#way more enemies to lovers way more i just might kill you and with magic–

[jessica-problems]

I think if you swapped Anthy Himemiya into the plot of Gushing Over Magical Girls in place of Utena Hiiragi, she would actually be so much worse. Like, *actual supervillain* levels of so much worse. Hear me out. Even in RGU, Anthy has ambushed Nanami with an octopus and TF'ed her into a cow. She swapped bodies with Utena that one time. Anthy is not above freaky magical pranks. I think she would go mad with power if she there were no consequences. Hiiragi just wants to have fun and tease the heroines and ultimately help them grow and succeed. Anthy's just in it for herself. She has *so* much weird complex trauma to work through. If she had the chance to put someone else in the rose coffin, I think she would do it without a second thought. Maybe then they could understand what she survived. The wrinkle is, there are literally no men in the world of Mahoako. If that means no patriarchy, then Anthy's trauma is completely unique. Assuming she somehow has the exact same backstory, then gets teleported into the world of Mahoako, she would be literally the only girl in the entire world to have suffered patriarchal violence. All the superpowers in the world couldn't get Anthy to a point where she could convince someone to understand what she's gone through. Even real men, who also live under patriarchy, manage to not notice most of it. People living in a world where it never existed simply could not understand. If she ever learned about consent, it was purely theoretical, and certainly doesn't reflect her lived experience. I don't know that she has *ever* had the chance to make a decision that wasn't coerced out of her by her position as The Rose Bride. Not to mention the sexual violence. Anthy has no idea what Safe Sane and Consensual even means, and if she did learn, I don't know that she would feel like giving others a chance she never got. Anthy would become an evil god just like her older brother. Which naturally means Utena Tenjou would have to slot in as the heroine trying to rescue Anthy from herself. She would obviously do an enemies-to-lovers thing with villain!Anthy, but I... don't know how it would play out. The higher stakes and genuine violence seem insurmountable. And Anthy could have a crazy dynamic with Kiwi. Kiwi hates the magical girls for being cuter and more popular that her, and Anthy might come to hate them for never suffering in the way she suffered, so I think they would encourage the chips on each others' shoulders to bloom into genuine malice. Possibly some kind of escalating prank war, or a mutual attraction built on being insane together. Alice, however, Anthy might see as like a younger version of herself. They're both quietly mischevious, mostly content to sit and watch the chaos unfold. And the fucked up thing is, Lord Enorme might even become the lesser of two evils. She has an evil plot, but at least she's efficient about it. Killing magical girls for a specific goal is less cruel than aimlessly torturing them so they could maybe understand your trauma.

---

On the flip side, I think if you put Utena Hiiragi into RGU as the rose bride, almost nothing would change, because so much of the tragedy of the Rose Bride is wrapped up in the fact that the actual girl filling the role barely matters.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

...Are We the Bad Guys?

Guys...I was going to be good. I was going to finish a chapter last night and call it good and go to bed. That...SUPER did not happen, because the last few chapters of this book happened which meant that I was just fully up half the night finishing it and I HAVE THOUGHTS. So with that for preamble, let's talk Fourth Wing.

THIS IS A SPOILER-IFIC REVIEW BELOW THE BREAK because I wanna talk about a couple things...so be warned.

Ok, so the TL;DR on Fourth Wing is that it's a romantasy in a military training camp for dragon riders that is full-on enemies to lovers with a protagonist with a disability that reads like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It's also very good, I basically inhaled the book around work and life. I also have THOUGHTS about this book.

Violet Sorrengail is our disabled protagonist, and the daughter of General Lillith Sorrengail was supposed to be a scribe, but her mother basically forces her into trying to become a dragon rider, with everyone from Vi's older sister Mira to her childhood best friend and fellow trainee Dain Aetos think will kill her because she is--as everyone in the damn book describes her--fragile. She obviously does not die, but put a pin in Dain for a second, because we're coming back to his ass after we talk about Vi and how disability was handled in this book.

I am...objectively kind of torn on how this book handles Vi's EDS. On the one hand, I am very much here for getting rid of the idea that a disabled protagonist doesn't belong in any type of story you want to tell, up to and including the ones that involve "graduate or die" styles of training camps. Disability is everywhere, and I am so, so very cool with disrupting the stereotype that disabled protagonists either cannot be in these stories or have to die at the end--and Vi is gloriously alive and kicking at the end of the book.

That said...there are like...hard ceilings and absolute limits on what you can push a body to do, and Vi...kind of doesn't hit EDS-related hard limits in a significant way. Some of that is because she works smarter not harder (poisoning her challenges is flippin' inspired), but some of it is also framed in the book as Vi exercising to strengthen her joints and being creative in executing tasks and challenges, which are great and can absolutely alleviate some symptoms. But then she also refuses the magical healing that has kept her functional (not cured, which I appreciate, just functional) for most of her life to avoid the appearance of weakness. So for someone with a chronic illness that also involves a HELL of a lot of pain and joint issues, this read to me like a combination of toxic strength and refusing actual medical care in favor of like...exercising the symptoms away? And while exercise can absolutely help, it being the only thing combined with bailing on medical treatment read really toxic. I feel like a combination of sneaky care hidden from the other cadets and the exercise might have been less toxic feeling. I know that everyone's bodies are different, and some people can probably manage with exercise, but I do not love the vibe I was getting of "sheer grit and exercise can completely replace medical assistance in managing physical disabilities so you don't look weak to people around you."

To be VERY clear: Needing medical assistance to function has no moral value. Needing it to have the best possible quality of life has no moral value. And I don't love when stories put a moral value on physical strength without medical intervention.

I did appreciate that Vi simply could not physically hold her seat on her dragon by brute strength alone, and that she was accommodated with a saddle with actual straps. And the book does go out of its way to highlight that Vi's moral courage and intelligence are ultimately more valuable to the people and dragons who love her than her physical ability. I just could have done without the firing her mender to avoid looking weak.

And this is where we remember that we put a freaking pin in Dain Aetos, because JFC I have not wanted to reach into a book and punch a fictional character as much as I have Dain in a LONG time. Dain spends the ENTIRE book cutting Vi's confidence out from under her because he's convinced she is too physically weak to survive in the Rider's Quadrant and that he's going to have to watch her die. He says this after she survives the parapet. He says this after she survives having her shoulder ripped to shreds in the physical assessment. He says this after she survives the Gauntlet. After she survives Threshing. After she has BONDED NOT ONLY THE BIGGEST MOST BADASS DRAGON IN THE VALE BUT ALSO A SECOND ADORABLE DRAGON. Dain literally has zero faith in Vi's abilities and instead of helping her survive, he actively gets in the way of her physical and emotional growth. I wanted to PUNCH this man in his smug-ass paternalistic fucking face.

And no, y'all, the whole "I would be absolutely destroyed if I had to watch you die because your body can't handle the environment" is in no way an excuse or even acceptable. It's paternalistic and shitty and moves the focus from VI'S ACTUAL LIFE to his man pain. We don't fucking have that in this house.

In fairness, the book also calls Dain out on this. Everyone from Xaden to Tairn spends the book bitching about how Dain isn't helping Vi. The fact that it's mostly the men around Vi bitching about how they're affecting or not affecting her life and choices isn't my favorite thing either, but I'll take the book calling out at least some toxic paternalistic bullshit, especially where it comes to wrapping girls with disabilities in bubble wrap and trying to put them on shelves against their will.

This also facilitates Dain and Xadens' narrative chiasmus (crossing over). Dain starts as the childhood best friend that Vi wants, and ends up worse than anything he ever accused Xaden of. Xaden, of course, starts out as the literal black-hatted villain with every reason to want to murder Vi himself and ends up as the boyfriend. I did appreciate that little narrative peice, because it was pretty well executed throughout, and Vi having feelings about it was very fun to watch.

The other thing about this book that was stunningly well done was the worldbuilding. Rarely do I see "oh shit, we're the bad guys" done this well, and with this many dragons. It was a ton of fun, and I will absolutely be picking up Iron Flame when it comes out in November. I cannot wait to see what's in store for Vi, Xaden, Dain, and Navarre in general.

[neverlearnedtoread]

Spinning Silver

⭐⭐⭐⭐; the staryk king and mirnatius with the word 'wife' on the board: there's only one thing more horrible than a wife.... *rips off paper* MY wife

Oh?? 👌😉😏

women are fucking amazing and wonderful and terrifying and unequivocal badasses. especially to their husbands. it's about the fantasy of a marriage you have no control over being perfectly suited to you in ways you didn't even know it could

inhuman fae creatures that actually have a separate culture and set of rules they are governed by. they're much more powerful than humans, of course, but they are bound to their laws, and if you're smart you can work with that

fairytale-esque magic system that relies heavily on (1) trickery (2) Having Audacity and (3) the rule of threes 😉. we love a soft magic system that rewards big swings and BDE!

not one, but TWO separate arranged marriages engaged in HEATED pvp AKA two people bound in hostile matrimony trying to kill each other while having 'wait, are they hot? fuck!' moments

you can be cold and practical and still be a good person. you can be strong enough to protect yourself without sacrificing others. with a good enough grasp of contracts you can force a demon to leave your kingdom AND husband unharmed in a 2-for-1 deal

No.. ❌🤢🤮

multiple POVs with no names for chapter titles so you have to figure out who it is from context clues - if you're like me and love a little puzzle to go with your reading time, you'll really enjoy it (Novik does it VERY well) but if you get confused easily or don't wanna put in the brainpower its annoying and overly complicated

if you don't like enemies-to-lovers where they actually argue and are ideologically opposed, you're not gonna enjoy the romance subplots. this is not a 'forbidden-lovers' kinda enemies-to-lovers. this is firmly in the 'my husband misses me a lot - but his aim is getting better!' zone

really quick wrap up - it gets tied up a little too fast after the final confrontation with the Big Bad. i wouldve liked at least to have irina POV at the end because her side of things just. gets left hanging

Summary: Miryem is a daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, and though her father doesn't have the hardheartedness to be a good one, she'd rather be despised for what she's owed than starve. Her knack for the trade, coupled with her sharp tongue, draws the ire of her village, and even more alarmingly, the Staryk's attentions; faerie creatures who only covet gold, they take her offhanded boast that she can turn silver into gold quite literally, and show up at her door to hold her true to her careless words - which, honestly, kind of backfires on them when she rises to the challenge and upends their realm into complete disarray, so maybe there's a lesson there for the next group of nonhumans to learn: don't bet the house against a human girl whose Had Enough Of All This Bullshit. She might win.

Concept: 💭💭💭 I don't know Rumpelstiltskin's story very well, and Ice Kingdom aesthetics aren't my favourite (you can blame it on my residual dislike of Frozen), but I DID read Uprooted before this. I wasn't as into the book blurb as I was with Uprooted, but I'm an experienced (and opinionated) enough reader to know when to trust my gut - if I find an author's writing style easy to read, and I enjoy how they handle their themes, I'm not afraid of diving into deep waters. If it's that bad, I can always DNF

Execution: 💥💥💥💥 As I've come to expect with Novik's writing, a wonderfully easy read; the storytelling voice flows smoothly and makes me want to keep on reading. No slogging through difficult to understand passages and too slow pacing for me! I instantly wanted to collect every POV character like puppies in a basket, no matter how brief their sections were. I will say the ending does forget what it wants to say and simply ends on a happy note, instead of a complete thought. It doesn't tie in the POV characters together strongly enough - I would've loved to see an epilogue scenes with the 3 main female characters supporting each other, or at least being three distinct Bad Bitches!

Personal Enjoyment: ❤❤❤❤❤ Mostly because of Irina and Miryem (and Wanda)'s absolute BDE. They truly brought their stories to life and felt very dynamic, constantly driving the story forward through their actions, especially because their personalities and characteristics were so well-suited to the challenges they faced (Miryem rules-lawyering the Staryk, Irina taking to politics, Wanda keeping faith despite all the shit she's been through). Honorary shoutout to the complete hilarity of Mirnatius's POV (though ultimately it IS more indulgence than necessity, I respect Novik for it) - may he spend the rest of his life desperately drawing his wife in vain search of her bad angles!

Favourite Moment: the running gag of mirnatius losing his fucking mind trying to prove irina isn't hot. you know that post that's like 'find a blorbo to draw and your art skills will start improving so much faster'? irina is his blorbo. special mention of the scene he gets jealous realizing a random guard has a crush on his behated wife and immediately jumps to the conclusion that irina would want to fuck the guard for the sake of the kingdom. babygirl the hoops you are jumping........where is this gymnastics routine even going 😭 this man is not beating the meow meow allegations..

Favourite Character: It's really a tie between Miryem and Irina, who are both so similar yet different at the same time. Miryem's BDE was enjoyably explosive - she throws it in everyone's face, which is perfect to play off of the Staryk's otherworldly impassiveness. Irina's BDE was a lot more...steely. Quietly coming into her own as she realized how adept she was at politics, and how perfectly well-suited that made her to being tsarina - and when they finally met each other? it was so funny when were like 'hey...why dont we kill our husbands via pokemon battle??'

[so-long-soldier-writes]

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

kai parker x bonnie bennett | requested

summary: bonnie just had to send her magic away in a teddy bear, consequently trapping herself in the prison world with only kai as company. and if that wasn't bad enough, the longer she spends with him, the less she starts to hate him. though it would be a cold day in hell before she ever admits that to his face...

tags: enemies to lovers, 1994 prison world, wet dreams, threats & violence (kai being kai), minor alcohol use, choking, kidnapping, arguments, making out, fingering, blowjobs, hair pulling, vaginal sex, hate sex (but they secretly like each other 😉 )

word count: 7.3k

n/a: kind of a bonnie pov, but not really. to the anon who requested it, i hope you like!! and sorry it took so long. also, i'm really bad at slow burn bc i'm impatient, so i hope i drew it out enough. and one more comment, i'm not sure if you wanted this much smut, but i read 'switch' in the request and my mind went wild. furthermore, if you want a part 2 with damon involved, since he was partially included in your request, i can do my best on that (psst i have ideas) ;)

It would’ve been easier to just do the stupid spell and deal with Kai back in the present world. She could’ve thought up a plan to trap and kill him with her friends’ help, instead of doing it by herself, eighteen years in the past. But no. When the second attempt to escape the prison world was made, Bonnie decided to send her magic away where she nor Kai could have it. And now they’re stuck there. Together. Forever. 

A big part of her curses herself for that decision. Her only chance, and she blew it to prevent him from gaining access to his remaining siblings. He’d kill them in a second if he found them, he’s promised that to her. Though at the same time, Bonnie knows his siblings. In fact, Liv pretended to not understand her magic just to gain Bonnie’s trust. She and Luke may stand a good chance against Kai if he were to escape. After all, he has no magic of his own, and has never been taught much of anything. So why didn’t she just let them return to 2013, and then they could all form a plan against Kai together? 

She puts her head in her hands, sighing. Upstairs, she can hear the shower running. A chance to run; to find new magic. Kai isn’t a vampire, he’s just a magic-less witch with a vengeance. Klaus was an original vampire with a vengeance, and Bonnie could take him. 

Curiosity, her brain supplies. 

Bonnie looks up, as if the voice had come from someone else in the room. 

Nope, she hears, just you.

There is no one else here. There is the boy in the shower, and there is her. No one to help; no one to hear her scream. No one to judge you, she hears again. She shakes her head. 

“No reason I’d be judged,” she replies out loud. She’s definitely going crazy. Talking to the voices in her head? And they are responding. 

Except for one, it says. Your curiosity. 

“The only curiosity I have is how I’m going to get out of here.”

Which is entirely your fault. You had an out; you sent it away. To protect Luke and Liv? They almost killed Elena. They can handle themselves. 

“Kai is different,” she mutters. 

Different, yes, But not in the way you’re thinking. Klaus was a monster, too. Damon, Stefan, Silas, Katherine, they were all killers. You’ve fought and won against them all at some point. But you don’t want to fight Kai. You don’t want to leave this prison world, because you don’t want to lose his company yet.

“Fucking insane.” She fills a glass of water and chugs it. Sleep deprivation is one hell of a mindfuck. 

You’re not sleep deprived, Bonnie. In fact, this prison world offers the best sleep you’ve had in years. Your nightmares have stopped, since your friends no longer burden you with all their problems.

“Stop.”

Might I say, you even have dreams now. Dreams of your mother, where you’ve thanked her for the peace. Dreams of simple mornings, of sipping coffee in silence. And let’s not forget the dreams of pleasure, focused on the only other person occupying this world. You don’t really want to leave, do you?

Bonnie slams her hand down on the table. “I said stop!” The voices hush at once, but the damage has already been done. 

She’s tried everything to forget that dream. It haunts her in all the best ways at the worst times. She bites her tongue so hard that it bleeds.

Wetness pools from her core as a dull sensation builds. She holds back a moan, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. 

“Come on, we’re the only two people here. No one can hear you. Let it out.”

Two weeks ago, that would’ve been a threat. Two weeks ago, the boy between her legs had his hands around her throat as he whispered menaces in her ear. Then, somehow, in the two weeks since Bonnie’s sent her magic away, a thread has snapped between the two. It started with a glare. Kai’s eyes burned into her from behind, but softened when hers met his own. He wanted to hate her; wished he could kill her, but he couldn’t do either. 

Bonnie had thoughts similar to his racing through her head. She numbed them with alcohol, and tried to not remember the feeling of his lips touching the lobe of her ear that one day in the car. But with every sip, her body heated up more, and when their fingers grazed as she passed him a glass, all hell broke loose. 

She kissed him first, and once he realized what was happening, he didn’t let her go. He pushed her up against the wall and let his hands explore her body. Pants of exhaustion tumbled from both their lips whenever they separated for a breath of air. It wasn’t long before they wanted more, though, and her hips were hoisted onto his waist. Kai then took her up to his bed and made himself comfortable between her legs. 

Pleasure flooded her body. Bonnie would’ve never have thought he would be as good with his tongue for anything else other than talking her ear off. Her hands pull at his hair as she comes close to her high. Way too quickly, she thought, but then again, it had been awhile since she’d been touched like that. 

“Come on, we’re the only two people here. No one can hear you. Let it out,” he was saying. 

But then Bonnie woke up suddenly to the clashing of pots and pans from the kitchen below. 

“Sorry!” Kai’s voice carried through the mansion. 

She slumped back on the bed, trying to remember the dream she was having. It was hot, like a summer day, but all the heat was trapped between two bodies. She was out of breath, and holding back a moan. A boy was in her bed, tangled in her sheets, lapping at her core. 

Her blood runs cold. 

Kai. 

She could picture it perfectly. Hands that have held her by the throat, and have gripped her arms so tightly they’ve bruised, were holding down her hips. The tongue that blabbers on and on was finally put to another use. 

Bonnie shook her head, disgusted in herself. She needed a shower, needed to change her sheets, needed a walk to clear her head. She pulled herself out of bed and grabbed the edge of the sheets to pull them off, when she noticed something else. 

A wet spot, right underneath where she had been laying. 

She hadn’t come yet in her dream, but the images were vivid enough that she did in her sleep. She swallows, unsure of herself. It’s hard to deny the fact that it felt good, and she craved it almost more than anything else, but never would she admit out loud that she had a wet dream of Kai Parker. And liked it. 

The memory ends, leaving Bonnie alone at the kitchen table. The shower is still running, indicating Kai was still upstairs. Upstairs, by his bedroom, bare. She cursed her head for the thought. No, she could not think of him like that. Kai was a monster, no different from Klaus. A dream is just a dream. It doesn’t mean anything. 

Still, the thoughts don’t leave her head. Biting her tongue doesn’t distract her from the memory, so she makes her way to Damon’s 1994 stash of liquor. Whiskey? No, whiskey is what she poured when Kai had asked for one too. Gin? No, gin reminds her of Liv, the girl she’s trying to protect by trapping herself down here with Kai. But rum? That’s safe. 

“Ooh, what are you drinking?” Comes his voice as she pours herself a glass. Of course. 

“Rum.”

“Tropical.”

“Do you want one or not?”

“Are you offering?” He stares into her eyes. Unable to hold his gaze, she drops her eyes down to the edge of his lip. There’s a cut in the left side that she always notices, and today, she decides to focus on it. “I’m kidding. Sure.”

Bonnie quickly brings her attention back to the glass and pours him one. Her breath hitches when she hands it to him. Their fingers touch ever so gently. 

“Y’know, I was wondering, what kind of shows do they have in 2013? Is Jerry Springer still on?”

Glad for the change in mood, Bonnie nods. “Yep, still a thing.”

“Huh. Do you watch it?”

“Not particularly. It’s kind of a ‘watch if it’s the only thing on’ kind of deal.”

“Ah. My mom used to put it on all the time. She would threaten to send my little siblings on there if they couldn’t work out their problems.”

Bonnie laughs before she can stop herself. Kai’s gaze snaps to her instantly, dimples forming on his cheeks as he smiles at the fact he made her laugh. A passing thought in her head mutters how cute they are, but then she comes to the realization of the thought. Not cute. Nothing about Kai is cute. 

“Did she ever threaten to put you on there?”

He takes a deep breath. “Mom and I never shared jokes like that. My version of it was my dad threatening to shut my mouth with tape.”

“Oh,” she replies, genuinely shocked. 

“That or withholding meals. Lock me in my room with a spell. Put a silencing spell so I couldn’t disturb them. And ignore me for days. Not like I was stupid enough to disturb them, because that would just make it worse, but he liked to use magic on me to remind me I didn’t have any. As if I could forget.”

Bonnie swallows hard. 

“Ooh, definitely sharing too much. Think I’m going to finish this glass of rum elsewhere. If you need me, BonBon, I’ll be in my room.”

She watches him leave in silence. 

Whiskey. Kisses. It was all a dream. 

Rum. Revelations. Now, she didn’t know what to think. 

As time passes, tensions increase. Bonnie tries to forget her dream and the tidbit of memory Kai had shared. Kai, on the other hand, tries to forget he overshared, while ignoring the dull ache in his heart to get closer to her. In a few days’ time, so much energy is put into their mutual need to ignore each other that they almost forget the task at hand. 

That is, until Kai comes to a conclusion on which he needs Bonnie’s opinion. The girl sending her magic away suddenly reminded him of his sister doing the same. So, somewhere on the property of his childhood home, there may be magic stored. His heart leaps with the hope of getting out of the prison world, and he quickly maps out a plan to get to Portland.

Though before he can go anywhere, he needs to convince the girl to go with him. Let’s rephrase that, he needs to make his hometown appealing enough to get Bonnie to come with him in his retrieval of Jo’s magic. Then he needs, for a third time, to try to convince Bonnie to let them go home. 

Because, truth be told, Kai would hate to leave the girl here alone. He knows what it’s like to spend every day in solitude for years, and even with his lack of empathy, can’t do that to her. Besides, it would be a lie if he said he hadn’t come to like her just a little. Her company is nice, and she’s undeniably pretty. Pretty badass, too, which turns him on more than he’d like to admit. 

So, one day as she’s coming back from the supermarket, he approaches her with the topic.

“We need to leave Mystic Falls.”

Bonnie turns from the cabinet to face him, nose crinkled in disgust. “Why? We’re fine here. Where would we even go?”

“Doesn’t matter where, but I thought of a place where we could find magic. Since y’know, you put yours away in a bear.”

“Yeah, I did that so you couldn’t get out. Why would I go with you to get more?”

Kai crosses the kitchen to close the distance between them. He could reach out and touch her now. “Because we both want out of here, Bonnie. Don’t tell me you like it here.”

“Of course I don’t. But you out would be hell on earth. I’m trying to prevent another mass murder.”

His eyes darken. “I told you, I’ve changed. I-”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Then what do you expect to do for the rest of your life locked up in here? Are you really going to sacrifice your own happiness to keep me here? Because I’ll find a way out. I’ll find a way out, and I will leave you here if I have to.”

“You need me for the spell. You’re not going anywhere.”

“What makes you think I won’t just steal your blood, memorize the spell, and get out? If you want to see your friends again, it’ll be with me.”

“I’d rather die than let that happen. It’s not your lack of magic that makes you an abomination, Kai, it’s you.”

The last comment pushes him too far. Bonnie realizes it the moment it leaves her lips. In an instant, his hands are around her throat, tightening just enough to render her unconscious. The girl grips his wrists, but feels her hold weakening.

“Kai,” she begs, “let me go.”

“Say you’ll go with me.”

“No.”

“Say it!”

“I won’t let you out!”

“I didn’t want to do this,” he warns. Before she can question him, darkness starts to cloud her vision. In a matter of seconds, her body goes limp. 

⁕⁕⁕⁕

The next time Bonnie wakes up, she realizes the ground beneath her is moving. Though as soon as it hits her that she’s in the trunk of a car, the car comes to a halt. Bonnie hears the ignition turn off and the door shut before coming in direct contact with the sun. She squints, but then the view is blocked by Kai smiling down at her. 

“Morning, sunshine. Well, evening, actually.”

“What did you do to me?”

“Relax. You just took a little nap for our flight.”

“Flight? Where are we, Kai?”

“Portland.”

She cringes, “why?”

“It’s where we’re gonna find magic.”

“And why exactly would-”

“It’s where I grew up. I would’ve let you sit in the passenger seat for the trip here, but since you refused to go, I needed to resort to more forceful methods.”

Bonnie rolls her eyes. “As if I’d willingly go with you. Also, I told you. I am not helping you get any more magic.”

“We’ll see about that, BonBon. For now,” he takes a couple steps towards his house, “come on. I’m cooking you dinner.”

“You’re not bribing me to help you,” she says, following him anyway. 

“Not a bribe, Bonnie, I just thought you’d be hungry.” At the same time, her stomach growls, betraying her. Kai smiles. “See?”

The girl just rolls her eyes a second time and goes inside the house.

As it turns out, Kai isn’t a bad cook. In fact, he’s really good. Not like Bonnie would ever admit that, though. She didn’t want to eat his food, but the hunger soon overtakes her pride and she gives into it. To her shock and thankfulness, Kai doesn’t comment on this decision. He lets her eat in peace while enjoying his own plate. 

“So,” she starts, halfway through her meal, “what’s your plan after bringing me all the way out here?”

Kai swirls wine in a glass and takes a sip before answering. “Find Jo’s magic. Steal it. Go home. Thought that was obvious.”

“And where exactly is her magic being stored?”

“Not sure, I’ll have to find it.”

“Well you can have a fun time doing that. I’m leaving after this.”

The boy tenses. “No you’re not. You’re going to get us out of here the minute I find it.”

She laughs in disbelief. “We’re still having this conversation? Get it through your head, Kai, I am not letting you out of here. I don’t care if you cook for me, I don’t care what you do, you’re staying in this damn prison world.”

Suddenly, he grabs her wrist. His grip is tight, knuckles going white. Bonnie jumps in her seat. 

“Ouch! That hurts, Kai. Let go of me!”

“You’re not leaving this house until we find my sister’s magic.”

“Let go of my arm!”

He loosens his grip, but doesn’t let go completely. Bonnie stares down at his fingers curled around her. The cool metal of his rings contrasts his flushed skin. Her mind starts to wander… 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says slowly, “but I will if you keep refusing to help me. The only person you’re hurting is yourself.”

Her mind is snapped from its dark place. “Here’s an idea: I’ll help you find Jo’s knife, and then we go our separate ways.”

“That doesn’t make sense, I need your blood for the spell. The knife is no good if I don’t have you.”

“Too bad. Guess you’ll have to find me.”

According to Kai’s mind numbing ranting while Damon was still here, the prison world is exactly like the real world, except it’s a dimension frozen in time. But if Bonnie can escape, she can go to any state, any country, and Kai would have to find her. Sure, he could do a locator spell, but he’ll run out of siphoned magic quickly and won’t have any more. It’s a perfect plan, she thinks, to escape him and his demands to be freed. 

Besides, Bonnie has a feeling he’ll love the hunt. There’s no way he’d deny this. 

Kai seems to consider this. “Fine. We find the knife, and I’ll let you go.”

“Good.” Proud of herself, she stabs a piece of meat on her fork and eats it happily. She misses the storm clouds coming into his eyes. He doesn’t eat anymore after that.

At the end of dinner, both make their beds in separate areas of the house. Bonnie takes to Jo’s old room and Kai curls up on the couch. Just before she retreats to go to sleep, the boy stops her in her tracks. He corners her up against the wall, close enough that his breath hits her neck. 

“Just so you know, I’m a light sleeper. If I hear you trying to break our deal and escape, you’ll regret it.”

Bonnie returns him a stone cold expression. “Figures. But I won’t.” She holds her breath in the presence of his. 

“See you in the morning, BonBon.”

⁕⁕⁕⁕

Three days go by of the two searching the huge house for Jo’s knife. It is a cause that seems lost to Bonnie, yet she knows Kai won’t give up until he has magic again. So, she continues to look. Besides, if she goes to Kai about it, he’ll grab her again, and she would really like to avoid another close confrontation with him. 

It’s too much risk to piss him off. He gets too close; too physical. And Bonnie should be afraid when he’s like this, but the more and more that it happens, she finds herself sweating in anticipation. The dark parts of her mind rise back to the surface. Memories of her dream, of his hands on her body, and his head between her legs, play on repeat. She wonders if it will always be a dream, or if one of these days, they’ll give into their mutual need. 

No. It’s just a dream, she reminds herself. And Kai doesn’t need anything, except apparently an escape from this place. Still… she can’t help the thought. To not touch another person for twenty years? I wonder if he’s ever-

“Any luck?” 

For once in her life, Bonnie’s grateful to hear Kai’s voice cut through her thoughts. 

“No,” she replies, “no luck in three days.”

“It’s here. I know it is. Jo didn’t have any magic when we tried to merge. She stashed it somewhere.”

“Maybe she took it back after you were gone.”

Kai thinks about this, but then shakes his head. “She wouldn’t have. She’s probably never touched it again.”

“Maybe your father hid it somewhere. Does this place have an attic? Or a basement?”

“Both, yeah.”

“You take one, I’ll take the other.” Bonnie puts a finger up to his face. “But don’t even consider locking me in there.”

“Promise I won’t. You can trust me.” He winks.

She glares at him. “Hard to believe that.”

But to their dismay, an entire day of searching both turns up nothing. Bonnie returns to Jo’s room once again. 

That night, her thoughts from earlier in the day come back to haunt. 

In her dream, she’s in her room while Kai’s in his. Her fingers ghost over her body as she eases herself into a mood. It’s not like there’s much to do in the prison world, so as long as she’s quiet, he’ll never know. 

However, she barely touches herself before a groan carries from down the hall. Curious, Bonnie rises from her bed and makes her way to the only other occupied room. Her eyes go wide at the sight beyond the door. There is Kai, eyes squeezed shut and hips working against a pillow. He’s on his bed, no mind paid to the crack through the door. 

Somehow, the siphon doesn’t realize her presence. He must be too close to hear anything else. 

The thought alone makes her body warm. Bonnie’s hand then finds its way under her pajama pants. A sigh escapes her slightly parted lips. It still doesn’t disrupt Kai from his own feat. 

For a short time, she watches him while touching herself. She watches how he speeds up, then slows back down; how he sometimes lets out little pants, but at other times, full-blown moans. 

“Kai,” she finds herself whispering. “Oh.”

He doesn’t stop. Not until he reaches his high and comes down from it. As he surveys his bed for the mess he’s made, his eyes snap up to the girl peeking through his door. In an instant, his face turns pink with embarrassment. Kai Parker embarrassed. It makes Bonnie come on the spot. 

“What are you-?”

“Let’s not talk about this,” she breathes out heavily. 

“But-”

Bonnie wakes up in a cold sweat, panting, and feeling out of place. Her eyes dart around the room before she realizes she’s still in her bedroom. Well, Jo’s bedroom, in Portland, in 1994. She sighs, feeling disgusted in herself once again. She needs to get away from Kai. Needs to stop having these dreams; needs to stop secretly wanting him. It all needs to stop. 

Slowly, she rises from her bed to fetch a coffee. Coffee makes everything better. It’ll clear her mind and wake her up so she can continue looking for that stupid knife. Find the knife, and she can get away from him. Just find the stupid knife. 

When she gets downstairs, though, Kai’s already in the kitchen. 

“Morning,” he greets, voice gravelly. If she has to hear his morning voice one more time, she’s going to lose it. “Sleep well?”

“Fine. You?”

“Only fine?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“Hm. For some reason it sounded much better from where I was.”

“What?”

“Did you dream well?”

“No. In fact, I’ve only had nightmares since arriving in this hell.”

“Odd. ‘Cause I could’ve sworn I heard otherwise this morning.”

“Maybe you just heard yourself.” Her heartbeat quickens, and Bonnie thanks the highest power alive that Kai’s not a vampire. 

“Maybe. But I’m pretty sure it was you. Pretty sure I don’t moan my own name.”

Her blood runs cold. “I didn’t-”

Kai stares at her and her words falter. “Is someone else here, then? Don’t think that’d be from the ghosts of my siblings. Only people here are you and me.”

Kai mentioning his siblings almost kills her mood, but his look revives it just as fast. Straightening, she fakes confidence. “You made me have that dream. Manipulated it.”

The boy chuckles, “I literally have no magic, Bonnie. That’s why we’re here, actually, if you don’t remember. I have no magic to manipulate your dreams. You thought of me all on your own.”

“I-” she stammers, “you-” she takes a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I still hate you. I will never like you, and nothing like that will ever happen. I’m just… tired of being in here.”

A flash of hurt crosses his eyes, but he blinks it away quickly. “Whatever. I’m going to check the basement again, in case you didn’t look hard enough yesterday.”

Bonnie didn’t miss the look, but she doesn’t understand why he would have it. He hates her just as much as she hates him. She scoffs at his comment, then disappears to the attic. If he asks, she’ll just retort that he didn’t look hard enough, either. 

⁕⁕⁕⁕

Days pass the same as they have been. Though if it’s even possible, the two ignore each other even more. They stay on opposite sides of the house and only come in the same room for dinner. Kai cooks each night, for which she’s thankful, but refuses to actually thank him. Part of her is still pissed about him bringing up the dream, making her a little embarrassed every time she remembers the conversation. 

You’re the one that moaned his name, the voice in her head says, you can’t be mad at him for bringing it up. 

Shut up, she replies to it, it's common decency not to talk about that stuff.

The voice begs to differ. It argues that the rules are different when you’re the only two people in an entire world. 

⁕⁕⁕⁕

Bonnie’s growing restless each second that they can’t find the knife. She’s growing comfortable around Kai, and she hates the thought. The boy has been cooking for her, giving her space, and hasn’t threatened her ever since she backed off of him. Another couple months, and maybe they could have a Damon-level of banter between them. Wait…

Hell. No. 

She will not be in Portland in a couple months. She’ll be far from Kai Parker and his crazy childhood home. She will not spend every day of her miserable time in the prison world wondering where he is, or what he’s doing. She will be far away, relaxing on a beach somewhere, while he angrily tries to find her. 

That was the plan. That will continue to be the plan. That is-

“Bonnie!”

The girl scoffs. Will she ever have a train of thought that he doesn’t interrupt? “What?”

“I found it!”

Excitement shoots through her spine. She stands from her spot on the floor and follows his voice to the kitchen. There, on the table, is Jo’s knife. Rusty, but still sharp. 

“Where-?”

“Outside. Y’know, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before, but Jo had run outside after sending the twins out, and I guess she stashed the knife somewhere there. Turns out, it was in that old tree stump in the yard. Huh.”

Bonnie stares at it for a second. “So you have your knife. I can go now.”

Kai bites his lip. 

“We had a deal.”

“You really don’t want to live here alone, Bonnie, I-”

The girl picks up the knife and points it at him in an instant. “We had a deal. You let me go. Right. Now.”

“Bonnie-” he reaches for her, but she blocks him with the blade.

“I’m serious.”

“Put it down.”

“No.”

“Fine. Put it down, and you can go.”

“I don’t trust you!”

Kai takes a step forward. Bonnie doesn’t move the knife, pointed back at his stomach, even as he makes another step.

“I promise, you can go. I just… I know what it’s like here, being all alone, and I don’t want you to go through that.”

“You don’t care about me. You don’t care about anyone.”

“I do care, Bon,” he whispers, “I care enough that I don’t want you feeling the way I have for eighteen years. It’s fun the first few, when you get to travel and see everything, but then it hits you that you’re never going home. You’ll never see another person again. You’ll lose hope, and you’ll lose the will to live, but you can’t die. I’ve been there. I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your help. Being alone is better than letting you out.”

“Please don’t go.” He takes another step toward her. The tip of the blade makes contact with his shirt. “I promise I won't hurt you, just don’t go. I don’t want to be alone anymore, and you don’t want to know what it’s like to be here alone.”

“I hate you,” she spits, pressing the knife into him until it hits his skin. 

“I know. You should. I haven’t given you a reason to like me. But I’m begging you. Don’t go.”

“I give you this knife, and you let me go. Don’t stab me in the back, don’t keep begging.”

Kai swallows hard. “Okay.”

Slowly, she hands it to him. Bonnie watches as he puts it on the table. She’s surprised. She expected him to immediately stab her or siphon from it. Instead, he just watches her take a step backward, then another. Then-

“Bonnie-”

“No.”

He shuts his mouth. Clouds return to his eyes. Baby blues darken as a storm approaches. He won’t cry; Kai hasn’t cried since he was seven, but he will feel the stinging pain in his stomach at the loss of her company. The dryness at the back of his throat when the hopelessness returns. 

Bonnie makes her way out the door without another peep from him. She stands on the porch, waiting to see if he’ll come out, but after a minute, there’s nothing. The girl sighs in relief as she takes in the feeling of being free. 

Free.

Free from his threats, his tight grip, his anger. Free from the heavy weight of his crimes; crimes he’ll acknowledge but won’t feel bad for committing. Free from his stupid jokes and the winks he always gives her. Free from his cooking and his company. She’ll be alone. Completely, utterly alone. 

She gulps at the thought. 

Kai, meanwhile, stares at the knife before him. It’s technically his knife, the one he used to stab Jo in the first place, but then Jo put her magic in it, and it became known as his sister’s knife. Kai picks up the blade, feeling it in his hands, and siphons just a little bit to feel its strength. He revels in the energy it gives him. The last time he felt that strong was when he took Bonnie’s magic to show her his ability. 

Bonnie, who just walked out the door to spend an eternity alone, rather than be with him. 

Bonnie, who just slammed the front door. 

“I hate you!” She yells from the foyer. 

“I didn’t say anything!” Kai defends himself. 

The girl stomps back into the kitchen, face unreadable. “Yeah, but I heard you breathing. All I’ve heard all day, all week, all month, is the sound of you breathing. That, or you talking. Talking, or cooking. That is all you do, and I hate it!”

Kai stares at her. Whatever mixed emotions she’s feeling, he doesn’t understand any of them. “Um-”

“I just want to be alone, just leave me alone! Actually, no, I don’t want to be alone, because this prison world is a hell, and I will go crazy if I am alone. But, as it turns out, you’re my only company. And I’m sick of it, and I’m sick of hearing your breathing, and seeing those stupid rings on your fingers, and hearing your voice in the morning when you’ve just woken up. And I’m sick of your cooking, and your dedication to it, and how it’s actually good. Oh! And I’m also sick of having these stupid dreams about you, too. I don’t know why my brain won’t think of anyone else at three in the morning, but I’ve lost sleep over not wanting to dream, so I haven’t slept in a couple of days, and maybe that’s why I’m at my breaking point right now! Because I don’t want to sleep, because I don’t want you creeping in my dreams. I hate you, Kai, I’m running out of words to describe it.”

“So-, why-, um-” the boy doesn’t have any words, either. “So, uh, why are you still here?”

“Because I need to get my anger out, and you’re the only other person here.”

“Okay?”

Kai expects Bonnie to hit him. A punch to the stomach or a slap to the face, either one, he anticipates. What he did not expect was for her to kiss him. 

But in fact, when the girl storms up to stand a mere inch from his face, she grabs his cheeks and kisses him. 

“You are so annoying,” she mutters, staring up at him. “I need you.”

This time, when she kisses him, he kisses her right back. Bonnie doesn’t fight him. Instead, she grabs the back of his neck to pull him closer, presses her body to his, and deepens it. Kai’s hands then find her waist before he backs her up to the nearest wall. Just like in her first dream, he lifts her legs up to wrap around his, to which she complies immediately. In their new position, her pelvis is level with his hardening cock, and with every push of his body against hers, she feels his excitement. 

“Kai,” she whispers his name. He recognizes the tone as the one she whispers in her sleep. 

“Hm?”

“More.” She runs a hand through his hair roughly. “Take me. Please.”

Those words are all he needs to lay her down on the nearest couch. As soon as her head hits the pillow, he’s stripping her of her clothes. Bonnie tears his shirt off his head, then begins to fumble with his belt.

“How many times have you dreamed of this, BonBon?”

She’s too needy to lie. “I’ve lost count.”

A smirk crosses the boy’s face, though it’s quickly replaced by something she’d never thought she’d see on him: empathy. 

“I’ll take care of you, Bon. You’re good with me.” Kai wastes no time wetting his fingers with his tongue, then putting them on her clit. Bonnie’s back arches, and he supports her by slipping a hand underneath immediately. Their lips reconnect in a heated kiss. 

As soon as she gets his pants undone, she makes a grab for his visible bulge. Kai being Kai, though, smacks her hand away. 

“Not yet, princess. I’m still focused on you.” He distracts her by pushing his fingers into her core, pumping them in and out, and smirking at the squelching noises it makes. Bonnie moans, knowing she’s close to coming. Just like in her dream, again, it didn’t take long for her to reach her high. Kai fingers her throughout her orgasm, not relenting until her legs are shaking. He helps her onto her knees when she’s stable, and finally, does he then let her pull down his boxers. 

“Kai.”

“Hm?”

“Stand,” she points to the side of the couch, “here.”

“Dominant, are we?

She gives him a glare. It’s playful, yet he knows she means business. That’s okay - Kai can work with both. He’s mostly dominant, but if he’s comfortable enough, he’ll gladly submit to her. Right now, he’s not willing to fully submit, but he’ll give into the girl’s demands a little if it’s what she needs. 

The moment Kai stands where he was asked, Bonnie’s hands are gripping his cock. He lets out a moan at the feeling, and his hips involuntarily jerk forward. Bonnie keeps him where she wants him, though. Once he’s under her control, she puts her mouth on him. Her head bobs, taking his length deeper and deeper each time, until she can glide her lips smoothly along. Obscene grunts tumble from Kai’s lips. His hands bury in her hair, pulling at the roots. Bonnie doesn’t seem to mind, and in fact, her grip on his hips tightens so she can work better. 

“Bon,” he stammers, “you’re- I’m-”

She stops as he speaks. No way is he coming before he fucks her. Kai catches on immediately, pushing her back onto the couch, and then crawling up her body. He aligns himself before pushing in slowly, filling her completely and comfortably in no time. He’s much gentler than Bonnie anticipated, but she’s not complaining. Though she bets he’s very capable of angry sex, as seen by his several meltdowns over the months. If she ever gets him in one of those moments, she’d surely be covered in love bites and bruises by the end. 

Kai finds a good pace quickly, as indicated by Bonnie’s moans of pleasure. His hands grip her wrists, pinning her to the couch, while he leaves a trail of kisses along her neck. At first, the girl tries to fight for some control, but soon surrenders to the more dominant boy. 

He clicks his tongue, cooing at her, promising he’ll take care of her. 

A month ago, being under him like this would’ve been terrifying. But in their time together, she’s come to desire him a lot more than she wants to admit. 

And seemingly, Kai feels the same way. 

It isn’t long before she feels another high coming on - this one even more powerful than the last. With her bottom lip in between his teeth, and his cock buried deep enough inside her to form a bulge, her orgasm draws nearer by the second. Her breaths get shallow and she whimpers his name, pleading for release. Kai’s hold on her wrists loosen, as does the pace on his thrusts. He’s close, too. 

More thrusts and moans finally tumble from the girl’s lips. She’s cracked first, but the feeling of her body convulsing at its climax tips him off the edge. He spills inside her before he can even consider pulling out, but neither care about that right now. The feelings of pleasure are overwhelming, after months, and for him, years, of not touching another person so intimately. 

Their bodies meld together as he collapses on top of her. Her hands fly to his hair, twirling the ends between her fingertips, not wanting their moment to end. As soon as Kai regains his strength, he sits up so as to not crush her. 

“Do you still hate me?” He asks, a tint of hopefulness in his voice that maybe she doesn’t.

“Yes.” His eyes fall to the floor. “But maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

Bonnie’s conflicted. She tells herself she still hates him, but deep down, knows she’s lying.

The two of them catch their breath for a while on that couch. Eventually, their clothes find their way back on their bodies, but they don’t leave each other’s companies just yet. 

“Was that how your dream went?” He teases suddenly.

“No, actually, we never… the first time, you were getting there, but then actual you - not dream you - woke me up by dropping a pan in the kitchen.”

“Sorry-”

“And then another time, it was me eavesdropping your own private moment. Sorry about that. Others were shorter, with less time for mind wandering, but we never actually went all the way.”

His blue eyes meet her intensely. “Do you regret this?”

“No. We both needed it. We were driving each other crazy. Do you?”

“How could I? I’ve been curious about you since the day you and Damon got here.”

Bonnie looks at him, then at her hands in her lap. She isn’t sure how to reply to that. 

Silence then befalls them once again. Dinner is quiet, few words are shared. There’s no mention of their moment again, but she can tell by his gaze that he’s fighting the urge to bring it up. She wonders what he would say, yet doesn’t prompt him to share. 

⁕⁕⁕⁕

When she wakes up the next morning, Kai is already awake. The boy is at the kitchen table, fiddling with Jo’s knife in one hand and the ascendant in the other. 

“What are you doing?” She asks, startling him. 

“Just thinking.”

“You still want to go back after our time yesterday? We won’t be the only two people here anymore. I might never talk to you again.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re leaving anyway. You said it yourself, you want to disappear to one end of the earth, and if I want out, I’ll have to find you. And though having to hunt you down would’ve been fun a couple years ago, I’m tired of being here. At least if I get out, I won’t be alone.”

For a minute, Bonnie considers taunting him. Telling him he’d be alone anyway, because no one in their right mind would want anything to do with him. But then his fingers glide along the edge of the blade. The same fingers that were buried inside her yesterday. The silver rings adorning them that match the lethal weapon. She sighs internally. Bonnie doesn’t want to be stuck in the prison world anymore than Kai does. Certainly, she doesn’t want to roam it alone. 

Yesterday did something to her. The way he begged her not to leave. Promised her she would hate being alone, and urged her to stay with him. At the time, she thought being alone would be better than being with him. But then she kissed him. She kissed him, and he kissed back, and then he pleasured her and cared for her in ways she thought could only be dreams. Now she doesn’t know what to think about him. Her thoughts are jumbled, mind is confused, and heart is burdened. 

You don’t hate him, that damn voice returns, in fact, you kinda actually like him. 

“You are… leaving, right?” Kai asks in response to her silence. 

The girl straightens. “I am. I’ve had enough of this prison world, and frankly, this house, and I need to get away from it.”

Kai looks up at the walls of his childhood home. He agrees to hating the house, but he has no clue where he’ll go next. 

Bonnie, on the other hand, seems to know exactly where she’s going. She marches towards the front door, hand on the knob. Kai stares after her, questions on the edge of his tongue, but nothing coming off it. 

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

He stands from his seat, confused, but follows her nonetheless. “Where are we going?”

“Home.”

“You’re gonna go back to Mystic Falls?” If Bonnie’s starting her escape now, why is she telling Kai where she’s going?

“Eventually. But hurry, or we’ll miss the eclipse.”

Her words take three whole seconds to sink in before the reality of the situation hits him. They’re going home. Truly home. Back to the present age - whatever that looks like. 

So, with Jo’s knife strapped to his boot and the ascendant in his pocket, Kai follows Bonnie to the site beneath the eclipse. The clearing of trees he remembers all too well from eighteen years ago stand overhead. For a mere second, Kai wonders if it’s a trap. His eyes search hers, but he only finds a fierce determination.

“Aren’t you going to siphon that?”

His eyebrows furrow, but he does when she prompts him. “What changed your mind about letting me out?”

“For some reason, I’ve decided to trust you.” She cuts her palm. “Don’t betray it.”

“So you don’t hate me?”

“Not exactly.”

She gives him a small smile, which he returns. Then, hand-in-hand, they chant until a brightness surrounds them, and they are on their way home.

[unholly-reader]

Darling - Hamish Duke x fem!reader

Just a little something for us all Hamish lovers <3

Please, keep in mind - English is NOT my first language, so I apologize in advance for any errors.

Enjoy

Warnings: a little emotional, fluff

_______________________________

- Vera, are you really that blind? They will remember sooner or later. The hides are incredibly powerful and sensible to magic, might I add. They will not succumb to your wishes. You have to find a different way to convince them to the ideals of the Order. 

The Grand Magus turned away from her sister, huffing out clearly annoyed with the reprimand. 

- I assure you, Aria, your little wolf friends will not pose a threat to us once we induct them into the Order. But first we need to control them. 

- Good God, Vera. These are werewolves, not puppies. You will make an enemy out of them much quicker than you may befriend them. Maybe Jack Morton will be more amicable considering his feelings for miss Drake, however I can’t say the same thing for the rest of them. Lilith won’t forget it. Randall won’t forget it. Hamish won’t…

- Oh please, this again? He doesn’t remember you. He won’t remember you. He will never be back the way you want him to. Deal with it, you big baby. 

- Enough! 

Aria shouted out like an enraged animal sending waves of wind around her settling between the books and furniture fit inside the reliquary. Although Vera never feared her sister’s magic, as the time went by, she started seeing her true power. As much as it didn’t bother her she began worrying if she had overlooked her too much. 

- You don’t get to take him away from me and then rub it in my face, Vera. I don’t care you’re Grand Magus. I don’t care you have the power to destroy me or dispose of me or even kill me. I have loved him for years and there’s no way in Hell I’ll ever stop. Even if he doesn’t remember me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare for tonight. In case you forgot, we are celebrating your new Acolytes. 

Before Vera could mutter a single word, Aria left the reliquary, heading to the one place she knew she could calm down before the upcoming event of the night. It was as if her feet dragged her to the Den by themselves as she felt no control over her body. One lonely tear slid down her cheek as the house showed up in the distance and all the memories, she made there came running down like an avalanche. Pushing all her emotions aside she stepped confidently inside the Den, heading straight for the stairs and eventually to his room. It still looked as neat as it always has. Bed perfectly made but still wrinkled from the last time she slept there. All his clothes hanging in the closet, his vest and shirts and sweaters. His smell lingering in the room as if he never left. But then again, she knew he would never come back there. 

And just as she did it countless times before, she slowly reached for the one cashmere sweater he always loved and she slid it over her head, feeling his scent fill her nostrils. She couldn’t cry anymore as she has already cried many nights hugging his clothes and sleeping in his bed, where they used to sleep together before. Her dark brown hair splayed on his gray pillows as she laid on her back, hugging her arms gently feeling the fabric of his sweater. 

She didn’t feel the time passing by until one moment she heard some noises coming from downstairs. Normally she would have been alarmed by those sounds but she knew perfectly well nobody came down to the Den and so she had no reason to fear uninvited guests, so she didn’t even move, snuggling even more into his pillow. She chose to ignore the silent steps coming up the stairs same way she ignored the slight crack in the door when it swung open. Only then did she sit up on the king-sized bed and looking at the entrance her heart stopped. 

- Hamish? What are you.. I mean, who are you and how did you find this place? You shouldn’t be here…

- Aria, I remember. 

His voice. Soft as ever, calming as a rainy day in the middle of summer. He stood in the doorway dressed in his somewhat usual attire – the pale blue shirt and a vest fitting him so damn well she almost forgot how to breathe. As soon as she heard his words, she slid off the bed, keeping her arms crossed over her chest as she absentmindedly hugged her form still clad in his sweater. 

- You remember…? 

She could barely speak as her she couldn’t believe her eyes. She stood still frozen in place as Hamish quickly approached her, stretching his arms towards her. 

- Come here, you. 

As her last doubt finally fell, immediately she threw herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hamish instinctively hugged her back, hiding his face in her shoulder. Holding her close like he used to so many times before finally felt he was himself again. He breathed in her intoxicating scent as memories flooded his mind. Their first date. The first time he kissed her sweet lips. The first night they spent together wrapped in each other’s arms. Aria was barely registering what was happening around because all her focus was on Hamish and his arms holding her so tightly. She let all her anger and rage and overwhelming sadness out, crying inro his chest like a little baby. She clawed at his arms desperately trying to reassure herself, that it was not a dream. 

- I missed you so, so much, Hamish. Every day was like a reoccurring nightmare watching you live your life without me in it. I could barely stand it. 

- Shh, I’m here now, darling. I’m here, everything is alright now – he kept whispering sweet nothings into her ear, holding her trembling body close to him. Slowly he cupped her cheek with his right hand, forcing her to look at him. She was crying her eyes out, mascara slowly dripping down the corner of her lashes, but to him she was still the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid his eyes upon. 

- Don’t you ever forget me again, Hamish Duke. Don’t you even dare. 

- Believe it or not, even when I was supposed to forget you, I remembered. I kept hearing your voice in my dreams, your laughter, seeing you face every night I went to sleep. Missing my darling Aria. 

[timotey]

Ficlet: Needless Loss, Needless Pain

The Sign. Phaya/Tharn. Post-drama (theatrical release). Unbeta'd.

They might not have needed to end up enemies.

(I know, I know, I already wrote a similar ficlet, Hollow Victories, but now that the drama ended, I decided to give it another go and write a canon compliant ficlet. Tadaaaa!)

*.*.*

That night, the night following the day when Tharn comes back to him, Phaya wakes up from a nightmare - and to his empty arms. Tharn’s not there.

He sits up, heart hammering hard in his chest, and he’s looking around, searching for Tharn, because Tharn can’t be gone again, he just can’t be, he can’t be–

Then Phaya sees him, Tharn, on the other side of the bed, curled up and asleep, covers kicked off. He must’ve felt too hot in this muggy weather threatening rain, so he rolled away from Phaya and now he’s lying there just in his boxer shorts and Phaya’s undershirt, sleeping soundly.

Phaya’s heart could leap out of his chest! He’s so relieved, so relieved, so relieved that he actually feels like crying. His eyes burn and his nose burns and he’s all choked up and he wants to-he wants to pull Tharn into his arms and kiss him and make sure that he’s really there, really, really there.

But he doesn’t do it. He lets Tharn sleep. Because he remembers how exhausted Tharn was when they finally climbed into their bed after all the welcoming kisses and hugs and explanations that were no explanations at all because how can you explain something like that, a world full of wonder and magic. 

And so Phaya lets Tharn sleep and climbs out of the bed, because he can’t go back to sleep, he can’t lie still, his heart is galloping too fast for that, his hands are shaking too hard, he feels jittery and completely out of sorts. He grabs a package of cigarettes, a bad habit he picked up once more during the past year of loneliness, and heads for the door. Walking out into the main room, he shakes one cigarette out and… stops. 

Because he doesn’t need this, not anymore, this crutch. Because he has Tharn back. It feels unreal but it’s true. He turns back to look at Tharn through the open door. He simply looks. He can’t tear his eyes away, his chest is filled with Tharn, just with him.

He drops the cigarette back into the pack and crumples it, leaning against the door frame with a little smile to soak in the sight of his lover back where he belongs. 

But then, suddenly, there’s the softest of sounds, a shiver of magic, and Phaya straightens up and twists around fast, heart in his throat. Because there’s Chalothon, there in the middle of the main room, materializing out of nothing and headed his way.

Phaya steps forward, blocking the doorway, intent on doing all he can to to stop the man, to prevent him from getting closer to Tharn, to–

“I’m not here to take him away,” Chalothon says quietly, staring past him at the sleeping Tharn. “I just wanted to make sure one last time that he’s happy here.”

Phaya is so tense he’s shaking. He doesn’t trust Chalothon, he doesn’t want him anywhere near Tharn, he wants him gone forever, as far from them as possible. And yet... He remembers Chalothon’s soul in the palm of Tharn’s hand, the thing that saved his lover’s life.

Swallowing hard, Phaya decides to take a leap of faith.

He moves aside a little, turning around to look at Tharn, too. They’re now standing in the doorway, side by side, sworn enemies loving one and the same person, watching him sleep.

Phaya clears his throat quietly. “He told me,” he whispers. “About what you did. That you gave him your soul to save him.”

Chalothon nods. “Eventually, yes.”

Phaya looks at him. Chalothon is staring at Tharn with a look of such intensity that it sends a shiver down Phaya’s spine. “Eventually?” he asks.

“Yes. A Naga soul doesn’t heal, it just fixes. It’s like duct taping a crack,” Chalothon explains. “If I took it back right now, his wound would come back and kill him. It’s not healed, it’s just... removed.”

Phaya’s heart skips a beat. “But you won’t, right? Take your soul back.”

Chalothon throws him an annoyed look. “I wouldn’t have given it to him in the first place if I planned on doing something like that. You know, as a Garuda you weren’t this dense,” he comments snidely.

Phaya lets it go, though. He has bigger worries. “But he will be okay, right? Tharn will?”

“Yes. He will live out his human life as was preordained,” Chalothon said, looking back at Tharn again.

Phaya feels so relieved that his knees turn weak and he has to lean against the door frame.

For a long moment, they are silent, just watching Tharn. Who sighs and turns in his sleep, scooting closer to where Phaya was resting before.

Maybe Phaya should let it be, maybe he shouldn’t ask, let sleeping dogs lie, but… he wants to know. He needs to understand. And so he does ask, “Why did you do it? Why did you let Tharn go? And send him to me?”

Chalothon is quiet for so long that Phaya thinks he won’t answer. But then he does.

“Like I told you, I gave him my soul - eventually,” he says. “First, I tried all I could to actually heal him. I don’t know if it was because of my powers, because of my weapon of choice or because of the place where it happened, but it just wouldn't work. Nothing worked. It took… a while. And it wasn’t painless.”

Phaya’s throat closes off and he has to blink hard. He still vividly remembers Tharn’s weight in his arms, the crimson on his lips, his torn body. Of course it hurt. Of course, of course, of course. 

Chalothon's next words steal the breath from his lungs.

“He asked me to let him go, to just let him die,” Chalothon whispers. “That’s when I realized I couldn’t win. I could force him to stay with me, I could kill him if I wanted to but I could never make him love me. That’s when I gave him my soul and fixed him. I thought he would immediately leave but he stayed. I was weakened and he could’ve run but he stayed. And took care of me. Because despite everything, after everything, he still doesn't hate me. He doesn't love me, not like he loves you, but he holds... affection for me. Still.”

One part of Phaya is angry. Because he was left suffering for months, longer than he needed to. Because Tharn could’ve come back much sooner. Because… because he wasn’t the only one on Tharn’s mind, in Tharn's heart, he admits to himself, letting go of some of his anger. He has to because if Tharn acted differently, he wouldn't be Tharn.

Please stop killing each other. I’m begging you both one last time.

Wansarut loved Sakuna but she held a deep respect and much affection for her Lord Chalothon. And Tharn loved Phaya but he was still very fond of his Doctor Chalothon. Phaya has no doubt that if Tharn were forced to choose between them, with no coercion, he would choose Phaya, always - but this time, he didn't have to. He didn’t have to choose and he could finally resolve the animosity between Sakuna - Phaya! - and Chalothon peacefully, just like he wanted since the very beginning.

Something deep in Phaya relaxes, something that he didn’t even realize was wound up tight, had been for lifetimes now. He looks at Chalothon. “Thank you for saving him. And... I’m sorry,” he says, his voice serious and honest, and when Chalothon turns to him, startled, he continues. “I’m sorry about how we met, at the beginning of it all. That we always only fought instead of talking like Wansarut wanted. We probably never would’ve become friends, true, but we might not have needed to end up enemies.”

Chalothon stares at him for a long while, then he inclines his head in acceptance. 

Taking one last look at Tharn, a long and longing one, Chalothon says, already disappearing in a whirlwind of green and black magic, “Take good care of him, Phaya, he’s precious… she’s always been.”

And then he’s gone and Phaya is standing in the doorway of their bedroom alone, feeling strangely hollow, as if too much was lost for nothing, as if too much pain was caused for nothing.

Then Tharn sighs and reaches out with his hand, casting about for Phaya and frowning a little in his sleep when he finds nothing but an empty bed. He makes a soft, unhappy noise deep in his throat - and Phaya smiles. 

He pads towards their bed, dropping the crumpled cigarette pack on the bedside table, and slips between the sheets, taking Tharn’s hand in his and kissing his fingers. Tharn’s brows immediately smooth out and he snuggles close, resting his head on Phaya’s shoulder, inserting his leg between Phaya’s, making himself comfortable and letting out a little sigh of contentment.

Phaya’s smile widens. “Better?” he asks very quietly, wrapping one arm around Tharn’s shoulders and pulling him even closer. When Tharn just murmurs something unintelligible in reply, Phaya kisses his forehead tenderly, resting their locked hands against his heart.

“Sleep well,” Phaya whispers. And then sleeps too.

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

Writeblr Summoning Circle Intro

Patreon (you can join for free btw)

Ao3

Taglist sign-up

Hello and welcome to my shrine place of power writing blog. I'm Ceph, they/them, and despite the ghostly username I am, in fact, a regular human adult with a job, college homework, skin, blood, etc. Video games, houseplants, and buying books faster than I read them are just a few of my hobbies.

I write different flavors of fantasy mostly, with sprinkles of horror and romance/spice thrown in for pizzazz. If you're interested in...

Vampires, werecreatures, necromancers, merfolk, and/or passive-aggressive poltergeists

Resourceful protagonists in terrible peril who sometimes make choices that change things forever, for better or worse

Lovers becoming enemies becoming forced allies and maybe more in some cases

Themes of solidarity, the myriad facets of love, and people fighting for a better future

Slow burns

Worldbuilding that I definitely don't make up on the fly

Mortals becoming deities and vice versa

Telepathic monsters that could devour your soul -OR- become your best friend

Liminal spaces like roadside diners at 3 a.m

...you might find my WIPs tolerable. Possibly even fun.

Follow my sideblogs @dysthanasia-series and/or @the-primrose-path-story to get notifications for new chapters and other neat story-related stuff. Check out @coven-archives to see what I'm reblogging from fellow writers. Or just ask to be put on a taglist for a WIP you're interested in.

I welcome asks, prompts, writblr events (Worldbuilding Wednesday, etc.), and any interactions that lead to transmutating Internet strangers into friends. Do tell me about your characters and lore. I want to devour know all of it. Yes, even the obscure facts that never really make it into the story despite hours of research poured into them. Especially those.

That's pretty much it. Feel free to reblog or like this post or invite me into an object you own at the stroke of midnight if you want me to give a follow.

Below the cut you'll find a list of WIPs and links to read them which will increase my power every time you click one. Content advisories are at the top of each work and chapter.

Apophenia

Genre(s): Urban/Paranormal fantasy, vampires, post-apocalyptic

Status: Redraft in progress

Mermaids don't exist. Every agent of the Coven, the organization that researches and governs the supernatural community, knows that. Accepting a classified assignment to investigate sightings along the Broken Coast is just an easy paycheck as far as Isaac Soto is concerned (not to mention another way to avoid dealing with his trauma and relationship issues).

A chance meeting with a charming stranger in a roadside diner changes not only the course of Isaac's assignment but the trajectory of his life. A life now in danger of being cut short unless he figures out how to escape the bloodborn who takes him hostage, a necromancer out to kill both of them, and the corruption at the heart of the organization he thought he believed in.

The Primrose Path

Genre(s): High fantasy, romance/erotica

Status: Rough draft in progress

When his village is taken captive by an enemy nation, Illuminator Ân's priority is to make sure his people survive to fight another day. Faced with everything he's stood against as a priest of Cyanos, god of light and life, Ân prays for the strength to overcome and do what he must. It's not long before he receives signs that his petitions have been heard. Just not by the deity he serves.

Beyond & Between

Genre(s): High fantasy, portal fantasy, whump

Status: Occasional, out-of-order updates

Sail beyond where the seas turn red, until the sky is filled with unfamiliar stars, to the lands between realities. Magic and the power to leave one's old life behind awaits for those brave enough to seek it.

Beyond & Between is a collection of stories set in the strange places settled by ancient people, deities, and creatures from Earth who fell through the cracks.

Whumptober 2022

Each prompt followed by the story series it's set in and the MC. Content guidelines at the start of each story.

[chasing-ghosts-silhalei]

Background Face: "The Goddess Artemis" by Linda Lhermite Double Exposure Photography

Chasing Ghosts - AO3

This fic is a dark, gritty, tragic mystery with LOADS of fluff and humor to make it all better.

There are many layers to everything. When you think you know, you really don't. I love a long game.

[ Only viewable by registered users due to AI theft and hate bots ] [ If you'd like an AO3 membership code, please ask - I got you ]

🖤🤍💜🖤🤍💜

A life of freedom with her closest friends and the denizens of the wild on her side. What more could a girl want?

Not a damn thing, except to be left alone.

When Mithra pledged to go to the Conclave, she thought it would be a quick job and she could get on with her life. Unfortunately, this tattooed, beat-up, foul-mouthed, prickly Ranger finds herself trapped in a...challenging situation.

She'd be gone immediately if not for that hole in the sky. Until it's sealed, she must adapt and keep her secrets close. Of course, fate's twisted sense of humor would reveal them despite her best efforts.

Then there's those fucking fade rifts.

And why is love trying to sneak up on her? She doesn't have time for that shit... But-

[ This tale is a backstory & healing journey ]

[ Smut is separated into its own chapters + clearly indicated ]

[ Disturbing Content / Trigger Warnings are in the Chapter Summaries ]

🖤🤍💜🖤🤍💜

My Ranger concept is based on the DA:O Specialization. I've turned it into a magic-based power because "summoning." The existence of Mabari war hounds, Avexis, and that conversation with Morrigan about understanding animals for shapeshifting have inspired the finer details.

SO! Dalish Rogue 'Apostate' Inky x Solas and/or Cullen

[ Jealousy and pining ] [ Complicated Love triangle ] [ Enemies to Friends to Lovers ] [ Long Fic - Slow Burn / Romance ]

And there may or may not be a dog in the story.

Other pairings: Sera x Dagna Dorian x Bull

🖤🤍💜🖤🤍💜

Here's a Six-Song Soundtrack to give you the vibe.

Also a very bad drawing of Mithra

And a hilarious scene with Sera

Rated Explicit for violence, occasional gore, eventual sexual themes (separated from the meat of the story), and strong language.

Trigger Warnings, Notes, and [ the first three ] Chapter Summaries are below the cut.

This fic contains guts and mental illness Fair warning.

There's a second link at the bottom of this post.

🖤🤍💜🖤🤍💜

I love twists, making people laugh, and crushing souls.

There's tons of drama, fluff, heartache, broiling angst, fun, comfort, healing, pranks, cuddling, and heart-rending romance.

I honestly crack myself up and make myself bawl writing this.

Chapter 2 kills me, but 3 is one of my favorites. Shit gets really twisted in Chapter 10.

Mithra might be a little crazy. In a sadistic, stabby sort of way.

Okay, so she's a dumpster fire, but she has a heart of gold and would die for those she loves without hesitation.

More info can be viewed optionally in the fic's opening notes on AO3.

🖤🤍💜🖤🤍💜

Fic Trigger Warnings Include:

Past rape attempts, past rape threats, death threats ( past and present ), self-harm attempts, character death ( past and present ), past torture, past family loss.

Extremely graphic violence, graphic animal attacks ( C'mon - Ranger ), descriptions of injury, descriptions of gore, broken bones.

🖤🤍💜🖤🤍💜

Chapter Summaries (just 1-3):

Chapter 1 - The Lone Survivor

Dressed in a Valo-Kas uniform, Mithra assaults the Breach She's badly injured. People scramble to save her. A few things about her are discovered and discussed.

Chapter 2 - Awake

There's a lot on Cullen's mind Mithra wakes up Cullen fetches Cassandra [ Poor everyone ]

Chapter 3 - The Herald

Leliana escorts Mithra into the dungeons. She's so amused. Petty pouting ensues. Mithra meets someone while in time-out.

There's much more, but I don't want to list every chapter or spoil things.

Fic Link: Let's fuckin' GOOOOOOOOOO!!

[michellemisfit]

🚑✨Weekly Tag Wednesday🪄💫

Look at this super fun tag game @deedala made!! And thanks for the tag @lingy910y @energievie @tanktopgallavich @mikhailoisbaby

🚑 Get in bitch, we're going on a mystical adventure through space, time, and reality. (in ian and mickey's ambulance of course) ✨

Name: Michelle

Zodiac Sign: Pisces ♓️

Personality type in enneagram, myers-briggs, or both: I’ve done all of these quizzes and I can NEVER remember what I am. Whatever that personality type is where the answering paragraph literally told me I couldn’t be an EMT because I am incredibly studious and hard working and great in a crisis, but I am also convinced that literally anything going wrong is my fault personally, and it would kill me. That. It me.

Before we hit the road, what snack are you gonna bring for our trip? Normally I’d say POPCORN but @deedala is already bring that so I’ll go buck wild and say crudités & hummus, because road snacks can be yummy AND healthy!

Navigator gets to pick the music so what song are you turning on? I’ve got a whole road trip playlist, and I hope we’ll listen to most of it, but this should always be played in a car!!

💥 What is a universe from a fantasy tv show you would like to visit? The Golden Age of Albion, ie. BBC Merlin

And what about a fantasy movie? Fuck Rowling, but Harry Potter’s a pretty good world.

Okay, how about a scifi tv show? I don’t really watch Sci-Fi and the things I have seen… well, I don’t wanna live in Stranger Things world, or Humans, or Lost in Space, so… The Umbrella Academy? Mostly the normal world, and I can stay away from the weird shit? Maybe?

And a scifi movie universe? Again, don’t really watch Sci-Fi, and any I have seen I wouldn’t want to live in. Also there’s just too much fucking running in all of them. I’d be dead within 24 hours, let’s face it. Planet of the Apes? I might do okay there for maybe 72 hours… 🤔

Any other tv show or movie universes you'd like to swing by before we move on? Shadowhunters? Normal world with added magic and a fuck load of cool tattoos? Yeah, I’d do okay there. As long as I didn’t have to do the running bit lol

Okay hold on to your butts we're switching gears to fanfic universes. Tell me which fanfic universe we're visiting first? @deedala is spot on about cooperative gameplay by grayola for hours and hours of YouTube watching!! Also I Keep Going Over the World We Knew (Over and Over) by Mellacita, where Arthur Pendragon returns to solve the climate crisis with a lot of science and a little bit of magic. I would like to live in that world please.

Cool, do you have one more you'd like to stop at before we head home? Literally any and all of Ravenheart’s Magic AUs

Alright, on our way out of fanfic land you get to snag some tropes to bring home and apply to your own life, think fast! - - soulmates or enemies to lovers // coffee shop or flower shop // fake relationship or slow burn // amnesia or time loop // body swap or miscommunication // love triangle or arranged marriage // sharing a bed or drunken confession

Wow okay, hope those tropes work out for you!! Our adventure has finally come to an end, where in the world am I dropping you off? Can I please be dropped off in malu’s There Are No Gays in Football universe? Where Arthur Pendragon is the bravest puppy - For love, and a little bit because it is the right thing to do.

Thank you kindly.

Tagging @suzy-queued @mybrainismelted @too-schoolforcool @creepkinginc @heymrspatel @mickeysgaymom @mickeygifs @sleepyfacetoughguy @sam-loves-seb @look-i-love-u @loftec @callivich @transmickey @scurvgirl @sisitrip @celestialmickey @sickness-health-all-that-shit @darlingian @ian-galagher @iansfreckles @rutherinahobbit @palepinkgoat @whatthebodygraspsnot @gardenerian @metalheadmickey

[rainy-weather-supremacy]

Ok, also coming up with elaborate questions about your characters now!

Who do you like the most? Completely unapologetic.

A character that isn’t fleshed out but you think they have potential? Could also only be a concept.

Which character made the worst choices, what were they?

Favorite ship!

Which character is most likely to win at monopoly?

Which character is the strongest? (I INCLUDE MAGIC 🪄 )

Who has the best dynamic?

One: I'd say I like Mary Glass the most. She pretty much started this whole family I invented (the Glass family) and also was a self-insert at the beginning so I might be a littel biased, but she is way more fleshed out now and also loves her wife a lot. She can make storms which I wish I could do.

Two: There's this character I just called 'Granny' because I waited too long with coming up with a name for her and now I refuse to. She's like this yellow-wearing tiny asian grandma that used to be a writer and now she's insane and feral with many limbs. She kind of exists in that way, but in terms of personality and what she actually does except be married to the woman she had a kind of enemies-to-lovers thing (also not fleshed out) and bite people. I think she has potential tough and is also fun.

Three: So this is kind of a hard question to answer because I mostly just invent characters and less full stories... 🤔 I think perhaps Daniel (Mary's brother) has made some questionable choices when he became an evil landlord that crushes people to death. This, on one hand, led him to get partners (yay), but also he ended up getting targeted by a group that caused just. So much trauma. So I think his bad choice was fucking around and finding out.

Four: Favourite ship,,,, now that's hard. I really like the one with Daniel and his partners, but there's one other, where the situation is kind of like They can be bad for each other but also the only person that the other could ever be with- The first is named Toby (Short for the chocolate /j) and he accidentally aqquired this power where, when he observes people being happy, they lose their happiness and he gains it. He really likes people but doesn't want to do that, so mostly just stays inside, which is pretty lonely. Cue entry Arthur, a guy who likes watching the stars and also kind of feeds on other peoples loneliness. It's not really his fault either and they just kinda feed off each other, but they are pretty interestind and I like their dynamic. (Toby is Daniel's uncle, by the way.)

Five: Daniel would be most likely to win at monopoly since he is an evil landlord who manipulates people (I love him tough).

Six: I'd say the strongest character is Mary- Not only can and does she summon giant, destructive storms and smite people with lightning but she's also just. So freaking muscly. Mary doesn't punch you and you fall over, she punches you and you die.

Seven: The favourite dynamic I think I have right now is Mary and Daniel (Can you tell I like these two lmao). They're siblings that used to be very close when they were young, mostly bc their parents were shit. Mary ended up getting severe anger issues and leaving as soon as she could and leaving Daniel behind, who on the other hand got more manipulative and very good with words. He blames her for leaving him behind, while she says that he was always the favourite child and could get himself out of trouble just by talking anyways. They really hate each other now and would perhaps even kill, but in that really complicated siblings way where you're still bonded somehow and would fuck someone up for messing with the other. Mary ended up killing their parents and Daniel bailed her out with his cool talking skills and knowledge of court because he gets sued for tax fraud a lot and Mary's wife Jane made Daniel a new arm because Mary asked her to. So yeah. Them.

Thank you for asking and I shall retaliate soon!!

[stealingyourbones]

DPXDC Playlist: Chaotic Spirits

Chaotic Spirits (Danny/Klarion)

Cover Art created by StealingYourBones (me)

Requested by: No One. I mistook Danny/Kaldur as Danny/Klarion... Whoops. Cold Currents playlist is in the works btw.

Description: DPXDC Playlist. had an Immortal enemies-to-lovers angle making this playlist. Also songs you'd listen to while committing super-villainous acts.

Songs I want to clarify why I added:

Call me Joe by Jukebox the Ghost: If you live for thousands of years that can wear on your mental state. Fae rules you can't say your full name OR Danny doesn't recognize Klarion and Klarion is so happy that he's being treated like a normal person for the first time in millennia. There's a lot of Isolation centric songs on this list and this is one of many.

Love me Dead by Ludo: Ok this song's lyrics are about a toxic as hell relationship BUT this song very much so has the vibes of "Villains fight together in sync being evil and very much so in love"

How Bad Can I Be? by Ed Helms & The Lorax Singers: I... I have no way to defend myself for this one. The feeling of pure horror and the dreaded realization that I felt when I realized that this song fit is something I'll never forget. What's more Chaos Evil Incarnate than capitalism?

I've Got No Strings by The Andrews Sisters: Klarion is a Lord of Chaos. He has no morals or restrictions. He has no tethers to humanity to care for them.

Turn Around by They Might Be Giants: Klarion POV. Dude is trying to kill/frighten Danny but Danny just isn't having it.

I Hold Your Hand in Mine by Tom Lehrer: Look at me in the eyes and tell me that these two wouldn't do this infront of some Supers to scare the shit out of them.

Ring of Fire by Jonny Cash: Partly because I really wanted to add The Man Comes Around by Jonny Cash but it doesn't fit right, partly because Klarion uses lots of fire type magic.

[shannonsketches]

I also have noticed the similarities between Nabooru and the Gerudo Sage of Lightning. And my goodness, it would make the story so much more FIERY if it really were her. The DRAMA between those two seasoned warriors, those two mature lovers who still have so much passion, who found themselves on opposing sides of the conflict. LIKE COME ON.

This is essentially my vibe with the ship in OoT! But, god, yeah, between the sages participating in actual combat and Gan's physical transformation in TotK, it is such a solid and painful (good) version of the story.

Almost called it an AU. Is it an AU? I guess it is, depending on how you look at the games, haha.

But yeah I am not gonna lie I've had backburner brainrot about it for the last couple weeks.

My current vibe on TotK NabsGan Conflict/Fallout (especially with the thought of the mohawk Gerudo woman also being Nabooru, just at an earlier part of her life) is Nabs does not agree with the Zonai or want to participate in or enable their work -- but after witnessing what the secret stones could do to a herd of Molduga? That's not something she's willing to risk happening to her people, and they simply don't have the kind of power to defend against it. And logically, Rauru is only really asking for a centralized alliance with some egotistical semantics, right? They can negotiate terms, he seems reasonable enough with the other countries.

Gan, however, thinks that's bullshit. He's been at war for so long, he's watched these people waste their shoddy technology in the desert over and over again, and the earlier ones were't subtle about what they wanted from the land. He's also killed a ton of them, enough to be considered a hero to his people, and he knows Rauru wants revenge for it. The egotistical semantics are personal, the invitation is a sleight. They're being held hostage under the illusion of free will, and Gan knows there is only one of two things standing between his people and oblivion: Either complete compliance, or getting one of those stones.

So he lies, and publicly goes with option A while privately pursuing option B. Like my OoT headcanons, Nabs realizes something's Wrong when he's spending so much time in Hyrule. Sonia's death becomes the trigger for her to start working against him, and his radical transformation (both physical and mental) pushes her onto the other team out of necessity, and she convinces other Gerudo to do the same. Rauru's magics were terrifying, and Ganon's are worse. But Rauru was at least pretending to be, if he was not genuinely, willing to negotiate. Ganon is not. The anger and power have combined to create a creature of extremes.

They both just wanted their people to survive and be okay. But Ganondorf as a King was already an intense and dedicated warrior, and now he can't be calmed or reasoned with. He will not stop until he's destroyed his enemy, and now his loyalty seems to lie with the ruined and the damned, so she might as well accept a boon and defend what's left of her world.

Because, look, from her perspective, even if Gan IS only attacking Gerudo colonies that are working with (or even just favorable toward) Hyrule, it's horrific that he would destroy his people at all. And as much as she might have loved to trust him otherwise, he got this way by lying to everyone. So what's to say his favor is authentic, or permanent? There's no way of knowing what this stone will do to him in the long run.

There's also the possibility that he might not even be able to control it well at this point! His destruction, while conscious and intentional, could be a hyper-reactive emotional breach from someone who is usually highly disciplined. He might be overwhelmed by this sudden and unrelenting flow of power. But she can't risk betting that a god-king who is currently setting the entire country on fire will level out at some point.

And even if she wanted to, even if she wanted to believe this wasn't really him or what he wanted, she and the other Gerudo might not be alive to find out. She can't afford to wait and see! None of them can!

So even if it means mines and waste and clunky invasive technology, at least if she agrees to join Rauru, her people might survive this. They might maintain some control over their home. If absolutely nothing else, it's literally all she can do to try and keep them alive.

But Ganon doesn't see it that way. It's betrayal, and she's wrong. But, if it is truly her wish to die fighting for what she believes, then it is his sacred obligation to ensure that she does.

[jinx-on-mars-19xx]

Midnight Meeting

Not Natural

The Devil's Trap

Holy Water

The Demon's Altar

Dom x Colson (Yungblud x Machine Gun Kelly)

Warnings: SPN inspired, ABO dynamics (slick, knots, heats), demon Kells, hunter Dom, threats, fear, PTSD, nightmares, panic attack, mentions of curses and childhood abuse, cuddles, teasing, silly come-ons, needy boys, descriptions of post sex messes ⚰️ rating: mature

Kells watched as the human he was preternaturally drawn to drifted off to sleep. He could smell the sensual combination of the boy's slick and his own seed still hot and dripping between Dom's thick thighs and he had to fight himself not to play. He knew how lightly the Hunter slept, he was always on alert and never truly rested. That might make it hard for a surprise morning blowjob but for the moment he could be good. The back of his mind was circling with his actions, he was still surprised at everything that had happened between them and part of him wondered if the kid would wake up hating him again. If that happened he would definitely play- he hoped his new friend just needed a steady diet of good sex to make him stop being such a bitch. Speciesist sexy little fuck.

He groaned low as he rolled over onto his back. He was a demon, he couldn't live with himself if he sat there watching a human sleep all night. No matter how gorgeous Dominic was. He normally loved the fact he couldn't sleep, it kept his time free for more deals, death, and partying, but for the first time in centuries he wondered what it might be like to wake up next to someone. He never wanted to find out what his dreams would look like though. He'd already spent time in hell.

The world outside their little room lit up from a lightning strike that made his hair raise on end. His eyes rolled and his hand waved to soundproof the room and keep his lover at peace but with one last longing look he pushed himself out of bed. On his way to the door he grabbed the first pair of underwear he saw and smirked to himself when the scent of Dom accosted his senses. He summoned a cigarette as he slipped out the door and snapped his fingers to light it. The air outside felt thick with electricity and the air reeked of sulfur. The reminder of home rolled his stomach but he refused to show his distress.

"Keliphos. I should have known I'd find you here. You always did like stealing from your betters." A voice came out of the darkness and he fought himself not to growl. He fucking hated demons but this one in particular needed a good dose of holy water up his urethra. He took a drag and blew it out slowly, clenching his fist to keep himself calm. "Do you like my- how do they say- sloppy seconds? You know the boy is mine."

Kells turned, his glare flashing to its natural state as he searched out the bastard in the shadows. He wished he had the weaponry to kill his enemy but that was something he and Dom would have to search out. It was the whole reason he talked to the boy to begin with, only a human could find it. He hated shit guarded by magic. Now though he was driven by so much more and it made his rage a hot flame in his stomach. "You never owned him, you tried to steal a child and you failed. Why did you even want him? Why turn him into that?" He didn't mean to sound like he cared, that was dangerous for both of them but he couldn't seem to stop it.

"Oh? You don't like what he is? Your appearance and stench beg to differ." Finally the other demon stepped out of the shadows and came close. Not close enough for the dick punch he deserved but near enough Kells could see him. The meat suit he inhabited was something young and beautiful, he just hoped the obviously teen boy was doing alright.

"Still up to the same bullshit I see. Dom's too old for you now. Move the fuck on." He growled low, trying not to lash out.

"Keliphos, you know he's special. You can feel it. Unless you find a way to ruin him, eventually I will take him. Eventually he will come to me willingly."

Kells laughed, he couldn't help it. There was no way Dom would go to him and he found the idea of ruining someone too medieval. "Stop calling me that and just move on. If you don't, I swear to you, I'll kill you."

It was the other demon's turn to laugh, the sound was too high pitched for the evil he knew was in the monster, but he had always possessed young boys to lure others. Kells was just happy he never had to deal with that. "You know together we could do so much. The offer to join me is always open. I might even let you keep him once I'm done." With that the ancient teen monster disappeared in a shock of lightning and Kells cursed under his breath, put out his cigarette, and turned back to stalk quietly into the hotel room. He couldn't tell Dom what had transpired but he definitely wouldn't leave. He might never be able to take his eyes off the human again.

His gaze settled back to his human lie as he stared down at the beautiful boy in question. Astaroth was right about one thing, he was very special but he had started thinking it was because of the curse. If that wasn't true… he was almost more scared of him. He was old enough he hated mysteries, this was just one he wasn't sure how to solve without pissing the Hunter off more. He didn't think the kid would actually want to open up and talk. It didn't seem like conversation was what he wanted from their… friendship. It didn't matter, he would just stay close and find out in time. It wasn't like staying with the human was torture.

Dom gasped awake like every day, his chest tight, his heart racing, sweat soaking every inch of him. He sat straight up in bed and tried not to cry out too loud but as his fuzzy gaze searched the dark room something touched him. He jumped, full body trembling, but the touch curled tightly around him and he wondered momentarily where he left his knife. "Shit Dom I'm sorry. I'm right here. Breathe for me?" A rasped voice whispered in his ear and the scent that hit his nose was… comforting?

"Kells!" The memory of the past few days fought their way through his anxiety induced brain fog. He never had someone close to help when he woke from a nightmare but with the demon holding him he could actually breathe.

Dom crumpled against his chest, that pretty face pressing against his neck, and while he wasn't used to comforting anything he tried. "It's okay. He can't have you. I've got you. Told you I'd watch over you." He soothed, petting down the human's sweat slick spine. The boy was overwhelming like this, his pheromones strong and cloying. He could fucking taste him on the back of his tongue and more than anything he wanted to distract him but he didn't think it was the time.

"S'not 'im. Not jus' 'im." Dom tried to speak but his chest felt too tight. He didn't think the beast he took to bed would care or understand his past though. His life has never been nice or normal and it had definitely never been healthy. He had only been so easily swayed by the monster when he was younger because he was so desperate to get away from home. Most nights he dreamed of some dark combination of his parents and the bastard who cursed him. It was nothing new but actually being calmed after it was surprising.

He sighed softly and pulled back enough to look at the creature he should be stabbing but Kells just smiled at him and something in his belly flipped. "Can still feel yas." He whispered before he could stop himself and that smile turned to a smirk. His cheeks burned hot but he felt that heat between his thighs flow and something about knowing it was him and Kells mixed together got him even hotter.

"You like that?" The demon purred, his fingers drifting lower on the boy's spine until he was ghosting just over his ass. "You have dimples?" He hummed, but he wouldn't move his lover to look yet, obviously Dom needed the connection. Maybe he did too after his midnight meeting.

"Shut up. No I don't." Dom blushed hotter but the wanker teased his fingers inside the little dips and it tickled him enough he jumped.

"Scary badass demon hunter has dimples." Kells sing-songed softly. He knew they hadn't known each other long enough to tease but he always teased. "Don't worry, I won't tell." He started to lean closer to kiss the boy but Dom pulled back a little and placed his hand on the demon's inked chest.

"Wait, tha' wasn't jus' a one time fing?" He didn't know if he wanted it to be or not but he was surprised. The monster seemed like a hit it and quit it kind of guy.

Kells watched as the boy nibbled his lower lip, his anxiety was obviously still up and he knew he needed to say the right thing or he'd fuck up whatever they were building. If they were building anything. Besides, he needed the human. For revenge purposes of course. That was all. "I'm not done with you yet. If you're not done with me?" He offered. It wasn't too sweet which he knew would scare the boy off and it wasn't too standoffish. It was simple and honest and left a world of possibilities open wide. Like he wanted the kid's legs to be.

"I… shite. I should tell you to fuck off again. I should make you go but… maybe a pet demon wouldn't be so bad." A smile tugged at his lips, it was a dangerous game but maybe he could play it. At least for a while. He'd never recovered from his nightmares so fast and… maybe he enjoyed the sex just a little bit.

"Pet demon, huh?" Kells purred, his hand slinking down to grope hard at Dom's perky ass. He was shocked when the boy squeaked but it was oddly heartwarming. Dom was special. Dom was human. Right? "How about instead I be the master, and you sit?" He winked, sealing his lips over the Hunter's before he could tell him off.

Author's Note/Tags: @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker @hollywoodxwhore @jaxbreaker @fenoy7 @cole-way-iero28 🖤

I hope this was good, I'm feeling pretty ick but I don't want to get too far off schedule. I have a bad case of brain fog though so I really hope this was coherent. Astaroth is icky, but how do they know each other? How is Dom special? Do y'all deserve a little more porn with your plot as a treat? Hope you like it! ⚰️🖤

[talesfromtheunknowable]

hey! question: how did Anuli come to be?

HIi! Thank you so much for the question.

ANnnnddd... whoooo boi, this is a long and convoluted history of the 'many drafts of the land of the fallen fairies'.

Grab some popcorn, there will be plot twists.

First came up with the 'Land of the Fallen Fairies' idea when I was around... ten-ish. I saw this book called 'the land of forgotten girls,' (just the cover, never read it) and I had watched the movie 'Fern Gully' in school, and had also learned of trees being able to communicate with each other from magic school bus. And thus, ten-year-old me decided to write a story about it, in the way you might imagine a ten-year-old writing a story.

Very overdramatic. No plot.

Basically it was about 'the last tree on the planet' and its fairy. They both lived next to a factory and no one on the plantet knew of thier existence. (Wow, spooky.)

The fairy (faer name was 'Oak'... which was very creative of me.) got stolen by some humans, who were children, but one of them worked for a scientist for some reason? They kept Oak in a jar where fae met the other fairy named Meadow (who was 'Oak's... mother? Or smth.). Oak eventually broke out and went to this 'hidden land' in the Bermuda triangle for reasons. (wow, spooky)

And I stopped at around there because I wasn't feeling nice while writing it anymore.

There are definitely iterations that I don't remember anymore, this is a seven-ish-year long project at this point after all, but here are the major ones.

The Floa and Naegi backstory.

I made these two dolls (that I don't have anymore). Floa was a redwood and Naegi was an evergreen. It was pretty much an 'enemies to best friends/platonic lovers / opposite attracts' sort of thing taking place in that Bermuda triangle island. They both watched the sunset together so yea.

Bloom

Insert the lychee tree that lives in a cave and made a bunch of doohickeys to survive and killed off faer younger 'siblings' accidently with... fire magic? At one point Bloom was a lychee tree and the whole 'fire magic' thing came from Mediterranean cypress's being immune to fire. I also made a doll for this one that started off as this tall and lanky and kind of scary crow-looking thing with long arms and burnt hands. Then it changed to a small deer thing, (Mediterranean cypresses are immune to deer too.) and it's legs kept breaking off.

The black fairy and Squioo

Another scrapped duo! The black fairy is based off the pando tree (and the only one so far that uses he/him pronouns) and the Pando tree is one large tree that looks like a lot of little ones in a huge forest. (It's a real thing! You can look it up.) And I think I had this whole thing where Squioo is another mediterranean cypress and fae died or something? I think at this point the land of the fallen fairies was more of a 'protective group' and fallen fairies were fairies that lost their tree, so they were almost 'apathetic zombies that could be dangerous if provoked'.

the houseplant

This is the iteration where it starts getting to where tLotFF starts looking how it does now. The scale isn't 'across the world' anymore and there is more of a focus on themes and always a protective guardian.

Although for this one the mc was called 'Amaris' and they started off in a houseplant store where everyone else shared memories. There wasn't really anything wrong with this one, I just didn't enjoy writing it.

Guardian territory

This is the previous version, and is also where you get Anuli. I just wanted something that would be easy for me to write, so I had Anuli use story metaphors for everything and be very contemplative, to the point of not knowing what is going on around faer. Fae isn't... 100% Anuli yet, but fae has the bones. In this version, it starts off with Kamari, Anuli and the sibling Maidoe (who got scrapped because fae had no purpose but may come up again later) leaving the 'bad place' to go to the guardian territory. I rewrote that version so many times and got super stressed out every time I wrote it because it had to be PERFECT.

The 'snippet version'

I changed my writing process to be what works for me and started from scratch, and so, after all that, we get to your question.

I wanted to write something that felt nice, that felt like my truth, especially since my life started feeling... monochromatic, and if I had to live for one thing and one thing only, that that thing better make me feel better.

(I just needed an outlet otherwise I would explode.)

And I always loved those 'metaphorical journeys with a very obvious message but it is told in a whimsical way' sort of stories, and I also wanted to tell my younger self to stop driving themself crazy looking for answers on how to make themselves 'better' in order to regain their lost childhood wonder, because 'better' was burning them out.

Also this video -

I wanted so hard to find that thing called 'happiness', to find that happy ending that I didn't let my story play out.

Anywho, I mention this because the writing process I follow is very 'theme based' and I wanted for my story to explore a theme more than anything else. (Think 'Little Prince' vibes mixed with a slice-of-life-children's show so I could be as dark as I wanted to).

Some of my earliest (for this version) planning pages! (I modified the 'Story Genuis' method to work better with my iterative, and impulsive self. Nowadays I write a 'scene' by exploring a sub-concept of my overall point, and writing out all the thoughts surrounding it, in five different pages at once.)

I needed Anuli to represent all of the aspects of myself that were 'too slow for society' and molded them around a bit to fit who Anuli wanted to be (fae wasn't as overdramatic and silly and metaphorical before.)

And as if this post wasn't long enough already, here are some extra things about where Anuli's traits come from <3

Anuli likes morbid stories because my parents didn't like how 'dark' my stories were, and where thinking of something happier and more 'inspirational for kids, new york times best seller', whereas I just wanted to explore this weird thing called existence. I didn't even think that version was so dark.

So I let Anuli tell the darkest possible things that fae can.

---

The Land of the Fallen Fairies slowly changed moreso to a more 'pixie-based-concept' on who is and isn't 'good enough to be part of society' rather than a 'zombie fairy'. I don't fully know what the criteria is for a fairy to be a fallen fairy, for now it's just 'can't keep up with regular society'.

----

Part of the reason Anuli's POV 'style' is the way it is, is because I wanted something that would be easier for me to write. There's very little scene description or character actions, 90% of it is thoughts and metaphors, and it's nice that the 'shortcut' that I put for myself so I could actually write something also works for the character I am writing.

---

For both Anuli and Kamari, both their names come from the origin of the tree. Anuli, the fiddle leaf fig, originates from Africa, and faer name means 'joy'

Kamari, who comes from... northern Africa and surrounding areas if I remember correctly, means 'moon'.

----

The land of the fallen fairies takes place in my backyard. So I don't really want to move (again... apparently the moving unspoken feelings I didn't know I had got expressed though the LotFF) because all the characters are outside. We got a magnolia, and I have a fiddle leaf inside my house for Anuli.

---

I knew I didn't want to have Anuli describe any feeling, not even tired-ness with a word. Fae has an internal world filled with sensations and emotions fae does not understand and uses faer stories to create faer own 'shorthand' for how to describe them. I really really like this aspect of faer, because it makes communication that much harder for faer, but that much easier (hopefully, I've been told that no one understands what I write.) to understand what fae is thinking. Fae has built up quite the shorthand over the course of the backstory, none of faer thoughts are understandable without context.

----

Anuli ended up liking sunflowers completely on accident. I needed to have something for Kamari to notice and prompt Anuli to tell stories about, and there was a small sunflower patch near the magnolia.

---

Character design is a whole other thing. Before I made the doll, I drew a bunch of sketches based off all the character design videos I could find.

(The ones with the horns were designs for the 'Amaris' previous iteration.)

Oh wait! I remember this iteration. Anuli read the memories of dead pollywiggins for some reason before everyone else told faer that was bad and creepy.

These are some of my favorite Anuli drawings. I made a sticker out of the 'Responsibility' one.

Anuli had a hoodie for some reason, I don't think most fairies wear clothes other than for accessorizing or practical purposes. I may have Anuli wear a cloak when fae comes out of the archives because the weather is changing to fall now and @imjusthereforeternity happens in real time, and Anuil is not meant for cold weather.

getting closer.

Last sketch is from @mylee-sketches for Maidoe. This was around - I think - the time I started making Anuli the doll, which was impulsive as I did not have some of the materials I wanted (it worked out in the end) and I did not plan out sizes.

Anuli the doll took three long months and fae is MASSIVE. (I ran out of the color for faer face and had to improvise with other colors to make faer body match). Fae is around the size of a newborn/1year old CHILD. I can hold faer while I'm writing stuff and fae can stand in my lap and be up to my chin in height. The biggest thing I will ever make and I do not think I'll be doing something of that caliber again for AWHILE at least.

I got a desk recently and fae stands on that now.

Fae also sits nicely on a bookshelf.

... I think that's it. As far as progression from idea to now over the past seven-ish years, this is about everything.

Thank you so much for the ask! And for reading this LONG post!

[fantasiacafecat]

I just got done playing everyone's route last night on Seduce Me 2: The Demon War. It was on switch and I realize that they may have changed some parts up on the switch than the original. Because I was doing the naughty scene for Sam and I remember him saying "Maybe I really am a brute" and they basically scrapped. So I decided to ne cutsey and remember I bought the complete story, demon war 2, and the first game before I knew switches existed. I downloaded all three on my chrome book.

Number 1: If I do rewrite all routes for Seduce Me 2 there are gonna be some major changes.

The wives (if I decide to even add them) won't be in the Demon world mostly because they don't bring anything to the story. I'll most likely give them their own moments before Mika is kidnapped. Like Carrie in Jame's route. And they'll be mentioned (example: say Mika gets a couple dogs in Sam's route. When she realizes that they have no one feeding them, Sam would reassure her that one of the wives would be taking care of them.

More serious roles for all of the brothers. And maybe one on one scenes with them (I might make a version where Mika doesn't romance anyone or its the harem version as well because I want to). It seems like only Sam gets to have more conversation with his brothers in his story. And it does kind of hurt my soul that in every route only one brother gets to help kill the Demon lord, their shitty father. I know Sam would probably do anything to kick his ass.

The whole story probably won't be a week long. And there would probably be more Battle scenes. Depending on who you choose as your trainer you might get to be part of some missions, like assassinations with Shadow. Or scouting with Fae. I also don't know how dark and sinister I'm gonna make this story (if I do it). Part of me wants to genuinely traumatize the MC (when do I not).

Number 2: As for the Human Heart routes. I'm almost completely sure it's gonna have a similar plot like with each of the Demon brothers. Unless I was writing very tiny snippets of the relationship between Mika and their human lover, I don't think it'd be interesting enough to make a full fanfic (that's based off a game with magic) that doesn't have magic in it. It would be hard to find out a general enemy or problem for each story. Every single one of the brothers has their own baggage to overcome, James with angels, Erik and Oribel, Sam with Dragon's and returned devil lover, Matthew with his Mother, Damien (but mostly Mika) dealing with his humanity.

So let's say "The Human Heart" generally could start in at least 3 ways.

1. Mika never finds out that she has magic, but she still has some magic in her which causes her to be kidnapped and Mika doesn't know jack shit of what's going on, what demons are, and what to do. A decent 4/10 idea.

2. Mika finds her grandfather journal again, and learns magic at a softer and slower pace. Though when reading she knows that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her spouse that magic exists (because the book says so). So if she does get kidnapped, her spouse cannot help her. Decent 5 or 6/10

3. Mika finds the journal again, and decides it'd be beneficial to tell her human spouse what magic is (because keeping secrets isn't healthy in a relationship). She gets kidnapped because she has Demon magic, but assuming their human spouse learns what Mika learns. They could come to the Demon World. I like this one the best because it just the least amount of plot holes.

As for whether or not the Demon brothers are in the story. It could also go one of 4 general ways.

1. Just because the boys leave Mika in the first game, doesn't mean Diana was able to convince any of them to return, nor does it mean the boys wouldn't think about seeing Mika in the future. Say they come back to Chicago, only to hear the only Anderson child's been missing for the decent part of the week. 8/10

2. The brothers are part of the rebellion because when Diana convices the brothers to come back. They come back to Diana's kingdom in flames. 5/10

3. The boys never actually leave Mika in the first game, Mika just falls for Naomi/Suzu/Andrew. Mika goes missing before their wedding and the boys do the same thing like in any of the Canon routes. 7/10

4. The boys are not part of "The Human Heart storyline". 0/10

I might post more about the idea for The Human Heart.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Hurricanes / Hummingbirds: XIV

Series Synopsis: As the years go by, you find that it is incredibly difficult to survive wars and fight storms, especially when the only thing you have by way of a cursed technique is the blessing of a tiny bird.

Chapter Synopsis: You face the Second Beast of Ten.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Hajime Kashimo x Female Reader; slight Kento Nanami x Female Reader; slight Satoru Gojo x Female Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.0k

Content Warnings: swearing, enemies/rivals to lovers, character death, canon-typical violence, angst, gore, original characters included

A/N: okay so this fic is officially over 70k words as of this chapter and there still has not been a single kiss in it. just putting that out there (pls don’t hate me)

“So do we just plan on aimlessly riding around until we somehow magically happen upon this girl, or do you have an actual plan for where we should go next?” you said, sliding your foot in your stirrup and using it to boost yourself into the saddle. Instead of squeezing the mare onwards as you usually would’ve upon mounting, though, you twisted to look at your companion as he did the same.

“It makes little difference to me,” he said.

“That’s very good, but it makes quite a bit of a difference to me. The faster we get to her, the faster I can get my sword,” you said. You weren’t sure whether the direction he chose was a random one or if he had some purpose in picking it, but either way he set off, so you decided you would follow. “The man said that there are Twelve Beasts of Ten. I suppose that that rat — Nezumi — was the first, though I can hardly figure out what the rest will be or what forms they will take. They must be the siblings it spoke of. The man seemed to think that the rest of the Beasts would be much more difficult to face than Nezumi; at least, he said that one day, one of Daisuke’s swords might be the very thing to save my life. As I am not in the business of dying, I’d like very much if we could get all of this over with before the next Beast appears.”

“Poor Y/N,” Kashimo said. “They have you fighting beasts now.”

“Ah, well, nothing to be done about it. I’ll have to defeat the Twelve Beasts if I want to reach their master, so that’s what I’ll do,” you said, though of course you agreed with Kashimo. What relation did animals have to the lord of the sky? You couldn’t quite understand, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they existed, and if you wanted to face Ten, you had to kill all Twelve Beasts the way you had killed Nezumi.

Perhaps Ten had a particular sense of humor. Certainly, he must’ve been listening to your conversation, because no sooner than you had lamented to Kashimo that you wished to obtain a sword before the next Beast appeared was that very thing happening. The wheel grew scalding, and the wedge next to Nezumi’s clear blue glowed as the cursed energy of the Second Beast burst forth. You barely had time to swear before a white rabbit appeared, the smell of something smoky manifesting alongside it, like incense burning in a temple.

Much like Nezumi, this rabbit had the wheel symbol on its forehead, and its eyes were the same uniform, monochromatic blue. Unlike Nezumi, however, the rabbit was serene, not nervous, sitting back on its haunches and merely staring up at you. Vaguely, you thought that it might be a rather sweet-looking creature if it were not so large and you did not know its intentions.

“I am Usagi,” the rabbit said, and like Nezumi, its voice did not sound like one clear tone but rather a combination of several entities speaking together. “The second of the Beasts you will meet. Of course, you have already defeated Nezumi, or else I would not be here, so I assume I need no further introduction. By the way, it’s nothing to be proud of; every one of my siblings knows what a weakling that sorry excuse of a Beast is. Don’t think that it will be so simple to face the rest of us.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to be,” you said, swallowing at the thought of killing Usagi, when you’d much rather stroke its ears that were certainly so soft. There had been a grotesque desperation to Nezumi, but Usagi had none of that, none of the chittering or the moaning, making it seem unassuming and adorable. Other than the occasional twitch of its nose, it was perfectly still, not even flinching when you drew your sword.

“You’re the girl blessed by the hummingbird, yes?” Usagi said.

“Yes,” I said. The rabbit let out a sigh which shook its entire, strangely proportioned, body. The creature was even bigger than Nezumi had been — while the rat had only reached your knees, Usagi was probably closer to your hips, not counting the lopped ears which had perked up in anticipation of the coming fight.

“Then maybe the younger of us will not post much difficulty to you,” Usagi allowed. “My six older siblings, though…mark my words, little bird, you will not be able to destroy them. Forget about my father — even surviving the eldest’s wrath will be impossible once the rest of us are dead.”

“Will you fight me? Or will you die as Nezumi did?” you said.

“Of course, I will try,” Usagi said, though there was resignation in its tone. “Though I have no grand illusions about winning. All I ask is that you do not tarry when the time comes to dispatch of me. I know that we are enemies, so asking for mercy is a tall order, but if by some miracle the roles are reversed, I promise I will show it to you as well.”

“I do not delight in death,” you said. It was such a strange contrast to your conversation with Nezumi — did all the Beasts have such distinct personalities? What were the others like? Skittish Nezumi and forlorn Usagi and the mysterious other ten, all of whom you would eventually be acquainted with. “I shall take no pleasure in your pain.”

“Thank you,” the rabbit said, and then, with a kick of its hindquarters, it disappeared into the trees, nothing more than a white blur streaking through the forest. You gave Kashimo an exasperated look.

“I’ll be going after it, then,” you said with a sigh. He shrugged.

“Okay,” he said, obviously uninterested. “Have fun.”

“Fun is not the word I’d use for it,” you groused, the thought of having to chase after Usagi hardly an appealing one, especially when it meant you’d have to use your cursed technique to keep up with it. But, then again, ‘fun’ was exactly the word Kashimo would use for it, so his parting words made at least a little sense.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said. You rolled your eyes and resolved to ignore him.

“There is a story,” you said aloud, to no one in particular — at least, no one who was there with you physically, “And in that story, they call the hummingbird the fastest of the birds. Give me that speed. Allow me to outpace Usagi, the Second Beast of Ten.”

You have been given the Speed of the Hummingbird!

You have been given the G-Force Resistance of the Hummingbird!

You have been given the Maneuverability of the Hummingbird!

It had been the first story you had read, and therefore the first aspect of your cursed technique which you had unlocked. Though basic, it was so fundamental to your prowess as a sorcerer that you could count it amongst your most-used applications — the blinding Speed of the Hummingbird, which could allow you to run across the world in little less than an hour, provided you could keep it active for that long. The Maneuverability of the Hummingbird went along with it, lending you flexibility and the ability to turn on a dime, no matter how fast you were going, ensuring you did not crash into the first solid object that came in your path.

You tore off after Usagi with the blessings of your technique powering your legs, your muscles, your very body. There was that sound like thunder which always accompanied your acceleration, and then the trees bled together as you ran, ran and ran and ran and ran in search of your opponent.

It was only one rabbit in an entire forest, so by all accounts it would be difficult to find, but it remained that Usagi had promised it would try to fight you as well, so it was not like you were chasing after something which did not want to be caught. The question, then, was where wasUsagi? You could not see it, which meant —

Skidding to a stop, you barely managed to dodge out of the way of a powerful kick. Usagi crashed to the ground, its momentum carrying it forwards well beyond you, its missed target,. However, it scrabbled to its feet quickly, moss flying up where its sharp nails raked the ground. You squeezed your eyes shut to avoid being blinded by the flying greenery.

It was almost a fatal mistake — would’ve been a fatal mistake, if you did not have senses naturally enhanced well beyond any ordinary person’s. This was not a consequence of the Hummingbird’s Blessing; it was pure cursed energy, honed and refined throughout the years until it was as potent as any lower-leveled cursed technique might be.

You whipped around, unsheathing your sword and using the flat of the blade to knock Usagi away, right before its legs connected with your shoulder. Such a blow would’ve no doubt destroyed your bones, and you scowled slightly at the rabbit, which was unaffected despite the two times you had sent it flying.

“So,” you said, your mind and body still thrumming at hummingbird-speed. “It’s your legs I have to worry about?”

It was a hypothesis you were forming. As Nezumi’s strength was its teeth — or, at least, it would’ve been, if you had given the rat the time to actually defend itself — Usagi’s was its legs. The reason why the rabbit was so fast, why it only tried to kick you despite other methods of attacking, was because that was where its power lay. Whether it was a bona fide cursed technique or simply the way its energy was distributed, you were not sure, but it did not really matter. If you could take out the legs, you would have destroyed the Beast entirely.

Usagi did not let up, charging at you again before jumping into the air, impossibly high, reaching its front paws out towards you and coiling its powerful back legs up in preparation for a devastating blow to your head. Although Usagi had the advantage of a small, dynamic size, you were the faster of the two and therefore were able to dance out of the way as a plan took shape in your mind.

As Usagi regained its footing, you sprinted away, lengthening the distance between the two of you until you reached a small clearing in the trees. You could hear the small, soft pants of the rabbit’s pursuit, the footsteps thudding against the leaf-carpeted floor, and you smiled, wondering if it realized what you were doing to it yet.

You were definitely speedier and more maneuverable than Usagi, but its relatively smaller size allowed for it to twist to and fro, possibly dodging your sword strikes and finding openings you would not willingly create otherwise. This was only the Second Beast, so the challenge was not that great, but you still could not afford to be reckless the way you had been with Nezumi, hence the development of your idea.

Once again, Usagi leapt up to attack, but this time, you were both prepared and in an ideal situation for it. The threat of tree branches was gone now, the open sky of the clearing leaving you with enough space to move the way you wanted to.

Instead of dodging, you rocked back onto your heels before taking a stride forward and then using the next footfall to propel yourself into the air. Your legs were tenfold as strong as even Usagi’s, especially with the Hummingbird’s Blessing active, and as you raised your sword, your shadow falling over Usagi’s airborne body, you found yourself looking down at the terrified face of a creature that knew it was about to die.

Before you could hit the ground and it could think to dodge, you twisted so that you could bring down the sword, cleaving its legs neatly off. It did not immediately dissipate, the way Nezumi had; instead, the pieces of its body thudded against the earth, a few paces apart from each other. Still midair, you did a flip so that you could land on your feet next to Usagi’s body, which was now immobile and incapable of hurting you.

“Did that not kill you?” you said. The rabbit’s breaths were quick and shallow; it knew, then, what you meant to do. Something like pity swelled in the back of your throat, and though you tried to swallow it back, it refused to abate. You crouched next to Usagi and began to stroke its ears, rubbing in between its eyes gently — though you made sure to avoid the wheel which marked it as one of the Twelve Beasts of Ten.

Water pooled in the corners of Usagi’s eyes like raindrops, threatening to fall at any moment. The twitching of its nose was frantic now, perhaps with pain, perhaps with fear, perhaps with something else entirely.

“Please kill me now,” it said. “You promised you would not draw out my pain.”

It was foolish for you to treat a creature that had tried to kill you so gently, but you could not bring yourself to hate the Twelve Beasts, any of them. They were under Ten’s control, as surely as you were, and though it would not stop you from killing them, you found no reason to be cruel. In fact, where it was possible, you realized you wanted to be like this with them. To care for them. You wondered how long it had been since anyone had done such a thing. After all, you doubted Ten did.

“Usagi,” you murmured, leaning down and pressing your lips atop its head. As you had imagined, the fur was luxuriously soft, plush like a blanket or pillow. “You may rest now. I promise that this is the last time you will ever have to fight. Go, find Nezumi in whatever world awaits you both, and tell that rat that…that I am sorry I had to kill it.”

“Thank you,” it said, voice a tremulous whisper as you drove your sword into its heart. “You are a very kind little bird.”

Melting into a puddle of cursed energy, Usagi returned to the wheel, though now its wedge, like Nezumi’s, was clear blue, representing its defeat. If fighting Nezumi had left you confused, then fighting Usagi had made you truly conflicted in a different sense, leading you to pitying the Beasts that you had to destroy if you wanted to accomplish your goal. Perhaps this was by design, but for some reason…you felt like it wasn’t.

Since you had already activated your blessings, it took no time at all for you to reach the road where Kashimo and the horses were waiting. All told, the entire battle had not taken very long, probably no more than five or ten minutes, and everything was exactly as you had left it.

“Good, you’re back,” Kashimo said. “I see no rabbit on your tail, so am I to believe that you were victorious against that Second Beast?”

“Of course I was,” you said. “It was only the second out of twelve. If I struggled against it, then I’d think to myself that I had no business challenging Ten.”

“Well, two down, ten to go,” he said. You hummed in agreement, sitting in the grass though you knew he expected you to return to your horse’s back. With a yawn, you leaned against the trunk of an ancient tree, knowing what would come next and hoping it did not last too long.

You will now enter the Torpor of the Hummingbird.

The world faded into nothingness, and you were once again floating in the delicious black that was the side effect of your cursed technique. The Torpor of the Hummingbird: it was, you presumed, how your body regained the strength it expended in harnessing a deity’s power. Like a deep sleep but instantaneous and lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a few days, your torpor was the one thing that held you back from your full potential. All told, though, you did not mind it too much — it was nice to wake up from torpor feeling completely rejuvenated in a way that nothing else could make you feel, and anyways power as all-encompassing as yours should not come without drawbacks.

When you exited the torpor, it was to someone shaking your shoulders. Your eyes were bleary when you opened them, and you had to blink a few times before you realized that it was Kashimo, an unfamiliar expression reflected in his irises.

“Y/N?” he said. “Are you okay?”

“I believe so,” you said, still trying to puzzle out what that expression he wore signified, exactly. “Why?”

“I thought you — I thought you must’ve died,” he said. “One second, you were standing there, and the next you were unconscious and your heart was barely beating. For five whole minutes, your heart was barely beating. I tried to make it start again, but I could not. I thought you must’ve died…”

Fear. That was what was impacting Kashimo at the current moment. He was afraid, afraid that you had died and he had not been allowed the pleasure of even seeing it happen, afraid that when you had slipped into the torpor, it had been a permanent arrangement and not something temporary.

“It’s the drawback of my technique,” you explained, well-aware of his hands, still digging into your shoulders. “After using the Hummingbird’s Blessing, I have to recover in something called torpor. I wake up once my cursed energy reserves and body have returned to functional levels. It’s why I tend to avoid calling on my technique — if I end up in the torpor before my fight is over, I could end up in a bad way.”

“So you’re alright,” he checked.

“Yes,” you said.

“Good,” he said, and then he was clearing his throat, brushing himself off as if he had never been worried in the first place. “Let’s get going, then.”

“Hey, you didn’t answer my question from earlier, by the way,” you said. “Do you know how to reach the girl or not?”

“Obviously not,” Kashimo said with a scoff. “Or else I’d have dragged her over to Daisuke by now, whether the two of them liked it or not. But I do have a suspicion, based on some of our past conversations, as to where she could be right now.”

“And where might that be?” you said, feeling a little uncomfortable beside him in the harsh light of day. What had been so natural last night was now blasphemous, now a grievance of the highest order against Hisashi, the man who had only ever cared for you.

“The sea,” he said. “She always said she wanted to live by the ocean one day. I don’t really know what the appeal is, but I guess some people are into that whole thing. If I had to pick one spot where I thought she might be, it’d be somewhere on the shore. I’m certain she spends her days with her feet in the sand and her head in the clouds, far too happy to ever even think about Daisuke and I.”

“That’s not necessarily the case,” you said, though of course you had no reason to be for or against Kashimo’s thoughts. He was the one who knew the girl, after all; still, you felt honor-bound to speak up for her in face of Kashimo’s caustic language. “Going to the sea is a good idea, though. It’s a place to start, at any rate, and even if she isn’t there, it’ll be a nice break. But you see why I need one of Daisuke’s swords now, don’t you? Usagi was one of the weakest of the Beasts, and even then it was far superior to any ordinary curse, as can be expected of a being meant to be a facet of the lord of the sky.”

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Kashimo said. You bit your lower lip, peering at him from beneath your lashes as if to disguise your gaze. He did not turn around, which gave you the chance to observe him and recall the events of last night with a shiver.

After your conversation had petered out, you had briefly considered leaving his embrace, but when you shifted even slightly, he only tightened his grip, refusing to let go of you, holding you securely beside him, though your only points of contact were his hand on your waist and yours on his arm.

It was an excuse on your part. If you had really wanted to escape, no one could’ve stopped you, not Kashimo or any other person, and anyways Kashimo was not one who would really trap you in place against your will. But that slight bit of resistance was enough for you to justify it in your mind, to blame him for it instead of yourself for not being strong enough to break away, for not being strong enough to remain loyal to Hisashi.

What would Hisashi say? The stitch-scarred man’s words rang in your mind, that you were throwing away his and your father’s work by doing what you were doing right now, with Kashimo. Was it wrong? No, that was not a question. Of course it was wrong. It was wrong that you dreamt such strange dreams about him. It was wrong that you found him so beautiful. It was wrong that his presence sent thrills down your spine and across your skin — thrills completely separate from his status as the god of lightning and his electric-like cursed energy.

None of it mattered, of course. Kashimo did not love anyone. He did not even know what love was. He existed only to fight others; that was his reason, his purpose. Whatever you felt for him, regardless of whether it was wrong or right, was irrelevant. It was nothing more than a desperate woman clinging on to the first person who paid attention to her in such a devoted manner, who seemingly cared for her — even if this care was nothing more than a desire to see her dead.

You had to remember that. Kashimo said so many things that sounded so sweet, but he didn’t mean them in the way you wished that he would. He didn’t want you to die because he wanted to be the one to kill you, not because he wanted to see you live. He was helping you get a sword from Daisuke so that your eventual battle with him was as exciting as possible. He was afraid you were hurt by Usagi because Usagi was not him.

Hisashi was right. Why did you trust such a creature? Why was the man who wanted to kill you your greatest ally? You wished you could ask him these things, but without the cover of night, it was impossible. It was not something you could do when the sun hung so high, brilliant against the cloudless blue.

“Say, Y/N,” Kashimo said as the two of you continued to meander along the trails leading towards the sea. “What would you have done, if you were in the girl’s place?”

“What do you mean?” you said.

“If you were her,” he said. “If you lived in an orphanage like we did, with a cruel mistress like ours. Would you have run away, too?”

“I don’t think so,” you said after mulling it over for a moment. Vindication flashed over Kashimo’s face, as if you had confirmed something for him that he had been wanting to hear for many years now.

“Why not?” he said.

“You said that the girl was like a genuine mother to the younger children. If I cared for anyone to that extent, I’d certainly never leave them behind. Are you sure she gave no indications that she was going?” you said. The more you thought about the girl’s story, the more bizarre it became. Why would she run away without even telling Daisuke and Kashimo, who were by all accounts her closest friends? Why would she not ensure the safety of the children that she loved so much? Why had she never tried to find Daisuke and Kashimo again, even after so many years had passed?

“None,” Kashimo said. “She was there one day, had dinner with all of us like nothing was wrong, and the next morning, she had vanished. It happens like that sometimes. People just snap and can’t take it anymore. They have to get out, leave their old lives entirely behind and start fresh.”

“And it’s true that the more people she told, the more likely she would’ve been caught — though with Daisuke’s technique, I don’t know if that completely applies,” you said reluctantly. As per usual, Kashimo’s answer was the logical one, the one that was the most reasonable. But then again, hadn’t he given exactly such an explanation for Ten? For the man with the stitches on his forehead? Yet both of these beings were entirely real, and mysterious in their reality. So was it really out of the realm of possibility that there was something else at work regarding this strange girl’s fate?

“Exactly,” Kashimo said. “She spent an entire childhood being selfless. Really, we shouldn’t blame her for choosing to be selfish just that one time, and I don’t even think Daisuke does, but in truth, I do.”

“Is that so?” you said. “Why would you be upset with her?”

“She and Daisuke were the only people in the world I felt more than indifference to — excepting, of course, you, but you are the special case in that I have never felt so strongly for anyone as I do you — and when she left, I lost them both,” he said.

You ignored how squirmy his interjection made you feel and focused on the rest of it. “Lost them both?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Daisuke stopped talking in general once she left. They say he’s the sword-smith of the shadows, but what people don’t know is that he wasn’t always so drawn to the darkness. Actually, he used to rarely if ever use his technique, but now…now it’s a lucky thing to see him at all. Part of it is because he’s supposed to be dead at my hand, but even before that —” Kashimo broke off and swallowed. “Even before that, he had donned that cloak and faded away from the world. Not physically, perhaps, but he still left me all the same, Y/N. Just like she did. Just like Kamin Gojo did.”

“Kamin Gojo,” you repeated. It was so ironic, that the same man had had such equal but opposite effects on your lives. On the one hand, he had shunned Kashimo, sent him to an orphanage and made him into the monster he was today. On the other, he had embraced you, engaged you to his precious son and secured your future as the lady of the Gojo household. What made you different from Kashimo? Was it your womb? But Hisashi had female cousins who could’ve been wed to Kashimo. Certainly, he would’ve strengthened the clan as well as you eventually would.

There was no reason to it, you realized. There didn’t have to be. At the end of the day, it had happened. Kashimo was who he was and you were who you were and Hisashi was who he was. What a strange turn of events, that all of you had had such heavy expectations placed on you by Kamin Gojo, when in truth none of you were best suited to the roles he had assigned you.

“Kamin Gojo,” Kashimo said again, bitterly. “He’s dead now, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he died a few years back,” you said. “It was a grand funeral.”

“I was there,” Kashimo said.

“At the funeral? I don’t remember your presence,” you said, actually surprised by this. The thought of Kashimo sitting alongside the extended Gojo clan, as well as the rest of the Big Three Sorcerer Families, was entirely off-putting. He would be so out of place it was actually almost laughable to think about.

“After,” he said. “I visited his gravestone that night.”

Of course — this made more sense. That night, Hisashi had locked himself in his room and refused to even see you, ignoring your pleas to be let in, to offer what reassurance you could. He had needed it; you knew Hisashi well enough to know that if he had let you hold him in your arms, he would’ve been soothed, but he was in that frayed emotional state where even the thought of comfort was painful.

It was at that time that Kashimo had visited the grave, then. The timeline made sense, then, but the reasoning did not. What cause did he have to visit Kamin Gojo’s headstone? You asked as much, causing him to laugh.

“He was the man who saved my life and cursed it, all at once. So I wanted to go and see what it made me feel to know that he was dead. I wanted to know which was more important to me, salvation or damnation. Hajime or Jigoku,” he said.

“And?” you prompted.

“I sat there for a while,” he said. “I thought about it. I came to this conclusion: I was grateful to him, for saving me but also for saving you. He gave me a second chance at life by taking me from that house of dying and sending me away, and he gave me a second purpose by raising the strongest sorcerer of the age in his own home. Can I tell you something that might frighten you?”

“Very little frightens me,” you said, your tongue darting out to moisten your lips, which had gone dry over the course of the conversation. “You may speak your mind.”

“If I had not seen you on that day, then I would’ve died by now,” he said, matter-of-factly. “After the girl and Daisuke left, if I had not been so single-mindedly focused on killing you, I definitely would’ve given up. I cannot describe why it is the case, Y/N, but my greatest secret is as such: it is only with thoughts of your death that I may fathom ones of my life.”