#i still think about how nervous Zee was

[another-lost-mc]

I have a question about your OCs…what can turn their rough mode (on a bed) on? 👀

biggest turn-ons

featuring: azra, karasu, zekhan

cw: nsfw / mdni. gn!reader. soft incubus!azra; horny!karasu; feral!zee; demon form sex mentioned (all three); pet names (baby, dear one, darling, bunny, beloved); oral sex (reader and karasu receiving); rough sex; sex in semi-public places (karasu's office and the fall); mentions of sexting (dirty texts and videos or audio); costume play (mc wearing a bunny outfit); teasing; consensual predator/prey kink and fear play (tame and intense scenes); dom/sub undertones; monsterfucking (zee’s demon form specifically).

word count: 6.1k (thank you meg and daisy for supporting me in these dark times)

a/n: some of these ideas are plucked from their nsfw alphabets and expanded on: azra / karasu / zekhan.

AZRA

Azra can easily control when he shifts into his demon form and he wears it often. For ordinary work nights at the club, he prefers his usual suit and coat. As a powerful lust demon, he naturally feeds off the sin radiating off the patrons in the club and he shifts forms naturally when the lustful feelings start to build up inside him. He is usually in his demonic form during casual sexual encounters and reverts back to normal once the afterglow subsides.

He's more conscious about wearing his demon form around you. It's not the most frightening or extraordinary demonic appearance you've seen in the Devildom, but he is still nervous about what you think of him. He doesn't want to scare you.

Azra has a lot of sex but he is starved for genuine affection and love from others. Demons use him for his money or his body, and in the past he did the same.

Taking the time to get to know him and still being able to love him the way he is? Nothing affects him the way you do, a rare vulnerability he allows himself to indulge in because it means he gets to have you. Even the smallest bits of kindness get his heart all twisted up, and he can't resist the urge to return his feelings the best way he knows how.

The first thing you learn about being Azra’s lover is that a single kiss can quickly spiral out of control. The sweet glide of your lips against his leaves him thrumming with desire that darkens his eyes, and his fingers tremble as his hands roam eagerly across your body. His demon form is on display in its naked glory when he starts backing you carefully into his bedroom until you bump into the edge of the bed.

He resists the urge to rip your clothes to pieces and forces himself to take them off slowly, one layer at a time, until they’re scattered carelessly on the floor and your naked body is bare and pinned beneath his. The soft sheets cushion you as he lowers his body gently onto yours and he positions himself between your legs.

He groans into the open-mouthed kisses he smears across your skin while you whimper his name and card your fingers through his unruly curls. He's hard and leaking against the inside of your thighs and his tail twitches in the air behind him.

He slides slowly down your body, leaving a trail of kisses and the faintest marks behind as his mouth slots itself over your arousal and he strokes you eagerly with his talented tongue. He grinds his hips against the mattress to try and relieve the pressure of his throbbing cock, but he doesn’t want to come unless it’s inside you.

Your soul is consumed by fiery lust and it satisfies him in a way no one else’s sin has ever affected him before. He groans your name between soft, sucking kisses and gentle flicks of his tongue against your entrance, and it sends shivers through the rest of your body. His hands hold your shaky thighs steady where they rest on his shoulders, and by the time he drinks down the release you spill across his tongue, you're stretched and ready for him.

You're still reeling from your orgasm when he moves up the bed and positions himself between your legs. He hooks one of your legs against his hips and pushes it up slightly, giving him the perfect angle so he can sheathe himself inside with one smooth stroke.

"I’ll go slow next time, baby, I promise," he murmurs against your lips, lifting his hand to brace himself against the headboard. "But I don’t think I can wait anymore."

He starts fucking you with deep, heavy thrusts, and each one draws a little hiccuped gasp or moan from your lips. He crashes his lips against yours and moans and pants into your mouth. The wooden frame cracks slightly from the pressure of his fingertips and the headboard thumps against the wall, but all you can hear are the strangled groans and curses he muffles into the crook of your neck.

His rhythm picks up speed and his thrusts grow wet and sloppy with his cum when he finally spills inside you with a growl. He tosses his head back and his eyes wince shut from the sensitivity, but he can’t resist the urge to fuck his seed back inside you, not when you writhe helplessly against his sheets and dig your fingers into his back and beg him to keep going.

You’re smothered beneath his body as he stuffs you full with his cum, and his tail coils around the leg wrapped around his waist to hold you in place so he can reach between your bodies and stroke you in time with his desperate thrusts instead.

By the time you come around his cock, you’re both drunk from lust and love and utterly insatiable.

“Don’t stop,” your broken whimpers plead where you press your forehead against his shoulder, and you lave your tongue across his hot, sweaty skin. “Want more of you.”

“I won’t stop, baby,” his raspy voice promises as he rises to his knees and brings your legs up to sit on his shoulders, and he folds you in half so he can fuck you properly. “I can’t.”

KARASU

Karasu uses his wings often, but he rarely shifts into his full demon form. He usually has excellent control over that part of himself, except when he's in bed with you. If things get particularly intense (or if he's in a more dominant/aggressive mood), he might shift to his full form without meaning to. He's so careful with his talons that you might not even realize it at first, unless he clenches the sheets on either side of your head or you catch a glimpse of sharp, black claws before his hand disappears between your legs.

It doesn't take much to get him in the mood. He’s a wonderful contradiction of a demon who accepts your praise or your teasing hints of degradation in equal stride. He’s so easily aroused by the most innocent words or gestures and even the simplest compliments make him feel a little desperate.

Wearing something he bought for you gives him a sudden itch to take it off you again. Wearing something of his means he gets to leave his scent on you in more ways than one by the time he has you on your back or your stomach underneath him.

Sending his D.D.D. dirty messages when he least expects it is almost guaranteed to give him an aching erection no matter where he is or what he’s doing. A flirty text or a suggestive photo that shows him a hint of naked skin is more than enough to leave him panting while his erection stirs to life and presses against the zipper of his pants.

And then there are times when he’s the one trying to entice you to be a little naughty. He sends you filthy texts while you’re at RAD and describes whatever wicked fantasy he dreamt about last night, or he recites in excruciating detail all his dirty thoughts while he fisted his cock that morning.

He calls you and leaves you sweet messages to have a nice day and to think about all the ways he plans on touching you and kissing you and fucking you when he sees you later.

Sometimes you have a bit of free time in your schedule, so perhaps a little visit at his office would do you both some good.

Karasu is so considerate.

It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing. You wake up each morning to a sweet-as-sugar message on your D.D.D., or if you stayed overnight in his nest, he wakes you with a line of sleepy kisses along your shoulder and a soft, "Good morning, dear one," murmured huskily into your ear.

He would argue that caring for you is simple, a natural instinct that stirs inside him to provide for you and make you smile and keep you safe. Your comfort is his utmost priority.

Sometimes that means pushing you away from where you're nuzzling against his aching erection through his suit so he can slide off his jacket. 

"Wait," he asks breathlessly, handing you the bespoke garment that crumples in his twitchy grip like paper. "Sit on this, darling." 

If you're so eager to kneel on his office floor in an eager rush to suck his cock, the least he can do is make sure your knees won't be too sore afterwards.

His stifled whimpers and moans start to fill the office and you've barely touched him; the anticipation of what’s to come is enough to leave him a trembling mess. His fingers clench the armrests of his chair while you flick open his belt and tug down the zipper with a jovial little hum.

The tip of his cock glistens when you tug down his boxer briefs, and he exhales a sharp little whine when you lick at the salty beads oozing slowly from the tip. His chair shakes from the tremor in his thighs, and his hips twitch and jerk restlessly while you lick broad, thick stripes along his shaft before easing him between your lips. He's hot and heavy on your tongue, and you wrap your fingers at his base where his dawny-soft black hair cushions your fist. You pump him slowly, smooth and wet from the spit pooling in your mouth and dripping down his cock, while your head bobs up and down his length in a steady rhythm.

He's so lost in the hot, wet vice of your mouth that he doesn't notice that his glasses slip off the bridge of his nose and clatter or the floor, or that the armrests of his chair are ruined by deep, scraggly lines where his nails scramble to find purchase.

All that matters — all he cares about — is that you don't stop.

"I'm—I'm close," he whines noisily, panting deep in his chest. His back arches away from the chair and he pushes deeper into your mouth, but he stammers out an apology when he realizes what he’s done.

You curl your fingers around the curve of his hip to encourage him to move and to take what he wants from you. He hesitates for a moment, but then a shaky hand rests gently on the crown of your head, not pushing you down but simply holding you there. His fingers twitch helplessly against your scalp as his hips jerk into your mouth and the noises and choked pleas tumbling from his lips grow louder and more desperate.

A loud, monotonous chime from his terminal startles you both, and he whines so pathetically at the interruption. It’s a weekly meeting he forgot about, boring and unnecessary but mandatory, and he nearly curses in frustration.

Voices stream quietly into the room as the program pops up on his monitor. Your shoulders slump slightly with a deflated sigh, but his hand on the back of your head keeps you from moving away. When you shoot him a questioning look, he glances at the screen and back to you again, and he nibbles on his bottom lip while he contemplates his choices.

He should compose himself and bid you farewell until this evening when he's finished work for the day, but that’s easier said than done. You’re still kneeling at his feet, your bright eyes are glassy and wet and dark with desires of your own, and your lips are plump and shiny and so utterly kissable. His abdomen twitches with the disappointment of his interrupted release and he can only imagine how desperate you are, even though you’re hiding your own needs while satisfying his own.

It's not like he ever needs to speak at these meetings anyway, and knowing that, it doesn’t take him long to decide at all.

He confirms his camera is off and he's muted on the call before he pulls gently on the back of your neck and urges your mouth towards his cock again. His spontaneous burst of greedy lust warms the blood in your veins and shoots straight to the spot between your legs. You’re throbbing from your own neglected arousal and it certainly doesn’t help that he lets out the most sinful, desperate moan when you take him back into the wet heat of your mouth.

He cradles the sides of your face gently when you begin moving up and down his cock with renewed vigor. His hips are rocking of their own volition now, shallow and arhythmic but still so needy, and you know he must be close. When you glance up at him from beneath your lashes, he’s utterly entranced by the sight of your fingers pumping his shaft while you suck on the dark, pulsing head of his cock before sliding your lips down his length over and over again.

“I’m so close, please don’t stop, please, I’m gonna—!” His high-pitched whine serves as a warning so that you can move your mouth away if you don’t want his seed in your mouth, but your lover is nothing but considerate, and you reward him by taking him deeper than before, teasing your gag reflex and letting him feel you choke on his cock.

He covers his mouth to muffle himself as he spills down your throat with a sharp gasp and a wailing cry, and your lips drag along his cock one more time as you pull back just to hear him whimper from the sensitivity. He watches with a heavy, half-lidded gaze and swallows hard when you wipe a smear of cum from the corner of your mouth and lick it clean.

He goes completely still for a moment, but then his cock twitches with renewed interest and he pulls you off the floor and into his lap. He breathes your name with utter reverence when he slides his hand into your pants and feels how soaked you are between your legs. His fingers stroke you gently and you let him taste himself when you lean forward and kiss him.

You rock your hips and coax his hand closer to where you want it most while your thighs shake on either side of his hips. Warm puffs of air against the soft skin of your neck makes you shudder in his embrace, and he murmurs sweet praise while he fucks you with his greedy fingers (and his tongue after that, and then his cock when he’s hard again and he finally bends you over his desk).

ZEKHAN

Compared to the others, Zekhan has the most control over his demonic form. Even if he accompanies you to a party at the prince's castle, he's one of the few demons in attendance that hides his demonic appearance. It's very rare that he would shift into it by accident, although a wrath-driven rage could trigger that. 

He doesn't want to use his demonic form in bed with you, at least not right away. It will take a long time before he's comfortable letting you see it. The scars on his body are more prominent in that form and he's self-conscious about them. It's also a bit more animalistic than some of the other demons you know, and he's worried about your reaction to his wings and claws and ears.

He will shift into his true form for certain predator/prey-type games you play together, but he's usually obscured by darkness. That gives you the chance to explore him slowly and at his pace while letting him indulge in the rare sensation of your hands or mouth moving across his body. 

A lot of things turn him on, but he's a bit more disciplined about curbing his impulse to act on it right away. He likes to tease you and let the anticipation build. Sending each other dirty texts while he's at work (or while you're at RAD) are a guaranteed way to stir his interest.

Although he tries to be gentle with you, he's the most feral if you tease him with an opportunity to play one of your little games together. He's happy to indulge you with whatever level of excitement (or fear) you're comfortable with; you're his prize at the end either way, and that's enough to satisfy him.

Once you're in a relationship, Zee realizes his biggest mistake is underestimating you. He knows you'll be attending tonight's bunny event at The Fall for the first time since you arrived in the Devildom. What he doesn't expect is for you to walk through the front doors, surrounded by the Avatars of Sin, in a bunny outfit of your very own.

He can only assume that Azra and Asmodeus conspired to keep this secret from him, and what a lovely secret it is. The bunny ears on your head bend slightly at the ends which gives them a floppy appearance. They would look ridiculous on most people, but on you, they’re positively charming. The colourful jewel-toned ears bounce slightly with each step you take, and the colours suit you so beautifully that it confirms for him that this outfit was custom-made for you.

He spots a flash of white when you turn around to speak to someone, and he realizes there's a little tail attached to the back of your suit too.

Fucking hell.

He tilts his head to the side as he drinks in your appearance and considers all the delightfully wicked things he’d like to do to you. It’s calculating, almost predatory how his golden eyes darken as lust pools behind them. Something primal stirs deep in his chest the longer he stares at you. You're the tasty little treat that's stepped into his domain, and he'd love nothing more than to devour you.

As if you can hear his thoughts, you look around until you catch his piercing stare from across the room; even from that far away, the glint in his eyes is positively hungry. You can’t help but stare doe-eyed as he wets his mouth, running his tongue slowly along his bottom lip and teasing you with the tiniest glimpse of his fangs.

His sensitive hearing picks up your sharp intake of breath, and he smirks at the flustered expression on your face before you concede and finally look away.

He carries on with overseeing the final preparations like nothing happened while you walk away with the others and head further into the club. A chilly sensation spreads through him that he can only describe as longing when you finally step out of his view, but he ignores the feeling for now.

Besides, the evening is just getting started.

ZEKHAN: I came to visit you on your break but you're not resting with the others. Where are you hiding, bunny?

YOU: Come find me and you'll see. 🐰

ZEKHAN: A tempting offer.

ZEKHAN: Beloved, I'm asking you sincerely.

ZEKHAN: Do you want to play that game right now?

YOU: Yes I do.

YOU: Please? I know you do too.

ZEKHAN: Such a naughty thing.

ZEKHAN: Very well. Stay where you are, hm? 

YOU: If you don't hurry, I might finish before you get here.

There are several places in the club you can hide from him. He’s shown you most of them himself when he originally gave you a tour when you were a new arrival to the Devildom. Later on, he realized how convenient they were when he was desperate to fuck you somewhere you wouldn’t get caught.

This particular game requires a certain amount of privacy and space. He searches the obvious locations first - the staff break rooms, the mostly-empty offices on the second floor, the cluster of private rooms patrons can rent for the evening - but finds no trace of you or those floppy ears or that cottony-soft tail.

When he finally picks up the faintest whiff of your scent near the door that leads to the basement, he can’t help the grin that spreads across his face. Of course you’re clever enough to lead him somewhere cool and dark where there’s very little risk of being interrupted.

There's only a sliver of moonlight that shines through one of the tiny windows near the basement ceiling. It only takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, and he groans when he finally spots you leaning against the wall across from him. The buttons of your shirt are undone and he can see the strip of naked skin where it falls open. He notices a moment later that one of your hands is under the waistband of your pants and he can hear and smell the scent of your arousal as you stroke lazily between your legs.

A soft sigh falls from your lips and makes his mouth run dry. Your eyes flick up to meet his gaze at last, and it’s so satisfying to see the desire swirling in your dark eyes is strong enough to match his own.

He crosses the room in an instant and there's a faint gust of air as his wings manifest and open wide with a leathery snap. He maneuvers you quickly as if you weigh nothing and bends you over a rickety old table, yanking your tedious clothes down and out of the way until he can finally touch your bare skin with his clawed fingers.

You stare transfixed at the monstrous shadow on the wall as he stretches you open with his thick fingers first, carefully so he doesn’t scratch you, and then his cock once you’re slippery with his spit and lube. His lips brush against your temple and behind your ear, littering your skin with soft kisses while you adjust to the feeling of him stretching you open. His hips rock in a slow grind until you're ready and then he moves slowly at first, thrusting inside you with slow strokes that slowly gather speed with every desperate, whiny moan that he pulls from your throat.

He makes a questioning sound when you reach over your shoulder and offer him your fingers, still sticky from when you touched yourself earlier, and he sucks them eagerly into his mouth with a growl as he starts fucking you in earnest. Your fingers slip from his mouth once he's licked them clean, and he traps them gently between his teeth before you can pull them away completely.

His pace quickens and his thrusts grow more forceful when you push your hips back and match his rhythm. One of your hands ends up tangled in his hair while your back arches against his chest, and he breathes hot and damp against the back of your neck and grunts in your ear.

You can barely hear the obscene squelch your bodies make as he fucks you senseless, or the creak of the wobbly furniture supporting your combined weight, or the scratching sound of his fingers digging into the wood for leverage.

Your body clenches around him and when he feels his orgasm approaching, he reaches between your legs and strokes you in time with his thrusts; you finally come with a cry, and he follows behind you with a raspy groan of your name. He fucks you through the aftershocks of your pleasure with slow, lazy thrusts and finally stops once you've milked him dry. His body shakes from the overstimulation of fucking his cum back inside you.

By the time your thighs stop trembling and he turns you in his arms, all evidence of his demon form is gone; only the slight pulsing glow of his golden-yellow eyes remains. He kisses you softly with just a hint of tongue and teeth while you both sigh into each others’ mouths.

As always, he came prepared. He reaches into his suit jacket and slips his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose first before he pulls out a small packet of wet wipes. He kisses your thighs and nips playfully at the sensitive skin while he wipes the slick and cum away; he’s satisfied you’ll still smell like him but now you can finish the evening more comfortably.

He straightens your clothes for you and as he buttons up your shirt, he leans forward and kisses the bare skin that slowly disappears from view. One more kiss and a murmured I love you is all you have time for before he leads you back upstairs, and he smirks when you walk away with the slightest hitch in your step.

(You're only a few minutes late returning from your break, but no one bothers to ask where you were - they can already guess.)

A more intense version of this little game involves waiting until the event is over and taking a short drive to the outskirts of the city.

The quiet anticipation in the car is nearly suffocating, and Zee glances at you with a guarded look from the corner of his eye. He drives one-handed and steers the car expertly to your destination while the other rests on your thigh; it feels like a fiery-hot brand through your clothes.

He seems unaffected by the lust radiating off both of you like a fog, but the tips of his fangs peek underneath the hungry curl of his lips. When you glance down at his lap, there’s a growing wet stain where his hard and eager cock strains against his pants.

The location he takes you to is a large patch of forest at the back of Azra's estate. It's far enough away to give you both the privacy you need, but it’s close enough that help is nearby if anything goes wrong. The area is scouted regularly to make sure there are no dangerous creatures lurking inside the woods that might harm you while you’re alone and vulnerable.

Zee drives the car to the end of the dirt road that ends near the tree line. He exhales sharply through his nose and puts his glasses in the glove compartment before getting out of the car and walking around the vehicle to help you out of your seat.

He’s usually sweet and affectionate before these types of games, but tonight he rests his hands on your shoulders to keep you from stepping too close to him.

"I love you." His voice is rough but his eyes burn with the steady glow of his body overcome with sin, and you learned how to read the emotions in his gaze by now: love, desire, hunger.

"I love you too."

His hands slide up your neck and brush the sides of your face. "Colour?" he asks quietly. His thumbs rub soft circles into the dimples of your cheeks when you smile.

"Green."

Something in the air shifts, like cool air roiling over you before a storm, and he circles you slowly - the way a predator would - until he stands at your back. There's a familiar ruffle of fabric and leather behind you, then he smooths his hands gently over your shoulders. A clawed wing curls around the side of your body and strokes your cheek with surprising tenderness.

"Time to run, bunny." Hot breath tickles your ear when he leans forward and kisses the words into your skin. "Don’t stop and don’t look back."

The growl in his voice causes goosebumps to break out across your skin and you freeze. Normally he waits for you to make it to the woods before he changes form but so many things about tonight are different.

What does it say about how much he trusts you that he would do it so soon?

And what does it say about how uncontrollably desperate he is for you?

But you don’t have time to contemplate the answers to either of those questions, not when feet shuffle behind you in restless anticipation. 

You take one hesitant step forward, and then another, until you're running into the dark forest that welcomes you into its maw. The trees looming overhead block most of the moonlight and you slow down while your eyesight adjusts. Your D.D.D. is in your pocket, but illuminating your path with the flashlight would be cheating; it’s also a visual signal to him that you want the game to end, and it’s far too soon for that.

The branches high above your head rustle in the night's cool breeze and ambient noises of the forest echo all around you. You can’t be sure how long it’s been, but it’s curious that you've not seen or heard any sign of him behind you. Sometimes he likes to call out to you teasingly, goading you into some sort of response that will lead him closer to your position. He can be so mischievous and playful when he brings you here, but tonight the tension of his unusual behaviour settles uncomfortably in the pit of your stomach.

You recall how stiff he was earlier, how restless he was like he couldn’t wait to sink his cock or his teeth into you. You remember the rumbling growls in his chest on the drive here, the way his hand shook on your thigh. You realize he’s not patient enough to play a drawn-out game tonight, and the implication is terrifying and arousing in equal measure.

The forest might be safe for you to venture in alone, but there are still other creatures that live here. Small Devildom rodents skitter across the ground and up into the trees. Birds with unfamiliar hoots and caws watch you from above with their strange, unblinking eyes. The occasional snap of a branch or the sudden rustle of leaves startles you like thunder; the sounds carry on the wind and it's impossible to pinpoint where they're coming from.

You shriek more than once when you spin around and look for a pair of golden eyes peering at you from the darkness, but there’s nothing there despite the heavy sensation of a weighted gaze searing into your back the moment you turn around again.

A sudden, startlingly loud crash nearby rips a scream from your throat and your eyes catch movement in your peripheral view. When you squint into the distance, you can see a splintering branch hanging precariously from one of the tall trees before it drops to the ground.

Was the branch already damaged and it finally gave way on its own?

Or was it broken by the weight of something stalking its prey from high above?

You carefully step back away from the tree as if you expect something - or someone - to jump out at you from the undergrowth, but nothing happens.

You stumble into something warm and solid behind you and strong arms wrap around you to keep you from falling, and a hoarse scream dies in your throat when he covers your mouth with his hand.

So this is how the game finally ends.

He utters your name in a raspy whisper close to your ear; his voice sounds as rough as yours does. Tears slip from the corners of your eyes when you sag against him, even though adrenaline and fear slowly fade from your still-trembling body.

"You did so well." His praise soothes your rattled nerves and you lean further back against him. His hand slides away from your mouth until it rests above your hammering heartbeat.

His skin feels feverishly hot against your back and he’s slightly damp with sweat. You’re lost in the cloud of his scent, one that's so perfectly him, something fresh and earthy like wet leaves after a thunderstorm.

"Zee." His name is a broken whimper that falls from your lips. His other hand slides down your front and his fingers tease along your waist before dipping down into your pants. He curses under his breath when he feels the hot, slick proof of your arousal between your legs.

"Colour," he grits out, a strangled plea that betrays the desire coursing through him. 

"G-green, please, green," you answer with a hiccup.

He removes his hand from your pants so he can push you to your hands and knees on the forest floor. He shushes you when you whine at the loss of his fingers and he drapes himself over your back, a move that feels protective as much as it does possessive, and he buries his nose in the crook of your neck. He breathes in deep and savours the scent of your sweat and perfume and arousal and fear on his tongue, and his hips jerk and grind his erection against the swell of your ass.

"Want you," you whine pathetically when you wiggle your hips back and encourage him to give you more.

"I'm here.” The tremor in his voice betrays his fraying self-control but his promise sounds sincere. "You have me."

Hot, open-mouthed kisses sear across the back of your neck and along your jaw as he grasps your chin and tilts your face towards his. You can't see him through the watery sheen that pools along your lashes, but you catch a glimpse of his lust-darkened eyes and the bulky shape of his wingspan at his back. When his mouth presses against yours, it's less of a kiss and more of a desperate glide of tongue-against-tongue between deep, shuddering breaths and needy moans.

"You're so perfect," he whispers thickly as he pulls away from your mouth and flicks his tongue against your ear. He braces himself with one clawed hand digging into the earth while the other tears at the front of your shirt. Buttons pop from the seams as the flimsy fabric gives way to his sharp nails and inhuman strength.

He leans back on his knees with a shuddered sigh as he rips the fabric away and exposes your bare back to him. He rubs up and down the grooves of your spine and trails his fingers over the curve of your hips. "You’re so, so lovely like this. Fuck, the things I want to do to you."

You rest your cheek on your arms when he pushes your chest down and encourages your back to curve into a deeper arch. Firm hands grip the sides of your pants next and tear them away next, followed by your flimsy underwear. The cool night air chills your bare skin until he leans over you and warms your body with his own.

You’re utterly trapped beneath him, naked and vulnerable in a way that should fill you with shame or fear, but his words are genuine and his touch is gentle. 

Perhaps this little tease would go on a little longer, but you know he’s already testing the limits of his self-control and you don’t want to wait anymore either.

You’ve wanted this all night, and you need him now, desperately.

“Show me then. I want you to, please.”

You squirm with anticipation when he lets out a rumbling growl close to your ear. Something hot and heavy, slick with a generous layer of lube, moves between your legs and nudges at your entrance with the faintest bit of pressure. The tip of his cock teases you with shallow dips as he stretches you open slowly, each stroke sliding in deeper, inch by agonizing inch. He teases the sensitive spot inside you until he finally buries himself to the hilt with a snarl, and you answer with a startled cry as the pulsing emptiness inside is deliciously filled by him.

“I’ll give you everything you want,” he promises darkly as he starts moving at a brutal pace, and his clawed fingers dig into your hips and pull you down onto his cock to meet each of his deep, perfect thrusts. “Now take it.”

Azra has a vague idea of what happens when Zee takes you to the forest behind his house. He doesn't need or want the details as long as you're both happy and unharmed. However, it takes him far too long to notice that your visits to the woods coincide with certain parties at The Fall, and he's genuinely confused as he looks over preparations for the upcoming bunny event.

"Wait, we had to buy another bunny outfit?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck as he reads over the invoice in his hands. "What happened to the other one? The last event was only a month ago.” Now that he thinks about it, he vaguely recalls ordering a new uniform for you then, too. "This must be the third one we've replaced by now."

Zee pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a hum. "The fourth, actually. If it helps, I still have the bunny ear headbands." His lips twitch into a remorseful smile, but the gleam in his eyes is far too pleased for his apology to be sincere. "Unfortunately, the rest was...unsalvageable."

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[chillwildwave]

The Wishing Kingdom: Our Command

Hey y’all, I think it is time for me to come up with this conclusion before I rewrite the villain song, I saw some of the issues surrounding Magnifico’s villain song such as the upbeat attitude and the lyrics being awful, for instance, when he says that he lets the people of Rosas live there for free and he doesn’t charge rent, that’s the same thing, like come on, we’ve had so many cool villain songs over the years and you guys CHOSE THIS ONE, I mean yeah, enough of my ranting let’s just get into my version!

So in my version of the rewritten song, which is titled “Our Command”, is sung by Magnifico and Amaya as they are mostly mocking Asha’s conflict with wanted to please her parents by showing them that she is capable of being a wishgranter but has no skills whatsoever therefore saying that she’s unworthy of getting what she wants, the vibe I went for with this song is “Playing With The Big Boys”, “Mother Knows Best” and “In The Dark Of The Night”, so this will mostly be the couple showing their evil nature towards Asha despite being adopted by them.

Now, let’s get into it, shall we?

(Amaya speaking)

Oh, Asha, didn’t we tell you before?

(Magnifico)

There’s power, and there’s strength,

No matter what size, or even length,

You see this?! Is what you’re asking,

From us,

(Amaya)

Now what do you have to say?

Too nervous, what a bad day,

Too tedious to speak up,

Why won’t you stand up!

(Both)

By the power of glory,

How are we so unworthy?

Trust us we’ll do the talking,

Stay shut, it’s our command!

(Magnifico)

You see all these powers,

That you hold in your hands,

It seems like not everything works as your plan,

Let us teach you how to use it well,

(Amaya)

Whoops, that was all a slip up,

Looks like the crown will pass on,

(Asha)

But please, I swear it didn’t happen…

(Amaya)

Who cares, they’re just excuses!

(Both impersonating Asha)

It’s impossible,

It’s all so useless,

Why is this so hard?

Give me time to regard?

(Asha)

Is this all still a joke?

It’s not meant for that way!

(Magnifico)

Call the guards, you shall stay OUT,

Thats the case if you don’t obey!

(Both)

You’re nothing but a failure,

No questions, Session’s over,

Get gone don’t grab my hand,

This is our command!

We’ve got something to do,

Don’t worry, pet, we’ve got you,

Ha, lies, don’t mean to burst your bubble,

Now, GO, before you’re in big, big…

(Magnifico)

TROUBLE!

There is also a reprise of the same song but is in a point where the couple held Antares captive while they’re about to get rid of his magical seed inside of his broach which made up star beings in the first place, and they wanted to steal it as revenge for not granting their wish and he is to blame! It’s a bit like “The Plagues” mashed up with “Hellfire” and “Friends On The Other Side” but it’s just as intense as those songs as with this, Antares was close to losing his power without that seed and all the stars as well.

(Antares)

Ugh, ugh, can you just, let me go for once?!

(Magnifico)

Uh, uh, uh, not so fast you stupid fool, right now, we’ve got a lesson to teach you…

Serveras, obstructum, evalidae qui,

Come feed all the wind and the misery,

(Amaya)

Grasunis, fraronfi, measelle stet,

Let heaven and earth break down at their fate,

(Both)

What left you hear at fault?

Our hearts were left so cold,

Because of you, so young,

We’ll take that power from your tongue,

Be prepared for your undoing,

For hell shall see you kneeling,

Now this time you won’t stand,

Now this is OUR COMMAND!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

@annymation @uva124 @kstarsarts @oh-shtars @tumblingdownthefoxden @thisnameisnotspokenfor @frogcoven88 @signed-sapphire @wings-of-sapphire @rylxdreams @hopeyarts @dangerousflowerpanda @your-ne1ghbor @rascalentertainments @spectator-zee @mythartist21 @gracebethartacc @gracebeth3604 @lunellasflo @mafik-sun @emillyverse @synergysilhouette

[bitchinbarzal]

What about dating trevor and meeting Stevie for the first time and seeing how good of an uncle he is and how much he loves her

You didn’t mean to pry or listen to his conversation but you couldn’t help get the feeling he was speaking to another girl.

“Yeah you come here at the weekend and I’ll even take you out for dinner, that sound good? good. I’m glad” you scowled, thinking of who he was speaking to.

“Baby girl I gotta go but I’ll call you later ok? love you”

When Trevor returned you were annoyed, visibly “You okay?”

“Did you just seriously sneak away to call another girl and you’re asking if I’m ok?!”

He looked confused for a second before he started laughing “Stevie? Oh no, no! She’s my god daughter! She’s two years old”

You felt a blush settle on your cheeks and you felt embarrassed “oh… sorry”

He threw himself down on the couch next to you “Don’t be, I think your jealousy is cute”

During the movie you turned to him and pressed a kiss onto his jaw “I’d love to meet her”

He looked down “Stevie?” You hummed in response.

“I’ll ask her, she’s very particular” and that was that.

Until Sunday when Trevor texts you to say they’re going for brunch and Stevie wants to meet you.

You show up, you’re the there first and you’re nervous for some reason.

When they appear Stevie is holding Trevor’s hands and she’s wearing a black crewneck that has the ducks logo on it and you can see on the back it has his name and number.

“Steve, come sit up” Trevor instructs, she’s too busy staring at you.

He pulls out a chair and allows her to climb up before tucking it in. He circles the table, giving you a kiss and saying “Morning Beautiful” before sitting next to Stevie and across from you.

Stevie is still staring at you and she smiles before whispering really loudly in Trevor’s ear “She really pretty!”

He laughs “She’s beautiful, right?”

“She Jamie friend?” Trevor looks almost offended “No you little rat! She’s mine”

Stevie rolled her eyes before looking at you “Uncle Jamie is cool”

Trevor’s hand clapped over her tiny face “Steven stop trying to set her up with Jamie! It took me a year to wear her down!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at their dynamic, they were like a couple best friends from a sitcom.

When the waiter brought the menu’s Stevie just said “Pancake please!” And Trevor ordered her juice.

You asked Stevie questions and she to you. Trevor sat with heart eyes watching you interact with his niece.

“So I from the jersey and my daddy and Luke and Nico and Dawson and-“

“You don’t have to name the whole team baby, it’s just the devils” Trevor interrupted and she nodded, slightly out of breath from listing them all.

“And uncle winny plays in the Canada” you assumed that was Quinn, having spoken to Trevor before about the Hughes’

When the food arrived you watched carefully as Trevor cut up Stevie’s food and did the airplane thing with her and the fork.

She demolished her pancakes and Trevor took some of his and held it to her “Here Steven, try this I think you’ll like it”

She rolled her eyes at the name but took the food then proceeded to eat the rest of Trevor’s breakfast too.

When it came time to pay you pulled out your purse and Stevie says “Zee has all the monies! He pay!”

You looked at him, astonished and he shrugged “You heard the woman!”

You decided to take a walk for a while and it put Stevie into a food coma, Falling asleep on Trevor’s shoulder.

You walked him back to his car and said “This was real fun, I think she’s a good kid”

He beamed “she’s the best”

“I think you’re really hot when you act all… fatherly” you added, kissing his cheek lightly before brushing the hair from stevie’s face.

“She’s my world” is all he answers before putting her in the car. Once she’s securely strapped in and still passed out he turns to you

“I wouldn’t be opposed to this life”

“After seeing you like this? I don’t think I am either”

Your role in Trevor’s life was only solidified more when you received a birthday card from the Hughes’

On the bottom you saw a scribble and what you assumed was her mom’s handwriting clarifying what it said

aunty y/n I love you! happy birthday

[lanternouslobster]

Hi there! Wanted to ask something about your Ripaxel-Zeemien Zombie Apocalypse Double Date stuff. Uuuhhhh how exactly DID Damien die and is there a reason he's still himself or did he just wake up one day and he was like that

Hi, thanks for the question!!!

I should probably preface by saying I’ve never actually seen/played/read any sort of zombie apocalypse type media, so I just kinda made up my own rules for how the AU’s zombie infection works. I have no clue if it matches any already existing media

Basically the infection functions as a parasite of sorts. It kills everything but the host’s nervous system, which it sustains so the host can transmit it to other organisms via bloodstream. It deteriorates cognition & creates aggression so that the host becomes violent and attacks any living organism it sees. It also slows decomposition of the body, but it doesn’t entirely stop it.

Now, leading into Damien. Put simply, he got bit & infected some time into the apocalypse. Axel wanted to shoot him right on the spot but he and Zee convinced her to wait until he actually died and turned, since at that point he would’ve lost sapience and wouldn’t be as conscious of the pain. So Axel kept him under constant watch to wait for the moment he died and went feral— but nothing seemed to happen. After a couple days, they were all really confused about how he was still alive. Then Axel decided to check Damien’s pulse and found that he just. Didn’t have one. Turns out he was partially immune to the parasite’s effects. While it still killed him and kept his nervous system alive, it wasn’t able to have any effect on his cognition aside from making it a bit harder for him to think.

So he gets to be kind of alive! It’s not a very pleasant experience, though, since now he’s living in a body that’s gradually decaying. He’s also lost the ability to heal from any injuries, so any time he gets a new wound it has to be permanently stitched up so he doesn’t eventually fall apart or something. The scent of death isn’t the most fun either, but at least it helps mask the others from the actually dangerous zombies.

Is any of this scientifically plausible? I highly doubt it. But my need to put my favorites through Situations overrides any need for scientific accuracy

[madaboutmunson]

Again - Part 2

Part 1 | Part  3 | Full list of Again series links inc AO3 Link

Steddie fic where Steve and Eddie are in their mid 30's and everyone has sort of drifted apart

Taglist: @adaed55 @grtwdsmwhr @swimmingbirdrunningrock

Thank you to @gamerdano for all their help with this 💚💚💚

================================================

Steve was still deciding whether to tell Mac Eddie was a friend of his or not. He didn't want her to feel like that's what is getting her foot in the door because Steve knew that Eddie didn't work that way. Sure he might censor his words and emotions around kids, but he did try to treat people equally for the most part. Steve liked to think his upsetting the Munson Doctrine all those years ago had a hand in this. "Hey, Mac. If you still wanna head in, you can. Doesn't look like there is a timetable or anything" He smiles at his daughter, who stands up excitedly, but stops mid-step towards the door and beckons him down to her height.

"Dad, are there any girls in there?" She asked in an unsure whisper.

"In the quick glance I had, I didn't see any, but that doesn't mean there isn't or won't be any, but even if there isn't, you have something else in there. You've got an Eddie." He says with the most reassuring smile he can.

"That's just another boy", she scoffs and holds her book a bit tighter, eyes looking at the library's main entrance, protecting herself with annoyance from the fear.

"I mean, yes, he is a boy, numbers-wise a man, but I think you really should meet him before writing him off. Eddie is er…well…how can I put this…he's unique" Steve finally grabs the diplomatic word he was looking for.

She looks back at her Dad, "How do you know that?"

"There are many reasons, but mainly he's just been running around in there, roaring, with some kind of dragon head on because he thinks it makes him less scary to kids." Steve frowns and shakes his head. But Mac's eyes light up, and she smiles as she looks over at the door, "Could be worth a shot, right? You could hang around maybe? It's not like you’ve got much else going on", she says non chalantly, but Steve can read he's needed.

"Right." Steve nods, scooping up Corey by his arm again. Mac drops in behind him as he passes through the door. Eddie was still standing exactly how and where Steve had left him, a small welcoming but almost nervous smile on his face, with his dragon head tucked under his arm. Steve sees Eddie observe Corey first, who has not looked up at all to acknowledge him, and Steve guides him towards the nearest chair for him to sit in, revealing his Daughter behind him as he does. Eddie's face erupts in a big smile like he’d just identified one of his own.

"Eddie, this is Mac, I mean Mackenzie" Steve looks to Mac for reassurance he's using the correct name she likes to go by now. She nods, "Mackenzie, this is…."

Eddie bows deeply, "Eddie The Not So Banished, humbly at your service."

Mackenzie raises an eyebrow at Eddie and looks up at Steve, who mouths, "Told you," and she smiles in reply. Her grip loosens on her book as she looks Eddie over. Her eyes study his face most of all.

"Don't worry about the scars, sweetheart. They're old. They won't bite. I'm not that scary, promise" Eddie smiles, but Steve detects a slight disappointment in his eyes as he squeezes the dragon head.

"Oh no, it's not that," she says quickly, "Just the one here", she points at his jaw, "It looks like a dragon roaring." 

"Wait, really?" Eddie says, reaching for his face. There is no falseness in his voice; he is genuinely surprised and walks over to the nearest door window to look at his reflection "Huh. I've had them for longer than you've been alive, and I never even noticed that." Eddie laughs, "Anyway, enough about me, let's get started on your new character, yeah? You can keep your character, but we'd have to strip it back to level one because of the nature of the campaign, but if you're still interested, I could introduce you to one of the parties, Zee. I mean…Mackenzie, sorry" Eddie waves his hand towards a bunch of nearly full tables behind him. 

"Zee is fine", she smiles up at Eddie. Steve almost feels a little jealous as they exchange smiles and walk away from him. Eddie animatedly gesticulates with the dragon head in his hand, and Mac giggles. It had been a long time since Steve had made her laugh like that, but he let it go. It's nice just to see her smiling for a change. Steve grabs a D&D book and settles into the chair next to Corey.

"How's the game, son?" He tries.

The reply is a grunt, but the tone of it goes up at the end of it, so Steve decides to quit whilst he is ahead and read for a while.

Sometime later, someone lands dramatically in the chair on his other side.

"I think we finally found a match!" Eddie says wearily with a laugh, "She does not wanna let go of that Cleric. Not that I can blame her. A lot of effort has gone into that build. At least you won't have to buy any new accessories, though," Eddie says next to Steve as he lowers his book slightly to spy over the top of it. 

Eddie's ringed hand points her out, and Steve taps his hand down, "Jesus Christ, Eddie, do not do that", he says in a hushed voice.

Eddie furrowed his brow, "I was just showing you where she was, man. Calm down", he laughed.

Steve makes a whispered, incorrect buzzer sound from behind his book at Eddie, "Wrong. Let me try and remember her words exactly last time…oh hang on a second…." Steve checks his watch, "Thought so" he reaches into his pocket and pulls out 10 dollars and nudges Corey, "Go hydrate. I'll keep hold of your game", he says, putting the game on pause with his thumb and putting it in his lap careful not to touch anything else. Then he returns to Eddie, who is now also behind the book, "I pointed her out to one of the Moms at school, and apparently that was so mortifying that she would have sold her soul to satan himself to just evaporate into the ether."

Eddie's eyes go wide, and he holds back a laugh.

"It's not funny, Eddie. It haunts me. I remember every word. It hurt like a bitch. Can you believe I'm an embarrassment now?" 

"Oh, Steve…you think there was a time you weren't embarrassing?" Eddie teases

"Oh ha-ha, very funny. I'll have you know I was very cool once, not just cool. The coolest!" Steve whispers in annoyance, "You know this!"

"And look at you now, Harrington. Sitting in a library, a computer game in your lap, hiding behind a d&d book from a thirteen-year-old with the Freak of Hawkins. You still feeling pretty cool?" Eddie chuckles quietly.

Steve slumps with a defeated face, and Eddie looks at him again, "If it's worth anything. If I didn't know you, I'd think you were a pretty cool Dad. Do you see any other parents here?" Steve peeks over his book, looks around, holds it up again, and shakes his head at Eddie, "A lot of parents just don't have the time, you know, but even the ones that do, have no idea what a Cleric is let alone anything else." Eddie's smile widens as he tilts his head, "You did what you always do, Steve. You jumped into the abyss first. For the record, the games are weekly, and they last a few hours. If you wanna stay, you can. I'll even set you up a station out of sight, so you aren't cramping her style, but bring something to do, for god's sake."

"Oh…well, I only see her every two weeks. Does that mean she can't join?"

Eddie holds up an imaginary clipboard, "Ah, wouldn't you look at that. My memory sometimes, sheeeesh. It's every two weeks."

"You can just do that?" Steve says in amazement.

Eddie narrows his eyes at him with a slight frown and laughs, like he can't make out if Steve is teasing or not, "Yeah, I can do what I want. It's my company." He taps the embroidery on his polo shirt.

Steve reads it "Tremelo Tales."

"We do D&D, reading stories to kids, music lessons, parties, stuff like that. Then when we make enough profit, we can do that for free for the kids that need an outlet, you know. Like today"

"You have your own company? That's incredible, Eddie!"

"Like you could ever picture me working for anyone! I mean, it's not easy, and I have to pay through the nose or legal and accounting, but at least I haven't got to do it, and it keeps everything running smoothly. I'm pretty proud of it." And the happy whistful expression on his face only served to complement his words. He really was proud of it. Steve's eyes automatically look to his kids. "What are you up to these days?" Eddie asks.

"Well…er…" Steve stumbles over his words because he is unsure exactly how much he wants to reveal at this point. So he keeps to the partial truth, "I'm a coach. Sometimes private, sometimes I get contracted, you know?"

Steve had actually hit the jackpot playing the stock market and was busy living off the interest. He'd still got some shares locked up in a few companies, but he'd been told to hold tight on Apple because they were a few months from releasing the iPod, and a cell phone might be on the horizon. He did, however, coach, just not humans. He held dog training classes at his house. Everything from puppy to agility to behavioural problems. He loved it, and so did the kids.

A shadow moves over the book, and both Steve and Eddie look up to look at Mackenzie.

"Hey, honey," Steve said carefully to her unimpressed face and folded arms.

She looks between the two of them and hands a few sheets of paper to Eddie, "So I've put the Cleric to Level 1, but I also wanted to offer something else to the party, a rogue."

"Interesting…" Eddie draws the word out and looks up at Mackenzie.

Steve feels a little left out of the unspoken significance here.

"How much for a players handbook?" Pushing the book, he's holding between the character sheets and Eddie's face.

"Um, thirty bucks, or you know, whatever you can. Just take it over to Carl over there. He'll sort you out.” It was interesting, despite the unknown truth of the matter, Eddie hadn't made the assumption that Steve was still living a more than comfortable life. 

Steve approaches a braced bespectacled boy who is repeatedly rolling a die and writing down the numbers. Steve eyes him suspiciously but then hands him the player's handbook, and the kid wordlessly writes out a receipt. Steve pays, takes his copy, and pockets it.

As Steve makes his way back to the kids and Eddie, he slows his pace to observe the exchange rather than interfere immediately.

Mackenzie was standing clutching her book of protection, Eddie holding a set of sheets in each hand, occasionally looking up at Mackenzie and talking. Nothing out of the ordinary there until there is a glimmer of something on Eddie's face. He looks…concerned? But then his big smile is switched back on, and it transfers across Mac's face too.

"You thinking of joining a game sometime?" Eddie laughs as Steve approaches, hugging his new book to his chest, which he immediately drops to his side at Eddie's teasing.

Steve shrugs, "I mean, I just got it because, as books go, it wasn't bad to while away the time with. I mean, if Mac...Kenzie were to run a game. I could be tempted, maybe." He smiles at his daughter.

Eddie raises his eyebrows at Mackenzie, and she sends him a simple shrug back. Another tiny sting of jealousy. They hadn't even known one another a day, and they had secret meanings for things and now silently communicating with one another.

"So these sheets look great. Is there anything else you want to go over?" Eddie asks kindly.

Mackenzie shakes her head.

"Well, alright then. See you in two weeks, Zee!" Eddie says with a little salute.

Mackenzie smiles back at him and walks towards the exit. 

"Thanks a lot, Eddie. It was really good to see you. Maybe see you again in two weeks?" Steve asks with his own little shrug.

Eddie blinks up at him, "Oh I-"

Then there are several thuds, a meep sound from Mackenzie, and another huge thud.

Steve's eyes snapped to his daughter, who was crouched down trying to pick up her books, but another teen in the widest-leg jeans Steve had ever seen. All frayed where they'd been dragging along the floor, a black t-shirt with the sleeves completely hacked off and shoulder-length dirty blonde hair is busy apologising and frantically trying to help Mackenzie pick up her books.

"Aw, man, I'm like, totally sorry, I had my earphones in, and I totally didn't see you. I was in, like, a hurry to get these to Eddie. Are you, like, ok? I didn't hurt you, did I? I'm such a stupid oaf sometimes," the boy rattles out, piling up the papers and books in his arms. A big box of papers was on the floor beside him.

Mackenzie has stopped scrabbling for her books, lets the boy scrabble around for her, and stands up.

Once everything is together, he stands also, raises his head to Mackenzie, nearly drops the books again, and swallows nervously, "Er…here you go…um…your um books, man."

"Maybe you should look where you're going next time. Stop daydreaming and observe your surroundings!! What if I'd been a little kid, huh?" Mackenzie scolds him, one hand on her hip, as she takes her books back. Steve notes she doesn't snatch them.

"Jesus, Harrington. I didn't realise attitude could be hereditary," Eddie chuckles next to Steve.

The kid swiped his hand over his head to push his hair out of his face, and it ended up nervously rubbing the back of his neck as his other hand came forward in a handshake, "I'm really sorry, man. My name's M-"

She raises a hand to stop him, saying, "Ah, don't worry about it. It's..whatever", and walks out.

Steve's eyes go wide.

"Steve?" He hears Eddie's voice next to him, but his eyes slowly burn into the little skatepunk in front of him. Picking up the box of papers and heading to one of the tables.

"Who…is that?" Steve asks with a that so sharp, that if there had been any balloons around, they would have been decimated.

"Er…that's Morgan. He helps out sometimes." Eddie says cautiously before folding his arms and narrowing his eyes at Steve suspiciously, "Steve, are you ok? It was an accident. He didn't mean to do that. I'll have a word with him. He won't do it again. I'm sure" Steve detects the waiver of worry in Eddie's voice and shakes his head.

"It's not what he did that's the problem, Eddie. Listen, I gotta go, but um, great to see you." He mutters, punctuating with a weak two-fingered two-fingered salute, picks up Corey by his arm and quickly marches to catch up with Mackenzie. 

[the-insouciant-scientist]

@fallenlondonficswap @house-of-mirrors Calling this a secret swap fic. I think it counts. Hope you have fun chewing on this one, and that it turned out sufficiently creepy and wet! Always going, but never getting

Unnamed Zee Captain OC & Salt, Teen rating, 2007 words.

Captain’s Journal, 4th November 1863 Above or below the earth, large bodies of water generate superstition like nothing else. Sailor or Zailor, we all know it: we travel upon the waves of a fickle mistress, and it’s best to treat her with respect. Lest she turn her wrath upon your ship next. Doesn’t mean I think it’s all true. Some of the things I hear my crew talk about in the night… Stuff and nonsense. Maybe I’m a fool to be so sceptical, but I’ve sailed for longer than some o’ these folks have been alive. Sometimes wind is just wind. Sometimes a bat is just a d__ned bat. Not everything is a sign. 

Captain’s Journal, 6th November 1863

The whole crew seems to be jumpy today. The bats are more active than I’ve seen them in weeks, and there’s an odd one with ‘em. They’re out there wheeling and turning in the air, but I swear every so often I see a glimpse of white. Didn’t know bats came in that colour. A deckhand claims it’s a god, watching us. I put him to work belowdecks, where hopefully his nerves can settle. Last thing I need is someone stirring up trouble.

Captain’s Journal, 7th November 1863

Aye, that lad, what am I to do with him? This morning I caught him perched on the capstan, trying to lure the little b_____d closer with a handful o’ hardtack. Told him that if he didn’t get down from there right that second, I’d make sure he didn’t get any time above deck until we next reached port. I don’t tolerate this kind of nonsense on my ship. Especially when it drives my men to waste supplies like this. He got down, but still seemed afraid of something. I wouldn’t hurt him. He knows that, right?

Captain’s Journal, 9th November 1863

We’ve gone miles north towards Venderbight at this point, but that bat’s still following. The crew’s even more uneasy than before. Seems to think it’s an omen. Some o’ them have started talking as if they’ll never make it home. Have I been going about this wrong? Perhaps I need to change tactics. Bring out the fiddles and crack open some of the half decent wine, and get their minds off things. 

Captain’s Journal, 12th November 1863

Helped a bit, but not enough. Had a few days there where none of ‘em seemed too nervous, even when that d__n bat decided to hang itself from the lines and stare at them. But now it’s even worse than before. If it is an omen, I want no b___dy part of it. And if it’s just a normal zee-bat, then I want it off my d__n ship. I’ve been having nightmares. Visions of a great and terrible light, calling out to me. I always wake up feeling like I’ve been cut adrift. Unmoored. If that bat doesn’t leave on its own, I swear, I will catch it with my bare hands and fling it into the zee myself. 

Captain’s Journal, 13th November 1863

The deckhand’s gone. The troublemaker. Last anyone heard from him was last night. He was chattering on and on about how it made sense, and how much he’d miss them. How what made sense? Was he planning on abandoning his post? He must have been, because we’ve searched the ship top to bottom, and there’s no sign of him. No missing lifeboats either, is the funny part. The bat has been circling overhead like it’s restless. I tried to shoot it down. It’s behind this, one way or another. Either it spirited one of my crew away, or its presence drove him to madness, and either way, I’m angry. But the second I raised my pistol, no fewer than three of my officers dove to knock it out of my hand. Said that doing that would be a death sentence on us all. I don’t know if I believe that entirely, but the look in their eyes… I do believe that if I had succeeded, curse or not, they would have thrown me overboard for it. Either way I’d be dooming myself. I stood down. That d__n bat just soared higher. I think it knows it won.

Captain’s Journal, 17th November 1863

Headed east towards Frostfound. Some of the crew have been near-begging to visit there, G-d knows why. A few more of them have gone missing and unaccounted for since the first. I’m worried. And, perhaps even more strangely, I’m homesick. It’s odd, really. I don’t have a home to be homesick for anymore, but I still find myself struck by a fear that I’ll never come home again. It’s troubling. 

Captain’s Journal, 18th November 1863

The bat got into my quarters, somehow. Hung itself from my lamp and just chittered at me. There’s something about its eyes that leaves the hairs on the back o’ my neck prickling, but I know killing it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I remembered the deckhand trying to feed it, when I caught him that first time. Worst case scenario, I feed a normal bat a biscuit and I then have a fed bat that expects me to feed it again later. Best case scenario… Well. Maybe I could stand to have a god looking favourably upon me. 

Captain’s Journal, 23rd November 1863

Things seem to have calmed down since I stopped trying to shoo away the bat. The crew seems more at ease, if a bit more melancholy. They can feel however they like, as long as we don’t lose any more. I worry if any more leave, we’ll hardly be able to zail. Judging by our timing, we should make it to Frostfound by tomorrow. Maybe some zhore leave will do their spirits good. 

Captain’s Journal, 25th November 1863

Headed east again. Not everyone made it back, but enough did that we can still zail at a decent pace. My first mate seems out of it. He was one of the last to come back on board before we set zail again. Said he had something important to tell me. He whispered it in my ear, and then went to his cot and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. It’s called Salt, now, he said.

Captain’s Journal, 26th November 1863

He’s gone too, now. I should have listened from the beginning. I hope that it’s not too late. 

Captain’s Journal, 30th November 1863

The crew’s gone. The lifeboats are missing. Only thing left behind was a note. “Gone home, before we lose the ability to. You should head home too.” I’m alone.

Captain’s Journal, 14th December 1863

It’s been a while, sorry. Didn’t really see the point in writing in this old thing. I don’t think anyone will ever read it. I’m never going to see London again, I think. Least of all because I can’t man this ship all on my own for that long. I’m going East. It feels different, now. I had been drifting alone on this vast, dark zee, and then it’s like a loose gear shifted back into place. My circumstances haven’t changed, but it’s like… Like my understanding of them has.

Captain’s Journal, 18th December 1863

The bat’s back. It had left for a few days, and I thought it had abandoned me. But no, it’s back. I gave it another biscuit. It’s not like I have a crew to feed anymore. Maybe ol’ Salt still wants to keep an eye on me after all. It’s a nice thought, I suppose, to be watched over. When I sleep, I still have those same dreams. Of the light calling out, and the being cast adrift. But they’re not nightmares. I don’t think they ever were. I think they were always it, just trying to say hello. Captain’s Journal, 19th December 1863

I can hear it humming. Hear its song on the currents. I will never go home again. I can feel that loss like something’s been cut out of me, carved scrimshander into my bones. Like an open, bleeding injury. I’ve been without a home for so long, it’s almost surprising to realise how much that hurts. Maybe I just didn’t let myself feel it until now, or maybe it’s only now that I could feel it. Like salt in the wound. Like Salt is in this wound.

Captain’s Journal, 20th December 1863

I’ve gone beyond the edge of every map I have. Its singing is still soft, but it’s getting louder with every minute I keep on zailing. Oh, it aches. It aches. I don’t even have the words to describe this feeling in its entirety. It’s such a lonely god. It’s so lonely. I’m lonely too. 

Captain’s Journal, 21st December 1863

It’s so bright, here. So vivid and green. When did this happen? I am seen. I have seen this before. I dreamt of this, didn’t I? So very long ago. Salt sees me, from its faraway horizon. What is it looking for? What does it see in me? I want to go home, but there’s no home left to go to. No home, no crew, nothing left to hold onto. Just me and my worn old ship, travelling. Why have I come East?

Captain’s Journal, 21st December 1863

It’s silent as the grave, this far out. Nothing to do but keep sailing towards the horizon. Salt’s waiting for me. Well, not waiting, exactly. It’s travelling too. Can’t sit still. Restless. Isn’t that something? A god just as restless as I am. Does it have a home that it can never see again as well? This ache feels like an echo. An echo from a place that has no sound. Can it really be an echo, if there’s no sound?

Captain’s Journal, 21st December 1863 I am not who I was. I suspect that it is not what it once was, either. Nothing starts off this hungry, or this lonely. It’s something learned. Something that has to be honed. Maybe things would have gone differently, if I had listened to its call from the beginning. Maybe I would have known better. Maybe I would have gone home and let myself get rooted somewhere. Or maybe I just would have zailed East even faster. 

Captain’s Journal, 21st December 1863

It calls to me, in its strange and silent way. Asks where I’m going. Asks if I’ll follow.

I call back, in whatever way I can: I’m travelling East. And to the ends of the Earth.

I think that’s all I ever wanted. I think I was created to want like this, and I think this is the only way I can ever be almost content. Not satisfied, never satisfied, but almost content. I think, in a way, this is all it ever wanted, too.

When I’m done with this entry, I’m going to cast this journal into the zee. I’ll need all hands on deck where I’m going, and I only have my own. Maybe she’ll swallow it whole, or maybe she’ll carry it to some new, strange zhore.

But if someone does find this? Against all odds? A word of advice.

If you find yourself followed by a white zee-bat, think. Think about home, and how much you value it. If you think for even a moment that it would break you, never seeing it again, then you turn your ship around and never zail again. For your own good. But if some part of you thrills at the prospect, if some part of you feels like this was what you were always meant for…

Come East. Come and find me. We’ll chase this endless horizon together.

Oh, and one more thing. If you do find this, please throw it back into the zee when you’re done. These words need to travel just as much as I do.

But that’s enough talk. I have a god to follow, and endless zee to cover the distance of.

May Salt look favourably upon you.

I’ll see you soon.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

What was Arthur's most expensive purchase (either "ever" or "in the modern era")?

Also, I think this is in the spirit of the question, so I hope it's okay: does Jack have any "crafting" type hobbies (woodworking, knitting, etc.) or is he mainly into sporty/active stuff?

What was Arthur's most expensive purchase (either "ever" or "in the modern era")?

Expensive as in relative to emotional cost at the time, it was his first ship, in 1066. Sigurd and Harald Hardråde got their ass handed to them by Arthur and the Anglo-Saxons. Arthur and the Anglo-Saxons, under Harald Godwinson, had their arses handed to them by the Normans under William the Bastard. As it became clear the battle was going south, Arthur shot his last Anglo-Saxon king in the eye to spare him the torture of being torn apart by the Normans and fled to one of his siblings.

Of the sibling's inheritance from their mother (This is inspired by the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain), Brighid took their mother’s fibula (a brooch that was a symbol of authority) and her loom of fates. Alasdair inherited his mother’s spear and chessboard. Rhys inherited her sword and obsidian scrying stone. Arthur got her ring and knife. When it became clear the Normans had come to stay, unable to go home and unable to cope with this last string of shocks from the French invasion, he traded her ring to Sigurd for his first ship and sailed to Constantinople. Sigurd later gifted it back in 1940.

does Jack have any "crafting" type hobbies (woodworking, knitting, etc.) or is he mainly into sporty/active stuff?

Jack does a LOT of fidgety crafty things. He worked a loom with Brighid when he was very small and is still very good at tab weaving and knots. He’s forgotten and learned how to knit and crochet about half a dozen times, the most recent during WW1 when he was so full of nervous energy Zee literally had to choose between stabbing him with her knitting needles or showing him again because he was driving her insane. A friend bet me that I couldn't make chekovs knitting needles so they were in Jack's pocket when he and Matt were taken as POWs in Spring 1918 and used to murder their way back to their own lines. Alasdair taught him how to throw pottery in the mid-19th century, and he's been very happy with that for a long time. He can certainly whittle a bit and paint. Leatherwork is something he's done for a long time, particularly horse tack, bridles and whatnot. He is also very good at repairing musical instruments, particularly the piano Arthur ostensibly bought for Zee, but Jack always played.

[incandescentflower]

I'm taking prompt requests for Cherry Magic Thailand 1k ficlets to try to get some fic going for the fandom. The links for the prompts and information are in this post here.

I got this request for the Cherry Magic Th fic through discord. This one is for kisses (9 first kiss) and touching (3 hiding face in neck) for @ch1chill. Hope this is what you wanted!

@zscribez also requested touching #3. I'll be putting your other prompts in another fic though zee!

Also on AO3 here.

where the heart is

Achi and Karan walked side by side together along the walkway. The evening air was cool. It prickled Achi's neck, but not as much as his nerves about the silence between them.

Achi had finally caved and told Karan about his abilities and had even proven it. Karan, as expected, was kind and thoughtful about it. Somehow, Karan did not immediately call Achi out of his mind and run screaming away.

But he was clearly lost in thought.

Achi wanted to reach for him, to see what he was thinking. This was the problem. He was relying on it too much, using his powers too much.

Achi knew what he needed to do, but he was terrified to do it. Still, that was the point of telling Karan about his abilities. He was going to stop hiding. He was going to tell Karan what he was thinking now and he was going to ask Karan instead of intruding.

“What are you thinking?” Achi managed to get out.

Karan stopped walking. They were under a streetlight and the way he was turned, half his face was in the shadows. It made him look even more mysterious than usual. Even more unable to read. 

“I’m thinking it’s unbelievable.”

Achi’s heart dropped. This was it. This was when Karan politely said, you aren’t who I thought you were and this is too much for me. They would go back to being colleagues, not quite friends even.

“It’s extraordinary,” he said, now turning so his face was fully in the light. The shine was still in his eyes, the one that Achi had started to recognize was somehow only for him.

“You’re not freaked out?” Achi asked. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me.”

Karan seemed to be mulling something and said, “You’re the only one I don’t feel uncomfortable with.”

That was also hard to believe, but if Karan was going to not question what Achi was sharing, then Achi wouldn't either. “Okay, then what do we do now?” Achi asked, feeling at a loss of how to move forward with what would happen the next time they touched.

Karan reached out and grasped Achi’s hands, holding them between his palms. He looked at Achi with the warmest eyes.

Can we be together now? he thought.

Achi squeezed Karan’s hands back, he felt like he was holding on for dear life. “You really still want that?”

Karan nodded. “Yes, Achi. I don’t know what’s happening to you, but what I know for certain is that we can figure it out together.”

“Okay,” Achi said, almost too quickly. He hadn’t realized how much he had wanted it until the question was posed. Until he knew for sure that Karan still wanted him once he knew Achi's secrets.

Karan stepped forward. He places his palm on Achi’s face and the image of him leaning in and kissing Achi filled his head. It made Achi’s breath hitch, but he figured out how to at least nod his head.

Karan moved in the same way he had shown Achi. He knew Achi was nervous about being close. He knew Achi had never kissed anyone before. So he did just as he had shown. He touched their lips lightly at first and then pressed more firmly. Karan’s hands moved to hold Achi around his shoulders. Achi’s hands returned the touch and grasped at Karan’s waist. 

The feelings Achi felt from Karan were still there - warm, excited, wonderful. But something new was there too. Something that didn’t come from Karan anymore, but came from Achi. 

It was like everything inside of him lit up. Every part of Achi was finally, fully alive.

The kiss continued longer than Achi had expected, but he was happy for that. He wasn’t ready for it to end. A new image filled his head from Karan. It was a path laid out in front of Karan, a walkway leading up to a door. Karan stepped forward along it and put his hand on the knob, about to open it.

It was confusing enough to Achi that he unconsciously moved away. He had anticipated more of some of Karan’s more intense thoughts once they were this close, but nothing like this. 

“What’s wrong, Achi?” Karan asked, his arms still around him. 

“In your mind..it was a path and a doorway. What were you thinking about?”

“Oh,” Karan said, with a little laugh. “That. I guess what I was thinking is that being with you finally was like coming home.”

Achi’s throat tightened. There was something immense about that feeling, something Achi had felt himself before.

He could not help throwing his arms around Karan’s neck and burying his face in his neck. It simultaneously kept Karan from seeing how pink his face was and also allowed him to hold onto Karan as tight as he wanted. 

As Karan hugged him back, sighing a bit as he tightened his own embrace, Achi thought to himself, Yes, this does feel like home.

[manogirl]

(In no way does my posting this imply that I think the way BL actors are stereotyped into seme/uke roles is a good thing.)

Sometimes for funsies I imagine there are support groups for actors in branded BL ships that gather based on seme/uke roles. For some reason Pond and Phuwin are very involved in these support groups. Pond will tell anyone who listens about how his language skills just can't match up to Phuwin's--have you HEARD Phuwin speak Chinese? How about English?--and Phuwin meanwhile is like, he constantly wants me to DANCE, can you imagine? DANCE.

Chimon doesn't speak at the uke group. He smiles uncomfortably. Especially when one of the guys needs a hug from the other guys. Chimon escapes to the bathroom then. Mix cries a lot and Fourth and Khaotung pat his shoulders and hand him kleenexes. Nat (of Nat and Max) always tears up when Mix cries and NuNew and Yim hug him. Prem likes to hang around with NuNew because he misses Fluke, who stopped coming when he and Ohm stopped branding. Pooh is new and nervous and tries to stick close to guys he knows. He wishes Pavel could come with, at least until he really feels like he can talk. Noeul has been trying to buddy up with Pooh, because Peat doesn't need group therapy (I am well adjusted, NOEUL). Apo has never shown up.

On the other hand, the uke meetings tend to devolve into workouts, and everyone ends up shirtless and comparing tattoos and muscles. Pavel already knows Joong and Joong is buddy-buddy with Daou, and Pavel also knows Ohm (who is still allowed to come honorarily even though he isn't in a branded ship anymore), who is besties with Perth, and anyway, they all just listen to loud music and drive motorcycles and workout. There's also a dedicated group chat for cat fathers, which is led by Earth and Force; new members always welcome! Mile brings wine when he comes, which everyone thinks is funny and cute. Zee runs a small side group called, "When your uke doesn't want to be your uke anymore", which Ohm is grateful for. Fort is very quiet, but Boss knows everyone, as does Boun. Boun is trying to get a group chat for dog owners going, but there just aren't very many dogs. They also don't CARE the way the cat dads do.

Mark Pakin is an honorary member of both groups; he sees Ford at the uke group and Neo at the seme group (also both honorary members since people still ship them all). Everyone knows Mint, Neo's girlfriend, and she once went to the uke group for a laugh. Everyone loved her.

My brain is broken.

[jacksonroseroth]

~The Price~Chapter 20~

Moodboard made by @badwolf-in-the-impala none of the pictures are ours

~

Lucas drove them to the airport again and the couple got onto the private jet to New York. Taddie still had a rough time taking off and landing, but Thatcher held her hand and talked her through it the whole time. The snow covered city still held a semi-charm for Taddie, still appreciating the beauty from a painter’s point of view, but more than glad they didn’t live there. The ride was familiar, going to Jaq’s and Taddie squirmed around with excitement as they pulled into the building’s garage and the car came to a stop. Thatcher held her hips still and nipped at her ear, gently, making her wait in their seats until the door opened.

Taddie quickly slipped out and bounced on her toes as she waited for Thatcher to slide out after her. He laced their fingers and kissed the back of her hand before he led her inside to Jaq’s waiting room. She turned to him and bit her lip, lifting on her toes to press a slow kiss to his lips before she said, “I think I’m still a little high from last night--I’m really excited…What-What kind of dress-?”

“Jaq will tell you what kind of dress you need, not me. It’s just how it is and the man is a genius. Just tell him what you like and don’t like.” Thatcher said before kissing her again. He pushed his hands from her hips to her back, then up as the kiss deepened, then Taddie jumped, breaking the kiss, as Jaq cleared his throat behind them.

With red cheeks, Taddie turned her face into Thacher’s chest as she giggled and clung to his hoodie. Thatcher wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed Taddie’s temple as Jaq said, “Vell, vell--Ve’ve grown qvite cozy, haven’t ve?--Taddie, ma chére, iz vonderful to zee you again. Thatcher. Just ze dress today? No suit for you?”

“Just her today. Maybe we’ll come back this weekend-I’ll see. But it’s about her today.” Thatcher said with a smile as Taddie lifted her head and gave Jaq a bashful smile. The Frenchman chuckled and held out a hand for her, Taddie obliging, and he kissed the back of it before leading her into the workroom as he said, “Very vell--Vhat are ve doing today? Shall ve start vith ze color?”

“Green? I love a nice, deep green.” Taddie said as he led her to the small stage stand in the middle of the room. Thatcher tsk’d at her and said, “I thought you loved blue?”

“Blue and green. Black and gold is my favorite color combination…I’m not entirely a simple girl, sweetheart.” Taddie said, wrinkling her nose at him. Thatcher narrowed his gaze at her, playfully, then shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket as he watched Jaq begin to measure her.

“Bon, bon, bon--Blue, green-I can vork vith either. Now, let me zink…Mmm-Oui, mais…” Jaq circled her as he muttered to himself in French, then went to a drawer and pulled out two bolts of fabric, one a dark green tulle with a gold border, the other a forest green, soft looking fabric. He brought both over before waving Thatcher to the center and passing him the tulle. He pulled out a length and wrapped it around her waist, tossing it over her shoulder and readjusting for the neckline. “Vhat about zis-I make zis the under layer--Patcheur!--And I do ze tulle over it like zis?”

Thatcher hurried to him and pulled a length out, handing it to Jaq as he laid it over the green fabric. Taddie smiled and nodded as she said, “That would look really nice. Um, what about the style?”

“I zink a nice off ze shoulder vould compliment you best, ma chére--A nice trumpet style…Let me pull a few for you to try on for ze look and feel. Un instant s’il vous plaît…” Jaq said, disappearing into his stock room after rolling up the bolts of fabric. Taddie bit her lip and reached out her hand for Thatcher’s, who stepped forward and obliged, kissing the back of her fingers with a smile.

“Don’t be nervous. He already has an idea in his head, he needs you to help him hone it.” Thatcher said, giving her hand a squeeze.

“How long will this take? It seems like we could have done this on Monday? Had him at least taken my measurements? Is he going to have it delivered to the house?” Taddie questioned as she stepped down from the stand. Thatcher smirked and she narrowed her gaze at him. “You do have something else planned! I knew it!”

“I never said I didn’t--I’m just saying you don’t like surprises, but oh well, Princess. You’re my girl, this is the price our women pay--Getting pampered and spoiled.” Thatcher said with a smirk, pushing his hand into her curls. She tsk’d at him as she tapped her finger against his chin, lightly chastising him, then rested her hands on his chest as he held her waist and rocked them from side to side. “Are you excited to meet my family? You’ve already met Tris and Tommy.”

“I’m nervous as hell…What if they don’t like me? Thomas doesn’t.” Taddie said, chewing her lip and furrowing her brow. He shook his head at her and dropped a quick kiss to her lips then said, “Tommy’s always like that. He takes after our grandfather. They’ll love you, kitten. Just trust me.”

Jaq quickly came back with a number of dresses, all trumpet style, but with different necklines. As he hung them up on a rack, Jaq said to Taddie, “Please undress, Madame.”

Taddie chewed her lip and looked up at Thatcher, who quickly said, “I am the only one that is allowed to see her in any state of undress. S’il vous plaît, mon ame-Turn around, close your eyes—Just do not turn until she is ready.”

Her heart pounded at how quickly he spoke up for her before she could even say anything. He hadn’t even looked at her before he spoke. Jaq bowed his head in respect before he turned and busied himself with finding a sketch pad and drawing up a few sketches as he muttered to himself. Thatcher grabbed one of the dresses as Taddie stepped up onto the stand again, waiting until she had undressed before he stepped forward, unzipping the back of the dress and helping her into it.

Once Thatcher zipped her up, he called out, in French, to Jaq, who turned and quickly wrinkled his nose, shaking his head as he said, “Non. Take it off. It iz a rag on you, my dear. Put her in ze red one.” Jaq quickly turned back to his sketch pad and angrily began erasing as he muttered in French. Thatcher chuckled and did as he was told, hanging the previous dress up before grabbing the red trumpet dress from the hanger and helping Taddie step into it.

The dress was a tad snug and Taddie stepped down to have Thatcher help pull it over her hips, then zipped it up. He helped her back up and kept a hold of her hand as he looked her over with a smirk. Taddie’s cheeks turned pink as she kicked at him and said, “Stop staring at me like that.”

“You look good in red, kitten…You should wear it more often—Jaq, what do you think?” Thatcher asked, turning to the old man as Jaq glanced over his shoulder, then spun around with a delighted gasp.

“Ah! C’est magnifique! You see? I vas right. Trumpet and off ze shoulder-Look at how it compliments your figure, Madame.” Jaq said, turning a mirror to her. Taddie let out a soft gasp as she stared at herself in such a fine dress. She turned from side to side and giggled softly, then smoothed her hands over her hips.

“It’s beautiful, Jaq. It-It’s a little tight, but it’s beautiful.” Taddie said with a soft giggle. Jaq nodded and brought his sketch pad to her, flipping through pages as he said, “Zis is vhat I vas zinking for you, ma belle. Any one you choose, it vill be done both ze fabrics I showed you.”

Taddie took Thatcher’s hand as he helped her down, Taddie then taking the sketchbook from Jaq and went through it. Thatcher looked over her shoulder, sliding his hands over her hips as he buried his nose into her hair. She hummed to herself as she thought, then Thatcher stopped her on one as he said, “You should go with this one. It’ll look real good on you, kitten.”

“With the sleeves all puffy? It’s so…Fairy princess…I like this one. It’s simple but elegant. And with the colors he chose? It’ll look gorgeous.” Taddie said, glancing up at him with an excited smile. Thatcher kissed her temple and said, “Whichever one you want, Princess.”

“This one here, Jaq. But can you make the off the shoulder sleeves a little more snug? Just so it stays in place and doesn’t slip around?” Taddie asked, showing him the sketch she wanted. Jaq nodded and took the book from her, taking the page out and folding it before clipping it to an easel next to the wooden mannequin. With Jaq turned, Taddie quickly motioned for Thatcher to take off the dress, which he did in record time, then she tugged her sweater and leggings back on. As she reached for her boots, Thatcher grabbed them and guided her to sit on the stand and fit them on her feet. Once she was dressed again, Jaq had her step up onto the pedestal again where he quickly took her measurements, then guided her down, turning to write the numbers on her sketch.

“Very vell--Come back by noon, it shall be ready for a fitting and done.” Jaq said with a wide smile as he turned back to them, Thatcher taking Taddie’s hand and pulling her to her feet. Taddie bit her lip as she smiled up at Thatcher as he held her waist, then she looked at the Frenchman and said, “Wha-Today? Really? That fast?”

“I told you, kitten-The man is a genius. Thank you, Jaq. I’ll have the money when we come back.” Thatcher said, shaking hands with Jaq before Thatcher led Taddie out of the room, through the waiting room and back to the car. Taddie giggled as she slid into the car then turned to him and said, “We did not come here just for this--What else are you planning?”

“I’m just gonna not tell you shit-Just start blindfolding you and taking you places…Can you please be fucking patient for once, kitten?” Thatcher said with a chuckle, slipping his arm around her waist as she leaned against him. She giggled and bit her lip as she rested her chin on his chest and said, “Yeah, I guess…For once.”

Thatcher tsk’d at her, then a wicked smirk crossed his face before he began to tickle her sides, making her scream and squeal as she laughed, pushing his hands away. Thatcher laughed along with her then caught her face in his hands, guiding her lips to his. She pressed her hands to his chest and let out a sigh as she kissed him back.

“I don’t know how you do it--But you make me want you all the time now, Thatcher…If this is the side effects of us having sex, I’m not complaining and we need to do it more.” Taddie said with a wicked smirk. He snickered softly and kissed her, achingly slow. She broke the kiss with a soft gasp then pressed her forehead to his as she let out a soft groan and added, “Ugh-Why does it feel weird though? I-I feel so-s-so…Sexy a-and pretty-”

“Beautiful, first of all…And there’s nothing to feel weird about, kitten. We’re still young, we’re…Extremely attracted to each other. There’s nothing weird about wanting to be with me all the time.” Thatcher purred against her lips. She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest against him, but he tugged her into his lap, tugging her legs apart to straddle him and smashed his lips to hers. Taddie pushed her hands into the underside of his hair, letting out a soft moan into the kiss. He pushed his hands over her hips, splaying his fingers over her legging covered cheeks and squeezing. “I wanted to take you in the back of this car the first time we were here…I wanted to take you in the alley after we were kicked out of that restaurant and you sassed back at the waiter…I’d fuck you every hour of every day if you asked me to. I always want you, Princess.”

“Don’t say things like that…I just might take you up on it one day.” She teased at him before kissing him slowly, then letting out a light sigh as she slipped out of his lap. Thatcher chuckled and held her hip as he nuzzled into her hair while they rumbled along the streets. Taddie’s lips curved into a content smile as she rested her head on his chest, tugging his hand into her lap to push up the sleeve of his hoodie to trace out some of his tattoos of his arm, then flipped his hand to slide her fingers over the tattoos across his knuckles. “Did they hurt?-The tattoos on your knuckles?”

“Little bit. But they healed quick…I know you showed me the one on your side…But I never wanted to stare too long at you-I know how you feel about it…Do you have any other tattoos?” Thatcher asked, his lips at her ear and speaking softly. Her lips lifted higher as she nodded and looked up at him.

“You can look at me, Thatcher. I never said you couldn’t. I-I just feel awkward sometimes…You can take off my shirt and explore if you want?” She mused at him before pressing a slow, soft kiss to his lips. He chuckled and bit his lip slightly as she broke the kiss and sat back, slowly lifting her shirt. Thatcher called out to his men, firmly and in Swedish, before he slid his hands over her skin, gazing back at her and holding her gaze before his drifted down as she shifted out of her sweater then turned her back to him. His hands slid over her shoulders, one with a blooming rose and a series of emotions of Carpet from Aladdin. The other had the flowers from Alice in Wonderland, beneath that was a paw print track that went under her bra. He chuckled and slid his fingers over them then down her arms as he tugged her back and reached for her sweater again.

“They’re beautiful, Princess. I didn’t realize you were so inked up like me.”

“Well…Not as much as I’d like, but I got a few before I-I had to stop.” Taddie said, her tone growing more sad and monotone as she took her sweater back and quickly tugged it on, shifting away from him for a moment. Thatcher drew his brows together as he watched her fuss over her hair, gently but quickly combing her fingers through her curls, then glanced up at him.

“He made you stop?” Thatcher asked, not wanting to say her ex’s name and upset her more, but he wanted to dig a little deeper himself, since he had yet to hear back from Tristan about anything regarding Jack.

Taddie nodded and took a deep breath before she cleared her throat and said, “Yeah, um…S-Said I just wanted to t-t-take my shirt off for other men and have them touch me. Said it was ch-cheating and I-I didn’t appreciate him and wh-what he…What he did for me…”

Thatcher pulled her closer and kissed her softly before he cradled the back of her neck, making her tilt her head up to him. “If you like tattoos and you want to get more-I’ll be more than happy and willing to pay for them. I know you’re artistic--Tattoos are a form of art. Why do you think mine are so well done? I take it seriously…Just another thing we have in common, Taddie.” He said with a warm smile. She nodded as her smile lifted and she slid a hand up his chest, lifting her fingers to brush against his cheek.

“We’ll see. I-I haven’t had an u-urge to feel pain in recent years…” She said with a half smile. He slid his hand over the side of her face and gave her a hard stare as he said, “He is never going to touch you again, Taddie. I know it’s going to take some time to heal, but don’t use it as an excuse to not do what you want anymore. You’re with me now-If you want to do it, I’ll make it happen. You want to get a sleeve that’s gonna cost $500 and take 4 hours? I’ll pay for it and I’ll be there with you. You want to quit the bar and spend your time just painting? I’ll make sure you’ll have the funds to do it--Let go of him, Taddie. He doesn’t control you, he doesn’t run your life…Soon enough, pain will just be pain again. It won’t be flashbacks and ghost pains. It’ll just be pain, temporary, and in the moment…Don’t let him control you, Taddie. Don’t.”

Taddie bit her lip and clung to his hoodie as she stared up at him with big, tearful eyes. He wiped her tears as they slipped out, slowly, and continued, “I want you to have a good time today. This weekend--I want you to have fun with my family…We can go get a tattoo today if you want!”

“No!” Taddie laughed, sniffling as she looked away and wiped her face as she let out a sigh and rested her head on his chest. “Ohh…No, we don’t need to get tattoos today…God, I just want to feel normal again.”

“You are normal, kitten. You’ve just been through a lot….Don’t talk about it anymore. Not today.” Thatcher whispered against her temple before pressing a kiss to it and nuzzling into her curls. Taddie nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist as she snuggled closer to him. He gave her a tight squeeze then tilted her head back to press a deep kiss to her lips.

~

When the SUV stopped, Taddie was let out on 5th Avenue and she looked around in awe. They had stopped at a corner in between Gucci and Armani, and once Taddie had realized, she whipped her head around and narrowed her gaze at him, suspiciously. Thatcher snickered and smirked at her, sliding his arm around her waist and keeping her close as they started walking, Thatcher’s man following behind them. Taddie was nervous as they approached the entrance to Gucci, but they passed it and she looked up at Thatcher and scrunching up her face in confusion.

“Where are we going? Now that we’re here, you can tell me right?” Taddie asked, chewing her lip nervously, as they crossed the street, heading toward Armani. Thatcher’s lips pulled back in a smirk, casting a quick glance down at her as they approached the Armani door, but passed it as well. “If you just wanted to walk and window shop-”

“Kitten. Work with me, angel-Just. Be. Patient.” Thatcher laughed, looking down at her and quickly dropping a kiss to her lips. Taddie bit her lip and rested her chin on his chest as she giggled and blushed. He gave her hip a squeeze as he led her past a number of other stores before his bodyguard rushed forward and opened the door to Harry Winston. Taddie let out a gasp and stopped, staring at the jewels in the window, making Thatcher slide his hand down to hers and tug her along inside.

“Wait-Thatcher, no--” Taddie protested as he pulled her closer. She looked around as she pushed at his chest, suddenly feeling well underdressed and like she shouldn’t even breathe for fear of something more expensive than her life shattering that she then had to pay for. He chuckled and gripped her chin, turning her to face him.

“You have your traditions, we have ours. I promise it’ll be subtle and you can wear it when you want…I am glad you’re still wearing the necklace, kitten.” Thatcher said, sliding his fingers down her neck and tugging the sapphire T  from beneath her sweater. She bit her lip as her blush darkened and she nodded, lifting her chin as he ducked down for another kiss.

“Mr. Price. We’ve been expecting you.” A voice said from behind him. Thatcher turned, wrapping his arm around Taddie’s waist, protectively, then smiled when he saw, who looked like to Taddie as, the manager of the store waiting for them.

“You have--I apologize for how early we are. Is it ready?” Thatcher asked as the man led the couple down one of the two aisles along the display cases.

“No need to apologize, sir--It was given a last polish this morning.” The man said, giving Thatcher a wide smile. He led them to a back room that was enclosed with glass panels for walls. Thatcher guided Taddie to a chair in front of a white table, standing behind her. Taddie shifted, awkwardly, in the chair, looking back at him with lightly drawn brows. He slid his hands over her shoulders and gave them a light squeeze before slipping them down her arms as he bent down and said, “Just relax, kitten. You’re going to love it.”

“Why don’t I trust you right now?” Taddie shot, narrowing her gaze at him. He chuckled and tickled her sides, making her squeak and squirm around as she giggled and pushed his hands away. “Stop it-I already feel out of place, don’t make me get squeaky.”

“Yes, Princess.” Thatcher rumbled in her ear. She let out a soft gasp and suddenly felt wet between her thighs, clenching them together. He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her neck as the man walked back in with a small velvet box that he placed on the table in front of Taddie.

“What did you do?” Taddie asked as Thatcher moved around her and opened the box. She let out a gasp as he took out a sapphire ring set in an intertwining silver band and reached for her right hand. It was a decent sized stone, about a karat, marquise cut with small diamonds surrounding it. “No-Thatcher--”

“I’m not proposing. It’s not a promise ring…But jewelry, especially rings, are very significant in my family. It means things are moving forward and are getting serious. Tristan got one for Leah on their first Christmas after 6 months together. Theo did it after the first year, Tom did it after 3.” Thatcher said, slipping the ring on her ring finger and tilting her hand up to her to see it.

“Thatcher…” Taddie breathed, sliding her finger over the stone and wiggling her fingers around, lightly. It was a near perfect fit, but she’d rather have it a little bigger anyway. As she moved her hand around in the light, she let out another light gasp, followed with a light whine as she melted at the bright sparkles from the sapphire. “Sweetheart, it’s beautiful…”

“But?...Angel, please accept it. Like I said-You don’t need to wear it all the time. Wear it when I take you out on dates, wear it to Sunday dinner. I just want you to have it, ja? When we get to the house, put it away. Wear it for Christmas dinner.” He said, closing his hand over top of hers, making her turn her gaze to him, misty with tears. With a sniffle she nodded and said, “O-Of-Of course, I’ll keep it. Thatcher--”

Taddie let out a sigh and let herself fall against him, Thatcher quickly standing as he caught her and brought her to her feet as he wrapped his arms around her. He chuckled and kissed her cheek before she buried her face in his neck and said, “Why are you doing all of this? I-I don’t-I don’t need all these fancy, expensive things…”

“You don’t like them?”

“Of course…Of course, I do.” Taddie sniffled, pulling her face back to look up at him. “I love them, Thatcher, but…You’re spending so much on me, I-I…I haven’t done anything to deserve all this.”

“You don’t need to do something for me to spoil you, Taddie. This is me holding back, even--You just might have a breakdown if I actually spoiled you the way the men in our family spoil our women.” Thatcher said with a soft laugh. 

Taddie giggled, softly, and let out another sniffle as he continued, “I remember my father coming home every day in December, one year when we were young; A ring, then a necklace, then earrings, then a bracelet. Then two rings, two rings and a necklace--It continued like that until New Years and my mother ended up with enough jewelry for her to pair them all for the whole year…I was 4. She stayed at home and took care of the house. She didn’t do anything that warranted all those gifts--He’s in love with her and she’s his wife. The wife of the Price Family boss. You get gifts because we see something and think, ‘This will look good on her’ or ‘She would love this’. It’s second nature to buy for you as much as it is to buy for ourselves and our family.”

“I just feel bad--I can’t ever repay you-”

“Do it by accepting what I give you. Cry cause you’re happy, cry because it’s beautiful, it’s what you wanted. Repay me by being happy, kitten. That’s all.” He said, tipping her chin higher and sliding his lips over hers. She kissed him back and nodded with a smile as she said, “I am. It’s beautiful, I love it, Thatcher. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, kitten…Now-The ring is paid for and we can walk out. I have other places I want to take you and you need. To be. Patient.” Thatcher said, raising his brows at her as her mouth dropped open to interrupt him and ask, then snapped her mouth shut and wiggled around in his arms with excitement. She giggled as he lifted a hand to cup her jaw as he said, “I know you’re going to love it, just trust me on that, okay? Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, please. Yes, Sir.” Taddie whispered back, biting back a wide, excited smile. Thatche chuckled and kissed her, softly, then took her hand, scooping up the ring box from the table, and turning to the man as he said, “Thank you, Robert. I’m sure I’ll be back--Oof! Alright, alright…”

Taddie nudged his side and gave him a look, then giggled as she followed him around and out, weaving through the store and back onto the street. Taddie laced her fingers with his then lifted their hands to look at the ring as it glittered on her finger. She giggled and bit her lip as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then she looked up before he got too far and he sealed a kiss to her lips as well. With a deep, content sigh, Taddie leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her other hand around his bicep as they maneuvered through the busy sidewalk, Thatcher’s man not too far behind them.

Thatcher’s smile grew and grew as they went down the street and around the corner, slowly approaching an art museum at the end of the block. Taddie’s eye caught the sign and she bit her lip, looking up at Thatcher with an excited look. He refused to look at her, knowing he’d give in and confirm her silent suspicions, instead he started chuckling and laughing as she got more and more antsy. They approached the door and he intended to lead her past it before circling back, but as he gave no indication that was their destination, he glanced down at her and saw the excitement drain from her eyes as she deflated and he didn’t have the heart. He quickly reached out for the door before he passed it and opened it for her. Taddie’s face lit back up again as she bit her lip and practically skipped inside, pulling Thatcher with her.

~

After spending two hours wandering around the museum in awe, Taddie didn’t want to leave. Thatcher had received a text from Jaq as they neared the exit and led Taddie out to the SUV. They stopped at a very nice nail salon, where Thatcher paid for a new set for her, and both of their pedicures before speeding back to the tailor’s. He kept them waiting, as Taddie had begun to pace between cases, staring at the outfits as she got more and more anxious by the second. 

Finally, Thatcher pulled her away and locked his lips to hers in a brief makeout before Jaq finally emerged. Taddie squeaked as the door opened and she pushed Thatcher away, but he’d caught her hand and brought her with him, the both of them stumbling back until Thatcher landed in one of the chairs, Taddie in his lap. They laughed, loudly, together as Thatcher curled his arms around her and kissed her temple.

Raising a brow, Jaq said, “Did ve have drinks vith lunch? Patchuer-You know my rule about being intoxicated, oui?”

“Oui, oui, Jaq. No, we’re not drunk. My apologies, friend. We’re just anxious and excited to see the dress. You’ve kept us waiting long enough, eh?” Thatcher said, making sure Taddie was on a steady footing before he stood as well, sliding his arm around her waist. Jaq beckoned them closer and the pair followed him into the workroom, Taddie letting out a gasp when she saw the mannequin now had her dress on it. The sleeves hung off the wooden shoulders and was tightly fitted around the bosom and to the waist, then it shot down before fanning out. The tulle added an extra, almost darkly ethereal effect that she absolutely loved. Thatcher pulled his arm from her, letting her rush over to marvel over it.

“Oh, my God! Jaq! It-It’s-It’s gorgeous! How did you do this in three hours?!” Taddie cried, bringing her hands to her mouth as she gasped, astonished. Thatcher chuckled and went to her, taking her hips and nuzzled his nose to her temple.

“A tailor never tells his secrets, Madame. Vould you like to try it on?” Jaq asked, moving to the mannequin and slipping it off, handing it to Thatcher. Taddie tapped on her toes as she nodded with a wide, ecstatic smile. Thatcher led her to the stand and Jaq busied himself at his desk as Taddie stripped and Thatcher helped her into the gown.

As Thatcher pulled the gown up and tried to zip it, he smirked and said into her ear softly, “You need to take your bra off. It’ll be too tight, I can’t close it…You can’t wear a bra with this dress.”

Taddie glanced back at him, narrowing her gaze, briefly. “Well? Go on then. Don’t be so giddy about the chance to feel me up, Patchuer.” She teased at him as he twisted the clasp of her bra and tugged the straps down her arms. He tugged her back against him as he slid his hands over her bare breasts, making her gasp and cover his hands, glancing at Jaq at his desk.

“You wanna keep teasing me?” Thatcher growled, gently at her. She shook her head and he pressed a slow kiss to her cheek as he pulled his hands back, fitting the gown over her breasts then quickly zipping her up. “Don’t start teasing me about the nicknames or I’m gonna stop using yours--She’s dressed, Jaq.”

“Don’t look at her! Close your eyes. Step down. Come here.” Jaq hissed, ordering Thatcher about as he rushed back to the stand and tugged Thatcher down, turning him away from Taddie. She giggled as Jaq pushed and nudged Thatcher across the room to another door, protesting, “Wha-Wait-Jaq--Qu’est-ce que est?!”

“Go zrough ze door and put it on. Zen you can see her--Allons y!” Jaq said, pulling the door open and pushing Thatcher inside, closing the door behind him. With a nonchalant sigh, Jaq spun around and leaned against the door, crossing his arms with a smirk as he looked at Taddie. She laughed, softly, then smoothed her hands over the dress, looking down at herself, then looking around the room for a mirror.

“Can I see myself?” Taddie asked, shifting on the stand. Jaq chuckled and went to her, helping her down as he said, “Not yet. It iz a surprise for ze both of you. Ze colors you chose-I ‘appened to have a suit in matching fabric. It needed zome gold zread to match your dress, but it vas an easy mend. Now, close your eyes and come vith me…”

“Oh-Um, o-okay…” Taddie said, chewing her lip as she did as she was told, closing her eyes and gripping Jaq’s hands as he slowly led her around then stopped her and said, “Stand zere, do not move. Keep ze eyes closed.”

“Oui, Monsieur.” Taddie said with a soft giggle. Jaq chuckled and muttered at her in French, making her giggle even more. She chewed her lip as she shifted on her feet and anxiously picked at the tulle before smoothing her fingers over it.

“Am I allowed out when I’m finished?” Thatcher called. Jaq went to the door and cracked it open, ordering him about in French before he opened the door and guided Thatcher out and over to Taddie. Feeling someone next to her, Taddie let out a soft gasp, then laced her fingers with his, one of his fingers gently rubbed over her wrist, telling her it was him. She gripped his hand and let out a light, excited squeal as he chuckled, softly, and shook his head. Jaq fussed over them for a moment before he stepped back and said, “Open!”

Taddie gasped and looked herself over, turning from side to side as she admired the dress, then let out a surprised and excited laugh as her gaze drifted to Thatcher, seeing he was dressed in a matching dark green suit with gold accents, a forest green pocket square in the breast pocket. Thatcher looked himself over with an amused and impressed chuckle, then looked at Taddie’s reflection, then immediately turned to her, his smile dropping into a look of surprise and admiration, holding up her hand and making her spin around once.

“Kitten, you-you look incredible…My God-” Thatcher said with a soft laugh, pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her waist. He cast a glance toward the mirror at them, a wicked smirk crossing his face and he turned her about and said, “Oh, yeah-We’re gonna have Tris get some pictures of us in these…Princess, you look beautiful.”

Thatcher turned to look down at her with a bright smile, Taddie letting out a soft giggle as she rested one hand on his chest, the other on his arm as she said, “So, you weren’t serious about the nickname thing then?”

“Jaq used to call me Patchuer as a kid because his accent was so thick he struggled to say my name. It devolved to Patch over time…He actually hasn’t called me that in years.” Thatcher said, shooting the man a look as he snickered. Jaq chuckled and came to stand in front of them, admiring his work before he said, “You’ve always been my Patchette. You’ve just grown, I zink you do not like zis anymore.”

“Well, if he’s not going to, I will--Patch--I think it’s cute.” Taddie said, wrinkling her nose at him as she giggled. Thatcher chuckled and dropped a kiss to her lips and said, “Go for it, Princess. I’ve been waiting for something better than sweetheart.”

“You don’t like sweetheart, Patch?” She teased before she laughed and pushed him back, gently. She cast her gaze toward the mirror and she turned to look over the back side. The dress was tight, but with enough give that she didn’t feel constricted, with the back of the dress dipping low and completely exposing her tattoos across her shoulders. Thatcher smiled at her, moving closer and sliding his hands over her hips and up her sides, kissing over her shoulder.

“Taddie, you look so gorgeous, Princess. You’re definitely going to impress them at Christmas dinner…Do you love it?” Thatcher whispered in her ear after kissing up to it. She giggled and nodded, covering his hand as he slid it over her stomach, holding her close.

“I love it. It’s beautiful. And you’re suit is amazing!” Taddie whispered back before turning to him with a sweet, happy smile. Jaq sniffled from the corner and the pair turned to him, Thatcher chuckling softly as he asked, “Jaq, are you crying?”

“I’ve just waited zo long for you to look zis happy, mon Patchette--I do ze dress for free. Iz Christmas gift from me. Go, go, take it and go.” Jaq said, shooing them away from each other to get dressed. Taddie giggled and looked back at Thatcher as Jaq led her back to the room after walking her around to grab her clothes. Thatcher chuckled as Jaq handed her the clothes before gathering Thatcher’s and bringing them out. “Zere is a dress bag hanging for you, ma chére. I hope you have a happy Christmas.”

Taddie beamed as Jaq clasped her hands in his, kissing both her cheeks before ushering her into the room to change. Jaq gave Thatcher’s clothes to him, he and Taddie quickly changing. Jaq put Thatcher’s suit into a garment bag as well as Taddie emerged, her dress bag delicately draped over her arm, smiling at Thatcher as she closed the door and went to him. In his emotions, Jaq quickly shooed them out. The couple laughed as Thatcher tucked her into his side and walked her out to the car. Once they climbed in, they were quickly driven back to the airport to fly back to Roanoke. In her elated state, Taddie hardly noticed the take-off and the landing, blissfully cuddled up with Thatcher in their seats.

~

Let me know what you guys think! <3 If you'd like to be added to the taglist, send me a message! <3

Taglist: @badwolf-in-the-impala @sweetwombatpizza

[robinasnyder]

I know this is sleep deprived!John, but I kinda like the idea of John not getting that he proposed to Phantom bc he can't imagine anyone (especially someone so powerful) would actually want him and be planning to marry him.

So Danny takes him out to pick china patterns, and John's just like "I know someone who will make a ghost pattern, so let's not bother with this," thinking he can help pay his debt, meanwhile, Danny is falling in love.

Danny gets John to help with the guest list. John is critical of anyone who Danny suggests who would be on John's side. Zatanna and Captain Marvel are the only two who get his thumbs up on that. Danny invites Chas anyway because he *knows* that John needs a best man, even if John is really shy about his friends.

Danny had John helping him pick food options and wedding cake. John remembers one of Danny's friends is vegetarian/vegan and starts suggesting non-meat, non-dairy, and even non-gluten options. Danny feels touched that John it going out to his way to think of Danny's friends, but then John points out how much allergies can make it difficult for people, and well, Danny's the ghost king. He makes damn certain to cater to every dietary need. John's so thoughtful! Danny has to match that!

Danny asks John where he'd want to go for a vacation, and honestly, John's just like "get me a cabin in the woods with no one around and no creatures and spirits to bother me, a good meal, a bottle of whiskey and I'll be happy." To which Danny plans for two weeks of isolation with no work for either of them except to go on walks and spend a lot of time together.

Danny kisses John at some point and John... well, he likes it, but he owes Danny and doesn't feel like he could turn it down. He figures it's a ghost thing, or Danny's practicing on him so he won't be nervous for the wedding. John doesn't count, after all. John's also hurt that he's helped Danny with all of this planning, but he isn't invited. Like, he doesn't show it, but John knows Danny's best friend and best man doesn't work nearly as hard on this damn wedding, and Danny still hasn't named his fiancé. John's jealous, he'll admit. So he returns those kisses because for just a second he can pretend that he's worthy of them, that someone as breathtakingly incredible as Danny would really want to kiss him, and would want to kiss him for a lifetime.

You know when John figures it out? When Chas and Zee show up for the stag night. The pair realizes that John doesn't realize he's the bride. He's literally moping because he's in love and just feels like a burden, but he wishes Danny wanted him even a little.

Chas sends Zee to the hotel to help with clean up and then Chas takes John out walking. He tells John the truth. He has to tell him a hundred times, show the invitations, talk about every time he's gotten a nervous call from the ghost king bc he's afraid maybe John wants to back out or doesn't really like him. Chas even says he was confused bc just proposing it's John's style, but him being a dumbass who can't see what's right infront of his face bc of his shity selfesteem? That tracks.

Chas lets John get a little (more than a little) drunk to help him not panic.

Thankfully, the wedding his the next night, so they have time to sober John up, get him washed and dressed and ready. Chas and Zatanna realize real fast that John *wants* to get married, but because he hasn't had time to process, he's busy just telling himself he can't back out now and risk humiliating Danny. Danny can just get the marriage annulled later or something.

Zatanna is the one to tell Tucker and Sam what's up, cause someone else needs to know in case John panics. Lucifer manages to overhear this conversation and ends up going to see the "nervous bride". Mostly, he just tells John not to be a moron. Danny knows exactly what a mess is and agreed to this anyway. He also adds that it's embarrassing how badly John's been pining, so just man up and deal with the panic later.

The wedding, surprisingly, goes off without a hitch, despite how freaked out John is by the crowd. But when Danny kisses him and John realizes that Danny really meant every kiss and that those kisses really always were meant for John, well he melts.

Danny doesn't find out the truth until halfway through their honeymoon when John admits the ring was one he got to conteract the rage part of the ring of rage, and he was a dumbass who didn't realize he was proposing. And after Danny is assured that John is happy (like stupid, giddy happy) and that he wants to be there and he likes the wedding ring Danny picked for him, Danny just gives John this lopsided smile and goes "You're a damn moron. But your *my* moron and I love that for me."

And how's John supposed to argue with that? He isn't, and he doesn't.

DPXDC prompt. Adult!Danny x Sleep-deprived!Constantine: We seem to have a misunderstanding.

Warlock was willing to admit that the Phantom’s company was mostly useful and not unpleasant. Because of the specifics of his work they had to meet quite often. It was nice to be at least a little sure that you wouldn’t get stabbed in the back. The new ghost king seemed to be amused by the World of the Living and that was quite useful. In addition, the Infinite Realms had a history of endless conflicts with Hell, so when demons was messing with him, Phantom was happy to put sticks in their wheels.

However, the current enemy of the League was another alien. Both John and Phantom happened to be nearby. But it seems ghost had no reason to help Hellblazer now, as this fight had nothing to do with his kingdom. Given that Batman had explicitly instructed John to stay on the battlefield, it seemed that if John Constantine wanted to count on a weekend, he would have to use his trump card now.

Constantine: In view of the urgency of the situation, I would like to make a proposal. Life offers many challenges. I know I can meet them if you're willing to face them with me. In the spirit of saving time..[holding up a ring] This is for you. You in?

Phantom: I..I don’t know, John. I mean i want to say yes but It’s all so sudden. Please gimme some time to think, okay? And let me help to deal with these invaders first and then we’ll talk about it.

John: ..Sure?

~~~~~

Tucker: Whoa crazy battle dude. John: Civilians are not allowed here. Danny: It's all right. We were going to meet at a cafe, but now, well, there is no cafe. I mean, he's with me and not so civilian, okay?Ehem..John, meet my best friend Tucker. Tucker, meet my..Em, this is John, and he's kinda my John. It's new for us.

Damn. He was in a hurry and offered more than he should have. It turns out the ghost had an interest in protecting the city. It is unlikely that he would allow the destruction of the place where one of his humans lives.

And worst of all, Phantom did not accept the ring (for which John had to hunt for several months) as payment. Constantine got it specially in case he needed a favor or a way to calm the anger of the spirit he was starting to get along with. Like, really, John spent a fair amount to own the artifact which would have neutralized the consequences of wearing a ring of rage. But Ghost didn’t want it? Why? And yet he helped. So John was in debt.

And how it's all at a bad time. The peace treaty and the treaty of cooperation between the States and the Infinite Realms was concluded only recently. Of course John didn't even have time to discuss the terms of their deal because the blushing ghost flew away to fight but to say that he won't pay for the service is like admitting that you want to start a new conflict. Constantine was starting to have a headache. He'll think about it when he gets at least a couple of hours of sleep. Whatever payment the ghost needs, it can wait a couple of hours.

~~~~~

But as it turned out, the ghost couldn’t make up his mind and decide what he wanted from him. He started showing up at John’s place and looking at him thoughtfully, also recently dragged him to pick out a suit. How he could be mistaken for a stylist John did not understand but preferred not to unnerve a potential ally.

Moreover, for some reason the chaotic creature decided that he had the right to condemn John for always forgetting to have dinner or take a bath. This scoundrel dared to lock him in a bathroom with strange scented candles and colored water. Whatever these bath bombs were, dumb spirit failed to poison him but now John smelled like peaches. Disgusting.

After breaking down the door he found the same mess with candles on the kitchen table. Phantom fought a fierce battle with the green goo in the pot that he brought to John's house, but eventually gave up and they ordered delivery. All in all, it was a pleasant evening. Of course John didn't admit it but for some reason Danny decided that he could make such a mess every Friday.

~~~~~

Danny: So..me and Morningstar are friends now. Do you mind? I know you don’t get along very well. John: Why should I care? Your friends are your business. Considering you’re crazy about the stars I’m surprised you’re not sleeping with their maker.

Danny: Hell no, Lightbringer is great. And I’m glad he’s sharing with me what I wouldn’t find in books but I would never cheat on my partner. John: Good to know. (Wow, who knew the Phantom has a lover.)

~~~~~

Morningstar: I have no idea what you see in this arrogant man, stardust.

Phantom: I don’t know. It’s interesting to be around him. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. And his determination and sarcastic nature are really charming.

Morningstar: Well, I’ll get rid of some of his contracts for your wedding but only because I like you and not because I’m willing to deal with this liar.

Phantom: Thanks, Luci,  you’re the best.

Morningstar:That’s true. But it's not free. I need you as a babysitter to keep Spawn busy while, well, Detective and I are busy.

Phantom: No problem :)

[another-lost-mc]

What was/were the inspiration(s) behind each oc's appearance? 'Cause while they all look scrumptious, I'm lookin' at Karasu ✨️respectfully✨️

-🦖 anon

The OCs are a little self-indulgent so they're a sampling of what I like personally, plus whatever I was able to make with the options available on Picrew. 😂

I have some of the "old" versions of their designs on my PC still, so I'll include some of those here too.

When I first wrote Azra’s character, I was deep in my Sukuna (S01 JJK) brain rot and he was the original influence physically. That was when he was just a character I talked to one of my friends about and wrote out a rough version of his story.

I changed his appearance when I decided to post about him here (it was mostly his hair that needed changing). I wanted him to have wavy-ish hair because it would be fun to play with. I thought it would also make him look deceptively soft for a demon too (it was more fitting when he was still an angel). He has a lot of tattoos on his neck/arms/chest but he got those in the Devildom and they’re meant to help cover his scarring from previous injuries.

(Original Azra Picrew and updated Picrew)

Zekhan is supposed to be a bit of a contrast to Azra since they spend so much time together and I didn't want them to look alike or be mistaken as brothers. He's generally a bit more serious/severe looking and not very approachable. He wears glasses because his vision isn't the greatest and, well, I like glasses. I figured that non-human characters in the Devildom/Celestial Realm would have more variety in their hair colours (going off what we've seen with Barbatos/Mephisto/Thirteen) so he has dark blue hair. His demon form is inspired by the Gargoyles' character designs a little bit and I thought dark blue would work for a bat demon whose specialty is blending into the darkness while still being a bit colourful and other-worldly.

(original Zee Picrew and glow-up Picrew)

I pictured Karasu as a more literal representation of a crow demon: dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes. For his story, the bright and colourful design/aesthetic of KARASU OS was something he was not involved with designing, which I thought would be amusing. (I could see the designers purposefully doing that since they know it'd be the last colour scheme he'd ever use.) Also, I wanted him to have something a bit demonic/menacing about his appearance that would contrast with the quiet but kind demon MC would meet, which I represent with his red irises and dark sclera.

The different versions of him let me play around with how I think he'd change his hair and fashion over time. He doesn't need glasses but I think he would wear them anyway while working.

(From left to right: OG!Karasu, OG! demon form, Nightbringer!Karasu, DILF!Karsu, Modern!AU Karasu)

They're all "average" in terms of demon height/body type. Based on my personal height headcanons, Azra would be the tallest at 6'1 or 6'2. Karasu is the shortest around 5'9. Zee is somewhere between the two.

Azra is a bit more muscular, but not as buff as someone like Beel. Zee is broad-shouldered and slightly muscular (especially his arms) but lean overall. Karasu is slender but not very muscular.

If they had to admit what makes them insecure about their appearance, Azra and Zee would both be most self-conscious about their scars. Azra's the confident and out-going type so he's very good at hiding that. Zee's demon form is the most animalic of the three so he might be nervous showing it to a human MC for the first time. Karasu's short height and slender build make him feel smaller and weaker compared to other demons, but he compensates by investing in tailored clothes and looking put-together in public.

[koolcece22]

Enter Venomgirl

Ch.16

Miguel’s Pov

I wonder what Timothy meant, and wondered why Timothy showed this. He took a deep breath and asked again.

“Can I trust you?” 

“Yes. but I don’t know why you think I’m trustworthy?” I asked at the same time he pulled out a laptop and placed it down on the coffee table under the one light bulb in the room, guessing Shade also had no problem seeing in the dark like me. I sat down on the worn-out couch that had seen better days since it all scratched up, next to him as he started up the laptop that took forever. My computer would had it up immediately by now but I will have to deal with it. Timothy pulled up folders and looked through the data of the UBS drive. It shows scans of DNA, Compound R, and a list of subjects. I knew then and there the subject was human. I stare at the word subject as it brings bad memories. 

“The reason why I’m showing you this is, that Zee is a nice person but at the same time, they don’t trust people and only people as tools to get to their goals. Also, the fact they didn’t help any of the other Metas.” He said I can tell he was bitter by this and I can’t blame him. I have used it once.

“Also I think we need your help on this.”

“Did you tell your boss about all this?” I asked, 

“No, only half of this. I made two UBS drives. I gave one to Zee that had half the information they wanted on it. This one has all the information that was stolen from the Six. It was hard to get. especially since the leader was there today.” Timothy showed me the data. This computer is so slow, and sometimes It is hard to think this is what Peter and the others have to deal with. Tabbing my finger on the table trying to wait for this Shocking thing to load. 

“Can’t this computer go any faster?” I asked 

“Sorry. This isn’t the best model computer. Shade only was able to give me this. At least this is waterproof.” Timothy said with a nervous laugh. Lyla popped next to me with a giggle

“Don’t worry about this kid. Mr. Grumpy is very impatient since he is so spoiled in his time.” Lyla said as I swapped her away from my face. 

“Oh, so you are a time-traveling alien?” 

“For the hundredth time, I’m not an alien.” 

Before the kid can say anything something comes up on the screen. There were like thirty pages worth on the Subjects. Grab the mouse from Timothy.

“Hey!” He shouted but I just ignored him as went through this data. All the Subjects have been given the Compound R when they're in their mother wombs. Judging from this data something tells me they were told that their unborn were being tested. 

“My…Mom did that.”  I look at Timothy who looks down. “My mom and dad weren’t great people. They wanted to make a quick buck and volunteer to be tested. So not everyone was forced but it still vuck up.” 

“Yeah, well join the club, my parent weren’t great either.”

“Really?”

I shook my head and got back to this as went through the data I saw the Subjects were crossed out. I who used to work in the lab, know what it means when the Subject is crossed out. They are dead. They either didn't make it past birth or were dying after 6 months after birth according to results. This Compound R, what the shock is this? I was about to go to the next page but the computer was doing slow, I began to click it to move till Timothy grabbed the computer from me.

“Hey! Come on man! It is hard to get me a computer. Just give it a minute or so. There a merda of data it still loading in.”

I huffed. I hate this retro technology, why did Xena like this stuff again? 

“How long does it need?” 

“Uh, I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes or so.”

Ten minutes?! God this tech is so slow. I flop back down on the couch with a huff. Lyla was just smirking at me this whole time knowing how impatient I am with the old school computer. I decide to get up and check the perimeter, give me something to do. 

“ We can play video games while we wait,” Timothy said but I just ignored him. 

“Just call me when it's done loading.”

~

Ten minutes had passed till I heard Timothy call me back up guessing the computer. I returned to the room and saw Timothy scroll through it without me. I took the computer from him, he let out a huff from it. I took a deep breath as used to the computer not wanting to break it. Seeing the lab data on the Compound R and what it is. what is

shown in the lab results is heightened concentrations of enzymes and muscle building as well as other compounds that I have never seen before. These elements must be unique to only on this earth.  If I was in my Lab I could scan this element with no problem. 

As I went through the Compound R data there was small Side data from it. I click it as it says: Compound RV.

Compound RV? What that? A different form of the compound? As I went through it there were a couple of videos on there. Me and Timothy wonder what this is. Click on it but the video didn’t play I clicked on the computer again nothing happened. Before I started trying something anything, Timothy took the computer from me and looked into it. 

“So my computer is still loading the data into it and it's going be much longer,” Timothy said as he tried to scan it faster. 

“How much longer?”

“A day or so. My computer is a 10 old year model that was able to enhance as best I could. Sorry, It's not the best at it.” Timothy looked down looking like he was about to cry. I quickly pat him trying to calm him down, trying to remember what I would have done when Gabrella was upset. 

“Hey. we’ll find out what going on.” then I summoned Lyla who was already scanning the computer to take the info that we were able to scavenge from the drive.

“So I was able to scan what we got so far. I can’t get the info from that still being downloaded since this Earth computer has different processing than ours. So we got to play the waiting game boss.” Lyla said as I looked over the information we got. The best thing is that I head to my Earth real quick to see if there is anything we have missed so far. My watch then created a tiny spider bot that I gave to Timothy. He wonders what it is.

“Think of that like… a cell phone. Does this earth have a cell phone?” I’m not sure what type of moderation this earth has but so far it is similar to Miles’s and Gwen’s. Timothy looked at the bot like a kid getting a limited-edition toy. 

“My very own Alien watch. Thank mr.alien.” 

I sigh, there was no winning with these kids. I press a button on my watch to open a portal back to my earth. 

“I will be right back. If something happens. Hit that button on the bot and I will be back here right away. Got it?”

Timothy then salutes me like the little soldier he thinks he is. I jump in heading back to my lab, wondering what truly happened with this earth.

~

Shade’s Pov

 I got back to heading back to Jess, I can tell her everything went ok. Hobie got hurt but it wasn’t too bad. I just hate fighting that Spot guy. The man was getting on my nerves. At least I’m getting better at navigating this place. By the Great one, the place is so huge and it takes me longer to get back since I can’t stick on walls like that spider-people. I went through the place where they kept Villian and where I first kept here.

“ Look at all these different baddies,” Kuro said to me, and looking around all the bad guys, some glared at me. Others just ignored us, and a few looked around trying to find a way out. 

“Well, Well, Well. Look at girly out of her cage.” 

I stop and turn to see that Spot guy we just captured. He only has one spot on his body now. It must be because, from that device that Miles put on him, I’m guessing Spots are very dangerous. I try to ignore him. 

“I guess they let a freak like you out. Maybe you some lab rat they want to te-”

I glared at him, I guess one look from me caused him to shut up. I dare him to finish that sentence. Because nothing stops me from finishing the job.

“ Hey, Shade! Chill!” 

I to a deep breath trying to calm myself down. Putting my hand on my chest to calm my heart. I don’t usually get work up from insults that. Not from some dumb cartoon reject. I try to get out as fast as I can till a headache comes over me. I grab my head as another vision from Carnage comes to me again.

I can see him fighting and killing people. Enjoy every second of it, there was a moment when he was looking down at someone. The person has had chains on his body, bruising all over his body, and have number on his chest. I couldn’t make out the face

“Hey there bro.”

I snapped back to reality wondering what I just saw. Great one, I need to figure out what going on with me. I decided to bite the bullet and head to the doctor Spider-lady. I got there and knocked on her door.

“Come in.” I heard her say as I opened the door. I see Andrea looking in some books which is weird since I thought this was a futuristic world? The books look like they are from the 1800s. She looks up from her book to look at me.

“Oh Shade, did something happen to you?” 

“No…I mean yes. I keep getting visions of Carnage. Are you sure he is completely gone?”

Andrea got up and looked at me, rubbing her chin as she examined me. Never noticed that she had scars on her lips and neck. 

“Mmm. I have a theory I want to test on you. If you don’t mind?” 

“No?”

She smiled at me and led me to bed. I couldn't help but shiver at the sight of it but I try not to let her know that. I sat on it, as she pulled out a vial of something yellow. I sense something off about it, i reach my hand out to as I do that it jumps at me. My eyes widen in shock. What the vuck?!

“This is a symbiote or a piece of one. I had another symbiotic outbreak on my earth. So lucky you I was able to get a sample.” 

“Ok? What does this have to do with me?” I asked weirded out about this thing in the vial.

“If my hypothesis is correct, I think you can absorb symbiotes and gain their powers.”

I was so confused about what she said. What does she mean that I can absorb Symbiotes? I think she is crazy even if I could I don’t want that stuff anywhere near me. It's bad enough that I can see Carnage’s mind. I don’t need that in my already messed up life.

“We will test it later. I just got a message from the boss man he is here in 3…2..1.”  just as Andrea said a portal opened up in her lab and Miguel popped out from it. 

“Miguel?! I thought you were on my earth?” I said surprised he was here. Miguel dissolved his mask and had a look of surprise that I was there. 

“I was. Your friend Timothy wants me to do something. He believes that Alchemax, your Alchemax is planning something. I come here to recover what we got so far from the data he has gotten.” 

I raise an eyebrow in confession “What data?”

“Zee asks him to get something for them. I have to rescue him as he was surrounded by some mutated cops.”

I groan, next time I see Zee I’m kicking their ass. how dare they put a kid in danger for their gain. 

“ well since you are here, I want you to come with me. Since this is your earth data it is best that you should know as well.” 

Andrea sighed as she went back to her desk to work. Putting the veil on her desk. 

“Oh well, will test it next time then?” 

I just left not wanting to be a lab rat again. I follow Miguel back to his lab. He had to come here anyway since the room was in his lab anyway. We walk into the lab and head to the platform where all his computers or at least screens are. I am still amazed at all this future stuff. 

“Lyla, bring up the data we got so far,”  Miguel said as his A.I. popped up next to us. She smirks then pops up data from some sort. I saw Compound R and all the subjects' numbers and how they were crossed out. I have seen some of the information before I parted ways with Zee. I never knew there were so many, how could they? 

“Judging by this, whatever Compound R is it gives people powers. It also seems random, and anyone who wasn’t born with…they don’t survive long.” 

I just kept looking at all these subjects. I knew they were a lot but I didn’t know it was this many. I grabbed my right arm and squeezed hard remembering what they did to me when I was young. They deem me a failure. 

“Then their compound RV… I only have one piece about it and that is the was only one subject: RV-IV-001.”  Miguel looked at me, I just kept my head down being upset about this. I barely know any of this, for nine years I was kept in the dark or not gaining anything. Before I could say anything a video message came up, it was Miles. The video feed was a bit staticky and a bit blurry.

“Miles? What going on?” Miguel said trying to get a clear reading. Even behind his mask, I could tell he was out of breath and scared

“There–guy—all –animals—control—” Miles tried to say but his video kept cutting, before Miguel could see what going on we saw Mile getting grabbed by something. Then the video cut out. I can hear Miguel cursing to himself, then turn to Lyla

“Lyla. locate where Miles is now!” 

Lyla nodded as she did a scan I think. Till she pops up again then show what Earth he is: Earth 1610.

“Something is going on Miles’s earth. Lyla. open a portal near Miles location. Now.” Lyla nodded as she opened the portal, I followed him but he stopped me. 

“Your staying.”

“What? No! Miles needs our help. I’m not going to let that kid get hurt.” 

“Your no condition-”

“Like void, I am! You let me go with you or I’ll figure out a way to get to him.” I glare at him. I’m not going to let one of my friends get hurt. Miguel glared at me as he summoned his mask, not wasting time as he relented.

“Fine, let go.”

[mylovelia]

from em to zee ~

aka from admin to admin but i just wanted to be cryptic

hi, my love! i hope this little letter finds you well :') i have all of these sweet things that ren is leaving for lia so i thought that i'd also leave something sweet for you!

i can't believe we've known each other for over a year now... we're coming up on two years in march. we've been through a lot together in just this short time — though it certainly hasn't felt short — and look at us still going strong! this is what a real marriage looks like, everyone should take notes 💪🏻 it's crazy how time flies, huh?

i know i always tell you how much you mean to me and i say it sincerely with my entire heart every time, but i don't think you realize just how special you truly are to me... you've made these past two years — shh, i'm rounding it up — of my life some of the most memorable and i've cherished every bit of our time spent together, even from miles apart. when i dropped out of public school to do everything solely online, i lost contact with all of my irls and i was lonely after a while. it seemed like everyone was growing up and moving along in life, they continued on easily without me and that made me feel sad. i guess i stayed stuck in my sixteen-year old era for a while and watched everyone go off to college, find their boyfriends, a few even had kids while i was gone and meanwhile i was cooping myself up in my room giggling over boy bands and binging fanfictions, still snuggled up with my dozens of plushies and sleeping with my fairy lights on. i guess i felt left out or left behind seeing everyone aside from me grow up. even the few mutuals i made online seemed ten times more mature than i could ever wish to be — they'd talk about their college struggles and adulting things that i wasn't taking part in at the time despite being 20 years old.

then i met you... i really like our origin story because only we could have met in such a goofy way. even before our grand reveal, just the short time we spoke outside of ren and lia, you were easy and fun to speak to and i enjoyed our little random admin talks. as we continued to talk more as ourselves outside of liju, i realized how similar we were and it felt so comforting to know that i had someone like you who i could turn to whenever i felt discouraged about anything. you were — and still are, of course — like my favorite plushie; my comfort and security. you've always been so kind, compassionate and understanding towards me and anyone who's had the pleasure of crossing paths with you. you've never made me feel childish or immature, you've always validated my feelings and actions even though some may have been questionable. you've always been encouraging and patient, and for that i'll always have such a special love for you.

your little encouragements mean the world to me, like when i'm nervous to make phone calls to people or when i have to have a serious talk with someone. you've always been here to cheer me on and i can't express how thankful i am to have such a lovely person like you in my life ~ i don't think i would be the person i am today without your presence, you've been a source of warmth and safety for me — like a patch of sunlight that lia enjoys napping in! so thank you, my love, for being you and for choosing to stay around even through the toughest of times. i cherish every moment i have with you — every message i receive, every voice note you leave, every rare selfie or video i get from you. they're all reminders that i get to wake up and be the luckiest wife in the world with the sweetest husband that's perfect for me ~ 🥰

that song that liju has claimed — the one linked in the pinned post — is for us, too. you already know that of course, but i like to remind myself that our beloved babies live on through our friendship. that song is meant for soulmates which, in my obviously correct opinion, are what we and liju both are ~ liju really paved the way for us- they walked so we could run! 🥹

anyways, this is getting quite long so i'll cut this off for now, but expect more admin love in the future! i love you and i appreciate you, you mean the absolute world to me and i'm so grateful to have met you in this lifetime. i hope we find each other in every other lifetime after this, too... happy valentine's day, my love!

i love you always, zaf ~ 💞

[sunlessea]

“ i can’t sleep. ” + (comfort) -> silas and winter.

he hasn't been sleeping much, either — and he suspects their reasoning is vastly different. no shock is it, then, when winter is there at his beck and call, as he always has been these weeks at zee. the moment he heard gentle knocks on the metal of his door, he sighed and raised from his desk as if he'd expected it. at that point, he didn't even know why they bothered with the fanfare. wouldn't it be easier, he'd lamented, for him to just give in and come to bed with him to begin with. he'd opened the door with little enthusiasm, his own exhaustion purely mental, taxing as being at zee could be, especially with someone near constantly putting them on the brink of death. but least when they're beneath the waves, crawling along the depths of the ocean's floors, it is so deathly quiet.

except, of course, the quiet and uncharacteristically nervous pleading of the man who'd been standing at his room's threshold. he'd barely gotten the damn thing open before silas had stepped inside, without being fully welcomed, and planted himself at his side. well. he'd probably fallen into routine, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. silas is starting to ignore it less. he'd noticed, of course. as the captain, it's his job to.

falling into bed with him the longer this went on had become uncomfortably more natural, less often for the purpose of lascivious exchanges to distract him with the lewd { though they certainly still found their time for it, on the nights it helped him to forget entirely } and more for the sake of comforting him. his own heart screams, dead and unbeating, but terrified of the intimacy this introduces to the two of them, twisting in his chest like a venom until he feels sick to his stomach. but he has no choice, spurned by the gods at zee for the nightmare and terror that silas has brought to his crew, yet remaining a notable figure they cannot simply leave to rot at the bottom of the zeebed. and so he coddles him, knowingly, pulling back his sheets and dimming the candles that give blush to his skin during what must be the day, though no sun could poke through to them even if it still yet shone in the neath this many leagues under the water.

sometimes even his company, though, is not quite enough. he is a light sleeper by manner of the very creature he is. silas's hand brushes his face first, he thinks, before it trails along his throat and settles at his shoulder where he shakes him awake. he squints into the darkness at first, where the last flames of the candles he'd left burning had long dissipated and left them with no glow at all. he can see perfectly fine without the light, but it's the chill of his own flesh that unsettles him, glaringly obvious when a kine has his own hand, burning hot against his suddenly colorless arm. he is less a person and more a corpse, these times of night, when he groans and sits up, lets his hair veering more white than blonde fall over his shoulder where the ribbon had long untied and fallen out somewhere in his tossing and turning.

he parts his lips, fangs bared in subtle yawn as he closes one eye, watching silas with the other, but he still falls in on himself a bit, positively gray as he reaches over to light another candle by his bedside. a regular one, of course. there's not even a point wasting the magic, when they're like this. there's nothing he can do about it. irons forgive him his transgressions against the very masquerade he'd helped pen.

"evidently," he drawls, not quite scowling, but exasperated. he'd been woken up already when he'd felt him tossing, but figured he may as well wait for him to acknowledge it himself when he woke up. he doesn't think silas realizes he'd felt his hand wandering. he doesn't think he's going to admit that he did, either. "what do you want me to do about it?" because he knows that there will be something. some plea or batting of his eyelashes, but he doubts, for once in his life, that silas is trying to be all that manipulative. he's scared, however strange it has been to witness. but where he cannot hold himself together, winter himself is an ever-strong pillar, an immovable object against the force of the zee. he isn't scared of anything, save for the delusion of a heartbeat.

he waits, expectant, because he knows. he's not even sure why he makes him say it, ask it of him. once he'd have thought it a move of pride, but here when it's just the two of them buried deep in the depths of the dark with nothing to prove to anyone but themselves ... he doesn't have an explanation for why, when silas practically begs him to hold him, it is such a compelling notion. perhaps it is the humanity of it, so addictive to kindred because it is something they have lost. but he isn't sure, and he cannot ask. he sees telltale signs that the other may start rambling, and sighing heavily, he pushes his own thoughts aside and reaches out, wrapping his stone cold arm around his shoulders. "just shut up and come here."

he collapses back into the bed, pulling silas down along with him. it ends with him half 'pon his back, his company all but sprawled atop his shoulders, but he pays it no further thought. his arms wrap around him, one at his waist and the other against the middle of his back. it's loose enough that he retains his comfort, but tight enough to keep the other steady against him. closing his eyes, he tries not to think about the silence that silas will hear, ear pressed against his chest : with the candles having burnt out, there is no safety net to falsify his humanity or illusion a blood flow, a heart beat. he trusts him not to say anything, because that would be as blatant as him admitting that he was looking for his heart to begin with.

"forget whatever you were dreaming about. everything is fine." blissfully quiet was the zee tonight. he would take salt's blessings, where they are spared. "go back to sleep, silas." he does not even feign a breath, and there is no rise and fall to his chest. but he does let him shift further up in his arms, press his face to the crook of his neck, and wrap his own arms around him, too. winter's head lulls to the side until his lips naturally brush his temple, resting atop silas's own, and though he sighs, he does not say anything more. he moves the hand 'pon his back further up, curling his fingers into his hair. so be it.

[zeebreezin]

The people want the drywall..? I will… provide (he says through tears)

So, right. Laurence has a weird thing where I think he’s deeply stable-passing simply because of the company he keeps. In comparison to the rest of the throuple & Bev himself, he comes off as the most well-adjusted of the lot of them, which is true in a sense. But again the competition isn’t very good. While I do think he ended up doing as good of a job raising Bev as he could’ve done, he’s still not a normal man. His loyalty to the Beverley family isn’t a healthy bond, and Laurence is definitely overprotective & at times obsessed with keeping Beverley safe. He’d never doubt Bev as a person, of, would never suspect him of doing wrong… how could he, when he’s all Laurence has left?

But then we come to Bev’s state in London - unraveling, resorting to blackmail & violence against his superiors. That’s treason, and if Bev ever ended up back on the Grand Geode, there’s a high chance he’d be sent to Laurence for ‘punishment’.

You’ve gotta factor in the evidence, though. Laurence is a reasonable man.

The biggest recent defector from the New Sequence (B) was another Geode Kid. They went to London, came back nervous & flighty, and then all of a sudden fled Zelo’s town and from what Laurence knows, died at Zee. Bev goes to London soon after, and when Laurence gets there after a series of deeply concerning letters, he’s in a similar state. Nervous, confused, seemingly both antsy about going home and about staying, and much more openly emotional than Laurence is used to. From Laurence’s POV, Bev is acting irrational to the point where it’s nearly out of character. It’s concerning.

So… what’s he going to think? Both of these two kids who’d been born under the light leave and suddenly start to fall apart? They’re sick, obviously. The lack of Dawnlight is having a more profound effect then it would in other people. Delusions, anxiety, restlessness… all things the machine usually suppresses. It makes total sense, doesn’t it?

And Laurence would never suspect Bev of doing everything he’s done if he was of sound mind and body. So clearly, he’s sick. Going through some form of light withdrawal that they weren’t aware of. They’d made a mistake stationing him out here. Whatever happened, it wasn’t his fault - not really. He’s not going to drag Bev back into a dangerous cult that’s repeatedly killed his ego since childhood, he’s just a concerned man that’s also Bev’s only family.

He needs to come home for his own health - these things he’s feeling, what he’s doing… they’re not of his own will. No consequences, nothing to fear. It’s not ego death & destruction of whatever fragile identity that Beverley’s managed to find, it’s… going home. And eventually Laurence can come up with some medication for all that he’s going through. And then he’ll never have this doubt again.

,,,,you guys see why I eat drywall over this?

Everyday I consider dropping just like, the craziest Lore revolving around Bev & Laurence’s relationship that really solidifies a lot of stuff RE: their relationship & Laurence’s zealotry in the new sequence that I’ve told no one bc it makes me want to eat drywall.

But then I get too preoccupied eating drywall.