#because I could see this happening regardless of any OCs or AUs

[silverstream2]

Possibly for an AU:

Headcanon that Patty runs a small cleaning service. The name is "The Devil's Cleaning Service". It's mostly a summer job, and occasionally in the winter, but she likes doing it, and she's good at it. Most of her clients are old people that couldn't or didn't have the energy to do the cleaning themselves*, and sometimes their payment will take the form of knitted or crochet things, or baked goods and tea, or old books, rather than money, but Patty doesn't mind. She'll pass on things she doesn't want or need to people that do want or need them, and she appreciates the thought. She likes hanging out and chatting with the old people (the pleasant ones, anyway), and she's good at it.

Once Patty gets out of high school, she could probably do the job full time, if she wanted to, and her elderly customers would make good references. Nina, Patty's mom, helps Patty out, too, especially with the finances and driving.

[*= Patty absolutely counts Dante on her list of "old people", and he calls her "Pattycake" in front of some of her elderly customers in revenge. Which, in turn, led to Patty making Dante clean out said elderly customer's gutters in revenge.

Patty: "You're taller than me anyway, so don't complain! And I'll consider the work as counting towards that debt you owe me."

She also gives him a red coverall to wear while he works, tho, so he doesn't get his clothes dirty. He still looks vaguely ridiculous, even without his red jacket, but as long as he doesn't overheat, then Patty is fine with that. She doesn't give him shit about how he looks, because you can't really care about that when your main job is cleaning. The most she'd do is joke that the bleach or paint stains really bring out his eyes or match his hair. She'd probably give him a hat or something, too, to keep his hair out of his eyes. This is gutter cleaning, after all- you need to be able to see what you're doing.

Dante's injured pride notwithstanding, he does fine, and Patty's customers send Patty over to him with a strawberry cake as a thank you afterwards, so it all evens out.]

You could probably make a Devil May Cry anime episode out of this (basically just Patty going 'round the houses and looking after the dead and dying, very Discworld witch-y), tbh, if somehow a demon got involved in this, but I don't want to think about that right now. Still could be interesting, tho.

[eyesore-boi]

You think that you're alone but

We are waiting for you every night...

You're mine.

Close ups and other stuff below!

...so....10 years, huh?

I cannot understate how much FNaF means to me in my life, and yeah...know that sounds a b i t much considering it's the funny har har bear games, but lemme explain-

Truth is, i was actually terrified of FNaF when it first came out! I remember my first introduction to it was when i was having a sleepover at my friend's place and he was both playing and watching other people play the first game, and when i was watching it with him, i got scared and tried to avoid the game as much as i could, even claiming to hate the game despite just knowing the first game. I was young and was prone to sheltering myself from stuff i didn't understand, and that being the first scary game i've ever seen caused that reaction, but over time...that changed.

It happened when i was watching YT and clicked on a comic dub i never seen before, thinking it was an AU for a fandom i was in (probably Undertale i dunno), but lo and behold, it was actually a fandub/animatic for the missing kids incident, and that...peaked my interest. I got curious on how this scary game actually had an interesting story to it and not just some game that goes boo. So, soon after that, i decided to look up simply "FNaF Story", found the Game Theory videos, and...the rest is history.

I was amazed and hooked, got invested in how the games explained the story in ways i've never seen before, got excited when i saw everything click together in real time, and pair that with how i got into the series r i g h t when Sister Location came out, arguably when the lore really started to kick off, i knew there was no going back now. I stuck with the series since. I watched all the animatics and dubs, listened to all the songs, tried drawing the characters, made OC's, and even talked to other people about this franchise.

And now look- Not gonna pretened this whole time it's been sunshine and (Chica's) rainbows, especially in recent times. The drop off SB caused, the lore getting more and more complicated and convoluted, the divide between older and newer fans, being the founder of Mascot Horror (for every Poppy Playtime there i s a Garten of Ban Ban) and course the IRL drama, but in all seriousness...i still wouldn't trade it for anything.

FNaF, this series, is my very first experience connecting me with a community like this, both good and bad, helping me understand how to properly enjoy media and even learn/take things from it, and i think without it i wouldn't be in the fandoms i'd be in now. The scary, horror ones, the niche, hard to find ones, story driven, character rich, and of course...more importantly...getting me into Markiplier, which further influenced the "outside the box" kind of thinking cause my g o d for these two stories you need too-

And speaking of, because of those two stories, it lead to me branching out more creativily and even creating my own webcomic for an AU combining both of them, so regardless on how that'll go, i'm just glad this series has influenced me enough to create something for others to see, since that's all i ever want to give.

But really, this franchise will forever be with me, and though i don't always agree with all of it (i haven't read any of the books in y e a r s and i refuse to do so), it only makes some of the stuff it does do right completely worth it (like the movie, peak cinema), and for where ever this bear shaped train is going next, well, i'll be here for the ride for all of it. No matter how many burning buildings it goes through.

...oh and um- Right yeah. The actual art piece. Uh....it crashed multiple times when drawing it. It's even a miracle i was able to export it. I can't even open it up anymore. So even if i wanted to change anything about it, i c a n 't -

But still pretty happy with how it came together! Was run drawing these robos, some being kinda redraws from the past, while other's i've n e v e r drawn before, so that was interesting! But still, tried to draw the "main character" so to say from each of the main FNaF games, and just kinda be...walking along through the series, nothing too deep or complex, but still interesting enough! ....unlike the fnaf storyline cause g o d how many restaurants wERE THEIR S C O T T -

But for real this is going long enough, so ima head out and do my own FNaF related things thay you don't need to worry about shush *commits arson*

HAPPY 10TH FNAF BIRTHDAY EVERYBODY!! >:DD

[my-makeshift-masquerade]

Springdad AU Headcanons Up For Grabs

Why? Because I can? Credit for the AU to @skeletoninthemelonland as per usual! While trying to figure out how my OC would fit into this universe my love of worldbuilding got in the way… So these headcanons may not even be accurate or confirmed by the AU’s original creator. They are just ideas I’m throwing at the wall.

General Headcanons

For some reason, (cough cough this mysterious hunter character cough cough) I suspect there is a dark history of how humans treated these sapient humanoid animals in the past.

Perhaps hunting them used to be a lot more common? Perhaps they were sold to rich humans or circuses once upon a time? (I am talking like a hundred or so years ago, here…)

I imagine the two groups coexisting or having blended families is relatively new in society at large, only happening in the last century. Maybe some on both sides are still hesitant about it or outright against it.

Not to get too political, but I can see their being a lot of bigotry around it in cities at least. The rural areas were likely founded by the sapient humanoid animals, so they would be more tolerant.

Orphanages end up with a lot more orphans like Evan and Micheal than they do human orphans for this reason. There is still a lot of shady stuff happening underground that these kids end up being rescued from.

On a more positive note, I imagine these blended families are the best sorts of families: bound by love and not blood. The best family is the one you choose after all! They typically seek out rural communities to live in peace.

Staff at these orphanages have a lot of methods to weed out suspicious figures who may want to harm the orphans, and they especially look out for any human only wanting to adopt an animal orphan.

Parents like Henry and William are beloved by the orphanages for giving any child a chance at a good home, regardless of species. Even if they may only adopt one or a few, those kids have a good family now.

Lots of seasonal festivals happen in the rural communities and raise money for any nearby orphanage, as many residents build their blended families through adoption. This is mostly lower level though, and doesn’t reach those like the directors.

Rebecca Backstory Headcanons

She was taken from her biological parents by humans. Perhaps hunters? After they killed her parents, they had planned to sell her off to the highest bidders who could do with her as they wished.

The little rabbit was neglected emotionally. Though all her physical needs were met to keep her alive, she wouldn’t have anyone come comfort her if she cried, or show her actual genuine love.

These humans were soon discovered and charged with kidnapping, leading to Rebecca ending up at the orphanage. This was around the same time Micheal and Evan arrived as well.

The only other orphans she really warmed up to were Evan and Micheal. They were the new arrivals and got lumped together often, especially Evan and Rebecca, who had to share a bed to save space.

During the orphanage fire, Rebecca was one of the few children unaccounted for. Her instincts to hide made her impossible to find until after the fire was completely extinguished.

She did go to the hospital briefly for some minor injuries, then returned to the orphanage to find Evan and Micheal were gone. This led her to feel more afraid even as the other orphans tried to help.

This little bunny is observant and timid, always on alert. She enjoys blankets and stuffed animals/pillows. She cries quietly due to her past teaching her nobody comes if she cries loudly.

Springdad doesn’t know her past just yet, but he could always ask someone who does. Micheal knows the general idea of her past since he helped watch her and Evan at the orphanage.

Rebecca only started to trust William after Evan showed how comfortable he was. From there, the other rabbit instantly became her new guardian. She is slowly bonding with Elizabeth and Alice, too!

[mdhwrites]

When it comes to fanfiction, what are your thoughts on OCs/self-inserts (I'm aware there's a difference between the two)?

So I know both of theirs reputation. In many's eyes, one is just a more extreme version of the other. Both are seen as wish fulfillment on the writer's part and thus are written poorly by default as a part of making them the most special thing that special'd. What is interesting to me in this regard is that this is actually just the same problem that the writers of the OG content face when introducing a new character but the writer doing it doesn't realize the landmine they're potentially walking onto.

Have you ever seen a long running show, even maybe just a couple seasons, and when they add a new character they get a bad reception? "They're just a copy of this character!" "They aren't nearly as deep as the cast that's already there!" "What purpose do they serve to this story except to let the writers... Add their own OC." This is because the audience is going to be inherently biased towards the characters who are already there. Trying to add a new MAIN character is always going to be difficult because it inherently means shifting the balance of the work, especially because the new character is going to need a lot of time to flesh out their place in the ensemble. Starlight Glimmer is an example, where the season after her started with a lot of episodes that were in someway focused on her so she could prove her good girl status or show how she was different from Twilight Sparkle because that's just what needs to happen with a new character.

But I want to emphasize this: OCs/Backlash on a character like this is predominantly a MAIN character problem. You want to throw in a random self insert who gets two lines and then dips out? Few, if anyone, is going to care because hey, you needed a rando there so why not just a quick cameo? This is the style the Marvel movies took with Stan Lee. His cameos were never that much a problem because they were usually a quick joke. They didn't detract from the characters you were there to see.

Which brings us to why this problem is SO. MUCH. WORSE. when it comes to fanfiction. One of the strengths of fanfiction from a novice writer's perspective is that a lot of criticism is going to be softballed because the audience is primed to just enjoy the work regardless because they just are there for more time with the characters they love. For an experience writer like me, I could theoretically be experimental with my stories more on Ao3 as a test bed for if those would work in general because I'm not going to get a one star review for the formatting, I'll get a comment going "This was weird but MAN I loved seeing X do Y." Your audience being inherently primed to enjoy your work is one of the joys of being a fanfic writer because it means it's so much easier to find your audience.

That also means it's really easy for original elements to be seen as hostile. As invading the space, especially if they're overshadowing the rest of the cast. The audience isn't here for your original characters after all. They're here for the characters they already enjoy. It makes me think of how the most famous OC of MLP's fandom... Is Nyx, at least from fanfiction. That or Pip but both use sleight of hand in order to get away with this. Nyx is not a wholly an OC. They are a mix of two characters explicitly. Nightmare and Luna, just turned into a filly. So instead of "Check out my OC," it's "Check out my alternative version Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon." Littlepip meanwhile is in a Fallout AU in an Equestria that is, well, a post apocalypse. That isn't MLP at that point. That's just original fiction and so your expectations change because you don't actually know from go if your favorite characters are going to be there so you're more there for the blending of media. Any appearances by canon characters becomes a treat and so Littlepip doesn't have to compete with them. I've also never read either of these stories, I'm just going off of what I've absorbed since I know these characters are commonly liked and what their concepts are. This is also not a condemnation of either character, both need to be well written to be as popular as they are or else they would have been discarded, just that they don't have as much of an uphill battle as literally just dropping a new character in the media world you enjoy has.

The other way you can bypass this is to make them narratively subservient to a character. What I mean by that is that they clearly are there to push another main character's arc and the like. As such, they don't feel as much like a main character, they feel like interesting supporting cast to one of the characters already is primed to like. Pretty much any Apple Family OC is going to fall into this so long as the story also heavily includes Applejack or Apple Bloom. Babs Seed is literally just this where her connection to the Apples and how she challenges them makes her immediately compelling to the audience because we want to see that. A looooot of one off characters honestly fall into this category, with the added bonus that they're not main characters, they're supporting cast.

So with all of this, I think it begs the question: Are OCs/Self Inserts treated unfairly? Well... That's really fucking complicated. As I pointed out above, the well written and the well conceived can absolutely be liked. It has maybe fallen a bit out fashion post MLP but a lot of fandoms probably have semi-famous that just got popular enough to start being passed around. An OC can be well received so long as they're done well. The reason so few are done well is honestly tragically simple: You have now taken one of the hardest parts of original writing and added the biggest downside of fanfiction with none of the strengths of fanfiction.

I have said that I became an original writer because I found myself limited by fanfiction. That the AUs I made were essentially irrecognizable, or not materially added to, by being fanfiction. This is because the one mandate, the one restriction, of fanfiction is that you have to work within the boundaries of the media you are in. Those boundaries are looser than an original story but there are limits. You make an alicorn OC in MLP fanfic will ask questions because doesn't that make them a princess? So now you have to add someone entirely from whole cloth, robbing you of the bonuses of fanfiction, while making sure they contort to the rules of the fiction, rather than ever being able to bend those rules for the sake of the character and their story. This can actually make it really good practice for making original characters for an original story because of those extra challenges but that's not how most fanfic authors look at it. It's just adding a character, or themselves, into a story because they're excited to do so. That is a recipe for disaster.

I also think it is given too much shit for the same reason. Unless the person touts their OC as perfectly written... Let them enjoy their trash. Fanfiction is for the writer before it is ever for the reader after all. If you can empathize with why a person adds themselves into a story, which is an entire blog on its own, then it can help you see a poorly written OC and go, "This isn't for me." And then leave. You do not have to be a dick about it, they're just trying to enjoy themselves.

As a note: This is why I so very, VERY rarely go after fanworks. I do not want to shit on people just for wanting to create and play. It's just discouraging so unless I have a larger point I can make through the work, an actual lesson to teach rather than just dragging it through the mud, I'm not even going to bother talking about it. I'm just being a dick then.

And a lot of the push against OCs and Self Inserts in fanfiction fall into and I hope that hasn't discouraged people from making the stories they want to like it did for me with my first ever piece of fanfiction. See you all next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[hannigramislife]

hi!!!! i’m rereading all your nmj posts as i’m trying to characterize him in a universe with a canon-wrecking oc of mine and i was curious if you would ever see nmj forgiving or understanding jgy’s actions for killing the commander that night

ofc that was the main tipping point in their relationship, but the stuff that happened in nightless city with jgy killing the nie disciples then wrh etc, really put the nails into the coffin so to say (lol proud of that one)

now to the point, if jgy never killed the nie disciples in nightless city and subsequent stuff was changed do you think that nmj could move past everything that had happened between them beforehand?

lmk if you have any more questions or anything specific, and have a nice day!!!!

Hello friend!!!

I loveee talking about Nie Mingjue. God, how I have missed him.

Okay, so I think Nie Mingjue had a great capacity for forgiveness, especially when it came to the people he loved and held dear. I'm not sure which canon you're working with, but in the donghua, we see Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao grow closer once more post Jin commander's death. There's this tiny window after the brotherhood vows are made, where Jin Guangyao still frequents Qinghe Nie, being comfortable around Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue. I could be wrong, but I even think Jin Guangyao was genuinely helping him with his qi deviation, before he twisted the Song of Cleansing.

It was the Xue Yang incident that put the nail in the coffin (to steal your joke XD) because that's when Nie Mingjue snapped, as Jin Guangyao admitted to sacrificing others because he valued their lives less than he did his own.

So, without knowing what your AU is going to be like, I think Nie Mingjue could come to forgive Jin Guangyao, but will Jin Guangyao forgive him?

I am of the thought that Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue will come to have a huge falling out between them regardless if it is the Jin commander, or the Nie disciples, or Xue Yang. If it isn't one thing, it will be the other, because they have fundamentally different philosophies and values.

For them to work, there are 2 possibilities: one, Nie Mingjue remains in the dark about Jin Guangyao's true character like Lan Xichen did, or Jin Guangyao yields. Yields in the sense that he stops trying to control everything, and reaches out to his sworn brothers for help. It would be an incredibly, insanely hard thing for him to do. He would have to be honest to Nie Mingjue (and/or Lan Xichen) and I think it would be easier for him to eat his own hat.

So short answer, yes, I think Nie Mingjue could forgive him. Long answer? I don't think that would be enough.

[yami-yomiel]

hello! apologize for being absent on tumblr - life had be in it's clutches for a bit.

but that's not the point, i came out to say that i do not support Alex Kister and whatever BS he's gotten himself into. my heart goes out to the victims, DB, Ven, Donut, and everyone else whose been affected- the 3rd person mentioned I'm actually friends with.

for those who want to know my say on it - i am completely on the victims side. while i know some people say to stay neutral in case this is just a lie [which i doubt but given how everyone this week has been called out for being an abuser in some way - i could understand.] there's too much evidence that suggests that kister was an asinine person from behind the scenes - and i can't stand by the sidelines ignorantly ignoring the issues in front of me.

i will say, I can actually confirm the things that went on - well, really 1 thing- catacord's whole dress compliment. I was there when that happened - I was very parasocial with Alex Kister [though I never acted on it] I felt jealous seeing him compliment that person, I felt literally sick to my stomach because I was so attached to this image of him. the fact that Kister had such an environment and enabled it makes me feel terrible. I could've been a victim if I had continued such behavior (in a realization way). regardless, I won't post any more TMC-related content - as honestly, I haven't been very fixated on it for a while. some bits of my ocs may change, I've heard some people may ocify their Aus and what not - and I might follow suit of course, my sona may have to change as well as they literally have AK on their shirt - not to mention how Betsy is a tmc oc -though those are easy fixes.

all in all, I'm so sorry to the victims. I'm so sorry you guys were manipulated, groomed, and predated on by someone like him. and i hope you all can heal from this situation - god bless you.

thank you, and please believe the victims.

goodnight.

[guardian-of-frihet]

ISAT AU OC (#2) + theory

---------------------------------------

Okay, second character which is a roughly done drawing since I was low on coloring stuff.

Now presenting!

Shade!

Shade first appeared at the KING's floor after the 130th loop.

He/Him.

• Shade tends to just wander around the room when the party is not at the KING's floor yet or just sleeps through the fight.

• when the party isn't in the house He will take on bullying the KING as a hobby just to see what faces or expressions (not the deity's from Odile's home) the King would make in response (as shown in this photo)

• the name Shade chose was not random, He just felt a connection to the word Shade and chose it as a name.

• whenever the party defeated the KING, Shade would follow The Royal and try to understand why He felt a connection to Them.

• Shade does NOT, meet LR or Loop at the end of the game, something else happens during ACT 6 that forces Shade to make a choice.

• Shade does not remember the former person that He was, only that He remembered feeling a massive crushing force, the feeling of His very soul being torn out of His heart, and waking up in the KING's floor with a three pointed scar on His stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now then, now that we finished Shade's info part of the post let's get on into the theory I had.

Let's start off with everyone's favorite resident angsty Traveler, Siffrin.

What do we know about him in terms of childhood and past? Absolutely nothing, but there are moments in the game where his last suddenly made an appearance.

For example, the letter in that secret passageway on the third floor where you would get the chain for that bell pendant or the book that talked about croissants, we don't need a mention the croissants just yet but the letter in the room where you got the jackpot items of tonics, book about horror stories with young men and monsters here's that Mirabel mentions and Isabeau comments on it, and the small little symbol or banner I think for the change belief.

What exactly do we find on the table that is next to said banner or object for the change belief? Three pages (I think) regarding someone running away from home and comforting their mother that they were alright.

There's a small snippet there with Bonnie mentioning that they and their sister Nille ran away in one of the loops but we won't get to that just yet cause this theory is about Siffrin and the King, but still relating to the notes or the letters Siffrin mentions they ran away once as seen in gameplay.

(I will be using pictures that I took during my playthrough of the game) I myself have gotten this dialogue 8 or 12 loops into the gate but still the thought counts, regardless since the other just ask Siffrin what they mean by this followed by Siffrin explaining that they just didn't want to eat their veggies, ran to the docks with their family boat, row a bit from shore... and then he forgets.. now now we know that moment in time would be probably where the country was then removed from everyone's mind or memory, but where would the king had been when this was happening?

My guess is that while this was happening the king was somewhere in Vaugarde or was traveling to other countries, but then something hit me, Siffrin and the letters only mentioned the mother, no father could have been or ever was mentioned which was really confusing because Siffrin really cared about their parents, I may have forgotten about a father might have been mentioned or maybe it was only parents as in a mother and a stepfather, but I refuse to believe that Siffrin would not have had a father ever mentioned or present in any other forgetting memories of their childhood.

Which makes me believe the father was out on business or traveling so that Siffrin could have something to learn about the other countries with, The father might have been traveling from Ka-Bue to Vaugarde right as the country that Siffrin was from suddenly got erased from everyone's memories, either the father was traveling from Ka-Bue to Vaugarde by boat or they were using another means.

Let's pause on Siffrin for a moment and go straight to the KING, what do we know about him? well not much the same as before we don't know much about the KING or Siffrin but what we do know about the king is that he washed up on Vaugarde, was treated with hospitality and kindness by the Vaugardians, stopped by Corbeaux during his travels, and then saw something that triggered the want to wish for a way to make Vaugarde perfect.

My guess on what triggered the king could have been in a piece of Vaugarde suddenly becoming a wreck- and what I mean by that is not like "oh it's suddenly disappeared" no I think what triggered it was the fact that after the country disappeared so did colors.

And no, I'm not saying that colors could have disappeared at the same time as the country I'm suggesting that someone made a wish to remove the vivid image of something, a singular visceral color, from the minds of everyone that was present to have witnessed it.

A wish to remove the memories of blood the very color of blood from anyone that was there to see it, My guess is that a kid accidentally made that wish like maybe the blood had really frightened them and they wanted to not see blood anymore and went to the Favor tree nearby in the town but that backfired, The wish somehow broke and led it to erase of colors being present in the game.

Now I know what you're thinking, I'm getting off track but listen, listen please I'm getting to that part 😅, Don't leave this post yet.

Anyway back to the king after that moment I would have guessed that the king, irritated about what was happening and wanted to save as much of Vaugarde as possible, goes to the strongest favorite tree in all of the country, the one in Dormont.

Obviously with no memory of this country that he came from he decides to just go with what he remembers off of what was built into his mind, Wishcraft was a very common thing I'm guessing that in the country that Siffrin and the king both originate from It's their life core so he goes back on that from what he remembers from a built-in memory of it, He wishes for a way to save Vaugarde or not to save Vaugarde- I'm getting my AUs mixed up 😂 to make Vaugarde a perfect.

And unexpectedly to his surprise the wish comes true, He gains the ability to use timecraft to his demand and starts to freeze all of Vaugarde, what this new power of his He storms the House of Dormont or better yet the house of change, freezes everyone in it including Euphrasie, and just wait for knowing that's the curse would not be reversed unless he was defeated.

Now onto the connection between Siffrin and the king, That's what we know they're connected cause of being from the same country, but what if they were related?

That would put a total shift to Siffrin's perspective, and the fact they don't know or remember where they came from in terms of family or backstory would make it even more heart-wrenching cuz they'd be fighting a relative, they'd be fighting family.

And then there's the book in the room with the ornery (at least I think that's the name of it, the object of the center of that room), it explains that the owner of the book had tried using Wishcraft to make someone to talk to, that person most likely being either Siffrin or another kid that was probably feeling the same loneliness as Them but regardless it was no doubt having to be Siffrin.

If you think about it, if Siffrin had ran away again but from the house of change this time it would explain why it's a book referencing Wishcraft, and I know that it's just from Siffrin being in the time loop for nearly who knows how long but imagine if it was not only that imagine him that's what if Siffrin had remembered something regarding their family, I'm not saying others have to go with what I'm saying It's just a very you can have your own opinion but regardless if Siffrin had remembered something about his family or something about the king it would make sense, for me at least.

For example The book series Mirabelle likes, "The cursing of chateau Castle" could be a reference to the king's story or slight beginning, The main character in the story, Lord Josephándre was thought by everyone else in it to be a noble or royal descent but no, he was just a guy. so what if the king that the group has to deal with was also just a guy? It wouldn't make sense of the king was actually of royal descent and cuz he wouldn't have remembered it, what if he was just a normal guy taking alchemy lessons for a hobby?

It would make sense with what Odile says during the first part of the entire game first act if you will.

From what Odile says here Siffrin could have been taking alchemy and wanted to try and do it again which I'm guessing led to an explosion, Siffrin got hurt, and then scolded by everyone- it would have been funny regardless but besides the point both Siffrin and the KING could have taken up alchemy as a hobby but then again it could have been that the country were a group of alchemists too as well as astrologists on account for the stars, planets, space, the universe, etc.

At one point during the Kings fight the king recognizes the cloak and hat that Siffrin has, sure someone could say that it might have been just a common clothing idea for country or anyone that lived in that country but I got to shut that down Not that I think it's not right or correct it could be but the kings armor does not scream "oh a cloak and hat that is definitely our country's common clothing" no, no it doesn't, not to me anyway which is where I believe the next part of my theory comes in-

(Siffrin got crushed by a rock)

God damn it Siffrin I wasn't finished explaining the theory!

*cue the rest of the family panicking over Siffrin getting crushed by the rock*

Ugh, oh well, give it a moment and the Loop will catch up, anyway continuing from that sudden death.

*time loops back to where Siffrin was in the meadow*

When you go to find the angry key in the third floor of the house you would find a closet that shows a bunch of clothes not really straightforward but that's where the Isabeau part of this comes in, Isabeau mansions that Siffrin's cloak after examining it a little closer is sewn with craft and a backstitch if I'm remembering it correctly.

He then asks if Siffrin knows who this was given to him by or not and of course Siffrin does not remember, but if the king recognized it, and the king wearing armor would know a lot about cloaks, wouldn't it make sense if he gave the cloak to Siffrin when he was a kid? My theory on this is that the cloaks that are made from Siffrin's country are made by the parents and given to their kids as a kind of Rite of passage to prove you're entering the next stage of your life?.

I don't know, this is just a theory that I'm still trying to gut and write this out for the AU to make sense before I start it off, anyway to continue on this thought that every parent makes their kid a cloak and Siffrin's country the cloak that's different has could have been the last gift from his father and he didn't remember it because the country was erased from time from everyone's memories.

It's still there however, The country is still there waiting for the day that someone would come back to it, waiting for the day that Siffrin or the king themselves would come back to try to restore it, try to bring it back to the world, but that's not going to happen on its own and hypothetically or not, the universe knows this, the deity or plane of existence this country researches about knows that will never come to pass, no one no one outside of the country remembers the name, no one can see the country past Vaugarde anymore because something keeps keeping that from happening.

I'd say it's either a very dense fog, or the fact that there's a storm around the country that won't let people outside it see it anymore.

Regardless the country is forever gone until something pushes it to be remembered again and that's where act 4 comes in The moment we're different and the king trying to remember the name of the country is what triggers the visceral color shade of red to make them have a headache- splitting headache to where they both die but pausing on the country remembering name thing.

What does the King do when He and Siffrin try to remember the name, He reaches out to Siffrin with hidden concern (if you would), he says "bright one" and that's where he dies but I don't know if you guys saw this too it could've just been a chance thing and I got it but The king, said Siffrin's, name and Siffrin quickly died a moment after but that was enough, that was enough to trigger it.

Two are people from the same country not strangers but secretly forgotten relatives could trigger the start for the search of the country, the start for the storm or fog to deviate from the country just enough to let the country start to be visible, but that never comes to pass and no I don't mean that trying to remember the country's name didn't cause it to start being visible no I meant sure it did start the country to be visible from the fog or storm but the journey to find the country is not going to happenz cuz Siffrin still in the loop..

And funnily enough, The King's almost aware of the loops by the time Siffrin goes to fight him alone in act 5, this was way after he kills Bonnie and after Euphrasie, The Head Housemaiden, says to Siffrin that the wish was breaking.

The King catches on to this too, He comes to see or notice the in his words "the overpowering cloying scent of cane sugar" and then he asks or better yet says in certainty to Siffrin after seeing he went up the house alone "bright one, this is not the first time you have faced me isn't it?" and that's where it kicks in for him, that's where it kicks in that Siffrin has been looping in time.

And then the fight starts before they even start fighting and you know how the king basically says at the end of his sentence "against someone like you I shouldn't hold back" I don't know this is just me but it sounded like he was a bit proud how strong Siffrin was (and during the end of act 4 when he kills Bonnie he sounds disappointed and angry towards Siffrin).

They're small parts in the fight where the king doesn't hold back but after he uses that one attack to make people see a vision of the future and immediately notices this was not the first time Siffrin has withstood this attack.

It is here the king and notices a realizes He cannot win this it's cuz if this keeps going he's going to be defeated by Siffrin and Siffrin alone and part of him doesn't want to defeat Siffrin, sure it's cuz they're from the same country but but in terms of my AU the KING could have remembered something from his past and he could have remembered something like a memory of a family member, more specifically.. a child, and not just A child cuz that would be weird, why would he remember a random child from his country if he doesn't remember said country? no, the memory was about his child.

And remember how in the book series the cursing I should tell Castle I mentioned Lord Josephándre was just a normal guy, just a guy this relates to the king in ways of comeuppance how he came to Dormont or to Vaugarde, I believe one of the books mentioned that Lord Josephándre had a family- not just parents, but a child of his own I could be wrong That's just my AU and theory.

Add that to the king remembering the cloak and hat that Siffrin has, wouldn't that mean that the KING in reference to Lord Josephándre from the cursing of chateau Castle, is Siffrin's father, and it does not stop there.

The king could have chosen to defeat, eliminate, kill Siffrin, but no he chose to freeze Siffrin in time instead and I know that it's the thought he had where he thought Siffrin was a threat to his victory but he did it to keep Siffrin at bay from his victory and to keep him from self destructing, only to not realize this type of action would not have made Siffrin Loop back in time, he would have been victorious either way but he felt merciful enough pitiful enough in a mocking way to put Siffrin in a frozen, sleeping, state.

And in a twisted way that led to a transition to start and saffron that would lead to him becoming a sadness instead of just being frozen in time and with the same repeating pain or misery or dream, I don't know if the king knew he was actually causing a transition in Siffrin to become a sadness but if Siffrin's friends came way later then when they usually did in the game I'm pretty sure the KING would have been, not just horrified but regretful that he caused such a transition to occur.

If this happened he would have caused Siffrin, the most overpowered guy to have been stuck in a time loop, to become a sadness.. the very bane of terror for all of the country for all of Vaugarde, but it didn't and instead the transition was stopped just in time by Mirabelle and straight after that the group of friends is protected Siffrin and sealed the king away in his own time in his own power and ironically enough the king was okay with it in his mind he almost caused a sadness to occur that he wouldn't have been able to control or stop himself and I don't think he would've been against being frozen in time..

..cause he remembered the country, He remembered his home and he was happy with that.. He remembered the lightless sands of the country, the trees swaying with the wind and their leaves falling to the ground, it was at that moment the king was at peace and not only that but the moment he remembered his country he remembered his family, and better yet in irony or punishment he remembered Siffrin too.

Do remember that Siffrin was a kid when the country disappeared so it would not have made sense if they knew each other as co-workers or friends but instead they could have been family, a family that was torn apart because the country was forgotten, a family who was separated, cast away from each other, place on separate areas of the world until eventually they saw each other again in the final battle to save Vaugarde, and it was against each other.

But hey maybe in another time they could have been family again this is just a theory after all but it's a really good theory regardless and another life they could have had a chance to be family again but maybe instead of another life, maybe in another wish cost chance they could reunite with memory They could have a chance to forgive each other and possibly be family again and maybe that could be going for loop as well because as we all know Loop was another version of Siffrin, their could be a chance for these three to have a family reunion.

That is all for this theory I hope you enjoyed this-.

[synonymroll648]

ok im back from my feild trip to the pond let me live react to the fic you were actually talking about

ok it starts with- and i shit you not- an orginal idea i had for a kam au (for sun as a gift) where its like battle of bands or something and they kiss and its like "dont let that throw you off your rythm" as i sat with it and that is NOT kam at ALL and didnt fit any other characters so i had to make my own. and as i sat with THOSE characters i realized it also did not fit them so that is why the fic does not open with them kissing but instead like Flirting and its at a stage ish area because i LITERALLY did not know what the fuck i was supposed to do with this vision [i do know ALL the lore now !!]

for an aromantaic person who HATES being flirted with and flirting im so proud of that opening scene

the jacket that is referenced is highly inspired by my ex-best friend's mom's halloween costume from like the 90s that she let me have because i just like found it in a box and really liked it

biana is based loosely on my best friend <3

deadass i am so proud of how realistic my dialouge and interactions are. the JOY i feel because these dont feel like fake stores.

um i dont know if you have siblings. but i cannot emphasis how normal it is to be in the middle of a hEATED fight with like so much anger and then you go out together and like if the younger sibling pays? blood will be shed. someone is going to die not pleasentaly.

fun fact my beta reader HATED ". And I’ll always support you, regardless of dad’s feelings, or mine. Okay?”. and like i was like. no you dont understand. its the fact biana has to step aside and let fitz destroy himself because she cant DO anything. i was like nonononono that line HAS to stay in. this is fanfaction i have to project SO much??

"Alden untied Fitz’s tie just so he could redo it." and that's not projection

ope wait im not unpacking that scene

“I don’t see why that’s any of your concern,” Fitz glared at the host then settled" the glare is canoically about the "just" part in "just friends". that is me the author having so much anger inside

i text like a 54 year old woman i HATED writing out the texts between keefe and biana but it was SO important to me that i show their texting styles

fun fact i wrote "He knew better than to text Fitz," forgetting that interviews are often pre-recorded and um. and so that line can be deep if you want but mostly i just didnt really overthink proof reading and those curtains are blue when the author meant for their to be blinds

i was SO proud i just threw in "clandestine". i know big fancy words and casually use them ALL the time. that word was not easy.

my beta reader LOVED "leaving an ache in place of the memories."

oh fun fact this happened LONG after i wrote this fic but i did in fact have a fight with my ex-best friend where i wanted to give him back the jacket he let me borrow (not his mom) because i was so hurt i never wanted him to touch me again. :) funny way life comes full circle

"They’re hazy and confused, but they’re together. Messy hair on hidden skin, kisses followed by chuckles. Whispers of you ok? and genuine nods." // hey so i didn't know i was ace when i wrote this and um i think that it symbolises a LOT that my oc where the point of the story is being aroace is just like ,, weird as a teenager. has this very simialr worded scene and it ends SO differently

oh ok ok ok i purposefully chose pretty vrs handom. its the like thing where like keefe is okay iwth being pretty and queer and bluring lines between gender and fitz ,, isnt

“No? I am very confused and scared.”no thoughts thats just REAL

i am cronically offline and this is what i feel like when my friend debriefs me on the latest drama

sophie is how i text at 3 am when i am austsic and unmasking

fitz having a cracked scene is based on true events

new fun fact i set up a random number generator. im like "it needs to be between 12 and 2 am" amd then if its 1 im like "ok we need to round to 2 so it has to be between 31 and 59". and jesus takes the wheel

"STOP FUCKING DELETING THE DOTS" is a text i have sent

"A ten minute phone call later, Sophie convinced Fitz to meet him in a convent store near his house under an excuse of 'getting slushies sounded good'." slushies are how i cope with the world. taht is not a joke.

"A connection they’d always had but never fully understood." its a human au bc i didnt want to think about th elogistics of magic or elfs but i LOVED how i snuck thier little telepathy thing in <333

again im aro and sophie is like "does it feel right" is how i comforted my friend when she didnt know if she liked a guy and wanted to date him. she NEVER talked to me about her relationship again

god no god you dont understand they LIVED TOGETEHR,. THEY WERE SO CLOSE JUSTF EW87GF8347EFGOFREH9FHGRVH

"Fitz knows the crack in Keefe’s voice because it mirrors his as he opens the door; the same bruises on different bodies" no i can see myself out the door. its ok.

banging my head into a WALL. "is this our goodbye?" after they dont SAY bye because they know tehy'll meet up. so theyre forever changed udqg28efgu2

god the ending. oops kinda forgot it was there. i stand by it. i love my writing SO much.

ok my dog is asleep i hope you have you have SO much fun reading

bestie you’re referencing shit that lives in my brain rent free and also shit that i love but don’t remember off the top of my head. you’re hilarious and your words are beautiful and i need to reread the fic for sure. i had so much fun reading this. never change carl ily /p

[prophetparadox]

DMC OC Week 2023 Day 3: Past and Future

(I have no image for this one, so sorry)

As fun as talking about one of his AUs would be, I thought it might work better to go over Avalon's past for this @dmc-oc-week-specialedition entry! I couldn't go too deep into his future sadly, because I haven't figured that out entirely aside from one particular detail. Regardless, hope you enjoy this little look into the bastard.

Past: Avalon was once a quiet, introverted young man living in Red Grave City. He had no knowledge of demons, and lived a decent life. That is, until Mundus’ forces attacked the city. His parents were killed during this attack, with Avalon witnessing their deaths and obtaining his scar in the process. The seventeen year-old was one of the few survivors, but his account of demons being responsible was brushed off as being ridiculous and the imaginings of a traumatized teenager. He knew the truth though, and he held onto that even when the rest of the world denied it. Eleven years later, he obtained word of the Temen ni Gru rising and learned that demons had once again attacked humanity. And just like when he was a teenager, he was brushed off. But this time would be different. Now he was a man and could do something about it. He wasn’t going to let demons have their way with humanity and let the incidents be covered up any longer. So he did the most rational thing and started a cult.

The Saviors of Dawn existed to remove the threat of demons from humanity permanently, their numbers filled with those who despised demons or those who were swayed by Avalon’s words and charisma. They would spend the next five years obtaining Devil Arms and discovering the existence of human/demon hybrids. Upon compiling as much information as needed, the Saviors were ordered to bring in all the hybrid children they’d managed to gather information on, kidnapping many from around the world. Avalon intended to use them as weapons, forcing them to awaken their demonic powers and wield Devil Arms to fight against the demons. However, most of them didn’t survive the initial attempt at unlocking their powers and more would die afterwards. After two years he’d written the plan off as a failure, ordering the few that remained to be killed and leaving the complex to think of a new plan. But it mattered little, seeing as all of the cult were killed shortly after he left. But one of the hybrids had managed to escape, and it was clear to him that the survivor had killed the cult entirely. This being the final nail in the coffin, Avalon decided that he’d have to lie low for a while and figure out a new plan. Along with finding whichever hybrid was the survivor and killing them himself.

Future: Avalon kept his attention on anything suspicious happening in the world, taking note of incidents such as the Savior in Fortuna and the Qliphoth in Red Grave City. He also learns about the world of Devil Hunters, and figures that might be a lead to chase. Two years after the Qliphoth’s destruction, he returns to his hometown and visits the newest branch of Devil May Cry. Little does he know that this visit will lead to his downfall, and his end comes for him. He never thought to fear the reaper, but if he knew what was coming, he certainly would do so…

[esta-elavaris]

Fallen Through Time

Part Two [2,399 words]

[James Norrington/Modern!OC]

An AU of my completed, 400k+ word fanfic Catch the Wind [AO3], in which Elizabeth, not James, is the one to discover Theodora Byrne after she crash-lands into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Because of the nature of the AU, there are certain parts that overlap with the main story, such as Theo’s reaction to waking up in a world she previously considered fictional. I’m doing what I can to gloss over those parts without skipping them entirely - I hope they don’t appear rushed, I just know that 99.99% of you will have read the main fic, so I don’t see the point in boring you with things you’ve already read 💜

Masterpost - Part One - *Part Two* [you’re here!]

Tag list [let me know if you want to be added!]: @missfronkensteen @dancerinthestorm @teawithshakespeare​

When Theo next awoke, groped blindly about her and sighed in contentment when her fingers were met with bed covers, and she registered the pillow beneath her head. As far as dreams went, the one she’d had last night wasn’t the most eventful, but there was just something about it that made it the strangest. Vivid and hazy all in one - like she shouldn’t be able to remember it upon waking. Inhaling deeply, she turned her head to the side and buried her face in the pillow. And that was when she paused.

It felt…strange. And it smelled different, too - a heavier floral scent than her own fabric softener, or even the grassy smell that clung to her camping gear regardless of how deeply she cleaned it. Still too hazy to do much more than huff her annoyance at the mystery, she inhaled deeply and stretched out like a cat. It was at that point where a few different things all happened at once, every single one of them dragging her by her hair into a jolting wakefulness. The strange, foreign covers stuck to her skin as she stretched - aggravating the burns that had no business being there - her hands met with a wooden headboard that she did not own, and a voice spoke a few feet to the side. An English voice, one that she’d previously only heard in movies. 

“Miss Byrne? Are you awake? Theodo…Theodora?” her name was said hesitantly, like she wasn’t sure she was getting it right “Can you hear me?”

Theo’s eyes flew open, but unlike last time, she didn’t start. She couldn’t. It was like being trapped beneath the weight of sleep paralysis, such was how weak she felt. All she could do was stir feebly, and stare - primarily at Elizabeth fucking Swann, who had rushed to sit on the edge of the bed, beautiful, concerned, and very much real. 

“You mustn’t panic,” Elizabeth met her gaze intently, resting a hand atop hers “Do you know where you are?”

In a four poster bed of which the curtains and the bedding had more bright blue fauna and flora on it than any wilderness she’d ever camped out in. Beyond that, she couldn’t say. A shake of her head had the woman continuing.

“You are in Port Royal. My name is Elizabeth Swann, my father is governor here - you’re in our home. I’ve been watching over you for some time…along with the maids, and the physician, of course.”

She barely heard the words over the thrumming of her own blood in her ears. It was difficult to listen to much of anything upon waking up in a reality that didn’t bloody well exist. 

“Thank you,” Theo rasped. 

Speaking now hurt almost as much as it had last time, and Elizabeth took pity on her then, leaning towards the bedside table to take up a teacup before encouraging her to sit up, and holding it to her lips. It contained not tea, thankfully, nor water, but milk - incredibly sweet milk. Theo, however, was more concerned with how Elizabeth went about all of this like an utterly seasoned nursemaid, and not a woman who had been raised in luxury.

“Milk and honey,” Elizabeth explained, unprompted “We’ve been drip-feeding you with it for days to try and keep your strength up. It appears we were only somewhat successful.”

“Days?”

“Three of them. The physician assured us that it was good - that the rest meant you were healing. Truth be told, it was probably better that you weren’t conscious while the worst of the burns were tended to. We were rather more successful in managing those.”

Her words explained why the sheets had stuck to her - a glance at her arms found that the loose, flowing sleeves of the ornate white nightgown she’d been dressed in had been rolled up, and some sort of sticky salve had been applied to her still very pink skin. 

“Thank you,” she said slowly - for lack of much else to say, although the physical mechanics of talking were easier now, leaving her only to deal with the mental ones “I’m sorry if I’ve been a pain.”

The furrow in Elizabeth’s brow was more confused than anything else, so she rephrased it - this time doing her best to channel the voice she used to use for essays back in her high school days.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been an imposition,” she clarified.

“Not at all. You hardly chose to end up where you did, did you?”

Her dark eyes lingered on her as she returned the teacup to the bedside table, hinting at the fact that the question was not an entirely rhetorical one. 

“Can’t say that I did,” Theo answered honestly “I’m sorry - can you help me sit up? Talking like this is…it’s a bit awkward.”

“Only if you agree to stop apologising,” she replied drily.

It took a few moments, but soon she was sitting up and feeling just a little bit less awkward for it. Although part of her was sure her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that Elizabeth could definitely hear it.

“How was it that you came to be washed up on that beach?” Elizabeth questioned “You must forgive me for prying so readily, but it’s a question that has hardly left my mind since I first found you, and you’ve not been in much of a state to answer it until now. A shipwreck?”

Theo nodded “My memory is foggy. But it must’ve been.”

How else did one end up washed up on a beach? She wasn’t a sodding whale, it didn’t just happen. 

“Where were you sailing?” 

That was a tricky one to answer. Port Royal had long since been claimed by the sea back home, but Theo knew it was in Jamaica. If she gave an answer of an island that was too near - Cuba, or Haiti - it might be no big deal for them to ship her off there. No matter how fucked she currently was (that was pending a real, cohesive assessment, but she’d wager she sat somewhere between ‘utterly’ and ‘well and truly’ on the fucked spectrum), she at least knew the people here. In some way or another. Elizabeth looked so very young, sitting here beside her. Wide-eyed and cheerful. If she really was here, in this sodding fictional land, and not being held hostage by some psychotic Keira Knightley lookalike, she knew the events that would soon happen, too. The same could not be said for Haiti or Cuba. 

“America- er, the…new world.” 

Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose somewhat “That’s hundreds of leagues north.”

“Our ship was forced off-course by pirates, and then dragged further off-course by a terrible storm. I suspect the tide did the rest of the work in dragging me here.”

It spoke to how much of a toll her ordeal - the real one, the one that she couldn’t even begin to make up the details of - had taken on her that she was out of breath just by sitting and talking. Elizabeth continued to watch her, her hands clasped amongst her skirts as she tried to steady her breathing again. The sympathy was back on her face, but it was joined by something else. Suspicion? Not the malevolent kind - not yet, anyway. But the sort a parent might have on their face as their kid insists that they have no idea how the cookies in the jar vanished. 

“That’s unfortunate,” she said finally, lowering her gaze.

“Imagine how it looks from where I’m sitting,” Theo replied drily.

That earned her a small smile. Which was probably how she was caught off-guard when Elizabeth reached into the folds of her skirts and produced a black leather wallet. One that was a hell of an anachronism in these parts.

“No,” she said “It’s unfortunate because you’re not telling me the truth.”

Theo knew then that if her burns would allow her to pale, her face would be the same shade as the nightgown she wore. Even if her pallor didn’t show her fear, she knew her eyes did, for Elizabeth rested a hand atop her shin over the overs. 

“If what I can glean from this is true, I suspect I cannot blame you for being dishonest with me now,” she said quietly, eyes locked intently on hers “But I must know, or else I cannot help.” 

Well. Shit. 

****

Three Days Earlier

With her father apprised of the situation, and a footman sent to Fort Charles in order to inform the men of Elizabeth’s discovery, she was left with the maids to take care of their new guest. The woman - Theodora Byrne, if she’d heard correctly - was determined not to make it easy for them. While still mostly on her feet (so long as she had something to cling to), Elizabeth suspected she was not quite present. If she didn’t know the truth of the matter, she’d have thought she was drunk. Where she previously talked in rasping slurs, now she didn’t appear able to piece together a single sentence at all, her eyes fluttering even as they manoeuvred her up the stairs, each step an arduous process. 

When they finally got her to the blue bedroom, sweat beaded on Elizabeth’s brow - but it positively poured off of their new charge. They finally got her sitting down atop the bed, but every time they made to start undressing her, she would bat their hands away and insist on doing it herself, in private. It was an insistence that Elizabeth would have ordinarily understood, but under these circumstances, and with her utter inability to even undo the ties of the apron they’d knotted around her waist in an attempt to preserve her honour, it was very tiresome. 

They’d relented, though, and Elizabeth stepped out of the room with Estrella, both listening with thinned, concerned lips to the sound of her stumbling about the room. Finally, after the clatter of china suggested she’d bumped into the dressing table in the corner, Elizabeth lost much of her patience and turned to her maid.

“Go downstairs and have the cook make some honeyed milk. Perhaps a broth, too, if Miss Byrne is able to take some. Water, also, we shall need water. After that, go to my own rooms and fetch a hairbrush, and a dressing gown. Oh, and a selection of books. I suspect she’ll be bed bound for some time.”

If she were being entirely honest, she knew they’d have need for less than half of what she’d just ordered. It was listed primarily to keep the maid out of the way, so that perhaps their charge would allow Elizabeth to help if it were only she who tried. Estrella nodded and all but fled, and Elizabeth waited until she turned the corner of the corridor to duck back into the room - only after giving a knock that was not answered. 

Theodora Byrne was sprawled atop the floral bed-covers, the apron at her waist a jumble of knots, still fully dressed - including even her strange boots. Elizabeth sighed. At least if she was unconscious, she would not refuse help. She only hoped she would not be too cross when she awoke to find herself changed. The nightgown they’d already set aside for her was a puddle on the floor - it looked like she’d tried to pull it on over what she already wore, failed, and then gave up entirely.

That failure was likely a good thing, too, for the strange fabric of her underthings had grown stiff and unforgiving as wood thanks to the saltwater that had lapped at her while she lay unconscious. The clothing took Elizabeth a little time to figure out, but figure it out she did, unbuttoning and pulling down the strange denim smalls before casting them aside (noting the pocketbook that had been wedged into one of the four pockets the garment boasted, and setting it aside for later)…only to find she wore yet more smallclothes beneath her smallclothes. An Irish custom? A matter of religion, perhaps? Were she Catholic, as many Irish supposedly were, it was likely she’d have some strange habits. 

The upper portion of her body was much easier to deal with, and the extent of her burns was made glaringly obvious once Elizabeth was able to compare it to the pale skin that had been shielded by her clothing. Sympathy welled in her heart at the sight of it - for she didn’t envy the healing process she was likely to spend the next few weeks going through, and these were only the hurts they could see. At least, she resolved, they may help her with that. She wasn’t in the habit of dressing and undressing others like a maid, so she was fully invested now. 

Theodora hardly stirred as Elizabeth cast aside the remaining clothing and then gathered up the fabric of the nightgown into her hands. This part would be most awkward of all. Leaning forward, she encouraged the other women to sit up so she could pull the garment over her head…and then a burst of green across her back caught her gaze. Then orange, and streaks of…black? Elizabeth felt like she had stopped breathing entirely.

Rolling the barely-conscious woman over with not as much care as she probably should have, she stared in disbelief at the tattoo that sprawled across an entire quarter of her back. It was unlike any tattoo she’d ever seen - not on the rougher of the sailors who came into port for trade, and not even like the ones dotted across the pirates that were hanged at Fort Charles. Certainly not ever on any woman. These were not crude little cartoons, this was…well, it was almost art. Like someone had used watercolour paints on her very skin. 

The woman huffed as if stirring, and Elizabeth rushed to make quick work of dressing her and hauling her into the bed - by which point she’d almost soaked her own dress in sweat, her hair quite deflated and awry. The pocketbook remained where she’d set it aside on the bedside table. Without hesitation, she took it up, confused at how something so small might hold anything of monetary value, but not allowing that dilemma to slow her down. She needed answers, and it seemed to be the only thing in any state to offer any. 

[rainbows-fanfics]

Help Unwanted (Chapter 13)

Summary: After losing the Pirate, Deacon is unwillingly paired with a partner to help with his job. The only problem is - they can't stand each other, and time is dwindling until he can re-capture all his lost prisoners.

Human AU of the Armada from Pirate101.

Pairings: Deacon/Queen!Deacon, Deacon/OC

--

Dea clenched and unclenched her hands as this news sank in the room. It felt like the temperature had dipped again and a new chill settled on her skin. She tore her eyes away and swallowed. This was not how she imagined this conversation would play out. She thought their prisoners would be held behind bars to serve their time in Valencia for their committed crimes. But now she learned they were interrogated and tortured for information. 

..Why did that make her feel sick? 

She attempted to call his bluff. “You’re lying.” 

He wouldn’t dispute it because there was nothing to disprove. Still. She hoped he would appease her regardless. But she was not that lucky. 

"It’s a part of my job that I don’t talk about.” 

“...But that can’t be.” She tried to keep her voice steady. The pain in her head was coming back at a cruel time. “I know the Armada do unsavory things, but I didn’t picture you doing them...” 

He tilted his head curiously. “Do you think I’m not capable?” 

“Anyone is capable. It depends if they're willing to do it.” 

She crossed her arms and fixed him with a challenging stare. He was not intimidated in the slightest. 

“I do everything I can to obtain the information we need. I don’t do it because I like it. I do it because that is what is expected of me.” 

Her eyes searched his mask. To hear that the man she worked with was the same one physically inflicting this pain on others…She’d heard the Armada was involved in dirty business, but she thought such things were carried out by people… less than the Elite. She hadn’t viewed Deacon as a threat - she learned he was a mildly-tempered man. But knowing that he tortured people…

…

…That was what was expected of him? What did his job entail, exactly? 

Dea suddenly felt defenseless. If he was capable of this, then he was damn-well able to do things to her, too. Queen assured her he was a good man, but she neglected to mention he was capable of mindless violence. 

Her mind began to spiral. She thought of all the nights they had slept together in the same room. At any point, he could’ve easily restrained her and questioned who she was. She would've had no other choice but to cave in. He could've gotten all the answers he wanted through physical means. 

…Her subconscious dutifully reminded her that he didn't. 

A painful ache formed in Dea's head from all this mental fretting. She wished she could have learned this without a concussion. She covered her mask with her hands and groaned. Deacon grew concerned. 

“Are you alright?”

She held up a hand to reassure him. He didn't push it. She moved her arms to hug herself in a sudden need of comfort. Her voice was quiet.

“...What is it like?" 

It took him a few seconds to realize what she was asking. His voice gave nothing away. "I won't talk about it." 

"I don't want to know anything confidential. I just…" She looked to the floor. "..Want to know if it's hard for you."

She wished to know how he felt doing these things. Did he enjoy their pain? Or was it something he despised? He said it was part of his job that he was expected - and possibly forced - to do. If the process was difficult for him, he shouldn’t bear that burden alone. Something tapped the tiles and caught her attention. Deacon had rearranged his cane into his other hand. 

"This is nothing you need to worry about."

"Why not? Do I not have the right to know what happens to those we are capturing?"

"Your involvement is limited. The moment we’re done arresting them, you are dismissed from this mission. Anything that happens afterwards is my obligation, not yours." 

She fell silent. He continued, "-These are *my* prisoners. And I will see to it that my duties are fulfilled once and for all."

"So you’ll question and beat them until they tell you what you want?" It was a rhetorical question and she knew it. She chewed the inside of her cheek. "...But what if they are innocent? If they know nothing about this 'pirate haven'?"

"They have been rightfully convicted with full evidence against them. These are not 'random scum' I have chosen willy-nilly."

"..."

Dea didn't know what to say. It was so much to take in. And really - she had no place to argue, what with this being * his * situation that she merely stepped into. She wondered if she would've agreed to this operation if she knew everything that was happening.

…Torture was wrong. But she personally knew a few men who deserved that pain. Who she would love to see suffer. She pictured Deacon bringing justice this way in her mind. *Someone* had to teach these degenerates a lesson, after all. Now she didn’t feel so bothered by the prospect anymore.

But she was still conflicted. 

The door opened and her nurse peeked in to announce that visiting hours were closing. The spymaster stood to his feet once they were alone. He faced Dea and tapped his fingers on his cane thoughtfully.

"What are your favorite flowers?" He prompted.

Despite the earlier tension, his co-captain let out an airly chuckle. She rested her head in her hand. "Why? Were you thinking of getting me some?"

"Yes. But…you've never mentioned your favorite."

She smiled under her mask. "Lobelias."

He tilted his mask ever so slightly. "Interesting," He remarked.

"I don't know if they're that popular here in Valencia, but we used to have them in our garden at home." Her heart ached as a feeling of reminiscence washed over her. She sighed. "But…tulips are also lovely." 

"Noted. Buona notte."

He wasn't sure what else to do but take his leave. As he departed, he took one last glance at the trench coat hidden behind Dea and exhaled sadly. 

-----

That night, Deacon was where most Armada soldiers shouldn't be. But he was one of the few who had full clearance here, and he was going to use that to his advantage. 

He’d been here months ago when he was first assigned a partner. He spent hours scouring through classified documents and checking the Armada’s files for any information about her. He made little progress that day; it infuriated him to waste so much time. But now he had a lead and he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. 

Reyna. 

It wasn’t hard to find his way past redacted Armada memorandums. The difficult part was * knowing * what material was obscured - and if he had that information, he could easily locate the original document. His search tonight went much easier than his last. Before the Emissary knew it, he was holding a confidential stack of papers containing everything that he wanted to know. 

As he went to open the folder, he paused. Was he doing the right thing? 

He’d held back long enough. If he had been really dedicated to finding Dea’s identity, he would’ve returned here the second he learned she was from Monquista. He could’ve cashed in on a few favors owed to him there, taken a look at their army’s records. But he’d been focused on his mission; too preoccupied with staying on Kane’s good side to do any more personal digging. But with her admittance, he could search to his heart’s delight. 

He had waited, which proved fortunate. He held back long enough to learn Dea’s true name directly from her lips - albeit accidentally. Which made what he was doing all the more contentious. But she didn’t have to know . No one did. He had practice hiding things and acting on the down-low. It helped that he was an Elite and had authorization to do most of these things. If what he was doing was ever discovered, most Armada officers were more than willing to look away. 

He opened the folder. 

---- Obtaining the lobelias was a little time-consuming, but it didn’t matter. He had time to waste, so what was a day hunting down a vendor in possession of them? It turns out they were beloved in Valencia, since the rich regularly decorated the outside of their mansions with hanging baskets of the flowers. But that meant most were out of stock, and that’s where Deacon’s little hunt began. He still managed to procure a bouquet with little problem, and wrote Dea’s name on a small tag in neat handwriting. 

He was stopped when Queen heard of what he was doing and she insisted he’d take her own arrangement with him. It mainly consisted of zinnias, to lament her temporary absence in the Armada, with chrysanthemums and crocuses. When he dropped them off at the hospital, he felt he had been overshadowed by Queen’s bountiful assortment.

. . . 

When that was done, he was faced with the same dilemma as before. Even though he visited Dea and made sure she was well, he still had to captain his ship alone and strategize by himself. It didn’t make a difference, really - he’d done this for years and managed well on his own. But he was missing her input, her small comments on how repetitive his schemes were and how he needlessly wrote every tiny detail down. 

He felt...incomplete. This was not a feeling he experienced before, which meant he had to accept the difficult fact that— 

He missed Dea. 

To cope with this realization, he sought out his journal every time he thought about her. Her mattress in the cabin was vacant, but all of her belongings were still there. The room even lingered of her perfume. Soon his back pages were full of Dea’s habits that he knew, what foods she liked, and the lyrics to the songs she sang around him. 

On his less favorable nights, much like this one where he was deep in thought, he scribbled down the name ��Reyna’ , followed by what he found in those documents. He learned a few interesting things about her past, but it all felt like an incomplete puzzle. 

It turns out she wasn’t a transfer at all. She’d been discharged from the Monquistan army for ‘insubordination’ , and had a list of misdemeanors on her record. But he couldn’t find what she had been accused of, and all of her superiors used codenames to hide their identities. Deacon recognized the work of someone intentionally covering their tracks, and had the strongest feeling that was going on here. He just wasn’t sure if it was Dea herself, or someone else outside of this equation. 

It just…didn’t make sense. 

Yes, Dea was a little difficult. She talked back and asserted herself when she could. But she followed orders and expressed nothing but loyalty to the Armada. She never worked against their mission and had no issue when it came to capturing prisoners from her homeland. It was hard to picture his co-captain as a troublemaker.

Not to mention, the Armada’s standards were strict, and would not willingly recruit anyone with a bad history. There was no statement of her request ever being denied, but surely her records had to have been accessed? Knowing Queen was behind Dea’s promotion, he wondered if she had a helping hand in her enlistment as well.

And if she did… why? Queen was the second-in-command of the Armada. She had the authority to do as she pleased, but she was also stern. She had high expectations like any other upper-hand did. She would not let a disobedient soldier work alongside an Elite like him. 

Deacon dropped his pen and sighed, sitting back in his chair. His thoughts returned to the day he was called into his father’s office and presented with a proposition. Kane himself said Dea had no “records of negligence ” - had he lied? Or was that a true statement, and Dea’s misconduct was elsewhere? The Supreme Commander had the final say in all decisions regardless of Queen's input. Which meant he must have personally approved of Dea himself.

He could not ask Queen about it because then that would reveal he was snooping around Armada records again, and she might not appreciate this with Dea, knowing how she felt about the girl. And Kane would be upset to learn he was avoiding his mission and fretting over such trifles. The spymaster regretted looking at those papers, because now he had more questions than answers. 

Why couldn’t this be easy, and he could simply ask Dea about it? She was secretive of her past, and now Deacon had a clue as to why. But what could she be hiding? How much was there that he didn’t know? And why did that bother him so much?

He leaned forward and grabbed his pen again, letting out an exhausted breath. In a fit of frustration, he wrote down the words:

I miss her.

[shivunin]

Ooooh! For the Character Creation ask…

4, 12, 15 and 19, for as many of your ladies you'd wish to answer :3

Thank you, Arja! 💗I think I'll answer for a handful for each!

Wow, I had a lot more to say about that first one than I expected haha. Sorry for the excessive length!

(OC Creation Ask Game)

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

Wen: The alienage, absolutely. I think growing up there shaped so much of who she is that she could not have become herself under any other circumstances. I have other OCs who I think would have been the same regardless of where they lived (Maria, Emmaera, Jesse), but Wen is only Wen because of the Denerim Alienage and everything that happened to her there.

Maria: The magic system, especially healing magic. I think a lot about how magic in Thedas works (and obviously canon is very contradictory in some respects) and I think the fact that the healing tree is specifically spirit healing is very interesting. I like thinking about the sort of academicized specializations in the Circles and whatever bootleg version of that Malcolm passed on to his children, too. We see so many variations of magic and how it's used between Morrigan, Merrill, Wynne, Solas, and Vivienne that it's clear there are a lot of applications, variations, and extrapolations on magic even beyond the combat-focused reality of the medium (it is, in the end, a video game largely about fighting). Anyways! For Maria, how magic works (or doesn't) was a lot of her development. Also the class system and politics of Kirkwall in that first scene...Given my own background, the idea of having to bribe someone into finding somewhere safe to live really struck me.

All of my Lavellans are largely shaped by what I knew about the Dalish when I first started writing fic (not having played Origins until well after, for example), but I was struck by different aspects of their role thereof during their development:

Elowen: The pressure of being raised to leadership and knowing that you'll eventually be the Keeper of all the people around you. I think Elowen always wanted to be perfect for her clan because she didn't believe that failure was an option, hence giving up the position of First right before Inquisition starts. The fate of the clan is so dire if you (the player) make the slightest mistake, and since she was my first Lavellan I thought a lot about what that meant beyond the structure of the game. When the position of the Dalish is often so precarious, how do you live knowing your mistakes could cost them all their lives? That's a lot for one person to bear.

Emmaera: The sheer amount of history lost to the Dalish. The game presents so many sites from the elves from before and after the fall of Arlathan and (again, given my background--this time specifically my degree) I imagined someone who embraced those moments of exploration we see in Inquisition. Also, when writing her I thought a lot about what it means to be the sort of figurehead the Inquisitor must be. How do you find meaning in life after being the savior of the world? How do you feel successful in something like...having a home or making dinner? So, I guess, the scale of Inquisition and what it would mean to leave that behind.

Salshira: The insular nature of the clan. I grew up in a very small town and everyone knew everyone else's business all the time, so that's what I was thinking of when I was first defining elements of her character. Also, of course, some of the mysterious role the Fade plays in the games---though of course I pushed the boundaries of canon a bit there since I first wrote her in a soulmate AU.

As for my non-DA characters...

Jesse: When I started writing Jesse as a distinct character, I was thinking a lot about how human culture is depicted as very homogenous in the Mass Effect series, and how I don't like that haha. Her character is also shaped by how I think government actions like Jump Zero would be received by what we'd consider disprivileged communities today/ how I imagine my grandmother and aunts would perceive something like biotics (a shuttle crash near their fields is how Jesse's mother was exposed to Eezo). Anyways, "accidents" creating a group of people with essentially superpowers that can then be kidnapped off to a special "school" and then put in the army Alliance is uh...definitely shady. Which is why her family lives somewhere too remote for her to get identified as a biotic until various backstory events land her in the city. So, short answer: Eezo and Jump Zero and biotics in general.

Tav: The oaths of a paladin being the source of their power. Also, I picked the Guild Artisan background for her because it gave me bonuses I liked and then I was too fascinated by the idea of a guild artisan paladin to not figure out how the hell she ended up in this position. What could she possibly believe in so hard that it gave her access to divine power?

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Lately? Finding the motivation and time haha. But in general...

Elowen: I first wrote Elowen when I was extremely sad, and writing her was a way of figuring out how to find meaning in (what felt like) meaninglessness. I have the hardest time writing her when my mental health is good, somewhat ironically.

Maria: Writing her for myself, actually. I know other people enjoy her, so at some point in every fic for her I become hyper-aware of how it might be perceived and then I stop enjoying writing it. Alas.

Jesse: Canon. I really don't like writing fic contrary to canon and Mass Effect is essentially a dating sim to me lol. So I don't have as solid a grasp on all the background/lore and looking things up takes foreeeeever when I'm already in the middle of writing.

15. What is something about your OC that makes you laugh?

Arianwen: My dog hates being wet. If he dips one little paw into water, he runs back to safety and shakes his whole body until he's absolutely sure he won't be wet again. When I have to bathe him in the sink, he stares at me in betrayal the whole time and makes the saddest, tiniest squeaking noise. Wen is like that about handling other people's emotions and it makes me laugh

Emmaera: Her duality? Idk that I make this very explicit a lot of the time, but she is a cute, absentminded academic with dandelion fluff hair who went on a murderous vigilante rampage through Darktown at great personal cost. Someone sent me the "I can be your angle...or yuor devil" meme about her once and I am still laughing about it

Maria: Her lack of impulse control/sense of humor in general

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Had a hard time defining "favorite fact" so here are just some fun facts:

Arianwen: Used to save half her dinner for the strays until her dad made her stop. That's when she started to figure out how to be sneaky--so she could steal food to feed her street pets.

Maria: She is the one who taught Carver how to read. Some of the time, he was in a headlock for it.

Elowen: In the "canon" version of her story, she names her spirit blade "singer" in elven because she likes its hum.

Emmaera: Used to go to ruins with her father and mimic his actions before she understood them. She used to very seriously dust bits of rock clean to look at the patterns on them, even when there wasn't really anything to see.

Salshira: Actually, my favorite aspect of her is that once she feels she is safe and welcomed and loved, Salshira turns the full force of her charm to protecting the people she cares about. And I love that someone who never felt that she could genuinely herself never has to be that person around people she distrusts. Instead. she is able to use that same skill (being charming, being a chameleon is a skill) to look out for others instead of herself. And that is actually my favorite fact about her.

[beantothemax]

Hi Bean!! Got a Castitio fic for you, as compensation for the Elena fic, the angst I have and will send about my OC octopath au and the Trousseau fic I will send later today :3

The sun shone through the crack in the curtain. As its rays hit the sleeping couple, Castti stirred in her sleep. She opened her eyes, first noticing her splitting headache, then Partitio asleep beside her.

"... What was I doing?" she muttered.

A sharp stinging pain in her temple suddenly arose. She lifted her hand to head to see what it was, but felt a bandage rather than a wound.

"Partitio!" she shook him, "Partitio!"

He woke up with a groan, "what is it, honey?"

"Why do I have bandages on my head?" she asked.

Partitio blinked several times before he sat up and processed what was going on around him.

"Oh, that 'cause ya' fainted and hit yer head on a table. Wasn't there myself, but Nikki brought ya' here and said ya' overworked yourself."

"I did?"

"Yeah, I was scared for ya' but I could hardly say I was surprised. With how much ya' work, it was only a matter of time before somethin' like this happened," he said.

Castti glared at him but he laughed and her face softened. She couldn't stay mad at him, as he was right and he did at least bandage her wound.

He climbed out of bed and quickly got dressed.

"Yesterday I told mister Roque I'd take the day of to take care of ya', so I've got all the time in the world to spoil ya' and make sure ya' rest an' recover," he said with a big smile.

Castti never liked being spoiled. She was always the one to pamper and care for her friends, but now she had finally been put into a situation where she couldn't refuse.

She crawled back under the covers and stared at the wall as she started to nod off again. Half an hour later, Partitio returned with a plate of pancakes, bacon, eggs and raspberries. He was careful to wake her gently. She sat up, the headache returning again.

"Does this breakfast have herbs for a headache?" she chuckled.

"Nope, have it here though," he smiled, handing her a glass with a murky green water.

Its scent was very familiar, one Castti had smelled hundreds of times before, though something was just a bit off.

"Did you look through my medicine book for this?" she asked.

"Yep, I think I did pretty well," Partitio smiled.

"Did you test it on yourself?"

"No, I'm not that dumb."

"Good, because you mixed in the wrong herb. You were supposed to use western morning glory leaves, you used kachen leaves, which turns this mixture into a laxative, rather than a headache relief," she laughed.

"Oh," Partitio's face quickly became red as a rose.

"The pancakes look nice though," she quickly added.

Usually, she could be blunt when one of the members of Eir's apothecaries made such a mistake, but Partitio was a bit more sensitive than them. He always became embarrassed when finding out he made a mistake, regardless of what it was.

Castti cut a piece off, taking a bite. Any feeling of pain or fatigue she previously had faded away in an instant. She'd had many pancakes before, but Partitio's were always different, far better than even the best chef's.

"Ya like 'em?" he asked.

"They're divine," she said as she took several more bites.

"That's reassuring, I didn't taste test 'em."

The fact that he didn't even have to taste and adjust the batter made their quality even more impressive.

She cut the next piece, holding the fork up to his lips, "try them, I think you've mastered the art of making pancakes."

Partitio bit the piece, nodding as he swallowed.

"Eh, could be a little sweeter," he said.

"Come on, you know they're perfect," Castti smiled.

"Doesn't matter what I think, as long as ya' like 'em, then I'm happy," he smiled, taking the fork from her hand.

Partitio cut and fed her the rest of the food, and for once, Castti didn't complain that he wanted to spoil her.

AAAAA THIS IS SO SWEET…. partitio spoiling castti is amazing perfect 10/10 I love it

PARTITIO ACCIDENTALY MAKING A LAXATIVE HAD ME LAUGHING FOR LIKE A MINUTE he’s doing his best!!!!!

the uh. promises of a trousseau angst fic is both exicting and worrying.

[villainessprefect]

OC x Canon Week 2023 - Day 4: cuddling / western AU / "take me with you!"

summary: an accidental first time cuddling?? plz help Idia k? thx. on the shorter side bcuz I was a bit busy today

ship: IdiaVale (idia/gn!oc)

@theocxcanonweek​

Read on AO3

Idia's body is stiff. Lying flat on his back he feels like a piece of wood waiting to be picked up by a main character. Unfortunately for him, he's already been picked up and equipped. All he can do is take in a sharp, shaky breath as he stares down at the one who has their grip on him.

Vale has their arms wrapped around him, keeping a slight hold on his body. A leg is lazily placed over his, which has a weaker hold but it's still one nonetheless. Their head rests against his chest, right above his heart. With the way it's beating erratically, it's a miracle that they haven't woken up from this heart attack of his!

This isn't an unwanted event, but it is one that he didn't have time to prepare for. The last thing he remembers was crawling into bed after them and then waking up...like this.

His body trembles at his latest position. Unnecessary fears rise the longer he remains awake. He should just go back to sleep but it feels impossible to do so at the moment. Any move he makes could unlock a bad ending, right? If he wakes them up it's totally a game over screen.

So, he has to remain like the equipped item he's meant to be. Still and in the arms of the real hero. It's all easier said than done. He wants to move, just a bit to get comfortable too.

Idia gulps and casts his gaze back to Vale. He can't see their face, not without moving but he can easily imagine how peaceful their sleeping. They tend to fall asleep before him which leads to him getting the best CGs of his life! Now it seemed that all his stealthy snapshots were coming back to haunt him. He had a price to pay and the fates were making sure he paid in full.

A slim arm is free from their hold. It can't do much when his whole body is captured but he's granted some freedom. It feels awkward to have it extended out for a lengthy time period. If he can move it to a more comfortable position then maybe, just maybe, he can have a chance at going back to sleep.

His arm hovers in the air, uncomfortably so. Fingers twitch as if trying to do some sort of combo as he hesitates on his next move. Reassuring himself that he can level up rather than game over only makes this challenge that much harder.

Another breath is taken. He shuts his eyes and bites down on his lip. A whine nearly escapes him. His hand finally falls onto their back. It's a gentle landing, the clothes on their back protecting them from his touch.

And nothing happens.

Vale doesn't wake up angry or upset. They remain asleep. A nervous grin inches onto his face. He definitely passed this round!

"Level up~!" He hums and is quick to hold his breath.

Seconds pass and their breathing doesn't change. He forgets how careful he needs to be. The difficulty only goes up from here, doesn't it? Especially with the next attempt...

His other hand begins to twitch. There's even more limited movement, but he can have his arm rest over his body. His hand ends up hovering over theirs. This time there are no clothes to protect their skin from his repulsive touch.

It's not like they haven't held hands before. It took some time to get used to but it's a comforting feeling. But that is when their both conscious and silent affirmations are made between them. Despite knowing the answer, Idia likes to ask for permission beforehand. Having his fingers run over their skin without it feels like he's taking a big step.

He ends up squeezing their hand like he does when their awake. Thankfully, they don't wake. Either he's really lucky or Vale is out cold for the night. Regardless, he's happy that they haven't woken up because of him.

His body begins to relax against his bed. It melts into the mattress as it normally does. Part of him still feels tense but not as strongly when he first woke up. His heart beat steadies out and Idia manages to take in a silent breath.

Sleep won't come easy, but for once he feels like it might.

[floralseokjin]

⤑ made-up love song x (m).

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher, never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago, and you’re unable to remember the last time you dated. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire. 

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader   au/genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, romance, happy ending, jin has stubble lmao, smut; morning sex, oral sex (f receiving), soft sex, spooning, jin has a thing for boobs this saturday morn, everything gets so fluffy  words; 6,243

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii  • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

When you heard the doorbell ring twenty-five minutes later you were up off the sofa in seconds, heart thrumming against your ribcage as you rushed towards the entryway, a nervous kind of excitement flurrying inside your stomach. Yanking the door open, you were unable to keep the smile from your face as you saw Seokjin stood in front of you. He was dressed in sweatpants and a baggy white t-shirt which was slightly creased. His hair must have been freshly washed, soft and fluffy on top of his head, but it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a while, hints of stubble growing along his upper lip and along his jawline. 

“Hi.” You were grinning by now. 

“Hi,” he murmured softly, stepping forward. Immediately you found yourself in his embrace, the familiar scent of his laundry detergent welcoming. You wrapped your arms around his middle, pressing the side of your face to his chest. You felt still, relaxed for the first time in days. 

Kissing the top of your head as he pulled away, he took your hands and let out a small chuckle. “I was halfway here when I realised I still had my slippers on.” 

You looked down at his feet, giggling as you spotted the blue slip ons. Linking your fingers with his, you gently tugged him forward. “Do you want head to the living room?”

He nodded, letting you lead the way, and you paused by the kitchen, turning back. “Want something to drink?”

“Water, if it isn’t any trouble.” He asked. Classic Seokjin, you thought to yourself, leaving him to sit, too polite for no reason. When you came back, handing him the drinking glass he smiled and said his thanks. You sat next to him watching him take a sip and lean over to place the glass on the coffee table. You didn’t know where to start, you had so much to say, but it seemed like he had been thinking his piece over in the car ride here. 

Exhaling, he turned to you with a serious expression. “Just before you say what you need to, I want to apologise.” He paused, seeing if you would let him continue, when you didn’t object he reached for your hand. “I’m really sorry for the way I acted Sunday. It was unacceptable and I’m really embarrassed you had to see me like that.” He sighed then, “I was just so... I was so mad that Nana turned up and spoke to you like she did. I let all my frustrations regarding Arin take over too.” He was staring you straight in the eyes, eager to make you see how sincere he was. “I never meant to compare you both and I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.” 

“Everyone gets angry, Seokjin. Don’t feel embarrassed because of that,” you told him. “It was just jarring to see. Plus it was all so overwhelming.” He nodded in understanding and you smiled and squeezed his hand. “I appreciate your apology regarding the comparisons though.” What was done was done, but he sounded regretful. “Have you spoken to Nana since?” 

“Yeah,” he murmured, averting his gaze for a split second. He sounded remorseful. “I saw her yesterday afternoon. She wanted to be with Arin this weekend so I finished work early and drove her there. Nana…” He stopped himself and started again. “I know why she was so hurt over everything. We talked it out a little. Barely touched the surface but things are headed in the right direction. I apologised to her.” 

“That’s good to hear,” you said. There was no good only apologising to you. Nana deserved an apology just as much, maybe even more. You were glad they’d managed to be civil and you hoped it was a step in the right direction. 

“I know Arin missed school but I called Principal Jung.” Seokjin was eager to explain himself. “I didn’t go into details of course, but he said it was okay.” 

“That’s fine,” you chuckled quietly. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. It was only one day.” How cute. You didn’t take your job that seriously. At least the mystery was solved though. You had stressed over nothing. He wanted nothing more than for Arin to see her mother, regardless of what his relationship with Nana was like. This extra weekend together meant a lot to not only Arin and Nana, but him too. Harsh words had been shared in frustration and anger, but he hadn’t lost sight of what mattered the most – his daughter. 

“I’m glad you talked to Nana,” you smiled, unsure how to voice all your thoughts. What mattered was he’d seen the error of his ways, and hopefully Nana had too. 

He nodded sternly. “I was out of order that day.” 

You grew serious too, hesitating before you said his name. You knew you had to ask him, knew you had to have this conversation, but it didn’t stop you from feeling slightly afraid. “Seokjin, why didn’t you tell her about us?” 

He closed his eyes briefly, shame written all over his face, and he let go of your hand to run a hand through his hair. It draped across his forehead instantly. “I made a mistake.” He was looking straight into your eyes again, chocolate irises pooling with genuine regret. “At first I didn’t know what would happen between us. It was all brand new for me – for you. Letting Nana know was the last thing on my mind, but as things got more serious, I just…” He faltered, gaze falling to his lap. “I didn’t want to burst the bubble. I was so happy. I didn’t want anything to potentially ruin it. 

“It was stupid, considering Arin could tell her at any moment. I just wasn’t thinking, I was being selfish. I understand why Nana was so hurt. I would feel the same if I found out Arin had been spending time with a man I didn’t know.” He exhaled deeply. “I took it all to heart because deep down I knew I’d done wrong.” 

You appreciated his honesty. “We were definitely in a bubble. I never even thought to ask if you’d let her know. I –”

“It’s not your fault.” He was quick to tell you. “It was my responsibility and I didn’t want to do it. I regret it now and I’ve told her that. I’m sorry to you too, it wasn’t my intention to keep you a secret.” 

You were quiet then, unsure what to say. You still had questions, still had things you needed to understand and as if he read your mind, he placed a gentle hand on your knee, tilting his head to watch you. “Y/N, is there anything else you want to know?” 

Your fingers picked at your pyjama pants, heart beating rapidly. There was one important thing you needed the answer to, it was a dumb question, you were nearly positive, but yet you knew you needed to ask it. 

“Anything you want to ask, I’ll be 100% honest with you.” He gently nudged, sensing your reluctance. 

“T-this may seem stupid,” you began, finding courage. He was Seokjin, your Seokjin, he wouldn’t judge you. However, you hoped what you had to say wouldn’t hurt him. He waited patiently for you to continue. You held his gaze. “You’re not just looking for a mother figure for Arin, are you?”

His forehead crinkled in confusion, his hand leaving your knee as he processed your words. “What do you mean?”

You felt a wave of panic. “I know it sounds stupid, but I just need to know if you like me for me.”

He watched you carefully, brow line now creasing in concern. “Of course I like you for you.” And then he took your hand, lacing his warm fingers between yours. You could see the concentration on his face as he tried to find a way to word his thoughts. “I’m not looking for a mother figure, I never was. Yes, I’d love it if Arin saw her mother every day, but I’m not trying to recreate it elsewhere. I was wrong to compare you both. Nana loves Arin, I know that, she’s trying her best, and you’re…,” he took a breath, “I would never expect you to take on all that responsibility. You’re my girlfriend, I would never intentionally put all that pressure on to you.

“Y/N, I’m Arin’s father,” he continued when you didn’t reply. “She means the world to me, so knowing that she adores you makes me happy, as does knowing you adore her. I always thought dating in my position would be really hard – that’s why I never did it. Having to trust someone that much to potentially let them into my daughter’s life, that was such a frightening thought. But it wasn’t with you.” His eyes were wide, pleading as he tried to make you see. As he spoke he used his other hand to cup the side of your face, you softened into his touch. 

“There were other worries too,” he continued to confess. “I thought nobody would want a divorced dad as a boyfriend. It’s fine, I understand it’s not everyone’s ideal, but with you it was never a problem. You accepted me and what my life involved and I’m not going to lie, that made me fall for you even harder but I wasn’t using you because I wanted some sort of permanent mother figure in Arin’s life. That’s absurd and it makes me really sad to know I potentially made you feel that way.” 

Your chest felt lighter hearing those words. Nothing like the tight, anxious mess you had felt all week. It was good to know your worst fears weren’t true. Your doubts, even though valid, hadn’t been needed. You believed every word he said. 

He lowered his hand from your face, sensing you were about to speak, and instead clutched the hands laced together in your lap. “Hearing those things you said to Nana, it made me… It overwhelmed me. Made me think that you’d been expecting too much of me this whole time, or like maybe you’d been searching for something I had no clue about.” You admitted.

You hadn’t liked being used as a weapon. It had made you feel horrifically guilty. You told him just as much, being as frank as you possibly could because he needed to hear it. 

“I understand,” he nodded. “I promise I’ll never do it again. All I can give you is my word.” 

“And I’ll believe it.” You told him, needing him to know something else as well. “Seokjin, I really do care about Arin. I’m beyond touched that she’s accepted me into her life but my place will always be different.” 

Seokjin frowned at that. “You are still an amazing person in her life though. She’s become so much happier these past few months and I can’t deny it and say that’s not partially down to you, even if it’s just a fraction of the reason.” 

You opened your mouth to disagree with him, he was being too nice, giving you too much credit, but he wasn’t having any of it. “No, Y/N. You need to hear these things. You make Arin happy too, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.” He felt you relax, smiling when he noticed you do the same. “I fell for you because of many reasons, and yes, one of them was because of how you treat Arin, but it’s not the only one.” His voice was soft as he began to make a list. You couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re sweet, caring, funny, beautiful – inside and out.” 

“You’re a real charmer, hm,” you teased.

He chuckled, but grew serious once again, giving your hand a squeeze. “You could have anybody but you chose me, the man whose life is overtaken by work and is struggling to be an OK dad.” 

“Seokjin, you’re an amazing father,” you scoffed. If he expected you to listen then he needed to as well. “You work so hard and you’re constantly exhausted but that doesn’t stop you from being one of the best fathers I know. You need to give yourself more credit.” 

“Thanks,” he said, plump lips tugging up into a half-smile. You really wanted to kiss him, it had been long enough, so you leaned forward, pressing your mouth to his. Gentle and chaste. When you pulled back he was smiling harder. You couldn’t help but join him. 

One of his hands lifted, weaving into your hair as he brought your face to his chest, the hand holding yours letting go so he could wrap his arm around your middle, holding you to him. You were both silent, content for a moment as you listened to his heart beat steadily. It comforted you, let you know that everything was okay. 

“I’m sorry if I put pressure on you,” he murmured, chin resting against your hair. “It’s just when the three of us are together it feels so right. It feels natural and I love that.” 

“I love it too,” you agreed, your face still pressed into his chest, your palm too. “But Nana is her mother and I don’t ever want to take her place.” You paused, slowly pulling away to look at him. “I want to make my own place. And I don’t know if that means being a stepmom so soon, but it’s definitely moving in that direction.” You’d had enough time to think about everything. You were more than serious about him. “I want a future with you, Seokjin. A future with you and Arin. You both mean a lot to me.” 

His mouth slowly spread into a grin, he looked and sounded unbelievably happy. “Do you mean that?” 

“Of course. I spent these past few days thinking really hard about us and what we were – what we are. I’m serious about us, and I hope you are too.” 

He pulled you into another hug, kissing your forehead. “I most definitely am, but we’ll take it at your pace,” he assured, “and Arin’s pace.” 

“And your pace,” you added, moving your head back to look at him, hands resting on his shoulders. “Nana’s too. She needs to be involved because no matter what, she’s still a part of your life.” 

It wasn’t about just you and Seokjin, you understood that now, and so did he. “I agree. I really think yesterday was a turning point for me and her. I want our relationship to be better for not just Arin, but you too. I hate that you had to witness all that.” 

“It’s okay, Seokjin. Please don’t beat yourself up about it.” He needed to let it go and move forward. You had already. 

“Listen, I, er, I’m…” He hesitated, serious once again. “I’m sorry for not telling you why we divorced.” 

Oh. In your happiness you’d actually forgotten about that. You waited for him to continue, wanting to hear what he had to say because it had been the source of some of your hurt. You rubbed his shoulders, wanting to encourage him as he struggled to find the words. 

“It’s complicated,” he started. “…Finding out Nana had been cheating on me was what triggered the divorce, but it had been over long before then. It’s… difficult to admit this out loud but for the longest time I was embarrassed. I couldn’t believe that she’d cheated on me – it was an ego thing. I didn’t care because I no longer loved her but at the same time it was mortifying and it made me very bitter.

“I didn’t tell you because you’d trusted me with your own story. I learned how cheating had affected you and my situation was completely different. I don’t know,” he sighed, unsure if he was making any sense. “I regret it now because I should have told you.” 

“I understand why you didn’t,” you said simply, attempting to process the huge chunk of information you’d just been given. “But I think, regardless of our different circumstances it still affected you in some way. There’s no right or wrong way to deal with being cheated on.” It had obviously left its mark if he was still bringing it up nearly three years later. 

He still wasn’t convinced. “But Nana was right, that’s why I got so angry. I couldn’t admit it to myself, not until this week. By sleeping with someone else she gave me a way out. I didn’t want to be the one who ended it because that would mean I was the reason for Arin’s broken home. To ease my conscience I could blame the breakdown of our marriage on her.” 

“Seokjin, that doesn’t make you a terrible human being. You need to let all that go,” you told him gently. “At the time you did what you thought was best for Arin. You thought by staying together it would give her a better life but it doesn’t work like that and you’ve realised that now.” 

You didn’t want to stick your nose in business that wasn’t yours, but you understood what had happened. By staying together they had become increasingly bitter towards one another and the result was still ongoing. There had been a lot of hurt and that would take some time getting over. 

You noticed the slight nod he gave you, a silent agreement. The sooner he accepted his mistakes the easier it would be to forgive himself. “I still should have you,” he whispered.

“That’s not important anymore,” you insisted. 

“It is.” He clutched your waist, his eyes glassy. “You shared so much with me about how you got hurt, and I kept something big from you.” 

You gave him a reassuring smile. “Well, I know now.” You weren’t going to hold it against him, it had obviously been playing on his mind the entirety of your relationship. “That’s all that matters.”  

He relented, kissing you softly, just once, unable to help himself. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking too these past few days. I talked to my therapist. It’s been a while. I’ve just been so happy I didn’t need to until…” Trailing off he gave an embarrassed shrug. 

“That’s good you got back in contact with her.” He hadn’t actually spoken about his therapist since your first date and you’d never thought much about it, but it was great that he knew to seek help when he needed it. 

“We talked a couple of times about everything. It was helpful.” He rubbed your back with a soothing hand. “I really am sorry my relationship with Nana is like this. There’s a lot of bitterness and hurt left over from all the years we stayed together. Maybe the truth is we should have never gotten married in the first place. We brought out the worst in one another until in the end it turned to hate, but I can’t regret it because she gave me my world.” 

“Maybe realising all this is the next step for some type of closure,” you offered. He and Nana couldn’t keep this up. They needed to get along for Arin’s sake. They had to try and salvage some type of relationship if they wanted to continue co-parenting their daughter – their world. 

“I think you’re right,” he agreed. “Now that everything is out in the open I feel so much better.” 

“I’m glad.” You leaned in to kiss his cheek.  

“So,” he hummed, sounding a lot more like himself, “where do we go from here?” 

“I think we just carry on from where we left off.” As far as you were concerned everything had been resolved. All your questions and worries had been answered. You were both on the same page now and you could move on together. “When I was waiting for you to come back with that salad.”

“Sounds perfect.” He laughed, wasting no time with kissing you, properly this time, cupping your face to bring you closer. You settled in his lap soon after, his lips soft and warm, each glide of your tongues making you realise that all you wanted to do was be with him. Always. 

“There is one change I’d like to make though,” he murmured, pulling away gradually, kisses becoming gentle pecks until he had the will power to stop completely. “I was going to wait until I took you to Paris, but maybe grand gestures don’t mean shit after I thought I’d lost you.” 

Your heart flipped inside your chest just from the look he was giving you, the sheer determination in his eyes, and the way he cupped your face firmly. You thought you knew what was coming. 

“I love you.” 

You were still speechless for a moment though, but it was okay because he was still busy confessing. 

“I know it may seem too fast and I don’t want to scare you away but I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you these past few months. I can’t remember what my life was like before you appeared in it.” 

“I love you, too,” you gushed, coming to. “Of course you wouldn’t scare me away. Everything you just said, I feel exactly the same way.” 

“Really?”

“Yes!” You exclaimed. 

“It’s not too fast?” 

“Not at all,” you shook your head. You’d been worried it was at first, but you’d been upset and scared. Now everything was clear. “Actually, there’s no such thing because I’m in this 110%.” 

He chuckled then, brow line crinkling in the middle. “That sure?” 

“Mhmm,” you nodded enthusiastically, hands holding the back of your neck. “Thank you for reversing into my car.” 

That made him snort. “It’s no problem at all, but,” he leaned forward, tone serious, “I hate to break it to you, I’m in 1010%.” 

You rolled your eyes playfully, ignoring his goofiness to kiss him again. Although this time there was something you couldn’t ignore any longer. “Oh my god,” you complained, itching your lips. 

“What?” He was very obviously concerned. 

“Your stubble keeps pricking me!” You whined. “What is going on?” You cupped his face, getting a better look at the situation. He did look rather handsome with stubble, you admit, but you’d keep that to yourself. “A few days without me and you forget to shave.” 

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Isn’t that a thing? When you think you’ve lost the woman of your dreams you have to start growing out a beard, right?” 

You snorted lightly. “You’d be there for years trying to grow out that thing.” 

He tutted. “Rude.” 

“But what, say that again? I’m the woman of your dreams?” You teased, pressing for more. 

“I take it back now,” he scoffed. 

“You can’t! You’ve said it now.” 

“Shush,” he laughed. “Come here.” He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close. “Stop talking and let me love you.” 

It took a single press of his lips for you to listen. 

.

.

You were slow and still sleepy when you awoke the next morning, gradually coming to, your eyes still closed. It was raining, you could hear the soft patter of it against the window as you became more aware, but you found it didn’t hinder the good mood you’d woken up in. Why would it? 

Finally opening your eyes, although with effort, a soft focus Seokjin came into view, already awake and leaning over you slightly. He smiled when you saw him, a hand caressing your hip. “Good morning, beautiful.” 

You smiled back, rolling into the side of his body, making the most of your sleepy state – and your boyfriend’s warmth. “How long have you been awake?” You asked with a small yawn. 

You didn’t actually remember falling asleep last night. After you’d made up (and you were done with all that kissing), you’d asked him to stay over. You’d laid in bed, wrapped up in one another as you talked about anything and everything before your eyes had started to get heavy, Seokjin’s voice and your own sounding distant in no time. And now you were here. 

“A few minutes,” he murmured, morning voice always an octave lower. It never stopped being sexy. You tangled your legs in his as he laid back down and realised his were now bare – he must have gotten too warm in the middle of the night. 

He cupped your face, wanting you to look at him. “I was using the time to admire you.” 

“Cheesy as always,” you chuckled. 

“Of course,” he agreed easily, leaning in to rub his nose against yours. “I woke up and thought last night might have been a dream.”  

“It wasn’t,” you whispered, getting lost in his eyes for a moment. 

“I love you.” 

With a soft groan you rolled onto your back. “Not fair, I was about to say that.” 

“Too bad,” he laughed, that deep morning chuckle you loved, wrapping his arm around your middle as he kissed your cheek. “You snooze you lose.” 

“I wasn’t snoozing.” 

“You were – and snoring. I heard you.” He was trailing kisses along your jaw now. 

“You didn’t!” You exclaimed. That was something you definitely did not do. “I don’t snore, take that back!” 

You attempted to wriggle out of his hold but he wasn’t having any of it, both of his hands beginning to tickle your sides. “Seokjin!” You shrieked, starting to thrust your legs but he rolled on top of you, caging your body easily. 

He stilled all movement and looked down, having way too much fun teasing you. “What?” 

Before you could even think to reply he was kissing you. Somewhere along the way last night you’d gotten used to the stubble, quite liking the tingle across your lips now, so you didn’t gripe this morning. Holding your face he trailed wet kisses down your throat, teeth gently sinking into your collarbone. You let out a gasp, your fingers tangling in his hair as you pushed against his body, eager for more of his mouth. 

His hands soon began roaming your body, slipping under your pyjama shirt to caress your skin. His fingers delicately traced the underside of your breasts, lifting his head up to kiss your mouth once before he spoke his request. “Can I see you?”

You smiled and nodded, watching as he started to undo the buttons with expertise. When you were fully revealed he looked at you with a grin. “Woah,” he stated simply. 

“You’re acting like you’ve never seen them before,” you giggled. 

“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure they’ve gotten bigger.” He mused, weighing your breasts in his hands. 

You snorted, mouth dropping open when he captured one of your nipples between his lips. His used his hand to palm the other breast, pinching the nipple with his fingers and you moaned, arching into his touch. Against your crotch you could feel him growing hard – rapidly. 

“Take this off,” you urged, tugging at his t-shirt. Your need for him was rising too, breathing becoming unsteady as Seokjin kneeled upright and ripped the piece of clothing off. You sat up, running your hands across the muscular swell of his chest. “Yup,” you nodded to yourself, “definitely gotten bigger.” 

He chuckled quietly – shyly almost, and helped you take your shirt off, kissing across your shoulder as he eased you back against the pillows. Next, he got you out of your pyjama bottoms, kissing his way back up your stomach and between the valley of your breasts as his hand slid between your legs, rubbing you above your underwear. Squirming, warmth flooding you as his mouth found yours, your tongues mashing together in haste, your arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. 

He slipped his hand inside your panties and loved what he found. “You’re so wet, honey,” he murmured, playfulness in his tone as he circled your clit with the pad of finger. His touch was so light it was unbearable and you whined, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. 

He circled your entrance next but didn’t enter, collecting your arousal to rub your clit again. You dug your foot into the mattress, raising your hips to get more. His dick was fully erect now, pressing into your thigh, but he was in no rush, fully devoted when it came to pleasuring you. Dragging your underwear down your thighs, you helped push them off entirely, reaching for him and pulling him into a kiss, although he didn’t stay at your mouth long, kissing across your chest and down your stomach until he met his destination. 

He didn’t get very far though, his hot breath making you wriggle about, thighs clamping around his head. “It tickles.” 

“Tickles?” He repeated in amusement, nosing your inner thigh. He kissed your bikini line, ignoring your feeble giggles. “I’m not trying to tickle you.” 

You held your breath as he placed a testing kiss against your centre, willing yourself not to squirm, but Seokjin took it slow, easing you into it, because your body had suddenly decided to turn hypersensitive in his absence. He continued to kiss your core, his tongue coming out to wash against you too, and soon enough you got used to the sensation. 

“Good?” He asked against your clit, the vibrations making you flutter. 

You nodded in reply, fingers of both hands reaching to tangle in his hair. He gave you a quick smile and then started to flick his tongue against the bundle of nerves rapidly, making your hips rise in shock as a moan drew from your throat. He gave you no time to recover, sucking on your clit now as he hummed in satisfaction. Body with a mind of its own, you spread your thighs, wanting to feel him even better. 

He got the hint, using his hands to plant your feet on his shoulders, legs bent at the knee to open you up even wider for him. He continued to suck you softly, the tip of his tongue flicking back and forth at the same time, the stimulation so glorious you were sure you had tears in your eyes. 

“Oh God, Seokjin,” you moaned as he pulled away abruptly, your head falling back against the pillow. You had been moments away from coming, you were almost positive. 

He moaned himself as he licked a strip up your centre, pushing your knees higher up your body, exposing your clit even more so this time when he rolled it between his lips your hips jerked around uncontrollably, the pleasure too much. You felt him ease off but begged him not to stop, sounding possessed. “No, don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”  

He continued, his eyes on you as he made your legs tremble and you dug your toes into his shoulders, clutching at his hair. “You gonna cum, baby?” He husked. You whined in reply, hips rolling into his face with desperateness. “Give it to me then.” He told you, once again suctioning his lips to your clit. 

Your eyes clenched shut as you concentrated on his tongue, panting loudly as the muscles in your gut tightened. Your release hit you seconds later, lifting your hips up with one last burst of energy as he continued to work his tongue against your thrumming clit, your orgasm crashing through you in waves as you cried out. It was amazing, almost euphoric if you wanted to be dramatic (you did), your whole body satisfied and warm. 

Seokjin tried to ride it out as long as possible, but soon you grew sensitive, your hands detaching themselves from his hair to fall limply to your side, chest rising and falling deeply as you tried to catch your breath. He wrapped his fingers around your ankles delicately and placed your legs down on the bed before hovering over your body. He was just as out of breath, your arousal smeared across his mouth and chin, and you kissed him greedily, wanting nothing more. You could feel him rutting against you, attempting to gain just a little bit of relief, and taking pity on him you  cupped his erection over his underwear, giving him a squeeze. He groaned at the sensation, breaking away from your mouth. 

You started to rub him as best you could as he kneeled between your legs, watching your hand at work. He chuckled in disbelief. “You have me so hard, shit.” 

“That is my area of expertise,” you gloated, pulling his dick out of his boxer shorts. You ran your fist up and down it a few times, revelling in the smooth skin, thumb circling the head that was beading with precum. 

His patience was crazy this morning, enjoying the way you touched him so much he leaned in to kiss you again, panting quietly against your lips as you sped up your movements, dragging your thumb across his slit in a bid to spread his arousal. He hissed, jerking into your hand, and you just about lost it. You wanted him, no, needed him inside you. Right this instant. 

You looked him deep in the eyes, your noses practically touching as you gave him a squeeze. “Make love to me, Seokjin.” 

He broke then, unable to deny you or himself any longer. His underwear was gone in a flash, thick cock bobbing as he guided you onto your side, fitting in beside you perfectly. He wrapped his hand around your calf, lifting your leg over his to spread you out a little and then he angled the head of his cock at your entrance, kissing your shoulder as he slowly began to push inside you. 

You closed your eyes as you felt the drag, both of you groaning as he continued to fill you, his hand pushing one of your butt cheeks up a little so he could successfully bottom out. You stayed like that for a while, kissing one another, one of his arms hooked underneath your neck, hand cupping your chin, the other caressing your body, tracing across your stomach before softly cupping your breasts. The sensation had you sighing sweetly, pushing back into him and he couldn’t hold off any longer. 

He thrusted slowly, practically all the way out just to push back in, filling you up over and over. It was glorious, his rhythm eliciting moan after moan, especially as he played with your chest, rolling your hardened nipples between his fingers. You could hear yourself, how wet you were, and you rolled yourself onto your side more, pushing your ass into him in a bid to get more.

He got the message, speeding up as you reached behind and ran your fingers through his hair. He loved that, grunting as he spoke against your ear, “A little faster, baby?” 

All you could do was nod and respond with a garbled noise from somewhere deep within your throat, Seokjin’s thrusts gaining momentum as he started to pound against your ass, his laboured breathing blowing hot air against your cheek. One of his hands dug into the round of your ass, his teeth sinking into your shoulder as he growled softly, thrusts purposeful, unrelenting. 

“Let me see your pretty face,” he panted after a few moments, pulling you into him and cupping your jaw. You twisted yourself, half flat to his sweaty chest as you spread your legs too, letting him thrust up into you. Your breasts jiggled with the force of his movements, his tongue pushing into your mouth, kiss sloppy and everything good. 

His breathing got heavier, his movements turning slightly sloppy as he adjusted your body once again so he could kiss and caress your breasts instead. A hand played with the left one as his mouth licked and sucked the right, grunts falling from his lips now as he quickly lost himself. His thrusts got harder and his teeth grazed against your nipple. When you cried out, he loved that, squeezing your boob roughly, tearing another sound from your throat as your walls clamped around him, gripping him for all he was worth. 

You knew he was done for when he sought your mouth again, chuckling huskily as you pecked kisses against his plump lips. You felt his dick pulse, thrusts messy as he chased his end, and then he stilled, groaning as his orgasm hit and he started spilling warmth inside of you. 

He wrapped his arms around you tightly once it was over, hugging you to his body with even more kisses, both of you panting softly, enjoying the come down. In fact, you didn’t want it to end. Gradually falling soft, he stayed buried inside you and made no attempts to slip out. If anything, he was damn determined to stay there for as long as possible it seemed. 

“I love you,” you told him sweetly, sweeping some of his hair out of his eyes, still engulfed by his heat. 

He smiled, practically goofy, still drunk off your lovemaking. “I love you too, of course.” 

And then it was back to kissing. 

You had a week’s worth to catch up on, and an entirety more to look forward to. 

*BONUS*

You (10:25am) Seokjin came over last night, we talked it out and made up 😊

Soojung (10:29am) Finally! ILY and I’m so happy for you best friend! But thanks for the heads up, I’ll be giving the house a wide berth this weekend See you Monday 😘

Written 2020 - 2021. Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2021

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Bound Blood (Cassandra Dimitrescu/Reader, Soulmate AU) Pt. 5.5 Bonus

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T+ for language Warnings: None Summary: Local feral human spends some time with their new family. Four short bits featuring Daphne (Maiden OC), Bela, Lady D, Daniela, and a surprise guest. Enjoy. Previous Chapters: 1: Sharing Is (Not) Caring; 2: Bloodbath, Baby!, 3: Haunt Me Dearly, 4: Portraits For Ghosts, 5: Heart Of The Matter

5.5: Family

i.

“Wait, you’re telling me that you came here willingly?” You asked, mouth agape, eyes wide. It felt like every time you talked to Daphne she had something incredible to say. Which was, of course, why she was your favorite maiden to talk to. That, and the fact that she had adapted so quickly to your ‘charming personality’. So far she was the only servant you had been willing to be honest with. Mainly about your feelings regarding your blood bond, but also just about your relationship with Cassandra in general. Something about Daphne simply made her incredibly approachable. From what you had heard, you weren’t the only one to think as such, with her being fairly popular among the castle workers.

“More of us do than you might expect. Some consider it an honor to serve one of the four Lords, and Castle Dimitrescu is certainly… nicer than either the factory or the reservoir. Personally, I came here for a friend of mine. She, well, had less of a choice. I couldn’t bear the thought of her being here without knowing anyone, so it felt like I only had one option. Can’t say I regret my decision, if you can believe it,” Daphne explained, folding laundry all the while. At the same time, you carefully sort through the not yet washed clothing, separating them into two baskets. After all, you wouldn’t want Lady Dimitrescu to end up with a pink dress! Technically this wasn’t your job, nor did you have a job at all, but you hated having idle hands- especially when talking to someone who was working. At first Daphne had protested, but she had given in upon realizing just how stubborn you could be.

“That’s… impressive. I mean, holy shit, that's a real ride or die friendship right there. Is she, uh, is your friend still, you know, around?” You stuttered, cursing your tongue for asking such a thing. If the answer was no, you were going to feel like a real asshole. Which, admittedly, you had a tendency to be. But this wasn’t one of the times where it was intentional. Thankfully, Daphne is all smiles, and even seems amused by your spluttering.

“Yes, we’re even roommates. Well, us and five others. Possibly with a sixth one on the way, if we ever get someone to fill the empty space,” she replies, pausing to think. Then she’s back to work, refusing to waste any time. “Speaking of roommates… I know I said I’m not one for gossip, and I meant it, but a little songbird told me that Cassandra seems to be in a much better mood these days. Are the two of you, well, getting along? It would be nice to know that soulmates can overcome even the roughest of introductions.” There’s a hint of something odd in her tone, and you take a moment to wonder what she’s (unintentionally) hinting at. Had she met her soulmate, only for things to go poorly?... Before answering her, you make a mental note, deciding to see if any of the other maidens had a scar across their nose.

“It’s not like she and I are dating or anything. We’re just, you know, not hating each other. Currently,” you said, shrugging. But Daphne raises an eyebrow at you, and you find yourself instinctively feeling guilty, somehow feeling small next to the shortest person you knew. “Alright, alright, we might have… Okay we kissed. And promised each other not to die, because having your soulmate die hurts like hell. Also maybe she showed me her mom’s art collection and I made a joke about the titty sculptures because holy shit, this house has a lot of titties.” At this, Daphne bursts into laughter, grinning from ear to ear.

“Amen to that, for sure.”

ii.

“So… fan of science, I see,” you say, awkwardly, bouncing a little on your heels. Next to you is the eldest Dimitrescu daughter, who had unexpectedly joined your table in the library. There were several other places she could have sat, with both more comfortable seating and more workspace, but for some reason she had chosen here. So far she hadn’t said a word. Hell, you hadn’t spoken to her since your first meeting, where she had suggested killing you. Naturally, you weren’t quite sure what to make of her. Something told you that she felt much the same about yourself.

“Fan of oversimplification, I see,” Bela counters, after a few tense seconds. Then she sets down her book- a heavy text about Romanian avian fauna- to give you her full attention. “It would be more accurate to say that I enjoy studying biology, particularly the branch of zoology.” Well, this conversation was certainly… happening. Honestly, you couldn’t tell whether she was legitimately judging you, or merely chaffing you for her own amusement.

“You’ll have to, er, forgive me for being overly broad. Consider it a side effect of my nerves, those themselves being due to our unsavory introduction. In case you don’t recall, you put that sickle of yours into my shoulder,” you reminded, with a sarcastic smile. To your surprise, Bela chuckles at this, almost as if fondly remembering the incident. Seriously, you think, why did my soulmate have to be from this family?

“Staying silent was an option. Perhaps that would have suited you better?” Bela says, now clearly teasing, smile much more genuine than your own. Knowing she had a point, you’re quick to blush, mildly embarrassed.

“Touche. I am curious, however, why you decided to sit next to me in the first place. I certainly wouldn’t have tried starting a conversation if you hadn’t,” you explained.

“Like I said… I enjoy studying zoology,” Bela replies, with a sly grin. It takes you a few moments to understand the intended implications. Once you do, however, you’re giving her a hard stare. Then you scoot your chair a few inches away from her, in exaggerated movements. “Don’t worry, I was only joking. Though you certainly are an interesting human. Much more, hmm, cheeky? Compared to the servants, at least.”

“Somehow I get the feeling that they simply prefer being alive, as opposed to not being as snippy. Except maybe Daphne, now that I think about it. Very sweet, that one,” you muse. “Regardless, I think I’ll return to my book now, for it lacks a tongue, and is therefore less likely to taunt me.” Doing just as you had said, you open the book, holding it a bit higher than what would be comfortable, so that it becomes a ‘shield’ of sorts. Nothing was quite as satisfying as subtle body language.

Accepting your words with a shrug, Bela also resumes reading, turning to a bookmarked page. Roughly an hour of relative quiet passes. Neither of you so much as glance at each other, not even when she drops the pen she had been taking notes with. In the end, you are the one who leaves first, and finally the silence is broken. You give your goodbyes, and Bela returns them politely. Though you do not know it, she sets her book down as soon as you leave, pausing to think about you. Now that things had ‘calmed down’, it was reassuring for her to know that you weren’t always full of spite. Still, you held onto your cleverness (for the most part), leaving her with no doubt about the universe’s decision. You were her sister’s soulmate.

iii.

“It’s official: I’m lost in a creepy castle. The universe hates me. Probably should have realized that sooner, considering how it decided to introduce me to my soulmate,” you mutter, scowling deeply, as you wander unfamiliar halls. How had you even gotten lost? Sure, you had taken a wrong turn, but it hadn’t taken long for you to realize your mistake! Evidently you somehow managed to make another one while backtracking. Now you were standing in the center of the corridor, hands on your hips, desperate for some maiden to come rescue you. What you really didn’t want was Cassandra to find you, because she’d make fun of you for the rest of your life. It’s not like she had specifically joked about you getting lost before. Except that was exactly what had happened.

A few minutes pass uneventfully. There aren’t even any distant sounds of life; no footsteps, nor echoing voices, nor the squeaking of floorboards. All you can hear is your own breathing. As well as the occasional sigh, admittedly. By this point, there’s a part of you that’s starting to panic. After all, there was a chance that the castle was big enough for certain sections to be abandoned. Hopefully that’s not the case, you think, I mean, they’d cut the power to those parts, right? Here’s hoping… With that in mind, you get back to wandering, figuring that you’d have to eventually run into a familiar landmark. Or better yet, someone who actually knew the castle’s layout.

When salvation at last reveals its holy visage, it is not in the form of a lowly servant, rather the muffled voice of none other than Lady Dimitrescu herself. Neither her exact words nor who she’s speaking to is clear. At first, you can’t even tell where her voice is coming from, but you quickly approach one closed door, then another, searching for the source. Several doors later you’re certain you’ve found her. By then you can tell that she’s not alone. Not wanting to seem rude by interrupting, you take a few steps back, leaning against the wall to wait. For the most part you still cannot make out what’s being said, but a few words do reach your ears.

“-expected more from you. How am I-” the voice gets cut off, not by Alcina, rather a sudden gust of air, akin to massive wings flapping. When the speaker continues, they are both louder and angrier. “Someone is listening. Have you not taken steps to ensure our privacy?” Then the door is swinging open, revealing your soulmate’s mother. At first she’s practically shaking with rage, but her expression turns to shock when she sees you.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Cassandra?” Lady Dimitrescu asks, clearly stressed, as she steps into the corridor. There’s movement behind her, although you cannot make out any details. Besides, you’re quick to answer her, wishing to avoid her wrath (and that of whoever she was speaking to).

“I’m so sorry, Lady Dimitrescu, I was walking from the dining hall to Cassandra’s studio, and I took a wrong turn. I’ve been wandering for half an hour now. When I heard your voice, I thought perhaps I could, well, enlist your assistance. But you were busy, so I figured I’d wait outside. If I had-...” you pause, gulping, as the other figure steps into view. It’s a face you’re all too familiar with. One that popped up countless times through the village, and again throughout the castle, the owner’s name always spoken with acclaim, with worship. Mother Miranda, in the flesh, wings spreading out behind her, somehow cutting a more impressive silhouette than even Lady Dimitrescu. Instantly you’re falling to your knees, knowing that your sharp tongue was no match for this practical goddess.

“Who is this, Dimitrescu? Why isn’t their blood staining your claws?” Miranda questions, gaze never leaving your trembling form.

“This… this is one of my daughters’ soulmates. They were brought in with the last group of sacrifices,” Lady Dimitrescu explains, uncharacteristically hesitant. ‘Twas a true testament to Miranda’s power, as well as her influence, that she could make someone so powerful seem so weak. Which was exactly why you were shaking with anxiety. But to your surprise, the goddess does not immediately order your execution for your trespass.

“And already they know their place, hmm? Kneeling before me?” Miranda says, a strange smile dancing on her lips. Whatever anger she had been feeling a minute prior had faded, though you couldn’t even begin to guess as to why. Regardless, both Alcina and yourself are quite relieved, though neither of you are quick to show it. “Either they have a good head on their shoulders, or you still take care of some of your duties. Very well, they may live. For now. But I expect next week’s report to be far more favorable. I don’t need to remind you of the price for failing me.” With that said, Mother Miranda turned to leave, a swirling mass of dark feathers flying past you.

A minute passes, maybe two, before either of you feel capable of speaking up.

“Let’s get you back where you belong, yes?” Lady Dimitrescu says, quietly, before placing her hand on your shoulder to guide you. Tension hangs clear and heavy over both of you. Even as you walk down corridor after corridor, the feeling does not ease. At least not until you’re back in familiar territory, near where you had originally made your mistake, finally able to breathe a little. It’s here that Lady Dimitrescu pauses to speak once more. “Tomorrow I will assign one of the servants to give you a tour, in the hopes that this does not happen again. Furthermore, I ask that you forget everything you heard earlier, for it is neither your business… or my daughter’s.” You’re quick to nod, and with that she bids you farewell, leaving you alone. Now, you think, was it left from here, or right?

iv.

“I’m just going for a walk. Why do you care so much? It’s not like it’s any of your business,” Daniela assures you, despite the fact that all you had done was say ‘hello’. If this was her attempt at casting aside suspicion, she had done a terrible job of it. What made her so nervous? Was it even worth investigating? Only one way to find out.

“You’re rather bundled up, planning on being out for long?” You ask, trying to sound casual, leaning against the wall as you did. In response, Daniela pretty much stomps her foot. There’s something odd in her expression, however, that implies your question hit a soft spot. Certainly wasn’t what you had expected. “Don’t mind me, just trying to make conversation with my soulmate’s sister. Speaking of her… have you seen Cassandra? Is she, perhaps, going with you?” A little misdirection never hurt anyone. Probably.

“No!” Daniela replies, fast as a gunshot, too much emphasis to be unintentional. But she realizes her mistake as soon as she’s made it, and makes a clear effort to relax herself. “She’s probably in her studio, doing whatever it is she calls art, on the other end of the house. Besides, I don’t want any company for this walk.” For a moment you merely squint at her, unsure of how to proceed. In the end, you decide that it really is none of your business, being more than satisfied by what teasing you’ve already done.

“Alright, alright. Well then, I’ll leave you be. Just… be careful, yeah? If you get hurt, and your mother finds out that I didn’t stop you from going… not sure Cassandra could save me,” you say, with a shrug. At first Daniela can’t decide whether to be upset or relieved, but she seemingly settles for the latter, giving you a brief nod before heading outside. As the door shut behind her, you couldn’t help but wonder if you had done the right thing.