#I'm in the refinement stage with her

[archivegyu]

masterlist

tailored for you

The Manhattan skyline glittered against the evening sky as she gazed out of the penthouse suite window. The sun was setting, casting golden hues across the city that never sleeps. In a few hours, the Metropolitan Museum of Art would be hosting the most prestigious fashion event of the year—the Met Gala—and her childhood sweetheart, now the love of her life, would be making his debut on the iconic steps.

She turned away from the window to look at Choi Seungcheol, better known to his fans as S.Coups, leader of the globally acclaimed K-pop group SEVENTEEN. He was standing in front of a full-length mirror, adjusting the cuffs of his custom-made BOSS suit for what must have been the twentieth time in the past hour.

"Is it too much?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers in the reflection. "Maybe I should have gone with something more... conventional?"

She smiled, walking over to stand behind him. Her hands reached up to smooth down the shoulders of his impeccably tailored jacket. The designer had created something truly special—a modern interpretation of this year's theme, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" (or "Tailored for You"), fashioning an elegant gray suit with elements inspired by traditional Korean hanbok. The clean lines, and subtle asymmetrical closure evoked his heritage while the refined tailoring showcased Seungcheol's strong frame and commanding presence.

"It's perfect," she assured him, her voice soft but certain. "You look incredible."

Seungcheol's reflection offered a shy smile, but she could see the anxiety swimming in his eyes. This was different from performing on stage with his members. Tonight, he would be representing BOSS as one of their global ambassadors, walking the Met Gala carpet solo, surrounded by Hollywood A-listers and fashion royalty.

"I keep thinking I'm going to trip on the stairs," he admitted, turning to face her. His hand reached up to ruffle his perfectly styled hair—a nervous habit he'd had since they were children—but she caught his wrist just in time.

"Don't you dare," she laughed. "Your stylist will have a meltdown."

Seungcheol pouted, and for a moment, she saw the same boy who had climbed the tree outside her childhood home in Daegu to leave little notes on her window sill. The boy who had promised, at just thirteen years old, that one day they would see the world together.

"How is it that twenty years later, you still get that same look when you're nervous?" she asked, cupping his face with her hands. "The same pout from when you were about to perform at the school talent show and thought no one would like your rap."

His expression softened into a genuine smile. "And you're still the only one who can calm me down."

The sound of his phone ringing interrupted the moment. Seungcheol glanced at the screen and chuckled. "It's the guys," he said, using his affectionate term for his fellow members. "Probably calling to wish me luck... or to make fun of me."

He answered the video call, and immediately the room filled with the chaotic energy of nine excited voices.

"HYUNG!" Seungkwan's voice dominated initially. "Show us the outfit! We've been dying to see the final look!"

Seungcheol laughed, some of his nervousness visibly melting away as he propped the phone up against a vase and stepped back to give them a full view of his ensemble.

"Wah, as expected of our leader!" Mingyu exclaimed, his handsome face filling most of the screen as he apparently leaned too close to the camera.

"Ya, move back, we can only see your nostrils," Soonyoung's voice commented, pulling Mingyu away.

"Hyung looks like James Bond," Hansol added appreciatively.

"Better than James Bond," Joshua corrected with his signature smile. "Our Cheollie is going to be the best-dressed man there."

She watched from the side, heart full as she observed the genuine brotherhood between these men who had spent their youth chasing dreams together. Now in their thirties, SEVENTEEN had achieved more than they had ever imagined—multiple world tours, numerous awards, and global recognition that extended well beyond the music industry into fashion, film, and philanthropy.

"Noona!" Chan, the youngest member, spotted her hovering at the edge of the frame. "You have to send us pictures! We know Seungcheol-hyung won't because he'll be too nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Seungcheol protested unconvincingly.

"Your left eye is twitching," Joshua pointed out in English before switching back to Korean. "It always does that before big events."

"Make sure he doesn't drink too much champagne," Jihoon added with a mischievous grin.

She stepped closer to the screen, smiling at the faces of the men who had become like family to her over the years. "I promise I'll keep him in line and send plenty of photos."

After a few more minutes of teasing and sincere well-wishes, they ended the call. Seungcheol's shoulders seemed lighter, his stance more relaxed.

"Better?" she asked, knowing how much strength he drew from his members, even from thousands of miles away.

"Better," he confirmed, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head. "Though I'm still not convinced I belong at something like the Met Gala."

She pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes. "Choi Seungcheol, you've performed in stadiums in front of tens of thousands of people. You've spoken at the United Nations. Your group's music has broken cultural and language barriers that people thought were impenetrable. If anyone belongs on that carpet tonight, it's you."

He gazed at her with such tenderness that her heart fluttered, just as it had when they were teenagers and he first told her he liked her more than just a friend.

"How do you always know the right thing to say?" he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Twenty years of practice" she replied with a soft smile.

[koyagifs]

𝓶𝓪𝓽𝔃 𝓯𝓽 𝔂𝓷

pairing: matz x reader au: 9th member | idol genre: fluff word count: 1 k summary: hongjoong and seonghwa had begged for you to perform matz with them once. Why not give in on the first day of tour. warning(s): none

"Please, you'll be so great on the track with us!" Hongjoong begged, his hands on your waist as you looked at Seonghwa for help.

Seonghwa chuckled at the scene, amusement twinkling in his eyes. You were all still buzzing with adrenaline and nerves, having just landed in Europe for the next leg of your tour.

"Ah, I'm not sure Atiny would like that I—"

"Atiny have been dying for you to be on 'MATZ' since it came out!" Yunho shouted from across the room.

You huffed, shooting a glare at Yunho, who quickly looked away, feigning innocence. Before you could argue further, you felt Hongjoong’s lips pressing gentle kisses along your neck, his grip tightening slightly around your waist, making you blush as you squirmed.

"Fine, I'll join the track," you sighed, feeling the heat in your cheeks. "Just for the first night. Nothing more."

Hongjoong cheered in victory, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before rushing toward the bed. He grabbed his laptop in a frenzy, already refining the lines for the three of you.

Seonghwa stepped closer as you sent a message to your manager, letting them know you'd be joining the track. His hands found your hips, gently pulling you toward him. You looked up, meeting his gaze, and smiled softly.

"It'll be fun, princess. We promise," he murmured before pressing a lingering kiss to your lips.

You hummed in response, already feeling more nervous then before. Surely, nothing would go wrong right?

You fiddled with the long coat, the thick fur itching against your skin as you forced an uneasy smile at your stylist. They were making the final touches to your hair, adjusting a few strands before stepping back to assess their work.

Your eyes wandered around the room, scanning for any sign of Hongjoong or Seonghwa. The anticipation in your chest grew—whether from nerves or excitement, you weren’t sure.

"Stop fiddling with the coat, please, Ynie. We know it's not the most comfortable, but—"

"Can I take it off on stage?" you interrupted, shifting uncomfortably under the heavy fabric.

The lead stylist pursed her lips, considering for a moment before finally nodding. "I don't see why not…"

Before you could respond, Hongjoong and Seonghwa appeared at your side, their eyes trailing over you from head to toe.

"You look hot," Hongjoong remarked, a smirk tugging at his lips as he reached out to adjust the coat on your shoulders.

Seonghwa hummed in agreement, his fingers brushing against your arm. "The fur suits you… but I think it'll be even better when you take it off on stage."

A shiver—not from the cold—ran down your spine as they exchanged a knowing glance. Not wanting to give them the satisfaction of flustering you any further, you reached out and pinched both of them.

A pair of matching whines left their lips, Seonghwa swatting at your hand while Hongjoong pouted dramatically. Before they could retaliate, a voice called out from the hallway.

"You're on in five—move it!"

The three of you exchanged a quick look before rushing toward the stage, adrenaline surging as the roar of the crowd grew louder. The familiar intro of MATZ blasted through the speakers, and you felt a rush of anticipation.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa both leaned in to plant a quick kiss on your lips before they sprinted onto the stage. Their playful smirks and winks were enough to make your heart race, and you rolled your eyes at their antics, a small smile tugging at your lips despite yourself.

As the staff member gave you the signal, you quickly slid your sunglasses over your eyes, transforming into your stage persona. The familiar energy took over as the crowd's roar heightened. You stepped forward, the music thumping in your chest as you jumped into your lines, your voice steady and commanding.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa were right by your side, their presence electrifying as they moved in perfect sync with you. Their bodies swayed with the beat, encouraging you to push harder, faster, as the crowd went wild.

Every movement felt like fire, their eyes locked onto you, pushing you to own the stage. The bond between you three was undeniable—pure chemistry that had the fans chanting in unison.

You turned to Hongjoong, the lines "geokjeongmara mudae wiarae magnon bukkeureopgeneun an sara" slipping effortlessly from your lips. Without missing a beat, Hongjoong joined in, his voice sharp and full of energy as he rapped alongside you.

The two of you flowed seamlessly together, each word punctuated by the intensity of the music, creating a space all your own on stage. The crowd was deafening, their cheers reaching a new level as you both commanded their attention, feeding off the electric connection between you.

You turned to Seonghwa next, the three of you seamlessly falling into the chorus together. The energy was contagious as you synced your movements, the connection between you all electrifying the crowd. As you danced, the fur coat became unbearable—too hot under the stage lights—and you quickly shrugged it off, tossing it to the side.

The screams from the crowd grew louder, almost deafening, but you felt a rush of pride as you soaked it all in. The roar of ATINY was intoxicating, their energy feeding your own.

With a smile, you ripped your earpiece out, letting the sound of the fans' screams fill your ears. Your eardrums pulsed with each cheer, the bass vibrating through your chest as you relished in the moment. It was overwhelming, exhilarating—there was no feeling quite like it.

As the song neared its end, you, Hongjoong, and Seonghwa moved with perfect synchronization, rushing to your positions. Hongjoong and Seonghwa knelt below you, their eyes never leaving yours as you stood at the top of the stairs, the crowd’s anticipation palpable in the air.

You raised the microphone high, pointing it toward the fans, and the energy exploded as ATINY’s voices filled the arena. "Go go go go go!" they chanted, the rhythm syncing perfectly with your heartbeat.

With a final move, Hongjoong surged forward, pulling you into a passionate kiss as the song reached its climax. The crowd screamed, and in that moment, it felt like time stood still. The lights flickered, then suddenly shut off, leaving you all in darkness.

The audience’s deafening roar echoed in the quiet that followed, the intensity of the performance lingering in the air.

[kurogane2512]

Little fic inspired from a daily message with Aglaea. I wrote most of this during 3.0 and haven't done the quests from 3.1 and 3.2 so apologies if something is inaccurate.

18+ CONTENT

Game: Honkai Star Rail

Characters: Aglaea x g!p reader (Trailblazer)

Type: Fluff and smut (slightly long fic, the usual porn with plot)

Your days in Okhema passed in a rather leisurely manner after Phainon departed for the trial. The Chrysos Heirs had dispersed for their own affairs, carrying on their duty as they waited for their comrade's results. You explored the city for a few days but eventually lost interest as you had seen almost everything it had to offer and now spent most of your time in the bathhouse, relaxing in the soothing waters and befriending the citizens.

It was one of these days when you happened to message Lady Aglaea, asking about her welfare and if you could do some work for her. Out of all the Chrysos Heirs you met so far, you felt a strange attraction to her and wanted to know her better, even help her as much as you could knowing the burdens on her. Though, you had doubts about her opinion on you, but at least she didn't seem uninterested in interacting with you outside missions.

And it was due to an impromptu conversation where you ended up discussing about her likeness for plays, that you now found yourself at the finest theatre in Okhema to watch a play she had recommended. Not only that, you were sitting beside Lady Aglaea herself in the VIP arena. The rest of the place was packed to the brim as this was a new play that had become the talk of the town.

"I'm grateful for your company tonight, esteemed guest." Aglaea spoke in a courteous tone, "It is often difficult for me to find time to come here recently, but you eased my burdens quite a bit and allowed me this moment of respite. I hope you will enjoy this play."

You lightly blushed from her words, "It's fine, Lady Aglaea. I'm happy to help you. I'm also grateful that you agreed to come with me."

Aglaea smiled, "I was quite interested in this play since it's supposed to be different from the acclaimed classics, but wasn't able to secure time until now. It is an honor for me to be your partner for this experience."

You nodded with a smile then turned your gaze towards the stage as preparations were completed and an actor came out, starting to narrate his lines. The play was titled, 'Zagreus the Tyrant Falls in Love With Me'. You never expected the elegant and isolated Okhema to have plays of such manner. You had seen similar works in other planets you visited— mostly in the form of novels, films and games— but a theater play was new.

The play continued and a symphony of laughter and cheers often erupted in the theatre at the humorous presentation. You also laughed along a few times, finding the jokes actually well-made. It was one of these moments when you heard a light chuckle from your side and glanced to see Aglaea also laughing, albeit very restrained and refined. Her mouth was covered by her right hand every time she laughed, yet it was easy to tell she was liking the play.

For some reason, you couldn't focus on the play anymore once you laid eyes on her relaxed and vibrant expression. You had never seen her this way before. Your image of her so far was that of a strict, meticulous and disciplined leader, a demigod who had pledged herself to protect Amphoreus and was ready to use any means even if it brought harm to herself. You had no idea what she sacrificed for Amphoreus, but you knew nothing else mattered to her as long as Amphoreus was safe.

"Is the play not to your liking anymore?" her sudden question snapped you out of your trance, "Your eyes seem to be everywhere but there."

She turned to look at you now, suddenly meeting your gaze.

"A-Ah no!" you quickly looked away from her, "I'm still watching, it's very good!"

You tried to excuse yourself; after all, how could you just admit you were staring at her. Aglaea didn't probe you further and focused on the play instead, but she couldn't deny the slight curiosity rising in her. During the play, some wine and snacks were served to you both. You helped yourself to the snacks while she indulged in the wine, slowly drinking a glass as the play continued. Her composure became relaxed, her body leaning against the backrest. Yet her form looked elegant and beautiful as ever.

The play was finished after 2 hours. A round of applause resounded in the theater as the actors took the final bow followed by the crowd dispersing away. To your dismay, you barely paid any attention to the second half of the play as it dragged on for longer than your liking. Not to mention, the person beside you was making it hard to focus. You walked out together after a while then stopped a few steps away from the building.

"Thank you for the wonderful company. I quite enjoyed myself, and I hope you did too." Aglaea said with a smile.

"I did, thank you for recommending it. I hope we can watch more plays together if you don't mind. Not just plays, in fact. I'd love to accompany you to any matters I can."

She seemingly didn't expect you to say that as her eyes ever sightly widened before softening.

"I will keep it in mind, thank you for your consideration. On that note, I'd like to invite you for dinner at my place as gratitude for accompanying me today."

You became slightly flustered at her invitation, "O-Oh, please don't bother yourself with that. I wanted to come anyways and I had a good time. You must have lot of work to get back to...."

"I cleared up my schedule for the remaining day knowing our engagement. If you have no other appointments then I insist. I have been meaning to invite you over for quite some time and offer my hospitality personally. It is the least I can do for the aid you have given."

Finding no excuse to refuse her, you ended up agreeing and walked with her towards her residence. Your heart was beating faster as you walked, unsure of what really awaited you. Once you reached her residence, you were greeted by a slew of Garmentmakers bowing at the entrance. She must have conveyed your arrival to them and had them prepare a welcome. One of them came behind you and offered to take your coat which you hastily agreed to, trying to follow her etiquettes.

You were in awe as you glanced around her opulent mansion, the structure was similar to other buildings in Okhema but there were quite a few unique decorations which enhanced its appearance. As you were guided to the dining area, your eyes fell upon an open space nearby which contained a table with a fabric and some sewing materials on top, some mannequins scattered around and a few cupboards near the walls, a single window illuminating the space.

"What is that place for?" you pointed to the area, making Aglaea stop in her tracks and turn around to look at you.

"An echo of the past... the place I used to weave countless garments at before bearing my duties as a Chrysos Heir." there was a hint of hesitance in her voice, yet she answered unfazed.

"I... Could I see some of your creations?"

There was a brief silence before she replied, "You are welcome to take a look, but I must apprise you that there are currently no spare garments in my possession."

"It's okay, I'm glad to just visit your workspace." you said with a smile, a hint of excitement gleaming in your eyes.

Aglaea nodded and guided you to her tailoring room now. The room was quite spacious and felt empty due to how few things were kept around. You approached the table and looked at the fabric lying on top, assuming she was working on it currently.

"Do you.... not make any garments at all now?"

"....I do, occasionally. The fabric in front of you is my ongoing work. As you can see, I have barely been able to cut it into shape and I have been working on it for a few weeks now."

"You must be very busy with other things...."

"Indeed. Protecting Amphoreus, as well as gathering the coreflames are my utmost priorities. In my free time, I prefer relaxing in the bath."

You nodded in agreement and looked around the room more. Aglaea sensed your genuine interest in her work and decided to show you something special. She walked towards a nearby cupboard and took out a neatly draped robe.

"This is.... a cherished garment of mine. A robe for the priest of Mnestia."

She walked towards you and allowed you to look at the robe in her hand. Your eyes sparkled more as you closely looked at it, taking in its patterns and beauty.

"It's very beautiful, I can see how detailed your work must be."

It was a farily simple robe, unadorned and plain. She cherished it for the meaning it held, but seeing you appreciate it for just its appearance was surprising and she wondered if you were lying but she didn't sense any deceivement from you.

"Thank you. Hearing your words has given me some sense of motivation to continue on this fabric, perhaps I will weave it soon."

Aglaea smiled and walked away to keep the robe back in its place. You waited for her by looking around the room more when a Garmentmaker approached you with a bow and extended its hand towards you.

"Hm, what is it? Do you want me to do something?" you asked the Garmentmaker and it nodded then you kept your hand on it and were suddenly pulled forward, its other hand draping around your waist and you realized it was assuming a dance position with you.

"W-Wait, I can't dance—!"

It didn't hear any of your pleas and started twirling and swinging around with you, initiating a simple dance. Your steps fumbled and you feared falling many times yet the Garmentmaker held you in place and slowly refined your movements. You didn't know what it was trying to do but you decided to enjoy yourself and became more relaxed, your hand draping over its shoulder and pulling it closer.

"Garmentmaker, what are you doing?" Aglaea asked as she watched the scene unfold, unsure of the intentions of her own creation.

The Garmentmaker paid no heed to her and continued dancing with you. You giggled along the way as it swung you around, your steps becoming more graceful. A strange sense of familiarity and nostalgia evoked in Aglaea watching you both, she remembered the time she used to be so innocently impulsive and could indulge in carefree frivialties. Her eyes were focused on your smiling face and for a brief moment, she almost saw her past self in place.

She dismissed her thoughts soon after and walked towards you both. The Garmentmaker watched its master come closer and with a sneaky movement, spun you out of its arms to make you glide towards Aglaea. You didn't realize when your partner was changed, all you could feel was a different sensation in the arms that were wrapped around you now and the softness of the body pressing to yours. Only then did you realize you were now in Aglaea's embrace.

"L-Lady Aglaea— sorry!" you tried to regain your composure and release from her hold but she didn't seem keen on letting you go.

Instead, she pulled you even closer by the arm that was wrapped around your waist and intricately intertwined her other palm with yours.

With a smile on her face, she leaned closer to you, "Won't you dance with me now?~"

Your face flushed at the situation, the close proximity with her was overwhelming and you were not at all confident in your dancing skills. But before you could reply, Aglaea led you around the room with graceful and refined steps, even better than the Garmentmaker's. You feared stepping on her foot many times but each time she'd naturally correct you and didn't stop the symphony. You slowly became more confident and actively followed her lead, that's when she decided to switch your roles.

She swapped the placement of your arms- her arm that was around your waist now wrapped around your neck while you wrapped yours around her waist. No words were spoken as this exchange happened, your eyes conveying the feelings to each other and bodies moving automatically to assume the positions. The blush on your face remained as you danced, still feeling slightly nervous about doing this with her but tried your best to not disappoint her.

The last revelry approached and with a final twirl and spin, you pulled her to yourself then dipped her. Your interlocked palms released as you reached to grasp her thigh and pull her leg up till your waist while she wrapped both arms around your neck when you dipped her. Silence engulfed the room as you held this position, your heightened breaths being the only audible sound. You gazed into each other's eyes this way, feeling a connection with her.

Your gaze naturally moved down to her soft, rosy lips and you almost leaned in to kiss her but held back and instead stood her up. You attempted to release her thigh but she moved closer and raised it more, essentially wrapping her leg around your hip. You tightened your hold due to this, suddenly pulling her closer and feeling the way her arms also tightened. Your gaze moved to her lips once again and you were desperately holding back from letting your desires take over.

To your utmost surprise, it was Aglaea who made the move. She leaned closer and connected her lips to yours in a soft and gentle manner. The feeling was serene right when her lips touched yours, though you didn't have the mettle to kiss her back right away. The first kiss was short-lived, feeling more like a peck as she moved back rather quickly and left you feeling deprived. You gazed into her hooded eyes and couldn't hold back anymore.

She braced herself when you pulled her closer and connected your lips again. The kiss was rougher and impatient this time, your lips moving in quick and unkempt motions as you yearned to feel her more. Her hand slowly laced through your hair and grasped your strands then tilted your head to kiss deeper. Your tongues reached out at the same time, eagerly rolling together in a passionate manner, akin to a dance.

As the kiss continued, you suddenly felt her move against your body in a teasing manner. You almost let out a groan since she rubbed against your crotch, though you weren't sure if she did that intentionally or not. Your lips parted for a brief moment after a while, a small gasp leaving your mouth as you took in deep breaths. Yet the respite was short-lived as she slammed her lips on yours again and kissed passionately.

She once again rubbed her body on yours in a similar manner and you really felt she was doing it intentionally as if conveying something to you. That's when you decided to act and give her what she seemingly wanted. You swiftly picked her up and spun around to place her against the table behind you, making her body lean on the edge while your lips remained connected. She moaned softly from your sudden movement, yet made no attempt to stop or pull away.

"Mmh.... Y-Y/n....~" she breathed against your lips, her sweet voice sending shivers down your body and causing a throb in your crotch.

You pulled away from the kiss to breathe, panting heavily while gazing at her.

"I.... I don't know what to say, Lady Aglaea...."

You averted your gaze shyly. Aglaea smiled at your reaction then cupped your face and turned it towards herself.

"You need not say anything, for I know what's going on in your mind. Back at the theater, you were looking at me and thinking of me most of the time.... isn't that right?~"

You pursed your lips and nodded, "Of course, you'd know. There was no point in hiding it....."

She softly chuckled and continued stroking your cheek. You shifted your legs slightly which made your semi-erect shaft rub between her thighs, eliciting a muffled moan from her. Her sound and expressions were downright erotic even when reserved, you wanted to see and hear so much more of her. Without a second thought, you leaned forward and attached your lips to her neck and planted open-mouthed kisses over her skin.

She tilted her head back to give you better access, also showing she wasn't against you doing this. You kissed down till the exposed valley of her breasts then suddenly dropped to your knees, catching her off-guard. You felt up her silky smooth legs and raised her dress simultaneously until her clothed core was in sight, a wet patch beginning to form on her golden panties. You licked your lips at the sight, peppering kisses on her inner thighs now.

"Wait, Y/n...." she spoke breathily while looking down at you, her palm caressing your head.

You immediately stood up and gave her space, fearing you misunderstood the situation.

"S-Sorry, did you not want to? I assumed you were...."

She sensed your apologetic tone and wrapped golden threads around your body to pull you closer.

"As I mentioned, I was aware of your thoughts at the theater. In fact, I have been aware of your feelings for me since the beginning. Do you suppose I would have invited you for a simple dinner on such short notice otherwise?~"

Your eyes widened at her words, a blush forming on your face.

"Let's just say I didn't anticipate to move to this stage so quickly. I was going to genuinely show my hospitality then offer some special services~"

You looked away in embarrassment, "Sorry, I couldn't hold back just now...."

Aglaea chuckled and traced her slender finger down your body before stopping at your abdomen to palm your crotch, "I can't really blame you, can I? After all, the Garmentmaker certainly took liberties of its own."

You let out a muffled groan feeling her palm your erection, "T-That was.... you didn't tell it to do that?"

Aglaea shook her head sideways to convey her refusal then continued, "Nevertheless, I see no point in stopping now. I simply wanted us to be clear on certain things before moving on to the next step of this relationship."

You blushed more then nodded with a smile, "I appreciate that, thank you...."

You shared a gentle kiss then were down on your knees again immediately. Your hands caressed her thighs and pulled apart her dress to look at her core, more wetness formed on the golden cloth. You then grasped her panties and looked up at her for a moment, asking for permission, which she gave with a nod. A string of slick stuck to the fabric as it was pulled down, your eyes hooding at the sight of her bare cunt. You wasted no time and attached your lips to her clit, planting a supple kiss on it.

Aglaea let out a pleasant hum feeling your tongue lap up her folds, going up and down in simple strokes and caressing her clit simultaneously. You shifted closer and buried your face further into her, using your thumbs to spread her folds and finally insert your tongue inside. Her body arched with a low moan once, one hand shuffling to grip your head while the other clenched the table's edge. She gazed into empty space, instead using the threads to feel your touch.

Your nose touched her clit when you pushed deeper, prodding at her most sensitive spots with your tongue. It flicked inside to caress her walls, your lips wrapping around to suck at the same time. She gasped softly as you went deeper and scissored your tongue, her hips bucking into your mouth. Your hands grasped her hips and pulled her closer, she automatically spread her legs more and rested her right leg on your shoulder to give you more space.

Your eyes gazed up at her as you ate her out, sounds of sucking and slurping resounding in her ears. You pushed even deeper and somehow made her jolt up to sit on the edge of the table, her legs opening wide to accompany you. She moaned unexpectedly at your action, both of her legs hanging on your shoulders now as you diligently sucked on her bundle of nerves.

Aglaea subconsciously grinded her hips on your mouth, trying to feel you more and gain more friction against certain spots. Recognizing her efforts, you switched up your technique and pleasured other spots where she seemed to like it. She remained propped up by one arm while the other interlaced in your hair and pushed your head deeper, her legs locking around your neck as she approached her orgasm.

"Aaah.... Y/n.... i-it's nearing..... could you— mmh!~"

Her plea was seemingly cut off with a breathy moan as you moved faster now. You buried your tongue to the hilt, simultaneously rubbing her clit with your thumb now. She arched up from the combined stimulation, her nails lightly digging in your scalp as she gripped your strands tighter. You raised her body and plunged your tongue at a certain angle, the knot in her stomach snapping as you touched her most sensitive spot.

She came hard on your mouth, almost squirting her release as if she hadn't been pleasured in a long time. Her voice was mostly muffled as she came, merely taking in long breaths while she stabilized herself. You drank up every bit of her sweet, divine release, lapping away at her folds like a starved puppy. She released her grip in your head and gently caressed it as you licked her clean, gazing at you with a smile.

"I did not foresee you to be so skilled at this. My apologies if it was unsightly of me to—"

"Not at all, Lady Aglaea." you interjected, "You were beautiful. I.... I just hope you liked it...."

She remained silent for a while as if she was trying to read your thoughts then smiled, "It was a delightful experience, you have my gratitude."

You blushed from her compliment and shyly nodded, unsure of how to respond. She noted your flustered expression and found you adorable, feeling more joyous at agreeing to do this with you. She didn't need her eyes nor the golden threads to tell your throbbing erection strained in your pants, desperate for attention now. Without saying or doing anything, she stepped down from the table and turned around making you face her back now and bent against it.

You blushed more at the unexpected position, gazing at her exquisite body that was waiting for you to take her. Her back arched perfectly off the table, plentiful hips rubbing over your bulge and her lightly exposed shoulders as the straps of her dress had slipped down. Everything was picture perfect and you couldn't believe the sight was real. Aglaea sensed your strong gaze on her and looked over her shoulder, slowly swinging her hips on your bulge.

"Time is of the essence, dear guest. As the one responsible for your wellbeing, I don't want you to be constrained any longer~"

Your cock twitched at her words and you hastily undid your pants to pull it out. Her ears perked up at the sound of unzipping, her hands subconsciously clenching the table to prepare herself when she felt you drag up her dress to expose her folds. The sight of her dripping folds aroused you to no end and you wasted no more time to grasp your length and brush it across them. She shivered, hips bucking back to meet yours as if to beg for more.

"Mmh.... you don't need to wait.... I'm ready~"

You didn't need any more encouragement. With one swift thrust, you buried yourself deep inside her, feeling her warmth surround you. A soft whimper escaped her lips, a sound of pure, unrestrained need that was more intoxicating than Phagousa's honey.

You moved slowly at first, a deliberate, inch-by-inch penetration as you felt her tightness, the warm embrace that welcomed you. Her breath hitched, letting out a sharp gasp as you began to fill her.

"Ngh.... y-you feel so good.... aaah....~" you groaned, slowly pumping your hips.

"Mmh.... so do you.... o-oh.... t-there....~" she breathily replied, her hands clenching the edge of the table with each thrust you did.

You felt her internal muscles tighten around you, a wave of exquisite pressure that sent a shiver down your spine. You eased back slightly, then pushed deeper, searching for that pocket of intense sensation she was guiding you towards. Her body arched, a soft moan escaping her lips, higher pitched this time, laced with a vulnerability that made your chest ache even amidst the surging pleasure. You grasped her hips tighter, preparing to increase your pace.

"I'm going to move faster.... i-is that okay?"

"Y-Yes.... nnh.... don't hold back~"

Her words excited you to no end, but you had to remain in control and not lose yourself. You dragged out your cock once until only the tip remained inside, a sigh coming from her at the loss of your fullness. The loss was short-lived as you swiftly surged forward, burying yourself to the hilt, then pumping at an animalistic pace. She whimpered, her body rocking against the table from your frantic thrusts.

"Oh... oh Mnestia... yes...!~" she panted, her voice thick with pleasure.

Each thrust felt like a revelation, a deeper understanding of her body, her pleasure. You found a rhythm that seemed designed specifically for her, for the way she arched her back, the way her breath hitched and the way her hips tilted to meet you. The soft rubs of her plentiful curves against your hips were a delight. You could feel the heat radiating from her, a warmth that seemed to seep into your very bones.

You watched as her back arched further, a beautiful, strong curve that spoke of grace and power, even in this state of abandon. She was like a statue come to life, sculpted by the gods themselves, now yielding to your touch. The contrast between her usual regal composure and the raw, uninhibited pleasure she was experiencing was breathtaking.

You leaned forward, burying your face in the curve of her shoulder and neck, inhaling the scent of her skin, a mix of her unique fragrance and the musky aroma of arousal. Your hands wrapped around her waist, gripping her firmly, your hips continuing the onslaught on her behind.

"Tell me what you want...." you whispered against her skin, the demand a soft rumble that resonated through her body.

Your hushed voice accompanied with grunts made her shiver surprisingly, finding herself at a loss of words for a moment due to the sheer pleasure she was experiencing.

"Mmh.... f-faster.... keep going.... aaahn.... t-this is good....~"

You obliged, increasing the tempo, the thrusts becoming faster, more urgent. The sounds filling the room were primal – your groans, her gasps, the wet, rhythmic slapping of skin against skin. The delicate balance of her elegance was momentarily forgotten as pure instinct took over, her body responding with unadulterated pleasure. You focused on her, on the waves of pleasure you were coaxing from her, deriving immense satisfaction from her obvious surrender to sensation.

That's when you decided to change things. You wanted to see her, see the look on her face as she drowns in pleasure, gaze into her fathomless eyes as your bodies melted into one.

"I'm going to turn you over—!" you declared, barely giving her enough time to register the action as you immediately held up her left leg, stopping to move for a moment, and flipped her to lay on her back.

She whined— whined— from the sudden change, yet her hands were quick to reach up and hold you, arms wrapping around your neck to pull you close. You shoved your hips and hilted deep again, then started to move at the same pace as before. The moment you resumed, her head tilted back slightly, exposing the long, elegant line of her throat. Her golden eyes hooded, fixed on you, pulling you in. The whine turned into a low moan as you continued, a sound of pure, rich pleasure vibrating in her chest and against your own.

You leaned down, pressing a kiss to the pulse point at her throat, tasting the salt and the heady scent of her arousal. She arched into the contact, her legs wrapping tighter around your waist, urging you deeper, faster. The rhythm quickened again, a frantic, beautiful dance between your bodies, fueled by a desperate need that transcended mere physical release. The table rocked again, your strength becoming visible as you gave up your restraints. Your hands moved her dress down to expose her ample breasts, immediately cupping them.

Aglaea gasped when she felt your lips on her hardened nipple, her arms automatically wrapping around your head to keep you in. Your tongue swirled on the bud, tasting it, then putting your lips on it to suck. She arched into you again as you sucked her nipple, pinching and twirling the other one before switching to suck it as well. Her fingers tangled in your hair, pulling your face closer. Her breath hitched, ragged bursts that fueled the fire building within you.

You leaned back up and put her legs on your shoulders before grasping her waist, beginning a new onrush of desperate thrusts. Her breasts jiggled every time, ragged moans resounding in your ear. Her face that rarely harbored emotions showed intense signs of pleasure- eyes squeezed shut, lips parted, a flush spreading across her high cheekbones. You pushed deeper, harder, chasing the crest of the wave alongside her.

"I-I'm close.... hah... should I pull o—?!"

Before you could even complete your question, she waved her hand and golden threads wrapped around your torso and hips, tugging you closer and keeping you in place. You groaned in surprise, feeling your cock be pushed to the deepest depths possible. The tightness coiled around you, warm walls clenching you as if to milk you dry. Her answer was already clear, it seems she had decided this from the get-go.

You dropped her legs down and she wrapped them around your waist now, spreading her arms open for you. You leaned forward and embraced her, the warmth welcoming you, your hips rutting with her. She cupped your face and connected your lips, initiaing an intense and desperate kiss, one that was highly unlike her yet extremely endearing to you.

"S-So am I.... aaah....! Oh, for the love of Mnestia!~" she cried out, pushing your head in the crook of her neck, your face getting squished in her ample breasts.

The floodgates burst, a white-hot torrent surging through you. Your body convulsed, a guttural roar tearing from your lungs as you poured yourself into her, held captive and ecstatic by the golden threads, by her will, by her power. She moaned your name, a sharp, beautiful sound, her body arching into yours as her own release took her. It was a symphony of shared surrender, of two powerful beings collapsing into each other, stripped bare of everything but base need and profound connection.

"Ngh.... A-Aglaea—!~" you moaned her name in return as your release burst forth, the first time you uttered it without a title, and she found herself liking the sound of that.

The tension held by the golden threads lingered for another moment, a final, fading pulse, before they dissolved into nothingness, leaving behind only the ghost of warmth and the heavy reality of your bodies pressed together, slick with sweat, trembling with the aftershocks of your shared climax. Your head rested on her chest, panting, listening to the frantic beating of her heart. The air was thick with the scent of sex and something else, something faintly floral and divine that you now associated only with her.

You then slowly pulled out of her, a squelching sound coming as it dragged out of her drenched folds with a pop. Her form looked elegant as ever, even with your release leaking out of her and her body covered in sweat and heaving. She stood up soon after and embraced you again, her hand gently caressing the back of your head. You couldn't deny you were a little surprised at this, but didn't resist and returned her embrace.

"You have my heartfelt gratitude for this. I.... I had forgotten how it felt, thank you for reminding me and giving me a new, unforgettable memory."

Your eyes widened at her confession, then you gave her a shy smile.

"It's okay, I didn't do much.... I'm just glad you liked it."

Your words tugged her heartstrings, dormant feelings she didn't know she still had. Her fingers grasped your chin and pulled it up to make you look into her eyes, a sultry, seductive smile forming on her face.

"I'm open to sharing more moments like this while you are here~"

You blushed profusely, realizing what she meant.

"M-Me too.... anytime you want...."

She smiled then leaned in for a gentle kiss, sealing the deal.

You washed yourselves then eventually made way to the dining area, as she had initially planned. A feast was long prepared by the Garmentmakers who patiently waited for you both. You had forgotten their existence in that room.... you were just glad they had no face and couldn't speak. You enjoyed a hearty meal together, not speaking much of your recent intimacy, instead engaging in a casual conversation on other topics.

Once finished with the meal, you thanked her for the time spent and were ready to head back now. Although, deep inside you wished to stay a bit longer and just spend time with her, even if doing nothing. You were about to be escorted out when Aglaea sent away the Garmentmakers and approached you, suddenly feeling a bit nervous thinking of what she had in mind.

With a simple flick of her fingers, golden threads were bound around your wrists, tying them together. You stared at her wide-eyed, confused and shocked. She smirked then turned around and started walking further into the house, the threads pulling you and making you follow her. You entered a lavish bedroom, bathed in gold and silk, easily able to decipher it was her private chamber.

Before you knew it, you were shoved on the bed and pulled near the headboard by the threads, your arms held up by them. You couldn't even protest or question her, knowing well where this was headed and you couldn't deny you wanted it. You sat still and waited, watching as she slipped out of her gown, revealing her exquisite body for your eyes to feast on.

Your shaft hardened at once, feeling extremely aroused by everything now, especially her. She climbed up on the bed and crawled towards you, glancing at your erect shaft once and chuckling while her fingers traced your jaw. She straddled your lap then, hips laying snug against your erect length, arms wrapping around your neck as she came closer to whisper in your ear.

"There's more of my hospitality that I'd like to show, esteemed guest. Would you be willing to bear with me and continue this union?~"

Her angelic voice came hushed, instantly sending shivers down your spine and making your length throb. Your clothes were discarded quickly afterwards as her warmth wrapped you again, hips meeting yours with fervour and continuing the revelry from before.

~*~

It was sometime early into the day when Aglaea woke up, body intertwined with yours, marks of your passionate union adorning both of your skins. She gazed at your form sleeping peacefully beside her, feeling some kind of longing surge in her.

"Garmentmaker, bring me my measuring tools."

The puppet obliged immediately, fetching her sewing tape and a notepad. It then aided her master as she carefully took measurements of your body, ensuring not to disturb your slumber. She recalled the way she held your body the previous day, remembering some of the measurements by just touch as she didn't want to wake you up. Soon, she noted down all necessary measurements and sent the Garmentmaker away, laying back down beside you.

Her hand caressed your face as she leaned to kiss your forehead, smiling, pondering over the next garment she was going to design for a person she cherished after so long, a person she held deeply in her inhumane heart. The unfinished fabric would finally be weaved by the Dressmaster of Okhema, and it would be a garment worth no price, as the only price was her love- which she reserved for you.

[fluentmoviequoter]

Strong Enough

0.8k+ fluffy words of Karadec getting fed up and proving you wrong. (it's not a prank blurb but it is a from a trend so I'm tagging it the same!)

The Major Crimes unit is silent. It’s disturbing and unsettling, and you shift uncomfortably in your seat while waiting for someone to make a noise.

“Is Soto back?” Oz whispers.

Daphne shakes her head no, then taps her mouse to check if the computers are back up. “We’re still dark,” she replies softly. “So… what’s the worst date you’ve been on recently?”

You don’t have to see Karadec to know he’s rolling his eyes. Still, you smile at the distraction and move closer to Oz and Daphne’s back-to-back desks.

“I haven’t been on one in a while,” Oz says. “But a few months back, she asked me to get her an Uber to her backup date.”

“Oh, no,” Daphne exclaims with a laugh.

“That’s awful,” you agree. “She didn’t have to tell you where she was going.”

“No, she really felt like she needed to,” he explains. “What about you, Daph?”

“Went on a second date with a guy and he asked what kind of wine I wanted and then ordered something completely different.”

“Don’t tell me he pulled the I’m paying and I’m sure you’ll like it,” you ask, pinching your brows sympathetically.

“Better. He told me that my palette wasn’t refined and offered to help with that.”

“Gross,” you and Oz respond simultaneously.

“I went on a date last week, and he offered me his jacket,” you offer.

“That’s sweet,” Oz argues.

“It didn’t fit, so he asked if I was working to lose any weight so I could wear his clothes if things got serious.”

Daphne’s jaw drops as her brows rise, and Oz shakes his head.

“Granted, I don’t think I’ve ever dated a guy whose clothes I could wear. Let alone one who could lift me or anything. I’m not sure they exist in my circle.”

Karadec scoffs, and you turn in your seat to look at him.

“What?” you inquire.

“Nothing, just working,” he answers, opening a file.

“Sure. What’s the worst date you’ve been on?”

“Nothing as bad as this moment.”

“Someone’s grumpy,” you stage-whisper over your shoulder to Daphne.

“You work with cops, there’s fifteen gyms within a mile radius,” Karadec explains, “so you must be choosing the wrong men.”

“Okay, one, the cops I actually work with day-to-day are mostly desk jockeys. No offense, Oz.”

“None taken,” he interjects.

“And two, Karadec, I’m not going to go hang out beside a gym to get some testosterone-fueled meathead just because he can pick me up. I’m saying realistically, naturally, in everyday life, I don’t know anyone who could just romantically manhandle me for the sake of it.”

“Romantically manhandle?” Morgan repeats, incredulous, as she enters the bullpen. “What am I interrupting?”

“Detective over here thinks there are no men in Los Angeles who could lift her onto their shoulder,” Karadec explains flatly.

“Ooh, like the video?” Morgan inquires, pulling a chair to your side. “Ava has shown me a few, they’re cute. Not so much when the scrawny-armed boys don’t succeed, but still.”

“We’re not going to get any work done today, are we?” Karadec inquires.

“Not with Soto busy and the system down,” Daphne reminds him. “So, try to let loose for a few minutes, would you?”

“You really don’t know anyone who could do it?” Morgan asks.

“Nope,” you answer. “Not for lack of trying, contrary to what Karadec will tell you.”

“Tell her about the jacket guy,” Oz encourages.

Karadec stands and gestures for you to do the same.

“Fine, we’ll change the subject,” you sigh.

“Stand up,” he demands.

Morgan moves her seat back as you stand, and Karadec steps closer to you. He wraps an arm around your waist, bends slightly, and then your feet are off the floor. You clutch his wrist at your side as he effortlessly lifts you onto his shoulder. From the elevated position, you look down at him with wide eyes.

Carefully, Karadec lowers you back to the floor and removes his hand from your side. He raises his hands to his sides and asks, “Happy now?”

Before you can answer him, Lieutenant Soto returns.

“Are workplace crushes frowned upon?” you ask her.

“Shut up,” Karadec grumbles as he returns to his desk and retrieves hand sanitizer from his drawer.

“What did I miss?” Soto asks, looking between you and Karadec.

“Oh, we can’t explain what just happened,” Oz muses.

“Luckily, I filmed it,” Daphne announces, raising her phone.

“You did not,” Karadec snaps, spinning to face her.

“She did!” Morgan answers, smiling brightly, as she watches the screen over Daphne’s shoulder. “And right… there is the moment she falls in love.”

Karadec shakes his head, and you murmur, “I was kidding. I know it doesn’t mean anything.”

He tips his head to the left, then nods and reboots his computer. “Of course not,” he replies, though it’s the least convincing you’ve ever heard him sound.

[solxamber]

Hello! I saw that you said it was fine to request still, so if it's alright I'll give you my thoughts/promt if it's fine by you.

Also wanted to say i love you're fanfics! Super entertaining and well written so i was wondering if you could write one that's Vil x mermaid! Reader (romantic) the prompt is-

Vil has been slowly falling in love with the reader; not just by her beauty but her personality the two have these little meet ups where she sings/the two talk endlessly and just enjoy eachothers company, but what I'm getting with this,is that Vil would take time to process his feelings but eventually he gets there and confesses. Maybe it could be a friends x lovers?

whatever you want to do with this idea is cool beans, I just really want to see what you come up with!! Alright,that's all much love ♡♡

Vil Schoenheit x Mermaid! Reader

the idea is so big brained!!! I hope you like it <3

Vil has always appreciated beauty. He lives and breathes it—the art of refinement, the craft of elegance. But lately, beauty has taken on a new form for him, and it looks suspiciously like you. He can’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but he knows it’s tied to those secret meetups you two share by the shoreline.

You’re a mermaid, and you make a point to remind him of that every time he mentions something about the "unbearable" human world. You always roll your eyes dramatically, your tail shimmering in the moonlight as you laugh at his over-the-top complaints about fashion disasters, inferior skincare routines, or the latest scandal in the entertainment industry.

"You humans are so fragile," you often tease, resting your chin on your hand as you float lazily in the water. "Honestly, Vil, it’s a wonder you haven’t all crumbled under the weight of your own drama."

He gives you a sharp look every time, but there’s always a trace of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "And yet, here you are, meeting up with one of these fragile humans every week."

"I didn’t say you weren’t entertaining," you retort with a sly grin. "It’s like watching a soap opera, except with more skincare tips."

Vil chuckles, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair, which somehow manages to stay flawless even in the salty sea breeze. "You’d be lost without my advice. I’ve seen your seaweed face masks."

You pretend to gasp, putting a hand to your chest. "Seaweed is a perfectly valid skincare ingredient! In fact, it’s far superior to that toxic concoction you call moisturizer."

"Seaweed smells like the bottom of the ocean."

"And you don’t?"

That’s how it always goes—banter, teasing, comfortable silences filled with the soft crashing of waves, and eventually, music. You sing sometimes, when the mood strikes you. It’s never anything planned; it just happens. Vil always listens, captivated, because your voice is something he can't quite describe. It's raw, but pure, untouched by the expectations of the stage or the pressures of fame.

Sometimes he sings back, though he pretends he’s only doing it because you insist. "Come on, Vil. Just a few bars. You know you want to."

"I am a professional," he says, crossing his arms. "I don’t perform on a whim."

But you know how to coax him, and soon enough, he’s harmonizing with your lilting melody, his smooth, controlled voice intertwining with yours in a way that makes the night feel magical.

It’s been months of these little meetings, and Vil has never been quite sure what to make of you. You’re beautiful, of course—stunning, really—but that’s not what has him coming back to the shore every week.

It’s the way you make him feel completely at ease, the way you challenge him without being mean-spirited, the way you listen to him vent about things you couldn’t care less about yet still offer thoughtful responses.

And then there’s that laugh of yours—sharp, like the crack of a wave against the rocks, but warm enough to make him feel lighter every time he hears it.

He’s always valued control—over his image, his career, his emotions—but with you, he’s found himself slipping. He realizes, with some discomfort, that he’s been looking forward to these meetings a little too much. It’s not just the singing or the banter anymore. It’s... you.

That thought bothers him, because Vil Schoenheit does not get "distracted." He doesn’t fall for anyone. At least, not like this.

But here he is, walking down to the beach again, heart beating faster than usual as he anticipates seeing you. Tonight, though, something feels different. Maybe it’s the way the moon is hanging lower than usual, casting everything in a silvery glow, or maybe it’s the fact that Vil can’t deny his feelings anymore.

You’re already waiting for him when he arrives, sitting on a rock with your tail swishing lazily in the water. "Late again, Mr. Superstar?" you call out teasingly.

"I’m fashionably late, thank you," Vil replies, though there’s a softness in his voice. He takes a seat on the sand, smoothing out his coat with practiced precision before looking at you.

"You’re slipping," you say, eyeing him critically. "Usually, you’d have a comeback ready. What’s the matter? One of your beauty products finally backfired?"

Vil snorts softly, shaking his head. "No, though if it did, you’d be the first to hear about it." He looks out at the horizon, his expression thoughtful. "I’ve just been... thinking."

"Uh-oh," you say, folding your arms over your chest. "That sounds dangerous. What about?"

He hesitates for a moment, unsure of how to approach this. Vil has always been calculated, measured in everything he does. Confessing his feelings, though? That’s not something he’s prepared for. He glances at you, and suddenly, the words start spilling out before he can stop them.

"You know, for someone who claims not to care about humans, you certainly seem to enjoy spending time with me."

You raise an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by the shift in tone. "Are you fishing for compliments, Vil? Because I don’t need to stroke your ego any more than it already is."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "No, it’s just... You’re always teasing me about humans, about my world, but you keep coming back. Why?"

You tilt your head, considering his question for a moment before replying. "Because you’re interesting, Vil. You’re not like the others I’ve met. Most humans get caught up in themselves, but you... you’ve got a spark. You’re genuine, even when you’re being all high-and-mighty. And, well, it’s not like I’ve got a lot of options for good conversation under the sea."

Vil’s heart skips a beat at your words, and he finds himself smiling despite the nerves building up inside him. "I see. So I’m just your entertainment, then?"

"Oh, definitely," you say, grinning. "But you’re also... more than that."

Vil blinks, his breath catching slightly. "More?"

You nod, your expression softening. "You’re someone I look forward to seeing. I like being around you, Vil. You make me feel... seen. And I’m not just talking about my looks. It’s like you actually care about me as a person, not just a pretty face."

He swallows, his chest tightening as he listens to your words. This is it. He can’t hold it in any longer. "I do care," he says quietly, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "More than you know."

You look at him, your teasing expression fading as you sense the weight behind his words. "Vil...?"

He takes a deep breath, steeling himself. "I think... I think I’m falling for you."

There. He said it. And now his heart is racing, his palms are sweating, and for the first time in what feels like forever, Vil Schoenheit is unsure of himself. He braces for your reaction, half expecting you to laugh it off or tease him like you always do.

But you don’t. Instead, you blink at him, your mouth opening and closing as you process his confession. "You... what?"

Vil clears his throat, forcing himself to meet your gaze. "I’m in love with you," he repeats, more confidently this time. "I’ve been falling for you for a while now, and I didn’t want to admit it, but... I can’t keep it to myself anymore."

There’s a moment of stunned silence before you break into a wide smile. "Vil, you absolute idiot."

He recoils slightly. "I beg your pardon?"

You laugh, shaking your head in disbelief. "I’ve been waiting for you to say something for months now! I thought I was going to have to spell it out for you."

Vil blinks, taken aback. "You... you knew?"

"I didn’t know know," you admit, "but I had a feeling. You’re not exactly subtle, Vil."

He stares at you, a mixture of relief and embarrassment flooding his system. "Why didn’t you say anything, then?"

"Because I wanted to see how long it would take for you to figure it out yourself," you say with a smirk, leaning forward slightly. "I didn’t think it’d take this long, though."

Vil narrows his eyes, though there’s no malice in his expression. "You’re insufferable."

"And yet, you love me," you tease, reaching out to cup his cheek gently. "What does that say about you?"

He huffs, though his heart is fluttering in his chest at your touch. "That I have terrible taste."

You laugh again, the sound bright and infectious, and before Vil can say anything else, you pull him in for a kiss. It’s soft, gentle, and Vil feels like his entire world is melting away in that moment. The taste of saltwater lingers on your lips, and for the first time in a long time, Vil isn’t worried about appearances or perfection. He’s just... happy.

When you finally pull away, both of you are smiling like fools. "So," you say, your voice teasing, "does this mean we’re a thing now?"

Vil rolls his eyes, though he can’t stop the grin spreading across his face. "I suppose it does."

"Good," you say, leaning in to kiss him again. "Because I’m not letting you back out of this one, Mr. Superstar."

Vil chuckles against your lips, his hand sliding to the back of your neck to pull you even closer. "Oh, trust me," he murmurs, his voice low and smooth, "I have no intention of backing out. But I do expect you to stop wearing those dreadful seaweed masks."

You gasp dramatically, pulling back just far enough to look him in the eye. "Excuse you! Seaweed is nature’s skincare miracle, Vil. Just because it’s not wrapped in fancy packaging doesn’t mean it’s ineffective."

He raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, his lips curling into a playful smirk. "Perhaps, but you’ll have to let me introduce you to something a little more refined. If we’re going to be a couple, I simply can’t allow my significant other to use subpar beauty products."

"Oh, is that so?" you ask, amusement twinkling in your eyes. "I didn’t realize I was dating a beauty tyrant."

"It’s for your own good," he says with mock seriousness, though there’s a warmth behind his gaze that betrays his affection. "Think of it as part of your glow-up. You’ll thank me later."

You can’t help but laugh, your heart swelling with affection for the man in front of you. It’s strange, really—how quickly this has all come together, yet how natural it feels. You never would’ve guessed that your casual banter and late-night talks would lead to this, but now that it’s happening, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Vil reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, his touch gentle but purposeful. "You know," he says softly, his usual sharp tone melting into something softer, "I’ve never met anyone quite like you."

You smile at him, feeling the warmth of his words settle into your chest. "I could say the same about you, Vil. You’re not as scary as people think, you know."

He chuckles, shaking his head slightly. "That’s a well-maintained persona, I’ll have you know. Can’t let people think I’m soft."

"Oh, but you are," you tease, poking him lightly in the chest. "At least with me."

He scoffs lightly, though there’s no real bite behind it. "I’ll deny it if you tell anyone."

You laugh, resting your forehead against his as you savor the closeness between you. For the first time in what feels like forever, you feel completely at peace, as if everything has fallen into place. Vil, with all his elegance, wit, and sharpness, has somehow become the person you’ve come to care about more than you ever thought possible. And now, as he holds you close, you know that you wouldn’t trade this for the world.

"I’m glad it’s you," you whisper, pressing a light kiss to his cheek. "I never thought I’d fall for a perfectionist with an ego the size of the sun, but here we are."

He lets out a soft, genuine laugh, his arms wrapping around you more securely. "I never thought I’d fall for someone who argues with me over skincare, but I suppose life has a sense of humor."

"Looks like we’re both in for a wild ride, then," you say with a grin.

Vil hums in agreement, his hand gently stroking your hair. "As long as it’s with you, I think I can handle it."

You smile, feeling your heart soar at his words. There’s a certain magic to this moment—a kind of fairy tale that feels like it’s been written just for the two of you. And as you sit there, wrapped up in each other’s warmth, you can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, this is the start of something truly beautiful.

"Well then," you say, pulling back slightly to look him in the eye, "looks like you’re stuck with me, Schoenheit."

"Forever, I hope," he says softly, before pulling you in for another kiss—this one longer, deeper, filled with the promise of something lasting.

And in that moment, with the moon shining overhead and the waves lapping gently against the shore, you know that whatever comes next, you’ll face it together..

Masterlist

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Wellness surveillance makes workers unwell

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TORONTO on Mar 22, then with LAURA POITRAS in NYC on Mar 24, then Anaheim, and more!

"National conversation" sounds like one of those meaningless buzzphrases – until you live through one. The first one I really participated in actively was the national conversation – the global conversation – about privacy following the Snowden revelations.

This all went down when my daughter was five, and as my wife and I talked about the news, our kid naturally grew curious about it. I had to literally "explain like I'm five" global mass surveillance:

https://locusmag.com/2014/05/cory-doctorow-how-to-talk-to-your-children-about-mass-surveillance/

But parenting is a two-way street, so even as I was explaining surveillance to my kid, my own experiences raising a child changed how I thought about surveillance. Obviously I knew about many of the harms that surveillance brings, but parenting helped me viscerally appreciate one of the least-discussed, most important aspects of being watched: how it compromises being your authentic self:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/may/09/cybersecurity-begins-with-integrity-not-surveillance

As I wrote then:

There are times when she is working right at the limits of her abilities – drawing or dancing or writing or singing or building – and she catches me watching her and gets this look of mingled embarrassment and exasperation, and then she changes back to some task where she has more mastery. No one – not even a small child – likes to look foolish in front of other people.

Learning, growth, and fulfillment all require a zone of privacy, a time and place where we are not observed. Far from making us accountable, continuous, fine-grained surveillance by authority figures just scares us into living a cramped, inauthentic version of ourselves, where growth is all but impossible. Others have observed the role this plays in right-wing culture war bullshit: "an armed society is a polite society" is code for "people who make me feel uncomfortable just by existing should be terrorized into hiding their authentic selves from me." The point of Don't Say Gay laws and anti-trans bills isn't to eliminate gender nonconformity – it's to drive it into hiding.

Given all this, it's no surprise that workers who face workplace surveillance in the name of "wellness" feel unwell as a result:

https://www.ifow.org/publications/what-impact-does-exposure-to-workplace-technologies-have-on-workers-quality-of-life-briefing-paper

As the Future of Work Institute found in its study, some technologies – systems that make it easier to collaborate and communicate with colleagues – increase workers' sense of wellbeing. But wearables and AI tools make workers feel significantly worse:

https://assets-global.website-files.com/64d5f73a7fc5e8a240310c4d/65eef23e188fb988d1f19e58_Tech%20Exposure%20and%20Worker%20Wellbeing%20-%20Full%20WP%20-%20Final.pdf

Workers who reported these negative feelings confirmed that these tools make them feel "monitored." I mean, of course they do. Even where these tools are nominally designed to help you do your job better, they're also explicitly designed to help your boss keep track of you from moment to moment. As Brandon Vigliarolo writes for The Register, these are the same bosses who have been boasting to their investors about their plans to fire their workers and replace them with AI:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/14/advanced_workplace_tech_study/

"Bossware" is a key example of the shitty rainbow of "disciplinary technology," tools that exist to take away human agency by making it easier to surveil and control its users:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/01/bossware/#bossware

Bossware is one of the stages of the Shitty Technology Adoption Curve: the process by which abusive and immiserating technologies progress up the privilege gradient as their proponents refine and normalize dystopian technologies in order to impose them on wider and wider audiences:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

The kinds of metrics that bossware gathers might be useful to workers, but only if the workers get to decide when, whether and how to share that data with other people. Microsoft Office helps you catch typos by underlining words its dictionary doesn't recognize; the cloud-based, "AI-powered" Office365 tells your boss that you're the 11th-worst speller in your division and uses "sentiment analysis" to predict whether you are likely to cause trouble:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/great-taylors-ghost/#solidarity-or-bust

Two hundred years ago, Luddites rose up against machines. Contrary to the ahistorical libel you've heard, the Luddites weren't angry or frightened of machines – they were angry at the machines' owners. They understood – correctly – that the purpose of a machine "so easy a child could use it" was to fire skilled adult workers and replace them with kidnapped, indentured Napoleonic War orphans who could be maimed and killed on the job without consequence:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/12/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk/

A hundred years ago, the "Taylorites" picked up where those mill owners left off: choreographing workers' movements to the finest degree in a pseudoscientific effort to produce a kind of kabuki of boss-pleasing robotic efficiency. The new, AI-based Taylorism goes even further, allowing bosses to automatically blacklist gig workers who refuse to cross picket-lines, monitor "self-employed" call center operators in their own homes, and monitor the eyeballs of Amazon drivers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

AI-based monitoring technologies dock workers' wages, suspend them, and even fire them, and when workers object, they're stuck arguing with a chatbot that is the apotheosis of Computer Says No:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

There's plenty of research about AI successfully "augmenting" workers, making them more productive and I'm the last person to say that automation can't help you get more done:

https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/augmented-workforce

But without understanding how AI augments class warfare – disciplining workers with a scale, speed and granularity beyond the sadistic fantasies of even the most micromanaging asshole boss – this research is meaningless.

The irony of bosses imposing monitoring to improve "wellness" and stave off "burnout" is that nothing is more exhausting, more immiserating, more infuriating than being continuously watched and judged.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/15/wellness-taylorism/#sick-of-spying

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[im-a-ramblr]

So it's been ages since I've watched Miraculous Ladybug. I stopped watching it at the start of season 2, got back into it because of Reverser, and watched a couple of episodes throughout 3, but I never bothered with 4 and 5. I would watch clips and read fics and find things that focused on Marc and Nathaniel, but that's it.

So now that Nath and Marc have moved into the spotlight via s06E15 The Ruler, I'm getting back into it. So let's talk about it! This post is about my thoughts on the surface level. There was a lot of subtext (and just actual text, tbh) and allegories and whatnot, but this isn't a post about them. I'll talk about those later.

Also, I tagged this post with spoilers, but in case I missed any of the spoiler tags, everything is under the cut.

First off, I love that we got to see their parents! I don't like Nathaniel's parents; that's the point of them, so that's not a surprise. We only got to see Marc's for a tiny bit, but I love them.

I really love his mom's outfit. The suns on the skirt, the little rainbow earrings, it's all so cute. His dad's unbuttoned vest and plaid pants give him a refined but chill look. Love what little we can see of their home, too. Very cozy and lived in.

What is Hal Stewart from Megamind doing? Why is he wearing a half-hearted, knock-off Austin Powers suit? The mom doesn't look horrible, but there's just something off-putting about her design. I'm also not a fan of the ruler in the hair. The house looks fine. Very staged, very impersonal, could be a hotel, to be honest. Not a fan, but that's a personal style thing.

I ADORE the fact that like half this moment was just them silently talking with their eyes. Such a good way to make it clear there's a connection between them. And I love how understanding Marc was. I know some people think the whole 'nothing will change between us' was a lie, but I don't think it was. I think that if Nath hadn't drawn the comic, then Marc wouldn't have cared. I think it's the fact that he drew it and then destroyed it, that's what hurt Marc.

I also love Marc's eye makeup, the pop of colors, the sparkle! And the earring is such a cute touch, I honestly thought it was his miraculous at first because I forgot it was a ring.

The fact that Nathaniel doesn't feel completely safe and comfortable in his room is heartbreaking. Marc really comes in clutch with the excuses. But! The paint splatters on Nath's overalls are the colors of the Bi flag! I noticed it earlier, but this was one of the better pictures I got to show it.

The fact that neither of his parents does anything when he breaks down, starts just sobbing, and runs out of the house like a madman! Like, what if he had just disappeared instead of coming back home? What if, in his blind panic, he'd gotten hurt? Not like Akumaizted, but like tripped and fell into the river or in front of a car. He could have very well been Akumaztized as well.

If I had seen a child running in that state of panic, I would assume that something horrible had happened and try to help. If I ever made a child hurt like that, I would hate myself and stop everything at once to make sure they were okay.

Marc trying to be strong for Nath was so sweet, but so sad. He knows that Nathaniel doesn't have a support system like he does. He has his parents, their friends, Nath, and possibly some others. Nath has Marc. Their friends support him, but they don't impact him the way they do Marc.

It breaks my heart that Nathaniel doesn't seem to understand why this upsets Marc. Because it's not about the comic, it's about the fact that Nath is making choices that will hurt him. That he doesn't understand how important he is to Marc, that he can't just 'get another illustrator'.

This scene felt so so reminiscent of season 2. Like all the confidence he'd built up over the last 4 seasons, just gone. If Nath had seen it would have broken him.

Marcaniel being Ride or Die, in the line of fire for each other, is sooo good. And the fact that Nath basically said 'you can do whatever do me, but don't you dare touch him' was chief's kiss. Really fun to get to see the passion and dedication we saw when they were Akumatized in civilian form.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Caprikid's transformation, it was so cute and sassy. The little flick for the mask? Perfection! And his new suit looks so good. The changes aren't super big, but they're impactful. (though I will admit I did sing 'apple bottom jeans, and the fur frindge' when I saw it)

Oh, and I haven't mentioned Nath's Miraculous but it's cute. Maybe it's because we never really it disguised when he was wearing it, but I like how they look in this than I did in Saga One. Which leads me to my next point!

Marc's Miraculous! It's way harder to see in the episode than Nathaniel's, but I like it a lot! I honestly like it more than any other version of the Rooster Miraculous that we've seen so far. Though it does seem to be the same when he's transformed, so that's interesting

I've seen people say Nath has no impulse control, but he does actually pause before revealing himself. He refuses to keep Marc in the dark. Meanwhile, Marc, who up until this point has been doing a pretty good job at keeping it together and covering his identity, processes what he sees and immediately reveals himself in turn.

I think this might be the happiest we see Nathaniel the whole episode.

[reidmoony-toast]

Strawberry Wine. ౨ৎ

"If I was empty space, and you were a formless shape we'd fit"

Spencer x fem singer!reader

The two times they miss each other, and the one time they don't

content: no use of y/n, fluff, pining galore

cw: lil suggestive? (She sings Chappell Roan)

wc: 2.4k

an: I've been cooking this up for a while, but life has been super busy, so I haven't yet finished the other parts. I'm very sorry if they take a few weeks to finish :[ Anyways, hope you enjoy! <3

| pt.1 | pt.2 | pt.3 | series masterlist ౨ৎ

· · ──────────── ·𖥸· ──────────── · ·

He really wished he wasn’t here. He never should have begrudgingly agreed to Penelope’s crazy plans, no matter how much she bugged him about it. This was about as far opposite to his kind of thing that you could get.

The lights were bright–unbearably so; flashing so much he feared he would have an epileptic episode (if it weren’t for the small fact that he didn’t actually have epilepsy, but he digressed).

The large room was also deafening, filled with fans, all of them buzzing in anticipation. Penelope was not an exception–she bounced up and down like a rogue ball, shrieking in excitement close to every thirty seconds. He would know. He had been counting.

Although he would rather be at the very back (if he had to choose anywhere in this wretched place), Penny had physically forced him into the very front row, only a barrier separating them from the stage.

He didn’t know and definitely didn’t want to know how Penelope had acquired such tickets and at such short notice before the show. He had found that he was better living in ignorance of the borderline illegal habits of his best friend.

He had just endured half an hour of what Penny had called the ‘openers’. He was dismayed to hear that the performance was not the actual concert; he learnt that the hard way when he had asked Penelope if they could leave, which she replied to with a cackle, stating that the band that had just exited the stage was, in fact, not the main event of the evening.

He had buried his face in his hands and let out a loud groan. He only had himself to blame for being caught up in the ‘Garcia puppy eyes’ trap, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t whinge at least a little bit–or a lot bit.

He didn’t know much about this singer girl, only that Penelope was obsessed with her, bringing her up in conversation many a time. He admitted that he often didn’t fully (if at all) listen when Garcia gushed over her–he seemed to always zone out.

He had never properly heard her songs, only in passing when Penelope would blast music in her cave, and he didn’t even have a clue what she looked like.

He was mentally preparing himself for the next few gruelling hours, with Penny jumping up and down beside him, when the lights dimmed, sending the whole room into a frenzy.

He winced at the screaming and whooping coming from all around him. Smoke machines started emitting mist, covering the stage and fogging up the colourful lights. The crowd continued to roar, Penelope squealing next to him and gripping the railing of the barrier.

A figure emerged through the haze, the silhouette showing locks of hair cascading over their shoulders, clad in a silk slip dress that ended at the mid thigh, hugging their curves.

They started singing–a smooth, silky voice wrapped around him, making the room suddenly feel more bearable. He swallowed hard. The singing was beautiful. Sweet and rich, wrapping around him like a cosy blanket.

He raised his eyebrows with pleasant surprise. It was, admittedly, not bad in the slightest. He hated to say it, but he was enjoying it, a lot. More than he should, given that it was new-age pop, not the refined tones of classical music–his favourite genre by far.

All thoughts of music flew out of his head as the owner of the angelic voice stepped into the stage lights, allowing him to properly see her for the first time. His breath left his body as he took her in.

She was gorgeous, stunning–almost ethereal, as her other-worldy voice filled his cochlea, transmitting electrical signals through his nerve pathways to his primary auditory cortex.

Her hair shone in the light, giving her a halo of the highest grade, her bright lips curled into a perfect smile around her words, and her eyes shone with a million glinting stars.

He was utterly enamoured by her–every facial expression, every movement she made, every note she sang was all absorbed thoroughly by his wide eyes.

In no time at all, the first song was over, finishing with loud cheering and clapping from the audience. The angel grinned out at the sea of fans, soaking up the feeling.

Unlike Spencer, she was well and truly in her element, looking as though there was not where else in the world she would rather be.

He gazed in open-mouthed awe at the way she floated effortlessly about the stage–and, of course, that breathtaking smile that scrunched her nose and revealed the prettiest dimples he had ever seen.

He was snapped back to reality with a sharp poke in the side from Penelope, centering his gravity away from the girl on stage and back to where he stood.

“What?” He said loudly, an exasperated look adorning his face as he tore his eyes back to his best friend. She was smirking at him, arms crossed in front of herself.

“You have such a thing for her, I’m surprised you're not drooling right now,” she answered mockingly. He scoffed, dismissing her words with a wave of his hands as he faced the stage again, not wanting to miss a moment of the show. He heard Garcia laugh deeply at his half-hearted denial.

All thoughts of Penelope soon left his mind as the heaven-sent saint started to sing again, striking chords in his heart at every note.

The song came and went again, and Spencer wished they would not go by so fast, so he could see her for as long as possible.

The next song started with a more upbeat track, and the angel laughed, running back down stage, scarily close to where Spencer stood. “She was a, Playboy, Brigitte Bardot,” she started to sing, “She showed me things, I didn't know.”

She stuck out her tongue playfully, shaking her hips, making the satin fabric hugging her curves sway.

“She did it right there, out on the deck,” she bit down on her bottom lip as Spencer’s face heated, realising what the song was about. “Put her canine teeth in the side of my neck.”

She gestured with her fingers to a spot on her neck, pretending as if her fingers were the teeth, tipping her head back with imaginary ecstasy. He swallowed heavily, face hot.

“I'm in the hallway waitin' for ya,” she sang, “Mini skirt and my go-go boots,” on those lyrics, she bent over, running her free hand from her heeled boots and up her legs, jutting her ass out.

Spencer’s mouth fell open in shock. He had never felt like this from only a few minutes of meeting someone, let alone just laying his eyes on them. This was completely out of the ordinary for him, and it left him reeling.

~☆~

Songs flitted by like the butterflies in his stomach, and his gaze was permanently fixated on the captivating women centre-stage. He couldn't tear his eyes away even if he tried–and he most definitely didn't.

A new song started, fading in with a catchy guitar riff, and the crowd went wild, sparking a wide smile on the angel’s face.

The drum beat started, and she strutted down the stage, tipping her head back and shaking her smooth curls out in the dim lights before she began to sing. “Midnight,” she dragged out the end of the word.

“Come and pick me up, no headlights,” she blew a kiss to the fans in front of her, winking as she made her way down the stage towards where Spencer was situated.

Penelope grasped his arm tighter and tighter as she neared, buttery voice washing over him.

“Watch us go ‘round and ‘round each time,” she stretched out the note, rolling her head to the side, eyes landing exactly where Spencer was standing. He froze, dumbstruck, as he locked eyes with her.

He gulped heavily as a cheeky grin adorned her face, soft lips framing perfectly white teeth. She straightened up, continuing the lyrics as she floated even closer to him, never breaking eye contact.

“You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye,” She knelt down on the stage in front of Spencer. His breathing stuttered as his gaze remained on her, utterly entranced.

“And I got that red lip classic thing that you like,” she dragged her thumb across her lip, singing to him through a happy, if not slightly teasing, smile.

“‘Cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style,” He could see her mouth curving around each syllable as she sang into the microphone, eyes still, somehow, on him.

He most definitely looked like an idiot in that moment, with his flushed cheeks and slack-jawed awe of the ethereal woman only a few feet away, but he didn't have it in himself to care.

She had seen him, and not only that, she had actually come over and sat, right there on the stage in front of him. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, she was–without question–looking, and singing, straight at him.

She leaned impossibly closer, leaving only a few inches between their two faces as she crooned the words into the microphone. His eyes flicked across the features of her face before they settled on her own.

Up close, they were mesmerising– long, thick lashes framed bright irises, sparkling with the light of the night sky– he could almost map out the constellations he knew off by heart from the incandescent twinkles in her eyes.

“You got that long hair, slicked back-” She moved her free hand to hover over the collar of Spencer's shirt, seemingly asking silent consent to touch him.

He shook out of his trance long enough to nod vigorously. She let out a short chuckle, grabbing his collar and carefully but firmly pulling him closer by his shirt. “-white T-shirt.”

His breath hitched as hers ghosted his lips with every exhale, noses almost touching, with hardly any room for the microphone as his heart raced impossibly faster.

“And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt.” At that, she pulled away, letting go of his collar as she leaned back to run her free hand over her skirt, smirking at Spencer and his flaming-red face.

“And when we go crashing down, we come back every time,” she repeats, still serenading him. “'Cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style!” She finally stood, winking and blowing a kiss at a thoroughly flustered Spencer as she strutted to another part of the stage.

Spencer stood there, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe she had not only noticed him, but also sang right to him. His shirt was crumpled from where she had gripped it, but he didn't dare fix it. If possible, he would never smooth the rumpled fabric if it meant he could have a reminder of her always.

A rough shake of his shoulder brought him back to the present, Penelope standing astonished next to him, incredulous smile playing on her lips and she all but shrieked in his ear–something along the lines of, ‘You're so lucky!’ and ‘You're so down bad!’.

He didn't pay her any mind, instead keeping his still-red face on her, and her only.

She wandered to different parts of the stage during the remainder of the song, but Spencer didn't miss the more-than-occasional glances she sent his way throughout the next few songs, smile growing each time they locked eyes.

When they did, he matched her smile with his own goofy grin, his heart feeling as if it was beating out of his chest, breathing becoming erratic as he clutched the railing with white knuckles.

~☆~

All too soon, the concert came to an end, accompanied by raucous applause from the crowd. He clapped like a mad thing too, finally understanding why her fans acted the way they did.

The version of him from two hours ago would have teased him relentlessly for this, but he didn't care. It was another completely different version of him, a version that had not yet laid his eyes on her.

It certainly felt like a life-altering moment in his existence. His being was now split into ‘before’ and ‘after’. Before and after her.

She waved and blew kisses enthusiastically as she made her way off stage. He deduced that she would have to walk right past Spencer to get there. He pathetically hoped she would look at him one last time–prayed she cared enough to seek him out once again.

Electricity jolted through his entire body, head to toe, as she locked eyes with Spencer when he was in her direct line of sight.

She gave him a wink and a little wave, biting her lip through a larger-than-life grin; he felt giddy, hand coming up in an awkward half-wave. He silently cursed himself for the stiltedness of his actions.

She, however, didn't have such qualms as she blew him an air kiss, giggling as she turned away, skipping the rest of the way off stage. The screaming continued as the heel of her shoe disappeared behind the side-stage curtain.

He felt oddly hollow as the venue lights came back on, signalling the end of the show. He kept staring at the spot where she had last been, silently hoping she would come back out and sing again. Look at him again.

He blinked hard, finally re-orienting himself, glancing around to see a few people staring at him, whispering to themselves.

They were talking about him–about his encounter. He turned away again, ducking his head as his cheeks burned again.

As quickly as they came, the stares went again, and his eyes flicked back to the stage again. He so badly wanted to meet her, talk to her, even just lay his eyes on her again. That would be enough.

Penelope cleared her throat next to him, and he hummed in response, still not looking away. She snorted. “Come on lover boy, time to leave.”

He turned his attention to see her nod in the direction of the exit.

He gazed back at that spot once more, heaving out a melancholy sigh, before turning away, heading towards the door.

“Yeah, let's go.”

· · ──────────── ·𖥸· ──────────── · ·

Thank you for reading, feedback is appreciated x

Tags: @reidology13 - Comment to be added!

Masterlist ౨ৎ

[a-hazbin-reader]

A reader who loves singing? Does Alator let her sing his radio show?

Alastor X Reader Headcanons

✅️Romantic

❌️Platonic

TW: Alastor being petty, Alastor eating people, Vox being bullied

Description: ☝️⬆️

Alastor loves having an wife who can sing, any talent of yours he celebrates but singing especially is his favorite

Alastor is the type of husband to brag to a room of strangers about how good his wife sings

Even the other overlords are SICK of hearing about you and your beautiful, heavenly, mesmerizing voice

Except maybe Zestial and Rosie, the two of them actually genuinely interested in hearing you sing

Alastor is absolutely embarrassing to take anywhere that there is a live band/music

Mocks any other singer on stage just to get a reaction out of people so he can get you up there instead

He loves your voice best 👌

"They're a fine singer, sure, I'm only saying that I've heard better~"

Not him throwing you on stage

Is your biggest fan, making sure everyone claps and cheers for you because he will eat them if they don't

You're going to be blushing the entire time on stage because he's going to be giving you the most sinful look while you sing

Even if he doesn't necessarily like the song you're singing, Alastor is content to just admire your vocal talent

He won't let anybody try to make deals or contracts with you over your voice, usually just giving people a terrifying grin as he pulls you close

Vox has asked you a few times to perform for his show, but Alastor is proud to say that his wife has better taste than that

He also exaggerates the story of how you turned him down, claiming you kicked Vox in the groin and shattered his screen

"Alastor! That's not how that happened-"

"No? Funny, that's how I remember it~"

And he usually does something funny to get back at Vox for even trying

In Alastor's opinion, there are only two ways to enjoy your voice

Either in person or on his radio show

Putting you on TV would only dull your natural sparkle and talent, take away how special it is to really listen to you

That's his opinion anyway

Will ask you to sing at the hotel instead, but really what he's asking is if you'll sing for him

Because if you perform at the hotel then he's not missing a single moment of it, each performance from you is a gift

Will have brief intermissions in his broadcast so that you can sing to all his listeners

Treats you as the Lilith figure for his show, believing that your singing does have some power to it but also just so he can rub his woman in Lucifer's face

"Seems as if her majesty wasn't the only one with a pretty voice~ Aren't we all so lucky to have Y/N~?"

Alastor, maybe don't piss off Lucifer by shit talking the mother of his child?

He'll play piano as long as you promise to sing, the two of you would have the BEST DUETS

If you sing him a love song, then he can't resist singing along with you and pulling you in for a dance

"You should serenade me more often, my dear~ I think I deserve such a treat from you every now and then~"

"You ate like six people today, I think you should think again."

Little nose boop for your husband

Not him biting your finger playfully as you go to pull it away

"You two are so fucking sweet it's making me sick, I'm outta here."

Sorry Angel

Sometimes he hums along with you if you're singing while you're working, content to harmonize with you

Lowkey gets jealous when other people sing with you but gets irritated if someone who can't sing tries to sing with you

He has gone so far as to threaten them for singing badly and ruining your song

"If you're going to open your mouth, it would do you well to mind the shit that comes out of it."

"Alastor!!"

If you ask him for it, Alastor will pull all the strings he can to get you a place just for you to sing

It'll be his shrine to your voice

No Mimzy, you can't borrow Y/N for your own business

Only people with refined tastes such as his own will be allowed in, Alastor makes sure it's the proper clientele

Oh and Husk will be the bartender

"You MOTHERFUCKER!"

Alastor likes taking your voice to it's limits, likes hearing all the different sounds you can make

And that includes in bed

Even if you sing a wrong note or mess up, he'll call it an artistic choice and praise you

He still cuts in on just about every song you sing because he can't help himself, music and Y/N? It's Alastor bait

Plus, the two of you get to show off together, compliment each other, and make everyone green with envy

Y'all are just too fucking cute

It's a dream come true for Alastor to have a wife who can sing

Oops! This became another Wife!Reader one...sorry... 🫡

[kitkatclubcopia]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GHOST 2025 BELOW THE CUT:

GHOULS + GHOULLETTES

He got handed a cowbell mid-song which reminded me of cowbell ghoul from meliora (my beloved </3)

Swiss army ghoul was feral.

He went absolutely bananas in the corner, especially whenever he was in the spotlight.

No Swissaurora moments, but he was still unhinged. As is tradition.

Aurora (my queen):

Danced with the new ghoulette- they had chemistry that was so nice since the new ghoulette seemed a bit shy.

No freaky Swiss antics this time :'( but still she was great and I loved watching her dance

New Ghoulette (aka Haze/Tempest maybe?):

I love her so much... She didn't dance much but when me and some other people stood up on the balcony and went for it so did she (and she maybe looked at us? I couldn't tell?)

Cirrus- She got her keytar mummy dust solo and was just oozing with confidence which was 🤤 she was doing little dances and interacting with the crowd quite a bit

Phantom WAS SO CUTE he's definitely gained a lot of confidence since last tour and did the whole holding the guitar over his head thing which was super cool. I loved his goofy tophat,, what a refined gentleman

Rain & Sodo were the same as always no changes and there WAS in fact a guitar battle leading into cirice

PAPA V !!!!

He ascended on a throne?? During ritual and wore his pretty princess dress. He looked absolutely majestic ‼️He might’ve done it during Ritual or Year Zero??? I was too busy ascending emotionally to be 1000% sure walking out of there😭

“Will you be gentle with me?”

Said this to the crowd during his FIRST EVER LIVE SHOW. The entire arena screamed “NOOOOOOO” without hesitation.

He had a few costume changes!!! He wore a cassock with a sort of waistcoat with a skeletal scorpion tail??? Which was cool!! And there was also I think a leather jacket with a black shirt and tight black jeans that had a big silver buckle on them,, he changed into a tailored suit with bat wings where the seams were all silver and glittery. His pretty princess robe was worn (of course) and then he also got a shiny silver suit jacket and a HOT PINK SPARKLY AFTER SHOW JACKET.

A lot of people are on the fence about if he's more like Copia or Terzo and I'm saying Terzo because he literally said "conclusively, I give you... Monsterance clock." The same way Terzo used to which made me tweak because I never thought I'd hear those words live again

STAGE DESIGN / VISUALS:

Opening Backdrop:

Looked like torn/shredded black curtains with white light either on it or coming from behind????

Then revealed a gothic crushed velvet backdrop with ghoul stands that had arches and skulls. Also giant floating grucifix.

Stage Platforms:

No longer standard black ones like impera now featured neo gothic arches and skulls which could've been sculptures or actual props between the arches on them???

Velvet set dropped, revealing the classic stained-glass church from previous eras. It depicted satan in the middle and figures on the side of naked men and women???

Stage Transformations:

BUT: The stained glass was on a digital screen, and the “stone arches” were inflatable!!! And later collapsed.

Iconography:

During Pinnacle to the Pit, the arches DEFLATED MID-SONG and were replaced with DIGITAL HELLFIRE.

At one point the stained-glass icons included Jesus and other figures I literally couldn't make out. Then Jesus flew away with fire shooting out of him like a rocket,,, I'm not even joking

Grucifix Prop:

Giant. Suspended. Moved up/down with lighting cues and song tone???

Lighting Highlights:

Spirit = glowing green

Mummy Dust = EVERYTHING WAS JUST GOLD. AND THE CANONS WENT OFF.

There was fire during year zero too.

Trippy kaleidoscope of teeth, skulls, bones, and Papa V.

Kiss the Go-Goat Visuals:

Monstrance Clock Visuals:

I think either the future is a foreign land or a different song (dance macabre?) had the seven inches colours dancing around on the grucifix like a psychedelic disco-y thing?!

FULL-ON VICTORIAN PORNOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS,,, Hidden inside each lyric letter projected onscreen. Depicted naked couples, group sex and all that jazz.

SETLIST (As Confirmed by a stranger with better memory than me)

1. Peacefield

2. Lachryma

3. Spirit

4. From the Pinnacle to the Pit

5. Majesty

6. The Future is a Foreign Land

7. Devil Church

8. Cirice

9. Darkness at the Heart of My Love

10. Satanized

11. Ritual

12. Umbra

13. Year Zero

14. He Is

15. Rats

16. Kiss the Go-Goat

17. Mummy Dust

18. Monstrance Clock

Encore:

Mary on a Cross

Dance Macabre

Square Hammer

[faeryarchives]

heartslabyul with a furina-like female reader! the "regina of all waters, kindreds, peoples and laws" is deeply loved by all. under her flamboyant and imprudent facade, lies a girl holding an unbearable weight and guilt on her shoulders to save her people. note: contains major spoilers about fontaine story quests (you have been warned) !! furina - like female reader series: savanaclaw recent fics: you feel like home & octavinelle with a fischl like female reader! & i'm not jealous !! (savanaclaw x gn!reader)

-‘๑’- riddle rosehearts

"who are you people? and why are you all dressed suspiciously? no, don't come near me, i am warning you!" "calm dow- where did these water familiars came from?!" "stay back i said!"

riddle was taken aback by your sudden behavior and your ability to wield a sword as well as commanding your familiar like it's your second nature! but weapons are still not allowed on school grounds 🤬

after the incident, riddle thought he wouldn't interact with you again when somehow manage your way to the dorm and stepped in when he was about to collar his dorm mates

"i don't think it's appropriate for you to chain your subjects like prisoners, mr. riddle. that is not a proper way of to rule." "don't stand in my way, what do you know about ruling?!" "... you have no idea."

and you proved him so wrong after overhearing your conversation with your heartslabyul friends. it's not like he intended to eavesdrop but it just happened that he was passing by

"after 500 years of acting on stage - i am finally free to live as a normal human again without the need to act as a strong and more god-like version of myself. but the problem is, i don't know where to start."

riddle made it his mission to always make you feel welcomed in the heartslabyul dorm and gradually became close friends with you

who knew that the two of you are similar to each other? from ruling over a community to having tea parties and your love for sweets

"riddle, you can enjoy sweets as much as you want. you dont need to follow such suffocating rules." "...what a pleasant surprise, truly an extra slice of joy."

believe it when i say he is very fond of your salon members and even went out his way to always give them a proper greeting and send them invitations for the unbirthday parties.

it was like he is healing his inner child along with you + very comfortable to the point that he doesn't even hesitate to ask you for advice 🫡 rather than an older sister you were like his twin

-‘๑’- trey clover

it is bad to have favoritism but trey clover took the cake immediately after watching him bake the most delicious cake you ever tasted

sorry to all fontaine patissier or fontaine in general but maybe you might as well stay in this world ... kidding 🧍🏻‍♀️

out of everyone you met, trey's firs impression was the second best (kalim being first for obvious reasons) he was like your dear friend who adores tea time but more laid back verion of them

"what a rich aroma and delicate texture... i didn't expect you to be such an accomplished cook... with refined taste, as well!" "a compliment from the regina herself is such a worthy praise for someone like me." "nonsense, trey! you are the best one out there!"

with curiosity getting the best of you, you always try to help out during the unbirthday parties and learn how to cook and bake from the vice dorm leader

... after all having pasta everyday is not very healthy 😭

listens to your rambles about the novels you've read befora and suggests you some that he have on hand! at this point he might as well be your guardian angel

despite being smaller than most of the student at nrc - you shocked the whole heartslabyul group after fighting off the known bully group of seniors trying to scare some freshmen

"now go along and never show your faces to me again. capiche?" "woah, i thought you said you are not used to battling!" "mmm, i did. but it's different from my abilities, no?"

you were the opposite of trey, rather than being embarrassed, you know your strengths and weaknesses and use it to your advantage

"trey, don't tell me you are just an ordinary person, you liar. you can't fool me with your downplaying talk!"

he can't fool you with that but trey pulls some harmless pranks on you by tricking you in putting a different recipe in the pie orsomething

he learned his lesson after you really followed his instructions and became the first victim to his own prank

you always seem to pride yourself as a strong and capable woman and how despite everything you are going through you always go for it headstrong

"now look at you, getting sick. i told you not to overwork yourself right?" "mmm, sorry big brother..."

did you just say 🥺 older 🥺 brother? after that he wears that title like a cape everyday and even brags it to cater 😭

-‘๑’- cater diamond

oh cater absolutely adores you the moment he saw your outfit because it is so well made?! 🫨 not only that - you were like giving the total celebrity vibes

"you have an eye for discerning people! yes, i am once the most beloved star of my country... but that time already came to an end."

sometimes while he tags along whenever you, grim and the adeuce duo hangs out - he always had this feeling that you are staring deep into his soul 👁️👁️

as much as he puts up his usual cheerful facade to fool you, it was like arguing up to a wall and you finally pointed it out one day during your tea parties

"you know, you don't have to force yourself to eat sweets. i cooked some habanero pepper cream pasta earlier with

you might as well become his favorite underclassman 🥺

no wonder you were able to read him so well because you revealed that some how seeing him act in such way reminds him of yourself in the past

"sometimes acting for so long can make you wonder if people can really see through you or was it all fake." "but that is how it is right? how can other people know us when we don't even know ourselves?"

anyways! every now and then, cater would appear right on your doorsteps with small clothes and hats in shopping bags to give it to the salon members

it was funny to see your salon members have a new member and they treat him like their own son 😭🤍

as much as he want to tease you sometimes - he try not to over do it after seeing you let the salon trio chase after ace and grim all over the maze with threatening looks in their eyes.

"wow, mademoiselle crabaletta looks so energetic when she got to hit ace at the back of his head." "well, ace did pissed her off by playing rock paper scissors with her." "... did she win?" "i don't know, you tell me big brother cater."

... he will never let it down after owning his title as your big brother 😭 get ready to receive random gifts every now and then because this big brother cater is ready to spoil you to rotten

-‘๑’- ace trappola

having to get sprayed and hit by multiple bubbles in the face was certainly not on ace's list 😭 remind him to never play rock paper scissors with mademoiselle crabaletta ever again

he really like to be your friend genuinely 🙏 not that you mind though because ace is fun to talk too + you were able to adapt and learn about this world thanks to him, deuce and grim

but sometimes, he can be a little too reckless in roping you in trouble

"woah! (name) put mr seahorse down and let's talk about this!" "oh so you prefer my sword instead?" "it was just a harmless prank!" "then why is there an anemone on grim's head, again?!"

after you were comfortable enough to tell your story - ace thought he was actually dreaming because how did you stay sane after that 500 years?!

will ask you to help him with his studies and practicing magic + probably thought you were clueless but after years of searching every nook and nanny in your nation's library, you were like a walking dictionary

"how come you get a higher score than me in animal languages?!" "i was wondering how on teyvat did you get a lower score than me?"

omg you traitor 👩🏻‍⚖️

your number one buddy with midnight snacks + everytime he would sneak out of the dorm he always bring some sweets as a bribe to let him stay

there are times that you always fool ace by acting especially in front ofriddle when he accidentally dropped your cake in accident

despite the shenanigans between you two, he always trusts you to have his back

"(nickname) cover for me!" "alright! let the world come alive, hehe!"

whenever the salon members feel silly, they will go and chase after him and you just let them be - even they shower him with love in unexpected ways.

"recently, i've been wondering if Iife been a little too hard on myself in the past. i never got the chance to enjoy my life." "then let's go grab cater-senpai and go shopping!"

he will not let you experience such loneliness again! not when he is one of your first friend here in wonderland.

-‘๑’- deuce spade

opposite to ace, he is mademoiselle crabaletta's favorite for some reason or even the whole salon members are fond of him !

while he is more on the less troublesome side - he still make some troubles but you can see how much he was trying to not get you involve in it 😭

"deuce, you could've just told me earlier about this..." "i'm sorry, i don't want you to get involve again." "you are really a jester. we are friends! how can i not help you when you are facing problems?"

just as you listen to his problems, you were surprised that deuce is a great listener 😮 its not sarcasm !!

it first came to you during the octavinelle incident when deuce found you crying behind the ramshackle down, hugging your knees and being surrounded by your salon members, trying to calm you down

"i still couldn't do it... i do not belong in this world now i don't even have a place to stay..." "(name)..." "d-don't look at me like this! just give me a second." "no it's okay, let it out. i am so sorry for putting the pressure on you."

the sweetest guy??? ever??? he will try to include you in discussions about this world itself and wouldn't let you feel out of place

you even found him taking down notes whenever you get the chance to talk about your nation and people

"you have a dragon as a friend?!" "yea, don't let the dragon title fool you though. he is very kind but all he eats and drink is water every break time."

while ace had your back, deuce got your sides covered + knows fully how capable of being the front liner

"how dare you!?" "ah, (nickname) don't go to far!" "... remind me to never mess with her again."

remember the phantom back in the mines? you encountered one again and after it made one of your salon members disappear - the trio watch you literally annihilate the monster

seeing you all impatient and having a childlike temper made him laugh because you weren't so different from them after all

but please do not rush in battle so suddenly, you might as well give him a heart attack 😵

don't tell the others but deuce really looks up to you as an admirable person + not only you were able to endure everything for a long time, you still have the heart to forgive everyone who doubted you.

"do you know that you are really a respectable friend?" "...? oh my god, did you eat mushrooms for breakfast again?" "i'm serious!" "oh is that so? well i am proud of you. don't you know you improved a lot too?"

it's 7 am in the morning are you trying to make him cry? 🥹

having you with him during his high school life is an unexpected but wonderful experience - learning other things together + being interested in the same things? he had never felt such comfort before

deuce just hope that even though he and ace are seen as troublemakers, you won't hesitate to let your walls come down when times get rough 🫂

[py-dreamer]

...um...hi?

so if anyone's concerned, no I'm not dead.

Thankfully the digital studio is intact this year (thank god I would've had another mental breakdown istg-)

to all my lovely marshiemallows, thank y'all so much for your patience omg!!!!

(and to all my mutuals, @furornocturna and @violetjedisylveon in particular I'm so sorry I haven't been responding or active online at all, I'm so sorry-)

But to sum it up:

I'm on holiday in my home country rn and have been having a blast personally. Meeting relatives, childhood friends, the food, familiar places ect.

and I'll admit I do have a lot of free time outside that but honestly I do feel a wee bit burnt out ngl.

And with my spare time, I've jumped down the demon slayer rabbit hole

(huh who would've guessed)

Basically it's all been a huge break for me.

But I will still post lmk stuff dw. Though don't be surprised if you see a kny thingy pop up somewhere in the dreamscape!!

And for those curious about the fic:

I'm sorry I haven't updated at all, the wips are still in my drafts. I have no formal posting schedule but after returning and getting some work sorted out I'll see what I can do! But no promises!

Regardless, about the pic then.

It is a WIP. It's a sketch for a shadowalkers piece (Wooh! Haven't heard of that au in a while eh?)

I have redesigned mostly Bai He's outfit and added a little pouch for Macaca. The change was mostly so I had more freedom to do different top designs for the new members of the fam!

If anyone has suggestions for outfit designs or accessories or jewelery, hair, anything! let me know pls!

This is just the WIP stage and I really want to achieve that semi-wild, untamed but mysterious and refined gypsy look.

(Also its a guilty pleasure of mine to dress up my characters in aus or just for the fun of it lol)

And fun fact: Wukong's the only one in the fam wearing shoes lol.

Another fun fact: That brick pattern rag he's wearing? Was once a part of tripitaka's cassock from their days on the mountain. (see shadowalkers lore summary for context)

I didn't forget their tails this time! Wheeee!!

Oooh! Ooooh! Also the top half of Wukong's body? I did that myself sans references!!! Woooooooh!!!

Not that there's anything wrong with references of course. Pros and beginners use them and I do recommend them for poses, ideas and such.

Though I am proud I could think of something off like memory and make it work! I think...you can tell me otherwise lol

(BTW this is the after of the main plot where shadowpeach reconciles, they escape the town and Bai He gains a new stepbrother!)

SH!T I REALIZED I FORGOT MEI!!!!

UM I'LL ADD HER IN!! PROMISE!!!!

[the-offside-rule]

Jensen Ackles - exile

Requested: yes

Prompt: "Can you write a fic related to that last story you did with Y/n being a singer? Maybe like Jensen helping her write a song or something cute??"

Warnings: not really, no

The gentle rustle of sheets and the soft hum of a distant piano woke Y/n from her sleep. Blinking groggily, she reached over to Jensen's side of the bed, only to find it empty. Confused, she sat up, listening intently. The soothing sound of the piano playing drifted through the house, luring her out of the warm embrace of their bed. Quietly, she slipped out of bed, wrapping a robe around herself as she padded towards the source of the music. Peering over the banister, she saw Jensen seated at the piano, his fingers moving gracefully over the keys as he hummed a tune softly to himself.

With a soft smile, Y/n made her way downstairs, the wooden steps creaking slightly under her weight. Jensen seemed lost in his music, his brow furrowed in concentration. She approached him gently, not wanting to startle him. "Hey." She whispered, sitting down beside him and placing a kiss on his shoulder. He jumped slightly at her voice. "Couldn't sleep?" Jensen looked up, his green eyes meeting hers with a sheepish smile. "Yup." He admitted. "Started messing around with this tune. Not sure if it's any good, though. Probably going to scrap it." Y/n frowned, sitting down beside him on the piano bench. "Let me hear it." She insisted. "Play it for me." Jensen hesitated for a moment before nodding. He began to play, his voice low and melodic as he sang the words he had been working on. "I can see you standing, honey. With his arms around your body. You're laughing but the jokes not funny at all."

He turns his head slightly, glancing over at Y/n's focused face as she listened to the words. "And it took you five whole minutes. To pack us up and leave me with it. Holding all this love out here in the hall." Y/n shifted in the seat. This almost sounded like a breakup song, but as far as she was concerned, they hadn't been anywhere near a breakup stage for years. "You're not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now? You were my town, now I'm in exile seeing you out. I think I've seen this film before." When he finished, she turned to him with a soft smile. "Whats it about?" She asked. "Well, I wrote the first part when we nearly broke up at that party like ten years ago." He chuckled. "The other bit just happened." Y/n let out a chuckle. "That's beautiful, babe." She said softly. "You can't scrap that. It's too good." He chuckled, a hint of relief in his eyes. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Y/n replied firmly. "Let's get to work." He arched a brow. "Right now?" She nodded. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen? If it turns out bad, we could always just keep the song secret." Jensen smiled, handing her his notebook and going back to playing the piano. They spent the rest of the night huddled together at the piano, adding lyrics and refining the melody. The hours passed quickly, filled with laughter and whispered words of encouragement. As the first light of dawn began to filter through the windows, they finally finished the song.

Y/n stood and stretched, her stomach grumbling softly. "I think it's time for breakfast." she said with a grin. "I'll make us something to eat." She smiled, getting up and heading towards the kitchen. Jensen stood staring at the words scribbled on his notebook. The song was finished, and it's honestly one of the most beautiful things he had ever written; not only that, but he managed to write it with his wife. Jensen then stopd up, walking towards the kitchen. He leaned against the doorframe, watching her hum a tune and fuddle with the pan on the stove, the delicious smell filling the room as the sunlight poured in the window. He finally pushed himself off the frame and walked up being her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she cooked. He nuzzled her neck, pressing a gentle kiss to her skin, whilst one of her hand reached up behind Jensen's head, moving his messy locks around. "I love you, Y/n." He murmured.

She leaned back into his embrace, smiling contentedly. "I love you too, Jensen." Just as Jensen was about to whisper something else in Y/n's ear, the patter of small feet echoed through the hallway. "Well, they're up." Y/n joked. "I liked the peace we had a few minutes ago." Jensen sighed. Their children, drawn by the enticing aroma of breakfast, burst into the kitchen with bright, eager eyes. "Mommy! Daddy! What's for breakfast?" Their eldest, a little girl with Jensen's green eyes, asked as she ran up to them. Y/n chuckled, turning in Jensen's embrace to greet their children. "Good morning, loves. I'm making pancakes." She said, bending down to scoop their youngest into her arms.

Jensen smiled warmly at their children, ruffling their son's hair. "Did the smell wake you guys up?" The eldest grabbed her youngest sister and brought her towards the kitchen table. "Yeah! Pancakes!" Their son cheered, jumping up and down with excitement. Y/n glanced at Jensen, her eyes twinkling with affection. "Looks like we'll have to finish our moment later." She winked, patting his chest gently. " Jensen shrugged. "If we open the back door they'll be outside for at least a half an hour." Y/n laughed at the suggestion that didn't seem all too bad an idea. "Fine, later." He agreed with a smile, then turning to their children. "Who wants to help Daddy set the table?"

The children eagerly volunteered, their excitement palpable as they scrambled to grab plates and utensils. "Hey! Wash, your hands first!" Jensen guided them, his laughter filling the kitchen as they worked together. Y/n watched them, her heart full of love and gratitude. Despite the interruption, she wouldn't trade this chaotic, joy-filled moment for anything. As she flipped the pancakes, she hummed the tune of their new song, feeling content and blessed by the life they had built together. Jensen caught her eye from across the kitchen and mouthed a simple "I love you".

Y/n smiled back, mouthing the words in return before turning her attention back to the pancakes.

[kestrel-of-herran]

long severance post ahead but it's worth reading bc i think i'm actually onto something.

you guys remember the lexington letter?

there might be actual clues about what lumon is doing is there. if peggy's innie finished refining something, then lumon staged a car accident ("exploding probes"), perhaps the finished room for that file could now be tested on one of the people in the car accident, the accident being a cover for lumon to kidnap them same as they did for gemma. since this connection between refining and a car accident is made in an official companion text, there has to be something actually important about it.

petey also said something along the lines of, what if you spend all day there killing people?

maybe sometimes mdr refines rooms for subjects who are already caught and experimented on, and others preparing more rooms for people they have their eye on and are just waiting to kidnap.

but why car accidents? besides removing the person from the lives of their friends and family seemingly permanently so no one tries to get them out, it instills deep trauma in the test subjects, allowing lumon to keep refining the chip's effectiveness in blocking extreme negative emotion.

it's possible lumon already knew who they wanted to put in lexington and how they'd stage the car accident, and the refining was a process to get that experience perfected.

oh actually. i had another epiphany now.

why is peggy the narrator of the lexington letter?

the most significant thing we know about her is that she was in a car accident. is it possible that the rooms she was refining were based on her own trauma, e.g. the numbers on the screen represent her own memories of the car accident and how she feels about them intuitively, which intuition she has bc these are her own feelings supressed by the chip. she sorts the feelings in boxes to remove feeling from the memory, wiping the trauma -- but maybe what's valuable to lumon isn't the cleaned file, it's the dust bin numbers.

maybe they're using the data stored there to determine which memories were most traumatic or evoked strongest emotion so they can supress them. if i remember correctly, the kier posters on walls say that you need to clean your body from tempers -- does that mean all emotions? is eradicating, refining, cleaning the human condition of tempers the purpose of the cult?

remember, the numbers in the files have already been sorted (mentioned in the first eps), to the extent that the programme can detect when something is sorted incorrectly (this is also in the lexington letter). which might indeed mean that we're talking about memories of the refiner that have been derived from their own chip.

so mark is refining gemma's rooms bc they have similar trauma. they have similar life experiences and lumon can use his intuitive responses to his memories to create negative experiences for her.

but everyone at lumon would be refining their own "files" -- the unique disk set up on their computer when they started out, like it was for helly -- bc these are their own memories that they're sorting the emotions out of so lumon can use those to perfect the endurance of the chip to suppress intense emotion in their test subjects belowstairs. maybe the files "expire" bc the memory becomes dimmer with time.

maybe lumon generally seeks out people with trauma so they can access their memories and use their own ability to sense out the emotions the chip is suppressing in the visual representation of their memories for the creation of more traumatic experiences to test on subjects they hijack through accidents until they can eradicate all emotion?

[friend-of-giants]

•●Wednesday Wrensday●•

The stars have aligned, I'm finally here with a little something to share! Since finishing that dreaded dragon fight chapter, I've been able to work some on the aftermath. It's at a choppy stage right now and needs some refining and editing, but I've put words on the page and I'm happy with that.

Tagging... @theoneandonlysemla @skyrim-forever @umbracirrus @silly-little-diary @heavy-metal-dick @chiqita @labskeever and anyone else who sees this. It's been a while and I forget who I usually tag lol

For those of you who haven't caught up with my fic, the black, hollow eyes is one of my own lil headcanons. I don't want to spoil it, but it just means something ain't right (and it ties back to Miraak, lol)

The dragon appeared to be dead, its massive body lying limp on the damp earth.  Its neck and most of its head were burnt black, its scales split apart and oozing blood.  Just behind the slain beast stood the Dragonborn, and she was alive.  Teldryn felt his heart beat thunderously, though as he began to stumble toward her, dizzy with relief and adrenaline, it became obvious that something wasn't quite right.

Thick gray smoke billowed from her gauntlets, bringing with it the unmistakable stink of hot metal.  Scattered in the dirt at her feet lay dozens of shards of ebony and a smoldering strip of leather—all that remained of her prized axe.  But most worrisome was the look in her eyes, or a lack thereof.  With a gaze as hollow and dark as the Void itself, Wren stared ahead at the dead dragon, her mouth twisted into a sinister grin as she awaited its soul. 

Teldryn stepped aside and watched it happen.  He wasn't sure what to focus on, the way the dragon's flesh melted from its bones and turned to light, the shimmering golden strands rushing from its corpse into her body, or how absolutely pleased Wren looked as she absorbed the light, but somehow he managed to witness the entire experience with equal amazement.  

He had to wonder how it must feel to absorb the life force of something as powerful as a dragon.  Did it hurt, did it burn?  Did it feel good, or did it make her feel, just for a moment, that she was the one with wings? 

As the last of the dragon's soul disappeared into her, Wren's body shuddered, and she dropped to the ground with a weak groan.  It was almost identical to what he had witnessed in the Skaal village when she returned to Nirn after slaying Miraak, but this time he hoped she wouldn't be unconscious for a whole damn week—or worse. 

Restraining his panic, Teldryn rushed to kneel at her side, found the clasps of her still smoking gauntlets and hastily undid them, then pulled them off.  He drew in a breath of shock at the sight.  Her skin on her palms and fingers were reddened and blistered in a familiar web-like manner that he often saw on aspiring mages who hadn't quite gotten the hang of casting electric spells.  It was nothing he couldn't mend with a stronger healing spell and some burn salve, but to see it on someone who often struggled to light the hearth with her own magic?  It filled him with more questions than he might ever get answers to. 

What in the blazes have you done?

[king-candybug-backup]

Do you have any writing tips? I wanna get into writing my own fics and such but im really not sure how to start all that

Especially when it comes to pacing a story.. </3

UMMM oh man, this is a hard question lmao, I'm actually not very skilled on a "technical" level, so I always struggle figuring out what kind of advice to give 😅 I guess my main piece of advice would be to brainstorm about the fic you want to write before actually WRITING it, like, I had a whole thought map in the early stages of planning Kill Switch where I'd explore different paths the story could go in, different kind of interactions people could have or where I'd want overarching plots to lead to, basically just write down whatever ideas come into your head, and then from there, you can clean it up and refine it until it feels like a doable story. I had a lot of plot threads for Kill Switch that I ended up scrapping because it didn't feel right to the characters, or completely redoing them until it felt like it all connected fairly well. I also wrote a lot of scenes out of order, like how I mentioned before with chapter 8, I actually wrote the vast majority of chapter 8 before I even finished chapter 2, since that was where my motivation was strongest at the time. It's okay to write stuff disconnected and out-of-order, you can always connect things later! Sometimes I'll write a scene, end up not liking most of it, but will find spots to fit smaller parts of the scene or use pieces of dialogue elsewhere or something, so basically, just write whatever inspiration comes to you in the moment, and you can always repurpose it later if it doesn't end up feeling right. Another thing I'd say is to deep-dive into content about the characters you're writing, rewatch scenes with them until you have a good feel of how they talk and how they act, that sort of stuff. (I'm lucky in that I have a 2-hour character analysis video I can jump back to for inspiration, but y'know. 😂)

As for pacing, that kind of thing is entirely dependant on the kind of story you want to tell. Since I'm doing a long and painful deep dive into a character's mental issues and having him build unlikely connections with people he's hurt severely, that kind of thing needs a LOT of build-up in order to be believable. If everybody just started getting along with Turbo at like, chapter 5, it would feel really rushed and cheap, especially given how much baggage the whole group has with him. (Particularly Calhoun (in that trusting a Cy-bug feels COMPLETELY irrational and like a death trap waiting to happen) and Ralph (in that he's SEVERELY protective of Vanellope, and Turbo basically gaslit him into breaking her kart in front of her and totally destroying their relationship, ON TOP of the fact that he ruined her entire life for several years, like... yeah, would need A LOT of convincing in order for him to believe Turbo has the potential to be better. That's where you have to sit and think "Okay, how can I sprinkle in character development in a way that the other characters can actually see happening?"))

It's figuring out little details like that, what kind of relationships you want to develop and in which way, that makes up what the pacing should feel like. You can't rush trust, you can't rush meaningful, believable relationships, you have to build them up naturally. If you're working with characters that already have a good relationship established in canon, then that's great in that you don't have to worry about that part, you can just have fun putting them into whatever scenarios you want! I would recommend not jumping into long, multi-chapter fics right away though, as those take a lot of patience and work. Try doing some one-shots or shorter-form fics to get a feel for what you like! At the end of the day, the only advice I can offer is the only advice I ever truly take to heart, and that's making sure you're having fun first and foremost. It sounds cliche, but there's literally no point in writing fanfiction if you're not having fun with it. Just go wild! Even if you start out "bad", literally everybody does, you HAVE to write some "bad" stories before you can really get into the groove, lol. If you've had writing experience before, that's definitely a big help, but don't worry about it if you haven't, there's no time limit in regards to when you have to start writing ofc. :) Just dive into it, try not to overthink things, and HAVE FUN! (And always keep in mind, you creating something yourself will forever make you superior to the incompetent shitheads that think using gen-AI makes them "artists/writers" lmao SO YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE THAT GOING FOR YOU! (half-joking but not really 😂))