#i found...hmmmm what did i find

[yo9urt]

mine craft !!

[nejackdaw]

This was a hit with the roomie so:

Me when I started playing FE3H:

(Tap to banish the blur, etc)

[mvth3r]

daryl doesn’t think he’s anything special. he never has. but to you? he’s everything.

or

5 times daryl feels your affection down to his core and the many 1 time he unconsciously returns the favor.

cw: 18+ MDNI, p-in-v, mention of injury, swearing, mostly fluff, 4283 words

a/n: this draft got the most votes in the poll, which was surprising tbh! next up medieval au, princess reader, forbidden romance?? hmmmm

one.

daryl hears you coming before he sees you. he knows it’s on purpose, so you don’t startle him (“and get an arrow in the tit or something, i don’t know!” you had explained, laughing). he’s long since taught you how to be quiet when walking over leaves and branches.

his eyes drifted in the direction of the noise, watching you melt out of the trees, water bottle in one hand and knife in the other. you had a bad habit of speeding through or ignoring your own duties in favor of tracking him out into the woods while he was hunting. the teasing looks from rick and carol when they saw the gates open in the evening, revealing the two of you instead of just him, were enough to have him blushing up to his ears, but he couldn’t find it in him to stop you. if anything, daryl found himself lingering closer to the prison when he was first setting out for the day and making his tracks a little easier for you to follow as he went on. he liked to think of it as a teaching moment, encouraging you to follow his lessons, but he knew what it really was.

he liked having you here with him, away from prying eyes and ears. daryl wasn’t big on pda, he’d never been, and you knew that, but you could be as affectionate as you wanted out here.

the smile that split you face when you saw daryl was blinding, creasing your eyes and cheeks, “hey, handsome.”

daryl felt his heart start to pound immediately in his chest and warmth radiate through his belly and down his limbs. he had the distant, bizarre thought that any walker for a few miles would probably be able to smell his blood as it rose rapidly to his face, coloring his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

he scoffed quietly to keep the words he really wanted to say from spilling unbidden from his throat as you caught up to him, instead deadpanning, “handsome? really?”

you hummed, raising a hand to card through his long bangs, eyes tender when they met his, “mhm, very handsome. don’t i tell you every day?”

you leaned up to press a sweet kiss to his lips, no longer than a moment. you hand drifted from his hair down to cup his jaw as you did, and daryl found himself leaning into your palm, his own hand coming up to grip your wrist loosely.

you pulled away with a smaller, more intimate smile, one that daryl had only ever seen directed at him. and, if you had felt the pounding of his heart through his shirt or seen the intensity of his flush, you didn’t say a word.

two.

daryl was distracted.

this council meeting was dragging on much longer than intended. what was initially supposed to be a quick conversation about planning a run to get supplies for judith and a few of the other kids had turned into a heated debate about possibly opening up the council to a few of the people from woodbury. he could understand why. there was still a stark divide between their group and the new people, but daryl had been content to sit back and let the situation mend itself, so long as it didn't escalate.

the discussion was split down the middle. or.. maybe there were more in favor of maintaining the current council? daryl couldn’t tell because he couldn’t focus and he couldn’t focus because every time he tried to lock in on the conversation, he could feel your fingers brush over his knuckles.

earlier, when the meeting started, you had sat yourself right next to daryl, reached under the table, and grabbed his hand where it was resting on his knee. no fanfare, no lovesick gazes, just your fingers intertwined with his calloused ones like they belonged there. which, he mused to himself, maybe they do.

and so there your hand had remained as the meeting went on. every so often, you would brush your fingers lightly over his knuckles, or give his fingers a squeeze if you happened to catch his eyes… which would lead to you chuckling quietly to yourself when his neutral expression would warm over with a blush.

the meeting had been going on for at least an hour. god.

“daryl, what do you think?”

glenn’s voice cut through daryl’s thoughts like a knife. he jerked a little, almost dislodging your hand when he looked across the table, meeting the expectant stares of the council.

“uhh,” he grunted eloquently, “‘bout bringin’ some of them folks on?”

hershel nodded expectantly, his voice thoughtful, “don’t you think we could afford their input? after all, this is their home now just as much as it is ours.”

your fingers brushed again over his knuckles and daryl willed himself not to lose focus. not to allow his mind to run on with thoughts about the softness of your fingers and how much he liked the feeling of your palm against his. how comfortable-

no.

daryl blinked and cleared his throat, “we don’ even have rick on the council right now, i’on think it’s a good idea.”

glenn nodded along with maggie and, reluctantly a moment later, hershel did too, though his mouth had settled into a thin frown.

daryl felt your hand squeeze his twice, taking it as a nonverbal ‘good job!’, and paused only a moment before squeezing back his own nonverbal ‘thank you’. he saw a small smile flit across your face out the corner of his eye.

before the debate could start up again, you were leaning forward and speaking up, saying, “alright, let’s table this for next time then. the run is already planned for the baby stuff, so—?”

hershel’s eyes swept across the table and he nodded, “meeting adjourned, i suppose.”

three.

the woods were clear as daryl looked out over the gate. he could see everything from the watchtower, as was intended, but for once the calm darkness was not a comfort.

instead, every moment that passed heightened the panic that had been swirling in his gut since earlier that evening.

it had been roughly fourteen hours since you had left on a run with glenn and maggie. there was a small gas station a little ways out that looked to be mostly untouched, and you had been pulled to fill in daryl’s usual slot since he was already slated to go hunting.

he was regretting it now, though, as he continued to watch the road leading up to the gate for any sign of maggie’s headlights.

while the general rule of thumb was to be back to the prison before dark, everyone knew that sometimes shit happens, whether it be walkers appearing at the worst possible time, or not being able to secure the haul. hell, shit happened more often than it didn't, as far as daryl was concerned.

maybe the haul had been much larger than the three of you had planned for, and you had to hide some of it away for a return trip.

maybe y'all had come across a herd large enough to block the car's path and had to find a way around it to get home without leading them back behind you.

maybe the gas station had been a bust all together and you’d gone further out in hopes of not returning empty handed.

the thoughts swimming through his mind sent daryl pacing across the small area of the watchtower. back and forth he went, eyes flashing over to the gate of the prison every few seconds.

“you’re gonna wear out your shoes like that.”

oh right. daryl isn’t even on watch, not officially at least. he’d joined carol a little after the sun went down and been up here ever since.

carol continues on despite his brooding silence, “they’re okay. something probably held them up, it happens.”

daryl turned to face carol, scrubbing a hand down his face. he opening his mouth to respond, but before he could, the sound of wheels crunching across gravel made him whip back around.

he barely registered that it was maggie’s car before he was yanking the floor hatch open and climbing down. rick, who’d been poking around the farm despite the late hour, unwilling to admit his own anxiety, was already pulling the gate open to let the car in.

daryl stopped further up the hill to meet you, and, as soon as you popped the lock on your door, he was tugging it open with one hand and reaching for you with the other.

you went willingly, a sheepish smile on your face as you let him turn you this way and that, checking for any injuries or bites, neither of which you had.

“sorry i’m late, handsome,” you whispered, “i didn’t mean to worry you.”

daryl grunted in response, resisting the urge to press himself against you and feel your heart beat against his skin. he understood that you were capable, and that you had lasted just as long in the apocalypse as he had, but he can't help but wonder if he'll ever get used to this, or if he'll spend any moment you aren't within his reach on the edge of a panic attack.

by then, rick had made his way up the hill to the car and was helping unload their findings from the boot. all things considered, the three of you had brought back a pretty decent amount of stuff.

“everyone alright?” rick questioned, eyes skirting over the contents of the trunk to scan the three of you instead. "what held y'all up?"

maggie shook her head with a smile, “nothing like that. we found a good bit at that gas station, but there was a map of a small trailer park a little ways away, and we thought it was better to go for it while we were right down the road.”

“and we had the space anyway. didn’t make sense to waste a second trip, but it took a little longer to search than we thought,” you added. you had turned to face the group and, under the cover of the dark, you leaned back just slightly into daryl’s side.

carol, who had followed daryl down from the watchtower, hummed, and rick nodded thoughtfully. they both followed behind maggie and glenn, grabbing as much as they could carry from the car and heading up to deposit it for sorting tomorrow.

now alone, daryl took a moment to breathe you in, but he was moving soon as well, heading for the trunk to grab what was left.

he didn’t notice you coming up next to him until he felt your fingers slipping into his pocket.

“found something for you,” you said quietly, standing at his side.

daryl patted his pocket, feeling the dented box of what he assumed to be cigarettes and looked over at you, brows furrowed in confusion.

“i noticed you ran out the other day,” you answered his unasked question, a small smile lifting your cheeks, “combed through every trailer looking for ‘em.”

with that, you turned away from him and back to the trunk.

daryl stood speechless, his heart building up to that rapid thrum he only seemed to feel in your presence.

you had brought something back for him. had spent the daylight rummaging through dirty trailers on the off chance that you’d find a pack of cigarettes to replace his empty one that he himself hadn't even bothered to go searching to replace.

he wanted to think he didn’t understand why you would do something like this, why you would care, but he did. he’d done the same for you, time and time again on the road, if only to see you smile. he understood exactly why.

“‘preciate it,” he grunted, thankful that the darkness surrounding you kept his blush from being too obvious.

you hummed in acknowledgment, and daryl could your small smile growing out the corner of his eye.

four.

having sex in the prison was no easy feat, mostly due to the lack of privacy. a sheet could only provide so much, and even then it did nothing for the noise echoing constantly off the concrete walls.

as far as most were concerned, maggie and glenn had found the best spot early on, making the most unused watchtower their designated private retreat, but you and daryl knew otherwise.

deep in the tombs, which were no longer a threat as they had long since been cleared and sealed, there were a few tucked away offices that had sat empty even after the woodbury residents had been moved in. noise didn’t escape the tombs, and no one ever just wandered in, especially not in the middle of the night, so despite the cell that you and daryl shared, you both much preferred spending your more intimate moments here.

well, daryl did. you weren’t picky, and could be quiet when you really tried, but it made daryl more comfortable.

he’d like to think it was just because he was wary of any listening ears, especially with all the children roaming around, but he knew the truth of his resolve.

daryl had never been a selfish man, and certainly not after the world fell. everything he had, everything he was, he would give to his family in a heartbeat.

but this.. this was just for him.

your body arched beautifully under his, legs falling open to accommodate his weight settling against you. daryl’s hand left your heat, fingers dripping with wetness, to squeeze your hips, using them to guide you as your moved against him.

you were already bare, both of you having stripped each other of your clothes between heated kisses while you stumbled in the office. you hadn’t even made it to the double-stacked cot in the corner, daryl instead pushing you firmly down on the dusty desk and leaning in to mouth at your neck.

you moaned under him now, a breathy sigh of his name, and the sound sent a shiver down daryl’s spine.

“needy girl,” he grunted teasingly, reaching down to grasp his hardness. he dragged the head of his cock up your slit, collecting your wetness and smearing it over your clit.

your head knocked back against the desk and a loud groan burst out of your throat. your knees tried to close around daryl’s waist as if to keep him away, but you arms came up to wrap around him, pulling him closer to your body, and he leaned into you willingly.

your voice trembled when you spoke into his ear, want dripping from every syllable, “please, baby. need you inside me so bad.”

and god, daryl wanted to make you beg for it. he wanted to wait until he could see the desperation in your eyes and then wait some more, but he couldn’t. not when you looked so pretty spread out beneath him and your hands were petting over his shoulders and neck just how he liked. he almost thought you were doing it on purpose, but he knew better. this was just you.

you couldn’t stay off him when he was in you, always tugging at his hair or rubbing his chest, hands scrabbling for any skin you could reach. it used to send him reeling, flustered and blushing bright, but now he looked forward to it. he could feel the want in your touches like physical imprints of your affection.

daryl pushed into your slowly, groaning deep in his chest. your slick walls felt heavenly around him, but daryl was more focused on you right now.

soft whimpers fell from your lips as your hands drifted over his sweat slicked skin. daryl’s thrusts were slow but purposeful, and he ignored your legs squeezing around his waist, trying to urge him to speed up.

“relax, peach,” he soothed, hands drifting up and down your sides in pace with his thrusts, “i’ma take care of you.”

“kiss, please,” you whispered, voice floating past daryl’s ear. he would have missed it if you weren’t pressed together like this.

daryl would not describe himself as a selfish man. he might have had his moments in the past, but now, with the dead walking and a prison full of survivors to protect, it was virtually out of the question.

but as he leaned down to press his lips to yours, feeling your hands finally make their way up into his long strands, daryl thought that he might be a possessive man.

he’d sooner spread you out deep in the woods than have you where anyone could see you like this or hear the noises you make.

no, daryl thought, tongue sliding in your mouth to tangle with yours, this would always be just for him.

five.

daryl came into awareness slowly and then all at once. he startled, trying to sit up, but a searing pain made itself known in his abdomen. the pain clouded his senses, blooming out across his torso and down his limbs. he flops uselessly, feeling like the wind has been knocked out of him.

hearing bits of voices above him, daryl wills himself to focus. he’s hurt, obviously, and it’s pretty fucking bad, but he’ll have to suck it up and figure out a way home if he’s in bad company.

the voices start to filter in. the volume makes his temples throb in rhythm with his abdomen and his heart as the situation starts to force adrenaline through his body.

“—harder! put more pressure on it!”

daryl relaxes just a bit. that’s rick. frantic, angry, but rick all the same.

“what the fuck do you think i’m doing?!” the other voice, higher, snarls in response, “just drive the damn truck!”

and daryl feels his body try to relax all together. he would recognize your voice in his sleep, and this milky haze of pain is no different. he can feel your hands pressing a wad of something soft into his abdomen.

he can hear your panicked breaths and feel the way your fingers flex continuously against his skin. whatever’s wrong with him must be bad, and it definitely hurts like hell, but daryl takes comfort in the weight of your body against his. you won’t let anything happen to him if you can help it, you’d sworn that fiercely, and if you can’t help it then he doesn’t think anyone could have.

daryl can just barely make out the creaking of the gate being pulled open over the sound of rick laying on the horn.

as they pull in, the gravel of the path rocks the truck and daryl feels the ache in his abdomen bloom again, distracting him from his thoughts, but here, knowing he’s safe and back with his family, he allows himself to drift away.

—

this time, when daryl comes into awareness, the first thing he feels is fingers carding through his hair, tugging gently as if to untangle a couple of knots and snarls.

without even opening his eyes he knows it’s you. he can feel the heat of your body settled next to him and smell the soap you like to bathe with. daryl leans towards you, chasing the warmth of your hand against his skin.

the bandages on his stomach are wrapped tight, but it’s more annoying than anything and the pain has finally, thankfully, subsided to a dull ache. daryl stretches on the cot, trying to loosen him limbs from their inactivity, but what he focuses on is your fingers immediately pulling away.

“daryl?” your voice prods quietly, “you awake?”

he opens his eyes slowly, squinting at the sunlight that streams through the bars of the cell. the privacy sheet isn’t down, actually there’s no sheet at all, daryl notes as he looks out. he must be in one of the cells near hershel’s.

“‘m up,” he grumbles, a cough working its way out of his throat. before he can attempt to clear the dryness, you’re standing to grab a bottle of water off some boxes stacked nearby and pressing it into his hand.

your fingers linger against his wrist as you pull away, but you’re resuming your previous position anyway, in a chair brought right up to his bedside.

daryl hasn’t sat up yet, staring instead at you as one of your hands return to his hair and the other rubs down his arm.

a few quiet moments pass before you speak again, head bowed and voice a little choked, “we almost lost you. i almost lost you.”

“didn’t though,” daryl croaks. he feels your grip tighten on his arm and just knows. knows that you’ve been sitting right here every moment that you could since he went down. knows that you probably haven’t had your hands off him. knows you’ve spent the time, however long it’s been, agonizing over what went wrong and how to keep it from happening ever again. he knows.

“i didn’t,” you agree with a barely restrained sniffle. you refuse to allow the tears beading your waterline to fall, but daryl sees them all the same.

oddly, he feels that familiar warmth blossom in his chest. he hates to see you upset, but to see your love, your heart laid so bare for him? daryl thinks he can finally understand the depth of your affections.

plus one.

to anybody who knew what to look for, it was obvious that you and daryl were.. something.

you remembered when the woodbury residents had really began to settle in, how they began to whisper about ‘the hunter and his lady’.

it had confused you at first. the group knew, of course, nothing could be kept a secret from them for too long, but for strangers? it was odd, given that you weren’t very public with your affections.

regardless, with an entire prison to secure and almost triple the amount of people to provide for, it was nothing to think too hard about. there was always something that needed to be done or something bigger to think about. you couldn't afford to think about it now.

eventually, though, you ended up mentioning it to carol, and the older woman had laughed, a teasing edge to her smile as she considered you.

“i think it has less to do with you and more with him, if i’m being honest,” she said.

“more to do with.. daryl?” you said slowly, raising an incredulous eyebrow, “nah, no way.”

carol hummed, her smile turning knowing, “just watch. he’s more affectionate than he gives himself credit for.”

you’d left the conversation feeling like carol had no idea what she was talking about. later that evening, though, when you were sitting with the group for dinner and daryl was sliding a couple pieces of meat from his plate to yours despite your multiple protests, you understood.

your face must have been the textbook picture of a lightbulb going off because carol sent you a wink from across the table, lips twitching like she was hiding a laugh.

it wasn’t that the woodbury residents were over analyzing the very minimal physical affection that passed between you and daryl in a day, no. instead they were observing his quieter, more unconscious actions.

they saw the way that daryl always took care to come and find you before leaving for a run, even if it meant holding everyone up a little.

and how every so often they could find daryl sharpening a knife that was far too small for him to be wielding safely while you sat nearby, watching with a grateful smile.

and how whenever you were in the same room, you always had his eye. daryl had been adamant about keeping you within his sights while you were on the road, and the habit hadn’t left him just because you were behind walls now.

even now, months later, the newer additions to the prison were starting to catch on quicker and quicker.

they overheard daryl talking to glenn about taking your place on the run later today because you’d overdone it in the sun earlier and he wanted you to get some rest.

they saw you gush excitedly every time daryl brought you back any kind of gift, whether it be a pretty rock that he thought you’d like, or your favorite animal to cook into the stew.

they watched him watch the road every time you left for a run, regardless of who was with you, and also saw him come back to be the first to greet you when you returned if he could help it.

daryl was a quiet lover and a private man if you didn’t know what to look for, but if you did, you’d see that his affections ran just as deep as yours.

your thoughts brought a sleep smile to your face as you stretched out on the cot in your shared cell, waiting for daryl to shut off the lantern on your makeshift nightstand in the corner.

you could barely make him out in the dark, but the weight of him settling in next to you sent you right into his arms, your head pillowed on his chest while his arms came up to wrap around your back.

you tilted your head up to place a small kiss to the bottom of his jaw, mumbling a quiet, “love you.”

daryl’s arms tightened around you momentarily before loosening again. you felt him lean down to press a kiss to your hair in turn.

just over the steady thumping of his heart against your ear, you could hear him whisper back, “love you too.”

[hypewinter]

Bruce carefully approached the child playing by himself in the park. The child giggled as they played with chalk, the sidewalk illuminated by a single street lamp.

"What are you drawing?" he said softly, not wanting to alarm them.

The child turned, revealing themself to be a little boy, no older than 5. He had raven black hair and icy blue eyes. Bruce could practically already hear Oracle snickering on the other end of the comms. She had probably already taken a snapshot of the boy through his visor and posted to the batkids group chat which contrary to popular belief, he did know about. Bruce sighed internally. He'd never hear the end of it when he got home. Especially if he had the kid in tow. Let's hope that didn't happen.

"Hello Batman!" a cheery voice broke him out of his thoughts. "I'm drawing a gargaggle!"

Bruce refocused on the boy who showed no signs of fear. He didn't even look surprised which was strange to say the least. "A gargaggle? Do you mean gargoyle?"

The boy furrowed his brows for a bit before piping up again. "I do! It's such a funny word. I can never get it right."

"I know the feeling," Bruce said, crouching down next to the boy. "Sometimes I struggle with words too."

The boy's eyes went wide as if he couldn't believe the Batman struggled with words. "Say-" Bruce started, "-it's pretty late out are your parents nearby?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I don't have parents," he said as he went back to doodling.

Ok Bruce don't freak out just yet. "Oh, then do you have a guardian of sorts? Like an older sibling, or another family member? Like an aunt or grandparent?"

The boy shook his head again. "Nope. Oh! But I do have a friend. She's very nice and gives me lots of gifts and special things."

Alright, he could work with that. Maybe this 'friend' was the kid's guardian and he just didn't realize it yet. That could happen if he was put in their care recently. Bruce cleared his throat to get the boy to look up at him again. "Do you know where your friend is right now?" he asked.

The boy smiled wide. " 'course I do! She's right over there!" As he spoke, he pointed to a clutter of trees, just to his left. "She really loves you and your family," he said. "She's shy though, so she hid when she saw you coming."

"I see," Bruce replied as he got up. "Well maybe I can convince her to come out." He walked over to where the boy had pointed and pulled apart the bushes, hoping to find a woman who he could talk to about the dangers of wandering around at night. Instead he found nothing.

Bruce heard a giggle from behind him. "That's not where she is silly," he said.

"But that's what you-"

"She's not in the bushes, she's in the shadows. She's really good at hide and seek you know. Once we were playing and she hid in the shadows. Then she snuck up behind me from another shadow. It was really unfair! I never win hide and seek or tag against her," the boy said, starting to pout.

She's in the shadows? A meta? And one with a similar power set to Signal no less. Hmmmm.

Bruce began making his way back to the boy. "Then where is she right now?" he asked.

The boy shrugged, as he returned to his drawing once again. "I don't know. Sometimes she leaves and doesn't return for days. Since you're around, I don't think she's coming back for a while."

Great, just great. He had managed to scare off a little boy's only guardian in the middle of the night. Good going Bruce. he chided himself. He crouched down next to the boy again. "Do you know how to get home? Maybe we can wait for your friend there."

The boy turned to Bruce again. "Sure do!" he said, puffing out his chest. " 'cause I'm a big boy and big boys know how to get home on their own." he recited.

That was another point for the growing concerning information checklist. "Okay let's go wait for her then."

The boy's face dropped as he looked longingly at his gargoyle drawing. For a moment, Bruce thought he would have to bribe the kid with a lollipop but instead he held up his arms to be carried. "Okay," he said solemnly.

Bruce exhaled in relief as he picked up the boy. After pulling out his grappling gun he turned to the boy. "Where to...." Shit. Had he really forgotten to ask for the kid's name?

The boy in question didn't seem all too bothered by that fact. "Danny," he answered seamlessly. "And it's that way." Bruce aimed his grappling gun and off they went.

----

It took Danny all of two directions before he was out like a light. Bruce sighed, switching directions. Yep, he would truly never hear the end of it.

Next

[sunaluv]

hey!!! big big fan! your writing is amazing!

what if you did a you should come get your man but instead make it ‘you should come get your reader’

i just want to see characters get jealous basically lol. hope you’re doing well !!

🗣️getting rid of my drafts, drop some more prompts in my inbox.

Pairings: kaiser, reo

———————

KAISER

as the game ended and the fans started to filter out of the stadium, you hung back waiting for your boyfriend. now that the seating area was almost empty, kaiser could finally talk to you.

he called out to you as he jogged over. “did you enjoy the game, my love?” you took his outstretched hand and climbed onto the field.

“of course I did,” you swung your interlocked hands. “you were amazing as per usual.”

the two of you chatted aimlessly, walking around the field as kaiser started to come down from his post-game high.

"alright, I'm gonna go freshen up and get my stuff," he kissed the back of your hand. "wait for me?"

you nodded, eyeing the man as he vanished down the hall.

"i can feel you staring!" he called without looking back, making you chuckle.

deciding to be useful, you gathered kaisers left belongings off the bench and started to make your way towards the stadium exit.

"you kaiser's girl?" a voice from behind you.

startled, you turned around to see a guy dressed in the ubers uniform. you don't recognise him and you've met all your boyfriend's teammates, so you deduced that this guy is probably a rookie in training.

"that's me," you smiled politely, "can i help you with anything?"

"you sure can help me with something," he smirked, rubbing his chin. "for starters, you can tell me how that egomaniac managed to bag a gorgeous girl like yourself,"

how he managed to both complement you and diss you (indirectly) you found quite fascinating, but you weren't having any of it.

"he was a real sweetheart." emphasis on the sweetheart. "I'm sure if you use a more friendly approach you can get whoever it is your looking for."

the guy clearly didn't seem to get the hint. "so you're into nice guys, huh. why are ya' with michael then. guy's an ass."

"'guy' also thinks you should show a little more respect to your superiors, rookie."

smirking, you turned around to find your knight in shining armour eyeing the rookie with a smirk.

"my fault boss," his attitude was nonchalant. "keep a tight leash on this one though, or else i might get tempted again."

he smirked, trying to barge shoulders with kaiser as he passed, grunting under his breath when he didn't move an inch.

"you should go fight him, defend my honour." you nudged his side once he was out of earshot.

he chortled loudly, "you're such an instigator, I'm not fighting him."

"you'll do it if you love me?" you questioned blinking up at him with innocent eyes. the things you would do you see michael throw hands with someone.

his big hand pushed your face away from him. "ill do you one better and make his training with the ubers unbearable, how does that sound, hmmmm?"

a pout formed on your lips as you sighed. "...ill take it i guess."

REO

the clock has just passed midnight, but the party your boyfriend had invited you to was at its peak. enjoying the buzz of the alcohol that was once in your empty glass, you headed over to the bar.

"hey," you flagged the bartender down, "could i get a refill on this please?

the neon blue lights of the bar made the sparkle in his eye more evident when he caught sight of you.

"whatever the pretty lady wants," he brushed his fingers against yours when taking your glass. "what can i do for you?"

the brief contact and the intense eye contact quickly fought off the oncoming buzz. "the pretty lady is taken, but she is willing to forget about this if she could get a pornstar?" you offered.

"oh you can get a pornstar alright," he winked. "give me a sec, sweetheart."

alarm bells rang in your head as his back was towards you, meaning your glass was out of sight.

there was no way in hell you were gonna drink whatever he put in front of you.

he returned a short while after, sliding your drink across the bar.

"you know, if you wanted, i could give you another pornstar you'll really enjoy." he pulled back your glass when you reached out for it.

"no thanks. boyfriend." your smile came tight and fake.

"come onnnn, princess," he smiled wider. "aren't you having so much fun at this party? spend the night with me and i can make sure you can get into all the exclusive parties you want."

"she'll pass." came mikage's voice from your side. he wrapped an arm around you, in an attempt to smooth your tense muscles as he dragged the glass back over with two fingers.

the bartender's face hardened, "the lady can speak for herself, thanks bro."

"m' not your bro." reo's brows furrowed. "you're making my girl uncomfortable, did you put anything in her drink?"

the guy shook his head wordlessly, prompting reo to sip the glass.

"wait, what if-"

"don't worry, sweetheart," his hand dropped to stroke your thigh comfortingly. "it's clean, but I'm sorry this happened to you. i should've noticed sooner."

you relaxed with his touch, "it's not your fault, reo. sometimes people can't handle rejection."

"i'm right here ya know?"

two pairs of eyes stared the guy down, one neutral, one daring.

rolling his eyes, mikage turned to face the guy. "between you and me, you might need to find another bribe to pull ladies with because i can tell you now this will be the last gig you'll ever do."

the guy gulped under reo's intense gaze.

"alright man, in understand the ladys' taken, you don't need to go threatening my job."

"you threatened your won job once you tried it with her,"

you placed a hand on his arm as a reminder to be rational.

"i'm sorry baby," he pecked your forehead. "you ready to go home?"

you nodded.

[datsyuks]

Dessert First

Nico couldn't keep his hands off his pretty girl.

Warnings: mostly just f receiving. Smut below the cut.

(A/N: I love Nico. That's it. More to come. Enjoy.)

“I’m so full. The seams of my dress are going to bust.” You exclaim, walking into the hotel room. You toss your purse on the couch not bothering to place it nicely in your suitcase. The bed was calling your name.

Nico let out an airy laugh from behind you. “But you still want ice cream?” He followed you into the bedroom and stopped in front of the dresser, placing his watch in its case and taking his wallet out of his back pocket.

“Of course!” You plop down onto the bed, sinking into the feather duvet, your legs dangling over the edge. “I always require a little treat after a good dinner. It’s part of my DNA!”

Nico laugh fills the room and you start scrolling through Yelp to find a ice cream shop nearby.

The dinner was delicious. It was at a place you and Nico have been talking about for weeks. The ambiance of the lowlights and cloth napkins gave you the excuse to wear your new maroon dress. The fabric went down to right above your knee, just flowy enough to where Nico could push up the hem and rest his hand on the inside of your thigh during dinner. After winning his last game and a small break coming up, you decided a little staycation was in order.

Nico's movements out of the corner of your eye snap you out of your scrolling. You watch him turn around and lean against the dresser. You pretend to concentrate on your phone and hope that Nico doesn’t notice.

His fingers move to undo the buttons on his shirt, his eyes are glued to your body. His eyebrows crinkle in concentration and lines on his forehead appear. His hand moves down to his belt and stops, “hey baby?-“ Righ as you turn your head, he unlatches his belt, swifty tugging it off in one pull. You couldn't even focus on what was coming out of his mouth.

“Baby.” Nico says, a little firmer now.

“What?” You say quickly, trying to hide the fact you just got caught.

“I asked if you still want to go in sweatpants?”

Your eyes tilt up to him then down to his hands. It was a quick move but one Nico noticed.

“Yes please.” You whisper breathlessly.

He walks over and places a soft kiss on your forehead, “Ok good.”

Nico comes out of the bathroom not even five minutes later adorning black sweatpants and a gray hoodie. You, however, are still laying half off the bed in your dress and strappy heels from dinner.

“Did you change your mind?” Nico asks, coming to stand in between your legs.

“No. I think I found a good place. It’s only a five minute walk from here.”

Nico hums in response as he kneels down between you legs. He grabs your right leg and places your foot on his thigh. His fingers move along your ankle and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion until he was able to unclasp the buckle on your heels.

He tosses the shoe off to the side and lifts your leg up, leaving a trail of little kisses up your calve to your knee. Each kiss leaving a little trail of heat. His big brown eyes glance up at you meeting your own, he gives one small smile before placing one last kiss on your knee.

Locked on a trance, you feel every brush of his fingers, every soft breath of air coming from his nose while he kisses up your leg then places your calf over his shoulder. You don’t even notice him unclasp your other shoe until you hear a loud thud.

Your breathing hitched as his mouth continued past your knee moving to the inside of your thigh.

His arms wrapped around your thighs, keeping you still.

“Nico, what are you doing?” You ask nervously, placing your elbows back to sit up. Nicos arms tightened around your legs, halting your movements. “Hmmmm?” He hums.

“What are you-“ you were cut off when Nico pulls your lower half off the edge of bed. You squirm around trying to adjust yourself, but your lower half is now being supported by Nico.

“Oh my god!” You grip the comforter for dear life. “My hearts racing!”

Nico leans up scrunching your legs up with him. “Sorry baby,” he pecks your lips, “I just wanted to eat my dessert before we go.” Your mind whirls at his words and he pecks your lips again. “Can I do that baby? You’ve looked good all night. When I saw you come out of that bathroom earlier in that dress. I knew I was a goner. I thought I could wait until after we get back but…,” he adjusts himself back down at the end of the bed, your leg is still hooked over his shoulder, "I dont think I can."

He slides his hands up your thighs, bunching your dress up in the process. His fingers dig into the sides of your underwear and drags them down your legs.

You can feel his wet kisses lead up your inner thigh to your core. A gasp leaves your lips as Nico's arms tighten to hold you in place as he pushes his mouth further into you.

Nico wasn’t lying. He continued to lick and suck until he had your hips desperately trying to lift off the bed. He decided to give in when a whine left your lips. He nudged his tongue into you, making sure to move one hand to your clit.

“That's it baby,” he lifts his head to to peer up at your face over your bunched up dress.

His eyes grew darker as he watched your mouth fall open in pleasure as he picked up the pace with his thumb. He knew you were close.

His tongue replaced his thumb on your clit sucking hard. Two thick fingers slide into you curling into you.

He let go of your hips as soon as you released, letting you roll your hips into his mouth. He lapped up every drop, not caring his mouth would be covered by you.

Your heavy breaths filled the air as Nico finished lapping you up. He presses last kisses onto your inner thighs before he leans up to your face.

“Satisfied?”

“For now," he replies.

Nico gently places your legs back onto the bed and stands up, holding out his hands for you. "Come on, I'll help you up."

Reaching up and Nico easily pulls you up into his chest.

"Woah," you wobble on your feet, your palms rest on Nico's chest.

"Too good huh?" he cheekily grins.

You giggle. "Alright, let's get going."

"Round two after?" Nico asks, his hands slide down your sides and rests on your butt.

"Hmmm," you start to pull away with a sly smile on your lips, "buy my ice cream and i'll think about it."

Nico playfully pinches your butt in return. You giggle, breaking away from his hands and head toward your suitcase.

"If were fast enough maybe we can start in the hot tub downstairs before they close?"

"Oh my god." You pick out your clothes and move your hair to one side, ready to ask Nico to unzip your dress. But he's already behind you, carefully zipping it down.

"Maybe i can ask the ice cream shop for a cup of whip cream to go?"

Your laugh echos through the bathroom.

"Is that weird?" Nico yells back. You only laughed in response, giving Nico his answer. This is going to be a long night.

[annymation]

I JUST FOUND THE BEST THING EVER!!!

I FOUND THE ASHA X STAR FLOWER

So umm hi, if you’re new here, I’ve been working on a rewriting the movie wish, and in my rewrite Star Boy is called Aster.

I was doing some research about Aster’s name meaning and I found this:

Don’t know how I didn’t find this before, but anyway, I saw this and was like

“HMMMM a flower named Aster huh? Interesting, I wonder what that flower looks like”

So I look it up and…

Purple and yellow

IT HAS ASHA X ASTER COLOR SCHEME

THATS THEIR FLOWER!!!

So YEAH obviously now I’m legally obligated to implement this flower in my rewrite somehow

A scene where Aster gives Asha this flower? Or Asha gives this flower to him? Or the flower just shows up?Like Idk how I’ll implement it yet but GOSH I’m so happy about this, it was written in the stars!

ALSO! I did more research on it and found some other meanings in this flower that fit Aster’s character perfectly

It’s a flower that was commonly used to scare off snakes and evil spirits, and is said to posses magical powers, and also represents faithfulness and devotion…

This is literally so perfect for me, you guys have no idea.

I love flower symbolism, can’t wait to use this one as an Easter Egg in my rewrite! Aaaaah!

[jmdbjk]

Are you sure?

August 14, 2023: I said this back last year:

Are Jimin and Jungkook going around the world Namjooning? In May they were in Japan. We know they were together in New York in July. And also in Connecticut during that same trip. And now they're cooling their butts off in the ocean down in Jeju? Where else have they been and we didn't know it? WhAt doEs it ALL mEaN? Are we getting some sort of vlog or Bon Voyage subunit at some point in the future? Is it for a subunit MV?

Last year, I knew saying all that might stir up some delulu controversy but I know there was a window of time in May when they could have snuck off to Japan. Someone supposedly saw them, and blabbed about it and that's why I had mentioned it last year. But that's it, only hearsay. It was enough to make me pay attention.

On July 12, 2023, Jungkook departed Incheon Airport for New York City to make appearances for Seven.

The next day, Jimin leaves to join him in New York (with a fresh full body wax that made his skin as slick and shiny as that terrazzo floor he's walking across):

Once in New York, the buzz about sightings of Jimin and Jungkook together began to heat up. First at a restaurant called Antoya where someone snapped some pics of them.

Then the next day the boat captain of the yacht they chartered blabbed about it and we got this from him:

That is this boat:

Another sighting in Connecticut, buying grocery store deli pizza.

Then Jimin goes back to Korea and Jungkook moves on to London for more appearances related to Seven.

On August 31, Jimin posted this on his Instagram:

It looks like it was taken while they were in New York state or Connecticut.

He posted these on September 28 on his Instagram and said Jungkookie drew a fish, we later find out directly from Jungkook that Jimin also helped draw but it was supposed to be a whale (awwww):

On September 29, Taehyung posted this sunset from Jeju on Weverse:

This is the same rock in one of the preview images for "Are You Sure?" Is Tae's pic above taken from the deck of the sailboat?

And on October 3, Tae posted these on his Instagram:

They were at a place on Jeju called Chai Cafe – Jjaidabang (짜이다방).

Chuseok holiday was Sept. 28-30 (Thurs-Sat.) last year. Did the three spend Chuseok weekend there? If so, what was the trip back in August for?

On November 21, BigHit sent out the notice that Jimin, Jungkook, Taehyung and Namjoon had initiated the enlistment process.

We didn't know yet that the enlistment process had begun months and months earlier for Jimin and Jungkook because it was only right before they went in that we found out they'd be enlisting together under the accompanying military program or companionship enlistment. It was still a shock.

They knew they had to break it to everyone that they were going to spend the next 18 months together and they spent much of 2023 laying the foundation for that.

On November 23, 2023, Jimin and Jungkook depart Gimpo Airport together for Japan.

At this point, they can't or no longer care to hide or be discreet. That entire trip was riddled with sightings at the airports in Japan. Rumors of them staying at an onsen (hot spring) resort in Sapporo emerged when it was mentioned on a Japanese show.

Jimin posted these on his Instagram on November 25:

But what were they doing in Japan back in May, if we are to take the rumors of that sighting as possible too? Hmmmm. Don't know.

Well, now we know they were going where ever the mood struck on the spur of the moment and making it up as they went along. "Are You Sure?/Is this Right?" (however you'd like to interpret "이게맞아?)"

And we'll find out soon what sort of fun they had on all of these trips. Will Tae make a cameo appearance in the Jeju episodes? Will we see if they actually went "glamping" or if they were really trying to rough it? I can hear them now: "Is this right? wait, are you sure that goes there?"

They'll be on watercraft, and various types too: kayaks, sailboats, yachts...

The foods they will eat... will they include grocery store deli pizza in one of the episodes?

I wonder if they are eating seafood will they be catching it, cleaning it and cooking it? Again: "Am I doing this right? Are you sure? this doesn't look right. What do I do with these fish guts?"

And can't forget to talk about the drinking. The brewery they visited in Connecticut and possibly Sapporo... All I can hear from them here are the satisfied "ahhs" when they take the first taste.

Will we finally see MMA in their sleep?

All I know is they were very, very excited about it.

They promise it will be unpredictable as they embark on their journey without any plans, simply relishing the joy of traveling together. 

As I sit here thinking about them (as I often do), the past year (or two or ten) continues to bring into focus more and more their dynamic and relationship. All the unnecessary projections and narratives that people have placed and continue to place upon them...Jimin and Jungkook just continue being themselves and as close as ever through it all.

All of last year and even all the previous years, all of the things: the "twinning" in their style concepts for their solo work... the scenes of them from the Beyond the Star documentary... the passages in the Beyond the Story book about them and the GCFT trip... every time Jungkook mentioned Jimin, calling out to him during lives or spending time watching Jimin content, especially the post-NY/CT-naked-in-bed live that made us glitch:

2023 was not just another year of copying each other or strange coincidences. It was them preparing us for the inevitable.

All of it bringing it all into such sharp focus.

Anyway. All that rambling to say I have never wavered in my understanding of them as two people who were so very close, so very similar and so very important to each other.

And one more thing... what about this?

I thought it was coincidental that the bar pendent necklace that was sold at the Monochrome pop up was so similar to the one Jimin wore most of 2022...

Will we see the ring necklace as part of a merch line at some point in the future too?

[collegeishardbutwritingisharder]

Male Yuu! Reader (Platonic Yandere) Part 2

The part 2! Let's hope that I can put the rest of the story into this! If not, then my bad! Note after nine months: I did not fit the rest of the story in here. Not even close. There are going to be so many more parts. I apologize for being gone for so long. I hope you all enjoy this and put down in the comments: which dorm you all would like to see next? That will definitely help me in the long run.

I felt a panic attack starting to form in my chest. Kidnap me? Keep me safe? From what!? I started to hyperventilate and fell to my knees.

"(Y/N)!"

Grim rushed to me and started to snuggle into my chest. He started to purr to calm me down. Thankfully, it was working. Focusing all of my attention on the rhythmic purring did wonders for my nerves. I got my breathing under control and cleared my mind.

"All right. I'm good."

I looked down at Grim with a weak smile. I needed to get business.

"Who... exactly are looking to keep me safe?"

Grim looked uneasy before spilling names.

"Basically everyone. Riddle wants to hide you in Heartslabyul. Teach you all of the rules. He said something about a Jabberwocky. I don't remember everything exactly. Riddle can be very boring."

Grim started snickering while I gulped. The Jabberwocky was a dragon-like beast, or at least in my world. How could Heartslabyul have a Jabberwocky? Or am I the Jabberwocky? Eh, that doesn't make sense.

"Then Leona said that you didn't need rules. What you needed was your pride to keep and protect you. He was yelling with Riddle, Floyd, Vil and Sebek for hours on end. It was funny to watch him struggle to get his way."

Pride... Pride... Leona kept saying that I needed my pride to protect me. Did he mean a lion's pride? Ohhhhh, this hurts my head right now.

"Azul and the tweels argued that you need to be underwater. Something about you drying out. Azul also talked about having an underwater garden to keep you in."

Oh boy, I wonder if any of Azul's failed debtors are in that garden as well.

"Kalim talked about how his family was expecting you at Silk City. He threw a tantrum when the others tried to tell him no. He nearly tried to drown Ramshackle with Oasis Maker!"

That... sounds about right. Kalim didn't appreciate it when I told him no before my brain washing.

"Vil wants to... basically make you into a doll. Or at least that's what it sounded to me. He was very passionate about keeping your beauty preserved. Rook agreed full heartedly. They both were so weird."

A lump formed in my throat. Did... Did I play in that idea just earlier? Is that why Vil picked a photo shoot?

"Ortho was there, talking about how the prefect had to start in the perfect place. Idia was there from his tablet, showing off some diagrams of some weird looking temple."

"Temple? Like... For the ancient gods?"

"Yeah! Just like those!"

That doesn't comfort me.

"Horton was there as well but... The only thing he did was watch. It was unsettling. Every once in a while, I was pretty certain a lightning strike hit the dead tree out front."

Great. If Malleus has his own plan, I'm dead. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO AVOID A TOP FIVE MAGICIAN?! I took a deep breath to calm myself down once again.

"Okay. Now that I have more information. It's time for a game plan. NRC is no longer a safe place for my existence anymore. Time to find a new one!"

I got up from my bed and rushed to one of the storage rooms. I started to search and quickly found the maps. Sometimes when I had free time, the ghosts and I looked over all of the maps and saw how the cartography of Twisted Wonderland has changed over the years. We even found one of the current Twisted!

I grabbed the current one before taking it back to where Grim was. I rolled it out and quickly got some pins. I started to stick them into different areas.

"Sunset Savanna is a no. With Leona as a prince, he'll send out troops to find me with no problem. Coral sea is also a no mainly because we can't breath underwater. Hmmmm, Shaftlands is Vil and Cater's territory. People know them there and would most likely send pictures of me. Scratch that, no matter WHERE I am, if Vil or Cater send out a bounty for me, people will take pictures of me."

I kept muttering to myself and apparently, I was boring enough to put Grim to sleep. His sleep comments were really comforting to hear. I haven't seen him in so long. I put my hand on his head and started to scratch behind his ears.

"Sweet dreams, Grimmy. I'll try to figure out a way to get us someplace safe."

I quickly put the map stuff away before crawling into bed myself. I know that I shouldn't be letting my guard down right now but... I need a night's sleep at Ramshackle. An actual comforting place. I wrapped Grim in my arms and held him close to my chest. Finally, sleep started to claim me.

When I reopened my eyes, I wasn't staring at Ramshackle's ceiling. The roof was much too tall and too dark. I'm in Diasomnia, aren't I?

"Human! You have risen from your slumber!"

I flinched at Sebek's loud tone. Yep, I'm in Diasomnia.

"Quickly! Stand up! We must get you ready for Waka-Sama! He is expecting you for breakfast!"

Sebek grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Grim fell flat on the floor, successfully waking him up.

"Mrow! What's happenin'?!"

Grim was put on alert and surveyed the room.

"This ain't Ramshackle!"

"OUT, YOU DISGUSTING CREATURE!"

Sebek kicked Grim to the wall. Grim let out a screech of pain. I quickly ran to his side and picked him up.

"Grim! Are you okay? What's wrong with you, Sebek!?"

I turned to Sebek and gave him the biggest glare possible. He flinched and had a pitiful expression on his face.

"No, no, no! Please don't be upset with me, (Y/N)! I'm only trying to protect you!"

"The only thing that needs protection is Grim from you! I'm leaving!"

Sebek snapped back to his guard mode and gripped my wrist.

"I cannot allow that. That... feline... must be confusing you. I'll take care of him for you! Silver can help you get ready!"

Sebek pried Grim out from my arms before taking him to the window. He held Grim outside of the window frame. Grim still hadn't recovered from the kick.

"Sebek, don't!"

Sebek dropped Grim without hesitation. I rushed over to the window to only see that we were in one of the highest towers over seeing a bunch of brambles.

"No... Grim..."

"Pest taken care of! Now, I'll go get Silver."

I was mildly frozen. I couldn't bring myself to leave the window sill. I was half tempted to fall out of it as well. Just to see if Grim was really down there. A hand grabbed my arm and led me away from it.

Silver gently guided me to a mirror before walking into the closet.

"Hmmmmm... Here it is. Father did get you a proper uniform."

Silver walked back in with a Diasomnia uniform but there were some modifications made to it. The spools of thread that they have normally on a belt were weaved into a white cape that reached halfway to my bicep. The other thing is that my cap looks like Malleus'. Without the little horn details that Silver has.

"There we go. I hope that you like the cape. It was my idea."

Silver started to help me with the uniform. The shock was just starting to wear off. I tried to move away from Silver and get my original clothes back. I'm glad that I changed out of the fancy clothes that I accidentally stole from Vil before bed.

"Hey, hey... Stop moving. I want to make sure that your clothes are on properly."

Silver gripped my wrist and was quick to immobilize me. I forgot that Silver was training to become a knight. Diasomnia was a dorm full of strong magic users and strong people in general. Bad dorm to be stuck in.

"There we go. Now, let me get the rest of the uniform on."

Silver finally finished before he let me move once again. I tried to reach the door but he just linked our arms together.

"Now, now. I understand. Sebek informed me about the creature. You don't need to worry about it anymore. If you want, after breakfast, you and I can take a nap in your room. Just to calm you down."

Silver started to walk to where breakfast was. I tried to break free from him a few times but I couldn't get him to budge one inch. The doors opened and there was Malleus sitting at the head of the table.

"Silver and my little bat!"

Lilia fell from above and landed in front of Silver and me. He grabbed both of us in a hug and squeezed us tightly.

"Hello, Father."

"Ummm..."

"Thank goodness, you've arrived! Malleus was starting to worry. Come along, little bat! Take your seat."

Lilia gestured to the chair at the foot of the table. Silver unlocked his arm with mine to let me walk to my chair. I looked around the room and noticed the door on the other side of the room. Although there was one problem. Whose name was Sebek. He stood there with a proud smirk, taunting me it felt like.

I turned away from Sebek and met Malleus' gaze. It felt as if Malleus wasn't even blinking. A small push was given to me, from who, I don't know, to get my legs working. I walked to my chair and sat down. There was no food on the table which confused me. I thought it was breakfast.

"Child of Man."

I twitched my head from looking at the table to looking at Malleus. His gaze really made me feel weak and powerless.

"Yes, Horton?"

"It's a pleasure to be able to feast with you this morning. It has been quite some time since we've been able to see you last."

I only nodded my head. He was right. I've been held captive for a while. Which caused a question to pop into my head.

"Yeah, well, I've been busy with other people. Sorry for worrying you but how did you know that I came back to Ramshackle?"

"Oh, silly, little bat! Your dear big brother visited Ramshackle every night since you went missing! Just in case, you've finally decided to return home!"

Lilia answered for Malleus but that caused a shiver to run up my spine. Grim didn't mention that Malleus was visiting every night.

"Were you hurt?"

Malleus' question was sudden and it felt out of the blue. My head snapped up to look him in the eyes and it caused me to think for a bit. I don't think that I was hurt. I mean, Deuce and Kalim did cause me discomfort when they hugged me but I wouldn't count it as harm.

"No... I don't believe that I was harmed."

"Oh, little bat. You shouldn't lie to your family."

Lilia budded into the conversation once again. Floating over to Malleus.

"He... lied to us, Lilia?"

"I didn't, Horton!"

"Sebek! Silver! Calm your younger brother down."

"Yes, sir!"

Sebek and Silver moved. Silver picked me up and caught me in a hug before sitting down in my chair. Sebek then pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around my mouth.

After being sufficiently muzzled, Lilia continued with his story.

"(Y/N) was first hurt by Professor Crewel! That ungrateful professor continuously calls my dear sweet child a mutt! Little bat, I want you to know that you are so much more than a lowly mutt."

Lilia looked at me with such a warm gaze that it mildly made me forget about the position that I'm in.

"So, the nickname 'mutt' isn't a good one..."

"No, Malleus. It's basically calling him incompetent."

Malleus's eyes widen before slamming his fist down on the table.

"How dare he! Doesn't he know that the Child of Man is more competent than most on this campus?!"

"I know! Humans can hold such weird judgements of one another. The next people that hurt him were those Heartslabyul first years that he enjoys to hang out around."

"Hmmmmm, I did notice how they would always drag Child of Man into their dangerous antics before."

"Mmmhmm! They've been hurting our dear human from the very beginning!"

Lilia then continued to recall all of the different slights that people have done against me. All of the different schemes that I was pulled into, the overblots, Floyd's mistreatment during the healing process, the Scarabian kidnapping, and the one that made no sense to me, the Pomefiore photoshoot.

"Thank you, Lilia. Now, Child of Man, please. Let us enjoy breakfast."

Other Diasomnia students then walked through the doors that Sebek was originally guarding. They were carrying silver dish trays and were quick to set them down before taking their own posts along the walls. Sebek also took out the handkerchief out of my mouth. The food looked really good, which meant that Lilia didn't cook it. I tried to get my arms free to get food but Silver still hadn't let go of my arms yet.

"Ummm, Silver. Buddy. I kind of need my arms to be able to eat."

The only response that I had gotten in return was light snoring. Silver had fallen asleep with me in his arms. Normally, I thought people would loosen their grip when they fall asleep. But obviously not Silver.

"Allow me to assist you, (Y/N)!"

Sebek shouted before pulling up a chair next to mine. I felt the eyes of all the Diasomnia students watching me. Sebek cut through the pancakes that they had made before putting some up to my mouth.

"Now, open your mouth, Human."

Sebek's tone was soft for once. What is happening? Why is everybody acting like I'm an infant!?!?!?

"Open. Your. Mouth."

Sebek's harsh tone came back along with a glare. I shook my head before gritting my teeth together.

"Don't be insolent! You should be thankful that your real family is here to protect and care for you now! Unlike those false 'brothers' that abused you. Now. Let me help you with breakfast."

I kept my mouth shut.

"Awwwww, there's no reason to be fussy. Let's see. Ahhhhhh."

Lilia put his hands on either side of my jaw before pressing on it. It was quite painful and I regretfully opened my jaw. Sebek then took advantage of my pain and fed me. I tried to spit the food out but Lilia changed tactics and forced my jaw closed.

"Chew it all up! As your father, I'll have to get used to feeding you like this! Especially if you keep choosing to be fussy over nothing!"

Lilia sounded so happy while force feeding me. I was feeling very cramped with three people all around me. Eventually, I gave up and started chewing the food myself. Anything to stop the dull ache that was beginning to form in my jaw.

"Ahhh!"

"Sebek."

Sebek lowered the fork from my mouth before turning his head to Malleus.

"Yes, Waka-Sama?"

Malleus stood from his own chair and walked over.

"I want to feed the Child of Man."

I looked at Malleus with wide eyes. Sebek only nodded his head before leaving his chair for Malleus to take his seat. Malleus took the chair before picking up the fork himself.

"Ahhhhh, Child of Man."

Malleus had such a soft look in his eyes that made me feel safe? In a weird way.

"Ahhhhhh."

Malleus put the fork with the pancakes in my mouth.

"It feels nice to take care of your younger brother, doesn't it, Malleus?"

"It does, Lilia. Is this how you felt when taking care of Silver and myself?"

"Oh, yes! Taking care of those who are the most dear to you is the best feeling in the world! Make sure you treasure these moments, Malleus. They fade much too quickly."

After what felt like three hours but was actually around ten minutes, breakfast had finally concluded. The Diasomnia students, who were just watching, took the plates before leaving.

"Now. I overheard from earlier. You and Silver were going to take a nap together, right (Y/N)?"

"That was the plan, I think. Although, I don't know how much Silver is going to want to take a nap now."

"I'm always willing to take a nap with you, (Y/N)."

I jolted a bit. I didn't notice Silver waking up. I guess he really is the King of Naps.

"Perfect! Then I suppose that having a little group nap wouldn't be a bad idea! Malleus, Sebek. Are you two willing to join us?"

"I would gladly attend."

"If Waka-Sama will take a nap, then I must be there to ensure his best sleep!"

I started to think fast. Trapped in a cuddle pile won't help me get out of Diasomnia in the slightest.

"W-W-Wait a minute!"

My shout got all of the attention, which was exactly what I wanted.

"I-If we take a nap now, you guys will have to get up in a matter of minutes for class! I-I'd rather wait until you guys will be able to hang out for longer!"

The quartet of Diasomnia students just stared at me for around thirty seconds before Lilia's face gained a smirk.

"Awwwww, my baby~! So worried for your brothers' education and your own father's as well! You're such a sweet, little boy! Alright, we can wait until classes are done for today."

Lilia then clapped his hands and two other Diasomnia students appeared out of the shadows. I jumped at their appearance. Lilia then cleared his throat to address the two students.

"Please escort my little bat to his room. He will need to stay there while classes are happening. Last thing that we would need is one of those brutish students from one of the other dorms stealing (Y/N) away from his true family."

"Yes, Vice Dorm Leader Vanrouge!"

Silver let go of me and I stood up. The two students flanked me, making sure that there was little to no room for me to run away. I just gulped before walking towards where I thought that my room was located.

"We're so happy that you've finally come home, (Y/N)!"

"The whole dorm was worried sick when the rumors of you being kidnapped by the other dorms came around. Dorm Leader Draconia and Vice Dorm Leader Vanrouge were so lucky to have found you!"

"Not to mention how lucky we are! We get to spend some time with our brother too!"

The students kept talking while I tuned them out. What type of hypnosis spell went over the entire campus? Could this be some sort of attack from RSA? Although that doesn't really sound like something that they would do.

"Hold it!"

One of the students grabbed me before I opened the door to the room I was in originally.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"This isn't your room."

I slightly tilted my head.

"But this is the room that I woke up in?"

"This is Sebek and Silver's room. Your room is elsewhere."

"Follow us please!"

The first one started to walk up a bunch of stairs while the other stayed behind me.

"This room was prepared by Dorm Leader Draconia himself! He tried to make sure that it was to your liking!"

The student in front of me opened the door to what was a near replica of my Ramshackle room. If it wasn't for the fact that the view from the window showed the outside of Diasomnia, I could have swore that I was transported back to Ramshackle.

I took a few steps forward to observe the room. I wasn't expecting for the door to be shut and locked behind me. I rushed over and tried to get it to budge.

"Hey! This isn't funny!"

"Sorry, Little Brother! We all were specially instructed by Dorm Leader Draconia and Vice Dorm Leader Vanrouge to keep this door shut while we're at classes."

I stared at the door before letting go of the knob.

"We wish that you would be able to walk around Diasomnia but the threat of another dorm finding you is too large right now."

I didn't respond before just flopping down on the bed. I thought about my morning so far.

"Grim..."

Tears started to stream down my face. Anguish and anger wrapped around my heart. I clenched my fists together and started to punch the pillow while huge tears were unleashed. After a minute of just punching, I started to take deep breaths before wiping my face clear of tears. I will get out of here. For Grim!

As soon as my little pity party was done, I got up from the bed to take a look outside. The tower was quite high. I felt my fear of heights kick in and I backed away from it. I think I'd rather live here than escape that way. I decided to explore the room a bit to see if I could find something else to help me escape.

Malleus did a really good job at replicating my room, I'll give him that. Although there are a few minor adjustments. For example, the attached bathroom, the Malleus, Lilia, Silver and Sebek plushies on my bed, and what appears to be a family portrait of all five of us on the wall. They're really selling the family idea, aren't they? How did they even get a portrait like this?

"What a poor little boy."

"Who would keep him trapped in a tower?"

"Just like a little princess."

I heard new voices that I've never heard before. I started to spin my head around trying to figure out where they were coming from. Three small balls of light. Red, green and blue.

"Hello? Who are you?"

"Why, we're the good fairies!"

"Please child. Explain as to why you're stuck here in such a... dreadful place?"

I thought of the best way to explain my situation.

"Well. People who I thought were my friends decided to kidnap me. 'To keep me safe' they say. Although I've never felt more trapped in my life."

"That just won't do! Listen up, boy! We'll help you out! We can give you three blessings! But you must use them wisely, okay? They will only work once."

I nodded my head. If there's one thing that I pride myself on, it's my wisdom. The red fae started to glow brighter.

"My gift shall be the gift of free falling. This will prevent any injury from falling."

The green fae was next.

"My gift shall be the gift of speed. Use this to outrun your pursuers."

Finally, it was the blue fae's turn.

"And my gift shall be the gift of invisibility. For a short period of time, your entire presence will be hidden from existence."

I gave the faes a light bow.

"Thank you so much."

"It's no problem, child. We hope that our magic will be of great assistance to you. I hope that our paths will cross again one day."

We said our goodbyes and then the faes disappeared in a poof of sparkles. I had to use these gifts wisely. I do only have one shot after all. It might be best to use them later. I don't know Diasomnia's layout well enough to plan a good escape route.

My best plan of action right now is to play along with their delusion, despite how much it would kill me. Play nicely, you get the upper hand eventually. Although now, I wish that I had asked if memories of me would be erased for the time that I would be invisible.

To pass the time, I decided to take to the bookshelf. Maybe I could learn something that would prove a use to me. A majority of the books appeared to be children's books. Despite those being quite entertaining, they weren't exactly helpful for knowledge. Although there was one that held important information.

The book was called 'Be Careful, Titinia!'. It was an entire book on things that can hurt faes or weaken them. The main things that I took note of were iron, salt, ash wood and sweets. I want to avoid using iron since it causes them direct harm while salt and ash wood only weakens their powers. Sweets can be used as a distraction.

"I don't know why I thought that they would leave a book to help me escape. They aren't dumb."

I spent the rest of the time contemplating. My life, my decisions and that stupid, STUPID fall. This is what spurred all of this unnecessary panic. At long last, a knock broke me out of my thoughts.

"(Y/N)! We've finally returned from our classes! You should have seen all of the other sniveling humans! They were so pathetic! They were crying out for you. Although, I must admit, I was annoyed by such displays. As if they thought that they were worthy of being with you."

Sebek walked in, followed by Silver. He seemed to be very proud of what he was relaying to me.

"Sounds stifling."

"Oh, it was! Such whiny creatures!"

I took a deep breath before getting into my role. I think that it would be beneficial if I played nice.

"D-Do you want a hug? I want to help cheer up my Big Bro!"

Sebek and Silver looked over at me with huge eyes. It's like they weren't expecting me to say that. A bright, pink blush appeared on Sebek's face before he started yelling.

"OF COURSE, I WOULD ENJOY PHYSICAL CONTACT, MY YOUNGER!"

Sebek then wasted no time in throwing himself at me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and started to snuggle under my chin. I think that I even heard little gator squeaks coming from him.

"A-Am I allowed to join in the hugs?"

Silver looked a bit desperate while looking at me with fearful eyes. It was like he thought that I was telling him that I hate him or something.

"Of course! You're my big brother as well, Silvy!"

Silver then also gained a blush and a soft smile. He seemed to have enjoyed the nickname that I just came up with.

"Hey! If he gets a nickname, what's mine?!"

Sebek looked up at me with a pout. This is reminding me of taking care of toddlers instead of dealing with kidnappers.

"Hmmmmm."

I closed my eyes while I was running through the nicknames that I could come up with.

"Tic Toc Croc?"

Sebek wrinkled his nose at that name.

"Or maybe Bolt?"

Sebek gave a smile at that one.

"Bolt it is!"

Silver got behind me and pulled me flush against his front. So, now, I was sandwiched between the two guards. Sebek let out slight squeaks while Silver was just lightly snoring in my ear. Their warmth and the noises became a form of white noise that started to lull me to sleep.

"Awwwww, what a cute sight."

Lilia had arrived and spoke in a whisper. He jumped onto the foot of the bed frame to look at us.

"My little bat looks so sleepy~ Why don't you just close your eyes while I invite Malleus? We can have that nap that we planned earlier."

I tried to keep my eyes open to the best of my abilities. Silver actually started to sway which in turn, rocked me back and forth slightly. Lilia came back with Malleus.

"Little bat! I told you to close your eyes and sleep!"

Lilia yelled in a hushed tone. It was clear that he was slightly annoyed with me but didn't want to risk waking up Sebek and Silver.

I shook my head.

"I wanted to be awake to see Malleus."

Malleus' eyes widened a bit before he gained a huge smile.

"Child of Man..."

I think that I actually saw a few tears start to form in Malleus' eyes. He then walked over and joined us in our cuddle pile. Lilia let out a laugh before joining us as well. The amount of warmth and constant soft sounds made it even more impossible to keep my eyes open.

"Shhhhhhh~ Just close your eyes, little bat. We'll all be here when you wake up~"

I felt Lilia's fingers gently close my eyelids and from there, I was asleep. I don't know how long we napped for but when I woke up, I was the last one awake.

"Little bat! Did you enjoy your little nap? I sure hope so because Papa has a lot of plans for you!"

"Papa?"

I never even called my Dad papa.

"Yep, that's me! If you ever need something from me, call out 'Papa!' and I'll be there as soon as possible! Either way, we must continue on with our plans!"

Lilia was quick to leave the cuddle pile. Sebek and Silver were still holding on to me, almost as if they were afraid that I was going to disappear.

"Did you have sweet dreams, (Y/N)?"

Sebek was looking at me with a huge smile. It seems that the nap had really refreshed him.

"Y-yeah, although, I don't think that I really had a dream."

"We all have dreams, Child of Man. You probably just don't remember it."

Malleus was the second to get up from the cuddle pile. He also looked quite refreshed.

"Silver! Do you remember where I put the stroller?!"

I felt myself blanching at that statement. What does Lilia need a stroller for?!

"Father. I really don't think that (Y/N) needs a stroller."

"But what if he gets tired on our walk?!"

"I can carry him for you, Master Lilia!"

"Hmmm, that's an option. What would you prefer, (Y/N)?"

"I think that I would prefer if Bolt would carry me if I got tired."

I let out a noise of surprise when Sebek suddenly tightened his hold on me.

"Oookay, but next time, I'll make sure to bring the stroller. Just in case of Sebek not being there with us!"

Finally, Sebek got off of me which made it easier for me to get off of Silver. Although Silver didn't make it such an easy feat.

"Uh, Silvy? D-Don't you need to get up and ready for this walk as well?"

"Hmmmmm, yeah."

He finally stood up and took me with him. I tried to get up on my own feet but Silver was still holding me. It caused me to trip over my feet multiple times.

"I thought that we would be walking."

"We will be."

"Then... Can I walk?"

A slight blush appeared on his face before he set me down.

"I... apologize. It's just...I felt very comfortable with you in my arms."

"It's okay, Silvy."

It really wasn't. But sadly, I have a part to play. Man, if only Vil could see me now. Eeehhhh, on second thought, if only past Vil could see me now. I don't think I want to see present Vil anymore.

"Alright, boys, let's get a move on! We have to start our walk now or else we're going to be late for dinner! I don't want my children hungry for long."

Lilia walked out the door, leading the way that we're going to take. Malleus walked up to me and looped his arm around mine.

"Come along, Child of Man. Lilia will outpace all of us if we wait any longer."

I only nodded before I started moving. I ended up tugging on Malleus slightly before he matched my pace. Sebek and Silver closed the door before catching up to Malleus and I. It took us ten minutes to catch up with Lilia. Well, catch isn't the right word. Found is a better one for the fact that we had to roam the hallways of Diasomnia. We ran into so many Diasomnian students, who seemed to be more than excited to see me. Some even gave me hugs or other forms of affection.

"There you kids are! I was worried for a second that someone came in and stole (Y/N) away!"

"If there was someone so foolish enough to even attempt at taking my young kin, I would have boiled their insides before ripping them to shreds."

I gulped at Malleus' words. Having someone who is part dragon be possessive over you is worse than just having a human be possessive.

Finally, after playing the waiting game for so long, we continued on with our walk and we went outside of Diasomnia. The environment surrounding the castle was, as usual, spooky but perfect for a get away. We made it slightly deep into the forest before I decided it was time to use the other faes' gifts. I started to slow down a bit before stopping completely.

"Hmmm, what's wrong, (Y/N)?"

I took a deep breath before answering Silver.

"Just needing to tie my shoe, Silvy! I would hate to trip and fall after all!"

"Let me, (Y/N)!"

Sebek moved before I could bend down. What was the most interesting part was the fact that he untied my shoe to just redo the knot. I debated in my head to wait for a different opportunity. I decided to wait for only a little longer.

Sebek stood back up and gave me such a proud smile. I nod my head before giving Sebek my own smile.

"Thank you, Sebek. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, (Y/N)!"

Sebek turned back around and I started to take the back of the group. I watched Lilia talk animatedly while Silver was trying to avoid falling asleep. Malleus kept his posture straight and focused on our path while Sebek was scanning the forest.

They were distracted. I try to activate Blue's invisibility. I watch as blue magic sparks start at my fingertips and go down my entire body. I couldn't even see me! Using the fact that I was now invisible, I started to walk away from the group as fast as I could. I was about twenty feet away when I heard this.

"AH! (Y/N)! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"What do you mean, Se- LITTLE BAT!?! WHERE DID YOU GO?!"

They had no idea where I was but I still had some way before I could reach the mirror. I start running and I know that I'm making a bunch of noise at this point. Sebek, Lilia and Malleus obviously know where I am based on noise.

I turn my head and see Lilia nearly grabbing the collar of the Diasomnia uniform that I was wearing. I let out a small scream as I dodge his grasp.

"Little bat! It isn't wise to make me mad!"

I was so preoccupied with Lilia that I nearly got hit by Sebek's baton.

"STOP RUNNING, HUMAN! BEHAVE FOR YOUR FAMILY!!"

Sebek's eyes were blazing with fury. I had to make a decision quickly. I remember that Green gave me super speed and tried to use that. I saw green flashes on my feet. Next thing that I knew was that it felt like my feet were flying out from underneath me. I was moving faster than I could really control it. I nearly ran into twenty different trees.

I felt the ground shake and noticed that Silver had actually sent a spell into the ground and it was erupting beneath me.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N). But I can't let you escape."

The spell caused an explosion beneath me, sending me flying into the sky. I let out a scream, my fear of heights kicked in. I heard Sebek scolding Silver for using such a spell on me.

I quickly get my brain under control and focus on using Red's free fall. I saw my body flash red and I felt more confident. I then started to glide through the air trying to get to the mirror, I could see it. I heard an air whistle and noticed that Malleus was flying straight for me.

"(YYYYY/NNNNN)!!!!!"

I narrowly avoid Malleus' dive and quickly land on the ground in front of the mirror. I watched as I blinked blue, green and red to signify that the gifts had ran out. I looked around, noting how close the four of them were before rushing into the mirror. Once in the Hall of Mirrors, I look around before choosing a mirror to hide away in.

[thepromptswhisperer]

Laundry Prompts

“It was either this or doing my laundry, so… Here I am.”

“This is neither the time nor the place to air out any dirty laundry.” 

They find something in the other’s trouser pockets/etc. right before putting it into the washing machine. 

“This is about as exciting as watching the washing machine spin.”

“I love you. But that first night spent sleeping on freshly washed bed sheets? Superior.”

“I found this in the washer. Is it yours?”

They are too lazy to do the laundry, so they decide to walk around naked instead.

“You’ve never done the laundry before?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to throw the towel.”

“Did you accidentally climb into the washing machine and got spun around and around and around? Because that’s the only explanation I can find for all that gibberish you’re talking.”

“But I don’t want to do the laundry.”

“How did you do that?” “What?” “The folding thing. Takes me usually ten tries to make it look even somewhat okay, and you just…”

“Their kissing technique was reminiscent of a washing machine.”

They accidentally ruined the other’s clothes when washing them and are now afraid to tell them.

“You have more issues than there are clothes in the laundry basket. And I haven’t done the laundry in days.”

“Ugh. Did nobody ever teach you to throw your dirty clothes into the laundry basket?

“Sorry. It’s laundry day.”

They met someone in the shared laundry room of the apartment complex and now always dress up when doing their laundry. Of course, it is the one time they don’t that they run into the other once more. 

“The clothes are going to smell badly if we leave them in the washer any longer.” “Hmmmm.” “We should probably get them.” “Hmmmm. Probably.” 

“You’re ironing your underwear?”

“Don’t you think it’s too soon into our relationship to do the laundry together?”

[gremlingottoosilly]

Cabin in the woods (yan!slasher!Konig x fem!Reader x yan!slasher!Horangi) part 3

Little birdie got caught. Konig is simply too excited to let you go. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 AO3

TW for the chapter: Light blood and gore, dead bodies, mentions of drugs, spanking, kidnapping

— Those fucking bastards killed Karen! Don’t you care?! 

Shouting at your friends was never your forte, but you expected that it would come out at some point in your unwilling journey, You never knew it would because of the psycho killers on the loose, wanting nothing more but to make a nice set of decorations from your bones and eat your liver. 

You try to scream some senses into Chad’s tough skull but, just like his name suggests, this is a useless endeavor and you would be far better off running for your life, abandoning your friends, and hoping that killers would be satisfied without your sacrifice. But, you’re too nice. But, you have a bleeding heart and a death wish – and you feel guilty over not feeling guilty that Karen is dead. This is a new, overwhelming feeling for you, the one that almost revamps your whole essence. There are changes occurring, and you would rather die than acknowledge those changes. 

— Listen to me, goddamnit! We’re all going to die! 

You must be looking horrible – mouth covered in blood like you just ate a bunch of raw meat, smelling of dirt and fresh guts, hands shaking and your face resembling the horror mixed with anger – even Marty is surprised to see the resident mouse behave like this. God, even you are surprised to see just how horrified you look, screaming at them in the hope of saving at least someone. 

Marty drops a hand over your shoulders, pulling you to the side. You try to resist, but his clanky figure is surprisingly grippy and strong – you are being pulled to the nearest tree branches, just out of the range of the group. You spend the previous few hours trying to find them and yell some senses into their heads – and the only thing that they advised is that you should stop drinking for today and that stealing pills from Marty’s stash isn’t very nice even if he kinda doesn’t care where his junk goes. Still, you are fucking trembling. 

Marty pushes you to the tree, whispering in your ear – you feel his hot, deranged breath on the side of your face, making you wince. Even compared to the killer’s smell of sweat and blood, they still were nicer to be around than Stale-Beer-And-Cheap-Weed-Breath Marty. 

— Hey. Heeeeey, doll, what was happening back there? 

— Karen is…

— Nah-nah-nah, this is where you should shut up, yeah? Karen isn’t dead. I mean, I’m glad you think she is, it means my prank is fucking awesome. 

Prank? Her fucking head was chopped off and then tossed over to the nearest creek when the shorter killer decided that he wants you to perform a blowjob on his knife, making sure that you are licking all the blood away. You don’t think that there are ways to fake this – and if there are, then your friends and their hired goons are no better than actual killer psychos anyway and you’d still want out. 

— I saw her! 

— Sure you did, hon. Listen, I’m really glad you were the first to notice and everything, but keep it down for now, yeah? I have this sick mask and I was actually planning to prank the group later at night, but if you found it first…

— Prank?! There are two actual killers on the loose, this is the worst time to do pranks! — God, you’re annoying. This is why I fucking asked Jenny not to invite you. There are no killers, alright? Karen agreed to partake in the prank, so she is hiding somewhere in the forest until I’d pull out that sick knife and fucking scare everyone shitless. You were probably hallucinating from booze. 

— I saw her severed head!

— Sure you did. Listen – you can help me, yeah? Just rile everyone up a little, then you will come back and say that…hmmmm…that Marty was taken! Everyone panicking, screaming, crying, and then I show up with this big-ass knife and…

You never heard the last of his amazing, perfect, simply brilliant idea – because before he could finish it, his head was impaled with…oh, no. No-no-no, you can’t do this anymore, not so soon after Karen is dead, not when you are still shaking and can barely think straight not when you are far away from others because Marty fucking led you to another secured place just to get his stupid head impaled with a fucking crossbow bolt – something that you only saw in video games or historical dramas. 

This was completely silent – the quiet music of the bolt flying through the air, a small grunt that escaped Marty’s lips before he fell to the ground beneath your feet. You didn’t even manage to see from what direction this thing came from, too disoriented to observe the world around you properly. You feel the adrenaline running up again, probably breaking the record for you in the whole year – you jump from the body on the ground, tears dwelling in your eyes. You can’t do it, you can’t do it, you won’t do it, you were never a fighter, the freeze-fight-flight instinct always coming up to curling down in a small ball and sucking on your thumb. 

Some people are simply not built for survival – this is a natural order, something that Darwin was talking about. Soft, weak humans are meant to die, meant to be the food for stronger predators, for monsters dwelling in the shadows. Some creatures are never meant to exist – fleshy cute creatures, the ones that melt at the slightest touch, someone like you – when your first answer to a threat is to roll on your back and show your belly to a mountain lion, you just knew that evolution never meant for you to live past the crib. And yet, civilisation allowed you to survive. To thrive even, before you were put in this fucking forest. 

You run before everything else can kick in – at least some of your instincts are working properly, adrenaline running through your veins as you are leaving Marty behind, not even bothering to check if he is still breathing or not. The man was never thinking with his head – not the upper one anyway – but you doubt that he would survive a bolt shot perfectly between his eyes, separating his brain in two perfect halves. Like a fucking apple. 

You ran 

 ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎   ‎‎      ‎    and you ran ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎  ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎  ‏‏‎  ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎  ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎  ‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‎      and you ran some more

And you ran right into his chest. 

Wall of muscles, no less – you aren’t even sure if this is a human’s body, too sturdy and hard and perfect to belong to something less of a Roman statue. You feel tears running down your face, panic not even bothering to settle in – you know you would be dead in the next few moments, brain tragically easy saying goodbye to being intact. A pathetic sob escapes your throat as you are caught for the second time in this night – lady luck might be smiling upon you the first time, but you doubt you can be her favorite for long. 

— I thought the rule of escaping was to run away from danger. 

This is the tall killer – low voice, secured by the mask, making it almost unrecognizable. You shake as a big, glowed hand goes on your back, laying there heavily. Even more pathetic sounds are produced from your lips, and you are almost ready to beg him for a quick, painless death – his hand is big enough to cover your head and you don’t want to think of the implications that he might crush your skull with just his fingers. 

König listens to your sobs, doing nothing but keeping a firm hand on your back, securing you in place. You sob and whine and tremble in his hold – and he was never more hard in his life. What an adorable, pathetic little creature you are. Helpless in his hold – even squirrels can fight, scratching and biting. You were sobbing in his hold like the perfect kleine prey you are, and he could almost pretend this was a hug. 

— Tshhh, Hase, don’t cry. I won’t be able to let you go if you’d proceed with those sweet noises, ja? 

His revelation only makes you squirm more. You finally try to get out of his bear-like hug – only to realize that all of your little movements and struggles fit perfectly with the enormous, pulsating bulge in his pants that can probably be considered a murder weapon on its own and shouldn’t be concealed since this is an obvious threat to…ah, on second thought, running around from a serial killer who has his monstrous dick hanging out would be worse. Much, much worse. 

— Let me go! 

You squirm one of your hands, punching his chest. Feels like punching a marble statue – the only thing you are hurting is your own hands. You try to resolve to a different form, jerking up your knee to land a blow on his crotch. 

He fucking moans. 

— Never knew you were such a fighter, Schatz. But I warned you, aren’t I? 

You don’t understand what he is talking about before he suddenly lifts you in his hands, dropping you on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. You are crying, trying to get away, [unching him with your legs and your hands, all the adrenaline in your veins working solely for the purpose of inflicting as much pain on this enormous figure as possible. 

You tug on this weird hood he is wearing – if you are going to die, at least you would die exhausting all possible options, not feeling like you gave up without a fight. This is still a journey of self-respect and deep insight searches for the mysteriously hidden backbone of your body – maybe, yoga classes would be more effective and less dangerous but, unfortunately, you’re not a rich white housewife in her thirties, so not like you have money for a guru who would spend hours trying to convince your ovaries to stop dying on the inside. 

— Let! 

You punch him on the back, a multitude of well-served punches right into his back. He laughs, spreading his shoulders, cocking his chest forward like you were giving him a massage. With a groan, you made a very deliberate punch right in the middle of his back – and he moans from satisfaction, probably releasing some pent-up tension that he got from killing grandmas and destroying hotels. 

— Me! 

You tried to kick him in the chest, your legs working overtime as you cosplayed a rabid rabbit – only for him to laugh even more, his arm securing you holstered across his shoulder like your punches meant nothing. They probably didn’t – he is literally still holding a fucking crossbow in his other hand, managing to secure it on his side while moving towards…you only assume it to be a murder cabin because of course those freaks would have a murder cabin, why the hell not – probably with some cool classy furniture made out of bones. 

— Go! You finally manage to secure hold on the edge of his hood, yanking it upwards in hopes of actually revealing who the fuck is he – a dirty businessman who doesn’t like those damn kids and their dog to ruin his plans for burning down the forest to create a shopping mall? A nice old man who showed you the road when you were lost, but he is actually on a spree to get revenge on all young people for killing his pet chicken in 1997? One of those creepy guys at the corner store who was weirdly obsessive over you, talked like a serial killer, and was constantly and also came in pair with the guy whose height and manner perfectly resembled a pair of killers that are after you now? 

Probably the grandpa. 

You yank the mask up and…

Ah. 

Of course, he is wearing a freaking balaclava. The only thing that you managed to see were his eyes – blue, icy, pretty, filled with anger as he pulled the hood down, concealing his features again, without you even managing to take a closer look. You gulp loudly, preparing to die. 

He smacks your ass with a power that would be enough to break a bone – your only saving grace is that the flesh of your butt provided some cushion, instead leaving a nasty bruise and inability to sit for at least a few days. That is if you would even survive long enough to have problems sitting on your backside. You won’t have such problems if you’re dead, right? 

— Quiet, Schatz. I already breaking the rule for taking you too early. 

— Br…breaking a rule? Do you have a freaking hunting pact? 

— I promised Tiger that we’d let you roam around a little. Make things interesting. 

Ah, yes, because letting you go the first time was such a brilliant idea on their behalf. The only reasons you didn’t go straight to the police is because A) You don’t speak rural Austrian German, B) Your phone can’t connect to anything, and C) You don’t even know in what part of the forest you are. Also because you’re scared that the police are going to turn out treacherous people, just like in horror movies, and that it would fucking destroy your trust. 

— I can roam around. I can roam around just fucking perfect, ass…

Another loud smack on your ass makes you feel like a misbehaving kitten. He grips your ass through your jeans and you whimper a little bit, starting to cry again as his hand goes straight for the bottom, gripping your cunt through the tough layer of denim. You thank every god you know for making you wear ugly, but protective and thick jeans. Every time his hand goes to cup your most intimate parts, the fabric of your jeans protects it – you don’t even feel too violated when he pushes his fingers even more, desperately trying to get a reaction out of you. 

— Language, Hase. Don’t make me discipline you, ja? — Fuck you! — Very gut then. That’s what you will do very soon.

Oh, but the rough material grinding over your delicate, thin panties and the sensitivity of your cunt really makes you feel…something. You won’t want to admit it, he smells like blood and sweat(still better than Marty, but you shut down that thought before it was born because fuck the new abortion laws), and he spanks your ass only to grope your pussy right after – and he also has masterful fingers that are working at the hem of your jeans, making the fabric press even more against the sensitive skin and…

You try to think of something – anything. 

Dead bodies, dead bodies, a lot of dead bodies, and there are some dead puppies too and everything is gross and smelly and…ah, it’s not working. 

König touches your lower parts with a wide grin under his hood – you’re fucking perfect, a nice addition to their house. You bite when he needs a little fight and you shut up when he touches you – perfect birdie, adorable birdie, Horangi will probably be bitching about spoiling the fun since you’d be stuck with them without a proper chase like he wanted, but the tiger would come around once he’d emptied himself on your warm body just once. 

You squirm under his touch, moan and cry and tremble and he can’t stop imagining you in millions of different positions. Stuck in the basement of their house, on your knees like a good girl you are, maybe with some branding or a collar – it’s more of a Horangi’s thing, even though König hopes he won’t have to break you too much until you’d call him daddy – pushing you to their shared bed, making sure that you’re nice and stuck in some open positions, allowing them to take you without much repercussions. 

— Let me go. 

— Nein. 

— Please? 

— I like your begging, Spatz. 

— It means you’d let me go? 

— Nein. You will tell your little friends, and then you will run to the police, ruining our fun. You are not going anywhere. 

— But, um…your culprit will be mad, no? 

As cunning as you can, you’re trying to seal the seeds of destruction among them. You’re trying your damn best not to act too charming or too fake, just so he won’t fall in love with you for real and would try murder-suicide you, but also with enough charisma checks so you’d actually convince him. 

But, it’s not really working – maybe, you aren’t as good at spreading havoc as you thought you were. 

— He’d live. We would get to hold you in your house, little one. It’s enough to make him understand my reasons. 

It’s definitely enough to make you want to puke. He is fast, not even bothering to check on the body of your friend as he goes past it – he just marks it with something that resembles a piece of torn fabric and pushes some leaves and sticks on the body, probably signalling to his friend to come and get rid of the body – and then he changed your position a little bit, securing a hand on your ass he goes deeper into the forest. 

You’re trying to remember the location, maybe counting the trees and every bush that seems like a good mark – but you, a city girl raised on a cocktail of Google Maps and a constant internet connection, have already grown tired of trying to remember everything. Every tree is the fucking same, every turn feels like the one before and, at some point, you were sure that he is actually going in circles to make you understand the location even less. Your blurry vision obstructs the goal even more – you cried so much, it feels like your very eyes gave out. With a sigh of defeat, you metaphorically roll over to your back and present your belly to the predators. 

After a hike that felt like hours, but was probably like 10 minutes long – this guy has long legs and the determination of a dog dragging a really cool stick home and, before you know it, you’re standing in front of a…house. Nice house. Expensive house, a big house, something less of a mansion, but more of a shed that you thought he was going to live in because he is literally a serial killer. 

Even serial killers made good property investments in the respective years – and you were too busy with useless stuff, like learning how to walk or trying not to choke yourself on a piece of carrot. 

— Welcome home, Schatz. 

He gently lets you down from his shoulder, allowing you to take a closer look at your surroundings. Normal living room – literally nothing weird. Maybe a bit too much hunting trophies, maybe a lot of guns lying around, some overly manly decorations, and very questionable art pieces but if you’d see that house advertised on the property website, you wouldn’t even consider it too weird. You were expecting…something. Blood on the walls, furniture made out of human flesh and skin, a devilish feast for imps and every like them…

You saw nothing as König punched the back of your head, putting you to sleep. 

You fucking hate forest trips. 

[catcze]

Hiii catte, just wanted to appreciate your work towards the whoreslay nation I EAT UP everything you put out.

Hmmmm as for wrio thoughts, maybe him making pink coloured tea after finding out it’s your favourite colour 😏 better yet, a pink themed tea party.

(yes I am encouraging you to write something self-indulgent because the yoinking accessories off your person fic has been rotting in my brain despite my irl aesthetic being like wrio. I just think it’s cute :])

Take care and have a lovely day/evening/night✨

anon i literally love youuu thank you for enabling me to be self indulgent tee hee ♡ take care too baby !!

Reblogs are greatly appreciated !!

It's something so offhanded— you hadn't expected him to give it much importance.

"Something wrong with the tea?" Wriothesley asks one afternoon, brows furrowing when he notices that you had yet to take a sip of your teacup. Instead, you had been staring at your drink for quite some time, lost in thought.

His question startles you out of whatever thoughts you were having, though. "What? Oh— no no, nothing like that. It's just... the color's really pretty," you tell him bashfully, a small smile on your face.

Wriothesley looks down at his own cup in thought. To him it's just... pink? It tasted good, don't get him wrong. Sweeter than some of the other teas he had served before, thanks to the dries strawberries and raspberries that had been infused into the tea. But he didn't realize that it was something you found particularly entrancing.

That one instance with the tea makes him notice something afterwards: you always had something pink on your person. Whether that be a charm, an accessory, a piece of clothing, or if your whole outfit was just the color pink. Even the color of some of the foods you eat— cakes with pink berry cream, milk colored pink with strawberries, you name it. If there's food with anything pink on it, chances are you're going to try it. Wriothesley honestly wonders how he doesn't realize it sooner.

When you walk up the stairs to Wriothesley's office, you're expecting it to be just any other afternoon tea session with him. Maybe, if he wants to spice things, he got his hands on a foreign blend that he wants you to taste. Maybe he brought some cakes and crepes from a new bakery in the city.

What you are not expecting, however, is for his dark and relatively industrial-looking office to be covered head to toe in pink.

All you can do is gape, mouth open as you try to take in the barrage of pastel pinks, creams, and whites that decorate the whole space. Even Wriothesley himself, who meets you at the landing of the staircase, has donned a little bit of pink against his otherwise black outfit— one of your pink neck ties replaces his usual red, and a heart shaped earring dangles from his ear, both obviously pilfered from your collection.

"What—" you can't help but giggle, giddy and overcome with wonder. "What is this?"

"Nothing special," your boyfriend says humbly, even though what he did means the world to you. "Just wanted to do something nice for you, is all. You really seem to like the color pink, so I thought to myself... giving you a pink tea party is definitely something I can do."

You can feel your heart swell, choking up because damn you love this man so much, and he loves you even more. You can't bring yourself to say anything, can't even will away the tears gathering in your eyes because you're so touched by this sweet, sweet man and all the love he's handed to you on a silver platter. You sniff, and you can already feel the waterworks coming.

Wriothesley panics when he sees the way your lip wobbles and the way your eyes shine with tears. He grimaces, hands immediately going to your arms to hold you and pull you close. And if anything, that just makes you cry even more.

"What's wrong, baby?" he murmurs into your hair, hand petting your back in an attempt to soothe you. You just hiccup, burying into his warm chest even further, neither of you caring about how you're getting tears on his shirt.

You cry for a bit more and Wriothesley lets you, cooing into your ear. He hugs you close, kisses your forehead, and runs his hands through the ends of your hair, carefully undoing any tangles. And when the tears die down, you pull away from his chest with a small sniff, just enough to be able to look at his face.

"All done?" He asks, and you nod, rubbing the tears from your eyes. No doubt you look like a mess— bitten lips, tear stains, swollen eyes and messy hair, but Wriothesley still looks at you like you're the only thing in this world worth looking at.

"Sorry," you begin, voice hoarse, "I- I just really love this—" you cast a glance around the room, eyes tearing up again, but you try your best not to cry this time. "And I just really love you. So, so, so much. You make me so happy," you tell him, leaning close and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Wriothesley's heart races. His face flushes and his hands shake and gods he can feel an itch in his eyes that he does his best to tamp down, because no doubt if he started crying, so would you, and the tea he worked so hard to prepare would go cold, and he can't have that. So he inhales deeply, wipes away your tears with the pad of his thumb, and leads you by the hand to the pink table where your pink tea party awaits.

"I love you too, sweetheart," He murmurs, sitting across from you, still holding your hand over the table. "Forever and always."

[florencemtrash]

Flame, Shadow, Beast : Epilogue

Azriel x Reader x Eris

Summary: Years after Eris frees you from his father’s prison, you’ve managed to find a new love, new friends, and build a life for yourself in Autumn. But when a certain Shadowsinger stumbles upon your home, dragging in painful memories of betrayal and longing, you’ll have to face the things you left in the past and make choices about the future you want.

Warnings: Some suggestiveness

Flame, Shadow, Beast: Masterlist

Masterlist of Masterlists

Three years later.

You lay sprawled out under the covers, limbs tangled up in the sheets as you awoke slowly with the sun and frowned at the empty space beside you.

As if on cue, Eris emerged from the next room, hair dripping like molten fire with a towel wrapped around his trim waist. He grinned at the look on your face, tossing the towel to the side and sliding into bed. He rolled over on top of you, kissing every inch of skin he saw.

“And why are you frowning this morning, my love?”

You hummed with satisfaction when his lips found the curve of your neck, “Because my husband was rude and woke up without me. Didn’t even invite me to take a bath with him.”

He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Terrible. But maybe this husband of yours wanted to allow you the rest you so greatly deserve." He kissed your throat delicately before moving his lips to your ear where he whispered, “Maybe this husband of yours wanted to wake you up properly.”

His hands wandered downward.

“Hmmmm, perhaps.” You said, brushing his hair back with your fingers. “I suppose I could forgive him if that was the case.” 

Eris grinned, his lips slotting over yours like that was what they’d been crafted for. 

“So… am I forgiven?” He asked coyly.

You thought it over for a minute, “No.” 

You began to shriek with laughter when he unceremoniously lifted you up, slung you over his shoulder, and made his way over to the bath. 

“What are you doing?!” 

“Inviting my wife in for a bath with me.”

“You just got out.” 

“So?” Eris smiled wickedly over his shoulder at you. “I’ll never protest more time spent with you.” 

You and Eris took a long time in the bath, hands trailing over skin like you had all the time in the world. It was time for the Harvest Festival again. The last week had been a flurry of activity, securing the borders and organizing guards so that the festivities might be enjoyed without worry. Now you could afford to bask in the morning sun and whisper your words of love to one another. Now you could afford to take your time.

The smell of cinnamon, honey, and oranges wafted in the air, clinging to your hair and skin and driving Eris made with love. He held you pressed up against his chest, fingers trailing up and down your back languidly.

“I love you.” He murmured.

“I love you.” You whispered, dropping kisses over his eyes, “My High Lord,” Over his cheeks, “My husband,” Over his lips, “My love.” 

He hummed with satisfaction, “I like it when you call me your husband.”

“Well that is what you are.”

“Yes, I am well aware. I was at the ceremony after all.”

“Really? I could have sworn it was someone else.” You teased, “Someone more handsome and strong and-” 

Eris growled playfully, his fingers tickling the sensitive skin of your ribs until he heard your laughter again. It sounded like heaven to his ears.

You both moved with ease about your bedroom, dressing, eating, and working slowly and stealing kisses whenever the opportunity presented itself. That was until Myrah and Halvor arrived. She stole you away to one of the adjoining rooms to get ready for the festivities that night. 

Ever the dutiful blademaiden, she oiled and braided your hair, running gold lace through the strands before you turned around and did the same for her. It was at the moment you brushed her hair off her shoulders that you caught sight of the thin gold necklace hidden beneath the collar of her dress with Halvor’s scent still wrapped around it.

Myrah’s cheeks flooded pink when she caught your lingering gaze. 

Your lips parted into a mischievous grin, “So you and Halvor?”

“Shhh!” She hissed, pointing towards the other room where Halvor and Eris were getting ready. “Not so loudly.” 

You tipped your head back and began to laugh. You and Eris had an ongoing bet about when the pair would finally admit their feelings for one another. You were fairly certain you’d won.

As if the necklace wasn’t enough, Halvor’s eyes lit up like fae lights when you and Myrah emerged. The cream-colored dress brought out the warmth in her skin, storm gray eyes tinted blue from the gold accents. 

He bowed his head ever so slightly, throwing her a smirk, “Nice dress. You clean up well."

It was his way of saying "You look beautiful."

She rolled her eyes at him with affection, accepting his arm half-heartedly. 

Eris slunk over to your side, kissing your temple and wrapping his arm around your waist. You followed a safe distance behind Myrah and Halvor, and Eris couldn’t help the flood of warmth in his chest to see his brother so… so happy. 

To anyone else, it would look like Myrah was half an inch away from slapping that smirk off Halvor’s face. But you could tell she was suppressing a smile with every piece of her being and Eris could tell that beneath all the layers, Halvor’s smile was full of love.

“I believe you won the bet, my love.” Eris whispered into your ear.

“And when will I get my prize?”

“Later tonight?” He winked and you blushed.

“Later tonight is good.” 

You breathed in deeply when you winnowed out of the Forest House to the fields beyond. Joyous laughter ricocheted off the tree trunks and barrels of ale and mead piled neatly off to the side of the dance circle. Mountains of food were laid out on hand-sewn tablecloths and a fae with plum-colored skin and dragonfly wings flitted about carrying pints of beer in both hands as he shouted towards his friends.

Musicians tuned their instruments, straining to hear the notes over the beat of the drums a pair of horned children had strapped to their chests. Their parents chased after them as they shrieked and ran away on spindly legs, but no one made a move to stop them. It was good to see children roaming the Autumn Court woods again.

One of them ran into Eris’s legs, eyes widening like dinner plates when his gaze traced up the resplendent yards of emerald velvet and landed on the crown on his head. 

You and Eris smiled at one another before he leaned down, plucked the child up and placed him back on his feet. With a snap of his fingers the shoddily built drum was replaced by a hand-crafted wonder, nearly as tall as the child was wide. Eris winked and the child screamed with delight, sprinting off to join his companions toasting walnuts by the bonfire and beating his drum all the way.

Farmers gathered around in circles, riotous laughter echoing upwards as they flipped over the last of seven cards on the ground. Music began to fill the sky, a fast and bright melody that pulled fae to their feet and out to the dance circle. 

Even Halvor wasn’t immune to its call. He pulled Myrah to her feet before she could finish working on her fire lantern, but there would be time for that later. Now was a time for dancing. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her when he spun around on his heels, one arm beckoning her forward. 

You leaned your head against Eris’s shoulder, watching the fire roar with life as your people danced and swayed like the leaves in the wind, lifting up the words of the songs that had been passed down from generation to generation. 

He held your hand, lifted it up to his lips for a kiss. A ring glittered there on your finger, winking at him as you smiled. 

Who was to say whether you had made the right or wrong decision? If there even was a right or wrong decision. But as you touched the tender place where the bond lay silent and still, but never truly gone, you knew one thing - you’d made a decision you could live with.

Sprawling cities, like Velaris and those that dotted other courts, would never find a home in Autumn. The land wasn’t built for it and neither were the people. The land was built for rolling hills encrusted with fields and trees more vibrant and precious than all the jewels in the world, for flowing rivers that raced through the heart of Autumn, carrying life to the people who knew how to endure and burned more fiercely for it.

Eris cleared his throat and bowed deeply, the unbuttoned collar of his shirt flaring out like the wings of a dove, “My High Lady, my love, would you please do me the honor of a dance?”

You pulled him up with a strength and earnestness that made him chuckle, pressing your lips against his in a kiss that had him grinning from ear to ear. He lifted you up and spun you around, skirts flaring out around you like the petals on a flower. He finally set you on the ground, fingers ghosting over the curve of your lips and your cheeks.

“I would love to dance with you, my High Lord.” 

“My wife.” 

You smiled. “My husband.” 

You sprinted towards the dance circle with Eris in tow, bare feet kicking up the dark, soft soil that cushioned your steps as you sprang into the spirited dance. The fae around you whooped and cheered as you two lept around each other, Eris tossing and spinning you in the air with a joy no one had ever thought possible from a High Lord of Autumn. 

Dark days had passed and everyone could bask happily in this moment. 

You had found your family and you had built your home.

<- Previous Chapter

______

Author's note:

Thank you for following along with this story and for reading! I know it's not perfect, but I'm really happy with how it came out and I hope it made you laugh and cry and smile and generally gave you all the feels.

Now excuse me while I hole up like a gremlin and write some Azriel x Reader fics because I also love him and want him to feel happy and loved.

Love,

Florence B.

Taglist: @nightless @mmb-09 @thesnugglingduck @cleverzonkwombatsludge @kemillyfreitas @logankemaek @the-sweet-psycho @a-frog-with-a-laptop @flameandshadowx @applerubyy @esposadomd @imma-too-many-fandoms @bubybubsters @kalulakunundrum @chasing-autumns-chill @brujitafantomatico @emptyporsche @cat-or-kitten @sourapplex @saltedcoffeescotch @djdjdhdheh

[whatswrongwithblue]

The Hunt Pt. 3

Read on AO3.

Part 1. Part 2.

Summary: Alastor x Reader (reader is afab, uses she/her pronouns.) Date nights in Hell are done a little differently, especially when you're dating The Radio Demon.

Trigger warnings: Reader and Alastor in Hell for a reason. Mentions of sexual abuse and child abuse. Murder. Horror. Explicit scenes of cannibalism.

“I don’t like this new guy.”

Angel Dust huffed and sat down on the sofa, planting himself firmly between you and Alastor. You scooted over, allowing for more space between you two but Angel just shifted closer, apparently not knowing how to read body language. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Alastor’s smile widen and strain, but his eyes quickly darted back to his newspaper.

You rolled your eyes, knowing when it came to the hotel guests, Alastor forced himself to be on his best behavior, less they tattle to Charlie. And Angel was really no threat, neither to your safety or to the sanctity of the unusual relationship between you and Alastor. He just had no sense of personal space.

“You like this new guy?” Angel asked, peering over your shoulder to look at your book. As if he read.

When you didn’t answer, he leaned back into the sofa, crossing one of his set of arms and his legs.

“Well I don’t like him,” he repeated.

“You didn’t like Sir Pentious, either,” you countered with a disinterested tone of voice as you turned a page in your book.

“Yeeaaaaah, and I was right about him, wasn’t I? At least at first. I doubt this new guy is gonna turn out the same.”

“Sir Pentious still wasn’t exactly what I would define as a threat,” Alastor said, still not looking up from his newspaper. “But it did allow for at least a fraction of entertainment around this drab place . . . for a little while, that is.” He sighed as he trailed off, sounding disappointed.

“Well I don’t like him. My gut tells me he’s a big fat liar.”

You finally sat your book in your lap and gave Angel your full attention.

“He said his sin was pretty much drugs and sex. That doesn’t add up? Not to . . . you?” you asked rather pointedly.

Angel, in his usual unashamed manner, wasn’t offended by your insinuation. “It would check out if it was believable. But this guy, he’s fucking sleezy. A total creeper. I may like my dick and my coke but I’m not like . . . like . . . . evil about it, okay? I give off slut vibes. He gives off like rape-y pedo vibes.”

At this point, Alastor folded his newspaper neatly in his lap over his crossed legs and began tapping on the microphone top of his cane, looking between you and Angel Dust.

“Well this is all rather interesting. You mean to tell me, your spidey senses are tingly?” Alastor asked, smiling his trademark sinister smile and waving his fingers through the air.

You chuckled a little, making a mental note to ask when Alastor had learned about Spider Man.

“If only there were a way for us to learn the truth about our new resident, hmmmm?” Alastor said, eyeing you up and down. “A way to find out what his sins in life really were?”

You met Alastor’s stare, a silent understanding floating between the two of you.

Angel Dust, totally unaware of the sudden tension in the air, stood up with an exaggerated sigh.

“Yeah,” he snorted, “if only.”

___

Unfortunately for Charlie, Angel had been correct.

Fortunately for you and Alastor, you now had a new fun idea for your next date night.

One touch was all it took. One touch was all it ever took.

You weren’t exactly a psychic. You couldn’t read minds. But a handshake, or a pat on the back, a brush of an arm on a busy sidewalk, even with a full layer of clothes on, could give you a sense of the things a Sinner had done in life that got them to Hell. It was a very unique power as you had never met someone else in Hell that wielded anything like it, but until Alastor had found you, you had thought it was pretty useless. Just another thing to overwhelm your senses and make you want to avoid people.

But Alastor had shown you the beauty of it. Had expanded upon the bloody urge for vengeance that had landed you in Hell yourself and taught you how to relish in it. He adored you for your passionate need to punish the worst of Hell’s residents and as a bonus, the flashes of violence and carnage you received from Alastor’s past never bothered you. His demographic of victims matched yours perfectly.  

That morning, you had placed yourself in the kitchen at just the right time for the new resident, your new prey, to come waltzing in for his morning coffee. Your fingers had brushed each other’s as you handed him a full mug and you had been left forcing a smile as you tried not to lose your breakfast over the images that flashed through your head.

His whole life. He had been a wretched monster his whole life. First his sisters, then a few girlfriends, then his wife and own children.

He was a predator of innocence. A destroyer of sanctity and lives.

The other residents at the hotel may have their problems, but this man was evil incarnate. And you suddenly understood his fascination with Charlie.

Well, this vile creature was about to find himself on the menu for yours and Alastor’s next candle lit dinner.

____

You had to wait until Charlie and Vaggie had a rare night out together. Alastor and you had agreed it best not to let Charlie know what happened to her new project resident; best to let her think he just skipped out on her redemption program and ghosted her.

Once you told the other residents the truth about your powers and their new roommate, they were all pretty much on board with helping. Especially Niffty. And even Lucifer was fine with it. He still wasn’t keen on most Sinners and agreed that it was ultimately in Charlie’s best interest if this particular demon just . . . disappeared. He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with it though and would be up in his apple shaped tower, seeing and hearing no evil that may occur that evening.

As evening came to Pentagram City and the bright red sky of day turned to the black-red, starless sky of night, the residents of the hotel found themselves in their places, like player pieces on a game board.

Husker at his bar, Angel and Cherri in the lounge, Niffty seemingly vacuuming a hallway, Lucifer ignoring everything up in his room, you down in the kitchen, and Alastor placed a few doors down from your prey’s room.

The stage was set and it was time to play.

____

A scream tore through the hotel.

The prey sat up in bed, heart pounding, breath coming in rapid gulps, hoping it was just a nightmare. This place was supposed to be a sanctuary. He didn’t intend on any kind of redemption, but the stupid antics of the place were worth the safety from the harsh streets of Hell.

Another scream rang through the night and the prey knew it hadn’t come from his dreams.

He thought about staying in bed and keeping the lights off but what if the screaming came closer? What if Heaven had sent someone down here to deal with the hotel once and for all? Then he had better make his escape while he could, right?

Quietly, and in the dark of his room, the prey tip toed over to his door and slowly opened it, wincing when it made a little creaking noise at the halfway point.

He peered down the hallway and it appeared empty. Completely ordinary. The lights were on, giving it a soft and comforting illumination. Everything appeared safe and sound.

Still on edge and suspicious, the prey stepped further into the hallway, clearing the threshold of the doorway.

His bedroom door slammed shut with a BANG behind him and he instantly turned around, trying with all his strength to turn the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. He began to slam his body into it, mad with fear, and he thought for a second the wood would actually give, when shadows began to spread from the doorframe like inky water.

He stepped away until his back hit the opposite wall, staring in horror as the shadows spread along the wall.

And then the lights began to flicker, the soft rhythmic sound of buzzing filling the air as the electricity fought for its life, before the lights burned out completely, leaving the prey bathed in darkness.

Another scream came from down the hallway, echoing around the walls and making his ears ring.

A wet, tearing sound.

Quiet.

And then . . .

thump thump slide

thump thump slide

thump thump slide

The lights began to flicker back on and in the little glimpses the flashing light allowed, the prey could see the outline of a now familiar deer demon, only much taller than usual. Alastor’s antlers were spread out in full glory, nearly touching both walls of the hallway as he went. His face was contorted into a monstrous grin that glowed like his radio dial red eyes, and he was covered in blood.

thump thump slide

thump thump slide

With every two steps Alastor took, he paused to drag the body behind him, leaving a crimson trail in his wake.

“Ah, hello there, my kindly fellow resident. Would you be interested in playing a game with me this evening? It seems I’m out of other options when it comes to . . .��� he glanced down at the demon body he was still pulling alone behind him, “. . . participants.”

The prey swallowed and began taking small steps backwards.

“Hide and seek, doesn’t that sound fun? And the rules are very simple. You see, you hide, to the very best of your abilities. And I seek the second course to my dinner this evening.”

“I-I-I’m pretty tired, A-alastor. Mr. . . . Radio Demon. I think I’ll pass.”

“Oh! Hahaha! I see we’ve had a misunderstanding. My mistake. You see, I only asked you if you were interested. The participation, however, isn’t voluntary.”

The prey found his voice, sounding much bolder and braver than he felt.

“Charlie won’t let you get away with this.”

Alastor dropped the arm he had been dragging the body with, letting it fall with a thud to the carpet below, before he sized up his meal.

With a darker, deeper voice, he answered, “you’ll be gutted before you ever get the chance to breath her air again.”

The prey ran for his life down the hallway, screaming for help as he went. At first he didn’t consider the fact that it should have been impossible for him to outrun Alastor, or for him to make it out of the hallway alive. But as every turn brought him to another hallway rather than the set of stairs he should have found by now, he came to the horrifying conclusion that he was being toyed with. That somehow, with his powers, Alastor had corrupted the very space of the hotel itself, leaving him in a maze of never ending hallways with no possible way out.

He ran until his breath gave out and his sides cramped up with stitches. Stumbling along each new hallway, he nearly vomited when he came across the blood trail left behind by the body Alastor had been dragging. Only this time he was coming up to it from the opposite direction, as if he was following Alastor’s footsteps. Which should have been impossible, since that way was supposed to lead to a dead end. When he turned back around to face the direction he had just come, he saw that it was indeed a dead end, rather than the open-ended left turn he had just made.

 And then the sound of a vacuum cleaner running came from the other end of the hallway. It was completely unexpected and sounded foreign to his terrified ears, but the prey wandered towards the sound, hopeless for another route to take. And perhaps Alastor wouldn’t murder and eat him in front of another hotel resident.

He found Niffty with her back to him, mindlessly vacuuming the hallway. Although it was late at night and any sane person wouldn’t be cleaning at this hour, he didn’t question it with Niffty. The woman was strange and erratic, though he was drawn to her air of innocence. He knew that in Hell, the image of innocence was usually a lie. In fact, it was a lie he was leaning on more and more himself these days. But he was willing to suspend belief when it might lead to a little fun and he had been hoping for an opportunity alone with Niffty since he first saw her.

Those kinds of thoughts were far from his mind when he glanced her that evening.

He was still new to the hotel and though he had seen the news footage of Niffty wielding the knife that killed Adam, he hadn’t yet seen her murder sprees of the roaches, and she appeared weaponless at the moment. The prey was very wrong in his beliefs that she was relatively harmless.

Clearing his throat, he tried to get her attention but either her hearing was very bad, or she just couldn’t hear him over the sound of her vacuum.

He tapped her on the shoulder.

Niffty jumped in her skin for a second before turning around to see who had startled her. When she looked up at him, her one eye looked annoyed and disappointed in him, but she flipped the switch on the vacuum and turned it off.

With a hand on her hip, she gave him a once over, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“You’re not the fun kind of bad boy.”

“Niffty, I need your help,” the prey panted, ignoring what she had said. He often didn’t understand the things she was prone to prattling off about anyway.

Niffty shook her head in disgust.

“Don’t you know the rules of hide and seek?”

The prey could feel the blood draining from his face as understanding dawned on him.

Niffty brought a giant needle seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing it so that it gleamed in the dim light of the hallway.

“You’re supposed to run and hide!” she cackled and raised the needle above her head but the prey was already off, running back in the direction he had come from, never minding that the hall seemed to change before his very eyes, turning into a completely different hallway.

It split in the middle, the stairs that led to the front lobby coming up just to his right, and he sprinted down them, losing his balance and falling the last half of the stairs.

He rolled to a stop on the hard marble of the lobby, looking up at the disinterested forms of Cherri and Angel, and spying Husker in the distance.

“H-help,” he gasped out, but no one even glanced at him.

“No can do,” Angel said and took a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, fuck off,” Cherri agreed.

Husk simply lifted his middle finger and went back to cleaning glasses.

They were all against him, he realized. Stumbling to his feet and clutching his side, he shuffled to the front door.

He half expected it to be locked from the inside but to his great relief and astonishment, it opened. Warm dry air hit his face and he had never been so glad to smell the sickly scent of brimstone air before.

The prey ran across the threshold with no hesitation and with a blink, found himself running head first into the large kitchen island.

“Fuck fuck fucking fuck!” he screamed out as the edge of the counter slammed into his gut, knocking the wind out of him once more.

“Language,” you tutted from the opposite side of the island, where you stood chopping vegetables and herbs.

“Fuck you,” the prey huffed. “Fuck you and your fucking psycho boyfriend.”

“Now that’s no way to talk to a lady,” Alastor’s voice said from the doorway. “I’m afraid that’s a trespass I can not forgive.”

You smiled at Alastor as he walked into the room, past the prey, and came up to your side, admiring the prepping you had accomplished for your dinner in such a small amount of time.

Indeed, just about everything was ready, save the last ingredient. You even had the candles lit and the placemats set.

“Oh my God,” the prey cried.

“I know!” Alastor exclaimed, picking up a sprig of thyme. “Fresh herbs! In Hell! A rarity, but my darling is fantastic at finding these little gems.”

“You’re both insane,” the prey said, backing away from the island and towards  the door.

He tried the knob but of course it was locked from the inside. There truly was no escape.

Urine ran down his legs, soaking the front of his pants, as you and Alastor began approaching your dinner, walking down either side of the island with matching smiles on your faces.

“You see, my little sweetheart here has quite a lot of trauma to work through,” Alastor began. “And dealing with Sinners with your particular vices, helps her process. Oh yes, we know all your dirty little secrets. She always finds those out and reports back to me so that I may . . . satisfy both of our needs.”

The prey closed his eyes and promised himself he wouldn’t scream.

But the second the claws and teeth were on his skin, scream he did.

____

Your hands were covered in blood up to your elbows and you were sure the lower half of your face wasn’t doing much better. But this was indeed the best dinner you and Alastor had shared in quite some time.

“Really my love, you out did yourself finding these,” Alastor said as he sprinkled fresh parsley onto the slab of thigh meat, raising it up to his mouth and with an unnatural hinge of his jaw, swallowed it in one loud gulp.

You smiled, beaming as a result of his praise, and used your knife to take another slice out of the heart on your plate. Blood oozed out of the severed aorta as you cut into the cardiac muscle, the crimson juices overfilling your plate and spiling onto the table below.

“I have my ways,” you said with pride as you took a hearty bite out of your meal.

“Indeed you do,” Alastor hummed, and reached for the body laid across the table in front of you, ready to tear off another piece of meat.

As his claws tore away another chunk of flesh, the door to the kitchen slammed open and there stood an enraged Charlie, catching both of you literally red handed, coated in blood with your prey gutted and half eaten in front of you.

She took a second to look at the body and then her eyes darted between you and Alastor. Then with a large exhale, she screamed, “What the actual fuck is going on!”

Author's Note: I am sssoooooo sorry this took so long to come out. My wife is in school and we share a laptop so I've had limited access to write. And pregnancy brain has me in a fog and sleeping on most of my down time anyway. I hope you all can forgive me!

Tag list: @cosmiccandydreamer @itsaubreyofcc @thereallsaturnstar @anngray1369 @l3rittany @littlebluefishtail @saccharine-nectarine @everwolf-20 @chewiii-13 @yunecardelia

[rillils]

STEVE & BUCKY'S LOVE STORY, UNABRIDGED SOMEWHAT ABRIDGED, part 2/3 (here is part 1)

picking up from where we left off:

some 65 years into the future, steve's plane is fished out of the ice, and they find him, frozen like a sexy hot-dayum popsicle, but still alive thanks to the same super serum that made him go from Smol to Lorge.

steve is thus brought back into the world, but it's a world he no longer recognizes after all these years; a world where all the people he used to know and love are long dead, and his own face has been turned into a tool for propaganda over the years. obviously, he has a hard time adjusting, and he turns to fighting again, joining this group of kinda possibly superheroes, aka the avengers.

lots of exciting new things happen, sure; but steve is still pretty miserable. until one day, a mysterious masked assassin dressed in bondage gear (but not really), and sporting one very shiny metal arm (!!!!), is sent to kill steve's sort-of-boss. and then to kill steve himself. oh no!!

in what is possibly the most gripping, most visually pleasing hand-to-hand fight sequence in the history of cinema,

(NO BUT SERIOUSLY, all jokes aside, if you've never watched it then please do bc it's!!! *shrieks* so fucking good!!!)

a fight sequence which also happened to unlock both steve's and an entire fandom's competence kink with that little sexy knife-flipping trick alone -- i know you know what i'm talking about, don't you lie to me babes--

as i was saying, steve manages to knock the mask off of his opponent's face. and who do you think appears before him? can you guess??

DING DING DING!!! EXACTLY!!! IT'S HIS LONG-LOST BAE BUCKY! who apparently doesn't recognize him??

confused and upset, steve fights to uncover the truth. turns out, the man is indeed the very same bucky he grew up with and loved. only, he didn't actually die in that tragic fall in the ravine; rather, due to the experiments performed on him while he was a war prisoner, he survived long enough to be found and captured by the enemy. who then proceeded to torture and brainwash him, using him as a tool for murder against his will, and literally putting him back in the freezer when they didn't need him.

which, as it happens, is how he stayed so young in the first place: he, uh, spent the better part of 70 years frozen. yeaaah, are the parallels paralleling or what, hmmmm?? preserved in ice like your mom's best lasagna from last week? plunging to a 'death' that isn't really a death? waking up in the future kinda screwed over? :D

ANYWAY

steve is even more devastated than before, now that he's learned that while he was asleep in the ocean, bucky was out there suffering. when he finally confronts bucky again (and it's fucking epic and also fucking heartbreaking, believe you me) steve is desperate to bring bucky, his bucky, back. knowing in his heart that his bae is still somewhere in there, no matter how deeply buried.

in the most critical moment(TM), steve chooses to stay behind, on a plane that's about to fucking blow up around them - just like bucky did for him all those years ago - because if he can't save bucky, then he'd rather die with him.

only, bucky is scared and confused af at the moment, and he attacks steve, because 1) he has a mission after all, he's supposed to kill this guy dammit, and 2) wtf is even going on here??? who IS this man, WHY does he keep saying that they've known each other their whole lives?? and WHY does bucky feel like he's actually seen him somewhere else before?????

AND HERE IS THE PIVOTAL MOMENT OF ALL PIVOTAL MOMENTS: for the first time in his life, steve refuses to fight back. like he literally drops his shield out of the plane and into the river underneath, in a very powerful and symbolic gesture, signifying his surrender: he's not going to hurt bucky anymore, no matter what. THIS FUCKER LITERALLY LETS BUCKY BEAT HIM TO A PULP, WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO DEFEND HIMSELF, 100% ready to let bucky kill him if that's what's gonna happen here, because that's still better than living in a world where bucky's gone - a world where bucky will look at him and only see a target, or a stranger at best.

and then!!!!

no this is like, this is THE most romantic shit, okay, like you could try to convince me that it isn't for the next hundred years and i wouldn't buy it, because. BECAUSE.

at the very last moment, steve finally manages to break through bucky's brainwashing, breaking the metaphorical spell bucky was under. and do you know how he does that? i ask you, do you know how steve does that, my love?

by repeating to bucky the very same words bucky offered him way back in the beginning, when he proposed asked steve to move in together. till death do us part the end of the line, baby. romeo could NEVER

bucky, who was about to deal the fatal blow, freezes instantly, finally recognizing the man under him.

and when steve falls out of the plane, bucky jumps after him, instinctively saving his life instead.

but bucky can't stay. confused, wounded, vulnerable, and only just beginning to remember who he used to be and what was done to him, he slips away and hides from steve - and from all the other people who might be looking for him, and probably want him dead. you think this is gonna stop steve, though?? now that he knows that bucky is still alive, and that he remembers him??? now that he knows that bucky's not lost to him forever?? AS IF!!

(to be continued in part 3)

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

i had a worm wiggle it's way into my head when 'work song' came on on my way home today.

pairing: steddie | word count: 2,949 | rated: T

cw: major character death (no gore, nothing descriptive, though it's stated that Eddie was sick and getting weaker, then implied that he dies.)

Eddie Munson’s mother was a witch.

He didn’t know this until he was stricken with the same sickness that took her from him years and years before, but he knows now.

He knows from the small chest he found buried deep in his and his Uncle’s attic one day after learning of his ailment, and the handful of months he should expect to have left, from the local doctor. 

The chest was brimming with scrolls, tomes, candles, stones, herbs, vials, even a small pewter cauldron.

“I shoulda known,” was all Wayne had said, heeding Eddie’s beckoning call that hazy afternoon. 

Eddie sorted through everything he had found; spending hours every day flipping through each book and journal, deciphering his mother’s handwriting and the spells she had inscribed onto the pages. 

He even started to try a few; his mother’s ‘powers’, per sae, had come from the earth around her, writing in the largest, most disheveled of the journals that all she had needed to do was to listen to Mother Earth herself, listen to what she had to tell her.

So, Eddie practiced.

Small things at first, like seamlessly re-attaching the snipped off head of a daisy back to it’s stem, snipping it off again only to regrow an identical one in it’s place. Even starting a broken branch of the pine outside the Munson home on it’s way to a new green version of what was lost.

Eddie counted himself very lucky that Wayne was not one to believe the church’s nearly unhinged ramblings about witchcraft being the work of the Devil, and let Eddie practice a couple of the other simpler things on him.

“Jus’ don’t go thinkin’ I’mma let you chop my head off, boy.”

Wayne’s body aching from following their ox around all day with the plow? “Here, drink this, it should help.” It did.

Couple of Wayne’s fingers get snapped under the same ox’s hoof? A little harder, but he managed; the digits sore and achy that night, but good as new come morning.

“There a hair spell in that book, Ed?” Wayne joked one morning over breakfast, a good three quarters of the way through the six months the doctor gave Eddie, and a couple after finding Maggie Munson’s secret.

“Hmmmm….I dunno Uncle Wayne,” Eddie flips through his journal absently, “I think a Get Your Hair Back spell is too close to a love charm to work right. You could end up with hair all over your body and not just on that beautiful, shiny, head o’yours.”

“Love spells are touchy,” Maggie’s journal had said, “There are a rumored few that work, but only for the truest forms. I’ve tried some simple potions and charms…Al still left..and if they didn’t work…” the rest was easily filled in. 

“Oh yeah? Then how's about a Cure What Ails Ya spell? Got one’a those in that there book?”

“Why? You feeling sick, Wayne?” Eddie half-jokes, trying to veer away from having this conversation with Wayne again.

Wayne’s quiet as Eddie focuses intently on the book infront of him, trying, and failing, to scoop up a bite of egg onto his fork without looking away.

“Ed,” his uncle starts, soft and pleading once again, “Is there really nothin’ that can help ya?”

Eddie huffs, dropping his fork onto his plate and pushing it and the journal away from him. Definitely something a younger boy would do, not the nearly 25 he is now. “Why don’t you give them a look, huh? ‘Cause I already have.”

“Ed–”

He snaps his head up to glare at the older man. “What is it Wayne? What?” Eddie snatches the journal back up off the table without looking. “I’ve looked okay? Through Mom’s and through every damn book in that attic. And there was nothing. Nothing! You think she would’ve left if there was?” He stands sharply, knocking the small faded blue table away as he does. “Would’ve left m—”

His free hand wraps around his middle, nausea and the spins taking him for a ride a the sudden movement.

“Hey, Hey, sit back down son.” Wayne stands as well, coaxing him back into his chair. 

The nausea spells have become more frequent, the dizziness even more so, as the months have worn on, so Wayne ties up Eddie’s hair (growing thinner by the day), walks the short few steps to the pitcher of water he’d pulled from the well that morning, and pours some into a bowl, grabbing a clean(-ish) rag on his way back. 

Wayne smoothes the cool damp rag over Eddie’s face and neck, slowly and deliberately until the nauseous feeling passes.

“‘M sorry, Uncle Wayne, I know you’re just worried.”

“It’s alrigh’ boy, I shouldn’t’a pushed.”

“I’m still doing better than most,” Eddie says, voice tilting up at the end, “I think it’s ‘cause of the magic.”

“Thoughtcha said there wasn’t no cure in that book.” Wayne states, moving to empty the bowl. 

“There’s not,” Eddie closes his eyes, relaxes back into his chair. “Doc thinks Ms. Wilson had the same as me and Ma, and you saw how quick it took her.”

“Mrs. Wilson was nearly 70, Ed.”

“Then how about that boy Carver? He was my age, and Doc gave him six when he came down with it too, was gone in two.”

Wayne shrugs, “The devil wanted him back sooner.”

Eddie barks out a laugh, lifting his head to catch a glimpse of his Uncle’s ‘desperately-trying-to-hide-his-smile’ smile.

Wayne jokes, but Eddie’s been contemplating this for a while now. When he had hit his second month, he was about the same as he was, steadily growing weaker, as what was expected, but nothing like how Ms. Wilson and Jason had looked in theirs. 

Hell, Jason had worked on the docks with Eddie since they were boys; both fit and lean, healthy young men with the musculature to show for their work.

That was when he’d found his mom’s books, and ever since, his health had slowed to a crawl. 

“I think using mom’s magic is helping me.”

Wayne is quiet, cleaning their plates from the table and dumbing the leftover eggs out the window to the pigs. 

“I think it’s your magic now, Eds.”

—---

And so it went.

Eddie’s given six months turned into a year, his magic growing from healing fingerbones, to mending their ox’s broken femur with ease. 

His year didn’t come without worsening symptoms though, and his previously well filled out overalls hung loose around him, his calves barely filling out the tops of his boots tied all the way tight. 

Wayne always kept the faith, so to speak, not a religious man by nature, but Eddie could hear him sometimes in the early morning and late night praying to “Whoever’s got their ears on up there,” to keep Eddie safe, to keep him in their sights when the time came. 

Eddie had been doing work of his own, too. Writing down anything new he found out while sitting with the Earth, listening, watching….

Mother told him through the whispers of the trees, the soft humming of the grass, that he’d know when it was time. 

And that time was within the next few days. 

He felt it in his bones, he felt it in the air when Wayne passed him his birthday gift (a flaky scone with the biggest chunks of chocolate in town, an amazing treat he got once a year) on the morning of his 25th year, he felt it in the very ground he walked on…

He was ready, though he did harbor one regret. One thing he knew he missed out on.

He’d never fallen in love.

Over his last year, Eddie would sit with Mother; amongst the trees, lain back in the field of grass on the hill behind their house, and tell her about them. 

The ‘they’ that he’d likely never meet, the they that would love him for nothing but his love in return. 

Nothing was ever specific, only the vaguest feelings he’d get about them, about the way they’d love, the humor they’d possess, the love for Eddie’s stories they’d have.

And every time he’d speak of them, Eddie’d leave with something that he didn’t realize he had picked up until he was nearly back home. 

A chain of daisies Wayne had plucked from atop his head when he sat down for dinner, a scrap of dark blue fabric he’d found walking through town, a bouquet of bright yellow daffodils, the tiny sun bleached skull of a bat.

And he’d write. Over and over, never quite getting it right, but there was something he knew he needed to get out of his very being before he left for good. Something that felt like a promise.

–

The morning came, and Eddie awoke to a silent house. 

Wayne out on the fields already, most likely out helping the folks on either side of them with whatever they needed doing, with only the hens’ clucks and pigs’ snorts keeping him company with the calls from the birds in the trees. 

Eddie got up, slow as slow could be, got himself into his clothes, shuffled down the hall to the kitchen to their small blue table, tore out a blank page of his mother’s notebook and wrote.

Pouring all of what remained within him, Eddie thought of the Earth, of his mom, of Uncle Wayne, and them. His unknown love.

-x-X-x-

Steve Harrington’s mother was not a witch.

But for the last few years, he’s had a suspicion that his Grandmother is.

Everyone says that their food tastes so good because “It’s made with love!”,  but with Mama Harrington, it was real. The love and intent she imbued into her meals was there. And she could cure any ailment.

She would always go on and on about the importance of food, each recipe’s ingredients’ healing powers, and of the recipes and their stories that had been passed down through the years from her mother, and her mother’s mother, all the way to now, where they ended up in a cookbook that’d gone untouched since it was given to Steve’s mother in the late 60’s.

“A gift! Unused for so many years, Steven!”

“I know, Mama,” he nods again, dropping some green something into the pot of sauce bubbling on the stove. “Almost 25 years.”

“Aye! You have catching up to do.” she says, shaking a thick wooden spoon at him.

“Me?” he scoffs, “I don’t know the first thing about cooking, Mama!” Baking? He’d hold his own. Cooking? If his grandmother wasn’t there to help him of on the phone to guide him through a recipe? Kitchen would go up in flames.

“Bah! Watch closely, dear.” she says, shuffling to the pot that stands nearly as tall as her where it’s perched on the stovetop. “It is always your intent behind what you are cooking. You can make anything be anything as long as the intent is there.”

“Even eggs?”

She nods, her nearly fully white bun flopping back and forth on top of her head. “Even just eggs.”

“So if I want a carbonara to help get my friend a passing grade?” he asks, incredulous, but immediately thinking of Robin, who’s coming up on her finals in a couple months (for her doctorate! A PhD! Can you believe that!).

“The intent! Put it into the eggs, into the pasta, I don’t care! But make it for That!”

She throws a concerningly large handful of pepper into the pot on the stove, and gives it a stir.

“Now, this is my Mama’s recipe, and it will help your Pa’s back.”

“How so?”

“Because I told it to,” she growls, glaring at the pot and raising her spoon as if she was going to smack some sense into it.

“Alright, Mama,” Steve chuckles, “What do you need me to do?”

He spends the next hour helping his grandma roll out some of her premade dough for some fettuccine looking noodles, grabbing a wrapped up blob “from the top shelf, Steven. That’s the stuff I made for you.”. 

He rolls, folds, and cuts it as he’s told, then goes to pick Robin up from campus while she finishes everything.

“It won’t take long now, dear, and you shouldn’t either.” Mama scolds, waving her spoon around once again.

“Got it, Mama, be back soon.” He slips on his shoes, looks in on his grandpa in the living room as he passes, grinning at the loud snores he hears from the direction of Pa’s recliner, and slips out the front door to his car. 

In no time, he’s picked up Robin, stopped for a movie from Blockbuster, and is home to the smell of fresh bread.

“We’re home Mama!”

“I’m just setting the table, grab your Pa!”

“Come on Pa, Mama’s got some pasta for you.” Steve says, coaxing his grandfather out of the chair and into his slippers. 

“Ah, perfect, my back’s been real achy lately.”

“That’s ‘cause you sleep in the recliner, Mr. Harrington.”

“How many times do we gotta tell you, Robin? Just call us Ma and Pa.”

Robin plops down in her designated spot across from Ma, “Hey, you should get used to it now; Once I finally get up the nerve to Chrissy out, she’ll come over here all “Mr. Harrington” this and “Mrs. Harrington” that.

“And how’s that coming, Bobs?” Steve asks her, sitting down beside his grandma and immediately passing the plate of bread across the table to Robin’s waiting hands. 

She starts going off at a million miles a minute about her longest standing crush, while Steve shares a look with his grandma, both smirking conspiratorially as Robin takes a bite of the bread.

That’d been Steve’s suggestion, a bread imbued with luck.

It wasn’t a “Love Spell”, Mama said there was none in existence that were worth the pain. But the minimal luck that she had sown before into countless baked goods (especially near February), have had a surprisingly great track record.

With everyone but Steve.

She couldn’t quite figure out what it was that kept him from getting the benefits too, every time she had tried, they had tried, it was an astounding failure. 

First with Tommy Hagan, the carrot cake cookies Steve had presented him with as a special birthday treat back in middle school ended with two missing front teeth and a broken arm.

Then again without even thinking about it, he’d added some luck and hope to homemade chicken pot pies he’d whipped up when he and Nancy were on the rocks. 

It had somewhat worked with Billy Hargrove, but that one hadn’t even been intentional, and he shudders to think about it to this day.

“I don’t know my dearest, maybe it is because you are already tied to someone else?” She had said after her tried and true pot pie recipe failed.

“But it didn’t even work with the one I was already with!” he yelled, sighing deep and pinching the tears away from the bridge of his nose. “She jumped right into Byers’ arms.”

Mama had just given him a pitying look, which was worse, honestly.

Now, he stays far away from any of Mama’s lucky foods, especially with the weird twisting feeling he had gotten the few times he’d tried over the years after leaving Hawkins.

He and Robin came up to Indy for Robin to go to U of I, a year after she graduated, and when Steve was fired from the job that had been paying the majority of their apartment's rent when he was spotted kissing his then boyfriend by his manager….they came to live with Steve’s grandparents, taking to them both with open arms and hearts.

He comes back to the present when his third bite of pasta clears away the last of his headache.

Steve shoots his grandma a knowing look, which she ignores with a sip of wine. 

–

They’re nearly finished with dinner when it happens.

Steve’s listening intently to a story Pa is telling them, something he’s sure he’s hears a dozen times before, when he absentmidedly picks up, then takes a bite of the bread Ma made for Robin.

It’s more than he’s ever felt before.

In the past, whenever Steve’s tried to gain some luck in love, he’s been inundated with flashes, feelings, words, a warmth in his bones that he’s wanted to hold onto forever. 

The feelings grew stronger the older he got, and now, Steve finds himself sitting on a rolling grassy hill. 

It’s not a flash of a vision like before, he’s sitting in the tall soft grass, and his hands are already making a chain of daisies. Nearly done, in fact. 

He finishes it off, turns it around in his hands, then when he goes to put it on…

He’s back at the table with his family, the slice of bread in his hand, and Pa still telling his story.

Steve jumps up, startling the other three, and beelines it to the kitchen, flinging open drawers, searching for just a damn scrap of paper. 

Mama follows him, “Steve, the bread?”

“I was on a hill, chaining daisies, and now I have to get these words out.” He probably doesn't make a lick of sense, but he doesn’t want to lose them.

Suddenly, a pad of paper and pen are passed into his line of sight. He snatches them up, and starts scribbling down as much as he can.

He and Mama stare down at the words on the page. 

“Mama, what is this?”

She is silent for a handful of breaths.

“This is why the luck never worked.”

now with a part 2!

also: i don’t know the first thing about being a witch or anything of the sort, nor do i know anything but the basics about cooking; hope im not way way off on anything!!! this is all in fun 😅