#but my stupid ego wants me to put this somewhere

[camsoblivionjournal]

You’re dating again. 

I’m not jealous. I do not want you. You infuriate me. I almost hate you. You were never going to be an open wound, bleeding and bleeding, I didn’t like you enough for that. But you were never going to be a lumpy ugly scar, you were my first and therefore my everything. I don’t know what we were, to be honest. People who wanted to be wanted? And to be honest, being with you was the least honest I had ever been with myself. 

I think I wanted you to want me. And I think, above all else, I wanted to be wanted. 

No one tells you how to feel. I mean, they do, yeah, in the form of ‘move-ons’ or ‘you’re better offs’ and well-reasoned arguments. Arguments that still don’t tell me how to feel, because they’ve been formed under an incorrect assumption about us. Because truth be told, I do not think I ever really wanted you. 

You wanted me. I needed me to want you. And I needed to be who you believed I was. 

And I think I want you to be happy. After we broke up, I was excited for you to be happy in a relationship again. I wanted you to find what you wanted. Or at least, to find something real. I realize now, writing this, how terminally I crave approval. My fatal flaw. Enough to contort myself for months into foreign shapes and colors. Clearly we did not fit like we constantly believed we did.

So, herein lies the stink of my wound: I’m not supposed to feel any type of way about you dating again. Because, as I’ve so gracefully declared, I did not want you then and I do not want you now. We did not work. 

But I think I almost hate this because you finding someone else reminds me of my utter inadequacy. I hope she actually wants you, like I pretended I did. I hope she actually… 

I hope she says yes, doesn’t shudder in anxiety, and ignores hints. 

That’s not the main reason why I feel like my heart is rotting in my chest. I feel like a stepping stone, a means to an end. I feel like the side character, an obstacle to overcome, in your great love story, while always having been the main character to myself. Worse, still, is imagining y’all doing the exact same things we did. The same conversations, with the same little phrases you like, similar inside jokes, same playlist, same love notes. But who knows? Maybe your new love has a different flavor now. I hope it does. 

God, I hope y’all do not talk about me. But I know you will. Mention me, that is. Mention what I didn’t do, what I didn’t say. Mention the car ride home from the concert, in which I had a panic attack and almost vomited (your greatest fear is vomit). Mention the birthday sleepover, in which I had a panic attack in your basement bonus room bathroom and had to get picked up early because it was my first one and I thought I was dying. Probably whisper to her, between warm sheets, that I never took that leap that night, instead paralyzed in fear on my side of the bed. I never reached for you. I don’t think I could. Maybe I wanted to? But I could not. 

What kind of friends were we? I remember finding you funny. I remember wanting to be funny enough for you. I remember how I changed how I texted for you. I remember listening to your favorite music, watching your favorite shows. It was like you were made to be the object from which I sought approval. I needed you to like me. 

I remember sobbing on a November morning because you had confessed and I could not date you because the thought alone brought tremors and cold sweats. And it was almost never because of who you were and almost always because of who I am. Maybe a month later, you asked again and I said yes. And I remember, after we ended, hating the way you dressed. The way you hid yourself, the way I was certainly too loud for you. The way you could never crack a smile, use charisma, and especially not when I needed it. Respond with ‘what do you want me to say?’ and believe the solution to my problems was to remove myself from them completely. To quit, try and get out of it. The way you viewed your humor as elite, superior. I hated how I viewed you in the same way. 

You were always a club I wasn’t in. 

I did not fit in well with your friends. You convinced me you hated them, and that’s why. You weren’t like them, you had been roped in when you were younger, they were childhood friends. You told me you wish you had friends like mine. It was only after I realized you were probably exactly where you wanted to be. Because here you were, at your big age, choosing to continue associating with these people. It was always a choice. And what of my friends? Well, you had articulated your opinions on ‘weirdos’ and ‘freaks’ (what I am), and for some reason, I chose to pretend they were the exception to the rule. That I was. 

Please don’t talk about me to her. I know you’re up right now, doing that exact thing. I will be a footnote in y’all’s epic love story and I need to be okay with that. I was just wondering if I could get away with not being known as the ex who couldn’t even kiss you. 

God. How do you tell people you don’t think you feel romantic attraction? That you believe yourself to be incapable of participating in what is commonly known as life’s greatest feature?  And, worse even, how do I tell you? I want to explain to you why I was how I was. Because I am how I am. But I cannot, God forbid, I cannot end up in a screenshot. Please don’t reduce me to that. Please. 

I can’t tell you. I’ll have to wait a little while or the rest of my life to prove to the world and then to myself, that who I am is who I am. Deep down I hope I am wrong.

[scare-ard--sleigh]

also saying this is so earnest that it makes me wanna vom but i like,,,, miss being in a fandom where people like my ocs as much as i do wwweehhh

[solannn]

Hi!! Can I request a male! reader x boten Where the reader is a waiter at their favorite restraint for gangs/mafia whatever and Mikey takes a liking to him but they find out he’s only doing the job because he’s a single father, and they want to keep him (not super good with translating my ideas sorry)- 🦇 anon

ᥫ᭡ 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑! ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

⤷ male reader and single father of a child named “Myrei”, she is kind, and love her father.

[Name] saw a potentially dangerous man enter the bar, with his gang members, he assumed. It was the first time they had visited the large and incredibly beautiful bar where he had worked here for several years. The boy's men probably hide a weapon in their pockets if there's a problem, most of the gangs do this, and sometimes it's just that he has a shootout because of a quarrel started by a drunk man who ends up dead. the end. [Name] thought their boss was the man with short white hair, he was short but his appearance could be deceiving, but they could also be wrong about him being a boss.

The waiter tried to concentrate on his customers, but the imposing aura of the armed men scared him. He was used to this kind of situation, but he felt like he'd seen it somewhere on his television late at night. After wondering their name its suddenly came to mind, Bonten, something like that. They were one of the most dangerous organizations in Japan, inviting prostitutes and killing them after having pleasuring time them, cruelty towards others human being, and much more. For them it was like a hobby that entertained them, but [Name] hated that kind of person. So, to protect his life he decided not to say too much that could cause a general fight.

He wanted to avoid them at all costs before his manager told him that these men were men who deserved lust and merit to flatter their immense egos, so he asked him to serve them drinks, food, and everything what they wished they had. [Name] was flattered that his presence was lustful, but he was also uncomfortable talking to them but his manager comforted him by putting his hand on his shoulder telling him. "I know how you feel, but unfortunately you are the only one qualified to talk to people at such levels." [Name] sighed, he puffed out his chest a little and thanked his comrade who had just comforted him. He walked towards the table of men, they were all different from each other, one seemed drugged to the point of stupidity, one depressed, one who was probably arrogant, one with a neutral expression and others.

“Hello gentlemen, what can we offer you today.” He asked them and made his famous smile known by his comrades or the customers who came each time. He tried to appear friendly, and pretended to be pure and innocent, he wanted them to have pity for him but they probably didn't have any, but he still tried to seduce them. He waited for their answers for a few seconds before a man with long, white hair asked him. “what is boeuf bourgignon?” he pronounced the word wrong, but with a smile [Name] answered him. "boeuf bourguignon is a dish of beef braised in red wine, and served with a garnish of pearl onions, mushrooms and bacon. It is one of the most popular dishes in France made by a French-Japanese chef." he replied, detailing the appearance of the meat and its garnish. the man nodded and said "I'll take that then." he grinned back, [Name] noted as he took out a paper and a style from his pocket to wrote it.

“I would like a dorayaki.” No, it wasn't a request but an order, he could tell the difference between that. It was simple to distinguish, he kept a smile and wrote his order. After taking their orders one added. “Get me some wine, one of the best from here.” [Name] scratched his neck, and nodded. “of course sir, everything will be in order.” he addressed them before leaving towards the restaurant counter. "Hey Boss, I'm not feeling this place. I'm not having fun." He stretched while taking another drug, to relax. "Their boss didn't say anything, he was just hungry. He glanced to his left, and saw the waiter talking on the phone with someone. He had a smile soft, and not forced when in front of him.

“Kokonoi.” He called one of his members coldly. The boy became tense, he looked at his boss and said. “Yes, sir?” Who is this waiter we saw a few minutes ago? "mhm, I think his name is [Name] Bonavich, he is 27 years old, he has been working in a bar, restaurant for a few years so that his daughter has a good education and other things. He is a single father we will say." he tells Mikey, his boss, the boy's information. Before coming here, he looked for data on the people working in this popular place.

the waiter came towards them again after about thirty minutes of discussion with their meal in hand. Their dish was quite heavy to bear but he pretended it wasn't and placed their meal on the table. “Enjoy your appetite, sir.” He smiled but before leaving, the person who wanted to avoid everything grabbed his arm to say something to him. Their members were surprised by Mikey's sudden gesture, maybe he had a deal with him and was going to kill him. [Name] stressed a little, praying that he wouldn't ask anything strange like being his prostitute or something. “Yes?” he cleared his throat at the same time.

“after i eat you will come in my car, you will be my own waiter for bonten only.” The boy with dark circles under his eyes ordered him shut, without any expression on his face. "oh! ohm..of course." His day was ruined, his daughter was probably waiting for him at home and maybe she wanted to play before going to sleep. He walked towards the bar counter and went into the break room where his friends and his manager were. "people! I'm a dead man!" He whispered, carrying his voice a little so he could hear it. “ehh why.” a girl with extravagant makeup that stood out from the criteria of the Japanese beauty standard stated it was gyaru makeup. She dyed her hair red, to stand out even more. "what are you doing darling? probably isn’t someone as coolish as me ihh" she spoke mockingly not taking the situation to heart. “Shut up Ameyru! Let him talk.” An androgynous boy told her to shut up, she did but she rolled her eyes. "you see the Bonten, they are here and their boss asked me to become their personal waiter--" Ameyru laughed.

"lol! wait what! kyaaaa... these guys are creepy if you don't do your right job you're ekkkkk" at the end of her sentence she made the zombie noise, and with her thumb she pretended to slit her throat. The manager was shocked at the revelation and didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it," he felt unable to say another word. The androgynous boy next to him put his hand on his shoulder. "Kyoru.." he whispered, making him smile a little. Ameryu stopped laughing and took it seriously. "I'm sorry too, yikes! they are the most horrendous human ya know.." she said, knowing that if he left, she would miss him immensely. "wahhh!!! it's horrible.!" she said running towards her friend and grabbed him with a hug

"I'm sad, super. Hey Ryuba you will console me right." the haired boy nodded. "I'll try if you don't break my mind," he sighed and rushed to hug his friend, Kyoru joined them too. "mhh, and to think that you've been here for 9 years, we could have reached 10 years of anniversary of you working here.. “awhh guys." [Name] was touched by their words almost having tears in his eyes. when he was released from the hug, he greeted them, perhaps for the last time and left. "Ameyru is depressed.." tears ran down her puffy cheek "ugh.."

When he returned to the room where the gang was he saw blood on the floor. Someone was eliminated, but he had not heard the sound of a gun, perhaps a knife murder. The man was a customer who was probably drunk, he walked over and noticed that Bonten had finished eating. Mikey waited patiently for the boy, he walked towards the leader without saying a word.

He left the restaurant, letting himself go for fear of dying. One of the members opened the door for him, and he stepped inside and sighed. He moved to the back of the car, and the others got in. They were almost all crammed in, but the car was wide enough to fit a little. Stressed out by this long, boring moment while the driver drove the car, he needed something to sink his teeth into. He wanted to take his cigarette but unfortunately he'd left it on the counter.

He left the restaurant, letting himself go for fear of dying. One of the members opened the door for him, and he stepped inside and sighed. He moved to the back of the car, and the others got in. They were almost all crammed in, but the car was wide enough to fit a little. Stressed out by this long, boring moment while the driver drove the car, he needed something to sink his teeth into. He wanted to take his cigarette but unfortunately he'd left it on the counter.

It was a long trip, and [name] was worried because he recognized the road he was driving on his way home. The driver stopped in front of his destination, his apartment building. His heart stopped and his eyes widened as he wondered what would happen to his child. One of the members got out of the car and went to the apartment. [Name] started to speak, but a man put a gun to his head. "He said, "If you dare say anything, I'll shoot you in the face.”He threatened to shoot him, but he quickly shut up. In the back of his mind, he sighed so as not to draw attention to himself. The minutes were long, very long, he felt as if they had stopped an hour ago. He looked out the window to his left, watching the people passing by, afraid of the car. Probably wondering if they were going to die too.

A few minutes passed and the tension grew. When one of the members returned, he had a sleeping child in his arms. He walked around the car to the left door, opened it, and handed [name] his child. He took her under his shoulders and put her on his lap. He rested his head on her chest, but a question lingered in the back of his mind: did he kill the babysitter he'd hired years ago, or was he showing compassion? Preferring not to answer, he stroked his child's head with a faint smile.

His child was sleeping peacefully, as if someone had rocked him to sleep. This made [Name] happy, but he didn't want to show it to a gang, so he decided to save his smile for his daughter. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw the dejected look on the boss's face, so he quickly looked away, not wanting to see his expression. The gang began to talk among themselves, fed up with the tension caused by Mikey's pressure. The little man said nothing, remaining completely silent.

He felt a sudden urge to sleep. His eyelids grew heavy with each blink, and he put his hand over his mouth and yawned. He told himself it was late, 23 in his opinion. At 11 p.m., the lights went out in the small town and he could see people enjoying themselves with their friends. He sighed one last time, clutched his child, and fell asleep, unable to help himself.

──────

He woke up suddenly, his eyes wide open. "Is this a nightmare?" he asked himself, but no. The place he was in wasn't his home; it was too big for a one-person room. The room was almost as big as his apartment. "They're filthy rich...after all, they're a mafia..." he muttered and looked around, not seeing his child. He stood up and rushed to the door. He opened it abruptly and left the room, nothing as he stepped out onto a wide red carpeted staircase. He also had a view of the living room. "..." he didn't know what to say, amazed at the size of this mansion. He heard a child's playful cry at the bottom of the stairs. Running up and down the stairs as if his life depended on it, he looked to his left and saw Myrei, her child playing with one of the members? He wasn't sure if it was a babysitter, but it had a remarkable tattoo. He walked towards them, his daughter smiling as she saw him approach. "Daddy!!!" She couldn't help but scream.

She was so overly excited that she gave her trust to the person in front of him. A man with black hair and a huge scar on his face, [Name], glared at him while carrying his child. "I assure you, I'm not here to hurt anyone on behalf of the boss." He was admitting the truth, their boss? No, he wasn't dreaming, and he didn't seem to be lying. [Name] sighed and let go of Myrei. "Oh dad, no need to worry, he's super super nice the Mr.!!! The others were cool with their shots too!!!" Myrei was only 6 years old, she didn't know what she was saying, she was just a child and she was being manipulated. Negative thoughts invaded his mind and lowered his impressions of the Mafia, even if they were already low enough.

After a brief discussion between the two adults, [Name] felt an icy hand on his shoulder and arched his back at the sensation. He was about to say something insulting, but he stopped himself and turned his head to see Mikey, the boy with short white hair. "I put your clothes that were at home in the closet and the uniform is on your bed, if you've seen it." He said his coldly, showing no mercy, but deep inside he was interested in him without realizing it. “Oh okay.. I’ll prepare myself than.”

──────

After getting ready in the bedroom, the boss waited patiently outside his door. He gasped slightly and bowed in respect. Mikey told him there was no point in bowing and asked him to follow him to his office. He followed with a fake smile on his lips. When they entered the room, Mikey sat down on a rather large and comfortable chair. While [Name] sat on a chair probably made of rusty metal because it creaked. Mikey handed him a piece of paper that showed how much he would be charged. [Name] looked at it for a moment before taking it and reading it. He was shocked, the amount was huge, he could live luxuriously on it every month. The man in the black t-shirt and pants didn't know what to say, but he appreciated [Name]'s smile, it reminded him of someone so close to him. He pushed his memories away, trying not to connect the past with the present.

"I like your genuine smile." Mikey stated it bluntly. [Name] stopped celebrating the money in his head and tilted his head, surprised by the remark. Had he been smiling? He hadn't even noticed. "Oh, thank you!" He smiled even more, a pink blush appearing on his cheek, he didn't know why he was blushing because he should be used to this kind of compliment, but coming from him, it felt strange.

[lemitinc]

" What do I gotta do to get in your motherfuckin' heart?"

Hello! This is my first time writing anything here. It's a short scenario, and I'm just testing the waters to see how a Bakugou fic would work. English isn't my first language, so please be kind!

...

You knew it was a fucking bad idea.

You knew it the moment Mina, with a big smile, offered to save you a seat during lunch, completely oblivious to what was about to unfold in that noisy cafeteria. It was an open secret that you and Bakugo couldn't stand each other. Nobody knew how that hatred had started, but everyone was aware that it was mutual. Bakugo always managed to test your patience, and that day he had crossed the line.

Your first big mistake was arriving early at the cafeteria. Although you managed to get a tray with the food you had been craving — which always ran out quickly —, you couldn't find Mina anywhere. People kept piling up, so you tried to make your way through the crowd to the tables. That's when you made your second mistake.

You had seen a redhead with an unusual hairstyle sitting near the center. You decided it was worth approaching him, since you preferred to try rather than end up eating in the bathrooms like a complete loser.

"Kirishima, sorry to bother you, but I couldn't find Mina. Have you seen her?"

The guy seemed surprised by your sudden boldness; you had barely exchanged trivial words when Mina introduced you.

"I'm not sure if I've seen her come in."

His voice sounded somewhat hesitant, but you trusted his good judgment; he had never given you reason to doubt him.

"You can sit with me while you wait! If you're okey with it..."

You couldn't help but smile in relief. You had been wandering among so many people, exhausted from training, and just thinking about trying the food made your mouth water.

"You have no idea how much I appreciate it. You're my hero."

However, your smile vanished instantly when the unspeakable one appeared in a matter of seconds.

"What the hell is this?"

Bakugo's harsh voice resonated throughout the cafeteria. You closed your eyes, wishing that when you opened them again, he wouldn't be there. But, of course, dreams don't always come true.

"What the hell is this idiot doing here?"

It wasn't really a question, but rather a loud complaint. You knew he just wanted to provoke you, but every time you heard his voice, something burned in your chest.

"Bakugo, she just—" Kirishima tried to calm the situation, but it was in vain.

"No, it's fine, Kirishima."

You were determined to get up from the table, but his words stopped you.

"No way! I invited you to sit with me."

You stared, surprised that for the first time, Kirishima had dared to put his friend in his place, ignoring Bakugo's complaints.

"Bakugo, if you don't want her here, you can eat somewhere else."

His tone was calm, but his message was a direct blow to Bakugo's ego. For the first time in your life, you saw him keep quiet, sitting reluctantly next to his friend.

Unfortunately, that meant he was facing you. His gaze was intense, full of disdain, and all you could do was ignore him.

The atmosphere became tense, and nobody at the table seemed willing to break the silence.

Your moment of false peace didn't last long. It was no mystery that Bakugo could never keep that damned mouth shut.

"Why do we have to put up with her anyway? It's not our fault she has no friends."

That stupid smile and the way he threw a noodle at your clothes made the last thread of patience you had left snap completely.

In seconds, the tray in front of him was slammed against his chest, the result of a domino effect; you had pushed your tray forward, managing to spill the hot ramen all over his shirt.

"You. Little. Shit."

With a quick movement, Bakugo lunged at you, throwing you to the ground with all his might. It caused a big commotion in the cafeteria; now everyone's eyes were on you.

His forearm was pressed against your throat, choking you forcefully. A desperate struggle began, you tried to kick his stomach with your knee, but his free hand grabbed your thigh with inhuman strength.

"Let me go, you piece of shit!"

Your voice was hoarse, you were running out of air, and the pressure on your throat grew with each passing moment. You tried to summon your power, drawing in all the water you could and crystallizing it into small, sharp pieces, but just as they were about to pierce his back...

Something stopped them.

"That's enough!"

It was Professor Aizawa, and he was not happy. In fact, he was furious, to say the least. This time you two had gone too far.

...

[solxamber]

Hello! I saw your fic(?) On the reader being similar to the white rabbit!

So I had a similar idea but with absolem the caterpillar from Alice in wonderland. With heartslabyul, octavinelle and pomefiore (added on maybe chenya ?). Basically the reader is a 2nd year and is a very cocky person when it comes to things like subjects they get high scores in along with having bad anger issues? This is just an idea I have at the top of my head 😅 I also don't make requests often if that was clear lol.

Thank you if reading my request ! :)

It's been so long since I read Alice in Wonderland but I hope this is what you wanted <3

Absolem! Reader with Heartslabyul, Octavinelle and Pomefiore + Che'nya

Rest of the characters: here

Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle Rosehearts had no idea how to handle you. On one hand, you were technically a model student—when you weren’t terrorizing everyone with your arrogance, that is. On the other hand, your cocky attitude made his eye twitch like he was seconds away from writing up a whole new rule just for your ego.

“You may have gotten the highest score in Alchemy,” Riddle said stiffly, his hands clenched behind his back like he was bracing himself for an incoming tidal wave of sass, “but that does not excuse you from following protocol during experiments!"

You leaned back in your chair, all smug grin and half-lidded eyes. “Oh, Riddle, Riddle, Riddle. If I followed your ‘protocol,’ we’d still be stuck trying to figure out how to transmute lead into potatoes.”

His face flushed as red as a rose. “That is not the point!”

“I’m just saying,” you replied with a shrug, “your rules are cute, but some of us prefer actual results.”

There was a long, tension-filled silence. Then, Riddle’s lips twitched, and you could almost hear his brain rewriting Rule 392: No Sassing The Dorm Leader.

Trey Clover

If Trey had a talent, it was the ability to defuse a situation with nothing more than a laid-back smile and a soft-spoken word or two. But when it came to your outbursts, even Trey occasionally had to roll up his sleeves.

“You’re getting pretty fired up over here, huh?” Trey said, folding his arms and giving you that calm, big-brother smile.

You narrowed your eyes. “They just don’t get it, Trey. If they’d actually listen to me, we’d be done with these stupid group projects in half the time.”

Trey hummed, still as placid as ever. “Maybe. Or maybe they just don’t appreciate being called ‘incompetent cabbage heads’ every time they mess up.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t call them that this time.”

“Oh, my mistake. That was last week.” Trey chuckled, grabbing a cupcake from a tray. “Anyway, maybe you should try a new approach. Like, I don’t know... baking?”

You squinted at him suspiciously. “Is this another one of your ‘therapy via baked goods’ attempts? Because the last time I tried, Cater put the whole thing on Magicam, and I’m still seeing memes about ‘exploding tarts.’”

Trey just smiled knowingly. “Everyone’s gotta start somewhere.”

Cater Diamond

“#MoodSwings, am I right?”

Cater had this incredible (and incredibly annoying) ability to pop up just when you were about to lose it. Today was no different. You were fuming over some insignificant thing someone said in class, and right when you were about to explode, there he was, phone at the ready.

“I swear, if you tag me in another one of your posts—” you started, but he was already snapping pics, duck-lip selfie style.

“Whoa, chill, bestie! It’s not my fault you’ve got that ‘rage extrodinaire’ aesthetic. The followers eat it up. Seriously, you should start a channel. #CaterToYourAnger.”

You glared. “I’d start with a video called ‘How to Get Away with Smashing Cater’s Phone.’”

Cater grinned, absolutely unfazed. “Aww, love you too, cupcake. Just think of all the likes we’d get!”

Ace Trappola

Ace? Oh, Ace lived to rile you up. He thrived on it like a plant soaking in the sun.

“So,” he said, leaning back against the wall with a smug grin, “I heard you were bragging about your Potions grade again. Shocking.”

You glared daggers at him. “I don’t have to brag. The results speak for themselves. Unlike your grades, which are probably hiding in the shadow of your last failed test.”

“Oof, that’s cold. You sure you’re not secretly studying Ice Magic?” Ace shot back, raising an eyebrow. “You know, all that boasting is just you overcompensating for something. Like, maybe you’re secretly terrible at everything else?”

Your temper flared instantly, and you stepped closer, ready to unleash your wrath. “Say that again, and I’ll show you what happens when—”

“Oh, hold on—Deuce! Hey, Deuce!” Ace shouted, and before you could lay into him, Deuce was running over, looking confused and ready to brawl for no reason.

“Are we fighting? We’re fighting, right?” Deuce asked, fists already up.

You sighed, rubbing your temples. “Deuce, no one’s fighting.”

“Yet,” Ace muttered with a wink, and you had to resist the urge to scream.

Deuce Spade

Deuce tried. He really did. But no matter how hard he tried to match your fiery personality, he just couldn’t seem to get it quite right.

“You know, I’ve been practicing too,” Deuce said one day, puffing out his chest like he was about to impress you. “I’m getting better at Transfiguration!”

You blinked. “Really? Didn’t you turn someone’s textbook into a chicken by accident last week?”

Deuce’s face turned red. “I-It wasn’t a chicken! It was... okay, maybe it was a chicken, but I’m improving!”

“Sure you are,” you teased, crossing your arms. “I bet your next experiment will turn the whole dorm into a petting zoo.”

Deuce stared at you for a moment, clearly weighing his options. “...That would actually be kinda cool.”

You facepalmed. “Deuce, please.”

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul wasn’t intimidated by your cockiness. No, in fact, he saw it as something to be... monetized. Because why not take that overblown confidence of yours and turn it into something profitable for the Mostro Lounge?

“You could be quite the business partner,” Azul remarked, smiling slyly from across his desk. “With your top grades and undeniable talent, I’m sure students would pay handsomely for tutoring sessions.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “What’s the catch?”

Azul feigned innocence. “Catch? Why, there’s no catch at all. Just a little... arrangement. I take a modest percentage of the profits, and in return, you gain access to the resources of the Mostro Lounge. Think of it as... a mutually beneficial partnership.”

You tilted your head. “So basically, I do all the work, and you skim off the top?”

Azul’s grin widened. “A shrewd observation, but I prefer the term strategic partnership.”

Jade Leech

Jade, on the other hand, was a master of subtlety. He didn’t confront you head-on like the others did. No, Jade had this unnerving way of quietly watching you, like a predator biding its time.

“Your temper is quite fascinating,” Jade remarked one day, his eerie smile never faltering.

You crossed your arms defensively. “Fascinating how?"

“Oh, just the way it flares up so quickly. It’s almost... predictable.” He tilted his head slightly. “I wonder, how well do you control it in dangerous situations?”

“Why, are you planning to test me or something?” you asked warily, already regretting the question.

Jade chuckled softly. “Oh no, nothing of the sort. I’m merely... observing. You’re quite the specimen, after all.”

You shuddered. “Please stop talking like I’m some kind of lab rat.”

Floyd Leech

Floyd, on the other hand, lived to push your buttons. He loved it when you lost your cool because it meant you were interesting. And Floyd? He thrived on interesting.

“Oi, Shrimpy!” Floyd’s voice echoed across the lounge as he slung an arm around your shoulders. “Heard you got top marks again. Big shot, huh?”

You side-eyed him. “Don’t call me Shrimpy.”

“Awww, but I like it!” he whined, pouting dramatically. “You get all mad when I do it. It’s fun! Do it again! Get mad!”

You groaned. “Why are you like this?”

Floyd grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming. “Why not? It’s more fun to watch you blow a gasket. Maybe I’ll squeeze ya real good next time you freak out.”

You shook him off. “No thanks, I’d rather not have my ribs crushed.”

“Awww, but that’s the best part!”

Vil Schoenheit

Vil couldn’t stand your cocky attitude. Mostly because he couldn’t stand anything that was less than perfection—and in his eyes, you were far from it.

“Such arrogance,” Vil remarked, inspecting his reflection in a compact mirror as you ranted about how no one appreciated your brilliance. “It’s one thing to be talented, but it’s another thing entirely to lack grace.”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, please. Like you’ve never been confident in your own abilities.”

Vil snapped the compact shut, finally looking at you with a sharp, withering gaze. “Confidence is one thing. Vulgarity is is another.” He raised an eyebrow, his perfect lips curving in a condescending smile. “And darling, you’re teetering dangerously close to the latter.”

You huffed, crossing your arms. “I’m just saying, if everyone else could keep up with me, maybe I wouldn’t have to be this way.”

Vil waved a hand dismissively. “Keep up with you? I highly doubt that. There’s a fine line between confidence and crudeness, and you’ve trampled right over it in those worn-out boots of yours.”

You glanced down at your boots, scowling. “Hey! My boots are perfectly fine!”

Vil gave you a once-over, a pitying sigh slipping from his lips. “I could recommend a stylist, but I doubt even the best could save you from that attitude of yours."

Rook Hunt

If there was anyone who found your fiery personality endlessly amusing, it was Rook. The man seemed to delight in your temper tantrums, treating them like some kind of grand performance.

“Oh, what a magnifique display of passion!” Rook exclaimed one afternoon, after you’d shouted at some poor first-year for knocking into you. “Your fire burns so brightly, it is a wonder you do not set the very air ablaze!”

You glared at him, still fuming. “I’m not trying to entertain you, Rook.”

“But you do! Oh, you do!” Rook clapped his hands together, his eyes shining with admiration. “To witness such raw emotion—it is truly a gift. You are like a tempest, sweeping all in your path.”

“Pretty sure that’s just a fancy way of saying I’m a walking disaster.”

“Non, non, non!” Rook laughed, shaking his head. “You are a force of nature, one that cannot be tamed! To tame such a spirit would be a crime against beauty itself!”

You blinked at him, unsure whether to be flattered or concerned. “Okay, sure. Whatever makes you happy, Rook.”

Epel Felmier

Epel had mixed feelings about you. On one hand, he admired your guts—your temper was something to be feared, and Epel respected that. On the other hand, you were annoying.

“You know, just ‘cause you’re good at Magic History doesn’t mean you gotta rub it in everyone’s face,” Epel grumbled one day after you’d corrected him in class. “Ain’t nobody here tryin’ to hear that.”

You leaned against the desk, a smug grin on your face. “It’s not my fault you can’t keep up. Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time trying to look tough, you’d have better grades.”

Epel’s face turned red. “I am tough! And if you say somethin’ like that again, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” You raised an eyebrow, daring him to continue.

Epel gritted his teeth, fists clenched at his sides. “I’ll... I’ll... kick your butt in PE next time!”

You snorted. “Sure, Epel. Let me know how that goes.”

He muttered something under his breath, probably swearing revenge in the form of some country-style wrestling move, but you were already too busy planning your next academic triumph to care.

Che'nya

Of course, Che’nya didn’t mind your attitude at all. In fact, he found it downright entertaining. He’d pop up at the most inconvenient moments, grinning that mischievous grin of his and waiting for you to lose your cool.

“Nyah~ Why so serious, Y/N?” Che’nya’s voice floated down from seemingly nowhere. “All that steam comin’ outta your ears can’t be good for your health.”

You looked up, scowling as you spotted him lounging in a tree, that trademark grin never leaving his face. “What do you want, Che’nya?”

He tilted his head, blinking innocently. “Just wonderin’ if you were plannin’ to blow a gasket today. I’ve got a front-row seat!"

“Get down here before I make you,” you snapped.

“Oooh, feisty! You know, it’s a good thing you’re not in Wonderland.” He chuckled, disappearing and reappearing right beside you. “You’d fit right in with all the wild tempers down there.”

You rolled your eyes. “And you’d fit right in with the pests.”

Che’nya laughed, not the least bit offended. “Nyah~ You say the sweetest things! See ya around, Hothead.”

And with that, he disappeared again, leaving you to stew in your own frustration. Typical Che’nya.

Masterlist

[namgyunation]

Do you see Nam-gyu introducing his s/o to drugs or do you think he’d be the type to shield you from that type of thing?

cw; talking about drug usage and unhealthy stuff here

mmmm based off of my interpretation of him, i don’t think he’d really try to “shield” you. just doesn't seem like something he'd do

i also don't think he would gaf if you knew about his substance abuse. you're his s/o. if you're with him, he's prob thinking "this is what you signed up for when you got with me." i could see him hiding it from his family, but not you.

with a job like his, it'd be pretty hard to hide, anyways. if anything, i think he'd try to at least hide or be vague about the intensity of the drugs he takes and just how addicted / dependent he is on them. he'd probably try to convince you that it's just something casual that he does or brush you off if you display any concern

i could see him wanting to keep the details of his drug usage off your radar, but not because he’s like. concerned that he’ll be a bad influence or rub off on you, or anything. nor would he do it with the intent of trying to protect you or keep you "innocent" / drug-free.

i don’t think he’d enthusiastically be like “here baby, snort this!!! take this pill!!! ❤️” out of nowhere or straight from the jump when he enters a relationship with his s/o. he also doesn’t seem like the type of dude to go out of his way to share what drugs he’s taking or even just his emotions in general. he seems like he’d be very closed off and be more than happy to keep that part of his life from you if you never asked / pushed the issue.

i think he’d just want to avoid his s/o giving him a hard time: asking too many questions about what he’s doing, how it’s affecting him, his health, their finances, and their relationship, and/or trying to get him to stop. he just wants to do what he wants while still keeping you in his life. he doesn't want you to complicate or overdramaticize things with your concern. he knows what hes doing and can handle himself.

but i think if you expressed any sort of interest or vague curiosity, he might initially be shocked, find it amusing, and be surprisingly interested in the idea of introducing you to something, jokingly offer to get you stuff, though he genuinely would if you just straight up asked him to do so.

i think he’d find it interesting / somewhat exciting to see your first-time reactions to things and would find himself enjoying it more than he expected to somewhere along the way, though i don’t think he’d force it on you. if you wanted to stop, he would be cool with that and drop it immediately. it doesn't matter to him whether or not you do drugs or are on the same page as him. he's doing his thing, and you're doing yours. he wouldn't mind and would be just as open to it if you were to ask him about it again later down the line, though.

if you asked him to give you something and lead you through it, i think he’d derive some sort of enjoyment from knowing a lot about something that you don’t, being your sole source of information on the topic, and knowing he's the first and only person that you experience those types of things with.

i could see him being an obnoxious ass trip-sitter just because he thinks it's funny / even getting some sort of ego because of it.

eg. if you start off with weed, he’s laughing at you for coughing, not knowing how to inhale right, and/or making a stupid, exaggerated face when you exhale. when you overestimate your tolerance and get high as fuck, he’s purposefully putting stupid shit on the tv to gauge your reaction (maybe some dumb children’s cartoon or compilation of idk. plants growing timelapse), laughing at you when you're super focused on it (not mean, just teasing / amused), and maybe he takes a few selfies with you to tease you about it later. he would smoke with you, too, but purposefully stays mostly sober so he can take care of you. also, his tolerance is naturally way higher than yours, and i think he'd find it funny if you got high extremely quick.

he says shit like "oh, i invited your entire family and also a hundred of your friends over to the apartment, and they're outside right now. i hope you don't mind" just to get a funny reaction out of you.

he's not entirely mean, though, and despite having his fun, he still wanted to make sure that your experience was good and comfortable from the get-go. he thought ahead and set out snacks and drinks for when you inevitably got the munchies / dry mouth. he has a line up of funny things to watch and a blanket set out to make sure that you're fine. he doesn't leave you alone. even though it's just weed, he doesn't want to scare you.

he feels good and pats himself on the back for taking care of you. he probably enjoys knowing that in that moment, you're completely depending on him and looking at him like he has all the knowledge in the world. he deeply enjoys the fact that you trust him enough to rely on him and trust that you'll come out of the experience okay, because he's there.

nowww, getting on to other drugs outside of weed, i could see him being more serious about it and wanting to make sure that you're okay. he's open and more than happy to provide you with the things you're showing interest in. sharing his knowledge that's completely foreign and new to you and bringing you into 'his world' is satisfying for him, but once it starts to get a little more dodgy / serious, he's very firm on asking you if you're sure and asks a lot more questions. "what are you feeling?" "what do you see?" "do you need water?" "tell me what's going on." etc. he doesn't completely coddle you, but he's not going to leave you alone, either.

also, i was obsessed with breaking bad in middle school LMAO, so it's leaking into this post... sometimes when i think about nam-gyu, i can't help but think about jessie pinkman. there's a particular scene in the show where jessie's gf, jane, introduces him to heroin for the first time, and i think i could see nam-gyu being like jane in this particular scene, with jessie being his s/o that he's introducing shit to.

over time, if you continued to express clear, enthusiastic interest and prove to him that you could handle it, i think that's when he'd finally let himself relax and do drugs with you, rather than staying sober to monitor you. i think he'd grow accustomed to doing things with you, almost falling into a routine or having it be "your thing." he'd sneak things from work that other people gave to him or things that he was supposed to be giving to VIPs and bring it home to share with you. he'd find that getting high with you specifically was more fun for him than when he did it with others.

ending it off with something somewhat lighthearted: after a while, nam-gyu realizes that he's actually kind of excited to have a long-term buddy to get high with. he would start suggesting that the two of you smoke a joint and then go to the aquarium, art gallery, the zoo, etc. if he got something new, he wouldn't let himself try it and wait until he got home to be with you.

tldr; i don't think he'd shield you, but he wouldn't be super open about it either if you didn't ask or push him to talk about it. if you asked him to introduce you to it, he'd find himself oddly excited by the idea. he'd do it but would make sure to keep you comfortable and ask you over and over if you were sure once you got to the more serious shit. he wouldn't push it, either, in the case that you wanted to stop or were uncertain.

[calcifiedunderland]

Mirror, Mirror, Speak to Me~

or, Encounters of a Disney-aware Prefect ft. Vil Schoenheit

Part 1 (here), Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Hiii this is my first fic in a while, hope you like it I’m totally not nervous ahaha

SFW, no warnings. Please enjoy~

Reader is Prefect/Yuu, uses they/them pronouns.

—————

This was the fourth time today that Vil had to remind himself to relax his brow, before he got wrinkles.

First, he woke up and saw a brand new, bright red dot in the very middle of his forehead, undoubtedly thanks to stressing out over meeting you today. After he heaped on concealer and foundation to cover the nasty thing, his new heels he’d just bought snapped off just as he was about to leave the dorm. Third, while he was trying to put on a new pair of heels, some graceless first year slammed into him. They only spilled their alchemy potion homework over his carefully picked outfit that you would’ve undoubtedly complimented him, and also faceplanted his makeup all over the wall.

And now there was a smear of his carefully-applied makeup on the wall, his nose hurt, and his ego was about to shatter.

And fourth, but worst of all, he now had to stand you up because of some impromptu dorm head meeting. You, who had to deal with him and his antics during VDC. And his stupid jealousy of Neige. And his training regimen for the crew. And not to mention his overblot-

The two of you couldn’t pass a day without arguing in your dusty Ramshackle living room. Even still, it felt like aeons ago when he was nagging you about something-or-other, and you were yelling back. You were infuriating, but somehow it was nice to finally meet someone who didn’t see Vil Schoenheit the actor, world-class supermodel, and housewarden for Pomefiore. Someone who challenged him despite his authority and skill, someone who questioned him. Somehow, you pushed him to be better than he was already, but only after his overblot did he realize what you’d done for him.

And somewhere along the way, he started liking your presence, after you two warmed up to each other. Little things, like asking for your help in film club, to managing Epel, brought you closer. Until it finally came to taking you on a day-trip to his father’s movie set in the Shaftlands on a not-date date. Taking you out was the least he could do. He was taking you out to show you how film-making is done. And after he’d take you shopping. And maybe you’d notice the nice shade of red lipstick he’d bought and his eyeshadow to make his eyes pop and you’ll compliment him and you’ll tell him the things he wanted to hear from you oh-so badly—

He pinched the bridge of his nose, just as Epel poked his head into his room, dressed in his Spelldrive gear.

“Hey Vil, Rook wanted me to get you for the dorm meeting.” Vil stood and walked with him, meeting Rook at the hall of mirrors. His vice housewarden smiled at him.

“Bonjour mon roi, I see you’re as elegant as ever!” Vil’s brow twitched as Rook smiled innocently at him, reading him immediately. “Shall we head off? Afterwards, you can meet sa tricksteur for your little get-together.”

“Ya mean f’r his date?” Epel’s eyes widened as Vil glared at him, “I’m merely showing the prefect how film-producing is done. Besides, I haven’t seen my father since winter break, and unless you want to help me direct and edit the next movie in the Film Club-“

“You needn’t take the prefect all the way to the Shaftlands just to teach them about movie-making,” Rook pointed out, “you could just teach them. And isn’t your father’s set very close to some shopping centers you mentioned you wanted to take them to?”

Rook’s eyes narrowed and he smiled deviously. “You’re wearing your Tenebrés heels from monsieur mastermind and the lipstick the trickster said they liked on you. Not to mention, your pupils widened when you mentioned them.” Rook leaned in, grin widening. “Is visiting your father all you will be doing? ”

Epel smirked at Vil’s blank expression, adding “‘n when did they start bein’ prefect an’ not potato?”

Vil’s face felt hot. “Let’s go, Rook.”

———

Vil’s going to be late.

You frowned at your phone, staring at the message.

Good morning (y/n), the headmaster called for a quick housewarden meeting. It shouldn’t take too long, I sincelerelt apologize for the delay. I’ll be there soon.

-V.S.

You sighed and pushed open the doors of to the Mirror Chamber. You’d agreed to meet Vil here and take the Mirror to the Shaftlands after getting permission from Crowley, but you didn’t even see the message until now. And now you had time to kill until Vil arrived.

The Mirror Chamber looked strange while it was empty. The room was lit by the ever-burning green flame torches, but it still looked ominous. Probably thanks to the big-ass mirror with a face looming in front of you.

You looked at it. You vaguely remembered your life before NRC, barely a few months ago but still hazy to your memory. You remember crouching in front of a television, watching an animated movie with jaunty music play.

A black-haired girl in a blue and yellow dress singing to a well. A man with a feather in his cap, brandishing a dagger and a wooden box. A beautiful woman with a crown and a black cape sneering at her, then with a flourish of her robes marching to…

A mirror?

You frowned, plopping in front of the mirror. The dark voids of its ‘eyes’ stared emptily. She said something to the mirror. Mirrors can talk? What did she say to it?

Your head hurt as you remembered the dreams you had leading up to Vil’s overblot. That woman looked too much like the Fairest Queen. But that mirror can’t be the same.

What did she say to the mirror?

You thought for a long moment, then mumbled awkwardly “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”

The Mirror loomed silently, not even regarding you. Well, you thought, the mirror isn’t really on a wall. It’s… floating?

Something about your wording still didn’t feel right. You shut your eyes and laid on the floor, trying to remember the Queen’s words.

Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?

That sounded right, but you’d have to reword it to be true. You thought for a moment, then spoke slowly, “Magic mirror in front of me, who would the fairest of them all be?”

The Mirror remained silent, and you laughed to yourself, “of course the mirror wouldn’t talk, it was just some drea-“

“Eyes bright as the starry sky,” the Mirror intoned,

“Heart kind as the mountain tall.

Mind broad as the clouds are high,

Thou, (y/n), are fairest of them all.”

Congrats, Mirror. You broke the (y/n).

How the fuck did you get the mirror to speak to you? You thought it only spoke to the headmaster that was just a stupid rhyme from my dream why did that-

Your mouth felt dry. Why did that work?

You stared at the Mirror. Now it’s void-like eyes seemed to look back at you and regard you. Not just a magicless prefect now, huh?

Was that just a dream? Was that just a movie you watched when you were younger? Five different dreams relating to Seven couldn’t be a coincidence. Why did it feel like you knew those stories? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy???

Your mouth opened but before you could speak, your phone buzzed at your thigh. You flicked your screen and picked up the call, swallowing thickly and tried to act as if a Mirror didn’t call you fairest-of-them-all while you talked to the dude who overblotted over it.

“H-hey Vil, the meeting ended?”

Vil walked as fast as he could, heels clicking. “Yes, I’m heading to the Mirror Chamber,” he flicked open a compact mirror with his other hand, “have you been waiting long? I’m sorry.” Yes. His makeup stayed pristine.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see you soon,” you hung up just as Vil swung the door open. You smiled at him. Was his makeup more on-point today?

“Ready to go?” He offered you his arm, which you took. “Yeah…” you regarded the mirror again. It stared blankly into the distance. Vil seemed to notice your stare, and he smiled sadly.

“You know, I think you’d like the Shaftlands,” he said softly, “where I grew up. The mountains where Jack and I used to play are beautiful. The sky is clear, and when the Aurora appears, it’s breathtaking. Jack and I used to cloud watch too,” he chuckled at the memory while you reeled from what the Mirror told you. Vil noted your arm tightening on his, and he patted you, “don’t be nervous. You’ll like it.”

That’s not why I’m nervous, you smiled at him, calming yourself. “I’m excited, don’t worry.”

With that, he turned to the Mirror and in a voice as authoritative as the Queen in your dream, said “Take us to the Shaftlands.”

The glass swirled and as you stepped into the cobblestoned streets of the Shaftlands, you pushed your encounter to the back of your mind. After all, your own Queen needed all your attention now. <3

Besides, what could some dusty old mirror know?

——

Hi!! i hope this wasn’t too ooc, I had this idea for a while and the twst brain rot is real so I thought I’d write it. Likes and reblogs are appreciated, id love to know what you guys think 😄✨

I plan to do a pts 2 and 3 with rook and epel, stay tuned :3

[the-secret-keeper]

MC Acting Innocent After Being Harassed by a Lower Rank Demon

This includes the brothers separately, and was requested by @waterbanana21

I love this idea, so thank you for requesting it! I'm not sure how to show that you requested it, because I'm stupid, but I appreciate you nonetheless.

TW: Harassment, the demon bros being protective, and suggestive language, though nothing is explicitly mentioned, and in Mammon's there is a mention of someone's eye getting gouged out with a heel, again, not too explicitly described though.

This is in first person, and reader is referred to as MC!

In Asmo's we text Solomon, his texts are in blue, and ours are in purple.

Hope you enjoy, and I hope this is what you wanted!

Lucifer, Avatar of Pride:

"Look, I've told you I'm not interested, you need to leave me alone." I dismissed, shutting my locker loudly.

"Come on! It's just a couple of drinks!"

"I said no!" I yelled at them, beginning to speed up so I would be on time for my meeting with my boyfriend.

The demon continued to match my speed easily, following me through the school making various comments. Some were dismissing me, some were lewd, others were whining about how he was much better than Lucifer. It's annoying.

I was considering taking a turn towards where I knew one of the brothers would be, but I also knew that Lucifer valued punctuality. Though I'm sure he wouldn't mind in this case.

"I already have a lover, I don't need you!"

"But you want me!" He tried to reason.

"Ew." I fake-gagged, hoping being rude would get my point across.

"Don't be like that." He tried to put his arm around my waist as I approached the stairs.

"That's it!"

I turned around and used my fingers to jab his carotid arteries, then the palm of my hand to ram into their nose. Once their balance was lost, I grabbed the wrist of the arm that had been reaching for me, and used my body weight to throw them over my shoulder to fling them down the stairs. I watched in slight amusement as they continued to fall down the stairs, almost like a slinky.

"So this is where you were." Lucifer said, coming up the stairs, and moving to the side, allowing the demon to continue falling.

"Sorry, got a bit caught up." I apologized. "But, as it turns out, throwing the annoying lower rank demons down the stairs is fun!" I smiled.

"Do you want me to deal with him?"

"Nah, the bruise to his ego will be greater than any injury I gave him." I waved off his suggested. "Let's go." I looked at my lover, grabbing his hand so he could lead me to where he wanted to take me originally.

Mammon, Avatar of Greed:

I was on my way to meet up with Mammon, as he said there was something I "needed" to see at this shop downtown, when one of the lower rank demons that has a locker next to mine came up to me.

I made light conversation with them, as I always try to be friendly with those who approach me. But it very quickly turned into me trying to shut down the conversation. They were making passes at me, trying to grab me, and just generally being a creep. I wanted to get out of this situation.

"Hey, this is my stop." I lied, stopping in front of Asmo's favorite heel store. If Asmo wasn't in there, I could probably still duck out the back and get to where I'm going.

"Let me walk you in!"

"Oh, no, that's ok."

I tried to reassure them, but they were already opening the door for me. I sighed, entering, and fake browsing the shoes. Maybe I should get a pair? Asmo does tell me it would help my ability to balance.

"Find anything that catches your eye?" I grabbed the glitteriest pair of heels within my line of vision, and found my size.

"Yep. Just this."

I strained a smile at them before taking the box to the checkout. They insisted on paying, so I pulled out my phone and shot a message to Mammon asking to change the meetup spot to somewhere closer. He complained, but complied.

The demon followed me out of the store, as I began to walk towards the meeting spot, but with I picked up the speed. The demon was still insisting on accompanying me. The comments they were making were making me more and more uncomfortable.

"Please stop following me." I said, stopping my jog. "You're making me uncomfortable. I don't want to do any of those things with you, I am in a relationship already."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll make you shut up!" I glared at them. They laughed.

"You, a pathetic human? I can do whatever I want with you, whenever I want, because you're powerless against me." I reached into the bag containing the heels.

"No, I am not." I argued, grabbing a heel by the toe part.

"Then do it. Shut me up! You can't." They got in my face. "In fact, if you don't shut me up, I guess I'll just take that as, a confirmation that you're into me." They smirked. I swiftly pulled out the heel and stabbed it into their eye. They screamed.

"That's not how consent works, dickhead."

"MC! Are ya ok?!" I turned to see Mammon rushing towards me. "What happened?!"

"I'm fine, Mammon." I reassured. "This demon was being too persistent."

"Where'd ya get the heels?"

"Bought them, unfortunately." I sighed. "I tried to get them to leave me alone by going into the first store I recognized, but it didn't work. Luckily though, they paid for them, so no money wasted!" He laughed as I said that. "But, I only have half the pair, as one of them is lodged in his eye. Should I leave them here?"

"Nah, this one can be a trophy! Taking down yer first demon without magic!" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and began to direct me to the meetup spot. "I'll treat ya!"

"Thanks, handsome." I smiled, leaning into him, and wrapping an arm around his waist.

Leviathan, Avatar of Envy:

(I tried to make his section heading bigger, but I really wanted the chat font as his heading T^T sorry)

"I wish I could say I didn't regret this decision." I sighed, attempting to drag my boyfriend out of our hotel room. "Levi, you suggested we go to this con since it's rare for the Devildom to have them! Be proud of your cosplay, so we can go downstairs and enjoy our weekend together."

"It's so embarrassing."

"You chose it!" I finally gave one giant tug and we both fell out of the room, the door closing behind us automatically. I stood up, brushing myself off, before doing the same for my boyfriend. "You look amazing, sweetheart. Besides, there are so many people who will be dressed up in the same cosplay, don't even worry about it." I reassured, readjusting a part of his cosplay that was slightly crooked. "Now, let's go have some fun." He nodded timidly, and I took his hand, leading him downstairs to the con.

We spent several hours walking around looking at all the exhibits, going to panels, and looking at the various merchandise stalls. I suggested he enter the cosplay contest for his character, but he refused.

I was looking at a bunch of pins with various characters on them, when I looked up to ask Levi a question. He was gone. He must've wandered off while I was distracted, and now I was alone, surrounded by demons.

I sighed, purchasing the pin I had been looking for, along with something for Levi and began looking for him.

One of the other con-goers that had been giving me bad vibes since I got here, noticed that I was now alone. They approached me under the guise of trying to be friendly, but I wasn't buying it. I didn't reciprocate their attempts, and shut them down each time with ease.

Eventually, I'd had enough, and turned to someone who was cosplaying a well-known female character who is known to have a very effective magical weapon. That being said, this was just a prop.

I tapped their shoulder, smiling politely.

"May I borrow that for a moment?" I pointed at their prop weapon. They glanced at the person who had been harassing me for the past fifteen minutes.

"Sweetheart you can do a lot better with it than I can." They said, handing it over.

"Thank you." I nodded, before turning around and slamming the prop against the persons head before kicking them where the sun don't shine.

I continuously hit them with the prop weapon on their face and head, eventually climbing on top of them so I could continue to do so without much resistance from them. I felt hands grab my biceps and lift me off the person. I thrashed against their hold before realizing that it was my boyfriend.

"I'm not going to ask."

"Good idea." I nodded, before turning to the cosplayer I borrowed my makeshift weapon from. "Thank you, and sorry for ruining it."

"Honey, don't even worry about it." I smiled at them, before waving to them and walking off.

"So, where were you?"

"I think we got separated at the merch tables. But I got you something."

"I got you something too!" We both started digging through our bags only to produce identical pins. We stared at each other for a second before we burst out laughing.

Satan, Avatar of Wrath:

"Thanks for letting me borrow your notes, MC." My locker neighbor thanked. "Curses and Hexes is my worst subject."

"It's no problem, Satan is the best at that subject and he and I study together." I explained, taking my notebook from them and putting it in my backpack. "How did your test go?"

"Aced it!" They exclaimed laughing.

"Good job!" I congratulated. I checked my watch. "I need to get going but it was nice talking to,"

"Hey, give me your notes on Seductive Speechcraft." I looked at the rude demon.

"Asmo has my notes, he likes to look them over." I glared. "It was nice talking to you, I have to get going."

"See you tomorrow, MC." My locker neighbor waved as I walked off towards the library, where I'd agreed to meet up with Satan.

"Give me those notes."

"I don't have them, go ask Asmodeus." I brushed off, glaring as I started to speed up.

"Then give me your math notes."

"We take different math classes, and I don't have them."

"Why not?"

"Beel ate them." I replied in a sassy tone, although it was true.

"You're lying."

"I'm not." I stopped, and looked at them.

"Just give me what I want."

"I don't have what you want!"

"Then give me you as payment." I slapped them hard across the face.

"Don't insinuate that." They grabbed my wrist, squeezing hard, and glaring at me.

"How dare you touch me? You lowly human!"

I kicked their knee, which caused them to release my wrist, and I swung my heavy backpack, slamming it into their head. Once they had fallen over, I scrambled to remain the winner of this fight, though I doubt they'd fight back now. I grabbed their hair and started slamming their head into the concrete floor of the school. After I was satisfied with the outcome, I got off the floor, let out a breath, straightening my uniform and heading to meet with my boyfriend.

"Why do you smell like blood?" Satan asked upon seeing me.

"For a good reason." I vaguely explained. "It's not mine though, so don't worry."

"It's not yours? Then whose is it?"

"They're still alive, quickly, get them to the infirmary!" I watched as the demon I had beat to a bloody pulp was rushed by on a gurney.

There was a beat of silence after the crowd of loud demons had passed the open library door. Satan was processing what just happened.

"Theirs?"

"Yep."

"Deserved?"

"Most definitely."

"Good." He patted my head and we began to study together.

Asmodeus, Avatar of Lust:

I regret this. 100% Why? Because. There are so many demons here. Obviously. We are in the Devildom. Yeah, but there's one specifically that's bothering me. Won't leave me alone. Isn't Asmo with you? Why isn't he handling it? He's off flirting with other demons, and I have his phone. Damn. All I can say is good luck. Gee thanks. Do you want me to come get you? No, it's fine. I'll handle it. Simeon is making me go to bed. Good example for Luke and all that. Night Sol. Night MC. See you tomorrow.

I smiled fondly at the texts between my best friend and I before putting my phone away. Asmo was kind enough to find an outfit with pockets. Though, it may have been for his own selfish desires, as I am now the keeper of all his things. His outfit doesn't have pockets.

I turned around, leaning my back on the bar as the demon beside me tried to seduce me. But it was ineffective. I live with Asmo, they'll have to do better than him to try to seduce me.

They placed their hand on my chest, which I promptly removed.

"Come on, don't be like that." They whispered seductively into my ear. I leaned away, not wanting them that close to me.

"Don't touch me." I glared.

"Dressed like that, you're practically begging for attention. Just let me make you feel good."

I turned around so my stomach was now against the bar and reached over, feigning putting my arm around their shoulders, only to put my hand on the back of their head and slammed it down until their face connected with the bar. I let them go immediately after though.

"How're you doing over here, darling?" Asmo asked.

"I want to go home." I pouted at my boyfriend. "I'm tired."

"Aww." He cooed. "My sweet little thing." He gently placed his hand against my cheek. "So cute. So soft." He pecked my lips, and likely would've kept kissing me if he hadn't heard,

"They broke my nose! They broke my fucking nose." I saw blood when I looked over, but their face was covered by their hands so I didn't see much.

"Darling? Why would you do that?"

"They touched me and I didn't like it." I played innocent.

"Shame on you then." He chastised the demon, before linking our arms together and heading towards the exit of the building. "Let's get you home so we can cuddle."

"Sounds lovely, Azzy."

Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony:

I was going up to get more food for my boyfriend. We were at a new all you can eat buffet that was, clearly, poorly prepared for Beelzebub. I could practically see the employees sweating as he ate plate after plate.

I went back to the buffet and grabbed two plates, filling one to the brim, and one with just enough for me. As I was on my way back to our table, a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Excuse me." I eyed their hand, glaring at the demon who was gripping me, but they did not release me. "I'm going to have to ask you to ask your friend over there to slow down."

"It's an all you can eat buffet. Let him eat." I shook my head at the hypocrisy. "Remove your hand from me please."

"Look, we need time for the cooks to refill the buffets, if he keeps eating like this we won't have enough food for anyone else. Besides, he could probably lay off a bit if he wants to keep that body."

"You should've been more prepared for the Avatar of Gluttony when you advertised it as an all you can eat buffet. It's not his fault that you weren't, nor is it mine. And do not ever comment on his body for any reason. Let me go. Now."

"Come on, you seem to be reasonable. For a human. Just tell him to stop, that he needs to stop."

"Do it yourself, coward." I very carefully pulled my hand out of his grasp. I smiled at Beel as I approached I set our respective plates in front of our spots, standing before our table.

"Excuse me!" I heard the demon from before exclaimed, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. I very easily flipped them over my shoulder, and unfortunately right onto the table.

"Sorry about that baby." I looked at Beel with puppy dog eyes.

"It's no problem sweetheart. Let's go to Madam Screams to get some dessert." He said softly after a moment. I nodded, smiling once again as he stood and we walked out of the restaurant.

Belphegor, Avatar of Sloth:

I had received a text from Lucifer asking me to find my boyfriend, as Beel was busy and Belphie wasn't responding to his calls or messages. I suggested that he might've just been avoiding Lucifer, but I got the sense that he didn't care if Belphie was avoiding him.

As I searched for my boyfriend, I asked a few people I recognized if they had seen him recently, but they all pointed me in different directions. It was like a wild goose chase. He was in the gardens, then he was in the auditorium, then he was down some random hallway, then he was in the math classroom. He was apparently everywhere, but nowhere at the same time. I hated it.

I hadn't called him yet, taking the challenge to find him without it, but I was reaching the end of my patience. I had other things to do, I didn't want to spend the whole afternoon looking for my elusive lover.

"Have you seen Belphegor?" I asked a classmate of mine who I only vaguely remembered from my math class.

"Not today." They denied.

"Oh, thanks anyways." I nodded and turned to leave, going to check one more place before I finally give up.

"Hey, wait up. It's hard to catch you without him." I didn't wait up, but they did catch up to me, and kept pace with me. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in going out with me."

"No. I'm already in a relationship and have no interest in you or breaking off my current relationship." I said monotonously.

"Come on, just give me a chance."

"No."

"He doesn't have to know. Just one night."

"Absolutely not." I scowled at the demon, who didn't falter in their advances.

I turned down a hallway, only to feel them confidently place their hand on my ass. I grabbed their wrist and twisted their arm so much it was on the verge of snapping. They started whimpering in pain.

"Touch me again and I will do more than almost snap your arm." I threatened. "Believe me when I say next time you touch me you will not walk away with both arms intact." I moved their arm more, causing tears to form in their eyes. "Have I made myself clear?" They nodded vigorously. "Good." I let them go and they scrambled to their feet and sped away as fast as they could.

The next day after finding Belphegor, we were both walking down the hall when we saw the demon from yesterday. We made eye contact briefly and they immediately ducked their head down, running past us. Belphegor furrowed his brows, confused by the situation and why they seemed more afraid of me than of him.

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure. But if they're scared, they must have a good reason.'' I smiled, purposefully leaving out what had happened the day before.

[miowyaa]

If it's alright, I have another request!!

I LOVED the story you wrote out of my previous request! It was amazing! And hilarious 😂

Do you think (if you have time and are okay with taking another request from me), you could write a Shidou x GN! Or nonbinary reader? I know you don't do NSFW which is totally understandable, but if you could add a touch of ✨spice✨ that'd be great. Oh! And I already have the trope in mind, enemies to lovers 😁

I hope this request is fun for you! If you need to change it in any way, that is perfectly fine. Thanks!

Leave me alone, you freak! ; Shidou x Gn!Reader

A/N: Thank you for your request! This was so funny to write, if you read the wiki/ egoist bible, it says that before a game, Shidou likes to go take a goodluck poop. Not really enemies to LOVERS but definitely enemies with crushes on each other. So um. Yea, enjoy..

CW: you get chased down by an intimidating shidou (not very romantic, i know :( ) , you basically get jumpscared by him. 

It's not everyday that you’re being chased down some random hallway in a large stadium, tablet in hand, praying to whatever force out there to help you make it out alive. As most people would agree, this doesn't usually happen to them either. You’ve never thought of yourself as a bad person, honestly- quite the opposite! If you had to describe yourself (not to toot your own horn,) you’re pretty much an upstanding citizen for the most part. So is it just that bad things happen to good people? For goodness sakes, you’re just trying to do your job.

“Go away!” You cry, the tears threatening to spill out of your eyes, never in your life have you run as fast you are right now. In hot pursuit, is a demon, a monster straight out of your worst nightmares, the living embodiment of all evil: Shidou Ryusei. Mind you, this was all because you very kindly told him that NO, he could NOT take an extra 15 minutes to go take a good luck dump right before his game especially since everyone was waiting for him already. You thought it was fine, it was cool, everything was all hunky-dory..But apparently not, since right after his match ended, he decided to just start sprinting towards you.

Fear, adrenaline, everything bad is literally coursing through your veins right now. You could care less how stupid you look right now as you flail your limbs around trying to get as far away from this man as quickly as possible. You hear him giggling behind you, and it just infuriates you even more. What is this? Some poorly made horror game you pirated made from free models and random free clips of children cries online? Though, to be fair, those kinds of games have the scariest jumpscares. 

Rounding a corner, you stick yourself to the wall before slumping down. It's a bit hard to believe this is happening, all in the span of a few minutes too. Maybe you can convince Ego to put Shidou on some tranquilizers or something. Alas, this is just wishful thinking. For now all you can do is to pick yourself up and walk yourself somewhere that he hopefully is FAR away from, fingers crossed!

It works out so perfectly, you even bust out a little tune. A little hum, if you will. Free from the beast, you’re given a false sense of freedom, unaware of the looming threat staring, looming, lurking… from afar. You caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure in your periphery, but you brushed it off. No way that's him, absolutely no way. You weren't going to let such a trivial matter ruin the rest of your day, nope!

So why is it now that you find yourself beneath him as he grins way too widely? You’re scared that he’s going to start drooling on you or something.

“KYAAAAAAH!” You scream out, finding yourself trapped underneath his weight. God forbid you want to go take a walk or something, because now, there's a freak basically sitting on top of you, pinning you down. Is this a scene straight out of an otome game? Are you… a pervert for having such thoughts…? Well, no, because this isn't your fault. Nothing is EVER your fault!

After your initial scream, you stay quiet staring directly into his eyes. You don't doubt that your face is a deep shade of pink right now, and it's no thanks to the guy on you right now. Who cares if your mind is cycling through thousands of probably non-PG thoughts right now? Though, your train of thought is finally broken when he finally speaks.

“Got you!” Well, NO SHIT.

“Dont worry, I forgive you,” he muses as if there was really any wrongdoing on your part in the first place. Wrapping his arms around you, he basically traps you even more.. You can feel them getting numb, and although you can't say this position is something you hate, embarrassment prevails! 

You’re shaking from a mixture of embarrassment and anger, and if that wasn't bad enough, he doesn't seem to give a crap at all! (Haha, crap, get it? Sorry.) He releases one of your arms from his grip and uses it to cup your face ‘sweetly,’ his fingers tracing over the outline of your jaw as if this were normal. He even lets out a little “heehee.” Maybe you’ve fantasized about this happening before, or maybe you haven't, whose to say? Though you didn't expect it to happen so quickly, it's definitely happening. This is it, you’re living your main character's life..! Is what you would think if you were sound of mind right now. Sound of mind is one way to put it though, since you’re probably part of a minority who thinks like that normally.

You’re still trapped, dare you say, provocative, position and it doesn't look like he's going to let go any time soon. You’re pretty content with staying in this position forever, just not now. Maybe in a few months or years, when he's toned down or something. But for now, you decide that you need to escape. So with all the strength you can muster, you slam your leg up into the area where the sun refuses to shine.

Expectantly, he weakens his grip which gives you just enough time to flee. As you’re running away for the second time, you stop for a moment to turn around to stick your tongue out at him. If Shidou could read minds, he’d know that you were calling him a “loser” and to have “better luck next time!” And although he does not have the required psychic abilities required to telepathically read your mind, he shoots you a wink which you so lovingly return with a middle finger.

Truly, what a love story! Throw the roses or something, everyone..

© miowyaa | please do not steal, repost, or translate any of my work.

[miss-tc-nova]

With Reckless Choices - Leona Kingscholar x Reader Pt 17

I am so...SO bad at these premise things, but hey! We're almost to the finish line!

Premise: The reunited couple attempt to help the lonely prince

Words: 1,633

Music Inspirations: Methadone - Rise Against

~~~Struggle for Salvation~~~

                 Eyes closed, the lion contemplates the magic. I can already tell by the way his lips screw that he’s not impressed. When he finally opens his mouth, we’re going to hear it. Still, I can see the flicker of sorrow in his ear.

               Those green eyes open, staring down at the crystal in his palm, soaking in the sadness of the memory. Then he eyes me first, then the dragon.

               “Have you any suggestions as to how we may progress?” Malleus asks.

               “You two are stupid.”

               “Leona!” I hiss.

               He fully ignores my warning, focusing on the fae prince. “This memory probably means a lot to you, but did you really think this would be enough to work with?”

               The crystal shoved into his hands, Malleus’s guilt shows in his slumped shoulders. “It’s all I have.”

               Mercy flashes on Leona’s face but he goes on. A finger jabs at me. “And you, I recognize the genius behind using other people’s memories to trick your magic into thinking you’ve been there—” I glare at his own ego boost. “—but why would you ever think the memory of a vision of a place would work?”

               I retort. “I knew it was a longshot, but we had to try.”

               “Which brings me back to my earlier statement—” He folds his arms. “You two are stupid.”

               I glower.

               “Even if you did have a memory of this other world, what makes you think you have the magic to reach it? Don’t you remember the shit we had to go through to reach that place the first time?”

               “Then what do you suggest we do now?” Malleus is also somewhat irked by the repeated insult.

               With a roll of his eyes, Leona draws a stone from his pocket. The clear color shines with rainbows on every facet, taking in light and returning it much more vibrant.

               The dragon’s head tilts. “A refraction prism?”

               “Almost. This is a diffraction prism—does the opposite.” Leona swaps crystals with Malleus for him to inspect the newer find.

“With this, we wouldn’t have to rely soley on the magestones to increase the magic output.”

               “Exactly.”

               I put a hand up. “Wait, hold on. Refraction prisms are rare, let alone something that could do the opposite. How did you get that?”

               Shoulders drop and agitation sways that tail. “I’ve learned the hard way to never underestimate a certain cephalopunk.”

               A smile quirks Malleus’s lips. “You made a deal with Ashengrotto? What did he ask for in return?”

               “Aside from a hefty sum of money, he gets to cater the next big event I host.”

               Immediately, my hand meets my mouth. Guess that’s one less thing on my list of wedding concerns. At least Malleus is amused, I guess.

               “ANYWAY, when you showed me the blot damage, I figured power was one of our big problems, so I picked it up. Between the three of us and all these magestones, maybe we’ll get somewhere. If not, then it’s pro’bly a lost cause.”

               “Okay, but there’s still the problem of none of us having ever been there,” I interject.

               For a man who enjoys gloating, Leona loves to act so put out. “You two are hopeless.”

               In his palm, the memoric crystal glows, rewriting the storage with something new. I almost don’t want to believe the smug smirk on his face when I take the crystal from him, but lo and behold, Leona shows me a memory of poking his head through the portal to get a look at the prefect’s world.

               My eyes rise. “I can’t believe you.”

               “Is that anyway to treat the man solving all your problems?”

               A roll of the eyes and a playful shove is all he gets in response.

               “Then if all our problems truly are solved, are we prepared to try again?” Malleus asks, hope tinting his words.

               Leona lifts his hand. “Hold on, I got one more question. How do you know your little prefect is even gonna agree to come back after leaving in the first place?”

               Leona voices a concern I’ve only briefly considered. But now that we’re on the cusp of a viable result, we’re forced to truly consider whether or not we’ve just been wasting our time.

               Malleus opens his mouth, then hesitates. There’s loneliness in his eyes, a trace of fear hidden deep inside. “I don’t know. But I have to know whether or not letting go was the right choice.”

               “And what happens if returning to Twisted Wonderland isn’t an option?”

               A wry smile falls upon those pale lips. “Then I suppose Briar Valley will simply have to find someone else to serve as its sovereign.”

               My jaw drops at the same time Leona’s ears flatten.

               Brushing aside our gawks, Malleus turns to the center of the room. “Now, shall we get started? I’m eager to see if we make any progress with these new developments.”

               I give Leona a nervous glance that we share a moment. Still, we join the dragon at the center of the ring of magestones.

               Though anxiety bubbles in my throat, I clutch the memoric crystal in one hand and press my palm against the diffraction prism Malleus holds. Leona’s hand joins ours. With a deep breath, I focus on the memory in the crystal. Magic searches the threads of my memories for that other world. The concentration and effort draw sweat to my brow and fingers ache, clenching down on the stone.

               But I find it.

               I reach out, struggling to get a grasp onto the artificial memory. Even when I manage to take hold, it’s another story to tether that thread to this existence. Dynamism flutters at my palm. That’s when I feel the masses of magic flooding in through the diffraction prism. The sheer power feels like a lightning storm in my chest, nearly breaking my connection and the memoric crystal falls from my hand. Somehow, I manage to hold on, but the two men continue feeding me their magic. Every nerve begins burning as ink begins seeping across my skin.

               “This is too much,” Malleus says, the magic flow slowing.

               “C’mon,” Leona growls. “Don’t bottle it up; use it!”

               At his words, something in me falls into place, opening the flood gates. Their magic surges forward, latching onto my thread and causing the energy to grow. My grip tight on the line, I will the space to part, but it resists far more than ever before. It quickly begins to eat through my borrowed power. Releasing the prism, I take hold of the magic in an attempt to physically pry it open, but I feel the stone being shoved against my back and the flow resumes.

               “C’mon,” I hiss. “Come on!”

               With all my magic and might, I slowly tear open the portal. It fights back, but I am making progress. Muscle scream in protest, burning from physical force and scorching magic. Darkness begins gnawing at the tips of my fingers, bleeding across my hands.

               I hear my name and the magic supply falters.

               “DON’T YOU DARE, LEONA!”

               “You promised—”

               “TRUST ME!”

               Even more magic surges through me, going straight to my hands. With the magic of the two princes literally at my back, the memory clear in my head, and my determination to repent, the space finally gives way. Light floods through the portal, revealing the world we’ve spent months, money, and magic trying to reach. And a voice full of disbelief comes through.

               “Malleus?”

               I stumble back, hitting the floor. Leona’s hands support me, but Malleus—along with his magic—steps closer to the portal.

               “You okay?” the lion utters in my ear.

               With Leona’s distraction and the loss of Malleus’s support, I struggle to maintain the portal and it flickers. My hand falls onto the diffraction prism.

               “We’re not done yet,” I breathe.

               Tearing open the space between worlds turns out to be the hardest step of the whole ordeal. Between Leona and myself, we’re able to hold open the passage while the fate of Briar Valley lies with Malleus.

               Leona’s hand slips beneath mine, instigating the pain. Most prominently on my arms, the blot has spread under my shirt and is likely still crawling further. Even so, I’m far from an overblot episode.

               “You’re such a mess.” The inconvenience he puts on well, but his touch is feather-soft.

               I can’t fight the smile. “Having second thoughts?”

               Leona carefully sits, wrapping around me. “Nah, it’s too much hassle to find someone else to put up with me.” The side of his face presses against mine. “’Sides, I already knew you were a mess. And on the bright side, I don’t think we’ll be having a wedding for the next few months. Gives me time to throw some shitty party for that shady octopus.”

               Oh, the laugh hurts. “That’s so mean.”

               “Hey, he never said it had to be a good party. He’ll be lucky if I don’t make him serve Ruggie and Cheka for an entire day.”

               “We actually do need a caterer for the wedding though.”

               “I’d rather wear outfits designed by Cheka.”

               “Stop making me laugh; it hurts.”

               His chuckle warms my ears. “Then quit makin’ stupid suggestions and relax.” A kiss presses against my temple. “We got the rest of our lives for hare-brained ideas. For now, focus on that portal and leave the rest to me.”

               With a huff, I relax somewhat, letting my thoughts slip away one by one until all that’s left is Malleus’s portal. Except one thought keeps resurfacing between ones of concentration.

               “Thank you.”

               “Mm? What for?”

               “For everything.”

               Leona doesn’t immediately answer, instead tightening his grip.

               “I’m just getting started. Just you wait.”

               A smile cracks my lips.

               “I look forward to seeing you convince me.”

~~~~~

Part 18

Nova’s Twisted Wonderland Masterlist

[catatonicsx]

heyy i was wondering about the songs

ohhh where to even begin. since you mentioned being interested in milex theories, i'll go through a couple of my fav songs with a focus on talking about milex.

you probably couldn't see for the lights, but you were staring straight at me

this song has long been known (with somewhat beyond reasonable doubt) to be about the lead singer of The Little Flames, of which miles was coincidentally the guitarist of. there's not much to reallyyy prove that it's about miles and not the female lead singer, the latter which he's basically all but admitted to, other than their relationship that was fostered soon after the song was written (which was around 2005).

i also learned via a reddit thread that the Frank Spencer mentioned is a character in a British sitcom called Some Mothers Do 'Av 'Em who is very accident prone. (x) so, that's interesting!

do i personally think it's about miles? no, not particuarily. but i think it's interesting that the love interest of this song is so closely aligned with miles......

what's interesting is that put your dukes up, john is a Little Flames cover. there's not much i want to analyze in this song considering it's not an arctic monkeys one, technically, i do think it's cool and that it's an important step in both the arctic monkey's sound development and alex's and miles' relationship.

now i am of the sort who believe a lot of humbug songs are about miles-- especially coming off the recording of the age of the understatement in 2008. i'm not sure how much of their relationship shifted or was furthered during this time (my tinhatting only goes so far as fantasy and lyric analysis) but i DO believe alex was at least thinking of miles during the writing of humbug in the american desert.

dangerous animals

there is not much evidence in this specific song that lends me to believe it's about miles, i mean it is chock full of she/her pronouns (but when has that Ever stopped anyone's theorizing...) and the reason this song stands out to me is not so much of incriminating lyrics more so it just...evokes some nice images for me.

i am not entirely sure how sensual alex meant to portray his struggles with sleep in this song but Lordy! they sure are. "been fighting with my sheets / and nearly crying in my sleep" ohhh so he's writhing in bed clutching at his sheets with a sheen of tears in his eyes... okay... hm... okay (gets so hard i die)

dangerous animals is a song about being in love with a girl (?) who is unattainable for some reason but still delights in torturing poor, poor alex who follows her (?) like a dog willing to do whatever humiliating thing she (?) asks of him/forces him to do. "sharpen the heel of your boot / and you press it to my chest and you make me wheeze / then to my knees you do promote me." alex is willing and even eager to humiliate himself for this girl (?) and sees his submission as an act of bettering himself, something to be proud of (see "promote me") (gets so hard i die)

BUT GET THIS. and i am pulling in some outside sources here, but to complete my tinhatting, i feel it necessary to mention that the song "too little too late" by miles kane off coup de grace mentions the line "pirouetting in the dark" which i do take as a reference to this song. so maybe miles knows something we don't about dangerous animals. maybe HE is the dangerous animal. it's not much, so i guess we'll never know....

potion approaching

while we're on the topic of stupid theories. i think matt said somewhere this one is a love song to alex's car? i would kill to find the interview again, but the gist was alex had this car which he loved driving and the band joked that potion approaching was actually a ballad about imagining his car as a girl.

but actually: "i've got this ego mechanic / she's always trying to give me vitamins." the vitamins in question are, of course, drugs, and they work as an "ego mechanic" in that they make alex more fun to be around/better at writing (a theme mentioned in My Propeller because that song is not unfortunately about a certain organ).

WAIT I JUST MADE A BREAKTHROUGH IN REAL TIME. i think that the "she" and the "you" are DIFFERENT PEOPLE. i usually assume that the pronouns are used interchangeably but i think i have just discovered something Huge.

the first verse (is about doing drugs, yes, but focus) mentions a "you" that the speaker falls into a kiss ("tide took me to your mouth") and also maybe further than a kiss ("and then swept me back down to your palms") with and the speaker goes "oohhh. okay this is all i want to do, this is the person i want to be with" (the meaning of "yours is the only ocean")

but THEN in the second verse the "she" is mentioned, the "ego mechanic." okay. maybe vitamins aren't drugs but like Normal Pills ... to make him stop wanting this other person ... my evidence here is "if i could be someone else for a week / i'd spend it chasing after you / cause she's not shattering my attitude."

the speaker .. wants to be someone else .. but currently he's confined by the "she" character who is "shattering [his] attitude"

"no matter how she folds the potion / yours is the only ocean"

hey. wait. it makes perfect sense that the "she" is trying to control his desire somehow, but the "you" is still the only person he cares for.

hm. this could be milex if you thought about it.

the end bit: "oh, but if we're gonna escape though / we really ought to think it through / would you like me to build you a go-kart?" has long been laughed at for its seeming randomness but actually it's NOT random. the speaker wants to escape with the "you" because the situation with the "she" is so controlling ... and UNLIKE in dangerous animals, he doesn't want to be controlled, he wants to be free on a go-kart with his lover.

could be milex. you know. if you wanted to think abt it that way.

fire and the thud

aside from being possibly my favorite arctic monkeys song, i believe this one, too, is about miles.

THE VERY FIRST LINES describe a welcome chance to the status quo: "you showed me my tomorrow / beside a box of matches / a welcome threatening stir." and given that this is a love song (you'll see) i think this is describing a welcome end to one relationship and a welcome start of another; a stirring up of affairs. romantic.

"my hopes of being stolen / might just ring true" again, speaker wants his lover to burn the boring status quo future, he wants to be stolen away.

"depends who you prefer" it seems like both alex and his lover are in relationships, alex is wondering if his lover (miles, lol) will drop his girl to be with him. if alex too drops his girl. seems they're at an impasse...

immediately after, we get "if it's true you're gonna run away / tell me where, i'll meet you there" more running away, like in potion approaching. these two lovers have to be somewhere away from "prying eyes" (will mention more later).

next two stanzas (?) are questioning if the speaker's lover feels the same way he does.

and GODD. GOD. some of the greatest lines ever written "the day after you stole my heart / everything i touched told me / it would be better shared with you." GODDDDD. i don't even have any analysis just ruminate on how beautiful this is for a moment please.

the rest of this verse just describes various BEAUTIFUL haunting gorgeous incredible details about the speaker's pining. the soup, the books, the mark (a bruise that takes a while to heal, perhaps? sounds sexy).

"will the teasing of the fire / be followed by the thud?" alex wonders if this intense pining/foreplay of emotions will come to a concrete conclusion. will they be in a relationship, or will they be doomed to dance around each other, never quite saying how truly infatuated they feel?

"in the jostling crowd / you're not allowed to tell the truth" okay my tinhat is firmly ON for this one. why wouldn't the truth of this relationship be allowed to be disclosed to the public? unless... it's gay. (pride month gasps)

seriously, i can't imagine the hold up about this clear infatuation becoming public unless there was a particularly unsanitary connotation about the type of relationship it was.

"and the photo booth's a liar" this is a JUMP and i admit that. it's a LEAP and a half. but it really seems like whatever front alex is putting up in his current relationship to save face is actually untrue. he's a "liar" for pretending to be happy in his relationship.

"and there's a sharpened explanation / but there's no screaming reason to require" a bit funny! when you think about it. it seems like alex Could explain himself but is choosing not to, which is ironic because it feels like the whole song is describing and putting into great detail the "sharpened explanation" of his infatuation with his lover and therefore his lies to his current relationship.

"i'd like to poke them in their prying eyes / with things they'd never see / if it smacked them in the temples." like a lot of tbhc and, honestly, a lot of arctic monkeys songs in general, i think the vague "them" is simply the public sticking their nose into alex's relationships and songs (much like i am currently doing). there's an explanation, but people just Wouldn't Get It if they heard it. (i feel like i might get it, alex! i'm with you thus far!). again, could tie back to the gayness, if you were so inclined to believe so, because that is a harder thing to explain to the public then, say, a happy hetero relationship. maybe. if you were so inclined.

jump to golden trunks

"when true love takes a grip, it leaves you without a choice." i think this pits "true love" against some other ideal in which it then ruins. it seems "true love" is a problem, something unplanned, uncalled for, unwanted. hurts to think about.

i will drive myself INSANE talking about this song. every time i listen to it i pull my tinfoil tighter around my little cone hat. anyone talking about politics or donald trump are sooo off center. the point of the song, the emotion is all Right There.

first off, it's not about american politics. alex says (among other hilarity) "The whole song there is about a conversation between myself and someone that I’m falling for. That’s not the leader of the free world in golden trunks, by the way. The character in the song, who I’m singing to, that’s something from her imagination, that may have come out of her sense of humour." (yes i took this from genius x) and i know wrestling is Big and Many People Like Wrestling but the leader of the free world in golden trunks is such. a fucking. miles thing. to say.

again, a link that is really so slim but if you think about it too long your chest will start to hurt: "and in response to what you whispered in my ear" GODD these fools are always whispering in each other's ear. what was that quote? can't for the life of me find a credible link to it, but allegedly:

nme: what sort of things do you say to each other onstage?

alex: dark, twisted and very private things.

miles: you'd think we were freaks if you knew some of the things we talk about onstage. we talk about weird things that don't really make sense to anyone else.

again, allegedly, this is from 2008. and we all KNOW their habit of whispering to each other at all times on stage, maybe at some point (i'd hazard in 2016) there came the bizarre statement of "fantasizing" about each other..

then there are three words in this song that break my freaking heart: "in the daytime."

and FUCKKK ME that hurts. because if you take it in the context of the "fantasy" it really just reads like alex has these enduring fantasies, bred from whispers in his ears, and they happen to him in daytime and they're real and he can't ignore them. go listen to golden trunks. listen to it RIGHT NOW and PAY ATTENTION to the guttural HURT that exists in these three words. and it's never been played live. i'm sure some of that has to do with the instruments/synth-y stuff going on with it.. but GOD those lyrics are insane and they hurt me.

it's just describing an affair that never came to be, or never came to exist in the full extent that alex wishes it would've. even if it's not about miles, this song still hurts me.

and again, there's the fire and the thud -esque "the public would never understand the truth of these feelings":

"bendable figures with a fresh new pack of lies / summat else to publicize / i'm sure you've heard about enough."

alex is SICK of the fakeness and lies of his profession and, as the song implies, his personal relationships. the song assumes that who alex is singing to can relate to these struggles. he wishes for the simpleness of his fantasy, which is completely vague and unspecified, but which seems to be the solution of all his heartache and the problem of "true love's grip."

could be milex. what do i know. lol. pulls the tinfoil tighter and sets it carefully on top of my head.

-

okay. in truth, i have a lot more. i didn't even GET to the jeweler's hands which i also believe is about miles. and there's a big long post that i want to make about there'd better be a mirrorball, which i will probably make separately. there's also a separate post i have Got to make about batphone and why i believe it's such an incredible song. lmk if those sound cool to you as well.

i hope this was somewhat of what you were looking for! i tend to ramble, but thank you for the opportunity of letting me talk. let me know if you have any questions (because Believe Me i would like to continue talking about this it's like my fav topic).

FEEL FREE TO REQUEST SPECIFIC SONGS !! LIKE IF THERE WAS ANY SPECIFIC SONG YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT !! SIMPLY PUT IN AN ASK IF YOU WANT AND I WILL TALK ABOUT IT WITH YOU !! IF YOU WANT !!

[glacierclear]

im sorry i need to dump all my thoughts about ada x leon somewhere for personal fulfillment reasons,

big disclaimer: resident evil canon/lore is inconsistent and my feelings/thoughts on all this is NOT me stating it as fact. It's 99% speculation and me interpreting context. I'm just having fun!

it's really wild that i started my resident evil experience hating Ada. I did not understand her character and the way she's portrayed is very inconsistent and confusing (probably on purpose) and, like many others, I assumed the choices she made and the pain she inflicted on others was malicious and intentional.

But something clicked recently,,,I understand now that she didn't choose this life. She doesn't WANT to be a spy. She doesn't WANT to be a mercenary. Everything she was and everything she had was taken and stripped from her. She doesn't even have a real name anymore. I think seeing the small insight of her backstory in the biohazard manga really put all the pieces together and brain blasted me with understanding. Her entire character (to me, at least!) revolves around survival and self-preservation. She is a SELFISH character, not because of ego or power, but because of a LACK of power. She no longer has autonomy over her life in a way that matters and so the only thing left for her is to stay alive.

And I just think that ties so beautifully with Leon's struggles. Both of them being forced into this life where they have to live and die at the hands of the people who control them. And, listen...listen...it's overdramatic as fuck and a VERY idealistic/romanticized interpretation of their relationship, but honestly it makes me hella emotional thinking about Leon potentially being one of the few things in life Ada wants to live for other than herself. Him being the only person in the entire series who has ever shown her genuine, selfless kindness and care,,, and the fact that her circumstance and the trappings of her life forced her to betray him and she has to live with that guilt and has to come to terms with the fact that she will never genuinely connect with people because who even is she anymore? She has no sense of self.

And her entire campaign in RE6 resonates me in such a weirdly poignant and impactful way. RE6 has some WONKED UP writing and it's so silly and stupid; but I think if it was tweaked a little bit it would be a genuinely moving story about a woman losing her agency and bodily autonomy to a violent man who wants to own her and her fighting with his fabricated, demented vision of her. It's a manifestation of his greed and possession...and then she kills her clone and immediately after she sees Leon again and his first immediate instinct is to protect her and sacrifice himself again for her and throw himself into MORE bullets for her even after the betrayal of RE2 ........ and then after that she finally snaps and FINALLY chooses to fight for HER morals and HER justice by killing Simmons' bioweapon.

Like, listen, I hate the trope of "woman traumatized being saved by a man" in most cases, but something about the way I see Leon and Ada just makes SENSE man.

The fact that she specifically goes out of her way COUNTLESS times to protect him and save him and none of it is enough to get him to forgive her. None of it will ever be enough but she keeps trying anyways. Like, damn, his entire mission is Spain is only possible because Ada saved his ass like...four times??? And you can make reasonable arguments that she doesn't care about him he's only important for her mission, and to be honest I think that interpretation is also valid, but for me personally I just think she cares about him so much but it's in his best interest to continue believing she doesn't care.

And I just want them to be happy. But it will probably never work out between them, just due to everything...they can't escape their lives. They're both kept alive by two opposing morality systems. Leon's guilt and unyielding need to fight for truth and innocence and to protect everyone he's lost and everyone who depends on him. And Ada to hold onto herself and what whittling remains of self-identity and independence she still has when it was all taken from her, even to the point of someone making a damn clone out of her.

Man I just love them so much I'M SO EMOTIONAL!!!!!!!

[vampireradiation]

ED/weight related, this will be triggering if you’ve struggled at all with weight or shame about it tbh, I just need somewhere to put it. It is going to be expressing very harsh disordered thoughts it will not show me in a good light so please don’t read if it might fuck with you. //

I swear I’m recovered in all ways except like, the weird ego thing I get. It’s BAD, I don’t like that I still feel this way. I’m aware it’s entirely coming from the bits of my disorder that linger.

I mean, I find it extremely cringe and unnecessary to really give a fuck about anyone else’s body beyond concern for a loved one if they seem to be going in an unhealthy direction. But at the same time, when I hear someone I don’t like/find annoying talk about how they just ‘can’t seem to lose weight’ I still get the urge to be like lol, can’t relate, must suck for you aww… or I saw this one nsfw account on here trying wayyyy too hard in an annoying way and they had their height and weight listed, clearly trying to push a size kink thing but to me it read as deeply unnecessary and given the correlation of weight/height stats in bio on here, it’s like… not super cute or tasteful. Instead of my reaction being like a normal person my (internal, obviously) response was ‘wow okay tryhard, that’s really not even that small for that weight, I’m a bit taller and much smaller lol’ and looking at their pictures thinking ‘damn when I looked like that I felt so chubby how do people think this is cute and small, they don’t know the meaning’ while also fully aware that they are relatively small and completely logically understanding why they’re seen that way. It is only if I already don’t like the person, but I start comparing as if it means anything at all. It is completely an issue of superiority leftover from my disorder and if I wasn’t the like 0.01% who started pretty small and actually lost more weight after recovering (I obviously did gain some weight at first) because I wasn’t starved into reactive/responsive over eating, it’s like… it’s so STUPID and RIDICULOUS and I know I should have been humbled so much harder by recovery. But I wasn’t, so idk 💀 I don’t know how to get over thinking this way tbh, it’s so bad and I know it’s absurd and shitty and illogical. I would never express it to someone unless they did something evil or whatever, I’m not comfortable talking about this stuff IRL though so I just wanted to put it somewhere.

[randomwriteronline]

frustrated abt brain not managing to write onewa getting laid. have at ye some brainstorming on the matter. as a curse

first of all why is Onewa specifically the one getting dicked down? because i say so. i wrote him getting pampered by all his teammates once (to shut him the fuck up) and now i want them to rock his world into next tuesday. something about him compels me. his bastard charms and attitude have bewitched me. so im unleashing the rest of the turaga upon him

second. communication game? pristine. top shelf. impeccable. these six have a whole system of little nudges and hints and stuff for "id like a bit of bangin if you would be keen on indulging me" and theyre never pushing at a refusal. these messages can be relayed anywhere from two weeks to five minutes before anything is in place and if the answers a no then its thumbs up and no problem. the matoran are none the wiser. not even Matoro. my boy can know all the secrets of the toa metru and shit but hes peacefully oblivious to the mindblowing Onewa Boning thats been going on behind the entire islands back for a thousand years. as he should be.

also im a sappy shit so theyre all sweet during intercourse bc it makes me :) and also because i need that stone bastard torn asunder by tenderness

now youd think mr hordika urges Matau would jump to the sex immediately given the chance and youd be dead wrong. bc first and foremost hes a romantic. hes gonna bone him to hell and back but to do that, he has to put in The Effort. must he? not really, but he wants to and it makes him feel happy n proud of himself. so hes nestmaking a new nest every time, and each one is the best nest hes ever nestmade bc hes always improving, and hes composing a lil treespeak song songsinging his lovers praises to hushwhisper in his ear while laying down on top of him, and after the first verse hes mumbling about how the next one should be accompanied by a slowdance if you catch my drift, and Onewa is fucking slurping it all up. he loves this. he can understand maybe a quarter of the whole thing bc the pronunciation is super strict but he can hear the intention and his ego is getting stroked. why thank you yes i AM the best. keep flattering me. oh a slowdance? well dont mind if i do...

Nokama on the other hand will pull him over, feel him up very gently until hes melted into a puddle, and then nudge his face into the pillow and dick him down so good he has to fight not to start screaming bc the entire ga-koro population is ASLEEP RN and he doesnt need them to be nosy abt this. she loves how he tries to buy time and fails miserably. shes speedrunning the foreplay for fun. see how fast she can turn him into a flustered mess. her all-time record was three seconds and a half but that was bc shed sent him a letter detailing how she was going to wreck him half a day in advance and when they actually got alone time he was still going insane about it so it doesnt really count even tho she insists it does

now you know hate-sex. ok. imagine that concept but less intense. like annoyance-sex. or mild inconvenience-sex. or "aw fuck, i cant believe youve done this"-sex. or that glare that you get after you say a stupid pun-sex. thats what Nuju and Onewa have. they NEED to do some light arguing before it bc thats half the fun!! usually Onewa bothers Nuju with something small and silly and Nuju then stands up and paces around very slightly angry for a moment or two before smoothly sliding back to him and pinning him somewhere he can bend over on. Onewa fakes the weakest struggle possible and tells him he sucks at a host bc he doesnt even take him somewhere comfortable for this smh, and then as soon as he gets very gently pushed forward he splays himself down all wiggly with excitement. its very cute and also satisfying to see the resident contrarian like that. plus Nuju knows this low quiet coo that makes Onewa shiver really hard bc he likes it a lot and you KNOW hes teasing the hell out of him with it. theyre playing :)

and he also sort of plays with Whenua but in that case its more like they affectionately insult and tease one another the whole time. Whenua will sit him on his lap with some excuse like teaching him how to deal with an earthquake or smth and go at it and then Onewa will say "is that the best youve got?" with a shiteating grin and hell laugh like fuck off you pillow princess i dont see you doing much, and they go back and forth like that until Onewa starts struggling to think straight, at which point Whenua will tease him mercilessly until the other is just straight up incoherent and its time to ease him down a little more gently before his brain explodes. and then once theyre all good n resting he jokes that his stamina sucks and Onewa goes how DARE you and they have sleepy aftercare banter until one of them starts snoring

Vakama is the only one who doesnt tend to dick Onewa down. thats because hes one hell of a cowboy. hell be all unassuming, invite him for tea after meeting with him, chat a while, yknow, typical turaga stuff, and then oh whoops would you look at that its gotten too late you should stay over... and when Onewa smiles and goes "ohhh you sly lil firespitting bastard you done trapped me huh?" Vakama acts all innocent and denies all accusations while also actively seducing him. master of looking like an angel going "i dont know what youre talking about" while very gently laying him down on the bed, climbing over him, and sitting right on his crotch. and Onewa just lets him bc its hot as hell when the firespitters sort of softly in charge like this. plus from his perch atop him Vakama always leans down to give him smooches on the chin while hes riding the absolute shit out of him so hard that Onewa gets genuinely winded and its the best

they sometimes all get together for this kind of thing too. I cannot describe the result bc words missing but yall can imagine it bc ive cursed you to. all you need to know is that Onewa is in the middle of it all and hes getting boned to hell and back very lovingly in a wide array of possible combinations. also his long legs are getting appreciated a lot

Onewa mightve also developed fantasies of engaging in passionate pre-toa trysts with his lads n lass back in metru nui. sneaking around. having semi public sex. he does Not talk about this bc its very confusing even for him and he might Die

and you know what the best part is? Onewa is Convinced that he likes sex for the sex, but hes wrong. he likes it for everything else

dont get me wrong he also likes the sex, its great and fun and he enjoys it, but its like a fun bonus. what he REALLY loves about it is all the work behind and after and around the actual sex part. he loves the planning and the nudges and the little silent communications, and he loves when the other turaga accept or pleasantly surprise him or when theyre the ones to ask first, and he loves the foreplay with all the teasing and bantering and touching and sweet things and getting comfy and the intimacy, and he looooooves being a lil loopy after its all over and getting to enjoy the aftercare and the snuggling and the falling asleep together and the waking up together because he fucking LOVES them and they love HIM and hes a lil starved for affection from back in po metru still

And he doesnt fucking notice bc his body goes "i want people i love to hold me" and his mind interprets it as "we're kinda sad, why dont we have sex? sex always cheers us up" and he goes Youre Right and misses the point

[yellowlikelemons]

The clock on your dashboard reads 02:58. Shit, I've been out for that long?

"English? Sorry, I don't speak..." Staring back at you trough the crack in the window, I'm silent for a moment, registering what you'd just said. "Oh!" I light up a little. You'd looked tired as soon as I opened my mouth, so I'd assumed you simply weren't in the mood to deal with a stranger. No - you just hadn't understood what I'd said.

"Tourist?" Comes reflexibly, but I figure you probably don't want to sit around and be interviewed. Why would anyone tourist here anyway? "I, uh, I missed the bus in from town, next one's not until tomorrow. Would you maybe help drive me home?" The headlights hit a crooked sign barely visible beyond the bend. "I live right down that dirt road. It parts further... south, and you turn left at this big grey building, old factory." My ego takes a hit at how much I stumble over the words. I'd rehearsed what I wanted to say in case I could wave down a car, but here I'd had to quickly shove it trough the mental translation filter. You don't seem to care, however, and nod torwards the back seat. "Sure. Get in."

Gravel crunches as we turn off the asphalt and drive in between pines. We're slow. It's not populated enough to warrant streetlights, and the first thing I do once I'm seated is warn you about wildife on the dirt road. "We almost hit an elk here once, those are terrifying up close. You american? Heard they're not as common there. Unless you're like, way up north?"

We catch eyes in the mirror. I expect everyone I meet out here to be at least in their fifties, and you're much younger, probably around my age. If it wasn't clear you weren't local I would've asked for your number, then planned to come by with cake as thanks. I'm starved for interaction with non-retirees, but I'd be lying if I denied that you're also just kind of my type. I feel shallow for thinking that right away. Then guilty. You're not very talkative, and you're doing me a kindness, the least I can do is be quiet and refrain from mentally commenting about your looks. You remain silent. Insecurity washes over and I pop my beanie off, suddenly hyperaware of what an annoying clicking the badge along the hem makes.

I've taken to looking out the window when you finally speak up. The trees outside rise in jagged black walls on either side of the car, so there's not much to see. "...Why were you out on the highway so late?" You've angled the mirror away. "Oh, uh," There's crinkling and rattling from where I start digging around in my hoodie. As if you didn't have your eyes on the road, I pull out a tiny cardboard box and a few plastic packets. Sweets. "Now, it was, it was kinda stupid, got just like a strong sugar craving. Needed the grocery store. I missed the last bus at midnight - usually I have someone to drive me, but he's not home right now," It bothers me that I feel the need to explain myself to you. I've turned up the same "everything-is-fine-i-am-so-responsible-really" cadence I use when I speak to real adults, and can't quite tell why. Usually I'd be much more at ease with someone my age.

"So I ate at this local pub for an hour, and then just kinda started walking back, a-" I think you're about to comment, but the car replies first with a defeated buzz. The rumbling of the road stops. We're still. Shit.

My hands go back down into my pockets, trying to remember where I put my phone. "Hey, we-should I call somewhere? It's close enough to my house to walk there if we need to." I'm only watching you from behind, but see you shake your head. "Not needed. Stay." The doors unlock with a click, and you pull on your handle. "Do you need help?" I ask, reaching for mine. "Holding the light or something?" I don't know shit about cars. "No. Stay," you insist, more forcefully this time. I briefly hear crickets outside as you open the door, then am left in silence again as it shuts.

-

-

He doesn't wake back up when the car starts. Not strange. That sugar craving had to come from somewhere, and you're pretty sure you saw him put something out against his boot as you first pulled up. A few minutes into your abscense there'd been screenglow from the backseat, by ten it'd dissapered. You reach down and pick the phone up from where it's slid off his lap. Something's still playing behind the case, so you check the notifications before sliding it into your pocket. Nothing important, hours old texts in his language. Seems lighthearted in tone from the pictures attached.

The boy in the back doesn't stir while you glide further between the pines. You push the mirror into place to check every now and again. There are headphones wedged in his hair now, they're still faintly playing that video. His clothes pool around him, and that beanie's about to slide off his lap just like the phone did. What was it he said about somebody not being home?

The trees give way. A long, grey, industrial building sits in what's essentially a large clearing. You stop. The car huffs, and instantly you have to check so the boy wasn't shook awake. No. No worries. The road forks, and further to the left there are lights on somewhere in a window. He forgot them on before he left home. Cute. If somebody was inside, and you're pretty sure they're not, they would've turned them off by now. That means you've got at least until dawn, probably longer, until he's missed. You start sliding up the road. Now you've got his address, at least - should you decide to return him sometime.

[l3nnyw1thencr0w]

I just want to write smth bru, all the character inside this draft is my ocs, no betareader no anything, pray for me🙏

It is extremely hard to distinguish between a remarkable clothmaker and a maniac, the line between them are rather thin. Francis knows that—because she is one of the above.

The clock keeps ticking, sunlight can barely shine through the windows, leaving little to no light inside the room. Thread and cloths laying everywhere, strings connecting to each other in a messy, awkward way and if you squint close enough, you could see Francis’ last sanity hiding somewhere between those lines. Even with the sound of shoe clacking on the ground growing louder every second, Francis doesn’t seem to notice.

“Francis dear, maybe it’s time for a break, really. It has been 5 hours since we talked.”

Voice ranging through the room, the voice wasn’t unfamiliar, it was, but that is a problem to Francis. Cause that god forsaken voice and tone could only be from Harper, a charming lady underneath but it’s covered by a massive ego that made her look hideous in Francis’ eyes right now. The clothmaker only lets out a sigh, her eyes don’t even dart to Harper for a second. She doesn’t have a reason to. Though, even with the sign of uninterested and clear annoyance, Harper makes no move to back down, she doesn’t want to. She move around the place, touching the cloth and dresses Francis has made. Fingers rubbing against the fabric, thinking about all the ideas that the clothmaker said. Though, her thoughts were cut short but Francis pulling the fabric away.

“We did talk, thats what matters anyways.”

“You said i should choked myself with my stupid and ugly brick-like tail. Don’t you think it’s a tad bit mean?”

“Better than nothing.”

Harper lets out a huff and there was a moment of peaceful silence that Francis gets to enjoy before she hears a snobbish rich voice again. This time however, Harper is standing right next to her, arms crossed, looking like a child, just waiting for something to happen.

“i think i deserve an apology.”

Francis audibly chokes on air as she turn back to Harper, her eyes slightly wide. The reaction makes Harper rolls her eyes annoyingly . She is aware that her clothmaker would be dying on the spot laughing if it weren’t for the fact that Francis is clinging onto Harper’s money to live. Usually, Harper wouldn’t batch an eye, why would she? it’s just someone wishing death upon her—no big deal. But it has been happening for the last 2 weeks.

“sorry for hurting your sensitive feelings.”

Francis says casually as she hold a few cloths in her hands, sewing it together. Harper’s eyes narrowed slightly, trying to remember all the fights they have before that 2 weeks of Francis tormenting Harper’s ego and mental health. There was one about ovens, fabrics being stolen, the bedroom pillows being too hard, headache, moods but none of them are really that important, they could have all of those fights in one day and they will probably kiss each other goodnight and share the same blanket without any problem that same day. Well, there is one that Harper hasn’t mentioned.

“are you sad about the toucan painting in our living room got dirty?”

Harper asks, waiting for a few seconds looking at Francis, who was sewing, suddenly stops and turns to Harper, putting all the cloths away.

“you did that in purpose! No one flings their pudding in a toucan painting so precisely that it only hits the eye!”

Francis raised her voice as Harper groans. And there she was, the only one being criticised for acting dramatic when her clothmaker get to hates her for a whole 2 weeks. Harper hates the way the toucan always looks at them when she is trying to kiss Francis. And at night when Harper was drunk, she could felt the toucan staring at her so maniacally. Its both scary and annoying to deal with. But Francis just has to love the stupid painting so much. So Harper thought pretending that it was an accident would be the perfect solution—she never thinks there would be a day where her little accident looks too perfect and lead her to her own demise.

“Well maybe the toucan should stops being all weird if it doesn’t want its eyes to be blinded by pudding!”

Francis wasn’t surprised by the sudden confession albeit a bit surprised by the loud voice. Harper did lower her voice when she noticed Francis moving away a bit. The clothmaker wasn’t over her precious toucan painting but laying in bed with her back toward Harper for weeks have been boring.

“could’ve moved the painting away.”

Francis says annoyingly, looking at Harper with narrowed eyes and a frown. Really, Harper doesn’t understand why Francis likes the painting so much. But nonetheless, Francis likes it.

“I could paint you a new one, with its eyes closed.”

Harper says, slowly moving her hand to cups Francis’ cheek before pulling her lips to kiss her forehead, and hold her close after a full 2 weeks of getting absolutely nothing. Francis takes a moment to soak in all the affection Harper is giving her and will give her after this. The clothmaker moves her hands, gently placing them to Harper’s waist and pull herself in for a small fleeting lips kiss.

“it wont be in the living room anymore, will it?”

The question was left unanswered but a few days later, there was a new painting of a toucan resting in the hallway. Francis can only imagined what Harper looked when she have to get a cup of water in the middle of the night when saw this.

Francis wonders sometime if her job is driving her crazy or it’s the noblewoman she is working for