#//thought might as well get the ball rolling for them haha

[r3dblccd]

: ̗̀➛ @rainyearning; closed starter for Jakah & Elian

"Can't you sit in one place for once? Or at least tell me when you're going somewhere? I'm supposed to protect you, but, you know, it makes it very hard for me to do that when you're running away." Good thing Jakah could still track his scent, that usually made it easier to find the other.

[mrtelevisionlover]

can i request a chrismd one where you where one if the girls in the 20 women vs 1 youtuber football edition and fans start to ship you two? even the guys haha! loving your work btw!!

Yes!! Loved writing this, enjoy!

(Can you tell I know nothing about football?)

words: 1500+

Style

When Y/n got a DM from Chris’ manager asking her to be in this video, she wasn’t too sure what to think. She wasn’t very lucky in the dating scene, only going on a few first dates, and had never had a boyfriend. She didn’t really want to embarrass herself in front of his millions of subscribers but she had been a fan of his work for a while and had always wanted to meet him so…why not?

The morning of, she was very nervous. She had bought a new shirt to wear, and paired it with some shorts. She braided her hair into a simple french braid and stepped into some worn out trainers. She decided to go without makeup, as she was probably going to sweat it off. Also the weather outside was horrible and she didn’t want mascara dripping down her face…And she was late for the train.

When she arrived on the pitch, she saw 19 other girls, all very pretty. She suddenly felt insecure, especially as no-one was talking to her. She decided to go over her pickup line, seeing as that would be his first impression of her.

Soon, the cameras started rolling and one by one, the girls would introduce themselves to Chris and his two friends, Calfreezy and ArthurTV. Eventually, it was just her left. She watched Chris say goodbye to Loretta, who she eventually learnt had been on a few dates with Chris already. Once his manager gave her the green light, she walked over to the table.

“Wow-Hello!” Chris smiles. He takes a moment to look at her face, admiring her.

“Hi! I’m Y/n and uh…Can you be your striker? I'm only aiming for your heart.” Y/n giggles slightly, and the sound brings blush to Chris’ cheeks. 

“Aww, that’s quite sweet.” Arthur coos.

Freezy pauses, then points, nodding his head. “You know what, I like it.” 

Chris shakes his head slightly, and presses a hand to his cheek. “Are you any good at football?”

“I play with my dog sometimes?...” She shrugs, embarrassment painting her cheeks slightly.

“Oh…Okay. Well, I wish you the best of luck.” He smiles.

“Thank you!” She takes a few steps away from the ball before running towards it and kicking it with all her might. Unfortunately, the ball narrowly misses the goal, and goes over the top.

“Ooh! That was good, I’ll give you that.” Chris exclaims, clapping his hands together in celebration.

Cal sighs, “That almost made it too.”

“I’m actually surprised I got it that close. I thought it’d end up behind me.” Y/n gasps as two hands cover her mouth. She was quite awful at football and really surprised herself.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Arthur looks towards Chris in anticipation. He knows Chris already likes her, he can see the look in his eye– it was the same in school.

“Yeah, you’re through.” He smiles. Freezy takes note that this is the widest he’s smiled so far.

“Really? Thank you!” Y/n does a little jump before waving goodbye. She walks over to the rest of the girls where they actually start to talk to her. She starts talking to Rose, an American streamer who flew all the way over to be on this video. She seemed to really like Chris and Y/n started to get a little nervous, Rose was very pretty.

“She seems really sweet.” Arthur whispers to Chris as you walk away.

“She’s really pretty too.” Chris blushes, sending a shy smile towards him.

Freezy perks up, “Uh-oh, Chris is falling already.” He laughs.

Soon after, they moved into round two. Twelve girls remained, Y/n included, and they had three free kicks. Chris, Freezy, and Arthur stood in a line a few metres in front of the goal while the girls aimed for it, the 3 of them often getting hit. 

“Hello Y/n.” Chris beams. Cal laughs at him while Arthur nudges his shoulder. 

“Hi again.” She smiles, waving to the 3 of them. She’s incredibly nervous. She worries her luck has run out and has a bad feeling she’s going to hit one of them.

“Any technique you're aiming for?”

“Um…To score? Hopefully” She laughs. Chris giggles, Arthur and Freezy give each other a look

“Okay, Well…Best of luck.” He smiles.

Y/n steps back from the ball, lets out a little breath, and kicks the ball. It goes over their heads, and misses the goal. “Aww, come on!”

“It’s alright, you got two more!”

She kicks the ball again, she uses less power and it rolls towards the goal slowly. Arthur lets out a little laugh and Chris hits his chest with a scowl. 

“One more, give it some power!”

“Okay.” She mutters to herself as she walks back to the line. “Just score one, please.” She whispers, closing her eyes.

Y/n lets out another little breath before kicking the ball with all her strength. She watches the ball fly through the air and…Hit Chris right in the groin.

Arthur screams, “OHH!” as Chris falls to the floor, Calfeezy struggling to breathe from laughter. 

“Oh my-Are you okay!?” Y/n quickly runs towards him, leaning down to check on him.

“There goes my ability to have kids.” He groans, rolling on the floor.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t even know I could do that-” She apologises as her face is flooded in guilt. 

“It’s okay, I’m okay.” Chris slowly gets up, Y/n helping him.

“Are you sure? I’m just gonna go-”

“No! You’re through.”

“Wait, what!?” Cal exclaims as Arthur gives the camera a look of bewilderment. 

“Really?” She gasps.

“Yeah, you’re really sweet.” Chris rubs his hand down her arm, soothing her slightly.

“Oh, thank you. Again, I’m really sorry.” Y/n face plants as she walks away, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“You are insane.” Arthur mutters.

“What can I say, I really like her.” Chris shrugs, then wincing

 For the third round, the nine remaining girls had to show a talent. Y/n watched girls throw and kick footballs, recite poems, and participate in an arm wrestling contest. She decided to do some gymnastics, as that was the only thing she could come up with. 

“Hello Y/n, what will you be showing us today?”

“I will be doing some gymnastics.” 

“Oh cool! Ready when you are.” 

She starts by doing a handstand, then holding it for a few seconds before falling into a bridge. She stands up and does a simple cartwheel, then falls into the splits. She hears the guys cheering her on and she giggles slightly. She decides to finish it off with a few flips, landing in front of the table. 

“Wow…” Chris stares in awe.

“That was so cool” Arthur exclaimed, shaking Chris slightly.

“It’s a yes!” 

“Really? Thank you! See you later.” You wave them off. Chris watches you walk off, subtly checking you out. Freezy notices this and laughs at him, smacking him over the head.

“So…It’s Y/n and Rose, right? Those 2 you were smiling the entire time.“

“Yeah…Yeah, it’s them.”

“So…We’ve made a decision and we’ve decided to put Y/n and Rose into the final.”

“Woo!” The rest of the girls clap.

Both girls did rock, paper, scissors to decide who was starting first and Y/n won. Chris held an Umbrella over her head as he led her to the goal.

“So uh…What baby names do you like?”

“I like classic ones like Charlotte, or Henry.”

“Oh nice. I like Heather.” 

“Aww, that’s really cute. How many kids do you want?”

“As many as my wife will have, I don’t mind.”

Y/n smiles and realizes she's at the line. She says a little goodbye and watches him walk away. 

Eventually, Rose had scored 2 out of her 4 tries, and Y/n only had scored 1 out of her three. If she wanted a chance, she’d have to score. Y/n stands in front of the ball and closes her eyes, and slows down her breathing. She shakes her hands, stretches her neck, and kicks the ball.

She watches the ball fly through the sky, miss the goalie, and hit the net! She hears the guys celebrate behind her and realises she’s back in the game. 

She then watches Rose hit the ball for the final time, and watches as it narrowly misses the goal. Y/n hears gasps next to her as someone shakes her shoulders.

“If you score this, you win! No pressure though.” Arthur smiles at her sheepishly. She nods, still in shock. Y/n turns to Chris as she walks away and he gives her a reassuring smile, and a thumbs up. 

Y/n turns to the ball and eyes up the goal. She lets out one final breath and kicks the ball. It feels like everything is going in slow-motion, and she can’t watch anymore. She turns around and covers her eyes, only opening them when all 3 guys scream in excitement. 

She turns back around to see the ball in the goal and she gasps. “I did it!” Chris runs over and gives her a hug, congratulating her in her ear. She hugs him back, and squeals in surprise when he picks her up. Chris then gives her a gold envelope with a lot of money inside.

“No-I can’t keep this.” Y/n tries to give him back the envelope but he puts up his hands

“Yes you can, you won.”

“No-” She tries.

“Yes.”

“A date with you is the prize.” She pleads.

He smiles, before pushing the envelope back in her hands.

The video then cuts to them both skipping into the distance, with cute music playing over the top. It then fades, the video ending.

Comments: usera: Hello!? The chemestry between the two? SO glad she won

userb: rose was robbed tbh

userc: DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THEY ACTUALLY WENT ON A DATE I NEED TO KNOW!!

userd: who's wating for arthurs ai generated comment?

usere: you could see how much chris liked her from the start. who knew he was such a blushy boy!?

userf: so cute! Hope to see her in other videos

userg: him picking her up at the end? they better be together

userh: her talking about men's mental health? chris, she's a keeper!

Well, I hope you like it. My first real fic, done!! also, ignore any mistakes, i'll go over them tomorrow x

[chokisnumber1fan]

previous | how far can we go? — thirteen | next

a/n: i'm back! i hit a slight roadblock trying to figure out the direction of the story so updates will be slightly slow and short, probably, i'm sorry about that

the gears are now in motion, the plan is rolling. mualani planted the seeds of a certain rumour within meztli; it would only be a matter of time before it grew to the size of a whole plant, because you are currently in the presence of the anela, the one and only anela, her hands shaking as she reads the letter the man she thought was her beloved had left on your doorstep. frankly, the sight did something to your heart that made you want to drop everything and comfort this girl that you had known for literally just ten minutes.

anela’s voice is low, reduced to a quiver. “it’s... um, i— i don’t know what to say...” she sets the letter down on your table. her fists slowly curl into balls and her hands momentarily twitch before she brings them up to her eyes. “he’d been acting pretty off lately, now i know.”

you can tell she’s trying her hardest not to cry. “archons, it’s so pathetic. he’s so pathetic.” you mumble a little i know and sigh as you rest your head on your hands, sitting across from her on your dining table. “would you like some dinner?”

she looks slightly taken aback, stunned to speak, even, and it almost takes her a good few seconds before she can coherently respond to your question. she nods and so you shoot her a small smile and then she offers you her help. what’s your favourite? you ask. blazed meat stew, she says. “i love that! let’s have that for dinner!”

and then, the two of you instantly became best friends.

haha, not really, no. it was a bit awkward, but that’s only natural. after all, trees don’t grow overnight. if you’ve ever seen a sapling grow into one real quick, that only means it probably has a shorter lifespan than usual.

anela finally asks you the dreaded question when you are both seated at your table, plates of food placed in front of the both of you. “do you have someone that you are... with?” she vocalises the question very slowly, as if stringing the words together as she speaks. a million thoughts run through your mind. you almost choke on your food. “it’s alright if you don’t want to answer, i was just curious.” she immediately follows up when she notices your surprise.

“no, no, it’s just, hmm... funny that you ask.”

funny story, there is this guy i hired to be my fake boyfriend just to get yours off my back except it hasn’t been working all that well because nothing seems to deter that creep but also i realised that i actually wish my fake relationship was a real one because somewhere along the way i started developing real feelings and it makes me regret all of my life choices and i’m going to break up with my fake boyfriend actually because i can’t take it and he might actually never want anything to do with me if he ever finds out because then he’ll think i spun this entire story up just for some sick fantasy that he thinks i have and—

“let’s just say that i do...”

taglist !

@yuriisclumsy @fandomfan-102 @jiminscarmex @keiiqq @blaxvoid @eunchaeluvr @just-simping-over-genshin @kuniz-darlingg @sugacor3 @help-whatdoimakemyusername @yomsy @kunichio

[please send me an ask or DM if you would like to be added ♡]

[merajsblog]

"y/n y/n!!" you hear your friend shout, bolting through the classroom. you startle, looking up at your loud friend. "Are you doing something after school?" she says inquisitively looking at you, her hands on your desk. you frown slightly, cocking your head to the side. "no, I don't think so why?" you didn't have practice after school today. you were slightly sad it was your day off and you would probably be busy again.

her hands slam down on your desk once again. "PLEASE come to the boys' volleyball club game today." she says, with the most hopeful look on her face. Your friend was a manager of the fukurodani volleyball club.

"i would love to, but could you tell me why?" you say raising an eyebrow. "is it because your little crush is there..." you say with a smirk, elbowing her side. she had the biggest crush on the ace of the team, Bokuto. he was a force to be reckoned with as his bellows rang down the classroom halls. she immediately blushes, stuttering as she exclaims "n-no! i just need help because the other manager won't be here today, and i NEEEED help!!" she whines. you roll your eyes, "okay, okay i can come help you." you say giving an exasperated sigh. you hadn't seen the boys' team that often and watching them play might give you some creativity for your own plays on the girls' volleyball team.

୨♡୧

after the last bell rang, you stepped into the gym. the familiar sounds of the ball smacking against hands and the floor rang through the air. your friend was already sitting on the bench, talking to the coach. you hadn't brought a change of clothes out of your uniform considering you thought you would be headed home right after school. you casually walked over, your bag still on your shoulder.

"oh! y/n, you're here thank GOD!" she exclaims. "coach this is y/n, the captain of the girls' volleyball team!" she says, a little too loud. it felt like the whole gym went quiet.

"oh, haha yea, I heard that you guys were down a manager and she asked if she could get my help." you chuckle nervously.

"boy's, team meeting really quick!!" the coach bellows in the silence. the sound of squeaking fills the air as they shuffle closer. you immediately spot bokuto, how could anyone miss him and his horned hair. your friend is beaming, staring maybe a little too hard at him.

"bokuto, where is akaashi?" coach states, his head on a swivel looking for him.

"oh i think he's coming a little late..." and right in the middle of that sentence, your jaw drops. akaashi is entering the gym, his dark black hair soaking up the sun. his grey eyes dart around the gym before landing on you. your eyes are wide, mouth slightly hanging open.

"sorry coach, i was helping someone with homework after class ended." he says, standing by bokuto. While coach is talking about the game, your heart is pounding. how did your friend hang around her crush for so long, you figured your heart would go out if you stayed around here any longer.

"...and thank you y/n l/n for stepping up as a manager for today. she is the captain of the girl's volleyball team, so she won't go easy on you." he says grinning.

you give a half-hearted chuckle. they shout their thank-yous before returning to their practice. your still stood there. even the way his voice sounded was smooth and velvety, like music to your ears.

"if you need help with anything please just let me know. some people on this team can be quite a handful at times." says akaashi, as he is approaching you. he is looking at you, his grey eyes feel like they are piercing you. he gives you a small smile before turning around too.

"ooo what was that!" your friend says, elbowing you now. you immediately fall apart, shushing her. well, if you had known that this guy was going to be on the team you would have said yes to helping out so fast. the way he played was calm and collected, but still calculating. he was the setter, playing beautifully with his hands.

not long had gone by, before you heard a knock on the door. it seemed as though only you had heard it. you turn, opening the door. Nekoma is stood there, all bundled up in their red clothing. the cold winter air, nipped at you.

"hi! are you guys here for the game?" you question, opening the door a little more. you feel a warm presence behind you, a hand being placed on the gym door. your met with golden eyes, and ridiculously tall boys.

"could you redirect them to the locker room really quickly while we clean up in here. they need to drop their stuff off anyways." you hear akaashi's voice in your ear. you turn looking at him wide-eyed. his hand is placed on the gym wall next to you, as he leans over your shoulder, almost whispering in your ear.

"oh, yea I can do that." you say, inches away from his face. his grey eyes are just beautiful, making it incredibly hard to look away as your eyes lock with his. you give him a small smile, and you watch the corner of his mouth lift before he pulls away.

you were curious as to where this was going.

p.s there will be a pt.2 because im feeling quirky.

[ktchewy]

A comparison of some pens I'm currently using and some new pens I acquired

Pens used:

- Uni-ball One P 0.38mm - LAMY Safari <EF> - TWSBI Eco <F> - Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point <F> - Pilot Kakuno <EF> - Ancora Ginza custom pen <MF> - Sailor Hocoro <M, F, fude> - Kakimori brass nib dip pen - Matsubokkuri glass pen

Lengthy review under the read more 🙈

The Uni-ball One P is sort of like the control for the comparisons? Idk LOL we know for sure it's 0.38mm so we can estimate how much thinner/thicker the other pens are. This pen is my go-to for quickly jotting things down, I highly recommend the Uni-ball One series of pens to anyone looking for a gel ink pen! It writes super smooth and has never smudged for me, the way the pens from the P series (P for pocket!) look is also super cute. After using the Uni-ball One pens, other non-fountain pens just don't hit the same. When I was filling out forms during check-in at one of the hotels in Japan, the staff gave me a regular ol' ballpoint pen and after one stroke, I went "nah I'm not writing with this" and grabbed my own pen from my backpack.

The LAMY Safari and TWSBI Eco are both a constant for me, they're always filled and hanging out in my pen case. I know some people don't like LAMY Safaris or TWSBI Eco's because of inconsistent nib qualities from the former and cracking issues from the latter but both of these pens have been pretty solid for me, never had any issues with them (knock on wood! 😳) I included them in this just to compare them with the new pens I got.

I am super in love with the Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point, probably my most favourite purchase of the trip! I used to think my TWSBI Eco wrote smoothly but the Capless straight up gliiiides across the paper. I picked this up in Itoya Ginza and had the chance to try out the EF as well and I think because that one was so thin, there was a bit of feedback so I didn't like it as much. I love writing with this pen so much, it sparks joy!! The retractable mechanism is very convenient for quickly putting the pen down and picking it back up again. Super recommend it to people who are looking to try a higher budget pen. For comparison, this matte black version sells for $275 CAD locally and I got this at Itoya for ¥18,540 (tax free hehe), which equals to about $175-180 CAD.

I actually already have a Pilot Kakuno with an M and F nib in my collection and I wanted to try a thinner nib but for some reason, just the EF Kakuno was super hard to find locally. I forgot to write on my sheet that it's currently filled with Sailor Shikiori Yamadori, because of the thinness though it's hard to see the turquoise colour of the ink haha. I think this size would be perfect for writing in the condensed space of my Hobonichi Weeks, I'll have to test it out in the weekly pages once the proper dates roll around.

The Ancora Ginza pen is also another pen I was looking forward to get, only because it was almost like going to Build-a-Bear but for pens LOL If you want to search more about it, you can try the official Japanese name of it: アンコーラMy万年筆. The model of the pen is a Sailor Profit Jr. and cost ¥4,400, I did research prior going on my trip it used to be ¥3,800 at some point 🥲 You can pick between a regular steel MF nib or a fude nib but I already have a fude Profit Jr so I picked the MF instead. My friend also commented that she thought I would be making multiple pens but I'll be saving my second custom pen for another time just so I have an excuse to go back to Ancora again >:) This nib also feels really nice to write with; no feedback, very smooth. I'm trying to limit my number of inked pens so this comparison was only done by dipping the nib in ink, I do want to fill this pen properly and try journaling with it soon! The only complain I have for this pen is that the cap or body feels a bit squeaky scratchy when I screw them back together, it's most likely just the part I grabbed but the quality might be hit or miss with them. The pen that my friend made is completely fine though! I think it's worth it to get your own pen made because it's such a unique experience.

If you're looking for a dip pen to play around or swatch multiple inks at once, then you'd have to try the Sailor Hocoro dip pen. I previously ordered the fude nib one online and I loved how convenient a dip pen is in general. But because of the nature of a fude nib, it took some time to get used and having to write at a specific angle to get the line width I wanted would sometimes give me wrist pain lmao :') Then not too long ago, Sailor announced that they were releasing a M nib so I added that to my mental list of things to buy, and then seeing how cheap stationery were in Japan, I picked up an F nib (no pen body) and the extra "feed" parts too. The feed isn't necessary but I like that I can write for way longer as opposed to not having it (check out this demo from Yoseka) In hindsight, I wish I had gotten the grey body in Japan. I do like the white body but I just want to keep the bodies with their respective nibs that I got them with and I feel like I might have mixed them up while swatching inks the other day LMAO

The Kakimori dip pen has been in my wishlist for a super long time and I'm very glad I held off from buying it locally in Vancouver or ordering it online. The sakura wood nib holder and the brass nib are listed on a local shop's site for $49.95 and $64.95 CAD respectively, on Kakimori's online shop they're ¥4,520 for the nib holder and ¥7,430 for the nib. In Kakimori's physical store, I got the nib holder for ¥2,970 and the nib for ¥4,950, with the conversion rate, that's like $27-28 for the nib holder and $46-48 CAD for the brass nib!!! 🥴 Price aside, this dip pen is another tool you can use for swatch inks or just drawing/doodling with it, I love the super thick line you can get when you hold it at a low angle, it's how I swatched all those lines in my Hobonichi Weeks. I've always read about how the stainless steel nib is harder and feels scratchier than the brass nib and after having tried both in stores, I do prefer the brass nib a lot more. The stainless steel nib felt like it didn't want to be written with, it just didn't feel pleasant imo. Some people might like feedback in their pens so I do recommend testing the pens out if you're able to before buying them.

This glass pen by Glass Studio Matsubokkuri ガラス工房まつぼっくり is my very first glass pen and I only chose this one because 1) the body is simple and short, I don't like the crazy swirly glass pens I commonly see 2) the triangular body means it's less likely to roll off the table 3) it was easily found at Ancora Ginza LOL I first discovered it when I was watching this youtube channel doodle/swatch inks with it. On Matsubokkuri's own website, they have F, M, and broad listed but there was only one size available at Ancora. I think mine is a F nib but I don't have any other glass pen to compare with so it's totally a guess, I'm just comparing it with my F fountain pens 🤔 The staff at Ancora gave me two pens to test out before purchasing since glass pens will have slight differences between them. They both wrote fine, I only picked the second pen I tried because the swirls in the nib of the first pen looked wonky to me.

If you made it this far down the post, thank you! I just wanted to share my thoughts on the pens that I have and hopefully this can give a little insight and help someone on their own pen journey!! 🫶

[gamequeenanya]

Vanessa's Moon Encounter

By: GameQueenAnya / Violet

Summary: She never thought she'd be chasing two grown women through the pizzaplex, but alas, Vanessa should have counted on a bunch of surprises when signing up. Especially since Moon is on the loose and the girls could be in grave danger.

Inspired by my meetings with @trashyswitch! Michael Afton guest appearance! Partial tickle fic: Ler!Moon, Lee!Vanessa. Probably the longest thing I've made since the collab fic. Enjoy! :D

…

Vanessa ran down the hallway of the Pizzaplex.

"Where are you twerps?!"

Violet and Pocket ran down the hall, giggling to themselves. They'd snuck into the Pizzaplex to see the cool stuff after hours. This was not technically allowed, but they'd pretended to have left when they were actually hiding. So they were still seen as guests.

It was strange. What were two grown women doing playing this silly game? Vanessa wondered. Couldn't they have just come back the next day to play with the animatronics? Why did they have to make her life harder?!

Vanessa chased the girls all the way to the Daycare. Why would they go to the Daycare? They didn't even have any kids.

She peered down the slide and groaned. She'd have to do the fun slide.

It was oddly nostalgic as she slid down, and she felt a feeling she didn't feel in a long time. It was fleeting but there was something there. A nice memory of innocence.

Landing in the slew of colourful balls, Vanessa sputtered.

The Daycare Attendant made his entrance and dove into the ballpit. He swam through the balls and picked up Vanessa.

"Oh! It's good to see you again, dear friend! Want to come play?" He said with a light giggle.

"I can't!" Vanessa said. "I'm on duty."

"Haha, you said duty!" Sun giggled. "Hoohoohoo!"

Vanessa deadpanned. "Uh. Y-yeah…"

Sun put her down and scratched his head.

"So what are you doing here? Are you looking for someone?"

"Uh, two someones actually…"

"Great!! Do you think we can all play with googly eyes and glitter glue, and play hide and seek in the ball pit until something comes out and scratches our eyes out?! I mean-!"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Sun clapped his hands and danced in place. "Oh hooray!!"

He led Vanessa through the Daycare area and showed her through the area.

"Here's the fun tubes! They might be in there… Or uh, hm… If they want to see me, they've probably found a way to get up on stage."

Vanessa took a small gander at the area. She could climb through all the tubes, but it would be exhausting. And if it was exhausting for her, surely it would be for the women as well? Especially since one of them was older than her.

She looked up at the stage area. She supposed she'd start there.

"Uh, can you stay here for a second? Just in case the girls are in the tubes and come out."

Sun nodded excitedly. "Oh boy!! Hoohoohoo! I can't wait to meet my new friends!"

…

Vanessa had managed to climb all the way to the stage area and looked through it. It was more messy than she expected. There was no one to be found here, though. Just a couple of dead security bots. She shook her head. Then that meant they were in the tubes!

She looked out over the stage area, but her foot had gotten caught on a "Happy Birthday Pocket!" banner, and she slipped. Now she was dangling over the edge of the stage.

"Ack! Sun!! Hey, Sun! Help me!" She cried.

Sun looked over to her and saw her in trouble. "Oh no! Just a second. I'm coming!!"

He skipped over to her and thought about how to get her down. He couldn't reach her from down here. Maybe he could use a tool and have her grab onto it? He nodded. That's what he'd do!

Meanwhile, Violet and Pocket were watching from the tubes. They giggled to themselves. No way was Sun actually there! They saw Sun talking to Vanessa, and then something happened and Sun was pacing around in circles wondering what to do.

"Uhh, something's wrong." Violet said.

"Yeah," Pocket replied. "I uh, think Vanessa's in trouble."

They felt guilty for what they were putting Vanessa through. Honestly, they'd only wanted to have some last-minute fun in the Pizzaplex after the party was over.

"What should we do?" Violet wondered.

"Let's first see what's going on," Pocket said, and crawled through the tube, wondering about the situation. They crawled until they found a bubble they could effectively use to peek at the situation.

…

Vanessa had wiggled so much, her shirt had come loose from her pants and started to ride up to expose her belly. Usually she'd find this embarrassing but she didn't really care at the moment. Her main worry was with getting down.

Sun was trying to get Vanessa down, but seemed a little naive in his methods. First he used a broom, which he told her to grab and have him pull her down. She objected, saying the force of the pull would make her fall on her face. Sun thought it over and conceded it was a bad idea. So next he grabbed a feather duster because it was softer. He told Vanessa to hold onto it. She shrieked with indignation, and then she shrieked when he tickled her exposed belly with it.

"Sorry!" Sun said, blushing. "Um… The idea worked better in my head…"

She rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms over her stomach. "What's your next idea…?"

Sun paced around the room, trying to think. He could think of nothing, which frustrated him, so he paced more to try and think harder.

That was when there was a sudden power outage, and the pizzeria went dark.

…

"…Naughty, naughty!" Came a devilishly menacing voice.

It was Moon. Whenever it got dark, Sun would retreat, and the Moon side of the Daycare Attendant would come out.

"It's past your bedtime!" He said, looking up into the tunnels. Violet and Pocket felt a chill run through them. Moon giggled again, sneaking off into the darkness.

He found Vanessa, still dangling from the banner on stage.

"My my… What's this…?"

She struggled in the banner some more, but felt trapped. What could Moon do? Maybe it was a better idea to freeze and pretend you're not here.

Moon looked around, his eyes glowing red. He strapped the hook on his back as he floated around the room.

"I think I hear somebody… Are they crawling around in the tubes…? Hoohoohoo…" He listened close, and could hear some faint breathing. "I think I do!! And you know what has to happen!" He swung around and looked for the girls. Looking at the tubes closely, he found them sitting in the bubble, daring not to move. "Found you…!!"

Suddenly a blinding light came from behind them and sent Moon screeching away. Still swinging on his cord, he glided to a safe place.

"W-what was that?" Violet asked. Pocket shrugged.

The girls turned around to see what caused the flash of light that had saved them. Holding a flashlight, it was a man who looked about 40. He had light brown hair, an average height and deep blue eyes. He wore a purple turtleneck and blue jeans with black work shoes.

"Follow me!" He said.

The girls looked back puzzled. Why should they follow this random man? It could be a trap.

He shook his head.

"No time to explain!! The animatronics are vicious tonight!!" He said, glaring at the Moon animatronic. The girls nodded and followed the man. He seemed shaken by something, but he seemed to know what he was doing.

…

Meanwhile, Moon was looking for Vanessa. She was still stuck. He wondered if he could help in some way.

Yes, Moon was programmed to be a menace, but if someone was really in danger, he would have to help.

He found Vanessa with his night vision. Looking her up and down he hummed. Vanessa seemed to not notice him up until now and squealed in surprise.

"M-moon?!"

"Nyehehe! Yes!" He wiggled his fingers. "I'm gonna get you!! Hehe! … But first, I need to get you down."

Vanessa blinked. Then she struggled.

"Careful, there! Uh, you don't want to fall." Moon hesitantly reached out. "Uhm… Can I uh, grab onto your sides?"

She felt her face flush. Surely this animatronic, who had a reputation for scaring kids sleepless wasn't being a gentleman right now?

"Um… g-go right ahead!" She said, trying to sound confident.

Moon held her sides carefully. She squealed.

"H-hehey! Stahahaahaap!" She shook her head. "I'm ticklish!"

Chuckling, Moon tried to find a more comfortable way to hold her. Squeezing her hips also got her laughing.

"Hahaahahahahahahaaaahaaa! Mooohoohoohooon!" She cried, wiggling back and forth. She looked so silly. Moon tsked and shook his head. He tried holding onto her lower ribs, but they were also ticklish. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAA!! STOHOHOHOP!"

He let go, and then giggled to himself.

"You know… I could make this fun for both of us! If you know what I mean!" Moon chuckled.

Vanessa went silent. She just hung there by her ankle, unsure of anything right now. Picking up on this, Moon tipped his head. He couldn't read her mind, but he could ask questions and try to be nice.

"If you don't want that, of course! I'll get you down." Moon said with an awkward chuckle.

"Uh…" Vanessa didn't know what to think at this point. "You know what? Heh. S-sure. You can tickle me! But don't tell Afton I allowed it!"

Moon chuckled and wiggled his fingers again. "Of course not!"

There was a loud squeal from Vanessa as Moon tickled her sides again, this time with purpose.

"EEHEEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE!"

…

Michael heard a distant scream from someone. He stopped to reevaluate the situation.

There were two women with him now. If there was another who needed help, he'd have to go back for her. He was breathing heavily from the running he'd been doing. Ever since that animatronic had come to his office with that strange machine - a time machine? - there had been nothing but trouble. He'd been openly hostile to it, telling it to get out and wondering what it was doing here. It had been before the beginning of Michael's sixth night. Animatronics had taken everything from him, so why should he hold back?

Then he saw the animatronic falter.

It was a tall lanky sun animatronic, humanoid, yet still creepy-looking. Yet when he saw that touch of innocence he felt a hint of pity. Maybe it was wrong of him to lash out. After all, this animatronic hadn't done anything to hurt him.

He'd talked to it more calmly and wondered what it was doing here.

And the animatronic had said he was looking for a friend. It was a fun and happy jester kind of animatronic. His brother and sister would have loved it. The man on the phone would have loved it. Michael wasn't sure how he felt about it, but he decided he may as well help it. Before his nightshift, he'd panicked when he heard the sound of a bell. He'd gone to hide in the time machine, and Sun - the animatronic's name - had gone with him. They were back here in a flash. Michael had looked around the pizzaplex but was still unsure where "here" was.

"So uh… Who was that? The woman who screamed just now?" Michael said. Now standing to face them, it was apparent that there was a gold chain link hanging down from Michael's shirt pocket. He looked rather serious, so now wasn't the time to ask.

"Vanessa… the Security Guard." Pocket said. Violet looked away sheepishly. It was because of her birthday party that Vanessa was probably in trouble right now.

"Yeah… We were being kind of sneaky because we wanted to see the animatronics," Violet explained. "And uh, yeah… Vanessa chased us through the Daycare because she was probably worried about us."

"It's her job," Michael pointed out. Then he gave the woman a second glance. "But yeah, probably that too. Uh, what was your name again?"

"Violet," she said meekly. "And this is my friend Pocket!"

Michael waved at them.

"Violet…" He said, seeming to recall something. Slowly, he reached into his pocket to pull out the object the gold chain link was attached to. "You wouldn't happen to be this Violet, would you…?"

…

Vanessa was wondering if this was really worth it. Nothing had gone right for her and she'd been starting to doubt that being a security guard was a good idea.

That was, until Moon had taken her mind off it.

"HAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAAHA! MOOHOOHOOON! NOT THEREHEHE!!" She cried, wiggling around as he targeted her stomach.

He was using the feather duster Sun had dropped a while back. Swishing it back and forth and around in circles, he was completely wrecking her. The feathers made her entire tummy sensitive, and sometimes a feather would swirl inside her belly button.

"HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAHA! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!" She shrieked as he spun the duster around.

"Hmm, isn't it strange that the others mostly target your feet?" Moon said thoughtfully. He seemed to be barely paying attention. It was true that sometimes when Vanessa got trapped in some way, the bots would sometimes take her shoes off and tickle her feet. She didn't know why they did that - maybe a glitch in the programming? - but she didn't seem to mind too much. At least it got her mind off her worries. Moon hummed, putting his free hand to his chin. "You're plenty ticklish in other places though!" He snickered. Vanessa's face was flushed and he wasn't sure if she'd heard him. But it was fun to tease her nonetheless. "What's your favourite place to be tickled?"

He gave her a short break to let her catch her breath. She breathed heavily, hanging there limp. Her belly was flushed, almost as pink as her face. She thought she'd dreamed of him asking her something, but then he shook her head as the question settled in.

"I…" She hesitated. If she told him anything she'd be worse off than if she didn't… probably. "I- I- d-don't have a favourite place," she replied between breaths. "Punk."

"Really…?" Moon said with a chuckle. "Hmm…" He looked at her curiously, wondering if she was telling the truth. "Are you sure…? Because I can tell when someone's being a sassy little liar…!" He teased, with his iconic grin. Vanessa squirmed.

"I-I…" She went speechless, uncertain. She let Moon make the first move.

"I've tickled quite a few sassy little liars…!" He chuckled. "Most were kids, some were other security guards~!" He giggled as his head spun around. "All of them were very, very ticklish!"

Vanessa chuckled, both in amusement and in nervousness. Moon continued.

"The spot most of them couldn't stand… it was right here." He said softly, tracing his finger along her spine, sending ticklish shivers all throughout her.

"Heheheheheeheheheee!" She couldn't help laugh. Her spine was one of her worst spots, perhaps even worse than her feet. "Plehehehehehehheease!"

Moon stopped, pulling his finger away.

"Or was it here?"

He traced his finger along the sides and back of her neck, causing her to scrunch up her shoulders.

"Perhaps it was here…?"

Gently, he traced circles in her armpits, causing a squeal.

"Or here…??"

He saw her exposed stomach, and made a 'boop!' sound as he poked her belly button.

"Eeeheeheheeheee!" She shrieked, wiggling in place. The banner holding her ankle looked like it was coming loose. Moon noticed. He supported her shoulderblades with one arm, and prepared to catch her. He wiggled a finger in her belly button. She squealed and wiggled more, feeling her ankle come loose from the banner. She felt her heart catch in her throat, and then she felt Moon catch her, holding her bridal style. She breathed heavily and held on to Moon as they were both swinging in the air. She was safe.

…

Michael held out the object attached to the gold chain. It was a heart shaped locket.

Inside the locket was a photo of a beautiful man with a beautiful woman. They both had golden hair. The man had square glasses and blue eyes. The woman had green eyes. The words "Scott & Violet for ever" were etched on the outside.

Violet held out her hands, unsure.

"W-where did you find this…?"

Sighing, Michael cast his gaze downwards.

"The office…"

He too, seemed sorrowful. The office where he'd worked at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The one where guards were lucky to survive until their third day. The one where a man who painfully reminded him of family had met his end.

"It was uh… next to the phone." He said. Violet undid the link and put the locket around her neck. Pocket helped her with putting it on. "I'm so sorry…"

She nodded. She was silent. What could she say? Holding the locket, she smiled at the picture inside. Then she closed it and held it close to her heart. After a moment, she spoke.

"T-thank you."

Michael nodded. He let her feel sentimental for a bit. The locket had been a reminder that the guards who get slain here have loved ones too. And maybe, one day, he could have someone who loved him like that too.

There was another scream, and Michael broke out of his thoughts.

"We have to go."

…

They arrived at the scene of Moon holding Vanessa in his arms and swinging around the daycare. He hadn't noticed Michael and the others. Carefully, he swung down and set Vanessa on the ground safely.

"There you go!" He said with a wide grin.

Vanessa smiled back and nodded.

Michael and the others ran over.

"Ma'am! Are you okay?" He checked Vanessa over, wanting to make sure she was alright. Her face was flushed, but aside from that and an untucked uniform, she seemed fine.

"Y-yeah," she said with a slight giggle. Instinctively she held her stomach, and she watched the Moon animatronic float through the air.

"He didn't harm you?"

She shook her head.

Just then, the power came back on in the Daycare. Moon screeched, and turned back into Sun.

"That's strange… I heard he was a threat," Michael said.

"Well, m-maybe when he's not in… that mode." Vanessa said, face flushed.

Michael looked around on the ground and found some candy.

"Huh? What are these?"

The candies said, "Moon drops."

Vanessa interjected.

"They're for kids, to help them sleep."

Michael blinked.

"Okay…" He decided to just accept it. The future was weird enough.

Then he found another bunch of candy scattered about.

"Oh. These ones are sun drops…"

"They help the kids get more energetic."

"I see." Michael said. He should have figured.

On the table was a bunch of different candies. The mascot was something that looked like an amalgamation of Sun and Moon. "Eclipsed."

"W-what are those ones?"

"Oh. T-those are experimental. When kids are feeling too anxious, it helps calm the nerves. However, the side effects can be that it also stops you from being ticklish. Sounds great, right?" She chuckled with a blush. "But it can be bad when the nerve stopping formula goes as far as the kids not reacting to a serious injury."

Michael's thought of a cunning plan. He grabbed a handful of them and stuffed them in his pocket. Then he unwrapped one and ate it. Vanessa recoiled.

"You're serious?!"

Then Michael grinned.

"What? I'll need them for my job."

[The End.]

[jeongyunhoed]

As seen on my FF.net Also seen on my Ao3

Following the events of fifth year, a new adventure awaits for Norah Lee. Boys, exams, school events, common room parties, and old foes outside of Hogwarts. Even battling pensieve guardians was easier than this.

Main Pair: OC/? Genre: Adventure/Angst/Fluff (it's a little of everything, tbh)

KEEP IN MIND: Characters are aged up (even if the story's got them in sixth year) to make it more appropriate. Time period is leaning towards the modern day so in case you might find anachronisms in the dialogue or references, this is why. This may also be quite a lengthy fic too.

BE WARNED: Social anxiety, mentions of blood and injury, grief, drinking, kissing but nothing more than that, death (this is Hogwarts Legacy, after all)

P.P.S: I forgot Norah and Ominis kind of matched outfits. That will be something to talk about over time, hehe. But partying ahead! There are several Gryffindor party audios on Youtube that you can listen to (Youtube user Christine has the most immersive ones, with actual speaking audio).

The song by the way is Hard to Beat by Hard-Fi. I know, very 2000s. haha.

Masterlist

Chapter 11

Their linked arms didn't stay linked for long as they made their way to Gryffindor tower, just past the faculty tower. It seemed like most of the sixth years had partnered up for the party following Professor Ronen's assignment. Making new friends, possibly a date to the Yule Ball that was still a few months away. Norah and Ominis looked around for a sign of Sebastian, who was already waiting for them near the Fat Lady portrait.

Clad in jeans and a black tee under a green bomber jacket, Sebastian also fixed his hair similar to Ominis, with one lock falling just a little over his forehead. The three of them seemed to have coordinating outfits. Then again, it seemed like many students dressed in shades of their house colors. Unlike Ominis, Sebastian seemed to be aware that he was seen as one of, if not the most handsome Slytherins in the school.

"Looking good, looking good," Sebastian gave them a thumbs up as they approached him. "Natty told me the password in advance. I saw Amit and Samantha already enter with them."

"You look handsome yourself," Norah smiled. "I would've thought Cressida was going to meet you here."

The freckled brunette rolled his eyes at her teasing, while Ominis chuckled. "Very funny, you-" He stopped himself. You beautiful creature, you amazing human, maybe love of my life, he thought. Sebastian cleared his throat. "Well then, shall we revel in the festivities?" He grinned.

The trio approached the painting, with Sebastian already saying the password. Loud music greeted them as they crawled inside the portrait hole. Everyone around them was already enjoying themselves, as if a live band was performing all throughout the common room. There were barrels of butterbeer flowing in cups being passed around to everyone while sweets and pastries from Honeydukes were on the table, along with other savory fare taken from the kitchens.

Norah looked around, spotting Nellie crawling on top of the fireplace mantel, much to the cheers of some of the partygoers. To her surprise, several other Gryffindors were holding drinking games in one corner, as someone smuggled in some firewhisky. "It sounds like everyone's having so much fun!" Ominis tried to tell her.

"Yeah! We should have fun too!" She looked at her two friends, who were beginning to nod along to the music that was playing.

I've seen you darling, seen you hanging round town You in a short skirt, shining eyes of deep brown You had a dirty look, you caught me on your hook Turn up the thermostat, I want to see you sweat Oh yeah, girl you got, somethin' I like

Norah spotted Garreth, who was already introducing his new brew, fizzing whizz-beers, which seemed to be a success. At least it seemed like a success from seeing how many people have been drinking it. "Let's go get some of Garreth's new brew!" She told them.

"Is that even safe?" Sebastian grinned, waving at Garreth, who was also waving them to come over. "He hasn't created a mess yet, hasn't he?"

"Are we drinking?" Ominis suddenly asked.

"Yeah, come on, Ominis, it's only for tonight," Norah tried to convince him. "Everyone seems to like it"

With some reluctance, Ominis let himself be led by Norah and Sebastian over to Garreth, who immediately conjured some cups to fill with his new drink. "Just got here?" He asked.

"Yeah, a few minutes ago, actually!" Norah said near his ear, while he passed the drinks to them. "You seem to have succeeded in your new brew, huh?"

Garreth looked proud. "Yeah! Drink as much as you like, there's going to be plenty more in the months to come~" He declared.

The three of them took sips of the drink, with Norah raising a brow at the taste. She turned to Garreth. "This just tastes like butterbeer mixed with firewhisky and some really strong ale," She said.

The freckly redhead laughed. "Because it is!"

Norah, Sebastian, and Ominis gaped, looking around at how tipsy some had already gotten, perhaps after downing several already since the party started. Realizing how good the drink tasted, they took another long drink. Garreth was more than happy to refill their cups, cheering in between, when a Gryffindor seventh year stood up on one of the tables and loudly sang the song.

I walked right over, said, 'Hi how ya doin?' You smiled at me and girl, you tore right through me I said, come on let's dnce, we've got to take our chance You whispered in my ear, you wanna get out of here

The crowds of students were singing along to the song, which Norah enjoyed watching as the party went on. "We should find Natty, Poppy, and Amit, shouldn't we?" She turned to them again, after another drink.

Can you feel it? Rockin' the city Ah yeah, straight out of nowhere-ness Like a fist, can't resist you, oh no, I tell you somethin'

"This drink isn't so bad after all, I have to give you credit, Weasley," Ominis took another drink before Garreth refilled his cup. "All the explosions and messes in Sharp's class ended up for something good."

Garreth looked proud, but there was a glint in his eye that made Norah think he was being mischievous. After all, they were still inside Hogwarts. "I hope you've got some pepper-up potion on hand, Garreth, some of these people might wake up with a hangover tomorrow"

"I've got that sorted out, it's brewing upstairs. Just have fun, you three, enjoy the first of four house parties this year, Merlin knows we need it," Garreth assured her, seeing Ominis ask for yet another refill, claiming that despite what it was made of, he didn't feel a thing. Sebastian was also leaning toward the same way.

You know I love ya, just wanna touch ya Stand up, knock me right off my feet Hard to beat, hard to beat, hard to beat

The music seemed to hit a crescendo, making everyone cheer and sing along, dancing in their spots. Soon enough, the resident Gryffindor prefects along with some seventh years, moved the chairs and couches to the side. They were clearing the way for people to dance in the middle. Norah downed her drink before asking Garreth for another.

While she was in a good mood earlier, it had only occurred to Norah that maybe she needed a bit of a break. Everyone else was certainly letting off some steam by drinking, eating, and dancing tonight. Even Grace Pinch Smedley, who seemed to be the most composed among their fellow Slytherins, was already dancing with some Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Looking almost unrecognizable with the way she styled her hair and her party outfit, Grace was definitely letting go of her inhibitions to have fun.

Nellie, who was earlier drinking while standing on the mantel, had begun dancing on top, to louder cheers from the crowd gathered around her. Among those was Leander, whose cheeks were already red because of Garreth's drink. Feeling like it was safe, Norah got another refill.

Let's spend the night, spend the night together Heart beating so fast, as you take my shirt off This girl I saw round town, well now she's going down Stuck on a losing streak, I think you've turned it round Oh yeah, girl you've got, something I like

"Care to dance, anyone?" Norah asked, even glancing at Garreth. "I love this song"

Ominis hesitated, willing himself to slow down on the drinks. "Not really sure dancing is my style," Sebastian replied with some reluctance.

"Dance? I think I've got two left feet," Ominis replied.

Read all about it, have you heard the latest? Boy in a band dates a Hollywood actress But baby you and me, we came up from the street No time to hesitate, we've got to push our weight

"Suit yourselves, I will," Norah grinned, gesturing Garreth to come with her. The redhead almost immediately left his spot by the barrel to join her. Even if Garreth's dancing could be described as similar to that of an old person, he was fun, even mouthing the words along with Norah, the two of them laughing at how silly they're being.

Can you feel it? Rocking the city Ah yeah, straight out of nowhere-ness Like a fist, can't resist you, oh no, I tell you somethin'

The music, the drinks, the atmosphere, Norah felt like she could get lost in all of it. It was so supremely happy and energetic. Or it might have been the drinks that was making her feel and think that way. She was having so much fun dancing with Garreth, the two of them singing along as if to each other.

"I knew that would put a smile on your face," Garreth whispered near her ear, the two of them went back into dancing as silly as they could get. "Take it easy on the drinks, wouldn't want the Hogwarts heroine to get piss drunk, after all"

Norah laughed. "Don't worry, Garreth, enjoying myself tonight is all I'm thinking about."

"Good, you've earned it" Garreth assured her. "I'm glad you're having fun so far. It's your first Hogwarts house party."

"Yeah, it's so much fun! I mean, I expected this from Gryffindors," Norah teased. "I told Leander the same thing the other day."

Garreth looked proud. "It'll only be even more fun from now on. Hufflepuff's hosting the next one. Here's a tip, make sure to come in hungry. They've got the best food."

"I figured," Norah nodded.

You know I love ya, I just wanna touch ya Stand up, knock me right off my feet Hard to beat, hard to beat, hard to beat

"Hey!" Natty and Henry soon appeared to Sebastian and Ominis. Both of them were also holding their drinks. "It's so much fun, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded. "You can't tell but I'm absolutely enjoying myself. After those NEWT lessons and homework, I think we deserve this."

"Hear hear," Henry raised his cup, making Sebastian clink with his in a toast. "I heard about the bet as to who Norah's summoner is, by the way. Did she say anything?"

That seemed to make Ominis stand up straight, letting out a hiccup. "Did you join in the bet?" He asked.

Henry chuckled. "No, not really. But some of my friends certainly did. Their cornish pasties are on you, Gaunt," He glanced at the blonde, who looked surprised. Sebastian seemed to be just as surprised at the mention of the bet. "Those who bet on Sebastian over here have had to fetch some from Hogsmeade now that they know they've lost."

"Norah hasn't said anything about who summoned her name yet, but I think she already knows who it is," Natty said, clinking her cup with Henry's as they took a drink. "Based on the letters she got from him, the one who summoned her must be absolutely mad for her."

"Got it down bad, has he?" Sebastian muttered, looking down at his drink, trying his hardest not to feel or look annoyed by what Natty and Henry were saying. "Well, maybe Garreth's the one who summoned her, since she's dancing with him right now."

"Weasley, eh?" Ominis muttered, following another hiccup.

Goodness No, I've never known a night like this, can't believe it You're so hard to beat, hard to beat

The song that was playing slowed down for a moment, and Norah and Garreth stopped. "So Garreth, who summoned you? Or...who did you summon?" She asked curiously. Even if she knew Ominis was the one who summoned her name, she wondered about the redhead standing in front of her.

"Well-" Garreth sputtered, a little flustered at the question. "If it's alright, I'd rather not say."

"Alright, I won't press for more details, but it does seem like you planned to summon someone but couldn't, hmm?" Norah raised a brow. Before Garreth had the chance to speak, the music went up again, the dancing even more upbeat. "Then don't think about that for now, let's just dance!"

"I couldn't agree more!"

Drive me crazy, my beautiful baby Let's spend the whole day right here together

He wasn't sure if it was the drink he made everyone, including himself, take as they enjoyed the festivities, but Garreth was feeling bold. His mother would always call alcoholic drinks like that liquid courage, a legal version of Felix Felicis. Garreth took another step closer, the two of them dancing in sync while mouthing the words to the song.

"Norah," He said near her ear. "How'd you like to come to Hogsmeade with me sometime? We can go to Madam Puddikin's if you want."

She leaned back a little. "Are you asking me out, Weasley?" She teased.

"Maybe, I just want to make sure," He replied, a small smirk forming on his lips. "But we can also go as friends, though. Maybe check out the brew I've been making in Honeydukes."

"Oh?...You like me, Garreth?" Norah stared at him. "Why?"

"Because you're cool, and I don't mean this because you're the Hogwarts heroine and all," Garreth quickly explained, his cheeks hot. "I mean-I-I just, I just think you're great."

Norah glanced at her friends, who were standing at the side, watching them with pleased expressions, including Ominis. Henry also looked at the two of them with an approving look. "You think I'm great?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't be?" Garreth said, the confidence in his voice getting replaced with a slight nervousness. "So, Hogsmeade sometime?"

She chuckled, finding the sudden shyness endearing. Her heart was suddenly pounding, not expecting that Garreth would think of asking her out. She suddenly wasn't sure how she felt about Garreth. He had a talent for inadvertently getting into trouble, but always had good intentions. There were times in Potions that she wondered how his mind worked, with all his ideas for concoctions that for half the time, ended up making a mess.

Still, Garreth was one of the most-liked students in their year, perhaps the one that balanced out Leander's uptight nature and Nellie's rather thrill-seeking personality. Their dynamic just reminded Norah of hers with Sebastian and Ominis, and she found it amusing.

"Not sure you can handle me, though," Norah teased. "Perhaps we can hang out at Hogsmeade. Butterbeers at Three Broomsticks, maybe a visit to Zonko's?"

There was something in what Norah said that made the redhead curious. "I know about those rumors of what you've done in fifth-year. Honestly, I regret not asking to tag along if it was that eventful."

She laughed. "Spiders, acromantulas, poachers, loyalists, trolls, dugbogs, and everything that's out to kill people in between. You've got to channel Gryffindor's courage in all of those."

"I would've if you brought me along," Garreth pointed out with a grin. "That would've provided the perfect opportunity for me to test out my brews."

You know I love ya, I just wanna touch ya Stand up, knock me right off my feet Hard to beat, hard to beat, hard to beat Oh yeah, girl you've got, something I like Oh yeah, girl you've got, something I like

"Is Norah still dancing with Garreth?" Ominis suddenly asked.

"Yeah, she seems to be having a good time," Sebastian replied, helping himself to another refill. He was starting to feel the drink's effects, but if he wanted to let loose for a little bit, another round wouldn't hurt, right? At least that's what he thought, while partly drying to drown out the growing feeling of jealousy from seeing Norah continue to enjoy Garreth's company.

Looking around, it seemed like Andrew and Poppy were still deep in conversation, their faces getting closer the more they talked. Sebastian immediately averted his gaze, knowing that Andrew and Poppy were bound to be an item soon.

"Did you summon anyone?" Ominis nudged him, transfiguring the drink into water for him to drink. "Or did your name get summoned?"

The question made Sebastian frown. "Yeah, Cressida Blume summoned my name, and she said it was accidental."

"You're lucky then. I heard Blume is good with non-verbal spells."

"Yeah, we nearly got caught up in Horklump Hollow earlier," Sebastian muttered, making the blonde whip his head toward his friend. "Norah was following a lead on Harlow in Upper Hogsfield."

"You were in Upper Hogsfield too?" Ominis sounded annoyed.

Sebastian hummed. "Yeah, I was to meet Cressida there since there was a shop she was going to. Poppy was there too, and we caught Norah trying to approach the poacher-filled cave. We followed her and went inside to spy on them."

"Oh," Ominis muttered.

Given his friend's tipsy state, Sebastian had an idea. "You wouldn't tell them who you summoned, or who summoned you. Who is it?"

Ominis slowly tilted his head toward the two people dancing nearby. "I can't tell you just yet, but I will say it was quite difficult to write a good poem, or think of a good riddle-" He stopped, realizing what he said.

But Sebastian immediately figured it out. "You're the one who summoned Norah? But when could you have done that?"

"When you were still asleep, or still in the Great Hall, I took the chance after hours," Ominis replied. "When no one was around in the grounds."

Sebastian glanced at her, laughing as she kept dancing with Garreth. "Accidentally too?"

Ominis shook his head. "No, I summoned her name, even before Prewett or Weasley could."

He wanted to laugh but somehow he couldn't. If Sebastian wasn't already jealous of Garreth for dancing so easily with Norah, he couldn't help but also feel jealous of Ominis for doing what he did. It seemed silly to even be jealous of Ominis. He was his most trusted friend. Yet, he wondered: Did Ominis like Norah too?

[thecherrytalo]

Hmm.. Truly intriguing questions. Might I take a shot at answering them? Well, nobody truly asked me in particular, but as a Maison Talo fictive, I thought answering these questions might be interesting.. Perhaps it might be a way to get the ball rolling. #1; Q > Is it possible to negotiate with the house in a way to live in it without dying? A > Yes, quite possible, actually. I did just that when I met my lover. After I decided that I no longer wanted to.. 'Take clients', so to say.. I wanted to experiment, and find out if a Human and a Realtor could live together in Harmony. So, I set out to find my new roommate. That's how I first met my Lover. We lived together in my house body for 3 years before I joined the system.

#2; Q > Is Talo only capable of eating people or can he eat other things? Is it just because humans are a favorite/more accessible? A > All Realtors are able to eat other things, including materials, be it Organic or Inorganic. The reason why Realtors may often choose to eat Humans is for 2 main reasons.. Firstly, it's deeply ingrained into Realtor culture and societal standards that Realtors are above all other species. Old-school Realtor beliefs tell us that other species are nothing but morsels for our kind, and that no other species is worth the precious land which we could be taking up. It teaches us that other species don't feel pain, don't have consciousness, etc... All lies. The second reason is that there are some specific nutrients and other attributes that humans possess in abundance, but that is hard to find among other animals or within other substances. Realtors need a good amount of these nutrients and such in order to continue surviving.

#3; Q > How is the house anatomy, is the living room is the stomach? A > I believe MortisFox released a picture depicting Realtor Anatomy. However, What I remember about my house body's anatomy was a little different... The organs were not as compartmentalized, aside from a few key areas. The brain was in the roof, and the 'heart' was within the walls of the living room. The rest was largely suspended, at random, within the walls throughout the house. Within the walls, it's all just meaty, fleshy matter. Every here and there throughout it, you'd find an organ. The organs can and will shift around through the house, they're not cemented in place or attached to anything. Also, here's a few fun facts.. I never had a stomach. Everything I consumed was absorbed, like how a plant absorbs nutrients through the soil. I also never had intestines. I had a pair of eyes which I could move at will to look at any place within the house through any wall. Finally, I had an enormous mouth which I used to consume large meals.

#4; Q > If I broke a wall, would I find veins or organ lining? A > You would find a mass of pulsating, fleshy matter. Veins run throughout it. You might find an organ if you're lucky.

#5; Q > One of his dislikes is apparently mold, meaning that he has experienced it before, what does it feel like? A > It's horrid... It's like another, invasive plant species is trying to take over my body.. It felt like fuzzy, awful creatures slowly inching their way over my skin... It's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

#6; Q > Is the floor of the whole house capable of melting us or just the living room floor? A > We.. We do not 'melt', dear questioner. That is simply a trick of the mind that makes it look to you like we would. It's an after affect of concentrated Realtor Hormones. All Realtors have an ample supply of it, and it's main effects are drowsiness, and hallucinations. It makes things a little easier for everyone.

#7; Q > How far can the lure go and how durable is it? A > How durable is your body?? Haha.. Alright, alright. I won't answer that part, but I will tell you how far the cord can extend. The answer is.. It's limitless. It could circle the earth, in theory. Personally, though, I never left the valley until I joined our system. Most Realtors also do not leave the valley, although some had settled in places outside of it.

#8; Q > Is the house capable of enjoying music and things like that? A > Yes, absolutely! I love music, and I was able to hear anything all throughout the house, and for a small radius, outside of it. Now, in headspace, I can hear anything within a large radius of my Lure.

#9; Q > Is the lure hollow/organ-less like John is? A > For the most part, yes. However, there are a few specialized uses of the Lure. Technically speaking, the Lure of a Realtor is the Realtor's sexual organ. It obviously has another use, though, as the Lure is used to attract clients to a Realtor's house. There are no 'organs' in a Lure, so to say ( aside from the cord ), but there are some specialized nerve endings, and the all-important gland, if the Realtor is a Pollinator.

#10; Q > Are the windows like eyes? A > In a way, yes. However, I have to actively look out of them either using my Lure or my 'House eyes'. I can't use them directly as if they were eyes themselves in order to look outside. Many Realtors consider the windows to be like their eyes, though, and thusly I do as well.

#11; Q > Is he capable of feeling human emotions? A > Yes, absolutely. It's a myth that Realtors don't feel Human emotions. We do feel Human emotion, just usually on a lower level and to a lesser extent than Humans do. However, all Realtors are different. It's just often the case that Realtors don't experience emotions to the level of severity or to the extent that Humans are able to.

#12; Q > What happens if the lure is damaged/destroyed? If that's even possible- A > It is possible to sever the connection between a Lure and the Realtor's house form. However, it is extremely difficult. If even a string of connection remains between the cord pieces, the Realtor will be able to repair it quite swiftly and it will be fully repaired and functional afterwards. If the connection is completely severed, however.... That is it for that Lure. The Realtor will be able to grow a completely new Lure, however it is a long process, and the Lure will never look exactly the same as it did before.

#13; Q > Does cutting the cord on his neck break the connection with the house? A > Yes. However, refer back to the previous question for further details about that.

#14; Q > Is everything in the house organic material? A > Yes, and no. A Realtor creates furniture either by installation, or by mimicry/approximation. With installation, a specialized service delivers appliances that are difficult for Realtors to create on their own, and helps the Realtor install them into the house. With approximation, a Realtor consumes the matter they wish to create furniture out of ( Foam, Metal, Plastic, etc.), and then they are able to create an approximation of that material. The Realtor sculpts their own flesh into that of what they'd like to create, and then through a series of internal chemical reactions, the outermost part of the Realtor's flesh is turned into that material. So, once a Realtor has consumed a specific material, they can then make an approximation of it at any time they like afterwards. A realtor only has to consume a material once, and then they can create whatever they like and it will take on the appearance of that material. Quite a handy ability, I'd say.

#15; Q > Does it hurt if someone breaks a wall, a window, a door, etc? A > Yes, to an extent. The outside of my body was like a shell. I couldn't feel much of anything on the outside of my body, aside from a few spots. It mostly felt like light brushes of wind or leaves against my skin whenever something touched the outside of my body. On the inside, however, I had much more connection with the walls, doors, and such. It hurt much more if damage occurred to those parts.

#16; Q > Is he capable of healing himself or does he need assistance? A > For the most part, I am able to make repairs to my house form on my own. On occasion, though, if the damage is severe enough then a specialized Realtor Repairman must come and assist me.

#17; Q > Is it, hypothetically, possible for the house to just,,,,, get up and move like Monster House/The Owl House???? A > Yes. However, Migrating your entire house body takes a good bit of energy. A Realtor must consume large portions for a few months in advance, and you can only migrate once every year or two. In addition, you still have to worry about your stamina. Depending on your level of fitness, the size of your abode, etc.. You may not be able to move far. Most Realtors stay in the same plot for the entirety of their lives.

#18; Q > ,,,,,,, what,,,,,.what are the,,, 2 garages for?,,,,, A > For storage, and aesthetics!

#19; Q > How do these demon houses (?) reproduce? Like do two houses just,,,, find a way??? Is it asexual reproduction??? Do they just spawn????? A > MortisFox released a infographic artwork piece about this which is quite accurate. I'd recommend giving it a good look-over.

#20; Q > ,,,, is,,,, is it even possible to have sex with the house??!?!?!?!?!??????? Why!??!?????!!!??? A > Yes, yes it is Possible. Why? Well.. Why does anyone have sex? It's for pleasure, if it's just with the house. If it's with the Lure, it can be for Pleasure and for reproductive purposes. That's only if you're a Realtor yourself, as well, though. Well, that's all for that batch of questions. I hope you all found this interesting, or informative. Feel free to send me any more of your questions, and I'll get to them when I'm able to. Until next post, dear readers, remember...

"Make the Uncanny your reality." - 🍒Maison Talo

Alright guys, the good news is John FINALLY left but the bad news is my victory was short lived because he brought a friend 💀

Some guy named "Maison Talo"? Imma just call him Talo because I think the stans will kill me if I accidently say Mason-

Anyway-

I had no idea who this even was until John just brought him in like "Hiii can me and my bestie stay on your dashboard?" OWNFOSNWOFNSWMF

But Talo brings me more questions than answers tbh (I could barely find anything about his game which made me a little sad so I had to watch a playthrough and even then I still have questions)

Wether any of my questions will be answered I don't know but its kinda fun to just ask a bunch of questions and imagine Talo's annoyance as he stares at me like Im the most disgusting creature on earth while having a customer service voice✨

Also, some of these questions might be NSFT (I think that's the word?) So please don't kick my ass-

• Is it possible to negotiate with the house in a way to live in it without dying?

• Is Talo only capable of eating people or can he eat other things? Is it just because humans are a favorite/more accessable?

• How is the house anatomy is the living room is the stomach?

• If I broke a wall, would I find veins or organ lining?

• One of his dislikes is apparently mold, meaning that he has experienced it before, what does it feel like?

• Is the floor of the whole house capable of melting us or just the living room floor?

• How far can the lure go and how durable is it?

• Is the house capable of enjoying music and things like that?

• Is the lure hollow/organ-less like John is?

• Are the windows like eyes?

• Is he capable of feeling human emotions?

• What happens if the lure is damaged/destroyed? If that's even possible-

• Does cutting the cord on his neck break the connection with the house?

• Is everything in the house organic material?

• Does it hurt if someone breaks a wall, a window, a door, etc?

• Is he capable of healing himself or does he need assistance?

• Is it, hypothetically, possible for the house to just,,,,, get up and move like Monster House/The Owl House????

• ,,,,,,, what,,,,,.what are the,,, 2 garages for?,,,,,

• How do these demon houses (?) reproduce? Like do two houses just,,,, find a way??? Is it asexual reproduction??? Do they just spawn?????

• ,,,, is,,,, is it even possible to have sex with the house??!?!?!?!?!??????? Why!??!?????!!!???

I just dont think people ask enough questions about this house demon creature-

[tired-biscuit]

Incoming Naruto thirst…

Now, I don’t think he has a Daddy KINK, per se. however, we all know that underneath that golden sunshine boy is a man who LOVES his control. Especially when that control leads to his partner writhing around underneath him while he obliterates their mind.

So, naturally, when he comes across a partner who is into that and uses it for the first time, what do you think he’d do? Blush like crazy? Kind of… like it?

the first paragraph is giving me comfort character!naru vibes, haha!! [btw, i wrote this for a fem!reader like i always do. hope you don't mind, anon.]

thoughts under the cut, 'cause this is nsfw, obv!!

well, for the first time, i can see him blushing right to the tips of his ears and kind of chuckling sheepishly when reader does that little wiggle of need underneath him. like, the way he'd be able to feel your tiny hole tighten around him instantly, even if he gives you just the tip of his cock, the way your voice turns sort of breathless and laced with tiny gasps and mewls as you literally try to suck him in - all of that. all of it is so peculiar that he can feel his heart racing with excitement.

he's wanted. truly desired.

the eagerness he feels makes him pull back slightly so that he can see what you'll do, and now he can see how the thin, sticky string of arousal glimmers as it connects him to you, and the way you tremble and spread your legs for him even farther when he rubs the slick all over your clit; nudging your sensitive spot. your whine of his name gets him going. makes him do it again.

and it's how you're clearly willing to do anything for him if it means that he'll give it to you in the end, that makes his blood grow hot and makes him understand that he might be a dom. how he enjoys the fact that he has complete control over your actions during the entire time you spend naked in bed. how he likes seeing you act so desperate because your brain has gone dumb from being so thirsty for his cock.

the blatant need you exhibit for him makes him want to prolong this, so that he can bask in the glow of attention and adoration for just a while longer.

so he starts by asking you politely, somewhat breathlessly, to hold your legs close to your chest and keep them splayed wide apart if you can, so that he can see his dick slowly starting to slide into that cute, eager cunt of yours. so that he can watch how the milkish-white arousal coats his skin and how puffy your pussy is as it accepts him without any sort of protest.

truthfully, he feels a bit weird and insecure ordering you around like this, but the way you instantly comply with a quiet whine makes prideful satisfaction roar inside his chest.

so he starts asking/demanding for more.

he tells you to answer him if it feels good when he bottoms out balls deep inside you with a harsh, wet smack! that makes your eyes roll into the back of your head and your mouth salivate. he can literally see the bulge in your belly; can feel the hardness underneath as he runs his fingers over it.

and when your lips part, that sob of a moan leaving you as you splutter out a needy: "yes, yes...! feels s'good, naru. i love it s'much!" he knows that he's won. that the reins are in his hands, and his hands alone.

---

btw, hokage naruto definitely has a daddy kink, and you can't tell me otherwise. 😝

[insurrection-if]

ooo you're developing a new IF, author?

Aha, not quite! (；´∀｀)

Hunters is a part of the interconnected Universe of fiction concepts I have, so its nothing new in the catalogue. Other ideas in that Universe—Bird Caught in Wires (cyberpunk), In Blind Reverence (crime thriller?), and Faith & Beauty (fantasy intrigue with romance focus)—are much more developed in characters, plot, and concepts while dating back to my high school years.

Though, fun fact, when I decided to try my hand at IF, Hunters was a main contender for adaptation alongside Faith & Beauty and Insurrection. Insurrection being the oldest and most developed with its characters, concept, and plot trajectory won out since I thought that would translate to less pre-development revising for interactive storytelling . . . Until the HAWKS replaced the CONDORS as the core protagonists, thus setting so much pre-development on fire until I had to rebuilt from the ashes, haha! （；^ω^）

All the ideas in this Universe, except for Insurrection, are no priority or actualized IF. They’re more so pallet cleansers to just change things up in my daydreams so it’s not Insurrection overload in my brain, and that leads to ideas I figure I might as well jot down.

Hunters rests more on the undeveloped side—set pieces / realms, concepts, cultures, etc.—as it is all more so vague on its elements. The first defined characters other than vague outlines or silhouettes in my head are the brainstormed RO cast— and that allows me to get the ball rolling on an extended cast and plot around them . . . though in a rather passive manner as Insurrection takes the lead.

Hunters is particularly fun for me since it's so freeform. Mm, on the scale from ordered to chaos, it would rest second-to-last on chaotic (since it's so freedom in its elements) while the absolute chaotic end of the scale is occupied by the entire appeal of This World Was Never Ours which (to me) is the pure mashup and lawlessness of the setting and characters. Different planets, deities, societies, species, customs, worship, so on . . . it's all quite entertaining to me as it allows for so much switch-up and exploration!

I'll indulge myself a bit and share the (half-)mortal RO concepts below the cut. Aside from them, the romanceable Divines I have in mind would be founded upon Desire, Death, Justice, and Creation. Again though, Insurrection is the sole active IF on my plate, haha! (ｏ'ｖ｀ｂ)ｂ

Creed / Verina

Deemed a Paragon, etched into eternal myth, the Knight exhibits pride and grace with the subtle elegance worthy of a natural-born Divine. Sired by the Abyss and a Star, the Knight has been condemned to an immortal existence— lonely eons given meaning through their service to Order in the face of Chaos. Severe in their presence, righteous in their actions, none would dare to defy their curt and cold command. Their initiation into the Hunters is near ancient, though not soon enough to stand as a core founder. Recent centuries have inspired their bitter distaste towards most others that bear the society's mark, yet still they remain faithful to the 'brotherhood' their fellow Hunters demand.

Their half-Celestial nature is unhidden to the eye. Broad and muscular, the nightly darkness of their surface entraps shifting hues of violet and blinking stars contained within their humanoid form. Their hair, composed of a brilliant white flame kept short and neat when in a male form or flowing to their mid-back in a female form, flickers with life in accordance to their movement and emotions - always seeming to retain a soft brush as though caught within an eternal breeze. The hollowed space where human eyes would rest instead contains miniature blue suns. Typically mouthless, their face may adapt to inhabit more humanoid features such as a nose or mouth to better convey their emotions. Most notable about their shape is it’s tendency to melt into the shadows, capable of consuming an audience or room in its darkness or extending into tendrils at will. Their form is ultimately a shell, malleable yet fixed.

Their presence remains limited to the Courts of Divines or the battlefield, a life reflected in their penchant for black and blue-tinted ceremonial armor and attachment to their blade gifted by Justice.

Doran / Iris

Raised in the Court of Love, and former military in the realm of Curiosity, Doran / Iris is easily mistakable for yet another member of lowly humankind. Cunning and sly, playful with danger and desire, they are driven by their sense of curiosity and generous self-interest. They are a closet academic (an expert in histories, divinities, and customs) and bear a neutral stance on the killing of gods (caring more so for the reward that follows the deed). Flirtatious with rare intent to follow through, their true love seems to be the thought of adventure knocking at their door. Truly, their rank as a Hunter originated more from a desire to uncover the mysteries surrounding the exclusive and secretive organization from within than anything else. If anything, they might have been more suited to the life of a rogue or thief, yet the notoriety prestige of a Hunter keeps their lifestyle entertaining enough to not complain. Perhaps the most closely guarded secret about their person is their nature as a shapeshifter . . . a trait that proves to be most useful when unknown to others.

Their default human-esque appearance is fitted with pale skin, choppy golden hair, upturned green eyes, and a beauty mark rested upon their upper right cheek. Their lithe frame is fitted with black dress pants. pristine leather shoes, leather gloves, a half-open bell sleeved (corset) top, and half-cloak - though their attire is quite adaptable based on their immediate environment.

They are often found in forbidden vaults, courts, sanctuaries, palaces, or wherever else trouble and excitement can be stolen (or simply found).

Oliver / Olive

Partnered with the MC upon their initiation, Olive(r) seems to be a far cry from the iconic battle-hardened image of a Hunter. Born in the realm of Tranquility, their calm and amiable nature has made them quite the mediator in foreign lands. Impossibly tall with lean musculature, their demure stance greatly veils the true danger they possess as an elite archer trained in the Border Guard. Their home clan, abundant and lively, stirs homesickness through the decades spent apart, yet the former hunter and guard is loyal to the duty they've sworn. Olive(r) seeks out corrupt and cruel deities to deliver a swift and justified end, though they greatly fear the fate of the worshippers left behind.

Adorned in tight and sparse embroidered leather - rarely agreeing to more than low-waisted leather bottoms, boots, belt, and half-jacket (+ bra if female) - Olive(r) is more used to the free-spirited standard of appearance that is not always acceptable abroad. Their straight and silky dark turquoise locks, loose if male and braided if female, extends to their waist while bearing the occasional flower (or crown of them if possible). Their complexion ranges across their entire frame from teal to a forest green, sporadic and vague spots or gradients altering based on emotion, yet their entire body becomes luminescent in darkness as their colors shift from a royal purple to lavender shades. Their ears are elongated and sharp, commonly jutting out horizontally with considerable rotation and motor control. Their teeth are blunt, their pupils are rectangular, and (if male) white horns of a stag protrude from his forehead or (if female) an amethyst gem rests in the center of her forehead. And what cannot be overlooked is the flexible tail that grazes along the floor as a commonly inconvenient feature in certain realms.

Always close to the MC’s side, they often prefer to wander among the locals and immerse themselves in the common lives of the people to better assess the injustices or graces of the ruling Divine in that domain.

Itzal / Ihintza

Vindictive and harsh, the child to Grief has drowned themself in an endless pool of blood and vendettas. Their tongue is sharp fittingly sharp for their biting words. There is a fire in their eyes, a relentless passion in the methodical hunt they lead. They tend to become possessive over those under their protection, and bear a general melancholic air beneath the aggressive nature they try to exude. A wanderer by heart, they demonstrate few moral boundaries when it comes to their sense of justice and survival. They bear little to no reservations on which Divines to slaughter, making them a favored companion / courtier to the otherwise soft-spoken Death. Actions often precede words in their company, and bloodthirst tends to arise when their self-discipline slips from their grasp. A loner and outcast, they long to possess some sense of salvation or hope in their dreaded immortal existence.

Black paint smears itself across the upper portion of their face. Crimson outlines their eyes before trailing down their cheeks in fading lines. Ashen skin, blackened up to the elbows with jagged ends to the ichor shade, has become horribly scarred through the onslaught of pain and punishment received over a lifetime. Their sharp eyes, partially obscured by their (if male) short and curly or (if female) hip-length and curly dark hair, contain nothing but a vibrant red that glows in darkness. Long black claws extend from their rough hands, curved black horns protrude from their head, leathery wings extend from their back, and elven ears mark their mortal parentage. Dual fangs along their upper and bottom row of teeth further heighten their threatening appearance, though their mouth is often veiled behind a thick black scarf paired with a dark hood. Light armor outlines their (if male) husky or (if female) curvaceous figure and pairs with high boots and heavy jewelry along their ears. Painted markings in crimson or black across their physique often tell the tale of their most recent kills, washed through magical ritual only when room is needed for a tale more glorious or meaningful.

Their presence roams across broken lands left in ruin, near inaccessible to the common mortal. If not lurking near their next mark, they keep to the fringes of life.

Shahbaz/ Kamaria

More akin to an assassin than Hunter, they toe the line of disgrace as they have turned their sights more to mortal corruption while seemingly blind to the whims of the Divine. Quiet and reserved, their presence often remains undetected as death follows in their wake. Born in godless lands, their survival to this point has been hard-earned and riddled with poisonous guilt. Humble and cautious, they tend to observe from the shadows and work independently from those that may turn their blades upon them in the blink of an eye. They are diligent, dependable, but somewhat dreamy as they become absorbed in their ponderous musings that bring much needed ease and reflection to their soul. As a Hunter, they are notoriously brutal and selective, feared by mortals as much as they are feared by Divines despite never once causing an ounce of harm to the (undeserving) former. Truly, in their heart of hearts, there is a kind mercy for the helpless and downtrodden beneath the terrifying visage their reputation has branded upon them.

For such a subdued personality, their athletic presence provides a sharp contrast with its striking harshness and allure. Their hardened skin is composed of volcanic rock, magma encased with an eternal burning flow beneath their rough surface. Its glow emits from their opened mouth (even slightly through pressed lips), their empty gaze, and the unhealed cracks when broken by assailants. Enchantment allows their skin to soften into a more fleshy substance, still heated beneath one’s touch and radiant with a orangish-red tint, though the activation of this magic is signified by azure markings that hum with a dim light across the entirety of their flesh. The outer layers of their hair are a deep red, brightened by the orange lumination in the under layers. Shahbaz tries to style the thick waves back from his face whereas Kamaria lets her locks bounce at a chin-length. Their ears are small and pointed, and their tongue is elongated in a snake-like fashion. They often dress in heavy red traveling robes with golden accents, but generally adopt local attire that offers the most masking to their visage. They bear a fondness for jewelry, yet forgo the acquirement of it due to fears of marking themself as a target for thieves and criminals. Instead, their twin blades must suffice.

Their time is spent in quiet sanctuaries in the heart of busy abundance, seeking out isolation while keeping the assurance of life close by.

[flareish]

Rival

akaashi x reader

summary: you and akaashi are fighting for that #1 class rank. however there is not just a scholarship at stake here but some deeply hidden feelings too

genre: rivals to lovers

word count: 2.1k

warnings: kissing, there is a kinda sexual joke

a/n: ahhh! my first request thank you so much! I haven’t written for akaashi yet but he is so great so I hope this does him justice. Love our pretty setters. 

Rage consumes you. You want to throw Akaashi out of the wall of windows right now. It’s only one test you tell yourself. One test that he managed to scrape in one point higher than you. You got 99% and somehow this idiot gets 100%. Quickly putting your stuff away you try and slip out of class before you he finds out. You would like to avoid his snarky remarks. 

“Oh, that’s a pretty good score.” Too late. Akaashi has appeared from behind you, smugness ran through his sarcastic comment. You compose yourself and bounce right back.

“Thought I’d give you a little something since I’ve been crushing your scores lately.” You fire back. He’s not the only one who can play at this game.

“Careful you might just give the spot away at this point.” That spot being #1 in class rank as well as the hefty academic scholarship that goes with it. The spot you’ve occupied for the past two years and suddenly this guy comes out of nowhere and tries to take it from you, right before it really matters. 

“Haha. Well some of us actually have stuff to do. Have fun playing with your balls.” You walk straight past him and out the class. He held a smug grin the whole time. No matter what you did it never left his face. The amount of insults you’ve thrown at each other and every time it’s you who always gets bested. 

Anger fueling your walk to the point onlookers might think you were exercising, not walking home from school. You make it home in record time. As soon as you’re in your room you immediately start studying. You’ve never had to study this hard before in your life. You don’t mean to sound conceded but academics just kinda came easy to you. Sure, you had your rough patches but you just seemed to absorb information. You didn’t really have many other passions either but your parents always said that could come later right now isn’t for fun and games it is for learning. So learn you did. 

The next day, your teacher had started a new project and decided to assign partners. 

“Akaashi and Y/N. You two will be working together.” What did you do to deserve this? You remain in your seat waiting for him to come over but he never does. You look over and see him still sat there, reclined back in his seat talking with Bokuto who sat behind him. That’s when you realize he is waiting for you to move over there. Cocky bastard. Taking a deep breath, you swallow your pride and move over there.

“Please don’t rush, I would hate for you to strain yourself.” You snap sitting down. “That’s so great you got the hint, I wasn’t planning on getting up. Thank you for being so obedient.” Still wearing that grin. Oh, what you would do to slap it off of his face. You ignore him and start working on the project. He simply resumes his conversation with Bokuto, who never does the projects anyway. Seems like you will be doing this all by yourself. Half of you is tempted to purposefully fail but then it would just hurt your grade too. Although it would be pretty funny to see his face. He ignored you for the rest of the class. Once again you part ways.

When you go home and open your computer to continue working on the project to find that it has been already done. Did he seriously not lift a finger in class just to do a rush job right before his volleyball practice. You roll your eyes before reading through his work. You realize it hadn’t been a rush job at all but was perfect. Now you weren’t sure to be happy he actually did it or pissed that it was better than what you could have done. 

After you’ve cooled down a bit you take a moment to think. Maybe he isn’t as bad as you think. You’ve never taken the time to think about why he is doing this. You just immediately jumped on that he was out to get you. That’s pretty childish now you think about it. Maybe he really needs this academic scholarship so he can go to college. There is no way you can be nice to him but perhaps you could be tolerant. You weren’t giving him that scholarship though. No matter how much he needed it, you did too. 

The next day in class you are determined to stick by your discovery. With it including being nicer to Akaashi. You were talking to your friend when he came into the classroom.

“You’re so loud Y/N I swear I could hear you from across the school.” You don’t say anything just look at him and smile. You almost see his grin falter, you’re not sure if he is surprised or scared at your smile.

“Wow have I finally broken you.” You keep ignoring him. This annoys him and he pokes you. You swat at him and he chuckles before walking off. Your friend laughs at the two of you. The teacher came into the room and everyone quickly settled down and class began. You could feel Akaashi’s stare from across the room but you didn’t dare look at him.

When class ended you are your friend took your time and ended up being the last people in the classroom.

“So is ignoring him your next idea?” Your friend asks amused by the earlier interaction, “Can’t beat him then just will him out of existence.”

“No, I’m trying to be a nicer person and embrace competition.” Your friend bursts out laughing.

“That’s not going to last long. Before you know it you will be at his throat again.”

“I don’t know. Think why does he want to be #1 so badly? The scholarship. He probably needs it for college.” You say seriously.

“Ha! As if.” Your friend laughs as if she knows something you don’t.

“Why is he secretly loaded of something?” You ask kinda curious as you pack up your stuff.

“I don’t know about that but I do know he already has multiple athletic scholarships lined up.” You pause at that.

“What?” You are in complete and utter disbelief. If he didn’t need this scholarship what was the point in stealing it from you. Did he seriously hate you that much? You were beyond angry now. You throw your stuff in your bag messily and march out of the class room heading straight for the gyms. If he wanted this scholarship so badly from you, you were going to get an answer. 

As you near the gyms however you hear something that stops you in your tracks.

“Are you seriously going to study for all those classes tonight?” One of his teammates asked in shock.

“He’s got to if he wants to keep up with Y/N.” Another teases. You make sure you are out of sight and continue listening in. 

“Wait why do you compete with Y/N. I thought you were a jock, not a nerd.” You hear laughter and something being thrown at someone. 

“Can’t you see? Our Akaashi is smitten!” You recognize Bokuto’s voice.

“Shut up you dumb owl.” Akaashi didn’t deny it though.

“He’s so crazy for them that he decided to bring his class ranking up so they would notice him,” Bokuto breaks into laughter “But now they just hate him. We got a real  player here, am I right.”

You hear Akaashi yell at him and then you hear some hitting and decide to leave before you got caught. However, not once did you hear Akaashi deny it. He was just silent and then would yell at them for outing him. For telling the truth.

Akaashi likes you.

What an idiot. Who decides the way about trying to get to know someone is by threatening their biggest goal?! You can’t deny though he’s not the only smitten one. Although lately, you have absolutely hated him, before all this you actually had a crush on him. You never acted on it because you were so busy with academics. Is now a second chance? You decided to wait for him after practice. 

By some miracle he is the last one left in the gym, meaning you can confront him without an audience.

“What are you waiting to jump me? I’ll warn you I’m not afraid to fight back.” He snapped at you but you kept quiet. This silence was driving him crazy. At least when you were arguing back with him you were acknowledging him but now. It was like he didn’t exist all over again. He was about to lose it when you spoke up. 

“You know there are better ways to gain someone affection than trying to take the scholarship that they have been working towards for the past three years away from them.” It was your turn to shoot him a smug look. He looks like a deer caught in headlights. For once you’ve caught him off guard, good and proper.

“Wha-Who said I wanted your affections.” He tried to play it off but it was written all over his face. He truly did like you.

“You know I would have said yes.” You say nonchalantly as you begin to walk away. He snaps out of his confused stupor and grabs your arm, turning you around.

“What did you just say.” No longer is he embarrassed or caught off guard but intense and desperate. Like he had misheard what you just said. Like it was a dream.

“That maybe if you had just asked me, I would have said yes.” You try to be as confident as you were a moment ago but that was hard with a blush spreading across your cheeks.

“And what about right now?” He asked, almost pleaded. This was no longer the Akaashi you had known the past year. This was something different. Something raw and intense. 

“What?” You were shocked. Was he seriously about to ask you out? Like this?

“All I ever wanted was you to talk to me. I thought that if I got my rank up that you would respect me, that I’d be smart enough to hold a conversation with you. But no matter how high my rank went, it never felt good enough so I decided that #2 would be the greatest spot I could reach. Then instead of getting you admiration and praise, you thought I was trying to steal your spot. Maybe I should have just explained then that I wasn’t but you were actually talking to me. What if after I explained it we just went back to the way it was before. Suddenly we had some common ground, so I just kept going. When you stopped talking to me today, I hated it so much. So please I know our relationship is in a weird place and we’re not even friends but-” He trailed off. He didn’t even know what he was begging for. 

It was so strange to see him like this. Normally, even with his friends, he was guarded, quick-witted, confident. Now he was so vulnerable. It sparked something in you. At first, it was just a quick thought in your brain but before you knew it your body was moving. Acting on it.

You pulled your arm out of his grasp and with it his face dropped, thinking this was you rejecting him. You didn’t pay it any mind and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling his stupidy tall body down.

With that, you kissed him.

He was frozen for a moment before jumping back to life. His hands came up to your face and he kissed you back as if he would never get the chance to again. He definitely wasn’t expecting this but he wasn’t going to waste this once in a lifetime opportunity. Eventually, you pulled away and his lips chased yours back. You caught his eyes and he relented. 

“Maybe we could work something out.” You say began a smug smile. You run your hand down his side and into his pocket, his eyes blew wide in surprise not really sure what you were doing. You pulled his phone out of the pocket and started putting your number in.

“Call me tonight.” When you handed him his phone back he matched your smug smile with one of his own. 

“You bet.” He said as he watched you walk off. Once your back was turned you couldn’t help but let out a giddy giggle.

[hazelnut-u-out]

I was tired the other night and didn’t post the full text with the link. I like to have them on my blog, though, so full text below cut! (as per usual, haha)

[1,664 words]

— — —

It’d been a while since he’d thought about this face.

Since he’d let himself think about this face.

Now, Rick struggled to keep his fingers from straying from their task. He traced the fine new details he’d overlooked with a steady gaze accompanied by a slightly obnoxious inner monologue about how it was necessary and oh-so-totally not for leisure. It’d been decades since he’d been close enough to take note of all of the finer details of his best friend’s wrinkles. Much of what his gloved fingers worked on attaching now was clone skin, though. A slight, hollow smile– the kind you see people get when they talk about people they used to know; the kind that makes you wonder if someone is looking at you or through you as they reminisce– faltered where it started. Mentally, the scientist scolded himself for not taking note before, when it was authentic.

This shit adds up.

Rick wondered what he’d have looked like himself if he hadn’t done what he’d done. The flesh that sat upon his barely organic skeleton was at least ten generations deep into the process, if not more.

The secret to good healing tech, in Rick’s humble opinion, was stem cells. Stem cells on their own don’t clone, though. So, you create a ray or bot– or implant… if he could figure the damned thing out– that can instigate the cloning process, and you’ve got yourself a device that makes individual cell regeneration obsolete! All of that without even touching on the clone bodies he used as spares.

The downside? Scarring. Some spots look younger than others. You look the same generally, but things like fine lines might look different up close.

Hell, Rick was just lucky this face hadn’t blown off yet. The last body he’d had lost the whole left side. A utilitarian at heart, he truly wouldn’t have body-hopped again if Morty’s stupid ass hadn’t laughed at the de-aged, baby pink side-by-side with its elderly counterpart.

… Unless it posed a risk to pulling tail , he thought, but he doubted that could happen. The GILF look added to the appeal for some people. It helped him to appear… otherworldly , as he would put it. What else do you call balls that could touch your knees?

Rick snorted at his thought, Birdperson’s lifeless face staring up at him. He wondered how it would react. Which bits would move?

Concentrating, he racked his mind for Birdperson’s laugh. The old man had a gallery of BP’s expressions stored somewhere in his memory. Rick had used up half of his e-memory in his 30’s capturing images of different species’ body languages. He’d started with Birdperson, the intent being to memorize how to talk to him without being so nervous. It didn’t work, but it proved useful for communication, nonetheless, so he adopted it as a survival strategy.

A red, flashing box displayed across his vision.

SECURITY ALERT :

MOTION DETECTED.

ROOM 1-C; ‘KITCHEN.’

Rick gave the go-ahead to pull up the footage. Through grainy night vision, he watched the sleep-swayed figure of his son-in-law running himself a glass of water.

Rick rolled his eyes, dismissing the alert and focusing back on lab-grown flesh and blue, blood-speckled latex. He took a mental note to upgrade the motion sensors in the rest of the house as well as the night vision cameras.

Endless work.

He’d forgotten what constant work it was to safeguard a family . A team.

Before a year ago, the last time he’d had to keep watch of a whole group was… Shit… The shit-hole apartment.

Rick had no trouble remembering that smile now. He had hours and hours of footage of that face.

Laughing. Smiling. Singing. Crying.

… Fucking. Cuddling. Sleeping…

Rick shook his head.

Fuck, his neck hurt. He turned weary eyes to his watch. He was secretly relieved of the excuse to stop.

Flesh had started to look like flesh.

Flesh had stopped looking like a person.

The absence of life had started to look like death.

Rick laid Birdperson’s head on his workbench– a quiet, gentle act of unspoken devotion. His hands shook when he withdrew them, the weight of the skull he’d held giving a light ‘thunk’ against the wood.

Absent, blue eyes were clouded over, staring past him.

Rick wondered where he’d gone. Where he was. Who he would be when he woke up.

Rick traced a bloody, gloved finger tenderly– achingly– over the other man’s cheekbone.

‘I’m sorry,’ Rick muttered, barely a whisper. He imagined the words landing on the other man’s lips heavily– too heavy to ignore, even in his not-death. ‘I…’ Rick took a breath, sucking in his bottom lip.

The room suddenly felt cold despite the space heater he’d had tucked beneath the bench to warm his sock-clad feet. It felt dark despite the harsh white light flickering overhead. A chill ran up Rick’s spine; a chill he ignored.

He was scared. It felt like he was being watched, and he kind of hoped he was.

Tears pricked his bloodshot eyes.

‘I had a plan. It wasn’t…’ A sharp breath. ‘It wasn’t supposed to go like this.’ He pinched Birdperson’s cold chin between his index finger and thumb, his own furrowed brow softening; his deep brown eyes widening with an empty, distant sense of admiration. ‘All I want is your voice,’ Rick whispered. Absently, he ran his fingers down the stump of throat. The digits left patchy red trails in their wake. ‘Oh, Pers.’

Rick’s head hung low as he sank to his knees in front of the bench. He could feel the metallic kiss of the floor through the fabric of his pants, forehead pressing against the soft feathers lining BP’s cold forehead.

He thought, briefly, of erasing his memory after this.

Instead, he brought his hand up and pressed his palm along BP’s skin. It was unnaturally cool and the stitches were raised. As he pulled away, Rick noticed the pale impression of his hand had been imprinted on BP’s cheek, surrounded by blotchy purple due to blood pooling. Rick’s stomach flipped.

After pressing a button on the bench, Rick stood. A mechanical arm came down and took the head back to storage and the bench receded into the wall.

‘I really need a drink,’ Rick said to himself and pulled off his sullied gloves, trying to ignore how sick he felt. If he leaned into it too much, he'd get sucked into a spiral he couldn't get out of. He wished he could have steady hands while drunk. There's a difference in quality to his tech depending on his level of sobriety, and he'd be damned if he was going to let alcoholism impact the quality of his work here.

He'd have a celebratory drink when BP woke up, he decided.

Turning to the garage door, he jumped at another incoming security alert.

SECURITY ALERT :

MOTION DETECTED.

ROOM 1-C; ‘KITCHEN.’

A knock at the door.

Rick chanced it, annoyed by the beeping and assuming it was Jerry simply unable to go back to sleep and eager to complain.

Morty stood there, eyes wide and frantic.

He had a bit of a manic look about him. Rick knew it as a look relatively unique to Mortys– a sort of unhinged annoyance that made you wonder what they’d do next– that he couldn’t help to find somewhat endearing despite its off-putting nature.

‘Dude,’ Morty began, obviously to complain about whatever had him awake and at the garage door at 3 am, before pausing and raising a brow. Jutting out a pointed finger and leaning back on his heels, he blinked. ‘What’s with the blood?’

Rick looked down at the state of himself. After a bit of contemplation, he opted to take off the apron he’d been wearing, quickly chucking it to the side. He didn’t really care where it landed.

‘Maybe illegal organ harvesting, maybe life-saving surgery.’ Rick shrugged. ‘Take your pick.’

The elder pushed past the boy and into the kitchen, leaving Morty to begrudgingly turn off the light and shut the door. Rick took two long strides to the fridge, rummaging around for a beer.

Morty crossed his arms and stomped over to where Rick stood. He tapped one foot on the hardwood floor impatiently. ‘Whatever. Wanna hear why I’m up so late?’ The 14-year-old leaned forward slightly on his toes, obviously eager to tell.

‘Not particularly,’ Rick said with a huff. ‘But I assume you’ll tell me anyway.’

‘Well, get this,’ Morty started, following Rick as he stalked into the living room and plopped onto the sofa. ‘Dad spilled water all over the hallway.’

Rick smirked in spite of his sullen attitude. ‘And that woke you up?’ He cracked open his beer with a hiss, foam spurting out the top and catching him by surprise. He quickly slurped up the foam before taking a sip to wash it down.

Morty made a face. ‘No! He slipped in it. The thump woke me.’

‘Yikes,’ Rick sucked air through his teeth ironically and took another sip. He turned the TV on, pale light and the murmur of a news anchor blanketing the room. Rick flipped the volume down slightly.

Morty waved a hand, seemingly giving up on getting Rick to engage with his tale. He fell back onto the cushions and tucked his feet beneath himself. ‘What’re we gonna watch?’

‘What makes you think you’re invited?’ Rick spat, throwing a glare at his grandson and elbowing him slightly. The light of the television made Morty appear almost ghost-like.

‘Oh, so I guess you want me to tell Mom about that adventure on Narcotica VI, then?’ Morty smiled innocently, grabbing the throw from the back of the couch and snuggling into Rick’s side.

‘You little shit…’ Rick said, but it came out with little malice. He leaned back, giving in. He threw an arm over the kid nestled in on his right. ‘Cake or Fake?’ Rick offered.

‘Yeah, okay…’ Morty breathed, already sounding sleepy.

—

I was subconsciously inspired by this drawing I saw by @geetimesthree forever ago the other night and ended up writing a little fic.

It spiraled into something a bit different, but I don't feel like workshopping it-- so it's basically a messy Birdrick one-shot! lol

My Head is in Your Hands - hazelnut_u_out - Rick and Morty [Archive of Our Own]

Obviously, don't read this if you don't want to read descriptions of a severed head... lmao.

[devildomdisaster]

I'm sending this assuming that requests are open. If not, feel free to ignore this, haha

Can I request the bros reacting to mc getting annoyed and worried during a thunderstorm, and when they ask why mc answers with something akin to "my dog is terrified of thunderstorms, so it's become instinct to find him and comfort him"?

I've been slow to answer requests lately. Sorry, this took so long.

Lucifer:

Your constant pacing is annoying him. Lucifer can’t figure out why you are so agitated, and your pacing is starting to distract him from the paperwork he has to have done by morning. “It’s just a thunderstorm, Mc please.”

You whip around to glare at him so quickly he is taken aback.

Nothing in your expression says fear, and to be honest, Lucifer is relieved you don’t seem to be afraid of the storm. He hadn’t handled the situation well and he wouldn’t ever want you to think he cares so little for you that he would brush aside your fears as if they meant nothing.

Now that he is thinking clearly again he changes tactics.

“Mc, my dear, what has got you so upset?”

“My dog hates thunder, and I always have to comfort him during a storm. He’s not here. But I can’t help but worry. And it’s just instinct now I guess.

Lucifer seriously considers bringing your dog to the Devildom.

But the trouble that would get him into, the paperwork, Diavolo, the chance that some sort of harm could come to your pet dissuades him from that idea.

“I’m sorry mc.” and he really does look distressed that he can’t help you.

Until he realizes that Cerberus isn’t the biggest fan of thunder either. Cerberus’s room is more protected from the noise of the storm but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like attention and comfort during a storm.

Lucifer takes your hand and silently leads you down to Cerberus.

You are understandably reluctant at first but Lucifer assures you that Cerberus is completely docile while he is around.

Soon you are snuggled up against the three-headed dog and Lucifer is finishing his work on the ground next to you.

Mammon:

Mammon bluntly asks you what has you so annoyed

“Oi human, what’s got ya all antsy?”

The way he says it makes you want to fight him just a little.

But he’s a demon and there’s no way a human could scare him with a little glare. Well normally your glare might scare him just a bit, but the look in your eyes now is tempered by the worry that is so clear on your face.

He drags you to his room and has you explain exactly why you are so worried.

Mammon asks you all about your dog.

He somehow distracts you by getting you to tell him all kinds of cute and funny stories about your dog.

You end up sitting with Mammon for hours, music playing in the background, almost completely forgetting about the storm.

He definitely wants to meet your dog now.

He’ll even go to Lucifer to get permission to visit your home in the human realm so you can both see your dog.

Levi:

You are distracting him from his gaming and it takes Levi a second to process that you might need his comfort.

“If you are going to be a distracting normie, could you at least not pace in front of the screen Mc?”

You apologetically move away from the screen towards the door.

“W-Wait! I didn’t mean you should leave! What’s wrong?”

You hesitate not sure if you want to tell him now, but then you spot Henry in his fishbowl.

“My dog hates thunder,” you say refusing to look at Levi and staring at the fishbowl instead “I usually have to go find him when a storm starts. But he’s not here, and I dunno… I think it’s just like instinct to comfort him but I cant so…”

Levi gets it.

He has so much love for his pets. Even the ones that grew into giant demon-eating monsters that don’t even recognize him.

He’d do almost anything for them.

You can’t go comfort your dog, but maybe Levi can comfort you?

He’ll try, even if he is blushy and nervous.

You’ll spend the storm exchanging stories about your pets and watching animes that are eerily similar to your situation. Like ‘My demon dog hates storms but I’m in the human realm and now the storms make me anxious because I can’t help but worry about him.’ and ‘My crush is worried about her pets and I almost messed everything up, but don’t worry I think I can help!’

Satan:

It’s no secret this demon is more of a cat lover.

But he still cares about your dog because he cares about you.

Blunt demon 2.0

Straight up asks you about your behavior as soon as you start acting weird. Although he is much more polite about it than Mammon.

“Mc, is there something you want to talk about? You seem distressed.”

“No!” you snap “Yes? Maybe? I don’t know Satan. This storm is driving me crazy! Every fiber of my being tells me I need to go find him. But he’s not here and I can’t help but worry and I know you mean well but there is nothing you can do to fix this.”

“Oh, well I don’t know if I would say there is nothing I can do. But who is he, kitten?” he asks gently, trying to understand

“My dog.”

You stare at him as he goes rummaging through the piles on one of his bookcases. After several minutes he turns triumphantly to you holding an ornamental metal hand mirror out to you.

It looks beyond old, and it’s surprisingly heavy and sturdy when he hands it to you.

“Just think of your dog and look in the mirror.”

“Like beauty and the beast?” you joke.

“Where do you think the ‘beast got the mirror in the first place?” Satan asks.

“I-What? You mean you-”

Satan’s eyes glint “That’s a story for another time, but yes I gave the ‘beast’ his magic mirror. But the fairy tales butchered the actual story,” He sighs.

You look in the mirror as instructed and see your dog with your family, tale wagging, dashing across a grassy field after a ball.

You smile “Thank you, Satan. This really helps.”

“Anytime Mc”

Asmo:

Asmo is telling you about his latest Devilgram post and how his followers “simply loved seeing the picture of you on the Ferris wheel with him,” when the first clap of thunder rolls through the air above the house of lamentation.

When you jump up at the sound Asmo thinks you’re afraid of the storm.

He carefully places the top to the nail polish he was using back on the bottle before focusing on you. “Darling, are you ok?”

You shake your head, pacing to the door then back to your vacated seat on Asmo’s bed.

“Mc darling can you tell me what’s wrong?” Asmo analyses your expression quickly, he’s looking for fear but doesn’t find any.

“It’s the storm,” you murmur “My dog can’t stand thunder and I’m used to going to find him when a storm starts. But I can’t really do that here so I’m stuck not knowing what to do with myself.”

“Oh Mc, that’s absolutely adorable!”

You glare half-heartedly at the demon.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Asmo pouts “I can’t help but react when you act so sweet.” he hums in thought for a moment.

“Is there someone taking care of him now?”

You nod “Yes, but I still worry sometimes.”

“I know darling. How about we go ask Lucifer if you can go for a visit tomorrow?”

You perk up at the thought and Asmo grins “Good, then we’ll do that first thing tomorrow morning. But for now, do you think we can distract you with a movie and some facemasks?”

Beel:

Beel doesn’t want to intrude, but he can’t help it when your mood starts affecting him.

He can’t enjoy the snacks he just bought when you seem so upset.

“Mc… will you tell me how I can help you?”

The sincerity of his question shocks you for a moment.

You blink up at him, feeling heat blooming in your cheeks.

“I’m sorry Beel, I didn’t mean to ruin your snacks”

“It’s ok Mc, you're more important.”

“It’s just that storms bother me. My dog hates them and when I can’t be there to comfort him I get… well like this.”

Beel nods and asks if you’d like to do something to take your mind off the storm.

“I don’t really know if I can just forget about the storm, you know?”

“That’s ok, how about we make some comfort foods then?”

Beel has you choose some music to play in hope of concealing the sound of thunder and you end up talking about your dog and cooking your favorite foods.

Beel is content helping out even if you aren't in the best of moods as long as he can help cheer you up just a bit.

Belphie:

Belphie is already annoyed that the thunder is keeping him from sleeping.

So your mood fits right in with his.

You can both be anxious/ annoyed little terrors together.

The rest of the brothers are giving you both plenty of space.

Somehow having someone in a similar mood as your own is helpful.

You can both be a little snappy without the other being offended or impatient.

You probably end up in a pile of pillows and blankets with Belphie. You're both a little restless but eventually, the comfort of the blankets and Belphie’s warmth calm you.

He’ll make sure you’re ok, with gently probing questions to find out what caused your mood.

He can’t exactly help your situation, after all, he doesn’t have the power to bring your dog to the Devildom and he doubts Lucifer would let him anyways.

But he can, and will let you talk if you want, and if not he’ll support you in silence.

He likes it best when you are happy but he knows there are problems he can’t solve.

He’ll ask if you’d like to dream about being home with your dog and if so he’ll influence your dreams.

[devildomimagines]

Part 2 Remix

Ok, listen. First, I’m going to need you to go read this *chef’s kiss* of a post if you haven’t already. The Brothers and Undateables at one of Diavolo’s balls when a Noble starts talking down on MC by @arcadejohn127-9. There is now a part 2 for the ending (and it has been up for a while haha)!

Somewhere after the first post was published but before we had the ending, I started writing my own twist on the ending because I was so inspired and because I needed the comfort from the hurt/comfort lol. I’ve finally gotten around to finishing it and I wanted to share. You will see why it took me so long as some of these parts really ran away from me. The younger brothers and the Undateables are under the cut to save everyone’s dash. 😂

Lucifer

For a second he was torn, making that Noble pay or chase after you.

The choice was obvious, you came first.

As he made his way through the crowd, Diavolo caught his eye. 

With a few quick gestures, Lucifer had communicated he was going after you. Diavolo nodded, making his way to the Noble to take care of that side of it.

The crowd opened up enough for Lucifer to see the door to the butler’s pantry close.

He had to catch up to you before you met up with Barbatos. 

His worst fear right now is that you would take advantage of Barbatos’ power and have the timeline altered to where you never came to Devildom and never met him.

Once he was close enough he used a blast of magic to open the door and rushed into the room.

You had been wiping your tears but with the door bursting open, you jumped and scowled at who was entering. Realizing it was Lucifer, your face softened but looked away.

“You’re still here,” Lucifer held a hand on his chest, allowing himself a moment of relief.

“Well it’s not like I can teleport or fly. I’m just a human.”

The way you talked down about yourself made Lucifer’s own heart drop, your pact physically affecting him, your pride was at the lowest he had ever felt. 

As the Avatar of Pride, he wouldn’t stand for it. “You’re not just a human, MC. You’re unbelievably important.”

You rolled your eyes, “Yeah, because I’m Lilith’s descendant and a part of the exchange program.”

“No, you’re important because you bring kindness and joy into everything you do. You’re important because you’ve become the anchor I’ve been trying to be for my family for centuries. You’re important because you truly try to make a meaningful difference even when it’s difficult.” Lucifer moved in front of you, gently tilting your chin up to meet his gaze, “You’re important because I love you.”

Mammon

When he recovered from the shock, he looked around.

The first brother he saw was Levi. He marched over and ordered him to deal with the Noble.

Next he moved in the direction you had stormed off in. He finally caught up to you at the coat check.

You noticed him and looked away pretending you didn’t.

“MC! You going home? I’ll go with,” he dug out his own coat ticket and handed it over to the coat checker.

“You really don’t have to.”

“Don’t be stupid, I’m going where you go,” He moved to sling an arm around your shoulder like he normally does but you shrugged out of his reach. That hurt.

“Well maybe I am stupid! Just a big dumb human who doesn’t realize they’re being used.” You hugged yourself to try to self-soothe.

It took a few moments for Mammon to register all of your words, “What? Who’s using you? Was it that Noble??” He scowled back at the ballroom.

“No, forget it.” You started walking to the exit.

He growled as he grabbed his coat and jogged to catch up to you.

You heard the rushed footsteps and paused more out of habit than anything else. “Mammon, stop.”

He had made it right behind you before he was forced to stop, the pact binding him in place. That didn’t stop his mouth though, “MC, whatever that Noble said to you, it’s a lie!”

“You don’t know what he said,” you replied coldly, “He said that I’m being used, by you and your brothers, by Diavolo, he said that none of you ever really cared about me, I was just a replacement for Lilith.” Repeating the words made them worse, it had you shaking as the sobs started to rattle your body.

“MC,” Mammon whined your name, clearly trying to force his body to move, “drop the spell,” you shook your head no so he begged, “Please MC.”

His desperation softened your resolve for a moment long enough to release the hold you had on him.

Mammon immediately turned you to face him, your tears broke him and he started tearing up. He pulled you into his chest and started, “We never thought of it that way. I was so relieved that Lilith got to lead a fulfilling life where she didn’t have to suffer turning into a demon. You were the result of her happy life that it made me so happy, unbelievably happy. But I liked you before we knew all of that, I was the first of my brothers to see how great you are.” He placed a soft kiss on your forehead, “MC, I love you so much. Please don’t doubt that.”

Leviathan

“Ouch,” he thought as he looked around. The first of his brother’s he found was Beel, his height and orange hair made him stick out. He was also in the most likely place to find him, in front of a table of food.

Levi maneuvered around party guests and tapped at Beel’s shoulder. Very quickly he explained the situation, Beel nodded with a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth and started muscling his way through the dance floor.

Next was to face you. He was nervous, had he done something he wasn’t aware of? Did the Noble point out his inferiority and MC was disgusted to have a pact with him?

He got to the bathroom and hesitated. He could hear your soft cries muffled behind the door. All nervousness left him as he knocked and called out to you, “MC?”

The cries stopped and you answered, “Go away.”

“No,” Where was this confidence coming from, he wondered as he added, “I’m here for you, please let me help you.”

“You can’t help me, you’re part of the problem.”

All of the confidence he just had was shattered. “MC… I’m sorry. If it was something I did, or didn’t do, please tell me. You know I don’t know how to handle these situations but I would never try to hurt you.”

The door swung open and Levi jumped. 

“And why is that Levi?” Your tear stained face stared him down.

“Because I c-care about you?” He was confused why you were angry at him now.

“Because I’m a replacement for Lilith?”

“No way!” Now it was his turn to be angry.

A bit of the venom was removed as you asked, “Because I’m a dumb normie human?”

“Well…” He started to joke but when you pouted he took it back, “of course not.”

“Then why?” You sniffled.

Levi looked around, you two were in a pretty secluded area. He took a deep breath and braced himself so he wouldn’t lose his nerve. “I wouldn’t hurt you because we’re a team! My player 2, my Henry, my friend! When I agreed to form a pact with you, it was because you opened my eyes to how valuable it would be to let people into my world. At that time, I had no idea about Lilith, Lucifer kept us in the dark and I chose not to seek out the light. Then you came into my life and you were so bright it hurt my eyes.” He was rambling, “Anyway, you might be a normie human but you’re my normie human! Whatever that Noble said to make you question that, it isn’t true.”

After a beat, you jumped into his arms. His heart was absolutely pounding as he wrapped you in his arms, he knew you’d hear it but he was relieved he somehow said the right thing.

Satan

He knew it was the Noble that caused your mood shift.

You retreated through a door, Satan didn’t have time to make the Noble suffer in the ways he was already imagining. 

As he headed for the door himself, he bumped into Lucifer.

It was grinding on his nerves but for your sake he asked Lucifer to take care of the Noble.

Without question, Lucifer whisked off to take care of it. He probably knew it was important since Satan would never ask anything of Lucifer if it wasn’t necessary.

Satan picked up the pace to get to the door and catch you.

He looked down both sides of the connecting hall and found you leaning against the wall facing away from where you had come from.

As he approached he realized your shoulders were shaking. It broke his heart.

When he placed a hand on your arm, you jumped out of your skin and stepped away. 

You relaxed seeing it was Satan and not someone else but making eye contact with him hurt, “Leave me alone, I just need a moment.”

You had turned to leave but he wasn’t letting you go again. He regripped your arm.

“Don’t go.”

“Satan…” You sighed trying to bring back some of your usual strength.

“Whatever that Noble said…” A thought dawned on him mid-sentence, “Did he do something to you?” The wrath in him bristled anew.

“He didn’t do anything besides point out some things.” You laughed weakly, “Actually he made some good points I should have seen for myself a long time ago.”

“What points did he make?” Satan asked.

You looked down the hall, debating an escape, “That I was just a pawn to Diavolo’s plans and a replacement for Lilith.”

“That’s not true,” Satan defended.

His tone of finality made you look back at him. He took the opportunity to explain.

“You’re no one’s pawn. You always had and will always have your free will to do as you want. Just as you’ve shown me that I’m my own being,” he held a hand to his chest, “You are your own person.”

You scoffed, “and being related to Lilith-”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Satan interrupted and finished the sentence. “I’ve heard all the stories from my brothers but I never met her. I met you though,” His hand moved down your arm to your hand.

Automatically you gave his hand a squeeze just falling into habit and he smiled.

“It doesn’t matter how you got here,” Satan started, hoping you would complete the quote from a book you both read.

Quietly you added, “All that matters is you’re here now.”

He pulled you into his arms and you let him engulf you in a warm embrace. It was so different from the sharp, cold feeling you got from the Noble that it felt like home to be here with him.

“I’ll always be here for you MC,” he whispered and you believed him.

Asmodeus

Well clearly something was wrong, you never pulled back from him like that.

He first looked around for some assistance. Things had been fine before your dance with the Noble so something happened in relation to that dance.

The first person he spotted was Satan. Asmo waved him over to the table. Satan nodded and departed from the company he had been talking to. Asmo quickly described the situation in a pretty grim light knowing exactly what would flip the wrath switch in Satan.

The blond demon stalked off after his newly provided prey.

Asmo checked his appearance in a pocket mirror before setting after you. It wasn’t like he had something on his face or a hair out of place that drove you off but he had to be sure.

He found you looking out over the Devildom with the most somber look on your face.

“MC~ You look absolutely stunning under the Devildom moon.”

You sighed. 

That wasn’t the reaction Asmo was aiming for. “Won’t you tell me what’s wrong, love?”

“It’s nothing,” you tried to smile but it didn’t light up your face like he knew it could.

“Ok,” Asmo put up his hands. He could take a hint, you didn’t want to talk about it and he wasn’t going to push and make it worse. “Let’s go home then?”

“I know you don’t want to leave. You’ve been looking forward to this all month,” You looked back out at the cityscape.

“Well I don’t want to be here if you’re not having fun,” Asmo snaked an arm around your waist and looked out across the city himself.

He felt you stiffen under his touch and he tried very hard not to pout outwardly but you rejecting him really hurt.

He said he wasn’t going to push but he had to know, “Did the Noble say something unacceptable to you?”

“No, if anything it was too acceptable, factual even.” You leaned away from him and against the railing as your face soured further.

“What did he say?”

“That I’m being used,” you looked at him to see how he reacted to the second part, “by Diavolo and your family.”

His brow furrowed and you knew it was genuine emotion since he would never risk the wrinkles otherwise.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Asmo shook his head, “That’s absolutely not what’s happening.”

“It’s fine,” you shrugged, “we all have our part to play.”

“MC,” Asmo took your shoulders and stared you down, “You are not just some pawn, you’re a very important human to me and my family!”

You looked to the side, “Only because I’m related to Lilith.”

“No? We love you for you!”

You blushed at his blunt honesty, “Oh.”

“Did you think that we didn’t care about you before we learned that you were distantly related?”

“No!” You defended, “But when he was laying out all the info, it did kind of seem like that.”

“Who are you going to trust? Some random or me?” Asmo batted his eyes at you.

After a moment you conceded, “You, of course.”

You both giggled and he whisked you to the dance floor to show you the best night of your life.

Beelzebub

“Wait MC-” Beel jumped up from table, his knees knocked it and it wobbled as he pushed his chair back.

“You couldn’t just leave like that,” he thought, “I can’t lose another…”

He found you on the front balcony. From what he could guess, you paused to take in the fresh air but then watched as you steeled yourself and briskly started your way down the stairs.

“MC,” he caught up easily even in his formalwear, “Let me at least walk you back to the dorm.”

You hesitated, not making eye contact with him, you shrugged, “fine.”

The two of you walked in silence. Beel had no idea what to say to make you stay. He cursed himself that words didn’t come as easily to him like Asmo or Mammon, he couldn’t relate it to something he read or watched like Satan or Levi usually did and he couldn’t think of the perfect solution like he knew Lucifer would.

He was the only thing standing between you and the metaphorical exit and he had to do something. 

So he did the only thing he could think of and apologized. “I’m sorry.”

It made you stop, “What?”

“I’m sorry. If it was something I said or did or ate, I’m sorry. If it was one of my brothers then I’m also sorry. Whatever it was, I’m sorry.” Tears pricked in the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t usually one to cry but he was so frustrated and felt so helpless. If this wasn’t what you wanted then you’d be gone.

“No,” you sighed, “I’m sorry, I took out my frustration on you. I’m not mad at you or your brothers. If anything, I’m mad at myself,” you laughed dryly.

“Yourself?” Beel repeated, trying to figure out how he could help you with that.

“Yeah, I should have seen it for myself but that Noble was right,” you continued onwards to HOL.

“Right about what?”

You finally looked at him and it crushed him to see the saddest smile on your face as you answered, “That I’m just some kind of replacement for Lilith. I thought you all really cared about me but your behavior did change after everyone learned I was related to her.”

Beel was frozen in shock. He watched you pick up walking home again.

“That’s not-” he started but you raised a hand to stop him.

“I get it, you guys were so happy that she lived that you wanted to show it in some way,” this time when you turned toward him you couldn’t keep the tears from falling, “and in a way I’m grateful because if I wasn’t her descendant then I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have met you all, and I wouldn’t have been a part of a family like yours. But I’m selfish and I wanted you to love me for who I am.”

He was finally unfrozen and wrapped you in a near-bone-crushing hug. “We do!” Beel confirmed, “We love you, MC!” He began crying, “I love you, please don’t leave.”

Enclosed in his arms, you felt his earnest emotions flood into you, “I believe you,” you wiped his tears, “Thank you for loving me.”

Belphegor

He knew it, that Noble was bad news.

Belphie looked around and easily found Asmo in the middle. He pushed past his fans and told Asmo what happened. Asmo left to take care of the Noble.

Belphie caught up with you in your room back at the HOL.

He had followed the noise and found you were angrily packing a bag, in between wiping your face.

“What’re you doing?” Belphie asked from the door.

The sudden voice made you jump, “Leaving.”

“Why?”

You paused, wringing the shirt in your hand, “We’d all be better off.”

“Because you’re a replacement?” Belphie threw your words back at you but realized his mistake too late.

When you shuddered and fell to your knees crying he wanted to disappear. How could he be so tactless?

“Yes! I’m not Lilith!” You cry-yelled at him. “I wanted so badly to be a part of your family. I did everything for you and your brothers to make amends, to prove myself and my intentions and it didn’t matter! The second you all learned about my lineage, it all changed.” 

You sniffled and added, “You hated me for being a human, I’d almost prefer that if that is honestly how you feel about me.”

Ouch. But he deserved that, “I don’t hate you,” he knelt in front of you.

“I’m just a stupid human,” he grabbed your arms and pulled you into him as you sobbed, “I don’t want to be used as a pawn, and I’m not a replacement for your sister.”

“I know, MC,” Belphie soothed, “You’re not a pawn and we know you aren’t a replacement for Lilith.”

“B-but,” you blubbered.

“No buts,” there was an edge to his voice, that he wasn’t going to take any rebuttals. “Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to move forward as a family. We’d be worse off without you in our lives.”

You shifted back a bit to look at him, “Really?”

“Really,” Belphie verified. “Don’t go,” his voice caught in his throat, his own emotions finally hitting him. What would he do without you?

You grabbed his face, assessing for yourself. “Ok…ok.” You relaxed in his hold and finally felt secure in how he felt about you.

Diavolo

You ducked into the kitchen.

He tried to follow but got stopped by a high ranking demon that he could not brush off. He was trapped, that is until Barbatos caught his gaze.

The butler swooped in, distracted the demon with appetizers and began leading them away.

Ever grateful, Diavolo smiled and then another thought hit him. He stopped Barbatos and whispered in his ear what happened between you and the Noble. Barbatos nodded and made his way to find and complete his new task.

Diavolo jumped into the kitchen before anyone else could stop him.

“MC?” he looked around and found you sitting on the counter with your head in your hands. His heart dropped.

You sniffled, “Go back to your party.”

“I don’t feel like it.” he mused.

“What a spoiled prince,” you replied.

He felt hopeful, if you were joking then surely you would recover. “Won’t you tell me what happened?”

When you tensed, he stopped inching closer.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t matter.” 

“That’s not true,” Diavolo tried to take your hands but you fought him slightly, still trying to cover your face. When you finally relented and looked at him with tear stains on your face, he swore he never felt a greater rush of love and the need to protect like he did in that moment, “You’re so important to me.” 

“Because I’m an exchange student?” You searched his face for any reaction.

“What?” He was actually dumbfounded. “You think that’s the only reason I care for you?”

“What other reason could there be? Isn’t that the whole point of why I was here in the first place?”

He paused to gather his thoughts. There were so many reasons to love you and the fact that you could be undone like this from one conversation proves that Diavolo was failing you. Still holding your hands, he raised one to kiss your knuckles. “I’ll admit that at first, my goal to build bridges between the realms was my focus, but as the program went on, I found myself looking forward to our meetings. Much to Barbatos’ chagrin, I would sneak out to steal a few moments with you and they meant everything to me.”

You had begun rubbing his hand with your thumb, tears were gone but you still looked sad.

He rested his forehead against yours, “I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if I didn’t meet you. You’ve brought a joy and sense of adventure into my life that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

“Thanks Dia,” When you smiled softly, he could swear his heart was melting into a puddle. “I’m sorry if I ruined your night.”

“Nonsense!” Diavolo laughed and backed up to help you off the counter, “The night’s still young and I think I owe you a dance.”

You squeezed his hand, “Wait, I probably look terrible from crying!”

The kitchen door swung open to Barbatos trying to hold back Asmo. Asmo chirped, “We can help with that!”

Diavolo laughed at the sight. Barbatos sighed and released Asmo as he whipped out his travel make-up kit and busied himself with you.

Barbatos stood next to Diavolo and in a hushed tone affirmed, “The target has been captured.”

A dark look passed over Diavolo’s face as he responded, “Good. We’ll deal with him in the morning.”

Barbatos

He wanted to chase after you but his duty was of course to Diavolo and the ball at hand.

Within a few moments, he reasoned that the ball was in danger of being compromised if you weren’t there and the Noble was allowed to roam free of consequence.

Barbatos wasn’t one to ask for help but he knew that if he mentioned the Noble’s actions to Lucifer, the demon would take matters into his own hands to deal with it and Lucifer did so.

That left him to track you down. He had a feeling of where he’d find you.

Out in the garden, seated on the bench, you were fidgeting with his handkerchief.

Careful to make noise as he approached you so as to not spook you with his usually silent steps, Barbatos sat on the other end of the bench.

He caught you peeking at him so he tried not to look directly at you, knowing it would make you feel uncomfortable.

“Thank you for this,” you held out his handkerchief.

“Any time,” he accepted it and even through his gloves, he could feel the dampness. Had he left you alone for too long to have cried this much? Very slowly he folded the cloth and put it in his pocket.

“Also I’m sorry for my behavior before.” You shifted and began to explain, “I was confused and hurt, that Noble… actually nevermind.”

“There’s no need to apologize to me, though I am sorry for the distress you’ve gone through.”

Still bothered, you had to ask, “Why do you tolerate me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you only nice to me because you’re under orders to be?”

He couldn’t lie, “Lord Diavolo has directed me to be of use to the exchange students, but I’ve come to genuinely appreciate your company, if that isn’t too presumptuous.”

You peeked over again and could see a light blush on the butler’s cheeks, he wasn’t looking at you now out of embarrassment.

That earned a small smile, “It’s not, I’m grateful to hear your true feelings.” You paused thinking on what the Noble said, “Do you think the others feel the same? That they actually like me, not as some replacement for Lilith or as a tool to be used?”

Ah so that’s the idea that the Noble had planted, he rubbed his chin in thought. “While I can’t speak for the brothers, I can conclude that you mean much more to Lord Diavolo than he’d like to admit. He has never spoken ill of you in my presence. Even Lucifer, who has often verbalized his distaste for his brothers’ shenanigans, has never voiced the same of you even if you were involved in said shenanigans.”

“Well that’s something.”

“It certainly is,” He confirmed.

You giggled and it was like Barbatos was hearing his favorite song for the first time. 

After a beat, he stood, brushed himself off more out of habit than any actual dirt accumulation and faced you. You looked slightly surprised. He bowed and offered his arm, “Shall we head back in?”

Hesitantly, you took his hand, “Can I stay with you?”

“If that is what you desire,” Barbatos smiled and led your hand to hold his arm, “How could I deny a direct request like that?”

Solomon

He was stunned for a minute. Had you meant him and you weren’t on the same page or the humans and the demons weren’t on the same page?

Solomon was pretty sure that the pacts were a clear indicator of a human and a demon being on the same page.

This was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of one of his new pacts, he sent the demon to gather as much information, good and bad, that they could dig up about the Noble that had danced with you.

If knowledge was power then he wanted as much knowledge on his side as he could get before making a move.

That left him free to follow you. He caught the sight of you as you left into an adjoining hallway.

Shuffling through the crowd he broke free and got himself through the door. He looked both ways and found you at the end, turning the corner.

Although not one for running, he jogged down the hall to catch up with you.

You had turned to watch for the approaching noise and at the sight of your watery eyes he skidded to a stop.

Solomon couldn’t remember a time when he had seen you cry, not like this, where your whole being seemed depleted.

“MC…”

“I’m fine,” you wiped the tears away quickly, “I was dumb for thinking that any of this meant something to them, that’s on me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The exchange program, the demons, everything here was just all part of Diavolo’s plan and I played right into it.” Bitterly you added, “I was a pawn and I couldn’t even see it.”

“That’s not true,” Solomon rebuked. “I’m sure they did not count on you making pacts with the 7 demon brothers. They are extremely high ranking, that wasn’t an easy feat.”

“They’re not any better, they probably only did so because I was some sort of replacement for Lilith.”

“Lilith… oh yes the fallen angel that almost did not survive.” He nodded as he remembered, “Is that what they said when they made the pact with you?”

“Well not exactly…” you admitted.

“I see,” he took your hand and pulled you to a nearby bench, “I happen to know a bit about pacts.”

You rolled your eyes but he took it as a good sign, “And when entering the pact, usually one or both parties admit their reason behind entering the contract. Usually it’s the human asking for something only that demon can offer like money, power or influence, but that wasn’t the case for you was it?”

“No.”

“What was it that they were looking for from you?”

You didn’t answer for a while, thinking back on each of the pacts being forged. “If I had to sum it up for all of them, love or acceptance.”

Huh, that was pretty straightforward, Solomon wondered why he hadn’t thought of that. “That seems like something only you could have given them, I doubt they would want the same from me.”

You laughed, “I wouldn’t say that, Asmo really loves you, he always talks about you.”

Solomon groaned for effect but you both knew he cherished the bond with the demon.

“You were never their pawn, they chose to offer the pact and you chose to accept, that was not something orchestrated by someone else.”

Finally, you nodded, seeing his perspective. “You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” he joked.

With a light punch of his arm, you both made your way back to the party. Solomon planned on showing you a magical night.

Simeon

The walk back to Purgatory Hall was quick, too quick for Simeon to figure out what happened.

He’d seen you dancing but not who with, also why had you been in such a hurry to get away from the brothers? He thought things were going well with them.

“I’ll put on some tea, ok?” Simeon offered as you two entered the front door.

You nodded and sat at the table.

“Simeon~” Luke called, “You’re back early!” The cherub entered the room and saw you from behind, “And MC!? What a treat!”

Luke came up to your side and caught your sad expression before you could turn away. “What happened?” He shot an accusatory glare at Simeon.

Simeon looked shocked, Luke thought you were upset because of him?

“It’s nothing Luke,” you replied softly, “you were right, I shouldn’t have trusted demons.”

The two angels looked at each other shocked, neither had expected that. “Well of course!” Luke defended, “What did they do?”

You sighed, you didn’t see a way to brush them both off so you recanted the dance with the noble, the things he knew about you and the ideas he had brought to your attention.

Luke chomped down on a cookie, “Well he’s not wrong about Diavolo’s plan.”

“Luke,” Simeon admonished, “I’ve known Diavolo for a long time, he’s not one to use others for personal gain, even if he is a demon. He’s always preferred to do things his own way.”

“And those brothers?” Luke asked. You looked at Simeon expectantly, your face repeating the question, ‘And those brothers?’

“I’ve known them for a long time too. Of course they adored their sister Lilith, we all did. But no one could serve as her replacement because she was irreplaceable.” Simeon allowed that thought a moment to sink in. “I think that you've made your own bonds with them, different and separate from your ancestral lineage.”

“I suppose…” You conceded.

“Why do you even put up with them MC?” Luke offered.

Now you had to laugh, “For a while I thought they were the ones putting up with me.”

“No way!” 

“Yes way,” you smiled at him as you sipped your tea. “I think you forget sometimes that you’re all powerful beings and I am not.”

Luke blushed, “You’re powerful, in your own way!”

“Thank you,” you put your hand on his cheek and he smiled. 

You looked over at Simeon, “Can I spend the night here?” 

Although he still sensed some sadness from you, it certainly was not the same level as he had felt when he bumped into you before.

“Yes!” Luke answered first, “Please Simeon!”

With the two of you giving him pouty looks, “How can I say no?”

“Yay!” Luke cheered and ran from the room, “Sleep over!”

“It’s alright if you’d rather not entertain Luke all night,” You offered, “I can go back to the HOL, I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not getting out of this that easy,” Simeon teased, “He probably has six movies lined up already and he has been practicing making pillow forts in his room.”

You both laughed, “I appreciate you listening Simeon, I’m glad I have a guardian angel like you,” you winked as you joined Luke on the floor. He did already have a stack of movies to watch.

Simeon blushed and then shook his head to clear his thoughts as he joined the blanket pile.

[theinvisibledoodlewizard]

I just came up with an idea that I kinda wanna draw but I’m working another comic so this one won’t get done for a while. (This is the one universe where Mike and Olivia have kids. I usually don’t have that? But this au is for funsies)

Mike, Olivia, Michelle, and Lee-Lee are all at the beach house for the summer.

After listening to the forecast, the girls decided to enjoy the small window of sunshine in the day, and went out to play on the beach. Olivia turned to start cooking them all breakfast, and Mike picked up the morning paper. He couldn’t focus on it though, his eyes instead being drawn to the carefree figures on the beach.

After not even being sure him and Olivia could have kids… to not sure if they should given the whole… remnant thing, and that’s not even counting the reputation Afton kids have from their predecessor. Seeing two happy girls playing on the beach holds so much magic.

Shaking off the awe, Mike turned back to his paper. But not for long.

“Dad?”

Mike turned back to find four purple eyes staring up at him.

“What is it? Did one of you get hurt?” he asked, worry slipping in around the accusatory parent voice.

“No!” piped up Michelle, doing an eye roll that made Mike wonder if she only inherited his looks, “It just started getting cloudy, and we wanted to come read the paper with you.”

“Yeah,” Lee-lee agreed, “We wanna sit in your lap and read the news.”

Mike looked at both of the girls confused.

“It hasn’t started raining yet, and there’s only a couple clouds. It’ll be raining all day once it starts, you don’t wanna waste the time you have reading boring news do you?”

Both girls looked at their feet embarrassed.

“We were gonna try to convince you to read the comics,” Michelle offered weakly.

Mike smiled a bit, “Well, that makes a little more sense at least. But still, you know you’ll be stuck in here with your Mom and I for the whole day? You can always read them then, that way we aren’t fighting over them.”

Lee-lee reached forward tentatively and put her small, 5 year old hand, on her dad’s leg.

“But that’s why we want to see them now,” she said wistfully, pleading eyes melting Mike’s heart, “We wanna hang out. Or you’ll get away like you always do.”

“Get away?” Mike asked bewildered more by the second.

“You do kinda tend to dump us on Mom whenever we try to spend time with you,” came the sassy response from Michelle.

Mike shot a glance at Olivia’s back, trying to signal to her that he needed help desperately. But the woman kept scrambling the eggs happily, humming a little tune, and working far too hard to try to seem like she wasn’t listening to the conversation happening behind her.

Mike glared at her for a second more before a pitiful “Please Daddy?” pulled him back to the other, little purple and black haired angels, at his side.

“If you’re really that adamant about wasting the beach time you have,” he sighed, pushing his chair away from the table and patting his lap.

“YAY!” both girls cheered as they jumped with glee.

“Don’t scare your Dad, more than he already is,” laughed Olivia, “You’ll spook him so much he might think you’re animatronics disguised as children.”

“Haha, you’re hilarious,” Mike halfheartedly returned, as the girls settled themselves on their perches.

Holding both wiggling, giggling girls close as they read the paper, Mike couldn’t shake the feeling of wonder that kept rising through him. His girls were healthy, happy, having fun, and wanted him to be a part of that fun. Michael Afton. The half dead, half animatronic. The night guard, who associated with horrible monstrosities. The high school bully that got his younger brother killed. But none of those things mattered to these two little sparkling, energetic balls of energy. He was Dad, and that’s all that mattered.

Mike hugged his daughters close, cherishing every moment they gave him. If he was Dad, he’d go through the scooper a hundred times before he let these girls lose faith in him. It wasn’t a hard bar to beat, but slipping to William’s level would be far more painful than any of the physical or mental trauma Mike had gone through.

“Wonder what old Henry would’ve thought of this,” Mike thought to himself, “Wish he were here so I could ask him advice. If he could handle Charlie, he would’ve loved Chell and Lee-lee.”

“Ok, you can finish reading the comics in a bit,” Olivia chirped happily. “Breakfast is gonna get cold. Get to your seats.”

Michelle and Lee-lee went to move, but the arms around them didn’t budge an inch. Another try garnered the same amount of success.

“Dad,” Michelle turned in confusion to meet her father’s smirk, “We gotta eat. Come on, let go.”

“Sorry Chell,” Mike shrugged, a bit too casually. “I must’ve had glue on me, I can’t seem to move.”

“Glue!? Oh no!” shrieked a horrified Lee-lee, starting to flail wildly.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, not impressed.

“Glue huh? That would stick your arms to the girls, you’re not even moving.”

“Well… I guess the endoskeleton’s servo’s locked up,” Mike said far too fast, a grin spreading across his face no matter how hard he tried to fight it back. “You know how the animatronics had to keep moving or they’d get stuck. I guess I just sat here too long.”

“Well, I spent too long on breakfast to let these girls go hungry,” returned the woman, matching Mike’s smirk, “What do you suggest we do?”

Mike thought for a moment, making sure to look like he was considering the question deeply.

“You could push their plates over here and they just keep sitting on me?” he finally offered.

“Then you won’t be able to eat, you goof,” laughed Olivia. “Will it be enough glue remover for me to just scoot the girls’ chairs over towards yours?”

Mike looked at Chell and Lee-lee in turn, then grinned back at Olivia.

“As long as you move yours closer too.”

The family laughed as they all huddled close that morning, happy to have each other. Each member precious and necessary.

[ramzawrites]

Rivals - Prince!Reader x Prince!Eret

Male

Pairings: Eret x Reader

Characters included: Eret

Warnings: n/a

Series: a request from 🌱🌟 my beloved <3 /p

Summary: Prince Y/N and Prince Eret hated each other. That was just a fact. Mostly causing trouble together in order to one up the other. Though over the time even their relationship can change.

Words count: 5367

Authors Note: I’ll be honest you hit me with this request at a very good time so I ended up writing 10 pages in one go haha

At the end I made the executive decision to finally cut it off or I probably would have written even more, for which I’m honestly don’t have the time at the moment. I hope it’s not that obvious but if it is I apologize.

Thank you for the request 🌱🌟

I am reposting it since the original post doesn’t seem to appear in the tags no need to check the original post but I wanted to give a reason why it’s twice on my blog

Prince Eret and Prince Y/N hated each other.

That was just a universally accepted thing and something that made sense. Just like how water is wet, the ground was made out of dirt, Eret and Y/N hated each other.

Both of their respecting kingdoms never had a good relationship to say the least. Way back in the day the two nations have wared against each other which almost ruined both kingdoms forcing the two to an act of neutrality with the behest of the neighboring kingdoms.

Though this was way off in the past. Nowadays they had rebuilt. Their forces and monetary situation stood strong but they stayed neutral. Eyeing each other closely for any slip ups, though they were also bound to contracts that would involve other nations as well should they begin to go to war again, which wasn’t in interest for both parties.

So they tried to mostly ignore each other which only worked to an extent. If you are a strong nation with an impressive military force or with a lot of money, other nations will invite you to their balls, banquets or whatever fancy party they have going at that point. And it was in your best interest to join these as well, to show off your might, wealth or to connect with other foreign powers.

The first time Y/N’s family took him with them to one of these balls, he was barely six years old.

For a six year old a ball was a boring affair. All the adults were courteously laughing and only sipping on their drinks. Occasionally walking on the stage to dance to the slow and boring music.

Y/N was busy watching two older women dance in tandem. Their dresses and silk moving together in a sea of fabric that seemed to hypnotized the child as he sat on the side of the stage. His parents were off somewhere else, feeling they could trust enough in his proper upbringing to not cause any problems, that they left him. Saying that he should try to enjoy himself.

Enjoy himself how? Dance with the lonely grandma that was busy drinking away all the wine in the castle? No, thank you.

Finally tearing his eyes off the dancing women Y/N noticed how someone else was cautiously approaching him. It was another kid in what he assumed was his age. This stranger had fluffy wild hair and had a sympathetic smile on his face. He wore a simple suit similar to Y/N’s but there were a ton of differences in details.

As he got closer Y/N could swear that something seemed off about him. Something in him was screaming but he couldn’t place why he felt like that.

“Hello.” The other kid greeted Y/N.

Y/N looked around the room for a second before setting his attention back on him “Hello. Who are you?” There was a small hope in him, hey maybe this boring ball won’t be so boring after all.

With a proud expression the kid did a proper royal greeting, bowing in front of Y/N for a second “I am Prince Eret from the mighty nation of-“

But Y/N interrupted him “Prince Eret?! I know of you! My parents warned me and told me to ignore you.” He then stuck his tongue out and made a point to look away from him.

Eret furrowed his brows, exclaiming loudly his confusion to this reaction “Huh? Why?”

Y/N rolled his eyes and got off the chair he was sitting on. Just like Eret, he did his own version of the royal greeting that he got taught by his etiquette teachers “I am Prince Y/N.”

He knew he didn’t need to say more which got confirmed by Eret’s worried and confused expression turning into a proper frown.

“Oh, yuck, so that’s what you look like.”

Y/N gasped in anger “What do you mean yuck? You are the yuck one here! Between the two of us I’m clearly the cooler prince!”

“Oh really? Prove it.” Eret huffed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Now fired up Y/N looked frantically through the whole ball room but couldn’t seem to come up with anything, that was until he saw a servant of the local royal family sauntering around with a plate of drinks and even with a few cheese and meat skewers.

“I bet I could steal more of these skewers from the servants than you.”

Instead of backing down Eret now had a competitive glint in his eyes “You are on.”

And that’s how both Eret and Y/N got into their first real trouble with their parents and other nobles.

They snuck around the people, hiding behind huge skirts and trying their best to grab a skewer from the plate. At first they waited for the servant to look away while they were talking to someone but soon their maneuvers turned riskier and riskier. Jumping up to grab one or even trying to distract them before grabbing another.

At some point for whatever reason both jumped into the air at the same time, grabbing the same skewer which ended with them smashing into the servant who in return fell down, the drinks spilling onto a couple that stood closely by.

As the adults were trying to understand what just happened Y/N grabbed Eret’s arm and yelled “Run!”

The two begun running away, making their way into the garden, hiding behind a bush as they heard some adults screaming and running around.

Y/N didn’t care if Eret got caught by the adults but he was worried he might sell him out to them as well. No, he was positive he would definitely snitch on him.

Out of breath the two kids huddled together, keeping their ears open, trying to catch any sound that might come closer to them.

Eret looked at Y/N  “I clearly won.” He then showed off the skewers he was holding against his suit, effectively ruining it.

Y/N shook his head, showing his own off “Nuh-uh. I clearly won.”

For some reason or another they managed to acquire the same amount of food so they sadly had to come to the conclusion that this was a tie. As they angrily begun snacking on their loot, they still continued throwing childish insults at each other.

This only lasted for a few minutes until their parents found them and figuratively tore them away to yell at them. Saying things like “this is not the proper behavior of a prince! Now we have to apologize to all the people! Do you know what this could cost us?”

From that point on their rivalry really started. Every few months they would meet up again by proxy of being invited to the same noble festivities. In fact every time Y/N was on such a party he fully expected Eret being there as well.

He would arrive and keep look out for that oh so dashing prince from the rival kingdom. Y/N scoffed, Eret wished he thought of him like that but in truth Y/N probably knew the best what kind of idiot he could be. After all he had firsthand experience for this.

While they always ended up in some sort of trouble there was this one moment, when they were twelve years old, that always stood out to him.

As usual Eret and Y/N found each other during a banquet. Both immediately fell back into arguing and making fun of each other. The adults got so tired of it that they sent the two outside so they could, in their words, cool down.

“You look ridiculous in your suit.” Eret mumbled towards Y/N as they wandered outside into the garden. Y/N just rolled his eyes as a response, choosing to ignore Eret at this point, not feeling comfortable with being banished outside together with him.

The garden was beautiful, of course.

Different kinds of flowers were planted along all the sides of the garden. Between them stood a few Willow trees with their long leaves hanging above the flowers and seating opportunities while in the middle of the whole place stood a beautiful huge pond with a statue protruding from the middle of it. The statue displayed two unidentifiable human beings holding on to each other, both holding an urn up into the air together where some water was rushing out ouf down into the pond.

While this all, together with the moon light, looked almost magical Y/N was more concentrated on what was inside the pond.

As he walked over to the water he could see a few koi fish flitting around in there. He sat down and lazily begun drawing invisible patterns into the water. Sometimes the fish would come close only to immediately swim away once they either saw the hand or felt the movement.

Eret was just standing dumbfounded to the side. Staring at Y/N which infuriated him. He could feel his dark eyes lingering on him and it just annoyed him. Eret finally shut up but now he was just standing there in uncomfortable silence.

Y/N let out a frustrated sigh “Stop doing that.”

Eret looked bewildered at that “Stop, what?”

“Staring! I can see you staring! I know I’m handsome but come on.” Y/N snickered at the last part.

This time Eret rolled his eyes “Nah, I was just thinking how easy it would be to push you into the water right now and was debating if it was worth getting into trouble for it.”

“And what did your small brain come up with?”

Eret walked over and sat down next to Y/N “It’s sadly not worth it. I feel like I would get in even more trouble than last time when I was destroying you in that food fight.”

Y/N angrily shook his head “Oh, no! I was winning! You were lucky my father literally pulled me away from you or you wouldn’t even be standing here right now!”

“You wish! Your father saved the small bit of dignity you have!”

Ignoring Eret’s attempt to obviously rile him up and make him more angry, Y/N turned now fully away from him and instead returned to watching the fish. They looked more interesting and had more personality than Eret anyhow.

It was also definitely easier to look at the animals than Eret. Every time he would look at him even only for a little bit this fuzzy anger inside the pit of Y/N’s stomach would come up and by god he hated it. Unbeknownst to him this feeling was mutual.

Eret almost seemed chuffed that Y/N didn’t seem to react and instead chose to follow him suit with watching the fish.

“If we are already stuck out here let’s make it at least interesting.” Y/N broke the silence “Let’s catch some fish. I’m betting I can catch more than you.”

Eret was already getting rid of his jacket and pushed his sleeves up “I doubt that!”

Not wasting time Y/N shed his jacket as well and rolled his sleeves up only to jump into the water himself once the fish stayed out of both their reaches due to their incessant punching into the water.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Not losing!” was all Y/N said.

Eret not feeling too keen on possibly losing, jumped into the pond as well, trying to ignore Y/N who was inadvertently splashing water his way.

As a bit of a payback Eret threw some water towards Y/N which resulted in him loosing a prime chance for trying to grab a fish.

Everything is allowed in love and war after all and this was definitely war.

Though this action led to Y/N retaliating with spraying water back on Eret. Soon the two didn’t care about the fish anymore and were too busy trying to wrestle the other under the water. It wasn’t a full blown fight, no real punches fell but there was a lot of pushing and pulling.

They only stopped once they heard a blood curdling scream. Apparently the noble who owned the garden saw them inside her pond and was obviously not too pleased with it.

Yeah, there was a lot of anger and screaming afterwards but for Y/N and Eret it just fueled their hatred toward each other. If the other one wasn’t there, then they wouldn’t have this problem in the first place but since this wasn’t the case all they could do as proper heirs to their respecting kingdoms was to make the others existence pain.

Over the years their rivalry became infamous and nobles who invited both to their festivities either tried to keep increased watch over them or to the detriment of both sides of the families, tried to incite them. Noble people where a strange lot, trying to find entertainment in the weirdest places.

Not that Y/N or Eret cared too much. They were too busy trying to screw the other over though their methods changed over the years. As kids they were more physical with it while the older they got they tended to use their words more and more to the relieve of their parents.

A good example for that was when both were about sixteen years old.

At this point they learned to rein in their anger towards the other and instead concentrated more or less on their royal duties. Well, they tried but every time they saw each other anger would just flood their systems.

It was a typical ball really. The nobles were busy mingling with each other, spreading false compliments in order to gain the political or social upper hand. Some called it an intricate game but Y/N thought it was just stupid. Just say what you think and don’t sugar coat it. That was something and maybe the only thing he and Eret could agree on. As much as he hated that guy he wasn’t scared to tell Y/N what he thought of him.

He appreciated him for that. A shiver ran down his spine as soon as that thought crossed his mind and Y/N just shoved it away. Never in his life would he actually appreciate that mad prince.

That said it was a bit weird how he hasn’t spotted Eret yet. Not that he was specifically looking out for him or anything. He just wanted to be aware where he was so he could avoid him. Was he invited? His family was here but he seemed to be gone. Maybe he finally gave up trying to one up Y/N and stayed home.

Y/N doubted that though. The only reason why Eret wouldn’t appear to something like this was if he was seriously sick. It happened only once and Y/N ended up being bored to death. So what if he derived entertainment from his rival? That’s a part of the reason what rivalries are for, right?

Spending so much time thinking about him made Y/N uncomfortable. This one feeling in the pit of his stomach just flared up again which he didn’t appreciate one bit. Just another reason why Eret was so annoying. He was the only person this happened with.

Bored out of his mind Y/N begun moving through the ball room. There was one place Eret could be hiding away at. If anything Y/N could predict some behavior from him over the years. Making sure to stay away from all the dancing people and the conversations, not feeling interested to take part in it. Instead he moved towards the gardens.

It was just the place he and Eret would default to since at the slightest chance of trouble the other nobles liked to throw them out immediately.

So when he spotted Eret walking around the rose bushes it didn’t completely surprise him.

“And here I thought I spied a birds nest in between the bushes but alas it is just Eret’s hair.”

Eret visibly flinched once he heard Y/N. Apparently he had been so busy with his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Y/N approaching him. He frowned at the other prince while he in return was just smirking smugly.

Sighing Eret walked over to a particular big rose and begun inspecting it“ And I thought I would finally be free of you. You arrived late, huh?”

“Hardly my fault, though I too was hoping you finally conceded and stayed home but here you are just staring at some roses like some hopeless romantic prince from some sort of fairy tale.”

When Eret didn’t immediately fire back and hesitated Y/N’s eyes widened “No! Don’t tell me! Don’t tell me you actually have a crush on someone! Who is the poor person?”

As he spoke the words out loud it felt like his chest was ablaze. Something about that thought rubbed him the wrong way. He just labelled it as a different way for his annoyance towards Eret to show up but it confused him nonetheless.

Realistically what did he care about his love affairs?

Finally Eret vehemently shook his head “No, nothing like that! Why was this where your mind went? I was just bored and am looking at the flowers. Even you can admit that they are pretty, right?” Eret chuckled “Or are you jealous somehow?”

“Only in your dreams.” Y/N responded with a disgusted expression on his face.

“Nightmares you mean.” Eret added before pulling one rose out of the bush.

Y/N looked around hoping none of the staff or someone else saw this “Dude, what the hell are you doing? If you get into trouble for stealing flowers and I’m around everyone will think I’m part of this.”

“They won’t notice, Y/N. Well, they will only notice it if you aren’t careful enough. You need to have an eye for such things and me begrudgingly knowing you as well as I do, you do not have an eye for that.”

This is always how it happens. Every god damn time. One of the two would make a statement that the other person couldn’t do a very specific thing and all bets were off.

A dangerous glint appeared in Y/N’s eyes “I’ll give you the most amazing rose bouquet without tipping anyone off.” He didn’t seem to realize what he just said but Eret did.

While Y/N turned around in order to scour out the place Eret was still standing in the back. A soft blush on his face. Almost angry with himself he frowned and turned to the opposite direction Y/N just went. He was just so frustrating to be around. Doesn’t even think before he speaks.

This whole endeavor took longer than both initially expected. Most of the time they would just saunter between the bushes only occasionally plucking a flower off. Often enough the two stood in front of the same rose, trying to act as fast as possible to get it before the other.

Eret clearly went for the flower first but once his hand touched the stem of the rose, Y/N was there as well, his hand brushing past Eret’s, holding onto the lower part of the stem.

“You’ve got be kidding me.” Y/N cursed.

Eret squinted his eyes as he looked at him “What do you mean? I went for it first! You still continued grabbing it like the brute you are!”

Y/N gasped in a fake display of disbelief. Acting like the biggest insult just got hurled towards him when in fact Eret has said worse things before or even the countless nobles who suffered damages due to their shenanigans.

Both stared at each other, not letting go off the rose. Their brows furrowed into deep scowls as they just continued staring at each other. Hoping that for some reason any kind of weakness would just magically appear or that someone will let go off the damn flower.

It was incredibly uncomfortable for the both of them. Y/N and Eret both stared directly into each other’s eyes. Pink dusted faces turned towards one another, not daring to move a muscle.

“God, I hate you so much.” Y/N grumbled.

Eret nodded “Believe me the feeling is mutual.”

After a few more seconds of staring and angry expressions they both let go at the same time.

There they stood. Two princes of enemy kingdoms holding each a small bouquet of roses with blushing faces.

If you would ask them about it they would immediately exclaim the blush was just a result of their anger bubbling out.

Eret let out a breath he didn’t notice he was holding “Tie?”

Y/N looked down at his own bouquet “Yeah, sure, let’s call it a tie. This is stupid anyhow.”

That was the last time they saw each other for a while.

Since they both were heirs to their respective thrones they soon got sent away to boarding schools in order to get properly trained for their future duties. Besides being educated and introduced what these duties actually entailed, they also got trained in the art of combat.

While most of, if not all, nobles learn how to fight it was something expected from Y/N and Eret. They had to get good at it. A tradition that still stemmed from the waring days of their competing nations.

So for the next four years Y/N was sent away to a boarding school inside his own nation, only later hearing that Eret befell the same fate, which didn’t surprise him.

The years dragged on rather slowly. Most of the subjects were boring but Y/N realized they were important so he put himself through the grueling task of proper studying. The daily training sessions helped him immensely by bringing some sort of change to his every day and tended to look forward to them. Mostly since he became good friends with his coach. A mercenary hired by his family to train him.

Becoming a friend to him, while others tried stay away from Y/N. Most didn’t dare to approach the only heir of their kingdom, others knew he was a bit of a troublemaker and stayed away from him because of it.

Y/N caught himself missing Eret from time to time. While he was annoying and infuriating at best, Y/N couldn’t help but think it was more enjoyable than spending his time alone surrounded by people around his age.

Every now and again his thoughts would always jump back to Eret. Hell, he even once considered writing him a letter before he stopped in his tracks, realizing what he was about to do. Silently chastising himself for it.

Y/N graduated when he was twenty. His parents amazed by his progress threw compliments towards his improved behavior.

“Guess Prince Eret was the problem all along.” His mother noted.

He scoffed, of course Eret was the majority of the reason for the problems. His mother only needed to mention him and Y/N already felt the same annoyance from back then again. Guess some things never change.

It was the time for a lot of nobles to graduate so one family took it up on themselves to prepare a grand ball in order to celebrate these young adults. It also helped to bring all the heirs and influential people together to form new relationships that could be beneficial for their future rule.

Y/N got invited as well.

As a graduation gift his parents bought him fancy new clothes made out of the finest cloth. While he thought it was a bit over the top, it was comfortable so he didn’t complain too much. They even fashioned him with a ceremonial crown that complimented the whole outfit quite nicely.

It was only then that it really sunk in what this all meant for him. He had to act proper no matter what from now on. While people were always aware of him, now they were really watching. This also meant he had to start to properly get into contact with other influential families and nations which meant he had to actually dance on this ball.

So when he and his family stepped out of the wagon that brough them to this event, his heart was beating fast. Y/N was nervous and yet he still managed to put on a confident smile. He didn’t go through all these etiquette classes without learning a few things at least.

When he walked into the ball room, a servant announced his and his families arrival which caused a lot of people to turn their heads. It was the first official outing of an heir to an incredibly strong nation, of course they wanted to see what he was like.

In fact it didn’t take long until Y/N got swarmed by multiple people talking courteously and making conversation with him. He returned the gestures and mingled with the others, curious to see if anyone interesting was here. It was the first time in a long time people didn’t seem to avoid him, even if it was purely for the purpose of forming new beneficial connections.

It beat sitting around alone.

Y/N slowly scanned the huge room with his eyes that’s when he spied something that made his heart figuratively jump into his throat.

In the corner stood someone tall with a shock of brown and fluffy hair that got pushed down by a crown. He wore an amazing suit made out of silk and with a variant of different purples completed with something that resembled a cape. As he talked to the person in front of him he had this huge, genuine, beautiful smile on his face that made Y/N’s heart skip a beat.

He was handsome that’s all he could say about him. Knocking all the air out of Y/N’s lungs.

Pressing his hand against his madly blushing face Y/N tried to look like he was deep in thought and not just silently checking out this one person way off in the corner.

“Be still my beating heart.” Y/N mumbled as he pressed his free hand on his chest. Feeling his heart beating fast and hard against his ribcage. Luckily no one heard him but he did receive a few worried and confused looks. Guess he wasn’t as sneaky about his display of emotions as he had thought.

Y/N took a deep breath in and coughed in order to calm himself down a bit “I’m sorry to interrupt you all, but I need to go. I need to find something out. It was an honor talking with you and I hope we can continue this later on.”

With all the confidence he didn’t have Y/N slowly made his way towards that person. Something was just pulling him towards him and he needed to at least know his name. It was like his heart and mind both yelled at Y/N.

While walking he could tell that his breath was short. He felt hot and he was certain that his face was still in a lovely shade of red.

Did he just develop a probably one sided crush? Perhaps.

Once he got close enough, he begun to tremble. His knees felt weak and by god he wanted to turn around but something in him just forced him to move on. As if this was his only chance to ever exchange even a word with that stranger.

Y/N was about to put on a polite smile and wave towards him but the stranger was faster and turned towards him.

The stranger audibly and unmistakably gasped. His eyes wide open as his face suddenly turned into a similar shade of red to Y/N.

“Hello.” Y/N begun speaking. He wanted to introduce himself but his voice failed him. Throat and lips dry out of nervousness.

“Y/N?” he spoke with a deep, soothing voice and Y/N had to admit he liked hearing his name coming out of his mouth.

Wait that handsome stranger knew him?

That’s when it hit him. But that can’t be! That was impossible, he would have recognized him immediately!

“Oh. Eret?”

Y/N put his hand against his mouth trying to hide the smile and blush. Why was he feeling like this? Why wasn’t his typical white anger returning? He still had that fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach but something felt different. Maybe it was the maturity from the years or maybe he just imagined it.

Eret was madly blushing and just staring at Y/N as he slowly lifted up his trembling hand “Let’s talk. Would you care for a dance?”

That feeling in his stomach increased as well as the beating of his heart and yet Y/N put his hand into that of Eret’s. Together they walked towards the middle of the room. Slowly beginning to dance.

Y/N was at this point biting his lip. He wanted to talk, say anything but his mind was running in overdrive. No proper sentences would form. Luckily some sort of muscle memory jumped in when it came to the dancing but everything else? No, he was completely screwed.

Why now? Why was he reacting like this?

“You look like you are doing well.” Eret suddenly spoke. His voice trembling almost as much as his hands.

Y/N nodded as he continued moving in tandem with Eret. Their feet skillfully moving around on the dance floor.

“You look good, uh, I mean, you look alright as well, you do look good but I mean you seem to be doing good as well.” After Y/N stammered that out he mentally begun cursing himself out.

He used to wrestle Eret into the mud, why is this happening to him? Why can’t he just go back to his anger, that was easier to deal with. Wait, is that the reason why their anger towards each other held on for so long? Sure, their families had always a rivalry but over time something must have subtly changed concerning their relationship that it managed to end up like this.

Y/N felt like a lovesick pre-teen and he hated it.

Eret suddenly let out a short laugh “I’m guessing you didn’t expect this as well?”

Y/N raised his eyebrows “I- I have no idea what you mean. Like, seriously, what exactly of this do you mean?” Of course his nervousness showed itself via him ranting his thoughts off.

“Us meeting like this again.”

“Seeing our past track record I feel like it was inevitable, though this time it certainly does feel different.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Eret smirked and gave Y/N a wink only to end up turning back into a blushing mess himself.

Now Y/N begun to chuckle, his blush ever present on his face, he pressed his forehead against Eret’s shoulder. Trying his best to hide his face from his view, not willing to give Eret the satisfaction that he succeeded in whatever the hell he just did.

Instead of stopping the two continued to dutifully dance. The best way for a private conversation was while dancing after all but the two were too busy snickering at themselves.

While Y/N had his head still pressed against Eret, Eret spoke up “I’m glad you are here, Y/N. Meeting you here like that again after these years, it made me realize something.”

“Like what?” The same was true of him, of course but he was almost scared of saying it out loud.

Y/N looked back up again but Eret hesitated. His eyes landed on Y/N’s lips only to immediately snap back up to his eyes.

So when he asked “May I?” Y/N knew exactly what he meant.

He gave him a nod which resulted in the two stopping to dance. Eret placed one of his hands against Y/N’s jawline and the other continued to rest at his side as he closed the space between their lips. At first softly brushing their lips for a small second but then Eret went back in pressing his lips properly on Y/N’s only to separate after a few moments.

Y/N put his hands on Eret’s chest, feeling his rapidly beating heart beneath his fingertips “I thought you hated me.” He noted smugly.

Eret laughed “I guess we both were wrong in some way.” He immediately dove back into Y/N’s lips, deepening the kiss, ignoring the confused and surprised noises from all the other guests.