#The needle drops would be magical

[helloiamacashier]

Cora: *smashes Simon in the face with a cast-iron frying pan because he won't leave her alone*

Simon:

[pyonpyonpyon]

nonverbal  meme  prompts

[  pierce  ]  sender  helps  receiver  with  a  new  piercing  (  doing,  aftercare,  etc  ) @mddlbro

"Wait--are we actually gonna--? I thought we were just talking about... about clip-ons! I have a bunch of clip-ons at home, y'know...~!" Ramuda musters a smile, but he can't bring his gaze to Jiro. Instead, it's focused (perhaps a bit too much) entirely on the needle. Nowhere near him, not yet, but the dread at the thought that it will burns the back of his throat.

'Being able to have my ears pierced someday would be nice.' It had just been a simple throwaway comment (though a comment rooted in longing desire), though it looks like Jiro decided to actually act on it.

"Besides, it'd ruin my cute image!" His hands are behind his back, and he grips his own arm hard enough to hurt. That's certainly one reason, though now he doesn't really have to keep his appearance the same, but the needle-- "Don't you wanna get your ears pierced? I'll watch right here, how about~!"

[boop-le-snoot]

kinktober #6

Squealer

kinktober day six | roleplay + innocence kink | 18+, sleazy old man tony and you get into his mansion to, uh, listen to his records. it's all play-pretend. two dorks in love goofin' as usual | word count 2.2k | want more kinktober? click here

“I had no idea you had such a... Pimped-out crib, daddy,” you raised an eyebrow. A smirk tugged at your lips as you took in the interior of one of Tony's numerous mansions.

It was as if you had somehow been magically transported back to the '80s. The glam-rock, golden-days-of-Mötley-Crüe kind. You took off your high-heel Versace shoes, wiggling your toes on the soft zebra-hide imitation rug. A pristine Baldessari hung on a nearby wall, attracting your attention, thus allowing your boyfriend to sneak up on you with a drink in each hand.

“Mmm, I dunno,” Tony faux-pouted. “Seems a bit much even for me. I mean, cheetah and zebra print in one room?” He gestured towards the obscenely tacky couch. “What an eyesore. I should donate it to Goodwill. Maybe someone's grandma will want to remember her youth and get frisky after her old man finally lets her be and leaves for the pits.”

You snorted, accepting your drink. As Tony's arm snaked around your waist to bring your bodies together, you gave the room a good, long ponder.

“This feels very... Coke kingpin. You know, maximalism is making a comeback?” You said, referencing the resurgence of trashy 80s and McBling styles you've seen online. “I kinda dig it. Makes me want to go,” you threw your head back demurely onto his shoulder and batted your eyelashes, “oh no mister, I'm a good girl! I would never do such a thing! I thought we were going to hang out and listen to that record you promised...” You whined in your best baby voice, pouting your lips in a perverse imitation of innocence.

Behind you, Tony stiffened. And then you both laughed. Sputtering over your drinks, holding onto each other. No, it was a truly absurd thing.

But Tony Stark would not be Tony Stark if he couldn't convincingly sell just about any bullshit to anybody. With a flourish, his fingers dug into your waist as he straightened up and steered you towards the turntable.

“Why, but of course, sweetheart. Would make me a terrible host otherwise!” He spoke with a cheeky smile and sparkling eyes. A record was placed and the needle dropped, filling the room with sultry sounds of guitar strings strummed by nimble fingers. It was a song you both knew and loved.

Still laughing, you went for coy. “Oh, dear. My papa would have my head if he knew I listened to that!” Faking shyness, you gave your hips a sway and your skirt a twirl. “I kinda like it, though. Makes me think of someone...” You sighed, acutely aware of embers beginning to smoulder in Tony's dark eyes.

He leaned back to rest against a shelf. “Oh yeah, sweetheart?” He asked, sipping his whiskey without taking his eyes off you. “Special someone?”

“Uh-uh,” you swayed to the song, the bubbly in your blood making you slightly dizzy. It was a great tune, truly! Made you think all kinds of nasty things. “He makes me feel like nobody else does. Like in the song,” you flashed Tony the edge of your smile.

It made him take a calculated step towards you. Taking your arm, he pressed himself into your body, the outline of his budding erection resting against your hip. “I can make you feel even better, princess.” He toyed the strap of your dress.

Bait, hook and sinker.

You feigned nervousness as both of you pushed down on the breaking laughter and settled deeper into your allocated roles. “Mmm, I dunno. It's just a song and I've never done anything like that.”

“Like what?” Tony's fingers slowly pulled down the strap and stroked your bare shoulder. It felt electric.

“Like... Dirty,” you giggled, momentarily breaking character. Truly, this would be one of the least crazy things the two of you had done - just ask Steve!

Tony's empty glass landed on the shelf with a click. He took hold of your shoulders, massaging them gently to release you from the non-existent tension there, and placed his cheek upon your shoulder as you wobbled on your high heels.

“I'll be good to you, baby, I promise,” he rumbled, rubbing his scratchy beard on your tender skin. You giggled again, and Tony steered you towards the oversized couch. “We don't gotta do anything you don't wanna do,” he stressed, “but ya can't leave a man high and dry either. Capiche, Cupcake? Didn't you say you're a good girl?”

Wow, you silently thought to yourself, Tony was a gem amongst rocks. This role suited him to a, perhaps, scandalous amount. The sparkle of mischief in his eye, the sleazy twist to his grin. It promised lots and lots fun.

“I am a good girl,” you stressed, even as he sat you down atop his lap, your short dress hiked so far it barely covered your flimsy underwear.

It was an absolute lie and Tony knew it. He gave you his roundest eyes yet as his hand crawled over your thigh and up under your skirt, palming the lace of your panties with a gesture both posessive and questioning.

“Yeah?” His eyebrows shot up. “You sure 'bout that? 'Cause good girls don't come into strange guy's houses with their tiny lacy panties soaked.” He chided, thumbing the spreading wet spot at your front. Your face flushed in earnest as you fought to clamp your thighs shut over his hand, which did very little to deter him from wiggling his fingers against your cunt. “Don't be ashamed, darlin'. It's perfectly natural.”

You blinked, wide-eyed, awestruck by your boyfriend's commitment to the role. He really was unfairly good at everything he did!

“I don't know, mister,” you finally said. “My daddy said...”

Visibly fighting an eruption of laughter, Tony said. “I'm ya daddy for the night, honey. And I say it's okay.”

Fearing your own giggles making an untimely comeback, you conceded. “If you say so.” And loosened the hold on his hand, allowing him to stroke about the outside of your panties. Your cunt blossomed, fully interested in this sleazy caricature of over the top version of Tony's famed lover boy charm. “I just... Dunno what to do.”

The two of you were beginning to get impatient, if judging from the way his completely erect cock nudged at your side.

“Relax, darlin'. I'll make you feel good,” he bit your shoulder gently as his hand worked its way into your panties and between your outer lips. Tony circled your clit with slippery fingers, delighting in the quiet moans that left your lips, and finally, finally slipped two fingers inside of your sopping cunt. You arched. He groaned. “Fuck, baby, you grip like a vice.”

You flexed your muscles there, intimately familiar with the bumps and valleys of his calloused fingers, and subtly tried to sway your hips to give some much needed attention to your neglected clit. Tony was having none of it. Patting your bottom, he ushered you off his lap, and stuck his fingers in his mouth as he watched you stand up shakily on your tall heels.

“Undress for me,” he ordered, releasing your fingers from his mouth with a pop that added heat to your already flushed cheeks. “Slowly, baby. Don't rush.”

You did just that, sliding the straps of your dress completely off your arms. It was hard to take eyes off Tony for even a second. In the moment, he embodied his character sinfully: blazer and two top buttons of his tight-fitting shirt undone, it was the playboy billionaire of days past that sat in this kitschy living room of a forgotten mansion in Beverly Hills.

His brown eyes watched you shed your dress hungrily as the tent of his slacks rose high and higher to a point where he draped a leisurely hand over it and gave himself an unselfconscious squeeze through his pants. You stood before him in nothing but your heels and lacy thong, preparing to slide the last scrap of fabric down your legs.

“No, leave the rest on,” he said after a moment of contemplation.

“What now, mister?” You gave him a crooked grin, looking coyly at his tented trousers.

“Get down on your knees, baby,” he rasped, offering you a generous hand as you wobbled to sit demurely before him. A picture perfect form of innocence - you batted your lashes and fought the urge to reach for his trousers and swallow him down whole. Tony seemed to be having similar thoughts, as he wordlessly placed your hand on top of his cock and bit his lip. “Take it out.”

You did so, genuinely fumbling with the zipper. The arousal was making your fingers shake and the champagne you had drank certainly did not help your coordination. But then he was out and hard and proud, and you found yourself licking your lips. Seemingly at a loss for words this once, Tony took the back of your head in his hand and scooted closer so his cock was within your reach.

Tentatively, you gave it a lick. Wasting any of the clear, salty fluid was where you drew the line. Tony shuddered.

“Keep doin' that, honey. You're being a very good girl.”

So you did. Kitten licks grew to be bolder as you wrapped your cherry tinted lips over the silken head of Tony's cock, receiving a generous pour of salty liquid for your troubles. Looking up at your man, he was watching you with parted mouth and shaking lips. You gave him a wink and began working him in earnest, producing another moan from him in an instant.

His hand went for your cheek. As suddenly as you'd began, you were pulled off of his cock.

“It'll be over before we even started if you keep doing that, honey,” he explained, breathless. It took a second for him to find his bearings and then he was standing up, looming over you with a naughty smirk and cock glistening in the yellow light, nothing but his trousers undone. “Lay back baby. Show me your pretty pussy.”

You did. The horrendously patterned carpet was soft under your back as you laid down and lewdly spread your legs, showcasing the darkened gusset to your boyfriend's heated stare. Your hands laid demurely atop your belly to top off the picture.

With a thud, Tony landed with his knees on the carpet. Moving aside the gusset if your panties, he bared your swollen cunt to his eyes and you hissed as cool air hit the soaked, heated flesh. Your clit twitched, prompting Tony to slide a finger over it. He savoured your shudder, quick to replace the digit with the tip of his cock.

A gasp left your lips. Unconsciously, your hips wiggled, beckoning Tony to where you needed him most.

“I'm not going to hurt you, baby,” he murmured, transfixed on the way your pussy stretched around the crown of his cock. It disappeared easily into the channel, aided by the moisture that had gathered while you serviced him. That first push was heavenly. You never wanted it to end even as he bottomed put within you, staining the front of his designer slacks with your juices.

You threw your arms around his shoulders unprompted as he began to move. Slowly at first, savouring that first snug slide of your wet cunt over his hard cock, but picking up pace as your moans grew less breathy and more demanding. He always knew how to fuck you just right, hitting that sweet spot time after time with perfect precision until you unraveled, lax and warm, under him, the throb of your cunt allowing him to seek out his own release promptly.

Still inside you and rapidly softening, Tony finally burst into giggles, resting his sweaty forehead against your cheek as his body shook. It made the dam within you burst, too, intensified tenfold when the contractions of your abs made his soft cock slip out of you and seed drip into a puddle on the tacky carpet.

“We gotta tip the cleaning lady,” you snorted, aware of the sticky situation.

Tony just laughed harder, rolling over onto his back and bringing a palm to his forehead.

“Never change, honey. Ever.”

a/n: Thank you, @slothspaghettiwrites for the tiktok you sent me of that pimped out car! Haven't been able to get sleazy old man!Tony out of my head ever since. Tbh, Tony that is just a little sleazy is the best Tony. Even in the throes of Civil War angst that man was so unserious and low-key horny. It's sexy as fuck. So I dedicate this to you, Sloth, and to @persephonehemingway because we're both disgusting perverts for tony in a very similar way.

I genuinely forgot how easy it is for me to write Tony because I wrote this in like 2 hours. He's my best boy. I love him and I don't care that he doesn't even exist.

[davidjself]

My 400 hugs

In the quiet shadows of quarantine’s hold, Where friends drift away, and time grows cold, I found solace in grooves and the stories they told, Four hundred vinyl records, my memories unfold.

Each disc a refuge, a haven, a friend, Spinning tales of jazz, where notes ascend, Disco beats that made my spirit bend, Back to the nights that seemed never to end.

Loneliness lingered, like a shadow’s embrace, But music filled the void, a comforting space, The needle dropped, and in its trace, Echoes of home, a familiar face.

Jazz whispered secrets, in saxophones’ sigh, Trumpets soared, like dreams in the sky, Piano keys, soft as a lover’s goodbye, Each melody a reason to try.

Disco lights danced, though the room was bare, Their rhythms vibrant, beyond compare, In each beat, I found a flare, Of the life I missed, the love I’d share.

Vinyl spun stories of times long past, Of laughter and joy, meant to last, In their grooves, my heart was cast, A collection of comfort, unsurpassed.

Through COVID’s long nights, as I stood alone, These records were my flesh and bone, Reminding me of the warmth I’d known, Of friends once close, of a distant home.

Four hundred vinyls, a symphony, In their embrace, I found my plea, To dance again, wild and free, To the disco’s beat, to jazz’s spree.

In each spin, a promise to hold tight, Through every lonely, silent night, That music’s magic, pure and bright, Would guide me back into the light.

[eatmyheartoutjpg]

𓇻 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗞 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗠 ˢᵉᵛⁱᵏᵃ ˣ ᵍⁿ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

Previous: Beginner's Luck

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 ;; Shortfic. Rom. You build a friendship with Sevika and make a new ritual where you always tell her "good luck." And as it turns out, your wishes have a hell of an effect on her winning streaks. 𝘼/𝙉 ;; I love me a woman that can gamble our life savings away

11.28.24 Masterlist

The Last Drop was as lively as ever, the air thick with smoke and the hum of conversations.

Tonight, you weren’t playing; instead, you had taken a comfortable seat at the edge of Sevika’s usual table. She was in her element, her focus razor-sharp as she shuffled a deck of cards with practiced ease. Her reputation as Zaun’s reigning gambler only grew with each victory, and she thrived in the attention it brought her (aside from the times she lost to you.. a tad too many times).

As her opponent nervously eyed their hand, you leaned forward slightly, catching her eye with a playful smirk. “Good luck, Sev,” you said softly, your tone laced with teasing familiarity.

Sevika raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking into a grin. "Don’t need luck when you have skill," she replied smoothly, though the slight flicker in her gaze suggested she appreciated the sentiment more than she let on.

The cards were dealt, and the game began. As the rounds progressed, Sevika’s usual confidence only seemed to grow. Finally, in the last round, with the stakes at their peak, she laid her cards down: a royal flush. The crowd erupted in cheers, her opponent slumped back in defeat, and Sevika leaned back in her chair with a satisfied smirk.

Her dark eyes flicked to you as she collected her winnings. "You’re not playing, but you’re still winning me pots," she joked, the low rumble of her laugh sending a pleasant shiver down your spine. "Might have to keep you around for luck."

You shrugged, feigning nonchalance as you grinned back at her. "Maybe I’m just magic."

From that night on, the game took on a new dynamic. Whenever you weren’t playing—and honestly, after that first royal flush, you decided to keep your seat more often—you would offer Sevika a teasing "Good luck" before a game. At first, it was a playful ritual, a way to needle her ego while supporting her. But something strange started happening.

Sevika kept winning.

Not just a little. Not just by chance. She was on a hot streak unlike anything the Last Drop had ever seen. And every time she crushed her opponents, she’d glance your way, her expression equal parts amused and incredulous.

"Alright, you’ve got to be doing something," she accused one night after yet another victory. She leaned against the bar, her metal arm resting heavily on the wood, her grin almost sheepish. "There’s no way this is just coincidence."

You raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of your drink as you pretended to think. "Maybe I should start charging you for my services. You know, ‘professional good luck charm’ isn’t the worst job title."

She laughed, a sound that was rare and warm, sending a ripple of pride through you. “Careful. I might actually pay you.”

It became your thing after that. Whenever Sevika was gearing up for a big game, she’d glance at you, her expression expectant. You’d roll your eyes, but you always relented, giving her your signature grin and whispering, "Good luck" in her ear.

And every time, without fail, she cleaned house.

The other patrons started to notice too. The rumor mill of the Last Drop churned with tales of Sevika’s mysterious charm, the one who sat on the sidelines and seemed to will her wins into existence. She brushed off the teasing with her usual bravado, but when it was just the two of you, the truth came out in quieter ways.

"You’re good for me, you know that?" she said one evening, her voice uncharacteristically soft as she walked you home.

You looked at her, surprised by the vulnerability peeking through her usual tough exterior. "Oh, so now I’m more than just a good luck charm?"

She smirked, but there was warmth behind it. "Yeah. You’re... more."

From that moment, something shifted. It wasn’t just the games anymore. She started seeking you out, finding excuses to spend time with you even when cards weren’t involved. Whether it was a quiet drink after hours or a walk through the winding streets of Zaun, Sevika seemed to gravitate toward you, her walls lowering bit by bit.

And somewhere along the way, you realized the feeling was mutual.

Sevika, for all her bravado and sharp edges, had a way of making you feel like the center of her world. The way she looked at you when she thought you weren’t paying attention, the rare softness in her voice when she teased you, the way her smile seemed just a little brighter when you were around—it all told a story she was too proud to say outright.

One night, after another streak of wins and a particularly celebratory round of drinks, she leaned down, her face close to yours, her voice a low murmur. "You know, I don’t need luck to win," she said, her tone teasing but her gaze serious.

You tilted your head, matching her grin. "No? Then what do you need?"

Her smirk softened into something genuine as she reached out, brushing her metal fingers lightly against your hand. "Just you."

And in that moment, you realized you weren’t just her good luck charm anymore. You were hers, and she was falling—hard.

ˢᵉᵛᵉⁿ

[crestapex]

“Simon!! I made some fo-“

Simon:

I just saw this piece of art by @temeyes. And just like the infamous Grug once said, “I have an idea!” Like, you don’t even know how quick I was to write this.💀 (I’d also like to imagine this as the aftermath after of my other post regarding big boy Simon.) (It also gets slightly, like the smallest amount ever, suggestive towards the end.)

Summary; SFW/SS—(0.9K Words): Simon is quick to disappear after a big dinner, so you set out on the search for him. Seriously, you live in a one story apartment, so how do you even manage to lose a man his size?

You cross your arms, humming to yourself as you steadily tap your foot on the living room’s hardwood flooring. Your eyes continue to scan everything, from the couch to behind the couch, again and again. You could’ve sworn Simon was right here, in this very flat, all but a few minutes ago—though it feels like you’ve been searching for that man for hours. It’s not like you heard the front door open and close, and it’s not like you heard the back door leading to the balcony open and close either. So where in the bloody hell could he be?

You huff in frustration, your arms dropping to your sides. And so you’re back on the move, trudging off down the narrow hallway. Maybe you should check in the office? Or maybe he would magically appear in the bedroom, probably having decided to nap the rest of the afternoon away? Or maybe you should try calling his name?… Wait, didn’t you already do all that?…

Ugh. And all you wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch a movie with him. Perhaps spend the rest of the night indulging in some sweets you had just waiting to be eaten. Yet, here you are, searching for this beast of a man. Like a needle in a haystack, strangely enough. And true to the whole ‘Ghost’ persona, you supposed.

You brought your fingers up to the bridge of your nose as you passed the kitchen for the second time in a row. You closed your eyes, only for a split second to take a deep breath in. “Okay, Simon. Riley. Where the hell are you-”

Thud!

And another breath—well, gasp would be more like it—out as your foot proceeded to collide with something so firm, yet so soft.

Your hands went up quicker than the speed of light, one firmly planting itself on the wall and the other grasping for dear life onto the doorway. The doorway of the bathroom you would soon learn. The one fucking place you forgot to check.

But the sounds of hard thudding from your hands being slammed against the thick walls was also accompanied by a fairly familiar sound. The sound of a low growl, a grunt and some deep, incomprehensible mumbles. You would’ve assumed you accidentally hit a bear if you weren’t familiar with those sounds, honestly. Well, he may not be a bear, but he was nearly the size of one. So, close enough?

“Jesus Christ, Simon!” You shouted, moving your head downwards to finally come face to face with your ghostly lover. You steadied your stance, lifting your hands up and off the wall. You could only watch as he slightly curled up from the rather heavy hit he just took to his poor gut, but just for a second. Whoops. “…Seriously? This is where you’ve been?”

Simon groaned, obviously not being too happy with his little snooze being so aggressively interrupted. “Bloody hell, love. Are ‘ya tryin’ to mess up another rib?” Despite his obvious annoyance, you couldn’t help but be a little amused, especially with seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

There the beastly man lies, his shirt up to his chest, leaving just the very lower half of his pecks exposed. His large body planted firmly on the bathroom tiles, with any skin and flesh below the lower half of his stomach jutting out from the bathroom doorway. The vast majority of his belly rested firmly on the tiles, most definitely relishing in the refreshing coolness emitting from the bathroom floor. His muscular arms stay splayed out above his shoulders and head, his chin resting lazily on his tattooed forearm. And his eyes firmly held shut. Wow, what an absolute sight to behold.

Okay, so maybe you couldn’t help but feel slightly bad. Even though he was the one in the way and almost messed you up.

“Well, I’m sorry to interrupt your hibernation, but I just had a question for you.” You crossed your arms and raised a brow, a smile beginning to form on your face. You couldn’t help but snort and snicker, “You look like a walrus, by the way,” you threw in, still taking in the sight of a truly comfortable Simon in his natural habitat.

“Hm?” He hummed, moving his head to the side to rest on his forearm. Opening one eye just enough to where he could see you. Your eyes crinkled at the sight, as no matter how relaxed he looked, there would always be a hint of that signature Simon Riley grumpiness permanently etched on his brows.

You put your hands on your hips, continuing to look down at your beloved, “Anyways, I was just going to ask if you wanted to move to somewhere more comfortable, like the couch, and watch a movie with me.” You began to kneel down to his level, resting an arm on your thigh and bringing the other to rest on the side of Simon’s tummy, giving him a few light pats, “There’s also dessert waiting if you think you can fit anything else in there.” You just couldn’t stop yourself from lightly chuckling as you began to soothingly run your nails down his side.

A deep, chesty rumble was soon emitted from Simon in response, the sound of pure satisfaction you’ve come to learn. You watched with a raised brow as he began to leisurely flip himself over and onto his back. He then brought his arms down from above his head, one hand moving to rest on his chest and the other placing itself firmly on your thigh.

“Mm’. Dessert, yeah?… Is it you?” He lowly chuckled, licking the very edge of his lips as his eyes narrowed with anticipation. His large hand beginning to gently caress the area. Cheeky bastard.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Please Don't Leave (Fear Gas)

Jason Todd x vigilante reader

Synopsis: After returning from a mission to take down an organization similar to the one that trained you to be a powerful assassin when you were little, all you want to do is shower. Life is peaceful waiting for Jason to come hime until you get a call from Stephanie saying that Jason was blasted with fear gas.

Warnings: Mentions of needles, IV's, trauma, death, PTSD, that kind of stuff

FYI: Reader was raised in a Red Room type place and has powerful magic but it's not a super important part of the story, it's just mentioned

Word Count: 2488

It was late at night, and you were winding down to shower and go to sleep. Tonight, was your night off after being away on a short mission for the League. You were tired and sore all over, and all you wanted to do was freshen up and wait for your boyfriend to come home so that you could sleep. Jason was meant to be home in around 20 minutes, and you were waiting for him to come back. Steam from the shower filled the room and you stepped into the shower and closed the door behind you. The lather of your shampoo in your hair made a bubbling feeling on your scalp and the smell of your shampoo created a calming feeling around you. Ease washed down your spine as you turned washed the shampoo from your face and started conditioning your hair when your phone suddenly lit up. You wiped your eyes and got the conditioner out of the way so that you wouldn’t get it in your eyes. The caller ID read “Steph” and a feeling of dread creating a gaping pit in your stomach.  

            “Hey Steph.” You answered, “What’s wrong?”

            “Are you in the shower, not on patrol?” She asked, “Never mind, just, Jason got hurt bad and we need you at the Manor ASAP.”

            “Okay I’m coming, uh-“ A sense of urgency got you moving faster than you’d want to be at this hour, “what happened, what’s wrong?”

            “Scarecrow bust gone wrong. He created a new toxin that is more intense than usual. It makes you relive physical feelings with phantom pain.” “We’re five minutes ETA from the cave. Jason keeps calling out for you and it’s the only way to lower his heart rate before he has a heart attack. He’s reliving the night in the warehouse Y/N.”

            “Okay, okay I’m coming” You got choked up talking to her.

            Realizing that your sense of dread was right, you put Steph on the speaker and started washing the rest of your conditioner as fast as possible. There was no time for drying your hair and you got into clothes as fast as possible as Stephanie explained what was going on. You started running towards your door and grabbed the emergency duffle bag that you kept in the closet in case something like this happened. Sprinting towards the front door in a cold sweat, you locked it and realized that your lights were still on.

            “Lumine off (lights off)!” You snapped a finger towards your lights and the apartment went dark.

            You held onto your bag and took a breath, closing your eyes and thinking about Wayne Manor, “suscipe me huc (take me here).” 

            It was quiet all the sudden, with a breeze filling the room around you and a bright light dropping you on your feet. When you opened your eyes again, you were in the living room of the manor where you suspected someone would be.

            “Ms. Y/N!” Alfred stood with a quick bewilderment, clearly expecting you to use the front door and not the living room as an entrance, “Master Todd is in the cave. I shall lead the way.”

            You and Alfred started for the cave, your bag still in hand and anxiety becoming more and more intense. Alfred pressed a button into the clock and an elevator was revealed. Starting into the elevator first, you pressed the button for the cave before Alfred had a chance to.

            “Sorry about the scare Alfred.” You said suddenly realizing that you had startled the sweet man.

            “Oh no worries. I’ve plenty a fright with this gaggle of vigilantes.” He said this with a smile in his voice, trying to make you feel less intense. 

            You gave him a smile before returning to a worried, slightly stoic expression. When the bell chimed and the elevator door opened, you ran towards the med bay where you saw Dick and Bruce hauling Jason to the table. Jason’s eyes were rolling back into his head, and he was coming in and out of consciousness. You ran over and helped support his body weight so that you could be close to him. Jason was screaming something about the Joker. He was flinching and convulsing like he was being hit repeatedly. As Dick and Bruce hauled him closer to you, trying not to get punched.

            “We got him here as fast as we could, he got a direct hit jumping to stop Scarecrow from releasing the gas into the water supply.” Dick explained as you held onto Jason and Bruce barked out orders to everyone around.

            “Okay, alright, Jason, look at me babe Jay!” you set him down on the table and held him up by his sides, “Jay I’m here, you’re okay, you’re alright. Hey, hey! Calm down, you can do it love. Breathe for me, you’re okay I promise.”

            Jason held his head up and looked at you with bloodshot eyes. His pupils were blown out and he was shaking with cold sweat. 

            “Y/N/N?” He muttered out quietly in sobs, “I need you; I need you. Help me.”

            “I’m right here Jay, lay down. Breathe for me Jay.” You started pushing him back lightly so that Dick could hook him to an IV and get antidote going.

            Dick came up behind you and got the shot ready for Jason when Jason’s eyes went wider than you thought possible, and he started pulling you towards him and screaming like he was being set alight.

            “Y/N, no!” Jason shrieked and started throwing punches towards Dick like he was fighting for his life, “Get away from her Joker!” 

            Dick ducked behind you and away from Jason’s sight, realizing that Jason was hallucinating again. The poking of the IV and Jason being pushed backwards caused him to grab onto you and start screaming hysterically. A look of absolute terror filled his face, and he started calling for you again screaming for help. 

            “No please! Y/N where are you?” Jason started flailing around and you called for Dick to get a sedative since he couldn’t handle being laid down.

            “Jay, honey I’m right here, right here. Joker isn’t here, you’re okay. I’m okay.” You grabbed his cheeks with your hands and pulled his face towards you. To relax him as much as possible ran your thumb over his cheek and pushed the hair in his face out of the way. Jason held your arm as gently as he could, even in as much stress as he was in, and looked at you like you were a lifeline. 

            Dick came over and injected a sedative into Jason’s arm while you were keeping him distracted. Jason shot his eyes over to where he felt a pinch on his arm and started gasping for air like he was dying. It was like he was reliving his death all over again. His eyes shot back to you, and he started crying harder.

            “Please don’t leave me. I’m going to die, please stay with me.” He cried to you.

            “It’s okay Jason, I’m not leaving, I’m right here, you’re okay. Close your eyes and breathe for me Jay.” You ran your fingers through his hair as his labored breathing became less and less abrasive. 

            “Don’t leave me.” Jason’s eyes dropped shut one last time and he went limp on the table. It was quiet in the cave again.

            You didn’t let go of Jason’s face and tears welled in your eyes before you blinked them away and sniffled. Dick was still standing next to Jason monitoring his pulse which was now evening out as much as it could. 

            “Y/N, I’m sorry this happened I-“ Bruce came over to you and laid a hand on your shoulder. His mask was off, and you could tell that he had cried at one point. He was upset seeing Jason reliving everything that he had been through, just as the rest of you were.

            “It’s okay Bruce, it’s not your fault.” You sighed heavily, realizing that your hair was still dripping from your shower, “Where’s Scarecrow now?” 

            “You’re not going after him.” Bruce said, “GCPD has him under tight supervision in Arkham.”

            “He should be in Black Gate and not some mental asylum. He knows what he’s doing.” You said, “And you know his gasses don’t affect me anymore B.” 

            “I know that but-“ You cut Bruce off before he could finish.

            “Besides I promised Jason, I wouldn’t leave him, and I hold fast to my promises.” 

            Bruce nodded, “Tim, Damian, and Cass made sure he didn’t get away. Damian reportedly put Crain in a temporary coma.” 

            “Maybe Crain won’t wake up.” You muttered under your breath as you took Jason’s hands in yours. 

            Tim came inside the cave along with the rest of the heroes. “How’s he doing?” 

            “His vitals have stabilized, we narrowly avoided him going into cardiac arrest.” Dick reported, “we should clean his wounds and get him out of his uniform.” 

            “Antidote hasn’t fully kicked in yet, we need to wait before he’s not under the influence of toxins anymore.” You said, “removing the IV will trigger another attack.” 

            “Someone needs to watch him too. Incase his vitals flip, or he wakes up.” Tim said, “Who takes first shift?” 

            “I’ve got shifts.” You said, “Go hit the hay.”

            “Y/N, you can’t stay here alone.” Dick said, “Someone can stay with you.”

            “That’s fine, but either way, I’m not leaving.” You spoke. 

            “You have to sleep at some point, eat, use the bathroom.” Dick was trying to convince you to get to sleep. He knew that your mission was arduous and had to have taken a toll on you. The League had called you on a mission to help locate and dismantle a group of assassins, like the ones you were trained with as a child, using magic to increase the abilities and reach of the organization. You were the most familiar with the group’s tactics, and the most powerful member in the league to deal with this, so naturally, you were sent. The mission took a mental toll of you because of the similarity it had to your childhood, and you needed the rest to recuperate. 

            “Dick it’s okay. We don’t need two people going manic over nightmares tonight and if I need something; I can literally wave my fingers to make it happen.” You waved your fingers around, creating a blue hued light around them to prove a point.

            Not wanting to continue to argue, Dick subsided and went to hit the showers with everyone else before coming back downstairs to keep you company. He had brought you a blanket and another little pillow, knowing that you wouldn’t get up and leave Jason. 

            A few hours later Jason was dressed into something more comfortable that wasn’t his suit and his wounds were disinfected and stitched where they needed. You had fallen asleep and woken up a few times while keeping watch. A day had passed since Jason’s run in now and you were exhausted. One of the times that you had woken up, you realized that Jason was stirring. You looked at him, watching for signs that he was waking or going back to sleep. Looking at the time, you saw that it was 2:46 AM. The blue light from the Bat Computer lit up the cave gently.

            “Y/N?” Jason called out quietly while moving himself to where he thought you were.

            “Hey Jason.” You said quietly, “I’m right here love.”

            “Did I die?” He asked, searching for an answer in your face.

            “No Jay, you didn’t. You’re right here, you’re okay Jay.” You said, tears starting to well in your eyes again.

            “Don’t cry Y/N.” He lifted his arm and whipped under your eyes, “You know, I didn’t want to see you again like this doll.”

            You let out a small laugh through your nose, smiling a little, “you scared me so much Jay.”

            “I’m sorry Y/N, I never try to. I’m so sorry Y/N/N.” He looked sad very suddenly as he was still watching your every move.

            “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. You were just doing your job.” You gave him a knowing look, “At least I was back in town.” 

            “I missed you.” Jason worked his hand up your arm and sat up to kiss you before groaning in pain.

            “I missed you too, now lay down before you bust your stitches.” You helped him lay back down before nestling your head into your crossed arms on the side of the bed.

            “You know that does not look comfortable at all babe.” He said, starting to coax you onto the Med Bay bed he was laying on, “It’s also cold in here. Are you cold? I’m cold.” 

            “If this is your way of telling me you want me to sleep with you in that cot, you could have just said.” You stood up and helped Jason scoot over a bit.

            The quiet hum of the Bat Cave was the only thing that filled the room, along with the soft beeping of the heart monitor. Jason’s breathing was steady, and you thought he was asleep until he started talking again.

            “Were you here the entire time?” He asked, glancing towards you.

            “I told you I wouldn’t leave you.” You said, “I don’t break my promises with you.”

            “Y/N, you know you didn’t have to.” Jason looked guilty, like he committed a crime in keeping you with him.

            “No, no, I needed to stay with you Jay. I couldn’t leave you alone the way you were. I didn’t want you to wake up alone in this place.” You explained, grabbing onto his hand. 

            “I would have found you.” He said softly.

            “That’s the problem. You would have hurt yourself while going looking.” You smirked some, laughing to yourself slightly. 

            “I can’t argue with that.” 

            “How was your mission?” He asked rubbing circles in your palm.

            “It was… a lot.” You sighed, “That was not horrible to relive again at all.”

            There was sarcasm in your voice to hide your hurt when you spoke about the mission. 

            “I know the training you’ve gone through, intense enough that the fear gas doesn’t work on you.” Jason said, “you’ve seen enough that nothing scares you much anymore.”

            “Well, you dear, scared the ever-living life out of me.” You poked his side.

            “I’m sorry.” Jason was endearing and serious now.

            “Jason it’s okay.” You looked at him with intensity, “You did what you had to do. I’m proud of you, not upset with you.” “I love you, Jay.”

            “I love you Y/N.” he said with a softness. 

            Silence drifted over the two of you, and eventually, you were confident enough to fall asleep when Jason had finally drifted asleep. In the morning, you’d worry about sorting out affairs and making sure Jason was alright so that you could go get a good shower after your mission. 

[kandlewick]

In the Queendom of Roses, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes. gn reader x rook, a howl's moving castle au pt. 2 1

It was quite funny, really. One would think having the great wizard Rook Hunt, hunter and eater of hearts, grace your hat shop would leave more of a splash than it had but nothing had changed much. Not on the outside at least. Inwardly, you were still quite flustered over the meeting and there would be the occasion you would find yourself mindlessly sewing this to that only to find out your thread had slipped from your fingers. 

Your special guest only gave you a quick glance before a well manicured hand reached out, a thin trail of magic leaving his fingertips. The thread you had dropped whisked its way back into the air and around your needle and with a quick flick of his finger, it looped itself back into the eye and pulled itself through. 

“It’s not like you to get so distracted,” your blonde guest gave you a look from underneath his lashes, his lilac eyes meeting your own tired ones, “must I find a new milliner?”

You flustered and felt yourself shrinking under his gaze, nearly dropping both the needle and thread. “My apologies, Mr. Schoenheit. I won’t get distracted again.”

The man’s once stern expression melted into a soft smile before turning away, “Good, because there’s not anyone in the Queendom of Roses with half of your skill.” He rested his cheek on his knuckles and looked out your window from his seat next to your own, his own specially crafted tea having been poured into one of your nicer teacups. You paid no notice to his compliment, much too distracted by the nervous shaking of your hands and instead got back to work, eyes entirely focused on the project. Vil noticed your lack of response with a raised brow and sighed before bringing his teacup to his lips to take a sip. You always were a fickle artist. 

“Why you still come to my shop, I’ll never know.” You laughed bitterly, ”I’m sure there are plenty of other hatters who would jump at the chance of working for you.” It was true after all. While working for an esteemed actor like Vil was a blessing, he was not a normal client. You couldn’t afford the latest fashions as you were locally sourced and while your techniques were admittedly unique and fashionable, surely he could have found a better and fancier place to get his head wear. You weren’t anything special after all. You couldn’t even use magic to do something as simple as threading a needle. Your competitors definitely offered so much more.

“You know, there’s nothing I detest more than undeserved humility.” He spoke over his cup before taking another slow sip. “When one is a master of their craft, the artist should take pride in their work.”

“Yes, Mr. Schoenheit, it’s why I think there are much more fitting locations for someone as talented as you… not that I don’t appreciate your commissions just… ”

Vil very nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation at your inability to accept a compliment but was quick to catch himself. With a soft click of porcelain, he sat his drink down and tutted at you like a disappointed teacher. “Do you really believe I would keep coming to your shop out of pity?” His glare was nearly frosty as you shrunk back in your seat, the hat you were crafting laying long forgotten on your work desk. His tall frame nearly shadowed your own as his icy lilac eyes kept yours in place. You could hardly think under his gaze, let alone move even as your body screamed at you to run. If he truly was upset with your work, you wish he would just leave!

“I’m sorry if I offended you!” You squeaked out, your eyes quickly shutting from your nerves. You had barely managed to find your voice before the man in front of you leaned forward, his hand darting out faster than your body could act, and swiftly taking your chin in between his thumb and forefinger. You let out a squeak of surprise before you could catch yourself. His stare was firm, eyebrows pulled down darkening his beautiful face. You could feel your eyes wandering against your will, darting to stare at his lips, so pretty and perfect, before quickly looking back up. With burning ears, you tried to pull back from his touch but he was firm with his grip, only pulling you tighter. 

“What will it take for my words to finally reach you?” He wondered aloud, tilting your head this way and that. You followed him like a rag doll. Vil never gave off the vibe that he was incredibly strong but the firm grip he had you under was enough to make you want to reconsider and while his touch kept you under his thumb, it never felt painful. Uncomfortable, sure. Having one of the biggest stars in the Queendom of Roses grace your shop was always an uncomfortable experience, it was hardly ever bad. 

You were so wrapped up in your own thoughts that you could barely catch the soft sigh leaving Vil’s lips, “— and so oblivious too.”

You blinked awake as soon as Vil let you go, the only proof he had ever been so close was the soft throbbing on your chin, “Vil…”

He abruptly got up and reached over to your side of the table and picked up your forgotten cup, the tea bag still seeping. “Let me get you another.” Vil’s voice was light as he walked back into your kitchenette, making himself comfortable. You sat back in your chair and stared at the wall, her palms sweaty. What was that about? You rubbed your chin absentmindedly while you waited. 

“Here,” Vil slid you a fresh cup. You thanked him quietly with a bob of your head and quickly raised it to your lips. It smelled different then what you had poured. More… flowery? You peeked over the rim of your cup to spy his expression only to see Vil was watching as you drank. Noticing your gaze, he smiled. “I added a little something to it — magic — to help you.”

“Oh,” You breathed into your cup, “Thank you.” another sip. The flavor was slowly growing on you. It didn’t take long for you to drink the entire cup even with Vil watching you like a hawk to make sure you finished it. 

“I should get going,” Vil glanced down at his watch. It was something fancy and sleek, a pretty little thing that you couldn’t even afford with a year’s worth of savings. “As much as I enjoy bothering one of my favorite artists, I must go.” 

“Of course!” You immediately picked yourself up and ran to the coat rack nestled close to the entrance with Vil close behind. Nodding his head in thanks, you reached back and helped him slide it on, quietly admiring how well it was tailored to him. He really looked quite dashing in it. Well, he looked dashing in anything, probably even a paper bag, but there was just something about this article of clothing.

“It’s a lovely thing, isn't it?” You get close and admire the seams at his sleeves, idly brushing your fingers against the stitching. Vil, deciding to humor your seamstress side, tilted his hand over for you to get a better look. “It fits you perfectly. You really look very dashing in it. They say a suit makes the man but I think it’s the other way around, you make it look even more beautiful.”

Vil stared down at you with widened eyes before very nearly preening. In fact, the suit did feel more fitted, like a lovely — hm? What an off sensation. Something DID feel strange about the suit…

Ah, so it’s like that, hmm?

“Take care, Mr. Schoenheit!” You waved him off as he departed and you closed the door behind you. Back to your quiet little shop, in your quiet little corner, with your quiet little hats. You sat back down, your knees and lower back immediately aching in a new and strange way. You let out a hiss as you scrambled in your chair, trying to find a comfortable position but nothing seemed to help and the more you tried, the more your body seemed to be fighting back. Everything felt like it was taking up so much more energy than it use to before and as much as you tried to ignore it, nothing seemed to be working. In a fit of anger, you threw your unfinished project to the side and stomped your way back up the stairs. The floors creaked with every thump, thump, thump of your worn out boots and you shed your clothes with every step, throwing your top and bottoms behind you in your eagerness to just have the day end with your rested snugly in bed and under the covers.

With a cheer, you slipped your night clothes on (with much protest from your body! What gives! Why did it feel like you got run over by a carriage?) and dove into bed. Your body still ached but at least now you weren’t doing anything. You sniffed. Hopefully you weren’t getting sick. Vil would be so mad at you if you got him ill. He was an actor and actors couldn't afford to get sick, after all.

[o0sleepingdead0o]

Prepared for Anything Pt. 5

Part 4, MasterPost

Danny debated with himself if he was a bad person or not for letting this go on. He watched one of the crooks, Sack-head, (probably the boss of all these other goons) squeeze a few drops of a misting, green liquid into a beaker and swirl it together like the most dubious cocktail Danny had ever seen.

But. . .Danny was the only captive in this warehouse (with so many lab safety violations even his parents would make some changes) and could he really be considered a captive if he could escape anytime? It was so lucky for that raccoon guy(his eye bags were almost as bad as Danny’s when he’d been fighting ghosts nearly two days straight) that Danny had annoyed Sack-head enough that he’d kidnapped Danny instead of raccoon guy.

. . .Danny was bored. . .

. . .

And maybe hoping Orphan would show.

Anywho, he did not like the look of that syringe being dipped into what could only be poison(right? It was poison, right? It was glowing ominously, like ectoplasm met magical sewer water, it had to be poison). What was he planning on doing with that? Should Danny have destroyed this place as soon as he got here? But he’d been bored and curious and slightly anticipating Orphan’s arrival, that he’d left it alone. 

Hmmm. Sack-head was coming towards him, laughing like the insane cartoon villains he and Jazz would watch as kids. The really annoying ones.

Danny didn’t do needles.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to act, and he sat back comfortably in the chair he was chained to as shards of glass sprinkled onto the concrete floor below. Vigilantes descended from the ceiling and windows with such coordinated timing, that they just had to be teammates with earpieces or something.

Danny’s face lit up with a smile as he caught sight of Orphan nailing a guy in the head. He might’ve swooned just a little. Sack-head, ever a cliche villain if Danny’s ever seen one, called “Get them!”

Danny settled in to watch.

The warehouse exploded in noises of gunfire and fighting. With Danny at one end of the warehouse, he only saw the vigilantes a little with goons blocking much of the view, but he could tell the bats were holding their own. Their skills far outclassed the goons, but the goons had numbers and so the fighting went on.

It was Orphan he spotted in the rafters a couple minutes later, sneaking closer to him, and he couldn’t help the grin he flashed up at her. She was wearing a mask and he couldn’t tell if she returned it, though he’d like to think that she did. One of her soft smiles that hid a cunning and a perceptive mind, shifting eyes, taking in every detail of body language, knowing things he was saying without him having to say it—

He needed to get himself together.

She was moving even faster now, reaching for something in her belt—

There were pointy things grazing his neck.

Danny will be honest. . . .he’d known Sack-head was coming for him, probably to give the bats an ultimatum like he was doing now, threatening to. . .poke(?) Danny with his gross claws if they didn’t back off. . .but he’d. . .he was having too much fun playing damsel in distress, okay?! This was only the second time he’s seen Orphan in weeks, and as soon as this situation was cleared up, she’d be gone again, and he, admittedly, wanted to drag this out as long as he could. Even if only by a couple of seconds. It was bad. He knew this. . .but what else was he supposed to do when the source of his affections was right there, lurking in the rafters like some beautiful goddess of darkness and death? She was perfect and he didn’t know until he’d met her that someone could feel so right. 

He could take just a couple more minutes, he’d make sure no one got hurt(severely), it was fine.

Currently, the vigilantes were frozen. Besides Orphan, there was a big guy all in black like a goth vampire, Bruisy, Spoiler, Jason(AKA Red Hood), Red Robin, and the little one with the sword. He was so adorable. Like a vicious, blood-thirsty, snooty, little duckling with anger issues.

“Hey, guys.” Danny said to the frozen vigilantes, smiling good-naturedly to let them know he was okay. “Been a minute.” He gave a little wave, startling Sack-head.

“Wh—What happened to your chains?! Nevermind, not important right now.” He mumbled the second part to himself. “Surrender!” He ordered the vigilantes who ground their teeth and reluctantly dropped their weapons. Sack-head had his goons restrain them and soon they were bound on the floor.

Danny internally winced. Okay. Maybe he should stop this now. . .

. . .

But no one had noticed Orphan in the rafters. And he would really prefer not to out himself as not completely normal. He’s done an amazing job, he thinks, of helping out where he can without showing his powers. The vigilantes don’t suspect a thing. He’s just a regular dude who just happens to come across them sometimes with useful objects to help them out. Yes, totally normal.

“You! Watch the kid!”

One of the goons came and stood nearby, finger on the trigger of a gun, and barrel pointed at the floor. The claws slid away from Danny’s skin and Sack-head stalked to the workbench where he’d been playing with chemistry.

“Uh. . .Boss?” One of the goons said nervously. “Shouldn’t we. . .ya know. . .leave? They could have back-up coming.”

“In a minute.” Sack-head snapped. “The experiment will be ruined and I’ll have to start from scratch if it’s disturbed!”

Danny glanced to the bats who were either watching him, Sack-head, the goons, or assessing how to get out of the situation. Danny caught glances of Orphan moving above, but didn’t chance looking up in case the goons caught on.

“Whatchya buildin?” Danny asked cheerily, much to the aggressive Teletubbies’ continued astonishment. 

Sack-head grumbled. “Shut u—“ Sack-head paused when he whipped his head to him. “Where did you get that?”

Danny threw another popped kernel in his mouth and jutted his thumb at the goon standing guard over him. Said goon looked bewildered, casting his gaze around and pointing to himself questioningly. Danny nodded. 

“What ar—don’t feed him! He isn’t a guest!?”

“Gave me this water too.” Danny said before taking a sip from a plastic water bottle.

“What? No, I didn’t—“

Danny hummed disappointedly with a shake of his head. “Tsk, tsk, dissent in the ranks.”

“Boss! I didn’t—“

“Figs! You’re taking over for Gertrand!”

“Yes, Boss!”

Danny waved goodbye to a distressed Gertrand as his place was taken over by Figs. Popcorn crunched loudly between Danny’s teeth as he smiled broadly at his new guard. He held out his tub of popcorn. “Want some?”

Figs stared at him for a moment. Glanced back at Sack-head who wasn’t looking. And shrugged. As he reached in, Danny gasped loudly, quite convincingly, and pointed at the other end of the warehouse. “What’s that!?”

It was too easy. Every head turned and Danny pulled out a grenade and threw it. Smoke  exploded out, billowing across the floor and thick into the air. The next moments happened fast as the vigilantes had already freed themselves and had been watching for an opportunity. Orphan dropped from the ceiling. Bodies became obscured in the smoke, the sound of them thudding to the ground between fists exchanged and shouting. There were several screams. When the smoke cleared, the vigilantes were cuffing and knocking out the last of the goons. Sack-head was thoroughly bound and lying on the dirty floor.

He spotted Orphan cuffing a guy and he grinned wide, getting up from his chair and making his way over. She straightened when she saw him coming. He raised a hand. “Hey—“

Black suddenly obstructed his vision and Danny halted, looking up at the large man. “Hi. Nice. . .horns?”

He heard someone snicker. The goth vampire didn’t react at all.

“Who are you?” The guy gravelled and wow, Danny’s sort of worried about the guy’s throat. 

“Danny. Nice to meetchya. Water?” Danny pulled a sealed bottle from behind him. “You sound like you need it.”

Spoiler burst out laughing.

“Last name.” The guy grunted out and Danny frowned. The bottle lowered when the guy didn’t take it.

“Ya know, it’s common curtesy to give your name back.”

He wasn’t sure why the others kept laughing. The goth vampire didn’t say anything for a long minute.

“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you still don’t know who Batman is!” Spoiler was leaned against a wall, cackling like her head might fall off. “I’m so glad I came.” She swiped a tear from her eye.

A hand appeared on Batman’s(?) arm. Danny turned to Orphan with a big smile.

“Hey!”

“Hi.”

“Uhh. . .nice to see you—Y’all—uh—All of you. . .”

She nodded.

“Orphan—“

“Shush.” Orphan shushed the man with a pat on his arm, not straying her eyes off Danny and he shifted a bit on his feet. “Friend.”

Batman grunted. Apparently that meant something cause Orphan said “Stop” and stepped forward. Danny stepped back to make room for her.

When he spoke again, Batman’s voice came out a tad deeper and agitated. It was hard to spot. 

There was something familiar about the way Batman postured. Danny looked him up and down, trying to figure it out; the crossed arms, the vaguely intimidating looming, the angry scowl like Danny had run off with his daughter in the middle of the night—

“He’s an un—“

“Ohhhhh!” Danny realized with a finger. “You’re her bat-dad.”

The laughing stopped. The vigilante’s masked eyes blew wide.

Ha. Danny was right.

He restrained himself from reaching out for a handshake. He had a feeling Batman wouldn’t take it.

“Riiight, okay, I get it now. Last name’s Fenton.” Danny looked down as he ticked off a finger. “I’m twenty-three, I don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs, I have a stable job, a degree in mechanics and engineering, umm. . . Oh! I have my driver’s license, though that might not be vaild here. Uh, I’m from Illinois, I know first-aid—“ He was running out of fingers. “—and how to do water rescues, I’ve never committed a crime of my own will—“

“What?”

“—and I’ve never crashed through any buildings with my car.”

“. . .huh???” Bruisy asked.

“Oh. Yeah, well. Back home, people got nervous when I said I got my driver’s license and I like to make it clear my sister taught me to drive and not my parents. Anyway—“ He said to Batman. “—I just wanted you to know you don’t gotta worry about me. . .if. . .we ever hang out. . .?” Danny said the last part to Orphan shyly and rubbing at the back of his neck. She nodded and he beamed, making a pleased sound in the back of his throat.

Batman’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve committed crimes against your will?”

Ah. “Well, I should get going. You guys probably have a lot of vigilante-ing to do and saving children from fires and all that.”

“Ans—

“Not to mention these guys.” He gestured vaguely at all the tied up goons.

“You—“

“Yep, I can tell you’re itching to get going.” Danny began to back away. “We’ll talk later?” He asked Orphan.

“Find you on roof next time.”

Danny smiled at her.

“Dan—“

Danny froze and pointed wide-eyed behind the bats. “That guy got free!”

Everyone but Orphan whipped around to look and Danny dashed out of there. He couldn’t believe that’d worked a second time.

Tag List:

@okami-love, @whataspectaclebear, @thomasdimensor, @observerblock23, @stargazer-luna, @lazerswordweilder, @random-sparks-98 , @spam-extemporal, @theo-the-raven, @felicityroth , @jklpopcorn , @nontitlenym , @wanderwithwings, @8000fangirl

[wilwheaton]

I have a small part in the 1987 television movie (failed pilot) version of The Man Who Fell To Earth. Lewis Smith played the titular character. Beverly D'Angelo played my mom, his love interest. (Fun Star Trek connection: Bob Picardo is also in it).

My character was a Troubled Youth, which I gotta tell you was not a stretch for me at all. I was deeply, deeply hurting at the time we made it. I was struggling not to suffocate on all the emotional and financial burdens my mom put on my shoulders, and fully aware of just how much my dad hated and resented me. You need a kid who doesn't want to be an actor, whose eyes can't hide the pain? I'm your guy.

Anyway, one of the scenes I was in took place in a record store, where Troubled Youth steals some albums, before he is chased by the cops and saved by the Man Who Fell To Earth, who uses a glowing crystal to save his life from ... some scratches on his face.

We filmed the interior of the record store at Sunset and La Brea, in what I think was a Warehouse, and at the end of the day, I was allowed to buy some records at a modest discount.

I was deep into my metal years, on my way from my punk years to my New Wave years, so I only bought metal albums. I know I bought more than I needed or could carry (I was making a point that I was allowed to spend my own money, mom), but the only ones I can clearly remember are:

Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind

Judas Priest - Turbo and Defenders of the Faith

W.A.S.P - The Last Command

(I know this was in March of 1987, because Turbo had just come out.)

Of those, Piece of Mind is the only one I never really stopped listening to, even through all the different it's-not-a-phase phases. I still listen to it, today.

Ever since I became an Adult with a Fancy Adult Record Player And All That Bullshit, I have kept my records in two places: stuff I want right now, and stuff I keep in the library because of Reasons.

Generally, records move in one direction toward the library, even if it takes years to happen. I just don't accumulate albums like I once did, because I'm Old and set in my ways.

Earlier today, I decided that I wanted to listen to an album while I cleaned up the kitchen, and because I wanted to make my life more interesting, I opened the library cabinet for the first time in at least five years.

There was the very same W.A.S.P album from that day in March, 1987. I don't have any of the others -- I looked -- but The Last Command was right there.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I put it on the Fancy Adult Record Player and dropped the needle.

I watched four decades of dust build up with a satisfying crackle, and there was something magical and beautiful about hearing all the skips and the scratches, realizing I remembered them from before.

The title track was just as great as I remembered it. It struck all the same chords in me that it did in the late nineteen hundreds. The rest of the first side was ... um. It just didn't connect with me, and for the few moments I spent trying to find a connection, I don't think it ever really did. I would remember.

But I did remember how much I loved making those mix tapes, and what a big part of them that song was. I did remember how empowering it felt to not just spend my own money that I earned doing work I didn't want to do, but to spend it on music my parents hated, right under their noses. I did remember how impressed Robby Lee was, when I showed him my extensive heavy metal album collection.

Remembering all of that, in one of those cinematic flashes of rapid cut visuals and sped up sounds, told me why I kept this record, while I gradually sold or replaced the other records I bought that day with CDs, then mp3s, then lossless digital files, before finally coming all the way back to records, where I started.

I didn't listen to the second side. I didn't need to. I took it off the Fancy Adult Record Player, and put it back into the library, next to the George Carlin records.

[princessbrunette]

omg I love kitty!reader sm!!! she’s a lil weirdo just like me!! she’s probably v into witchy stuff and learning about the occult and magic! and jj is always letting her talk his ear off about whatever you’re hyper fixating on at the moment. I can totally see her randomly asking him super seriously if he’d ever taste her blood because she read in some spell book that it would bind them together forever and he’s just looking at her like “Do we wanna go to a graveyard to really seal the deal orrrr” because let’s be honest, that fact that you’re into strange stuff like him turns him on sooooo much it’s kinda funny

₊⊹ ᥫ᭡🐈‍⬛ ⁀➴

thinking about kitty!reader talking jj into making blood vial necklaces for eachother <3

it turns him on how devoted you are to him to wanna do something like that, so he agrees without much thought. only the next day you’re showing up at his place with a whole kit, little needles and syringes with empty vials tied to ribbons that you’d purchased all for this marvellous event. you’re giddy, and he’s increasingly nervous.

“and— and it’s even better ‘cos tonight’s a full moon.” you beam at him as you clean his arm, preparing to take some of his blood.

“okay so… am i like, gonna turn into a werewolf or somethin’?” he teases making you giggle.

you take his blood, pulling it into the syringe and he’s a total baby about it, yelping and wincing, rambling in order to keep himself cool. “y’know i watched this movie once about this crazy scientist who steals this guys blood and he like — he makes evil clones of him. i lowkey feel like you could do somethin’ like that, y’know. like — an army of evil boyfriends— i dunno—”

“jayj stop moving!”

“my bad.”

it comes the time to take your blood and he pretends he’s not feeling a little squeamish at this point, letting you lay against him as he slowly pulls the syringe up, filling it with dark red blood. you were never good at this kind of thing, getting weak and lightheaded, eyes fluttering as you drop more weight onto him. he blinks, craning his head to look at you.

“uh, hello— yoohoo— kittycat… this was your idea, rise and shine.” you smile weakly at the slight panic in his voice.

“m’just resting. feel a little weak.”

“okay, that’s normal right? yeah that’s — that’s like regular. this is a super normal thing to do.”

when he’s done he makes kissy noises, the same you would to a kitten to attract its attention and you open your eyes, sitting up and stretching your back a little. “mm, thanks jayj.”

“uh, yeah.”

you chat as he watches you pour the blood into the vials, so casually that he can’t help but feel in awe of you.

“now you have a piece of me forever.” you grin, canines glistening in the dim lamp light.

“y’know some couples just get matching tattoos but uh— this works too.”

₊⊹ ᥫ᭡🐈‍⬛ ⁀➴

[twstfanblog]

*~Toddler Chronicles-3rd Years PT.1~*

A/N: I have no excuses. I've just been hoarding my writing and trying to stack finished stories and post them out when I have depressive episodes—just to make sure I have something for you all! So anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this part. The series is going to be so full of cute baby shenanigans that you'll have a toothache. Thank you again to @bun-lapin for letting me use their wonderful OCs! They are so fun to chew on... Word Count: 6.3K Pairings: Alluded Ruggie/Leona Warnings: Needles, Children, Me typing out a country accent, Google translate french

Starter, Pt 1

Ruggie had only felt fear so strongly he could taste it twice in his life. The first was when he was five and awoke in his hut with his grandma nowhere in sight. The second was when he was twelve and a drunk man had gripped at his arm to the point it bruised him for days.

And now he can say he's tasted fear three times. The third being he realized the second prince of the Savanna had been turned into a four-year-old and was missing. Anyone left in Savanaclaw that weekend morning was out and searching, using every nose and ear in the dorm to hunt down their missing leader.

Ruggie had to stop after an hour, his panicked breathing pulling in the scent of his search party more than the sandy flora he was looking for. He stood to the side, his head in his hands while his thoughts raced on what could have befallen the defenseless toddler that a pack couldn't find him.

“Ruggie!”

He looks up, not even trying to hide the tears pooling in his eyes. A rhino beastman, a third-year who heard Leona was missing and the pure distress in Ruggie’s voice quickly helped mobilize the dorm, stood before him. He shook his head, “We've searched the gardens side to side, we've got teams combing the woods. The school and coliseum are next for the beta teams, but we haven’t found anything.”

Ruggie’s sigh was ragged, dropping his head back down to grip at his hair in frustration. Dropping to the ground in a squat as he started to rock in a self-soothing motion. 

The third-year sighed along with him, folding his arms as he looked out to the campus, “The ‘Emergency Protocol’ for a lost member is normally Rook…but you said he was four, too, right?”

“Yeah…”

“...” He tilted his head, a questioning sneer showing his teeth, “Why are they four?”

“If I fucking knew, do you think I would be five steps away from a heart attack?”

“Okay…geeze…” The third-year turns around hearing someone call his name. With a nod to them, he turns back to Ruggie, “Cool your head. You know Leona best and you're in charge when he's not available. If anyone could figure out where he went it'll be you.”

As the other beastman left, Ruggie was left to calm himself. Once he could breathe without the laborious tug of his own nerves, he really thought. Leona had very key areas he went to, all secluded away from others as he was always more comfortable alone. But those areas were also easily accessible, a factor that the possibly scared four-year-old no doubt didn't care for.

Away from others, carefully hidden, familiar…

Ruggie’s eyes snapped open, jumping from his position and bolting back to the empty dorm. His hands braced against one of the open-air window sills, hopping through it with ease as he sprinted into the faux savanna their dorm resided in.

In his first year, before they had started their situationship deal, Ruggie remembers waking up in the middle of the night. Nothing serious, just thirsty, so he left his room. But on his way to the kitchen, he saw Leona outside of the dorm's walls and walking into the fields of scattered vegetation and rocks. Ruggie never asked where he was going, but that memory was enough to tell him Leona had more places to hide than he thought.

Tracking Leona became almost laughably easy once he was far enough from the dorm, after a while the only smell was Leona in the magically sterile lands. A scent he followed to a small cave, the opening semi-hidden from view by a large rock resting in front of the opening and the amount of weeds growing from the top. Brushing the strands of grass aside he bit his tongue to hold in the urge to bark out laughs at the scene before him.

It was a pretty sweet setup, by Ruggie’s standards. A large rug had been laid out on the ground, softening the area while also keeping the dirt trapped underneath it. There was a low table at the center of space, the remnants of a quick meal by way of multiple snack wrappers and an empty juice bottle. But the best thing was the ‘bed’. A pile of old blankets and pillows all pressed into the corner, a tiny mass with reddish brown hair swimming in a daishiki resting on it. As always, Leona slept with his back to the entrance, laying in a curled up ball with his tail laid out behind him.

Ruggie stepped into the area as slowly as he could. Yeah, Leona was four, but he was still Leona. And Ruggie did not want to see what the potentially scared toddler could do to him in an enclosed space. He couldn't stop the swear he mutters, seeing a single tiny ear suddenly flick around and point toward him. He sunk to his knees, hands held up in a motion of surrender as Leona slowly woke up, “Hey…hey there, bud. You ok?”

The kid turned, a big green eye full of distrust peering at Ruggie as if daring him to move. Before long Leona had moved to fully face Ruggie, sniffing the air a few times before narrowing his eyes and wrinkling his nose, “You smell like the sheets in that room…”

Nodding, Ruggie tries to walk on his knees, one step for every few seconds to not startle the toddler, “Yeah. I do your laundry, it smells like me sometimes. I'm Ruggie, I…I take care of you here.”

Leona did not look pleased in the slightest that Ruggie was getting closer, but made no move past the adorable sneer, “Where's here? If you're trying to get money you picked the wrong kid.”

Ruggie didn't know if that was the inkling of something terribly sad or if Leona was actively threatening him and he didn't care to find out. He chuckles, one-half hobble of a step makeing Leona tense up, his poker face pinching together as he struggles to hold it together. Ruggie takes two knee steps back.

“I'm not dangerous. Hell, I think you'd wipe the floor with me anyway. I haven't had breakfast yet.”

Leona eased, his face slowly morphing into a pout and placing his tiny hands onto his stomach as he looked to the side, “I haven't either…”

Ruggie chuckles, eyes looking to the table and the empty wrappers, “You haven't?” He snorts at the little growl of a huff Leona lets out. He turns back to the kid, his smile turning soft as he held a hand out, “How about we get out of here and I make you some food? You can call Kipaji and we can go from there…”

“Kifaji…?”

Name dropping the aid was the right move, Leona's eyes lighting up at the familiar name before he schools his expression again. He wrings the edge of the now oversized sleep shirt in a show of nervousness. Sniffing the air, Leona wasn't able to smell anything pointing toward malice from the hyena. If anything it calmed him in a sense, the scent of something sweet with the earthy smell of dandelions, the same smell clinging to the fibers of the room he woke up in. 

Ruggie kept his hand outstretched, breathing in relief when Leona finally walked closer and grabbed at his fingers with both of his hands. the sophomore stands, his scrawny hand wrapping securely around one of Leona's, “Let's get you a good meal then. You're so tiny; I gotta make sure you're well-fed!”

Leona pouts, following as the older boy guides them out of the little sanctuary, “I'm not that small for my age…”

Epel sighed, placing two plates down in front of the toddlers, “Here. Some nice and filling breakfast. Y'all want somethin’ to drink?”

Vil looked up, the long sleeves of his button-up pajamas neatly cuffed to allow his hands to be free of the fabric. He tilted his head, purple eyes curious, “You talk weird…Can I have peach juice?” he looked to his plate, smiling as he took notice of the gold swirls along the rim.

“...” Epel sighed, quirking his lip as he rolled his eyes. He couldn't smack the little bugger across the back of his head, he was four, he was going to say whatever was on his mind. 

While Vil started to eat his breakfast, buttered toast and cut-up fruit just as he had requested, Rook was pouting, poking at his food in mild confusion.

“Rook?” The child snaps up, looking to Epel at the sound of his name, “Ya okay bud? Do ya not like ya food?”

“...” Rook pouted, eyebrows pinching together before he turned to Vil. He patted Vil on his shoulder, calling him to lean closer to whisper into his ear.

Vil hummed, nodding and swallowing his food before looking at Epel, “You got his food wrong.”

“Ah…how!?” Epel gestured to the bell pepper omelet on Rook's plate, “You said he wanted eggs and bell pepper! Did he want them raw!?”

“Don't yell at me!” Vil huffed, his tiny nose scrunched up as he slapped his hand to the table, “He told me you made it weird. You're the big kid, you should know what little kids need.”

Epel rolled his eyes so hard he nearly fell. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down before speaking to Rook, “What's wrong with it? What'd ah get wrong?”

Rook only looked at him confused, blinking a few times before mumbling a few words to Vil. The other blonde perked up again, swallowing his food before he responded in stilted Florian. Epel watched the back and forth, eyes following and wondering why…they were speaking in the other other language…

Vil nodded after a while, turning to Epel, “You made it wrong.”

“What did ah make wrong?” How could such a cute kid be so annoying in this small amount of time?

Sighing, Vil gestured to the omelet on Rook's plate, the other child finally picking at the food to eat it in tiny bites, “His food! You made it wrong!”

Epel gestured to the plate almost in a hysterical fashion, “Ya said he wanted eggs and peppers!?”

The pout Vil pulls is cute, Epel can't lie. But the glare he gave him was all too familiar to the disapproving stare of his 18-year-old self, “That's what he said he wanted! That…Rook, qu'est-ce que tu voulais?” *

“Shakshuka! Mon papa le fait pour moi, mon frère et ma sœur. Il n'y a pas des tomates…”

Nodding, Vil passed over a few chunks of his fruit medley to Rook, turning to glare at Epel, “You forgot the tomatoes.”

Sighing once again, Epel braced against the table and leaned closer to Rook, “Lil guy, ‘ou're gonna need to communicate with me. What is Shakshuka?”

Rook blinked his two big green eyes, tilting his to side as he gave Epel a look of pure confusion.

Vil leaned past Rook, cupping his mouth with both hands to loudly whisper, “I don't think he knows Common yet…”

“...”

Oh, that…that was bad. Epel forgot that Rook was one of the younger third-years; most kids didn't start learning the worldly language of Common until they were around four or prepping to enter the school system. He could make the assumption that the other third-years had at least started their introductory lessons, allowing the school's translation charm to be properly activated for them still.

Epel looked to Vil, trying to keep himself from looking concerned, “Wait, why? He should at least know a few words by now?”

Another brief conversation in Florian between the toddlers, Vil turning to Epel, “He said his mommy said he wasn't getting lessons until he was five.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Epel breathed out. A new annoyance to this pile of nonsense that has become his school life.

Crewel sighed, leaned over his desk as though it was the only thing keeping him up. brushing his hair from his eyes he looked at the group of students and toddlers gathered in his homeroom. The toddlers all dressed in makeshift clothing of oversized shirts, socks, and magically resized shoes.

Riddle stood behind his two turned juniors, eyes watching them like a hawk. His gray pupils moving back and forth to make sure neither child was acting out. A helicopter guardian move that proved unnecessary since both children were sharing a chair and crowded against each other, looking with wide eyes at whatever was on Cater’s phone.

Ruggie stood still with a blank expression, for a second Crewel had feared that the Savanaclaw students hadn't managed to find Leona. Only to see tiny hands creep from behind Ruggie’s head to tug at the corners of his mouth. An equally tiny face peeking from Ruggie’s shoulder and demanding to know when he was going to be fed again.

Epel sat in a chair, eyes glaring straight ahead in purely concealed annoyance. In his lap was Vil, the toddler quietly whispering in a harsh tone as he held and picked at Epel's nails. Clearly scolding him for having dirt under his nails and the small nicks on his fingers. In contrast, Rook was comfortably seated on Epel's shoulders. The other child smiling and having fun messing with the freshman’s hair by running his hands through it and trying to pull it into pigtails.

Ortho was the calmest, Idia practically swimming in his standard hoodie from Ortho's arms. The junior's long hair had shortened dramatically, now a fluffy halo of blue flames compared to the tail it was before. He sat curled into Ortho's arms, his mouth covered by his hoodie sleeve as he nervously glanced around the room and chewed on the fabric.

The most contrasted pair were Malleus and Lilia. While Mallues stood on the ground, holding onto a folded over Sebek's hand and calm, Lilia…

Silver held the still hissing and yowling child by the arms and as far away from his body as possible. The long-haired bat fae was kicking and squirming, nearly fighting for his life to escape Silver's hold. Though from how he kept angling his head and biting into the fabric of the shirt, Crewel could only think it was also a demand to be freed from the prison called clothing.

Crewel groans, covering his face with both his hands. Soon Hui-Yan enters the room, looking annoyed as she tips her head toward Crewel in greeting, “I’ve alerted the other teachers, no one else seems to be affected so I believe it was just this group affected…”

“Uh…” Ruggie reached up, Finally pulling Leona's hands off of his face and moving to hold the toddler to his front, “So…I know they have these meetings every now and again. I help Leona make stuff for them sometimes. That's most likely where they got spelled or dosed…”

Riddle hummed, eyes still locked on his unbothered charges, “A potion makes the most sense…it would explain the delayed reaction more than a spell-Cater, don’t you dare open that message!” He reaches down, pulling the phone away from Cater’s little hands and ignoring his and Trey’s whining.

“...” Crewel sighed again, reminding himself that he had a bottle of scotch calling his name once this whole event was settled, “What potion even does this…? Bucchi, do you have any idea how they could have dosed?”

“Leona was making a big fuss last night on Malleus fuc-” He nearly bit his tongue, closing his mouth as nearly everyone’s eyes snapped to him, basically daring him to finish his sentence, “...He said Malleus messed up the drink mix he brought and it tasted bad…”

Silver sighed, trying his best to rework his hold on Lilia as the child managed to wiggle one of his arms free from his hand, “I remember…Kalim came over a day or so ago with various syrups and sodas…Malleus just said they were mixing things for fun but it must have been for this meeting- Ow.” He groaned frowning at the growling child digging his fangs into his hand, “Please, stop biting me…”

“I don’t think Kalim al Asim would bring anything that contained magical properties. So that leaves the Scarabia and the Diasomnia dorm as the prime location for a third-party to slip something into the beverage.” Ortho nodded at his reasoning, giving his brother a worried glance, “My most present concern is what could have done this. It was strong enough to effect full-blooded fae but weak enough to humans to ‘deage’ them  both to the same age.”

“...No?” Sebek spoke quietly, eyes glancing between Malleus in his arms and Lilia wrapped around Silver's arm and biting into his wrist, “They're…they're not. Waka-sama! Do you know how old you are?”

Malleus had only jumped a bit at the sudden volume increase that was Sebek’s voice before calming back down, “I'm forty…”

“...”

Crewel pinched the bridge of his nose, counting back in his head to calm his rising blood pressure. He grabbed his phone with one hand, texting Oster as he searched in his other coat pocket, “I’ll need to do some tests to determine what’s in their systems. Not to mention just making sure it’s not actively hurting them…”

Epel spoke up, Vil moving from his hands to poking and pulling at his face claiming he was going to get wrinkles if he kept glaring, “How are you gonna test it?”

“Blood sample.” Crewel then pulled what they could only conceive as the biggest-looking syringe any of them had ever seen. Silver and Sebek both only seeing one of such style in the valley since it seemed more modern needles weren’t so…comically terrifying.

…

Every child once in a relative calm had started to sob the second the syringe was brought out, each wailing and struggling to escape the room or their guardians' hold once they realized they were going to be stuck with the insanely scary needle.

Silver was fighting to keep Lilia from kicking him in the throat in his efforts to break free of his hold. Sebek wasn’t any better as Malleus whimpered and whined, the lights flickering the more distressed he became as the clouds darkened outside. Ruggie had Leona on his head, the child hissing and trying to tug Ruggie by the ears to demand he turn around to leave the room. Epel and Riddle had it the worst. Both of the smaller boys tried to strong-arm two wailing toddlers from flinging themselves to the ground.

Riddle yells, face red both from overexertion and rage, “Why do you have a sterile syringe in your coat pocket!?”

“Don’t you bark at me, Rosehearts! I’ll keep what I need to deal with you lot of rowdy puppies!” The teacher groaned, the sound of wailing children something he had no desire to ever hear. 

Hui-Yan was no better as the woman stood almost frozen beside him with her eyes jumping from one crying kid to the other. She leaned over, eyes glancing to Crewel’s phone to see what he had texted the other science teacher, “Is Oster bringing more syringes or are you going to draw from each of them?”

“... I'm not using the same needle on all of them Hui-Yan.”

“Okay.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I just assumed that’s what you’d do.”

“Why-”

“Um!”

Crewel and Hui-Yan look in surprise. The voice was squeakier but Idia was clearly the child to speak out. He was making direct eye contact, pulling his face from his sleeve and nodding his head.

“I can go first! To show them it’s not scary.”

“O-oh…Thank you, Idia…?” Both teachers glanced at each other, almost asking if they had heard the same thing. Idia as an 18-year-old was not brave, loud, nor as considerate as his toddler counterpart. While very helpful, it was simply jarring…

Crewel pulled out his crop, starting to cast a few spells on the syringe in hand, “Another teacher is coming with more supplies so I can safely get a sample from each of you. You’ll get one of those needles since I have this one for Malleus or Lilia. Modern syringes are made from steel which, if you puppies have been doing your science homework, is a mixture of iron and carbon.” He held up the syringe again, eye twitching at the increased wailing of the children, “I have a few vintage syringes that are still functional that were made with silver. A few cleaning spells and they’ll be safe to use for the fae…”

Oster bursts in, a bag slung over her shoulder as she huffed and puffed, “I’ve come with the items!”

“Perfect timing. Please prep the baby Shroud to draw blood and prep yourself to potentially fight several children…” Crewel pulled out the single-use bags of syringes, looking each over before he started to prep the second vintage syringe.

Rook peaked from under Epel's arm, watching as Idia let Ortho and Oster maneuver his jacket around to show his arm. He whimpered louder, watching the teacher wipe at the other boy's arm with a cotton ball that stained his skin orange, “Vous ne savez pas ce qu'est un tir? Ils font mal et font peur!” **

Idia looked down, eyebrows creased together in confusion, “Wha…?”

Ortho hums, gaining Idia’s attention, “He’s speaking Florian.”

“Oh…” Idia turned back to Rook, shaking his head at the terrified child, “I don’t speak Florian…”

“Scary! He’s saying shots are scary!” Vil wailed, struggling and twisting his arm in Epel’s hold while Rook started to do the same with his other side.

“Oh…Well. I get shots a lot, so I’m used to them.” Idia gains a fearful expression seeing both Oster and Crewel give the needles a final check over, “Yeah, it feels like a pinch but then you get a sucker!”

Malleus stopped his whimpering, shyly peaking from a fretting Sebek’s shoulder. He sniffled, looking over to Idia, “What…what is a sucker?”

“...A sucker?” Idia responded, looking just as confused. How did anyone not know what a sucker was…?

Sebek spoke up, patting Malleus on the back in an effort to calm him more, “It’s a confection; like the honey drops given out at the spring festival! Once you have the test done, you will receive a sucker as your payment for your bravery!”

“...” Malleus looked over to Crewel, the man realizing he was being watched and stiffly held the syringe up. Turning back to Sebek, Malleus nodded his head in a determined manner, “...I want a honey drop…”

“I will ensure you have as many honeydrops as you can stomach, Waka-sama!”

Two of the eight children pacified by the promise of candy, Riddle and Epel took notice and decided it was their best bet.

Riddle managed to kneel down, almost being pulled over by the two struggling toddlers, “Trey, Cater, you can have sweets if you both allow the nice teacher to get a blood test-”

Trey all but wept, the fight slowly leaving him after nearly two minutes of tugging against Riddle’s grip, “I want my moooooooom…!”

Vil cried out, much angrier and still fighting to be released from under Epel’s arm, “I want my lawyer!”

It took another five or so minutes for every child to be calmed and pricked. Trey demanded to call his mother and father once he had his blood drawn and his sucker firm in hand. Cater completely rejected the idea of candy, pitching an even bigger fit at the idea he would be force-fed the sucker after he had his blood taken. Riddle had to promise not only on his life but his favorite color that Cater would be the one allowed to pick what they all had for lunch that day.

Vil had nearly screamed himself hoarse when Crewel approached him with the needle, completely falling into tears on the ground and forcing Epel to fully console the child. It took a promise of as much frozen yogurt as he wanted for dessert and to swear he hadn't been kidnapped by crazy fans of his father. The other blonde toddler had helped Epel explain to Rook that they needed to take a bit of blood to make sure he was healthy. Though he didn't look happy about it, he gained his sucker by holding Vil's hand and closing both of his eyes tight.

Malleus had allowed Oster to stick him with the needle, hiding in Sebek's shoulder and whimpering. The first-year nearly making the woman break the needle off under the toddler's skin, yelling at her that she had taken enough blood when the sample had barely reached the first measurement mark. Lilia fought tooth and nail, never having seen a syringe and thinking it to be a weapon of sorts. It took both Silver and Hui-Yan distracting the child with the promised bright green sucker, allowing Crewel to gather his sample the moment Lilia had let his guard down, barely moving away to avoid razor-sharp baby teeth.

Leona refused and no promise of candy nor food nor any activity Ruggie could think up was accepted. In the end it took Ruggie holding the little prince in a body lock with both his legs and an arm. His last appendage helping Oster by holding Leona's arm still as he hissed and yowled. Once released the first thing the prince did was turn around and lunge at Ruggie, biting down hard on the hyena’s ear and had yet to let go.

Idia had watched it all, comfortable and snug in Ortho's arms with his star-covered bandaid and already blue sucker-stained mouth, “Bunch of babies…”

A botched potion was the answer. From the trace of ingredients found, Crewel and Oster were able to conclude the original potion was a magic reduction syrup. A rare concoction, but commonly prescribed for younger children with high levels of magic and no proper training. A potion that Oster had started to make once she and Crewel realized the children would possibly need it, Malleus mostly…

The main deviation was the substitution of moon crystals for moon petals. An ingredient commonly found in high-quality beauty creams for rejuvenating purposes. Both Crewel and Oster recognizing it from their own beauty night creams. Not harmful, but, it did manage to turn the recipients four. Luckily the potion would only last for a week or so, two tops.

Crewel had tasked Hui-Yan to do what she did best, hunting down students. Someone had planned to potentially poison multiple students and it was an act that would not slide, even by Night Raven standards. But, until the culprits were caught, there wasn't much any of them could do but make sure their new tiny charges were comfortable.

With promise of properly sized clothing and other necessities to be delivered, everyone took their respective toddlers back to their dorms.

Riddle sighed, a pouting Cater holding onto two of his fingers and a still sniffling Trey clutched in his free arm. Walking back to Heartslabyul was a chore and his workload would only grow as the days went on. While aid would be coming in the form physical items, Cater and Trey were pillars of the dorm, emotional support for many a student and Riddle's closest aids. He was aware he'd lose them once they went off to their internships, but to have it happen only a few weeks into this repeat year was cruel. Even if it was only for at most two weeks, Ace and Deuce were not ready for the task of filling their juniors roles yet…

As he entered the dorm's lounge area, he made eye contact with Ace. The redhead freshman sitting on a couch opposite Deuce while the other muttered quietly.

“Wow…they're still four, huh? I would have thought Crewel-Sensei would give them something to make them older again…” Ace stood from his seat, walking closer and raising an eyebrow. Both at Trey whining into Riddle's shoulder and the foul little pout Cater was giving him, “What's their deals?”

“Shots. Suffice to say, neither were too happy about it…” While he was able to guide Cater toward Ace, the smaller redhand's pout lessening when he was picked up, Trey had simply refused to detach from Riddle.

Deuce smiled soft, poking at Trey's back, “Hey, lil guy. Nothing to be afraid of, we're all pretty familiar with each other when you're older.”

Trey merely shook his head, not moving from Riddle's shoulder.

Sighing, Riddle did his best to shuffle Trey in hopes of moving his weight in his quickly tiring arms, “It was a very emotional morning for everyone. Maybe a nap is in order for them, at least until lunch…”

Ace takes notice of Cater in his arms. At the mention of lunch, the toddler seemed to be on the verge of tears the longer Riddle spoke on sleeping arrangements instead of the actual meal time.He bounced the toddler lightly in his arms, gaining his attention before doing a stage whisper to gain everyone's attention, “Hey. Why are you so mad?”

Cater puffed his cheeks out, sending a glare over to Riddle before whispering back to Ace in a harsh tone, “He lied about letting me pick lunch. He didn't say I could pick…”

Ace gasped, looking toward a confused Riddle scandalized, “Housewarden! Shame on you! Did you promise Cater could pick lunch? And you go back on your word? Shame! Jail! Jail for one thousand years!”

Deuce turned to Riddle, frowning himself at the slight, “Rosehearts-senpai…”

“I-! Cater is still allowed to pick lunch!? I didn't say he wasn't? I only gave the opinion that they should have a nap beforehand. It was a very busy morning.”

Cater’s demeanor changed, his eyes widen in amazement and moving away from curling against Ace, “You mean it? I can still pick what's for lunch?”

Riddle softened, smiling at the clearly excited toddler, “Of course you can, Cater-CATER, DON'T JUMP!”

Calm had fled quickly, Cater managing to slip out of Ace's relaxed hold and hit the ground running. His little legs zooming him out of the room before any of them realized he was running.

Deuce was the first to sprint after the child, “Diamond-Senpai! Where are you going!?”

“To pick lunch!”

Ace and Riddle rushed after them both, Riddle still carrying Trey in his tired arms, “Cater, lunch isn't for hours!”

Cater demanded to pick lunch, only then would he even entertain the idea of a nap. So Riddle, Ace, and Deuce all walked along the kitchen. Following behind a far too excited toddler as he looked around the curvy space looking for something to eat.

Trey had finally calmed down, pulling himself from Riddle's shoulder to look around the kitchen himself. Luckily he was distracted enough for Riddle to hand him off to Deuce, finally giving his arms a break.

Riddle watched from a stool, Deuce carrying and holding Trey up to cabinets and various items of the kitchen for closer looks. Ace was following behind Cater, laughing whenever the child opened a cabinet below only to be greeted with pots and pans instead of the food he was expecting.

But soon, Cater found actual food in the cabinets he could reach. The redheaded toddler proudly presenting an unopened jar of tomato sauce to Riddle, “This! I want this for lunch!”

Riddle looked at the jar, knowing the sauce was healthy enough but…, “Just the sauce?”

“Yes.”

“No. You're not just eating sauce for lunch.”

“...” Cater’s face started to flush, tears welling up in his eyes before he started to stomp his feet, “No! You said! You said I could pick! You promised!”

“I did promise, but sauce isn't lunch. You need to pick something else.”

“Nooooooo!” Cater had fallen back onto his bottom, shaking his head and nearly throwing the glass jar to the ground in fury before Ace kneeled down. The now older redhead trying to both calm and reason with the child.

“H-hey. It's ok. We can find something other than sauce for lunch-”

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Deuce had appeared, still holding Trey at an arms length while the toddler held out a box of dry spaghetti  pasta. Trey shook the box, gaining Cater’s focus before he shook it again.

“We can have sauce and noodles! Then you can have a lot of sauce with them.”

“...” Cater seemed to weigh his options, casting a pout at Riddle who remained seated in his chair but was unable to look at the upset toddler for long, “I want a lot of sauce on my noodles…”

“...” Riddle knew they had some chicken in the fridge, Trey had wanted to try to teach a few dorm members proper breading techniques, “Yes. A pasta is a wonderful idea for lunch. You're both very smart boys. Cater’s sauce will help make the perfect food for lunch.”

The praise was more than enough to dry Cater’s tears, the toddler holding the jar tight in his hands as he smiled.

Ace, Deuce and Cater walked around the kitchen, both of the freshmen taking turns lifting the toddler to see into the upper cabinets. Riddle sighed, a weight settling into his chest. Children were…so emotionally fragile. A part of him feared this was another avenue of his life that his upbringing failed to prepare him for. Feeling a tug on the top of his boots, the housewarden looked down to Trey, the once content toddler now looking unsure and back on the verge of tears,

“Can I call my mom now? You promised…”

“...” Brief panic gripped his heart, a bead of sweat forming at his temple before he smiled at Trey, “S-sure. Just one moment…”

Riddle pulled out his phone, looking at the personal content number of Mrs. Clover, a number that was routinely deleted and re-added before and after every school break. He gulped, clicking on the icon for a video call and waiting.

The line had rung only a few moments before a middle-aged woman with cropped black hair appeared on screen, she blinked at the camera with warm honey eyes before a wide smile took over her face, “Oh! Riddle, hello, lovely. How are you? You don’t normally call. Oh! While I have you on the line, can you tell Trey I tried to call him this morning but his phone kept going to voicemail?”

“...About that…” Riddle smiled nervously, making brief eye contact with a very excited looking Trey at the sound of his mother’s voice, “Something happened today and…Well…” Riddle turned his phone around, doing his best to keep Trey in frame of the camera.

The sound of pans falling from over the phone was loud and as disastrous as Riddle feared it to be. Instead, Trey beamed, waving with both his arms and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Hi, mommy! I got shots today and was really brave!” Trey moved closer to the screen, holding up his unopened sucker for his mom to view, “I got a sucker. I think it’s strawberry. I can tell because it’s pink but still red. So it’s not cherry. I can tell!”

Riddle could hear how frazzled Mrs.Clover was, the woman stuttering over her words, “Oh, how amazing, Trey! You’ve gotten so good at telling flavors, haven’t you? Um…B-be a good boy for mommy and be nice to Riddle okay? He’s gonna look after you for a bit, okay?”

“Okay, mommy! I’ll be good!”

“Trey!”

Riddle and Trey looked over, Cater now on Deuce’s shoulders and looking into a cabinet with an expression of wonder, “There’s more pasta shapes in here!”

“I wanna see!” Trey had dashed over, only to stop and double back to wave to the camera one more time, “Bye, mommy!”

“Bye, sweetie~...” Once Trey had ran off, being picked up by Ace to look into the cabinet, Mrs.Clover whispered, “Riddle, what happened to my son?”

Riddle turned the camera back to himself, whispering low as to not gain anyone’s attention, “There was a situation involving a misbrewed potion being slipped to a group of juniors and Trey was unfortunately a part of it. Bloodwork was taken and there’s no harm being done from the potion. They’re simply…four for the next few weeks.”

Mrs.Clover stood with her mouth lightly agape, giving Riddle a hard stare that lasted so long her husband had called out to her in mild confusion and concern. She shook her head, blinking herself back before turning around. She said a few words that Riddle couldn’t make out before facing him again, “We’ll get our ducks in a row over here. By…By Sunday we should have everything all set to close down for the week to come help you boys out.”

“Mrs.Clover, I couldn’t possibly ask-”

“Well, you aren’t, I’m offering, Riddle. You said a group got turned right? You boys over there are still just kids. My husband and I will be there to take the load off of you from watching them. Plus, it’ll be nice you know? We missed so much of Trey’s childhood…It’s not permanent but it’d be nice to have more pictures of him from when he was small…”

“...” Riddle huffed, looking to the side, “That would be helpful…I will have plenty of paperwork to handle now that Trey and Cater are indisposed…”

“I’ll call you later tonight! I can help you get Trey settled into bed. You should think of calling Cater’s parents, too. Bye, Riddle. Talk more later, okay?”

“Understand. Farewell and a good afternoon to you Mrs.Clover.”

Once the call had ended, Riddle thought over her words. It may be helpful for the others dealing with toddlers to have a week break from tending to them. Humming under his breath, he sends a message to Ortho, wondering what the android though of the idea of alerting the turned junior’s families…

Translations!

*V: Rook, what did you want? R: My papa does it for me, my brother and my sister. There are no tomatoes

**R: Don't know what a shot is? They hurt and are scary!

[nottswitch]

cruel summer

alright, let me just quietly drop this off and crawl back into my hole of not writing for five more years maybe???

cruel summer by taylor swift as inspiration warning: probably slightly sexual stuff, swearing wc: 5,7k

You were never the type to go for such a relationship, but for some reason it… just happened. It was the dumbest explanation in the history of ever and you knew it, but every time you looked into your bathroom mirror at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, you somehow managed to convince yourself that it was totally normal. Totally normal to go running to find a random alleyway where he said his letter would be waiting this early in the morning on a weekend. Absolutely normal to cry your eyes out every time he left oh-so-suddenly because he remembered he had stuff to do and you were obviously not a part of it. Completely normal to run into him and his friends at a bar, see a girl flirting her heart out at him and pretend like it was fine, like it wasn’t a big fat needle stabbed right into your already bleeding heart. He always told you that he felt exactly the same, that he wished things were different, that you were the one on his arm on a night out, but nothing changed in the two months that you have spent together. Well, “together”. 

You met Sirius precisely on the 1st of June. Well, you met him years ago, actually, but it wasn’t the same, sure enough. At Hogwarts you weren’t really close, though you wished it to be different. He was the popular kid, so it wasn’t like it was easy to just go up to him and talk – for you, anyway. He had his own entourage, if you could call his three goofy friends that, and others weren’t usually a constant in their bunch. The guys weren’t mean per se, not to everyone around them at least, but you always viewed them as unapproachable. And of course you had a crush on Sirius. It was so cliché you had to laugh at your own silliness. A crush on the popular guy, wow, how original. But those were your feelings and you couldn’t just make them go away, you could only try to suppress them, which, you were sure, resulted in the current predicament you found yourself in.

So, you met Sirius precisely on the 1st of June. It happened on a busy street, and you just had to bump into someone you craved and hated to see so badly. He instantly recognized you, so you couldn’t play the “who are you?” game – it would be pretty pathetic to pretend you didn’t remember his very one-in-a-million face. As soon as your eyes met his, you felt like a schoolgirl again, like you didn’t graduate five years ago and just looked at him across the crowded hall in-between classes. He changed a lot, but also didn’t change in the slightest; his hair was definitely shorter and his beard longer, he looked more mature, but at the same time… That devilish grin of his that always lurked somewhere deep in his eyes and creases of his lips never went away. And it was probably the thing that completely destroyed your guard without you even being able to put it up. You spoke to him in a voice that existed somewhere outside of your consciousness, words were flowing out of your mouth like they were meant to, and soon you found yourself on his arm walking to some “sick muggle place” he wanted to show you. Ever since you haven’t visited any sick muggle places together, or sick wizard places for that matter. Your relationship – again, “relationship” – wasn’t something for the daylight of London, magical or not. It was something for secret hideouts, narrow alleyways, the darkness and the cool air of the night. Something for the stars to see, as Sirius liked to say. It was kinda romantic, you had to admit, but as time went by, you began to feel sorry for the sun – it had never been a witness of the beautiful thing that existed between the two of you. Yes, you never really defined what the “thing” was, but it was beautiful nevertheless! Or so you said, trying to persuade your crying eyes and crying heart.

This Saturday was all the same shit all over again. You got ready at 6 a.m. to meet Sirius… somewhere. You didn’t really know where yet, he always did this stupid thing where he told you where to go, and then you had to apparate from there. There always was some knick-knack waiting for you, like a hat that someone left on a bench or an obviously fake flower hiding among real ones in a flower bed. You were kinda amused at the lengths Sirius was ready to go to hide your rendezvous, but simultaneously you were hurt - the lengths he was ready to go! This time, the trinket of the day was an old torn up shoe hiding under a tree. You touched the thing, and boom, there you were, or, better to say, there he was – the effect his sudden emergence had on you was probably stronger than the other way round. He was always on top of his “looking cool” game, even more so, on top of the “hot and irresistibly sexy” game. He wore shirts and ripped jeans; leather jackets were also a frequent occurrence, along with the gloves – the fucker was always on his motorcycle and gloves went as a package deal. 

As soon as Sirius saw you, he stopped leaning on the fence he stood next to and went up to you, immediately scooping you up into his warm embrace. He smelled his usual self – leather, tobacco smoke and a slight hint of cinnamon, telling you he had already had his morning coffee. And sure enough, when he pressed his lips against yours, you felt the bitterness of a double-shot espresso, no sugar. You slightly winced because you weren’t a fan of him having a coffee when he knew in advance he would be kissing you. Your expression changed, however, when he leaned away and held up something in front of you – a cup of freshly brewed coffee, steam still floating above. 

“You knew I hated the coffee breath”.

You couldn’t help smiling, taking a sip of hot stuff and sucking in the air immediately afterwards – you burned the hell out of the tip of your tongue. The other hot stuff grinned, shrugging and crossing his arms on his chest.

“That’s why I got you the bribe. Can’t have you upset on such a nice day, can I?”

And that was the essence of him. Sirius could do basically anything and you would let it slide, he was that charmingly convincing. He clearly took note of this power a long time ago and oftentimes used it to his advantage. It wasn’t bad stuff, normally, because he wasn’t a total asshole and he had some level of care for you – or so you thought. Little things like coffee breath, cigarettes, a scratchy beard, they made him the person that he was and you wouldn’t want him any other way. No, actually, you would; you’d want him in any way, shape or form because it was him.

You slowly sipped your coffee, savouring the moment you didn’t want to end. Sadly, it still ended every time, no matter how hard you tried to stall for minutes and seconds. Sirius always told you that he would love to stay but you didn’t really believe him. If he wanted to, he would, right? You tried to keep to this principle and not make a big deal out of his simple, almost empty filler words to make it seem like he cared. After all, your situation was a situationship and nothing more.

“We’re having a party tomorrow.” Sirius’ words yanked you out of your temporary serenity.

“Okay? Have fun at the party.”

You didn’t really know why he would tell you this pretty mundane thing in the Marauders household. They had parties, like, every week, and for the most bizarre reasons – celebrating the beginning of summer, and separately the beginning of June, celebrating a whole working week without work, which meant they pissed around with no missions to go on and were basically on holiday. Sirius told you about some of them before they happened, sometimes after, sometimes during – yes, he literally had an owl sent to you during one of the parties because he was drunk and wanted to fuck. So when he told you about this week’s soiree, you just slightly raised your eyebrows and continued to stare into the distance. 

“I will, don’t you worry,” Sirius said with a smirk on his lips. “But I want you to have fun as well.”

Well, that was new. So new that a drop of coffee slipped somewhere in your throat where it shouldn’t have and you started coughing like a mad woman. In the process you turned to look at the absolute menace standing next to you and saw this shit-eating grin of his that showed complete satisfaction. He knew of the effect his words would have on you and he was totally going for the shock factor.

“Did you just say what I heard you saying?” you asked as soon as your throat’s condition went back to normal. 

“Well, what did I say?”

“Oh, come on. You’re doing this on purpose.” He had this way of making you feel embarrassed because now you started to doubt your own ears. Did he…?

“Did you just invite me to the party?”

“If that’s what you heard…” Sirius drawled the words like they were butter and sugar mixed together. “Nah, I’m just playing.” Seeing a very frustrated expression on your face, he took pity on you and confirmed your assumptions. “I did, in fact, just invite you to the party.”

You could but stare at him in disbelief. The topic of you going to parties was kind of taboo between the two of you, the initiative mainly coming from Sirius’ side. He didn’t want anyone knowing that he was seeing you, so obviously you couldn’t come there even as a friend – because god forbid he had a friend in you, right? You had to accept the fact and started freezing out any emotions when it came to his stupid parties. And now he was breaching the subject just like that, with a wide grin on his face and no care in the world.

“But why?” was all you could mutter at the moment.

“Well, I just thought you’d like that, you know. I always say our parties are fun but have nothing to show for it.”

Sirius sounded sincere. You didn’t know what to make of it yet, but at least he wasn’t planning to hurt you. He never was, but sometimes it just happened – like you just happened to end up in his bed on the 1st of June. 

“Why the change of heart?” And you actually wanted to know the answer to this question. It was so sudden and you couldn’t believe something fishy wasn’t going on. 

“Just because.” He shrugged and shook his head. “If you’re looking for a catch, there isn’t any.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure, yes. Well, don’t tell anyone about, you know… this whole thing.” He pointed at you and then at himself a couple of times. “But it’s always been a condition, so, no catch.”

You silently stared through him for a minute or two. You were thinking hard about making the right decision and thankfully, he understood and gave you some space. Maybe you were making too big of a deal, making a mountain out of a molehill, if you will, but it was a big deal. You have never met Sirius’ friends in a more or less official setting other than, you know, studying together for seven years and vaguely hanging around them; you happened to bump into them a couple of times here and there, but it was nothing. At max, you exchanged some hellos and how-are-yous. It would be different this time though. You hoped it could be a step towards getting out of the shadows of starry nights and stolen passionate make-out sessions just to part seconds later. You weren’t sure at all.

“Alright. The party it is.” 

You were almost surprised at the words that so suddenly escaped your mouth. You really said that? Of course you did. You could tell by the glint in Sirius’ eyes that appeared only at those times when he got what he wanted and reveled in his success.

He didn’t reply though. In silence he walked up to you and placed his hand on your waist, pulling you closer. You felt his warmth enveloping you from head to toe and couldn’t think straight anymore. He did these things to you that you couldn’t describe with natural human words. The sounds around you were muffled by his soft voice whispering sweet nothings in your ear. They were nothings, but to you they meant the world. You were completely lost in him and forgot everything that could possibly bother you, including the party. At the moment, there were you and there was him.

—

You stood in front of the door, biting your lips in hesitation. Were you really about to do it? Were you about to knock on the door and face Sirius’ and his friends – and pretend like he hadn’t been fucking your brains out for two months?! It seemed impossible, and the thought of you and him being in the same vicinity so publicly made you want to vomit. You felt your stomach turn, actually. “But you wanted this,” you spelled out over and over, closing your eyes and making fireworks appear in your mind, trying to convince yourself that it was just excitement and not terrible unrest. You just couldn’t feel insecure: you looked good, you made sure of that; you smelled good, most importantly, it was Sirius’ favourite scent of yours. What could possibly go wrong? 

“Coming!” 

You heard a very familiar voice responding to your weak knock on the door. Seconds later it opened and you saw the face of the man who was responsible for you being here in the first place. Sirius pulled you into his arms and ran his fingers along your spine, sending shivers throughout your whole body. It felt almost forbidden to do it so close to the crowd of his friends, them literally being in the room next to you, but at the moment you couldn’t care less. Moved by a sudden impulse, you put your hand on the back of his head and pushed his face closer to yours, crushing your lips together. You could feel Sirius was surprised by your actions but at the same time he was genuinely pleased because it was usually him who took initiative. The two of you stood there for what felt like ages, just enjoying each other’s presence, but really only a couple minutes had passed. Your bliss was interrupted by another man’s voice coming from the inside of the house.

“Pads, where are you?! Did Voldemort come back and you had to kill him real quick?!!”

It was certainly James, you could tell by the way he sounded – always somewhat carefree and cheerful, always in high spirits and completely unbothered. Sirius swiftly pulled away, adjusting the collar of his shirt and running his hand through his hair in an attempt to make it look untouched. Another young man appeared from behind, beaming at you with a friendly smile.

“Y/N, right?”

James approached you in a rapid fashion and gave you a good old one-arm hug – a nice greeting for someone who was, for now, just an acquaintance. You noticed two things at the same time that made the only butterfly in your stomach flutter its wings: first of all, you were clearly welcome in the household, and secondly… You couldn’t help spotting a hint of jealousy in Sirius’ face. There was something about his tense expression that he tried to cover up with a smile too big for the situation.

“Yes, and I certainly remember that you’re James.”

“Oh yeah. It’s harder not to remember me than to do it, you know? Now come on, you came to have fun, after all!”

You chuckled and followed James deeper into the house. Sirius stayed behind for just a second to lock the door but he caught up to you pretty quickly. You felt his hand on yours and turned your head to give him a surprised look. It was definitely too much affection for his own imaginary boundaries around your behaviour in his friend circle. He looked down, as if he suddenly felt disappointed, let go of your hand and skipped forward to walk next to James. You decided to put this to the back of your mind for the night, but it was certainly something to unpack later.

The living room was truly living. A quick scan of faces surrounding you made it clear that you didn’t know a lot of them. Some you recognized from Hogwarts, but the majority of them were as new as the whole atmosphere you found yourself in. Obviously, Sirius never cared to give you any information about people close to him or even people he talked to other than The Crew, so you felt rather uneasy dissolving into a crowd of strangers. James steadily walked you to the other side of the room, where you could finally make out a few familiar faces. Lily was sitting in front of the fireplace, her red hair blending in with the flames; Remus occupied an armchair to her right, looking happy and relaxed with a bottle of butterbeer in his hand; he was chatting to Marlene, who sat on the couch with her legs crossed, laughing at something Remus said. You felt the tension leaving your stiff neck – the company seemed pretty chill and you could definitely see yourself getting along with them like a house on fire. 

“Hey guys, this is…”

“This is Y/N.” Sirius interrupted James’ attempt to introduce you to the group. He had a grin on his face but something was hiding behind the seemingly nonchalant tone of his voice. Like his lighthearted exterior was just a disguise for something… something. You truly couldn’t discern his motives at the moment. 

You awkwardly waved at the people staring at you, for a few seconds feeling like a zoo animal in a cage. But as soon as the girls smiled at you and Marlene scooted over to make space for you on the couch, you truly relaxed. Sirius plopped down next to you and you inadvertently thought that it would be magical if he could wrap his arm around your shoulders and you had a right to rest your head on his chest. 

“Hi, Y/N!” Lily’s voice was full of genuine excitement. “We have a-a-all been waiting to meet you, but this fella,” she pointed at Sirius and looked at him like a prosecutor looked at an accused in court, “he never invited you anywhere with us!”

“Oh really?” 

You raised your eyebrows in disbelief that you failed to conceal. When you looked at Sirius, his eyes were closed and his head slightly shaking, like he wasn’t going to retort in any way. The fucker was laughing under his breath as well! And apparently, he did it all the time when they talked about you, because no one even tried to question his antics. 

“Well, now I’m here. Ta-da-a-a!”

You threw up your hands and heard some chuckles from the group. It made a smile appear on your lips because their laughter meant you had their approval. Thankfully, they didn’t ask anything about you and Sirius anymore and instead started quizzing you about your life after Hogwarts and all that jazz. You were relieved and even Sirius’ weird behaviour made an escape from your mind for a while. At some point the boys left to go outside and “clear their minds” – in reality, they obviously went out for a smoke; as they said, out of respect for the ladies. 

“You’re really cool, Y/N.” The phrase was delivered by Marlene in a kind of childish manner, but it brought you lots of joy nevertheless. “You know, we were really… shocked, you could say, when Sirius didn’t bring you here as a girlfriend today.”

You choked on literal air when you heard this confession of Marlene.

“Uh… Why?” was all you could make up in response.

“Well, we, y’know, made a bet, kind of…” Marlene started to sound more and more absently as she spoke. She suddenly understood that she said something she shouldn’t have but it was too late to take it back. “Lily?” She looked at her friend with really upset eyes, searching for support.

“Yeah… Listen, Y/N, it’s nothing bad, I promise,” Lily continued after Marlene, who seemed to have a huge weight taken off her shoulders. You frowned, because usually “nothing bad” was, in fact, something bad when it came to Sirius and his shenanigans. “It’s just, you know, that Sirius kinda had a crush on you back at school, but you never really talked and then after graduation you went your separate ways.”

That much was true, but Sirius having a crush on you became a huge shock for you. Of course he had never mentioned it, why would he? It’s not like it was important fucking stuff.

“And then he met you two months ago and we were all so excited!” Lily continued, noticing your lack of response. “We really thought there was something between you two and you could finally explore that. So we made a bet that it would take you two months to start dating.”

“Two months?” You felt silly focusing on such a small thing, but you needed something to hold on to in order not to lose your sanity.

“That’s how long it took him to forget you after school, so we thought it was symbolic, kinda… It’s a whole thing.” Marlene picked up Lily’s explanation to unburden her friend – they were letting you in on top-secret information, it seemed. “We didn’t believe him when he told us you two were just friends and didn’t even talk much. But now it turns out he was right and all of us feel kinda stupid.” Marlene rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have known, but it’s void at this point anyway.”

You were silent throughout the whole speech and remained so after it was finished. What could you even say? You could dump everything on the girls right now, tell them about every single encounter you had with Sirius during the last two months, the 1st of June included, but what would you actually accomplish? They would probably think you’re a lunatic and banish you from the house immediately. Sirius was their close friend, after all, and you were just a rando they used to see at school sometimes. No, there were no reasons to tell them anything. The only person who had to have something to show for his shit was Sirius.

“I need to have a breath of something fresh, preferably air,” you explained, standing up quite abruptly and feeling your head getting a little dizzy. 

“Oh, did we upset you?” Lily seemed genuinely concerned.

“No, no, don’t worry,” you reassured both of the girls even though they did, in fact, upset you, albeit unintentionally. “It’s just stuffy here. I’ll be back soon.”

You were actually headed outside, but for a different reason. You decided to have a talk with Sirius, even if it ended up ruining your relationship. Was there anything to really ruin, though? Now you knew that he could easily play with your feelings if it meant winning a stupid bet with his friends. And this whole thing about him liking you at school…  You felt like passing out. Your knees would have given up and let you fall down on the floor, making an absolute fool of yourself, if you didn’t hear voices getting closer and closer to you. A moment later the boys emerged from behind the wall. Sirius noticed you as soon as he walked in and somehow, you saw it in his eyes that really were a mirror of his mind sometimes, he knew that you knew. He stopped at once, letting the others continue on their way without him.

“I’ll just have a quick word with Y/N,” he shouted after them, and James just nodded, still immersed in the conversation. Apparently, the latest Quidditch game was the most important thing in the world right then and there. Not for long, you thought, imagining the talk in the living room that Lily and Marlene were about to have with the group. You glanced at Sirius, who stood there looking at the wall and avoiding your prying eyes as hard as he could. Without saying a word you headed towards the front door, afraid that you could fly off the handle right then and there, and everybody would hear you being absolutely pathetic. 

The air of the night was noticeably cooler than when you came. You breathed in with your whole chest. breathing out slowly with your mouth. At the moment, it was important to compose yourself and… What were you actually planning to do? You couldn’t decide yet. The logical thing to do would probably be to break up, right? Well, “break up”, you weren’t dating or anything. But – and you hated yourself for it – you just couldn’t imagine never seeing Sirius again for the rest of your life. During the two months of your arrangement he became an ever-encompassing presence in your day-to-day – or, more accurately, night-to-night. You couldn’t imagine not feeling his gentle but sturdy hands touching you all over, couldn’t imagine not being able to run your fingers through his hair, not seeing that mischievous spark in his eyes, that devilish grin… His essence, simply put, was eating you up from the inside and made you some kind of an addict, as much as you were afraid to admit it. So you weren’t exactly sure he wouldn’t be able to persuade you to do whatever he wanted and you wouldn’t even mind. But you did plan on putting up at least some sort of a fight.

“So?” You heard Sirius’ was from behind and realized he had been standing there all this time, patiently waiting for you to begin.

“So? Well, that’s bold,” you replied, turning to face him. It was, very likely, a huge mistake – you would certainly have more success in leading the fight if you didn’t have to look into his eyes. You blinked as if to erase their image from your mind. Didn’t help.

“What do you want me to say?”

And there it was. Such a Sirius classic. What do you want me to say, you’re overreacting, what more do you want from me, I don’t like all this drama, yada-yada-yada… These sneaky little tactics always drove you insane. He wasn’t ever ready to admit his fault. He always managed to calm you down with a kiss (and something else afterwards) and all your grievances were left unsolved. You couldn’t do it this time, though.

“You know exactly what, Sirius, stop with your nonsense right now.” You tried to sound stern and it seemed like you succeeded, seeing as Sirius looked a bit defeated. 

“So… you do know?”

“What do you think?” It was time to start playing his games by your rules… kinda. You were still to master the “manipulation without regret” bit because you, unlike him, were still able to feel remorse.

“Look, it’s not what you think it is.”

Here we go, you thought, having another deep breath of fresh air sucked into your lungs. He just couldn’t stop being himself, could he?

“No, no, we’re not doing this right now, Sirius.”

“Then what are we doing?”

“STOP!!!”

Even you were surprised to hear your voice coming out of your mouth at this volume. Sirius flinched, visibly surprised and even… scared? It was hard to discern his exact emotions but they weren’t the usual smug ones. 

“I’m tired of all this, Sirius. I’ll wait for thirty seconds and if I don’t hear an explanation, I’m leaving. The clock starts now.”

You tensed up inside and out. You were afraid he would just take you up on your offer, turn around and be the first to leave, you know, just to outperform you one last time. You could barely hold an audible sigh when he threw his head back, closed his eyes, swallowed hard and started talking.

“I’m sorry.”

Nice start. It was a first from him.

“What about?”

“About me being an asshole.”

He didn’t even deny it. You felt a teeny tiny bit validated. 

“And that’s an understatement. You…” You had a plan to go on a rant but Sirius had this look on his face that you just closed your mouth shut and continued staring at him, waiting for his response.

“Could you please let me finish? I know I never let you so you don’t have to give me the courtesy, but please?”

You nodded, signaling the “go ahead”. His way of talking to you was very different from his usual self and you didn’t know how to process this change yet.

“This bet was dumb. Really, really fucking stupid. And I didn’t want to lose. You know me.” His chuckle had a bitter tinge to it. “I really thought you didn’t mind this whole… thing we had. I was clearly wrong, and I feel like an idiot.”

“You made me look like one in front of your friends, that’s for sure.” You couldn’t help interrupting him there, making an imperative decision not to let him make this about himself. “Can you even imagine how utterly humiliating it is to sit there and have people know something about you that you don’t? And to then pretend like it’s fine and that you knew all along?!”

You felt tears in the corners of your eyes but weren’t even trying to hide them. You felt you deserved to have all your emotions burst at once.

“I’m sorry,” Sirius mumbled in response, still avoiding your gaze. “I was selfish. I thought you wouldn’t know. It’s a shitty excuse, I’m aware. I shouldn’t have put you through this in the first place.”

“Oh really? Well, you certainly did.”

You heard yourself sobbing. At last, the tears won over you and pretty much gained autonomy from your consciousness. Sirius must have noticed it too, because he finally looked at you and, seeing your distress, decided to do what he knew best. Seconds later you were drowning in his warmth, which felt so dangerous yet so comforting at the same time. You didn’t want to succumb to the enemy, but your body felt differently, relaxing as soon as you felt his arms around you and his warm breath on the top of your head. He did smell of tobacco pretty strongly, but you could let it slide once more. You heard his slightly hoarse voice repeating I’m-sorrys again and again, his hand caressing you everywhere from your hair to the small of your back. 

“I love you so fucking much.”

You could almost see these words looming through the fog that took over your brain. Sirius’ voice sounded so distant yet it felt like he spoke directly into your heart. Maybe you even imagined it, you thought, to bring yourself some comfort. 

“I love you. I will say it over and over if I need to, you hear me?”

No, you definitely didn’t imagine it.

“What?”

You raised your head to look at Sirius through a thick layer of salty water still clouding your eyes. His forehead was wrinkled in a frown but the corners of his lips went up ever so slightly when he heard your voice.

“I love you,” he repeated. “I owed you this from the very beginning, but I was a jerk. You deserve to hear it every day. If you let me, I will make sure of that.”

Somehow, his words felt right. The sensible part of you wanted to object, wanted to pull away from him, run and never go back. This part was muffled by a stupid, futile tidal wave of emotions knocking you down and carrying you into the depths of this neverending ocean called “being head over heels in love with Sirius Black”. 

“Fuck you,” you mumbled, looking into his hopeful yet shameless eyes. “I love you too.”

These words of yours were taken as permission. This time him kissing you felt different. It was more… satisfying, you could say. You were still completely enthralled, but it didn’t burn you from the inside like you had been sipping on toxic waste, on the contrary, you felt alive, as if someone poured fresh water all over you and then wrapped you in a cozy blanket. It finally validated every single feeling you had since the 1st of June. It seemed like a logical resolution to this chapter of your life. Except it wasn’t. 

“Now you have to clean up the mess, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have to tell everybody!”

Sirius rolled his eyes but nodded. He understood that this task was solely on him.

“Aren’t you afraid?” you teased him while you walked back to the house. “You lost the bet, after all.”

“Having you by my side wherever we go? Losing a bet is a small price to pay.”

The two of you walked into the living room and headed straight to the crew still occupying the VIP lounge next to the fireplace. Everyone looked at you with varying degrees of worry in their eyes because of course they were aware that you knew. Sirius sat down on the couch and you did the same, but this time he did wrap his arm around your shoulders. 

“Well, well, well…” James sounded surprised yet satisfied at the same time. “What’s all this about?” 

Sirius cleared his throat in preparation for the big speech.

“Alright, I’m just gonna say it and then explain. Guys, meet Y/N, my girlfriend.”

You finally had a right to rest your head on his chest.

my masterlist

[k-hotchoisan]

🔮 Divination with the Demon 🔮

Behemoth demon!San x fem witch! Reader

Synopsis: outcasted by your previous coven due to your overly sharp and dangerously specific divination readings of the fall of your coven, you were exiled to being alone for the next 562 years. Sick being in solitude and missing your deck, you summon a behemoth demon to make a new one.

Word count: 6K

Genre warnings: general Smut, San is an eldritch being so he has like a demon sized dick, ritualistic things (magic talk and lingo), demonic contract with San through unprotected sex, riding, multiple orgasms, creaming & cream pies, oral sex (f receiving) cum drinking (not a lot), bulge kink, finger pricks (only once), dry humping(?), biting and bleeding, San is a really sweet behemoth—just like the one in the game!❤️

A/n: loosely based off this wonderful game—The Cosmic Wheel, Sisterhood🔮 (please go ahead and support indie creators! ❤️). I was so inspired bc the behemoth in game is such a flirt hehehehe no please I’m down bad for enough people already. 😐

Enjoy!

“So you were exiled here due to treason within the coven, and concern of spreading panic via divination readings by the supreme”, the witch arbitrator announces as she reads out from the book. “You’ve been here for 289 years already?”

“Concerned is an overstatement”, you reply through gritted teeth. “She cursed me, banished me here for the next 562 years, and burned my deck. That’s pretty fucked up.”

The arbitrator raises an eyebrow as her gaze returns to the book. “Well I suppose I could grant you visitation at least because by the records here so far, you’ve been pretty-behaved.” Your temper cools off a little—just a little. It was a step forward, albeit a fucking tiny one. “Yes. I think that would be fine, Arbitrator. Thank you.”

She nods at you. “Behave well and I’m sure she can’t implicate anything else on you. Please take care”, she says before leaving the window on her flying stick. You stare as her figure quickly disappears into the starless night sky.

You sigh in annoyance. It was ridiculous how the supreme deemed your divination readings a threat, then subsequently accused you of treason and causing unrest within the coven, just because the other sisters had started leaning onto you for your accurate readings. Was she afraid of your prophesized dissolving of the coven, or was she simply scared of being overthrown? Whatever it was, being stuck here in solitude for 562 years, and your deck burned at the stake was not on your bingo list.

You nibble on your thumb nail, thinking of what to do. 289 years had passed since then, and all you had been doing was meditate and reflect on your actions. You had an itching to get your deck back—or least have a temporary deck or something. Your eyes flicker to your grimore lying at the bottom of your bookshelf and a lightbulb goes off in your head.

If you couldn’t get your deck back, why not make a new one? However the only issue is that a contract had to be made in order to breathe magick into the deck. You’ve never tried this ritual before but desperate times called for desperate measures—you really needed to do a reading.

You circle the wooden floor with your fingers, feeling the bumpy texture—each crease and indent. Retrieving your matchbox, you pull out the deep purple matchstick from the bundle, and began lighting the dark-coloured candles formed in a circle, and finally the incense sticks that were lodged in a miniature caldron, used for holding said sticks for your rituals.

Dabbing your your index finger with a black inky substance, you draw out a summoning rune onto the wooden surface, chants leaving your lips as you do so. It was a perfect full moon that night, just what you needed. You sit at edge of the summoning circle, with your grimore open at the side, carefully reading the spell.

Taking out a small silver needle, you prick your middle finger, letting the blood pool the size of a pinprick before letting the drop of blood splatter onto the middle of the black rune, reciting your final chant.

For a moment, the room is dead silent. Then the wind picks up, howling into the dead of the night, the flames on the candles dancing to keep burning, then being quickly extinguished one by one. Your curtains flutter violently, as you notice the full moon turning into a crimson colour. You stay seated as the wind whirls around you and the grimore’s pages flipping non stop. The rune activates, along with your blood which sinks into the black ink, and something slithers up to your window.

“Come in,” you invite, your gaze never breaking from the entity. It hisses at first before turning into a more human-sized creature as it enters your room, its feet gingerly touching the wooden floor.

The candles’ flames flicker back on, you look up at the entity standing before you. He barely looked like a behemoth demon—not like the one described in the book at all. Instead, he looked pretty fucking young—he has an appearance of a younger male actually. His eyes were silts as black and red markings smudged at the ends of his eyes. Speaking of his eyes—they were a glowing red, almost enchanting. Incantation runes were littered all over his arms and limbs, all visible since he was wearing a black vest. A third eye was present right smack in the middle of where his cleavage dived into, it’s iris a deep red as well. His hair is jet black with cream streaks and slicked back, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and facial features. His lips are stretched slightly wider than a human’s, and seemingly torn black wings extended out from his back.

He tilts his head at you in curiosity. “A witch summoned me?” he asks as he inches closer to you.

You nod, still seated. “I’ve summoned you to make a blood bind with you. I need a new deck.”

“Well, you’ve definitely summoned the right behemoth, that’s for sure. What happened to the deck you’ve been using?” he prods, his jet black fingers tapping on his chin.

“It was burned by my coven’s supreme. She banished me here because she was scared that the coven would dissolve because of my divinations”, you reply.

“Quite a bitch isn’t she?” the behemoth replies. You nod. At least someone fucking agrees.

He cracks his knuckles. “Well, you’ve definitely came to the right behemoth. They call me San”, he introduces as a smile spreads over his pretty face.

You smile. “You don’t look how what I expected you to look actually.”

And that cracks San up, his sharp fangs all visible. “I get that a lot. It’s just my secondary form I prefer to take on since the first usually can’t fit through windows.”

You surprise your laughter, amused at how casual this behemoth is being. “You’re pretty casual for a behemoth actually,” you point out.

San nods. “Well, I am an eldritch nonetheless, and I’ve been here since these universes were born—I’ve watched them be born and destroyed countless of times. I don’t really feel the need to be intimidating since I’ve been around for too long. You’re the first to have summoned me since the past 3 centuries.”

You nod in interest. “Must have been pretty fucking boring out there, huh?” San only smiles, and that slightly gets you. You look away and shut the grimore before turning back to him.

“So walk me through the process, San” you request. San moves forward and he sits across you, his boney wings tapping against the window panes at how wide they were.

“Well, you know the basics, but we’ll go through it together—the elements—fire, air, earth and water are always the building foundations of any deck. You get that, right?”

You nod.

He continues, “then we go onto the elements of each card—the Arcana—which will determine how you read and interpret the cards.”

Pretty basic deck stuff, but it was great that he was taking the time to refresh your memory since it had been way too long.

“I will go through each element with you per day—you’re basically going back to magick school again. Then once the final element is sealed, that’s when I’ll bind myself to you, through another ritual”, he concludes. “Any questions?”

“What’s the other ritual? Do I need to prepare anything?” You ask. San shakes his head. “The only thing you need to prepare is your consent.”

“Yeah, sure of course.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest y/n.”

Day one: Air

Sure enough, at the same timing as the previous night, San slithers into your open window, his serpent-like tail splitting into two, long legs as he climbs into your room.

“Good evening to the lovely behemoth”, you greet. San exposes his fanged grin. “I see you’re already prepared for the first lesson.” He glances at the empty deck of cards piled up on the small wooden table. Scattered around are more candles, another stick of incense, crystals and a bowl of ink for rune casting, and finally, a small crystal sword right by the plate.

He begins. “The element air represents the ability to reflect, communicate, to be aware and to perceive. Let that flow through your veins as you charge the card.”

You gingerly placed an empty card onto the selenite plate, and San sits across you, as usual as his fingertips touch yours, where he ends up linking his fingers with yours.

“It’s time to seal the card. Tell me,” San asks, “what do you crave for the most? Power? Love? Knowledge of the universe?”

You pause to think about your answer. And you tell him once you’re ready. He nods in agreement. “You seem like the type.” You roll your eyes.

“We literally just met yesterday, San” you joke. He shrugs, “feels like I’ve known you for an eternity.”

“Lying ass,” you poke. “But you did mention that the last time you did this was, what, three centuries ago?”

San nods. “It definitely has been awhile. To be fairly honest, I had an inkling we would meet soon, just not this soon.”

“And the universe brought you to me”, you hum. “Okay. Back to the Air ritual.”

He gestures you to shut your eyes and you do, so he follows shortly after.

It doesn’t take long for the magick to activate. You feel your energy getting sucked off by San and it feels though as if your body was about to be ripped into a million pieces. San throws his head back in pleasure as a low, manic cackle rumbles through his vocal chords.

“Yes, that’s lovely. Pour in all that energy into me, master”, he sings. He soon lets go of you, and you gasp for air, beads of perspiration clinging onto your forehead and temples. Your hands had slipped out his and you clutch your chest, taking slow breaths.

“Fuck, San, is it supposed to hurt so much?” You heave, eyebrows furrowed. How in Astaroth’s name will you be able to pull through the next three elements if Air is already leaving you clutching for your fucking life? Granted, witches are immortal, they cannot die, but they can still be gravely wounded.

San turns to you and pats your back gently. “I’m sorry my master, it is part of the blood contract. If it makes you feel better, you only have to go through this once per element.”

You stare at him in disbelief, unsure if you should be concerned or relieved. San materialises a silk handkerchief and dabs the sweat off your skin, and your heart flutters slightly at the gesture. Also, since when did he start calling you ‘Master’?

“Your first air card is ready”, he reminds you. “Now you can create more air elemental cards. Be proud of yourself, my master.” He points to the glowing card on the selenite plate. You reach over and flip the card, and sure enough—what you had envisioned on the card was imprinted onto the once empty card. It glimmers a gorgeous white at its accents. You feel the light and airy feeling surging through your hands as you touch the card, and your heart is racing at how many air cards you can begin creating.

He intertwines his fingers with yours, to steady yourself, and you notice that the third eye on his chest was white now. Your breathing has stabled now and you lie onto your bed where San hums you to sleep, telling you to get some rest.

Day 2: Water

“Are you feeling better?” San asks as he hops into your room. You nod, feeling a strange surge of energy after a night’s rest. The sky was always the same—dark and starless.

“We can start with today’s element”, you say, prepared for the class.

San smiles and nods, as always, he takes a seat across you, and you can’t help but get lost in his crimson eyes.

“Water is all about flow, dealing with emotions, fluidity, spirituality. It is a passive element, often linked with healing and love. However, most witches tend to forget that the calmest elements can be the most deadly when used right.”

Undoubtedly, water was always of both opposite spectrums—extremely calm or extremely malevolent if it wanted to be. Today, you had a small chalice decorated in jewels on the body, filled with moon-charged water. You take another empty card, and begin sketching out the rune you want, with your first water card in your head, clear as day before settling it onto the plate. Once you were done, San’s fingers snake in between yours, and you’re starting to get used to this feeling already.

“Now, the Water seal. Tell me; who or what do you hold closest to your heart? You family? Your intelligence? The coven?

It takes you awhile to think of an answer but then you’re confident when it comes to you. San nods as he lets the answer sink in. “I was kind of hoping you’d stray and say my name, yknow,” he teases. You laugh and slap his palm lightly. “It very well could be. It’s kind of hard to pick though honestly. Maybe I just want to feel something again.”

San cocks an eyebrow, quite touched by your passion. “May this lift any heaviness you feel then”, he says, drawing circles into your palm. Your heart only flutters even more.

“Take a deep breath, master. The element will be sealed soon.”

Just like the previous time, the magick activates, and again, you feel a sharp pain, as if struggling against rough tides of water, your breath sucked out of you. San, humming as he absorbs your energy again, his eyes glowing a pale shade of blue this time. You exhale to get a hold of yourself as the feeling washes over as quickly as it came, clutching the edge of your table. You take deep breaths, your vision focusing on the blue glowing card on the selenite plate. You flip the card over, the serotonin boost seeing how gorgeous the water card was—metallic blue covering the borders of the card and the elements within the card at perfect places.

“I should give you a reading for fun”, you suggest, your fingertips tracing the edges of the card. San’s eyes light up at the idea. “We should do one when you’ve got all four elements. I’d love that.”

You slip the card above the Air element card, clearing out the table, preparing to get some rest as San accompanies you through the night.

Day three: Earth

“Now, Earth is known to be an element of grounding, practically, foundation and stability. It reminds you of who you are at the present moment and gives you a place to stand on”, San explains, flicking the coins on the table. “Just like the ground, it is reliable because it is strong enough to hold you up. The only thing is that it’s hard on you as you are hard on yourself.”

“Tell me; what do you tend to harbour the most? Grudges? The past? Emotions?” He asks again. You tap against your lips, wondering about the answer, and then you tell him once you were ready. He nods in acknowledgement. “Interesting answer, as always from you. You’d probably have a lot you held in, especially in the past hundreds years in solitude.”

“Meditation can only get you so far, when you remember that you were exiled for telling the truth”, you say quietly, staring at the moon, which had turned into a shade of ivory. “My sisters were everything to me.”

San knew that very well. Witches treated each other closer than what a conventional family did. A coven was supposed to protect and bond the sisters, not outcast them.

“But do you still have sisters that you want to see?”

You nod, your eyes twinkling at the thought of two precious sisters who had been there through everything. And you yearned to see them again, now even possible that the arbitrator had granted visitation rights. Maybe you’d send a falcon to them once you were done with your deck creation.

“Now, shall we begin? You’d best prepare yourself, master,” San says as he takes your hand in his. You feel your hands moulding into his automatically, nothing but comfort being offered.

Again, San begins extracting your energy and this time was no different from the previous—it stung, it hurt and a wave of nausea hits you this time. Through the ringing in your ears, you hear San’s laughter as the magick seems to tickle him if anything. And then, it was over.

You tilt your head backwards, trying to get some cool air, trying to let the nausea leave your system.

You feel a warm hand pat your back, then rubbing circles.

“You know, most witches would immediately throw up after this round. You’re holding up really well.”

“Guess I’m one of the best witches then?” You find the strength to joke a little. San laughs and replies, “one of my favourites too.”

The nausea soon goes away and colour starts returning to your cheeks. By then, you were already holding the Earth element card up against the moonlight, admiring the sand-coloured decals lined across the card, as well as the border.

Day four: Fire

San looks rather chirpy tonight, there was a bounce in his steps as he settles himself onto the lavender carpet. “Someone’s excited,” you smirk, putting one of your spell books away.

“Of course! Fire’s my favourite element”, he exclaims, playing around with your unfinished deck. You’ve had created a handful of elemental cards already, 12 of each element, while San was both in and out of your room. All there was left was the Fire element and the deck could almost be complete—you could already taste it. You already did a couple of readings as a warm up with San and you found out a couple of things through the divination readings.

One, his true purpose—other than aiding in the creation of divination decks—was to destroy other universes and guide the dead stars to the recreation of a new one.

Two, despite his chirpy demeanour, the cards revealed that there was some kind of loneliness he harbours, being detached and left to watch over the cosmos for millenniums.

Three, you sort of deduce that he was summoned also to seduce you in some sort of way—and he finds that amusing, and he doesn’t deny it.

Needless to say, San is greatly impressed by your divination skills and offhandedly mentions that he’s in love with the cosmos for bringing him to someone like you.

Soon enough, the both of you were back to business—sitting across each other, a wooden wand splayed across the table this time round.

He begins.

“Fire—the element of willpower, ambition and energy. Those who are able to wield this, wield it well, those who can’t—it takes them awhile. Fire is for inspiration, drive, passion. One of the most beautiful yet difficult elements to control. In the beginning, mankind was the first and the only mammals to be able to manipulate fire.”

“No wonder you like this element so much”, you point out as you scribble the rune onto the empty card.

“If you’re able to handle earth, fire might be a level up in intensity. Don’t push yourself if you can alright?” San reminds you, and you could spot the excitement glinting in his eyes. “Now for the seal; who would you sacrifice to the cosomos for your divination deck? Your immortality? Your coven? Or your family?”

That question weighs heavily in your mind and San gives you the time to answer as he plays with your fingers. You finally give him your answer, and he nods in understanding. “You’re willing to let that go?” You nod.

He smiles, “as long as you know it’s the right choice for you. Let’s begin.”

The ritual starts as usual—the swirl of flames from the candles, the howl of the winds. You prep yourself for the burn and it comes—albeit painfully. San’s eyes are fully engulfed in crimson red now, glowing as he feeds into your energy.

“Beautiful! Your essence is beautiful master! I’ve never felt such extraordinary energy from a witch!” He cries out as red fluid leaks down from his eyes. The runes and symbols on his limbs start glowing and his wings expand, filtering the moonlight. That is all you could remember before your mind buzzes, your ears ring and your head pounds as you black out.

Day ??

Your eyes flutter open, and something is different—you feel it. All the pain you’ve felt has faded, as if it never happened. In fact, energy was surging through you—so much energy. You slowly sit up as you look around the room. Everything looks the same as when you finished the fourth ritual. Perfectly at that moment, San emerges from the darkness and appears slightly different—his hair was slightly longer, his eyes had red smudges, which for some reason made him look even more attractive, and the third eye on his chest was a bright red.

“Hey, you’re awake”, he exclaims as he levitates over to you.

“Was it successful?” You ask. San furrows his eyebrows.

“My master, you were out cold for a couple of days, and the only thing you’re worried about is if the Fire ritual was successful? Care for yourself a little more would you?” San pouts as he pulls a cup of cold water into your arms with his magic.

You thank him softly as you take small sips.

“I was out for a few days from the ritual?” You ask again. San nods. Apparently you blacked out just right after San had finished feeding you, and he had caught you in time before you hit the floor.

“How are you feeling though? Any pain?” He asks, concerned as he brushes his fingers across your forehead. You shake your head and tell him you feel a little more different—more powerful or something. San pulls out the beautiful Fire card, reminding you of your craft. You break into a smile as you take the card off his hands and embrace him into a hug.

Now there was only one ritual left—whatever it was. San hasn’t told you yet and you were too engrossed with creating your cards that it slipped your mind.

“The last ritual,” you say, and you notice slight red tinting his cheeks and your curiosity peaks.

“The last ritual, is to bind us together”, he pauses, “through sex.”

Your jaw drops. “Holy fucking shit. Are you serious?”

San nods. “Yeah I am a behemoth in contract after all. That’s why I uh, said the only thing you needed to prepare for for the final ritual was your consent.”

It wasn’t about that. It was about you being fucked by a demon. You haven’t had physical contact with a human for years, let alone a whole ass demon.

“It might hurt compared to a mortal’s but I’ll try my best to be gentle”, he continues. But you see his confidence slowly dwindle the more you stay silent. “I need to consume your blood through biting as well in order for the pact to be bonded by blood.”

You never thought this would be how the contract would finish. Butterflies filled your stomach as you realise how attracted you were to this behemoth who, despite existing since the birth of the cosmos, was gentle and a soft, even a flirt. If anything, it was almost an honour to be one with him.

“Please, San. We can start the ritual. I wouldn’t ask for anyone else to do it with,” you confess as you leave yourself vulnerable for him. That sealed your consent, and the markings on his limbs start glowing again. San held an expression of relief and affection. He reaches out to you and traps you on the bed, in between his arms.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so happy to hear that”, San confesses next, and his eyes glow a soft, dark red hue. You could see he was trying to hold back.

He leans in slowly and you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. He is lips are soft and there was a slight burn as you kissed him, but it only drives you to want to indulge in him even more. Only behemoth demons could taste this good. Maybe only San.

You feel his appendage hardening above you and your heart races. He wasn’t kidding—he was way bigger than any of your previous mortal partners. No way was he gonna fit in you. But at the same time, the challenge of trying to take him was exhilarating to think about.

As the kiss continues to deepen, San pulls off his vest, revealing it bare, and you realise that only his limbs were covered in symbols. He peels off your top and tosses it onto the floor as he continues to kiss down to your chin then to your neck. You exhale in pleasure as your fingers find locks of his hair. His tongue licks your neck and it drives you crazy from the slight pricks.

Your bare tits are out for him to gawk at and he dives into them, licking and squeezing them, only pooling the arousal in between your legs.

Your grip on his hair tightens as your soft moans increase in pitch.

“Does that feel good, master?” San asks as he shifts forward to give you a kiss.

You trace some of the runes on his muscled arm, recognising a few of it. “You’ll look even prettier when my rune is engraved onto you, San”, you flirt, and you feel his cock harden even more, pressing against your cunt. “Of course, only for you, master,” he hums as he rubs you against him, and your mind starts getting lost in the pleasure. He peppers kisses down from your nipples, to your abdomen, then your pelvis and finally to your pulsating pussy.

He spreads your legs, glancing up at you before licking your clitoris, the small barbed edges of his tongue causing your hips to jerk upwards. He dives in deeper, wanting to turn you into a mess.

San slowly plunges two fingers into your wet cunt, swallowing hard at how tight your pussy was, imagining how his cock would definitely fucking stretch you out perfectly. He glances up again, looking at you for a reaction before continuing to pump his fingers. Your moans fill the room as he finger fucks you in bliss, hitting the perfect spot. He adds another and your hips lift from the pleasure. It takes a while for you to adjust, and he pulls out his fingers, soaked in your essence. He gives his fingers a good suck.

“Witches tend to have good tasting essences, and yours just happens to taste the best.” Red creeps across your cheeks.

He removes his pants and underwear, revealing a girthy cock, red and angry, spilling with precum. You had to touch the sides of your lips to make sure you weren’t drooling too much. Fuck, how are you gonna take that in you?

“You’re gonna be fine”, San assures. “Tell me if it’s too much for you okay?”

You nod and San presses his tip at your entrance, and pushes in. Your eyes roll back as he pushes another inch in. Fuck, even the heavens could never compete with this feeling of pleasure. San pauses for second and your eyes flicker to his face, which is contorted in pleasure. He seemed like he was about to explode—and he wasn’t even fully in you yet.

“Y/n, you’re so tight. Gods, you’re squeezing me so good”, he pants, his grip tightening against the sheets beside you.

You decide to be a tease, and you shift your cunt deeper into your cock, and San fucking loses it. His eyes were flickering from crimson red to a lighter shade of red. “My master,” he pants in between. “If you’re gonna do it like that, the heavens won’t know what I’d do if I lost control.”

And that provokes you to tease him even more as you push yourself deeper, at the same time bringing your pleasure to almost a fever pitch. San groans as he pushes the rest of him into you.

“Fuck, San, you feel so amazing. If I knew you’d feel this good, I would have summoned you way earlier”, you cry out as he barely pulls out fully before rutting back into you.

San doesn’t forget to pamper you with kisses. It stings, definitely, but the pleasure is definitely overriding the pain. In fact, the pain was probably egging the pleasure even more.

His fingers trace the bulge at where his cock lies in you. “We fit so well, Master. Don’t you think so?”

You were starting to feel to fucked out to form any rational thought, but you nod, staring at him through hooded lids. He fucks into you a couple more times before you stop him. San’s face switches to an expression of concern immediately.

“I want to ride you. I want to feel your cock fully in me, San”, you barely say, rubbing his face gently with your thumb. He sighs in relief as he pulls out of you, causing you to cry in pleasure again, a string of precum connecting his cock to your pussy.

He takes your hand and guides you to his lap as the both of you get comfortable on his lap.

You adjust yourself to sit on his cock and you start grinding against him, the mix of his and your precum reducing the friction and enhancing the pleasure. You made sure you move forwards to reach the tip of his cock and grind backwards. San throws his head back, crying from pleasure as more precum leaks from his sensitive tip. Grinding up on his cock was making you even more soaking wet, sparking even more pleasure as your clit rubs against his wet cock. You continue to swerve your hips on his cock, loving the slight friction that tingles your core. It builds up from the previous time he ate you out, and when he fucked you in missionary.

“How does that feel, Master?” San asks, half lidded. He was starting to get lost in the pleasure every time you grind up to his tip.

“It feels amazing. I think I’m gonna cum-“ you fight to finish the sentence as you speed up, feeling your orgasm approaching sooner than you expected. You cry out in bliss, your orgasm flooding you as your pussy pulses against San’s twitching cock. San is doing everything in his power not to just lift you and fuck you like this, seeing how soaked you were in pleasure with him.

You feel his hands trail up to your ass as he lifts you up gently, angling his cock at your entrance, and slowly lets you go. Your hands press hard against his naked chest as tears start pooling at the corners of your eyes, while drool starts pooling at the corners of your lips as you sink onto his cock.

“You can take me, Master. I know you can”, he whispers into your ears. You sink in deeper to his length and your fingers dig into San’s broad shoulders. His hands snake to your thighs and he cheekily pushes you down and you scream from the fullness of his cock.

“There you go. There’s my good Master. I love how your pussy feels around my cock”, San encourages. He lifts your ass and drops you back into his cock. “Doesn’t it feel good?”

You nod. “So good it’s almost sinful”, you mange out. San snickers. “Nothing too sinful if a behemoth is fucking you so well.”

You lean in for a kiss, and this surprises San but he immediately reciprocates, deepening the kiss quickly.

Soon enough, you are just mindlessly bouncing in his cock, every thrust sending you closer to the edge. San struggles to keep it together as well, as you feel him rutting his hips up.

“Master, I’m gonna cum”, San says, with an expression of desperation and desire.

“Go ahead. You’ve been doing so well”, you reply as you comb his hair back. He leans in, lips attached to your neck as he continues to fuck into you desperately. He bares his fangs and bites into you as his cock spurts into your cunt, filling you up to the brim. Blood pools at the base of your neck, and you cry from the simultaneous pain and pleasure, your second orgasm hitting you right at that point as you cream all over San’s cock.

San licks up the blood on your neck, and the skin heals almost as quickly as it broke just mere seconds ago, and he’s still fucking cumming in your pussy, his lower abdomen twitching.

He removes his lips from your neck and blood stains pool at the corner of his lips. You lift yourself off his cock, his cum just dripping out of your pussy. San holds you gently as he uses his free hand to collect the mixture of fluids on his fingers. He pushes his cum-covered fingers to you and you take it eagerly, savouring the taste albeit it being salty. He takes his turn to lick his hands.

“The contract has been sealed, master”, San confirms, and his eyes glow a bright red.

“That’s lovely. I wouldn’t ask for anyone else, San”, you smile as you plant a kiss on his lips, which takes him by surprise, but he seems nothing less of satisfied.

As the planet begins to shift from the blood pact being created, it shakes the universe. You don’t know what’s about to happen, nor do you care. A burst of energy enters you as you levitate into the air, feeling the energy of the cosmos, as well as elements of the deck. Your cards shuffle, and float around you, and you see all of your creations in its glory. Your own divination deck, bonded to you by blood.

You take a deep breath in, as you settle back onto the bed, your cards shuffling back into its deck, onto the selenite plate. Something catches your attention, and you walk over to the full length mirror leaning against the wall. Something is glowing. You gasp, looking at the behemoth’s rune engraved into your skin, a beautiful crimson red as the glow fades. San, right behind you, tracing over your rune fondly. You look up to him and you notice he has the same rune engraved into this skin—and the only rune around his chest.

“Now we’re official bonded. You did so well, my master,” he compliments, stroking your hair gently, understanding how taxing the rituals must have been, still admiring the shared runes you both had on your bodies. “I will make you happy, I promise.” Your heart skips at beat at his words.

“San”, you call out, even though he’s standing right by you. He hums in attention, his eyes now on you.

“Do you think we could do this more often? Like the fucking?”

San is stunned for a moment as he processes the question. No one had asked him that before. Usually the binding rituals were solely to bind the energies of the witch and behemoth, and it is never done again. He’s confused but he agrees, seemingly happy that you enjoyed the ritual with him.

And that’s what you drown yourself in—doing divination readings for others and San as well, and taking his cock whenever you felt like it. It was too good to pass on. Not to mention he was so good at aftercare—making sure you were alright after every session. Undoubtedly, San, himself, was really starting to enjoy having sex with you as well.

You couldn’t think of wanting anything else.

[swappingbryn]

I first saw Marcus at a conference and became obsessed; he was 20 years younger than me, but only one level below my own, brilliant, hot and tall. I decided after only introducing myself to him that I’d take everything from him.

I “ran into him” that night at the hotel bar and bought him a drink to discuss overlapping work, and then I bought more and more, putting hundreds of dollars of drinks on my room for my company to pay for. Once he was very drunk, I helped him back to his room, where I enacted my plan. I swapped our bodies and broke the magic talisman. I knew it could easily be reassembled, being magic and all, but you had to have all the pieces.

I took one piece and dropped it in a waterfall, so it sank to the bottom of the deep lake. So deep that it’s pitch black and you’d need scuba gear to reach the bottom.

The next piece I buried under an ancient tree and covered it with leaves. No one would think twice about the leaves and by the time they blew away, the soil would have settled and nothing would look out of place.

The largest piece I threw into a canyon. It looked like just another stone. Finding that specific rock in a vast canyon full of rocks would be like trying to find an individual needle in a needle stack, on a needle planet.

The fourth part I dropped in a lake back home (his home) while out with my new friends. It was easy to discretely drop, I keep it in my pocket and “accidentally” wiped out, while underwater I pulled out the rock and dropped it.

The fifth and last, and smallest, piece I kept with me. I had it turned into a stud for my earring. I figured even if he does find every other piece, he’d never think to find the last piece with me. I lied to him and told him all the pieces were scattered.

I look so happy here because not only have I endured he can never swap us back, but I just got notified that I was hired at my old company, at my old job. Marcus was already in trouble for the massive tab I left on his room, but he’d also been skipping work looking for the pieces. Now I have his body, his life, my old job. Life is good.

@titledlikes

[chocodile]

How would Hyden feel/react to being ignored, intentional or otherwise?

Unlike Ambroys, who needs attention like everyone else needs oxygen (and begins to suffocate without it), Hyden doesn't particularly care what other people think about him.

He is confident that he can command attention when he wants it and is used to being treated with respect. In fact, he's so used to being fawned over by sycophants that encountering someone who was openly rude to him would immediately pique his interest. It breaks the pattern he's used to and is a new type of social interaction, and novelty is the one thing Hyden craves more than anything.

What does rudeness imply about the person he's speaking to? Do they hate him for one of his past (mis)deeds? Oooh, which one, which one? He's dying to know! Are they so fed up with court politics that they're looking to self-immolate and torch their reputation? Oh my, imagine how delightfully unhinged someone like that must be! He'd love to probe around in their brain a bit before they burn enough bridges to disappear from court socials entirely. Or do they simply not know who he is? In this case, he can delight in watching their growing horror as he reveals his status to them and they realize who they've slighted.

It's win/win/win for Hyden. He delights in finding someone who violates social norms like a bored zoo animal enjoys a puzzle treat dispenser. He'll shred them with his claws and teeth until the treats fall out, at which point he'll become bored and drop whatever broken pieces remain. Their insults and social snubs can't hurt him any more than a jack-o-lantern full of raw meat can hurt a tiger.

This is the reason he found Alex so fascinating at first and couldn't resist needling and baiting her. She hated him enough to treat him differently than the rest of the Rising Dawn did (I can't imagine why), and he could tell she was obviously cut from a different cloth than the rest of them. But without the leverage of his wealth, social status, and magic power, he found himself on equal footing with his prey for the first time. His antagonism earned him a bloody nose and a black eye. Ever since, he's been more sullen around her and less willing to pick fights. Maybe he's finally learned a lesson? For once?