#think small cat being grumpy in the corner

[starry-mang0s]

Why is he angy? No idea. He just is.

[confessioncassette]

The Belly of a Black Heart - Alastor x Reader

18+. minors do not interact.

thank you @lustylita for the inspiration of this fic. your mind is a beautiful place. everyone check out her art and her concept to this story here. all credits to her, this was not my idea.

part 2

summary : After an unsuspecting death, you end up in hell and at the Hazbin Hotel. You become dead set on redemption. Alastor's feelings towards you are confusing and it pisses him off more than he can handle. In result, unknowingly to him, his feelings manifest through his shadow.

tw : no smut this chapter. angst. alastor being a jerk. mild gore/wound

words : 5.3k

notes : i hope you enjoy this chapter <3

When you wake the next morning, your head is a blur. Sitting up in your bed you take a minute to look around your new living situation. It takes a second to understand that this isn’t the room you usually wake up in but, despite all of that, you feel good. 

The reality of being in hell was hard on you yesterday. You’ve had your little breakdown and denial fest.. you won’t let that bother you today. Pushing past things is how you manage. Always one step at a time. Plus, you’re in a place that offers redemption now. What’s done is done and now you can focus on how to get into heaven and maybe sort out a plan there. With God or something, right? 

He’s literally God, maybe he could help your situation on earth. You doubt anyone here could help you… or even want to help you. 

No headaches, your body doesn’t burn… today feels like you can start fresh. Rolling to get out of bed, your eyes catch a bundle of red in the corner of your eye.  

Three red peonies tied together in a bow lay delicately over your unoccupied pillow.

You examine the vibrant flowers and thumb around the stems. You wonder who was thoughtful enough to give a simple yet welcoming gift. 

Alastor’s fleeting expression and charming smile snatches your memory from last night. Your face almost burns, remembering how close he was to you, his face grazing against your cheek, breath fanning over you as it does. 

Smiling to yourself, you think today would be a good day to get back on track. Charlie is willing to help you, and you might learn more about the gentleman from last night. You can even thank him for the lovely flowers. 

The hotel buzzes with life when you walk to the formal dining room. Delicious breakfast foods waft through the air. The warm smell of coffee buzzes through your body. 

“C’mon Husky, don’t chya wanna try it? I’ve been slavin’ over this all mornin’ for ya!” A tall, fluffy man leans over the dining room table, sliding a plate of food to a grumpy cat. 

“Fuck no! Satan knows what you put in there and I don’t wanna risk dying twice.” Taking a swig from a browned bottle, the cat pushes away the plate. 

The tall man’s shoulder slump as he lets out a groan. “Fine, but one day you’re gunna try my cookin’ and you’ll love it. You might even beg for moore.” He teases, taking the plate for himself as Husk rolls his eyes. 

“Oh, good morning! How was your first night?” Charlie beams from the head of the table and everyone’s heads swivel to you. Suddenly, you’re on the spot. 

“It was great, thank you. I actually had the best sleep I’ve had in a while,” you smile, “I needed it.” 

“Everyone welcome our new guest! She arrived late last night.” 

It was a small creature with a giant eye who lunged herself toward you first. Her little legs patting the floor and up your body before you could react. 

“I’m Nifty, I clean.” A sinister giggle erupts from her lips before the tall man who offered.. Husk is it?.. a plate gently and removes her from you. 

“Hey doll, I’m Angel.”

Alastor watches from the hallway as the group introduces themselves to you. Hidden in the shadows, he watches you closely. The way you smile fondly towards people you barely know, how you embrace each one with a greeting. Clearly, you lighten the room. But you’re a mystery, and one he doesn’t want to get involved with. 

Does he? 

Your sweet doe eyes are burned in a memory. He couldn’t help but get close enough to smell you, and fuck, did your saccerine smell burn through his nostrils as well. He could see your panic, the reality of your new eternal life smacking you in the face… the frustration it caused you last night. 

But were you really keen on redemption? He could see the light beam behind your eyes once you stood at the center of your room. You belong here, you’re here for a reason. It’s hell afterall. Every sinner who comes here belongs to this wretched place to burn forever. Surely Charlie’s delusions didn’t persuade you in one night? 

Surely you’re not that…simple? 

“Will Alastor be joining us for breakfast? He’s the only one I haven’t seen this morning.” Alastor ears perk up at your voice from afar. 

“Ehh, smiles doesn’t usually eat with us. Probably up in his room going to town on some animal he caught this mornin’.” Angel grimaces. 

Watching your reaction closely, the slight fall of your face doesn’t go unnoticed. But you’re quick to recover with a smile and dig in with everyone else. 

“Okay everyone! Gather around! Today we will be learning about each other.” Charlie’s hand gestures to you on the couch as everyone else filters into the common room. 

Angel plops himself over the couch’s armchair next to you, stretching his long legs over your thighs. Husk mopes in the room, bottle in hand and leans against the fireplace. Nifty props herself over the table happily swinging her legs and Vaggie stands beside her partner, eyeing everyone down. 

Your eyes carefully glance around the room, trying not to bring attention that you’re looking for Alastor. From your comment at breakfast before, you don’t want to keep bringing the man up to avoid conversations you don’t want to have. 

But it fails. 

“Looking for tall dark and creepy?” Angel shimmies his chest and throws you a wink. 

Rolling your eyes you push playfully at Angel’s leg. “No, just making sure everyone is here.” Giving him a side eye you whisper, “nosey.”

Angel laughs and gives you a nudge, “Well looks like you’re in luck toots, looks who’s comin’.” 

Perking up, you watch Alastor’s tall form stride in the room and take a seat in an armchair directly across from you. His smile is wide, but it seems strained? Folding one leg over the other, he relaxes back into his seat. His eyes scan the room, probably checking for roll-call, before landing directly over you. 

You give a smile but he doesn’t react. 

“Okay! Now that everyone is here, we will be telling 2 truths and a lie. Everyone will say two truths about themselves and one lie. The group will have to guess which one is a lie. So fun!” Charlie claps. 

“I don’t want to put our new guest on the spot, so let’s start with Husk.”

A low groan emits from the fireplace where Husk stands. He really looks like he doesn’t want to be here, but maybe he’s been here long enough to know that he has to participate. 

“Alright, uh, I can down a whole bottle of whiskey with no reaction, I suck at dice games, and I hate water.”

“I’ll give you something to down, Husky~” Angel tosses his head back and blows him a kiss. 

“For fuckssake,” Husk rolls his eyes.

“Oh oh! I know, the lie is he hates water! I’ve seen him take bubble baths at night.” Nifty giggles sinisterly. 

“Okay good job, Nifty.” Vaggie cringes and turns her attention to you, “Would you like to give it a try next?” 

Glancing between her and Alastor’s heavy stare, has he been looking at you this whole time? You shrug. “Sure, I'll give it a shot. Let me think…” You hum. 

“I’ve been in hell for a long time, I love to dance and I’m pretty good at it, and I stole drugs when I was alive.” You’re not that great with coming up with things on the spot, but you gave it your best shot. First things that came to your mind and all without being too personal. 

Angel drags out a hum, “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you can dance. Not sure if I would paint you as someone who would steal. You act like Miss-goodie-two-shoes’s-distant relative over there. I’m gunna go with that one.”

You couldn’t help but contain your smile, you could have sworn that your appearance gave you away that you literally died just yesterday. 

“Nope! I died yesterday and found this place last night. Thank god I saw your commercial, I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t.” 

Angel’s mouth drops open and leans forward. “Hold on, you’re like, super fresh? No kiddin’. So… you stole drugs?” He looks you up and down, “can you do it again?” 

“Matter of fact, we don’t know much about you. Anything at all really. I’ll take it you’re here because you stole, but there’s gotta be more than that.” Husk examines his bottle. 

You shift in your seat uncomfortably. “Yeah, I stole but- I don’t know.” Memories of stealing drugs, scamming people for money flood your mind. That stuff was bad, but did it really land you here in hell? I’m sure it’s a part of the 10 commandments or sins or whatever… 

The man. Your knife. 

You killed someone right before dying. 

“What drugs do you like? I got some good connections. We could totally-”

“No! Nonono, no one is going to do that. Say no to drugs! Remember we are trying to get redeemed?” Charlie’s arms wave frantically as she lets out a nervous laugh. 

It was all for protection. You never wanted to hurt anyone like that before, it’s not like you wake up blood thirty for killing. It was self defense. 

Guilt bubbles within your gut, and it’s getting hard to breathe. Would they even care if you killed? You’re sure almost everyone in hell has killed, even in the afterlife. 

“C’mon, toots, tell us a little about yourself. This is about sharing after-all,” Angel teases. “I wanna know all the shit you did when you were alive! You sound like a good time, Y’know my girl buddy would love you-”

“I think that’s enough for today.” A staticy voice interrupts the conversation. Your head swivels to meet the demon who carries a strained smile. The hair on his ears stick up in a frenzy while his claws grip over the top of his microphone cane. 

“But Alastor we barely got star-”

“I think,” Alastors voice grows with static, every word pronounced precisely, “that is enough for today.”

Angel's legs slide off you as he stands to stretch, “Aww what a buzzkill.”

Before you have the chance to leave the room, your face is met with Alastor’s chest. 

He lifts his chin, but his eyes bore down at yours. Your eyes shoot wide with the proximity, and something within his chest spurs as wait for him to speak. 

“I would like to speak with you privately, my dear.”

Following him up the stairs and into his radio tower, you tread lightly in new territory. Papers over his desk are neatly stacked next to a forgotten cup of coffee. The walls are floor to ceiling windows overlooking Pride, you’ve come to know. Dusk stretches the horizon and little dots of light twinkle in the distance over the city. On the other side of the room, old equipment lined the wall. Hundreds of knobs and switches cover the machines and you wonder how he’s able to work such equipment. Speakers, extra microphones sat upon a bookshelf along with books, magazines and other nic-nacs you’re sure he has collected through the years. 

You’re not sure how old the demon is, and you’re not sure how you haven’t thought about it since meeting him, especially when he has taken up most of your mind these past 24 hours. 

You guess he’s from the roaring 20’s? 30’s? He’s dressed sophisticatedly with not a hair out of place. His posture paints him a perfect gentleman in a society where it mattered. His transatlantic accent was smooth and you long to hear it more than you should, or do. And guessing by this set up, the ON AIR sign that hangs directly over his desk, you could be right. 

But what of this demon? What is his story? You’ll put a pin in it and ask angel later-

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you here so I’ll cut to the chase.” Alastor’s arms are neatly behind his back as he looks over Pride. Without turning to you, he continues. 

“I’m looking for more help around the hotel. Husk’s job is primarily tending to the bar, Nifty cleans and Charlie is over her head with trying to recruit sinners. I’d like to say that I have everything handled with paperwork and trying to keep this pace afloat, but I don’t.”

Your brows furrow in confusion. He.. can’t handle it all? He definitely gives the calm, cool collected attitude of one who would never need help. 

“So, you need my help? I thought I was just a sinner trying to get redemption?” 

Alastor stiffens for a moment before turning to you. “I thought you should know that Charlie and I had a discussion earlier. We think that you fit into the family seamlessly. We both thought you would be great at helping us with our little project.” He tilts his head, scanning you over, “Unless you don’t want to?” 

You shake your head. This might not be a bad idea. This could actually help you in more ways than one. This could help you more with gaining redemption and be a part of a bigger picture. 

“No, that all sounds great actually. What exactly do you have in mind for me to help you with?” 

“More of the mundane things like checking over the hotel to make sure everything is in order, placing orders for food, toilet paper - the essentials.”

“So the mundane things you don’t want to do?” You laugh lightheartedly. “Sure, Alastor, I can do that for you. Do you have a check list for me?”

In one snap, Alastor conjures up a daily ‘to-do” list for you. Your eyes widen at his magic.

“If you can do that, why can’t you make food and toilet paper appear instead of ordering it?” 

His smile is smug, “It’s a lot more complicated than that, little doe” 

Turning on your heel, you say over your shoulder, “One day, I’d like to properly thank you for the flowers you left me.”

He watches you disappear through the doorway, confusion carved over his face. Flowers? 

What an interesting thing to say… An odd woman. 

Woman. Your presence had been the first in his studio.

Charlie and the guests know that no one is allowed in this room, for it’s locked 24/7. This room is his pride, his sanctuary and the one thing he’s carried on since dying. Besides killing and torturing innocent people, he supposes. 

Clawing at the staff of his cane he shakes the thought of your company being… comforting. 

His ear twitches in frustration. This foreign feeling- this odd hunger for catching your eye in a sea of others, to smell you near has become a twisted form of entertainment. He has to ignore the way his lower belly heats and aches when you're near…Is it entertainment? He stares at the door where you just stood. 

Is his curiosity growing in the little moments you spend together or is it something he can’t pinpoint? His facade will fail to hold if he continues like this. 

A predator assessing his pray like it’s a game. Except, it doesn’t feel like that kind of a hunt. 

-

Stepping out from the bathroom after your nighttime routine, a darkness catches the corner of your eye. 

“Hello?” you call out. 

The darkness in the corner slithers across the floor and manifests itself in the center of your room. 

You curse under your breath, while it’s not the craziest thing you’ve seen, it’s definitely unexpected. 

“Um, hello there…” You stay standing in the doorway of your bathroom. Looking the creature over as it stands tall. 

The creature, no, shadow, is dark, but you can make out that its body is made up of swirling smoke. It’s face gives a chiseled smile, imitating teeth through the smoke, and resting on top of it’s head were a pair of outgrown antlers that stretch wide. 

You tilt your head at the creature, curious on why it hasn’t responded to you. 

It tilts his head back, mimicking your movement. 

“Cute,” you giggle, “what are you?” 

The shadows' eyes glow green in response and gives you a bigger grin. 

“Are you here at the hotel too? I just got here yesterday…” you shift on the balls of your feet. “Do you have a name?” 

The shadow dissipates into the ground and for a moment, you’re spooked. Backing up into your bathroom, a coldness caresses your neck from behind. 

Spinning around fast, you’re met with it again. The creature folds forward to meet your face. 

Oh fuck no. 

You fumble backwards a little too fast but the creature is quick to catch you by an arm. It steadies you easily. 

“You’re.. Good, right? Friend?” The words fall stupidly out of your mouth. You feel like you’re talking to a child in simple words and a sweet voice. God knows that this creature is probably thousands of years old but you’re speaking to it like it lacks some form of intelligence. 

The creature smiles and nods, backing away from you before wisping itself around your body in a cloud of smoke. 

Warmth surrounds your body, unlike the coldness around your neck from before. 

“Friend, okay…good.” You smile and embrace the dance it gives you.

The creature manifests itself over in front of your nightstand and the bundle of shadows steps aside to reveal the red peonies from this morning. Your eyebrows raise and realization hits you.

“That was you? What a lovely gift to give.. To me.” Surprise followed by stupidity hits you in the last bit of that sentence. 

How could you be so stupid to think Alastor would give you those flowers? He hasn’t even spent much time around you, let alone want to speak to you. Every time you’re in the vicinity of him, he pretends you don’t exist. 

Foolish. 

Foolish to think that he would even take a liking to you. 

And you mentioned it to him hours ago… God, he’s probably so confused and you look like a fucking idiot. 

The shadow slumps at your reaction. Its swirls grow faster over its body, like the wheels in its head are thinking of a way to cheer you up. 

Warmth caresses around your hips and playfully drags you to your bed. You let it happen because, for some ungodly reason, you trust this shadow. 

It’s gentle hand lingers over your face, brushing over the skin of your cheek. A familiar feeling. Almost like the feeling of last night when Alastor’s-

No. 

The creature lifts your chin to look at him as he takes a seat by you on the bed and you mentally brush away the cringe.

You both stare at each other for a moment. You're entranced by its odd behavior. Although, its presence feels familiar, a kind of nostalgia you cannot place. His warmth feels like a gentle hug, a friend in the darkness when you're alone. 

The faint smell of whiskey, a bar of soap and lemongrass. 

A warm song that dances inside your nostrils. 

Your room is quiet, as you let the shadow tickle your face and neck. 

Soft music begins to play when your eyes fight sleep. But you give into the lull of the shadows lullaby. 

-

From that first night of meeting the creature, you’re woken up gently by it patting your head and urging you to get dressed. Funny enough, the creature disappears while you get ready, giving you privacy. But ultimately, you wouldn’t mind it at all if it stayed. 

One night, after a particularly hard day working under Alastor, you named the being. 

Umbra.

Not the most creative, but it was the first thing that popped in your head… and he, you’ve come to find out, was quite happy with the new nickname. 

You weren’t sure where he came from, what he is, or what manifested himself to you that night, but you’re thankful for the company. 

Umbra was quiet. He never spoke, but damn is he funny. Every night, he meets you in your room practically bouncing off the walls, or more so sliding everywhere in a mist of shadows and patiently listens when you talk about your day. 

Every morning you wake up with new little flowers over your unoccupied pillow. Each of them a bundle of red, for some reason. But lovely all the same. 

It became a nightly routine to where he’ll lull you to sleep with gentle caresses and soft old-timey music. 

And it’s given you the best sleep of your life. 

Alastor however, has been more distant than before. When asking for new lists everyday, he’ll stare down at you through lowered eyelids and hand you a list bigger than the last. 

He never questioned your flowers comment, but you’re sure he hasn’t forgotten. 

Though, through his aloof attitude, he still invades your personal space when talking to you - and he only talks to you when it’s absolutely needed. His stare burns new holes through you everyday before he locks himself up in his radio tower until dinner or Charlie's group exercises. 

“Smiles has been such a fucking jerk lately, what did you do to’m?” Angel slumps over the armchair, preoccupied with texting. 

“Me? He hardly talks to me! Everyday he’ll just hand me a list to do and disappears.”

“That’s exactly the problem, ever since he’s offered you a job here he’s been acting like there's a stick up his ass more than normal. You must being doin’ shit at your job.” He nudges you and you both laugh. 

“Yeah, no idea. I try to talk to him. He’s the one person in this whole place I don’t even know about… but he ignores me.”

“I don’t think he completely ignores you, doll face. Do you notice how you’re the only thing he can look at when you’re around? Hard to get him to help Charlie lately, too.”

You blush and drag your gaze to the floor. “No, I didn’t notice that. What’s his deal anyways?” 

Angel went into detail about how Alastor wa/is one of the most powerful overlords in the Pride ring. 7 years ago he disappeared or some shit but 7 months ago he came back and randomly ended up here. Some bullshit about wanting to help Charlie with her ridiculous delusions about saving a sinner. He’s just here for the ‘entertainment’, but he’s been a big help honestly. Especially in his battle during the extermination - before he got wounded. 

Wounded? He could get hurt? A powerful overlord who has thousands of contracted souls could get… hurt? But there airs another question…

He doesn’t believe in redemption? 

Your thoughts were cut short by a shadow carrying a mischievous grin lurking in the hallway. Umbra swirls in a mist of shadows as his eyes glow green and gestures for you to follow him. 

Raising from the couch you head his way. 

“Maybe he just needs some good head!” Angel calls out to you.

You follow Umbra as he slithers over the carpet, manifests himself over the walls and guides you upstairs. His cute grin makes you laugh, and you're excited to see what he has in store for you today. 

Not noticing that you pass your own room, your eyes only watching Umbra flee with excitement, he leads you to a door at the end of a hallway. He turns to you, looking you once over and dissipates through the door. 

Knowing you want him to follow, and without a second thought, your hand turns the knob and you fly inside Alastor’s radio room. 

There, hunched over his desk wearing only his long sleeve undershirt and pants, Alastor’s back is turned to you. 

“Who the fuck,” Alastor’s head turns over his shoulder, black eyes blown wide as his red pupils snap to you. 

“Alastor- shit, I’m,” you back away, accidentally shutting the door behind you. 

“Has anyone taught you proper manners? Don’t you know that walking in on someone is-” Every word cuts through you like a knife, the static in his voice grows louder in every syllable. The lights flicker around you as Alastor’s body grows larger in scale, his antlers growing wide. 

“I didn’t know!” You yell honestly, you didn't know. Or, you weren’t paying attention. 

“The door was locked, how did you get in here?” Red liquid oozes out of his mouth as his empty black eyes stare you down. But you’re not looking at the anger on his face, or the way his body engulfs the room. No, you're looking at how his arm covers a wound on his side. Your eyes scan to the side, where ointments and bandages lay askew over his desk. 

“You’re hurt, Alastor.” 

The radio demon stops, and for a moment, you catch surprise painted in his features. 

“Let me help?” You offer, taking a step forward. 

He doesn’t move. 

“Get out.” 

You step forward, unafraid of his form. He's hurt, and you can see the blood squelching against his hand, dripping to the floor. 

You reach out, covering your hand over his bloodied one and your eyes flicker upwards to the beast before you. 

A silent plea to let him help. If he’s been doing this on his own since the extermination, he hasn’t been doing a great job at mending it. 

He gives a frustrated sigh, and shrinks back down to his normal self. Internally rolling your eyes at how easy that was to do… an all powerful overlord listening to you was a confidence booster to say the least. 

You look down to assess the wound. His red undershirt wet and stained with blood on the right side of his torso. 

You flash him a look for silent permission, and he nods ever so slightly, his eyes fixated on your face. You begin to unbutton his shirt from the top down. You scan your fingers delicately over his chest and down towards the wound. Alastor lets out a shaky sigh that goes unnoticed by you. 

You expose his torso more by opening up his shirt to get a better look. Alastor leans back in his chair and curves his hips upwards ever so faintly. You swallow, fighting the demons in your head to take a closer look at his exposed body. 

“Looks… bad.” You manage to say, focusing only on the wound before gentle fingers slide under your chin and angle your face upwards so he can see you fully. 

And you swear, that for a moment, something swirls deep within his gaze. Something more than he lets on. A flash of hope? Eagerness?

Now’s not the time.

You clear your throat before grabbing supplies and getting to work. 

Alastor was silent as you mended him. His eyes never left your face as you cleaned the wound and bandaged it neatly. 

“All better!” You chime, doing your best to ignore the buzz on your chin from his touch, “Next time you try to do this yourself, try to find me? I don’t think it’s healed right for at least a couple weeks. You’re lucky it hasn’t gotten infected.” 

“We’re in hell, dear, I’m sure there’s worse things to worry about than an infected wound.”

He didn’t even bother to say thank you. 

Is this the sophisticated and well-mannered demon Charlie raved about? The helpful demon that made this hotel?

You let out a breath you didn’t know you’ve been holding and your shoulders shrug downward. 

“Is there a reason why you’ve been so avoidant since I arrived? Everyone has been talking about how you’ve been acting differently since I showed up. Why is that? Did I do anything to you?” You avoid his eye contact by putting away the medical supplies inside a metal box. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, dear. I’ve always been the same.” He leans back in his chair. 

Something doesn’t add up. 

“Everyone talks about how you’re this powerful overlord, yet you lock yourself up in this tower all day and night. They all talk about how you were always around and ever since me you’re nowhere to be found.”

“I’d watch your mouth, little doe.” He snarls, but doesn’t move from his chair.

You stand, and for once you’re just taller than him even when he’s sitting down. Stories you’ve heard, the things the other residents say about him - nothing is adding up. Angel even went out of his way to ask what the fuck you did to him to act like this. 

“I can’t help but think that you’re trying to avoid me. Are you scared of me or something? Or do you just like to see me do all of your bitch work so you don’t have to look at me?” 

“And why,” Alastor stands, towering over you. You never realized how much taller and broader he is compared to you. His entire frame engulfs your size. “Would I be scared of a pathetic, weak sinner who died so easily doing something so reckless and ended up here?”

A beat, “I’d go far as to say you’re forgettable in this cesspool. Why would I go out of my way to avoid that?” He hums, lowering to your level at the waist. You want to punch that smug smile on his face. 

You ball your fists and keep his eye contact. You scrunch up your nose and grind out every word with anger, “That’s hilarious coming from someone who did the same. Not so different, you and I.”

You didn’t care enough to see his expression before turning on your heel and head straight to your room.

Sinking onto your bed, you throw your head between your hands with a groan. 

Asshole. Fucking asshole. 

It doesn't take long before a presence in front of you lingers, and a warm caress slithers over your cheek. 

“Not now, Umrba. I’m not in the mood.” 

Umbra’s smokey hand tugs gently at your arm, pulling it forward and causing your head to droop. You allow him to pull you up and into an embrace. 

Scents of whiskey, soap and lemongrass once again fill your head. A lovely haze that you’ve come to cherish. A friend. 

A comfort. 

A beautiful melody fills the air, and swallows you whole. Umbra’s body shakes with a staticy old tune. 

“I’ll never smile again, until I smile at you”  The voices sing a beautiful sorrowful melody, filling the air. Umbra’s arms skate over you and places his hands in yours. 

The stance of a dance. 

Umbra guides your one arm over his back, there he rests the other around your waist. A close embrace that you happily welcome.

“For tears would fill my eyes, my heart would realize…” 

Guiding your hips in a gentle sway, you rest your cheek on his torso. The both of you sway to the melody slowly in your dimly lit room. 

And, like always, the shadow doesn’t say a word. And maybe you like it that way. With all the chaos pounding loudly in your head, Umbra can always grant you the safe space you need. No judgment, no games. 

No words. 

Umbra pulls you around in a dizzying spin on your toes, earning a giggle from you. The music crescendos softly.

“I’ll never love again, I’m so in love with you…”

Guiding you around your room, you follow his lead. Wisps of smoke trail after him and curl at the bottom of your feet. Warmth is all you can feel. 

You’re picked up swiftly and spun like a child before being placed softly in your bed. Umbra continues to play the melody until you are cast away in blissful sleep. 

“Within my heart, I know I will never start to smile again, until I smile at you.”

taglist : @hazbinsimp777 @rapturenyx @kaytemchugh

[heartfullofleeches]

makariy and sleephead darling for liffeeeeee :3

Makariy and Sleepyhead Bat Reader because grumpy sleep deprived cat + sleepy bat sounds cute plus bats are nocturnal. Picturing Bat Reader "renting" the attic to Makariy's new home and him only learning of his roommate when they're climbing up on the support beams to comfort. Maybe they're in an amateur rock band which he discovers after seeing their guitar tucked away in the corner of the room one of the rare occasions Reader is able to wrestle him down for a nap with him. He has an even bigger reason to want them gone because if they find out who he was that could be another whole shit storm.

Bat Reader genuinely doesn't care about his old life and just enjoys having a warm body to sleep next to because most of their band mates are busy during the day too-

-

"You were in a group too, Makariy?"

He knew he should've burned everything from that time period. A poster of the feline's grinning, youthful face tucked away in the recesses of his nightstand - staring back at him from your hands. Suddenly, Makariy feels like a stranger in his own bed. You lazily trace his a finger along the curve of his tail before folding the poster along its visible crises.

"That's so cool.... Hey, can I have more of the blanket? You're kinda hogging it all."

Makariy's arm stiffens beneath your head. "That's it?"

Fighting the spell of sleep, you raise your head from his chest as you mumble. "Yeah.. I think that's all I need right now. Your fur is softer than this pillows anyway."

"No, that's not what I....you don't have any questions?"

With a small shake of your head, you return to your previous position - siphoning the warmth from him since he's yet to give you what you asked for. "No....Not really. If you wanted to talk about it you'd have posters hanging up everywhere or something. It's nice we have that in common, but if I'm being honest I like you more as a body pillow than as an idol."

Makariy stares up at the ceiling, drawing circles by your shoulder blades right above where your wings sit nestled against your back. You've long since fallen asleep by the time his eyes meet your figured curled up to his chest. He takes a glance at the poster forgotten by you in favor of the real thing.

"....I think I like me more this way too."

[mrchiipchrome]

Character Introductions

(yes, I know I should've done this before the first part was posted but I didn't so y'all get it now)

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

Nika Mühl as herself

Height: 5’11

Age: 20

School/Team: University of Connecticut (UConn), UConn Women’s Basketball Team (#10), Croatia (#10)

Nicknames: Mühl, Love, Secretary Of Defense, Pookie (only by Paige)

Nationality: Croatian

Instagram: nika.muhl

Alt: nikalovesbball

“I don’t like her like that, we’re just friends, nothing more.”

“I don’t know what I want yet, but I do know that I want it with you. Not someone like you, it’s you that I want.”

“You know, I was always a Chelsea fan.”

You as Yourself (shhh, just imagine.)

Height: Tall as fuck

Age: 18

School/Team: Harvard, Harvard Women’s Soccer Team (#10), England WNT (#10/2+8)

Nicknames: Grumpy, Kid/Kiddo, Troll Child (Leah), Baby, Tiny (only by Paige), Captain

Nationality: English

Instagram: y/n.y/l/n

Alt: norflondonforever

“North London forever, whatever the weather, these streets are our own.”

“I want a beach house in Barcelona, with the most amazing view of the water. And maybe a dog, or a cat. And I want to run a small surf shop at the corner of the beach, hidden away from everything. That’s what my legacy will be, just you me and our beach house in Barca.”

“Sorry coach, I gotta go see ‘bout a girl.”

Gabbi Broussard as Emma 'Em' Whitmore

Height: 5’9

Age: 20

School/Team: Harvard, Harvard Women’s Soccer Team (#18), USWNT (#28)

Nicknames: Em, Emily, Emma Hayes (only by you to annoy her), Ugly 

Nationality: American/Canadian

Instagram: emwhit18

Alt: thebetterwhitmore

“Cal’s not scary, he looks like the rat from Flushed Away.”

“I think you need to stop thinking about what everyone else wants and start thinking about what you want. This situation, it’s not your fault that you caught feelings, but it is your fault that you’re pushing her away, so man the fuck up and do the right thing.”

“Will you stop singing that already?”

Callum Turner as Callum 'Cal' Whitmore

Height: 6’4

Age: 23

School/Team: University of Connecticut (UConn), UConn Men’s Basketball Team(#26), US Men’s Basketball(#22)

Nicknames: Cal, Gollum, The Rat from Flushed Away

Nationality: American/Canadian

Instagram: callumwhitmore

Alt: nottheratfromflushedaway

“I don’t look like the fucking rat from Flushed Away, stop telling people that.”

“Em, dad called, he said shut up.”

“Watching you trying to flirt is the single most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done.”

Robert Sean Leonard as Coach 'Dad' Daniels

Height: 6’0

Age: 66

School/Team: Head Coach of Harvard Women’s Soccer Team

Nicknames: Coach, Dad, Coach Dad, Pops, Ancient Being

Nationality: American

Instagram: headcoachdaniels

Alt: doesn’t have one, he’s too much of an old fart

“It’s called intermittent fasting, look it up, you should try it sometime.”

“No, for the last time, me and Coach Hansen aren’t secretly married with two dogs, you all need less free time to come up with theories like that, this isn’t dead poet’s society. Extra training sessions the whole week out.”

“Are those hickeys? Okay ladies, when you want to have sex make sure to cover up the evidence after, I do not need to know more about your intimate lives than I already do.”

Ethan Hawke as Coach Hansen

Height: 5’11

Age: 62

School/team: Harvard Men’s Soccer Team Head Coach

Nicknames: Coach Daniels’ Husband, Dad #2, Mr. Sir

Nationality: American/British

Instagram: headcoachhansen

Alt: an old fart like his husband, so no alt for him

“So you kids thought you’d get a different answer from me than from Coach Daniels? Why are you kids so incessant on trying to find out if we’re together or not.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I kissed Coach Daniels last night. It was like something straight out of a movie, something so poetic about it.”

“This is Buddy, me and Coach Daniels adopted him so that he could be our mascot. No other reason.”

Paige Bueckers as herself

Height: 6’0

Age: 20

School/Team: University of Connecticut (UConn), UConn Women’s Basketball Team (#5), USA Women’s Basketball Team (#5)

Nicknames: PBuckets, PB&J, The Third Jonas Brother

Nationality: American

Instagram: paigebueckers

Alt: p5buckets

“I’ll beat you on Fifa all day every day.”

“God Nika, admit it, you like her. I can see it from a mile away and this thing you’re doing, this back and forth, will they won’t they, is going to hurt you both in the end. All I’m suggesting is that you evaluate what you want from this relationship and then take it from there.”

“I’m always right, it’s scientifically impossible for me to be wrong.”

Leah Williamson as herself

Height: 5’7

Age: 25

School/Team: Arsenal Women’s Team (#6), England WNT (#6/8/5)

Nicknames: Lee, Will, Spurs Nr 1 Fan, Oldie, Capi

Nationality: English

Instagram: leahwilliamsonn

Alt: will.i.am.son

“I’M NOT A SPURS FAN, STOP SAYING THAT.”

“Y’know in all the time I’ve known you kid, I’ve never seen you this enamoured with someone, you’re so in love it’s making me sick.”

“You’re like the little sister I never had.”

Lucy Bronze as herself

Height: 5’7

Age: 30

School/Team: FC Barcelona Femení (#15), England WNT (#2)

Nicknames: Lucia, Robert, Luce, Prehistoric Being, Dad

Nationality: English/Portuguese

Instagram: lucybronze

Alt: bronzesilvergold

“Ugh, the ladies just love me don’t they.”

“I’m down with the lingo, I’ve got so much rizz that the boomers come running. Cowabunga.”

“Love is…love is effortless, it makes you feel all jittery and when you’re around them you feel like you can do anything. You’ll know it once you feel it kid, don’t try to rush the process, let it wash over you like the waves at the beach.”

Everyone else as themselves, also the other's alt instagrams will explained when they appear

[ceruleancattail]

RAAAASHSJSJD I CANT BELIEVE BUTLER AU WONNN I voted for Nightfall AU but I DONT MIND- AS LONG AS I GET BUTLER!LEONA UEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE—

*clears throat* uh butler leona please- not sure which scenario tbh, maybe when reader gets injured? A minor injury though🕺

YOU VOTED FOR NIGHTFALL??? Superior taste fr fr/j

I really wanna develop that au ahah, maybe when I have some time~

Ballrooms

Butler Leona x reader

People normally seek refuge within buildings. Fingers curled into fists, knocking doors desperately. Hoping for someone, anyone to take notice of their pleas.

You, however, were more interested of getting out.

A ballroom, lined with gold. Elaborate designs of flowers, each petal carved carefully into the walls. If you look at them closely enough, you could almost swear they could move, swaying with the breeze.

The clink of wine glasses tapping against each other. Polite laughter ringing through the air, the clack of heels against the ground. The chatter of a thousand voices, conversations held behind fans, politics hidden behind a smile.

Holding yourself upright, you squeeze through the wave after wave of people. Ankles throbbing, pain gnawing on your feet. You shouldn’t have worn these shoes. They were too small, heels much too high for your comfort.

Curse your vanity.

Your eyes flicker from left to right, a cornered animal. Trying to find somewhere, anywhere for you to sit down and rest your weary legs. Colours from all parts of the rainbow, fabric brushing against you, trailing on the ground. They swarmed your vision, blocking out everything but the people.

Heaving a sigh, you gather up your belongings. Guess you’ll have to take an early night. Hobbling across the dance floor as carefully as you could, you start to make your way to the door.

Treading gently in an attempt to put less pressure on your poor, aching feet, you move slowly. Muttering soft exclamations of “excuse me.”, “pardon me.” Gritting your teeth whenever hushed whispers followed your wake.

“Leaving the party this early? Who did they think they are?”

“How rude.”

Mere gossip, you told yourself. Pay no heed.

Keep walking, hold your head up. Don’t listen to the words, even though they sting. A thousand wasps, pressing deep into your skin. Every sentence burning their way into your back, branding you.

Your image will certainly take a hit after this event.

Elbowing your way through, your hands finally reach the doors. You’ve never felt more happy to touch a doorknob. A single twist, and you slide out of the ballroom. A few more steps, and you’ve hobbled out of the mansion.

The cool air of the night greeted you. Wafting over your cheeks, a soft caress. Taking in a deep breath, you almost collapse with relief. Feeling the air slip down your lungs, refreshing the depths of your soul.

Leaning against a pillar, you catch your breath. Fingers slipping into the back of your shoes, you pry your feet loose. The soles of your feet press against the cold, hard floor, smoothing that throbbing ache in your ankles.

A much need respite. The pain mellowed out a tinge. Now, it was reduced to a dull throbbing, raw and red.

Lifting your head up, your gaze wandered. Looking for that familiar mane of brown, tumbling down his back. How you longed to run your hands through that lovable mane, tugging at those soft strands of chocolate brown.

Unfortunately, he was nowhere in sight. Not surprising, especially from Leona. As soon as you two arrived, he trudged off into the gardens, mumbling something about not being fond of crowds.

A great big grumpy kitty cat. You stifle a laugh, before setting foot on the grass. Blades of leaves crinkle before your touch, drops of dew slipping into your toes. The smell of freshly mowed grass wafting from below, you start walking towards the gardens.

You come across a water fountain, shrouded in the shadows. Half of it was engulfed in vines of ivy, its green tendrils creeping across the edges. A trickle of water, spilling out from its basin. In the faint moonlight, you could make out the golden shimmer of coins.

A wishing well. How romantic.

You opt to take a seat here, massaging your tired legs. Rather ironic, how you’re the one running after Leona.

Come to think of it, this was the way you two have always been. The Master chasing after their butler, not the other way around. He’s always been an independent butler, for better or for worse. That haughty manner wasn’t exactly ideal for a servant.

Yet you kept him around. Old feelings die hard. Leona’s been nothing but loyal. Despite the way he seemed to bat you around like a cat’s toy, you trust him.

Odd, isn’t it?

A rustle of leaves has you whipping behind, shoe in hand. Raised up, ready to hurl those accursed shoes at whoever dared to approach.

A pair of gloves hands, held up in surrender. Black leather gloves that only covered half of his palm. Half lidded emerald eyes regarded you lazily, a lion’s tail swishing behind him.

You drop the shoes, shoulders relaxing.

“Leona.”

Your butler grunts in response, before he takes a seat next to you. His tail dips into the fountain, before flicking up with a sharp motion. Water droplets pelt your face, sparkling like diamonds.

A chuckle, deep as dark velvet wine.

“Thought you’ll play royalty in that stuffy room a little more. You robbed me of a good nap, Master.”

He gives you a once over, before his gaze stopped at your feet. You didn’t realise how bad it was, until then. Your ankles rubbed until it was a raw, startling red.

Clicking his tongue, Leona slides off the fountain, dropping to his knees. His hands reach for your feet, fingers wrapping around your ankle. Gently, he pushes and prods, rubbing comforting circles into your feet.

“You shouldn’t have worn those shoes. Bet you limped all the way here, like some injured deer.”

Averting his eyes, you mumble something about wanting to impress. That earns you another click of the tongue, Leona switching over to your other foot.

“What’s the point of sucking up to them? You’re worth more then all of those prissy upstarts in that room.”

That gets a laugh out of you. Leona shoots you a smug grin, before he brushes his lap, before pushing himself back onto his feet.

You attempt to do the same, hands flat against the marble of the fountain. Gathering all your strength within your arms, propping yourself upright. However, your legs had other plans. Your knees buckle, giving out from underneath you.

Landing onto the grass with a thump, your cheeks grow boiling hot. A chuckle, before Leona squats down next to you. Stretching out his arms, his hands find the small of your back, and the back of your knees. Lifting you up, he cradles you close to his chest. Close enough to feel his heartbeat, thumping through his chest.

One beat, two beat. You listen to that steady rhythm, until your heartbeat melts into his.

Your two hearts beating as one.

Leona leans in, his lips pressing against your forehead.

“Come on.

Let’s go home, Master.”

[yelshin]

FRIENDLY SLEEPOVER | MLIST

﹙SCARAMOUCHE/WANDERER X FEM READER﹚

An: big credits to that one person(aka @/yourlocalstranger123) who gave me this idea and motivation UwU(it came out/not me)

Tw: grammatical errors (its me using grammarly/j)

Feeling lazy to get out of your bed and do your routine you decided to stay and cuddle with your kitten, not long after your phone rang and it turns out it was Hu tao! You answered the call feeling lazy to speak up.

"Hey [Name]! Wanna hangout again?" You could literally hear Yoimiya and Ayaka at the background giggling at each other, you stare down at your cat who's sleeping peacefully and god he's just so cute! You can't just leave him alone (if ykyk).

You cleared your throat making sure your voice sound raspy before answering Hu tao "I'm really sorry Hu tao but... Cough I can't hangout with you guys because im..sick." you excused and you could feel Hu tao frowned through the phone "Alright! But make sure to rest well and hope you will be better so that we can hangout again! Take care [Name]!" She ended the call and you found your self giggling while rubbing your nose to Kuni's head squealing in happiness

"Now that im 'sick' you and i can spend time together!" You hugged Kuni tightly. While you two are busy cuddling you suddenly heard someone knocked on your door, feeling the momment is ruined you're a little bit mad because the audacity of this person interrupt your momment.

You opened the door to see the construction worker(?) "We got all materials miss, we can start building the room now" You smiled at them before stepping aside and let them do the work.

"meow" your kitten meowed while hiding under your pillow while the loud sound of drilling machine irritates him so much that your pillow is full of scratches but you don't mind, you can just buy new ones anyway.

"Kuni i know its loud and annoying. As much as i want to go out of house right now i cant risk being caught by Hu tao and the others especially i faked my sickness.." if ever your friends caught you red handed they will drag you more on hangouts meaning you wont get to spend time with your cat and you don't want that!

Kuni got out of the pillow before hopping off the bed and sulks on the corner (just like the 3rd pic above) while he let out small meows and you felt bad, but thank god your brain works faster when it comes to Kuni instead of your homework (this is true fight me if disagree) you walked up to Kuni before picking him up and go to the nearby 7/11 (i love 7/11) and eat ice cream and ofc to take break from the noises (not that noises.. what're u thinking?🤨or is it js me)

"[Name]?" You flinched at the voice behind you; turns out it was your long time friend Xiao! 'What a coincidence that he's here at 7/11..' you usually found him eating almond tofu alone at the roofs but its not like you're not happy to see him

"oh hello Xiao" you greeted, ignoring the fact Xiao and your cat are sending daggers at each other (imagine Xiao is also a kitten that [Name] adopted before kuni🤔🤔🤔 thoughts???) 'whos this little cat think he is?' Xiao thought and have a little chat with you and bid goodbye after.

"Now..." You turn your head to Kuni who's pawing your stomach wanting your attention all over him "you wanna go home? But its still-" "Meow." You sigh and drag Kuni along with you at your house to be greeted by a loud noise again .

It has been weeks and now Kuni's room is finally done. You decided to invite your friends including Xiao, you just thought of inviting him since he's always lonely (idk id i should laugh or feel bad💀)

You heard your doorbell rang and you quickly rush to open it to see your friends having their own pajamas and some blankets for the pillow fort. "Its nice to see everyone being present well come in! Make yourself comfortable."

Well they didn't expect a grumpy cat greet them across the living room. Yoimiya and Ayaka look at each other; sweatdropping

"haha..maybe your cat doesn't want us to be here [Name].." you brush it off before saying "don't worry he's like that when he sees new faces"

"LOOK AT HIM GO!" You clapped while standing proudly like a parent watching their child have baby steps while Kuni tried his best to impress you by standing for 10 seconds "YOU GUYS SEE THAT RIGHT?? ISN'T HE SOOOO CUTE!" you cooed while giving your cat some treats and the others look so done.

"i regret going here."

"hello brother? Yes i wanna go home-"

"..."

"is it possible to give myself a coffin discount?"

"now do you guys wanna play a game?" You turn your head to your friends while they awkwardly look at you "Yeah! But i think we need some snacks because playing games without snacks are boring" Yoimiya answered "Alright! I'll go to 7/11 to buy some snacks while y'all stay here and think of any game." You got up before grabbing your wallet to buy some snacks.

Kuni look at the door before transforming to human Infront of your friends (yall dw he have clothes and dont ask me how🥰)

"WH-WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Hu tao shrieked along with the 2 other girls while Xiao have wide eyes. Scaramouche sigh before looking at them with bored eyes "WHO ARE YOU?! ARE YOU [NAME]'S CAT?? BUT HOW一"

"Yes its me [Name]s cat. Got a problem?" It took like a minute for the others to calm down and realized the situation 'does [Name] know about this?' Ayaka thought as they heard the door opened.

"Hey guys im back一"

An: hehehehehehehe CLIFFHANGER BCS YES. Also i need some requests bcs im bored and now that my mailbox is open y'all can send requests now! Also this one is rush jajjajaajwunebdkeusndbf

Taglist: (the bold ones are the one i cant tag.) @thetwinkims @sunsethw4 @etherisy @kunikuzushicandegrademefr @Heiijoxz @eliciana @naritecs @kkazuyass @itztaki @makilovescofi @louise-rosita-leroux @w9vyy @lystaaa @midoriapologist @lilithticalx @red-chester @yushiu @raideneiari @scaraapologist @kxr0mi

[astra-ella]

𝐙𝐎𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

fandom: haikyuu ship: nishinoya yuu x oc/reader status: complete ao3 link

"I think you're really pretty. Will you go out with me?" That was the first thing he's ever said to her. And needless to say, Amari Chiyo was not impressed. So as promised, Nishinoya Yuu will get to know her better and confess again. And again. And again. And again. It'll take 6 years and 9 confessions, but he'll get there. Eventually.

⌦ content: fluff, light angst, love at first sight, friends to lover, slice of life

⌦ note: you are free to insert yourself into Chiyo, just keep in mind she has her own character/backstory. i know some people don't like that, so just a heads-up.

story masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

The fifth time he confessed was a little less than a year later — a few months into their first year of high school.

After a few grueling months of study sessions and a little bit of luck, Nishinoya barely managed to scrape by on the entrance exams. They went to the results board together on that cold winter day, along with Hotaru and Kaito. Neither of the kids were surprised to see Chiyo’s number there, but when Kaito somehow caught Nishinoya’s exam number on the bottom right while perched on his shoulders, they celebrated with so much enthusiasm Kaito nearly lost his balance and fell off.

So when April rolled around, Nishinoya and Chiyo were once again attending the same school. Though with Chiyo’s better grades, she ended up in Class 1-4 – a college preparatory class – while Nishinoya was put in Class 1-2.

The day club applications began, Nishinoya immediately joined the volleyball club. He encouraged Chiyo to join a club of her own or even run to become a class rep again like she had in middle school, but she refused.

Instead, she put all her energy into applying for a part-time job. She was hired at a small media and repair store near school, run by a little old lady and her grumpy calico cat. They sold all kinds of electronics, from old VHS tapes to the newest gaming consoles. They also had a huge catalog of DVDs that the old lady often insisted Chiyo borrow for the week to watch on her own. 

Despite the two of them being in different classes and volleyball practice running longer than they did in middle school, Nishinoya’s visits never stopped. He’d drop by after a quick text, eat dinner, do homework, play some volleyball with Kaito, watch a movie then head home for the night. He became such a regular presence that even Chiyo’s father, who was rarely home due to his busy schedule, knew his name and often included his portion whenever he brought back desserts for the kids. 

Chiyo would scold him, telling Nishinoya to go home to rest and that his body must be tired after a long day of volleyball and school. To which Nishinoya would simply remind her that he had to return the lunch box she brought him. Something Chiyo started doing after she found out Nishinoya often only bought banana bread for lunch from the school store.

And that day, Chiyo was on her way to the gym as usual. She preferred to deliver his lunch in the mornings, right after she got to school. Like that, she wouldn’t have to spend her lunch time trying to track him down between the classroom, the gym, or the vending machine.

As she climbed the staircase, she could hear the sharp screeches of sneakers scraping against the gym floor. Despite not being a powerhouse school, Karasuno seemed to take volleyball pretty seriously. 

“Nishi-”

“Kiyoko-san!” Before she could call out to him, the sound of two boys’ boisterous voices interrupted her. She instinctively hid around the corner so as not to bother them. It took a second before it registered in her head that one of the two voices belonged to Nishinoya. 

“Kiyoko-san, do you need any help carrying anything?” Someone asked.

“Kiyoko-san, you look beautiful as always today!” Nishinoya shouted.

“No thanks.”

Chiyo felt her heart drop.

She snapped her head around in time to see Nishinoya and a boy with short, fuzzy blond hair run up to a girl just as she entered the gym from the back door. He wasn’t kidding. With shoulder-length black hair and large black eyes, the girl had an air of adult maturity to her, someone who was stoic and passionate yet aloof with their intentions.

Suddenly, the name Kiyoko jogged her memory. Nishinoya had mentioned her during dinner a few months back when he told her all about the club. Her name was Shimizu Kiyoko and she was their one and only manager. 

He spoke highly about her, going on and on about how pretty and responsible she was. But Chiyo had always sort of disregarded his comments. After all, Nishinoya did the same thing with a character in their old literature textbook. But seeing him fawn over another girl, a real one at that, made Chiyo’s heart clench with an emotion she couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

“Guys, stop bothering- Oh!” An upperclassman with short brown hair approached the gym from behind her. “Hey, are you looking for someone?”

Chiyo blinked. “Um, I’m looking for Nishinoya. I have his lunch.”

“Nishinoya!”

“What is it, Daichi-san, ah!” Nishinoya’s eyes lit up upon seeing her. “Amari!”

As he began to make his way over, Chiyo suddenly felt the urge to run. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and in the moment, she wanted to be anywhere but there. But she still had his lunch in hand, and there was a part of her that stubbornly wanted to complete the delivery.

“Here,” she shoved the neatly-packed boxed lunch in his hands, not even bothering to make eye contact. “It’s leftovers from last night, so don’t expect too much.”

“I’m sure it’s delicious,” Nishinoya took the box and grinned. “Thanks as always!”

“Noya-san, this girl’s always bringing lunch for you. What’s up with that?” At this point, the boy with blond hair began to approach them. His eyes then widened as an idea dawned on him. “Wait, don’t tell me she’s your girlfriend or something?!”

“She’s-”

“No, I’m not!” Before Nishinoya could respond, Chiyo cut him off perhaps a bit too loudly. “I’m just his middle school classmate. I’m only making him lunch 'cause if I don’t he’s just gonna end up buying banana bread for lunch and be short forever.”

“Excuse me?!” 

“You have your lunch now, right?” Meeting Nishinoya’s offended look with a sharp one of her own, Chiyo quickly turned on her heel. “I’m leaving. Bye!”

She walked briskly away, feeling more and more breathless the further away she got from the gym. She wanted to outrun it all, the sound of her beating heart, the emotions that bubbled in her chest and the hot tears that pricked at her eyes. When she saw Kiyoko, all she could think about was the day he first confessed to her under the cherry blossoms nearly three years ago. She had warned him that he would lose interest overtime. But when faced with reality, she felt like she was the one who lost something.

Her steps slowed as she reached her classroom. It then occurred to her that this wasn’t anything new. Nishinoya has been fawning over other girls for as long as she’s known him. And thinking back on it, the only reason he gave for confessing to her initially was because she was pretty, nothing more. 

A classmate opened the door, cocking her head curiously at Chiyo who stared up at their classroom tag in a daze.

“Amari-san? What’s wrong?”

Chiyo looked at her.

“Boys are stupid.”

After her shift at the media store that evening, Chiyo was surprised to find Nishinoya waiting outside with two soda-flavored popsicles.

She initially thought that he wouldn’t want to speak to her for at least a good while, after how strangely she behaved in front of his teammates. But to her surprise, he simply gave her his usual greeting and smile before tossing the extra popsicle in her direction. 

“Come on, let’s go home.”

“Oh, okay…”

As they set off, Nishinoya tore his popsicle packet open and began chomping down. Chiyo watched him, fidgeting at the sound of crinkling plastic.

“Hey, Nishinoya,” she swallowed hard. “I’m sorry about what I said today.”

He gave her a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I… I called you short in front of the entire volleyball team,” she murmured, still refusing to make eye contact. “I didn’t mean it. I was just in a bad mood and I… I’m just really sorry.”

"Oh, what, that?" Nishinoya scoffed. "Don't sweat it, it's whatever. Kaito's been calling me that for like a year."

“Kaito’s still young,” Chiyo shook her head. “But I… should’ve known better than to make petty remarks like that.”

“Like I said, don’t worry about it,” he waved a hand before quickly finishing his popsicle in two bites and checking the stick. “Dang, another dud.”

Chiyo’s lips quirked up a little before falling. “So Shimizu-senpai, huh?” She opened her popsicle packet. “She’s really pretty.”

“Wait, you know Kiyoko-san?!”

Nishinoya sounded so excited and Chiyo felt a lump forming in her throat. “I saw her when I dropped off lunch for you today.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” he tossed the wooden stick into a public trash can. “Yeah, she’s super pretty, isn’t she? A literal goddess. I heard she’s been the club manager since last year.”

Chiyo nodded before averting her eyes, pretending to admire the street view she’s seen more than a hundred times already. “Well, I better not hear any more of your random confessions from now on,” she said half-jokingly.

“Huh, what are you talking about?” Nishinoya stopped walking. “I still like you, Amari.”

Chiyo nearly dropped her popsicle. She turned to look him in the eye. 

He was dead serious.

“Why would you say something like that?” She snapped, immediately losing all composure. 

Nishinoya cocked his head to the side. “Because it’s true.”

“What do you mean ‘because it’s true’?” Chiyo’s eyes widened with exasperation. “You were literally just gushing about how pretty Shimizu-senpai is. Don’t tell me you’re like one of those sleaze bags in shoujo manga that’ll flirt with anyone you find even mildly pretty.”

“What? No! I mean yeah, Kiyoko-san is pretty and all. But,” he then thumped his chest with a confident smile. “In the end, my heart will always belong to you.”

Her lips parted slightly.

“Don’t say stuff like that, you idiot!” Those were the first words she found herself able to say. “You idiot. You’re such an idiot! The biggest idiot that’s ever existed in the history of idiots!”

“I’m not an idiot!”

“Yes, you are! You’re a shallow, stupid idiot!” Chiyo shouted back, trying to ignore the sore feeling in her nose. “You can’t tell me you don’t have even a little bit of a crush on her. I saw you and that blond kid trying to get all cozy with her. You even call her by her first name even though you’ve only known her for like, what? Two months?”

“Amari, I-”

“I’m completely fine with being friends with you, Nishinoya,” she cut him off, trying her best to avoid his pointed gaze. “I just… I don’t want to date someone who only wants to get to know me half-heartedly.”

Nishinoya rubbed his forehead, eyes flickering up to glance at the setting sun. Taking a deep breath, he then gingerly took her hand and pried her fingers off the hem of her jacket sleeve.

“Look, Amari,” he spoke as softly as he could. “Kiyoko-san to me is more like… a goddess. Someone you put on a pedestal and admire, but still way outta your reach. But when I’m around you, I feel… way more comfortable. Like when I get to see you at home cooking dinner, not giving a damn about your hair, and getting mad at us, I get really happy. Cause it feels like a side to you that only I get to see.”

He looked up to see Chiyo’s dark blue eyes glassy with what seemed to be tears.

He mentally cursed himself.

“I get what you mean though,” he gave an awkward chuckle. “I mean I literally asked you out the day we met without knowing anything about you. But I promised to get to know you better, and you know…” there was a faint tug at his lips. “The more I get to know you, the more I like you. So trust me. I’d never ask you out with anything other than pure intentions, m’kay?”

Chiyo felt her heart stop as he smiled at her. Her breath was caught in her throat, and when she reminded herself to breathe again, her heartbeat became so erratic she was sure the entire prefecture could hear it. 

“Y-You idiot!” Those were the only words that came out when she found her voice again.

“Wha-?” Nishinoya looked genuinely confused. “Why am I still an idiot?”

“Because you just are!” Chiyo turned away, biting down on her popsicle in a feeble attempt to stop the rising heat in her cheeks. She couldn’t understand how he could say something so cringey with a straight face. She then peeked over her shoulder, watching as Nishinoya became lost in thought, wondering exactly what he said that made him an idiot.

“But… Do what you want, I guess,” she murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

Nishinoya’s eyes lit up.

“You got it!”

After that little kerfuffle, the two of them continued on their way home under the setting sun when Nishinoya spoke again.

“But you know, if you wanted me to call you by your first name, you could’ve just asked.”

Chiyo averted her gaze. “When did I ever say that?” 

“You got all jealous over how I call Kiyoko-san by her name,” he reminded her with a mischievous grin. “Come on, I’ll start calling you by your first name too.”

“I wasn’t jealous,” she grumbled.

“Come on, Chiyo.” Ignoring her obviously false remark, Nishnoya poked her arm. “Say it. Yuu~”

Chiyo’s eyes wandered from their surroundings to Nishinoya to her feet. She pressed her lips together, struggling for a moment to find her voice.

“Y-Yuu…” Her voice was barely a whisper. 

Satisfied, Nishinoya smiled. “I like you, Chiyo.”

story masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

[thenerdnextdoorxo]

Avengers x reader

The reader is very serious and monotone and the Avengers are doing stuff to try to illicit a reaction out of her and nothing is working then one day in a mission they find out she’s only soft for cats or dogs when she finds either a kitten or a puppy and her demeanor just takes a full 360 and they’re just lost and she’s lost on why they’re lost bc she’s so enamored with the small animal

This is hilarious

You and the avengers sat at the meeting room, discussing your next mission. You sat beside Nat and Bruce. Hearing Tony babble about the mission makes you want to get up and leave. He never goes into serious mode. Always making jokes instead of actually giving instructions.

Ever since you joined the avengers, you never got along with any of them. All of that for one reason. Your personality. You have the same personality as the grumpy cat meme. You are always trying to get the job done no matter what. Meanwhile, the avengers favored getting a break here and their. You also where know for your monotone voice. Whatever the situation is, your voice would always be emotionless.

"Okay, any questions?" Asked Tony after explaining the plan. No one answered back so he took it as a no. "Okay, shall we?" Tony asked and all of you nodded and walked outside the meeting room to get ready for the mission. You grabbed your daggers and slipped them inside your leg pocket and grabbed your favorite gun and slipped it inside your belt. "Nice choice," Nat complemented at your choice of weapons. You just looked up at her and nodded.

Some of the avengers, like Nat, Wanda, Steve, Bruce and Bucky tried to get along with you, and the reason being is that you are part of the team, and its important for all of you to get along in order to work better as a team. But all their efforts has gone to waste since you don't really care.

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

After spending 30 minutes on the quinjet to reach the wanted location, all of you hopped off of it and went straight to your locations. Your location being at the lab. Since you are one of the best avengers at sneaking, you got the job of getting the wanted serum from there. As you sneaked in, you realized that the scientists working there are not injecting people with that serum. No, they are injecting animals. Small animals where setting at the corner of their cage, shaking from fear after seeing other animals getting injected and turning into some mutated beast.

To say that you were angry would be an understatement. You were fuming. The site of bunnies and puppies and kittens going through this is so painful it made you tear a bit. Without thinking, you ran to those scientist and started taking them down one by one, not caring if you are being heard from the outside or not. After taking them all down, you walked to the cages and broke them open one by one. The little animals were hesitated at fist but then they all slowly walked out. All accept one kitten. That kitten was pushing itself to the wall, afraid.

You started slowly walking to it, trying not to scare it. "Hey little buddy," You said, slowly reaching your arm to it. The kitten somehow felt safe around you and slowly walked to you. "There you go, it's okay," You said taking the kitten in your arms and stood up walking to the door. You heard footsteps the more you walked closer to the door and when you opened it, you saw your teammates standing in shock.

"Are you okay?" Asked Steve. "We heard a commotion coming from here," He added. "I'm okay, I just had to take down a few scientists, they were hurting these poor animals," You explained. "The animals were so small and scared I couldn't help but go out of plan and attacking them,"

They were all shocked. You, the no-emotion, monotone, you. Went out of the plan to save a few animals. Wanda smiled a bit at that, she knew you were kind behind that tough face.

"We should pick a name, I was thinking of Lapis, what do you think?" You asked.

"Sounds great," Natasha answered.

================================================

Guess who has a quiz but is writing a fanfic instead :))))

My requests are opennnn

<3333

[streaminn]

AAAAA wait!!! I just got THE idea for grumpy black kitten Wednesday!! Also it’s literally midnight as I’m typing this because when else am I gonna get the good ideas lol

Anyway, we focused a little on the behavior of Wednesday after learning of her new reputation and then the new biological advantages she gets from being transformed by a witch student, giving her more cat-like biology.

But,,,, and hear me out…

After the transformation, it’s not just her body that shifts, but also her mannerisms. So sometimes she’ll just start staring at random corners, like there’s something there that no one else can see or she’ll just find small little nooks and crannies and tuck herself into them even though it seems almost physically impossible for her to be comfortable in any way (she still is though somehow)

At first, these don’t really set off any alarms as they could both just be considered normal Wednesday things

That is, until late one night. In wenclair’s shared dorm, Enid is suddenly woken up by the sound of loud skittering and the occasional sound of stuff bumping into each other. She opens her eyes to see Wednesday quickly dashing around the room, stopping and staring at nothing every now and then.

Midnight. Zoomies.

AAAA THE BRAINROT HAS ROTTED ONCE AGAIN!!!

All I can see is Wednesday speedwalking around 😭 like I don't think she'd ever go on fours like Enid so that's the best you'll get

[abbatoirablaze]

How To Make A Werepanther Jealous, Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 712

Warnings:  jealousy, implied smut. 

“Bucky…you don’t have to stare at Alpine in your panther form to intimidate him…he’s a three-week-old kitten.  He’s not going to murder us,” you muttered, shooting your boyfriend a look.  His large, muscular panther form didn’t move an inch from the corner he’d chosen to pout in.  But his eyes slowly glanced at you, as if to contest your statement.  You sighed, “Bucky…just because we found out Alpine is actually a boy-“

“Daddy is jealous,” his four-and-a-half-year-old son smirked, “you give Alpine all the loves and daddy’s mad because Alpine gets it and not him…”

“Alpine is three weeks old, Bucky,” you said incredulously, surprised at how your boyfriend, the alpha of his very own pack, was jealous of a kitten that the two of you had found on the side of a road, “not to mention the fact that I’m a human and Alpine is a cat.  He’s just a baby that can’t take care of himself.”

“Daddy’s a cat,” Jasper pointed out, “he can’t take care of hisself without you, mommy!”

Bucky gave his son a grumpy chuff and Jasper giggled.

“Daddy you silly…”

You raised your brow, “what did daddy say, Jas?”

“He just said ‘mommy’s mine’,” Jasper repeated fondly, “he’s saying you’re his…and he’s warning Alpine.”

“Do you want to remind daddy that he didn’t seem to care how much attention I was giving the kitty when he thought Alpine was a girl?  When we were bottle feeding him every two and a half hours because he was a two week old baby who barely had his eyes open.”

Jasper looked at his father, and Bucky’s tail twitched angrily. 

“I think he knows, mommy…”

“Well the only housecat around here that I love…and want to date is the grumpy panther pouting in the corner, jealous of a baby kitten,” I reminded Bucky as I scooped up Alpine in one hand and put the small white kitten on my shoulder, while grabbing Jasper and balancing him on my hip.  Jasper immediately pulled Alpine into his own arms and snuggled him, “and the sooner the grumpy panther realizes his luna is his...despite how she gives attention to their shared cub and kitten, the sooner he can join mommy in our bedroom so she can tuck him in just how he likes.”

You smirked as Bucky’s ears twitched then perked up.  His tail twitched, but it wasn’t in an angry way.  You could tell by the look on his face that it was one that reminded you there was no way he wasn’t going to spine you as soon as the boys were tucked away. 

“Can you tuck me in, mommy?” Jasper asked, sending you a pout, “me and Alpine like it when you tuck us in too!”

“Of course,” you replied sweetly, nuzzling your son’s cheek.  His small purrs warmed your heart as he nuzzled you back, “I’d love to tuck you two boys in…”

“mommy…are we your favorites?” Jasper tried, pushing his luck as you went down the hall towards his bedroom; Bucky stalking behind you like you were prey. You threw a little extra sway to your hips, knowing Bucky was watching them, and he gave a low warning growl.

“Right now…you and Alpine are mommy’s two favorite boys.”

There was a grumpy chuff behind you, before you turned the corner to Jasper’s room.  You put him down on his bed.  The little white kitten immediately snuggled into his chest. 

“I’m sure daddy would say goodnight too if-”

“Goodnight boys!”

You smirked, knowing your boyfriend had changed back to his human form and had heard the conversation, but wasn’t going to make an appearance because of what would be a lack of clothing.  You kissed both of them on the forehead and wished them a good night’s sleep before pushing out of the room and closing the door behind you, only to be cornered by your grumpy, naked alpha. 

“Bucky…”

“Luna…”

“Are you done being needy?”

“I’m always needy for you luna,” he growled in a husky tone, his erection pressing firmly against your hip, while his arms kept you pressed between himself and the door, “but now that our boys are put to bed…daddy’s going to show you why he’s the alpha…and who you really belong to.”

[boxboxlewis]

For a prompt: maxiel rb teammates era, at a club celebrating, first time (of what? Up to you!)

(Btw regardless of whether you use this just wanted to say I looooove your writing. 🥰)

When Daniel wins a race his dick gets bigger. He knows that's not, like, scientific, and he'd never share his theory with anyone: Michael or Blake would absolutely rinse him. But. It's true. The evidence is in his pants.

He wins in China, starting from P6 after an absolute shitshow of a qualifying session, and it feels fucking amazing. Sometimes it's like the car is an extension of his body and as he hurls them both around the track he can feel the car working for him, racing for him, throwing itself around corners because Daniel asks it to, two tons of metal screaming its way to victory at his behest, alive to the touch of his hands and the pressure of his feet on the pedals.

He gets out of the car and he's electric. He wants to fuck the world (consensually, obviously) - make all of existence come on his dick. He feels fucking good and he’s half-hard already, heavy in his fireproofs, and he is going OUT tonight.

He makes it through weigh-in and the podium and the media and he's vibing, he's feeling good, he's laughing and slapping people's backs, he’s cracking jokes, he’s buzzing. Christian gives him a tight cat's-arse smile and says "Well done, Daniel," and Daniel thinks I'm going to FUCK your MOTHERRRRR! and smiles back and says "Yeah, thanks, mate."

Max comes up to him as he’s collecting his stuff from his driver’s room, getting ready to go back to the hotel. He hovers in the doorway, awkward, just watching Daniel, and they’ve already done their back slaps and well dones so what exactly does he want now?

Finally he says, “Do you want to—I thought maybe we could go out tonight.”

Daniel can think of few things he’d enjoy less. Babysitting his teammate on a night out? And this night out, in particular, when Daniel won the fucking race and the city owes him a good time? He says, “Whoa, Maxy. You don’t usually come out,” because that seems friendlier than leading with “No, what the fuck.” Max ducks his head, all shy like a fucking baby kitten or some shit, which is kind of hilarious given how he was driving earlier.

“I just thought—because you won maybe you would like—but of course you do not have to with me, if you’d rather—I know you have your own friends and we do not, we are teammates but maybe—”

Daniel cuts him off before he contorts himself into an awkward knot and dies. “No way, of course I want to go out with you!” he lies enthusiastically. It’s fine, he’s a god-emperor tonight, he can afford to be benevolent. Besides, he’s feeling so good even having a grumpy infant with him won’t crush the mood too much. “Finally get to see you let your hair down, yeah? Drive all the ladies in the club wild?”

Max flushes and looks at the floor. “Yeah, I guess.”

They end up at some glitzy neon-lit rooftop bar, music thumping under their feet, views across the city, beautiful people all around them, everyone laughing and dancing and young and gorgeous and alive. Unsurprisingly, Max does not in fact drive all the ladies wild. He clings to Daniel like a limpet—follows him when Daniel says “Stay here, I’ll get us some drinks”; even trails after him to the gents when Daniel goes for a piss. It’s honestly pretty weird and it’s seriously cramping Daniel’s ability to pick up, which is driving him crazy: there are so many pretty people all around them, and he wants to be kissing one of them. He wants to be grinding his big Grand Prix-winning dick against someone’s ass, he wants to be feeling alive, instead of exchanging inane small talk with his fucking teammate. “Maxy,” he says, trying to think of a nice way to say “you need to get off my dick.”

Max lunges at him, and suddenly Daniel is being thoroughly and inexpertly kissed. In the .2 seconds it takes for his brain to kick in he's already kissing back. He pulls Max to him, rubs a hand over his back, over his soft skin under his shirt, and Max shudders with it. Daniel's got a thigh between Max's legs now, somehow, and they're both hard and panting and it's not quite how Daniel had pictured celebrating his race win but: it'll do.

[musketeers-brothersinarms]

Prologue: The Hat

It was just an old, worn hat felt hat. A ragged red feather stuck out the black ribbon, and the brim had several tears and nicks in it. A tarnished keepsake, nothing more.

Small black hands clenched it tightly. Rain soaked the thin cloth as it was turned over and over, admired at all angles, wonderingly studied like a rare fossil. The little mouse, kneeling on mud-soaked cobblestone as lightning cracked in the sky, was oblivious to the world as his wide, bright eyes beheld the treasure in his possession.

“Mickey?? MICKEY!!”

Little black ears perked at his name being called. The mouse looked up as a skinny black cat, ears flat against his head, tore around the corner with a wet skid. His head whipped around for a moment, tail poofed in panic. Catching sight of the little mouse, the cat hissed in exasperation. “Les saints m'aident. Mickey, what were you thinking, running off like that? I almost lost sight of you.”

Mickey clambered to his feet, suddenly noticing how soaked through his jacket and pants were. “I’m sorry, Julius,” he said, “but look! I got the musketeer’s hat. He said I could have it, and-“

Julius scooped up his brother impatiently, wishing he could curse. “I don’t care, Mick! I’m glad that musketeer was able to help arrest those thugs, but you can’t just run off right afterward. I thought they…” He bit back a choke. I thought they took you away. “Just don’t do anything like that again. We’re going home.

Mickey squirmed around in the cat’s grip. “It’s not a silly hat, Julius!” he protested. “It’s a gift and I’m gonna wear it when I’m a musketeer someday! I… I wanna help people, just like he helped us. I wanna fight bad guys and use a sword and wear a cape. If I lose this hat I can’t be one!”

Julius softened at his little brother’s excited banter. “I’d like that, too. I’d like to help people just as much as you,” he said quietly. Instead of scrounging around the streets of Paris trying to keep you fed. “Maybe someday. But for now we need to get back to Oswald. I left him at the bakery with Monsieur Gus.”

The little mouse yawned and leaned his head on Julius’s shoulder. “I’m gonna save all of France one day, Julius. And then I’m gonna save all of England, an’ Germany, an’ the whole world…” he dozed off, and the cat sighed and shifted his weight. The rain continued to pour down, creating cold silvery sheets over Paris, as thunder rumbled like a grumpy bear in the sky. A city of misery and happiness alike, a place where anything, anything at all, could happen…

*quick author's note*

So um hi, yeah I decided on this illustrated fanfic type format. I hope everyone's okay with that. Cool? Cool. ok enjoy :D

[lokifromvalhalla]

Time and humility

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Ivar The Boneless x Reader Genre: Comfort / Fluff Words: ± 1 600

A curse leaded to Ivar being turned into a half-cat person, which he doesn't really knows how to deal with nor does his partner, but they figure it out despite how stubborn Ivar can be.

Suggested by @bragisrunes"I would love to see your take on cat ivar! smut or fluff!!!"

Took some of Bragi's story as inspo, absolutely lovely, go check his story about cat Ivar!

Not proofread! Sorry for any mistakes!

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

The unfortunate cross of ways between Ivar and that witch resulted in this curse we have no idea how to solve, but we were taught to wait, at least. You need two thinks thing; the first all things devours: birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays king, ruins town, and beats high mountain down; the second if you think you have it, you probably don't; if you have it, you probably won't know it—she had said with a spine-chilling chuckle before shooting a glare at Ivar and walking away. It wasn’t until we went back to the Great Hall that we noticed that Ivar wasn’t quite the same as when he had left his house, this time counting on the company of a tail and cat ears.

At first, it was just Ubbe and I staring at Ivar while trying to process what was happening and figure out what to do with it while Ivar sat there confused, only to be alarmed by Sigurd once he walked into the room and snorted at the moment his eyes fell on Ivar, and that’s when chaos ensued, intensified by Hvitserk also getting himself into the situation.

That was a couple of days ago. Now, we’re just making sure to keep Ivar inside the Hall and as hidden from the people as possible—under Aslaug’s orders—whilst we try to figure out a way to get him back to normal, though there’s no trace of the witch anywhere. It’s almost as if she vanished. Either way, we’re stuck with dealing with a grumpy Ivar until all of this is over. Well, either grumpy or extremely playful since he gets bored very easily; sometimes he will just show up in the corner of the room under bed covers, observing us as some sort of ghost, and start giggling as soon as someone jumps startled after noticing his presence. I would hate it if it weren’t so adorable—and maybe I spoil him more than I should, whatever Ubbe says.

Now is another one of these times; I could hear the characteristic sound of Ivar dragging himself down the hall under the sound of indistinct chatter and people walking, and soon the figure settles down by the corner of the room.

For a moment, I cogitate pretending to get scared, but I save myself time and also the inconvenience. “I’m nowhere near done yet.” The coins make a muffled sound that cuts through the room when I push them down the wooden table to a small pile.

Ivar whines, huffing as he pulls the cover over his head for a moment. “You don’t need to do those, anyways.”

“It’s not like that.” I roll my eyes. “I’m not here for free, even if I’m a great friend of the family.”

“Even mother told you to get that idea off your head already!” He clicks his tongue, his ears shifting under the cover. “Can’t you do that tomorrow or anything? I’m sure no one will mind!”

“Ivar, the things won’t buy themselves!” I scoff, taking the coins in hand to shove them inside the small bag. “And you won’t survive a night without that tea that soothes the pain, you know that!” I shoot a glare at him before I can start sorting out the other objects I got for trading to make sure Hvitserk didn’t forget to get me anything this time.

“Can’t you send Ubbe to do that?”

“You know he’s busy with the newcomers.”

“Hvitserk?”

“Training.”

“Uuh, fuck... Sigurd?” His voice is quiet and small. It almost makes my heart ache a little since the fact he’s suggesting Sigurd, resorting to the last means...

I sigh. “Hedeby with your mother.”

“No!” He groans, voice growing louder. “That means you’ll need to go out! And I’ll be here alone forever! Is this what you want, (y/n)? You want to put me under all this suffering?”

Gods, poor baby—okay, I’m being partly sarcastic, part of me still wants to cuddle him all day long. I make sure everything is in order before I get up and move to crouch down next to him, wrapping my arms around Ivar. “You know I’ll give you all the love when I come back, stop being dramatic. You’re even the reason I’m leaving, you dumbass, you’re aware only your brothers and I know the stuff to get at the market.”

Ivar hums in defeat, resting his head against my shoulder. “You’ll be spending the night with me,” he whispers.

“Of course.” I smile softly, and let my hand slip under the covers to scratch a spot behind his ears, earning myself the quiet rumbling sound of his purring that’s soon interrupted as he quietly curses, tapping my forearm a couple of times at the same moment he hears footsteps down the hall, though no one ever walks in. I chuckle, pressing a kiss to his nose. “Be good while I’m away.”

His eyes meet mine for a short moment before they’re falling to the ground and he slowly nods as the light red tone takes over his cheeks.

Even if most of what Ivar does when following me around the city when I have to do my duties is to distract me for most of the time—not like I’m completely against it, especially given the times when he’ll look at me with that crafty smirk, minutes before pulling me to a quiet corner so we can kiss until his lips are all swollen and mine tingle—, I do miss his presence a lot. It’s not as fun to walk around without anyone to talk to or someone poking my calf every two seconds so I will check something out. Of course I’m able to do everything faster, but I weirdly feel more tired than usual when I’m done. Damn witch.

The hall’s empty as it usually is at the end of the afternoon, in a great contrast to its state late at night when everyone is here for supper. A sigh escapes my lips as I let the things I brought back on top of the table and motion for a thrall to put everything away. My breath is still a little out of pace when I carefully walk into Ivar’s bedroom, making sure I’m not too noisy in case he’s asleep again—it’s nowhere easy to identify whether the figure hidden under the blanket with its swinging tail out is awake or not.

A long sigh finally escapes my nose as I take a seat on the bed, about to move to start untying my shoes when fingers digging into my sides have me jumping and screaming as my heartbeat bangs in my ears, but I’m soon grounded with the sound of giggling.

“Fuck!” I click my tongue, shaking my head, but Ivar just laughs louder, and as much as I want to join him and laugh along, I limit myself to only pressing my lips together in a gentle smile so he won’t grow so smug. “Very funny, love, very funny!”

“You should’ve seen your face!”

I roll my eyes, slapping his arm lightly. “Fuck off, hm?” I finally bend down to untie my laces and get my shoes off, and it doesn’t take long before my vest is growing loose, and I glance back at Ivar, who tugs the strings of my vest undone then scoots away to give me some room on the bed. My vest meets the ground with a heavy thud, and I finally allow myself to feel some peace as I cuddle close to Ivar, also slipping under the furs. “So? How were things while I was away?”

Ivar sighs as he rests his head against my shoulder, raising his eyebrows a little. “Boring, of course.”

“Yeah, same for me,” I hum, but soon brush away the thoughts that almost gave me headaches earlier today. One of Ivar’s strands falls on his eyes, so I try to brush it away only for him to move away from the touch and he has my knuckle between his teeth before I can notice. Fuck. The complaint I was about to groan, however, dies at my lips at the moment I notice how he’s more of chewing down on my knuckle lightly instead of biting, much like the kittens that I had found at the forest would do. Sometimes I wonder if Asa and Hali still take care of them, something I would ask Bjorn about if he showed up as often as he promises to.

A sigh escapes my lips as I raise an eyebrow at Ivar and he seems to be brought to reality by it, his eyes meeting mine while he pauses for a moment only to sink his teeth into my finger actually hard this time.

“Ivar!” I hiss, pulling my hand away with a glare that doesn’t do anything much aside from snatching another chuckle from him; I shake my hand a little until the pain is reduced to a soft throbbing and sigh, sitting up on the bed. “I’m going to sleep in the guest room if you continue like that!”

“No!” Ivar cries out with a groan, and I roll my eyes, shaking my head as I pull him close and tight so he won’t mess around again so easily. He’s still grumbling quietly when snuggling closer, pressing his face to my neck as his hand rests on my chest, drawing patterns against it absentmindedly.

[whumpiary]

VAMPIRE TUCKER TAKE MY MONEY 💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸

just a fun little ditty while all other writing routes are blocked. thank you for the inspo/encouragement anon! definitely indirectly inspired by the likes of @deluxewhump and @ashintheairlikesnow

content warnings: blood, blood drinking, some light murder, supernatural addictive substances

-

A square of silvery light streams in through the window, highlighting dust motes, half a frame of abstract wall art, a stain of bright red on tangled white bedsheets. Almost everywhere else, the blood is rendered dark and colourless by the shadows. But in that one little quasi-spotlight, it shows its colour: vibrant and enticing. Full of theoretical life. The hand of the body it was drained from, of course, lies lifeless and perfectly manicured atop the mess, the pale skin turned almost luminous by the glow of the streetlights and the moon.

It’s all quite artistic nonetheless, Tucker muses. Shame he doesn’t have a camera.

He wipes his mouth clean on a blanket before dropping it to the floor without ceremony. His meal had been a messy one tonight. It had wriggled.

He idly sucks his fingers clean of blood, picking up a book from the bedside table of their would-be host before putting it down again. He picks up a small metal trinket and does the same. An old ticket stub, a picture frame, an uncapped bottle of cheap perfume. All human’s little knick knacks were the same.

Up on the windowsill, his companion sits perched, not unlike a cat, a silhouette of bent knees and shoulder length curls from the moment they’d been welcomed inside, when their host had asked him if he wouldn’t be more comfortable on the arm chair in the corner. Such courteous last words.

Tucker, frankly, is sick of all the pouting.

“Come on Cassius,” he sing-songs. He licks blood from where it’s pooled in his palm. “Come get your supper from the nice dead lady.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh,” Tucker tuts, bottom lip jutting out in an utter mockery of sympathy. “I don’t believe you.”

The little thing curls his arms around himself, curling oversized jacket tighter around his body. “M’not.”o

He shivers as he’s doing it, letting out a little huff of breath that would fog the window if he were mortal. Tucker closes the distance between them slowly, licking blood off his fingers with each deliberate step.

“You know if you had a little drink you wouldn’t feel so cold,” Tucker says. He walks fingers up Cassius’ arm, only to get shrugged off when he gets to the shoulder. “Or so grumpy.”

“I’m not-“ Cassius huffs air through his nose again. “Fuck off, alright? I’m not cold. I’m not hungry.”

“But you are grumpy.”

Cassius tries for a little shove. It’s far too easy to step sideways and have him miss, tumbling forward off the sill as he over corrects. Tucker doesn’t give a chance to steady himself. He grabs his hair and pulls him backward, kicks his knees out for good measure so he can look down on him. He always likes looking down on him.

Cassius claws at Tucker’s hand, baring teeth, cute little fangs on display. Tucker smiles down at him, serene and satiated from feeding. He feels a little blood-drunk tonight, a fun floaty feeling sitting hand in hand with the sudden rush of strength and vigour.

“You’re being a baby,” he says with a sigh as Cassius writhes in his grip, far too weak to actually get anywhere. If he’d had a little drink maybe he’d have been able to put up more of a fight. He hadn’t had a nip in near three days.

“You didn’t have to kill her.”

“Oh is that what this is about.”

“You said it wouldn’t be like this.”

“I said it didn’t have to be like this, not that it never would.”

“I don’t think that’s why you’re so grumpy, though,” Tucker murmurs, almost conspiratorial. “You didn’t mind the killing on Friday.”

Cassius tugs a little against the grip in his hair, sneering. “That was different.”

“Why?” Tucker says absently as he straightens the fold on his sleeve. “Because he sleazed on you?”

He gets a glare for that one. “No.”

“Me think the boy doth project too much,” Tucker muses. He taps the little thing on the nose, laughing again as Cassius swipes at him like an irritated cat. “No, no. I know what you need. And it has nothing to do with your little vigilante vendetta situation, does it?”

Cassius gives him a flickering glance, far too transparent, before looking away again, glaring out the window at the here-and-there raindrops spattering the glass. The apparent nonchalance doesn’t cover the itch needling just below the surface though. It’s obvious. Tucker knows what he wants. He knows what he needs.

Tucker brings his own hand to his mouth, eyes on Cassius as he presses the pad of an index finger to the very tip of one fang. He feels the familiar pierce the flesh. The sweet, sharp sting of a needle point. And Cassius can smell it. It’s there in the minute flare of nostrils. The tiny parting of his lips as he sucks air in. Thirsty boy.

Tucker brings his hand down to inspect the single droplet of blood swelling up on the curving swirls of his own fingerprint, “You want dessert before dinner, sweetheart?”

Cassius keeps his eyes averted, pressing his little lips back together until all that’s left is a thin line of a mouth. He shakes his head, dark little mane of curls tugging in Tucker’s grip.

Tucker tuts his tongue, pouting again for a moment before bringing his hand closer in to Cassius’ face, “You sure, baby?”

He can barely contain his amusement at Cassius’ twisting hands, white knuckled around the hem of his own hoodie, at the little twitch of his nose as he tries not to smell it, tries not to look. Another little shake of the head.

He was good at denial, Tucker could grant him. Years of practice from a sire who kept him hooked on vampiric blood while refusing to turn him properly all the while. What did that do to a person, exactly? Turn them into something unlike a person at all, he was sure. Even for the likes of them.

Tucker hums in thought. He reaches his hand forward, dragging the droplet of his own blood over the little thing’s lips, an uneven line over the Cupid’s bow, dragging down at Cassius’ bottom lip for a moment as he goes, his teeth glinting in the glowing light.

And that does it, doesn’t it? Another little intake of the breath, deeper and more primal than the first, and Cassius’ eyelids flicker. His eyes snap to Tucker’s with naked hunger, pupils dilating wide and black as a predator’s ready for the hunt. If the thing had a pulse, Tucker’s sure he’d be able to hear it from where he stands.

Cassius lasts maybe a second longer before his pink little tongue darts over his lips, laps up the blood. He’s desperate for it. Stranded in the desert, ten miles from water.

He lurches forward for more only for Tucker to pulls his hand right back with a grin, “What do you say, sweetheart?”

There’s barely enough hesitation for the thing to swallow. “Please.”

Tucker laughs, the sound melodic against the uneasy rhythm of the rain picking up outside. He brings his mouth to his wrist, fangs piercing the flesh there with ease. It’s a good thing he still has one hand keeping Cassius’ head in place or he’s not unconvinced the young little creature wouldn’t snap up and bite just to get his fix faster. So cute when he’s deseprate.

As it is, he suckles on to Tucker’s wrist like a starving pup on a teat as it’s offered. all that fight melting away to a deep satisfaction as he drinks, eyes closed in a surrendering bliss.

“Nothing but the best for you, hm?” Tucker croons. “My little connoisseur.”

Cassius speaks around a mouthful of wrist, “Shut up.”

Tucker hums with a smile, tilting his head as he ruffles Cassius’ hair. Cassius makes a protesting sound that fades quickly to a low vibration in his throat as he continues to drink. If Tucker didn’t know him better he’d almost call it a pur.

“When you’re ready to play nice again you’re going to clean up this mess,” he tells him. “Have a little snack for the road and then see what we can take from the good lady’s stuff to sell on. Got it?”

When there’s no response beyond the obscene suckling of blood Tucker sighs, gripping the young thing’s jaw with a thumb and forefinger pressing into his cheeks. It puckers his lips, forces him to unlatch, hazed eyes flickering up with near confusion as he refocuses on the here and now instead of his little fix.

“Got it?” Tucker prompts again.

Cassius nods in his grip, blood smeared lips parted to take in shaky, unnecessary breaths. It’s a cute little habit. His eyes can’t stay on Tucker’s face, just keep sliding to the little piercing marks on his wrist. Tucker rocks back on his heels with a plaintive hum.

“Better watch yourself,” Tucker warns him, waving his arm like a forbidden fruit. Dilated pupils follow it like a cat tracking the swing of a pendulum. “If you’re not careful, you’ll rot those little teeth.”

He taps the tip of Cassius’ nose again, the creature shaking his head like a dog to get away from it. Tucker laughs before giving his wrist back over and Cassius attaches to it like it’s the answer to life itself. Perhaps to him, it is.

There’s another little humming vibration. A noise of relief. Tucker laughs again and cards his fingers through Cassius’ hair, for once the liytle thing too enraptured to shake him off. It’s hard not to have an affinity for a thing so reliant on you, isn’t it? Made you feel godlike. Affectionate, even.

“My little junkie,” he croons. Blood smears from his fingers through Cassius’ dark hair. “What on this godforsaken earth would you do without me?”

[donthopalongfairywren]

Whumptober2022- Circle you, Circle you

When Vikkstar awakens, it’s with a stabbing, burning pain in his head. He opens his mouth to scream for help, or maybe just to tell the world how unbearable this was, how much pain he was in, the sheer agony of being torn apart and crudely put back together again like a ragdoll. Revival is as mentally taxing as it is physically, and solitude be damned, Vikkstar wants this to end. Dream and Punz never let him stay dead for long, and the afterlife or at least what Vikkstar remembers of it, is just as hellish as his current situation. But fighting back is not an option.

It is simply no use, the building where Vikkstar is kept trapped in like a butterfly pinned to a wall is far, far away from anyone else, but he screams regardless. And someone does come in, even if it’s one of the two people Vikkstar never wants to see again.

Dream’s donning a white lab coat, gloves and a clipboard. His mask is on this time.

“Good morning Vikkstar! You were out all night. How are you feeling?” Dream asks, reaching into his lab coat’s pocket to fetch a pen, which he clicks open.

Vikkstar grits his teeth, both in pain and fury. Dream knew damn well how he was feeling, but his screams of pain fell on uncaring or deaf ears. Perhaps both. It was ironic how, in desperately trying to avoid the nonstop chaos and bloodshed of the rest of the SMP, Vikkstar had likely made it so nobody would notice he or Lazarbeam had gone missing=

Dream takes a wet washcloth and dabs a bit of blood from Vikkstar’s raw lips, and he jerks back. “Stop that!”

Dream obligues, not that he has any real reason too, and backs up a few feet towards the now tightly shut door.

Vikkstar growns and rubs his pounding forehead.

“So…What did you see out there?” Dream prompted, tapping his pen against the clipboard.

“What do you think I saw? I was dead!” Vikkstar snarled with as much animosity as one could in his situation. 

In all actuality, Vikkstar wouldn’t tell Dream what he saw. Even that one act of defiance, no matter how small, was enough to keep Vikkstar going throughout the day, when all he could do was thrash around in agony on his small cot.

Dream looked visibly annoyed, and much more dangerous now, advancing on Vikkstar much like how a cat would corner its prey.

“Come on old man, surely your life isn’t that dull, you have to have something going on in your limbo!” Dream sneered, yanking Vikkstar by the arm forward. The older man grunted in pain as he was jerked off his feet.

“Fuck you.” Vikkstar hissed, wincing as a heavy boot stepped down on his already aching back.

Dream sighed in disappointment. “Look, Vikkstar, I don’t know if you know this, but we have been very courteous to your friend Lazarbeam. We could easily start the more intense experiments on him, or just straight up leave him for dead! But we brought him here, and we’re keeping you both safe.”

“Utter. Bullshit.” Vikkstar spat at Dream’s shoes, ignoring the harsher stomp he was given in retribution.

“You’re lying. Punz or some other lackey of your’s has probably killed him. I know I haven’t seen him in days for a reason!”

Dream stiffened. “Do you really think we would go through all this trouble just to kill him off as soon as we got here?” He scoffed. “But I see. I know you want to see him, but I'm afraid I can’t let you out of this room…”

“But no, you’re wrong! I mean did you even see him during your little stay up in limbo?” Dream asked.

A loud, anguished scream interrupted Dream’s musings, and Vikkstar jerked up, his stomach lurching.

his blood froze.

He’d recognize that voice anywhere. And it was Lazarbeam. Lazarbeam, his quick-tempered, grumpy friend, who was screaming in agony. The thought of what Punz might be doing made him want to sim

“Punz and I really should have gotten something to gag you two with. Don’t you agree?” Dream hums, unaffected while Vikkstar buckles, covering his ears with his hands. Maybe this is all some awful dream that he’ll awake from if he tries hard enough.

The screaming doesn’t go away. Dream looks down at him, his mask hiding any facial expression, although it wasn’t hard for Vikkstar to imagine a cruel smile on the admin’s face.

Knowing everything they did was for a reason didn’t make it feel any better, in fact it felt worse somehow, knowing he and Lazarbeam were ultimately lab rats to be tested on and discarded without a care. And nobody would see or hear because nobody cared.

But Ender, the senseless cruelty of making Vikkstar listen to his friend’s yelling as a fucked up way of prooving him to be alive, the way it felt like Dream had almost steered the conversation into that direction, as if he and Punz had been waiting for an excuse to make them suffer like this.

“Please… Stop. You’re a monster” Vikkstar rasped.

“Please what? Vikkstar, you do realize we aren’t gonna stop anytime soon right?” Dream asked, nudging him with his foot. It’s not harsh, but it’s enough to send his already frail body into a fit of hacking coughs. Vikkstar groans as blood and spittle is forcefully expelled from his mouth. Dream ignores him, continuing on in his cold voice.

“We need this book. Everything I do, I do for this book, okay?” Vikkstar winced as Lazarbeam let out another horrific scream. The drowning, the shooting, the burning, worst of all the starving. That was all for the book. Even though by now Dream and Punz were coming up with even more specific and gruesome ways to die, even though they all knew by now that the revival book worked no matter the cause of death, and that the book would mend any corpse no matter how badly mangled they were.

Dream eventually left, but the screaming didn't stop. Vikkstar’s chest hurt. His mind hurt. His heart hurt even more, as he tried to imagine his better days. 

He somehow falls into a fitful sleep despite the screaming, and he hates himself all the more for it. What right does he have to close his tired eyes when his best friend is being tortured? 

The first time Vikkstar died, it was a simple sword to the chest, his third ever death and what should have been his last. How foolish he had been to assume that. Dream brought him back after around an hour in real time, (it felt much longer in that… mockery of his cabin.) peppering him with questions.

“What did you see?”

“Did you feel pain?”

“Could you hurt yourself in limbo?”

“Were you self aware?”

Vikkstar couldn’t answer that first time, he was stunned. Dream left him, warning him that they'd try again soon, and if he didn’t answer then a punishment was soon to follow.

“Is there a greater punishment than death, though?”

“Yes,” a voice in his head told himself. “Watching your friend die instead.”

Do you think they’ll test old age on us? Vikkstar wondered numbly as he tried to clean the splatters of brain matter from where Dream had shot him with a flaming arrow off the wall. Dream stood behind him, tapping his foot. Vikkstar still didn’t know where Lazarbeam was. He didn’t want to know.

Dream, for all his calculated cruelty and cold, detached persona, did have a sadistic streak. Vikkstar learned that first hand when he witnessed Dream beating Tommy black and blue.

Regret seized his chest for what he could have and should have done. He ignored Tommy’s desperate cries for help and mercy.

He didn’t want to get involved. Lazarbeam shook his head and said “Trust me, we shouldn’t intervene. Do you want to end up like Wilbur Soot?” Vikkstar had agreed.

So they cut off contact, and stayed in the relative safety of Boomerville, with only a few letters from Hbomb to serve as a reminder of the outside world. And then those letters grew scarcer and scarcer, and soon it was just the two of them.

And now, he was the one who’s screams died in uncaring ears.

[tunaverso]

Hatchi Haru Chapter #1

The sound of lazy waves cracking by the stone could be heard not so far away. The warm sunlight joined the place through the large glass windows, and the comforting smell of coffee filled the air. It was another regular morning on the Seashore Café, always cozy and welcoming. Soon, the door’s bell rang, and the chill sea breeze entered the place for a brief moment. The barista watched as their regular client joined in, taking the same seat as always by the corner of the window and getting a well-known laptop out of a bag.

- You again, shark girl? - The cat by the counter joked, as they put down a recently cleaned cup and approached the client to take their order. - Same as always?

- Same as always, Shiver. As you’re used to it, with extra cream and veeeery sweet. - The shark stuck her tongue out, and the barista giggled.

- Right to it! - Shiver announced, returning to their usual place behind the coffee machines.

Hatchi watched as their friend left to prepare their coffee. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, feeling the cozy atmosphere around her favorite working place, and pressed the small button to turn her computer on.

- Any relevant updates recently? - Shiver asked from the counter.

- Not really, but soon - The shark sighed, watching the screen. - I’m entering the last stage of it now, but the coding still needs some cleaning. I’m also waiting for Anime to figure out a character, again - she rolled her eyes, in a playful manner - depending on what she decides, I’ll need to rewrite a few things too. 

- Sounds tough being a gamedev - Shiver said, putting Hatchi’s large coffee on their table. - Y’know, you should try being a barista sometime. Smelling coffee all day, making coffee all the time… Can’t even think of coffee when I get home.

Hatchi giggled. - But I thought you loved coffee! - She exclaimed, knowing Shiver wasn’t being serious at all.

- I do, Hatchi, I really enjoy my job. I could use some more adventure, y’know, as inspiration to my stories. But Seashore pays me well, and I like it here. Some grumpy clients sometimes, but nothing that can ruin my day. - Shiver returned to the counter, and resumed cleaning cups.

- You’ll get there, eventually. Don’t give up! - The shark encouraged, before taking a huge sip on the coffee that left a cream mustache on her muzzle, soon being licked away. Hatchi then turned to the computer and began furiously typing, as usual. Shiver rolled her eyes and smiled, purring at the familiar sound of keyboard keys being tapped.

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

I'm so excited I finally started writing Hatchi Haru! the first chapter is more of an environment settling, but i'm so proud of it already <3 bringing more to you asap!