#Hades keeps her there long enough for Persephone to be back and then her traveling with Persephone in the spring after learning the real

[landofgodsxmonsters]

My temptation to make a version of Bianca who is Persephone & Maria's daughter (well Nico is still Hades & Maria's daughter) is sO STRONG

[sanyu-thewitch05]

Yandere Demon Lord with an Angel Darling!

Daeman is a Great Demon feared by many,demons and angels alike. He's known as one of the worst in the Underworld,one day while he was strolling in a forest of the mortal world

He met her,the Darling,an angel who just happened to be there,he heard her sweet voice singing from afar,she was so sweet and kind. She wasn't even disgusted at the sight of him,she was different than all of those pretentious angels who would scoff at him if they see him

It was true love at first sight

They met eachother more and more in that forest. But Daeman knew he couldn't stop his growing love and lust for this innocent doe

He knew if he keeps letting her go,she would fly away from him one day. So he pulled her down to the Underworld with him

Darling was terrified ofc,she was so naive like a bunny caught in a trap. Daeman claimed her in bed afterwards ofc,while doing so,he told her that her God isn't here, only he is here

She became his darling wife afterwards, she's not getting back to Heaven anytime soon,now that she's defiled by him

Daeman was a sick bastard,he even puts a sigil on her womb called the Love's sigil, it's a mark of possession over her,it will even help him track her down should she escapes, when he activates the sigil,Darling would feel unimaginable lust,but ofc it prevents her from laying with any man beside Daeman himself~

After all he only wants her to lust after him and only he's the one to satiate her lust

A/N: Sorry this took so long to answer. I have two papers due in a week. Also, this is pretty tame, but hopefully, you still like it. I mainly based some of this work off of Hades and Persephone.

Also, here's a song to go with it, if anyone wants to listen:

TW: Smut, blood

You were a blessing to Earth. Everywhere you went, miracles happened. Ghosts went to the afterlife when you walked on their grounds, the darkest beasts bowed down and became domesticated, and life bloomed on your footprints. Your favorite spot is a quiet spot in the Amazon Rainforest. You love the biodiversity and the never-ending sounds of the forest.

"Ooh, ooh, just for the flowers, sea, and me," You sing, combing your hair.

In the clouds above, the most feared man in the underworld, Daeman, is watching for trouble or humans to mess with. Then, he hears your voice, and before he knows it, Daeman is behind you.

"Your voice sounds beautiful," Daeman says, sitting next to you.

You turn around and look him up and down. You see his wide frame, 6'5 figure, and long dark purple hair. You smile at him, light filling the forest floor.

"Hi, what's your name?" You ask, slowly moving your feet in the water.

"Daeman, you probably know me. Most people in the Underworld know who I am," Daeman says, unsure why you're nice to him.

"I do know. My angel friends tell me all sorts of things about you. But I saved my judgment until I actually met you. Which would be now."

Daeman's mind couldn't help but scream, "She's different! She's different than them!".

It was true love at first sight. Unbeknownst to them, two cupids are watching them from behind the trees. They pull out their bow and arrows and shoot at Daeman and you. An explosion of pink happens around the two of you, neither of you can see it, and the feeling of love settles in.

"I can't wait to talk to you again," You say, flying away. The sun eventually covers your figure.

"Wait-"

Daeman's hand is in the air, reaching for you but out of reach like you are his Icarus. He sighs and returns to the Underworld.

"Boss, what's wrong?" A fellow demon asks, seeing him reappear.

"Nothing, I just saw Icarus fly away," Daeman responds, walking into his mansion.

Daeman returned to that same spot tomorrow, and soon enough, you two met each other there every day. You two became closer and traveled the human world together.

"I wanna stay with you forever," You say, holding Daeman's arm.

"You shouldn't say such things around me. I'll drag you down like Hades did Persephone," Daeman responds, putting a hand on your cheek.

"It's ok. I heard what you said. I know you're afraid of me flying away from you. But I'm not. I'll gladly give up my wings and live a mortal life with you," You say, kissing Daeman.

"No. No! No! No! Stop! You're making it worse! Stop it!"

"Daeman, I want to be with you!"

"Don't! Please, don't!"

"I love anything you do. I love you. You know, even If I listen to music that is not my style, or even if I eat food that I don't like, or even if it's raining without an umbrella and all soaking wet, it's alright. I love it because I love you."

Daeman hugs you, and suddenly the ground beneath you disappears. You fall into the dark abyss with him and wake up in a bed with him.

"My angel, would you do me the honor of being my bride?" Daeman asks, pulling out a blood-red ring.

You were terrified. The walls were gothic and black. There's no sunlight. Only a red moonlight peeks through the velvet curtains.

"Y-Yes," You answer, stuttering as you feel something bad is happening.

Daeman slips the ring on your finger, and you feel a burning sensation on your wings.

"AAAAHH!" You shriek in pain, arching your back.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Daeman exclaims, cradling you.

Your wings burn away until they are nothing. Daeman's long nails go to your stomach and draw a love sigil. He couldn't help but follow his instincts. He had to mark what was his.

"What have you done to me?" You cry, tears falling onto Daeman's clothing.

"My love, you're my bride now. You've chosen to be with me. Your God has forsaken you for choosing a demon like me. I'm only here for you. You, my Icarus, flew too close to the sun," Daeman says, kissing every piece of skin showing. "The love sigil should be taking effect any minute now. How does it feel to only feel lust for me and no other man?"

Incredible lust overtakes your body, and you fiercely kiss Daeman. Nothing matters in the world more than him.

"My dear Hades, won't you show me how it feels to be with you?" You say, taking off your dress.

Daeman undresses, and soon enough, you both cave into your worldly desires. He strokes his dick, then puts it into you. Your pussy is unbelievably tight, and you cry in pain.

"Daeman, it hurts," You weep, crying onto his chest.

"I know it hurts, my love. Stay still, I'll help you," Daeman comforts, kissing your lips.

The love sigil glows and suddenly, your pussy is dripping wet. Daeman starts to thrust and you're overtaken by these new feelings. No one made you feel the way he did. Even in romance or in sex.

"Ah~" You moan, holding onto Daeman to keep whatever is left of your sanity.

"Yes, baby! Keep going!" Daeman encourages, trying to keep you from orgasming too early.

Your stomach feels weird, and your love sigil glows.

"Daeman, I'm cumming!" You moan, trying to hold it in.

"I know, my love. I'm cumming too," Daeman moans, thrusting faster. His long nails scratched your skin.

"Oh, Daeman!" You exclaim, throwing your head back.

You both cum together, and the love sigil becomes a faint mark. Daeman pulls out of you and carries you to the bathroom. He turns on the hot water and places you in the bathtub.

"My angel, are you upset with me?" Daeman asks, washing your body. The blood from your first time turning the water red.

"I don't know. I chose to be with you knowing the risks. I just didn't expect them to hurt so much. I never knew I wouldn't be traveling Earth and its skies again," You reply, hugging your knees.

"You said you would live a happy life as a mortal with me. If I became a mortal with you, would you be happy?"

"Of course. There's nothing I wouldn't give to see Earth again."

"Then, so be it. I will be a mortal too. And when our time comes to enter the Underworld again, we will be together. Forever."

You kiss Daeman and look into his eyes. He goes into the water with you, and you continue to make out with him. You both go underwater, feeling like you're on cloud nine.

[monstaxdirtywonk]

Heaven is a place in hell with you pt. 2

Member: San as Hades X Persephone Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, eventual Smut

Plot: loosely inspired by the myth, I've done some changes to fit what I had in mind when I started writing the story.

Persephone's POV

You loved your life around the forest, you really did. You didn't know much of the world outside from your home but you've heard tales from far away lands. How you'd love to explore the vast world and find new places to call yours too. You'd think that would happen by creating beautiful memories there, and that's what you wanna do when you'll start travelling. If you ever will that is, because Artemis can be a bit overprotective over her nymphs to say the least. Especially you, for some reason. But you've gone on many trips so far...in your imagination at least. The places seemed magical there, almost too good to be true. Well, they weren't true to begin with and they probably aren't like that in real life. So maybe imagining them might be for the best. You'd get too disappointed if you saw them and they weren't nearly as good as you thought they'd be. But keeping yourself surrounded by your thoughts lead you to this. Your only escape, your fantasies. Your mind even wondered in places it shouldn't, at least for a nymph. You are supposed to be a chaste pure demi goddess and to never crave lust. You don't, you really don't. But what about love? Is it off the charts for you too? Should it always be combined with lust somehow? You have many questions regarding love. They will probably remain unanswered because you can't bring yourself to ask Artemis about them. Artemis has shown you the sweetest and most caring side she has, but crossing her lines can be a scary thing. She doesn't forgive easily and she doesn't accept any sort of disrespect either. You'd dishonor her by being a love sick little puppy. Love and Lust start with the same letter after all. Only one breath away. Sometimes one comes first than the other but they do come together often. At least that's what your guess would be, because you haven't experience any of them. But you want to, you want to love. However maybe you can change the type of love you want, maybe that would fit your position better. To swipe the longing for eros to agape for the nature you're surrounded by, the animals, the fellow Nymphs. Maybe you'd feel satisfied enough then, or at least it wouldn't hurt as much as it does now.

"Where are you going little troublemaker?" You questioned when your favorite bird, a little yellow bird started flying away. You wanted to follow it for a bit to see where it was going again. You called it Melodia because it has the most melodic voice you've heard. But Chaos might have been more fitting because it keeps on leaving you for days at a time, making you worried over it's well being. Maybe you'd get your answers today.

You made your way towards Melodia and it was going slower than usual, almost as if it was waiting for you. Maybe that's the friend you'd explore the world with, it'd be an honor. You took a closer look at the flowers around you and gasped when you saw your favorite one, Impatiens. It's not a native plant, it comes from Africa, but Artemis was gifted one years ago and she fell in love with its unique beauty. They are so beautiful but discreet at the same time, like her. Vibrant colors contrasting the green leaves, and no scent left behind. A pleasure to the eye to say the least. Their beauty is enough to draw the attention, without carrying any scent. Those plants don't need a lot of water which makes them easy to maintain but they look particularly sad today you thought. If you'll find a lake or river, you're gonna water them. There is probably a body of water around given the greenery around you. Even if there isn't, you will just follow the same route back. It's gonna be fine. After around 20 minutes of walking, you stumbled across a lake. Finally! Your risky journey was worth it.

"Where is Melodia?" You murmured under your breath.

Here it is again, this ungrateful little creature abounded you again. You think you might be able to figure out how to make a self made bucket to get water to your plants. But you didn't have the instruments for that either. Maybe you should have paid more attention to Hephaestus' lessons on how to survive in the wild. You heard a sound, someone or something stepped on a broken brunch and it made a very obvious sound, suggesting that it's rather *something*. You turned around but it was nowhere, maybe it was your imagination. It was the first time you wandered that far from home and this has you on your toes. You decided to move closer to the lake and stare at the crystal clear waters which reflected the Mediterranean sun perfectly. Your hand was inside the water in no time, washing your hands and face to refresh yourself. You weren't used to being under the sun for so long, but it made you feel alive and energized. You were staring at your own reflection, playing with how it looked when you shook your hand and distorting your image. Out of nowhere the water became darker and aggressive, as if it was raining in the middle of the ocean. You got so scared that you stood up, and took a step behind. A loud noise like earthquake was heard and a set of stairs opened up leading somewhere. Where, you had no idea. You gasped and moved even further from the lake but a sound coming from behind you made you turn your head around, this time you really wished it was just your imagination. An enormous wolf was there, running towards your side, in an alarming way. You couldn't think straight because your fight or flight response was activated and you chose the second option and started running towards the stairs. Each one of them closed behind you and turned to water again, saving you from the beast. You felt relieved for a second to be alive but then it hit you. You don't know where you are and you'd guess you are in even greater danger than you were before. You weren't entirely wrong indeed. The love you always pushed aside, even from your little fantasies before bedtime, was about to come closer than ever before. A charming God after all, might be more dangerous than all the wolves combined.

Next chapter:

[wackymaci]

Maci Wiki Snips - the entire backstory - part three! (The last one, pre-canon at least)

(Part one • part two)

bc who knows if I’ll ever really finish wiki and since this is all written!

akaaaa

Pre-canon events & backstories: This section contains information about Maci from before the canon Elysium’verse began - events that have taken place essentially “offscreen,” but are still canonical, and even crucial, to Maci’s history. Presented as a short biography… into narrative story.

copypasted again like the previous two this is the last one from Maci’s pre-canon, shorter than the other two cause it’s just this one section. Maybe I could have put it w the previous one but I fear that would have made it sooooo long??? well anyway!!

CW: the usual, t his section is about Melinoe’s conception so cw briefly for rape; child abuse, murder

the endless parade of misery concludes with:

The birth of Maci's half-sister

Immediately following Hades’ verdicts, Maci spiraled while she was trapped alone. Solitude had always been her worst nightmare but try as she might to escape it, the Underworld was fearful of the wrath of the King and no one would even speak to her. Only Hypnos tried, but she was terrified that Hades would retaliate against him, and against her deepest wishes she forced him away. So, left alone, she unraveled at the seams.

Meanwhile, the rumor mill of the Underworld was spinning. Although Thanatos had gotten off scot-free from his crimes, the news about what he had done to the Princess still spread, and his reputation did take a blow (though not completely – many Underworldians did not believe it could be true, or even loathed Maci enough to side against her if they thought it was). These rumors eventually even made their way up to Olympus. Due to the way Hades had chosen to handle the situation, there was also rare conflict going on between him and Persephone, and the rumors of this had reached Olympus as well. It was literally only a mere couple of months after this had all happened that Zeus, King of the Gods and notorious absolute fucking scumbag, spied a unique opportunity. He shapeshifted to disguise himself as Hades and pursued Persephone under the guise of their reconciliation, successfully violating her before revealing the truth of his nasty trick. Devastated, Seph returned to Hades and their spat was promptly forgotten. Then she found out that she was pregnant.

The magnitude of this event was actually enough to briefly unite Seph, Hades, and Maci together as a furious trio, even despite all that had just taken place – Maci jumped at the chance to push back her own trauma and distract herself with her mother’s. Though Seph was enraged, she forbade Hades from retaliating against his brother and starting an all-out war, and Melinoe, the daughter of Zeus and Persephone, was born that winter as an ironclad palace secret between the three of them. Melinoe’s appearance was strange – her skin-tone was stark ivory white on one side, and pure pitch black on the other. The plan all along had been to throw her to Olympus for the Olympians to deal with the consequences of their actions, but Zeus was disgusted by her clearly Chthonic appearance and refused to take her. Outranked by the King of the Gods, and then following the discovery of a specific prophecy from the Fates, Hades and Seph begrudgingly agreed to keep Melinoe around.

The absolute minimal level of care was provided to her; they were unable to take revenge on Zeus directly and retaliated against him by dealing with Melinoe in a cold, neglectful way. It was cruel of Seph in a way she usually was not, but armed this time with the full wrath of a wronged goddess she couldn’t care less. Hades, however, was quite comfortable with casual cruelty, and he insisted that Seph withdraw to allow him to be Melinoe’s primary caretaker (or lack thereof). Hades kept her in the Underworld year-round as Seph resumed her seasonal travels. Meanwhile Maci watched the neglect of her baby half-sister unfolding, but she also didn’t bat an eye. Firstly, Maci (who was quick to anger anyway) was holding a grudge against Olympus along with her parents, and, like them, was projecting upon the baby. Second, Maci’s memory of her own childhood was of being kept at emotional arms-length anyway - her earliest years of normalcy were forgotten and buried under the abuse she’d suffered. Assessing the situation with judgmental and biased eyes, in Maci’s opinion, Melinoe was not being harmed – just not loved.

Hades watched Maci suspiciously, unbeknownst to her. He knew that how he was choosing to handle Melinoe was wrong – but he didn’t know if Maci would realize it, as she was recovering from the Thanatos debacle and still on edge from being deprived of all socialization. He feared that if Maci decided that she could connect with Melinoe over their shared mistreatment by him that they could unite against him. He had not shared with Maci the details of Melinoe’s mysterious prophecy, either – the gist of which stated that Melinoe would grow to become either the embodiment of all goodness, or the manifestation of all evil, but just one, and only time would tell which. As Melinoe grew into toddlerhood Hades bit back bile and extended an olive branch to Maci, softening his demeanor to her completely. Maci by this point was so fragile that she did not think twice, and leapt at the opportunity to finally warmly reunite with her dad.

For Hades’ course of action was to make Maci complicit in Melinoe’s neglectful abuse. Melinoe was a bizarre child. Even as a newborn, she never cried and hardly slept, and as she got older, she never spoke; she just stared all day at her caretakers with huge blue eyes. Even though Melinoe was inoffensive, Hades encouraged Maci to be cruel to her. Maci did not want to lose her father’s sudden approval and participated, at his goading, as her kid sister’s bully. Once Melinoe became a toddler, she took to following Maci or Hades all around, trailing behind them like a ghost, haunting the hallways they walked. Their actions escalated from shooing her away to even locking her out of sight within the palace. Sure, Maci should have known better, and… she kind of did; but she told that voice in the back of her head to shut up. The unhappiness of Zeus’ bastard child came second to Maci finally at long last getting to bond with her father and experience his remorse after everything he had subjected her to. She convinced herself it was a necessary sacrifice to make, particularly since confronting the alternative was too difficult of a thought to entertain the guilt of.

For a total of eight years, Maci and Hades primarily were responsible for “raising” Melinoe – Seph wanted absolutely no part of her life and refused to even interact with her. Through these eight years, Maci remained isolated from the world outside the palace with her father as her only companion, and through these years, Melinoe was consistently mistreated, but Maci and Hades' relationship seemed great. And then… that prophecy…

Only time was going to tell which destiny Melinoe would fulfill; time, and, as it turned out, the environment she was raised in, a detail the Fates had not mentioned. A catalog of kindnesses and cruelties were intended to be used as a gauge by the two souls that lay dormant inside of her, but after eight years of constant neglect and endless cruelty, the cosmic scales had tipped so far in one direction that Melinoe, age 8, no longer even needed to grow up to decide which direction would take control. On a random day, it was Maci who bore witness to the physical manifestation of all evil taking control of the physical vessel it had been sharing this whole time, and Melinoe came into her powers.

Melinoe, a whole new person, addressed Maci, speaking for the first time with a smile and a giggle. In her eight-year-old voice, she informed her big sister that she was now leaving to wreak violence and bloodshed upon the mortal world. She would never forgive Maci, or Hades and Persephone, for what they had done to her. When Maci moved to somehow stop her, the sheer force of the power that Melinoe now wielded sent her nearly flying across the room. She left and would begin her role as Goddess of Ghosts, Evil Incarnate – for the millennia that followed, she frequently pursued minor revenges upon Maci and the King and Queen, violences and horrors while using helpless mortals as pawns and props. Melinoe would actively re-enter Maci’s life after about 2,000 years had passed, now within the narrative of Elysium’s canon storyline.

For now, after Melinoe had departed, Maci’s relationship with Hades immediately crumbled apart. Melinoe’s turn to evil served as a wakeup call too little too late and Maci was horrified at the role she’d unwittingly played, but Hades would not hear it, and instead began to blame Maci both for Melinoe’s rise in power and for allowing her to escape. Maci realized she’d been played by her father. With eight years having passed, even while secluded within the palace, Maci had regained the ability to put on a show of bold confidence, and she had fucking had enough. Melinoe had been the palace’s dirty secret, and now she was clearly going to be a problem for the kingdom and anyone who encountered her. Threatening to expose the fact that Hades was the monster who had made her, Maci demanded he lift the embargo that still stood and let her do as she pleased - she had no love left for him, and intended to gladly stay out of Hades’ way. Annoyed at how all of this had gone on, Hades agreed. Eight years later, Maci's isolation was over.

One of the first things Maci did was reunite with Hypnos, each relieved to find the other in mostly one piece. Hypnos shared with her that though Thanatos was unfortunately still usually lurking over his shoulder, he had been forced to dial back his abuse since the truth had been revealed. Maci shared with him that for the past eight years she’d been raising her secret half-sister who had been born double-souled and was now running rampant within the mortal world as the embodiment of evil that Hades had forced out of her. (Surely Hades hadn’t expected her to actually keep that a secret). Catching up on all that they had missed since they had been separated, their meeting ended with an assessment of where they stood, as a couple and as friends.

They mutually agreed that their romantic relationship was long over, and could never be resumed. That relationship had been born from a place of trauma and even the thought of getting together again was too triggering to consider. However, they had been through too much together and known each other for so long that neither could bear the thought of losing the other permanently, and especially not because of the cruelties of Thanatos and Hades. Maci and Hypnos agreed to remain close friends, and they did ever after.

Maci, though stifling the litany of trauma deep within herself, and doing so for the next two millennia, now considered herself to be fully freed.

Two thousand years of Maci reestablishing her libido and reputation in her kingdom, dating many other random terrible people including the Lampad nymph Leuke, and just generally becoming more Maci with time, would pass. And then... at long last—

Exhales hi that’s it- the very end of Maci’s pre-canon narration from her eternally in progress wiki page.

I— can continue making these posts by just jumping to the canon narration of her and Tory gettin g together?? I have all of this written all the way up to Neo 🥺 naturally, starting these posts has inspired me to resume wiki work lmfao so who knows again but. idk. do u want me to keep poasting??? wanna keep reading???? UMM LEMME KNOW—

[howdwegetbackhere]

Eurydice & Orpheus

Here we see the mirroring of relationships. The ability for someone to inhabit your being. Inhabit the aspects one grasps but also only catches glimpses of within the self. When fully embodied in another, one can grasp and view this aspect that seems to dissipate so often in the self. Why can't we hold this vision of self without an external vehicle that illustrates it?

Eurydice’s Death :

Is knowledge not power, is wisdom not achieved adjacent to knowledge?

The more you know the more you are able to grow. To understand the essence of your being. The limits and boundaries of your being. Understandably, that’s also gained through just being, but knowledge can come with observation. Is knowledge not a byproduct of being?

The Tables Turned William Wordsworth Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you'll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain's head, A freshening lustre mellow Through all the long green fields has spread, His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife: Come, hear the woodland linnet, How sweet his music! on my life, There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings! He, too, is no mean preacher: Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth, Our minds and hearts to bless— Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art; Close up those barren leaves; Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives.

I keep getting to knowledge as my enemy but I know this is not true. It can't be true. Do I just not want it to be true?

~

Orpheus gets a second shot at retrieving his soul. Through the yearning of his soul (Eurydice) and his devotion to his craft of music, he can use his inner power to reach unthinkable levels. He goes into the depths of the underworld (where no living man thinks to go) in hopes of coming out the other side alive with his love at his side.

Orpheus only got to the descent through his love and devotion to his craft.

Let's take note of why Orpheus may have looked back.

The fear of being fooled and ridiculed. Here, doubt of the Gods, Hades and Persephone, peered in. What happens when we don't hold faith in our Gods? If you doubt their blessings, you might lose everything. Doubt could have also been in the self. Not believing in the power of his own gifts led him to believe it was all one big trick.

Excessive passion and the lack of self-control. Present in us a human species. Our animalistic impulses are present and the inability to tame can lend us to the problems we face in our lives. A thirsty hunger to an extreme also pushes that lack of self-control. The need to obtain and hold, to gain, and to feel.

Witnessing the limitations of us as human beings.

There are many more and we will never really know but these two seem to have stuck with me the most from my own personal human experience.

Is this now the human flaw within love itself? Going to the depths of hell just to realize you were holding onto some other thing (some idea, concept, intangible) outside of what you thought you were?

Orpheus traveling to hell for Eurydice, the person he fell in love with. But then in not coming out on the other side with her, there was a failure of love to begin with. Not having full trust in love. Not blindly believing in the thing that moves you. A battle with the self that is gripping you.

In the soul not being able to view itself, we go back to the idea of relationships. A mirror into ourselves. A vehicle

In having come back from the dead...Society seems to be the killer. To exist in a material world means there's a killer. It works against you.

Looking at this story I'm trying to build a solid concrete opinion. But why must my opinions be concrete when I learn new things each week. It's cause I must stand for a plan to allow for action and demand.

The idea still looms that you must become a slave to something as Orpheus was a slave to his music. You must descend into robotic functioning until your soul lands at your feet.

Like every romance, I've really come to see, that the beauty lies in what it teaches you to be. In how it reflects back to you a reality that is true.

Love is an illusion. A catalyst actually. Pushing you to see the things you wish you didn't need but are forcing you to be. A mirror into a world that explores your entire lore.

Spirituality gives eternality. A hedonistic life is a life lived for the now. A life full of pleasure where one bathes in the delicacies of detaching from a greater duty. A greater purpose. For the materialist believes in man's centrality. It is the only thing it must live for and fulfill.

To live in this world without your soul calls for distractions that enter the mind and give way to the thief of your life.

Love must and will be present in order to start your descent.

Thank you James Sale on Inspired Originals for the blog that helped me get through this long thought

[myburntwritings]

Last night I had a dream that I was at The Burnt City. This is not a new occurrence, trust me. What was new was that I actually ended up seeing some of the show... though, not as I'd ever seen it before. Usually, I end up that I'm late for some reason, or that the show is going on somewhere else, or I'm in the set but no performers are. It's a tangled web, my brain.

It started as one of those dreams where I was trying to get ready and nothing was going right. I was in a hostel-type space, sharing a room with at least a dozen people. Next door, the performers were all getting ready, and Lily, who was to be our Persephone that show, was unexpectedly sick. But instead of switching her out for another Persephone, they started the show early with a scene out in Woolwich, with Persephone attempting to die in order to return to the Underworld.

Unlike every time she had done this before, this time Persephone was revived, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes. Then, Mallory and Kat, playing new characters Evelyn and Iris, both jumped in front of the ambulance to take Persephone's place in the trip to Hades.

I was stood with Sam Booth's Hades, watching from afar. He told me that this was a catastrophe, and that he could not let these women reach Troy. They would break his realm and return the shades to the world, where they would destroy it with their renewed war.

I followed Hades inside, where we went through a labyrinth of rooms and corridors beneath Troy, trying to prepare for the women's arrival and put them off. I was the only person following Hades, like an entire show 1:1, as there was no way for anyone else to find us.

We found multiple new characters, all dressed in nothing more than the finale grey pants, working in a rustbelt/steampunk manner, making me think of the musical Hadestown. We arrived at the banks of the rivers, which was actually a great circular metal door from an intricate series of pipes large enough to row a small boat down each one.

Evelyn tumbled out of the door, dripping wet. She stood and faced off with Hades.

"Travelling by Lethe has its problems, but it can be useful. Cocytus, however... Perfect for our needs."

She took out a vial of water from her clothes and threw it over Hades. He blinked and stared, confused, blank.

Evelyn chose chaos. She threw Lethe water at Hades. He can't remember.

My mind is exploding.

I convinced Hades of who he was, and what was happening. Thankfully it wasn't enough Lethe water to completely wipe his memory for long, and we set off again. This time, looking for Iris, who has not shown up.

We return to the main set of Troy, where all characters are now in the finale pants. The black-masked staff are all dressed like they work in the steampunk version of Troy, trying to wrangle audience into signing their lives away, and trying to order the characters back onto their loops.

The characters are so far off their loops, it is just as Evelyn wanted - complete and utter chaos. I see Kronos and Polydorus playing dice, gambling with Polymestor's life.

Clytemnestra is in the Peep windows with Agamemnon looking on.

Hades takes me back to his office. He needs to know what happened to his wife. I keep trying to convince him to save his realm first, but he won't listen to me.

Once a wife guy, always a wife guy.

I'm considering leaving him to find Iris myself, but then I wake up.

[moonxsuncelestials]

Aftermath: Leaving The Oasis (Part 1)

It was the perfect time of the year to watch the sakura blossoms start to fall away, signaling that winter was coming in the Human Realm. It marked how long Yun has been down here; almost half a year, not unlike when Persephone reunites with Hades. Only this time, Yun was not going to be reuniting with Yue.

No. 

He made the decision after having a few months to calm down. He realized that he never belonged wherever his sister would reside. He can love her from afar and it was for the best for him to remain in Hell with the devil he loves so dearly. 

Whilst Castle wanted to keep Yun in The Oasis, the ancient primal understood that he couldn’t. The last thing Castle wanted was to trap Yun in another cage. So instead, Castle, Hydra, Hope, and himself had talked it over as a family. It was during the discussions that Castle and Hydra urged the dragon to head to where he felt at home the most. Hydra expressed great concern over his welfare to the point of forgoing their own travels, though Yun managed to convince them to explore the modern world; he’ll figure out his next move while in Hell. 

Once that business was concluded, Yun sent out letters to those whom he felt he could trust within his family, telling them that he would be in Hell if they needed him. Castle had alerted Sai Gong who in turn welcomed having his nephew stay with them, and once everything was squared away; the day arrived for his departure. 

Yue had surprised him of course when she attempted to speak to him. He thought she must be mad to think he’s going to listen to her-he even asked how she got past the brambles but she ignored it all and tried to talk to him; he saw the evidence in her eyes that she had been crying, she rambled in saying that she’s going to Egypt to learn the truth.  “I’m sorry-”

“You’ll always believe HER over me…” Yun growled a little causing her to flinch. “You’re always going to believe that bitch over me, Yue. Your own brother…why did I ever think you’d for once just listen?” He asked as he glared her coldly. “I tried to play by everyone’s rules, tried to be the good brother because I honestly thought that if I pleased everyone else…I’d get the same love that you were given. If I made you happy, then I should be happy too.” He spat with enough venom that Yue even wondered if her brother wasn’t part serpent.

Memories of his youth played in his mind’s eye while Hope held him to help control his breathing. Yue was always viewed as the golden child. She couldn’t do anything wrong, yet he always caught flack for the most minute detail-if Yue fell down and scratched her knee despite Yun telling her not to follow him when he climbed the trees to see if the dates were fresh? Oh Yun must have pushed his little sister off a branch. Yue got lower scores on her tests? Yun must have cheated or switched their tests…

He remembered how he was taught by the other family members outside his parents, to always be extremely careful with how he presents himself to any and everyone within their family, among their followers; how he mustn’t tarnish his sister’s reputation, always adjusting himself and holding back, not drowning Yue in his darkness-He had to be the fall guy, make her look like little Ms. Perfect. Make Yue always look good and whenever he broke away from that, he got yelled at, sometimes even punished with a back of the hand or someone dared to use a whip; no matter what Ma’at revealed, it felt like everyone but a select few of his family and Hope was against him til he met Beelzebub.

For so long, he wanted the same love his sister got and he finally came to terms that he was conditioned to keep her from knowing the pain he was always in, told by various family that big brothers never share their struggles. They shoulder it and just keep going; if they fall then they are worthless and will be forgotten.

And that scare worked so well…

A new rage came forth as he vowed that he’ll make the world burn. Hot new tears came as he voiced how tired he was of playing by the rules, of having to always hold back, having to wait patiently for his time. “Well no more. Go live your life Yue, just LEAVE me ALONE.”

Then, Yun set off not bothering to look back at his sister and ignored her calling for him to wait.

[decemebercircus]

Alright so-- this is a bit long and still in development-- details may change. (Like the title)

So the current title is "Hell on Earth"

And originally it was going to just be limited to Greek gods but (I do what I want) I got carried away.

The story is about Demeter who in the current years turns her home into a temporary inn of sorts where travelers can stay for awhile at a relatively cheap price. She does this in winter and fall months as a way of handling Persephone's absence. She stil disapproves of Persephone's choices but as long as she's happy....

One day a teenager shows up. Given he's a teenager, Demeter figures he's either running away from home after getting into trouble or his parents trust him enough to let him go somewhere unattended and not get kidnapped. However his strangely quiet nature and the scars that litter his body imply parental abuse and his leaving alone makes more sense. She learns this teenager's name is Anthony and tells him her name is Deme.

A few days go by and everything's great Anthony is improving at being around the tree nymphs and seems to get used to the occasional God (Hermes or Zeus) dropping by.

But... His so called parents show up and everything falls apart. Aside from authorities showing up to help the "poor parents", their words seem to trigger (and gaslight) Anthony into coming back to them. This fails when Demeter confuses everyone into thinking Anthony doesn't exist. Afterwards waiting for him to calm down, she explains the Greek Gods and her identity as the goddess Demeter.

Anthony seems fine with this information but a few hours later has somehow withered a field of grass due to a panic attack. When Demeter approaches she discovers that Anthony is a demigod or at least it's assumed to be the case. After Anthony seemingly coughs up a Abysmal Creeper (a caterpillar like creature that feeds on negative emotions) that if what she knew about chthonic deities was correct, Anthony by all logic was not supposed to exist.

After all Tartarus had never had children with mortals prior this. Demeter promises Anthony that she'll look after him and goes to the Underworld to ask Hades assistance in getting answers.

Tartarus does not mind the "company" and tells her with little complaint about Anthony's condition. Anthony being much too powerful for his human body to handle, had to have something of equal origin subdue his abilities. The Abysmal Creepers feed on his despair and anguish and serve to keep his powers in check. With nothing feeding those emotions or the Creepers Anthony's powers will become more obvious. Since Anthony is not a kid anymore the Creepers can't be replaced and he'll need assistance handling his powers. Demeter jumps at the chance thinking of a few other gods and goddesses some not in the Greek Pantheon to ask for advice from. Tartarus seemed amused by her eagerness and let's her adopt Anthony.

Meanwhile Anthony has already gotten into trouble. After nearly having a bad run in with Artemis and her Hunters, Anthony goes to the city where a power of his surfaces. It cause a mass illusion that features multiple skyscrapers crumbling to ruins. For the mortals this causes a panic and sends many running around crazily. Phoboa and Deimos are attracted by this as is the Norse God Loki who was recently banished to the mortal world for a prank getting out of hand.

Anthony who doesn't see the destruction he unwittingly started, staggers around the city confused. Loki chooses to put away her daggers and calm down the boy. Phobos and Deimos on the other hand retreat unfamiliar and untrusting of the vibe Anthony gives off. Demeter returns to Anthony ready to explain Anthony about his origins and Loki stays out of curiosity.

Oh I ended telling most of what happens in chapter 1-- whoops.

Feel free to ask questions. I know I left out some things in my attempt to summarize it.

I was going to write a story with Demeter in a positive role. Any suggestions on what the plot should be? I was trying not to do a Hades and Persephone story since there are so many of those.

Well I have a story I'm thinking about where there is a problem on Olympus like a big problem, and everyone is too too weary to complete the task so Demeter steps up but nobody thinks that she can do it, because she's a plant goddess. And basically she goes anyway and she basically like completes the task but on the way she's gone for so so long that the other gods are like holy shit what did we just do? We just sent our sibling or aunt or whatever the heck however, she's related to them on this, like dangerous mission that she could possibly like. You know go into what I call hibernation which is something I'll explain on a different post and she comes back and people are basically like. Oh my god you like saved us or some shit like that. I don't know but yeah that's what I got... It's better if I write it out but I think you'll get it

[longtimenospooning-luci]

Seokjin:

Updated 01/16/24

On Your Knees - @borathae

Hot water, thick steam and your boyfriend on his knees begging for your forgiveness. What a pleasant turn of events indeed….

How to Fake a Boyfriend - @bts-reveries

you are like every other youtuber, uploading videos once a week, collaborating with other youtubers in your city, following all the trends, etc. you were usually all about the aesthetics, beauty, fashion, food, and artsy vlogs. until one night, you got a hate comment from a day one subscriber. calling you boring and ‘no longer interesting enough to watch’. so with the help of a couple of your fellow youtuber friends, you were about to change that. pranking your subscribers and followers was never in your forte, but what happens when the single since birth youtuber: lovelyn, suddenly has a boyfriend?

Lay Me Gently - @ddaenggtan

there is no time for loneliness among the fires of your forge, no room in your buzzing mind for thoughts of anything but your next invention and the pain in your leg. your life is tilted off its axis, though, when your parents arrange a marriage without your knowledge or consent, and your new husband begins to situate himself into your life despite protests from either of you. you don’t know what Zeus and Hera have planned, but a volcano is no place for a love god like Seokjin.

Half-Baked Holiday - ^^

That Seokjin, don’t get me started on him. He’s worked hard to open and run that bakery of his, you know, and I’m so proud that it’s so successful now. Wish he would find a nice person to settle down with, though, he deserves it, as long as he’s been on his own. Well, I guess you can’t really call it alone when he’s got that grump of a best friend always hanging around him. He really should be paying her, what with all the time she spends at the bakery with him. She’s always waking up on the wrong side of the bed, but she’s not so bad when she brings me some of those cookies of his, or just around Seokjin in general, if I’m honest. Too distracted by staring at that pretty face of his, I suppose, though who can blame her?

Raspberry Truffles - @gukyi

how to fake date your best friend: step one - don’t fall in love with them. failed step one.

Seven Seconds in Heaven - @jimlingss

In the moment of your death, Heaven drops the hammer of punishment; making him travel back in time to relive memories that can never be changed. Seven seconds before they are ripped away.

Worshipers of the Sun - ^^

After the war, the God of Sun married the Goddess of Love to exemplify that such devastation will never occur again. But you knew his affections were untrue and fled. After a century, Seokjin goes looking for you to bring back home.

Silly Kitty - @jincherie

Hybrid Jin gets taken in by MC when all he wanted was a good home for his little found family of other hybrids. Fluffy, fluff, fluff!

Have Mercy - @justcallmenikki7

Jin is forced to break up with you because of BigHit.

I will, I Promise - ^^

you and your friend get attacked and you wish death upon them and your boyfriend is happy to comply.

Nerves - ^^

you meet your boyfriend, Seokjin’s, alter ego, Jin. 

Beside You - @kimnjss

he’s bad for you. from the commitment issues to the endless scandals. sworn to never settle down… well, that’s until he sees how happy you can be without him. now he’s willing to do anything to keep from losing you to your so-called ‘perfect boyfriend’. feat. Jimin

Fire and Darkness - @kpopfanfictrash

Persephone!y/n + Hades!Jin

Heathens - ^^

A mafia princess who recently inherited the throne, you are forced to play by the rules in a world you despise.

Teach You - @lachimolala7

mafia au, arranged marriage au, fluff

Arrested - @ladyartemesia

Detective Kim Seokjin x Criminal Reader

Farewell - @mirahuyooo

The legends tell of a young man, whose life concluded with his reflection, and a young nymph, who fell for him insistently. He rejects her, as he does with any other and she’s heartbroken—or so the tales say.

Lucky at Cards, Unlucky at Love - @namjoonxorg

Mob ties run deep within the US, so much so that crime has become a business in of itself; Kim Seokjin is a pioneer of this métier. He, along with his 6 other business partners, somehow manage to keep Kim Co. and its illegalities largely separated. However, when Min Y/N, the adopted sister of Min Yoongi, begins to unravel lose ends about her past, the strings between the company and the crimes seem to be tying increasingly tight.

Burden - @neonlights92

After the death of his wife during childbirth Kim Seokjin is unable to hold his baby daughter without grief taking control. Just three weeks after the love of his life is taken from him so suddenly, Jin is expected to marry somebody new. You are foolish and have spent your whole life pining after Kim Seokjin from afar, even after he marries your best friend, Seul.  But suddenly Seul is gone and you are expected to marry Jin and raise his child. You know your heart is already in it, but what about his?  

Dangerous Situation After an Argument - @thebangtancloud

Read if you need something to make you cry.

Safe with Me - @writersrealmbts

You’ve always wanted to help people, and suddenly, you’ve been given the chance to help three hybrids who are down on their luck: Jimin, a cat hybrid, Jungkook, a bunny hybrid, and Jin, a dog-hybrid. Opening your home and your heart to these three, anything could happen. Including you getting hurt.

The King's Daughter - @writtenwhalien

Seokjin x Princess Reader, enemies to lovers au.

Currents - @yeoldontknow

Jin thinks he’s loved you since the moment he saw you, back when you were teenagers; Jin knows he’s been in love with you, the soul burning kind of love, since he saw you on your wedding day. He doesn’t mind that you don’t reciprocate on his level, he’s just happy to show you he cares. Until one day, he simply can’t anymore. Until one day, you realize you need to show him you care, too. 

Love Forsaken - @yoongi-sugaglider

hanahaki disease~ a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one sided love. If the love is not returned the person suffering can only escape the disease through death or surgery to remove the flowers along with the emotions connected to them.

[acequeenking]

3. Pour the Fruit of the Vine

Characters/Pairings: Hermes & Persephone, Persephone/Hades (with mentions of an adult child)

Rating: T

Warning: cigarette smoking, mentions of alcohol

Summary: Hermes and Persephone enjoy a late summer smoke, waiting for a train.

Here they are, herself and her brother: just two lost souls, waiting for a train.

Hermes is being a nice one today, keeping her company. Seems like for a woman who travels as much as she herself has done, an awful lot of her life is like this: sitting in the in-between, waiting to go from one place to another.

Which just goes to show, really, how much even gods gotta wait for transportation. She laughs at her own thought, amused, and Hermes looks at her kinda odd. Guess he ain’t read it out of her mind.

“Think it’s the first time I’ve seen you in a jovial mood in many an age,” he says with a drawl. “Usually ‘round now, you’re cursing his name.”

“Oh, don’t bring him up.” She grabs a cigarette out of her bag; she’ll stink to high heaven when he comes, but she has to calm her nerves somehow, and this seems as winning a possibility to do so as anything else. Honestly cigarette smoke is hardly the worst thing the old man has smelled on her.

“Sorry, sorry.” Hermes leans a hand down into her bag, ever-so-carefully touching at her booze. She hits his hand lightly; he’s getting slow. Was a time when he coulda picked her pocket before she even knew he’d gotten within six feet of her.

But they’re both getting old, now. Slowing down. Entropy the only thing in this universe to make even the very gods cower.

“Why you come sit and with me, brother, year after year?” She asks; she is curious. Hermes almost always keeps her company when Himself is coming to call. Hermes smiles and shakes his head, doesn’t answer the question.

“He pay you to do it?” She has wondered, over the years. By her own request, Hades doesn’t storm up too often. She’s not got the time for him to make pleasure visits, and were he the type to make visits for pleasure, he would insist on wholly occupying her time.

“No, sister girl, he don’t. I should ask though.” Hermes looks mock-pensive for a moment, before shooting her a shark-skin grin. “Bet I could get quite a bit of back-pay at this point.”

“Mama bribe you in hot cakes then? She give you a little extra beer for the bar?” The bar is a new addition, ever since Hermes picked up Calliope’s little stray boy. She wonders if it’s odd for Hermes, to stay in one place.

He has traveled so long.

“Your momma makes my beer, ‘course, and I do get the family discount. But I’m charming enough to get that all my own. Don’t need to be bribed into spending time with you. You’re my sister, after all. You just have to accept I like your company.” He glances toward her bag again, and the cigarette in her hand. “Don’t suppose you’d help a brother…?”

“Fine,” she says; Hades will buy her more cigarettes. Rare is it that anyone wants to indulge in a nice smoke with her anymore anyway. “Just don’t complain to me if it’s too strong for your blood.”

“Much obliged,” he drawls and pulls out a cigarette. He lights it with a quicksilver lighter he keeps in his pocket, which she raises her eyebrows at.

“Ain’t had one in an age. Problem of parenting, I’m afraid. You know. Afraid of being a bad influence. Like you, when you was little missy no-liquor-passes-these-lips for a few years.” He gives her a teasing look, and she frowns. Wishes Hermes wouldn’t talk about that either. Zagreus hasn’t been around in a couple of summers, himself busy with his own work, and she misses him, but she doesn’t want him to see what his pa has become.

“I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about there, brother. That boy’s a good boy, your little guy.” She takes another inhale, exhale; enjoys the view of the smoke that, for once, isn’t coming from her husband’s smokestacks. Tobacco’s a more natural thing. “Never knew you smoked.”

They both ignore his train, comin’ round the tracks. She hears the chugga-chugga-chugga noise of its engines in the distance; won’t be long now.

“I enjoy the odd vice now and again. Just ain’t had reason to indulge.” She nods, doesn’t point out that all she’s got is reasons. That all he’s given her, for seasons upon seasons upon seasons, is reasons.

He takes a long puff and blows a smoke ring, and she laughs, and he smiles. “Nice to hear you laugh again, sister. Maybe that’s why I like traveling with you.” He studies the cigarette in his hand. “Or maybe it’s that this thing is packed so full of nicotine it would burn out even auntie Hestia’s lungs.”

It is hard to burn out a living ball of flame, of course. But she knows the comment is meant to suggest something she already knows.  

Here comes the final whistle; she takes a deep puff of her cigarette. Man couldn’t even let her get it half-smoked.

“Here he comes,” says Hermes, standing up. “You ready?”

“No,” she says. Of course she is not; he is three months early and the bottle in her bag is a watery and pathetic vintage because of it. “And sit your ass down, he ain’t worth the respect of you standin’.”

Hermes looks at her for a long moment, hesitates slightly – her husband is a king, and a peevish one at that, unlikely to miss a slight. But after a long moment, he agrees, and he puts himself down next to her, just two old people sitting and smoking on the bench.

There’s room for one more, too, and part of her wonders if maybe he’d stay and sit with her for a bit. After all, he is a King. Sets his own time-table.

The door opens, and a man steps out. Old Man Winter himself, dressed in his finest little coat. He sees her and Hermes, sitting there, smoking ‘em down, and he frowns.

“What’s this?” He asks.

“Some of us need help to get our voices down low,” she says, because it’s a harmless joke and one she thinks he’ll laugh at.

He doesn’t.

“Time to go,” he says.

“In a minute, in a minute.” She pats the seat next to her; she wants him to be a person who will stay, even knowing from the face of him that he wants to go. She reaches down with one free hand and pulls out the wine. “Let’s catch up. You ain’t talked to Hermes in an age.”

She ignores the look on Hermes face that suggests he might like to keep that streak going. She cracks open the wine, water-weight though it is.

“Persephone,” her old man warbles.

“Not yet,” she says. “You can sit here, or on the train, but we’re gonna finish our smokes, with our without you, and have a glass of wine for good measure.”

She cannot say why she decides that moment is her line to cross; perhaps it is that it is three months early and she wants it to be two months and twenty nine days and some insignificant amount of hours instead. Perhaps it is that she misses her boy and deludes herself into thinking that if they linger, he might have heard pa’s whistle and come to see the sound – as much as she does not want him to know of Hadestown, she thinks, it would be nice to see her boys together again. Perhaps it is just that she is tired, and life is long, and one of her few pleasures left is to smoke a bit of tobacco and drink some bad wine while her husband makes up awkward small talk with Hermes.

Still, whatever it is, it is enough to make her almighty husband bend. He holds out a hand and she passes him a cigarette, which he lights with an old lighter that he filches from her pocket, a reminder of a long-time intimacy that’s gone somewhat fuzzy around the edges. She fishes around in her bag, digs out three cups – meant for the workers, really, but they’ll work here just as well.

“Sit down and let’s pour the wine,” she says; she’ll probably get ash in the cup, but eh, wine’s bad enough it’s good to have an excuse as to why it tastes bad. For now, she’s gonna enjoy herself, sitting with her friend and her husband.

“Pour the wine,” says Hermes.

“I suppose it’s summertime,” grumbles old man husband, unhappy about it. She ignores them both, pops the cork, and tries to preserve that unmistakable summer warmth for just a few seconds more.

[underworldreaderinserts]

Hey, this is my first time doing a request and I don’t know if this is the right place to put it (I hope it is). But I was wondering if you do do multiple characters, if you could do (separate) headcannons for Zagreus, Thanatos, and Hypnos falling for someone completely mortal on the surface? Thank you so much and I’m really sorry if I didn’t input my request correctly!

Hello, love! No, you did absolutely fine, this is exactly where you’re supposed to submit your requests♡ Thank you so much for sending it in! I hope it’s to your liking♡ I’m so sorry it took so long to publish. The past few days have been hectic! But I’m back♡ Do these even count as headcanons? I’m so sorry-- I know you asked for them separate, but I thought of them all together, and I accidentally made a poly circle. Since this post is long enough already, I’ll leave them out, but please let me know if you’d want me to make a post with them! I had so much fun imagining and writing it that I couldn’t help myself♡  -- Ryan

Thanatos:

✧ Your modest, mortal life hadn’t been too grandiose; you worked as a humble physician, tending to your village in ways of medication and treatment, everything between minor procedures and check ups.

     ✧ In your line of work, death was no stranger. It wasn’t very frequent that patients died in your care, but when they did -- whether it was a life lost to infection, injury, or illness -- they were only in extreme cases. (Needless to say, Thanatos had made all those visits to your practice)

✧ In the beginning, he'd refrained from any involvement in your life -- only watching over the soul whose allotted time was running out before reaping them, then departing. 

✧ But one day, he’d watched you fighting to keep your patient alive. Tears streaming down your face as you did everything in your power to stabilize the boy. His parchment read, ‘name; Nicos, age; 10, cause of death; injury by stampede’. 

     ✧ He knew that he’d have no other choice but to take the boy’s soul -- living with those irreversible damages would be a worse outcome.

✧ After that, he began to notice things he never did before. 

     ✧ The care you put in to making your patients comfortable before they passed. How you went above and beyond caring for them, and giving preventative measures to prolong their life (though he’d still be there to take the soul regardless, he’d watched as you did your best to preserve their life). All of it showed how limitless your strength was.

✧ “He’s.. doing fine. The boy.” You heard a voice one day, an unfamiliar one. You turn around from the bookshelf you stand before, holding a journal and a vial of ointment. 

     ✧ “Excuse me?” You blink, asking the stranger softly, taking in his features. He wasn’t from the village, you were aware of that. The village rarely had travelers passing through, and given this man’s robes and garments, you weren’t quite sure he was an ordinary man.

          ✧ “Nicos. He’s doing well.” The man wields his scythe, gently shifting its weight from one hand to the other. Your eyes widen as it dawns on you. “Than..atos?” Correctly identifying him, he seems to give a small bow of his head.

               ✧ You do as any sane person would, in the presence of a god; you drop everything in your hands and take a step back. You had enough reason to believe him -- after all, you knew everyone in this village, and Nicos had passed months before his arrival. There was no way he’d have known.

               ✧ “Are you... Is it my time?” You ask, leaving Thanatos a bit puzzled. “Are you here to collect my soul?” You repeat, and the understanding visually clicks in Thanatos, and he chuckles, shaking his head. Of course, you’d believe he’d come for your soul, as he’d only ever appeared before humans who have met their time. “Then... What is it you’ve come for?”

               ✧ You’d asked the million dollar question. Why had he even appeared before you? What was it that drew him out like this? “I... Can’t tell you myself. I just came to tell you, he’s doing well.” And with a toll of a bell, he’d disappeared. No word of goodbye, no mention of ever coming back.

               ✧ Reflecting on what had just happened; The God of Death himself had come into your home, just to tell you that Nicos was alright. It warmed your heart to take comfort in that, knowing that he was no longer in pain.

               ✧ Sitting on the situation a little longer, and judging by that little bit of information, it finally dawned on you that he was there, personally, for that event, and that he’d thought of you enough to reassure you.

✧ Due to his work, Thanatos makes frequent trips to the surface. 

✧ Frequent trips to the surface, meant frequent visits (where he could, of course. Lord Hades would have his head if he didn’t prioritize his job).

✧ At first, he refrained from any sort of involvement in your life -- he’d come for his job, and nothing more. But now he seeks you out. He’ll stop by to check in, or even just to see your face. And one thing differs now, when he comes to reap the soul’s whose allotted time had run out.

     ✧ “Take good care of them, Thanatos.” You’d smile softly as you place a coin over your patient’s mouth, voicing your little prayer to him. You said this each time, too, and it made him think you could see him.

✧ He wasn’t sure when it began, but thoughts of seeing you as he carried out his job filled him with a warm, soft feeling.

Hypnos:

✧ In charge of the census of the dead, Hypnos was aware of how everyone dies; when they died, and where they end up in the Underworld.

     ✧ He found that his job became so ingrained in his being that, when he’d drift off at work, his dreams would take him to visions of the lives of some of the mortals he had met, or have yet the pleasure of meeting when they come to the underworld.

          ✧ Most of these dreams always tie back to a particular individual -- someone who seems to touch the lives of everyone they’ve ever met.

✧ At first, he’d just assumed that you’d met and knew everyone in the world, as the only common denominator throughout these dreams was you. But upon further evaluation of that statement, he had determined that was impossible.

     ✧ Next, he had to admit that perhaps he was drawn to you. Whether it was a connection the Fates mandated, or it was his subconscious actively seeking you out, he’d have these visions of your life, these interactions with the people in your life.

          ✧ An image of your smile, the depiction of an experience you had. You’d invaded his dreams, and eventually his thoughts.

✧ Being shackled to the House, and without the luxury that Thanatos or Zagreus have to go to the surface, Hypnos only has a very one-sided means of interacting with you; and though he doesn’t know you, he’s very drawn to you.

✧ It’s curious. As he’s seen all these snippets of your life, he feels he simultaneously knows everything about you, yet nothing about you at all. He could see these candid shots of your life, but he doesn’t know your dreams, your ambitions, or even the sound of your voice.

✧ With his thoughts always falling back to you, he’s a bit more spacey on the job, receiving reprimands from Hades more and more often, looks judgement from his brother, and looks of solemn understanding from his mother.

✧ Achilles teases him, recognizing traits of “a lovesick puppy”, but never really gets an answer on what that means (he might even observe Cerberus for a while to see if he can understand it a little more).

✧ He awaits enthusiastically, and a tad bittersweetly, for your eventual arrival to the Underworld, desiring nothing more than to meet you, and to hear your experiences of life on the surface.

⚠️Spoilers Ahead!! ⚠️

Zagreus:

✧ Most of your mortal life is spent in Persephone’s vibrant and luscious gardens.

     ✧ You lived not too far from her cottage, and you made frequent visits to her, bringing her goods and gifts from the market, and the words from all the gossipers of the town.

          ✧ As far as you knew, she was the only one who lived here, and she didn’t seem to have any family of her own. Taking care of her gardens seemed to be her passion, and to be honest you enjoyed her company. There was something about her, so lively and inviting, that made it hard to stay away for long.

✧ Trips to Persephone were always fragrant, delicious, and warm, despite the permanent snow in the region. Conversations over meals, fishing by the river, and of course time spent in the garden where you got to watch your toils bear great produce.

✧ One day, you return to the cottage, a basket of bass and trout resting on your hip as you walk. The plan was to make a profit selling them in town, and use the coin to get better tools for the garden and the kitchen.

     ✧ Though, on the way to the cottage, you notice scorched earth in the shape of a bare footprints. The trail leads up to the garden, where you find Persephone with a man you’ve never seen before. A man like you’ve never seen before.

          ✧ You watch on as Persephone embraces this ethereal form, whose skin is much like ash and moonstone. He looked beyond out of place, yet, something about him felt so familiar.

               ✧ Focused on the two before you, carelessly unaware of your surroundings, you snap a branch under your foot, alerting them of your presence. The stranger flinched, tensing as he pulls his guard up. He turns to meet your eyes, and whatever words you’d formed in your mind vanished.

               ✧ One red, one green -- his eyes bore into yours as you admire his. That electrifying moment of attraction ends in time with Persephone clearing her throat.

               ✧ No one needed to say anything for you to recognize he’d had the same energy as Persephone. You could deduct immediately that he was her son. But nonetheless, Persephone’s words broke the silence, “[Y/N], This is... my son. This is Zagreus.”

               ✧ “Zagreus..” You sit a moment, tasting his name as it falls from your tongue, and it was something about the way you said his name that drew a shiver up his spine.

               ✧ “[Y/N]... Have you been here the whole time? How much did you hear? Do the Olympians know of you, too?” His questions went miles a minute, but made no sense to you. “Why would the Olympians...? What, do you mean the Gods?” You ask, and Zagreus exchanged a look to his mother, recognizing his own mistake.

               ✧ However, he’d reached his limit in that moment, and Zagreus clutched his chest, stumbling. Immediately, you drop your basket in worry, and go over to help him maintain his balance. Persephone placed her hand on your shoulder, and you watched as his body faded away.

✧ It was then, between that day and the next visit Zagreus paid to the garden, that the whole truth was told to you. How Persephone was actually the daughter of Demeter, the cause of the perpetual snow, and Zagreus was her son with the God of the Underworld, Hades.

✧ Since the day he’d met you in his mother’s garden, his curiosity was piqued. 

     ✧ How long had you been visiting his mother? If you hadn’t known she was a Goddess of Olympus, what was it that drove you to help her? His heart beat faster with his recount of your eyes, your voice, your worry as he felt the tug of the Styx back to the Underworld.

✧ His mission remained escaping to see his mother again, and again, but he found himself hoping each time that you were there.

     ✧ To try the food that you’d make for him. To hear the newest rumor that was spreading around the town. To help around the garden, and see you glow with happiness as each of the plants met maturity. 

✧ You’d invaded his mind, tugging at the strings of his heart -- and on the days when you were away from the garden, his mother had no problems teasing him about his crush on you. Though, she admits, if she’d have to give her only son away to anyone, it would absolutely be you.

[lordmomohismomoness]

As of late, I have been obsessed with Webtoons. So I figured it was time to make a rec list of my favorites! Though, I couldn't narrow it down to 10, so here are my top 29! In no particular order:

Kind of Confidential by Vivian Darlin

Romance/Superhero updates weekly

-a superhero loses his powers and is saved by a supervillain on the run. Zen and Rena are my OTP and Batcat is adorable

The Witch and the Bull by Moonsia

Romance/Fantasy/Adventure updates weekly

-an a-hole who hates witches gets cursed as a bull, whose only hope is the witch whose career he just ruined

Ghost Wife by Sejung

Romance/Horror completed

-she is constantly followed by ghosts. But she does have a powerful but unsocialized demon to protect her. Bonus! This one has a sequel that just premiered!

I Love Yoo by Quimchee

Drama updates weekly

-she is a loner and down on her luck. When she meets two brothers who are complete opposites, her luck gets even worse. But at least she's not alone

The Kiss Bet by Ingrid Ochoa

Romance/Drama on hiatus

-all she wants is a special first kiss, but a little bet and some new transfer students make it really complicated

The Red Archer by IsabelleRanson

Romance/Adventure/Historical updates weekly

-a mashup of history and adventure, it's Maid Marian's turn to be a badass

The Makeup Remover by Lee Yone

Drama/Romance updates twice weekly

-after becoming a model in a make up competition, she shakes things up with some social commentary

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Romance/Fantasy updates weekly

-Hades and Persephone just want to be happy. But their family is less "The Tanners" and more "Jerry Springer'

Like Wind on a Dry Branch by Dalsaeowl/Hwaeum

Drama/Romance updates weekly

-after losing everything to a plague, she starts her life over as a mage in the prince's harem. Heartwarming friendships and ugly crying included

Let's Play Mongie

Romance/Drama updates weekly

-the person that ruined her career is her new neighbor, and her love life just went from 0 to complicated

Future You by Kumokayaa

Romance/Fantasy updates once a month

-she's a time traveling assassin with no way back home, and he is a cop investigating her company. What could go wrong?

Cape of Spirits by Kris Nguyen

Fantasy/Adventure completed

-an ex prince joins his kidnappers in order to stop the spirits from destroying the world

Subzero by Junepurr

Romance/Fantasy updates weekly

-the princess and last of the azure dragons agrees to marry the prince of the crimson dragons as part of a peace treaty to end the war. But there is a lot more going on in the kingdom than meets the eye, and she has secrets of her own

Tower of God by SIU

Fantasy/Adventure updates weekly

-he climbs the tower to find a girl, but his very existence threatens the hierarchy within. This one is really long, but also AMAZING and addictive

Lumine by Emma Krogell

Fantasy updates weekly

-an orphaned werewolf is hired as a bodyguard to a standoffish witch. What they both really need is friendship

Nice to Meet You by Wishroomness

Romance/Drama updates weekly

-what starts off as an innocent prank turns into a wild romance

Little Mizzi Muffett and the Spider King by Catfish

Horror updates once a month

-something dark and evil is stirring, and she is the only one that can stop it. With the help of the spider king who has decided to make her his bride

Freaking Romance by Snailords

Romance/Sci Fi completed

-an interdimensional bisexual love triangle. Need I say more?

The Rose Prince by Samuraiflame

Romance updates twice a month

-after her twin brother's death, she takes his name and persona so that the kingdom can still pass on to her. However, the neighboring king sees right through her disguise

Siren's Lament by instantmiso

Romance/Fantasy completed

-she is stuck, half siren and half human. Now she must find a way to break the curse before she loses everything and everyone she loves

My Magical Maid by J_hp

Fantasy/Romance updates twice a month

-a witch lives in secret as the physician of the king...who hates witches

Shadow Bride by Sae In Lee/Soo Bean Lim

Romance/Fantasy updates weekly

-this one just started, but it is off to a great start: a beautiful thief who is barely getting by catches the attention of an awkward prince who is the true heir to the throne

Villain to Kill by Fupin/Enuji

Action updates weekly

-another new one. A hero gets reborn... as a villain. Now he is is trying to take down those that killed him, without losing his mind or bringing the apocalypse first

A Good Day to be a Dog by Lee Hey

Romance complete

-the only way to break her curse of turning into a dog is to get a kiss while transformed. Which would be a lot easier if the person she needs to kiss wasn't terrified of dogs

The Spectrum of Us by Sen-Chan

Drama/Romance updates weekly

-a cat in love with a wolf is complicated enough without throwing the cops, the mafia, and a tiger in the mix. Also keep an eye out for her other work Cat vs Dog which will premiere on originals soon!

My Roommate is a Gumiho by NA

Romance updates twice weekly

-after accidentally swallowing his bead, a college student moves in with a strict 900 year old fox so they can find a way to safely remove it. Hijinks ensue

That Awkward Magic by SomeBunny

Romance updates three times a month

-the jock and the loner agree to fake a relationship, and it takes the school by storm. But also, yer a wizard harry

Or: two dorks in love, but one is having a gay crisis and one is having a witch crisis

Eleceed by Jeho Son/ZHENA

Action updates weekly

-a secret agent gets stuck in the body of a fat cat and decides to mentor an optimistic kid with super speed. Wholesome, action packed, and hilarious

Act Like You Love Me! by XUANN

Romance updates weekly

-three people know each other but don't know that they know each other. It's gonna be fun when they figure it out

Great, my OCD says I'm not allowed to have 29 recs and must make it 30. But there are five I am torn between adding. We'll go with:

My Grim Romance by Gears of Rain

Romance updates every two weeks

-instead of dying, she gets a new roommate - in the form of a dramatic grim reaper who lost his powers

[internalsealpanic]

Love Through the Ages (Damian Wayne)

Summary:  Love like baggage needs to be declared.

a/n: This is part one of a series that is a fic rec list disguised as a fic. For these fics, most of the characters will be speaking different languages, so unless specified otherwise assume that the characters are speaking in the first language I mention. They’re all vampires with centuries under their belt. Why wouldn’t I make them all polyglots.  Also, thank you to the proof reading gang for putting up with my shenanigans.  I will have links to the fics I recommend in the fic itself.

Warnings: Everyone is dramatic. 

Masterlist

Series Masterlist. 

You wait by the platform, tapping your feet to the rhythm of the Little Colonel Bojangles Dance. It's been so long since you've seen the movie but your feet can still remember the steps- much to Damian's annoyance. Your feet patter against the pavement, wet from the spring rain, in a soft rhythm that kept your excitement at bay.

You wave to the approaching cab. The passenger of the cab looks away from you, pressing his mouth into the heel of his hand as his eyes stare out into oblivion. Your mouth quirks at the petulant gesture. You haven't seen each other in two decades and he's still mad about... what was it again? You'll find out soon enough.

The cab stops in front of you.

You bow your head, resting your weight on your umbrella. You grin at his seated form postured perfectly with an ease of a man born with the world in his pocket. He's dressed in a black suit and a dark coat that looked far too thick for spring.

"Long time, no see, little prince." You say in a dialect of Spanish too old for the young cab driver to recognize.

Damian raises his brow, articulating his annoyance. It takes you a moment to realize that it was with the accent you'd chosen. It was inelegant and curt and it mangled the curve of the syllables far too easily. In short, it was your favorite dialect.  Rolling your eyes, you try again. This time with a softer, smoother dialect much more modern but still old enough that you could talk freely without worrying about eavesdroppers.

Damian cracks a smile at you. It was wry but soft in the way Damian always was. Your own exasperated smile softens as you look at his eyes, their ever-changing lushness. It's been too long.

You open the door. Damian eases out of the cab handing the cabby what you quietly hope was the correct amount.

But considering the wide-eyed glee on the cabbies face, you can guess that twenty years has done nothing for Damian's spending habits. That was if the tailored suit wasn't a dead giveaway.

You look him over whistling," whose funeral are you going to after the museum?" 

"Yours if we're on schedule." Damian deadpans looking at his watch. 

You snort, sounding like a piglet in mud. Adoration flickers in Damian's eyes but you miss it as you throw your head back.

"Who has a schedule on vacation."

"People who don't like wasting time."

"That's what a vacation is for."

Damian makes an annoyed noise in the back of his throat and you shake your head. Damian wraps his arm around your shoulders. You happily press into his side, reveling in the intimacy of the action.

Damian had been telling you a story in rapid Arabic, the only words you understood were 'Jon' and 'moron', when you pause in front of a pair of paintings. The painting on the left was of Damian, his form drawn in harsh, messy angles. He's hunched over his sketchbook, candlelight glowing softly by his side makes his copper skin and forest green eyes breathtaking. The subject is out of view. The other was a portrait of you dozing off on a workshop table, your flaws lovingly rendered in gentle brush strokes. By contrast, your portrait was lit by the summer sun. Only Damian could make your features look this beautiful.

Vaguely, you remember this.

You remember it only for the countless times it had happened.

"They say that the one on the left is the painter sketching the portrait on the right and that the portrait on the right is of his lover."  You say airily. Damian, not one to disappoint, gives you an unreadable look.

Your stomach turns. You drop the subject. Wordlessly, you two make your way to the exhibit.

"Love through the Ages?" Damian asks, crossing his arms.

"Shockingly love wasn't invented by Stephenie Meyer."  You say. Damian wrinkles his nose at you and you cover your mouth to hide the scraggly smile spreading across your lips.

"I'm shocked your paintings didn't make it in."

He looks down at you huffing, "it's only speculation." 

You're heart twinges at that.  You press a frown to your hand.

"It'll be fun, Dami. I promise. Pleeeeeease."

Damian's stern look gives way to a weary half-smile as he capitulates to you.

"I promise it will only be half as nauseating as Dick's attempts to do family bonding."

"Tt, it would take a miracle to surpass that."

You grin. "Perish the thought."

"They say this stardust came from star-crossed lovers as they traveled through space. Oh and this one is a statue gifted by Persephone to Hades."

You drag Damian all over the exhibit. Pointing to specific exhibits with enthusiasm. He has to admit. It's infectious. Then again, Damian's never been able to resist anything about you. This amount of enthusiasm for something so frivolous would have been obnoxious on anyone else but because it's you, Damian's found himself utterly enamored by it.

"This one," You say, pointing to a series of paintings. They were all beautiful, painted in bold colors. The torrent of emotions radiating off of the canvas. "This one was made by an artist torn between three loves."

"Three? She must have been an exceptional artist."

"Probably was but her name was lost." You sigh.

 "She’s got exceptional brushwork." Damian hums. 

You squint at it. You would think after hundreds of years you would be able to discern that.

"And over there! Look at those postcards!" You say, pointing the three postcards pinned to a cloth in a glass case.  One card showed the northern lights, another with a picture of a thick rainforest, another with a large cave, and another with the pantheon. 

"They're not well preserved are they." Damian comments, scrutinizing the postcards and noting all the imperfections, the little cracks and tears, the water stains, and odd splotches of dirt. 

You roll your eyes, curling your fingers around his arm. "That's cus Hermes supposedly brought them everywhere while he searched for his lost love." 

"Quite the romantic. Do you know all the artifacts?"

"Yup." 

"I see..." Damian drawls.  "Then why are we here then?" Damian winces at how harsh and impatient he sounds. 

"Cus Jon said I needed an excuse to get you here and viola. It worked. I knew you'd cross the sea for a rare exhibit."

I would cross the sea for you, no matter how many times, Damian thinks.

"What about this?" Damian points to a golden coin, shaking his thoughts away. 

You lean back, side-eyeing him. "Care to guess?" His handsome features furrow as he thinks. 

"I think it’s a coin used to pay Charon." He says finally. 

You frown. "Good guess." A smug grin curls on his lips.  You stick your tongue out at him. 

"It’s an old Greek coin to pay the travel into the underworld."

 "Why would they want to travel  to the underworld?" It's Damian's turn to frown. 

"Yanno for someone who's so smart. You're asking the dumbest questions."

"It's a reasonable question." He asserts, his tone oddly defensive.

"Most people can't bear to be apart from their beloved."

Damian hums noncommittally. He understands that. he understands that all too well. 

"Like you and Jon." You say grinning.

Damian glares at you. No real anger behind it. 

"You two bicker like an old married couple." You laugh.

 "So do we." Damian says flatly, stepping closer to you and closing the gap between the two of you. He's looking at you so intensely that your skin sets itself on fire. 

"I often think about burying you under the kitchen patio too." Damian sneers, with a sharp grin. 

You snap out of your daze. Leaning in close and smiling, your hot breath fan against Damian's face.  "Will you do it affectionately?"

The moment hangs still in the air.  If you could capture it in amber, you would.

"Huh? This is new." You say, looking down at the glass case.

"How many times have you seen this exhibit?"

You preemptively shoot him an accusatory look. "What are you?"

"Concerned."

"Pfff!"

You lean down reading the plate. "Says here it's a letter from the late 1700s and early 1800s. An unsent letter to lost love."

"Sounds cliched." Damian says, leaning down next to you. 

"You've said that about everything."

You feel Damian stiffen beside you. You glance at him. He looks mortified. Your eyes follow his and land on the letter. The calligraphy looks familiar but you can't think of where you've seen the scrawl.

Damian tugs at your shoulder.

"(Y/n), let's go."

You shrug him off.

"(Y/n), let’s go." He repeats with increased urgency.

You shove your palm to his face.

Damian wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest. You flail and kick out childishly.

“Damian Al Ghul Wayne, I will gnaw your arm off.” You hiss but he doesn’t let go. In a last ditch effort to break free of his hold, you wriggle out of your coat.  Landing on your ass, you scramble for the glass case. 

My beloved (Y/n), 

Finding the words to tell you how I feel about you is not an easy feat. I feel as though Ibn Hazm himself would struggle to compose poems to express my feelings for you even then they would be inadequate.

Whilst we are surrounded by such death and misery, here in London, I want you to know that during these dark times, it is you that keeps me a light. It is you that leads me through the void and guides me.

I think I’ve always loved you from the very first moment I laid eyes on your beautiful lopsided smile. Yes. Your real smile. The one only a handful of people will ever see. I have been lucky enough to see it every day.

As time passed, I fell more and more in love with you. You have seen all of me. You have seen the monster within me and yet you still stand by my side. Never faulting in your stance.

I wish I had the strength to tell you this, face to face. I wish I could look into your eyes and whisper words of love my immortal beloved.

With Love, 

Damian

You stare at the letter uncomprehending. Realization slides off of you like rain off a tin roof. You read it over and over again until each syllable is embedded in your mind. “Damian, what the actual fuck?!”

“I-”

“You dork!”

Damian clams up unable to think of a response. Ok, no. He had a number of responses but none of them were appropriate or witty. He searches your features but the only thing he can make out is shock. 

“(Y/n), I was-”

You press your hand to the glass. “How come you never sent me this?”

“The French Revolution.”

“Which one?”

He crosses his arms raising a brow. 

“Ok, nevermind. But still, it’s been 200 years.”

“A lot has happened in 200 years.”

“A lot has happened in 200 years.” You repeat mockingly.

Damian pinches your cheeks in retaliation.   

“I was pinning for more than 200 hundred years!” You protest. 

“So was I!” Damian says, releasing your cheek. 

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you?” Damian asks, accusing and curt. You flinch, something vile and caustic rising in your stomach.  Damian sees it and grips your hand as you fall away from him. He just got you back. “(Y/n)....”

The fear and hurt melt off of your face. “I thought… I just thought you’d...” You ball your fists in frustration, not quite grasping the right words. But Damian already knows what you’re thinking. He’s seen that look in your face. He’s seen it every time you look at the mirror. It was infuriating to watch you like this. Why couldn’t you see just how perfect you are?

Damian pulls you into a hug, burying your face into his chest and resting his chin on top of your head. 

“You are infuriating.” He mumbles into your hair.

“And you’re rude.” You mumble back.

“Yet here you are 400 years later.” He laughs softly. 

You two stand in silence for a long moment. With Damian, silence itself was a language. It was one you’d grown fluent in. An unspoken conversation of confirmations and reassurances. 

He releases you but holds your hand in his. It feels warm. You shiver and Damian smiles at you, smooshing your coat into your face. Both of you can’t help but laugh. 

You step closer to the glass case, pulling him along. Damian follows without resistance, only lacing his fingers into yours. You both stare at the page. His proclamation of love carefully preserved for all to see. You take your phone out to take a picture.  Damian shoots you a glare. 

“You’re not sending that to Jon.” 

“Tim then.”

“No.”

“Fine, for myself then.” You pause seeing the confusion on his face. “In case, you know...” You say waving your hand. 

Damian tilts your chin up. “Beloved, I’m not going anywhere.”

Your chest flutters. After centuries of inaction, you can feel your heartbeat.  

[yandere-sins]

What about a stern priest that falls in love with a girl who just came to visit his church because she moved into his small town? Although very religious for his whole life, he's just accepting the girl for who she is, a complete opposite (even if they have the same interest in arts, books etc) First she's friendly but then becomes distant because notices his interest in her... And he's sure that this girl is a "god's gift" to him after all these years of loyalty and they're meant to be together

Can’t deny that I am always smitten with yandere’s that need to be ‘pure’ for some reason or another. Just a big ol’ weak spot of mine :D Enjoy!

»»———————— ♡ ————————««    

They were meant for each other.

Anyone opposing that fact was spouting profanities in the face of their own god. After all, it was the power from above that sent her to his church, made her find her way to his threshold. She was a blessing in the form of a human, just like him, and he could not have asked for a better gift after all these years of devotion to nothing but their Lord’s instructions.

Alone the fact that she returned to him in time for confession was enough to prove it. For a while, the Priest had feared that she might lose her way, seemingly nowhere to be found around the church. But thanks to the urging of the people in the community, she had been pushed back on the righteous way meant for her. Right back to him.

From the moment she had arrived in the small fisher’s town, she had changed up the ways of the people, teaching them new technologies and antics she learned in the big city she had come from. He hadn’t been all too happy with it, seeing how the people started to strife away from traditions and values. With the wind of change that she brought, other, less welcome members of society joined the community. Gamblers, corrupt salesman, harlots. Now it was a bustling place, and so was his church and especially his confession booth, as the people flocked in with tales of deception and infidelity.

But it would have been a lie if he said she didn’t move him too.

He had never been anything but the town’s priest, the position promised to him when he was just two days old. Every waking moment of his life had he spent studying the holy scripts, practicing ancient rites, and helping people over their problems no matter the topic, even when he was still too young to even understand them. A prodigy priest, that’s what he had become with just 16, and now, with 24, he was an important member of the community, even though the people began turning away from him.

It wasn’t his fault that he grew stern and cold. If anyone else had been confronted with the sins of humanity from such an old age, breaking down over fearing to fall into the same misery as other people did, surely, they’d began to grow a thicker skin too. And now that he had her, he knew there was at least one other person who understood him.

At least her confessions never spoke of her trying to steal another wife’s man, or how she murdered her brother - which she had five of, all younger than her, and corrupter, he was sure! - or even just about her problem with the good old wine. She only ever spoke of how she worried about other people and their problems, and how much she dreaded not being able to help them more, feeling like she was desensitizing from them the more she heard.

Ah, she understood it so well.

The same scenario played that day. A farmer’s daughter had become pregnant from a merchant on travel, and she came here in the young lass’ stead to ask for forgiveness. Both of them knew there wasn’t more to do than that, the daughter probably ending up with a bastard’s child and shunned by her own family after all.

“What a pity it is,” the priest spoke, holding away the curtain from the booth to let the woman of his peculiar dreams out. The touch they shared as he held out his hand for her to reach for as she stumbled out of the dark, wooden box, was way too short for his taste.

“Is it, though? Isn’t it wonderful how she’ll experience motherhood?” was her quick and witty response, never having been a girl too shy to say what was on her mind. “Perhaps,” he pressed forth through gritted teeth, having nothing more to say. It should have been his duty to console even people with greater mistakes than an unplanned pregnancy, and he should have been the one to tell this woman of how everyone was supposed to keep themselves pure until marriage. But he wasn’t one to talk back to her, much rather wanting to hear more from her instead of his own voice.

“You have stopped coming to the church lately, has something happened?” he asked. Directly, blunt. Just like he was.

“Oh, Father, I...” Unusual for her, she grew timid, wringing her hands in front of her as she looked down. She always looked as if her mind was far away on a new adventure, but today, she seemed especially reluctant to share what was going on inside her. Their shared walk to the front of the church came to a halt, her back turned away from the door so she could face him, despite not being able to look at him.

He only allowed himself to gaze at her longingly for the moment she wasn’t aware of her eyes on him. She was as pretty as a jewel, as colorful and fun as the trees in fall. People gathered around her, her laugh as sweet as the singing of the birds, with eyes shining like sun rays on top of the ocean. There was nothing more he wished for as to reach out and hold her in his arms, take in her shining aura on top of his dimmed, almost vanished one.

If anything, he was the Hades to her Persephone, characters he only heard about in theatre, though they made so much more sense now. And he wanted her. Wanted her to stay here by his side, in these old, traditional stone walls. It would have been enough if she became what he always thought her to be, a friend to the people, a sister of the order he was under. To serve them and live modestly by his side until death does them part.

“I fear...” she muttered, bringing her hands to her chest. “The reason I cannot come anymore is because...”

She seemed abashed, hurting beneath her sunny exterior. A gasp escaped his mouth as the realization hit him, that in her good will and helpfulness, no one ever seemed to take care of her in return. She was always alone with her own worries and fears. The only time she allowed herself to bring them up was with him, behind the grid of the confession booth. Yes, he understood her. And he understood her reasons. They were the same as his, after all.

No one knew her better than he did.

“No more words,” he ordered strictly as he pulled her to his chest, enveloped her body in his ropes. On his face, a never known warmth spread, his heart filling with joy and adoration, as well as thankfulness for the divine dispensation. “I understand even without you saying it. And I must confess... I feel the same way. I, too, am scared of those feelings I harbor for you, and I fear how the people will react if they find out. But it’s alright, as long as we are together, just like we are meant to from above--”

“But, Sir!” she stirred, pushing away from him and tearing apart the blissful moment of intimacy they shared, leaving a bitter taste on his feelings.

“I do not fear my own feelings! But I fear yours! It’s you I fear the most, Father!”

She was quick to take a few, precautious steps away from her. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concern, hands held up defensively. Just like a deer in the eyes of a predator. But that’s not what he was, right? Yes, he was stern and strict, and sometimes too possessed by old values, but he wasn’t an animal, right? He wouldn’t even kill a fly, much less hurt a person.

Before he could say anything, she turned, her clothes captured by the wind of her motions as if they were taunting him. Taunting him to reach out, to grab her and tear on her, and not let her go. Her arms swang back and forth as she made her way out of the church hurriedly, and she almost succeeded, one hand on the large, cold door handle.

The priest’s grip made her squeak from surprise, his fingers adding a crushing weight on her wrist. She twirled around because she was forced to, not because she wanted, her free hand wrapping around his pleadingly. Just for a moment, their eyes met, and he caught his own reflection in those scared, miserable gems of hers. His expression, the bared teeth, the angry shine in his eyes, the many, many wrinkles in his face of anger, concern, and desperation.

That was the only time that he realized that what she saw wasn’t the town’s priest. To her, he didn’t seem like the person everyone else liked and encouraged her to meet. Even when he thought they were so similar, from their taste in books to their dreams for the village, she had been the only one with keen eyes, purity seeing through all evil that was harbored inside of him.

And it was just her who could see the absolute demon he was.

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Long Lost Love // Part One (D.M.)

Summary: Two piles of twelve letters, hidden away in the bottom of a trunk, browning with age. Twenty-four letters in total, all addressed to him. 

A/N: This is my entry into @teheharrypotter‘s two weeks of angst! I just really want to take a moment and say that I am so proud of this fic and how it has come out, like ridiculously proud of it. I would really appreciate some feedback on this - reblogs and comments are so important. There is going to be a second part where all the love letters will be compiled into one long post. However, I think not giving too much away only adds to the suspense and angst. Also, the ending... I love it and I think you’ll all hate me for it.

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader

Warnings: this is a lot of angst combined with hurt/comfort but there’s a lot of growth in Draco (I think?)

Word count: 5.4k

It had been fifteen years since the end of the second wizarding war; it had been fifteen years of healing and working on himself, of repenting for his family’s crimes during the war. Draco Malfoy had aged in that time; his hair had grown past his shoulders, tied back with a black leather hair tie, and there were lines on his face that had not been there when he was an eighteen year old running away from the castle he classed as his home.

He had lived a lifetime in those fifteen years. He had seen the world before training as a Healer; working his way up the ranks to become head of the emergency department of the only wizarding hospital within Britain. He had trained Healer after Healer; many of them going off to establish clinics in their own community, all of them sending cards at Christmas, regaling him of their successes.

Draco had lived a lifetime. He lost his father first. Lucius had never truly recovered from his time in Azkaban, and though Draco had tried his hardest to form some semblance of a relationship with his father, Lucius had remained cruel until the end. Truthfully, Draco doesn’t want to think about what it was that killed him in the end. Whether it was the spite that had poisoned him for years, or whether it was something else. Draco doesn’t dwell on it; instead, he leaves white roses on his father’s grave every Sunday like any loving son would.

Narcissa hadn’t lasted long after Lucius passed. She had been distraught. Whilst Lucius was not a doting father, he was a doting husband and he adored Narcissa until his very last breath on this earth. To Draco, her tears started that day and didn’t stop until she passed away in her asleep. Her heart, the coroner said. She had died of a broken heart.

A feeling Draco knew only too well.

Despite achieving so much and traveling so far, he had only ever been in love once. There had only ever been one moment in his whole life that had been filled with the kind of love read about in books, sang about in songs, and played out in films. Draco had fallen in love with you when he was sixteen years old and entering what would be the darkest period of his life. To him, you had been the light in the dark. The answer to his constantly asked question: will there ever be a happy ending?

Nothing had ever happened; nothing could happen. You were the epitome of goodness; the very incarnate of its definition, and he… he was the opposite. In those days, his self-hatred ran so deep that he would argue he was the Hades of the story. Doomed forever to the underworld only to fall in love with the Goddess of Spring and hope for retribution that would never come.

However, in this version of their well-told myth, Hades and Persephone never fall into a relationship. In this version of events, feelings were known and reciprocated, but letters that pleaded for a chance either never arrived or were never answered.

So for fifteen years, Draco Malfoy has been working hard on repairing his family’s tattered reputation whilst coping with the depth-defying grief that comes with losing both parents within the span of a year as well as never truly dealing with the heart wrenching grief that accompanies a relationship that was never given the chance to bloom.

--------

It was a bright, clear day in the middle of March when Draco decided to clean out the attic. He had woken with the urge to clean; with the urge to organise his life and start to work through the piles of his parent’s belongings. He hadn’t been able to touch them in the beginning; the most he had been able to do was relocate everything to the attic and then shove the very thought to the back of his mind where it began to fester like an open wound.

Bright and clear was the day when Draco chose to enter the long forgotten attic in the Manor. Bright and clear was the day when he had to hold a handkerchief to his face to stave off the inevitable sneezes from the dust floating in the air.

Looking around the old and dusty attic, Draco takes in the first of the mess. Trunks line the wall; some ancient – locks worn down with time, almost rusted from their exile to the attic; others are much newer such as his parent’s belongings. Their trunks remain almost new; their initials still painted onto the lids in bright gold paint.

The majority of the morning is spent creating two piles; one to be thrown away, one to be donated. Expensive gowns and suits were to be donated. Anything that reminded Draco of his allegiance in the Second Wizarding War was to be thrown.

As he goes through the belongings of not just his parent’s, but also his grandparents, Draco begins to feel conflicted. With each addition to the bin pile, he feels lighter, he feels one less burden. However, he cannot help the guilt that unfurls in his stomach as he thinks of his mother’s kind face and her forever painted red lip.

By the time Draco makes it to his mother’s final trunk, he feels as if he has been in battle once more. Weariness hangs heavy over in shoulders, settling in his bones. His body slumped, not just from the tiredness from lifting heavy trunks and boxes, but from the emotional weight of memories freshly unleashed upon him.

Draco’s movements are slower as he opens the lid to this final trunk. He thinks back to the day he filled it; piling his mother’s correspondence and personal effects in here – separate from the clothes he knew he would one day get rid of. He slides his hands over the emerald green lid – a Slytherin till the day she died, Draco thinks as he smiles to himself.

At some point, he lets a few tears fall. It’s the sight of Narcissa’s handwriting, he realises. He hadn’t seen it in so long – not having received a birthday card or a Christmas present this year due to her death. Seeing her strong cursive brought tears to his eyes; he remembers being a child, sitting by her desk, watching her write away and wondering who on earth she could be talking to. If Draco focuses hard enough, he swears he can still smell the fresh ink drying on the parchment and the melted wax being pressed with Narcissa’s signet ring.

At the bottom of the trunk, Draco notices a latch. Frowning, he flips it open to reveal a false bottom hidden away. Uneasiness spreads through him, turning his stomach to lead as he reaches inside to feel two distinct piles.

The uneasiness turns to heavy anguish when Draco realises just what he is holding in his hands.

------

Two piles of twelve letters, hidden away in the bottom of a trunk, browning with age.

Twenty-four letters in total, all addressed to him.

They now sit on his kitchen counter; the ageing paper a stark contrast to the obsidian black of his counter top. Draco leans back in his chair, huffing out a long sigh, running a hand down his face as he does so. It had been fifteen years, but he would recognise your handwriting anywhere.

It had been fifteen years and he hadn’t had any contact with you. He wondered for so long why his letters had gone unanswered to the point where he stopped writing altogether, feeling the keen sting of rejection.

Fifteen years and he now had his answer.

Hidden away in a trunk; squirreled away in the hopes that he would never find them. The hope that he would forget about you and move on. He never had; he just kept his feelings silent, caging them up in his heart along with everything else he kept from his parents.

Anger surges through him. The first emotion he has felt since he opened that damned trunk.

He lets out a choked scream; the intensity of his anger surprising him as he slams a fist onto the counter top, wincing slightly from the pain now radiating up his right arm.

How dare they, he roars. How dare they keep this from him? How dare they keep you from him? Did you not fit their ideal – a pureblood from a well off family? Did you not meet their needs visually? Your hair perfect, your face just the same.

There was no good reason he could think of. Draco pads over to the bar, tucked away in the corner of the kitchen. There, he pours himself a knuckle’s length of the amber liquid, knocking it back with a hiss. The whiskey burns as it goes down; burns just like his emotions, like his anger.

Draco’s lip curls in distaste as he hears his father’s voice: a distraction, Draco, that’s all.

Lucius Malfoy had never uttered such words in Draco’s presence, but Draco was well aware of his father’s distaste of you.

Reading over his home address once again, Draco is hit with a sense of helplessness. He doesn’t know where to go from or what to do. He reads over your home address, neatly written in the top left hand corner of the envelope.

Sighing, he runs a hand down his face, still uncertain what his next move is going to be. He runs through the options in his head once, and out loud after.

To no-one in particular, he argues:

“I could reply. I could write a letter back, apologising for the absence of replies with a brief sentence or two about meeting up after so much time has passed.”

Draco waves that option away; his tongue too tied up to even think about coherently writing a letter out now. He moves onto option two:

“I could show up. I could apparate to the address right now, knock on the door and ask to speak to them.”

He shakes his head; immediately ridding himself of the idea. For starters, what if you had moved, and he finds himself knocking on the door of an unknown family? However, what if you still live there, and you answer the door? What is Draco to say to you then after such a long time apart?

He imagines the situation; forces himself into shoes that he could possibly be wearing in the near future. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. Not a word, not a whisper, not an apology.

So he ignores option two.

Draco knows its cowardice that drives him to the third option, but to go fifteen years without a reply to a letter declaring love… it is too long of a time to expect any form of forgiveness, and he supposes that is what he is most afraid of. Draco’s terrified of not being worthy enough for your forgiveness.

So he goes with option three:

Do nothing.

------

Draco does the only thing that makes sense.

He takes the letters to work.

Draco slides the letters into his satchel, latching the buckle afterwards and taking a deep breath. Already, Draco feels the twenty four envelopes burning a hole through the soft, worn leather of his bag.

Their presence continues to haunt him: placing his bag in his locker and grabbing his lab coat, walking towards the admit desk where Martha – the head nurse – smiles at him before handing him a cup of coffee.

The emergency room is swamped. It is full to capacity with even more waiting in triage. They work as hard and as fast as they can, but it takes time to cure burns from potions and injuries from spells gone wrong.

It gets to the point where Draco needs to take a step back. He has to take a step back and re-evaluate. His personal life is shot; the love he had found at sixteen a dead end until this last weekend. His professional life is all that he has going for him, but on days like this, when he isn’t feeling entirely himself for the shock from the weekend, Draco does find himself being short with patients.

He escapes to the break room; the familiar bitter scent of coffee already relaxing the tense muscles in his shoulders. He settles into a chair at the rickety table, head in his hands as he takes a deep breath.

Draco represses the urge to cry. He pushes it down; deep, deep down inside him where he can deal with it another day. At this moment, all he wants is a hug from his mother and the age old promise that everything is going to be okay. It’s her fault’ it is Narcissa’s fault that he is like this.

That he is a husk of a man.

He feels like a therapist’s wet dream. Blaming his mother, his parents as the source of his problems, but he cannot help imagining how different his life would be if those letters had been delivered to his hands.

He would be with you. He would have given it all up for you.

His lineage; his inheritance; his name; the pureblood mania that infected his parents.

He would give it all up for you.

Fifteen years later and he would still give up every aspect of his life, every part of him that makes him him.

Draco would drop it all in a heartbeat for you.

“What’s gotten into you?” A feminine voice questions. Draco turns in his seat to see his closest friend and confidant, Alexandria Delphi, leaning against the door with a smile on her face.

He cannot help the smile that grows on his face at her presence. He shrugs, hoping he appears nonchalant, “What do you mean?”

Alexandria pushes herself off the door, coming to sit next to Draco at the old rickety table that has been at home in the break room since before time itself. She raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow at his obvious aversion. She gestures to his entire being, “I mean this. You’ve been off all day – not as attentive to patients, not your usual flirtatious self with the nurses which I know they are missing very much. What’s gotten into you, Draco?”

Draco sighs, knowing very well he could never hide anything from her. Alexandria and Draco had known each other since their first year of training; an unlikely friendship forming between them, but a friendship nonetheless. Thirteen years later, they had been working in the emergency department of St Mungo’s the longest – second only to Martha, the Head Nurse.

“I was cleaning out the attic over the weekend. Getting rid of some of my parent’s things.”

Alexandria frowns, reaching for Draco’s hand over the table. “You should have called me. I would have come and helped you; you shouldn’t have had to that alone.”

“I know,” Draco starts, running a hand down his face, “I know you would have but I think I needed to do it alone.”

Alexandria nods, releasing his hand at last and bringing it to the coffee mug sitting in front of her. Draco smiles at her before standing, opening his locker and grabbing the letters that call to him from his bag.

Sitting back down, he slides the two piles of letters in Alexandria’s direction, all the while saying, “I found these in my mother’s trunk. It had a false bottom, and they were sitting there.”

Her deep brown eyes widen, “How scandalous! They’re addressed to you?”

Draco nods, “When I was at Hogwarts, there was a girl.”

“Isn’t there always?” Alexandria quips, rolling her eyes at the dramatics of her colleague.

“Anyway,” Draco comments pointedly, “I was in love, or at least, I was as much in love as you can be when you’re sixteen years old. I still am, I think.

“Anyway, my parents didn’t approve of her; they never would so when war started brewing and I went home, I never imagined I would get letters. I never got letters. Turns out, she had been sending me letters all along and my parents had kept them hidden until now.”

“Bastards,” Alexandria spits; furious at people long dead.

“What do you think I should do?” Draco asks earnestly, his eyes never leaving the pile of letters.

“Have you read them?” Alexandria asks; her eyes fixed on the two sets of letters placed between them on the rickety table.

He shakes his head, refusing to meet Alexandria’s eyes, “I think I’m too scared.”

Alexandria smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She sighs, “You aren’t going to know what to do until you read them. Reading the letters should give you the answer you are looking for.”

“When did you get so wise?”

“When you made me Attending,” She quips, yet there is still no heart behind it – none of her usual heat that tends to come out when Draco baits her slightly. She shakes her head, standing from her seat with her coffee in her hand, “I want to see you back out there soon. I don’t care whether you’re the head of the department.”

He raise an eyebrow at her in challenge; she simply smirks. He shakes his head at her antics, already rising from his seat, “I’m on my way.”

“Good, I have plenty of patients for you to see.”

Draco doesn’t reply, he watches her leave with a fond smile on his face.

Alexandria leaves the break room. She leaves as it is the only way that Draco will not see the sorrow and the longing reflected in her eyes. Alexandria doesn’t let him see the jealousy over the letters; the very emotion gnawing away at the ever growing pit in her stomach, only making it deeper as she replays the story of Draco’s first and only love.

She remembers when she used to look forward to coming into work; to help those in need and be a source of comfort for those she couldn’t help. Now, she struggles to make it through the door with the knowledge that she has been in love with the same man for years and nothing had happened.

That’s the thing about loving someone who doesn’t love you back – it turns you into a ghost of your former self.

------

Draco finds himself reaching for the first letter in the pile on a Friday night in the middle of April. If he had to be honest with himself, it had taken him a whole month to work up the nerve to read them. Draco had come home after the conversation with Alexandria and dropped the letters on the side table where they have taunted him ever since.

He knows he isn’t in the right frame of mind to be reading them; a bad shift with too many deaths combined with the two half full tumblers of whiskey consumed creates the equation of self-destruction. However, Draco reminds himself, he’s had fifteen years of internal self-destruction – what’s one more night when you tear yourself down so regularly despite the accolades attached to your name?

Draco hesitates, holding the first of the twenty four letters in his hand. He hesitates; unsure as to whether he is ready to read the handwriting of someone whose notes through class not only made him happy, but hopeful.

Releasing a shuddering breath, he tears open the seal and begins to read.

------

The letters are not long. They aren’t pages and pages of eloquent syntax over your feelings for the blonde haired, cocky teenager he once was. The closer he gets to the end of the pile, the less is written as if you had grown tired of such an act and not getting a reply.

Draco keeps his favourite close to him. It’s tucked away in his inner coat pocket, on the left hand side close to his heart.

The letter has been with him a month now. A month of one letter being read and reread too many times a day; to the point where Draco is reciting it in his sleep. It’s creased beyond recognition, but he still takes the risk every day to take it out and read it.

He misses you. He misses you. He misses you.

Now, Draco unfolds the paper. He unfolds the paper and reads the opening line: do you remember that night in the greenhouse? Writes your neat handwriting; the letters perfectly formed on the now browning parchment.

How could he forget? Draco closes his eyes, letting himself fall into the memory perfumed with compost and night blooming evening primrose.

*****

“Name two purposes of Valerian Root.”

“To help someone sleep as well as to ease anxiety.”

“Very good,” You laugh, moving quietly between the rows and rows of plants. You turn to him suddenly, “What is one danger of Black Henbane?”

Draco pauses, eyes already searching for papery flower with spidery black veins. He finds it nestled towards the back of the greenhouse, hidden away from sight and away from the wandering hands of children. Draco follows you closely; remaining near you as he says, “As a member of the nightshade family, the plant can be toxic if used in large quantities.”

The sight of your smile takes his breath away. You rush to him; toothy grin and loud laughter as you nod your head. “Madame Pomfrey was right,” You splutter, “You’re going to make an incredible Healer, Draco Malfoy.”

He doesn’t need to see the blush to know it’s there; he can feel the heat creeping its way up his neck to his cheeks. “I don’t think I’ll get there if I don’t have you.”

A satisfied smile replaces the happy grin that was on your face only moments ago. It was as if you were waiting for those words to fall from his lips; the reassurance within those words spreading over your worry like a balm over a wound.

How many more nights would they get like this? How many more nights would they have together?

Somewhat foolishly, Draco hopes he has forever. He hopes he has an eternity and a day with you, but he can feel the changes in the air, and he knows it isn’t good. Draco can see the tension at home; more and more people arriving, each just as secretive as the last, and Draco suddenly knows he only has a short amount of time before he’s inducted into the same fanatic group as his parents.

He’s on limited days with you so he’ll take the nights.

He’ll take all the nights.

-------

The shoebox had remained untouched under his bed for years now. Draco had shoved it there in a fit of anger and despair and he hadn’t looked since.

Reaching for it now, Draco represses the growing anger directed at his parents. He ignores the growing resentment surrounding the fact that they hid your letters for years and never thought to whisper a word of it – not even on their death beds.

The shoebox has aged; not unlike himself, he thinks as he wipes the dust from the top. The thick layer drawing a sneeze from him before he can open the box.

It doesn’t matter how many years it has laid unwanted under his bed; it doesn’t matter how long it has remained there, untouched and not thought of – Draco, to this day, can still recount for every little thing in there.

Notes that have now turned brown with age; old photos where youthful faces glance up at him; a chocolate bar wrapper from Honeyduke’s.

They each line the bottom of the shoebox. Draco’s memories of you out there for him to finally confront, to see. He sinks down onto his childhood bed; almost blinded by the force of the wave of nostalgia washing over him, threatening to drown him with the strength of his memories.

The memories hadn’t plagued him for some time though you played on his mind constantly – even more so since the letters.

They’re silly memories, but memories, nonetheless. Ones that he adores; ones that he cherishes.

It was the letters that triggered this. The letters that have brought the ghosts back from where they had been hidden, haunting him quietly until now.

Draco runs a hand through the trinkets in the box. He smiles at them, thinking of Hogsmeade and how he had surprised you with a bar of your favourite chocolate. The grin on your face worth all the jibes from Crabbe and Goyle when he got back to the Slytherin common room that evening.

Draco falls back onto his childhood bed with a huff.

He has a decision to make, and he doesn’t know where to begin. He has a decision to make, and he doesn’t have the guidance he so desperately needs.

Draco wants to see you; he needs to see you, but what if you don’t want to see him?

----

“I heard you handed in your notice,” Draco states as a way of breaking the ice.

Her notice of leave had landed in his hands not even three hours ago. He had spent the time since in a panic; rushing about the hospital to find Alexandria and to question her, to find out why she would leave after so long.

Why she would leave him.

Alexandria nods, “I have. I leave in two weeks.”

“Why?” Draco all but demands, “You love this place.”

“You’re right,” Alexandria sighs, “I do.”

“Then why are you leaving?”

“Because I can’t do this anymore, Draco. I can’t sit here and listen to you talk about those letters and sigh dreamily, or date someone else. I can’t do it,” Her voice breaks, “So I won’t. I want a fresh start, so I’m going to get one.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

“If I had known…”

“What? You’d have loved me?” Alexandria laughs mirthlessly, “Love me, Draco! Love me.”

“I can’t,” He whispers; the words the death knell to any scrap of friendship remaining.

Tears fall down her face, “And that’s why I have to go.”

She presses a kiss to his cheek; lingering for longer than what was probably good for her. When she pulls away, she can see the wetness of her tears on Draco’s cheek. “I hope you find her, Draco. You deserve a love story.”

-----

The cottage is small, but it is perfect. Ivy covered walls with a neat front garden; every inch showing the love and attention being paid to it. From the red roses that makes Draco think of his beloved mother to the intense scent of lavender that reminds Draco of the perfume you wore through Hogwarts. Looking up at the cottage, Draco realises that he had never seen a house look so much like a home.

He pauses at the gate; eyes focused on the bricks of the cottage and nowhere else. He doesn’t let the hope grow; he doesn’t let himself dream of what could happen. He’s thankful he has made it this far.

That he’s made it back to you.

The black gate creaks when Draco pushes it open. He winces at the noise, praying it doesn’t give him away and that you answer the door unexpectedly.

He needs this.

He needs the time.

It’s been fifteen years and since he found your letters months ago, he thought he would be ready by the time he found you.

Now Draco is thinking, perhaps he isn’t ready.

Will he ever be ready? He asks himself. Will he ever be ready to confront the very person he has been in love with since he was sixteen years old?

Draco doesn’t know; he doesn’t think he’ll ever know until he steps through the gate.

Draco’s hands shake as he rushes down the well-worn footpath to your dark brown front door. His hands continue to shake as he raises a single fist to knock on the door, three times.

He’s about to turn away; he’s about to walk away and never enter your life again. He will go away and never think of you again; of what could have been.

But then the lock clicks, and the handle moves.

“Hello?” A sweet voice calls out; your voice calls out.

“(Y/N)…” He breathes, and suddenly his nerves are gone and so is his worry. Suddenly, Draco is back at Hogwarts, the feel of your hand in his as he presses you into walls and steals kisses behind statues. He’s back to being sixteen years old and feeling the unrelenting agony of teenage love for the first time along with the merciless fear to do with the rising tensions.

“Draco,” You whisper, bringing a hand up to your mouth. Shock reflects in your eyes; your eyes that show no signs of aging other than the lines that are now forming in the corners.

Draco can’t help himself; he runs his eyes over your body, taking in the changes that becoming an adult has brought. It means nothing; he would love you regardless, but he cannot seem to help himself from drinking it all in.

From the realisation that he in fact stood in front of you.

You are there, and he is here with you.

“How have you been?” He asks; more out of politeness than anything else.

You shift awkwardly, “I’ve been good, Draco. How have you been?”

Draco nods, “I’ve been good too. I know you’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

You laugh, tucking yourself slightly behind the door, “That did cross my mind.”

He smiles; a large grin that he hasn’t felt on his face in a long, long time. Less than five minutes with you, and you’re already bringing out a side of him that Draco had long thought was extinct. He reaches into his coat, grabbing some of the letters that he keeps there. He holds them out to you, “I’ve only just found them.”

Audibly gasping, you instinctively reach for the letters. Your fingers brush Draco’s and he swears his heart skips a beat at the small touch. “I sent these years ago.”

Draco closes his eyes, “I know, and I cannot apologise enough to you for how long it has taken. I thought a reply in person would be better.”

Tears line your eyes as your fingers brush the worn paper; the crease marks more than evident from where Draco has folded and refolded the letter to read. “I always wondered what had happened…” You trail off, lifting your gaze from the letters to meet his eyes.

“My parents,” He whispers; voice pained. He takes a moment to collect himself, but you put a hand up to stop from saying anything else.

“I understand. You don’t need to explain more, Draco.”

“Thank you,” He replies, smiling softly. Then he launches into his tale, “I was cleaning out their belongings; cleaning in general really when I found a false bottom in my mother’s trunk. When I took it out, I found your letters… and I read them and reread them. I practically memorised them. I don’t think there are enough words in the English language to convey just how sorry I am.”

“Draco…”

“No, let me say this… please,” He whispers, adding on the last word for politeness. You fall silent, your eyes begging him not to say out loud what you know he is going to confess.

“Until the last star fades and we succumb to darkness, I shall love you. I have always loved you; from being a scared teenager to being a just as scared adult. My feelings haven’t changed. I’ve thought of nothing but you for fifteen years,” He pauses, drawing in a shuddering breath, “I love you.”

Silence falls over you both. Draco’s heart pounds in his chest as he watches the emotions flicker over your face in a pace he didn’t think was humanly possible. Acceptance, happiness, relief and then finally, sadness.

He furrows his brows; surely this would be a happy event no? Draco has tracked you down after a fifteen year absence. He has found his one true love at last, and now he stands before you wondering the cause of such sadness on your face and in your eyes.

“Draco…” You trail off, holding up your left hand, “I’m married.”

******

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Draco Malfoy taglist: @the--queen-of-hell​ @obxmxybxnk​ @obx-beach​ @sycathorn-slush​ @dracomalfoyswifey​ @kashishwrites​ @justmesadgirl​ @detroitobsessed​ @reaganwonders​ @aspiringsloth20​ @just-a-belgian-girl​ @lahoete​ @minty-malfoy​ @fallinallinmendes​ @ravenclawbitch426​ @ochrythum​ @beiahadid​ @gryffindors-weasley​ @dracosathenaeum​

[supercasey]

So I've been playing The Hades Game like fucking mad for the last few weeks, and although I'm not very far in it (at least, I don’t think I am; I’ve only beat Hades once!), I'm absolutely in love with it! Anyways, a certain idea has been kicking around in my head for awhile now, so I thought I'd share it with y'all; feel free to tell me what you think of it! (Warning: spoilers for when you beat Hades the first time!)

Anyways, I've already seen a really cool AU post for if Demeter raised Zagreus on the surface by herself (which you can find HERE; please check it out, the outfit for Zag alone is an amazing concept, and I love the artwork!!!) but I keep thinking about an AU where, after Zagreus dies at birth, Persephone runs away and takes his wrapped up body with her.

On the surface, she reconnects/reunites with her mother Demeter, and with her aid, the two of them manage to resurrect the newborn baby, though now he has more white in his hair than anything else. After that, Persephone sends Hades a letter to tell him that Zagreus is alive and well (because she actually has some fucking class), before proceeding to raise Zagreus on the surface with her mother, far away from the entrance to hell. The Olympians also help her out a bit, but mostly they just help by hiding Zagreus when it’s necessary.

(The rest is under a cut ‘cus this got a bit long, sorry!)

Years pass in relative peace, until Zagreus is about as old as he is in-game (I think he’s around 20-25ish???) and is living well, working with his mom and grandma to take care of their gardens and live peacefully away from mankind; he especially loves tending to the animals and guiding lost mortals to safety. However, one day while foraging for fruit in the deepest corners of his mother’s signature garden, Zagreus happens across a strange man in long robes, who introduces himself as Thanatos.

The two men get along swimmingly from minute one, and after agreeing to meet with each other again soon, they leave and tell their families/friends all about the experience, having no clue who they are to each other. After all, Thanatos was told growing up that his lord’s first wife died giving birth to their first and only child, who was a stillborn, and Zagreus thinks his father died of disease (his mom didn’t have to heart to tell him anything bad about his dad). Needless to say, they’re gonna be in for quite the shock soon.

Cue Hades losing his shit and calling on Thanatos, Megaera, and Achilles to go find his progeny and bring him home; he gives them special permission to leave the Underworld without any resistance, trusting Than to lead the way back to Zagreus. Achilles is less than thrilled to be performing such a morally grey task for his master, but Meg and Than are eager to prove themselves, so he begrudgingly agrees to help, even if it hurts his conscience to do so.

Persephone and Demeter also freak the hell out on their end, scared shitless by the fact that Death incarnate has just met their son/grandson, and they’re worried that he plans on coming back again soon. Demeter suggests sending Zagreus to live with the Olympians until this all blows over, but Persephone disagrees, wanting her son to stay nearby in case he grows ill (it’s implied that she’s a bit overprotective of him, mostly because she’s afraid of him dying again; this also means she refuses to let him know that he’s in any danger, believing it would only make things worse for him in the long-run). Frustrated but understanding her daughter’s pain all too well, Demeter at least convinces her to call on the Olympians for aid, which Persephone agrees to do.

The gods promise to help of course, but... well, they're low-key lying; they wanna see how this plays out first.

After several days of traveling through hell (literally), the “let’s kidnap Zagreus” gang makes it to the surface, and they immediately head to Persephone’s garden. All this time, Zagreus has no idea that he’s being targeted, so he goes about his chores as usual, only to run into Than again, and hey, he brought some more friends for him to meet! Zagreus is friendly with all of them, being raised to be very polite by his guardians, and while he’s busy chatting with Than and Achilles, he doesn’t notice Meg sneaking behind him. Just as Zagreus is rattling on about how the animals have been faring this summer, Meg stabs Zagreus in the back with a blade coated in Hades’s blood, cursing him to belong to the Underworld again.

With Zagreus now unconscious from a sedative that was mixed with the blood, the trio hurry off with him back to the Underworld, but not without Persephone seeing what they’ve done to her son. Horrified, she begins to sob, and winter arrives in the mortal world without so much as a fall season in-between this and the summertime.

When Zagreus comes to, he finds himself in a bedroom similar to the one he has in the game, but it’s much cleaner and has less objects of personal value to him. Hades is standing at the foot of his bed when he wakes up, and very calmly, Hades tells Zagreus that he’s his father, and that from now on, Zagreus will be living in the Underworld with him and his people, where he so obviously belongs. It’s a shame his mother can’t be here, of course, but they just need to wait awhile, that’s all; surely she’ll come to her senses and return home soon, now that her husband and son are here.

Zagreus jumps out of bed and faces his father as soon as he’s done monologuing, ready to tell him off for what he’s done, but to his shock, Hades hugs him as soon as he’s on his feet, and admits that he’s waited for this day for a long, long time. He asks his son to please just accept that this is his home now, and despite still being a bit surprised (and subtly hugging Hades back because Longing), Zagreus tells him straight up that he can’t, that he has to get home, especially with winter coming in a few months!

Dejected but not overly surprised, Hades simply nods in acceptance, but he still warns Zagreus that it’s no use trying to fight it; he’s stuck here, now and forever, so he may as well get comfortable and try getting along with him, because no one’s going anywhere anytime soon. Zagreus is horrified, but he nods nonetheless, unsure of what to say or do just yet.

Later that night, as Zagreus is struggling to sleep in this new, unfamiliar place, Achilles comes to him and apologizes about what’s happened, and although he can’t magically fix everything for him, he tells Zagreus that it actually is supposedly possible to escape; it’s just that no one’s ever done it before. Driven by his desire for freedom and the thought of reuniting with his mother, Zagreus tells Achilles that he’s going to find a way out, no matter the cost. Achilles congratulates him on his tenacity, but warns him that it won’t be easy. Still, he’s willing to help Zagreus as much as he can.

From then on, I imagine the game playing out very differently from the original, with a rather frazzled and scared Zagreus trying to get home to his mom and grandma, but with none of his training from Achilles in this AU, he has to rely on something his mother taught him; his connection with earth and all it’s inhabitants. Or, in his case, his connection with the spirits of animals (a cross of his dad and mom’s powers). That’s right, I’m making The Hades Game into a fucking Pokemon-ripoff, but still with some rouge-like elements mixed in (mostly with Zagreus not keeping his animals after runs).

Having royally fucked up in not stepping in sooner to protect Zagreus, the gods end up helping him out by sending down animals associated with them for the young god to tame for a run (I’ll come up with them later). They usually offer a selection to choose from, and from there Zagreus can build up a team and use it to try and escape the Underworld.

To replace weapons, I like to think he’d have “signature” animals that can help him out for any of his runs, specifically ones from Achilles, Poseidon, Zeus, Demeter (once he reaches the surface at least once), and eventually even Hades gives him one if they bond together enough ((yes, it’s Cerberus... kinda; it’s a puppy version of him, otherwise he’d be OP as fuck)). Zagreus’s signature animals can all be given names, and they keep certain skills that they pick up through enough experience battling in the Underworld for Zagreus.

As for story-line stuff, Zagreus ends up in a very fish out of water situation as he tries to get to know everyone in Hades’s house (he’s still our kindhearted Zag, after all, and he knows most of them aren’t to blame, not even really Than!) while also focusing on his goal to get home to his mom. Hades ends up being a lot nicer to him in this AU, perhaps overly so, as he’s trying to make his son like him more in order to make up for lost time (and fill the hole in his heart that Zag’s initial death as an infant and Persephone leaving with him created). It’s part of the reason he’s even letting Zagreus try to escape; he wants him to learn that it won’t work on his own terms (and maybe also scare the kid so bad that he comes running to him for comfort afterwards).

Also, I should really note that Zagreus is 100% a sweet country farm boy in this AU, and he has no idea what the fuck is going on with pretty much anything in the Underworld, much to everyone’s astonishment. For example:

Meg: Gods, it must be weird getting used to everything down here, huh? Sick of stepping in bat shit yet? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, and Dusa’s pretty good about cleaning it up to begin with. Zagreus: I mean, I guess? It’s not that different from chicken shit tbh. Meg: What the fuck is a chicken???

After that... yeah, I dunno. I’ll try playing Hades some more, see if I think up anything else that could be interesting, but for now, I hope at least someone ends up liking this dumb AU (if not, I’ll still like it... might even try my hand at drawing for it a bit tbh). Again, please check out the person who’s post/art I linked earlier in the post, ‘cus their art is really awesome and inspired me to include Demeter more in this AU!