#I knew I'd have to color at least some of this one in order to get the jokes across

[fen-luciel]

Hurt

Thanks to @driksss for the idea:

[I loved your story

please

write a story in which the reader accidentally hurts herself during training and qimir feels guilty and takes care of her injuries]

Warnings: description of injuries/light smut/sub Qimir

"Again" I ordered, with my lightsaber on.

Qimir grumbled, his butt on the ground "Can I take a break?" he complained, getting up and brushing the dirt off his pants, the lightsaber at his feet.

"Come on, Qimir. At least until sunset, as usual. I'll cook tonight" I tried to cheer him up with a bright expression, but he didn't seem particularly pleased.

"It's just that... never mind" he called his lightsaber back to him before starting to walk. "But let's move from here. The ground keeps making me slip, I can't stand it anymore." I sighed but followed him without protest, my saber now off and at my belt.

I silently watched his back as we walked. We were both terribly sweaty, the forest was humid and the afternoon sun was dry, not to mention we had been training for hours. The tank top I wore was now clinging to me, and the loose pants that reached my knees were soaked with dirt, grass, mud, and sweat.

Qimir looked just as worn out, to the point where he had cut off the sleeves of his shirt with his lightsaber for some extra air.

His back was drenched in sweat, and my first instinct was to tease him, but things were tense between us.

It had been an uphill journey for us, friends, colleagues, and now master and acolyte.

Unfortunately, we were still working on the last part, especially considering how we were indirectly or directly... intimate.

I sighed.

I knew it was a bad idea.

But now, telling him to end it seemed even worse.

We kept training for at least a couple more hours, and honestly, I couldn't stand it anymore.

He kept making stupid mistakes, tripping over branches, getting distracted, it was infuriating.

We stood on top of some trees, the first pink and orange lights of sunset coloring the landscape. It would have been almost romantic if we weren't two Banthas soaked and dirty with earth. We definitely needed a shower.

We jumped from branch to branch, red against red, our bodies pulsing with fatigue. The goal was to get him used to more exhausting rhythms, but it was useless if two times out of three I had to divert my own stroke because he was too distracted to dodge them.

"If you're so bored, you could have spared me the trouble of paying attention to you today!" I finally snapped, and without even thinking, I crouched in a fluid motion, aiming at the thick branch under his feet and cutting it diagonally. Whether he was surprised by my shout or the move, I couldn't say, but he lost his balance, one foot slipping on the moss covering the tree, and he began to fall.

I had time to glance at him a little longer and realize my colossal mistake.

Below us, there weren't just a few meters separating us from the ground, we had gradually moved deeper into the forest, where the trees grew denser and taller, and the branches we were on directly overlooked a small cliff crossed by a stream. Qimir was about to fall into it like a sack of potatoes.

I reached out with my hand, pulling him towards me with the Force, just enough to grab his wrist in the panic of the moment. I managed to pull him up, but in doing so, I lost my balance. My other hand still held the lightsaber uselessly, and I began to fall.

I saw him as he clung to the branch where I had been seconds earlier. I instinctively turned off the lightsaber as I plummeted. Qimir reached out to stop me, but in a mix of fatigue and panic, he only managed to slow the inevitable. He lost his grip, and I crashed down the last few meters, finally rolling into the shallow stream.

I hissed as a ringing filled my ears, my body on fire as I tensed my muscles. I couldn't tell if I'd broken something in the process, but I was sure I was bleeding—I could feel it on me, and the stream wasn't deep enough to get me this wet.

I struggled to open my eyes, my vision dark at the edges as I tried to focus around me. I couldn't see Qimir, but I assumed he was about to come down, so I looked at myself, and it was bad.

Nothing seemed unnaturally bent, but I was bleeding profusely. My legs, arms, torso, not to mention the dull pain I felt throughout my body—if nothing was broken, I'd at least sprained something. Qimir's brief intervention had prevented the worst, but I was still in danger.

"Force, wait, i'm here"

I looked up to see Qimir sliding down the cliff before making one last jump near me, panic in his eyes as he looked at me, breathing heavily. "Come on, damn it, okay, I've got this-" he stammered as he knelt beside me, his trembling hands searching for a wound that wasn't even visible due to the blood scattered everywhere.

"Calm down, Qimir—" I tried to reassure him with a hoarse voice before grabbing his wrist. "I need you to carry me, so try to concentrate" He shot me a wide-eyed glance and nodded. He quickly stood up to retrieve my lightsaber, which had fallen a few meters ahead, and after recovering it, he came back to pick me up. It was quite complicated to get me onto his shoulders, everything burned, and while I could somewhat move my arms, I certainly didn't have the strength to pull myself up or bend my legs. He practically had to lie down next to me so I could roll onto him and slowly drag myself onto his back. Once he ensured I was in a stable position, he began to run toward the base.

I don't know exactly how much time passed—I hadn't noticed how deep we were in the forest, and we reached our shelter on the edge of the woods when it was already pitch dark. I kept myself awake by sheer miracle, more to keep Qimir from panicking than anything else, as he seemed on the verge of a panic attack, mumbling something I couldn't hear well and was too exhausted to ask him to speak up.

We had rented a house for a while nearby—a woodland retreat for those who wanted a nature getaway. We were there to train undisturbed, which wasn't in our favor now that we actually needed to be near civilization to call for help.

Qimir opened the door, quickly closing it behind us and heading straight for the bathroom with determined steps. "We have some medicine, but I don't know how much it can help" I could only let out a laughing breath. "I told you we'd regret not stopping by the store"

He shook his head but said nothing more, letting me slide to the floor beside the tub where I collapsed without strength.

I kept my eyes half-closed—the bathroom light seemed to burn my eyes. "Turn it off, please" I whispered wearily, hearing him rummaging through the bottles behind the sink's glass. He grabbed what he needed before turning off the main light, leaving only the dim secondary one on.

"Swallow these—one for the pain, and the other to make sure no infections develop... we only have one more, so tomorrow we need to get you to a doctor" I swallowed them, thankful for the miracles of bacta that might help me get through this.

"Now, I'm going to put you in the tub and heal you with the Force, okay?"

He began to open my robe with trembling hands, and I chuckled. "Don't be shy, it's not like you haven't seen me before" but he didn't find it as funny, given the glare he shot me.

I didn't feel uncomfortable being naked—I had never had too many problems about it, just as he didn't with me, and besides, given my overall condition, neither of us was really focused on anything else. Qimir turned on the hot water in the tub and started to undress.

"We haven't tried this before. You're brave tonight" I noted with poorly concealed amusement and a tired voice.

"Stop it. I need to wash you, and I can't afford for you to slip in the tub."

I muttered something, but I felt my strength leaving me. "I really need to close my eyes for a bit" I whispered as he grabbed me under the armpits and moved me into the tub, which was filling with hot water. I hissed at the sensation—the pills were beginning to numb my nerves, but the dull pain I felt would continue for a while. The warmth of the tub was pleasant, but it burned my skin, and within seconds, the water had already taken on a brownish-red color.

"I've got you, don't worry" Qimir's voice near my ear made me shiver, though I hoped he hadn't noticed. Once he made sure I was in a safe position, he leaned over to grab the soap "Qimir. I really need to close my eyes" I said in an increasingly faint voice. I saw his lips move, his expression worried, but I couldn't hear his words, and I passed out.

When I opened my eyes, I was still in the tub.

The first thing I heard was my heavy breathing filling the small bathroom. The water around me was strangely clean. I raised a hand to rub my eyes and noticed how wrinkled my skin was, a sign that I had been here for a while.

I caught a glimpse of the long abrasion wounds covering my arms when, from behind, a hand gently took mine—Qimir's hand.

"It's okay, I'm here." His rough voice in my ear was enough to finally understand what was happening.

He had sat behind me in the tub, resting me against his chest. I was so confused that I hadn't noticed his head next to mine.

I turned my gaze towards him, realizing how close we were. He seemed more relaxed and calm now, his eyes fixed on mine, and a sad smile on his lips.

“You’ve been out of it for a while" his tone was still low and slow. This time, the trembling in my body was obvious, but he misunderstood the reaction, as he gently slid us a bit deeper into the warm water.

“You washed your hair” I noted with poorly concealed amusement and a tired voice.

He chuckled with a smile. “And for the record, I washed yours too” I giggled, followed by him, the atmosphere much more relaxed now, although a slight glance outside the tub made me notice the dried blood on the floor.

But I was feeling better.

I think.

I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, still feeling dizzy and tired, but the movement was terrible. Though I appeared better on the outside, inside, I was still a mess. I couldn’t tell if the pills had already worn off or if they weren’t strong enough from the start. “Take it easy, I... I haven’t healed you yet” Qimir admitted, tightening an arm under my chest in a hug.

I murmured in confusion, and he sighed. “I... can’t. I took some time to relax and clean us up. I’m feeling better, but... I can’t focus” the discomfort was evident in his tone.

I couldn’t really blame him, it wasn’t such a common power, and during his years as a Jedi, it seemed to have remained dormant, now forcing him to train it from scratch.

Unfortunately, I could only help him from a theoretical standpoint, which made the learning process slower than usual, but he was gradually improving.

“It’s the first time you’ve tried with internal trauma and not external injuries. Not to mention it’s much more complex than the small cuts you’ve been practicing on until now. You need to relax” I murmured against the skin of his neck, my eyes closed as I pressed more gently against his chest.

I could feel the tremor in his heavy sigh through the contact between our bodies. I moved our still intertwined hands to my stomach, while the free hand moved to the side of his face in a gentle caress. I left a slow kiss on his neck before slightly lifting myself up so that my lips were at the height of his ear.

“Do you want to make me feel good, Qimir?” I asked sweetly, looking at him. He had closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly upwards. I released his hand to rest it on my stomach.

“Y-yes” he stammered in response.

“Then breathe. And focus on me.” I kissed his jaw a couple of times, leaving a slight trail of saliva along his skin. His chest rose and fell deeply, dragging my body along with his as our breaths synchronized “Good boy.”

There was a moment of silence before a pleasant warmth began to soothe my aching muscles and bones. I only let it go on for a few seconds, worried he might overdo it. “Slowly now, we both need our strength” I moved his hand away from me, caressing the back of it. He opened his eyes and lowered his gaze to meet mine, his lips slightly parted as his heartbeat quickened in his chest.

He leaned in towards my lips, but I pulled away with a small smile. “Slowly now” The disappointment was clear in his features, his dark irises, and the moisture in his eyes seemed to burn me alive.

“I really need to get out of the water” I whispered against his lips before giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Keep being good, and maybe I’ll give you a reward later.”

This seemed to cheer him up, and we moved to get out of the tub. Unfortunately, Qimir couldn’t help me as much as he would have liked; my body was still in constant pain, though much more manageable than before. All the wounds on my arms and legs had stopped bleeding but needed to be bandaged.

We took a brief walk to the bedroom in a somewhat ridiculous manner. I was still in pain, and Qimir had used some of his energy to heal my bones, so he was feeling as tired as I was.

“Wait, I want to sit down” I said, letting myself fall into the armchair next to the bed with a sigh.

“Okay. One last effort. And then we’ll sleep” he said, picking up the kit that was already on the bed. I glanced at him sideways as he sat down next to me and started covering the cuts with soft, bacta-soaked bandages. They couldn’t completely heal the wounds, but at least I would sleep more peacefully.

A few seconds passed before he spoke “I’m sorry. It was my fault” his voice rough and low as he kept his gaze fixed on what he was doing, the room dimly lit only by the moonlight outside.

“Nonsense. I wasn’t careful” I replied, looking at the ceiling.

So much had happened in just a few hours that I had almost forgotten how it all started, and as much as the dynamic still irritated me, I was partly responsible.

I should have just talked to him.

“Stop it. I... you’re right to be mad at me” I looked at his bowed head, avoiding my gaze. Slowly, he knelt in front of me, and I couldn’t help but blush a little seeing him between my legs, the wounds long forgotten.

“We both made mistakes—” I began, but he shook his head. I saw the way his jaw clenched when he was nervous, and I bit my lips in response. He was finally opening up to me, and I was getting distracted.

I was hopeless.

“No. I was distracted. I deserved a lesson, but you were too kind to me” his long, slender fingers gently held my ankle as he carefully tightened the bandage up to my thigh.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

“Distracted by what, anyway? You’ve been doing well lately” I tried to focus on his words, but even his tone sent a shiver between my legs, and not being able to rub them together was even worse.

A few seconds passed. He finished the bandages completely before raising his gaze to me, and I almost lost my breath.

He looked at me with those dark, deep eyes, which unsettled my stomach.

Kneeling between my legs, I felt terribly vulnerable given the weakness of my limbs, not to mention he was wearing a loose shirt that allowed me to see part of his smooth chest from above.

I knew what he was about to say.

Our relationship had inevitably solidified into something much more than just a simple friendship or brotherhood due to the time spent together.

I didn’t know if it was I who had seduced him first or if he had fallen at my feet.

But we liked it.

The only thing was that Qimir had still been a Jedi, and now his experiences were limited, if not non-existent. He wanted to learn, but he felt awkward, so he often behaved like a wounded puppy, using some excuse to put his hands on me and feel less pathetic for begging for my more experienced touch.

“By you. By what you do to me” he finally answered, his hand slowly caressing my ankle with his thumb. The fingertips of his hands trailed up along my calves, stopping behind my knees, where his palms gently squeezed.

“I’m obsessed with you. With your scent. With your skin. I can’t stop thinking about your voice,” if possible, his voice dropped even lower.

“I want to make you feel good.” He placed one of my legs beside him before slowly bending down to kiss the bandaged side of my knee.

“I want to deserve everything you give me” Without even realizing it, I spread my legs to let him position himself better between them. He kissed a patch of skin higher up, and even higher, until he was inevitably approaching the part of me that craved his touch the most.

He gently rested his head on my inner thigh, looking directly into my eyes through the strands of hair falling over his face.

“I want to learn to worship you. So please, teach me again how to touch you the way you need”

I had to exhale with trembling lips as I gripped the armrests of the chair beneath me.

"I'll be a good boy for you."

[charlesslut16]

-Ugly christmas sweaters-

summary : lando and you go to a christmas party, which had the theme 'ugly christmas sweaters' but lando does not like his sweater....

PAIRING : lando norris x fem!reader

WARNINGS : none

note : i hope you like this imagines! Request some more, as we have not every day in the dezember masterlist!

december masterlist ; masterlist 

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One week before your friend's Christmas party, you bought Christmas sweaters, ugly ones, as the theme had been 'ugly Christmas sweaters'. You knew that Lando didn't like the theme, but for you and your friends' sake, he would do it.

So two days before the party, you confronted and showed Lando the Christmas sweaters. Obviously you knew that Lando wouldn't be as happy, but if you were being honest, you could not care less.

“You’re telling me that we—no, I am going to be wearing that?” Lando softly lifted one of the sweaters, holding it as if it was a bag of 2 weeks old garbage. As if he was going to be infected with something dangerous.

“For our friend’s Christmas party?”

The splash of colors and patterns really confused him; it seems like the designer operated on a whim. Every thing looked out of order and nothing fit together. Like someone had destroyed it and then.

"Come on, it’s not even that bad! The theme was ugly Christmas sweaters, and I picked out the best ones the market had on the hanger, I think they're cute," you stated, defending the sweaters you had bought a week ago.

"This is far from cute! It is horrendous. Your taste in fashion must be very questionable," he scoffed, nonchalantly returning the sweaters to their initial resting place on the chair, so that he did not have to look at them anymore.

"I've practically styled your entire wardrobe, and you've received so many compliments because of me!" you argued back. Now he had gone too far, to question your fashion taste, although you had styled most of his clothes combinations.

"Alright, but your sweater choices are still terrible!" Lando countered.

Ignoring his protests, you insistently hold the sweater in front of him, trying to picture the look despite his puzzled expression. You knew that even if they did not look so good, Lando could pull them off nonetheless.

“Not in a million years will you catch me wearing that. In will never live this outfit down.” Lando declared, hands up in protest.

But, you didn’t care whatsoever, as your determination knew no bounds.

“Stop moving, you're making this harder.”

“What—” he started, but you were already on a mission, determined to make him at least consider the sweater. Even if Lando was a grown man, you needed to put it on him, so that he could see how it looked on him.

“It does suit you.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but you can't just say that by imagining how I'd look in it!”

“Why don't you try it on?” You extended your hand, catching him off guard. His reaction was too slow, and you ended up tossing it at him.

“I'll wait for you.”

Lando sighed loudly, unfolding the sweater and eyeing it with skepticism. He wasn't convinced, but just trying it on wouldn't bee that bad.

“Fine, but don't get your hopes up. It still looks absolutely horrendous.”

As he struggled to put it on, you couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The vibrant colors clashed with his usual style, making it even more amusing. The orange colour he normally would was bright and colourful but this. Absolutely vibrant.

“Ta-da! Happy now?” Lando struck a pose, a mockingly exaggerated smile on his face. You knew that he hated every second of it. Like when he drove and became second and not first, or when his brother hated the last donut that he wanted.

You chuckled, "Look! It doesn't even look that bad! You can totally pull it off. I mean, you can totally pull off everything that somebody gives."

Rolling his eyes, Lando played along with your answers and exclamations.

"Sure, sure. It looks fantastic on me. Just a bunch of silly trees and tiny elves on this sweater with squiggly lines—seriously, what were you thinking when you added this to the cart? It ruined everything good on me."

You shrugged lightly, unfazed by his words. Lando often exaggerated things, and you were accustomed to it. It was nothing unusual for Lando to overreact and overdramatic, things as they were or had been.

“I expect you to stick with this—we've got just two days until the party.”

“But can we not switch—”

In the middle of his sentence, you stood up and walked away into the kitchen to make you a hot cocoa and to go back to your shared bedroom, so you stopped hearing his complaints and overdramatic nature.

Two days later, the day of the Christmas party, you had the exact same conversation, but you knew that Lando could do nothing about it, as he knew that he would do almost everything for you in a heartbeat.

His complaining tone faded as you rushed down the stairs with the matching sweater in your hand. Quickly draping it over your white shirt and white skirt, you settled on the couch in the living room. As you scrolled on your phone to pass the time, you later heard shuffling in the background.

“Ready to go, my handsome man?” you looked up, seeing your boyfriend in the sweater you bought—he hadn’t changed it. You gave him a big smile, rising from your seat, as you wanted to hug him and tell him how good he looked.

“Looking good there, Norris.”

“Keep it up, and I’ll run up the stairs to change,” he teased, soon linking arms with you as you headed towards the door. But you knew that he was just teasing, he would not change as the time was at a limit.

“Honestly, though, I don’t think I look too shabby in this,” he asserted, eliciting a giggle from you.

“What can I say? I have an eye for what works.”

“Maybe you're onto something.”

"Maybe I need to trust you more, with clothes."

"You should."

He opened the door, so he could let you both out and locked the door after you both, but before you could walk to the car, he pulled you into his chest and gave you a romantic long kiss and then pulled away to look into your eyes.

"I love you, angel"

"I love you, handsome."

[liahaslosthermind]

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓

Rhysand x OC Prequel Chapter to Betrayal (Prequels can be read in any order or as a standalone) Summary: Adelaide and Rhysand don’t like being apart for long, but a High Lord must be dutiful. (Takes place before the Series Timeline) A/N: I know, I know. You all want to see Rhysand get his ass beat, but this is not that.

“My dear Adelaide” her lover’s voice sung out from his office as she walked past, too enthralled in her book to notice he was in there. 

She quickly spun around, running back to his office. The lovers had been separated for only 3 days and despite around 300 years spent together, the days had gone by slowly. 

The two quickly met each other in the middle of the room, kissing feverishly as if they had been apart 50 years. 

As Rhysand pulled back, Adelaide chased his mouth, not yet content with the amount of kisses she had gotten. The High Lord quickly pecked her lips in apology while laughing at her eagerness.

“Slow down, my dear. We have all the time in the world.” He smiled down on her, taking in the beautiful face he had spent so much of his long existence undeniably enthralled and in love with. Deep red hair falling to her waist, not in the usual braids she put them in when she didn’t want to fight the curls she swore ‘had a mind of their own and decided they were at war with her’. The deep red of her hair accentuated by the gold accessories she wore in it, matching the ones that adorned the horns that came out of her head like twisted tree branches.  

The horns confused him at first. He had assumed that she hailed from Autumn because of the red of her hair, but the branches decorating her head hadn’t made sense with that theory, at least not fully. She was certainly not high fae, her ears had some point to them, more than illyrians, but not so far out as the high fae did, as he did. 

Adelaide couldn’t give up much information on her front. She was a foundling, discovered on the border of Day and Night. The High Lord of Night at the time, Rhysand’s father, wanted nothing to do with the babe found, convinced that the red headed child must have been some ploy from Beron. Thankfully, the High Lord of Day took her in. At first, it had been her hair that drew him in, not far from the color his Lady of Autumn had. There was no connection, but Helion loved her all the same. “It doesn’t feel that way, you always have something else to do.” She pouted. It would have been sweet, how much she had missed him, but the way her hands trailed down Rhysand’s chest, stopping at the sound of his grown when she pushed her fingers inside the waistband of his pants, Rhys knew she was anything but sweet right now.. 

“My dear,” Rhysand groaned as she continued to tease him, stepping out of his embrace. Don’t start something you know you can’t finish, he spoke into her mind. 

With no warning, she ran off down the hall, to their bedroom. She knew she couldn’t outrun him, but that made it all the more exciting. 

She had awoken the next day to the smell of her favorite tea being placed next to her bedside. She smiled at her lover, drowning in bliss that came from having him near. 

She then took in his outfit.

He was fully dressed in the clothes he wore when he needed to seem courtly and powerful. He had been called away, again. Sensing her despair, Rhysand leaned down on the bed, his kiss trailing from her lips, to her jaw, to her throat. 

But she pushed him away.

“You can’t seduce me into forgetting that you are leaving me again, Rhysand!”

“I am doing no such thing, just trying to make up for the fact I am leaving again. And I am not leaving you, my dear, I'd never leave you. Shoot me dead, should the day ever arise.” He laughed. She did too. What a preposterous idea, him leaving her. 

“Will you promise to hurry back, of sound mind and body?” 

“Always, my dear Adelaide, always of sound mind and body for you.” 

She hadn’t asked when he would be back, she learned not to over the years because these things never went on the original schedule. 

But she hadn’t thought it would be 50 excruciating years until she saw him again.  

[boopshoops]

The Dolls of the Great Pine Tree

"Once upon a time, there was a great pine tree in the depths of a far off island near the Land of Dawning.

Embedded deep in its roots were magic stones, causing the tree to grow and grow and grow far taller than any of the surrounding forest.

Visitors would often come to the pine tree in order to train their magical abilities: from far and wide. From beast men, to merfolk, to humans and fae. It was even rumored to have healing capabilities.

Even the dead visited the great tree.

One day, two ghosts visited the great tree. Imbued with magical energy just as all the visitors before them, they had never felt more alive. Filled with nostalgia, they were reminded of their years among the living.

When they had first met, fallen in love, met friends, found new sights to see, new experiences to be had. They cherished those moments deep in their hearts.

Now, being among the dead, they wondered, "Would other ghosts, born of the spectral realm without ever having interacted with the living world, truly ever understand such a wonderful feeling?"

For you see, the couple were expecting a child. Quite the miracle, no?

The two were suddenly filled with dread and guilt, feeling as though they were robbing their child of life. They gazed back up at the ginormous tree, imbued with a healthy, ethereal glow. Bathed in beautiful colors. The spectral realm was quite the opposite, devoid of such beauty, or at least the couple thought so.

One of the ghosts asked aloud, "Do you believe it would be possible to give our child something close to the gift of life? I could only wish for it to be so."

...And something stirred, deep beneath the earth, reverberating through the roots of the tree.

A mysterious visitor answered aloud, "Why, haven't you heard? Us ghosts, through the power of the stones, can possess parts of this great wood. We can feel, see, smell, and hear all the wonders of the living realm, why, I'm sure if someone were to somehow gather it's wood, you would have all the power needed to give your child exactly that."

The couple was startled, exchanging glances. Gather its wood? Many have tried, and all have failed! However, they knew the suspicious stranger's words to be true. It was the main reason they had visited the forest, after all. The only struggle was that it was hard to move freely in the entanglement of branches.

As if reading their very minds, the unfamiliar phantom spoke again, "Why, I'm sure it is possible. Over years and years, the branches have shifted. It is difficult to move, but not impossible. Why, I'd even be inclined to help you as long as I could have some of the wood as well."

The couple politely declined.

But the idea stuck in their minds for years to come, even after they had had their child.

But during those years they curiously returned, bringing family and friends alike. Oddly enough, the stranger was there every time, providing assistance, for they gradually and slowly split and took parts of the wood.

The father, a carpenter, found that possessing the wood after refining and shaping it was still possible.

The mother, a maker of trinkets and figurines, found that the wood would take shape to whatever outer shell it was put inside.

With these discoveries, their desire for life was too strong to be put aside. Yet the tree began to warp, twist, and bend unnaturally.

"Don't worry!" The now familiar, suspicious friend began, "I live in these woods and visit the tree every day. Its magic is as strong as the day I first laid eyes on it."

The individual, who had since provided them and their family a lot of aid, was difficult to distrust. After all, they had given them so much. Every time they came, they gave them wood. Every time they came, they offered words of wisdom that always proved true.

However, twigs and branches began to fall to the earth, snatched up by whoever was lucky enough to get to it first. It was discolored and stiff, nearly hard as stone. But alas, they'd come so far now. Surely, with some extra wood working, everything would be fine.

Finally, after six long years. The mother had constructed many beautiful dolls, in which much of the healthy, refined wood fit perfectly.

The father had carved and carved away, ensuring that each joint bent perfectly and smoothly, and that everything was comfortable.

The child simply watched during these many years, awaiting promises of things they could only ever dream of.

When their job was nearly complete, the mysterious friend arrived, speaking up to ask for a puppet of their own.

"You see," They began, "I did not live a long life. I was struck down early. I know it is a lot to ask for, but I would be eternally grateful. Likewise, I would gladly accompany your daughter, teaching her the ways of the living."

The couple was unsure. Their daughter had all their support and love, yet they did not have enough wood to provide for the both of them. They could not teach her everything she needed to know. After all, it was practically unheard of: two ghosts raising a human child.

With the agreement to allow the healthier wood to go to their child and to remain in close contact with her, they crafted another body for their mysterious friend.

When all was well and done, there was only one thing left to do.

"Consider it a blessing," said their friend, "After all, humans can't leave their bodies whenever they please." The couple hesitantly agreed, only ever wanting to give their child the most human experience they could. Now, once a ghost possessed the wooden frame, they could not leave until the spell was broken.

The day arrived soon after. The day the two would possess their new bodies. Crafted only out of love and care: two puppet-like dolls.

However, the couple were not aware at the time that the wooden frames had been swapped: giving their daughter the one that appeared to be on the verge of rot.

When the possession commenced at the base of the tree, their "friend" immediately sprung up, good as new. They leapt and ran and danced about, bathing in the sensations of the living world made new.

Yet, the child's body did not move.

"Do not worry, I'm sure she will adjust soon!" The friend replied.

But days and days passed, without her even blinking an eye.

The couple and their family visited every day, with their "friend" arriving less and less. More and more of the tree began to wither and fall, until there was barely even a tree left at all.

A week went by. A month, a year.

And the ghost's body didn't move an inch, with her spirit stuck inside.

The family went into a period of grieving, thinking to themselves how selfish and foolish they were. How were they supposed to know that a being which was already dead could experience something so close to death?

A small part of them held hope, however, as the years flew by, and the puppet sat sleeping soundly and what was now only a stump.

Grief came and went, a grave was carefully crafted with love. Flowers were offered by the entirety of the family, each as a symbol of an apology.

As years and years passed, the visits became less frequent. Even the tree was eventually forgotten.

Oh, hundreds of years the family visited her for. What started as visiting every day became every month, every year.

Alas, my dear child. Please know that we have not forgotten you. We never will. We are so truly, deeply, sorry.

Sincerely,

Giorno Pinacirco and Viola Cira.

In loving memory of Isola Pinacirco-Cira. 1883-1889"

.

.

.

Marble eyes scanned over the words written in the journal laid at the grave where she awoke.

She could not remember her youth, but alas,

The girl awoke alone, knowing she was loved.

----

MWAHAHAHA SHE'S HEREEEE SHE'S COMING SOON!!! I'll be posting her ref and official introduction when the Playful Land event begins in EN!! Stay tuned!!! reblogs would be appreciated given ihaventwritteninahotsecondugfdbsiguf

Tag list!

@skriblee-ksk @lowcallyfruity @kitwasnothere @cecilebutcher @justm3di0cr3

@scint1llat3 @thehollowwriter @distant-velleity @techno-danger @the-trinket-witch

@qsoap @beneathsakurashade @kathxrat-01 @twsted-canvas @prince-kallisto

@sillyslipperybananapeel @tixdixl @twstinginthewind

[kaijunouhhhhhhhhhhummmm]

1.6k+/ probably a lot of grammar mistakes/ exploring the concept of not so bad kaiju/ pretty useful in fact/ reader pov/ soshiro interaction/ yeah you have a crush on him/ gn reader/ BONUS kafka shenanigans at the end.

It takes your eyes some time but eventually they do adjust to the dark. And it is very dark. Only light comes from the windows of old houses that you can manage to see descending down from the mountain side. Some are missing tiles on their roofs and miss matched exterior paint from being around for so long the hardware stores just don’t carry the color anymore. A mixture of stone and concrete paths form a trail down to the main road. Well, that is after you get past the several dirt and rock trails.

This is a small town after all. Your division is the youngest group of people to be here in a long time. You sit out on the patio of one of these old houses that happens to be big enough to accommodate your team. Listening to all the insects and other night critters. They very badly want to be heard with all their cries. You look up and realize this may be the first time you’ve seen the stars so clearly. Some vary in color, probably planets you think.

Then there's rustling in a bush and out they come again. The reason you're here. Kaiju that could be best described as caterpillars with the mannerisms and fluff of a sheep. They meander slowly but surely across the yard and into a small gap in the dividing stone fence over to the neighbors house. Occasionally bumping into each other or the clothing line pole or a flower pot. They make small squeaks when they do. Damn it they aren’t cute. It’s hard to think about a kaiju on this way. At least you thought so at first.

“There they go again.” You jump at the sound of Hoshina’s voice.

“They’re very cute.” You say

“And very useful.”

Two of the sheep kaiju bump into each other again and a small spark of electricity is ignited.

According to old man Kojima, owner of a clothing dye store you met this afternoon when you all arrived; “These here little critters are the only reason why I'm able to keep my business afloat”. Mrs. Sato, who had to go several winters without adequate heating in her home until the kaiju arrived; “I’ve had to take less of my medication since they showed up.” Mr. Ono who developed photos; “I’m happy I’m able to pick up photography again. The electricity was so damn unpredictable I never knew if I'd be able to develop all the pictures I took. I found old roles from five years ago that I'm getting to now.” Mr and Mrs Taira who may not be alive if they didn’t have the electricity to charge their phones; “Nowadays you gotta do everything online. Even ordering your medicine refills. You need to get on a phone or computer for that. If we can’t charge our phones we can’t order our medicine. Simple as that.”

All of them so grateful for the arrival of electricity making, docile kaiju that didn’t mind being used for their poor sense of depth perception. Their excessive bumping creates electricity and with some ingenious use of small corrals, now provide much needed electricity for the entire town. In return they wander where they please. Little gaps and trails made especially for them. The elements don't seem to disturb them and as a plus their poops are great fetilizer. 

However, that may be coming to an end soon. Looking at the vice captain's face, negotiations didn’t seem to go over so well.

“I guess you and the elders didn’t see eye to eye.” You tease

Soshiro sighs and leans against a post on the porch observing as the kaiju bump their way into the neighbors yard and out of sight. “Nope. They’re never gonna give up on these things.”

The government in partnership with the defense force is proposing updating the town's power grid and internet access. No cost to the locals. And you were all here to try and plan out how to do that. But there’s just one problem.

“They’re telling me the kaiju are a part of the community now. You should’ve seen how mad some of these old folks got. I think I was scared at one point.”

You chuckle at the thought of Soshiro afraid of a mob of old people.

“Careful, they might throw their dentures at you.” You chide.

Soshiro snorts “Yeah, or their canes for that matter. One of them volunteered the information that she had a sword inside of hers.”

You laugh at that visual. “That was actually a threat.”

Soshiro shivers. You both laugh. A comfortable silence follows.

“I understand them though.” He says in a more somber tone.

It catches your attention and you turn to him. “What do you mean?”

He takes a seat next to you on the patio with a heavy and tired sigh. Rubbing the weariness from his eyes he continues. “Well, these folks have gone ‘sa long without the government caring about ‘em. They’re bound to be a bit abrasive.” A kaiju wandered far off from its pack and over to the two of you. It squeaks as Soshiro reaches a foot down to push it back in the right direction. “A lot of people here almost lost everything because they went ‘sa long being unheard ya know? and these little guys-“ He gestures with his chin to the kaiju. “They were here. And they don’t ask for anything in return.”

“What are you gonna tell the captain?” you ask.

He shrugs. “That these people wanna keep their potentially dangerous kaiju over a power grid? I don’ know.”

“They’ve been here for years though. If they were dangerous, wouldn't they have done something by now?”

“We just don’t know that. They could be fine now but as much as we think we know ‘bout kaiju there could be a million more things we don’t.” he yawns. “If I had it my way, honestly? I’d let them keep the little fellas. They’re happy, they’re useful. I’m not mad about it.” 

“But?” you ask, shooing away a moth near your face. 

“Imagine the credibility loss if something bad did happen? Man, the media would eat us up.” He shakes his head. “No way around it. If something does happen we’ll look ‘specially bad.” 

You nod at that. He’s not wrong. But something is bothering you. “So, by like, doing something about them? What exactly does that mean?” 

Soshiro scrunches his nose and rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry, but you already know the answer to that.” 

You gasp. “WHAT? WHY?” 

“We’re the defense force! It’s what we do.” 

You look back at the little guys and frown. Genuinely sad, something so cute and harmless may have to be executed eventually. 

“It probably won't happen soon. I’ll try to put it off. People here are really attached. Personally I think we may lose public favor.” he's trying to comfort the idea of having to kill something so cute. 

“‘Defense force brutally murders small town mascot’ all over the internet.” 

He chuckles. “‘Is your dog next? Here are some tips on how to avoid having your pets killed by the defense force’” 

You both laugh. “Stop! This is sad!” you demand half heartedly. 

He smiles and his voice deepens. “Sorry. Just wanted to make you smile before heading to bed.” 

You were looking at him but quickly look away feeling your face burn. It's dark but you're sure your face gets bright enough around him when he says things like that the stars could see you from space instead.

You clear your throat. “Yeah, I’m gonna head in.” you stand and open the sliding door. 

“I’ll guide you. Its really dark in there-” 

“I’m fine! Thank you!” you definitely said that a little too loud and you're sure you wake someone up as you quickly walk to your sleeping quarters with the rest of the team.

BONUS: 

You lay in your fluffy sleeping mat and covers still thinking about how he looked at you when he said that. You shove your face into your pillow. 

“Hey.” 

You look up and see Kafka wide awake. Only four of you came since this wasn't a very serious assignment. Kikoru is sleeping soundly a few feet to your left, Kafka set himself up horizontal from you and Soshiro to his right. 

“Can't sleep?” he whispers. 

You shake your head. 

“Cool. Check this out.” Kafka pulls out a grasshopper in a glass jar seemingly from nowhere. 

You look at him, the jar, then back at him. “Where did you-?”

“One of the local kids gave it to me. Cool, huh?” 

“Really shouldn't be in a glass jar.”

Kafka frowns. “But it was a gift.”

“It probably has a family.”

“Man, I didnt think about it like that.” He sounds genuinely very sad at the possibility of the grasshopper missing its family. It’s grasshopper wife and grasshopper children.

“If either of you makes one more sound I’m going to shatter that jar and put the glass in your throats.” Kikoru says coldly without turning to face you both. 

You both start to gently tuck yourselves into bed. Then the grasshopper chirps. The speed Kafka gets up to take the grasshopper and Kikoru flying out of her sheets to barely grab him by his pajama pant leg was almost too quick to see in the dark. 

There was no point in trying to be quiet anymore but Kafka loudly whispers “I’m taking it outside! I’m taking it- YOU’RE PULLING TOO HARD! MY PANTS ARE SLIPPING-” 

Soshiro muffles his laughter. 

[sprinklenoodles]

Basically though, I binge-read ALL of A Legacy will Be Crowned Like, ALLLLL that was there so far and my gosh am I hating myself for not reading it sooner! I was a fool! A looooser!!! No joke, I was just hooked, enthralled. Also, since I am far too excited to put my thoughts into a coherent structure, some other disjointed thoughts are the following: 1. Kijo Togami. Even without the fic note at the end of his introduction chapter mentioning how he was fun to write for you, I could just sense it OOZING all over his dialogue and actions. Really like this interpretation of his character. He sucks yet he fascinates me. Makes me wish I had a consistent design for him so I can just draw him. 2. Byakuya is really fun to follower here. Even with knowing the end result of the competition, the fun lies in his decisions, how he solves problems and the said problems he faces. Also, it helps that, due to his age, one is already bound to route for him as the underdog of the family, even with the trajectory of how he preforms in the competition being clear to the reader. Like, even though we KNOW he's not going to fail due to the nature of the canon as this is a prequal, one can still worry about him and his wellbeing. I like that a lot! You fond a good balance with that since a pitfall that can occur is that the reader isn't invested with the main character because they already know what will become of them. Also, one other thing I wanna add is that I like how he's not written in a belittling way or as an over-competent super genius. He's still a kid but it's also apparent he has exceptional qualities that make him different from the others but not annoyingly different 3. The siblings. Though there isn't too much to say, I like just their being. There isn't much info on all of them but it fits since we're following Byakuya. We get small details though. Do wish I knew what they'd look like cus I am just at a loss still. Also, I liked Byakuya's dynamic with a "certain character" I don't wanna spoil btw for those who are just seeing this, so I will just say "that one prick" and those who know will know B] 4. I know I already mentioned Kijo but I just LOVE the staging of those intermission chapters where he's talking with Aloysius all sinister with a glass of wine. Like, he's giving diabolical energy with just a hint of camp that makes him so fun to read. And, I just adore his remarks to Aloysius, very cold, uncaring. How he clearly tears the butler down with his sharp words and the showcase of Aloysius's character with how he handles this. Cus, he's been around as Kijo's main butler for ages and it shows! Also, I swear. If I didn't have art block at the time I'm writing this, and could draw some backgrounds, I'd SO draw a detailed, colored piece of Kijo sitting in his fancy chair, turned away from Aloysius as he monologues, eyes intent on the screens watching the contestants. Like MMM I LOVE IT!!! It's so moody and I can just feel the atmosphere oozing off the page!! AAAAH!! Also, mentioning it now, while reading, to set the mood, I listened to some Pokemon music. And, since why not, here's what I listened to Here is Number 1 - listened at the beginning before it got epic. basically the first chapter only AND here is Number 2 - was a general listen. something eery but not horror like AND, my favorite Number 3 - THIS GAVE ME THE SHIVERS WHEN I READ CHAPTER 9 MY GOOOOOSH! WHY DOES THIS FIT SO WELL FOR KIJO?! Or at least, I fits for me at least! I could be wrong though! You can decide for yourself if it does!! Dunno if it's just be but my gosh and I just aaah! I can't even word it right cus I'm too busy being so hyped for this! Got the metaphorical chills!! Will totally draw art of this like, sometime. Might take me ages and I totally have to get better at backgrounds in order to draw these set pieces but like, yes!!!!!!

AHHHH. Got so excited while reading this!!! Thank you SO much.

But lemme go into what u said.

1. Kijo- he really does just suck. Guy couldn't care less about his children unless they're his heir. But also, he's entertaining. The stupid dude is just like that.

2. Byakuya- He really is the underdog, though he refuses to believe that. The thing is, he does think he is better than his siblings- he is destined to become heir- yet he can't exactly show it to them. He knows that they're physically stronger- he's a scrawny 11 year old.

But since he isn't heir just yet, he is not that overconfident. He knows that he needs to work hard to become heir. Plus, his siblings aren't idiots (for the most part) They're Togami's, and just cuz he is gonna be the heir, doesn't mean that they couldn't prose a problem, like a certain somebody.

3. The siblings- Yeah, there isn't much known about them since Byakuya simply... doesn't care. He sees them as his competitors, nothing more. Unless they become a thorn in his path to become hei, he just doesn't think about them unless the situation calls for it.

Like I said, he doesn't (fully) underestimate them but that doesn't mean he ever focuses on them. Their looks aren't really described since Byakuya couldn't care less about that for the most part.

I do have small descriptions for all of them tho if you're interested! Have a little page in a document with just a wee bit of info about each sibling. That also includes which THH character they represent.

4. The intermissions were also some of my fav things to write. Just seeing Kijo's thoughts on everything and how his... behaviour towards Byakuya changes a wee bit with every chapter is just very fun to write. And Aloysius goes perfectly with this since there is just such a big power gap between them which leads to Kijo being much more open.

And Kijo does trust Aloysius- in his eyes, he's the best servant possible. Doesn't change the fact he just sees Aloysius as a servant though... Poor dude.

But glad you liked it so much!!! For some reason, people really like it, despite it being such a small fic in my eyes. Can't wait to see what amazing art you come with once your artblock is gone! Be sure to take your time :D

[manipulatedstars]

We'll Be Alright

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint, non-idol AU, office romance, coworkers-slash-friends-slash-idiots-to-lovers

Pairing: Mingi x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Pink Mingi (a valid warning), symptoms of anxiety and panic but nothing serious, mentions of gambling ig, Wooyoung being Wooyoung

Summary: When Mingi overhears some colleagues talking, he realizes he has to finally make his feelings known - easier said than done.

A/N: Can you believe this bitch (me)? Apparently I write now?? This is my first ever finished fic, and I'm eternally grateful to @hobarine for being the greatest beta reader without agreeing to being one in the first place. I love your sexy brain. [clears throat and wipes tears] I'd also like to thank my dear friends who made this possible in the first place - check the end of the fic for what violently inspired me to write this. Feedback and reblogs appreciated! Also - this is not a song fic (well... I suppose it very much is, but not in that way), but I'll Keep You Safe by Sleeping At Last very much set the tone for this, so I highly recommend you check it out.

The first couple times your new coworker had poked his head around the side of your cubicle, it was all business - or at least as much business as it could be considering that new colleague was Song Mingi.

It had all started out with work-related questions when he joined the company and, being one of the company’s top salespeople, you were quickly tasked with showing him around and answering any questions he might have. Your boss had personally offered Mingi the position, so he wanted to make sure the newcomer was going to stay, considering he was a “natural at his job” and would “undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset to the team.” You'd learned not to question your boss's decisions after he'd proven time and time again that he had a gift for picking out new team members, despite his sometimes questionable and unusual methods.

You also didn't question why Mingi, even after he'd grown accustomed to his new work environment, kept sticking around you. He never addressed this but he was shy around other people and you were still the only one he sort-of knew. And you, having grown to enjoy his company despite him being borderline clueless and painfully clumsy at times, weren't gonna complain.

So what started out as, "I'm so so so sorry, could you please explain the printer to me again? I'm so sor-" quickly turned into deeper, more personal questions and conversations. Not in a weird way, of course, he just really enjoyed being around you and wanted to get to know you better. Or so he kept telling himself and others when someone pointed it out. Over time, he had become fairly confident that you two could be considered friends, and he couldn't be happier. So you got used to him just poking his head, adorned with his signature pink hair, around the corner and asking you about movies and books you’d recently enjoyed, your most hated color (because according to him, asking for a favorite everything was overused), and your go-to spots in the area. At times you'd even catch yourself thinking how cute his childlike nature was. The only thing that put a damper on his mood was when one day he was put in a cubicle on the side of the office furthest away from you, for “productivity reasons" - not that it actually kept him from coming over to you just as often. In fact, he claimed to need a rest at your desk from the “extensive workout” they made him do in order to come this way. You never commented on how he was the only one to blame for full-on sprinting through the office space instead of walking like a normal person.

His favorite days are measured by how often, and how loudly, he managed to make you laugh that day. He could get lost in the sound, and knowing he was the reason for it? He wouldn't be able to wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

If only he knew that his visits had started to become the best part of your day, too...

You were thoroughly enjoying each other's presence. Always having lunch together, and taking a little bit too long to walk to your respective cars after work.

It was a regular Tuesday when Mingi made his way to the break room to get his regular drinks - a green tea for you, and a coffee with an obscene amount of sugar for himself - something you’d chided him for, telling him time and time again it would kill him one day.

He didn’t mind waiting for some coworkers to free up the coffee machine. He’d gotten used to it pretty quickly after the second one had broken some time ago. This just meant that the room was less crowded, since the majority of his colleagues had since chosen to head to the cafeteria downstairs instead of having to stand in line like he was now. But in his opinion, they were the ones missing out. He enjoyed getting to know the usual suspects of the breakroom a little better each time they happened to get something to drink when he did - which was the same time every day.

So it would’ve been just a regular coffee run on a regular Tuesday, if it hadn’t been for the conversation happening in front of him. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but nothing caught his attention quite like you did. Or, in this case, your name falling from one of the men’s lips. Mingi decided that he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from someone else, someone who probably didn’t even appreciate you in the way you deserved.

The men didn’t seem to notice him standing close by, or simply didn’t care whether they could be overheard or not, because their conversation didn’t seize.

‘’...I mean have you seen them lately?’’

He sure had.

‘’I’d be stupid not to make a move. They’re a catch.’’

NO! Well, yes..but-

’’Isn’t Song head over heels for them though? Kind of a dick move if you ask me…’’

They knew?

’’Come on, we both know he’s too much of a coward to actually go for it.’’

Mingi began to panic. He’d been so enamored with you since the two of you had been introduced that he’d never even entertained the idea of someone else possibly hitting on you. Of course he knew you were pretty. Gorgeous, even - he had eyes after all. He also knew you were the epitome of grace and kindness. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But he’d been trying slowly and carefully to inch his way into your heart, and now realized that he was so focused that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of anyone else sharing the same end goal.

God he was so stupid-

He knew he had to act. Fast. Despite his insecurities trying to convince him that you’d surely be better off with someone who didn’t stumble over their words, someone who was confident and could sweep you off your feet, he knew he would forever regret it if he didn’t at least try.

Even if the chances may be slim, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost the opportunity to make you his, especially if he lost it to his own mind.

You were just typing up a response to Park Seonghwa from HR, who had once again asked you to consider joining their team, when suddenly, a loud BANG startled you out of your thoughts. You joined some of your other coworkers in getting up from their seats to see what the commotion was about, and you couldn’t help a bright smile from lighting up your face the moment you saw Mingi standing in the doorway. Though your smile dropped just as quickly when you noticed the look of pure distress on his face, his eyes scanning across the room rapidly. The second your eyes met, he started hurriedly making his way over to you, ignoring any of the worried and questioning glances and occasional comments that people were throwing his way.

What was going on?

‘’Mingi, what-’’ your question was cut short when he gripped your shoulders the moment he reached your cubicle. He was panting, eyes blown wide and never leaving yours, as if he was afraid you’d disappear the moment he so much as blinked.

As if he was only now noticing the stares and whispers directed his way, he glanced around the room timidly. His nerves seemed to catch up with him, because he turned and went to leave as quickly as he’d arrived - if it hadn't been for your quick reflexes and your hand curling around his wrist, stopping him in his motion.

It took you gently calling his name a couple of times for him to finally turn around to face you again - and now you could see the sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

He was also avoiding eye contact.

Now you were really worried. Was he sick? Did something happen?

"Hey, what's wrong?'' No answer. ''You look really pale... are you not feeling well?"

When he stayed silent again, you brought one hand up to his forehead - an instinctive action for you, but definitely not what he’d expected, because his face quickly went from looking sickly pale to flushing a deep scarlet.

Your eyes widened when you noticed how warm his skin was, placing your other hand on one of his cheeks. "Mingi, you're burning up. Do you need to see a doctor?" When again he didn't answer, you turned to grab your things, preparing to carry this man to the nearest hospital if need be, but now it was his hand around your wrist that kept you from moving further.

You glanced from where he was touching you with a gentle yet desperate, clammy hand and back to his face, noting the panic in his eyes that were still refusing to meet your own.

Any stranger passing by would've assumed you were approaching a stray kitten, desperately trying not to scare it off, but you knew how much of a flight risk Mingi could be when things got too much to handle. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? I'm only trying to help you," you said with the gentlest voice you could muster despite your racing thoughts.

Yeah, that was the main problem, he thought, you're the only person who makes this job bearable, and I can't lose you by messing this up. You bring both your hands up to cup his cheeks when you notice the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Hey, look at me.’’ you dipped your head trying to lure his eyes into meeting yours. ‘’You won't lose me. Why would you?’’ a gentle brush of your thumbs over his pretty cheekbones ‘’How could I make it through one day at this crappy office, with its crappy coffee and the crappy AC that’s broken more often than not, without you?"

Oh shit, his eyes widened even further. Did I say that out loud? Oh god-

He was about to bolt again, mentally calculating how long it would take him to make a detour to a wig store or a hairdresser on his way to the airport, determined to start over in a faraway country, when he involuntarily locked eyes with you. He never understood how you did it, and he was sure there was no possible scientific explanation for the effect you had on him, because the way your eyes, filled with nothing but kindness and understanding, always managed to calm him down instantly was nothing short of magical.

You had to be a heavenly being sent to look out for him - him, this mere human - and him alone. It was in this moment that he remembered what you'd told him time and time again. Realized that he really could say what had been running rampant in his mind for months now. Reminded himself that he could be open and vulnerable with you. You, who had never shown him anything but support and guidance, even when you were having a bad day yourself. Alright. You, who always managed to find a peaceful solution to any argument or tension that arose in the office… He'd be alright. You, who somehow didn't hold grudges even when people had wronged you. You'd both be alright.

You must've noticed the change in his demeanor, because your lips curled up into a small version of one of your beautiful smiles that he loved so much. Shit, he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear his pulse slowing down, his heart rate finally dropping to a point that wouldn't have sent an entire hospital wing into a panic had he been hooked up to a monitor, with news reporters flocking to his bed trying score an interview to find out how the hell he had managed to survive that.

So he closed his eyes, which were now stinging in protest to having been kept open wide for way too long, and took a deep, if shaky, breath.

That was all you, too. Your encouragement to face difficult situations despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. Your influence. You were the one who told him time and time again that things were going to be okay. You showed him that he was in control of his fate and his feelings, and that even when it felt like the whole world was against him, you'd be by his side. No wonder the HR department was desperate to get you to join them…

Mingi couldn't run away now if he tried. He owed you this much. If nothing else, he owed you an explanation, and honesty. He wanted to make you proud.

So with another deep breath, this one a little less shaky (the first one had you worried he might burst into full sobs at any second), he covered your hands in his much larger ones, pulled them from his face and intertwined your fingers with his between your bodies. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

This shift in tone, with him being calmer and more confident than you'd ever seen him, had you thankful for the grasp he had on you, needing his hands around yours in support as your breath hitched when you noticed the raw adoration in his gaze.

His voice, beautifully airy and deeper than you swore you'd ever heard it before, sent shivers down your spine. There was everything yet nothing as you got lost in his gorgeous, warm eyes, and now his voice too. You weren't in your office anymore. You were standing barefoot in a forest, surrounded by majestic trees and vibrant wildlife, a gentle breeze almost calling out your name. You were on a beach, the warm sand comforting between your toes, the waves softly crashing behind you, a pair of strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. You decided then and there that his eyes' gorgeous shade of brown was your new favorite color.

It took his voice calling your name softly to bring you back to the present moment, a bashful smile on his stupidly handsome face. Had he always been this pretty?

"Please tell me you heard what I just said?'' he asked shyly, knowing full well you'd completely spaced out.

"Uh..." You grimaced. At that, he couldn't help but turn his face downward as he murmured to himself, but you were so focused on him now that you had no trouble making out the words. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're making me do this again". He would've buried his face in his hands had they not been occupied with the much more important job of holding the world's greatest treasure.

He hadn't missed the way you'd gotten lost in his eyes, and it only fueled his confidence. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was the same way he’d been looking at you more often than not since he'd met you.

He took a deep breath. "I said..." he paused as he brought one of his hands up to your cheek, his other hand easily holding both of yours in their previous position.

You felt yourself blushing. Hard.

Stroking his thumb over your cheek gently, he continued "...that I like you. I like like you. No, scratch that -’’ a gentle shake of his head ‘’-I'm crazy about you.’’ His gaze dropped again as he started rambling. ‘’I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, and I'm so sorry if I read things wrong, and if y-" he started mumbling, nerves catching up to him again, insecurities trying to invade his mind and win back precious land. But you noticed. And you smiled at him in adoration, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. This made him look up at you again. You're going to be alright, you tried to convey with your eyes, we're going to be alright.

Another deep breath, followed by a lighthearted chuckle at his own antics.

"The point is, I really like you, a-and I would love to take you out on a date? O-only if you want to of co-" he couldn't finish the sentence, because you promptly freed your hands and grabbed his face again, pulling him down to you (what they fed him as a kid to get him so tall, you'd really have to ask his parents one day) and pressed your lips to his in a firm and reassuring kiss.

His eyes widened again, cheeks heating back up, but he melted into you as soon as the first shock wore off, arms wrapping around you almost on instinct. As if holding you was their only job, and what they were meant to be doing all his life. He pulled you up to his level seemingly without effort before getting lost in the next kiss. Feeling your fingers running through his hair, he groaned inwardly. Mingi could do this forever, and he would if you let him. He'd figure out a way to survive without oxygen. If not, he decided the team would be fine without him.

You only pulled apart when you noticed the cheers and clapping that had erupted around you, even the occasional wolf-whistle coming from your coworkers, most of who'd gotten up from their seats again, if they’d even settled down after the shock of Mingi’s arrival. You hadn't seen them this lively since the day your boss had ordered a coffee and snack truck to the parking lot in celebration of sealing a deal everybody had worked hard to finally make happen. The majority of them had their headsets still attached, and had you not been so ecstatic you would've felt bad for whoever was getting their ears damaged on the other end of their lines.

"About damn time, Song..."

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!

"He finally grew a pair!"

These were only some of the lines being thrown at the two of you that had you blushing furiously, and Mingi hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You could've sworn you saw a few fist bumps and some money being passed around, but you decided not to dwell on it for your own sanity’s sake...

After the noise had mostly died down, Mingi put you back on your feet just so he could press his forehead to yours, both of your breaths mingling. Maybe oxygen wasn't so bad after all if he got to share it with you.

You almost missed the signature fake gagging sound of your most obnoxious co-worker, but before you could chase him off like you usually would when he started to tease you about the way you, in his words, "spent more time staring at Mingi than actually working", the telltale sound of a palm making not-so-gentle contact with the back of someone's head (and the dramatic pained yelp that followed) made you realize that your boss had already taken care of Wooyoung himself. You swore he kept an extra set of eyes on the mischievous man-child just so he wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him.

The same boss who sent you a curt nod and a small smile, before telling “the two lovebirds" to get back to work. Though you knew that he’d want to have a word with Mingi later, seeing as how the force with which he’d slammed open the door must’ve left at least an indent on the wall behind it.

It was safe to say you didn't get much work done the rest of that day, but you also never had to eat lunch alone again, or walk to your car without a strong, loving hand holding your own...or drive to work yourself, really.

Even years later, with your left ring finger now permanently occupied, you loved to remind him how proud of him you were.

✨Lore time✨

Here's how everything started:

Bonus:

(I was, in fact, not almost done)

A loving shoutout to my dear friends for planting this idea in my head. And thank you to everyone who read through it and left valuable feedback - you know who you are 💜

©manipulatedstars 2023 - do not steal, copy, repost, translate or otherwise plagiarize my work. If you do, I'll eat all your cereal and pour milk in your shoes.

[pedropascallme]

Your Toki writing is fantastic! You should write him more! Maybe a smut one shot where he's married and desperate to get his wife pregnant? 👀

Honeymooning

Pairing: Toki Wartooth x f!Reader

Summary: "Toki wanted kids. He wanted them bad."

Warnings: SMUT (18+ MINORS DNI), p in v sex, dirty talk, breeding kink, slightly dom!Toki (you're welcome), creampie. If I missed anything please let me know!

AN: Eeeee thank you for the love <3 I love writing Toki content. This prompt had me...excited. To say the least. I thought I'd be able to make this a drabble but it is, in fact, almost 2K words. I'm not sorry!!

You had always pictured a small, intimate wedding ceremony; delicate floral arrangements and lace, a pianist to play you down the aisle, a handful of your closest friends to help you prepare for the event of a lifetime. It was your dream to get married, to find the person you were destined to be with and have a lavish but appropriate ceremony to honor the love you had found in each other.

Any semblance of traditionalist thought you had put into your dream wedding went out the window when Toki proposed to you. Immediately, the two of you decided to go all out. While there were some things at the wedding recognizable from your childhood fantasies—your loved ones there to support you, your dress lacy and with a long train, the flowers just the color you had wanted—it was something entirely new, and much more fitting for who you were now as an adult. There had been something kind of funny about seeing the rest of the band act so dapper; they promised to behave for a whole 24 hours to ensure that the wedding went off without a hitch. Nathan had even worn his glasses in order to watch the vows closely from his spot at Toki’s side, and Skwisgaar didn’t throw in any veiled insults in his best man speech. And the whole time, Toki was squeezing your hand, eyes glued to you in admiration and disbelief that he finally had everything he wanted.

Almost everything.

Having had a more than tumultuous childhood and a lack of parental support, Toki had often considered what he would’ve done had he been in his parents’ shoes. The answer was never one laced with vengeance, rather he dreamt of caring for someone small and providing for them in the way he had always dreamed to be looked after. Toki wanted kids. He wanted them bad.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t known this; there had been conversations between the two of you for God only knows how long about what you wanted your future together to be like, and it always included starting a family. You knew financially you would be fine, but both of you felt it would be best to wait until you were married to really start trying.

And your honeymoon did take place after you were married.

Toki all but threw you onto the sprawling mattress. Maybe after having traveled the world so much with the entirety of Dethklok, Italy wasn’t so much a destination vacation as it was a week away in a familiar location, but you couldn’t deny the beauty that surrounded you—especially the beauty that was your now-husband as you watched him lift up and discard his shirt, tossing it into a corner and revealing his toned torso. You picked yourself up from off your back, crawling forward on the mattress to splay your hands over his stomach.

“This what you were thinking about during our vows?” You kissed down past his belly button and over his thin happy trail.

“Maybes,” he sighed, “but only halfs as much as I thoughts abouts how much I loves you.” You stopped just above the button of his pants to give him a kiss before leaning back to undo his fly. He pulled your hands away and grappled with you until you both fell back on the mattress in a heap of giggles.

“I’m trying to be sexy!”

“You can’ts gives a blow jobs now! It ams our first times as a married couples!” He buried his face into your neck, giving you small kisses that slowly turned more sensual as he began to suck on your skin. His hand made its way past the waistband of your panties—the rest of your clothes long forgotten somewhere near the front door—and he toyed with your clit. “Wants to loves you like this,” he whispered into your neck between opened mouth kisses, “wants to makes you feels good. Puts a baby in you.” You gasped at the combination of his words and the way he felt rubbing against your needy, swollen bud.

“Mhm,” you moaned, arching your back to allow two of his fingers to enter you smoothly, “want—wanna see how pretty I lo-ok, full of your cum?” Your question came out breathy, not at all in the teasing tone you had intended, but you couldn’t care less as Toki’s fingers eased in and out of you.

“Yeah,” Toki moaned, and you moved your hand to squeeze the hard length growing in his jeans. He tilted his head back at the sudden attention he was receiving before his mouth dropped open at your ministrations. “Wants you dripping.” You gave him another squeeze before you felt your legs shaking, thighs clenching together around his hand as his fingers ruthlessly played with the spot inside you that had you seeing stars. Mouth open, you intended to thank him, but there was no time before he attached his lips to yours and started peeling off the remainder of your clothing. He looked at you, curled up on the bed below him as he stripped off his pants, freeing his painfully hard cock and moving to cover you in kisses once more.

“How do you wants it?” He teased, his cock brushing over you. “How do you wants me to fills you up?”

“However you want.” You were giddy in anticipation, opening your legs to him before he had even decided how he wanted to fuck you. He took it as an opportunity, settling himself between your legs and letting his cock rest just above where you needed him. You felt his precum staining your stomach and it made you feel a lightheaded rush of excitement and arousal.

“My wife,” he took himself in his hand, rubbing his tip against your dripping hole, “so prettys.” He pushed into you all the way, the entirety of his cock stretching you out delightfully and making you scream out for him. “Feels good?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a mocking observation at the way your face contorted with each long, hard thrust.

You gave a string of gibberish in response, moaning each time you felt him slip out just enough to feel close to empty before he rammed back into you. “Fuck, Toki, fu-ck!” You were on the precipice of another orgasm, but he pulled out of you and turned you over, giving your ass a sharp smack as you moaned in disappointment and need.

“Be patients,” he spanked you again, sliding his cock over the curve of your ass, “you’ll gets whats you wants.”

“Need it, Toki!” You felt pathetic, lifting your ass up and wiggling in an attempt to sway him to fill you up again. “Need it…” It was a good thing Toki liked seeing you pathetic; your begging was cut short by his hands spreading you open for him as he pushed himself back into you, drawing a moan from you both before he began an unrelenting pace. He pulled your hair into a messy, makeshift ponytail, pulling you up closer to him and making your back curve to give him more leverage to fill your greedy cunt. “There!” You were close to tears, the overwhelming pleasure your husband provided coursing through your veins, “R-ight there, Toki! Please!” You collapsed onto your arms and face as the force of his thrusts became almost too much to handle; you felt your body move forward with every snap of his hips and you swore you could feel him in your stomach.

“Rights there?” He teased, giving you a particularly deep thrust and keeping himself sheathed inside of you while you squirmed underneath him, helpless and loving it. You responded with a muffled “yes,” before he began to move again, slower now but just as deep. “Whats do you wants?” He was trying to ward off his own climax by slowing himself down and goading you into begging for more.

“Wan-want to…” You felt your eyes roll back when he began to rub your clit slowly in time with his thrusts.

“Whats?” He demanded.

“Wa-need you to-please Toki, I need it.” The tears you had been attempting to hold back now spilled over your eyes and onto the sheets below you.

“Speak clearlys.” If you hadn’t been so distracted, maybe you would’ve pointed out the irony of his sentence, but you were too far gone and did as instructed.

With all your focus, you mustered the proper words to get what you were so desperate for: “Please To-ki, want you to cum in me,” he pushed himself in further and you cried out, burying your face into the blanket you were clutching. “Please! Please, fill me up—fuck!—fill my pussy up so deep. Wanna have your—have your fucking kids.” You choked on your words as he sped up, throwing you back onto his cock as he brought you both toward your highs.

“Fills you up so goods.” You heard him groaning. He pulled you back by your hair and wrapped an arm around your waist. Now gripping you tightly against him, he used his other hand to grab your face, kissing you and whispering to you. “Gonna takes it? Gonna say thanks yous?”

“Yes! Please, yes!” You repeated the same two words over and over, and with a long, deep thrust into you, you felt yourself go limp in Toki’s arms. Had it not been for his grip around you, you surely would have fallen flat onto the mattress. Toki continued to fuck you through your orgasm as it tore through you; you felt heavy and light simultaneously, seeing black and white shine through both eyes while you chanted his name. At last, panting and sweaty, you uttered a weak, “please, Toki,” and he gave you what you both craved. You felt his hips stutter against your ass as he came, painting your insides with his cum. You felt warm and tired, but now with a regained pleasure coursing through you. Eyes closed, you felt yourself move and realized Toki had maneuvered you to lie down, still buried inside you. You could feel the stickiness leaking out around his cock and onto your thighs, and his chest heaving into your back.

Slowly, you eased him out of your now sensitive, sticky hole and turned to face him. He was smiling wide, tongue between his teeth. He kissed you passionately, deeply, before his hand wandered down to your pussy and began pushing what had leaked out of you back inside. You gasped, grabbing at his forearm while he playful nipped at you. Pulling his fingers out of you, he stuck them in his mouth to suck off any remnants and then curled up around you, kissing your shoulders, face, neck, and anywhere else he could reach in the position you found yourselves in.

“I loves you.” Toki whispered, kissing your forehead. “My wife, pretty ladys, I loves you. So perfects. Going to be a greats moms.” He kissed the top of your ear, then your cheek, and then finally he gave you a kiss on the lips.

“Do you think it worked?” You smiled, soaking in the adoration of his words.

“Maybes,” he pushed his hair out of his face, propping himself up next to you on his elbow, “but maybes we should try one more times. Or two.”

You pulled him back down again.

[itsthesinbin]

Sins in Stardust [Chapter 5: Business of Mystery] (Bill Cipher/Reader/Stanford Pines)

Warnings: Bill being weird with his eye, mentions of previous abuse

Also I did decide that this is gonna be a polycule, so Ford's getting added in here. As much as I love Stan, I'd rather put him by himself than throw him into THIS mess. He'll show up later, though!

Feedback appreciated :3

Read the fic on AO3 here!

If you like it, reblog it!

------------------------

You found yourself out in the woods, the stars twinkling above you as you walked. A firepit in the distance was your only point of reference. You felt eyes on your back, but couldn’t bring yourself to look behind you. You were too determined to make it to the fire. Your dad only lit it when he wanted s’mores. You didn’t want the old fart to eat all the chocolate before you got there.

You stepped onto the little cobblestone path to the cabin your family rented every summer. You heard a buzzing noise around you, but there were always flies and mosquitoes out this time of year. You didn’t think anything of it as you made your way toward your parents. Your dad was making a double chocolate s’more, while your mom was getting out another pack of graham crackers. They talked happily, but you couldn’t make any of the words out.

A few flecks of ashes landed on your face, much akin to snow. You wiped the ash from your face, only to realize more was falling. Your parents froze in place, their faces distorted. The static noise grew louder as you looked up.

The stars burned bright. You faintly heard screaming in the static, but couldn’t look away.

You took a sharp inhale as you woke up. You sat up quickly, your body wracked with faint trembles. Your phone’s alarm buzzed and, with shaking hands, you turned it off. 10 am- you had wanted to sleep in a little bit before having to deal with your car problem. Among other problems. At least you had a couple days of rest, since you had to wait for the weekend to pass before you could call your insurance company.

Speaking of other problems, you looked over to the bench under the window. Bill had gotten that spot when you refused to let him have the entire bed, after an argument about “WHAT IF I GET KIDNAPPED AGAIN”. You two were given a different room, no longer facing the woods, so less likely to be a round 2. You had to dig out one of your spare blankets for him, but he seemed content on the window seat once you assured him the gnomes wouldn’t come back. He did when you went to bed, at least.

Bill was sitting up, staring out the window. You could see his expression in the reflection. He had a thousand yard unblinking stare, completely unaware that you were awake and watching him. The blanket was gripped in his fists. Were he human, you didn’t doubt the knuckles would be changing color. You swallowed, throat feeling tight and chest heavy. You knew that look well. You found it in the mirror often.

“Bill, you feel like breakfast?” You decided not to bring it up right now. You barely knew the guy, and doubted he’d be willing to open up even if you did know him. He jolted, seemingly having forgotten you existed. The mask was back on in an instant. He threw the blanket off like he had just woken up, stretching and yawning loudly.

“I could eat,” he said as he hopped down. You grabbed your hot plate and a pan. You had bought some actual groceries to keep in the mini fridge, not wanting to order food every day while here. You didn’t know if you were allowed to cook in the room, but what the owners didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. 

Bacon and eggs sounded good. The room had a coffee maker included so you got that going, too. Didn’t know if this guy needed coffee, but you weren’t gonna be rude. You pulled the food out of the mini fridge, asking how he wanted his eggs. Sunny side up. You wish you had a triangle mold to cook the eggs in. You didn’t know if Bill would’ve found it funny, but you would have.

“I gotta call some people about my car. After that, we can figure out something about your… friends, I guess,” you told him as you grabbed your phone. He groaned, clearly thinking your business was an inconvenience to him. You chose to ignore that and called your insurance company. You gave Bill his coffee and plate as you argued back and forth with your agent. Bill was watching the show, occasionally laughing or calling your agent a little bitch. You had to admit, the peanut gallery did make you feel not AS angry during the call.

Ultimately, there was nothing to be done about the car. You opted to look for a place to scrap it- maybe you could get money for the parts that were salvageable. You sat down with your plate and coffee, rubbing your forehead. Bill whistled.

“Sucks about your ride, kid! Once I liberate this place, I’ll get you a sick ass motorcycle. One of the fancy ones that runs off of human blood and fear!” You sighed.

“Thanks, Bill,” you replied humorlessly. A motorcycle did sound cool, though. Not the blood and fear part, but maybe you could get a motorcycle. You always wanted one. You were never allowed something so reckless, though. You shook your head, eating your food. You didn’t wanna think about what you weren’t allowed to do, before you got out here.

“About your friends,” you started after you were halfway through your breakfast. You had a few sips of coffee, and some time to wind down after the call, so you felt like you could tackle the main issue. Bill rose his brow, taking another drink of coffee through his silly straw. He didn’t bother turning his eye into a mouth this time, simply shoving the end of the straw into the corner of his eye. You had to turn away for that, and he laughed in response.

“Did you remember anything that could help us find them? Anything at all?” Bill gave you a groan that answered the question. Clearly not. He set his cup down and dropped his face onto the table. You frowned a little. Poor guy.

“How about something fun, instead? Maybe while we’re out, we’ll find some clues that’ll jog your memory,” you offered. At the idea of fun, he perked up a bit. He put his hands on the table as he stood. It had been a couple days since the gnome incident, so you felt it was safe enough to try and get out for a while.

“Can we go rob the liquor store?” he asked, as if he was a kid asking to go to the candy shop. You stared at him, brows raised in disbelief. Your expression must’ve said it all, because he sat back down with an exaggerated groan. You rolled your eyes, a slight smile on your face.

“No burglary until we’ve at least been friends for a week, Cipher,” you joked as you pulled your phone out again. You looked up fun things to do in Gravity Falls, missing the way Bill’s expression changed at the word “friend”. A mix between disgust and confusion. He mumbled something you didn't bother paying attention to as you scrolled through tourist trap after tourist trap.

Bill came around to look over your shoulder. You tilted the screen to let him get a better view. You both passed on mini golf and the history museum. Mini golf could be fun, but after yesterday you didn’t wanna spend the entire day outside. Then you scrolled further, to the lesser-rated stuff.

“UGH this is taking too long! Why do humans gotta PLAN everything?” He groaned, flopping back onto the bed. You stared at your phone but didn’t register what you were looking at. This guy was a baby.

“I gotta plan in case something goes wrong or you don’t like it.” The response came out without you thinking. Bill scoffed.

“Who gives a shit? If we don’t like something, we’ll leave and do something else! Easy. You already did it once!” You paused. You were used to having to meticulously plan events by yourself, while having to worry about another’s reactions. He was right. You could just Go out and do things. If you didn’t like it, you could leave. You already did that once, in a more serious way. You felt sick.

“Yeah… Yeah, alright.” You put your phone away. Bill looked up, giddy, as you went to go get dressed. It clicked that he was going outside and jumped up. He put on his, admittedly terrible, disguise. He bounced on his heels as he waited, but thankfully you came out quick. You wanted to go before you lost your nerve.

You two exited the hotel. As usual, Bill got a few stares. Seemed like no one really bothered to look too closely, though. Or if they did, no one said anything. Good thing, cause lord knows you’d have no idea what to say.

You two wandered the town for a while, sticking bill to your side closer to buildings so he was less likely to be seen. Billboards and signs for various businesses stuck out. The mini-golf course still caught your eye, as did the McGucket Technological Museum. But something caught Bill’s attention along the walk.

He jogged a little bit ahead, making you follow suit. A shabby sign for a tourist trap called the “Mystery Shack” was Bill’s goal. It looked old, and had paint chipping from it. It barely had any info about the shack itself, besides an address. You looked up the address on your GPS. Bill still hadn’t said anything.

Then his fist went through the sign, where the building itself was painted on. You jumped, nearly dropping your phone in surprise. His shoulders heaved, other fist so tight it was trembling at his side. You took a step toward him and he whipped around with a wild look in his eye. Your blood ran cold and you froze in your spot. Despite you having a good couple feet on him, you felt miniscule under his gaze. Like an insect he was about to crush under his foot. You were back in your apartment at that moment, ready to dodge whatever item was about to be thrown at your head.

“Man, pain isn’t as fun when it’s your body!” You both were back on the street. Bill shook his hand, kinda laughing even though you could see the cringe of pain through it. You stared at him, heart hammering in your chest, as he turned to follow the sign’s directions.

“Let’s go see what humans consider a “mystery”! It’ll be funny- bet it’s just an old skull or something. I’ll show you a REAL mystery, when I get my powers back!” He walked a bit, before looking back to see if you were following. He didn’t address his outburst beyond the mention of being in pain. You took a slightly shaky breath, before moving to catch up. You pulled a bit ahead, leading him off since you had the GPS. You decided to keep quiet, with Bill yapping about random bullshit the entire trip.

“- and THEN I said it wasn’t MY fault he didn’t specify he needed a HUMAN heart. How was I supposed to know that a donkey heart wasn’t “compatible” with human anatomy?” You heaved out a sigh of both annoyance and relief as the Mystery Shack came into view. It was a bit of a hike out of town, but the path was nice.

A hidden cabin out among huge pine trees. Multiple old signposts either shaped like arrows or had arrows and question marks painted onto them. A few people flitted around the giftshop, or headed back to their cars. Man you missed your car.

“Dunno if they’re still doing tours right now.” Bill blinked at the sound of your voice. You hadn’t talked this whole time. Bill had definitely noticed your mood, and constant glances over at him whenever he got a little loud or animated during his stories.

“But maybe we can get a stupid souvenir,” you said with a little smile on your lips. Bill could live with that. Maybe there was a funny hat in there!

You two stepped into the tight gift shop, dodging an overly-flirty couple exiting the building at the same time. You and Bill looked at each other, grossed out, before moving to look around. Bill gravitated toward the little replica statuettes of displays that the shack supposedly had.

“Wow, these look like shit,” he laughed. You shook your head and decided to look at the novelty tees. You pulled out a few, deciding if it was worth the ridiculous price tag, when you heard footsteps approach you.

“Welcome to the Mystery Shack, dude! You new in town?” You looked up at the tall man standing near you. He was big, with a bit of stubble and front teeth that stuck out a little more than they should. He was dressed in a suit, with an eyepatch and a red fez on his head. He just beamed at you, excited to have a new customer. You nodded, telling him your name and shaking his hand when he stuck it out.

“You can call me Mister Mystery- or Soos. I usually answer to Soos, though,” he laughed. You smiled slightly. This guy seemed nice enough, despite the theft he was pulling with the merchandise prices.

“So, you own the place?” You leaned against the wall near the novelty shirts. He waved his hand in a ‘kinda-sorta’ way.

“Not really but kinda. Basically I run the place now, but my boss and his brother own the building. I just keep it runnin’,” he answered. You nodded in understanding. You subtly put the overpriced shirt back on the rack while he talked about the shack. You heard small feet trot over to you.

“Look at this thing, kid! Some idiot just hot glued a chicken’s head to a squirrel!” You and Soos looked down, seeing Bill holding exactly what it sounded like- a taxidermied squirrel with a chicken’s head. You snorted a little bit at the sight of it.

Soos froze, looking between you and Bill. Bill stared up at him and you felt a knot in your stomach. You could see the recognition- and fear- in his eyes. Bill, however, was unfazed.

“How much for this thing, fatso?” “Bill!” “What?” That seemed to knock Soos back to reality. He stepped back, fear in his eyes, as he turned to the redhead at the checkout counter who was dozing off between customers.

“WENDY! WE GOT A CODE DORITO! FLAMIN’ HOT!!!” She was alert instantly.

[wyvchard]

Phoenix and Party Tricks

When the usual announcer gets sick shortly before the birthday of R&D's Dr. Prism, they went to Agent Phoenix for help in finding a replacement. Plot twist: It's not John Juniper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You all owe me for this." Agent Phoenix narrowed their eyes as they stared at the crowd in front of them.

"Well, surely we can get a payback for the broken car. As well as the laser incidents. You also experimented with kinesium. We have more incidents, if you want to know."

Phoenix frowned, a subtle red tainting their ears. "I get it. But why me specifically?" They looked at the whiteboard with loathing, their name in loving red marker.

"We know she'll appreciate it more."

"Well, since you all prepared for this, I'm guessing you made sure my handler knows I'll be busy with you?" They turned away from the whiteboard to see their reply.

The nods made Phoenix cover their face with their palm.

"... Just hand me the plans."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It seems as if R&D kept you captive for far longer than usual. Are you alright?" Reginald looked at his agent through the office camera, noticing how disheveled their hair was. Their hat was haphazardly placed on the desk as a thud echoed from it.

They shrugged, choosing to lean back on their chair as soon as they reached it. They combed their hair between their fingers, face grimacing at the texture.

"I'd say, it feels like a miracle they let you off the hook that easily. Some of the technicians tend to be... protective of their projects."

"... They're now making me pay for it in the worst way I can think of right now." They mumbled, soon hitting their face on the desk as they groaned. "They're awful."

"Agent, don't be ridiculous. You're practically the reason all other agency vehicles have auto insurance. You're getting off easy. When I was doing fieldwork, Roxana would make me sit through the damage, one by one."

"Wasn't it an option because of you? It only became mandatory later on. But it started because of how many vans you crashed." They turned to the camera in their office to glare at him through the screen. They grabbed a pillow from one of the drawers in order to find something to scream into later.

A brow was raised when they knew his cheeks started feeling warmer despite the air conditioning.

"Well, some regulations have been said to be written in blood. At least be appreciative that no one's died because of it."

"Yeah. But I still feel like I'm getting gutted here! This is so embarrassing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You want me to... What makes you think I'll help you?" John Juniper narrowed his eyes at the agent who was awkwardly sitting in front of his desk. He placed the note they gave on the desk on top of his papers, making sure it was neatly arranged.

"Name your price. Just... think of it as one of your casting calls or something." They looked flustered, darting their eyes on the agency handbooks they once read over. Various sticky notes have been peeking out from it, just like his old habits with scripts.

"You're not going to flatter me into agreeing. What are you going to do? Write a three page essay on my ability as a director?"

"... I wrote five pages... back to back."

He merely looked at the agent in complete disbelief as he pondered if he'll get in trouble if he threw the paperweight at them.

"I'll see you after your shift. Your place."

He merely watched as the agent walked away with confidence. He then looked at the pages elegantly stapled together, handwriting from multiple colored pens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John Juniper is highly annoyed that they did manage to flatter him to agreeing. However, he has a way to get payback.

"I know you like eating the most random of things but you're eating your words. Speak more clearly."

After all, they asked for it. If they can thoroughly study his habits as a director, so be it. He can do the same for them. He plans to thoroughly break apart the way they speak until they feel the same level of fluster they made him feel with that essay.

"You're watching my hands and it's making me feel self-conscious." They looked away, choosing to focus on the clock high up on the wall, watching the ticks go by.

"Well, who told you to sign things while speaking anyway? I know you tend to use that during missions but still. You're going to confuse the audience at that rate."

"It's called gestures and you know it." They huffed, raising their hands in protest as they used TK to toss the makeshift script at him. "None of the lines work for me. They don't feel like me at all."

"I can see that much. So, why are you holding back? You're supposed to be the one leading this. The star of the show isn't you but you need to be bright enough to be her spotlight."

Phoenix looked at him for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "You're right. You're... right." They looked at him with a sullen frown. "How could I forget?"

The smile they showed him was familiar to Juniper, yet also distant. It reminded him of the falling back in love towards an art long forgotten. "My name is Agent Phoenix and this is not my first time hosting a birthday party."

There was a brief silence before he flinched at how loud they've gotten, even turning down the volume of the microphone did little to save his ears from their voice. A smirk bloomed on his face as he saw their confidence return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reginald quietly led Roxana to one of the testing areas, steps slowly leading her towards the reinforced door.

He was holding her key card, gently following familiar movements whenever he wanted to pay a visit to her several years ago. The door opened gently, revealing several balloons and streamers.

The researchers were all holding glowsticks as everyone greeted her "Happy Birthday", earning her a small smile.

"Good evening everyone! Our beloved Dr. Roxana Prism has finally arrived! Let's get this party started! This is Agent Phoenix, your master of ceremony tonight with Agent Robutler! Let this night be a night of rediscovering old ways to have fun!"

The shouts was defeaning as Roxana turned to the source of the voice, only for her eyes to widen at the co-hosts.

Agent Phoenix and Robutler were wearing matching bowties and party hats, playfully jesting with each other as they cleared their throat to gather everyone's attention.

They passed the microphone to Reginald, a mischievous glint in their eyes as he gave the welcome speech for her birthday.

"Thank you for that wonderful speech, Reggie. But I'd say, Robutler, did you notice anything?" Phoenix turned to their co-host, eyes crinkling with glee as Reginald turned a subtle shade of red.

What came next was a series of confused noises from the robot before he turned to her and Reginald. "Their key card holder seems different somehow."

All eyes turned to them and even she felt slight warmth in her cheeks.

Laughter broke their trance as Phoenix told everyone that they're done teasing the two for now, causing more amused glances at their way.

"It was just so Reginald can open the door much easier." She muttered, still refusing to even glance at Reginald's direction.

The accusatory eyes that seemed to shout "suuureee, it's that" from the others still burned into her.

Phoenix cut the tension by making a few of her robots put on a show about how much they and the rest of the department love her, melting her heart even further.

Their steady hand slowly guided her to the cake as she blew on the candles after they sang the song.

Everything flowed smoothly, several teams sharing ideas about their projects as they sat down to eat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're not going to host the games?" John Juniper asked as they sat beside each other at the back of the room, watching everyone else laughing and playing.

"I think my games will be more appreciated by fellow field agents. It usually had something to do with running around." Phoenix ate one of the cupcakes served, one with tiny robot toppings.

The two watched as chaos erupted from the others at the fact someone flubbed the pronunciation of kinesium.

Joking accusations and faked outrage filled the room shortly after, laughter following.

"You did well."

"Thanks. You're not as bad of a teacher too."

"Well, I can say I'm the best."

Phoenix ignored him in favor of watching Roxana dance something the robots are teaching her. A small amused smile graced their face.

"You're usually quiet on missions. You barely said a word when we met."

"I tend to shut up whenever things get dangerous. But we're safe here." They grabbed a small device on the table and got up to approach, counting the seconds before pulling the trigger, confetti raining down on the main stage.

"Phoenix!" Roxana turned to them with a smile as the applause echoed in the room. "This is amazing. Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank the department. I only got dragged here. If you really want to show your gratitude, please say a few words to everyone." Their hands pointed to the spare microphone, pulling it with their telekinesis to grab it. "Well?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several speeches and stories passed, all about the memories in the department- some funny, others painful, yet no one will have it any other way.

Phoenix insisted on staying behind to clean up, despite everyone else saying they can go home.

"Well, I didn't know you could do that." Reginald approached them with a proud smile. "That was amazing, Agent."

"... This will not reach the EOD. I am not hosting that. We have John Juniper, for crying out loud. Let him do it." They deadpanned, ignoring the indignant yell from him. "It was already draining enough."

"You're a natural at it, Agent."

They refused to look at him, choosing to focus on Roxana, who was recreating the steps of the dance. They counted down the seconds before she started to approach them with haste.

"Reginald, do you think their moves are familiar? Even a little bit?"

"I don't exactly follow."

"If you're asking if they were imitating the little things you do while working, yes. They were doing that."

Phoenix quietly walked away with a grin as they purposely chose to carry the chair, instead of using TK to do it.

"Happy Birthday, Doc. I put my gift inside your house since I knew I wouldn't be able to hand mine to you."

It was the proper time to bail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you like the fluff.

My Agent Phoenix specifically was forced to host a birthday party once or twice when they were still quite young. They kinda hated it but they can manage. Others say they're decent at it. Don't tell them that though, they're embarrassed.

Tag List:

@phoenix-and-found-family

@the-one-and-only-043

@ghostlystarwanderer

@jellyfishgummy

@definitelyunhingedagentphoenix (Just in case you wanna see this.)

@stellar-collective

@agentpheoness

@tillywunderwing

[panda-writes-kpop]

What does a demon and a function have in common? (You can test both of their limits!) - l. yb.

a/n: happy dami day! i know the timeline of this fic is messy, but just pretend that it's all okay and I will too :) also I wrote this because I was trying to understand my feelings as an aroace person towards love and I'm still really confused... but at least we got a good fic out of it! ❤️

tw: demons, undefined magic, lots of mentions of death, implied aroace! reader, a bit of religious trauma

word count: 2.6k

summary: you're in distress over your math homework and the pretty demon that helps you with it, and you're reluctant to let your heart do the talking since it ended pretty badly for your friend and her demon companion.

related fics: Demon! SuA - Tainted Love

♡ Masterlist ♡

You shouldn't do this.

You glare at the leather-bound book in front of you as you furiously erase another answer from your sheet of scratch paper. The book was a gift from a friend, one that had struggled with a demonic relationship before.

You hadn't heard from them in a year and a half, and from what you heard from mutual friends, they weren't doing too well. Although you weren't positive that the book was bad news, you had never seen your friend so desperate to remove an object from their grasp.

After doing a bit of research, you realized that it was a cursed tome. There were seven different markings on the cover, which meant that seven different demons were tied to the book. Luckily, only one had been released when your friend had opened the book.

Now, you had to be the one to safeguard it. To make sure that no one would ever be hurt by the book again.

But, as you stare at your Calculus homework, you realize that you have no idea what you're fucking doing. And at 10 p.m. the night before an exam, the tutoring center is closed and the professor is probably counting sheep while their students are stressing out.

You're well aware that it's a stupid, very dumb, unintelligent idea to open a cursed book in order to understand Calculus, but what other choice do you have? Do you fail this exam then fail the class, which would put you a year behind?

What would your peers say?

What would your family say?

A shiver down your back, from the looming threat of parental disappointment, causes you to drop your pencil and reach for the book. Your hand gently traces the seven etchings on the cover, and you notice that one isn't filled in with color. 

The demon that took my friend away.

You really shouldn't be doing this.

You think about the laundry list of concepts that you have to master by 10 a.m. tomorrow, and your decision has never been easier.

I'd rather stick my hand in an open flame than do another problem with no help.

When you open the book, you realize that you're blissfully unaware of how to summon a demon. Do you say a bunch of random words in Latin? Do you do a little hand motion? Do you need an offering?

You decide that your best option at summoning a demon that won't smite you immediately is to plead with the book.

Because desperate never goes out of style.

“Listen, I don't know who I'm talking to, if I'm even talking to anyone in the first place. I'm having a problem. …Well, it's not a ‘the fate of the world rests in your hands’ type of problem, but I still could use some help.”

An orange trail of smoke leaves the book in your hands and swirls like a tornado in an empty spot in your living room. Objects start flying around because of the tailwind, and you have to duck before you take a pencil to the eyeball. 

“Who knew Calculus homework could be deadly?” You joke as you try to not think about the magnitude of the situation that you're in. You haven't even met the demon yet, and the smoke that it creates(?) it is trying to kill you.

Not a good sign.

Once your apartment is messy enough for your demon of choice, the book in your hands shuts itself as the orange smoke starts to dissipate. 

You set the book aside as you gawk at the woman- no, demon that stands in your living room. 

She's dressed in all black, ready to go to a funeral.

You just have to hope that it's not yours.

“How can I assist you?” She softly asks in a semi-uninterested voice.

“I need help with Calculus.” You blurt out as she clocks her head at you.

“I beg your pardon?”

~

This demon was exceptionally smart, which was good for your tired, mortal mind. She also didn't kill you on the spot - a good thing, you assume, unless the murder is waiting for you on the other side of the Calculus homework.

She was taken aback by your request, staring at you in utter surprise until she joined your side and helped you with your homework.

Her voice was gentle and smooth, and you would've fallen asleep if you weren't thinking about being killed in your sleep.

“Thanks.” You rub your eyes as you set the pencil down as you check your phone for the time.

You're proud of yourself for putting your phone on dark mode (you've flash-banged yourself in the past, it's a one time mistake) as you realize that it's only one in the morning. With a few hours of sleep and a large container of your favorite caffeinated drink, you'd be fine for your exam.

“Is that all you needed? …A bit of guidance with math?” The woman sitting beside you is in disbelief as you nod your head.

“Is there something wrong with that?” You joke, momentarily forgetting that she's a demon.

“Forgive me, but the people who usually hold the tome are more demanding… and a lot less cute.”

“Okay, back into the book you go.” You toss the book her way before trying to hide her embarrassment. 

She chuckles softly before running her fingers over the spine.

“You have no idea how any of this works, right?”

“Uh-huh.” You nod your head before starting to put your school stuff away.

“Right, right.” Her eyes meet yours for a moment. “Dami.”

“Huh?” You tilt your head at her, but she snaps her fingers and disappears with the book in an instance.

Well, that damn book is out of my sight and I now have a chance to pass my Calc exam. I'll take that as a win-win.

~

You don't remember climbing into bed last night (this morning? The days are blending together at this point).

Before leaving your apartment, you say a small prayer before grabbing your pick-me-up of choice from the fridge. You might have this exam on lock.

As you walk to class, you recite Calculus formulas in your head. Partial derivatives swirl around your mind along with the thought of the mysterious woman.

Dami?

She's not a directional derivative, so you should focus on something else. 

You, at least, had the demon situation under control.

 ~

This semester, you officially renounced your academic weapon status; instead, you were an academic victim. Although you most definitely messed up the first problem (why do all of the problems have the same wording yet completely different solutions?), you had the rest of it down.

Your confidence evaporated when the two classmates behind you started discussing their answers and got completely different answers to you. 

Maybe another semester here wouldn't be so bad?

“You did fine.” 

You jump as your eyes lock with the demon from the night before.

“Sorry, sorry.” You apologize to the two people behind you as you step to the side to speak with Dami. “I like your confidence in me, and I wish I had a fraction of it for myself.”

“There's nothing wrong with having a little pride.” She shrugs as the doors to the lecture hall open.

“Well, at least there's another exam a few weeks after spring break.” Ryujin shrugs before closing the door and walking towards you. “How'd the exam go for you?”

“It was okay.” You softly shrug as you glance between Dami and Ryujin.

“You're too humble for how smart you are.” Ryujin scoffs before turning to Dami. “You new here?”

“I'm just visiting someone.” Dami winks at you, and your eyes avert her gaze afterwards.

Ryujin sighs before adjusting her backpack and clearing her throat.

“They're not interested in guys or girls…. or anyone, for that matter.”

You playfully smack Ryujjn's shoulder before she pretends to be in extreme pain from the hit.

“It's not an absolute thing. I'll know if there's someone I'm interested in.” You nonchalantly say as Ryujin checks her smart watch.

“Oh shit, I've got class in fifteen minutes halfway across campus. See ya!” Ryujin waves to you both before offering a nod to Dami. “Nice to meet you.”

She runs off in another direction as your attention turns to Dami.

“Why are you here, if you don't mind me asking?”

“I haven't been out of that book for centuries. I just wanted to see how humans lived.” Dami folds her arms before walking to you. “The world is so much different… better, if you ask me.”

“You're not like any demon I've heard of.” You blurt out before biting your tongue. “Sorry, that's probably really mean to say-”

“It's okay, and to be honest, I'd be surprised if I was like any other demon that you met. Not all demons fall from the sky, you know.”

~

It's been three hours, and you're still trying to come to terms with the fact that Dami’s a fallen angel. Who says that to someone after only two interactions with them?

Dami, apparently, because she's been watching you like a hawk as you sit across from her in the campus library.

“You think of me differently, don't you?” 

You don't look up from your computer as you tap your pencil against the desk three times.

Click. Click. Click.

“I don't.” You calmly say before writing an equation in your notebook. “I should be honest with you, though, since you were honest with me. It's only fair.”

You pause for a moment as Dami folds her arms and leans against the chair. She's trying to remain cool, but a small twitch in her left eye tells you that she's more interested than she appears to be.

It's cute.

“I had a friend who summoned a demon from that book… I don't know her name, and I don't want to. She ruined my friend’s life, Dami.” You explain your friend’s story, going through agonizing detail as told through their family and other friends.

You have to pause once to wipe your tears, and Dami offers a comforting hand as the other drops to her side. You, albeit hesitantly, take it. 

She should be cold like ice- undead, unfeeling. But there's some sort of warmth in her touch that can't be explained by the hellfire that she resides in.

Perhaps she's already gotten attached to you. You feel it too, you want to trust her. Can you, though?

She hasn't torn your arm off yet, so you're starting off on the right foot.

Trauma dumping counts as bonding, right?

You bite your lip before shaking your head, feeling the uncertainty of everything crash against you. What are you doing, trusting a demon that hurt someone that you care deeply about?

I can't do this.

“I should go.” You pull your hand out of her grasp as you quickly try to pack your things up. “I'm sorry, I'm probably shit-talking one of your friends that you've known for centuries.”

As you reach for your pencil, Dami grabs your wrist.

“I can't promise that I'm a ‘good’ demon or person,” She softly exhales before looking in your eyes, “but I won't betray you. Not now. Not ever.”

Something pounds, but it's not your head, swimming from the thoughts of your friends and the demon in front of you.

It comes from deep inside you, a feeling that you thought would be forever foreign to you. A magical feeling that “normal” people got to feel. The thing that makes them human, after all.

Your heart pounds.

This isn't you. You need to leave. Now.

Without exchanging another word, you run off into the afternoon light. You know she might follow you, but you hope she'll give you some space. 

I hope she doesn't hate me.

You need to get a grip, and fast, before you rock the boat that's been steadily keeping you afloat for years.

~

Five hours. That's the longest you can last in a little internet cafe before you put your tail between your legs and head home. You know Dami will be there, and you don't want to sleep on a park bench, so home it is.

Will she be mad at me?

Who cares? You're not in love with her, you just like her. 

As a friend. 

As someone you can hang out with. 

Someone to share secrets with.

Friends can kiss, right?

You've known her for less than twenty-four hours. You need to find where your sense of reality has gone and reclaim it before you head into your apartment.

But the key is already in your hand.

Your feet walk up the stairs without your brain telling them to.

You unlock your apartment door to see someone quietly sitting on your couch - the same spot where she helped you with your math homework.

Your stomach and heart fill with dread as you slowly take off your shoes.

She's been kind to you, and you ran off because you were upset about your own feelings.

You felt like a petulant child.

“I'm sorry for running off. I got upset thinking about my friend, and I should have talked through my feelings like a fucking adult. You're not like the other demon, just as I'm not like my friend. Feeling trapped by someone else’s opinions of you is rough,” You toss the keys on the counter before shedding your coat, “trust me, I know.”

Dami looks back to you, and the moonlight casts her in an angelic glow - she was ethereal and you didn't doubt that she was once an angel. You'd be more surprised if she wasn't one of God’s favorites.

Why was she here, instead of in the sky? 

You don't want to pry, but Dami’s the first one to walk towards you.

“I was worried about you,” She softly admits, “a demon, a former angel, a creature much older than you could comprehend, was worried about the safety of a mortal.”

When she is close enough for you to reach out for her, she reaches out her hand.

“I'm not an evil demon or a perfect angel. But I can promise you-”

“I think I like you.” The words spill out of your lips before you can truly think about what you're saying. “I mean, of course I like you, but it's not how I've liked anyone before. I like Ryujin as a friend, she's nice to me and we get lunch sometimes. But you… you're different. And being different scares me. It's not just because you're a demon, it's who you are. It wouldn't matter if you were a demon, angel, or human because I'd still feel the same way.”

You pause to take a breath.

“I'm not normal, and I'm probably not like any human you've met. I don't want a traditional romance with a wedding or kids. I don't want physical intimacy with someone who won't appreciate me. Hell, I don't even know if I want a partner half of the time. The only thing I know,” You take her hand before pulling Dami closer, “is that I want you to be by my side. As a friend or as something more. Whatever we will be, I know we'll figure it out together.”

“I want you by my side as well.” She softly mutters as you place your forehead against hers.

You're both quiet as you envelope yourselves in the serene environment that you've created.

“So, do I meet your devilish friends now, or do I have to take you to dinner first?”

Dami laughs warmly before pulling you close to her.

“Whatever you want.”

You're in deep. She has in her talons sunk deep under your skin, in less than a day. 

She could betray you.

You had to learn how to trust her.

And in time, you will.

[grimalkinmessor]

Fic Rec time because why not: Death Note Edition ✨

These are some of my favorite DN fanfics and I figured I'd share them with you :3 Even if you've probably already seen some of them.

I am also a multishipper so this going to LONG. Buckle in 🚀

Gen

Five Days by Shadow_of_Quill

Rated M. Noncon Warning. Several instances throughout the week where people don't keep their hands to themselves around Light.

Despite the serious subject matter Light deals with it in a very Light™ way. This is the origin of a few of my angstier Light headcanons.

.

This Is How I Disappear by TzviaAriella

Rated T. MCD Warning. After an international tribunal condemns nineteen-year-old Light Yagami to death, the Kira Task Force must come to terms with the fallout of the case–and with Light’s surprising last request.

I'm pretty sure everyone's read this one at some point. It's a classic. Everybody's GOTTA read this one at least once. Angsty but it's hhhhhhHHHHHH 🙏 So good.

.

And This Is All There Ever Was by Min Daae

Rated T. MCD Warning. In which Light has confessed, in order to win.

This one is technically lawlight, but it feels very gen to me so I put it NEAR the lawlight list. I love Light being a spiteful shit and this is him being spiteful to the very end. This man will do anything to win.

.

Lawlight

Polarity by Writeous

Rated T. Some people are born with soulmarks: small, colorful images tattooed onto your skin that represent the people who would prove most important in your life. By all accounts, soulbonds are supposed to be beautiful, something to be cherished and revered over the course of your life. Light Yagami grows up with a bold, typeface L on his hand and a soulmate that hates him.

I'm obsessed with this fic. OB. SESSED. It only has one chapter so far but I love the dynamic on this one. I love soulmate aus but specifically the grittier ones. It has a MCD warning but as of now it's not applicable yet. Highly recommend.

.

Time Speaks by aSmallMoon333

Rated E. In his first life, L died in the arms of his greatest enemy.

In his brief second one, he died alone.

And in his third, too-long life, L died anticipating finally getting even with the man who'd won their game one too many times.

And Light Yagami? If he'd known this is what picking up the Death Note would bring....well, he'd probably still have done it anyway.

This fic? Superb. Spectacular. I reread it at LEAST once a month. It has lodged in my brain and rots everything else around it I am so obsessed. L and Light are so unhinged and in love and petty and I love them. MCD warning, obviously, but it doesn't stick. This was my first fic back into the DN fandom and honestly I think it should be everyone else's too 🙏 My friends tell me they're getting back into DN and I immediately recc them this fic.

.

louder then bells by relic_crown

Rated M. No one has ever seen Light’s soul, but it haunts his dreams as a monster: eyes bloody as sunrise, feathers tasting of citrus and sharpie fumes, breath hot as summer and twice as brutal. At first, he thinks the notebook itself is his soulmate. Then he tells himself Misa can be enough.

L ruins everything. For the first time, someone sees Light’s soul, and through his eyes Light knows it must look monstrous – why else would L be hunting him over it?

A soulmate/His Dark Materials AU—can you tell I have a thing for soulmate AUs? I adore the vibes of this fic, from the mystery of Light's soul, to L's distinct creepiness, to how Light views Kira :) I cannot explain that last bit to you, you're just gonna have to read it.

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Slow to Boil by TrashKing

Rated E. L has loved Kira since he knew there was a Kira to love. Unfortunately for him Light Yagami doesn’t quite understand the whole process of being seduced so L will have to take the frog in the pot approach to taming this beast.

I have a kink for L having a Kira kink, and this is one of my favorites to read when I have my 'I Need L To Be Obsessed With Kira' cravings. Very fun read, highly recommend ✨

.

The Many Forms of Blessings by TrashKing

Rated E. Light was taken in by Wammy House after he lost his family in the accident. Now eighteen he finds it’s a tradition at the house that the best of every generation meet the mysterious creature who lives in the catacombs under the estate; L. Light is reluctant and that unease proves well placed when it’s revealed the graduates L likes never leave the underground.

And THIS fic is the one I circle back to when I get my 'I Need L To Be Obsessed With Light' cravings :3 Dark and beautiful in that Beauty & The Beast/Leda & The Swan way. I really love Light's characterization in this fic, as well as the darker take on the Light Grows Up In Wammy's trope.

.

Rabbit Holes by TrashKing

Rated M. L Lawliet, head programmer and engineer for W&W Cybernetics, arrives at Tokyo-3 to fix a malfunction that killed eight people. The problem is that 'malfunction' turns out to be a newly sentient super computer called Kira. L disconnects him from the rest of the installation to begin a historic interrogation, but Kira might not be as defanged as L believes.

If you can't tell by now I am trash for TrashKing's fics—I can't help it I'm straight up in love with their Light. I would recc literally all of their fics but we don't got time for that, there's over fifty. This fic is fluffy and funny and really interesting, and it was a super fun read! I liked the inclusion of Ryuk and Light's very wholesome and yet still very Light™ reactions to human experiences :)

.

Into The Grey by Kratos_Aurion

Rated E. Light is a young, hot, reclusive Omega who follows all the rules and does it all right. Except when he's sneaking out to capture criminals as the vigilante only known as Kira. L will always and forever be the world's greatest detective, but the Alpha might have a little competition in the Kanto region of Japan.

In a world just barely free of Omega oppression, these two geniuses find themselves in a race against the clock and each other.

VIGILANTE 👏 LIGHT 👏 I love this little scheming bastard. I love the twists and turns this fic takes and the persistent aura of dread and danger. I also just like it when L and Light bicker and fight and they do that a lot in this fic. A lot. It's great. I can't explain what else I particularly like about this fic without spoiling it, so you're just gonna have to read it.

.

Extrajudicial by Boo_Yeah

Rated M. L knows that Light Yagami is guilty. And he is forced to accept that he will never be able to prove it.

So, just this once, he decides to break his principles and go above the law. He kidnaps Light and takes him to Wammy's house.

He's sure that having the kids interact with a real-life mass murderer will be a very educational experience indeed.

Or: Light is Kira, L is sick of how easily manipulated the police are, and he secretly wants to see what will happen if he forces Light into a domestic situation with children just as intelligent as he is.

I am a person who really enjoys L Wins AU, so L yoinking Light from Japan just to hide him away in Wammy's to try and redeem (?) him all while Light kicks and screams is something that just speaks to me personally 🙏 L just wants to not kill his friend and Light just wants to continue to commit crimes, top tier story on God.

.

Animal Games by tsukinoyagi

Rated T. Gone Girl AU. L has moved his lovely, vile, entirely batshit husband out of their beautiful Brooklyn brownstone into a Missouri suburb, then left him to his own devices. He is under the impression that this is going to end well.

This fic is beautifully written and it scratches that itch I have for malicious antagonism between established lawlight. These bitches are SO toxic and I love them. I really enjoyed the different perspectives just so you can see that both of them are unreliable narrators.

.

Terraito

The Gods of The Godless by foreskinsmoothie

Rated E. Noncon Warning. Light was perfect. And now that he’s not, there’s just nothing left for him here, in this life.

After a night that ruined his life, left him crippled and spurred forth multiple failed suicide attempts, Light decides his best course of action is putting himself in the most dangerous situation he can think of and making grotesque gangsters do his dirty work. He slips into the sight of Ryuk, infamous for fucking male escorts, then killing them in a brutal blur. Or so those dark web message boards say.

Light’s fate is in Gods hands… or maybe a creature far crueler has plans for him.

I LOVE THIS FIC. I ADORE IT. It's dark and gritty, but as someone deranged about human (?) Ryuk and his and Light's dynamic, this fic is wonderful. The noncon is not between Ryuk and Light, but the descriptions are explicit so be aware of that. Both Light and Ryuk have my entire heart here no lie.

.

Toes, Knuckles, Teeth by TrashKing

Rated E. Ryuk's always been good at bending rules. Shinigami aren't supposed to have sex with humans but, well, by his estimation Light is also a Shinigami.

This fic revolves in my brain at 3x microwave speeds, okay? I am studying this fic like it is the scrolls of old, alright? I hold unhinged amounts of feralness for this fic. It's a smutty little character study, and it has imprinted itself onto the back of my eyelids forever. This fic addresses every reason that I'm so obsessed with Ryuk and Light's relationship. SO GOOD 🔥

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Meronia

what doesn't kill me makes me want you more by neallo

Rated M. “Poor Near,” Mello says, stepping closer and pulling Near’s head back further, tilting her face up as Mello cages her against the wall. “How long have you liked me?”

Near’s heart is kicking against her ribcage so hard it almost hurts, and her ears are burning with embarrassment. She squeezes her eyes shut, unable to hold the blonde’s gaze. “Mello, I...” she tries to speak, hoarse.

“Has it been months?” Mello asks, her voice getting closer as Near feels her lean down. She braves a glimpse through her lashes and watches as Mello bends her head to brush her cheek against Near’s, putting her lips next to Near’s ear. “Years, maybe?” The older girl teases.

Near finds it in herself to squeak out a “yes,” and almost jumps at Mello’s sharp intake of breath.

“Years,” Mello marvels.

A Fem Meronia fic set in Wammy's era where Mello finds out that Near enjoys getting bullied by her—because Near has a MASSIVE crush on her. What more could you possibly want out of life? Amazing fic.

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The Archer Ensnared by jabbernatty

Rated E. Near has two goals: the first, to celebrate Mello’s birthday. The second- a secret. His methods for achieving these? Questionable.

THIS. FIC. THIS ONE. Near is my favorite levels of unhinged and this is so in character for me. I enjoy it a lot. If you haven't figured it out by now I enjoy romantic antagonism and problematic relationships and this fic has both 😍

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we will be better than i was by sahwen

Rated M. AU in which Mello swallows their pride and works alongside Near. Things aren't as different as one might expect.

Nonbinary Mello, domestic-edging meronia, and tragedy mixed in with funny shenanigans. The way this written is just,,,so pretty?? I'm in love with it. 10/10 it has everything.

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Matsulight

metempsychosis by palant1r

Rated M. MCD Warning. After the warehouse — it will always be "the warehouse" to him, a vague noun as a substitute for years of betrayal — Matsuda wakes up the next morning faced with a second chance. One day to fix everything, one day to build the January 28 he wants. And that day will repeat for as long as it takes to get things right.

He knows that he can't save everyone. But it would be nice if he could just save someone.

OR

Matsuda gets stuck in a time loop and the situation quickly gets worse.

This fic is a TRIP I tell you, but a very good one. Matsuda's characterization in this is so much fun. This fic is about the journey of grief and all the madness and moral contemplation that comes along with shooting the greatest mass murderer of all time who was also your best friend that you're in love with. Very good read.

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Alive by still_lycoris

Rated M. Light Yagami is a Shinigami. And Matsuda has found the Notebook ...

This is such an interesting idea, I really enjoyed it. Matsuda's moral struggle seems to be a persistent theme in matsulight fics but honestly that's half the fun. Good fic 👌

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Birthdaymassacre

A Secret Note by KeehlingOver

Rated E. What Mello left out of his writings on the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases.

Or, these edibles ain't shi--

This fic is so fucking funny holy shit. Whenever I need a pick-me-up I reread this fic. It's T4T bdaymassacre, what more could you want?

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Aggressive Top by ThePunkRanger

Rated E. Naomi Misora isn’t about to admit that the mysterious detective Ryuzaki sparked something in her, but when he insists that he’s an “aggressive top” she just can’t let it slide. So she does something entirely unprecedented, and invites him over to prove it.

What has she gotten herself into?

Naomi is sick of Ryuzaki's shit, and Beyond has reverse-psychology-ed his head between Naomi's legs 🙏 This one is unfinished but it left off on a cliffhanger that drives me FUCKIN' NUTS BRO. FIRE.

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Playing The Part by ThePunkRanger

Rated E. Someone is kidnapping members of Southern California’s BDSM community, and the world’s greatest detective is in the market for a reliable team to go undercover on his behalf.

It’s been two years since the arrest of Rue Ryuzaki, the serial killer behind the Los Angeles BB murder case, and Naomi Misora has been happy to live her life under the assumption that she’ll never have to see him again. Unfortunately, L has other ideas; ones that involve her pretending to be in a Pup/Handler relationship with the murderer she put behind bars.

I'll be real and say that I wasn't sure about this fic at first, but it's actually very wholesome?? And respectful of the kink community! There's some extra angst in the background with L's controlling tendencies (there are cameras in that hotel room. I feel it in my bones.) and his and B's rough history, but honestly I think that makes it even more interesting. Top tier fic. 👌

[bambiraptorx]

Not Quite Hidden AU: Part 10. Word Count: 692. Readers chose: Ask if he has questions.

Mildly infuriating as it might be that the child apparently thinks Draxum is weird, he’s got some rather more pressing concerns at the moment.  He crosses his arms behind his back.  “Surely you had your own questions to ask.  You must be observant if you knew that I recognized you.  Are you not curious?”

The boy looks around the study for a long moment.  “You have lots of books, Donnie would like that.”

A non sequitur.  Perhaps the child is hiding his motives for coming.  Is it possible his father sent him?  But that ferret obviously harbors a strong dislike towards Draxum, and no logical parent would send their child alone to gather information from someone they held a grudge against.  That said, the man had seemed rather… emotional, to say the least.  Most people avoided raising their fur like that, especially in public.  It was just as rude and aggressive as yelling, for some species even more so.  Someone who reacted with such volatility in a grocery store of all places seemed rather unlikely to behave rationally at other times.

Draxum rubs his chin thoughtfully as Huginn settles onto his shoulder.  “And which one of your siblings is Donnie?”  Perhaps he can use this opportunity to gather more information on the lives of his turtles.

The child tilts his head.  “Are those green crystal lights?”

“Ah—yes.”  What does that have to do with anything?

“Why green?  Blue's a way better color.”

“What, do you want the lights blue?  I can change them.”  It's simple to reach out towards the crystals and adjust their mystic output, and while it feels rather odd to have his study bathed in blue light instead of green, something about the grin on the child’s face is rather nice to witness.

“Woah!  I didn't thought you were so good with magic!”  The boy looks around appreciatively, scanning the color differences cast over the room.  He drums his fingers on the desk, pausing as his hand brushes against a few of the papers still resting there.  Just some notes Draxum had been writing down after today’s encounter, so why would they draw his attention?  

Draxum watches with a mild sense of amusement as the boy twists his head, frowning and mouthing the words as he reads off the sheet.  “My writing seems to have drawn your interest, child.”

The boy hums.  “You spelled Dad’s name wrong.  The P goes before the L.”

Draxum snatches the paper away.  “What are you talking about, I wouldn't have—” Oh, it looks like he did write Slpinter.  Oops.

“An’ you didn't get Donnie’s or Mikey's right, either.  They're really way longer.” The child then has the audacity to grin up at him, kicking his heels against the desk.  “Didja forget their names already?”

Draxum is not going to entertain this conversational thread any longer.  He leans around the turtle and slaps his notes down on the far end of his desk.  “My notes are personal effects and I'd prefer you not go through them any longer.”

The turtle reaches for the paper, and Draxum drags it out of his reach.  That isn't enough to deter him from making another grab, and another as Draxum once more pulls away the sheet.  The boy grunts something under his breath.  

“Speak up, brat,” Draxum snaps, and if it sounds a little more like an order than a request, at least it works.

The child huffs, looks him in the eye, and says with all the derision such a small face can muster: “You're annoying.”

“Excuse me?!”

The turtle reaches for the paper again, this time managing to latch onto it.  “You're annoying, and weird, and creepy, and I wanna go home!”

“You—what, you come here just to disrespect me?  Is that what you wanted?”  A growl builds in the back of Draxum's throat, barely restrained.  “You little—”

A small tap at his shoulder, barely noticeable. Just claws drumming against his armor.

“Boss, look, the kid’s not gonna cooperate much longer,” Huginn says.  “I'll just take him back now, hopefully his dad won't even know he was gone.”

Draxum bites back a sharp retort.  Inhales.  Exhales.

First | Previous |

[exo-raskreia]

i know you probably hear this all the time but your blog is so on point on the horrendous ending of bleach and the endgame couples.

tbh i don't even care that ichigo and rukia didn't end up together... okay after all these years i still give a huge damn that these two aren't endgame. but seriously idc that much that they aren't together. but what i'm so pissed is who ichigo ended up with! be so fr! orihime and ichigo... i could and would right an essay on how they are so incompatible. i would've prefered if he ended up with tatsuki or even some rando. he waited until they were married for him to say her first name... like i get that he wants to be respectable and they weren't that close but ichigo barely knew rukia for a week and he was already down bad for rukia. i still believe to this day that ichigo doesn't look at orihime the same way he looks at rukia. actually he SETTLED for orihime since rukia was already locked down with renji ‼️i will die on this heal. and also the ichihime shippers are scraping for their ship moments while we, ichiruki stans, are eating so well with unlimited supply of ichiruki moments lmao

I would've been fine with the ending simply having Ichigo & Rukia standing next to each other happily (maybe a little too close?) as they look over Soul Society. Leaving the possibilities there. Narratively, such an ending would've made sense. I don't think even non-shippers would have batted an eye. No typical "timeskip married with kids" ending. It didn't make sense for it to end that way.

Even if I was a non-shipper, Ichigo ending up with Orihime goes against the narrative & is one of the major issues with the ending, since there was never an inkling of chemistry between them. No special moments. No interest nor special thought from Ichigo towards her. I literally never thought IH would have a chance; it seemed that unlikely 💀. I never doubted an IchiRuki victory (even if they wouldn't outright get together, like I said, at least that it'd be implied that they will in the future). Most of the shipping fandom thought the same or similarly, I believe... Most ppl shipped or could see IR happening... Kub0 had developed it enough to have most of us thinking this way...

IR had the potential to be the best-written M/F canon ship in a battle shounen & yet... 😮‍💨

I don't believe for a second that Kub0 had "always" intended for IH/RR endgames. To this day, he hasn't said anything meaningful about either pairing. He did absolutely nothing to imply them throughout the story. He put no effort into them. At every opportunity, he would always make it about IchiRuki...

Dudebros & IH's fail to see that IH/RR as endgame makes no narrative sense. If I was an IH/RR shipper, I'd be upset with how Kub0 handled them. They have no development, no official content, no merch, no proper validation from Kub0... He still can't even bring himself to give them a family color spread 🫢. Saddest endgame ships in a battle shounen...

About Ichigo finally saying Ori's name in the last chapter, there's a funny post on that here. 🤭

And yeah, Ichigo definitely settled for her, cuz the fact he waited until Rukia was unavailable will always be laughable... He tried dating Ori once then broke up for a while then tried again... wow, he was really "in love" with her from the start, huh? He was just putting off the inevitable cuz he had to seek unhappiness in order to stop Ywach from returning at his happiest moment... 🤷‍♀️

[blushblushbear]

Hear me out… concubine/consort AU with monarch reader

you'll have to forgive, I'd be open to writing more of this kind of set up but frankly I read this prompt and one dude came to mind in particular.

Utterly humiliating.

Fuyu, worn down and looking the most unkempt he ever had, was being pulled from a dim covered wagon by a chain around his neck and wrists. The restricting runes etched into them glowing, almost as a warning to not resist.

"Come along, fox."

Ornate guards with brutish demeanor were tugging him along, beckoning him out into the blinding sun of the court yard and up the steps of a large palace.

He followed with a look of indignity and a shimmering feeling of rage. He, the once mighty leader of the winter clan, a prisoner to humans. And being passed off like a trinket no less! The emperor who he had fought with managed to trick his way into the upper hand, and Fuyu had been captured. Taken cavity as a victory of his prize.

He was paraded around for a while as a show of the 'great emperor's might', kept in shabby livings and feed off scraps like some god forsaken beast that pompous gloat had tamed.

And now here he was, being given off as a token of 'peace' to some other noble. No doubt another cruel master for him to play trophy for.

As his eyes adjusted, he took the sights of his new 'home' in. Lavish does not do justice to the finery that can be seen even along the front steps into the palace. The stairs were finely crafted; with linings of gold to accent the soft color of the marble, all taking shape into something that mimicked a walk way lined with flowers. The grounds from what Fuyu could see were adorned with vibrant flowers to compliment the stairs.

And as he stepped inside, the finery did not stop. All neatly ordered walls a wash with tastefully placed art. Nothing too gaudy, but meticulous, thoughtful and most of all-- tasteful.

'Well--' thought Fuyu, 'at least this master has an eye for presentation.'

His mind cast back to the shear sickening slop job of decor his previous master had fancied. The most expensive pieces he could find strewn about with little thought or care other than to show off that he had the means to buy it. All money,no decorum.

Fuyu was marched through the halls, deeper into the heart of the palace, and with each new wing he past through, he noticed the themes shifted-- each wing it's own proud individual, but somehow still meshed seamlessly with the wings around it.

Truly the home of someone with genuine refinement.

Still, with each rattle of the chains that bound him, with each time they pulled against the sensitive parts of skin, he knew that this place would still be a prison, no matter how lovingly it was adorned.

As they went deeper, Fuyu heard music drifting in from a distance. And as they drew closer to it, he felt a weird sense of relief and fear. On the one hand, his new master seemed an artistic soul. On the other--- Fuyu was still bound in chains.

He almost felt as though he might be sick as the doors opened and gave way into a cozy yet spacious parlor.

"Your Grace, a present from the Emperor of the Southern Kingdom."

Fuyu was a bit shocked that the one who turned to respond to the guard was the figure who was at the piano. He was assuming that they were simply having someone else play to entertain them. Fuyu was also shocked at how they were shocked-- for when they turned around their expression went from curious and cheery to a look of disgust and confusion as their gaze fell upon him.

"Oh--" They rose and made their way towards Fuyu and the guards that surrounded him, "Oh my-- how.... lovely??" She looked down at him, looking unsure as to what to make of him. "He uh--- he sent... a man...?"

"There is also a letter your grace!" The guard stated, holding up a wax sealed letter and holding out for them. They did not take their eyes off Fuyu, still baffled of what to make of him.

He was just as confused. They seemed more shocked than anything. Were they not told he was coming. They still were looking him up and down as they opened the letter and unfolded it while matter,

"You poor thing, the state of you..."

They then turned their attention to the letter and began reading it's contents aloud,

"For the most Honorable Monarch of the North, I humbly submit this, my most prize position," they made a face reading over that last bit, "A Kistune of a felld tribe from the mountains. This beast has been my greatest triumph and now I share it with you. I thought it fitting seeing as yOU DON'T HAVE A SPOUSE?!" the indignity in their voice made it almost crack, "AND I HEARD THAT KISTUNE MAKE FINE LOVERS?! I PRESENT TO YOU THIS SPECIMEN TO TAKE AS YOUR CONCUBINE?! WINK WINK?!?!"

Well-- that was news to Fuyu as well. And guessing by how they are reading it, his new master finds the insinuation just as insulting as he does. He's not sure if he should be hurt by the fact that they are not honored to have a kistune such as himself as a prize, or relieved.

"HEARS TO LONG AND PROSPEROUS PARTNERSHIP, YOUR BUD THE EMPEROR!" They sighed deeply, pinching their nose "of all the... SERIOUSLY?! Who sends a person?!" they asked turning to their guards and Fuyu. "Unbelievable..."

They leaned down, taking a better look at Fuyu as he knelt before them. He was almost shocked how gentle their hand was as they inspected his grimy face.

"Poor thing... Look at how poorly he cared for you..." They noticed the chain around his neck. "Did he send a key?"

"Uh, y-yes your grace," the guard said, handing them the key as soon as they held out their hand for it, "but are you sure it's a good idea to--"

Click.

"There, that much feel better." They said, unlocking the collar and deactivating the runes. For the first time in a while, Fuyu felt the air on his neck. It almost was a shock how much of a relief it felt. He was still processing his thoughts as this new master held his hand up and unlocked one wrist, then the other. All the while he was taking in the sight of them-- their face was very warm and their eyes so gentle... this was-- definitely not what he was expecting... As they held his hand, they saw how raw the skin beneath those bindings had become.

"Oh, look at your poor wrists..." They leaned in closer and gently touched his neck, "oh, and your neck to--" turning to the guard, "bring me a healer. And tell them to bring dressing for wounds. And you," they gestured to another guard, have the staff draw a bath. He needs on," more examining of Fuyu as they ran their hand across his hair, "hmm-- and tell them to break out the good conditioner. Stand up for me please?" They gestured from him to stand and in a fit of confusion, Fuyu followed their orders. They guided him to spread his arms out and they took a good look at his form.

"Man you're tall... probably not going to have anything that will fit you that well... we're going to have to make due for now, but I'll send someone down to get your measurements after you're cleaned up. Oh, speaking of-- Rose," they turned to a maid who had been standing by in the corner, "have the house staff ready one of the guest rooms-- one of the larger ones."

Fuyu stood there still in shock. What was all this...? Now that all of the staff had departed to handle things, him and his new master were left alone.

"You must be hungry---" they walked over to a table and grabbed a tray of treats and brought it over to him, "Take your pick. Oh, but this is just to tide you over! Don't worry, we'll get a real meal into you of course!"

Their smile was so sweet. Fuyu still wasn't sure how to take this... was it a trick? Or some sort of ruse. He remained in a stunned silence as he looked at the tray, then back at them curiously.

"Go on!" They said with a bit of a laugh, "They won't bite!"

He sheepishly picked up some sort of baked good and started to nibble on it experimentally. It was strange... it had a pleasing enough smell but the taste was--- almost herby? But not quite an herb...

"It's lavender!" they chirped, "You don't have to eat it if you don't like it, it's not everyone's taste." It was now Fuyu's turn to give his new master a semizing glance. They were definitely... a lot better looking than his previous master. Though they were also much more confusing. Fuyu could handle cruelty-- that he was used to-- but such an out pouring of kindness? And to one who looked so feral as he must right now? This must be some sort of trick...

"And once we've got you cleaned and fed and clothed," they started, setting the tray down on a near by table, "we can begin to make arrangements to send you home."

Fuyu froze. In his shock he dropped what he was eating and stared at them wide eyed.

"Send... me--- you... aren't going to keep me?"

"Pff-- what? No!" they chuckled and walked towards him, "Dude, you have kidnap victim written all over you! I'm not going to keep you prisoner here!"

"But... that emperor..."

"Oh I'll just tell him you escaped. And if he tries to come find you-- I can always send you off with some form of protection! I know many a guy, we could probably hook you up with some kind of way to make you untraceable! Besides, your tribe must miss you!"

Fuyu felt a paign of sorrow and bitter rage that was capping a mild panic. After a long silence he finally growled out,

"My clan are all dead... I lead them to ruin like a fool... I have nowhere to go..."

The Monarch's expression turned sympathetic. They came up to Fuyu and took his hand in his.

"You can stay here. As long as you like. To save face, you can be a concubine, but in name only." They took the other hand, pulling Fuyu's attention to their face as they looked in his eyes and told him, "I will never make you do something you don't wish to do. You are free to do as you please here. No chains, no bindings. I promise."

Fuyu left his eyes watering. Such kindness, such mercy... it had been so long since he felt it, and he believed he did not deserve it. But he will accept it. He took their hand in his, lowering his cheek into their palm.

"Thank you..."

They simply smiled.

"Of course. If you're mine now, then I plan to treasure you. NOW! Let's get you washed up. And after that, I can show you my library if you'd like---I have all manner of literature-- you're free to go through it as much as you like of course-- and the--" Fuyu followed as he was dragged once again through the halls, though this time it was gentle and surrounded by excitable chatter.

He still didn't feel he deserved this, but maybe he could grow to enjoy being treasured...

[ringsofsaturnnnn]

SATURN

Oh my god I love the crow club thing you came up with! It has such a dark risky air to it (like a casino, I suppose) and I love it.

I'm here to participate!

I'd like to play poker. I'll bet with the light blue chips (which you probably already knew). I'll have a shirly temple to drink please. Details of my order include: going with Armin to see snow for the first time (having already seen it yourself) and playing in it, having a snowball fight, snowmen, pictures, modern au, you can add other characters to the scenario like mikasa or eren if you feel like it (or only include Armin in the scene, that's wonderful too). Gn reader please as best you can, I'll leave the rest up to you.

That's all!

Stay safe lovely, rest well tonight <3

.˚ ❄️┊..⃗. 𝘀𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗮𝘆 ⌇

a.arlert x gn!reader

𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 :: introducing your boyfriend to the snow <3

𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨(𝘴) :: petnames

𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 :: ahhh this was so cute! thank you for being so patient with me, april, while i got your request done! this was my first time writing a gn reader, so i hope i did an okay job! the end got a little messy, but i tried. fluff isn’t my forte 😭

© 2023 ringsofsaturn | please don't copy or repost my works! i have not given permission to anyone to repost my works. reblogs/comments/likes are okay!

𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥

tag list :: n/a

it wasn’t fair. it really wasn’t.

his ocean blue eyes were so entrancing that you couldn’t help but stare at them. letting out a soft sigh, you felt yourself get lost within the vastness of blue. if you weren’t careful, you felt like you might get lost at sea gazing into them.

“love? honey? angel? baby? love of my life?” shaking your head, you realized that your boyfriend, armin, was trying to get your attention. his cheeks were a soft pink color, a result of your staring. “oh, sorry. what’s up?” you flashed him one of your million dollar smiles, making his heart melt even more.

“i was just uhm, i was wondering. what’s that?” he pointed outside your window. turning your head, you realized that it had began to snow. laughing, you turned back to him. “min, that’s snow. have you.. have you never seen it before?” when he shook his head you couldn’t help but give him an incredulous look.

“how have you never seen the snow before?!” getting up, you immediately grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the door. “wait! it’s cold outside! we need to bundle up!” armin exclaimed. groaning, you let go of him so you both could put your coats and hats on. armin was always so worried about you.

“okay, okay. now let’s go!” throwing the door open, you pulled him outside after you. armin was immediately shivering despite his warm hat and coat. without a second thought, you threw your head back and opened your mouth, trying to catch some of the flakes in your mouth.

“love, what are you doing?” armin laughed, his blue eyes watching every move you made. “i’m catching snowflakes.” your explained, tilting your head to look at him. “you try it!” snowflakes had landed on your cheeks and eyelashes. “uhm.. okay?” he mimicked your actions, laughing when a few landed in his mouth. “this.. this is fun!” he smiled.

by the next day, much more snow had gathered. at least three or four inches.

deciding to take advantage of the snow, you hastily pulled on your coat and hat once more. armin was still fast asleep, so you decided you’d leave him be. he could join you later.

rushing outside, you immediately plopped down in the snow, laughing at the coolness that suddenly seeped through your coat. the fluffiness tickled your cheeks and you couldn’t help but close your eyes to help protect them from the blinding white of the snow.

exhaling, you enjoyed the slight sting that shot through your nose when you inhaled once more. continuing to lay there in your own little world, you didn’t even notice that armin had came outside until he was calling your name.

lifting your head, you smiled at him before waving him over. “come here! make a snow angel with me!” while he looked confused, he did as you asked. making his way through the snow, he carefully plopped down beside you. “a snow angel?” he repeated.

nodding, you explained to him what to do. “o-okay.” he followed your directions as you made your own snow angel beside him. once you were both done, you helped each other up. looking down, a smile crossed your face. “look at our snow angels!” you giggled, turning your face to look at him.

his nose and cheeks were a soft pink color as he smiled down at you. “yeah, i see them.” he murmured before pressing his ice cold lips to your cheek. squealing, you immediately scooted away from him. “min! your lips are freezing!” you laughed. armin laughed at your comment, shaking his head. “well it’s cold outside! what do you expect?”

while he spoke, you had carefully made a snowball. once he was done speaking, you threw it at his chest, listening as it hit his coat. “hey!” he gasped. giggling, you immediately took off running. “get back here!” he tried to chase after you as you gathered more snow.

the two of you ran around like little kids, smiles decorating both of your features as you launched snowball after snowball at one another. after a few minutes, you tackled armin into a snow drift. his eyes widened as you landed on top of him.

looking down, you couldn’t help but laugh. both of your chests were heaving as you looked into each other’s eyes. “i love you.” armin whispered before pressing a soft kiss to your lips. returning the kiss, you carefully wrapped your arms around him.

the two of you stayed wrapped in each other’s arms in the snow drift, content smiles on your faces. however, it wasn’t long before you were climbing off of him.

“we should make a snowman!” armin gave you a look, one that you were familiar with. “a snowman?” he echoed. nodding your head, you laughed. “here! i’ll show you how.”

it wasn’t long before the two of you had created a snowman. “and now..” you searched around to find some rocks. once you did, you arranged them to look like eyes and buttons. “we also need sticks!” you gasped before scurrying off to find some sticks. “love?” armin was quick to follow after you.

once you had everything, you reached for armin’s hat. “hey! what are you-“ looking down at you, he frowned. his light blue stocking hat was now in your hands. “give that back.” shaking your head, you placed it on the snowman’s head.

“it’s the snowman’s now!” you laughed.

“you are ridiculous, you know that?”

laughing, you turned your head to look at him. your eyes met and you couldn’t help but sigh happily. snow had began to fall down around you once again, but you didn’t notice. all you could focus on were those ocean blue eyes of his..

main picture & dividers made by :: @strrynigghts