#who writes letters anymore???? hm???

[demcnsinmymind]

sometimes I think about the fact that the Az-Lance relationship kinda started out as a pen pal sort of thing and I don't know what else to tell u about that

[yxstxrdrxxm]

🖥 anon brought up a really good question.

Eros, if I get too deep into confidental stuff, tell me. But, do the "rental men" (or boyfriends, technically), live at MixMatch while waiting for their matches?

It sounds like MixMatch is more than just a matching and renting service. If anything, to me, it sounds like a full-on planning, rental, and dating service.

I've never seen anything quite like it.

Usually, when I've heard of dating apps, they just match people, and that's it. Whether or not there's a spark or if they follow up with that spark is up to the individuals involved.

But it sounds like MixMatch goes the extra mile. It sounds like once someone is rented, you and Cupid start preparing the matches for each other, and it also sounds like MixMatch assists in the first meeting.

Since the "rental gentlemen" are under contract, do they have a set amount to spend on a first "date"? Since all the men are from various walks of life? Or is it pretty laissez-faire, where the gentlemen can spend however much they want.

Or, do you and Cupid have a say in stuff like that, Eros?

Maybe I'm completely wrong. I don't know.

Eros, I admire that you have to deal with so many fickle personalities. It can't be easy. Customer Service is already hard enough.

Dealing with all the "rental gentlemen" would likely drive me up a wall. I don't know how you do it. It does sound like the gentlemen pester you a lot.

Maybe that's just a vibe I'm getting.

But, do the "rental men" (or boyfriends, technically), live at MixMatch while waiting for their matches?

Hm... I'm not sure, actually. We don't exactly see them often, just when we're on the clock. If they wanted to stay in the company for MixMatch, there is a hotel that is reserved for them to stay for a week, which is the longest. Of course, fees are paid in advance if they wanted to.

As for what you can say about our app, you may be right. We are more than what you'd expect from the usual apps. In Celestia Inc., we prioritize having to know what our consumers want while also prioritizing our 'rental boyfriends' who signed the contract.

Although, if you ask me, it isn't always easy to do such a thing. After all, you've seen just how badly some of us are getting treated.

Do they have a set amount to spend on a first "date"? Since all the men are from various walks of life? Or is it pretty laissez-faire, where the gentlemen can spend however much they want.

That depends. Although, if it helps, we don't give them the money to spend. It all comes down to themselves, as we are not entirely responsible if you've wasted it on one client and forgot the rest.

Back then, we had a policy where the company will actually give you how much you can spend. It was a win-win at the time, but some took advantage of it for their benefit. After finding out what they were doing behind our backs, they had to get rid of the policy.

It truly isn't 'fair' for some who can't fund for their dates, but what are we supposed to do, anyway? We are matchmakers, not their 'boss'. And besides, even if we did have a say (which we don't, for the record), we don't want to. Unlike what people think, I think the policy is justified if they're going to pull that again.

... Come to think of it, I sound as cruel as him. What a record.

Before I forget... Thank you for the compliment. We all try to make things work here, even if others disagree with our policies, or couldn't be bothered to understand why we have such a high tolerance for the bull we have to deal with. Those who worked with customer service and such has the brunt of people complaining and causing a ruckus, even us.

As for those men... Yes, they pester us. A lot, actually. They usually leave us be when we are stressed, but some don't even bother to get the hint.

I think I can cite a few of them. Especially to those who decide to try and get in the event, too. Don't think only Cupid knows who, I've been keeping tabs.

I suppose it's why I have a high tolerance for those who speak to me. After all, who would think of asking the matchmakers to match them with the ones they 'admire' without an appointment, hm?

[hottestvirgin]

𝐈 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆.. | 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐍

he might have just discovered another side of you and to be honest.. it turned him on

warnings(17+). smut, meandom!sunghoon, unprotected sex, name calling (bitch), creampie, backshots, dumbification

your best friend had just found your secret blog on tumblr where you wrote about all of the sexual desires you’ve had for him.

you had thought that you made the blog so discreetly, faking your own identity and who you were writing about. you had thought. nevertheless, sunghoon managed to find out that the blog belonged to you.

and it was unhinged; you wrote about how you would imagine him leaving wet kisses all over your aching body while he’s balls deep in you. or how you couldn’t even stare at him without thinking about fucking him.

how soaking wet your panties would be every time he would come over to chill. or how when you’d watch a movie with him, you would spend the whole time thinking of dirty scenarios: shower sex, angry sex, make up sex, floor sex, wall sex, pool sex, sex, sex, sex.

and you documented it all.. because why not? you wanted all your girlies who interacted with you to know how you felt about that man. you had no shame because of course he would never find the blog.

but damn, were you wrong.

it made your blood run cold when your “secret” username slipped past his lips. all the air in your lungs were stolen from that simple sentence.

“so that’s not you?” he cocked his head with that stupid know–it-all look on his face.

how.. when..?

“i read the stuff you wrote about me and it’s…” he paused, trying to find the right word, “wild.”

“it wasn’t even about you.” you argued, trying to act as nonchalant as fucking possible. it wasn’t working. sunghoon could see right through you.

“so the S guy you write about isn’t me?” he questioned.

well.. in your defense you were one-hundred percent sure that he or anyone else wouldn’t figure out it was about sunghoon just by the first letter of his name.

“you have a really big ego. what if i was talking about sunoo?” you interrogated, trying to flee from the scene but he took a step forward, firmly gripping your arm.

“d’you really think i’m dumb?” he furrowed his eyebrows and licked his lips as he spoke, “hm?”

“i-i said it wasn’t about you.” you said again. his grip on your arm had your stomach churning in arousal. your heart was racing, and you were certain that he could feel your pulse through your arm.

sunghoon tsked at your lie, “cool.”

maybe it was manifestation, or just pure luck. but that same arm was yanked behind you as sunghoon plunged his hips into you, splitting you open on his thick cock.

he cooed at your cute attempts at trying to squirm away from his staggering thrusts. “none of that— quit trying to run from it..” sunghoon grunted, voice trembling from how soft your walls were around his cock, “you was talking all that on your blog and can’t even take it? tsk.”

you hummed at his word, spit pooling in your mouth from being fucked so good that you couldn’t even remember to swallow anymore. “m’ s.. sorry, fffuck!” you squealed, but it didn’t stop his harsh thrusts.

he pushed your head into the mattress, treating your aching body like his personal fleshlight, “you’re such a dirty bitch. made to be fucked, huh?” sunghoon groaned at how wet you were and the sounds your cunt made. it was so filthy and only got him throbbing more and more inside of you.

he shoved two slender fingers into your mouth, sliding them down your throat as drool spilled down your chin, fingers digging into the mattress beneath you. you remembered writing about how much you’d love for this to happen. and it happened.

clenching hard around him, sunghoon pulled his fingers from your throat and wiped your own salvia across your face. “nasty girl.” he grunted, breathless.

you delivered a guttural scream when he smacked your ass, repeatedly. your thighs quivered as you tried to escape the pain, only to be forced still by his large hands. “c-can’t, i can’t! please..” you wined, screaming into the bedsheets.

“this is what you wanted, right?” sunghoon teased, referring back to your blog, “you greedy bitch, stay still and take this dick.”

you’re sooo full of dick that you can’t breathe properly. you were certain that you were taking all of him, but you can feel him sinking deeper and deeper into you as time passed. “i-i love your cock.. h-hoonie. s’ good, l-let me cum.” you whined.

“shiiit, go ahead.”

it took a long, hasty few seconds before you were convulsing around him and coming hard, harder than you’ve ever came in your life; everything cut to white noise and clear liquid spilled out of your cunt as his hips shuttered against you.

“that’s right.. keep squirting that filthy pussy for me.” sunghoon moaned. then he pulsed inside of you and shot his thick, sticky load into your cunt, painting your walls with his fluids.

it was like every muscle in your body had stopped working, body falling limp onto the bed. sunghoon stilled above you, pulling out to watch his cum flood and drip out of you.

“next time when you lend me your laptop, close your damn tabs Y/N.”

[harunayuuka2060]

Malleus: Are you here to give me my invitation, child of man?

MC: Of course. It's better to hand yours first so I wouldn't forget.

Malleus: You have never forgotten to invite me to any event you have, child of man.

Malleus: Though you have this habit of not replying to my letters.

MC: My apologies. I just don't know how to write letters anymore.

Malleus: Hm. I see. Anyway, has your husbands of yours arrived?

MC: Yeah. They're busy preparing for the housewarming party.

MC: But obviously there are a couple who have enough free time to spy on us.

Malleus: Ah. I thought you were not aware.

MC: I knew they followed me here, but I have no idea what they're discussing right now.

Malleus: *chuckles*

Beel and Belphie: *hiding behind trees and keeping a safe distance*

Belphie: Beel, eat him when MC isn't looking.

Beel: Got it.

Malleus: Can one of your husbands devour someone completely?

MC: Yes. Beel. He's the avatar of gluttony. Why?

Malleus: It appears like his brother is telling him to eat me when you are not present.

MC: ...

MC: Ah. It's Belphie who's telling him to do it, I won't be surprised.

MC: But they're all nice demons. And I hope you get to be friends with them.

Malleus: Well, if the child of man says so.

MC: ...

MC: I need to get back to help everyone with the preparations, but I can't just let those two.

Malleus: *laughs*

[nr1chaedickrider]

I can only be me when i'm by your side - i'm not a monster.

As time passes recovering, you've seemed to found your place in Jihyo's arms.

cw: fluff, smut, angst, petnames, virgin!reader, sweet girl!jihyo, popular but not so popular!jihyo, basketball player!jihyo, both are 18 but they are students, mentions of death, drunk confessions, they fall in love pretty fast, lwk rushed, lmk if there is more ^_^, ~ 4k words

if you're thinking "hm! i read this fic somewhere... yes! its my heeseung fic from my bg blog @adorwoo ! which i wanted to use for jihyo !^_^ hope you enjoy anyway.

men dni.

It's not your fault.

It's not your fault.

It's not your fault.

It's not your...

Is it really?

The rain beats down on your black umbrella, the lines from Dahyun's letter playing over and over in your head. It feels like you're trapped in a vicious cycle, not being able to think of anything else.

But why?

Why didn't she tell you?

Were all those conversations about the mutual trust between you two a lie? Was it just talk to keep you from worrying?

If someone had told you a week ago that you had to be at her funeral because she had killed herself, you would have laughed at that person. Dahyun was always the happiest person you've ever met.

Even if you had been told that a day ago, you wouldn't have believed it. Because in theory, it's the stupidest thing you've ever heard.

In his letter, she wrote about how much she loved you, how she enjoyed every minute and every moment with you, how it's not your fault that she's not here anymore.

She's probably right, not just probably. She's right, and you know it. But you can't stop blaming yourself. Someone has to take the blame. Someone is responsible.

You could have helped her.

You should have helped her.

Tears run down your cheeks as you stare at her grave. Her family, her friends, they are all gone. You stand here alone, not daring to leave.

'Kim Dahyun

Born on may 28, 1998.

A friend, daughter and lover.

She will continue to live in our souls.'

It feels like your eyes are glued to the writing, you can't look away. You try to regulate your breathing, taking a deep breath.

A sigh leaves your mouth as you place the white rose next to the gravestone.

You take one last look at her grave before turning and slowly walking away.

-

"I'm Y/n, nice to meet you all."

You look at the students in front of you, all of them giving you strange looks. Of course, you are a new student, but you feel uncomfortable under their gaze. The teacher smiles at you and tells you where to sit, next to a girl called Mina.

It's as if everyone has forgotten about you again as the teacher starts teaching. You sit down next to Mina and she smiles at you.

"Nice to meet you," she whispers. You smile at her.

You can't talk to her for long because she starts taking notes for the lesson. You look around at the faces of the others. It actually looks like a normal class, but your eyes land on a girl.

She looks shorter than you, her hair is brown as well as her eyes. She's wearing a white t-shirt.

"Have you laid your eye on someone?" asks Mina, laughing a little.

"No!" you answer, a little too loudly, and you put your head on the table as a few people look at you. "I was just looking at her," you whisper.

"Yeah yeah... that's what they all say" she says.

You slowly lose yourself in your thoughts as memories of Dahyun come flooding back.

Should you even look at other girls? Is it bad?

Would Dahyun hate you for trying to find love again?

It's been more than two months since she died, but you can't stop thinking about her.

Maybe it's normal, your behavior. Your overthinking of everything, maybe you're not the only person who feels this way? Maybe there is someone else who is just as lost in their thoughts as you are.

Maybe you are simply not alone.

However, your thoughts are interrupted by the bell and Mina.

"I can show you a few things here at school if you want," she suggests, and you gratefully accept her help.

You spend the whole lunch break running after her while she shows you around.

"Why did you change schools anyway? Your old one is a pretty well-known one, and much better than here," she asks, before taking a bite of her sandwich.

The question makes you wonder, and you think about whether you should just lie to her and say that you moved, or that you were somehow bullied at your school - but somehow it feels wrong. Because you neither moved nor were you bullied. No, everything was actually fine.

Actually,

Somehow everything changed after her death.

Your classmates started looking at you funny, and you still don't know whether they are looks of pity or looks of condemnation because they blame you.

"I don't know" is your answer, and somehow it's true. Sometimes you really have no idea why you changed schools, but Mina doesn't need to know the whole truth.

She just nods in response as she continues to eat.

"The girl you were looking at in English, her name is Jihyo by the way" she says.

What?

"Why are you telling me this?" you ask.

"Because you were staring at her a lot - you looked really interested in her" she replies with a little grin.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I wasn't staring at her..." you laugh a little, but can't hide your despair. Why does she think you're interested in her?

-

"Watch out!" someone shouts, but before you can react, a basketball hits you.

You fall to the floor, your head hurts and you feel slightly dizzy as you slowly open your eyes.

The girl from your English class is kneeling on the floor in front of you, looking at you, trying to see if you're okay.

It's like a cliché high school movie.

"Are you okay?" she asks, a couple of other girls come over, but she just tells them to get something to cool off and shoos them away.

The things that can happen when you want to visit the gym...

You nod slowly, after a few blinks your vision is no longer blurry.

Another girl comes back and hands Jihyo a cold pack.

"Here, take this," she says and puts it in your hand, her hand on your shoulder to support you.

You hold it to your head, biting the inside of your cheek slightly from the cold.

Before she can say anything else, she is called by his coach, at the same moment Mina comes to you.

"I was looking for you," she says and helps you up.

You watch Jihyo jogging across the field before you leave the gym.

-

New week, new luck?

Every day you tried desperately to talk to Jihyo somehow, but suddenly she was always gone after class and you were never put in a group together.

But it looks like luck is on your side for once.

"Here's the list of groups, you have to give a presentation in pairs on a play of your choice," your English teacher announces.

You look at the picture projected on the wall.

Chaeyoung and Mina,

Sana and Miyeon,

Jihyo and Y/n,

Jeongyeon and...

Wait, what?

You read the list again and once more you see your name and Jihyo's name next to each other.

"Jihyo and Y/n," you say quietly.

"Are you happy?" Mina asks teasingly with a grin on her lips.

"Are you happy that you have to work with Chaeyoung?" you ask back - Mina doesn't answer.

Before your teacher can give you any more homework for the break, the school bell rings and everyone rushes out of the classroom.

You walk (or rather, run) to Jihyo who is packing her things away.

"Hey, I was wondering when we should meet," you say, and she looks up at you and smiles. You feel your cheeks turning red.

She puts on his backpack and stands up.

"How about Friday afternoon? My place?" she suggests and you nod.

She takes a pen from her pocket, "Give me your hand," she says, you are confused but do it anyway.

She opens the pen with her mouth, the cap between her teeth as she gently writes on your hand.

Her phone number.

It feels like she's giving you an autograph.

"Text me and I'll send you my address," she says, and before you can answer, she walks out of the room.

You look down at your hand and see a little smiley face next to her number.

You can't help but giggle as you look at it.

-

You stare at your phone - up to her front door and back down to your phone.

You are 10 minutes early and don't dare to ring the doorbell.

"You know you can just ring the bell?" someone asks you, you look up and see Jihyo smiling at you.

"I'm early, that's why-"

"Not a problem," she interrupts you.

She lets you in and closes the door behind her.

Her house is beautiful, modern and yet somehow old-fashioned.

"My parents aren't here, so I thought we could study in the living room," she says, and you nod, leaning your backpack against the table.

"Water?" she asks and you take it gratefully.

You drink a little before she sits down across from you.

You both leaf through the books, take notes, talk briefly about certain passages, but otherwise no one says anything.

Jihyo decides to break the awkward atmosphere.

"I wanted to apologize again, for the basketball," she says, and you laugh a little.

"You don't have to apologize, things like that can happen," you reply.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she asks, and instead of answering, you are completely silent, thinking.

Memories of Dahyun come back while Jihyo looks at you and waits for your answer.

"Yes, I did, but she died a few months ago," you answer.

She nods slightly, "Can I ask how he died?" she asks in a quiet, polite tone, as if she really wants to make sure that she's asking something that doesn't hurt you in any way.

"Suicide," you say, short and meager, without many details (whether you know many details at all is another question).

She looks at you with a supportive look, one that makes you feel like she's really listening and that she really understands you.

Maybe she understands you even more than you think?

She puts her hand on yours with a slight smile.

"Thank you for confiding in me," she says, your cheeks slightly flushed, hers too.

You both look at each other for a moment before she lets go and you both go back to work.

-

If only the work had gone on for longer.

After the one meeting, you saw her every day of the vacation. Always with the excuse that you supposedly "need to add something" (does going to the movies together add something to your project?).

It's been more than a week since you first met.

"You're in love," Mina says as she parks her car in front of Jihyo's house.

"I-"

"Don't even try to find an excuse, it's all good" she replies with a small grin.

You both get out of the car and walk to her house, the music so loud you can hear it several meters away.

How Jihyo, who is slightly drunk, hears the doorbell is also a mystery to you.

"Hey guys!" she greets you, she shakes Mina's hand and gives her a kind of high five, she gives you a hug.

You smile at her as the three of you walk into the living room.

"I'm going to Chaeyoung," Mina whispers, or rather shouts, in your ear before disappearing.

"Y/n, do you want to play a drinking game with us?" asks Jihyo, you nod.

Maybe it was a stupid decision.

Jihyo and her friends (of whom you only know Jeongyeon) only understand drinking games to mean taking shots and asking stupid questions.

Either answer - or drink.

You always chose the second option.

After about 7 questions (maybe more, maybe less - you lost count of that pretty fast) you get up and say that you need some fresh air.

Since you've been to her house several times, you know where the upstairs balcony is.

It's quite big, with a parasol and two folding chairs. You sit down on one and close your eyes, your head throbs a little.

"Are you okay?" someone asks after a few minutes.

To your surprise (not really a surprise), Jihyo stands next to you before sitting down on the chair to your right.

"Yeah, it's just the alcohol," you say.

You and alcohol, not really a good combination.

Especially not when you're sitting next to the girl you're in love with.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" you ask out of nowhere.

She shakes his head, "I thought it was obvious" she says and laughs a little.

"I love you" you confess.

She turns to you, but before he can answer anything, you keep talking.

"I know we haven't known each other that long... a month?? more? less? but-... I just have this feeling with you that I only used to have with her"

"I thought I'd never feel it again," you say, a tear running down your cheek.

Jihyo looks at you, her eyes slightly watery.

Is she crying too?

"Y/n" she says, interrupting your continued rambling.

She gets up, kneels down in front of your chair, and -

kisses you.

Her soft lips on yours.

She pulls away after just a few seconds and you already feel like you miss her lips.

"I love you too Y/n" she says softly.

You look at her in amazement.

"Really?" you ask.

"That's why I asked if you had a girlfriend" now it all makes so much more sense.

She pulls you up and takes you to the guest room. She tries to lay you down on the bed but you pull her with you and she falls on top of you.

You both stare at each other and laugh a little.

"You're drunk, get some rest," she says, kissing your forehead.

"I'll be here when you wake up"

-

And she really is next to you when you wake up.

"Good morning..." you groan as you rub your eyes.

She smiles at you, "good morning" she says, from the look on her face you suspect she woke up just a few minutes before you.

You pull her closer to you by her collar and kiss her, she kisses you back while her hand is on your cheek.

The kiss is just perfect, gentle, slow, a perfect way to start his morning.

But it can also be perfect in another way.

It gets warmer under the covers as you continue kissing, she kisses down your jaw to your neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses on it. You can't help but rub your thighs together a little.

"What about the others?" you ask.

"I kicked them out yesterday after you fell asleep" she says, continuing to kiss your neck, even nibbling on it, making you let out soft moans.

"Jihyo, I think you should know that I am a virgin" you say, your cheeks heating up a little in embarrassment.

She giggles a little, kissing you on the lips again.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about baby" she replies with a smile.

She gets on top of you, continuing to kiss you.

You think kissing Jihyo is the best thing in the world.

Her hands trail over your body, giving you a soft squeeze here and there.

"Can I?" she asks, her hand playing with the buttons on your pants.

"Please" you answer with a smile.

She complies and opens them, pulling off your pants and leaving you in your underwear.

You sit up a little, your hands on her waist, feeling up her muscles, especially her abs.

"Want me to take it off?" she asks, you nod.

She pulls off her shirt over her head, dropping it somewhere on the floor.

Your finger trails up his stomach to her bra, looking at her like she is a work of art (she definetly is one).

"Done admiring me?" she asks with a teasing grin, to which you reply "never".

She leans down again, kissing your face as she starts to trail them down till he arrives at the waistband of your underwear.

"Can I?" she asks again, "yes" you answer, already out of breath.

She takes your underwear off, her hands placed on your thighs as she leaves kisses everywhere.

You can definetly tell that she has a thing for kissing.

When she places a kiss right on your clit though, you let out a small moan.

She begins licking and sucking on it, making you grab her hair with your hands as your fingers curl deeper into her scalp, leaving a delicious burn.

She drags her tongue down as she circles your core, slowly entering it a little.

You let out more moans as you turn your head to the side, moaning into the pillow.

Her tongue feels so good when you realise that you are closer and closer to your climax.

"Jihyo- I think I'm gonna-"

"Let it out princess" she mumbles against your core, the vibrations of her voice stimulating you even more as you cum into her mouth.

She smiles at you as he sits up, watching you coming down from your high.

You smile back at him as your cheeks turn red again.

"Can I?" she asks, her fingers trailing down your soft skin as her nails scratch you a little.

You look at her hand, a few veins poking out, her fingers thin but long.

You look at her again, nodding.

You pulled her closer as she rubs your clit with her fingers, you suck in your breath as she slowly pushes them in, the little stretch burning in a way that makes you even hornier.

She slips them in completly, you let out a moan in response. She takes your hand with her free one as your fingers intertwine.

She starts to slowly thrust into you, kissing you again as her tongue explores your mouth.

"You're so tight baby.." she mumbles into your mouth.

You can't help but let out louder moans when she starts to speed up a little.

Her fingers drive you crazy, it feels like she is everywhere, you feel her everywhere in your body as she exits and enters you.

"P-please jihyo- faster" you moan out, and who would she be if she wouldn't listen to your wishes?

She speeds up her thrusts, kissing down your neck again as her hot breath hits your skin.

Your hand grips the pillow your hand is laying on, moaning against your arm as you can feel Jihyo curling her fingers.

She thrusts into you again before you moan loudly, cumming as your thighs close around her wrist, panting heavily as she lets herself fall onto the spot next to you.

You both stare at the ceiling, the only sounds the heavy breathing from you.

You move her hand to yours and intertwine your fingers. She moves her head to the side to look at you, smiling.

You think seeing her smiling is something you can never get enough of.

-

Idiots in love, thats how you two can be described.

The next few months were full of love. Kisses here, kisses there. It didn't even have to be sexual, no, it was always romantic, no matter what you did together.

After a few months, she gave you a ring.

"One day I'll buy you an expensive, real diamond ring and ask you to marry me," she said, and since then you've both worn the matching rings without taking them off once.

If only it had stayed that way.

It's late at night, you're lying in bed reading a book when you get a message.

"I love you,

I'm sorry" - from Jihyo.

You sit up and stare at your cell phone.

"What's wrong?" you type and send the message, she replies,

"I can't take it anymore"

She can't take it anymore?

You feel a twinge in your head as you suddenly realize something.

It's too similar to Dahyun's goodbye.

"I can't live in this world anymore" she wrote in her text.

You look at her location, and without hesitation you walk, no - storm out of your apartment and run to her.

She's not far away, a bridge situated over a river only 5 minutes away, and you think you've never been so grateful for anything.

You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to see anything while your clothes get wetter and wetter, the rain completly drenches you.

Again it feels like a cliché love drama.

Only maybe this time you have the chance to have a happy ending.

Your legs are burning from all the running as you arrive on the bridge.

"Jihyo!" you shout, the rain pattering loudly on the asphalt, forcing you to shout even louder for her.

Her bike is right next to her, one leg over the railing, her hands gripping it tightly, as if she's...

Scared?

"Y/n?" she answers, her voice low and shaky.

"Please..." you say as you walk slowly towards her.

She doesn't stop you when you take her hand in yours.

"Why didn't you tell me?" you ask, she looks at you as a tear runs down her cheek.

"I-... I didn't want you to worry. I thought this feeling would go away if I didn't talk to anyone about it," she says.

Whether your face is wet from the rain or your tears, you don't know.

"Believe me, you have to talk to me, then it will get better," you say.

Her face comes closer to yours and, without answering, she kisses you.

You kiss her back, try to grab her so you can hold her closer - but she lets go.

Completely.

You slowly open your eyes, afraid of what you will see - but you see nothing.

No one.

The rain completely overwhelms you.

"No..." you whisper, looking down on the floor and picking up something shiny.

Her ring.

You look out over the railing and see the water turning slightly red.

It feels like you're trapped in a vicious circle, like you'll never find peace again.

You are trapped, with no way out.

-

While other people find the rain soothing, you find it to be more like torture.

While other people would stay indoors in weather like this, you're outside again.

Again in front of a grave.

But this time it's Jihyo's.

Everything feels too similar and you hate it more than anything.

"It's not your fault" is a sentence you started to hate.

You hoped so much that you would never have to hear or read it again.

"Why didn't you talk to me..." you whisper, as if she could hear you.

Your hand clutches the letter, it slowly getting soaked by the rain.

You don't dare to move.

"You knew what happened..."

All time does is passing -

"Why did you hide it from me..." Your voice is full of despair.

And all you ever do is grieve.

"Life without you is no way to live" the white flower falls on his grave -

just like her ring,

engraved with your name.

She helped you recover from Dahyun's death.

You just wish you wouldn't have to recover over her death alone now.

In another universe, you've seemed to found your place in Jihyo's arms.

In this universe, you're left alone,

again.

[dearshelby]

Hi, Laura!

Could you write headcanons for the dark!Tommy and darling who has daddy issues?

thank you 🤍🫶🏻

this sat on my askbox for so long omg Hello! Sweet anon, I'm gonna offer you a little one-shot instead, I swear I tried to make headcanons but my mind came up with so many possibilities and different scenarios I couldn't put in order, especially because of Tommy's own daddy issues, so here it is, I didn't get too deep into darling's relationship with her dad because well, it's reader insert

There was something wrong. Tommy knew it. Usually, his kisses drove you mad, a needy mess he loved taking care of, not tonight though.

He had you on his lap, lips attached to your neck and chest while his hands wandered under your nightgown. He was taking it slow, aware you weren't in your best spirits, however, what always seemed to cheer you up wasn't working.

At this point, he expected you to grind down on him, arch your back under his touch and moan softly, asking for more. Instead, you patted the back of his neck, face buried in his soft hair.

Tommy lifted his head, staring at your alert eyes that should've been hazed with lust. There was no other option, he'd had to ask, “Is everything alright?” 

“...yeah,” you whispered.

He frowned and cupped your face, you melted into his touch, brushing your cheek against his hand. If he cared a bit less, it wouldn't be hard to ignore all the signs and rail you into the mattress, in his eyes you were absolutely adorable. 

He couldn't, not until you spat out what was wrong.

“What's with that face, eh? Something's bothering you?” Tommy insisted.

“No,” you cupped his face, “no,” 

Trying to end the conversation, you kissed him slowly, feeling the corner of his lips turn up in the ghost of a smile. Since it was harmless, he thought it was funny you picked up some of his tricks, the main difference was that he could easily break through you.

Holding your jaw, he broke the kiss and gave you a glance you knew very well, the patronizing one, the one you always got before being gently scolded. 

Wrapping an arm around your waist, Tommy pulled you to lay on the bed on top of him. You made yourself comfortable, shivering when he started to  trace random patterns on your thigh.

“Tell me this…” 

“Hm?” 

“You know I always take care of you, right?” 

“Yeah,” 

“Why would it be any different now?” 

It came sooner than you expected, the burning ache in your throat and tears threatening to run down your face, it was true, Tommy took care of you since the day you first stepped into his office.

In your terms or his, all your problems were dealt with, even the ones you didn't deem as problems at first, eventually you realized he was right.

Your Tommy was always right, he was the only one you could tell all your troubles to. So why were you so scared tonight? Perhaps because it was something you never told him about, the only thing about you he didn't know…

Or you thought he didn't know.

“My-” you gulped, “my dad wrote me a letter,” 

“Oh?” 

“And, well, he just was his usual self, I don't know why it affects me so much,” 

Tommy bit his inner cheek, he knew your dad would bring trouble the day he didn't attend your wedding. Surely, he searched into your life for his own benefit, he had to know all about the fucker who made the ceremony less than perfect, but it still hurt to see how heartbroken you were.

“You're too sweet for the fucking world,” he sighed, “that's why it affects you,” 

“...I don’t want to talk about it anymore, Tom,” you confessed.

“Alright, just give me the letter, I’ll answer,” 

“No, it's okay,”

“I'll tell him to leave you alone,” 

“No, Tom, what-” you sighed and lifted your head, “what about we just make love and forget about it?” 

Without answering, he climbed on top of you, initiating a gentle kiss. You might be forgiving to your father, but Tommy wouldn't be.

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

Hi! Can you please write part 3 of bale batman x assistant reader as his wife? And how he handles jealousy after their marriage? Thank you 😊

Hello!!

I actually wrote something about this a little while ago, but because I feel like just linking the post is a bit of an asshole move, I'll add some of my thoughts!

I hope that's okay <3

Here's my previous post :)

~Fi 🐝

(My inspiration for Bruce has been dwindling, I desperately need to watch the movies again)

Part 1 ♡ Part 2 ♡

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

He will always, ALWAYS call you his wife. More than your actual name. He has to keep reminding people that you're unavailable and that you're his and his alone. Bruce perks up immediately whenever your name is mentioned. He's policing all of his employees at this point lmao

maybe someone talks about you to a coworker about how innovative you're thinking for the company is, that you're kind and exactly what this industry needs and Bruce just pops up out of nowhere like "who are you talking about? Hm? Oh, my beautiful, amazing, perfect wife? I couldn't agree more."

He gets so stealthy after being in the batman business that he scares them half to death because he's just there all of a sudden. After hearing some of the complaints the employees make (you're not at work as often anymore after Bruce insisted you focus on some hobbies instead) you're seriously contemplating putting a little bell on him just so you don't have to worry about anyone getting a heart attack.

He always has to be touching you in some kind of way. His go to is a hand on the small of your back or on your thigh when you're sitting down, he loves holding your hand, too. His thumb will brush over the cool metal of your wedding band and it puts his mind at ease.

Every single employee knows not to flirt with you, even as a joke. Not after Jake suddenly disappeared after Bruce caught him sweet talking you... (he may have a received a strongly worded letter from his landlord ((Bruce)) and, what do you know, for some reason, any other living opportunity in Gotham is unavailable right now)

He brings you flowers at least once a week (or until the ones he gifted you before can't hold their own anymore and wilt). They're always fragrant and bright in color, whatever is in season right now. And they stand nicely on your desk in a beautiful crystal vase that catches the light perfectly. He catches himself looking at them more than he he would like to admit.

Or, more specifically, he wants to see if he can catch you admiring them. He's gotten a new appreciation for these small things since you came into his life. They way you cup the delicate blossom and inhale its sweet scent is a picture he will dream of forever.

Bruce makes sure that you're only addressed as Mrs. Wayne (unless it's someone close like Luscius or a very nice coworker of yours) making it clear to everyone, again, that you're his. He gifts you a necklace with his name on it, which you wear proudly, and Bruce can't help but grin when he sees his name glint in the sunlight against your skin.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

I'm so sorry for kinda half-assing my Bruce posts lately, but I can barely write anymore 😭

I usually write at night but I'm tired then too so I'm like "Oh, I'll just write during the day." BUT GUESS WHAT I'M ALSO TIRED DURING THE DAY

Fucking iron deficiency istg

I basically sleep all the time and when I do write, it's not a lot bc I'm literally falling sleep halfway through so yeah

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Neither Gone Nor Forgotten

sequel to No Body to Bury. This isn’t edited, if you find any errors feel free to let me nice, just be nice about it.

------

Planning a funeral for Danny turned out both easier, and harder, then Batman had anticipated. Easier because he wasn’t deep in grief the way he had been when planning previous funerals, and harder because, well, the person the funeral was for was still around to have opinions. Not that Danny was hard to please, he seemed happy with just about everything, but he was struggling with whether he should tell his human family and friends. He really wanted to, but he was scared.

“I don’t think they’ll understand,” Danny said, his legs dangling over the edge of the tall building he and Batman were currently sitting on, holding a milkshake Bruce had bought for him. “Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all supported me while I was still only half dead and knew. I haven’t kept entirely out of the news since starting to work with you guys and I know they’re upset I abandoned them, I’ve seen it when I check on them. There’s no way they can understand how much changes when you die, I watch over them, but Ic an never go back.

“I can’t be what they want me to be, I’m not really Danny anymore at all, and they’d want me to be what I was. They’d want me to be human, and I’m just not anymore. I would want them to think I was completely dead and gone, but they’ve seen me in the news so there’s no chance of that.”

“Hm,” Batman said helpfully. “Write them a letter, I’ll make sure it’s delivered and then they can come on your terms, or not,” He suggested, he’d found writing letters to be a lot easier. “Like a will?”

Danny cocked his head to the side as he thought about that and then nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea, thanks Batman. You’re not nearly as bad at emotions as everyone says,” The young ghost said, bumping his shoulder against Bruce’s. It made the older hero smile. He wasn’t surprised to find that Phantom was gone when he turned back towards where the boy was sitting, his small smile remained as he threw out the abandoned milkshake and went on with his patrol.

It was two days later when the letter appeared on his desk, not yet folded or in an envelope which Bruce knew was permission to read it. He appreciated that because he would have had a hard time resisting the curiosity even if it was already sealed.

Dear Sam, Jazz, and Tucker

First of all, I want to say I’m sorry. I loved you all and I didn’t run away, I didn’t want to leave you. It was the GIW, remember when I said I was a ‘who’s who of who can’t catch ghosts’? I guess I underestimated at least one of them because they finally got me. Of course it was Phantom they were trying to kill, but is anyone surprised that they failed? It was Danny who they ended up killing, and now I can’t go back.

I didn’t realize what a big difference there would be between being half dead and all dead, a little humanity goes a long way I guess. Don’t worry I’m not going to become Dan, but I can’t be Danny anymore either, just Phantom left now and while I still love you and watch over you as I am, it’s not like I can just ‘live my life’ anymore. It hurts too much to try and pretend to be alive now, and ghosts are creatures of instinct, I can’t go against the natural order of life and death and come back to you, no matter how much I love you or how much you miss me.

Batman and some of the other heroes have offered to arrange a funeral for Danny, this time there’s actually a corpse to bury after all. I won’t be there, but it’s important for both the living and the dead that the dead have a grave, a place to grieve lost life. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, if it’s too hard or you’re too mad at me still. But if you do come or ever visit I’ll feel you there and it’ll make me happy, and maybe it’ll be some closure for you? I never meant to hurt you.

I’ll still be around to protect you, I’ll protect everyone I can. That’s been my obsession since the start hasn’t it? And Jazz don’t you start, ghost’s obsessions are what keeps us here and in one piece, I don’t need therapy. And I guess that’s the heart of it isn’t it? I’m not human anymore, and I can’t pretend to be, and we wouldn’t understand each other anymore. Not really. Ghosts don’t change much though so I’ll always love you and when you die maybe we can be friends again, if you can forgive me for this.

Forever young and yours,

Phantom

 Batman read the letter and sat quietly with it for a few long minutes, thinking about it and also questioning some parts, like who Dan was. It was sad of course, but it was sweet too, and he didn’t think that Phantom’s friends would be nearly as upset with him as he thought they would be. Finally he sighed and folded it up, finding a envelope and address it to Danny’s sister since she seemed like the best one to make sure they were all there when it was opened and read. He put it in the folder to be sent out and then leaned against his desk.

“Are you really not going to come?” He asked the empty room, and after waiting for a moment wasn’t surprised when Danny stepped out from nowhere. He’d started to get a sense of when Phantom was there, untouchable and unseen.

“No, I’ll be there, but only the way spirits usually are. I won’t be there physically, just in spirit,” He said, smiling at his own pun. Batman chuckled a little and nodded.

“I understand why you don’t want them to know that, I won’t let on,” He assured. “I think you’ve done the right thing letting them know.”

Danny nodded and then vanished again, this time out through the window, properly leaving the office and Batman alone again.

Batman had the discussion with the rest of the Justice League without Phantom present so they could avoid accidental offense. Not everyone would come, not everyone could come, Batman banned a few of the more literal heroes who would not understand why they were having a funeral when Phantom was still here, even though he had actually died. But a decent amount did come, and Batman had a feeling that the ones Phantom would care about most was Bruce himself, and Diana, who was coming.

-----

When the day of the funeral came Batman and Diana stood outside the little chapel to welcome people. They weren’t technically family of course, apparently Diana was distantly through an ancestor of hers and adoption, and Bruce thought of himself as a paternal figure to Danny, besides they’d been here early setting everything up. The nice coffin was already at the front of the room, closed since it was empty with while lilies placed on top and decorating the little building along with some roses and candles.

He wasn’t particularly surprised when the first person who showed up was Danny’s big sister Jasmine Fenton driving Danny’s two friends. His parents weren’t there but Phantom had mentioned it might not be a good idea for them to come because they would probably be disruptive. Both Jazz and Tucker’s eyes were rimmed red like they’d been crying and Sam’s jaw had a stubborn set to it like clenching it was the only thing keeping her lips from trembling.

They reached the steps, Batman nodded to them and Diana gave them a sad smile. Jazz looked through the open doors, her breath hitching. “Is he in there?” She asked, pointing to the coffin.

Batman shook his head, voice soft and rough as he responded. “Phantom said he’d bring the body later, Less chance for something to go wrong and… I don’t know if it would hurt him, but I think it’s easy to see why he’d be protective of it.”

Jazz’s lip trembled and she took a deep breath, behind her Sam had wrapped an arm around Tucker who had started to cry again, turning to hide against her shoulder. “When you see him again tell him we’re not mad at him, please?” Sam said, her voice hard with repressed emotions, it almost sounded angry but there was a subtle difference.

“He’s right that we can’t understand everything,” Jazz said, biting her lip for a moment before continuing. “But after something like this he needs space, and we won’t rush him. If he needs to start a new life, we get it, everything must remind him of trauma right now, but if he ever wants to get back in touch with us. Well, I’ll love him forever too. But also tell him that he should have been more careful in that letter he wrote if any of us had been feeling suicidal his comment about being friends again after death might have been the last push we needed over the metaphorical edge-”

She was taking a deep breath to continue her lecture when Sam wrapped her other arm around Jazz’ shoulder and pulled her away. “Well we’re not, it’s fine, let’s go sit down before Tucker collapses from dehydration from all these tears.”

“I’m not going to collapse! I’m not even crying that much!” Tucker insisted, his voice audibly wet.

Batman and Diane kept their faces straight while Sam dragged them all into the little building and to seats in the front row. Then Batman’s lips twitched up in a slight smile and Diana gave a weak laugh. “I knew they wouldn’t be as angry with Phantom as he feared,” Batman said, trying to keep his amusement under control.

“What a precocious girl, a big sister through and through,” Diana agreed and sniffled a little, it seemed their grief had gotten to her a little. He understood.

Slowly more people filtered in, just other heroes now, and one young woman called Val. Sam said to let her in even though there was clearly tension there, the heroes didn’t ask.

The scheduled time of the funeral Diana and Batman went inside, closing the door after them and, since Danny hadn’t wanted a priest so Batman started to make his way to the front to start things off.

“We’re here today in remembrance of Danny Phantom, a brave young man lost to soon in the line of duty. He never should have had to join the fight so young,” Batman stumbled a little when he saw Jason slip in at the back of the chapel. He had sort of though Jason wasn’t coming, but there he was, dressed in his Red Hood get up, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Batman could tell that he was on edge, but he was here, and it would make Danny happy. He took a deep breath and carried on with his planned remarks.

When he was done he stepped down off the little podium and Jazz stepped up, pulling some queue cards out of her pocket, taking a deep breath and launching into a planned speech. She was a good public speaker, she managed to keep it together through her speech but her words were clearly very heartfelt.

It went well, a few more people spoke, by the end Batman was actually having a hard time keeping his feeling under control, he maybe should have came as Bruce Wayne so he could have cried. He kept it under control though and eventually it was time to bring the coffin out to the prepared grave. They hadn’t fully planned who would carry it because they hadn’t known if Danny’s friends and sister were going to come, but now that they were here of course they were invited to help carry the coffin.

Batman and Diana took the majority of the weight of course, but all three of them took the offer to help carry the coffin the prepared grave. They lowered it in and Superman placed the specially made vault over top that would protect Danny’s body from, well, the usual stuff super heroes had to deal with, bodies being stolen for experimentation, attempted cloning’s, resurrection but wrong, all that jazz.

Jasmin through in the first handful of dirt, then Sam, then Tucker and then the heroes joined in. When the grave started to be filled properly a lot of the heroes started to wander away, Batman approached Jason who was hanging back.

“Please stay,” He murmured to his estranged son, seeing Jason’s shoulders tense, his arms were still crossed defensively. “Phantom will be bringing his body one most of the people clear out and he’d really like to meet you. If you don’t mind, he just died, and it’s been hard on him, I think meeting you would be a comfort.” He watched with bated breath as Jason’s fingers twitched and tightened on his own arms before he nodded. Bruce breathed a subtle sigh of relief and nodded, turning back towards the grave.

Once the grave was filled and basically everyone else had either left or gone back to the little chapel to socialize, Danny finally arrived. He faded into view, seemingly almost shy, watching them both closely for their reaction. Bruce understood why, he had to carefully school his expression when he saw the state that Danny’s body was in. It wasn’t that he was dead obviously, ashen and limp, passed the stage of rigger it seemed, it was the visible injuries. He was littered with cuts and bruises, there were stull cuffs around his ankles and wrists which had clearly burned into his skin. The wound that had killed him was, well, it looked like an autopsy had been done, his chest was fully open, but Batman knew it had been done while he was still alive. It was horrific.

Batman managed to keep himself under control though his breathing sped up, Hood’s mask completely hid his face but he rocked back like he’d been struck. Danny hesitated, licked his lips a little and stepped forward.

“I can’t touch the cuffs, but I don’t want too bury him with them still on. Will you take them off for me? They shouldn’t burn you,” Danny asked Bruce.

He was about to say yes when Jason cut in, “I’m better at picking locks then him, I’ll do it.” He practically growled, stalking forward and pulling his lock picking kit out of one of the pockets on his suit. “Who did this to him,- You?” He asked softly as Danny knelt, cradling his own corps close to his chest, letting Jason kneel in front of him and take one of the limp arms to start on the cuffs. Jason hissed when he touched it, it burned a little but he breathed through it and started to pick the lock.

“It was the GIW, the ghost investigation ward. I killed the ones who did it, and the justice league helped me disband the rest of the organization and overturn the laws that enabled it,” Danny responded, his green eyes locked unblinkingly on Jason, watching him as he watched Jason work on the locks.

“Good, I’m glad their dead. That must have felt good,” He chuckled vindictively.

“I am too, but I’m more glad they won’t get to hurt anyone else. They might have gone for you if they were still able.”

“Me? Why?” Jason asked, his fingers twitching, he cursed softly when the lock pick slipped, he grumbled and started again.

“Because you died before didn’t you? The cuffs burn you because you’re not… completely alive anymore I won’t ask anything about it, I know that’s private but if you ever want to talk about it, or if you need help with the… side affects, I’d be happy to help you,” Phantom offered softly. Jason only hummed in response, he needed to process and consider that.

When the final cuff fell to the ground Danny took a deep breath and curled around himself, resting his forehead against his body’s hair. From the way his shoulders were shaking they could tell he was crying, Jason rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder, just being there for him until Phantom was ready and finally sunk into the ground. He was down there for a long time before he surfaced again, flying over to hug batman, burrowing against his chest a little while Batman patted his back gently, Jason standing by awkwardly.

“Thank you so much for doing this, and thank you both so much for coming. This really means so much to me.”

“Of course kid,” Jason said, reaching out to ruffle the boy’s soft white hair.

Batman nodded, giving Danny a gentle squeeze, “No one deserves to be forgotten.”

Tag list: @kikkobara @phlebocuffs @spikethecrazycat @spookytragedyshark @thatonegaybitch68 @stargazer-luna @fangirlnerd001 @seraphinedemort @yjfk @rosieparker1856 @battlebunnyteardropsinthesun and thank you too @your-local-idiot-savant for giving me feedback on some parts

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Beauty & the Beast's Christmas

This is simply a fan translation and is not intended as a replacement for the game. Expect grammatical errors. Not proofread.

Gilbert von Obsidian's story (JP) from the last collection event.

~ I'd love to give you a Christmas gift, and yet ~

On Christmas night, everything outside the window was covered in pure white snow.

Gilbert: “Here, this is my Christmas gift for you.”

Suddenly, Gilbert hugged me from behind and attached a brooch to the neckline of my dress.

Gilbert: “I tried to make it with you in mind.”

Emma: “Wow, thank you! It’s so cute.”

The brooch, depicting a baby rabbit with colorful gems, was delicately crafted and beautiful.

Although I should have been happy about it, I’m currently preoccupied with something else.

(I haven’t prepared a gift for him. What should I do?)

Gilbert: “Hm? Why the long face? Aren’t you happy?”

Emma: “I’m happy! But I haven’t prepared anything for you.”

Gilbert: “Oh, so you were worried about that after all.”

Emma: “It’s not like that. I wanted to go shopping, but you forbade me from going out.”

Gilbert: “I can’t let you go to a crowded city right before Christmas.”

Gilbert: “Unless you don’t mind me being jealous.”

(He’s saying things like that again.)

(It feels unfair that he’s the only one giving a gift.)

Emma: “I also wanted to give you a gift since Christmas only comes once a year.”

(Is there anything I can at least prepare?)

(I’ve already made a Christmas cake, but it doesn’t feel special enough to call it a gift.)

Emma: “I got it! Gil, I’m going back to my room to write a letter.”

(I get the feeling that he's the kind of person who treasures even old letters.)

(I'm sure he'll accept it.)

Gilbert's red eyes lit up with happiness all of a sudden.

Gilbert: "You're going to write me a letter?"

Emma: "Yes! I'll write it quickly and bring it to you."

Gilbert: "What are you talking about? You can write it here."

Emma: "What? Write it here now?"

Gilbert: "Yes, right here, right now."

(It's way too embarrassing to write a letter in front of the person you're sending it to!)

He smiled and quickly prepared a piece of paper and a quill.

(He closed off any escape route in an instant!)

Reluctantly sitting in front of the desk, I gripped the quill, and he stood close behind me.

Emma: "Um, it's hard to write with you staring at me like that."

Gilbert: "It's okay. Just pretend I'm not here and write."

Emma: "It's not that easy..."

Despite my protest, it was clear that he wouldn't listen, so I mustered the courage to write.

("Dear Gilbert...")

Gilbert: "Isn't it supposed to be 'To my beloved Gilbert'?"

(Ugh...)

With every sentence I wrote, he interjected with advice or suggestions.

Gilbert: "Hey, what's wrong? Your pen stopped."

Gilbert: "How about writing more about the things you love about me or using words of love?"

(That's impossible. It's too embarrassing!)

Emma: "Doing that in front of you is just too much!"

Gilbert: "Oh, little rabbit is so shy. Should I make it less embarrassing for you?"

Emma: "Are you going to move away from me?"

I turned my head in anticipation, only to have my lips captured in a sudden kiss.

His tongue stirred my mouth passionately, igniting a warm sensation throughout my body.

Gilbert: "See? Now, it's not embarrassing anymore. But your hand has stopped, so hurry up and write."

Emma: "I really can't do this!"

(I’m even more embarrassed than I was earlier!)

Gilbert: “You’re going to give me a present, right? I’m really looking forward to it, so do your best.”

Emma: “If that’s the case, please don’t tease me.”

Gilbert: “Ahaha! Ordering me around, huh? Emma, you’re quite fearless.”

He laughed and slowly bit my earlobe, causing me to squirm.

Then he opened the collar of my dress and bit my shoulder.

Emma: “Gil, writing it down is pretty difficult, so I’m just gonna say it in words.”

Gilbert: “No. I like letters. So, come on, write until the end.”

Gilbert: “While you write the letter, I’ll tell you words of love.”

Gilbert: “Fufu. I love how even when you’re in a bind and at a loss, you still won’t let go of the pen.”

Emma: “You’re so unfair.”

(No matter how many words I write, Gilbert always manages to surpass them.)

(But I can’t lose. Right now, I want to convey all the overflowing love in my heart to him.)

I continued to express my feelings for my beloved in a letter while accepting the unstoppable sweet evil.

➟ Ikepri Translation Masterlist

[herrscherrofyatta]

Let you break my heart again

Tighnari x reader

angst, no gender/pronouns are used to describe reader

summary: after lashing out on you, Tighnari can't help but feel the distance between you two and you find someone interesting in Mondstadt

part 1 part 3

The blonde traveler who's name is Lumine, sat with you in Sumeru city, she had seen you in the village and was a bit confused on why you were in the city now, did Tighnari send you here for something??

"um, I'm not speaking terms with him anymore so I moved back to the city with my parents." You explain, it been weeks since Tighnari said those things about you. "I also left my position as a forest watcher..."

Lumine frowned at this, "but Collei said you loved working there."

You pursed your lips, looking to the side, "I'm just...not suited to work there." You say in a quiet tone, rubbing your arm. "I dunno if he even knows I'm gone, probably not." Letting out a forced laugh, "maybe too much with work again."

Lumine watched your expressions, something must have happened between you two. It must have been bad since your self confidence has gone down tremendously.

She begins to think, maybe you just need a change of scenery? Yeah that's it!

"...how about I bring you to Mondstadt?"

Raising your head to look at her, you give her a confused look, "Mondstadt?"

She nods, a smile on her lips, "mm! I have a friend there, he mentioned something about needing someone to help him."

"Help him? With what? I don't see how this involves me." You lean your chin onto of your palm as you stare at her with confusion.

She begins to tell you everything she knows.

—

"Tighnari, where's Y/n?" Collei asks, peeking her head inside the hut he was in and he continues to work, scribbling on the paper.

"they must be in the forest, probably being careless again." He answers rather harsh, this makes the girl a bit confused.

"Hm? But they're not there?" She says with a confused tone in her voice.

He stops writing to look pick up the next price of papers he needs to read over. But upon seeing them, he recognizes your neat handwriting and he begins to read what you wrote.

Maybe it was an apology letter or a report on the areas you patrol often.

But his heart drops, "Collei."

She tilts her head, "when was the last time you talked with Y/n?"

She thinks, "I think...maybe three weeks ago? They said they was going to spend a month trying cleansing a few areas. Why? Did something happen?"

He lets out a shaky breathe, eyes glued on the words written on the paper he was holding.

You had quit your position and left the village.

—

Your cheeks are bright red due of the cold air hitting your face as you clutch the cloak closer to you to provide warmth to shivering body.

Your eyes widen at the sight of the snowy mountain in front of you, completely memorized at the sight of it since you were never allowed to travel far.

"It's beautiful." You huff out, smiling as Lumine pats her back at a good job before you begin walking up the mountain while her walking beside you.

Halfway up the mountain, you look at Lumine, "this Albedo person...what's he like?"

She just smiles at you, "just wait and see, you won't be disappointed." You feel even more excited to meet him.

Once arriving at a cave, you let out a sigh of relief at the sight of fire as you quickly tried to warm yourself up. The potion Lumine had given you had wore off an some time ago.

It seems like the fire wasn't help as you kept trembling, you frown as tried to make yourself warm.

A white coat was draped over your shoulders, an unfamiliar scent filled your nose as you look back to see a young man around your age smiling at you.

"Albedo." Lumine greets, "this is Y/n."

You turn around as he holds out his hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you, I heard many great things about you from the traveler." Your eyes shine at this as you shake his hand.

"Is it true you can cleanse things?" He asked and you quickly nod your head.

"Yes! My family has been doing it for decades but it seemed to die out at some point." You explain, holding the coat closer to you, "I tried mastering my ancestors technics but....so far I only caused trouble back ho—where I worked at." You fix your words, the village no longer felt like home to you.

Albedo lets out a hum, placing a hand under his chin as he starts to check you out.

You blink at this, suddenly feeling self conscious at how this attractive guy was staring at you so intensely.

He shakes his head, "yes, you'll do just fine. Come, we have things to do. Traveler, if you'll excuse us."

You don't register the fact that he grabbed you by the hand, tugging you deeper within his lab.

Lumine just watches, waving at you two before leaving.

—

"What you mean they quit!?" Collei yells as soon as Tighnari returned fron Sumeru city, he went to go see if you were staying with your parents but turned out you left without a word almost a week and half ago.

Collei had found your letter when Tighnari left earlier. She felt confused, sad, so many emotions she was feeling this very moment.

Tighnari drops his head, "I....I think this is my fault—"

Collei snaps her head at him, "what did you do?"

He does respond, covering his face with his hand, "I need to find them."

Masterlist

[ritcchamadayo]

Hello, there! Heard that you're in need of some ideas in what to write/make. I've got one: some fluffy, romantic headcannons in which Leona Kingscholar's fem! s/o secretly sends him a love letter and some chocolates and Leona searches for the sender of the gifts. How will it end? Please and thanks!

hi there, thanks for sending in an idea~!

Leona would definitely be the type to quietly investigate, such a sweet idea~

Secret Admirer

Leona Kingscholar x Fem!Reader ; On Valentine's day, you decided to anonymously leave a gift for Leona. Leona, taking an interest in the little challenge, tries to find out who his secret admirer is.

"Hm? What's this?" Leona watches from his bed, one eye open. His green eyes glanced towards Ruggie, who was putting down a well-decorated box and an intricate letter on Leona's desk.

"Shishishi, someone left a message for you. I just thought I'd bring it back to you before any of the other students see~"

Leona stood up and walked over to the box, shaking the contents. It was an intricate box with a brown lid, tied with an elegant ribbon. Above it was a simple letter, with a wax seal on top. It smelled oddly like flowers, Leona thought.

"Who's this from?"

"How should I know, I found it out front."

Leona opened the box to see a few rows of chocolate neatly placed, each of them were carefully made and placed inside the box to ensure it arrives to Leona in pristine condition. Ruggie was already halfway trying to swipe a few chocolates from Leona when the lion slapped his hand away, rolling his eyes. "At least be more discreet if you're gonna pull somethin' like that."

Ruggie chuckled and shrugged, walking away from Leona. "Aight, I'll try again later~" Leona took the letter and laid back on his bed, opening the letter with a yawn. "I swear, if this is another weird thing from Falena..."

*To : Leona Kingscholar, Housewarden of Savanaclaw* It may seem a little silly of me to write a letter for you. I am just a simple admirer from afar, writing to you to express my feelings.

I've been in love with you for the past year, Leona. The way you move, the way you counter quick remarks, the way you're always so quick on your feet and wise.. I've fallen for you quite hard it seems.

You're probably wondering who am I, or why would I send you this letter along with the chocolates. Truth is, I couldn't hold back my feelings anymore, but I'm too much of a coward to tell you in person. Please accept my gift and my letter. Perhaps, you can come find me if you wanted. *- Signed, your secret admirer.*

"Hoo, ain't this interesting." Leona smirked, eyeing the letter. It seems like the letter has piqued his interest, as he flipped the paper back and forth looking for more clues. The faint scent on the letter smells oddly familiar to him, further piquing his interest. "Alright, I'll take you up on this little detective game."

---

The next morning, Leona starts his move.

"Oi. Jack." Jack, coming back from his morning jog, approached his senior. "What's up, Leona-senpai?"

Leona waved the letter in his hand, showing it to Jack. "A little visitor seemed to have sent me a gift yesterday... Did you see anyone from outside the dorm enter recently?"

Jack scratched his head, trying to remember. "Um.. I think I remember a few. Like, people who wanted to play around with their Savanaclaw friends. I don't recall seeing anyone coming in to send a gift to you." Leona nodded. "Oh, so that's what the ruckus was yesterday. Just a few herbivores looking for amusement."

The beastman went on to ask a few other people from the dorm, with most of them not knowing anything. He knew he couldn't have asked Ruggie, even if it seemed like the Hyena knew something. Leona considered asking Rook, for one- but he'd rather not have to deal with his eccentric way of speaking.

Perhaps he'd have to go back to more... primitive ways of finding the sender, so to speak. Beastmen do have quite the sharp sense of smell.

Leona simply pretended to go about his day normally. With every passing student, he quickly manages to identify their scents. Some students smelled like a faint hint of flowers, mostly the residents of the Queendom of Hearts. Some students smelled like sweat, meanwhile others smelled like the "tacky and unnecessary" perfume that Vil wore. (Everyone else would beg to differ if he had said that out loud)

"..Hn?" In the midst of walking through the hallways, Leona caught the same exact scent from the letter. He glanced around discreetly, observing who might be around him. It's definitely not coming from the Scarabian students loitering around the hall, and it's definitely not the blonde 3rd year calling him "Roi des Lions" from afar...

Leona's eyes locked onto you, walking past him with your little group of friends. "Hoo... Interesting turn of events. I'll begin my chase then, Herbivore."

---

You had no idea what's going on, but Leona seemed to always be around the corner, trying to chase you down. "W-was it the letter..? Did I say something wrong..?" You thought, but Leona doesn't seem like he's angry or anything.

Leona himself wasn't trying to pull any moves. He kept observing you quietly, every time you pass by him he'd double check if the scent was correct, and he'd steal glances at your notebook to match the letter's handwriting.

Until one fateful day, where Leona finally decides to corner his prey for good. "Hey, Herbivore... Did you know how Lions hunt?"

Leona corners you in between the wall and his body, putting his arms beside your head so you can't try to slip out. "You see... We stalk our prey for a while, cornering them..."

Leona puts his finger on your chin, lifting it up so you'd gaze into his eyes.

"...And after that, they'd pounce for the prey." He leans in, capturing your lips in a kiss. You gasped in shock at first, before melting into the sensation and kissing him back. "Thanks for the little gift, Herbivore. Quite bold of you to think I wouldn't find out, though..."

[bunny-rambles]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Fleeting moments, sudden kisses

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

characters; Albedo, Childe, Diluc, Kaeya, Xiao, (separate) and gn reader

cw/tw; minor swearing, very minor mention of fighting on Kaeya’s, other than that it’s pure fluff (but still, let me know if I’ve missed anything.

word count; 400+ for each character

notes; to combat my writers block, I dug out something from my ‘ideas’ drafts and decided to write it and I really like how it’s turned out. It’s my first time writing Diluc so I’m kinda nervous (thank you so much for the tips, Hazel <3) I hope you all enjoy

Please reblog if you like this!!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Albedo

A quiet sigh slipped out of your lips as you rubbed at your forehead, eyes fixated on the paper in front of you. You could hear the sound being echoed by your counterpart beside you, who was equally stumped. This problem had eluded the both of you for a few days now, and neither of you were coming up with a solution anytime soon. The words were starting to blur together from how hard you were staring, as if the paper had the answers you seeked, making the passages jumbled with sentences that didn’t exist. And it didn’t help that the fire beside you was starting to dim again, yielding to the harsh conditions of the snowy mountain you were stuck on.

Cerulean eyes scanned the information in front of them, pale fingers tender against the page of the old book, as if one wrong move would make the brittle pages crumble. You were envious of the treatment… You hadn’t even realised a small pout was forming on your lips. You let a quiet huff of breath before shaking your head. Focus, Y/N, this was not the time to start getting jealous over a book of all things!

“Is everything alright?” A warm voice asked, the sound wrapping around you like a snug blanket, a comfort much needed.

“Hm?”

“You’ve been staring at my hand for a while. Do you perhaps need a break?” The alchemist asked, eyes flitting between the work in front of him and your gradually warming face.

“Oh, I- I hadn’t even noticed.” You chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of your neck to soothe yourself. It was embarrassing that you had been caught… But, now would’ve been the perfect time to take up his suggestion. You had been going at it for hours, after all. Before you could respond, Albedo had already closed the book and was shutting your own that was in front of you, rising from his seat.

“The fire has gone out. You must be cold.” He stated matter-of-factly, already beginning to shed his coat. The words on your tongue died along with your resolve as he placed the fabric around you, his hands lingering on your shoulders for a moment longer than they should’ve. Your own hands reached up to grasp at the clothing, your cheeks now a prominent pink.

“Thank you…”

“Of course.” He nodded, a subtle smile forming on his lips. As if your heart couldn’t take anymore, the blonde prince leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek, before whispering in your ear quietly,

“Anything for you, dearest.”

Childe

You waited. It seemed like forever that you waited. Day in, day out, you waited - for good news, for bad, for something, anything. And now, your patience has finally been rewarded.

You stood quietly, nervously wringing your hands together, nibbling on your bottom lip. You were sure it was today. You double- no, triple checked the letter to make sure. You didn’t want to get it out in case the shaking of your hands caused you to drop the precious cargo, but you were certain of the words.

Today.

Ajax was coming home today. No more incessant, aggravating waiting. He would be here soon, wrapped up in your embrace and you weren’t letting go anytime soon. The Fatui would have to go through you if they wanted Tartaglia back. There was no Tartaglia when he was with you, only Ajax - only your soulmate.

In the distance, just beyond the murky fog, you could see the outline of a large ship coming closer. The horn it sounded off rang in your ears as you took a few steps forward, making yourself stand out from the bustling crowd that was also there, painfully patient to see their loved ones. Your breath hitched when it finally pulled up at the docks, your fidgeting hands freezing once they balled up into tight, anxious fists. And then the doors opened.

As one, the group pushed forward, greedily taking up the space at the front, knocking you out of the way. You wanted to shout in frustration, for now you couldn’t see the exiting passengers, could not see the unruly red hair you so desperately wanted to see. You were sure you screamed his name as your hand reached out towards the boat, but it was too late. You had been pushed too far for your voice to be heard above the ravenous crowd. Defeated, you stumbled backwards, a shaky sigh leaving your lips.

Just as you were about to give up, to go home and wait for him there, you were swept up by a pair of familiar arms, being hoisted up to a certain height before warm lips crashed into your cold ones. You weren’t sure whose tears were wetting your cheeks, but one thing you were sure of was you were where you belonged and so was he.

Here, in your shared, loving embrace, he mumbles against your lips - “I’m home, beautiful.”

Diluc

The gentle clink of glasses being put away echoed through the room, only to be drowned out by you happily humming to yourself as you put yet another glass back in its place. With your lover being busy with ‘external affairs’ away from the winery, you took it upon yourself to help Adalinde out with the piling housework since the winery was short staffed at the moment. But if anything, you were thankful for this opportunity- the less work Diluc had to worry about when he got home, the better, and you were more than happy to assist anyway.

He had been back for quite some time now, but you were sure he hadn’t even noticed you were here. You were tucked away in the kitchen, after all. You did hear both Elzer and Adalinde mildly scold him for being gone for so long though, which made you chuckle quietly under your breath, then you heard the telltale sound of his footsteps heading up the stairs to his room. Hopefully, he had been convinced to get some rest - you knew how hard he worked, day and night, sometimes it felt like he never stopped. If for only a moment, he could relax because you had lessened his load, then you would take up every menial duty you could. It was nothing compared to what he did.

You were down to the few dozen glasses when suddenly, you felt the presence of another behind you. Bleary eyes peered over your shoulder, noticing the neatly placed dishes and other utensils that had been placed back in their original spot after being cleaned thoroughly. You heard a mumble, the deep timbre sending small jolts down your spine.

“What's that, dear?” You asked quietly, turning your head slightly towards him to listen while you continued your cleaning.

“… Did all this?” You could barely make out what he was saying, but you nodded anyway.

“I did. Did I wake you?” You asked, only to receive a shake of his head, his impressive but messy mane springing upwards from the motion. Hesitant arms wrapped around your middle from behind, pulling you into his broad chest, his head burying itself in the space between your shoulder and neck.

“Diluc?” You questioned, a soft gasp escaping your lips when you felt his lips against your skin as he spoke.

“….Thank you.” He mumbled quietly, before more firmly pressing his lips against the bare side of your neck. You were sure your face matched the shade of his fiery hair, your hands halting in their actions before you carefully placed the glass down, sure you were going to break it if you held it any longer.

“…Bed.”

“Huh?”

“Bed… Come to… with me.”

“But-“

“I’ll finish it later.” He grumbled, nuzzling further into your shoulder. You sighed in defeat, raising a hand to run your fingers through his unruly hair, which he sluggishly leaned into. You smiled softly at that.

“Alright…”

Kaeya

“You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

“Hm? Do what?” A sly voice questioned, chuckling at the blank look you gave him.

“Kaeya.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a date, aren’t I allowed to be a gentleman?” Once again, another silky laugh was uttered from those sultry lips. Slick bastard.

He was right, this was a date, perhaps the first one to be officially titled as that, even though the two of you had been an item for quite some time now. With his claim as the Cavalry Captain and you were with your own job, it was almost impossible to get any free time together. Most of it was spent at the tavern or at home, curled up in each other’s arms. It was more than enough for you, but it seemed that your partner thought otherwise. He wanted to show you how much he cherished you, even if it did mean that he was rather… What was the word? Cheesy, about it.

“But you didn’t have to dress up! I thought we were only going to Good Hunter!” You whined playfully, playing with the single rose in your hand he had gifted to you when you opened the door. It wasn’t as if he was trying to steal the limelight, you too had taken the time to put on your best clothes. You had wanted it to be special, and it seemed he also returned that sentiment.

He laughed quietly, taking your hand in his own and leading you out of the doorway. “But isn’t it fun? I should’ve done this when I asked you to be mine.”

“Wasn’t asking me in the middle of fighting abyss mages enough for you?” You teased with a smirk. Ah yes, you remembered. The two of you were just about to confess to each other when all of a sudden, the abyss decided now was the perfect time to ruin the moment. But, you couldn’t exactly say it wasn’t memorable when Kaeya decided to yell about his feelings for you in the middle of the battle. Why did he decide to do it then of all times? Then, when you had to focus on not being hit by the hurricane of water being hurled your way, and not the beating of your longing heart? It wasn’t as if you were any better, screaming at the top of your lungs that his feelings were returned.

“Hm, I suppose so, but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“What exactly did you have in mind?” You asked quietly.

“Well…” He started, before lifting your hand towards his face. “I would’ve done this,” He chuckled, kissing your hand gently, his icy eyes trailing up to meet your own, “Before asking you to be mine.“

Xiao

The wind gently tousled your hair as your hands glided across the stems of the flowers almost expertly, a curious immortal by your side as he watched in a trance.

“See? It’s easy! And you just continue to do that until…” Your voice began to fade out, your words getting lost in the spring breeze as his eyes focused on your face. Your eyes were so vibrant when you talked about something you were interested in. Even if he had lived for thousands of years, and had gathered knowledge on almost every topic by now, he was still enchanted whenever you spoke of something that intrigued you. He blinked a few times before realising you were calling his name, your face scrunched up in… Confusion? Sadness? He wasn’t sure, all he knew was that he didn’t want to see that frown on your face. You were too precious for such an expression.

“Sorry… I think I understand.” Xiao spoke quietly, hesitantly reaching out for the unfinished ringlet of flowers in your hand. He then picked a flower not too far away from him and began very carefully weaving it into the fixed stems. “Like this…?” He questioned quietly, which made that beautiful smile of yours return to your lips.

“You got it! Now for the best part…” You hummed, taking the crown from his hands and placing it gently on top of his head. “Ta da! Now you’ve got a crown fit for the prince you are!” A gleeful giggle broke out from your chest at the adeptus’s cheeks burning brightly from your words.

“I do not deserve such a title.” He huffed, folding his arms over his chest, stubbornly looking away for a moment, only for him to shyly shift his gaze back towards you again - almost as if he couldn’t help himself. “But… Your kindness is accepted. Thank you.”

Still, even when he was surrounded with nature's finest beauty, he couldn’t take his eyes off you - by far, you outshined the flowers around you. If anything, all they did was enhance how truly radiant you were.

As the two of you laid back, with your hands resting on your stomach while you rested peacefully, he continued to stare - continued to wonder how he managed to earn the honour of having you by his side. He swallowed quietly, sitting up slowly. You seemed to have fallen asleep… Which was the perfect excuse to do what he had been wanting for the entire time he had spent with you. Carefully, with the tenderness of a falling petal, he placed a gentle kiss atop of your forehead.

“Sleep well.”

[zhounauts]

crown prince!lee heeseung x f!reader // warnings: cursing, fainting (?) part two series masterlist

a/n got inspo for this after rereading this reincarnation webtoon i used to like a lot, these reincarnation stories are lwk a guitly pleasure of mine so i was like why not write one

+ is this even considered an x reader??? like heeseung hates u oopsie lolz

anyways enjoy (hopefully)

YOU WOKE UP WITH AN EPIPHANY , to give the two leads their happy ending. despite the fact that you had woken up in a stereotypical reincarnation manhwa, the author was far from stereotypical. not only did she have a strange almost concerning obsession with her two main leads, but she was also a goody-two shoes rule follower who told you that the original plot of the story and every single event must be followed and copied to perfection.

unfortunately for her, you said fuck that, had knights take her away and put her in a mansion on the outskirts of the kingdom where she wouldn't be able to reach you. so now, instead of scheming devious, nefarious acts against the female protagonist you now took advantage of your personal chef who worked relentlessly at your constant requests to try all the fancy dishes you could've never afforded in your previous life.

"the audacity!" rina, your maid suddenly exclaims, holding a letter.

"i can't believe this! my lady, this is outrageous! how can saintess sora write and send something so shameless!? " faye your second maid exclaims.

"hm?" you ask, focusing on the blueberry cheesecake in front of you, "what happened faye?"

"the saintess sent an invitation for her tea party! she wrote, 'countess i know we are not on good terms because of the crown prince, but the other ladies and i hope that you will join our humble tea party, and put aside your grudge'" you chew on the cake.

"oh, okay,"

"OKAY!?" the two scream.

"m-my lady! how does this not bother you? she is being disrespectful and using the fact that she has the crown prince's affections despite you are his soon-to-be wife!"

"oh, that's true," you shrug, "what can i do about it? if he likes her better okay then, i don't want to marry him anyways," rina collapses into faye's arms.

"my lady! rina are you--"

"with all due respect, but my lady, back then you would've done something! why the change of heart now?"

"well. . .he doesn't like me?? like it's pretty obvious, and i was just naive and uhm, craving for male validation back then or something like that i guess. it doesn't matter to me anymore,"

". . ."

"besides, his highness prince jay is more my type ,"

"MY LADY-"

"I MIGHT FAINT-"

after calming down your fainting maids, you had reassured them that you would go to the tea party and give the female protagonist, saintess sora, a taste of her own medicine for the disrespect she had sown you. (you were not planning this at all)

so now here you were, a week later getting dressed for the pain-in-the-ass tea party. "my lady we will dress you up to be the most beautiful at the party!" your maids exclaim.

"that's really. . .not necessary you know? i'll wear one of the dresses i usually wear," rina starts to lecture you, before a knock interrupts. faye rushes out of the dressing area, to open the door.

"your highness!" she exclaims, bowing. you peek out from behind the dressing area and head out.

"my lady you are not ready--"

"your highness, a pleasure to have you here," you say, bowing.

"y/n," heeseung addresses coldly, "are you attending sora's tea party?"

"yes, your highness,"

"she was telling me she was worried you would reject her request, due to your dislike for her," he says, narrowing his eyes at you bitterly. you stare at him unimpressed.

"my apologies, your highness, if i offend you by saying this. however you and saintess sora seem to be mistaken,"

"my lady don't--"

"i literally don't give a shit,"

"oh dear gods," rina mutters, and she collapses.

a/n lemme know how it was 😋😋

[reasonsmandy]

Dear Eddie Roundtree

Eddie Roundtree x Fem!Reader

✧.* you're reading part two of — "With Love, Eddie Roundtree"

✧.* summary — Eddie was enchanted by you ever since that night, and he would do anything to be by your side. Including playing detective with his best friend.

✧.* warnings — none

✧.* word count — 2.7k

✧.* 🎸 — Eddie's masterlist

✧.* mandy's notes — This was definitely one of my favorites, I hope you like it. I left a kind of message for you guys at the end, if you like my content please take some time to read it :) Good read 🫶🏾

Dear Eddie Roundtree,

I hope this letter finds you well. I've been wanting to write to you for weeks, but I haven't been able to because of everything that's been going on.

As you know, our night together caught the attention of Sub Rosa magazine, and the resulting photos caused a bit of a scandal. Unfortunately, my director is now trying to spin things by having me pretend to be dating my co-star. It's really frustrating, and I've been told not to contact you or see you again.

I did get your letter, though, and I loved it. You're such a good musician! And the tape you left me...I've been listening to it on repeat. Even if you didn't sing all the lines correctly, I think I like your version better.

Please don't try to reach me at the address you sent the letter to again, or my director will go ballistic. Instead, I'm going to leave some clues for you to find me. Keep an eye on my interviews and appearances - I'm going to drop some hints that will lead you to a new way to contact me. If you really want to find me, you'll need to be a little bit of a detective, but I know you're up for the challenge.

I hope you're still thinking about that night like I am. It was pretty amazing, wasn't it? If you're willing to put in the effort to find me, I promise it will be worth it.

Take care,

Y/N L/N.

Eddie read that letter for the tenth time that morning alone, it was as if that paper was the only thing keeping you attached to him. What do you mean by hints and clues? He read your words over and over again hoping to find a meaning among the letters.

He knew you would be worth looking for, and that's what he did for weeks. He filled Warren's head to help him, going in search of every magazine that mentioned your name and they were always on the lookout for any radio that announced that you were going to be there for the press.

"Man, are you sure that's what she meant?" Warren says through a yawn, flipping through the tenth magazine that night.

"Of course I'm sure, I read that letter four hundred times." Roundtree says in frustration.

"Can I read it?" Rojas asks, holding out his hand. He spends a few seconds studying the letter and then starts laughing. "Your girlfriend thinks we're Sherlock Holmes, is that it?"

"It's momentary, Warren," Eddie says, rolling his eyes. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Okay okay, it's not here who said it anymore." He says with a shrug.

They sat for a few minutes in Silence, their ears filled only by the music playing in the background and the sound of pages turning.

Warren flips through the magazines, skimming over articles and interviews until he suddenly stops and lets out a chuckle. "Elementary, my dear Watson," he says laughing, holding up a page for Eddie to see.

"What's so funny?" Eddie asks, looking over his friend's shoulder.

Warren points to a line in the article. "I didn't know that actress had time to read at all," he reads aloud. "Looks like your girlfriend left you a clue in her favorite book."

"Give me that." Eddie pulls the magazine toward him and reads it carefully.

Y/N L/N, our hollywoodian actress is not only entertained with the scripts she has to memorize, check out here the books she is passionate about.

"I confess that in my free time I prefer to read a book instead of drowning myself in work at home. If I were to choose a favorite? Hm... I think it would be "The Shining" for sure, I read it for the first time in the library on 3rd and Maple, I could never forget how this book spoke to me. Oh, and if you happen to see a girl named Diana at that library, tell her that The Shining never gets old."

"That's it Warren!" Eddie gets up from the couch excited.

"I'm a genius." Warren smiled proudly of himself, he took a moment to think. "And now what?"

"Now we go to the library on 3rd and Maple." Roundtree felt like he was getting close to you, and he couldn't wait to feel you again.

…

Eddie and Warren stood outside the library, scanning the area for any signs of their next clue. Eddie read the magazine again, trying to make sense of the cryptic message.

"The Shining never gets old," he muttered to himself. "What the hell does that mean?"

Warren glanced over at Eddie and shrugged. "I don't know, hermano. But we're here now, might as well try to figure it out."

Eddie and Warren entered the library, scanning the place for any sign of the librarian Diana. They spotted her at the front desk, organizing a stack of books.

"Excuse me, miss," Eddie called out to her, approaching the desk. "We were hoping you could help us with something."

Diana looked up, studying Eddie and Warren with a quizzical expression. "What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"We're looking for a specific book," Eddie said. "It's called 'The Shining."

Diana's eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Ah, yes. The Shining. A great book. It never gets old."

Eddie and Warren exchanged a look, knowing that those were the exact words you had used in your interview. This was definitely the right place.

"We were actually hoping for a little more help," Eddie said, flashing Diana a charming smile. "You see, we're trying to track down this person for a special project. Would you happen to have any information on her?"

Diana paused, considering their request. "Well, I do have a note she asked me to handle. She's doing an interview on the radio tomorrow at noon. Perhaps that would be a good place to start." She says handing over a note with this written on it

Eddie and Warren exchanged a look of triumph. This was it, the first real lead in their search for you.

"Thank you so much," Eddie said, flashing Diana a grateful smile. "You've been a great help."

As they turned to leave, Diana called out after them. "And remember, The Shining never gets old!"

Eddie and Warren couldn't help but smile, knowing that they had just received their first real clue.

…

"You know what Eddie, I'm enjoying this whole detective thing." Warren says, biting into his sandwich as they both wait in front of the radio for the interview. "In case we go back to eating pocket toast, I'll become a private detective."

Eddie looks at his friend and starts laughing. "The ideas that pop into your head, are you sure this is the right station?"

"We've already checked about twenty times Eddie, relax." Rojas gets up going towards the sink, to wash the glass he had used.

As they wait, the radio host announces the upcoming interview with you, the famous actress who has taken Hollywood by storm. Eddie and Warren look at each other in excitement, knowing this is the moment they've been waiting for.

As your voice comes through the speakers, Eddie leans in closer to the radio, hanging on to every word, Warren takes his notebook ready to make notes. You talk about your life before fame, your struggles, and your favorite places to go. And then talking about your memories, they catch attention about one thing.

"You know, before I became famous, there was this little bar I used to go to all the time. It was called The Blue Note, and it was my favorite spot to unwind after a long day of auditions."

Warren's eyes light up as he recognizes the name of the bar. "I know that place! I used to have a thing with the barista, she was a real fox."

Eddie rolls his eyes. "Focus, Warren. We have a clue to follow."

"It was such a special place, I miss going there." Eddie hears your laugh and his heart skips a beat. "The barista there is a great friend of mine, if you go there and meet her one day ask for the Y/N classic. I'm sure you won't regret it, it's delicious!"

"Turns out this barista is going to be very helpful, uh." Eddie looks at Warren who smiles excitedly.

As the interview comes to an end, Eddie and Warren make their way to The Blue Note, ready to see what the next clue will lead them to.

…

The bar is dimly lit, with low hanging lights casting a warm glow over the wooden tables and chairs. The sound of clinking glasses and murmured conversations fills the air, creating a cozy and intimate atmosphere. The barista, a black woman with curly hair that falls over her shoulders, greets Warren with a warm smile and a playful wink.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to come back," she says, playfully flipping her hair. "I thought you would have found a new favorite spot by now."

Warren grins and leans in closer. "I could never abandon this place, not with you working here."

Warren and her talked for a little bit until Eddie comes inside to join them, ordering the "classic Y/N" and when he does so she looks at him, surprised.

"Oh that's a good one, actually one of my favorites" She says, still smiling and starting the drink. "How do you know the drink? Are you close to her? I say it because she doesn't usually comment with many people that she has this drink here."

"Yeah, she's a good friend of ours," Eddie replies.

The barista nods, "I haven't seen her around in a while. How's she doing?"

"Actually, that's what we're trying to figure out, pretty girl," Warren answers, winking at the barista.

She laughs and flirts back, "Well, if you see her again, tell her Amanda says hi."

Warren takes the opportunity to continue the flirtatious banter, "Sure thing, Amanda. Maybe we'll even bring her along next time we come here."

The barista smiles, "That would be great. By the way, I heard you guys are exploding with the band. You have a show coming up?"

Eddie nods, "Yeah, we do. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Y/N always loved your album, especially the song 'The River'. She likes it so much that maybe one day she'll see it live, like... the next show, who knows," Amanda says with a suggestive tone.

Eddie and Warren exchange a knowing look, realizing that this could be another clue to finding you.

…

As Warren counts down to the beginning of 'The River' Eddie's heart beats faster, his eyes desperately searching the crowd for you. As Daisy danced wildly across the stage, Billy felt the music with everything he had inside him and Warren waved his hair in the wind; he could only scan every face in that audience looking for you.

You had managed to escape all that running around on set, excited to finally see Eddie again, if all went well. You asked your manager to help you get backstage and with the right contacts you were there walking back and forth waiting for the song to end. His hands shook from nervousness, you saw him feeling the music but distressed he was looking for you among everyone there, you smiled with his lost face, you found it so cute.

"Miss L/N, Mr Roundtree's dressing room has been cleared for you." A security guard tells you, guiding you to the place.

Eddie's energy dropped as he didn't notice you in the middle of everyone, he felt a tightness in his chest thinking that maybe deep down all this had been a big delusion, a huge coincidence, a mistake, or maybe a bad joke. Warren noticed his abstinence in the environment and knew his friend would be upset, and after they thanked the audience, Rojas handed him a bottle of water.

"I'm sorry man, I really thought we were close." Warren tries to comfort his friend who just shakes his head, heading towards his dressing room.

As Eddie walks into his dressing room, he closes the door behind him and takes a deep breath, trying to shake off the disappointment of not finding you in the crowd.

But then he hears a soft voice behind him, "You know, Eddie, it's not that hard to find me."

He turns around to see you standing there, leaning against the door with a coy smile on your face. You're wearing a sleek black dress that shows off your curves, and your hair is styled in loose waves that frame your face perfectly.

Eddie's eyes widen in surprise as he stares at you, almost unable to believe that you're really there. "Pretty girl… didn't see you in the crowd."

"I know," you say, walking towards him. "I wanted to surprise you. And I thought I'd wait until the song was over, so I could have you all to myself."

Eddie's heart starts to race as you approach him, and he can feel the heat rising in his cheeks. He's been waiting for this moment for so long, and now that it's finally here, he can hardly believe it.

As you reach him, you put your hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating under your touch.

"I've missed you, Eddie," you whisper, looking up at him with a mix of longing and desire in your eyes, he doesn't wait any longer and kisses you tenderly.

As you continue to kiss, your bodies press together, and your hands roam each other's bodies, exploring and rediscovering the curves and dips that you have longed for. Eddie's hands glide up and down your back, tracing the outline of your beautiful dress, while yours wrap around his neck, pulling him closer. You break the kiss for a moment, both breathing heavily, your eyes locked in an intense gaze.

Eddie leans down to kiss your neck, feeling your soft skin against his lips, while you run your fingers through his hair, sending shivers down his spine. Your bodies move as one, your passion building with each passing moment, until you are lost in a whirlwind of desire.

After that intense make out, Eddie pulls away slightly to look into your eyes. His breath is heavy, and his heart is pounding in his chest. He runs his fingers through your hair, tucking a strand behind your ear.

"I've missed you so much," he says, his voice low and husky.

"I've missed you too," you reply, smiling up at him.

Eddie takes your hand and leads you to the couch in his dressing room, pulling you onto his lap. He holds you close, his hands running up and down your back.

"I don't ever want to be away from you again," he whispers in your ear.

"And you won't have to, my recordings are over today." You say wrapping your arms around his neck. "After the press tour I'm finally free."

"I can't wait to have you all to myself." He says kissing you again, having you around was wonderful.

You hear the door behind you open, the drummer was there with his sticks in hand, a wide smile on his face and arms crossed. "I'm a wonderful detective!" He says laughing, before leaving.

...

Hi, I hope you are well. Passing by to let you know that next week my content will be relatively less frequent, I usually post every day but I confess that my creativity is really crappy... So, as I feel that the feedback has been smaller too, I will dedicate myself more to your requests and try to deliver my best, I'm trying to write things that are not very similar to what I've already posted here, so if you want to make me a request (especially if it's about djats actors) tell me what exactly do you want me to write that is different from the other stories I brought on my profile.

I'll be writing your requests until next week (but if you sent me something and I couldn't write it by then, don't worry, when my exams are over I will write) because after that my college exams will come and I'll be swamped studying, I hope you don't forget about me in my absence :)

beijos no coração de vocês 🫶🏾 - mandy

Want to be tagged when new stories come out? REASONSMANDY'S TAG LIST

Taglist: @boredshit-shadow @jaidaschampagneproblems @warrenrojaswife

[wheretheharekissesthefox]

Tav’s sex parade – Chapter 12: Mate me, mark me, make me yours (Halsin x Tav)

(Trigger warning (18+): graphic description of sex, smut, cunnilingus, biting, the feels)

Notes:

To avoid confusion: In one of my other fanfics, Halsin and Tav had named the owlbear cup Naïlo, which means 'night breeze' in the Elven language.)

Chapter 8 is mentioned.

The snowflakes twirled through the cold air of the grey day, covering the world in its first fine layer of this year's snow like powdered sugar.

Tav was sitting in the living room, composing, while Gale wrote letters to scholars, Astarion rested in reverie, and Shadowheart was at Morena's place to help her heal some clients. Gale's mother appreciated an extra pair of hands at this time of the years when the townspeople ended up with runny noses and coughs. Scratch and Naïlo were sleeping in front of the fireplace, tightly entangled. The owlbear had grown a lot and barely fit through the doorframe anymore, but he still behaved like an over-excited puppy. It was adorable and gave them 'scary dog privilege' when going on a walk in the park with him.

Tav was in the middle of figuring out what rhymes with 'apple' when there was a knock on the front door. The bard wiped her ink-stained fingers on a cloth before getting up and opening the door.

"Oak Father preserve you, my heart. How are you?"

"Halsin!" Tav fell around his neck, beaming. "I missed you. I'm alright, and you? Come in, love."

With a chuckle, the druid entered Gale's tower house and shook off his coat and boots.

"Nature's preparing for her hibernation. The snow will cover her like a warm, protective blanket soon."

"You're always so poetic," Tav smiled. "We truly must write a poetry book together. Maybe this winter? Will you stay longer this time or did you plan to travel during the winter season?"

"I'm not sure yet," Halsin answered as he was ushered into the kitchen to sit down. "It depends on how much it'll snow – and how long I can stand the city."

"I see. You can decide spontaneously," the human bard told him. She put the kettle on the stove and piled cookies from a ceramic yar onto a plate. She put it down in front of the druid. "Here, eat some. Gale baked all of our favourites."

Halsin looked at the plate and pointed at the vanilla shortbread.

"Let me guess; Gale's favourite?"

Tav nodded grinning.

The druid chuckled, studying the assortment again. He took a crescent-shaped cookie and sniffed it.

"Cinnamon, hm... Shadowheart? She strikes me as someone who likes exotic flavours."

"You're right, kudos."

Smiling softly, Halsin grabbed a pale star-shaped pastry and took a bite.

"Lemon? That's your favourite? I wouldn't have thought that. You look more like someone who likes raisins."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tav asked, pursing her lips.

Halsin chuckled and leaned his head back to look at her.

"Your welcoming, open-minded, flamboyant nature reminds me of the people in the south - even though your skin's so pale it would burn down there. When I'm in wildshape, you smell like raisins. Somehow, I can picture you between the vineyards and the olive trees."

"And the citrus trees," Tav added. Then, she sighed. "You're awfully observant. It's almost a bit scary."

When the druid looked at her confused, she sighed again, explaining: "I am from the south and did grow up next to a vineyard."

Halsin's eyes widened in surprise and Tav chuckled. She kissed his temple and muttered: "I do like raisins, but lemons are my favourite. When I was a kid, I ate them like apples."

The druid shook himself at the thought, making his lover snicker. The latter stole a lemon cookie from the plate and shoved it in her mouth. Halsin pointed at the sticky clusters, asking: "And what are those?"

"Walnut-honey cookies. Gale thought you might like them since you love honey."

Halsin blinked at her dumbly.

"Gale baked cookies for me?"

"If course! You're family after all."

"Oh."

Touched, the druid gazed at the plate and welled up a bit. He gently took one of the misshapen cookies and took a bite. He closed his eyes and moaned as the taste of flowery honey and earthy walnut exploded in his mouth.

"Good?" asked Tav, rubbing his shoulder blades.

"Mmh, definitely my favourite," sighed Halsin. "I must thank Gale properly. They are divine."

"He should have become a cook or baker instead of a wizard," Tav agreed, stealing another lemon cookie.

Halsin did the same, happily munching on the sweet treats. The bard walked over to the stove and brew tea. She filled two cups, placed them on the table, and sat down next to the wood elf. They silently enjoyed the beverage and the pastries for a while.

"What do you think was Astarion's favourite cookie?" Halsin suddenly asked. "Maybe something with exotic, expensive spices?"

"Or cherries?" Tav wondered.

"No, peaches," the vampire spawn revealed as he strode into the kitchen. "Hello, druid. Nice to see you again."

"Oak Father preserve you, Astarion. How was your rest?"

"Good, but I'm peckish now. Can I take a nibble?"

"Sure."

Astarion stared at him in surprise.

"Really?"

"Mhm," Halsin answered with a shrug.

Licking his lips, the vampire spawn moved closer, stroke a finger along the druid's thick neck before biting down. Halsin gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. He still wasn't used to the feeling of being bitten – other than Tav and Gale. Shadowheart refused to let Astarion feed from her and he respected her boundaries. The vampire spawn drew back, licked the wound clean and then his mouth. He swayed slightly, drunk on the druid's blood, again.

"Thank you, darling," Astarion slurred and kissed him sloppily before staggering out of the kitchen to lay down in front of the fireplace.

"Your blood has an interesting effect on him. I wonder why," Tav mused.

"Me too. He only gets drunk when feeding on me," Halsin muttered. "He says I taste like a bear."

That made Tav giggle.

"And what a lovely bear you are," she teased and leaned over to connect their lips. "I'll run you a bath."

"Mmh, thank you, my heart."

They kissed again before the bard left the kitchen and the druid finished the plate by himself. Then, he got up to seek out Gale in his study. The wizard was hunched over his letters, conferring with Tara.

"Oak Father preserve you, Gale. How are you?"

"Oh, hello Halsin. It's a pleasure to have you back. How was the journey?"

"Good. We'll talk about the details over dinner."

"Of course. Excuse me, I have to finish these letters first before I can start cooking."

Gale turned his attention back to his work.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Halsin," Tara said and purred as she accepted the druid's caresses.

"It's nice to be back. Thank you for the cookies, Gale. They're delicious," Halsin said, smiling.

"Oh? I'm glad you like them," the addressed replied with a sigh of relief. "I didn't know what you prefer, but when Tav said you like honey, I remembered this recipe."

"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart," the druid told him. He didn't know how to show his gratitude or how to repay the favour, thus, he did the only thing that was able to express his feelings; he gave Gale a tender kiss. The wizard gasped in surprise, but placed a hand on Halsin's chest immediately. When they parted, they leaned their foreheads together.

"Thank you," whispered the druid. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Mh, I can only assume," mumbled Gale, still slightly overwhelmed by the sudden kiss.

"Halsin! The bath's ready!" yelled Tav from the bathroom.

Halsin smiled and kissed Gale again before he left the room.

"What a lovely way to show his gratitude," purred Tara, highly amused.

Gale hummed, dazed, and went back to work.

At the dinner table, Halsin told them about his journey. The former Shadow-Cursed Lands had recovered and the wildlife was returning, slowly but steadily. Soon, the area would be suitable for people again, but Halsin was torn.

"It had been my home before the Shadow Curse claimed the lands. I always dreamed of returning, but now, that I can, I'm unsure about it. It feels so different now. The energy's not the same, nature has changed, and it doesn't feel like my homelands anymore." The druid sighed melancholically. "But I'm sure the lands would serve the refugees well. They're not welcome in Baldur's Gate and are forced to live in misery. Maybe, if I'd guide them to Thaniel's Realm, they'll find new hope and a new home."

After said gloomy words, Halsin changed the topic and handed Gale a set of ceramic soup bowls that he'd bought in Mirabar. The wizard marvelled at the craftsmanship and gushed over the design; dark blue background with yellow stars, moons, and suns.

"You were in Mirabar again?" asked Tav.

Halsin nodded.

"I saw the beautiful ceramic ware last time, but didn't buy anything. Winter Solstice is near and your hospitality's always wonderful, thus, I thought I'll bring you a gift to show my appreciation."

"Thank you, Halsin, but you're not just a guest here, you're family," Gale told him, looking serious.

The druid was taken aback and averted his gaze.

"Am I? Hm... thank you. That's... an honour, truly," he mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Of course you are," Gale replied with a smile. Shadowheart, Astarion, and Tav nodded in agreement and the latter placed her hand on Halsin's.

The druid welled up a second time this day.

The conversation had lit a fire in his belly, something he'd never felt before, and it overwhelmed him. Halsin possessively placed a hand in Tav's neck as he kissed her hungrily. Even though he'd had dinner, he was starving. With a growl, he grabbed the bard's buttocks and hoisted her onto his hips. She immediately wrapped her arms and legs around him.

"What's on your mind, love? You're acting strangely," Tav panted.

Instead of answering, Halsin kissed her again. He didn't want to talk, couldn't put into words what he felt. He dropped his lover onto the bed, hastily removing her clothes before stripping himself. Tav stretched an arm towards him to caress his cheek.

"Halsin, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Quite the opposite actually," he answered.

Before she could keep pestering him in concern, the druid bent down and started to eat her out. Tav moaned, bucked her hips up, and sunk a hand into his hair. Halsin focused on drowning in her taste and smell. He didn't want to think anymore. He just wanted to be. The bard mewled and came across his tongue, and Halsin moaned at the familiar taste. He didn't give her time to rest and entered her immediately. Tav whimpered but pulled him into a messy kiss. Halsin squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. It was too much, too intimate, too loving. Tav was warm and welcoming, trusting him completely. He smelled her skin, felt her breath on his cheek as she panted, her strong arms around him. Halsin drew back and looked at her. Dazed, she gazed up at him.

"Halsin, love, what's –"

The addressed pulled out, flipped her over, and pushed her head into the mattress.

"Stop talking. Please," he pleaded, desperately trying to gain control over his emotions and the scratching beast inside him.

Tav nodded silently and he grabbed her hips to pull her up onto her knees. Halsin entered her again with a groan and leaned over her. His thrusts were hard and fast, making the bard whimper and sob in ecstasy. The druid kissed her shoulder blade. The bear inside him spurred him on to mark his possession. To mate and mark what was his. Moaning, Halsin licked the bard's sweat off, grazing her rosy, freckled skin with his teeth. The beast roared and the druid growled irritated.

"Do it," Tav told him. "Bite me, Halsin. Mark me and make me yours."

The wood elf growled again, grabbed her broad shoulder to pull her closer, and listened to his natural instinct. He sunk his teeth into the nape of Tav's neck, biting down until he could taste blood. The bard gasped and groaned, but kept perfectly still. A shiver ran down the druid's spine, it felt like he was lit aflame, liquid fire running along the bones. A mating bite. Marking someone as his. His.

Mine, Halsin's brain screamed and he moaned as his climax hit him like a boulder. Colours exploded behind his closed eyelids and his ears were ringing. His legs gave out and he collapsed onto Tav who got squished into the bed under his weight. At the moment, Halsin neither noticed nor cared, his brain was still caught up in the fact that he'd marked his lover. It hadn't been a new feeling, he'd had the urge to bite for as long as he could remember, but he'd never acted on it. Halsin had never marked a lover before. It had been a big no-no, too animalistic, even for his taste. Something he'd been ashamed of and had always controlled – until now. Halsin finally unclenched his teeth and lazily tongued the bleeding wound and rolled off of Tav to let her breathe properly.

"I'm sorry," he croaked out huskily.

"Don't be," she replied, way too calmly for someone who'd just been mated and marked like an animal.

"Why aren't you freaked out by this?"

Tav just shrugged nonchalantly.

Halsin's non-bear brain started panicking.

"I- I bit you. Marked you. I left a mating bite on you!"

"I know," the bard replied, stretching languorously.

The druid stared at her in disbelief and repeated: "I left a mating bite on you."

Tav looked at him with a smile and stroke his cheek.

"I know," she said and kissed him sweetly. "I'm yours."

"You're mine," Halsin whispered, pulling her into another kiss.

The beast in him was sated, satisfied, and the druid felt as content as he hadn't in a long while. Tav was his, and now, the entire world could see it.

[shadowxamyweek]

To Team Dark: maybe a little early since the GUN case isn't close yet but we would like to know, if you are free from GUN what are you going to do? Will you three still work for them with a higher pay or do you want to do something else?

[Tails walks briskly, nervously, down a narrow hallway. The place is beige. Weathered and faded burgundy carpet covers his footsteps. There are no windows here, just artificial lights. Off-white walls are punctuated by doors that match the carpet.] [He knocks on one. When Rouge opens the door, he quickly hands her an envelope and then leaves. Rouge shuts the door behind him.] [Team Dark's room also has no windows. There are two narrow beds with rough sheets. Another door leads to a cramped bathroom where Shadow fills a glass with water from the sink. Omega has hunkered down in a corner with a Steamdeck.] Rouge: Got another letter from your girlfriend~! (￣ε￣) [Shadow huffs, setting the cup down as they go to take the mail from Rouge. She holds it out of their reach.] Rouge: Why don't you ever tell us what she writes to you, hm? Is it sappy? Oh! Is it *spicy?* (✧ω✧) Shadow: ((╬◣﹏◢)) Rouge: You're not saying no~o! Omega: Calculating. Of all conversations sent between Shadow and Amy, 33% of dialog has been concerned business, 5% concerned negative feelings, 52% positive feelings, 15% sappy. Shadow: Omega! Omega: Of that 15%, it could be argued that there were some allusions but no direct language used to relay spicy. Shadow: Stop it! Omega: Including but not limited to: kissing and holding hands in pubic venues. Rouge: OMEGA! Σ(≧▽≦) [Rouge bursts into laughter. Shadow, heavily blushing, is furious.] Omega: If you retrieve your letters, Shadow, I will- Shadow: NO! Omega: Then you must accept my data as I present it. Rouge: Oooooooh Chaos, are you opening Shadow's mail? Omega: Negative. Shadow opens Shadow's mail. I am reading it afterwards. [Shadow flickers with Chaos energy. Rouge immediately steps between Shadow and Omega, wings unfurled to block Shadow's view.] Rouge: Okay, alright, okay. First, not spicy, so very disappointing. Second, no opening or reading other Team Dark member’s mail Omega. Come on, we've talked about nuance. [There's a burst of static from Omega as their head makes a quick rotation.] Omega: Nuance is for needle nose pliers. I am a machine of war. I will read whatever mail I want. Shadow: I will rip you inside out and turn you into a rice cooker! [There's a squawk from Omega's audio processor as they get to their feet, placing the Steamdeck down and marching towards Shadow.] Rouge: Oh! This letter isn't from Amy! [There's a pause.] Omega: Who is it from?

Rouge: Just someone asking what we want to do if we win the case. Asking if we want to stay with GUN or whatever. [She winks at Shadow.] Rouge: Don't have to ask what you want to do~ [Shadow huffs. They snatch their glass of water from where they left it and stalk over to one of the beds where they fish a book out from under the pillow.] Rouge: Don't know about you though, big guy? What do you think? Omega: I care very little about the outcome of the trial for my own benefits. Rouge: Really? That's surprising. Why? Omega: I am owned by no man. My only prerogative in this mission is to ensure the safety and well-being of my team. [Shadow looks up from their book. Rouge stammers into a moment of silence.] Rouge: Oh... that's- Omega, that's really sweet actually. Thank you, baby. But you do know- GUN *does* think they own you. Omega: They would be incorrect. I am not GUN tech. With the Tails' help, I am not even Eggman tech anymore. I am, as you say, a self-made robot. Rouge: Uh… right. Hey, Omega, you want to destroy all Eggman robots? Omega: Affirmative. Rouge: What if you could also destroy all GUN robots and therefore establish yourself as the *best robot.* [There's a whir of a processing fan. Suddenly, it speeds up excitedly.] Omega: No prior consideration had been given to this concept. [Shadow smirks, rolling his eyes before going back to his book. Rouge pats Omega on the arm.] Rouge: Yeah, you don't want to be limited in who you can destroy, big guy. When we get out of here, we're doing it for *all* of us. Omega: What about you? Rouge: Me? Oh, hm... [Rouge looks away, picking at an invisible spot on her teeth with one long, pointed nail.] Rouge: I might go back to my old job. Shadow: That being? Rouge: Art and jewelry theft. Shadow: Of course you would. Rouge: You know me, sugar. But I've got a bit of an idea to take the work experience and credentials GUN has so kindly provided us to turn myself into a real detective of sorts. Shadow: Oh really? Rouge: If only on paper. Shadow: Vector won't like that. Rouge: Well, not like some fancy private art gallery is gonna call the Chaotix, not with their track record. There's an obvious market to corner, so I'm gonna be the one to do it. Omega: Will you need fire power? Rouge: Always. Omega: Then I will stay with you Rouge: Aw, you wanna stay with little old me? Have a bit of a smash and grab spree? [Omega nods. Rouge laughs, then turns to Shadow.] Rouge: What do you think, hm? You also want in? [Shadow drums the fingers on the back of their book. They shut it and look at Rouge and Omega standing in the middle of the room.] [There's a pause.] [Try as they might, Shadow cannot fight the smirk creeping across their face.] Rouge: Aw yeah, baby, that makes us a team. (๑˃ᴗ✧)