#and adrian made the whole thing up himself

[gentedame]

le vampire et son lâche — alucard x gender neutral reader, smut/slight angst

content: slow burn, dom!reader, sub!alucard, clothed sex, grinding, teasing, alucard is a bit of a crier, reader has a backstory

author's note: man this is kinda ass but i still enjoy how it turned! sorry for the potential spelling and grammar mistakes, english is not my first language! the title of the fic, "le vampire et son lâche", means "the vampire and his coward". hope you'll like it!

reblogs and comments are always appreciated!!♡

"They left?!" You ask, nearly yelling, standing at the door outside of the castle as you look at the coach already too far for you to run after it. Alucard seems to be surprised, before he approaches with a smile. "I'm sure Belmont forgot you. He would do that..."

Well. That's partially true...

Yesterday, you had trouble sleeping. So you had a conversation with Sypha and Trevor. About your thoughts on what happened after the fight with Dracula. About what you will do now. About your feelings for him. You remember Trevor mimicking a vomit sound as Sypha told you that you should confess.

Bastards. They did it on purpose. You're stuck with him now. Why did you tell them again ? You sigh, mixed feelings going through your whole mind. Annoyance? Happiness? Horny? Nah, let's forget the third suggestion... Alucard notices your face, then slowly walks to you, frowning his eyes in confusion.

"[Name], are you okay?" He asks, his hand about to touch your shoulder, before stopping himself, resting it agaisnt his hips. "I... I'm sure they noticed you're not with them and that they will come back to pick you." He tells you, doing his best to make you feel better about the situation. Oh, sweet Adrian. He thinks you want to leave this huge ass castle and the fine man he is. Well, you did want to leave, at first, but that was because you were scared of your own feelings for him. You thought about everything he could say to you;

"Sorry, I'm not into humans."

"Sorry, I love Trevor."

"Sorry, I love Sypha."

"Sorry, you stink. It makes me want to kill you."

Okay maybe the last one was a bit extreme. But still, you wish you could know if you like him. You don't want to confess unless you are sure he likes you. So yeah, you're staying, but no weird thing. No pickup line. No flirty jokes. Nothing. Just two friends, staying in a big castle. What could go wrong ?

- ♡ -

You stayed with Alucard for around 2 or 3 months now. Trevor and Sypha never came back, as you expected. But you could care less about it now. You're worried for Alucard.

At first, it was going on well. You both were doing your thing, eating together, going on a walk and talking about everything that went through your mind. Then, he started to make these weird dolls of Trevor and Sypha and made them speak. Well, that thing is the least weird thing he could have done, but still, you're worrying ! You got more worried when, some weeks before, you saw him in his father's office, crying in silence while sitting on the chair. The sight made you want to cry for him and pull him in a hug.

You wanted to. You terribly wanted to hug him and show him that you love him. But you didn't, you just left and pretended nothing happened, just like he did when he came back to you and smiled as he asked you what you wanted for dinner. The guilt made you unable to eat and sleep that day, feeling horribly bad for leaving him in such a state. How could I let him cry, all alone? You asked yourself, while laying in bed, looking up at the ceiling. I love him, right? Then why did I leave him like this? I'm such a coward.

A coward. Yeah. That's what you think you are. You're a coward. And you don't deserve to love, or to be loved. You betrayed the ones who trusted you. You left them. You ran away, instead of trying to do anything to save them. They were your family. Your blood. And you left them because you were scared. Because you were a fucking coward. You still are. Now, you're hurting the man you deeply love and care for. You don't deserve him. You can worry, but won't ever do anything. You can't. You're not allowed. He is a work of art, who deserves to be touched by clean, gentle hands. You do not have gentle clean and gentle hands.

But, seems like Alucard doesn't agree with you.

You were in the Belmont library, reading one of the many books while sitting on the desk table. Well, you pretended to do it. Actually, you were again distancing yourself from the man you crave for. Crazy, huh? Who would want to distance themself from a man like Alucard? From Alucard himself? Well, you would. And you did. But Alucard found you. Of course he did. If you’re not at the castle, you're surely at the Belmont's huge library.

He standed in front of you, then slowly took the book away from you. You look at him with confusion.

"What?" You ask, trying to sound bitter, but failing. He looks at you, his golden eyes staring into yours. "Have you been avoiding me?" He asks you, his voice sounding a little disappointed. His question surprises you so much you start nervously laughing.

"W-Wha— Why would I do such a thing!" You almost yell, trying to ease the situation. "I... I haven't. Really. You... You're imagining things."

"Am I...?" He asks, his voice a whisper like a caresss, his hand taking hold of your cheek. The contact makes you hot, hot already. You can't believe you got hot like this over feeling his hand on your cheek. Alucard softly sighs, his lips dangerously close to yours. "I do imagine a lot of things. Especially at night."

A shiver runs across your full body. You're staring at his lips. His body is so close to you.

"I dream of you. Of us. We do things that would make God blush." He confesses, his hands wrapping around your neck. Shit, is it just you or it's fucking hot in here? "When I wake up, I'm a mess. I'm tired of thinking I'm the only one who craves your touch. Please, [Name], tell me you feel the same. Tell me I'm also in your deeams."

You do better than telling him.

Your lips crash agaisnt his, pulling him in a kiss as you let your hands wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. Alucard sighs in relief, his hands holding you tight around him as he kisses you back. The kiss is deep, passionate. It shows how you two have been craving for each other but never made the first move. You bite on Alucard's lower lip, earning a soft gasp from him, pushing your tongue into his mouth. You lift yourself from the desk table, making him sit on the desk now, switching your positions. He lets you do so, his hands not leaving you. His legs wrap around your waist, pulling you even more closer if that's even possible.

You don't miss the adorable whine he leaves when you pull away, staring at his face with a smile. He was sweating, panting heavily, some or his blonde hair sticking to his forehead. God, he really is a work of art. You can't help yourself.

"Can I touch you?" You refrain a teasing giggle when you see him fastly nod his head, blushing. "Please." He pleads you, in a soft, adorable whine. You kiss his forehead, hands gently discarding his clothes. Once he is in his boxers and his white shirt only, you start moving your hips agaisnt his, feeling his cock agaisnt your sex. The sensation makes you bite your lower lip, and Alucard leaves a loud gasp, holding tight onto your shoulders.

You continue doing this, torturing this poor vampire. He keeps moaning your name and holding into you. You kiss his neck now, grinding a little more. You don't miss the moan that escapes Alucard's mouth and the face he is making. "Please." He pants, his hands going from your shoulders to your face. "Please, [Name]. Please." You giggle, slowing as you whisper to his ear.

"What is it, precious?" You ask, making him leave another pant as he tries to collect his thoughts. "Please. Touch me." His pleading is so adorable it's addicting. You want to hear him beg more. "But I am touching you." You tease, giving another low roll of your hips. Alucard cries out.

"[Name], please!" He yelps, trying to move his hips himself to have more friction, but you stop him, grabbing his hips firmly. "No, no." You stop him, trying to ignore how hot the sob he left when you stopped him sounded. You try to calm him down by kissing his lips, the contact making him leave a moan. You can feel how he desperately needs you. You sigh, pulling away as you smile at him.

"I'm here."

[bippot]

Adrian Chase - Peacemaker Masterlist

+ Jake Martin - The Crew and Jeffrey Steinberg - Hidden Signal: Evergreen

Wanna be added to a taglist? Either comment on this post or send me a message!

Taglist: @kpopgirlbtssvt, @adriansboyfriend, @10ava01, @n1ghtw1ngslvr

1) Savage I Tumblr I AO3 I

Adrian makes a fool of himself in front of a pretty girl, but hey, when doesn’t he? She’s weird, funny, and treats him gently, which obviously makes him obsessed with her, and much to his surprise, she seems to like having him around too. Together, they try to carve out a peaceful life, yet her less than perfect family messes up their harmony.

2) Cowboy & Piggy I Tumblr I AO3 I

No, Adrian had not been crushing on his colleague. That’s just, like, not true in the slightest. It’s not as if the moment she became available, he said something he could never take back.

3) Calendar Girl I Tumblr 1 I 2 I 3 I AO3 I

When his buddy goes missing, Adrian spends all of his time and energy trying to get her back to him. Because they’re friends, obviously.

4) Hercules and Megara I Tumblr I AO3 I

Childhood friends have a habit of drifting apart. Usually, it’s a natural thing. Adrian never wanted to separate from his best friend, but he thought he had to.

5.a) Squirtle Pyjamas I Tumblr I AO3 I

She knows how to calm Adrian down. And wears his clothes. And teases him relentlessly. And knows exactly what to do to rile him up. And knows his deepest secret. But, no, nothing can happen between them. He must resist the temptation to do something about it.

5.b) A Kid? I Tumblr I AO3 I

In preparation for Allison’s wedding, Adrian becomes the babysitter of her kid for a day and his girlfriend realises how good at the whole thing he is. The idea of marriage and kids suddenly seeps into Adrian’s brain and he can’t seem to shake them away.

6) Spot Over By The Fire Station I Tumblr I AO3 I

After his manager forces him to go to the emergency room for a concussion, Adrian meets an old friend, and she looks worse for wear. He knows he can help with that.

7) Hopelessly Devoted I Tumblr I AO3 I

They broke up a while ago, and Adrian still isn’t over it. Chris takes him on a night out, and they get trashed. Adrian never imagined that he’d get up in front of people and serenade his ex, but he did.

8) My Favourite Girl I Tumblr I AO3 I

Telekinetic powers can be beneficial sometimes. Other times? Yeah, not so much. After a mission gone wrong, it might be that her gifts are godsent. Adrian, however, knows she is godsent, especially with boobs like that.

9) Sweltering I Tumblr I AO3 I

It’s way too hot in Evergreen for Adrian to even hide his attraction to Y/N. He tries. And fails miserably. Especially when the guy who delivers her hot tub is so swoon-worthy.

10) Wednesdays I Tumblr I AO3 I

While Peacemaker was in prison, Vigilante made another friend, and she had a much lovelier voice than Chris did, and after a takedown, Adrian can’t quite get his thoughts off her.

11) What You Deserve I Tumblr I AO3 I

Vigilante has had a long night and just wants to see his favourite girl then go to sleep. Is that too much to ask for?

12) Big Strong Guy I Tumblr I AO3 I

No. Adrian is fine with scary movies. He’s fine, okay? That’s impossible; he doesn’t have goosebumps. You’re seeing things. Must be, because a big, strong guy who doesn’t get scared of shit like that.

13) Lucky Number 14 I Tumblr I AO3 I

A work outing let’s some things come to light, yet Adrian isn’t there to hear it.

14) Last In Line I Tumblr I AO3 I

Getting kidnapped is becoming more of a regular thing for Adrian. Yet he knows this one. And she definitely knows him.

15) The Things You Do For Pussy I Tumblr I AO3 I

Living together means that Adrian’s secret identity isn’t really a secret to her, so she loves to make thirsty comments about Vigilante whenever she can, and it’s not as if Adrian feels something more than friendship for his roommate, right?

16) Waller’s Way I Tumblr I AO3 I

When the new government-issued 11th Street Kid arrives, the team soon finds out why Waller picked her. They don’t really know how Adrian pissed off their boss so much, but he sure isn’t happy with their new colleague.

17) Clingy I Tumblr I AO3 I

The Vigilante mobile breaks down, and Adrian needs a hand, transport-wise and socially, it seems. Once his coworker gives him a hand, it sets him off, and there is no going back to the platonic relationship they had before. A relationship that needs to have clear boundaries because Adrian is known to get far too excited to interact with her at any chance he gets.

18) Beautiful Things I Tumblr I AO3 I

Since Vigilante no longer has to work his shitty busboy job and that leaves his schedule wide open for the rest of the day, he soon finds himself frequenting a quaint coffee shop, not only because the drinks there are good, but because he’s grown fond of the woman working there.

19) The Distraction I Tumblr I AO3 I

Every now and then, Peacemaker has a solo mission. Whenever these happen, Vigilante has to be distracted so he doesn’t make the solo into a duo. The only person that is capable of that is the girl that Adrian hates… No, that can’t be right. He doesn’t hate her, not really. Quite the opposite, actually.

20) The Monarch Hotel I Tumblr I AO3 I

How many times does Vigilante need to get injured before Harcourt finally gives in and hires a medic to help out with the squad’s injuries? Far too many times, that’s how many. When it’s uncovered that a fancy hotel is linked to not only what’s left of the legion of butterflies but also a string of weird deaths and missing persons reports, the only two for the job are lovesick Adrian and the newbie. Will they both make it out of paradise alive?

21) Peacemaker Jr I Tumblr I AO3 I

Peacemaker scrubbed all mention of his kid from his file. But when the butterflies find out about her, he must admit to his team that he needs their skills to find her. Then, Chris really needs Adrian’s help to keep her safe, but he’s concerned that his buddy is going to get far too familiar with his daughter. And maybe those fears are warranted.

22) On The Road I Tumblr I AO3 I

Peacemaker’s mother fled with her unborn child when Chris was a teenager, and he’d always wanted to find his family again. After annoying Waller, he must send his friends out to help save his family, and Adrian finds out that he is more than willing to throw himself into danger to ensure that Peace’s sister is unharmed.

23) Slumber Party I Tumblr I AO3 I

Had Vigilante intended to find the missing mayor’s daughter? No, but he wasn’t going to admit that. He’d completed the 11th Street Kids’ mission entirely by himself and found himself caring for the kidnapped girl.

24) Damsel I Tumblr I AO3 I

Vigilante notices a girl and her not-so-nice boyfriend arguing, and just as the hero is about to reprimand the bad boyfriend, she does something unexpected. When she finds him a week later, they come to learn that they mesh together quite well. Will that chemistry remain when she knows who’s under the visor?

25) Bacon and Bloodshed I Tumblr I AO3 I

When Vigilante came across a crying girl covered in blood, he didn’t expect to have breakfast with her the next morning.

26) Reunited and it Feels So Good I Tumblr I AO3 I

After months apart under witness protection, Y/N and Adrian reunite following the defeat of the Butterflies. Both have changed—Adrian’s lost his curls, Y/N’s sporting new tattoos and a mullet—but their connection is stronger than ever.

1) Joyride I Tumblr I AO3 I

There are three things Jake loves to do at work. None of which are work. One: eating. Two: flirting with his girlfriend. Three: annoying Kevin. At first, he only thought he’d only get to do two of those three options.

2) Part Of The Crew I Tumblr I AO3 I

Kevin’s niece shakes up Jake’s little peanut head in the best way possible. For the first time in his life, he’s nervous to even flirt with a girl because, like, what if he fucks up? That would suck.

3) 95 I Tumblr I AO3 I

A wardrobe mix-up causes Jake’s secret relationship to come to light. Then, when they happen to match one part of their outfit one day, a formal complaint is filed against them.

4) Subconsciously I Tumblr I AO3 I

Jake has never watched the Fast and Furious films, so why can he quote them?

5) On the Same Paige I Tumblr I AO3 I

Jake is preppy and charismatic and dumb and talkative, which is the complete opposite of Beth’s niece. Why do they work so well together then?

1) A Dog On A Leash I Tumblr I AO3 I

Thanks to his attempt at total domination over the population of Evergreen spectacularly failing, Jeffrey was forced to be confined in his room. The only interaction he gets is annoying David whenever he brings his meals in. That is, until another face appears. A familiar face. A face of someone he presumed had perished in the apocalypse.

[sandy-the-glader]

Imagine Adrian’s girlfriend being super inexperienced and innocent, like Adrian is her “first” in everything, her first kiss (ever), her first sexual experiences (ever), and her first time

She’s all shy and nervous, unsure how to go about things, and he basically is guiding and teaching her 😭

Guide Me

Character: Adrian Chase x InexperiencedFem!Reader

Type: Fluffy Smut

Contains: Soft dom Adrian, Oral (Fem receiving), PiV, Praise, just soft Adrian talking you through it

Length: 1.6k words

Summary: You have had your first's with Adrian and now you are ready for your first time with Adrian. He guides you through it all.

A/N: I thought I'd do a small one-shot/Valentine's special since this request seemed perfect for it also I'm a little rusty for writing smut so I apologize. More requests coming soon!!!

At the beginning of your and Adrian's relationship, he was immediately shocked to find out you've never been kissed. You were the most perfect girl he'd ever met. I mean you were kind, loved his jokes, and could put up with his pointless rambles. Already wife material.

And besides he's had all his first times and he was.... well him.

He was also insanely (nervous) honored to be your first times. He made sure to make each of them as enjoyable and magical as he possibly could. During your first kiss, he held you carefully in his arms on the couch of his apartment. The kiss was deep and memorable. That scene was engraved into your everyday thoughts.

It was now Valentine's Day and Adrian went all out to make this day as special as he possibly could make it. He took notes from all the cute couples he saw online. The rose petals, the chocolate, and all his love. He was happy to have a day off in his week for this day and also he knew Fennnel Feilds would be loud and packed all night long. His lovely girlfriend didn't have it off though and he was disappointed but he would make up all the missed time later that night.

Adrian stood proudly in the doorway of your shared bedroom looking upon his works.

-

I dropped my bag by the door with a deep sigh. I was finally home and work was so stress-filled. I was just so happy to be home with Adrian. At the sound of the door opening, Adrian came rushing from our bedroom with a dorky grin on his lips.

"Welcome home honey." He enveloped me in a gentle hug. "Happy Valentine's Day." He said his voice filled with excitement. I was pressed up against his chest and I felt so comfortable.

"Hi baby, what's up?" I smiled sensing something with how eager he was acting. He grabbed my hand softly and led me to our room.

"I have a surprise for you and I think you're gonna like it."He said in a sing-song voice. My footsteps echoed in the hallway since I had yet to take off my shoes, We reached the slightly ajar door and he gestured for me to open it myself. I looked at him then the door and pushed it open.

There was a trail of rose petals leading to our bed and in the center were a few bags of chocolate followed by more rose petals. Candles surrounded the room making it feel romantic.

"This is all for me?" I smiled. Adrian nodded happily proud of himself. I walked into the room to see the whole thing. "Thank you so much!" I squealed. I turned to kiss him. He took no time to kiss back. He trailed his large hands up my torso creating an intense feeling to go through my body, his hand resting on my shoulder. My heart rate started to increase as his hands got needier and his mind got dirtier.

"Adrian." I gasped as he pulled me closer.

"Tell me you need this as much as I do," He said quietly against my lips. I nodded but he still waited for a verbal confirmation.

"I need you, Adrian please." I pleaded and he dove back in and kissed me again. He walked me backward to the bed until my legs made contact with our soft sheets.

I moved the chocolate to the other side of the bed, and Adrian laid me down. I watched him unsure what to do. Where should I put my hands? I just propped myself up on my arms. He noticed how almost scared I looked. I was only scared of if I messed up never because of Adrian.

"Here, I'll guide you." He reassured me. "Let's get these off." He started to unbutton my pants and pull them off, throwing them to the side. He looked so concentrated it was sweet.

He was a sight to take in. His hair was falling over his glasses as he was between my thighs. Shit, he looked good. His green eyes took in every inch of my body I had to offer. He slowly started to kiss up my thighs giving small rubs on the sides of them. My breath hitched to this foreign feeling.

"Let me make you feel good okay? If you need me to stop I will at any point." He said as he continued to rub the pads of his thumbs over my legs. I nodded. His thick fingers came and tugged my underwear down throwing them off the bed. "You look so pretty for me." He hummed. My cheeks grew hot.

"What do you want me to do?" I looked at him.

“Just stay still for me okay honey?” He asked. His hands trembled with adrenaline. I could tell he had been waiting for this very moment for a while now.

The way he looked at me every time I wore something ever so slightly revealing. Like he was starving. I brought myself a little bit closer and he threw my legs over his shoulders.

And just like that he held my legs and licked a line straight through my folds and a gasp rose from me. He looked at me making sure he could continue and I nodded. He licked stripes up and down. Slowly his glasses started to fog up. He looked at me so lovingly as he buried his tongue inside of me.

"Fuck Adrian," I whined and brought a hand to the back of his head, my hands tangling in his dark curls. More moans poured out of my mouth as his tongue worked so desperately. He didn't care about himself right now only the possibility of me coming undone on his face filled his need.

"Keep making those sounds for me." He smiled enjoying every second of this. He paid close attention to my clit, sucking in such an amazing way before slipping his middle finger into me. A moan erupted from me and he pumped it in and out. "You're doing so good honey.. look at you." He murmured already pussy drunk. He continued to suck at my clit and move his fingers faster inside of me. I started to feel the pressure building in my stomach and I threw my head back just trying to chase that release. Adrian stopped fully and removed his fingers.

"Why'd you stop?" I whined breathlessly. He smirked, enjoying the effect he seemed to have on me.

"As much as I would love for you to come on my face I need to be inside of you." I could still see my slick coating his lips. His dirty words made butterflies explode in my stomach. He pulled his shirt over his head and his biceps gleamed in the dim lighting of our bedroom. His pants followed quickly after. "Just lay back for me." I complied immediately. He pulled out a condom from his bedside table, ripping it open with his teeth and rolling it down onto himself. " Are you ready?"

"Yes," I murmured out just watching the memorizing way his body moved. He hovered over me and brought my legs over his hips. Slowly he started to push his cock into me. My hands gripped his arms for support.

"That's it you're taking me so well." He sucked small hickeys onto my neck. "Good girl." He mumbled once he bottomed out inside me. He waited for a moment, waiting for me to let him know. It took me a minute to feel comfortable.

"I please move." I pleaded and he listened. He pulled out leaving me empty for a few seconds before filling me again. He moved slowly and I could tell he was holding back. I knew he wanted this for so long but a part of him was nervous to ask. The uncomfortable feeling melted away the pleasure started to take over.

"You can speed up." I let him know.

"Thank you, baby." He held my hips and started fucking up into me making him let out whimpers of his own. "Thank you for letting me take care of you. Fuck." He had just started and he was already finding that sweet spot inside my body. Every time he pulled out it left an empty sense that was always consumed by a delicious feeling of his cock ramming back inside of me.

I felt myself squeeze down on him, getting lost in the pleasure. His cock twitched inside of me and fuck I just needed all of him. He continued to speed up to what I didn't think was possible but Adrian was always full of surprises. Soon that feeling came back and that desire to release returned with it. I bucked my hips up to meet Adrian's thrusts.

"Fuck Adrian I think I'm close," I said breathlessly to him. That alone caused a moan from him. Any kind of pleasure from me seemed to set him off.

"Baby let go. Cum on my cock baby." He pumped himself a couple of more times before I reached my climax and came on him like he wanted me to. It didn't take him long to catch up with me. His final thrusts pushed him over the edge and he lost it.

"Fuck you're so good for me." Adrian collapsed next to me immediately bringing me into his arms. He already was mumbling more praise in between kisses in his fucked out state. He pulled a blanket over us keeping us warm in each other's embrace

"Happy Valentines." He smiled happily kissing the side of my head.

"Yeah, happy Valentines." I sighed comfortably in the arms of the man I loved so much.

[lovedivers]

I love the ceo/Adrian but can you do one of a yandere reader like you did for academic rival.

Pretty please 🥺

A Gentleman's Confrontation.

💌 ⤻ THE CEO, ADRIAN HOUDE

—> you're a creep, he's obsessed; a matchmade in hell!

⤻ reader is gender neutral, possessive thoughts, obsessive thoughts, crimes against the reader, invasion of privacy, typical yandere behaviour, filming without consent

notes: all ya'll are little creeps but i love all of you. thank you for saying please, anon. mwah!

🦋 ⤻ archives.

You had been obsessed with Adrian Houde since the moment you heard him compliment your name. Your heart practically swelled each time he came to check in on the fashion department, always managing to catch his eye and smiling at him shyly. You even went into his office a few times — unaware he was the one who personally requested you — to present the pitches for fashion shows and the budget needed for your department despite it being out of your pay grade.

You did it all so you could see his face.

So you could look into those hypnotising hooded blue eyes of his, so cold you could almost die from hypothermia when you stare at them.

Still, you always stared.

It started off as a little crush. You finding him attractive — who didn't, really — and unconsciously drawing him in your many sketches as a model.

Then, it turned a little crazy.

You started nabbing a few things each time you went into his office. A pen, a tie he abandoned on the chair, a crumpled buck that you saw him touch. It was all yours for the taking.

Still, you kept a distance from Adrian, ensuring he would never take things too personally. After all, he was the most eligible bachelor perhaps in the whole world, and you were just some low-level intern who didn't even get paid well enough to be in his tax bracket. So while you were delusional, you kept that side of you to yourself.

Till you were caught, of course.

✧ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ✧

Adrian's blue eyes pierced into yours as both of his hands pinned you against the wall. His blonde hair tousled, framing his face perfectly. If not for the tense situation, you would have thought whether he had a hairstylist that did all this work for him or whether he was just that good.

“I've been watching.” His voice, clear as his icy gaze, spoke out. “Did you know there's a camera in this office?” He refrained from telling you about the cameras he planted at your desk.

“Oh.” Was the only thing you could say as your eyes went down to his lips, guilty of lusting for him, even now.

“I could get you fired for this.” He whispered, pursing his perfect lips as he leaned closer to you, head going down to your neck, to savour the taste of your scent. His nose grazing against your neck as you groaned. “Just what were you thinking?” He whispered, hot breath hitting your neck as he gazed at you. “It's like you're giving me permission to…” He didn't dare finish his sentence as you stayed there, pinned against the wall.

Knowing that you were just like him, that you liked to rummage through his things like he did to your desk when night fell; were you trying to kill him? He was a gentleman, he was taught to always be a good man to anyone he was romantically interested in, to be cordial and kind but you doing that just made him want to lock you up. You doing that was like you giving subtle confirmation you wanted him too, no? “I'm trying to be good for you.” He breathed out, one of his arms going down to your waist.

His eyes met yours and you swore you saw tears in his eyes. “I really like you, [y/n].” He confessed suddenly, causing your eyes to widen.

Of all the people you would have thought would have a crush on you in the office, it was the head honcho himself. The one you stole things from, the one who stole your heart.

“Those things you did, the things I saw in my camera… does that prove you like me too?” He felt himself cringe at his words, feeling like a high school student confessing to his crush. “Please tell me that's a yes, I've been waiting so long just to- just to-” Just him speaking was enough to drive your breath away. He was breathing heavily too, like being in your presence banished all thoughts of oxygen away from his mind; his brain focusing on you and only you, prioritising you over oxygen.

“You have to say yes.” It was like in that brief moment, the gentleman you had always know Adrian Houde to be suddenly disappeared, his warm blue eyes filled with frightening obsession.

“Say yes. Please. I won’t let you out of this office till you say yes.” Well, that certainly tempted you to not say anything. Being able to be trapped between his arms was like a dream come true, but you also desperately wanted him to be aware of your feelings.

“Yes. I like you too, I love you.” You stumbled over your words.

“Are you sure that’s what you want to say?” He asked.

You felt a sense of dread travel through your bones at his inquiry, forcing you to rethink your answer. However, your answer was clear as day, he wanted you and you wanted him. “Yes. I’ve been obsessed with you since the moment we met at that office.” You confessed.

Adrian’s eyes widened as he realised that you — his sweet intern, the light of his life — was also the same as him. No, you would never be the same. You would never be as unhinged as he would be for you. You had no idea just how crazy he was for you.

He could list down all the crimes and perverse things he did for you against his own morals.

He had stolen your notebook and scanned it just so he could fixate on your handwriting, he had installed a hidden camera under and on your desk just to see how your body moved, he had investigated every part of you to the point he could recite the measurements of your body from his mind. You would never be as crazy as he was for you, but it felt good to know you thought you were.

“Confirm it again.” He said, his gravelly voice turning cold like the times you had heard him talk during meetings; the perfect businessman. “If you do, I want to let you know that you won’t be able to leave my side. Even if you wanted to.”

You didn’t take his words seriously.

“I’m not playing, sir.” God, he loved it when you called him sir. “I really… do like you.”

He snapped and grabbed your waist and pulled you up, slamming your cute little butt onto his desk. “I hope you won’t regret this.” Adrian whispered as he ran a hand through his golden-blonde hair, another hand reaching for his tie and loosening it in a way that made your mouth water. "Because I'll make sure you fall so deeply in love with me we'll go tumbling to hell."

You didn’t even realise he was so close until it was too late and his lips claimed yours.

The kiss was sloppy and desperate, his tongue overlapping yours in a sensual dance. He licked your lips, you bit his, your tongues explored each other needily. His palm on the back of your head, holding you in place so you could not escape. Slowly, his lips descended down to your neck, hungrily licking and biting as you let out breathy gasps.

“You won’t be able to leave me after this. I need to take responsibility, and you do too.”

[milkywaydrabbles]

I'm the same fluff anon that I didn't know you could cook, now you think you can do something with the indication "I know you had a bad day, so I made you cookies", we have to continue loving and caring for that great Dhampir, please?

A/N: Ahh this one is short, I couldn't think much for it but I'm always a sucker for fluff and I love Alucard sm so here you go. I hope you enjoy it anyways! Mwuah!

"I know you had a bad day, so I made you cookies." x Alucard

Ugh.

Alucard couldn’t think of a single good thing to say about the day. It turned out to be longer and more difficult than he ever intended it to be. Finally trudging back home, the day simply had to shit on him even more before his boot got stuck in mud, nearly sucking the whole thing into the ground. Honestly, Alucard had half a mind of just leaving it there. He didn’t really need the boot anyways. Decided against it, he pulled it out and uncomfortably placed it back on his foot, squishing within the halls of his castle. He didn’t even call out to you, as he normally would, instead sneaking up the steps and going straight to bathing -- he’d clean up the boot marks later. His sweat and all the muck from the outside made his skin crawl, peeling off layers of clothing onto the bathroom floor to bathe. The water felt incredible, immediately soothing his aching muscles as he dipped in, relishing in the warmth. He’d be quick, just needed to scrub away today’s troubles...

-

Alucard in fact, was not quick.

He’d actually fallen asleep in the bath. Eyes shot open, scanning the room with a fright. How the hell did he fall asleep? It was difficult enough to sleep, let alone with you, and yet he’d completely dozed off. He wasn’t sure for how long, but there was still some sunlight when he got home and now it was terribly dark. Shit. He wondered if you even knew where he was, if you were scared for him, if you were waiting--

“Adrian, honey, are you awake now?” 

...Wait, huh?

He must have said that out loud, because he heard you giggle and walk over, kissing his forehead. “I saw you in here earlier, but you dozed off and I didn’t want to wake you...I checked up on you a few times, make sure you didn’t slip under.” You teased, combing his hair with your fingers. “Come on, pretty boy--you’re gonna get pruny.” As if he wasn’t already.

He really was still in a daze, not entirely sure what was going on--you just let him sleep? He must have been really out of it if he didn’t wake up to you walking in.. The dhampir sleepily dressed himself, and when he found you again immediately wrapped his arms around your waist, nuzzling his nose into your hair. “Darling, you should have gotten me up, I could have helped with dinner.” He stifled a yawn, inhaling deep after--whatever you had made smelled delicious. And there was something...sweet, in the air. 

“Did you make dessert?”

You nodded, turning around in his arms and kissing his jaw, the closest bit to you. “I know you had a bad day, so I made you cookies.” There was no way he could have been out for that long, that you could have made everything from scratch...right? “How did you--” “Just call it a woman’s intuition, you walked out of here this morning so grumpy...I made the batter earlier for tonight.”

It’s like you could read his mind.

He chuckled anyways, tightening his hold on you and swaying back and forth. “How you read me like a book, I’ll never understand my love. But I am very grateful for you, all the same.” You hummed, nuzzling into his chest and wrapping your arms around him. “It’s my job to know you like the back of my hand. I’m your wife.” You teased, hands trailing up to caress his jaw, bringing him down to your level and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “I love you dearly, never forget that.” You reminded him over and over again each day, and he silently thanked every god in the sky for bringing you to him.

“Now let’s have dinner, hm? Then we’ll have the cookies later.”

[tprings-hair]

@self-made-purgatories thank you SO much for asking <3 this is going to be a lot to read so buckle up!

so by the late 19th and early 20th century, a lot of the world had been charted (and colonised) by various world powers. the british empire had their huge navy and their whole "sun never sets on our empire" thing. ww1 hadn't happened yet, and while america was becoming a power of its own, other british colonies were making noise about independence too. this is an extremely rough overview, but I'm setting the scene. a few german and norwegian scientists starting writing about all the fascinating things they were sure they could find in antarctica, a continent which had only been seen, not explored. some norwegian and belgian ships became the first to set foot there. the british got competitive and sent their own teams, because nobody does colonialism like them. the south pole really was Where No Man Had Gone Before, and who did they send for the challenge?

robert falcon scott was a royal navy torpedo lieutenant, and the royal society picked him as the captain of a number of antarctic expeditions. he made a point of collecting scientific data (water temperature, species of bacteria in the water, documenting marine life they saw) that is still used in assessing climate change and sea conditions. he inspired absolute loyalty in his men, and they seemed willing to follow him to the ends of the earth (literally). that said, he was extremely inflexible, didn't like adopting customs outside of the typical british way, and he continually miscalculated the amount of rations he and his crew would need for long journeys. frostbite and hard work is bad enough, but it got a lot more difficult when everyone was undernourished.

I should note here that this post has early sketches of each main star trek character, and kirk's says this:

As with similar men in the past (Drake, Cook, Bougainville and Scott), his primary weakness is a predilection to action over administration, a temptation to take the greatest risks onto himself. But, unlike most early explorers, he has an almost compulsive compssion for the plight of others, alien as well as human, must continually fight the temptation to risk many to save one.

ernest shackleton was a merchant navy officer on scott's team on one of his early expeditions. to quote his wikipedia article:

this sounds a lot more like a certain james t kirk! on their one and only expedition together (the discovery expedition), scott chose two men to accompany him to the highest possible latitude, shackleton and edward adrian wilson, a doctor and artist with an interest in science and an unfailingly good attitude. the men called wilson uncle bill because he would support the younger men and show them how to do things. as far as I can tell no one had anything bad to say about him. he isn't a one-to-one match with bones, but I can see elements of him in there.

on this three-man trip, scott did not bring sufficient food and shackleton developed scurvy so badly that he often couldn't walk or pull the sledges and was eventually sent home when they were safe. shackleton always spoke well of scott in the press, but he never went on another expedition with scott again despite offers, and there were rumours (how true they were I don't know) that he resented scott for sending him home and then writing in his account of the voyage that he was ill and weak.

shackleton led his own expedition a couple years later, the nimrod expedition. (shackleton asked wilson to go along, but wilson declined out of loyalty to scott.) they made it within 100 miles of the south pole, but there were personality conflicts, and the food they brought with them was tainted, making them ill. when they reached their food depot, they found that another member of their party had restocked it with all kinds of luxuries (cakes, crystallized fruit, eggs, gingerbread) the likes of which were probably heavenly after months of sledge rations. (additionally, the fruit was very good for preventing scurvy, the thing that knocked shackleton out of commission on scott's discovery dash.) the food discussion isn't necessarily relevant to star trek (unless you're thinking about the kirk backstory episode where they revealed he lived through a famine). it's mainly to illustrate the difference between the two here. shackleton understood and accepted the importance of small luxuries in a way scott didn't or chose not to.

not to be outdone, scott announced that getting within a hundred miles wasn't good enough. he could put together a party and make it all the way to the pole. it helped that there was a norwegian team making the same claim, and they simply had to beat the norwegians for king and country. how did it go, you ask? well, after two years on the ice, scott decided to push forward in bad weather because he wanted the victory of reaching the south pole first for britain, and on the way back, he and four good men (our pal wilson included) slowly weakened and starved, eventually freezing to death. it's obviously disturbing, so be warned if you decide to look up the terra nova expedition that it doesn't end well. people have defended scott in a number of ways, and to be entirely fair to him the miscalculation with the rations was due more to nutrition being a new science. his diary is genuinely confused at what happened and heartbroken at what he has led his men into. it's a very difficult read toward the end. (and the rest of it too, but maybe that's because his writing style just wasn't to my taste.)

I became a little bit obsessed with this expedition by reading the worst journey in the world by apsley cherry-garrard. he was an expedition member (and was on the team which eventually found the bodies of the polar party) and through his writing I honestly feel like I got to know a lot of these men. sometimes when something reminds me of that book I find myself thinking "oh, like cherry said!" like he's an old friend. I genuinely have so much affection for him. cherry, I love you with all my heart and I wish we were friends. (and I know there's no way they were thinking of him for chekov's character, but in my headcanons, chekov is a little like him.) if you want to get attached to a bunch of polar explorers like I did, the blogs @worstjourney and @polarexplorerspoll are fun to check out. (worstjourney has made a graphic novel of some of the terra nova's adventures based on cherry's book, and I believe they're working on volume 2 now!)

I'm not the biggest fan of scott's leadership for a few reasons (which I'm sure you can figure out from this, and if you want a different perspective on him worstjourney is definitely the blog to visit!), but I think part of the inspiration taken was exactly what worstjourney describes here: that scott's expedition wasn't just about what they did, it was about their reasons and how they did it. this strong sense of fair play is definitely at work in star trek tos. (additionally, a lot of the surviving expedition members writing about it later talked about it in much the same way I like to imagine the enterprise's crew talking about kirk.)

this is getting way too long and shackleton's next voyage on the endurance deserves entire books written about it. in fact, there are books written about it. I'll give you the extremely brief summary: the ship sank, the men had to camp out on the ice, shackleton had to keep morale up,they went through a hell of an ordeal and at the end of it every man was still alive. not only that, but plenty of them signed up with shackleton for another voyage. there are plenty of insane details that made me want to laugh or cry because of how deeply human they all were.

I learned about it by taking books out on libby, starting with the ship beneath the ice by mensun bound. he mentioned that he had a historian making a podcast about how they finally found the endurance, which led me to dan snow's history hit podcast, and I listened to that nearly constantly on transit last year. it's very british, but if you can get past the assumption that you know some major events in british history (I'm canadian and I know more than the average person my age about 20th century world history, but that didn't help me when they're like "yeah we all know what richard iii was known for") but you can usually catch up with a quick google search and their interviews with historians are always engaging and fun to listen to.

anyway, while I was listening to other subjects there, I took out shackleton's way: leadership lessons from the great antarctic explorer by margot morrell and stephanie capparell. this one was way more business-focused than I would have preferred, but I stuck with it because it had details about shackleton and how he kept his men going that I hadn't been able to find anywhere else yet. (including that, during an interview to see who he might pick for his expedition, he asked if they could sing. not well, mind you. he just wanted to know if they could shout a bit with the boys.) I left shackleton's book south unfinished because it felt a little too self-aggrandizing (worstjourney is absolutely right there, shackleton never passed up a chance to market himself) but the business book used a lot of quotes from it. none of this is related, it's just here in case you need reading recs.

speaking of books: a ship's captain's logbook is often filled with very brief accounts, just mentioning the weather conditions and what issues they might be dealing with. the real meat is in the diaries. most expedition members had diaries (being educated and used to keeping diaries at home, but this isn't always the case for sailors, and I think in times of war sailors and soldiers were actively discouraged from writing what they were up to). those diaries had a day-by-day account of what happened, who said what to who, what they ate, how they celebrated christmas, and so on. it's there that you find that great personal stuff. cherry's book often quotes from letters sent home by other expedition members and his own diary, and it gives it the sense that you really are reading about somebody's life. that's the thing star trek was after for the storytelling, and it's the thing I'm always looking for.

anyway, my interest in shipwrecks started with an interest in the titanic from when I was little, and recently I've been going through some of the american inquiry transcripts. you can read them here.

I've found it surprisingly similar to going through diaries. diarists were often reserved, maybe knowing that someone else was going to read them or maybe just thinking "I'll know what I meant", and reading direct replies to questions is so raw. these inquiries took place only a few days after the survivors arrived in america. some of them are obviously shaken. some of them are resentful at being questioned. some of them change their stories. some of them stick by their stories even when the inquiry insists that it couldn't have happened.

the inquiries were primarily conducted by senator smith, and he knew plenty about railway safety and next to nothing about maritime customs. you can tell in the early days of it that he's looking for a smoking gun. did the titanic hit the iceberg because there was an employee of the white star line aboard urging the captain to go faster? were any of the officers acting in contradiction to their duty? did they shut the gates and lock the third class passengers up to die? the officers being questioned give very flat responses, especially second officer charles lightoller, who says "no sir" about five times in a row at one point and refuses to elaborate on nearly any answer unless questioned further. (smith asks him at one point if any of the officers he ordered to man the lifeboats wanted to do it. at sea (especially in thise days), if someone higher ranking than you tells you to do something, you do it. lightoller just says "I did not ask them." which seems about right for a commanding officer in the middle of an emergency.)

(smith also asks what an iceberg is made of. the answer is "ice", btw. imagine surviving the sinking of the titanic and now this guy is telling you you can't go home until you've answered all of his questions.)

they're all asked where they're from at the start, and from that I can imagine their accents. the first class passengers are allowed to speak for entire paragraphs at a time. the second or third class passengers or members of the crew (especially ones with stronger accents) are continually interrupted and questioned. smith has a problem with interrupting, to be honest. sometimes the entire page is just him repeating what the witness just said. he also says "I wish you would tell me" a lot, which is not the point, but it gets on my nerves because if you're conducting an inquiry you don't just lightly float the question, you ask it. (also funny: at one point smith says "tell us what happened", completely interrupting steward charles hogg AS HE IS DESCRIBING WHAT HAPPENED, to which hogg replies, "very good, sir. I have started it, right now." which is a lot more patient than I think I would be under the circumstances. I would love to have heard the tone he used.)

I found out a couple of days ago that our friend shackleton was called in as an expert witness in the british inquiry (who better to talk about sailing through ice?) so I'm definitely looking forward to reading the british inquiry too.

in short: danger, adventure, hierarchy, survival, logistics, fair play, poetry quotations, glorious failures, glorious victories, being far away from home in a vast lonely place with only crewmates for company, the difficulties of command, and the deeply human humour, joy, fatigue, and sadness that run through it all.

this is way more than I expected to type, but I hope you enjoyed!

[inkzectz]

Pstpstpsrsttt drop ur ideas and hcs on shepvance and their dynamic … teeeheee

I remember the first time I thought about Adrian and Alyx was a while ago when I was talking with my friend about an idea for a half life game that had to do with both of them. It was a co-op game where Adrian and Alyx are paired up, and that was initially how I first thought of genuine interactions between them besides just little “oh they’re both in stasis”. I think their dynamic is something like Adrian puts up a tough exterior and acts like he needs no one, Alyx pretends to be cool and sly, but around eachother Adrian begins to let loose and allows himself to be vulnerable, and alyx is a cornball and cringe fail.

if you wanna know the details ab the game concept I’ll put them below 👇

the story would be a bit of a play on a scrapped HL2 EP3 concept, but basically Gman gives Alyx a new mission and tells her that it will be too dangerous for her to do it alone, so he provided her with an ‘advocate’ blah blah, one ominous and extremely vague gman monologue later. She blinks and is in the middle of the snowy forest next to a strange man.

I imagine since Gordon had his hev suit taken from him, Adrian would also have his gear taken as well since that too is “government property”. I think first interaction they’d both be scared of each other and probably fight before realizing 1) they’re in the middle of nowhere 2) it’s snowing 3) there are probably bigger dangers than each other. And decide to call truce and help each other figure out what’s exactly going on.

setting wise Alyx soon realizes they’re in white forest, but something is very wrong, it’s abandoned and when they find the resistance base it doesn’t look like anyone had been there for a long time, they find a computer and upon turning it on an old recording of a transmission plays basically letting them know they made it to the borealis but something went wrong, and now both the combine and the resistance were wiped out, and earth is abandoned. Both alyx and Adrian are deeply disturbed by this and they kind of realize they are all that they have now. but before they think all hope is lost they find another recording about the possible whereabouts of some remaining resistance leaders, and they both decide it is worth the risk to go and look for them.

I think some of the aliens are still on the planet (for some threats) and possibly even some new ones? Idk. But in regards to Adrian and Alyx I think they’d begin to grow on each other, especially since they both realize they are kind of all they have, I also think in terms of ‘game play’ Alyx would be the one to work with the combine tech, while Adrian would do a lot more of heavy lifting or more laborious parts of puzzles. What that’d be? Beats me.

filler game stuff, they make the journey and don’t find anyone but do find another resistance base and some research about how to use the borealis for time travel, it seems to be Kleiner’s work, possibly from after whatever happened with the borealis went down, but it seems something happened to him before he could put his work to practice. Alyx and Adrian decide to use his research and both think that they could use the borealis and travel back in time to stop whatever took place from happening.

They go and find the borealis and successfully make their travel back pre- allat.

in my head I imagine this theoretical game as an unnecessarily complicated way of bringing Adrian back and make it make sense in the grand scheme of things (in typical valve fashion of making a whole ass game that barely progresses the story) I don’t know how much it would make sense in the entirety of HL lore since there’s so little information on most of the stuff this concept involves but we ball

idkkk like and subscribe for more of Neil screaming into a void

[pillow-anime-talk]

his talented baby {part 2}.

synopsis: You as a person with a huge (and hidden) talent, and also a person who really surprises your boyfriend.

# tags: scenarios; current relationships; romance; some comedy; big fluff; some PDA; sfw

includes: gender neutral reader ft. sebastian michaelis & undertaker {kuroshitsuji} + josuke higashikata & rohan kishibe {jojo 4}

part one {click} & part three {click}

— SEBASTIAN (ft. chess)

Sebastian was perfect in everything; in cleaning, in cooking, in playing various instruments, in foreign languages, in gardening, even in singing and dancing. There was, however, one thing he couldn’t achieve fully well, and that was the game of chess.

Of course, he defeated others (I mean here; Grell, Agni, Bald or Finny) with ease, but when you offered him a game one day, his so far intact worldview changed dramatically. Eventually he found someone better than himself, but at the same time he felt so damn frustrated that he couldn’t win against your person. You were better than him, than Ciel, and even better than Mr. Tanaka, who was almost equal to him and the young lord.

“... Your move, Sebastian.” You announced by moving the bishop to the field of your choice, taking his black rook at the same time. “Are you going to give up, my love?” You smiled gently as you took a sip of delicious English tea with the perfect amount of sugar. The man looked at you in response, frowning and looking at the chess alignment after a short while.

“No. Everything is fine, I just need to think for a moment.” He said calmly, though his face expression seemed to hide the urge to swear. “I am impressed with how quickly you made such a confusing setup, darling.”

“Well, well. My grandpa taught me to play. As the saying goes, the student has surpassed the master.” You chuckled as you put your chin on your right hand while looking at the fingers of your man surrounded by white gloves, who decided to move the king to space F5. “Maybe someday you will surpass me, who knows?”

Sebastian stared at you out of the corner of his eye, nodding in delicate, almost invisible amusement.

“Maybe someday, dear. For now, I will give you the honorable title of the best chess player.”

— UNDERTAKER (ft. drawing)

Drawing has been your passion since you remember and you loved to paint literally everything; still life, nature, huge landscapes, other people, animals, and even things that didn’t make much sense (Picasso was one of your biggest inspirations when it came to cubism). In addition, in your bag you always carried your favorite blue sketchbook in which you drew tiny thoughts or things you noticed while walking, working or drinking coffee in a cafe.

That day, however, you were sitting quietly on one of the chairs in the funeral parlor, and the Undertaker was also sitting nearby – he was writing names with concentration, calculating in his mind the number of deaths in the last month and year.

His calm face was really handsome from your perspective; the faint light of the lantern caressed his pale complexion, and his green eyes full of mischief stood out behind his fair hair. Every now and then you glanced at the tall man, then your eyes focused again on the small notebook whose pages were blank. I mean, they were not all empty; some of them had sketches of dogs on them, others sketches of flowers, and others featured the figure of a tall Grim Reaper.

When you finished your illustration, you smiled and nodded, satisfied with your work. A beautiful play of light, self-confident pencil strokes and small additions in the form of ivy and rosemary beautifully composed the whole black-grey picture of Adrian.

“Excause me, darling...?” You whispered hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt his work. Nevertheless, the man quickly looked in your direction and a wide smile appeared on his face.

“Yes, my little flower.” He asked, instantly standing up and forgetting about the paperwork – you were definitely more interesting than the dead, after all. You showed him your drawing with a slight blush on your face and he opened his mouth in slight shock. “It’s me?” You nodded, and the Grim Reaper just chuckled. “Am I really THAT handsome?” He joked and you just rolled your both eyes. A short time later, Undertaker praised your talent, asking if you’d like to hang some of your sketches on the board next to the entrance.

— JOSUKE (ft. playing drums)

More than five years ago, you and your three friends started a music band. Since then, you’ve been focused on making your dreams come true, on small concerts played in the Morioh, on school performances, also on learning notes and practicing singing. You were the drummer and leader of ‘CR△WL’; your vast musical knowledge, willingness to develop your passion and daily rehearsals aroused great admiration from the rest of the band and from people who watched your slowly growing career. Of course, Josuke was no exception, on the contrary – he considered himself your biggest and most faithful fan, who with the greatest pleasure went on dates with you to music shops or bookstores with records of old bands.

The young man was delighted every time you played the instrument – just like years ago in your garage when you first played ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath for him. He was smitten and would come over to your house to listen to your covers or help you make a video for your YouTube channel (you were pretty popular for tutorials, trivia, and drum videos).

“...Y/N, Y/N. Would you be able to play this song?”

That day, Josuke visited your house once again. Your mom made you two some snacks, and you grinned as you practiced another song for an upcoming concert at one of the smaller festivals this summer. Your boyfriend seemed to be excited like never before, so you asked what is the title of mentioned song. Hearing the familiar words, you just smiled, nodding your head in response.

Instantly, your both hands and right foot began to beat the drums, which making the dark-haired teenager’s face look very surprised.

“Y/N... You really know every song on this planet!”

— ROHAN (ft. rapping)

Karaoke, bowls full of ice cream and fruit, carbonated drinks, hot snacks and great company were what you’ve been missing for the last few weeks. Focused on studies and work, you didn’t have time to rest properly; but you finally met with your closest friends and you also took Rohan with you.

You had a great time gossip with besties who talked about changes in their lives and new achievements, for example, at work. You were telling about your experiences as well with a huge smile, while Rohan was sitting right next to you, talking to some people from time to time. He wasn’t interested in large gatherings, but he couldn’t say ‘No’ to you either because you were too sweet that evening.

Suddenly, one of Cardi B’s songs was played in the background and you almost squealed.

“Ooooh, I see that someone want to sing, huh?” The blonde haired girl asked, and you just laughed, thanking her for the black microphone.

Rohan almost spit at his new shirt as soon as you started rapping the verses without any problems, without even looking at the screen where the lyrics were displayed. You had a great time dancing a bit in the middle of the small room. You looked at your partner with a smirk, sometimes sending a kiss or wink in his direction. You were literally in your world; you showing your energy and love for music so perfectly.

Rohan was really surprised.

[ficretus]

Some time during Vacuo, Jaune intercepts Cinder

Jaune: Not gonna let you have Summer Maiden power Cinder.

Cinder: So you have anticipated where I would be. Astounding, albeit natural. After all... we are not so different you and I.

Jaune: We are NOTHING alike!

Cinder: What do you mean, we both killed a Maiden and penetrated Nikos.

Jaune: I didn't want to kill Pe... Wait what, I never... ahem... I did no such thing with Pyrrha.

Cinder: Really?

Jaune: Why would you even think that?

Cinder: She was practically throwing herself at you. No matter, I will simply rephrase it. *clears throat* We both killed a Maiden and penetrated that Schnee girl, we are not so...

Jaune: Nope.

Cinder: Not even her? Then what was all that handholding at the bridge? Fine, but then I am running out of our mutual penetrations, and for your information I have never penetrated Little Re...

Jaune: Could you stop speculating about my love life?

Cinder: I cannot believe this Arc. I at least thought you were competent in that field. Well then, I am stuck. I prepared this whole monologue but it appears your incompetence will once again ruin everything, unless... Tell me about your childhood Arc!

Jaune: What? I'm not gonna talk about my life story so you can...

Cinder: *creates a glass swords* It is not really a request Arc.

Jaune: So what exactly are we doing here? I am gonna talk about my childhood and you are gonna try to find a parallels between us?

Cinder: Correct.

Jaune: I was raised in Vale...

Cinder: Does not work.

Jaune: As member of famous Arc family...

Cinder: No.

Jaune: I have seven sisters...

Cinder: Sigh... wrong number. But do tell more about them, I am sure we can find some parallels there.

Jaune: I guess we are making some progress. My youngest sister is...

*2 hours later*

Jaune: And Saphron then moved out to Argus, got married to Terra and has a kid named Adrian. Any parallels?

Cinder: *murmurs* Was she gay? I suppose that is entirely speculative. *clears throat* It appears there are no parallels. Tell me more about your relationship with your sisters? Was it cordial, neutral, antagonistic?

Jaune: They were fine. I guess they would pick on me from time to time, made me wear pigtails several times...

Cinder: Stop, what was that?

Jaune: Pigtails?

Cinder: Yes... pigtails... of course, now it all makes sense. *clears throat* We are not so different you and I, we both killed a Maiden and wore pigtails as kids.

Jaune: That has to be the most superficial parallel of all time.

Cinder: Shut up Arc. Now that I have established parallels between us, we can finally commence this duel. But I do warn you, it is gonna end up just like all of our previous encounters.

Jaune: Bring it on.

*reinforcements come in*

Ruby: Great work Jaune, you held her off for two hours. No idea how, but great work nonetheless.

Cinder: Two hours?! Oh... I see. So you lied about not having penetrated Nikos and Schnee to bait me into asking pointless trivia about your family while others fought off Grimm and Crown members.

Ruby: Ew, too much details.

Blake: Not enough details.

Nora: Jaune, you dog

Weiss: I wish...

Cinder: What a deception... I guess we truly are not so different you and I. *flies away*

Ruby: So Jaune... wanna explain what just happened?

Jaune: Cinder showed up spouting movie villain monologue insinuating things about my love life. Then we talked about my sisters and how they made me wear pigtails.

Emerald: As someone who worked for Cinder for years... that sounds completely made up.

Ruby: Fine, keep your secrets Jaune... *walks away*

Jaune: *thinks to himself* Why do I have a sudden urge to tell Emerald to shut up and then brood. Oh no...

Cinder: *voice in his head* We are not so different you and I.

[demon34sworld]

21+ Roleplay ⚠️ Contains mature themes and adult content, sexual themes.

𝓞𝓾𝓻 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓸𝓭𝓪𝔂.

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

With today being a busy one of going back and forth between our homes, I'd taken Snow to my brother and his wife who will be having her for the day and we will pick her up later when we're done.

On the way back to what will now be mt home to, I nipped into my home to fill the car with a few more boxes I'd packed up of my clothes to bring them inside, leaving them piled at the bottom of the stares ready for when we're back with some more.

But first, kiss and a coffee.

Heading straight into the kitchen where Sienna was, I greated her with a smile, placing my fingers just beneath her chin to tilt her head back enough for me to place a light kiss against her lips.

"Hey.." I breathed before continuing. "Snow is all good, she was getting all her cuddles in from Bays and JD." I told her reaching for my coffee she'd made me.

Today was going to be a long one so I was glad I'd filled my car up. And yes we could easily use our minds to get us from A to B as Demons but I thought it would be more of the whole thing to experience together.

And enjoy every moment kind of thing.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

This certainly felt very new this morning—for the first time in three months our little baby girl was with someone else.

Adrian's brother and his girl. Of course I liked them—we'd met a few times when Snow was born and they came to see her.

It was kinda strange that he had a twin—they were identical but luckily for me and her—telling the difference was easy once you knew them both.

I don't ever think I'd seen a couple as in love as they were, JD was definitely besotted with her.

I was almost completely lost in my thoughts when I heard Adrian's voice and felt the gentle touch of his fingers beneath my chin.

A smile quickly captured my lips right as he kissed me.

My arms came to wrap around his waist—holding him against the soft curve of my body.

It was moving day today—something that I honestly couldn't wait for. Finally after all those months of living apart—we'd gotten it together enough for him to be moving in with me and our daughter.

The perfect fairytale obviously did exist for us Demons after all.

Breaking the kiss—I stared at him with happiness filling not only my lips in a smile—but also my features.

“Hey you. I'm glad she's okay, she will love all those cuddles. Are JD and Bays doing good? I really need to meet up with my brother—it's been a minute.”

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

Nodding at her questions as I drank my coffee, I did finally set it down though to fully lean into her with my arms sliding around her sides, clearly having five minutes before the day gets busy.

"They're really good. Very glad to have Snow for the day into late evening." I answered kissing the tip of her nose. "Go tomorrow, I will have Snow unless you want to take her for the day too." I suggested with a soft shrug of my shoulders.

I knew tomorrow I'd still be unpacking everything which I can do while she visits her brother if she does it then. It was up to her.

"I nipped to mine and got some boxes I'd packed of my clothes, they're at the bottom of the stairs until we get back with the next load. I'm just not sure where it's all going to go though." I chuckled slightly amused at that fact.

Don't get me wrong, this house was more of a mansion with all the rooms but I also didn't want mt things everywhere taking over everything.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

I nodded my head when he spoke—tomorrow might work but then I didn't want to leave him to unpack everything himself so maybe I'd go in a few days once we were a little more settled.

“It's your house as well so you put them wherever you like. I've already cleared out the wardrobes and things in our bedroom so you have plenty of room in there.”

I still held onto him—even leaned into the curve of his throat to tease my tongue down the soft skin and inviting warmth.

Things between us became so heated so quickly—now definitely wasn't any different.

“Fuck..”

That need to bite him was right there—it had been since I tasted him on the tip of my tongue and now it was so strong that I was gripping against him tighter which had us backing up against the kitchen counter with a bump.

I even teased a hand between us to grasp his cock through his jeans—softly massaging him to life just from the tips of my fingers.

I don't think there would ever come a time when I didn't want him—it hadn't stopped this whole time. Only now everything was out in the open—it made it easier to indulge in all of him without the worry of overstepping.

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

She certainly knew how to heat things up and now was no different with her lips teasing my neck and hand rubbing my cock.

I could so easily say fuck it to the moving and take her right now but its not a quickie I want. I want her for hours, all night long.

"You make it impossible to behave.." I groaned naturally pressing into the palm of her hand.

My own coming up under her shirt to caress her breasts, teasing soft little buds between my fingers.

"Early night? And all night long?" I asked smirking right at her knowing I'll need to force myself out that door to unpack more stuff.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

The sudden assaulting touch of his fingers pinching my nipples was what made my other hand come to his jeans—tugging open his buttons so his cock was free and sliding into my waiting palm.

“Yes...”

That one word was all which could come out of my mouth at that point—I did nip against his throat though, a bit more rougher than the last time.

I don't know what it was but I felt as though I was horny 24/7 around him—was that because I no longer had to hide it?

Who the fuck knew—certainly not me and right now I wasn't looking for an answer.

At least not with my clothes on.

“Baby...”

I'd basically purred that one word while my hand was wrapped around his cock—feeling those raised veins throbbing against my palm.

He was so fucking hard almost instantly and I did enjoy that fact.

Same as I was soaked just from his unruly fingers toying with my pebbled nipples.

That fire was right at the forefront of not only my mind—but also my body. There was never any denying the attraction that we had between us—I think at this point, it was enough to raise the fucking roof.

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

"You're driving me crazy." I told her when our heated gaze met, her hand moving over the length of me getting pleasured moans to pass my lips.

Reluctantly I did bring my hands to her waist, teasing the tips of them over the waistline of her jeans wanting them off but knowing if I did then we won't be leaving this house.

"Let's get the moving done so we can go to bed..." I breathed.

She knew how much I wanted her with how hard i was and it was going to be frustrating to not have her in this moment but tonight will be amazing knowing how heated we both are for each other.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

"You're driving me crazy." I told her when our heated gaze met, her hand moving over the length of me getting pleasured moans to pass my lips.

Reluctantly I did bring my hands to her waist, teasing the tips of them over the waistline of her jeans wanting them off but knowing if I did then we won't be leaving this house.

"Let's get the moving done so we can go to bed..." I breathed.

She knew how much I wanted her with how hard i was and it was going to be frustrating to not have her in this moment but tonight will be amazing knowing how heated we both are for each other.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

A frown did momentarily marr my forehead—creating that little v straight down the center.

Reluctantly I let him go and moved myself so there wasn't any more temptation because he'd obviously rather do the packing which had me frustrated as hell.

Why was he pulling back so much?

Now I had too many thoughts running through my head—ones which I abruptly tried to silence.

“So what's first then?”

It wasn't like I could call the shots so I'd wait to see what he wanted to do which had me moving into the hallway to assess the situation with the boxes he'd already brought over.

Was we taking them upstairs or going to get more? I had no fucking idea so I stayed in the hallway to wait for him to sort shit out.

But right now I just felt confused. Was that normal? Fuck if I knew.

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

Shaking my head when she left because I caught that mood shift and it did frustrate me as much as pulling back did when all I wanted to do was leave the packing and take her to bed.

This was going be a longer day than it should be just to get things done. I didnt even do my jeans up when I came out of the kitchen and stared straight at her.

Looking between her and the boxes already packed I threw the car keys onto the side. "Fuck it." I muttered closing that space between us, my hands going for her clothes to get them out of my way.

Like I could ever go through with the moving when she looked this good and I was so turned on.

"We're first." I answered moving us against the wall of the hallway now we was both naked against it, claiming her lips in was addicted to with a heated kiss.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

These change of emotions from him gave me whiplash. How could he so badly want to get the packing done—but now he had me naked pinned against the wall.

He was doing it because he caught my frustration and didn't actually want to?

At least that's what it felt like.

My head wasn't there for this right now—so I broke the kiss to pull myself back. The moment had already been lost when he would rather do the packing.

I caught his glance though when I'd moved to go and collect my clothing. I couldn't fuck him thinking that he was only doing it to keep me in a good mood so to speak.

“Let's get the moving stuff done like you wanted.”

I wasn't in a mood with him—wasn't even angry either. More confused and slightly wounded. At least my pride was.

It didn't take me long to get dressed—but I could feel the tension between us and it shouldn't be there.

This wasn't how I wanted things to go but here they were anyway. Great start to moving in but what else was I supposed to do?

I couldn't turn it on and off—I may well be a Demon but I had feelings and emotions just like he did.

“Where shall we start then?”

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

Sighing with a nod in her direction I just got dressed because clearly I'm good at fucking things up already, that much was obvious.

"I guess I'll start with these then."

Grabbing some of the boxes I carried them upstairs to the spare room next to what is to be ours unless I just keep annoying her. I should have a gold star for that with how much I seem to do it the past day or so.

As soon as we'd got the boxes ready I was catching her glance with that heat still there, or at least it was for me anyway but now she didn't want to so I was getting my car key from wherever it landed in the kitchen.

"Let's get some more then. I can unpack them when its all here." I spoke offering her a smile. Whether she'd return it or not I'm not sure after that encounter right where we was stood now.

I just didn't want her thinking I don't want her because I do with every part of me. I just wanted it special with an early night.

Now thats out the window, right?

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

I hated this ill feeling between us—it had never been there before and all it did was bring me more confusion.

I nodded when he said about getting some more of his things and as much as I caught his smile—I didn't return it.

“I'll just get my shoes on then.”

Moving over to the shoe rack—I slipped on my converse and went into the kitchen to grab my phone which was slid into my bag.

“Let's go then.”

Opening the front door—I waited for him to leave so I could lock it and then follow him to the car.

Today was really going to be a long one—I could feel it already.

We'd hardly spoke—which made sitting in the car now uncomfortable to say the least.

I didn't look at him—instead I kept my gaze out of the window with far too many thoughts running through my mind and all of them destined to destroy me just that little bit more.

Had we rushed things? It hadn't felt like we had when we'd been so happy and now we were sitting in the car with an intensity I'd not felt before.

I just wanted us to be okay—I wasn't annoyed at him, just mainly confused but I hoped that I would soon get out of this funk.

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

The heaviest of sighs left me on the drive to mine and even though she didn't return my smile I was still resting my hand on her thigh because she's mine, right?

Or had I fucked it all up and yet still moving in?

I didn't have a clue in this moment if I was honest.

"I love you so much."

And I do, more than anything in this world her and our daughter will always be my everything. It was all just a misunderstanding because I did want it to be made special, have her feel exactly how much she means to me.

But now she can barely even look at me.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

His words hit right as we pulled up outside his house—they had me turning to face him almost instantly.

I hadn't stopped loving him—I don't think there was anything in this world which would make me stop loving him.

A soft sigh came out of my lips because as much as I did love him—I was still feeling a little bit bruised.

It didn't stop me saying it back though.

“I love you too. I always have.”

My brows came to a slight crumple as I stared at him. We'd never had a fight—never even said a cross word to each other so this tension between us was hard to navigate or know how to exactly deal with it.

Lowering my gaze back to the house—I had more words leaving me.

“Let's get this sorted then.”

After all—it's what he wanted to do.

~ 𝔄𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫.

Nodding at her words I climbed out of the car and moved to her side so I could open the door for her to which she got out and we made our way into the house once it was unlocked.

Everything was already packed up, it was just a case of loading it all into the car, or as much as would fit in it.

Though I think with how the day had turned I'll just be doing this load so we could probably talk and get rid of this frustration or friction.

Whatever it was I didn't like it.

"I'll start loading the car up then." I spoke staring straight at her.

All of me wanted to kiss her but it was hard when she barely looked at me, probably didn't even want to be near me right now and the last thing I want to do is annoy her so I just grabbed the heaviest boxes to carry them out to the car.

~ 𝔖𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔫𝔞.

Shaking my head—I helped him with the boxes. It didn't take us long to get the car loaded up. There were a lot of things ready to go so now all we had to do was drive back home and unload it all—then unpack it.

We could hardly fit in the car ourselves it was so jam packed but least we had the essentials. I image we'd need to hire a van to get the heavy stuff and larger items.

He had a whole house here—including stuff for Snow.

I missed her. It was the first time I'd been away from her since birth so that probably wasn't helping my not so great mood.

Don't get me wrong—I trusted the people she was with but it was like losing a limb.

I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I'd not even realised we were already pulling up in the grounds of our home.

How the rest of this night was going to go—I don't know but I just hoped that improved because I hated this tension between us.

I guess time would tell what happens.

@sinfulbabydemon

[itstheendofthegoddamnworld]

Kissed by Moonlight (Alucard x Witch! Reader) 8

A/N: So sorry this chapter is coming so late into January. I hope everyone is doing well. Let's get this chapter rolling!

Summary: Love comes with many sacrifices.

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Follow the story on A03!

Chapter 8

He’s up all night as if consumed by grief all over again.

Adrian is familiar with the feeling, the ache within his chest, which devours him whole.

It stings in his body and mind when he rises with the sun, clouded and forgetting the previous night’s memories. He tells himself he will never be vulnerable with another, over and over, but his time spent with you draws that closeness he needs. He was craving more and more of your closeness and it grew easier and easier to feel it with you.

He was sure that if the consumption of wine continued, he would’ve done something he regretted, unravelling all the work to form an attachment and friendship that took so long to create.

It was the wine, he told himself. It causes anyone to do stupid things.

But it’s not the wine, he knows it. He knows it’s an excuse – a poor one to use when facing something far more lethal than a friendship on the line. He knew it had to be wrong, to put you in a position that made you downright uncomfortable, and the soft touches the two of you shared brought him far bigger feelings than he’d ever felt before.

It wasn’t far from trusting someone anyone, he knew it was something that could’ve been done long ago to betray him. And despite it, Adrian fears it could come any day, no matter how much his emotions grow.

He feels like a boy with a childish crush, not fully understanding the entire complexity of it all. It feels far more real than a simple crush: Adrian yearns for it, begs for its stay, to flourish and build into something much more. It’s a desire, a wish to anyone who would listen.

No, it would never happen. He told himself over and over again, cold in the bed as if there had been another beside him. It was far different to that fateful night, and the ghost of arms around him felt more tender than they had ever been. She is my friend, my closest friend.

Adrian had never felt colder.

When the sun reached his eyes, he squinted, as if its heat would finally put him out and catch him ablaze. Anything to end my misery. He wondered if more wine had been left, but it would’ve started a routine he dared not start again. Not with you around.

He said he would never return to that, not when you stayed.

“Oh, my God,” he whispered into the chill of the air, awareness hitting him like a blow to the face. If he was truly wanting to remain sober for you, something was deathly wrong. “I truly am becoming a Belmont.”

He rises with the rest of the day, telling himself he will apologise if you’re still stiff with him, but he will continue as if all the previous days had been the same. Nothing to hide, except for muddled emotions.

It’s the reminder to himself when he looked over the fireplace mantel, sitting cosy above with its pretty dark curls he made by uncoiling dark thread, and brown buttons for eyes, the skin tone as close to yours as possible, that he cannot have you finding this of all things.

-

“Are you ready?”

You draw your eyes over to the blond, readying a chestnut mare, the two of you standing in the castle stables. Adrian tells you that the town is not too far, it may take a bit longer to get back with such a large supply he hopes for. The castle’s food supply was dwindling, and Adrian kept a list of what needed to be restocked.

Adrian was kind in giving you some spare clothes, simply because you didn’t want to get your pretty dresses dirty: simple dark pants with a pair of riding boots, a dark green vest and a white tunic shirt that was too big and you had to cinch in with a belt. You also carried on you a small satchel, a cloak and gloves in case of the cold.

“Yes,” you shuffle closer to him, wary of the large beast in front of you, its beady black eyes staring right into your soul, “it’s a beautiful creature.”

“Indeed,” Adrian answers, soothing the horse by scratching just behind the back of its neck, behind its ears, “she is a gentle soul. She will not be frightened by you.”

You warily stare ‘her’ up and down, inquisitively, “What is her name?”

“Oh,” the Dhampir seems understandably abashed for not giving her one, “I did not think that far.”

“Really?” You stare between him and the beast, surprise blooming in your voice. It only makes sense for you to give her a name now! “How about… Lady? No, no—or maybe—”

“Luna?”

His voice catches you by surprise, but it is a wonderful idea. “Luna?”

“It’s a pretty name,” Adrian strokes her snout affectionately, “I like the other name too.”

“No, I like Luna more.” You follow with a guide of Adrian’s hand in knowing where to stroke Luna; just above her snout, his hands lingering longer than you both expected in this subtle affection before he pulls back. His touch still lingers, and it comforts you the size of his hand compared to yours.

“Shall we get going?”

“Indeed.”

It takes some minutes of humbling yourself to get onto a horse- with Adrian’s help- but you’re far more ashamed of how you embarrassed yourself in front of him. It’s not graceful how you straddle, the discomfort that comes from your legs so far apart and how you’re already dreading when it moves.

 Adrian is quicker than you, almost leaping on with ease as he sits behind you, his hands coming from behind to grab at the reigns.

“Easy,” you think he’s telling the horse to be at ease, but you realise it’s directed to you, his hands reassuring you, “You’re not going anywhere, little witch.”

You’re thankful he can’t see the way your face heats, the way you wish he would do what he said, but you have to stop those thoughts from occurring.

The laugh that comes from you is more of a wheeze, and you correct yourself before you can embarrass yourself further. “Are you talking to the horse or me, Adrian?”

Adrian chuckles lightly at your jab but knows it is all a tease. He guides the horse out from the stable, and almost immediately begins a sprint. The castle seems like a speck in the distance the further you travel, trees whipping past like shadows of figures you thought were human.

Animals could be heard within the trees as if they surrounded you, but instead of fear, you felt the wind whip through your hair, and across your face. You imagined this was what it felt like to be a bird, or the fastest horse free in a field. It was in some way what you imagined what a vampire felt like hidden and part of wildlife.

With the speed and wind on your side, you arrived in the town by the time the sun was highest in the sky. You forgot how lively a town could be: bustling with life. People of all ages, genders and skin tones wandered the market. Mothers with their babes and young children playing around her skirts. Those who came to sell and trade within the markets. Couples of old and young fill the streets with tender displays of affection for one another.

It made you blush when you looked around, realising that some could maybe say the same about you and Adrian looking like a couple. Would Adrian notice this too? Would he feel ashamed to be associated with you?

You didn’t realise you had been distracted by your thoughts when you felt a tender hand shaking you gently out of your thoughts. Blinking owlishly, Adrian stood before you, his golden eyes were wrought with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Overwhelmed, but I’ll survive,” you told him, puffing your chest out to show you weren’t feeling all sorts of worries. “Have you got the list?”

Adrian doesn’t want to shake away his concerns for you, but he unravels the crumpled note from inside his coat pocket to hand to you. You scan over it quickly before you nod. “See you back at the carriage?”

“I must hire one first,” Adrian chortles, “but yes, I shall see you then… be safe.”

Be safe.

It’s enough to make your heart swoon, and you nod, fleeing like a lovesick teenager who just said hi to her crush. You absorb yourself by finding the necessary things, trying your best to not get engrossed by the things around you.

You get mostly through your list before something catches your gaze.

An array of jewels of different sizes and colours greet you: some attached to bracelets, necklaces and brooches, others gaudy and lavish and sitting for all to see. It doesn’t take you long to fully stop and be standing in front of the older woman’s stall, looking over them carefully.

If only I had enough money.

“The peridot would suit you nicely, young lady,” you look up to catch the warm gaze of the woman, her crow’s eyes wrinkled. “Or alexandrite. Very pretty, will catch anyone’s eye.”

“They are very pretty,” you muse, though you already know you won’t be buying anything from her, it is always nice to look around. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Light colours would suit your skin tone,” she begins as she points to different items, holding them as if for you to compare until the next thing to come from her mouth leaves you practically gasping, “I’m sure your husband would agree.”

“Husband?”

“There you are.”

The first thing you notice is the arm that snakes its way around your waist, a body leaning in closely to you as you feel your body freeze on the spot. Adrian is looking over the jewels with you with interest, softly musing to himself, “I knew I’d find you here.”

You’re gawking now, no words are coming to you and it’s only when the old woman brings up impatiently that you’re buying anything that Adrian pulls a bag from his pocket, casually handing the woman the change as if it's nothing. “The peridot I think would look lovely on you.”

He’s moving away, back to the wagon with you following behind like a lost puppy.

“What was that?” You whisper when it’s just the two of you, watching the world go by.

“What do you mean?” He asks as he pulls out the necklace to inspect himself. “I thought this colour would look nice on you.”

“Yes,” you replied, fiddling with the hem of your gloves. “It’s just—”

Adrian seems to read you easily, and he knows when you’re showing some discomfort. “Have I made you uncomfortable?”

“Far from it,” you laugh it off, though your heart hammers to great lengths, “She had been the one to say I had a husband.”

Your laugh leaves Adrian silent, quieter than he normally is, and it leaves you spiralling. What was he thinking? Was he too uncomfortable with the choice of words?

“Turn round for me?”

You blink thoughtlessly at the question, slowly following as you turn your back on him. You have to stop yourself from gasping aloud when his gloved fingers graze over the back of your neck, pulling back your curls to give him a proper view.

You’re shivering, and you realise what state you’re in, crumbling just from a singular touch, but you try your best to keep your cool. Adrian steps close behind you, his scent is strong in your nostrils as he collects the links of the necklace, putting it around your neck before securing it.

 “It suits you.” He quips, knowing that his words are having an impact on you, before he turns away to the cart, you follow hot on his heels to nag him for making you feel so unsteady.

-

It's sometime later on the cart on your way back when Adrian suddenly touches your hand.

Even when he wears his leather gloves, you can feel the warmth that resonates within him, the raw strength and power that comes from him. He’s a killer, a killer who could’ve overpowered you a long time ago, but who you put your undying trust in.

Your shock freezes you as you look over at him, his gaze on the road ahead, but you know for a fact, that he’s aware you’re staring. “Is something the matter?” He draws softly, looking at you through his peripheral.

“You’re…” You can’t find the right words, but you direct your gaze to his free hand occupied in holding yours, and he follows. “My hand,” he states coolly, though you feel as if there is a hidden motive to this. “You were cold.”

Right, you tell yourself that, and a harsh chill bristles through you before you have time to think it through. He’s smart, too smart.

“Oh." You don’t consider he’s telling the whole truth, but you don’t shake away the way he’s holding your hand. It brings a great comfort to you. You’re still side-eyeing him as he continues on the road, the silence that envelops you is calming and quaint.

You’re very aware that your heart is hammering, the necklace wrapped around your neck is being twirled as you think heavily with your thoughts. Shall you tell him now how you feel? Would that break everything you built with him? It’s only a matter of time before your feelings are split accidentally and your friendship is cursed.

You squeeze his fingers to get his attention, “Adrian, there is something I wish to tell you-”

You’re lurched forward from your seat at the front of the cart, the suddenness of it is all to not still your nerves. The horses snorted in anxiousness, and all around you stood still as if holding their breath. Adrian’s eyes were deadest on something within the trees, and you couldn’t help but feel even more nervous at what could be out there.

“Night creatures?” You whisper to Adrian, but he only gives a glance your way, a way to tell you it was way, way worse.

It was still far too early for creatures of the night to be out, but with the fading sun passing over the horizon of the trees, that was when you spotted them.

They blended with the trees at first, but you could see their silhouettes, standing as rigid as statues, ready as soldiers for war, staring down at you like vultures. They can’t be just human bandits on the road, their presence alone gave off a bad omen. You don’t know how many you count, their clothes blend as one with the growing darkness as the sun settles.

Adrian’s voice is already speaking to you, cutting the silence with a knife.

“Y/N, get to the back of the cart, do not come out until I tell you so,” it’s not a warning, but an order, and you don’t want to waste his time by stalling. His voice is serious, eyes stone cold as he glares down at the figures not far and lurking around the trees.

Adrian easily hops down from his spot as he flicks the scabbard off his longsword. You watch in a mix of wonder and dread at the scene that unfolds.

The figures draw in closer, watching and snarling as Adrian holds a solid line, almost unfazed as he holds the sword close to his face.

His sword glows suddenly as if imbued with holy light, a shocking flow of blue flames engulfs it, glowing and hissing with life. The flames flicker close to Adrian’s face as he readies his action, changing his stance before he is on the closest one.

He’s quicker than your eyes can register, a shadow of crimson shifts as he moves at lightning pace, soon in front of the hooded creature as his sword moves as one with him. He is no longer holding it, rather, the two of them move as if it is a dance, fluid and graceful.

A hiss of a cry lurches into the darkening skies, one is down on the ground, its skin hissing and bubbling as it disintegrates.

Two more are on him with a flash, but Adrian fights with valour and dances around him, swords crashing against the sound of their taloned nails. You’ve not stuck around to know what was happening, having crawled through to the back of the cart for safety.

Once huddled in a spot surrounded by crates, you can only rely on sound: clashes of silver clang loudly around you, bodies fall and you have no clue if Adrian is winning or not. You can only assume he is, from the way you can still hear the glow of his magic sword, twirling around as silent as he is.

Another noise resonates from just outside, creeping behind you and you freeze, before the sound of splattering blood and a gargled choke dies down. You look just to your left to see that the material of the cart is splattered in the thick, viscous liquid, and you shudder that Adrian is here to protect you.

You don’t know how many of them are left, and you can only think that the best thing for you to do is protect yourself if one finds you inside. You scramble to your feet, clumsily looking for any blade that could be of use. You find only a flimsy dagger, and you clutch it close to your chest as you settle in the back of the cart, trying to calm your racing heart.

Something draws in close and you stutter a gasp before you realise it’s too late. The figure pauses almost dramatically, inching closer to the back of the cart, their movement deliberately slow, trying to edge as much fear out from you.

You pray it’s Adrian coming to your rescue, to tell you the area has been cleared, but as the face emerges through the curtains of the entrance to the cart, it’s not those golden eyes you’ve grown to love staring back at you.

They’re red, crimson as the blood that will soon spill from you.

Your screams fall silent as the face erupts into a smile, wide and fanged as the rest of its vampiric kind. The dagger in your grasp feels more like a twig as you stare down, wide-eyed the vampire in front of you.

“What a pretty little thing you are,” his voice is soft yet hoarse, and his red eyes seemed unblinking as he seemed to taunt you from the entrance, blocking one of the ways you could escape. “What a delicacy you’ll be.”

Your fight or flight had kicked in and instead of either of them, you had become frozen in your spot, dreading that this would be the way you died, dying in a smelling cart as a vampire ripped at your throat.

“Don’t worry,” he coos, inching closer, a clawed hand bracing the inside of the cart as he further draws inside, “I’ll make sure I’m quick with you.”

-

Adrian's POV

Blood soaks through the leather of his clothing, but he is thankful it is there’s and not his.

The last of the creatures die within an inch of him, sizzling into nothingness as he stares down what remains. Ash of their bones and the burnt clothes remain, the reminder to anyone who crossed him he would do it a hundred times over.

All in the name of love.

He had once didn’t understand the meaning of love, the way it would pull at his heart and lurch within him. He needed it as if it was necessary like water or food, a hunger that he yearned for in the waking hours of the day to the late hours of twilight.

He is his father's son after all.

Dracula did it in the name of love, and he found he was killing his kind all to keep you safe.

“Y/N, it’s safe.” He calls you to, and he listens for any sound except for the sounds of nature surrounding him. It’s startling how quiet the outside world could be, and how quickly his heart could plummet in knowing something was deeply, deeply wrong.

His heightened senses could not smell blood, not the blood that came from you but what had fizzled and dried. It seemed almost deathly quiet, but Adrian’s mind was racing, the pulling of his heart meant you were not here, or worse, he had failed to keep you safe.

A scream brings his attention, and he wastes no time in hurtling towards the back of the cart, his heart racing.

No, no, no, if he's failed in doing the one thing, he's failed you and himself.

He hasn't even got his face an inch through the gap before he senses something telling him to move out of the way, an object being flung just where his face would be. His head snaps to see a dagger clatter to the dirt just behind him before it turns to what stands before him, a snarl leaving his curled lips.

You were safe, for now, though the vampire he failed to miss had his disgusting fangs inches from the base of his neck, his clawed hands wrapped around you, keeping your body locked to his chest.

 “Son of Dracula, the Messiah,” the vampire greets him, observing him with a lazy smile. You continue to squirm in his grasp, eyes locked onto Adrian for any semblance of safety. “Care to take a bite of your pet first or shall I do the honour?”

His venom is bitter and his anger is boiling at the words he uses for you. How dare he call you a pet!

“Unhand her now,” his voice resonates inside him and he channels his father, the voice he would use and boom across the castle grounds, “I will not ask you again.”

“Ah, ah, one step and I spill her neck open.” The hooded vampire fusses, his movements almost consoling to Y/N as he runs a hand down her cheek, tears drying on her skin. “This one is a waste if you keep it.”

He laughs easily as he stares Adrian down, his next words bringing Adrian close to lopping his head clean off. “Though it is no surprise, you are Dracula’s son, keeping human women around as your pets. It was Dracula’s weakness,” he leant close into Y/N, drinking up her tears as he licked his tongue up the side of her face, “and it will be your undoing.”

Adrian is hunched as if ready to pounce to get him off you, but his golden eyes are never leaving you. A cry leaves your lips when his tongue licks up the side of your face, and you’re shivering, hands clutched around the tightened grip of his forearm.

There is a silent connection that only he can feel when you are close, and it comes from your eyes that stare back at him. They don’t seem as frightened as they did before, and he believes he knows you want him to be calm and not quick to action. Your eyes calm him like a storm approaching, ready to destroy all in its wake.

The vampire holding you runs a hand through the links of your necklace, the hands glimmer in the low light inside and it’s the only thing Adrian sees, trying to not imagine it coated in blood. “Such sweet, sweet blood.” The vampire says, his face drawing into your neck, but you stop him from doing anything further.

With your hands clutching his forearms tightly, Adrian watches how you shut your eyes tight, before shouting the words that resonate through you:

“Ardeo!”

It amazes him every time when you speak that spell, the way flames spill from your hands as easily as water flowing. The endless cycle of nature flows through you, and the power within your hands cries with a mighty scream that neither Adrian nor you know who it’s coming from.

The flames roar as they lick up the clothes of the vampire, and his screams join in fright as they clutch around his arm, a grip in itself that never lets him go. They take and they take, scorching the fabric as they bury deep into the skin.

The vampire is held in place as if something within an endless cycle of life and death ties him to his spot, scorched by your touch as he squirms and screams. He sounds like a pig, Adrian notes, but the sound is as annoying as the actual animal dying.

The vampire is quick though, and though his arm is distorted, blackened and charred, he shoves you away from him, his nails catching you by the skin of your arm, nicking it as you collide with the side of the cart.

Adrian is there in a flash to end it all, to end its misery, to end its hellish torment. He does it for you when his sword is a flash of lightning, quick to the bite and cold as a kiss to the vampire’s neck, coming out the other end before anyone could realise.

Your breath is caught in your throat as you’re unaware you’ve been cut, though the adrenaline dies down as quickly as the body slumps in front of you, turning to ash before your very eyes.

Adrian is beside you, a hand tending to your arm before the sting catches up with you. You hiss in pain, realising what had happened and how deep the wound is. Three long scratches reach down to your elbow, bleeding freely.

“Careful.” He’s quiet with his words, delicate as if treating you like the fine China you are. He rips part of your shirt, wrapping the open wound to stop the flow of blood. He reminds himself he needs to clean it when you return to the castle.

You’re staring at him as he does so, your eyes glazed over as if in a daze, and before he has time to register if you’re okay, he feels something press against his cheek, and he realises it’s your warm lips, chaste and sweet.

“Thank you,” you murmur, leaning into him as the silence fills the cart. Adrian is silent for what feels like forever, but his mind is screaming. You kissed him, and he’s gaping like a dead fish. You kissed him and he feels like a boy all over again.

He shakes out of his thoughts to collect himself, to calm the rush of blood that goes straight to his head, and he feels lightheaded, but he gladly accepts your embrace, cradling you to his chest.

“No... thank you.”

-

Latin Translation:

Ardeo - (I) burn

[christall77]

~❦A Dragon's Treasure❦~

M! Dragon x GN! Reader

I was gone for a long while but I hope it's still not too late to say Happy New Year! (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^)

So I had this idea after I made an AI chat bot of this character so yeah, hope you guys enjoy and if you should find any mistakes feel free to tell me!

TW: Mentions of minor character deaths

Finally after days of traveling on the back of your horses, both you and your friend Adrian reach the destination of your quest. Or more so, Adrian's quest. The huge mountain is in sight, where the castle and home of the infamous dark dragon Ryunir should reside in. Including the princess the beast has stolen away from the kingdom. Every person around the land knows about the legendary maneating dragon, who hoards unfathomable amounts of gold and riches inside his castle and his hate for humanity. All stolen from kings and royals alike, but it seemed like he had a special grudge against the royals in the kingdom Adrian and you call home. The king was rightfully scared about the danger that could strike any day, so he sent an army of knights to get rid of the fire breathing lizard. Only to never hear from them again and have his precious daughter, princess Amelia get taken by the massive beast.

Many other knights have tried to save her, especially now after the king has promised his daughter's hand in marriage. Your friend being one of them. Him and the princess always acted all lovey dovey around each other even while you were there watching the whole thing unfold. So it was only a matter of time until he asked, no begged you to come with him on this quest to save her. Despite your own hesitation and second thoughts. You two have been through thick and thin, he's been there for you when you needed him and vise versa, which is the reason why you're now standing on the edge of the mountain. Having already dismounted your horse as Adrian follows.

“Are you really sure we should do this?”, your voice comes out after you gulp down the lump in your throat at the sight. Right at the edge a small wobbly bridge is the only thing that connects the ground of the mountain and castle, the dark abyss below surrounding it. Adrian gives you a comforting pat on the shoulder, the determination evident on his face. “Don't worry (y/n), we have been successful with all our quests so far. Besides, I can't sit around and have princess Amelia locked up forever!”, “That's what the other knights must've thought as well before they most likely busted into flames...”

Not wasting any more time he approaches the creaky bridge and gives the robes an experimental tug. Waving you over after deeming it save enough. The darkness below doesn't make the way any less nerve wrecking, but Adrian makes sure to have a good hold on you while carefully moving alongside with you. A sigh of relief you were holding in leaves you once making it safely to the other side, now entering the darkened castle as quietly as possible through the creaky doors. The sounds echoing through the long and high hallways in front. It definitely would take a lot of time until any of you would find the right tower or room where the princess is hidden away.

Each step has to be chosen carefully, as any sound might alert the massive dragon residing somewhere deep within the castle. The floors and walls littered with cracks and damages, evidence that this place is much older and hasn't been taken care of in ages. Adrian clutches his sword tightly in his hands beside you, looking left and right towards each different corridor. With a nod to himself he turns to you and whispers, “Maybe we should split up...”, taking a few steps forward he chooses to go straight ahead. “You guard the entrance and distract the dragon, if he finds you first and I'll search for Amelia.”

“Are you crazy?!" You whisper shout towards him as your head almost snaps back towards him, keeping your tone down, ”I get that we might cover some more space this way, but mind you there's no way it would improve our chances with the dragon! Wait- Adrian!“ Before you could protest any further he speed walks away. Leaving you alone in the middle of the halls. ”I swear if I die I'll kill him if the dragon doesn't.“ You grumble to yourself, stepping through one of the hallways closest to the left. One hand hovering over the weapon in your belt just in case as you reassure yourself internally.

It almost feels like hours wandering around but finding nothing but even more halls and even the occasional bones of previous living humans who've entered the castle, which causes shivers to run down your spine. You've probably walked around in circles now but kept yourself close to the entrance like Adrian asked you to. Eventually the soles of your feet start to bother you and you decide to take a small seat on a small staircase. Checking your equipment and hoping that Adrian has found the princess in the while you were walking around aimlessly.

”This is so stupid... Should've known he would run off by himself again. Probably to also show off and be 'the knight in shining armor' for her.“ Consumed in your own little quiet rant and thoughts, you fail to notice the dark silhouette that starts to stirr behind you from your words. A large single golden eye opening and gazing down at the small human sitting below. Only once the massive beast rises and its hot breath blows against your back do you freeze, before slowly and anxiously turning around to face the dragon. It certainly was a sight you can't deny, after all you always had a respect and fascination with dragons, but at this moment survival is more important. A deep gutteral growl rumbles in the back of its throat, followed by a fierce ear piercing roar.

Stumbling up from your seat you make a run for it, barely managing to avoid its jaws, screaming in terror as the rumbling of footsteps follow close behind. In hopes of loosing the creature you run through every hall and corridor possible, making sure to take sharp turns, but no matter what you do the dragon keeps up without trouble. Shooting fireballs at you from time to time which you barely manage to avoid thankfully. It's only once you come to a dead end do you start panicking fully, looking around for any possible way out but finding none you press yourself against the wall. Hoping that the hard surface behind somehow swallows you up and takes you away from this place as your body trembles in fear. Wings unfurled from his back in an intimidating display the dragon approaches slowly, as if savoring the fact that you're trapped and about to face your demise.

Unable to think straight your brain decides to do the unthinkable as your widened eyes take in the size of him almost filling the entire hallway you're in. Instead of drawing your weapon or getting out of there you hurriedly blurt out, ”P-Please spare me big beautiful dragon.!“ Closing both eyes tightly, you await a fireball to roast you, or sharp teeth clamping down and kill you. Yet nothing happens. Opening one of your eyes you see the dragon has stopped in front of you, he seemed caught of guard by that compliment and tilts his head as puffs of smoke leave through his nostrils.

Never in his life was the red scaled beast complimented by a human, either having faced insults, fear and anger thrown at him. So this surprises him greatly, in a pleasant way. ”You think I'm beautiful human?“ He rumbles, his voice echoing through the halls as it bounces off the walls. Seeing that it somehow stopped the dragon from attacking you quickly nod. It might've been something you said in a panic, but after taking a good look at the creature you can't deny his majestic and powerful presence.

”Y-yes. I mean it's not every day one is face to face with an amazing creature of legends like a dragon.“, Your genuine interest in his kind stirrs a strange warmth within his large scaly chest, but not the usual heat he emits, it's foreign yet pleasant. A feeling he now wants to continue experiencing out of newfound curiosity. Moving his long neck down so his head is a little closer the creature gives you an expectant look as if asking what made you say all of this. ”Tell me, what about me is so beautiful little human?“

In response you let your gaze wander over the different parts of him, pointing out everything that intrigues you. ”Well for starters I've never seen wings so huge and cool like this. It always sounded interesting to experience flying, though I could only read about it in books.“, a small nervous chuckle leaves you before you continue while the huge dragon listens intently how you compliment him more. Things like how shiny his wine red scales look, those horns that give him an even more intimidating yet regal appearance and so on and so forth.

”But I think your eyes are the most beautiful thing of you, they shine like gold..“ At this point you seem to be rambling on as if forgetting about the danger you've been in. Though the dragon doesn't mind, in fact he likes it. Your last compliment struck a chord inside, feeling the beating of his heart quicken as his pupils dilate and the subtle sound of purring reverberates through his entire being. A pleased purr leaves the dragon as his head tilts so his large eye is peering down at your smaller frame better. ”What is your name little one?", he inquires curiously. Once you introduce yourself, a small smile makes its way onto his face when he tastes your name upon his tongue.

“It suits you little one. I'm Ryunir, it's very much a pleasure meeting you.” There's a strange haze that crosses his gaze which makes you fidget underneath its intensity. Another puff of warm air blows against your frame as he inhales and exhales deeply, taking in your scent. “Thank you, I'd like to chat a little longer but uhm...”, you pause trying to find the right words to say next. “I need to find my friend again so we can leave in peace.”

The dragon frowns upon hearing the word 'leave'. Since Ryunir has set his eyes upon you, he had a feeling you didn't come here all the way alone and were either here to steal the gold or rescue the princess he took. No matter which one it was he doesn't care anymore. Stealing the princess was only to spite the king who has made Ryunir's life more miserable by sending countless knights for centuries, before (y/n) and their friend to kill him for not only his riches, but also for his scales and head. Which is why he has started to reign terror over the people of this kingdom ever since. Yes he did keep the girl away from being saved, but Ryunir never liked having her here either. But now that you're here? Your friend could rescue the royal away for all he cares, what he wants is to have you by his side for the rest of his life.

In the dragon's eyes you've become his most priced treasure, his mate. Ryunir can't believe it himself entirely as well, yet there's something inside him that tells him that you are meant to be his. Wether it's instincts or the fact that he's been lonely without any positive interactions for as long as the beast can remember for the recent few 100 of years, one thing is for sure. You've made your way into his heart and there's nothing that's going to take you away from him.

“Leave? No... Stay with me little one.”, before you could protest or say anything further the dragon leans down with a soft whine. Snatching you up by the back of your gear, like a mother cat carrying her kittens and taking you deeper into the castle. “W-Wait! No I can't stay.! Adrien!” Paying your calls for help no mind, the dragon continues with a small pep in his step. The sound of his footsteps echoing through the silent empty hallways until entering a large chamber filled with riches. Mountains upon mountains of gold, jewels and many more things that has some type of value as far as your eyes can see. Reaching his desired spot surrounded by a few pillars, Ryunir gently drops you down before coiling his tail around you in a warm and protective embrace. Lighting up the torches and chandeliers hanging upon the walls, ceiling and columns with a light breath of fire, surrounding the both of you in a more cozy atmosphere.

Holding you close to his red scaly body as he gets comfortable, curling up and nuzzling his snout against your smaller head. His entire being vibrating as he purrs affectionately. “Comfy my dear treasure?”, Ryunir rumbles softly in question. “Yes?” Your answer comes out more like a question than intended but the beast takes it nonetheless with a pleased growl. “Don't worry, I won't do anything you're not comfortable with. You're mine now and I intend to have my mate protected and satisfied no matter what."

His words are filled with honesty and utter devotion. A promise to keep you safe and under his care for as long as he lives. Tenderly brushing a few strands of hair out of your face with his claw, making sure to not hurt or scratch you with it. Despite your initial reluctance you end up enjoying his company more than anticipated. Keeping light conversations all the while showing nothing but tenderness and longing towards you. His heat emitting from his body also helps calming down your thoughts, practically melting into his coils until the both of you take a rest together and doze off.

It's only after what felt a few moments later that someone is trying to shake you awake. With a small groan your eyes meet Adrian who has a panicked look on his face, the princess hiding at the doorway of the gigantic chamber. ”(Y/n) wake up!“ He whisper shouts, making sure to not wake the beast sleeping beside you. Blinking both eyes open, startled you meet your friend's gaze. ”Oh now you're showing up? Where were you almost an hour ago?!“, flailing your hands in expiration you then let out a deep sigh after hearing your friend's apology.

”I'm sorry (y/n), but this beast has trapped me earlier but luckily I made it out. And look! I found Amelia!“ Gesturing towards the girl she gives you a quiet wave of her hand, yet she's visibly tense by the fact that the dragon is here. Adrian freezes swiftly when the dragon in question shifts but doesn't wake up just yet, instead pulling you closer towards his head despite still being asleep. ”Lets get you out of here...“, he whispers climbing up the pile of gold, as sneakily as those allow him to be until he reaches you and holds out his leather gloves hand. Grasping yours and trying to pull you out of the tight coils around your frame.

”Adrian, please stop. Just leave!“ Ushering him away in a hurry as the tail tightens around you. ”Take Amelia and go.“, Adrian pauses then shakes his head, ”I'm not leaving you here with this monster (y/n)!“ He gives you a look that tells you that he won't back down no matter what. With a final pull with both of his hands he manages to get his friend out, almost falling down the gold pile in the process, managing to catch the both of you steady just barely.

Though the quiet celebration was short lived once the eye of the beast opens, as if sensing that his mate is not within his hold anymore. His pupils turn into slits upon seeing the both of you, in particular your friend holding you close. With a furious roar he rises, the riches around you flying and getting thrown everywhere as he moves. ”Come hurry! This way!“ Princess Amelia yells out, holding the door open as Adrian pulls you along as fast as possible. Just narrowly escaping Ryunir's jaws and rushing towards the entrance with you and the princess in tow who points out the direction towards the exit she has found at a time in her own attempts to escape.

Behind you the enraged dragon roars out and wastes no time chasing after the group of three, through every hallway possible. Luckily with Amelia on their side there won't be a chance to run into any dead ends. Soon the exit is in sight and Adrian pushes the both of you forward, stopping in his tracks to face Ryunir with a determined face. Before the dragon could let out his breath of fire, your friend cuts the rope beside him which was holding the massive metal gate of the entrance up, only to have it slam down upon the dragon's scaly back. A furious and pained shriek getting forced from his being. Successfully trapping him underneath as he trashes wildly on hopes of getting out. Not wasting any more time Adrian pushes you and the princess forward onto the wobbly bridge until you finally reach the mountain once more.

Relief rushes through the other two once the group got onto their horse and gallop away, yet as you leave in tow the cries of Ryunir still can be heard in the distance. As if calling out for you to return at the loss of your presence. With a heavy heart and head held low you stay quiet for the rest of the trip back until reaching the kingdom at last heart still beating wildly from the escape.

When Adrian brought back the king's daughter he was allowed to, as promised, to be wed to Amelia, which of course he couldn't turn down. Days have gone by until the wedding finally comes around, you couldn't be happier for your friend but the events from the castle still linger in your mind. As absurd as one might think it is, you actually ended up enjoying your time with Ryunir even if it was a rough start and he tried to kill you initially. But somehow he wove himself into your heart and leaving him made you feel bad.

As you sit by the lake by yourself lost in thought Adrian approached you from behind and gives you a concerned look. ”What's wrong (y/n)? This is my wedding party, have some fun... I don't want to see my best friend down on such a beautiful day.“, squeezing your shoulder gently he tries to lighten up the mood but ends up sitting down beside you on the grass not caring if his white suit gets dirty. ”Something is bothering you...“ he points out, already knowing that it must be something that happened regarding the quest. Finally nodding your head you turn to him, ”Remember the dragon?“

Scrunching his eyebrows he nods giving you a concerned look. ”Has he hurt you?“, he questions, ”No it's not that, he seemed to like me... We actually talked and it felt nice.“ Adrian listens to your ramblings, showing his surprise and disbelief at the story you're telling him. After all, how could the dark dragon which the kingdom has feared for so long be the same you described?

All of a sudden a shadow casts overhead making the two of you blink in confusion. The roar and beating of large wings in the distance unmistakable. And speak of the devil, Ryunir has arrived. He must've freed himself somehow and now is circling the castle before diving down. Hearing screams and distressed yells from the people the both of you rush towards the chaos. Men and women running frantically to get safe as the king shouts orders towards his knights to take down the monster. Adrian joins them as you stand there for a moment to let the situation process in your head.

Ryunir lands harshly in the middle of the town, growling fiercely as his gaze fleets over the crowd of humans. Hoping to find his mate somewhere in those masses. Not caring if he steps over buildings or other structures, knocking them down in his frantic search. Picking up people with his claws that might resemble your appearance before tossing them away carelessly after seeing it's not the human he's looking for. The knights rush into the scene and start firing arrows upon arrows at the beast, only angering him further even though they barely even pierce his skin. Becoming annoyed by their attempts to kill him he lifts his head high in the air before surrounding the army with hot flames. Some manage to get out of the attack just barely yet badly wounded. Leaping into the air to move more inward of the kingdom he continues looking until a lone knight catches his attention. Recognizing Adrian immediately his nostrils flare up with smoke, seeing the one that has in his eyes, taken away his mate from him fills himnwith unbridled rage.

Seeing the anger flash across the dragon's visage your friend turns around a corner to avoid the incoming fire blast. The flames almost burning his suit. He has to find you quickly, if what you told him was true then Ryunir must be here for a special reason. Avoiding one fire ball after another, Adrian rushes towards the castle grounds towards the woods where he last saw you. With a loud roar the dark dragon climbs up one of the towers and leaps down, the force shaking the ground, sending dust all over and making Adrian stumble the powerful force of the wind throwing him against a nearby tree.

Forcing your friend against the wooden bark, Ryunir's throat starts heating up as he prepares to end the human in front of him, mouth wide open to rip him into pieces. ”Stop!“, Ryunir's jaws clamp shut just inches away, immediately turning his head towards the sound of your voice. The panic and worry on your face very much evident, you hurry over just to stand a safe distance away to keep his attention away from your friend. When he finally sees you standing there in the flesh, his wings lower and his eyes soften. His pupils dilating as he slowly steps closer, ”(y/n)...“, with an almost inaudible murmur Ryunir utters your name. Standing before you his head lowers towards you, sniffing and taking in your scent as if to make sure you're really there in front of him. Finally placing both of your hands upon his scaly snout he rumbles contently and closes his eyes, calming down against the soft caresses.

Adrian's gaze fleets between his friend and the massive dragon as he catches his breath. ”What's happening..?“, slowly he tries to force himself onto his feet with a groan, leaning against the trunk of the tree for support. The dragon immediately starts growling again turning his heated gaze back, but before any of you could say or do anything Ryunir gently lifts you off the ground just like the first time he did, sending Adrian another glare with a loud huff before spreading those massive wings and flying away.

Instead of landing at the castle like you assumed he stops at a far distance away in a clearing amidst the woods, landing safely by a lake and making sure to set you down on your two feet. ”There, you're safe now my mate.“, he announces proudly puffing out his chest, ”That bad human won't steal you away from me again.“ Ryunir wraps his tail around you and pulls you close, a pleasant warmth running through his entire body when you return the gesture.

”He's actually my friend Ryunir, he wasn't trying to steal me away. Adrian thought you would've eaten me back then in the castle.“, you clarify. For a moment his purring comes to a halt as he stares down into those eyes of yours, when he sees that you're actually being serious he averts his gaze almost like a pet that has been caught in an act. Yet he doesn't seem to be bothered by the chaos he's caused and quickly focuses back on the human before him. ”Oh well that doesn't matter. What matters is having my beloved treasure by my side again.“, without thinking he leans down and gives you a loving lick on the cheek. Seeing how stunned you are from his action he lets out an amused chuckle, curling up around your smaller frame, his head resting against yours. ”And there's nothing that will seperate us. That's a promise“

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #14 – And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

This book I basically came across by chance. Or, well, not exactly chance, but I’d never even heard of it before until I checked what Tchaikovsky books my local library system had copies of and saw it. Which in a sense is a terrible way to come into this – it’s an incredibly dramatic swerve from any of Tchaikovsky’s other stuff that I’ve read – but coming in totally blind pretty much worked, I think. Genuinely very fun read.

The story follows Harry Bodie, a children’s TV presenter facing down middle age with a career that’s never really lived up to expectations. Somewhat desperately, he signs on to a tabloid-ish program about digging into the family tree, hoping to use the residual fame of his grandmother and her fairly famous and successful series of postwar children’s fantasy novels as a career boost. Instead he gets his face rubbed in the fact that his great-grandmother is only recorded as an indigent madwoman, and the famous author was born in a sanitarium. That the famous Underhill stories were, in fact, based in large part on delusions told as childhood fables and family histories.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the stories turn out to be less delusional than previously reported. Bodie is in quick succession accosted by a faun, approached by a suspicious PI, and kidnapped by a surprisingly moneyed fan-club-cum-occult-coven. Soon enough he’s getting his first taste of Underhill first hand – or, at least, what’s left of it after a century and change of economizing and entropy.

I’m on record as being fairly dismissive about the whole category of ‘stories about stories’, and I guess I need to eat my words a bit because I actually really enjoyed this. To an extent that’s probably just because it doesn’t get too meta – storyland is a work of deliberate artifice, the stories themselves don’t shape the world or do magic, it just generally never tries to get too cute or didactic about it – but still. This is a book where the hero at one point describes his situation as ‘Five Nights at Aslan’s’ so there’s no real principled distinction for me to cut here. One of the main characters is literally a folklorist.

Though, it’s less about stories than one specific story in particular. The unremarkable schlub plucked out of their mundane life and told that they’re special, that they’re the hero or the true heir and possess some inherent numinous essence that makes them the most important person in the world. This is a terribly appealing story, and one Harry feels the lure of very keenly – he’s self-aware enough to say quite clearly that he goes back to the frozen, decaying world full of half-dead monsters less out of morality or rationality than simply because it was a place where he mattered, for good or ill.

It’s probably not reading too deeply into the book’s themes to note that the story is a lure in a fairly literal sense, or that the true heir is destined to ‘save’ the world by being hollowed out and possessed by those who came before them.

Of course as much as this is in conversation with Narnia et al, it owes at least as much to whole genre of ‘what is nostalgic children’s property, but fucked up?’ creepypasta. Fairyland is choked with fungal growths and creepy, staticy not-snow. The scampering, troublemaking faun is miserable and worn out with bad knees. The Best Of All Dogs is a rotting, terrifying hellhound. There’s even a titanic evil scary clown. Aesthetically the book owes far more to r/nosleep than Lewis Carroll.

Harry himself is an absolute delight as a main character. By which I mean he just sucks so bad, but in very mundane and endearing ways. Who among us can not relate on some level to a failing middle-aged actor who always made a point of not trading on his family name but is secretly pretty resentful it hasn’t helped him more? He refuses the call to adventure then decides his life’s kind of shit and he’d rather get stabbed to death by goblins, so he comes crawling back and begs for a second chance. He’s left a glowing magic sword that will defeat all enemies, but it’s stuck in the body of one of his kidnappers so he just runs screaming and it spends the rest of the book in an evidence locker somewhere. I love him.

I really have no idea to what degree it was intentional, but it also does rather muse me that – okay, you know the standard bit of feminist media analysis where male characters are the actors, while female characters are generally walking set decoration and plot devices? It really deeply amuses me that Harry spends the better part of the story as a magical blood bank getting led around or terrified and awaiting rescue, whereas Seitchman (our counterfeit PI/folklorist) repeatedly forces herself into things through obsessive research skills and a complete disregard for her own safety (and at one point an enthusiastic if unpracticed willingness to sword people). Though to be clear this was mostly amusing to me because it was absolutely never highlighted or commented upon.

This is probably the first book I’ve read that’s recent enough to be set during lockdown without really being a COVID novel, if that makes sense? You could set this the year before or the year after without really losing much, and it lacks the ‘this was written in quarantine’ vibe of a lot of books I read last year. But it definitely adds a sense of specificity and timeliness to it that I rather enjoyed.

So yeah, do not open it expecting anything like Children of Time, but good book!

[teine-mallaichte]

What about an extremely sick or injured Hawke trying to go about doing their regular stuff and making Anders (& potentially Fenris) babysit them (…and maybe knocking them out) and try to keep them in bed and resting?

A bit of post-DA2 Adrian Hawke being a stubborn idiot. I was tempted to knock him out, but couldn't find a way to naturally introduce that idea, so more fenris and anders ganging up on a very irritating Adrian.

@dadrunkwriting

"Hawke!"

Adrian froze mid-step, a curse slipping through his clenched teeth. He had hoped to slip by unnoticed, make it out on deck for some fresh air before they caught him. But, of course, that wasn’t meant to be. He barely made it halfway up the stairs, one hand clutching the railing to keep from swaying. His leg throbbed beneath him, each step sending a sharp flare of pain up his calf, and the tight ache in his ribs made every breath feel like it was being drawn through a vice. But he had to keep going—just a few more steps.

But no, he had been caught - again.

Fenris stood at the top of the stairs, and folded. An expression Isabella has started to call his 'hawks is being an idiot again' on his face.

"Still trying to sneak off, Adrian?" Fenris' voice was low, tinged with frustration that bordered on exasperation. "The mage was clear. You’re not to leave our cabin."

Adrian’s grip on the handrail tightened, trying to steady himself. The pain in his leg flared up again, and his vision blurred for a moment. He barely caught himself, swallowing a groan as he straightened, doing his best to look unaffected. He couldn’t let them see how much it hurt.

"Come on, Fen," Adrian said, flashing a lopsided grin, though his breath hitched as he shifted his weight. "I can’t just sit around doing nothing. It’s bad for morale."

Fenris' lips twitched in what might have been amusement if it weren’t so laced with irritation. "Morale is not my concern. Your reckless disregard for your own well-being, however, is."

Adrian opened his mouth to retort, but then his foot slipped just slightly on the step, his injured leg giving out under him. He caught himself with a wince, gripping the railing tightly to keep from stumbling. He inhaled sharply through his nose, but the pain in his ribs made it feel like his lungs were being squeezed. That made his next words come out with more edge than he'd intended.

"I’m fine," Adrian insisted, standing straighter despite the discomfort. "Just a little off balance."

Fenris gave him a skeptical look. "Clearly."

Before Adrian could muster another sarcastic quip, a voice—soft yet sharp—cut in from behind him.

“Hawke, you can’t be serious.”

Adrian’s shoulders sagged, a mix of relief and resignation flooding him as Anders appeared in the doorway, arms crossed, gaze unwavering. The mage hadn’t left his room since they left Kirkwall—until Adrian got himself injured. Now Anders seemed to be everywhere.

"Of course, I’m serious," Adrian shot back, trying to keep his voice light as he carefully shifted his weight off his injured leg. "I’ve been cooped up in that cabin for three whole days. You know how boring it is in there? I’ve memorized every crack in the ceiling."

Anders sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as though summoning every ounce of patience he had. "For once in your life, can you take things seriously?" He stepped closer, his expression hardening. "You’ve torn stitches twice already."

Adrian shrugged, the motion careful, but a slight wince still slipped through. “Third time’s the charm, right?”

Anders groaned, eyes lifting to Fenris. “I thought you were watching him?”

Fenris' expression darkened, arms crossing over his chest. "I was needed elsewhere. Unfortunately, I do not possess the ability to predict when he’ll choose to act like a complete fool."

Adrian raised a hand, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. “Now, Fen, calling me a fool is a little harsh, don’t you think? I prefer ‘adventurous’ or ‘daring.’ Maybe even—”

“Reckless,” Fenris interrupted, his tone sharp. "And insufferable."

Adrian let out a dramatic gasp, clutching his uninjured side with exaggerated flair. "Reckless? Insufferable? You wound me, Fenris. Truly, I don’t know how I’ll recover from such a blow."

“By staying in bed, perhaps?” Fenris retorted, stepping closer to block Adrian’s path. His green eyes narrowed, his posture rigid with frustration. “Must I carry you back myself?”

Adrian hesitated for a moment, his gaze flicking up to the deck above, weighing his odds. Slim. Very slim. With Anders in the equation, it seemed… nonexistent.

Adrian slumped against the railing, letting out a theatrical sigh as he deliberately sagged, his injured leg giving a tremble beneath him. “Fine, fine. You win. Back to bed for me. But only because I don’t feel like being hauled around like a sack of potatoes.”

Fenris raised an eyebrow, unamused. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Adrian opened his mouth to make a retort but was cut off by Anders, who had moved forward, a glare etched across his face.

“And while we’re at it,” Anders said, his voice firm, gesturing toward Adrian’s chest, “let’s have a look at that wound. If you’ve torn those stitches again—”

“I haven’t!” Adrian interrupted, his tone defensive, though a slight tremor ran through his leg. “Probably.”

Anders’ look could have curdled milk. "Inside. Now."

Adrian groaned, slumping even further as he carefully turned, leaning on the railing for support. His pace was slow, measured—every step a reminder of just how much his body was protesting. His leg ached with each move, and his ribs pulled in an agonizing line when he breathed too deeply.

Once they were back in the cabin, Adrian collapsed onto the bed with a dramatic groan. “Happy now? I’m resting. Just like you wanted.”

Anders didn’t reply to the sarcasm. He immediately pulled over a chair and sat down next to the bed, pulling out his healer’s kit without looking at Adrian. "Shirt off," he said, his voice direct.

Adrian hesitated, then smirked. “And here I thought you’d at least buy me dinner first.”

Fenris groaned audibly from the other side of the room. “Must you flirt with everyone, Hawke?”

Adrian smirked, easing back against the pillows as Anders gently peeled back the bandages from his chest to examine his ribs. "I'm 'Hakwe' again," he winked at Anders, "He's annoyed with me."

Anders rolled his eyes but didn't respond to Adrian's words. Instead, shifting his focus to the wound on Hawkes calf. Peeled back the bandages, as he frowned. “These stitches are barely holding. You need to rest, Hawke. If you keep moving around like this, you'll just make it worse.”

Adrian winced slightly as Anders’ fingers brushed against the tender skin, "Can't you just do your gllowy thing and fix it?"

Anders shot him a withering look, “My 'glowy thing' isn’t a miracle cure, Hawke. Healing magic accelerates recovery, but there is a limit, and it cannot be relied on everytime you get yourself into trouble. You need time for your body to repair itself. Which, incidentally, you’re not giving it.”

Adrian winced as Anders applied a little more pressure to his chest, but his smirk remained intact. “Fine, fine. No more sneaking off. You have my word as a gentleman.”

Fenris snorted from where he stood. “That would carry more weight if you were, in fact, a gentleman.”

“Rude,” Adrian muttered, his grin only widening.

[wolfpawzjakey]

[child abuse, torture, infanticide, murder, implied by ptsd].

Another beauty of the relationship with Jason - one of many is that they are similar in their dirt and darkness.

As a child, Percy would squeeze his small wrists and say that he accidentally burned himself, and the fact that the burn was perfectly round, like from a cigarette, was also accidental. As a child, Jason clenched his teeth and remained silent when he was mercilessly bitten by wolves of Lupa or senior legionnaires whipped him as punishment. In the battle for Manhattan, Percy knew no pity and he sincerely did not care from the bottom of his heart that these were children.

Jason carried out executions from the age of 10 as soon as he was finally accepted into the legion, they both did not count the number of people killed with their own hands.

Kronos, Saturn, it doesn't matter, was raising an army not only from the Greeks, Jason prefers to call it an execution on the spot, although it was a simple massacre, a bloodbath that he staged. the youngests was 10 years old, Cassius Adrian Brown and Lucius Maximus most likely they were the sons of Neptune, - this is the only and most terrible thing that Jason clearly remembers.

Percy tortured the goddess using her blood and tears. Jason almost killed Medea by simply taking her breath and stopping the electrical impulses of her brain.

They are both terrible, they can both not lie to each other by pretending, and both can find real understanding and comfort in each other. They accept and do not restrain each other. They don't judge each other and they won't call each other monsters. Or they're both monsters?

Percy and Jason don’t have to pretend to be okay with each other. There are few other campers who would understand the two and their share of horrors. Not even the ones they’d considered closest could understand, not would they try that hard. It’s hard to grasp the awfulness of a person you love, it’s hard to love two murderers who had no choice but to play the roles they’ve been dealt. People will either discard them with disgusted looks or ignore it all together. Nico had the most clue of it all, the kid was fucked up too. But Nico didn’t understand it all.

Jason and Percy understood too well, the grit and gore they’d dealt. Not the same, but similar enough. Jason could sympathize the best when Percy’d wake to a churning stomach, guilt causing him to lose his stomach contents once again. Not ceasing until it was all gone, not ceasing till the images and visceral feelings tingled out of his body.

And Percy was there when Jason woke up, locked up in fright with his blade pressed sharply against Percy’s neck, he was the only one who could talk him down, especially when the tears kicked in after. Especially when Jason would spiral into self blame and hatred after.

It was just them, two recent adults, two men made into monsters by their life circumstances.

-

Dark Jason and Percy, not necessarily evil but just showing a lot of their more fucked up sides, are so fucking interested to me. This is more believable to me than the happiness, sometimes false happiness, the book shows. Traumatized people can be so happy they appear normal, I know that 100% but they do show so much of that trauma externally if they think they do or not. I think they’re so interesting to write when they really fall into the dark grey morals they kind of actually have more of than anything else. Sure, these two are hero’s, sure Percy is like the leading face of changing the wrongs the gods have done to their children, he’s change so many things for the better, but this should lead to neglect his past actions as a whole. He’s so well rounded and without the grit and grime he has, he’s not so well rounded anymore.

And Jason…. You were never given a chance to be well rounded because Rick wrong you and us for not giving your character a chance to flourish with returned memories and personality. Sorry king, but your trauma deserves to be shared too. We will imagine on our own accords.

Thank you again for the food anon.

[rhetoricandlogic]

BOOK REVIEW: Cage of Souls, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

May 22, 2019

Alex Hormann

The sun is dying. The Earth is all but dead. The last of humanity is clustered in a single city, as corrupt as it is vulnerable. But Stefan Advani has bigger problems. . .

I’ll cut straight to the point. Cage of Souls is the best book I have read so far this year. It’s bleak, depressing, brutal and with barely a drop of hope contained within its numerous pages. But that doesn’t subtract from the fact that it is vivid, wildly imagined and utterly brilliant.  For some reason I thought this was going to be a novella, and I am so glad it turned out to be a full-length novel. Because the story and idea within really need that extra depth and investigation.

We open with our narrator being shipped off to an island prison for vague crimes against the state. Cowardly and well-educated, Advani relies on both of these traits to keep himself alive. A task not made easier by dangerous wildlife, murderous inmates and a tyrannical Marshal who’d rather see the whole lot of them dead. The prison itself is as dangerous as any of the prisoners. A rusting mass of pumps and cages that appears to serve no purpose other than to get people killed.

Tchaikovsky’s future Earth is a uniformly bleak one.  Outside the prison and the lone city of Shadrapar, the world is all but uninhabitable. There are deserts that will burn you, jungles that will poison and eat you, and a toxic, plastic-choked sea that holds only death. It’s a world that has turned against humanity, a fact that most of the human race appears to have accepted. We have become a species that no longer looks to the future, because there probably won’t be one. A sense of darkness pervades the entire book that’s enough to keep you up at night, and give you nightmares even if you do drift off.

As he settles in to prison life, Advani slowly reveals  the events that led to his incarceration. As you’d expect, it’s not exactly happy reading. But it’s a change of pace that keeps you reading for just one more page. And then one more chapter. And then the whole book. These flashbacks to Shadrapar’s more cultured life are so far removed from prison life that they almost seem to be from another book. But rather than being disjointed, this only amplifies the sense of loss that fills the narrative.

One of the things I enjoyed most was the use of book-as-artefact. That is to say, Advani’s memoir exists within the world of the book. It adds another layer to the story, knowing that he himself considered the events important enough to record in text. While this technique lets the reader know the narrator survives, it allows for more intimacy than a regular first-person narrative. Playing with the unreliable narrator, while also directly addressing the reader, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the style used quite so well.

While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the book a wake-up call or use that dreaded word ‘timely’, the world is definitely informed by the ongoing conversation around the climate crisis we are currently facing. I can’t say that the book is an accurate depiction of where our species is heading (and I certainly hope the future can be a little brighter) it’s a worrying-enough possibility to make you think. Think, and fear. It would be easy for a setting like this to become nihilistic, but Tchaikovsky avoids that pitfall. Instead the book reads more sombrely. Like a lament for the future of human civilisation.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of Britain’s greatest living SF writers, and here he is on the top of his game. A serious contender for book of the year.