#this is look like it come from a fairy tale the way they are dancing together

[pilot-boi]

For the tans winter maiden jaune au, think we can get a snippet of him meeting with Nora? Does he start using she/her pronouns by then or is he still mostly repressing everything and using he/him?

First of all, it’s not a repression thing. I cannot stress enough that Jaune’s pronouns are he/him. Being a woman doesn’t change that. Like I said before, it took this long for his egg to crack because he feels no discomfort in using he/him to refer to himself. He is a bisexual girl who uses he/him

That being said, I’ll do my best :]

Fair warning, I got VERY carried away

Jaune’s been acting weird since he got back.

Well duh Nora, of course he’s been weird. He’s been trapped in another dimension for gods know how long with nobody to talk to. And he’s apparently a fairy tale character, from a book popular enough that even HER mom had time to read it as a bedtime story before abandoning her.

Good times.

He’s the Winter Maiden.

She’s the Winter Maiden. He? She? They? Do the rules of that even apply anymore now that even Ozpin doesn’t know what’s going on and her family met the mother of the gods?

And how did it even happen? All she knows is her leader is back with flames from blue eyes and Jaune refuses to talk about it. So does the rest of RWBY. Well, to an extent.

The death of the Winter Maiden was something that got brought up immediately, especially since no Penny came through the portal and Winter showed up with Qrow and the Ace Ops. Everyone assumed that Penny was dead, but nobody knew who got the powers.

And then RWBY returns from the dead with a flame-eyed Jaune and an impossible story. They all dance around the question in meetings. It was Cinder’s fault, they all say, and Nora believes them. But they also all glance at Jaune whose hand is tight on the hilt of Crocea Mors.

Nora is many things, but she’s not oblivious. A ditz, sure, over-exuberant, definitely. But unobservant she is not. Jaune was involved in Penny’s death. How, she doesn’t know, but she recognizes the haunted look in those eyes from dark nights in Mistral. No amount of years could dull that.

Ren has taken his turn looking through their leader, and apparently Jaune is fine. Or at least as fine as can be expected. And Nora trusts him. She trusts him more than he trusts herself these days.

But there’s still something. Something in Jaune’s eyes when they land on her, a flicker of something she can’t recognize. Or wishes she couldn’t.

Blame. Guilt. Pain. Emotions that have never been directed towards her from Jaune. Flames from blue eyes, twenty years alone, a trauma she knows nothing about.

She doesn’t know who Jaune is anymore.

And it’s that realization that pushes her to find Jaune and talk in person.

“Jaune? Can I come in?” Nora knocks on the door. The Nora-Of-Before would’ve just barged in without thinking. There’s a lot of things Nora-Of-Before wouldn’t have bothered to think about.

“‘Course, door’s open.” Jaune is sitting on the bed that’s shared with Oscar, adjusting the straps on the shoulders of the armor. “Hey, Nora. Did you need something?”

“What do I call you now?” Wow, great going, Nora. Just blurt it out.

Jaune blinks and looks up at her, visibly confused. “Um… Jaune?” Blue eyes glance over her face. “Unless something changed that I don’t know about?”

Something did change, she wants to scream. You changed. You changed and you can’t even see it because it happened when nobody was around to point it out. You were alone and vulnerable and it’s all my fault.

“Can I sit down?” she asks instead. Jaune slides over immediately, shoving the armor onto the pillow to make room for her. “Jaune, we need to talk.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“I need to get something out of the way first of all.” She looks her leader straight in the eyes. “What do I call you now?”

“Jaune. Nora I don’t-“

“No no not that,” she waves away. “Not your name, I know your name.”

Jaune chuckles. “You’d be the first.” Short, sweet, ladies love it. The whole world knows them now. Not as much as Ruby, but still. Nora can’t fathom how Jaune deals with the world knowing the fairytale title more than the name from the broadcast.

“It’s just… So much has happened, and you don’t have to tell me all of it or any of it-” The words are tumbling out of her before she knows it, before she can stop them. “-but clearly so much has happened and you’re like family to me, and I’m sorry about what happened, I’m so sorry, but-”

“Woah woah woah, slow down.” Jaune grabs her hands. Dammit, she was rambling. This is about Jaune being hurt, and here she is rambling. “C’mere.” Jaune slides her over and plops a head of white streaked curls down on her head. She can feel Jaune’s voice rumble. “You can talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I just… I don’t think I know you anymore.” And dammit why is her voice so small. She’s supposed to be the strong one. Gods, how does Jaune do this?!

Jaune doesn’t answer for the longest time, and for her it’s like having her worst fears confirmed. You’re right, you don’t know me, her leader’s silence seems to say.

“I don’t think I know myself anymore,” Jaune says eventually. “I was the Burning Knight. I still am, I guess.” There’s a pause, and Nora leans into the ratty sweatshirt Neptune lent. “I don’t really know who I am without the fairytale. It’s hard to explain.”

I don’t actually know who I am without Ren. “No… I think I get it,” Nora says. “Ren and I have been spending time apart since you…” Died. Since you died, and we buried you, and I couldn’t bring back help. But Jaune isn’t dead, she can feel the tickle of blonde curls on her forehead and the warmth through the hoodie. “I wanted to figure out who I am. I’m still working on that, but I think I get it.”

Jaune hmms.

“I’m the Winter Maiden.” It’s so matter of fact that Nora had to remind herself that Jaune’s had decades to get used to the idea. “but I still feel like Jaune Arc. I think… I think I’m a girl, but I still feel like a man.” And Nora has to admit, she’s shocked by how quickly Jaune admitted that. Other dimension therapy must be bonkers.

“So who are you?”

Another chuckle, this one failing to hide the hurt. “If you only knew how many times I failed to answer that question.”

More silence. Less stifling.

“I think… I think I’m still me.” And Nora can hear the relief. How long has her leader been dealing with identity and self all alone? Did it start in fairytale land, or did she just miss the signs? “I’m the Maiden, and I’m a girl, but I still feel like a guy.”

“Oh yeah?” Nora shifts so she can look at Jaune’s face. Blonde hair streaked with white over blue eyes. The eyes are still the same. “So you’re a woman? Like May?”

Jaune grimaces, thumps back down on her shoulder. “Girl feels right, woman doesn’t. I don’t feel… grown enough for woman.” Nora nods. Young, then old, then young again. Enough time has been stolen, it makes sense that Jaune’s had enough of being grown.

“So you’re my sister now, not my brother?” Nora asks.

She feels Jaune curl around her, long arms holding her like a teddy bear. “I don’t think I know who I am if I’m not your brother. Or Ren’s. Or Ruby, or Oscar’s.”

Who is Nora Valkyrie if she isn’t part of Ren and Nora? “It’s just a part of you,” she murmurs. How many Winter Maidens is she going to lead down this path before she reaches the end herself? “Don’t forget about the rest.”

“The rest of me feels like a guy,” Jaune replies immediately. “Not a man, not a hero just… just a guy. Or a girl. ” She can almost hear the smile behind the words. “A friend.”

“So, what do I call you now?”

“What do I call you?” Jaune shoots the question back at her. “Who are you?” And that’s not fair, ‘cause she hasn’t had two decades to work on this, she’s only had two months. And most of that time was filled up with grieving.

Although, with the white-streaks in blonde hair and the haunted look in blue eyes, Jaune probably spent the two decades similarly.

“I don’t think I know,” Nora admits.

“Me neither,” Jaune sighs. “I should probably talk to May about this. She’s the expert.”

“Probably.”

“Who do you want to be?” And the way Jaune says it, the question clearly means something. Something locked up in fairytale land and the lost years spent there.

But it’s an interesting question.

“I want to be someone who’s there for her friends,” she says. A golden portal and knuckles and throat bleeding under the force of desperation. “Someone whose friends know that she’ll fight the battles they can’t, and laugh and cry with them afterwards.”

“Sounds like you want to be Nora.”

It does, doesn’t it? “Who do you want to be?”

“I want to be someone who can help people,” Jaune says. A gleaming shield and a shattered blade, glowing hands meant to comfort and heal. “The kind of guy who can say “Everything’s gonna be alright, I’m here to help,” and people believe him.”

“Sounds like you want to be Jaune,” Nora quips back at her leader, and receives a weak laugh in response.

Him. Jaune said him.

“Do you still want to be a him? You’re a girl who feels like a guy.” She leans back against Jaune’s chest, snuggling into the warmth there. “Whatever you say, I’ll still love you.”

Silence. Nora feels Jaune shift awkwardly, sees calloused fingers pull at borrowed hoodie sleeves in front of her. “Is that like… allowed?” Theres a shocking amount of vulnerability in her leader’s voice. Like her answer will decide the rest of the future.

Oh Jaune.

There’s an immortal witch trying to kill us, time travel is apparently real, and you’re a fairy tale character. Who cares what’s allowed? It’s what she wants to say. It’s what she’s thinking. But cradling Jaune’s bleeding heart in her hands, and knowing better than she knows her name how important the opinion of her leader’s friends are, she stays quiet.

Nora looks up. Blue eyes, full of shadow and doubt. But still Jaune’s. “It’s very allowed.”

And his smile is like the sun.

[kilfeur]

Ce que je trouve sympa c'est que même si Stark n'avait aucune envie de se faire passer pour un défunt fils. Il galère moins à apprendre l'étiquette que Fern. Surtout que malgré tout, ils ont passé un bon moment à danser ensemble. Ils étaient tellement mignons !

What I find nice is that even though Stark had no desire to pass himself off as a dead son. He had less trouble learning etiquette than Fern. Especially since, despite everything, they had a great time dancing together. They were so cute!

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPxDC prompt. Fae!Danny x Jason. Dead on main. Death of a Fairy Tale. or

"Oh no! This tricky hooman stole my heart! What should I do?" *becomes a leader of his court and, just in case, overthrows the tyrant Pariah Dark in order to allow marriages with representatives of other races and live happily ever after with Jay*.

~~~~~

 “You're not allowed to be here. This is not your territory.”

Jason barely had time to catch his breath after escaping from the hot dog vendor when someone noticed him hiding in the bushes.

There were no rides for children or food vans in this park, so Todd didn't understand why anyone would cling to this territory but the guy looked at him with obvious concern. And well, after the morning's adventures, Jay didn't have any energy for another conflict at all. This kid looked pale and thin, so it didn't look like fighting with him would get him anything.

“Calm down, I'm just passing by. What's your problem, dude?”

“I live somewhere ne...here.”

Jason rolled his eyes. It's clear that the guy lived nearby, but it's unlikely that he had a house. The lack of a T-shirt and shoes hinted that in front of him was also a street rat who most likely had not yet learned how to defend his belongings. Poor guy. But this is definitely not Jason's business.

However, did he really spend the night outside in the open air? Sleeping on the bench was a last choice even for Jason. This might be acceptable options in some quiet provincial town, not in Gotham.

“I mean, what are you doing outside?”

Young Phantom checks his glamour, but finds no flaws in it. This man in front of him must be very knowledgeable and experienced, despite his young age, since he immediately recognized him as not a human being. For Danny, who lived with other fairies in Fairyland all his childhood and came to this dimension for the first time, the outside always meant the world of human. Fae shocked and upset that he was discovered so quickly. Haven't people almost forgotten about their existence? The elders would swear a lot if they found out that he had failed. The boy carefully orders the vine and clover to cover the circle of mushrooms, hiding the front door from the human. He was the only one of the entire brood entrusted by Undergrowth to start a practice in a city where there are almost no plants and sunlight, and faeling did not want to let down the mentor who took him under his wing at all.

The old Fairies claim that people are mean and narrow-minded, but Danny himself is intrigued by these creatures and therefore hopes that he will be able to come to an agreement with the boy and to continue his research without obstacles. Danny intends to take the exam for the right to be called an adult fae this decade, which means he has no right to make mistakes. But still, forcing a guy to dance until he drops dead from exhaustion or make him wander along the paths of this small green area without being able to find a way out, as he was taught to get rid of pests at home, seemed too cruel. This boy, just like him, is still a cub and he is here by accident, not to encroach on their possessions. They need not quarrel.

“Don't banish me. I'm just trying to learn.”

“To do what?”

“To steal.” Danny blushes, realizing that such honesty was unnecessary. Stupid, stupid...People know that faeries can take their names, thereby gaining power over them. Now this cub will definitely decide that he has come to cause harm and he will not be able to learn anything useful and interesting. Phantom quickly makes excuses. “Nothing important! I only borrowed trinkets and fruits.”

“You're new to this, aren't you?”

“Is it that noticeable?”

“Pretty noticeable, yes.”

The boy looked at him almost pityingly. And the Phantom didn't like it.

That's how the spirits and other fairies used to look at him when they found out he was only halfa. Because of this fact, his abilities were belittled and not taken seriously too often. What's wrong with that? He's dead just like everyone else, even if not completely.

And now he's screwed up, not even because of his nature, but because of his sluggishness. It was especially unpleasant, as it was deserved. He should have spent his time more productively, but the flowers bred with the help of humans were so interesting and talked about their longing for the sun with such sadness that fae did not dare to interrupt them.

Jason finished both of the stolen hot dogs and leaved the park. The guy still follow him and stares intently, almost without blinking.

“Stop it. What do you want?”

“I study. You seem experienced. “

“People don't really like being stared at like this, in case you didn't know. Back off.”

“Really?”

Jason was ready to be outraged that the kid thought he was an idiot but the tramp from the park looked really puzzled. It seems that if he ever had parents, they didn't care about the boy, since they didn't explain to him that atypical behavior could add him problems. The boy is lucky that Jay is an asshole only when absolutely necessary.

“You're weird. Try to keep your mouth shut near others.”

“Okay.”

Jason took a few minutes to think and sighed. Todd could not leave this strange child alone, because damn conscience would not allow it. He can't survive alone. He will either wander after some other person and become a victim of trafficking or he will be at the beck and call of some assholes in the late afternoon. Jason cursed his bleeding heart once more and promised himself that he would keep the boy by his side no longer than necessary. Jay couldn't afford to be responsible for another mouth to feed. Summer has already come to an end and it was worth starting to save a little money and store things in case of early cold weather.

“If I teach you some of my skills will you promise to stay away from the places where I…work?”

“Maybe. Is this a deal?”

“Yes, if you'll agree, idiot. “

Danny nods and his new acquaintance continues.

“First of all, we'll get you shoes and some clothes. I don't need you to pick up tetanus and some viral crap.”

Danny smiles a little, trying not to make it too noticeable. Great trick.

He nodded to indicate understanding rather than agreeing, and the boy did not ask for verbal confirmation. It seems that he is not completely hopeless at deceiving people. Phantom couldn't wait to tell Clockwork or Frostbite about his success.

They wound through streets and rooftops for a long time until they reached other man's temporary shelter, and Danny had to admit that the man's decision to borrow more clothes was very clever. Strange sharp things and narrow bags of biological fluid were found between the houses disgustingly often. The elders are right about something? Danny must admit. Some people are nasty. They didn't even clean the settlement they live in properly.

A foul-smelling device for carrying things flew into the face of fae while he thoughtfully followed the boy telling him something about removing so-called tires from the iron inanimate horses.

“Dude, stop fighting with a trash bag. You'll stand guard while I give the customer the goods, okay?”

“Fine.” To be honest, the intern was ready to cry from the injustice of life and rush home, and he was only stopped by the desire to visit the observatory, which his new acquaintance mentioned when fae complained that because of the smoke and smog the stars would probably not be visible at night.

Danny realized that he did not regret his decision when, a couple of minutes later, he heard his human quarreling with adult specimen. Judging by the conversation, the man refused to pay the price for the things brought to him and even threatened to hit Phantom's guide. Danny was annoyed by this and decided to intervene a little. To his good fortune, on the balcony of this vile man there was a pot with withering petunias and they did not mind helping lil fae teach their owner manners. A slight whiff of magic and the pot falls on the deceiver's head and human begins to choke on the roots that climb right into his mouth. Danny giggles, congratulating his green comrades on their successful revenge. Other boy doesn't waste any time and grabs the bucks that fell out of the customer's hands and orders new boy to run.

Danny spent several days with human cub and really learned a lot about these creatures. Despite the fact that such a pastime was exciting, he needed to at least create the illusion of practice the fae skills.

It is dangerous to ask a person who knows who he is about this but teachers will be upset if he does not make an attempt. And despite the fact that the people around him seem scary, Nocturn will be much scarier in anger if he finds out that Phantom is such a loser.

“Ma- Can I have your name?” Danny muttered uncertainly and immediately panicked at his own impudence. “Sorry!”

“Jason.”

Todd was in a good mood, as luck had been with him for the last few days, and the new companion was not at all as useless as it seemed to him from the beginning. He was able to hide so well that no one could detect them, and managed to bring fresh fruits, vegetables and mushrooms to their safe house. However, there were problems with the last one, since this strange dude sometimes brought toadstools and satan's boletes to their apartment, which he managed to get from unknown places. Jason thought he was going to have a heart attack the first time he caught child happily eating raw fly agaric. Indeed, if Jay hadn't found him this boy would probably have died of poisoning in that park by now. Todd had to persuade him to bring only chanterelles, which he could confidently identify as edible and not fear for their lives every time the boy tries to help find food. And his padawan really managed to find them. In Gotham. Holy shit. Maybe this park, so fiercely guarded by the boy, was another secret area for Poison Ivy's experiments? However, poisonous specimens will not be wasted either, since you never know when you will need to defend yourself without entering into a fight, but acting more subtly.

“Real name! Real one!” The boy's eyes were as big as saucers and he became very worried and waved his hands as if trying to shake off invisible sticky threads from his fingertips. “You shouldn't say your actual name! Why did you do that? You shouldn't have given it to me.”

“There are a lot of Jason's around. Why do you care about that?”

“You're not just some Jason, you're my Jason, you're important to me. It's dangerous if someone has your name. Then that someone can make you do bad things.”

Tears began pouring down boy's face and Jason was surprised by such a violent reaction. Todd doesn't think there's anything to worry about, since he didn't tell the stranger his last name. He often introduces himself in different ways. Just, for some reason, something made him be honest this time. But how would this guy know that?

“Well…You're not just anyone. We're friends. I don't think you're going to rat on me to the cops or anything. So it's okay. “ Jay tries to calm the newcomer down.

“Friends?”

“Yes. Friends forever?” Jason teasingly holds out his little finger, offering a childish oath that he recently taught his padawan.

“Forever.” The boy supports the oath, and then, after thinking for a second, leans closer to Todd and whispers. "I'm Danny, just so you know."

“Good. I'll remember.”

The young fae is overcome with euphoria. He took the name! He did it! But that was all the other boy had, apart from a rusty tire iron, so it probably wasn't right or friendly to keep it. The human cub helped him. Danny couldn't keep such a gift. He didn't even really try to get his name. “Jason is your name.”

“That's right, buddy.”

“I won't call you that name.” Where I come from, even spouses rarely know each other's names. Danny wanted to assure his friend that he should not be afraid that he would abuse his power. “ I like you so I will take full responsibility for the possession of such a gift, don't worry.”

“Hah, in order to take responsibility, you already need to at least marry me as a moral compensation, given the number of brain cells killed by your antics. “

“Well, if I have to, then I will. When we're older.”

Jason snorts and shakes his head. It's probably not love, since they're just kids, but still, Jason thinks that if all autumn evenings were like this, he wouldn't mind spending his life with Danny, snuggling closer to the boy while they both bask under the same blanket. No matter how many times a day they managed to roll in the mud and fall into the trash can, the boy always gave off a light scent reminiscent of spring greens, which reminded Todd of something warm and cozy. Maybe a home? Although when his father was not in prison yet, his house smelled more like the stench of cigarette smoke and mold.  So Danny was more like a hope for a good home that they write about in books.

On their free evenings Jason usually entertained them by reading. Danny has always been an attentive listener, reacting vividly. After stroking the battered cover of a new book he found, Jason puts it aside. He's too tired today, and  just wants to listen.

Noticing this, Danny begins to chirp about his homeland. His stories are like fairy tales, too bright and colorful for the stone Jungle. Jay realized a long time ago that his friend had something like a defense mechanism. Todd himself snapped and fought when the world was too cruel, this guy escaped to his fictional world, where he was safer and happier. His friend could have been a great writer someday. The descriptions of Princess Dorathea and her cruel brother, pharaoh with an unusual passion for technology and ultra-recyclo vegetarian queen of plants were so detailed and vivid that they seemed true. Danny's imagination contained the whole world.

When the first snowflakes fall to the ground, Danny says that this means that his friend Frostbite will soon come to pick him up. Jason is honestly not ready for such a turn of events. He promised himself that he would not be around another boy for longer than necessary, but he managed to get attached. He hopes that this statement is just another one of his companion's fantasies and forgets about it for a while.

A snowstorm is raging in the city when Danny does not return home. The snowfall does not stop for several days, and Todd realizes that his friend left him, although all his belongings are left in their apartment. He hopes that someone really came for the boy, and not that in the spring his body will be found in one of the melting snowdrifts.  After a few months, when the canned homemade vegetables carefully cooked by Danny are coming to an end, and the mold, sitting alone  in a corner of the ceiling all winter, felt the first the warm rays of the sun, Todd decides not to waste energy on useless worries and hopes.

Soon, as Danny would put it, Batman steals Jason. Todd doesn't really trust the old man at first, but he teaches him to be Robin, and, well, Robin is cool. He's magic. Robin is an urban legend, a spirit worthy of being the hero of Danny's favorite stories. Robin is Jason's connection not only to the city itself, but also to his past. Robin does not need to think about whether he should grieve not only for his mother but also for his friend. Robin is more. There is not only strength and hope in this uniform, but also memories, nostalgia and  humanness. Therefore, Todd is not ready to give up the suit, even if he understands Grayson's displeasure. Because when he goes out on a patrol, the longing becomes less, and he feels that he is getting better and closer to something important. It helps.

No.

It helped.

And then he died.

And things are getting worse by the day, hah.

~~~A few hits with a crowbar later~~~

Jason learns about a new attempt of eco-terrorism relatively late, when he is officially called to help. Even so he stays at the place of the fight before the rest of the family. Firstly, because this time Ivy decided to start destruction from the closest to Crime Alley park, and secondly because Ivy's creations always pay little attention to him. Even the famous pollen has almost no effect on Hood.

Making his way through the furiously writhing vines, Red Hood notices the enemy and realizes that it is not Ivy, but decides that he will analyze the situation during the battle and rushes forward.

“Hey! Don't touch B, you.. “Almost flying into a guy with such a familiar face, the Hood slows down sharply “... pointy-eared.”

A guy with sparkling green energy in his hand and a vigilante with a pistols in each hand freeze looking at each other.

“Man, is it you?”

Snow-white hair, glowing green eyes, transparent dragonfly-like wings and razor-sharp claws are completely unfamiliar to Todd, but facial features, expressions and a bracelet with star pendants that Jay gave Danny for his birthday, adorning one of the impressive polished horns, allow to recognize him.

“Jay! It's been a long time, my friend.” Hearing Todd's voice, despite the sound changed by the helmet, the creature calms down. “You've grown up a lot.”

“And you're still so short. Wow. And, by the way, I can't believe you're still keep it.” Red puts the safety of the guns and then points one of them at the jewellery. “It's from a dollar store, nothing special.”

John says goodbye to the hope of a day off after the mission, cursing the manners of the bat and his offspring. Is a couple of days without the risk of interdimensional conflict really that too much to ask for?

“You gave it to me. That's why it's special.”

The creature smiles and Todd feels his face blushing. It's a good thing he's still wearing his helmet. Danny looks too…magical…in every sense.

“Do you know him, Hood?” Of course, Bat cannot stay out of the conversation when nothing is holds him back.

“No.”

“Yes.”  Danny denies the statement of Hood, proudly puffs out his chest and declares. “He was my first. He calls himself Hood these days? How strange.”

Bat gasps and exhales indignantly.

Jason quickly connects the fact that his friend is definitely not human with the possibility that Danny's stories were true.

“Name!” Trying to fix the chaos that his friend is trying to involve them in, Red Hood hurries to explain. “He's talking about damn name. I'm the first one who gave...”

“Oh, come on, spoilsport. He almost believed me.” The fairy winks playfully and Jason has to do his best to focus on the mission and not on the guy. “You're my betrothed anyway. And, hey, I collected the library as a wedding gift.”

“Hm.” Hood rolls his eyes. This joke about their childhood promise would have been hilarious if he hadn't felt the old man's rising pressure behind his back. So, returning to the problem, he still needs to get these two away from each other as soon as possible. Neither Danny nor Bruce has a calm personality, and Jason didn't want to start Danny's acquaintance with Alfred by giving first aid to these dummies. “So what's all the fuss about? Are you like um.. Ivy's pet-pixie or what?”

Now John Constantine, who carefully watched the meeting from the sidelines, almost feels his blood pressure rising too. Compare faeries with garden pests. What was Batman's son thinking about, showing such disrespect? He wanted them to have more problems or what?

“Hm? Who is Ivy? I've never heard of her. To be honest, I'm only here because our gate was disturbed.” The fairy chirped angrily and, with a nervous flutter of his wings, flew up to the bushes. His finger pointed accusingly at the crushed mushrooms that John and Batsy had landed on when they unsuccessfully attacked Dr. Isley. “But even though your companions' behavior is inexcusable, I don't blame you, of course. I am glad that we met again because of this incident, Tagetes.”

The Faerie circle...John hadn't seen this in years. Damn Gotham. He difenetly doesn't want the problems of this crazy city to fall under his and Shazam's responsibility. Now it is clear why Rogue disappeared so quickly. She probably knew about it and wanted to make them someone else's problem. Damn it twice, John should have sent a message instead of coming to Gotham to discuss business with Wayne. Being uninvited guests of such mischievous and malicious hosts does not bode well.

“You are lucky that the Fright Knight is not on duty today. But someone will have to answer for it. Is it really so hard to look at your feet? Or is this a deliberate provocation? I demand an apology.”

“No, enough games for you. They're a little busy chasing someone, in case you didn't notice.” Jason starts pulling on his friend's hand, intending to take him out of the park. Next to these paranoids, it's better not to ask an old friend about anything. “Only good little fairies are invited to my safe house to taste my signature lasagna today, so stop trying to give my old man a heart attack, okay?”

“Wait. Is this Willis?” The fairy's eyes narrow and he looks at the cloaked dark figure with disapproval.

"No, another jerk. B has a problem with adoptions and that's the reason I'm now part of his brood." Jason reluctantly explains. "He literally dragged me off the streets without consent after I tried to take the tires off his car."

“Oh my Ancients, he did what?! But you're mine! He had no right to steal you.” Danny indignantly rustled the leaves of the closest trees.

“I prefer to be considered as my own man, thank you very much.”

“Riiight…but still, speaking absolutely one hundred percent theoretically, who would you rather stay with, darling? If only you were mine~”

“Ja-..Don't let yourself be fooled, Red Hood. You can't trust him. Ten or even fifty years spent on a prank don't mean anything to this creature.” Bruce doesn't look happy with how at ease Todd is with the threat, but frankly, he rarely looks happy at all, so the crime lord doesn't attach too much importance to it.

"Wow. Rude. This is partially true, but it still hurts. Jason is a friend. I won't do anything to him and I don't demand anything from him. I can't say that about the rest of you. I was preparing for a long-awaited vacation, and because of your fuss I have a new bunch of paperwork to do. What can you say in your defense?"

The boy with the snow-white hair didn't look really upset, but just because there was still a smile on his face, it couldn't be said that he wasn't furious. Next to fairies, all human senses became enemies, not allies.

Despite the deceptive good-naturedness of merrily fluttering his wings guy, John was on high alert. Short-tempered, playful and obnoxious temperament were both a blessing and a curse when working with these creatures. Fairies skillfully searched for loopholes in contracts and in general were the best deceivers among those who could only tell the truth. Faeries prefer to bend victims to their will with words, but they are skilled users of the magic of nature and chaos. They also, despite the business acumen as strong as the alligator's mouth closing strength, were willing to play cat-and-mouse with those who dared to turn to him for help or just walk near their possessions. And this specimen was also clearly not one of the fairies that Morningstar had taken over control, since his energy reeked of Infinite Realms. Unknown territory. John urgently needs to come up with some ingenious plan to get everyone out of this fighting safe and relatively unscathed and…

“Fuck off, B. I told you he already has my name. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it at any time. You should show more respect for your future son-in-law, you know.”

“Jason, honey, since when do street rats hang out with bats?” Danny obviously didn't have much sympathy for the Gotham vigilante before, but because of his story, their chances of getting along tended to zero.

“Oh, come on, don't even start this conversation. What is more important…Who would I rather stay with? Hm…Let's say, um, theoretically, of course…If your fiance was killed by one very very bad cruel clown, what would you do, Stardust?

"I would tear clown molecule by molecule."

“Yes, yes! Right!” Jason pats Danny on the shoulder and turns to Batman. “See, that's how you should have reacted.”

Constantine: …What an Addams family. I'm leaving. I've already seen enough. If you get kidnapped, don't call me. Damn freaks.

Come with me now to see my world

Where there's beauty beyond your dreams

Strangers Like Me - Phil Collins

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Since we have masquarade event ~

How about boys reatcing to y/n walking in looking all gorgous in a  dress ?

+ they ask her to dance at the festival?? ♡♡

for:

Jamil, Duece, Malleus, Azul, Silver

Azul Ashengrotto: 

Azul couldn’t ignore what was right in front of him. The person he had grown into was one with a sharp eye for golden opportunities and seeing you as the most beautiful person in the room that night, he knew he couldn’t resist asking you to dance. You think it’s cute when he tried to hide his real intentions by acting extra shady; if he really had an ulterior motive he wouldn’t look so embarrassed when you called him out, taking pleasure in the way he nervously pushed his glasses back up his face before rescinding his offer. You don’t allow him to as you considered it a contract, just an invisible one, and if he tried to get out of the deal he would not like the consequences.

Deuce Spade: 

Deuce is a mess. He doesn’t know how to articulate the way he feels when he sees you in your dress, heart tight in his chest, muscles spasming as you approach and he nearly kneeled out of respect for someone who was clearly royalty. Seeing your easy smile made him remember you were still you despite the fancy upgrade you’d taken, and it sets him a little more at ease when you speak. He started to stutter again when he wanted to ask you to dance with him, mumbling something about two left feet and not making a good argument for why you should be his dance partner (but you accept anyway).

Jamil Viper: 

Jamil didn’t plan on dancing, he didn’t entirely plan on being here or dealing with this either, but life seemed to drag him around as it pleased.  Seeing you was the only highlight of his night, watching from the shadows with stars in his eyes as he wondered what it might be like to be even considered as your (dance) partner. He’s a little surprised that as much as he tried to hide in the shadows you always sought him out, as if you had a radar just for him. He holds out his hand without uttering a word and you return the comfortable silence, your smile nearly causing him to take after that age old fairy tale of that princess who ran from the ball when the clock struck midnight (except you’d be coming with him, to a place he could admire you in peace).

Malleus Draconia: 

Malleus can’t keep his eyes to himself. He normally thought you had a certain beauty about you but seeing you all dolled up in an elegant dress… It made him want to tap in to his more jealous tendencies, locking you away in a tower for only him to admire. Alas, he can’t imagine your relationship remaining positive should he try to force your hand like that but he knows one other thing he could do to assure others kept their distance. He approached you with an extended hand, taking yours in his own and pressing a kiss to the back of it before wordlessly leading you to the dance floor; you can’t deny Malleus, not after seeing the bright smile on his face as he enjoyed twirling you around in the middle of the masquerade.

Silver: 

Silver’s gaze sends a shiver down your spine, the unreadable expression on his face making you a bit anxious. It was always so hard to fully understand what was happening in his head, and you felt yourself holding your breath as he silently approached you. You’re stunned when he held out his hand and asked you to dance, head tilting to the side as he told you it seemed like you wanted to ask him. You’re embarrassed at being read like an open book but Silver’s small smile sets your heart at ease, a clear sign that he had the same wish as you or he would have never approached you.

[limpfisted]

Something I think taken for granted for "good and heroic" characters like wyll is

How hard it is to be a hero in settings like this in gen. especially a solo hero.

And then u look at will especially at 17, especially after just losing half of your vision, and now being obligated to hunt devils for mizora, and not being able to tell people who you are or why you have magical powers

Wylls life has been extremely difficult.

Hes not "some rich boy." In fact, he tells you himself, he never really was. His father became grand Duke when he was 17. His father was a Duke before that, but his father was born to a poor blacksmith father and he was the youngest of six, so he worked his way up the ranks. Even as son of a Duke and grandduke---ulder was champion of the poorer "mythical middle class" lower city. All nobles and patriars are from the upper city. There's no way wyll wasn't looked down on by the upper city and then held to a certain untouchable standard as the flaming fist brat by the lower city/outer city people

And yet even at being some "rich boy" he excelled thru hard work and dedication, making things into a competition if nothing else, in which despite his Father's unsurpance to power, he still had PROOF he was the most charming, after all, he held the record for most sarabandes danced in a single evening, much to the exhaustion to the good lords and ladies of the courts.

But even so, with this "cushy life" (where he would get into trouble, mind you! Where his father would encourage him to get into fights, who would train him with a rapier, where he would drink in taverns in the lower city at 14 despite being "a noble rich boy" and hand deliver letters from his father to sharess's caress before he ever knew what went on with the pretty men and handsome ladies behind closed doors.)

Have you ever been camping, like experienced the holy shit, Outside of it all? I dont even like leaving the house without my phone. Wyll, 17, traveled all over the sword coast, with one eye, who knows how many supplies.

While wyll laughs off the trauma of it, losing an eye is a real ass disability that affects your motor skills. It can be difficult to do things like cut food at first, and it can take like 6 months WITH THERAPY for everything to feel "normal" again. Now imagine fending off goblins, and minotaurs, with no therapy, no physical therapy, no doctor. Having to navigate the cold of winter, cursed lands, mountains, all by yourself.

Having to learn to use you sword again, this time without your father. Remembering him every time you pick it up. Remembering the way he looked at you every time you face down a "devil." Spitting the words he would later say to you at them. They stink of avernus, they have brought ruin

Wyll dedicated his life to laboring for the people of the Sword Coast. It's not easy. He makes it look fun, because he's so proud of himself and happy to be helping people

But its actually hard and lonely. And it doesn't come easy, even to Wyll, I think. He had to train himself, it probably took him a long time to figure out what he was doing

I dont think wyll is really as inexperienced and naive as people think. Hes been to avernus, he's fought dragons and minotaurs. He's seen terrible things, he's STOPPED terrible things, and he's going to continue doing so, and choosing to do so, with the full knowledge of what that decision means, and the hard work and sacrifice it requires.

he's fully aware of who he is and what he's capable of, and he's extremely brave and strong and competent

Its good to be good for the sake of being good! And wyll does believe in fairy tales. But his dedication to the blade doesn't come because he's misinformed. Is he as experienced and powerful as he thinks he is? No, he's 24 LOL. But he's still done a lot! Has YOUR muse hunted devils thru avernus? Has ur muse even BEEN to avernus?

Wyll ravengard genuinely is improvising half the time---but more important than simply "being" good and wanting to do good----Wyll has the experience, practice and competence in serving a community to actually BETTER and protect communities.

In fandom spaces we often talk about how certain characters are "just so good" but we like. We forget about the effort it takes to actually commit to acts of doing good, the practice and perservance it takes to competently serve the community.

You can give the people the shirt off ur back but u run out of shirts eventually. Wyll has made himself an important resource on the Sword Coast for its safety. And I think we take that for granted bc its a genre staple, but like. He worked really hard. He dedicated himself to this.

He sold his soul, and he kept living and doing good anyway

[melancholymetropolis]

Exchange pt. III

plot: In which Gojo and Y/N wake up together and have morning sex

pairings: Clan Leader!Gojo Saturo x Lawyer!Reader

genre(s): Porn with Feelings

warnings: unedited (mostly). PORN PORN PORN!!!!!!!!!! (This is kinda stand-alone piece) safe sex. oral sex (f receiving). light choking. multiple positions. fingering. squirting. PIV SEX. pet names (sweetheart, sweetness, darling, etc.) multiple orgasms. LAUGHING DURING SEX. lowkey rom com vibes. play wrestling.

song association: Fetish by Selena Gomez

a/n: don't fight me! I come with smut (3k words worth)

w.c: 4.6k

part(s): Part I Part II

A head of unruly, white hair rested comfortably on my chest. Gentle breaths eased out of the owner's nostrils as he slept peacefully. Parted, pink lips were left slightly ajar and pushed out a deep breath every so often. A pool of drool fell from the mouth as well. It created a medium size spot on my tee shirt. His strong arms were wrapped around my midsection and one of his legs was resting between mine. Saturo held onto me like I was his lifeline. The very oxygen gracing his lungs. Even in his sleep, the man couldn't fake his affection for me. 

My hand found his hair moments later. My fingertips caressed the thick, full locks tenderly. He was truly something of a fairy tale. His face was almost angelic in the low light. It kissed his pale skin like a lover and embraced him with a fondness I knew all too well. Wispy, white lashes graced his drowsy eyes. My hand lowered from his hair and to his cheek. My fingers brushed against the smooth, clear skin of the area. 

“Keep touching me like that,” Saturo grunted, nuzzling my chest. “And I'll get the wrong idea.”

A soft smile fell onto my lips. “And what idea is that?”

“That you're falling in love with me.” Amusement dripped from his voice like a faucet.

I playfully swatted the top of his head. “Oh shut up!”

He lifted his head from my chest in one swift motion. His blue eyes sparkled in the low light and that sleepy smile stabbed me in the heart. 

Holy fuck is he gorgeous, I found myself thinking.

“Admit it, sweetheart,” he teased. “You’re falling in love with me. I mean why else would you invite me to your bed.” 

“Maybe because it was 3 AM when we finished eating?” I suggested, a smile falling to my lips. “And you shouldn’t be driving while exhausted?”

He paused, pretended to think for a minute, before shooting me the cockiest fucking look I had ever seen in my life. “It could be that,” he started. “Or, you were just so worried about your husband’s well being that you wanted him to sleep safely in your arms for the night.”

“Boy, bye!” I chuckled, pushing against his shoulders. “Now you’re dragging it.”

Saturo lifts his body from mine and I instantly felt a cooling sensation dance between the space. 

“Come on, wifey,” he grinned. “You don’t have to hide feelings from your husband.”

I shoved at his shoulders again. “Keep talking like that and I’m gonna kick you off the bed.”

“Oh, I’d like to see you try,” he provoked.

A knowing smirk fell on my lips. “Challenge accepted.”

Before Saturo could throw a snide comment my way, both of my legs hooked around his waist. At the same time, my arms latched underneath his pits. I swung our bodies to the left, effectively switching our positions.  I straddled his waist, allowing my lower half to pin his legs to the bed. I placed both hands on his T-shirt covered chest and pinned his upper half down as well. His blue eyes widened with utter astonishment, fear and a little something else I couldn’t exactly catch. 

“Fuck, you’re stronger than I thought,” he gasped, eyes trailing over my body. His chest was rising and falling at a rapid pace. “I was not expecting that. Like at all…. Shit. I think you took my breath away. Literally.”

Laughter erupted from my chest and poured from my lips. “Well, there's a first time for everything.”

His hands rested on my thighs, a look of amazement still on his face. “Seriously, sweetheart, is there something you're not telling me.”

“Like what?” I giggled. 

“I don't know. . . Like maybe you have a secret second life that requires you to be as strong a fucking body builder.”

“Seriously, ‘Toru, you're being ridiculous.”

“I'm not being— wait. What did you just say?”

I raised an eyebrow. “That you're being ridiculous?”

“Before that,” a smile slowly formed on his face.

“Seriously?”

“After that.”

“I didn't say anything—”

“Don't deny it, sweetness,” the smile was so wide that it practically covered half of his face. “You called me by my first name.”

“I did no such thing!” I crossed my arms over my chest and playfully avoided his gaze.

“Not only that,” he replied, lifting his back from the bed. “You gave me a nickname.”

“No I did not—ah!”

Saturo flipped our bodies back to their original position, with him on top. His massive hand took hold of both of my wrists and pinned them above my head. His knees rested on either side of my thighs, caging my body underneath his. Saturo used his other hand to cradle my face and direct my gaze directly into his eyes. They were electric blue, once again. They shined brightly before me in a way I had only seen twice before. Once at the wedding and the other last night in the restaurant. They searched my face for something I couldn't necessarily pick up. Some truth hidden beneath the surface that I was too scared to reveal. The longer he stared, the deeper the ringing in my ear sounded. 

“Say it again,” his voice dropped to a whisper. 

“Say what?” I smirked, pulling at my wrists. 

“Playing coy is gonna get you in trouble, sweetheart,” he replied, returning my smirk. “I'd watch it if I were you.”

“And what exactly are you gonna do, Ole husband of mine?” I replied, a lustful glint in my eye. “Spank me?”

His jaw clenched and the grip on my wrists tightened. “Please don't threaten me with a good time, sweetness.” He shivered, visibly. “I'll have you on my lap before that cute little nickname leaves your lips a second time.”

“Is that a promise?” I said, allowing my eyes to drop half lidded. 

Saturo sucked in a breath and he clenched his jaw. “I am trying my best to behave. To be the gentleman you deserve. But all I can think about is burying myself in that sweet pussy and fucking you until the next sun rise. So, please, darling, don't tease me. My meager heart cannot take it.”

The desire burned in his eyes like sunshine through a magnifying glass. Point it at just the right angle and the object underneath would catch fire. The object or, more specifically, the person underneath said magnifying glass happened to be me. His gaze was beginning to set my body ablaze. Flashes of our last entanglement flickered through my mind like an old film. The heaviness of his body against mine as he pumped into me like a piston. The feeling of his tongue on my skin and how he groaned my name. I remember the way my nails scraped against the wooden headboard behind us. Remembering the rhythmic banging had sent me shivers down my spine. The look on his face made my womanhood tingle. He was remembering that night too. The evening my shins shook violently on his shoulders and he came so hard his entire body convulsed. 

It was also the last night we spent together before the wedding.

The same night I left him.

A subtle pain started to throb in my chest from the memory. The guilt slowly threatened to consume me. I  reassured myself that I knew better, currently. I knew that the white haired above me was more than just a vacation fling. More than just a cheap thrill to distract me from the tipsy bride-to-be and the plastered bridesmaids. He was a good guy, underneath that silly demeanor. He was thorough. Saturo weighed every option presented to him before coming to a conclusion. He was consistent. When he finally chose said option, he would try his hardest to see it through. He was passionate. There wasn’t a challenge he couldn’t overcome. A person he couldn’t charm. Myself included. 

“Left nightstand,” I found myself saying, a subtle smile on my lips. “Top drawer.”

“What’s in there?” A confused look colored his face.

“Condoms.”

The confused look morphed into three different expressions as the realization of what I said hit him. The first being shock. His eyebrows rose and his grip on my wrists loosened. The words rising over in his brain several more times before it morphed into a look of adoration. Saturo’s eyes eased halfway closed and a small smile formed on his lips. His shoulders relaxed and the grip he had on my wrists was forgotten. A gentle hand cupped my cheek before the final expression took over his face: unadulterated joy. He leaned his body down and pressed his forehead to mine. I could practically hear his heart pounding in his chest. Singing a song I was quickly learning the lyrics to. His hot breath fanned my face and his eyes looked deeply into mine; as if he could see my soul. See how it was opening up for him and how it searched for him after all this time. 

“Can I kiss you?” The question was breathless on his lips. Almost like the moment we were having wasn’t real. Almost as if I weren’t real. 

“Please.”

The softness of his lips melted the ice covering my defenses. My arms wrapped around his neck and I started to pull Saturo closer. The weight of his body broke down the walls I eradicated to keep him out of my heart. His touch pulled away the feelings of confusion and uncertainty. He moaned against my lips; his arms so tightly around my body I could barely breathe. I could barely form a thought, other than the one that we seemed to share. 

I want you.

When the need of oxygen became prevalent for the both of us, I pulled away. My eyes were blurry with lust and I could hear myself panting like horny teenager after such an embrace. Saturo’s hot mouth continued to lay kisses along my neck and shoulder. His hips dropped from the levitating position and situated themselves between my open legs. Saturo arched his back, almost like a feline, and started to grind his pelvic area against mine. The clothes and blanket between us did nothing to hide the intensity of his erection. The teasing thrusts of his hips were sending shivers down my spine, the anticipation of what was to come driving me up the wall. 

A warm hand wiggled between our two bodies and slid underneath my shirt. The wide palm pressed against the soft tissue of my left breasts before giving it a squeeze. At the same time, the bastard ran a hot tongue against the side of my neck. I moaned as a result. His fingers found the nipple instantly. Saturo ruled the bud between his fingers, while leaving little nips at my shoulder. 

“Care to help me out, sweetness?” He asked softly.

His voice was deep with sleep, but had been coated with lust. 

Saturo’s half opened blue eyes looked down at me as if I were hiding something.

The ghost of a smile on his perfect pink lips had me melting in the middle.

“Yes. . . ?” Was all I could mutter after staring at him for a noticeable amount of time.

“Take your shirt off for me, baby,” he replied, the humorous look on his face growing into a full-blown grin.

As I lifted the shirt over my head, a thought appeared in my mind. Saturo was not the kind of person to pressure me into doing things I didn't want to do. Sure, in the beginning, he was a little shit about hanging out and getting to know me— though he never forced me to do it. Nor did he guilt trip into going out with him. Saturo gave me an option. He made it known that it was always my choice to have whatever relationship I wanted with him. 

My hands gripped the bottom of the T-shirt and pulled the garment from my body. The cool air in the bedroom caused me to shiver slightly. The man above me froze the moment he caught sight of my bare breasts. His eyes rolled over them like water on a leaf as his tongue ran against his bottom lip. Saturo brought his face to my chest while panting. His mouth was already ready ajar while he gripped the first mound and brought the dark brown bud to his lips. We both moaned at the action. His eyes fluttered closed as he suckled the needy nipple. After a few moments, he released it with a pop and started to swirl his tongue against it. I squirmed beneath him. I wanted nothing more.

His warm hand slid down my bare belly as he switched to the other nipple. The slender fingers shimmied under the waistband and found my sticky womanhood. Two digits ran along my slit before dipping into the folds and circling my bud. A pleasurable sigh left my body from the sensation. My hips rolled against his hand. The friction was utterly delicious on the neglected area. I felt my body vibrate beneath his; the desire to be consumed by him becoming too great to ignore. 

A little while later, Saturo lifted his head from my breast and started to kiss down my navel. His eyes flickering up to meet mine every so often. I nervously nipped my bottom lip as I watched his face grow closer to my cunt. His hands pulled at the legs of the sleep shorts; I raised my hips to assist in the action. The cool air on my warm cunt made me shiver. An unholy groan left Saturo’s lips as his eyes stared at the curly mound.

“No panties, huh?” His eyes snapping back to mine.

“I hardly ever sleep with them on,” I admitted with a shrug.

“Noted,” he said with a smirk.  

Saturo, then, spread my legs nice and wide to get a better view. I saw his breath hitch at the sight. His thumb ran against the slick slit and I moaned from the feather-like strokes. He pushed my hips apart further and brought my body closer to the edge of the bed. With knees planted on the floor and both hands planted on the backs of my thighs, Saturo dove right in.

Long, slow licks graced my neglected folds and I shuddered beneath him. The tip of his plush tongue ran from my drenched center to the throbbing pearl. He circled said pearl with agonizingly slow movements that made me squirm. 

“Stop teasing,” I purred, gently combing through his messy hair. “I thought you wanted to bury yourself in my sweet pussy, or whatever you said earlier.”

A low chuckle rumbled through him and Sauro’s eyes caught mine. “Aren’t we impatient, sweetness?” He nipped at the side of my thigh, earning a smile from me. 

“Well, it has been a while since you performed your husbandly duties. . .” I trailed off with a knowing smile.

“Oh?” Saturo raised an eyebrow. “So I am your husband now?”

“I mean, you could go back to being my cheap whore,” I teased, propping myself up on my elbows. “I’ll give you a few bills before I send you away.”

“I knew you did that shit on purpose!” Saturo barked with laughter.

“It wasn’t my intention, but I am not denying the allegation.”

Saturo swatted my leg playfully before throwing me a stern look. “Just for that, I should leave you like this. Hot and bothered.”

“You could,” I nodded. “But, you won’t.”

Saturo narrowed his eyes. “. . . I won’t.”

“Good boy.”

His mouth was on my heat once more, sucking the throbbing pearl into his scorching mouth. The teasing was over and the real game began. As Saturo sucked, the tip of his tongue brushed against the underside of my clit every so often. I squirmed beneath him as the pleasure rose in my belly. He must’ve remembered our last time together. The way I creamed all over his face when did that exact movement with his tongue on my womanhood. A flash of something familiar crossed his eyes and watched an arm wrap around my right thigh, as two fingers brushed my entrance. As if to ask for permission. 

“If you add those digits, darling, I’m gonna make a mess of that pretty face.” I sighed, attempting to sound unenthusiastic about the action. “I hope you’re prepared for that.”

The taller gentleman groaned against my cunt, but never removed his mouth from it. He pushed both fingers into my awaiting hole and I sucked in a breath. The digits curled in my sex and found the familiar spongy center at the roof of it. My thighs shook in his arms. Saturo massaged the area with a firm hand. He kneaded my g-spot into submission and I felt body start to vibrate underneath him. 

“Oooh. . .” I cooed, brushing his hair from his eyes. “Just like that. . . Don’t stop. . .”

Saturo groaned again, his eyes half-closed as he looked up at me.

He was truly enjoying himself, more than he assumed possible.

His desire, like mine, tainted the air with its sweet music. I could hear them clearly, despite the amulet hanging from my neck. The energy he oozed was far more powerful than anything I had previously encountered. It bellowed out to me in such a way that it was hard to ignore it. The ringing in my ear was subtle, almost like a whisper from a lover. A warm pool in my stomach started to grow. One by one, my limbs grew unfeeling. I could feel absolutely nothing by Saturo’s mouth on my pussy. My eyes started to roll back as my back arched from the bed. My nails dug into the bed sheets as my mouth hung open. The climax was deep and guttural. It pulled a sound from my being that I did not recognize. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until the pressure in my chest grew too great. I had to force a giant wave of cool air to flood my lungs as I cried out Saturo’s name. I felt my legs shake against his face, as he continued to suck my clit. 

“Too much!” I gasped, nudging his head away from my sensitive womanhood. “Stop! Please. . .”

Saturo removed his lips from the aching bud and pressed wet kisses on my soft stomach. He crawled up my body and took me in his arms. He held me tightly as the aftershocks of the orgasm started to wear off. With my back pressed against his chest, I felt myself relax almost instantly. His presence was certain as the sunrise and it warmed me immensely. We laid in silence for several moments, but it wasn’t awkward. It was peaceful. I could’ve stayed like that forever.

The taller gentleman pulled away for a breath moment. Moments later, I heard the familiar slide of the nightstand’s drawer open. Followed by that was a gentle crinkle of plastic and then a soft hiss fell from his lips. Saturo’s arms were around me before my body grew cold. He pressed hot kisses on my naked shoulder, before pressing his hard length on my bare ass.

“Are you still up for this, sweetness?” 

“Yes,” I replied, breathless.

The throbbing member sank into my center from behind and I swore I saw stars. His strong arm hooked across my middle to steady himself. His hips rolled against my plush rear and soft moans spilled from his lips afterward. The weight of his body on mine and the feeling of his breath against my ear was indescribable. The thoughts spinning in mind were in one category: adoration. Maybe it was the dopamine and adrenaline creating a toxic cocktail on my emotions, but all I could think about was my future with Saturo. The way our mornings could be just like this one. Filled with sensual love-making and intimacy that made my head spin. The way he cradled by body as he thrusted into me was exhilarating. He held me like I was going to disappear at any moment. 

After a short while, he hiked my left leg into the arm and hooked his arm around my thigh. Saturo tilted his hips backward and started to thrust into me a little bit harder. My shoulders fell into the crook of his arm as my  back pressed against the soft mattress. His cock moved deeper into my cunt and pressed a pleasure point I had forgotten I had. My eyes rolled back and the air in my throat grew thick. My nails dug into his forearms as I felt my toes curl.

“There it is,” Saturo snickered. “That’s the face I am looking for.”

“ ‘Turo. . .” I moaned, my head falling back onto his shoulder. 

He shuddered from the sound of the nickname and moved his hips faster against my ass. 

My eyes rolled back as I felt the pressure in my belly grow once more. My nerves were buzzing and started to feel my body begin to heat all over. The sensations coursing through me were simply incredible and I didn’t want them to end. I never wanted to be separated from the feeling Saturo, my husband, was giving me. 

Gradually, the thought of being married to him did not repulse me. It ignited a sort of excitement within me that I kept hidden from the public eye. To have such a biblically beautiful man on one’s as we simply lived life would greatly boost anyone’s ego. For that same man to be downright obsessed with everything about me was something entirely different. The passion he had for me was simply extraordinary. The sweet words that fell from his lips as he fucked me tenderly had made my heart sing. The heat from his body and the power that surrounded him was simply ethereal. All reasonable doubt slipped from my mind the longer the thrusted into me. All I could think about was Gojo Saturo and coming home to his girthy cock every night.

One by one, I felt my limbs go numb and my body stiffen. Keep, harsh breaths poured from my lips as my eyes squeezed shut. The feeling of his cock slipping against my walls had broken through the numbness. I could feel said walls begin to contract, squeezing his member tightly as I climaxed. A gush of cool air filled my lungs as my body melted into his. 

“Don’t stop!” I screamed, gripping his arm tightly. “Please don’t stop. . . oh God. . .”

The second wave of the orgasm made my entire body shake against his. My hips bucked against his thick member and my thigh shook in grasp. The older gentleman tried everything to keep the slippery limb from his grasp, but to no avail. 

Frustrated, Saturo rolled my stomach and wrapped a hand across my chest. He pressed his entire body against my back, before putting a hand on my throat. Upon pressing his hips against my ass, I realized that his cock was even deeper than it was before. Saturo started to rock his hips against my soft ass and I had never felt something so marvelous in my entire life. The pressure in which he used to fuck me was unholy. The head of his brilliant cock was hitting a pleasure point so deep in my pussy that I was sure that the other lover knew it existed. The weight of his body pushed my pelvis nearly flat against the mattress and added pressure to my stomach. Just between my thighs I felt something rather fluffy nestled right against my apex. The cushioned item slid against my throbbing clit with each thrust and I felt my entire body shiver.

I had no idea when Saturo shoved a pillow between my thighs, but I knew the move was far from a mistake.

“You are so… fucking… perfect,” He stammered, pounding into slick pussy like his life depended on it. “The best. . . person. . . for me.”

Saturo’s grip on the bedsheets tightened and I felt his hips begin to twitch against mine.

He was getting close.

“Tell me,” I said, breathless. “Tell me that you're mine.”

Soft curses fell from his lips as the fingers on my neck tightened. Jagged breaths fell from his lips as his hips moved faster against my lower half. The heaviness of the member pushed against the roof of cunt. Added with the weight of his body against mine meant that Saturo was annihilating two of my pleasure points at once. The addition of the pillow meant that he was three. I couldn’t even feel the last orgasm building as I felt with the prior two. The lovely man was simply taking me onto an ongoing wave of pleasure, equipped with peaks and valleys. 

The grinding of his body against mine was mind-numbing. I could feel little dribbles of drool spill from the side of my mouth as he fucked me. Incoherent words spilled from my lips like a drunk prayer, along with a few slurred sprinkles of his name. I never wanted that moment to end, I never wanted him to stop pounding me into the mattress as the late morning sun illuminated our sweat soaked bodies. I wanted the moment to last forever. I wanted to stay with him forever; for in that moment he was truly mine. 

My friend.

My lover. 

My. . . husband.

The orgasm poured over me like a soothing wave. It was just as deep as the other two, but didn’t have such violent muscle tension. My eyes squeezed shut as I rode on the high. It made my entire body warm and my heart tingle. It made me thankful for the impulsive decision to invite him into my apartment and into my bed. I almost scolded myself for not doing it sooner. The heavy member still pressed against the inflated, spongy area in my cunt. Every thrust had sent electricity throughout my body. The little control that Saturo was holding onto slipped through his fingers. The power behind his thrusts grew elevated and resulted in him practically dropping his cock in my awaiting hole. The movement further stimulated my sensitive clit, since his heaviness caused my womanhood to have even more contact with the pillow. My pearl ground against the plush surface hard as Saturo fucked me deeper than before. 

“I’m gonna cum again!” I screamed, pulling at the sheets. “I’m gonna cum again!”

“That’s it, baby,” Saturo grunted. “Scream for your husband.”

His fingers pressed deeper into the sides of my neck as my eyes rolled back for the millionth time. The word ‘yes’ spilled from my lips as if it were the only word in the dictionary. I could feel my legs shake violently beneath him and my mouth open wider than it ever had. A warm pool of liquid started to spill from my sticky cunt shortly after, resulting in a small puddle forming between my thighs. The scream that left my throat was so intense that it was silent. I could feel the massive man above me begin to shudder uncontrollably as his heavy member twitched within my snatch. His body fell onto mine in a sweaty heap and Saturo took a moment to catch his breath.

His hand slipped from my throat and he laced the digits with my shaky one. He pressed soft kisses onto my shoulders as I caught my breath. 

“I am yours,” he replied, finally acknowledging my request. The one I nearly forgot. “As you are mine. Forever”.

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

a/n: before you come for me (pun intended), just know that the next installment may not be the happiest.

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TAGLIST

@amajikisupremacy @sweetdreams-inumimi @reagan707 @wannabeotaku @hazzelle-kento @rav3nmuse @maliamaiden @@satoruontopofme

[lixzey]

Hey! Maybe you could write Remus Lupin x Fem Reader seven minutes in heaven fluff;)

a/n: This is the longest work i've ever written, so I hope you enjoy it! Very special thanks to @lilmaymayy for betaing this 🫶

word count: 7.2k

seven minutes to forever

The Gryffindor common room was ablaze with excitement as the Gryffindors celebrated their recent Quidditch victory against Slytherin. Waterloo by ABBA blared from the record player—courtesy of your best friend, Lily Evans. There were streamers of red and gold, along with a large banner with the words Gryffindor painted in red. There was a large table with sandwiches, cakes, pasties, and Honeydukes sweets, as well as a huge bowl of very suspicious-looking punch along with bottles of butterbeer and firewhiskey scattered around.

James Potter, the star Quidditch captain, was being hoisted onto the shoulders of his teammates as they chanted his name. Among the crowd, you spotted Sirius Black doing a little victory dance, while Peter Pettigrew was enthusiastically shovelling food onto his plate, and Remus Lupin was leaning against the wall with a small smile on his face, clearly enjoying the sight of his friends.

You turned your attention back to your friends, who danced along to the beat of the song. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight of your friends enjoying the night.

“Having fun, Y/n/n?” Lily asked as she twirled around.

“I am,” you chuckled, swaying your hips to the beat.

“You’re rocking that skirt, Y/n.” Marlene complimented.

You playfully rolled your eyes as you tugged on your skirt, still wondering how you ended up being coerced into wearing a form-fitting black leather skirt from Mary’s closet. “It’s awfully short, and it keeps riding up my thighs.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Y/n!” Mary chastised, swatting your hands away from the hem of the skirt. “You have the hips for it, and it makes your arse look good.”

You laughed and shook your head, knowing there was no arguing with Mary when it came to fashion. “Well, if you say so-” You were cut off by a tap on your shoulder.

“Hey, pretty girl.” 

You rolled your eyes at the sight of Sirius Black trying to flirt with you. Sirius Black, the notorious ladies’ man and troublemaker, had always had a way of getting under your skin. His cocky smile and arrogance made you want to roll your eyes and give him a piece of your mind every time he came near you.

"Seriously, Black, can't you give it a rest?" you snapped, crossing your arms and turning away from him.

“But come on, love, you can't deny that I'm the most charming bloke around,” Sirius said, flashing his signature grin.

Rolling your eyes again, you huffed, "Charming? More like insufferable. I've had enough of your sorry excuse for compliments.”

Sirius chuckled, unbothered by your rejection. “I'll have you know that I can be quite serious when the situation calls for it.”

You scoffed. “The only thing serious about you is your name. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than listen to your nonsense.”

With that, you turned on your heel and walked away, your friends trailing behind you.

“What the fuck was that, Y/n?” Mary asked with a raised brow.

“What? It’s not like I haven’t turned him down before.”

Mary scoffed. “Don’t tell me you still believe in finding your soulmate.”

You raised a brow at Mary. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Well, I just don’t believe in that fairy-tale rubbish. Soulmates and true love—it's all a load of nonsense if you ask me,” Mary replied, shaking her head. “I just don't see how one person can be destined for another. There are billions of people in the world; it seems impossible that there's just one person meant for each of us.”

“Mary’s right,” Lily agreed. “And even if soulmates do exist, how do you know you'll ever find yours?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know; I just think there’s someone out there for everyone. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I like to believe in the idea of soulmates and true love. It gives me hope, you know?” 

“Come on, Y/n, be real. When the hell are you going to find the one if you keep turning down every guy who tries to ask you out?” Lily asked with an exasperated sigh.

You rolled your eyes, turning to face the redhead. “I don’t know; maybe when sparks fly?” 

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and when you turned to look, sparks were flying literally out of the record player. Remus Lupin stood there frozen, his cheeks flushing from all the unwanted attention on him.

Your eyes locked into his; you felt as if time slowed down around you and everyone else just faded from view.

“What the bloody hell happened, Moony?” James Potter’s voice rang out, snapping you out of your trance.

“N-Nothing, I-I’ve just pulled the needle too early.” Remus stumbled on his words, his eyes not leaving yours.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at Remus’ embarrassment, but you couldn’t deny the flutter of butterflies in your stomach. As the chaos of the common room continued, you found yourself stealing glances at Remus, who had turned back to the record player to fix the problem.

“Come on, everybody! Let’s play seven minutes in heaven!” Sirius announced, trying to redirect the attention away from Remus.

You found yourself being tugged along by Lily, who insisted that you join in on the fun.

“Come on, Y/n, it’ll be a laugh! Plus, who knows, you might end up with your soulmate in the closet.” Lily teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh, shut it, Evans.” You groaned inwardly, not liking the idea of being locked in a closet with someone for seven minutes, but nonetheless, you followed your friends into the centre of the room, where an empty firewhiskey bottle was set up in the middle of a circle.

“Okay, so whoever the neck and the base of the bottle stops at has to spend seven minutes in the broom closet,” Sirius explained, pointing to the closet near the portrait hole. “You go first, Prongs,” Sirius said, passing the bottle to James with a smirk.

James spun the bottle, and it miraculously landed on Lily, which made her scowl and cross her arms over her chest. “I am not getting in that closet with you, Potter.”

“Come on, Evans, I didn’t make rules.”

“Go on, Lils,” you urged, a sly smirk plastered on your lips. “Rules are rules.”

Lily’s scowl deepened as she glared at you. “Fine.” Lily stomped towards the closet, James trailing behind her with a wide grin while the rest burst into a fit of giggles and cheers—including you, knowing that Lily would hex James into the next century if he tried anything.

A little while later, James came out of the closet rubbing his cheek an effect you know so well—Lily had hit him with stinging hexes.

“You alright?” Marlene asked, trying not to laugh at the look on Lily’s face as she sat between the two of you.

“Shut up.” Lily hissed, rolling her eyes. “Potter called me carrot top!” 

“Alright, who’s next?” Sirius asked, trying to get the game going by spinning the bottle again. Your eyes followed the bottle as it spun around, anxiously waiting to see whether you were the next victim or not. This time it landed on you, and the other side was at Remus.

“My, my, my! Look who we have next!” Sirius announced loudly.

When the realisation set in that you would have to spend seven minutes with Remus Lupin in a small, hot, cramped closet, your cheeks flushed. Remus’s face began to match yours as the rest of the boys began to cheer—the girls even joining in—Lily had the same sly smirk you had just minutes ago.

“Go on, Y/n/n,” Lily urged, pushing you to stand. From the corner of your eye, you saw Remus stand up with a defeated sigh and make his way to you while the rest of the Marauders teased him.

Remus looked at you with an apologetic smile, his hand out, ready to help you up. You looked from your friends to the group and finally up to Remus, your eyes meeting his. Remus’ brown hair framed his face perfectly; he had long silver scars littering his face down to his neck, but he still looked as handsome as ever.

Remus crouched down beside you, his lips a few inches away from your ear, his hand out for you to take. “We don't have to do this, you know? We can just sit back down and let someone else-”

“No, no, it's alright, let’s do this”. You whispered back, taking his warm hand into yours. Everyone started to cheer, with your friends and the Marauders being the loudest of the lot. The two of you made your way into the closet.

“Go get some, Moony!” James laughed, his hands mimicking two people kissing, making Remus groan.

“Only seven minutes, love birds; use them wisely!” Sirius teased as you and Remus stepped inside. The moment the door shut, the two of you were plunged into darkness. You realised how small this closet really was; you were an inch away from being chest-to-chest with Remus.

You could feel Remus shifting in front of you, the air around you becoming warm with the close proximity. You tried to ignore the sight of his face in the dim lighting—chiseled jawline, strong nose, and brown eyes. Why the bloody hell did he have to be so handsome?

“Is it hot in here?” Remus asked, breaking the silence between the two of you as he fanned himself with his hand before fanning you as well. “Are you hot? I mean, you are hot-” You couldn’t help but laugh at what Remus had just said. Although you couldn’t see it, you knew his eyes had widened.

“S-sorry, I-I mean���.” Remus stammered. The sound of your giggles made his cheeks feel warm. “I’m not exactly the smoothest bloke out here.” He chuckled nervously.

“Remus, it’s alright; I mean, it is a little stuffy in here.” you assured him, patting him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, it is,” Remus agreed before reaching into his pocket, pulling out his wand, and muttering, “Lumos.”

The light filled the small space and made you see the whole closet for the first time. If it were anyone else, you’d be panicking right now, but being with Remus didn’t feel as nerve-wracking.

“Sorry about this, Y/n,” Remus mumbled. “I didn’t think you would have wanted to be stuck in a closet with me.”

You chuckled, feeling heat rising to your cheeks. “It's fine, Remus. I know it's all just a game.”

“Thanks for coming with me here, I-“ Remus gulped, “I appreciate it.”

You raised a brow at him, a coy smile playing on your lips. “Remus, do you even know how many girls are wishing to be in my place right now? Merlin, they even call you the Casanova of Gryffindor tower!” 

“Okay,” Remus began to relax, now laughing with you. “But that's just because I'm nice—nice to girls who just so happen to find me cute. Plus, I mean,” he breathed. “It's not like I'd pursue anything with them.”

You cock a brow, your teasing smile only growing as he rushes to defend, “I mean—they're all nice right back to me, but—I just have my eyes on someone else.”

You felt your heart skip a beat at Remus’ words. “Someone else, huh? Who could that be?” 

“It’s just...” Remus hesitated, running his hand through his hair nervously. “I just feel like soulmates exist, you know? Maybe it’s stupid, but I can’t help it. I want to believe that there’s someone out there for me. Someone who gets me Someone who makes me feel... complete.”

Your heart pounded in your chest, and your mind was racing with questions. Were you just reading into things too much? Or was Remus trying to tell you something?

“I don’t think it’s stupid at all, Remus,” you said, your voice soft.

“I believe in soulmates too.” Remus looked up at you, surprised.  “You do?” 

You nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. But before you could utter another word, there was a harsh bang against the closet door, interrupting your thoughts.

“I don't hear any kissing in that closet! Come on, you guys, don't be boring! You have three minutes left!” James’ voice echoed, muffled by the closet door.

You and Remus exchanged a glance before chuckling and shaking your heads.

“You know we don't have to do anything, right? I would never want to pressure you into anything, wizard’s honour,” Remus assured, raising a hand.

You smiled softly at his reassurance. “Eh, it sounds like they want a show. Who are we to deny them of it?” Your cheeks begin to flush, your heart pounding inside of your chest. But his lack of response made you nervous about the forwardness of your comment.

“Maybe we could just...” you gulped. “Make it seem like it.” Remus’ brows knitted in confusion. “You know, just make sounds to make them think,” you explained, hoping he'd understand.

Remus nodded, the confusion leaving his expression. “Right, that's a good idea.”

“Follow my lead.” You chuckled, winking at him.

Remus smirked. “Alright, take the stage.”

Your eyes twinkled with mischief before you banged on the closet door and let out a loud moan. “Oh fuck, Remus!”

“Oh shit, Moony’s getting some!” Sirius’ voice rang out along with loud cheers from everyone else outside the broom closet.

Remus’ eyes widened, clearly not expecting that from you. You jerked your head at him, urging him to do the same.

Remus let out an exaggerated groan: “O-oh, yes, baby girl, so good!”

“Oh Merlin, yes, yes!” 

“Pinch me here,” Remus whispered, pointing to his neck. You obliged and pinched his neck lightly.

“Ouch! That hurt, baby girl!” Remus grunted. “You like it rough, huh, baby girl?”

“What in Merlin’s name are they doing?” Lily asked, horrified.

“They’re shagging, Evans; do try and catch up," Sirius said, mouth agape at the sounds coming from the closet.

The two of you continued to put on a performance, making kissing noises, grunts, thumping, and moaning from time to time.

And then, before you knew it, the door was being flung open by Sirius. “Time's up! Come on, you two lovebirds.”

Remus shot up, his face flushed. The two of you had your foreheads pressed together, hands intertwined, and clothes dishevelled. It felt strangely right, like connecting with Remus was something you were meant to do. He pulled you up, and the two of you walked out, avoiding everyone’s gaze, which seemed to be snickering. As soon as the two of you sat down, everyone didn’t waste time teasing both of you as you sat down.

“Remus, you sly dog!” James laughed, clapping Remus on the back.

“Wow, that was intense!” Peter chuckled, looking at you and Remus.

“Yeah, we thought the two of you had gotten lost in there,” Sirius added with a smirk.

“You slag, Y/n L/n!” Mary teased.

“Well, that was quite the show!” Marlene teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“I can’t believe you shagged Remus Lupin in a broom closet!” Lily rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

You let out a groan and buried your face in your hands in embarrassment. “Can we not talk about this anymore? Move on to the next ones, please!”

“There will be no next, Miss L/n.” A voice said, and everyone in the room fell quiet. You lifted your head from your hands to see Professor McGonagall.

The excited chatter turned to hushed whispers. Everyone in the circle quickly stood up, some nearly toppling over because of the alcohol they consumed.

“This game ends now. If there are any further disruptions, there will be consequences. Is that clear?”

“We were just having some fun, Minnie,” Sirius explained, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

“Fun is one thing, but disrupting the entire Gryffindor tower is another. I suggest you all clean up this mess and head off to bed,” Professor McGonagall ordered, her stern gaze sweeping over the room.

The room was quickly cleared of food, drinks, and decorations as everyone began to leave, grumbling and complaining about their fun being ruined. You helped Lily, Mary, and Marlene gather the streamers and discarded plates.

“Come on, Y/n/n, let’s head up,” Lily said, nudging you with her elbow. “I doubt Professor McGonagall is done giving her lecture for the night.”

 “Yeah, that was a bit reckless, don’t you think?” Marlene added.

 You sighed, feeling guilty for being a part of the chaos that had ensued. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, guys.”

“It’s okay; it was all good fun,” Mary assured

You nodded, trying to shake off the lingering embarrassment from the game and the moment you had shared with Remus.

“You sure? You’ve been quiet since you and Remus came out of the closet,” Lily teased, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

 “Oh, shove off, Evans.” You rolled your eyes, playfully shoving her.

The four of you made your way up to the girls' dormitory, still reeling from tonight’s high, when someone called from behind you. You looked back only to see Remus jogging up towards you. You looked back at your friends, who were smirking at you before they stepped inside the dormitories—but you knew that they’d be listening from behind the door.

“Uh, hi.” Remus smiled sheepishly.

“Hey, Remus. What's up?” you asked, trying to act unsurprised but feeling the butterflies in your stomach were saying otherwise.

Remus stopped in front of you, nervously scratching the back of his neck. “Hey, Y/n. I just wanted to say that I had a great time with you, uh, in the closet. I mean, we made a great team, putting on that show. And, uh, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to do it again? Not the closet, of course, but... hang out, I mean.” He stumbled over his words, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

You couldn't help but smile at his awkwardness, feeling a rush of warmth at the thought of spending more time with him. “I'd like that, Remus. I had a good time too,” you replied, feeling a strange flutter in your stomach.

“Great!” Remus grinned, looking relieved. “Um, maybe we could, I don't know, go for a walk by the lake or something? If you want to, that is.”

Before you could answer his question, the door swung open, revealing Lily, Marlene, and Mary peeking out from behind.

“Time to hit the hay, lovebirds!” Mary interrupted, a sly smirk playing on her lips.

Remus chuckled, trying not to be too embarrassed in front of your friends. “Uh, so what do you say?”

“A walk by the lake sounds wonderful, Remus. I’d love to.”

“Great, it’s a date then,” Remus replied, a smile lighting his face. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast, Y/n?” 

“Yes, definitely; I’ll see you then.”

You turned to walk up to your friends before giving Remus one last look. “Good night, Remus.” You smiled, leaning against the doorframe, your friends grinning behind you.

Remus smiled, his cheeks flushing pink. “Good night, Y/n.”

As soon as you step inside, your friends start to squeal.

“Okay, is it possible for you guys to not embarrass the living daylights out of me?” You growled with a mock glare, trying to hide the smile you couldn’t fight as you stepped inside the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“I can’t believe it!” Lily said, jumping up and down in excitement. “You and Remus, a walk by the lake—it's like something out of a romance novel!” 

“Okay, okay, simmer down,” you said, rolling your eyes. “It’s not like it’s a date or anything."

"Yeah, right, we’ve never seen you smile like that before,” Lily teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

“It was just a walk by the lake, nothing special,” you insisted, shrugging your shoulders.

“Sure, sure,” Marlene said, rolling her eyes playfully.

“I hope he knows how lucky he is,” Mary added with a dreamy look.

“Should I go down and give him some pointers?” Marlene teased, earning a playful slap on the arm from Lily.

“You guys are insufferable, you know that?” You groaned, feeling your cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“Don’t pretend like you aren’t excited, Y/n,” Lily said with a wry smile.

“Fine, maybe I am a little excited about it,” you admitted, unable to stop a small smile from tugging at your lips.

“You should be, after all of what happened in the closet,” Marlene teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh, shut it. I’m going to bed before you all drive me crazy,” you groaned, rolling your eyes.

“Goodnight, lovergirl!” Lily called after you with a laugh as you climbed into bed, unable to stop a smile from spreading across your face.

As you settled into bed, you couldn’t stop thinking about the way Remus had looked at you, the warmth in his eyes, and the nervousness in his voice. You knew there was something there—something deep and unspoken, something that made you feel more alive than you had in a long time.

Meanwhile, Remus stood at the top of the staircase, staring at the door to the girls’ dormitories, a huge smile plastered on his facele.

“Oi, Moony! What are you smiling about, you lunatic?” James asked, approaching Remus with a confused look, Sirius and Peter trailing behind him.

"Nothing; I, uh, just had a good night tonight,” Remus replied with a shy smile. “I, uh, asked Y/n out on a walk by the lake tomorrow.”

James grinned, clapping Remus on the back. “That's great, mate!” James chuckled. “Finally decided to make a move, huh?”

Remus blushed and shrugged, feeling embarrassed. “I just had a really great time with her tonight, and I want to get to know her better,” he admitted.

“You've got it bad, mate,” Peter teased. “You’re already pining for her!”

“I wasn’t pining, I just...” Remus trailed off with a blush.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Moony,” Sirius chuckled, giving him a nudge.

“I’m happy for you, mate. I hope it goes well.” James smiled, giving Remus a pat on the shoulder.

“Thanks, Prongs,” Remus said, feeling grateful for his friend’s support.

“I’m happy for you too, Moony.” Peter smiled, clapping him on the back.

“What about you, Pads?” James asked, raising an eyebrow at Sirius, who rolled his eyes.

“Okay, I’m happy for you, Moons. But I’m the one that should be-” 

“Okay Pads!” James said, clapping a hand over Sirius’ mouth. “You’re happy for Moony!”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you loud and clear,” Sirius grumbled, playfully shoving James' hand away. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun too, does it?”

Remus laughed, feeling grateful for his friends and excited for his date with you. He couldn’t deny that there was something special about you—something that made his heart race and his palms sweat. Maybe, just maybe, you were the one he had been waiting for all along.

Maybe now he has somebody to love.

Surprisingly, Remus struggled to go to sleep that night; his smile was too wide and his dreams too big to relax and fall asleep. But eventually, his thoughts calmed down to imagining what the morning would bring, what her hair would look like, what she would wear, and what he'd say to her in class, finally allowing him to go to sleep.

The light slowly crept through the curtains of your four-poster bed, sunlight casting a warm glow over your face. You could hear loud shuffling from outside and stop at your bedside, the bed dipping down.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty!” Mary’s loud singsong voice echoed in your ears, making you groan in annoyance.

You turned your back at her, covering your head with your pillow. “Leave me alone,” you mumbled, still bleary-eyed.

“Get up, Y/n/n! We’re going to be late for breakfast!” Lily urged you, shaking your shoulder and yanking the pillow away from your head.

Groaning in protest, you reluctantly sit up and rub your eyes. “Fine, fine, I’m up.”

“Hurry up, don’t you want to see your soulmate at breakfast?” Lily teased, making Mary and Marlene snicker.

At the comment, your eyes popped open, meeting her knowing stare, eventually getting shy under her gaze, hiding your face in the pillow. She was right, so, albeit slowly, you pulled yourself up, dragging your feet to the bathroom to start getting ready.

You showered, washed, combed and dried your hair, brushed your teeth, and got dressed. You walked out of the bathroom to find your friends waiting for you, all of them giving you sly smirks as you walked towards them.

“What do you all have up your sleeves?” You asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Nothing; we’re just excited for you!” Lily said with a playful wink.

“Oh, please,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Keep it down, you lot.” 

With your lips glossed, your long hair braided to the side, and your uniform smoothed out, you grabbed your bag and followed your friends out of the common room and down the spiral staircase to the Great Hall for breakfast.

You made your way down to the Great Hall with your friends, Mary and Marlene, linking arms while you walked alongside Lily, chatting and laughing as you made your way to the Gryffindor table.

As you entered the hall, your eyes scanned the room and landed on Remus, who was sitting with his friends. Remus glanced up at you and met your eyes, a smile spreading across his face. You felt a rush of warmth in your chest as you returned his smile.

From your fleeting glance, you were still able to see his dark brown curls perfectly framing his chiseled face. Merlin he was cute. A small smile formed as you hurried to your usual seat beside Lily, who was already looking between you and Remus, a tease on the tip of her tongue. But with your averting gaze and soft sigh as you began to load your plate, she swallowed any comment down with the flush of her pumpkin juice.

In Remus’ eyes, you couldn't look more beautiful. Your hair was vibrant and bouncing just like you, and you looked effortlessly beautiful, essentially strutting to your seat beside Lily after catching his stare.

“Mate, you're going to burn holes into her head if you keep staring.” James laughed, chewing on his first sausage of the morning.

“Oh, piss off, you hypocrite! You’re acting like you weren't staring at Lily just the same.” Remus scowled, lightly pushing James’ elbow off the table but laughing hard as it threw him off balance, Prongs’ fighting to stay on his seat, and the boys fighting to keep their boisterous laughter down.

“You’re looking at her like she took the moon out of the sky.” Peter pointed out as he shovelled some eggs into his mouth.

“You don’t understand; she’s just different,” Remus mumbled, feeling a warm flush spread across his cheeks.

“Oi, quit ogling at her. Stop being such a hopeless romantic and eat your eggs.” Sirius smirked, pushing the plate of eggs in front of him.

“Alright, back off, lads,” James intervened, swatting Sirius and Peter and grabbing a piece of toast. “He's nervous. A bloke can only handle so much. It’s not everyday that Moony is out of his wits.” Taking a bite of his toast, a sly smile crossed his lips as he watched the interaction from the corner of his eye.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake, can we just have breakfast in peace?” Remus groaned, taking a bite of his toast.

James chuckled, knowing that he had hit a spot. “Alright, Remus, just relax. You don't want to scare her off before you even get the chance to talk to her properly.”

“You think I don't know that?” Remus hissed, feeling his cheeks heat up even more.

“Just play it cool, mate. You'll be fine,” Sirius reassured, clapping Remus on the back.

“Yeah, just be yourself, and she'll fall for you in no time.” Peter added.

Remus sighed, trying to ignore the butterflies that were dancing in his stomach. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this nervous around a girl, and it was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

“Now,” James chuckled. “Eat the bloody eggs, Moony. We don’t want a cranky werewolf, do we?”

Remus couldn’t help but laugh, his cheeks still flushed. “Alright, alright,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Wanker.”

This caught the eyes of none other than Y/n, who was already staring at Remus, only starting to smile seeing him so in his element, laughing happily with his friends, hiding his blushing cheeks behind his scarred hand.

As you ate your breakfast, you found it hard to keep your attention on your food. Your eyes kept drifting back to Remus. A small smile tugged at your lips as you watched the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed and the way he ran a hand through his hair when he blushed.

Feeling a warmth spread throughout your chest, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement at the thought of your walk with Remus later that day. And the longer you looked at him, the more you felt butterflies in your stomach. You continued to sneak glances at him throughout breakfast, feeling your cheeks flush with warmth as he caught your eyes and smiled back at you. The moment felt surreal, but in the best way possible.

As breakfast came to an end, Remus stood up from the table, looking over at you with a warm smile. With a shy smile, Remus asked, “Can I, uh, walk you to class, Y/n?”

Your friends started giggling from behind you, making you flush in embarrassment, your cheeks nearly rivalling Lily's red hair. You turned to glare at them, only to see their smiles wide—wider than the Cheshire cat, if possible.

“Go on, give him an answer,” Mary urged, a teasing smirk on her lips.

Remus shifted nervously as he waited for your response. You turned back to him and nodded. “I’d like that, Remus.”

Remus smiled, relieved at your response. “Great.” He extended his hand to you. “Shall we?”

You nodded, throwing your bag over your shoulder before taking his hand to stand up. “See you later, girls.”

“Have fun, Y/n. Take your time!” Marlene called out, making you scowl and roll your eyes.

“Come on, Remus, let’s go.” You smiled, fighting the heat as it rose to your cheeks. You and Remus started to walk out of the bustling hall.

“Oi, lover boy!” James called out to Remus with a huge grin.

Remus groaned, refusing to look back at James. “Bugger off, Prongs!” 

You chuckled at his annoyance, his nose crinkled up, and his brows furrowing—which you find cute.

“Don’t forget protection!” Sirius yelled, laughing loudly.

Remus groaned even louder, his cheeks turning beet red, while you stifled a laugh.

“I’m going to kill them, as soon as they fall asleep.” he muttered, tugging at his scarf nervously.

You shook your head, laughing softly. “Don’t worry about them. They're just having fun.”

As you and Remus walked side by side on your way to your first class, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of comfort and contentment. The world around you seemed to fade away, and for that moment, it was just the two of you sharing each other’s company, and before you knew it, you had reached your classroom.

“Thanks for walking me, Remus,” you said with a warm smile. “I’ll see you later?”

Remus smiled back at you and said, “Yes, I’ll see you later.” He sighed contentedly as you stepped inside the classroom, feeling his heart thump loudly in his chest.

Remus turned away and walked to his respective class, still reeling from the sight of your smile, when someone laughed from behind him.

“There’s our good old-fashioned lover boy!”  Sirius laughed at the sight of Remus, looking like a lovesick puppy—well, like a lovesick wolf cub.

“Merlin, Moony, you look like a walking tomato,” James teased, ruffling his hair.

“Leave me alone,” Remus groaned, feeling his cheeks flush even more. “I can’t believe you guys! ”

“You’ve got it bad, Moony,” Peter grinned. “It’s written all over your face.”

The taunting and teasing continued all the way to their first class—History of Magic—and as Remus took his seat, he couldn’t help but feel excited for the walk with you later, wondering what he could do to make it special for you.

What about a picnic? That’s nice; she would like that.

Flowers—every girl loves flowers, right? Maybe I can stop by the greenhouse and pick some up for her. Wait, what flowers does she even like?

Remus sighed, slumping in his seat. Of course he wouldn’t know what her favourite flowers were; hell, he didn’t know a thing about her yet. Remus felt hopeless; there was no way he could surprise you, unless...

“Prongs,” Remus whispered, tapping James on the shoulder.

“Huh?” James mumbled, half-awake.

“Can you guys help me with something?” Remus asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

James yawned, rubbing his eyes awake. “What do you need?”

Remus took a deep breath. “I want to surprise Y/n later.”

James’ eyes widened. “You romantic son of a—Oi Sirius, wake up!” James nudged Sirius hard, jolting him awake.

“Where’s the dragon!? Where!?” Sirius exclaimed, bolting upright and nearly toppling out of his seat.

“Settle down, Padfoot. Remus is not going to surprise a girl with a dragon.” James rolled his eyes, making Remus huff in exasperation. “Moony needs our help with something; pay attention.”

Sirius blinked, his eyes unfocused, until he looked between Remus and James. “What's going on?” he asked, shaking his head to fully wake up.

“Remus wants to surprise Y/n today; give him some ideas,” James urged, nudging Sirius with his elbow. “You’re good at this sort of thing.”

“Oh, right. I’m quite the charmer, aren’t I?” Sirius yawned.

“Whatever, just help me,” Remus sighed, rolling his eyes as he leaned closer to the two of them.

“How about flowers?” Sirius suggested, “Girls love flowers.”

“Duh, we know that,” James said, rolling his eyes. “But which flowers?”  

Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know. Just pick some nice ones.”

“Brilliant idea, really helpful,” Remus rolled his eyes. 

James groaned. “This is going to take some serious planning,” he muttered, shaking his head.

Over the course of the class, the three boys huddled together and began to think of ways to help Remus plan a surprise for you. Together, they came up with the perfect idea for the picnic by the lake.

1. James will get the food from the kitchen.

2. Sirius will get a blanket and tea candles for that romantic feel.

3. Peter’s going to get the flowers.

4. Remus, just be Remus.

Later on, after class, the Marauders headed outside of the castle to start preparing for the surprise, leaving you none the wiser on what was going on behind the scenes. Throughout the day, Remus couldn’t keep the smile off his face, feeling the excitement build in his chest with each passing hour.

The sun began to set as evening approached, and students started to make their way back to their respective common rooms, some already getting ready to study in the library and some on their way to detention. When you reached your dorm, you found your friends waiting for you, already curious about how your day had gone.

“So, how was your day, Y/n?” Mary asked, a playful glint in her eyes.

“Yeah, what’d he say?” Marlene added, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

You rolled your eyes at their teasing, but you couldn’t deny the warm feeling that bloomed in your chest at the thought of your time with Remus. “We just had a nice walk to class together; nothing too exciting,” you replied, trying to keep your voice nonchalant.

Lily and the others exchanged knowing looks, clearly not buying your casual tone. “Alright, well, we won’t pry….yet.” Lily smirked. “Make sure to come back to the common room once you're done with your walk. You have to tell us everything.”

“That’s assuming there’s anything to tell,” you chuckled, feeling a familiar warmth spread throughout your chest. With that, you made your way to get ready for your walk with Remus, excitement bubbling inside you. You quickly freshened up and changed into a comfortable yet cute outfit—a pale pink sweater and some white jeans—making sure to look presentable for your time with Remus.

You waved your friends goodbye as you left the dorm, already looking forward to spending time with Remus and getting to know him better. You walked down to the common room, only to be stopped by James.

“Hi, Y/n.”

“Hey, James,” you smiled. “Have you seen Remus?” 

 “Actually, Mr. Moony has sent me to fetch you, my fair maiden.” James grinned before taking an exaggerated bow in front of you.

“If you’d be so kind as to follow me.” James held out an arm with a flourish, which made you laugh and roll your eyes.

“Alright, show me the way, kind sir,” you giggled, taking his arm.

James led you through the corridors, making jokes along the way. The two of you stopped at the courtyard, and James then turned to you.

“Go down to the beech tree; Remus is waiting for you there.” James smiled, winking at you.

“Thanks, James,” you chuckled, before making your way through the courtyard and down to the lakeshore.

As you reached the spot where Remus was waiting, you couldn’t help but feel a shot of warmth in your chest yet again. Remus was standing there with a smile on his face and a bouquet of pink and yellow flowers in his hand.

“Hi, you look beautiful.” Remus’ smile widened, his cheeks turning pink as he offered you the flowers.

You had to fight back a smile as his compliment made your heart skip a beat. “Thank you, Remus,” you said with a shy smile, taking the flowers. “Everything looks really lovely.”

Your eyes fell on the setup that Remus had prepared—a blanket spread out on the grass, tea candles placed around, and a small picnic basket beside it.

“Did you do all this?” you asked, feeling genuinely touched.

“Not entirely,” Remus admitted, smiling sheepishly. “My friends helped me, but I wanted to do something special for you.”

“Thank you, Remus. This is really sweet,” you said, feeling warmth in your chest.

You sat down on the blanket, and Remus joined you. The two of you started to talk and get to know each other better as the sun began to set. The air was filled with laughter, chatter, and the sound of nature around you. It felt like time was slowing down, allowing both of you to enjoy the moment and each other’s company.

As the evening turned to night and the moon shone brightly in the velvet sky, Remus took a deep breath, feeling a sense of contentment and happiness wash over him. He couldn’t deny that there was something special about you—something that made him feel more alive than he had in a long time. And in that moment, as you talked and laughed under the moonlight, Remus couldn’t help but feel as if he had found someone who understood him, someone who made him feel like everything was right in the world. And in that moment, he knew that you were someone he wanted to hold onto, someone he wanted to be a part of his life.

You looked up, meeting Remus’ eyes, and felt a sense of connection that you had never experienced before. Looking into his warm and gentle brown eyes, you just felt safe, and you knew that this was the start of something special, something worth holding onto.

“Thank you for tonight, Remus,” you said, feeling a sense of contentment in your heart.

“It was my pleasure, Y/N; you deserve it and more. I had a great time with you,” Remus replied, his eyes holding a warmth that made your heart skip a beat. “I was wondering...”

“What is it?” 

“Would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade on the weekend?”

Blood rushed into your cheeks at his question. Remus just asked you out to Hogsmeade! “I’d love to, Remus.”

Remus’ smile widened, and his cheeks tinged pink. “Great. It’s a date?” 

You chuckled softly. “Yes, it’s a date.”

As you both made your way back to the Gryffindor common room, the evening felt magical in a way that you couldn’t quite define. You stepped inside your dorm, and you were met with the squeals and teasing of your friends, who had clearly been waiting for your return.

“You’ve been gone for ages; you seemed to be having fun,” Marlene teased, nudging you playfully.

“Hey, stop it!” you laughed, playfully swatting her arm.

“It looks like someone had a good time,” Lily teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

You shook your head at their teasing, but you couldn’t deny the smile that remained on your face. Tonight had been different and special, and you couldn’t wait to see what the future held.

As you sat on your bed with your friends, the warm feeling in your chest lingered, and for the first time in a long time, you felt like everything was going to be okay.

And as for Remus, as he made his way to his dormitory, a smile remained on his face. The special night with you felt like a dream, but he knew that it was just the start.

Maybe you were the one he had been waiting for—the one who could tame the heart of a werewolf—the one who could make him feel more alive than he had in a long time. And the thought of spending more time with you, getting to know you, and making new memories together filled him with hope and excitement.

He went to sleep that night with a contented heart and the belief that you were the one he had been searching for all this time, the one he could see himself falling for. And as he drifted into sleep, he let the thoughts and dreams of you soothe him to a good night’s rest. 

Who knew a game of seven minutes in heaven could make you feel like this?

@helens3amstuff @gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @lovemelikecrazyiloveyoucrazy @tchalamss @ashlynnmalfoy @crazycat-ladys-blog @michakune @mxltifxnd0m @spencerr3idd @dangelnleif @sthkate @ferrjulie @imnotoverlyobsessive @mel-vaz @elsagreeer @lovely-maryj @meowmeowmau @saintcosette @ashisabitgay @ladyladybuggg @nyrasunderwrld @lizzxoxo @remussbitch @jadahxx @starrystormwritings @ell0ra-br3kk3r @dreary-salem @drewsandsebastianswife @greenapplegrass @lilianelena39 @danni-phant0m @haybellewrites @cloudlst @si4a @ev3ningrain @ttulipwritezz @bambikitten @bullets-from-another-dimension @siriuslycaptainofthedawntreader @reg-arcturus-black @abruuinlove @marina468 @3stelar @timhalamet @st4rf00k3r @idli-dosa @jimins15thhair @blacksgarden

[dovithedarklord]

Stucked

You're trapped in a game and a new threat is lurking.

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Pairing: John "Soap" MacTavish x reader

Tags: Mentions of death, Mentions of blood and gore, Blood and Violence, Sexual Scenes, Alternate Universe, No use of Y/N, Not Beta Read, AFAB Reader

Trigger Warning: Contains violence, blood and smut in detail. Please, keep that in mind!

⚠️MDNI⚠️

......................................................

Author's Note

This idea came to me while I was running and I had to write it down.

Just a short story that will have a sequel, I guess.

The story is inspired by this manhwa: https://cloudrecess.io/manga/dreadful-night

If you can, read it, it's great!

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You stare out of the car window with glassy eyes, and although it's not the first time that the lush green of the forest bathed in the light of the setting sun slips by on the horizon, it still manages to put the tension back into your stomach every single time. The peace out there could lull anyone into a false sense of security. But not you. It can't fool you anymore.

The same female voice comes from the radio, and you already know every single word of that damned song by heart. But even if you would show your displeasure, even if your companion sitting in the passenger seat would look for another radio station, the next time still the same godforsaken music would be playing. This is the background noise every time you return to the starting point, and it has almost become a habit that this melodic introduction starts your suffering all over again.

At first, as you woke up from your slumber in the back seat, the unfamiliar surroundings made you feel as though the vague world of your dreams had bled into reality, and now you found yourself in some bizarre fairy tale. But this is the twenty-second time that you come to your senses in the vehicle moving down the bumpy forest road, and you slowly start to get used to the stomach-turning cheerfulness repeated in a loop, which welcomes you every single time. And it was enough for you to feel the metallic taste of the blood filling your mouth once, and find yourself here again after feeling the icy pain of the knife slitting your throat, to understand that you are not in reality. Although the rough material for your jeans under your fingers, the floral scent of the perfume in the car, and the bitter taste of stomach acid creeping into your mouth seem perfectly real, just like the agony of your latest death, but you've learned that it's all just an appearance. An illusion. In which you have been imprisoned for weeks, and for exactly that long you are forced to die again and again, because you won't escape until you finally find the way out at the end of the mysteries that keep multiplying.

You don't know how you got here, but that doesn't matter anymore. The important thing is that you’re stuck in a game, and you have to find out how to get out of it before this madness consumes the last shred of your sanity.

A loud laughter comes from the front, the blonde girl sitting behind the wheel recounts with a grin, how her ex-boyfriend tried to perform an erotic dance to this song, and how it ended in a late-night visit to the ER. Pam is that typical obligatory extroverted character, whose only role in such games is to be brutally murdered when she's about to get naughty with someone. She's a nice but stupid girl, and it's not her fault that whoever created her intended her to have this tragic end.

Rebecca, your other companion, who only laughs at Pam's story while sitting in the passenger seat, shily hides the blush rising on her face with her hand. And although she's a charming girl, you've seen her bloody corpse too many times for you to remember her blank, worldless eyes and her pale mouth frozen in an eternal scream instead of her radiant smile. She is the first to die. Always. And you might have felt sorry for her in the beginning, but you no longer have the strength to have compassion for someone who only exists in this nightmarish world.

As soon as the outline of the homey cabin appears at the end of the road, the foreboding appears in you like a familiar friend, which slowly closes your insides in an iron grip, as if the pull of the stress that awakens in your veins would help anything. After all, it always ends the same. You search for a clue, you die and you end up here. And the only thing that keeps you from going crazy is the faint hope that the more secrets you uncover in this goddamn purgatory, the closer you get to the exit. Maybe.

The car slows to a stop in front of the location of your late autumn vacation, and the two girls jump out of the car with excited laughter, arguing over who will occupy which guest room in the huge house. The same dialogue, the same room layout, the same ear-splitting giggles from Pam's mouth that remind you of her screams cutting through the silence of the night, as she gets gutted like a trapped deer. You've seen her mangled body too many times for her laughter to revive the images of the delicate, wet glistening of her intestines, as the pale light of the moon surrounds her lifeless form on the cold wooden floor.

With a weary sigh, you grab your backpack resting next to you, mentally preparing in advance to once again suffer through the excruciating play that, like a prologue, leads up to the horrors that await you in the night. You list the thousand steps you have to take to find out where you are in the game, to discover if your previous death was in vain. Did you get a new puzzle that brings you closer to the finish line? Has another path been revealed for you to continue on, one that might finally take you back to the real world? Your chest hurts when you realize that you don't even remember what it was like to not live in this hell. With each passing night, the memory of reality floats further away, and the ghost of tears burns your eyes when you realize that even your real name sounds like a false fabrication in your brain. As if you never existed outside the confines of this dreadful place.

The door of the cabin opens with a loud creak, and this disturbs you from your thoughts that are spiraling into ever darker depths. And as a man appears on the doorstep, you almost taste the bitterness of anger on your tongue, because although anyone would be fooled by the wide grin on his face, anyone would be enchanted by those vivid blue eyes, and anyone would be swept off their feet by the playful friendliness he embraces your two traveling companions in his strong arms with as a greeting, but you already know him all too well. After all, Johnny has killed you at least eleven times, with the same sickly sweet smile on his curved lips, with which he now turns to you again.

"Bunny!" He beams, and you have to use all your strength to suppress the stomach acid rising in your throat from the nausea that fills you from the fake kindness emanating from him. "It's good to see ye again!" He pulls you into a tight hug, as you shamble to the small terrace, and as he presses you to his broad chest, his scent, which you would recognize from everywhere, creeps into your nose. The aroma of his cologne, the saltiness of his skin, and that smell that you couldn't quite place before. The smell of blood clings to him like a faint, barely perceptible phantom that only you can sense. You've witnessed it too many times.

"You too, Johnny."  You reply, each word burning your tongue like poison, but that's the script. You have to get into this act because there's no point in resisting. The story progresses the same whether you oppose it or not. The weirder you act in their eyes, the more the game will punish you later. And so you lose the chance of finding that tiny crumb that might help you get closer to your escape.

And from this point on, time crawls on leaden legs, and you sit through the impromptu dinner with gritted teeth, which was made by the man for you, while he was waiting for you to arrive at his modest little shack. He invited you here to celebrate your birthday. Your birthday according to the game, that is. You remember your own more and more faintly, and this makes you fall into despair enough to drag yourself through the events with a forced smile, like a puppet being pulled on a string by an unknown hand.

Sometimes you have the stray thought that you might be stuck here forever, and that you are forced to fight again and again in an endless circle, without end, without hope. And this suddenly makes the food taste like ash, which you force into your mouth with automatic movements.

"Is somethin' wrong, hen?" Comes the worried question, and blinking in confusion, you look up from your plate to Johnny, who is eyeing you with his dark brows furrowed in worry, as if your behavior would really disturb him. And you just shake your head with practiced happiness, putting a faint smile on your lips that doesn't reach your eyes.

"No. Not at all. My stomach is just a little upset. But it'll pass." You explain, quickly gathering your faux, artificial cheerfulness, because you can't deviate from the story now. Tonight you might have a chance to discover where the last clue leads to, and you shouldn't attract any unnecessary attention if you want to continue your search later. Let everything go in its own way until the shit inevitably hits the fan. But you still have work to do before that. It's only a few hours. You just have to bear it for that long.

This seems to calm him, for in an instant the lines of doubt disappear from his features, to be replaced by that disgusting kindness. And you are already familiar with the barely visible glimmer in those beautiful eyes, which makes you feel like a startled little rabbit being cornered by a fox. Johnny is a threat wrapped in honeyed words and friendly smiles, which was able to lower your guard one too many times. And you paid the price of your carelessness every single time.

And when the whiskey bottle, which was brought out in your honor halfway through the dinner, is finally empty, and the cake, which the man so generously bought for you before he came here, has been eaten, then the essential part of the evening arrives. Rebecca's phone rings, and she hastily apologizes so that she can go out into the cool night and immerse herself in the argumentative conversation she is having with her boyfriend. And you almost start to feel sorry for her, that death finds while she tries to get her love life straight. She doesn't even notice how deep the forest swallows her in the middle of the fight, and she is easy prey in the desolate wildness of trees and bushes. After the first three times, you no longer go after her or try to save her. You can't protect either of them. They are all animals for slaughter in the eyes of the game.

Johnny also retires for the night, claiming that the alcohol has gone to his head, and wishing you a "good night" he goes upstairs to sleep. For a while, you believed that he was indeed sleeping every time, and you honestly fell for the innocent performance he gave you, when the corpse of one of your friends was found. You seriously wanted to believe that he wasn't a threat to you. But then he broke your neck as easily as a twig. You will never be naive enough to trust him again.

"What a pity that you can't fuck your friends." Pam sighs longingly, and she almost undresses the man walking up the stairs with her eyes, biting her lip as her gaze glides over his broad back hidden trapped in the tight shirt. There is no denying that Johnny is an attractive man. It's a shame he's so handsome and even knows it. But the most evil creatures tend to be the most beautiful. You have learned this well.

Finally, you are alone after Pam has also left to take a shower, and you can begin what every nerve fiber of yours has been screaming for for hours. You jump up with nimble movements and hurriedly head in the direction of the kitchen, dropping the feigned serenity from your face. Last time, you found a dirty, yellowed picture in the woodshed, which took a while to decipher, but then you realized where to look.  As you enter the small room, you pull out the photo to hold it up in front of you, comparing it to the room bathed in the warm light coming from the living room. Although Johnny renovated this house, you can still easily find the wall where a refrigerator now rests, but based on the bright red circle in the photo, you have to look for the next clue somewhere there. You slip the picture back into your pocket and try to search for something suspicious with the flashlight of your phone, so you can better see what you're dealing with, there's no other use for this damn device anyway. You can't turn on the lights because that would immediately alert the other killer lurking outside. You learn a new lesson every time you fuck up, but you get smarter with each attempt. You'll be out of here soon. You have to get out of here.

As you peer under the fridge on all fours, squinting, a board creaks under your palm, pressing down a bit under your weight as you lean on your hands. You know that this is a sign, and as you kneel up to look for something to pry open the wood with, your eyes settle on a knife left on the kitchen counter. The whipped cream is still smudged against the cool metal, and suddenly the unwanted image enters your mind as the same blade slowly sinks into your chest, breaking through the protection of your ribs to then penetrate your lungs, pouring warm blood into your throat. You swallow hard, forcing the memory of the metallic taste out of your mouth, and steeling yourself, you wrap your fingers around the knife so you can get back to work, because you can't dwell on this right now. There's no point.

You stick the knife under the board and carefully pry it open, making sure to stay as quiet as possible because you don't know what will trigger the next death flag. Even though you are now aware of the signs and actions that lead the attacker to find you, this miserable game still has many surprises in store. With a soft squeak, the wood pops open, and as a small dark hole is revealed underneath, you take your phone in your hand and cast light on it, and like a wild animal pouncing on its prey, you reach for the small object shining in a golden light. Your fingers find the relic resting there, and you examine the key in puzzlement, as you pull it out of its hiding place. What does this open? Too small to be for a door. Maybe a lock?

The realization hits your brain like a bolt of lightning, and you spring up and turn back towards the living room. The hope that you might find something valuable rises in you, so you hurry through the room still shrouded in intimate silence, to sneak upstairs with silent steps when you reach the stairs. You know, if Pam shows up to the noise, she'll be on your trail the whole time, and that way you'll only attract trouble sooner. It might be selfish, but it's easier to let her die alone than to be hunted down together. You need time, and the more you waste on supporting characters, the less you have left to progress. But even because of this, your sense of guilt is starting to fade.

As soon as you reach the upper floor, you see the door at the end of the long corridor, on which even at such a distance you can faintly see the padlock that keeps it closed. Until now, this fact wasn't important to you, because it immediately became clear that you can only get in if you have the key. You can't hack it with anything else, you can't tear it down, this damn diabolical place will only let you in if you find the right clue to it.

You stalk like a cat in the darkness of the corridor, and the sound of your footsteps is absorbed by the soft carpet running along the floor. You consider your every move, because a new way out is possibly within your reach, and you fear that the chance to find the next important hint may disappear at any moment. Your own soft breathing sounds deafening to your ears, and each heartbeat feels as if your heart would want to burst out of your chest. Every inch of your body fills with anticipatory tension as you creep closer and closer…

And then you hear the voices.

At first, the muffled sighs seem like nothing more than the soft snores of one of your sleeping companions, but then you hear a moan, and you are overcome with confusion. The closer you get to the door opening from the middle of the corridor, the louder the panting and the gentle rustling of the bedsheets become, and you try to recall who could be hiding there according to the script. But nothing comes into your mind, because that room has been empty until now, without role or importance.

And as soon as you get close enough, you understand what is going on behind the door left ajar. The only source of light in the darkness of the room is the moon peeking through the window, but you can perfectly make out the movements of the tightly entangled figures. Johnny looks almost otherworldly as the pale light paints the dance of the corded muscles on his back as his mouth smooths over Pam's throat, eliciting a lustful moan from her. One of his strong hands slides along her breasts, and soon after his lips stray there, he almost viciously bites her nipple, to receive a pained gasp in response. His palm rests on her hips, and as he digs his fingers into the soft flesh, his hips only meet hers with vigorous movements, filling the heavy air with almost obscene, wet sounds. And as he kneels up, his fingers glide along her thigh almost teasingly, so that, hooking his hand in the bend of her knee, he directs her leg to his shoulder, locking it in a vise-like embrace that makes his biceps bulge. He brushes his lips against her calf, and you see his teeth flash for just a moment before he sinks them into the delicate skin, drawing a lewd whimper from her mouth opening in surprise. His movements are restless, each thrust seems violent and desperate, and she just grabs at the sheet and starts pleading, encouraging him in tears to sink his cock into her pussy just a little bit harder. And with each passing moment, Johnny looks more like a beast lost in his pleasure, as low grunts and moans erupt from his throat as he pushes himself closer and closer to the edge. And your feet are almost rooted to the ground, and you're unable to tear your eyes away from them, as you lose control over your body from shock and disbelief. Even though you know you shouldn't be here, you shouldn't be watching them, suddenly too much information rushes through your senses into your brain to process what is happening.

But as Pam's back arches with a loud cry, and Johnny's hips stutter with a growl-like sound, the surreal image ends, because the man turns his head towards you as if he knew you were standing in front of the door, frozen in astonishment. Your stunned gaze meets his eyes, dilated pupils swimming in lust, and you feel like a deer stuck in the headlights, waiting to be hit by a car speeding towards it. His mouth stretches into a lazy, satisfied grin as he slides out of the panting girl and slowly begins to rub his cock, as if to tell you that it could be you if you would just give in to the temptation.

And that clears your mind in the blink of an eye, and you back away hastily, almost running to the door resting at the end of the corridor, before you would have time to further analyze the features of the man's face filled with post-orgasm bliss. What the hell is this new scene? This has never happened before…

You reach for the lock hanging on the door with trembling hands, but your fingers are still clumsy from the adrenaline pumping through your veins, and they only find the keyhole after many tries. And in the middle of your fumbling, you don't even notice how a dark shadow appears behind you, and you only realize that you're late and have failed, when a gloved hand grips the back of your neck and smashes your head into the hard wood of the door with an almost painful strength. The force of the impact resonates through your skull, and you clench your teeth with a yelp as the sharp pain rips through your head.

Black spots swim into your field of vision, and you have trouble when you try to focus your eyes to decipher who attacked you this time. And as soon as you catch a glimpse of the skull-like mask out of the corner of your eye, you realize that this time you only managed to get this far. When the knife glints in the killer's hand as he strikes you, you only bitterly realize through the blood filling in your mouth that the game is trying to divert you from the escape with more and more vile methods. Because you're convinced that Johnny's action was just another death flag that ended your search prematurely. And you surrender yourself to the darkness with the knowledge that you cannot let this happen again...

~

When you come to, you're sitting in the back seat again, and the melody of familiar music reaches your ears only as a low hum, because you know you're back at the beginning of the game. But what worries you much more is that you walked into a scene the previous night, which not only completely deviates from the usual pattern of all the events until now, but also represents a downright disturbing new development. So far, the script hasn't gotten sidetracked from the main story in the case of the supporting characters, and Pam should have been waiting in the shower for the killer to appear when you sneaked up to find the door with the lock. The fact that this story has changed so drastically helps the icy fingers of dread wrap around your stomach. Because you have no idea what kind of difficulties this will cause you.

The usual conversation takes place between the two girls, and when you arrive at the wretched cabin, they leap out of the car with the same enthusiasm, as if they weren't heading towards another painful death. But it doesn't matter to them anyway, because surrounded by carefree ignorance, they don't even know what awaits them.

When the door opens and Johnny's well-known figure appears, his face filled with desire flashes before your eyes almost on a cue, and you forcefully push the memory out of your head. This little interlude distracted you just enough to know you shouldn't fall for the game's nasty tricks again. Because you are more and more certain that it actively wants to hold you back and trap you here forever. The heated spectacle of the previous evening can only be due to this…

"Bunny!" The man greets you with the same bursting, false joy that he always shows you, but now you have to forcefully drive away the moans echoing in your ears, which surface in your head when you hear his deep voice. "It's good to see ye again!"  He says enthusiastically, and as his strong arms wrap around you, every single muscle of yours tenses, as the stress wakes up in you as a result of the fear that grips your insides. But it's even more worrying, as new fragments of memories flood the canvas of your mind, because the experience of seeing those hands glide over the body of your companion is too fresh to quickly overcome your embarrassment.

But you don't have time to think about how to get over these tangled emotions and continue the play, because suddenly you feel the man's hot breath on your ear, and in an instant, every part of you freezes like a frightened animal when the predator digs its claws into it.

"I hope ye liked what you saw, bonnie." The man grunts softly, and for a moment you think you misheard it. But as one of his hands creeps down to rest on your waist, and he presses you closer to him, the air gets trapped in your lungs with an almost painful force. "Because ye'll be next..." He whispers, and in his voice lies such a dark promise that it makes your blood run cold.

And as if nothing had happened, the moment ends suddenly, and as he steps away from you, he only looks down at you with his usual nauseating smile. But you see the dangerous predatory sparks in his eyes, and his gaze makes the little hairs rise up on your neck. And you soon realize that something is very wrong with the game. Fuck.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Lilia, Epel: Blessing Givers, Curse Breaker

Lilia’s vignettes continue to be gold! He “humble” brags about how his voice is great, he’s sooo adorable, and such an ikemen… (Apparently he realized he was cute because people would give him free stuff and help on his travels and when he first came to NRC!) Best part was definitely when Lilia described cooking for his dorm members and they were “so touched” that they bowed their heads, covered their faces, and/or cried 💀 NOT THEM PUTTING A PICTURE OF MALEFICENT DRAGON FORM ON LILIA'S BIRTHDAY CARD… His vignettes also mention having the strength to overcome “a curse” 😭 Cruel reminders of the tragedy that unfolded in his past, and bis unfulfilled search for a cure for Silver... TWST devs, you sickos/j

A Tale as Old as Time.

Three fairies crowded around a cradle, its curtained hood up to obscure the infant within. Green, pink, blue—each was dressed in a particular color. They glanced at the baby and at each other, mouths agape to discuss their blessings.

Safeguarded within the platinum frame was a celebration of life and a future yet to be told. The fragile start of a brand new story.

Lilia wanted to protect it himself.

“Looks like some fancy shindig.” The remark came from Epel, who gazed upon the same painting. "Erm... I mean, party. That is what it is, right...?"

"They've come to bestow gifts upon a newborn princess. Royal affairs can be a bit stiff, I'm afraid. Can't even show up to one without an invitation! Some hosts are just sticklers for tradition and protocol."

"Oh, I got it!" Epel visibly perked, cheeks appling with pink. "It's a different kind of gathering. Back home in Harveston, they're a lot more informal. Family and all the neighbors coming by with plates of warm food, a makeshift band and folks dancing, catching up by the fire... It's so lively."

Lilia’s lip curled, the corners lifting into a slight smile. "It's good to know that your hometown hasn't lost its charm."

"You've visited before?"

"Once, long ago," the ancient fae chuckled, "when I was still a stubborn and stony-faced youth. The people of Harveston opened their hearts and offered hospitality. From what you've told me, it's clear that the very same spirit from then persists to this day."

"Gosh, really?" Epel puffed up at that, as though he were a peacock flaunting his feathers. "Hehe, wellll, Harveston does have a way of makin' ya feel cozy and right at home, even if yer far away from it!"

"That it does." Lilia's eyes traced the wall of artwork before him. The colors, shapes, and textures. "Twisted Wonderland is so vast and diverse. I've traveled far and wide, experienced a great deal of cultures, yet I always find myself anchored to that one special place called home. There is no comfort like it."

There’s no place like home.

A twinge pulsated in his chest. The pain, marring the nostalgic warmth he bathed in. Lilia did not let it show—not to his underclassman, not this child that stared at him with such eagerness.

He swallowed.

“How do you celebrate in Briar Valley?” Epel asked. “Can you tell me about your traditions too?”

“Kufufu. You’re keen on learning, I see.”

“I didn’t always. I’m sure if you asked Vil, he’d give you a mouthful about how ‘uppity’ and ‘full of myself’ I was at first.” Epel groaned at the thought of another lecture from his dorm leader. “… But recently, I’ve been thinkin’ it’s not too bad to hear about how others experience everything.

“Meemaw—my grandma—goes to the city to sell our farm’s produce. She has to switch up how she talks to speak to the locals. I noticed our mayor too, when he talks to tourists. So learning about new people and cultures can’t be a bad thing.”

Epel’s eyes were wide, sparkling with wanderlust. Wistful and longing for the world that awaited him.

Perhaps Lilia had worn the same expression before, at the moment of his epiphany. When had he realized it? When the elderly couple had draped a blanket over him, when they shared a meal, when they spun him the stories of their lives, or when he sat at the cradle and relived those times to a still dormant Malleus?

The warmth in him expanded, like a gulp of soup trickling down his throat, then splashing in his stomach. It had been a humble broth of vegetables, and yet it satisfied him down to the last drop.

“We’re really not so different,” Lilia explained with a grin. “Food and friends are all you need to have a good time wherever you are.

“However, if you are particularly fortunate, you just may have a guardian fairy descend and give you blessings as well.” He indicated the painting of the three fairies hovering over a cradle. “Like so. I believe this infant was gifted with song, beauty, and…”

“Song and beauty?!” Epel’s expression crinkled. “Who decided on those, the parents?”

“The guardian fairies themselves. They choose what they believe will bring the blessed child happiness.”

“They could’ve given the kid something more…” Epel vaguely waved a hand. “I don’t know, useful? Why not strength so they won’t lose any fights? I’d be happy with some more muscle of my own…”

Lilia laughed, soft and low like a midnight whisper. “Why not indeed.”

Because time steals away everything eventually, hissed a voice in his head. The truth, bare and bitter.

The edges of Lilia’s vision quivered. A memory resurfaced—blink, and he saw himself in the frame, his long shadow cast over the crib. Blink, and that was Silver nestled in the fabric. Blink, and the castle was abandoned and covered in thorns.

A fairy robbing a crib of its cursed child.

“Strength is good to have,” Lilia said slowly, “but it will not last forever. Not many things do.”

Still… If I could have one wish, it would be…

The only force able to break the spell set upon Silver. The one feeling he was certain he was incapable of. A love so pure and honest, it was known to be true.

Something he wasn’t worthy of.

True love.

Not him. Not the grimy, low-born bat of a dubious past—as his most unkind of thoughts would insist.

He was the same as them. He had condemned Silver to walking in the night, had made the decision for him. The instant his hair had turned from pale sunshine to the moonlight of his namesake, it was too late to unwind the clock.

Which had he cast—blessing or curse?

The longer he looked at the painting, the more mocking the gentle, rounded faces of the guardian fairies seemed to become. Guiltless, oblivious beings, they were.

They would never know of his plight.

Lilia scoffed. “If the fairies wanted the child to be happy, they should have granted them that strength.”

That which was impossible for him.

"The power to overcome a curse.”

"... The power to overcome a curse, huh?" Epel quietly mused. "Not even Vil-senpai has that kind of strength--and his unique magic is to cast curses! Until the conditions are fulfilled, it can't be broken."

"That's the trouble with curses," Lilia agreed. "They're finicky, depending on how they're woven. Some may even last a lifetime without ever being lifted. Others may spend their own lives seeking out cures."

The story of his life. He was always searching for something, something, something. Lost friends, how to hatch a dragon's egg, true love to dispel drowsiness.

Now, a happy ending.

Lilia released a sigh through his nose.

If only.

"Well, if magic can't make that wish come true... we'll just have to make it a reality ourselves, won't we?"

[misc-obeyme]

MC Looking Fabulous Part 2

As requested by @hakirachan, here is part two of MC Looking Fabulous. MC normally wears casual clothes, but they show up at a party looking amazing. This is the dateables and Luke reacting.

I know requests are closed at the moment, but I wanted to do this lol. Also I was already planning on reopening them tonight.

As with the first one, I tried to keep MC gender neutral and so their outfit is not described.

Thank you for the request!

GN!MC

Warnings: None!

Diavolo

Stunned at first, but after he gets over the initial surprise, you watch his face light up. He’s practically grinning as he comes to your side, acting polite and welcoming you to the party. Everybody watches the future demon king at events like this and now everybody is watching you, too. Diavolo is aware of this, but it’s clear he’s only interested in you.

Tells you how stunning you look. He likes everything you wear, of course. Human fashion trends are so interesting! But there’s no denying you’ve put in extra effort for the party. If you’ve worn something he gave you, he will recognize it immediately.

He’s practically sparkling at you. Anyone else would likely be starstruck being in his presence, but Diavolo is giddy about being near you. If he’s in his demon form, he’ll always keep a wing held around you, even if it’s not touching you. It’s a subtle indication to others that you’re under his protection.

Will definitely want you to dance with him. Asks you with princely demeanor, leading you out to the dance floor. Easily moves you through the steps. To everyone else, the two of you look like a fairy tale. But in the small space that remains between you, his smile and conversation fill you with ease and comfort. He’s so happy to get to hold you like this tonight, MC.

Barbatos

Smiles knowingly. While it’s true that you normally dress quite casually, he had no doubt that you could dress to the nines when it suited you. He’s not surprised, but he is impressed. Watches you for some time as you move through the room. You’re not even aware of it at first until he makes eye contact with you. His regard flusters you. You know you've caught his attention.

Eventually makes his way over to you. Bows to you courteously. Compliments you on your outfit. Notices the details and will point out one or two things about it. Mentions how he would love to make you an outfit himself for the next grand event if you would allow him to. He is fully captivated by you, MC.

Doesn’t feel the need to be near you all night, but he’ll be secretly thrilled if you decide to stick by him. If you wander off, though, you can be sure his eyes will regularly search the room for you. He wants to be aware of you at all times. You are like a warm beacon, attracting his notice at every moment.

When you seem unoccupied, he will ask you dance. His poise and the way he guides you stuns everyone present. People stop to watch, but he is only focused on you. If you start to get nervous from all the attention, he’ll distract you by saying something sweet. You forget about everyone else pretty quickly since Barbatos rarely says anything about his own feelings for you. When he does, it’s thoroughly distracting.

Simeon

Oh, MC. He’s overwhelmed. Of course it doesn’t matter what you wear, it’s your soul that always dazzles him. Still he can tell how much effort you’ve put into your look tonight and he’s overcome by it. He wants to approach you immediately, but he hangs back. It’s nice just to watch you from afar as well.

Waits until you make your way to him. When you do, he showers you in compliments while trying not to sound too much like he’s gushing. It’s just such a departure from your usual look, you’ve got everyone staring at you. He’s happy you’ve made some time to talk to him.

Another one who won’t stay attached to you all night. He’ll even try to act like he’s not watching you. But in the end, he finds he’s always aware of your location. You’re just too magnetizing.

Waits until you’ve danced with a few other people before asking you. Can’t help but notice the way everyone is watching. He knows it’s an unusual sight for them - a human and an angel dancing together in the Devildom. He knows you both must look quite stunning. Smiles softly and turns his attention fully on you. Elated that you’re here in his arms.

Solomon

Not surprised that you could look so fabulous, but a little surprised that you chose to go all out. He knows about your tendency to go with comfortable clothes over flashy ones. He would have expected you to show up in something nice, but simple. So he can’t help but take in your elaborate outfit. It looks perfect on you.

Watches you for a bit before approaching. He wants to watch everyone else’s reactions to you, but finds he can’t wait to tell you how amazing you look. Ends up going over to you sooner than he was planning just so he can comment on your look.

If he sees you’re wearing something he gave you, he won’t say anything, but the look in his eyes changes. It’s clear that it means a lot to him. Acts like it’s no big deal, chatting and laughing with you as he always does. Asks you to dance and acts the same way, like nothing is different.

When you’re done dancing, though, he’s going to pull you aside somewhere quiet where he can allow himself to get serious with you. You blow him away, MC. Every day you surprise him somehow. Every moment he gets to be by your side gives him a moment of peace.

Luke

What! M-MC! You look like an angel!! Runs up to you immediately while everyone else is still staring in awe. Tells you how great you look, asks you questions about your outfit, and is generally just excited. Calms down a bit after a minute, but stays by you. Doesn’t want to leave you.

Takes your hand and brings you over to the dessert table. Tells you all about how he helped Barbatos and Simeon make a lot of them. Wants you to try them, but be careful! You don’t want to get any food on your gorgeous outfit. Takes it upon himself to make a little plate of treats for you. These are the best ones, trust him.

Might blush a little when asking you to dance. Barbatos taught him how and he’s been practicing with the butler and the Purgatory Hall boys nearly every day! Like you could even think about refusing the cute little angel. Of course you accept and you are indeed impressed with Luke’s ability. You tell him he’s doing a great job and he beams at you.

Gets a little tired before the night is over. Sit down with him and he’ll eventually doze off. Won’t fight you if you rearrange him so his head is in your lap. He’ll get embarrassed about it when he wakes up. Might even complain about being treated like a child. But he’s just so cute like that, you really can’t help yourself.

masterlist | part 1 with the brothers | Thank you for reading!

[youryurigoddess]

On love and sacrifices

There’s so much more to this scapegoating business and big sacrifices referenced in the Good Omens narrative than the literal goats. And they’re only getting bigger, louder, final.

But let’s take it slow and start with the beginning, quite literally — i.e., with the Good Omens 2 title sequence. As we follow Aziraphale and Crowley on their journey, the universe warps and their usual left and right side positioning switches during the magic show (not accidentally an act of trust and sacrifice required both from the angel and the demon). They stay so throughout the next scene, which is their little dance in the air, and after they seemingly get settled on the A. Z. Fell and Co.’s roof and back to normal, the flipped sky in the background suggests that something’s not quite right yet. In the central part of the shot looms a large, humanlike shadow of the Elephant Trunk Nebula.

The nebula is a part of a constellation called Cepheus, after an Ethiopian king from the Greek mythology who agreed to sacrifice his only daughter in order to appease the gods and end a local calamity started by her mother and his wife, Cassiopeia (talk about generational responsibility). With time and a delightfully ironic twist of fate, the name of said daughter, Andromeda, became more famous than that of her father. Although she was chained up to a rock and offered to the sea serpent Cetus, the girl was spotted by the warrior Perseus, casually flying over the sea — either on the back of the Pegasus or thanks to a pair of winged sandals — after his victory over Medusa. He fell in love on the spot, defeated the serpent (with the help of a magical sword or Medusa’s severed head, depending on the varying sources), and freed the princess. That’s not exactly where their story ends, but we won’t be getting into the rest here.

Not surprisingly, Neil has mentioned two parallel child sacrifice stories from the biblical context back in August. The first is one of the big ones — The Binding of Isaac. God's command to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, was a test of Abraham's faith. The angel of the Lord intervenes and provides a ram to be sacrificed in the boy’s place.

The second one isn’t nearly as popular, but you might have heard a variant of it in fairy tales or as the Law of Surprise invoked in The Witcher saga. In exchange for Israel’s victory over its enemies in battle, Jephthah had rashly promised God to repay the debt with the first thing seen on his return back home. The victorious warrior didn’t suspect to see his only child moving innocently "to meet him with timbrels and with dances" though. In horror, Jephthah covered his eyes with his cloak, but to no avail: ultimately, he was forced to honor his vow to God, and the girl was sacrificed. As grisly as it might look like in the Old Master’s paintings, it’s important to remember that human sacrifices weren’t limited to physical offerings only — Jephthah’s daughter might have been offered to God in the sense of officially shunning her family and dedicating her life to service instead, probably sequestered in a temple somewhere.

Interestingly, the main character of a big chunk of the Bible and the reason for the Second Coming happens to be THE most influential child sacrifice in the modern history. You know, a certain 33-year-old carpenter sent by his Heavenly Father to die on a cross for the sins of the mankind? Someone better call Aubrey Thyme ASAP.

Circling back to Aziraphale, he could be also seen as a representative of the concept of filial piety, since Eden willing to personally take a Fall not only for the humanity’s collective or individual transgressions, but the shortcomings of his Ineffable Parental Figure as well. Our favorite angel angel always fights for what is right and good, sure, but why would that be even a thing if God was truly omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent?

If Aziraphale’s medal is anything to go by, it looks like we might get an answer from the way it’s introducing another mythological narrative into the game, that is the story of Daedalus and Icarus. The most absorbing thing about this is the stark contrast to the recurring child sacrifice references for S3 mentioned in this post — Daedalus isn’t a father who wanted to sacrifice his son, it was his attempt to save him from imprisonment that ultimately drove Icarus to his death. The boy ignored his father’s explicit instructions, committing the grave and culturally universal sin of disobedience to one's parents that simply couldn’t go unpunished, one way or another.

But Icarus’s transgression could be seen both as high-flying ambition and striving for personal accomplishment as well as humanitarian sacrifice for knowledge and humanity’s advancement in general.

Similarly to a certain angel who left everything for what superficially seems like a work promotion, but is the ultimate act of love — both for his demon and the children they have been protecting and nurturing together for six thousand years. From the very Beginning, his white wings have been shielding everything he holds dear in this world.

[cleolinda]

(For our purposes, listen to it without the visuals first.)

I wasn't going to keep posting about Unreal Unearth, but something happened yesterday.

It's been five months since I first heard this song, and I'm still astonished by it. You know the tiktok skit about the Star Wars wedding music, and the guy is grooving along until the Imperial Death March filters in, and then he's kind of alarmed, like, wha—? And then he realizes it slaps anyway and he keeps dancing? That is "Eat Your Young."

It's the morning of March 17th. The EP with the first three singles from the new album has dropped. I've got my phone blasting the song on the bathroom counter, I don't understand half what the man is saying nor did I expect to, I'm cheerfully mumbling along in the shower, grooving along,

wait they did what for a war drum

Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young

What the fuck, this song goes so hard. That's the chorus. The conceit of the whole album is that it loosely follows Dante's Inferno, so this is the third circle of hell, gluttony. Hozier himself says that he wasn't specifically thinking of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal—

“I don’t know how intentional the reference to Jonathan Swift was in this. That essay [Swift’s 1729 satirical essay A Modest Proposal in which he suggests the Irish poor sell their children as food] is such a cultural landmark that it’s just hanging in the air. I was more reflecting on what I felt now in this spirit of the times of perpetual short-term gain and a long-term blindness. The increasing levels of precarious living, poverty, job insecurity, rental crisis, property crisis, climate crisis, and a generation that’s inheriting all of that and one generation that’s enjoyed the spoils of it. The lyrics are direct, but the voice is playful. There’s this unreliable narrator who relishes in this thing which was fun to write.” [Apple Music album notes]

—and I believe him. The song's not a suggestion, a proposal; it's an invitation to atrocity in progress. I also believe he probably wasn't thinking of Greta Thunberg's iconic speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, not specifically, but that's what I hear in the song, like the flip side of a coin:

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! [...] You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil.

I feel like on some level, even coincidentally, "Eat Your Young" is the answer to the question, what would you sound like if you were that evil? Who would you be? I can think of a dozen possibilities just off the top of my head or looking around my blog, from something as petty as studio executives mangling trees to deprive striking workers of shade (while hoping they lose their homes), all the way up to the US school-to-prison pipeline. The National Rifle Association keeps politicians in its pocket while the US has more mass shootings than days in a year, Nestlé fucks shit up around the world as a way of life, even ChatGPT sucks up water while threatening jobs—and for what? And yet, I promise you most of these things weren't the inspiration for an Irishman’s song—some of them hadn't even happened yet. There's just that much fresh You Would Be Evil to go around. I am certain that Hozier wrote the song partly about (as one article puts it) "Ireland's housing crisis: Millennials, a generation sacrificed," given that time back in the day when he helped occupy a building—a housing crisis happening in multiple countries. There's so much of the world I'm not touching on. I can stuff a paragraph with links and it's utterly inadequate.

I haven't even mentioned war.

There's an overwhelming sense this decade of the future being fed into a meat grinder. That sense is in this song. What would it sound like to be in the head of someone who didn't give a shit about anything but profit? Well, it might sound like this.

And if you haven't heard it, well—I'm going to sound absolutely out of my mind after saying all that, but "Eat Your Young" has a beat and you can dance to it. It's sexy. And I'm certain that's on purpose. You get seduced into the sound of it, as if by something demonic, something that enjoys sucking down the future and is not going to stop. And the sheer fucking catchiness of the song keeps you listening to it—thinking about it—when maybe you push away the dry headlines we get everyday. If you let this song stay in your head, it becomes a lens. Five months later, I still think about it when I read the news. Maui was on fire and tourists stayed. Within days, the prospect of developers swooping in to buy up land reared its head. If there's something still to take, there is ground to break, whatever's still to come. Get some.

I was born in 1978 —I'm late Gen X. In my forties, I'm young enough to worry about the future still; I’m neither so rich that I can just plan to retire to Mars, nor so old that I can know I'll be safely gone before the world might go up in flames. But I'm also not my nephew, whose school year just started back up, or the neighborhood kids who race him home down the sidewalk in the afternoons. Yesterday, he had his very first mass-shooter lockdown drill. He’s six.

I think music can put the feeling back into numb fingers, and I think that's why "Eat Your Young" works so well—Hozier calls the song fun and playful, and I think you have to have that, something you can live with rather than just switch off for your own mental survival. We need music to feed spirit at protests; we need something to keep our feet moving. Don’t give up, don't close your eyes and slip away. Those kids, they have dreams we could try to steal back for them.

Since I mentioned Maui:

Why Hawaiian sovereignty has undeniable context for the Maui fires

The Climate Crisis and Colonialism Destroyed My Maui Home. Where We Must Go From Here

How You Can Donate and Help Support Maui Communities Right Now

The Maui Strong Fund

[corroded-hellfire]

Attend the Tale - Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddie proclaims to theatre nerd!reader that musicals are too happy for him. You then tell him the tale of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Note: This is partially because Gaten is currently in the show on broadway, yes, but also because it is one of my favorite musicals of all time and I myself am a huge theatre nerd.

Warnings: spoilers for Sweeney Todd, which has dark themes including bloody violence, murder, and cannibalism.

Words: 2.3k

Hawkins High School likes conventional. It likes when things make sense. For instance, it made sense when Chrissy Cunningham was nominated for Prom Queen, and Jason Carver for Prom King. It made sense that Nancy Wheeler was on track to give the valedictorian speech at graduation at the end of the year. What didn’t make sense—at least from an outsider's perspective—is you and Eddie.

Eddie Munson was all metal, band t-shirts, chunky silver rings, long wild mane, and tattoos. You are not metal. You are costumes, makeup, rehearsing lines and practicing songs for an audition. A theatre nerd, essentially. At night, Eddie blasts Metallica in his room, while you’re playing Andrew Lloyd Webber and attempting to hit the high notes in Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. The two of you looked like opposite sides of the spectrum. But in reality, you were two sides of the same coin. Both passionate about the music that moves you, embodying the looks of your respective niches. 

When you met, there was an initial clash between the two of you over use of the drama room. Yes, it was used for Hellfire meetings, but it was the drama room and Eddie shouldn’t have thrown a fuss if you had to come in and grab a costume that had been left in there earlier. Once the original ire cooled, the two of you found you gelled together quite nicely. Only someone else who has that deep appreciation for music can understand what it’s like to feel the music in your very soul, in every beat of your heart, and every breath you take. 

Though there wasn’t a crossover appeal with each other’s music, both you and Eddie could appreciate and respect the other’s taste. Eddie would blast metal in the van on the way home from school, so you’d come to learn some of the songs and point out your favorites to your boyfriend. When the two of you were at your house, a Sondheim or a Rodgers & Hammerstein record would be playing in the background as you makeout on your bed. 

Eddie had seen you in the last musical Hawkins High had put on—Into the Woods. The dark take on multiple fairy tales had drawn Eddie in more than he thought it would. Obviously, he had only gone to see you—dragging Dustin along because the curly haired boy was the only one willing to accompany him—but he ended up being honestly impressed by the talent and hard work it takes to put on a show. Hearing you sing as Cinderella had almost moved Eddie to tears, something he would never admit to a soul. But Dustin had noticed and told you when Eddie had gone to the bathroom after the show. You recognized the same dedication and effort in Eddie when you saw him performing with Corroded Coffin.

After you begged Eddie to play The Sound of Music cassette you just bought while you’re driving around one weekend, he comes up with a thought that astounds you.

“You know, musicals are just too happy for me. Everything is always okay in the end, and everyone sings and dances and it’s happily ever after.”

You’re staring at him for a good minute before he notices. He raises an eyebrow at you in question.

“That is so not true!”

“Babe,” Eddie says, knocking the rings of his right hand against the van’s radio. “We’re literally listening to a show that has singing nuns and nazis. And guess what? Everything ends tied up with a bow.”

“First of all,” you say, flopping back in your seat with a huff. “This is based on a true story. So, sorry that the real Von Trapp family escaped the nazis. Secondly, there are plenty of dark musicals. You saw Into the Woods!”

“Yeah, it was dark for fairy tales. I listen to metal. The witch cursing a family doesn’t quite cut it as ‘dark’ for me.”

“West Side Story? It’s tragic!”

“Tragedy and darkness aren’t really the same thing,” Eddie says with a shrug. “I mean, they can be. But they literally have gangs prancing down the street. Sad story, sure. But I wouldn’t say dark.”

You purse your lips in the way that Eddie finds adorable as you look out the window. A cheery song about favorite things playing isn’t helping you come up with any dark musicals.

“Aha! Phantom of the Opera,” you say, turning towards Eddie. “Kidnapping, murder, disfigured character. Dark enough for you?”

“Eh,” Eddie says with a shrug. “The opera part kinda cancels it out for me.”

Just as Eddie’s pulling into your driveway, your face lights up with an idea. Eddie notices it as he pulls the keys out of the ignition, the jingling of them breaking you out of your mini trance.

“Sweeney Todd.”

“Who?” Eddie asks.

“Sweeney Todd!” you repeat, as if just hearing it again will make everything clear to Eddie. Both of you get out of the car and you fumble to get your house keys out of your bag. “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“Did we switch subjects, or…? Should I know this Todd dude?” Eddie asks as he follows you inside. He kicks his shoes off next to the door just as you do, and you toss your bag onto the closest chair.

“It’s a Stephen Sondheim musical,” you say. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“A demon barber?” Eddie asks with a laugh. 

Spinning away from him and his dismissive chuckle, you stroll over to your collections of records. Nimble fingers pick through them until you find the one you’re looking for. Eddie just watches as you move to the record player and load up the album. The opening notes start slow at first, then gaining volume, with a haunting quality to the melody. It sounds eerily like music you would hear at a funeral. Then a piercing noise—a scream? a scrape? —slices through the air, startling Eddie. He won’t let you know it just yet, but this already has him intrigued. 

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd

His skin was pale and his eye was odd

He shaved the faces of gentlemen

Who never thereafter were heard of again

“Hmm,” Eddie hums, a smile curling on his lips. “Okay, you’ve got my attention.”

“It’s bloody and gory,” you say, jumping onto your couch. Eddie chuckles as he watches your socked feet move over the gray overstuffed cushions. You hold your hands out in front of you, fingers splayed as you begin to summarize the show in a melodramatic voice. “Sweeney Todd—who is actually named Benjamin Barker—returns to London after being wronged by a judge many years ago. Judge Turpin stole his wife and daughter. Like, literally stole. Not like he seduced her or something, he straight up took her and had her husband sent away.”

Eddie wrinkles up his nose and crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s creepy as hell.”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” you say with a devious smile. As you continue on with the tale, the music playing in the background, you keep walking across the couch, jumping to the adjacent couch as well when you come to the edge. Eddie watches you, an adoring look in his eyes. “So, Sweeney stays with this lady, Mrs. Lovett, who has a pie shop. And he starts up as a barber again, with the goal of getting the judge to come in so he can…” You run your finger across your neck, imitating the slitting of your throat. 

“Does he stick the bastard?” Eddie asks, jumping up on the couch you just vacated. 

“Hold on, hold on,” you say, shooting him a smirk. “This other dude comes in and recognizes Sweeney back from when he was Barker, so Sweeney kills him. When he and Mrs. Lovett are trying to figure out what to do with the body, she comes up with an idea! But is it too much? Never, for this twisted pair!”

Eddie laughs as he listens and watches. Your eyes are wide, a crazed look there as you describe the warped tale. Even if he wasn’t genuinely enjoying this debauched plot, he would’ve been thoroughly amused by your performance. 

“They decide to get rid of the body by grinding him up and putting him in the meat pies!”  

“Ugh,” Eddie groans, face full of disgust. “That’s morbid.”

“Told ya,” you say with a proud smirk. “But they don’t stop there. Every man who comes to Sweeney’s shop becomes the new flavor of the day. And the people love the meat pies. They keep selling out of them.”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie says, holding his hands up in front of him. “I concede. This is a dark musical.”

“Thank you,” you say, offering him a dramatic bow. “The dead bodies do not just come out tap dancing or some other cliche, cheesy shit you accuse musicals of. Although now that I’m thinking about that, it would’ve been cool.”  

“So, how’s it end?” Eddie asks, jumping over to the couch you’re on.

“Oh, no, no, no,” you say, shaking your head and backing a step away from him. “You’ll have to listen. Wait! See! They’re about to tell you.” You hold your finger to your lips, telling Eddie to be silent so he can hear the final lyrics of the song.

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd

He served a dark and a vengeful god

What happened then, well, that's the play

And he wouldn't want us to give it away

Not Sweeney

Not Sweeney Todd

The demon barber of Fleet street

Eddie steps forward and tugs on your waist until you’re flush up against him. “You seem to really enjoy this creepy shit.”

“I haven’t even told you the rest,” you say, cupping his face in your hands. “There’s the judge wanting to marry the daughter he stole as well. A beggar woman who goes around asking men if they wanna fuck her. And then there’s Antony and Toby who are precious boys.”

“Jesus,” Eddie says with a laugh. “Might just have to borrow this record.”

“I thought you’d like it,” you say, a satisfied smirk on your lips. “I know my boyfriend’s taste.”

“Yes, you do,” he mumbles as he leans in and presses his lips against yours. The two of you share lazy kisses for a few minutes, just standing there on your couch in the middle of your living room. When you finally break for air, Eddie rests his forehead against yours and lets out a small laugh. “Who would’ve thought I’d find a girlfriend who can match my theatrics?”

“I think I outdo your theatrics, thank you very much,” you say. “In private, anyway. I know I can be my true, authentic weird self with you.”

“I love your weird self,” Eddie says, hands roaming down to your ass. 

“And I love you.”

Eddie grins and presses a few more kisses to your mouth. 

“Are there any duets in the show?” Eddie asks. “Could learn it and we could sing it together.”

The way your eyes light up at his words has his heart stuttering in his chest. He’d never admit it, but he’d memorize all of Sondheim’s compositions if you wanted him to. Anything for you. 

“Yeah,” you say, voice the quietest it’s been this whole time. Before continuing, you clear your throat and blink your eyes a few times. “My favorite song from it is a duet. It’s the one where they decide to put the men into the pies. It’s called A Little Priest.”

You quickly hop off the couch and stop the record. Carefully, you turn it over and place it back down. Your eyes scan the track list printed on the record’s jacket to find the right spot. Placing the needle back down, a surge of pride flows through you as you hear it start playing exactly where you want it to. 

Seems a downright shame…

Turning back towards Eddie, you try to emulate Mrs. Lovett. Kind of crazy, but even crazier for the man in front of her. That part you have down perfectly. The fond look Eddie is giving you makes your tummy all fuzzy and your head all light. Knowing that not only can you be completely and unabashedly yourself around Eddie, but that he actually loves you like that still boggles your mind. 

The song is funny, filled with puns and jokes, and you sing through the lyrics with ease. As the long song comes to its end, you step up on the coffee table and use it as your stage. Closing your eyes, you throw your arms in the air dramatically as if you’re riding a roller coaster. 

We'll not discriminate great from small! 

No, we'll serve anyone, 

Meaning anyone, 

And to anyone

At all!

Eddie claps as you finish belting the last note, and your face warms at his praise. A shy giggle escapes you as you curtsy on top of the table. Your boyfriend hops down from the couch and wraps both of his arms around your legs. He flops backwards so he’s lying on the couch, pulling you along so you’re on top of him. 

“You’re so damn cute,” Eddie says.

“Takes one to know one, Munson,” you say, finger coming up to boop the tip of his nose. 

“I feel like I’m gonna have to take you to Broadway as a graduation gift,” Eddie muses.

“Baby,” you whine, shaking your head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You don’t wanna take a trip with me?” he asks, jutting out his bottom lip in his most adorable pout. The big cow eyes only add to it. 

“Of course I do,” you say. “Not letting you buy me a trip for graduation, though!”

“Fine,” Eddie says with a sigh. “What if it’s a gift for both of us? We go up together over the summer? Huh?” He grins and tucks a piece of hair behind your ear. “You, me, whatever shows you want, then a nice big hotel bed at night. I won’t pay for everything, I promise.”

A giggle bubbles out of you and you rest your head in the crook of Eddie’s neck. “Sounds perfect, Eddie.” 

“I love you, my little theatre nerd.”

“I love you, my adorable metal head.”

[mintchocodevi]

Home - Diluc x Reader

A/N: I'm relatively new to Tumblr, never really used it when I was younger, was mostly a Wattpad, Quotev, and now an Archive of Our Own user. This is being cross-posted from my AO3 account with a slightly different username. ANYWAY-- Let me know if you like this stuff, I'm more than happy to do requests (because I struggle to come up with things to write on my own). Summary: You've been in a relationship with Diluc for so long, but it seems like the spark has been lost. You're debating on if you can even call Mondstadt your home anymore. How will Diluc take to the news of you wanting to leave him and Mondstadt behind?

Characters: Diluc, AFAB Reader

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Smut/Sex, Bittersweet, light plot with porn, not beta read what so ever I barely remember the contents of this fic bro I wrote it so long ago

The land of freedom. The ability to choose what you wanted to do, to not have to bend to the call of your archon. It was a blessing, compared to many other surrounding countries who couldn’t break from the shackles of their home land. Mondstadt was such a beautiful country. Wide open grass fields, tons of smiling faces and helpful friends. It was like a place out of a true fairy tale. But even then, why did the person you cared for most, seem so restrained, so isolated.

It had been a lovely day hours ago, sun shining, a light breeze causing dandelion seeds to dance across the sky and find their way to new homes. Children running about with a laugh, creating memories with whom they loved. During this time you simply watched, watched the seeds fly, the children run, vendors laugh as they spoke with their regular patrons. They looked so happy, full of life. They looked right at home, something that was slowly becoming foreign to you in this country. Sitting silently on the bench and watching church goers walk past, you begin to stop consciously watching everything. The conversations around you become buzzing in the background as you lower your head.

Mondstadt has been your home for so long. You grew up here, born and raised just like many other Mondstadt children. You found the love of your life here. Yet, over time, things had begun to slip through your fingers. Your partner, always stoic, doing as much as he can on his own, you wondered if he even loved you anymore. Small romantic gestures had faded over time, the whispers of affection you two shared behind closed doors that were once multiple times a day were now so far and few between. Oftentimes, it didn’t seem like he wanted to reciprocate the affection. You clenched your hands tightly while they were folded up in your lap as your heart stung. You loved him so much, you still do, no doubt still will till your life was nothing, but you wondered if he felt the same. The buzz of the background came back into focus as you felt a water droplet land on your nose and a shadow cast over you.

“It’s time to go,” he said. You looked up from your lap to see Diluc staring at you with his never ending melancholic expression. You stared into his eyes for a moment, doing your best to search them for any love, any recognition of desire in them before being unable to find anything. You gave him a small smile, standing from your position and dusting your clothes. You went to reach for his hand, wishing to lace your fingers or slide your hand into his glove just to feel the warmth of your partner. However, he turned and began walking before you could move much closer.

“It’s going to rain so we should hurry back to the house,” he said bluntly. You watched his back as he continued forward, not turning once to see if you were following. You brought your hand up to your chest and clenched your fist. Your chest burned with sorrow, simply lowering your head and following him quietly. Maybe, your anxiety was right. Maybe, he didn’t love you anymore. If that were the case, why did he keep you around? Why did he allow you to stay with him, sleep in the same bed? Was it fun to him? Was it some kind of sick game so he could see you crumble before him? You couldn’t figure it out anymore.

You watched Diluc’s back as you walked behind him. When was the last time you had actually walked beside him, instead of in his footsteps? The sky began to blur gray as if to mimic your emotions, once right behind Diluc you were now slowing your pace, struggling to find a desire to want to keep up with him. Eventually the occasional droplet became two, and then seven, a light shower, before an outright downpour. Silently you stood in front of the Dawn Winery, finding it so hard to move your feet. It was as if someone had tied lead to them, and allowed them to sink halfway into the mud below. The rain beat down on you like thousands of small marbles, rough, soaking your clothes and hair. At some point you couldn’t tell what was the rain, and what were tears. You scrunched up your face, clenched your hands and finally fell to your knees in the mud and rain, letting a choked out sob escape your lips. This was it, maybe it was time to go.

“Dear, what do you think you’re doing?!” A feminine voice cried.

You finally felt the rain no longer pelting your skin as an umbrella was raised over you, Adelinde quickly wrapping a large blanket around you and trying to help you up while Elzer held the umbrella above the two of you. Adelinde and Elzer quickly rushed you inside, Adelinde chastising you for being in the rain and mumbling about Diluc being careless, though you hardly understood what she was saying as they became background noise. They began running around you, carefully trying to help you dry off by gently rubbing your head with a towel and requesting clothes be brought to you from the other household staff. Eventually the running and the noise finally stopped, causing you to look up. You noticed Adelinde and Elzer staring at you with concerned looks, worry written across their faces.

“Dear are you alright?” Adelinde asked. Confused, you looked between the two of them before bringing your hand up to your face, feeling that your tears had not yet stopped falling despite coming in from the rain. Quickly you took the towel and wiped your eyes before smiling and waving your hands anxiously.

“Yes, I’m alright I promise! I don’t know what came over me!” You laughed softly, quickly trying to play it off in hopes they would believe your lie.

“In all my years of seeing you here, I have not once seen you cry for no reason,” Elzer spoke softly. You sighed, reaching out to take one of their hands each, squeezing it softly.

“I promise the both of you… I will be alright,” you whispered. You didn’t want to cause them any fear or concern. The problems you had were with Diluc and Diluc alone.

“Warm and clean clothes have been prepared for you in your room, if you’d like to get changed we can bring dinner up to you–”

“No I’d… Please, I’d like to have dinner with Diluc.” You cut Adelinde off abruptly. If this was how life was going to be, you decided that you would rip the bandage off now, rather than waiting.

Adelinde gave a hesitant nod, taking your hand gently and helping you up. Both she and Elzer helped you to your room, still wrapped firmly up in the blanket to keep you from possibly getting sick with your drenched clothing. Once to your room, they both gave you a lighthearted bow before walking away and allowing you to entire your room alone. Shuffling inside, you shed the massive blanket off your shoulders as soon as the door was closed, shivering as the air rushed at your soaking clothes. You quickly peeled all the wet layers off, before drying your skin, and gently sliding into the freshly cleaned linens. You looked at yourself in the mirror closely, and wondered what about you had changed to possibly turn your partner away. You hadn’t gained any weight, you frequently got your hair trimmed but never styled any differently. You always put effort into your appearance, not for him but because you felt you looked amazing with the time and effort put into your appearance. Was it maybe too much for him? Was your vanity something he was disgusted by?

You continued to do small twirls and twists, looking at every asset of yourself and wondering, had you changed something about yourself to cause him to no longer love you? However, your thoughts were eventually disrupted when a light knock came to your door, alerting you that dinner was ready and you could make your way to the dining room. You reached out, gently sliding on some house slippers before leaving your bedroom and joining Diluc for dinner. A small glance around the room and you couldn’t see any maids about, and you wondered if maybe Adelinde had known this was something you secretly needed right now. Alone time to talk to Diluc.

A large space sat between the two of you. Diluc sat there quietly, no longer wearing his large jacket and gloves, much more relaxed and at ease as he ate. You, however, sat there, simply staring at your plate. Despite the hungry feeling in your stomach, the food didn’t appeal to you. Nothing appealed to you in this moment, the air felt too thick, the food smelt too sweet, everything was simply overwhelming. Diluc shifted his eyes from the plate he was currently cutting into, only to see you sitting across the table staring at your plate with your head down. Not eating wasn’t like you, whatever Adelinde made you always loved, and in fact he was positive this was one of your favorite dishes.

“Is there something wrong,” he asked.

“No, not exactly,” you muttered. You began to dig at your hand nervously under the table, scratching the inside of your palm.

“So there is something wrong?” Diluc raised his eyebrow in confusion as he put his fork and knife down to give his full attention to you. You tensed in your seat when you looked up and locked eyes, it was as if he was staring knives into your heart.

“I think… I plan to leave Mondstandt.”

After that there was a long silence. You couldn’t read Diluc’s face at all. Despite knowing him for years, living with him, loving him, being unable to read Diluc’s face was just something you learned to accept. However, thoughts were racing through Diluc’s mind. You had never discussed wanting or even planning to leave Mondstadt. Plus, it wasn’t like he could go with you to protect you. He had the winery, and with the ‘Knights of Favonius Foolary’ hardly doing their job, he had to work double duty to protect the city. His hands originally above the table slowly lowered to his lap, sitting up the tiniest bit straighter as he focused on you.

“You know I wouldn’t be able to go with you,” he said.

“I’m aware.. I didn’t intend for you to follow or come with,” the last sentence left your lips in a whisper. Diluc clenched his fists under the table before clearing his throat.

“Well if that’s the case, do you know when you intended to leave and come back?” He kept up his poker face, relaxing his fists and deciding to go back to eat to not allow his emotions to show. He raised his fork to his lip and took another bite as you spoke.

“I don’t intend to come back… Because I don’t feel loved here anymore Diluc.”

Another dreadful silence filled the air as Diluc swallowed his food and watched you sit there. As soon as the sentence left your mouth it took you biting your tongue to not just suddenly unload all your feelings at him in this moment. You tilted your head back to look at the ceiling, your eyes stinging as they filled with tears wishing so desperately to fall.

“What do you mean you don’t feel loved?” His question finally broke the silence, along with the dam you had built up in your heart.

“You act like I’m any average citizen of Mondstadt these days. Even when we’re home, here, it’s like I don’t exist. You never tell me you love me anymore, I can’t hold your hand in public, it’s like you didn’t even recognize I wasn’t walking behind you anymore today! I was left out in the rain, I couldn’t bring myself to want to come in!” You raised your hands quickly as soon as you couldn’t fight the tears anymore.

While you fought to keep your face dry, furiously wiping your eyes as the tears flowed, Diluc sat there shocked by your words before allowing them to sink in. It hurt to hear you say such things to him and see you in such a state because thinking long enough about it, you were right. He had been neglecting you and your desires. All the little things you wanted, just some whispers and the smallest of attention. The hand holding you loved to share during walks, the whispers of affection and soft kisses of happiness behind closed doors. He couldn’t remember the last time he had shared moments like that with you. In those moments, Diluc felt he could smile, he knew he could be happy with you and yet right now here he was on the verge of losing you because of his mistakes. Planting his hands firmly on the table he stood from his seat and walked over to the other end of the table as you continued to cry and express your emotions.You were too busy crying into your own hands to even notice he had gotten up before feeling him take your hands.

You opened your eyes to stare down at your partner. This was possibly the first time in so long you had seen him wear an expression other than annoyance or melancholy. He had taken your hands into his and squeezed them tightly as he knelt to the floor, looking up at you with a look of empathy. For once his eyes were readable, the guilt he had, the sadness and disgust he had with himself at your declaration of pain. Diluc hated himself in this moment as he looked at your tear streaked face, knowing it was him who caused you to be like this. He lowered his head and brought your knuckles to his lips, kissing them ever so gingerly before looking up at you once more.

“You are the one thing in my life that has allowed me to feel something, to feel happy. I can’t believe I never saw how I took you for granted,” he whispered. He let go of one of your hands to now cup your cheek gently, running his thumb underneath your eye to wipe away the tears that still continued to fall.

“Do you still love me, at all?” You choked back a sob while getting the question out.

You shut your eyes tight, fearing the answer would be what you didn’t want to hear. You felt Diluc let go of your hands and heard him shifting his weight as if he was standing up. He was leaving you now, to sit back at his side of the table and tell you no, that he didn’t love you at all. That all of this was meaningless. However, it came as a delightful surprise when his fingers found the tip of your chin and tilted you up. Warm lips pressing against your and the sweet scent of grapes invading your senses. You looked up at your partner in surprise before lowering your lashes, raising one hand gently to grab hold of his arm, not wanting him to pull or run away. When he did pull away, he moved his hand from your chin to your cheek once more, caressing and holding your face close.

“I still love you as much as the day I first met you,” he whispered.

He was quick to dive back in for a gentle kiss, being as soft and tender with you as possible. You were fragile and hurt, he wanted to help you feel better but knew that, if you were truly tired of him and you didn’t want this, you had every right to pull away. Yet, you showed no desire to pull away. This was the closest you had felt to him in so long, you desired him closer. His hands against your cheeks were so warm, he was practically a radiator at times with how warm he got or felt the few times you held his hand or actually got to cuddle with him.You wished for his hands to touch you more, touch you in other places, but maybe that was too much wishful thinking.

“Then can’t you show and prove that to me?” It was meant to be a question, but between the both of you it sounded like a desperate plea.

Diluc was quick to sweep you off your feet, tucking one arm just beneath your shoulder blades and the other under your knees as he picked you up and held you to his chest. You quickly wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders for fear of being dropped or slipping from his grasp. However, you doubt that could actually happen, considering how effortlessly he could swing his claymore. Diluc squeezed you as close to his body as he could, his grasp firm yet gentle as he kissed you passionately, doing his best to silence the fears and anxieties that had built up over time in your heart. He wanted to do nothing but shower you in affection for hours. The last thing he would ever want is for you to leave him. Carefully, he carried you back to the room you both shared on the first floor, nudging the door open and closing it with his foot before laying you gently upon the bed you shared.

You stared up into his scarlet eyes, tears no longer sliding down the sides of your face but instead a gently rosy hue painting their way across your cheeks. It had been so long since he held you, kissed you even; it was bliss. You reached a tentative hand up to his cheek, brushing some of his free falling red locks out of his face to state up at him. The silence right now was no longer as thick or stuffy as before. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but more so uncertain. Diluc wanted to show you the passion you had pleaded for, but he didn’t want to if you didn’t want to be with him anymore and truly desired to move.

“I love you Diluc, so won’t you love me back,” you whispered to him softly.

You scanned his face, looking for any recognition of what you said in his eyes, and seemed to watch his expression soften. You could tell he was anxious, he didn’t want to hurt you or cause you any more pain than what you had already been feeling. Seeing him care, seeing the bits of proof that he did still love you felt like it could make you cry all over again. With your plea to be loved back, he leaned in once more to softly take your lips once more. Slowly, he crawled onto the bed, placing one knee on either side of your hips while placing his arms beside your head, trapping you beneath him. You raised her hands and placed them on his back, feeling the warmth of his skin through his thin white shirt, feeling it tingle your hands and almost course through your whole body.

Eventually he pulled away, a small pant leaving your lips before he moved to gently kiss along your jawline, moving his hands to slip underneath your blouse. He traced his fingers across your skin lightly, like a feather across the wind. It left a shiver up your spine and goosebumps to raise, causing you to turn your head slightly and squirm. Diluc took advantage of your head turn, placing his lips softly against your neck and beginning to suck as his hand slid up to your breast, gently running his thumb over your nipple and teasing it. You brought a hand up to your face in order to quickly cover your mouth, not wanting any of the maids or those nearby outside the room to hear any noises. Diluc appeared unbothered by this as he continued his gentle motions; chewing and sucking on your skin to leave behind noticeable hickeys and teasing your breast.

“I’ve always loved you,” he whispered. You pulled your hand away to look up at him. He had pulled away from your chest and neck to discard his shirt and pull his hair free from the band that was pulling it back. He took your hand gently from your lips and brought it to his, kissing your knuckles once more before leaning in close.

“I will continue to love you till the day our lives depart from this world, and I’m sorry, to have caused you such unbearable pain.” You watched him as he whispered against your knuckles, staring deep into his eyes and feeling your heart clench as he admitted his desires for you. Diluc was never a man of apologies. He hardly apologized to Jean, never to Kaeya, in this moment he was giving you his full sincerity and you knew it. He meant this.

After he let go of your hand, he helped remove your shirt so he would no longer have to fight with it. Leaning down, he placed gentle kisses along the top of your breasts and all across your chests. He was appreciating every inch of you, whether you begged for him to do this or not he was going to make sure you knew you were loved. Eventually the warmth of his lips found their way to the nipple he had teased moments ago. Slowly he stuck his tongue out and licked over it before swirling it in a circle, using one of his hands to give attention to the other. He used his thumb to gently push and rub your nipple in circles, groping your breast tenderly with the rest of his hand before gently pinching and pulling. As he teased your chest, you felt yourself beginning to squirm again. Digging your feet into the bed while clenching your legs closed as if trying to fight the burning desire building in your hips. A slight cry of surprise left your lips when you felt him bite your breast hard enough to leave teeth marks upon the skin on the side. Feeling you squirm beneath him was satisfying to see and rewarding to feel. He smiled as he pulled away to look back down at you, pulling you in for a passionate kiss as he wrapped one arm around you to hold you close and allowing the other to slip underneath the rest of your clothes and between your legs.

“I have always loved you,” he whispered softly against your lips, “nothing could ever change that.”

You brought your hands up to hug him tightly to your body once more. One of your hands found purchase in his long locks as his hand found its way to your pussy. His long fingers worked gently against your wet folds, sliding gently and teasingly across your clit and then down between your folds, separating them before giving a small circle of his fingers. Your legs gave a small twitch as you held onto him, allowing him to make you feel good. He continued to tease softly, keeping his middle finger perfectly between everything, using the top of it to gently push and tease your hole before sliding back up to push against your clit before sliding them slowly back down and repeating the process. Feeling his fingers soaked enough and that you probably had enough teasing, he pushed his hand down gently and pushed his finger into you slowly. The delicious sound of you taking his finger in and feeling the wet gush of your walls was such a sweet treat in and of itself. A gentle gasp escaped your lips as you felt his finger slide in. Slowly he pushed his finger in and out, the soft and wet feeling of your malleable cunt had his own cock straining against his pants. He wanted you so bad, but he knew he’d take his time and enjoy this with you.

Eventually Diluc moved from kissing your lips to once again kissing your neck, allowing you to gasp and moan softly at the movements of his finger. You gripped his hair firmly, pulling and tugging on his red locks without too much thought as you turned her head and whimpered into the pillows. It felt like your hips were practically throbbing for more attention, more desire. You wanted more, and with the feeling of Diluc gently grinding his hips into your leg you could only assume that he wanted more as well.

“D-Diluc please,” you whispered. He quickly stopped his movements, looking at you quietly and waiting for your orders, wondering if maybe he had done something wrong and if you wished to stop.

“I’m alright to go further if you are.” You smiled softly up at him. He returned the smile in kind, leaning down and giving you a soft peck before sitting up and beginning to undo the buckle of his pants.

Diluc gave a satisfied sigh once his cock was free from the prison that was his pants. Using whatever slick from you that was still on his hand, he coated his cock with as he watched you gently remove the rest of your clothes. With his right hand he gently stroked himself to ease some of the pain of his desire, and used his other to gently cup your thigh and push your leg open.He looked down at your hips, pressing his cock head teasingly against your hole. He licked his lips as you felt him tease, sliding the head of his cock from your entrance, up between your folds and pressing gently against your clit in order to cover his cock in more of your juices. He continued to grind against your cunt for a second, a satisfied sigh escaping his lips as he watched himself work before looking up at your face. You were biting your lip and gently keeping your legs held open for him to do his work. God he wanted to make you beg for it, but as much as he wanted to tease you forever, he knew this wasn’t the right moment for it.

Diluc pulled his hips back once he saw your needy expression, pressing his cock head against your entrance before finally pushing with enough force to slide in. Feeling his cock spread you open was pure ecstacy you had missed for a very long time. Diluc continued to push slowly down, sinking his hips in til they were flush against yours, unable to sink his cock any deeper into you. You bit your lip softly, digging your nails into your legs and fighting back wanting to thrust your hips yourself or play with your clit. You had missed being this intimate with him so, so much and now you desired nothing but to do this all day if you could. Your thought process was temporarily stopped when you saw his weight shift above you and you felt yourself being hugged close. Diluc had brought his arms down to wrap around you tightly, pressing chest to chest as he simply lay on top of you for a second. You couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed in more ways than one. Your crazy desire to be ravaged by the man you loved and being overjoyed as he held you as close as he could. You brought your arms back up to hug him close, not wanting him to ever pull away or leave your side. You nuzzled your face gently into his shoulder as you whispered affection, unable to say anything other than ‘I love you’ to him.

“I’ll never let you go feeling unloved ever again.”

Diluc raised his hips slowly, a desperate cry leaving your lips before being replaced with a moan as he pushed his hips back in. Diluc squeezed you close and tight, your soft and supple skin like a large huggable stress toy to him as he began to thrust his hips into you. He never wanted to let you go, he never wanted you to be with anyone else or be anywhere else but with him and at the winery. He growled softly into your skin as his fingers dug into your hips from how he was holding you. The way your walls clenched so desperately around his cock as he pushed in and out. Your scent was like a drug to him as he held you close, thrusting into you with the thought of wanting nothing but to be by your side. You couldn’t help the moans of pleasure that escaped your lips, the fear of maids or any one else in the house hearing you no longer a thought in your mind as your nails dug into the skin of Diluc’s back. Feeling his hips smack into yours as he cock pushed deeper into your body after so long felt like a drug you could get addicted too. As he continued so many thoughts raced through your mind, you wanted to beg for more, deeper, harder, so many naughty thoughts ran through your mind but despite it all, at the top that never wavered, you never wanted to let this man go. You never wanted to do something like this with anyone else.

You took one hand from his back to cup his cheek and pull him in close, kissing him with passion as you pressed your chest into his. The warmth he radiated coupled with how close you two were had the both of you sweating. His hair began to stick to his skin as the scent of sex filled the room. Not that the smell bothered you or that either of you could notice since you were so desperately wrapped up in one another. While you pushed up happily into him, he responded in kind by thrusting faster. Feeling him push his cock balls deep yet keeping you close and tended to, had your eyes rolling in satisfaction. This was a craving you weren’t sure you could ever get enough of. As he continued to pound your thighs pink, you could hear his sultry groans and growls turning into heavy set moans, both of you edging closer and closer.

“D-Diluc! Please,” you whimpered desperately.

Diluc looked up through his haze and nodded his head slightly. He removed one arm from around your waist to instead snake it up and hold your hand. He kissed you with ferocity as he laced your fingers, thrusting his hips harder and as deep as both your bodies would allow. He dug his feet into the bed as he continued to thrust, while you raked your nails across his back. All of your moans were muffled by the passionate lip lock the two of you shared, continuing to edge each other little by little, just a bit more, it felt so good and intense. Keep going, you wanted him to keep going, til finally he gave one more deep push, and you felt your muscles tense. Diluc pulled away from the kiss to gasp before growling into your skin, cumming inside of you before gently and slowly pulling out. You breathed heavily, unable to control the sensitivity and the small twitch of your legs as you felt him pull out before clinging to him tightly, fearing he was completely pulling away to leave you. However, you were reassured when he moved to gently lay beside you instead so he wouldn’t crush you under his weight. There was a comfortable silence, the only sound filling the air was the labored breathing both of you shared. You hugged him tight, despite the sweat and mess you both had just made, you couldn’t help but want to be closer to him. This time, it was reciprocated as he pulled you in tight and pressed his nose into your hair.

“I love you, so promise me you won’t leave Mondstadt.”

“I promise.”

[apuckishwit]

"What the HELL are you wearing?"

Steddie ^^

A continuation of this (hope OP doesn't mind, but it fit so nicely!)

“What the hell are you wearing?” Steve—shit, Eddie should probably find out his last name if he’s going to be following this guy back to Paris…and also asking him back to his hotel room after the show—calls as they enter the charming little chateau he’s staying at. Seriously. It looks like something out of a fairy tale—ivy covered walls, a beautiful garden full of flowers and vegetables, a snowy white cat perched on the fence. If you looked up the phrase ‘charming little chateau’ in the dictionary, there would probably be a picture of this place right next to it.

Eddie peeks around Steve’s shoulder (it’s only polite to wait to be invited inside, it has nothing to do with him wanting a longer look at that enticing ass in those jeans) and for a moment, his heart sinks. There’s a woman around their own age standing in the—charming—living room, bathed in sunlight from the wide picture windows. There’s nothing particularly offensive about her outfit…except for the neon purple beret perched on her head. She’s got a huge canvas set up on an easel in front of her, the floor covered by drop cloths and paints, brushes, and other tools covering every flat surface. She’s pretty, in an off-beat kind of way—not as classically attractive as Steve, to Eddie’s eyes, but pretty all the same, and Eddie can sense the easy familiarity between the two as Steve drops his bag of purchases by the door and saunters into the living room. He plucks the beret off the woman’s head, examining it with a look of disgust and dodging nimbly when the woman reaches to snatch it back.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, has he misread this whole situation? Or, Christ, is he about to be invited to a threesome or something? He doesn’t think he’s been misinterpreting the looks Steve keeps casting at him, but he does not feel like awkwardly turning down some hot young couple trying to be adventurous…particularly as he’s kind of depending on them to get him back to Paris in time for the show.

Then he takes a closer look at the woman.

“Holy shit, you’re Robin Buckley!” he exclaims, drawing her eyes to him. They immediately go as wide as his feel.

“Holy shit, you’re Eddie Munson!” she gasps.

Well. At least he knows Steve didn’t bring him back here with the intention of having a threesome.

Steve freezes, glancing between them with a—still unfairly attractive—frown. “You two…know each other?” he asks slowly.

“I mean…not personally?” Eddie says. “Just—oh my God, I love your art! My best friend is obsessed with you!” he can’t help gushing. Robin Buckley is a darling of the international art scene—her portraits and paintings in demand in galleries all over the world. Eddie would kill to have some of her art on one of their album covers.

Chrissy is going to die of jealousy when she hears about this. She’s been nursing the worst crush on Robin Buckley for going on two years now. Ever since she saw the woman speak at a charity gala dedicated to raising money for art scholarships for LGBT+ youth.

“My art! Dude! I love your stuff. Holy fuck, the Touchstone album was on blast 24/7 while I was painting my last triptych!”

Steve has moved further into the living room and is examining Buckley’s canvas with interest. At Robin’s words, he looks back at Eddie, arching an eyebrow. “You’re a—singer?” he asks, obviously guessing. Eddie ducks his head down, biting his lip a little.

“Something like that,” he says modestly. Buckley cackles.

“Oh my God! Dingus! How do you go out for booze and come back with the freakin’ lead singer and guitarist of Corroded Coffin? What is your life?” She points a paintbrush covered in yellow paint at him, causing him to dance backwards with a laugh that is fucking musical to Eddie’s ears.

“I don’t know who that is! No offense,” he tosses over his shoulder at Eddie, “he was trying to ask that clerk in the cheese shop for help finding the train station.”

Buckley nods sagely. “In English?” she asks Eddie.

Eddie nods sheepishly. “Didn’t go so well. Thank God Stevie here was in line behind me.” He notices Steve’s cheeks go a little pink at the pet name, and can’t help but smile. He hopes he gets to see how far down that blush goes tonight.

Buckley hums, her eyes flicking between him and Steve before they go a little sly. “Stevie,” she says, sidling a little closer to her friend. She glances at Eddie again. “Voulez-vous coucher avec lui?” she asks with a smirk.

And look. Eddie doesn’t speak French. Gareth made him memorize how to ask where the bathroom is, order a beer, and tell someone to fuck off (just for funsies) and he has a handful of other helpful phrases written down phonetically in his lyric notebook. However, Chrissy blasts Lady Marmalade every time it comes on the radio and he knows damn well what Buckley just asked Steve.

Steve shoots him a sly little side-glance, looking him up and down in a way that has heat blooming in Eddie’s gut. “Oui,” he says, tossing Eddie a little wink. Eddie kind of wants to fist pump.

Buckley laughs again, sounding delighted. “Oh my God, I can’t wait to tell Dustin about this. He’s going to die!”

Steve shakes his head. “Rob, I swear to God, if you tell Dustin about this, you can walk back to London next week.”

“Pfft, like I can’t buy my own plane tickets. Worth it!” she singsongs before whirling back to Eddie. “I am so delighted to meet you, Eddie Munson…would you like to join us for lunch, or do we need to get you back to Paris, like, ASAP?”

He glances at the—very charming—clock sitting on the mantle behind Buckley’s easel. He’s not due at soundcheck for another few hours and Steve said the city was only about an hour and a half train ride. Besides. Chrissy has been so good to him over the years—she truly is his best friend as well as their manager. He owes it to her to put in a good word with the woman she’s been pining over, doesn’t he?

“I could eat,” he says. “Gotta keep my energy up for tonight,” he says, making direct eye contact with Steve as he says it. That delightful flush sweeps over Steve's cheekbones again.

Seriously. Wandering around the French countryside. Best. Decision. Ever.

[kairiscorner]

Omgg I saw a request for like ballerina reader and miggy and invites everyone to her show. Can’t really remember what they requested srry but that sounds cute. Like everyone gushing over her 🤭

it's okay !!! i did like that req too tbh, i was planning on making a separate one for the ballerina one, thanks for giving me motivation to make it rn >:DD

⋆⭒✮⭒⋆ like a graceful swan. — miguel o'hara x ballerina!reader

though you invited the whole spider society to watch your ballet recital, only one of them couldn't rip their eyes away from you, was glued to their seats, and constantly hitching their breath every time your pretty face looked so focused in dancing—your flexible arms curving with every movement of your fragile, yet fortified body. you tiptoed and moved your arms and legs in sync with the beat, with the harmonious melody of the gentle piano notes and dulcet rhythm coming from the violins, cellos, and basses playing the tranquil song numbers that prompted you to dance and entertain the audience with the story your body language and facial expressions were delivering in an angelic, pure, innocent manner.

some of the audience were already yawning, though many remained awake and in awe at your performance—enjoying how lovely and graceful your movements and how reactive you were to the right times, practically seeing the cues of the time signature change by listening intently to the orchestra playing. gwen was enthralled by the tenderness of your dancing, with her considering practicing her ballet once she'd have the time. pavitr was astounded by how flexible your arms and legs seemed, and how long you could hold yourself in the air; he'd ought to ask you for some tips and tricks on how to do that, maybe he will take up ballet himself for a change. jess and peter b enjoyed your performance, though the brunette father had to leave early due to his redheaded daughter fussing in the audience. he didn't want to ruin your evening, so he left; leaving the only two adults that were still watching being jess and... miguel, miguel o'hara.

he was the only one in the audience who gave his full, undivided attention to you and your dancing all throughout the performance. his hazel brown eyes were fixed on your dainty figure, moving so gently across the stage like the wind was carrying you by your invisible wings and practically making you seem like you were soaring while your pirouetted and twirled. with every pirouette and with every twirl, miguel felt himself get more and more hypnotized with your beautiful figure and effortlessly captivating aura as you spun and danced. he had never understood the meanings behind dance or any form of art such as ballet, but tonight, he thinks he's discovered what dancing evokes in him, what art such as this evokes in him: devotion, adoration, and need. he can't explain them all in ways anyone but him would understand in even the slightest, but the bottom line is... your dance moved him, made him feel things he's never felt before, and jess was the firsthand witness to this as she watched miguel's lips part and his eyes soften as they were directe dtowards you and you alone.

the other dancers disappeared into his fuzzy peripheral vision as he focused his gaze solely on you and the way you danced so perfectly; though you made some mistakes and nearly stumbled once or twice, miguel was so taken in by your performance that he forgot for a moment that he wasn't in a fairy tale, that you weren't an otherworldly beauty he could never have—you were real. you were here and before him, dancing your heart out passionately and the best you could; and that made him stand and clap, giving you a standing ovation that began with him, and ended with him as he looked at your gorgeous grin from up above in the audience's seats, with a heat forming in his face and a throbbing in his chest that made him palm his chest to try quelling it himself. "they were beautiful back there, weren't they?" jess asked miguel as he sighed, still watching you and your figure as you exited the stage all dainty and gracefully, not wanting you to leave his sight. "like you wouldn't believe..." he sighed as he felt his heart's beat returning to normal, but his thoughts still conjuring up the many images to form one thought: the thought of you, still and always fresh in his mind.

tags !! @miguelswifey04 @hearts4gabri @hisachuu @wreakingmarveloushavok @fictarian @yuridopted0 @simsrandomstuff @luvstarrstruck @popeheywardssecretgf @meeom @arachnoia @melovetitties @fable-library @ophanimgold @smokeywhalee @capnshtfce