#although I do not remember seeing much more than ashes there

[hra-official]

First of all, Hercynian Refurbished Armaments does not endorse or condone any harassment or extra-judicial harm directed towards you or anyone else.

That said, the reason our company is qualified to design mechs is the same reason why the Second Committee had to resort to Total Biome Kill in the first place: we are great at not dying; it is a natural talent honed with generations of daily practice.

Back to the original topic of discussion, I'm afraid none of the casket technicians I could contact from within or without the company are available at the moment.

I am sure this is obvious but I learned the hard way: do not plug your subjectivity enhancement suite directly into the omninet completely unshielded if you have extensive neural enhancements, you can download viruses directly into your brain

[earthtooz]

x : MY DILUC, MY EVERYTHING :*+ﾟ

in which: you tell diluc that klee finds him 'too boring' to be your boyfriend. he can't help but feel like she's right.

warnings: 1.3k words, insecure diluc who needs a little reassurance, mostly dialogue, klee being cute but also a menace, so much fluff with a dash of angst.

a/n: i have not posted anything in so long, but i wanted this to be my first fic of 2024 because i love diluc <3 i hope you all enjoy this little fic!

“What do you mean Mr Diluc is your boyfriend?” Klee asks, tilting her head to the side with an inquisitive look in her eyes as you bend down to her height.

“I mean that Mr Diluc is my boyfriend. My partner. We’ve been together for years now.” 

“You mean that Mr Diluc, right?” She raises a tiny hand in the direction where the red-haired in question stands. He’s immersed in conversation with Kaeya and Jean, but from one glance you can tell the estranged brothers are up to no good. Or rather, that Kaeya is having the time of his life provoking your partner.

“That’s the one. I think he’s the only one, Klee.”

Her pointer finger then comes up to her chin in contemplation, and her breath of contemplation materialises as a small cloud, condensating in the winter chill. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Why is he your boyfriend?”

“Well, why wouldn’t he be?”

“No offence to Mr Diluc, but he’s so cold and boring!” She cries, clenching her fists to her chest, as if being ‘boring’ was a crime to humanity. “And he never smiles. He should smile more but I would find him scarier like that… so maybe he should stay the way he is: a total gloomy bum bum!”

You can’t help but laugh at her honest statement, muffling the noise with your hand. She blinks at you and wonders what she said that made you laugh, but you simply tell her that it’s nothing.

“Maybe, but I love that ‘gloomy bum bum’ just the way he is.”

“But… why? Y/n is so kind and knows how to smile! Mr Diluc is too sad and boring for you.”

Over the course of your relationship with the wine monopolist, you were met with resistance from various people who believed they wanted ‘the best’ for him. These were including, butand not limited to, businessmen, his admirers, and old aristocrats with wealth on the brink of collapsing. You never let their passive aggressiveness get to you, their comments burned to ashes by the way Diluc lights the way for you with his undying flames. 

Yet hearing a child, who has no real grip of the world beyond explosions and how not to blow up Monstadt, explain that Diluc shouldn’t be with you because he doesn’t know how to smile is… unbelievable. Her intentions are nothing but pure for her knowledge of the world has not yet been tainted by the nuance of human behaviour. As refreshing as it feels to have her support, any insults you hear about Diluc are unpleasant to hear. Though she may not hold any malice, perhaps her judge of character needs to be deepened.

“Sometimes, the coldest people are really the warmest,” you begin, gently wrapping her scarf around her neck. “Mr Diluc is one of those people.”

“Really?”

“Warmer than a fireplace, or a Pyro Crystalfly, or Jumpty Dumpty.”

Her eyes widen. “Really?”

“Yes, but please don’t go blowing one up just to see how warm it can be. Jean already told you about the animals hibernating during winter, you shouldn’t go disturbing them.”

She tucks her hands behind her back, eyes downcast and ears flopped.

“Do you remember when Albedo took you to Dragonspine and when you melted a chunk of ice, crystalflies flew out of it?”

“They were so pretty and became super warm! I wish I caught one of them, but they flew away too quickly.”

“Mr Diluc is just like that ice with the fireflies. You just need to warm up to him and when you do, he can be one of the best people you’ll ever meet.”

“Will he fly away too?”

“You could keep an eye on him and find out.”

She nods, determination alighting in her eyes with the new task you assign her. Although you’re pretty positive she won’t ever succeed with it, you’re just happy you’ve found a way to show Klee that your lover isn’t as terrible as she deems. A flash of familiar red hair appears in your periphery.

“Dear?” He calls, capturing your attention. “Shall we head into the tavern now? It’s too cold to stay out here.”

Sparing one last glance at Klee who regards your partner with fire in her eyes, you can’t help but smile at the pure innocence in her heart. With a ruffle of her hair as goodbye, you take Diluc’s hand and stand, waving goodbye to the rest of the group before heading in the direction of Angel’s Share. Shuddering, you sink deeper into the wool of your coat and the warmth of his Pyro Vision, a perfect combat to the winter frost that’s covered Monstadt.

“You know,” you begin when both of you have arrived at the empty tavern and the red-haired has a fire started in the corner. He urges you to continue with a soft ‘hum’. “The conversation I had with Klee just won’t leave my head.”

“Oh? What’d she say?”

Sitting down on a cold stool, you keep your gaze on him as he walks behind the counter. It seems like he’s preparing drinks and snacks for you: some cheese, crackers, and grapes.

“First of all, she only found out today that I was dating you.”

“Oh? Jean or Albedo haven’t told her before?”

“I guess neither of us appear that much in conversation together. But she refused to believe it at first, being like ‘you mean that Mr Diluc?’, ‘why is he your boyfriend?’,” you laugh. “She thought that you were too gloomy to be with me and that I should be with someone who knows how to smile.”

His cheese knife halts, the sound of metal meeting wood slicing through the atmosphere. However, you’re too engrossed in retelling the story to notice the way he freezes.

“How silly. Kids really have the wildest presumptions and thoughts to match.”

Diluc continues preparing the food, stiff hands moving along the counter. You don’t say more than that, saving further conversation for when he’s done. As he sets the arrangement of crackers, cheese, and grapes down, it’s accompanied by a heavy sigh.

“What if… she’s right?” Asks the winery owner, voice no louder than a whisper.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I did, but I don’t understand why you think that way too.”

“Well, smiling isn’t my strong suit anymore and I’ve been told by the knights that the children find my expression too scary.”

“You know anyone can smile, right?” You ask jovially. “It’s not like a statistical impossibility-“

“It’s not just that,” he interjects sharply. Your smile fades, acknowledging Diluc’s sombre expression that clarified he wasn’t joking around like you thought. However, seeing the change in your attitude sobered him and that sharp glance fades, turning into something remorseful and softer. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap like that.”

“No no, it’s my fault for not taking you seriously. Please, go on.”

“I’m quite boring, you know.” He fiddles with the ends of his leather gloves. “Did you never think that maybe what Klee said could be correct?”

“Never because she’s not correct. Honestly, Diluc, after all these years of being together and hearing what some people have to say about us, I never thought you’d think like this.” 

He casts his gaze downwards. “Because those people don’t know me like you do.” 

Two hands come up to cup his cheeks, gently directing him to look up at you and meet your kind expression. All inhibitions he had melt away at the sight of your smile.

“I can only hope they never do,” you reply simply, confidence lacing your words. 

Being with him is not easy. He is a busy man, one who manages the entirety of Monstadt’s wine business during the day and takes to the shadows to look after your beloved city at night. Yet, despite working with the sun and moon, he still gives all of him to you. For as long as Diluc will allow it, you hope to be the only person he’ll pick baskets of grapes with, play slow games of chess with, and freely lay out his convictions to. 

You’ll be damned to give up your spot beside him without a fight.

Diluc doesn’t believe he deserves the same. “You’re too patient with me. I’ve let you down too much for you to be this forgiving,” he grabs your wrists and gently knocks his forehead against yours. “I can’t give you everything you want.”

“You’re my Diluc, you already are everything.”

© EARTHTOOZ 2024, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.

[temis-de-leon]

MC with a selfish best friend

MC mourning the loss of a long toxic friendship with the help of the brothers.

Characters: demon brothers and fem!MC (written as platonic, but could be read as romantic)

Masterlist , Part 2 (kind of)

CW: continued discussion about weight gain and weight loss, eating as a coping mechanism, obssesive and manipulative behaviour, emotional blackmail, a glimpse of animal neglect, a tiny nod at suicide, MC trying to hide her feelings, anxiety, TLC from the brothers

A/N: kind of self insert because I'm writing my own experience, so this isn't the most relatable MC. Still, I hope you enjoy it! Remember I'm not a native english speaker, so there might be some grammar mistakes.

.

.

Back then, not that long ago, MC was completely sure she wouldn’t go any further in life. She was stuck in college, in her family and her friend group. There was a dynamic she could work through and, although it could be better, she wasn’t one to complain.

It was a flooded basement with filthy water, but at least it lacked rats.

She just needed some time to start working on herself. Go to therapy, lose some weight maybe? Start cooking again and stop wasting money on fast food. She did use to enjoy spending time in the kitchen and experimenting, after all, but the only things she cooked during her last months in the human realm were mugcakes and pasta. Not necessarily nutritious, but easy to make.

Thank god she had her best friend.

Her companion in the basement, the one with the flashlight.

MC wished she let her hold her hand too.

.

.

“She’s overthinking again. Not good”

“Look who’s talking”

“Hey! It was just a joke!”

“Should we talk to her?”

“Maybe when she comes back, else we’ll give her a heart attack”

“Yeah, Lucifer would kill us”

“Oh, so now we’re doing this for Lucifer?”

“Don’t be selfish, Mammon”

“Who ya calling selfish?”

“Ugh”

MC listened carefully, softly smiling at Beel and Levi’s voices drowning Mammon’s in an almost silent screaming match.

She couldn’t see them from her position, her upper body completely sprawled over the armrest and her line of sight lost in the ashes of the chimney. The fire cracked, threatening to die in front of her, but it was difficult to get up when her body weighted so much. She was tired and hungry and nauseous and even the idea of sitting straight sent bile to her mouth.

Then someone walked into the common room, shushing harshly and getting the other brothers to cease their fighting. Whoever it was, probably Lucifer or Satan, must have thought she was asleep.

So MC closed her eyes, hiding her face in the crook of her arm and basking in the comfortable silence. She could hear them still; the shuffle of cards, a plastic wrapper, buttons and joysticks.

The newcomer got close to her, covering her body with a blanket and sitting at her feet before opening a book. There was enough space in the couch for at least two more people, but MC still curled up, trying to make more room for him. She stopped in her tracks when he grabbed her ankle in a gentle grip, a gesture that brought some warmth where her pants didn’t reach.

Would someone add another log for the fire? Everyone seemed too comfortable to move.

At least the blanket was thick. Pure hellish wool or something, because every animal in the Devildom was just a bigger scarier version of those in the human realm. It was also, however, softer than any type of textile she could’ve ever find back home, so the creature could spit fire for all she cared.

Suddenly, the brother caressing her ankle tightened his grip for a short moment, demanding her attention. When MC opened her eyes, she found Satan smiling at her with no one else in the room. She must’ve fallen asleep after all.

“Dinner is ready”

He let her stretch, unconsciously comparing her to a cat when she arched her back and cracked every possible bone in her body. Satan wondered if that ever hurt, but MC seemed to enjoy it very much whenever she had the occasion to do so, like when they came home from classes after a long day or when they bought groceries for the whole week and Beel. 

“Did you not sleep well last night?”

“Not for a while, no”

“Is that so? Something troubling you, MC? Anything I can help with?”

“I don’t know”

She sounded sincere, but Satan didn’t buy it. Only a month had passed since MC came back to the Devildom, looking a bit more tired than when she left at the end of the first year of the program, and she’d acted ecstatic when she learnt she would be living with them again.

He was sure the problem relied in her human phone, something she didn’t have last year and Diavolo had kindly allowed her to keep.

All of his brothers, even the eldest, were greatly impressed when MC showed them how she unlocked the device with her fingerprints, as well as the human versions of Devilgram, Deviltube and Akuzon. That was a fun day, but time passed and soon the phone became an inconvenience. Someone at the other side of the line was taking their beloved human’s time, leaving her exhausted in the aftermath of their conversations and, if Satan vision’s was correct, teary eyed.

That would not continue. Not on his watch.

“We’ll look into it in another moment. Right now, let’s go with the others. Aren’t you hungry?”

“God, yes!”

They both chuckled and he forced his thoughts away. They could wait for the time being.

.

.

Beel didn’t judge her, but she didn’t feel as happy as she thought she would whenever they sneaked in the kitchen at the late hours of the night.

Opening the fridge door with slow movements, trying not to make noise while taking plates or bowls and eating in silence between giggles and short whispers brought a sort of familiarity. And Beel never judged MC. Why would he? He ate even more than her. He’d keep going long after she was finished, full enough to want to puke everything, and MC would feel a wicked satisfaction knowing that no matter how much she ate, there was someone that would eat much more.

Those nights she’d go to bed feeling sick and greasy, too regretful and high on sugar to be tired. Then, by morning, she’d force herself to eat breakfast and go on with her day just to get whatever sense of normality she could reach.

Although, lately, things had been slightly different.

They still got together at night and filled their mouths to the brim, but Beel was adamant about MC going to the gym with him when the morning came, before everyone was out of bed. Of course she’d said no since the beginning, but he kept insisting, saying she didn’t have to exercise if she didn’t want to.

MC still said no.

Then Asmodeus put his input.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, hon’, but you aren’t getting your 8 hours of sleep and you’re adding calories during the night. That’s horrible for your skin!”

And had it been her mother saying that, MC would’ve lashed out, rejecting opinions she’d been hearing for years over and over and over again, but this was Asmo. The Avatar of Lust. The most beautiful demon in the entire Devildom. MC guessed she wasn’t being fair to her mother, who also loved her and hated seeing her so sick and tired all the time, when it was Asmo she couldn’t ignore.

“I get anxious when I go to bed” she finally confessed.

MC could feel Satan’s eyes on her, but he stayed silent.

“Spend the night with me” intervened Belphie with an honest smile, a muted worry in his eyes “I could make you so tired you wouldn’t want to get out of bed”

“No way!”

Everyone looked at Mammon and several sighs filled the room. The demon, although deeply blushing, kept talking with an overbearing smugness.

“If someone’s gonna sleep with her, it’s gonna be me! Don’t worry MC, the Great Mammon will chase the nightmares away!”

“I think sleeping with you would give her nightmares, actually”

Mammon turned to Levi, ready to swing at his brother, but MC talked before the fight started.

“It’s not nightmares, Mams, I just feel anxious. You know, like, I can’t stop thinking”

“About what?”

She looked at Satan, who was staring at her with a calculating glance, surely remembering what she told him days before when she fell asleep on the couch.

“I don’t know… Everything, I guess”

All of them stayed silent, ignoring what they were previously doing. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, but MC wished someone said anything.

Of course, Mammon spoke first.

“Well, that’s a lot”

“No shit, you moron”

Levi finally got smacked and the rest of them went back to do their own thing, letting MC’s lack of sleep behind. A part of her wanted to keep the conversation going, but she felt too embarrassed when she tried to open her mouth again, especially having Satan looking at her like a hawk.

You don't want me to stare at you? I want to. What's the problem?

She achieved to ignore him in the end.

That night she stayed in her room, pacing, chewing her sweatshirt’s aglet while humming that Phineas and Ferb’s song and turning her headphone’s volume to the maximum with a different music threatening to deteriorate her hearing.

Anything to distract herself and not go to the kitchen.

Finally, hours after bidding the brothers goodnight, MC threw herself on the bed. Her feet were aching, its footprints surely engraved in the carpet, and she forgot to take her headphones off, making the position uncomfortable, but the important thing was that she didn’t have the need to eat anymore.

However, Beel still knocked her door at dawn.

MC stared at him when she opened, bleary-eyed and mouth as dry as cotton, the hem of her pyjama pants so high they looked like pantaloons. He, on the other hand, was completely awake and seemed ready to conquer the day.

“Before you say anything, I’m not going to the gym today”

There was a heavy silence for a couple of seconds.

“Then why did you wake me up? We have classes tomorrow”

Beel stared at her with a worried expression.

“We don’t. It’s Saturday”

“Ah”

She could’ve sleep longer? MC wished she was mad at him, but his puppy stare was hypnotizing.

“I want to go for a walk today. And I want you to come with me”

He lowered his gaze for a moment, biting his cheek while waiting for an answer. MC turned around and looked at the window, still unable to decipher what time it was by looking at the sky.

There were a few things MC missed from the human realm. The sun was one of them.

“We could go to the park, feed some birds and then have breakfast somewhere else. I swear I won’t eat the seeds this time"

She chuckled, rolling her eyes when he smiled back. Then she looked down at the rolled pants and her bare legs.

“Is it cold?”

“I don’t think so, but you can borrow my jacket”

MC sighed and rubbed her eyes, waiting until the white spots disappeared before walking towards her closet. She wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again, she knew that.

“Let me change and then we’re going. But you owe me one, Beel!”

His smile was too wide for him to answer.

.

.

Breakfast with Beel ended up lasting three whole hours, which was understandable, and they spent the whole time talking about nothing and almost everything, both of them clearly avoiding the subject of her sleeping habits.

MC really did want to talk about it, but then again, what did she want to talk about exactly? She had trouble falling asleep, yes, and she’d gone back to eating her feelings, but she couldn’t point out the reason. Her nights were filled with paranoia, making her revaluate every piece of interaction she’d had since she got back home from the Devildom months ago. Did she spoke correctly? Did people understand that she was just studying abroad and not begging for attention?

She hoped her best friend dropped those accusations. MC would never stoop so low. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes.

“Don’t you want anything else?”

MC looked at Beel and the stack of plates surrounding him at the table, mugs and cardboard boxes stained with chocolate, whipped cream and frosting. Her side of the booth was much cleaner, but when she lowered her gaze the only thing she could think of were mugcakes and pasta and the taste of bile in her mouth at the sight of her bloated stomach.

“No, I’m fine”

She knew he loved her. She knew she could talk to him and he would listen and maybe even hold her hand, but the small restaurant was already filled with demons and witches and whatnot and MC knew she’d only be able to sob the moment she’d open her mouth, so she stayed quiet.

Beel nodded, going back to his food with a strange calmness. Maybe he was close to being full?

But no, it wasn’t that.

MC gasped when she felt his foot weakly tapping hers before going under it to support its weight. A small comfort, like the prelude of a long awaited hug.

He didn’t know how much she appreciated it.

.

.

Winter had already reached the Devildom the day MC opened her closet and stared at her clothes. No matter what she chose, everything was at least a size bigger.

She guessed finally going to the gym with Beel did have some payoff.

“Is something wrong, MC?”

Asmo turned the lights of her bathroom off, walking where she was silently standing while staring at the discarded clothes around her.

“You don’t feel like dressing up today? We can stay home and do some self-care if you want”

MC turned around to look at him with gratitude. She knew how much he wanted to go shopping, especially with her. Finals ended just the day before and everyone had been so occupied they’d barely seen each other outside classes and meal times.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that. It’s just that… everything feels wrong. I think I lost weight”

He chuckled at her revelation, hugging her waist and kissing her cheek between giggles.

“You’re taking care of yourself, silly! Whatever are you doing with Beel in the gym, I wonder…?”

She laughed and lightly hit his arm, showing no ill intent, and Asmo smiled in response, not bothering to hide his lewd expression.

“Don’t be nasty!”

 “Oh, I’m just joking! But you know what this means, right? We get to renew your whole closet!”

MC turned around again, perfectly knowing that she could either spent her monthly allowance on clothes or start thinking on how she could rock the oversize streetwear style.

She sighed, trying to hide her smile with no success before speaking again. Asmo’s eyes were stuck on her.

“Very well, then” she wasn’t finish talking yet when the demon clapped his hands and jumped in excitement “I’ll trust your criteria”

He gasped and hit her arm in return.

“As you should!”

.

.

“So… how do I look?”

Mammon whistled, clapping and signalling her to turn around in response. Once she did a little twirl, he clapped even harder, not stopping even when she blushed in embarrassment and ran towards him to stop his overly excited appreciation.

“You look mighty fine, MC!”

“Stop!”

“Has anyone ever told you how hot you look?”

“Stop!!”

They were both laughing, her chasing him all around his room with burning cheeks and a gigantic smile.

The shopping bags waited patiently at the door, half of them already empty with a pile of clothes folded on the couch. Mammon had insisted on a private catwalk the moment he learnt she’d gone shopping with Asmo, his offense completely gone barely half an hour after starting the show in his room.

Every time she changed in his opened closet he’d cover his eyes with his hands and every time she came out with a new outfit he’d scream praises like a madman.

MC wasn’t used to this level of compliments and he sure was making it hard to stay calm.

“C’mon, go change again!”

“You’re acting insane right now, Mams”

She was smiling like crazy and her cheeks were hurting, but she didn’t want it to stop. When was the last time someone had been this hyped over her looking pretty? She couldn’t remember.

Then her phone rang.

MC stopped smiling when she saw the name on the screen.

She thought about answering and spoiling a nice evening because of a sour one-sided conversation. Was it worth it? Sure her friend could wait a couple more hours, right? She’d survived without MC the whole year she spent at the Devildom uncommunicated, after all.

“Is it The Unnameable?”

MC stared at her phone for one more second before turning around to look at Mammon, who was kneeling on the couch with his arms crossed over the backrest, eyes peeking with curiosity and another feeling she couldn’t identify.

“The Unname… Robdemor??”

He nodded, blushing and looking away.

“Yeah. You know, like, her name brings bad luck or some shit”

“She doesn’t bring bad luck”

MC didn’t sound as convincing as she wanted to and Mammon’s incredulity proved her point.

“Don’t be stupid, MC”

The pot calling the kettle back, she wanted to say, but no words came to her mouth. She was being stupid, wasn’t she? Everyone at the house already knew what to expect whenever her phone ringed or vibrated and they always did their best to distract her so she could leave the damn thing behind. She suspected Belphie even turned it off at one point.

Staring at her feet, trying to voice her feelings, MC talked again.  

“She just… needs me sometimes”

“Sometimes??”

Mammon got up, going around the couch to reach her. He looked flabbergasted, eyes opened wide and a myriad of words stuck in his throat.

The phone stopped ringing, but soon a flood of messages interrupted the silence to call for her attention instead. When she looked back at Mammon, he had frustration in his eyes.

She decided then she couldn’t bear to see him like this, so serious and reasonable. Was it too late to go back to chasing each other, laughing while trying new clothes? She’d been capable of keeping her feelings to herself since she could remember, but Mammon wouldn’t let her do that and she feared the moment the rest of the brothers decided enough was enough too.

God, she needed to talk, but not right now. Talking would make it real and she still wasn’t strong enough for the whole situation to be real.

In a matter of seconds her eyes were watering and she felt as if her throat had thorns stuck in her flesh, but before she could do anything about it there were arms wrapping around her. MC wasted no time hugging Mammon back, trying her hardest not to spoil any tears. The tags in the back of her new shirt poked her skin, making her squirm and get even closer to Mammon’s body.

He was rocking her side to side while petting her hair and there was no doubt he’d deny the whole ordeal happening afterwards, but she let herself enjoy the feeling anyways. It was nice being taken care of.

.

.

It was the first time MC had gone to bed so early since before college. Her eyelids felt heavy and the bed was soft and comfortable, at least three blankets shielding her from the cold outside that froze her window and sunk her room in darkness.

But she couldn’t stop staring at her phone.

She’d turned the vibration off days ago, but that didn’t stop the notifications from showing up on the lock screen and, although she could also take care of that, MC still wanted to be able to read the messages without needing to open the app.

Her best friend talked about everything, good or bad. Mostly bad. How she thought her boyfriend was cheating on her, even when she was the one cheating on him, how much she was eating because there was no one to stop her, how tired she was to even clean her cat’s litter box. She’d say if MC were there everything would be so much better, she wouldn’t feel so lonely.

She didn’t ask about MC once.

“You’re thinking so hard it’s giving me a headache”

MC’s body violently jerked at Belphie’s voice.

He’d entered the room in silence, closing the door and approaching her bed without making any noise. Seeing her freaking out made him snicker, but he was too tired to fully laugh and simply laid down next to her.

“Jesus, Belphie”

“No, just me”

“Ha ha ha”

Her sarcasm didn’t affect him in the slightest. MC watched as he closed his eyes and offered his hand to held hers in a firm grasp, probably not wanting to let her go during the night.

“Turn that damn thing off” he growled against the pillow when a new message showed up.

“I’ve seen you sleep on the ground before; you can’t complain about some light”

“Watch me”

She thought he was just joking, challenging her like a small child would, but Belphie managed to surprise her when he rolled over her body, grabbed the phone and threw it to the other side of the room.

“Belphie!”

He shushed, sealing her lips under his hand before hugging her body with all four limbs, trapping her under the covers.

MC could’ve complained and hit him until he let her go to retrieve the phone, but that would’ve meant pissing him off and staring at the screen for another hour or until her friend decided it was time to show some interest in MC’s life.

…

Whoa.

…

So that’s what it was.

That simple, uh?

MC waited for something to happen at her epiphany. Nausea, panic, heavy breathing. Instead, she felt an overpowering sense of relief. Her heartbeat evened and the frown she didn’t know she had in her forehead disappeared.

No headache, no memories. For once, no nothing.

“You’re not dying, aren’t you?”

Belphie’s head rose, looking at her with suspicion, but her eyes were stuck in the ceiling.

“Why? Would you feel guilty?

He stood over her then, pouting and frowning, and MC had to stop herself from laughing.

“Okay, you know what? I already said I was sorry. You can’t hold that against me for the rest of your life”

“I will as long as I can get something out of it”

“You’re evil”

“Said the demon”

His head fell face first on the pillow with a thud and if she didn’t know him any better, she’d be worried about him suffocating to death during the night.

“Why did you ask that, tho?” MC finally talked.

“Your heart stopped for a second” he shrugged and mumbled, his hold on her hand stronger than before.

“Oh… Well… Don’t worry. I’m okay”

“Are you sure?”

No, not really, but she didn’t want to talk about it in that moment. Maybe another time, when her speech wasn’t slurred due to sleep and she could organize her thoughts with a clear mind.

She hummed as an answer before speaking one last time.

“Goodnight, Belphie”

“Sweet dreams, MC”

He’d make sure of that.

.

.

MC had been quiet for a while. Not out of sadness nor ire, but something much more private. Something that left her pensive and still, staring into nothing with a serious expression. She laughed and talked with the brothers and, from what he heard, she enjoyed going to the gym with Beel, but Lucifer knew there was another factor escaping his reach.

Whatever it was, it changed MC for the better, so he was happy.

Even when the strangest ideas crossed her mind.

“I think I’m going to cut my hair”

He looked at her, clicking his tongue in disapproval when he saw her sitting sideways in one of the chairs with her feet resting in the other. She had a book resting in her lap. How long had she been looking at him and not reading?

“May I ask why?”

“I need a change”

Lucifer stared, taking his glasses off before crossing his arms over the document he was previously reading. MC got up and walked, zigzagging her way towards his desk as if she was drunk, but she looked as hopeful as ever.

“Did something happen?”

She nodded, ignoring his question right after.

“One of these days I’m just gonna… grab a glass of wine, go to the bathroom and bam! Haircut”

He raised an eyebrow, trying to hide a smile at her words. He hadn’t seen her so playful in months and the sudden change felt like a breath of fresh air.

“Do you even like wine, MC?”

“That’s not the point”

“And you shouldn’t use scissors while drunk, especially near your head” he ignored her “If it’s money you’re worried about, I can pay for a good hairdresser”

She laughed and shook her head, partially sitting on the desk. They stayed silent for a few seconds and Lucifer let himself observe her, how she bit her bottom lip deep in thought and how her fingers intertwined with a certain force. She was probably hurting herself at that point.

“I just really need a change”

He could tell there was more she wanted to say, but that seemed to be enough for the moment. The silence afterwards felt full with comfort.

“That’s fine”

MC nodded and sent him a small smile before going back to the chair, this time sitting with her knees stuck to her chest, but before he could put his glasses on to continue his work, she spoke again.

“Here’s what we’re going to do: I cut my hair in the bathroom and then you take me to the hairdresser to style it. Sounds good?”

“Are you going to drink while using the scissors?”

“I’m not a child, Lucifer”

“Might as well”

“Hey!”

“Just joking” he laughed, but MC could tell there was some seriousness behind his smile.

“I drink wine, I cut my hair and you check I don’t stab myself on accident, how about that?”

Lucifer pondered about it, envisioning himself behind her and watching over her reflection in the mirror, a bottle of wine in the countertop and another of Demonus waiting for them in the music room. She’d be the one to clean the aftermath, that bit was obvious, but something told him she wouldn’t really care about that.

The more he thought about it, the less strength he had to fight it. She could’ve asked Asmodeus or Mammon, but she asked him. MC wanted him to be with her during her progress, as stupid as the method was.

“Sounds like a plan to me, MC”

Her smile at his words was worth millions.

.

.

It wasn’t until several hours had passed that MC wondered if Levi invited her to his room with a hidden motive in mind.

The anime came out less than a day ago and she’d never even seen an ad about it, but he’d thoroughly claimed it was made for her.

And she could see why he would say that, honestly.

Sure, no ancient dying star granted her any mystical powers that allowed her to soar the skies or wear an alarmingly short sparkly dress; and she didn’t have an animal sidekick or a romantic interest that only appeared at night for some reason. She didn’t have an arch nemesis either, but she did have the closest thing.

MC was the selfish one, apparently, because how could she? How could MC have the audacity to ignore her best friend’s messages in her desperate times of need? Her boyfriend broke up with her because he discovered the cheating and no one was there to remind her of feeding the cat, neither to monitor her diet nor to fix the consequences of her bad decisions. She was in the lowest point of her life and MC dared to lose weight and spend time with her new friends? Outrageous!

MC unlocked her phone and stared in silence at the new text and voice messages, as well as some missed calls.

You disappoint me, MC.

After all I did for you?

I’ll die and it’ll be your fault.

I’ll die and I’ll make sure you’re the one to discover my body.

You’ll never be able to forget about me then.

You’re disgusting.

MC stared at the screen, not knowing if she should laugh or cry about it. In the end she chuckled and forced down the sting in her throat.

The TV in front of her suddenly turned into a kaleidoscope and she squinted as the heroine jumped from platform to platform, blasting her wand and singing spells. If she understood correctly, the cheery character was fighting her way through the first big boss of the season, her friends close behind her.

She could feel Levi’s eyes on her, no doubt studying her reactions to see if she liked the anime as much as he did.

“Hey, Henry!”

MC turned to look at him and smiled brightly at his rosy cheeks. She expected him to explain some hidden lore or the meaning behind the soundtrack, but he surprised her with his next words.

“Yeah?”

“I haven’t told you yet, but your hair looks so cool!”

“Oh!” she widely opened her eyes in appreciation, showing her teeth in a beaming smile right after “Thanks, Levi!”

“You look… eh… upgraded. Well, no, not upgraded. Erm…” he avoided her gaze for the next few seconds before pausing the anime, letting the room go back to silence. MC kept quiet, trying not to laugh at his awkwardness so he wouldn’t misunderstand the situation.

“You look really pretty, MC. Even better than her”

Levi nodded at the TV and MC stared at the heroine, the pause conveniently showing her winning pose. Big sparkly eyes winking at her and a knowing smile occupying half of her face, as if she was approving Levi’s affirmation.

MC felt the need to cry right then and there, but she held it in.

Her phone lighted up one last time before she grabbed it and turned it off in anger. She had a couple of seconds before the screen permanently went back to black, letting her read the last message.

Who do you think you are? How could you do this to me?

MC seethed. She knew who she was, even if she was still learning. Her hands itched and she forced herself not to throw the phone on the ground with all her strength. She still needed it to talk to other friends and relatives, after all.

After an entire minute filled with tense silence, MC spoke, suddenly meek and shy.

 “Hey Lev…”

“MC?”

He was staring her with caring eyes, unsure of what to do or what to say.

Fortunately, for the first time in a long while, MC knew what she needed to do. For herself and no one else.

“Would you help me change my phone number?”

She could write down the numbers of those she cared about the most and send a message asking them not to share hers without her permission.

Take care of her arch nemesis without destroying the entire world. Accept the help of people who showed joy at her improvement. Buy new clothes, change her style, cut her hair.

God, walking without that heavy weight on her shoulders would be difficult and painful, but she’d rather die before letting her ex best friend destroy her will and power one last time.

She laughed with a choke and Levi gasped her name.

She was crying.

.

.

.

@ourfinalisation

[thedarkestrivernymph]

Burn

Yandere!Husband x gn!Reader

warnings: abuse, mentions of childhood trauma, mentions of death, manipulative tendencies, gaslighting, murder, gore

©Copyright -2024-thedarkestrivernymph - All Rights Reserved

It burns, so agonizingly much, that uncertainty about this whole ordeal crept up your spine and settled in your chest.

Was this the right thing to do? To flee? It echoed in the emptiness that took over your head. It was perplexing and uncomfortable. You shouldn't feel empathy for him. He was crazy, deranged! Gone, a maniac, a bastard—

But maybe he was innocent and you were running away from the ghosts hunting you.

He was all that was left of your family. You didn't want to do this, you wanted him with you, loving and sweet, but it seemed that fate had different plans for the two of you. It seems that fate didn't favour you.

He had wormed himself into your life—then into your sacred family bonds, destroying what was already fragile. The mask he wore was that of a kindred spirit that sought for love, yet you never knew better than to believe the artificially crafted facade.

Prior he was an orphan, abandoned by his mother at six, which admittedly tugged at your heartstrings, even more so after learning the horrible foster parents, which was followed by the straight up ignorant adoptive family that took him in only for prestige matters.

So it wasn't that you didn't understand his desire for family, and you were even happy for him! Glad he found love in yours, yet all your hopeful dreams of finally peace settling in had vanished the moment the first of your relatives cut you off. Then a second followed, a third, a fourth until even your mom shunned you, refusing to see you any longer. They absolutely adored your husband but hated your guts.

However he didn't seem to hold the same adoration for them, no, he didn't even possess an ounce of sympathy with them as he watched them turn to ashes Infront of his very own eyes, laughing, like the maniac he was.

“Love!” he would jump up and down you remembered, seemingly over the moon by your dad praising him or your sister gifting him something meaningless as a cookie.

After he had burned down everything holy to you, he had just slipped back into your shared bed, stinking horribly of that kind of smell that reached your nose every time you left your omelette too long on the stove.

You hadn't understood then, but you did now, that that smell was foreshadowing to the petrifying news that had reached you the next day.

Everything spiralled out of your control after that day. You were completely scattered, forgetful, permanently teary-eyed, clumsy and visibly distraught.

So it started with your inability to hold up your job, which made him offer you to stay at home, while he financed you both. He was so devilishly sweet, messaging your shoulders when you were completely stiff, guiding you through breakdowns, cooking for you, feeding you. You hadn't know how you got so lucky with him.

However things became odd quickly, your friends seemed to disappear one by one, their numbers blocked, deleted or erased from existence. You were unbelievably mad, was this because of your new miserable state—the friends that swore to go through thick and thin with you, leaving you in your most vulnerable times—how could they!

Although you were burning with anger, even that was quickly forgotten thanks to him. He was your absolute everything, your entire world and you were much obviously his. You two were a match made in heaven—or at least that's what you believed until that one phone call.

“Stacey?—”

“You have to get out of there! He isn't what he seems to be— your husband, he’s crazy! He threatened me! If I didn't stop being in contact with you then he would have also murdered me like he did with your family—” your heard your friend over the phone, voice unusually frail, breaths laboured with sniffling in the background.

Your heart leaped in your chest at the sound of her frantic claims, completely unbelievable and baffling, even if your trust for her had completely evaporated, uncertainty still poisoned you and infiltrated your mind like a sickness.

Nevertheless you did end the call before she could spew anymore nonsense, sealing her terrible fate, because unbeknownst to you, that was the last time she would ever talk to anyone.

Things didn't feel normal anymore after that, suspiciousness spread through you, gnawing at your already highly sensitive nerves, you instability just making you waver back and forth from completely denying the unapparent truth and panicking that perhaps it was true. She was your friend for years after all, what reason did she have to lie?

That was until you found Stacey’s childhood diary in his possession with dried splatter of blood decorating it—as if this wasn't terrifying enough what met you on the inside made you drop the book, completely mortified and stunned into silence.

Every entry that contained your name scribbled over with hearts, anything that had to do with you underlined, things that you liked circled in like a madman.

You were terrified to say the least—she was right, she was right and you didn't believe her.

Tears welled up in your eyes and before you knew it, your feet carried you out of your shared home, still in your PJ's with slippers adorning your feet.

Which leads to this moment in the present.

Unfortunately for you, he had knowingly bought a house with your inheritance, in the middle of nowhere. You were stumbling over twigs, leaves crushing beneath your weight and before you knew it, you were running.

Yet you did forget one crucial aspect—running didn't help when he could track you down with the GPS clipped under your skin so subtly you didn't even realise he had done so.

Bang.

Pain shot through your thigh, an excruciating amount, making you instantly stumble, before tumbling down, face first into the wet earth, crying out in pain.

Blood seeped out from where he shot you, painting the forest floor a warning crimson. You tried to crawl, you attempted to flee, but all was for nothing, no one and nothing could have tear you two apart, even if it was you.

Fingers roughly whipped your head back, scalp burning from the abuse.

“There you are, love.” he spat out, the familiar warmth gone replaced by an indefinite disdain.

“You saw it, huh? You learned about everything I did for you and that's how you thank me? By running away just cuz’ I committed some petty crimes?” he shook your head violently, before shoving your face into the mud. Before he ripped your head out of the earth, starting to fall into a pattern, repeating it over and over again till your vision faded with only his words ringing into your ears, as blood ran down your presumably broken nose, eyes swelling with unshed tears of a gruesome future that awaited you.

“You're weak. And dumb. But don't you worry, I will take care of you. I will love you, look after you, clean up each mess you make, be there to rock you back and forth when you have one of your meltdowns again. So don't worry your stupid little head about anything,

just trust me, love.”

[archiveikemen]

"Dark If" Story Event: Bitter END

Ellis Twilight

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

At Ellis’ prompting, I left the old castle and headed to the royal castle I was born and raised in.

I went straight to the back garden, to the briar I considered a friend.

Kate: Here it is… the briar.

The briar growing there looked the same as I remembered.

(I remember giving it a name and treating it like a friend…)

(... In the end, I never recalled what its name was.)

I felt a little frustrated that I couldn't remember, but I had more important matters at hand.

(If I burn this briar, I’ll be freed from this illness… there’s no time to waste.)

(... Once everything’s settled, I’ll tell Ellis how I feel about him.)

I didn't know what Ellis’ answer to that would be.

But I wanted to at least convey to him how happy our time together made me feel.

(The Sleeping Beauty won’t fall asleep, and the briar will be burnt. But…)

(... A happy ending awaits.) 

I lit a match and, without hesitation, brought the flame to the briar. 

The fire spread, a flaming red colour, reducing the briar to ashes. 

Every last root of the briar that grew in the back garden burned away. 

(Yeah… the briar that was once here is now gone, the back garden does feel somewhat more pleasant.)

After all, the briar was meant to be removed back when I was a child. 

Surely no one would have complaints about it being burned away.

(Alright… now I’ll head back to the old castle and have Jude check if my illness has disappeared.)

(After that, I’ll go meet with Ellis!) 

Feeling much brighter than ever before, I set off for the old castle where Jude and Ellis lived. 

…

Jude: Ellis, where’s the princess?

Ellis: Kate’s at the royal castle right now. She went to burn the briar.

Jude: Ha? Burn the briar…?

Ellis: Kate said she doesn’t want to die.

Ellis: If that’s her wish… then the only way to fulfil it is for me to disappear along with the illness.

Ellis: Ah… looks like it’s about time.

Just then, right before Jude’s eyes, Ellis’ body suddenly ignited out of nowhere.

Although there was no source of fire, Ellis’ body was immediately engulfed in flames.

Jude: …!

Jude tried every method he could possibly think of to put out the fire, but the flames couldn’t be extinguished.

Ellis: Hey, Jude. This isn’t a promise, but a request.

Ellis: Make Kate happy. 

— And so, the fairy was cursed and the briar burned to death. 

…

After returning to the old castle, I asked Jude to examine me.

Kate: So… how’s my illness?

Jude: It’s completely gone. You’re free now, you won’t die or fall into deep sleep.

Jude: But are ya sure you’re fine with what ya just did? Burning that…

Kate: ? Of course I am! My illness is fully cured now! 

Kate: That aside, where’s Ellis? I have something I want to tell him! 

Jude: Don’t tell me… ya went ahead and burnt that thing without tellin’ Ellis anythin’...?

Kate: … What do you mean?

I noticed Jude wore an unusually pained expression.

But it was fleeting, so I quickly turned my focus back to finding Ellis.

Kate: … Ah, don’t tell me you’re overworking Ellis again? 

Jude: …

Jude: Of course. I sent him off on a long errand. It’ll be a while before he gets back. 

Jude: Why don’t ya take a nap till then, princess? For ‘bout 100 years. 

Kate: Wha…

I felt a sharp pricking sensation in my fingertip— and my consciousness faded away. 

…

Kate: Nn… 

Ellis?: Ah… you’re awake. Wow, it’s been exactly 100 years.

Ellis?: Good morning, Kate. 

I opened my eyes to see Ellis leaning over, peering into my face.

Kate: Good morning, Ellis…!

Kate: You’re back from Jude’s errand! 

Kate: Now that I think of it, I feel like Jude made me fall asleep… 

Ellis?: 100 years have passed since then, Kate.

Kate: 100 YEARS!? But… the two of you don’t look any different.

Jude: For that 100 years, I used my magic to freeze our bodies in time.

Kate: I see… magic really is amazing.

Kate: Oh…! Since I’ve been sleeping for 100 years, can I borrow your bath…? 

I didn't want to look like a mess in front of Ellis.

Jude: Suit yerself. The bath’s still in the same place it was 100 years ago. 

Kate: Thank you so much!

(Is it just me, or does Jude seem kinder than usual? … Maybe he softened up in the past 100 years.)

Ellis?: I’ll be waiting for you, Kate.

Kate: Alright… oh, um… I dreamed of you a lot in that 100 years of being asleep.

Kate: But… now that I’m awake, I’m so happy to see the real you! 

After Kate left the room, the young man resembling Ellis titled his head, puzzled. 

Ellis?: … Did I do it right, master? 

Jude: Yeah… you were exactly like that guy. Keep it up.

Jude: But don't ya call me “master”. 

Jude: I may have made ya, but hearing it coming from that face of yers gives me the creeps. Just call me Jude.

Ellis?: Okay, got it.

The day the briar was burned, Ellis died by Kate’s own hand. 

Jude could imagine how heartbroken she would be if she ever found out… just the thought itself made him feel sick. 

Therefore, while Kate slept for 100 years…

Jude painstakingly gathered the ashes of the burnt briar and used his magic to create a human form for it.

He was able to recreate Ellis’ appearance entirely, but perhaps due to having been burnt away into nothingness, the new Ellis had no memories of the past.

[ Jude’s POV ]

(... In the first place, it's questionable if he’s even the same person as the old Ellis.) 

= Flashback Start =

Ellis: Make Kate happy.

= Flashback End =

Back then, the briar’s curse didn't disappear. Instead, it continued gnawing away at the fairy.

(... Damn you, Ellis.)

(She’ll never be happy with anyone but you.)

With the good 13th fairy, an imitation briar, and a princess blindly in love— 

The distorted fairytale world would continue, growing more twisted than ever before. 

However…

Ellis?: …

Jude: Ellis?

The reborn briar stood silently, staring at the door Kate had exited through.

Ellis?: Ah… sorry, Jude. 

Ellis?: I’ve been watching her the whole time while she slept, but… the princess is so lovely now that she’s awake. 

Ellis?: … And she feels somewhat familiar. 

His facial expression as he muttered those words bore an uncanny resemblance to the Ellis who burnt to his death 100 years ago. 

(... Maybe it’s still too early to give up hope.)

Picturing a day when the once-dead briar might fully come back to life, and the princess could finally reach a happy ending with her briar—

The fairy gave a faint smile that no one saw. 

[owl-it-here]

Missed Opportunities: DCMK #1

The longer I follow the story of Detective Conan the more I regret that the author didn't introduce more APTX 4869 side affects beyond the pain of transformation. I can understand why he didn't do that as the series is meant to appeal to a younger audience as well, but this is really a missed opportunity.

First of all, rejuvenation to the age of 6/7 certainly affects a person's mentality and emotional stability. A child of this age has different needs than a teenager who has not completed the puberty process. As much as Shinichi's relationship with Ran is adorable. The longer he stays in “Conan's” body, the more he should notice changes in his feelings. There should be a moment where he catches himself reflexively thinking of Ran as a sister. Especially since he often separates his original persona, referring to himself as someone else. Regardless of how good an actor he is, with the level of stress he experiences every day, it certainly affects his livelihood. We seemingly see Shinichi catch on to Conan's habits during his brief transformation, but it's not enough.

There is also a good chance that Conan's intelligence will not be able to help him with the emotional fatigue of his childish body. In my opinion, there should come a point when Conan's nerves of steel, formed while growing up as Shinichi, will not hold up. Not necessarily during a time of danger or investigation, but later, for example. For a reason that will not seem important. Simply because he became overwhelmed.

To be clear, I'm not talking about memory or skill fading, but about matching capabilities with the body. It is known that the TV series added a lot of extra episodes (so it seems to us that an eternity has passed), while according to the manga, probably not even a year has passed yet (I am actually not sure, although it should because Conan is not Ash Ketchump). But you have to remember that a year for a young child, a year for a teenager and a year for an adult are completely different intervals. The longer he is in this body, theoretically, the easier it will be for him because he will begin to grow up in it again. In practice, it may be more difficult for him because adult emotions will be mixed with those of re-adolescence.

In addition, our lifestyle and what we face partly affects our appearance. The basis is written in the genes, but that's about it. Based on how many times Conan was in a life-threatening situation, and that he even underwent surgery in his rejuvenated body, this should gently affect the appearance of his older self. With the use of a pill that temporarily ages him, there should be an effect that there is something different about him. Every time it is used, there should be a slight difference. Ai could also use this as a warning not to overuse the pill. ( Besides the fact that it will stop working at some point.)

Our dear boy should just have it a little harder…. Turning into a younger self with full capabilities just seems too easy. Even if to some extent DC is the forerunner of this trend among popular series. To speculate what could have been.

[alicerosejensen]

Please tell us you’ll do a part 2 for your head canon about Leon’s girlfriend finding out about Ada and Claire. Surely he wouldn’t just let her run off like that if he loves her.

All you need to know is that while I was writing this part, I listened to "I Love How You Lie" - Eminem feat. Rihanna. At least twenty times. Maybe more.

There is no physical violence here, but you can see a broken Lеon when his girlfriend left for TWO months without explanation. Fuck knows why Tumbler gave me some character restrictions in the last post, but out of fear I shortened some part of the text. (And this time there were no such gifts)

Tornado meets volcano.

So, a few people asked for the second part and I translated it as far as I could into English. Enjoy it if you can.

I like this text. I consider this one of my best works (I think it looks much better on the original).

If you need a translation of the third part, then let me know. Because of the fucking restriction, I'm not sure it's worth putting this whole story out.

As Cersei Lannister once said, "Love is poison. Yes, it is sweet, but it kills no worse than any other".

Because of one man, you have no desire to go out into the daylight, there is no reason to smile or laugh. The realization that for Leon you were nothing more than a beautiful doll still makes the heart bleed and quietly cry into the pillow looking for salvation in the night while everyone is sleeping.

It seems that there will be no end to this pain, and your hero turned out to be the main villain in your story, because of which you suffer. You allowed yourself to be deceived, you allowed yourself to be played with. You're the one who let a stranger become someone close. You're the one who let Leon rip out his heart, leaving a gaping wound that's slowly rotting away.

Nevertheless, you still miss his warm, slightly rough hands at night, who hugged you tightly, hugging you on cool nights. Now this whole stupid story reminds of how the moth flew into the light and eventually burned to the ground, so that only ashes remained of it. The truth is that the fire is Leon, and you are a stupid moth that has gone out. Although now, looking at the night sky, pressing your knees to your stomach, hugging yourself tightly, despite the great loss, you hope one day to start shining brighter than comets again.

Carey called last week, telling the latest news and gossip, not forgetting to mention your boyfriend who came to college looking for you, but she lied to him saying she didn't know where you were and where you disappeared. Leon hardly believed it, but he was not a man who beat the truth out of others. At least not from stupid students. But your happiness is that he did not know where your parents' house was, which means that in any case his search will not be successful.

You're very happy about it. Here you allow yourself to walk through the fields, remembering your youth and go with your father to the forest, just like in childhood jumping on the biggest stones. In the evening, the old man plays guitar to you and your mother while you and her clean up the dishes after a hearty dinner. Here at home, your wounds don't ache so much from the pain, and you look with laughter at the childhood photos taken by your mother in Calcutta, when you wrapped yourself in someone's sari trying to repeat the movements of Indian dancers. Flipping through the pages, you came across a photo with your fifth birthday, where you joyfully got dirty with a birthday cake.

And while your parents were laughing, you suddenly remembered that for some reason Leon didn't have more than one child's photo. Then, for some reason, he still said that his parents died quite early, but it was a sore subject that the two of you never touched on with him again. But he really liked to hear about your childhood adventures.

So you thought…

You so wanted to escape from the noisy city, away from Leon, and now involuntarily the soul is drawn to him. Although it doesn't make sense to dream about a summer together anymore. You had a wonderful, romantic love. You left Leon your dream of living together, but he never touched on the topic of future family with you.

It was really funny. Your father still doesn't like your first high school crush, even though you were fifteen and there was nothing between you and this guy but a chaste kiss on the cheek, this guy was forever blacklisted by your father. To make him think about Leon, who was twelve years older? Most likely, he would have tried to shoot him with his hunting rifle.

All the things, books, clothes, cosmetics, even the phone - everything is left with Leon and you will have to come back for them anyway. However, the mere thought of the collision of these sapphire eyes makes, the body goosebumps. You can lick your wounds at home, but there…all the scabs will open up again if only he touches you. If he suddenly says that Ada does not matter to him, however, by that smile and the compact in his bedside table, you realized that she would always be in the first place for him.

I wonder how long he's been looking for you? You called your friend because you wanted to clarify (and once again slash at the heart with a sharp knife of truth) whether Leon appeared in college or tried to reach you through friends, but the truth is cruel: he wasn't looking for you. Of course, it was probably stupid to worry, but you hoped that you meant something to him at least a little.

Leon has become your sweet poison.

Somehow, all thoughts returned to him alone. You are ready to fall into the abyss after him, get a hundred bullets instead of him, but it was his bullet that killed you.

Therefore, no matter how much you love him, the mind, and not the remnants of feelings, tells you a reasonable "Let him go." This is what needs to be done, and it will be the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, Leon is not the hero of Tolkien's beautiful story. He is not Beren, and you are not his Luthien. Funny comparison… But this is an analgesic balm, so you can stand firmly at the door of the apartment from which you escaped a little more than two months ago.

However, uncertainty again knocked down your legs at the very last minute, turning you into a mess with swollen red eyes, drowning in a puddle of your own tears. But to hell with it! You weren't tempted to listen to his voice or reread old messages, so why the hell are all these fucking feelings coming back out?! The cleaner handed you the keys and you exhaled with relief, hoping that you would have time to pick up all the things before Leon returned and then the need for an explanation would disappear by itself.

You will simply disappear from his life. He will cherish his love for Ada Wong or find someone who will not mind being a replacement for this irreplaceable woman.

But you cross the threshold of the house, leaving the keys on the bedside table, intending to finish it as soon as possible. This person is not capable of loving you, and by and large your days together are numbered. This is what you repeat to yourself, pulling out of the closet a large suitcase and a bag, alternately putting your things there.

Yes, you notice a few bottles of alcohol in the kitchen, a mess and your phone. Leon unlocked it, and you think that maybe he decided to check your correspondence or recent calls, but he definitely didn't find anything "criminal". Because Ada Wong didn't write to you.

Without wasting precious time, you continue packing, still taking the phone and putting it in your coat pocket. Your blouses, dresses, underwear…actually, you wouldn't mind quickly changing into more comfortable clothes than the one you took from home. But still discarding the thought of changing clothes, you zipped up suitcase, grabbing an empty bag with her free hand to put all the cosmetics there. You turn around to go to the dressing table and…freeze.

Leon.

He tricked you. He wasn't on your side. Burn it with fire, but he will not see you in tears. You won't stay with him and let him tear you to pieces. You are not the heroine of Lana Del Rey's music video…

But Leon was just silently watching your hurried movements. With those deep bruises under his eyes and a faraway look. He looked so exhausted that you wanted to go up to him and kiss him almost on a reflex level, but your brain was still saying "let him go! Save the remnants of your poor heart!"

You thought one thing, and Leon did not understand why you poured caustic poison on him in this way, running away without explaining anything. Smouldering like a coal, he was still just glad to see you alive and unharmed. And yet the sandcastle that he was building with you was now being destroyed on his hands.

The only thing Leon knows is that if he loses you, he will lose his only home.

"I can't…I'm leaving you," you whispered, still fiddling with the strap of the bag, watching the light blue eyes darken in an instant.

"What do you mean?" - Leon takes the bag out of your hands, throwing it on the bed at the same time looking strangely at the already packed suitcase. - "Baby, if you've been wanting to tell me something for a long time, then you should have done it, and not run the devil knows where without money and a phone. What was I supposed to think? Where have you been? You haven't been to college for two months!"

My God, your body is screaming again, as it did then: "Run." Although it was a lie. Leon's voice remains even, calm… and gentle. Just don't run away from him. His hand gently grabs your palm, warming it, forcing the blood to circulate through your veins. He's been so damn worried, missed you so much, that he seriously thinks he'd rather tie you to a bed and set the fucking house on fire than let you leave.

"I'm not her. But I'm not a fucking piece of cake that you can take whenever you see fit. I loved you, but I don't want to see you anymore. I don't want to talk to you and know you."

The good question is, who is going to hurt who now? Some part of you wants to cause him at least a fraction of the pain that you experienced, while Leon becomes a shadow of his former self in front of your eyes from these words. You fucking promised him! Be with him!

"I'm not Ada Wong. I'm not a mysterious spy. But I'm not your toy either, Leon. I'm the fucking person whose feelings you played with! When I loved you so much that it went beyond sanity, you loved a completely different woman!"

You're crying, turning away from him to grab the remnants of things and throw them into a fucking bag and run far, far away to start all over again. Away from Leon and his woman in red. The main thing is that he does not look at you with that sad, tired look, otherwise you will not stand it and burst into tears out loud. Do you want to yell at him when he asks one simple question, "Is it because of Ada? Is she the reason you left?"

But you turn around abruptly.

"No. The reason is you, not her. You hurt me. Not Ada. She's the part of you that you'll never let go of. "

This quote and the compact should be enough for him to understand. But it drives to lose your mind. Your love melts when you look at him and listen to his tacit consent. He would never let this woman go. And you still have some remnants of pride. "Maybe you're right." - This is what finally breaks your love. Next to him, you become quieter, smaller…Leon won another round, and you lost to him. Your heartbeat slows down, but his words finally force you not to let him touch you.

"Good" - Your lips whispered it so simply. As if it doesn't hurt at all. "I'm leaving."

"Don't!" - Almost a plea, but you jump away from Leon when he grabs you by the shoulders and pulls you to him. Despite how much you missed him, now in order to save yourself, your brain began to make a monster out of him. "I won't let you go. I love you, you know that! That should be enough!"

"But it's not enough! You love her and you will always choose her from the two of us. I'm not coming back to you anymore. I'm NOT her replacement! I won't fall into these nets anymore!

This is your end.

The last point. You don't know how to continue to believe in better days, but it's time to part. It's time to leave and forget this feeling. You resist when Leon tries to hold you to him. This is what tears apart. You just loved him. Your emotions are in a mess, you don't even realize right away that you are choking on the howl of that same beaten dog. How can you love and hate him at the same time?

That's all. Leave. Run. But you fall to your knees because you can't do anything against him! You love him so much! Whether he's a monster or a scoundrel. What should you do? It shouldn't be like that at all.

"Angel, believe me! It has not been as important as it used to be for a long time. I love you. That message doesn't mean anything!" - His hands hold you tightly by the waist, not allowing you to leave. He also loves you no less than you love him. Why didn't you just tell him what was bothering you? - "You are my love."

He's fucking lying. He wasn't even looking for you.

"Let me go!" - You scream, remembering all the nights with him without sleep, when everything was fine. You want to believe in this fucking lie, but in order to escape, you grab the very last thread, strike a fatal blow: "I don't love you anymore!"

It was painful. Leon feels a ringing in his ears and wants to loosen his grip at the last second, but for some reason he leans against the top of your head, still hoping that you are lying.

"It is not true." You both knew that. You heard only a pulse pounding and one boundless silence. You would be ashamed to look at yourself in the mirror, but Leon turns you over to face him, wiping the wet tracks of tears on his swollen cheeks with his thumbs. - "I don't believe it. Princess, if you would tell me…I was going crazy. You ran away without even explaining anything. Do you really believe that I could hurt you? I love you, not her. That's all you need to know. I will always choose you."

"I want to leave." Leon nods negatively, feeling a lump in his throat, but you want to leave him. You've already decided everything. Even for the first time, only now he continues to deprive you of strength, being your biggest weakness. Even if you feel calm right now, burying your nose in his neck, you have to do it.

"Please don't say that…"

"But it's true!"

Leon's hands close around your waist as he kisses your temple. He has found you and right now he is holding you in his arms not so that you will leave. Not so that everything that you both have been building for so long will collapse. He doesn't need tears to hurt. He needs you.

And again a single tear falls from your eyelashes. Why is he lying to your face? Why did you become his victim? But you can't order your heart and you can't lie to your soul - you want your love for him to disappear like a bird in the sky, what a pity that miracles don't happen.

You are bound by these hands and absolutely unarmed. Hell, you can't even leave as beautifully as Ada always does.

"You don't want that, I know. Please baby…We can talk about it. Look at me." - You're doing it. Idiot. You look at him when his gentle touches become rough, as long as you just don't look away. Unlikely you could have turned your head even a couple of degrees. - "It's all good."

It would be better if you died now. There is no doubt in your sincere love… he will always come back to her. Therefore, not a damn thing is all right! You're not okay! It's you who are suffering from agony, while he just needs the warmth of a young body.

This is what you shout at him, pushing him away from you, getting to your feet, grabbing a suitcase. You don't care about anything anymore! You're running away forever. Leon's reaction, however, is faster than yours, and he manages to intercept you faster than you get to the open door, throwing the damn suitcase aside.

You are probably the unluckiest girl.

A familiar record of Leon's promises that he loves you. He pinned you against the wall, hanging like a mighty rock, cutting off escape routes. At this moment, you do not have enough air, as if the breathing taps have been blocked.

"Princess…" - You smile bitterly. A princess who was banished from her own kingdom and from his heart. You turn from a princess into a prisoner. It was he who left you a deep crater instead of a heart. -"You're not her, but that's why I'm with you. I don't love you for your body. If I wanted a beautiful girl for the night, then this relationship would never have happened."

"Please go" - The request hidden from the lips responds with a dull pain inside Leon. Taking a step towards you, he bumps into an obstacle from your hands that have fallen on his chest. - "I don't want to be second place anymore."

All Leon is thinking about at this very second, while you are tearing his skin and flesh getting to his heart in shreds, which bastard drove this thought into your head?

You're the reason he's still alive. How can you want to leave him after he has allowed you to become a part of his life? He's been looking for you these fucking two months! Sometimes, in a frenzy, I rushed after every passerby thinking that it was you. You are his most beloved person, so how can you leave him?

Why has everything changed so much? Because of that stupid message from Ada and the compact, which he hadn't thought about for a long time. He just threw it away and forgot, not thinking that you can find it, but if you find it…Why didn't you just ask him about it?! He would have gotten rid of this item in front of you!

You have to stay. But you had different points of view on the situation.

He couldn't fucking sleep in a shared bed, thinking about where you were and who you were with. What if you had actually been killed in an alley somewhere? But the way your friend calmly said that he allegedly knew nothing about your whereabouts made him calm down, because he was sure that this girl was not one of those who are in the dark. So you were either with her or at least safe.

The thought of another man who could touch you the way he touched you turned him inside out. You couldn't run off to another guy to hurt him even more. That's not your style.

"You always came first." - It's true, but why the hell do you think it's a lie? How can you think that he has someone else?! What the fuck is wrong with you? - "Since came into my life. All I ever wanted was you."

Leon wants this whole two-month performance to be a fucking manipulation. God, he'll forgive you for your stupidity. He will strip you naked, hold you close and tell you that he loves you very much. The main thing is not to leave. He'll take you wherever you want, just stay with him. Don't lie to him that you don't love him!

"I don't believe you." - The end. - "You're right, my heart is full of blind love for you, but enough of this torment. My biggest mistake is to think that you loved me too. I'm tired of this pain, and if I stay here, it will kill me once. I want to be happy. But to become one of them, you don't have to be in my life! Аlthough I love the way you lie."

"Don't say that!" - Leon grabbed you, hugging you to him, which is why the familiar smell of cologne hit you in the nose, which made you want to close your eyes, enjoying it. You become a disassembled puzzle in his hands again. - "I've never lied to you! Not a single day. Princess, Ada was an important part of my life. However, what I feel for her is nothing compared to what I felt for you. Believe in it."

And that's what you want. It seems that only one step separates you from the possibility of leaving. You pressed against his shoulder-so strong, warm, safe, while his palm covered the back of your head.

So weak. Grabbed him by the back, giving a spark of hope that you will stay. Instilling in him the hope that now he will calm you down and you will put on these shackles again when he puts you on the bed and makes love sex to you.

You thought it would be easier to do.

"That's it. It's all good. I'm here with you. You're with me." - Leon's voice is shaking. If you believe him now… remember the compact in his bedside table. Push him away! Save yourself! - "I love you."

He is the one who kisses your tears from your cheeks and nose. He holds your neck, so it seems he can squeeze it until it crunches in order to end your life, but Leon just strokes the skin with his thumb.

Leon's heartbeat slows down, returning to a normal rhythm. And you are his little favorite toy, which he takes away from the door, confident that everything is in the past. Sure he convinced you. And you take six whole steps forward with him, glancing at the suitcase he threw.

Your pulse is pounding in your temples. If you stay, then only God will know how much loneliness you can endure. Leon may not be cheating on you physically, but his thoughts will always be with the woman in red. With Ada. He will always come back to her.

If you stay, you will lose yourself forever. You suddenly thought that one day you would want children, but Leon's work does not imply their presence. Then even they won't be your outlet. And one day, the best solution would be to just kill yourself. Poison, knife, rope… you will be so broken by him that you will absolutely not care.

You're leaving. Point.

Don't forget about all the happy moments that he gave you, but don't you dare let him destroy you!

If you can't leave like Ada, then do it your way. Even if it looks ugly and pathetic. You may look like a beaten dog, but you will be ALIVE.

Someday this day will be just a nightmare from which you could wake up. Just find a little strength in yourself to take the handle of the suitcase and… leave.

Then you bend down, grab the handle and lift your luggage off the floor as Leon takes a few small steps away from you, intending to remove the empty bottles and finally throw Ada's compact away. He knows that you picked up the suitcase and for ten whole seconds was sure that you just want to put things back in their places.

So scary.

Both him and you.

"Sorry." - You exhale. It's so complicated. Either God is such a masochist, or you yourself. Leon looks at you and doesn't believe you. Some strange smile appears on his lips mixed with despair.

"Sweetheart, wait."

"Goodbye Leon"

And you're really leaving him.

You run out of the apartment like the first time, leaving him alone. But you won't come back.

Your days together were numbered.

[gabessquishytum]

Mobster!Alpha Hob mates with In-the Dark About The Criming!Omega Dream.

Hob runs one of the largest crime families on the Eastern seaboard. He is not a nice man, surrounded by not nice men and women. He allows for no dissent or stepping out of line. And he will (violently) protects every omega that makes it to him who requests protection.

Dream is Hob's pretty princess omega. He dresses for Hob's pleasure & desire. He's beautiful and the hottest arm candy in Hob's social circle (of scary men).

Hob has money and is obesssed with Dream - his happiness; making sure he has everything he wants; making sure no one makes him uncomfortable or scared. They are traditionally mated, but actually in love.

More to the point, Dream doesn't really know what Hob's business is - Hob purposefully keeps the seedier side of things away from his princess; and Dream doesn’t care about anything be loving his (masterful) Hob.

An upstart gang makes a move against Hob - injuring Hob, killing some of his people, and kidnapping Dream. The last thing Dream sees as he's grabbed and knocked out is Hob bleeding and unconscious; last thing he remembers before he wakes up again is screaming Hob's name. Dream might not know the full extent of Hob's "business," but when he wakes up naked in a glass cage, what he does know is that Hob will come for him --- as long as there is breath in his lungs(; as long as he's still alive).

I really like this set-up!! Spoiled princess Dream who knows that his beloved husband is rich and powerful and maybe not very nice, but he's nice to Dream, and that's what matters. Dream doesn't ask questions. He's busy with his own stuff, dressing pretty for his alpha, doing his art projects, taking Hob’s knot. He loves Hob so much, and he loves the life that they have together.

Well now Dream is forced to confront the reality of who he's married to. He's in this cage, he's being threatened with torture and terrible degradation. When the gang ask questions about Hob’s business, Dream can't even answer because he doesn't know anything! But he wouldn't say a word even if he did know. All he thinks of his Hob, if Hob survived the attack, if he'll come soon. His captors expected Dream to be broken and begging by now but all he does is murmur Hob’s name hopefully, tracing the letters on the glass.

Hob had to physically fight to get out of the hospital when he woke up. They kept trying to sedate him, saying he was risking his life if he left the hospital. But Hob is an alpha with a goal. He's getting his omega back, by hell or high water. And he is NOT in a good mood when he and a few trusted companions bust into the basement where Dream has been kept. The gang members are gunned down and Hob’s team quickly work to free the omega.

Hob is in a bad state but he can still pick Dream up and carry him up the stairs, soothing and licking his bond mark the whole time. He holds Dream constantly for the next few hours, even at the hospital. And he bites anyone who tries to separate them. Dream is traumatised but happy to be in Hob’s arms. For a little while he thought he might never be Hob’s princess ever again. Now he's sure they can put the whole thing behind them.

Hob practically wraps Dream in cotton wool from that day on. Although he's completely open about how he makes his living now, he never lets anyone from that side of his life near his precious omega. He has Dream under strict protection. He even gives Dream his own little weapon of choice, of course the prettiest and most expensive he can find. Only the best for his darling.

Dream is far tougher than he looks, and Hob knows that. But that isn't the point. He's sworn to love and protect his omega, and to provide for him. So he's going to spoil Dream in every way that he can. Seeing him in that glass cage confirmed what Hob already knew: he'd burn the world to a pile of ash, if it meant making his Dream happy.

[fatuismooches]

sorry, ik that signora is y'know, dead and all, but fragile!reader + her crimson moths made me have a rlly sad realization.

due to your sick nature, rosalyne had asked you to stay in snezhnaya while she goes to inazuma. she presses a kiss against your forehead, murmuring that it would only take a month or two, and she'll be sure to bring back souvenirs for you. she assures you that nothing will hurt her, and that she will come back to you.

and while you're in snezhnaya, worried over your lover in inazuma, you're still comforted by the fact that rosalyne has left several crimson moths behind to watch over you. she has always had a protective streak, but your fragility makes her that much more overprotective of you. they flutter and fly whenever they want, but at night, they sleep by your side, providing rosalyne's familiar warmth that so easily lulls you to slumber.

and because, her crimson moths had been with you for so long, it was almost incomprehensible that they would one day leave. but on that one fateful day, when they slowly died out right in front of your eyes, you realized how foolish you had been. with shaky hands, you reach out to try and grab onto them, but one by one, they disintegrate into ash in the palm of your hand, until only one remains.

you're going insane, rightfully so, but you try and keep calm to await for her return, bc you want to have hope. you couldn't—no, you wouldn't let this get you sick. rosalyne must be fine, she absolutely has to be. you pray to the gods, to the tsaritsa, for your beloved rosalyne's return, but the dread building in the pit of your stomach only grows as time goes on. and on one fortunate day, you feel well enough to head outside, if only for a moment, only to accidentally overhear some fatui recruits saying that, "the fair lady has been killed by the electro archon—"

and suddenly, your world comes crashing down.

tbh, i don't rlly like signora that much?? like i don't hate her, i don't love her, i'm vv neutral on her but this idea has been infesting my mind for like,, a week and it has def softened my opinion on her. i hope this has brought you joy(?) or sorrow(?) idk tbh, i hope you enjoy this word vomit lol

UM ANON?? FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE SIGNORA THAT MUCH YOU WROTE THIS SO WELL?!?! My gosh i didn't realize how much angst potential Signora and fragile reader could have... she is super overprotective because she already lost the first person she loved... and now her next lover is not one of the best health... The Gods are laughing in her face right now :(

Rosalyne leaving you to go to other nations was nothing new, she had gone to Mondstadt and Liyue, and been successful in her mission both times. Every time she came back and smiled, in that way that said "I told you so. See, there's no need to worry about me, darling." You would still be overcome by a sense of relief as she kissed you all over, both of you have missed each other terribly.

So really, when Signora left for Inazuma, it wasn't any different. It was going to be the same old mission - infiltrate the nation, get the Gnosis, and return. She's done it once, she's done it twice, she can definitely do it thrice. But still, you were worried. You were always worried about her. You knew she was strong, very much so compared to you, but still... Though, at the very least you had some company. Some pieces of her in a way. Although Signora's moths would burn any enemy she encounters, for you, they remain a comfortable heat that only makes you feel loved. Also, the moths were not only warm and cuddly but fun to watch. You liked to watch them fly around your room... they were even stronger than you gave them credit for as a bunch of them could carry certain items to you.

You remember the first moth that fizzed out very clearly. You were confused at first - Signora never burned away any of her moths when she was away from you. But then in only a matter of minutes, another one goes. And another. And another. All burning away in a few seconds. By now, you're panicking, trying to cup them in your hands. protect them somehow but soon enough, it was as if they never existed before. You remember what Rosalyne said - her moths will always be near as long as she still lives in this world. Your throat dries up at what this means.

You try not to let your mind go there because you were already getting a headache and fever from the implications. Please, you pray to the Tsaritsa, please let Rosalyne be okay. Please let her walk through that door again and give you that same smirk. She'll bring back so many gifts for you, and maybe she'll get a small break from her Fatui duties because of how successful she's been. And maybe you two could go out somewhere nice. Just please, let her be alive.

When you learned what really happened, you weren't sure if you were going to have any strength to live anymore.

[angelst4re]

ash I'm begging you to write some type of Jace angst, like where he regects the reader after she confesses, or maybe stands her up when they're supposed to go on a date or they go to the club and he's being all touchy with her because he's drunk and then the next morning he just doesn't remember and doesn't care too

just some kind of angst </33

eeeee i loved this idea!!!! and i just had to write it because jace <33

Last Night- Jace (Wayland? Herondale?) x Reader

summary: they say drunk words are sober thoughts, and jace has a lot to confess after a few drinks

warnings: none!! :) (unless alcohol counts!!)

notes: i don't know if i like this :( i had a few different ideas of how i could've written this and i wish i did it differently now... but i could always make up for it with a part 2...? ;)

Everybody knew Jace wasn’t one for relationships. He hated to show his vulnerable side and he would never see the same girl more than once. You were quite upset by this, as you had liked him for quite a while now. Every time you thought he was going to open up to you and let you in, he would turn cold again, shutting his feelings off. Although it did upset you, you understood why he acted like this, given his childhood. 

It was finally Saturday night, and you and Izzy were getting ready to go out. The two of you would go out to clubs together every week, it would usually end in her bringing a man back to her bedroom and you going to bed even earlier than you would do on any other night. But tonight, Alec and Jace had been asking about joining the both of you, and although Izzy was reluctant at first, she gave in, and the four of you headed to the club. 

Not long after getting in, Izzy had already found someone to kill time with, and Alec was pleasantly surprised to have bumped into Magnus, which left you and Jace by the bar, and he was already on his second drink. 

“Do you want another one?” Jace asked, pointing to your empty glass. 

“No, I shouldn't drink too much tonight. But I might have a coke?” 

Jace nodded, and he ordered another drink for himself too. You looked cautiously at him as he handed you yours, thanking him, before sighing and looking for Isabelle.

“Does this happen every time?” Jace asked. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Izzy finds somebody and leaves you by yourself?”

“Usually,” you answer, “or sometimes I’ll find someone too.” 

After months of heartache, you wondered if you could win Jace over by making him jealous. He’s used to girls falling at his feet for him, so you decided to test it out. 

“Oh yeah?” He raised an eyebrow, “well you’re stuck with me tonight.”

“But what if a cute girl comes up to you? Surely I wouldn’t be stuck with you all night.” 

Jace chuckled, waiting a moment before responding, as if he was hesitant to answer. 

“I’m afraid to break it to you, but I don’t think any girl in this world is cuter than you.” 

You were shocked by those words, but you tried not to take much notice of what he said as he was clearly drunk. 

“Jace, you’re drunk. You don’t mean that.” You said, a smile creeping onto your lips as you shook your head. 

“I do mean it,” he told you, “I’ve always thought you were the most gorgeous- the most beautiful-”

“Jace!” You interrupted him, “stop talking!” You chuckled, reaching for your drink. 

“I’m sorry I don’t tell you enough. I’m just worried about how you’d react, I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” He said, leaning towards you and brushing a piece of hair away from your face, before letting his hand rest on your waist, causing your heart to skip a beat. 

“Jace…” You mumble, not knowing what else to say, “then why have you always turned me down? Why do you-”

“Because you’re too good for me, and I know you know it.”

You’re truly lost for words, so you pull him in for a hug, which lasted longer than you would’ve thought. His touch, his smell, the beating of his heart, it was all so overwhelming, and you knew that tomorrow, when he was sober, he would forget everything he told you, and it would all go back to normal. 

“Jace, you’re drunk. I’m taking you home, okay? I’ll text Alec and Izzy when we get back but I think you need to go to bed before you do something you’ll regret.” 

“But we’ve only been here for like 20 minutes, just one more drink?”

“Jace, no. We’ve been here for an hour now and you clearly can’t handle your alcohol. We’re going back.” 

He gave in eventually, sighing as he took your hand and led you through the crowd of people and towards the exit. 

The walk back to the institute wasn’t long, but it felt like hours due to the awkward silence between the two of you. You wondered whether Jace has finally realised what he had said in the club, that he had begun to sober up, but as he spoke again, it was clear that he was still rather intoxicated. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, of course.” You replied, looking up from the ground to the gorgeous man beside you. 

“So I was wondering… because- I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t been feeling the best lately- I mean, mentally, everything at the institute has began to really-”

“Jace,” you gave him a sweet smile, an apology for interrupting him, “what do you want to ask me?” 

“I was going to ask if I could… maybe… sleep with you tonight? Wait no! No! I mean, stay with you, in your room. I just don’t want to be alone tonight, that’s why I went out with you, Izzy and Alec, I was hoping maybe I would find someone to take home with me.” 

You chuckled slightly as you approached the doors to the institute, looking at Jace with soft eyes. You had always felt empathetic towards Jace, Izzy had her brother (Alec), his friend Clary had her childhood best friend (Simon), and he had nobody, just like you. 

“Of course you can, Jace. Of course.”

When you got to your room, you did a quick bit of tidying whilst Jace changed in his room. By the time he had knocked on your door, you hoped your room looked okay, not that he would even take notice of it in the state he was in. 

You told Jace to make himself comfortable whilst you went to the bathroom, changed and washed your face. When you returned, Jace was sitting up in bed reading the book that you kept on your bedside table. 

“Do you like reading?” You asked as you sat beside him on your side of the bed. 

“Only if the book sounds interesting.” 

“Does that one sound interesting?” 

“Not really,” he answered truthfully, “I don’t quite get it.” 

You chuckled at this once more, and Jace put the book back down. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll explain it to you in the morning. I’m going to turn the light off now, try and get some sleep, okay.” 

“Yeah…” He mumbled sleepily, getting comfortable as you switched the lamp off, “goodnight, I love you.”

“Goodnight, Jace.” 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

When you woke up the next morning, the bed was empty and cold. You had wondered whether you dreamt the whole thing, but when you saw your book wasn’t in its usual place you knew it had all actually happened. 

You got up and got yourself ready to go down for breakfast. When you got there, you noticed Jace was the only one in the kitchen, eating a slice of toast. 

“Good morning.” You smiled, reaching for a bowl as you were going to have cereal this morning. 

“Mrnng.” Jace grunted. 

“Hungover?” You laughed as he nodded his head, “god, Jace, do you remember what happened last night?” 

His eyes widened in fear as he shook his head. 

“No, but I woke up in your bed. We didn’t… do anything… did we?” 

“No, we didn’t have sex, Jace. But you did say you loved me, and told me I’m the most gorgeous, beautiful girl in the world, although that wasn’t exactly what you said, I shut you up before you could finish your sentence.” 

“Oh.” He said, clearly not bothered as he continued eating his toast. 

“Oh? Jace, is that all you have to say about that?” You were quite confused now, and also angry. You knew you shouldn’t have taken what he said seriously. 

“What do you want me to say?” 

“I want you to tell me whether you meant those things!” You raised your voice, feeling your eyes begin to well up with tears. 

“I was drunk. I didn’t know what I was saying.” He scoffed, putting his plate by the sink when he had finished. 

“Jace-” 

“Please, my head hurts, I don’t want to talk about this now, okay? Maybe later but not now. Sorry.”

[saturniandragon]

Adra's Project Wingman In-Depth Review: Per Mission Experience and Commentary

(Caution: extremely long read. Please have snacks ready)

Project Wingman! Or so I've heard it more described as "a love letter to the Ace Combat franchise." Another arcade flight action shooter game similar to Ace Combat, and if I remember rightly, designed and developed by Ace Combat fans. Again I've spent years and years avoiding spoilers, although inevitably I began hearing a few things about it; it's like Ace Combat, it's set in alternate history, you can carry up to 4(!) different types of ordnance, and it's orange. So I guess like NFS Most Wanted (2005). Like Ace Combat 7 of course, I'm playing with my Xbox controller.

Which brings me to the first... quirk of the game. The menu interface. You control a cursor on the screen with your left thumbstick, and you have to carefully position it to the menu buttons that you want to access. The left thumbstick doesn't cycle through the menu buttons, you have to control a cursor with your joystick. Which I find to be a little on the negative side and I decided to just use my mouse to navigate the menu. Makes me wonder if this is a side effect of Project Wingman being developed as a PC game first and console second.

The last time I was met with this kind of UI controls was in the 2019 game "Observation."

However I am very impressed that the menu background isn't just a static image or a repeated video. It looks like a real time 3D rendered scene with planes flying above the treeline. Also what looks like a massive airship or a mothership trailing slowly across the sky. My hype level is up by 3 notches. I can't wait to start playing.

No fancy animation or a CGI video as the intro. Just a text that briefly tells the story about the game's world. Very much like David Szymanski's "Iron Lung" game. Seeing Sector D2 is not a massive game studio and just an indie developer, it's perfectly fine. And what I learned is that Project Wingman's universe is alternate history Earth that experienced some kind of massive natural disaster or calamity that changed the world forever, and new nations start to rise from the ashes. The game takes place 400 years after the event.

First briefing screen. Wow this orange tint really reminds me of Ace Combat Zero briefing screen. And I can also see the map of the Project Wingman world in the background. The continent of America has changed, not dramatically, you can see the general shape of the continent, but the west shoreline has practically split off from the rest of the continent. And a glimpse of what used to be Japan, China, Philippines and Indonesia, now reduced to just a few main islands, presumably the remains of the cataclysm mentioned earlier.

Apparently our protag is a mercenary pilot who goes by the name Monarch (as in monarch butterfly, I assume), who is a part of Hitman team, under the mercenary organization known as Sicario. And our client is the Federation? Is that a country, or a union like the one in COD Ghosts? Either way it brings me back to Cipher and Pixy, who were also merc pilots. In PW, apparently we're fighting a group of pirate pilots.

First mission, destroy some kind of research material that was deemed unsafe and fell into a group of merc pirates. A few ground targets, ships, and a few air targets. Alright, no big deal. My Ace Combat experience is more than enough for this.

I'm actually impressed with the voice acting. I've heard how difficult it is to voice act in a game or a movie that doesn't sound too cringey or too monotone. The guy doing the briefing actually does sound like he's done it probably a thousand times. I wonder if they hired a professional VA or just someone from the internal dev team.

Plane hangar. They give you 2 starter planes to choose. A T-21 (apparently a trainer plane that resembles MiG-21), and T/F-4 (a trainer plane that resembles F-4). I was going to use the Fishbed but the Phantom has slightly better stats, even though I'm bored with Phantoms, so I chose it. UGBL as secondary weapon, pretty standard.

First flight. Operation Red Current. AWACS Galaxy on station and OH MY GOD I HAVE A WIZZO. AND SHE HAS DIALOGUE LINES. The last time I had a wizzo was Ace Combat 2, but he just had generic repeating dialogues like missile lock/alert and stall warning. Your plane does form vapor clouds at Mach 1, something missing from AC7, so I loved that. Once again, for a small dev team, the voice acting is well done.

First set of ground TGTs clear. Ronin moving in. "Cordium" cargo? Never heard that before. They say it's too unstable, Federation orders to just clear it BOOM. MASSIVE EXPLOSION like an FAEB just went off. Mission complete, question mark? Another flight called Master Goose comes in the AO, flashing as friendlies. I don't really trust this but hey, I'm just a merc, not paid to ask questions.

If they turn out to be a fake squadron like the 8492nd, I'm gonna be... Well I don't know what I'm gonna be.

And there's a civil war in the Americas. Country of Cascadia being invaded by the Fed for natural resources. Our client is Cascadian Air Force now I guess. Is this like Belka trying to annex Ustio in AC0?

You know what, I'm too excited to have a wizzo. I'm gonna get another Phantom that isn't a Phantom (F/E-4). Big surprise, all of the SP weapons are available for use right away, no need to buy them separately. I like this game already.

Can I just say the explosions in PW from STDMs are so dramatic. Way more dramatic than AC7, it's like they hired Michael Bay. Not a bad thing though, it's giving PW identity. So it's not just a "Ace Combat we have at home"

Mission 2, all going well, fighting Fed border patrols until a massive airship came practically out of nowhere. At least this one doesn't have drones, just SK.27s and F/C-15s. A couple MLAAs later and it's down, but then no explanation as to what we just shot down. Oh well, at least we're with Cascadian AF now.

Mission 3. Rowsdower AFB. Once belonged to Cascadia now seized by the Fed on their conquest to expand their military (ala Belka), we're on a mission to take it back. Ooh, new aircraft for purchase. SV-37. I genuinely thought I unlocked a Flanker early in the game but it's just the Swedish dorito (Viggen). And it has MLAGs, if MLAA is Multi Lock Air to Air then I guess MLAG is this game's version of 4AGM. Only single seat though, I still want to hear more of Prez's dialogues. Maybe later.

Crosstalk squadron appeared, 5 Super Hornets. Grun Squadron flashbacks from Zero, anyone? Oooooh there's a health bar on the bottom of the screen for each enemy craft. I loved it. Wasn't much hassle fighting them, and we landed in Rowsdower.

Honestly I'm kind of impressed that as a band of pilot mercs, we have our own AWACS. Anyway next mission, aid Cascadian national guards from being overwhelmed by the Feds.

Two new aircrafts. CR.105 and SK.25U. I thought CR.105 is a Foxbat at first but it's delta wing design with no canards or tail surfaces. But its speed rating is off the rails, so I guess partly inspired by the Foxbat.

I'm buying SK.25U for Mission 4. Two seats and a boat load of A2G hardpoints. I sure hope there isn't any mission update where we suddenly have to fight an entire air force! (Thank fuck there isn't)

Really this game has the Frogfoot when Ace Combat 7 doesn't? Come on PA.

Next mission, Cascadian capital of Presidia. The Feds have taken over the city. Cover retreat of Cascadian armed forces. Multirole mission with tendency towards A2A. MG-31 and F/C-16 now available for purchase. Not sure if I trust a flying brick with wings for this mission, so Viper time. Guess I have to leave out Prez for this one.

Mission 5, over Presidia. WOW THIS CITY IS SO COOL with all the low hanging clouds. Though what's with all the needle towers/structures all over the city?

Thought we were done but the Feds sent out not just one or two other massive airships but FIVE of them to try and keep Presidia in their hands. I thought I shot all of them down but Mission Over text?? Did I fail??

Debriefing says Status: Success but Stardust said Presidia fell anyway. I guess it's supposed to be that way.

So far into this game, I'm developing the sense that Project Wingman is largely inspired by the classic PS2 AC titles (aka The Holy Trinity), I guess more towards Zero. The orange tint, no checkpoint system, the absence of aircraft tree, aircraft parts, merc pilot protagonist, but they also incorporate some modern QoL features like flares.

I think I would appreciate something present in AC but not present in PW; lock range indicator. You know the HUD in AC, just to right side of the pitch ladder, is a slider with a chevron that indicates the distance required for your ordnance to lock.

Mission 6, attack the Feds from the other front by crippling their energy production sites at Apodock Fracture, apparently in Yellowstone. Also they've been hunting for some material called cordium? Is that what caused the massive explosion in the first mission?

Two new aircrafts, Super Tomcat and Fulcrum! Two of my favorite aircrafts. But I had to choose the Tomcat because I miss Prez (cmon man I've been all alone in Ace Combat for years). Fucking hell it's expensive though. Better be worth it.

Yep they're hunting for cordium. We're ordered to destroy their containers. Fucking hell the SAMs in this mission are fierce, I got hit 3 times and was down to 23 health. And two more of those fucking Fed airships?? Just how many of these things are there??

Alright, mission completed. Almost. New blips on the radar, VX-23s and SK.37s. Federation Peacekeepers. Engagement Not Advised written in large text on my screen. I hammered the throttle and fly just meters away above the ground to avoid missiles and head to the return line. Reminiscent of the first time you face Yellow Squadron in AC04.

Crimson Squadron. Fed's top ace in Cascadia.

(I learned late that you have infinite flares in this game)

Mission 7. Cascadian Coast Guard seized a Fed battleship/cruiser off the coast of Cascadia. Just me and Hitman 3 this time. We're to provide air support although I kinda don't want to fly the SK.25U just to have its LASM. New aircraft for purchase called the... Accipiter. Whatever the hell that means. Apparently based on the Harrier. Not enough cash to purchase. Back to the Tomcat.

Think I forgot to read the weather report for this mission because it's stormy as fuck and the clouds are violent. I'm not sure who has the bigger balls to fly through such extreme turbulence, me or Monarch. It's actually very scary from cockpit view, everything shaking up around you and you hear the creeking and clanking from the plane's aluminum panels like they're going to break off at any moment. Oh well it's just an anti ship mission with a couple of air targets THE FED SHIPS HAVE RAILGUNS ON THEM WHY AM I FIGHTING MINI STONEHENGE AT SEA

Ok that's over now. New mission that's purely air to air mission. Take down Fed logistic planes while also avoiding shooting down civilian airliners. Weather cloudy. Two new aircrafts, Super Hornet-C and Flanker-B. But I'm still having way too much fun in my F/D-14.

Also I just learned that the seemingly random clicking noises when I'm flying is just a noise indicator of my missiles fully reloaded.

Mission 8, Briggs Mountain Range. Wait why is that civilian airliner the same as the Fed airship that I've downed multiple times before?

Doesn't matter. STDMs, HVSMs and MLAAs. One by one shooting down Fed Globemasters. Conservative with MLAA use because I totally didn't restart this mission because I accidentally shot down a civilian airliner. Then the true airship arrives. Airship Gladeus with two F/S-15s. The fucking AAM pods on the Gladeus are a nightmare to hit tbh, but mission done. More importantly no civilian casualties.

But I begin wondering, is there like multiple paths in this game like Ace Combat Zero? Like Knight, Soldier and Merc paths that are determined by whether you shoot N.TGTs or not. That's my goal for my second playthrough.

Mission 9. Raver mountains. Covert mission to take out SAM sites so we can push without losing planes. F/C-15 is now available for purchase.

But you know what, let's take the Accipiter for a spin. What was the last Ace Combat game that lets you fly a Harrier? None. Well, Assault Horizon, but that's not a true AC game. Woah, what is this, CGP? A shotgun gun pod?? Flechette rounds?? I don't fucking know how it works but I wanna try that shit out.

Alright, near CIWS units. Time to try CGPs, and... it's disappointing. Although I think my expectations were a bit too high. Well at least they didn't lie about it being a short range weapon.

And of course I did the tunnel runs in this place to destroy the containers. I'm an Ace Combat vet after all, tunnel runs are my bread and butter.

Mission 10, now the real deal. Solana Comms Array and the adjacent airbase... without Cascadian air force to help us. It's alright I guess, Monarch is already a one man army as he is. Or one man air force.

But I'm this far into the game and I still haven't found Project Wingman's equivalent of QAAMs. Maybe there will be a "HASM" (High Agility Standard Missile) or something. I guess it's time to try the Eagle for a spin.

And my thoughts? So worth buying the Eagle. Missed out on Prez, but when you attach second and third slots with MLAAs, you get 6AAMs in game. Awesome stuff. Fed is crumbling.

Mission 11, Bering Strait. Another purely A2A mission. The most expansive A2A battle ever committed, he says? We'll see to that WHOAA THIS IS LIKE THE MAYHEM MISSION FROM ACE COMBAT ZERO ON STEROIDS

And of course Crimson squadron shows up with a fuck ton of reinforcements. Totally reminding me of Schwarze squadron battle. But I'm not going down without a fight.

55 fighters, 3 SK.37s and 2 VX-23s downed by one humble F/D-14. I tried getting a close look at a VX-23 but couldn't make out what it resembles. My best guess is that it's probably something like Chengdu J-20 but couldn't see the fine details. Is there like a PSM mechanic in this game because those guys were pulling 90 Gs every now and then

Feds have issued retreat. Crimson 1 insists on staying, Crystal Kingdom order stands. Eventually Crimson obeys, and retreats the whole squadron.

If anything Ace Combat or movies have taught me, I predict Crimson is going to go berserk within the Feds. He's gonna think the Fed is too weak and just holding him back, he's gonna take Federation's most outrageous aircraft and weapon and use them to set a personal score with Monarch. I'm calling it.

I love Prez's reaction after Crimson retreated. Like yeah bitch, you better fucking run! I love her.

Alright, mission 12. Feds is absolutely crumbling after their airforce got decimated by Hitman. Multirole mission with heavy tendency towards A2A. Something about oil rigs facilities at sea.

It's railguns again, the same one that Fed ships were firing at me on previous mission with the Eminent Domain. Hitman 3 said something, why is this rig more heavily guarded than the comms array?

Mission update came up. Unknown target marked on my HUD, but I'm not firing yet. I fly close to the unknown to try get a visual but it's too damn dark to see anything, even with gibbous moon. Then something happened.

"Project Wingman is away."

What the fuck is that?? Project Wingman?? Something rapid just took off from one of the oil rigs. It's way too dark on my screen to see whatever it is, but it's roughly triangular AND IT'S SHOOTING RAILGUNS BACKWARDS AT ME WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THIS THING

Apparently piloted by another merc named Frost? Monarch shot it down with HISMs and STDMs. Frost ejected but said something about releasing data pod. I suspect this is a Federation superweapon undergoing research. That will explain the amount of AA defenses all around it although of course the game's debriefing doesn't tell me anything.

Mission 13. There's a new Fed superweapon, an airship fleet by the name of Task Force 1. It's resting in a port, we're to destroy it before it's unleashing hell, I suspect. Although something about Kingdom of Sawaiiki, one of Fed's states, will probably get in the way.

Maybe I should expect neutral/N.TGTs.

Two new aircrafts. F/S-15 and... what the hell is this? "Chimera"? At the front it resembles Su-57 nose, but the way the wing blends into the body is a bit like F-16XL's cranked delta wing, and it also has a V tail like YF-23 (maybe that's why it's called Chimera). And it's 285k to purchase, I don't even have 100k credits. Why is this available to purchase right now?

Whichever the case I can't buy either of them. I'm going with the F/C-15, I'm gonna need its MLAG.

I think this mission is where the game can do with some optimization, because my frame rate was down from 80+ to 40 near the docks where there are a fuck ton of targets. But I don't want to compare this to Ace Combat 7 because this is a game from an indie developer. I'm sure they did what they could for optimization, and I'm not gonna blame them.

Mission itself was pretty standard. Nothing super interesting although the part where Hitman 2 had to radio out a long announcement to Kingdom of Sawaiiki that we have no beef with them, and telling Galaxy afterwards that it costs "2 bucks per word" is pretty funny. I love these conversations.

Mission 14. Grimwood coast, provide CAS for ground troops and prevent Feds from regrouping. But expect bad visibility he says from the forest fire nearby. I'm gonna gamble and take the SK.25U.

Oh shit, I guess we're working with firefighters as well now. I hope I don't have to protect them at some point because I'm essentially flying a tank. That has 40mm/65mm HE ammo for its main gun.

I forgot to say but the MLAGs in this game are phenomenal. The multilock ability of a 4AGM and the range of an LAGM? Slow reload speed but I'm sold. Who needs an A-10 anyway right

Feds in Grimwood have surrendered. They burned the forests for nothing. Also I keep hearing allies calling Monarch "The Crown" now, and in earlier sorties I also hear something along the lines of "how dare you take the name of a king as your own", "not all kings are just."

I'm developing the feeling that this game is fantasy medieval action adventure but with jets and airships instead of swords and magic. No hard feelings on that, I'm a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls series. So I'm looking forward to see how much this game plays into the mythological/medieval theme. Maybe like Ace Combat Zero, with how Cipher and Pixy did the aerial equivalent of jousting? We'll see.

Also there's this level of detail and touch of realism, that I think has never been done in Ace Combat before. When an enemy jet whizzes past you above Mach 1, you can actually hear the sonic boom from their wake. That's awesome.

Mission 15, Cascadian city of Prospero, the largest trade center apparently. Get rid of its air superiority elements and secure the airport. SK.37 is now available for purchase, yet I'm still under the required price for it.

I do have to comment on the way planes are painted in PW, or at least the default skins that you use. It's like plastidipped or cerakoted or something, like how guns are these days. Nothing really spells practical camouflage/camo pattern. But hey, maybe that's just how Monarch wants to look in the skies.

Liberate Prospero they say but they didn't say the Feds would be so desperate that they would LAUNCH 50 NUCLEAR CRUISE MISSILES JUST TO PREVENT CASCADIA FROM GETTING TO PROSPERO. THEY JUST BELKAN'D THE SHIT OUT OF THIS CITY. DID THEY JUST OPEN UP A VOLCANO FROM THE GROUND?

Hitman 3 just said Calamity. Is this what happened 400 years ago before the events of this game?

Fucking hell.

Mission 16, instant continuation from previous flight. Only me, Prez, Diplomat, Comic and Galaxy now. No idea if anyone else is alive. Flew over Rowsdower, no response.

Fuck, new blips on radar. It's the merc Frost from earlier. AND MASTER GOOSE FROM MISSION 1. I FUCKING KNEW THEY SHOWED UP TOO CONVENIENTLY

"You fired up? Come shoot me down." Yeah bitch I'll shoot you down in that fancy bitchass superplane you're flying. And don't you dare copy my boy Pixy's line from Ace Combat Zero.

(Just kidding, I love the devs for having her voice actor say that)

Fucking hell, I thought a swarm of MQ-101 drones was bad, but I never thought I'd be on the receiving end of an ADMM where each individual missile is a QAAM.

Stardust again. Contract to fulfill you say? Fuck you man, there's nothing else out there now. Everyone's got our number, even Diplomat and Comic's real name. Sicario is only 4 man band now, 5 if you count Prez.

Kaiser seems convinced after Stardust offered something to us. Whatever that is. Meanwhile I guess we're regrouping on an abandoned highway as a makeshift base.

2 months later.

Mission 17. Brite Fortress. One of the safe havens outside the whatever the fuck is happening out there.

I sold my Harrier to get some cash back. I'm done with the Super Tomcat. It's time for SK.37. It's only got AA hardpoints but I need to fly something else. Oh and an MGP. I've never used MGP in Ace Combat before but I'm gonna try this one.

Woah, what is this? AOA limiter? Replaces flares? Doesn't say what it is.

Alright, Brite Fortress. Railguns and airships as usual. At this point I've been desensitized to them, because I learn that the Feds is just Belka/Erusea hybrid. As in, a superweapon maniac.

Aw shit, they have a massive tank/train/land cruiser. This thing doesn't have any A2G weapons, but it has MGP. 4 of them. And AOA limiter, more like AOA unlimiter. Let's you pull off PSM-esque move while holding down L3 and turning sharp. I like it though, it replaces your flares but it doesn't restrict you to low speeds and a complicated QTE like Ace Combat 7, and you can perform it anytime as long as the indicator is ready.

Mission 18. Aw shit, we're back to Prospero now? I really don't want to.

Yeah, figured. Crimson showed up again. VX-23s and SK.37s again. But now I can at least match their crazy AOA maneuvers.

My first try I nailed AOA limiter module pretty quickly. If used right it's essentially a "teleport to enemy's 6" button. Well I didn't use it right. Got shot down.

My second try. If Crimson is calling it personal then so will I. I will spam this AOA limiter if I have to. Even Diplomat is absolutely fed up with Crimson's shit, telling him to shut the fuck up and turning off his radio. Learned that, other than spamming AOA, you have to firewall the throttle, make sure your speed never goes below Mach 1 even when turning. Got hit by a missile once, but this time I downed them. All 8 of them.

Crimson laughing maniacally on the radio as his plane falls. What a waste of pilot, Comic, I agree. But I'm feeling that won't be the last.

Mission 19, back to Presidia. Take out Federation's naval force.

VX-23 is now available for purchase. It is like Chengdu J-20/Lockheed F-22 hybrid. Well, more like F-22 with the wings swapped positions. Can't buy this one either even if I sell my SK.37. And I love this thing already because of its AOA limiter.

Naval force destroyed. Presidia is next.

Mission 20. Now I could really sell my SK.37 now to get the VX-23, I wonder if I should do that...

Fuck it. Yolo.

Presidia is liberated. Feds are surrendering. War is over. And then...

"KINGS"

....

No.

No, Sector D2. Please, don't.

Don't make Crimson 1 pull a Pixy on me for the ultimate mission.

I called it earlier. He's gone off the rails. He took the Fed's superplane and nuked everyone in Presidia with it except Monarch. Probably intentionally, to set a personal score with me.

But I'm not scared. Well, until he fired railguns on all directions, launched Project Wingman's equivalent of ADMM, and released force fields ala Arsenal Bird/Alicorn. When I thought this game would be like Ace Combat, I didn't think it would be "Ace Combat, but 150% more fucked up."

I employed the similar strat from before. Lock the third person camera at his plane, firewall the throttle up to Mach 2 and spam the AOA limiter. He's got 3 health bars in that superplane that's probably powered by cordium. If previous missions didn't emphasize on how orange this game is, well, this final showdown does.

Everything is orange. The skies, the ground, the sun, the missiles, the railgun trails, my HUD, half the time I couldn't tell if my missiles hit him or not because my interface was loaded with directional missile proximity indicators. Thank fuck the health bar is still perfectly readable.

"You signed this deal a long time ago." WELL I DIDN'T SIGN UP TO FIGHT YOU SPECIFICALLY NOW DID I. But you've decided that it's personal so bitch, COME THE FUCK AT ME.

"I'm Cascadian. You think I take joy in killing my own countrymen?" SO WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU LET YOUR OWN PRIDE CONSUME YOU AND THOUGHT THEY'RE ACCEPTABLE LOSSES IN YOUR OWN PERSONAL BEEF WITH ME. FUCK YOU.

I danced with him in the skies for probably a good 15 to 20 minutes just trying to land one or two hits on him. A deadly aerial dance that involves jet fuel, multi lock missiles and nuclear railguns.

Three health bars depleted. My camera is still locked onto his PW.MK1.

"No, not yet..."

Then all my HUD element disappears.

He's not dead yet. Two health bars now on the bottom of the screen, one for Hitman 1 and one for Crimson 1. Fuck, I have to fight him again. I grazed my VX-23 on the railgun trail and took some damage. But I still have my wings. I can still fly.

Another 10 minutes of fighting. I'm gonna fucking joust him now like Pixy. Dozens of STDMs, hundreds of railgun projectiles and thousands of 20mm Vulcan rounds.

His last health bar is depleted.

...

But my camera is still locked onto his plane. The corpse of his PW.MK1 flailing through the clouds and trailing flames.

Why am I not seeing a chute?!

"Monarch..."

God damn it, Crimson, eject! Eject now!

"When you hear the thunder..."

There's no time for speeches, damn it! Eject!

"When the storm comes for you..."

Dying will not solve anything! Fucking punch out, god damn it!

"Remember me."

...

But he was a fighter pilot to the end.

Remember him, Monarch.

Because it's just you left.

No one else. No Prez, Galaxy, Diplomat, Comic,

It's just you.

As a final send off, I leveled out my VX-23 to the horizon, pointing towards the sun, and fly off into the distance.

Contract completed.

---

Project Wingman, completed. Wow. What a game.

The story, the gameplay, the graphics, the sounds, voices, visuals, everything.

I can tell it's all been made with passion and love. And it really is... a love letter to the Ace Combat franchise.

It may as well be an Ace Combat game on its own.

I never mentioned it, but the OST is also phenomenal. Especially on Mission 11. On par with Ace Combat. Maybe even better, for an indie game. Especially the credit song, the leitmotif that's been playing throughout the game since Presidia. I'm calling it Monarch's theme.

Wow, just wow. I nearly shed a tear.

You know I once read a quote, I don't remember if it was from this game or something else, but

War doesn't decide who is right.

Only who is left.

10/10. Phenomenal game. Sector D2, you are legends. Absolute fucking legends, you hear?

There are so many people backing this game on Kickstarter, on the order of hundreds. Maybe thousands. All their names are in the credits.

And it was all so worth the money you all have invested in the development of Project Wingman.

And for me, it was worth the money I spent on buying this game.

Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Monarch.

You may not have a throne, or anything left in your world.

But you are the king.

As for me, I'm gonna play the game again and try to understand the lore better. It seems that I have a tendency to hyperfocus on the task/quest/gameplay at hand. Probably gonna turn down the bgm and sfx a little bit so I can hear dialogues better.

[cloveroctobers]

OCTOBER PROMPTS 🎃 — 3. Fezco

A/N: I always loved writing for fez so here’s a cute moment from me to y’all this fall season + I can’t wait to see Angus’ unreleased films—just saw a trailer for one the other night 🧡

PROMPTS are from here + I’m using: back to school/university + studio ghibli + “here take this!” “It’s a white sheet.” “Yeah, put it on.”

WARNINGS: language + doing weird couple things inspired by the fall season? :)

<- read my previous october prompt here.

⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾

He’s all open arms with a duffel bag on his shoulder, dark auburn hair grown out a bit from the usual buzz cut, single gold chain shining underneath the evening light, and when he catches your eye, seated on the top of the table outside on this fall Friday night, laughing it up with most of your new friends he can’t help but to smile at the sight. Fez was proud to see that most of the worries that you once had about lacking friends at college seemed to be a thing of the past.

“If they don’t see how special you are then fuck ‘em, you don’t need them. And you always got me and ash, remember that. I’ll even slide through and sit in on a class if you want me to.” He often told you when you weren’t having the best days adapting to your new environment, which was a hour and some change away from east highland and you knew Fez always means what he says. He’s always ten toes down for you and the feeling was surely mutual. However Fez wasn’t much of a school person himself preferring street smarts over anything but he never steered you away from getting your education, even when you wanted to give up but he knew you were never serious. It was of course sweet to hear Fez say these things but it didn’t completely erase the feeling when you’re out here on your own dealing with social anxiety. You had to do what you had to do and that’s on Tommy pickles!

It’s only been close to two months since you were back in school.

Taking a gap year—or two after graduating high school to figure out what you truly wanted to do, which did include working since your parents weren’t having you sitting around for a year not doing shit. Thankfully they allowed you to focus on your studies and you didn’t have to work throughout high school a couple years back. That gap turned into two with you going through two jobs and settled on a third before you took your chances again with UCLA.

Y’all don’t want to hear all the details but you made it back around to school at twenty, dreading the thought at the beginning and a little bit more once you set foot inside these huge classrooms but at least you kinda had a better idea of a major now than at eighteen. The dread kicked in even more because it always felt like you were behind especially when you talked to some classmates that were a little younger and more guided. The stress actually had you crying about it to your boyfriend fez over lengthy phone calls and FaceTimes more than with your own parents, who did check in, but you felt like they just didn’t get it.

To see Fez here unexpectedly had your heart thudding in your ears and you wasted no time, jumping off the table to run into Fez’s arms.

“Wassup ma? You miss me?”

“Always.” You nuzzled your head against Fez’s cheek, who chuckled, circling one arm around your body, tugging you right to his.

When you finally broke apart, you felt your eyes burning as you gripped his face just staring at him.

“C’mon man, you got time to drool over me later.”

Which made you playfully roll your eyes before intertwining your fingers with his, Fez giving your hand a gentle squeeze before you pulled him over to briefly introduce him to the friends you made. He was exactly what they were all expecting and they approved, although fez didn’t get the chance to put his stamp on them face to face because you were pulling him away to head back to the dorms.

“Hey! Make sure you put the scrunchie on the door for me!” Your roommate, Jasmine called out to you while the rest let out a chorus of ooo’s, which made Fez give a faint dimpled grin with you shaking your head.

Fez said from behind you as you practically dragged him through the leaf covered campus, “oh word? That’s what y’all be on here? I’m finna come up here every weekend then.”

Scoffing you slowed to walk beside fez instead, enjoying the feeling of him being beside you again. It was hard when you’re used to being around someone if not every day then every other day. Sure you ended up with one best friend during your senior year—that wasn’t fez but she was also one of the ones that always knew what they wanted to do with their lives. As soon as graduation hit, you spent maybe a few days out of the summer together before she started spending her time hanging out elsewhere with other people that decided to do the same schooling as her instead during the end of summer. Then she was gone off to college abroad on a ship with those said friends, yeah that shit must be real nice!! but you were always prone to motion sickness.

But hey! At least you still followed each other on Instagram and you liked each other’s photos from time to time. There really wasn’t any beef, that’s just the way life goes sometimes. You fall out of sync with old friends; although your mind starts to play tricks on you, making you question if the friendship was ever really genuine or just temporary. Nonetheless you tried to get over that as you welcomed new people in your life and they accepted you in return.

You still never planned on forgetting about Fergus O’Carroll, even if your brain tried.

“I see somebody’s ready for Halloween and shit,” Fez comments after dumping his bag on the desk chair, then moving back to the center of the dorm room to spin the hanging witch from the light on the ceiling.

Plopping down on your side of the room you sigh, “that’s all Jas’ doing. She basically forced me to get in the spooky spirit with this blanket and stuffed pumpkin. Otherwise than that, all these decorations are her doing. We both know I’m more of a Christmas person.”

“That’s coo though, ain’t nothing wrong with that. You like what you like.” Fez shrugged before hopping up on the bed with you, “although I must admit, I packed my road dog, Chucky with me.”

Fez and Ash loved Halloween for as long as you’ve been in their lives. “Child’s Play,” happened to be one of many of their favorite horror movies, which also didn’t surprise you as much when it came down to the deranged shit talking redhead of a doll. They got a kick out of him and Ash even tried to prank you seasons ago, dressed up as such one night when you fell asleep on their couch cramming for a test the next day, that’s until you pranked him right back during his prank; by faking unconsciousness deciding that you were getting sick of his pranks after awhile.

You showed that little shit but it was always all love.

Shoulder to shoulder, Fez bumped yours making you laugh a bit after you kicked off your shoes.

“So you’re here.”

“Shit, I think so.” Fez slowly blinked at you, patting all over his torso before the both of you laughed into each other’s faces, “yeah, happy to be here wit you.”

You’re scratching at his beard, then running your fingertips over the growth of hair on his head, to scanning the soft freckles all over his skin until you’re leaning forward to press a kiss right to his lips. Fez licks his bottom lip when you pull away, resting his hand right on your thigh now, “damn that little kiss is all I get? It’s been like twelve-fifty days since I last saw you.”

“That doesn’t sound right but I believe you,” you laughed still caressing his jaw before placing your lips right back on Fez’s.

It seems as if all the stress of whatever maybe going on in your lives burns away with the both of you in each others faces again. Phone calls can only get you so far and you knew Fez was busy getting to the bag while you were getting to the books. Yes those were his words, not yours. However you still made time for each other the best way you knew how, after all this relationship was not something either of you imagined letting go of.

“I’d say put the hair tie on the door but nature is currently doing its thing.” You whispered to fez, after the both of you broke apart to bring some air back into your lungs.

Fez squeezed your hip, “don’t even worry about it, I’m fine doin’ whatever you wanna do.”

“Movie night?”

“Right up my alley, what you thinking?”

A slow smile split over your lips then as you met Fez’s lighter eyes and he already knew as the both of you echoed, “Studio Ghibli.”

That’s how the two of you ended up, backs against propped up festive pillows by the wall for cushion, spiderweb black fleece blanket tossed over your laps, laptop stand placed on a side table you dragged to the center of the room, debating on which out of the batch to watch. You were aware that, “Grave of the fireflies,” was Fez and Ash’s movie to watch together along with their own personal favorites on the side and you also had your own so you both tried to come to terms with another.

As the intro to, “Howl’s moving castle,” began you jumped up, pausing it and alerting a low-lidded fez immediately.

He couldn’t even get to ask what you were doing, as you jumped off the bed and crouched down underneath the bed, dragging something out beneath it to dig through before you stood back up with a huff.

“Here, take this!”

Fez took the material from you, confusion digging into his brows, “Issa white sheet.”

“Yeah, put it on.” You motioned with your hands while fez lightly shook his head at you.

You moved back to your roommate’s side of the room, flicking her candy corn lights on while fez questioned, “for why tho?”

“We’ve been missing out on doing coupley things this fall being away from each other so… maybe now I’ll be in the mood.”

“So what we are gonna be? Two snuggling ghosts?”

Thinking about it for a second with a tilt of your head, you nodded as you picked up the second sheet, “yeah, I guess so.”

You slip the sheet on first, your eyes and mouth picking out of the two holes Fez wasn’t aware were even cut into the sheets until he rolled the other sheet around, “Yo?! Where’d you go?”

Groaning you held out your arms towards fez who slid the sheet over himself as well. “Oh that’s better, now I can see your sexy ass again.”

Posing for him underneath the sheet, you laughed after awhile before sitting right next to him again, covering yourselves back with the spiderweb blanket before letting your hands disappear again.

“You comfy?” Fez asked.

“Much better now,” you replied tucking your head into Fez’s sheet covered shoulder, thankfully because that vibrant wool sweater surely would itch the mess out of your skin.

It’s happened before! You still loved your man down but it had to be said—or thought?

Silence filled the dorm until Fez cleared his throat, “now how we supposed to watch the movie when you done paused it and your hands vanished, Casper?”

“Watch and learn my powers Stretch,” kicking your foot out, you attempted to point your toe to tap on the space bar like the bow wow meme but the stand the laptop was on happened to be a little too close on the edge of the night table, slipping right off and onto its side on the carpet.

Fez snorted, “your ghost powers suck, bro.”

Ready to retort, three knocks at the door halted you in doing so as they sounded along with a brief pause before it became unlocked, revealing a Afro haired jasmine standing in the door way peeking through the open gaps of her fingers.

“…not what I was expecting but whatever floats your boat!”

“Listen, I know this maybe weird as hell right now but it’s just us.” Fez spoke while Jasmine shrugged her shoulders, heading to her wardrobe to peel her jacket off.

“Oh this is a complete no-judgement zone from me, believe that! You can ask how many times they found me in here doing weird shit of my own. Please don’t let me interrupt, carry on.” Jasmine answered, pressing her hands on her hips afterwards.

Fez nodded.

You blinked, “jas…can you do us a huge favor?”

She deeply exhaled, “Are you gonna kick me out now because you want to have sex with the ghost sheets on?”

Fez raised his brows at that…you could never say your roommate wasn’t upfront about anything.

“What? No. Could you pick up my laptop for me and press play for us, please? Movie night got a little delayed.”

Jasmine sighed with relief, “oh hell yeah. Thank god because I did not want to crash at Anita’s again, she’s been farting and sleep talking like crazy lately and I have to get up for work in the morning.”

She moves through the room, picking it up and balancing it in the center of the table top and winks at you two. She halts over the spacebar suddenly asking the ginger in the room, “so fez…what do you think of our humble abode?”

“It’s straight. Knew it would be with the whole warning on the front door.”

“Right answer! Next year I plan on sneaking animatronics in here and scaring the poop outta people as soon as they enter, regardless of what Ilian says, our cute ass RA.” Jasmine beams before hitting the spacebar, “I’m gonna head down to the showers and I’ll be back in a bit. Enjoy your movie night love—ghost birds? Yeah that sounds good. I’m gonna write that down and revisit that for my creative writing class.”

Both you and fez watch as jasmine closes her eyes briefly and turns a makeshift key to the side of her temple before grinning. Mumbling to herself she goes through the room collecting her things to exit, leaving the two of you alone again.

“…and she says we’re doing weird shit when she does things like that?” Fez pointed making you snicker.

“She’s just different, a true Aquarius. Real smart though. Let’s not judge her since she didn’t judge us in our ghost glory.” you told fez from underneath the sheet who lifted his shoulders in surrender.

He wasn’t, “I swear I’m not. I’m just a guest observing it all.”

“Not uh, you’re home with me.”

“Well shit, let me get out these pants then and get real comfortable!”

“Nobody wants to see those hairy chicken legs.”

“Whoa, stop the cap! We know as soon as the temp drops tonight you’re gonna be playing footsies with me to keep warm.”

He’s not wrong but Fez didn’t have to be so loud about it.

Sighing you placed your head back against fez’s shoulder and he moved to rest his right on yours. Together you turned your attention back to the movie playing on the laptop, enjoying each others company like you never left.

Fez suddenly murmurs from beside you, “I love you, scholar.”

Your response was instant hearing the teasing but heart felt nickname, “And I’ll love you even more tomorrow, lucky.”

⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾

Continue with my October anthology prompts here.

[skyrim-forever]

Day 8: Free Day

A/N: WE DID IT LADS, THEY (ME) SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE BUT! Here is day 8, the happy ending I so desperately wanted Theodora to have. Warnings: Slightly suggestive towards the end so minors begone! May have went insane and this is 3k words and includes a timeskip, oopsies. Tagging: @tes-summer-fest

Did it have to be Morrowind? Ondoelmar thought as the Northern Maiden followed the course to Solstheim. Anywhere in Tamriel and she chose Morrowind? Sky darkened with ash, he could see the Red Mountain in the distance, growing closer as the ship approached the island. Being in between Vvardenfell and Windhelm was quite possibly the last place he wanted to be. Or it would have been, had love not apparently made him a madman. 

Upon arriving at her property, Lakeview Manor, he only recalled after he was met by her steward and his wife. Theodora had mentioned them before, he had visited the property once whilst the staff were away. The Bosmer steward, who he would relearn was named Faendal, was apprehensive to help him at all. He both cursed the mer for making the task that much more difficult and was thankful that Theodora had people supporting her; even if it made his own life harder in that moment. 

It was his wife, an Imperial named Camilla that aided him, hearing the ruckus at the door caused her to approach. When he said he was looking for Theodora, she asked for his name. Using an alias would do him no favours. 

“Ondolemar” he said plainly. And to his joy, she knew who he was. 

“Faendal it’s okay, he means Theodora and us no harm.” Camilla turns away from the steward, she addresses him with a warm smile. 

“Come in, you look worse for wear.” Not only did they provide him with the information he was seeking, that Theodora had left for due to some threat on the island of Solstheim, but they also fed him and let him stay the night. Although he wondered what in Morrowind would require her to solve it, he felt the best he had in weeks knowing where she was. 

“You can take Theodora’s room.” Camilla had told him when they finished eating, they had had stag. A meal he was certainly not accustomed to but one doesn’t turn away hospitality. Besides, he figured he’d bruise the Bosmer’s ego by turning his nose up at his catch. “It’s up the stairs there” she said pointing to the stairs behind him, on the left side of the house “right down the hall.” The room had been the same as when he last saw it a few months ago, he had previously gathered that she didn’t stay in one place for long. There were some papers discarded off to the side, bounties for various bandits in various holds; her father’s wanted poster still hung by the door. Ricardo Viticius, it said. He remembered how Theodora lit up when he asked about it, more than happy to talk about her wonderful, albeit criminal, father. 

That had been several days ago, thanking them and taking the information, he made his way dreadfully to Windhelm and managed to get passage to the island. 

“Land ho” one of the sailors calls out and the ash rock comes into view. Ash rock as that’s exactly what it is, he can’t bring himself to call it an island. Though by Dunmer standards it certainly was. The air is thick, something he made note of as they got closer. Though Skyrim was cold, cruel, and wretched in many ways, it had very crisp air. Something he sorely missed. 

As he gathers his things to leave the boat he is approached by a well-dressed Dunmer.

“I don't recognize you, so I'll assume this is your first visit to Raven Rock, outlander. State your intentions.” He says. 

“I’m looking for a Theodora Viticius.” This causes the Dunmer to look him up and down, almost hesitantly, as though he already knows something about him. Luckily, his demeanor soon softens. 

“Follow me, she has taken up residence in town.” Ondolemar follows, as he leads him off the dock and into the town. Raven Rock he recounts him saying. He’s never felt this out of place, there’s nary anyone around who is not Dunmer, and those that are look equally as unfriendly. For the hundredth time today he wonders what business she could possibly have in a place like this. Stopping by an outdoor market, his guide speaks again. “She lives in that house over there” gesturing to a large building at the edge of town. 

“Thank you” He doesn’t respond to his thanks. 

“I am Second Councilor Arano and I’ll be watching you closely outlander. It would do you well to remember that Raven Rock is sovereign territory of House Redoran. This is Morrowind, not Skyrim. While you're here you will be expected to abide by our laws.”

“Understood.” He nods at him and Ondolemar walks towards the property. He doesn’t get far before he sees her, chopping wood off to the side and it stops him in his tracks. It is in this moment that it dawns on him he never considered what he would do when he found her. A part of him wonders if she would even recognize him out of uniform, another worries that she had moved on from their time together. Nerves begin to overtake him, he cannot even walk closer lest his worries prove right. Perhaps by divine intervention, she turns to look right where he is standing. 

“Ondolemar” His worries are forgotten as she runs towards him, tossing the axe to the side. Arms open as she rushes into them, pulling her head into his chest. 

“Theodora”. It’s all he can say while he’s so deeply thankful to feel her again. The wholest he has felt since she was gone. Words stammer out of her mouth, he’s never known her to be at a loss for words. 

“I, um, I didn’t leave, um, Elenwen, she-” He cuts her off, tilting her chin to look at him. 

“It’s okay, I know, I know.” A smile beams on her face amidst the tears that have begun to fall. 

“I’m so happy to see you. I’m so sorry, I should have left a note or something.”

“Shhhhh, it’s okay. I understand darling. You did nothing wrong.” 

“Why are you here?” Theodora adds on before he can answer. “Not that I’m not thrilled, I am. Believe me I am, but does anyone know you’re here? Won’t you get in trouble?”

“I’ll explain later, but no. No more hiding, no more soldiers, no more duties. I’m here to stay.” He places a kiss on her lips, one she deepens by pulling him closer, arms wrapped around his neck. Breaking it he says “if you’ll have me of course.”

“Of course! Of course I will!” Another kiss, this one for ages, slowly as to savour it, as though she’s not yet convinced it’s real. As though she might lose him again. 

It is mid-kiss that they are interrupted. Not by an enemy, or a creature, or even one of the citizens of Raven Rock; but by the sound of a baby crying. Ondolemar gives her a confused look, his mind already in a whirlwind at having found her and her still wanting him. She returns his look with a smile, a full genuine smile. One he remembers missing so much. “Shhhhh, come here.” He leads her to a table by the property, on it a small basket where the noise seems to be coming from. A child? He watches her reach inside of it and turn around holding a baby in her arms. A small child with golden skin and pointed ears. His child.

“Oh yes my son, your naptime is up, that's right.” She rocks him softly side to side, that smile still on her face, even brighter now. If that was even possible. Theodora walks over to him, instantly his hands open. “Arthano, meet your father.”

Father. A word that changes you and in that moment it did. His months of confusion are washing away into a new clarity now. She places him, Arthano, his son, in his arms. 

“Arthano” he says quietly, “that’s a good name.” Theodora wraps an arm around him and uses the other to touch the baby. 

“I’m glad you like it.”

“How old is he?”

“Six months.” Six months? For six months he had been alive and Ondolemar had not known of him. And even longer still had he existed, the whole time he had missed her he had not known of him. And it is that moment in which the former soldier, Thalmor, an example of everything the Altmeri Dominion promotes, cries. 

As though she can read his thoughts or sense his worries, she comforts him. 

“It’s okay love, it’s okay. You’re here now. And that’s what matters.” A sniffle comes from him. Gods I’m such a wreck. Though she is right, had he not come he could have been robbed of a whole lifetime. Regaining some composure he smiles. 

“He’s beautiful, truly beautiful.”

“He is. I dreamed about him, he came to me in a dream when I first found out. Looked just as he does now.”

“Was it hard? Did you have help? Were you safe?” The questions leave his mouth frantically, he hopes she didn’t suffer. I don’t know what I’d do if she did.

“It was painful, certainly painful. Yet, all the pain washed away when I got to see him. I had him in a village northeast of here. I had help, don't worry.” A sigh of relief leaves him, much louder than he expected as she laughs at him. 

“You’ve already got the parental worrying down.” her chuckles as well. Old worries replaced with new ones. 

“What do we do?”

“I think what we can. We do our best and hope it’s enough.”

“Oh Gods, I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too. But he’s been okay so far.” Theodora’s gaze goes up to meet his, causing him to tear his eyes away from their son for a moment. “And now he’s got you, we have you.” Their lips meet for another kiss, it’s a new feeling. One of beginnings after so long of living like it is the end. 

“You do.”

12 Years Later

She gave the goblets a dry before putting them back into the cabinet. The meeting with Dignitaries from the Summerset Isle had gone well, better than Theodora had hoped for honestly. Their plan for overthrowing the Dominion government in order to establish a representative council was moving along. Through funding resistance measures and counter-intelligence, the group had taken the entire Western half and had cut off-trade routes to Alinor. In part thanks to her prior connections to the Empire, she was able to establish a branch of the Imperial Legion to support them, overseen by her. There were challenges of course, many of those soldiers had relatives who fought in the Great War. Training them to not seek revenge had been difficult, luckily it seemed people on all sides were sensitive to the issue. With her husband’s decades of experience with the Thalmor they were able to gain a significant advantage due to the insider knowledge. 

As the last of the goblets are put away, the Altmer were going to drink her out of house and home one of these days, she feels arms wrap around her midsection. 

“Finally the day is done darling.” Ondolemar placed a kiss on her head.

“And what a long day it was. The children are asleep?” 

“Yes. Arthano is easy, a simple ‘Night Dad’ and he’s good. Although he’s been sleeping with that dagger next to his bed, says he’s prepared incase of an attack.” Theodora rolled her eyes, she nearly didn’t let Teldryn give him that dagger last time they visited because she knew this is how he would be.

“What attack? What is he worried about happening?”

“I don’t think it's a worry love, I think he’s hoping to get a chance to use it.” Ondolemar lightly laughs “The boy is already behaving like a hardened warrior, I wonder where he gets that from?.” Another kiss is placed on her head as she leans into him, enjoying the comfort he brings.

“Perhaps.” A wide smile appears on her face. Arthano was like her, maybe a bit too much at times. Especially now that he is getting older, he’d be 13 in a few months time. Theodora wondered where the time had gone. “How are Ricardo and Ceridwen?” Ondolemar turns her around to face him.

“Ricardo wanted help picking out a book. So I took him into the study, and he discovered the Dwemer collection.” 

“He’s done with the military history books already?” She smirks at him. 

“Apparently so. He said he wasn’t really into war history.”

“I can’t say I’m upset to hear that.”

“Me neither.” Ondolemar clasps her hand and they begin walking to their room. The children’s rooms were on the second floor with the study and balcony. Their room was off to the side of the courtyard, offering a bit of privacy. At least as private as you can get with three children.  “We found two for him, hopefully they will keep him busy for a bit, Chronicles of Nchuleft and I convinced him to try some fiction with Chimarvamidium.” 

“Ah, two books? So he’ll be up half the night and then be surprised when he is exhausted tomorrow?” She laughs at him, a little snort coming out of her. 

They both begin getting ready for the night, changing out of the formal clothing and into comfortable robes. Theodora sits at her vanity, taking pins out of her head and freeing her ears from the heavy jewelry. 

“Ceridwen took a bit longer. She has created a whole set up with her dolls, paperweights, anything she can get her hands on actually. She insisted we play with them before bed.” He sits on the edge of the bed, looking at his wife. He thought she looked her best at the end of a day, something Theodora would vehemently oppose. Perhaps he liked her best at these times because they would be free from obligations until the coming morning. 

“Ah, make that two tired children.”

“I’ll confess I can’t say no to her.”

“What was the story tonight?”

“Well, she assigned us all respective dolls. For some reason I am a Minator, trying not to be offended by that.” Hair finished, she goes to join him on the bed, sitting up behind him and rubbing his shoulders. 

“Did she at least give you an explanation?”

“Well the Minator is the tallest, so obviously it’s me.” 

“Oh obviously.” Her hands stop as she gives him a small kiss on the neck. “Who am I?”

“You are a small dragon carving. I think she took it from Arthano’s room.”

“Well that’s fitting. And the boys?” Ondolemar sighs lightly, shaking his head. 

“The poor boys are rocks she found outside.” This time a loud snort laugh erupts from Theodora. 

“Oh that’s too good, for someone so cute she sure is something else.”

“I think it makes her even cuter.” Ceridwen was the baby of the family. Having a daughter had been really healing for her, she got to recreate all the things she had wanted to do with her own mother. They were very blessed by all the kids, they all had such strong and vibrant personalities. Switching positions, Theodora now laid back on their bed looking at her husband. It still felt unbelievable some days, they were married. Not only married but living outside the Imperial City, three kids, the whole domestic life. Although hectic in its own way, especially given their involvement in current politics, it was so much more peaceful than anything she had known before. 

It’s Ondolemar who breaks the calm silence. “The advances that have been made in the past month are quite promising. Regaining stability will be difficult but I see trips to Sunhold in our future.” Sunhold, the place of his youth. 

“That would be lovely, I want the children to see where you’re from. Vacations in Anvil are nice but I want them to have sufficient cultural exposure.”

“So do I. We have done good though. They all speak Altmeri, to various degrees, Ricardo in particular seems very interested in the culture.” Moving to the Imperial City had been strategic, it provided them with the opportunity to balance both of the family's cultures. The children were very happy to celebrate many festivals. “And besides, I've longed to take you there for many years.” He moves over her, a hand gently rubbing her side. 

“It sounds beautiful, from how you’ve described it. I can only imagine words pale in comparison to being there.”

“They do, we will have to take a trip there once, just you and I.”

“Is that so?” She pulls him down into a kiss, one that starts chaste and upon the second time they touch lips becomes hungry. Biting his bottom lip, earning her a groan from the Altmer. A hand finds its way under her robes and to her breast.

“Yes.” His voice is low, still full of the same desire for her as when they met. Although deepened by years of time together. Ondolemar’s fingers toy with her nipple and she begins taking him out of his robes, feverishly between kisses. 

Suddenly, there’s a loud crash from upstairs. Ondolemar lets out a long, tired sigh. 

“The children are blessings.” 

“That they are.”

“In moments like this I feel the need to remind myself of the fact.”

“Which one do you think it was?”

“It wasn’t Ricardo.”

“I’ll give Arthano the benefit of the doubt and say it was Ceridwen.” 

“Well then I’ll tell him his mother thought better of him.” He smirks, getting up and retying the robe. “You stay here, I’ll find out what happened.”

“Thank you love.” It’s true things were still unpredictable at times, the world was moving towards a better state but not yet there. Having three children who took after their parents in both the best and worst ways could be difficult. Figuring out what was best for their future, making sure they were eating right, had good social lives, learning; these were all difficult. But, as Theodora lay there, in their large room in their estate outside the Imperial City, the house that had allowed them to raise those three children; she was incredibly grateful that these were her difficulties. Such wonderful difficulties.

[i-think-i-did-it-again]

The Tour XI

Warning: swearing, smut

The elephant in the room was suffocating. No one was saying much, all pretending that their phones were way more interesting than the world around them, except for Colson that was. He stood, staring at the wall as if he was admiring a great work of art in a museum. The groupies that had pushed their way into the green room immediately felt the tension and all came up with terrible excuses to leave. When it was finally time for the concert to start, you made no attempt to move from your spot in the corner and you could tell that bothered Colson.

Ever since your outburst in the lobby after your friends had caught the two of you making out, Colson had listened to your request for him to leave you alone. Although, you didn’t give him much choice not to. Whenever he entered a room, you found a reason to leave, if there was a chance the two of you would be alone, you’d excuse yourself to make a phone call. You spent most of your free time locked in your hotel room and if you were required to follow Colson to line with your contract, you kept a safe distance. Always making sure he was within your eye line but never close enough that he could talk to you.

“I’ll catch up with you guys,” Ashleigh calls out as everyone begins to file out of the room. She sits crossed legged next to you on the couch, her whole body turned towards you, waiting for you to talk.

“I’m not ready to talk about it,” you mumble, staring at your cuticles.

“I know but maybe it would help if you did. Everyone…” her voice trails off with a shake of her head.

“Everyone what?” you spit at her and you can feel the bile rising in your throat.

“Hey, calm down. It’s me, remember?” guilt floods you and you mumble an apology. “It doesn’t matter what everyone thinks but we are worried about the two of you. You haven’t spoken since…the incident and it’s starting to show.” when you go to speak, her voice cuts you off. “Everyone is noticing.”

You’re not sure what her emphasis means until she pulls out her phone and shoves it in your face. Dozens of text messages from Francis and Kathy questioning Colson’s mood in his latest interviews, his lack of stage presence and the fact that he hasn’t made an appearance at any nightclubs that he was scheduled at for PR photo ops. Ashleigh’s replies are her best attempt at mediating but you can tell by the responses she gets that they’re pissed. You see your name pop up numerous times in the message chain but you don’t want to know what they have to say about you. 

“Ash, I’m so sorry. I was here to make your life easier and I just made it worse.” you grab her hands in yours and try your best to apologise. 

“I knew there was something going on between the two of you but I couldn’t really put my finger on it. Rook was the one that thought you two were hooking up and I told him he was crazy. I guess he just knows you better than me.”

You don’t really know what to say to that. Although you’re closer to Ashleigh now, you have known Rook for longer and he just knows you. You’ve always known he’s an observant guy. He doesn’t pick up on nearly as much as Colson does but when he really wants to know something, he pays attention. 

“It’s over anyway, whatever the hell it was. I guess I could probably be nicer to Kells so he’s in a better mood but I can’t guarantee that will make a difference.”

“Ok, this is probably going to make me an awful person but do you think…maybe… you could try being more than a friend?” your jaw drops and she quickly rushes to explain. “I’m not saying you have to make out with him or sleep with him but could you at least flirt a little? Make him think he has a chance even if he really doesn’t?”

You don’t answer her. You just kind of shrug in a ‘no words necessary’ way. You’re not willing to commit to anything and you promised yourself that you would find your fun elsewhere for the rest of the trip but you can see the weight everything is having on your best friend. You don’t want to add to her burdens by being difficult. 

Just be nice to him and he’ll perk up a little. 

The cold shoulder routine was starting to wear on you anyway. It was a hard wall to keep up, especially with someone you care so much for. You also hated the way it made the rest of your friends so uncomfortable. You didn’t want to be the Debby downer on the tour. 

You follow Ashleigh out of the green room and to the side of the stage to watch the performance. You hadn’t really noticed it before but you could see that Colson’s heart wasn’t really in it. He was pulling his voice to stop from belting out his lyrics, he was barely moving around the stage and he wasn’t interacting with anyone, the crowd or his band. He looked bored. 

When the set came to an end and the crowd screamed for an encore like they always do, Colson ignored them, and Ashleigh, and headed back to the green room. He pushed past a large group of fans with backstage passes and all the girls in short skirts and low cut tops. It was like he didn’t even notice them there. 

Had I really been that blind to his attitude?

You tell Ashleigh to give you a minute alone with him and you push through the same crowd of now very angry people. When you get to the green room it’s empty so you head to the small restroom next door and hear the sound of the water. You wait awkwardly in the doorway for what feels like an eternity. When you realise he’s not planning to leave the shower any time soon, you decide to just have the conversation here. 

“Colson?” you call out and you hate the way your voice wavers on his name. 

“What?” he asks in such a monotone voice it barely even sounds like him. 

“Can we talk?”

“I’m a little fucking busy!” 

Ugh, dick. 

You push your way further into the bathroom and push open the stall door. Colson is just standing under the scorching hot water, staring up at the roof with no real emotion on his face. It’s…unsettling. You’re trying very hard to not let your eyes variate from his face but it’s easier said than done. 

“Get out of the shower,” you tell him in your sternest voice. 

“No.”

“I’m not playing. Get. Out.”

“No.”

You kick your shoes off before stepping into the cubicle with him. You reach for the tap trying hard to not step under the shower head but Colson has other ideas. He grabs the top of your arms and pulls you under the water with him, holding you against his body. You try to pull away but he’s too strong for you. You try to scream out at him but his lips are on yours too quickly, silencing you. You stay ridgid, not giving in to his kiss or his naked body. 

“Kiss me,” he begs against your lips but you still resist. “Please?” That soft word begins to crack its way through your walls. “I need you.”

You’re complete and utter putty in his hands and you hate yourself for it. Your lips begin to respond to his, allowing him to slip his tongue past them. He moans at the taste of you. You run your nails down his back and he growls, gripping your ass tightly. He tries to push you back against the wall but you hold your ground. If you’re doing this, you’re doing it your way. 

“Undo my pants,” you command him and he looks at you with a face that tells you he’s both pissed off and turned on at the same time. 

He kneels before you and unbuttons and unzips your jeans. You lift your soaking wet shirt over your head and discard it with his clothes. You unclip your bra and drop it beside him. He looks up at your naked breasts, lust filling his eyes at the sight. 

When Colson finally manages to rip your drenched jeans and panties off, he tries to stand but you hold the top of his head, forcing him to stay kneeling before you. He looks up at you from beneath his lashes with a confused expression. You just smile that sweet, flirty smile that you know drives him wild. 

“Eat me,” you demand and he needs no further instructions. 

Colson’s mouth immediately suctions to your pussy and you mewl with pleasure. You throw your head back and moan as his mouth and tongue assaults your slit. He finds your clit and circles it over and over with his tongue before sucking on it, hard. You grip his hair and tug every time he finds just the right spot. He notices your pattern and begins to focus all his attention on your clit. He slips his long slender finger inside you and begins to pump in and out of you like a mad man. Your vision begins to blur and your ability to hold yourself up becomes more and more difficult. Colson grips your ass, holding you in place and keeping you upright. He squeezes and the mix of pleasure becomes too overwhelming and a powerful orgasm tears through you. Your legs quiver and you worry you may fall but Colson ensures that you don’t. 

As you come down from your high, Colson stands and begins kissing your neck. He pinches your nipples between his fingers and you start to purr but then remind yourself you’re in charge. 

“Thanks for the ride, big boy,” you smile before pushing Colson back against the wall and away from you. 

You open the door, grab a towel to wrap around yourself and pick your wet clothes up from the floor. You leave Colson to stand there in his confusion and quickly sneak into the green room to grab a change of clothes from Sophie’s bag before anyone else appears. You sit down on the couch, a shit eating grin plastered across your face. 

Just because he wants me, doesn’t mean he can have me.  ********************

Tag list: @mgklove99xx

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Did someone say Helnik coded songs by indie artists who deserve more attention? Probably not but I’m gonna give you some anyway

See the Kanej version here :)

Witchcraft by Vian Izak - “Those fingers in my hair, that slight come hither stare, that strips my conscience bare it’s witchcraft” “it’s witchcraft, wicked witchcraft, and although I know it’s strictly taboo when you arouse the need in me my heart says “yes indeed” in me, proceed with what you’re leading me to”

Fair by The Amazing Devil aka THE helnik song argue with the wall- “she promises to fight them all, when it all becomes too much, and he, he curses at the world for leaving him behind he’s falling out of touch and she is stronger, than he’s ever been he knows” “she’ll turn to him and say “it’s not fair, it’s not fair how much I love you. It’s not fair, ‘cause you make me laugh when I’m actually really fucking cross at you for something” and he’ll say “oh how, oh how unreasonable. How unreasonably in love I am, with everything you do I’ll spend my days so close to you”” “he says “I know exactly what I want and it’s this life that we’ve created inundated with the fated thought of you and if you asked me to, if you asked me I would lose it all like petals in a storm, ‘cause darling I was born to press my head between your shoulder blades at night when light was fading””

Allies of Enemies by The Crane Wives - “Remember when I could tell you not to smile when you were mad? And you would always crack and we’d both be laughing in the end. Now you’re not so quick to forget. Are we allies or enemies? This will be the death of me” “all is fair in love and war but I can’t fight with you anymore, this will be the death of me”

Immortal by Reinaeiry - “Sometimes when I look in the mirror I still see your face resting on my shoulder, and my heart beats so fast that I start to feel alive again” “and I’ll always find you again and again and I’ll love every version of you and you’re never truly gone as long as a part of you in me lives on”

Till Forever Falls Apart by Ashe, FINNEAS - “Out on our own, dreaming in a world that we both know is out of our control, but if shit hits the fan we’re not alone” “and if the sky falls from Heaven above just know I had the best time falling into love, we’ve been living on a fault line and for a while you were all mine, I’ve spent a lifetime giving you my heart I swear that I’ll be yours forever til forever fall apart”

I might add more if I think of them, but for now this is the list and please feel free to add more!

[suchalonelysunflower]

You Are What You Love (l.h)

Pairing: Luke Hemmings x Fem! Reader

Requested? Yes! (requests are currently closed)

Summary: Based on the song "Daylight" By Taylor Swift. Luke's thinking about his perspective of love while he reminisces about when he first met you

Warnings: Fluff, language, mentions of alcohol and toxic relationships. Some grammatical errors (English is not my first language, im sorry)

Word Count: 2.4 k

Author's Note: I just really wanted to write this one and give it my own lil twist. Remember that REBLOGS are super IMPORTANT and so are COMMENTS AND INTERACTIONS. PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR WRITERS. Hope you like it and Happy Reading

My masterlist // tag list in bio!

The day was getting to him and they’d practically just started. Doing promos all day is something they all got used to when they first started, but it has become repetitive and unhealthy after years of being in the spotlight.

It’s not like Luke isn’t grateful for the opportunity he has of making music with his best friends, he loves what he does and why he’s doing it. But he has to admit priorities have changed for him lately, and being away from home for too long was making him angsty.

“Dude, cheer up!” Ashton would say, giving him a big smile and patting him on the shoulder as they waited for the next interviewer.

Luke would give him a half-hearted, tired smile that mimicked his feelings on the inside. He would see how Michael, Ash, and Calum would joke with each other a little bit, already getting in the mood for another seven minutes of answering questions - although everyone knew Ashton would be speaking the most again, thank you very much. And for a moment it was nice to see them slip from the personas they present in front of the camera and just let them be.

He also took this moment to check his phone and take it out from “do not disturb” when a text message showed up. After reading it his smile was for real this time.

“Is it Y/N?” Michael asked, noticing the grin on Luke’s face.

“Yeah, she says hi”

Quickly, Luke texted you back, noticing the interviewer was already making their way to them. Still, he couldn’t shake the smile off of his face.

* A few years ago.

The party was a success - or a mess if you’re the one cleaning afterward, which is pretty much what Luke promised to do if Ashton threw a party that weekend. This time it took more than ten minutes to convince the eldest of 5sos to throw a party, which is more than anyone would’ve expected coming from him.

“Luke, I already hosted a party three days ago” Ashton sighed while doing the dishes, giving his back to the youngest of the band.

“But Aaaash,” Luke pouted even though Ashton couldn’t see him “It’s the weekend!”

“Don’t you think you like partying too much?”

“Funny you’re saying it,” Luke rolled his eyes, but when he noticed Ashton stare once he turned back, he knew he was serious “C’mon, dude”

“Luke, you’re deflecting” Ashton crossed his arms in front of his chest “Don’t think we don’t notice how you use parties as an excuse to avoid the elephant in the room”

“I’m fine,” He scoffed, and the eldest raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh? So you’re ready to tell me what happened the day you showed up at my house with your dog and a U-Haul filled with your things?” Ashton sighed again when noticing Luke’s eyes deflecting his gaze “Look, you know I love having you here, but it’s not fun to see you hurting, Luke. Whatever happened with her… you know we’ll support you, right?”

And Luke knew they would. Fuck, Luke loves his friends because of it, they will never leave him behind if the ship was sinking. But the ship was already at the bottom of the ocean and they were still looking for the remains of his broken heart, not knowing there was nothing left to save. Not even himself.

“Luke…”

“Fine, if you don’t want to have a party then forget it,” Luke said, turning around and going to his room.

Ashton groaned loudly and threw his head back before calling out “Okay! We’re having a stupid party! But you’re cleaning up the next day!”

And so came Saturday and the house was packed. Except for one lonely soul sitting outside against the wall, drinking a beer, and not being able to figure out what was so wrong with him. Ashton was right, he was deflecting. But what was wrong with wanting to have a little party to try and forget the past?

The lights were low, so no one could recognize him that easily as he slipped out. The loud noises of the party drowned the sounds of his mind telling him he was the one that fucked up and that he should go back to what he knew was an unhealthy environment. At least that’s a place familiar to him; the feeling of not being enough but still trying to make it up somehow; being the butt of the joke everyone and laughing along even though they never knew the struggle or the pain behind every word or comment he read on the internet.

He was in love, or at least he thought he was. Damn, there was his whole life ahead of him and he thought she’d be by his side through all of it. But love doesn’t have to be black and white, it doesn't have to make you doubt every single word or move or Instagram post. He never thought love could be so cruel… or maybe he didn’t know what love was after all.

What’s worst of it all is that he knew he hurt some people along the way. Fuck, he even made Ashton throw him a party every week to try and cheer him up even though everyone knew it was all a charade. After everything that he did wrong, his friends are still there for him when he least deserves it. All because he was too hung up to see the reality, or too scared to face it.

Still, at least he was sound of mind and heart and didn’t plan to go back to her, even if that meant waking up and facing the unknown future again.

“Cheers to that,” He mumbled as he brought the beer bottle he was nursing to his lips.

“Amen,” A voice said behind him, making him spill his drink all over his shirt “Oh shit! Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you”

Luke wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, counting to ten in his head so that he won’t curse this person out. But soon a hand was stretched out to him, offering some napkins to clean himself out.

Finally, his blue eyes were able to look at the person who so rudely interrupted his self-deprecating moment. And for a second there he was speechless.

“I’m truly sorry,” The girl gave him a shy, awkward smile, “I thought you heard me get out and- Well, that’s what I get for trying to be funny, I guess”

Luke blinked up at her, losing his train of thought when he noticed how cute she looked when blushing and the way her eyes sparkled before she looked down. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he accepted the napkins.

“It was funny,” He said, dabbing his shirt “I always hated this shirt anyways, so thank you for helping me get rid of her”

The girl smiled “I don’t know if you’re making fun of me… but, yeah, that shirt is very 2015”

Luke fake gasped in surprise “Are you saying I have bad taste?”

“I’m saying that maybe you did but are now repenting for your sins”

“So quick-witted”

“One of my many talents”

“What’s another one?”

“I can run faster than a wolf”

“Don’t you get tired?” He asked, scooting to his side so that she could sit beside him. She did.

“Maybe when I do I’ll finally find the place that makes me what to stay” She shrugged “Do you have a talent?”

“I can’t seem to differentiate heroes from villains”

She looked at him, resting her chin on her hand “What do you think I am, then?”

“I don’t know yet” He laughed, looking back at her and getting lost in her eyes for a second before asking “Should I be offended you'd rather be out here than at my party?”

“Should I be offended that the host of the party would rather sit outside in the cold than at his own party?” She challenged him “My friend dragged me here, but I’m not much of a social butterfly and I need a moment to charge my battery before she tries to set me up with another stranger”

“Ooff, tough crowd?”

“The toughest”

“Good.” Luke said, leaning back and looking up at the sky “Easiest way not to get hurt”

“Maybe,” She shrugged. “But if we don’t get hurt once in a while then why bother to feel anything at all?”

Luke turned to her, frowning as he examined her face. “Did Ashton send you here?”

The girl looked at him quizzically, “I literally have no idea who Ashton is, but if he’s like- I don’t know, your “guide” in the universe, then maybe?”

Luke laughed “He’s my co-host”

“Oh! The one singing “I will survive” in karaoke! Yeah, no, I haven’t talked to him. But if you want me to call him I could-”

“No!” Luke said way too quickly and she noticed that as well “I mean if he sees me he’ll know he’s right and I would rather eat another one of Calum’s veggie lasagnas than do that”

“Ouch, tough crowd?”

He groaned “You have no idea”

“I might, a little bit”

“Yeah?” He bumped her arm with his “What’s your story then?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Luke,” He said, extending a hand for her to shake.

“Y/N,” She took his hand in hers, shaking it firmly “Well, Luke, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours”

“And if we never want to see each other after we do?”

“Then that’s a risk we’ll both have to take”

*

The memory faded as he noticed all eyes were on him.

Shit.

At least there’ll be more elevator memes after this interview.

“Sorry, could you repeat the question, please?” Luke asked, ignoring Calum’s chuckle.

“Of course!” The interviewer smiled “I said that you were one of the main writers in almost every song of this album. What’s the inspiration behind it?”

“Oh,” It was an easy answer, of course, something he had rehearsed with the guys beforehand. But as the memory of your first encounter was still so fresh, another answer came to mind “Love,”

“Love?”

“Well, I guess that the right way to say it would be the feeling you get when you know you’re safe” He started, “When you feel safe around that special someone, no judgment nor fears or doubts. When that person means the world to you and you would do anything to give it to them just to see the smile on their face even for just a second. Or when you make a mistake and you’re willing to put everything on the line to try and make it right, just hoping the other one will forgive you when you think you least deserve it. “I had my doubts about love for quite some time. Thinking I was defined by it when we just create the context ourselves when we find the right person to share that love with. I always believed love would be…”

“Burning red?” Michael smiled, finding the words right out of Luke’s mouth.

“Yeah,” He smiled “But love is not supposed to burn or to hurt. Love is supposed to keep us warm and safe. Love is golden, like daylight”

“But not our old song Daylight,” Ashton said, making everyone laugh “That truly was a mistake”

“But it is part of our history,” Calum added.

“Like heartbreaks and hurt,” Luke chimed in, going back to the original question “But without them, is it even worth feeling anything at all? They’re just passing by until you find the place you want to stay, with the ones you love”

Luke watched with a smile as the other guys answered the rest of the questions, knowing full well that this is where he was meant to be. But there was someone missing.

*

The car dropped him off first, his friends all saying their goodbyes or see you tomorrow and saying I love you to him before he got out. He cracked his back before he grabbed his bag and made his way to the front door, waving one last time at the guys.

The moment he crossed the door he hung his keys and got rid of his boots. He was about to call your name when a faint mixture of sounds got to him. He frowned as he walked toward the living room, quickly finding you under a pile of blankets, wearing his hoodie and with an arm wrapped around a very sleepy Petunia whose snores were drowned out by the sounds on your phone.

Luke smiled as he shook his head, walking over to his two girls and sliding down next to you, wrapping you with his arms.

“What’ you doing?” He said, kissing you on the cheek “Are you- are you watching 5sos TikToks?”

“What can I say?” You said, turning into his embrace and facing him “You guys are very entertaining”

You ignored the rolling of his eyes as you leaned over to kiss him sweetly on the lips, feeling how he relaxed against you.

“Hi,” You mumbled once you pulled back just enough to have only your noses touching.

“Hi, darling” Luke smiled, kissing you briefly one more time.

“Long day?”

“The longest without you”

“Sap” You giggled, trying to scurry away before his hands found your waist and started to tickle it, but not being able to succeed.

This is what he meant about love. Coming home after a long day and having your laugh be music to his ears. Being able to touch you and kiss you like it was the first time every time. Just relaxing with you on the couch with your dog, watching hours and hours of tiktoks before any of your stomachs started to grumble. Talking about your respective days while you cook dinner together with Fleetwood Mac’s music surrounding the house, listening to all the good and the bad and the ugly, and just being there for each other.

The words “I love you” never made sense to him before you came along. But when you kiss him goodnight and whisper those words to him, he knows them to be true. And when he says them back, he knows he’s falling short. Because a love like that is impossible to describe.

A love like that is golden. A love like that is kind.

So every night he adds:

“Loving you is the best thing I have” * * tags: @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @mystic-232 @talksoprettyjjx @theshyspy @hoodhoran @hoodharlow @littledrummeraussie @bubblegum183 @irwin-fletcher-ash @wiiildflowerrr @another-lonely-heart @aabc5sauce @in-superbloom @sadcupofcoffee @personalmuyverypersonal @vtte @as-hs-blog @himbohood @sofiaaraee @irwindoll @weasleytwinscumslut @fairytrice @colourfulcal @nibin0912 @hfkait @savagejane1 @youneedtocalumdown @ashtonsunflower @nicebasscalum @calumspupils @secretsicanthideanymore @alltimesos @wontlastimokwiththat @whywontyoulovemecami @theimpossiblehologramtree @perriexed @abiancajg @rewmuslupin @icelily13 @bookthingz @gracieboogirl @fastandtheformula1 @kingxnichole @wildflower98