#also they both had parents who were neglectful but like in opposite ways

[wolfstrong]

childhood best friends Willow and Xander :)

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

it is so important to me that within the very last scene Monty appears, he is spoken to with kindness. and by Charles, of all people.

because the only person that Monty seems to have regularly known is Esther, and she treats him with anything but kindness. it's very safe to assume that Monty has presumably spent the vast majority of his life being berated, attacked and neglected by her. there has never been a moment that showed Monty receiving any sort of gentleness or tenderness from her. when Esther does compliment him, it's only to do with how good-looking she made him as a human. and that's her own handiwork. Monty himself is never praised, never acknowledged, never seen for any of his own efforts to assist her. yet, she was quick to both see and act the second he messed up, and not even through fault of his own.

it's so incredibly touching that Monty is finally praised for his own actions when we part ways with him. and by the very person he dislikes so much. Monty bitterly resents Charles. he's not shy about it. Charles is not unaware of it. he isn't all that fond of Monty himself. and yet, Charles is the one to end things on a positive note. it should be ironic, but it isn't at all. it makes complete sense.

of course it's Charles that Monty shares this final moment of his with. Charles is not an idiot, so i'm certain he could somewhat tell that Monty is a victim of abuse. the victim of an abusive parent-like figure, no less. just like him. Charles is rightly furious at what Monty has done, but how could he truly hate him? when he knows full well what it's like to be so scared of the person who's meant to look after you? when he knows full well that horrible feeling of being trapped without any escape in sight? Charles has also experienced being treat in a disgusting, violent manner for no reason at all. he may not have been serving an impossible-to-please witch like Monty is, but no matter how athletic, hard-working or friendly he was, Charles could never escape his father's terrifying anger, all efforts of his rendered futile.

it's interesting that Charles doesn't seem all that shocked in this moment, to see Monty act against Esther. he's glad, but i don't reckon his expression is one of surprise? it's almost as if Charles already had some sort of faith in Monty, even though the crow has given him absolutely no reason to trust him, quite the opposite. but maybe that's not so strange. Monty is like Charles. Charles is the person who outright said that he's desperate for people like him to be right, to be good. we saw how devastated he was when Brad and Hunter were not.

so, these words from Charles must have mattered to Monty greatly. people who are abused, especially by those who are meant to look after them, such as their parents, can often be led to believe that their abuser's actions are somehow "justified," even if it's not a thought they're fully conscious of. Monty isn't entirely naïve, at least outwardly. he clearly isn't under the impression that Esther actually cares for him, considering how bitterly he speaks to her. but deep down, there must be a reason he still stays with Esther, because he isn't restrained physically. Monty's cage is unlocked, he's "free" to fly around as he pleases, even shown to go outside at one point. he doesn't fly away from her, though. and that may be because he unconsciously feels that he owes Esther his complete loyalty.

but this moment could have changed that. if Charles, who Monty doesn't like and isn't liked by in return, who Monty was impolite and passive-aggressive to can speak to him kindly - what right does Esther, who Monty tries to be helpful to, have to treat him with such cruelty? what right does she have to scream at him, to grab him, to mutilate him? when he's done nothing but be her loyal familiar, having only committed the sin of feeling too much for her liking, human feelings that she forced upon him?

this scene is towards the end of the show for us. but for Monty, maybe it's a turning point in his life.

[foreverisntenough]

‘Act II’

Summary: Attraction is like a gravitational pull that is undefinable and unavoidable. Unbeknownst to you, Jude had been keeping an eye on you since he caught a glimpse on his best friend’s girlfriend’s Instagram but he’s been loving his single life. You always were independent and know how to swim on your own but maybe you have been just treading water. Could the tides change on a holiday in Greece when you finally meet? It might get a little rocky but maybe you could be his paradise.

Index

Warnings: This series is 18+ MDNI

Note: Thank you for reading! Please be sure to like, comment, or message me what you think of the series! ‘Act II’ is interconnected to the 'You’re Mine' and 'Ours' Series but can read it independently.

Chapter 4 - Oldest Friend | ‘Act II’

word count - 11.8

The two of you decided to go back to familiar ways and sit outside in your bathing suits by the pool wrapped in each other’s company. There was no anxiety, no uncertainty—just the two of you, finally alone, finally able to be together without the weight of the outside world pressing down on you. Jude reached out, brushing a strand of hair from your face, his fingers lingering on your cheek.

"Today was perfect," he murmured, his voice low and filled with emotion. You smiled up at Jude, feeling the warmth of his touch and the sincerity in his words.

“Yeah?" you questioned him softly, leaning into him, your lips brushing against his in a tender kiss that quickly deepened, the promise of what was to come hanging in the air between you. As you curled up against him, feeling his arms tighten around you, you knew that this moment—this quiet, perfect moment—was one you were enjoying too much and it was terrifying. When Jude tucked inside to go grab you both something to drink he caught himself standing by the window, his eyes fixated on you lounging by the pool before he returned. Your silhouette was captivating against the sunlit backdrop of his Madrid home. He couldn't help but feel drawn to you in a way that was both confusing and exhilarating. There was something about you that was intoxicating, a mystery he was desperate to solve. Every word that came out of your mouth was like a puzzle piece, hinting at something deeper, something you never intended for anyone to see.

You grew up living a life many would envy but few truly understand. Your childhood was one of privilege and prestige, cocooned in a world of private schools, penthouse apartments, and summers split between the Hamptons and Côte d'Azur. Your parents were French expats who had found their fortune in the glitzy world of film. Your dad retired early, his wealth nearly obscene, opting to buy vineyards in Burgundy and live the life of a refined vintner. You were born there in France then moved to the United Stated but back to France shortly after. You lived in a sprawling apartment in the 7th arrondissement, filled with exquisite antiques and modern art. Your father’s success in film had not only bought him vineyards but also a lifestyle that many could only dream of. However, beneath the surface of this seemingly perfect family lay a complicated web of emotional neglect and unmet needs. Your parents, wrapped up in their own pursuits and societal status, often used money, lavish gifts, and trips to other homes around the world to compensate for their absence. They tried to keep a genuine connection but it was often though the phone. This emotionally cold upbringing left its mark on you. You had everything you could ever want materially. Although, you grew up without the warmth and emotional security you craved, something Jude clearly seemed to experience the exact opposite of. You learned early on that love and affection in your family were conditional, transactional, something that could be bought and sold just like the art pieces in your gallery. This realization made you cautious, a self-preserving instinct kicking in that taught you to protect your heart and to rely on yourself for your emotional needs. Despite the glamorous veneer of your life, you often felt a profound loneliness and used hook ups to fill that. Although you had Whitney of course. She was your closest confidant, the one person who understood the strange blend of opulence and emptiness that colored your childhood. You were bonded by your shared experience, but even with her, there were things you could never fully express—wounds that went deeper than words. After finishing your education at a prestigious private school in Paris, you returned to New York, eager to carve out a space of your own. You had always been drawn to art, finding in it an emotional resonance that you couldn't find anywhere else. You pursued your passion relentlessly, eventually opening your own gallery in downtown Manhattan. Your gallery quickly gained a reputation for its cutting-edge exhibitions and the way it seamlessly blended contemporary art with more classical influences. You were stunningly beautiful, with a look that turned heads wherever you went. You allure undeniable and enigmatic. Yet, behind the captivating exterior, you were a complex blend of vulnerability and strength, a woman who had learned to use your looks to your advantage but never let them define you. Men were drawn to you like moths to a flame, and you enjoyed their attention but never let it go beyond the surface. You used them for sex, a fleeting connection that never demanded more than you were willing to give. They were like your art—beautiful to behold, to experience, but not something you were willing to let into your inner world. Though you portrayed an image of effortless confidence and control, deep down, you longed for something more meaningful. You desired a connection that wasn’t superficial, a love that wasn’t just a transaction, but something real and raw, something that didn’t need to be bought or proven. Yet, your experiences had made you cautious. You built walls around your heart, protecting yourself from being hurt by the very thing you longed for the most. Your life was a series of contrasts—luxury and emptiness, beauty and solitude, strength and vulnerability.

Jude sighed wondering just all that. Who were you? You looked stunning, your bikini revealing just enough to be alluring without being obvious and as much he appreciated your outer shell he wanted to know what went on in that head of yours. The way the sun kissed your skin gave you an almost angelic glow, contrasting sharply with the cool, guarded demeanor you usually wore like armor. Jude knew there was more to you—something softer, sweeter, hidden beneath that hard exterior. He had seen glimpses of it in your quiet moments together, in the way your eyes softened when you weren’t paying attention or the way you laughed when you thought no one was listening. He was determined to see more. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever came next. The sunny late summer air was warm on his skin as he stepped outside, walking toward you with a casual confidence he didn’t quite feel. He dropped down beside you on the lounge chair, reaching over to playfully pinch your waist. You squealed in surprise, your body jolting slightly as you turned to look at him. Your reaction made him smile, but it was the way your lips curled into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen that made his heart skip a beat. There was something so genuine about it, a softness that you rarely showed.

"Hi." You simply greeted him with a giggle. You tilted your head, your hair falling effortlessly over your shoulders Jude’s breath caught in his throat. For a moment, he was speechless, lost in the depth of your eyes and the warmth of your smile. He couldn’t remember the last time a single word had such a profound effect on him.

“Hey,” he finally managed to say, his voice a little rougher than he intended.

“You look happy,” you noted, your tone light, but your eyes held a hint of curiosity, as if you were trying to read his mind.

“I am,” he replied, and it was the truth. He felt happier in this moment than he had in a long time. “Just enjoying the view.” He cooed. You rolled your eyes but smiled, a soft blush coloring your cheeks.

“Smooth, Judey. You’re very smooth.” You giggled. Jude chuckled. He waved you to scoot over on your chair. His arms around you fast as he slid next to your body before leaning back in the chair, his gaze never leaving your face.

“I mean it. I like having you here. I like… getting to know you.” He smiled, playing with a piece of your hair. There was a flicker of something in your eyes—hesitation, maybe even fear. But then it was gone, replaced by the familiar guardedness he was beginning to know well.

“You already know me, Jude,” you said lightly, though he could hear the edge in your voice.

“Not as much as I’d like to,” he admitted, his tone earnest. “I want to know everything about you, Y/N.” Jude, despite his love for a playboy lifestyle, was a significantly more open and emotional than you. He was close with his parents, his brother, his friends, he felt comfortable opening up. It was scary for him, sure, but he’d done it before. A significant more amount of times you had. Although he had never been this candid with a girl before and certainly not one he met only two weeks ago.

“Why?” You asked softly, almost to yourself. You glanced away, your gaze shifting to the shimmering water of the pool

“Because there’s something about you that I can’t get enough of,” he confessed. “You’re like… I don’t know. What’s a really beautiful painting?” He asked you and you couldn’t help but giggle at the overzealous nature of what he was trying to say. “I want to study you, to understand you. You’re beautiful, but there’s so much more to you than that.” He confessed. Your lips parted in surprise, your breath hitching. For a moment, you seemed at a loss for words, your guarded expression softening into something more vulnerable.

“Wow. I erm…I don’t know if I’m ready for someone to know all of me though. Maybe I’m just one of those paintings that’s meant to be behind the glass.” You whispered, your voice barely audible over the soft breeze. Jude’s heart ached at the admission, at the raw honesty in your voice. He wanted to pull you into his arms, to hold you and tell you that it was okay, that he wasn’t going anywhere. Tell you that he didn’t mind the glass protection. In fact, he understood it.

“That’s okay, angel,” he said softly, his thumb brushing over your cheek. “I’m not going anywhere though, Y/N. If the glass ever comes down, I’m here. But I understand.” He cooed. You looked at him for a long moment, your eyes searching his for something he hoped you found. Finally, you nodded, your lips curling into a small, grateful but sad smile.

“Thank you,” you whispered. Jude smiled back, his heart swelling with something he wasn’t quite ready to name. But as he looked at you, he knew one thing for sure: he wanted to be the one to remove that glass, to see the real you. And he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

The morning sun streamed through the curtains of Jude's bedroom, casting a warm, golden light over the room. The soft, lazy glow bathed the bed where you and Jude laid entwined beneath the sheets, the world outside forgotten as they enjoyed the rare luxury of a day without responsibilities. Jude stretched slightly, wincing as the soreness from yesterday’s training reminded him of the bruises and aches that came with football fast approaching again. He let out a low groan, rubbing a hand over his shoulder as he settled back into the pillows. You, who had been resting your head on his chest, looked up at him with a playful smirk, your eyes bright and mischievous.

“Sore, are we?” You teased, your fingers tracing light circles over his chest, the touch soothing yet electrifying.

“You could say that,” Jude replied with a grin, his eyes half-lidded as he gazed down at you. Despite the discomfort, he felt an overwhelming sense of contentment. The softness of the morning, the warmth of your body against his—it all made the soreness a minor inconvenience. “But I’ve had worse.” He smirked lazily.

“Well, let’s see if I can make it better,” You murmured, your voice low and sultry. You shifted slightly, trailing your hand down his torso, your fingers dancing over his skin in a way that sent a shiver through him. The way you looked at him, with that blend of affection and desire, made his heart race in a way that no game ever could. Jude let out a soft chuckle, his hand sliding into your hair as he pulled her closer.

“You’re dangerous, you know that?” he whispered, his lips brushing against your forehead. You laughed, the sound light and teasing.

“Maybe,” you said, pressing a kiss to his collarbone, your lips lingering as you spoke. “But I’m good at it.” You giggled.

“Too good,” Jude agreed, a smirk playing on his lips. He shifted slightly, despite the soreness, so that he could wrap his arms more securely around you, pulling you fully on top of him. “You might be the reason I never leave this bed today.” He cooed. Your eyes sparkled with amusement as you looked down at him, your hair falling in a cascade around them, creating a private little world where only the two of them existed.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” you whispered, your voice soft yet heavy with meaning. Jude’s heart swelled at your words, a wave of emotion washing over him that he hadn’t expected. As he looked up at you, he realized just how happy he was to have you here, in his home, in his bed. The past week with you had been more than just fun—they had been… right. The kind of right that made him question everything he thought he knew about himself and what he wanted. “I need to go soon.” You dramatically pouted at him. That was a fairly unfortunate truth. You were scheduled to leave Spain tonight.

“Nah, you need to take this off.” Jude cheekily cooed, dropping his tone. His hands began to roam all over you pulling at your clothes.

“Seriously, I have to shower and pack.” You frowned for real this time. You genuinely were sad but were trying hard not to deep it too much.

“Stay with me a little longer,” he found himself saying, his voice softer now, almost vulnerable. The words slipped out before he had time to second-guess them, but he knew they were true. “I like having you here, Y/N. A lot more than I expected.” You blinked, the teasing smile fading from your lips as you met his gaze. There was a flicker of surprise in your eyes, followed by something softer, more tender. You searched his face, as if trying to figure out if he really meant what he was saying.

“You mean that?” You asked quietly, your fingers stilling against his chest.

“Yeah, I do. I didn’t expect to feel like this, but… I don’t want you to go just yet. I want… more. I want more of you.” Jude nodded, his expression serious now. Your heart fluttered in your chest, a mix of excitement and fear coursing through you. You had been so careful not to let yourself get too attached, to keep your distance emotionally. But the way Jude was looking at you now, with that mix of hope and sincerity, made it hard to hold back.

“I’ve been thinking about it… and I’m not sure I’m ready to leave either.” You admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “I think I need more.” You tentatively smiled. Jude’s lips curved into a slow smile, his hands tightening on your waist as he pulled you down for a kiss. It was soft and unhurried, a promise of the lazy day you had ahead of yourselves, a day where you could just be together without worrying about what came next. When you finally pulled apart, you rested your forehead against his, your heart pounding in your chest.

“So, what’s the plan then?” You asked, a hint of playfulness returning to you voice. “Stay in bed all day?”

“That sounds like a good start,” he murmured with a chuckle, the sound warm and content as his hands slid up your back, his touch sending sparks of heat through you. “And maybe, if I’m feeling up to it, we can move to the couch later.”

“I think I can handle that.” You laughed, the sound light and full of joy. Jude smiled, his heart swelling with a happiness he hadn’t expected to find. As you settled back into the pillows, you snuggled into his side, he realized that for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t worried about what came next. He was just happy to be here, with you, in this moment. Jude’s hand trailed down your back, sending shivers down your spine.

"Right now let's stay here though, yeah?" He nuzzled into your neck, his warm breath causing goosebumps to rise on your skin. Jude gently pushed you from your side onto your back, his eyes burning with desire as he peeled off your clothes, relishing in the gradual sight of your naked body. Your heart began to race when he spread your legs, revealing your glistening pussy to him. Honestly, you were already aroused from the moment you woke up with that boy next to you. Jude leaned down, his tongue tracing a path from your knee up your inner thigh, each touch sending sparks of pleasure through your body. As he reached your core, he blew gently, the cool air contrasting with the heat between your legs. You gasped, arching your back, as if you were offering yourself to him. When his tongue finally made contact, he teasingly flicked your clit gently. You let out sinful moans, the sound filling the bedroom. Jude was a master of his craft, and he took his time, teasing you with soft licks and gentle sucks and just when you're close to the edge, he’d stoped, leaving you teetering on the precipice of ecstasy.

"Please, Jude," you begged, your voice hoarse with need. "Please let me cum already." You asked desperately after his third round edging you. Jude laughed, the sound sending vibrations through your whole body.

"Not yet, angel, I have plans for you." He smirked and with that, he reached for his phone on the bedside table, his fingers deftly navigating the screen.

"What are you doing?" you asked almost in a panic, your curiosity piqued but your desperation at a boiling point, your body craved release.

"Changing your flight," he replied, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "I told you I don’t want you to go just yet unless you changed your mind. I can just get up.” He teasingly offered with a smug smile. You simultaneously wanted to scream with impatience but also pout at how much you liked that he was changing your flight because he wanted you to stay. You felt a true rush of excitement and relief that he wanted more of you, more mornings like this.

"Oh," you breathed deeply trying to compose yourself but your voice was heavy with desire. “Okay, thank you.” You mumbled shutting your eyes and dropping your head back into the pillow accepting that you’d have to wait a moment.

"You’re welcome, baby" Jude cooed as his tongue suddenly resumed its dance, lapping at your sensitive bundle of nerves. You gasped at the suddenness. He slid a finger inside you, curling it to hit that sweet spot you felt like he had discovered just for him. You cried out, your body trembling as he pushed you closer and closer to the edge. Just as you were about to climax, he slowed down again, his finger stroking a more leisurely pace.

"Please, baby!" you pleaded, your words almost becoming incoherent as pleasure consumed you.

"Shh," Jude soothed you, his breath hot against your throbbing pussy. "I'll let you cum, but you promise to stay a little longer?" He smiled and you nodded frantically, a little confused because you thought you told him that already but anything to feel the release he'd been teasing you with. He chuckled, taking pity on you. He devoured your pussy with renewed fervor. His tongue worked in rhythm with his fingers, driving you wild. You clutched the sheets, your body tensing as your orgasm built to an explosive peak. "That's it, baby, cum for me," Jude encouraged you, his voice thick with desire. You whined his name as your body shuddered, waves of pleasure rippling through you. Jude didn’t stop though, he milked your orgasm, drawing it out until you were a trembling, satisfied mess. As you came down from your high, Jude kissed his way up your body, his lips claiming yours in a passionate embrace. You could taste yourself on his tongue, and it sends a fresh wave of desire coursing through you.

"That was… that was so fucking good," you whispered, running your hand over his slightly messy hair. “Why would I ever leave?” You cheekily asked him, moving to cup his cheek. In swift succession Jude positioned himself above you, his hard length straining against his boxers. His eyes went dark with want. His cock thick and long. You couldn’t wait to feel him inside you. You reach for his boxers, eager to free him, but he caught your hand.

"Not yet," he breathed, his voice a bit strained. "I want to be inside that pretty mouth first." He gently pushed your head towards his hard on, and you obliged, taking him in, swirling your tongue around the head, tasting his salty pre-cum. Jude moaned, his hands gripping you as you took him deeper, your hands caressing his firm ass. "Fuck, YN," he grunts, his hips thrusting gently, guiding you. You sucked and licked, taking him to the back of your throat, your hand stroking the base of his shaft. Jude's control seems to be slipping rapidly, his thrusts becoming more urgent. He pulled out, his cock glistening with your saliva. “I need to be inside you.” He growled, positioning himself between your thighs, With one smooth thrust, he filled you, his length stretching you deliciously. “You're not leaving. Too good of a girl f’me.” He cooed as you gasped, your eyes widening at the intensity of the sensation. Jude began to move, his hips snapping forward, pounding into you with a primal need. The bed creaking beneath the force of his thrusts, and you matching his rhythm, meeting him thrust for thrust.

"God, you’re so fucking hot." You whined. He grunted, his eyes locked on yours, your praise only fueling him. Your nails dug into his back muscles as you clung to him. “Jude, fuck! You’re so fucking deep.” You moaned when he repositioned you, picking up one of your legs drilling into you somehow impossibly deeper. Jude reached between you, his skilled fingers finding your clit, rubbing it in perfect sync with his powerful strokes.

“'Gonna make you cum again, yeah?" he panted, his voice hoarse. "Cum all over my cock, angel. Make a mess f’me." He commanded you to and as if possible, you listened just letting go of any control you had. You were a moaning mess as your high crashed over you. Your whines now matching the rhythm of his thrusts. Your lips stuck parted as he fucked you into another orgasm. The knot in your stomach coming completely undone. Your pussy gushing around his thick girth in uncontrollable squirts. The release causing your body to shudder. “God, you’re so fucking hot.” Jude groaned watching you. He continued hitting a spot deep within you, your pussy pulsating, milking his length. Your pussy gripped so tight and intensely around his cock as you came Jude couldn’t hold back his own release. He pumped you full of his warm cum, spurting into you while your pussy throbbed. You stayed in that position. Refusing to pull his cock out, preventing any of his cum from spilling out as he rolled his hips a few more times into you. As your orgasms slowly subsided, Jude collapsed onto the bed beside you, pulling you close, his breath ragged. "I think I can get used to mornings like this," he said, planting a tender kiss on your forehead. You smile, snuggling into his embrace, pretty okay if all your mornings were just like this one.

Returning to New York felt surreal after your extended holiday in Madrid with Jude was extended a little further. The city was buzzing with life as usual, but there was a new layer of nostalgia coating everything you saw. On your early morning run through Central Park, you couldn’t help but smile when you spotted a jogger wearing a Bellingham #5 Real Madrid jersey. It was like he was there reminding you just how much you missed him, even though he was thousands of miles away the ache was there. Without thinking, you quickly texted him, the familiarity of even seeing his name on your phone brought a warm feeling to your chest.

‘Just saw your jersey in Central Park xx’

As you continued your run, you decided to call Whitney to catch up. It felt good to hear her voice, her playful energy always bringing you a sense of home no matter where you were or where she was. You were deep in conversation, laughing about some silly story she was telling, when your phone buzzed with an incoming call. You glanced at the screen and saw Jude’s name flashing.

“Whit, sorry someone else is calling me,” you interrupted her mid-sentence, your voice slightly breathless from the run and the excitement of hearing from him. You couldn’t hold back the grin pulling your lips.

“Oh, Jude, huh?” Whitney teased, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Of course, answer, answer. Tell him I say hi, and that he should be thankful I’m sharing your attention.” She giggled. You rolled your eyes, smiling as you switched over to his call.

“Hi,” you meekly greeted him, trying to sound casual even though your heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. You slowed your pace, your feet hitting the pavement in a steady rhythm, your mind racing with thoughts of him.

“You were thinking about me?” Jude asked cheekily, his tone playful, but there was something more beneath it, something tender. “Was just thinking of that pretty face too, you know. I was going to call you anyway, see if you were awake.” He told you and you were fairly sure your heart grew three sizes. You stopped your run and began to walk needing to focus solely on him.

“You know I always get up early,” you reminded him with a soft laugh. It was a habit of yours he’d come to know well. Even if he wasn’t exactly a morning person, Jude missed feeling you kiss him in the morning before slipping out of his bed.

“Yeah, I know, angel. You used to wake me up with you, remember? And as annoying as it was,” he teased lightly, but there was a longing in his voice that he couldn’t quite hide. “I miss it… I miss you.” Jude sighed on the other end of the line, a sound that made your chest tighten. “Needed an excuse to call though, didn’t I?” Jude smiled hearing a slight giggle and hum from your end. His words hung in the air between you, the distance suddenly feeling more tangible. It was strange to be back in New York, in your own space, yet feeling like a part of you was still back in Madrid with him.

“I miss you too,” you admitted quietly, the truth of it all sinking in. Being back in the city was supposed to feel like coming home, but instead, it felt like you’d left a piece of yourself behind. Jude sat at the kitchen table in his house back in Madrid, staring blankly at the steaming cup of tea in front of him. The trip to Greece, followed by your stay in Spain, had left him with a whirlwind of emotions he hadn’t quite sorted out. He absentmindedly swirled the spoon in his tea, the clinking sound filling the silence of the room.

“Morning, hun,” Denise greeted him as she entered the kitchen with a warm smile, her eyes immediately landing on Jude. She reached out to squeeze his arm affectionately

“Morning, Mum,” Jude replied, still somewhat lost in his thoughts. He took a sip of his tea, hoping it would wake him up from the fog that had settled in his mind. Denise sat down across from him, a knowing look on her face. She had noticed how quiet Jude had been since you left for New York. It wasn’t like him to be this distracted, and she had a feeling she knew why.

“So, you had a good few weeks? Y/N is a lovely girl. I liked having her here. Hope you had fun.” she spoke casually, though there was a hint of curiosity in her voice.

“Yeah, it was all good. We had fun,” he said nonchalantly with a shrug trying to play it cool but he couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips when he thought about your time together.

“So only good?” she pressed, her tone light but probing. “You’ve been awfully quiet since she left.”Denise raised an eyebrow at his lackluster response Jude shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not entirely sure how to articulate what he was feeling.

“Yeah, it’s just… you know, holiday thing,” he said vaguely, trying to brush it off. “Nothing serious.” Denise leaned back in her chair, studying him for a moment. She could see the conflict in his eyes, the way he was trying to downplay what clearly meant a lot more to him.

“Jude,” she began gently, “is YN your girlfriend?” Denise asked cautiously but outright. Jude’s reaction was immediate.

“No!” he blurted out, perhaps a bit too quickly. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. “No, she’s not my girlfriend. We’re just… having fun, you know?” He winced at what he had said. Denise nodded slowly, not entirely convinced by his casual dismissal.

“Just having fun, huh?” she repeated, her tone skeptical. “Because from what I’ve seen, it seems like there’s more to it than just a bit of fun.” She sympathetically smiled at her son. She watched you two for a week and a half, hell the fact that Jude brought you home was enough for her to know there was more.

“Mum, it’s not like that,” he insisted, though even he wasn’t sure what “like that” meant. “It’s just… it’s complicated.” Jude shifted again, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation

“Complicated or not, you need to figure out what she means to you, Jude,” she said softly. Denise gave him another sympathetic smile, but there was a hint of frustration in her eyes. “You can’t keep her hanging on a thread because you’re afraid of what it might mean if you care about her.” She cooed. Jude felt a twinge of guilt at his mother’s words. He knew she was right, but the thought of defining what he and you were scared him.

“I don’t know, Mum,” he admitted, running a hand over his hair. “I don’t want to mess things up by making it more than it is. What if it’s just…” Jude sighed pausing not totally sure how to articulate what he wanted to say but Denise spoke first, filling the air.

“So, it's just sex, then?" she asked, her tone matter-of-fact. Denise, sensing his discomfort, filled in the silence. Jude immediately grimaced, recoiling at her bluntness.

"Mum, eugh," he muttered, his face scrunching up in embarrassment. It wasn't news to Denise that he was having sex—it was obvious, and they had an open relationship where they could talk about almost anything, sex included and they had but hearing her say it, especially about you, made him feel like a kid being caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Jude, it's not a big deal. You're an adult, and I'm not naive. But it seems to me that it's more than just physical with her." Denise chuckled softly at his reaction, her smile warm but knowing. Jude shifted awkwardly. Jude had shared tidbits of his playboy lifestyle with her but only in doses never giving the full picture so it didn’t sound too promiscuous but for some reason Jude felt like it was more vulnerable to be seen falling for someone than to just be fucking them. Denise’s expression softened, but there was a firmness in her voice. “Hun, I know you’re scared of getting hurt or hurting her, but you can’t reduce what you two have to just… some holiday sex,” she said, the words almost sounding harsh as she repeated them. “You’re not being fair to her or yourself by dismissing it like that. You brought her home.” Even though Jude was thinking just that he didn’t like that she said it.

“I’m not dismissing it, I’m just… being realistic,” he argued, though his voice lacked conviction. Jude’s brows furrowed, defensive. He didn't want to admit to himself how deep his feelings for you really ran, let alone say it out loud to his mother. But how could he explain that to her without sounding like he was trying to convince himself?

“Realistic or not, it’s clear to anyone with eyes that you care about her,” she said gently. “And from what I can tell, she cares about you too. Don’t let fear of a label keep you from something that could be really special.” Denise sighed, leaning forward to rest her hand on his Jude stared down at his tea, Denise’s words sinking in. He couldn’t deny the way his heart ached when you weren't around, the way he missed your laughter, your smile, the way you made everything feel lighter and brighter. But at the same time, the idea of taking things further terrified him. What if he wasn’t ready? What if he ruined it? “Just be honest with yourself and with her,” she advised. Denise squeezed his hand, pulling him out of his thoughts. “That’s all you can do. Don’t let fear keep you from something you want.” Jude nodded slowly, the weight of his mother’s words settling on him. He knew she was right. He had to figure out what he wanted, and more importantly, he had to be brave enough to go after it, whatever “it” was.

“I’ll think about it,” he said finally, giving Denise a small smile. “Thanks, Mum.” Jude sheepishly got out feeling like a school boy all of a sudden who needed his mums help.

“Anytime, love,” she said. “Just remember, you deserve to be happy. And so does she.” Denise smiled back, her eyes soft with understanding

Your time apart from Jude was filled with a lot of nudes, a lot of dirty FaceTimes, and very little discussion about what the hell was going on between you too. Jude was sprawled out on his couch, his legs stretched across the cushions as he lazily scrolled through his phone. The house was quiet, the only sound coming from the occasional chirp of birds outside the window. Normally, he’d relish the peace after a grueling week of football, but today, something was off. He opened Instagram, mindlessly tapping through stories until he saw your name pop up. His heart gave a small, involuntary jump at the sight of your profile picture. He hadn’t physically seen you in a couple of days since you’d gone back home, and though he’d tried to shake it off, the distance between you was starting to weigh on him more than he’d expected. The story opened, and there you were, looking radiant as ever, your face slightly flushed from what he guessed was a drink or two. You were out at a bar, surrounded by friends, all laughter and carefree energy. The dim lights of the bar cast a warm glow over you, and the background music was just loud enough to drown out any coherent conversation. Jude watched as you tilted her head back, laughing at something off-camera, your eyes sparkling with a happiness that made his chest tighten. He should’ve been happy to see you enjoying yourself, to see you surrounded by friends and having a good time. But instead, a sharp, unexpected pang of jealousy twisted in his gut. It wasn’t anger—he knew you had every right to go out, to live your life—but something about seeing you there, in that atmosphere, without him, made him feel… possessive. Maybe this was ‘it.’ Maybe this is what his mum was talking about.

Because you didn’t really know where you stood with Jude, you found yourself in a confusing limbo when you returned to New York. The uncertainty gnawed at you—you weren’t sure if you were exclusive, or if you were still technically single. Deep down, you had no interest in other men, but the fear that Jude might move on the moment you left was hard to shake. To avoid overthinking, you decided to go out with some friends. You ended up tucked in a cozy corner of a bar, surrounded by some of your friends who just so happened to be gay men. You told yourself it was just by coincidence, but in reality, you knew it was because they were the only men you felt safe around—no expectations, no pressure, just a night out without the looming threat of complicated feelings. Jude hated how much seeing you with men bothered him. The men you were with couldn’t be less interested in pursuing you sexually but he didn’t know that. The logical part of his brain knew he was being ridiculous, that you were just out having fun. But another part of him, the part that was getting more and more difficult to ignore, wanted nothing more than to be there with you, to pull you close and remind you that you were his. Except, you were not.m and that almost bothered him more. The thought of some random guy chatting you up, making you laugh the way he did, sent a wave of frustration through him that he struggled to tamp down. Jude let out a low groan, running a hand over his hair as he tossed his phone onto the couch beside him. What the hell was happening to him? He’d never felt like this before—this desperate, almost embarrassing need to be close to someone. It was unsettling, and more than that, it was making him realize just how deep he was in. You had a hold on him that he hadn’t anticipated, and it was messing with his head in ways he hadn’t expected. He stared at the ceiling, trying to rationalize his feelings, but all he could think about was how much he wanted you back here with him. He’d never been the jealous type, never had to be. But with you, it was different. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone else catching your attention, even for a second. He needed you, and the thought of you being so far away, living your life without him, was driving him crazy. Before he knew it, his phone was back in his hand, his fingers moving quickly as he opened the flight booking app. It was impulsive, maybe even a little reckless, but he didn’t care. He needed you here, in Spain, with him. He found a flight that left the next day, booked it, and without thinking twice, sent the confirmation details to you with a simple message.

‘Come back. I miss you.’

As soon as he hit send, he felt a mix of relief and anxiety. He didn’t know how you’d react—maybe you’d think he was being too much, maybe you’d laugh it off. But deep down, he hoped you felt the same way he did, that you were missing him just as much, that you wanted to be with him just as badly. The minutes ticked by slowly as he waited for your response, his mind racing with all the possible outcomes hoping you’d even be awake. Finally, his phone buzzed with your reply, and his heart leapt into his throat as he opened it.

‘ I miss you too. I’ll pack my bags xx’

A grin spread across Jude’s face, and the tension that had been knotting in his chest unraveled in an instant. He could already picture it—you walking through his front door, that smile on your face, the way you’d fit perfectly back in his arms. Yeah, maybe he was being a little overprotective, a little too eager to have you close. But he didn’t care. You were worth it. And he wasn’t going to let anything come between whatever was happening between you two, not even a little distance.

As you stepped off the plane in Mallorca, a wave of anticipation washed over you. You hadn’t seen Jude since your whirlwind holiday extension in Madrid and the thought of being with him again filled you with a mix of excitement and anxiety. His rather rash invitation purred on by jealousy for you to return to Spain consisted of you flying to Mallorca to go see his match there ahead of returning to Madrid with him. You were nervous but there was another reason for your unease—tonight upon your arrival you were meant to have dinner with his best friend, Toby. Your last interaction with him during the Greece trip had been brief, almost distant. He was polite, yes, but there was something in his demeanor that made you feel like he was holding back. It left you wondering whether he didn't like you, or if there was something else at play. The drive to your hotel from the airport was beautiful, the Mediterranean landscape stretching out under the setting sun, but you were too preoccupied to fully appreciate it. When you arrived at the hotel, Jude sent you a text because unfortunately you’d have to wait to see him until after his match tomorrow.

‘Toby's meeting you at the restaurant at 8. See you tomorrow, can't wait to kiss you.’

Jude's message was sweet, a reminder that he was thinking of you even amidst his hectic schedule. You appreciated it but the butterflies in your stomach refused to settle. Eight PM sharp, you walked into the restaurant wearing a silple YSL beige top, a pair of low rise red linen shorts, chunky black Gucci heels and a coordinated bag. Your eyes scanned the room until you found Toby seated at a corner table. He greeted you with a small smile and stood up, pulling out your chair for you. His manners were thoughtful. You sat down, giving him a polite smile in return, but inside, you felt a twinge of discomfort. The menu in front of you offered plenty of distractions, but you found it hard to focus on the words. Your mind was racing, filled with thoughts of how this evening would unfold. Toby ordered a bottle of wine, a Spanish red that the waiter described as ‘bold with a touch of spice.’ Normally you’d want to know more than that vagueness. The first few sips were a bit awkward, both of you sticking to safe topics like the weather and how lovely Mallorca was this time of year. Toby was polite, but his answers were short, almost clipped. You couldn't shake the feeling that there was an invisible wall between you two. It made you hesitant to open up, to be your usual self. But as the wine continued to flow, you started to notice a shift. The initial tension began to ease, and Toby started sharing funny anecdotes about his adventures with Jude. His eyes lit up as he recounted a particularly wild night out they had in Madrid, his laughter infectious. You found yourself genuinely laughing along. With each passing moment, you began to feel more at ease. The wine helped, but it was more than that. It was the realization that Toby wasn’t as standoffish as you’d initially thought. He was protective, sure, but as he let his guard down, you started to see the warmth beneath his exterior. He was someone who valued loyalty and friendship deeply, and it became clear that his initial distance had more to do with his protective instincts over Jude than any personal dislike of you.

"I have to admit," you began, swirling your wine glass, "I wasn’t sure how you felt about me when we first met. I got the impression you weren’t exactly my biggest fan." You took a chance, deciding to ask him about it directly. Toby looked at you, surprised for a moment, before his expression softened.

"It’s not that, really," he said, pausing to find the right words. "It’s just…Jude’s been through a lot, you know? And as his mate, I just want to make sure he’s with someone who’s good for him. Someone who’s in it for the right reasons." He explained. You nodded, understanding where he was coming from.

"I get that. And I appreciate it, actually. He means a lot to me too, more than I’ve probably let on." There was a moment of silence as Toby took this in. Then he smiled, a genuine, warm smile that reached his eyes. Dinner with Toby had started off better than expected. You were seated at a chic outdoor restaurant in Palma, the kind of place with white tablecloths, candlelight, and a view of the harbor that made everything feel a little more relaxed. The warm breeze carried the scent of saltwater and the distant hum of the city. Toby had been charming initially, offering compliments about how much Jude had mentioned you, and you began to think this evening might go smoothly. The conversation carried on with light topics—football, your recent travels, and even a bit of banter about the match Jude was set to play the next day. Toby seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say, and the wine was flowing easily between you both. He was quick-witted, effortlessly funny, and you found yourself laughing more than you had expected. You began to let your guard down, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of a friendship. But then, the mood shifted.

“So, do you want to be a WAG because of Whitney?” The question was like a punch to the gut. Toby asked in a casual tone that didn’t match the weight of his words. Your stomach twisted as the phrase hung in the air between you, the atmosphere suddenly thick with tension. You hadn’t seen it coming, and your initial reaction was to gape at him, utterly thrown off. What had started as a pleasant evening suddenly felt like a test you hadn’t prepared for. You tried to answer quickly, stumbling over your words as you asserted,

“I mean I’m not Jude’s girlfriend and definitely not just someone trying to latch onto his lifestyle.” But as soon as the words left your mouth, you realized they sounded defensive, almost dismissive of Jude, as if you were trying to distance yourself from the very relationship you were defending. Toby’s brow furrowed slightly, his skepticism evident as he sipped his wine, studying you. Realizing you had inadvertently downplayed your feelings for Jude, you attempted to recover, but it only made things worse. You began to explain how much Jude meant to you, but the more you talked, the more it sounded like you were trying too hard, like you were selling something you weren’t even sure Toby wanted to buy. Each word seemed to dig you deeper into a hole, making you sound less like a genuine partner and more like someone trying to prove their worth. The conversation spiraled further out of control when you tried to pivot to something safer—your work. You thought talking about your career would help you regain some footing, but Toby was ready for you. With a hint of challenge in his voice, he started to compare his own journey, how he had built his business from scratch. His words carried a subtle jab, implying that whatever success you had achieved was simply handed to you. The insinuation stung, especially because you’d worked hard to establish yourself, but in that moment, Toby’s words made you feel small. You tried to counter, to explain how much effort you had put into your own career, but it felt futile. Toby was unrelenting, and every attempt you made to steer the conversation away from this uncomfortable territory was met with a calm but cutting remark. By the time the main course arrived, you were exhausted from trying to keep up, feeling more like you were under interrogation than enjoying dinner with someone who might become a friend. Despite the tension, you forced a smile onto your face, hoping to mask the unease that had settled in your chest. You could barely taste your food, too preoccupied with the feeling that you had failed some unspoken test. As Toby continued to chat, seemingly unfazed by the awkwardness he had caused, you nodded along, pretending to enjoy the evening. But inside, you were dreading the rest of the night. You weren’t sure how you were going to sit through 90 minutes at the match tomorrow, knowing that Toby might continue to dissect everything you said, looking for cracks in your armor. You only hoped that Jude wouldn’t pick up on your discomfort, though you knew it would be hard to hide how much this dinner had rattled you. At this point it was hard to even look forward to seeing Jude after his match. You could already picture the way his face would light up when he saw you, the way his arms would wrap around you, pulling you close. The thought made you smile but your earlier worries haunting every positive thought. The memory of the dinner still gnawed at you, the words he said lingering in your mind. It’s not that you didn’t understand why Toby would be protective of Jude; after all, they’ve known each other forever. But the insinuation, the way he asked if you were trying to be a WAG, felt like a punch to the gut. You didn���t want to just be seen as someone tagging along for the ride; you’re so much more than that.

The ride to the stadium was filled with light conversation. Toby talked about the match, mentioning that it should be a good one. You nodded, trying to focus on what he’s saying, but your mind kept drifting, wondering if Jude felt the same way Toby did. When you arrived at Son Moix, the energy was electric. Fans buzzing with excitement, and you could feel the anticipation in the air. You’d never been to a Madrid match before and the game itself is exhilarating. You loved watching Jude play; there was something mesmerizing about the way he moved on the field, so confident and in control. The crowd roared with each near miss. When Jude scored, your heart swelled a little with pride, and you couldn’t help but beam as you caught his eye from the stands. He winked in your direction, a small, private acknowledgement that made your cheeks flush.

After the match, you met Jude down inside the stadium hesitantly with Toby. He was waiting for you looking effortlessly handsome back in his tailored suit. His eyes lit up when he saw you though, and despite everything, your heart skipped a beat. Whilst Toby pressed to go out, Jude negated the idea claiming he was tired post match but settled for only dinner. Jude’s hand slipped into yours, a subtle but meaningful gesture that didn’t go unnoticed to you nor Toby. He was proud to have you by his side, and despite your earlier worries, it made you feel more secure.The drive to the restaurant was quiet for you, filled with conversation for Jude and Toby, the city lights blurring into a soft glow outside the car window. Jude’s hand rested on your thigh, his thumb drawing gentle circles that sent a shiver down your spine. When you finally reached the location, Jude held you close, his presence comforting and steady. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that was chic inside with low lighting and soft music playing in the background. It felt like the perfect setting to unwind after the adrenaline-filled game but also one you wanted to be alone with Jude in. Jude had made it very clear he wanted to go to this specific restaurant and you weren't sure why until you were seated.

“Good list, no?” He smirked whispering into your ear as his big hand squeezed your thigh. Your whole chest warmed as you inspected the menu. Your cheeks raised and there it was, your family's winery, a couple of bottles littered throughout the wine list. You blushed leaning into Jude.

“Wait, did you know?” You giggled just to him. He hummed kissing behind your ear. “Thank you, this was sweet.” You cooed with a pout. As you sat next to Jude, you couldn’t help but admire how at ease he seemed. He was still riding the high from the match, and it was fairly infectious. You tried to push away the nagging thoughts about Toby, focusing instead on the familiar wine and Jude’s easygoing banter. The conversation shifted to light topics, you were laughing, the earlier awkwardness dissipating. Jude’s mood was contagious, and you find yourself relaxing in his presence, grateful that you could with him. Despite the feeling of relaxation and flowing conversation, you were astutely aware you knew you needed to talk to him about your conversation with Toby. Even so, as the night went on, you couldn’t help but feel a deepening connection with Jude. There was something about the way he listened, the way he cared, that makes you feel truly seen and valued. And as you left the restaurant, his arm wrapped around your shoulder subconsciously, you knew that despite the challenges, it felt good to be with him.

Finally back at Jude’s the following evening, you and Jude sat outside. The soft glow of Madrid seeped into your evening enveloping you both, adding a warm intimacy to the night. The sushi you had ordered sat beautifully arranged on the table, a mix of vibrant colors and delicate textures. You reached for a piece, savoring the familiar taste of fresh fish and rice, all while enjoying the rare moment of quiet. Jude, on the other hand, seemed a bit out of his element.

"You know, I don’t have sushi that often," he admitted, almost sheepishly. He picked up a piece with his chopsticks clumsily, giving you a playful smile. You couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him.

"Really, Mr. World Traveler? All those Michelin-starred restaurants and yet sushi isn’t on your menu?" You grinned, leaning in a little closer. "I’m amazed. How is it that you, of all people, haven’t embraced the wonders of sushi?" You giggled, honestly it was just sweet he didn’t make a fuss before, letting you order what you wanted.

"Maybe I’m just not as cultured as you think I am. You still have to culture me, don’t forget." Jude chuckled, shaking his head before reminding you of a promise you’d made in Greece. You laughed along with him, but as the conversation flowed, your mind began to drift back to the dinner with Toby. The laughter faded as you remembered the awkwardness that had settled over that meal, the discomfort of feeling like you were being judged. You took a sip of your wine, trying to push the memory aside, but it lingered, nagging at you. At the match, you had managed to keep a smile on your face, cheering for Jude, hiding the unease that still bubbled beneath the surface. You wanted to support him, to show that everything was fine, but deep down, you knew now was probably the time that you needed to address what was bothering you. As you sat there with Jude, the intimacy of the moment gave you the courage you needed. You took a deep breath, setting down your chopsticks as you looked across the table at him.

"Jude," you began, your voice softer than usual, "I need to talk to you about something." He immediately picked up on your tone, his playful expression fading into one of concern.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning forward slightly, his eyes focused on you.

"When I had dinner with Toby, he asked me something... something that really kind of bothered me." You hesitated, your heart pounding in your chest. But you knew you had to say it.

"What did he say?" Jude’s brows furrowed in confusion.

"He asked if I was trying to be a ‘WAG,’ you know, like Whitney." You took another deep breath, feeling the tension in your chest tighten. Jude’s face went blank for a moment, processing your words. You could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to make sense of it. You expected anger, maybe even indignation on your behalf. But instead, his response caught you off guard.

"Toby’s just looking out for me," Jude said, his voice calm, almost understanding. "He’s my oldest friend. He knows how things can be in this world." His words hung in the air, heavy with implications. You stared at him, stunned, the weight of his response sinking in. He wasn’t angry at Toby. In fact, he seemed to understand why Toby had asked such a question. It felt like a betrayal, even though you knew it wasn’t meant to be.

"Looking out for you?" you repeated, trying to keep the hurt out of your voice. "Jude, he basically accused me of being with you for the wrong reasons. Do you really think that’s fair?" You asked him.

"It’s not about being fair," he said finally, his gaze returning to yours. Jude sighed, running a hand over his head as he looked away for a moment, clearly torn. "Toby’s just protective. He’s seen people try to take advantage, and he doesn’t want that to happen to me." His words were meant to reassure you, but they only made you feel worse. It was as if your character was being questioned, as if Toby—and by extension, Jude—didn’t fully trust your intentions. You felt a lump forming in your throat, the hurt beginning to overwhelm you.

"I’m not some gold-digger. Frankly Jude, I really don’t need your money nor your status, you know." You said quietly, your voice shaking slightly but with some fire. "I care about you, Jude. I thought you knew that.. I thought it was..." You felt your heart break in an instant. You were going to say you thought it was mutual but the sentiment just wouldn’t come out. Instead Jude began to speak.

"I know that. I know you do," he said, his voice filled with sincerity. "I know you’re not like that. But Toby... he doesn’t know you like I do. He’s just being cautious." Jude’s expression softened, and he reached across the table, taking your hand in his.

"But it’s not just Toby," you replied, pulling your hand back, unable to hide your frustration. "It’s you too, Jude. You’re defending him. You’re acting like what he said is okay, but it’s not. It’s insulting." You quipped. Jude’s eyes flashed with emotion, and you could see that he was struggling to find the right words.

"I’m not saying it’s okay," he insisted. "I’m just saying that I understand why he would say it. He’s seen people with bad intentions before. He doesn’t want that to happen." The conversation was spiraling into a place you hadn’t expected it to go. You could feel the tears welling up in your eyes, the hurt and frustration bubbling over.

"So, what? You think I’m just here because of who you are? Because of what you think you can give me?" You coldly asked. Jude’s eyes widened in alarm, and he immediately shook his head.

"No, no, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I trust you, I do. But you have to understand, people in my world... they can be suspicious. They can be guarded." His attempt to explain only made you feel more isolated, more misunderstood.

"I don’t want to be seen that way, Jude. I don’t want to be with someone who thinks I have an ulterior motive." You stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor as you did. Jude looked up at you, his face filled with a mix of guilt and confusion.

"I don’t think that," he said softly, standing up as well. "I don’t want you to feel like this. I care about you, and I know you’re not with me for the wrong reasons." He sheepishly explained, overwhelmed by all the facts and emotions swirling in his head and he didn’t know which were right or wrong.

"But you didn’t defend me," you said, your voice breaking. "You didn’t stand up for me." Your voice quivered.

"I’m sorry," he murmured, his voice full of regret. "I didn’t mean to make you feel this way. I just... I don’t know how to handle this." He stepped closer to you, reaching out to gently touch your arm. You looked up at him, the tears now threatening to spill over.

"This? You mean me? You need to figure out what you think then, Jude. I need you to be honest with yourself and decide what you think of me…not just because of who you are or what people think, but what you think." You told him outright. If you were putting yourself into uncomfortable territories for him, he had to at the very least meet you halfway.

"I know I like you," Jude’s eyes softened, and he pulled you into his arms, holding you close as he whispered into your hair. "I’m sorry if I made you doubt that. I’ll talk to Toby, okay? I’ll make sure he understands. I don’t want you to feel like this." You stayed in his embrace, letting the warmth of his body comfort you. The tension between you began to ease, but the hurt lingered. You knew it would take time to fully move past this, to really sort out what was going on between you two and how it just was so shaken. But in that moment, with Jude holding you close, you felt a small glimmer of hope that things would be okay.

The sun poured through the oversized windows of Jude’s Madrid home, casting a warm glow over the modern furnishings. You sat curled up on the edge of the couch, your gaze fixed on a Frieze magazine, though you weren’t really reading it. The argument from the night before still lingered in the air, creating an uncomfortable silence between you. You hadn’t fought like this before. Sure, there were disagreements and the occasional banter that could get a bit heated, but this had felt different—raw, unfiltered emotions bubbling to the surface, exposing the insecurities you both had been trying to keep at bay. Jude had a hard time fully wrapping his head around why you took such offense to Toby’s question but to you, it wasn’t nothing. It was a reminder of how fragile your situation was, how undefined and precarious your relationship felt despite how deeply you cared for each other or at least you cared about him and this amplified your questions about how important you were to him, were you ultimately just a holiday fuck?

Last night, you’d gone to bed without a word, turning your back to Jude, who had laid there in the dark, feeling the growing chasm between you. He wanted to reach out, to fix it, but pride and confusion had held him back. Now, the morning light only seemed to highlight the emotional distance, the words left unsaid building a wall between you. Jude left for training early, his departure marked by an awkward goodbye that didn’t involve your usual goodbye kiss or affectionate teasing. You had stayed behind, feeling both relieved and disappointed by the space. You didn’t want to talk, but you also didn’t want this silent treatment to stretch on or carry it home with you. As the hours passed, you found yourself thinking about all the little things—how Jude would usually text you from the dressing room, some silly message or a photo that made you laugh. But today, your phone stayed silent. The absence of those small gestures felt heavy, like a physical weight pressing down on you. You tried to distract yourself with anything you could—watching TV, flipping through social media, even cleaning up his wardrobe—but nothing could shake the sense of unease that had settled over you.

Jude wasn’t faring much better. On the pitch, his movements were mechanical, his usual flair and confidence dulled by the unresolved tension at home. His teammates noticed the difference, shooting him curious glances, but no one dared to ask. Jude was usually the life of a training session, but today he was quiet, barely engaging with the banter or jokes. His mind kept drifting back to you—how you’d barely looked at him this morning, how your usual warmth had been replaced by a cool detachment that made his stomach knot with worry. By lunch, it became unbearable. He found himself sitting alone in the cafeteria, pushing his food around his plate, unable to eat. His phone buzzed with a notification, but it wasn’t the one he wanted. He sighed, leaning back in his chair, frustration bubbling up inside him. He hated this feeling—this sense that he’d messed up but didn’t know how to fix it. After training, on Jude’s ride home from the training center his mind was racing. He didn’t know exactly what to do, but he knew he needed to make things right. He ended up stopping at a small flower shop he remembered. He picked up a massive bouquet of a myriad of green flowers, mostly hydrangeas though—your favorite. The shopkeeper wrapped them in delicate paper, adding a ribbon that matched the soft hue of the petals. Jude stared at the flowers, hoping they could somehow convey what he couldn’t seem to put into words. Before home, he made one more quick detour to Serrano, Madrid’s upscale shopping district. He remembered how you had gushed over a pair of Bottega Veneta heels you’d recently seen on Instagram, but you hadn’t bought them, saying you probably didn’t need another pair. Jude disagreed; he loved spoiling you, not just because he could, but because he wanted you to have everything and anything that made you happy. So he bought the emerald green strappy heeled sandals, picturing the look of surprise and delight on your face when you saw them. When Jude finally walked back into the house, it was late into the evening. You were back on the couch, though you’d switched from the magazine to your phone, scrolling absentmindedly. You glanced up as he entered, your expression unreadable. He held the bouquet and the gift bag a little awkwardly, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

“Hey angel,” he started, his voice softer than usual. He walked over, holding out the flowers first. “I know last night ended a little rough… I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” Your eyes flicked from the flowers to his face, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if you were going to accept them. His bottom lip rolled and it made you just want to undo it all. But then you sighed, putting down your phone and taking the bouquet from him.

“They’re beautiful,” you said, your tone no longer as distant. “Thank you.” The tension in your shoulders seemed to ease slightly as you breathed in the subtle scent of the flowers. Jude let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“I got you something else too,” he added, a hint of his usual playful charm returning. He sat down beside you, the shopping bag still in his hand. You raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued.

“What is it?” You asked, recognizing that Bottega green shopping bag with it’s signature triangle cut.

“Open it and see.” With a small smile, Jude handed you the bag. You pulled out a shoe box, your eyes widening in surprise.

“Jude, you didn’t have to…” you began, but your voice trailed off as you opened the box to see the pair of heels you’d been lusting over. “They’re perfect.” You cooed, running your fingers over the smooth leather.

“I just want you to know that I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean to downplay how you felt. I get it now… I get why it hurt.” Jude reached out, his hand finding yours, your fingers intertwining. You looked up at him, your eyes softening as you saw the sincerity in his expression.

“It’s not just about what Toby said. It’s about us… I don’t want to feel like we’re just floating, you know? Like this thing between us doesn’t matter but if that’s the case for you, you need to tell me.” You shyly told him, leaning your head onto his shoulder beside you.

“It does matter,” Jude said quickly, his grip on your hand tightening. “It matters a lot. I know I don’t always say it, but I… I really care about you, Y/N. More than I’ve ever cared about anyone.” He cooed. Your heart skipped a beat at his words, and for the first time since the argument, you felt the weight on your chest begin to lift.

“I care about you too, Jude. That’s why it hurt so much.” You squeezed his hand, your voice softening. He nodded.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I just… I don’t always know how to do this. But I’m trying, and I’m going to keep trying.” Jude spoke calmly and securely, his gaze never leaving yours. A small smile tugged at the corners of your lips. You whispered an ‘okay,’ leaning in to close the distance between you. Jude met you halfway just like you’d hoped he would although this was a bit literal as he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, a kiss that held all the apologies and promises he hadn’t been able to say. When you finally pulled apart, the tension that had filled the house earlier was gone, replaced by a quiet understanding and the warmth of reconciliation. You spent the rest of the evening together, the argument fading into the background as you rediscovered the comfort of each other’s presence. You slipped on the Bottega heels, playfully showing them off to Jude, who couldn’t stop grinning at how perfect they looked on you. There were still things you needed to figure out, conversations you needed to have, but for now, you were content to just be with him, knowing that despite the challenges, you were both committed to at the very least hearing the other person out.

•

🪩🫶❤️‍🔥🍹🌞🍒 Thank you for reading! Please like, comment, or message what you think of the chapter 🍒🌞🍹❤️‍🔥🫶🪩

Next part - Chapter 5 - Important to Me xx

[lowkeyrobin]

QSMP ; how much their eggs like you

includes ; tubbo & sunny, wilbur & tallulah, charlie & juanaflippa, quackity & tilin, jaiden & empanada and philza & chayanne

warnings ; language, mentions of parental neglect

AN ; I'm not like super into qsmp yet, so bare with me, ik most of them have like multiple parents/caregivers but I picked the ones I know the most about and the qsmp wiki is currently my life saver. the eggs are so cute so I can't not wrkte a little something about them 💔💔💔💔 I apologize bc this is gonna be so ooc... also ik juanaflippa and tilin died but ignore that

masterlist

TUBBO & SUNNY

Sunny is very iffy about you at first

"pa, who is that?"

"uhhh... that's y/n" Tubbo answers, "my partner"

she stares at both of you for a second like 🤨😒

they think their dislike of themselves of others is totally unfair and only relies on a select few people so trying to get used to you in a whole story in itself

tubbo, charlie, lenay, and polispol do their best to try and tell her "Hey they're cool, sunny, it's okay, they love you!!" but she won't budge

takes her a long while to accept you into the lil family but she ends up loving you

money is the way to their heart

if only anyone had told you sooner...

WILBUR & TALLULAH

tallulah instantly loves you

she's very quiet around you at first and hides behind will but quickly gets used to your presence

she's just a little anxious at first yk

"I love pa's new partner :3"

she loves playing the flute for you and talking about star wars with you it's the cutest thing

like you'll just be watching over her for Will or Phil and she's just so comfortable talking about her passions with you

Tallulah loves reassuring your builds and likes helping you as well, if you're unsure of how something looks, she's quick to reassure you that it looks good!

she gets you little gifts and shit it's the most adorable thing

her desire for validation mostly drives her kindness to you but she does actually appreciate you a lot

you seem to be there when no one else is and she frequently gives you 'I love you's and little flowers and stuff

she has abandonment issues so you make sure to always check behind yourself to make sure she's still following you

you refuse to leave her anywhere

always looks at you with a 😊 or 🤩 no explanation

she always refers to you as 'ma/pa' or a special nickname. like a syllable of your actual name or smthn, like something special for you two lol

you constantly tell and reassure each other that you're so awesome, great dynamic honestly

CHARLIE & JUANAFLIPPA

She's very quiet and reserved, but obedient

that automatic obediencey grew as a part of her and she just automatically accepted you into the family

although charlie and mariana were very negligent parents, she still trusted them and did as they said

you were the total opposite

it was what she wanted with you two, she has the freedom

you constantly argue w charlie over being a neglectful parent (character not irl)

she's very brave and courageous, and knows how to stay positive

you have personal beef w her parents bc they're such asses to her /hj

she loves guns.

she teaches you how to use guns as well

bonding time in the enclosure 🤞🤞🤞

she lived a short life but she's literally a part of you now

QUACKITY & TILIN

very sweet and caring but also chaotic and edgy

you showed her love and she CLUNG to you

"y/n is my favorite person, not you, pa"

they were always looking to give and receive love to/from everyone but quackity made it so hard for them

even after expressing being mad at quackity for not paying attention to them, they still loved him

shit broke your heart

he literally died bc of neglect from quackity bruh

constantly fighting w quackity over them being neglected :( (character not irl)

all they wanted was love man

you did your best to show her love and make memories with her since quackity clearly barely wanted to

quackity promised he'd be a better dad but uh...

towards the end of their life, they started getting depressed and stuff, you obviously noticed

you just laid on the floor with him, listening to all he had to say, just being there for him

anyways this is getting sad

they love you so much, tells you constantly that they love you and appreciate you

cutie patootie

JAIDEN & EMPANADA

em is very loving, instantly accepts you into the family, although a little cautious at first

you make her sweet foods all the time

absolutely loves you sm

always repays you with flowers or little treasures

"I got you flowers, ma/pa!"

she has a passion for baking with Niki, so sometimes you three (Niki and Em + you watching or burning the house down) have little baking days

jaiden just watching you guys be silly and do dumb shit like "I think I won with this one, guys"

you and jaiden spoiling the hell out of her LMAO

PHILZA & CHAYANNE

used to be more quiet but now talks a lot more

very energetic, your energies match perfectly

very responsible, looks over you if anything

he's always eager for adventure so you guys go explore often while phil and missa are busy

teaches you combat tricks and tips

literally a walking 'top 5 best combat tips and tricks' video I swear

he's very confident as well, likes to pvp with wooden swords with you

he always wins

you aren't even trying to let him win, he's just a god

I mean he's being raised by Phil and Missa so it makes sense LMAO

"I want pvp with y/n :("

"chayanne, they're not online, I'm sorry"

[ludwigplayingthetrombone]

After seeing your beautiful new piece with the cute vignettes of team 7+team kakashi, i was wondering — how do you feel about Naruto (the boy)?

o thankyou! ;u; my feelings on narts the boy are so torn tbh so im gonna throw my ramblings under a cut bc idk if i can articulate this correctly

og naruto narts? love him. adore him. i miss that dumb little punk kid i loved him challenging the system and wanting to change it and help people. i /wanted/ him to inspire people like kakashi and gai's gen to do the same and realize how fucked up their childhoods were being weapons of the state at like 6 and 7

shippuden narts? He just rubs me the wrong way. started out good with gaara rescue arc, but then all his pizzaz left and let his obsession of sasuke be the only priority. (This isnt his fault, but kishi writing it so ONLY naruto could kill or defeat most of the enemies with his new op move was so boring to me. none of the secondary cast got to do shit) He also didnt take one second to question if his endgoal is still the same since he turned out to be exactly the opposite of "anyone can be hokage" bc he turns out to have the specialist blood of all and got revealed as a nepo baby and chosen one. He licherally became complicit and changed next to nothing as hokage in the end. the status quo remained the fucking same. Naruto rejecting the hokage position bc he recognizes neji was right is so much more interesting to me

Naruto is at his best when sasuke isnt involved imho. I adore his interactions with everyone else bc he truly loves his friends and family, but him and sakura were so delusional over sasuke but didnt actually Know him and his trauma they just loved the Idea of him. the way they talk about it, they act like sasuke was kidnapped and didnt CHOOSE to leave and even tried to kill them multiple times. shikamaru stronger than me, it'd slap the shit out of both of them

I wish they'd head on addressed the whole "sasuke's whole family was slaughtered in front of him" together and not "you have to come back so we can be a team and things can be normal again like nothing ever happened and fight me!" naruto would be the first one to offer to pull up on itachi with him lets be real lmaoo. I wanted him to offer sasuke support to BOTH tackle the injustices of the leaf. it's kinda like hiruzens passiveness with orochimaru and danzo. never holding certain loved ones accountable he was the same way with obito and even hiruzen himself. (is he even aware of hiruzen's part in the uchiha massacre or obito killing his parents?? then pardoning orochimaru?? HELLO???)

There were moments where i did see our boy shine thru, but then the god powers bullshit hit. in short, bring back my punk little man. his pure intentions were ruined by bad writing

my naruto endgame for him is not stuck at a deskjob he hates with a nuclear family he neglects and more he chooses to give up the hokage job to someone who actually can enact change and who isnt from a prestigious family. travels around helping people hands on and finally gets the peaceful life with found family he never had. advocating better for the next gen.

part one naruto, my baby boy

[captainremmington-13]

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖚𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖗

show!Luke Castellan x daughter of thanatos!reader

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own the image above or any of Rick Riordan’s characters/world-building. I only own the characters Lola, Layla, and Reylynne , who are featured in this chapter.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: some violence, swearing, mentions of night terrors and death, parental neglect, mild angst, confusing feelings, crying, mentions of puberty

A/N: doing martial arts not only made me stronger, it made it WAY easier to write fight scenes lmao

also, this whole chapter takes place while reader and Luke are both seventeen

Angel.

Who knew one simple word could turn your world upside-down?

According to Luke, he’d said it because you resembled one. Though you made it clear you disagreed, he firmly stood by it. 

How could he see the offspring of death itself as an angel? He was truly a mystery at times.

Nevertheless, the nickname stuck.

.

.

.

“Hey.” 

Luke’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts. He was walking up to where you were resting on a worn-down stone bench. 

You were both participating in sparring practice with the rest of the older campers. Unlike the basic sword-fighting classes that Luke hosted for demigods new to camp, these practices were cutthroat. Everyone wanted to prove themselves, and would do almost anything for glory.

“Getting tired already, Castellan?” you teased, scooting over so he could sit next to you.

Luke playfully rolled his eyes. “Not at all. You know I have an incredible amount of stamina.” 

You laughed. “Sure, sure.” You tightened your fingerless leather gloves, and picked up your beloved weapon. “I think I’m done resting for now. Who are you going to spar next?”

“You,” Luke said, as if it was obvious. “It’s been awhile since we’ve faced each other in combat, because we’re always on the same side.” 

“Alright then. Let’s go.”

The two of you walked to the center of the arena, and positioned yourselves about ten feet from each other. Luke raised his sword, his eyes burning with intensity. Even though he was your best friend, you couldn’t deny that it was terrifying to fight against him. He had incredibly fast reflexes, impressive strength, and an intimidating presence. 

You gripped your dual-ended sword so tightly that your knuckles turned white. At least your weapon of choice was almost as tall as you, which allowed you to stay far away from your opponent while still being able to attack. If you were desperate enough, you could throw it like a spear to catch him off-guard and disarm him while he was distracted. 

“Ready, angel?” Luke asked. 

Almost immediately after you nodded in agreement, Luke charged towards you, raising his blade and bringing it down in a deadly arc.

You deflected the blow with the right side of your weapon, and jabbed at his chest with the opposite end. He easily avoided it, and backed up a few feet, waiting for you to make the next move. 

“Come on, don’t go easy on me now,” Luke said, a teasing smile on his face. 

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” you replied, lunging forward and sending a stab to his abdomen. 

It became a constantly changing game of cat-and-mouse. When one of you became more aggressive and offensive, the other would play defense until they tired out their opponent. 

Many of the other demigods had already called it quits and left the arena, allowing you both to expand your range of motion. Eventually, it was just you and your best friend, alone in the ancient-looking arena. 

You were beyond tired. Your arms felt like they were made of solid Celestial Bronze, and your legs shook from soreness. You were drenched in sweat, which was not a fun feeling. But you refused to surrender, no matter how miserable you felt.

You brought your weapon down like a club, trying to hit Luke’s shoulder. He blocked it, but his sword flew out of his hands. Instead of retrieving it, he sent a swift kick to your sternum, sending you stumbling backwards. Before you could regain your composure, Luke had you pinned to the ground, one hand on your left shoulder and the other holding your wrists together. 

You silently thanked the Fates for the fact that the arena was empty. Otherwise, you’d never hear the end of it from the other campers. 

“I surrender,” you said quietly, your eyes closing as fatigue overtook you. “I’m too fucking tired to keep going.” 

Luke let go of your wrists and shoulder, brushing your sweaty hair out of your face. He still hovered over you, but his expression was much gentler. 

“You alright?“ he asked, setting his sword down to help you sit up. 

“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine,” you said breathlessly, trying to ignore the dizziness swarming your head. “I’m just fucking exhausted. You’re the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced, and I’ve fought a horde of young Cyclopes.” 

He laughed, “You flatter me, angel.” As soon as you were on your feet again, he wrapped a toned arm around your waist, surprising you. This was perhaps the most intimate touch he’d ever given you. Not that you were complaining though. It felt nice. “Now, let’s go get some food.“ 

“Best idea you’ve had all day.” 

________________________________________________

“Hey, you!” 

Your eyebrows furrowed as you saw Lola, a daughter of Aphrodite, looking at you pointedly. She was surrounded by her sisters and a couple daughters of Demeter. 

“I have a name, you know,” you said, standing up and putting a hand on your weapon’s condensed form instinctively. 

“Relax, I promise I’m not trying to hurt you,” Lola said. “Come on, sit with us.” 

You mentally weighed your options. The worst they could do was mock and belittle you, charmspeak you into doing something stupid, or curse you with a bad makeover. And if they did, they’d definitely be caught. Chiron would give them kitchen duty or stable cleaning duty, which would undoubtedly mortify them.

So instead of choosing the stereotypical “I’m-edgy-and-introverted-so-I-don’t-want-to-talk-to-anyone” option, you walked over to where your fellow demigods were congregated.

“Hi,” said a girl you recognized as a member of Cabin 4 (Demeter’s cabin). “I’m Katie Gardner.”

“Nice to formally meet you,” you said, smiling slightly. “I’ve seen you around, you’re in charge of the strawberry-picking, right?”

She nodded. “Yep. And you’re…Thanatos’s child, right?” 

You winced. “Yeah…yeah, that’s me.”

Her expression held no judgement, which made you relax considerably. Lola cleared her throat, diverting your attention to her.

“So, you know Luke Castellan, don’t you?”

“Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine. Why do you ask?”

You didn’t really need to add the last part; you already had a good guess as to why she was asking. 

You and Luke were now seventeen. No longer were you awkward young teenagers who’s proportions never seemed to match up properly. You felt well-adjusted to your more mature body, glad to be rid of the abomination that was puberty. 

Luke looked quite different than when you’d first met him. He’d been a slightly scrawny, cute teen with a sweet smile and wavy brown hair. His hair had become curlier, his figure was more muscular thanks to his rigorous training schedule, and he’d become much more confident in himself. Though his ego was a bit irritating at times, it did add to his charismatic personality.

It was no surprise that people had begun taking romantic interest in him. 

Lola smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”

You shrugged. Honestly, you hadn’t really spent much time analyzing his appearance. “I guess so.”

“So then why haven’t you started going out with him?” 

“Excuse me?”

One of Lola’s sisters spoke up. “Hon, you and Castellan are like two peas in a pod. I rarely see you apart.“

You bury your face in your hands, sitting down on the grass. This was perhaps the most awkward conversation you’d ever had. Well, besides that one time you had to explain to Luke why you felt like your stomach was being stabbed by invisible knives for days on end.

“That’s because he’s my best friend,” you say quietly, hoping that nobody else was listening in. If this conversation got around, it would cause a lot of unnecessary gossip. “He’s the only person who I trust with my life, and he trusts me with his.”

Another daughter of Aphrodite scoffed, playing with her perfectly straightened hair. “That’s ironic, considering that you’re literally the spawn of death itself.” 

“Reylynne!” Katie said disapprovingly. 

“It’s fine,” you said nonchalantly. “It’s true, I am death’s child. Anyways, my point is that Luke and I…we’re just…you know, really good friends. I don’t know how else to explain it.” 

“We just think you two would be super cute together, that’s all,” another of Aphrodite’s daughters chimed in. “Oh, I’m Layla, by the way.” She held out her hand, and you shook it gently. 

“I understand where you all are coming from,” you said as politely as possible. “But I don’t  like Luke that way. I don’t think I ever will.”

Reylynne smirked, which made you inexplicably nauseous. “Fine by me. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”

“Reylynne!” Lola chastised, swatting her upside the head. 

You stood up, brushing the grass off of your leggings. “I better go. I have to help my cabin-mates clean up before the inspection later tonight.” 

“Alright,” Lola said, giving you a friendly smile. “Feel free to hang out with us whenever you want, ok?”

You nodded, hiding your shock. Giving them an awkward wave, you ran towards Cabin 11, glad to have finally escaped that extremely personal discussion. 

Even worse, it wasn’t really the topic of conversation that bothered you. 

It was the fact that it had planted a thought inside of your head:

you and Luke really would be a great couple.

________________________________________________

It was another sleepless night. 

You’d tossed and turned for hours before giving up. You simply couldn’t get your body to relax. There was far too much on your mind.

Even worse, the main subject of your thoughts was sleeping just a few feet away from you. 

You rolled over on your mattress to face Luke’s bunk, which was right next to yours. He was partially covered by his blankets, but you could still make out the old, torn camp t-shirt he slept in. His eyelashes fluttered sporadically, and his breathing was slow and steady. 

He looked calm, at ease. The sight made you smile.

If anyone deserved peace of mind, it was Luke.

You moved back into your back, closing your eyes once more. Maybe, if you tried really hard to clear your mind of any Luke-related thoughts, you could achieve a few decent hours of rest. 

Sure enough, drowsiness began to set in. Pulling your dark grey fleece blanket tighter around you, you prepared to enter Hypnos’s realm. 

But just as you felt yourself begin to drift off, someone whimpered beside you. 

Your eyes snapping open, you turned to face Luke, squinting in order to see him in the dim moonlight. 

He was clutching his sheets, his breathing had become heavy and frantic, and he was murmuring in an obviously panicked tone.

“Thalia, no! No, please don’t go, I can’t lose you again, let me die instead!” 

He was having a nightmare about the fateful night that he, Thalia, and Annabeth had arrived at camp. 

You knew how much he had cared for Thalia. They’d spent quite a bit of time on the run together, and developed a fiercely tight bond. He’d confessed that he’d started crushing on her at some point, but that never went anywhere because of her unfortunate demise. 

You felt like Khione herself had frozen you to your mattress. You wanted to wake him up and free him from his night terrors, but you also weren’t sure if you could properly comfort him. 

Still, you had to at least try. He needed to know he wasn’t alone.

As quietly as possible, you got out of bed and crept over to his mattress. You gently pulled the covers off of Luke, and gently shook him by the shoulders a few times.

Luke jolted awake, grasping his sheets tightly. Your heart tightened painfully when you saw the tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Oh, Luke…” you trailed off, not knowing what to say. 

“Angel,” he whispered, his voice cracking slightly. “You okay?”

“You were having a nightmare. About the night you arrived at camp.”

Luke sat up slowly, hastily wiping away the tears that had begun to run down his cheeks. “Yeah…yeah, I remember now. Gods, it was horrible. I saw her get overpowered and injured by the monsters all over again. It was like everything was in slow-motion just to torture me.” 

You placed a hand on his forearm, rubbing soothing circles on his clammy skin with your thumb. “You’re okay, Luke. It was just a dream.”

“About a very real thing,” he added. “Thalia died because of me. I didn’t do enough to protect her.” 

Instinctively, you pulled Luke into a hug when he began to cry again. You ran a hand through his curls softly, hoping it would calm him down somehow. 

“Don’t blame yourself,” you said. “Blame the Fates. Blame Hades for sending the monsters. Blame all of the fucking gods. They have failed at properly protecting their children. You did everything you could’ve done. You got Annabeth to safety, and Thalia met a hero’s fate. Her memory will live on, as her presence strengthens the border that shields us from the mortal world.” 

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer. You sat there for what seemed like millennia, letting him cry against your shoulder.

Finally, he stopped trembling, and pulled away slightly. “You’re right,” he whispered. “I know it isn’t my fault, it’s the gods’ fault. I just…I just miss her. She was so funny, such a good fighter, and an incredibly loyal friend. She deserved so much better. You would’ve really liked her, I know it.”

You gave him a soft smile. “I’m sure.” 

“Thanks for waking me up,” he said, taking your hands in his. “I really appreciate it. Gods, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

“Me neither,” you admitted.

Luke yawned, removing his hands from yours to rub his eyes. “I think I’m gonna try to go back to sleep. You should get some rest, too. We have archery practice in the morning.” 

You smirked, and his eyebrows furrowed. “I know that look. You’re planning something.”

You can’t help but smile. “You know me so well. I’m thinking that we should sneak out of camp tomorrow. We can take a day trip, just the two or us.”

Luke grinned. “That sounds amazing.” 

“Great, we’ll leave first thing in the morning.” You pivoted to climb off of the bed, but stopped when he said,

“Wait…please, stay.”

And that was how you ended up sharing a bed with Luke Castellan for the first time. 

taglist: @orionspaperwork, @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy, @marvelescvpe, @lovingjasontoddmakemewanttocry, @louweasleymalfoy, @stars4birdie, @stargurl-battleship, @daughterofthemoons-stuff

Thank you for reading! Pls let me know what you think in the comments!!!

Also, I was scrolling thru the Luke Castellan tag and noticed someone requested a fic with daughter of thanatos!reader who also had wings. It’s probably a coincidence so it’s not a big deal, I just wanted to say pls don’t plagiarize or take ideas without giving credit (only if it isn’t an original idea ofc)

Let me know in the comments if you want to be added to the taglist!

[half-dead-writer]

(Matthew and Gideon are typically both red coded so I switched up Gideon's color to violet to avoid confusion.) I uh, kinda went off the rails with this one?? It was supposed to be a one-shot smut but it has some plot, with feelings, even Also we're just gonna ignore the cryogenic freezers in this one aight guys??

Movie Night (NSFW)

Gideon always pissed Matthew off, but dissing Matthew's favorite movie while he wanted to spend quality time with the both of you was low. Not being able to get Gideon to apologize through conventional methods, you try something different. Would it work? Only one way to find out.

characters: Matthew Patel, Gideon Graves (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)

words: ~7,1k

reader: gender-neutral

warnings: sex, dom reader (kind of) no beta

𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔢𝔰 + 𝔪𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱 / 𝔖𝔠𝔬𝔱𝔱 𝔓𝔦𝔩𝔤𝔯𝔦𝔪 𝔗𝔞𝔨𝔢𝔰 𝔒𝔣𝔣 𝔪𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱

Tonight's movie fun was supposed to be fun. If only your boyfriends could get along and not get on each other nerves at least for one day...

To be honest, you didn't really know how you ended up dating those two. Matthew and Gideon were far from each other's type, or at least that's what someone would say after spending a few minutes in their presence. They liked to annoy each other (one more than the other), but deep down, you knew they did care for one another. You just had to be patient enough to break up their stupid bickering and keep the peace by reminding them what's important.

"That plot is so unrealistic," Gideon commented with his mouth full of popcorn, "I mean, really-"

Matthew's hush quickly cut him off. "Just shut up and watch."

"But it's boring." Gideon scoffed, stretching himself even further into the couch and lazily putting his arm around you. Matthew, sitting on the opposite side of you, gave him a side-glance, responding in a half-whisper. "Not any more boring than your 14 seasons anime!"

Gideon's offended, sharp stare bore into Matthew's skull, "You'd know it's not boring if you took the time to watch it, it's actually really nuanced," making Matthew's blood boil even more.

"Maybe if you watched the damn movie, you'd see it's not boring too." He muttered through his teeth, forcing a sigh out of you. You knew where this was going too well.

Gideon was ready to hit him with yet another clever comeback, but you quickly nipped it in the bud, sternly calling them both out. "Boys." They turned their attention to you, tuning out the already neglected movie. "Is this really necessary?"

"It's him who started!" Matthew pointed an accusatory finger at Gideon, who just did a "hmph" sound in return. "Gideon," he looked at you, eyes narrowed in an expression comparable to a teen that's been scolded by their parent, "and Matthew. Please."

"What?" They asked in unison, both adamant about not being in the wrong, making you exhale once again.

"You're both acting like children."

"It's Gideon who acts like a whiny child!" Matthew pouted, unhappy at you "taking Gideon's side". "I wanted to watch my favorite movie with my both, lovely partners, and he's not appreciating my efforts! Can you blame me for being annoyed?"

"You should have picked a better movie to be your favorite." Gideon nonchalantly commented, causing Matthew's nose to scrunch up in irritation.

"Gideon." You whipped your head to look at him, pulling out of his embrace to properly sit up. He just shrugged, feigning innocence.

"Alright. I see there's too much tension in the room." Your boyfriends watched as you got up from the couch, putting the movie on pause. They looked at you, having no idea what would be your next move. Were they gonna be scolded like misbehaving children? Not like it would accomplish anything, and you knew you had to think up of a better solution. You were all adults, after all. Very annoying ones at that, but still adults. "Let's take a break."

Matthew was not really keen on stopping the movie, but he knew that was probably the best course of action. Maybe you'd talk some sense into Gideon? He was really looking forward to just nicely spending time together, and even if he didn't say it, Gideon's quips lightly broke his heart. You knew that, which is why you needed to find a way how to get Gideon to cool down on his asshole persona. Well, it wasn't a persona, more-so his way of being, mostly caused by his job as a CEO, which made him more stone-cold than he needed to be while also navigating a relationship with two people.

"Are we gonna talk about our feelings now, or what?" Gideon put the emphasis on feelings, cringing at the mere word. He crossed his arms, well aware of how typically it should go when there's a problem, but getting him to be vulnerable was harder than eating a cactus. The man was so behind on being casually open with his true emotions it almost hurt. Matthew, on the other hand, knew his emotions well, but Gideon's actions were slowly making him more sour than he needed to be.

"Well, do you want to, Gideon?" You asked, still somewhat hopeful it'd be a yes, but much more prepared for a less enthusiastic answer. As expected, Gideon shifted his sight away from you, staring into the corner with an unreadable expression. "...I just don't see the point." He muttered out, not liking the sudden spotlight being thrown at him.

"...Typical." Matthew commented, now crossing his arms as well. They both began a staring contest, getting you to quickly speak up again.

"Alright, no talking about feelings unless everyone wants to, okay?" That sentence caused Gideon to briefly look at you, regaining some of his attention. Matthew just intently observed, trying to decode your next course of action. "So... how about fixing the situations through actions?"

Gideon, along with Matthew, raised their brow.

"So- What? Do we shake hands? Hug it out?" Gideon asked, now briefly amused, regaining some of his bite with the quip. His intention wasn't really want to annoy you, but in the current state, that's as far as you'd get with him cooperating.

"Shake hands? No. Hug... Maybe?" A small smile invaded your lips, you knew one certain way how to release the tension lingering in the air. Before they could ask you more details about your supposed plan, you directed your stare to the wooden doors.

"To the bedroom!" You announced dramatically, hoping to ease the atmosphere with a lighthearted remark. That did the trick, igniting a spark interest from both boys. They followed after you to the specified room, looking at you for further instructions. The comfort of your bed filled you with even more reassurance to your unconventional plan. You cleared your throat, "Since you both obviously can't express your love thru words, let's try something different."

Both boys now caught up with your way of thinking looked at each other with less venom, interested in how your evening is gonna proceed.

"Matthew," you started, making him look at you with curiosity, "sit beside me." He silently obliged, leaving the other man still standing near the bed, hopefully not too bitter about not being picked first. "Gideon, be a dear and rid Matthew of his pants."

The request made Matthew look at you with surprise, later replaced by a knowing smirk. Gideon rolled his eyes, yet approached closer. He kneeled before him, swiftly unbuckling Matthew's belt. Matthew, eager to listen to your orders, lifted his hips to help Gideon take off his pants.

"Underwear too." You heard Gideon's sigh, clearly an attempt to look as bothered by the command as he could to hide his true feelings. Matthew, still very intrigued about the process, looked at Gideon with a cheeky grin, hoping he figured out the ins and outs of your idea.

"Don't get too smug about it, Patel." Gideon huffed, staring back unamused.

"I'm not saying anything, Goose." Matthew's response made Gideon narrow his eyes at the nickname he didn't wanna hear.

"Matthew, please." You gently reminded him to be respectful, making the man quickly get in check, "Sorry, Y/N." Your sight directed Matthew to look at Gideon, "I mean- sorry, Gideon."

Gideon raised his brow with a poker face, not bothering to show his acknowledgement of the apology in any other way.

"Gideon, could you present your amazing skills to Matthew as a reciprocation to your mutual apologies?" You crossed your legs, politely waiting for your boyfriend to take the hint. Gideon mulled over your words for a second, seemingly finally deciding to stop being a nuisance. It was an occasion to finally show Matthew who's in charge here, even if the roles seemed to show the opposite. Gideon craved power and control, being able to turn any situation to his benefit was one of his most practical quirks. In no time, he'd have Matthew writhing under his touch, that'd surely remind him who's the boss.

"Of course, darling." He spoke in a composed manner now, briefly adjusting his glasses before diving down Matthew's crotch. It didn't take long for a sharp gasp to embarrassingly fall out of his boyfriend's lips, caused by Gideon's tongue trailing down Matthew's slowly growing length. You'd feel a bit excluded from the boys play-time if not for the satisfaction you got by bossing them around - it was fun!

Matthew opened up his legs a bit more, letting Gideon rest his hand on his thigh while he was busy working his magic. Matthew's palm would be holding a fistful of your bed-covers if not for your hand which was lying nearby, being a better candidate for an output of his intense feelings. You felt his fingers wrap around yours, which you thought was absolutely adorable turn of events. Meanwhile, Gideon made sure Matthew kept the shameless noises coming, acting as a reward and reason for him to continue.

Matthew's breathing picked up as Gideon tauntingly sucked the tip, his stare focused on the bangs that fell on his face. You were kind enough to pull them away behind his ear, exposing his pretty features. The dark eyeliner was now highlighted with the crinkling of Matthew's eyes. It was hard for him not to just outright close them, but he wanted to observe the man sitting between his legs - it was a rare sight for Gideon to be on the giving end.

From the way Matthew's legs were trembling, it was obvious he was near his end. Gideon wrapped his lips around him and began to swiftly bob his head. His perspective of being in the center of attention changed, now basking in the status of being the main attraction. Or maybe it was Matthew? Either way, he was willing to put on a show for you, with Matthew as his co-star. You felt Matthew's fingers clench around yours as he began mumbling incoherently, signaling his soon-to-be peak.

"Gih- Gi-Gideon--"

Light reflected in Gideon's glasses as he pulled away with a cocky smirk, leaving Matthew's dick to twitch in disappointment.

"YOU DICK!" He shouted out of breath, not even trying to keep his composure. You looked at Gideon, who was smiling from ear to ear. You were about to say something, before Gideon started speaking before you.

"Do the polite thing and say please." He smugly requested, looking at Matthew's red face. He knew he was gonna say anything at this point.

"Fucking- Please! Please, pretty please, just let me-" Matthew sputtered, tired of Gideon's shitty mind-games. Gideon snickered before resuming his work, nearing Matthew's member again, sliding it into his mouth. He didn't expect Matthew to push his head deeper, to the point Gideon choked on the full length, while his throat got flooded with his release. You were quite surprised at the turn of events, but you couldn't deny you found it quite entertaining.

After Matthew loosened his grip, Gideon pushed himself off, coughing up the leftover cum and saliva that unflatteringly spilled on his chin. He wiped it with his sleeve, staring daggers at his boyfriend, who now had the same smug grin Gideon wore before.

"I'll fucking kill you," he growled, seething with anger and feeling absolutely humiliated.

Matthew chuckled while regaining his breath, pointing down at Gideon's pants. "Don't act like you didn't like it."

You noticed the uncomfortably stretched fabric covering Gideon's fully visible erection. Gideon glanced below, his anger even more visible with how red his face was. You guessed it wasn't only the anger. You spared him Matthew's further teasing by speaking up.

"Matthew, I think you should make it up to Gideon, it wasn't nice." You half-heartedly reprimanded him, gaining a cheeky grin in return.

"Of course, I'm sorry for acting so impulsively." Matthew leaned closer to Gideon. "You just drive me crazy sometimes, Gideon." Matthew purred, making Gideon's furrowed brows turn into a look of trying to discern how much of Matthew's words were a flirt or another way of getting under his skin. You gave the power to Matthew for the moment, sitting back to observe the boys.

Matthew patted the bed, "So please, come lay down here."

Matthew's smirk didn't betray any clues indicating what his next action would be, leaving Gideon to warily crawl to the spot he showed him. Thankfully, the king-sized bed was big enough for all 3 people to comfortably do anything they desired. Gideon glanced at you briefly, being met with the same lack of ideas. By no means was Gideon scared of the future, but it was obvious he wasn't used to not being in charge, which left him a bit on edge. Your caress on Gideon's hair ultimately added some reassurance during the situation, clouding his ego just a little.

The comfort of your touch melted away as Matthew began his plan, peppering Gideon's neck and collarbone in light kisses. Gideon was fully expecting for Matthew to pull some trick on him, act like an asshole just as he did on him. But that never came, instead, the shower of affection left him slightly dumbfounded and unprepared.

Matthew's soft pecks on his skin mixed with the lack of knowledge from Gideon's side left him unfit to contain the light sounds slipping out. Matthew continued, moving his hands around the shorter man's body, finally reaching their destination below the abdomen. He brushed the spot, making Gideon abruptly raise his hips, yearning for more. Surprisingly, Matthew provided, now properly palming him through his pants. Gideon closed his eyes, unable to hold eye-contact while Matthew had such a smug expression on his face. He lifted up his shirt, lowering his head to Gideon's chest, moving his kisses further down.

You shuffled to lay on your side, supporting yourself comfortably with your palm on your cheek. Gideon tried to calm down his ragged breath as he felt your gaze examining his face. You smiled, enjoying the sight of your boyfriend losing composure.

"Is something wrong, hon?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. Why would it be?" He responded, too absorbed in the sensations to show his annoyance.

"Just checking." You gently pet his hair again, getting him to lean into your touch just a bit. "It's nice to see you getting along with Matthew, you know?"

Gideon was ready to respond with a presumably some slightly defensive remark, before a hitched breath forced him to stop. You looked at the source of his reaction, seeing that Matthew already took off Gideon's bottom half of the clothes, planting his kisses in the most receptive spots of Gideon's body. He was comfortably laying down on his stomach, between Gideon's legs, lazily stroking his length with the added teasing of his lips.

His feather-light smooches slowly drove Gideon insane, why was he being so gentle with him? Was this his way of getting back at him? To tease him to death?

After a prolonged session of merely playing with him, Matthew finally granted him a bold lick, lapping affectionately at Gideon's sensitive nerves. An unauthorized whine got out of Gideon's lips, causing the corners of your lips raise upwards in a soft smile. You loved hearing Gideon turn vocal. Matthew made sure to cover each part of Gideon in his drool, yet still stuck only to outside licking - he would not risk putting his dick in his mouth just to get choked, he was smarter than Gideon's dirty tricks.

After some time, Gideon's guilty-pleasure sounds became even sharper, string of moans and labored breaths filled the otherwise quiet room. The grip in both of his hands abused the soft bed-cover, making it twist with each weak pull of his wrist. You knew he was close, and perhaps, you might have even guessed what Matthew was about to do pretty soon.

He teased the underside of his tip, which was now oozing with precum. Gideon leaked a lot at this point, but it was all quickly wiped off with a single brush of Matthew's tongue once in a while. You couldn't deny there was a light, uncomfortable feeling of your own underwear being damp due to the boys' show, but you held off from doing anything yet. You couldn't interfere with them making amends, right?

As expected, Matthew retracted his mouth away from Gideon being inches away from his orgasm. Gideon opened up his eyes, his piercing stare spoke more than thousand words.

"...Asshole." He huffed out, almost as if he predicted his action. Matthew only laughed in response, getting closer to Gideon, now straddling his lap. You tilted your head in interest, Gideon just squinted in confusion.

"You're not that sneaky, Gideon." Matthew hovered above him, holding Gideon's chest for support as he gently brushed against his still sensitive member. "You're begging for someone to fuck you with just a glimpse of your expression. Is that why you've been so moody? You wanna get laid so bad?"

Gideon had nothing to say in return, just listening to what he would describe as Matthew's rambling nonsense. "Did Y/N really have to push you to realize it? Because, Gideon, you seem much more desperate than the both of us combined." He slid right across his dick again, forcing a quiet whimper to fall out of Gideon.

"Yet, you still put up with the facade of the grand CEO, the one who has it all under control," Matthew continued moving, "one who wouldn't ask TWO available partners for sex, because he's gotta be the big man! People should come to you, not the other way around, right?" He took a minute to align himself just right, finally pushing his hips down, causing yet another moan to escape.

"Nff- S-stop pretending you're bored of the damn movie if you're just gonna pout like a stupid, horny teenager about it!" Matthew huffed out, slowly moving up as he adjusted to the feeling of being stretched.

You were honestly surprised at the events unraveling, finding Matthew pointing out Gideon's bullshit as... quite hot. Especially that Gideon did nothing to object his accusations.

Gideon grabbed Matthew's thighs, fighting the urge to just spill all of his thoughts at once, "T-The movie still did suck!" He bit back, trying to regain some of his previous grit. "But yes, Matthew, Y/N, if you both wanna hear it so bad, I-I'm fucking tired of you being so casual about your mutual affections! It's infuriating!" Matthew stopped his movements as he bottomed out on Gideon again, leaving him pant in frustration.

"What do you mean?" You tilted your head, now sitting up to carefully listen Gideon's weirdly chosen time to get vulnerable.

"How do you expect me to approach anything sincerely while NOT getting defensive, if all I get in return is a surprised reaction at Gideon showing an ounce of what he wants to do?" He went on, his cheeks getting redder from embarrassment and irritation. "Of course I'm gonna be fucking annoying, you're annoying!"

Both you and Matthew were truly shocked at the discovery. You waited a bit, making sure he didn't have anything else to say, but after a minute of silence, you concluded you weren't gonna force anything more.

Matthew could think of an array of quips or insults, pointing out how stupid his way of thinking was, but he was smarter, more mature with his feelings than Gideon ever was. You both knew your boyfriend's behavior could be better, but he never gave you a chance to change it, until now. How could you fix something if he didn't let you get to him?

Matthew sighed, leaning closer to Gideon's upset expression. "You are. So childish." Both you and Gideon had now surprise painted on your face, Gideon more so than you. He was appalled at Matthew response, but his significant other continued. "Of course it's gonna be surprising if you start acting like a normal boyfriend out of the blue. You're always so condescending! But have you ever considered, it's okay to be vulnerable once in a while?"

You didn't wanna preach, but you decided to join the discussion, "Yeah, Gideon- We're- We're not gonna laugh at you?? We would love nothing more than to finally hear your problems!"

"Ygh... That's why I don't like to talk about mushy-feelings stuff. You're always so- dramatic. It's not that deep." He tried to cover up his moment of weakness with a casual facade of "I don't care that much".

"Maybe it's not, even if it's not! We still care about you?"

"I- ugh, I know that you do." He muttered out, avoiding your intense stares.

"...So what's the problem?" You treaded carefully, treating Gideon like a wild animal who could be spooked if there was a sign of any wrong move.

"The problem is- I know I'm the asshole. And I know, I gotta change it." He sighed, trying to calm down his nerves, not even entirely sure why he bothered to disclose them in the first place, right now. Curse his temper getting out of control.

Matthew tilted his head, not entirely getting his point, but still choosing to remain patient with Gideon.

"I just-" The vulnerability in his words caused him to hesitate, feeling way too stupid about the topic to approach it with eloquence. "Hate not being in control." There. It was out.

He fully expected Matthew to just piss him off even further, with some smart-ass quip as they used to do on the daily, he would probably say something along the lines of, "too bad! get over it!"

To his astonishment, Matthew didn't say any of that. He just looked at Gideon with indiscernible expression, which later faded into a gentle, maybe even a bit amused smile.

"Really? That's it?"

Gideon tried to figure out what exactly Matthew meant by that.

"Gideon. Nobody likes being in the dark about what's gonna happen." He continued, convinced he saw through Gideon's simple words. He spend enough time with him to figure out it wasn't just his narcissism problem. I mean, Gideon wasn't totally an ass. If he was, there simply would be no relationship. But there were those treasured moments where he would actually show he still had a heart.

Your soft voice shook Gideon out of his thoughts, "Yeah. It's fine, even if it's scary, you know?"

He wanted to convince you he wasn't scared, opening up his mouth, yet closing it promptly after. You all knew that was a lie.

"But it's alright. We're all there for each other, right?" Gideon just rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know it sounds corny," you tried to lighten up the mood, smiling at your boyfriend's reaction.

"I'm all for corny," Matthew chimed in, loosening up as well. "And, Gideon. No, we're not gonna be making a big deal if you show us a little affection. Hell, even once a week normal get-together would be an improvement." He only lightly teased, testing the waters with how Gideon would respond.

Gideon felt- actually, he didn't know what he was feeling. Relief? Cringe? Something for sure, but his kitty-timer on discussing heart-to-heart matters had just ran out. He would deal with this later.

He sighed. "Okay, it's cute and all, but- can we continue this conversation later? When I'm maybe, not balls deep in Matthew? I know I kinda started it before, but, really. It went for longer than I expected it to go." He impatiently tapped his finger on Matthew's thigh, making the other man chuckle in the absurdity of the situation.

Even though you had the clear visual of your boyfriends mid-sex right before you, the importance of listening to Gideon finally voice out his worries occupied your mind more than the previous activity.

"Right," you grinned, seeing as Matthew was slowly resuming his movements. Gideon exhaled contently, finally getting to feel the sweet friction again. He still felt a bit embarrassed my spilling his guts like that, and he had a feeling he would feel dreadful starting the topic again, later. But for now, he had better things to focus on.

As you watched Matthew gently hump Gideon, after such a prolonged break, you decided it was finally a time for you to do something. You were patient enough before, giving the boys a chance to reconcile, but now, having much more info about Gideon's thought process, you thought it wouldn't hurt to reassure him of the sincerity of your words.

Gideon moved his head towards your way, feeling the mattress sink under him as your body inched towards him.

"Mind if I join?" You asked with a hint of playfulness in your voice, obviously knowing neither of them would mind.

"Not at all." Gideon smirked, feeling a bit better once the focus was redirected onto purely sexual matters - a more familiar territory for him.

"...You wanna trade places, Y/N?" He huffed out, slowly lowering and raising himself off Gideon once more.

"Maybe later," you politely declined, having other plans for now. Both boys watched you with interests, mostly Gideon, seeing you approach him first. "For now, I'm good just helping from the side."

Your cheekiness shined as you assaulted Gideon's neck with affection-filled kisses, you wanted to reward him for finally speaking up. Not like you wouldn't do that before, but now, it was especially a great occasion to do so.

Gideon couldn't help but squirm, being showered with overwhelming sensations by two people was more than enough for him to start making noises again. Matthew noticed that, quickening his moves with a content and smug smile, letting out labored pants once in a while as well. Your pecks went up all the way to his cheek, after which you pulled away to briefly looking at Gideon with the sweet expression he loved seeing on you. Stare filled with love and adoration. Gideon used to be salty about you showing that to Matthew more often than him, or at least that's what he tried to convince himself. In reality, you reserved them for both of your boyfriends, never choosing sides.

He smiled with half-lidded eyes, reciprocating back some of the love you still chose to show, even if Gideon wasn't perfect. It's true, his sincere moments of tenderness were rare, but you felt over the moon whenever you got to experience them for real.

Your lips pressed into his, pulling him into a passionate makeout session not too long after. The feeling of your tongues dancing together only increased upon closing your eyes. You could not let Matthew get neglected, though. Being good at multitasking, you reached out a hand, wrapping it around Matthew's length, working your wrist in a steady pace to the roll of his hips. Actually, you didn't even have to do much, given Matthew already moved his body in satisfying, rhythmic thrusts.

You didn't know how much time has passed ever since you resumed your actions from the previous conversation, but it was enough for both Matthew and Gideon's movements to turn uneven and erratic, being an obvious sign of their fun ending pretty soon.

Not wanting to muffle Gideon's approaching moan of satisfaction, you broke the kiss, turning your attention to Matthew now - you liked to take turns spoiling your boyfriends. Your thumb lightly massaged the sensitive spot on Matthew's tip, lightly smearing the quickly gathering effects of your touch on him. You leaned closer to his ear, happy to provide Matthew with some praise. You knew he loved it.

"You're doing so well, hun. Such a good boy, for me, for Gideon... Show how much you love us, hm?" You whispered into his ear, causing shivers to run down Matthew's spine, it was all too much for him. Spilling right into your hand, a high-pitched whimper hit both you and Gideon, who had troubles keeping quiet as well.

Matthew kept pushing his hips up and down, faintly haunted by overstimulation, yet still helping Gideon ride his orgasm until he totally bottomed out, letting Gideon lightly scratch his thighs while he filled him up.

You retreated your hand as soon as you noticed Matthew was ready to fall down right onto Gideon, too exhausted to do anything else. Not bothering to get up and get a napkin, your laziness pushed you towards less conventional methods of cleaning the mess - simply licking it off. Matthew was always flustered whenever you did that. They both had difficulty calming down their labored breathing, simply basking in the afterglow for a moment. You were kinda jealous.

Giving them a minute to regain their strength, you patiently waited for a good time to vocalize your need of being pampered as well. Not like it wasn't obvious at this point, though.

Matthew was the first to get off of Gideon, feeling a tad bit too sticky to keep laying down, not wanting to make more of a mess on the already dirty covers, he put one foot on the ground. He intended to take another step, but Gideon voice stopped him before he could do so.

"Wait." He spoke in a tone that seemed almost as if the words coming had to be manually forced out of him. "... I'll get you the towel."

Gideon stepped off the bed, heading towards the bathroom. He wasn't in a rush.

Both you and Matthew looked at each other with the expression that could only be described as "...aw. he cares."

Soon enough, Gideon called Matthew's name, making the other man's head turn his way, only to get the towel thrown at his face. Well, Gideon still being Gideon. You chuckled, seeing the way he smirked, it wasn't a rude gesture, just a playful banter (for real this time). He could have thrown the towel way harder if he intended to piss Mattie off. Matthew didn't seem to mind either, briefly rolling his eyes before making himself decent.

Both of the boys now sat down next to you, each on the opposite side. They exchanged knowing glances, getting a mischievous spark in their eyes as you came to realize their little plan.

"You didn't think we were gonna let you miss all the fun, did you?" Matthew started, showing you a mischievous and cheeky smile. You reciprocated, grinning like a fool.

"Of course not." You were waiting a lot for this moment.

Gideon was first to get you down on the bed with a light and push of his hand. You'd be offended by being treated like a piece of meat, but the eyes narrowed in a not fully smug expression let you know Gideon was just feeling particularly playful at the moment. You guessed the orgasm cleared out his mind enough for it to show up without it being a big deal, which you didn't mind one bit.

He climbed on top of you, his hands wandered all across your body, slowly lifting the shirt to expose your tummy. In the meantime, Matthew got off the bed, grabbing the fabric of your pants to remove them. Not bothering to leave anything out, he pulled them off along with your underwear, choosing not to comment on it's soaked state.

The difference between the two boys' actions was an overwhelming mix - Matthew's moves were slow and gentle, careful not to cause you any discomfort, while Gideon was getting straight to the point, covering your whole neck in hickeys and gliding his palm all over your torso.

You parted your legs, giving Matthew more access. He responded by softly brushing his fingers against your delicate nerves. You had to let the few quiet noises out of you, making both boys quite pleased. Gideon lowered himself down, reaching your collarbone to leave a trail of red spots leading up to it from your throat. Matthew continued, keeping a satisfying cycle of steady movements.

Gideon pulled away to look at your marked skin, pleased with the outcome. He turned his head to look at Matthew, giving him a silent signal to switch places with the nod of his head. He complied, picking himself up from the floor to shimmy over next to you. Gideon grabbed your legs so that they weren't hanging off the bed, positioning you to lay vertically on it. You had a grin throughout the whole ordeal, amused by how coordinated they could be under the right circumstances, working like a two cogs in a machine.

Gideon occupied himself by going in-between your legs, sparing no time to indulge you with his golden tongue. Matthew laid himself next to you, smirking at the reactions you showed.

"Enjoying yourself, love?" he commented playfully, gaining a tired smile in return.

"Very much so," you replied a bit out of breath, seeing him squint his eyes in amusement.

He leaned closer, softly putting his hand on your cheek to envelop you in a deep kiss. His other hand lightly massaged your uncovered chest. His touches were always so warm, it was a nice feeling, in comparison to Gideon's, which were commonly pretty cold. Maybe that's why he yearned for so much physical contact.

Your tongue almost slipped out of Matthew's mouth as Gideon began to intensely suck and twirl his tongue along your sweet spot, making you squirm. You were not an asshole, doing your best not to accidentally push him with the trembling legs caused by the overwhelming sensations he gave you. Knowing Gideon, though, he'd probably be into it.

Being the sneaky bitch he is, he followed his current way of pleasing you by suddenly inserting at first one, then two fingers into you, this time successfully getting you to pull away from Matthew for a gasp. The other man took a moment to glance at Gideon, who wore a smug smirk on his face. He was in his element, after all.

Short period of getting used to the act let you slowly melt into ecstasy, feeling your orgasm just around the corner. Your senses were slowly getting clouded, exhaling all sorts of labored breaths and whines. Matthew looked at you with affection, endeared at the display of your emotions. Gideon, too focused on his task, didn't register Matthew silently creeping up to him, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

Seeing your muscles tense up, Matthew, wanting to add fun for the both of you, pressed Gideon into your crotch, earning a shocked groan from the other man, now covered in your essence. You were too busy to even notice the commotion, only seeing the aftermath of Matthew's actions after you calmed down your uneven breaths.

Gideon got up to tackle now startled Matthew, pushing him on the bed next to you, holding him by the arms. A guilty smile appeared on Matthew's face, observing as Gideon's expression quickly changed from a threatening dismay with his poor choice to a devious smirk.

Matthew yelped, unprepared to feel Gideon's teeth sink into the crook of his neck, not too hard, but enough to leave a mark.

"What was that for??" Matthew huffed, a bit taken aback by the gesture, yet not too audacious, seeing as he didn't attempt to throw him off of him. He knew the answer to his question, making Gideon raise his brow in confusion.

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes," he answered, too proud of himself for getting the upper hand.

"Don't act like you didn't like it," he added, referencing Matthew's previous words. Matthew rolled his eyes, being taken out of his faux irritation by hearing the sound of your chuckles.

"You're both worth each other," you joked, gathering yourself up to wrap your arms around them both, pulling them into a tight hug.

"We're all worth each other," Matthew responded, caught in a silly mood as well.

The three of you kept the embrace for a few more moments before retreating, the sweat covering your bodies was getting a bit too uncomfy. Gideon's glasses had visible stains on them, so he chose to safely put them on the bedside table. His eyes traced the intricate shapes carved onto the ceiling of the room, seemingly for no apparent reason.

Matthew was laying between you and Gideon, absentmindedly playing with your hair with one hand. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, he knew you loved it, and he loved making you feel nice. He wouldn't mind giving this treatment to Gideon as well, but he never seemed to care for it.

While the both of you were occupied, Gideon took this time to think about your previous conversation, the one happening at the most inconvenient time due to him letting his nerves get ahold of him.

It wasn't fair. Gideon was supposed to be in control. He had to be in control. He wouldn't let the unknown overwhelm him. You and Matthew were people, ones that he let be close to him. Too close for his own comfort. He knew it was solely his problem, which is why he was so defeated by admitting it. Gideon didn't really like having his own problems pointed out. But if he wanted to keep you, he had to get his shit together.

Before, he loved Ramona. He really did, just like now, choosing to accept his love for you and Matthew. But with her, it was way easier. She showed him affection, Gideon was riding his high horse, not showing it back - he didn't have to, he had his wealth and status to do it for him, right? Well, in a 2 people relationship it didn't really go well. He could not be worse than Matthew, he could not be worse than you. Or else, the remaining people would realize what a shitty person he is, just like Ramona did. He couldn't get her back, and it stung not only his pride. Which is why he felt constantly threatened by your seemingly easy way of getting along with Matthew.

He hated admitting he was the problem, he hated that he knew the solution. Showing his true feelings would force him to confront that thought, which was a very unpleasant process. It's not like he never showed you affection, though.

It would usually happen when Gideon was too exhausted to be grumpy after work, simply needing to spend his next moments in the comfort of your arms. It would happen right before you were planning to go to sleep, sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes a bit later, depending how much work Gideon had for the day. He wouldn't speak, he would simply fall onto the same bed you were sitting on right now, clinging to any person who was available at the moment.

But what he loved most was when he had both of you at the same time, free to just wrap his arms around you or Matthew and feeling the reciprocation from both sides. He didn't have to clearly express his need to be hugged, or even why he wanted to do that. He was just sleepy, his acting excused by the obvious circumstances.

Then, he would wake up, usually way before any of you. His work forced him to develop a habit of waking up right around the time his alarm would go off. He could look at you with the affection he didn't dare to comfortably show whenever you were awake. He didn't want you to to get too used to it. It's not like he didn't want it to show it, it was just reserved for certain moments only. And if he showed it one time, then didn't feel like it the next day, he would surely come off as even bigger asshole. So, to avoid that, he was just an asshole all the time - he didn't have to explain himself then, you were used to it, right?

Even though he clearly saw the holes in his logic, he tried to navigate living this way, somehow. This, in turn, created the current problem. He felt neglected. And it was all caused by none other than himself, even if he tried to shift the blame on his partners to feel better -mostly Matthew, as he was the one to usually respond to his moodiness with a fight back.

Gideon grew tired of living this way. Seeing Matthew giving his affection to you so effortlessly still fired up some scraps of jealousy in him, but today, he felt motivated enough to finally take small steps towards his goal of having a better approach for this kind of stuff.

He silently scooted over closer to Matthew, gently throwing his arm across the man's waist, resting his chin on his chest. Matthew stopped mindlessly combing thru your hair, positively surprised at Gideon's initiative. He welcomed his warmth, reaching out his other hand to grant him the same gesture. Gideon appreciated it, exhaling contently while closing his eyes. Maybe it wasn't that bad if the reward so satisfying.

Seeing this development caused you to smile, mimicking Gideon's idea of wrapping your arm around Matthew. Well, there goes the no-sweaty-hugs notion.

"Good thing I have two hands," Matthew joked, his expression growing fonder with each second of the peace passing by.

"Even..." You silently took a moment to count, "six, or eight, if you really try," you pointed out Matthew's superpowers. He chuckled in response.

"Two is just fine." Gideon commented, lazily looking at both of you.

"So... do we take a bath?" Matthew asked, slowly stopping his movements.

"Your hands are getting tired, aren't they?" You smirked in amusement.

"Not saying they aren't... But we still do need a bath." He squinted his eyes in a calm smile.

Gideon sighed, not keen on pulling away, yet still took into consideration Matthew's point. You were all sticky, and probably smelled by now. He sluggishly got up, waiting for the duo to follow him to the bathroom.

. . .

Returning to the couch, now squeaky clean, the three of you sat themselves comfortably once more, all snuggled up under a soft blanket. Gideon didn't comment anything else about the movie, silently watching as the credits began to roll on the screen. Maybe he even enjoyed it, just a little bit?

Matthew was the one to break the silence, "...Well, Gideon," turning his boyfriend's attention onto him, "if watching my favorite movie was such a torture for you, perhaps I could give at least one season of your anime a try. To even things out."

It was hard for Gideon to contain the sparkles appearing in his eyes, he really didn't expect Matthew to care about it, at all. He calmed down the smile threatening to invade his face, clearing his throat a little to speak, "That would... make things fair, I suppose." He tried to cover his excitement with a layer of nonchalance, but it was pretty clear nonetheless.

Both you and Matthew didn't even attempt to hide your joy at seeing a glimpse of Gideon's silly side shining through.

[synchodai]

do i prefer the book or show version of this character?

Just based on how much I personally enjoy them. Please note since Fire and Blood is written as a history book, most characters don't really have a lot of arcs or development, so the show theoretically should have a leg up since it's not just a series of events told in chronological order.

AEGON II [HOTD]

Book!Aegon is lustful and a drunk but it's not specifically because of any underlying neglect or trauma — that's just how most men acted in Westeros. His usual habits turn to addictions as the war progresses where he spirals into alcoholism, but before that he didn't have much going on to draw you to him compared to show!Aegon. Still think introducing show!Aegon as a rapist was unnecessary overkill though.

ALICENT [HOTD]

The religious guilt and trauma of being a child bride isn't in the books.

AEMOND [FAB]

Book!Aemond's deal is pretty easy to understand as a character in the books. He's vengeful, impulsive, and extremely prideful — like a lot of edgy teens but this one is given access to a nuke. He's supposed to be book!Daemon but if book!Daemon was still a teenager and maimed as a child. As for show!Aemond, I don't really know what his deal is or I'm confused about his motivations.

CRISTON [FAB]

Love that show!Criston is Dornish. Not loving that they're downplaying his impact as Kingmaker and the intentional "Jaime Lannister but the opposite" aspects of his character.

HELAENA [HOTD]

Helaena doesn't have much of a personality in the book.

OTTO [HOTD]

Show!Otto and book!Otto aren't that different in my mind, so this goes to the version which is acted by Rhys Ifans.

LARYS [HOTD]

Same as Otto.

TYLAND [FAB]

Show!Tyland is basically an NPC.

RHAENYRA [FAB]

This woman literally spent 3 months catatonic in the book and she's still more active in her own story than her show counterpart.

DAEMON [FAB]

They basically gave book!Aemond's personality and Harrenhal plot to show!Daemon, which doesn't make sense for an experienced commander, war hero, and scholar of Valyrian history who spent time is Essos to research his heritage.

JACAERYS [FAB]

This one was a hard one because it could have gone either way. I like show!Jace's perfect prince persona and being made to parent his parent. But I prefer book!Jace's political savvy and willingness to get his hands dirty. Book!Jace was the person who spearheaded the Red Sowing where he sent a call that anyone who can claim a dragon would have wealth, titles, and fly with the prince. This resulted in hundreds of deaths of their own men, but netted them 4 dragons which eventually turned the tides of war in their favor. It was both smart (+4 nukes) and dumb (giving nukes to unreliable people) and showed Jace as empathetic to the smallfolk (was the only one who saw it as an option to have non-Targs ride dragons) and still ultimately saw them as expendable.

CORLYS [FAB]

Just had a more active role in book. All Show!Corlys does is stand by the docks.

RHAENYS [FAB]

I preferred her when she was eager for war because it makes sense given her history. She regrets not pressing her and her son's claim so she's super gungho about it now so she can right the injustices she faced in the past. Book!Rhaenys also possibly doesn't know that Rhaenyra's sons are bastards and never suspected her killing Laenor, so her support makes more sense than show!Rhaenys's.

BAELA [FAB]

Has a personality in the book.

RHAENA [HOTD]

I think her book and show versions are pretty much the same.

MYSARIA [HOTD]

Show!Mysaria is given a personal agenda and more backstory than book!Mysaria.

TOTALS

Greens - HOTD: 5, FAB: 3

Blacks - HOTD: 2, FAB: 6

In conclusion, the greens are more developed on the show while the blacks, in my opinion, were flattened compared to their book counterparts.

[interlacrimas]

hm, i guess its time for headcanons!! (Since its been a while since ive been here or on tiktok, i thought maybe it would be fun!

Hajime is allergic to peanuts, he never tell anyone because he just assume that it was unnecessary info, till when he ate something kazuichi made to him and he fell on the ground, almost dying

Fuyuhiko HATES yakult, as lactose intorelant, he had to drink it very often, mostly as a child and he absolute hates it

Hajime hates physical touch, but he pretend to like it, Fuyuhiko loves physical touch, but he pretend to hate it

Fuyuhiko can tell if izuru is the one talking easily, sometimes people go and say things like "hajime is acting so different today", he stares and just say "probably because it isnt fucking hajime"

hajime smells just like those baby soaps, he rarely uses perfurme, fuyuhiko like those expensive perfumes, he really likes those, specially the strong ones, but he rarely uses them either, because he is embarassed to

Both have shitty families on different ways (btw, this isnt fully headcanon, most of this topic is in fact canon) fuyuhiko's family is violent, they often fight, to the point of death threats between his parents, he had to grow up in an extremely hostile enviroment. Hajime on the other hand had parents who were neglectful, they probably just didnt care about him, his urge for feeling special probably came from this, hajime's parents wanted a trophy, not a child, and they probably let hajime do a LOBOTOMY because, 1 - he would finally be useful, and 2 - his presence wont be missed

Hajime and fuyuhiko both have a hard time sleeping, they spend the night awake talking to each other, sometimes they fall asleep in the middle of the chat, other times they just spend the whole night awake

hajime loves talking about his interests, but never got the chance to do that, once fuyuhiko found out about this he made hajime talk to him about it for hours, fuyuhiko actually make good commentary about it and seem to actually care and get his excitement, which makes hajime happy

Hajime and fuyuhiko are both overworkers, and always call out for each other, even thought they do the same mistake

Fuyuhiko is totally Japanese, hajime isnt, as thought as he is Japanese descendant, he is also latin American, specifically brazillian, he was on brazil between the age of 0 to 10, he then moved to japan, even if it was pretty early on his life, hajime likes the dishes from his homeland and make fuyuhiko try them, fuyuhiko fell in love with the brigadeiro, which was sweet just like he likes, hajime makes them often for him, sometimes when fuyuhiko is alone at his Office he eats them

Just like fuyuhiko like sweet things, hajime doesnt mind food, but he like bitter and spicy food, like REALLY MUCH, fuyuhiko thinks he is insane to drink Juice without sugar or to eat so many spicy things without a cup of water, i guess hajime's favorite bitter thing is...fuyuhiko! I love this analogy, like hajime is a sweetheart and fuyuhiko like sweets, its only far for the opposite to happen!

hajime when he gets mad he often stop talking and just ignore the person he is mad about, fuyuhiko not only mock him and his angry mood, but he often treat the person equally bad, he didnt even care about the motive, he just did, fuyuhiko didnt ask why he was mad thought, he knew it was frustrating hearing this type of question, but still he says things like "just say how much of a bastard this piece of shit fucking is! I have no idea what this mother fucker done but if youre mad it must been pretty mess up"

They like to watch EVERYTHING togueter, hajime is the type to say "no...please dont do it *character* dont do it youre gonna to die dont do it" for the TV, fuyuhiko is the type to "STOP GOING THERE ASSHOLE YOURE GOING TO DIE, COME BACK. COME BACK." In the end the character die and they both stop talking, but probably thinking the Same thing, that it was the most obvious thing ever

Fuyuhiko relationship with izuru is...weird, they often dont talk, they spend their time in silence, which is often more comforting then scary, fuyuhiko sometimes Braid izuru hair, fuyuhiko is aware izuru is just a repressed version of hajime, even if people try to make them different persons

And for the final headcanon, izuru wakes up early at 9:00 to watch mikudayo show, for some reason he likes it, he watched it in the past, and had a few memories that he didnt remember, so he started to watch those episodes everyday, the first time fuyuhiko saw him doing it was like "huh, hajime what are you doing awake right now" to realize it was izuru, he then see the mikudayo program and gets confused, how could izuru like it, he just silent watched too, fuyuhiko now likes the mikudayo program, he just dont admit to anyone

I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED!

[kindaasrikal]

If theres one thing i enjoy about MHA, is the multiple perspectives of a child who was abused by their parents.

There’s Todoroki, who grew to resent both, yet once he learnt that that resentment was only hurting him he went to visit his mother, and learnt to both give her a second chance and to later forgive her. Yet with Endeavour, Shoto still kept his resentment, yet it lessened over time to a simmer because why should he let the rightful anger he held and the abuse of his past always hold him back to who he once was? Not only that, but Shoto later allowed Endeavour to try prove himself to becoming a better person, which led to Shoto later giving him a second chance in his life. NOT forgiveness nor forgetting what had happened, but a chance.

Fuyumi and Natsuo are direct opposites of each other. Fuyumi learnt to try her best to keep the family together, to keep them all healthy whilst also ensuring she herself is healthy and doing her best, yet having become the eldest sibling so young she took on too much responsibility as both the eldest siblings and only women in the house. She felt the need to stick around and carry all their burdens and do her best to have some form of a family, something she’s always dreamed of. Natsuo, on the other hand, wishes to escape from it all. He still hold his anger, rightfully so, and the only reason he stays around is for his siblings and his mother, not Endeavour. It’s like a ticking time bomb when those two are in the same room, and Natsuo is not trying to fix anything about that or the crumbles of their family. What Natsuo wishes to do is pretend it never happened and continue on with who they are now. He wishes to move on from the past yet he can’t let go of it. He will never forgive Endeavour, and would never give him an honest second chance, but he will let him be in his life if it means the rest of his family will be happy.

Dabi, on the other hand, feels no love for his family. The abuse and neglect he faced lead him down a dark path of hurting himself, others, and his family. The only thing that his keeping him living is his anger and resentment, his need for revenge and the pain that child faced all those years ago, knowing that not even his death changed the horrors of his family. It started off as anger at Endeavour only, yet as a child its hard to blame the person you look up to so much, so the little things his family did (not on purpose, never) made his anger and hatred point towards all of them. Shoto took my place, Natuso didn’t care, Fuyumi wouldn’t understand when shes just a girl, Mom is too weak, Dad wouldn’t listen to me. It all piled up and kept piling up as it left an traumatised child in the body of an adult. All Dabi wanted, all Touya wanted, was to make his family proud of him, to have them love him. At the end, it took death and sacrifice for him to realise that he could’ve had it all years ago.

Hawks grew up in a poor family, that led to them being abusive and mentally ill. Hawks did not grow up in a loving family, yet he still loved both his parents (well, mainly his mother). He was afraid of what had become of his family and grew to realise that sometimes in life the only person you can save is yourself. Yet Hawks didn’t want that to be the case. He wished he had done more, for his mother and for his father, he wished he was there with and for them, that he could’ve been their hero instead of doing everything he can to escape. Hawks felt a sense of responsibility because if circumstances were different, would they have suffered as much? If the only true struggle was money, then if he had made enough would it had fixed it all? If he was there for his mother after going pro, could he have mended his relationship and eased his own heart? I think that is why he was so proud of Shoto when he found out the secret of the Todoroki Family, because Shoto was exactly the kinda person, and the kinda hero, he wished he was.

None of these are the right ways for a child in an abusive family to behave, and none of these are the wrong ways either. They are ways that they are coping and they are so different to each other yet these are real life situations children end up resorting to and being stuck in. Some run, some hope, some hate, some cling, and some move on. Horikoshi perfectly demonstrated multiple perspectives of children in abusive households and that is something i will always love, because as much as we as viewers and readers enjoy the prospect of revenge and justice, as people that is not what we always need.

[roseofcards90]

It honestly baffles me how people are dunking on Sada and Turo for being shitty parents much more than I saw when Sun and Moon first came and Lusamine was first revealed to be the villain like huh 😭 where was that energy before??? Because I feel there’s more nuance with Sada and Turo’s characters and their motivations than there were with Lusamine’s (I’m talking about her in the games of course, not the anime. I will also leave discussion for what happens in Ultra Sun and Moon for another post, so I’m only talking about the plot of the original Sun and Moon here). I’m honestly just tired of all the bashing on the Professors and them being watered down to “typical shitty parent in Pokemon” when the game clearly states and implies the exact opposite.

Lusamine is very much shown to have abandoned her kids, openly berating them and saying she has no children right in front of her daughter’s face because they “abandoned her love” and going forth with her plan to open the wormholes and summon the ultra beasts with no consideration for anything else. She doesn’t have the headspace to care about her children anymore in her plan, in huge contrast to Sada/Turo’s plan where despite how extreme it was, was at the core still centered around their son and their family. I think chalking it down to just “well they’re still both bad parents anyway” takes away some of the complexity surrounding their characters in the first place. Also I’m only bringing Lusamine as a comparison mostly because Ghetsis and Giovanni do not have any other depth to their characters in the core games lmao, and I feel Lusamine is a great example of a parent who used to care but had lost that love after her husband’s “death” and along the way of achieving her goal, while Sada and Turo are examples of the complete opposite: parents who still held onto that love and care throughout their goal, but took it so far that they hurt the one person it was for the most out of everything. It really feels like people are portraying the professors’ flaws in the completely wrong way. The problem was never “they never loved their son at all and intentionally abandoned him” it was “they became so invested and deluded in their plan they ended up neglecting the treasure it was supposed to be for.” which is exactly what distinguishes them from all the other parent antagonists we’ve seen so far. There’s a certain tragedy present in seeing a broken family that used to be so happy together that I feel was also in Sun and Moon’s story, but was muddled due to the story focusing on other aspects.

And I’m going to address this right now because I know people are going to say something because they lack reading comprehension: I am not excusing Sada and Turo’s actions in the game and how their neglect had affected Arven. Explanations are not Excuses. You can acknowledge that they loved their son while still hurting him in the end, both ideas can coexist. I merely just want to analyze wtf even happened here for the professor to go down this path. And it’s also worth nothing that we don’t have much answers in the game itself as of right now, since well—the original is dead and we’re dealing with an AI version of them for the entirety of the game. Most of this is coming from the original’s journals in the lab, but I think the game makes a clear distinction that they still loved Arven even after everything. Despite their delusion taking over them, I think they genuinely believed what they were doing was the best for them and their family despite otherwise. The whole point at the end was to highlight how they didn’t need to create that paradise. They had that loving family already, and it was too late for them to realize that Arven only needed them and nothing else.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I want the DLC to address Arven’s other parent and what exactly happened to them (or better yet, meet them in the story which would honestly be an interesting parallel where the professor of the opposite version is the one you get to know more than the original in game one). I know the in game Professor’s journal entry says they “walked out” but what does that even mean in hindsight? Keep in mind this is from the point of view of someone who’s continuously being deluded into their own idea of paradise, who most likely felt grief after their partner left them that they built an entire AI of themselves to help complete the project.

And yet they still say they’re going to build a paradise for “the three of them.” Does that mean the in game professor was also trying in some way to bring the other parent back? What if it was an accident? What if they were sent through the time machine and couldn’t go back, and the in game professor was so distraught their delusion out of sheer desperation made it so they processed it as “(s)he walked out on me, and now I’m all alone.” Of course this all a lot of speculation, but it just doesn’t make sense to me how Arven’s other parent would “leave” like that. Maybe I’m being an optimist about it, but it really does feel like it was unwillingly in some way, where the in game professor’s increasing delusion was the reason why they “left” so to speak.

And that’s not even addressing the 3rd legendary of the game and its role in all of this is. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was meant to parallel the snake/the devil in Genesis, as the sin of temptation since the professor and Area Zero have a lot of similarities with the Garden of Eden and this idea of “paradise” for their family. Where the 3rd legendary gave them the opportunity to create their paradise by giving them access to the paradox pokemon and terastalizing, and thus influenced them so much, it eventually led them down to a path of their own destruction consumed by the delusion that they could create a paradise for their family, but failed to recognize they ended up hurting the one person they treasured most in the end. If the other professor did indeed return in the DLC, maybe it would give the chance to separate themselves from their spouse and make things right with both the region and Arven. Having them be the antithesis to the other Professor’s motivation and making the choice to stay with Arven in the present would be a really cool way to wrap up the story ngl.

Anyways people who portray them as apathetic and uncaring to Arven in fan art and fics I wish you a very “play the fucking game again please”. Even their character design sheets say otherwise, especially with Sada like I cannot imagine the woman described as “not being able to hide her emotions well” would be a cold and uncaring mother like come on 💀 I played Violet for crying out loud and I’m still able to recognize that.

[wildestdreamcatcher]

Cleo and Elijah are so interesting to me in the sense that their parents don't seem to believe in them but they ended up being so good to their kids. You mentioned that Cleo's parents weren't really sure of her as a mother, that they nagged her so badly to get married to Elijah before she had kids, they came off as overbearing and would probably make it known that they didn't like her life choices, probably weren't fond of Elijah either and the way she raised her kids. Elijah's parents were probably also angry they wouldn't get married before Jude's birth since the only reason Elijah's parents were married was because his mom got pregnant with his oldest brother, they weren't good parents, and they neglected him by kicking him out to have affairs, he witnessed his parents attack eachother and it was an awful home. They both left home at 18 and never moved back, they both probably had overbearing parents, Cleo had parents who played favorites which wasn't great for her development as a child.

Cleo and Elijah raised their kids so differently with so much understanding, love, support, they ended up adopting Kai and giving him that same love back. I think that both experienced a lot of odd choices made by their parents that they refused to make for their kids and tried hard to break cycles and give their kids a happy, comfortable, and safe upbringing even if it wasn't considered traditional or what was expecting of them.

I really like this ask because the way that Jude and Marley were raised is so different from how Cleo and Elijah were raised. Cleo was raised by conservative parents in SC who had a very specific idea of how their kids should live and never wanted anyone to stray from their path, she did grow up with parents who played favorites and while she was her dad's favorite as kid; when she turned 13-14 her dad didn't know how to feel about her hormones and how she felt about puberty and stuff like that so he took a step back, she wasn't close with her parents after she moved out and they did not like her lifestyle as she got older. Elijah grew up with parents who didn't want kids with or to be married to each other but they ended up having 3: their marriage was toxic and at times violent, they weren't happy to have kids or being with each other and that was made very known to Elijah and his brothers. He too moved out as soon as he turned at 18, right after high school graduation because the tensions and neglect from his parents was so bad. Cleo was seen as overemotional and whiny by her parents, Elijah was considered to be angry and unimportant by his.

When Cleo got pregnant with Jude, there were outside forces from both Cleo and Elijah's parents pressuring them to get married before J was born. They wanted it to be classic, in a church with a white dress and have all of the traditions but that never happened. They eloped on the beach when Jude was 7. Neither of their parents were happy with their life choices or the way Jude and Marley were being raised, and that was made VERY clear. Cleo and Elijah weren't happy in their childhoods, they weren't close with their parents and the way their kids were raised was opposite from their own upbringings.

@cusineverreallyknown @blowflygrls @jackvaginal @

[fareehaandspaniards]

Damian headcanons

I need to put everything I have about him in one place! So let's begin.

First of all, he is a VERSATILE, MULTIGRANEOUS person, as the CANON shows us! (I swear it shows us)

*simping sounds*

His childhood. Damian comes from a big family, as it seems to me, and is not distinguished by noble blood. His desire to care for others began while he was a child growing up within the walls of his family’s noisy house. He was one of the eldest children (and had like 8 siblings. But not all of them survived in the end). And while his older brother and sister were firstly jealous of their younger siblings and then simply lost their feelings for both parents and siblings as they plunged into adulthood, Damian tried to take care of everyone - older siblings and younger, and the parents. I won't say that love reigned in his family. Rather, his sensitivity and care was seen as a flaw, and given that I see his parents as exceptionally practical and cynical people - I don't think anyone could understand Damian. Perhaps his mom sometimes did. (I should add that often if a child grows up neglected and left to themselves, they unconsciously putting themselves in opposition to surroundings. And it doesn't always lead to good things! But in Damian's case - he grew up to be a decent person) I also headcanon that one of his younger brothers, who died of an illness while still young, was very much like Micolash. Which was the beginning of their contact – in Byrgenwerth Damian noticed a young student with a thin, smiling face and black curls, and his heart ached with painful memories. There was the first desire to get to know him better, perhaps to help him in some way (Micolash had always been VERY thin, even skeleton-like, and I believe Damian was sincerely trying to "fatten" him up). But that was all back when Damian was watching him from afar.

Youth. Damian got into Byrgenwerth, partly because he showed promise by being well-read and educated and also had a passion for medicine, partly because one of his wealthier relatives (let it be his uncle, so often happens in romantic novels! Rich uncle appears out of nowhere xd) funded his enrollment, because I headcanon that Byrgenwerth is too elite a place to get in without money. But there were also situations where someone got in thanks to the help of the faculty. I think Willem never belonged to the "self-serving" people and was happy to accept into his alma mater those who ACTUALLY had an aptitude for sciences and an extraordinary mind. So Damian studied at Byrgenwerth, long before all the events of the Fishing Hamlet. He was good at his studies, but didn't want to go back home after graduating. The medical field didn't pull him in either, because Damian was too afraid of making a mistake. Afraid of failing. He worked one year in a Yharnam hospital where he learned the basics of patient care (I won't specify what his specialty was. I'll put it down to Victorian England and experimental medicine in general) Saw indifference, deaths, despair. For a doctor he loved people too much, burning out his heart when something was wrong. So he went back to Byrgenwerth. And Willem found him a position as an archivist with assistant functions. Damian had proven himself during his studies, so Willem entrusted him with the library section, documenting his own research papers and keeping his office in order. And by the time Micolash/Laurence/Rom/Yurie and etc got there, Damian was a grown man. (I believe the time of apprenticeship at the Byrgenwerth is from about 18 to 23-25. And when Micolash was 18, Damian was 28 or so)

Research Hall era. I picked up Katy's headcanon about Micolash working as a doctor there and doing bad things in an attempt to connect with Kos, and Rom being a patient. Since almost all of Byrgenwerth's students and staff moved to the Church (the most qualified and trusted), many characters ended up there one way or another. Damian also tried to start work there, but he couldn't. He couldn't be a doctor or even assistant. So he found another job and became one of the first Tomb Prospectors under Ludwig's leadership (Also helping sometimes to protect important persons of the Church and Research Hall). Along with Gremia, Olek and others. This job was considered heretical by Damian’s relatives, because they lived on old ideas and religion, and desecrating ancient tombs is not good! But Damian still stayed in his place. He wanted to be closer to Micolash. And also the deadly work distracted him from his horrible thoughts and from what the man dear to his heart was doing (I believe most of the experiments on Adelina were Micolash's doing). Damian kept silent about everything he saw and knew because he couldn't betray the one he loved. And… He was too weak to override his affection. With all his humanity, Damian couldn't, and that was his vice. His path that he had chosen. Also while serving as a Tomb Prospector, he became very close to Gremia, which I will talk more about. Very often during expeditions Damian could die. And somewhere he was saved, and somewhere he demonstrated the skills of an assassin himself. Gradually, his will to live faded because of constant anxiety for Micolash, lots of secrets that he had from Damian and those awful things from Research Hall that Damian knew but couldn’t tell anyone. Damian became a semblance of his former self, giving all his feelings to Micolash, hiding his own, and no longer trying to protect himself when he was attacked by the dead of the catacombs, what made Gremia very angry.

The time between the Research Hall and the Choir. Oh, I'm going to single this snippet out as my favorite. It's probably one of the most important points of Damian's formation as a person. Micolash was then faced with a dilemma - he knew - what he was doing was wrong, that Damian could die every time he went for a mission to dungeons, that Micolash’s distance from him was slowly killing him. And he didn't want to lose him - Damian was the most loyal person to him, who also loved him. So Micolash decided to try to reveal all his secrets to Damian and explain his interest in Kos. He let him look into his already blue eyes, which had changed after seeing Kos. And Damian, too, beheld the Great One. But if Micolash saw in his dream an angry deity seeking revenge and grieving for his child, Damian saw the true embodiment of maternal love, a goddess from the depths, protecting women and children, a true idol of warmth and love. And that was what he had been missing all along! He had found his faith. And realized why Micolash was willing to do literally anything to find a way to Kos. After that vision, Damian changed - he became calmer, more confident, he decided what he wanted from life and what he would devote himself to. Even in his missions to the catacombs he became more cold-blooded, tougher, but at the same time even more caring than he had been - arcane magic became surprisingly easy for him, and he used everything to protect and defend his comrades.

Choir era. Again, I mention that I'm actively using Katya's vision of the timeline - it fell into my soul, especially regarding Rom and Micolash. So in my headcanons, Rom is the head of Choir (which fits her so muuuuuuch). When Damian and Gremia retrieve the Chalice of Isz from the depths of the dungeons that allowed to meet Ebraitas, the Choir was founded. Micolash becomes one of the first scientists of the new institution, but is very skeptical of everything. During this period, Damian loses the last strings of his connection with Rom, as she goes to Ebraitas and keeps in touch with her. He forms an amusing bond with Yurie (though the two knew each other since Byrgenwerth), as she feels about the same way about Rom as he does about Micolash. Yurie and Damian are interested in each other, but are too busy with their lovers to take each other seriously. However, some kind of connection between them remains, whether it's rivalry or mutual understanding. I don't think they have realized what it is!

The School of Mensis. When Micolash takes everything he needed from the Choir, he leaves. Damian doesn't hesitate to go after him, abandoning his service as a Tomb Prospector, which made Gremia angry. Many scientists follow Micolash. He and Damian manage to drag even Caryll with them, for whom there was a fight between Laurence and Micolash (and Caryll himself despised both of them lol). I have to say that I will never, ever believe that the only members of the School of Mensis are Damian and Micolash themselves as people like to say in the fandom! Really? Two people did ALL this amount of work? Took control of the village? Get a building for the School? Made a bunch of cages? Etc? Two people did all of this together??? Too much! So here we are. Damian became Micolash's right-hand man, which makes sense – he has been with him all his life. And I believe it was Damian that he left all the communication with the Yahar’gul elders, accepting new recruits (Hello, Edgar!), providing the School with food, water and all the necessities! (Damian started working as a manager. 7 days a week, 25 hours a day, salary - a kiss from Micolash, bonus - according to the situation y’know xD) Getting back to the serious narrative, I believe that in the School of Mensis Damian fully revealed his faith in Kos, and that's where his and Micolash's paths started to diverge. Katy mentioned that Micolash was the wrath of Kos. So I headcanon that Damian is her Love. If Micolash stubbornly went to his goal, not shunning cruelty, horrors, experiments and violence, Damian tried to minimize the victims, finding victims himself for Micolash’s experiments among the "scum" of Yahar’gul (I won't go into details about what kind of people they were. The worst kind, most likely. I trust Damian in his choice!), used force only where it was necessary, and saved the students of the School from the approaching madness. I'm sure there were a lot of recidivists and heretics among Micolash's followers, as well as the insane, so Damian had time to deal with them. He quickly gained a reputation as the "father" (or "mother") to all the students. (Even Edgar! I believe that after learning of Edgar's true origins, Damian did not try to eliminate him. Edgar was suffering too. And he felt sorry for him). Also, Damian invented the Mensis Cage. As a way to protect and keep Micolash safe.

The sunset of the School of Mensis. Caryll left back to the Church, feeling awful things to come. Micolash moved forward steadily. And gradually the children were drawn into his experiments.

Actually, Micolash started to go insane, but you couldn’t say that just seeing him or even knowing him as Damian knew. No, he changed in a term of his desire for knowledge and lost his last moral borders. He used kids and told to Damian his last project – to summon a Great One, using a cord and children, almost as Laurence did. Ritual could destroy almost erhh everything, and Micolash himself, but did Micolash really care? I don’t’ think so. He cared about mind more than about physical body and didn’t actually care about other people anymore, even a bit. (He is not evil despite all my telling. He just saw his goal too good. And couldn’t be stopped) This was the last straw for Damian. It was here that their conflict occurred, after which Damian left the School. Even though Micolash had changed a lot, losing his past self, it was still painful for him, even too much for his aching mind. So much so that he almost came to the state we find him in the game. He had literally lost his mind! And he was left without the only person he trusted (with his paranoia alone) and loved in his own way. Almost immediately afterward, Micolash throws all his energy into preparing for the Ritual. Yahar’gul people were dragged out of their houses, tied up and sent to "fuel" of Ritual by chaining them to chairs (including kids. Micolash used a trick to make them follow him using an arcane magic and voices from beyond that they could hear. So kids followed him «by their will» (no))

Damian was the one who reported everything to Rom, making his way to her through Choir and Yurie to try save Yharnam from Ritual, since Yahar’gul is already a lost cause. After that, the barrier sheltered Yahar’gul, hiding everything that had happened. (I didn’t mention how Edgar was left there, but it’s absolutely another topic, as I made a huge headcanon about it)

After a time, Damian returned to Yahar’gul. Almost nobody could do it, since Rom gave herself to shield Yahar’gul, but Damian had his way with some arcane tricks. He found what was left of the School of Mensis and found Edgar's corpse. As I wrote in the post about Eileen and Bloody Crow, Damian buried him, hoping his soul would find peace. And that's what helped Edgar finally TRULY die in Nightmare, which eased his suffering. Damian dared not do the same with Micolash’s corpse. Nor could he (Micolash wouldn’t like it as Damian knew) He wished to end all of Yharnam's suffering, so he helps the player all the way. But he couldn't raise a hand against someone who he loved. So all he did was light candles in the room where Micolash's body was left. And helped the player come to his goal. When the mummy of his dearest man stopped exuding sparks of soul presence, and the Nightmare was defeated by the Hunter, Damian was gone. I don't want to think how exactly, I've never considered suicide something romantic. But he died without waiting for the new dawn of Yharnam. After all, his purpose was fulfilled. And his love was waiting for him on the other side. (There is an interesting thought that Micolash is trapped within his dead body after Hunter defeats him. But I don’t like it. Micolash doesn’t need extra punishment. He is already punished by himself. He didn’t ascend and he knows it. He desperately calls to Kos and Great One of the sea doesn’t answer. He has lost everything already. I think he actually hates himself for a failure and for losing those who were dear to him. Maybe I am too romantic but even monsters have their own philosophy and feelings. Everybody needs love in their special way and Micolash is no exception. But he lost it. So let him rest in peace)

*cries*

Now I'll go through all the character relationships, charting them in more detail!

Micolash. Micolash in young age was a fairly innocent, but flighty young man, and quickly found an adventure during studying in Byrgenwerth, which Damian pulled him out of. That's how they met. (In detail, Micolash was trying to get the answers to an exam, but in addition to them he accidentally got the key to Willem's office. When he secretly got in there in the night, he was spotted by the local cleaning lady and Damian, the archivist. Damian covered Mico’s ass as he saw that all Micolash was interested in was not the Master's personal belongings, but his writings related to the exploration of the ancient catacombs. Micolash was so interested in Willem’s researches that sneaked in his cabinet just to READ. Such selflessness touched Damian, and he helped him out of the whole situation by taking the trouble to hide everything on himself). Gradually they grew closer, and Damian helped him in many ways on his life path, and Mikolash appreciated it very much, trying to respond in kind, but sincerely not understanding why so much kindness and affection for him. If we add the romantic side to it (hehehehe, well, I can't live without it), in my vision, Damian was a man that Micolash had his first time with, and with Laurence Mico had his first kiss, which happened on a bet, was very awkward and they didn't talk for a very long time afterwards (gay disaster). (Actually, I could write a separate post about who had a first kiss with who, what it was like and how it affected the formation of their personalities xD Forgive me for that!). All his life, Damian followed Micolash wherever he went, being his sort of "guardian angel", and Micolash trusted him with literally everything. Micolash was not the kind of person who would give all of himself to another. And often Micolash's behavior made Damian burn up, gave him headaches and tears at night. But our future mad scientist did his best to be better for Damian, scoping out a birthday present for him (and it was really hard, because Damian almost never talked about his own wishes), spending as much time with him as possible, and being affectionate (I believe Micolash is very tactile, so no matter how he feels about a person, he needs touch to express his emotions). I spike them so much that it's my personal canon, but that doesn't mean there aren't other pairings for me with Damian xdD

Damian: Babe you are about killing the entire town and yourself. Pls stop.

Micolash:

Rom. Their relationship has always been something of an oddity. They are both sympathetic, kind individuals. And Rom often found comfort during the Byrgenwerth years in Damian's hug. They never tried to cross the line and become something more, they had a sort of father-daughter bond. Rom may have liked him as a man, but Micolash quickly made it clear that this was his territory xD At one point Rom was the cause of intense jealousy on Micolash's part, and when he was jealous it was just awful (he was capable of almost anything). Although Damian did eventually make his choice towards Micolash, he and Rom maintained a good relationship and friendship. So in the days of Choir, as Rom grew up and became a strong medium and a confident woman, she and Damian found time to occasionally chat and exchange gossips. When Damian found his faith in Kos, they understood each other even better, for he too could Feel.

Caryll. Since Byrgenwerth, he's only made two friends - Damian and Rom. They (and Willem!!!) were the only ones who were unselfishly kind to him, and also never forgot his birthday. One day the two of them surprised him, preparing a gift, small cake, his favourite sweets and a tiny candle that they found specially for him. They made for him a really good evening just to make him a bit happier, which made Caryll cry then, a first time for him in years. As Caryll grew older, his visions and ability to read Runes became the most important discovery for the entire Church. So at one point, the fight for Caryll between Micolash and Laurence began. As I said, he couldn't stand them both! But Damian persuaded him to follow Micolash to the School of Mensis, for there he would find peace, quiet and solitude to continue his studies. So, on his own terms, Caryll ended up there, occasionally forcing Micolash to fulfill his little whims and chatting sweetly with Damian! In general, I believe that Caryll is an extremely caustic, witty and inventive person. So he often made Micolash do things he doesn't want to do - like carry him coffee xd And he had a strong friendship and respect with Damian. Just Caryll:

So he was always nice with Damian, call him «Damie» and asked him to move his wheelchair (as I headcanon that Caryll was stuck to his wheelchair since youth, then could stand due to healing blood and then used a wheelchair again because of his own decision not to use blood) around the room lol Caryll never understood why his friend would follow a madman and love him as well. And often made fun of it xd He left School of Mensis before the catastrophe, letting only Damian know about it and hoped that he will do the same.

Yurie. During the Byrgenwerth years, they were sort of rivals for Rom’s heart (according to Yurie. Damian didn't know that xdd), but when Yurie discovered that Damian's heart was occupied, she calmed down, and that also paved the way for a small friendship (of the two main simps. Brador was too far away back then to join them :^)). Damian was a librarian and archivist, as I said, and Yurie often visited him for advice or just to chat. She was always "grown up" compared to other students, and she was comfortable with Damian. I should also note that they could very well have been a couple. And would have been a great husband and wife together! But hard simping got in the way xd And to think, talking seriously… The range of emotions Yurie felt when Damian cames (albeit in the form of a phantom) to help the player with killing Rom can't be described in words.

Sir Gremia. I've recently discovered just HOW interesting is this character! I think their relationship started during the Tomb Prospectors years, when a blood mess was just beginning. And it started terribly well - their battle tactics were opposite, their outlook on life too. It was incredibly difficult for them to work together, with Gremia rushing forward and Damian waiting and attacking from afar. (they could help each other and complement, but they became sort of rivals – who is better) They both almost died like that if not one of other Tomb Prospectors who saved the two. It even came to a fight sometimes! They were basically like the cat and dog from the cartoons, which annoyed all others xD bitches be like:

When Damian changed after getting the vision, he became different, and now he was the one who was rescuing and pulling Gremia out of the clutches of death, which awakened Gremia's feelings. Gremia hid it, but he fell in love with Damian like the opposite of the opposite. Damian, on the other hand, was not only uninterested, but also extremely surprised. I headcanon Gremia as a VERY open, like "what I think is what I say" kind of person, so over time the arguments and fights turned into light flirting, teasing and compliments to Damian, which always went unrequited. (Actually, why not? The pairing is really good! And Gremia/Damian has taken up its place in my shipping heart. Their relationship could be something incredible, given Gremia's masculinity and Damian's masculine-feminine attitude and motherly care. I think Gremia would have seen him as a girl, generally having an interest more in women, and Damian would have had a hard time revealing his feminine side and his desire to BE protected rather than protect himself). When Damian quit the service, they severed their friendship and all that it had been. Gremia remained angry with him, for Damian had traded all their companionship of several years for Micolash, going into science rather than battle.

Laurence. Laurence and Damian rarely interacted openly (mostly Micolash was against it and prevented them from communicating in every possible way), but mutual respect was maintained by the one time when Damian stopped young Laurence and protected Rom from him (he punched him, when Laurence was too excited to leave her alone. Laurence was really angry back then, bur later realized that Damian did the right thing). Laurence would like to have someone as loyal as him by his side (I can just imagine him sitting at the window, like "I wish I had someone as loving and understanding!", and Brador in the background, "Am I a joke to you????", and you can hear Gehrman’s cursing from Hunter's Dream xD).

Eileen. They were good acquaintances, occasionally having a drink together. The thing that connected them was that they both dreamed of children, only Eileen had a little Crow, and Damian took care of the whole Mensis School and Micolash. A very warm, gentle understanding.

Edgar. I'm currently working on a fanfic on this topic! And rather than explain the whole biography of Edgar as I see it, I'll just say about him and Damian! I think Damian didn't immediately realize that the boy was a spy of Choir, it rather came to Micolash first. But by the time the truth was revealed, Damian had learned that Edgar was actually a child abandoned by everyone, forgotten by the Choir and surrounded by enemies, with no faith in heart. So do I headcanon that he "adopted" him? (You can go into the pairing here, and I like it, but I'm still more in favor of family relationship). Damian has finally found a pure soul, a child he can take care of. And that helped Edgar find himself, choose a path. But unfortunately, it didn't save him from his fate, because Mikolash ended up taking him for himself. Like a piece of property or even a toy. His and Damian's story together is a terribly sad one.....

Willem. Master of Byrgenwerth trusted Damian a lot, if only because he was an excellent judge of character and saw that he wouldn't deceive him even if he wanted to. Damian was his personal assistant, but no more, I mean Willem kept him away from his researches about the Great Ones until he decided to make public the information about what was found in Fishing Hamlet. Trust, respect, friendship, a little bit of everything. When Willem was alone in Byrgenwerth, and Damian and Yurie were around, Willem spoke to him. Only they were already incoherent sets of words that Damian couldn't understand.

Gehrman. Damian and Gehrman both befriended with the Byrgenwerth students, being noticeably older than them. Gehrman is not as sensitive, but is also very romantic like Damian, and I think they would have a lot in common. All in all, Micolash and Laurence could use them as their support while arguing xd I think that Damian could be a bit jealous that Gehrman has a young apprentice that adores him (and in my hc fell in love with her), because he also wanted someone who would adore him :^(

Maria. Maria would find him an interesting person I think, as in my hc she likes gentle and sensitive men, not only romantically but as good friends, because they are more comfortable to talk with. But in Research Hall era… Oh Kos, she could even try to kill him, and Damian couldn’t blame her for that. Damian was silent about Micolash and didn’t tell anyone, letting him to do everything he need with poor Adeline (I hc that Adeline didn’t mind because fell in love with Micolash BUT it’s another topic xd). Maria’s death was under a secret, that Laurence kept, and Damian knew too late, that she killed herself. Shock was awful.

Little headcanons!

- Damian loves citrus, and fruits and berries in general. His favorites are oranges and figs. Caravans from Loran could theoretically deliver some local goods to Yharnam once a month, and Damian would be a regular customer there!

- Damian creates coziness literally everywhere he finds himself. He loves luxury goods, a fireplace, beautiful kitchen appliances, jewelry looking like a rose and more!

- Micolash gave Damian his ring with the family monogram, all that was left from Micolash's mother. It was a gesture of trust and love, and also a small token for everyone else, because Micolash was extremely jealous. Mico be like (in any ship):

- Damian gave Edgar a sedative left with him in the Nightmare of Mensis.

- He and Gremia had crossed paths several times since Damian had left for the School of Mensis, and those encounters had not been pleasant! Damian had become too self-sufficient to feel guilty, and Gremia was still angry (but hinted that if the latter was suddenly alone, there was one willing to spend their last days together hdddd Sorryyyyyyy)

- When Micolash forgot that human like himself needs to wash, eat, and generally take a break from books, Damian would take care of it - shaving, cutting his hair, dressing him and so on.

Some local memes becuase iit is TOO funny. Imagine Gremia visiting therapist

Damian is a kind-hearted man, a gentle, warm person, in whose company almost anyone would enjoy being. He gave all of himself to Mikolash, and it almost killed him until he met Kos. After finding his goddess, Damian became stronger person. He began to appreciate and love himself. He became more solid in character. At the same time, his care became boundless, and he began to draw strength from it, rather than losing it by giving it to others. His weakness - his unending loyalty and his need for Micolash had played a cruel joke on him. His life could have been completely different - there were opportunities to be happy with someone else at every step, but he chose the path of his beloved. Damian had always dreamed of children. Wanted his own child, dreamed so much that he dreamed about it and woke up with tears on his eyes. Children in general were his greatest moral value. He had killed men and women, cut up flesh, experimented on his own while creating the Mensis Cage. But he could never do that to a child. Nor with Micolash, who had become both brother and child to him, and also lover – his only family. Perhaps he would have done more good for Yharnam if he had never met Micolash. But to give himself to him and spend his life that way was his complete choice (he could have been with any person around him! Almost everyone liked him!).

I didn't even think I would like him that much! xd But this is my favorite archetype. The protector, the guardian angel who gave all his good soul to one single person.

Thanks for reading whoever you are!! He became really important to me, my comfort character, so all my blah blah now here.

[dualityvn]

-He used to be in an abusive relationship with a guy who'd constantly make him change things about himself, belittle him and verbally abuse him. Tenebris scared him off eventually, but Keith blamed himself for it, thinking he would've stayed if he was exactly the way he wanted him. The way his parents treated Tenebris when they were little also had an effect on Keith. He was often afraid of being seen as "the monster" if he did anything his parents didn't like. And I guess being bullied in school added a little to it as well. That's where he got the idea that he's a boring nerdy guy who needs to try harder to win anybody over.-

As the one who originally asked the question thank you for answering. Tenebris did the right thing by scaring off Keith's ex and I hope for the future Tenebris would scare off any other toxic people. Now let's get to work on this.

Keith's childhood and his ex have both left him with a good chunk of trauma and his response to that trauma seems to be constant apologizing and saying he'll be better. To help Keith move forward with this trauma first we need to focus on the constant belittlement and the abuse from his ex and do the exact opposite. So we need to give him encouragement on things he likes and be accepting of what he dislikes. And to make the fact that his ex left him was a good thing because his ex was a piece of shit clear to Keith and his ex was the one in the wrong. Keith's parents though from what I have seen in previous posts are probably the root of both Keith's and Ten's trauma. How someone is raised says a lot about how they act and their behaviors. From what I viewed Ten went through classic childhood neglect and Keith's parents being shitty towards him because he shared a body with Keith and because of what he went through he is defensive towards people who could hurt him and Keith. And in Keith's case he was afraid of his parents treating him like they did to Ten he didn't want to be neglected and verbally abused and because of that he is a people pleaser to the ones he cares about because he is afraid of being left and neglected for someone else. It's not their fault they had shitty childhoods but the adults who raised them. How to help them move forward from their trauma in Ten's case just be there for him. Don't neglect him give the guy affection and attention and your time of day. And in Keith's case express and show that you want him to be honest about what he likes and dislikes and how he feels on certain things. Don't throw around the words "This could make or break our relationship." jokingly he will probably panic and the end results won't be good. And suggest therapy for both Keith and Ten.

Yep, yep, this is all true. Though in order to get them to go to therapy, you would need to find a therapist who you are certain won't spread the word about their condition. They'd probably end up in some lab, being experimented on otherwise.

[merv606]

I really like the idea of Puritanverse but with older, married Silverusso. Their pups all grown up, but Terry and Daniel are still Very Much In Love and horrify their adult children when they come to visit. Terry: Would you like another sibling? Your Mama and I have been working on it! 🥰 💕

Sam and Anthony: 🤢🤮

Daniel: Alpha, Sir…!! 😭

Maybe Terry even tells them to leave soon so he and Daniel can have “quality alone time”. Daniel is mortified. Lmao. Terry would be the king of embarrassing his kids on purpose. Maybe he really does get Daniel with pup…meanwhile their oldest is having their first pup as well.

I think their kids would know their parents are still quite - ahem - active 😂

Kind of burned myself out on puritan stuff - I have so much stuff in my drafts still - apologies to anyone waiting for their ask to be answered

I too adore older, married Silverusso ABO (AND to the person who sent the ask about an ABO Alpha Terry and Amanda Omega Daniel threesome we are going to have WORDS) but an idea came into my head for this one so I wrote it :)

Okay but when their last pup is close to leaving the nest so to speak, and Daniel is actually still able to conceive because he had been young when he had their first pup after all. Then there had been many in quick succession (four actually and then twins a few years after). The biggest age gap being Anthony, who had been a surprise on Daniel’s 30th. Daniel had been taking some medication that the pharmacist had told Terry would decrease the efficiency of the birth control his omega was on but Terry had neglected to tell Daniel, claiming (after the positive pregnancy test) that he had forgotten.

So NSFW

The rest were planned in that Terry, at that point in the beginning, Terry wouldn’t allow birth control in any way shape or form and he always went in raw, refusing to take his omega anyway but bare. Add in the fact that he rarely pulled out (never if he wasn’t already carrying) so Daniel would always end up bred.

Not that the omega was complaining. He had told Terry, when Terry had first offered him marriage, that he wanted a large family. Terry told him he would give Daniel as many pups as the omega wanted.

Which he had.

Now though, six of their seven pups are gone, although they’re always here for the weekends and holidays, and Daniel is building a nest - a nest. Something Terry recognizes right away - which is more out of self preservation. He knows from experience it’s better to steer clear for now lest he mess something up (like, heaven forbid, nudging a pillow) and incurring the little omega’s wrath or, more devastatingly his tears.

Of course his libido is ramping up, which, if he’s obsessively making his nest, means Terry is in for a fun night.

Daniel, bless him, doesn’t recognize the signs for what they obviously are, thinking instead it might mean the change of life, even if he is younger than when it normally starts.

“It could be early onset,” he told Terry this morning, plating their food before calling out to Anthony to get his ass down to breakfast. Terry only smiles knowingly in answer.

Not realizing it’s actually the opposite - the surge of hormones are to increase his chances of being impregnated, not him entering the phase of life where he will no longer be able to.

It’s been so long though, and there are some similarities between both issues, so he doesn’t recognize the real reason of what he’s doing and why, but Terry does.

His alpha knows exactly what his little omega is looking for - oh he knows all too well 😏- and he’s going to give it to him.

Terry had brought up his theory to their doctor who confirmed that it was common, for an omega who was still of breeding age, to have something like this happen ad their pups starting leaving the nest.

As it was also common for the surge of hormones to mess with their birth control, he suggested protection - condoms - if Terry didn’t want more, and the alpha had scoffed. He only ever had his omega bare and he wasn’t about to change that.

Besides, he would never deny his mate what he wanted, even if he didn’t realize himself what that was. Times like that it was actually more important for Terry to show him what that was, and show him he would.

They have always had a healthy sex life, and while Terry did initiate that more often than not, as Daniel was a traditional omega in some senses, he was always eager and receptive to his alpha’s advances, but his lust easily matched Terry’s. Just in a different way.

But lately, he’s been flat out teasing Terry into taking him more and more, initiating on more than several occasions.

Buying lots of pretty things to wear to bed (as if he needs it) or under his clothes, flashing that to Terry at inoportune times which sometimes necessitate Terry taking him then and there and again when he got him alone at home 😏

He even showed up at Terry’s office and well ….. the secretaries are still gossiping about that one and there are bets on when the next Silver Heir will be announced.

And while Terry has always preferred to come inside his omega’s body, whether it be his mouth, ass, or his cute tight little omegan cunt, Daniel has been making sure lately that it’s his pussy Terry has been coming in exclusively.

Like now.

Pulling off his husband’s cock with an audible pop, before Terry can come down his throat, his husband nice and hard from the messy impromptu blowjob, perfect for him to climb on and sink down on.

Not before Terry puts him on his back, wrenching his thighs open, burying his face between the omega’s thighs, tasting how wet he is, tasting how ripe and fertile - a taste Terry will never get enough of or tire of. A taste that tells him how eager for it he is.

And as much as Daniel loves being eaten out, to come by his husband’s mouth, it’s only a few minutes before he’s griping Terry’s hair trying to yank him off, desperate for the alpha’s cock in him instead.

Anything to get a pup inside him really, and Terry still thinks he doesn’t realize.

He had even mentioned this morning, setting up a doctor’s appointment to see if he was going into the change.

Well, Terry has no problem fulfilling that need.

Quickly flipping him, watching his omega scramble - face down ass up in the proper breeding position, Terry’s moving behind him, cock out and straining. Large fingers digging into the supple flesh of his hips, picturing how much more they fill out when he’s carrying as he rubs up and down, coating his spit wet dick in the slick.

Terry can smell he’s ovulating and even if he couldn’t he could taste it when he had his face buried between Daniel’s thighs moments earlier.

“This what you want hmmmm another baby inside you?!” Terry asks, lining up.

He teases the head of his cock against the wet hole.

“Get nice and fat again for your alpha?” Digging his fingers in now as the head pops in, embarrassingly easily, his smaller husband is so open and ready for it.

A snap of his hips and Terry’s in all the way in one impossibly long, impossibly smooth thrust to the delighted wails of his already knot drunk omega.

“Going to knot this pretty little cunt of yours until it can’t close,” Terry snarls, setting a brutal pace already, his head swimming now that the tight heat is surrounding him, the cunt too open and hungry for anything else. “It’s going to be leaking my cum for days, but don’t worry it’ll have taken by then.”

There’s no way they’re getting out of this without Daniel pregnant - there’s no way the omega is leaving this bed until Terry puts another pup in him.

“Won’t it? Because you breed so well don’t you baby? So god damn easily!!”

Daniel pushing back, hips working slamming back into Terry and he fucks forward.

“All I have to do is look at you. Greedy little bitch you are.”

Any other time he’d have an elbow in the nose if he talked like this but the omega is too far gone, moaning nonstop, Terry giving himself over to it as well.

Large hands cup the omega’s soft chest - a softness that has never left even though their youngest stoped nursing well over a decade and then some ago - a softness there because of Terry - the pups he put inside - and soon they will be full again for Daniel to care for their newest addition. That Terry is sure he’s filling him with right now ….

“Because you were made for this - weren’t you?!! “

Terry can feel then, a dampness between his fingers as he rolls the dark and puffy nipples between them, groaning, hips stuttering as his alpha registers that his omega is leaking - something omegas do when trying to entice an alpha into breeding them - a sign to the alpha about how well suited they would be to being bred - about how they’d be able to provide for whatever child the alphas puts in them,

This of course, how well Daniel provides for their pups, Terry already has intimate knowledge of, but the fact that the omega wants to be bred again so god damn bad … and all of this on a sub conscious primal level.

Terry can feel his knot form already, and it’s been awhile since he knotted Daniel, and it feels fucking better than he remembered and his knot isn’t even inside yet just kissing his entrance when he bottoms out.

“Is that your,” Daniel slurs each time Terry bottoms out, teasing the knot against his entrance, grinding in now - letting his little omega know his intent and so he’s know exactly what is coming.

The alpha teases a thick finger along the rim, getting it wet, getting just the tip in before working his finger in to the first knuckle, before slipping the rest of it in along his cock to make it easier for his inevitable knotting.

“Wait,” Daniel says, a moment of clarity being stuffed so full brings him. If his husband is getting a knot it must mean there is an issue with his birth control which means he could easily fall with pup. Given their history it’s probably guaranteed, and he hadn’t thought about more pups, assumed they were done …. But his body knows what it wants, fucking back against his husband like he’s trying to get the knot inside himself.

He should tell Terry to pull out when he comes - to not come inside him - he should - their pups are grown after all and he wasn’t expecting more - but he also knows Terry won’t listen. A part of Daniel revolts against the very idea anyway … of suggesting such a thing - no his inner omega instead arching his back in submission even more in - opening himself up even more to the older man in the textbook perfect breeding position which he executes flawlessly. It will allow the alpha to go deep making sure his seed shoots where it needs to be.

“Just like that … fuck Daniel … your cunt …. No wonder I give it everything it deserves.”

“And it deserves my knot doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” he sobs. “Please alpha … I need it.”

“Just relax,” Terry murmurs …. “You know this is easier when you relax for me.”

Panting now, a mess of wet sounds mixing with his whimpers and bitten off moans. There is slick everywhere; Terry can taste it in the air.

Daniel is beyond ready for it.

Terry bites over the scarred mating gland and the endorphins kick in, the smaller body going lax and the alpha takes the opportunity. With a quick snap of his hips, he pushes the knot inside with a squelch, sealing them.

A broken moan and a deep groan marry as the omega is pumped full, Terry placing a hand on his lower belly as his hips rut in, seed filling him and filling him - rubbing at his belly which, Terry swears, is expanding against his hand already.

Whining now, the knot tugging at his stretched entrance as Terry rocks back and forward making sure each drop is deep inside.

He recalls fondly now, how overwhelmed his little mate would get during these breeding sessions, and it’s been awhile so Terry doesn’t think his knot will be going down anytime soon.

Daniel collapses and Terry follows - has no choice not to - they’re still joined after all.

The alpha’s larger body covers him now, hips driving in deeper somehow.

The rhythmic pulsing of the omega’s channel not helping as he comes again already.

Whimpering now, Daniel shifts his hips trying to adjust to the knot and the accompanying fullness of so much seed is inside him already and so quickly as his husband’s cock throbs and pulses nonstop inside him.

He forgot how much it was …. How much the knot was how seed there was … But god a sense of rightness has settled in. So much so that he clenches down just to feel the sheer solidness of the knot inside him; feel his insides rearrange to accommodate, feel his womb fill.

A high keen from the back of his throat erupts out.

“Shhh, shhh,” the alpha soothes the frazzled omega.

He’s forgetting all the things that would help during their breeding sessions. He had gotten good at it back when he seemed to be endlessly with child.

“Try not to move so much, sweetheart. You know that helps.” Terry coming back to his senses faster, planting a kiss to the omega’s sweaty temple.

Terry grips him closer to help, immobilizing the little omega who has no choice but to take it; take what his alpha gives him - now and for always.

It reminds Terry of the first time he had knotted him, and that triggers Terry to release again, a visceral reaction, torrenting another wave of seed into the already bloated omega.

The alpha coos to him as he rolls them on their sides as gently as he can, trying to avoid jostling him too much, to avoid the knot tugging on the omega’s oversensitive rim.

Exhausted now. “You have to stop,” he slurs, high on the knot, the endorphins, the pheromones, high on the mating but so damn full he doesn’t know if he can take much more.

“Shhh you know it will go down in a little bit or when it takes …. if not I’ll have to knot you again until it does,” he whispers darkly, and Daniel keens, clenching down and Terry swears, hips pumping.

“If you don’t want it why are you squeezing so tight?”

Just like that it suddenly starts to ease up, the pressure, so he knows his knot is deflating which means …. He has successfully bred his omega once again.

Swollen stomach that Terry rubs soothingly as the omega purrs in utter contentment.

When he is finally able to pull free, a gush of seed, so much it’s obscene, as is the matching gap of his cunt. The aloha roars in satisfaction at the sight of such a well bred omega, Daniel sighing as the pressure abates.

He arranges them, the omega spooned into him, his narrow back to the older man’s broad chest, the alpha’s arms around him, keeping the three of them safe.

Terry noses at the sweaty hair at the nape of his neck inhaling deeply, scenting already the life growing inside Daniel. A scent that he realizes how much he has missed.

This may not be the last pup he gifts to his husband.

[raspberry-gloaming]

This is some ramblings about a sort of oc, for the missing mid 30s district 2 victor for @lorata 's We Must Be Killers universe. It's not all coherent and there's a lot of run on sentences here, but it's all just thoughts currently.

First off, introducing Knox! 2m, victor of the 35th Annual Hunger Games.

Merchant class, not quarry or offering, kinda in the middle just like he's in the middle of the shift from the elite to the modern way the center changed. His childhood was honestly pretty neglectful emotionally by his parents. They already had two other children, one to carry on the business, one to become a peacekeeper. Knox was an accident, an afterthought. They put him in the program to give him something to do, and somewhere to put him and forget about him for a while. Perhaps he'd come out with a good reference. Perhaps he'd become a peacekeeper like his brother. Perhaps he'd die in the arena. It didn't really matter - he was away and easily forgotten about in residential from 13, and they got a tidy stipend.

He was 18 in 35, so was 13 in 30. which means he was one of the new residential kids who were there when it all went down with I think he was called James? But with Joseph and all that. That's fun! (not)

He's like the opposite of Lyme when it comes to kids. The younger the better, he'd be great as a trainer of the 7-9s honestly. Babies, young kids, he loves them, gets on great with them. But the closer they get to residential age... nah.

It's partly due to the 30th and what happened, partly due to how his year group were just a bit wild. They did some shit, saw some shit, took it too far a lot of the time. Wanted to prove themselves and got too cocky when they knew that they wouldn't act like James had. The trainer's would put a stop to stuff, sure, but alot of it was psyching them all up. Getting them stronger, more confident (too confident, even when they were wiped the floor with by the older trainees.) No-one in this year would fail at volunteering and getting far. Both the kids and the trainers, as well as the trainers' treatment and reaction to the kids made sure of it. The arena wiped some of that out of Knox, but it was a recovery process, definitely. He later met up with some of his year mates and they'd had a tough time in detox. It wasn't just the events, of course, but it definitely had an impact, with the actions of the trainees and the trainers, as well as how they acted in the mock arena and who was selected down to the final few at the end.

Knox wasn't the craziest out there by far, in fact he was probably the least out of all of them. He knew how to put it on though, but was wary of his year mates. He got the highest scores in his year, which is why he was chosen, not because of his persona or personality. While they needed someone who was desperate to do the task, they also needed someone noble enough for the five year mark.

He's a bit dramatic honestly, but has definitely calmed down by the time canon rolls around. He's nearly 60 then, afterall. His dramatics have definitely changed over the years. From the petty, huffy, why aren't you __ at me?! phase several graduates go through, to an "oh god I'm an old man." he's thought himself as one of the old squad for a long time. Even when he was in his thirties, and with Adessa who thinks Odin (4 years older than Knox) is a baby, I wonder what she'd think of him lmao. He's quite a hypochondriac, and I'm not sure who the village go to for a doctor when not in the capitol but I'm sure they're busy with him. I feel like he'd go to Emory a lot trying to get her to teach him how to make all her quarry natural remedies and such.

While he doesn't really like teenagers and generally up until they're 21, he's got a soft spot for the volunteers and young victors. He remembers what it fealt like, how much the arena changed and took from you and how hard it was. He mentors a lot of the "lost causes." Like when it's been a massive string of careers in a row, or there's a major rumour that the arena is made for an outlier win, or in the 2nd quarter quell, or two has just got a double victor (43) so they aren't going to have a third straight after.

He also mentors those who think they are a lost cause. When it's been a tough time, and they want to win! and they'll do their duty! but they're starting to give up hope, Knox likes to come in and beat that out of them (litterally, as well as metaphorically). Unfortunately, since he never got a victor, due to choosing those who weren't likely, it hasn't impacted well for his second type, those who don't think they are likely but still have just the same chance as always, if they just get in the right headspace.

He mentored on and off for a long time, I think his last would have been the 63rd. Which is longer than the normal, but he had heart and wanted the best for those he believed had it in them.

Since then he'd settled down into his "old age" even though he's not even 60 and still spars and keeps as active as the other older twos. His talent has something with acting, privately I mean. I think his public might be a bit similar, something that he still enjoys like poetry reading because he can be dramatic with it and hide jibes amongst the metaphors against the Capitolites he's reading it too. The capitol may take his talent in the way they always do, but he can poke fun at them while they do it.

He's got a garden, and he likes walking on the mountain trail. One of the things that he got built as a new victor was actually in the forest behind, a stone, old fancy amphitheatre like the ancient ones. He likes doing soliloquies and monologues and one man shows out there, but if he can drag anyone else out to join in he's as pleased as a punch.