#i tried out new stuff for this piece which is why it looks different from my other art

[sappho-rose]

ryusae <3

[steddiealltheway]

Steve can see it in Max. That same loneliness and ache that he finds in himself. For him, it’s result of his parents leaving with no intent to return to him unless absolutely necessary.

He knows he was an accident. Or rather a mistake as his father used to call him when he was particularly angry. But it made sense to him. Steve's the reason his father had to marry his mother. He left him "trapped." And maybe no one says it out loud, but he can tell his mother feels the same way too.

But they must keep up appearances, right?

Which is what Max has been trying to do since Billy died, El moved away, and it's been just her and her mom. But she's been going about it through a different route - pushing people away all while pretending things are fine. But Steve sees the way she picks up the broken pieces of her mom and tries to put them back together - Steve's had to do the same thing before.

So, he starts sticking around a little longer. Offering her more rides to the arcade and around town to pick up groceries when she needs to. Sometimes he'll tell her about a new recipe he's been trying for a casserole and pick up the ingredients, pretending like the milk and butter he bought will spoil by the time he drives home from her trailer.

Of course, they both know it's a lie, but Max humors him and plays along. She'll let him cook dinner while she picks up the bottles her mom left on the floor, dumps out the overflowing ashtray, and feeds the dog. Usually, Steve will ask her what she's learning in school and linger a little longer than usual in hopes that she'll say more than the usual, "I don't know. A bunch of boring stuff."

But lingering has gotten a lot of things out of Max such as her love for Kate Bush, a story about El and how much she misses her, and short quips about Lucas before she gets a sad smile on her face. Steve doesn't really know what to say most of the time, but he hopes that just being there will help.

Unfortunately, lingering and just being there has led him to his current predicament of none other than Eddie "The Freak" Munson sitting on the hood of his car glaring at him as he walks out of Max's place. Steve jumps a little, startled by the figure on his car and becoming more hostile as he sees the expression on his face. He shoves his hands in his pockets and slows his pace. "Is there a problem?"

Eddie snorts humorlessly. "Christ. You're really going to pretend like there's nothing wrong with what's happening?"

Steve's brows furrow, entirely missing whatever point he's trying to make.

Eddie stands up and stalks toward him. "I see you, you know. Always lurking around when her mom isn't home. Coming out of her trailer late at night."

Steve laughs, finally understanding the absurd conclusion he's come to. "Jesus, man. You're delusional."

Steve doesn't expect it, but Eddie sharply shoves his chest and grits, "I don't fucking lie to me, Harrington."

Steve holds his hands up. "I'm not," he firmly states. "Nothing like that is happening here. I'm glad you're looking out for her, but it isn't like that."

"Do you expect me to believe that? Maybe this is why you're always hanging around Henderson and the other kids."

Steve crosses his arms and his jaw tenses. "I'm not a fucking pervert or a pedophile if that's what you're trying to say. I'm just looking after them."

"Why?" Eddie asks, dramatically opening his arms, "Why would King Steve adopt a group of misfits to take under his wing? See, the math isn't adding up."

Usually, Steve would just brush it off and tell the person to fuck off and mind their own business. But his parents have just left town again without leaving a note and Max had snapped when Steve tried to help her clean the place because it looked worse than usual, and he was just generally feeling like shit and angry at his parents and Max's parents for not being there. So he broke, "Because I don't want Max to end up like me! I don't want any of those kids to grow up without a role model. And god forbid if any of those other kids' parents fuck up, and they’re left with only me. I need them to know that I'm there for them! Because sometimes it feels like whenever the world goes to shit, I'm the only one who is there, and I plan to stay there, okay?!"

He finishes his rant breathing a little heavier than usual and noticing that a few of the lights in the trailers have turned on around them. He looks around and awkwardly nods to the people glaring out their windows. God, he needs to get a grip.

When he turns back to Eddie, he notices the conflicted expression, jaw dropped, eyebrows knitted together, eyes searching him as if he's still wondering if he's lying.

A door creaks open behind them and Steve curses under his breath as he hears Max say, "Eddie, leave him alone. Do you really think I would hook up with my damn babysitter? Jeez."

"Language," Steve quietly lectures as the door swings shut. He runs his hands over his face and takes a deep breath. It's been a long fucking day.

A hand lands on his arm and tugs him away from Max's trailer. Steve glances up at Eddie, leading him across the way. "Where are we going?"

"My place," Eddie says.

"Why?"

"So we can talk."

God, the last thing he wants to do is talk to Eddie of all people, the guy he's been actively avoiding since Dustin started worshipping the ground - or rather tables - he walks on. But he lets himself be pulled away in the trailer and practically deposited on the couch in the living room.

He glances up and comments, "That's a lot of mugs."

"My uncle's, but that's not what I wanted to... Christ," Eddie says, pacing in front of Steve and tugging his hair in front of his face. The anxious display makes Steve feel even more tired, but he lets him pace. God, what is he even doing here?

"I'm sorry," Eddie blurts out. "I'm just..." he trails off and rushes over to grab a stool a few feet away before dragging it in front of the couch. He sits on it but his leg still holds that nervous energy as it rapidly bounces up and down. "I jumped to conclusions, and it was really shitty of me, man. I just... didn't believe what Henderson was saying about you and thought 'Oh, this makes way more sense than Steve Harrington being a good dude.' And I'm sorry to accuse you of that. And I... I didn't know about your... parents and stuff. Like I knew they were away a lot because of your parties but... I just never connected the dots. And I'm sorry. No one deserves that shit, man."

Steve doesn't know what to do this whole interaction, especially with it coming from Eddie Munson who he doesn't think he's ever talked to before this moment, but... he needs to hear it. God, he needs to hear it.

Of course, he can't let him know this, so he does what he's best at and brushes it off. "It's fine. You were just looking out for the kids. And really just ignore what I said back there, it isn't that big of a deal."

Eddie worries his bottom lip before he blurts out, "I know what it's like." He pauses and takes a deep breath. "I mean, I know what it's like to have... absent parents. But in my case, eventually, my uncle Wayne took me in, and I can only imagine if he didn't." He gives him a pointed look and lowers his voice, "Do you have someone like that?"

A big part of Steve wants to leave right now, and he knows there's nothing stopping him. But a bigger part of him needs to stay. Needs to talk about the emptiness in his house that he can never truly escape at the end of the day that he can’t talk to anyone about. Because he's not supposed to be weak. He's supposed to take care of the others. So he admits, "No, I don't have... anyone like that. Except Robin but..."

"That's different," Eddie finishes the thought for him.

Steve nods. He loves Robin, but he loves her as a platonic soulmate and not as a parent figure in his life. "You know, I once had this basketball coach in middle school - Mr. Weston. And I remember looking up to him so much. I wanted to be just like him, and I would go to his office during lunch and ask him for advice or talk about dumb shit that my father would never talk about. But he never shamed me for my questions. And sometimes he even packed an extra dessert for me." Steve smiles at the memories and runs a hand through his hair, remembering the day he got the news. "But one time, when I went to his office, he had this look on his face. And I just knew it was bad news. And really, it wasn't bad news to him because his wife was pregnant. But she wanted to move a few states away to raise the kid closer to her family. And it wasn't his fault, you know? It wasn't like he purposely chose to move away from me, but I felt like I was abandoned again."

Steve wipes a tear from his eye and puts his head in his hands. "God, I don't know why I'm even telling you this story. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Eddie says quickly. He pauses and shifts on the stool, his gaze being far away. "I remember him. He was one of the only gym teachers that defended me against all the shitty middle school bullies. He was a good person.”

Steve nods. God, he was a good person.

Eddie continues, “I'm sorry that he left. And I bet he still regrets leaving you behind."

Steve leans back against the couch and looks away, shaking his head. "I bet he forgot about me."

"You're kind of hard to forget."

Steve looks at Eddie and sees a slight blush on his cheeks as he shakes his head and waves his hands as if trying to make the comment go away. "What I mean is that there's no way he's forgotten about you. Someone who you used to have lunch with all the time to the point of giving you free food... Nah, man. He remembers you. I think you may have been as important to him as he was to you."

The thought breaks away at a wall Steve had built up long ago. "Thanks," he practically whispers.

Eddie just smiles at him, small dimples appearing on his cheeks.

"You didn't deserve it either, you know," Steve says. "The absent parent stuff. Even with Wayne, they should've been here too."

Eddie's smile falters a bit as he swallows and looks at the ground. "Thanks," he mumbles. He looks up at Steve and comments, "Getting sappy with Steve Harrington. Who knew."

"Yeah, getting sappy with Eddie Munson," Steve echoes back at him.

Eddie laughs, "I'm surprised you even know my name."

"You're kind of hard to forget," Steve says easily.

That same blush comes back to Eddie who shifts in his chair a bit as if he needs to process the information with his whole body.

They sit in the moment for a bit before Eddie gets a somewhat serious look on his face and offers, "You know, I'm definitely not a parent figure or anything, but I'm always here and around to talk about that whole thing if you need to."

Steve's heart beats a little faster at the sheer genuineness. "Same here," he can't help but offer in return. He glances down at his watch and sighs, "It's getting late, so I better..."

"Right," Eddie says, standing up and leading him to the door. "Do you need water for the road or anything?"

Steve smiles and pats him on the back without thinking too hard about it. "I'm good, man. But thank you. For everything really."

"Sorry for being an asshole," Eddie apologizes again.

"Usually that's my line," Steve accidentally voices before cringing a bit, wondering further why Eddie's been so kind to him.

But as he opens the door, Eddie comments, "I don't know. It seems like Dustin was right about the whole reformed jock thing. Maybe your crown really has fallen - which is a good thing by the way."

Steve slightly smiles at him before he turns to leave. But he can't help but say, "I wonder what the neighbors will think about me leaving your trailer so late."

Eddie groans then laughs. "Sorry to ruin your image."

"I wouldn't mind," Steve replies, honestly unsure what he means by that. "Goodnight, Eddie."

"Goodnight, Steve," Eddie says, that same blush on his cheeks, only this time Steve isn't sure if it's something he said or a result of the cold night air.

In bed that night, Steve feels a slight weight lifted from him and can't help but feel like he’s a little less alone.

[king-of-the-underworld-hades]

Can you please do a Wednesday Addams & Enid Sinclair x Male Reader imagine? Where Reader is from a popular family of hybrids and tribrids, where Reader is a Vampire, a Witch and a Shapeshifter. And the three of them became roommates temporarily because there were no more available rooms for him in the boys' dormitory.

Tri-problem (Male)

Art by TanyaF2022 on X/Twitter.

You sigh as you feel the bumps of the road as the family chauffeur, Jack drives you to Nevermore Academy. You pull out your phone and start swiping on Instagram to see all your "friends" stories and whatnot. Rolling your eyes you start to block them all one by one. "Are you okay young sir?" Jack asks as he looks at you in the rearview mirror. "I told you to call me Y/N," you said annoyed. "But if you must know I'm just annoyed. Why am I being punished for something that my parents agree was the right action?" "Well, I doubt the school board was happy to hear you almost ended the life of your classmate," Jack said causing you to roll your eyes. "Please. No one would've missed him. He deserved it. He assaulted Normies to feed his ego. There is no excuse for that." "Yes, but you decided to, hex him, suck out almost two liters of his blood, and shapeshifted into a silverback gorilla to break both his arms," Jack said flatly. "And?" You said as if it wasn't a big deal. Jack just sighed.

"Well Mister L/N your father had informed me of your... predicament," Larissa Weems, the principal of Nevermore said as you sat across from her. "We have had your uniform custom made as your family requested but... I- uh..." she stumbled over her words causing you to raise an eyebrow. "We have no space in the boy's dormitory... and well... since you have no family in Jericho... I'm afraid you'll have to stay in the girls dormitory..." "You gotta be kidding me..."

She was indeed not kidding... here you were... standing in front of a dorm in Ophelia Hall... "Fuck my life..." You sigh and knock. Not like you had a choice all your stuff was there... "Enid. The door," you heard a flat cold muffled voice on the other side of the door "Coming~" you heard a second, sweeter warmer muffled voice. Soon the door was opened. "Hello...~ oh- I don't think I know you... have I seen around?" The girl asked her wide smile which showed off her sharp canines never faltering. She was about 5'2, had fair skin, rosy cheeks, pale blue eyes, blond hair with pink and blue tips, a pink sweater with white and maroon diamonds, a maroon skirt, and white thigh-high socks. You see that inside the dorm another girl was sitting at a desk writing in a typewriter. She had pale skin, black hair that was tied into two even braids, anthracite eyes, and a blank yet focused expression. She wore a pair of black boots, black jeans that went over the boots, a black shirt with white stripes that were slightly above her belly button, a black shirt with Ghostface on it that was the same length as the undershirt, a black vest, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. Before you were able to answer the blond girl's question, the ravenette turned and looked at you, her cold piercing gaze locked with your gaze as she spoke. "Y/N L/N. Correct?" Her voice was cold and monotone. "...Y-Yeah..." You mumble as the blonde's expression lit up. "You're our new roomie!" She exclaimed grabbing your hand and pulling you inside. Now inside you, we're able to see the room clearer. It was split in half, the spider web window was only halfway filled with color on, what you assume is the blonde's side, the other side had no color and was just normal glass with no tint. The blonde's side of the room was very colorful. Her bed frame was white and her blanket was splattered with multiple colors, her bed was on top of a puzzle-like rug with each piece being colored differently, ribbons were hanging from the ceiling, and a desk littered with notebooks, markers, pens, etc. A bean bag chair, posters, and so much more. The ravenette's side was the complete opposite. There was a lamp, a black cello, a black sheet music stand, a desk with a black typewriter, a black bed, and a black leather chair. All your stuff was neatly set in a corner of the room. The blonde let go of her hand as she looked at you her grin somehow wider. "My name is Enid Sinclair! I'm a Fur, AKA a werewolf! Nice to meet you roomie!" Enid said excitingly as she went to the ravenette and grabbed her cheeks making her look at you. "This is Wednesday Addams! She may look gloomy but she's a softie!" Enid exclaimed before Wednesday leaned away scowling. "...Nice to meet two..." You mumbled. "So~," Enid said as she leaned closer to you so close you could feel her breath on your face. "What are you? Fur, Scales, Fangs, Psychic, or something else?" She asked curiously. "Personal space Enid," Wednesday reprimanded her from her chair causing Enid to lean back pouting muttering "I was just asking..." under her breath. "I'm a tribrid... I'm part Vampire, Witch, and Shapeshifter," You explained as Wednesday stood from her typewriter. "Your family is known for that are they not?" Wednesday asked rhetorical. "Your family is known for giving birth to Hybrids and Tribrids," She said monotone with her cold expression. "Yeah... they are," you said as Wednesday nodded. "Weems had informed us of your... incident. Try to behave yourself," Wednesday said as she headed for the door. "Unpack and try not to make a mess of things," she said before leaving. "She always like that?" You ask. "Pretty much," replies Enid.

As the next two weeks passed you got accustomed to living with the two. You found out that Enid would try and snoop when you were on your phone or laptop to find something to put on her blog. When you caught her she blushed and turned away but after that day she would randomly ask to things, favorite color, would you rathers, song taste, etc. You got used to "Addams schedule," as Enid calls it. Basically when she did her writing when she wanted to be left alone, when she would leave for coffee, etc.

As time went on Wednesday had admitted she got used to your presence and even let you watch her write. Yoko, a fellow vampire and friend of Enid said that most Vamipres have a calming presence around them. Ironic. So since Wednesday hadn't really spent a prolonged time near vampires she was getting a heavy dose of it.

Enid on the other hand would paint your nails, do your hair, take you on friend dates, etc. You would talk to her about werewolf stuff, since you had cousins who were part werewolf you could relate in some aspects. After five months of living with the roommates, Weems came to visit.

"Hello girls, and Mr. L/N." "Yo," you did a two-finger salute from Enid's bed, your head in her lap as she dyed the tips of your hair. "I have news, one of the boys has moved out of his dorm as his parents found a suitable house in Jericho, so that means that Mr. L/N here will finally be moving to the boys' dorm. Fun!" Weems said with a smile but Enid stood up causing your head to fall onto the mattress. "What!? B-but he can't- I mean-," Enid stammered but Wednesday spoke I'm her usual monotone and cold tone. "What Enid is trying to say is we don't wish for Y/N's leave. He's been here for six months now. We have grown attached. So much so," Wednesday said as she stood from her desk and walked over to you, who had sat up. She cupped your face, causing you to raise an eyebrow, she then leaned down and kissed you softly. Her hands were cold to the touch. Her lips were soft and plush and tasted like coffee. Wednesday soon pulled away and looked at Weems. "We've started a polygamous relationship," She said as she looked at Enid who was blushing. Enid quickly walked over to you and kissed you as well. She was nervous, unlike Wednesday. Her lips were warm and soft. They also tasted like milk tea. Weems blinked a few times at this action. "W-well... this certainly complicated things..." she said as she looked at you. "I will... talk to your mother... see what she says about this...," She spoke before leaving. You were flustered and confused. The room was silent for a few seconds before Wednesday spoke. "I have him Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We share Sunday." "T-that works..." Enid mumbled. "The fuck just happened?" You ask as Wednesday rolls her eyes. "You just got two girlfriends."

[fallingdownhell]

Of broken promises..

Genshin Men, completely forgetting about your birthday

Characters included: Xiao, Cyno and Childe

Summary: Your special day was just around the corner. You were very ecxited about it, since your boyfriend told you he had something very special planned for you. But things turned out different than you had expected..

Content (Warnings): Angst; Hurt/no comfort; established relationship; characters may be slightly ooc; misunderstandings; gender neutral reader; not proof read yet

Read Part 2 here

Word Count: 4.2k

I was in the mood for some angst, so now here I am, writing this and taking you all with me. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to drama and hurt, but I find it easier to write than fluff and other stuff. As always, feel free to point out any mistakes I may have made, I very much appreciate it!

Well then, I hope you enjoy reading this little piece I brought you all!

Xiao

Your relationship with Xiao was still very much in the beginning stages. It was all tender touches and soft words, as to not scare your boyfriend away from all these new emotions and situations that he was experiencing. You didn’t mind it though. You went into this relationship, knowing that you would have to take things very slow with him. Probably slower than you ever had, but in your eyes, it was a good thing.

It gave you both the opportunity to really get to know each other, not just on a superficial level. Your first kiss happened three months into the relationship and it was also at this point, that Xiao acknowleged his feelings for you though it was still difficult for him to initiate any sort of affection. He didn’t flinch away from you anymore though when you tried to cuddle or hug him, so in your book, that was a huge success already. 

Cue now, a few more months into the relationship, almost going for a year now, and your birthday was just around the corner. Xiao knew about it, how the mortals celebrated the day of ones birth every year, though he never thought anything of it. But since it was important to you, he not only made the effort to remember the date, but also plan something for you, so you could really enjoy that day. 

He did need to get some help though, since he had absolutely no idea what would be an appropriate thing to do and what wouldn’t be. Don’t mention it to him afterwards though, or he might get moody with you again. 

You were currently getting ready for your big day. Xiao refused to tell you, what you were going to do. He didn’t even give you a hint. The only thing he told you to do, was to dress up a little bit, which you gladly took the opportunity to do, since you don’t usually get the chance to do that very often. 

After one last look in the mirror once you were done, you went to sit down at your table, feeling giddy and excited. Hundreds of thoughts running through your mind at once, trying to figure out what his plans for today were. As you waited for Xiao to pick you up, like he told you he would do, you noticed that quite some time already went by. He should have been here half an hour ago...

Normally, you wouldn’t think much of it, everyone could be late sometimes. But this was Xiao. He was never late for anything, so of course you began to worry as you noticed this. 

“Xiao?”, you called his name and waited for a few seconds, hoping that he just had the wrong time remembered. But nothing happened. Your boyfriend didn’t magically appear right in front of you like he usually did when you spoke his name. 

Your gut feeling told you that something wasn’t right. But you swallowed that feeling right down, trying to calm yourself down by reasoning. 

‘Maybe he is just getting ready himself, no need to worry.’

‘Surely he is just finishing up some last preparations.’

You tried to find every possible reason for why he could be late and not appear at your call, but as you tried again and again to call his name, he still didn’t show up. Your heart began to feel heavy as worry settled deep within you. Something really must have gone wrong. 

You pondered for a long time, trying to figure out what you could do now. But after some time with no real success, you just couldn’t take it anymore. Without wasting another second, you grabbed a few important things and then went straight to Wangshuu Inn, hoping to find him there. Praying, that everything was okay.

 It took you some time to get there, but once you arrived, you wasted no time, going straight to the balcony your adeptus boyfriend usually kept for himself. 

“Xiao!”, you called again once you arrived, but still, nothing happened. You looked around, trying to see if you could spot him anywhere near, again, without success. Desperation settled into you, as you went downstairs, to where the Innkeeper was located. 

“Excuse me, Verr... have you seen Xiao today?”

“Xiao?”, she repeated, then thinking to herself for a few seconds. “No, I’m sorry. Last time I saw him was yesterday morning. He said he had something to take care of.”

“Oh, I see.... thank you.”, you murmured, not sure how you were supposed to feel or react to these news.

You wrecked your brain, trying to think if he had mentioned something the days prior. But if he did, you didn't remember it. Verr looked at you with something close to pity in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again just as quickly, obviously changing her mind about it. Sad and defeated, you made your way back to your house at Liyue Harbour, not sure what you were supposed to do now.

Should you search for your boyfriend? After all, he could be hurt out there somewhere. Then again, you had not even the faintest of idea where to begin with your search. Then, should you just wait here for him to return? But it was still Xiao you were talking about here. He could be gone for anytime between an hour and an entire week. Or, and you absolutely didn’t like that thought at all... he could never return. 

What if something bad happened to him while on this mission he never told you about? Was that the reason why he never said anything to you? Because he knew that he wouldn’t make it back? But that would be ridiculous. He wouldn’t have made so many plans with you and talked so much about your shared future with you if he knew he wouldn’t live to see it. 

All of these thoughts that came crashing in your mind, you just couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. You forgot all about your stupid birthday, you just wished to have your partner right here next to you again, safe and sound. 

That night, you cried yourself to sleep, praying to all the Archons out there, that he would come back to you in one piece. That Xiao would be fine. It was all you would ever wish for. 

...

The next day you woke up to a cold bed. A clear indicator that he hadn’t returned in the middle of the night and spent it next to you. And also a harsh slap in the face with the cold reality. You struggled to get yourself out of bed or to get yourself ready, but you managed. Once you were done, you thought about your options, what you could do. 

You decided that your best course of action for now would be to go to Wangshuu Inn again today. Just to be on the safe side and see for yourself if he returned. So, you did just that, setting out again while sending a small little prayer to the Archons again. 

The walk to the Inn seemed longer this time around then it did yesterday. Maybe because you weren’t in such a rush to get there as you were yesterday. You were still defeated once you arrived, slowly walking up the stairs and pass Verr again, who only looked at you with a knowing gaze and tried to give you a reassuring smile. You found it hard to respond, so you just avoided her gaze and made your way up to the balcony again. 

To your surprise, you saw Xiao standing by the handrail, his gaze fixed at something in the distance, but you were sure that he noticed the presence of someone coming up the stairs. Still, you were in shock how casual he was just standing there.

“Xiao?”, you spoke, and the shock was clearly heard in your voice. Your boyfriend turned around and looked at you, while you were also frozen in place a few steps away from him. 

“What?”, was the cold reply you got, which only threw you off even more. Why was he being this way to you? Shaking that thought out of your head again, you quickly walked up to him.

“What do you mean ‘what’? I was worried about you! Where were you?”

“Why were you worried? You know of my duty to protect Liyue. I have been away for longer than one single day. And as far as I know, we weren’t supposed to meet up.”

You were taken aback, staring at him as if you were asking him with your eyes to please tell you that he was only joking. But that was the problem.. Xiao never joked, about anything.

“But.. we were. Yesterday was-”

“Y/N, please, leave it for now. I am not in the mood today.”

“But Xiao, yesterday-”

“I said, leave it. I had something important to do yesterday. Something more important than whatever silly little thing you have come up with to bother me! I’m not in the mood for your antics today, so just don’t bother. Leave me alone.”

You took a step back as you heard his harsh words. For a second, you thought you saw something like guilt shine in his eyes, but it was quickly washed away by the cold expression he now wore. 

You were hurt. He had never said anything like that to you, you weren’t sure how to react. So you did the only thing you could think of.

Without another word or glance at him, you turned around and granted him his wish. His wish for you to leave him alone. 

________________

Cyno 

Cyno had many responsibilites as the General Mahamatra. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be gone for a whole week - sometimes even longer - for a mission. He could never tell you much about his work or current mission, until it was over, as to not endanger you or himself. But once the deed was done, he told you all about it, about everything that he experienced. 

When he was gone for so long, the first thing he would always do was to find you, trap you in his arms and cuddle with you for hours on end. Not many people would think this of him, but Cyno was a very affectionate lover. He thrieved on physical contact, no matter if it was just holding your hand of if he could hold you in his arms. 

To him, you were the most important thing in his life, second to nothing else. Sometimes, he resented his position as General Mahamatra, especially if it was preventing him from spending time with you for an extended period of time. But it was also his calling, he felt.This position was so important to him, and you knew that as well. You learned to deal with it, and Cyno was so grateful for it.

He didn’t know many people who could put up with a busy partner as himself for such a long time, but you two managed. That’s why, as a way to show his gratitude towards you, he put so much effort into your relationship. He was never late for anything, be it a date or just something trivial. He made an effort to remember every important date, be it for anniversaries or a birthday date. In all of your years with Cyno, although you did have your ups and downs, it was overall the best relationship you ever had. 

And that is exaclty why the current situation hurt you so much. 

...

You were having dinner with your boyfriend, already feeling a little giddy as your birthday was just a week away and you were excited to see what Cyno had in store for you this year. 

Except, it came entirely different.

“I have to leave for a mission tomorrow. It’s a very important one, so expect me to be gone for about two weeks.”

You froze when you heard those words. Surely, you must have misunderstood. 

“What?”, you said, not really being able to process this new information. And it didn’t help that Cyno simply repeated what he had said. 

Was he making a joke again? That had to be it. Surely, he would never forget about it. 

“You’re.. leaving? But, what about-”

“Y/N, please. It’s a very important mission. I can’t just let anyone handle this. It has to be me. You have to understand.”

So, he really wasn’t joking. You just looked at him, while he continued eating like nothing has happened, completely unbothered. Suddenly, you were not feeling hungry at all, so you just got up and left the table.

“Darling?”, Cyno called after you as you went in the living room, not sure what else to do with yourself at the moment. Cyno continued to look after you, trying to figure out what could be wrong with you. He wrecked his brain but when he couldn’t come up with a solution, he just shrugged it off and continued with his meal. He would deal with it once he was done eating. 

Meanwhile, you were sitting on the couch, deep in your thoughts. You were trying to come up with a solution, a scenario in which Cyno could still spend your birthday with you. You didn’t want to spend it without him, you have never done that since you got in this relationship with him and you definitely didn’t want to start with it now. 

You had no idea how much time had went by when you suddenly felt the arms of your lover wrap around you as he sat down next to you. 

“What’s wrong, my dear?”, he asked, his crimson eyes fixed on you. 

“Just... thinking.”, you said, as you were not able to come up with an idea until now. 

“Thinking about what? Tell me, maybe I can help.” That did sound like a good idea, so you obliged. 

“It’s about that mission of yours. I was just thinking-”

“Y/N”, Cyno let out with a long, frustrated sounding sigh. “There’s nothing I can do about it. Can’t we just forget about it for now and just cuddle a bit. You know I’m gonna miss you.”

“So you can just go and disappear in the morning before I’m even awake? No Cyno, I wanna talk about it now. Because you’re forgetting something important.”

“I am not forgetting anything. Right now, the only important thing is this mission. I can’t tell you about it, but just know I have to be the one to take it.”

You were getting frustrated as well. He was just not giving you a chance to explain yourself. 

“That’s not what I mean, Cyno. I know YOU want to take that mission, and that’s fine. But there is something else you should remember. What I’m trying to tell you is-”

“Listen, I don’t wanna argue right now. If you can’t handle this, maybe it was a mistake to get in this relationship with you.”

You froze when he said that, staring at him, unmoving. Was that really how he felt? Like all this was a mistake? That YOU were a mistake? 

Cyno waited for a response from you for a few seconds, but when nothing came, he sighed and stood up, collecting a few neccessities he would need on this trip. 

When he passed the living room again, he saw you still standing there. “I changed my mind. I’m leaving today. Maybe the time apart will help the both of us to figure something out and reflect on us.” 

With that said, he went for the door and you heard it fall into place again once he had already left.

So that was it? He just left, basically telling you that your relationship might be ending when he returned? And that was when the dam in you broke and tears started to stream down your face. You broke down were you were standing, clutching your chest in hope to ease the burning pain you were feeling inside but of course, it didn’t help. 

What a way to spend your upcoming birthday.. anticipating the end of your relationship with the man of your dreams..

__________________________

Childe (Ajax)

Being in a relationship with a harbinger was simultaneously  the best and worst decision in your life. 

Childe was a very sweet and caring lover, although sometimes slightly overprotective. You’ve spoken to him about it many times, but after only a week or so, he completely forgot about it again and went back to his old ways of guarding you like a hawk. 

People in Shneznahya knew about you and your relationship to one of their harbingers, so you were almost as feared as Childe himself, as people were afraid you would talk ill of them to him, which would then result in harm for them. 

They didn’t know they had nothing to fear. You were one of the kindest and caring humans that Childe has ever met. It was one of the many reasons why he fell in love with you in the first place. 

After he joined the harbingers, he became a frequent visitor in the infirmary, even more so than before. Somehow it was always you who had to take care of him when he was injured again. Most of the time, while you were treating him, Childe was talking about random stuff, throwing in a flirtly remark here and there, but you never paid much mind to it.

Until one day when he showed up there, no injury in sight, so you asked him what he wanted here. And he just asked you on a date. 

That was over two years ago and you have been in a relationship with him ever since. Childe was loyal to you, and you trusted him in that, even if he had to travel to many different regions all across Teyvat. He couldn’t always take you with him and the time you two had to spend apart from each other proved to be difficult for both of you. 

You also learned very soon that Childe was totally a family person. He took you to meet his parents fairly early on, but you really hit it off with them, getting along quite well with them, and his siblings followed soon. You fell in love with them, and Childe just love seeing you interact with his family. It made him want to get a family of his own with you as soon as possible. 

But, no matter how good the relationship was going, there were also always going to be problems along the way. His work was a huge factor, yes, but another huge part of the problem was Childe’s confrontational behaviour. He liked to cause fights, not only physical ones with his enemies, but also with you. 

His personality and pride demanded of him to win in every argument you two had, even when he would be in the wrong. Apologizing had never been a strong suit for the ginger, and you knew that. But sometimes, that was all you wanted. For him to seriously apologize and make you his number one priority form time to time. 

Because you never were. You knew that Childe loved you with all his heart, he told you that almost every single day. And still, you were only ever his second choice. Because his work would always stay his number one priority. 

No matter what it was or how bad the timing would be, if he had another mission, he would already be out the door, barely giving you a kiss to the cheek before he was gone. Sometimes, it was hard. Having to stay behind, not knowing if he would return to you in one piece again. 

He promised you to be careful and that he would always return to you, but there was still a chance. A chance that something wouldn’t go as planned and fate would take him from you. In that times of not knowing, you didn’t care how difficult your relationship was if it meant that he was alive and well in your arms. 

...

It had been a very stressful week, work has been demanding much from you, both mentally and physically. You were glad when you got home that evening, looking forward to the few days you were able to spend with your boyfriend again. 

As if he sensed that you would be done this evening, you found him in the kitchen, preparing a meal for you both.

“Ajax? You, cooking? What’s the occaision?”, you asked, clearly surprised since he rarely cooked, ever. 

At that, he just laughed. “What, can’t I spoil my beautiful lover from time to time?”, he asked, giving you a smirk. “Sit down, I’m almost done.”

You did as you’re told, not questioning him any further. You just assumed that it would be a taste for your birthday tomorrow. You haven’t planned much that day, since you never really celebrated your birthday. You would just have lunch with his family at their place and then spend the rest of the day together, doing whatever came to your mind. Maybe his spoiling you today was in preparation for your day tomorrow. 

The meal was actually very good, which surprised you, since you only got to taste Childe’s cooking once before today, and that wasn’t exactly his best creation. Your boyfriend seemed to be proud of it himself. 

Afterwards, you did the dishes together, before you both went to get ready for bed. Like every night, once you got into bed, he pulled you close to his chest and whispered a sweet “I love you” in your ear, before you both drifted of to sleep. 

...

The next morning, you woke up alone in bed. Patting your hand on his side of the bed, you found that it was still somewhat warm, meaning that he got up not too long ago himself. 

You managed to get yourself out of bed, before searching for your boyfriend. You find him sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee. 

He noticed you coming up behind him, so he turned to you and smiled up at you. “Good morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?” 

You nodded as you went and made yourself your own cup to get your day started properly. You both set in a comfortable silence as you each drank your own drink. Only when you awoke more and more did you notice something strange... normally, Childe would have already showered you in congratulations and presented you with at least a gift or two, but nothing. 

Yet, you chose to not say anything just yet. Maybe he had something planned and would do that later in the day. 

Once done with your coffee, you got up and went to the bathroom to get yourself ready for lunch with his family. You usually got in the bath first, since you took longer than him, Childe would almost always be done within ten minutes or so. 

When it was his turn to get ready, you were waiting for him in the living room, when a knock on the door startled you. You were not expecting any visitors today, but you still went and answered the door. 

“Greetings. Would the Lord Harbinger happen to be available?”, was the first thing to greet you once you opened the door. Perplexed, you just nodded and went to turn around, but Childe was already coming down the stairs towards you.

“Babe, everything alright?”

“Yeah.. there is someone for you at the door..”, you said. Not wanting to pry, you went to the kitchen, but you weren’t really able to sit down as just a few seconds later, the door closed again and Childe came in the room. 

“I’m sorry babe. An urgent mission. I have to go right now.”

“What? But what about lunch? Your family is waiting for us. And-”

“It’s just a meal with my family. It’s not that big of a deal if we miss it this one time. I’m sure they would understand.”

You were shocked as you heard this. Did he really forget? That today was your birthday? Sure, you never really liked to make a huge deal about it, but at the very least you wanted people to remember it. Was that too much to ask for?

Too caught up in your feelings, you didn’t care how you sounded when you said that to him. “Fine. Go do whatever it is you have to do then, since it’s so much more important. But I’ll go and meet your family since they’re waiting for us.”

With that, you stormed past him, grabbed your coat and went out the door. Childe just stood there, utterly confused on why you were so upset about this. It was just a simple lunch, nothing too exciting about it. 

So, he just shrugged it off and went to collect his coat. Then, he made his way to the palace of the Tsaritsa, where he would get the details to his next mission, while his mind was still racing, trying to figure out what went through your head... but he just couldn’t come up with anything. 

Couldn’t be something too important if he forgot about it...

[aemondapologistfrfr]

Anything for You - Pt3

daemon x daughter!reader 

Part 1 Part 2

Summary: The King and the Hand come up with a plan to get you and Daemon to come back to court. Daemon is barely able to contain himself when he lands on the docks of King’s Landing. 

Warnings: 18+ different PoVs bc i was feeling it, swearing, pregnant!reader this chap, coercion into like kidnapping?, the rogue prince fr, death(not mc), blood, swords, threats, p in v

Authors Note: idk why i locked in writing this like i planned to keep it cutesy and i was like wait 🤭 short hair daemon in his armor 🙂‍↕️ i never intended for this to be more than a one shot but here we are 😶 literally stopped writing my other stuff and was sat

Word Count: 3.8k 

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King and Hand PoV

The King and the Hand sit in the empty council chamber trying to figure out the best course of action. Daemon and his daughter have been gone for almost three moons now and the Keep is starting to speculate. There’s been no word from Dragonstone which could either be good or bad. Whispers around the realm speak nothing of the two, leaving the King at a loss. The King looks at the Hand waiting for his next idea on how to get at least the Princess back to court. 

The King has put in his best efforts to push back the prying Lords who were vying for the Princess’s hand. They come around the council chambers and throne room like vultures awaiting her return. The Queen tells the King daily what she overhears from the Ladies and her handmaidens and it’s been causing his temper to rise. 

“Even the Queen is being questioned about their location.” the King sits back exasperated. “I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do.” he looks at his Hand. 

“I will send out our best men to sail to Dragonstone. If they find the Princess they’ll bring her back to us.” the Hand pulls a blank piece of parchment in front of him. They spend the next couple of hours picking the company to send and decide on having her guard lead them. They hope she’ll take kinder to him and return with the men. The Hand has the King write a note to place in the Princess’s absence for Daemon. 

“If she’s there and we can get her,” the King shakes his head. “Daemon will not take this lightly.” he looks to his Hand with worried eyes. “Might it be best if we just leave them?” the Hand scoffs. 

“He directly disobeyed your commands. As he does time and time again. You are the King. If you can not control your own brother the realm will begin to see you as weak.” the Hand tries not to let his annoyance show. “The Princess’s hand can garner us alliances, armies. My King, it’s never my wish to speak so poorly about Daemon-“ 

“Yet you never seize the opportunity to do so.” the King shakes his head leaning back in his chair. 

“He’s undermining you. He knows he’ll keep getting away with it.” the Hand searches the King's eyes. “I urge you to send these men out at daybreak.” the King exhales at the Hands plea. 

“Fine. See to it then.” the King waves him off. “Pray to the Gods Daemon will see reason.” the King looks to the ceiling as the Hand goes to make the preparations. 

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Your PoV

I always heard stories of how the mornings were unpleasant when carrying a babe but I’ve never felt more at peace. The maesters here say I am the most relaxed princess they’ve had the pleasure of helping with her pregnancy. I know my father is the one to thank for that. He absolutely worships me morning, noon, and night. The moment my eyes open he’s pressing his lips across every inch of my body whispering sweet words. He stays attached to me until I plead him for a break. 

“I’ll go fetch your handmaidens to bathe you and get you ready for your garden walk.” he presses his lips against my brow before slipping out of our chambers. 

I’ve quickly grown fond of my new company of handmaidens here. They dote on me and have a gentler touch than the ladies I left behind in King's Landing. They pour milk and flowers into my bath and keep their hands on me until I’m resting against the back of the tub. After they bathe and lather me in oils and perfumes they pull a flowing dress over my head and help escort me down to the gardens. 

I quite like being on Dragonstone again. I forgot how quiet and peaceful it is. The low grumbles and songs of the dragons bring me such a sense of comfort and I feel truly calm and at home here. I don’t need guards hovering around me and I can walk in the gardens at my leisure. I let the leaves and petals brush against my fingertips. I stop and bend down to smell the lilies that wash over my senses. 

I delve deeper into the gardens and smile when I approach my bench. It sits near the edge of the gardens and overlooks the Blackwater. I lean back and pull my feet under me as I watch the waves lap against the shore. I tilt my head back and shut my eyes to allow the sun to kiss my skin. Its warmth engulfs me and a smile starts to spread across my face when I hear approaching footsteps. 

“I was wondering if you were going to join me today.” I hum turning. My face falls as I see my guard from King's Landing. “What are you doing here?” I tilt my head. 

“Hello, Princess.” he bows his head before clearing his throat. “Your father wanted to surprise you with a ship to bring you back to King's Landing. If you’ll follow me.” he outstretches his hand and I look at it.

“Where is my father? Why wouldn’t he just fly me back on Caraxes?” my brows furrow. 

“He has a couple more things to finish up here and then he will join us.” he nods his head. I study him curiously but I can’t find a reason not to trust him. He’s protected me my whole life, surely he wouldn’t cause me any harm. 

“Okay.” I rise and grab his arm. He sets a piece of parchment on the bench and begins to lead me back through the gardens. “Why are we taking this way?” I look up at my guard and he keeps hauling me down the back steps.

“It’s much faster this way.” his words seem rushed but I shrug this off. 

As we make it to the dock I see a couple other men I recognize waiting for us on the boat. Once I’m on board the boat begins to move back out into the Blackwater. I watch as we move away from Dragonstone and take a seat on the bench watching it become smaller and smaller. I watch as some of the men on the ship clap my guards back and offer him hushed words of congratulations. 

“When will my father join me in King's Landing?” I look at the man closest to me. He ignores me and goes over to the cluster of men causing a frown to form on my face. My chest tightens and I begin to feel alone and foolish for not going to my father first. A tear slips down my cheek at the same moment I hear Caraxes roar ripple across the Bay. 

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Daemons PoV

Daemon had been waiting for his Princess to return for well over thirty minutes now. He knows how she likes her time in the gardens so he didn’t think anything of it at first. He enjoys seeing her so peaceful here so he doesn’t pay it any mind. When an hour goes by he rises from his seat and starts into the gardens. 

He strolls through them silently admiring and keeping an eye out for his wife. He tries to listen and see if he can catch her humming but all he can hear is the breeze through the leaves. When he doesn’t spot her on the main path he starts in the direction of her bench. He curses himself for not starting there but when he approaches he finds it empty. He looks across the Bay before going to turn back to the castle until he spots a piece of parchment. He lifts it and begins to read. 

Brother-

It is not my wish to anger you or fight with you. You are both wanted and needed back at court. The Hand and I have sent her guard and a group of men to sail her back to King's Landing. We have many potential suitors for her that can look past how you’ve sullied her. I have called some Ladies to court as well to hopefully satiate your appetite. I wish to see you come home.

-The King, Your Brother 

Daemon growls, crumpling the note and throwing it in the Blackwater. He curses loudly off the edge of the cliff and Caraxes deafening answering roar comes from out of the pits. He runs back to the castle and makes his way to the doors that lead to the docks. He rips them open and sees the guard standing just on the other side. He slams his fist into his face and his vision goes red as he continues to pummel the guard in front of him. 

“My Prince,” the guard gurgles. Daemon slams him onto the stone. 

“You’ve let my wife be taken from right under your nose.” Daemon repeatedly hits him as the guards movements begin to lull. 

“My Prince, a moment,” guards from inside the castle try to stop him. The last blow lands with a crunch and the sentry goes limp on the stone. 

“Clean this up and wash the stone.” Daemon barks out before storming back into the castle. 

He takes two steps at a time and pushes his way into their chambers. He grabs Dark Sister from the solar and makes his way down to the pits. He quickly puts his armor on and places his helm before walking out on the platform as Caraxes approaches. Daemon grabs onto Caraxes snout and looks him in the eyes. 

“We are getting her back.” Caraxes blinks at him and Daemon takes to his mount. 

Caraxes drops them off the edge before shooting them forward. Daemon stays on high alert looking for the ship that is carrying his wife. The breeze carries them quicker and Caraxes turns his snout slightly and pushes on with purpose. Soon they’re circling above the ship and Caraxes serenades them with his song. Daemon watches as the sails sway and has Caraxes fly higher. He wishes to land on the boat and claim his wife once more and end this farce but he doesn’t know if the ship will maintain its integrity under Caraxes and he won’t risk his wife and their child. 

He curses under his breath and tugs Caraxes in the direction of the docks at Kings Landing. Caraxes circles above the city grumbling and lets his tail trail across the roofs. He makes his way back over to the docks and sees the ship approaching. Caraxes heeds the command to land at the docks and the common folk who don’t move out of the way quick enough forfeit their lives to the rogue Prince and his dragon. Horses and guards break through the crowds and the Hand comes into view. Daemon stays atop his dragon as he looks down upon the man. 

“The King commands you to stop this.” Daemon laughs at the Hand's words. 

“I do not see the King.” Caraxes tail whips closely to the Hands feet. He turns as the boat begins to dock and the men aboard look to the Hand nervously. “Surely, you knew I would come.” Daemon drawls. He starts to slide off the side of Caraxes and lands to the ground with a thud. He unsheathes his sword and points it at the Hand. “You would take a pregnant wife from her husband? Steal her away and marry her to another?” he tilts his head, stalking over to him. “And be daft enough to think there would be no consequences?” he laughs, pushing the tip of his blade into the Hands chest. 

“If you kill me here the King will never forgive you.” Daemon clenches his jaw knowing that the Hand is right in this matter. 

Caraxes pushes the Hand back with his tail and he tumbles to the ground. Daemon turns and stalks over to the ship to retrieve his wife. His brother would be unforgiving if he took his Hand but for the men who took his wife? He could find ten more of them on the street. As he approaches the boat he calls out for his wife and she comes forward with red cheeks. He sees the tears staining her perfect face and how puffy her eyes are. It’s going to take all of his resolve not to burn down the entirety of the Red Keep. 

“Come here, sweet girl.” he hums and she walks up to him and folds into his arms. He rubs her back as he feels her sobs rack through her. Every sniffle has him seeing a darker shade of red. He pulls back and cups her cheeks. “Did these men cause you any harm?” he searches her eyes. 

“No. Only taking me from you and my gardens.” her voice is soft and his nostrils flare as her tears continue to flow. His hand rests on her stomach before he kisses her brow. 

“Go to Caraxes. Hug his neck and don’t look behind you.” she nods her head and he watches as she wraps her arms around his dragon. He takes one step onto the ship and the guards have their swords out in a blink of an eye. Daemon lets the rage take over him and pour out through Dark Sister. As the men continue to surround him he smiles as he slashes and slices through them. He nods at the last man standing who looks at him with a heaving chest. 

“My Prince, I was only-“ his head falls to the wooden floor. 

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Your Pov

I jump as I feel a gloved hand wrap around my arm. I turn around and look up and see my father. My tears start anew and I cling against him. He holds me tightly and presses his lips to the top of my head. He unwraps me from his embrace and helps me mount Caraxes. He wraps a hand around me and holds tightly to the reins and shots us into the skies. My stomach drops as we approach the Red Keep and he begins our descent inside the inner courtyard. 

As we make our way down we see people scrambling to get out of Caraxes path and once they see my father step foot on the ground they run even faster. I hold onto my fathers arm and he begins to walk us into the Keep. He wastes no time taking us to the throne room and upon entering I see the King sitting with a frown. My father takes his helm off and lets it drop to the floor with a thud.

“How dare you take my pregnant wife from me.” I watch as my father stalks toward the King. I shuffle quickly up to his side not wanting to be away from him. 

“Enough of this Daemon. I am tired of the cease-“

“Your Grace,” the Hand bursts through the doors, panting with a dozen guards on his heel. The King dismisses the guards and the Hand composes himself before taking his place next to the King. “He’s killed countless men today on the docks.” the King looks at his Hand with raised brows. 

“What did you expect? You truly thought he would allow this? Did I not warn you yesterday?” the King glares at the Hand. 

“I urge you to punish him.” my father lets a laugh slip out. 

“My wife and I will be returning to Dragonstone. Where we will remain for the rest of her pregnancy, unbothered. If you send anyone else to try and take my wife I will send you what is left of them.” his words are laced with promise and the King continues to stare at us.

“You cannot possibly be considering allowing this.” the Hand looks at the King, taken aback. 

“If we would’ve left them, none of today's events would have occurred. She’s with child. You planned to marry her to some Lord but her babe will come out with silver hair. What else would you have me do?” The King looks to his Hand exasperated. 

“You are the King. It is your choice.” the Hand looks forward blankly. 

“And you are my Hand, my council.” the Kings voice rises. 

“Mm, this seems as if it’s a personal dispute.” my father hums. “We’re leaving.” he dips down to grab his helm while his other hand encases mine and we begin to exit the throne room. 

“I wish to pack a bag. I want some of my dresses and jewelry.” I whisper up to my father. 

“Of course, sweet girl.” he smiles down at me and leads me up my chambers. 

He seals us into my chambers and I walk over to my wardrobe. I turn and give a slight jump as my father is standing there with a bag. I look up to him and slowly take the bag out of his hands. I continue to look up at him and nibble my lip. His cheeks are still lightly flushed and his hair is askew from his helm. 

“What’s wrong?” he tilts his head with a scrunched brow. 

“I think you look handsome in your armor.” I mumur. 

“Is that so?” he chuckles, caressing my cheek. 

“Very handsome, my husband.” I nod my head as his eyes darken at my words. 

“Mm, I quite like that title for me on your tongue.” he pulls me closer. “My little wife.” he presses his lips against mine and I melt into his touch. 

“Thank you for saving me.” I mumble against his lips. His back straightens as if he just remembered today's events and ushers me back over to my wardrobe. 

“I will always come for you.” his words cause a blush to creep up my neck. “Pack your bag so I can take you home.” I quickly pull down a couple gowns and toss them into the bag before doing the same with most of my vanity. 

My father leads us through Keep and the guards step back in his presence. We find Caraxes snapping his jaws as the guards who are brave enough to stay in their stations outside. He dips his wing down and once we’re settled into the saddle he carries us into the skies. My fathers hands are wrapped tightly around me the entire flight back. 

                                         ᓚᘏᗢ

I wake in the middle of the night to the hearth still breathing warmth into our chambers. My father has his arms wrapped tightly around me and his breath is tickling the back of my neck. I squirm in his arms and his response is to pull me closer. He presses his nose against my nape and presses his lips against it a moment later. 

“Go back to bed.” his voice is thick with sleep. 

“I want some water.” I trail my fingertips across his arm. 

He slowly unwraps his arms from me and walks over to the table. I admire his nude form in the firelight and watch as his muscles flex as he walks back over to me. I reach up for the cup but he shakes his head and brings it to my lips. I take a couple sips and he sets the cup on the bedside table. I reach out and press my palm against his torso. I trace my fingers over the defined lines and he steps closer.

“I was scared today.” I whisper looking up at him. 

“Of what, sweet girl?” he looks down at me tenderly. 

“That they were going to take me from you.” my eyes start to fill with tears. “That they’d make me marry someone else and take my babe from me.” my voice breaks as I start to cry. 

“I will never let that happen.” his brows furrow and I reach out and pull him closer. “You’re safe. No one is taking our babe. You’re mine and only mine.” he crawls back into bed with me and I tug at his arm until he’s hovering over me.

“I don’t get why they can’t just let us be.” I sniffle as tears continue to fall down my face. 

“They will after this if they’re smart.” he presses his lips to my forehead. “If they try again, I’ll burn the whole fucking city down for you.” he whispers against my brow. 

“I need you, daddy.” I wrap my arms around his neck. He lets out a soft chuckle before placing his lips on mine. His hand travels between my thighs and I spread them waiting for his touch. His fingers slide up my slit and I writhe beneath him. “Please,” I wrap my fingers around his length and he groans, resting his forehead against mine. I guide him to my core as he swirls around my bud. I arch up as he slowly pushes into me. 

“Gods, you’re such a good girl.” he slowly rocks into me as I gasp into his neck. With every roll of his hips he pulls whimpers from my mouth. His hands rest on either side of my head as our lips mash together. He pats my thigh and I wrap them around his waist and he groans into my mouth. He kisses down my jaw and makes his way to my neck to suckle and bite. 

“Daemon,” I breathe out his name and his hips snap into mine. 

“Sat it again, sweet girl.” he purrs in my ear, rolling his hips.

“Daemon, please,” I gasp as his hips begin to fall into mine faster. I rock against him as my pleasure begins to coil quickly. He bites down onto my shoulder and I dig into his. “Daddy,” my toes curl as I fall apart around him. He groans into my neck spilling his pleasure into me. 

His lips find mine and we continue to cling to one another. He pulls out of me and pulls me back against his chest. His arms wrap around me and one of his hand splays across my stomach. He peppers kisses across my shoulder blades while slowly tracking patterns onto my stomach. 

“I love you so much. I will never let another day like today happen. I promise you this.” his arms tighten around me at his declaration. 

“I love you. Thank you.” I scoot back into his chest and hold his arms around me.  

ততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততত

masterlist 🔌 

and if i say we’re having three more parts of this and two of them are already done - one of them being a prequel to part 1 🫣😏

Part 4

taglist ✍️

anything for you tags: @mamawiggers1980

@clarityisnofun @gabriella-aesthetic @callsignwidow @llynx7 @violetiss3lfish @ka1afbr @akiko-oo @papichulo120627 @lizzylovebooks280501 @thatgirl101blog @1-fuzzy-squirrels @arya-brooke @ashovertheriver @zanygot7straykidsbonk @moonymoo1 @malfoycassimalfoy @april-notthemonth69 @anaviieiraaa @p45510n4f4shi0n @neocockthotology @thereaderwitch @hardkiddonut @faenyra @hiimava11 @daintylittlesunflower @primroseluna @fiction-fanfic-reader @povofjustme @multilover19 @alexxavicry @cedstars @fuckalrighty @mrsmunson-harrington @misspendragonsworld @nz2004

[storiesforallfandoms]

icdiwabh ~ joseph quinn

word count: 3688

request?: no

description: after finding out that her recently broken up with ex is already in a new relationship, she puts on a happy face for the public. but she can't do the same with him

pairing: joseph quinn x female!reader

warnings: swearing, angsty angst, rpf, use of y/n

based on this song

masterlist (one, two, three)

To give her credit, my best friend and guitarist, Chloe, tried her best to keep me from looking at my phone before our show. And it was working. I didn't even think anything of it, just that we were goofing off before a show as usual.

And then my phone chimed with a text from my mom. She always sent me a good luck text before a show. I unlocked my phone to respond, then saw that my social media notifications were blowing up more than usual.

I shouldn't have looked, but you know what they say about curiosity and the cat.

I opened Twitter to see I was being mentioned a lot. Mainly in replies to other tweets, and most of the tweets were along the lines of, "What happened to @(Y/U/N)?" I clicked on one to see what that context was, and was brought to a tweet from Pop Crave.

"Joseph Quinn photographed on a date with Doja Cat," followed by various photos of my ex-boyfriend getting cozy with another woman.

I felt my heart drop and break into millions of pieces.

I know what you're thinking: why would seeing my ex moving on hurt so much? It's not like we were together. We were both free to see whoever we wanted now. But there were a few reasons this news was upsetting; for one, we had only broken up three months ago, which apparently is around the time when these pictures were taken. Second, Joseph had broken up with me due to the fact that I was a singer, which meant we didn't get to spend as much time together as either of us would've wanted. I understood at the time. I mean, of course the break up still hurt, but I kind of knew it was coming when things between us had felt different the last month or so of our relationship.

Then there was the biggest reason: Doja was the woman he told me not to worry about.

I am not joking.

Joseph and I were together when the whole Doja versus Noah stuff happened online. We both laughed about it at the time, and i had jokingly asked Joseph, "Should I worry about you getting stolen away by Doja Cat?" He had wrapped me in his arms, kissed me, and said of course not.

Obviously, that had changed.

Chloe found me just as the tears started to fall. She was quick to hug me and whisper comforting words.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," she said. "But we have to get to the stage."

Performing was the last thing on my mind, but I had thousands of fans waiting for me. I couldn't let them down just because I was heartbroken.

I followed Chloe to take my place. I wiped the tears from my eyes, hoping my face wasn't too red or puffy. Our backstage crew passed me my microphone as the countdown for the show to start started in my earpiece. I took a deep, calming breath, pushing everything out of my mind. As the blinding stage lights hit me, I put on my best show smile.

~~~~~~

The next few weeks were tough. I had to go on a full social media hiatus, meaning I deleted all social media apps from my phone to keep myself from seeing any more updates on Joseph and Doja. Chloe took up posting on my accounts so no one suspected anything. We had already decided the best course of action was to ignore the questions and comments, and to pretend like the news didn't even hurt me.

But it did. It hurt me more than any words could ever describe. Having to go on stage two to three nights a week and sing the love songs I wrote about him made it even harder. I struggled to keep it together on stage sometimes. I saved the emotions for when I'd get back to the hotel or the tour bus. Then I'd be able to cry until my eyes hurt and were too heavy to stay awake.

Some nights were sleepless, though. On those nights, I'd usually just lay awake or try to use one of the streaming services on my phone to distract myself. One night, I found myself too hungry to be distracted. My stomach was rumbling enough that I could hardly hear the show I was watching. After some quick Googling, I found a 24 hour diner that seemed like it would be slow enough for me to go without being recgonized.

I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a baggy hoodie with the hood up to cover my face. I put my phone and my hotel room key in my pocket, and left to make my way to the diner.

As I expected, there weren't many people there. Maybe one table with two young ladies sat there, plus the workers. I kept my hood up anyways as I ordered, just in case. The host who took my order did look at me like he may have known who I was, but he didn't say anything.

My plan was to get my food and take it back to the hotel to eat it. But that plan was quickly changed when a familiar British voice said, "(Y/N)?"

I froze. There was no way he was actually here. It had to be a figment of my imagination. A hallucination made up by my misery over the breakup and his quick moving on.

But when I looked up, there he was. He was also in a hoodie and sweatpants, but was doing less to hide his identity. Actually, nothing to hide his identity. I couldn't help but glance around to make sure no one was looking at us or there was no paparazzi that had followed him and started snapping photos.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked, then realized it was a stupid question and winced at myself.

"That's...um...my hoodie."

I looked down and realized that he was right. I hadn't even noticed that I had it, even when I packed it for the tour.

"I was wondering where it went," he said with a little smile.

"Here it is," I said, lamely flourishing my hands. "I'd offer to give it back, but I'm not wearing anything underneath."

I saw him swallow at my comment. I thought I saw a tinge of pink creeping onto his cheeks, but I figured it must've been the lighting or something. There was no way I could still make him blush when he obviously had no feelings for me anymore.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm in town shooting the Fantastic Four movie," he explained. "I just finished a late shoot, so I stopped in for something to eat. What are you doing here?"

"I had a show tonight. I couldn't sleep, and I'm hungry. So..." I did my lame flourish again.

"Oh yes. The post-show adrenaline."

I ground my teeth to keep from saying anything. The weeks of sadness and misery suddenly vanished and became anger. I was angry at him for reminding me that he knew me so well. That we had shared memories on sleepless nights like this. I was also angry that he didn't think our breakup and his quick moving on would be the cause of my sleeplessness. Did he think I didn't know? Or just that I'd be okay with him and his new girlfriend mere weeks after our two year long relationship ended?

I just shrugged in response.

My order was called and I quickly grabbed it. I turned to give Joseph a wave as a goodbye. I needed to get out of there and get back to my hotel room to wallow in my dispair.

But it seemed Joseph had other plans, as he stopped me before I could leave. "Do you want to sit? Maybe...catch up?"

"Is that a good idea?" I asked.

"I don't see why it wouldn't be."

"You don't want your new girlfriend to see paparazzi photos of you with your ex."

There, it was finally out. No more tiptoeing around the topic.

It seemed to have its desired effect as Joseph was now awkwardly shuffling. He rubbed the back of his neck, which was now undoubtably turning pink. "So, you've heard."

"Of course I heard!" I snapped. I glanced around again, realizing I was raising my voice. "Your pictures are everywhere, and I'm being tagged in them cause we never told everyone we had broken up."

"I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

I scoffed. "How else was I going to find out? Were you going to call me and tell me you were dating the girl you said wasn't a threat to our relationship?"

He sighed. Before he could say anything else, they called that another order was ready, and evidently it was his. It was also packed in a to go bag, so he clearly had no intentions of staying either. With any luck, he'd drop this stupid idea of sitting down for a "catch up" and let me leave to deal with all the emptions I was feeling.

But of course, luck was not on my side.

Joseph grabbed his food and turned back to me. "Just...sit with me for 15 minutes at least. Let me explain."

Even though I very much wanted an explanation, I said, "You don't have to explain anything."

"Just...please, (Y/N)."

And that's how I found myself sat in a booth that was tucked away, in the middle of the night with my ex-boyfriend.

It was a bad idea, and I knew that. Besides the fact that I definitely should not be sitting down with the ex that I had been in shambles over for weeks, it was also a bad idea publicity wise. Joseph wasn't trying to hide himself. Anyone could see us and snap a picture, or call paparazzi to make a quick buck. Even with me trying to hide myself, someone would eventually put the pieces together to realize it was me. Then we'd have a whole new shit show on our hands.

I opened my food and started to eat. There was no point in letting it go cold and completely ruin my night. Joseph wasn't as quick to do the same. He was watching me. When I realized he wasn't eating, I made a gesture for him to start talking.

"Is there anything specific you want to know?" he asked.

Well, that was a stupid question. There was a lot I wanted to know. So much so that I knew we'd be here way longer than 15 minutes if I asked it all.

I decided to ask him the most prominent question on my mind: "Did you leave me for her?"

He seemed stunned by my question. "No! No, of course I didn't. Why would you think that?"

I gave him a look. "Come on, Joseph. We both know why I'd think that."

He shuffled in his seat. "It's not like that."

"Then explain it. That's the whole reason I'm sat here."

So he did. He told me he met Doja (he used her real name, which made my stomach churn) at her concert. He had gone with a few friends, and when she found out he was there she brought them backstage to meet her. He swore it was all casual at first, that they were just friendly and were making light of the situation between her and Noah. When things started changing, he swore it was just a rebound thing.

"I never meant for it to become anything more," he insisted. "I was still so hurt. I just wanted something that would take my mind off of the pain."

I couldn't hold back the scoff that escaped my lips. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," I said. "I'm just so sorry to hear that you were hurting."

"What, you don't think our breakup was hard for me?"

"Weirdly enough, no, I didn't think you took things hard when you dumped me."

Joseph sighed. "It wasn't - "

"And you know what else?" I cut him off. "You told me you found it hard for us to be together because of our professions. And, honestly, I understood! If you weren't away filming, I was away touring. If you weren't doing press for a movie or show, I was doing press for an album. It wasn't easy, and while I was willing to go through those strifes for us, I did understand how it could be too difficult for you. But then you turned around, not even a month after you dumped me, and started dating another singer."

He was quiet. He couldn't even meet my eye.

I felt a lump forming in my throat, and my voice cracked as I said, "If you didn't love me anymore, you could've just said that."

He looked up at me quickly. "That's not - "

He was cut off again. Not by me this time, but by his phone. Someone was calling him. When I looked at the screen, I saw her name. It felt like a knife directly through my heart.

I packed my food and stood. Joseph looked like he was going to say something, but I put a hand up to stop him. "Answer your girlfriend, Joseph."

He didn't try to stop me when I left this time.

~~~~~~

As I expected, photos of Joseph and I got out. I didn't know to what extent as I still wasn't back on social media. My manager confronted me about it and I explained what had happened. She wasn't upset as I wasn't the one who hadn't been concealing my identity, and she agreed that the best course of action was just to ignore everything until it blew over.

Another two months passed and the tour finally ended. It became easier to perform as the time went on. Not completely easy, and I did have a night or two where I slipped up and got emotional on stage, but eventually I was able to put the meanings of my songs aside and just performed them for my fans. I knew some nights weren't as great as others, but I got through it, and finally I was going to have a break.

Chloe reluctantly agreed to let me have my social media back. I was still hurting a little, but I told her I couldn't isolate myself forever. It just wasn't healthy. Besides, I would need something to keep me occupied while I was home, besides just watching mind numbing reality TV. She finally relented when I told her she could watch me block the words "Joseph Quinn" and "Doja Cat" on all social media so that I wouldn't have to see any posts about them.

I was honestly surprised to find that I didn't want to look up anything to do with them. For a long time, the desire to know about their relationship was eating away at me. There were so many specifics I felt like I needed to know, but I eventually realized that I was just going to hurt myself further if I looked into them. Of course, I didn't completely stop thinking about Joseph. I didn't expect to. We had been together for two years, almost moved in with one another. I thought we were going to get married. You don't just let that go easily. But at least it was getting a little easier to live in a world where he was no longer mine.

On one particularly nice day, I decided to go out on the balcony to read. It was one of those fall days where the sun was out and there was a little heat coming from it, but not enough that it was unbearable. A slight breeze would blow through every so often, just cool enough to keep it tolerable outside. I was laid back in one of my deck chairs, engrossed in my book to a point that I hadn't heard someone approaching.

"Must be an interesting novel."

I jumped at the sound of a voice coming from my driveway below. I bookmarked my page and sat up to see the last person I wanted to be around. "What are you doing here, Joseph?"

"I just got back from filming."

"Good for you."

"I...I was hoping you were home."

"Well, you see that I am. Don't let the gate hit you on the way out."

"(Y/N), can we just talk?"

I stood from my seat and leaned over the balcony railing to look at him. "We said all there was to say in that diner months ago. There's nothing else to be talked about. Besides, do you want more pictures of us to come out? I'm sure Doja wouldn't be happy to see her man making a personal visit to his ex's place."

"We broke up!"

I stopped. "What?"

"Last month. It was all over social media, or so Lupita tells me." He tilted his head. "You didn't hear?"

"I-I blocked yours and Doja's names on social media so I wouldn't have to see any tweets or posts about you."

Joseph looked at me for a moment before barking out a laugh. I couldn't help but put a hand over my face as I laughed as well. Of course, by trying to block him out completely, I had totally missed the one thing I would've wanted to see.

I was a bit reluctant, but eventually I invited Joseph to come up. He knew his way through my place, he had been there enough times. I sat back down on my deck chair and pulled another one closer to me, as he appeared in the glass doorway. He sat down next to me and memories of all the times we had been out here flooded back to me.

"I wasn't done talking that night in the diner," he said. "I still had so much to say, and I have even more to say now."

"I didn't want to hear it," I admitted. "In my mind, after hearing how you and Doja got together, it just made more sense if you had broken up with me because you didn't love me anymore."

He shook his head. "It wasn't that at all. I never stopped loving you."

I was itching to ask him if that meant he still loved me now, but instead I said, "Then why?"

"I broke up with you because I loved you so much," he said. "Because loving you but not getting to spend time with you hurt so much, and I knew there was no way around that. When I started getting more job offers I knew things were just going to get so much busier for me, and that our already very short time together was going to dwindle down more and more, and I hated the thought of that."

"I would've taken a break," I told him.

"I couldn't ask you to do that. You love making music and performing. I could never ask you to stop doing that, or to change that. I thought the best thing for you would be if you could find someone who wasn't as busy, and who'd be able to go on tour with you and be at all your shows. Someone who wouldn't be in a different time zone basically 11 months out of a year and only be able to call you for an hour max every night."

"But what if that's not what I want?" I asked. "Yes, it was hard not to get to see you all the time, but I never would've traded that for anything else. I was so proud of you for all those roles you were getting, and even if I only got to talk to you for a few minutes, I loved getting to hear what you were doing. Because you were achieving your dream, and I got to be there to experience it. I don't want someone who can be with me all the time, I want you."

I hadn't noticed that we were both sat on the edge of our chairs. We were so close we were almost touching. I could smell the familiar scent of his cologne and it was making my heart skip a few beats.

"I should've talked to you instead of deciding just to end things," he said, his voice soft and quiet.

"You should've," I agreed. "And then if you were going to rebound, you shouldn't have done it with the girl you told me not to worry about."

He awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, not my finest moment."

I sat back in my chair, although I didn't want to. I wanted to keep being this close to him, or maybe to get closer. "So why did you two breakup anyways?"

"She was nice and all, but she wasn't you."

We sat in silence, letting his words sink in. He was looking at me, almost like he was waiting. Maybe I was waiting, too, to see where that confession was supposed to go. After a few moments, my body moved before my mind could comprehend what was happening. I quickly leaned forward, nearly putting myself on Joseph's lap, and started kissing him. He kissed me back immediately, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me the rest of the way onto his lap.

"I missed you," he mumbled against my lips.

"I missed you too," I admitted. I pulled away to add, "But don't think you're completely off the hook. You did still hurt me, you know."

"I know I did. I'll spend the rest of my life making up for it if I have to."

I smiled. "I think I like the sound of that."

He smiled back at me and pulled me back in for another kiss. Eventually, my book was abandoned on the balcony, and the large blinds were closed to keep from anyone being able to see the reunion happening inside.

[missmielyhoran]

Oreos and Pickles (Sad Ending)

in which you spent 2 years with Harry and a grocery store trip makes you realize it was all secondary...

[Warning- Just pure angst, fluff if you like close your eyes ig, pregnancy cravings, complicated feelings and a very awful grocery store trip, alcohol, drunk driving, Harry]

Masterlist // Part 1

*****

A single moment can change many things.

But not the feelings you have for someone and a simple grocery store trip made him realize that.

He loved the way dress flowed when you walked and how it showed just the tiniest bump only he could notice cause that's all he wanted to do.

But he hated how his hands weren't in his and how far you were walking. At the same time, a part of him was itching to run back in and talk to her, ask her how she was doing, how her work was going, and everything he could think of.

Was it wrong? Very much, but he doesn't know what to do.

He opened the door to the passenger seat, and you slid inside, saying a small thank you. He walked around and slid into the driver's side. When he looked up, he saw something he never wanted.

There she was, crying in the driver's seat of her directly in front of him. Their eyes met, and god, he shouldn't want to run to comfort her, especially with his pregnant girlfriend sitting just beside him.

"I'm going to Amelia's." Your voice brought him out of trance as he turned to look at you.

You were so different from her not only feature wise but also emotionally while she was this emotionally sensitive person. You, on the other hand, would not shed a tear even in the saddest of situations. He couldn't even think of a time he saw you cry.

"Niall and her are out of town I think" He replied.

He saw your face scrunch up in annoyance, "Just drop me off at Cam's house" you said, turning your face away from him with pure anger.

"Stress is bad for baby" He said, reaching for your bump but then retrieving back as you were very much not like that right now.

"Yeah I fucking bet" You muttered under your breath.

Harry just drove to your sister's house in silence. He was in a hurry but in a hurry for what? he didn't know, or maybe he did, but it was just not time his heart had accepted it.

As they reached the house, he saw your sister out collecting her mail. She waved at both of them, but when she saw your face, her smile fell, and so did her hand.

You got out of the car without so much so of a bye or when you will return, and Harry didn't know why he didn't care, you were mother of his child shouldn't he?

He drove off the curb and started driving towards his house. His mind was jumbled all with the thoughts. It was weird to just see her face he tried so hard not to even think about her. He threw out her pictures, her gifts, every piece of her existence, and yet she came back somehow.

He felt guilty and betrayed, betrayed by his own conscious and heart.

He took out a bottle of whiskey as soon as he got into the house. He drank half the bottle in one go feeling the burn in his throat and his eyes watering.

Heaving his threw the rest filled bottle on the floor, scattering the pieces of glass all around. He looked around, and his life looked like a mess. The living room was filled with boxes, your new clothes, and baby stuff he kept buying impulsively. All somehow felt like a mess.

The mess that looked like home in the morning.

In anger, he took his car keys and made a beeline to his car. He didn't care about the glass, the boxes, or the fact he was very much drunk.

He got into the car and started driving to the place he knew like his hand.

He drove and drove till the familiar white house building came into the view. His hands were shaking, and his body was shaking, to be honest, but he knew he had to do this.

He put his car in the park and walked to the porch, knocking on her door like he used to, and he felt like that again, like he was again where he was a few years ago.

Then similar eyes opened the gate, a very smaller version of eyes he fell in love with.

"How many times I have told you to not open the gate until I say so!" She came running from behind and stood freeze looking at him as was he.

He looked between the child and her and couldn't comprehend what it was.

"Harry, what are you-" She asked, leaving the words hanging in the air, but she also knew what he was here for.

"I wanted to talk to you" He said hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

They walked through her house to her backyard, where she shut the glass door so no one could listen in to their conversation.

"Who was-" He left the question hanging in the air, confused as the woman who left him for not wanting a family was here playing house with someone else.

"That's my daughter, Cassie" She said with a soft smile, "She was a surprise totally not expecting, thought it was flu or something turns out I was pregnant" She said with a chuckle.

"So you left me when I asked you to marry me and start a family, and now here you are, playing house, huh?" Harry said angirly, "I cried, begged you to stay, and you left saying I deserved someone who could give me what I wanted! You could've given me what I wanted. You have what I wanted. You just didn't want to!" He said, slamming his fist on the picnic table.

"Calm your voice Harry my daughter is playing inside, and I don't want her to get scared or know what is going on here" She said strictly. Harry sighed and slid down back in his chair.

"I could've never given you what you wanted. A white-picked fence was not something I dreamed of, nor would I ever. Her father and I got divorced just in 6 months of marriage cause I couldn't do it" She said, "A marriage, a child and a career, I couldn't do it all at once, he understood that so we just co-parent now" She explained, "You wanted a wife Harry and you deserved one, and if so long into our relationship I couldn't agree to it then it was a waste of our time, we had different goals of relationship and at some point, we had to go onto our separate paths."

He stood there listening, feeling baffled on how she could just break his heart all over again without making him hate her.

"But you crying in the store, we can still have everything" He said, feeling tears breaming in his eyes.

"Harry what-no!" She yelled, "Oh my god" She panicked.

"Harry, I was crying cause I was happy. Yes, a lot of feelings came over me seeing you all of a sudden, but the main thing I felt was happiness. Happiness that finally you had everything you wanted, a beautiful girlfriend, a child on the way, and the way she looked at you- she is utterly in love with you" She explained softly, her eyes were filled with concern and contentment.

It was pathetic honestly how he realized what he had done. He had everything in the palm of his hand, and he threw it away on his own.

"It's not too late Harry go get her" She said softly, feeling his pain even after years of separation.

But it just might have been.

Cause as he was walking to his car practicing how he will kneel and ask for your forgiveness. The ring he had for you will be given to you today no matter what he will fix no matter what, but then he got a call from your sister.

You were in the hospital.

Turns out stress was bad for the baby.

So he got into the car with tear filled eyes to drive to the hospital he saw the oreos and pickles they bought sitting in the back seat but they were of no use.

Just like his apology, just like his pain, his realization, his love, the unmade crib sitting in the living room or the half painted nursery nothing was of use.

All cause of his stupidness and impulsiveness.

He lost everything chasing his past while having everything in present.

Now, all he has is regret.

*****

I hope you like this it's kind of rusty I know but I will try to post more from now.

Please Like, Comment and Reblog it helps a lot.

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Love you guys a lot♡ please tell me how you liked it here♡

[eerna]

can you explain your art techniques a little bit further? I just saw your post about arcane helping you drop line art and stuff, and I wanted to understand better (as someone trying to get into digital art)

Sureee, ty for asking! :)

For the first 7 years of my digital art journey I imitated the comicbook-style art tutorials and techniques artists I liked used. This means that I would start out with a sketch, draw the lineart on another layer on top of the sketch, hide the sketch, use solid blocks of color on separate layers for the coloring, and add lighting effects on top of it all. I was never really happy with how it turned out, and I often felt like I shouldn't have gone past the colored sketch phase because the full render would lose so much life. I used pretty much the same brushes I use now, aside from some textured ones, but not to their full potential because they were painting brushes being used for flat shading. Here's a few examples of fully rendered stuff from 2020-2021:

Then, I realized I do NOT have to do things I don't wanna do, and I can totally remove any steps from the process that I wish! I experimented for a while until I settled on a new thing that worked for me. And so my current process is: draw a sketch, color it all on one layer (base colors), add light effects if needed, add another layer on top of everything, and paint until satisfied with the level of rendering. Then I add optional effects, such as fires or patterns. This means I leave the sketch layer visible, so I have to clean it and base colors with erasers as I work, but it enables me to preserve the sketchy energy. The "all rendering on one layer" approach frees my hand and I don't feel pressure to render everything separately and perfectly, which in turn, ironically, makes my art look more detailed because the eye compensates for unfinished bits. In addition, the line between a colored sketch and a fully rendered piece is much thinner, which means I don't have to commit to completing anything, and that is a big deal for an insecure person prone to artblocks. If I lose interest halfway through the lineart-and-blocks-of-color process, I am left with an unusable piece. If I do it halfway through the painting process, I get a charming, messy piece a la my recent Chappell Roan art (I left the armor unfinished, and yet it doesn't clash with the rest of the art). Here's a recreation I did to show what a big difference the different approach makes:

So why didn't I stop doing lineart sooner? I did try, but my attempts tried to replicate what I did when painting traditionally, instead of adjusting to my digital abilities, so it usually looked whack. I remember showing my friends the Rito Village piece back in 2019, which was painted based on a screenshot from the game, and one of them telling me "Don't go back to lineart!" I was like "YEAH I am NOT going back to lineart!!! I will keep painting!!!" Only to realize that painting landscapes with already stylized references and painting portraits were completely different. Here's a painting portrait from one of those trial and error attempts. Later I realized the mistake was working on TOP of the sketch, as I would have done for traditional work, instead of both below AND on top of it - after all, my intention was to preserve the life of the sketch, which was impossible when I couldn't even see it. I also didn't understand color values (or honestly, any color aspects) very well, resulting in some low-contrast, unappealing blobs.

So yeah, my advice to any beginner digital artist is: experiment and figure out what works for you. Think about what makes you happy when creating, and build your process around it. Also, keep researching art theory and applying it to your work. Good luck to you and all other digital artists~

[penkura]

knowing [2/8]

Summary: Sanji knew you were the one the moment he met you.

Pairing: Sanji x Reader

Warnings: None really. Normal One Piece stuff I guess.

Note: uhhhh chapter two hype I guess lol.

[Ch. 1]

Nami noticed something weird after you all left Skypiea. You and Sanji being weirder than normal. She was constantly trying to push you two together, she wanted to see a romance on the Going Merry, and the two of you were her best bet, if anything ever happened.

Which she thought never would because you acted so shyly and Sanji acted like he didn't know what he was doing anymore around you. It was painful to watch, and she tried to get Robin in on it, but the older woman just smiled and said she should let potential love take its time. Nami hated that she was right, but every time you all approached a new island, she would do her best to pair you and Sanji up as buddies. Whenever it worked, you'd come back for a girl's night and be swooning over what a gentleman Sanji was, how he wouldn't let you carry a single bag or buy anything yourself, he did everything. You swore up and down he must've done that or would do that for any girl, but it didn't make you feel any less special.

In fact, once you arrived on Skypiea, Sanji had found flowers to give you three girls. Nami and Robin both received red ones, you were the lucky one to get a blue flower, which you later gushed to Nami that it matched his eyes. You were so gross with how head over heels you were for Sanji, but she really wanted to see you two together.

That's why Nami found it odd that you and Sanji seemed to spend more time apart after your return to solid ground, er…to the water anyway. You still would help him with cooking when Sanji let you, and he'd hang around you some evenings on the deck while everyone relaxed, but Nami didn't think anything much was happening outside of that.

Zoro, however, knew differently. He'd noticed real differences in how you and Sanji were around each other after leaving Alabasta. You had seemed slightly nervous when Robin ended up joining your crew, especially when Sanji was all too eager to welcome her, commenting briefly on how beautiful she was. Zoro watched you hover around while Usopp interrogated her, like you were just as suspicious of Robin, but for different reasons, and he thought you were being a bit ridiculous about it.

It's not like you and Sanji were together, right? He could do as he pleases and flirt all he wanted, you'd just have to suck it up and deal with it despite your feelings.

Well he thought so, until that evening when he heard you on the lower deck with Sanji after everyone else had gone to bed.

"Gosh, I felt stupid, I wanted to just hug you and tell Robin you're mine."

He heard Sanji laugh, Zoro thinking you were just messing around or possibly drunk. It really wasn't like you to say something like that when you were sober and in the right mind.

"You could have. I don't think anyone would have believed you."

"Nah, Zoro would have. You forget he's the one who's known me the longest."

"Hmm, that's true. You are the one who said to keep the flirting up though."

Hearing you sigh loudly and say that was true, Zoro could only assume you fell backwards on the deck or were leaning back to look at the stars. He heard Sanji offer to take you back to the girls bunks, but you mentioned you were next on night watch so you'd just stay, it wasn't long until you and Zoro had to swap anyway.

Not hearing anything more from either of you, Zoro leaned over the crow's nest just enough to see why you'd both become silent, catching you leaning into Sanji's shoulder with his arm around your waist.

So that's why she acted so jealous.

Zoro never said a word, having figured out you and Sanji were keeping your new relationship a secret for now, likely in case you decided it'd be better to stay friends.

Skypiea almost seemed like a test for the two of you. After landing and finding the beach where Sanji gifted you girls flowers, you ended up separated due to the laws of the place, Sanji with Luffy and Usopp while you were with everyone else. You weren't too worried, even as you stayed behind on the Merry with Chopper while Zoro, Robin, and Nami went exploring. The two of you were attacked of course, and until Chopper sounded the whistle for Ganfal to come help, you'd be able to keep your enemy back despite the damage Merry suffered. You ended up with a stab wound through the shoulder from Shura's Ordeal of String and burned your hand while trying to put out the fire on Merry, Chopper nearly in tears helping you with your injuries after he helped Ganfal too.

Sanji was just glad to see you were all right when he, Usopp, and Luffy finally reunited with the rest of you. He took note of the bandages on your shoulder and hand, pulling you aside while everyone was preoccupied with other things, asking you what happened if you were really all right. You told him what happened and reassured him you were perfectly fine, giving him a smile while he lightly hugged you and said he was glad, stealing a quick kiss and leaving you a blushing mess while he went to work on dinner again.

The next day you ended up following Zoro through the forest, Sanji demanding he watch you closely and Zoro just rolled his eyes before telling you to hurry up. He kept you safe while he fought the enemies he did, and once he and Robin had been injured by Eneru's attacks, you did your best to protect them while Nami went with the false god in her attempts to stop him.

You didn't know what happened with Sanji until Usopp jumped down from the giant gold ship with him, and you were shocked by how injured he was, he looked like he'd been electrocuted more than once and it terrified you.

Once you all were safe with the Skypieans and Shandians, once Sanji was awake and had Chopper replace his bandages, you did the same as he had before and pulled him away from everyone to make sure he was really okay. You asked him multiple times, your voice getting a bit more strained each time even when he said he was fine, you were trying so hard not to break down crying to him.

"I'm sure I'm fine, trust me. I'm standing aren't I?"

There was a soft smile on his face while Sanji watched you fight back tears. He'd not seen you cry before, and hated it would be his fault for having gotten injured, but he knew you were just worried about him.

"I…I know, I just…you're absolutely–"

"I'm sure, [Y/N]-chan, I promise."

Sanji pulled you into a hug, which you returned as you couldn't hold back anymore and started sobbing into his bandages (you'd have to apologize to Chopper later). While you cried, Sanji quietly hushed you, saying everything was all right and he was definitely okay. He stroked your hair and apologized for worrying you, explaining he was protecting Nami and Usopp though you didn't need an explanation, you just somehow knew already that he'd been trying to protect your crewmates.

Zoro didn't mean to overhear your crying and Sanji quieting you, but he'd been sent by Nami to the exact spot she saw you drag the blond off to in order to bring you both back to prepare to leave soon. When he'd walked over, you'd just started sobbing and Zoro thought for a second Sanji did something to hurt you, he was ready to skewer the blond, until he heard him shushing you and explaining what had happened.

"It's okay, shh. I'm sorry I made you worry."

"I'm just…just g-glad you're all r-right!"

"Shh, I know. You need to calm down now, okay? Don't want anyone thinking I did something to make you cry."

Zoro heard you agree, and you started to breathe a little easier and your sobs went away soon after. He didn't have time to get far enough away before he heard Sanji say you two should rejoin everyone, so he stayed in place. Once you both stepped back out from behind your hiding place, the three of you stared at each other, you and Sanji holding hands while Zoro almost set a glare on him.

"A-ah um, Zoro what are…when did…why…"

"Nami sent me to get you two," he looked at your hands again before going back to glaring at Sanji, "We're leaving soon."

You nodded and now both boys were glaring at each other, it stayed like that a few minutes more before Sanji spoke up.

"Listen, moss head. If you tell anyone about us, I'll–"

"I'm not gonna say anything unless you hurt her. She's like my sister, so you better be good to her."

Turning to leave, Zoro didn't miss how shocked you and Sanji were, you'd half expected him to tell you that you needed to tell the rest of your crew sooner rather than later, but he didn't even do that. Just told Sanji not to hurt you or he'd basically be dead before he knew it. Sanji expected more of a fight, so he was even more shocked when Zoro just walked away, telling the two of you to hurry up or you'd become the newest residents of Skypiea.

Even after you left he kept his word, he didn't tell a single person, even as Zoro watched Nami try to pair you and Sanji up again and again.

He wondered how she was missing the obvious signs you two were together.

+!+

Robin was the next to find out about you and Sanji being an item. She didn't mean to, but it was after you all had saved her from the World Government, after you toppled Enies Lobby and brought your dear friend and archeologist back home to your little family. When you all had separated at Water 7, when Robin had been taken in by the government, Sanji took the lead on trying to get her back, eventually you all were together again at Enies Lobby, entering several battles to bring her home.

While Sanji and the others took on CP9 members, you again took to taking down lower members, this time Navy Men with the help of Galley-La and Franky's comrades. Those same groups helped you get back to your crewmates, to the Merry who had come to save you all, before you tearfully bid farewell to the ship that had been your home the last couple of months.

Once you made it back to Water 7, while you had to wait for a new ship to be built, you all took time recovering from your battle wounds and exploring the city a little more. Most of your time was spent with Zoro and Nami during the day, trying to help the former find a new sword and Nami taking you and Robin sometimes shopping for various items. You tried a few times to check in on Usopp, wanting him to return to you all, but every time you did so, he either had disappeared from the spot you saw him or you'd back down from talking to him. At least knowing he was alive was enough for you for the time being.

You absolutely would have spent more of your time with Sanji, but the two of you agreed to wait until a few days later, to keep suspicions off you from the rest of your crew. Eventually the two of you ventured out to the city on your own, you both left the rest of your crew for the day at separate times, meeting up elsewhere to throw them off.

Unfortunately for you, although it worked to start, Robin caught sight of you and Sanji when she was entering a shop with Nami. She didn't think too much of it until she noticed the two of you holding hands and the lovesick smiles you gave each other as you walked through the market.

Oh, I see then.

Robin decided she would keep what she saw to herself, at least that was her plan, until she heard Nami say "I knew it" when she saw you two herself.

Luckily you didn't hear her, and Nami suggested she and Robin quietly follow you to see what was going on. Robin wasn't going to agree to it, but Nami grabbed her by the arm too quickly.

She hoped you'd forgive them.

+!+

"Here, this is for you, mon cheri."

"You shouldn't spend your money on me, Sanji."

Giving you a smile, Sanji shook his head, telling you that he wanted to get this little gift for you, it wasn't a lot, but he thought you'd like it. While you were going through the marketplace, he ended up pulling you down an empty alley and giving you a small box. You really didn't want him to spend any of the money Nami gave him on you, you had your own, but it was still sweet of him to think of you!

You opened the box after a bit of back and forth with yourself about Sanji spending money on you already, but you let those thoughts go once you saw it was a simple little heart shaped charm on a silver chain. You smiled softly while Sanji blushed about it scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I just…I thought you'd like it so I bought it…you don't have to wear it or anything, it's no–"

You cut Sanji off by throwing your arms around his shoulders in a hug, which he returned with his around your waist, though he was a bit confused until you looked up at him with a smile still.

"You're the sweetest thing in the world, I don't deserve you."

That comment and your sweet smile got to Sanji in an instant; eyes turning to hearts, face bright red with a grin, while he snuggled his face up against yours.

"Don't say that!! I'm the one who doesn't deserve you!!"

Giggling, you pulled Sanji even closer to you and kissed him, only stopping when you heard a voice yell "We caught you!"

For a moment you thought it was Marines and they were going to chase you and Sanji through Water 7, until you realized you knew that voice all too well, and you both looked to see Nami and Robin at the other end of the alleyway.

"When did this start?!"

"Uh…"

"And why didn't you," Nami pointed a finger at you, while you hid your face in Sanji's shoulder, "tell me?!"

"Nami," Robin placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder with a smile, "Let's give them a moment and maybe they can explain things to us."

The two stepped away with Nami saying you had better not run because she wanted every detail possible about when and how this happened. You didn't move a muscle, still hiding your face in Sanji's shoulder while he kept you close and stroked your hair to keep you calm. Eventually, he laughed a bit and it made you look up at him.

"What?" "Guess our secret's out," Sanji gave you a smile while you pouted a bit, tucking a bit of hair behind your ear before kissing you, "Let's go talk to Nami and Robin then, all right?"

[koiiiji]

Could you do some windbreaker characters with a fem gyaru s/o? I would specifically like Vinny you can chose any other character if you want :)

author note : OMG!! I searched some photos in pinterest, like inspiration for gyaru, and wooow!! i will definitely take some details into my style bc its sooo beautiful… i genuinely thought (idk why honestly) that gyaru is more like pink barbie in 80-90s style but it looks so cool i can’t!! sorry for such long reply, and we r mutuals so i feel even more ashamed :(( i tried with more characters but give up and done just these two!! hope you will like it💋🎗️

warning : pure fluff, vinny being softie and shelly cutie as always

vinny - he definitely have 0 idea about all fashion trends, styles and different subcultures aside from street racing… so he genuinely don’t give a fuck about your style, he crushing into person, not a pieces of clothes you wear, but once your dialogue went in all different direction, you explain him what your style specifically is and what inspired you to join this subculture, he take note in his head that as soon as he will earn more money he will buy you as many new clothes and other items as you wish.

it was one of your first dates, you were sitting together in some random cafe that you found on the way from the second-hand store to which you dragged Vinny to find new elements for your outfits.

“so… was it really necessary to spend solid 2 hours in that shop to find just few pair of shorts, skirts and belts?…” he began hesitantly, doubting whether it was worth bringing up the subject. do girls get angry if you ask them why spend so much time in the shops? should he change the subject of conversation? or maybe you want to discuss this trip to the store? it seemed that now Vinny’s brains would just explode, before you he had not had to communicate so long and closely with girls. when you looked up at him, it seemed to him that his heart skipped a couple of beats - your eyes literally sparkled with joy and fun.

"of course it was!! if you want to find really unique things, then there is no place better than a second-hand store! of course, you need to try to find something really worthwhile, but when you find that very thing.." you clenched your fists and squeezed your eyes shut, smiling so sweetly and swaying back and forth with impatience

"...oh right, let's go at my place today!!! i'll show you why we spent so much time there, these shorts and skirts will just go perfectly..." Vinny continued to listen as you happily chirped about your ideas of what to wear new things with, and it seems you also mentioned new places where you wanted to take photos together with him, and much more. at that moment, Vinny didn’t cared about anything as much as your smile. you were so sincere with him, you smiled so brightly, just like a little star in his hands, and he suddenly remembered that pleasant, soft and warm sensation in his chest, just like in rare moments from childhood. your touch pulled him out of his own thoughts as you gently shook his hand, looking questioningly into his eyes.

"didn't you listen to what i was saying?" you squinted suspiciously. "wh... what?.. no, i heard everything.."

laughing in response, you pulled him towards the exit of the cafe, in direction to your house. at that moment, it seemed to Vinny that there were no problems around, and he was finally felt like ordinary schoolboy. yes, you were the one who helped him still stay sane. you were his own little star.

shelly - 100% fashion intusiast so she highlighted your style immediately, and liked it!! as i mentioned before, she definitely would post tiktoks/insta stories with you, admiring how cool and beautiful her girlfriend is.

“hey, let’s go shopping together after school? how about finding some new stuff?” shelly said excitedly, coming up from behind and hugging you. it was the last day before weekends starts, so after school you could relax and go shopping in search of new things, maybe you will be lucky enough today and you will find some cool archive things from 2000s.

"oh my god, look at this!!" Shelly squealed in delight as she ran up to you. in her hands was Vivienne Westwood's archive white handbag, with silver chains as handles and with a distinctive badge. it needed a little repair, but for the price that was offered for this handbag, it was worth it!!

"Shelly is so cute, how did you find it?!" you exclaimed joyfully, picking up the bag from her hands and examining it from all sides. today it was a really cool piece, and after picking up a pair of pumpons and key chains for a bag, you headed to Shelly's house, deciding to celebrate this purchase with a sleepover at her house, her grandfather wasn’t at home, and he anyway liked when you two hang out together.

"what do you think about ordering something to eat and putting on makeup together? we can shoot something in tiktok! oh! or let's film unpacking for this baby, what do you say?" you asked her excitedly, as you remembered that Shelly always wanted to try your makeup style and clothes you usually wear. and she was so pleased that you remembered such little things that she mentioned once quite a long time ago, and they were deposited in your head. hugging you tightly around the neck and whispering a quiet thank you, Shelly took you by the arm and headed for her home, excitedly offering you ideas for posing and which sound you should choose for your tiktoks.

[deafsignifcantother]

the baby

♥ summary: almost loosely based off of this by @ukor02. This is really just a small little writing thing I did at 4am. ♥ relationship: no direct romance really, just some cute stuff between Lucifer and reader. ♥ word count: 1.6k ♥ notes: no childbirth mentioning and this is written like just as summaries of the situation tbh, almost like a bullet point format without the bullet points, the entire cast are characters, hospital scene, I made Alastor a main character and her main bestie because of course I did, reader is happy to be a mother

You wanted to give your baby a chance to get into Heaven, even if it meant they'd leave without you. Hell is no place for a child. Both you and Charlie knew that.

.

"What a pleasant surprise," you sign to Alastor when you see that damn smiling demon right outside your hotel room.

He laughs; aw, you're describing his arrival as pleasant. Did he make a good impression on you when you saw him last when he introduced himself in person in Pride Sign Language? You never seemed to have paid any mind to him, giving one motion signs as responses whenever he tried starting a conversation. But even when you interacted with him like that, he couldn't help but wonder why you always looked at him with your sweet, shy gaze. It's not on purpose, which is the worst part.

Pleasant, you called it a pleasant surprise.

"It's good to see you too, my dear!" He signs, bowing a bit and pushing past you into your room. "What have you been up to?"

What an obnoxious question.

You close the door, squeezing the doorknob tightly. This is going to be a long evening. When you turn back to Alastor, he's in your living room examining the decor, your random art pieces taped to the walls and organized together, though not concisely.

He waves his hands. "I love what you've done with the place."

"I've been bored." You sign with a slight nod to yourself. It's awfully isolating, which is obvious. Still, it has never hit you as hard as it does now as you watch another person walk through your chambers.

"I'm glad I can be in your company then." His smile widens, and the static he emits gets heavier. His ear twitched a bit, which you noticed but tried not to directly look at. Was it a good or bad thing?

"But it's often relieving to be alone," you start and look him up and down.

"You're quite used to being alone, aren't you?"

Your lips tighten, your hands stiff, and you are unable to finish your sentence. Absentmindedly, you rest them on your plump, pregnant belly. Alastor does his best not to let his eyes draw down to analyze it. Still, his head tilts, even just a little. He hates looking at your hands when you touch your stomach. Did his mother hold her belly like that when he was inside of hers?

"Don't you have others to talk to?"

"They're out on their little journeys, you know them."

"Of course."

Alas, he lets his eyes trail down to your stomach. It's not quite full, but it's obvious enough to gain attention from others. Charlie will put her hands on it every day, waiting for the baby to show its presence. She can feel the heartbeat, and so can you and Vaggie, though everybody else can't feel a thing. Alastor refuses to put a hand on your stomach. Life is precious and loud, and the few who were never human understand that differently than the others.

"I wanted to check in on the baby."

A twitch of your eyebrow makes his smile widen.

"Why?"

.

The day before, Lucifer arrived.

You try on your best clothes, laying them flat against your front, looking at your belly in the mirror. For the king, should you try to hide it or show it proudly? He has a daughter, but does that affect his thoughts about Hellborn pregnancies? Gosh, what do you have to worry about? So stupid.

With the other people, your new friends, you stood with your head proud.

He swirled with the dragons and hugged his daughter as if he hadn't seen her for years. What a kind man, unusually kind. His eyes... Those soft, precious eyes. And when they landed on you, your heart almost stopped. He looked at you as if you were an angel. When his lips started to move, the smile you didn't even know you wore faded.

Charlie put her hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him. And there came Alastor, saving the day.

"The idiotic king was just telling you how happy he is for you." With the signs came the grinding of his teeth.

Lucifer approached, his cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. He addressed Alastor with aggressive hesitance. 'Tell her...' he said.

Charlie smiled excitedly, Nifty kept nodding, and Sir Pentious's eyes started tearing up.

Alastor grimaced. "He's asking if he could feel your stomach."

As always, you've put a thorn in the flow of interactions.

Still, you put on a smile. "Of course."

And there you stood, the King of Hell's hands gently holding you. You could feel the cold of his touch even through the fabric of your shirt. The heartbeat vibrated through both your body and his. The baby was alive and well; you could tell through the pure glee that spread across his face. Beyond your tiny ounce of worry, you knew he'd find hope within your baby.

Alastor watched with a terribly strained smile.

.

"Why?" You ask again when he doesn't answer. "What's with the sudden worry?"

"Worry? No, no." Alastor waves you off. "More like..."

You watch with interest as he trails off, a vulnerability you love.

He squints his eyes and clenches his fists, but only for a moment. His lack of vocabulary kills him. "...Intrigue."

You crack a smirk. "Are you finally gonna feel my stomach?"

Another pause. Alastor considers it, but all he can imagine is his claws accidentally drawing blood.

"No."

"That's okay." Again, your hands rest on your stomach.

.

Alastor has been watching it grow, but so has Lucifer. Charlie's father scarcely visits, and you've convinced yourself it's to see you. Every time he enters the hotel, he asks how you are. He tries to lift his hands to sign but finds no words forming. A language was created in his world, and he has yet to learn how to learn it.

Whenever he presses his hands against your belly, he can feel the liveliness of the soul forming inside you, and he can feel your appreciation at his care.

Begrudgingly, he always has to ask Alastor for advice on communicating with you. Alastor always has a cocky smirk when he teaches.

Charlie has to ask Alastor for help, too, but more willingly. Alastor raises his chin and squares shoulders when people ask him for help. Charlie went to him for help on a conversation you knew she was going to start with you:

"You're not going to stay here for the battle."

"I know." There was no argument on your behalf. Charlie's cheeks still went pink.

"But I have to figure out where it's safest for you. Alastor told me Cannibal Town, but uhh... Maybe not."

"They'll all be here anyway. Maybe they'll distract the angels from going over there."

Her bright eyes widen a bit. "Do you think so?"

"I can stay over there, even if they try to eat me." They won't, and even if they try, they know Alastor would end their lives, don't they?

She fiddles with her fingers before lifting them up again. "I suppose..."

She's so quickly convinced it's cute. You're right, though, of course. Cannibal Town might be the safest place, specifically under the hands of Rosie, who Alastor had previously told you would be more than willing to help you. You can imagine her smile at seeing your belly, twice the size as when Alastor first told you about her. Unbeknownst to Charlie, he's been planning this for a while.

Your stress for their safety irks you more than you expected.

You place a hand on Charlie's, lifting your other one. "I'll be okay."

Before you left for Cannibal Town, you met Lucifer once again, a more loving side of him. He cradled your head and held the back of your neck as he did. His cold body felt like warmth to you. He whispered things to you; you could only tell from how his breath constantly brushed against your ear in sing-songy waves. Was he singing to you? A lullaby? He pulled away and finally signed to you. "You're going to be a great mom."

A moment before, Alastor finally put his hands on your belly. His hands were warm. Like Lucifer, he was whispering to himself, holding silent words from you. In another life, you'd imagine they were prayers. At that moment, only an instinct, you put your hands on his, and he allowed it.

The stress of their safety worsened when they were left alone in Cannibal Town without a word of winning or losing.

The winning of Hell was all you wanted to focus on when you noticed the contractions getting worse, spaced out in purposeful ways. Oh goodness, you found yourself thinking, oh my God.

What if Lucifer dies on the same day your child is born?

But after the battle, he was right there to cradle the baby in his arms, his heavenly grasp relaxing the tiny baby. The rest of the group sat in your room, Sir Pentious absent, tears in their eyes at both the birth and the death.

Beyond Lucifer's cradling, Husk was the only one who touched your child that day. He placed his furry paw against the baby, feeling the body heat that they admitted. Life could be beautiful, he decided.

Vaggie's sense of revenge deepened. She sacrificed Heaven to save a child, and now she's even more than willing to kill her sisters to save yours.

While Charlie stares at your baby with tears, Alastor smiles warmly at you. He knew you could do it: birth something beautiful and worth protecting.

Your eyes are locked on Lucifer. He's an amazing, supportive dad to Charlie, and your heart begins to swell. Your heartbeat increases, and a blush weakly forms on your already flushed face. His rough hands hold a forgiving softness. He's beautiful.

[ultfreakme]

BassBreaker/GertVi drabble

Gert did her best to not place her bar-tending shifts on the nights she played. The high of a performance was always soured by liquor-breathed assholes trying to chat or think they were slick enough to get away with not paying. Separate businesses, but sometimes the owner would only give them a chance to get into the set list at the bar if she did him a favor, and it often included extra shifts.

It fucking sucked but if she had relinquish on the afterglow of a performance for the Chem Sisters to get their chance in the spotlight, so be it.

She never understood why her sisters would stay after, their horrendous patrons could barely tell the difference between their performance and the next. Leo loved getting lost in the crowds, in herself. One shot after the next carefully ordered from the person working the shift with Gert instead of Gert herself, getting shit-faced and stupid. So much for being the responsible oldest sister. She couldn't truly begrudge her, Leo never got to unwind.

Hinge indulged with a glass or two, forcing Gert to listen to her shit-talk any act which would follow them. It was the worst when she was on the job because Hinge loved to forget that she was there to serve the sixty-something people instead of just her. The trials and tribulations of being the youngest.

The latest gig had the Chem Sisters playing last so she'd have to man the bar first. She hated it, she hated playing when exhaustion trampled upon any amount of inspiration she had. All ideas of rage and rebellion and anguish replaced with a drone of 'let me rest'.

She filled up a pint of beer for the hundredth time that day when she heard a droning customer. "Two jaegers, neat. Three beers." The beer was always lukewarm and everyone had to just deal with it.

"You sure?" Gert asked. The customer flopped on the bar. Bloodied hands wrapped in yellowed bandages. Shitty dye job on a shittier mullet. Black leather jacket tight across shoulders and pulling at the three-headed wolf print and smelling of alcohol of the drinking variety and the antiseptic kind.

Bad fucking news.

Vi. Former enforcer, traitor.

Undercity's filled to the brim with backstabbers and traitors but they looked out for one another. 'Don't shit in my toilet' kind of camaraderie. Warned to avoid her in case she tried to blend in an take them out from the inside but she doubted torturing herself with two jaegers was part of the master plan.

Gert fucking hated her. She'd punch her if they met in the streets but she had to pretend to like the job so she poured her the damn drinks and set them at the counter. Gert tuned out the band playing. She couldn't hear it right anyways, their DJ was shit and didn't know how to control the sound system or figure out how the acoustics in the room worked. Getting louder was always the wrong answer.

Vi downed her jaegers and all three of the beers and slammed the last cup on the table. "Three more."

"I think you're done." She would gladly let her die of alcohol poisoning, but she wasn't a Jinxer here. She was Gert, bartender, the girl you come to for drinks and nothing else, and she had to follow some rules. Brig did the small-talk and the customer-service and he was busy chatting up Hinge.

Vi slammed the payment on the table, shaking the wood witht he force of it. "Three more."

"You're done," Gert slid the money back over to her.

Vi blinked. "You're a piece of work, just get the fucking drink." She pushed the coins back.

"Don't need your blood money," Gert muttered to herself.

Vi chuckled. "You know, huh?" Her eyes were glazed over, chin propped on her hand. The stroke of dark paint upon her cheeks drained downwards like tears. Her hair dye colored her forehead, and ears, and the rest of her skin was bruises- old and new. But underneath it all were piercing blue eyes. Gemstones behind the bedrock, the stuff the miners died for to find, would kill for to keep.

"Everybody knows," Gert replied.

Vi laughed, throwing her head back. Her shoulders shook, the black of her eyes began to bled down her chin, her neck. It trickled down the jut of her collarbones and dyed the edges of her chest wrap. "Figures," she said. "Don't worry, only blood on that money is mine."

She assessed the coins. "I don't want to clean up your body off here. Get out."

"Aw, concerned?" she quirked a brow. "Don't deserve it sweetheart."

"Don't make this get ugly, pig," she spat.

Her eyes widened, the irritating grin fell. "Water," she rubbed her forehead. "And the beer later. Come on doll I know we fucking hat em' but we pour a drink for even the worst of em'."

'We', like she could paint herself different and pretend none of it happened. Gert reached for the water tap and set the cup down with a splash.

"You're right, that's what make us different from you."

"Gertie!" Hinge bellowed. "We're up!" Hinge tapped her hands on the wood with excitement, her braids glittered with a rainbow of neon accessories woven into them.

Vi's gaze was heavy upon her. Gert threw the cleaning cloth under the desk by the shelves for the next one on the shift. She looked at Vi just once. A lonely hunched over snail-like shape at the bar, downing a glass of water like it was a shot. She left to change.

She wore her performance clothes, the only addition she needed were her face paint and gloves. Leo switched into her high-heeled boots, which dented their savings for months. It was spray-painted and looked nothing like the minimalist, slick thing it was when it resided in whichever top-side store's shelf.

They gathered in a circle and threw their arms around each other's shoulders. Leo's breath smelled like juice and Hinge's dark lipstick painted her teeth a little. Get hid a snigger and eyes Leo, silently informing her not to warn Hinge of it.

"Alright ladies," Leo slapped their back. "Let's explode this shindig!"

Hinge groaned. "Still sounds like a bomb thing and not a chemical thing."

"My next best thing was 'let's baron these streets' but Margot would fucking kill us."

Gert groaned.

Leo laughed. "Let's show them our shine. How about that?"

Better than anything else she came up with. The shouted a cheer and ran to the stage. Gert stood at the mixing desk, track lined up. Hinge stood behind her with the electric guitar and Leo took center-stage, setting the mic on the stand.

Leo gave the introductions, a magnetic force of nature no matter how rowdy a crowd. Gert closed her eyes, ignored the strobe lights, the darkness, the everything, and tune into the tempo of the beat. She made the mix with a sense of hope, when she was feeling light-hearted and hopeful. A rare moment to capture. The upbeat rhythm sounded alien to her ears. Hinge came to the forefront, and Gert did her best to match with her, enhance her freestyle moment.

They were stars, burning endlessly against the darkness of the undercity. If only they could get records, go record in a real studio and put a vinyl out. Those Pilties wouldn't even know what hit them. They tried to sneak into studios, buy recording equipment. Gert studied up on the recordings but sneaking into one was nigh impossible.

But one day.

One day she and the Jinxers would breach topside. They'd see the sunlight. This would all end and she'd get that record out.

Until then, she'd bring out all the magic in Leo and Hinge in Zaun.

Their set ended, the rush of the performance left he sated. Everything seemed damn near worth it for those ten minutes. The patrons flocked to Leo, Hinge dragged her to the bar and eagerly began to outline her plans for their next performance to embarrass the other bands which came on.

Gert barely listened, still replaying the song in her head, feeling it in the thrum of her pulse.

Hinge leaned into her ear. "I think that one wants you," she giggled and fled into the crowds before she could so much as pay attention and process. When she did look to the direction she pointed, she found Vi, slumped exactly where she was before with her empty glass of water.

Gert stood up to leave. She didn't want to end this night looking at her.

"Wait," Vi called as she walked past her. Gert stopped, mostly on reflex. "Nice tunes."

She snorted. "Nice tunes?" Had to be half out of her to have said something so ridiculous. Sloshed people didn't make good critics.

"Haven't heard that one in a long, long time," she sighed. "But it sounded...different."

"I'm a DJ that's kind of what I do." She sighed and readied to head otu but was stopped once more.

"What....what's the first song called? Before you changed it?"

"Ever heard 'Our Love'?" she asked, and sung the chorus. Vi leaned close to hear her over the crowd. She was warm, radiated with it, and she smelled too much like sweat and blood.

Vi closed her eyes, seemingly having forgotten she was meant to figure out if she's ever heard the song. She leaned closer, her scrunched brows relaxed, her lips fell into a soft line. Gert couldn't avoid seeing those plush yet chapped lips even if she wanted. The cut of her jaw was calling her attention. Traitor, pig, she reminded herself. If top-side wnated a spy, Vi wasn't a bad pick. That handsome face could get her places.

"I have..." Vi concluded. "'Our Love', huh?" she asked.

Gert nodded.

"Ever have a turn with the mic?"

"What do you want?" she eyed her cautiously.

"A conversation, without a punch in the mix preferably."

"Wrong place, wrong person," Gert replied.

"Haven't met a fist both times we talked," Vi grinned, her eyes twinkling in the strobe lights. "I'd say I at least got the right person."

She wanted answers, information, something she could supply the Jinxers with but the hurt and the questions seemed like she truly wanted nothing more than a drink and a talk. Vi hasn't been seen in a uniform in ages. Gert locks up the doubts, the naive hope she may be better. Whatever it was, she still worked with them.

"Wouldn't have to search so hard if you made the right call first time around."

Vi sighed, weary, the kind of exhalation she's seen too often in the streets from the hopeless and the tired, begging for a miracle to strike down, knowing firmly it won't.

"Never been good at making the right choice," said Vi. "Nice meeting you....?"

"Not getting a name out of me, Vi," Gert replied and skipped out of the bar. She heard Vi's call to wait, probably to ask her name for real, but she wasn't giving it away so easy.

If she wanted it, she could swing by around next time and earn it.

[socksorstockingz]

I don’t really post much on here, but as someone who’s been in the Nevermore fandom for a while (following some tags on tumblr and being on the discord, though my activity there has significantly dwindled after it became bigger), but in light of the drama that’s gone on I feel like I’d like to give my opinion, if only for my own peace on the matter.

As a response to the whole situation and in context with other stuff I have heard of going down on the discord, I think Red’s long post was kind of a necessity, as only addressing the current biggest drama (that related to Crimson) would likely stir up people into saying in bad faith that she’s ignoring other issues that have gone on in the discord, and you can tell from Red’s standpoint that all of this has kind of been an accumulation of months and months of shit, on a scale she, Flynn and the mods have admitted to not being entirely prepared for, as their prior experience in discord moderation was on the Shiloh discord, which is significantly smaller, and thus more tight-knit. I’ve seen some people claiming that 95% of the post is calling out others rather than apologizing, but, having read most of the post thoroughly, Red seems quite apologetic and guilty throughout, thought their frustration is also noticeable. I understand why some people are unhappy with the fact that she namedropped some people she believed were involved in particularly toxic situations within the discord — which, I might add, was likely used as better context for her thought process and decision making throughout this whole mess, rather than her intentionally trying to throw in non-sequitors and victim blame, as I’ve seen thrown around. Admittedly, showing the discord/tumblr names of users — some of whom are apparently minors — is somewhat immature, as it could risk them being targeted by harassment (though Red did state in post not to pursue these people, and, in context, was likely airing out the names to ensure people didn’t throw around accusations and assumptions at random users). In that area, I believe Red could’ve been more careful.

As an apology for what she and the mods have been accused of recently, I think the post worked well, with her kind of structuring the piece like an apology sandwich: providing an upfront apology to a group she unintentionally harmed in her initial discord response, stating the full context of the situation, then reiterating her apology at the end. Some may call it tactless or manipulative, but, in my personal opinion, the long “filling” of the apology sandwich was necessary to provide an explanation, but not an excuse for her mistakes. You can tell a lot of this has been boiling in the background for a long time, and, though this extra information has provided more fuel to the Red-hate-train fire, it also helps inform people who may have been on the outskirts of the situation of some of her observations while moderating, which ultimately led to the mistakes made in the most recent situation.

Do I think Red made mistakes? Yes, absolutely. Do I think Red could have worded things better or tried to tackle the situation differently? Yes, as well. But, despite its flaws, I think what Red has done to address this situation and try to atone for/improve from it demonstrates greater humility than a lot of other creators I have heard of and known. When she said she and Flynn would step back from the community and find new mods to hopefully rebuild the community’s trust in both them and eachother, she Meant it, as, if you look on the discord, Red and Flynn have tags under their profiles indicating that they have banned themselves from the space. Some may see this as them running away from the mess, but, as I see it, they have said their piece here, and are, as Red has stated, trying to focus on themselves and the development of Nevermore, rather than digging themselves deeper into the trenches of everything that has gone down, which I find quite admirable, even if some of their actions during this whole debacle were questionable. I’m not saying there is no criticism to be had, but I think the sheer dogpiling that has gone on in the past few days (even before Red had posted either of her responses) is utterly baffling. I get wanting to hold creators accountable, but you’ve gotta remember they’re humans too, and immediately spouting some of the most heinous shit about them isn’t going to help them improve, you improve, or help the victims find peace in the situation. And, based on some of the posts I’ve seen, it seems like some people were holding onto a lot of information until after the first big post about the drama hit tumblr, then suddenly started unloading that onto their blogs to continue stirring the pot and adding to the dog pile. It kind of feels parasocial, and like they were just Waiting for this opportunity to drag the creators down. Maybe I’m misinterpreting the posts, and maybe more things are coming out now that people feel more validated in their opinion by having other peoples’ anger on their side, but it just feels kind of… disturbing.

I’ve heard of this happening in other communities before, and I guess, considering its size, something like this was bound to happen to the Nevermore community at some point. Maybe I was just naive to think that we could avoid shit like this, but it’s happened, and people are hurting, and things are confusing and scary. But, if there’s any advice I’d give to people who have been doomscrolling through this (like I have lmao :’) ), it’s important to take a step back from this situation, and take a step back from your keyboards, and just collect your thoughts for a second. Because, after a while, it’s just hurting yourself over and over because you feel betrayed that something like this could happen in a community surrounding a piece of media you love. Perhaps I’m being hypocritical in saying this, but… I really think it’s important to distance yourself if you need to, and take some time to yourself to process everything.

[jellyskink]

It's "bean" a while since we last had coffee

"Alright I'll have your drinks out in a couple of minutes! Please take a seat at one of the tables while we get to making your order."

It was another day of weirdness, annoyances, and surprisingly no work.

The cafe was a small, comfortable size, scented strongly by a different array of coffees, teas, and other desserts it offered.

It was worn down for sure, but I suppose the different houseplants that decorated the place along with the "unique" pieces of art displayed throughout the shop and on the wall definitely gave it a unique charm.

At the very least it was much warmer and comfortable than the freezin' cold outside.

The weather had shifted to autumn again, although based on the bone chilling air it felt like winter could creep up from behind like an adult tooth following the baby one.

"Thank you, please keep the change."

Irene said, handing the barista an additional three dollars ontop of what she had already paid for our drinks.

(I really don't see the point in tipping for a couple of drinks, let alone during a time when it was difficult to have the money to spend on little luxuries like this.)

Still, it was her money, and she was the one covering the bill this time, so who was I to complain?

I was visiting a local coffee shop with my "friend" Irene Oleander. Maybe "acquaintance" would be the better word, but I didn't really have any kind of friends outside of the guys from the bar.

Irene herself wasn't the worst to be around, I'd say she definitely was one of the least annoying people to be around.... usually at least.

Today to my surprise she was wearing a different outfit besides her usual "t shirt and jeans" look when she wasn't off work.

From what I could see, she was wearing some kind of high-low cut orange boho-chic dress with black tights and knee high brown boots. Layered over her upper body was a dorky dark orange oversized sweater. On said sweater there was a picture of a cat wearing a cowboy hat and cartoony mustache with the words "Meowdy Partner" knitted on it. Covering everything was a dark brown overcoat which reached to her mid calf.

To top it all off, she was wearing a black greek fisherman's cap, with a big golden cat shaped pin attached to it.

Besides her usual glasses and earrings I hardly recognized the woman in front of me.

(I'm surprised she looks so... nice today. It's rare to see her look so put together on one of her days off. It almost makes me regret wearin' my t-shirt, jeans, and jacket combo... almost.)

"Alright Yusuf, is there anywhere in particular you'd like to sit?" Irene asked.

"As long as we aren't sittin' anywhere near the door I'm happy wherever."

"Alright then, how about over there near the window?"

Before I had a chance to respond further Irene promptly walked over to a table nearby the counter and plopped herself down.

"Eh why not?" I replied.

With that I followed suit and made myself comfortable as sat down and took off my jacket and gloves.

Irene took off her coat as well, although it did take her a couple of minutes to realize she was still wearing it.

"So... this is new for you. Is there any special reason why?"

"No, I've been wanting to try out different fashion styles lately. I'd have tried this sort of thing out sooner, but you know how work is for me."

(Boy did I ever know that, when she wasn't talking my ear off about how her work-life was, she was either talking about her cat or that weirdo patient of hers, Ford Pines.)

"What do you think about it by the way?"

(Honestly I'm surprised, Irene was really good at dressing professionally, but when it came to anything outside of that she usually struggled a lot to not look like a hot mess most of the time.)

"It's nice, it definitely fits you. Down to the cat stuff that I'm sure you couldn't live without" I teased.

"Well I'm glad my hard work paid off, and for your information the cat accessories was a personal touch of mine as they say. I read in many fashion magazines that doing that personalizes an outfit and makes you enjoy it even more, I'd definitely say there's truth to it!"

(It was really funny to catch her off guard sometimes, I enjoyed doin' it whenever I could.)

"Alright, alright, I get it. Ya look nice okay? I'm sure your "boyfriend" would say the same." I said with a snarky tone in my voice.

It took Irene a couple of seconds to realize who I was referencing. Her cheeks flushed a tomato red as her lips pursed together so tightly her lips almost disappeared.

"Shut it! He's NOT my boyfriend and you know it! I don't like him like that at all!"

(HA! I knew I'd get a reaction out of her with that comment.)

"How would you like it if I said Dr. Pines was YOUR boyfriend? He definitely seems to take a liking to you in a different way than me!"

(Oh she did not just say that. Sure, Ford Pines definitely did look handsome sometimes, and once in a blue moon I thought about him from the corner of my mind like an annoying tune from a commercial, but I did NOT like him like that! I hated his guts, it was just an unfortunate fact that he was the worst but was gifted with good looks and was occasionally, stupidly, charming.)

(I felt my face tingle with heat as I looked away from her. It was something a kid would probably do, but I'd be damned I'd let her see how well she used my own words against me.)

"Well I wouldn't say bein' gifted vermin is anything to be excited about Irene!"

(Wait a damn minute, FUCK we're TALKING WAY TOO LOUD RIGHT NOW.)

(Irene seemed to be on the same wavelength as I was because we both glanced around the room before turning back to facing each other with embarrassment.)

(Geez, we ended up arguin' like schoolgirls. Good one Yusuf... just hope it wasn't as embarrassing as it felt.)

It felt like ages before Irene cut the growing tension in the air.

"Haha, well I guess that was a bit childish of us both..."

(Ugh, there she goes again. She's taking responsibility for something that wasn't her fault.)

"Yeah... anyway I just want to get this outta the way but I'm sorry for teasin' too far."

"No, no. I know you don't mean it. I've just have a lot on my mind regarding that subject..."

Course it was, when it wasn't worrying about her cat lately Irene was working herself to the bone learning about that Stanford Pines.

(I really hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass...)

"What's been buggin' you lately?"

"Well... lately things have been going pretty well with you know who, but that's what's worrying me. During all of our sessions it's always kept a pattern to an extent. Mainly in the pattern of he'd have his ups before some pretty heavy downs. I'm worried about what kind of problems he'll be hit with when those patterns of good times eventually end for him."

(Bleedin' Heart Dr. Oleander is worrying about her patients to a personal level? You're kidding.)

"I think you're just bein' paranoid. Besides, it's been an ease off of both your shoulders and mine, you should really enjoy it while it lasts.

"That's true I suppose. I just really wish I wasn't hitting so many roadblocks when it came to him and just LEARNING about his background to begin with."

"Eh, you've gotten this far yeah? I doubt you'll be stuck forever. You're always persistent when it comes to work."

(It was one of your biggest strengths, and one of the things that was most annoying about you.)

"True..."

Our conversation was soon interrupted by the barista from before.

"Sorry for the wait, I had to fight both the coffee machine AND the espresso machine to get your order done. Literally."

Saying this they held up their arm, showing some burn marks from presumably the machines themselves.

"It's been interesting working with living machines now, but I think it's been an interesting experience! Weirdly enough the drinks have been tasting even better now that the machines are sentient. Anyways, please enjoy!"

With that the barista happily placed down our drinks onto our table, afterwards heading back to the counter. From what I could see they were bandaging up their burn marks while chatting with the next customers in line.

(I... eh nevermind. It was easier to just accept that some weird things were going to happen and some people were just weird enough to adjust to it quickly.)

Placed onto our table was a tray carrying two cups. The first was an average cup of coffee, the beverage was poured into a rustic looking coffee cup adorned with a checked pattern.

The second was a much cuter looking cup filled with a pumpkin spice latte, the coffee cup had a thematically fitting pumpkin design to it, with whipped cream on top and a cinnamon stick stuck into it.

I took the pumpkin spice latte while Irene took the normal cup of joe.

Say what you want about me picking a girly drink at a coffee shop, but goddamnit I wasn't going to deny myself a treat when quite literally the end of the world could be tomorrow.

As we enjoyed our drinks, we heard the bell of the front door ring as some guy walked in.

He was a tall, weedy, lookin' fellow who looked like he'd seen more than his fair share of troubles. His clothes looked as old as he did, looking like somethin' you'd find a cowboy from the old west wearing.

I wasn't sure what kind of glasses he was wearing, I think they were called Windsor glasses? I don't know, I've always called em' the old grandma style glasses.

(Was that... A rifle on his back?? Eh... I'm not gonna worry about it. That sounded annoying, not to mention you didn't exactly go around askin' someone if they had a gun.)

As the cowboy ordered something at the counter, I found myself looking torwards Irene with a smile.

"I didn't know pioneer day was so soon." I joked to her.

"Yusuf Ibis you cut that out!" Irene scolded in response, although I could tell by the tone of her voice she was muffling a chuckle.

(It was it's own reward to see Irene struggle to keep her usual professionalism.)

I'm not sure why, but after I pointed out that particular man, Irene couldn't help but look in his direction for a minute.

"What's up Irene? You know the guy or somethin'?"

"No... But I can't help but feel like I've seen him before... No, it's probably nothing."

"Whatever you say."

With that we enjoyed our drinks and sat at the table afterwards. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do after Irene and I's little coffee run.

A phone ringtone consisting of cat meows rang out, Irene immediately reached into her coat pocket to pull out her flipphone. She flipped it open and checked something for a good minute before closing it with a sigh.

"What was that?"

"Just a surge of emails I recently got from a bunch of different people regarding my Cat and Dr.Pines."

"Really? Your cat AND Mr.Pines have gotten people interested in you?"

"Yes, it's strange. I'm getting quite a few requests from one blog in particular about talking with them about my dear little Calamari in particular."

"Are ya gonna respond?"

"I think so, at the very least I'll thoroughly check the emails later. Although I can't shake the feeling that something bad might come from it."

"Heh like what? It's not like you'll be playing a part in starting a war or somethin!"

"I suppose that's true..."

With that, after some awkward chatter Irene and I parted ways. It was nice having some time off from working or talkin' about our certain little patient.

As I began to walk down the sidewalk from the coffee shop, my mind began to wander. Aside from the usual dread of returning to work, figuring out what I was goinf to do when I wasn't AT work, I couldn't help but worry a bit about Irene.

(She was so concerned about that one six fingered weirdo, but I didn't really get why she was aside from her usual bleedin' heart thing. She really needed to take a page from my book and stop involving yourself so personally with your work.

But convincing her of that would be like convincing a certain someone to NOT be obsessed with a certain demonic triangle.)

*Sigh* (I just hope that besides not dragging me down with her she knows when to quit.

Because after all, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.)

(I hope this more fluffy focused fanfic turned out well! I had a lot of fun writing the more angsty Stan one I rushed to write, but I'm just a sucker for hurt/comfort or pure fluff fics personally!

Hopefully the winging I did with Irene and Yusuf was fun as well! I may or may not be having a lot of fun writing blunt opinions of different characters from the viewpoints of our lovely sour apple Dr.Ibis!

(Is he too mean though or not mean enough? I'm worried about him being too "mean girl esque" without the sweet side to balance it out as the Tsundere I'm headcanoning him to be lmaoo.)

I'm seriously excited that another anon was super inspired to write angsty fanfiction as well! That Ford fanfiction they wrote that was like a counterpart to my Stan one was HEARTBREAKING and I knew I had to try and tie it into this silly little fanfiction side-story thing I've been having a ton of fun writing for Jellyskink!

(Girl by the way in case I didn't mention it before I'm totally blown away from the love you had for my stan fanfic, I absolutely laughed my a** off when I saw the silly little doodle you drew for it! Would you be alright it I used it for a profile picture? I'll be sure to credit you if it's okay!)

That fake Internet flamewar you're having with is-it-cute-gf-au-edtion is totally hilarious and I'm definitely keeping a close eye on it while sending in some hopefully fun asks for it. (Personally I'm also a #TeamCalimari person. Sorry #TeamFord, I just think Calimari is my favorite option between the two.)

(Did Fiddleford do the very healthy, very normal thing of stalking and investigating these two doctor's after getting his coffee order? Will Calimari still continue to be an adorable menace to society? (Spoiler alert for that, most definitely.) Will the anons eventually team up to write more random fanfiction for Jellyskink?

Who knows? But tune in next time anyway for whoever's post follows this!

Yusuf is a sour apple Tsundere, for sure!! And of course, feel free to use that Stan pic! :D

I'M A FORD PINES BELIEVER! HE CAN WIN ONE SINGLE PET SHOW! I BELIEVE IN HIM!!!

Thank you so much for writing again!! 💕

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

TOM GLYNN-CARNEY photographed by Nick Tydeman for GQ magazine.

The interview for GQ.

— talking about clothing style and fashion:

"I like the clothes that I wear in my personal life so that’s why I try to incorporate them into [press looks].”

“They’re a bit of me. That’s how I like to go about doing press: just be authentic as best as I can.”

“Sustainability is a big thing in my life, it’s something I’m very passionate about.”

“The whole idea of single-use outfits just grinds my gears, it’s totally unnecessary.”

He and his stylist Tom O’Dell have spent the year browsing vintage markets and second-hand stores for unique pieces they can fuse together for a big look.

“It’s all preloved and it tells a story – not just from a sustainability point of view but it’s about its character and how things have aged.”

— talking about king aegon ii targaryen in 'house of the dragon' S2:

“You can take the character on a full arc and find lots of different colours to his palette, which is always interesting from an actor’s point of view."

"I feel like by the end of season two, I know Aegon so much more than I did at the end of season one.”

“I feel like on that set, it’s such an ensemble-led project and everybody has their own moment. There doesn’t feel like any hierarchy in that sense but, obviously, when I put the crown on my head, I’ve got to convince myself I’m more important.”

— the serious answer: Tom Glynn-Carney lives in the countryside now, his instagram bio reads ‘aspiring farmer’:

“If I’m out by the woodshed I’m gonna get caked in all sorts of crap so [I wear] stuff that I’m not too precious about.”

“I don’t think I own anything that’s new anymore, I’ve tried to weed that out, and any new purchase is always second-hand.”

It also helps that he has Joe Mills, his grooming guy, on-hand too.

— Tom Glynn-Carney’s fit for the 'House of Dragon' S2 London premiere, is something he’s already worn before:

“It’s a 1970s pinstripe suit. It’s brown with caramel pinstripe, high-waisted, slightly flared trousers.”

“I wore it for a stock photoshoot a few months back and I liked it so much I wanted to nail that on for one of the major looks for this tour.”

He found a dream stylist in the form of O’Dell, who specialises in second-hand clothing and has connections with vintage stores all over Europe:

“His studio is just a Mecca for all of that stuff.”

“I trust him wholeheartedly to be able to point me in the right direction.”

— About the influence that inspired Fabien Frankel on the red carpet:

“For the record, [Fabien] copied me, so write that down!”

[tinycheesecakedetective]

...I'm baaaack.

I mean, I made one post about Swap!PV and then got distracted for months, so I wouldn't really call this a comeback. The moment I did come back though, apparently a bunch of lore just fell from the sky! Beast Yeast is upon us and all of a sudden I remember making an alt. version of this goober.

Turns out there were a few things I wasn't satisfied with in the first one, so here I am with my Swap!Vanilla 2.0 human edition! Even after all this time I still don't have a name for him. There's more white in his design, he has four horns instead of two and they form a crown on his head(that might be a bit hard to see), he also has a halo, his staff changed drastically, and he lost his soul gem. Instead he has two new smaller gems on his "ribcage".

This time around I tried to invoke more death themes, hence the ribcage, more wrappings, the halo, and the burn marks from, y'know, being re-baked and essentially reborn. The halo also makes for a nice double meaning, showing his somewhat good intentions behind the violence and spreading chaos gig.

Speaking of intentions, I maybe or maybe not have mentioned the only swaps happening in this proposed AU are between PV and WL and [possibly] Black Raisin and Red Velvet. I say maybe because if I checked, all the writing would disappear and I would have to start over again. However, I have wondered if those two swapped, how would PV handled the kingdoms? Would it be the same as DE or would the fates of each kingdom end up being swapped as well? It's something I definitely need to think on and develop.

Anyways, ramble break, here's a few doodles I did for Swap!PV!

Yeah, I had a lot of fun doing this. SO! A few changes not mentioned prior. Eyes! There are more eyes, especially on his coat. I took a bit of inspiration from a certain blue jester and his realm of nightmares. It also plays nicely with the whole "truth revealed" theme. Why not give the holder of the light of truth a bunch of opened eyes to represent his awakening? Also they looked good and his cape-coat was too plain without it.

Fun Head Canons: He's always floating, even when he's relaxing his feet never touch the floor. This PV still has a lily garden, it's just hidden away because while he still misses WL despite everything, he refuses to show weakness in front of others. His coat can take the shape of angel wings when angry and multiple eyes can appear when furious or in distress. Speaking of eyes, the ones on his coat glow. Those gems on him are pieces of moonstone that got corrupted after saving him.

As for the story behind him, I had to make a few adjustments. For one, DE and WL are two halves of the same whole, and the only reason either of them exists is thanks to precautions taken by Elder Faerie. Which means Pure Vanilla somehow has to get the stuff from Lily, who came to Beast Yeast without saying much of anything to anyone beforehand. Secondly, it means the Pure Vanilla Kingdom can't be the last kingdom explored. Pre Beast Yeast, the order in which the kingdoms would be explored would change, where White Lily's area would be explored first instead and the Vanilla Kingdom would be last. I'll address the second issue on a different post related to White Lily, but first things first. Fair warning, I wrote quite a bit.

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After forming the seal, White Lily falls ill due to the immense amount of power used. She's not used to using so much of her soul gem, much less creating a seal to lock away ancient evils. Seeing her faltering state, Elder Faerie takes her away to his palace to help her recover. During her time in the palace, White Lily becomes distressed because not only does she feel like she's being a burden, but she won't be able to continue her research on how cookies were made. That was the whole point of coming here, after all. She left her friends and home behind to find the truth and ended up sick and bed ridden instead. The least she could do to redeem herself was to find the truth.

Racked with guilt and regret, she asks Elder Faerie for two favors; she wishes to know the secret behind cookies' creation, and she requests a pen and paper to write with. Before long, White Lily gains a messenger(Silverbell) who gives her books from the library to read, and a way to reach the one other person she understands. Someone who should've known where she was most of all. Pure Vanilla Cookie.

From there the two keep exchanging letters as White Lily brushes up on fae and beast lore. But eventually White Lily would learn about the Night of the Witches in a similar enough way to canon, i.e. finding the book about it. While she's recovered enough, she's still not well enough to go, and Elder Faerie isn't risking her well being and safety for a banquet. She's devastated that her questions may never be answered. If only she could go, if only there was some way to witness it while being in the Fairy Kingdom. And then... she realizes something. Perhaps there is a way for her to know after all...

White Lily, in the discomfort of her hospital bed, writes a letter to Pure Vanilla and asks him to go to the Witch's Banquet in her place. She knows that this is a huge ask, and he has every reason to refuse the favor, but it would mean the world to her if he did. Elder Faerie hears about this and is rightfully worried, telling her about the dangers, and any cookie that goes doesn't come back the same, if at all. He sends his own letter to Pure Vanilla to warn him of the dangers that lie ahead. A few more letters come in from WL apologizing for her request, saying it was out of line and inappropriate. "What a selfish request," she thinks, "after leaving him in the dark for so long, I have the nerve to ask him for anything at all?"

However, despite everything, he eventually decides to go. He knows that this means everything to her, and a part of Pure Vanilla secretly wondered about it as well. White Lily searched heaven and earth to find the truth so she could help others. Why would he keep avoiding it for so long? If he knew the truth as well, perhaps he could use these secrets to help the people of Earthbread alongside her. Maybe now he would finally understand White Lily more.

He wrote a letter addressed to both WL and EF about his final decision. White Lily is surprised at his decision, and is eternally grateful, while Elder Faerie is more resigned and concerned, knowing that he won't be able to change his mind but still wanting to help. He asks her to help write her next letter, and the two send a package to Pure Vanilla. Inside was another letter with the faint smell of lilies, as well as a map to the location of the banquet and a moonstone from Elder Faerie as a show of goodwill and for protection. He in turn sends what would become his final letter to her, unbeknownst to the two reading. He expresses his gratefulness to both WL and EF and declares his determination to find answers both for her and for the sake of everyone, stating, "Let me be your hope when you have none, and you my guiding light in shadows..."

Pure Vanilla proceeds to head to the Witch's Banquet, discovers the bitter truth, and in his attempts to save the other cookies falls into the ultimate dough. The fleeting scent of lilies is the last thing he grasps in his final moments, and the faint glow of a moonstone ensures his survival. His soul gem shatters under the weight of the truth and is scattered across the world, longing to be made whole once again.

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Well! I think I have said everything I can say about him for now. I'm sure I can come up with more things later, but if you read this far, thanks for reading! I did not know I was going to say this much, so yeah. Next post is for White Lily specifically, I hope. I'm also taking suggestions for ideas about the other kingdoms and ways this could go, so if you have anything to suggest, let me know. Y'all have a good evening!