#varies whether he's still in contact with the people who matter)

[autumnrory]

not enough people write stucky being married/having kids tbh

[writtenbymoonflower]

hi!!!! could you do polymarauders reacting to reader getting a tattoo (or multiple!) dedicated them? love u!!! 🧁

Thank you for requesting, lovely! gn!reader x poly!marauders.

cw: tattoo, swearing, Sirius being himself

681 words

You knew the secret was out when you had flinched away from James. He hadn’t done anything wrong, he just didn’t know. When his hand found its usual spot on your ribs as you were laying down on the couch with him, you couldn’t hide the discomfort you were feeling as his hand pressed into the tender flesh. James, of course, had no clue. 

“What’s that for, baby?” He looked a mix of concerned and amused. “Did that tickle?” He turned mischievous as he tried to worm his fingers into your side again. Remus flit his eyes to you both, stifling chuckle. You hissed, squirming away from your boyfriend's hands, no matter how gentle they were. 

“Ouch, Jamie.” You said before you could stop yourself. This made Remus drop his book. 

“What hurts, lovie?” His eyebrows rumpled, leaning closer to you and James. 

“Nothing, I’m fine.” You said, looking panicked. It seemed like Sirius could smell the trouble, because he stood up from where he sat at Remus’ feet, crawling over to you like a cat. 

“You hissed when Jamie touched you here, dolly.” He wriggled his fingers over your side, looking surprised when your shirt moved oddly slickly over your skin. You tried to bat his hands away, but he didn’t move. 

“Siri! Get away.” You tried to seem unsuspicious, but you mostly gave up on the act. 

“What’ve you got under here?” Sirius waggled his dark eyebrows at you, pulling your shirt up until your whole torso was exposed. You almost felt bashful at the realization that your whole chest was pretty much exposed, but they weren’t looking at it. Instead, they all looked varying levels of surprised. Remus moved faster than you’d ever seen him, crouching at your side next to Sirius. But it was James who spoke first. 

“Sweetheart! When did you get that?” He kept looking between your face and your ribs. Underneath the plastic cover was a small tattoo over your ribs. Lined up was little drawing of a moon, star and sun. 

“Well it was gon’ be a surprise.” You playfully scolded. “But I got it a week ago. It’s… it’s for you three.” You turned shy on the spot. You thought you would’ve had more time to get over the sliver of anxiety you felt. You had all been together for a long time, you all loved each other very much, you were all each other’s emergency contact even! But this was a big step, permanently marking them on your body. 

Sirius gently thumbed the skin next to the tattoo, looking in awe at your rib and leaning down to kiss over the plastic cover, being featherlight to not irritate you further. He knew from experience it was probably still sore. “I fucking love it.” He whispered against your skin. 

“Lemme see better.” Remus (gently) shoved Sirius out of the way, making him squawk offendedly. Remus didn’t care though, he looked entranced. James squeezed you tighter to him. 

“I can’t believe you did this and didn’t tell us! We would’ve gone with you, baby.” He trapped you in a kiss before you could respond, rubbing his thumb over your jaw gently. Sirius snickered at your dazed look when he pulled away. 

“Like I said,” trying to push away your flustered state. “It was a surprise.”

“Hell of a surprise.” Remus had nuzzled into your waist. “I’m gonna need one too.”

“Ooh, I like that.” James said at the same time that Sirius whistled.

“Oh yes fucking please.” He dramatically fanned himself. “You too Prongs,” He licked his lips looking at your boyfriend. James didn’t know whether to feel objectified or very flattered. (As how Sirius usually left people feeling). 

“I should, now that I’m the only un-inked one in this relationship.” He playfully jostled you. “You’ve abandoned me, lovely.”

“Don’t worry, honey.” You kissed his cheek. “I’ll pull you to the darkside with me.”

“Oooh, you minx. Thankfully I’d let you three corrupt me any day.” None of you would complain about that.

[kingsandbastardz]

@riderofspades

TROPE 1:

1st one is definitely has to be sharing a bed. Because they actually do. But that sort of repeated and forced contact of being really tight roommates means a lot of 'playing nice' that we don't see on camera. I have like 5 different scenarios in my head surrounding that - but all of them still have the same element of Fang Duobing being either talkative just because he has company. Or being a sleep octopus. I 100% strongly believe he moves around in bed and will latch onto whatever is nearby so that's been a big consistent point in my headcanons. But dfs' reactions are where things become varied. On one hand, I like the idea where he's accepting of it because a) he honestly doesn't mind because his ego goes to very specific places and that damn upper floor does not have walls and he's cold b) Accepts it because of peculiarities surrounding his concept of physical boundaries - like maybe he's ok with it because he used to sleep in piles with the 3 kings and wuyan cuz they were poor as shit and it got cold at night and he just sees this as being part of the same. OR maybe he's touch starved and this is a bit of stolen affection that he can privately keep for himself. OR maybe he sleeps like a log and just doesn't notice because he either trusts fdb that much or just doesn't see him as a threat at all, even subconciously. c) he doesn't accept it but can't figure out how to get fdb to stop since he's asleep. And it creates continued shenanigans until he finally gives up and lets it happen Whether this ends up in a case of aggressive "Competitive sleep" where he ends up kicked onto the floor -- that's another matter LMAO but I tend to find these sorts of accidental/harmlessly forced intimacy pretty fun. You can't stay emotionally distant from someone if you're cuddling every night.

But that leads me to TROPE 2:

Enemies to lovers - but this would be strictly from FDB's pov bc I don't believe DFS ever sees FDB as an enemy. Even early on, he was fairly careful with him (for dfs' level of care which is still rough lbr) -- and he just got more and more bro-y as time went on until he started exhibiting that care more obviously. FDB however has this whole built up mental narrative in his head where he sees himself cast as the hero, and DFS is the big evil demon guy - even to the end, he still buys into the narrative because LLH keeps so much information from him. All the things we discover about dfs is filtered through LLH's silence. FDB hears none of it. Like take the scene where dfs shows up to give llh the styx flower? And fdb says to llh - hey he's giving up his dream for you. Because as far as he knows, dfs hasn't broken through to the next level of his martial arts yet. He doesn't know that dfs was caught/almost-or-temporarily died, tortured, etc. He doesn't even know that DFS was searching for the flower for llh. The situation I like to think about are when he's finally pushed into a situation where he has to apply his natural protective instincts -- but onto dfs instead of llh. Who... is prone towards getting in over his head due to narrative-karma being shit-tier. (I have a whole meta about that I've been stewing over) But basically dfs getting into trouble is a given. lmao. The issue is his tendency to not talk about things. Fdb, unlike llh, can't read dfs' mind and requires actual verbal communication. DFS doesn't really communicate like regular people do. But honestly, that's all technicalities. I like playing with gender roles and DFS being cast as the damsel in distress or the female-narrative-role is really fantastic. So having that played out with fdb in his self-cast hero role, falls naturally into that. Especially as llh's successor.

Which then brings me to TROPE 3:

FDB as llh's successor where he inherits the house, the dog, the sparkly underwear, and the wife nemesis. I mean. The first thing FDB tries to do is get dfs to call him shifu. And later, the first thing llh does to a-fei is to get him to call him 主人. Like master, like disciple, amirite? But it's like their immediate instinct is to try to keep him. And in his letter at the end, llh was telling dfs he can go to fdb if he wants. I took that as an indirect message from llh to fdb with a giant arrow pointing at dfs saying "KEEP AN EYE ON HIM, HE'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY NOW"

AU TROPE

Something time travel or timeloop related because I like the idea of FDB being forced to truly learn the real stories of the people and events around him and not the story-version he taught himself. He truly understands llh -- because llh was his special interest, but he drastically lacks understanding of everyone else. Which is especially interesting regarding dfs because he's painted as the main nemesis to llh? You'd think that fdb's hyperfixation would partially extend to him bc he's llh's big enemy. But that never happened. I think it's no mistake that fdb's conversation with a-fei in the zombie village uses such broad terms like "You don't have to chose evil you can be righteous" -- all meaningless words because he has zero knowledge or understanding of dfs as a real person existing in real society. He only knows of him as this storybook figure of great 'evil'. Without him even thinking too hard about what that evil could be. It's just the word 'evil' flying around in his head with no real weight. I feel like time shenanigans forcing him to address that lack of knowledge or understanding would open up some interesting story potential. Also I really like the whole gaining knowledge thing. It's one of the reasons I like thrillers and mysteries -- finding out and understanding a person is like a personal version of puzzle solving.

[sunflower1experiment]

Nanami x black fem reader

Your hair is beautiful

Getting your recent haircut was a big leap of faith, sometimes you feared for the judgement or the scrutiny people would do to you. The consequences of these things wouldn’t matter if you were confident in yourself. “You look gorgeous girl!”

The hairstylist gave you a cheerful pat while you walked out the door to the world, you then call your grandmother. The only person you kept contact with, or at least low contact with. She helped pay for the hair this time, all the other times you’ve paid but she decided to be generous… what a stupid mistake.

“You cut your hair!”

Having a small chuckle you wave your hand, “No not all of it just the highlights for my regrow stage and then I’ll pay for darker highlights!” The phone goes silent when you mention new highlights and growing the hair out.

“You cut all the highlights out, I sorta liked it better.”

“GG! Do you like the hair or not!?” There was yet another pause and the older woman begins to ramble about the highlights being expensive, how they costed a lot of money and then said you’d pay for them next time. As if you needed her charity.

Each word that slipped, caused your gaze to darken. So you hang up without thinking about listening to that woman, after that you head home. Silent the whole ride with tears flooding your eyes every second of the drive, once home.

Nanami was the first to greet you, but his soft gaze turns sad as you hid your gorgeous hair. “What happened?”

He holds your hand, you acknowledge him and mumble. “Its hard to truly love my hair…”

Gently pulling the hood from your coat down he begins to admire your hair, noting the twist coils and texture of the 4C hair you were born with. Without a second thought he kissed you on the head, mumbling about the oil before kissing you again. “I believe your hair is truly beautiful.”

“Anyone who disagrees, doesn’t see what I see.” You both stayed together as he embraces your smaller form in his arms.

“I love you, and I’ve noticed many things about black women. You’re all very caring, meticulous, always glowing, and best of all your hair carries a story. Whether it be happy, sad or anything else: You’re still a beautiful black woman. Don’t ever forget that, seeing you during our wedding was as if I was witnessing a goddess for the first time leaving Ala’s side and letting her grace me.”

After giving you another kiss, he guides you inside after locking the door behind you both then the two of you sit down to watch a few shows and movies. His favorite being “Series of Unfortunate Events” while yours were mixed between “Princess and The Frog” and maybe a bit of “Castlevania” The choices tend to vary. Overall he made sure you were comfortable while you avoided crushing him with your elbows, unlike last time’s incident.

That memory haunts you to this day and he’d always rub your cheek anytime you hugged him for reassurance. Crushing his thigh with your elbows just wasn’t on the list of date ideas.

Even so, his words stuck with you. Your hair is beautiful, no matter what texture, length, or color. It’ll always carry a story with you and be with you throughout your journey of taking care of it. “Thank you Nanami.”

Nanami hugs you to his chest, “Anything for you hun.”

[ceapa-mica]

Thrawn's Proposal 💍 - a headcanon

I can't stop myself when it comes to this man help

I have been very busy thinking this through and writing it down, and here it is - the engagement headcanon I promised you guys! 😘

Enjoy!

🔞 NSFW content 18+ only! 🔞

Reader's gender is not mentioned.

So you made a certain Grand Admiral fall for you and have established a relationship? You're doing amazing, sweetie!

I bet you can guess what the next step in your relationship is. (Who am I kidding, it's literally in the title)

The moment Thrawn knew was when he discovered a painting you had made that you kept from him. Whether you're a good artist or not doesn't matter, to Thrawn every painting is worth looking at. And seeing a sketch of him made by you made his heart swell.

He analyzes art unlike anyone else. To him this drawing was a visualization of your feelings for him. Your unwavering loyalty, your keen mind, and all the little quirks to your character he has fallen in love with. On top of that you’re the most stunning person he's ever laid his crimson eyes on.

It was at that moment he looked at your painting that he knew he wants you by his side for the rest of his life - and he hopes you want the same.

He has gifted you jewelry before, but an engagement is something else entirely. In his culture engagement and marriage are taken very seriously and he knows he can't just give you an ordinary ring from some Coruscanti high-end shop.

No, you deserve better. You're not getting engaged to anyone, you're getting engaged to Mitth’raw’nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy and Grand Admiral of the Galactic Empire. An ordinary ring won't do!

He contacts his people and explains the situation. It takes a while, but when he receives the ring he looks at it with a satisfied smile. It's so unique, just like you!

During your relationship you have learned to read Thrawn. He may keep up a stoic facade most of the time, but you have started to notice little changes, like the way he pronounces words or the varying brightness of his glowing eyes. You think even Eli Vanto can't read Thrawn that well.

The night he wants to propose to you he takes you to a city on a planet you've never heard of. It's late in the evening and you can tell from his stiffer than usual posture that he's nervous.

You're worried, ask him if he's alright and he simply nods. He's a bit absent-minded too, you notice.

You finish your dinner and afterwards go for a walk in the warm air of what you assume must be early summer or late spring.

Away from prying eyes he removes his green shade sunglasses and takes your hand in his.

Your walk takes you to a park, away from busy speeder lanes. You have some easy conversation, but you can't help but notice how tense he still is. You think you might have to help him relax in his quarters when you're back on the Chimera.

To anyone else you two would look like a cute civilian couple enjoying a walk in the moonlight.

Some of the flowers on this world bloom at night, spreading a silvery light along with the lanterns lighting the paths. You think this particular lighting makes Thrawn look ethereal.

The scent of the flowers lingers in the air, the safe feeling of his hand in yours makes your heart flutter in bliss and the soft waves breaking on the shore of the lake mixed with the occasional sound of nocturnal birds has something so fundamentally peaceful.

Distracted by your beautiful surroundings you don't realize at first when Thrawn lets go of your hand, takes a small black box out of his pocket and drops to one knee in front of you.

You're taken by surprise, the look in his eyes shows a vulnerability you have never seen before.

He pops the question in the most charismatic way possible. I mean, what did you expect? He makes it clear that he intends to spend every day of the rest of his life with you. The choice is yours.

You see the stiffness leave his shoulders when you tell him ‘Yes!’

He puts the ring on your finger. The gem, not too big, looks unlike anything you've ever seen. In the light of the lantern it looks dark blue with swirls on the inside of the crystalline stone that reflect the silver light.

When you ask him about it, he explains that this rare mineral can only be found in the depths of his homeworld’s glaciers. It's very expensive, even within the Ascendency, and is used as a symbol of status in Chiss society.

He kisses you deeply when you shed a tear or two of joy, the scent of the flowers mingling with Thrawn's own crisp musky scent.

His lips wander from yours down to your neck, but since you're in public he doesn't go much further.

You wait with that until you're back aboard the Chimera where he carries you to his bed and takes you exactly the way you want him to.

He makes sure you cum at least five times that night - on his mouth, on his fingers and on his cock.

He doesn't require much sleep and could last all night, but he knows after a day of work and a very special evening you must be very tired.

This is one of the rare instances where he gives you the next day off. For one, because you deserve to sleep in after the first night being the Grand Admiral’s fiance, second because after he fucked your tight heat for hours and hours you visibly walk funny, and Thrawn is not a fan of the gossip about his private life that makes its rounds among his crew.

Decisions would have to be made. Would you continue your service to the Empire as his wife-to-be?

All he knows is that he wants you by his side. It's where you are safest and also where you want to be.

No matter how much he dislikes the gossip about his private life, he will eventually have to tell the crew about his engagement.

When he does announce it, he does it with you by his side, holding his hand. Another step you take together.

Let's just say that nobody is surprised about your engagement. So many crew members you know from the bridge congratulate you, even officers and troopers you have never talked to congratulate you in passing.

Your future with Thrawn looks bright. While planning a wedding is extra stressful with a workaholic like Thrawn as fiance, both of you manage that together too.

Thrawn lets your contract with the Imperial Navy end the day before your wedding.

In the Imperial Navy you can't work for your own husband, it would be a conflict of interest and neither of you want you reassigned to some other ship, away from each other.

You can search for different ways to earn credits after your wedding though. In fact, Thrawn encourages you to find work for yourself that you find joy in.

Being engaged to Thrawn is the happiest you have ever been so far. You're excited, well fucked, and feel a sense of belonging you have never known. If you believe in soulmates, then you believe that you have found exactly that in Thrawn.

Well that was fun to write! Thank you guys so much for liking my work! 💙 Next up will be ✨the wedding✨ headcanon.

[oddball-artz]

YO! IS DJ REHE-REHE BACK AT IT WITH QUESTIONS!

Okay, so this is gonna be a lil long :))

So how is Sabrinas relationship with Dalias family? Has she met them? What do they think of her? Do they even know Dalia is dating her?

And, I kinda want to make a future AU where everyone is like 10 years older. So can you go into depth about Dalias future? Like, does her relationship w her mom improve? Is she still with Sabrina? Are they married? Children? Job?

And lastly, how would Dalia manage Sabrinas OCD (because that's canon now) and how would Sabrina help with Dalias anxiety?

:]

Ok, so Dalia's family knows that Sabrina's dating Dalia, but their opinions on her vary. Starting with Avery, she doesn't care that they're dating, but doesn't particularly care for anyone in fruitbasket in general (she thinks they're a bad influence because Dalia's started standing up for herself more since meeting them and Avery views that as defiance and nothing more) Carter on the other hand thinks Sabrina's good for Dalia, he hears the way she talks about her, and how much more confident she is around her. Esme likes Sabrina but likes getting on Dalia's nerves more, so she usually ends up trying to embarrass Dalia whenever Sabrina's around(like why whole shouting the word girlfriend thing). Esme and Jasper were both actively betting on whether or not they'd get together. Esme won. Jasper bet against it bc he assumed Dalia would be too nervous to ever confess,but what he didn't plan for was for Sabrina to be the one to confess, so Esme won 10 dollars.

Dalia ends up putting herself through nursing school. She has an instinctual need to help others, and this helps fill that. She ends up working at an urgent care, and her epithet helps a lot there. Speaking of her epithet, she's trained enough with it now to gain epithet markings(like Zora's triangle tattoos or Mera's eyes) hers are tattoo like moth wing pattern on her back. It glows in a faint lavender color when she uses her epithet.

I also feel like she'd go no contact with her mom. She's learned to stand up for herself(well a little) and has decided it's better for her if she cuts contact. Avery still refuses to admit to anything she put Dalia through (BECAUSE SHE'S A BITCH! Who said that? Not me)

(Oof this it late so we already know her and Sabrina are married with 2 kids) As a mom, she's still definitely a worrier. If her kids are out late, she's up pacing around the living room. She's super supportive though, she makes a huge point of being there for Vee and Jasper. Overall, she's trying to be the exact opposite of her mother. When they were little, she told them the same myths and legends she told her little siblings. Worrys that she's a bad parent and that she's gonna end up like her mom. Would do anything for them, loves them to death.

Alright, Dalia, as said before is there through the bouts of depression, she's not good with words of comfort on the spot, so she tends to really on her epithet to comfort her. Feels bad about it, but her epithet can take the edge off of just about anything. Wants to help in any way she can, if Sabrina says the word, she's there, doesn't matter what it is, she's there. Also Sabrina not leaving when Dalia's anxiety flairs up means the world to her. She's got some issues with thinking people are gonna leave her bc she's a burden(Dalia go to therapy,I'm begging you) and even the simplest reassurance means so much (and it helps more than she's willing to admit). Girlfriends with issues that support each other for the win.

[oathofpromises]

send ★ to pin my muse to the wall — bringing out Exarch to Lady Exarch

On any given day throughout the year, the Exarch found himself quite amenable to playful banter from his beloved wife. Unfortunately, today did not fall into such a category. Which did worry the Lady Exarch endlessly, but she did recall that every year, the Miqo'te race would find themselves suddenly plagued by symptom's relating to a heat cycle, a phenomenon that varied depending on the clan they hailed from. It had been years ago, that G'raha had explained how his heating cycles worked. There was a time, being a seeker of the sun, that he was offered the opportunity to ascend to the regarded position of a nuhn.

However, despite the allure of such a prestigious title that so many other males would've longed for and gone through hoops to receive, he declined it. At the time he told Stella it was because he was devoid of any inclination to assume that role. There was simply no reason he felt attached to such a thing. Which Lady Exarch did understand and part of her cherished the fact that no other females had tried to lay claim to him. Perhaps it could be said that her actions were marred with an air of selfishness, for there was there an array of people who held the Exarch in the highest regard. Engaging in such selfish thoughts would be impolite.

Although, none of that mattered when lately the Exarch had been excusing himself early. Rarely did he engage in such behavior, particularly when they found themselves in the blissful solitude of each other's company. A sense of worry enveloped her, casting a shadow over her thoughts, and in turn, Lyna, their beloved adopted daughter, too, found herself consumed by this unease.

Stella could see Lyna's apprehension lingering, but could anyone blame her for worrying.? Even the Lady Exarch was concerned, it wasn't like the Exarch to push even her away. She could still vividly recollect the first time she had noticed this happening, which had transpired countless centuries ago. The memory of his difficult struggle to allow her assistance in alleviating the anguish that consumed him remained engraved in her memory.

After a considerable amount of persuasion, Lyna reluctantly acquiesced to entrusting the task to the esteemed Lady Exarch. This required Stella's readiness to confront her husband's present condition, whatever it may be. Inhaling deeply, she approached the extravagant doors that guarded the entrance to the Exarch room. A flicker of uncertainty danced within her, questioning whether he would choose to respond. The number of days since their last encounter had only deepened the chasm between them. The woman's heart, already burdened, was further afflicted.

As she stood there, her hand hesitantly grazing the cool surface of the door, a wave of uncertainty washed over her. Which lead to thoughts slipping into her mind, a whisper carried by the wind. Perhaps this wasn't his heat cycle after all. Which further lead to doubt, causing the Lady Exarch to question her abilities as a wife.

With a gentle tap, her knuckle made contact with the door, its sound reverberating through the stillness of the hallway. She noticed a fleeting flutter of activity from within, as if her presence had disturbed the air itself. She could tell it was the Exarch, yet he had made no attempt to say anything yet.

"My Lord.. I am well aware of your request for solitude. However, I cannot help but express the deep concern that plagues not only my own heart but also that of our daughter. Please, whatever ails you, let me help. You don't have to endure all of this alone."

"Stella," Exarch uttered, his voice barely a whisper as the door creaked open ever so slightly. As her gaze fell upon him, she found herself captivated by the depth and intensity of his eyes. Exhaustion weighed heavily upon them, their weariness palpable as she couldn't help but observe the unmistakable signs of his ailing appearance. The woman had been used to him not getting sleep some nights but this was different. He was clearly enduring waves of pain trying to resist whatever urges his body craved.

"Raha..we promised to be honest with each other. Now tell me the truth, are you in heat?"

The Lady Exarch scarcely had a moment to part her lips in inquiry, for the door swung wide with a flourish, and in an instant, she found herself forcefully whisked across the threshold. As their gazes intertwined, Pink's eyes locked with Red's in a captivating dance of intensity. In an instant, a surge of energy coursed through her veins, causing her heart to quicken its rhythm. Before she could fully comprehend the gravity of the moment, her body collided with the unyielding surface of the wall, jolting her senses and leaving her momentarily breathless. The Exarch leaned in before nuzzling his face into her neck. She could felt his breath against her shoulder, as his hand reached down and grabbed at her wrist. It was almost like he was hiding his face from her.

"Raha.."

'For countless sunsets and moonlit nights, I have battled against the tempestuous yearning that consumes my very being. The fervent desire to claim you as my own. To possess your essence in its entirety. It truly has become an intoxicating force that engulfs my senses. With each inhale of your alluring fragrance, my sanity wanes, and the world around me fades into insignificance. I want you..so bad.'

Below is a tad spice writing. If that isn't for you please stop here now.

So he was experiencing his heating cycle, which meant the primary motivation behind his decision to isolate himself was none other than his unwavering desire to shield her from harm. Even if that meant keeping his distance, which she knew hurt him, as much as it had her too. With a gentle touch, Stella reached up, her delicate arms encircling the Exarch. Tremors coursed through his body, betraying the immense effort he exerted to restrain himself in that very moment.

"Raha..I am your wife..The Lady Exarch. The one person you can be selfish around. Whatever you desire..it's okay to take it. I promise I can handle it."

In the tender embrace of the moonlit night, her words hung delicately in the air, a sweet melody that stirred his deepest desires. In a heartbeat, as if guided by an invisible force, his lips found solace upon her delicate neck, a gentle caress that ignited a dull ache, intertwining their fates in a dance of passion and longing. Exhausted from the days of suppressing his desires, G'raha found himself unable to resist any longer. How could he, when the mere presence of the person he longed for, so tantalizingly close, eroded every ounce of resistance left within him.

His mind was consumed by a singular thought, that passionate desire burning within him. He yearned to possess her completely, to stake his claim on her heart and soul. Which he knew was already his but heating cycles made The intensity of his love much more fierce. He longed for the entire world to bear witness to their connection, to understand that she belonged to him and him alone.

'During these heat cycles, you are well aware of the tempestuous nature that consumes me. The burning desires that courses through my veins, yearning to be unleashed. However, I must confess, my love, that in succumbing to these fervent passions, there is a lingering fear that I may inadvertently inflict harm upon you and that's the very last thing I want,' murmured the Exarch, his lips gently tracing a path along her neck and shoulder. As his hand descended, it eagerly seized her waist, drawing her into an intimate embrace. Just as he did, the Lady Exarch entwined her legs around his own waist, their bodies becoming one in a harmonious union.

"Raha..Please do not withhold anything on my behalf. "I want you," Stella breathed, her heart fluttering as his lips gently met hers. A soft, barely audible sigh escaped his lips, a testament to the weight of desire that burdened his every step as he carried her towards the sanctuary of the bed.

'You..,I swear any man in his right mind would lose any will at the mere sight of you…' the Exarch muttered as he grasped the Lady Exarch's thigh and gave it a small squeeze. It required a tremendous amount of self-control to resist the want to take all of her clothes off. To feel their bodies pressing against one another in a genuine manner without the restriction of clothes to hold them back.

"You are such a tease Raha…either do something or I will."

Exarch let out a pained groan, his hand descending to forcefully tear off her skirt. The multitude of garments strewn about proved to be nothing more than hindrances in his current path. He pondered the thought of procuring a fresh set of garments for her at a later time, fervently hoping that she would not harbor any ill feelings towards him for this minor inconvenience.

'Tease…you're the only one I should say that to. How can you expect a man to remain calm when you are a goddess among men? For years, I wished for you…for this moment. I only wish it had happened under better circumstances.'

Bending forward with an air of tantalizing allure, the Exarch's lips gently grazed her soft neck, leaving a trail of fiery anticipation in their wake. In a daring moment of passion, he seized the opportunity to sink his teeth into her tender flesh, igniting a symphony of pleasure and desire.

"I love you.." the Lady Exarch whispered, her voice trembling with a delicate vulnerability. In that fleeting moment, as those three enchanting words escaped her lips, the world around them seemed to fade into insignificance. The weight of duty and reason that had once anchored the Exarch soul suddenly dissipated, leaving behind only the intoxicating allure of love's embrace.

He yearned for her with an intensity that surpassed all else in his world, ever since that fateful encounter amidst the grandeur of the crystal tower expedition. She embodied everything he yearned for, and then some. His beloved Lady Exarch, the one he wanted to live with forever.

[monsterkissed]

BI VAMPIRE NONSENSE I AM BEGGING YOU

i am shocked, alarmed, surprised, and otherwise completely caught off-guard by this request! let me see what i have under this cut...

“Ah, I didn’t ask you whether or not you drink.” The words drew Doppio’s gaze to the mouth speaking them. Flashes of porcelain white behind lips that moved with that same uncanny sinuousness. “Would you prefer something softer?”

His face was beautiful like the sky after a particularly awful storm. Doppio tended to find very attractive people a little intimidating, the haughty perfection of their features inherently making him feel as though he were intruding, but this face made him take a few steps closer before he had realised it. It almost didn’t feel like he was looking at a person, more a statue carved impossibly perfect, until the marble appeared to be moving under your very eyes. They were the sort of features, strong and yet delicate, that he had sometimes imagined the Boss might have-

Doppio stopped short, swallowing and looking aside as he realised he had not responded. “No, um, wine is fine! Sorry.” The apology mumbled out before he could think; he was not sure what he was apologising for or, for that matter, who he was apologising to. 

“Please tell me what you think of it. It’s quite difficult to find alcohol here, nevermind a quality beverage, and sometimes I worry I have let my standards slip.” The man handed him the glass and Doppio took it, the liquid pitching slightly as their hands brushed. His skin was very cool to the touch. It struck Doppio then that it was also very pale. Doppio was tanned and dusted liberally with freckles and the other people he had met here had come in varying degrees of sunkissed if not sunravaged, but this man had skin like cream. 

“I’m not really a connoisseur,” he mumbled, giving the glass a halfhearted sniff. 

“But you have that continental palette. That’s what I’ve really been missing here. The people have their charms, but a man far from home finds himself yearning for familiar comforts.” He smiled again, motioning for Doppio to sit in another dark, plush chair that felt like it was swallowing him up. He sat back in the one opposite, resting his feet up on the table in an incongruously low-class gesture.

“Oh, are you, um, from Italy as well?” 

“Not quite. I apologise for my atrocious accent; it’s been many years since I took classes in university.”

“No, no, you speak it really well! You sound classier than me!” The man smiled and the thought that his own words might have caused that perfect expression made warm things wriggle through Doppio’s chest. He hadn’t been exaggerating in the least, he had an almost uncannily crisp diction, the clear and sophisticated accent like something out of a film. Doppio’s own Italian was embarrassingly provincial, an issue that the Boss had gently raised with him a few times before. He’d been working on beating the kinks out of it, trying to mirror the Boss’s own precise and neutral pronunciation and to quell the little dips and snags of bucolic unsophistication that flared up when he wasn’t paying attention. He had been comforting himself that it wasn’t easy; even the Boss, when he was anxious or hurried or frustrated, tended to slip out of his refined intonation. 

“You flatter me. I’ve always thought that it would be wonderful to visit- Ah.” He smiled again, tipping his glass slightly. “I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I invited you all the way over here and started chattering away and I haven’t even formally introduced myself. You see, I really am quite uncouth.” 

“It’s, it’s alright.” Doppio found himself smiling back. 

“My manners are so out of practice.” He leaned back in his chair, swirling his glass. “You may call me DIO.” 

“Dio,” Doppio mumbled, realising that he was staring and glancing aside. “Nice to meet you. I’m, uh…”

“Giuseppe Bucatini.” He could still hear the smile in the words.

“Yes. That’s right.” Doppio was glad he wasn’t making eye contact. It was always so embarrassing to forget his fake names. 

“It doesn’t suit you.” He risked another look. The man was considering his wine. “Forgive me, but I feel a name should match the soul behind it. Giuseppe… that’s the Italian equivalent of Joseph, isn’t it?” His smile, to Doppio’s eyes, looked a little sharper and a lot colder. “No, that doesn’t suit you at all.” 

“Oh. Um, I’m sorry?” Doppio tried to laugh, taking a sip of wine.

“It is not your fault. Perhaps we can think of something better. Friends do give each other nicknames, don’t they?”

“Friends?”

“Yes.” Dio’s eyes, dark but with a kind of gemstone internal brightness, caught Doppio and held him. “I think we should be friends, don’t you? Two people far from their homes in a strange land, it would be far too lonely to be without a friend.”

“A… friend?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t you like a friend?”

[finelytaylored]

I think this is how love goes, check yes or no.

Chapter 17: I feel no shame, I’m proud of where I came from.

Bradley didn’t realize just how much he hadn’t thought through what agreeing to let Javy, Nat and Jake pick him up from the house would look like until he found himself in the middle of it. Luckily, he hadn’t still been in the shower when Phoenix had texted and let him know they had pulled up out front.

He picked his duffle bag up from where he had set it a few minutes earlier at the foot of the couch and walked over to the door. Bradley could hear voices bleeding through from the other side before he had even opened it.

“You guys trying to let the entire street know you’re here? Nat texted to let me know, like a responsible adult.” Bradley greeted with a smile. “I could hear you two before I even opened the door.” He said as he gestured towards Jake and Javy.

“I don’t know Rooster. Feels a bit hypocritical of you after that shit you pulled today.” Javy replied with a smirk. “Don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone make an entrance quite that loud and in your face before.”

There was a beat of silence before he continued. “Well, other than Jake” Javy corrected as he looked over at the man he was speaking about. “You do tend to have a flair for being overly dramatic.”

“Traitor.” Jake huffed out, narrowing his eyes at Javy before he lovingly knocked shoulders with him.

“Yes, they’re going to be like this all weekend and yes, it’s too late to back out. You’re stuck with us now Bradshaw, so don’t even think about it.” Nat said as she walked over to Bradley, slipping the duffle from his shoulder and twisting to throw it to Javy.

She turned and tossed his duffel bag at Javy who caught it, letting out a soft grunt as it hit him in the stomach. “Anything else you need to grab?” She asked as she turned back to face Bradley.

“Pretty sure I’ve got everything.” Bradley replied. “Debating whether or not it would be worth it dealing with the shit they’re going to give me later if we head out before I’ve introduced you to my parents.”

(continue reading on Ao3) (Start from chapter one)

“They’re here with you? Do they live here in Texas or are they just visiting?” Javy asked.

The corners of Bradley’s mouth twitched up into the start of a smile. “No, they don’t live here. They’re the ones the dragged me out here for a few weeks though, so you can blame them for everything that happened today.”

“Haven’t even introduced us yet and you’re already throwing us under the bus. Why am I not surprised.” Bradley heard Mav say from over his shoulder. He could hear the grin in his voice without having to turn and look at the man.

Bradley huffed out a laugh and shook his head at Mav’s completely unsurprising antics. “Looks like that decision has been made for me.” He glanced back, making eye contact with his old man. “Javy, Nat, Jake, this is Pete, but I’m going to assume he’ll want you to call him Maverick.”

Mav took a few steps forward until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Bradley. “You can call me Pete when we’re not on base if you’d like, but most people call me Maverick no matter where they run into me.”

“He’s Navy too, just want to clear that up in case it wasn’t obvious. He tricked the brass into making him a Captain somehow and we’ve all been paying for it ever since.” Bradley added.

“Whatever you say, kid. You know I’m the best Captain you’ve flown with, even if you don’t want to admit it.” Mav replied as he reached over and ruffled Bradley’s hair.

“Wait a second … Maverick… “ Nat mumbled to herself. “Why do I recognize that name?”

“Probably because his long and varied list of exploits are infamous and despite being a giant pain in everyone’s ass, I’ve kept him in active service for the last 10 years when anyone else with any semblance of power, and an ounce of good judgement would’ve forcibly grounded and retired him by now.”

Bradley let out a slow, deep breath as Ice finished speaking and walked up to stand on the side of him that Mav wasn’t already occupying. “I’m gonna assume it’s safe to say Ice doesn’t need an introduction.”

Bradley couldn’t help but smirk as the three aviators standing in front of them straightened their posture, not quite standing at attention but fidgeting like they felt the need to. He was convinced he’d never forget the stunned look on their faces. “This is Javy, Natasha and Jake, but I’m pretty sure you knew that already.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, officially, sir.” Nat was the first to speak, extending out her hand. Bradley wasn’t surprised she was the bravest of the three.

“Please, when we’re not on base or on duty you can call me Tom, or Iceman if you’re more comfortable with that.” Ice insisted, shaking Nat’s hand and flashing her a warm smile.

“As much fun as it is to watch you two try to intimidate them, am I allowed to have my friends back now so we can head out?” Bradley interjected.

Maverick smiled. “Sure kid, but you’ll have to bring them around for dinner sometime. Give us a chance to interrogate them properly.”

“I regret agreeing to let them pick me up here.” Bradley sighed. “You guys ready?”

Javy, Nat and Jake all nodded in confirmation, and they said their goodbyes, piling into what Bradley assumed was Jake’s truck as he slid into the driver’s seat. Javy had claimed the passenger’s seat next to him, leaving Bradley to sit in the back next to Nat.

No one said anything until they had pulled away from the house and had reached the main stretch of road.

“So, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong here, but I’m assuming the fact that one of your dads is the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet is not the part of the story you were referring to when you said you’d need alcohol to talk about it.” Nat said, breaking the silence.

“It wasn’t part of my plan to introduce you to them today when you came to pick me up, if that’s what you mean. But no, that’s not something I need to be wasted to talk about.” Bradley confirmed. “It’s not something I’m ashamed of or embarrassed by, but I also didn’t really advertise it when I was deployed, for obvious reasons.”

“Yeah man, I get that. But if you always fly like you did today, there’s no way anyone would be able to try and pull the nepotism card.” Javy replied. “Would be the biggest self-own and they’d never live it down.”

Bradley felt his cheeks heat up at the compliment, not used to the attention or the praise being so openly offered. “I appreciate that. Not sure I agree with you, but I’ve learned you can never be too careful yknow? It’s better to not give them any reason to doubt if I deserve to be there.”

“Is that why you don’t use the name Kazansky?” Nat asked.

“If that’s the reason you walk around having to introduce yourself as Bradley Bradshaw…” Jake stated, glancing at him through the rear-view mirror.

Bradley let out an amused huff before replying. “It’s not. Pete and Tom are my adoptive dads. They were my godfathers, before my parents died and then it just made sense to them to take me in after that.”

They had wanted to hear part of this “story” as they called it, and this was somehow the least painful part of it to talk about. He could feel like he was opening up to them in some way and making an effort to let them in without having to offer up too much, too fast. His little family was broken and messy and unconventional, but he wasn’t ashamed of it.

“Shit, Bradley. I’m sorry, I didn’t-“ Jake began to apologize and Bradley cut him off.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Seriously. It was a long time ago and if they were still around, they’d honestly probably think it was hilarious.” Bradley replied. “There are still days that I think about them not being here and it gets to me. The grieving never actually fully goes away, but I don’t mind talking about them.”

“Okay, so, wait, are Maverick and the Admiral in town with you because they’re on assignment here too or...?” Nat asked.

“I’m in town because of them. They both had assignments out here and talked me into coming to turn it into a family trip sort of thing.” Bradley explained.

“So I know I said the whole nepotism thing didn’t apply to you but how the hell else would you manage to get enough leave to take a family trip and just hang around base terrorizing unsuspecting squadrons when you get bored?” Javy asked, turning in his seat slightly to look back at him.

Bradley choked out a laugh, running a hand over his face. They were starting to veer into territory that he could only share bits and pieces of – for now – and he was unsure of where to start and how to navigate it. “It’s … complicated. I haven’t been deployed for a while. I’ve been grounded, waiting to get clearance, until earlier today when I received orders to report to base for evals.”

Bradley heard a strangled, choking sound coming from the front seat. It was obvious it hadn’t come from Javy. “How long had it been?” Jake asked, his voice slightly strained around the words.

“How long had what been?” Bradley asked, wanting to make sure he understood what Jake was referring to.

“Since you were in the air.” Jake replied.

Bradley paused. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice from wavering as he spoke. “A few years.”

The silence that followed really only lasted a few seconds. To Bradley, it felt like an hour. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep him grounded.

“Years?!” Javy exclaimed in disbelief. “Did you actually just say you hadn’t flown in years?”

Bradley hummed in confirmation, not trusting himself to say any actual words in that moment.

“Somehow every new thing I learn about you, I end up feeling like I know less.” Nat replied. “I think I’m going to be satisfied when I get answers out of you and then I just end up with more questions.”

“Well unfortunately for you, that’s as far as that line of questioning is going for now.” Bradley replied. “If you really want to know why I was grounded for that long and how I ended up coming back, we’re going to need a socially unacceptable amount of alcohol and like a week to recover. At the moment we don’t have either of those things.”

“Fair enough.” Nat replied. “I’m going to hold you to that though. If we ever end up with a week of leave together, it’s happening. I’ll even pay for the alcohol if I have to.”

“Deal.” Bradley agreed, knowing it meant at the very least he had about a month to prepare himself for that conversation and it was highly likely he’d bought himself even more time.

The conversation shifted after that, and Bradley found himself relieved not to be the center of attention. Nat and Javy filled him in on the rest of the class and what they’d been covering at their time in Corpus Christi so far. Jake offered a comment here and there but was mostly focused on driving.

The three-hour drive seemed to fly by and before Bradley had time to really process it, they were pulling off onto a long dirt road, acres and acres of fields surrounding them. The city had disappeared while he was lost in conversation and farmhouses with vast, sprawling plots of land had taken their place. It only took them about ten more minutes to reach their destination and Bradley felt his breath catch in his throat as they pulled up to the house. As someone who had always grown up in the concrete jungle, comparatively, he hadn’t been sure what to expect. The house and the yard around it was beautiful, complimentary to and in touch with nature in a way that reminded him of walking out the back doors of the Bradshaw house and being greeted by the sand between his toes and the vast expanse of ocean, as far as the eye could see.

It was easy to see why someone would want to put down roots and call a place like this home.

[born-4-this]

🎨 - @/CROWNEDINMARIGOLDS

🙏This is an in character Vampire: The Masquerade/World of Darkness Blog🙏 📿My Personal Blog - Call me Chiss👋 Any pronouns work 📿 🙏 While I try to avoid it, I may well get details wrong; I wasn't raised Catholic nor am I one irl.🙏

👇Character Info 👇 [+ rules @ the bottom]

[Image Source: The Red Sign, p. 94] [Revised Era Sourcebook] [Artist: Vince Locke, his website]

You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. [Leviticus 17:14]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Billie Caruso. Soon-to-be Nun, shunned.

Raised by members of the Clergy who had every intention having her follow the through-line straight into ranks of the Society of St. Leopold's oft mistrusted sister order The Order of Saint Joan, Ms. Caruso was denied even so much as a chance to pass her Novitiate and become a full-fledged Sister let alone learn the many and varied truths about what truly goes bump in the night the "proper" way. Embraced at just 19 years of age, wholly dedicated and devout - unpopular with the more-set-in-their ways sisters as her opinions might have been, Billie isn't sure where she went wrong to be shunned so absolutely; besotted with Cain's mark and left to fend for herself... The Good Lord has plans for all of His creatures; perhaps this isn't just a penance to be paid... After all, He has bestowed her with: - 'Visions', like her beloved Joan. A daunting task to heave upon her shoulders, but one nonetheless undertaken dutifully. - The oft sought-after gift of being able to bask in the sun's warmth while bearing Cain's mark. [which, in turn, allows her to observe the Canonical Hours for prayer as she would have during her Novitiate.] Suffice to say, she's still trying to figure it all out and stay 'alive' at the same time. To that end, she interviews willing Full-Blooded cainites when and where she can in an effort to gather her bearings.

[Eugène-Romain Thirion || Joan of Arc listening to her voices]

MERITS

Faith Proof [V5] [Thin-Blood] Whether you consider yourself an atheist or devoutly religious, you remain too close to mortality for True Faith to affect you.

Day Drinker [V5] [Thin-Blood] She's walking on sunshine.

Ingenue [V5] (•) You look completely innocent and blameless, making others believe in your good intentions much easier.

Linguistics [V5] [Latin] (•) Fluent.

Tempered Will [V5] (•••) Your stubborn spirit didn’t die during your Embrace, and you find yourself knowing when people are trying to force you to do something against your will. [Aware of Dominate/Presence attempts]

FLAWS

Night Terrors [V5] [Thin-Blood] She has nightmares she's incapable of remembering until the most inopportune of times... She assumes these to be visions from God and the Heavenly host.

Vitae Dependency [V5] [Thin-Blood] Her, nominally non-existent, disciplines require feeding from a full-blooded vampire once a week to use.

Knowledge Hungry [V5] (Noddism) You always feared that you wouldn’t have the time to learn everything you wanted about what’s truly important. Well, that’s one problem solved. The time to learn is not always now, though — you regretfully put a bookmark in your studies and attend to more life-threatening matters.

No Haven [V5] She has, and you'll never believe this, no haven to call her own.

LORESHEETS

Novice (••) [LS: THE SOCIETY OF ST. LEOPOLD] [Chicago By Night, p. 285]

Your interest in entering into a profession of faith went deeper than most: you were on the verge of entering into your novitiate when that life was permanently torn away from you. Whether you resent this or have accepted it, you retain a considerable amount of interest in and potential contact with members of the local church. These Contacts (equivalent of ••) would naturally include your confessor, the members of the order you were seeking to enter who oversaw your training, fellow novices, or members of the local congregational volunteer groups.

[Bartolome Esteban Murillo || Our Lady of Sorrows]

RULES N' SUCH:

Minors, away with you. 🫵(blocked where spotted) [have a good day, though!👋]

Note: I'm 21.

if anything ever crosses a line or comes across as particularly pointed, please do not hesitate to lmk!!

If you ever have any questions ever/would like a source on a piece of lore I refer to/in general - I'm always happy to help!

Still new-ish to Tumblr RP, please have mercy on me; Caine bless.

RESOURCES

State of Grace [Link to Buy] [Revised Era Sourcebook] [How the children of Caine interact with and adapt to practicing their religions]

Both Hunters Hunted II [V20 Sourcebook] and The Inquisition [Revised Sourcebook] have very, very brief snippets of lore about the Order of St. Joan. Truth be told, you would be better going off to the White Wolf Wiki for information on them as it's 1.) Free 2.) All there.

"Poor little creatures!" she said. "What can a person's heart be made of that can pity a Christian's child and yet can't pity a devil's child, that a thousand times more needs it!" [Mark Twain's Translation of: Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc]

[perplexedflower]

Debito Fluff Alphabet - [O]n Cloud Nine

Fandom: La storia della Arcana Famiglia.

Category: F/M.

Relationship: Debito x Female Reader.

Type: Fluff Alphabet.

O) On Cloud Nine: What he is like when in love/how obvious it is for others/how he expresses his feelings.

~~~~~~~~~~

Debito is not necessarily much different from his usual self when he is feeling particularly in love with you: his naturally warm and energetic personality remains the same, and his behavior doesn't change much either. However, something you have come to notice over time is the fact that in those moments, when he's fully embracing his love for you, he tends to unconsciously seek affectionate gestures and touches from you, most of the time physical; whether it's a kiss, a caress, or hand-holding, he will feel pleased after having felt your hands on his body, feeling reassured that you love him, just as much as he loves you. Although Debito is not always the loudest person in the room wherever he goes, what can be agreed on by everyone is that he has an assertive personality, that never goes unnoticed. He has complete confidence in himself and has no issue expressing his feelings to others clearly, which he most often does without realizing it, through his habits of speaking his mind without filters and acting on instinct without hesitation. Thus, his intentions are, more often than not, obvious for other people to see and understand, including his love for you: he never hides from anyone the feelings he has for you, no matter who he is surrounded by and where he is. The ways Debito expresses his feelings vary, depending on the day and his mood, but whichever means he chooses to convey his feelings to you, you're always satisfied, always pleased: most often, he will tell you he loves you in a very direct and straightforward way, other times he will express it through his body language and gestures, and sometimes, he'll do both at the same time. Whether it is during a romantic date, around lunch or dinner, in crowded public places, or under the sheets of his bed, Debito always finds new ways to communicate his love to you, to spread it over to you.

Mini Scene

I stood in the middle of Debito's bedroom, neither tall nor proud: the day had been exhausting, for all the divisions, and all I longed for at that instant was a good night of sleep, of refreshing rest. Now that I had gotten ready for bed, I stretched my arms to the ceiling before I made my way to the bed, on which Debito was already lying; but as my bare feet paced the cold parquet, I suddenly felt a firm hand grab my wrist, out of nowhere.

"Debito?"

By the time I could realize what had happened, I was already in his embrace: Debito had pulled me on the bed with him and I was now sitting over his body, lying under mine.

"What are you—"

But I cut myself short, for words were useless; I stared down at his face, his silver hair down, covering part of his face, and a gleam in his left eye. A gleam I had grown familiar with, a sign I could read with ease.

Debito was feeling particularly loving tonight, I knew him well enough by that point to tell.

"Alright..." I said in a murmur as I closed my eyes with a gentle smile.

I leaned forward just slightly, enough to be close to him, close to his face, on which I rested one of my hands. At the contact of my palm against his skin, he pressed his cheek deeper into it, following the movement of my hand in rhythm. He quietly exhaled a deep breath and closed his eye, cherishing the moment, and I approached his face yet even more, this time to kiss his lips tenderly; he kept his eye closed the whole way through, but his hands held tight onto my lower back.

When I slowly pulled away and leaned back, his amber eye was open, staring right at me, at all of me with an intense feeling of love. Still without speaking a word, both of his hands on my lower back slipped under my shirt, which was in fact his; I knew that seeing me in his shirt made him want me even more, made him want to hear and feel my love even more.

And it was perfectly fine for him not to speak: I did not need him to talk to know how much he loved me.

[uvobreakmylegs]

The Sixth Floor Game

heavy inspiration from the Elevator Game, as well as the Three Kings Game and a little bit of Silent Hill 3

demon!Shalnark

Warnings: blood, death, kidnapping

The Sixth Floor Game is a ritual that will put you into contact with otherworldly forces and, if done correctly, can take you to a world that exists outside of our own. To play this game, you must follow all of the instructions that have been written below. Take care to remember all of them, as one mistake could result in death.

First you must enter a dark and empty building that has an elevator and only five floors in between the times of 3 and 4 AM. The only items you can bring with you are a fully charged cellphone, an item of sentimental value to you and an offering for the demon.

It is not recommended that you give an offering that bares any resemblance to that of a clown or magician.

When you enter the elevator, you need to ride it up to the 5th floor and leave the offering just outside the elevator doors and then head back down to the 3rd floor. When you reach the 3rd floor, you then need to exit the elevator and use your phone to call the last person in your call history. The game begins when you call that number.

When the line is picked up, you must say “I want to visit the 6th floor”.

Be warned that at this point you may hear strange noises on the other end, as calling the number at this time and place has put you in contact with a demon. It is possible to gauge whether the demon is happy with your offering or not based off the things he may say, if anything at all. Do not hang up on the demon; you will go back up the elevator when he hangs up on you.

There are three possibilities awaiting you when you go back to the 5th floor to see what has happened to your offering.

If the demon doesn't care for your offering but hasn't been upset by it, you will find it in the same place as you left it outside the elevator. You must then collect the offering, go back down to the first floor and leave the building.

If the demon has been offended by your offering, you will find the offering destroyed in some way. Leave the building immediately if you find this, as it means that the demon is angry with you and will try to kill you if you stay too long.

But if the demon likes your offering, there will be no trace of it when you get back up to the 5th floor. If this has happened, you must close the elevator doors and then hit the button for the 5th floor again. This time, instead of the doors opening again, the elevator will begin to move up, taking you to a 6th floor that shouldn't exist.

The amount of time it will take to reach the 6th floor varies from person to person, but it should not take longer than two minutes.

When you reach the 6th floor, you will find yourself in another world. Accounts of what this other world looks like also varies from person to person. Some have said that the floor they entered was run down and wrecked to pieces in some parts. Others have said that the floor didn't look any different from the other floors. Regardless of the state of the floor, the one thing that is consistent is a giant glowing red cross that can be seen if you look outside. You will see nothing else outside aside from the cross.

It is not recommended that you to try to open any windows or try to climb down the building.

You are free to explore this other world until you are ready to leave. It does not matter how long you stay in the other world. When you want to leave you must simply walk back to the elevator and hit the button for the first floor. It is possible that you may come across the offering that you left for the demon earlier while you explore.

Do not take the offering back; it now belongs to the demon.

Reality on the 6th floor can be distorted and you may find yourself becoming confused. If you find yourself entering into such a state, take out the sentimental item you brought and focus on it. It will keep you from losing yourself and allow you to continue as you explore the other world.

Above all else, while exploring the other world, you must never look behind you. Even though the demon may have liked your offering, he also likes trickery and will try to make you turn around to look at him by making noise or by speaking to you. If you look at the demon you will be unable to leave the 6th floor and he will keep you there forever as he has claimed you as his.

It is not recommended that you speak to the demon even if you don't look at him.

Regardless of the outcome of your offering, when you have returned to the 1st floor you must exit the building and you cannot enter the building again for any reason until the time is 6 AM.

If you have upset the demon with your offering, it is not recommended that you try the game again.

There is no reward for playing this game. There is only the experience of leaving this world and venturing to one beyond our own.

This game is dangerous and could result in the death of the player, so please consider the possible outcomes of playing before you decide to do so.

You finished reading aloud the instructions displayed on the sketchy-looking site and looked to your friend Farah, who had her hands clasped together as she looked hopefully at you and the rest of your group who had gathered in her apartment.

“Well?” she asked after a moment, “what do you think?”

“.... Why does a demon have a phone?” you asked.

“Yeah and what phone company does he use?” Cliff asked after you, “or do demons have their own phone companies.”

“You're missing the point!” Farah exclaimed.

“And the point is....?”

“We need to try this!”

There was a collective groan throughout the apartment. The other one in the group, Carmen, rubbed their forehead as they told Farah “you're our friend and we love you, but I don't think any of us want to repeat that time we tried summoning ghosts in a public bathroom.”

“This is nothing like that!” Farah insisted, “it said that we need a building with five floors and an elevator! I promise, there won't be anything gross!”

“Where do we get a building like that?” Carmen asked.

Farah pointed to Cliff.

“You work security overnight at that one office building, right?”

“Do you seriously think I'm going to risk my job for this?” he asked.

“We won't do anything bad! We'll just play a game and leave some stuff on the top floor. If the demon doesn't like it we'll take it with us. It's literally in the rules that we need to clean up after ourselves.”

Farah stopped herself, but you could tell she wanted to continue about getting a chance to visit another world. She loved the supernatural and those kinds of urban legends, but she never wanted to try these things on her own.

Carmen sighed.

“Is anyone else even remotely interested in trying this?” they asked.

Neither you or Cliff said anything at first, and Farah's face began to fall as no one volunteered. Then, when it looked like Carmen was about to speak again, you tentatively raised your hand.

“It might be fun,” you said. At least in terms of memories of 'dumb shit you did when you were younger'.

Farah beamed while Carmen gave you a look that screamed 'I hate you'.

With you willing to give the game a chance, the other two ended up conceding to do the same, and Cliff had been convinced by Farah to let you all in a week from that day when he worked at that particular building. With his shift being 11 PM to 7 the next morning, there would be plenty of time for you to play the game and then let him get back to work. As long as nothing was messed up by the end of it, there would be no harm.

At first you were rather stumped on what to give the demon as an offering. Farah was the same, but she ended up deciding on a horror anthology book from the 1920s. Carmen just got a shirt they had been wanting since they were certain that this ritual wasn't going to work and they wanted to spend the money on something that was useful to them. Cliff went out of his way to get a particularly creepy clown doll. He claimed that he wasn't annoyed by all of this, but you found yourself questioning that statement when he sent a picture of it through the group text. You had no clue where the fuck he had found something that unsettling.

The night you all had settled on was approaching and you still didn't have an offering. It shouldn't have been that hard, and yet you felt like if there was the chance that you were going to run into some otherworldly creature, you didn't want to half-ass it and make it upset. If the supernatural was real it seemed better to try and keep it on your side.

You found yourself browsing a few online forums where people were discussing the game. Unsurprisingly, most said that the ritual didn't work, and the few that claimed that it did had written some uninspired stories about how the demon had told them how they were going to die or when the world was going to end, with at least one mentioning the coming of the Antichrist. When you scrolled down to the end of the page you were pretty bored of all of the comments you read and you were about to exit the page when one particular comment caught your eye:

the demon likes bats

It was buried beneath the comments of others, and nobody had interacted with it. Common sense would tell you that this was just more bullshit, but it just seemed like such a random thing to make up. Nowhere in the instructions had it mentioned bats, and no one else on the forums had said anything about it either. The user who had posted it hadn't interacted with anything else and seemingly just came on to put out that little tidbit. For that reason, you found yourself wondering if their ritual had been successful.

You leaned back in your chair while you considered the information.

Bats, huh?

And then by complete chance the next day, when you were in the mall trying to find something because it the date you'd set for the game was only hours away and you still had nothing, you spotted something through the window of a toy store: a pink stuffed bat plush.

It was rather overpriced, but if that comment was correct, then it should be worth it. If not, at least you got something cute out of it.

Surprisingly it was Carmen and Farah that had been less than impressed by what you had brought.

“I didn't realize you wanted to offend the demon too,” Farah commented bitterly.

“Maybe the demon likes pink,” you responded as you shrugged.

Nothing more was said about it as Cliff opened the front door of the building. In exchange for doing this, he made the rest of you go about the building to turn off all any lights that had been left on which you all grumbled about but agreed was fair enough. By the time you were finished scouring the building, it was 3:13 in the morning.

It had been agreed that Farah would go first, and the rest of you waited in a darker spot of the parking lot while she went in, watching the building to see if you could spot her movements through the windows. You had pulled out your phone, as you were the last person she had called. It would probably be proven pretty fast if this was real or not if she called you and it went through to you, though Carmen had said that they felt it was likely that Farah would probably not call and just say that she had.

You checked to make sure the sentimental object you had brought was in your pocket: a small, stuffed bear keychain that you had gotten as a present from a childhood friend. It was special to you, but you didn't feel like you'd be absolutely devastated if anything happened to it.

Farah came out a few minutes later, carrying her book and looking disappointed.

“It didn't work,” she said as she sighed.

“Did you call?” you asked.

“Yes,” she answered, somewhat indignant. To prove that she had, she pulled out her phone and opened up her call history. It listed her last call as being made to you only a few minutes ago. When you opened up your own call history, it showed that she had called you over an hour ago.

….. Okay. That was weird.

Carmen went next, and it was the same story with them, as they came out a little bit later still holding their shirt. Unlike Farah, they didn't seem too upset.

Cliff went after, holding that creepy clown doll and waving it around a bit as he walked to the elevator.

It was quiet again after that. You, Carmen and Farah waited patiently in the parking lot while the electric lampposts around you hummed. Cliff had been talking earlier so you hadn't noticed it, but it seemed eerily quiet outside. Usually there were bugs or other forms of wildlife at night that would keep things from being silent, but right now there was nothing; only the humming electricity of the lot and the occasional comment from Carmen.

Farah seemed anxious as she looked at the building, her hands playing with the charm on her phone while she waited for any sign of Cliff. The thing with the phone history seemed to convince her this was for real and she seemed nervous about Cliff's offering. Carmen didn't appear to be the same way and seemed more impatient, who'd begun to tap their foot as they waited.

“Did you hear anything when you called?” you asked the both of them. They looked at you, and both shook their heads.

“It was quiet when I called,” Farah said.

“Same here,” said Carmen. Farah smiled at that.

“That means that it's real, right?” she asked.

“Sure.”

Carmen wasn't the best person to be around when they were tired and cranky, and you could see that Farah wasn't trying to take it personally. But looking back to Carmen, you noticed a slight furrow to their brow, and the impatient tapping seemed to have increased. At first glance you would have assumed that they were just really done with this whole thing, but as you kept looking, it seemed less like they were annoyed and more more like they were apprehensive.

“Cliff's taking a while,” they commented.

It was taking Cliff longer than the two of them, you realized, and you were about to try and crack a joke about him making it to the sixth floor when you saw the elevator doors in the lobby slide open, followed by Cliff walking out.

More like storming out, actually.

“What the hell?!” he exclaimed as he shoved open the main doors.

“Don't shout!” Carmen responded, “this is your job that we're not supposed to be doing this at, remember? What're you going to do if someone calls the police on us?”

Cliff ignored them, looking to Farah as he continued “are you serious? You want this stupid thing to be real that badly?!”

He was holding something that he then thrust in front of Farah's face. It was the clown doll that he'd brought.

Or at least, what was left of it.

It looked like it had been stepped on repeatedly, the body broken and the head having been caved in. One of the legs were also missing, you noted.

“You.... You think I did that?” Farah asked.

“Who else!” Cliff yelled.

“I've been here the whole time!” she shrieked back.

“She has,” you added as you felt the need to jump in, “none of us have moved from this spot.”

“Oh fuck off,” he answered, “I needed to return this. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe you shouldn't have gone out of your way to be an asshole,” Farah spat back.

It quickly devolved into an argument between the two, with Carmen pulling you back when you tried to jump in again. It made sense why Cliff was upset, but Farah hadn't done anything.

“.... Should I not go?” you whispered to Carmen after a bit.

“No!” Cliff exclaimed, this time at you, “you should go! Do this stupid thing, and then let me get back to my work!”

“You're not allowed to go back in for the rest of the night,” Farah pointed out.

By that point Cliff was done, and he stormed off to another area in the lot. Carmen motioned for you to go while Farah quietly steamed. It wasn't the first time those two had fought, but the arguments seemed to be getting nastier every time they happened. Best to get this over with so they could be separated and have the time to cool down.

You walked through the darkened lobby of the empty office building, your path illuminated only by the streetlights outside. There was something about darkness and artificial light that somehow made it feel more foreboding, more dangerous. Even though you were an adult there were still thoughts that ran about in your head of creatures that you couldn't see awaiting you in the dark, and those thoughts made you tense a bit. It was such an irrational fear, but one your brain wouldn't let go of. The argument between your friends had only put you more on edge as well.

The elevator doors slid open, the bright blinding lights hurting your eyes for a second before they adjusted to them, and you stepped in the car, pushing the button for the fifth floor.

Fifth floor, leave the offering, then down to third.

There were some bits of Cliff's creepy clown doll that were in front of the elevator when you reached the top floor. It vaguely occurred to you that the instructions said to leave immediately if the offering had been destroyed, but it seemed like Cliff had tried to clean up some. Though that made sense, since he didn't want to leave a mess behind after his shift.

You pushed away some of the leftover bits with your shoe, and carefully placed the bat plush laying on its back in front of the doors.

Down to the third floor, then.

You checked again to make sure that the bear keychain was still in your pocket during the ride down, stepping out when the doors opened after you confirmed that it was.

Now to make the call....

There hadn't been anything saying you needed to wait until the doors closed to begin, but you waited anyway. When the double doors slid shut behind you, you hit the button on your screen to call Farah, the last person on your call history.

It rang twice before the call was picked up. Just as Farah and Carmen had said, it was silent on the other side. You cleared your throat before saying the words that had been instructed.

“I want to visit the sixth floor. Please.”

There was nothing that said you needed to be polite, but you figured it couldn't hurt.

You still didn't hear anything from the other end, and that silence continued for several more seconds. You held the phone close to your ear, straining to hear anything, any sort of indication that someone was on the other line. The “demon” was supposed to hang up first, you remembered, so you were stuck until something happened.

“.... That's actually cute.”

The male voice you heard on the other end was unexpected, but you didn't get a chance to say anything back before the phone call ended.

You stood very still for a few moments.

That.... That hadn't been any of the others who were still outside. Unless they had gone so far as to hide someone out there and have them answer the phone when you called Farah and all of this was just an elaborate prank. But none of them were really the kind of people to do things like that.

Remembering the instructions from the site, you turned back to the elevator and got on when the doors opened, pushing the button for fifth floor once again.

If the demon likes your offering, there will be no trace of it when you get back up to the 5th floor

The ding of the elevator signaled that you were once again at the top floor of the building, and when the doors slid back open and you looked to the spot where you'd left the bat, you found.... Nothing.

That space you had cleared from the broken bits of that doll was empty, the white tiled floor shining in the light that came from the elevator.

….. If this was all just a prank by your friends, you weren't sure if you'd be able to trust them after this.

The doors closed once again, and you took a deep breath before you pushed the fifth floor button.

The elevator began to move up.

There wasn't a sixth floor; you'd double checked that the building only went as high as five.

You told yourself to wait until the doors opened before you jumped to conclusions. You'd need to see this “other world” before you could say for certain that all of this was real.

The website said that it could take up to two minutes, but mere seconds later did the doors slide back open.

Everything looked normal. Just another floor of an office building.

Or it would have looked normal, had it not been for the fact that everything was bathed in a red glow that came from the outside.

Clutching your phone in one hand and the keychain in the other, you took a small, tentative step out of the car, looking to either side of you.

The hallways were empty. Nothing jumped out at you.

Slowly, you walked over to a window.

In the distance stood a glowing red cross.

…. This was real.

This was actually real.

It was almost too much to process for your shock-addled brain, and you had to wonder if anyone else who had been successful had the same reaction as you, to just stare dumbly at the scene before you.

It then occurred to you to get proof for when you went back.

You pulled up the camera on your phone. Or you tried to at least. Of all the times for your phone to act up, it needed to be when you needed to get a picture so people would believe you. The app kept taking forever to pull up before it would close and you repeatedly tapped on the screen as you tried to make it work. Somehow you managed to snap a few pictures of the cross before the camera closed again and you weren't able to open it back up. The lighting and your uncooperative phone made the pictures appear quite blurry, but one would be able to tell what they were looking at. No doubt some people would claim that it was fake, but it was enough to satisfy you.

You checked the time, finding it to be 3:30, if the phone was to be trusted. You wished you had checked before you came up here, but it was a bit too late for that now.

You stepped away from the window and went down one of the halls, looking all around before you remembered that the site said that you shouldn't look behind you. Or was that only when you heard the demon? Regardless, you kept glances behind yourself to a minimum as you made your way through the floor.

Aside from the red light that covered everything, it looked like a normal office floor, filled with different offices and supply closets and nothing that was particularly interesting to you. The one strange thing was that the red cross outside seemed to move along with you, as when you would move to a different room you would still be able to see it clearly outside. You went back to the windows a few times and tried to see if there was anything else outside, but all you found was an endless darkness with no signs of any kind of life or structure. Unsurprisingly there was also no sign of your friends down below, though it would have been hard to see where they were standing outside anyway given the angle.

The red light made you slightly sick after a while, and you tried opening up the flashlight option on your phone. But it refused to turn on. In fact, nothing on your phone was working now, and when you looked at the clock, the time was still 3:30.

Either time was being distorted or your phone wasn't able to function properly. Given how your phone was acting earlier the latter would seem to be the most likely option, but you also weren't sure what the rules of this place were. There was nothing that said that this world was bound to time in the way yours was.

The website had said that you could stay up here for as long as you wanted, right?

You began to see things out of the corner of your eye, little bits of movement in the darkness that dared you to look at them. You did a few times, mentally slapping yourself as you remembered what the instructions had said as you were now desperately trying to remember everything that had been written so you knew what you could and couldn't do. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time as you recalled what the site had said about possibly dying to this game, and at one point you felt so overwhelmed that you thought you were going to throw up. You managed to keep it down, but after that you decided that it was time to leave.

When you started to head back to the elevator was when you felt a headache coming on. It was mild at first, but when you went further along your route to the exit it started to hurt more, turning into a stabbing pain that jammed into your skull.

Had the website mentioned this? You couldn't be sure. Where were you even going again?

You stopped at an open door, leaning against the open door frame to rest. There was movement from inside the room, and without thinking you looked over to it.

The bat you had left on the fifth floor sat in the room in front of a whiteboard. A whiteboard that had been absolutely covered in drawn on hearts and your name repeated over and over.

…. The website hadn't mentioned that.

“Do you think it's a good place for him?”

The voice you heard came from a few feet behind you. The same voice you had heard over the phone.

You needed to get out. Now.

You brushed your hand against your pocket as you tried to stand up straight again, still fighting the pain of the headache when you remembered the little bear keychain.

It will keep you from losing yourself

With that thought in mind you pulled it out and focused on it, and the pain seemed to lessen by a good amount.

“You've got a thing for cute stuff, don't you?”

The voice came from directly behind you this time, like whoever was speaking was staring down over your shoulder as they were practically on top of you.

Don't look don't look don't look

You pushed off of the door frame, the keychain still in hand as you power-walked back down the hall. The headache was still there a little bit but it was nowhere near as debilitating as it had been before.

The voice whined from behind you.

“You're leaving already? You just got here.”

Don't speak. Don't look.

It was following you. You could hear the footsteps that trailed after yours, keeping up with your pace and almost being purposefully loud. Sudden noises accompanied the footsteps, making you jump and urging you to turn around. It was a natural thing to react to sudden sounds like that and you needed to catch yourself a few times from looking behind.

It was trying to keep you here and you didn't want to stay to find out why that was.

You turned several corners and walked down many halls, and the elevator wasn't anywhere in sight. That wasn't right. You had made a mental note of where the location of the elevator approximately was. As much as the headache was still messing with you, you should still be able to make it back. You knew where it was, goddammit.

…. Was it just you, or were these hallways getting longer?

A chuckle came from behind you.

“You didn't think I'd let you go that easy, did you?”

You started to run.

You weren't sure how long you continued like that – time didn't seem to be a thing up here. Around you the halls extended, stretching out and prolonging your time in this hell as you turned corner after corner and you still couldn't find the fucking elevator. The temptation was there to look behind and see how long the halls had become, but the laughter that followed you kept your eyes straight ahead.

Turning another corner, the doors to the elevator came in sight, and you let out a gasp of relief as you ran faster. Just a little bit more and then you'd be free.

…. The elevator seemed to be was moving away from you, messing with you just as the halls had done before.

You could hear him breathing directly in your ear as you ran. Still trying to freak you out, still trying to make you turn around. He hadn't touched you at all, though, and you wondered if there were rules for him that prevented him from doing so.

The attempts to get you to look back at him seemed to be getting desperate. If this thing was getting to a point where even he was desperate, you didn't want to know what the hell he'd do to you if you made the mistake of turning around.

Despite it all the elevator was getting closer. Escape was literally in your grasp-

And then something in the floor shifted that caused your knee to buckle and you were sent flying face down on the flat white tile.

The phone and keychain went flying out of your hands and there was blood in your mouth as you bit your lip. Your head ached again, though you weren't sure if it was because of him or because you'd just landed on the solid floor.

You lay there for a few moments, catching your breath as you tried to compose yourself.

You then became aware of the presence that was standing over you. He was quiet now, but you could feel his eyes burning holes into your back, as if trying to will you to look at him.

Pushing yourself up on shaky arms, you began to crawl forward, your hands searching for the phone and keychain that had gone flying and had vanished into the darkness, the light from outside now much duller than it had been when you'd first arrived.

Don't look don't look don't look

He can't touch you

He can't force you to look back at him

Just keep facing forward and-

A horrifically loud shrieking noise sounded through the hall. It was the loudest thing you had ever heard in your life, the noise so great that you felt the floor vibrating, and your hands immediately went to cover your ears to protect your hearing as best you could.

Don't you dare fucking look back

With your hands still over your ears, you crawled forward on your knees. It was slow and it had gotten so dark that you couldn't see the elevator anymore, but it was still progress. When your knee brushed against your phone you ignored it. Who gave a fuck about proof anymore? You just wanted to get out.

But you were still trying to keep a lookout for the keychain. It had helped before; if you could find it, it would probably make getting out easier.

You put out one hand on the floor as you blindly searched for your sentimental item, your eyes scrunching up in pain as the horrible sound continued.

For a split second your fingers brushed up against something soft.

You grabbed it.

Immediately after the shrieking noise stopped.

For just a moment, there was relief, even though you still had that noise ringing in your ears. But it took only another moment for you to realize that something was wrong.

You hadn't grabbed that bear keychain. It was larger and heavier.

Opening your eyes, you found that you were holding that fucking bat plush.

“Ah. You messed up.”

A hand reached from behind you and grabbed the plush out of your grip. A different hand was placed on your shoulder and you were spun around on the floor.

A fair-skinned man with what looked to be blonde hair stared down at you, one hand still on your shoulder as he waved the bat in front of you.

“You're not supposed to take this back, remember?” he asked as he smiled at you.

“No.... I didn't...” you trailed off.

“But you did, though! You grabbed and picked it up,” he said.

That wasn't possible. You had left that thing behind in that room that felt so far away now. But as you glanced to the side you saw that, to your horror, you were sitting next to that room again, the hearts still visible on the whiteboard. You were barely able to note that it had gotten brighter and that somehow the red lighting seemed less harsh before he was talking to you again.

“So you lost and now you don't get to go back,” he told you.

“No.... You cheated.”

It felt so juvenile to say that out loud, but it was all that could come out of you in your current state.

Strangely though, he didn't deny it.

“Can you blame me?” he asked, “I've never gotten a visitor as charming as yourself. When I heard you on the phone and saw what you left me, I just needed to keep you.”

He looked at the bat plush again and smiled at it as he sat down in front of you.

“Did you just pick this at random, or was it something else?”

You struggled to comprehend the question, and it took you a bit before you were able to blurt out “someone else said you liked bats.”

“So you mean you went to the trouble of looking up what things I liked? That's adorable. I love it!” he exclaimed.

You tried to subtly scoot away from him as he sat in front of you but you were noticed instantly.

“Where do you think you're going?” he asked. The look he gave you was so innocent.

“I-I need to go home. I want to go home,” you insisted.

“That's not an option, remember?” he asked, waving the bat around again.

You shook your head.

“You cheated. I should be allowed to leave because you did that.”

He laughed.

“There's no rule against cheating. As long as I didn't touch you it was fine. Don't be a sore loser.”

“Fuck you.”

You spat out those words in a bout of frustration, trying your best to sound strong, but it probably just made you seem more pathetic.

He only hummed at that, just staring at you for a moment.

It had been getting steadily brighter, the red going away with every passing second and you were able to make out different colors. The purple and teal on his clothes, the shade of blonde his hair was and the blue of his eyes were visible to you for a few moments.

He set the bat plush to the side, and the world began to darken again as red and black took over.

“That's okay,” he said, more to himself than to you, “you're scared and that kind of reaction is normal, so I'm not too mad.”

It was getting harder to see him, but you could see movement about him, things about his body changing. Horns that slowly curled out from his forehead. The tips of his fingers that darkened around long claws that took the place of his fingernails. Large, bat-like wings that unfolded from behind him and spread themselves.

You caught a glimpse of his teeth in the low light, and they looked sharper than they had before.

Panic shot through you as you began to scramble away from him, but your escape attempt was short-lived as something wrapped itself around your legs and pulled you back towards him.

A tail? Oh God that was a tail.

He was on top of you, and he caged you in his arms as he leaned down to whisper in your ear “don't worry, I'll go easy on you this time.”

You tried to push him away, but he ignored it.

“Oh! Before I forget, I should introduce myself shouldn't I? I'm Shalnark. Nice to meet you.”

With that, his lips claimed yours in a searing kiss.

Your friends had been waiting a while.

Farah and Carmen stayed where they had been directly next to the building while Cliff hadn't moved from where he had stormed off to. Farah had been getting upset as she had become convinced that you were being an ass to her as well with how long you were taking. It was all Carmen could do to try and keep her calm.

Because of his distance away and how distracted they were, neither of them noticed the state Cliff was in.

They only noticed when he began to violently cough.

With Farah still slightly bitter from their earlier argument, Carmen was the one to check on him, asking if he was alright as they walked up to him.

Cliff gave no answer as he had begun to cough up blood.

Carmen's hands fumbled when they pulled out their phone to call emergency services, and they yelled at Farah to go inside and get you. The sight of the blood Cliff was coughing up had Farah sprinting towards the building, throwing the front doors open as she made a beeline for the elevator.

Carmen didn't notice it at first when Farah fell to the floor. Only when the ambulance had been confirmed and they looked back to the building to see if the two of you were coming out did they see her body lying limply on the floor.

Ambulances and cop cars arrived eventually, and both Cliff and Farah were declared dead at the scene. The autopsy reports later would declare that they had been poisoned. A thorough search of the building would find no source of where the poison had come from.

Nor did they find anything from you.

Carmen had told them that you were in there, but when they searched they found no trace of you. No personal belongings and nothing to even indicate that you had entered the building. When the search for you grew beyond the confines of the office building, there was still no trace of you. You simply vanished into thin air.

The case would puzzle investigators before they would ultimately put it aside for other cases that needed their attention. It would only gain some traction online when the files were released to the public and certain parties saw that you and your friends had been playing the Sixth Floor Game. For some people it added weight to their beliefs that the game was real and needed to be avoided. For others it was just a coincidence.

Regardless of what they thought, you remained a missing person that would never be seen again, forever immortalized by your unexplained disappearance and an urban legend.

[shroudcore]

Speak now, or forever hold your peace. (II)

Summary: You crash the wedding with Grim and Ortho. Unlike the others, proposing isn’t on your mind. You come with a very different approach. 

An angstier take on Ghost Marriage. Idia x GN!reader. Reader is MC, or takes the role of MC in this story. (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

Warnings: none

If the students of NRC thought they’ve seen Eliza at her angriest, they were wrong. The fury she displayed now was incomparable. While Idia fawned over your dramatic anime-worthy entrance, the new interruption was getting on her last ghostly nerve.

“Guards! Seize them!” she roared. Immediately, the ghosts went into action. Idia held his breath as he watched the obedient ghosts charge at you, Grim, and Ortho. He hoped you didn’t barge in with no plan. If you didn’t come equipped with useful items, you would end up like everyone else. 

Chubby, determined to get rid of the intruders that caused distress to his beloved princess, was eager to get rid of you. (”Simp”, Idia muttered) However, eagerness wasn’t enough against an opponent equally as determined. As soon as he got too close, an unknown force threw him backwards to where Eliza floated, shocking the princess.

“Chubby! Are you alright?”

Idia, on the other hand, was elated. 

“Th-that’s so OP!” he exclaimed. He knew you heard him, because your gaze flicked to him for a split second before looking away. Embarrassed, Idia shut his mouth. He’d expected at least a smile. 

After Chubby’s failed attack, other ghosts attempted to face your group. They only met the same fate. Confused, they could only pay their apologies to the princess and watch on in helplessness. Just what did you have up your sleeve? Who did you get such an SS-tier item from?

“Princess, it’s impossible to stop them!” the last of Eliza’s guards told her. For the first time that night, she looked afraid. 

Grim guffawed, while you smirked. A familiar look. It was always there before you jumpscared an enemy, or before you checkmated a poor opponent. Idia might have thought it was kinda hot. At the moment, he was oblivious to his gaping mouth, and how wildly his hair blazed. What were once lightly blushing tips were now an alarming red—a level of ferocity never seen from him before. 

“You can’t touch or hurt us!” boasted Grim, a devious smirk on his face. “We had some he—mprfgh!” He was abruptly cut off by Ortho’s robotic arm covering his mouth. Idia’s brother shook his head at your noisy dorm mate. 

“Release my big brother now!” he demanded. Idia grimaced, but didn’t feel too worried. As long as Ortho was with you and your anti-ghost protective shield, he would be safe. 

As expected, the ghosts were affronted. 

“How dare he order the princess like that?”

“You ought to be punished for your insolence!”

“To intrude on a royal wedding and speak disrespectfully! 

“Send them to the gallows!”

One talked, and one talked over the other. Soon, all that could be heard was an unintelligible susurrus of disembodied voices. One ghost had enough of it, and shouted to Eliza: “Princess, the kiss! Do what must be done!” 

“NO!” You and Ortho yelled at the same time. You continued to walk towards the makeshift altar as your two companions followed close behind. Ghosts rushed to block your path, but you pressed on as your invisible shield threw them back. It looked absolutely badass. Well, anything you did was cool to Idia, anyway. 

 “Out of my way!” You commanded, strong and unwavering. He’d seen you annoyed and angry before, but never up to this point. It basically radiated off of you that a danger warning could be floating above your head. 

“S-so intimidating... “

“So scary!”

Sure, this wedding crasher looked like you, but something was different. An unexplainable sinister aura wreathed you tonight. Was it your glare, or was it that regal suit you wore? Idia must have been too distracted by you, that he only noticed now how your cape seemed to drag shadows with it. You were a villain... much like one of the villains from his video games! And something else that was familiar. 

Whatever it was and wherever it came from, there was a menacing presence in the hall tonight. 

All were silent, except for the wind whistling through the hall. If one listened more carefully, they would hear drowned-out cackles. But it is just the wind, right?

“Wh-who are you?” Eliza finally asked. The ghosts who were ashamed at being unable to seize you began to form a protective ring around their princess. Eliza herself, Idia noticed, was starting to curl in on herself—her presence shrinking the closer you approached. “What do you want?”

“The groom,” was all you said, staring her down as if eyes alone could exterminate the ghost in front of you. 

“Idia?” she asks weakly, glancing at her tied-up groom. Idia said nothing and did nothing but look at you, attempting to telepathically communicate his panic. You barely even looked at him. 

“He’s mine.” 

Hold up—?

More gasps and chatter. They sounded less like whispers and more like the buzzing insects he heard whenever he snuck out at midnight. The world spun. Idia stared at you open-mouthed. 

If he were asked to describe his state of mind at this moment, it would be similar to a loading screen. Suddenly, everything you did together played back in a 1.75x supercut sequence. 

Mine. 

Mine. 

Mine.  

“Wh-what?” Eliza sputtered. “What do you mean?” 

You answered her, voice losing the steadiness it possessed just moments ago. “You have the man I love.” 

Wha… 

KDJAFCKSAJHDKACBSXCJSIEUDS?

Idia.exe has crashed. Reboot? 

~~

The audience’s reactions were varied. Some students on the floor were amused by the spectacle and could have used some popcorn (and a comfortable position) during these times. Some were horrified and disappointed by the idea of the prefect being in love with Idia Shroud the shut-in. Some were much too confused to feel anything. 

“Pardon…? What did I just hear?” Azul asked the floor.

“Puppy love,” Lilia wept, sniffling very loudly. “You know, this reminds me of when I was young...” 

“Whaddaya mean when you were young?!” Floyd snapped. His irritability had spiked up even more when you arrived. His position prevented him from witnessing the events. Everyone on the floor could feel his bad mood rolling off of him in waves. 

“Hey! Watch your tone when speaking to Lilia!” scolded Sebek. 

“... Are they acting?” Leona mumbled. 

“Oh, this better be an act.”  said Vil.  “... though it does not seem to be.” The last part of his observation remained unheard by anyone else, except for Rook. 

“I believe we are witnessing a genuine love confession,” added the Chasseur d’Amour himself, voice soft as he sighed dreamily. “Engrave this moment into your memories, everyone! We are fortunate to witness it…”

But no one shared his enthusiasm about the situation. The others expressed their displeasure by groaning and complaining. “... well, even in this state we are in?” he added as a follow-up. 

~~

Reboot. 

You once fell asleep on Idia’s shoulder after finishing a movie. It was something you both only watched to make fun of, but you were apparently too tired to give your top-tier jokes and meme references. The contact sent his heart into overdrive as he froze, begging for option boxes to appear and help him. The flames of his hair blazed so brightly that it woke you back up. It was embarrassing, and sometimes he would remember it late at night and cringe. 

It was happening again, but worse. Any moment now, he was sure that he alone could burn down the cafeteria, if not the whole school. This was stupid. Why did he get that worked up over an obvious act? A mere ploy to get the ghosts to release him?

Reality catches up and deals him triple attack damage. Crowley probably put you up to this. You were probably annoyed that you were forced to do this, weren’t you? That’s why you couldn’t even look at him. It had to be the cruelest joke that fate ever threw his way. 

“I can’t say I don’t understand you, Princess,” you tell Eliza, forcing a smile. “Idia is perfect, is he not?” He felt your eyes on him. This time, it was he who couldn’t quite meet your gaze. Looking down at the floor was all he could do; it couldn’t judge his blushing face. Only when the warmth in his cheeks faded did he feel it safe to look back up again. 

“You see him, don’t you, Princess?” Your voice began to falter, losing the confidence and authority in it that scared the ghosts. “He’s so much more than what everyone else thinks! We agree on that, don’t we?”

Eliza’s face softened, nodding. “Yes. I’ve seen how these people insult him!” she tells you, gesturing to the ‘failed princes’ on the floor.

“But we’re still different,” you stepped closer, but still far enough so that your invisible anti-ghost forcefield wouldn’t activate. “You don’t want to marry Idia, you want to marry your fairytale prince.” 

Eliza appeared to be genuinely confused. She looked around at her companions, before turning back to you. “What do you mean?”

“You’re in love with your ideals, not the person himself,” you explain. “You only chose him for his appearance. Am I right? His personality, likes and dislikes, and possible flaws don’t matter to you.”

Eliza seemed deep in thought. While she was silent, you release a bitter laugh and threw your hands up.  “I mean, do you even know what his favorite candy is?”

Pomegranate drops. You asked to have some, but he refused to give you any. He wouldn’t tell you why, but he let you assume it was his favorite and didn’t want to share because of that. 

That wasn’t it, though. Maybe he’d tell you once you were both out of here. 

“You’ve never stayed up until 4am just to join him on a raid!” You waved your hands wildly, lost in your rant. Whether Eliza understood you or not, you seemed to have stopped giving a damn. 

“Weak!” he teased, noticing your drooping eyelids and reduced concentration. Deep down, he felt bad for keeping you up late.  “Look, it’s fine if you need to rest.”

“Nah, let’s finish this. What are you going to do without me?” you replied, smirking.

“You don’t even have 4-hour conversations with him on Magicord VC like I do!” 

It lasted up until 3am. You two were laughing at memes. He could hear a groggy Grim complain in the background about the noise. 

“Alright. Here’s a question, princess. How much would you risk for the man beside you right now? Bet that’s where we’re different...”

Eliza’s gaze darted back and forth between you and Idia. Even the other ghosts were silent, waiting for your next words. 

“... because if you ask me, I would risk everything! That’s why I’m here wearing this stupid suit!”

It’s not real. It’s not real. The emotion behind every word was a punch to the gut. If you kept this up, he might need a healer soon. Ever since he realized he was falling, he tried to quell the sparks of hope you ignited whenever you did something nice for him. All that hard work was gone. Each word you uttered was gasoline. 

“To think that if I arrived minutes later… th-that I would never see him again!” A sob escapes your throat, your intimidating persona crumbling.

No, don’t do that. Idia wanted to reassure you that he was still there and he was okay, but he couldn’t. It’s part of an act. It’s part of an act. 

“So please… just let him go.” The front you wore has completely dissolved. There you were, reduced to a sobbing mess in front of a ghost princess and the students of NRC. 

You weren’t the only one. All traces of anger or fear have vanished from Eliza’s face. Instead, she put her hands over her mouth. The princess had been moved to tears. Finally, she turns to Idia. “Idia, they seem to l-love you very much… ”

“That’s right.” You wiped your tear-streaked face and pointed an accusing finger at the ghosts. “And all of you! Are you going to enable her forever? Encourage her shallow ideas of what love should be?” 

They all looked down, unable to meet your eyes. 

“You have no right to just snatch him up and claim him as yours,” you told Eliza with an unfaltering resolve, despite your tear-covered face and your crumbled front of strength. “Did you never think… that there could have been someone waiting for him to return?” 

“I-I never meant to!” Eliza cried. “I was so blinded by my own happiness. I never thought… never even considered…” 

“Princess, it’s alright. We all make mistakes.” Chubby told her, trying to be reassuring. 

“Tell me, intruder. How else am I going to find my prince?” she asked you with no trace of hostility. You stopped for a while, staring at her. 

You must not have expected the question. Idia saw you look at him—it was the longest time you’d looked at him all evening. Clearing your throat, you began to explain. You fumbled a bit, scratching the back of your neck and tugging at the hem of your coat as you explained what a perfect partner should be. 

As you spoke, Idia was enthralled by your voice and most of all, the knowledge you possessed about love and romance. He hadn’t seen this side of you before. How did he ever think that a hundred dating sims could make him a romance expert?

“Is that so?” she sighs, bowing her head. “I understand now. I’m so sorry… for causing you so much grief.” 

She turns to her companions, giving them a sad smile. “There’s only one thing to do. Everyone, we must stop this wedding.” 

Idia wanted to fall to the floor in relief. At least a few exhausted sighs and weak cheers could be heard from the wedding “attendees”. You fell to your knees, exaggerating your gratitude. 

“Thank you, princess!”

“But Princess… what about your happily ever after?” Chubby interjected. 

“I can’t tear two lovers apart!” Eliza wipes a few of her own tears, then turns to you. “I was deeply moved by your words. I dream of having a lover like you,” she sighs dreamily, probably imagining her future lover already. 

While the students of NRC rejoiced at this victory, Idia’s heartbeat quickened in fear. What if Eliza decided to take you for herself?

“Princess…” Chubby muttered, sighing. Eliza only gave him a reassuring smile. Phew. Idia relaxed, grateful that she doesn’t have the idea… yet. He didn’t know what to do if that thought became reality. 

Eliza turns to address the hall with a smile. “I have decided.” Everyone waited with bated breath for her announcement. Idia squeezed his eyes shut and silently urged her to announce their departure already. 

“Idia and I will not be married anymore. She smiles wide, and clasps her hands together. “However, there will still be a wedding!”

Your smile faded. “What… what do you mean, princess?”

She beams. “To make up for my mistake, I will make sure that Idia and his lover are married tonight!” 

~~

To be continued.

Tagging: @teashopwritingzz @twistedcrumbs 

Well, that was long. To think that I was planning for the story to be a one-shot! Once again, keep an eye out for Part 3. Thank you for reading! 

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

[ktffansub]

Bijutsu Techo: Boys Love – Interview: Yoneda Kou

This article was first published in November 17th, 2014. Translated from Japanesse to Bahasa Indonesia by kalengjelek and then translated from Bahasa Indonesia to English by KTFfansub. Source: here

When did you first encounter manga?

I was born in a family with three daughters; while my older sister likes reading Ribbon magazine, I like reading Nakayoshi. It was the era of Asagiri Yuu-sensei, when I was in elementary school. My favorite at that time were Kusunoki Kei sensei’s works and Patlabor. When it came to Shonen, I would say I was more into Shounen Sunday. I also loved Kawaraha Izumi sensei’s works. When I think about it, rather than manga that were full of passion, I’d actually prefer manga that had calm and soothing kind of vibe.

Is that so… What about BL?

When I was in Junior High, my older sister showed me Captain Tsubasa Doujinshi by Ozaki Minami and I was dumbfounded, I thought, “So, there’s also a world like this!”. After that, I started to buy BL manga. At that time, the mangaka who left the most impression to me was Nishi Keikosensei. Her works such as Mizu Ga Koori Ni Naru Toki, Tenshi Ni Naranakya have unique openings, it made me reread them many times. Uida Shiuko (now Kano Shiuko) and Yoshinaga Fumi Sensei are also my favorite mangaka.

When was the first time you draw manga?

I seriously began drawing manga in my first year of junior high. At first, I drew a pair of man and woman, but after page three, I felt something was off. So, I tried drawing BL for the next one. Just like the present, I’ve always loved less expressive and less-talkactive main characters (laughs). But the more I draw, then an attentive senpai with good personality and short haired ones like Togawa in Doushitemo Furetakunai also appeared. At that moment I thought, “Oh, this is it!”

You really weren’t embarrassed, are you? (laughs)

Well, it’s because it was embarrassing, that’s why I’m not really open about my drawing manga activity.

(laughs) But you debut as professional mangaka eventually, how did that happen?

Yes, after that… I worked as office lady. I got married not long after, but then, I was getting through a marriage blues. At that time, I was invested in Kakashi and Naruto shown by my older sister along with Comiket catalogue.

The power of moe beats out your anxiety (laughs)

It’s true (laughs). Escaping from reality, I checked a lot of circles and opened some sites. There I found a work from a novelist (now has debuted professionally) that I really liked. This is why I started writing novel at first, not drawing. I have a lot of ways to accommodate my moe needs. I also once drew Doujinshi but due to my inability to use a proper diction, the result wasn’t optimal (laughs). After drawing slowly and more at ease, I got into Katekyo Hitman Reborn fandom and drew a lot of doujinshi for that series. A year later, I was contacted by Taiyou Tosho publisher.

“With that publisher, Yoneda Kou published Doushitemo Furetakunai which has been adapted into a movie. Since the beginning, Yoneda Kou didn’t draw one-shot but serialization. For the movie, even though it only tells a story of daily lives, but the directing, composition and dialogue are impressive. About 4,5 years later, the second volume of Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai that had the yakuza neighborhood setting was released. This has completely different feeling compared to Doushitemo Furetakunai.”

My first work was actually published in Drap, so I had it adjusted to be a less-heavy work. That’s why I ended up switching to another magazine.

Was it a demand from the editor?

Of course I only draw what I want to draw. But without realizing, I always draw them to fit the magazine. And it seems like Taiyou Tosho prefers me to draw more simple work.

So, sensei is the type who pays attention to editor’s suggestion. When you wrote the first chapter of Saezuru Tori Wa Habatakanai, did you already want Yashiro to be the main character (for longterm series)?

Right. I didn’t explain it in the first one-shot, but I always believe that no matter how you look at it, Yashiro really loved Kageyama. And (even though he’s drawn like that) he is actually a neko (uke). I think he is an interesting character. When I drew highschooler Yashiro and others, it had been decided that I wanted to write a serialization for this.

And only then the character Doumeki was born?

At that time, the character Doumeki didn’t exist, but I thought very hard about what kind of partner that would be suitable for Yashiro. I took a break from drawing for about two years. I only worked on illustration during that time, until one morning an idea suddenly came to me, “That’s right! Erectile dysfunction!”. I immediately sent an email to my editor: “A perverted impotent man!” (laughs). Afterwards, I finally worked on the first draft.

(laughs hard) Finally, the combination of Yashiro and Doumeki who are the opposite of each other was decided. What an amazing couple that can even make the readers losing sleep.

I do have this particular interest in people’s decision and behaviour resulted from a contrasting relationship that is full of conflicts. Because there are so many characters in Saezuru, I have this excel file compiling the plot for each character chronologically. Otherwise, I would’ve forgotten about it. If I didn’t seriously research (the setting of my own story), I wouldn’t be able to write anything when I made name. But even though I got through it, drawing a family with no blood ties like yakuza was still difficult. If I don’t focus, the story might turn out like Nagara Sakugyou*. That’s why now I’m just focusing on doing Saezuru.

*) nagara sakugyou: other work that being serialized at the same time

Up until now, Sensei has published 5 volumes and all of them have beautiful covers with varied tones.

Actually, the cover color for Doushitemo Furetakunai should’ve looked like red wine, but it seemed like there was an error in printing so the pink was contrasting into it. But it turned out to be good.

Then about the cover for the Saezuru first volume. It’s so impressive! The stepped-on man! All the people around me also had high appraise for this.

Actually, there were so many things happened in the process. By taking the request (it isn’t clearly explained whether it’s from editor/designer) of “Yashiro sitting alone”, I first submitted that illustration to the book designer. However, I couldn’t throw away the idea of Yashiro being stepped on, so, during the next three days I was stressed out. I’ve finally asked them to keep my idea and that’s how the cover of the first volume ended up the way it is now.

I see! For the second volume, it’s totally different, isn’t it? It’s a scenery, but when you do a double take, there are Yashiro and Doumeki!

I always want to give a different vibe in each volume. Actually I’m also a fan of the way Tsumugi Taku-sensei draws scenery.

Hoo-, sensei is a fan of Tsumugi sensei! Talking abough NIGHTS, when you open the cover, there’s a surprise in it!

Yes, if you look at the rough sketches there were 4 pages of picture that were interconnected. In the end, the desainer took picture number two as the cover and number four to put it on the bottom of the back cover. For Soredemo, I didn’t get any guide from the book designer. I combined the the feel of the story with a touch of water paint. At first, I actually wanted to make Deguchi pulling Onoda’s hand to get out of the train, but it ended up looking like Deguchi forced Onoda to stay (with him). So I decided it’s Onoda who’s getting off the train by himself with Deguchi waiting on the platform.

Do you do the coloring with computer? How about the non-colored script?

I use SAI for coloring but for monochrome I usually draw by my hand until the inking, then I do the tone using photoshop.

Do you self-learned drawing?

Well, I at least bought a lot of ‘pose reference’ books often. When it comes to buy things, it feels great, doesn’t it? But when it comes to manga, we draw to tell our moe concept.. well, I love drawing moe concept, but the thing is- I’m not really good at drawing. I like thinking about moe stuff, I also like to combine colors (inside my head) but when I do, I have no desire to draw I, even though that’s the important part. There are often times when I feel like drawing is a handful. In short, I want to draw something that isn’t too troublesome.

But, isnt it because you’re doing manga seriously that it feels difficult?

Because I’m too serious I feel like the story can be boring. Not only the work but also the author (laughs). I often read comments saying my manga is ‘down to earth’. I guess it’s shown obviously in every each of my works

Sure, there are people who think like, “In real world, there’s no way a wakagashira can be as masochist as Yashiro”, but apart from that, Saezuru still gives an impression of it being realistic. In drawing the important men’s arms and muscles in your work, sensei has done your best. Getting into the story, the characters also put extra effort to look elegant. Despite the young age, in a positive sense, sensei’s works feels like having Showa* vibe.

(*SHOWA ERA: 1926~1989)

I’m no longer young, though (laughs). Maybe this is why my works often get called “JUNE”. Especially Saezuru, I think it really fits (JUNE concept).

Are you an organized person?

I’m actually a person who have no chill (laughs). But I have this side of myself who tend to see things as a whole, look at my surrounding then step on the brake. There is also a side of me that is so energetic in creating my own moe that I turn into a selfish person. I guess that’s also my flaw.

It seems like sensei is the type who has her own editorial meeting inside her head (laughs)

I wish it’s not true, but unfortunately, I’m the type of person who is embarrased to admit that I have a relationship with manga. Even until now I have yet told my close friends about this job (as BL mangaka). I’m not that kind of person who like to share or tell others about my moe situation inside my head. When my moe concept is being visualized in public I would scream, “Don’t look! But if you want to read it, I’d be happy”. Yes, I’m that kind of person.

I wonder if sensei’s works are the manifestation of sensei’s own self-contradictions..

[like-rain-or-confetti]

A Story (Alec Volturi x Reader)

You opened your eyes, sitting up straight. Your back was stiff. You were in your bathtub, fully clothed, soaked. The bathwater threatening to spill over and freezing. You frowned. “I need to stop drinking.” You grumbled before rolling out of the tub. You groaned, too sore to even consider standing up. You’d clean the mess later. You crawled into your bedroom before flopping onto the floor. This had to be the last time you drank, it had to be. Better ignoring that you definitely could have drowned, since you were so intoxicated that you tried to take a bath and didn't even take off your clothes. You couldn’t even remember the night before so really, it wasn’t worth it. Whilst you didn’t have a headache, thankfully, you just felt tired...and cold. Phone, where was it? You groaned, a sudden feeling you had left it in the bathroom. You didn't see it around your room and it wasn't in any pockets thankfully. With a sigh, you figured you couldn’t avoid the day any longer, although it would be very nice to try. Regardless, you slowly got up and trudged back into the bathroom. 

Your phone was on the floor, next to the bath. A couple of water droplets lay on the screen but remained undamaged...although it had twenty percent battery left. You had two missed calls from Alice. You checked your texts to find none. You decided to call Carlisle who picked up after two rings.  “Hello?”  “Carlisle, it’s (Y/N).” You said.  “Hello, are you okay?”  “Yeah, i’m good. I just...do you know if i was drinking last night?” Carlisle seemed amused. “No, why?”  “Oh, no reason. I just, woke up weird and tired.”  “Im sure you could have done that without alcohol.”You could hear his smile in his voice. You hummed in amusement.  “Are you coming to visit today?”  “Yeah, I can do that.”  “I just wanted to check since you said you would yesterday?” Carlisle responded. “I did? I must have forgotten but yeah, i can do that. I’ll come over later. I’m going to take a nap first, okay?”  “Alright, I’ll see you soon.”  “Bye, Carlisle.” 

When you arrived at the Cullen’s, they seemed as though they were waiting.  “The Volturi are coming to visit.” Carlisle informed you.  “The who?” You made a face of confusion.  “The Volturi.”  “I’m going to assume thats some vampire friends i don’t know about.” You shrugged. Carlisle turned to you with a look of confusion of his own. “You’ve-” He paused. Carlisle's eyes widened, a sickening thought rushed through him. Panic rushed through Carlisle realising the likelihood of his thought become more and more likely. "Stay here for a while. We have guests, I believe you'll have met them before." Carlisle swallowed hard trying not to scare you. You lightly shrugged. 

A group of seven arrived, all dressed in black and grey with cloaks, varying in the same colours. You could tell they were an older coven with how they moved. You were given their names and noted the odd looks they gave you. You figured it was down to being human, you were a big no-no from what you remember. "Do you know these people?" Carlisle asked you before putting his hand into Aro's in a weird bizarre handshake. You shook your head. "No. We haven't met." Carlisle inhaled.

This made Esme step towards you. "(Y/N), why don't you help me in the kitchen?" She smiled. "Carlisle will get our guests settled in before you make their acquaintance." You nodded. "Sure thing, Esme." Without a second glance you turned, heading for the kitchen, Esme sending Carlisle a glance. 

Half an hour passed and Esme led you to the living room where the Volturi awaited your presence. Your eyes immediately shot to Carlisle, nervous about meeting his friends but he nodded in encouragement. The leader in the middle was the first to greet you. "You must be young (Y/N), we've heard so much about you. We are delighted to meet you. My name is Aro." "Hi...it's nice to meet you too." You nodded. He held out a hand and you hesitantly reached out thinking it was a handshake. Instead, he cradled your hand in his own briefly. A flicker of an unrecognisable emotion passing his face before his wide smile returned. "These are my brothers, Caius and Marcus." The two men beside him nodded to you and you offered them shy smiles. He gestured to who you were told were their guards. "This is Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix." You nodded. "Hi." You said nervously as the four nodded at you. Later that night you huddled into your seat. "So you guys have been around for a long time?" You asked looking over the Volturi members. "Yes. Quite." Aro smiled slightly. "Do you guys have any good stories? Surely you've got at least one after all this time." The Volturi looked around amongst each other, Marcus kept his head down whilst the Cullen's looked around uncertain of how to continue the conversation. Marcus spoke up, meeting your gaze. "I have a story. It was quite some time ago but I believe it's one our coven cherishes." All eyes were on Marcus, uncertain just what he was doing. However, you seemed pleased. "I'd love to hear it...if you're willing to tell it." "I believe it would be a good one to tell." Marcus nodded. "This is a story about a human we once knew, one who after all this time will continue to be very special to us." 

(Y/N) caught Alec in their sights as he approached the door to the spare bedroom. "Alec!" They cried out with a grin. "You're here!" "So are you." Alec said peeking around the door. "What are you doing here? You don't live here." Alec couldn't help the amused smirk building upon his face as he watched (Y/N) struggle to reach for something on top of the closet. "I'm visiting but...! I can't reach my folder! I left it here the last time I stayed over. It has all my documents in there." With a defeated sigh, (Y/N) began to drag themselves down the closet doors. "I'd offer my assistance but I don't think I can't do anything without damaging furniture." Alec pondered. Alec's eyes suddenly glinted, clearly having an idea. "Come here." Alec bent down. "What am I doing?" They asked with confusion. "You're going to sit on my shoulders and I'll lift you up." Alec responded. (Y/N) made a noise of protest but couldn't think of a reason why. They couldn't necessarily tell him you were too heavy, tall or would hurt him given Alec was inhumanly strong. "...Promise you won't drop me?" They asked him. Alec looked unimpressed. "I have no reason to drop you now, come on." (Y/N) whined quietly in defeat once again moving to Alec. 

As they got into position they looked down at him nervously. "You're sure I won't hurt you?" (Y/N) asked and Alec rolled his eyes, wrapping his hands around their ankles and standing up with ease. (Y/N) squealed, although it seemed Alec was right. He wouldn't drop them. "Oh it's all the way at the back, I bet Emmett did that. Can you take a step forward please?" Alec complied and suddenly the folder was in arm's length. (Y/N) grabbed it. "Thank you!" "Did you know that it's very likely you couldn't get down now that I have a hold of your ankles?" Alec smirked and (Y/N)’s smile of accomplishment vanished. "You'd get tired quickly." They retorted. "Would I? Shall we see how long I last?" Alec responded. "If you don't put me down, I'll eventually pee on you. It's inevitable." Alec immediately pulled a face of disgust, crouching back down and letting (Y/N) stand up.  "So are you visiting the Cullen's or have you broke in? Oh! Oh! Did you run away from the Volturi and so have sought shelter with the Cullen's?" They asked. He scoffed. "My coven is visiting to check the progress of the hybrid." Alec answered. 

Later that night, (Y/N) and Alec were outside, sitting on the Cullen's balcony floor. "Why do you need those? Those documents?" Alec asked turning his head towards them. "Oh, it's just stuff to keep the state happy. It's documents saying that Carlisle is my emergency contact and stuff, he's my legal guardian though I'm not living with him. I'm in contact with him frequently and he gives me money for my house. All of that stuff. Boring really." "You still haven't been in contact with your parents?" Alec asked and (Y/N) smiled at him sadly before shaking their head. "You should reach out, (Y/N). The argument was a typical one. They have no reason to hold a grudge against their own child for this long over something so trivial." "It's a little more complicated than that. Although I guess deep down, I like to think that maybe I do have their forgiveness." They admitted. "You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, for the last option, you could always make them forget the argument ever happened and avoid the topic forever." Alec smirked at (Y/N) who playfully shoved him. "Thanks Alec." They said with sarcasm. "It'll be okay, I assure you." Alec said to them. "They'll come around if they aren't already waiting for you to come back to them." 

(Y/N)’s gift was phenomenal. Unique but dangerous due to its impact. They could make people forget things, everything really. Whether it were, events memories or thoughts, none of them were exempt. The only person it didn't work on was themselves. Since meeting the Cullen's and eventually Alec, (Y/N) had better control of their gift making them a very tempting addition to Aro's collection. Although that was still very much in discussion. Whilst they'd have to be changed at some point, it wasn't consensus that they were to join the Volturi. As a matter of fact, it was highly debated among both covens instead. 

"You talk about my ability like you can trust me with it. I'm still learning, you could be forgotten at any time." Alec chuckled. "First of all, it doesn't work on yourself. Secondly, you don't forget someone like me." Alec's smile faded. "Not for good reasons, might I add." "Good reasons for me... you've been nicer to me lately." (Y/N) said. "I'm trying...it's not your fault you're human." Alec smirked slightly. (Y/N) narrowed your eyes on him playfully. "It's all I can ask." Alec wasn't the most open individual nor the kindest. He certainly had nothing nice to say about (Y/N) when they first met. Although over time, he gradually warmed up to them- even if it was reluctantly. Now (Y/N) felt like Alec understood them better than anyone in the world and accepted them. It made their bond to him stronger than most bonds could ever be. (Y/N) was confident that a piece of them would always be connected to Alec, nothing could divide them from him.

None of the Volturi really understood why Carlisle had a form of guardianship over (Y/N) and what a conflict with their parents actually meant for them to no longer be around their parents. Whilst the Volturi wanted to respect their privacy, it was important to them if (Y/N) were to become a vampire eventually. It was necessary to have the details. Although even being close with Alec didn't give them any answers as (Y/N) never told him any complete details. 

There was an argument about (Y/N) wanting to be independent, treated less like a child and since then, they hadn't been near them since. Whilst this seemed logical that (Y/N) left, it didn't make sense why their parents hadn't reached out to them in so long. So much so (Y/N) was convinced that they couldn't be forgiven. 

Marcus asked (Y/N) about their parents when talking one night. "Do they know about your gift?" He asked. (Y/N) wanted to wince at the reference of their ability being a 'gift' when there was very little actually pleasant about it. "No, they don't. I never told them and after that argument, I guess I had made up my mind they could never know."  "Do you miss them?" Marcus asked. "I try to forget about them if I'm honest." (Y/N) answered. This response made Marcus tilt his head slightly. They looked at him, really scrutinizing him. Marcus was the most kind and gentle of the Volturi leaders. (Y/N) couldn't help but trust him, especially after he came to defence of their friendship with Alec to anyone who questioned it. Marcus had always made it clear that the bond Alec shared with them was undeniable. "Can I tell you the full story?" "If you wish." Marcus said quietly. 

(Y/N) could remember the moment that their house stopped being your home. Everything was as it always had been. Signs of life, nothing missing from it's usual place. However, it was no longer welcoming as it had been before. Even the photographs of (Y/N) and their family, scattered around the place. Things were different now. Instead of a family, there were just memories of one. It took some time for (Y/N) to understand how their gift worked. Although they were forced to learn the hard way. (Y/N) had been arguing with their parents when (Y/N) said something about forgetting (Y/N) ever existed. Their parents did. They never had any children by that name. Nor had they ever seen (Y/N) before. All memories of them gone in a matter of moments. From then on (Y/N) could only see their parents from a distance, outside their house. Their parents wondered why they had pictures with the strange person in their house and got rid of them too. "I wanted to remember every inch of them as they were. Their eyes, nose, mouth, hair. Every tiny detail, because I knew after today. I'd never see them again." (Y/N) told Marcus. "Why are you so determined to pretend this didn't happen rather than embrace it and carry on?" Marcus asked. There was a moment of silence. Neither of the two looking at one another. "You rejected Corin's gift when offered comfort after your loss. Why?" (Y/N) responded. Marcus thought about the answer but it didn't require much thought. He had spent decades thinking about that decision and why he made it. "Because I wanted to feel the pain. I didn't want to feel content about her death." (Y/N) thought over his answer before replying, sadness almost radiating from them. "See that's where you and I differ. I want nothing more than to forget." Their voice was quieter as they looked down at their hands. It was safe to say, Alec was furious at (Y/N) when he found they had left out such an important detail when it came to why their parents didn't speak to them. (Y/N) had more than one chance to tell him and they didn't. It felt like a betrayal, like they had lied. Alec only ever asked (Y/N) to be honest with him, no secrets. This secret was a pretty big one at the very least. (Y/N), on the other hand, didn't think anything wrong with that. They were allowed some privacy like every other person. They were sure Alec didn't tell them everything so why should they share something they simply hadn't been ready to speak about until that moment. It was how the argument had began and it seemed the more defensive (Y/N) got, the more angry Alec became. 

"This isn't a big deal, you're making something out of nothing!" (Y/N) said with exasperation. "It is something, (Y/N)! You didn't trust me with the full story and you told Marcus! Even Carlisle knew!" "Carlisle had to know!" (Y/N) argued back. "If he didn't I'd have been taken by social services! I told Marcus because I was ready to talk about it and I knew he wouldn't make a big deal out of it! It was nothing to do with trust!" Alec scoffed sending them a sneer. That was when their anger had begun to really build. "Am I honestly supposed to believe that you tell me everything!?" (Y/N) snapped. "That's different! There are parts of my life that aren't necessary and would only scare you." "Like your complete lack of trust and hatred towards humans for being burned at the stake? Like the dark, twisted things you and your coven have done in the name of justice?" "You don't know what you're talking about." Alec said icily. "You're just a little human who thinks they know everything when they know nothing. I have given you no reason not to trust me-" "Alec, I didn't do anything to you! Ever! I didn't accuse you of witch craft! So what did I ever do to you like the rest of the human population!?" Alec laughed darkly. "Of course, you wouldn't understand. How could I expect you to? You're only human." 

(Y/N) was stunned into silence before fury took over them. "You are cold." (Y/N) said, anger and disgust in their eyes. "Cold and empty. So empty you have to suck out the life of everyone around you to feel even an ounce of emotion. Perhaps that is what your village  saw in you! Perhaps that's what Aro sees in you! A monster just like the rest of your coven!" (Y/N) looked taken aback by their own words, stunned. When they saw the look of growing rage upon Alec's face, they knew they had done it again. Like they had with your parents, they lashed out with hurtful words they didn't mean. Alec was very hurt. (Y/N) knew by the emotion overpowering his stoic gaze. "I'm so sorry." (Y/N) whispered, their anger rushing away as they began to feel nothing but guilt. The look Alec gave (Y/N) could kill but instead he began to walk by them. (Y/N) reached out for him, grabbing his hand. "Alec, wait-" They began but gasped as they immediately felt cold numbness crawl up their arm. Alec roughly tore their hand off him and they were so caught off guard that they didn't even notice the slight pain you felt within their fingers. Suddenly (Y/N) felt like they were on fire. 

(Y/N) screamed, collapsing to the ground, seeing Jane was now beside her brother. The two watched (Y/N) scream without sympathy. "So that's how you really feel." Jane said simply. Alice and Carlisle were quick to rush by the twins and towards (Y/N). "Enough! Not in my house!" Carlisle barked.  The pain stopped, only (Y/N)’s hysterical crying being heard. "I didn't mean it!" They cried out as Alice pulled them into a hug, hushing them. "It's okay." She told (Y/N). "You're okay."

It was obvious that all the Cullen's and the Volturi knew what had happened and surprisingly enough the Volturi also seemed rather angry by (Y/N)’s outburst. Alec had made it known, (Y/N) wasn’t worth his time. (Y/N)’s true feelings had finally come to light. Yet none of the Volturi seemed to believe them when they said it wasn't true. Despite knowing (Y/N) sometimes said things they didn't mean. The last time they had seen their parents being one of them. 

It had been Marcus that suggested the two covens separated for the night for some space. Especially since the Volturi hadn't fed yet. However, much to (Y/N)’s surprise, someone of the Volturi had phoned the Cullen's. Whoever it was, was asking on the leaders behalf how they were. If (Y/N) had to guess it was Marcus. If they were hopeful, Alec would want to know too. (Y/N) stared at Carlisle, who stood at the entrance way. "Marcus wants to know if you're okay." Carlisle said. "However I'm not entirely sure what to tell him. So, how are you (Y/N)?" (Y/N) slowly met his eyes. They looked exhausted from how upset they had been. "Tell him what he wants to hear. Tell him that I'm fine." Their voice croaked slightly. "I don't think I can do that." Carlisle said softly. "Why?" (Y/N) responded flatly. "You're asking me to lie for you." Carlisle replied. "He thinks I'm a monster. So it's better he thinks that way." Carlisle began to protest but Esme appeared with the phone. "Would you be willing to speak to him?" Carlisle asked, taking the phone from Esme. Even as Carlisle put it on speaker, Marcus asked if (Y/N) was alright. He even acknowledged that Jane's behaviour wasn't necessary. Somewhat of an apology. However (Y/N) stayed put, simply staring at the phone. After another few moments of silence, Carlisle took the phone off speaker before putting the phone to his ear. "My apologies, Marcus. I don't think they're feeling well enough to come to the phone right now. They appreciate your concern." "Of course, Carlisle." Marcus responded. "I thought it best to express my concern given Jane's gift." Marcus lifted his gaze to the twins, Jane looking indifferent whilst Alec's eyes were latched onto Marcus. "Emotions are high right now, would you appreciate our return tomorrow?" "Of course." Carlisle responded. "I'm going to keep (Y/N) here over night to keep an eye on them but I'm sure they will be just fine." After some more conversation, Marcus bid farewell and hung up the phone. 

He turned to Alec. "I assure you, they didn't mean it." "That doesn't matter." Caius snapped. "They still said it." Marcus turned his gaze to Caius. "You suffer from the same flaw Caius. If anyone should be understanding, it's you." "Why should I take the time to understand? They're human. That's a waste of energy." Marcus turned back to Alec. "Trust me. I'd know if there were any truth in their words." 

"They're coming back tomorrow?" (Y/N) whispered. Carlisle nodded. "We can take you home before they get here if you like. However, I feel more comfortable keeping an eye on you tonight after..." Carlisle trailed off but (Y/N) knew. After Jane used her ability on them. (Y/N) nodded. They were given the option to stick around the next day. Although (Y/N) declined, deciding they'd go home instead. 

"I'll drop you off." Alice said brightly in attempt to keep the mood light. "Thanks." (Y/N) said quietly. Alice, Carlisle and Esme went quiet. "Let's go out the front." Alice smiled. "I'll go and get my keys and meet you at the car okay?" (Y/N) nodded. "Sure." "Come and visit tomorrow." Esme nodded to them with a smile, bringing (Y/N) into a hug. "Okay." They responded quietly, offering her a small brief smile before heading out the door. 

Just as the door shut behind (Y/N), the Volturi moved into the living room after being let in by Jasper. Carlisle was quick to welcome them. Before they could ask, Carlisle explained whilst Alice passed by with her keys in hand. "Alice will be back shortly. She's taking (Y/N) home." 

Alice grinned at (Y/N) as she walked down the path. "Alright, ready to go?" Even now she was trying to keep the mood light. (Y/N) nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for the ride." "Of course!" Alice responded. (Y/N) kept their eyes on her, not daring to look at the house until they were in the car. 

Two days passed and Alec still wasn't speaking to )Y/N). Although (Y/N) figured it would have been best if they were the one to reach out to him given the situation as well as knowing Alec wasn't necessarily one to do any kind of approaching unless it were to kill them. (Y/N) found him alone and decided that was a better opportunity than any. He sat his his back to them, seemingly reading in Carlisle's study. "Alec?" (Y/N) asked quietly. They didn't receive a response, not even the turn of his head. He remained unmoving. "Could we talk for a minute? I want to apologise again. I didn't mean it but I still said it and I shouldn't have. It was an awful thing to say and I'm so sorry." Their words still didn't earn even the turn of Alec's head. "I can't stand not talking to you." (Y/N) began. "You're my best friend and I miss you. I want to make it up to you. To show you that I’m sorry and that I'd never think such a thing of you." (Y/N) still received no response. They sighed. "I don't know what to do here." "What makes you think you can do anything?" Alec's voice was cold. Although (Y/N) considered it progress. Especially as he turned around to look at (Y/N). His face was unforgiving, gaze piercing and his mouth in a tight line. "We both know I'm going to hurt you regardless." Suddenly he was standing and slowly moving towards them. (Y/N) took a step back. "You're scaring me." They said, trying to maintain the distance. He looked at (Y/N) like he did everyone else. He looked at them like he wanted them to burn as he did, like (Y/N) deserved more than he ever did. Alec looked like he most certainly would hurt them or even kill them. "I didn't mean it!" (Y/N) pleaded. "I'm sorry!" Alec glared at (Y/N). "It was my fault. It won't happen again." (Y/N) faltered. "What?" “It’s my fault for thinking you were different from any other disgusting wretched human!” Alec had most certainly returned the favour, his words cut (Y/N) to the core. They felt tears well up in their eyes. "Get out." Alec snarled and they did. Without question. 

Another day or so passed and (Y/N) had an idea of how to fix all of it. Once again, (Y/N) waited until he was alone, this time he was outside by the tree line before the woods. "I'm mad at myself too, you know." (Y/N) began, crossing your arms over your chest. "I felt the same way when I made my parents forget about me. The confusion and fear they had to see someone claim to be their child, have photographs with them but have no recollection of them ever existing. I was so angry with myself for saying what I did and I'm even more angry that I did it again but this time to you. I meant what I said Alec. You're my best friend. What I'm trying to say is that I get it, if you hate me. I understand. Although I really do want to try anything I can to make this up to you." His back was still towards (Y/N). "You won't even look at me." (Y/N) said quietly. Alec turned to look at them with an empty stare. "Alec..." (Y/N) trailed off. "I want you to forget this happened." "What?" Alec's eyes narrowed on them. "I want you to be happy. I never wanted to hurt you. So I want you to forget-" "No!" Alec covered his ears and shut his eyes tightly. "Alec, look at me." (Y/N) stepped closer. "No! Get back!" Alec yelled. That was when Carlisle hurried in between them both. "What is it?" Carlisle asked, looking between them both. "They're trying to make me forget!" "It's better this way!" (Y/N) pleaded to Carlisle. "I never meant for any of this and it's hurting him! I can fix it!" "(Y/N), I want you to listen to me very carefully." Carlisle began, blocking them from Alec. “These thoughts, these memories, they don’t belong to you. They are not yours to take." "I-" (Y/N) struggled to respond. Feeling both the eyes of Alec and Carlisle on them. Carlisle put his hands on their shoulders. "This isn't the way." "I can't believe you!" Alec spat. "This is how you want to make it up to me? Wipe my memory and pretend it never happened!?" (Y/N) could see the hatred in Alec's eyes. Any second chance he had considered was long gone. 

In that moment (Y/N) gave in. They knew they couldn't fix it. (Y/N) couldn't make it up to him and he wasn't willing to forget. It was over. Jane was the first to storm up to (Y/N) when they came back into the house. She was immediately held back and to their surprise she didn't use her gift.  However, she did rant that they were lucky she couldn't slap you at the very least. Although she didn't need to. (Y/N) was suffering enough. They didn't look at anyone, instead walking out the front door. Alec and Carlisle entered the house, Alec yelling in outrage. Carlisle simply wasn't listening to him. His eyes immediately searching for (Y/N). "They left...what happened?" Rosalie asked. Carlisle said nothing, rushing out the door after (Y/N). 

It was night time and most certainly not safe for them to walk home alone but they were determined to. Tears running down their cheeks, arms crossed over their chest as they briskly walked down the road. "(Y/N)!" They heard Carlisle call out behind them. (Y/N) didn't respond, continuing to walk away. Suddenly Carlisle was behind them, tugging them back. "(Y/N), it's not safe out here. Come back inside, we can figure-" "No!" (Y/N) shouted back. "Get off of me! I'm going home!" "Let me take you home then, come back to the car." Carlisle said. "I'm not going back in there! I’ve lost everything! It's my fault! I lost my friend, I lost my parents and there's no one else to blame but myself!" (Y/N) yelled. "(Y/N), you are a wonderful person with a remarkable gift. You just need some guidance. We can help you, just come back. I'll take you home!" Carlisle pleaded. "You know what the cruel part about my gift is Carlisle?" (Y/N) said significantly more quiet, an eerie calmness taking over them. "I can't use it on myself. I can make everyone around me forget anything but the one who wants to forget the most is me." (Y/N) took a step forward. "Can you take me home please?" Carlisle nodded. 

Outside (Y/N)’s house, Carlisle pulled over. "Come to the house tomorrow. We'll have something figured out by morning." (Y/N) sighed before nodding. "Alright, I'll do it." "This will improve, (Y/N). We'll talk things over with them." Carlisle assured them. "Yeah, just at what cost?" (Y/N) mumbled. "I lost my friend. Alec will never speak to me again." "You don't know that." Carlisle responded hurriedly. "I do." (Y/N) said. "I'm just going to sleep this off. I'll see you tomorrow." 

(Y/N) decided to run a bath later that night. Kneeling on the floor they turned on the tap which began to fill the tub. They felt the weight of every decision they had made on their body and no longer could they even cry about it. Whilst (Y/N) thought a bath would be best, they didn't really care about it being too warm or too cold. As a matter of fact, they didn't think further than the action itself. 

"They hurt me." Alec ground out. Marcus wanted Alec to see reason. Not only that, Marcus wanted Alec to admit the reality of the situation and not hide from it. It was of no surprise to him considering (Y/N) was the first proper friend Alec had, the closest anyone had ever come to the twins. "Just as you hurt them." Marcus replied. "You've hurt many people, Alec. (Y/N) is one of many on that list. Yet regardless, they want you in their life. They want your friendship. You want to punish them but you don't realise they've already punished themselves. More so than is necessary. Furthermore, you aren't just punishing (Y/N), you're punishing yourself. I know you want to be their friend but you won't let yourself." "They-" "You're torturing yourself as much as your torturing them." Marcus said simply. "I think they frightened you, boy. I think you forgave them the minute they said it and that frightened you." Alec didn't have a response. As much as he tried. He couldn't tell Marcus he was wrong because he wasn't. "I can't trust them." Alec responded. "You can. You simply won't. They said awful things but still want you in their life. Apologizing the minute it was said. You've never experienced that and it bothers you that it makes it difficult to act in your usual response." "I don't know how." Alec said after a moment of silence. "I don't know how to show that I care about them and I don't know how to show it when I forgive them. I'm so used to pushing people away that...I don't know how to let people in." "You tell them." Marcus responded. "Even if it means you need to say it to yourself first. Put down the weight of the past. Even if it's only for them." Silence filled the room. "I forgive them." Alec said under his breath, it was quiet, barely audible but there none the less. 

Alice tilted her head, staring at nothing in particular. “What is it Alice?” Jasper asked. “I think i should check on (Y/N).” She responded. “I can’t be sure but i think something is wrong.”  “They’re upset.” Carlisle responded. “Do you suspect they’re in danger?” Alice tilted her head again. “I don’t think so. It’s hard to tell, I see them and then it just goes black.”  “Why not give them a call?” Esme asked lightly. Alice nodded, immediately going for her phone. 

(Y/N)’s phone buzzed beside them, as they sat and watched the running tap. It was a text from Bella, telling them that Jake and the pack were around the area, making sure they knew the Volturi wouldn’t come within their vicinity for the night. (Y/N) was about to respond when they got a phone call from Alice.  “Hello?” (Y/N) answered.  “Hi (Y/N), I just wanted to check in with you since things didn’t end too well tonight.” They paused and Alice noticed. “They’re just leaving now for the night.” Alice said, locking eyes with Alec as the Volturi moved towards the door.  “I’ll be fine.” (Y/N) responded.  “I... thought i had a vision of you but, I couldn’t see anything.” (Y/N) smiled slightly with a hum of amusement. “You don’t need to look out for me, Alice. I’m just going to go for a bath and head to bed.”  “Are you sure?” Alice asked.  “Of course. Besides, I’ve already began running the water...as you know.” Alice hummed quietly in amusement. “This will be fixed tomorrow.” (Y/N) swallowed. “I know.” (Y/N) said quietly.  “It’s a good sign they want to see you, you know?” Alice said.  “I can only hope.” They said simply.  “Anyway, get some sleep and i’ll speak to you tomorrow, yeah?”  “Yeah, have a good night Alice.”  “See you tomorrow, (Y/N).” 

When (Y/N) hung up the phone, a tear ran down their cheek. ‘disgusting wretched human!’ Alec’s voice rang in their head. (Y/N) put their phone on the floor next to them. (Y/N) felt their clothes stick to them as they sank into the water, leaning back in the bath. The calm luke-warm water peaceful, like their mind. (Y/N) felt a tear run down their cheek. (Y/N) shook their head biting back their tears. Before any more could fall, (Y/N) slowly sank underneath the water. After a brief moment,(Y/N) sat up, their hair dripped as they felt another wave of calm wash over them. (Y/N) noticed a reflection of the ceiling along the water. An idea rushed to their mind and that was when they knew, what they had to do. (Y/N) hunched over slightly, arms moving to the edge of the tub, more droplets falling down the sides. They looked at their reflection.  “You’re going to forget. You’re going to forget the Volturi, forget what happened. You’ll forget ever meeting them. You’re going to forget that you have a gift to make people forget things. You won’t think to even question it. If it’s brought up. It’ll be like a dream, or story that you made up. You’ll forget ever using it, you wont remember to question why your parents aren't around.” It wasn’t known when (Y/N) had stopped repeating those very words. Although it wouldn’t concern them, they’d forgotten they had ever done it. "If only (Y/N) would have waited. If only we were quicker. Then maybe we would have had the time to tell them that they were forgiven. That for some of us, there was nothing to forgive. Maybe if we had spent more thought, we'd have known how much hurt they truly felt. However by then, it was too late what was done was done. They'd forgotten who we were, forgotten what they had done and all the details in between, washed away by their gift. We'd never know if such a gift could be reversed but could only hope that they've found peace and happiness. They'd live out their life, never knowing the happiness they gave and the joy they spread to many."  Marcus finished.

Many in the room couldn't help but glance at you, wanting to see your reaction. Perhaps a flicker of recognition would show. Your head lowered and the two covens seemed almost hopeful. You lifted your head, wiping your eyes. "That's sad. I hoped for a happy ending." A pang hit some of their chests, that statement had remained the same even before you had forgotten. A quiet hum escaped you. "You know it's strange, you said the humans name was (Y/N). My name is (Y/N) too." "Oh?" Marcus responded lightly with a ghost of a smile. You nodded. "It's a funny coincidence, I suppose." You looked at Marcus with uncertainty. "I feel like I should hug you...?" You began. Marcus cracked a small smile. "That's alright." Marcus stood up and you met him half way.  The room was quiet, even after you both separated. 

You moved into the kitchen to refill your glass of water when you jumped. Alec was so quiet you had no clue he was even in there. "You scared me!" You laughed, a hand going to your chest. "Sorry." Alec felt a pang in his chest, remembering how tried to apologise to him and he completely rejected you. This time you were apologizing for nothing. In your eyes, you had apologised to a complete stranger and that broke Alec's heart. He wished he could turn back time, assure you that you were forgiven, that you'd always be his friend. He missed that chance, you got so good at your own gift you figured out a way to use it on yourself. "Alec, yeah?" You asked. Alec nodded. "I'm getting better at names." You smirked, pleased with yourself. "The human in Marcus' story was your friend right?" You asked nonchalantly as you filled your glass. "Yes." Alec responded. "Can I ask you something?" You turned, now with a full glass with a small smile on your face. Alec knew that smile well that you had sent him. It was the polite smile you wore to anyone you didn't know. In the hopes that it would cover up how nervous you actually are about meeting new people. "Yes." Alec said again, not entirely ready for the question but whatever it was, it meant you'd stay in the conversation. For all he knew, that last conversation he'd have with you. "Were they nice? Your friend?" You might as well have stabbed him in the chest in that moment. Alec did his best to hide it. "They were wonderful. The best friend I could have ever had." Alec responded. You slowly nodded, contemplating his answer. "That's nice. Anyway, I won't bother you anymore." You smiled, raising your glass. "See you around." You turned and walked out the room without even a second glance. Leaving Alec standing in the kitchen, alone once again. Jane moved passed (Y/N), casting them a quick look before entering the kitchen towards her brother. She said nothing as Alec looked at her. For what could she honestly say? "They forgot me." Alec said quietly.

[multiplefandomsblog]

“Offer”

request; Can I get an imagine with Kokichi with an artist S/O who wants to paint him but he keeps flustering them with suggestions of a nude painting of him?

warnings; kind of suggestive, mention of nudity, cussing, mutual pining i think, i made it kinda crack fic, reader has an ultimate talent(artist), not edited too well, ended it weird like always, kissing, lowkey making out tho- 

note; wow i wrote way too much- but hey, i still hope you enjoy this!

word count; 1.9k+

You walked around the school, looking for Kokichi to ask him to be your model.

Although you have sketched Kokichi several times before, you felt you needed to ask him face-to-face so he could just stay still in his goddamn chair instead of changing positions every 5 seconds and ruining your half-done sketch. And so, you went off to go find the boy, finding it surprisingly hard to catch him. 

“There you are! I was looking for you-” You puffed out a sigh of relief, clutching your art supplies close to you as you saw your purple-haired classmate. Not a second after he caught sight of your figure jogging towards him, he had started taunting you. 

“Oooooh, hey S/o, you seem mighty happy to see me, hm? I wonder why that is…” He took a funny-looking step towards you, voice laced with an interrogating tone.

He had that strange smirk on his face, and not the one you liked. N-not that you liked his smile! In consequence of staring at him and sketching him constantly without his knowledge—or so you thought—, you have become almost a master of reading his mood and expressions. 

“Don’t get any wrong ideas, I just wanted to ask you if I could paint you.” For a small moment you swore you could see his expression twist into one of shock, before quickly melting back into his shit-eating grin. “Well of course you would! I’m the ultimate supreme leader, after all.” He acted as if he wasn’t just gob-smacked a second ago.

You beamed up at him, you had been in a small art block for a while and the moment you saw Kokichi, you knew he would be the cure to it. And so, you were ecstatic when he said what he said, “So you’ll do it?” You jumped a little too high, and spoke a little too eagerly.

“Mhm! —but with a catch, of course.” Your face dropped, you should’ve known the little fucker would try and get something out of you. “Nishishi!”

Unsure if you even wanted to know, you asked carefully, “W-what’s the catch..?” Your voice laced with caution, brain suddenly being reminded of all the pranks and blackmail he had fucked everyone else over with in the past. Knowing him, it could vary from, ‘Eat a bug.’ to, ‘Survive a knife game against me!’ 

But what he said was definitely worse than the former, and the latter. 

“You have to paint me fully-nude.”

… It was suddenly very quiet, the echo of his insane remark, bouncing off the walls. The silence mostly coming from your side—then again, what did you expect? Painting Kokichi would mean the end of your art block and a painting of Kokichi, like, c’mon, but painting Kokichi nude would mean- Well, you weren’t sure what it meant; hence, the silence.

Impatient and somewhat annoyed by the silence, he poked at your shoulder, “So? Are you gonna paint me naked or not?” You stared at your shoes, too afraid to make eye contact with the boy you were now thinking of... naked. 

“... C-can’t I just paint you normally?” He pouted, a comedically high whine erupting from his throat as he replied, “But that’s no fuuuuuun!” 

“Don’t you want to see your ultimate supreme leader, whipping out his wang?-” You shoved his face away from your warm one, “Y… I mean n-no, no!” Your tone weak before getting loud and defensive as you caught yourself before all hell broke loose. 

You felt your stomach drop as you thought about the possibility of Kokichi knowing you wanted to see him, and I quote, ‘Whipping out his wang’, Kokichi would never let that one go. 

“Aw man, well I guess you don’t wanna paint me theeeen.” He slowly stepped away, a pout on his face as his back faced towards you. He hummed circus music as he teetered on his feet, balancing on one foot at once as he ‘walked’ away from you agonizingly slow, obviously waiting for you to tell him to come back. 

“Koki-” In a flash, Kokichi had been by your side, dragging your hand to god knows where. “You have me convinced! I’ll let you paint me because I’m suuuuuch a nice guy. Nishishi!” Although you should’ve asked where the both of you were going, you felt knowing the catch was more important, “B-but what’s the catch?” 

Kokichi kept at his speedy pace, yet he answered with a voice that still had so much energy in it, “Aww, I’m hurt you think there’s a catch, do you not trust me that much?”

Silence.

“Meanie... but yeah, you were right to suspect me. The catch is.... “ He drum-rolled on your palm, “You just have to kiss me for payment!” He slowed down a bit to send a cheeky smile your way. You almost tripped on your feet as you heard him, “What!? Bu-” 

Kokichi quickly interrupted you, “Uh-uh, don’t try to pretend you don’t wanna. I know you have nooooo problem kissing those little sketches of me when you think no one is looking~” His voice quieted down sinisterly as he spoke, the evil smile spreading across his face once more. Although he had been wearing an extremely thick mask of a smile to hide his true feelings, anyone would’ve noticed that small blush on his upper right cheek. Anyone.

“You saw that?” Kokichi cackled at your agitated and flustered face, “Nishishi! Don’t worry, I’m the only one that knows. After all, no one finds you interesting enough to actually notice that.” You furrowed your brow at the subtle hint he had given you, “But you did-” 

Kokichi put on a teasing smile this time, “That was a lie! I didn’t see anything with my own eyes, I just assumed you have and so you helped me confirm it! Nice job on fucking yourself over, S/o! Nishishi~!” You rolled your eyes, you liked this guy?

Well anyways, it didn’t seem to matter whether you questioned your feelings for the liar, as you finally made it to where Kokichi had been dragging you to. You watched as Kokichi skipped away from you and hopped on the bench, surrounded by moss and other wild plants. 

“Ta-da! When I first saw this place, I immediately thought of you! You know, because you’re a nerd who likes cliché art settings.” He grinned, posing on top of the bench, “How’s this? Nishishi! Don’t answer that, I know this is perfect.”

 ... He looked like an idiot. But a cute idiot.

Suppressing a laugh, you gestured downwards to guide him down from his strange pose, “U-uh, maybe you could just, sit down? Like a normal person, I mean.” He sneered at you, before reluctantly sitting down, “You’re so boring.” The way he sat on the bench reminded you of a child who had just gotten denied candy. 

Smiling in relief, you quickly took a seat on the bench opposite to him, bringing out your supplies excitedly. Despite the pout on Kokichi’s face, and the grudge he wanted to keep, the way you so excitedly took out your canvas made his heart melt as well as his attitude. 

In the corner of your eye, you swore you could see Kokichi’s genuine smile, albeit it was lopsided but it still made you flush. Without thinking, you spoke, tilting your head upwards to look at him better, “You should smile more, you’re really pretty like that.” He… his mind blanked for a second, his façade fading away slightly to reveal a genuine expression of shock.

He quickly gained his composure back, “Um, okay? I always smile, are you blind?” Despite his passive-aggressive reply, you couldn’t find any reason to be mad, although you should’ve been. You smiled fondly and shook your head, diving back into concentration towards your canvas.

--

After an hour of pointless conversation, flirting, and calculated strokes of your brush, you were satisfied with the result. “... Alright, I’m done.” Kokichi sighed exasperatedly as he stood up and stretched, “Finally! I was afraid my limbs were going to freeze forever in that position.” You stared at him accusingly, “You didn’t even stay still the entire time. At one point, you did a fucking cartwheel-” 

Kokichi slid on over you, leaning over your seated figure to peak at the painting of him. “Lemme see!” He reached for the painting with his pale hands, causing you to jerk the painting away from his reach. “It’s not dry yet! Just look, don’t touch.” You scolded, unamused by his pouty expression. “You’re no fun S/o-chan, but okay. I know how much you like to be in charge~” He teased, before finally laying his eyes on the painting he stayed still one whole hour for. 

You felt your anxiety rise at his silence, “... Well, d-do you like it?” Although you were pretty confident in your ultimate talent and skills, for some odd reason, you felt extremely nervous when you showed it to Kokichi. 

You were confused as to why your hands were shaking, you’ve shown your artwork to galleries, museums, the harshest art critics in the world! So why the hell did it matter so much to you if this one boy liked it or not?

“I think it looks super handsome! And by it, I mean me. Nishishi!” He grinned, “I look good in everything after all.” You scoffed, you couldn’t believe you actually expected a genuine compliment from Kokichi, of all people. 

“Hey so, it’s time for your payment you know?” Payment... what? You looked up at him in confusion, big fat crocodile tears sprung out from his eyes, “Waaaah! I can’t believe S/o forgot our deal!” You flushed again as you were suddenly reminded of the kiss. 

You sighed tiredly, “You were serious?” He glared at you, “I’m always serious!” You gave him an accusing look that screamed, ‘You know that’s bullshit.’ But sighed defeatedly for what seemed like the umpteenth time. As you stood up to walk up to him, you set your painting down nearby.

Squirming underneath his expectant gaze, you leaned in torturously slow until your noses were nearly touching, your eyes were glued to his lips nervously. You kind of just… stood there, waiting. Waiting for him to take initiative, as he usually does. “... You know, You’re kissing me, right? Not the other way around.” His voice was lower, quieter than usual, and you could feel his breath within each word.

He smirked at your awkward shuffle towards him, finding your averting eyes and flushed face extremely endearing. Though Kokichi would never admit it, deep down he was nervous too- But of course, he refused to ever admit that reality. Even to himself. 

“I-I know that! I was just… preparing.” He hummed a skeptical ‘Okay’, standing patiently for the kiss you owed him. Letting out a shaky breath, you quickly pressed your lips on his, before immediately pulling away. Well, you tried pulling away. Kokichi gripped your collar, eagerly going in for more. His lips enveloped yours roughly, he could feel you trying to back away and so he just decided he had to go even harder. 

Once he pulled away, he saw your lips puffy and swollen, and face completely dazed. You wanted to ask him why he stopped but he interrupted you before you could, “You know, I never said you had to kiss my lips, pervert〜” Your eyes widened at his statement, “It seems you’ve been wanting this for a while, huh?” You didn’t say anything, only fuelling his fire. 

“Nishishi! You’re so obsessed with me, it’s adorable~” You took a defensive step back, “I-I am not!” He suddenly leaned his face dangerously close to yours, grinning sadistically as he heard your whimper. “You shouldn’t lie, you know? Especially not to me.” He leaned in next to your ear, catching your earlobe between his teeth and biting gently. 

“Anyway!” You snapped out your daze as he barked suddenly, “The nude painting offer still stands, you know!” He yelled out, walking away from you, strangely.