckle more as you decided that you had also run out of patience and would now move on to the main course.

You turned around and shoved him away, earning a confused growl from the dragon. You simply stood up and gestured for him to sit on the now unoccupied throne. He did so, still confused but still eager to carry out any orders you have for him.

With a grin and now thoroughly prepared hole, you moved aside his robes to reveal his thick, neglected cock, then smoothly made your way into Malleus’s lap. He instinctually placed both hands onto your sides, claws digging slightly into your supple skin. Your ass was rubbing up against his throbbing member, sending his mind into a frenzy.

You looked up at him with lidded eyes, a knowing, seductive smile on your face. You could feel his tip leaking and dick twitch, just begging to fill you up. You gave him one quick, fleeting kiss under his jaw before you, finally, and ever so slowly, sunk yourself down fully onto his awaiting cock.

The sensation had the fae sighing in relief. A deep rumble sounded from his chest once more and you started to tentatively move your hips.

“You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you, Malleus?”

“Yes, my love! I’ve been waiting ever since you first sat down on my throne and demanded I began pleasuring you. I only want to pleasure you my precious briar rose.~”

You rolled your eyes at that, but still kept that same smile.

“Just be a good boy for me now. Behave. No moving or thrusting back. Just sit here while I bounce on this slutty cock of yours. Or else I’ll leave you dry and needy without a second thought.” You playfully threaten, wrapping your arms around his neck as support while you bounced in his lap.

Your lover heard you loud and clear and nodded his head in understanding. He rested his face in the crook of your neck as you bounced vicariously on his dick. He’ll be good for you, he promises.

“Mm, I know you will. Such a greedy dragon, after all. Wanting nothing but my cock, my hole, my attention.”

He crooned at your words, letting out a huff that sent a small, dark cloud puffing from his nostrils. You gently pat his head, keeping a slow, steady rhythm as he desperately restrained himself, shoving himself further against your neck to breath in as much of your scent as possible.

Your fingers slid into his silky locks once more, this time, more tenderly. You lovingly played with his hair as he grew closer and closer to his ineffable climax, soaking up as much of you as he possibly could. And yet, you still took it slow, ceasing your movements whenever you felt he was about ready to burst, and then continuing when he had calmed down. You repeated this cycle until you were ready to allow him to cum.

After all, you planned to savor this moment and milk it, and him, for all its worth.

[reeniecon]

- THEIR TOXIC TRAIT -

Idia S. , malleus D.

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😮‍💨‼️ : gender-neutral reader, some grammar error (sorry not my first language lol)

My other fics

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IDIA SHROUD

Jealousy

He is jealous of the way you spend your time outside with your friends than with him in his room. He is jealous that now you laugh harder with your friends than with him. Why couldn't you do that with HIM instead of THEM?.

Overprotective

Ortho, he lost ortho before and he didn't want to lose you too. So he... Programmed ortho to follow you around and help you with anything, it may seem nice and convenient but, sometimes ortho would do too much for you, that you cannot even choose what you want.

"Let me do it, you will not understand it anyway" / " Are you sure about this? "

Ah yes underestimating, such an idia move tbh, so he will underestimate you in certain things, especially with the things that he is good at... You know that Idia is a very logical type of person, so of course he would be using the fastest way to Rome and not waste any time on the way.

"Just leave me alone! "

Idia is used to being alone and handles his feelings alone. So if he gets a little overwhelmed/annoyed because of his game or with your nagging, talking about your day, or whatever it is he will just explode and yell to you to leave me alone.

MALLEUS DRACONIA

I would say that malleus are kinda similar to idia but they have a lot of differences at the same time.

Overprotective

Pfft...This is malleus draconia that we talk about the fae DRAGON, ofc we would be so protective towards you... His beloved. So that no one can taint you no one can hurt you no one...

Jealousy

Ahuuu... Not that different than Idia for this one, he is jealous when you look a little bit more interested in talking with your friend than him and you look happier with another man other than him. He hates it. He hates when someone try to take you away from him.

Never taking "no" as an answer

" Why not? " You would be hearing this all the time especially when you refuse his gift...

°•°•°

"Why? You didn't like the color perhaps? Or something? Just tell me my dear I would fix it. "

" No... That's not the problem, mal. Uh you gift me too much this week already, you didn't have to do this you know.. "

•°•°•

Attachment issues

I felt this is very self-explana-

Tory isn't it?? Just look at book 7!! So when you say yes to him... Congratulations!! You will be on his side forever and will not be able to leave his side forever and ever!!

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A/n : this is so suck, anw.. Please give me harsh feedback on my inbox lol and also my request are still open (selective writing tho- srry)

Ah also please use <3 for request and !! For critique in my inbox .

A/n 2.0 : mybe would do another character in the future.. Keyword MAYBE but please comment what chara you want to read next with this prompt i prob write vil, or sum

[rayroseu]

I have this theory that Prince Levan and Yuu are similar.

Don't you think their traits so far matches? Kind, patient, able to traverse through adversities (for now its just raging Draconias lol), aspires to resolve conflicts between oppositions, doesn't possess any bias (maybe because they prefer peaceful options).

There is also a scene that matched well with what we know of Prince Levan with Yuu --

• Prince Levan dealing with Malenoa's tantrum safely -> Yuu telling Malleus to calm down and Malleus actually listening (during their trip kn GloMas)

• Prince Levan manages the foreign affairs of Land of Briar, he is negotiating to stop ravaging their land -> Yuu is assigned as the Prefect of NRC, they deal with the trouble ensuing in every dorm and striving to make its members work together.

• Prince Levan is Malenoa's informant and seems to be on the frontlines while Malenoa's the strategist -> Yuu is always tasked as the record keepers or watcher of events (even in main story) by Crowley, and sometimes if there's actual trouble, Yuu tells Crowley about it, providing Crowley some stand-in in dealing with NRC troubles rather than himself.

• If we assume that all Draconias are similar, perhaps its safe to assume that Malenoa was also interested with Levan because he treated her normally (because like Malleus she was also revered too much and didnt experience much normality).

It mirrors similarly to the dynamic of Malleus and Yuu in the present, how Yuu is not afraid of him and in turn, makes Malleus feel like a normal person.

• Lilia mentions him, Malenoa, and Levan are childhood friends. So, it means that Levan and Malenoa probably met when they were children. Malleus is only 178 out of 1000 years adult age, Lilia stated him as a child. Plus, if we refer to the past ages of official Yuu's (Yuuken and Yuuka are 17), they are children -growing up as well. (At least I think so-- 17 is really young for me lol) Anyways, we see that Malleus and Yuu got to know each other in their developing years or something--

• This is kind of a theory but Levan and Yuu have the traits of a beasttamer- Lilia states that Draconias are montrous (but they're still faes.) Yuu was dubbed as beasttamer by Crowley because of how they took care of Grim. Grim is a monster. And, both Yuu and Levan, like stated before, deals with "their monster's rages."

• Both Malleus and Malenoa seems to get attracted by Levan and Yuu because of their compassion to them. (Malenoa views Levan as "he's the only one she can depend on" and he cooked for her so we can believe that Levan was kind to Malenoa.) In contrast, Draconias are always seen as "ruthless villains" "cruel" and "terrifying."

• As the game repeatedly tells us, Draconias exceeds so much from the average. They are seemingly evil, powerful and ruthless to people, even when Malleus was raised by Lilia to be "a gentle fairy" he struggles still. And, because of the normality/kindness of Yuu and Levan, that they are most interesting to Draconias. Since all those traits (being normal) are essentially their unknown and the impossible---

• I think Draconias are also fascinated by the "weakness" and braveness of Yuu/Levan. (Levan was pitiful during the time where he, Lilia and Malenoa got lost while Malenoa just had a fun time out of it). Malleus teases Yuu about is he scary now since we always seem fearless to him- I wonder if Malenoa treated Levan this way as well... (because all Draconias seems to have same personalities lol i.e Malenoa has a habit of being talkative at unusual hours too much like how Malleus visits us to talk in the night)

• This is a reach, but Levan didn't get any silouette despite the fact he was explained many times by Lilia, just like how Yuu never gets revealed in game.

• The fact that Levan seems to be referenced from the two events: Glorious Masquerade and Halloween. These events have involved Yuu importantly instead of them just being on the sidelines-

Glorious Masquerade because it seems like he's Diablo-inspired and Malleus' outfit in that event has feathers of a raven. And, the fact Levan's Name is spelled like Raven. Plus, his outfit was designed to resemble royalty Briar Valley clothing and Levan IS a Briar Valley royalty (the princess' husband.)

Halloween Event because of Levan's title containing Long/Dragon Prince Levan. Malleus' Halloween costume was a Long/Chinese Dragon. Plus, the event highlighted the difference between Western and Eastern Dragon when Malleus info-dumped Vil about it so it holds significance that Eastern Dragons exists.

• There's also this parallel of Levan and Yuu being the one who goes and never returns. It seems that Malenoa sent Levan as her messenger to the Silver Owls to stop ravaging their land-- and now she is searching for him since he hasn't returned. Maybe we can assume Malenoa is regretting it because Levan's abscene is alarming that she is sending Lilia to find him. I think the act of "sending away" can be related to how Malleus accepted immediately that we're leaving to go back home despite his fear of losing us.

In conclusion, Malleyuu is generational OR In every Draconia heir there is a Yuu for them in the Yuuniverse population😂🐉🦐

Also, correct me if any of the info mentioned are amiss 😭 sometimes my mind just rolls and makes stuff up and I'm convinced it was real LOL

sorry if i didnt add sufficient screenshots, i didnt want to reach the photo limit lol and most of the things i mentioned about Malleus (for me) seems to be basic facts in the fandom so i thought it unnecessary.

credits to gasmask01 on YT and @/081314 for the translations

[dotster001]

Labor Simulator

A sequel to Period Simulator *

Summary: Malleus/Crewel/Crowley/Rook/Vil/Idia x gn! Reader. The boys try a labor simulator.

Requested by @stygianoir and @ase-kjaere

3k follower Masterlist

* it was given a community label by the idiot Tumblr gods, and I don't know how to fight it. Just know, it's not a mature fic

When you come in with the machine, he looks up from whatever it is he's doing, and fixes you with a death glare.

He didn't even try the period simulator, why would he try labor simulator?

Get the fuck out. He has to think about this relationship. Don't worry he won't actually break up with you over this. He just wants you to feel bad

Look, you know labor is worse than cramps. But after he was such a champ with the period simulator, you think everything will be fine.

And you easily forget he's still a hot headed youth, not that much older than you, so you don't think much of it when he takes it from you, and puts it on immediately, telling you to do your worst.

You think you're the one who put him through this. But honestly, you're completely innocent. He's a silly, silly guy. With a big ego, and something to prove. Not to you, don't worry it's not your fault.

And he starts out fine. But by the end of it all, he's crying. Your cool, collected boyfriend is crying. So you turn it off, and hold him the way he holds you when you're sad. In the end, you end up feeding a part of him he didn't realize was starving.

Unlike Crowley, he might actually break up with you. He is not going to go through hours of "contractions", sweat through his makeup, and sob and scream like a baby just because you thought it might be funny.

The only way to save your relationship is to toss the machine to the side, and be like, "JK lol ha ha I would never have meant it literally :)"

As we previously discussed, he bought it himself, and pulled it out seconds after you took the period simulator off.

Why are you like this? Seriously, babe, you don't need to experience every aspect of life to appreciate true beauty! Ok. Ok fine.

So you put it on him, and start to do different levels to simulate different parts of labor. Only, just like before, he wants to roleplay. He'll grab your hand and hiss at you to be his breathing coach.

Things that'll happen while he makes you continue the exercise- he'll name your imaginary children (he's having triplets), he'll decide what school they are going to, he'll pause the simulation and teach you how to be a better breathing coach, he'll teach you how to give him an epidural (do not give it to him!), he'll teach you how to help deliver triplets, he'll try to teach you how to do a C section

Stop him, for the love of God, stop him. You'll have to literally fight him, but if you don't, he's putting a scalpel in your hand….

It was his idea! Human birth is fascinating to someone who came from an egg!

But, again, he comes up on the tragedy of the machine bursting into flames once he comes into contact with it. So, again, he finds a potion that would simulate-

Sebek kicks the potion out of his hands. He's been waiting for this ever since the previous incident, and he will not, I repeat, he will not allow his lord to put himself through an artificial human pregnancy!!!!!!!!

You'll have two faes angrily trying to get you to help them. On the one hand, one is your boyfriend, and you want to do whatever it takes to make him happy. On the other hand, the other is Sebek.

Choose wisely.

He totally didn't cry on the period simulator. And he totally didn't delete the footage in Ortho's data bank, and he totally didn't also wipe his memory of the moment. He'd delete your memories of it too if he could, he's looking into how to do it.

So if you challenge him, and tell him about a labor simulator, he's going to do it! By the sevens, he is going to succeed!

Cries immediately. You only have it at pain level three, and he's already backing out. Ortho says you should keep it going because it would be good for him to learn not to do things he isn't capable of. Idia will once again be deleting Ortho's memory files.

[so-bitya]

Whitewashing in Anime - Agni ft. Cithis

Browns of the Same Shade

Hello again! I decided to revisit this topic again now that we have Agni's official appearance in the anime. I also wanted to go over some aspects that I did not get to include in my first post.

In the end, Agni also got lightened! His skin tone was always somewhat darker than Soma's in both the anime and manga appearances. Yana does describe his appearance as a "dark-skinned woman" in her genderbend sketches. So, for the anime to lighten him this much to such an degree is disappointing.

The skin diversity in the anime has been pretty lacking so far. Once again, A1 studios was not perfect, but they did manage to give all three Indian characters different dark skin tones, while this anime has every Indian generally the same lightened shade.

(every indian character in the anime are the same skin tone... cloverworks stand up, you can't let a-1 studios beat you like this)

Personal opinion of mine, I feel like animation studios aren't willing to play with skin color values as much anymore. I remember even seeing white characters being various shades of brown, especially under certain lighting and environments. Unlike now, when every character looks bleached the second they hit the sun.

I also wanted to review what I think of Soma's appearance. Soma's skin tone isn't any darker than it was in the teaser shot sadly, so we can't blame the lighting. I already was expecting it, but it's still a shame.

One positive feature I'll give to the anime is that Soma's nose isn't pronounced all the time. In certain scenes, his nose isn't as sharp as it would be for other characters. I believe that's just the style for the anime and its dependent on the shot.

Anyway, I felt this image was pretty on topic with Soma and Agni's situation and just anime remakes/reboots in general lately:

Brown ≠ Grey

Something I'm embarrassed I forgot in my last post is saturation! I mentioned often how darker skin tones tend to be neglected, but not only that, but the color! The vibrancy in the skin, the life!

A common feature I noticed, especially in East Asian media, is how they avoid the "brown" in dark-skinned characters, by constantly making their skin tone duller, ending up with more grey-toned skin.

I often see art advice for digital artists that they should pick desaturated colors or colors in the "grey zone" as to not overwhelm the art piece. Which is fine most of the time! But when you apply that advice for brown skin, what you get are mostly grey tones, and end up having your character look like a zombie.

Here are some colors I randomly picked. The colors on the left are those sandy, dull grey tones I was talking about. If you want to get those richer, deeper-toned browns, you need to pick colors with more saturation like the ones on the right.

Now of course, color is relative and you can't just color pick your way around without considering how it fits in with the rest of the piece. You can even end up washing out your brown character despite choosing a strong brown color. You have to consider the background, lighting, undertones, the environment, and how they'll affect your character. There may even be times desaturated colors work better, but you have to at least consider why it works "better".

Let's take a look at everyone's favorite manga artist right now, Ryoko Rui! Ryoko Rui is praised often for her diverse character roster and creature design, however I always found her darker skin tones rather... lacking, as such for the elf Cithis.

(I color picked her skin tone and it matched my light grey shades above lol)

Her skin tone is very washed out and grey. She not nearly as dark as she appears in the manga. Once again, there's that dissonance between skin tones. Now take a look at the manga's grey tones.

When you see this, what skin tone do you imagine for her? Do you imagine the greyish, washed out tones from above or do you imagine something more akin to these black fae models I found?

(credit: @jaharajayde on twitter and @glassmarigolds on pinterest)

I'll give Rui credit that her color illustrations of Cithis improved and she's gotten better giving Cithis stronger undertones. I really like how the fandom has been illustrating her too, there's been some amazing fanart of Cithis such as these (the lighting in the last one is lovely).

Just adding saturation helps so much with skin tone. I even found an fan edit of Soma that added more color back into his skin, and he looks so much better for it.

One might say, "Oh what's wrong with having grey skin tones in a fantasy story!" Well... nothing really! You can have green or purple or blue characters if you like. But when there's already a startlingly lack of brown characters in a fantasy story, it can get awfully uncomfortable seeing the story portray different fantasy "races" with obviously non white racial features... but don't want to include any black/brown skin tones.

(fantasy artists would sooner give an orc dreads than a human, forget a "noble" creature like an elf... such decisions only reveals the artists' viewpoints)

It all just comes back down to avoiding that dreaded "brown". When it comes to these "reasons", we have to question whether they aren't just more excuses to not include black and brown people in stories, which makes me come to my next point:

Essence of Brown

There's some severe misinformation I want to address about Soma. I saw a fan a while ago say that Soma has a white mother which explains why he has light skin.

Firstly, that information is false. It was a concept Yana had for Soma, but quickly decided to drop it. Soma is not half white.

In the early drafts of the series, Soma had a white mother and, thus, white skin. However, this was later omitted in final revisions.

(quoted from the official kuroshitsuji wiki as an excerpt from the character guide)

Yes, you can have mixed parents and any kind of skin tone really! But it feels... dishonest to create "reasons" why the manga's first major Indian character, joining a cast of white people in a European country, should have white skin as well. Especially considering Yana's artstyle, without Soma's skin tone and Indian wardrobe, is his physical characteristics like his face even distinguishable enough for him not to be mistaken as white?

Imagine I wrote a story set in France, and teased an appearance of an African character in story that only had white characters until now, only for him to be completely white in appearance, and identical to every other white man, except for the occasionally exotic dress and other drab stereotypes.

What would you think? That his race is only a dressing to fulfill an exotic need at times? That he's a supposed homage to another culture, but it's wrong to have him actually look like the majority of people who made said culture? Why is he even this way?

Did he have a white parent? A white upbringing? Lived in a white culture, lived a white life? Maybe he was separated from birth! From his hometown, his country, his people, anything to justify why my "brown" character is so divorced from that part of his identity, from that side of the family whose skin tone runs a little too dark.

And I think that's why Yana decided to drop the concept of giving him a white mother. Why go through all those loopholes and explanations? Why all that justification for him to have white skin?

It's just another way to avoid the "browness" again for a character, what makes them brown in the first place and related to black/brown cultures. It's what we should consider in the future when we find ourselves coming up with "reasons" why black/brown characters should be anything but themselves.

Whitewashing in Anime - Soma ft. Usopp

[ventique18]

~ Crowley Vignette Pt. 2 ~

"Good grief. This morning was certainly a pickle."

"However, no matter what difficulties come knocking...

"Lunch time is certain to lift one's spirits up!"

He goes and gets today's special menu, which is meat pie. He goes to find a seat and sees that the staff members, Crewel, Trein, and Vargas are already seated together. He's delighted to see them and asks to sit next to them. They do a bit of chatter and Trein notices Crowley's meal. Is that a meat pie?

Crowley: "Indeed. I do so love meat."

"Not only beef, but pork, chicken, and I do so fancy eating even wild game meat."

Trein questions what he means by wild game, so Crowley clarifies that it's called Wildbret. Doesn't he know? Vargas chimes in because he recognizes Wildbret; the venison he ate one time was delicious and energizing. Crowley comments that Vargas has a refined palette.

"Aside from venison, there are many other types of Wildbret. Everyone, we must absolutely..."

"AH!!"

Everyone's SHOCKED so Crowley tells him not to just suddenly pop up out of nowhere like that LOL. Sam says everyone looks like they're having fun so he just had to join in. Crewel wonders what Sam's doing here, because normally he'd be tending to his shop at this time of day. Sam answers that he just had a delivery for the ghosts, then goes on with his sales pitch to sell wild game to Crowley.

Crowley praises how reliable Sam is, but adds that the truth is he doesn't like only meat, but vegetables, fruits and sweets as well. He doesn't like spicy foods though! Crewel comments that they already know Crowley's an omnivore though.

Crowley: "An omnivore... Can you not say it in a less barbaric way?!"

As a segue, Sam notices that everyone's ordered lunch was a reflection of their personalities. Vargas' is chock full of eggs for their protein. Crewel also likes pie and wanted the same lunch as Crowley's, but he thought the serving was too much. While it's good for growing boys like the students, for them adults it's not an optimal meal. Trein agrees and says he also changed his mind when he saw how big the pie was. If he ate something like that for lunch, he feels like he'd be sick for all of his afternoon classes.

Crowley: "Is that so? What a waste. And how delicious this is too~

Vargas notices that Crowley has a wonderful appetite so he can't lose too.

Trein: "He's gobbling up that pie overflowing with butter and juicy meat... What is he, a young man..."

Crewel: "You really haven't changed even from when I was still a student."

Trein: "Actually, I don't think he's changed even from when I started working at Night Raven College..."

Crewel: "Headmage... Just how old are you? I'm curious, but I'm not sure I want to know..."

Sam: "Hehe... He really is full of mysteries. What an interesting guy."

Crowley finishes his meal, and then thanks his past self for recruiting that five star restaurant chef from how long ago...

"That was... Hm. How many decades have passed since then?"

He had a long pause between "That was" and "Hm." I know it's a fae thing to not be aware of time, but the way he suddenly stops to realize time marches on far too quickly than he realizes reminds me of Malleus... And that emphasis that he's a BIG eater, just like Malleus. 🤔

[danikamariewrites]

Hi! I’m in LOVE with your blog! Would you be able to write something with nessian x reader where the reader has just an awful no good day/week and maybe something small sets her off and they comfort her and calm her down? I have had a very bad week and I had a whole breakdown over dropping a pen lol and I wish they had been there to comfort me. Anyways, I hope you have an amazing day!!!

Just A Bad Day

Nessian x reader

a/n: They would be so sweet and caring, especially Cass my fav gentle giant☺️ also I’m so sorry this feels very boring/typical. I might take a break for a few days bc this slump is killing me.

warnings: slight angst

Slamming the front door an angry sigh escapes your lips. You head staright to your personal bedroom wanting space from your mates. If you saw anyone right now you might yell at them.

Not even bothering to take your boots off you flop on the bed face down. Grabbing your pillow you stuff your face into the feathery soft fabric letting out a blood curdling scream.

You screamed and screamed and screamed until there was no air left in your lungs. Until your throat burned. Throwing the pillow as hard as you could against the headboard you flop back down on the bed.

Why are people so difficult to deal with? Today made you never want to speak with the governors or the general public ever again. You don't know if you just weren't communicating properly or what. But everyone was stupid and deserves to have a bad day. Not you.

After an hour of laying in bed you decided your throat was tortured enough and that cold water was necessary. Making your way down the stairs Nesta and Cassian's mixed scents hit you. It didn't calm you or anger you. You felt nothing but the exhaustion slowly creeping into your bones.

Another sigh leaves your lips as you open the cup cabinet. Frowning, you realize the glass you want is on a higher than usual self. Not feeling like asking Cassian to get it for you you strech up on your tip toes, grasping at the edge of the shelf. As your mind wandered to Cassian's usual teasing remarks about your height you get angrier.

The glass was just out of reach. Just a hair's breadth away from your finger tip. Your nail finally catches on the glass, bringing it forward. You finally grasp it with between your fingers and pull it down.

The glass slips from between your pointer finger and thumb. Your other hand reacts thanks to your fae reflexes, landing safely in your palm. You turn on your heel a little too quickly, sending the glass flying out of your grasp. It hits the wall shattering far too loudly.

Your hands go to cover your ears instantly. Tears pricking your eyes. You try to tune out the muffled sounds of Cassian and Nesta’s worried voices followed by their footsteps. Your face quickly contorted in anger. Angry at yourself. At the fucking glass. At your mates.

Your fingers tug at your hair in frustration. Your eyes are so clouded by tears you don’t even see Cassian in front of you. He gently takes your hands in his large ones. Slightly pressing his thumbs into your palms to lessen the death grip on the roots of your hair.

“Hey,” he coos, “what’s going on sweet pea?” You don’t look at him. Keeping your eyes down so you don’t break at the look of pity on their faces. Nesta hooks a finger under your chin, pulling your face up to look at them. The sad frowns on their lips broke you. The last thing you wanted to do today was upset or disappoint your mates.

Nesta took in a sharp breath at the projection of your feelings through the bond. “Oh, sweetheart. We’re not upset with you at all.” She wraps her arms tightly around your shoulders, swaying you gently. At Nesta’s loving embrace you break down. Sobs shaking your body.

Cassian smoothed your hair talking you through your tears. “I’m sorry.” You choked out repeatedly through your sobs. After hearing enough Cassian pulls you into his arms to carry you upstairs. Sitting you in his lap you continue to cry into his chest.

Nesta finally joins she has the glass of ice water you’ve been dying for. Just like Cassian taught her Nesta began massaging the pressure point on the back of your neck. She wanted to do everything to prevent your eventual headache.

When your tears finally stopped you took deep shaky breaths. They were coming too fast making the simple task difficult. Cassian laid you flat on the sheets to give you space. “Slow down, y/n. In for five and out for five.” He began to breathe with you until you finally calmed down. “Thank you,” you whisper.

You grabbed their hands so they can hold you up. Nesta hands you the water which you immediately gulp down. The cool liquid soothing your throat. Once it was empty Nesta took it from your hand. You lean into Cassian, resting your hand against his chest. Your fingers toy with the old fabric of his shirt to ground you.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Nesta coos. You shake your head mumbling, “Just a bad day.” “Do you want to talk about it?” You sniffle and shake your head. “No. That cry was good enough, honestly.” A short humorless laugh escapes your lips. Cassian kisses the top of your head letting out a small hum in answer. “Let’s get you some dinner and relax, yeah?” You nod again. Cassian lifts you again, carrying you downstairs.

[thelov3lybookworm]

Hello, there! First of all, i must say tha I love your writing style.

I had this idea on my mind, and I was wondering if you could write something about it.

It's an Eris x reader, where the reader is traveling from another world and falls in velaris, Eris finds her nearby, looking confused and trying to help her, but she can't understand his language.

I would love it if you'd write something like that, and I was hoping in a possible love triangle, with angst and happy ending for Eris.

Sorry for any mistake. I hope that you understand, English it's not my first language

Our World (part 1)

Summary: The dark opening in the sky.

•○●⛦●○•

A/n: lol i just realised that i forgot the language difference part so they are all talking to and understanding each other. also sorry for the delay 😭ive never written anything like this or even thought about it, so it was a lil bit of a challenge to write this, but we've at least started!

anyways

enjoy! ❣️

•○🌑○•

The weird, dark and gaping hole on the pavement looked weird. Like it did not belong.

Even under the night sky, in the alleyway shrouded in shadows, it looked sinister.

That did not stop Y/n from leaning close to inspect it.

And then, being her clumsy self, she could not stop herself from toppling into it.

•○🌑○•

The weird, dark opening in the night sky looked different, like it did not belong in the darkened sky.

Even in the moonless night, it looked sinister.

That did not stop Eris from trying to peer into it.

But it did stop Eris from advancing further when a noise started coming from it. Like someone screaming.

Not too long after, something- no, someone- fell from it.

Eris stared, bewildered, as the figure groaned, stretching out their limbs, lifting their head amid the fallen leaves in the dense forests of the night court.

He had been visiting Velaris for a meeting, and had decided to take a small walk to clear his mind of the bullshit Rhysand had spewed before he returned to the Autumn Court.

And then he had stumbled across the clearing that looked darker than its surroundings, and he had paused to wonder what abomination he would come across.

And now this- this creature, whatever it was, covered with a white cloth that barely reached their knee and a red, soft, velvet like hat on their head, had almost taken down Eris.

And then the creature moved some more, and Eris realised that it was a female. And by the looks of it, mortal. Though her beauty could rival that of the fae females' beauty.

Eris threw that thought to the back of his mind just as her eyes met his while she was trying to shove her hair out of her face.

Despite his curiosity, he gave her one of his disgusted sneers.

She did a double take, her eyes widening.

She stared and stared at Eris, her eyes bewildered. And then she stared some more, as if her eyes had been glued to his immaculately dressed form.

It made Eris a little uncomfortable, and that was saying something, as he was someone who was used to being stared at all the time.

When her eyes remained unwavering, he spat. "What?"

She blinked, her cheeks flushing. "I- you- were you in a play? Why are you dressed like that?"

He rose his brows, incredulous. "What the hell do you mean?"

She scrambled to her feet, and Eris looked away when her dress rode up a little.

Eris was disgusted with himself when he realised that his heart was beating a little faster.

"You- you're dressed up as some... some noble. Am I interrupting a play or something?"

Eris sighed, then walked over to her. "Who the hell are you? Why are you here in Prythian, cause you sure as hell look like you belong in some whore world."

The female gaped at him, her bright eyes enraged. "What the hell is wrong with you! Why would you say that?!"

Despite her angry words, she tugged on the ends of the rag she was wearing, subconsciously trying to cover up.

Before he could speak, leaves crunched behind Eris, and he rolled his eyes, hard, as he removed his jacket and draped it over the pretty female. He had just done adjusting it, trying to ignore her curious and angry eyes when he spoke.

"What is going on here?" The menacing form of the shadowsinger appeared from behind a tree, his wings flared slightly in a show of dominance. He glared at Eris. "Why are you not gone yet?"

"Those are wings!" The female behind Eris mumbled to herself in shock, but Eris ignored her.

Eris gave the shadowsinger a smirk. "Well, looks like we have a problem."

Azriel rose a brow, turning his eyes to the female behind Eris.

"Didn't know you had a thing for outdoor fucking Eris."

A strangled choke came from behind Eris, and it became harder to hide his amusement.

"What do you mean?!"

Azriel rose an unamused brow. "What, are you not being paid?"

"I- you- die!"

Azriel blinked, shocked. He glanced to Eris curiously. "Where'd you find her?"

"I'm trying to figure that out too."

Azriel opened his mouth to speak, but Eris shook his head. "I need to speak to Rhys."

Without much fuss, Azriel accepted.

"Let's go."

•○🌑○•

Taglist: @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @harrystylesfan2686 @cassie6392 @kennedy-brooke @tele86 @miluiel1 @hnyclover @minnieoo @sidrapotter @piceous21 @mybestfriendmademe @berryzxx

Taglist: @fell-in-luvs @azrielsmate3

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Being Kidnapped HC (ft. poly!Mates Bat Boys)

Warnings: I’m on a bat boys kick 🙃 has nothing to do with the fact that i'm missing my ex and now just want a strong male (or three) to take care of me lol, blood mentioned, violence, protective boys, polyamorous, drugged reader (faebane)

Summary: Bat Boys rescue their mate

It’s bound to happen

No matter your own power, there will always be others in Prythian who think kidnapping you will give them some sort of leverage over your winged mates

Others kidnap you to experiment on you. Why is it that the Cauldron gifted you three mates? Many wanted to know what made you different than the other fae who only have one mate

Whatever reason they had, it kept you constantly on your toes when you didn’t have one of the boys by your side.

Even in Velaris you were always on guard. You could never be too careful

Many were close calls where you were able to escape

The worse cases were when the boys had to intervene

One of Az’s shadows always accompanied you everywhere you went. Finding you was never a problem for them. There was nowhere in the world they wouldn’t be able to find you

That always set whatever worry you may have at ease

What you never looked forward to was the bloodshed that would follow

“Just take me back. Take me back and I’m sure you’ll be forgiven.” You’d try to talk your captor out of whatever plan they had in store for you. Give them a chance to change their minds.

Usually that earned you a slap across your face and vile words thrown your way

You’d have no choice but to sit back and attempt once more to pull at your restraints. Faebane still flowed in your system. There was no way you could use your magic, let alone your strength.

No way to telepathically contact your mates because of the Faebane

But you can feel the comforting coiling of Az’s shadow around your wrist

And slowly, the shadowsinger appears in the room you are kept captive

The guards assigned to watch you are easily killed by Azriel who doesn’t bother looking at them. Concerned eyes concentrated on you. “Are you alright, sweetling?” He frees you from your shackles and cups your cheeks in his scarred hands. Something dark flickers in his eyes when he spots the red mark on your face from where one of your captors had slapped you.

You could hear the sound of battle going on the other side of the. Well, mainly screams as your fae captors were torn limb from limb by Rhys and Cassian.

The splattering of blood against stone walls hits your ears. You can only imagine the carnage

They tried to shield you from most of the violence but you knew that this offense would not be taken lightly from your mates. Only seeing red and hungry for the flesh of whoever dared to lay an aggressive hand on you.

When quiet finally reined, the door opens to reveal Cassian. Wordlessly, Azriel hands you over to Cassian's strong arms. You don't care that he's covered in blood and gore. He's smiling widely at you.

"Sorry we took so long." Cassian would apologize and hold you closely to his barrel chest. He cocks his head over to the doorway. "Rhys has the boss. I'm sure he'd appreciate your help with him."

Azriel, like always, leaves you with a kiss to the cheek before he leaves.

"Shit, they really banged you around. . ." You catch Cassian curse under his breath.

"Nothing I can't handle." It wasn't the worse abuse you'd been dealt with. "Their punches were as light as a feather."

Snorting, Cassian places his lips against your brow. "You wanna go watch the interrogation?"

"Fuck yeah I do."

Just because you were accustomed to it, didn't mean you wouldn't be petty as fuck

later when they got you home, Rhysand refused to let you out of his arms. You were cleaned up on his lap. Rhysand had a few specks of blood on his face that he didn't bother to wipe away. When you take it upon yourself to reach up and clean it, he turns his face into your palm and kisses your fingers.

Safe and sound, surrounded by your bat boys.

[beebee3832]

Sweet Fae

- Bear shifter!Price x Fairy! (fem) reader (whose wings don’t work)

- Tags: Predator/prey dynamic, fear of death, just a bit scary, building into fluff and smut (in future parts), size difference, so so so much cringe lol so be warned

- Constructive criticism is always welcome!Thanks for reading! 💗

- (Just a note, fairies in my story are just short, not super super tiny like in Tinkerbell or something.)

Sitting on the treetops was one of your favorite things these days. Instead of doing the grueling work down below, you could lie down and smell the sweet breeze of the freshly bloomed flowers.

The new season of spring was finally here so of course there was lots of work to do. Helping the animals adjust after so many weeks in hibernation was crucial. Spreading pollen to newly bloomed flowers before the bees started buzzing again brought back the forest’s vibrance after months of barren trees and harsh weather. Planting seeds was also an important task to regrow the forest’s previous lushness. Spring was the busiest time for fairies and all you wanted was for it to be over.

For the past week, you were tasked to get the pollinators up and running again. Pollinating needs the work of everyone, not just the fairies. Bees were obviously at the top of the list, so you decided to start with them, but little did you know that there would be so many to wake up.

For most of the day, that’s all you were doing, so this little break on the treetops was much needed. But you couldn’t stay up there for much longer because the darkness of night was going to soon cover the whole sky. You could already see the purple hues of dusk in the distance.

The forest became darker at night, and not just in color. Creatures that you’ve been taught to fear since childhood roam the earth and hunt anything that moves. You remember your grandmother telling you about them when you were only a little fae.

“They smell fear, little one,” she said, her voice low.

You sat on the floor where you were previously drawing on the dirt with a stick, but now you looked up at her with wide eyes as she told you tales of dangerous beings. “Who do?”

“They are not like us fairies. They are creatures who stalk the forest only after it grows dark. They make themselves look different than what they are just to fool others into their trap. They tear up the earth with their claws,” she emphasized this by raising her hands up to look like claws, “and they rip hearts open with their teeth!”

Your small wings started to tremble as she told you more about these beings. Beings that didn’t hesitate to fool fairies into thinking they were kind animals just to stuff them into their jaws as a midnight snack. Slowly, tears started to form in your eyes and you wailed, only for your grandmother to pull you to her lap and whisper comfort into your ear.

With a shake of your head, you snapped back to reality. It was not the time to be scaring yourself. Night was drawing closer and you needed to go back home soon.

“One more beehive,” you muttered to yourself. Surely you could do that before dark.

You stood up on the wobbly branch and stretched, stiff from laying down for so long. Then you braced yourself to climb down the tree, landing softly on the forest floor. You knew exactly where you were going. Left. That was where the next beehive was. Because it was late, you would just tell them that their duties should start tomorrow.

After a little while, you spotted it. You heard the soft buzzing in the distance and you almost started walking to it until you heard a low huff. You scanned your surroundings to see where it came from but all you saw was the forest growing ever darker. It must’ve been your own breath you heard, although you know you were just saying that to ward off your worries.

You padded to the hive and gave it a soft knock, knowing that if you knocked too hard, you’d surely get stung. Bees were always on high alert, even when they were still groggy from winter.

You cleared your throat. “Uh, hello. Can you hear me?” You saw a bee come out and land on your nose. You took that as a yes and smiled. “Well I won’t bother you too long. I came here to tell–” Suddenly you were interrupted by a harsh buzz that made your nose itch. The bee zipped back into its hive just as quick as it came out of it, leaving you utterly confused.

You scratch your nose a little. “Hello? Did I say something wrong?” No response. With a little huff, you decided to just leave it. It was getting late anyways. You turned around, ready to go back home when you suddenly gasped in shock.

In front you was the biggest bear you’d ever seen. Sure, all bears are big compared to fairies, but this was different. This one was well...huge. Layers and layers of deep brown fur only made it seem bigger. Its jet black eyes peered at you with an intensity that you’d never seen on another animal before. It felt like it was staring through your entire being.

Slowly, it stalked over to you and you felt yourself freeze. Not out of fear, no. More so out of...caution. The forest is your home. You’ve seen plenty of bears before. In fact, you’ve helped several of them prepare for hibernation so this sight wasn’t anything new. But something in your body kept you frozen. Maybe the stories your grandmother told you were still embedded into your subconscious.

It grew closer and closer until it stood right in front of you, making you see how much bigger it really was. You held your breath as it shoved its nose into your neck, almost knocking you over. The beast stopped at your pulse point and opened its jaws to reveal a set of razor sharp teeth. Fear bloomed in your chest, making you act on instinct. You immediately smacked the bear’s nose with a yelp, making it immediately back away.

A beat of silence ensued. A staredown between you and the bear. It’s pointed stare at your wide-eyed gaze. Before you could find out what would happen next, you bolted in the opposite direction.

The wind rushing through your hair brought you back to reality, making you realize just how late it had gotten. The full moon was out. No hues of twilight painted the sky anymore. Only the bleak darkness of night. You panicked even more. You had to go home. It was too dangerous to be out now.

You heard snarling and the rapid sound of paws chasing you down. Alarms blared in your mind. Your breaths grew heavy and fast.

Your thoughts screamed. Go!

Out of nowhere, a set of sharp claws shoved you to the ground. It was too dark to see but you knew that they had come from your right. Your back hit the forest floor with a loud thud, making your body ache all over. You tried squinting your eyes in order to see but to no avail.

You heard the sound of a loud growl from above you. You felt the beast’s drool drip down on your face.

All your fighting and thrashing proved worthless against its strength. This is it, you thought. Hopeless and trapped, you relaxed your body and allowed what was to come.

You immediately jumped up when you felt the beast get shoved off of you. The sounds of teeth gnashing and roars filled the air. Someone—or something—was assaulting the beast that once held you trapped on the ground. You took this moment to swiftly make your way out of there.

You knew this wouldn’t work but you tried it anyway. You were desperate. As you ran, you used the rest of your energy to get your wings to work. C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.

You’ve seen other fairies do it your whole life. Why was it so hard for you? This could be your fastest route out of these woods and back home—where it was safe. You strained yourself harder than you ever have. Please please please this has to work.

You felt your wings quiver, hope suddenly rushing through you. C’mon just a little more!

Abruptly, your feet caught onto the brush of the forest floor, making you fall face first on the ground. You groaned in pain, this being your second time falling in the span of a couple long minutes. If only you could see. You tried to get up, but your feet were tangled in whatever they got caught in.

You were foolish to think that one more beehive was a good idea. You were foolish to think that you’d be safe in the woods so close to night. Foolish to think that you could get away. Most of all, you were foolish to even entertain the idea that you could fly out of here. You could already feel the tears fall down your cheeks. Your soft sobs echoed throughout the forest. Foolish, foolish, foolish.

Your body stiffened when you finally heard silence. The beasts weren’t fighting anymore which means one of them must have won. It would surely eat you now that there was no other competition. Your last bet was to just play dead. So you let your body go limp, waiting—praying—for the beasts of the forest to just walk past.

You almost jumped at the sound of twigs snapping in front of you. A familiar huff came from the bear, who must’ve won. Your heart beat fast in your chest, threatening to burst out of your ribcage. It nudged you with its paw and turned you over on your back. Your body tensed.

“Please,” you barely whispered. “Please don’t hurt me.” Your voice wavered through your hiccups and tears.

Unexpectedly, it lifted you up onto its back and started moving to who knows where.

Your consciousness grew dark.

. . .

The soft glow of a fire was the first thing you saw.

The cavern you were in looked like a home. There were books and a table. A fireplace and doors that you could only assume led to other rooms. There was also a subtle smell of something cooking but you didn’t know what. You were laying on a soft surface. You lifted yourself onto your elbows and saw that you were on a bed. A big one. Way bigger than the ones you would see in your town. Where were you?

You heard something come into the space you were in and you immediately pretend to be asleep—or dead. You listened closely as you heard what seemed to be bones cracking and pained grunts and then...heavy, relieved breaths. It sounded like it came from a man. A large man.

You didn’t dare open your eyes as you felt heavy footsteps stop at the edge of the bed you’ve been put in. You held your breath and forced yourself to stay limp when every bone in your body was screaming at you to run. You couldn’t run away before and you certainly couldn’t run away now.

You heard him kneel down and felt the back of his hand softly rest on your forehead for a moment, which made you suck in a harsh breath. In instinct, you sat up and slapped his hand away from you, not without a quiet gasp.

The first thing you noticed about him was his size. He was massive. A burly man with strong arms that were probably the size of your head. The next thing you noticed was his face. He had deep blue eyes and lots of facial hair. Actually, he had hair everywhere. His chest was broad and he had a healthy amount of strong fat on him. The only thing he was wearing were some shorts so you could see most of him. He was nothing like any man you knew.

You make eye contact with him once again, scared of what he was going to do to you. Who was this man? What did he want with you? Would he punish you for hitting him? Your heart quickened and you started to breathe heavier, which didn’t go unnoticed.

His eyebrows furrowed with a sympathetic expression. “It’s okay sweetheart. I’m not here to hurt you.” His kind words and baritone voice did nothing to soothe you. Actually, you were even more confused. Who is this man?

Summoning up your courage, you managed to squeak out a full sentence, despite your fear. “I want to go home.” You looked up, searching his face for some sort of approval. Any sign that he will let you go. When you found none, you felt your heart sink.

“Listen sweethea-”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Listen. You’re injured and it's not safe out there. At least not now.”

You looked over your body and found deep gashes and purple bruises on the places where you fell and where the beast had knocked you down. You glanced behind you and saw that your wings had numerous cuts, probably from the branches you had to run through. He was right. You were definitely injured.

“Here,” he said as he stood up, making him even bigger in your eyes. “I made some food for you if you wanna eat it. How about you come with me and I can get you fed and fixed up.” The steadiness in his voice made it impossible to not believe him so you tried to stand up and follow his lead. What else could you do in this state?

He noticed you wince because of your various injuries so he offered a hand to help, which you silently ignored. You didn’t even give him a second glance. He can’t think you’re that needy. You can’t be seen as weak, especially not in front of a man whose intentions were still a mystery to you.

He led you to a table next to a fireplace that had a cauldron of soup cooking. You sat down on a large chair and watched him give you a bowl of his newly made meal. You weren’t planning on eating it.

He left and came back again with some ointments and bandages to heal your wounds.

“Alright I’m going to put this on you and it might hurt, okay?” You nodded and sat still—that was until you felt a searing hot pain where he put your ointment. You yelped and smacked his hand away, causing your chair to fall backwards. He caught it just in time, but not without a small smile aimed towards you.

“You’re very violent, you know that?” He playfully asked while looking back down at your wounds. You weren't feeling playful.

“Just stop it,” you said, your voice louder than you wanted it to be. His rich, blue eyes immediately snapped up to you, confused. You took a deep breath. “Just...stop. Who are you?” The question you’ve been wondering most finally came out of your mouth and you silently waited for an answer.

He looked almost nervous. “Ah, yes. My name is John. John Price.” That wasn’t a good enough answer. You suddenly stood to your feet, ignoring the soreness of your wounds.

“No, I mean, who are you? How did you find me? Wh-what are you?” You stuttered on the last question, afraid of the answer. He had no wings. He was massive and hairy and everything a fairy was not. He was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about what he should say. The suspense was killing you.

“What am I?” He asked, incredulous, as if you should already know. “I’m just like you sweetheart.”

You shake your head. “No. No you’re not. You’re big and-and just-ugh you’re not like me! You’re not a fae like me! What are you?!” You’re shaking now. You’ve only been with fae all your life. You’ve never seen anything else. You never even knew there was anything but fae, maybe besides stories of scary creatures that roam the woods outside your town.

He slowly rose to his feet, unintentionally making you cower beneath him. “Love, I need you to calm down, alright?”

You shook your head. “No! No, I don’t know you! I-I have to go.” You frantically looked around the room to see which door might lead you out of here. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a soft glow of moonlight coming from the crack of the door on your left. Your escape. You looked back at the man who was slowly creeping up to you and you immediately fled to your escape.

Harshly, you twisted the doorknob and pulled as hard as you could. You were right; this door was your escape. The sudden rush of pain from your captor’s hand gripping your arm gave you the adrenaline you needed to become strong enough to get out of his grip. He tripped forward onto the ground and cried out,

“Wait, wait come ba–”

You paused when you heard crackling from behind. Then you glanced behind you.

You saw a horrific image of bones breaking and being put back together, of strangled yelling and of clumps of fur sprouting from skin. In just a few short seconds, there was no man anymore. In front of you was a bear. Not just any bear, but the one that almost killed you.

You screamed so loud that your throat went raw. You couldn’t move. Your body went rigid as the beast sauntered your way with a deep growl coming from its throat. That man wasn’t trying to help you. He was just playing with his food.

Just as he came within an arm’s length of you, you noticed something warm on your back. You felt that warmth rise up and hit the trees in front of you, casting them in the familiar hue of sunrise. Once the warm glow touched the beast’s face, it instantly backed away, seemingly in pain. Relief flooded in your chest.

Just as you were about to run away, you heard the familiar bone cracking and for some stupid reason, you turned around again. No beast was in front of you now. Only the same man who tried to bandage you up earlier.

He was on all fours and coughing profusely. When he looked up at you, you saw a pained look on his face. His once happy eyes were now remorseful and ashamed. When you walked closer, you saw tears form in them.

“Please,” he said, which made you jump a little. “I didn’t mean to, sweetheart. I didn’t wanna hurt you. I just wanted to protect you.”

Bullshit, you thought. The man who was just about to kill you is now begging for your forgiveness? What a joke. You should turn away now. This pathetic creature was only crying because he couldn’t eat his dinner. Turn away, your mind said.

Every bone in your body wanted to leave him in this place, but your heart hesitated.

It wasn’t often that you saw a man cry like that. You weren’t even sure if he was a man. No, this was a beast. A beast who tried to kill you, your thoughts cried. However, despite that, you felt some twisted sympathy for him. Your head was telling you that he was dangerous, but your heart knew better. For some reason, you decided to trust your heart.

You slowly walked over to stand over him. He looked at you with wet and pleading eyes. Your chest ached.

“Stand up.”

He rose immediately, unintentionally reminding you of his towering figure.

Feeling your heart race, you raise your hands to his face, hesitating for just a second before cupping his tear stained cheeks. He didn’t even flinch, in fact, he let out a soft sigh as he slightly leaned into your touch. This close, you could smell his musky scent. He smelled of forests and something smoky. For some reason, it calmed you just a bit.

You two stayed in this same position for quite some time, your thumbs soothingly swiping his leftover tears to his hairy cheeks. He didn’t say a word. He just let you study him. He let you study his deep blue eyes, his dark brows, his nose, his slightly rough facial hair, everything.

A rustle in bushes close to you snapped you out of your trance. You quickly turned your head but a large hand cupped your face, turning your head back to the beast.

He smiled a warm smile, one that made you almost melt. “Just a squirrel, sweetheart,” he murmured. Such a soft tone coming from a beast surprised you.

“Right,” you muttered, your gaze focusing back onto him. “I, uh,” you coughed a bit, “I suppose I should leave now.” His eyes saddened a bit, making your heart clench for some reason.

“I suppose you should,” he said as he almost reluctantly backed away from you.

You turned around, ready to leave when he said something you didn’t quite hear. “What was that?”

You heard him clear his throat. “Will you come back?” Will you? Should you?

You walked away without answering, but somehow you knew this wasn’t the final time you would see him.

[ghost-bxrd]

So with Fae!Dick, we all know that Bruce is just… not gonna say anything bc of his own mental health, but do you think the other batkids notice anything once they come along?

On one hand, I think someone would have to notice. If not Jason, then Tim, Steph, Barbara, or Damian bc, well, they’re BATS. They literally have been trained to notice things.

On the other hand, though, I think it would be HILARIOUS if they just attributed Dick’s Fae nature to him just being weird. Like, completely unaware he isn’t human. Maybe not entirely realistic but I think it leaves for some interesting comedic moments 😅

Honestly at one point I think it all devolves into plausible deniability. 😭😂

Jason is the first to notice something amiss, obviously. But he joins Bruce in pretending it‘s just Dick‘s general weirdness. After all, as long as the dog just howls once in a while it’s not necessarily a wolf, right? And Dick, after the initial hang up and trying to kill him a little, is sweet as a summer‘s day to him and viciously protective to boot. Galas and all the rich people there that used to treat Jason like a circus animal aren’t a problem anymore because Dick always swoops in like a bat out of hell and distracts the creepy old ladies with a charming smile until they walk away with vacant eyes. It‘s all pretty funny. And very weird. But hey, Jason gets a laugh out of it and that secretive little grin from Dick so whatever.

Tim I headcanon has Dick all figured out within a month of officially meeting him (the opposite of this would be Tim never figuring it out which is also kinda funny and just attributing it to his circus past or something) and is veeery cautious about interacting with Dick for a time. It makes Dick kind of sad and Tim can only withstand the puppy eyes so long until he caves.

Steph just kinda shrugs and accepts Dick‘s strangeness at face value. It ain’t hurting her so why should she bother? Dick is cool. She likes Dick. End of story, thank you and good day. And yeah, fine, some of his habits are downright weird and everything but who is she to judge? And he‘s always down to cause mischief with her which is?? Super cool???? Even the more devious pranks she can bribe him into joining by handing him a jar of fresh honey or hand picked fruit!! Anybody trying to say shit about Dick lands them on her hit list, period.

Cass is Cass. Nobody can fool her. She may not know what Dick is, but she‘s painfully aware he‘s other. Most wildlife treats him like bees would their queen, there‘s always the scent of pines and rain following him. Dick‘s body language says ‘playful-content-happy’ but his eyes say ‘dark-dangerous-predator’. It’s all very conflicting; a study of contradictions. Cass learns to go by what his body language says and quickly finds a kindred spirit in Dick, who somehow always seems to know exactly what she tries to express but has trouble translating into words.

I headcanon Damian grew up with folklore so while his first theory may not be “fae” he definitely has Dick down as something other than human. Which means he must be powerful. Which means Damian must keep himself in Dick’s good graces in the hopes of making the creature teach him how to be powerful in turn. And, well, the kid grew up with a grandad that regularly takes dips in a magical swimming pool. I don’t think there’s much that can genuinely shock him lol.

Duke is… well, he’s the sensible one so of course he’s the first one to actually ask questions. And then proceeds to go nearly insane because??? Nobody seems to?? Care???? That Dick just rotated his head a full 360°???? Or that the manor sure af isn’t supposed to??? Randomly add hallways???? Or that there’s a whole ass SWAMP that appeared in the basement overnight???? Or a door that leads straight into the forest?????? Duke very nearly nopes the hell out because that’s too much even for him. But finally, finally someone takes pity on him (I headcanon it’s Cass) and she doesn’t explain anything per se, she just kind of… shows Duke. Shows him around the manor, introduces him to twisting halls and strange rooms, takes him to where Dick is lounging with the rest of the family, purring like a content cat. And Duke still doesn’t understand, not completely, but Dick smiles at him with too many, too sharp teeth and tugs him into the huge cuddle pile and?? Are those feathers on his neck?? No, he must have imagined it. Anyway, Duke thinks he can handle this… strangeness, if it scores him a family like this. It’s Gotham, right? Weirder things happen here on the daily.

Omg this turned into a whole ass essay I’m so sorry 😰😅😭✨

[twstjam]

Lost Invitation (Part 2) - Respond, if you please

Sorry, I said half an hour, but blocking people took a bit longer than expected <3 Starting from now I'll be blocking everyone who likes Lost Invitation without reblogging it. If you reblog it onto a sideblog and I've blocked your main, do tell me or you might miss out on updates!!

Characters: Malleus Draconia, Meleanor Draconia, Levan Draconia, Lilia Vanrouge, Silver (brief), Sebek Zigvolt (mentioned), Yuu (mentioned) Word count: 4.6k (sorry, I got carried away writing the draconia fam lol) Summary: You're committed to helping Riddle Rosehearts and his card soldiers in a war against followers of the Jabberwock looking to usurp the rulers of Red and White. You're also in love with a stranger you met in the woods who wants you to run away with him. Whoever said that love and war weren't so different might've been onto something. In your experience, they're both equally difficult. Nobody ever said that you had to choose between one or the other though. Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Prince Malleus Draconia is not lonely.

He hasn't been since before he hatched, his mother had made sure of it. He has faded memories of dozing off to his mother's soft singing, listening to his father's long ramblings, and curling up in the safety of the right-hand general's presence.

After hatching, his mother had doted on him like any prince of the Briar Lands deserved to be. Her and Father had indulged his every whim and desire. The servants bowed and trembled before the wrath of a newly-born dragonling who, though only three feet long, snarled his grievances accompanied by licks of fire and brewing snowstorms. Lilia Vanrouge was the only one to not kneel so easily.

Malleus Draconia was a prince and a hatchling, but Lilia did not treat him as such. Lilia scolded him like he would Mother, a matured dragon, and only complimented or rewarded him when he earned it. Needless to say, he was not favored amongst the little prince's guardians… or so Lilia says as he laments on the times Malleus used to set his hair ablaze. It had enlightened Malleus as to why the general currently wears his hair so short as opposed to the portraits he'd seen, but the prince—as it is the nature of fleeting old memories—cannot vividly recall his caretaker's tales. They also struck him as incredibly odd and he concluded that as an infant he had been a foolish thing (despite his parents' insistence otherwise). After all, Lilia is his most favored caretaker. This favoritism had even led to Malleus seeking Lilia out when he had hidden himself away one day, giving the prince the honor of being the first to meet the general's adopted son.

Silver had been an enigma to him. How could a meek little human infant, a species which his mother mocked frequently for their weakness and stupidity, appeal to a hardened fae general? It was even stranger to him that Mother seemed to completely forget her disdain for humans when she saw the little bundle in Lilia's arms. Though he would never say it aloud, Malleus had felt betrayed when his mother had asked to hold the child and took him from Lilia eagerly.

This little… thing, could not even hold itself up or eat solid food, let alone seek it out itself. It was useless and weak and nothing like the fierce creature Malleus had been when he broke out of his shell. Or at least, that's what Malleus used to think.

Truly, Malleus must not have been as exceptional of an infant as his parents insist. Malleus had spent 20 years crawling, meanwhile Silver mastered walking on two legs in mere months. Instead of cawing and snarling, the child babbled and laughed, elicited smiles from those around him, made warmth swell in Malleus's chest when he called the prince's name for the first time. The boy had still been small, not even 5 years old, and yet he had been able to climb up Malleus's legs and sit on his lap when he had invited him to read with him.

Sebek exhibited similar speed in growth. Malleus had blinked, and suddenly the little halfling had risen from a screeching newt into a strong guard that rivaled his own grandfather. Sebek likes to shadow him, always quick to see to his every need and always eager to win his approval. It's overbearing at some points, but the boy is growing and learning and has come to put his loyalty to use for only matters worthy of it, learning from Lilia and Silver to not merely agree to Malleus's every breath.

The revelation for such a change brought all four of them closer. It's not rare to see the two young knights by the prince's side, the former general watching after them from not far off.

Suffice to say, Malleus Draconia is not lonely. Absolutely not.

As a matter of fact, he quite likes being alone; the peacefulness of isolation, the escape from his demanding responsibilities. He has to return to the castle at some point of course. He has duties to his kingdom, but no matter how brief, he takes the opportunity to have some time for himself. To have some time to indulge his desires instead of being Prince Malleus; to be away from the expectations of his subjects and parents and instead cater to only himself.

He never quite expected to meet someone searching for something similar. At the very least, not at the same place, and you continued to surprise him in ways he could have never imagined.

After all, who could have predicted that a revered dragon prince of the fae would fall in love with a human?

----

Perhaps to any other, days at Wild Rose Castle could be considered dull, either because of the dim lighting and black walls or the castle staff that always hurry by without a whisper of a breath and with bowed heads.

If one were to ask Malleus however, he would say that days at the castle are always hectic. It's a good day when the castle is serenely dark and gloomy, but on others…

"Your DISGRACE of an offspring is a pathetic sprite unworthy of my son! How DARE you even consider a courtship between them?!"

Lightning fills the throne room with a bright purple light. Three aristocrats yelp and scramble to avoid the strikes of lightning coming down from the ceiling. Princess Meleanor's glare is deadly as she lifts and aims her staff to bring down another volley of lightning.

"P-p-please forgive us for our transgressions, your excellency!" the patriarch weeps as his family collapses to the floor in frantic bows. From his throne, Malleus can see the family's young heir trembling with choked sobs. His mother isn't the least bit appeased, her glare hardening and her staff crackling with power.

"ENOUGH! I will not tolerate any more nonsense out your blabbering mouth! You have come into my home, insulted my son, and dirtied my floor!" Meleanor raises her staff with a furious snarl. The magic surrounding it strikes the ceiling and deflects into multiple bolts of lightning throughout the throne room. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AND DO NOT DARKEN MY DOORSTEP EVER AGAIN!"

The nobles scramble back onto their feet and skitter out with fearful screams. The wails of Malleus's attempted suitor echo through the halls of the castle until the doors slam shut behind them.

Meleanor raises her head proudly, huffing a satisfied plume of smoke out of her nostrils. Beside the sighing Lord Levan, Lilia Vanrouge has his head in his hands.

"What nerve, to ask permission for our Malleus's hand whilst showing such disrespectful behavior!" Meleanor spins around with a flare of her cloak and seats herself on her throne, one leg crossed over the other. "I should have incinerated that child where they stood!"

"I'm quite certain your outburst had spoken the message quite clearly, my lady," Lilia says with no small amount of disapproval.

"I agree with Lilia." Malleus's mother whirls around to face him with a betrayed expression on her face. "It is no fault of theirs that I failed to give my full attention to them. They had every right to call out my rude behavior."

Meleanor scowls and tosses her head again. "If you exhibit overly courteous behavior then those stuck-up aristocrats will become too comfortable to speak ill of you. As a dragon, you must present yourself as one!"

"That courteousness is the only reason the staff does not perish within breathing distance of him," Lilia argues. Meleanor shoots him a glare but he isn't deterred. "The poor boy already has issue forming relationships. Your volcanic temper is not doing him any favors."

"I will deal with those interested in the future king of the Briar Lands and my son however I wish! In case you have forgotten, I am your princess and his mother!"

"He is 178, he is not a hatchling, Meleanor!"

"Regardless of his age I have no intention of allowing him to be mistreated or his heart to be broken."

"At the expense of others?!"

"Yes!"

"Ah, there he goes."

Meleanor straightens up from how she had been bent over to glare at the short general and they both look over at Levan. They follow his gaze and briefly see Malleus's tail slipping out of the throne room.

"Darling!" Meleanor gathers her skirt to dash after her son. As Malleus makes his escape, Lilia groans and slumps over the arm of Levan's throne. His friend pats his back in sympathy.

"You really must do something about that wife of yours," Lilia grumbles. Levan laughs nervously, but there's also fondness in his eyes.

"She is simply doing what she thinks is best for our son."

"It isn't and you know it is!" Lilia huffs, craning his neck to glare up at the lord. The corvid fae smiles sweetly and leans towards him with his elbows resting on the armrest.

"Have I told you how much cuter you look when you're angry?"

Lilia sputters, face turning vibrant red. "Be serious!"

"I am serious," Levan hums as he reaches to tuck some hair behind Lilia's ear. The other general swats his hand away and he laughs at the flustered pout on the smaller fae's face. "I pity those nobles, truly I do, but like you and I, I have a feeling our Meleanor knows that our young prince is keeping a secret. So at the end of the day, there is no harm done, hm?"

Lilia gapes and blinks at Levan in bewilderment.

"He told you?"

Levan smiles secretively, a hint of mischievousness in his eyes. He must know as much as Lilia does then, and though he is relieved to know that his friend is supportive of Malleus's feelings, he still dreads the inevitable of Meleanor discovering it for herself. Meleanor is both temperamental and viciously protective of her child, especially since his life had been threatened after she laid his egg during the human invasion centuries ago. It's quite easy to imagine her most likely reaction to her son being interested in courting a human.

"He did. He also requested assistance from me." Levan looks up and his eyes brighten. "There it is now."

Levan waves his hand. Lilia's keen ears catch the sound of beating wings and he turns around to see a window opening. A raven flies into the throne room and settles on Levan's offered arm. The bird caws a greeting to Lilia before bowing its head to the lord.

"Welcome back, my friend," Levan coos as he strokes its wing. "What news do you bring from the Rose Queendom?"

Lilia perks up at mention of the Rose Queendom and looks at the bird with interest. The familiar makes a series of clicks and squawks. Lilia isn't the most fluent in corvid speak so he waits for Levan to translate, but when he looks to his friend, the other fae's smile has turned into an ominous frown.

"…It's not good news, I'm guessing."

----

Malleus typically finds comfort in isolation. It brings him the silence he requires to think and focus on both official and personal matters. Unfortunately though, for his current predicament, his most trusted method of comfort only seems to distress him more.

The conflict between the Rose and Lily Queendoms is taking it's toll on you. It's inevitable—He sees it a lot in Father and Lilia, how their gazes would sometimes look haunted by ghosts unseen to him even when doing the most mundane tasks —but that does not mean Malleus has to like it, or that either him or you should simply allow it to wear you down.

Sometimes, when he is speaking with you, you would get a faraway look in your eyes, lost in thought. During those moments the bags beneath your eyes look more prominent, your body thinner, your skin paler. You would apologise for losing track of the conversation and Malleus would excuse it, but within his chest a pit grew deeper and deeper, filling with irrational concern for you.

The desire to hoard and care for those most cherished to him isn't a foreign feeling to Malleus. He recalls that at a young age he would nest with his parents at night and steal Lilia and his father's weapons to stop them from leaving the castle for their duties. Now, he watches over Silver while he sleeps and sits at the water's edge when Sebek practices his swimming.

It is something normal for dragons to want their loved ones happy and safe, but the way he feels it with you is incomparable. He cares for you, (which had initially surprised him, to care for a strange human) there's no doubt about it, but more than anything else he wants to be the one to care for you, to ensure your safety. To take you away and tuck you inside his wings, to gift you all the luxuries you could ever need so that you would no longer be hurt or troubled.

And the strangest thing? He desires the same thing from you as well. For you to care for him, cherish him, want him, love him. For you to take his hand and let him whisk you away to somewhere the two of you could see and speak to each other every day, where you could sit and listen contentedly to him and him to you and help him with his woes like he wishes to help you with yours.

Confiding in Lilia had been what led him to realise his feelings for you. The older fae's recollection of his parents' courtship had been… concerning, but it reassured Malleus that his desires were not unusual and that, most importantly, his beloved caretaker accepted you.

It had taken more courage to approach Lord Levan, but he should have known that his understanding father would support him wholeheartedly. At Malleus's request, his father had sent one of his ravens to the Queendom and Malleus now spends almost every waking moment anxious for its return.

Telling his mother about you is… another matter entirely.

You were right that it wouldn't be wise to bring you into his home. He loves his mother, but like him, she possesses the nature of the dragon. She is caring, excessively so, and… incredibly protective, to say the least.

And to say that Malleus is fearful of her discovering his romantic feelings for you, a human—a race she loathes with her entire being—is an understatement.

You are fearless, perhaps a little foolish, but not saneless. She will chase you off as she has many others. The incident today was only one of many.

Regardless of his mother's ill manners and your reluctance to be with him, Malleus's heart does not stop yearning and yearn he does as he sits alone in his rose garden, innocent red rose in hand, plucking each poor petal after the other as his thoughts whirl around his mind uselessly.

Perhaps he should have been more insistent. Perhaps he should have taken you back anyway. Perhaps—

"Malleus?"

The click of his mother's heels on the garden's stone path grow louder with each approaching step. Meleanor appears beneath the rose arch to the gazebo and Malleus hurriedly brushes off the petals that have gathered on his lap.

"There you are. I have been looking for you, dear." Mother smiles as she walks up the steps of the gazebo, the long train of her skirt dragging behind her. She eyes the rose petals scattered around him. "What are you doing?"

"Ah. I am picking rose petals… for tea." His mother raises an eyebrow at his reluctant tone so he quickly diverts the topic. "Am I needed somewhere, Mother?"

"No, no." Meleanor sweeps up her cloak to that it isn't trampled beneath her when she takes a seat next to him. "I was merely worried." With gentle claws, she cradles Malleus's chin and lifts his gaze to hers. "I did not scare you, did I?"

"No—" Never, he wants to say. Even if she can summon the most destructive storms and move mountains with a snap of her fingers, Malleus can never be afraid of his mother, but the churning feelings in his gut lodges the words in his throat.

Malleus pulls away from her touch, looking away before he can see her frown. "I apologise, Mother. I exhibited behavior unbecoming of a prince in front of our visitors."

Instead of reprimanding him, his mother laughs. She's always so self-assured; with her magic, with her choices. It's one of the many things he admires but also envies about his mother. If only he can reach that point of confidence in his life much sooner.

"My silly little beast. There is nothing to apologise for," his mother coos, brushing a lock of hair out of his face with a careful talon. "You did no harm. After all, you have been so distracted because you already have your eye on someone, don't you?"

Malleus turns towards his mother, wide-eyed, and her eyes glitter with excitement as she grins.

"How did you—" Malleus stops himself. How is he supposed to tread this? "…Did Father tell you?"

Meleanor's smile falls. "No, but I am hurt you chose to tell him before me."

Malleus swallows. He laces his fingers together in an effort to make himself feel less unsteady. "How do you know, then?"

"Come now, you didn't think a mother would not be able to see that her son has fallen in love, did you?" Meleanor giggles behind her claws, eyes bright with eagerness. She leans in towards her son and lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Tell me, tell me; what are they like? How did you meet? And most importantly: When will I meet them?"

Malleus opens his mouth and pauses. What does he tell her? Every scale on his being is restless, eager at the presented opportunity to talk about you, but certainly, he cannot tell his mother about you. About your humanity. She would, as Lilia frequently describes it, erupt. He did not need that display from earlier in the throne room to know this well.

(He grew up all his life with it after all; His mother losing her head at every slight insult or threat towards him and striking it with bolts of lightning until it runs away screaming.)

Malleus does not fear his mother, let alone resent her, but he does rather often catch himself wondering what it would be like if she were not so hot-headed.

"They are…" Malleus quickly trails off as soon as the attempt begins. He glances at his mother warily. She is giving him her full attention. The support should be encouraging, but the dread within him only increases. "You cannot meet them."

His mother reels back as if he had shocked her with electricity. Her eyes widen and then narrow. Her brows furrow and her lips pull into a displeased pout.

"Whyever not? …Are you ashamed of me?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Embarrassed, perhaps?"

"Far from it."

"Then do you fear that I would scare them off?"

"Yes— Ah, I mean—!" Malleus screws his mouth shut and looks away again. Meleanor chuckles in amusement.

"Silly beast," she tuts. Behind him, Malleus's tail thumps agitatedly and she twines her own around it to soothe him. "I am flattered that you think so highly of me, but I assure you that any mate worthy of you will not cower so easily before me."

Malleus wraps his tail around his mother's offered one, but his expression is one of scepticism. "How do you know for certain? Do you truly have so much faith in my choice of a partner?"

"Oh, of course not! You are still just a little beast after all," Meleanor teases with a light pinch to his cheek. "What I mean is that, whoever you choose, we shall know if they are truly the correct mate for you if they remain beside you regardless of any trials."

"Oh… I see…" Malleus lowers his head. He clasps his hands tightly together. He can still remember the phantom feeling of your own hands on them, of you pulling away from him. Of him watching your retreating back after once more rejecting his offer to take you away.

"Darling?" His mother places her hands on his and the memory fades away. "Is something the matter?"

"I… I want you to meet them, truly I do, but…" Your face flashes before his eyes again, with it your shy smile and your voice whispering,

"Someday."

Malleus gathers his resolve and faces his mother. "Not anytime soon, I fear."

His mother pouts again. "Oh, come now—!"

"I don't think they would fear you." There's no way to know for certain until you actually meet her, but it is something he's fairly confident in. "It is that… they are currently occupied and will not be able to make time to come to our lands in the near future."

Meleanor's eyes light up with newfound interest. "Oh? They are not of the Briar Fae?"

Malleus bites his lip anxiously. "Er, no. They are—"

A bird sings overhead. The two dragons on the gazebo lift their heads and see a silver-haired knight walk through the rose arch.

"Lady Meleanor, Lord Malleus." Silver dips into a quick bow and rises again. "I apologise for interrupting."

"Oh, Silver! What a pleasant surprise. Have you finished your training today? Come, come. It has been too long since we last spoke." Meleanor beckons to the young knight to sit next to her.

"Er, if I recall correctly, we spoke just this morning—!"

Meleanor doesn't let him hesitate for long. She crooks her finger and wisps of purple magic tug on his uniform until he's standing on the gazebo.

"I apologise profusely, my lady," Silver stammers as her magic fades off of his clothes. "But I'm afraid I cannot stay long, my father requests to see Lord Malleus—"

"Does he!" Meleanor's eyebrows are arched, her expression devious in a way both boys know does not hold good intentions for their respective fathers. "How fortunate, I was hoping to speak to him about Malleus."

"Mother—"

"Lady Meleanor—"

Before either boy could get a word in, magic begins to swirl around the princess's fingers and she chants, "Come, my eyes and ears, my wings and feet."

Magic swirls and shimmers around her. Beneath her feet, her shadow ripples, and a raven bursts out of it with a frantic caw.

"Now why are you in such a hurry?" Meleanor tuts, easily catching the bird out of the air before it could fly off. The bird squawks and flaps its one wing that hadn't managed to be caught in her hand. She directs a firm gaze on it and it freezes, letting a pathetic noise out of its beak. Malleus winces in sympathy.

"Where is my Right?" Meleanor looks down at her shadow, displeased, but quickly smiles again when she turns to Silver. "Give me a hand, dear."

With them pointing downwards, Meleanor pinches together the thumb and forefinger of her free hand. She makes a pulling motion and a squealing bat emerges out of Silver's shadow. It manages to escape the princess's grasp on it but only briefly before she catches it by its legs.

The bat squeaks and screams, no doubt profanities blasphemous when directed at the crown princess, but she is unfazed. Silver looks down at the poor creature apologetically as it clings to his uniform in an attempt to shake off the dragoness's claws.

"What is the matter with you? Stop behaving so childishly. Look, your son is being much more mature than you, how embarrassing." Meleanor forces the bat to let go of the boy and holds it upside down, continuing to be unfazed as it claws at her lace gloves angrily. "You should know better than to ignore a summons from your mistress."

She shakes the bat in a not-so-gentle manner and the animal grows in size and changes shape until Lilia is hanging by the ankles. The raven does the same, but Meleanor lets Levan go so he can perch on her arm more comfortably.

"—the matter with you! You absolutely insane princess!" Lilia yells once he's finally taken his two-legged form again.

"Yes, you're very adorable, dear," Meleanor says dismissively with a pinch to his nose. Lilia hisses at her, but despite his complaints there's no real heat to them and he calms down quickly. "Now, my loves, when were the two of you going to tell me that a secret someone has caught our Malleus's interest?"

"I sincerely apologise, darling," Levan says mournfully, and any amount of aggression in his wife's expression fades away when he pecks a kiss on her cheek. "but it was not our secret to tell."

"Alright, I suppose I can forgive that. I'm sorry, dears." Meleanor looks at her son and husband fondly but scowls when she turns to Lilia. "Not you."

Lilia sticks his tongue out at her without remorse. With difficulty, he twists around to address Silver. "You've found Malleus! Well done, my boy."

"Thank… you, Father."

"What is it that you wished to speak to me about?" Malleus asks, tilting his head in an effort to meet Lilia's eyes. The bat fae exchanges a look with the prince's father and then glances at the princess holding him captive.

"Perhaps we should wait until later—"

"Wonderful, since I wished to speak to both of you about a different matter." Meleanor's expression turns into a deceptively sweet one that immediately has Lilia's face souring. "My loves, would you tell Malleus that you also desperately wish to meet this secret potential mate of his?"

She flutters her eyelashes for good measure. Malleus sighs and shakes his head.

"Mother…"

"I know what you said, but perhaps with encouragement from all three of us we can twist a few rules…"

"Actually, my love, what we wish to discuss concerns this… person." Meleanor raises an inquisitive eyebrow at her husband sitting on her arm.

"What?" All eyes turn to Malleus. The prince suddenly rises from his seat, pupils thinned to slits. Leftover rose petals scatter to his feet. "Has something happened to them?"

"I apologise, Malleus, but Lilia is right." Levan casts a quick look towards Meleanor and Malleus understands immediately.

Meleanor looks frustratedly between her son and husband, unhappy at being the only one uninformed. "Now what is this about? Why are you so reluctant to speak of this person within my presence?"

Lilia purses his lips, determined to not say a thing, meanwhile Levan looks towards his son again meaningfully.

Malleus takes a breath.

"It is what I have been meaning to tell you. Mother…" Malleus glances at Silver standing to the side, at attention. "Silver is a human."

Meleanor blinks. She looks at Silver, back at Malleus, and then bursts into laughter.

"But of course he is, silly beast!"

Malleus attempts to continue, but she doesn't stop laughing like it's the most hilarious joke she's heard in a century. He looks to his father helplessly. Levan gives him an encouraging smile but the doubt that twitches the edges of his lips isn't very reassuring. Meanwhile, Lilia sighs exasperatedly and Silver frowns in confusion.

"Well, Mother…" Meleanor keeps laughing and the longer the seconds tick by the more his confidence falters. Perhaps… If he says it now, she won't hear and she can remain in ignorant bliss. "This person I am in love with is a human as well."

The laughter stops so abruptly that the deadly silence sounds as loud as a crash of thunder.

"What."