#<- you have tag now i should have done that a while ago hehe

[saltlickmp3]

I GOT VERY VERY EXCITED BY THE LENGTH OF THE INFODUMP THANK YOU!!!! ill read it tomorrow morning when brain functionimg after sleep (I REALLY REALLY WANT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND BUT SOMETIMES I DONT UNDERSTAND THINGS ESPECIALLY WHEN IM TIRED) (that didnt need to be in caps oops)

THANK YOU

THAT'S OKAY I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL SLEEP <3

[mochinomnoms]

The Private (not) Thoughts of a Moray Chapter 5: I wanna go on walks with you, I wanna have long talks with you

Gender Neutral Reader x Jade Leech

Chapter 5 preview:

The fall was much shorter than you anticipated, as you felt yourself fall against a soft body. You opened your eyes, but found that the room was dark. Or a tunnel? Hole? Whatever it was, it was a tight fit as you shifted around to get back on your feet. You dug your elbows against the soft floor to get up, which subsequently moved and grunted.  “Ow. That was my rib.” Jade's voice grunted against your ear, his hold around loosening as he also moved to stand.  “Jade? What—oh my god!” You tried to scramble off of Jade, harder said than done in the space you two had found yourselves. Shifting around, you were sure that you’d just made the situation worse, as Jade lit a light with his wand. How in the world you managed to find yourself straddling Jade’s waist in the dark was a mystery. Though, with the flush look on his face, you weren’t sure he minded. Oh…by the Abyss itself… you’re such a pretty sight.

[wc} - 9,838

[notes] - let's gooooo! My editors still need a chance to comb through but I really wanted this out, so I will update with their feedback later so they don't have to stress! Anyway pls gimme your thoughts! I'd love to hear them!!

[tag list] - @simpingforbelphegor @myteacupisempty

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Chapter 5: I wanna go on walks with you, I wanna have long talks with you)

It had been roughly two months since the year started and you’d been housewarden. You’d like to say that it had been smooth sailing, and it mostly was. Mostly.

Epel had taken you to the Mostro Lounge of all places to get you to relax after a fight broke out between a few of the Ramshackle students over how they should decorate it for Halloween. A Diasomnia student that had managed to sneak into your roster a month ago had wanted to turn the dorm into Malleus’s usual haunted house, but Wynfred and the others wanted to do something new. 

Then it turned into another argument over what that new idea would be, which caused a fight to break out between the different students. If it hadn’t been for Wynfred bluntly calling them all whiny and suggesting that they just drew written suggestions from a hat. While most of them bristled at the remark, they’d agreed to follow his lead. After Albert had so kindly offered his hat, the winning idea was a screampark with clowns.

You’d thanked Wynfred for managing to wrangle them in, as you’d been out at a housewarden meeting at the time and did NOT feel like returning to a warring dorm. The redhead has flushed and beamed at your praise, something he’d been doing for a while you’d notice. At first, you thought it was just him being happy at being recognized for his efforts. 

“You know, Wynfred talks a lot ‘bout you, calls you all sorts of sweet names.” Epel had a gleeful smirk as he teased you. “Sounding like someone’s got a little secret admirer!”

Now you know why Wynfred had been so keen to seek your praise.

“Shut up Epel, you know I still have Vil on speed-dial, and I’ll tell him about you cussing out Yev, again.”

Epel wrinkled his nose and stuck his nose out at you, which you returned in kind. 

“Mmmeeh! Don’t worry about it, Yev has snitched on me plenty of times. Vil tells him to get it together and wrangle me in.”

The small man sipped on his smoothie before continuing, “Vil knew how to fight at least, I respect that. Yev’s a big ol’ wuss. He’s like a peacock. Or a chihuahua.”

Both of you giggled, you particularly at the image in Epel’s head of Yev’s head on a brown shaking chihuahua. Your fit of laughter was interrupted by a familiar presence and the thoughts of a familiar twin. 

Hehe, little shrimpy~

“Hi Floyd, what’s up?”

You craned your head to look up at Floyd, who was peering over the booth with a grin, his gold eye glinting at you. 

“Boo!” Floyd pouted, resting his chin on the top of the booth and draping his arms over to essentially trap you between them.

“Was tryin’ to scare Shrimpy, not fair!” 

You giggled at the whiny tone, though Epel looked a bit off put by Floyd, which wasn’t surprising. 

It’s like Shrimpy can tell when I’m nearby, totally not fair!

“Did you need something, Floyd?” Epel was still polite even after Vil left, so you suppose some of the habits instilled in him now came second nature. 

“Nah, just wanted to bother ya. Hey Shrimpy, Tony said you guys are doing scary clowns for Halloween? Never seen that, are clowns really that scary to humans?”

“Oh yeah,” You responded while Epel nodded along. “I don’t know about here, but back home it was a whole deal, we had like a whole scary movie franchise based on a scary clown that stole and ate children.”

Epel added, “Yeah, and we had a whole thing like two years ago where people were sighting killer clowns on the street! Like, just randomly in the middle of the night!”

“You guys had that too? Oh, that’s weird.”

Floyd made a disturbed face at your comments. Humans are weird. He hummed, moving to further shove his body over your booth. You wouldn’t be surprised though if his feet were still on the ground. 

“Killer clowns? Just beat them up, I don’t know, humans get scared of the weirdest things.” 

The twin perked up as he held up a finger to shush you as you opened your mouth to rebuke. 

“Wait a sec, I got something for ya!” Floyd brought his hand up to his mouth and shrilly whistled a small tune. “Hey Aspen!”

Watching with mild curiosity, you watched as the pink-haired man froze at Floyd calling for him. Staring at Floyd with wide eyes, he briefly darted his gaze to you, and back to Floyd.

“Bring the calamari over for lil’ Shrimpy!”

Aspen made a face, scrunching up his nose as he did what he was told as he internally complained. 

I can’t believe you’re making me touch this stuff, I just—I can’t with you! How can you have Jade’s sweet face, and yet be such an ass, Floyd.

Placing the plate before you, Aspen gave you and Epel a polite nod. “Here you are, please enjoy.”

“Yeah, Aspen’s reeeal fond of squid, ain’t ya?” Floyd giggled as Aspen took a deep breath, glowering at him as he turned his cheek and trotted off. 

Stupid, it’s no wonder you can’t court your mate, you brute.

“I believe my shift has ended. I’ll be setting off, I’ll see you at Ramshackle, Housewarden.”

You watched from the corner of your eye as Floyd grinned wryly at Aspen’s retreating form, looking back at you and Epel to pout and mockingly sniffle. 

“He’s always been so mean to poor ol’ Floydie!” He giggled again, tilting his head as you rolled your eyes. “He ignores me all the time, even when I’m trying to have fun with him! It was just a joke!”

You gave a light-hearted scoff, as did Epel who froze at Floyd squinting a golden eye at him. 

“Right, a joke. Like when you ‘accidentally’ served Azul your takoyaki. Didn’t he smack you hard enough to bruise you?”

Floyd blew a raspberry, cocking his hip as he leaned further against your booth. At the angle you had to crane your head to look at him, he almost looked like his brother. 

“Yeah, he was so mean for that! It’s fine, though, he kept serving me unagi for like a week after that to get back at me.”

His eyes dulling a bit, you could tell Floyd was getting bored now that his ‘fun’ had left. Though, he seemed to perk up as you popped a calamari ring into your mouth, studying your reaction as you chewed. It got a bit awkward as you made eye contact with Epel, who shrugged. 

I wonder if he’s waiting for the Prefect to say something about the food. Maybe he made it and wants praise?

You swallowed and cheerily told Floyd, “Hey, this is really good! Tastes great, did you cook it, Floyd?”

Floyd held his chin in his hands, grinning again as he watched you take another ring. 

Waiting until you were mid-chew, he purred out in a teasing tone, “Oh, no I didn’t make that. Jade made it. For you.”

So sappy, an’ such a basic courting gift too!

You choked on the calamari, coughing and frantically hitting your chest. Epel yelped as he nearly jumped over the table to shove your glass of water in your face, which you accepted. 

“Oh? You good Shrimpy?” Floyd, unbothered as ever, grinned as he watched you chug your water. “Something got you all flustered?”

“Floyd! Don’t make jokes, they’re chokin’!” Epel scolded Floyd as you finally took a heaving breath, waving your hands to cool off your burning cheeks.

“It’s fine, just went down the wrong throat. Um,” You shakily smiled at Floyd as you replied, “Thanks for letting me know, I’ll be sure to thank him later.”

As if, I don’t need him getting the wrong idea. 

“Oh good, Jade wanted to talk to ya ‘bout something anyway. Can’t remember about what.” Floyd gave you a lazy smirk. “He was gonna visit ya at your dorm, but what if I pop you in his room as a surprise? It’ll be reeeal funny!”

“Nope!” You popped your lips, blanching at the thought of Jade finding you alone in his bedroom.

“Kayyy!” Floyd shrugged, sliding his upper body against the top of the booth as he sauntered away. “I’m sure Jade will be back soon anyway. I’ll have someone come top off your waters while you wait.”

An exhausted sigh left your mouth as you rested your head against the cool table while Epel did the same, in solidarity you think. 

“Ya good? I’ve heard that Jade has been hovering around you lately. You don’t like, owe him anything, do you?”

You slid your head up to meet Epel’s gaze, who was currently giving you a curious look. 

Ace mentioned he’s been around you a lot lately. 

“Ah, no he’s just been, ummm—” you hummed as you considered how to word your circumstances without telling him about your telepathy.

Maybe I should tell him anyway…

“If it helps, I don’t think it’s anything bad!” Epel tried to reassure you with a small smile. “You two walk together after your potions class, right?”

You blinked in surprise, raising a brow. “Yeah? How’d you know?”

“Oh, he’s in the remedial second-year flight class with some other mermen. And I see you two walking when I’m coming from astronomy, it’s on the way.”

Every day too, without fail. 

Epel waited for you to take a sip of water before giving you a wry grin. “It’s cute, you guys look like a couple.”

Choking on your water, you coughed as Epel giggled at your flustered reaction. Unfazed by your glare, Epel happily continued. 

“Ha! I thought Ace was joking, but you really do get all embarrassed talking about Jade. What? You got a crush on him?”

“NO!” You shouted, nearly flying out of your seat. The dining room got quiet as you did, several eyes staring at you. From the corner of your eye, you could see Floyd smirking at you. Like he knew what you were talking about. 

Oh, geez. Epel was leaning back against his seat, eyeing you up and down. Dramatic much?

“I mean, uh, no.” You hastily mumbled as you settled back in your booth, wishing you could just sink into the cushions. 

“Sure, yeah.” Epel scoffed, and relaxed, smirking at you again. “You know, he’s real happy during flight class, even though he can barely make it off the ground. Might have something to do with a certain someone, you think?”

You laughed and dryly responded, “I wouldn’t know.” Liar. “Besides, it’s not like I ask for him to hover over me all the time. It gets annoying sometimes”

Epel now looked at you puzzled. “Ace didn’t mention anythin’ like that. He’s not like…stalking you or anything, right?”

I’ll beat him up if he is. He might got a foot over me, but I can take him!

The sentiment was sweet, but the thought of Epel confronting Jade made you uneasy. With how intense his feelings were for you, you couldn’t imagine Jade willingly backing down just from a few harsh words or threats from Epel of all people. 

“It’s nothing to worry about. Promise!” You straightened and frantically waved your hands at the doubtful look he gave you. “Jade’s been nothing but helpful! He’s probably just being nice.”

“Jade, being nice? Sure, yeah right.” He snorted, amused again. “He’s as nice as a bull seein’ red. He’s like his brother, nothing but a big and mean bully.”

You clicked your tongue, now annoyed. “That’s not fair, Jade can be nice! Like I said, he’s been nothing but helpful to me since the year started.” You weren’t sure why you were so defensive. Jade had been as much of a nuisance as he was helpful since the year started. 

Though, if I couldn’t read his mind, he probably wouldn’t actually be such a nuisance to me. I guess he hasn’t actually done anything to make him annoying. 

“Hmm, awfully defensive, Prefect.” Leaning in, like he was sharing a secret, Epel slyly whispered, “You sure he’s actually annoying, or are you just pretending? Cause you’ve been getting redder since we’ve started talking ‘bout him.”

You smacked your hands against your heated cheeks, scowling at the cackling Epel. 

“I’ve not! Liar!”

“Ha! Look at you!” Epel teased, stealing a piece of calamari as he continued making fun of you. “Why you all red, then?”

“Oh, shut up!” You pouted, sticking your tongue out at your friend before sighing. “Look, there’s more to it, I’ll tell you about it later, just stop making fun of me!” 

Epel nodded in understanding, popping one of the calamari rings in his mouth.

“I’ll hold ya to it! Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about one of the guys in my class almost eating a poisonous plant in botany!”

You spent the next half hour listening to Epel recount the stories about the guys in his botany class. You liked being around Epel, even though he wasn’t aware of your telepathy. The way he spoke out loud and in his head were different, since he still spoke to himself internally with his normal accent. 

“And then, he cut the bloom off, which made the entire glasshouse fill up with this pink gas!”

It smelt so awful, I'd rather have my face shoved in a cow's hind end!

“It smelled reeaaally bad!” Epel barked a laugh as you two got up from your seats, your waiter had finally given you your receipts. “It was a whole deal, Professor Kallpa was sooo mad!”

“Oh, really?” You laughed alongside Epel as you two walked out of the dining room. “I’ve never seen him mad, it must’ve been really bad!”

As you two turned the corner of the hall leading to the door of the Mostro Lounge, Jade was just exiting his bubble, too preoccupied by the small notebook in his hand to take notice of you. 

“Oh shit—Epel hide me!” You spun back around and plastered your back against the wall, freezing like a deer in headlights. Epel yelped as you snatched the back of his collar. He followed suit, crouching against the wall under your arms as he looked up at you with an amused look. 

“Seriously, what—” you smacked a hand over his mouth, listening for movement or thoughts.

Hmm? Interesting, is there a little guppy hiding from me? I hope they’re aware I can smell them.

You tried to make out Jade’s footsteps as you could hear his thoughts come closer and closer. You looked at Epel mouthed out, ‘He’s coming.’ Epel blinked rapidly in confusion, shrugging as he waved his hands in front of him. 

‘What do you want me to do?’ He mouthed back, standing and holding his hands up still in confusion. 

Though am I mistaken, that familiar scent of lavender…is that you, my love?

You stopped breathing, shoulders hunched up as your brain rapidly ran through various escape plans before finally settling on one. 

“Sorry, Epel,” you whispered, giving him a nervous smile. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

Just as Jade was turning the corner, you shoved Epel into the tall man, the force causing the two to barrel into the ground with a loud ‘thump’ and groans. 

While they, and most importantly Jade, were down, you swiftly and sneakily sped past them. 

Ow! You ASS!

You turned as you opened the lounge entrance, pushing your back against the forming bubble as Epel looked up at you from the ground, glaring at you as if he could form a hole into your skull. 

Ugh, is that Epel? Gah, I hit my head against the wall…

Jade looked up from his place on the ground, following Epel’s gaze as the bubble lifted you from view. He looked surprised, if a bit sad to see you go, opening his mouth to call out to you.

“Pearl?”

You sighed, feeling a bit guilty as you let the bubble take you to the mirror. It was just a few minutes to get to it, but that was enough to let you stew in your own thoughts for once. 

Aw, he looked kinda sad. Maybe I should’ve just sucked it up and let him say hello. 

You leaned against the cool wall of the bubble, watching as a small school of fish swam by. If you’re being honest with yourself, if it wasn’t for the fact you knew about how Jade felt for you, you probably wouldn’t have such a hard time interacting with him. You’d be blissfully unaware, making your way through life without a concern in the world.

Probably. Maybe. What if he tried confessing then? Would I still be avoiding him if I didn’t know what he thought of me? Ugh, but they’re such weird thoughts! Is it too much to ask for him to be normal?

From the distance you could see another bubble form from the Mostro Lounge, no doubt Epel following. As you turned to press through the mirror into the Hall of Mirrors. You sighed again.

What am I talking about, no one at this school is normal. 

Stepping aside to wait for Epel, you took your phone out to check your texts. You blanched at the sight of several missed Magicam messages, mostly from Wynfred and Silas.

winniethewitch: Hi Prefect! Just a suggestion, can we invest in pest control? I think it would be really beneficial for us all :) sysalson: ignore my brother, there are no issues with bugs. The bugs are fine, the bugs are my friends :D winniethewitch: Hi again, Prefect! Please ignore Silas. The bugs are very much NOT fine. The bugs are not our friends. The bugs must go. winniethewitch: Hi Prefect, this is Wynfred, your unofficial Vice Housewarden. Please ignore my previous messages. Silas is right, the bugs are our friends and I made a haS42q vhq0[p;’M  winniethewitch: That was not me. Please as the Headmage for pest conlk10vg n  319jioqajn13pn

You read through a few more messages, each harder to decipher than the last, as Wynfred and Silas evidently fought over the phone. You noticed that the last messages were actually readable.

winniethewitch: Prefect! I have taken care of the problem, there is no need for pest control now. Evidently, please ignore the smell when returning. It turns out that Aspen can make quite the strong pest repellent, it just happens to smell very strongly of garlic.

“Oh god, are you kidding me?” You chuckled to yourself, the sound of the Octavinelle mirror shimmering catching your attention. Turning to greet Epel, you noticed a smug look on his face instead of the annoyed one you expected.

“Heyyy, you know I didn’t mean to shove you so hard, right?”

“Mm-hm.” Epel hummed, walking past you and out the building. You followed, if a bit confused. 

“I just panicked, and wanted to get out of there.”

Epel replied, “Away from Jade, right?”

“Right! You heard me earlier, it’s been a little weird being around him a bunch, so I just wanted to—”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I made sure to tell him that you weren’t trying to be rude or anything.” 

You stopped rambling, now silent as Epel continued to offhandedly comment. 

“Yeah! He seemed real worried that you were in such a rush to get away from him. So I let him know that you were just being shy, that you’d been getting all red and flustered when talking about him earlier—”

“WHAT!” You screeched, running ahead of him to stop Epel in his tracks, by now Ramshackle was in view and there were a few students on the porch staring after you yelled. 

“Yeah, he didn’t say anythin’, but I could tell he was reeeal happy to hear that. I mean, he nearly, tripped over himself trying to follow you out, but Azul came over for him.”

Scoffing, you tapped your food as you angrily placed your hands on your hips. Epel looked at you, still smug. 

That’s what you get for leaving me behind. Trying to sacrifice me, hmph!

“By the way, he asked me to remind you that your potionology group is still meeting at 3 later today. He said Yev was throwing a fit over you not texting him back, and he wanted to get work done.”

“Oh shit, I forgot!” You groaned, rubbing the palms of your hands against your eyes. “Ugh, I gotta get dressed in my lab uniform.”

Epel laughed, nudging you with his shoulder to push you towards Ramshackle. He cooed in mock sympathy, “Oh, too bad, so sad, better hurry up then.”

You ran, Epel laughing as you made a panicked screech, to Ramshackle. You zoomed past the group of freshmen on the porches they greeted you, stumbling into the foyer. You notice Grim in the living room, standing on the table as he told some sort of story about fighting an overblot monster in the mines. No doubt overinflating his part in the story. 

“And then it raised its pickaxe to my hench-human while the other two ran for their hides! But, as the brave and mighty Grim, I used my most powerful spell—”

“GRIM!” You slid on the hardwood floors, huffing and pointing at the gray familiar. “Was laundry done yet!? I need my lab pants!”

“Nyah! Uh.” Grim jumped as his ears pinned down, and he sheepishly mumbled, “Nooo, I forgot. But I was telling these guys about the mines and—”

“GAAAAH!”  

You ran up the steps and flew into your room, slamming the door behind you as you shuffled through your clean clothes to find your oversized lab coat, goggles, and pants. You managed to find the first two, but the third was indeed still in your dirty clothes hamper. 

Damn it! Ugh, where are my tights?

Crewel had often chastised you when you wore your skirts to lab classes, as it didn’t follow lab safety protocols. Vil had helped you make outfits with opaque black tights to help cover your skin for lab, though you’d stopped after the last class when you spilled a potion over your legs, causing your favorite tights to bleach an ugly white, splotchy pattern. 

You learned the hard way why none of your other classmates wore their skirts to lab either. Now you had a dedicated pair of pants for all labs, also bleached but comfortable. Unfortunately, they were still buried under a pile of dirty clothes. 

Groaning, you slipped off your shoes and socks as you pulled out a pair of black tights, slipping them on, along with your lab coat and goggles around your neck. You had to fold your sleeves up to prevent them from engulfing your hands, easier said than done as you tried to smoothly slip on your shoes again. 

Stumbling back out of your bedroom, and tripping a bit over the stairs, you managed to make it to the main hallway before being interrupted mid-walk. 

“Prefect!” Perfect, they’ve still here! You looked up at Aspen, who looked strangely happy to see you. Behind him was Wynfred, who was blushing and staring down at his feet. 

“Prefect,” Aspen chirped, gesturing to Wynfred with a flourishing wave. “Wynfred has something very important to tell you—”

“Sorry! Can’t talk! Ask Grim if you have any dorm related questions!”

“But, wait!” You ignored Aspen’s calls and him cursing you out in his head, while Wynfred also called out. 

“Prefect, I—”

“Can’t talk! Bye, bye, bye, bye!”

You ignored their shouts as you leaped over the Ramshackle steps and ran as fast as you could to the castle. Maybe Vargas had a point trying to recruit you to the track team, as you managed to make it to the hallway that Yev’s lab was in just five minutes shy of three o’clock. You nearly rammed into Riddle’s back as you slid across the floor. 

“Oh my!” Riddle stumbled forward, his goggles falling lopsided over his head, turning as he heard the trample of your steps. He stumbled backwards as you keened over, hands on your knees as you heaved for air.

“Prefect! Mind where you’re going!  You nearly trampled me over!”

“Sorry! I just didn’t want to be late.” You took a final deep breath as you smiled up to Riddle. “Just 5 minutes to spare!”

Riddle chuckled as he lent a helping hand to get you back up, pulling you along to the classroom Yev had instructed your group to meet at.

“Very good Prefect, let’s not hurt ourselves, though. I already checked in, it’s just Jade. No sign of Yev quite yet.”

“Wasn’t he the one who insisted that we meet at this specific time? I’d thought he’d been here already.”

Riddle chuckled as you two made your way into the classroom. As Riddle had said, Jade was sitting at the end of the classroom in a desk closest to the wall. He’d been studying the stones that made up the wall rather intently before notice you and Riddle enter. 

“Why hello Riddle. And Prefect, we’d bumped into each other earlier and didn’t even manage to say hello.”

Gave Jade a polite wave and a sheepish smile as Riddle greeted him. 

“Still no sign of Yev, Jade?”

“Oh, no. How strange, especially since he insisted on us meeting at this time.”

Jade’s eyes briefly locked on your form, eyes drawing up and down. 

There you are! My darling! My pearl, you’re wearing a skirt again! I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier! And you’re acting all shy! Your little friend was right! Cute, cute, cute!!

“Hey, Riddle, what if I jumped off a bridge? For fun?”

Riddle sharply inhaled, slowly turning his head to give you an unamused glare. 

“What if I tied a leash to your neck? For fun?”  He scoffed, pulling at your cheek like a mother to her child. “Honestly, you worry me at times, I may have to anyway.”

Hmm, not a bad idea Riddle…

Jade’s mind conjured up an image of you on your knees, in the maid outfit again, a leash tied to your neck leading up to his hand as he cooed over you. 

You made a low-pitch whine as the two of you made your way to where Jade was waiting at the end of the classroom.

“No, I’m fine actually, no leashes here. Hate them.” You made an ‘X’ with your hands as you turned and walked backwards, puffing your cheeks. “Not something I want on my person, at all!” 

Really? You heard Jade shift in his seat, standing to approach you and Riddle. Hmm.

You smiled to yourself for effectively shutting down the latest dirty thought. 

At least, until Jade conjured up another image of you straddling him in bed, using his tie as a leash to pull his face to yours. 

“Jade, you’ve been naughty~” You giggled, pulling on his tie, further tightening it as his own hand clasped yours. “Maybe I ought to collar you up? Tie a leash and drag you around like a pet?” Jade gasped, pupils blown wide, as he let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched whine. A sound reserved just for you.  “Anything you want, just for you, my love.” Jade groaned as you licked a stripe up his throat to meet his lips in a messy, wet kiss.  His words muffled as he spoke against your moving lips, “I’ll be your pet. I’ll let you use me. Please—” Grasping the ends of your shirt, tugging at them like a lifeline, Jade started muttering nonsense as he ground his hips against yours.  “Please, please, please, I’ll be so good to you! I’ll fuck you so good, I’ll make you feel good if you’ll just let me. Let me love you, please, please, please—”

A sharp pain flew up your neck to your head as you collided with the stone wall, tripping over a table leg while walking backwards. Your face was burning, as was the heat in your gut. Riddle and Jade both made noises of concern as you clenched the back of your head. You were glad that they assumed your red face was due to your embarrassment, as Jade’s last rambles were still echoing in your head. 

“Oh my, Prefect! Are you alright?” Riddle's voice was full of concern, but also slight amusement as he grabbed your left arm, Jade the right, to pull you up. 

“Yes, that looked like it hurt quite a bit.” Jade murmured, moving his hands to gently move your head. “Allow me to check your head.”

“No, I’m—ow!” His hand brushed on a tender spot on your crown, making you wince. ”Ooooh, that hurt!”

Ah, I’m so sorry, my pearl, but you make the cutest sounds sometimes! You heard Jade tut as he leaned down to closely inspect your head. I just wonder what kinds I could pull from you.

You cringed, leaning away from his hand and shooing both boys away. “I’m fine, guys, it’s just a bump.” 

“Are you sure you’re okay? It does none of us any good if you’re hurt and can’t focus, you can go to the nurse.” Riddle replied, pushing you towards the door.

“Yes.” Jade chirped in agreement, ignoring Riddle’s side eye at his abnormally happy tone. “Allow me to take you—”

“Oh no! I don’t think so!” Yev came barreling through the classroom door, looking rather disheveled. Compared to his rather clean, prim appearance, he looked as if he’d been run through the wringer. 

Oh my, I would have never seen Vil in such a state. You heard Riddle stifle a chuckle as he eyed Yev fixing his messy hair. Said man was huffing, no doubt from running. 

“Ugh my hair! Look,” Yev said, eyeing you in particular, “It took forever for us to find a spare day to meet up. I won't go through the effort of rescheduling it when one of you just happened to bump your head.”

Besides, I have a potion in my lab you can take anyways. 

“I really must insist that the Prefect get checked up.” Jade argued, giving Yev a polite smile. Though, his eyes were quite firm. 

“And I must insist that we get started.” Yev scoffed as he pushed past the three of you pressing against the stones in the wall as he continued talking. “I have pain medicine in my lab, just…ugh. Where’s that damn button!”

Your group shared looks at Yev’s muttering, moving closer to huddle around Yev as he pressed hidden buttons along the stone wall. He pressed one, the lights flickered off and back on as he pressed it again. 

Riddle yelped as the bookshelf next to him spun into the wall, turning around to reveal its other side blended into the wall. He jumped back as it spun again, nearly hitting him. 

“Yev! Be careful!.” Riddle yelled, cheeks turning red. “I thought this was your secret lab, how do you not know how to get in it?”

Yev yelled back, “I know! I’m just having trouble—you know, I didn’t have to let us use my lab for our project!”

As the two started arguing, now the blackboard and teacher’s desk shaking as Yev pressed more stone buttons, Jade shuffled closer to you. 

“You know…” Jade leaned down to softly speak to you. “I can still take you to the infirmary, if you’d prefer?”

You looked up at Jade, surprised at the tender look in his eyes.

I really shouldn’t be, though. 

“I, uh—” You turned away shyly, reaching up to touch the still throbbing spot on your head. “Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea—”

“Wait! Don’t press that one, it’s the wrong—”

Your stomach dropped as the floor beneath your feet disappeared. Specifically the square panel you and Jade had been incidentally standing on, the trap door opening as you two started falling down the dark pit. A scream left your mouth, arms reaching around your midsection as you clutched onto them and shut your eyes. 

The fall was much shorter than you anticipated, as you felt yourself fall against a soft body. You opened your eyes, but found that the room was dark. Or a tunnel? Hole? Whatever it was, it was a tight fit as you shifted around to get back on your feet. You dug your elbows against the soft floor to get up, which subsequently moved and grunted. 

“Ow. That was my rib.” Jade's voice grunted against your ear, his hold around loosening as he also moved to stand. 

“Jade? What—oh my god!” You tried to scramble off of Jade, harder said than done in the space you two had found yourselves. Shifting around, you were sure that you’d just made the situation worse, as Jade lit a light with his wand. How in the world you managed to find yourself straddling Jade’s waist in the dark was a mystery. Though, with the flush look on his face, you weren’t sure he minded.

Oh…by the Abyss itself… you’re such a pretty sight.

“You say that often, ‘my god’, what does that mean if you don’t mind me asking.” Jade pushed himself up by his free elbow, the other arm busy holding up your only source of light. “It’s an expression, yes?”

“Y-yeah, it’s like when you guys say things li-like ‘by the Seven’ or—I’m sorry. Let me try to get off you!”

You started rambling, looking around for a way to put some distance between you and Jade. However, you only saw black walls around you. Looking up, whatever panel had been above you was closed off, black stone closing you in. 

“Well, there’s not much space for you to move.” Unless you want to keep moving those hips against me… “Perhaps relax, there’s hardly any space between the two of us.”

“Right! Of course, but I think I can…” Carefully, you managed to stand in the small space, trying to avoid moving against him. Harder said than done, but you managed, reaching down to lend a hand to him. “Here.”

Jade smiled, something soft and sweet, as he took your hand and awkwardly shuffled against the wall as he slid up. 

Though, this is just as nice as well. 

“I think I can hear them shuffling on top of us. Do you think one of them noticed us falling?”

“Ha, with the way you screamed? Without a doubt.” Jade managed to stand straight, a good chunk of space between the tops of your heads and the trap door panel. 

He attempted to reach up to knock the top of the panel. Despite his height his fingerprints barely brushed it. Luckily, you could hear Riddle and Yev’s panicked footsteps stumble around. 

Riddle’s voice came through the floor, muffled and frantic.

“Prefect? Jade? Prefect!? Yev what in the world was that!? Where did it send them? Prefect! (Name)!!”

“We’re here!” You called out, smacking the wall in an attempt to make more noise. “We’re fine!”

“Oh good!” You heard Yev laugh, then yelp as you heard a smack. “What?! Usually it would send them down to the lake! They got stuck in the trap hole since you pressed the button twice, usually it would’ve sent them to a nice midafternoon bath!”

You heard another smack and yelp, then some scratching against the wood.

“Prefect, we’re going to get you and Jade out! Let me just figure out how to get the panel open.” 

Listening to some more footsteps, Jade leaned down to murmur, “There goes our plans then. You don’t suppose they’ll get us out of here before 3, do you?”

You snorted, stifling a laugh, failing to do so at the sound of more clamoring and arguing above you. 

“Give Riddle some faith at least. He’s always been smart. And resourceful! You should’ve seen him over the summer, he got through every training simulation thrown at us.”

“Ah, I never did learn about what happened at that camp the headmage had you all attend.” Jade leaned down, studying your features. 

Oh, such a wonderful smile! I wished you’d do that more often around me.

“Azul’s been tight-lipped about it as well, perhaps you’d be willing to share with me?”

You blinked up at him, shuffling a bit as he leaned down to whisper against your ear. 

“You can trust me, you know.” His smooth voice drew a shiver down your spine. You think that he noticed your blushing face, based on the way he took a sharp breath. 

Please, please, please! Don’t be nervous, there’s no need to be shy with me! I know you are, but you don’t need to my love!

You really wanted to wring Epel’s neck for that comment, though it was hard to focus. Especially with the lack of space between you two. 

“I’m happy to lead an ear. There’s no need to be shy.”

You shuffled against the wall to place some distance between you two, squinting at his smile. You half expected him to cage you in with his long arms, though he seemed more amused at seeing you try and escape him. 

Ah! Look at you being shy! So cute, cute, cute! 

You wanted to roll your eyes at him, more annoyed now than anything, even with your blush. 

“I’m fine, thank you. I can handle myself just fine.”

Jade chuckled, “Ah, I forget how spirited you can be.”

Before you could retort back, a bit of light from the opening panel shone through. Both you and Jade looked up to see Riddle’s gray eyes peering through the small gap he made. 

“Prefect!” shouted in relief, looking at the twin. “And Jade. You’re there too.”

“Oh, Riddle. Your concern is most kind.” 

Ignoring Jade’s thinly veiled sarcasm, you smiled and reached up with both hands to wave at Riddle. 

“Hey! Let’s go! Can you open it more to get us out?”

“Yes, but I can’t reach you. Yev has to stand by the button that opens this panel up. He’s using a spell to hold the button so that it won’t open the panels beneath you while I pry this one open.”

Riddle briefly disappeared, the panel moving slightly more as he pushed it into its slot. The floor beneath your feet also shifted, vibrating as if it too wanted to slide away and disappear. 

“Ah! Careful, the panel here is moving!” 

You stumbled, Jade catching you by your waist to help steady you as he also called out. 

“Riddle! I’d rather that we don’t plunge into the lake! I heard it’s quite slimy!”

“Ew what? Riddle!” You panicked, shouting for Riddle and jumping on your toes. “Get us out!”

Riddle huffed, crawling back to poke his head through the now large hole. 

“I’m trying! Jade, can you lift the Prefect on your shoulders.” Riddle ignored your protest and continued to speak. “Just lift them, so I can pull them up, then the two of us can try to reach for you.” 

You blinked in confusion, processing Riddle words before paling. 

“Wait, what—AH!” You felt Jade’s hands grab your knees, looking down to see the back of Jade’s head settle between your thighs as he lifted you on his shoulders. A small shriek slipped your slips as you grasped at Jade’s hair, pulling hard enough to make him wince, so that you could steady yourself. 

Oh, fuck. Their hands, their thighs, it’s better than anything I could imagine…

You panicked at another one of Jade’s daydreams. This one of Jade between your legs, thighs squeezing the sides of his head and hands pulling the teal strands in his head as you arched your back and cried out his name. You tightened your thighs instinctually, regretting it as you felt Jade’s breath shudder. You felt it, even with the tights blocking your bare skin. 

“RIDDLE! GET ME OUT!! NOW!” You launched your hands and body up, making Jade stumble forward as you tried reaching for the ledge that was still out of your grasp.

“I’m going! Do not yell at me like you’re me!” Riddle’s hands were now within your reach, the tips of your fingers brushing against each other. “Jade, push them up higher or something. I can’t reach!”

You felt Jade move his hands to cradle beneath your thighs, lifting you as you nearly made it to freedom’s grasp. 

“Riddle, have you managed to get—Aye, hijo de puta!” 

You felt yourself dropping again, Riddle’s hands now quickly fading away while Jade’s grasp tightened against your legs. 

You heard your scream echo against the stone walls as you two fell through the tunnel. At some point, Jade had let go of you to grab at your waist again, tucking you against his chest as he curled around you and braced. 

It certainly helped, as he took the brunt of the fall against the cold waters of the lake underneath the school castle. 

Chill seeped through your bones, hair and lab coat billowing around you as you finally opened your eyes to see nothing but dark, green murky water. Below you was more darkness, the tops of a seaweed forest underneath your feet. You think you could make out a few fish, even one of those giant catfish Vargas made his camp attendees fish for. 

However, you missed the large, silver large-toothed fish darting between the seaweed, only noticing it as it was charging at you. Bubbles flew out of your mouth as you screamed, shutting your mouth again, and attempting to swim quickly to the surface. Luckily for you, you made it rather quick as a familiar webbed, green hand snatched your hand as Jade bolted to the surface. 

Breaking the water, you gasped for a deep breath, brushing your bangs from your face and blinking away water from your eyelashes. You frantically whipped your head around, searching for Jade, as you called out his name in a panic. 

“Jade? Jade! Where are you? Jade!” You yelped as he breached the water, brushing his hair back. He had a scrape on his arm that he was studying with mild irritation.

“What an annoying creature—oh!” Jade grunted in surprise as you threw your hands over him, clutching at his shoulders. 

“Jade! Are you hurt? What was that? Is it gonna get us?! Oh my god, JADE IT’S GONNA GET US, WE GOTTA GO!” You babbled on and on, hyper focused on looking at the water below you for signs of the aggressive fish. Which proved meaningless, as you couldn’t see anything besides the dark green water. 

You paused at Jade’s sudden laughter, growing louder as his chest shook, and his eyes squinted in mirth. Looking at him with furrowed brows, you tilted your head as he reached over to cup your cheeks. He squeezed them together, making you pucker your lips as his laughter died down. 

He’s…laughing! Like, fully laughing! I’ve…ever seen him laugh! Woah!

“My dear, relax!” Jade managed to stifle his laughter, now softly chuckling. Something more characteristic of him. 

He has a nice laugh, actually. Not like Floyd’s, it’s just more… Jade. I guess…it suits him!

“I can assure you, I am just about the scariest thing in this lake at this moment. Nothing is going to come for us as long as I remain in my merform. But your concern for me is delightful.” 

So sweet. 

Jade looked at you fondly, eyes darting down to your lips, making your breath catch in your chest. 

Is he gonna…?

“We should head to the shore and start heading back up. I imagine Riddle is quite worried about you.” 

Jade suddenly let go of your cheeks, instead moving to swim on his stomach, gesturing for you to grab his back. 

“Here, allow me to help you to shore.”

You nodded, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as you carefully maneuvered around his dorsal fin. You were reminded of the time you got trapped in the Scarabia desert and had to swim through the river Kalim made. Though this time you had a different twin to be your ride. 

“Heh, kinda familiar, huh? Though you had Grim and Azul with you back then, right?” 

Jade started wading through the water, one of his own hands reaching up to hold yours on his chest. 

“Yes, you were with Floyd last time. That was quite the time, wasn’t it? You found yourself in trouble more often than the average person.”

“It’s not like I mean to! It just sorta happens!” You pouted, debating on pinching Jade, as he chuckled at your offended response. 

You decided to look up at the shore Jade swam to, noticing two figures walking along the coliseum pathway. 

“Hey, I think that’s them! Hey! Riddle! Yev!” You called out to the two figures, drawing their attention. You waved a free hand, squealing as Jade sped up, making you fall against his back and clasp onto him again. 

“Jade! Careful!”

“Now, now, my pearl.” This was the first time he’d ever refer to you as ‘pearl’ outside his thoughts. Though, he was more focused on your arms around him rather than the words coming out of his mouth. 

“Have faith. I would never let you get hurt under my care.”

Jade sped back up, and despite yourself, you let out small screams of glee as adrenaline ran through your veins as you rode on Jade like a rollercoaster at a water park. 

It took but a minute to make it to the shore, much sooner than the pair of students who were still making their way over. You crawled off Jade and up the sandy shore, grabbing your hair and wringing the water out. You hear the shimmering sound you’d associated with the twins and Azul’s transformation, turning to see Jade dusting himself off, perfectly dry in his lab uniform. 

“…Are you kidding?”

Jade looked up, looking at you with confusion. 

“I beg your pardon?”

“You’re dry! You literally were just a merman, in the water, and now you’re just dry!?”

Jade looked taken aback, before laughing at your angry face. 

Oh, my! How cute! You’re almost never angry, what a delightful view!

“My apologies for not being courteous enough to suffer alongside you.” Jade walked over to you as you started working getting the water out of your goggles. He was still chuckling at you.

“It’s a perk of our transformation potions. Quite convenient, yes. Oh, but you poor thing. All soaked.”

Jade stopped, a blush filling his cheeks as he stared at your torso. He turned away, clearing his throat.

“I do believe that the water soaked through…ah…your shirt.”

A gasp left your mouth, looking down to quickly snatch your lab coat closed and button it up. It didn’t really matter, though, as Jade’s mind was filled with the image of your wet, seek through shirt and the view of your chest. 

Today…has…been so, so wonderful~

You sighed, looking over to the students walking over. 

“I’ll ask Riddle to help dry me off with a spell or something. Though…that’s not him.”

You squinted at the pair, now within a reasonable view, realizing it was Aspen and Wynfred. 

Did you? Did they follow me here?!

“Prefect, there you are—why are you wet?” Aspen stopped, looking your sopping form up and down with a raised brow. “And Jade too—ugh, never mind.”

“Wynfred here has something he’d like to tell you, but you left before he could. It’s something incredibly important! Go on Wynfred, tell them!”

Aspen turned around and pushed Wynfred, who was digging his feet into the ground, towards you and Jade as you wring water out of your clothes. A small trench was forming as Aspen continued to push the frozen ginger closer to you, who was currently clenching his fists to his sides. Staring at you wide-eyed, Wynfred’s eyes darted between you and Aspen, who was smiling and gesturing to you. 

“Go on…” Do it, you idiot!

“Uh, is everything alright? Wynfred, are you okay? Did something happen? Did you get hurt or—”

“PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!” With a sudden burst of confidence, Wynfred ran forward to grasp your hands with his. “I think you’re a wonderful housewarden! And I am equally great, so we’d make a great pair!!”

His sparkling eyes would be cute, if it wasn’t for how tightly he clenched your hands. And Aspen, of course. 

Yes! Go out with him, so I can get you off of Jade’s back! Come on! Say something! Do you know how hard it was to convince him to ask you out?! Say something!

Wynfred’s very sudden confession, which you're doubting was a real confession and not just a misguided push from Aspen, shut you and the surrounding area up. The silence was deafening. Even the birds and the breeze stopped, as if mocking your predicament. Minus the scandalous gasp from your left, no one spoke. 

Wait, who the hell gasped?

You turned to look at Riddle and Yev, who had run down the castle to meet you and Jade. Though, Riddle looked like he just swallowed a lemon, while Yev was clutching a hand to his chest as he looked at your group with an open mouth. 

“Oh my—WYNFRED SALSON!” Yev marched over with a furious look, snatching Wynfred by the ear to scold him. “What in the world makes you think you can just go up to a housewarden and demand a date from them! That is not how a proper Pomefiore student acts!”

You backed away as Yev continued scolding Wynfred, pitying him. Riddle walked over to you and leaned down to inspect your face and arms, prodding at you and checking for any wounds.  

“Well, that is certainly awkward. Are you alright? You didn’t get hurt, did you?” 

“Ah, no.” You shook your head, smiling as you turned to look at Jade. “Jade actually…”

You froze, as did Riddle, upon noticing Jade’s expression. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof. Instead of his usual smile, or even the sweet ones he’d been giving you earlier, Jade’s face was a blank slate, eyes focused solely on Wynfred’s form. 

I will drag you into the deepest depths known to man until the pressure pops your eyes out of your sockets, your heart bursts, and your lungs fill with the bitter cold of the sea. I will watch your body turn into bloody, liquified mush you stupid, arrogant, waste of space! Stay away from my mate! Mine! Mine! Mine! MINE!

Jade's expression quickly changed back to his usual smile, though he was still emanating an aura that could be best described as “bloodthirsty”. Murderous even! Sanguinary, if you wanted to be poetic. Riddle at least had noticed it, as he leaned close to whisper. 

“Did something happen with Jade? I figured he would be annoyed that he fell into the lake, but he seems…rather….”

“Homicidal?”

“I was going to be nice and say ‘furious,’ but yes. Homicidal fits quite well.”

“Ugh!” Wynfred started shoving against Yev, who was still rambling angrily at Wynfred for his ‘lack of etiquette’ apparently. 

“Look, Prefect! I would quite like to go out with you on a date! I think you’re very nice to everyone in the dorm, and I am also nice!” 

You think Wynfred chose to ignore Aspen’s snort, green eyes darting to him and back to you. 

“Besides, I’ve been told that we’d make a great match! Just ask Aspen! He’s the one who suggested that I—MmmPh!”

Aspen ran over to slap his hand over Wynfred’s mouth, laughing nervously as he glanced at Jade. Said man was now squinting at Aspen with annoyance and distaste. 

Really, Aspen? I expected better from you, little squid. 

“I was just, uh, supporting my fellow roommate!” The pink haired boy continued to nervously laugh. “You know how it is! I’m just being benevolent, l-like the Sea Witch!”

Jade let out a small chuckle, tilting his head. “Is that so?”

“Yes!”  Wynfred managed to shove Aspen’s hands away, reaching for yours again, though his smile faltered as you stumbled back. “Sorry! I don’t mean to be so forward. But I know how busy you’ll be getting as Halloween comes up, and I wanted to ask you on a date during the celebration so that—”

“Oh no. I’m afraid that simply won’t work.” Jade finally stepped forward, wrapping a hand around your shoulders and bringing you close.

Riddle made a noise, and from the corner of your eye you could see him give Jade a disapproving glare. 

“W-what? Why!” Wynfred thinned his lips, glaring at Jade and his hold around you.

I’d make for a great date! My siblings say so! Aspen says so too!

Jade titled his head, giving Wynfred a mock sympathetic look. 

“Well, the Prefect will simply be too busy with helping me with selling products for Octavinelle during Halloween. After all, Ramshackle’s haunted amusement park makes for the perfect environment to sell food and drinks, especially at the prices Azul places.”

I’m sure I can convince him to do so easily enough.

“What?” Aspen scoffed, blinking at Jade incredulously. “Azul never mentioned that!” 

“Oh, we were still figuring out the details. Our lovely Prefect here was going to help us.” Jade cooed as he leaned down to rest his cheek against the top of your head. 

Mine. 

“But we can discuss more once Azul has the finer details figured out. Now, if you two don’t mind, we all need to be heading back to Yev’s lab and get started on our project. We’ve lost valuable time with this trap door fiasco, haven’t we?”

“Right…” You slowly answered, looking at Riddle who nodded, still eyeing Jade. Yev perked up, wiping imaginary dust off his lab uniform as he too agreed.

“Right, you are Jade. I’m not done with you, Wynfred. I will be speaking to you about your manners later this week.” 

Yev sneered at Wynfred, who scoffed in return, as he turned his heel and waved for your group to follow. Jade did so, giving Wynfred another blank stare before turning to you and smiling. 

“Shall we?” Let’s go, my pearl.

“Uh, give me a sec. Riddle, can you help me with a drying spell?”

“Oh, of course. Excuse me.” Riddle walked around Jade as he took out his wand, shooing Jade and the two freshmen still lingering. “Go, we will meet you there. And you two.”

Both of the younger students froze under Riddle’s gaze. The redhead’s reputation and strict gaze followed him everywhere it seemed. 

“You’ve made the day excitable enough, off you go. Perhaps think about learning more tact, especially around your upperclassmen. Go”

 The stern end of his sentence spooked the two to run off to Ramshackle, you presume. Riddle cleared his throat, drawing your attention as the tip of his wand glowed a soft red. 

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you and Jade?” Riddle asked, showing you the pattern he waved his wand in for you to copy and use on your legs. Your friend focused on your arms and back. 

“Nothing! I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You quickly replied, focusing on keeping the spell up.

“Oh? So he wasn’t all over you when that fresh tried asking you out? He didn’t shut him down and stare him down like he wanted to tear him apart with his teeth? (Name), please. Don’t take me for a fool.”

“I’m not! It’s not what you think.”

“And what do you think I think?” That I’m a dullard?

“I don’t think you’re a dullard, or whatever, it’s just complicated!”

Riddle huffed, giving you a once over as he hooked his arm with yours and dragged you up to the castle steps. 

“I didn’t say that part out loud, you know.”

…Huh?

“What are you talking about?”

Riddle scoffed, reaching over to adjust your tie. Something he’d often do for you. 

“I noticed pretty early on. It’s quite easy to tell when someone is reading your mind when they react to each and everything you say and think.”

“What! How do you—”

“That, and also Ace is known for his loud mouth.”

You tossed your head back, groaning as you pinched the bridge of your nose. 

“That dumbass.”

A small laugh left Riddle’s lips, smiling as you glared at him. “Don’t worry. I gave him a stern talking to. If it helps, he was only discussing it with Deuce, who I assume you also told?”

Nodding in affirming, Riddle continued, “I guessed. It certainly explains your strange behavior at times. Though I do have one question.”

“Shoot.”

“How long have you known about Jade’s feelings for you?”

“WHAT—oof!” You tripped over the castle steps, just barely catching yourself with Riddle grabbing your arm. “What are we talking about?”

“Floyd cornered me a few weeks ago. Both of our clubs got off at the same time, and he chased me around until he cornered me in one of the stables. He was complaining about how Jade got to be around his ‘mate’ all the time for class, but he barely saw his own.” 

Annoying eel he is. Why would I care about his damn love life? 

Riddle rolled his eyes at the mention of Floyd, though he continued. 

“It didn’t click until earlier, when I saw how…hmm…handsy he was with you.” 

You sighed, “It’s that noticeable?” 

“Only sometimes.” Riddle shrugged, patting your shoulder consolingly. “Especially when that poor freshman tried asking you out. Speaking of that, what are you going to tell him?”

You blinked at Riddle, confused. “What do you mean?”

Oh dear, catch up, Prefect. 

Riddle sighed, “Well, it’s not always appropriate for a housewarden to date one of their students. You’ll turn him down, yes? Besides, with how your admirer was looking at him, it would most likely be better for Wynfred’s well-being anyway.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right…” 

You let out a tired sigh. Most likely, you’d have to take an extra long bath tonight to get the stress out of your bones.

“I’ll let him down gently later. Apparently, I have to talk to Azul about being a food vendor for the dorm’s haunted house.”

When you finally made it back to the classroom, a panel in the wall revealed a staircase, which Yev and Jade were waiting by. Jade’s eyes lit up at the sight of you, though he physically remained poised and proper. 

Welcome back, my darling! I hope that nasty little barnacle didn’t ruin your mood!

You chose to ignore Jade and called out to Yev, “So you said you had an idea for our final project. What kind of potion were you thinking?”

Yev perked up, proudly puffing his chest. “Oh yes, you two should love this! We will be making a blot preventative! I bet you two wished you had that last year, hm? I know, I’m brilliant!”

Both you and Riddle stared blankly at Yev, who was still standing proud, as Jade eyed him disapprovingly. 

“Hey, Riddle, what if I jumped out the window? For fun?”

“I’d still put a leash on you.”

“Damn.”

comments and reblogs appreciated 🩷

[yuyu1024]

BFWB

Pairings: Mingyu × y/n x Wonwoo

Genre/tags: fwb, poly

Warning: fluff, smut/angst 🔞, pet names, cursing, dry humping, suggestive but no sex, semi public?

~~~ [lmk if i miss anything]

Words: 3.1k

Disclaimers:

- this story is just made up

- english is not my first language, please be nice 😊

A/N: i've written this... like last month? Ish? this is all over the place lol. Just an idea i got out of the blue.

And instead of deleting... i'll jus put it out there... hehe

sorry.. not proof read 😅

Masterlist

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"Be more careful and aware next time okay?" The nurse says as she carefully assists you to sit down at the clinics bed. "Especially its rainy season now... we are definitely more prone to accidents... even we are just casually strolling down the stairs."

You wince a little as try to flex your left foot. "And no phones while walking down the stairs..." you add. "I could've waited to know my result from my exams when I reach my class..."

"Did you pass though?" She smiles

"I did. My sleepless nights are worth it."

"Congratulations then..." she pats you on yout shoulder.

"Thank you."

She then places your shoes near the bed. "Did you call your parents already?"

"Ahm... not yet... I..." you look around and pat your jacket's pockets to look for your phone. "I don't know where my phone is..." you mutter under your breathe

"I have it." The curtain swhishes open. "The janitor found it near the bushes..."

"Wonwoo..." you smile, seeing your friend.

"Mr. President..." the nurse greets him and then looks at you. "She's your friend?"

"Yes... the clumsiest of them all..." he sighs as he moves closer to both of you.

"Hey!" You pout.

The nurse giggles at the interaction. "Don't worry... she's fine. She sprained her ankle but nothing serious..."

"That's good to hear..." Wonwoo then places your bag on the bed beside you. "I went to your classroom and picked it up."

"Oh right...."

"I also told your professor already what happened... so you are excused for today's class."

"As expected. Mr. President has done everything for her friend." The nurse claps his hands in tiny

"He's unreal..." you mumble, beaming a smile.

"He is..." the nurse agrees. "I'll leave you two then? And I assume you will take her home coz she can't walk with her state now..."

"I will bring her home." A voice echoes as you all hear the door opens and shuts.

"Who...?" The nurse peaker her head out the curtains and sees a talk guys wearing a sports uniform, panting and sweating.

"I'm her friend..." he goes behind the curtain where you and Wonwoo are. "Yah! What happened to you?!"

"Gyu... what are you doing here? You should be in football practice..."

"I am.... well... I was." He then goes down to his knees to check on your foot. "What happened to you?" Then he stands up and looks at the nurse. "Is it serious?"

"Ahm... No..." the nurse is a bit startled by Mingyu's presence.

"Relax... she's fine. She just sprained her ankle." Wonwoo says.

Mingyu snaps his head back to you. "I should put you on bubble wraps next time... once you heal. You are so fragile."

"Yah... that's ridiculous!" You say

"You say that but look at you! Didn't you just had a scratch on your knee a few weeks ago?"

You press your lips together, guilty of the clumsiness.

"Stop it... she's fine." Wonwoo taps Mingyu on his shoulder.

"I'll leave you three to discuss." The nurse makes her way out of the situation and leave you three be.

"Stop nagging... it's not helping." Wonwoo says

"I'm not nagging. I'm expressing how worried I am of her."

Wonwoo pinches the bridge of his nose. "Whatever..." he sighs. "Just go back to your practice... I will bring her home."

"No, it's fine. I already excused myself to coach." Mingyu then sits down beside you. "Are you sure your all good?" He softly asks you

You smile. "I'm okay... it's just my foot."

Suddenly, Mingyu reals back from basically yelling to sweet and gentle. What a switch.

"I have my car already outside the building..." Wonwoo says.

Mingyu looks at him, frowning.

"Guys... don't start..." you hold both their hands. "Let's just all go home together... okay?" You turn your head to both until you see them agree to your suggestion. "Good...I just need to call my parents to tell them what happened so they don't worry too much while they are away."

"They are away?" Mingyu's ears perks up like a dog.

"They left this morning... they are on a cruise with Dad's brother and his wife. Like a double date." You says

"I already called them when I got your phone. They were calling you that's why the janitor found it near the bushes while sweeping the floors." Wonwoo explains. "You can just message them that you're fine."

"Oh... thank you."

"Wait..." Mingyu turns your head to face him again. "They're not at home?" He repears wearing a very suggestive smile.

"She sprained her ankle... why are you being a pervert right now?" Wonwoo scowls at him.

"I'm just asking... Since she's alone... I can keep her company..." Mingyu wraps his arm around your waist and then kisses you on the cheek. "Right, babe?" He is very cheeky

"I guess..." you blush at him calling you babe.

"Y/n..." Wonwoo calls you out.

"Like I said... I'm fine." You take Wonwoo's hand and put it on your cheek. "Don't you want to spend time with me? We haven't been together for a few weeks now..." you say softly and quietly. Your eyes speaking to him through your lashes.

"It's been so long..." Mingyu breathes as he inhales your scent on your neck. "I know you miss fucking her like I do. So stop acting so noble." He side eyes Wonwoo

"I didn't said no." Wonwoo answers

"If you are busy... I can stay with her." Mingyu says

"And I didn't say I was busy."

"So what's your problem?"

"You. You are my problem." Wonwoo hiss

"Guys... guys... please... stop." You try to calm the two down. "Don't start... let's just go to my place... okay?"

"It's him who started it." Mingyu pouts.

"Wonwoo... its not a problem right... if we all... spend time together?" You tilt your head to the side

"Whatever." He sighs. "I'll start the car... just carry her." He then says to Gyu.

**

You three basically have known each other since 5th grade. They were your bestfriends and protectors to people who likes to bully you back then. They are also the guys, who you study with all the time during exam periods in highschool and the shoulder you cry onto when you are heart broken and shit from your crushes. In short they were and have been your person.

The relationship of you three was just innocent, fun and just purely loyal friendship. However the pureness got tainted a little bit when all three of you got into Uni. When all three of you hit the stage in your life that you have needs and want. That's when things got a little messy and intense.

It started from simple skinships with no malice that evolved into extreme cuddling time, dry humping and make out sessions whilst watching a movie, reviewing for an exam or whatever. You all did that with both of them. Well, first was Mingyu.

You can still remember how Mingyu started it all. He was and still is the horniest out of you three. And he's the type of person who can't hold back his thoughts and feelings very well. So he just asked you out of the blue one time that you and him are at his house, on a weekend, watching his favorite sports team on TV.

You were both on the floor sitting while your backs were leaning on the sofa. Mingyu's arm was around you. You were cuddling him like the usual. But then as the game on the TV got intense, the boner inside his pants also can't hide the excitement.

"Y/N..." Mingyu lowers his hand so he could touch you by your waist.

"Hmm...?" Your eyes were still on the TV

"Can we cuddle a bit more?" He asked cautiously

You straighten up and look at him. "What do you mean?" You were looking at his face, trying to understand him.

He looked so nervous. His eyes were shifting to you and the TV. But mostly his gazes were looking up and down of you.

"I... I can't concetrate on the game... All I can think of is... ahm..." his eyes goes to your lips and then down your boobs. "H-how big your tits are...and I... I want to touch it."

You blinked multiple times trying to proces what he just said.

"I want to feel it while I hug you... I want to know how soft it is... and maybe..." Mingyu bits his lips before saying the words. "Maybe... you'll want to sit down on my lap and then show me how does it look like?"

You were too stunned to speak. But him being naughty was not the one that surprised you. You already know how he is. He is very open with him watching porn or who are the girls he finds attractive. He talks about this shit a lot with you. What really shocked you is he taking interest with you. That's also why it took you a solid minute before you responsed to him.

"Here...?" Your voice was shaky.

Mingyu took your hand and kissed the back of it. "We're home alone... don't worry... Mom and sister just left so they will be home later... and Dad is away for work so..." he pressed your hands on his cheek. "It's just the two of us..."

Your heart was beating out of your chest. You were scared, nervous and worried. But the fact that Mingyu is your bestfriend, eased it all away. And probably having a crush on him also made you excited to do this.

He exhales his nervousness as soon as you crawl on top of him and sit on his lap, facing him. You began by moving your hips, making friction on his gray jogging pants and your panties underneath that A-line skirt you are wearing.

"Fuck..." He says as soon as you lower the neckline of your top even more, showing more skin. Or should we say, expose your tits more for him.

He then tried to measure his hand on top of your tits to check how huge they were before even touching them.

"When did they start growing like this..." he mumbles

"I don't know... And... I feel like... they are still growing..." you shyly said. "I feel like... I'll go a cup bigger sometime soon..."

"Holy shit!" He bit his lower lip before grabbing each boob with both his hands. "Your skin is so soft and its so full..." he rubs his thumbs in circle motion until he finds your nipples underneath your bra. "I'd like to do this again when they get even bigger."

You released a hum the second he squeezed your tits. "Y-you're the first person... to ever touch me like this..." you say, blushing.

"Yeah? Hmmm... Does it feel good?"

You nod, lowering your head to hide your aroused expression.

"Shit..." he was also getting so red. He can feel his erection getting hard as a rock.

"Mingyu..." you breathe. "I might stain your pants...." You can feel butterflies in your stomach.

"Please do..." his breathe suddenly shaky too. "I love to see how your body reacts when I touch you.. and when you feel my dick... coz babe, I'm turned on by you... so fucking much."

You rub your clothed core on to his bulge more harder and faster. Imagining that you are fucking him like what you see on porn videos.

"Ahhh..." you bury your face on his chest. Your pussy is clenching and you can feel the orgasm building. "Mingyu... fuck... this feels so good... ahhh... Shit..."

"Babe..." he pulls your face close his so he could kiss you. "Y-you're cheeks... are so red."

The friction is driving you insane. You've never experience this kind of exhilarating feeling before.

"I think... I'm...I'm about to... explode..."

"F-fuck...." Mingyu dives his face to you chest and starts to show them the love they deserve. "You sound so sexy... let it all out babe." He hums as his tongue finally found your sentivie tips.

"Ahh!!! Mingyu!!!"

While catching your breathe from cloud nine after experiencing your first arousal moan ever from dry humping. "Should we... do this again?" Mingyu asked. "We can try something... else if you like."

You lay down on the floor beside him, smiling and shimmying down your wet panties off. "Will it feel as good as this...?"

"Of course..." Mingyu leans down to kiss you. "Or maybe better..."

After this 'incident', the relationship you two have suddenly leveled up. You guys hang out more and became more clingy than the usual. Though of course, it's not like you always make out whenever you see each other. You still do it on the right place at the right time. You have bounderies as well. Which is good.

And since the dynamic of you two changed quiet a bit, this didn't go unnoticed by Wonwoo. Another bestfriend of yours, who you met before you met Mingyu. The only son of your mom's friend. The guy who acts like your brother but treats you like his girlfriend when its just the two of you.

Yes. Wonwoo is that guy. A friend that gives you mixed signals but never said anything or made a move. He's just there. Always present. Always available. Always by your side.

Yes he is your person and he knows a lot about you. Sometimes, more than you even know.

"Something is different." Wonwoo asked as soon as you two were left alone in the kitchen of his house, finishing doing the dishes. This happened on a night when he asked you to stay overnight just to hang out.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" You ask as you organize all the plate and pans you wiped dry. The ones Wonwoo just finished washing.

"You've been hanging out with Mingyu lately..." he takes his gloves off and apron off. "More than the usual..."

"What do you mean? We always hang out... nothing changed."

"I'm not blind, Y/N..." he paused. "I can see how he looks at you... he even blatantly asked you to sit on his lap when we were eating lunch two days ago..."

You snorted a laugh. "Are you jealous that we are close?" You teased, giggling. It was an innocent teasing. However Wonwoo answered with seriousness and diction.

"I am."

You paused and look at his face for a few seconds. "Then... stop being busy..." You say as you close the cabinets you just filled with plates. "We only hang out together as two when you are not available... you're so busy being the leader of your club that you don't have time for us..." you added

"You know... I can make time for you..." he uttered moving slowly closer to you. "Just tell me if it will be just the two of us..."

Then you suddenly stopped breathing for a second. Frozen at your place as well.

You stutter his name. "W-wonwoo...?"

"Does this make you uncomfortable... if its...me that is doing this?"

"Ahh..." you breathed and automatically you bit your lower lip. "W-wonwoo...w-hat...?"

You were taken aback in a good way when all of a sudden Wonwoo went behind you, snaked his hands around and grab your tits and began kneading it like a dough.

"W-what are you doing?"

"I'm just doing what you like..." he whispered in your ears. "I can still remember... the night... when I caught you... pleasuring yourself..." his breathing in your ears is making you go red and squirmy. "I would've loved to see you go beyond than playing with your nipples..."

You suddenly became red. You remember that night. He said he didn't saw anything. He acted like he didn't saw anything. That gave you peace of mind. But hearing him say he caught you, that one time, that only time you got curious what it felt like doing it to yourself. Gosh! It's embarassing

"Why did you lie?" You asked before leaning your head back to his chest.

"I don't want to make you feel embarassed." His lips brushed over your skin. "And I wanted you to continue... but your mom called you and got us startled..." he chuckled. "I hid... and you pretended to sleep."

You closed your eyes. "What a bummer..." you hum

He continued to play with your tits. His thumb brushing over your sensitive bud "Does Mingyu do it better?" He whispers. "Or... I do.. Hmm...?"

"W-wonwoo..." you whine. Your hips also begun reacting to his touch. "Please..."

"Please what?" He playfully bit your ear, making you moan a little too loud. "Sshh.... if my family hears us... I have no choice but to stop... we don't want that... right?"

"Hmm..." you press your lips together tighly.

"Do you want me to stop?"

You shook your head.

You the heard him smile. "What a slut." His voice went an octave lower. "I have a new game installed in my computer... do you want to play in my room?"

"I'm... b-bad at games..." you turn around to face your friend, Wonwoo, who's face was so still and yet so captivating.

"I can teach you..." he leans down, putting both his hands on your side, holding onto the counter top. "Maybe... more than what Mingyu have taught you already..."

You nervously smiles and then pushed his glasses up his nose. "How did you know? I mean... about me and him."

He smirked. "I pay attention more than you realize. I know when something is wrong...or... different." He arched his brow. "And I noticed that you have been wearing much more... revealing tops. Subtle. But revealing enough to make Mingyu's eyes pop out of his head."

"Does that mean... it works to you as well...? I mean... me wearing tank tops and fitted shirts?"

Wonwoo didn't answered. He just kissed you and let his tongue explore your mouth. His kiss was so aggressive and with intent.

"Is... this wrong...?" You asked, breathing heavy. Pertaining to what you and Mingyu are doing and to whatever you might be doing with him later.

"No... As long as we have consent... bounderies and protection... its not wrong in my book." He softly chuckled right before he kissed you again.

"Hmmm..." you hum as he pressed his body on you. You can feel his erection. He is big too.

"We have all night to play..."

Then it hit you. "Wait... is this why you asked my mother if I can have a sleepover?"

A grin appeared on his lips. "My advantage from Mingyu is... your mom knows me more... and trusts me more..." he tugs the loose hair off your face behind your ear. "And you can trust me..."

And that was it. Since then Wonwoo and Mingyu became more than just your bestfriends. They've become your bestfriends with a lot of benefits.

[twptwp]

Please share

Hello, I contemplated it a lot, I decided it would be best. I will be sharing this beware on a rather big artist here who hurt me personally.

I will write more at the end. Please take care. Warning: the post is very big

Pestkitty is also known as Nopperabou if I remember the name correctly on other platforms such as Artfight and Youtube

*It should be noted this is very blatant lying on that guys part, I was keeping to myself for this entire time and harassed nobody, on the contrary his friends had been harassing me. I regret not writing that more clearly

I don't think I mentioned it in the original post images but I would also like to note at the time I was not an adult yet and it was my first time going on a plane... 11 hour flight completely alone is scary, no family, nobody in my family has ever travelled so far. It was a very big deal

END OF IMAGES

Description from original post on Instagram (it's a lot so I'll make it small):

HI HI PAWB! Lots and lots of people wanted me to put this together, please do share, even if you do not know the people it would be great help. The more people who know the more people who can stay safe. This post is a little overdue but I was gaslit by them into thinking these were not big issues and that I was the one being strange so it took a while for me to gain the stability to put this together, I ended up downplaying my feelings a lot and it wasn't untill somewhat recent when I realised I may be developing a new disorder from their abuse that oh... I was not wrong for my concerns and feelings; these people really are harmful. I do not condone harassment so please do not go messaging these people. Block, share, and move on. Stay safe. That is my internet mission for you🚀

I make this post because they are rather gross and dangerous and have considerably big audiences, people have told me their opinions that they should not have the platforms that they have because their behaviours are dangerous. There is more things they've done that I have not included because I would like some of my own privacy even after my private information was leaked in a comic haha... I've displayed enough behaviour from them to show who they are and what they do though, so this is enough!

This is quite intimidating for me, so, I will be going offline off of this account for a few days and just let this post simmer... Not for too long because I have some awesome art cooking HEHE but YA! If there are questions in the comments my friends will answer for me! Though, I think I've been rather transparent so I don't think there would be any.

I will also be providing more proof in my story, specifically proof that slide 10 IS that guy because quite frankly anybody could be "Instagram user" and they have fabricated stuff against me in the past so I think it would be good to prove it is that account.

Okay bla bla that is all, apologies this is such a scary and serious post especially as I like to keep my account a friendly nice place but ahhh it really has been burning at me. So, thank you for reading so very much. Bye bye pawb!

End of description^

That was a lot! So here is why I'm sharing it to Tumblr:

☆Awareness! NOBODY should have to risk getting close to these people. NOBODY.

☆Better circulation! My Instagram post got over 3000 likes, lots of shares, 100s of comment and many saves so it did very well however after a while things leave the light and become something "of the past". I notice this does not happen so much on Tumblr and things continue to be shared

☆This still effects me. The original Beware is from 3 months ago however I am currently doing this because I was restless from lastnight nightmare (I had a nightmare about these people) and now I'm all nauseous and shaky again! It's 3am and I was panicking a lot so I put this together, I'm yet to rest

And finally....

☆TAGS

I notice that if an image in a tag becomes popular enough it shows up on things like Google! Isn't that cwl! So, if a fan of these people searches for them on the internet the beware could show up which may deter them from the artist. This is great, which is why I also need your help in making this popular!

Thank you sincerely for your time, it is greatly appreciated. I feel calmer now that I have made this post, I regret not making it earlier but it is better now than never. Nos da ac breuddwydion melys pawb♡

[syninplays]

So uhm... I did a thing...

✨Character Info Template✨

UPDATE 11.24.24: this template now has a page theme version! if you're not a fan of templates, you can get the code to use it as an interactive multimuse page >here<

Been meaning to do this a long time ago (and actually started it but never finished it, lol) as a way to share some more information about my ocs without needing to use a custom page theme, but mostly because I haven't found any page theme that looks exactly as I want and allows this much customization.

There are two versions and both are almost exactly the same; but the example shown in the left has an 'appearance' section which is small and has few quick facts regarding the oc's appearance; while the example on the right has a 'moodboard' section instead which allows you to add more info about your oc.

You can change every section/title to fit your needs like I did in the examples below; I personally removed some categories as well and got rid of some connections as this oc doesn't have that many close friends/partners to fill the original template. However, I also included an extra separated 'connections' section in the download in case you want to add more people and more information.

I recommend you stick to square-shaped pictures so it's easier to fit them to each section. Also if and when you edit the information or section titles, please select only one line at a time to replace it so you don't lose the text format. (Titles shouldn't change because that's a single format/font within the same text box, but should it change you can always hit ctrl+z hehe) When you're done, I strongly recommend you save this as a .png instead of .jpg so it's the best possible quality!

Last but not least, this is a .psd file. So you'll need either Photoshop (I did this with Photoshop Portable, but it supports newer versions of PS and it *should* support older versions too) or Photopea to open and edit this file.

Credits: Adobe Photoshop, Inter font, Golften Vintage font

>DOWNLOAD< (patreon but free :p)

(note: I'm posting this with my gaming blog because I think my fellow gamers might be interested in this, but please consider giving credits to me if you use this template by tagging @synindoodles instead of this blog)

More info on how to use and edit this template below the cut!

Layers:

>Each layer is properly named and categorized. The general layers such as the background, the icon shape and background shapes are under the groups.

>If you don't want to see/don't need one of the connections' pictures and information, I recommend you find which one it is (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6) and click on the eye symbol next to the layer to hide it so that way if you ever need it, it won't be truly gone.

>To edit a text section, simply find the layer (such as General Information>Left Column) and double click on the 'T' symbol next to the layer. That way it will open edit mode and allow you to edit the text, just don't hit delete or enter while everything is selected or you'll erase it :p

>Main text sections aren't separated, they're blocks of text. I recommend you don't remove the amount (for example, if you downloaded the version with the 'appearance' section, which has 5 sections of information, don't remove the fifth line.) Either leave it empty or replace it with another data, otherwise it will look weird. The 'general information' section might look good even if you remove a few lines, just don't get rid of the whole block of text.

Pictures:

>To add a new picture, simply paste it over this document and move it using the Move Tool.

>To frame it (so it becomes a circle or fits over the shape you want), make sure the picture layer is over the layer you want, then while holding alt click between the two layers. [For example, if you want to add a new main oc picture: 1) paste the pic you want, 2) move it with the Move Tool so it's covering the big circle, 3) once you've fully covered the shape (if it isn't you can resize it by right clicking on it then on 'free transform', sometimes you might need to hold shift to proportionally resize it) make sure the newly pasted pic layer is over the layer named "picture goes here", 4) hold the alt key and hover your mouse cursor over the line between your pic layer and the circle layer until you see an arrow going down symbol, once you see it click it and tah dah! your picture should now have the same shape as the circle! - you can further move it if it doesn't fit the way you want with the Move Tool (;

Others:

>You can change every color, font and section to your liking, just don't change the general layout of the template.

>To hide/show the guides (those bright blue lines all over the document), click ctrl+,

>'Inter' is a free font and you can get it in the link above (linked with the credits), Golften Vintage is not, but you can get the demo version >here< (just scroll down and click the blue download button under license). I will not tell you how to install fonts as it might be different for everyone (for me it's C:/Windows/Fonts and I just drop the zipped files (except the .txt one) there), but google is your friend.

>I can't think of anything else that needs to be said here, but if you have any other question feel free to send me an ask or dm and I'll help you out!

>Last but not least, a like is appreciated if you plan to use this plus consider tagging @synindoodles if you use it <3

[midnight-mourning]

DECEMBER IS OVER!!! New Year, What's Next?

Well chat, with literally three minutes to spare we finished out DCA December IN December, and then of course you got a little bonus thingy as well hehe :)

So! Having said that, wanted to take a moment to talk about some plans, what to expect to see from me next, and so on

BUT FIRST, I would like to take the time to thank everyone who sent in requests for this little event, I appreciated every single one of them, and had SO much fun writing, I hope everyone enjoyed the little stories I wrote, couldn't have done it without everyone sending in such creative & unique ideas, thank all of you so much!

@monsteractiasluna @juukai @deviouscrackers @zenkaiankoku @buzzybee3 @fishm0ther @divinit3a @zoranight16 @cosmic-quakes @soupdweller @lizyxml @pip-plz @theinfamousmaybelle @lizyxml (again <3) @rosescarletful @crystalmagpie447 @buzzybee3 (again <3) @kaprisvn @vypridae @twomanypockets @zenkaiankoku (again <3) @juukai (again <3) @rosescarletful (again <3) @rosescarletful (again <3 <3 thank u tempest you helped feed the people fr) @twomanypockets (again <3) @pip-plz (again <3) @divinit3a (again <3) @baby-bloos @alynwrench @baby-bloos (again <3) @ccccaptain-clownyyy @luckyyyduckyyy

Additionally, thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, or commented on these fics, it's so very appreciated (I would tag everyone but there are, a startingly large amount of you 😅) I will come clean and admit that I am always a little nervous when I upload my writing, so knowing that people enjoy my work when I share it is, humbling, to say the least <3

Okay! Now to get into it, below the cut just so people dont have to scorll through my rambling plans & such (there is a POLL however that even if you skip my nonsense you should vote in pretty please ^-^)

So, despite some shortcomings with me getting a bit behind (curse you sinus infection & finals week) I'm really happy with how this went!

I'll be taking a break for a bit and def will NOT be posting as much as I did near the end there, BUT I'll still be writing per usual, especially since I have two weeks left to my break. Before I get into what you can expect to see, wanted to do a quick interest check on whether people would like me to do something similar for Valentine's!

Since I'll be back at college again I won't be able to do a full month again, buuuut, I should be able to handle 14 days worth, if the interest is there I would open up requests probably the last week of January so I had time to get started/ahead. So,

Rules would be the same as for DCA December, except with a Valentine's Theme!

Now that that's taken care of, here's what'll be going on with me as we start 2025!

I'm working on Holiday Spirit ch. 2, should be posting either today or tomorrow! Still aiming to get it done before I go back to school so expect quicker updates now that requests are finished :) (you can find out more about this story here)

Confused Spirit ch. 36 is also in the works! I'll be honest in that my sinus infection JUST cleared up a week or so ago, and additionally i've been facing a bit of writer's block with the story just bc of where we're at and I want to make sure it's really good/properly expresses what I'm going for with this fic, but I'm working on getting more out to you all soon, as well as working on getting ahead again while I have time, thank you all for your paitence with this one, it's very appreciated <3 (if you don't know about Confused Spirit, you can find out more here, it's my current main dca project :D)

DCA December will be reviewed for spelling and grammar mistakes and be uploaded to ao3 throughout January, if you'd like to read anything again (or you're wanting to get caught up and have a better reading experience) you can see the masterpost here, which will have the ao3 link once I get started on editing

Getting into non-fic things, I'll also be working on organizing my blog so things are easier to find as I know it's a bit messy currently >_< bear with me as it gets fixed up

I really want to improve on my art! After collecting things up for my 2024 art summary, i realized I've improved a lot but still have more room to grow (and many ideas that I want to see made by a more skilled hand >~<) so, expect to see some art things from me floating around including but not limited to: my trick or treat responses (im sorry these are so late, it's brutal out here), Cast of CS refs, more Holiday Spirit doodles, magma things, CS chapter promos, & new refs for the CS boys! there's some more things i have planned but I am keeping them a secret for now ;)

Okay! Think that's everything, thanks again to everyone for making this a whole lot of fun, and can't wait to share more with you all in 2025! Happy New Year!

[smoll-tangerine]

ten reasons why i hate you: reason #6

SYNOPSIS. while you admittedly didn’t refuse the arranged marriage between you and jung jaehyun, that didn’t mean that you’d allow him to treat you like a doormat. for the emotional distress he had put you through during the months leading up to your engagement party, you ensure that he will pay for the way he had been treating you for the rest of his life. 

PAIRING. rich boy!jaehyun x rich girl!reader GENRES. romance, angst, drama, rich kid!au CHAPTER WORD COUNT. 1434

WARNINGS. none. 

DISCLAIMER. this is a work of fiction based on fictional events and characters. it is unrelated to any real people, organisations, locations, and events. the laws, and legal and medical interpretations in this work have also been modified for storytelling purposes.

TAGLIST. @crescent-iak​ @moonchele​ @ahtisa02​ @ghostfacefricker6969​ @jaehyunnie77​ @jungish​ @anya-writes-stuff​ @hey-won @ishireads​ @xxxx-23nct​ @peachibevuti @shepeelsoranges​ (bolded = unable to tag)

[a/n]: hello, everyone!! this was supposed to be posted in january, but i didn’t have the time. today’s also my birthday, so here’s a gift to you all to celebrate it hehe!! i already have the rest of the story mapped out (in my head), so if everything goes well, i should be back to my usual weekly updates, but no promises! hope you’ll enjoy this chapter♡ 

← REASON #5 || MASTERLIST || REASON #7 → 

REASON #6 

He’s good with kids. 

You tried not to show your emotions (or your thoughts, really) on your face as you watched Jaehyun play with the kids from the orphanage. 

You were done giving a quick check-up to the children, so you and Jaehyun decided to play with them before you leave. You quickly ran out of energy so you decided to take a seat on the stairs of the orphanage’s building, while Jaehyun was playing what seemed to be a round of tag with the children. 

“That’s not the same man you’ve brought over last time.” 

Startled, you looked up and saw the director of the orphanage smiling down at you with a knowing look. 

It annoyed you the slightest when she asked the same question as Ernesto. 

Was this a sign to stop bringing men to your favourite places, in general? They seem to always come back to bite you in the ass. 

“The children seem to be doing well.” 

“Avoiding my question, are we?” she replied with a mocking chuckle. “And yes, the children are doing fine. Thanks to you and Doyoung.” 

“That wasn’t a question that you asked, but rather a statement, wasn’t it?” 

You were surprised to hear from the director that Doyoung was still a donor. After all, this was something you two started when you were still dating. A part of you didn’t expect him to continue this tradition of yours.

“Doyoung visited a couple of months ago to check up on the kids,” the director continue. “He never mentioned that you two broke up.” She then glanced at the ring that adorned the fourth finger of your left hand. “Or that you were getting married to someone that was not him.”

You took a look at your ring before folding your arms, suddenly uncomfortable that she had seen your ring, for some odd reason. “Well, he never mentioned to me that he visited you guys.” 

There was a small moment of silence that ensued following your small exchange. The children’s laughter echoed throughout the whole square, mixed in were screams of delight as your now-husband captured them in his arms. 

Jaehyun’s deep laughter was one that clearly displayed his joy. 

But it was also one that you, admittedly, never heard much before until today. 

“Are you happy?” 

You remained silent as you knew that whatever answer you would give her, the director would able to notice your lie. 

“I don’t know.”

But regardless of what she thought, you also didn’t want to lie to yourself. 

“Will you be happy?” 

“I don’t know.” 

Her brows furrowed in slight worry. 

“Then, what are you going to do?” 

You took a deep breath and exhaled sharply through your nose. 

“I don’t know.” 

“I don’t know what I expected, but what we did today was not what I expected.” 

You glanced up from the medical article that you were reading, while Jaehyun emerged from the bathroom. He ruffled his wet hair and took a seat at the corner of the bed. Not close that he would be infringing upon your private space, but close enough that it did make you raise your eyebrows at his proximity. 

You were too jet-lagged yesterday night to realise what happened. 

But... you shared a bed with Jaehyun? 

And you were about to do the same for the rest of your honeymoon? 

“So, what’s the story?” he asked you with a shy smile. “Behind the orphanage? You seemed close with the director and the children. That kind of relationship must have been–” 

“You don’t have to do this, you know?” 

He seemed taken aback with your question. “W-what do you mean?” 

You set your iPad aside and motioned the empty space between the two of you. “Pretend that you like me just because you suddenly found out that I’m actually a nice person or something.” 

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. His ears turned slightly red in what you assumed to be embarrassment. “I-it wasn’t something sudden. And also, I am genuinely curious. What’s the backstory? Don’t tell me you’re using the orphanage as a front to avoid paying taxes.” 

You made a face, unimpressed. You then looked away, trying not to show any annoyance on your face and said with a resigning sigh, “My best friend came from that orphanage.” You paused, unsure as for why would you even tell Jaehyun this story. “She passed away a couple of years ago. Right after we finished our residency.” 

“...How did you two meet?” 

“We met in med school.” The answer came to you easily. “Doyoung introduced us and well, the rest is history.” 

You knew the look in Jaehyun’s eyes, which was a mixture of sadness and pity and conflict. He looked liked he wanted to give you a hug but at the same time, he also seemed like he wanted to ask you another question. You could probably guess that he probably wanted to know how she passed away. 

But that wasn’t something you could easily share with him. 

“Doyoung and I donate to the orphanage in her honour.” You tried to change the subject. “I try to visit once or twice a year to give them a small check-up. Doyoung does it too, apparently.” 

Jaehyun’s jaw slightly clenched at your words. There was some sort of tightness to his face that immediately melted away when he noticed the inquisitive look you were giving him as he fell silent. 

“You and Doyoung must be close, huh.” 

That statement made you pause a little. 

“Was that meant to be a question?” 

“No, just... you two seem to be close even though you two are exes.” 

You felt irritated by his words, for some odd reason. Who was he to talk about your relationships when he wasn’t even in a position to do so in the first place? 

“Are– Are you trying to imply something?” you asked with a scoff. “Because if we were to imply anything, I think you’re the one we should be concerned here. Because I wasn’t the one who was—still is—in a relationship when we got married.” 

The cat was out of the bag as you finally revealed your thoughts. You never voiced out your displeasure at the fact that Jaehyun was still seeing Chaeyoung behind your back due to the fact that you felt guilty at the beginning, for dragging him into this arranged marriage, but wasn’t cutting things off the least he could do if he actually respected you? 

But your pride, out of all things, actually prevented you from doing so. 

No matter your thoughts about the subject matter, you would never ask Jaehyun to cut his relationship with his girlfriend. 

Because to do so meant that you were admitting your feelings for him. And that was something that could never happen. 

“I’ll break things off with her,” Jaehyun blurted out of nowhere. “With Chaeyoung. I’ll break things off with her the second we’re back in Seoul.” 

You forced yourself to remain impassive. The most you allowed was just a slight widening of your eyes, followed by an obnoxiously loud chortle. 

“Yeah, okay, I didn’t think you were someone with a sense of humour.” 

“I will!” he retorted. “What, you think I won’t?” 

You rolled your eyes. “What’s the catch?” 

“Huh?” Jaehyun replied dumbly. “What do you mean?” 

“Jaehyun, I’m not stupid,” you said with a sarcastic laugh. “Why on Earth would you break things off with your long-term girlfriend? Not to mention, everything we put each other through because of your relationship with her? So yeah, what’s the catch?” 

Was it so wrong of you to be cynical? 

For wanting to protect your feelings? 

“Give me some time.”

There it was. 

The catch. 

“Give me a year– No, five months. Give me five months to get over Chaeyoung. After five months, I’ll be a devoted husband to you and to you only. I promise that I’ll make this marriage work.” 

You couldn’t believe you were this close to fall for his sweet words. But wasn’t this a reasonable request? After all, he had to break up with someone he was in love with. 

But you couldn’t help but still be hurt by his words. Because he didn’t say that he was going to try and love you. He was doing this because he was married to you. Because he pitied you. Not because he was developing feelings for you.

“I’m sensing a but.” 

Jaehyun nodded and took a deep breath. 

“Cut all ties with Kim Doyoung.” 

Ah. 

There it was.

The real catch. 

← REASON #5 || MASTERLIST || REASON #7 →

[sollucets]

nine people i'd like to get to know better

i've done this tag several times over the last (checks notes) couple years???? and i do appreciate how it basically is different every time hehe. tagged by dearest @icouldhyperfixatehim & @ranchthoughts.

3 ships

these days i am thinking often and fondly of wenzhou, fate couple (myungha/yeowoon.... it's so charming that their portmanteau name is a lil pun), and aylinluna. (and jwds. they are haunting the narrative where the narrative is like my hindbrain. sorry i needed four it is what it is)

First ship

very firmly contestshipping from pokemon. i think we should bring sillier ship names like that back frankly... back in MY day we had endless names of hundreds and hundreds of silly puns that barely anyone could remember and we LIKED it

Last song

i opened my spotify and it is on unknown by nct dream, which was on the playlist liz @hoppipolla made for me while i was in the er (consider this a tag if you like hehe 💜)

Currently reading

i am not reading any real books right now. shame shame yes i know. i'll use this space to recommend some things as usual

one ongoing fic -- "on darkness" by agrazza, an ongoing bg3 dark urge/astarion longfic about the underdark with lots of fun plot. it is fully 265k right now though so i recommend consuming it in bites (lol) as i have

one finished fic -- "goodbye forever (until next time)", written anon though i think their username is in the fic notes now, the boston/nick fic of all time. historically and notably made me cry about fisting. it is ao3 locked so you need an account

one poem -- "invocation" by w.s. merman. it's very short, so here's another; "the waiting" by stephen dunn (my body was an ache, a silence)

Last movie

i really don't watch many movies. i'm going to bend the rules and allow my rewatch of the 2019 danielle brooks much ado about nothing from a couple months ago count for this slot -- go forth and find it on dailymotion but you didnt hear that from me

Currently Craving

functional painkillers. augh sorry to be a downer i do also crave the embrace of the ocean. oh i did it again uh. i crave. i crave firstkhao series gmmtv part two where are you

i will tag in @philologique & liz (body of post. get doubletagged) & @markpakin if u all like. it's not nine people but i can only be So brave you understand 💜

[luvuomi]

inazuma interlude: sethos goes to inazuma and kazuha starts another civil war at a much smaller scale ( he's jealous )

AAAAAA THIS DESCRIPTION YAME IM CRYING😭kazuha is indeed the kind to go to war for his love ong

sigh…the idea of jealous kazuha has been being fed to me for the past few hours now ( from yame & èl ) and safe to say…my brain rots have finally manifested themselves into a short scenario i decided to write out hehe 🤭

enjoy this self indulgent delusion of mine while i figuratively pass away

unlike kazuha, i seldom find myself wandering about traveling from place to place. while this can be due to the fact i prefer to stay indoors, it mainly stems from the fact that my job — which is being a columnist for the steambird — occupies most if not all my free time.

as for what i write specifically, well i just imagine it to be silly little short stories huhu

in reality, writing for the steambird is just a small stepping stone of mine for the ultimate end goal of eventually becoming a published author for yae publishing house in inazuma. kazuha would, of course, naturally come to learn of this interest and — whenever time granted it — would sometimes offer to take me to inazuma via the alcor so that i could get acquainted with the business and it’s employees. building relations essentially .. yk cause he’s such a considerate man like that :’)

small tangent aside though-

on this particular day, after managing to find some free time for myself from work, i decided to spoil kazu with a surprise visit hehe

now, due to the fact i reside in fontaine, the journey to inazuma is an exceedingly long one especially since i first need to get to liyue to catch a ride from beidou ( duh ). the journey can go one of two ways: i either go through chenyu vale or sumeru. most of the time i stick to the former since my dumbass somehow always manages to get lost in the dessert or rainforest ( clumsy yuomi confirmed + tighnari is lowkey done with my bs ) but oh ho ho i decided to be bold today and go through sumeru # copium moment

even when i finally meet up with kazu at ritou and recount all the details about my voyage to him, he’s surprised to hear it all went smoothly while also showing a bit of concern for my safety. yes, even he’s well aware of how much of a klutz i tend to be lmao

“i’m glad to hear your travels went well for you, though im surprised to hear you didn’t end up getting lost again as you usually do. i take it tighnari and cyno helped you out?”

“hm? oh, that! i forgot to mention — someone else actually helped me along the way and even decided to tag along. in fact, i’ve actually been wanting to introduce you to him for a while now! he should be around here … ”

“i’m here, i’m here, no need to panic.”

“ah! kazuha, meet sethos! he’s someone i became friends with not long ago in sumeru during my last visit there and the one who helped me navigate through the desert this time.”

“ahh, so you’re the friend yuomi’s mentioned to me before … a pleasure to meet you.”

friend? did he really just call kazuha a mere friend? had it been said in any other way, the samurai wouldn’t have paid it much heed, but there was something about this guy’s tone of voice that just didn’t sit right with kazuha — along with that complacent look on his face…

they’ll do that kind of handshake where it’s clear as fucking day neither of them even want to be in each other’s presence, let alone look at each other, with kazu giving a subtle squeeze in return like some kind of warning sign😭

sethos ofc would notice right away but wouldn’t say anything and just smile knowingly ( he knows wtf he’s doing )

“so yuomi, about that tour around inazuma. does the offer still stand?”

“of course! it’s your first time here so where should we begin? hmm … how about — ”

“i can handle it on your behalf yuomi. why don’t you take a short rest first and in the meantime, i’ll show our .. guest around ritou.”

“oh, sure! sounds good to me. you two have fun!”

and once clueless yuomi is out of the scene, sethos and kazuha fist fight in each other through bombastic side eyes and glares ( credits to yame for that description cause i love it ) for a solid 5 minutes

just saying it now, that tour around ritou never happened LMAO

[plumblossomcafe]

Ch.33: Dishonorable Trial

Author's note: Please pretend that you guys already met Razor, I still have to do the story quests, but I want to finish the actual storyline before I do them

Dainsleif: A huge statue, a grandiose Cathedral... The people of Mondstadt clearly spent a great deal of resources and energy to construct them. But how aware of this was the Anemo Archon on receiving this gift, and how much did he give back in return?

Paimon: Faith doesn't ask for anything in return, though, does it?

Dainsleif: Hmph, as long as the gods have a clear conscience about it all, there's nothing I can say about it.

Paimon: Shh! We're about to enter the Cathedral. Don't say anything bad about the Anemo Archon... And actually, the Anemo Archon is... Gah, never mind.

Dainsleif: I never specifically said I would enter the Cathedral. I'll leave you two to mingle with the sisters.

Paimon: Huh?

Aether: But we've done everything else together. Aren't you curious?

Dainsleif: You are the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt. They will surely allow you to poke into these affairs with their utmost trust. Having me tag along would only make them suspicious.

Y/n: Because they don't know you? Or because you don't think you will be popular among the sisters?

Dainsleif: Correct, and just as our little friend said... I might say something bad about the Church at any time. When a non-believer steps onto holy ground, the result is never pretty. I have never received the favor of the gods in the past. I don't see any reason I would need it now or in the future, either. That's enough about that. While we've been chit-chatting, the Abyss Order continues to act.

Paimon: Okay then, Aether, Y/n, we'll just go in ourselves and ask around.

Dainsleif: I should warn you both about one thing. Don't go mentioning the Defiled Statue inside the Cathedral. The Church of Favonius wouldn't ignore the matter of the statue, but if they rashly tried anything against the Abyss Order, it would only ruin whatever element of surprise we may have. Also... Meddling in the affairs of the Abyss usually doesn't end well for anyone.

Y/n: True, I mean, me and Papa got hurt when communicating with Dvalin, and I got even more when I got my vision, I was visionless at the time, and I fell into a coma

Dainsleif/Aether/Paimon: ...

Y/n: That's a story for another time

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Barbara: Honorary Knight! Hi, how have you been? Do you need anything today? Agh... But I should first make it clear that if you want to borrow the Holy Lyre der Himmel again, we can not oblige.

Paimon: "It seems she hasn't realized it's just an illusion..."

Y/n: No, in fact, We're here to ask some questions about something. Barbara, have you heard about "the first Field Tiller"?

Barbara: Hmm... What's that? "Field Tiller"... What does it do?

Paimon: Ah, of course you wouldn't know anything about that, hehe... Okay, next question: Has the Church ever lost a Statue of The Seven?

Barbara: Huh? You're here to ask about that old story? Well, I didn't expect that... That was such a long time ago. Barely anyone mentions it nowadays. A long time ago, there was indeed one Statue of The Seven that disappeared one night without a trace. Nearly every member of the Church joined the search for it, but it was never found.

Y/n: ...

Barbara: In the Church's records, as you might assume, this incident has been called "The Lost Statue of The Seven."

Paimon: Hmm... of course.

Barbara: Of course?

Paimon: Uh, nothing! So, do you have any other clues— uh, Paimon means... any other strange stories?

Y/n: "Sorry, Barbara, but we can't tell you about the statue we saw just yet... Like Dain said outside, it's for your own good..."

Barbara: Other strange stories? I'm not sure. Let me think about what other unusual incidents are in the Church's records... Oh, "The Tyrant's Final Fury"? No, that's from another time, probably not related...

Y/n: "The Tyrant's Final Fury"?

Barbara: Oh, this refers to a time of great danger that engulfed Old Mondstadt, the place now known as Stormterror's Lair. Many, many years ago, there was a time when balls of fire would rain from the sky when anyone approached Old Mondstadt.

Paimon: Balls of fire raining from the sky!? How terrifying...

Barbara: People at that time believed that it was a curse laid down by the God of Storms, so they referred to it as "The Tyrant's Final Fury." This strange phenomenon continued for about a year. No one was able to solve it. It just gradually ceased on its own.

Aether: So bizarre

Y/n: Hmmm....It's not necessarily related to the tyrant... According to history books, the Tyrant God of Storms that ruled over Mondstadt centuries ago wasn't capable of producing fireballs

Barbara: Right! Later, the theory of "The Tyrant's Final Fury" became less probable in the eyes of the Church. Common reasoning dictates that the God of Storms wouldn't shoot fireballs... Perhaps it was something else that caused the disaster. Anyway, this incident might not be related to "The Lost Statue of The Seven," but I just can't think of any other strange incidents that might be.

Paimon: It's okay. Thanks anyway!

Rosaria: There's that pointless word "thank you" again. I can never get used to hearing it...

Barbara: Oh, Rosaria, It's you.

Rosaria: If you're looking for the Knights of Favonius, they're busy with those monsters again.

Barbara: "Those monsters"?

Rosaria: Those monsters that tried to attack Mondstadt last time, during the Stormterror incident.

Paimon: Wasn't that the Abyss Order!? They're at it again?

Rosaria: Indeed. They are gathering in Wolvendom, causing great unrest among the wolves. Could it be... that the Abyss Order is targeting the spirit of Lupus Boreas? As for what purpose, I can't say for certain. Master Jean has already headed off to Wolvendom. I must also begin to make a move myself.

Barbara: Th—Then I will go as well!

Rosaria: Master Jean said you should stay at the church, and continue your work with the clergy.

Barbara: B—But... you're also a member of the clergy...

Aether: Don't worry, We'll go to help as well.

Paimon: Right, we'll go give Master Jean a hand!

Barbara: Oh... Okay, if the Honorary Knights will be there, then... But please, everyone, be careful. May the Anemo Archon protect you all.

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Dainsleif: I see... Has the Abyss Order already launched a new operation...? This could very well have something to do with the Defiled Statue. We should go as well.

Paimon: But, what is the Abyss Order going to Wolvendom for anyway? Are they looking to do the same they did with Dvalin? Aaaah... Not again!

Dainsleif: No, that's not likely. Unlike Osial, who was just suppressed, Andrius died long ago. Today it is just his spirit that stands guard over Wolvendom. The Abyss Herald may just be targeting the spirit of Andrius in an attempt to garner some information from one of the Anemo Archon's old companions.

Y/n: Then, wr shouldn't waste anymore time, we must act fast

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Paimon: Aaah! The Abyss Order!

Dainsleif: Don't underestimate the enemy. Let's take them now!

After defeating the enemies

Paimon: Whew... there sure are a lot of enemies around here!

Dainsleif: The closer we get to the target the more enemies there are. Hmph, fits the Abyss Order's style.

Aether: We should hurry and find Lupus Boreas.

Paimon: Yeah! Let's go!

Dainsleif: I'm... not going any further.

Paimon: Huh? Why not? Is it because you're afraid of fluffy animals?

Y/n: *growing more suspicious* That's... probably not it.

Dainsleif: It has nothing to do with wolves. It's because Boreas was an ancient god, yet he willingly became a servant of The Seven. I cannot possibly agree with his actions. I don't desire any interaction with him. Besides, you're the ones people like. I'm... less likable.

Aether: You really despise The Seven, huh.

Dainsleif: There's nothing special about gods anyway. It's just my opinion, but a word of advice: Always be on your guard when around gods. You shouldn't place too much trust in them. But at the same time, don't go too far in the opposite direction... Don't go trying to overthrow them, or hunt them down. Even if the god in question is your sworn enemy.

Paimon: Don't trust them, and don't hunt them... That's some awkward advice. Does Dain hate The Seven, or is he protecting them?

Y/n: And is there a reason why? Every feeling of stems from a reason, so you must have a reason as to why you despise The Seven

Dainsleif: ... Lest I repeat the failings of my forebears. I... will tell you one final fact.

Paimon: Huh? What fact?

Dainsleif: The destruction of the nation of Khaenri'ah by the gods... is the reason why the Abyss Order now seeks to destroy the nations watched over by The Seven. Well, enough chit-chat. We should get back to business. I will go take care of the remaining Abyss Order members in the area. Try and keep your visit with Boreas brief. Afterward, let's meet at the entrance to Wolvendom. *leaves*

Paimon: Oh... There he goes... What a strange man.

Aether: I can kind of see where he's coming from.

Paimon: Yeah, that's true. You also keep your guard up against unfamiliar gods. At the Rite of Descension in Liyue, your decision was very similar to what Dain would do...

Aether: When there's a lack of trust, it's best to just avoid the situation entirely...

Paimon: *sigh* Not the easiest situation...

Jean: *walking twords them* Honorary Knights! Paimon! What are you two doing here?

Paimon: Oh, Master Jean! So glad we found you. Rosaria told us that you came here to fight the Abyss Order, so we came to help.

Jean: Then your help is greatly appreciated. The Abyss Order's sudden offensive is very strange, they have surrounded Wolvendom. I am preparing to send out some knights to fight back. I just scouted out all of Wolvendom... but I did not see you. Rosaria told me that the Abyss Order is going after Boreas. But the Abyss Order and Boreas... What is the connection between them?

Paimon: They just like to cause trouble. Do they really need a reason? The Abyss Order already went after Dvalin. It's not too surprising that they would also go after another one of the Anemo Archon's buddies.

Jean: Hmm... That is true... Regardless, whether the reason behind the present threat is clear or not, I'll handle the situation. Honorary Knights, please go and check if Lupus Boreas is in any danger. This god's spirit... he does not often see people. But I hear that you have met him before.Maybe it is best that you guys are also the one to meet him this time.

Y/n: We'll do it.

Jean: Okay, be careful. Thank you for your help, Honorary Knights of Favonius.

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Paimon: *gasp* Look over there, it's Razor! And... the Abyss Herald!

Razor: You... not welcome here!

Abyss Herald: Ahahaha... So, the wolf's wretched spirit likes to raise wild pups now? You claim to be a guardian, yet your once-sharp claws have clearly dulled since your days of godly glory. If you serve us, we can restore your divine powers you once held in the past.

Boreas: Lies... lies...

Paimon: What the heck is this ceremony? He looks like he's in a lot of pain. Oh no... Is this the same thing they did to corrupt Dvalin's mind?

Razor: Wolves never surrender. But... this can't go on.

Aether: We'll stop this.

Abyss Herald: No matter how many times you resist us, your efforts -

Y/n: *slashed him with a hydro blade* How about you get straight to the point once we beat you

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Abyss Herald: Hmph... The ceremony was interrupted. How fortunate for you. How does an old spirit have such a determined will...? No matter. This is but a small unforeseen variable. Our grand scheme will not be affected. And soon that girl *points at Y/n* will be ours and will fulfill our goals *opens a portal and leaves*

Paimon: It disappeared again...

Aether: At least we stopped it this time.

Razor: Thank you, you came... just in time.

Boreas: Human Lupical and Child of the Archons... I am ashamed that you must see me in my present state. But still, the Abyss Herald underestimated my strength.

Razor: Lupus Boreas never refused trial. But, scary outsider... not respect trial rules. I, too, didn't see... the trap...

Paimon: Wait... So you mean, the Abyss Order had everything prepared to corrupt Lupus Boreas' mind, then lured him out under the pretense of challenging him in a trial?

Y/n: It's not your fault, Razor.

Razor: Thank you, big sister Y/n. In the future, my claws... must get sharper. You... smelled danger, and came here?

Paimon: No, we heard about the danger. Paimon's nose doesn't even know what danger smells like! Besides coming to help, we actually have something to ask you about, too. Uh... Excuse us, Mr. Wolf God, do you know anything about the first Field Tiller?

Boreas: I pay no heed to the contraptions of humans. I know not what this "Field Tiller" is, though there was indeed one human-made machine that I can never forget. It entered into my proving ground by accident, and I mistook it for a challenger. But it could not think, only fight. It was designed as a pure killing machine from top to bottom. I eventually damaged it greatly with one of my attacks. Before it fell to the ground, it fled the proving ground.

Paimon: Hmmm... By the sound of it, it's possible that could have been the very first Field Tiller, right?

Y/n: Could it shoot missiles?

Boreas: "Missiles"? I do not know this strange word... As I said, I pay no attention to the contraptions of humans. It could spin, leap high into the air, and even shoot fireballs. Although no match for a god, it was stronger than even many who wield visions.

Paimon: Fireballs...? Hey, didn't we hear this somewhere else recently as well? Anyway, this pretty much proves that the first Field Tiller came to Mondstadt, doesn't it? It sounds like the first one was way stronger than the mass-produced Ruin Guards that came after.

Y/n: But in this story, it was damaged at the proving ground while fighting the Wolf of the North...

Razor: Don't know... But, did we help?

Paimon: Yes, you were a big help! Thanks! We need to keep investigating something super important. The Abyss Herald may have left but the Abyss's forces are still attacking. You two be careful!

Razor: Yes. I smell... more danger. Bigger danger. You three, also be careful.

Paimon: Well, that was some good intel. Quick, let's go tell Dain!

[spotaus]

Hehe >:]

Yeag those tags ended up running WAY long lol!

Uhhh. Killer! I love this scenario bunches, because despite Night being entirely aware that Killer was alive and fine, he probably would've panicked! I imagine it being kinda like this:

Nightmare does his training with Killer, abd by this point Killer is taking it seriously. While Night is by no means trying to kill him, it hurts when a tendril manages to smack into his skull or trip him up, and while it's annoying, it can also be... kinda fun? He's caught Nightmare cracking a smile a few times at the very least. Looking pleased, with himself, sure, but Killer's pretty sure those smiles always showed up before an attack pattern changed. Like he saw Killer getting stronger.

Nightmare from the start had told Killer his objective was to get close, but Killer hadn't had the opportunity to break past his defenses just yet. *Until that day*. When Killer jolted forward, knife raised out of habit, and prepared to slam into the King to get past his stupid training. (If he touched Nightmare, he would get the next week off.) Of course, he did *not* expect the usually pretty mild attacks to sharpen and for one to wrap his arm, squeeze it tight, and chuck him away.

There was a snap, but he landed pretty decently for having been put off-guard. Now *that* had been fun. Exciting. Not the training wheel baby settings. He was ready to go charging back in, but he realized Nightmare had pulled back all of his magic, and his tendrils were doing that twitching thing again. 'Scared, afraid, bad,'. There was a weird look in his eyelight.

Nightnare had been short, a little 'You're hurt. Training is over, go to the healer.' And when Killer tried to laugh off the little fracture, Nightmare had ordered him to leave. Now. So he had.

But it was weird. Killer had *definitely* been hurt worse, and this was the same guy who was willing to watch him hang a month ago? He was pretty tame, sure, but that felt out of character. Unneededly careful. So he got the healing done (the crack really hadn't been that bad) and headed back to try and ask for answers. The training time wasn't even over yet, and Killer had done what the King was looking for?

But when he gets back to the training room, there aren't any guards (there usually are) and the door was slightly ajar. Just enough for him to get a glimpse inside and catch the lil dialogue you had above. Ccino comforting Nightmare, and Nightmare. Well.

Killer knew that grown men didn't usually just, curl up like that. Nightmare, curled up in Ccino's arms, like some sort of kid. Shaking, his tendrils more active, more ferally yelling 'BAD, HURT, NO' but not a single one smacking into Ccino.

Killer had no clue what was going on there, but he knew it was something he shouldn't have seen, and he makes the choice to silently pull the door closed that extra inch. He thinks about it a lot, a LOT, and comes to no solid conclusion. Ccino obviously meant a lot to the King, but the way they interacted was *not* that of secret lovers. Not at all. So he decided he'd be more observant. Because what he saw back there was a vulnerable, hurt, *traumatized*, person. Killer didn't think a normal person would get that freaked out about an attack during training, anyhow, unless they had reason for it.

Then, the next day, Nightmare canceled training, but asked to see him. Checked on his arm wound, and apologized for reacting so harshly. If he had been thinking, then Killer wouldn't have gotten so badly hurt. (And Killer has a very stark realization that, maybe that freak-out was partly the attack, but partly worry for hurting *him* which feels insane.) But he actually plays it off, saying he can take more than that, before admitting the quick reaction-timinh was good. That they should train like that more often. (Queue Killer getting attached to his weirdly emotional King, and deciding he'll play along until he gets bored or dies. He definitely does neither. It also stops being a game.)

Ough- and Ccino!!!

Night would feel so so horrible the moment he found those old documents. I think his blood would run cold and he'd be horrified. (One at the thought that his mother would do that, two at the thought that *Dream* would do that, and three at a much more childish horrible cringe level of imagining Dream being with Ccino in that way because a) his Twin is bad at romance + Ccino is not his type, and b) Ccino deserves better!) And all of these kinda just dog pile him at once until he's an anxious mess... he probably focuses really heavily on that for a while, the kinda episode like in the drabble (asking Ccino about his freedom) happens several more times until Nightmare finally accepts it. (Probably when the Mask is being made, he has a few more attacks in worry of Ccino lying for his sake, but Ccino stomps out those fears quickly.)

And broooo. I know my tags went on about it, but the idea that Ccino wonders whether him stepping in was the right move then? Because, yeah, he had so many pressures and dreads, but in the moment all he knew was that his two charges were at odds, stressed, and one of them (the more flightly and afraid) now had godlike powers. Honestly, he was half convinced he'd be skewered getting between the teens, but it was his job, and it was what he *wanted* to do.

Also the image of Ccino getting between them? All dressed up and meant to be a perfect offering for a newly adult, newly god-like, Dream, getting between them... and facing Dream. Back turned to Nightmare, the one who was the obvious threat in any sane-person's eyes, because he knew that *Dream* was the one who was angry, who had already acted in violence (and fear, but less) and Nightmare was there one who was afraid and preparing to retaliate. In his mind, this was just another case of the twins getting into their rare squabbles. This time, Dream was ultimately the one who didn't try to talk it out. He had to show Nightmare that it was *Dream* who set the bad example first. A lil bit of showing trust and preying to the gods it came across.

But yeah. Just. Wild...

(And as a person who *just* thought of this, I gotta say that if Ccino hadn't gotten in the way there, Night would've definitely given into the Apple's reflex and killed Dream. The unfamiliar magic between them confused the Apple enough for Nightmare to realize what was going on-)

OH I almost forgot Dream w/ his sudden realization- Idk exactly where u were thinking this would go in the timeline (I read the 'with Blue' to imply sometime after the two of them ran away together, but it could *also* be later when they're in the Dungeon or smth-) But a teen Dream, now as old as Ccino was during the ritual, probably sleeping curled up next to Blue (because Blue is warm and it's safer to sleep close, obviously- nothing more-) and he has a weird stress Dream that compiles into Ccino's face and he just sits up. All sweaty and face a huge blush of yellow because "Oh gods noooo." Because it just clicked for him that his mother did *not* mean Ccino would be his as in 'your servant/butler/etc.' And she totally meant mate. Betroathed. Lil side-piece.

And he is just HORRIFIED because he can't fathom it. Not that Ccino wasn't handsome, but that was his babysitter! He was the one who gave him and his twin baths up until they could do it themselves! He fed them as toddlers when mother was too busy! He followed them around when they wanted to get into trouble and told them no! NOT someone he'd ever have feelings for, nor would he even humor the idea of making heirs. (Now it made sense why mother seemed so disappointed when he expressed that he thought the guard members were pretty or handsome (Pan King me-thinks) though.)

And Blue wakes up, because Dream is literally shaking in embarrassment and red hot confusion/frustration, and blearily asks him what's wrong. And. Dream just can't explain it. Blue comforts him anyways, assuming it was a night terror.

And... the haunting idea that Ccino's role for him was given to Night? He can't imagine his twin would do something like that, but he *had* always been Ccino's favorite... and then he spends like 3 nights in a row trying to forget that he even figured that out in the first place. It kicks off the solidification of his twisted perspective on the whole thing.

Gifted Drabble - NewAgeAU - Understanding

Hey @spotaus !! As promised :3 I got a little something for you!

Your drabble got me thinking and made me consider something. (also i am so sorry if i got the ages wrong. I really tried)

As always. Feel free to use whatever you want from it or just ignore what doesn't fit <3 I am just having fun and it is meant as a gift for you <3 (also to motivate you to keep writing more about it!)

*------------------------*

Nightmare gets off his horse as he stares at the castle.

Well. His castle now.

He is still not quite used to that. Refering to it with his castle instead of his mother's.

Even after almost 12 months. He still doesn't expect to see himself in the mirror. or maybe the problem is that he expects his old self. The young teen.

The weakling. The failure.

No focus.

He isn't that anymore. He now has the magic. He is the new powerful leader of his land. And he will make this work. Even if he still has no idea what he is doing.

No. He needs to get back and make sure no one tried to rebel against him. That no one tried to hurt Ccino while he was gone.

Nightmare gets off the horse and someone rushes over to take the horse. Nightmare stares at this person and figures out quickly it is the stablehand who has been taking care of the horses.

Nightmare looks over his shoulder and motions the new people to follow him. The set of brothers, the dog monster. and Killer.

Nightmare walks into the castle as he speaks "Some of the other servants will take you to your chambers to rest and clean up. Tomorrow the three of you will join some of my other staff to see what is needed and where you fit. Killer. You will-"

"My liege."

Nightmare blinks and looks over.

Ccino has appeared out of one of the servant secret passages and walks straight towards him. Nightmare can see, and feel, when Ccino takes in the new people and just who they are.

Ccino's face turns a bit harder and Nightmare can feel the annoyance and frustration in the air "My liege!" Ccino smiles brightly as he speaks "Have you eben succesfull in finding a possible knight?"

Killer chuckles behind him and mutters "someone is in trouble~"

Nightmare knows Killer is being sarcastic. But if only Killer knew how right he was.

Nightmare however could never be worried or afraid off Ccino. For him? Maybe. But never because of him. He gives a tiny nod. The only amount of respect their places and ranks allow them when others are near "Ccino." He waves into the direction of the new arrivals "These people will join my workers." He looks at the four new arrivals "This. Is Ccino. He is head of the house." a title that will never pass away from him. Not as long as Nightmare is in charge.

Ccino nods "Pleasure." he looks back at Nightmare "My liege. If you have the time. There is a matter we need to discuss."

Oh yeah. Nightmare is very much in trouble.

Nightmare's voice is still calm as he speaks "Very well. I will meet you in my study after i made sure they go to their chambers."

Ccino feels unamused but he nods with a bow before he leaves the hall with a quick turn.

Nightmare turns back to his new... servants? He never quite liked that word but it works. He turns to his servants and feel his tentacles slowly rise from their position on the ground. They slowly start to idle again as he makes sure the new people learn where their rooms are and where to get food.

He brings Killer to a room more seperate from the others. Beyond the guard positions. Just because Nightmare wants to give him a chance and the fact he doesn't fear him is refreshing doesn't make Nightmare forget how dangerous Killer is.

Fuck this was a mistake.

What if Killer hurts people here?

What if he hurts Ccino?

Killer looks around his room before lounging on the bed "So what is the deal with the other skeleton?" he grins and wiggles his eye brows "Little secret going on there?"

Ngihtmare needs a moment as he wonders what Killer could mean. Then it sinks in and Nightmare feels his tentacles all spasm as he shudders "No." the answer is final and harsh. Killer actually looks surprised.

Nightmare holds his sight and speaks slowly "I will only repeat this once and remember this well. I don't like having to repeat myself." he holds Killer's gaze "Ccino is head of the house. He will remain head of the house. Nothing anyone can say or do will change this." he holds his gaze before straightening himself again as he moves towards the door "Tomorrow we will start training."

Kilelr sputters "We?!"

Nightmare stops and shoots him a look "Obviously. How am I to keep track of your skills and promise if i don't oversee the training myself?" and he leaves the room.

He hurries back through th castle towards his study. Sinking in and out of shadows as his mind, body and soul all know where he wishes to go.

He stops by his study and enters it.

Ccino is already in there. Studying the old masks in the special glass casing.

Nightmare closes the door and Ccino turns to him with a glare "What were you thinking?"

Nightmare gets taken back to a year or two prior. When he was still small. When he had cut himself to practise for the ritual. He hadn't been able to sleep and had been nervous about the apple ritual already. He had wanted to practise his part. to perform a blood oath to promise loyalty until death to his twin.

Ccino had caught him with a knife out.

Nightmare blinks back into the here and now as Ccino looks at him expecting with his arms crossed.

Nightmare blinks as he looks to the side for a moment. How is it that even wiht him being taller than Ccino he still feels small compared to him? "They were innocent."

Ccino looks unimpressed as he crosses his arms "Now with less lies."

Nightmare blinks and shoot his traitorous tendrils a look. No doubt they did something to give his little slight lie away. Ccino jsut raises a brow as he taps his foot.

Nightmare speaks again "Most of them were innocent. I didnt want them to get hang for something they did not do."

Ccino hums as he waits "And the murderer?"

Nightmare looks at Ccino "how did you know?"

Ccino sighs but has a small smile on his face. an old fond feeling as ccino looks at him and the tiny part of nightmare that had been stressed relaxes. Ccino just keeps looking slightly amused "There is a reason i told you to get out more. you only hear so many things from people in the castle nightmare. You need to go out to hear everything from everyone. I know who he is because i go to the market sometimes."

nightmare gives aslow nod as he looks away. So Ccino knows that nightmare brought a serial killer home. great.

Ccino sighs and sits on the couch for visitors and Nightmare joins him instead of sitting in his own chair.

Ccino looks at him "Just... tell me what happened. Why did you decide this?"

Ngihtmare looks at his hands. again slightly shocked to see the goop. It never stains anything yet it feels like a reminder. It is dirty. it isn't the holy light the powers promised. it is weird and looks diseased which is fitting for him. someone who betrayed everyone. who betrayed his twin. He may have gone it to protect dream. But even dream doesn't see this.

Where does that leave him?

Ccino's hand rubs his cheek and Nightmare shakes himself out of it. Ccino looks so worried as he rubs his skull "Hey... it is okay... i am not mad at you. I am worried about you. I am sorry if it seemed like i was mad."

Nightmare knows ccino isn't mad at him. Not like that at least. Nightmare can feel that. But he likes that ccino still tells him as much too.

Nightmare sighs as he leans into the gentle hold and touch. Ccino had always been one of the few to hold him. As his and Dream's babysitter it had been his job. But Ccino had always truly cared about them both. The moment that Nightmare could feel emotions he had been shocked by that.

That Ccino held no hatred for him. Not even a little bit. He enver blamed either Nightmare or Dream for his situation.

Nightmare speaks softly "The... kngihts you picked out. they were amazing. They showed much promise and would have made fine warriors."

Ccino hums as he keeps rubbing his skull "But?"

Nightmare sighs "They hated me. Even if with time they would eventually grow loyal and accept their place. They would forever hold resentment towards me for making them come."

Ccino hums and nods "I get it. It were only options Ngihtmare. there will be more people who fit the job."

Nightmare feels another part of him relax. knowing that Ccino still understands him "Killer wasn't afraid."

Ccino hums questioning.

Nightmare speaks slowly "He wasn't afraid. Not of me. Not of his situation. He stood up when near me. He didn't cower and he didn't hide." he sighs as he leans into the hug. He shouldn't need these anymore. He is an adult now and not that awkward young teen anymore. Nightmare shouldn't still count this much on the other "He saw me and didn't hate me. He knew who i was and didn't hate me. It was... new."

Ccino still feels unsure but he holds him still "And that gave you hope? That maybe if soemone didn't start with that hatred they could maybe become truly loyal?"

Ngihtmare shrugs. He isn't quite sure. he didn't think that far ahead. He just didn't want to lose another person who didn't hate him.

Ccino sighs as he keeps rubbing his skull and the back of his neck "I won't say i trust him. Because i don't. And I worry about you. I am scared he will end up hurting you."

Nightmare rolls his eyes as he answers "I have yet to even lose a fight and i had almost no training." all because of his tentacles and his newfoudn power.

Ccino just holds him tighter "There are more ways someone can hurt you Nightmare."

Nightmare feels the fear of before return. THe idea that somoene would kill Ccino. "If... if him being here makes you feel unsafe i will return him to the guards."

Ccino laughs and shakes his skull "Ngihtmare I am fine. I am not scared for me."

Nightmare keeps holding him as he feels himself start to shake. fears he had been trying to ignore and push away return to the front of his mind "Waht if they realise just how important you are? What if they try to hurt you to hurt me? What if they kill you to hurt me? Ccino maybe it is better if you hide." hide... hide away... out of sight out of mind.

Ccino just rubs his neck "It is okay Nightmare. It is okay. They don't know. and even if they have an idea your reputation adn the past of this country will just make them think I am someone who will be used as sacrifice last. That i will be punished last or least."

Nightmare shakes as he keeps holding the one person who remained "What if they hurt you because of me?"

Ccino is so calm and sure "then it would be on them. Not you. You don't want others to hurt me. It wouldn't be your fualt Nightmare and I will never see it as your fault. It is okay."

Ngihtmare still feels unsure. He made it obviously clear to Killer that Ccino is improtant. Killer is smart and Nightmare has no idea what he could be planning.

Another thought enters his mind. Somethign he had found early on in his ruling.

A very very damning piece of paper. a slave contract.

Nightmare speaks softly "I am sorry you are stuck here..."

Ccino shrugs as he keeps rubbing his back "Not your fault."

Nightmare shakes as he holds him "I.... I can undo it... I can give you back your freedom..."

Ccino had been taken from his home. Sold to the castle with a very clear purpose. First to be a babysitter. and later... well... Drema had been planning to be all powerful and go from young teen to adult in just one ritual. There is a reason Ccino's age had been only 6 years older than them.

Ccino had been suposed to be Dream's from the very start.

Ccino hums "A nice thought. Not that i thought about that contract in a long time. It hardly matters nowadays. Not like I can just leave."

Nightmare feels his grip tighten and his tendrils curl around them. He doesn't want to let go of the one person who cared. The one person he could count on to help him. To give a single shit about Nightmare. But... but how long will it take before Ccino starts hating him? If Nightmare keeps him here?

Nightmare holds him close "I... I can get you a horse... I can give you gold..." He will just use some of the treasury. Ccino deserves it. "I can send some guards with you on your way. You could go wherever you want. Back to your family."

Ccino locks both his arms around his skull and hums softly. an old lullaby and Nightmare stops. The amount of memories almost hurt. It was always Ccino who held him on bad nights. Or when he was sad. Or when everyone pushed him aside again.

Ccino speaks sfotly "Nightmare. When I say i can't leave i don't mean i physically can't leave. It means i don't want to. I decided a while ago i want to stay here Nightmare."

Nightmare shakes but refuses to let go "What... what about your family?" Ccino's fmaily have to love him. Ccino is so amazing. There is no way he isn't missed dearly after he was stolen from them.

Ccino sighs sadly "Nightmare... They have been killed a long time ago. The day i was taken the guards made sure i knew there was nothing to return to. even if i ran." Ngihtmare feels himself freeze. why... why had he thought?

Ccino rubs his skull "It hurt a lot but i accepted a long time ago Nightmare. I accepted that you two were my family now... and well... now it is just you. and it is okay. I am okay with that. I will always support you Nightmare." he grins "You may be older now but i like to think i am still the older brother."

Nightmare feels aprt of himself break as he just sinks fully into Ccino's hold "please don't also leave me." it is weak. it is pathetic. He should be stronger than this. He should have been prepared for this.

Ccino just covers his skull wiht his body and holds him "I am not going anywhere Nightmare. I will be by your side. I swear on my soul."

Nightmare relaxes and lets himself enjoy the comfort he should not need this badly. He enjoys it and can't help but let his eyes slide around the room. His sight finds the masks and remembers.

The masks are the highest honour. only shared with those most special.

He thinks something catlike will fit his older brother.

[becomingbts]

NUMB - 01

Summary: It was hard to live on as if nothing happened. As if she didn’t lose her hands and one of her best friends in that accident. It didn’t help that her hands were everything she had and everything she was. Without them, she wasn’t sure she had any reason to breathe anymore.

Pairing: Y/N (fem) x Yoongi

Genre: Heavy angst and fluff

Warnings: deal with depression, suicidal thoughts, and difficult relationships.

~ 600 words

Note: Hello everyone, merry Christmas! I hope everyone has been doing well, as promised, here is the first drabble from the NUMB series. The story will be updated twice a week, so next update should be either on Thursday or Friday, I’m still thinking about what to do hehe. I think I’ll probably update every Tuesday and Thursday, I’ll see about that. The tag list is opened, don’t hesitate to ask to be added! Feedback is warmly welcomed, as always. Please take well care, much love, Dolly.

Her head was resting against her desk, her cheek pressed against the glass, eyes emptily looking at her favorite perfume bottle. It had been a while since she had seen it, she realized. Half empty, as if she had barely used it despite getting it more than ten years ago. Shouldn’t it be emptier by now? She had to admit that perfume had always been a delicate topic with her; she often felt dizzy if the smell was too much. It was even worse on herself than on other people. Regardless, she couldn’t remember the last time she used the bottle. (Y/N) didn’t have the energy to think, she merely breathed in and out, steadily. She couldn’t get herself to look at something else. She just stared at the pink bottle, wondering what it would feel like to spray it on herself again.

However, she did not move. She remained there, blinking slowly, while she heard footsteps behind her. She didn’t move as she listened to her boyfriend’s soothing voice announcing his presence. She heard him remove his coat and his shoes, slowly undressing in the corridor until he entered the small room she was in. He never made a lot of noise, worried about waking her up from a nap. She could have smiled at the thought had her mood been a bit brighter. A few minutes passed before she felt his presence behind her, yet she did not acknowledge him. She felt too tired to move.

“Do you want me to spray some on you?” He barely whispered, maybe this way, it would feel like a secret, like a precious moment shared between them, but she didn’t really care for those things anymore. He was trying to still create memories with her, she knew that. He was always trying his best to make sweet moments out of their dull daily life. But how could he still want to when she was… Like she was now?

“I shouldn’t waste it. Don’t bother.” Her voice cracked, she had not talked for the whole day, even when the in-home nurse came to visit and made sure she was doing okay. It felt weird to suddenly reply when she usually didn’t care to. Yet, she didn’t want to leave him unanswered. Even if she couldn’t understand why he still bothered with her, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t recognize his efforts.

“It’s literally there to be used, love. It wouldn’t be a waste.” She almost sighed, he didn’t understand, did he?

“I have no reason to wear perfume.”

“Do you need one? Can’t one just want to wear perfume and stay home the whole day? I don’t think that it necessarily has to be special. We can always buy a new bottle when this one is done, if needed.” She sighed softly. He was always trying, wasn’t he? He was always so gentle, patient and understanding. But he didn’t actually get it. He never did.

“Yoongi…” She sounded exasperated, tired, almost hurt.

“All right, no perfume. I get it.” His voice held a smile that she couldn’t understand. How could he still smile when she kept on telling him to stop whatever he was trying to cheer her up? “(Y/N)?” She did not acknowledge him once again, yet for some reason, he seemed to sense that she was listening.

“I love you.” She wanted to say it back. She really did. But she couldn’t. She gulped nervously, eyes brimming with tears, but Yoongi didn’t take her silence personally. He didn’t need to hear it. He knew. Yoongi knew that despite her silence, she didn’t love him any less.

It was her own self that she had stopped loving after her accident.

UPDATED EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY

TAGLIST: @fluffyydumplings, @harmonie-writes, @might-be-a-rat, @wobblewobble822​, @cuteipat (tell me if I forgot anyone!)

[lilyswh0re]

after - adrian pucey

date: july 22, 2022

summary: the aftermath

note: second part to strings. race and apperance isn't mentioned but y/n uses she/her

warnings: a couple swear words

a/n: two posts in one day is crazy for me. Ameila is giving Murray from ST hehe. The grammar is correct this time because I wrote this on my computer instead of my phone like i normally do. Also I learned how to do the keep reading break

tags: @limerenze @loverssfevers @ghostofscarley @dayangestre

Come morning time, y/n was alone again. Alone with hardly any recollection of what happened a few hours ago. Instead of breakfast, the families opted for brunch, which y/n had walked into. 

“Sit!” Her father encouraged her. The only open seat, unfortunately, being across from Adrian. While she didn’t remember exactly what she said, she knew it wasn’t nothing. He was so passive this morning it almost hurt to watch them interact.

“Toast?” He offered her the plate.

She nodded and took a half slice, “Thank you.”

“We’re going down to the beach later.” Adrian’s mother informed them. Y/n just nodded.

Y/n’s mind was still on last night, everything was in place but it wasn’t right. Amelia–Adrian’s oldest sister–seemed to notice too, as she could not stop giggling into her tea cup. 

Adrian wasn’t kicking or pushing her, he was being awfully gentle. “Orange juice?”

“Sure, thanks.” It was becoming unsettling, not just for her but for everyone else at the table. Their mothers were overjoyed by the sudden change, as their lifelong dream of their children being together might actually occur.

“DId you have fun last night, Y/n?” Amelia asked. Y/n’s eyes went to the side to look at her before turning her head to respond.

“Yea, I might go out again tonight.”

“I bet, let me know so I can join you. You should come with us, Ade.”

“I’m still tired from last night.”

“Didn’t sleep well?” Amelia pouted.

He squinted at her to stop, “No, not really.” He hadn’t slept at all. He couldn’t believe he pushed Y/n away completely. She had been around for so long, put up with all of his antics, or so he thought. Truthfully, she put up with it because she had to but she would complain about it every chance she got.

“I’m going for a bike ride before we leave,” Y/n stood up from her seat. She went up to her room to change and to review what could have possibly happened to prompt Adrian’s sudden sickly sweet behavior. Staring at the posters on the ceiling, she fell back into her bed. 

They went to the party, that part she remembered clearly but as the drinks rolled in, her memory faded. Adrian brought her home, she got in bed, she told him that she hates him- SHE TOLD HIM THAT SHE HATES HIM. Her palm came down to her forehead. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

She meant it though. All Adrian had ever done since third year was terrorize her and her friends. He wasn’t that 11,12 year old who wanted her to help him with transfiguration. He was now the 16 year old who flirted with girls he knows Y/n doesn’t like. He was the 16 year old who did everything in his power so Y/n couldn’t be able to bring home any boy who wasn’t him.

There was a knock on her door. “Come in.” It was him.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“You still wanna go on that bike ride? You’ve been up here a while.”

“Yea, I’m gonna go in a bit. You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

“To be fair, you were asleep all morning, it's past noon now.” Adrian smiled. It faltered when he realized you didn’t find it amusing.

“Adrian?”

“Yea?”

“Why are you like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like this! You’ve spent the past three years doing everything and anything to make me mad, to get under my skin. And then you act like you’re the picture of innocence!”

“You make me a jealous mess, Y/n! I’m sorry I’ve pushed your boyfriends off their brooms and hex them whenever they’re away from you!”

“You’re not entitled to me!” “I know that.” His voice was barely above a whisper. His head dipped back against the door frame.

“Just because our mothers want us together doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.I told you that as long as you treat me the way you do, I won’t go out with you and I meant it.” Her voice was firm but even if it had been wavering, Adrian knew it to be true.

He nodded and left.

Not long after, Amelia slipped in, giggling as she had been during brunch. “Lovers quarrel?”

“No.” Y/n pulled her new shirt down, “Your parents and my parents aren’t arguing.”

“Oh I know that. I was talking about you and Adrian.”

“We aren’t lovers and will never be.”

“Whatever you say.” She slipped out as smoothly as she slipped in, only her head was still inside the room, “Your brother and I have a bet, don’t let me down.” She winked.

“Get out. Amelia!” She chucked a pillow at the door.

Y/n rushed out herroom to the backyard, hoping no one else wanted to give their unwanted opinion. She got a running head start before hopping onto her bike.

“Bit mad, huh?” Her brother called out.

“Shut up, asshole!” The wind carried her string of insults to him as Y/n peddled away.

At the beach, the families set up a good distance from the water. Y/n had no intention of getting in the water so soon. So when she was asked to join a game of volleyball, she agreed almost instantly.

Adrian, on the other hand, got into the water as soon as he put his stuff down. He almost didn’t even realize when one of the boys wrapped his arms around Y/n to fix her form. He wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for his youngest sister who pointed it out. 

“Ads, who’s that with Y/n?’

“Just a friend.” He dove in, making Annabelle, who was on his shoulders, shriek at the cold water. 

They didn’t speak the entire time at the beach, until the very end.

“Adrian, can you please tell Y/n it’s time to go?” Her mother asked. Although he didn’t want to, he nodded and made his way towards her.

“Y/n, we’re leaving.” Adrian kept his distance from the pair. She turned to look at him as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the shining waters.

“Bye,'' she said softly to the other boy. 

The car ride home was full of chatter and laughter but Adrian was miserable. Though Y/n was doing much better than him, she also wasn’t doing amazing. 

Amelia leaned into her, “Why the long face? New boyfriend wasn’t adequate?”

Y/n scowled, “He’s not my boyfriend and he was…fine. And it’s his last day here before he goes back to America so…”

“Huh seems you were robbed of a summertime romance.” Amelia leaned back in her seat.

“I don’t want anything with him! He was just fun to talk to!” Y/n whisper yelled. Adrian whipped his head back to look at them and accidentally made eye contact with Y/n, who quickly turned to look out the window.

“Ah to be young and dumb,” Her brother sighed. He laughed at the thud from Y/n kicking his seat.

“You’re three years older than me dipshit!”

“Language!” One of the adults called out.

The rest of the summer continued like that. Barely any acknowledgments between the two.

They were now in their sixth year and Adrian had been made headboy. Y/n now found herself in an empty compartment, waiting for her friends to arrive. Adrian stepped inside, sitting in front of her. “Look, I know I’m a total arse to you and you will never date me but if we could just be friends.” 

Y/n looked at him for a moment. He was being sincere, something that wasn’t very common towards her. She nodded, “Friends.”

Maybe even more but all in due time.

[ragingadhd]

BOTW stands for Breath of the Wild, and TOTK is tears of the kingdom!

Ohohohoho you want me to drop lore? My go-to daydream for the past year? Absofuckinlutely

This is more or less a crossover au in which I’ve shoved some RA characters into the botw world and story. For the sake of simplicity, I won’t be explaining most parts of the botw and totk stories and instead focus on what I’ve changed.

Before I get too into it, I just want to say that I promise I am not just putting the faces of ra characters onto botw characters. I have tweaked certain roles and totally rewritten many many scenes in order to better fit the RA characters. A lot of that can’t be seen in this brief overview, but I promise it’s there, and my pride won’t let me go on until I clear that hehe

For botw, Horace more or less takes Link’s place. He wakes up after 100 years with no memory, and quickly realizes he has to stop the calamity (Cassandra takes Zelda’s place btw). After he gets off the great plateau and makes his way to Kakariko village, he meets Will who joins him on the journey bc by god he is not going to let Hyrule loose the legendary knight again. Will helps him adjust to Hyrule and recover his memories as best he can, but since he wasn’t there 100 years ago, there’s only so much he can do. As they free the divine beasts, the two of them quickly realize just how much this is a two person job. Horace quickly grows to see Will as more than some guy who’s there to help, just as Will grows to see Horace as more than the guy who wields the master sword. They slowly fall in love on their journey (this whole au is a big excuse for me to indulge in whorace tbh) and eventually face calamity Ganon together. Or rather, Horace fights Ganon while Will makes sure none of the monsters swarming Hyrule castle interfere. But thank god Will was not in that fight, because neither of them were expecting Ganon to turn into dark beast Ganon, and Will uses the bow of light to kill it.

Totk’s story is far from done yet since I still have some pretty big threads loose, but here’s the gist; Will, Horace, and Cassandra find Ganondorf’s mummy and he reanimates yada yada yada, the gloom attacks Will and corrupts his arm, as well as attack and decay the master sword. When the ground crumbles, Cassandra accidentally recalls herself to the past, Horace falls into an underground lake, and Will is saved by Rauru’s arm shortly before passing out.

Here’s where I put the biggest change to totk’s story; since Cassandra traveled to the past, it changed the timeline. I’m using this to explain the inconsistencies between botw and totk. It’s why there’s no Sheikah tech in totk, because in this timeline, it never existed in the first place (I’m debating if the divine beasts should be an exception to this tho). The magic from Rauru’s hand unintentionally made it so that Will remembers the original timeline while no one else does, just for some added drama lol.

The rest of the story is either the same as totk or not thought out enough yet for me to share it.

I also have a little version of the early years going on! It takes place a bit before Will is born, and it follows Halt and Crowley trying to stop the Yiga clan. I have three stories for it, but they’re all a bit too long for me to post here rn.

(Gonna tag @rangergathering now bc I forgot to before)

Gathering Assessment: AU!

This RA x BOTW/TOTK au has had me in a chokehold for the better part of a year now. Mostly it just swirls around in my head but sometimes it breaches containment and I have to bug everyone on ra tumblr about it. This is one of those times.

I really wanted to draw some more stuff for this prompt, but I got sucker punched with the flu and I don’t have energy for shit rn lol. Anyway I hope y’all enjoy Will and Horace and the dishes they made :3

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Aaahhh can I pls request a family imagine where Cheka draws on his arm with markers so that he and Leon have matching lion tattoos?? (=^w^=)

Tagging @jessamine-rose, as this was originally their request, made off-anon.

Tumblr mobile was being dumb and didn't save the completed version of this before posting. This just happens sometimes when I have stuff in my queue 😭 I had to take the initial post down, rewrite the other half of the imagine that didn't save, and then repost it (which is what you're looking at now).

Imagine this...

“... tan! Ojitan!”

Leona groaned, tumbling onto his back and pressing a pillow over his ears. No dice--his nephew’s persistent voice still cut through. A familiar, high-pitched and cheery whine that made Leona’s head throb unbearably.

“What is it?” he snapped, glaring at Cheka from beneath his pillow arch. “Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep here?”

“You’re still sleeping? It’s so early in the day, there’s so much time left to do stuff.”

"That's precious napping time for me."

"You're so weird, Ojitan."

Leona let out a sardonic rumble of laughter. "You have no idea."

The cub grinned, putting a hand on his uncle’s shoulder and gently shaking him. “C’mon rise and shine! I have something cool to show you!”

Ugh.

Leona rolled his eyes, but relented with a sigh. (From past experience, he knew that if he didn’t, he would soon find Cheka sitting on his on his stomach.) “Make it quick, then.”

“Hehe, okay! Guess what I have?”

Leona’s gaze was immediately drawn to Cheka’s right hand, which had remained behind his back the entire time. Clutching onto a drawing pad, no doubt, judging from the markers and torn papers scattered all over the floor of the room. The efforts of childhood whimsy and wonder.

Instead of smiling, Leona frowned. “I thought I told you to make it quick. And I despise guessing games.”

“That’s no fun, though!” Cheka leaned forward on his tip-toes. “Guess, guess! Only one time is good.”

“... A monkey’s uncle.”

The cub’s free hand flew to his mouth, attempting to shove his giggles back in, but to no avail. “That’s silly!! You’re not a monkey’s uncle, you’re my uncle--and I’m not a monkey, I’m a lion!”

“I wouldn’t have known that if you hadn’t told me just now,” he replied sarcastically. “Thanks so much for enlightening me.”

“You’re welcome! Hehe, I’m surprised I know more than you do.” Cheka flashed a grin, ever the oblivious child. “Okay, thanks for waiting! It’s time for my big reveal!”

“Oh, goodie.”

Cheka revealed his right hand, which was balled into a tiny fist. His fingers unfurled, revealing... nothing in his palm. Leona stared down at the emptiness, his expression blank, touched with a little dubiousness.

“... Are you surprised?” Cheka looked hopeful.

Leona threw his head back and laughed. “Is this some sort of a joke, furball? If it is, it’s not a very good one.”

“That’s only half of the surprise! The other half is... this!”

Cheka reached for his left sleeve and yanked the fabric up, revealing a flash of ink upon his caramel-colored skin. Black as burnt sugar, pointed teeth and a mess of a mane sprawling out... not unlike the dark swirls that danced upon Leona’s own left bicep.

“Ta-daaah!!”

His eyes bulged. “That’s...”

... A really crappy imitation of my tattoo.

“Cheka. When the hell did you find the time to do this?” Leona demanded, thrusting a finger at the marker-made mess on the boy’s arm.

“You were napping up until a little while ago, so I sat around and looked at your arm to copy it on mine!”

“You were watching me sleep?!”

“I needed a model! I can’t remember what the tattoo looks like from memory....” Cheka’s ears flattened, worry marring his innocent face. “Um, Ojitan... Could it be that you’re angry with me?”

“... I don't care. Better you than Rook,” Leona grumbled, sinking back into his bed. “You’d better wash that off before you head home. The servants will be beside themselves seeing their impressionable little prince like this.”

Leona grimaced at the thought over their beady eyes bearing into him again. As though he was not already regarded with enough scorn. To them, he was less like a man and more like a wild beast. Simultaneously feared and hated.

“Nuh-uh! I’m never gonna wash it off, cuz I wanna keep matching with you!” Cheka declared stubbornly. He flexed his left arm, causing his shoddily done lion’s mane to flicker. “I’m gonna be just like you one day! I’ll be smart, and strong, and cool... Oh! And I’ll even be a Magical Shift star, too!!”

“Don’t make me laugh. There are tons of role models for you out there. Better people to look up to and idolize, like your old man. After all, you are his flesh and blood... and the prized prince of the savanna.”

“What if I want to be like Papa and Ojitan?”

“You’re chasing an impossible dream.” The words came out more strongly than he had intended them to, each syllable dropping like a cement brick. “If you were smart, you’d know when to quit.”

You’d accept second place and be done with it already.

“... You don’t want to follow in my footsteps.” Leona waved a hand, his tone bitter. The once vibrant viridian of his irises had dullened, twisting into something darker.

“Your future’s brighter than mine. It’s so bright, it hurts my eyes to look at it,” he spat, his spirit shining with spite. “That’s what’s waiting for you, so you’d better take it before someone else comes along to try and steal it from you... someone like me.”

Cheka went quiet, staring at his uncle with a startled expression. The look of an antelope ensnared in a predator’s trap. Hurt and fear, all culminated into one. “Ojitan...”

He’s the same as them. I should have known.

“Do you get it now? I’m not someone worth some wide-eyed kid’s admiration,” he snarled, turning away from Cheka--afraid to meet that sparkling gaze, full of endless possibilities. “If you understand that much, then leave, and--OOF!!”

A small body tackled into his from behind, cutting Leona off. His assailant planted their face against his broad back, and their scrawny arms wrapped around his waist to give a squeeze.

“Leona Ojitan... I didn’t understand everything you said just then, but... I think I kind of understand. You’re... hurting right now, aren’t you? It hurts so much that you don’t know what to do.”

“Me... hurting?” Leona scoffed, even has he balled his hands into fists. His fingernails dug into his palms, leaving marks. “Ridiculous. You’re imagining things.”

“I don’t think it’s imaginary.”

“... What do you know? You’re just a kid.”

“I know lots of things!” Cheka tightened his grip on his uncle, his muscles straining under his skin, the lion of his makeshift tattoo stretching thin. “Like when you hurt like this, a hug’ll make it all feel better! Papa and Mama told me! So... Until it stops hurting, I’ll keep hugging you like this!”

“You’ll what?!” Leona paled, starting to buck and flail against his nephew. He attempted to pry him off, only to have the cub immediately cinch back onto him moments later. “O-Oi, Cheka...!! Let go, I don’t want--no, I don’t need any hugs, damn it!!”

“Hehe! Nope, I can’t do that! Our arm marks match, Ojitan! So I want our smiles to match, too!” The cub squealed, rubbing his cheek against his exasperated uncle’s. “You can’t run away from me!”

“This is why I told you to wash off that stupid marker...!!”

[m4tthewmurd0ck]

Congratulations on 200! For your ‘200 Followers Celebrarion’ can I request 3 from the MCU list for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker?

thank you so much! ahh that was my favorite prompt from the mcu list hahaha i’m so happy it’s the first request! love my babies kate and yelena! also i did a little more than the prompt, had to include the scene because it’s one of my favorites. click *HERE* to check out my writing celebration and send in a request!

𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐘 ~ (𝚃𝚘𝚖 𝙷𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍) 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚡 (𝙵𝚎𝚖) 𝙰𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛! 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

word count: 5.8k

a/n: DON’T LOOK AT THE TAGS, CONTAINS SPOILERS hehe. this takes place after nwh. obviously an au, so any differences you note from the films and disney+ shows are on purpose just for the sake of easier writing for this story :) just to name a few: tony is alive, steve didn’t go back to be with peggy but he did step down and give the shield to sam, who accepted it + no john walker storyline, i also couldn’t kill my baby nat, and yelena is in the picture too. there are a few other differences which will be obvious once you read but i won’t give too much away. enjoy!

Your task was simple. Find out who Spider-Man is, so that you can bring him to the compound. There were understandably a lot of questions. The biggest one being how can someone fight alongside the Avengers, be part of the Avengers, and then turn around and do… all of this? You were just as shocked as anyone, considering that Spider-Man had been your partner on missions ever since he joined the team.

But now that you thought about it, it was a little odd. How had you worked alongside whoever was under that suit for so long and you’d never seen their face? Of course, you didn’t remember any of it. Not only did you at one point know the boy under the mask, but for the past year up until Strange made everyone forget, you and Peter had been more than just friends / partners.

Now, all you remembered was your time working with Spider-Man. And all you ever heard about him now was that he was the reason that Mysterio was dead, and that not only was he not a hero, but he should be considered an enemy. It seemed a little dramatic, but given that you were a former Black Widow, you figured you didn’t have much room to talk.

There were guesses going around within the team about who Spider-Man might actually be. Little did you all know, that you were all way off.

Bucky had guessed that he was a former assassin like the 2 of you. And while you both had gotten a second chance, maybe he didn’t have anyone to show him that he didn’t have to resort to his old ways, so he went back to what he knew. You were then quick to point out that it would then mean that you all failed him, because it wasn’t that long ago that Spider-Man was part of the team.

Thor briefly considered that it might be Loki behind it all. After all, as he loved to remind everyone, he once transformed himself into a snake and when Thor picked the snake up, Loki transformed back into himself and stabbed his brother. But that seemed to be a big stretch. Ever since you had known the trickster, he’d never done anything as big as this. Thor then countered, saying that Spider-Man and Loki had never been in the same room at the same time. But you reminded Thor how far his brother had come. And you spoke to Loki, who was not-so-secretly terrified that everyone would think it was him. He gave you his word that it wasn’t, and you believed him. Especially after hearing him say how he would’ve chosen a much better name and suit.

Other guesses ranged from Yelena thinking he was just a wannabe Avenger who didn’t plan ahead and ended up killing someone he didn’t mean to, Sam thought maybe he was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and this disguise was a way for him to get away with more crimes, and you’d all just missed the signs, and Tony was mostly with Yelena, saying maybe he was just a super fan who took things too far trying to prove himself. You and the others preferred not to guess. There didn’t seem to be a point.

Then one day, Sam pulled you aside and asked if you’d be up for a solo mission. You were the youngest one on the team, and at first questioned if he was talking to the right Avenger. But, he was the captain, and you’d always had faith that he knew what he was doing, so you said yes. And then he told you exactly what the mission was.

“But why me? How am I supposed to find this person when we don’t even know where he lives anymore?”

“If he ends up being some young kid, we’ll all go to jail if Bucky is the one who’s basically stalking him. Nat already said don’t send her because she’d have some things to say to whoever that is, and by things to say I assume she means she’d kick his ass, so that leaves you and Yelena as the best choices. My little assassin spies!” He ruffled your hair, knowing how much you hated that. “Really though, before I even considered who / how to go about this, she approached me and asked that it not be her because she isn’t ready for solo stuff yet. You’re the best option anyway, you know how to move quietly, and your powers would be the most useful in this situation.”

(((because i’m unoriginal as fuck when it comes to thinking of powers, let’s just say you’re basically a younger wanda + the energy glows whatever color you want it to lol)))

“Okay,” you sighed, finally caving in. “But where do I even start?”

“Well he’s obviously not working with us anymore so that’s out, and he doesn’t patrol like he used to, but there have been sightings of him around at night in Queen’s so maybe start there. We can put you up in a temporary safe house, it’s actually a unit in an apartment building. Maybe do your sleuthing stuff, follow him if you can, and see if he’ll voluntarily come in and talk to us?”

It was just 24 hours later that Happy dropped you off in front of your new temporary home. You didn’t want to draw too much attention to yourself, so you convinced Sam to let you just go in alone from the beginning. It wouldn’t do any good if Captain America was seen escorting you to your new apartment. All you had was a large suitcase and a box. They were filled with clothes, plus ‘any spy shit you might need’ as Sam had put it. It wasn’t much, but you had done that on purpose. Either you’d work out who Spider-Man was within a few days, or you’d return to the compound and figure out a backup plan.

After spending half an hour unpacking the few decor items you brought, you weren’t sure what to do. Spider-Man only ever went out at night, and it was now 4pm so you still had hours to go until the sun went down.

Time went by agonizingly slow. You flicked through every single channel on TV, and couldn’t find any interesting shows or films to watch. Then, just to pass more time, you forced yourself to take a nap. That ends up being interrupted when Bucky calls you half an hour after you fall asleep, to settle an argument about who you’d save first if the compound was on fire, him or Sam.

“…in this scenario why can’t you both get yourselves out?”

“Because… just answer the question! If the building was on fire and you only had time to knock on one of our doors and help one of us escape, it would be me, right? The former Winter Soldier who helped you through a tough time when you first joined the team because I could relate to you more than anyone else? Me, your old pal Bucky, right?”

You could hear Sam in the background “shared trauma is NOT allowed in this discussion!”

“The hell it isn’t! Your suit can also make you fly! I can’t. Doll, seriously, you’d save me right?”

“I— how did this even come up? You know what, you two just use your best guess who I would save. I have to go find Spider-Man now goodbye!” You laughed as you hung up, hearing them both shout at each other that they know you’d pick them.

Eventually, the sun sets and you change into the suit that Tony had made for you just for this. Your normal one was white, and he made you a different one, similar to what you wore to train, that was black since you’d be going out at night.

(((suit by earthsangxl on pinterest)))

Once you slipped out of your window and were up on the roof, you realized that you really had no idea where to begin. Sure, there were Spider-Man sightings at night, but were they every night? And the land that was considered Queen’s was technically over 100 miles, so you also had no idea if you were even in the right area.

For the first half an hour, you stood on the roof and looked around, tried to listen for… you had no idea what. Then you decided that standing around was only going to get you so far, so you began to make your way across the rooftops, pausing every couple of minutes to look down at the people below.

That first night was a complete fail. Not only did you not find Spider-Man, but you hadn’t even caught a glimpse of him. You did manage, however, to stop 2 attempted robberies. And you could already read the headlines about how the Avengers were now sending out their younger members to take care of smaller crimes.

You immediately considered calling Sam and telling him you needed a better way to do this, maybe you could come back and just hack into the street cameras and see if you’d spot him that way. But you knew that he chose you for a reason, so you decided to tough it out. 3 nights, that was how long you gave yourself. Night 1 was a fail, but you’d do this 2 more times and if at the end of night 3 you still hadn’t made any progress, you’d call and ask the team for help.

Night 2 was interesting, but ultimately also failed. You ventured a lot further this time, and ended up in Hell’s Kitchen since it wasn’t that far from Queen’s. You saw Daredevil on the roof of a building across the street from where you were, and whispered-yelled “hey Matt!” knowing damn well he could hear you. He froze, then chuckled before giving you a little wave. You figured out his secret a long time ago, and he often confided in you if he needed someone to listen.

Just 20 minutes later, you found yourself lounging around on Matt’s couch, while he made you both coffee using some new fancy machine that Foggy had gifted him for his birthday. “Why are you all the way in Hell’s Kitchen, this late at night?”

You were an only child, and while the Avengers were definitely your family now, it still made you happy when Matt went into protective big-brother mode.

“I wasn’t fighting off any bad guys, I promise. Well not that many anyway. Though if I happen to come across more— I’m getting off topic, I’m looking for someone. You’ll probably lie even if you do know who he is but do you know Spider-Man?”

He shook his head, “no. And doesn’t he usually stick to Queens?”

“Yeah but I’ve been looking for him for hours and I got bored, you can only jump or swing across so many rooftops before you feel like you’re going crazy. I don’t know how I’m supposed to find this guy. He obviously doesn’t want to be found, which makes it that much harder.”

“But why are you by yourself?”

“Because I think a few alarms might go off in peoples heads if they noticed all of the Avengers trying to sneak around at night. Besides, I can defend myself.”

Matt sighed, knowing you were right, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. “At least let me know next time you’ll be out by yourself, alright?”

“Well I’ll be out every night until I find this guy.”

“What’s the Avenger’s big interest with him again?”

“He used to be one of us,” you sighed, ��and I worked closely with him for years. If I do find him, I’m not saying I’ll let the others know right away. I just… I want to know why. I have these memories, but they don’t make sense.”

An hour later, you were back at your apartment. Matt had insisted on going with you to make sure you got home safe, and you agreed because you knew even if you said you’d be fine, he’d do that creepy thing where he followed from a somewhat decent distance and then he’d just lurk in the shadows anyway.

Day 3, AKA your final day before you called Sam and asked for help, you were bored out of your mind. You did whatever you could to occupy yourself all day, but that only got you so far. You even went out in normal clothes and a baseball cap and just walked around aimlessly. But you weren’t even sure what you expected to find. It’s not like you’d look up and see Spider-Man waving his arms, telling you to come talk to him.

At 2pm, you realized that you had yet to eat lunch, so you wandered in search of somewhere to get food.

Delmar’s, you tilted your head as you stood across the street. Why was that so familiar to you? You tried to think, and then remembered that you’d gone a couple of times, not long after you started being partnered with Spider-Man. Could this place be a clue?

A little bell above the door announced your arrival, and a few seconds later you were greeted by a kind man. “There she is! I was wondering when you’d come back.”

A little fragment of an old memory came back to you. You did know this man. Mr. Delmar, he owned the place and just the 2nd time you went, he had already remembered your order. But who were you here with? You didn’t know anyone in Queen’s.

“Sorry it’s been so long, I haven’t had much time to myself.”

“You want the usual?”

You nodded, ashamed to admit that you didn’t remember what your usual actually was. “That’d be great, thanks.”

Mr. Delmar refused your money, but you snuck $20 into the tip jar when he wasn’t looking. He insisted that it was on the house, he loved the Avengers and it was an honor that you were eating his sandwiches.

“Ah there he is! My other regular!”

You turned around and saw a brown hair brown eyed boy who looked to be about your age. When he saw you, he froze for a couple of seconds. Then he quickly recovered and stepped up to the counter to order. You didn’t think anything of it. Some people tended to freak out whenever they were around you or anyone else on the team.

“Number five with pickles, smashed down real flat?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Weird, it didn’t seem to be a common thing to order your sandwiches that way, so what are the odds this stranger had the exact same order as you? The menu was pretty limited at Delmar’s though, so you once again brushed it off.

“Peter, meet my other best customer. She hasn’t come around in a while, but now she might give you a run for your money!”

You and Mr. Delmar were completely unaware of the fact that Peter already knew you, and that he was the one that introduced you to this place. It killed him to have to smile and nod and act like he was meeting you for the first time.

“I-it’s nice to meet you. I’m Peter,” he stuck his hand out, cringing at how awkward you must think he is. But you smiled and shook his hand, and he hated the fact that your touch still felt so familiar to him, while he was nobody to you.

You introduced yourself again, then felt your phone buzzing in your back pocket. “Well I should get going. It was nice meeting you Peter, and bye Mr. Delmar. I promise I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that!”

You couldn’t shake the weird feeling you got all the way back to your apartment. Why the hell was Peter so familiar to you?

That feeling hadn’t gone away by the time it was dark out, but you forced all thoughts of him out of your mind as you suited up and made your way to the roof again. You looked down at the other buildings and people just going about their lives, and just hoped that tonight worked. You’d find Spider-Man, and you’d be able to talk to him.

No. Fucking. Way.

Your eyes widened as you glanced down and saw… Spider-Man? Climb out of one of the windows below you. He lived in your apartment?! You immediately ducked, not wanting to risk being seen. Now that you knew where he lived, perhaps it was better to wait until he came back from patrolling or whatever he did. You saw what unit it was, now maybe you could just go knock on his door and then you’d right away know the man behind the mask.

After a minute, you slowly looked over the edge again, and saw Spider-Man already a few buildings away. Luckily he was heading in the opposite direction, so he didn’t see you. Once he was out of sight, you made your way back to your apartment. What the hell were you supposed to do now? You had no idea how long he patrolled for. Would he be back in an hour? 2? Would he be out until the sun came up? You supposed there was only one way to guarantee that you’d know exactly when he came home, without risking him leaving again before you had the chance to knock.

Using the lock picking skills that Nat taught you (and that Yelena helped you perfect), you soon found yourself inside Spider-Man’s apartment.

Whoever he was, you already felt bad for him. The apartment was so… bare. While you didn’t go poking around in drawers or cabinets, you looked at whatever was already out, and that wasn’t much. No photographs, no art on the walls, no furniture other than a small table in the kitchen / dining room, and was a studio apartment so if you looked just last the kitchen, you could see his ‘bedroom’ too. But even that held no clues to his identity.

As much as you wanted to look around for other clues, you forced yourself to sit on the only chair at the table. But after only a few minutes, you got up and paced back and forth.

What would you say when Spider-Man climbed back through the window? What if he just freaked out and called 9-1-1? How would you even explain how you found him without sounding like a stalker? Although, I did break into his apartment, you think to yourself. The time for feeling worried about breaking any laws has long passed.

After another 10 minutes of wandering around the tiny apartment, you began to feel hungry.

Shit. You’d forgotten to eat in your excitement to get over here. You could run back to your apartment and quickly have something, but then you risk him coming back and possibly leaving before you return.

You turn your head a little to the left, and your eyes light up when you see a familiar blue and yellow box sticking out of one of the cabinets.

Hmm, haven’t had Kraft Macaroni & Cheese since I was a kid.

As you scooped some of the macaroni into a bowl once you’d finished, it occurred to you that this was a little rude. But you were hungry and determined to talk to Spider-Man tonight, so those thoughts left your mind fairly quickly.

Just as you’d taken your second bite, you heard the window slide up. You instantly stood up and placed your mask back on. Bucky had insisted that you take it and wear it. You pointed out that you never fought with one and the whole world knew what you looked like, but he insisted anyway.

Spider-Man jumped through his window, then turned around to slide it closed. How the hell has he not seen you yet?? You decide you should make your presence known before he finally realizes there’s someone else in the room.

“Hi, I know you don’t know me but I just want to—”

“Ah!” Without thinking, Peter grabbed the closest object within reach and threw it at you. Luckily, it was just a small lamp. Unfortunately, it was a lot heavier than it looked.

When it hit you on the forehead, you fell. Enhanced healing caused you to just jump back up, not worried because you knew whatever injury you sustained would be completely gone by morning.

“Okay… ouch.”

Peter turned on the lights and once again froze, recognizing you instantly. “OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY!” He took a few steps towards you, but stopped when he noticed you taking just as many steps back.

“Are you always this apologetic when people break into your apartment?”

Oh, right. He had to pretend he didn’t know you. But the Avengers were pretty famous, so at least he could pretend to know of you. “N-no. No. I just… ohmygodyourheadisbleeding—”

“I’m fine,” you reassured him, using the back of your hand to wipe away some of the blood. “I’ll heal fast, trust me. Now can we talk? I’m guessing by your reaction that you know who I am?”

He nodded, mumbling your superhero name.

“Well, you must be hungry from… being Spider-Man, right? Mac and cheese?” You motioned to the stove, where Peter only just noticed the pot on top.

“I— you made food in my kitchen??”

“Well I was starving and I had no idea how long you were going to be, you took forever! So I just made myself some food. I promise I’ll come back and bring you a box to replace the one I used. Are you honestly telling me you’re not hungry right now? It’s really tasty.” You walked over to the drawers in the kitchen and began to open and shut them, looking for the cutlery drawer.

“Yeah I know what boxed mac and cheese tastes like, y— my old girlfriend used to make it for us all the time okay I know… I know it’s delicious.”

“Forks, forks…” You paused, having finally found the drawer. You picked up the one object in your hand and turned around, “no… you have ONE fork?!”

Peter scoffed, crossing his arms. He was really having to put on a show that he didn’t know who you were. Truth is, he knew this was exactly how you’d react even if you did remember him and this was just your first time at his new apartment. “I— I’m one person.”

“That’s so weird. What’s your name?”

“What?”

You slid the mask off of your face. “Come on. I know where you live. You know who I am, I think you can trust me with your name.”

“I… Peter… Parker,” he sighed, knowing you were right. As he removed his mask, he knew that even if he didn’t tell you, you’d be able to figure it out since you were able to find out where he lived. You didn’t even seem phased that the name he just uttered and the person behind the mask was the same one from Delmar’s not too long ago.

“Peter, this is not cutlery. This is not cutlery.” Now you felt even more bad for the guy. If he only owns a single fork, he must not have people over.

Okay, think, Peter thought to himself. He had to act like he thought you were just a crazy Avenger who broke into his house because you somehow figured out he was Spider-Man. “I am not just gonna sit and have dinner with you after you tried to kill me and then just broke into my house.”

Now it was your turn to scoff. “I did not try to kill you! A, I’m an Avenger and that probably wouldn’t look good on my resume if I killed our friendly although not-so-friendly according to the news Spider-Man. B, I didn’t break anything to get into your apartment so did I really break in? Your lock is very easy to pick, you’re lucky I’m the first one that tried. And C… you’re literally Spider-Man so maybe stop being so defensive, please? I really am just here to talk.”

I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to literally shatter into pieces, but yup, it’s happening, Peter thought. When he first joined the team, being that you were the same age, Tony sent you to talk to him. And when he opened the door to May’s apartment and saw you standing there, he must’ve been thinking the worst because you hadn’t ever seen him so terrified. “I really am just here to talk,” you’d reassured him then. How different those same words sounded now.

“O—okay.”

You went to the kitchen sink and washed your bowl and fork. You decided to take matters into your own hands, where the food was involved, so you scooped the remainder of the mac and cheese into another bowl and got a fork. On a whim, you then opened Peter’s fridge and bent down, an ‘aha!’ let out as you found a bottle of sriracha. You squirted some of the red sauce into the bowl, then handed it over to Peter.

He was a little in shock. You remembered that he like sriracha with his mac and cheese. How was this possible? He decided not to question you, instead mumbling a soft “thank you”.

“What happened? With Mysterio?”

“Haven’t you watched the news?” Even as he spoke, when Peter looked at you, he was amazed that despite the fact that he was still essentially a stranger to you, he could tell you genuinely cared and wanted to hear his side of the story. “I just mean… people seem to already know what happened.”

“I want to hear it from you. And I know you don’t know me, well like personally outside of the fact that I’m an Avenger and we used to work together on missions, and this is the first time I’ve seen your face, but you can trust me. I’ve done my fair share of bad things too.”

This caught his attention. You very rarely (and completely understandably) talked about your time as a Black Widow. In fact, he knew that Bucky and Nat were the only ones that you were comfortable enough to really confide in. You’d confessed one night that you didn’t want to talk about it with him too much because you were worried it would scare him away.

Seeing the way he looked at you as you spoke, you told him more. Not all the details, but the basics of how you came to be enrolled in the Black Widow program, how you were freed by Nat and Yelena, and how you still partially blamed yourself for the things that you were forced to do. “I know— Bucky says it’s not my fault, it’s not any of our fault, but I still can’t help but think it is, you know? And I just want to do good now, I want to help people. So when I saw you on the news, I thought there had to be more to the story. I may not know you, Peter, but I know Spider-Man. He was only ever good the entire time I knew him. So if you want to tell me what happened, I’ll listen.”

“How did you know I liked sriracha on my mac and cheese?”

You were silent, not expecting him to ask that of all questions. “I… huh?”

“After you put it in the bowl. You put some sriracha before giving it to me. Why?” He was trying to gauge just how much you remembered. You seemed to have some memories, just unaware that they were with him.

“I— I don’t know. I just did it. Sorry,” you leaned against the counter, now puzzled about why you did that too.

“If I tell you everything, you’ll think I’m crazy.”

You laughed, trying to make him feel more comfortable, “Peter I share a floor on the Avengers compound with a former Winter Soldier who’s over one hundred years old. And I can do this,” you raised your left hand, causing the energy to glow around it and Peter’s bowl to lift just a few inches off of the table. Once the bowl was set back down, you shrugged. “Nothing seems crazy to me anymore.”

He closed his eyes, wondering what he should do. But then he looked back at you, and you were looking at him the same way you always did, before you forgot who he was. With the same sense of kindness, and care, and he knew that he could trust you.

So… he told you everything. You both moved to the couch to be a little more comfortable, and Peter spent the next hour telling you every single thing, giving you the long-story-short version of events from the moment he was bit by the spider, to right now sitting here with you. You sat back, not doubting him for a second. It all sounded so crazy that it had to be true. He didn’t want to scare you off with how much he knew, but he told you little facts and stories that there’s no way he could’ve known unless you’d told him. And you wouldn’t have told him unless you knew him.

“And we… we were together?” You looked at him, and noticed him quickly wiping away a few tears.

“Yeah, we were.”

You scooted closer, suddenly feeling like you needed to be near him. When you gently put a hand on his face, he leans in to your touch, sighing as he closes his eyes. He missed you more than anything in the world. “I wish I could remember all of it. I’m sorry I don’t.”

“No, it’s my fault. I— I was the one who asked Dr. Strange to make everyone forget. And I thought yeah it might take awhile, but I’d come find you and make everything alright again. But life got complicated and I thought after all of this stuff with Mysterio, you wouldn’t want to know me anymore.”

“But I do know you Peter,” you smiled, reaching up to run your hands through his hair. “My mind may not remember you as a person, but I have these memories and I don’t think I could explain it other than the fact that my heart somehow remembers, as cheesy as that sounds. Like you said, little things like remembering your hot sauce on your mac and cheese, and even at Delmar’s I couldn’t put my finger on it but you felt so familiar. I swore I knew you even though to me I hadn’t seen you before.”

You were both silent for a moment. When you slowly removed your hand, Peter took it in his, now desperately craving your touch after having felt it again. “I just, I didn’t know what to do. And I still don’t. The world won’t believe me as quick as you did sweetheart.”

“Stephen.”

“Huh?”

“We need to talk to Stephen. He helped make everyone forget, and I’m not saying he should help make everyone remember after you told me what happened, but he’ll know what to do. And even if he doesn’t believe you at first, I’ll be right there. There has to be something we can do, the whole world can’t just keep on hating you for something that you didn’t even do.”

For the first time since losing May and everyone forgetting who he was, Peter was filled with hope. You may not remember him 100%, but you were now on his side and you believed everything he told you. Maybe things really could be fixed, at least on some level.

You both sat and talked for a little while longer, mostly you asking Peter questions about your relationship, and occasionally him asking you about how you’ve been doing since forgetting him. Then you came up with a rough plan, that wasn’t really a plan. You’d go to visit Stephen, and Peter would go to but he’d wait outside while you talked and explained as best you could. Although you didn’t work closely together, Stephen knew what you could do and he trusted you enough that you hoped he’d believe you.

“Maybe we should wait until it’s not, you know, pitch black outside,” you walked over to the window and glanced up at the moon. In both of your excitement at now having a plan, you were ready to rush out of the door right then and there. “I can come back first thing in the morning and then we can—”

“Will you stay, please?” Peter was terrified that if you left and went to bed, you’d somehow forget who he was by the time morning came around.

You nodded, standing up and finally stretching your arms. “I’m just gonna go take a shower and change, I’ll come back as soon as I’m done okay?” You put a hand over Peter’s reassuringly, and were a little surprised when he pulled you in for a hug, squeezing you tight. But after being in his arms for only a second, you wrapped your arms around him too. And this was another moment your body confirmed he was telling the truth. He felt like home.

“I’m gonna shower and change too, get out of this suit. I’ll leave my door unlocked incase you’re done before I am. You can just come in.”

After you went your separate ways, you took the fastest shower possible and changed into sweatpants and a plain shirt. When you made your way back to Peter’s apartment, you knocked before opening the door. You heard the shower still going from the bathroom, so you wandered around the apartment again, this time feeling a lot more comfortable.

On the other side of the couch, was a box that you hadn’t noticed before. It just one of those small brown boxes that had all 4 sides folded to keep it shut. Unable to contain your curiosity, you opened the box. And nothing in the world could’ve prepared you for the photograph you were looking at.

You didn’t know but it was taken the day Stephen made everyone forget. And it wasn’t you, or Peter, or MJ, or Ned, or anyone that took the photo. It was Karen, a photo taken by Peter’s suit, so it was from his point of view. When Peter was looking through all that Karen had captured on his old laptop one night, he stumbled upon the photo. And he knew it was stupid, but he printed a copy, wanting to remember them even if they’d forget him too.

Your hands shook just a little as you brought the photo closer to your face, wondering how all of this was connected.

“Hey I heard you come in, sorry I took so long—” Peter froze when he saw what photo you were holding. “Oh, t-that’s just—”

You cut him off, and just as nothing could’ve prepared you for the photo, nothing could’ve prepared Peter for what you said next.

“The one on the right, I know him.”

(((you’re referring to Andrew’s Peter)))

a;sdlkfjasg;hv.a,fights;gjsdf this was so fun to write!