#arthur nightingale x reader

[bonesxbows]

Infection (Arthur Nightingale X Reader)

My Masterlist

You can't get sick...right? You're a child of the void, immune to simple bacterial viruses. But yet when you pull into the Mall's garage one day, head throbbing and body aching, you can't help but wonder if that's actually true. To make matters even worse you've been so busy running errands and missions for the Hex that you haven't been keeping an eye on the calendar; it's closer to the end of the time loop than you thought. Arthur's the first to remind you, and the first to notice your change in health.

(WARNINGS) - Graphic Descriptions of Flu like symptoms - Female Drifter (she/her pronouns used)

Guess who got sick right before new years eve and wrote this as a way to make themselves feel better because they're missing out on all the fun parties

I'm still getting a grasp on Arthur's character and I also wrote this while extremely sick so sorry for any mistakes/out-of-character moments

Banners by @strangergraphics

The mission had gone as usual, no kinks or hiccups, smooth sailing as you and your squad mowed down techrot hoard after hoard, the smell of burnt acid and chitin-filled technological carapaces burying the under levels of the old mall. But at some point, your trigger finger began to lag, your steps became staggered and you could feel phantom sweat coat your forehead from within the safety of your warframe. You were falling behind. They wouldn’t leave you, but they wouldn't wait for you either. So you forced your feet to keep moving, willing the energy to keep flowing through your warframe to fend off the techrot surrounding you. By the time you made it back to the garage, you wanted to collapse.

You left your frame next to your atomicycle, not having the energy to pilot the suit even another step. The bundle of supplies you had brought back for the Hex felt like a bag of concrete on your shoulder, threatening to topple you over as your knees screamed in protest, your muscles aching right down to your bones. You were so ready to just trudge up to the backroom and fall into the nearest couch you could find. Luckily, by some small grace, help had arrived. You heard the sliding doors that separated the garage from the rest of the mall glide open, metallic footsteps clicking against the tile floor.

“You’re not usually gone this long. Everything go alright?” You heard him ask, his accent coating over the forming headache in the back of your mind like warm drizzled honey.

You sighed. You didn’t want to snap at him, but you were in so. Much. Pain. Standing on your feet physically hurt. “Everything went fine, Arthur. Can you take these and distribute them, please? I need to...lie down. For a moment.” You kept your voice sweet and plastered a soft smile on your face as you handed the bag of supplies in his direction. He hesitated, his brow furrowing as he studied you. He knew you; ever since you had first arrived you never stopped, never slowed down, always bouncing to the next mission or next bounty, so why now, of all times, were you stopping to take a rest? There was something off, but it was so hard to tell with you. You weren’t built like him, or like he used to be anyway, you weren’t exactly human. He couldn’t read you like he could other people.

“Are you…feeling alright, love?” He took the bag from you, lessening the weight on your body, and immediately you sighed in relief. Your eyes flickered to the door, eager to book it towards the backroom now that you were free from your last responsibility and could finally crash, but Arthur stood in your way, and it was clear he had no intention of moving until you answered his question.

“I’m fine, really. I’m immune to everything, remember? Child of the void and all that. I’m just tired. After some sleep I’ll be right back to normal, promise. You worry too much.” You spoke quickly and then kissed him on the cheek, getting a satisfactory answer out as fast as possible and leaving him no room to argue as you dashed off towards the door. Hopefully, he wouldn’t chase you down so you could actually take that nap you so desperately wanted.

You made it to the backroom in record time, flopping face-first onto the nearest soft surface you could find and passing out as soon as your head made contact.

It wasn’t long though before you woke up retching, a wet cough rattling your chest and scratching your throat on the way out. You groaned, sitting up and leaning back against the back of the couch. You blinked against the lights above you, pulling the blanket that covered your arms up over your head…which definitely hadn’t been there when you had fallen asleep. You poked an eye out, looking around the room, but no one else was there with you. Well, no other people. Your eyes landed on your kubrow who had snuggled up next to the foot of the couch nearest you, curled into a ball, a note laid next to their feet. You reached down to pick it up, scritching their fur as a reward for safeguarding the note for you when you did so. They sighed contently in response.

The white of the paper was blinding to your straining eyes, your headache having only increased from earlier, and his fancy scrawled handwriting didn’t help -you figured it had to be a Britannic thing, Eleanor wrote the same way-, but you managed to decode the note.

You looked cold. Text me when you wake up, team’s taken off the rest of today. I’m all yours. -A

You couldn’t help but smile underneath your little blanket cocoon. It took an extraordinary amount of effort but you stood up, your knees wobbled and your back ached but you willed yourself to stay upright, stumbling your way over to your POM-2 PC. You pushed the on button, the screen flickering to life, making you outwardly hiss as the blue light assaulted your eyes and shot to the very back of your skull like a laser. But you pushed forward, ignoring the pain, and clicked on Arthur’s chatbox.

Hey, A <3

Broadsword is typing…

You’re awake. I take it you got my note then?

I did. Something special going on I don’t know about? You never let the team take days off. 

Broadsword is typing…

Check your calendar, love. 

Broadsword has gone offline.

You squinted in confusion, a small flash of panic grabbing hold of your heart. Had you forgotten something important? You clicked off of the chat page and onto the built-in calendar with the PC, the boxes flashing onto the screen. They were all greyed out, you had reached the end of another month, nothing special there. But then you saw it. December on the top of the screen. December 31st. Today was the end of the time loop. New Year’s Eve.

Metallic footsteps sounded off of the wooden floorboards behind you. You were still facing the PC, dumbstruck by your discovery, nothing but a mass of blanket from his point of view. He came up behind you and snaked his hands around your waist, slotting his head into the crook of your neck, though he was met with a mess of fluffy blanket instead of your warm skin. His eyes flicked between your face and the PC’s screen still brought up on the greyed-out calendar. “Figure out what today is, then?” He whispered.

You leaned back into Arthur’s chest, the heat radiating off of his warframe a welcoming comfort through your blanket.“I didn’t realize.” You spoke, answering his question, but yet you didn’t recognize your own voice. Your eyes widened at the unexpected sound, a hoarse croaking noise as the words scratched out of your throat. Arthur pulled his head away from your shoulder and spun you around as soon as he heard it too, forcing you to face him, his hands now on your shoulders and a concerned look on his face as his brow furrowed. A chill ran over your body at the abrupt removal of his warmth from your back, causing you to shiver, a motion that didn’t go unnoticed by Arthur. He was looking over you, studying you. You pulled the blanket closer around you, becoming sheepish under his gaze. He took in everything he hadn’t noticed before in addition to your recent shiver and scratchy voice; the way your eyes seemed to sink into your face surrounded by dark circles, the unusual dullness in your complexion, and the way both your shoulders and your spine seemed to slump towards the floor as if the weight of a million bricks rested upon you.

A small smirk crawled over his face, his assumptions from earlier now being undeniably confirmed. “So, ‘child of the void that’s immune to everything’ huh?”

You sniffled, sticking your nose into the air. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Your voice scratched out like a destroyed record, the words catching in your throat and making you hack and cough, breaking whatever semblance of composure you were trying to feign. You brought your elbow up to your face to catch the cough, the fuzzy blanket encompassing everything as you moved. Arthur carefully dug his fingers into the muscles of your shoulders and neck as you coughed and retched up the fluid in your lungs, the gentle pressure a soothing distraction from the pain coating your throat with every new breath you took. Eventually, you stopped, now looking exhausted from the effort, and you couldn’t help but collapse against his chest, your head finding the crook of his neck. Your breathing became ragged against the metal platings and exo-flesh of his neck, though he couldn’t feel it the sound of it alone made concern worm its way to his heart. He didn’t think about it often, he didn’t want to unless he had to, honestly; but moments like this were blatant reminders of just how fragile you were compared to him. He sighed and curled his arms around you, holding you against him and running his hands up and down your back comfortingly. “Hm. Sounds to me like you’re sick, if I had to guess.”

“Ugh.” Was all you could muster for a response, the sound reverberated through your chest instead of your already painful throat. He reached down and hooked his hands under your thighs, pulling you up and bundling you into his arms so he could carry you. You made no protest to his actions, immediately wrapping your legs and arms around his torso, albeit weakly. He carried you back over to the couch, settling down with you in his lap, the blanket not forgotten about and cocooned around your shoulders. You huddled into the warmth radiating off of his mechanical body as another shiver crawled over your spine, causing you to shake. He let his hands roam your back absentmindedly, working his fingers against your muscles gently and every so often letting one of them wander upwards towards your hair, carding his fingers through the strands soothingly.

Though the quiet moment didn’t last for long as his ears twitched, picking up the sound of footsteps coming up the metal staircase that separated your living space from your workshop. He instinctively tensed, his eyes whipping to the doorway as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, ready to protect you at a second's notice. The mall was a safe zone, he knew that in the back of his mind, but he always prepared for the worst. The need to protect you, especially now given how weak you were in your current state, greatly outweighed any rationality to his thoughts. You were oblivious to everything happening, your eyes long since being closed ever since he had sat down with you.

“You two are adorable.” He heard in his head, his guard dropping as he saw both his sister and Aoi poke around the corner. She had been listening when his instincts had kicked in.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you two knock?”

“Don’t you two answer your comms?” He heard in his head again, a teasing smile on Eleanor’s face.

“Didn’t hear them go off. Sorry.” He explained.

“You, not paying attention to your comms? What’s got you so sidetracked?” Aoi retorted, though her face showed she was teasing as well. Eleanor, however, had already found the answer to Aoi’s question. Her face fell when she saw you clinging onto Arthur’s chest, your breathing harsh and unnatural and your hair plastered to your forehead by sweat. She knelt down in front of him, studying you for signs of something she had long since forgotten even existed.

“Is she sick?” She asked him telepathically.

Aoi had also heard the question, catching up on the details laid out before her. She sat down on the other side of the couch, her brow furrowing and a small frown adorning her lips. “Can she even get sick?”

“Apparently,” Eleanor answered in their minds, half sarcastically. “Is there anything we can do?”

“What could we do? We don’t have a cure, she’s in no condition to go back to her time and retrieve one, that’s even if they’ve discovered one.” He ran through options in his head, none of them seeming feasible.

“So…what? We just let it run its course? She seems…miserable.” Aoi’s voice was laced with sympathy. You had done so much for them, it felt awful not being able to help you in return.

“I don’t think we have any other choice, unfortunately.” They could hear the pang of guilt in Eleanor’s words as they echoed in their heads, her lips parting in a regretful sigh as she stood up.

“What did you two stop by here for, anyway?” He asked, his eyes flicking to you as you shifted in his arms, but you were still fast asleep.

“We were going to gather in the commons to celebrate the countdown, you know, since we avoided annihilation and all that this year, we figured why not, and we were going to ask if you and Drifter wanted to join us, but…” Aoi explained, her voice trailing off towards the end as her eyes landed on the bundle of blanket that was you in Arthur’s lap.

“I doubt she’d feel up to a party and I’d rather not leave her here alone, so if it’s all the same to you lot I think I’ll stay here with her for the night.” Both women gave him looks of understanding to his reply, but as soon as Arthur had answered your eyes fluttered open and your head shot up, instantly causing you to go dizzy from your sudden movement and you had to place a hand against his chest to stabilize yourself. But that didn’t stop you.

“No, Arthur, you should go.” You looked at him, your words croaking out just the same as they had before, startling the two women who hadn’t heard the severity of your sickness yet.

“I’m not leaving you here by yourself.” He retorted, brown and white eyes burrowing into yours. He knew it was selfish to argue with you when you were less than healthy, you stood no chance at winning, but he didn’t care. Not when it came to looking after you.

Eleanor and Aoi took that as their cue to leave before the conversation got any more heated. “If you do decide to join us, you know where you can find us,” Aoi told the two of you before standing up and making way for the door.

“Take care of her,” Eleanor told her brother inside of his head, a message only he could hear, as she followed Aoi out.

You waited until you heard the familiar click of the backroom door shutting before trying to bicker with the man in front of you. “You deserve to celebrate.” You told him, fighting against the hoarseness in your throat to get your point across.

“And you don’t? We'd still be dead on the floor of that reactor room if you hadn’t intervened. I won’t leave you here to celebrate alone if I have a say about it.” He brushed the sweat-stricken hair off of your forehead as he spoke.

You huffed, the noise sounding more like a wheeze. “You’re stubborn, Nightingale.” You wanted to cross your arms, to pout, to argue back and force him to spend time with his friends instead of wasting his night away in a stuffy old room. But you barely had enough energy to keep your head up as it was.

He couldn’t help but laugh, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. “So I’ve been told.”

You didn’t remember falling back asleep, or even when you had laid your head back down onto Arthur’s shoulder, but the next thing you knew he was gently squeezing your hand, trying to wake you. You stirred for a moment, your eyelids fluttering as you came back to reality. “Wake up, love.” You heard him whisper into your ear. But it was then that all of the pain came flooding back, hitting you all at once. You groaned, feeling the stiffness in your bones and the aches throbbing in your muscles. Though you were grateful that your headache had at least subsided, you discovered that your throat still felt like sandpaper every time you swallowed, causing you to wince from the pain. You slowly raised your head up, coming face to face with Arthur. He had a small smile stuck on his face and you were caught off guard when he tilted his head and kissed you, his lips gentle against yours, as if too much pressure would shatter you like glass. You quickly leaned into it though, weakly wrapping an arm around his neck and inwardly smiling as you felt his hair tickle your cheekbones. He pulled away far too soon for your liking. “Happy New Year, love.”

You blinked in confusion for a moment before turning your head towards your POM-2; sure enough, the usual black screen was now flashing big green numbers, “00:00”. The loop had been completed. Soon it would all start again. Whether or not Arthur would still be there with you come morning was now a decision left in your hands.

[monarisse]

— The Hex paradox [arthur nightingale x gn!drifter]

Arthur asks, why are you still here.

You can't believe that he thinks you see them as pets.

SFW, second pov, hurt/comfort, misunderstanding, angst with a happy ending | 3.6k

ao3

There is a flex of a hand — meat under the skin is terribly tense, just like their owner. Long unclipped nails, map of the old scars with pigment just a little bit lighter than everything else. Further: burn, raw marks from laser. Further: a contaminated virus from the elder beast of Deimos. Further-

This is just a body that holds your consciousness when there are no more metallic constructs of dead people that should be controlled. It was... actually, not so horrible to unfold the truth behind the creations of Ballas. Or others. There was always something more than you in these turned-to-be-bones metallic wires and engines. Always lurking in shadow; just not enough to be found, but enough to feel the sudden twitch of a cobalt fingers or unknown step of feet. Sometimes, even more: dance with a weapon, full of joy; murmur in an unknown language; search for something behind the back. Unnecessary. Unasked. Unprovoked. But... familiar, almost to the pain in your drifting mind.

It's ironic — that they all called you The Drifter. Not The Operator — not anymore, at least. Even if there was someone, in this time of the universe, who would gladly use this title on you, it would not be the truth. And you will not allow it. Hundreds of years after all of this, there would be a child with angry eyes and a thirst for power, who changed too much and too little to be completely you again. So you give them the future and keep yourself in the past — it seems right. Especially because (it's ill-fitting, it's wrong, and it's foolish, but deep down it's what makes them and you one person), The Operator can't travel here. They ask in rare times together how it was.

And for you, it's never "was." It's still here.

———

After winter, spring and summer together, they became steadier, softer. Smoother. Happier. Amir sleeps better. Angered only by some unnecessary presence before, now Quincy finds serenity, covering your back on missions. Aoi plays on the borrowed piano from the music store, and Eleanor whispers in your mind stories that she read in the past about Great Britain. Sharpened on the edges Lettie, today holds her hand to yours, so her beasts could crawl on the skin of this body with hushed squeaks, smelling with their little noses acid and kerosene, that scaldra pours on you every day. Lettie clicks her tongue in disappointment when she sees a new wound on the meat of shoulder — because in this body you can't heal as fast as they, and it's hypocritical to come out of frame when they're — the Mighty Hex, batch of soldiers of the future, your Friends, in the end — still here. And-

It's so. Fucking. Funny. A snicker falls from your lips before you can stop it.

Lettie furrows her eyebrows. In her eyes — something eats the previous light joke and fills it with thick tension.

"What did he do?" Anita squeaks, runs to her siblings, and you just blink.

"Who?"

Oh, it's not a secret. You... can guess who she talks about. And Lettie knows it.

"¡Pendejo! You know who. Don't play an owl with me."

Sharp teeth of the future crash into each other. Smile on these lips — sugary sweet from lies. This is not something new. How many people "The Great Hero" of the New War has deceived around the years of the Narmer regime?

"Nothing. Why you-"

She smacks your arm.

"Shut up. Don't want to hear your explanations. His brooding takes its toll on you," she painstakingly cleans her fingers from void-touched blood. From all of them, Eleanor is one who can feel lies, but Leticia is... another deal. She doesn't have the need to hear your thoughts. Magic of doctors, you guess.

It's strange that she cares about you. After all, these six are a team. And the seventh angle doesn't belong in the hexagon, even if it forces itself inside.

But, for Lettie, you let it slide. Hold her palm in yours and blink a little bit slower.

"I take care of that. Promise"

———

You know it — even too much of something good can be poisonous. Like trivia: this body was not ready for the delicious food that they have here, so on one night with beer and Hex you threw up in the bathroom on the second floor. But... Compare this and... your genuine worry for Nightingale seems like a wrong play of komi, where no one could win.

Worse: you remember Umbra. His blind eye and this wordless trust between him and The Operator. This wordless care that travels with them everywhere. How could you not feel envy when this child not only found the way from Zariman 10-0, but even saved the frame that could think without Tenno? Well, now you have protoframes. They joke with you in their bones, and they help you when it becomes unbearable — this world, this time, this loop. So why, when you stretch out your hand only how you can, it turns out... It is too much. Or too little.

And... what even happens in this thick skull of his, when he abruptly leaves a conversation on KIM, then agrees on Amir's play and, after... drowns you in questions?

Broadsword

So what is it? Pity? Or are you stupid as well as crazy?

Broadsword

Stop dodging! Why. Are. You. Still. Here?!

There is a reminiscence of a dull ache from Duviri. Another swing of an axe above the head. Endless swirl of colors. And buzzing in the skull. This body trembles, unable to comprehend all emotions from a feverish mind, and you pull your hand to clean your face from... something. Anything.

How could he even ask this shit? Like you some bystander that already left them after a week of knowing, just to start a new adventure far far away. Like you didn't search abandoned markets for his favorite beer, didn't bring special ammunition to Quincy, didn't practice with Aoi and Amir on the transmission of intel. Just some guest, not important to add in their ranks.

Nidus quietly shrieks when you transfer back to him. It is something of a habit. You can't even feel the exact moment when his broad frame already exits the backroom, too busy with boiling emotions inside your mind (the biggest question there: what if Kid would be able to help them without this mess of emotions. What if Hex liked the Operator more?).

Höllvania Central Mall never sleeps. Especially now, when there are not seven, but many more breathing shadows waiting for the other day to live, so... It is a little bit of awakening — see disbelief and caution in the eyes of bystanders when the form of Nidus makes his way from the second floor to the first in one jump. But still not enough to stop the heavy steps of the infested frame.

He's in his usual spot, crouched between some ammo for his rifle and computer, and Arthur... seems a little bit surprised. Like it wasn't you who he wrote just seconds ago.

Pity. He called your carefully crafted relationships with the Hex "pity." And you, yourself: crazy and stupid.

"You could just-" There is something more behind his dazed expression, some dark undertone, but it is not about him. Not anymore.

"How could you," Nidus freezes like a mannequin in the doorframe. This body constructs itself right against Nightingale; scarred fingers cling to his shoulder to feel something else beside the usual eerie words of KIM-messages and hushed phrases under the sick sky. His brows rise up even more now, "How could you even think of something like that!"

Arthur's lips twitch.

Prince of fire Lodun, in all his ugly glory, paints your mind with blood and red.

"It's bothering me already enough time to just let it slide," his words twist something in the pit of your stomach, and Lodun's voice screeches somewhere around the frontal lobe. He shouldn't say such words to you. It is blasphemy. Lie. His hand rips your own from himself almost like you hurt him, and the scar around the palm that he left you with starts to pulsate, "You walk around the Mall like everything is okay and we're not just some dead meat to your future."

He is poisonous. Some sort of divine punishment for you, as if you didn't suffer enough for years and years of survival. There are no more light jokes, no more strange, vigorous words with the undertone of something bigger. Only a stern glance on this body.

Prince Lodun fist his finger and crack another hole in your mind walls.

Body of the Drifter winces.

"Are you fucking kidding?" teeth clacks. The jaw's strained to its limit. All of this time together, just drained in the sink, "What do you think? That I stayed here just to forget about you all in the next minute?"

He doesn't need to say it aloud. The answer is written on his face already, and it's making Lodun more loud in your mind.

"How many times have you already done that?"

Lodun roars. This head is pounding.

"What?!"

It's unbelievable. He looks at you with such a sardonic expression, as if he knows that you did something so bad that you even can't stand with him in one room, and... you want to go right in his head to fucking show Arthur how terribly wrong he is.

The worst of all: he keeps going.

"It's convenient, isn't it? To play "friends" with people you can just leave behind," his grip tightens, and Arthur steps forward. A little more and it would become a fight.

You hold back. Just a little bit, but the patience in this body already wears itself.

"So that's what's stuck in your head?" You snarl, "Not bad enough, don't you think?" One step to him, and you feel — one more, and you can crash in his metallic chest. Eyes squint, "Make me a villain more, why not? Maybe I should take control of one of you and dispose of everyone else, huh?" Luscinia weeps in the corner of your mind with these harsh words, but you are unable to hear her — spiral of Loduns anger in its all-power captured you. There is something of a hurt in Arthur's face. But you only use his own method on him. It's almost like he didn't think of this — that you could use his friends against him or even make him a bystander in the nonexistent massacre.

"You can," his voice drops lower. Grip tightens even more — soon bones in this body would be broken by his fingers. "So I advise you to stop pretending like we're important to you," Nightingale bends his head, and you can see the hues of his blind eye for the first time, "and put us all out of this misery."

You're tugging this hand away — alas, it's not working, and a wave of dull pain passes through the body. He never thought that it was as hard for you as for them.

Luscinia crying. The Sorrowful Soprano of Duviri weeping like a mother who lost something too precious for her, and with Loduns anger, it's too much to feel in one moment. Your mind makes itself the battleground of the old Tales.

You want to say: maybe you're right.

You want to say: maybe I should just leave things like they are.

But... the Hex already made themselves important for you. So much that you gladly would stay here forever, with this ancient technology and people of the past. The Operator has their people. Why shouldn't you have yours?

You take a deep breath. Close tired eyes.

"If you think that I should go, I'll do it." There is something too heavy in these words, so you can't raise this head anymore, with your gaze a little bit blurry. Not from tears, "You all became too important for me, so if it would be better for Hex, I'll be gone to my time."

You know: without you, they will all be dead in the New Year of 1999. The reactor will blow up, and Arthur will bleed on the floor of the radiated room, near the bodies of Aoi and Amir.

And you can just feel the power of Spiral, to send it all back in January, to start again.

"Don't make yourself a martyr. You can leave when you want."

That's it.

You snap.

"My fucking Sol," you twitch this head, "you are as dense as Razorback," Nightingale becomes a little bit puzzled by the unknown comparison, but you continue, "What should I say? "Sorry, Arthur, I stayed here because I know that without me you all will die." Your voice becomes louder and louder; it breaks in some words, and you feel: the dam was broken, "And I developed feelings for you, and all of this embarrassing flirting was so bad because I had never done it before? You know, because I was trapped all of my youth in an endless loop of my own death, and I didn't even think that I could feel something like that"," his grip finally becomes loose, and you break the palm from him, only to point the finger at Arthur, "Everyone knows about it. I thought that you-"

Wait. You thought that he already knew about your feelings for him — it was so obvious that Eleanor even asked you not to think about her brother on united missions. But... You shut this mouth and looked at Arthur. He's... flagger-basted. No more anger in his eyes, only genuine surprise, and — worst of all — he continues to keep silent.

"Great," you roll this eyes. Fuck it. Maybe he knew, just feelings weren't mutual, and Nightingale didn't acknowledge it, to leave things as they were. But now you spelled it all aloud, and there is only one way to turn it back. Maybe... no. You don't want it.

Sol, you should just go to the backroom and decay in some corner.

You take a deep breath.

"I'll be going to throw up somewhere on the second floor from embarrassment," you transfer back to Nidus, "don't message me," and head towards the escalator.

Worst: he didn't even stop you.

———

Quincy screams in your comm and it's almost unbearable how he just throws a stash of Scaldra supply on the garage floor, just to head back to civilians in the old supermarket without another word to you.

Blew up the tank without care of flying too far away to not be hurt; melted one of the other stashes; almost got Kalymos dead. You've gone more hectic. But it's still better than lying on a couch with nausea and a sorrowful expression (it's still better than nothing — you remind yourself — you still feel something, and it's better than apathy).

Funny: if the Kid could see you, they would be furious. Throwing some tantrum about how such a mindless thing would wreck you, The Drifter, to some pathetic ordinary human. They were always like this: more hard than you, more prideful. They could chew Arthur's words and twist them so much that the man would not be sure what he even wants anymore. But the Operator is too far away. And you are too arrogant to travel back to them. Lotus would calm you down, embrace you in a motherly hold; however... you don't want it right now. One thing that surely helps: killing. Scaldra or Techrot — doesn't matter.

"I'm worried about you," tells Aoi when the sharp talons of Garuda give her a package full of CDs, "I heard your argument with Arthur." She seems a little bit sheepish, but... you know, that you actually can trust her. Of all Hex, Aoi is the most understandable. You can tell her all your worries, and she wouldn't laugh or write off your feelings. "It's hard with him sometimes, but Arthur cares about us all," of course he is, "you included."

You hum. The sound comes a little bit muffled.

"I'm sure." No, you're not, but there is no need to talk about it right now. Aoi squints her eyes in disbelief. "Sorry, Aoi. It's between me and him and i-"

"Drifter," his voice is too loud in Aoi's lair, but you don't turn to Nightingale. Maybe he will disappear if you don't acknowledge his presence. "We need to talk," Morohoshi shows some kind of gesture that you don't recognize, with her big finger pointed out, and she shakes her head, smiling.

If there were only two of you, you'd find a reason to just vanish in the air.

Damn. Why is it harder than killing an archon with a bow?

"Alright," you sign. Garuda turns around to Excalibur and he is already heading somewhere in an unknown destination.

What does he want to say? That he made a decision to stay with you on friendly terms so that you could save Hex's lives? That he'll save them by himself? Good luck with that. You'll still be here, even if he wants to banish you from others, just not in his line of sight. And when clocks turn 23:56 without catastrophe, you'll let them go and transfer yourself back to Loid, to solve problems of Deimos.

It's some sort of warehouse — you've never been here before, and it's strange how music from the hall becomes only disoriented muffles when Arthur closes the door. You stand a little bit farther from him than usual — not to make yourself comfortable here.

Arthur leans on some kind of cabinet.

Heavy silence falls on you two.

And when you think that this was a bad idea — to come here with him — Arthur starts talking.

"You know that all my life I was a military man," he spins that damn sword — Arthur's voice... not so loud. He speaks almost carefully, like his words already were chosen before this talk, and... you don't know what to think about. Emotion without name, without personification in Tales of Duviri, born in a pit of stomach, "and... I think I was ready to leave some things behind," he's not looking at you; his gaze stops on scratches on the floor, "because there was not enough time, or... I didn't try to understand others more."

You gulp. Garuda's scales tremble.

"And I tend to search for enemies where there aren't any." Finally, Arthur looks at you. There is more than tiredness from endless nights; quiet longing, a hint of uncertainty, something... tender.

He sighs.

"And," Arthur chuckles, and you grit your own teeth, thrashing about to step from Garuda or stay in her bones, "I'm not even entirely human. I mean, look at me," he gestures at the metal skin of his body, "not a usual choice of the mass."

Still, it's better to talk face to face. Especially on topics like that, you make a decision in one moment, to reappear beside him in another.

"Arthur," your own voice strained with hoarse hesitation, "you're a good person. You shouldn't talk about yourself like that." There is a hint of a smile in the corner of his lips, and Arthur blinks a little bit slower.

"You're always saying such things that give me hope." Spinning of his blade comes to an end, and the warehouse becomes more... steady. Peaceful.

Nightingale clears his throat.

"Did you mean it?" comes almost in a whisper, "that you have... feelings. For me."

You tear your gaze from him and put it down, not able to look in his eyes. Yes. It is definitely harder than killing an archon.

Fingers dip in the elbows.

"Yes."

Nothing more. Just a short, clear answer to put any misunderstanding behind.

Remarkably, the stomach stops swirling. All of this body became... calm, like all the worries just disappeared with this one word. Even if Arthur doesn't feel the same, you are glad that you two talked about it. Finally, you can open a new page in-

"It's mutual."

What?

You snap this head to him, and, for the first time in an eternity, you see Arthur smiling. Without some undertone in it, without pressure. Just a clear, happy smile on his scarred face, and you even see some little dimples on his cheeks.

And, maybe it's too early and you should wait some time to do such things, but these hands — your hands — reach out to him, to bury your fingers in his hair and press an uncertain but full-of-burning-emotions kiss to his lips.

It's raw — skin to skin, first too gentle to feel something more than the texture of others, but with every passing moment, all of this bottling adoration for him seeps through the motion. And Arthur answers you, laying his metallic palm in the crook of your neck, to deepen the kiss — he opens his mouth, presses you to himself more, to finally give you something that you wanted too long to confess.

In reality, it's still better than in imagination.

When there is not enough air in your lungs, when your shuddered inhale mixes with his own and both of you break away for a moment, you press your forehead to Arthur's, holding onto his shoulder.

"You know," he starts after a moment of silence, with a voice a little bit rough on the edges. You open your eyes and move your head a little bit to look at him once more. Cold fingers start to play with the strands of your hair. "If someone had told me that I would want to kiss someone from the future who trespassed my mind, I think I would kill them," Arthur breathlessly laughing and-

"Sol, you're unbelievable." You smack his shoulder and move to get out from his grip, but Nightingale presses you even more into himself, and you feel how his laughter starts to seep through your bones.

"You're stuck with me now. No refunds, sweets." Arthur pressed a chaste kiss on the crown of your head, and... you hug him, closing your eyes back.

The Harbinger of Joy, Mathilda, smiles for the first time in what feels like eternity.

[demondwellersword]

note: omg it’s been a whole year since i posted….last year was absolutely awful but this year i’m really going to try to post more this year. anyway, enjoy!

are you sure?

you find yourself asking this question often—nearly every time you look at ARTHUR. when you first met he seemed almost impossible to read, trapped behind a thick wall of stoicism and commitment to duty. however the closer you two became, the more he began to soften. gone were the deep lines etched into his face or the harshness in his gaze, replaced instead with gentle half-smiles and loving glances. yet there’s a feeling that dwells in the back of your mind, hovering at the edge of every thought you have about him. why me? sure, you were the one who had approached him with your feelings first, but you hadn’t done it with the intention of this outcome, not really. in truth you just wanted to stop thinking about him the way you did. all it took was him mentioning that you seemed distracted on a mission once to send you into a spiral, ending with you determined to finally get him out of your head.

instead he’d ended up in your bed.

now, after all the time you’d spent together, you were still led back to that one question—are you sure? you were far from perfect and a lot more complicated than you’d ever admit, but he’d assured you none of that mattered. what was it that you were so worried about then? maybe it was the idea of losing him for good, or the thought that somehow it would be your fault if you did. but you had to believe him when he said he wasn’t going anywhere, and you had to trust that he would do everything he could to make the life you’d envisioned for yourselves come true. and most importantly of all? you had to believe him when he said that he was always sure.

[nightingale-fic-recs]

LUNAAAAA

Girl this is such a good start, I’m so proud 😭

Until The Last Falling Star

Chapter I: Blood Upon The Snow

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x F!Reader

Warnings: canon typical violence, references to wounds, character death

Word count: 1860

Keep reading

[axolotlwrites]

Black Lipstick, Red Tongue

NSFW! Male Drifter Reader X Eleanor Nightingale

The Drifter and Eleanor get a little handsy in the internet café, despite the lack of privacy...

CW: Oral sex, reader has a penis, is given head, slight exhibitionism (they aren't caught, however), slight psychic mind-fuckery, Eleanor's weird tongue is involved (duh), not beta read, formatted for mobile

Also, a good ninety percent of this was written before 1999 actually came out, so some of it isn't entirely accurate. For the most part, there's no major deviations. (I think.)

Enjoy.

Words: 922

Eleanor’s hands pressed flat against your chest, pushing you into the chair of the internet cafe desk. You were worried. This was stupid, incredibly so. Sound would reverberate in an empty mall like this, and it wasn’t as if you two were totally alone. “Are you sure about this? The others-” Her hand pressed against your cheek, interrupting you as she spoke (or rather, thought) softly. “Won’t hear us. I promise.” A shivering breath escapes your mouth, as you speak again. “Arthur’ll fucking kill me if he finds out.” Eleanor giggles at that, before smiling, another thought ripping into your brain, like a tailor’s knife through fine silk. “Then stay quiet, and he won’t.”

Your hands drift down to the buckle of your pants. When you got here, you quickly traded voidshell compounds and weaves for simple denim and fabric. It was lighter, it fit in better… and it was comfier. She stared up into your eyes, the mischievous glint in her eye as prominent as always. “Are you sure you-” She rolled her eyes, pushing your hands away as she unbuckled them for you. “You can pay me back later, but right now…” Her hand gently tugged at your pants, your hips lifting off instinct as she tugged them off. “Right now is about you.”

Gloved fingers reached out to prod gently, a gloved palm following close after to rub against the straining of your pants. “F-fuck.” You whimpered it out, softly, terrified of who might hear. God forbid Arthur hears you… or Quincy… or Lettie. You wouldn't hear the end of it, if you were still alive. She loved it, though. Loved the way she could make you shiver and whimper in the middle of the Hex’s safehouse with just a stray thought.

Of course, she knew the truth.

You loved it too.

She kneeled in front of you now, placing soft kisses on your stomach as she pulled up your shirt. She could see your scars, some evidence of your time spent in the Origin System, some fresh from your scraps in the streets and metros of Hollvania. Her other hand roamed the elastic waistband of your underwear, freshly scavenged from a ransacked supermarket.

As she started to peel your underwear down, trailing black lipstick kisses down your stomach, down to your crotch, you couldn't help but shiver.

She didn't pull them off entirely, leaving them halfway down your thighs in the case of an… unfortunate intrusion. Her breath traveled along the length of your cock, half-hard as her hands roamed along your inner thighs. “Relax, love. You don't want all that anxiety to affect your performance, after all…” She smiled, clearly teasing you, trying to rile you up as the blush crossed your face.

Some part of you was worried. You knew what appendage lingered in that mouth of hers, but ever since that kiss on New Year’s, you both had gotten a little braver.

This was the result of a massive amount of tension, a veritable dance of extended boundaries and worried glances.

You couldn’t prepare for how her mouth felt. As she took you into her maw, the tendril that resided behind her teeth wrapped around you, like a venus flytrap. Your back arched into the chair, a mild mixture of arousal and fear showing on your face as your hand flew up to your mouth. Again, she giggled, the vibrations around your cock a far more pleasant feeling than the tendril’s grasping and probing. Finally, you let out a real, tangible noise. “Damn. That is… a hell of a feeling.” Her hand roamed against the outside of your thigh, as she started to bob her head. “Do you want me to stop?” she whispered, your mind hazing as you felt her really dig around in your head.

You shook your head, your senses consumed by her psychic abilities. It felt like she was hugging your brain, caressing and kissing between the nooks of your mind.

It was far more pleasant than you thought it'd be, and the infested tongue in her mouth started to get a real hang on how it wanted you, finally starting to stroke and caress. It was wet and hot, black lipstick starting to smear along the length of your cock. Her hand grabbed yours, guiding it to her head and ponytail.

“Get a grip, love. You'll want it.” You nodded, as she began to move faster, enticing you to use that newfound grip she had given you.

You knew you weren't gonna last long. With a tongue that literally had a (hive)mind of its own, the very enthusiastic woman it was attached to, and the mind-fuck powers of said enthusiastic woman… you didn't stand a chance.

You bucked your hips up into her throat, moaning softly as you began to lose yourself in it. “Come on. Cum for me, Drifter. My Drifter.”

And just like that, you were gone, spilling your seed into her throat as you tried desperately to keep from moaning out in pleasure. The tongue in her mouth coiled around your cock, dragging out all of the semen it could manage, before she pulled away, its host finally satisfied.

“I'll leave you to clean up. But… I'll see you in the backroom tonight, love.” She laid a gentle kiss on your cheek, before walking off, hips swaying as the last of her psychic powers faded. It left a pleasant haze in your mind that you really couldn't shake, even if you'd wanted to.

What a woman.

[sundove88]

Introducing Anime Ever After!!

Ever wanted to experience classic fairytales but through the lens of legendary and lesser known anime?

Well, Anime Ever After is for you!!

Synopsis: An anthropology of famous stories from around the world retold through the lens of legendary and lesser known anime, with modern twists, turns, and lessons about. From the depths of the sea in DBZ: Waves of Freedom (The Little Mermaid) to the realm beyond the clouds in One Piece: Beyond The Sky (Jack and The Beanstalk), this ever expanding treasury of tales has something for everyone.

Framing Device: An anime loving teenager is telling classic fairytales to the kids they babysit as bedtime stories- with a twist!

Side Note: Nursery Rhymes being adapted is more for Shrek. So they won’t be here- sorry about that. But they do a good job at it. This anthology is meant for readers 12 and up, due to some of the themes in some of the stories.

Btw, look for the posts that have anime ever after on them as one of their tags. Here’s the list of tales (So Far):

Dragon Ball Z: Waves of Freedom (The Little Mermaid)

My Hero Academia: Heart of Glass (Cinderella)

Attack on Titan: Red Hood (Little Red Riding Hood)

One Piece: Beyond The Sky (Jack and The Beanstalk)

Naruto: Sleeping Shadow (Sleeping Beauty)

Sword Art Online: The Match Player (The Little Match Girl)

FullMetal Alchemist: Iron Wolves (The 3 Little Pigs)

Fairy Tail: Mirrors of Deceit (Snow White)

Inuyasha: Soul of The Beast (Beauty and The Beast)

Bleach: Brushes of Fate (The Magic Paintbrush)

Fruits Basket: The 12 Dancing Zodiacs (12 Dancing Princesses)

Black Clover: The Frog Knight (The Frog Prince)

Hunter X Hunter: Spreading Your Wings (The Ugly Duckling)

Demon Slayer: Demon of The Northern Wind (The Snow Queen)

Black Butler: Beyond The Tower (Rapunzel)

Yu Yu Hakusho: Sweet Temptation (Hansel and Gretel)

Doraemon; Fearless Feline (Puss in Boots)

Gintama: Peachy Keen (Momotaro)

Sailor Moon: Lady of The Waxing Moon (Princess Kaguya)

Haikyuu: Bear-ly Faltering (Snow White and Rose Red)

Railgun: Little Warriors, Big Impacts (Thumbelina)

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All That Glitters (Rumplestiltskin)

Yu Gi Oh: Diamond in The Rough (Aladdin)

Konosuba: The Royal Test (The Princess and The Pea)

Tokyo Ghoul: The Crimson Amulet (The Red Shoes)

Akame Ga Kill: Fashion Gambit (The Emperor’s New Clothes)

Ouran High School Host Club: Wings of Perseverance (The Wild Swans)

Rurouni Kenshin: The Ronin’s Trials (The Steadfast Tin Soldier)

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan: Cage of Steel, Heart of Platinum (The Nightingale)

Cowboy Bebop: Written in The Stars (The Weaver Girl and The Cowherd)

Death Note: The Golden Pen (King Midas)

Neon Genesis Evangelion: No Strings Attached (Pinocchio)

Fate: The Chosen Sword (King Arthur)

BanG Dream!: Melody of Deceit (The Pied Piper)

Code Geass: The Princess and The Pig Man (The Swineherd)

Jujitsu Kaisen: The Light Within (The Buried Moon)

Blue Exorcist: Blazing Bonds (The Firebird)

Spy X Family: Secret of The Statue (The Happy Prince)

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic: The Enchanted Key (Alibaba and The 40 Thieves)

Re:Zero: Gilded Feathers (The Golden Goose)

Saint Seiya: Divine Trials and Godly Tribulations (The 12 Labors of Hercules)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Claws of Gold, Hearts of Gold (Goldilocks and The 3 Bears)

One Punch Man: A Hero’s Humility (King Thrushbeard)

Future Diary: Wishful Obsession (The Fisherman and His Wife)

Sket Dance: A Tale of Three Tricksters (The 3 Billy Goats Gruff)

Precure (All seasons): The Sweetest Holiday Ever (The Nutcracker)

Food Wars: A Recipe For Courage (The Brave Little Tailor)

Spice and Wolf: Against All Odds (The Princess on The Glass Hill)

Noragami: Stolen Sun (Amaterasu and The Cave)

Monogatari: Secret Confidants (The Elves and The Shoemaker)

Steins;Gate: Azure Secrets (Bluebeard)

Tokyo Revengers: Neverlanding, Never Faltering (Peter Pan)

The Promised Neverland: Emerald Truths (The Wizard of Oz)

Toriko: Sweet Pursuit (The Gingerbread Man)

Kill La Kill: A Royal Mix Up (The Prince and The Pauper)

World Trigger: The Silent Springtime (The Selfish Giant)

The Seven Deadly Sins: Curse of Shade and Malice (The Shadow)

Cardcaptor Sakura: Salt and Sugar (The Salt Princess/Cap O Rushes)

Assassination Classroom: Honeyed Words (Diamonds and Toads)

Way of The House Husband: Out of The Cage (Jorinda and Joringel)

Danganronpa The Animation (It covers all the games): Makoto in Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland)

D Gray Man: Song of The Sparkling Swan (Swan Lake)

Persona 5 The Animation: Way Down We Go (Hades and Persephone)

Soul Eater: United We Stand (The Six Who Went Far)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The 5 Magical Musketeers (The 3 Musketeers)

Aggretsuko: Four Man Band (The Bremen Town Musicians)

Tokyo Godfathers: A Holiday Journey (A Christmas Carol)

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Emotions Set Free (The Princess Who Never Smiled)

Sonic X: True, Blue, and Noble (Hans The Hedgehog)

Magiknight Rayearth: Noble Flame, Changing Tide, and Guiding Wind (The 3 Princesses of Whiteland)

A Silent Voice: Beyond All Boundaries (East of The Sun, West of The Moon)

A Whisker Away: A Feline Fairytale (The White Cat)

Your Name: A Little Bird Told Me (The Singing, Springing, Lark)

Love Live: A Fateful Adventure (Journey to The West)

Captain Tsubasa: Winging It (The Seven Ravens)

The Ancient Magus Bride: Entrapped Beauty (The Lindworm)

Overlord: Seeds of Trust (The Juniper Tree)

Delicious in Dungeon: Cooking Up Trouble (The Magic Porridge Pot)

Medaka Box: The Truth Above All (The Goose Girl)

Chainsaw Man: Demonic Assistance (The Golden Bird)

Taikobo: Legend of The Lost Kingdom (Urashima Taro)

Revue Starlight: Masked Secrets (Phantom of The Opera)

Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin: Path of The Canine (The Boy Who Cried Wolf)

Dr. Stone: Into The Wilderness (The Jungle Book)

Fire Force: The Flames of Charity (Robin Hood)

Shaman King: Mystery of The Marsh (The Marsh King’s Daughter)

Rave Master: Cloak of Secrets (Donkeyskin/Many Furs)

Ranma 1/2: Loyal, Brave, and True (Mulan)

Karakuri Circus: The House Within The Woods (Vasilisa The Brave and Beautiful)

Devilman Crybaby: Three Hairs of Gold (The Devil With 3 Golden Hairs)

The Irregular at Magic High School: Ring of Enchantments (The Bronze Ring)

Bobobo: One Hairy Tale (Prince Hyacinth)

Shakugan No Shana: Three Dogs, Three Heroes (The Tinderbox)

Nisekoi: Yellow With Affection (The Yellow Dwarf)

Kaiju No. 8: Don’t Get Salty (Why The Sea is Salty)

Kinnikuman: A Mission in Patience (The Tortoise and The Hare)

Oshi No Ko: The Price of Stardom (Little Brother and Little Sister)

Case Closed: Stolen Hearts and Stolen Fortunes (The Master Thief)

Pokemon The Series: An Electrifying Rescue (The Lion and The Mouse)

Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation: A Tale of a Thousand and One Nights (1,001 Arabian Nights)

Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Ribbiting Adventure (The Frog Princess)

Dr. Slump: A Quacktastic Journey (Drakestail)

Katekyo Hitman Reborn: Windows to The Soul (One Eyes, Two Eyes, Three Eyes)

Kochikame: From Faux to Genuine (Don Quixote)

Yo-Kai Watch: Cat Artist Unknown (The Boy Who Drew Cats)

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War: To Love and To Be Loved (Turandot)

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Feathers of Joy (The Blue Bird)

DanMachi: Forgotten Evil Unleashed (Pandora’s Box)

Hellsing Ultimate: Blood Ties (Dracula)

Claymore: The Monster Unleashed (Frankenstein)

Thanks to @sam-rexian and @crystallinedreamsfinelypowdered for helping with some of these!

[headingalaxys-spicy]

Hetalia Mating Season: Demon King England

Alright how this series is going to go is that I will be making these short stories and not do multiple parts. Because if I did that I’d never be able to get to the Golden Nightingale this year. I know I’ll do all the mains plus Spain. You can also just yell at me in the comments for others if I get a high enough interest in it. Anyways, here we go. 

Also this series will be done in Gender Neutral…..until the spicy part because I do have to get specific. So I separate the Male! and Fem! version of what goes on. I want all who want to read to be included and actually have fun. 

So yeah, that’s my bit here we go. 

Also I'm keenly aware of my skill in making male x reader content is lacking in the emotional and physical payoff. I'm working on that.

***********************N$FW AHEAD YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED************************

“All love songs have a hypnotic lure in them, you just need to pick the one that will make them want to take the bait.” 

Arthur was down in his lair studying the last 100 songs that you’d listened to in the last 90 days. You had tendencies to have certain songs play more than others. Now that he’s got enough intelligence to know which tune will catch you off guard. The spell that he’s crafted hijacks the temporal lobe that can override the rest of your brain signals. All he has to do is get the melody within range of your ears. 

“A simple enough task, to get my mate here with me. This is exciting and so much fun!” He begins to giggle like a schoolgirl that’s just recently seen their crush from afar. His short choppy hair had a charming frizz. His light, matte skin was lit by the light of his wand. He’d been moisturizing it so that he could look more enticing to his human lover.  He was neatly writing down the incantation for the amorous melody with a feather quill. He admired the neat writing that decorated the paper. It had taken him hours to perfect his spell. He practiced on a few gnomes, ogres, and fairies to see if he’s had success in being able to rewire their brains to become reactive to the music he played that suited their personalities. It was successful for the most part with a few minor hiccups. His spell would become faulty if there was another melody in the distance playing or if he himself is not entirely concentrated while he performs the spell it could be broken depending on the victim's concentration. 

It would be hard for you or any other human that could hear the enchanting melody to resist. Especially if England himself utters the melody and doesn’t simply use his fae familiars. 

Arthurs mind wanders off onto the day you met. There was a light downpour. It’s drops made light plops against his black umbrella. The way that you walked like a ballet dancer effortlessly dodging other pedestrians. This is where his initial attraction lay. You were so light on your feet that you were managing to escape from his vision. He knew he had to catch up. He knew he couldn’t let you escape. He flicked his umbrella into the air and disappeared behind it transforming himself into his demon form. He jumped on one of the nearby buildings so he could have a better view of where you’d run off it. You acted as if you were the white rabbit that was very late for an important date. 

Once he saw that familiar red beanie that you kept a top of your messy locks it was easy for him to keep track of you. He went to lower buildings so he could keep you in his vantage point. Once you went inside that gift shop that was situated on King’s Road. He shifted to his incognito mode so he could observe from afar for a while. He watched as you apologized for the delay and that you’d be ready to open in 10 minutes. The small crowd that was at the shop had a compact but cute entrance. He saw how swiftly you zoomed around the shop turning on the lights and quickly sprucing the palace up two of the people who were in the crowd were your associates. 

The fairy lights and lamps lit up your fantastic brick-and-stone shop. All the cute knick nacks of union jack adorned goods, unique wood carvings shaped like men, monsters, and other dimensional beings. Streamers of luminescent pastel lights give the place more of a magical forest-like feel. 

“Alright everyone! Thank you for your patience [Last Name] Timeless Gifts is open!”

Some of the crowd began to clap in excitement. Your store was extremely popular on Instagram and a few other platforms. It was one of the new reasons the latest flux of tourists came to London. They wanted to get some of the latest charming gifts that were from around the world and from all�� of the artists in the U.K. The queue drained into the store eager to get pictures and gifts. 

Arthur shifted his shape to look less attractive; he didn't need attention. He’d need stealth. He wandered over to the famous little gift store. He loved the way that your energy was always on high when you spoke to your customers. You were evicted about the thing you go to do every day. You were in the middle of showcasing some of the crafts you’d made. You were beaming with pride at the results you were able to make for your efforts. Your energy was different from most humans that he’d ever encountered. The energy that floated off of you was like small sunbeams that were meant to heal any soul that was overcast with dark rain clouds. 

He was eager to know more about you from that day forward. He summoned seven faries to keep watch over you and all of your daily activities. They were to have a nightly session to discuss any new developments. After a few months of surveillance and his occasional visits in his modified form he decided that it was finally time to approach you and use his intelligence to woo you. He had to calm himself beforehand his heart was racing like it was trying to make it’s way to the ball. How exciting that he can finally put his devious plan into action. 

He will come in about a half hour before closing for ‘bridge’ time. He will take a gander at the sizable book collection that sat in the center of your store. It had more of the gag book gifts that one would give as a fun last minute stalking stuffer, or for a bachelor(ette), or for a light hearted office prank. Regardless it was a great way for him to think of a way to spark up a conversation with you. Since he knew that humor was one of your forte. You really knew how to illuminate a room with your charming charisma. It was one of the many things that he fell in love with in the months of observing you.

“Excuse me Y/N I love the ambiance that you have brewing here. Is that Earl Gray  that is brewing for the scared hour?” He has a charming smile that graces his face and his emerald eyes sparkle with excitement but you could tell they were holding back some other emotions. But you paid it no mind after all. All of your customers who came in had different stories and opinions to offer all of which brought in new life to your store. 

“Of course, up in the atrium I believe we have room for one more to join us for afternoon tea. Care to join for a small fee of £10.” 

“Sign me up it sounds like a jolly good time.” Not even holding back the gigantic smile that now adorned his face. It was like he was living in a daydream. Through the course of tea time he sat right next to you and stole all of your attention from your other guests who only maybe got in a question or two about how long you’d had the shop or how you got into your craft. Arthur was always able to smoothly interject in something that he knew would pique your interest. 

“Oh yes I remember that bakery that is just out of the way on Piccadilly Circus. It has the Sticky Toffee Pudding that is to die for. If you haven’t tired then maybe we can go sometime.” He made mental notes of where he’d ask you out on a date. He had plans A-J worked out in his head and he was ready to deploy his tactics. He took winning you over as seriously as he did when he wanted to conquer more lands within the underworld. 

You give him a smile that touches his cold heart and ignites it with a match. When your response was: 

“Sounds like fun maybe one a day when running this gift shop isn’t so crazy.” You give a thoughtful gaze to your planner that you had in front of you next to your delicate pale yellow tea cup. “Would next Thursday at three O’ Clock work for you?” 

The match had been thrown into the nest of hay twigs and firewood that was nestled in the pit of Arthur’s heart. The tiny flickers of fire spread through the brush to create the flames of desire for you. The way that you spoke, the way that you wrote, and the air of summer that surrounded you constantly even in the depths of winter made him realize that you were the perfect one for him to claim as his mate. 

“Sounds like a date.” You giggle and take a long swig of your tea, you had to attend to some of your other customers you requested your attention. You quickly jot down your number and give it to him. And as soon as you left to greet other customers, you for some reason felt a slender tail of sorts wrap around your lower leg. The feeling didn’t linger for long and you assumed it was your imagination after all. You had been up for 48 hours straight since the holiday season that started next month in November was about to begin . You were already beginning to become back up with national and international orders. You were bound to make big profits all around. Soon you’d be able to own your own home and start some of those other dreams you had in mind. 

Arthur however was still not satisfied. He wanted to have your undifivied attention and be able to drive himself into you in peace. He wanted to capture his sunshine and hide you away for your attention was too pure for others anyway. He gritted his teeth and sucked in a breath.

“At least they said yes.” 

“Alright you two, I'll check in with you tomorrow at 11am. Make sure you lock up properly and put the new inventory away.” You bid your small team good-bye for the day. You were eager to get to your date. The posh British man had an electrifying energy that drew you in like a moth to an open flame amidst the blackness of the midnight sky. One where there were there were no stars or moon to act as guides. You’d be susceptible to his trap. 

“Hello, love. You look great!” He grabs your hand and places a gentle kiss on your bare hand. The kiss sends lighting bolts up your veins. It was like getting hit with 500 mg of caffeine at once. You were awake now and he had your undivided attention. 

“Thank you. You as well.” Red appeared on your cheeks like bright fairy dust. 

‘The face fitting for a demon royal. I just want to get in with it. It’s getting hard holding back my urges.’ 

“Let’s go and get ready for tea time at the Bluebell Pastry Palace. The scones should be getting ready to come out of the cobblestone oven and their tea has been shipped from Japan and India. The best chai and the best matcha too. It will be quite good time.” Not even attempting to hide his happiness. He can’t help but be charmed by you. Every lingering glance you gave him and gazed into his eyes added extra logs to the burning fire in his heart. You reach for his hand and your hands interlock. You wandered through the somewhat crowded streets. The union jack was laced throughout the streets while there was a light breeze with tufts of fog that whipped through your hair. You felt like you were entering into a hazy dream of sorts heavy with meaning. You felt like there were sparkles of red that hit your body. Was that a faint melody that you could hear? Familiar was how it felt, but it also held a great deal of mystery to it. 

“Hey Y/N are you alright were here! You look as though you may have seen a troll or a fairy just wander just out of your view.” He teases with a toothy smile that makes your heart jump a little. 

“Yeah, I’m all fine. I get lost amidst my thoughts on occasion.” 

Once you were seated at a window table that was adorned with red roses, pastel pink  tulips, ruby carnations, purple orchids, and vermilion peonies. The scene laid out before you looked like a fancy fairytale daydream. The greenery that surrounded the elegant flowers curled out like long strands of silky streamers that were sewn by a fairy godmother prepping for a ball. You felt like every moment that you spent with Arthur felt like you were being pulled deeper into a lucid dream one which you did not want to be awakened from. 

When I saw you over there I wasn’t sure

Now I’m feeling something I haven’t before

Your (eye color) float back over to his forest green eyes. They put you in the center of his pupils that were like microportals. 

“Your thoughts wander to where Y/N?” Did his voice sound a little more hypnotic and enticing? 

“Toooo….” Your mind really couldn’t think of an answer. 

Look at us so distant now skin to skin 

Your concentration was disappearing and all you wanted to do was concsntrate on the song that was faintly playing in your ears. It sounded fun, it sounded lively, it was surreal. Arthur hadn’t let go of your hands since the two of you had wandered in from the misty London streets. That magical lighting shock that you first felt when first encountered him. There was something more to him that you couldn’t really pin down. 

If you keep this up I’ll let you in. 

You vision began to fade in and out. The spell that Arthur had perfected was beginning to take effect on you. Its talons had made its way into your mind. It felt like being a mix of high and drunk at the sametime with the melody of the song becoming clearer in your mind. You body felt fully relaxed. You were fine. You looked into Arthur’s pools of verdant green, becoming you to take a dive and take a swim. 

Yeah you, almost make me fall in love 

Yeah yooooooou, got me hypnotized under your spell.

Arthur’s grin was much larger than that of the Cheshire cats by now. He was beginning to break out in a cold sweat of sorts. He wasn’t going to be able to hold back for much longer. 

Your eyes are glazing over with smoky clouds of confusion and being in a heavy daze. No doubt the song had hooked you in and was dragging you out to the wider seas. Where there would be nothing to stand between you and him. You’d been met with the Leviathan of the seven seas, who sprung up from hell during the first mating call of spring. 

“What sort of tea will you be ordering, love? I’m going to stick with my usual at this time: Earl Grey.” 

For a moment you seemed to snap out of the trance you’d been under but you still felt the weight of something baring down on your soul. You were in the middle of the sea. Where the waves still rocked your tiny boat of consciousness recklessly. You pick [insert choice] along with your favorite dessert of the moment, Madeira Cake, which had been sweetened with sweet white wine and had hints of lavender. It seemed to be the tastiest treat. 

Arthur’s hands had made themselves once again interlocked with yours once you gave your order to the waitress. 

“I’ll be right back dears, with the tea!” She said cheerfully as she went on her way. 

“A lavender cake of sorts that’s not a bad idea Y/N so. Tell me more about you and what brought you to London and about how you established your store.” He looked at you intently with a glint that had appeared in his eyes. Was… was that a look of hunger? You quietly mused to yourself. 

‘It’s a first date. I’m overthinking this.’ You give him a girn and tell him about the origins of your store. 

“Yes, I’d always wanted to not work myself to death at a boring office job and I loved to learn about new crafts like miniature wood works  and making small musical boxes. There's just something so spectacular about being able to craft a miniature world to tell a story.” You yawn for some reason. 

When I get you closer to my body. 

Wanna feel your hands all over me! 

For a moment you thought all that existed was just you and Arthur and his gloved hands that had a strong hold on yours. Your lips had just turned upwards. You were in a state of ignorant bliss. It felt like there was a thin tail that had made its way around your lower calf. You paid no real mind to it though because whatever Arthur was going on about you were into it right? 

Gotta make ‘em jealous everybody

Cause you know we got it 

Chemistry! 

“Here are your tea, dears! Enjoy. I’ll be back in a few with the fresh scones and cake!” The cheerful waitress only momentarily disrupts the daze you were in. You didn’t care though; your mind was on another planet, relaxed by the floral scent of the tea and from the windowsill. You also began to see small orbs of light form around Arthur’s blemish-free face illuminating it like Christmas lights decorating a tree. The orbs all lingered around his ear and you were unaware that he was trying to ask you something until you hear his voice say your name like it was disembodied. 

“Y/N , love, aren't you going to try your tea? You wouldn’t want it to get cold.” He flashes a toothy grin right before he takes a sip of his own cup. He shifts a little in his seat, it was becoming troublesome to keep his hardened cock at bay. 

‘Just a minute or two  more and I’ll be okay.’ 

You agree and momentarily stare at the cherry red porcelain cup that had apples adorn the face of it with a matching red saucer. You saw a pink orb linger on your cup for a few seconds before it playfully wandered away. The smell of lavender wafted off your selected tea, you found it somewhat odd and thought the aroma from the cake just had you mistaken. You simply smiled and let your eyes wander off to a bright pastel corner of the store where the orbs were no longer in your vision. But your awareness was decreasing rapidly. The only thing you were aware of was…

‘Did Arthur always have sharp teeth like that?’ Before the next thing you knew the feeling of the tail became much more real than ever before. The flowers and sunshine had vanished from your vision only to be engulfed by the blackness of hell and the song that played in your head was on full attack now. You could hear it ringing in your ears after new earbuds had been placed there. 

The sensation of the tail playing with your nether regions. It felt good and that was all that mattered to you at that moment. Your mind has been muddled with a plethora of different concoctions to keep you calm. It wasn’t long before you didn’t really remember what happened on the rest of your date, but the next thing you were aware of is that you were on a soft duvet with missing shoes. 

[Male Ending]

His tail wrapped around your clothed member tightly. You let out a gentle moan in surprise. 

“Y/N, this won’t hurt too much, but you will need to behave for your King. Understand love?” 

“Haaa okay, but like where is my tea and like where are we?” 

Arthur’s smirk perks up and he allows his tail to pick up speed and cause greater friction on the fabric and your dick. You bite down on your lip and let out a pleasure groan. Your body simply falls back onto the bed and you try to make sense of where you are but couldn’t. 

“We can also get some for the aftercare Y/N but for now let's have some fun~” He appears from his walk-in closet from the other side of the room. He decked out in his black lingerie . Most of his tall slender form is in place except for his protruding penis that stood straight out from his body. 

He could only hear you giggle. 

“What’s funny my love?” 

“Heh. Everything.” 

“Is that so?” He uses his large wings to glide right next to you lying limp on the bed. He ceased his movements on your member for now as he took a few more moments with the aid of the dimly lit fireplace. He grabbed the jacket off of you and ripped off your button-down shirt. The same went for your pants, leaving only your boxers and socks untouched. 

“Yeah, it feels. Nice.” A blush has made it’s way to your face. ‘Wait, what’s going on am I having some sort of lucid dreaming right now….?’ 

“Oh I know.” He grabs your cock tightly. “But this is about to feel even better.” Arthur licked his lips. You could feel claws now, but it still did not trigger panic within your consciousness at all. Still docile, but growing heat was beginning to bud towards the place that he was massaging, and it won’t be long before it also disappeared from your body. Arthur finally planted a kiss on your lips with a bit of force that knocked you back onto the dark duvet. His tail pulled one of your legs to the side so he could straddle you properly. 

In your vision, it felt like rose thorns forced your legs apart as more pressure to your third head continued to build. You felt as though your body had hit clear day clouds. You felt light touches of fairy wings grace your jawline for a few moments. A bite, however, snapped you from your daydream to bring you back to the present, where Arthur had bitten you. He left a  gash from his sharp teeth. While you hear some incantation of sorts mixed in with him stating your name as if it was….

A searing pain filled to the brim with desire hit you like a boulder that had fallen from the highest mountaintop. You could only let out a confused shriek unaware of if you should be turned on or terrified. The heat continued to swell in your member until Arther wrapped his mouth around your cock, licking up your pre-cum. His head bobbed up and down steadily so that you could become more acclimated to beginning in the underworld and not nearly as spaced out on his potion. The rubbing of his slender but tough hands massaged your calves and the backs of your thighs while his tongue managed to stroke the base of your member. You knew you were reaching your edge. 

“Ahhhh ~” 

Arthur slides his agile tongue along the underside of your cock once more before his mouth releases your dick with an audible *pop*. Seconds before you were about to climax. He swiftly grabs your penis and places his thumb over the tip, with the command: 

“Shout my name.” 

“Augh. What?” Just not getting knocked out of your high. 

“Shout my name, King Arthur ruler of Pride!” 

“kinG Ar… KING Arthur!” You shouted at the top of your lungs as you were finally allowed to climax. 

“Heh, that’s a good boy~” Now heres for the hard part. He spreads your legs wide and gives you no time to react to him shoving all of himself into you. Your mind was still blank and ravaged from releasing from Arthur’s harsh grip. All you could do was groan in pain. Your whole body is tense and grasp for the sheets for they were the only things that could stablize your reeling mind. All you could do was rock your hips along with his. The rhythm of Arthur’s cock moved your whole body like a punk song; fast tempo and distorted shifts with your legs in midair. 

“Ugh. nnnn.” Sleep paralysis like grip was all over your body. The only control you has was the use of your hands. Arthur playfully dragged his tongue along your ear and gripped your hair. The King was beginning to edge towards a climax. 

“Just a little more and you’ll be able to rest your head.” He puurs in your ear as he continues his rampage on your nether region. Arthur finally releases himself and rides out his orgasm. 

[The Aftercare part is at the bottom after the Fem Ending]

[Fem! Ending]

You still felt the presence of his tail on you. His now glowing ember orbs were the only things your eyes were able to see. Everything else was lost in a sea of red, orange, or black. Your mind was still adjusting to the new reality without being blindsided by Arthur’s original incantation that lulled you to him. When you felt it slithers closer to your entrance. Your body shifts away about an inch or two, but you did not manage to get far. 

“Oh, my dear that’s really cute. You can’t escape. It’s far too late.” A British voice calls from the warm black mass that called towards you. 

You grunt in response. Wondering where your voice had gone. It must have been pilfered by Satan's spawn that was resting himself on top of you. 

“Looks like my spell really did hinder you more than intended. Oh well, the first night will be easy… I just have to make my claim on you.” You felt a gentle kiss on your cheek. You whimper in response and not much else. You were still unsure about the reality that you were in were you having a lucid dream or was this some kind of nightmare. “I’ll make you feel okay Y/N, poppet.” You felt your clothes burn away leaving you with no other barrier to protect you from his hungry claws. He kisses you on your lips intently and wraps his tail fully around your waist. He’s waited for too long to have you. 

“Nnnn. nnnnn.” You try to move your arms a bit, but they feel just like when you’re trying to wake up from Sleep Paralysis except no matter how hard you moved none of your limbs would listen. You could feel the breath of Arthur’s cruel laugh as he made his way into the crook of your neck. 

“That won’t help. It’s best if you relax, poppet.” Seconds before he bites your right shoulder harshly and creates numerous hickeys all along your collarbone. Your breathing stayed heavy, and you simply let tears roll down your eyes. 

‘Holy shit this is actually real this is actually happening.’

A few minutes into the hickey session Arthur’s dick is poised at your entrance. He’s posied in full demon form in the nude. It was as if he was trying to showcase himself at a stallion show. He scoops you up and brings your legs to the edge of the bed and places them over his shoulders. Arthur bits his lip in excitement and anticipation. His tail wrapped around your tender flesh tighter. You knew by how much pressure was on your abdomen that you’d definitely have marks in the morning. He slams himself in, taking no regard for the pained yelp that left your lips. Your hips had to accommodate the sudden change quickly. 

“nnnAh!nnn.” You were trying to resist. 

Arthur no longer responded to any of your reactions. He was concentrated on continuing his bloodline here in hell. You could feel his nails being to leave long scratches on you. They began to draw small trails of blood; your first markings as the new Queen of Pride. The bed began to squeak loudly against your eardrums as Arthur moved his chiseled abs closer to your stomach closing the distance between the two of you. The lust that was thick in the air was making it harder for you to breathe and get a grip on the new reality you’d been thrown into. You clutched the sheets for it was the only thing you had to safety in that moment. 

Arthur went in deeper and pinned you closer to the bed. Confident that his cock was capable of keeping you in place. A dozen kisses were all across your chest. His hands interconnected with yours.  It felt like fireflies had now nested in those places and began to fly out from your chest. You felt your heart felt it speeding up while trying to calm down. 

‘No, NO!’ 

The bed was beginning shift from the sheer force coming from his hips. His head moved up once more to place one more hickey on your throat. He was savoring the moment. He was seconds away from the edge. His cock was ready to burst. His hands pratically make new gashes in your skin as he put his all into his final thrust. His lava like seed filling you to the brim until the sheets were soaked. 

“Y/N!!!!” He’d reached heaven practically. It took him five minutes or so to ride out his orgasm while you were still and your body did not react. It only felt the copious amount of fluids that were all over and sticky. 

[This is where the Endings Converge] 

“Ahh!” You let out a log elongated moan, your head was spinning and you felt disconnected to your body. You could no longer feel your lower half. It felt like it had disappeared. 

“Good job poppet.” He gently kisses you forehead not minding the sweat that rolled down your face as if you’d just hopped out of a hot shower. He loosened his tail and transformed into a lesser form that only showed his horns and his verdant green emeralds were back and shining brightly. They felt magical and warm like the orbs you’d seen back at the restaurant. 

“Let’s get you all cleaned up.” He lifts your body from the bed and takes you to the ornate bathroom that had ornate golden thorns in fields of blood red and velvet black Fritillaria painted on the walls. Pure warm water had been drawn into the dark jade green tub that had been crafted from marbel. “This may sting a bit, poppet. I did leave a lot of marking all over your legs. I’ll make sure to clean and bandage them.” You get low to the water until the immersive warm soapy bath englufs your soul. Arthur clings to you and holds you from behind. 

“Y/N?” Voice low and gruff it gripped your ears and your attention. 

“Yes…?” Not knowing what to expect but not wanting to make him upset. 

“Welcome to the Kingdom of Pride. I’ve chosen you as my new mate and my bride. But the first few nights will be rough for you because I will be filled with almost nothing but sex and I’m not going to be gentle.” 

You were shocked by that statement and you were still trying to come out of your spiked tea and the musical haze that he’d put you in. The consequences of which were just now were beginning to show because it felt like there was a jackhammer bagging at the side of your head. You wince in pain and lower your head. Arthur notices that your muscled tensed and moved toward your head. 

“Are you okay poppet?” 

“My head it feels like someone slammed it to the ground.”

“It’s alright my love. I have a healing spell for that.” He kisses the back of your hand and you could feel his tail brush past your legs again. “I know it’s all a lot but it will be fine. Being a Queen will be easy.”

Arthur will summon his spellbook and find the right incantation. He will fix you right up. He’ll let you rest for the night but you will have a rought morning since it’s the first thing that is on his mind once he become conscious again. This begins your new life as the new (Queen or King) of Pride. 

[littleoddwriter]

Rules, Guidelines, etc.:

[Used to be: ronaldrx]

I'm a hobby writer and mostly write (x Reader) FanFictions and Headcanons. But I am also working on my original story whenever I can, so that I’ll hopefully publish it as an actual book someday. My Ao3.

Here’s a link to my Ko-Fi, in case you want to support me financially. It would mean a lot to me! (Obviously no obligation whatsoever! You never have to pay for anything on my blog, it’s merely an option for donations.)

Also, here are my sideblogs if you’re interested:

Dead Poets Society

Horror

Raúl Esparza

The Simpsons

Only ask for the characters I’ve got listed, please. I’ve written down all of the ones I actually write for, and the list is being updated regularly, as I often find new (actors, whose) characters I write for! (And yes, I always write for every character, so don’t ever worry if you wanna ask for one I haven’t written for in a long time, or ever, it’s fine!) Please always be patient with me. If I haven’t outright declined your request, it’s definitely in the works; even if it has been weeks or months since you’ve sent it in! And only send your requests via ASKs. No DMs or comments, please.

If you have a request, send an Ask to my inbox.

NO sexual NSFW requests, please (more details further down).

Requests = CLOSED (Max. Limit: 10)

Current number of requests: 10

Last updated: October 29, 2023

Masterlists are linked with fandoms/actors/characters below. I WRITE FOR:

ALFRED MOLINA characters:

Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus

DAVID DASTMALCHIAN characters:

Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man

Bob Taylor

Denham

James Lewis

Johnson

Kurt Goreshter

Lonny Crane

Murdoc

Philippe/Abra Kadabra

Simon Lynch

Thomas Schiff

ETHAN HAWKE characters:

Arthur Harrow

Ellison Oswalt

Goodnight Robicheaux

James Sandin

EWAN MCGREGOR characters:

Alex Law

Catcher Block

Christopher Robin

Curt Wild

Dan Torrance

John Bishop

Mark Renton

Obi-Wan Kenobi 

Roman Sionis/Black Mask* (Birds of Prey - Masc!Reader only) [Any other version of Roman Sionis/Black Mask can be with a Gender Neutral/Female!Reader.]

HUGH DANCY characters:

Adam Raki

Cal Roberts

Luke Brandon

Executive ADA Nolan Price

Will Graham

KARL URBAN characters:

Billy Butcher

Black Hat

John Kennex

Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Markiplier EGOS:

Darkiplier

Illinois

Wilford Warfstache

Yancy

PAUL DANO characters:

Alex Jones/Barry Milland [Platonic only!]

Dwayne Hoover [Platonic only!]

Edward Nashton/The Riddler

Eli Sunday

Jay (Okja)

Joby Taylor

Klitz

PEDRO PASCAL characters:

Agent Whiskey

Dave York

Dio Morrissey

Eddie

Ezra

Francisco “Catfish” Morales

Marcus Moreno

Marcus Pike

Max Phillips

Maxwell Lord

Oberyn Martell

Ricky Hauk

RAÚL ESPARZA characters:

Bobby

Dr. Frederick Chilton*

Jackson Neill

Jonas Nightingale

Rafael Barba

Characters from 9-1-1 (Lone Star):

Carlos Reyes*

Eddie Diaz

Evan “Buck” Buckley

Howard “Chimney” Han

Josh Russo*

Mateo Chavez

Paul Strickland

Bobby Nash

Tim Rosewater

TK Strand*

Characters from Law and Order(: Special Victims Unit):

Detective/ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, Jr.

Sergeant Mike Dodds

Detective Nick Amaro

Executive ADA Nolan Price

ADA Peter Stone

ADA Rafael Barba

Deputy Chief William Dodds

Little Miss Sunshine:

Dwayne Hoover [Platonic only!]

Frank*

Our Flag Means Death:

Edward Teach/Blackbeard*

Frenchie

Izzy Hands

Stede Bonnet*

Prisoners (2013):

Alex Jones/Barry Milland [Platonic only!]

Bob Taylor

Detective David Loki

Renfield (2023):

Count Dracula

Robert Montague Renfield

Tedward “Teddy” Lobo

SLASHERS/Horror Film Characters:

Asa Emory/The Collector

Ash J. Williams [I will usually default to Ash from the TV show, unless requested otherwise!]

Billy Lenz (1974)

Billy Loomis

Bo Sinclair

Brahms Heelshire

Bubba Sawyer/Leatherface (TCM 1974 and TCM 2)

Charles Lee Ray/Chucky

Chop Top Sawyer

Corey Cunningham

Dewey Riley

Drayton Sawyer

Herbert West*

Jesse Cromeans/Chromeskull

Lawrence Gordon

Lester Sinclair

Luigi Largo

Mark Hoffman  

Nubbins Sawyer

Pavi Largo

Stu Macher  

Vincent Sinclair

William Easton

Star Wars:

Anakin Skywalker

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Qui-Gon Jinn

The Girl Next Door:

Klitz

Eli

Characters from The Simpsons:

Cecil Terwilliger*

Fat Tony

Frankie the Squealer

Grady*

Jack Lassen

Johnny Tightlips

Julio*

Legs

Louie

Moe Szyslak

Ned Flanders

Otto Mann

Seymour Skinner

Sideshow Bob

Sideshow Mel

Snake Jailbird

Timothy Lovejoy

Waylon Smithers*

What We Do in the Shadows:

Anton (Movie)

Deacon

Guillermo de la Cruz*

Laszlo Cravensworth

Nandor the Relentless

Viago

Vladislav

* Please note that an asterisk (*) means that these characters are Male/Masc/GenderNeutral!Reader only (including non-binary, of course). Platonic relationships with Female!Reader are possible, but no romantic ones.

If it’s a character that is open to all Readers, and you do not specify in your request what you want, I’ll usually opt for a Gender Neutral Reader by default.

SHIPS, such as:

BlackBonnet (OFMD)

SteddyHands (OFMD)

Black Pete x Lucius Spriggs (OFMD)

Buck x Josh Russo (9-1-1)

Dracfield (Renfield 2023)

Buddie (9-1-1)

Eli x Klitz (The Girl Next Door)

Nandermo (WWDITS)

Herbert West x Dan Cain (Re-Animator)

McKirk (Star Trek: AOS)

Oluwande x Jim Jimenez (OFMD)

Barisi (Law & Order SVU) 

Renfield x Teddy Lobo (Renfield 2023)

Sickrent (Trainspotting/T2)

Stobotnik (Sonic Movie)

Tarlos (9-1-1: Lone Star)

AnderPerry (Dead Poets Society)

ZsaszMask (Birds of Prey)

Lastly, I would like to add things I will NOT write (about):

Sexual NSFW fics/headcanons (I used to write those as you can see in my Masterlists, but I have my reasons for not writing them anymore. Any hints at sexual topics are fine).

Anything related to death as the main subject (this includes deadly diseases, anything fatal, really, etc.).

Anything that romanticizes Mental Illness (my Vent Fics about my own disorders obviously do not romanticize any of it and I do not stand for that).

(Recreational) Drug Use

Extreme Possessive Behaviour and/or Jealousy

Yandere

If you have something you would like me to write for, but you do not see it listed anywhere, please ask me before requesting it, so we can talk about it. I hope you enjoy yourself on my blog and have a good time!

My Asks and DMs are always open for any questions or simply to talk!

- Jesse

[merlinscloset]

Masterlist

Here is the Masterlist for this blog.  I’ll try to keep this as current as I can.

-Mod Tori

Single Servant/Person Headcanons

Romani Archaman (Fluff)

Romani Archaman (Relationship)

Gawain (Fluff)

Billy the Kid (Fluff)

Okada Izo w/ a shy Master

Merlin (Flirting)

Florence Nightingale (Fluff)

Florence Nightingale (Snow)

Tristan (Fluff)

Ereshkigal (Fluff)

Saber!Lancelot (Fluff)

Saber!Arturia (Relationship + Family)

Lanling Wang (Relationship)

Robin Hood (Yandere)

Fuuma Kotarou (Pre-Relationship)

Astolfo (Romantic)

Mephistopheles (Crush)

Mordred (Kissing)

Merlin (Relationship)

Merlin (New Year’s)

Nero Claudius (x Shy!Reader)

Caster!Gilgamesh (After the events of Babylonia)

Multiple Servant/Person Headcanons

Antonio Salieri, Okada Izo (Fluff)

Achilles, Arthur (Relationship)

Cu Chulainn (Alter), Archer!Emiya, Bedivere (Headcanons)

Ozymandias, Caster!Gilgamesh, Gawain (Relationship)

Archer!Gilgamesh, Robin Hood (Relationship)

Robin Hood, Okada Izo, Antonio Salieri (Shy Master)

Knights of the Round Table (Headcanons)

Romani, Merlin, Gawain (Relationship)

Archer!Emiya, Caster!Gil (Relationship)

Mata Hari, Circe, Chevalier d’Eon (Fluff)

General/Open-ended Headcanons

The Toddler Master

Mod Replies

Rules

My Beloved Ozymandias

Mod’s Favorite Servants

Mod’s Least Favorite Servants

[bonesxbows]

The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes - NSFW (Arthur Nightingale X Reader)

My Masterlist

“Bite me, Nightingale.” she spat, shoving him hard with both of her hands...He pinned her wrists to the wall, his body caging her against it, not even giving her an inch of breathing room. “Don’t tempt me, love.”

(WARNINGS) - NSFW, angry sex, biting, rough kissing, hair pulling - Female Drifter - Arguing (They do make up)

The amount of filth that's on Ao3 for this man made me want to take a crack at writing my own. This is my first time writing smut so pls be nice if it's bad :(

Banners by @strangergraphics

She flashed into the room, throwing her Ignis onto the table, the rifle clattering onto the wood as it made contact. He rushed behind her, his pace quickening to keep up with her speeding form. 

“Wait. Hold on a bloody damned minute, would you?” he called out, reaching out towards her, his hand almost making contact with her warframe’s shoulder. But before he could touch her she spun around, slamming her Nikana into the table, the wood splintering as the blade sunk down, burying itself. 

“Don’t, Nightingale.” she pointed a nimble metal finger at him, centimeters away from his face. He looked down his nose at the offending appendage, wanting to slap it away, forcefully. But he withheld the action. For now. 

“Would you shut it and listen to me for five sodding seconds?” he scowled, his agitation growing by the second. 

“No, I will not. Because I don’t have to listen to you. You said so yourself,” she paused, poking at his chest for emphasis. Or just to piss him off. Maybe a bit of both. “I’m not a part of this little ragtag team of yours.” 

“You’re working here, living here for Sol’s sake. I think that gives it enough authority that you do.” he was in her face now, pushing his position of power, demanding respect. Too bad she had none left to give. 

“And just who put you in charge, Lieutenant? Because you seem to be doing a stand-up job of keeping us all together so far.” she was spitting venom, the poison flying off of her words, landing in his face. 

“Sod off. You wouldn’t last a day in my position. I see right through you. Act all tough but you’re the same as the rest of us, one bad day away from falling apart.” a sly little smirk grew on his face. He was right, and he knew it. But the growing fire inside of her had imploded at his words. 

“Bite me, Nightingale.” she spat, shoving him hard with both of her hands. If she had been outside of her frame the force would have done nothing, the added weight of his protoframe too much for her to move on her own, but with the added strength of her own warframe the shove was actually able to knock him off balance. She smirked inside the safety of the metal suit as he stumbled backward, but that smirk was quickly wiped off of her face as he grabbed ahold of both of her wrists before she could pull them back, yanking her with him as he lost his balance, somehow forcefully ejecting her from her warframe. The shock alone was enough to leave her stunned, just how exactly had he done that?!,but she didn’t have time to question as he was quick to recover his balance, spinning her too fast for her to handle and slamming her hard, back first, into a nearby wall. She muffled a cry behind her teeth, biting her tongue as the bricks made impact with her spine. 

He pinned her wrists to the wall, his body caging her against it, not even giving her an inch of breathing room. “Don’t tempt me, love.” 

His face was so close their noses were touching, his eyes staring straight through hers. She could feel his breath against her skin; hot, quickened but steady, like an animal waiting to pounce. He wanted her, wanted to devour her whole, and would do so if she let him, but he still waited for her word before making a move. 

She stared at those eyes, heat pouring down into her core from just how hungry he looked at her. But she snickered, not forgetting what had happened mere minutes ago just because she was in a compromised position. “Do it then, His Maj.”

He growled at the nickname, a sound that vibrated through his throat and echoed in her ears as he pounced, not waiting for a second more as he dove for the sensitive spot just below her ear, latching his teeth onto her skin. She cried out from the sudden jolt of pain as his teeth gnawed on her, biting down hard and sucking on the spot, slowly turning her cries into soft moans. She bit her bottom lip after one too many slipped out, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of how much she was liking this. But he caught on to her silence all too quickly, forcefully shoving his knee between her legs to pry them open, his thigh abruptly making contact with her center as he did so, the friction quick and unexpected, causing her to lose focus and release her lip from her teeth, a breathy moan escaping. 

“Hm…no one likes a silent songbird, dove. Let me hear you,” he whispered in her ear, dragging his teeth along her skin as he released his jaw’s hold on her neck. She could practically picture the smirk on his face. 

“Piss off, you prick. I told you, you’re not in charge of- fuck! Arthur!” any anger left in her words died as she whined out his name, her head banging against the brick behind her as she threw it backward unintentionally. He had cut off her attitude again, his teeth sinking down into the flesh where her neck met her shoulder, hard enough that she began to whimper. His tongue flicked over her skin, his lips sucking with enough force that she knew would leave a damned good bruise the next day. Her head was going dizzy from the mixture of pain and pleasure coursing through her veins, her knees threatening to give out as her heart thumped in rhythm right underneath his teeth. 

He eventually let go, her shoulder slick with his saliva as he breathed in her ear, his warm breath sending goosebumps up her spine. “Want to try that again, love?” His voice was abnormally low, gravely in the back of his throat as it rumbled out of his chest. It was a taunt as much as it was a challenge. 

She hesitated to answer, words becoming stuck on her tongue as she contemplated her next best move in this argument. Her silence, however, made him cocky. He tilted his head away from her ear and came to look her in the face, his eyes narrowing as a smug smirk tugged at his lips. One of his hands let go of her wrist and pounded against the wall near her head, landing on the brick with enough force to make her startle. She could hear him hum in amusement when she jumped from his actions and she wanted to punch him, wipe that stupid shit-eating grin off of his face. 

“I don’t take orders from you.” She whispered defiantly. She wasn’t willing to give him this win that easily. He’d have to work for it. 

He scrunched his nose at her answer and huffed, amused. She opened her mouth to say more, rile him up even further, but he dove at her lips before any words could pass them, stealing her breath right into his mouth instead as his lips crashed against hers. She couldn’t help the whine that slid past her teeth as his tongue delved hungrily, fighting for dominance against him in her own mouth was a losing battle before it had even started. His body was pressed against hers, practically driving her into the brick behind her, but she craved more and yanked her arms away from his hold on her, hooking them around the back of his neck and pulling him closer to her. She threaded her fingers into the short hairs at the nape of his neck, tugging on the strands not-so gently and scratching at his scalp. He growled into her mouth from the attention, the vibration rattling straight to the pit of her stomach. She moaned against his lips as he began to grind his thigh up against her, the friction sending sparks to her head that lit the smoldering embers within her on fire. The noise created a smirk on his face. He knew victory was in sight. 

When he pulled back for air she was panting, her pupils blown, and the bastard was barely out of breath. 

“Are you going to behave, or do I have to make this a disciplinary matter?” he stared her down, voice low in his chest. 

She tentatively nodded slowly. It wasn’t out of fear, it was an empty threat and she knew it, but the way his lowered octane resounded through the back of his throat made her want to be compliant. It sent a shiver up her spine in the best way possible. 

“Good girl.” his voice was rough as he whispered in her ear, hands flying down to her hips as his breath tickled her skin, fingers digging in, feignedly threatening to crush bone. 

Before she could comprehend what was happening, still reeling from his comment, he was on his knees in front of her, his fingers hooked on the top of her pants. “May I?” He looked up at her, waiting for a response before he continued any further. 

“Please.” She was breathless, but the words floated out. That stupid smirk was on his face again, tugging at the corners of his lips as her clothing was discarded. She felt a chill at the sudden exposure, but his metal hands were soon on her thighs, his touch radiating warmth throughout her skin as he ran his fingers over the smooth flesh; so much different,and softer, from his own now mangled and steel-infused body. He couldn’t help but want to touch her, caress her, handle her and make her his own. 

She shuddered as his hands crawled their way to in between her legs, the skin sensitive to touch. He gave them a gentle shove and she gave him what he wanted without much of a fight, shuffling her feet apart to spread them wider. His hands were soon replaced with his lips, soft kisses being trailed upwards along her inner thighs as he snaked his arms around her legs. His gentleness compared to just moments ago was driving her insane. So she threaded her fingers into his hair, making him hum against her skin, but when she scrunched her fingers up and began to yank and pull on the strands his humming quickly turned into deep growls. It was then that she felt his teeth again, his canines ghosting across her flesh. A warning. But she took it as an invitation. She twirled a particularly long piece of his bangs around her pointer finger and yanked, hard. 

His grip on her legs tightened almost immediately as he emitted a growl that sounded almost feral-like, the sound making her heart pound in her chest. She didn’t have time to calm it before his teeth sunk into the soft flesh of her inner thigh with the same amount of force that she had used to pull his hair. She cried out, moving her hands to his shoulders to stabilize herself as the concoction of sensations overwhelmed her, making her dizzy. He nipped and bit and sucked on the delicate skin, practically abusing it and knowingly marking it, but with the way she was panting above him and her nails were digging into the steel-coated skin of his shoulders and he saw no reason to stop. 

Only when he needed to pull back for air did he finally release his teeth from her skin, an angry red mark already starting to form and the indents of his canines clearly visible, small dots of blood trickling from the shallow punctures. He used his tongue to clean up the red liquid. 

“Arthur…” she whined and he pulled his head back, looking up at her with a cocked eyebrow and a smug grin. A thin sheer of sweat had started to coat her forehead as she breathed heavily. 

“Yes, Trouble?” He licked his lips, still tasting her blood on his tongue. 

“More…please.” 

He had to hand it to her, at least she was being polite. 

“Hmm…” he stood up, coming face to face with her, her eyes glued to his as he moved. He clicked his tongue, “I don’t believe I take orders from you.” He was mimicking her, a mocking tone dripping from his words. 

She groaned dramatically before throwing herself at him with no warning, jumping up at him and hooking her arms around his neck as she smashed her lips against his while simultaneously wrapping her legs around his torso. His reflexes were quick, thankfully, and he caught her as she jumped, his arms locking underneath her so she wouldn’t fall out of his embrace. He carried her over to a nearby table, their lips locked together all the while, airy moans filtering past their mouths in between kisses. He placed her down, his hands coming to rest near her ass on the wood as he stood between her spread legs. She caressed his face, her palms cupping his metal jaw and pulling him into her. 

His hands found their way to her thighs again, roughly grabbing at the muscle to make her squeak against his lips. He’d mark every inch of her with his fingertips if she let him. 

He grabbed one of her knees, pulling it towards her and to the side so that one of her legs rested on the table folded flat, giving him better access to her sex. His fingers came to rest on her lower stomach, wanting to move lower but waiting for her permission. Whether she realized he was asking for it or not she gave it to him without hesitation as she grabbed his wrist and guided it down, lining up his hand so that the very tips of his metal fingers grazed her sensitive spot, just barely pushing past her folds. She gasped against his lips at the touch, their mouths still locked together sloppily. The rest of him burned abnormally hot like a machine, but the metallic parts of his fingers were always cold like steel in the snow. His ears twitched at her noises; he wanted more, wanted her to sing only for him. So he took over, moving in further and finding the spot he was looking for before slotting a finger in, burying it to his knuckle in one swift movement. 

She immediately clenched around it and pulled away from his lips, a cry tumbling out. The quickness and forcefulness had caught her off guard, but she didn’t seem to mind, her eyelashes fluttering as her eyes met his. He began to curl his finger inside of her, brushing against the bundle of nerves along her inner walls and adding another digit once he felt she could take it comfortably. His fingers picked up speed, relentlessly, making cries and moans spill from her lips and her hold tighten around his neck. She worried for a moment that she would choke him but he never pulled away. 

He added another, stretching her out uncomfortably and making her spine arch from the tension. Her juices began running down his hand, making a mess of the table beneath her. 

“Are you going to come for me, darling?” he rasped in her ear lowly, his voice a whisper as his hot breath fanned against her skin. 

“Is that, ah, is that a question or a command…lieutenant?” a wicked grin grew on her face as the nickname flew off her tongue, earning a rough growl from him as his brow furrowed. He knew the game she was playing, toying with him like that, the little devil. 

“You tell me.” was his only reply as he shoved his fingers in even farther, slamming them inside of her with every pull and thrust of his wrist, his palm brushing against her clit with every movement. She couldn’t help the scream that ripped from her throat as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. She began to cry out his name into his shoulder as he continued his brutal pace, her walls fluttering around his fingers. 

He used his free hand to find her chin, gently guiding her head away from his body so he could see her. She was wrecked; eyes unfocused, a flush blossoming across her cheekbones and nose, hair falling out of the tie she kept it in. Pride swelled in his heart as he smirked. He had done this. No one else. She had let him do this. He kissed her, but softer this time, still cradling her chin in his hand. When he pulled back there was a fire in her void-stricken eyes that told him she was close. 

She didn’t break eye contact with him as she spoke. “Arthur…” she whimpered, grasping onto his shoulders for support as her body threatened to turn to mush under his unrelenting touch. The way his name sounded in her mouth did things to him that he didn’t want to admit. 

He shifted her head to the side, being careful not to overuse his strength and break her. Her neck became exposed and he pounced on it, sinking his teeth down and gnawing on the skin. 

She came undone with a cry of his name on her lips and a scream. 

He slowed his handiwork and unhooked his teeth almost immediately, not wanting to leave too much of a mark in such a visible area, and she collapsed against his chest, her walls refusing to let go of his fingers. He held her upright, teasing her from the inside by flicking his fingers around and making her squirm until he could finally pry them out. 

“You alright, sweets?” he asked softly, kissing the top of her head. She hummed contently against him, her arms limply wrapping around his torso. He did the same, holding on to her as if even after everything she would hop off the table and flee. As much as he hated looking his emotions in the face he was going to have to, or he risked losing her. Pissing her off again, making her shut him out. One too many times and maybe she would fly off back to her future, leave him here, dead and gone in the past. He had a way of pushing people away like that. Gods if he lost her now…

“You know, we’ll have to work on that insubordinate little attitude of yours, if you want to find your place here with the rest of the Hex.” it came out cocky, and he mentally kicked himself as soon as he said it. He knew it would set your short fuse alight. Why was he so bad at this? 

She shot her head off of his chest, her hands gripping his sides for stability. He could feel her fingers digging into his steel skin and he instinctively tightened his hold on her, preparing for the worst and not wanting to give her the option to run away. But his eyes widened in surprise when he saw her face, there wasn’t a hint of anger to be found. She looked…puzzled. Her eyes were narrowed and a small frown adorned her lips. 

“You…you want me to stay?” She spoke quietly, as if she didn’t believe her own words. 

He recoiled, shaking his head in shock. Sol above, had he been that standoffish towards her? “I never wanted you to leave.” 

She huffed out a dry laugh. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it, Nightingale.” Her eyes were anywhere but on his. She couldn’t think straight, not after what he had just divulged. 

“I…I’m not an easy man to get along with.” He sighed, loosening his hold on her. The option was there; she could get up and walk away if she wanted to. She had that choice, he wouldn’t force her into this with him. He wouldn’t force that upon his worst enemy, let alone her. 

But she didn’t, and instead let out a small hum before pulling him into her, closing the distance between them and resting her chin on his chest to look up at him, eyes filled with adoration. “No, you’re not. But I didn’t ask for ‘easy’, Arthur.” 

“Sol’s wounds, you’re a liability…you really want to give this a go? You and me?” 

She leaned up, pulling herself up by pushing off of his hips with her hands so she could reach his face, placing a gentle kiss on his lips before sinking back down to her original spot. “You’re stuck with me now.” 

He grinned, the happiest grin she had ever seen on him, and then he returned her kiss by tenfold, gathering her up into his arms and pulling her into his body, his lips locked with hers lovingly. 

[bonesxbows]

Ghosts of the Void (Arthur Nightingale X Reader)

My Masterlist

You're unsurprisingly plagued by nightmares. Arthur offers to stay with you through the night when he hears you calling out to him, but what ends up happening is more than either of you expected possible in the realm of dreams meeting transference. He doesn't seem to mind though, guiding you through the hellscape of your mind to bring you back to reality.

(WARNINGS) - Character death (in dreams, not in actuality) - Descriptions of panic attacks - Nightmares - Slight spoilers for the hex quest (dialogue spoilers)

I am on a roll with writing about Arthur and not even god himself could stop me at this point

Not 100% if I like how this one turned out, might revisit this idea later. Let me know what you think. Ty for reading :)

Banners by @strangergraphics

You couldn't remember the last time you had slept soundly through the night. The coldness, the darkness, the loneliness in your new surroundings in the backroom felt too suffocating every time you laid your head down. No matter how long you tried meditating or trying to distract yourself beforehand, the nightmares always came flooding back with viper-like speed, swirling in your head in a noxious cloud of inky black abysmal dread until it forced you shooting up straight in your bed, screaming and terrified. You prayed no one else in the Mall could hear you when you did wake up screaming bloody murder, though you doubt your prayers were answered. 

One night it had gotten particularly bad, worse than before. You were back in Duviri, the all-too-familiar execution in full swing. Though it wasn’t your head on the chopping block; no, it wasn’t your body beneath the executioner's sword, the one there now was much more metal and steel than yours should have been. The winds blew his hair and the strands grazed the blade set against his neck. You wanted to thrash against the Dax holding you in place, curse out Dominus Thrax as he began his speech, run to the warframe knelt on the ground and trade places with him, but your efforts were futile. You were frozen in place by an invisible force. And then it was too late; the sword had fallen. You watched in horror as his lifeless body slumped forward, his head severed onto the stone pavement, the lights of his warframe flickering out one by one as his systems powered down. A scream ripped through your throat, you cried out for him, shrieking until your vocal cords went raw. 

That was when you woke up, tears streaming down your face, sweat coating your back, and a sob caught in your lungs. You tried to catch your breath, tried to remind yourself that it wasn’t real, but it all felt so…vivid. Like you had just watched his death happen right in front of you. Again, for that matter. How many times would you have to see it? 

However, your train of thought was cut short when you heard a knock at your door. You caught your breath, waiting for the sound again, making sure you weren’t imagining things, and sure enough it rang out again throughout the room. You wiped your eyes with the back of your sleeves and hurried out of bed to scurry down the steps towards the sound, opening the door to find Arthur, hand raised like he was about to knock again and hair looking less than his usual well-kept look. He looked frantic, like he had rushed to your door in a hurry. 

“Arthur? What…What’re you doing here?” You asked him. His presence wasn’t unwelcome, in fact, you were glad to see him in front of you after the scenes that had just been playing behind your eyelids, but it was still jarring nonetheless. 

“I…heard you calling for me, so I came to check on you.” He hesitated, as if he risked sounding like he was making up excuses to be at your door in the middle of the night, or that he was hearing things himself. You wanted to adore the thought of him caring enough about your well-being to tear himself from his sleep to make sure you were alright, but the mention that he had heard you call out for him made your blood run cold. Had you been screaming that loudly? Or had some other mind link been made during your dream-induced emotional turmoil? 

“Oh…sorry about that…I’m fine, Arthur. You can go back to sleep. I appreciate you stopping by though.” You plastered the fakest smile you could muster onto your face, hoping your defensive walls were tall enough that he couldn’t see over them. Though all it would’ve taken was one good blow to make you crack and crumble. 

Arthur wasn’t fully blind. His experience with Amir had taught him the signs to look for, and he recognized all of them in you. The way you would be the first one awake every day, the discoloration underneath your eyes that seemed to get worse by the day, the weeks you would progressively drag on and continuously get slower on the draw before he would find you passed out somewhere in the Mall fast asleep, the noises that would startle him awake at night that he would tell himself was just the techrot underneath them but in reality was you screaming in your sleep. He had seen it all before, though this time it was even closer to home. “Would you like me to stay with you? Through the night?” 

At first, you thought he was joking, having a laugh and poking fun like the rest of the Hex did with one another, but his eyes were so sincere you were caught by surprise. “You want to? Are you sure?”

“Only if you’re comfortable.” 

You mulled your lip between your teeth, rocking on the balls of your feet slightly as you considered his suggestion. The thought of crawling back to the cold loneliness of your bed seemed daunting; like a trap laying in wait for you, ready to spring another bad dream upon your sleep as soon as you laid down. And he had been the one to offer…

“Okay.” It was barely above a whisper, but he heard it all the same, a ghost of a smile dancing across his face in relief. You stepped back, allowing him space to walk into the backroom, the mechanical door closing behind him as you swallowed your reservedness and threaded your fingers in between his, guiding him up the stairs toward your little loft apartment. He let you lead the way, never once making any signs of objection. The two of you had done this dance a hundred times before; him finding a comfortable spot on your bed, you curling into his side with your head nestled on his chest, his arm wrapped securely around your shoulders, a blanket tossed loosely over the two of you. Though this time was different, all of the time the two of you had spent on your bed he had never stayed longer than a few hours, certainly not overnight. You had never asked him to, he had never asked if he could, and it was left at that. 

But now here he was, practically a furnace beneath you, his techrot-induced quickened heartbeat thrumming in your ear. You realized why it had never crossed your mind to ask him to stay; how were you supposed to get any sleep with the thought of him so close to you? But then you felt his hand make its way into your hair, his metal fingers mindlessly threading through the strands, a silent lullaby that calmed your mind enough for you to drift back to sleep, cozied in his arms. 

You felt something cold dripping onto your nose, the startling sensation yanking you from your sleep. Your eyes shot open, your hand coming up to wipe the substance off of your skin. Your fingers came back drenched in thick, sticky red. The rest of your slumber that had held on to the back of your mind immediately vanished. You held your breath, looking up towards where the dripping had been coming from, only to be met with a mangled corpse impaled to the ceiling above you, blood dripping down onto you and the surrounding floor. You had been lying in a puddle of the stuff. You swallowed a scream and scrambled up, almost slipping in the sticky mess in your haste. Your heartbeat was in your throat and it was then that you realized where you were, scanning the area revealed a scene that felt hauntingly familiar. Hallways from your childhood, doused in blood and ghosts and sins of the past. The Zariman. How had you ended up here? 

A piercing scream ringing off of the metal hallways and echoing towards your ears cut off your train of thought before it even had a chance to begin. People were being hunted, the body on the ceiling you had found was proof enough of that. You needed to move. Your feet decided for you before your mind did, picking a direction and taking off. You ran down the hallway, taking a left, a right, another left, screams and void explosions echoing behind you. Closer and closer and closer. 

You came across an open doorway and swung yourself inside, praying it was empty as you crouched down, your heart hammering in your head and your breaths coming out ragged. You sat down, curling your knees into your chest and placing your hands over your ears, your whole body shaking. You could hear them, so close to your hideaway; their screams, their shrieks, the splatter of gore as they tore limb from limb. You breathed, in and out, willing them to Just. Go. Away. You didn’t know how you had gotten here in the first place but you wanted out, you wanted to go back. Back to Arthur, back to the safety of the backroom, back to the chaos of 1999, back to your chosen home. You wanted to go back to him. And maybe, just maybe, if you focused hard enough you could will yourself away from this place. 

He had been sleeping, or at least he thought he had been sleeping, and then suddenly he wasn’t. Or…was he still sleeping? He honestly couldn’t tell anymore but he knew he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Cold, void-touched metal walls surrounded him, hallways of someplace he didn’t recognize. He picked himself up off the floor, how he had gotten down there he couldn’t remember, but he stood up regardless, surveying what laid in front of him. A lounge room of some sort, destroyed as if during a fight and furniture flipped over as barricades. Wherever he was had been, or was currently, a warzone. A switch flipped in his brain that set him on edge, his fingers itching for his AX-52. 

He exited the room carefully, seeing more of the same for as far as his eyes could see; battle-torn destruction and void-damaged metal. He heard a scream and whipped his head around, faced with multiple hallways that stretched in various directions. He pressed his back to the nearest wall and waited. One count, two count, three count, four…but nothing ever came. He heard it again, this time closer, but listening more carefully it sounded more like a strangled sob. It took him a minute to realize it was coming from inside his own head. Then he heard your voice. 

“I’m going to fucking die here…They’re gonna kill me!” you were sobbing, choking on your own words as you screamed them out. You sounded terrified. He discovered he hated the sound. 

“Who’s going to kill you? Where are we, love?” he asked, his voice soft in an attempt to soothe you, but his words fell on deaf ears. 

“I'm going to die and…and I’m never-” you paused, hiccups overcoming you as you tried to speak and cry at the same time. “I’m never going to see him again! Fuck! I’m gonna die all alone in this stupid place! I just-” he could hear you sniffle, gulping in air between ragged breaths. “I just want Arthur back.” 

He could feel his heart wretch. Did you not know he was here? You had to have been the one to summon him here, right? He knew of no one else who could. He scanned the hallways one last time, double making sure the coast was clear before heading back to the room he had originally found himself in. He sat down, closed his eyes, and tried to focus on your presence. You had to be in there, somewhere. “Sweets, can you hear me?” he tried, your cries still echoing around his mind. When there came no reply he tried again. “Listen to me; you’re not alone. I’m right here, love. Can you hear my voice?” he made sure to be gentle, but with a twinge of his commanding-ness that he knew, or at least hoped, would grab your attention. His brow furrowed as he searched for anything in his mind that could be a response from you, anything that showed him you were at least listening. 

“...Arthur?” It was meek and hesitant but it was there. He let out a sigh of relief, the sobs had stopped and you had acknowledged his presence. 

“I’m here, love. By Sol, I’m here. What’s going on?” 

“I…I don’t know!” you burst into tears again, he could practically feel the sobs racking your whole body, your cold tears on his face and the nerves of his fingers shaking with anxiety. He cursed himself for not approaching the subject more delicately. 

“Come now, sweets, you’re alright. Nothing can hurt you now that I’m here, you know that. Let’s start with, where are we? Can you do that?” 

He could hear you try to regulate your breathing, a trick he had taught you the first time he had witnessed you having a panic attack. The memory made him smile, just a little. “I…um…we…we’re on the Zariman and- oh Arthur! The Angels! The Angels are coming! Can’t you hear them?! They’ll find us! We have to run! Right now!” you had stayed calm for all of about two seconds, panic zinging through his nervous system as you tried to will his feet to move. But he held them still, his will over his own body stronger than your attempted control while you were in such a frazzled state. 

“Hold on, love, who’re the Angels? Are they the ones trying to kill you?” You didn’t have time to answer him as a piercing shrill scream rang through the metallic halls, this time Arthur knew for certain it wasn’t coming from inside of his mind. He was quick to his feet, looking for something, anything, to defend the two of you with. The room provided nothing. He cursed, grasping for his exalted blade, hoping his protoframe abilities still worked in whatever nightmarish place this was. Thankfully they did, the sword glowing to life in the palms of his hands. The blueish steel was all he needed. He could hear the shrills becoming louder as it screamed, sharp metal claws clanking and echoing off the walls as it searched. The creature was hunting. He didn’t have much time. 

He knew you could hear the monster through his ears, your presence had retreated to the farthest corners of his mind you could find, trying to escape the horrors that awaited you on the outside. But he could still hear you, could still sense you, crying and shaking and pleading with him to just make the thing go away. 

“I’m here to help, love, but it’s up to you. I don’t know what I’m up against. You don’t have to fight this, but you need to help me. I know you’re still in there, you’re still you underneath all that fear.” he was as calm as he could be knowing that an unknown void horror was about to be barreling down on top of him at any moment. But there was no response. And the newfound ringing in his ears could only mean that the creature had found him. 

He dashed out of the room, sliding across the floor and down the hallway, skirting underneath the legs of the lanky abomination. It shrieked, clawing at him with its metal arms. He rebounded, pouncing off of the floor and using the wall as leverage to jump at one of its legs, slashing at the metal, void energy tumbling out as his blade made contact. 

“Arthur,” you called out, his concentration severed at your sudden words. The creature slashed at him and his momentary surprise knocked him off balance, it missed, but only by inches as he jumped back and landed on his calves.“Arthur, I’m here! Aim for its center!” 

He grunted, ducking down as it swung at him again. He rolled, sliding until he was perfectly underneath the monster. His move confused it, its claws slamming down into the ground around itself as it spun around in a circle in an attempt to claw under itself, screeching the whole while. “Look up!” you shouted in his mind, and he immediately obeyed, being met with a center mass of concentrated swirling void energy, the coldness radiating off of the tip of his nose. “See?” 

“Yeah, yeah I do,” he replied, kicking up off of the floor into a jump straight through the creature, leading with the tip of his sword. He met the ceiling as it screamed, ricocheting off with his hands and landing onto the floor as the monster crumbled, the two severed halves hitting the floor with a resounded thud. All remains of the glowing void energy were gone, dissipating out of the cracks between the metal like wisps of smoke blown away in a storm. 

“It’s dead…” you told him as if you didn’t actually believe the corpse by his feet. He kicked it for good measure, showing you that it was well and truly not getting back up. You breathed in relief and he could sense the smile ghosting across your face. But it was quickly chased away by the sounds of more shrieks echoing down the halls. Again, and again, and again. As if there was more than one this time. You began to pull away again, your heart rate intermixing with his and beating in his throat. “No…no no no. No! Arthur, I can’t! Not again! I can’t! Arthur!” you were panicking, breathing becoming a challenge as oxygen refused to fill your lungs. It knocked the wind out of him. 

He fell to a knee, propping his weight on his sword. If he didn’t calm you down, and quickly, you would send the both of you spiraling into a panic attack. He could already feel his heart rate quickening, trying to match yours. Damn this transference. 

“You can, love. You’re strong enough. I’m right here with you.” he focused on you, blocking out the noises fast approaching. He spoke slow, steady, like a beacon in the whirlwind of your racing mind, searching for you. 

“We don’t have time for this, they’ll be on us any second!” you screamed in his mind, the essence of tears streaming down your face and ghosting down his skin. You were trying to will him to get up, to run, to do anything but just sit here like prey waiting to be slaughtered. 

“Slow. It. Down. Breathe, sweets.” he commanded, but not in a forceful way. The change of tone in his voice made you listen, though. The gruffness from his lowered octave had a way of pulling your attention and he knew it. 

“I…I…” 

But he didn’t let you continue and instead began deliberately breathing in and out, slowly, surely, steadily. Your mind suddenly went blank, the swirling thoughts seeming to calm as you unintentionally started to follow his example. Everything worked better, clearer, now that oxygen was returning to your system, and by proxy Arthur’s system as well. He could feel your mind begin to calm, the whirlwind slowing into a breeze. Relief washed over his nerves as you continued to breathe like he had shown you, your tears drying up and your heart rate returning to normal. He leaned on his sword and fully stood up, rolling his shoulders back and positioning his feet into a fighting stance just as the clicking of metallic claws rounded the corner down the hallway in front of him, the mass of void and twisted metal creatures coming into view, screeching and screaming. 

“What do we do?” you asked him. Your voice was quiet, timid. He could tell you were still frightened, but you sounded more sure of yourself. Your voice was here, in the current present with him, and not lost or trapped in the fears of your mind anymore. You were relying on him. He had asked you to place all of your trust in him at this moment and you had done so without a second thought. Sol above, he would never forgive himself if he bollocked this up now. 

“These creatures scare you.” it was a statement more than a question but he could feel your presence nod furiously in his head. You watched as he stared the approaching void angels down, his sword raised above his shoulder at the ready, his face carved out of stone as their claws clattered and tore down the hallway towards him. “Then we kill your fear.” his voice was low, threatening, dangerous. Sharp as the blade held in his hands and twice as deadly. He sounded so sure of himself you were almost weary to ask if that was even possible, but you never got the chance to anyway, his blade clashing with void-enhanced steel for the second time. 

There were at least three, if not more that could pop out of the walls at any second. Arthur slashed and dashed around the space provided, nicking the metal appendages of the monsters whenever an opening was available, which wasn't often. Claws constantly crashed down around him, threatening to crush and impale him with every move. Worry chewed at your nervous system. He was part warframe, sure, but he could still only handle so much. He was starting to slow down, the constant dodging and bouncing around wearing him thin. Sweat stuck thick to his brow, drenching his hair. He rebounded from a jump and kicked off of the wall with his foot, coming down on one of the angels with the tip of his sword, embedding it into the corroded metal, inches too far from hitting the mass of energy in the center. The creature wailed and tried to shake him off, leaving his sword still stuck in its carapace and throwing him across the room into a different wall, hard. The impact left a noticeable dent in the metal exterior. He heard you groan in his head, his name tumbling from your lips as if to ask if he was okay. Which only left him more confused. 

He had been thrown across the room by a void-born monster, slammed into a metal wall with enough force to dent it, and yet he felt…nothing? He felt fine, if he was being honest. A little tired from all the fighting but certainly not injured, not like he should have been for someone who had just been flung spine-first into a wall. But you were groaning in pain. The gears began to turn in his head just as the angels found where their plaything had escaped to. 

“It’s a dream…” he dashed away from the oncoming threat, now defenseless as his sword was still out of reach. 

You felt the need to cough up blood but doing so was impossible while inside a warframe, the copper liquid forcing its way back down your throat, Arthur’s words not even registering in your head. “What?” 

“This is your dream, love! It’s a nightmare! This isn’t real!” It had clicked; you were tormenting yourself, running through your worst fears, and causing yourself pain in the process. He hadn’t quite figured out how he’d ended up here with you, but this dream didn’t include him, he was never aboard the Zariman. His pain wasn’t a part of your torment. 

“What do you mean this isn’t real?! It fucking feels real!” You didn’t believe him. How could you believe him when your head still throbbed from being thrown and blood still poured from between your teeth? 

He huffed, sliding underfoot of the metallic beasts as claws swung in his direction again. “You trust me, don’t you? Transfer out of me and prove me wrong, love. I wouldn’t lie to you.” 

You hummed aggressively, though it reverberated through his ears as more of a whine. Whether you believed the facts you were seeing in front of his eyes didn’t matter, you believed him, and that was enough. 

“Let’s get out of here. The both of us, okay, sweets?” He asked softly, his hands at the ready as his eyes focused on the void angels stalking towards him, backing him into a corner. The threat was imminent, but his attention never left you, though, in the back of his mind. You were his way out of this hellscape, his only way out of this hellscape of your memory’s creation, if he could get you to listen to him. He didn’t panic as their claws started to swing in his direction, their shrieks piercing his eardrums, and he didn’t flinch either when their metal appendages came to a dead stop mid-air. Their hulking frames had froze mid-stance, outstretched towards him, but now dead, lifeless, their screams coming to an abrupt halt, deafening silence washing over the area.  

“Okay.” You answered, your voice clear as a bell ringing in his head. His eyes forcefully shut, his protoframe body shutting down as his mind drifted back to reality. 

You awoke with a gasp, tears automatically streaming down your face as you bolted upright, clutching and clawing at your chest as your lungs tried and failed to catch up to the rapid racing of your heartbeat. Arthur had woken up at the same time as you, a groan tumbling from his lips as being forcefully yanked from transference turned out to be a very rude wake-up call. He regained his composure quickly, though, sitting up and immediately pulling you into his lap, cradling you in his arms. Moments like this you reminded him of those old porcelain dolls that used to be everywhere before the techrot took over; small, fragile, one wrong move and he could shatter you into a million pieces that he wouldn’t have the first clue of how to put back together the right way. 

“Arthur…” you called out his name, watery eyes staring up at him. 

He brushed your hair out of your face, the strands sticking to your skin due to sweat, likely from you being fitful in bed during your nightmare. “You’re okay, love.” His voice barely above a whisper in your ear. 

“I’m sorry.” You blurted out, a fresh wave of tears falling from your eyes. His hand came up to caress your cheek, his metal thumb gently wiping the tears away as they fell. 

“What for?” 

“For…for bringing you into all…that. I…I didn’t even know that was possible. I’m so sorry.” you explained, placing your hands on his chest to ground yourself, the warmth of his frame radiating through your fingertips and keeping you from bursting into sobs. 

He tightened his hold on you, silently reminding you that you were here, with him, in your home in Höllvania, no longer trapped within your dream world. “You reached out to me when you needed me, don’t feel like you have to apologize for that.” he kissed you softly on the forehead, the feeling of his lips lingering on your skin. You crumpled against his chest, exhausted and at a loss for words. “You’re safe, love. They can’t hurt you here.” he reminded you, nestling his face into your hair as he gave you another gentle squeeze. 

He held you there in the dark, for how long you couldn’t remember. You cradled securely in his arms and him wrapped protectively around you, chasing away any further nightmares. Neither one of you fell asleep anytime soon, but when you did, you knew he would be there, your swordsman, his steel at the ready to drive away the monsters that plagued your mind.