#I think I dreamt that first line and was hit with a vision

[chiliger]

Did you hear about the sun that died in the dark?

No black hole or a nebula left in its trace.

What a sad thing to happen.

[amhrosina]

Frank isn’t sure he should be here. In fact, he knows he shouldn’t, has never allowed himself the pleasure of imagining it, and can’t remember making the decision to come. The latter was likely on account of the probable concussion he’d received earlier – having a piece of plywood swung at your head will do that to you – but either way, he’s here now, and his vision is beginning to double.  

Matt swings the door open, startled out of his sleep by a familiar scent that he’s never dreamt of smelling in his home. At first, only for a moment, he thinks Frank may be on his doorstep to kill him, but the thought vanishes when Frank tumbles forward, directly into his open arms. 

A hearty rattle rumbles through Frank’s chest as he sucks in a breath. Matt’s scent overwhelms him, makes the ache in his chest expand into an all-encompassing desire coursing throughout his body chanting more, more, more. Matt’s arms wrap around him, and the tentative press of his cheek against Frank’s head sends a warm tingle down Frank’s spine.  

You shouldn’t be here. 

Frank ignores the voice, his voice, screaming at him in his head.  

Go home, Frank. He doesn’t want you.  

“Fuck,” he heaves, gripping Matt with tight fingers, “you.”  

Matt stiffens, and suddenly the warmth in the gentle press of his fingers, the heat in his cheeks, vanishes. Frank gets the urge to bash his head against the wall.  

“Have you been drinking?” Matt asks, disappointment ringing clear in Frank’s ears. Frank is having a hard time standing straight, even with Matt’s arms holding him up.  

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” 

He can’t help it – the anger, the tone. He could’ve just as easily told Matt he hadn’t been drinking, and in fact, couldn’t think of any other person he’d want to be with at this point in time, but the probable (definite) concussion muddied his thoughts, making it impossible to offer Matt anything but his rage.  

“Go home, Frank.”  

Go home, Frank. 

Frank wanted to. He knew it was a mistake coming here, knew Matt would never accept his foul, broken, and bloodied hands. He gives it a good effort at first, pushing away from Matt, only to end up flailing to the floor, groaning on impact. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Frank?” 

Matt is angry. This is better than nothing, Frank decides, even though his head is pounding, and he can’t seem to keep both eyes open at the same time. It meant Matt was still capable of feeling something for Frank.  

“Thought your bat sonar worked better than this.” Frank manages, gasping like a fish at the crack in his ribs. The plywood, apparently, was much thicker than expected.  

Matt stills, tilting his head to the side, then pounces. Warmth returns to Matt’s fingers, now sliding Frank’s shirt up his torso. Frank snorts at the idea of Matt lifting his shirt to assess the damage when he couldn’t physically see anything. Matt tries to ignore the muscled crevices that run in deep lines down Frank’s abdomen. Both men are silent as Matt does the only thing he remembers how to do: fix the people he loves.  

When Frank’s shirt is finally lowered, Matt’s fingers linger on the bottom seam, toying with the fabric. Frank cups Matt’s hands, watching the curve of his lips tilt upwards. Frank loses his breath, and if he were standing, he probably would’ve lost his balance too. Matt’s smile hits him like a ton of bricks, and he feels the warmth of it rush through his body – an addictive, adrenaline-rush of a feeling.  

Matt can sense it, too – can feel it in Frank’s heartbeat, can taste the electricity in the air. The feeling is not unwelcome.  

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[cresvalkyrie]

3, 9, 25, 32 and most importantly... 11!

9 has already been answered!

3 - Favourite moment? That exact scene when Erin remembers who she is at the climax of the Diamond Route and activates her Demoness Form for the first time. It was awesome when I first saw it on my blind v13 playthrough, and it still is just as awesome when I saw it again during my v13.5 replays.

11 - Do you have ocs? If so, feel free to ramble about them! Some fun facts about my Paragon and Renegade OCs, since I think I covered their backstories already lmao

Hauyne:

She detests spicy foods and refuses to even touch one, but loves her sweets. Her favourite sweet is chocolate.

Her favourite drink is jasmine tea.

For some reason, alcoholic drinks have no effect on her whatsoever, so to her they're just fermented drinks. Coffee, however, will get her intoxicated the same way most alcohol would to a normal human being.

Her starter is a Rockruff, which evolved into a Dusk Lycanroc back when she was still a student in Phoenix Academy. It didn't survive Storm-9, unfortunately.

The only two Pokemon she has that made it out of Storm-9 are her Zeraora and Aegislash. Both of them were taken in by Crescent, but they both went back to their original trainer after she was revived.

While she doesn't specialise in any type in particular, most of her Pokemon are dragon types.

Her Delphox, Altissia, was originally a normal Delphox. They first met as a Fennekin in Gearen Labs, but she was permanently altered into the Augmented (aka Delpha) form after Hauyne dreamt about battling and capturing Delpha in the Nightmare Realm.

She and Crescent were qpr partners before Storm-9 happened. Keyword: were. That relationship kind of got strained during the events of rejuv, but they've reconciled and are starting on a clean slate in .karma files.

Being an aura wielder, she naturally can understand Pokemon and even speak their language.

Adding to the above point, she has an insatiable appetite due to being an aura wielder. She can and will devour an entire buffet's worth of food in a blink, but as a Black Box this appetite has been curbed and she only eats for pleasure or for self-care.

She'd rather die than admit this, but she secretly loves being held. Would absolutely melt in a cuddle pile, or when given any form of physical affection as long as it's someone she knows and trusts.

Oh, and she purrs. Purrs.

Has a fierce competitive streak. Once you triggered that, she's not going to stop until she finally defeats you.

Her eyes glow in the dark. And it's because of this she has near-perfect night vision.

Is partially blind on her left scarred eye. She mostly relies on her aura sensing abilities to correct her depth perception, but will struggle to read anything from afar unless it's brought to mere inches away from her face.

Electra:

Her starter is a Empoleon, but her ace is a Metagross.

In her past life, Electra isn't actually very fond of battling. In fact, she wasn't even a trainer, and had never desired to be one. Her having amnesia changed her stance, however.

She is very fond of dry flavoured foods, and hates bitter foods.

Her favourite drink is iced coffee.

Her original eye colour is a deep indigo, almost seeming like purple. After she got Genesis Syndrome, her eyes turned golden, and it stayed that way for the rest of her life.

Being a failed Dialga vessel, she can use metal-based magicks and even use Steel-type moves. And to some extent, she can manipulate time, but it's too inconsistent and took too much energy to even be reliable. Absorbing the Diamond Core changed that fact, however.

She once had a crush on Aelita... until she crossed the Despair Event Horizon.

She's severely acrophobic, due to a near-death experience where she almost fell into a fault line caused by an earthquake during the war in the Old World.

Very skilled with machines, so she hit it off with Saki really well because of their shared fondness for tinkering.

25 - Most frustrating/hardest battle you've ever faced? The Admin battle. Especially the Admin battle. I get its supposed to be a scripted loss and therefore bullshit, but it does not stop me from getting pissed off at it. Fuck Admin. All my homies hate Admin.

32 - What are you looking forward to in next versions? Lore reveals! And finding out what happens in the Xen Raid, for both the Paragon and Renegade routes. And hopefully we get more sidequests like the Xenogene Movie, I'd love for the main gang to just chill and relax and have a bonding moment with each other. Like, let them be normal teenagers for once, you know?

[ghostlytravelerprince]

11/28/23

Dear Diary,

I've always been told that I have the strangest dreams. I think it's a primal human experience to share dreams with each other, just like how we talk about our days in our waking lives. But, mine were always particularly strange to people -- more like a prophetic vision than a dream. Though, if the concept of 'dreamcore' tells me anything, it's that there's many people out there who also experience the strangest dreams.

Last night, I dreamt about a black mamba in my house. I picked my dogs up off the floor, I scrambled onto the kitchen countertop as it hissed at me, sinking black fangs into every member of my family and then eventually me. We lay together on the couch, dying, and I looked over at my mother. I love her so much. Anyway, in that moment, I recognized the strangeness of the whole scenario. I was feeling defeated, and didn't even want to call 911 because what could they do for me? -- there's no black mamba anti-venom in the Midwest! And, then I knew that there shouldn't even be a black mamba in the Midwest.

I asked my mom, "Is this a dream?", and she responded, "Yes, it is,". I felt so grateful that she was being truthful with me. If I were a dream mother, and I had fleeting time with my son only when he sleeps, I might lie so that I could spend a few more hours with him. After all, it won't kill him? But, I think she recognized my distress at being in a dream dying to venom, and she did the motherly thing I know my waking mother would do -- she told me the truth.

And, I wiggled my fingers and toes violently in the dream; I know I must have looked ridiculous to my dream mom. But, I could soon feel my vision swim to blackness, and my cold fingers begin to shift on bedsheets. I woke myself up.

It's 8 hours later, and I'm studying in a cafe; I'm thinking about what my path forward is after all this studying -- after working in the ER. I wondered if actual medical professionals have ever watched Grey's Anatomy, so I Googled the question. A Reddit thread mentioned how the show never depicts the anesthesiologist: the last person you talk to before you go to sleep. And, I thought back to my own surgery, and how my anesthesiologist and I talked about red lining. Even on drugs, I thought to myself "What an odd conversation to be having with the man responsible for my life... I hope I don't piss him off with a bad political take...". Suddenly, sitting in this cafe, it's like I could see the marionette strings -- all the trust put into the sleep doctor.

So, I read thread after thread about why people chose anesthesiology. Each beat kept hitting the right strings in my heart; how they found so much pleasure in being 'the pain doctor' -- the one who provides comfort and sleep and all the nice, soft things to people in pain. How behind this front of a dreamless sleep and a dreamy awakening was a highly complex, well-oiled machine able to maintain a constant situational awareness. How there was a level of expertise and technique that made you an open encyclopedia for anyone who needed your very specific set of knowledge. And, how there was an almost intimate closeness with death.

To rest gentle hands on a living, breathing human being and plunge them into the deep, dark waters of sleep until they hover just above the trench. It scares me, that level of trust. How exaulted it would be to be given that trust -- I would be able to help patients with the highest dignity of waking back up to life. It would be the greatest way to serve a human being. I remember the moment I regained my will to live after a decade of depression; I remember what it felt like to wake back up from the lazy brink of death. It's colorful and beautiful and addictive, and I would be more than willing to share that feeling with others!

There were other things, too; lighter things. It was funny to me how a branch of medicine associated with sleep and painlessness had a similarly slothful reputation of lounging around. At first, I didn't resonate with this because I know myself to love intense, constant work, but perhaps other people percieve me that way -- how it may look like I'm effortlessly balancing things from the outside, but that's because I mask the constant calculations I'm performing to have it run that smoothly.

And, is has me thinking more deeply about my psychology background, and how we know so little about the true nature of dreams. What would it be like to study dreams scientifically? To try and put the elusive nature of sleep to mathematical equations? Could I even impress NASA if I studied how to put astronauts to sleep for long voyages?

All this to say, this means nothing at all. I dipped down into myself in the beginning, hovered above the trench in the middle, and brought it back to surface for this light, airy finish...

[at-the-end-of-days]

Now I’d like to take a brief moment to discuss Joel 2:28, the new international version

The Day of the Lord

28 “And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

Part of the reason why I felt like I needed to make this blog, is because I’ve had “future dreams,” or “deja vu dreams” ever since I was little. Nothing I could do could forcibly trigger them, and they were never… useful. They’d take years even, to come to fruition. But I’d look up in school, or see something, and it would line up *exactly* with a few brief moments of a dream I’d have had earlier. Looking up in a school room. Or a video on the computer.

I’ve told some people about them, but they never seem to really believe me. And why should they? I’m not saying “oh x and y will happen on so and so date.” Or “God told me x y and z.” Never. It’s always just a few moments, seconds, of realizing I’d seen an exact scene before, heard those exact words before. And never in a useful manner, simply “oh.” And not the answers to a test, or anything.. just… a moment in time I’d seen before.

I don’t claim to know the future, or to know exactly what will happen. And my dreams are always incredibly vivid anyways, so how would I know what is a dream, and what’s a deja vu dream, until I’m seeing that moment before me? False prophets are supposed to fill the end of days, people who claim to know what is to come, people who believe their gifts come from other than Gd. But there are also supposed to be the children of Gd who see what is to come.

So let me talk a little about what I’ve dreamed, that I cannot tell if it’s a simple dream.. or what is to come. At least, of future dreams that have yet to be fulfilled.

First, I’ve gotten into a car accident. My car, driving in the left lane on a highway, has sent me into the median. A metal median, not the concrete. I can’t tell if I swerved, or someone hit me, just that I’m in the car, in the driver’s seat, and I have hit the median. Honestly I hope I don’t die from that.

The second? I’m walking into my grandmother’s kitchen and I say “guess who’s won the lottery?” This is definitely one I’d want to be true… but is also incredibly unlikely to pass.

The third? I’m in an intimate moment with someone.

The fourth? A red brick house. Nothing more, I’m simply looking at a specific angle at a specific house.

Fifth? I’m reading an email. I’ve asked my employer to fully reimburse all my gas for my traveling. They say “we don’t normally do this, but-,” and I just know it’s in reference to high, HIGH gas prices. How high? I can’t say. When? Also can’t say.

Sixth? Another email.. acknowledging that we’re in a recession, but I and the workplace all have to work harder.

It’s.. hard for me. To tell what’s dream and what’s not. I dream so vividly already when I do. And while I’ve dreamt of being in school, being on a video call… I’ve never had a deja vu dream of reading an email before. Admittedly, I’ve been watching many videos as of late regarding the economy, of fears of world war 3. That could easily influence my dreaming. But I can’t help but feel that these will all come to pass at some point. Once again, I don’t claim that these dreams come to me of my own power, and nothing I can do can affect how often they come, what I dream of, or if I even dream of something useful. Just that I think Gd has poured out his spirit on me. And not just me. I’m willing to bet that there are many, many others who have had dreams as I have. Maybe even better ones, longer ones, or ones with more warning. But there are also the false prophets. Are they describing false visions? Or true visions, that they claim don’t come from Gd but from their own strength?

If you’ve had similar dreams, I invite you to reach out to me. Or if you think I’m full of nonsense.. I still welcome any civil discussion.

[sarangbe]

sarang’s done this song and dance before, and while he’s nervous to know what sr media has in store for him, he has an inkling that he’ll fit in much better here than at studio delta. while he was appreciative of his past opportunities, he knew before going into them that he would have a hard time fitting into a company that prides itself on “creating artists” as opposed to “idols.” frankly speaking, he’s not going into this career path to create music, nor is he pursuing a passion for singing, dancing, or rapping. instead, he sees it as a means to lay the groundwork for other ( much larger ) goals of his; as a way to create a solid foundation of fans that will be more than eager to purchase his clothing line, and cosmetics brand, and whatever else he’s dreamt of creating with his own artistic vision. simplifying it, he’s becoming an idol to garner fame, and to boost his already decent following, so his longterm goals are secure.

maybe his reasoning is superficial, but he doesn’t care much about what others think. he may not be the most talented trainee that sr media has ever signed, but there’s no doubt that he has endless potential, star power in droves, and the visuals to make a lasting impression, and he knows this because of his win on next gen season one. he’s riding high off of attaining first place, and he hopes to use this momentum to make a big splash at the company, but before racing into anything, he needs to get settled in first, and what better way to do just that than by catching up with a friend of his, who just so happens to be training at the same company?

with break-time finally rolling around, he catches yuji skipping over to him and decides to meet her halfway; so glad that he actually knows someone here. once their arms are linked, he leans into her a little more; placing his head practically on top of her’s due to their height difference. it isn’t often that he’s much taller than someone else, so he takes advantage of it here. “ah, you have no idea how excited i am!” sarang coos, lifting his head to make eye contact with her. “i am still so shocked at the results, to be honest. i don’t think it’s fully hit me yet, even though i’m definitely feeling like a winner.” going into the competition, all he really wanted to do was have a good time; enjoy the arts. never in his life did he think he’d walk away with the gold.

“i’m already feeling really, like, ‘at home’ here, which is weird. i remember being terrified when i arrived at studio delta on the first official day of training, but i don’t know. here, like, i don’t feel that impending sense of doom all the time.” angling his feet toward the door, he guides them out of the practice room they’re in and towards the cafeteria; aching for some coffee and a pick-me-up before the rest of the day continues. “how are you feeling, though? i’m sure you’re busy, and that very soon, i’ll be just as busy, too, but catch me up with all that’s been going on here! please?”

a starter for @sarangbe !!       ( so far so good )

new faces popping up in sr media aren’t bad. sure, maybe yuji is a bit tense at the prospect of more girls joining because of her own spiraling and daydreaming– but it’s not the worst. change is just intimidating. and yuji doesn’t like change that she doesn’t give the okay too. control issues, she’s sure of it– but it’s also not the end of the world, even if her head is convinced that it is. it’s all about adjusting, she feels. it just takes time.

sarang makes it easy to adjust. having heard sr media was the one he choose, yuji is pretty thrilled; a familiar face, but a sweet one too– one that’ll likely help take her attention off of whatever it is sr media is planning with all the girls. if they even are. it helps that they’re friends, too. 

as soon as there is a free break during practice, yuji practically skips over to sarang, smile pulling on her face despite the fatigue she feels from the day. yuji doesn’t hesitate to link their arms together once she’s close enough. “congratulations and welcome,” her eyes crinkle at the corners from the force of her smile, small but genuine none the less. “first place, huh?” one brow raises pointedly. she hadn’t watched every bit of next gen, too busy and tired to keep up, but the things she had seen had impressed and surprised her. “so, how’s it feel?”

[yinses]

5 (+ 1)

or five times you attempted to pet tighnari's ears and the one time he let you

tighnari x gn! reader rated: t wc: 9k+

a/n: i swear i'm not a genshin writer. every now and again one just really hits me and won't leave me alone. i'm shaking at the prospect of meeting cyno.

|1|

when you had taken up the life of a very luxurious forest ranger, you hadn’t done so with any grand goal in mind. growing up you’d never been enticed by the prestige of the akademiya. the too tight robes warded off any appeal of unlimited knowledge. 

you weren’t much of a haggler either, so market trading had never been much of an option. to be honest, in most cases you couldn't be bothered and would give away something for free if it meant getting the person out of your face.

maybe as a child you’d dreamed of theatre. promises of dancing in front of a crowd. or performing a sincere song of gratitude in honour of your generous archon. but there was a reason why only the children of sumeru dreamt. because it saved you the reality of embarrassment. 

ultimately it made sense for you to be a forest ranger. you were blessed with a vision and had the aptitude for conflict when needed. you didn't mind being outside. sumeru was a beautiful land of bountiful vegetation and fauna. you were proud to be part of the force protecting it. 

so naturally, you were destined to join their ranks. you would fit in splendidly as long as you followed the basic code of conduct.

the rules were simple:

execute every possible strategy to ensure the safety of the public

do not engage in any withering zone excavation without first reporting it

do not under any circumstances attempt to touch master tighnari’s ears.

you believed that honour should be given where it was due, and tighnari certainly earned a bulk of it in sumeru. he was as tenacious in his research as he was in his determination to cull the withering.  

it was admirable. unquestionably gave his subordinates something to look up to. it helped that he made an easy guy to work for. tighnari was an abundance of knowledge, never failing to deliver relevant facts about any form of botany in sight. 

during your initial interview he completely sidetracked himself from testing your competency in favour of dumping the equivalent of a knowledge capsule on the entire forest on you. and during the whole time all you could think was how cute.

those fluffy, distractingly soft ears he had that twitched with every emotion. you noticed that sometimes they swayed unprompted, as if they had a mind of their own. the man himself seemed oblivious to your obsession, or just so immune to the attention at this point that it hardly phased him. 

it was a shame really. 

because by the time he realised you were out of your seat, he had a split second to snatch your offending hand before your fingers to reach the fur. the utterly adorable culprits seemed to tease your failure, flickering invitingly just out of reach of your wiggling fingers. 

at least you had enough integrity to smile in the face of defeat as your future boss leered at you unimpressed. 

he spent the remainder of your now orientation laminating over the very extensive punishment policy to be expected of any broken infractions. 

|2|

it was safe to say the threat of punishment didn’t weigh too heavily on your consciousness. what you did learn, was everything more the life of a ranger had to offer. it wasn’t as though you belittled it to a simple forest guide. you were well aware of how each and every one of your colleagues put their life on the line to protect the gifts from the first of the dendro goddess. 

but you never expected your contribution to feel so satisfying. 

every day your body got stronger, gaining the resilience and stamina to endure long treks through the forest. you became more in tune with your vision, able to protect not only yourself but others from harm. unexpectedly, tighnari’s long winded tangents began sounding more appealing as you absorbed the information rather than repel it. 

with each passing day you grew into the role of a proper forest ranger.

though there was one thing you hadn’t grown out of. 

“you two will be assigned with me. we’ll patrol the southeast canopy.”

tighnari was always so serious when delegating assignments. archon’s bless him. given it was a momentous occasion as it was imperative to understand everyone’s role so that their was a fair opportunity to return home safe and sound. 

it was just he way his ears followed each command. the adorable quiver not at all equivalent to his resolute voice. even after over a year under his command, it was still so distracting. to be fair, you’d learned to control your urges. after the second attempt and a week of making sure the long row of lamps remained glowing, you had at least accepted the pressing issue of testing his patience. 

your respect didn’t go unrewarded either. over time, you learned that under those cute ears was a very interesting man. you always knew he valued his time in the forest and that the publications were not just for show like some of the akademiya graduates. but to witness his unfiltered passion for the forest was … kind of refreshing. 

it made for genuine conversations that allowed you to feed off one another. while you’d never quite match his never ending knowledge for botany, you accompanied it well with your growing love for fauna. 

in short, tighnari had become an unexpected friend. 

with very endearing ears that you still felt the urge to touch after many, many months of barely held restraint. 

it was admirable. 

worth the gained friendship. 

and yet.

collei’s shoulder knocked comfortably into yours as she hopped with glee. her joy made her unaware to the sharp gazes watching her exuberant movements for any signs of fatigue. being around collei had eventually led you to believe that something was different about her.

as a fellow trainee for a time, the two of you had grown close enough for her to feel secure in delving into more of her past. her illness wasn’t necessarily rare but it wasn’t often you met many affected with as much optimism as she had. 

there was no doubt she had bouts of pain. sometimes you would cover her patrols to give her extra days of rest. tighnari was the most observant, always knowing when she needed a break. still the girl was a refreshing take on life in these darkening days. 

it helped that you both shared a fixation with a certain pair of furry ears.

whereas she was more timid in her appreciation, you had yet to shed your bold approach. 

well, maybe you got a little smarter. 

“but i already know about the sweetwater mushrooms,” collei whispered back, confusion staining her voice. there were times like this that her charmingness rivalled tighnari. 

you resisted the urge to pat the crown of her head. 

you all knew about the infamous fungi. upon its discover, tighnari had spent nearly a month after submitting his entry into the new rainforest guide speaking all about its elements; to anyone or anything regardless how responsive. 

if it was a botanical topic the fox found it hard to resist engaging. 

leaning closer, you kept a close eye on the leading man.” i know you do but tighnari always has something more to say. i just need you to ask him about it.” you refrained from using the word distract. 

collei’s ability to lie wasn’t a favourable skill. more often than not she caved in on herself before being able to spin a convincing tail. you’d learned fairly quickly the first time you convinced her to test a new route. the two of you hadn’t found any trouble but the slight delay in return roused a few questions. and of course tighnari had been the investigator. she never had a winning chance. 

“i still don’t get why i have to ask.”

“because i need an opening to try to touch his ears.”

the sharp gasp she left out was enough to shatter the gossip bubble as tighnari turned with a suspicious frown. his gaze fell heavily on you as the culprit. 

“what are you two muttering about?”

laughing sheepishly, your hip checked subtly against the younger girl’s as you took the lead. “just about the dusk birds. their mating season is approaching.”

tighnari raised a brow, but didn’t question further. one of the ways you’d managed to bond with collei had been over the observation of the bird hatchlings. they were one of the safer offsprings you were allowed to track in your earlier days, making you very familiar with their nesting grounds. it was one of the few areas he allowed you both to wander together without supervision. 

“uh huh, well unfortunately i doubt we’ll get many sightings this low. please try to stay vilgint for any threats.”

tighnari rolled his eyes at your comical salute but was unable to hide his small grin. it only fed into your wider one. 

good. he was in an amicable mood today. you’d both need it. 

collei managed to remain cool headed despite your hanging plan as the three of you ventured through the more worn paths. travellers and students alike tended to frequent these parts, fending off most wildlife who didn’t want to be bothered. it was mostly flora that flourished, taking up any available space. 

the perfect conversation starter. 

the green haired trainee squeaked when you cleared your throat and nudged her softly. the noise caused a flicker to tighnari’s ear but he otherwise left the two of you to your devices as he examined the population of fungi. 

your gaze darted to the seemingly preoccupied man and back, to which collei gulped but carefully approached. “um, master tighnari. do you mind going over the procedure for warning travellers about fungi again? sometimes i stumble with the more insistent ones.”

you could hear a bit of truth bleed into the ploy. it was certainly convincing enough as tighnari gestured for her to come to closer as he plucked a few samples. “certainly! it’s always good to familiarise yourself. sometimes they can get a little tricky. like this one, the bell-shaped and conical caps can often confuse people. you have to really pay attention to the arch…”

archons bless him, it didn’t really take much. 

tighnari’s eyes darted briefly to you as you settled near them. his body turned to welcome you into the discussion, but he otherwise continued his deep analysis of proper measurements of cap width. the fleeting eye contact was enough for you to witness the undeniable brightness as he conversed. 

as much as you liked to tease him, the jest hardly had any weight when the man was as serious about his research. he often responded with a chide about the importance of understanding and how it promoted coexistence. and then he would give you editions of his publications for you to study. 

the first few times, after you’d baulked at the depth of the information, you’d actually managed to discover a few interesting elements. despite his ability to drone on, the passion he felt was undeniable when reading through this material. even if you didn’t retain much of the actual reading, the smile you developed lingered. only to widen when you’d witnessed the excited flicker of his tail when you’d returned the books with a few inquiries of your own. 

tighnari took your interest in the fauna populating the forest seriously, cultivating the bud of fascination and furthering it. you hadn’t developed enough academic discretion to attempt a article- not that it would have been credible without the proper education- but tighnari baubles your insights all the same, often using your tracking skills to help develop new routes during various mating and hibernation periods. 

it … really helped you feel at home. valued amongst the other forest rangers. 

so what if you occasionally found your cheeks warming whenever he complimented your new discoveries. 

“when people ask, it's important to point out as many examples as you can to help them identify. in most cases you only have their attention for a few minutes so you need to capitalise.”

you had to give it to collei, she was either fully immersed or integrating very well into the diversion. though when tighnari got like this, it was nearly one in the same. 

rolling onto your knees, you paused as those endearing astute ears twitched in your direction. tighnari hadn’t skipped a beat, however instinct was so inherent. it made for an unfair advantage, however you had desensitisation on your side. the next disturbance you made as you leaned closer hardly got a reaction as his second nature focused on the world outside your bubble. 

it was a flattering downfall that you’d happily exploit as your hand neared your objective. 

“- actually that’s a common mistake. some of the gills look similar but if you notice here..:”

oh no. 

in one fluid motion, tighnari managed to capture your hovering hand, dragging it forward under his arm to come in contact with his other. the motion dragged you flush against his back as he manipulated your fingertips against the underside of the mushroom. 

“-… there’s a coarser distinction. of course, you have to be careful when encouraging other to touch freely as some can still be poisonous.”

naturally you doubted tighnari would use you so freely as an impromptu demonstration, punishment be damned. though the way he kept your appendage hostage implied that you weren’t free from reprimand. 

poor collei chuckled nervously as tighnari held out the fungi for her to try, eyes wondering anxiously between the two of you. from your imprisonment, you were unable to see what expression tighnari was giving off, but if the tight grip was any indicator it was safe to hypothesise that it wasn’t in your favour. 

“i um- see. thank you, master.”

tighnari didn’t appear to have any ill will towards the girl which was a small grace. his tone, however, was noticeably pinched as he directed the conversation over his shoulder. 

“do you have any questions, ranger?”

yep. 

there’s the wrath. 

accepting defeat, your head careened forward into the hollow of his shoulder as you mumbled your negative with the shake of a head. Immediately you felt his posture stiffen in responses to your relaxed submission. the proximity awarded you a personal showcase of the heat crawling up the back of his neck. 

interesting. 

“well then!” tighnari forced a cheerful bravado as he brought you both to an abrupt stand, releasing you in favour of stepping forward to lead. “collei, listen closely as they recite every classification as we finish our patrol. we can make note of their mistakes so that they don’t make them again when they extensively copy them onto the new pamphlets for next release.”

it didn’t evade you how the fox refused to face you as he pressed forward. you dared to guess that the rosy hue of his neck might match the roundness of his cheeks.

perhaps some discoveries were worth the failures. 

|3|

“I really want to feature the spinokrok in my next story but I’ve never really seen one up close. dad says it’s too dangerous though.”

“he’s right. they’re at the very bottom of the ravine.”

“oh…”

“but sometimes i pass through on patrols. if you’d like, i can snap a reference photo for you!”

“really? that would be awesome, thanks so much!”

children’s happiness was truly a unique fruit of motivation, both gratuitous and frankly slightly treacherous to consume. tighnari might liken it to one of the colourful sprouts that populate the banks near the cliffside; beautifully cunning but sure to leave you with a nasty surprise.

—okay, maybe that was a little dramatic. 

but you were certainly going to be in for quite the scolding if tighnari found out that you derailed your patrols for the sake of taking a leisure photo of wildlife. in the defence of safety, the fox wasn’t as easily swayed by a childish promise. 

fortunately, you were adept enough with just about any patrol path through the rainforest by now. your experience often persuaded tighnari to give allowance for you to tend to the paths along the outskirts of the village solo. 

which you were totally doing. 

just from a view a couple hundred metres below. 

the path towards the wetland ravine was a muddy line in the undergrowth, a quieter trail that rarely gathered much traffic: traveller or wildlife. to be honest, you hardly ever saw anything other than the spinokrok’s down here. though given their diet, it wasn’t much of a surprise. 

you carefully neared the bankside, watching the position of the sun in between the treetops. you’d already bartered away a lot of your time venturing this low. while you were known for a bit of wandering, if you took too long to check-in someone would end up alerting tighnari before long. the sky was already beginning to bleed into a light orange, the beginning shades of the setting sun melting into the blue above. 

not your first nighttime return, but the light scolding would be easy enough to shake off. 

the sudden splash drew your attention to the winding river as a crane took flight. the skittish fowl wouldn’t have been alerted to your presence this early which meant that your targets weren’t far off. 

tugging the kamera from your knapsack, you followed the line of the water through the lens. 

“there you are…”

razi would be pleased with the prints of the small brood of three. highlights from above complimented the red scales nicely. curious, you swung the lens further upstream in an attempt to capture a few more. known for their meat, if undisturbed it would be easy enough to find at least another two or three. 

however as the slithering vines stretched norther further, twisting through branches on its congest to conquer vegetation, you found the rapidly darkening view to be concerning. sure enough, the once plentiful flora was beginning to shrink on itself and take on a dull shade. the distinctive red flow of the withering zone was seated right in the apex of the blistering landscape. 

“here too?”

the area was small, but this route was part of the weekly assignments rather than the more frequent. had you not come here in search of fauna, it likely wouldn’t have been discovered for a few more days. unfortunately, locating it yourself was tantamount to giving away your private detour. 

for a brief moment you debated taking the chance to report, weighing the pros and cons. ultimately, the loss of independency once tighnari tracked your impromptu route was too great of a squander. besides, it was a small devastation. you were qualified to handle it.

—except for the corrupted machina lingering just out of sight. 

the narrow lens of the kamera hadn't been able to capture the additional dangers before you neared. had you been aware, you would have attempted to at least down one before you got too close. it was a tight battle, suffering under the thick miasma while trying to cut off the source. 

you’d managed to down the bulkier of the two, but the swindling snake-like projection had been doing an annoying job of evading your strongest attacks. with your hp at threatening level, coupled with low energy regeneration, you were starting to regret your choices just a little bit. 

you briefly wondered if tighnari would scold you through the eulogy. 

the darkness blanketing the forest worked against you, as the remaining threads of daylight faded. the red glow of the withering was the least comforting form of light to rely on as you made a hasty dodge away from the blasting beam. 

“oh, crap.”

a miscalculation saw your foot caught on a fraying vine, careening your forward as you landed heavily onto the ground. the threatening wind of the machina generating energy had you sucking in a harsh breath as you attempted to stand, resulting in a sharp jolt of pain as your ankle protested. a cold chill numbed your body in the worst way as the unsettling realisation of your actions weighed in. scrambling feebly for your weapon, you attempted to shield the next blow though you knew it wouldn't be enough. 

“enshroud!”

your body jerked in alarm as a cloud of green circled the earth around you. the lack of visibility should have been worrying, had you not been very familiar with it’s caster; and the inevitable reckoning that would come. 

the first half came in the form of a series tanglevine shafts trained to track and devastate. the secondary wave wiped out the last of the threats before your savour was able to focus on the bleeding blooms. you’d never been more grateful to witness a successful clearance, as the suffocating effects of the withering abed away. it gave you just enough clear air to breath a grateful sigh of relief before it all soured. 

the second half of your retribution, was a quieter approach of wraith then you were use to. tighnari refused to look you in the eye as he kneeled before your injured limb. not that that you were trying to see the reflection of your guilt staring back at you. it gave you the opportunity to observe that he’d come alone, making you wonder if he’d been informed or had simply stumbled upon you. 

neither option was beneficial. 

the fox was obviously simmering, that much was clear even in his silence. he’d produced a small aid kit from his belt and was examining your ankle. the first sounds of annoyance permeating the air when you squeaked at the firm pressure against the joint. 

it was obvious that you wouldn’t be walking out of here. 

as if you weren’t in enough trouble. 

tighnari’s reticence preserved as he tied a stiff bow at the end of your wrapping before turning to offer his back. sighing, you accepted your fate and looped your arms around his neck. tighnari waited until your knees settled at his sides before he rose to his feet, added a second security under the weight of your thighs. 

at first you hoped to construct a plausible excuse in his silence, but after you’d practised the same redemption for the twelfth time you were starting to become more concerned about his resilience. you dont think you've ever witness tighnari hold back a scolding this long. 

unable to hold out any longer, you poked the hornet’s nest. 

“so razi has this new story idea.”

yeah you were throwing the kid under the bus, sue you. 

the first flicker of his ears was a subtle warning, but you pressed through. 

“he wanted to use the spinokroks as his next character but he’d never really been able to see one up close. and naturally it wouldn’t be safe for a child to traverse the forests. even with his father.”

there goes the second ear. 

“so being the helpful forest ranger i am under your tutelage, i offered to secure a reference photo for him. which of course—”

tighnari’s voice came quiet and strained. “please stop talking.”

you waited for him to say more, sure that he’d have more to tack on, but no other words left his lips. it was disconcerting in a way you hadn’t experienced before. you'd suffered through annoyance, frustration and some rage. 

but rarely disappointment. 

it was bitter tasting. 

it was rather telling when even the wildlife seemed to avoid the pair as you ascended out of the ravine. tighnari managed to not only reach the outskirts of the village, but did so without cracking under the pressure of your culpability. 

unfortunately you weren’t as robust. 

“tigh—”

“for every word, i’m adding a week of lamp maintenance duty.”

you squeezed your arms and legs around him in a hug, seeking out a thread of comfort through the throbbing pain of your ankle. 

“i’m sorry.”

tighnari sucked in a sharp breath as his steps halted. you could see the first glow of the lamps in the distance, no doubt a night crew lingering near to welcome the late returners. 

“you’re an idiot.”

a tight fist squeezed your heart as you shuddered against his back. 

“i know.”

“another week! i cannot believe your absolute disregard for your welfare. not only in straying from your patrols but to attempt to clear a withering zone without reporting it first. what were you thinking?”

your lips parted, voice small,” well i thought given how far off it was that no one would come across it before it spread.”

the fox was quietly shaking under you,” i’m tempted to bench you for a year for this alone. you could have been killed.”

“but i wasn’t.”

tighnari didn’t acknowledge the crackled excuse as he resumed the ascent towards the heart of the village. the conversation was over, at least for tonight. you almost felt bad for those hapless to witness the quiet fury as the leader trudged through the canopy. though the arrangement surely painted a telling story no one dared to stop or question.

upon entering your bungalow, tighnari silently backed into your bed until you took the hint.

as your arms slipped from around him, your fingertips brushed against the furry cartilage. though the action went ignored by both parties.

“rest, we’ll discuss this in the morning.”

|4|

the discussion did not come the following morning, or the rolling day as the sun rose and set. given your ailment you weren't exactly able to seek out your punishment, though the waiting game felt like the precursor. 

for the first three days, your only visitors were collie and one of the local healers. tighnari likely hadn’t banned the nervous girl, allowing her to stumble in at first light to assess your injuries. it seemed as though he also didn’t inform her of much as she tired to glean what she could. 

unfortunately, your mood hadn’t really improved from the night before, nor had your pain levels. you managed a tight smile at best, gritting through a scarce overview. the overhanging rumours were that you finally pushed tighnari to his limits. which was not too far from the truth. 

your medicine came in three intervals, and each visit was just that. umm only offer a genial knowing close-lipped smile as she applied the numbing cream and rewrapped your joints. the only news came from collei with each meal. it was never what you wanted to hear, but the sound of a voice other than your thoughts was welcome. 

you were able to keep up with light chat, the both of you doing an amicable job at avoiding the shaggy sumpter beast in the room. if the flightiness she gave off was anything to go by, then tighnari hadn’t completely cooled off. initially, you’d only probed subtly. asking about her patrols to see who accompanied her. questioning new withering zone reports to gauge who might be assigned. either tighnari had instructed her to be tightlipped or she was on as much of a lockdown as you were because the information gleaned was inconsequential. 

it wasn’t until the fifth day, when you were able to balance on your injured ankle for longer than a minute that you dared to try for more. 

umm had just finished, stepping clear of the doorway to allow collei to maneuver freely with the two bowls of lunch. the younger girl was in a lighter mood, giving you the extra confidence to push. 

you took a bite of the leftover stew first, before testing the waters. “has tighnari taken you on any deeper patrols lately?”

the girl stiffened but otherwise did not show any signs of distress. 

“not really, he’s been kind of strict with patrols lately. only seniors have been assigned to the forest floor. i patrolled the understory with nasrin yesterday though! the dusk birds are starting to nest.”

you could resist a soft smile as the girl lead comfortable into a short tangent about the different locations she’d tracked in her notebook. she loved to watch the hatching process from the birth to first flight. tighnari was often more lenient with her during this season. you were pleased to know your mess up hadn’t resulted in that being taken away.

“hopefully i’ll be healed enough to catch one of the hatchings.”

collei’s gaze flickered to your freshly wrapped ankle, “master tighnari wouldn’t say but he’s been pretty testy about ranger etiquette lately. well more than useful.”

“yeah, i was pretty stupid,” you muttered, quoting the fox’s words from that night. 

collei sat upright on the chair by your desk, responding to your despondent mood. “he’s not nearly as bad as before though. i mean that morning after he was really mad. not like loud angry, but everyone knew not to test him. but he’s calmer now”, she assured.

you assumed as much. avoiding you was likely the best way to keep his temper in check.

you watched as the green haired trainee squirmed in her seat, no doubt uncomfortable at the idea of being between the brewing conflict. tighnari no doubt tried to ease that predicament by withholding information. the least you could do was honour your half to keep from setting her off. 

“umm said i should try walking around more. i got permission to pace the platform if you want to join.”

the girl jumped at the chance, nearly losing her bowl in the process. laughing, you quickly took hers and set it on the desk with yours before standing to your feet. collei was at your side, urging your arm over her shoulder. it wasn’t really necessary but you’d never turn down the girl’s assistance. 

carefully the two of you ambled through the leaves shrouding your entrance. it wasn’t the first time this week that the sun warmed your skin. umm had urged you to test the distance from your bed to your porch on the second day with each visit there after. it helped tp press your limitations while keeping the joint from getting too stiff. but this was the first time you’d been able to venture far enough out to interact with more than the same two people for the last few days. 

collei remained diligent as she led you down the straight path, attention not straying from your gait as you greeted faces you haven't seen in awhile. the reception was overall positive, your health and wellbeing superseding the wraith that had hung over the encampment for the past week. it narrowed down the list of those you’d need to apologise to at least. 

“oh it’s master tighnari!”

your gaze snapped to her extended finger, noting the tall tuff of ears before anything else. his back was turned to you, a fortunate thing as you still weren’t sure how to face him just yet. he appeared to be conversing with a group, though it wasn’t the usual collection of rangers waiting for assignments. 

you recognized the garments however. 

collei groaned as she sagged under your arm. “its the akademiya again. when will they ever learn?”

likely no time soon, as the pressure from both the forest and threat of the ‘scarlet king’ followers continued to rise. the first time you witnessed the prestigious envoy attempting to recruit the fox, you’d been in awe. it was somewhat of an honour to be approached by anyone doning the gowns. next to the archon herself, they were the reigning power. however the prestige lost a light grace, when tighnari scoffed at the invitation. 

it was one of the occasions that you’d really come to appreciate more than just his vast knowledge. of course, you respected him as a leader but it was different to consider his understanding of plant life on a scholarly level. his tangents that he loved to rattle your ear with were published and very popular articles. 

he was something of a celebrity. a fact that you loved to tease just to see the tops of his cheeks grow warm at the admission. 

now, even at this distance, you could see a similar red dusting his fair skin. but not in the pleasant way that warmed your chest. 

no it seemed that an inkingly of your excursion still peaked his heart rate. and this wasn't making it any better.

that wasn’t good.

“collei, please help me.”

“huh? oh, wait! not too fast.”

tighnari grit through a tight smile, barely hanging onto his fangs to keep them from showing. at a young age his mother taught him that human could find it threatening. frankly, right now he wished to find out how much of a truth that was if it got these nuisances out of his hair. 

this was the last thing that he wished to deal with right now. the institution had taken a different route it seemed, sending students under the premise of studying under his tutelage. something he would maybe consider any other time than now. 

his foot tapped irritably as one of the bolder ones spoke his piece, spouting words of prose that meant nothing to him. they were all weak and obvlivious children wandering aimlessly. he had enough of those under his own watch. 

“master tighnari, i've read all your publications intensively and feel that i would be a valuable asset in your further research of the withering zones. i believe that together we can find a cure.”

tighnari barely resisted rolling his eyes. it was almost laughable. the withering had plagued them for centuries and they were still no closer to curbing it. no amount of research at this point was going to factor in. all they could do was contain, and that was a skill the akademiya didn’t teach.

breathing audibly through his nose, the fox attempted to remain cordial. “i appreciate your determination, however, i'm not in a position right now to allocate more rangers to facilitate your safety. the forest—”

“—i’ve also read intently on the local fauna and proper was to track warning signs of predators…”

tighnari really hated when he was interrupted. 

“i’m confident in my ability to spot danger before it becomes a problem.”

especially by know-it-alls who were overstepping in his domain.

the student continued on unware of the growing dangers, “i’ve brought a few of my manuscripts with me if you’d like to browse some of my speculations and hypotheses…”

tighnari's brow twitched as the student droned on. for someone who boasted about extensive research on understanding predators he was rather obvious to the one standing before him. the same couldn't be said about his colleagues who were carefully edging back. 

“if i could just get a few samples—”

the student had sense enough to notice as the plant scholar suddenly flinched, hand coming up to grasp the wrist of the hand threatening to touch the tip of his ear. it was the first time since opening his mouth that he’d taken into account the strained curl to the lips of the botany researcher. 

his gaze then flickered to the more relaxed, if not slightly sheepish smile of the forest ranger behind. they seemed otherwise unconcerned despite the death grip they'd been trapped in for … attempting to touch master tighnari’s ears?

the student felt a shudder wrack his body as the fox’s grimace smoothed into … something that he would one day recognize as a reckoning he’d be fortunate to survive in years to come. 

“apologies, you’ll have to excuse me. it appears one of my rangers feels well enough to venture off their bed rest and is due for some new assignments.” with that, the lead ranger looped the still trapped limb over his shoulder before assisting the injured ranger back up the canopy. 

“you can give your manuscripts to my trainee, collei.”

the green hair trainee in question waved timidly, unsure of how she got in this position but willing to help.” hello, im forest ranger trainee collei. please let me assist you safely out of the forest.”

|5|

“it’s master tighnari!”

believe it or not, forest rangers did get off days. while it was still heavily frowned on to use that time to exploit certain privileges to free roam the forest, there were other activities that some could get up to. 

some would use the opportunity to travel to the city or port for the market or to visit family.

others utilised their freedom to work on personal research. 

then there was tighnari who used the opportunity to research the local flora … via oral experimentation. 

your small project had been tossed aside in favor of darting out of your bungalow at the cry of fright from the green haired girl. it wasn’t the first time you’d witnessed tighnari taking his passion … to the next level. that time, curiosity had thrown him into a rather long slumber that he’d conveniently woken up from after a gratuitous amount of panicking on collie’s part and just in time for you to return with the rescue aid party. 

it was safe to say that was not the last occassion, and tighari had treated you both to several lunches to make up for the scares. 

but it wasn’t often that he was brought back to the village in a state. more often than not the ailments resolved in the time it took someone to find him or simply shaken off with no concern. 

it was enough to have you barreling unannounced through the head ranger’s door with apprehension. firm but fraying hands caught you as you stumbled through, righting your body before you could embarrass yourself. 

“don’t worry, tighnari is fine. it’s a harmless reaction to one of the fungi he consumed.”

umm brought her hands to a comfortable leisure behind her back as you peered over her shoulder. 

tighnari was lain out across his bed. it looked as though he had been tucked away intentionally, but the man had fought away the sheets in a fit. there was a light coat of perspiration doting his forehead and his skin had taken on a rosy flush. it hardly looked harmless. you’d never seen the lead forest watcher look so … unravelled. 

when was he going to learn to stop experimenting so freely?

umm gave a passing pat to your shoulder,“with a bit of rest he’ll be just fine.”

you had hoped as much but it eased some of your worries to see him at least home safe. though his predicament still tested your resolve. you would distract yourself for the time being concocting your own chiding speech. seriously, someone needed to hold him accountable. as it seemed, you were the only one daring enough to challenge the fox. 

heavily a relieved sigh, you turned to leave. collie would likely need a second dose of comfort now that you’d taken your own inventory of the indisposed ranger. umm, bless her soul, wasn’t a very convincing source of comfort. having collie help prepare your speech would do some good for her as well.

“wait, don’t go yet.”

you stiffed at the unexpected plea. the voice behind you sounded a bit stronger than it should be in this predicament, more like the fox you recognized. umm hadn’t left you with any instructions, but it was safe to assume he was meant to rest as not to rile up his heart rate anymore. something you were very good at doing.

you liked to think that the two of you were on agreeable terms thus far. you’d been a textbook ranger over the last few weeks. not testing the limits of your privileges or boundaries. it allowed for the two of you to have some nice conversations. though you doubted anything very articulate would come from his mouth right now. 

it was unfair, how adorable he looked with mussed hair, heavy eyes and creased clothes. umm had taken responsibility to rid him of the more decorative parts of his uniform, leaving him in a simple shirt and pants. the said shirt appeared to have been tugged open, revealing the lean muscles of his chest and abdomen. 

that was decidedly leaning away from cute, as you tore your gaze away and scolded yourself. 

“you should really lay back down, tighnari, i need you to be yourself when i deliver your scolding later.”

“tigh.”

“huh?”

you were shaken out of your stupor when he stood, concern triggering your fight reaction as you quickly huddled him back onto the bed before he fell. he allowed you to do so, however when he glanced up at you his olive eyes showed annoyance.

“i prefer when you refer to me as tigh.”

your mouth open and closed silently at the admission. you could never recall tighnari outright scolding you for the curtail of his name. you used it so sparingly, and only ever in the comfort of just yourselves or collei. 

he never really showed any emotion other than surprise the first time he’d realised what you said. you never assumed he’d catalogued the occurrences to feel any ownership over the name.

you fidgeted under the scrutinised of the fox, unsure of how to proceed from there. it was obvious that he was still mildly effective if the rose of his skin was anything to go by. but there was undeniable clarity cutting through the fog in his eyes. it was enough of a relief to have your shoulders sagging slightly. 

if it got him to comply and rest through the remainder of the effects, you could concede. 

“okay, … tigh. please stop eating flora so carelessly.”

it wasn’t your intention to start the chastising prematurely, but if he wanted you to talk, you’d do so. you weren’t sure what all of this he would recall, but you hoped the echoing nag of your voice would hover like a hangover next time he considered experimenting alone. you knew he only tested things with vague assumptions, just enough to ensure that he wouldn’t perish on sight. but it was still close enough calls for you to worry. 

you thought nothing of the way he snared your hands, too used to having them detained in pursuit of your goal. maybe another time you would be the one to catalogue just how frequently the two of you help hands. certainly enough to suffer from desensita-

your speech cut off with a choke as the fox brought one of your hands to the crown of his head. it was the closest you’d ever gotten to your prize, just a simple flex of your fingers and it would be yours. 

and he was just allowing it. 

“um, tigh…?”

you swallowed as his hold slid to your wrist, thumb caressing the inside. 

“it’s what you want, right?” unintentionally your finger flexed under the strain of resisting, just the casual brush against the ear causing the body to shudder. tighnari managed an even breath through his nose, but you suspected his heart was creating as much of a racket as yours was. “ i want you to. i don’t mind if it’s you.”

you sucked in a sharp breath at the omission.

it took strength that you didn't think you had, and stupidity you’d likely reflect on later that night as you regrettably pulled your hand away. firmly not thinking at all about the soft whine that left the fox’s lips at the action. 

your smile was wobbly, frail under the weight of emotions teetering at the edge. you gave his bicep a comforting squeeze before you urged him to lay back in bed. thankfully he didn’t put up much of a fight as you tucked him in. 

his lashes fluttered closed against the cool caress of his cheek.

“next time, promise.”

between one breath and the next, he fell asleep.

|+1|

tighnari woke to a low hanging sun and a heavy head. despite the warnings he opened his eyes, then immediately shut them. though blurry and out of sequence, the master ranger was able to piece together the majority of his last coherency. 

he’d been experimenting with the effects of the moonshade mushrooms. there had been reports of unaware travellers losing consciousness in the middle of the forest and waking in a fevered state. naturally, he’d taken it upon himself to test the outcome in order to properly assign warning labels in his next publication. 

the initial bout of slumber had been brief, broken by a wave of nausea and the sensation of his body overheating itself. he then recalled umm stripping away his uniform in order to help him cool down.

and then there was you.

he remembered the sound of your concern and the inkling of berating though he couldn't exactly call back the wording. he was sure to get an encore either way; well deserved. 

there was a gaping absence in his recollection, but the sensation of your hand settled between the space of his ears hadn’t escaped him. when had he gotten bold enough to daringly reach out like that? sure you’d done the same on multiple occasions but it had been in pursuit of a singular goal while he—

tighnari stared at the leaf drawn entrance of his chamber, face burning. 

but surely that could not have all occurred before noon. 

“oh good you’re awake. that mushroom managed to down even you for a full day. it's certainly something to be aware of.”

the elderly woman peered briefly through the cut of the door before granting herself entrance. tighnari sat obediently still as she flittered over his vital signs, ensuring his temperature and heart rate were within agreeable boundaries. 

she scribbled the notes like clockwork into the parchment on his desk. while his methods weren’t often agreed upon, umm saw the value in the repercussions. her diligence had help assist in multiple breakthroughs. tighnari would be sure to deliver a nice basket of her favourite tree sap candies once he was back in working order. 

amir would have certainly taken initiative to oversee assignments for the day. he would certainly owe collei a visit as well to assure her fears. he vaguely remembered her putting up a fuss when he’d been carried in, shortly before she’d been directed out leading to her alerting you. 

tighnari’s cheeks grew hot again. he refused to acknowledge the rising blush even as umm chuckled quietly while gathering up her kit. instead, he kept his eyes on the entrance as he pinned his sashes in place and equipped his vision. 

it wasn’t as if the two of you weren’t already rather close. it was safe to say he gave you more allowances than most. sure, your futile attempts to touch his ears could be frustrating at times, but more so because of the opportunities you took than the actual actions. 

despite popular belief, tighnari didn’t truly hold his ears in that high regard. it was more out of proprietary that he shied away from strangers acting out of curiosity. to be honest, he really wouldn’t mind too much if a ranger asked to pet them. but it seems as if their own misconceptions had fed into the unspoken rule that his fox-like features were out of the question. 

except for you. 

over time, the two of you managed to lapse into a comfortable game of cat and mouse. tighnari knew if he’d shown any true signs of anger you would have backed away from the start. but his tolerance had permitted you to try again and again. 

so what if the occasional punishments he placed on you deterred the others, it never snuffed your fire and that was all that mattered to him. 

it was only natural that over time constant exposure would ignite his own interest. he could recall with vivid memory the way it felt to have you pressed against his back that time in the forest when you attempted to claim your prize in the middle of his lecture. he’d made you wait there while he finished the lesson, all the while relishing in the heat permitted his back. 

had it been just the two of you, he would have let you. 

yet when he finally caved and gave you the permission you'd been seeking all this time, you’d backed out. 

‘next time’ you’d promised. 

“if you’re done laminating, once you've finished eating you can go find them. i  believe i saw them returning not long before i came here.”

umm didn’t wait for a response as she saw herself out, her amusement audible even as she descended the ramp to her own domain. 

tighnari didn’t rush the act as he finished his meal and the provided water. once he finished, his lips turned at the dimming sunlight. his schedule was all but thrown out the window for the day, though he doubted anyone expected him to contribute much. still it stung his consciousness as a leader to leave his subordinates hanging , even if they were all self-sufficient adults. at least the headache had disappeared with proper nourishment. there would be time to salvage his routine later.

the sun was positioned late in the afternoon, but the dim light still irritated his eyes. he blinked through the sting as he welcomed the sight of the quaint village operating adequately in his absence. 

he returned any passing waves and gave brief responses to their questions. for the most part everyone seemed confident that he’d make a full recovery, though he still harboured the guilt of worrying them. 

brow pinched, he waved nasrin closer. “have you seen collei?”

the purse of her mouth didn’t spell anything good. tighnari hoped her illness had not acted up in his absence. “she had trouble sleeping last night so someone swapped patrols with her. she just set off not too long ago.”

the girl sometimes had trouble sleeping when plagued with anxiousness. tighnari settled that he would confront her upon her return, for now he had one more stop. he had a feeling he knew who offered to adjust their schedule to accommodate the girl.

he found your bungalow with practised ease, delivering a single knock before you offered entrance. he found you seated at your desk, no doubt detailing the report of your finding before submission. it was a relief to see that you took a break from your typical mischievousness to conduct a seemingly uniform patrol while he was indisposed. 

“i don't suppose you came across any new interesting flora on your patrols?”

tighnari watched as your shoulders stiffened at the unexpected sound of his voice. your head whipped around, eyes assessing him carefully before you gave a timid, relieved smile. 

“i think we can all agree that you’ve had enough adventures for one week,” you noted with light scolding. 

grinning, tighnari cared little if his fangs showed, knowing you wouldn't find them threatening. your gaze followed him as he secured the leaves behind him before approaching your desk. he leaned comfortably against the wooden structure as he browsed the report. it had been routine indeed, not a single withering sighting. 

“are you sure you’re alright? you had me worried for a bit.”

tighnari’s brow rose,” only a bit?”

scoffing, you rolled your eyes,” it’s not the worst thing you’ve eaten but seeing you down for so long was concerning. collei will be relieved to see you back on your feet.”

tighnari braceed his palm against the dest and leaned into the posture,“and you?”

“i owe you a scolding. you always get onto me about being aware and careful of my surroundings. yet here you go testing unknown fungi alone in the forest. at least bring it back before you test it out so we can be there if you need us.”

tighnari waited for you to finish, eyes shining with thinly veiled amusement. you seemed to recognize it as well, huffing as you realised your scolding didn't have as much weight as the seasoned scholar. 

unable to resist, the fox reached out to run is fingers along the side of your face before letting them rest against your shoulder. he watched as your chest expanded to take in the small gasp of surprise. it was a rare moment for him to initiate contact like this, especially given the recent occurrence only yesterday. while his recollection was misty, yours was clear as day. 

“i think you owe me something else too.”

tighnari watched your reactions carefully, from the flutter of your lashes to the rapid thrum of your heart beat against the pulse under your jaw. he never shied away from a discovery the promise of a satisfying understanding driving him from one revelation to the next. 

admittedly, you’d been a gradual observation. the question at the tip of the scale all this time while he’d unknowingly researched you thoroughly with each new interaction. day and day again, you prompted him with new variables both under his control and not. it was only today that he managed to form a working hypothesis. a hesitant theory that he knew would shift everything.

tighnari watched with growing fascination as the initial shock meddling into purposefulness as your hand came into view. impatient, he couldn't resist ducking his hand to meet you halfway. the first careful touch was equally inquisitive and hesitant. each time in the past, your hand had darted out with such certainty. yet now with it all willing at your fingertips, you allowed yourself the time to explore.

he hadn’t realised his head had come to rest against your collar bone until he felt the rumbled of your laughter. you didn’t simply just touch his ears, you caressed the length form the widest part to the tip. your fingertips tickled the tufts of fluff at the base. and the light scratched you delivered against the firm cartilage had him all but melting into your hold. the burst of new stimuli tickled his nerves and left pleasant sensations.

later he would analyse the data but he was already certain about his conclusion. 

your words mussed the top of his head as you spoke, humour bleeding into your intrigue. “can’t believe it took you a year to crack, tigh.”

tighnari sagged further at the uttering of the name. you flinched, not expecting the words of response to be mumbled into your skin. gratefully, it didn't cause you to pause.

“what was that?”

your touch slid from his ears to the curve of his jaw as his head rose to meet your gaze. 

“i actually had two hypotheses I wanted to test.”

though he didn't speak more than that, he could tell you were well aware of the implications. your lips parted to respond, but no words could pass the lump in your throat. tighnari tested the waters, leaning closer enough to brush the tup of his nose against yours. when you didn't pull away, he leaned down and pressed your lips together, firmly but briefly. as he breathed in deeply,  the smell of lush forestry, sweet flora and you invaded his scenes. the scent of familiarity minding with the aroma of what he called home was intoxicating. 

your eyes shone bright with mischief as tighnari pulled away, no doubt observing the rosy hue spreading across his face. 

“i think we need to experiment a little more before we can come to a confident conclusion.”

tighnari leaned back in and nuzzled you affectionately. 

“i agree.’’

tagging upon request: @lott-the-otter @uhohitsemmy

[silverdelirium]

𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 | 𝐍.𝐋

SUMMARY ➠ nikolai fucks you against the spinning wheel’s walls

WARNINGS ➠ oral (male receiving), sexual tension at the start, dirty talk, nicknames, tiny bit of degrading, sex from the back in front of a window.

WORD COUNT ➠ 1.5k

A/N ➠ if you haven’t read the books, the spinning wheel is basically a big house on a mountain that has glass walls

———

the clock read 1:23 A.M

and all you could focus on was the blonde who took strides closer to you.

he was wearing pijamas, you noticed. probably couldn’t sleep either.

“evening, y/l/n” he saluted. coming to a halt next to you, yet his line of sight was focused on the panorama the big glass windows gave you.

you didn’t respond. instead, you acknowledged him with a small nod that you could only hope he had caught with the corner of his eye.

your lack of communication didn’t stop him from making conversation.

“couldn’t sleep either?”

“no”

he hummed in understanding, letting his neck crane to the side so he was looking in your direction.

nikolai let his eyes travel from your sleep deprived features to your silk nightgown that stopped at mid-thigh. his gaze faltered when he reached your chest, pebbled nipples making blood rush to his groin.

“how do you like the view?” he asked, his eyes still on you.

“it’s nice” you sighed, turning your head to him; unconsciously sinking your teeth on your lower lip cushion.

the blonde swallowed thickly at the action, trying to shake off the thoughts that rushed through his mind— all including you. naked— “you don’t plan on going back to sleep” it was an observation, not a question.

“i don’t” a pause, and a step forward “think so. you?”

another step, this one came from him though, “maybe, i just have lots of restored energy” he responded, a wink sent in your direction as he watched your brows shoot up slightly at the innuendo.

about two more steps.

“any suggestions on how to get rid of it?” his voice dropped an octave, the fabric of his trousers tightening around his crotch as you stood about eight inches apart.

you shrugged, “i may have some ideas”.

nikolai took the last step forward.

the lip-lock was languid and heated; the desire in the pit of your stomach only intensifying more and more with each roam of his hands down your body.

“you don’t know how many times i’ve dreamt about this” he groaned, large palms kneading at your bum as he walked you slowly but surely to the same glass wall you were both just admiring a few moments ago.

nikolai’s thigh found it’s way between your legs, feeling the heat of your sopping core rub itself on his leg “i’m gonna fuck you so hard you won’t be able to sit on that cunt for the rest of the week”

a moan sounded, and you didn’t even realize it came from you until you saw him snickering to himself, his forehead on yours as he brought your palm to rub on his erection.

“this is all yours for tonight, precious”

the back of your neck grew hot as you stood nose to nose with nikolai, sharing the same hot breath.

you gave him one last peck before you were sinking to your knees, eye contact still intact even though his muscles twitched with expectation.

“you gonna suck my cock now, angel?” he asked yet there was a slight quiver to his voice when you dragged his pants down, letting his engorging cock out.

you nodded your head rapidly, wasting zero time and wrapping your hand at the base of his length, pumping him slowly.

his next words almost had you coming on the spot, “well you best make it sloppy, princess. because it’s the only lubrication you’ll get” a whine left your lips “but i bet that cunt can provide us enough lube”.

he definitely had a way with his words. your breathing was already heavy and he barely touched you.

his breathing pattern shook when you enveloped your lips around his sensitive tip, making him hiss and throw his head back, sending a wave of euphoria to your dripping cunt as you took in the way his throat bobbed with his gulp and how the vein running down the side of his neck only made him more attractive.

his hand fisted in your hair, giving the locks a small tug as a silent plea for you to take more of him in.

you complied, letting your tongue run up and down the girth as he slowly sunk more of his rigid cock into your warm mouth.

“taking me so fucking me well” he panted, “i’m gonna flood your pretty throat with my cum, sweetie”

those were the last words to hit your ears before your eyes rolled to the back of your head, your throat being absolutely demolished by the male’s— unexpectedly— fast thrusts.

“saints— fuck!” you heard him grunt; though his voice seemed far away as your jaw ached and mind went hazy, the neglected and profound ache between your thighs increasing by the second at the sound of his praises and moans.

“oh god you have the best fucking mouth ever” he choked out, thrusts sloppy and deep as his hips stuttered before he was gritting his teeth, doing his best to suppress the loud cry of your name as spurts of cum shot down your throat.

the taste made you cringe slightly but you did your best to swallow everything, his cock partially exiting your sore mouth. “if your mouth was that good i can just imagine how well your little cunt will take me” he praised, hooded eyes focused on your rising form as he let his hands tug at your straps.

his gaze held enraptured hunger as you freed yourself from the silky nightwear, butterflies erupting in your core as he eyed your flesh with lust.

“there’s no way i’ve been missing on all of this, dove. you’ve been basically starving me” he commented, a giggle erupting from you as he dived his head down on your neck.

a catch of breath came from you as he nipped on your sweet spot, small whimpers hitting nikolai’s ears.

he kissed and licked, sometimes even grazed his teeth, along your neck. your pussy clenching around nothing as he continuously teased you.

“please” you croaked “i need it, so fucking bad”.

“need what, precious? use your big girl words for me” he winded, trapping you against the cold glass and his body.

you swallowed timidly, “your— your cock, i want it”

the corners of his lips twitched, along with his cock “where baby? in your mouth again or in that eager cunt of yours?”

his words almost made your legs shake.

“my… cunt, please” you whined.

nikolai gave an approving nod before turning you around softly, now pressing your breasts against the windows as your breath fogged it.

he pressed down on your lower back, bringing you to a small arch.

you felt him run his hands down your body, from your shoulders blades to the swell of your ass. his fingers tugged at the soaked cloth that covered your pussy, slowly moving it to the side and revealing your wet canal.

“my, my, you have the pretties pussy ever, can’t wait to bury myself balls deep in it” he praised, bringing the dampened material down.

your heart thumped against your ribcage as you felt his swollen head kiss at your slit, teasing once again.

“nikolai ple—” your own intake of air cut you off, the unexpected thrust making your thighs shudder.

you heard him release a few groans of his own as he let you accommodate to his size, giving small and slow thrusts into your gushing cunt.

“do you like that? you like it when i fill you up to the fucking brim with my cock?”

you whimpered, rocking yourself back on his cock as he sped up his pace, what were once distressing thrusts turned into delightful ones.

your wails resonated through the room, as well as the wet sounds of skin slapping from where your bodies connected.

“nikolai, don’t stop please. don’t fucking stop” you moaned, slamming your palm against the hazed glass.

“sound so fucking hot when you moan my name like that, like a little whore— shit” you didn’t have to look back at him to know that his head was thrown back and mouth was agape, the vice grip he had on your hip told you enough.

your clit throbbed almost agonizingly before the blonde had snaked a hand around your waist, the pad of his fingers soothing the neglected bud.

he let his eyes travel from your messy hair, to your bouncing ass, to his cock covered in a ring of your arousal at the base, and to your jiggling legs that struggled to hold you up.

“the way you shiver, y/n— fuck it makes me wanna wreck you to no end” he confessed, thrusting deeper and prodding at your g-spot.

“nikolai fuck, i’m gonna cum!”

“do it, princess, cum around my cock like a good slut” he encouraged, slamming a hand down on your ass before stilling his hips, bottomed out, and cumming deep inside you.

pleasure wracked through your body like no other, your vision going blurry as pulsated around him. your, now creamed, walls fluttering with the intensity of the orgasm.

it stayed silent except for your ragged breathing and the sound of dripping to the floor for a few seconds.

but nikolai broke it first, “turn around, i wanna watch your face when you take my cock this time”

———

[follow my 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 and turn on notifications to know whenever i post a fic!]

🏷: @alic3cullenswife @randomstufflol29 @akraziia @arcaneofdawn @selenesheart

[siorrrhhh]

Lost.

Scaramouche lost the battle with the traveler, and now the dreams of his past torment him. Nahida seems to have something in mind.

Characters: Scaramouche, Nahida (Buer), past friends

Themes: angst, hurt/no comfort, trauma

Pairings: none

Word count: 2.1k

I. Prologue

"You claim to have turned your back on the life you once had, yet your heart grieves deeply."

Six days and six nights, he lies in a weightless void. It envelopes him, cradling his body like a fragile porcelain doll. Six days and six nights, the bitter silence brought comfort, the dark void rushing over him in waves, grazing against the fractures that decorated his skin. A timeless space, there was no end to the eternity he felt that was brought to him.

Scaramouche dreamed. Memories from long ago, he dreamt of faces he'd forgotten. He dreamt of himself, the feeling of the veil that fell past his shoulders, he touched the long strands of hair he'd long since cut. There was a sense of unease, his shoulders remained rigid with each movement he made, treading along the line of unconsciousness that flickered with faded memories.

Scaramouche fell.

There was a drop in his stomach, whatever visions he seemed to remember were torn away. He squeezed his eyes shut, a sickening feeling striking through him, building up at the back of his throat. He felt a pressure on his body, a burning sensation at his fingertips growing with each passing moment.

The feeling of impact never came to him.

He blinked his eyes, immediately regretting it the moment he opened them. A feeling of nausea washed over him, cold air licking at his cheeks. The burning sensation never left his fingertips, rather, it enveloped his entire body. He took a moment, sucking in a breath as he began to glance at his surroundings. He lifted his hand, grimacing at the shock that ran through him, flashing with a hot feeling of discomfort.

Snow was the first thing he noticed. It bit into his skin, faint clouds escaping from his lips each time he took a breath. His mind was foggy, thoughts slipping away before he managed to grasp onto one.

Where was he? The battle between him and the traveler flashed through his mind and his body tensed. The sound of the horrific snapping of the cords in his desperate attempt to reach for the Gnosis rang loudly, Scaramouche shot up, hissing at the pain that shot through him again. The sick feeling rushed to the back of his throat, and his hand slapped over his mouth, a muffled, retching sound slipping from his lips. His stomach turned, and he leaned over, heaving unevenly.

How did he get here? Who took him here?

He didn't get a chance to properly think about it before he retched again, shutting his eyes as the repulsive sensation flooded over him. He coughed violently, a smell of bile overwhelming him. Recoiling, a sense of horror struck him. Fingers twitching, he backed away, eyes locked on the black, oily substance that seeped into the white snow.

His eyes were wide. How? He thought. He did not get sick, he could not get sick.

He was not human.

In an attempt to get up, his legs shook. The cold feeling never lessened, and instead, had only become more intense. The wind blew harshly, hitting his face as he trembled violently. Beyond him, there seemed to only be endless amounts of snow, stretching as far as he could see. There was no sunlight, the sky looked what had rather been what looked like a blanket of smoke, an eerie feeling creeping from the dark edges of the distant horizons.

Scaramouche glanced at the tall, towering mountains, the harsh wind howling and crying, a sense of turmoil churning in the pit of his stomach.

He didn't get far. With each step, he grew weaker, waves of dizziness and nausea taking over him. Despite his ignorance, he swayed, his final step collapsing him to the ground. The storm howled in his ears, and a scowl formed on his face, gritting his teeth as he fought to get up, desperate to ignore the weight that fell over him. He dug his hands into the snow, shaking violently.

Frustration built up, a scream finally escaping his throat.

A hoarse, broken shout, "What is it that you want from me?!"

There was no answer. Regardless of his desperation, confusion, anger, or even fear, he was rendered powerless. He had no control, and it terrified him.

His vision blurred, the familiar darkness enveloping him as it did before.

______________________________

Scaramouche wasn't sure how much time had passed. There was a constant throbbing in his head, he took a sharp breath, wincing at the sore feeling in his throat. Squinting his eyes, he glanced around. There was a faint muttering, yet despite how close it felt, he couldn't manage to make out a proper sentence. Their words echoed, seeming to replay numerous times. Scaramouche groaned, and their words stopped.

"Inou, the lights." It was a hushed voice.

There was a moment of silence before he heard someone rush to what felt to be the other side of the room before the light was dimmed. His body felt murky, and he opened his eyes, fighting the grogginess that hung over him as if it were a thick blanket. He turned his head, taking in where he was - which was nothing like where he had been last time - and who was there with him.

"Where.." He croaked.

"Oh my god, you're awake."

Their voice cracked mid-sentence, and he stiffened, eyes snapping to the source. Beside the bed, a young boy hung his head low, his hand covering his face before he looked up. Scaramouche carefully watched his movements, and his heart sank. The boy's eyes watered as he trembled, biting his lip to hold back any choked sobs, but his gaze focused on the familiar red streak that stood out from his dark hair. Scaramouche dug his hands into the blanket beneath him, gritting his teeth as he attempted to spit out a vile remark to the boy.

He opened his mouth, though, and managed to get nothing out aside from a raspy incoherent noise. Frowning, he turned away, shutting his eyes in hopes to escape from whatever horrid prison he was forced to be in. Of all things, must he live through the betrayals that broke him most again?

"Leave him alone for now, I'll take care of him."

A familiar voice, one he's forgotten many years ago, belonged to the older brother of the boy named Inou. Scaramouche slid further under the blankets, listening to the sound of hurried footsteps leaving the room after a pause of hesitance. For a while, neither spoke. Even if Scaramouche had the irresistible urge to drift off, he refused. He didn't know what would happen next, he knew they weren't real but rather this had been a fragment of his memory.

Or worse, this could have been a trap.

Last he'd done, he attempted to kill the traveler, and had he not been stopped, he may have become a true archon.

Was this their way of ending my life? He thought to himself, and a familiar feeling of bitterness settles inside him. Are they attempting to destroy me like this?

He was broken out of his thoughts by a gentle nudge to his shoulder; immediately he shot up. Scaramouche stared, eyes wide, staring at the older man who stood in front of him, holding a damp towel in his free hand.

"You'll get worse like this. Easy."

"I'm not a dog-" Scaramouche hissed, but bit back from saying anything further, wincing at the soreness in his throat.

"I didn't say you were."

It was a curt response, and Scaramouche lied back, lowering his gaze. After a pause, he leaned forward, taking a moment to carefully analyze him before he gently pressed the cold towel to Scaramouche's forehead. There was a sense of relief, and he sighed from the brief escape of heat that uncomfortably flashed in his body.

"You worried Inou, you know," he began to speak, "the boy cried for days while you were unconscious."

He had nothing to say to that, the usual urge to say something bitter and hostile was washed away and replaced with grogginess. He opened his mouth to say something, but another wave of dizziness began to engulf him.

Wait, he thought, not yet. Not yet, please.

A small part of him wanted to stay, but he couldn't stop his vision from darkening as it had done before.

______________________________

Scaramouche dreamt again, just as he had done before. There were moments he had been on familiar paths he'd walked down when he'd traveled, unknowing of where he would go next. The memories never lasted long, they'd disappeared as soon as they came.

He was a spectator in his own body, but that didn't stop the horror that flooded through him when he watched the scene of the boy who lie on the ground in front of him. His skin was sickly pale, eyes glossy as he stared lifelessly at the ceiling above him. It didn't stop the fear that crept behind him, eyes wide as he watched himself come through the door behind him, a hopeful and carefree expression plastered on his face as he grasped a basket of lavender melons.

He watched himself, reliving the memory that broke him years ago. Watching his own smile begin to falter, the expression full of hope shapes into one of alarm and dread. He ran out the door, the lavender melons falling onto the ground, and a rush of panic surged through Scaramouche. He knew what would happen next, he knew what he would do.

Don't, he thought.

His mind raced as he ran after his own memory, unsure of how much time passed as he continued to run. He had so much regret, he didn't want to relive this.

He froze when he found himself back when he started, flames erupting from the home as black smoke rose into the sky in a thick cloud. A sharp gasp and Scaramouche bolted forward, lunging for the figure that watched it go up into flames.

"What have you done?!"

His attempt to attack his own self was futile and instead fell through him as if he were a ghost, landing into the snow beneath him. He stared at himself, watching the emotionless gaze of his memory look at the flames that arose, roaring angrily, spreading as far as they could reach. A feeling of anger rose through him, and he rose his hand, ready to send a flash of electricity to his memory.

However, nothing happened.

There was no blinding light, no flash of energy, no sound of cracks of electricity.

No matter how much he screamed, shouted, or spat insults at himself, he could do nothing but watch as the memories and familiar feelings that flooded his vision after shoving them away for so many years. At last, he let out a long, wretched scream, making a final attempt to lunge at himself before the vision faded. Any last traces of it disappearing as if it had never happened. He heaved, his entire body stiff as he stood motionless.

"Now do you understand, Kunikuzushi?"

He whipped around, a scowl on his lips. In front of him, the youthful archon stood, looking straight at him.

"Buer." He seethed.

Around them, there was nothing but empty space. A void.

He stepped forward, raising his hand in the familiar motion he'd always done.

"It's no use to make any attempts against me."

"Choose your next words carefully," he spat, venom dripping from his words.

"Perhaps what you'd just seen was not enough for you to understand," she replied, walking towards him. Her steps were careful, slow, and he watched her every movement as she came closer. "Or is it that you refuse to accept it?"

Her eyes remained calm, there had been no smile on her face, but rather a distant and sorrowful look. "You've claimed to be devoid of emotion, Kunikuzushi," she paused, meeting her gaze with Scaramouche's, "but your heart continues to bleed for those you've lost."

"My heart does not bleed, " he shot back, "you have no idea-"

"If I had no idea, I would have never given you a chance to live again." She cut him off abruptly, "regardless of whether you suffered or not, my people still come first. I am still the archon of Sumeru.

"You mean the same people who abandoned you?"

"They knew no better. The past was hidden from them, they had no say in what could happen to me."

Scaramouche laughed bitterly, taking another step back. "You truly have no hatred for this world? How naive."

"It is not me who is naive, rather, I think that might be you."

"Watch your tongue," he snapped again, any hint of a smile immediately returning to a glower.

"You deserve a second chance, Kunikuzushi," her hand rose, and his ears had begun to ring, the dark emptiness surrounding them began to crack, "it's time you finally received it."

[lovelyiida2]

MHA GUYS HAVING CRUSHES ON ROCK STAR READER—

INCLUDES: DEKU, BAKUGO, TODOROKI, IIDA, KIRISHIMA, DENKI

WARNING: vulgar language, fluff, cringey shit ig, passing out, yandere themes, minor spelling errors, mentions of masterbation

MASTERLIST

WORDS: 4.4K

IZUKU MIDORIYA—

In all his years he never thought he’d see you in concert.

So he might’ve fainted a little when you made eye contact with him.

“Midoriya, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Deku was not alright, in fact, he’s terrified.

As a reward for the whole class doing so well on their written exams, Aizawa and All Might made a plan to take them out to a concert of their choosing.

Deku never thought the class would choose your act, knowing how underground you were it might’ve been a last resort due to how cheap the tickets were. But none the less he was thankful of the choosing.

But he didn’t expect them to get all VIP backstage fan passes. He didn’t think he’d be meeting you in the flesh and now he is.

You’re known to the public as (stagename), and he discovered you around a year ago. With you being the same age as him, he instantly got into your music. And you were just like how he used to be, quirkless. So he could heavily relate to your music big time.

He’d always wanted to go to one of your concerts but never had enough money to do so, but now he’s meeting you in person at his first ever concert? It feels like he’s dreaming!

And the concert? It was everything he dreamt of, your stage presence was immaculate and the crowd was going ballistic. You even pointed him out in the crowd and he maybe screamed like a girl.

It was all fun in games until it was time to go backstage…

Waiting in the long VIP line, he was very nervous to meet someone who he heavily looked up to and understood. It felt as if he was looking to a mirror, a much prettier one though.

“I think he’s just nervous, he’s meeting his celebrity crush after all~” Bakugo teases. “S-she’s not my celebrity crush! I’m just a fan of her music…”

Deku was last among the class to meet her, every time they’d life the black curtain he’d see just a glimpse of your smiling face. He can’t do this…

“Next!”

“Oh shit!” He whispers to himself.

Unveiling the black curtain he steps in to see you. Your hair placed in all the right places, makeup dark yet glittery complementing your beautiful (color) eyes, matching with your black top corset and leathery pants.

He couldn’t speak, couldn’t walk, the next thing he knew he was going down and his vision faded to black.

Waking up a couple minutes later, he finds himself in another room. Must me the first aid office.

Looking around he begins to realize why he’s here, “oh no, I passed out!” He screams in embarrassment, palms slapping his face.

He just had to pass out in that moment, why couldn’t he have done this after he met you, like on the other side of the curtain in front of his friends?

He was in deep thought into he hears a soft knock on the door. Thinking it was the rest of the class he gets up and opens the door with a deep sigh, only looking up to see your worried face.

Eyes widening he jumps back in shock, “oh my god!”

“Are you alright? You hit your head pretty hard a while back ago” you say. Blushing hardly he sits back down on the bed. “Y-yes I’m alright, thank you for asking.”

“Might I know why you came to meet me tonight? Besides coming to see my play of course” you chuckle.

Still in a bit of shock at your presence, he stumbles a bit. “W-well…you’re amazing! I got into your music last autumn and I just couldn’t let go. I heavily related to you because I used to not be quirkless–“

“You used to be quirkless?” you question, eyes squinting in confusion. “Oh! Quirk transaction?” He says, you nod in understatement.

“I used to be heavily bullied for not having a quirk, I almost contemplated on…not being alive for some time. But your music made it feel less painful, and I thank you for that…” he smiles, teary eyed you embrace him in a tight hug.

“When it comes to people like you, this is what it’s all about” you muffled into his shoulder. Pulling away, Deku looks at your close, they were casual pj’s.

“How long have I been out?” He asked, “about 2 hours.”

“Oh no!” Deku jumps from his seat but you pull him back down. “Don’t worry, me and the staff treated them to a meal, I didn’t forget about you either” you laugh pulling out two bags of food.

The rest of the time there was filed with a comfortable feeling, he felt like he’s known you for years and you too felt the same.

He told you how he got his quirk through All Might, and you promised not to tell anyone in response. Finishing his meal he starts to get ready to leave, you grab his arm and take out a sharpie.

“Here, if you want to text me sometime and talk about your journey. I’ll be your number one fan and you’ll be mine.” Looking at his arm, he sees you wrote your number on there.

Blushing he smiles, “y-yeah, I like the sound of that!”

BAKUGO KATSUKI—

As cool as everyone thinks Bakugo is, he’d loose his shit for you.

He’d fight for you even

Him and his friends were able to get front row tickets to your rock show this year. And deep down inside, Bakugo was loosing his shit.

He got into your music about a month or two ago, and became addicted to it.

During break? Listening to you.

Training at the gym? Listening to you.

Sometimes going to sleep? Listening to you.

You were a heavy part of his daily routine, and he couldn’t have it any other way. So when he find out about the concert you’d be having here, he was on the ticket website 3 hours before the tickets dropped. He wanted to go alone, but Kirishima could tell when Bakugo was lying and now the rest of them were tagging along.

Him and his friends were able to get front row seats easily, just because of how underground you were. And they got soundcheck tickets as well.

The rest of the squad had to listen to her music some weeks before the concert so that they could be prepared. Bakugo wanted to call them fake fucking fans, but he’s going to have a good time if they’re there or not.

The day of sound check was here and he was excited to finally meet you. Sitting in the front row as you casually sang in your casual clothing. Bakugo was having a great time.

It was until it was time to speak to the fans.

“How are we guys doing today? I foot kinda hurts but I think I’ll be fine if I don’t jump around too much” you chuckle.

“Crippled bitch!”

At first you were taken aback by the comment but you laughed nodding in agreement. Which made the rest of the crowd laugh, including Bakugo.

Answering some of the fans comments you speak again, “okay well about that topic, I’m gonna be coming back with some music again later this year–“

The crowd roars in excitement at your revealing of new music, but after it died down the same voice screamed.

“Keep it!” Look for the voice you awkwardly laugh. This time Bakugo didn’t laugh seeing how clearly uncomfortable you were.

“So I wanted to loose a couple of pounds–“

“Fat bitch!”

Looking for the voice again you frown, the crowd began to look for them too as people began to boo in protest.

That’s when Bakugo snapped.

Usuing his quirk, he shot into the air and began to find the person. Looking around he sees and man in a black hoodie snickering to himself, spotting him he crashes down onto his body and puts him into a choke hold.

“Say that shit again you fucking freak of nature!” He screamed. The man begins to beg for mercy as he starts to become red and loose air.

“Security!” You screamed through your mic, people start to scream around Bakugo and the man for help. Soon security came and ripped him off of the anonymous man, cursing in anger he was brought back stage to some back room.

About an hour later, you walk into the room with a frown on your face. Looking up at your face, a small blush is peppered on his cheeks.

“You know that using your quirk in public spaces in widely prohibited unless proven otherwise by ID? Especially at my place like my concert? You could’ve got someone severely hurt with a quirk like that!” You frown.

“Who are you the police?” He grumbles. “No, I’m someone with common fucking sense!”

“Well I wasn’t gonna sit there and let that guy get away with hurting your feelings! You’re everything opposite of what that guy said you were. You’re not fat, you’re music isn’t bad it’s fucking amazing! You might be crippled—but none the less you’re god damn amazing…” he confesses.

You sigh, “thank you.”

Reaching out in your pocket you grab a pen and write your number on a piece of pepper. Handing it to him he smirks, “what’s this for?” He spat.

“Contact me the day after tomorrow, we have to kick you out for that little stunt you pulled. So your tickets have been canceled. Show up to the back gate and you and your friends can watch my show from backstage” you smile.

Bakugo smiles back and grabs your hand to shake it, “anything for you (stage name).”

Bowing the both of you split paths, Bakugo shortly meets the rest of his friends outside of the concert venue.

“You got us fucking kicked out!” Sero says. “You couldn’t be yourself for five minutes?” Mina says.

Ignoring them he begins to walk away.

“Fucking worth it.”

IIDA TENYA—

It’s past his bed time

Why is he even out with his friends at this concert anyways?

Oh well there’s you :)

“We could get in trouble for this!” Iida screams.

The rest of his friends hush him.

“Todoroki got us front row tickets!” Ochaco gushes quietly.

“We’re not passing up on this opportunity, hate to break it to you” Tsuyu says.

“We’ll only be gone for like 3 hours and we’ll be right back at the dorms!” Deku says, “please just side with us this one time…”

Todoroki looks at Iida, tickets in hand.

Currently all five of them were sitting at their lunch table in excitement over the concert they’ll be sneaking out to go to tonight.

“And how will we get back inside? The front and back doors are locked” Iida says. “I asked MoMo for a favor, so she’ll be helping us out” Todoroki says.

Cursing to himself he sighs in defeat, “fine, but if we get caught–“

The table begins to cheer in excitement.

Rolling his eyes he takes a ticket from Todoroki’s hand and reads it.

(STAGENAME) FIRST CONCERT 8PM-10PM FRONT ROW TICKET

SEAT: 11-A

Later into the evening, Iida decided to research you’re music. He found out you’re about a year older than him and yet you’re so popular.

Genre: Rock

Oh god, he hated rock.

Well he didn’t hate hate rock, but just didn’t prefer it like everyone else did. He knew from then it was going to be a very long night.

After sneaking out, the group finally managed to get seated without being affected by Iida’s pessimistic bantering.

As the light began to dim, loud music began to blast through the speakers. Instead of staying seated, everyone began to jump from their seat.

For most of the concert, Iida wasn’t having a good time. He just sat and looked at the rest of his friends, occasionally they’d try and get him to stand but he wouldn’t budge. Soon, you start to look in the crowd and spot Iida.

“It look like someone isn’t having a good time!” Pointing to the crowd Iida jumps up from his seat trying to quickly blend into the crowd. You laugh, jumping from the stage fans begin to rush towards you but security got there just in time to guard them off.

As you continued to sing your song you walked slowly over to him and sat him back down in his seat. Climbing onto the chair you’re face to face with him. Eyes seductive you continue for the rest of your song whilst he’s in a blushing mess, hands in his face.

Finishing the song you whispered in is ear, “you’re lucky I like squares or you would’ve been kicked the fuck out.” Jumping back onto stage you continue the concert as planned. Iida finally stood with the rest of the crowd as well.

Something else was standing as well but he had to excuse it until he could fix it later…

After some uncomfortable moments of silence on the bus and agonizing rope burn marks from climbing to the second floor window.

Iida was back in his bed and instantly collapsed.

Maybe the rock music isn’t that bad…

SHOTO TODOROKI—

Todoroki was an undercover super fan

Let’s say he got some rare “backstage” tickets.

To say Todoroki wasn’t obsessed with you was an understatement, he was infatuated with you.

He accidentally found out about you through Denki and Sero.

It was a normal day at the dorm, Todoroki sitting by himself on the couch reading a book. Constantly distracted by the squeals of Denki and Sero at the kitchen table.

Closing his book, he walks over to them to politely ask them to shut the fuck up.

“Excuse me, but can’t you guys quiet down a little?” Slight irritation in his tone, he asks politely. “Yeah man, just one more video” Sero says.

Looking over at his computer screen, Todoroki stands in awe.

Seeing you on the screen, you were jumping, dancing, singing into the mic. Your beauty captivated him and strangled him by the throat.

Looking down at the title of the YouTube video he stares at it for a long time remembering to Dave it in his head for later.

(STAGENAME) PREFORMS HIT SONG: “XXXX”

(STAGE NAME) VEVO • 267K subscribers

800K VIEWS

Researching more into you, he found out the both of you were the same age. Where your hometown is, your zodiac sign. Hell, even your quirk.

He didn’t want to call it an obsession, but he began to buy all of your merchandise and binge your music. Even bought a limited edition single signed by you.

He even found out in a past interview that with your quirk you were supposed to go to UA to become a pro hero, but your career took off so you missed the entry exam on purpose.

Todoroki could’ve met you?

It angered him for a moment, why didn’t you show up? It’s not like you had a full on concert to go to that day.

If you were here he could’ve said so much to you, maybe even asked you out. Then once he did that maybe the both of you could’ve had a long term relationship. Proposed to you on graduation day maybe, have a kid or two some years later…

Things could’ve been perfect, but that’s the problem.

They weren’t.

So imagine how he felt when he found out you were performing near him? He couldn’t control himself when he first found out he hand to handle some issues later into the night.

He made sure to tell the rest of the class he was needed back home for this night specifically and would be back in the morning so there would be no confusion.

He’d be lying if he didn’t think he’d miss his friends now that he’s going to be spending the rest of his life with you.

He asked his father for some money, but he became skeptical and decided to stop pestering him about it. With no money, how was he going to have his divine intervention with you?

Sneak in of course!

It was fairly easy since the venue was outside. Wearing a black hoodie he goes around backstage looking for you. Going into a random room, he spots you putting your makeup on, all alone.

“Yes?” You say softly.

Your beauty taking him over my the minute, you have to be his.

Now Todoroki could put his plan into action. Before this encounter, he made sure to bring ductape, a knife, some rope, and a needle, and he made sure to take out most of his savings to buy a car and soon your new forever home.

Not one beat was out of place, all he needed was you.

“H-hi, I’m here because there’s a slight mishap out side with your tour bus?” He stutters.

“Um well, I’m not necessarily a mechanic? You can find my manger for that…”

Fuck, think Todoroki!

“Well it’s your luggage (stagename)”

Sighing, you stand waiting for him to lead the way. Todoroki comes up close behind you and point the life to your back. “Make no noise, or I’ll take you out right here” he whispers.

Shaking nervously you walk out to the back parking lot. Taking your luggage out the tour bus, he leads you to a silver car. Opening the trunk you put your luggage in.

Tears slide from your cheeks as you sit inside the car. Todoroki sits in the drivers seat, about to start the car. Someone races up to your door, and slams on it.

“Y/N, what the hell are you doing?” They exclaimed. It’s your manager, thank gods.

Todoroki curses under his breath.

“I’ll do the speaking” Todoroki whispers.

Rolling down your widow, you face the manger quickly wiping your tears. “What the bell do you think you’re doing?” They say.

“I-I’m just meeting with an old friend!” You say.

“You’re meeting with an old friend 30 minutes before the show in your seatbelt?” They say.

“Y-yes! Safety first you know how I am with that” you chuckle nervously. He told you not to talk, knife twisting gently into the side your stomach you wince in fear.

You manager stays quiet for a moment, “well is it’s not too much trouble old friend, she needs to go and preform.”

Todoroki sighs, unlocking the door you jump from your seat and into your managers arms. Not even bothering to close the door the both of them walk away quickly.

Shutting the door for you, he drops off your luggage by the bus and drives off. At least he has a new car right?

Driving into the student parking lot, he looks over to your seat, you forgot your hoodie…

White and sparkly he picks it up and takes it with him. Walking into the dorms, he sees the usuals night owl that Denki is making a snack in the kitchen.

“Dude, it’s like 9PM, I thought you went to your dads?” He says.

“No, I was able to come back instead of spending the night…” he sighs. Denki looks down at the white hoodie, “hey, you know (stagename) has that same hoodie?” He says.

Todoroki thinks quickly, “oh, I got this for my mom at some store, visiting her tomorrow.” Quickly walking away from Denki, he finally crashes into his bed.

Denki was still in confusion at his sudden actions, but payed no mind to it.

Todoroki didn’t find out until the next day on a fan site he follows that you broke into tears mid song. He didn’t like seeing you cry know it was his fault. Snuggling into your hoodie, he thinks to himself.

‘Don’t worry Y/N, I’ll be back to wipe those tears away…’

EJIRO KIRISHIMA—

“You’re cute”

“You’re cute”

“Want my number?”

“Hell yeah”

“I could be at home, in my bed, snuggling with my plushie right now…”

“Well sadly we don’t fucking care” Bakugo spits.

Standing in the long line at your concert, Kirishima didn’t even know what you looked like, nor cared about you music enough.

Mina dragged him and Bakugo here so that they could meet up with Sero and Denki to have a quoted “best night ever!!!” As so Mina texted in the group chat.

How did everyone know who you were besides Kirishima? They couldn’t at least let him listen to your music in advance before forcing him to buy the damn ticket.

Stomach growling, he curses.

Or getting something to eat!

“Alright I’m gonna go get a hot dog”

Walking out of the line he walks up to nearest stand in a hurry. Too busy blinded by hunger, he crashes into you someone, slamming them into the ground.

“Well fuck! Lay off the weights you sumo wrestler.”

You say too winded by shock to stand, Kirishima gasps and helps you up.

“Oh god I’m so sorry, I was just so hungry and–“

“Don’t worry, I get it!” You say patting yourself off.

“Are you here to see (stagename) ass well?”

“If I had the choice to I wouldn’t, I mean what’s the hype around them anyways!” He says. You laugh at his comments.

“I know that’s just your hunger talking so I’ll let it slide, be lucky that it was me you said it to. Unless you would’ve had a whole angry mob around you,” you laugh.

Later into the surprisingly long hotdog line you grew impatient.

“You alright?” He asks.

“Yeah it’s just—the show starts in 20 minutes and I still have my hotdog” you chuckle nervously.

“Here!” Shoving five dollars in his hand you begin run off.

Kirishima grabs your hand before you could, “you’re cute.”

“You’re cute”

“You want my number?”

“Hell yeah” you breathed.

Reaching for his phone he shows you his number and you pull out your phone and copy the contact info it. “Thanks!” You then sprint towards the venue.

Chuckling at your sudden movements you continues standing, waiting for solo out hot dogs.

Later after he was seated, pissed he got no hotdog, he had to get a pickle instead. The lights dim and the show begins.

Kirishima stares at the stage in boredom, only to choke on his pickle at the sigh of you on it.

Looking in the crowd you wink at him, he smiles back in shock.

“I just got that girls number at the hotdog station!” He screams to Bakugo, “like hell you could!” He screams back over the blaring music.

But he did though :(

Later after the show, he goes back to the dorms giddy and texts you.

You were about to be late for you own show for a hotdog?

It took about 20 minutes later for your response. Sitting in your tour bus, bath towel in hand you chuckle at his text.

Oh shut the fuck up…

And I see you used my five bucks for a fucking pickle, I should sue you. You owe me back big time.

Smirking to himself he types out another message.

And how should I repay you?

You know how <3

Well then, it’s a date…

DENKI KAMINARI—

“You need a guitar guy?”

You were frantic, scared, nervous.

You’re guitar player got into a car accident last minute before your show started. How the hell were you supposed to get someone before your gig in the next 30 minutes?

You didn’t know wether or not you be scared for your injured guitar man, or for your career. Should you go in acapella? You were too cocky to go in acapella, which meant you knew you’d mess up on accident easily. There were too many factors riding on your career. This show was your biggest yet! You couldn’t have no fucking guitar player.

Just in your luck, Denki doesn’t know his way around the venue and somehow stumbles backstage looking for the bathroom :)

“Hey, do you know where the bathroom is by any chance?” He says, you slowly turn around and give him a death stare. “Or maybe—not?” He nervously chuckles before backing away. “Are you alright there?”

“Does it look like I’m fine? My guitar man just got into a freak accident and there’s no one here who knows how to play!” You scream.

Denki’s eyes widen, “well I know how to play, what songs do you have in mind?” He says. Turning away from him your handle duffle frantically for a moment before pulling out a folder form your bag. Slapping the folder on his chest you huff. “Learn these songs off of the sheet music in 20 minutes!” You then run away leaving him all alone.

‘Okay, okay, shouldn’t be that hard’ he thought to himself.

It took him some time to get all the songs right but it all seemed pretty easy to him by the time the 20 minutes were up. Hearing loud clicking of heels he looks up to see you in a whole new attire. “Woah, you look smokin” he says. “Did you learn all the songs or what?” You spat, he nods his head handing the sheet music back to you. Grabbing his head you lead him on stage, crowd cheering at the sigh of your face.

Too bad he didn’t realize he learnt your opening song in a whole different key. You were pissed at first but then you realize, it kind of worked, the crowd didn’t seem to notice but you and your band mates.

Carrying on out into the night you finish the show off successfully. Cheering off the stage you punch Denki in the arm, “don’t pull that shit again! You did good though” you chuckle.

“Again?” He asks, “well I got the news that my other player won’t be let out the hospital for a month, do you want to go on tour with us?” You asked. Denki jumps in excitement at your offer, pulling you into your embrace.

“Can I? I’d love too!” He screams, you into his chest happy at his response. And from then on, he went the rest of the tour by your side, eventually replacing your old guitar player.

Then the both of you developed feelings for each other and because boyfriend and girlfriend—and just maybe got married six years later…

I was rushing a little bit because I need to do some shit done soon. This one has A LOT OF WORDS. But all the less I hope you all loved it!

[it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream]

Opposites Attract (Paul Lahote x Reader) Chapter 3

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Warnings: Swearing

Word Count” 2.1k

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-Your POV-

They were running at a speed that seemed impossible, their size alone, impossible. The shear beauty of the animal, breath taking. This wasn’t the first time you’d dreamt of giant wolves. They visited your dreams frequently, leaving you with all sorts of un answered questions, leaving you the next day, searching “What does seeing giant wolves in your dreams mean?” Yup, you were that kinda girl. You thought there was an answer for everything, and there probably was, but you weren’t going to find the answer on google search. 

You don’t know how long you’d been in the car for. All you knew was you were in pain, then it seemed to ease and a sense of comfort washed over you. Your head felt as if it were floating, snuggled into something warm and soft. A pillow perhaps? You didn’t open your eyes to check, the pain in your abdomen and now across your whole body blinding, you’d woken a few times with a jolt, and then you passed out again. 

The next time you woke up you weren’t moving at all, which you were grateful for, the pain mixed with the motion of a moving vehicle didn’t do anything for your stomach, travel sickness was the bane of your life. Instead you found yourself in a room, the blinds drawn closed, the door shut, your body, in different clothes. A mens t-shirt? When did you get changed? Where were you? You looked around in a daze, sitting up slightly from the comfort of the pale yellow duvet set. Wooden log walls, photo frames scattered on every surface, subtle lighting and a wall lined with books, the smell of home cooking wafting through from the kitchen. You were in Emily and Sam’s guest room, how did you know this? Well for one all of the frames had pictures of the happy couple in, two, you’d stayed over once before, back when you’d been caught in a freak storm with Leah while on the beach. You vaguely remembered the place. You didn’t come over often, what with Leah and Sams history, that and as much as you liked Paul, sometimes you’d be nervous to bump into him. Paul! Speaking of Paul, you groaned and flopped back into the fluffy bed sheets. Paul was at the hotel when the pain started… where was he now? Did he drive with you back home? 

You were about to get up when Leah came bounding through the door. “Oh good I thought I could hear you awake in here.” She grinned at you. “You look like you’re feeling much better!” You pat the space beside you and Leah climbed in snuggling up to your side. 

“So, on a scale of one to ten how bad was it.” The big ‘It’ being how bad was the show in front of your long term crush. Leah shrugged as she looked at you. 

“Nothing was baddd… everyone was just worried about you, you seemed to be in some serious pain, hence why we thought it best to cut the trip short, it’s probably better that were home, it was early hours when we got here so Sam said we could just crash at his.” You raised your eye at you best friend. She was being awfully calm about the whole situation. She said Sams name in a sentence and didn’t get herself worked up. You looked down at yourself. 

“And the clothes? Or lack there of….” That’s when Leah grinned. You didn’t like the way she was looking at you. You inhaled the scent that was on the shirt. Sandel wood and aftershave, a hint of sea salt probably from the misty air outside. 

“That’s Pauls t-shirt Y/N” Your eyes went wide and you knew you were blushing.. did that mean he had undressed you. Leah noticed the panic in your eyes.

“Before you get worked up he just leant the t-shirt knowing you’d be uncomfortable in your dress, I changed you.” You audibly gave a sigh of relief, not knowing how you’d react if the guy you’d been in love with since second grade had finally seen you in your underwear. “He stayed in here with you last night you know, to make sure you were okay. He wouldn’t leave.” Leah was now proper up on one arm looking at you. You didn’t know what to make of it. You didn’t think Paul had even known you existed… You were taken from your train of thought when something started dinging. The mobile on the bedside table started beeping as texts came through one by one. Oh god, you hoped Leah hadn’t told your parents about your episode at the hotel, the last thing you needed was for them to worry. However, you realised when you picked it up, it wasn’t your phone. 

The screensaver was a picture of the guys from the res, all goofing around, it looked like it had actually been taken in Emilys kitchen. It had to be one of the guys. You realised it was Paul’s after remembering what Leah had said about him staying for some of the night. He must have forgotten it when he left. You didn’t mean to see the message but it automatically came up on screen when you tilted the Iphone in your hand.

“Such a shame we had to cancel our date last night handsome, still on for tonight?” There were a bunch of emojis next to the text, the purple devil, aubergine, water droplets. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out whoever this girl was motives were. At first you were embarrassed, to the point where your mouth was kinda slack and Leah was asking you what was wrong. Then you were pissed. 

“He’s such a dick, honestly. I don’t know why this makes him a dick, i’m just so mad. I know I’m not the prettiest, or the funniest, or most talented or anything but jesus christ I wish he would just notice me for once instead of these girls who will put out at the drop of a freakin hat!” Leah had taken the phone from you to see what you were talking about. She groaned and then noticed your whole body was shaking, in a flash she was at the door calling for Sam and the others. All you could see was red. Your vision totally blank, the covers under your hands balled up in your fists tight, your body shaking, heating up. Somewhere in the background you could hear someone shouting at you to calm down, but this time you couldn’t. You heard the sound of ripping and then all of a sudden the world around you changed. For one, everything in the room seemed to get smaller, or maybe you got bigger? You were still angry and started lashing out, only to be tackled by something from the side, leading you to smash through the wall of the wooden house. You still didn’t understand what was happening, until you heard them in your head. 

“Y/N CALM DOWN! We know this is scary but you need to calm down.” It was Sams voice. In your head. Or maybe, the voice was coming from the 8ft black wolf hovering over you. You didn’t scream, you didn’t even seem scared, and it’s because you realised, you were a wolf too. 

-Paul’s POV-

Y/N was safe, sleeping soundly in the room next door, or so Paul thought. It wasn’t until he heard the shouting that he knew something was wrong. Leah called for help and before he knew what had happened there was a bang and Sam was tackling a wolf on the ground outside the house. 

A white wolf. Small, slim, bright, with a single grey patch of fur around an eye. Paul shifted instantly, realising the unknown wolf in front of him was in fact his imprint. He let out a low growl to Sam, even though he was the Alpha, Paul didn’t like the fact he’d just tackled his girl. He looked her over, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth almost comically, all the while Y/N stood staring and the grey wolf now in front of her, he could hear through the bond that she’d just imprinted, feel it too. Now she knew. 

-Your POV-

“Hold the fuck up.” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Part of you couldn’t tell if you were in a dream or had just gone plain crazy. The other part of you knew that everything was real but you just couldn’t process the information quick enough. “So you’re telling me, that our ancestors were these shapeshifters and the gene was passed down to us to allow us to shift into giant wolves and hunt down vampires. You know, Vampires, ‘I want to suck you blood’, creepy pale strong immortal beings with no soul? And werewolves, I mean, Shifters..” It was insane. 

“Anddd to top it off, the man i’ve had a crush on since 2nd grade is my imprint, the person I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life?” You glared at Paul who had the audacity to wink in your direction. Looking around you noticed the other faces, all amused at your outburst. Okay, so this wasn’t a joke, it was some sick reality you were now a part of. You hadn’t looked in Leah’s direction yet, pissed that your best friend had kept such a massive secret from you. Obviously you knew it wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t aloud to tell you the tribes secret, they didn’t know that you would be another female shifter, apparently your kind were rare. It still stung a little. 

“What really sucks thought Y/N, is that you’re gonna have to cut you beautiful hair short, our human hair mimics the length of our wolf hair, hence why each of us one by one cut it all off.” Quil sat back and shrugged and Paul growled lowly, not lowly enough for heightened hearing. 

“Why now. Why. I-I have school and I have things I want to do with my life.. I can’t be a shifter..” Reality had started to sink in and you found it difficult to breath. It felt like everyone in the room was staring at you and it didn’t help that you could also hear what everyone was basically saying. Your chair was pushed back with a screech, falling over and hitting the wooden floor. 

“I-I need to get out of here, I need a minute..” You were out the door in a flash, Leah and the boys running after you. Somewhere in the distance you could make out Sam telling Paul to calm down and then heard what sounded like wolves shifting but you’d already made it to the tree line, being able to run faster than you’d imagined still in your human form. 

The air was colder the higher up you got. You didn’t know how long you’d been running for but it had been a couple of hours before you finally stopped. In the middle of nowhere, high up in the mountains you let out a scream, one that sent flocks of birds fleeing from trees, the notes of your anguish scattering in the breeze. Everything would be changing now, life as you once knew it was gone. Part of yourself would never be yours again, having to follow a pack system. Another part of you was giddy at the thought that the man you’d been in love with your whole life turned out to be the one destined for you all along, it only took shifting into a wolf for you both to realise just how compatible you were.

You’d been alone with your thoughts long enough when you heard a twig snap in the distance. The hairs on your arms stood up and your heart started beating rapidly, turning, you calmed when you noticed a familiar figure walk out into the open. 

“Paul.” You could feel the bond running through your veins, seeing him helped you breath better and the physical need and urge to be in his arms was too strong. Like he sensed it too, he was over to you in a flash, taking you in his arms, your body pressed against his, his nose buried in your hair breathing in your scent, like he was saving it to memory. 

“Y/N, it’s all going to be okay, I promise, nothing bad will ever happen to you while i’m around, I know it seems scary now, but it won’t be like this forever. You’re already so strong, and I’m lucky that fate paired me with you.”

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Yoooo. I hope you liked this chapter, I’ve had some writers block recently, just trying to keep going. I’m still not sure what direction I’m taking this fic, I do know however that this is set at the beginning of eclipse! So watch out for some vampire action!

TagList:

@mariasblogsworld

@rosella26

@punkfrogz

@jjpogueprincess

If you want to be added to this tag list please let me know, sorry if I missed anyone off! <3 Please re-blog/like/follow <3

[shuadotcom]

Don’t Leave Me | KSJ

➤ Summary: Whether it was something small like a scraped knee or something bigger like the death of someone close, Seokjin made sure he was always there to hold your hand and be your shield. He’d done just that throughout your marriage up until that day. You had asked him to do the simplest of things, and he refused.

➤ Pairing: Seokjin x Female!Reader

➤ Rating & Genre: PG-15, angst, fluff (at the end), established relationship au, idolverse

➤ Warnings: A few curse words, mention of a car accident, mention of a coma

➤ Word Count: 1.8k

➤ A/N: This is for the wonderful, lovely, amazing @aroseforyoongi​! Happy birthday, Eva!!! 🎉 I hope you enjoy some angsty husband Jin you magnificent human! ❤️❤️

Nothing was out of the ordinary that morning. It was early spring, so the weather was nice out. The windows were open in the apartment, letting the warm breeze inside. The radio was turned on low on the coffee table as a ballad played. You were sitting on the couch surrounded by schoolwork as you graded papers your class had turned in that week.

Seokjin was curled up next to you, his eyes skimming over a script for a new drama he was going to start filming soon. Days like these were his favorite. He had no interviews to film, no dance routines to learn, and no one to impress except the woman sitting next to him.

"Jinnie, I want coffee." You whined suddenly, pulling Seokjin away from his reading. He raises his eyebrow at the cutesy tone in your voice that told him you wanted something.

"Well, go into the kitchen and make yourself some." 

"We don't have anymore. Wanna walk with me to the cafe down the street and get some?" 

He should've said yes to you. He should've gotten off of the couch, slipped on his shoes, and gone with you. It wasn't that far from your apartment, so it wouldn't have been too much trouble. Yet, he was feeling exceptionally lazy and didn't have the desire to move. So instead, he said no. Even when you pouted and widened your beautiful eyes at him, Seokjin still held onto his unwillingness and denied you.

"It's not that far; you’ll be fine by yourself," he said. Stupid. He had been so stupid. He sent you off with a quick kiss on the lips and a request for you to bring him back a latte. He hadn't even told you that he loved you.

You had always said that Seokjin made you feel safe. That was something that you put in your vows, which you had written yourself. He promised you, when you wed two years ago, that he'd always keep you safe no matter what. He said he would protect you against anything that'd try and hurt you.

Whether it was something small like a scraped knee or something bigger like the death of someone close, Seokjin made sure he was always there to hold your hand and be your shield. He’d done just that throughout your marriage up until that day. You had asked him to do the simplest of things, and he refused.

Seokjin knew something was wrong when almost an hour went by, and you weren’t home. You only lived within ten minutes from the cafe, so the walk shouldn't have taken that long. When he got the call from the hospital, he knew his worrying wasn't for nothing.

A car had blown out a tire and skidded off of the road, careening towards the sidewalk and hitting you on your way home. You’ve been in a coma for a week now, and there are no words to describe how Seokjin feels. He failed you, and this was his fault. He can’t lose you. You’re his reason for being, and if it wasn't for you, he knows he wouldn't be anywhere near as happy.

"Hey, are you going to eat?" Yoongi asks, stopping to check on his friend once again. Seokjin shakes his head, his hand still curled around your limp one. He stares at the book in his other hand, his eyes read the words, but his brain doesn’t process them.

Yoongi sighs before leaving the room. He'll bring Seokjin something anyway. It's what he's been doing the entire time you’ve been in the hospital to make sure the other man didn't pass out from starvation.

With a sigh, Seokjin puts down the book he’s been staring at and looks at the face of his wife. "Hey, honey. The doctors say even though you’re still in a coma, your vitals are looking good. You should be back to nagging me in no time,” he jokes. Seokjin could swear the corner of your mouth twitched just the slightest bit at his words.

"They also say that talking to you will help you wake up. Voices of loved ones are supposed to help stimulate your brain or something. I don't know. I mean, I told them you're already a genius, so there wouldn’t be much I could do. You'll probably wake up on your own without my help at all. You’ve always been the smarter one between the two of us." Seokjin's eyes glance towards the various machines connected to tubes in your arms, and he feels his stomach churn.

"I still can't believe...I can't believe I did this to you." His grip on your hand tightens. "All I had to do was leave the damn house, and I couldn't even do that for you. What kind of selfish bastard does that?" Seokjin's voice cracks, and he takes his bottom lip into his mouth, gnawing on it to hold back tears. "If I could, I would go back. I would go in your place to the cafe, so this wouldn't have happened. You don't deserve to be lying in this hospital bed right now." He lets out a sob then, unable to fight back the tears that began to blur his vision.

“Y/n, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I'm so, so sorry. I promise I'll be better, and I'll protect you better. I'll get you coffee every day, whether it be from down the street or across town. Hell, I'd fly to France to get you French coffee on a whim if you wanted. I’ll get you whatever you want. I just, I can’t do this without you. You’re my voice of reason. You’re the one who leads me where I need to go in this world. I don’t know where I’d be without you, Y/n. Please, please come back." Seokjin drops his head onto the side of the bed and loses his ability to speak. He’s relieved that Yoongi had shut the door when he left the room so no one can hear him weep into the scratchy hospital sheets.

Eventually, he falls asleep in that position, his hand clutching yours and his head lying on the edge of the bed. Sleep hasn’t been easy on him and tonight is no exception. He stirs throughout the night, images both positive and negative in his head. He dreams of you finally waking up and smiling at him and telling him that you love him. 

He also dreams of you lying in that hospital bed for seven more days, then seven more months, and eventually seven more years. It’s not the first time he’s dreamt something like that. He always wakes up gasping and clutching his head after those dreams, which are more like nightmares.

Seokjin jolts awake at nearly three in the morning after a harrowing dream. The room is dark and quiet, save for the small lights and sounds coming from the medical equipment. Deciding that he needs a drink of water for his scratchy throat, he begrudgingly lets go of your hand and raises himself from the uncomfortable plastic chair he had become one with.

He’s only gone for five minutes, if even that. As soon as he rounds the corner with his bottle of water in hand and sees the pair of nurses flocking towards your room, he doesn’t have to think twice before he’s hauling ass and sprinting down the hallway. 

Seokjin expects the worse in those five seconds it takes him to reach your room. He expects the machine to be displaying a flat line or for you to be having a complication of some sort. Anything could be waiting for him in that room.

The last thing he expects was for you to be awake and looking around. 

He’s frozen in the doorway as he watches the nurses ask you questions and check the machines around you. A doctor lightly pushes past him and does the same thing the nurses did. Eventually, they all file out of the room, decreeing that your vitals all seem well and that they’re happy to see you awake. Even when the two of you are alone and given your privacy, Seokjin still stands frozen at the door.

"So, are you going to just stand there and stare at me without saying hi?" You croak, adjusting your position in bed. Seokjin is next to you in a flash, fluffing the pillow behind your back and helping you get comfortable.

"I'm so sorry," he blurts out. "I am so, so sorry. Before I hug or kiss you or tell you how crazy I have been going, I just want to say that I'm sorry."

Your face frowns in confusion as you look up at him. "Sorry for what?"

"For putting you here! For letting you go by yourself and letting this happen to you! I’ve been trying for the past week to figure out something to say to you when you woke, so you'll forgive me and not think I'm a shit husband. This is my fault, and I'm sorry, and I don't know what else to say." Seokjin waits for you to yell at him or tell him how much his apologies weren't going to work this time. Instead, you roll your eyes at him and sigh.

"Seokjin, please tell me you have not been sitting here wallowing in self-pity this whole time. The fact that you think this is your fault is stupid." Seokjin opens his mouth to speak, but you cut him off with a raised hand. "You can't be everywhere with me all of the time. We both lead different lives, and no matter how hard you try, you can't be a superhero. Accidents happen, and that's just the way life is. I love the fact that you want to protect me and all, but what happened is not your fault."

"But I-"

"But nothing."

"Y/n, just-"

"Seokjin. The only thing I want to hear is how much you missed me. I don't want you saying anything bad about yourself, and I don’t want any more apologizes."

"But baby-"

"No buts!" 

The two of you have a brief stare down until Seokjin acts. He leans forward, cradling your face in his hands, and brings his lips to yours. The kiss isn’t intense or too long, but it’s more than enough. It’s enough for him to let you know how much he’s missed you and how much he loves you. It’s soft and light and drawn out and just right. 

In his head, he’s still blaming himself, and he probably will for the foreseeable future, but he keeps it to himself as he celebrates the fact that he gets to kiss his wife again and that you’re okay. He’ll make sure he’s always there to watch over you and kiss you as much as he wants. Whether you like it or not, he’s going to keep you close to him no matter what it takes if it means you’ll be with him forever.

[prose-for-hire]

Claimed

Part One // Part Two

Pairing: Angel x vamp!reader

Request: as promised I'd like to request a part 3 to So wrong it’s right/Natural attraction

[Desc: Third part. An old friend of Angel’s comes to town and makes him wonder where your affection truly lies]

Requested by: Anon

Warning: Swearing. Implied sex/sex reference. Biting. Blood. A little violence.

You let me handle the plot so, as always, things got carried away. The timeframe moving from the previous part is either a while later or diverges a little from the show depending on where your imagination wants to take you. 🖤💖

You were slumped on the sofa in front of yet another re-run. So, incredibly bored. As if the lack of his presence had made life unbearably boring. When he was around he made you feel alive. Made you excited - as if you wanted to be someone he could hold affection for.

But all of this embarrassing hope had been dashed. You hadn’t seen him in so long, you only had the delicious memories of your last stolen moments with him.

But without him, the colour had been sucked out of the world again. It was so bleak that you were stuck inside moping over him hopelessly. God, when had you gotten this way?

It had been too long. You missed him so badly you ached. Yearned in this guilty way to be even just in his presence. This wasn’t just lust anymore. The excitement of sex or trading blows with him. Somewhere inside you knew that it was all of him that you wanted. Craved.

Mind, body and even that stupid soul of his.

He had crawled into your dead heart. Made a home there. Leaving you suddenly full of life. Wanting to be more. It still irritated you, at how much influence he now held over you. But you couldn’t fight it. Didn’t want to anymore.

But he had been away recently. Dropped you as soon as he heard some Slayer was in trouble. He had been away in some ugly little town called Sunnydale. She needed his help. You soon learned from Angel’s team this Slayer was his ex. 

You dropped in on them every so often now to check in when you were bored and thought you might as well help them save the world or whatever. You were fun to be around, you didn’t hold back and they couldn’t help but like your company. So you stuck around them, enjoying the feeling of having something close to a group of friends. 

It was new to you, but you secretly enjoyed it. You spent a lot of time sharing your knowledge and trying to make their lives easier. Something you wouldn’t have even considered doing. Not before him.

But he had left you sorely lacking ever since he skipped town without so much as a word. You had really hoped that he might tell you himself, not get Wes to pass on some vague message about his ‘weekend plans’. 

The television buzzed soullessly as you stared through it. The only vision you wanted to see being him. And you were just sat there. Not even having the heart (or the attention span) to open a book. All you could think of was him. You were so bored. You were even considering masturbating for the millionth time to distract you from the way you needed him.

You started to move as if to do just that, when there was a massive thud at the door. Someone was knocking pretty urgently.

Shit. Debt collectors. You owed a lot of people a lot of kittens. You muted the tv and stumbled over your feet in the opposite direction from the door. You decided for everyone’s sake it would be better if you disappeared. Pretended not to be in.

You were almost panicking a little, not really sure if you had the mental or physical strength at the moment to take on a fight. So you did something too embarrassing to even describe properly. You rolled under your bed. Hid.

After some more urgent knocking, whoever it was got bored of waiting and just kicked the door in. As you had been expecting. You were hoping whoever it was looking for you was either too stupid to check under the bed for you or thought better of you than to even consider looking there.

The door was broken clean off its hinges. And you stayed still. Hearing two pairs of footprints stomping through your home. You were considering sliding out the window and onto the ledge while they looked around your living room. But then you heard something.

“Y/n?” His voice sounded urgent. Your chest swelled at the sound of his voice. Angel.

You rolled your eyes though. At what you were doing. God this was embarrassing. It was either stay hidden and risk not getting to see him or admit you had just hidden under a bed like some soon-to-be-dead loser in a shitty horror flick.

You decided you would just have to bear it. You rolled from under the best giving him the best scowl you could muster (you couldn’t help smiling a little at seeing him again).

He had the decency not to say anything about you rolling out from under the bed, although he had to hold back a small smile about it. He would tease you later, he was sure. Hopefully if there was a later he thought to himself.

“Funny how a weekend trip can last the full fourteen days now, isn’t it?” You hinted. You had missed him. You wanted him. He had left you longing.

“Look, it’s a Hellmouth stuff happened-”

“Too bloody right-” Someone else spoke up but you cut the stranger off. You hadn’t noticed him at first, your eyes only on Angel.

“Who the fuck is this?”

“Look, he’s-”

“And why the fuck is he just stalking through my house like he owns it?” You snapped, snatching a rare book of yours back from his hands.

The pair shared a look at your outburst as if you were the unreasonable one. You smelled it then. They both had souls. You eyed them both, not sure how you had found yourself the only sane, normal vampire in a thirty-mile radius.

“Name’s Spike” he offered and you squinted, recognising the name.

“Oh. Old flame right? Did you go through every ex’s town on your way back from Sunnydale or just the ones you thought were attractive enough to make me jealous?”

“Spike is not an old-”

“One time! It was one-!”

“Well, that hit a nerve” You muttered, rolling your eyes. Great. You had more competition for Angel’s affection. And God, did you want all of his affection laid on you. You wanted him so badly that it almost made you throb with need just from this brief interaction.

You were just staring now as he spoke. The way his eyes glistened in the dim light. His features chiselled as if made just for you. He made you feel things you weren’t sure you could even name. Some long-forgotten emotion that made your chest swell and your stomach feel like there were baby bats in there.

“I thought you said they were a help. Fat lot of good this one is considering their fourth wank of the day in front of bloody Time Team” You snapped out of your Angel-induced daze to scowl once again at the blonde man and his, unfortunately, accurate depiction of the way you were currently living.

They turned conversation quickly to try to convince you that you were needed. There was yet another plot to take over LA. Someone had informed them on the Hellmouth. To reverse it, they needed three vampires, ones that have enough good in them. No human could stand the pain of it. Angel insisted the third one is you. 

He had faith in you. In some way, it made you fill with pride. But, again, this wasn’t your life. You had never wanted to save the world. He mentioned that there was a ritual you could do to check, to at least prove him right and to begin the reversal of this apocalypse was needed.

“And tell me again why I would want to go through all that pain rather than, say, relocate?” You muttered, already knowing you would agree. For him.

“Y’know... because you’re good now, right?” Even as he said it, Angel knew these were the wrong words to use. You scoffed at him. You had never claimed this. You just liked the company of the team. Enjoyed a good fight. Enjoyed… the proximity with him.

“I’m okay, thanks. Don’t care. Sorry. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out”

“Listen here, pet-” The other vampire appealed to you. Which was also the wrong move.

“Why is this Billy Idol impersonator talking to me? Is it a joke I’m too cool to understand?”

“Oi- look here-”

You didn’t speak this time, you just went to punch the man in the face. But Angel caught you before either of you reacted. Wrapped a strong hand around your wrist. Kept it there.

His grip tightening in a way that made you smirk. You had missed this. God, you had really missed this. He lowered your hand, his still firmly grasping your wrist. And you just stared at him as he did. Hoping he would lean in and catch your lips again. Tear the fabric of the walls apart just with a look.

“Enough” He warned. Touch lingering as his eyes did on your form.

You would let him wreck the house if you thought it meant you could have him pressed against you again even for a second. He was dangerous to you and you loved it. He, on the other hand was still more cautious of the way you navigated your relationship. Of how he showed just what you meant to him.

He thought about you all the time. More so, while he was away. He was addicted to you. The way you moved, spoke. Held yourself. Had such entrenched opinions and he might even deign to say morals (loosely, of course).

He thought more of you than he had ever done before. Dreamt about you. Thought about what you could be doing, wanting to know what you were thinking. What made you tick. He held on to every intimate detail he could discover.

Remembered it in such crystal clarity. Because it was you.

He decided to get you on side, he would appeal to the more logical side of you. Which, surprisingly, worked. He managed to convince you to put your un-life on the line. Because it would help your new sort-of friends. To save Fred and the others, you could try it.

You finally relented. You almost didn’t so soon, hoping that he might descend to fighting you over it. Some contact with your skin. It was needed after so long. You nodded though and they nodded and you started for the door. Stepping over it as you left.

“What a bloody delight” Spike murmured so that you could hear it.

“Can it, Blondie” You hissed as you strode behind them, your usual confidence evident to all around.

Angel side-glanced at you, a small smile tugging at his lips at seeing you again. Even if all of your barbs were being thrown Spike’s way. It was so good to see you.

Angel had never been so sure that he wanted you around. Permanently. He just wasn’t entirely sure how to admit this. To himself or you. You always left him wanting more. That demon part of you matched his. The demons had claimed the other long before either of you had embraced how you felt. 

Neither of you had dared ask the other how they felt. What they wanted from this relationship. It may shatter the illusion you both had. That there could be a future there. That at least some of your eternity could be theirs.

You were staring blankly at a carved tablet, one that Wesley had found in connection with this stupid apocalypse you had been roped into stopping. You weren’t really reading, just skimming it. You’d catch up later, you always did. Right now, you were thinking about Angel. He was all you were ever thinking about at the moment.

“What’s that? Picture book?” A British accent asked. Spike.

“No” you said shortly. God, he was dumber than a bag of rocks. What had Angel ever seen in him? He rubbed you up the wrong way. And not in an exciting way either.

Wesley explained what it was as you had a rant in your head, just staring at the tablet.

“All that eternity and you can’t even read. What exactly do you do?” You couldn’t help it. It slipped out. He was a fly you wanted to swat away. Squish into nothingness. 

You glowered at him, but knew there was some big stupid prophecy so Spike had to stick around. You did what the powers wanted just enough to save your own skin. And, well, if you staked him God forbid, they tried to make you a champion in his place.

Angel frowned at your words. He wanted you to be talking to him. Ragging on him at how he couldn’t read them either. Wanted the charged tension that always stretched between you back. But since he had returned you had appeared more distant. Less smug about the way you rendered him simultaneously infuriated and obsessed with you.

You were laughing with the team when Spike stalked in after calling up his precious Slayer and talking loud enough to wake the dead. Or, at least wake Angel who had been trying to sleep. Instead he had joined you and the rest of the team. Your face had lit up when Angel entered the room but he hadn’t noticed. Or, you thought he hadn’t anyway.

The laughter died when he entered and he scowled. Spike had enough of you. How nobody appeared to accept him but even with your ‘evil’ nature and lack of soul these people embraced you with open arms.

“Why’s every bugger hangin’ on their every word? Hello, I’m the one with the bloody soul here”

“Because nobody likes you Spike” Angel shrugged from the doorway.

“Yeah, because having a soul makes you suddenly likeable and some all-encompassing good right? You’re kidding yourself - choices are what make us not writhing around in the sand with some dumb demon for a couple months”

Everyone had braced themselves, expecting your usual rant about not having a soul not meaning anything. That you could make good decisions. You could do what you wanted and still not be evil. But you had decided to just make a cheap shot.

“Piss off. Like you could stand it anyway”

Angel had been watching with a frown. Didn’t like the way you gave Spike such attention. He thought it was the way you used to give him attention before you began to deepen your relationship. 

He wanted you to be focusing on him. Only him. He missed you. In his bed. The way you looked contorted in pleasure. His.

When he thought about it, truly thought about it, he missed talking to you. The way you could make him laugh. Speak to him the way nobody else could. You embraced every side of him. Even the parts that he struggled to embrace himself.

He found himself almost needing that interaction. Needing you. Desperately. Not just your body but your mind too. All of you in fact. He ached for it, quivered with need. He didn’t care you lacked your soul anymore, he just needed you. Thirsted for every side of you.

You kept glancing at each other. You weren’t his partner but he really wanted you to be. He was finally able to admit it to himself. He just didn’t know how to ask. How to tell you what he wanted. He wanted it just you and him. Not to have to smell any of the particularly nasty lingering scents of lovers you had taken since he had been away.

Angel kept making snide comments about Buffy and Spike at any opportunity. This always made you scowl because he seemed so bothered by them. Spike smirked smugly. Which made you scowl even further. It was mostly to distract himself from his feelings from you. But you didn’t know this. You wanted his mind to be on you again. He hadn’t even pulled you aside during any slow moments like he usually would.

On a particularly boring day, while they were taking a break from the research that was making everyone have a headache (except you and Wesley), talk turned to Spike’s new soul. And why he had fought for one. For this Slayer.

“I think it’s romantic!” Fred cooed as you caught on to what had happened.

“For love? You got a soul for love?! That’s so cute, did it come with a complimentary heart shaped box? A dozen roses?” You cackled and Spike looked like he was about to thump you. Pretty ruthlessly too. But Angel pulled you away before he could. Apparently he was the only one allowed to berate Spike.

He took you by the shoulder and pressed you against the wall in the corridor once you were alone. You smirked, face lighting up expecting his lips on yours. Just like the last time you had been close in this way. But he just half-heartedly chastised you instead.

“Cool it off” he warned. You were disappointed with his tone, you missed the way he would excite you. Mix with anger and passion the way you had missed so badly.

“Why? Because it makes you uncomfortable? It’s foreplay for us. You know it, I know it” You plucked the nerve just to see what would happen. Making his blood boil. You saw it then. That hint of jealousy. This flicker of the demon side of him, he wanted to claim you as his.

“Whatever. Do anything you want after the case, just not here” He consciously tried to even his voice this time, hide the growl. But his chest rumbled dangerously at even the thought of you and Spike. He was clinging to his human form as the demon protested.

This is what made you tug on the nerve, near severing it. You leaned into him, so that your lips brushed his ear. Your tone seductive, one he would usually enjoy.

“Don’t be jealous, baby, I’m very good at sharing myself out. Especially while you were away-”

You were cut off by his hands tightly gripping your shoulders. Even as a vampire, you were sure you would bruise. Your stomach flipped at the fire behind his eyes. The need for you to not stray from him. He slammed you back against the door you had just left out of, near shattering the glass behind you. God, you had missed this. So badly.

You couldn’t help smirking. You were ready to take him right here. Fucking or fighting. Either one would do it for you. So long as you received his full attention. Just you and him.

He had come back so disaffected. His face mostly neutral. You thought he had barely looked at you, let alone touched you. Even in this way. You would take what you could get and savour every second of it.

You didn’t realise just how hard it was for him to be back in Sunnydale or all of the baggage he had left there (some of it that he had had to bring back as well). Dredging up his past had confirmed something to him. That he wanted you with him. Wanted you to be his. He wanted something more than what you were already doing. It scared him. Made him nervous, which is why he had kept a distance from you.

Even though it guilted him that this was selfish and something that would make him happy. Even though you were rough around the edges and morally dubious. Even though you had never expressed softer feelings of your own.

You meant something. Everything. And he couldn’t deny it now. Couldn’t begin to fight it anymore. He didn’t want to.

That was why he didn’t like you interacting with Spike. Because he felt this so strongly. That you belonged with him. Not with anybody else. But you had never labelled your relationship and he didn’t know how to even begin to tell you.

“If you’re not gonna do anything about it, let me go” You warned. Hoping he would do the opposite. He gripped tighter for a moment and you got excited but then he just let you go.

Disappointment washed over you and you frowned. You had so wanted to taste him on your tongue again. To have his body, hot with desire, pounding against yours.

As time went on, Angel began to get more and more jealous watching you and Spike interact. You began to notice it more. The way his furrow deepened whenever you glared holes in the man. Mistaking the interaction for something that excited you.

But he didn’t say anything. Barely looked at you. Which left you so sore. So needy for him.

So, you took it into your own hands. Of course, you didn’t actually speak to him about it. Oh, no. Instead, you dialled it up. Speaking to Spike much more. Making Angel so jealous he would shake. Aiming to make him want you more.

The ritual couldn’t be conducted for a few months yet, just before the steps to the scheduled apocalypse had begun. So there was a lot of waiting around and planning. However, your mind was less on that and more on how to get Angel to touch you again.

You had an idea. You gestured with your head to get the blonde vampire to come over and speak to you. The vampire was hung up on the slayer and you were hung up on Angel so neither of you had any particular interest in the other.

“Look I don’t like you, you don’t like me. But you wanna annoy Angel right?” You offered, giving him a knowing look. You weren’t stupid, Spike had an obvious and complicated past with your- the man.

“I’m listening” He squinted. And you didn’t waste any time, you whispered in his ear your suggestion.

Along with your obvious intelligence, you could be very persuasive. Near manipulative (it was how you had survived this long and gotten yourself out of many, many debts).

So, the next day you swung your plan straight into action. It wasn’t a particularly clever plan. But it was enough for you and Spike to know it could end badly wrong. Like, dust on the floor wrong should Angel be in a particularly bad mood.

You and Spike turned up to the building with his arm slung around your shoulder. You had asked to wear his jacket but he told you to sod off. So, you compromised and had him sling his arm over your shoulder told him to whisper something. Anything. Encouraging him to be as crude as possible. Implying that you had spent the previous night together.

You were speaking to the room but your eyes were on Angel the entire time. Watching the way his thoughts began to spin out of control behind his eyes. He was shaking with anger. Filling with pure jealousy. The way Spike was allowed so close to you. How he pressed against you the way he should be pressed against you. Natural touch that should be his.

He couldn’t just stand there. Watching. He just walked up to you, snatching your hand in his and dragged you from the room. If he didn’t he would have exploded then and there.

“Problem?” You asked, that infuriating tone you always used. He just directed you by the back of your head to move your ear next to his mouth.

“You’re mine” he growled and you couldn’t help the way your stomach flipped in excitement. Made you weak for him. Your eyes lit up. But you wouldn’t let him see you submit that easily.

“Prove it” You challenged. And he did just that. He pulled you into him, crashing his lips to yours. The rough embrace made your heart soar with happiness. He wanted you. He really wanted you.

As you made your way to the bed you stopped in your passion every now and again on the way. Slamming you into the walls, more furniture lost to your desire. You pushed him back onto the bed smirking down at him. He reached for you and pulled you down against him.

Lips crashing. Hands grasping. Skin slapping.

He claimed you as his. The feeling, it was shared. His eyes telling you that he was yours. He clutched you, while you grinded against his body. He made you feel alive. It was primal. This animal attraction never ceased. But this connection was deeper than anything either of you could name.

Your demon forms shifted, facing each other again. As they always did when you were together. They had missed their equal so desperately. You moved with him. As if you were one. He bit down hard, fangs embedded in your neck. You moaned in his ear and it made him bite harder still. 

Your blood tasted so good in his mouth. He hadn’t done this in so long. Hadn’t trusted anyone this way. This bond, it ran deep.

You directed his head further into you as he did this, grasping at the hair on the nape of his neck. It was pure pleasure.  Blood oozed down your chest as his mouth moved from the bite on the side of your neck. He pressed some open-mouthed kisses down your collarbone, following the trail of your blood. He licked slowly up it, catching every drop. His eyes bored into yours. Telling you what you already knew. You were made for him.

He pressed further into you, with a urgency that matched yours. He was finally embracing his demon. The way you had hoped he would for so long. You wanted all of him. To do this, you would have to give all of yourself. So, you did.

You stayed in bed together a lot longer than you usually might. You were just lying in bed together. You were on a slant, the bed had been lost to your passion. Frame splintering and collapsing. He would have to replace it. You were leaning on your side facing him. God, you had missed this. He had left you aching, empty without him.

He hadn’t so much as implied wanting to touch you like this since he had returned from Sunnydale. Just spent his time squabbling with Spike. So, this had been a needed release. Building up over so long.

“I missed this” You admitted, not quite meeting his eyes.

“Yeah?” He asked and you just nodded your reply. He found himself reaching for you, stroking your bare skin. You met his eyes, this tender touch he had never afforded to you before. It was alien but you wanted more of it.

“It was hard. Bein’ back there” He said slowly, referring to Sunnydale, “Seeing them both. Together as well, it hurt. Didn’t know what to do about it”

“Still hung up on them then?” You sighed, looking at a pull in the cotton. Twisting it in your fingers for something to do. Anything to distract from the way you had begun to hurt at the thought of him not feeling the same way as you did.

He shook his head but you didn’t see it. His hand stroking down your arm and resting on your hand. It was the most tender he had ever been. Action a lot subtle that you had ever shared. You found yourself wanting more of it.

“No. ‘Cause when I saw you again I, uh knew… knew that I’d rather be with you than anywhere else” He said slowly. He said it awkwardly, the words strung together as if they didn’t quite fit next to each other. But he meant it. He wasn’t sure if he had ever meant anything as much before in his entire life.

You didn’t know what to say to this so you just nodded. It was the best he could have hoped for. When you weren’t teasing, it was hard to reveal how you felt. You laughed though, mentioning you didn’t even like Spike anyway. You had just wanted him to pay you more attention again.

You then muttered something about not knowing what Angel had ever seen in him. Angel gave you a look but you didn’t get it (he felt that it was because you and Spike were too similar, that’s why you didn’t get on). Thankfully, he liked you a lot better than he liked Spike though.

You smiled at each other, both of you feeling even slightly more secure. You hadn’t been able to admit that you wanted to be exclusive, but you had both now implied it. Which was the best either of you could wish. You found yourself almost wanting to be his, the way he had hissed it in your ear. You couldn’t recall feeling that way before.

There it was again. That feeling that frightened you. Hope. It had crawled into your heart and only spread the longer you spent with him. An ugly thought popped into your head. One that embarrassed you immensely.

As you watched his face turn into that small smile beside you in bed. Understanding stretching between you. A glimmering hope that still frightened you more than anything else ever had. His jealousy still a delicious taste in your mouth. The wreckage of the room surrounded you but the atmosphere was almost... soft.

It was a thought he had already had himself and started to accept. You shuddered as you thought it though. Finding that maybe you truly had found your anti-soulmate. In Angel of all people.

[deepdarkdelights]

This is such a Top tier piece, I'll say my favourite in Predator uni along with Prey (I luv those 2 freaks🥰)

For someone purported as the heartless one, he is the most dub-con types romantic (from his side) shall i say. He's doing the things that I thought Jungkook would have?! But he has zero apathy towards himself too. It's almost as if he is so far removed from his own emotions that he doesn't really register is wishes and wants anymore. Highly Emotionally Retarded both of them 🙊 Good luck getting a single love you or even a smile in your direction for the next 1000 years.

I can't even imagine what MC's going through. It's like being cursed for a lifetime with your worst nightmare. I literally haven't cried ever reading any fic but this made that happen.

I feel for the mother too though. Now she'll have more regret and guilt for not cherishing the MC when she was there & the whole family of that officer 😭😭 He so didn't deserve this 😭😭 even though it felt like he had a crush on her before she left or maybe even her sister?? Really?

Namjoon will be super pissed two newborns and that also one with a vendetta 😷 Like I don't envision MC ever bearing Hobi especially in first few years when she's still new and powerful. The only reason she won't kill him is maybe you can't kill or disobey your creator. Otherwise, Mr. Hobi is a dead meat.

On the bright side, I can strongly see the whole maknae line following the I'LL CONVERT MY MC MYSELF route.

As for the changing, I kid you not I have always seen this in a dream (Believe me Like a Real Dream, dreamt while sleeping 🤐 months ago when I first read Predator 🤐) But for some reason it was always Jungkook doing it, feeding his MC his blood from the day he decided he'll keep her incase he drains her a bit much or something 🤣😂. So here it goes,

In my dream when the Sun turns golden with flecks of orange and pink Jungkook returns to the mansion with his MC in tow. They have not even entered completely yet when they are stopped by Joon, Jimin and Jin. He is all smiles asking a scared MC to introduce herself to his brothers. Joon get very angry though. He says "I have had enough from you, if you wanna do grown up things then you gonna deal with the grown up responsibilities that come with it. You can't just barge in here whenever you please". MC starts shivering and crying very badly and now it's a whole situation. Jimin's MC half asleep half awake comes down sulking and koala bear hugs a cooing Jimin that she can't sleep. Tae get super jealous and Jin makes a yucky face at them only to be hit by his boho hippie MC. Jungkook takes both of theirs luggage upstairs and starts preparing his room with a still angry Joon. Now, Jungkook gets very angry and he starts shouting "I thought that you'll will be happy for me like real brothers but you're just jealous that your girlfriend doesn't care about you at all so you're taking your frustrations out on other people with happy relationships". Their back and forth continues as they make the bed with a violently shaking MC in the corner of the room. Jungkook picks her up cooing at her that It'll all be okay just give it 3 days, stay strong and he's there with her always. Joon gets livid "What're you even going to do with her?" And Jungkook just gives her a kiss on her lips with a final promise of everything will be okay love as he twists her neck laying her on the bed.

DON'T LAUGH 😹😹😹😹

~ 👁️👁️

Oh yeah, Hoseok is a special case that's for sure. I think his fic had the most death in it in this series 🤔

But yeah, he really has tunnel vision and I don't think he realizes just how difficult his life is going to be with the MC.

I wish I could say I feel for the MC's mom, I do to a degree, but some of the things she does and says really tick me off (probably bc they come from real-world experience lmao)

I like your interpretation of how the Predator MC would be turned! In my head I picture JK being very defensive from the beginning. I can see him keeping her behind his back and firmly holding onto her forearm. It would be a pretty high stress situation when he returns to the house with her. Maybe we will see that in one of the fics 👀

[hanaasbananas]

Aftermath

Set immediately after let's get covered in flames and play some games with the smoke

AO3

She doesn’t move for hours.

Head resting on Adrien’s chest, she feels his blood seep into her hair, feels his body go slack, the arm around her shoulders loosening and falling away, feels him go cold beneath her fingertips.

Still, she does not get up.

Thunder rumbles above them, lightning flashing in the distance as the sky darkens, clouds growing heavy with rain before releasing a torrential downpour, soaking her in seconds.

And still, she does not get up.

But as the rain pounds down, Marinette lets herself cry once more, the storm hiding her tears and drowning out her screams.

***

A hand lands on her shoulder, squeezing gently when she flinches. “Sweetheart…”

Papa.

Of course. She’d dropped her transformation in the middle of an akuma battle. Of course he would have found out. Everyone must have found out.

She can’t bring herself to care.

“I can’t let go,” Marinette speaks for the first time in what feels like eternity, her throat hoarse from crying.

“You must,” Papa’s voice is gentle. “the cure, you need to cast it, set things to rights.”

Set things to rights. She almost laughs. As if anything could ever be right again.

“It won’t bring him back.”

A pause. “No, it won’t.”

“Then what's the point?”

***

Marinette doesn’t remember casting the cure.

She doesn’t remember being pulled to her feet and being carried to the car, or arriving home, where maman waits for her.

“Oh,” she breathes when she sees her, rushing forward and folding her into her arms. Marinette’s arms remain rigid by her side, but her legs crumple beneath her, and maman follows her to the ground,

Marinette doesn’t come back to herself until she’s in the bathtub, letting maman wash her clean.

“He was my soulmate,” she whispers, watching as the blood—Adrien’s blood— is sluiced from her skin. Maman inhales sharply beside her, pausing with the washcloth still in her hand. “He should have let it hit me.” Looking up, she meets mamans stricken gaze with her own.

“Why didn’t he let it hit me?”

***

The funeral is on a Friday.

Marinette sits at the back of the church, her face scrubbed clean, covered with a veil so that she won’t be recognised.

Félix gives her only the barest nod in acknowledgement. He doesn’t try to speak to her, and for that, she is glad.

After the burial, when the mourners have gone and the cemetery sits empty, she makes her way to his grave, sitting cross legged beside it.

“You know,” she says “I always knew we wouldn’t have a happy ending. Call me a pessimist but even so…” she swallows, reaching out to trace the words on his headstone. “I never imagined it would end like this.”

***

Time passes. Seasons change, autumn giving way to winter, melting into spring.

Her grief does not fade.

It is not a pretty thing, this grief of hers. It is not simple or elegant or something that she can hide. It is guttural and ugly, clinging to her, crawling over her skin and seeping deep into her bones.

She lies awake, night after night, tears soaking her pillow like summer rain. On some nights, when the pain is too much to bear, a heavy stone crushing her beneath its weight, Marinette wishes that she could simply reach into her chest and rip the beating heart out from within, feel it pulsing in her hand, blood dripping from her fingers and coating her arm. She wishes that she could take a knife and slice away the parts of her heart that ache and grieve for Adrien until the pain is gone.

She imagines that if she did, there would be nothing left of her heart at all.

***

A letter arrives for her on Adrien’s birthday.

There is no return address, and she doesn’t recognise the handwriting on the envelope. She does recognise the ring that falls out of it though.

Adrien’s ring. His miraculous.

Fingers closing around the ring, Marinette feels it cutting into her palm as she reads the enclosed note.

Father believes that you have this. I figured I may as well make that the truth.

Félix

She has both now.

The ladybug and the black cat. Heart beating rapidly in her chest, Marinette looks down at the ring, her mind racing at all the possibilities, the power she now holds.

She could do it. Make the wish. Bring him back.

But what would the cost be?

If it was her life, she would gladly give it. Even if she was granted only a few short moments to see him again.

But Marinette has wielded her own miraculous long enough to know that magic is a fickle thing, unpredictable and unconstrained by the laws of man.

No. The risk is too great; she cannot do it.

Legs bucking underneath her, Marinette sinks to the ground, clutching Adrien’s ring in her hand, and she weeps, her heart breaking anew.

***

Marinette isn’t sure what possesses her to go back to the apartment.

Masochism, she supposes. Maybe, it is because already, she struggles to recall the exact shade of Adrien’s eyes, the texture of his hair between her fingertips.

Whatever the reason, she stands now, in the doorway, surveying the place, a lump forming in her throat. Everything is as they left it. Her shawl is draped over the back of the couch; one of Adriens ties lies crumpled on the living room table beside an empty mug and a newspaper. If not for the fine layer of dust covering every surface she’d think they’d been here only hours before.

Moving carefully so as not to disturb anything, Marinette steps inside gingerly, wincing as the door slams shut behind her.

The apartment is thick with ghosts of the past, memories of all that they did here. She can almost hear their laughter, hear the music they’d dance to; can almost see the two of them pushing the sofa and table to the edges of the room to make space for dancing.

Sitting down heavily on the sofa, she surveys the room once more. Memories are important, she knows. God knows, she’s held onto them as tightly as she can, cherishing every new recollection, as though it is the most precious treasure.

But everytime she remembers something new, everytime she sifts through her memories, going over their time together like a film reel, Marinette wishes that Adrien would come to her instead.

***

“Marinette,” the whisper comes late at night, rousing her from a restless sleep. It’s not unusual to hear his voice—she’s dreamt of that smooth cadence a thousand times before, over and over, but always—absolutely without fail—the illusion falls silent, dissipating the second that she opens her eyes, leaving her cold and alone.

This time however, feels strange. Different.

Lying motionless, Marinette hardly dares to breathe, hands trembling at her sides as she strains her ears in the silence, hoping, praying for his voice to come again.

It isn’t real, she knows, but she craves it nonetheless.

“Marinette,” his breath ghosts over her skin, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms. “This is real.” His voice is laced with amusement “open your eyes.”

“No,” she says stubbornly. And then, more plaintively: “I don’t want you to disappear.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Hands, smooth and strong, reach to touch her. They stroke her face gently, reassuringly, turning her face to the side. Cold lips brush against her closed eyelids and she shudders, exhaling shakily.

Maybe it is real. Maybe...

Opening her eyes, Marinette blinks in the darkness, a small gasp escaping her lips at the sight in front of her.

For a long moment, she can do nothing but gaze at him, drinking in his features. He’s still beautiful; as beautiful as she remembered. Regarding her steadily, the entrancing depth of his dark, luminous green eyes and the ethereal glow of his hair in the moonlight filtering through her window makes sets her heart racing.

He says nothing, simply smiles at her and her breathing quickens. Oh, his smile! How she had missed his smile; it was like the sun. It warmed her like nothing else. Looking at him, it feels like she is finally seeing in colour again—shades of gold, yellow, and green all blooming before her.

Sitting up on her knees, tears spill from her eyes as he reaches out to cup a hand against her cheek. She covers her hand over his, pressing it harder against her cheek until she feels a dull pain from the pressure-a welcome pain, telling her that he is here, that she can feel his touch once more.

“Hello, doll.”

Something in her breaks—a dam bursting in her chest at the endearment.

Her sobs are violent, and Adrien pulls her towards him, into his arms, but she resists, refusing to let him out of her sight for even one second. Despite the fact that fat, hot tears are blurring her vision, she keeps her eyes locked on his, as if he might disappear forever as soon as she blinks.

Still smiling, Adrien runs his hand along her shoulder, consoling her.

“You will be alright, my love.”

“I won-I won’t,” she blubbers “you do-you don’t understand, Adrien. I can’t do this. Not without you. I can’t.”

Sniffling as he wipes her tears away with his thumb, she leans into his touch, letting herself feel his warmth. “You don’t know what it’s like,” she says softly “to live without a heart.”

At this, he finally frowns. “But you do have a heart.”

Marinette shakes her head. “Not anymore. Not without you.”

“You still have me.” the low, calm timbre of his voice soothes her and she watches as he places a hand over her heart. “I live on, in here. You’ll carry me with you always, Marinette.”

Sliding his hand to the back of her neck, he pulls her towards him, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead; his lips lingering for a moment in an all too familiar gesture.

In his face, she sees tenderness in every line, something kind and warm in his expression. There is an insurmountable sorrow too, the edges of his lips curling in a sad smile, and she knows what he is going to say to her, knows now why he has visited her this night.

“But you have to let me go.”

[after-witch]

(Horrorfest) ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’ Dream Demon Dabi x Reader

Title: Don’t Fall Asleep (Dream Demon Dabi x Reader)

Synopsis: Inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street. ��Whatever you do... don’t. fall. asleep.’

Word Count:

Notes: Kinda-yandere, horror, violence, implied assault

You nervously chew on your bottom lip. You hate this habit, because you think it makes you look like a ridiculous schoolgirl. It reminds you of the many pasts that you left behind, the old versions of yourself that you shed like old coats when you first started college, then again when you graduated, and once more when you moved to  a new city. Always running, always on the move, at least until meeting actual friends and landing an almost fulfilling job in a city thriving with life and culture made you set down roots.

Roots which were currently threatening to wear thin, to rot and mold underneath your feet. All because of your dreams... all because of Dabi. 

“(Y/N)?”

You look up, and realize your friend had stopped talking a while ago. What was she saying before? Something about her job and--

“Are you okay?” Her tone is more annoyed than concerned, but you can’t exactly blame her. You’ve been drifting off so often lately, finding it hard to focus at work, at home, and even with your closest friends.

“Sorry,” you spit out. “I’m just--” You want to tell her, but you’ve told her before, and you knew she didn’t want to hear it. Not after the bad dreams had stopped for a while and everyone went back to a nervous, egg-shell type of normality.

They were so worried about you, but you were better now, so everyone was relieved; there were no more frustrated group calls and secret group chats where you were left out of events because no one wanted you to nod off and wake up screaming in the middle of a board game session.

You sigh and play with your ponytail. “Really stressed with work,” you finish, lying through your teeth. A look at your friend makes your stomach drop. She knows you’re lying. She’s going to make you tell her everything and--

“Oh,” she says. “No worries. So anyway, like I was saying…”

Her words feel muted as she repeats whatever story she’d been telling. She knows you’re lying, you think, she knows the dreams are back and you’re terrified and alone and--she doesn’t want to hear it.

You nod occasionally while she speaks, keeping up the pretense of conversation in the hopes that it will help you stay awake.

**

If someone were to hack into your phone, they wouldn’t find anything very strange. Unless they wandered into your alarms and wondered why in the hell anyone needed alarms set every 30 minutes or so.

The alarms are your saving grace. You started setting them when you realized that you could get sleep.. you just had to be careful not to sleep enough to dream. Experts said it took an hour or 90 minutes to dream, but experts weren’t being chased by some terrifying monster every time their brain decided to shift into REM, so experts could stuff it.

Truthfully, you feel proud of yourself for thinking of the idea in the first place. You weren’t going to let that bastard and his dreams keep you from sleep--no, you’d get sleep and keep him from you. Ha-ha, two birds, one stone--and one infinitely wise (Y/N).

Tonight, you decided that you’re going to get a few naps in before the sun rises; you have an important meeting at work tomorrow and the naps will help you brain feel a little refreshed. You still felt foggy, but nap after nap was better than no sleep at all. So you make your bed, cozy but not too cozy, double check your alarms, double check the sound on your phone, and fluff your pillow. Your eyes close easily and it’s not long before your conscious thought slips away.

You jerk awake, sudden and harsh, to the the sound of an obnoxious unknown ringtone you’d selected solely for its ability to annoy the fuck out of you. It was a true, cobbled together shitshow of a tune that you loved to hear, because it meant another successful nap.

You check a text message on your phone, then look over at your cheap dimestore clock you’d pinned to the wall, before glancing in the mirror. Check, check, and check. Everything was normal. Your phone worked right, the clock was working, and you could see your own reflection. You weren’t dreaming.

Your stomach grumbled. You hadn’t eaten since that afternoon--catching up on late work earlier had left you frazzled and you worked right through dinnertime just to make your extended (and oh so late) deadline. 

It was too late to order in, but you did have a frozen pizza somewhere in the back of the freezer. Happily, you got out of bed, pulled on your warm robe, and walked out of your bedroom into an dingy boiler room with peeling concrete walls and a roaring furnace making the floor and walls and air heavy with heat.

Wait.

Your heart pounds ferociously as you spin back, reaching helplessly for a bedroom doorknob that isn’t there. No, no no no--

“Did you have a good nap, (Y/N)? Did you get some sweet shut-eye?” The voice is taunting and cruel and absolutely terrifying. You screw your eyes shut and repeat the mantra you’d drilled into your head: “I am dreaming. I recognize that I am dreaming. And I want to wake up. I am going to wake up. I am going to--”

A voice, harsh, low, and right in your ear:

“That’s not going to work, you dumb bitch.”

The whimper that leaves your lips is unlike any noise you’ve made before. Helpless and hopeless, like an animal caught in a trap. Tears are streaming down your face as your force yourself to open your eyes, coming face to face with your tormentor. Dabi. The name and face that was etched into your memory from the first time you’d dreamt of him, years ago, when your life still felt normal and sane.

His face is partially scarred, and you cringe at the sight of bright, silver rings lining his eyes and cheeks; with Dabi this close, they practically glinted.

“IwantowakeupIwantowakeupIwanttowakeup--”

His hands are suddenly on you, harsh and hot and burning you as he shoves you against the wall. Your back collides with the concrete and you cry out at the searing pain that shoots through your legs.

“You’re not going to wake up. At least not for a while.” His grin is practically feral as he brings up one of his scarred hands to your cheeks, stroking it with a deceptive gentleness. “You’ve been asleep since this afternoon. Poor little (Y/N) fell asleep at her desk…”

You shake your head rapidly. “No--no, I set my alarms, I’ve been up, I, I--”

The slap to your face is sharp, light, and humiliating. “I-I-I,” he says, mocking and cruel. “Nah, sweetheart. I tricked you good though, didn’t I? Let you think you actually got something done for once, let you think you weren’t a total fucking failure.” 

He leans in close, practically whispering; his breath is acrid, like smoke, and his entire presence radiates an uncomfortable heat. “Can’t say I’m going to be as nice later on, though…”

You jerk your shoulders, a pitiful struggle makes him smile for a moment, but when you don’t stop trying to get out of his grip he pulls you forward and slams you back into the wall. Instead of hitting heavy concrete you feel yourself falling, falling--then landing with a surprising bounce on something soft.

You look to the side and see you’re on a mattress. Dabi is above you, both arms pinning your shoulders down with a firm force. He leans in close, as if to kiss you. Your entire being lurches at the thought.

“No!” You say, kicking your legs. “Get--get off, don’t--”

Dabi chuckles and pulls his face back. “Don’t worry, I’m not that fast. You’re not here for that, yet.”

You stare up at him. Your body feels numb, tingling in fear. You finally manage to whisper out: “Then what do you want?”

He tilts his head slightly before his eyes roam up and down your prone form. His gaze lands on your chest. His hands press on your shoulders and you can feel stinging, like running your hands under hot water in the kitchen sink.

“We’re going to play first.”

**

You wake up at your desk, your real desk, your real home. Your entire body aches as you force yourself to move, to jump around, wave your arms, as the tears blur your vision nearly entirely. You do your checks but realize it could be another trick, it could be--but Dabi would never have let you go, not at the moment when you finally pulled yourself out of the dream.

Suddenly, the elation at being awake, at being free, at being alive turns into searing pain; your chest hurts, it hurts so bad. You pull your shirt down--and scream.

You think, faintly, vaguely, wildly, as you call for an ambulance: well, at least they’re second-degree burns. I can still feel the pain.

**

You turn off the cold shower tap, trembling and shivering in the frigid air. They were brutal and sometimes painful, but they kept you awake, and that’s all that mattered. You quickly dry yourself off and slip into a thin nightgown before grabbing your toothbrush.

The bathroom mirror has never been a more unwelcome sight, but you force yourself to stare into it, to stare into your own, tired eyes. You look sick. You look older. You’re so sleep deprived that you honestly, truly think you might die from it. 

But you know that won’t happen, not really--because Dabi would certainly kill you before the sleep deprivation could. And his version of your death would not be nearly as merciful. If he would even kill you at all. Could you keep you forever, dead or alive, but dreaming all the same?

The thick burn scar running across your chest aches as you considered it.

You grab another handful of caffeine pills and swallow them, hard and bitter, chasing them with a chug from your lukewarm energy drink. God willing, you won’t sleep… at least not tonight.