#i wanted reminders of it everywhere in the card without it or a moth actually showing up

[hyacynthii]

This is a gift, it comes with a price. Who is the lamb and who is the knife?

[snakeboistan]

Pairing: Sugino x Nagisa

This is kinda based on this headcanon I read a few months back that said that Sugino loves it when Nagisa sings for him

The song I used is ‘I Like You So Much, You’ll Know It’ by Ysabelle Cuevas because it’s so wholesome and adorable and I love it bc I reminded me so much of SugiNagi

“It’s okay, Sugino,” Nagisa said softly as he continued to card his fingers through the raven strands that sat on his boyfriend’s head. He sat cross-legged on the pale yellow tablecloth they were using as a makeshift picnic blanket with Sugino lying on the ground beside him with his head resting on the blunette’s lap. Surrounding them were boxes filled with sushi and grilled chicken breast, his and Sugino’s favourite foods respectively. The ebony haired boy just hummed non committedly, refusing to say anything in response, causing the older to sigh. The dejection the baseball lover possessed was so evident that it was palpable and all it took was one single glance at the way Sugino’s head hung low after the match ended, at the way those navy eyes he loved so much looked so downcast even from where he was sitting in the bleachers, for Nagisa to wrap the taller boy in a hug. 

“Sugino,” Nagisa said when he approached the boy, who was sitting on a bench that sat at the perimeter of the playing field. The plastic water bottle in the tan-skinned boy's hand looked like it was going to break under that crushing grip, “come on, let’s go.”

“I don’t really feel like doing anything right now, Nagisa,” Sugino murmured, still refusing to look up. Nagisa could feel the cracks forming in his heart at the sight of the other boy, who’s usual puppy-like enthusiasm never failed to put a smile on his face, looking so disheartened. He crouched down in an attempt to meet the other’s gaze.

“Come on, Sugino. I brought chicken breast. Your favourite,” no response, “please can you just come with me, just for a moment. You don’t have to do anything or speak or anything you don’t feel comfortable doing but I don’t want to leave you alone. Not now, not ever so can you please come? For me?”

The hopeful inflection of his voice was able to make the baseball lover look at him. The expression of pure sadness was still evident on his face, “Shindo-”

“I spoke with him and he says that it’s okay for you to leave without the team.”

Sugino looked at Nagisa, giving the shorter boy a once over and taking in how the blunette was decked out in a too big baseball jersey - his spare baseball jersey - with his high school’s name and his number on it. The small smile that was being offered to him seemed to make him crack. He exhaled deeply, “sure, Nagisa. I’ll go with you.”

So that’s how they ended up here, having a picnic in a small clearing in the middle of a sunflower field, basking under the late afternoon Tokyo sun. It was actually supposed to be a surprise. Earlier that day when Nagisa was packing the bag he was going to bring with him to watch Sugino’s baseball match against a rival high school, he was sure that a nice late lunch-slash-early dinner in the field he found near the school on Google Maps would be a great way to congratulate the other teenager for winning a game after weeks of hard work at practice, he was even going to make a congratulatory cake - which in hindsight was a good idea to scrap since, well...

“It’s not, Nagisa,” Sugino whispered, “If I didn’t throw that lousy pitch the other school wouldn’t have got the point. Now my team can’t go to Nationals and it’s all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is,” Sugino’s sadness was so overpowering that it made even the proudly standing sunflowers that encompassed them seem to wilt miserably, “you were there in the stands, you saw what happened. My pitch wasn’t good enough and the other team scored the winning point because of it. I had one job and I messed that up.”

“Just because you lost once doesn’t mean that it’s the end,” Nagisa said, “You’re one of the most talented people I know. So what if you fell down? Just pick yourself up and continue. And if you can’t get up by yourself then you have me and everyone else around to get you off the floor. Sugino, I’ve known you for months and I don’t think I’ve met anyone that’s as passionate about baseball as you. You’re going to make it to Kōshien, I know it. You’re going to get recruited for the Nippon Professional Baseball League, beat and impress every single player out there like Arita, play for Japan in the MLB All-Stars and show the world just what Sugino Tomohito is capable of.”

Sugino scoffed, “yeah right. Pitching is what I’m the best at but it turns out that I can’t even do that without flopping. God, what will everyone think of me.”

“Everyone has their off-days,” Nagisa reassured dulcetly, “and it’s just one high school match. There’ll be other opportunities.”

“But this was the match that would’ve sent us to the National Championship and I screwed it up. I’m such a mess up,” Sugino whispered, sounding like he was about to cry. Ignoring Nagisa’s own soft words of ‘No, you’re not’, he continued, “why do you even like me so much?”

For a moment Nagisa was quiet, pausing his movements, and his silence made the stone that was sitting heavily in Sugino’s stomach grow and grow into a boulder, his insecurities increasing with intensity. His eyes started to close, in an attempt to block everything out, to not see the look that Nagisa was wearing.

“I like your eyes, you look away when you pretend not to care.”

Sugino’s eyes snapped open at the soft melody that sounded so similar he could tell the source from anywhere with his eyes closed. He looked up at the blue-haired boy to find him looking down at him with that small fond smile that never fails to make his heart flutter and breath catch. Nagisa opened his mouth again to whisper out the next verse, resuming the process of running his pale fingers through inky black hair.

“I like the dimples on the corners of the smile that you wear.

I like you more, the world may know but don't be scared

'Cause I'm falling deeper, baby, be prepared.”

Sugino must have looked dumbstruck, with his eyes wide and jaw slack as he continued to gaze up at the petite boy wearing his spare oversized baseball jersey and who had the voice of an angel. Holy sh*t why does Nagisa have to be so frickin adorable, this isn’t fair!

“I like your shirt, I like your fingers,” Nagisa gently took Sugino’s hand and pressed a chaste kiss onto the skin between the joints and knuckles of his index and middle fingers before nuzzling his cheek onto them, “love the way that you smell.”

“To be your favorite jacket, just so I could always be near

I loved you for so long, sometimes it's hard to bear

But after all this time, I hope you wait and see.”

At the last word, Nagisa pulled lightly onto the hand that he was holding as he got up. Sugino followed the silent instruction, wondering what the other was planning before he was gently led away from their picnic and towards the rows of sunflowers that surrounded them. Nagisa had managed to hold onto both of his hands and was walking backwards, pulling the other along with both his soft tugging and the sugar sweet tune he was singing.

“Love you every minute, every second

Love you everywhere and any moment

Always and forever I know I can't quit you

'Cause, baby, you're the one, I don't know how”

Like a moth drawn to a flame, Sugino found himself trailing towards his own beacon of blue irises that held a shine so captivating it would put the stars to shame. He remembered how when he was in Elementary school, one of his classmates was interested in mythical creatures and would talk about how sirens would lure pirates to their deaths with their songs. Well, he would gladly jump off a ship and drown if the last thing he saw was Nagisa’s bright eyes and the last thing he heard was his honey-like voice. They were just walking along as if they were the only people in the world, making their way past the sunflowers that were so tall that they overtook the blue-haired boy. However, despite being the smallest thing in this vast field of flowers, Nagisa’s presence seemed to be the largest, most powerful being and Sugino was (not so) surprised to find that the sadness that seemed to fill him earlier was completely replaced by this feeling of complete euphoria - all because of this absolutely amazing person called Shiota Nagisa.

“I love you 'til the last of snow disappears

Love you 'til a rainy day becomes clear

Never knew a love like this, now I can't let go

I'm in love with you, and now you know”

“Nagisa,” Sugino laughed breathlessly, feeling completely powerless against the unstoppable force that was his boyfriend’s love and affection, “what’s this all about?”

“You asked me why I like you,” Nagisa giggled, azure eyes twinkling like the ocean under a sunset, “now hush, I’m not done.”

The boy started to sway their interlocked hands sideways as he picked up where he left off, “I like the way you try so hard when you play ball with your friends

I like the way you hit the notes, in every song you're shining

I love the little things, like when you're unaware

I catch you steal a glance and smile so perfectly”

Sugino found himself yelping when Nagisa unceremoniously pulled on his hands, bringing him closer to the shorter boy. Suddenly, he felt soft palms cup his cheek and tilting his head so that he was looking straight down at Nagisa’s beaming face.

“Though sometimes when life brings me down

You're the cure, my love

In a bad rainy day

You take all the worries away”

And now they were dancing. By themselves. In the middle of the endless rows of sunflowers. Well, it was less actual dancing and more of the two of them spinning and propelling each other in a circle and making jerking movements with their hands, but Sugino found himself laughing so hard that tears were seeping out of the corners of his eyes (although, those tears might be more to do with how much he loves Nagisa than him actually laughing but semantics)

“Love you every minute, every second

Love you everywhere and any moment

Always and forever I know I can't quit you

'Cause, baby, you're the one, I don't know how

In a world devoid of life, you bring colors

In your eyes I see the light, my future

Always and forever I know, I can't let you go

I'm in love with you, and now you know”

When Nagisa finished, Sugino couldn’t take it anymore and he just pulled the shorter boy into a crushing embrace, “you’re really awesome, you know that right? And an amazing boyfriend.”

He could feel the other smile against the cotton of his shirt as slender arms returned the hug, “I’m just glad that you’re happier now.”

“How could I possibly be unhappy if I have you?”

“Ah-I-” 

“Nagisa?” Sugino leaned back a bit and found that Nagisa had pressed his face right into his chest, refusing to look at him, “are-are you okay?”

“Yes,” was the high-pitched reply. Sugino gripped onto the blunette’s shoulders and gently pulled him back to see that the other’s face was so red that they could rival the sweatbands that sat on his wrists.

“Uh, Nagisa, you good?”

“Yep, I’m fine,” Nagisa squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut nodding his head so rapidly that Sugino thought that he’d get a headache.

“Are you sure because you’re-”

“Yep, one hundred percent.”

“Nagisa,” Sugino huffed out a laugh as he poked the other’s cheek, hoping to get the blunette to actually look at him, “you don’t have to be embarrassed.”

“I-I’m not embarrassed,” he said defensively, finally opening his eyes so that he could pout at the taller boy, whispering, “I-I just-you can’t just say stuff like that, alright.”

“What? Stuff like how you are the most incredibly amazing boyfriend ever and you always know how to make me happy.”

“Sugino!” Nagisa whisper-yelled as he buried his face into his hands.

Sugino laughed, prying Nagisa’s fingers away from his face, “come on. You can sing an entire song about how much you love me but I can’t give you one compliment.”

“That’s different.”

“How?!”

“I-I just-why don’t we just go back to our picnic. We don’t want crows getting to our sushi and chicken.”

Sugino smiled fondly and patted Nagisa on his head, “sure thing, Nagisa.”

Together they walked back with linked hands.

I'm in love with you, and now you know

[kathyprior4200]

BlueRaven666 and Gray: Arrival of Adina fanfiction

(Hazbin Hotel and Zoophobia)

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXaxReyJNiKDJQ6g75jigxg

Main Characters:

  BlueRaven666:

The main protagonist (besides protagonist Charlie and antihero Alastor in Hazbin Hotel). He is a dragon demon OC (made by a real life YouTuber who is known for his fan made theories for Hazbin Hotel). Blue Raven appears as a blonde haired man with blue eyes, white curved horns from his head and white skin. He is LGBTQ+ and transgender. He wears a blue shirt with 666 on it.

Gray:

Another protagonist. A gender neutral Exterminator who was left behind in Hell after the other Exterminators thought he was dead. Blue Raven decided to take them in and rescue Gray. This led to a temporary truce between an angel and a demon. Blue Raven and Gray each tell their stories, from roommate shenanigans to lore of Heaven and Hell to theories about other characters (See Blue Raven’s YouTube videos and collab with inSaiyans).

 Fitch:

Neutral antihero. Fitch is a dragon demon with glasses, green eyes, a pale face and dark green hair with light green tips on his tufts. After Fitch lost a battle with an Exterminator, Adina noticed his skill in fighting and using a bladed weapon. She took him in and manipulated him into joining her. He is stern and analytical, but has a good heart deep down. Fitch would only disobey Adina if she threatened to kill his brothers…which is what he eventually did. With the help of Hatchet, Gray, and Blue Raven talking to him, Fitch gradually decides to join them to protect his brethren.

 He can transform into a large dark green dragon, the largest one out of his brothers.

 Quotes: “I have three younger brothers.”

 Quotes: “Do you feel like being more talkative…”

 “I’m getting impatient. Killing you would be simple. But I refuse to do so without the information on the whereabouts of your fellow filth. I know your beasts have a safe haven…”

 “Stop talking! Tell me where I can find the others. Or I break it.” (holds a pendant with a spider on it)

 “You have been most unhelpful.”

(Fitch holds a dead moth in his hand)

 (Flashback) “I’m so sorry little one. I promise I will never hurt one of you again.”

 “Take your wretched friend. I’m allowing you to live simply out of a respect to a promise. Pray our paths don’t cross again…demons…” (Fitch spares Vaggie and Angel Dust)

 Adina: “You let them live. I am disappointed in you.”

 Fitch: “So am I.”

 Malcom:

Malcom, appears as a crazed dragon with large milky eyes, messy black hair and light green wings.

 Like his brothers, he can transform into a dragon.

 Quotes: “Malcom…I rarely think about, actually…”  - Fitch describing his brother.

  Marx:

A dragon who wears a black tuxedo suit. He has a pale face, dark purple hair and yellow tips on his tufts. Marx prefers to be more civilized to fit into demon society, while his brothers are off either messing around or in Fitch’s case helping to kill demons. Like Carl Marx, he questions everything and believes in conspiracy theories.

 Like his brothers, Marx has the ability to turn into a dragon. His scales are dark indigo and his horns and tops of his wings are yellow.

  Quotes: “My brother Marx and I are no longer in contact due to disagreeing on certain life choices we have made. He makes me sick.” - Fitch describing his brother.

 Hatchet:

A dragon demon with a white face, orange eyes with red irises and bright orange hair and tufts. His arms have markings on them. Tattoos cover his entire body. His saliva is acidic and he drools when he’s excited. He can form images by breathing fire. He is always in a good mood and doesn’t mind physical affection. (unlike strict Marx). He loves eating small creatures, especially rabbits. He has instinctual control over his fire but he often plays with it, using batons to do tricks.

Like his brothers, he can transform into a dragon. His scales are dark orange/brown.

 Quotes: “Hatchet and I see each other often. He is a handful, but admittedly, he is my closest family.” -  Fitch describing his brother.

  Adina:

Adina is an antagonist and an evil white angel with teal glowing eyes and long white hair. She wears a dress decorated with blue borders decorated with white crosses on them. She is zealous and manipulative. Leeson, the God preaching cat works for her as do Exterminators. Her goal consists of killing and torturing demons…ironically she employees a dragon demon Fitch to do her dirty work. She hired Fitch to find demon hideouts so more demons could be killed during the year. This would also make it easier for the Exterminators every year as well since they cannot go into demons’ hidden hiding places. She appeared in the deleted comic “Angels and Demons” by Vivziepop.

 Adina Quotes: “There is no mercy for the damned...” –torturing a demon

 Adina Quotes: “Just remember…it’s for the greater good.” Adina to Fitch.

 “I’m very disappointed in you.” Adina to Fitch after he let Angel Dust get away.

 “Such is the will of the Lord…so shall it be…” Adina with Fitch.

 “Goodbye, Fitch.” Adina to Fitch.

 Charlie:

Charlie is a protagonist and the blonde-haired musical princess of Hell. She is the founder of the Hazbin Hotel, a place intended for the rehabilitation of demons to combat the yearly exterminations. Her girlfriend is Vaggie, a moth demon. Her goal is to have demons, angels, and humans live in harmony, and she hopes for more demons to go to Heaven (even though Heaven is elitist).

   Vaggie:

Vaggie is a gray-haired moth demon who is Charlie’s girlfriend. Though pure at heart, she swears and gets aggressive often whenever someone tries to hurt Charlie. She was formerly a Latina human named Vagatha who died due to gang rape and a hate crime (she was a tomboy and lesbian). She used to be an Exterminator but she refused to kill Charlie and follow orders, thus she fell to Hell. She and Charlie bonded and fell in love.

    Lucifer:

Charlie’s father, a fallen angel, and the king of Hell.

 Lilith:

Charlie’s busy mother and queen of Hell. She is a singer for the Resist band and a model.

 Alastor:

Alastor is an antihero who arrives at the Hazbin Hotel to help out (though only for his own enjoyment). Alastor is a powerful demon with Eldritch powers and dark magic. He wears a red dress coat and clothing from the 1900s. He was a former radio host, cannibal, and serial killer in New Orleans. He is part French and part Creole. He died in 1933 due to being mauled by dogs and shot in the head. Malicious and pompous, he toppled powerful overlords and took over much of Hell, while broadcasting his murders. Alastor enjoys seeing others fail because it’s entertaining for him and makes him think of his higher status. Many suspect he wants to use Charlie to try and take over Hell, dethroning Lucifer and spreading chaos everywhere. Despite his evil side, he is also a gentleman who loves jambalaya, singing, dancing and telling jokes.

  Husk:

Husk is a grumpy black and white cat demon with a small top hat and red wings with card suits on them. He drinks alcohol and booze and loves to gamble. Alastor summoned him from a casino, where Husk reluctantly agreed to be the bartender after Alastor bribed him with a bottle of booze. He is a loner and is sometimes violent.

 Niffty:

Niffty is a magenta/red haired small cyclops demon. She works as the housekeeper of Hazbin Hotel, cleaning up rooms, cooking, and sewing. She is hyperactive and is obsessed with men. She enjoys reading and writing in her spare time. Alastor summoned her from a fireplace in episode one.

 Angel Dust:

Angel Dust is a white spider demon, who wears white and pink clothing and often carries weapons and drugs. Formerly an Italian named Anthony, he was a member of an Italian mafia like his family. He died from a drug overdose…presumably Angel Dust. He is gay and has six arms to aide him in turf wars. He has a brother, Arackniss, a father, Henroin, and a white spider mother Aranea (Latin for spider). He is the Hazbin Hotel’s first client, though a deviant, he has a good heart and shows some concern for others.

  Molly:

Angel Dust’s wild twin sister, also a white/pink spider. She and her brother share a strong bond, despite both of them doing drugs, being violent and getting into sexual situations with other demons. She and Angel are friends with the 80’s rebel and punk Cherri Bomb (Formerly Isabella from Australia).

 In a twist of fate, there are also a few angels who help the demons. Charlie, the princess of Hell is part angel. Molly, Angel Dust’s twin sister is not a demon but perhaps an angel in another form, but she protects her brother and fights off Fitch with Vaggie’s help after he is interrogated and tortured by Fitch and Adina.

 In addition, one Exterminator, Gray, was taken in by a (OC) demon named Blue Raven, another dragon demon. They had formed a temporary truce after Gray had been left behind during the last Extermination.

 The final battle results in the dragon demons teaming up with the other demons, Lucifer leading the fight against Adina.

 Adina tries to manipulate Fitch and Gray into working for her…and she even briefly possessed Mirage (a Zoophobia villain), Gray, Fitch, and even Alastor (who also wants to see demons fail but for his own fulfillment). Charlie frees Alastor while Blue Raven helps Gray and Fitch break free from Adina’s influence. Vaggie unlocks her super moth demon form…and it is revealed that she is a former fallen angel/Exterminator. With nothing but an angel harpoon in her hands, she had been banished to Hell after refusing to kill Charlie, thus they fell in love. (See “Falling From Grace Landing Into Love” fanfiction and Vaggie theories.)  Adina sends Exterminators after the demons, but Lucifer effectively holds them off, reminding them of their original role of killing demons once per year. Charlie knows this is not right and she’s determined to redeem sinners at the hotel even more than before.

Charlie, Alastor, Vaggie, Angel Dust, Husk, Niffty, Mimzy, and Crymini all join the fight, Lucifer battling Adina and breaking free from her possession. Baxter, Vox, and Sir Pentious (The Techno Trio) make inventions and technology to aid the demons in the fight. Lilith helps other demons get to safer hiding places, including the second Circle of Hell where Tom, Tam, and Lolly Gag (Zoophobia incubus and family) appear. Adina vows revenge and eventually retreats. Fitch reunites with his brothers and thanks Blue Raven for his help.

 But Fitch is still haunted by what Adina did to him…and it takes a while for him to recover. The remaining Exterminators order Gray to kill Blue Raven…but they do not. The angels close the portal before Gray has a chance of returning. Gray sighs and is willing to tolerate Blue Raven a little longer.

[xylianna]

....It took Ignis a while to realize that he was shaking, literally trembling where he stood, his jaw hanging inelegantly open as he gaped at the scene before him. Astrals, he hadn’t been this wonder-struck since his first visit to the club.... *blush* ummmm like this whole chapter to be perfectly honest.

You. I like you. 

I’m going to totally commentate the entire freakin’ chapter because insomnia is refusing to let me sleep and I love the chance to blather on about my work to a willing audience!

I will be kind and put it behind a cut, though.

Okay, I’m pulling up the chapter and commenting as I go, so if you read it as you go my comments might make more sense!   Wait, first I should make coffee.  Coffee is love, coffee is life. 

Okay, I’m back with coffee!  So, the first thing I’ll say about this chapter is it’s actually the first thing I wrote. Specifically, the Ignis POV starting with his arrival at the club.  A few days later, I wrote the Gladio POV, and a couple days ago, I added the paragraphs at the beginning about Ignis’s relaxing day going to the farmer’s market, coffee shop, etc to help it flow from chapter 1 better.  I initially was going to have this be maybe chapter 4 or so, but I said fuck it, let’s start the bdsm off right out of the gate so people know what they’re reading, lol.

Lest you think those first few paragraphs are merely filler, let me assure you I love Ignis getting downtime, and I will write it into as many stories as I can.  It’s a good balance for how often I put him through all the angst.

So, Iggy’s outfit I put a lot of thought into!  He’s a strategist, so I figured he’d have his disguise nailed.  First, the suit.  Iggy wears suits all the time, but I headcanon they are perfectly tailored, high class affairs.  So for this, he wears something off the rack.  The red tie was actually an in-joke/call back to a scene in my co-authored fic with @aliatori, This Too Is Sacred (check it out).   He couldn’t take his car, too much of a clue to his identity.  He absolutely cannot speak - his accent?  Way too recognizable.  So we have the silent, carless, off-the-rack suited, masked Hawk, anonymous in the crowd but still a bright beacon to those who are looking closely, because even with the different guise, it’s still Iggy, and he’s still amazing.

Fun fact:  the card Iggy needed to show the doorman to get in?  Based off a local kink party I attended for several years before it stopped running. You had an approval process, and once you were totally vetted you got your card and then you could get into events without signing waivers or being vouched for etc.

I also borrowed heavily from personal experience when I described what he saw/heard/smelled as he walked into the club proper.  The very first kink event I went to had a dress code that was basically formal wear or fetish wear, if you showed up in jeans + tshirt you wouldn’t be allowed in.   While I personally don’t feel the need to be that strict, I like the atmosphere of everyone being formal, whatever that means to them.  I also thought it fit Iggy.

The ridiculous cacophony of conversation/sounds of beatings/loud music takes some getting used to, haha.    And I am here for being in a room that basically overwhelming smells like leather.

The ‘rules’ I put in place are again, stolen from real events I attended. Not that consent is a unique rule since its the law everywhere that I live.   Anonymity is super super important at events like this though.  The best events are the ones that manage to feel exotic, but still like a safe space where you can just be yourself.  The no alcohol thing, too.   You really don’t want to mix consensual beatings with intoxication.

Okay I live for the headcanon that while Ignis’s refusal to speak is part of his effort to keep his identity secret, that his refusal to cry out during play is also a challenge issued to every top he scenes with.  

“Who was that, in the far corner there?”  the point where everyone is hopefully shouting IS IT GLADIO IS IT GLADIO

I stopped typing for several minutes because I read the paragraph describing Gladio giving that beating and… yeah. lol. 

Iggy of course gets pissed seeing him there, because as we established in chapter 1 he has a gigantic unrequited crush on a man he perceives as straight and therefore off-limits.  Also, I try to make the characters human, and Iggy losing his temper at something that isn’t actually a wrong action on anyone’s part makes him very human to me.

One of my favorite lines this chapter: “He cautiously walked closer, knowing he was playing with fire - if anyone could see through his masquerade, it would be Gladiolus - but like the proverbial moth he was drawn ever closer to that brightly burning flame.”     Not to toot my own horn or anything haha!

Now we’re to the section you actually put in my ask box.   Ignis has totally lost hold of his self control at this point. Well, not totally, I suppose.  Totally would have had him going right up to Gladio and kissing the crap out of him, lol.  But seeing the man he’s been crushing on is also a skilled and inventive top, it’s all a little too much for our Igster.

And then, Ignis’s play partner finds him.   I tried to strike a balance between writing their scene so that the reader could tell who Stag was meant to be, without making it blatant. After all, Ignis doesn’t know.   The guise of Stag was directly chosen because of the stylistic details of Nyx’s headgear in Kingsglaive.

Of course Ignis has to hesitate, though, since Gladio is RIGHT FUCKING THERE OMG, but his desire for his monthly fix wins out.

For the beating itself, I won’t say much, except that I do so love writing gladnis bdsm and I never plan to stop.

Now we hit my favorite line of this chapter and I am not at all ashamed to highlight it:  “And then, the kaleidoscope of his waking dream shifted, and he saw nothing but Gladiolus.”

Sigghhhh 

An oops, some clean up, and a little flirty banter, and Iggy’s POV ends with him noticing Gladio staring at him like he’s a Cup Noodles, and he gets a flash of hope that maybe his crush isn’t so hopeless as he’s previously though.

And then we’re over to Gladio.

I shamelessly used the beginning of Gladio’s POV to highlight two issues I’ve seen happen in kink communities.  TOPS NEED AFTERCARE TOO DAMMIT.  FUCK ANYONE WHO SAYS THEY DON’T.  Seriously.  Give your top a fucking hug. A bottle of water.  Make sure they’re as okay as they are making sure are post-scene, ugh.  And don’t treat them like beating dispensers, they have fucking feelings and they are people and and and ooookay, off my soap box. :D

I considered having Gladio also masked, but figured even if his tattoo wasn’t fully done at this point, he’s such a unique figure (even in a fantasy world like Eos, we don’t see that many 6′6″ massive muscular dudes walking around) that it would be rather pointless to try and hide. Plus… I mean, its Gladio. Why would he hide?

And of course I had to have him watch Iggy’s beating and fixate needing to get to know and hopefully play with that masochist because, well, we all know the Gladnis is coming, especially if you’ve read Discretion you know where I am taking this.

I took great delight in writing how meeting Hawk’s eyes reminded Gladio of Ignis’s eyes and then him thinking how ridiculous the idea of Iggy ever being at a place like the club, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  Ahem.  Sorry.

So of course Nyx had to be the one to invite Gladio/get him on the approved list, because I just watched Kingsglaive and I’m thirsty for some Nyx.   Also I could see them bro-ing it up and talking about shit like this organically, so it wouldn’t be like Nyx creepily offered “you should come to this elite kink party” so much as they just compared notes on relationships/dating/etc and it came up.

I also headcanon Nyx as an unrepentant flirt, so don’t mind him flirting with Hawk and Gladio with equal ease, lol.

Nyx throwing down the gauntlet to Gladio re: Hawk … nothing like a little trash talk between bros, right?

Gladio gets home and I decide he’s a shower beer guy, because really he’s like 21 years old at this point, he just went to a kink party where he spent most the night beating ungrateful recipients who left him high and dry, and then he watched a masked hottie come from no stimulation other than a flogging.  He needed a fucking drink, why wait til after the shower? 

At the end of the chapter I enjoy Gladio thinking it would be more appropriate to focus his thoughts on Hawk since he doesn’t think Ignis would be into him at all, haha. Those two crazy dumb kids, we’ll get ‘em there, I promise.

So this was WAY MORE INFO than you probably wanted when you sent me your ask but I HAVE COFFEE AND I CAN’T SLEEP AND OKAY THEN.

Thanks for being so kind and supportive.